Disgusted, Tony slung the plastic shopping bag into the passenger’s seat and slid under the steering wheel. “Only man I know who can’t use toothpaste from Wal-Mart,” he grumbled. Frustrated, he sighed and began to gingerly massage his temples; his headache was now on the verge of morphing into a full blown migraine and he wasn’t sure that the over the counter pills he had just purchased would be able to bring him any relief.
Tony clumsily reached for the bag and opened the bottle of pills and popped three of them in his mouth and swallowed. Laying his head against the headrest, he closed his eyes hoping that the moment of stolen solitude would allow his frayed nerves to settle so that he could mentally prepare himself to face his father once again. Although his dad was ill, Anthony DiNozzo, Senior was still a formidable man who still managed to hold some kind of power over him, capitalizing on Tony’s need for acceptance and security. He had desperately craved affection from his father when he was growing up and now he didn’t necessarily have his father’s affection, but he did have his attention.
He sat up and glanced at his watch and calculated that he had been gone almost an hour. Exhaustion hampering his every movement, Tony put the key in the ignition and started the engine. He would have to remember to thank Mark for bringing his vehicle to the hospital. Mark and his wife Liz lived across the hall from him and they had been awakened by the commotion of the EMT’s arriving. When asked if they could do anything, Tony had asked him at his convenience to bring his car to the hospital and park it.
Within twenty minutes of arriving in the ER, Mark had texted him and said that his car was in the emergency room parking lot and the key would be under the floor mat. There wasn’t a doubt that he was going to have to do something special for Mark and Liz; perhaps when their baby came, he would offer them his babysitting services so they could have a night out.
Gibbs had offered to drive him, but after their earlier discussion, Tony was more than happy to run his errands by himself; he needed to be alone and process his jumbled thoughts and feelings. He was aware of the fact that the team leader had his best interests in mind and knew that Gibbs thought of him as a son; that was a feeling that he had come to truly cherish over the years. However, sometimes like all fathers and sons, they didn’t see everything eye to eye and Tony DiNozzo, Senior was one of those points of contention.
Tony had never understood how Gibbs could accept him for who he is and his own father had never been able to do so. The former Marine was a hard man, but he was capable of love and compassion; why wasn’t his father? He had tried to demonstrate those emotions to his dad, but until recently his intentions had been rebuffed. Why was it so important to him to win the approval of his father? Was trying to forge a relationship with his dad worth sacrificing everything including his own self respect?
He was glad that Gibbs had seemingly forgotten about driving him to the store; Tony was sure that they had both been spared some harsh words that once spoken, would have remained etched in their memories forever. Putting the car in drive, he began to pull out of the parking lot and make his way back to the hospital. He slipped on his sunglasses in an effort to block late morning sun and provide some protection from the blinding light that seemed to burn a hole through his eyes into his skull.
As he sat at the stop light, Tony studied the list lying beside him making sure that he had everything that his dad had requested. His gut began to churn as a realization dawned on him. “You idiot,” he chastised himself, “Gibbs doesn’t forget about anything! Crap!” As soon as the light changed, he sped towards the hospital. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he hit the speed dial button that was assigned to Gibbs’ number but it went straight to the team leader’s voice mail.
“Damn it!” he growled. It was not a good sign that Gibbs wasn’t answering his phone. “How could I’ve been so stupid? I should’ve made sure that he left the hospital!”
There wasn’t a doubt in Tony’s mind that Gibbs was more than likely having a talk with his father. Why hadn’t he seen this coming? “Because you’re a frickin’ moron, DiNozzo.”
Tony scrolled back through his calls until his found the number that his father had called him from. As he began to hit the call button, the battery died causing his phone to shut off. Tony searched the glove compartment for his charger until he remembered that he had left it in the car at work. “This is just not your day, Anthony.”
Ignoring the blasts of several horns, he weaved in and out of traffic until saw the exit that would take him to the hospital. Tony sped down the ramp and despite even more protests from other drivers, merged into the flowing traffic. It wasn’t until he saw the blue lights flashing behind him did he realize that he had run the stop sign at the end of the ramp. As he pulled over, he shook his head in disbelief at his errant stupidity and carelessness. “Yep, DiNozzo,” he muttered to himself. “You’ve definitely seen better days.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jethro Gibbs lightly rapped on the door and entered the room without waiting for an invitation. Anthony DiNozzo, Senior was lying in bed, fine lines of exhaustion evident in the older man’s distinguished face. He was surrounded by IV’s and monitors, but the machines did not take away the pure arrogance that engulfed the man as he warily eyed the team leader.
