"Now, I know this is hard, Tony, but could you please tell us what happened a month later, on May 3rd?" Bud asked carefully. "Take your time."

Tony hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. He finally decided on just pushing through. "Well... It was my first day back at work when I could actually go into the field instead of doing desk work. My boss had said that I could go to the next scene we got. Then a scene came in. Gibbs told me that I had the choice about whether I wanted to go or not, then told me that the scene was at Leavenworth Prison. Agent Keates had escaped. Ever since I started as a police officer back in Peoria, I've always been told that you don't get to choose your cases. So I went to the scene. I was fine until I saw the message etched into the tunnel wall beneath the prison..."

Bud waited out the pause in Tony's testimony, but the silence stretched on.

"Tony, do you need a break?" Bud asked.

"No," said Tony quietly. He took a breath, then continued. "The message said something about getting me back in ways I would never expect. I didn't really feel scared for me... But I was scared that my girlfriend would be hurt. I didn't want that to happen, so I asked my boss to drive me to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where my girlfriend works. I told her what was happening, and she agreed to go to a safe house or accept protection. I felt a little better when I left, but I didn't get far."

"What happened outside the hospital Tony?"

"I... I... I stopped to help a man that seemed lost. But he wasn't lost. After a moment, I started to walk off. My boss was near the car, so when I started moving away, the guy came closer. I turned back, thinking that he was going ask me something. The next thing I knew, he had a rock in his hand. I tried to step away, but it was too late..." Tony felt his eyes watering, and he found it hard to continue.

"Your honour, we request a short break," said Bud.

"Of course," said the judge. "Let's reconvene in fifteen minutes."

The gallery erupted in whispers. Bud and Harm stood up and made their way over to the stand. Harm helped Tony out of the box and led him outside.

"Tony, do you want to stop? We can stop if you want to," said Harm when they sat on a bench outside the court room.

"Why is it so hard?"

"Because you went through a lot. It's a normal reaction."

"I don't know if I can do this. I don't know how I'm going to cope."

"Talk to us. Talk to me. I've been where you are, and it was hard. I'm here if you need me."

Tony smiled. "You sound like Gibbs."

"Probably a consequence of spending so much time with him." That got a laugh from Tony. "You ready to go back in?"

"Yeah."

"Before I could do anything," said Tony quietly, "I was hit... with... with a rock. I fell, and just before I blacked out, I saw my boss running over. He didn't get there fast enough."

"Can you tell us what happened after that?"

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

"We're you able to identify who had been speaking?"

"Just one person, Agent Keates."

"What happened after that? When did you wake up?"

"I woke up in hospital almost three days later."

"You had lost part of your memory, right?"

"Yes, two years worth."

"How did that happen?"

"The man that hit me outside the hospital with the rock hit me hard enough to fracture the back of my skull. A piece of the bone had broken partially off and was pressing on part of my brain. The area swelled up."

"What were you told by the doctor?"

"I was told that I was lucky, because injuries like that are severe and are something people rarely recover from."

"But, you seem as though you're doing well."

"Not really. I see a physical therapist three times a week, and I have checkups once a fortnight. I see a neurologist once a month to make sure that my brain is still healing and that no new issues have come up."

The room had gone quiet. Other than a few sniffles now and then, nobody made a sound.

"How long have these appointments been happening for?"

"Ever since I got out of hospital a month ago."

"Thank you, Tony. We understand that this has been hard for you, and we are grateful that you have been able to come and talk here today," said Bud. "Nothing further, your honour."

"Court is adjourned until nine am tomorrow morning." The judge stood up and left, the jury following her a moment later.

"You did great, Tony," said Harm once they were standing outside. "You're half way through, so just keep yourself strong tonight. We'll see you tomorrow morning."

Palmer was coming over, so Harm waited until Tony wasn't alone, then he walked over to where Bud was standing with the defence lawyer.

"Hey, Bud, what's going on?" he asked.

"Mr Fields here wants to discuss a deal," said Bud.

"Let's hear it, then. Mr Fields, what could you possibly offer us?"

"My client wants to change her plea."

"And why would she want that?"

"Because she's feeling bad for making Agent DiNozzo go through a trial. She wants to make a statement in court about her actions to stop him having to go through any more than he already has."

"He's going through this because of her."

"She wants to fix that. She knows she'll never be forgiven, nor is she asking for him to forgive her, she just wants to spare him anymore pain. And she knows that he's going to relive all of this again for the next trial."

"She tells the court, in detail, what she did. She goes back to her cell in Leavenworth for the rest of her sentence, plus another fifteen years on top," said Bud.

"Deal. Like I said, all she wants is to stop this trial."

Bud and Harm watched the lawyer walk away before they turned to each other, identical looks of relief on their faces. Now they just had to tell Tony.

Tony thanked Palmer for being there all day, then got out of the car and headed up to his apartment. He could hear Emma moving around inside, and then he could hear her talking to someone. He didn't want to interrupt, so he closed the front door quietly and headed straight for the couch. He wanted to watch a movie, something he had to focus on so he wouldn't think about what he had said during the day. But the quiet didn't last long. Emma came in and sat with him, saying something he wasn't listening to on the phone.

"Tony?" Emma asked a moment later.

"Yeah?"

"I'm talking to Rear Admiral Rabb at the moment. He wants to tell you something."

"Okay." Tony went to grab the phone, but Emma put it on speaker.

"Tony, I have some good news for you," said Harm. He sounded happy. "Zoe told her lawyer that she wants the trial to stop. She's going to tell the court what she did to you, plead guilty, and will be in prison for the next twenty years."

Tony brightened immediately. "So I won't have to be in court tomorrow?"

"It'll be up to you. You can come and here what she says and watch her get sentenced, or I can tell you what happens afterwards."

"Can Emma come? Or Gibbs?"

"Whoever you want."

"We'll be there tomorrow morning," said Emma. "Tony needs the closure, and he isn't going to get it by sitting around at home."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Tony, get some sleep tonight."

"Thank you, Harm," said Tony. He hung up the phone and let Emma hug him. "Why is she doing this now?"

"Harm told me that Zoe said she feels bad for what she did to you, and she doesn't want you to go through the pain again."

Tony nodded without speaking. He felt a little better, and he wanted to keep that feeling as long as possible.