Jackson Gibbs had pulled in his parking space just in time to see his son storming out of the main entrance of the hospital. He quickly put his car in park and got out, hoping to get Leroy’s attention before he reached the sidewalk. “Leroy,” he called out, his baritone voice resonating through the semi-deserted parking lot.
The younger man continued walking towards his car. Jack decided that either Leroy was making a conscious decision to ignore him or something was weighing heavily on his son’s mind. He increased his pace in an effort to catch up to the young man. “Leroy!” he shouted.
He stopped mid-stride as Leroy wheeled around. “What?”
Jack swallowed hard. It had been a long time since he had seen this much anger radiating from his son; the last time being Shannon and Kelly’s funeral. Leroy’s eyes were burning with rage and hatred and it frightened the elder Gibbs to his core. “Son, what’s wrong?”
“Everything,” came the curt reply.
“Such as?”
“Dad, I don’t have time to go into details,” the agent seethed. “I’ve got to get back to D.C.”
“Why?” Jack pressed.
“I’ve just got some things to take care of.”
“What about Tony?”
“He’s resting now, Abby is with him.”
“How long are you going to be?” Jack grinned and shook his head as his son glared at him. “Your infamous stare may work on your agents, but it doesn’t work on me. I just asked a reasonable question, son. How long are you going to be gone?”
“I don’t know,” Gibbs answered.
“When will you be back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t you think that whatever this is can wait? I think Tony’s welfare is a bit more important that some personal crusade, Leroy.”
“Tony’s not going to get better until I take care of the source of his problems. No one gets away with using a member of my team like they were a piece of yesterday’s garbage.”
Jack was more than familiar with his son’s sense of responsibility to his team. Whenever Leroy called, he was always regaling the senior Gibbs with details of their last case or the latest antics of his team. He spoke of them all fondly, but there was always more than a hint of pride in his voice when he spoke of Tony. But lately, his son had said very little about DiNozzo after the agent had returned from the Seahawk. He wondered if his son realized that he had apparently been distancing himself from Tony.
“Leroy, maybe you should wait,” he suggested. “Talk to Tony some more before you go off half cocked and make things worse for him.”
“I have to make a move before Vance does.”
“Vance? The Director? You’re boss?”
“The one and the same.”
Jack scrubbed his face with his hand. “Boy, this is big, isn’t it?”
“It could be.”
“I still think you should wait, son,” Jack encouraged. “Give Tony another couple of days to get his strength back and you need a couple of days to cool off.”
“What I need is irrelevant, but what Tony needs is for me to get to the bottom of this,” Jethro growled. “Vance has been causing trouble for Tony for far too long and I didn’t know anything about it! I’m not letting that bastard get away with it!”
“Vance is only part of Tony’s problems and you know it!” Jack argued. “Why else would he have come running to Stillwater? Why would I have to force him to call you and tell you where he is? Leroy, that boy worships the ground you walk on and you’re just going to…”
“That’s enough,” the agent warned. “This is not open for discussion. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Jack started to protest, but he knew that Leroy wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t help but notice that his son had the same look on his face the day that the two of them had argued, prompting Leroy to join the Marines. His son had been furious, just as he was now, and Jack had to admit that he was worried that Leroy would do something foolish. Of course, he could empathize with the younger man; if the situation was reversed and someone had hurt his son, nothing on this earth would stop Jack from getting his revenge.
As Leroy started his car and peeled out of the parking lot, Jack had to believe that his son could look after himself and that he would be back. Until then, he would do what he could to help the young man lying in ICU. Jack knew that he was no substitute for Leroy in Tony’s eyes, but he would be whatever the agent needed him to be. He already felt like he was DiNozzo’s grandfather in a sense; but he was also his friend and if Tony needed someone to listen, Jack would be his confidante.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Abby gently traced the outline of Tony’s fingers as she held his hand while he slept. She was glad that her friend was finally resting but part of her just wanted him to wake up and talk to her. She missed hearing his voice and his smile when he started to ramble on about some movie or the latest episode of his favorite TV show. It bothered Abby to see Tony so vulnerable. She wanted desperately to give him a hug; he always told her that her hugs made him feel better.
