Disclaimer: Well I certainly don't own them. If I did, they'd have a lot more fun. Everybody you recognize from the shows belongs to the suits; everyone you don't belongs to me. This story is written hopefully for the entertainment of fans, certainly not for any money; therefore no copyright infringement is intended. Like anyone would pay me for my writing.
Date: May 2006 completed.
"Slowly Anthony, slowly, the medication will take affect very shortly, but for now, just breathe slowly through your mouth. Don't attempt to move around on your own as yet," the soft lightly accented voice comforted Tony, while gentle hands rolled him gingerly over onto his side. "I will do all the moving for you, you just relax and breath slowly."
Pain like stinging shards of glass burrowed deeply into his brain as he rolled over assisted by the soothing hands of the elderly ME, Anthony DiNozzo swallowed quickly with the queasiness rising quickly, his mouth feeling like a sewer filled with the worst imaginable horrors. Nausea increasing sharply following quickly in step with the movement and the attempt to open his eyes, "Going to puke," he ground out, shuddering (one can't really shudder hoarsely) even at the quiet tones of his own voice, lids slamming shut quickly over bloodshot green eyes.
"Vomit if you need to, Anthony, there is a bowl to catch it. Don't resist it, yes that's it, the sooner you expel the rest of the alcohol in your stomach, the less will enter your blood stream and the less likely we will have to take you to a hospital," Donald Mallard continued to sooth the younger man as he helplessly threw up into a large bowl. "Careful now my boy, don't pull too hard or you'll dislodge that intravenous and we really don't want to have to restart it as you're going to have need for it of a short while still."
Easing back onto the soft pillow, Tony moaned softly. The muscles in his abdomen painfully protesting the throwing up; his head still feeling like it was going to explode any second now. "Shit," he whined softly.
"Finished for now?"
"Yeah, think so, Ducky," Tony weakly replied handing back the small glass that he used to rinse his mouth out with. "What the hell happened to me?"
"A rather mild case of alcohol poisoning. You over indulged at the Crazy Kat last evening;, Abigail called me at midnight when she found you already extremely intoxicated, ordering another bottle of Scotch and it appears you had been drinking heavily since you arrived at the bar at 8pm last evening. Mr. Palmer and I retrieved you and brought you here to my home to recover. You've been semi conscious since we arrived here. I've started an intravenous to flush the alcohol from your system, medicated you for the nausea and the pain and here we are. Now, if you can please roll over onto your back and let me have a good look at you, I may need to give you more fluids or medications."
Moaning softly, DiNozzo moved as asked, with Ducky's gentle hands again helping him slowly roll over onto his back, "Fuck, Ducky, that hurts…" he began piteously, tears flowing down his cheeks.
"This should help a little more: a small dose of Demerol for the pain and another slightly larger dose of Dimenhydrinate to help with the nausea," Ducky finished. He slowly injected the contents of the syringe he held into the port of the IV tubing that was running fluids into the back of Tony's hand. "Any improvement yet, Anthony?"
Moaning in relief, Tony sagged deeper into the sinfully soft mattress he lay on, "Yeah, Ducky, a whole lot better."
"Excellent, we can repeat the dose of Demerol in another couple of hours if you are still in a lot of pain, the Dimenhydrinate in another hour if the nausea is still as bad. Now, your arm, if you please," Ducky began his exam by wrapping a blood pressure cuff securely around Tony's arm, quietly muttering under his breath. Not to bad over all my boy, nothing that a day or two will not cure. I will let Jethro know that you will out of the office until Monday."
"It's not that bad. I can go into work tomorrow, I'll be fine," DiNozzo pleaded. "Gibbs doesn't need to know about this does he?"
"You allow me to handle Jethro; I will inform him that you have caught a small cold and we are still erring on the side of caution, since it has only been 6 months since you had the Y. Pestis. He is aware your respiratory system is still somewhat vulnerable to even a relatively minor infection. You will only need to forgo your allergy tablet on Monday and Jethro will be none the wiser."
"What about Abby? She knows and what Abby knows McGee knows, and McGee isn't exactly the most tight lipped person at NCIS. Gibbs has only to look at McGee in a certain way and he'll spill his guts… and when Gibbs finds out about this, he'll spill mine."
"Abigail is the soul of discretion when she needs to be. Nothing will be said to anyone, outside of yourself and myself, about last evening's escapades. Now don't excite yourself my boy, it will only make you feel worse."
