Jethro Gibbs stepped outside of DiNozzo’s room where he found his dad talking to Dr. Marshall. He guessed that Jack was attempting to explain the sudden appearance of Mrs. Anthony DiNozzo, especially since Katherine knew that Tony wasn’t married. Gibbs studied the pair, wondering, not for the first time, if there was something more than friendship between the two of them. It wasn’t really any of his business. As long as Jack was happy; that was all that mattered.
He had resented his dad for years because Jack had insisted on moving on with his life after his mom had died. Deep down he had known that his parent’s feelings for each other had changed, but yet Jack had stayed by his mom’s side until her death. Then when Jack showed up at Shannon and Kelly’s funeral with a date, Jethro felt that his dad had not only betrayed him, but the memory of his mom as well. It wasn’t until years later that he was able to understand his dad’s side of the story. Jack had been hurting as well and Jethro had been so wrapped up in his own grief that he couldn’t see that his dad had needed someone to lean on as well. He wouldn’t make that same mistake again; he wouldn’t deny his dad the happiness that he deserved.
“Hey, Leroy,” Jack called out. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to join us?”
Gibbs sauntered over and took the cup of coffee that his dad held out to him. He nodded his thanks and took a sip of the steaming liquid. “Good coffee.”
“I just made it,” his dad said. “It keeps the nurses happy.”
“Especially after you’ve just lied to them,” Gibbs pointed out.
Jack grinned. Splaying his had on his chest, he asked, “Now son, would I do that?”
“Of course you would.” Jethro shook his head, a tiny smile dancing on his own lips. “Mrs. Anthony DiNozzo,” he muttered. “Whose bright idea was that, yours or Abby’s?”
“It doesn’t matter. It was a stroke of pure genius if you ask me.”
Rolling his eyes, Gibbs took another drink of his coffee. “Is that a fact?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“Couldn’t you have waited a few minutes?”
“No, I couldn’t and neither could Abby. You aren’t the only one concerned about Tony. That girl was going out of her mind with worry and she needed to see for herself how Tony was doing.”
Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know she’s worried, but…”
Jack held up his hand. “But nothing. Give her a little time with Tony,” he encouraged. “You never know; Abby might get him to open up a little.”
“That’s what I was about to get him to do,” Gibbs countered.
“Really?” Jack chuckled.
The agent bristled, his eyes narrowing into his infamous glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The whole ICU could hear Tony yelling at you,” his dad exclaimed. “The only reason that Katherine didn’t kick your butt out of his room was that I was able to convince her that seeing Abby would calm Tony down.”
Gibbs’ icy stare was now focused on the doctor, who had remained unusually quiet ever since he had joined their private conversation. “So, you were ready to throw me out, huh?”
“Yes,” Katherine sharply replied. “I warned you before I left that if you upset him, I would ban you from ICU. You said you could convince him to take his pain meds, but instead, you managed to upset him once again. What do I have to do to make you understand that Tony’s condition is still very serious? He doesn’t need any more stress and all you seem to be doing is causing him stress.”
The ex-Marine wished that she had just continued to give him the silent treatment. “Let’s get something clear, Dr. Marshall.” Gibbs forced himself to keep a tight rein on his temper. “I know that man in that room better than anyone and I know what’s best for him.”
“Are you sure about that?” she challenged. “From where I’m standing, I’m not sure that you do know what’s best for him. Personally, I believe that you are part of his problem. The man lying in that bed is not the Anthony DiNozzo that you know and the quicker that you accept that, the easier things will be for him and for you.”
Gibbs hit the counter with his fist. “He’s still the same man he always was. Tony may be sick and hurting both physically and emotionally, but that doesn’t change who he is on the inside.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Katherine angrily conceded. “However, it does mean that he doesn’t need to be subjected to your usual bullying tactics.” She handed Tony’s chart back to the nurse. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some other patients to see. I’ll be back to check on Tony before I go home. Maybe ‘Mrs. DiNozzo’ will be able to convince him to take his meds by then.”