“How’s he doing, Mrs. DiNozzo?”
Abby glanced up to see Dr. Katherine Marshal leaning against the doorframe with what she assumed to be Tony’s chart in her hand. “Uh, he’s sleeping.”
“That’s good,” the doctor replied. “He needs to rest.”
“Yeah. I just don’t understand how he could get so sick. I mean the last time he looked this bad, he had the plague and it took him a long time to recover from that. Of course, it didn’t help that at the time a terrorist was after Gibbs and Tony was as determined as Gibbs to find Kate’s killer and…I’m not Mrs. DiNozzo,” Abby blurted out.
“I know, Ms. Scuito,” Katherine assured her. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“I’m sorry I lied about being married to Tony, but I just had to see him,” she tried to reason.
“It’s all right. Tony is fortunate to have you as a friend. He seems to rest easier knowing that you’re here with him.”
“Does that mean that I can stay?”
“Absolutely. I have a feeling that when Mr. DiNozzo begins to get his strength back, that I’m going to have my hands full. He listens to you, so you be sure and stay close.”
Abby smiled. She was relieved that Dr. Marshall wasn’t angry with her and that she would get to stay with Tony, at least until Gibbs returned. At some point, she knew that she was going to have to go back to work, but hopefully, Tony would be doing better before she had to head back to D.C.
“Thank you so much, Dr. Marshall. I’ll take good care of Tony,” Abby promised.
“I know you will. By the way, thank you for getting him to agree to take something for pain.”
“You’re welcome. It wasn’t that hard; he never has been able to say no to me.”
“What about his boss?” Katherine asked. “Has he ever been able to say no to Special Agent Gibbs?”
“Tony will stand up to him if the need arises,” Abby reluctantly answered.
“You didn’t answer my question, Ms. Scuito.”
“It’s Abby and I’d rather not answer it. The relationship between Gibbs and Tony is a bit unusual; Tony worries when Gibbs is nice to him or if he feels like he has to complete for Bossman’s attention. It’s very complicated. Gibbs is the father that Tony never had and Tony is like a son to him, but they would never admit it to each other or anyone else for that matter.”
“Have things been strained between them lately?”
Abby thought for a moment. “Why are you asking me these questions? Shouldn’t you be talking to Tony or Gibbs?”
“I was just trying to get a handle on Tony’s mental and emotional state,” the doctor explained. “Sometimes, it’s better to get a more objective view.”
“I don’t feel comfortable doing this. I mean, Tony and I have shared a lot of secrets and I even know his MOAS and he knows mine.”
“MOAS?” Katherine curiously inquired.
“Mother of all secrets,” the Goth clarified.
Katherine nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry, Abby. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot; I was just trying to figure out how to help Tony.”
“I know. You know, he was right about you,” she stated.
“Who?”
“Tony. He said that you were a lot like Kate.”
“Who’s Kate?”
“She was his partner,” Abby informed her. “Kate was killed almost four years ago.”
“I’m sorry. So, how do I remind Tony of this Kate?” Katherine wanted to know.
“Your determination and compassion; I know that you’re just doing your job, but I can tell that you really do care about your patients. Tony is lucky to have you as his doctor.”
Katherine grinned as she studied the monitors. “Tell that to him when he wakes up.”
“I will.”
She watched as the doctor made a note in Tony’s chart. “So, when is Agent Gibbs coming back?” Katherine inquired. “There’s something I need to talk to him about.”
Abby shrugged. “I don’t know. But if it’s an emergency, I’ll get in contact with him and have him call you.”
“No, it’ll wait until he gets back. I have a feeling that he won’t be gone too long.”
“Nope, not as long as Tony’s in the hospital,” Abby said.
The scientist barely caught Katherine’s almost imperceptible nod. “Let the nurses know if you need anything. I’m going to catch a nap in the doctor’s lounge.”
“Thank you, Kate.”
“You’re welcome, Abby.”