The silence between the two men spoke volumes of the disdain that they held for each other. Gibbs considered Tony’s dad to be both selfish and foolish. All DiNozzo had ever required from his father was the assurance that he was loved and despite the elder DiNozzo’s claim a couple of months ago, Gibbs doubted that the man was capable of such a deep seated emotion. The former Marine had all but begged Senior to get to know Tony as an adult; instead, the man had played on the younger man’s desire for a closer relationship with someone who was nothing more than a stranger and Gibbs had been the one to pick up the pieces.
“Agent Gibbs,” Senior solemnly greeted him. “My visitors are restricted. How did you get past the nurses?”
“I didn’t ask them,” he simply replied.
“Does Anthony know you’re here?”
Gibbs shook his head. “Nope.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Probably not.”
“Then why are you here, Agent Gibbs?” Tony’s father impatiently pressed.
“Just checking to see how you’re doing.”
The fact that Tony had his father’s smile was more than irritating to the team leader; the mischievous twinkle, the ability to hide behind humor, and his charismatic way with people completed the mirror image of his senior field agent. Fortunately, that was where the similarities ended. Anthony DiNozzo, Senior was a man who used people for his personal gain and didn’t care who he hurt in the process and Gibbs was determined that Tony didn’t become a casualty of his father’s self serving agenda.
“I find that hard to believe,” Senior retorted.
A sly grin escaped his lips. “Yeah, me too.” Gibbs sat down in the chair beside the bed, studying the man before him. He had a feeling that another battle of wills was about to ensue and neither man would ever admit defeat. “I ran into Tony and he told me what happened.”
“And?”
Gibbs leaned forward, his grim expression and his piercing gaze reflecting the contempt that he felt for this man. “And let’s just say that I’m not convinced that your motives are completely honorable.”
“You think I’ve faked a heart attack? That I would subject myself to this because I have some hidden motive?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
“And now that you’ve seen me? Do you still think I’ve faked it?”
The agent shrugged, noting that Senior was clearly angered by his accusation. “Maybe. Time will tell,” he pointed out. Changing the subject, he impatiently asked, “Want to tell me why you’re even in D.C.?”
“That is between me and my son, Agent Gibbs,” Senior seethed.
“Your son? Is this the same son that you were mad at for bailing you out financially?”
He saw Tony’s father visibly bristle, obviously DiNozzo Senior had not expected him to know about his financial problems. “I think you need to leave, Agent Gibbs. I need to rest.”
“I guess it takes a lot of energy to figure out how to dupe your only son out of his life savings.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Gibbs clenched his jaw as he fought against the urge to strike the ailing man. “I know that Tony’s been supplementing your accounts from his own trying to help you keep your head above water.”
Obviously miffed by the team leader’s revelation, Senior testily replied, “I don’t share my private affairs with strangers, Agent Gibbs.”
“You don’t share them with your son either,” Gibbs shot back. “I would think that if you were going to take his money that you’d be a little more open with him.”
“I didn’t ask Anthony for his money! As a matter a fact, I had no idea that he was doing anything until right before I left for Monte Carlo and I discovered that he had picked up my tab and purchased the ticket.”
“Did you think that the money was magically appearing in your accounts?”
The harsh glare radiating from Senior’s emotive orbs could rival his own. Gibbs refused to back down, his determination to keep Tony safe from his father’s manipulative ways utmost on his mind. After his father’s last visit, it had taken the young man a while to clean up the debris from the destructive path that his father had left in his wake and the team leader refused to stand by and allow Tony to be the casualty of his dad’s private war.
“Like I said, Agent Gibbs,” Senior fumed, “This is between me and my son; so you need to back off.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Gibbs knew that his next words would serve no other purpose but to further anger the man before him, but he wanted Anthony DiNozzo, Senior to know exactly what he was going to be up against if Tony ended up with any more emotional scars as a result of his dad’s selfishness. “If it concerns Tony, I am involved. I’m not about to let you hurt him again. I told you to take the chance to get to know him, but you didn’t. You left just as quickly as you came thinking that a simple ‘I love you’ would make up for forty years of treating him like he’s a matter of convenience.”
“My relationship with my son is none of your business.”
Gibbs shook his head in disbelief. “Your relationship? What relationship? You know nothing about Tony!”
