"Shall we start?"

Tony nodded. "Where do you want me start?" he asked Bud.

"From the beginning. How did Zoe come into your life?"

"We met in Philadelphia. We were both rookie cops, and for a while, we pretty much relied on one another. The people in my department didn't seem to like me much, and Zoe was getting much the same treatment where she was. We became friends pretty quickly, but then I got transferred to Baltimore. We tried to stay in touch, but it didn't work out. We lost contact after a month. Then, about eight months ago now, Zoe appeared at a scene we were investigating. The next day, she came to the squad room and told Gibbs that her bosses wanted her to work with us. We worked the case, and when it was over, we decided to try dating. We were working really well for a month or so, too."

"What went wrong?" asked Harm.

"I don't know. I loved her, but she started cheating. She was giving me the cold shoulder when she came to work on a case with us, and then, at a scene, she left me to get shot. I was wearing a vest, so the bullet didn't penetrate my skin. I ended up with two broken ribs."

"Then she came back again? While you were recovering?"

"Yes. I was staying with Gibbs. He went in to work because they were supposed to interrogate Zoe that morning, and our forensic tech, Abby, was going to come and stay with me for the morning. Before she arrived, but after Gibbs left, Zoe came in. When I realised it wasn't Abby, I grabbed the gun Gibbs had left for me and stood up with it. If you can call it standing, anyway. I could stay up straight, and I couldn't hold the gun up properly because it hurt my ribs. When I saw Zoe, I confronted her about the cheating, and she told me it was because I didn't want to meet her parents. She raised the gun to shoot me, so I shot in self defence. My bullet missed the target and got her in the leg instead, but it was enough for her to drop to the ground and drop the gun too."

"Was that when someone came to help?" Bud asked.

"Sort of. Abby had been outside and heard my gun going off. She came in with her own gun and ended up shooting Zoe in the hand so she could stop her from shooting again. I was starting to faint but Abby kept me talking until the paramedics arrived. By the time they were inside though, I was unconscious. I woke up in hospital an hour or so later, but I couldn't stay awake. I heard Gibbs tell me that they wanted to operate on my ribs before I blacked out again."

"When did you wake up next?"

"Almost an hour after surgery."

"Had Zoe been arrested by then?"

"Yes. She was in the hospital while her leg was checked, then she was taken to prison."

Bud made a couple of notes in his notebook, then looked up at Tony. "What happened four weeks later?"

Tony hesitated. He looked to Gibbs, clearly asking for help.

"Does he really need to answer these questions? You have the information and his statement in front of you," said Gibbs.

"I have them, yes. But the more he tells me now, the more information I'll have on Monday," answered Bud.

"Can he have a break then? Before he answers anything else?"

"Of course," said Harm when Bud looked like he was going to object. "Tony, take a few minutes. We can wait."

Tony got up and left the conference room, Gibbs right behind him.

"Are you alright Tony?"

"I don't want to talk to him anymore," said Tony quietly so that nobody passing by could hear.

"Why not?"

"I can't... I..."

"Tony, calm down. You can do this, I know you can. Just take a deep breath, and then we'll go back in. If he starts pushing, I'll end it, okay?"

Tony took a couple of deep breaths until he calmed down. "Okay, boss."

"Bud, do you remember what I told you when you brought this to me?" asked Harm.

"Of course I do."

"What did I say? Tony's not going to be strong through this. He's been through hell at the hands of these people. You pushing him to talk when he doesn't want to is going to put him on the defensive and make him find it difficult to trust you. I know what you're trying to do, but he isn't a strong, federal agent at the moment. He's hurting, he's feeling scared and probably very fragile at the moment. Do not push him."

"I know that. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but how is he supposed to get through the defence's questioning if he can't handle sitting here without an audience?"

"That does not matter. Just calm down, so that Tony can calm down too."

Harm stopped talking just before the door opened and Tony came back in with Gibbs.

Tony took his seat next to Harm again, with Gibbs on his other side.

"Are you ready to continue?" Harm asked.

Tony nodded his head.

"Bud. Ask your questions, but be careful. You do not want to be thrown off this case before it even gets to court."

Bud nodded. "I'm sorry Agent DiNozzo. I was harsh before and that wasn't nice."

"It's alright," said Tony.

"Okay. What happened four weeks after you first got hurt?"

"I was finally allowed back into the field at work. Gibbs had said I could go to the next scene, but then he seemed like he had changed his mind. He told me it was my choice, but the scene was related to Zoe. I went anyway, because I thought I could deal with it..."

"Tony, do not say that on the stand."

"Say what?"

"Do not say that you went because you thought you could handle it. It will make the defence and the jury think that you are too weak to do your job."

"What am I meant to say?"

"Just say that you went because it was a part of your job. You were doing what you were always trained to do. Say that you do not get to pick the scenes you work on. In fact, don't even say that Gibbs hesitated to send you out, cause that can cause problems too- mainly the thought that your boss doesn't trust you."

"Okay. Anyway, I went to the scene, and there was a message etched into the tunnel wall. I read it, and..." Tony's breath hitched as memories of what he had seen resurfaced. He felt Gibbs' hand on his shoulder, could tell that his boss was staring at him, so he relaxed and continued. "The message, to me, meant that someone was going to try and hurt my new girlfriend. I couldn't let her get hurt because of me, so I raced to Bethesda, where she works, and let her know what was happening."

"Can you tell me what happened after you spoke to Nurse Ingham?"

Gibbs looked at Tony, worry written all over his face. This was the point where Tony had broken down in the hospital, where he had partially broken down with Rachel. He had struggled to tell it to Emma, and she was his confidante.

Tony opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He was struggling, and it seemed like he wasn't going to be able to deal with it himself.