Abby hugged her stuffed hippo to her chest as she stared at the remains of Tony’s cell phone. The only fingerprints she had been able to lift off the damaged phone had belonged to Tony, leaving her with more questions than answers. She felt so helpless and wanted to be doing more than going through Tony’s personal records and waiting. Surely, Gibbs must know something by now.
Squeezing Bert even tighter, she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. “Why Tony?” she asked the hippo. “What if he’s hurt or really, really, really, sick? What if he’s been kidnapped again, or even worse?”
She put Bert down beside her. “We can’t think like that, Bert! We have to think positive thoughts. Tony doesn’t need our negativity. I just wish we knew that he was okay.”
“He’s okay, Abs.”
Abby turned around as Gibbs entered her lab, Caf-Pow in hand. She took the cup and set it down on the desk. Abby knew that Gibbs wouldn’t disappoint her. “You talked to him? You talked to Tony?”
“Yeah,” the team leader solemnly replied.
“Where is he?” Abby grabbed onto Gibbs’ arm. “When’s he coming back? Is he hurt? I mean, he’s not in the hospital again, is he?”
Her barrage of questions ceased when Gibbs kissed the top of her head. “He’s at my dad’s; I don’t know; I don’t know; and no.”
Abby’s eyes narrowed as she put her hands on her hips. “You don’t know if he’s hurt?”
“He said he was fine,” Gibbs explained.
“And you believed him?”
“No, Abs. I didn’t.”
“Oh,” Abby nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Because you know how Tony is.”
“I know, Abby.”
“How did he sound?” she wanted to know.
Gibbs sighed. “He sounded tired, Abs. More than tired. He sounded completely exhausted.”
Abby took a sip of her Caf-Pow. “You know, Tony hasn’t been himself lately. I can’t tell you the last time that he went clubbing with me and…” She stopped mid thought and stared at the team leader. “Did you say that Tony was at your dad’s? What’s he doing there?”
“I don’t know. Tony called me a little while ago. He said he needed some time to get his head on straight.”
“Gibbs, I’m worried.”
“Me too, Abs.”
Abby hugged the team leader. For Gibbs to admit that he was worried, things had to be worse than she thought. She didn’t understand why Tony hadn’t confided in her. Abby knew some of DiNozzo’s deepest secrets and yet, this time, he had chosen to run away.
“Why Gibbs?” she cried. “Why didn’t he come to us?”
“Whatever is going on with DiNozzo is obviously more than he can handle right now. My guess is that he feels that he’ll drag us down with him and that would just add to his problems.”
She pulled away from Gibbs and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m going to see him.”
Gibbs shook his head. “I know that you want to go to him, but I’m asking you to give him some time.”
“Can I call him?”
“Abby,” Gibbs gently warned.
“Fine,” she conceded. “But what can I do?”
“You can go through Tony’s hard drive,” he instructed. “See if you can find anything…”
“Hinky?”
Gibbs smiled at her. “Yeah, hinky.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to meet Fornell.”
“Fornell? Does this involve Tony? Do you think the FBI has something to do with Tony taking off?”
“That’s what I intend to find out,” Gibbs vowed as he headed towards the elevator.
“Gibbs,” Abby called out. “Be safe.”
“Always am, Abs.”
The elevator doors closed and she picked up Bert once again. “I’ll give DiNozzo one day to call me and then I’m calling him. If he doesn’t want to talk to me then, I’ll just hop in my hearse and go to Stillwater myself.”
For now, she had enough to keep her busy for a few hours by going through Tony’s hard drive. Hopefully, she could find something that would help her understand what was going on with her best friend. Abby stared at the phone, wanting desperately for it to ring. If she could just hear his voice, then maybe she would stop assuming the worst.
“I mean it, Tony. If you don’t call me within 24 hours, you are going to be in so much trouble.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ziva glanced at her watch, waiting impatiently for McGee to return from getting his lunch. He had insisted on stopping for something to eat, pointing out that neither of them had eaten breakfast. Ziva hadn’t particularly been hungry, but she had finally given in to his pleas and pulled over at the first fast food restaurant that she saw.
