Doctor DiNozzo
AN: I think that this chapter is going to be some introspection on Tony's part. I did, though, have him take his shirt off a couple of times. But that was only because it makes me a happy, happy girl. At any rate, I hope you enjoy!
Tony studied his incision in the mirror, now a small thin red line that circled his shoulder. He smiled as he finished dressing, slipping his blue scrub uniform over his head.
He was glad to be back. He had asked hospital administration to place him on leave for his shoulder. And he had kept them informed of his progress. Today was his first day back. His locker had been absolutely crammed with flowers, cards, and presents. He had already made a couple of trips out to his car to store it all in his trunk. And even now, standing in the doctor's locker room, he had people welcoming him back. Several nurses had stuck their heads in to say 'Hi.'
He heard another knock on the door. He waited for the door to open and when it didn't, he answered it.
"Hello, Dr. Kregor." Tony said, allowing the pretty tall brunette into the room.
"Is is safe?" She asked, wanting to make sure she and Tony were alone.
Tony nodded. He stopped back into the room and removed his shirt.
Amanda Kregor was an orthopedic doctor and had done a portion of Tony's surgery. She and his neurologist were working together on his care and this was to be her last follow-up visit.
She donned gloves and traced the line of the incisions with her fingers, looking for openings in the incision and for signs of redness. She gently pressed the area around the incision to check for pain or any underlying processes.
"…I got the 'all clear, Doc?" Tony asked, pulling the scrub top back over his head.
Amanda nodded. "You do. Everything is looking great. I take it there is no soreness, and you range of motion is good?"
Tony nodded.
"Excellent. I'll release you, officially, then. I'll make a note in your chart." She said. "But, you know, you need to call if there are any problems, any at all."
Tony nodded. "Thanks, Doc."
Amanda turned to leave. "Oh." She said, turning back to him. "Since you are no longer, officially, my patient, I'm free for that drink…tonight. See ya later, Tony."
Tony nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Amanda."
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Tony got swept up into the rhythm and action of the hospital ER as soon as he left the locker room. He quickly got back into his rhythm and actually it was not hard to do. It was almost like a choreographed ballet, if you thought about it. Tony was the director, the lead. The others in the room were his support. They depended on him to make his move, calling out orders, instructions, before they could do their parts. And if it all worked together, it was seamless. It looked unrehearsed, and, as an added bonus, they saved a life.
But if it didn't, you still did your best. But your timing was off. Your placement was off. You missed cues. And worse yet, a patient died on the table.
Tony stood for a moment in the doorway, looking back at his patient. He stripped his mask and gloves off. He then pulled off the bloody surgical gown. He let them all fall to the floor as the nurses tidied up the scene. They covered the body with a sheet and ,soon,closed the door behind them.
Kelly James, RN, and long time co-worker and friend took Tony by the arm. "Come on, Dr. DiNozzo." She paused, studying his expression for a moment. "Come on, Tony. We knew…we knew it was a long shot when they brought her in. It's never easy losing a child. Her injuries were just…. Come on, I'll buy you some bad nurses' lounge coffee."
Tony gaze lingered on the sheet that covered his 11-year-old patient, for just a moment, before he allowed Kelly to lead him away.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
"DiNozzo?" Kate said, speaking to her partner. "Tony?"
Tony looked up at the sound of his name. He couldn't keep his mind of Kathryn. The little girl he had lost on the ER Saturday night. He still had the image of her devastated parents in his head as he looked over the current crime scene.
"Tony…." Kate came over to her partner. He had been staring at the crime scene for a very long time. He seemed completely lost in his own world. "…better not let Gibbs see you like that."
"What?" Tony said.
"The daydreaming Tony, you better not let Gibbs see you daydreaming."
"…huh, more like a nightmare." Tony muttered. He then got back to work. Kate moved away and went back where she had been working, a little concerned about her partner.
Tony was having trouble processing the scene, not from a physical standpoint. He could collect evidence and find clues with the best of them. It was the act that disturbed him, the cruel, brutal nature of it all. Seaman Craig Richards had come home early on leave to find his wife 'entertaining' someone in their bed. He had shot his wife, her lover, and had then, no one knows why, had shot his two small children. A boy and a girl ages 4 and 7. They had been found, huddled together, in the closet of the little boy's room. The man had then taken his own life. And now, it was left up to NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and the rest to figure it out, to make sense, of the senseless.
The ride back to NCIS was not their usual one. Tony was quiet, too quiet. Gibbs wondered if he had not reinjured his arm. Kate, using her background in psychology, knew it was most likely not a physical ailment that had silenced her partner. And she planned to speak to him as soon as she got the chance. And McGee, while he was glad Tony was back, was grateful for the silence. He had enjoyed his world, over the time Tony was gone, being free of McNicknames.
Tony stared out the window in his side of the van. The scenery slipped by, but he didn't even see it. His mind was too full, too full of contrasting images. The image of the parents of his 11-year-old patient, distraught and inconsolable over the loss of their daughter at the hands of a careless drunk driver. That image competing with the sight of two dead children huddled together in a closet, killed in a split second of insanity? Or had the mother and boyfriend been made to listen to or even watch the children die first? The thought made Tony physically ill, he leaned his head against the window, pleading with the feelings of nausea to pass.
Tony finished his report quickly. He muttered he had a doctor's appointment and grabbed his coat. Gibbs let him go, even though he knew, for sure, Tony had no appointments scheduled.
Kate and Tim cast concerned looks at Gibbs. Then they all watched him leave.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
"I'm ready to listen, anytime you're ready to talk, DiNozzo." Gibbs said, inviting Tony to speak.
Tony nodded, but still sat mute, just as he had been for the past ten minutes.
"And people say I'm the 'functional mute' in this relationship." Gibbs replied, hoping it get, at least, a grin. It worked.
"As I recall, I got a pretty hefty head-slap for that remark." Tony stated.
"Doesn't make it any less true." Gibbs said, expertly sanding a rib of his latest naval creation.
"You want to know what's going on." Tony concluded.
Gibbs nodded.
"Sometimes this job really, truly, utterly sucks." Tony said.
Gibbs sighed. "…can't argue with you there." He then fell silent, wanting Tony to continue.
"I had to tell the parents of an 11-year-old girl, Saturday, that she was never going to turn 12." Tony paused, his voice shaking. "Then…then today…."
Gibbs nodded. He put down his sandpaper.
"I've got a quote that might work for you here." Gibbs said, sitting down beside Tony on his basement steps. "It's from one of my favorite TV shows. Two doctors are talking, one says to the other. 'Rule number 1 is...patients die. Rule number 2 is...doctors can't change rule number one.'"
Tony looked at Gibbs. "Old Colonel Blake was a pretty smart fellow, wasn't he?" Tony said, recognizing the quote from the TV show M*A*S*H.
TBC
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