Gibbs watched her leave as he gulped down the last of his coffee. He had to admit that Dr. Katherine Marshall had guts; there weren’t too many people that would stand up to him like she had just done. Was she right? Was he part of Tony’s problem? Was he putting too much pressure on Tony?
“She’s got a point, you know,” Jack said, interrupting his mental guilt trip.
“Yeah, I know.”
“She’s only got Tony’s best interests in mind.”
“I know that, too.”
“Well, maybe you two should work together to help Tony, instead of constantly butting heads.”
Jethro glared at his dad. “Do you think?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Gibbs poured himself another cup of coffee. “I need some air. Tell ‘Mrs. DiNozzo’ she has 30 minutes.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know,” Jack said.
The team leader felt a firm grip on his arm. “Leroy, we all want to help that boy,” his dad said. “Don’t think you have to do this alone.”
Jethro nodded. “I know.”
He left his dad standing at the nurse’s station. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Gibbs called back over his shoulder. He found the nearest exit and went outside. Leaning against the wall, he watched as the sun began to make its ascent into the sky. A new day was dawning and he was no closer to finding the answers to the myriad of questions that bombarded his mind.
The only thing that he knew for sure was that Vance had failed to pull Tony out of an operation that was going south, but Gibbs needed to know more. He needed to understand why Vance had even put Tony undercover in the first place. How did everything get so out of control? Tony talked about how he needed to be in control; was it because his senior agent felt that he no longer had any power over his own life? How could he not have known what was going on with DiNozzo? Maybe Dr. Marshall was right; maybe he was part of Tony’s problems.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
McGee rolled over and hit the snooze on his alarm clock. He had slept surprisingly well last night, considering everything that was going on with Tony; not to mention the fact that he had left Vance sitting on his couch in his living room. Tim sat up in bed. “Vance!” he whispered. “I am so fired! I can’t believe that I left the Director sitting in my living room.”
He got up and quietly opened his door, peering out into his living room. “Please be gone, please be gone,” he softly repeated over and over.
Opening the door just a little more, he breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t see the Director sitting on the couch. He went into the living room and looked around. Vance was gone. Tim wasn’t sure what he would have done if Director Vance had still been in his apartment. Would he have caved in to the pressure and told Vance what he knew? He would like to think that he would have been able to continue standing up to the Director, protecting Tony at all costs. However, at the moment, he was glad that he didn’t have to make that decision.
Glancing at his watch, he saw that is was just after six. He had to call Ziva. Knowing that she was up, he went back into his bedroom and retrieved his cell phone. It only took one ring for Ziva to answer.
“David.”
“Ziva, have you heard anything?” McGee anxiously inquired.
“No,” she replied. “Nothing. Have you?”
“No, but I did have a visitor last night.”
“Director Vance?”
“How did you know?”
“Just a lucky guess. Is he still there?”
“No. I went to bed and left him on the couch. When I woke up this morning, he was gone.”
“I’m guessing he wanted to know where Tony was,” Ziva mused.
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell him anything,” McGee snapped.
“I never said you did.”
“Sorry,” Tim apologized. “I’m just a little on edge.”
“It’s all right. Water under the road.”
“Bridge,” he automatically corrected.
“Bridge,” she repeated. “We’ve got to do something. I know we’re supposed to be on vacation, but I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you at the coffee shop.”
“That sounds good. I’ll…”
McGee was interrupted by a knock at his door. That gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach returned as he opened the door to reveal Director Vance with two cups of coffee and a bag in his hands. “Agent McGee,” Vance greeted. “I ran out and got us some breakfast; I thought I would make it back before you woke up.”
He whispered into the phone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Hanging up his phone, he stood aside and allowed the Director to enter. “Director Vance. I assumed that you had…”
“Given up? You should know me better than that, Agent McGee.”