She had been relieved when Gibbs had called and informed them that Tony was all right, but the team leader had wanted her and McGee to continue to Norfolk and check out DiNozzo’s car. They still didn’t have a clue as to why Tony’s prized possession was in a garage in Norfolk, but hopefully that mystery would soon be laid to rest.
The car door opened and McGee slid in beside her. “It’s about time,” she muttered.
“I’m sorry, Ziva,” McGee profusely apologized. “The guy in front of me changed his order about three times and then when I finally got up to place my order, the cashier went on break and someone else had to log in. So, when…”
“Stop now or I will shoot you,” Ziva threatened.
“Ok,” he replied as he handed her a bottle. “Here’s your water. Are you sure that you don’t want something to eat?”
Ziva’s expression softened. “No, thank you, McGee. I have enough rations in my bag.”
“If you’re sure.”
This time Ziva smiled at her partner. “I’m positive and I’m sorry that I flapped at you.”
“Snapped,” McGee corrected.
“Of course. I’m sorry, I snapped at you.”
“Never apologize,” he began.
“It’s a sign of weakness.”
She started the car and headed towards the main road. When McGee had corrected her English, her thoughts had turned back to Tony. It bothered her that she still didn’t know where DiNozzo was and she silently cursed Gibbs for keeping her and McGee in the dark.
“We should be at the garage within the hour,” Ziva announced.
“Or less,” McGee mumbled as he took a bite of his burger.
“Or less,” she agreed. Ziva’s foot pressed down on the accelerator. She didn’t have to look over at her colleague to know that McGee was trying to hold onto his food with one hand while trying to brace himself with the other.
“Problems, McGee?”
“Uh…no,” he stammered.
“Good.”
“Have you heard anything else from Gibbs?” McGee asked.
“No, I have not and frankly I’m a little put on by the fact that he is withholding information from us.”
“Put out.”
Ziva glared at him, ignoring the road in front of her. She heard the sound of several horns blaring and quickly swerved to avoid a collision. “You’re getting worse than Tony about correcting my English.”
“And your driving is getting worse than Gibbs’,” he shot back.
The two of them rode in silence for the next half hour. Ziva realized that they were both worried about Tony and that in their own unique way, both of them were dealing with the events of the day. She finally broke the silence as they turned down the street that would take them to the garage that housed Tony’s car. “This should be the place we’re looking for.”
“It is. There’s Tony’s car over there,” McGee pointed straight ahead.
Ziva parked and she and McGee got out of their own vehicle and slowly made their way to Tony’s car. The driver’s side of his car was smashed, with the driver’s door literally shoved into the front seat. But what disturbed Ziva more was the fact that the car was riddled with bullet holes. She looked up at McGee, who appeared to be just as confused as she was.
“This can’t be good,” McGee whispered.
“No, it can’t.” Ziva slipped her gloves on and fingered one of the bullet holes. “This can’t be good at all.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jack Gibbs peered into the back room to make sure that Tony was still sleeping. When he had called Doctor Marshall, she had promised to come and check on the young man within the hour. He sat down at the table in his store and began writing out some bills, but Jack soon discovered that he couldn’t focus on the task at hand; his thoughts were occupied by the enigmatic Anthony DiNozzo.
When he first met the agent, Jackson had liked him immediately. There was just something about Tony that brought a smile to his face. He could tell that Tony wanted to know all about the man who raised Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but Leroy had managed to keep DiNozzo’s curiosity at bay. Jack would have enjoyed taking the young man aside and regaling Tony with stories about Leroy, but he didn’t get that chance.
Jackson also discovered that Tony DiNozzo’s purpose in life was to please Leroy and would strive to do so, despite what it cost him personally. That was why Jack was so surprised to find DiNozzo on his door step. Whatever had happened, it was bad enough to make the younger agent want to get away from Leroy and try to deal with his problems on his own. Recognizing the look of despair in Tony’s eyes awakened a protectiveness in Jackson Gibbs that had been buried for a long time.
He sighed in frustration, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Bringing the cup to his lips, he heard a soft moan coming from the back room. Rising from his seat, he put down his cup and in just a few seconds, he was by Tony’s side.
