"Agent DiNozzo?" Bud asked. "Do I need to repeat the question?"

"Lieutenant Roberts, take it easy," warned Harm.

"Sorry."

Harm looked back at Tony, watching him. He saw the man struggling, then saw Gibbs twist Tony's chair around so they were facing each other.

"Tony," Gibbs said. "Look at me."

It was soft, quiet, but it got Tony's attention. The agent looked at Gibbs, and he seemed to calm down a little. Gibbs whispered into Tony's ear, and then Tony relaxed completely.

"Harm, I think this would be a good point to skip over. We can come back later and revisit it, but right now, Tony is not going to be able to answer it." Gibbs stared at the two lawyers, daring them to go against him.

"That's fine," said Bud. "Let's move on. Tony, when you woke up in hospital last month, what were you told?"

"I lost two years of my memory," said Tony. He was no longer looking at anyone. His hands were shaking, but otherwise, he seemed like he was calm again.

"And were the doctors worried about that?"

"Not really. At least not then. They said it would become a problem if it lasted more than a few days."

"How long did it last?"

"Two days. The third morning after I woke up, I had my memory back."

"How long were you in hospital?"

"About a week. I've been home a month."

Bud made some more notes. "Okay. It's lunch time. We should take a break before we speak with the rest of our witnesses."

"There are more people?" Tony asked.

"Ms Sciuto and Dr Mallard have agreed to testify, as well as Nurse Ingham and Dr Pitt."

"Emma? Right, she told me that."

"Tony, is there anything else you want to tell us before we go for lunch?" Harm asked.

Tony nodded. "After I saw Emma at the hospital... Gibbs was ahead of me, near the car, and I stopped to help a man. He hit me with a rock... I saw Gibbs running over, then I blacked out."

Bud listened carefully, making some notes as he went. He realised that Tony was talking about his attack, so he stayed quiet until Tony stopped talking.

"Thank you," said Bud. "That must have been really hard."

"I could hear people talking, but I couldn't see them..."

"That's alright Tony," said Harm. He reached out, but Tony instinctively moved closer to his boss. "Okay, I think we're done here."

Tony just nodded. He stood up, looked at Gibbs and then walked out, passing Abby on the way.

Harm and Bud sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about what they had just heard. Sure, they'd read the statement, seen the medical reports, even looked at the investigation reports. Most of what Tony had said wasn't new. But hearing it out loud, from Tony, made it seem more real. That was the hardest part of an investigation, but harder still when it was a friend.

"Excuse me?"

Bud looked over at the door. "Ms Sciuto?"

"That's me. And it's Abby, by the way."

"Come in."

Abby came and sat in Tony's recently vacated chair, looking scared but determined.

Gibbs followed Tony until they reached the elevator. The agent looked miserable, not that Gibbs could blame him. He'd been through hell and just relived it.

"Boss," said Tony quietly.

Gibbs pulled the emergency stop handle. When the elevator had gone dark and stopped moving, he turned to Tony.

"Talk to me," he said, equally as quiet.

"I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't be. Tony, you are the victim here, there's no need for you to be the strong person you always are. Let them see the real you, let them see the kind, caring man that you really are."

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Gibbs hesitated for a second. "I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone before. Not even Jenny knew this, and she knew me very well. And, I'm not telling you so you can feel sorry for me, because I got past this a very long time ago."

"Is this about Shannon and Kelly?"

"No. This happened before I even met Shannon."

"Okay." Tony sunk down to the floor of the elevator and was immediately joined by Gibbs.

"When I was fourteen, I went for a walk to the local grocery shop for my dad. You've seen Stillwater, you know how small the town is. Anyway, the store was about two blocks from my father's shop, and it was a walk I'd made dozens, if not hundreds, of times before. My dad had given me ten dollars, which was enough for us to buy a week's worth of groceries at the time, and a list of what he needed. It wasn't a long list and would have given me change when I was done. I got about half way to the grocery store before I felt like something wasn't right. But I was a fourteen year old kid, so I ignored the feeling and kept going. My dad was expecting me back in half an hour, so I couldn't stop and dawdle. About half a block from the store, I felt the odd feeling again. This time I stopped. If I had continued, I would have been fine, but I stopped."