“That’s a damn lie,” Senior spat. “I know my son!”
“I guess that’s why you sent him a power sander for his birthday several years ago or why you had no idea he nearly died from pneumonic plague.”
“Throwing that up in my face again?”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he challenged. “If it had been my son lying in isolation fighting for every breath, nothing would have kept from his side. You say you love him, but actions sometimes speak louder than words.”
“But it wasn’t your son,” Tony’s father purposefully reminded him. “It always seems that the people who have no children are the first to give parental advice.”
He had admitted to the elder DiNozzo that his daughter had died and now he was attempting to capitalize on his loss and use it against him. Gibbs rose from his seat, the back of his legs scooting the chair away from the bed; he braced his arms against the railing in an effort to control the tremors of rage coursing through his body.
“You listen to me, you bastard,” Gibbs choked out, venom dripping from every word. “You don’t have the right to call him your son. I’ve spent years undoing the damage that your negligence inflicted upon him and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you drag him down again. I’ll be watching your every move and if I think that you’re playing Tony and taking advantage of him, I’m the one you’re going to have to answer to.”
“Are you threatening me, Agent Gibbs?” Senior inquired. “I think there’s a law against an officer of the law threatening a civilian.”
“I’m not threatening you, I’m making you a promise and not as a federal agent. I’m making you a promise as a father that I will not let you hurt Tony.”
He was aware that Senior’s amused smile was simply a mask to hide the indignation that he felt towards the team leader. “You think of Tony as your son, don’t you?”
Gibbs nodded and without hesitation answered a resounding, “Yes.”
“Let me ask you something, Agent Gibbs,” Senior insisted. “It’s obvious that Tony has a lot of respect for you and you claim to look upon him as a son, but you need to remember that he’s not your son. His name is Tony DiNozzo, Jr., not Tony Gibbs and one thing about DiNozzo’s is that we don’t let others meddle in our business. So don’t flatter yourself in believing that you know what makes Junior tick, that’s a mystery that has yet to be solved and believe me some of the finest doctors around have tried.”
“What do you mean by that?” the agent demanded to know.
“If you know so much about him, you figure it out. Of course, when you do, you may decide that he’s not worthy of your parental instincts.”
“Is that what you decided all those years ago?”
“No,” Senior growled. “I tried to be a good father and give him everything that he wanted.”
“Except your unconditional love.”
“Don’t you dare judge me!”
“Kind of hard not to.”
“I think you better leave.”
“One more thing, Mr. DiNozzo…”
“I think you’re done, Gibbs.”
Both men looked up as Tony stormed in, slinging the bags he had in the chair that Gibbs had recently vacated. The former Marine silently cursed as he studied the exhausted features of his senior field agent; it was obvious by the dark circles under his eyes that Tony’s headache was now a migraine and that it was an effort for DiNozzo to put one foot in front of the other.
“Junior!” Tony’s father called out. “I’m…glad…”
The heart rate monitor began to beep erratically and Tony was at his dad’s side in an instant. “Just take it easy, Dad,” Tony soothed. “You don’t need to get yourself worked up.”
Gibbs glared at Tony’s dad he watched Senior pat the younger man’s arm, reassuring him that he was all right. “I’m fine, son. Just a little too much excitement.”
“I’ll get the nurse for you.”
“Thank you, son.”
Gibbs didn’t miss the hidden meaning behind Senior referring to Tony as son. The man was truly a master of turning any situation to his favor and now he was trying to make it seem like he was the innocent victim in the obvious confrontation between the two archenemies.
Before Tony could press the call button, the nurse entered this room. “Okay guys; can’t a girl get her lunch break in?” Julie teased.
“I’m sorry, Julie,” Senior apologized. “It’s nothing. I didn’t mean to alarm you; I guess I just let myself get too worked up worrying over the tests and other things.”
“It’s easy to do.”
The team leader nodded at the nurse who was now eyeing him with great suspicion. “Mr. DiNozzo’s visitors are restricted for now,” she informed him. “Didn’t you check in with the nurse’s station?”
“No, I didn’t. I was just getting ready to leave anyway,” Gibbs assured her.
“Next time, please check with us.”
“I’ll do that,” he acquiesced.
Tony cleared his throat in a subtle attempt to disperse the tension between Gibbs and Julie. “Dad, while Julie is checking you over, I’m going to walk Agent Gibbs out.”