Ducky turned at the quiet sound of movement in the doorway of the small bedroom, smiling gently as a young man stood silently framed in the dim light of the hallway.
Ah Mr. Palmer, would you be so kind as to remove the bowl and its contents? Then brew a pot of tea, the English breakfast tea, it's the one least likely to further disturb Anthony's stomach, and some toast as well please, we'll see about getting Anthony here settled in and on the road to recovery," Ducky continued, interrupting Tony's weakly voiced "No". "Yes, you are going to need to eat Anthony. The plain carbohydrates of the toast are the least likely to cause further vomiting and the heat of the tea will sooth the soreness of your throat. Now your blood pressure is still somewhat elevated, but that most likely is in response to the pain you are in and the amount of vomiting you have been doing. Overall, your condition is not as bad as it could have been."
"I feel like shit, Ducky," Tony moaned, "and it still could have been worse? Hell, I swear I'm never going to touch that stuff again, ever."
"Which brings us to the question of why you, very uncharacteristically, I might add, got extremely, almost dangerously intoxicated. What happened, Anthony? What caused this?" Ducky gently asked, brushing back the overly low dark hair from Tony's forehead. "Certainly not the case that you and the team have just completed. I thought that it was very straight forward and not of a nature to exacerbate any emotional or mental trauma."
"No not the case, nothing to do with the case. I just needed to let off some stream and over did it."
"Somewhat more then just 'overdoing it', my boy. If I were to speculate your blood alcohol level was three, maybe four, times the legal limit, which is a very foolish way of just letting off some steam. Now the truth, please, Anthony. You were drinking much too heavily and for too long a period of time this evening for such a simplified excuse. Have you and Jethro argued about something? I fail to believe that this is just some foolishly aberrant behavior with alcohol. You are the last person I would have ever thought to be discussing temperance with."
"What?" Tony cried out sitting up abruptly, paling further, fear and pain showing equally in tear filled green eyes. He fell back heavily as what little strength he had before the shock Ducky's words gave him, suddenly gave out, and tears were flowing freely down his cheeks as the pain in his head mounted.
"Easy there, my boy, easy. Seems as though perhaps we won't wait to give you another dose of Demerol. You shouldn't move around like that yet, it's only going to make your recovery that much longer and more painful," Ducky began, as he swabbed down the small vial of medication. "I'll give you a slightly larger dose this time and if that is still insufficient, I have some morphine. I would prefer not to use it, but there is no need for you to suffer."
Groaning softly, Tony lay still as the medication began to ease the relentless throbbing in his head.
"Better?"
"Yeah a whole lot better," he replied.
"Excellent. Ah, Mr. Palmer, your timing, as always, is impeccable. Just place the tray here on the bedside table, if you please. After Anthony's had the chance for some tea and toast, we'll see about getting him tidied up some."
"Don't think I'm up to a shower yet, Ducky," Tony replied as he took a cautious sip of the hot tea.
"Heavens no, my boy, no shower until daylight at the earliest. What I had in mind was more of a top and tail. Mr. Palmer and I are more then capable of getting you nicely tidied up and changed into some clean clothing."
"Going to be a little problem in the clothes department; I didn't have my kit bag with me when I went out."
"Actually, that is the least of our problems. Abigail was good enough to go over to your apartment and retrieve enough attire to see you through the weekend."
"For the weekend? Come on, Ducky. I'll be more then able to go home tomorrow. It's only a hangover," Tony pleaded. "I'm not that sick."
"I think that you should allow me to be the judge of that! Now eat up, dear boy, and yes finish up the tea while it is good and hot."
Sighing as he finished the last of both tea and toast, Tony waved away a refill, "Don't think more would be a good idea right now."
"Very well. Ah, Mr. Palmer, excellent timing again," Ducky exclaimed as his assistant once again entered the bedroom.
"Have I brought enough towels, Dr. Mallard? I wasn't sure of how extensive you wanted to go with the bed bath," Jimmy offered quietly as he exchanged tea tray for wash basin and towels.
"More then enough, dear boy. I'm only going to give Anthony a quick top and tail. If you return the tray to the kitchen, you should be back in enough time to help me get him changed into some clean and more comfortable attire."