Abby watched the doctor leave and she settled back in her chair, still holding Tony’s hand in her own. She was glad that she had finally been able to talk to the doctor; it made her feel better knowing that Dr. Marshall was genuinely concerned about her friend. “It’s good to know that someone’s looking out for you, Tony,” she whispered. “We haven’t certainly been doing a good job of it.”
She wished that Ziva, McGee, and Ducky were here so they could all show Tony how much they care about him. Despite the constant teasing and the often childish pranks, there was no doubt that Tony cared for them. DiNozzo would never come and verbally say that he cared, but his actions always spoke louder than his words ever could. Why didn’t they notice he was hurting? Had Tony become that much of an expert at hiding his feelings?
She sighed in frustration. “I hope you know that we’re not through with our conversation from earlier. Just because you fell asleep doesn’t mean you get out of talking.”
“I know,” Tony moaned as he squeezed her hand.
“How long have you been awake?” Abby demanded to know.
“Since Kate left,” he admitted.
“You just let me sit here and talk to myself?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Very funny, DiNozzo.”
“I try.”
“Well, you better try and go back to sleep or I’m going to get in trouble.”
Tony obediently closed his eyes. Within a minute, Abby could hear him snoring softly once again. She leaned over and laid her head on his arm. Before long, her eyes began to close as she gave into the sweet embrace of slumber. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was Tony’s voice in her mind saying, “This reminds me of a movie…”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Director Leon Vance stormed into his office and slammed the door, giving orders to his personal assistant that he was not to be bothered. He poured himself a drink and quickly downed it. Damn DiNozzo! That man was going to regret the day that he crossed his path. SecNav was demanding answers and the only person who could supply those answers was missing.
If only Tompkins and Currin had stuck to the plan, DiNozzo would no longer be a thorn in his side. Instead, Anthony DiNozzo was holed up somewhere and Gibbs and his team were refusing to give up the whereabouts of their teammate. Whenever he found the wayward agent, there would be hell to pay, starting with DiNozzo.
His cell phone rang. Vance looked at the caller ID and cursed under his breath. Flipping his phone opened, he answered, “Yes, Mr. Secretary?”
“Have you found him yet?”
“No sir. I’m still working on it. It shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Define much longer, Leon.”
Vance pulled out a toothpick and placed it in his mouth. “I’m not sure, Mr. Secretary. I…”
“Twenty four hours, Leon. You have twenty four hours to find Agent DiNozzo and then I’ll be looking for a new director to fill your chair. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes sir, you have. However sir, if you would just give…”
“Leon, have you forgotten what’s at stake here?”
“No sir, I have not.”
“Good,” the SecNav growled. “Twenty four hours, Leon.”
Vance slowly closed his phone and laid it on his desk. He poured himself another drink and made his way over towards the window. The Director stared out across the Navy Yard, his mind reeling of possibilities of where DiNozzo could be hiding. He glanced at his watch. He now had twenty three hours and fifty eight minutes.
He went to his desk and began to pull out his file on Anthony DiNozzo. There had to be something in the dossier that he had missed; something that would give him a clue as to where the agent was. His cell phone rang again, looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was Agent Tobias Fornell of the FBI.
“This is Vance.”
“Hello, Director.”
Vance bit his toothpick in half; it was not Agent Fornell. “Agent Gibbs, what are you doing with Agent Fornell’s phone?”
“It doesn’t matter. We need to meet.”
“I agree.”
“Be at my house in three hours,” Gibbs instructed him.
“Why three hours? Why not now?”
“Because it’ll give you time to come up with some damn good answers as to why the hell you were blackmailing my senior field agent into doing undercover operations for you.”
“I’ll be there.”
“You better. Don’t make me come looking for you.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it agent Gibbs.”
The connection went dead and Vance knew that the team leader had hung up on him. He smiled as he realized that within three hours, he would know where DiNozzo was and that Gibbs would not be there to protect his agent. Vance laughed as he felt the burden of the past couple of days lift from his shoulders. Everything was going to be fine. DiNozzo would be gone, Gibbs would be taken down a couple of notches, and he would be well on his way to greater things.
Chapter End Notes:
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