"What happened?"

"I turned around when I stopped, just to see if anyone was behind me. No-one was. So I shrugged it off and turned back around to continue. When I turned to face the shop again though, there was a man standing there. I didn't really think anything of it, he wasn't scary looking or anything. I went to move past him, and that was when he pulled a gun out of his jacket. I stopped and froze. I didn't know what to do." Gibbs heard a sharp intake of breath next to him, but continued. "He didn't even hesitate. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit my stomach."

"Boss..."

"I'm not finished. It was early morning, on a weekend, so it was quiet outside. The shot was loud, and it brought people out from all over the block. I had dropped to the ground, but I could still see people running over. Thankfully, one of them was our town's doctor, and he was the first to reach me. For a moment, all I heard was shouting, but after a couple of minutes, I could my dad screaming my name."

"But, you're okay now," said Tony, "so it can't have been too bad, right?" Tony hated when his boss was hurt since the man was like a father to him.

"It wasn't bad, and I was home by the next morning. My dad was too scared to let me out of his sight after that, at least until the guy was caught and went on trial."

"Did you have to tell them what he did?" Tony thought he could see where Gibbs was going with this story, and, if he was honest, it was actually helping him.

"I did. By then, six months had passed, and I'd turned fifteen. The police had taken photos of the bullet wound, both before and after it had healed, and they used them in court. They asked me to testify, and I thought, sure, why not? It'll put him in prison. I didn't realise how traumatic it could be. So I got up in court and explained everything to the judge and jury, but it left me feeling angry and hurt. Much like you are feeling now."

"How did you get through it?"

"I let people in, Tony. I let them help me."

"I am letting people in... I told Delilah what happened last night, and I told you too."

"That's not the same thing. You remember how you told Rachel what happened?"

"Yes. I'm glad I did, it really helped."

"That's letting someone in to help. I know that right now, you don't need a therapist, but I'll bet that after these trials, you will want someone who can help. I suggest you call Rachel and let her know that the trials are coming up. I know she's going to testify on your behalf, but you still need to let her know you want her help. Okay?"

"Okay." Tony gave Gibbs a smile. "Boss?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. You don't know how much it helps to be able to talk to you."

"I'm always here Tony, even if I seem like a grouch sometimes."

Tony actually laughed. "A grouch? More like a sourpuss, but we love you no matter what."

"You are damn lucky that I can't smack the back of your head, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, though his tone suggested that he found Tony's comment funny too. "Come on, you wanted to visit today, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go." Gibbs helped Tony up and started the elevator again. "The team misses you."

"Miss Sciuto, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Harm as he watched Abby fidgeting nervously.

"It's to help Tony, right?" asked Abby.

"Yes."

"Then I'm doing it. I want to help Tony."

"Okay." Harm looked at Bud, warning him to be careful.

"Abby, can you tell me what happened when you arrived at Agent Gibbs' house?" Bud asked.

"I got out of my car to go and stay with Tony while the boss man was at work. I was closing the door of my car when I heard a gunshot inside Gibbs' house. I've been carrying a gun for almost a year now, so I grabbed it out of my boot and went inside. I found Agent Keates on the floor, just outside the living room. I went over to see if she was okay, but before I reached her, I heard Tony's voice. It was so weak that I got scared. When I turned around, I found Tony laying on the floor, almost completely curled into a ball. I couldn't see any blood, so I went over and sat with Tony. He managed to tell me that he couldn't breathe, so I called 911 and Gibbs."

"How long did you sit with Tony before anything else happened?"

"Probably a couple of minutes. Tony whispered to me that Keates was going for her gun, so I turned around. I've never shot anyone before, and I didn't want to do it then either, but I wasn't going to let her shoot Tony either. When she grabbed the gun and pointed it at us, I shot her hand. I saw her drop the gun and cradle her hand, but I couldn't care less at that point. I turned back to Tony, and he was barely conscious by then. I was so glad to hear the sirens in the distance, and even happier when Gibbs ran in with the paramedics right behind him."

"Did you make a statement to the police?"

"Yes. They didn't charge me or anything."

"Okay. Thank you for your time."

Abby stood up and left the room, going to see if Tony was in the bull pen yet.