"I can do it, Ducky," Tony began, as the older man quickly spread the warm and thick towel across his chest, easily whisking away the sweaty wrinkled shirt he'd gone clubbing in.
"Anthony, the energy you are utilizing in resisting me would be better saved for your recovery. You will feel much better a small wash and a change in clothing."
"Ducky…."
"Enough! Now, Anthony, lift your hips so that I can remove these trousers and your underwear, you will be more comfortable out of these clothes. It's not as though I've never seen a naked man before; you do remember, I am a physician."
"Yeah, but in this case, it's my body that's naked and none of your patients are in any position to be worried about being naked. Dead kind of takes care of any and all modesty issues," Tony continued his grumbling as the older man gently washed him after stripping him completely.
"You have a point there, my boy, but there is no need for you to expend any more energy then you need for getting over this little incident," Ducky replied as he toweled dry Tony's chest, after spreading a second thick towel covering his groin. "You never did say what it was you and Jethro argued over."
"Didn't argue with Gibbs about anything Ducky. In fact I haven't seen him since about three pm yesterday. The Director called him upstairs and he hadn't made it back by the time the rest of us called it a day."
"Ah, Jennifer Shepard, I see now. I told Jethro he was going to have to deal with that before it got out of hand again. For an extremely intelligent woman she is rather stupid, especially where Jethro and their past is concerned. How compromising was the position you found them in?"
"How the hell?"
"How what, Anthony? How did I know about you and Jethro? Or how did I know that you must have seen or heard something that upset you so badly that the only refuge you could find was alcohol?"
"Any of the above, pick one," Tony replied sarcastically.
"Tsk tsk, Anthony, there is no need for that. I've known about you and Jethro for about six months. You do have to understand, my boy, I've known him for years and I have experienced how he acts when he's very newly in love. And six months ago Jethro was showing all the signs of a new love, but no new love was to be seen… so I looked around and considered all the potential persons he could have became involved with. Jennifer Shepard was, most assuredly, not one of the people I considered. When I took everything and everyone into consideration, there was only you left," Ducky said as he eased the tee shirt over Tony's head, quickly adjusting the IV line. "And then I asked Jethro."
"You what?" Tony's voice cracked. "Tell me you didn't? God Ducky do you have any earthly idea…."
"Anthony, allow me to let you in on a small secret. You are aware that I have known Jethro for a great many years. I knew his first wife; the divorce was in process when he came to work at NCIS. I supported him at his second wedding, and got drunk with him when the divorce came through after that relationship collapsed. I helped him burn the boat he was building at the time she betrayed him. The 'Dear John' letter Jennifer Shepard sent him, she sent to me to give him, when she decided that there were more advantageous liaisons to be had. In fact, I introduced him to his third wife, which, in retrospect, is something I should have known better than to do, but seemed a good idea at the time. I have also known about Jethro's shadow lovers, the men; mind you there haven't been that many over the years, but there have been a few that he has been involved with. Why do you think I am the one who does his yearly physicals? It would very difficult if not impossible to hide the physical repercussions of male on male love from a thorough exam. So it was not a shock when he admitted to having an affair of the heart with you."
"Not an affair, we're just fuck buddies, not even best friends with benefits," Tony began. "I'm just the convenient hole he gets to fuck without putting out much effort to get me to roll over."
"Again, I beg to differ with you on that, my boy. The facts as I see them refute that theory on both of your parts. You love him, in a way that I suspect you have never felt before and Jethro? He cares very deeply for you. That is another reason that your rather crude self assessment of your and Jethro's relationship is not correct. I'd even hazard a guess that he's fallen more then in love with you. For him, it is, after three failed marriages and a rather large number of badly ended love affairs, a rather amazing thing."
"Then why would he be—?" Tony broke off. "I saw them myself! He was getting her naked pretty damn fast and she was working on stripping him too. They were all over each other. There's no faking a hard on either… the dick doesn't lie. Either it's interested or it's not."
"I'm assuming you caught Jethro and Jen in flagrante delicto?"
"Yes. He was getting ready to fuck Madam Director in the very same damn bed that he'd fucked me two nights earlier. On those brand new fucking 500 count Egyptian cotton sheets I'd bought for us, just like the ones he'd enjoyed so on my bed. So much for your theory of him being in love with me! Bah, at best I'm a convenient fuck, it's after all what I'm best at. The disposable fuck, that's me. I just can't see it any other way unless he's got some very different views of sexual fidelity and relationships. But then it would be very much a Gibbs thing to say one thing and mean another," Tony broke off angrily, moving restlessly in the bed, wincing as both IV line pulled and his head throbbed in unison with each movement.