A thin sheen of sweat was evident on his forehead as the young man began to toss and turn. It was clear to Jackson that Tony was having one hell of a nightmare. Kneeling down beside him, he gently shook his shoulders and called out, “Tony? Can you hear me?”
Tony continued to thrash about, prompting Jack to squeeze his shoulders tighter and shake him a little harder. “Tony? It’s Jack. You need to wake up, son.”
Before Jack knew what was happening, he was on the floor with Tony on top of him; DiNozzo’s hands around his throat. Jack realized that Tony wasn’t aware of what he was doing. Although his eyes were open and looking at him, the older man knew that Tony wasn’t seeing him.
“I said leave me alone!” Tony growled.
Jack tried to pry Tony’s fingers from around his throat, knowing that he was about to lose consciousness. As he felt the darkness begin to embrace him, Jack heard a brief commotion and then he found himself able to breathe again. He slowly sat up and absently rubbed his throat, looking around to make sure Tony was all right.
His eyes came to rest on the agent, who sat sprawled out on the floor with Doctor Marshall standing above him. The young man was shaking, confusion clouding his pale features. There was no doubt in Jack’s mind that Tony was now awake, and judging by the expression on his face, DiNozzo realized what he had just done.
“Jack? Are you all right?” Dr. Marshall inquired.
Jack pushed himself to a standing position, wavering slightly as he fought off the momentary dizziness. “I’m fine,” he assured the doctor.
He walked over and knelt beside Tony. “Are you all right, son?”
Tony shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean…I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right, Tony. You were having a nightmare. I should have known better than to try and wake you up.”
“I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry,” he apologized again.
Jack thought Tony looked like he was about to cry. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
“I shouldn’t have come here,” Tony whispered.
“Where else would you have gone? You’re safe here, Tony.”
“I may be,” Tony quietly stated. “But are you?”
“I’m fine.” Jack stood up and offered his hand to Tony. “Let’s get you off the floor.”
He could tell that Tony was reluctant to accept his gesture of help, but he finally grasped Jack’s hand and stood up. Sitting Tony back down on the couch, he looked over at the doctor and smiled. “He’s all yours, Doc. This is Tony DiNozzo. Tony, this is Dr. Katherine Marshall.”
Jack nudged Tony. “Don’t be rude, son.”
Tony sighed as he glanced up at the doctor. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Marshall,” he muttered.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Tony.”
Jackson saw the hesitation in the doctor’s eyes. He was grateful that she had obviously managed to keep Tony from choking him, but now, she almost seemed afraid of DiNozzo. “Is there a problem, Doc?”
Katherine motioned for Jack to follow her. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
“Sure.” Patting Tony on the back, Jack leaned down and spoke loud enough for Tony to hear him. “You just sit back and relax.”
He followed Katherine out of the room. “Something wrong, Katherine?”
“I would just like to know what’s going on,” she stated. “You call me and tell me that you need me to come and check out a friend of yours and then I come in to find your friend choking you. So, care to fill me in?”
“He was having a nightmare and I tried to wake him up,” Jack explained.
“That’s it?” she pressed.
“What more do you want to know?”
“Why is he here?”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“Because I’m asking you.”
Jack grinned at the doctor. “He just needs a little vacation.”
“What does he do?”
“Why don’t you ask Tony these questions?” he suggested. “If he wants you to know the answers, then he’ll tell you. If he doesn’t, then I wouldn’t push him.”
Katherine sighed. “All right,” she said. “I get the point. I’m going to check him out and you better be here when I’m done. Don’t think for a moment that I’m going to let you by so easily after just being strangled.”
“I’ll be here,” he promised. “Now, please go and check on Tony.”
Jack watched as she went into the back room. Katherine was a good doctor, but he had a feeling that she was going to have her bedside manner severely tested by the young man in the other room. She was definitely going to have her work cut out for her. Maybe he should go in there and stand by just in case she needed him. But then again, he always believed that experience was the best teacher.
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you once again for the overwhelming response to this story. I sincerely hope you enjoy this next part.