Tim swallowed hard as Vance went to the kitchen table and sat down. “Join me, Agent McGee.”
“I actually already had plans for breakfast, Director Vance.”
“Change them, Agent McGee,” Vance ordered.
“Director, I’m on vacation. I don’t believe that I have to subject myself to your orders while I’m on leave.”
“You’re a federal agent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Agent McGee. So, vacation or not, I expect you to act like one. I don’t enjoy putting you in this predicament. I know that you are loyal to Agent DiNozzo, but I need to find him and I need to find him as soon as possible.”
“Why?” McGee dared to ask.
“It’s a very delicate matter, Agent McGee. The fewer people directly involved, the safer DiNozzo will be.”
“Is he in danger?”
McGee didn’t miss the Director’s hesitant response. “He could be,” Vance finally admitted.
“Danger from whom?” McGee pressed.
“Again, Agent McGee, that is on a need to know basis and you don’t need to know.”
Tim nodded as he took a sip of the coffee that Vance had brought him. “Well, Director Vance, Tony’s whereabouts are on a need to know basis as well and I’m not convinced that you need to know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a breakfast date.”
McGee went to his room and quickly dressed. When he came back out, Vance was still sitting at his table. “Please lock up when you leave, Director Vance,” he instructed.
Closing the door behind him, he heard Vance call out to him. “Tell Officer David that I said hello.”
How did he know that he was meeting Ziva? McGee silently chastised himself. Of course he would know, he was the Director; it was his job to know everything. Tim decided that he would take the long way to the coffee shop just in case he was being followed. There were a couple of streets that he could easily shake any would be followers.
As he wove his way through the streets, he couldn’t help but hear Vance’s words echo in his mind. The fact that DiNozzo could be in danger had almost convinced him to tell Vance where Tony was at, but his gut was telling him something else entirely. If there was one thing that he had learned from Jethro Gibbs was to listen to his gut.
He knew that Tony was with Gibbs and the team leader would keep Tony safe. Now all he and Ziva had to do was come up with a way to stay under Vance’s radar and wait for Gibbs to contact them. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tony leaned into Abby’s touch as she gently cupped his cheek. She had put down the rail and was sitting on the edge of his bed, feeding him ice chips, regaling him with the story of how she pretended to be his wife in order to get in and see him.
“You should have seen her expression, Tony. It was priceless,” Abby proclaimed.
“I bet,” Tony said. “They were probably thinking that you were too good for somebody like me.”
Abby arched her eyebrow. “You know I don’t like it when you talk about yourself like that. You are a great guy, Tony DiNozzo and don’t you forget it.”
“I think you’re a little biased. I mean of course you’re going to think I’m great; you’re my wife,” he teased.
“That’s right and so you should listen to everything I say,” Abby stated.
“Really?”
“Yep. That’s the way a marriage works, or so I’ve been told.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “I don’t think either one of us can consider ourselves experts on marriage, Abby.”
She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. “We’ll learn together, my darling.”
“Whatever you say, dear,” Tony replied.
“See, you’re learning already.”
Tony winced as he laughed. “I need to remember not to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Laugh.”
“If you’re in pain, I’ll see if you can have something.”
He shook his head. “No. I’ve already been through this with Kate and Gibbs. I’m not taking any more pain meds; they mess me up.”
“Kate?”
“Dr. Katherine Marshall. I call her Kate,” Tony explained.
“Oh. Does she look anything like our Kate did?”
“No, but she’s got the same kind of fire in her that our Kate had.”
“That means she’s got your number.”
“You could say that.”
Tony took another ice chip, welcoming its cool relief as it melted in his mouth. “Thanks, Abby.”
“You’re welcome.” She sat the cup of ice on the small table beside his bed. “Now, let’s get back to why you don’t want to take your pain medicine. I know it makes you a little loopy, but that’s got to be better than hurting all the time.”