"Anthony, listen to me," Ducky reached out, stilling the movements. "Has Jethro ever truly lied to you? I know that he has withheld information, especially about himself and his feelings, but think, think about it, has he ever really lied to you?."
"No, he's never really lied. If anything Gibbs has always been honest, brutally honest."
"Well there you go, my boy. There is most certainly an explanation for this incident one I am very sure that he is going to supply as soon as possible. Are you not, Jethro?"
"Soon as you're finished checking him over, Duck," Gibbs replied from the open doorway, where he'd been quietly listening. "Nothing too serious wrong with him, Duck?"
Jerking away, Tony slid across the bed, landing awkwardly on his butt, hissing as the tape holding his IV pulled sharply at hair-covered skin. "I trusted you, Ducky!"
"And so you should, my boy. However, when Abigail called me to come fetch you, Jethro was already here searching for you. Now get back on this bed," Ducky urged the younger man, "and let us see if you've done any damage to this intravenous. Some assistance, if you please, Jethro. No, Anthony, do not push away from Jethro. You really don't need to fall and to add a concussion to the rest of your ills. Most ER staffs are not particularly sympathetic to adding stupidity to already foolish behavior. Therefore a hangover with a concussion from a fall would not really endear you to them."
"Excellent, thank you, Jethro, that's just fine, now if you would please just step out for a moment or two longer, I'll complete what ever repairs from Anthony's impromptu attempt at escape may have caused and then the two of you will have a very long talk. And settle this matter," Ducky commanded as gentle fingers probed around the sluggishly bleeding IV site." ‘Tsk, tsk, tsk,' he muttered. "This will definitely need to be restarted my boy."
Calling over his shoulder, "Mr. Palmer, the intravenous supplies again, if you please, and fetch the morphine from the locked cupboard as well," Ducky shook his head, looking straight into DiNozzo's watering eyes. "Perhaps the morphine will dull your pain sufficiently so that your judgment is not quite as impaired as I perceive it to be at present. That was extremely foolishly done, my boy."
Smiling at younger man as he was handed the bag of medical supplies. "Excellent, as always, Mr. Palmer. Perhaps you could also start some coffee for Jethro. I believe that he will need some by the time his and Anthony's conversation is over."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I trusted you, Ducky," Tony began, grimacing as the elderly ME swabbed the back of his hand, the alcohol wet and very cold to his sensitive skin. "And you… ouch!" he broke off.
"Hold very still now, yes, like that," Ducky praised as he carefully re-inserted the IV catheter. "And rightly you did, trust me, that is. I did not break your confidence as I promised when we put you to bed last night. Jethro already knew about what occurred."
"But what about you saying that I'd stay here for the weekend and Gibbs would never know what happened?"
"That, my boy, was a tiny stretching of the truth. Had Jethro not already known about what occurred, I would have done exactly that.
Quickly securing the intravenous catheter in place and reattaching the fluids, Ducky reached for the black medical bag Palmer had left on the bedside table. "Now, Anthony, I want to the truth exactly how much pain you are feeling at the moment?" he asked, removing a large syringe and several vials from his bag. "I do not wish to give too much medication or, conversely, not enough."
"A three, maybe four."
"Anthony," Ducky insisted sternly.
"Okay, okay, but I hate that stuff. Hate the way it makes me feel. Hate the potential problems it could cause me, and it's about six, the pain that is, and my head is about a three now, but I hit my shoulder on the bed frame that's what's hurting the worst now. "
"Which means that your pain is probably closer to a seven or eight? Pain medication used properly cannot be abused, Anthony. You need not worry that narcotics will do to you what alcohol has done to your father," Ducky continued as he slowly began injecting medication into the fluids running into the back of DiNozzo's hand. "And I believe that what you are undergoing at the moment is incentive enough not to repeat this again."
"Fuck, Ducky," Tony moaned, "that shit is worse then the other stuff."
"But it has relieved your pain, has it not?"
"Pain was better then feeling like this."
"That will quickly wear off," Ducky smiled, patting Tony's shoulder as he stood up. "Jethro you can come in now."
