Tony was putting the pizza onto plates when Emma came into the apartment, a smile on her face. He watched as she dropped her bag and came into the kitchen to hug him.

"What's so good?" he asked. "You're smiling."

"Bud got through with Detective Deeks and McGee today. He's putting Agent Callen up in the morning, followed by Agent Hanna."

"That doesn't explain why you're so happy."

"McGee said something about how upset he was when he found out that you were hurt. He made the jury cry a little, and even got the judge to cry a bit. It was so funny when even the lawyers were sobbing."

"Including Willis?"

"Yes."

Tony grinned. "That sounds so funny. I wish I was there to see it."

"How did your appointment go?"

"Rachel agreed to let me talk about what had happened over the last week. I told her about not having to do therapy anymore, and she was so happy for me."

"Of course she is. It's wonderful news." Emma grabbed a plate for herself and led Tony to the table. "How long did she stay?"

"About an hour, I think. We chatted about the psychologist at work and how she never did her job properly for a while."

"Why?"

"I mentioned that I was grateful for her not pushing, and she said that pushing people to talk is not a part of the job. I told her about work and how she was always pushing people's buttons to get them angry." Tony shrugged and bit into his first slice of pizza. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"Yes, all day. Brad has the morning off. He said he would be in court tomorrow so you don't have to be alone."

"I'll have to remember to thank him. He's been a great support."

"Want to watch a movie after we eat?" Emma asked, changing the subject.

"Sure. What should we watch?"

"How about... Back to the Future 2?"

"Okay." Tony grinned. "It's better than the first one."

"I hope so, cause the first one was boring." Emma laughed at the look on Tony's face.

Tony woke up before Emma the next morning. He slipped out of bed and had a quick shower, then quietly made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast. It was still early, so Tony put on a pot of coffee while he cooked eggs, bacon and sausages. It didn't take long, so Tony piled the food onto plates and put it on the table to go and wake Emma.

"Morning, handsome," said Emma a moment later, startling Tony.

"Good morning. I was just about to come and wake you up for breakfast. Hungry?"

Emma sniffed hungrily. "I sure am. What did you make?" She looked at the table. "Eggs and bacon?"

"And sausages." Tony put the coffee in front of their plates. "Coffee too."

"That smells so good." Emma sat down across from Tony and put food onto their plates. "So, are you going to court this morning?"

"Yes. Brad offered to pick me up."

"Okay. What time is he coming?"

"Eight. I told him I wanted to get there a little early so that when I walk in, people aren't staring."

"Fair enough. I can understand that."

They ate in silence for the next few minutes, occasionally sharing a look of happiness.

Tony and Brad laughed as they entered the court room. Brad had told some silly joke and Tony couldn't help laughing at it.

"Hi guys," said Harm, who had come to know Brad easily. "How are you?"

"Great," said Tony. "And, Brad even said I can start driving again after the next appointment with him."

"Good. I can see that you're happy about that."

"Oh, trust me, I am." Tony grinned. "So, I heard McGee made people cry yesterday."

"He did. Apparently you have a genuine friend in that man."

Tony nodded. "I do. Tim is amazing and a great friend." They sat down in the seats directly behind Harm and Bud. "So, how many people are going up there today?"

"I have two definitely going up. I may be able to get Gibbs up there too today. We'll see how it goes," said Bud.

"This is almost over," said Tony, mainly to himself.

"Yeah, it is nearly over, Tony. You've done really well with this," said Harm. His voice was kind.

"Who is after Gibbs?"

"Zoe."

"After her?"

"Nobody. It'll be the defence's turn to call people."

"So, two more after today." Tony felt relieved.

It wasn't long before Sam and Callen were both done on the stand. The judge had granted a short lunch break so that Gibbs and Zoe could both be done that afternoon, and so that Wednesday would be for the two defendants to testify. They had all finished lunch quickly, and were sitting in the court room again. Tony noticed that he had McGee sitting next to him this time, so he leaned over as they waited for the judge to come back.

"I've been hearing that you made everyone cry yesterday," said Tony quietly. "I wish I had seen that."

"I didn't mean to do it. I just couldn't hold back."

"Thank you for being a great friend."

McGee smiled. "I'm here if you need anything, Tony, I promise you that."

A few minutes later, the judge came in and told Bud to put his next witness on the stand so they could get going. Gibbs came in and took a seat, his eyes wandering until they landed on Tony.

"Agent Gibbs, Tony has been on your team for the last thirteen or so years, correct?"

"It's actually been almost fifteen years."

"Why has he not got his own team?"

"Tony was offered a team of his own but chose to stay on my team. I don't know why."

"Could it be because you are a good boss to him?"

"It could be, but I can't give you an answer to that."

"So why have you kept him for so long?"

"Because Tony is a damn good agent. He's trustworthy and always looks out for others. I wouldn't have any other person looking out for me in the field, because I know that Tony will never let me get hurt. He's protective of everyone he works with."

"When Tony was attacked outside Bethesda Hospital, did you try to stop it?"

"Of course I tried. You can't begin to even understand how guilty I felt when I couldn't stop him from being hurt. I had promised to protect him until we put Zoe behind bars, yet I managed to fail at it."

"You didn't stop looking for him, though, did you?"

"No. My team and I searched until we got a tip that Tony was being taken to LA. We followed the tip and it was pure luck that we found Tony when we did."

"How was Tony when you found him?"

"Unconscious. He was hurt, you could tell he had broken bones inside his head. I'm not a doctor, but even I could tell that Tony was in serious danger with those injuries."

"Did you go to the hospital?"

"After we arrested the people that had kidnapped Tony, and we were told that the doctor needed to speak with his next of kin."

"You are his next of kin?"

"And his emergency contact."

"Why?"

"Because Tony and I have a close relationship, both on and off the job. Tony is like a son to me, and he has told me numerous times that I'm a father figure for him."

"Can you tell the court what your reaction was when you learned of the extent of Tony's injuries?"