“Don’t go too far away, Anthony.”
“I won’t,” Tony vowed.
Gibbs followed Tony out of his dad’s room and down the corridor towards the family waiting room. He easily sensed the storm brewing in his senior field agent and knew that he was about to be the recipient of DiNozzo’s well deserved anger; perhaps he should have waited to confront Tony’s father, but he wanted the man to know that he had Tony’s six. The team leader’s gaze followed Tony as he began to pace the small room; his movements were agitated despite the fatigue that was clearly plaguing him.
DiNozzo stopped midstride and clumsily sat down in the nearest chair, his hands cradling his head. When Tony finally looked at him, Gibbs could see the agony in Tony’s eyes; the pain from the migraine was becoming unbearable and a feeling of guilt swept over the former Marine, knowing that his actions had added to his son’s physical and emotional torment. He didn’t want to hurt DiNozzo, but in his efforts to protect Tony, he had unintentionally made a bad situation worse.
“Just how much more do you think I can handle right now, Gibbs?” Tony asked, his voice tight and controlled.
“Tony, just hear me out,” Gibbs began.
“No, you hear me out,” DiNozzo snapped.
Gibbs figured that he truly deserved a few harsh words but hoped that Tony would eventually understand his reasons for going to see his father. “I’m listening,” he answered.
“I told you I could handle my dad; I’ve been doing it all my life and while I know you mean well, you need to butt out and let me take care of things. The man just had a heart attack and you go and start an argument with him! What were you thinking? Evidently you weren’t thinking or you would have just gone home!”
“I just wanted to be sure he wasn’t taking advantage of you,” Gibbs reasoned.
“I know that sometimes people have their doubts, but most of the time I know what I’m doing and I know what I’m doing when it comes to dealing with my dad! How do you think I managed to survive all those years before I met you?”
“You had to watch your own back then; you don’t have to do that now.”
“I’m beginning to wonder,” Tony mumbled.
Gibbs realized that Tony had not meant for him to hear his response, but that didn’t help the sting of his words. Deciding to ignore the remark for now, he moved to sit beside the dark haired agent. “You look like hell.”
“It’s not been a good day.”
That was an understatement. “Tony, I…”
“Look Boss, I know the two of you didn’t hit if off on the best of terms the last time he was here but while he’s sick, could you cut him some slack?”
“Sure, but what happens when he gets better, Tony?”
“He’s not going to get better if you keep harassing him!”
He was surprised and amazed by the fact that Tony had kept a tenuous control of his temper; if the situations were reversed, he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to remain as calm. DiNozzo’s lack of response only confirmed that the agent was pushing himself beyond his limits; between the lack of sleep, the stress of his father’s situation, and the migraine, it was nothing short of a miracle that Tony was still upright.
“Could you please just stay away from him?” Tony pleaded.
“Tony, I’m not going to stand by and…”
“Code blue, room 302! Code blue, room 302!” came blaring over the public address system.
“Crap! That’s my dad’s room!” Tony exclaimed, pushing himself up off the couch.
Gibbs saw Tony’s eyes roll back in his head and he instantly knew that the young man’s body had given out under the physical and emotional stress. The team leader managed to catch DiNozzo before he hit the floor and lowered him back onto the couch. “I’ve got you, Tony,” he whispered.
Checking Tony’s pulse, he found it to be a little fast, but Gibbs figured that was to be expected. The former Marine then headed down the hallway to see what was happening with DiNozzo’s father, knowing that when Tony came around he would want to know about his father. He met Julie coming towards him, her smile indicating that the elder DiNozzo was all right.
“It was just a false alarm,” she quickly explained. “It seems that Mr. DiNozzo decided he didn’t want to lie on his back and while he was trying to get comfortable, several of the leads came off so hence the alarm and the automatic code blue call.”
Sighing in relief, Gibbs was glad that he wouldn’t have to tell Tony that his father had died. Despite DiNozzo’s usual forgiving nature, he’s not sure that the young man would have been able to forgive him for being the catalyst that could have possibly led to his dad’s demise. “Thank you.”
“Where is Tony?” she asked. “Mr. DiNozzo wanted me to make sure that he was all right; he’s really worried about his son.”
The team leader clenched his jaw to prevent the sharp retort that wanted to escape; it was evident that DiNozzo Senior sure had this nurse fooled. He gestured towards the waiting room where Tony was starting to come around. “Have you got time to work in another patient?”
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.