Monday came very quickly for Tony. It seemed like he hadn't even had a weekend to prepare himself for court. He wasn't expected until one thirty, but he had physical therapy until twelve, which meant that he was going to straight to court from there. Emma was taking him to Bethesda on her way to work, but she wasn't going to be able to go with him to the trial. And even if she hadn't been working, she was a witness too, and she wasn't due in court until Tuesday afternoon. Provided that Tony was done by then. Palmer was going to pick him up from the hospital after therapy and take him to the court house, and had promised to stay with him throughout the trial until Emma or Gibbs could be with him instead.

"Tony? Are you ready to go? I've got your suit ready to go, and I'll bring it down to you when you finish in the gym," said Emma through the bathroom door.

"Okay. I'm ready." Tony came out of the bathroom, looking anything but ready.

"Oh, Tony, come here." Emma held her arms out to him, and he walked into them. She cuddled him for a moment. "You aren't even ready yet. Where are your shoes?"

"Near the door."

"Alright. Put the jumper on and I'll get the shoes for you." Emma walked off and grabbed the shoes, then came back to find Tony sitting on the bed, jumper in hand.

"Emma, can you come to the therapy session for a while?"

"I start at nine, so I'll sit for a bit while you wait. But the only way that will happen is if you get ready. Don't make dress you, cause then we'll never get out of here."

Tony smiled. He put his jumper on and tied up his runners. "Alright, I'm ready."

Emma led Tony into the gym at Bethesda like she always did, mostly just to give him a boost of confidence before he met with his physical therapist. She sat with him near the door, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Hi Tony," said a young man named Adam. "Hi Emma."

"Hey," said Emma with a smile. She had recommended Adam as Tony's therapist because he had a reputation for getting his patients back to full capacity in a short period of time without causing too much discomfort or pain. She had known he and Tony would be instant friends, since Adam was like a younger version of Tony.

"How are you this morning, Tony?"

Tony smiled, but shook his head. He didn't think he could honestly answer without breaking down.

"He's due in court at one thirty," said Emma, holding Tony's hand. "One of his colleagues, Jimmy Palmer, will pick him up at twelve."

"Alright. We're starting early, so we'll definitely be done by twelve. And we'll make sure he eats too."

"Thank you, Adam." Emma turned and kissed Tony. "I'll see you tonight. I should be home before you, so I'll get dinner started. I love you, Tony."

"I love you too," said Tony as he watched her leave.

"Alright, Tony, let's get started. We'll just do an easy session today. I don't want to push you too much when you're going to be in court. That's going to be hard enough for one day," Adam said kindly. "Come on, I've got a few things set up."

Tony sighed. He liked Adam, but he really hated the physical therapy stuff, especially because he didn't really understand why it was needed. He understood the mental activities that Adam gave him, and even exercises that related to his upper body strength, but that was it.

"What are we doing today?" asked Tony.

"Some brain exercises, mostly. We might get you on the weights again, but let's just see how things go."

"Okay." He followed Adam to a desk in the far corner of the gym.

"Have a seat. I want to do some memory exercises first."

"My memory is fine."

"I know that. But we still have to do them, just to make sure that everything is going well. When is your next appointment with Dr Pitt?"

"Next Tuesday."

"What about the neurologist?"

"Not for another month. I saw him on Thursday morning."

"How did it go?"

"Good. I was able to complete the memory tests he gave me this time. And the scans are good too."

"I'm glad. I can't wait to see you out of here for good."

"Me either."

"Have you been in to visit your friends at work yet?"

"Yeah. I was going in to meet with the prosecutor on Friday, so Gibbs let me stay for a while. I ended up losing track of the time, and only realised it when Emma came to pick me up."

"Sounds like you were enjoying yourself."

"Yeah. And I kind of got caught up in the case they were working on."

"Really, Tony?"

"Yes. It was an accident. They were struggling to find answers, and it just made sense to me to search the Canadian databases since the person they were looking for is Canadian. And then they mentioned a name that I recognised, so I gave them the highlights of the case and the year I worked on it so they could use it for their investigation."

"Well, that was really nice of you. Did it help them?"

"I don't know. I got carried away with Abby and forgot about the case."

Adam laughed. "Abby seems to be able to get you distracted quite a lot."

"Haha, yeah, she does. She's the little sister everyone wants."

"Maybe, next time you come to a session, you can bring her. I'd like to meet this woman."

Tony grinned. "She's not what you're expecting, trust me. But, if you really want, I'll bring her on Thursday, as long as she isn't in court."

"Abby is testifying too?"

"Yes. She shot to protect me."

"She cares a lot about you."

"She does." Tony sighed. He couldn't stall for much longer. "We should get started, I guess."

Adam nodded. He grabbed some cards from his backpack and put them on the table.

"What are these for?" Tony asked curiously. His memory exercises had always consisted of writing and reading tasks.

"We're going to try something different. You know how to play memory, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Then, help me set out the cards. We're going to play a game of memory."

"Why?" Tony took some of the cards and spread them out.

"Because, I want to test your memory when you're relaxed. This game is perfect for that."

"Okay," shrugged Tony, feeling quite happy to do this particular exercise.

Adam smiled. He had known that this would go over well. "Paper, scissors, rock to see who's going first?"

Tony grinned. "Sure. Best of three wins."

Tony laughed as he and Adam played two games to finally decide the winner. Ultimately, Tony lost, but he had gotten into the spirit and was starting to enjoy himself.

Almost twenty minutes later, the game ended. Tony and Adam looked at their piles of cards, and it was pretty clear who had won.

Adam laughed. "Wow, I didn't think I was that bad," he said.

"Well, you should have asked. I've always been good at this game," said Tony.

"Clearly. I guess your memory is doing quite well too. I'll speak with your doctor, because I don't think you really need memory exercises anymore."

"Thank you," said Tony happily. "So, what's next?"