Tony closed his eyes. He could never lie to Abby; she could always see right through him. “The pain keeps me focused,” he tried to explain. “I can’t afford to be out of control. Too much is at stake.”
“What do you mean? What’s at stake, Tony?”
He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He had no right to drag Abby into the mess that he had gotten himself into. It was bad enough that Gibbs would eventually know everything that had happened.
“Tony,” she softly called out to him. “Tony, you’ve never lied to me before; please don’t start now.”
He ran a shaking hand through his hair. “Abby, I’m about to lose everything. My job, my friends, my life, Gibbs’ respect. I just want to hang onto it a little longer because when I come clean, everything will be over.”
“Don’t say that. You’ve got to trust us to help you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you and neither is Gibbs.”
“I won’t pull you all down with me.”
“Tony, please…”
Tony clenched his jaw tightly. “The only person that is going down with me is Vance.”
Abby sat up. “Vance? What’s he got to do with this?”
“Everything.”
“Talk to me,” she pleaded.
He studied the woman before him. They had shared so much over the years. She knew more about him that anyone, even Gibbs, and had never betrayed his confidence. Abby was begging for him to trust her with yet another secret and he wasn’t sure he could. He realized that it wasn’t a matter of whether he trusted her; it was the fact that he could put her life in jeopardy and he would not take that chance.
“I can’t, Abby.”
She took his hand and gently squeezed it. “Yes, you can.”
Tony started to tell her no, but he stopped himself. “I’ve been living a lie ever since I got back from the Seahawk. I’ve been doing undercover operations for Director Vance. This last one started to go south and he didn’t pull me out in time. I ended up uncovering some damaging information about some of the higher ups, including Vance and…”
“Who?” she urged.
“I’m sorry, Abs. I can’t tell you any more; I don’t want you getting hurt. I shouldn’t have told you that much.”
“Tony, don’t you see what holding all this in is doing to you?”
“I know what it’s doing to me. It’s killing me and right now, that may be the best thing that could happen to me.”
He took his thumb and wiped a stray tear off Abby’s cheek. “Please don’t cry, Abs. You know I can’t stand it when you cry.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I just don’t want to hear you talking that way.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” she began.
“It’s a sign of weakness.”
“Promise me one thing, Tony.”
“What’s that?”
He could see the wheels of her brilliant mind turning as she said, “Wait a minute, promise me two things,” she said.
Tony sighed, a small grin escaping his lips. “What?”
She held out her pinkie finger. “You have to pinkie swear that you’ll do what I ask.”
“That depends on what you want me to do,” he reasoned. “Last time I promised you something before you told me what it was, I ended up bowling the league finals with a bunch of nuns.”
“But you won,” Abby reminded him. “Oh, and Sister Rosita said to tell you that she is saying a special prayer for you.”
“Tell her thank you. I need all the prayer I can get.”
“Now, tell me that you’ll promise to do these two things that I’m about to ask you to do,” Abby pressed.
Tony knew that there was no use arguing with Abby; he always lost. “What are they?”
“First, you have to reach a compromise about your pain medicine. Let the doctor give you something that will take the edge off the pain and not totally knock you out,” she suggested.
“Abby, I…”
“I’m not done.”
“Sorry.”
“Secondly, you have to come clean with Gibbs.”
Tony shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You have to and you know I’m right.”
Gibbs did have a right to know what was going on with his senior field agent, but how could Tony even begin to explain everything that had happened? Would Gibbs even believe him? “Abby, you don’t know what you’re asking me to do.”
“Yes, I do. I’m asking you to take that first step and let us help you.”
Tony closed his eyes. He considered her first request. Tony was hurting more than he cared to admit; maybe something to dull the pain just a little wouldn’t be out of the question. It was her second request that he was having trouble with. Abby wanted him to take that first step and talk to Gibbs. But, she didn’t realize that the only problem with taking that first step was that it would send him over the edge.
Chapter End Notes:
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