Tony slid down the pillows as Gibbs drew closer to the bed, pulling the blanket up clenching it tightly in his fingers, "Boss."
"Look like shit there, DiNozzo."
"Jethro," Ducky said sternly. "Behave."
"Well he does look like shit, Duck," Gibbs replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Almost as bad as he did when he had the plague."
"I don't think so, DiNozzo," Gibbs quickly grabbed DiNozzo's wrist, careful of the IV site. "Staying in bed for the moment is a much better option for you."
"Don't want to do this right now, Gibbs."
"Anthony, now is the time. You and Jethro need to clear the air between you. And you, Jethro, need to learn to communicate with you lover so that the two of you do not continue running into problems like this! It is a lesson, my boy, that I would have thought you learned after Juliana filed for divorce. And finally, you will have to deal with Jennifer Shepard."
"That's already been taken care of Duck."
"And the fall out?"
"There's an administrative meeting Monday that will address that. There are changes coming to NCIS, big ones."
"Hmmm, that is one meeting that I believe that I will attend. You will be there, will you not?"
"Oh yeah, Duck, I'll be there."
"Excellent then. I'll leave the two of you to your talk. Use your time wisely gentlemen, what the two of you have is worth saving and this little misunderstanding can be easily cleared up with honesty."
Walking out the door, the elderly ME deliberately looked back at the two younger men and winked, "Just be careful of the IV Jethro, he's going to need the fluids for a while longer and perhaps even another dose of medication. There are supplies in the nightstand, should you decide you need them," he said as he reached the open door. "Come along, Mr. Palmer, I believe some tea is in order for us as well."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"DiNozzo, look at me," Gibbs said gently lifting Tony's chin. "How much did you see?"
"Enough," Tony muttered eyes lowered stubbornly.
"No, not enough. I've been under orders, DiNozzo. Orders that included getting to the bottom of high-level leak. Intel was getting out to other agencies outside of the States. The Brits, the Canadians and the Israelis, the kind of intel that could have compromised some very dangerous and vital operations overseas. SecNav approached me three months ago to start looking into it. Only three people were aware of the operation, myself, the SecNav and Morrow."
"Morrow? As in our former director?"
"Yes as in Tom Morrow, his was the team that discovered the leaks initially. I followed the leads until I was able to find the probable source of the leak. The only way I could get Jen away from the office or her place was to take her to mine. I told you before we first got involved that she and I had an affair. For me it was more of a payback to my second ex-wife, the availability of a beautiful woman and the chance to get some quality sex."
"Wait a minute here, Gibbs. You're telling me the Director has been leaking intel to other agencies? FUCK!" Tony exclaimed groaning as he moved too quickly.
"She was and she wasn't."
"Christ, now you choose to get cryptic, Gibbs. Either she was a leak or she was…"
"Exactly, she was giving out unauthorized intel, but that was on a lower level. The minimal damage kind of thing, but she had a leak that no one was aware of. It seems that Jen had a lover on the side. One she should have known better than to get involved with."
"Fuck, you mean Mossad's Assistant Director David? He's been in DC five times in the last four or five months. Ziva told me that much said he was here to discuss the Iran problem with the Pentagon. She didn't say anything about him being involved with Shepard."
"Whether or not she knew from the beginning of the operation is something I'm not quite sure of myself yet, but that problem is being dealt with as we speak. But it seems that while the Directors were busy entertaining each other between the sheets, another of his numerous offspring had been going through documents that Jen was foolish enough to bring home with her to review or work on. Documents that I'd have fried her ass over if she brought into an unsecured area as a field agent. I taught her better then that. "
"Yeah well, Boss, she probably wasn't thinking that he'd do something like that to her. After all they were lovers. And wouldn't have Shepard been suspicious if David brought someone else to a rendezvous?"
" I did teach her better then that, Tony; never trust anyone outside of the team while you're in the field, and given the way she Dear Johned me, I thought that she'd learned that lesson all too well, team mate or not," Gibbs began. "The teenager David brought with him was part of the cover that they'd worked out. David magnanimously brought along Miriam so that she and Ziva could visit, after all who could blame him? Jen is Ziva's mentor here at NCIS. A major operation blows up in David's face when Ari is discovered to have been a Hammas plant, not a Mossad one. Ziva is here all alone in the States, who could deny a younger sister a visit with her older sister? A sister who'd moved so far away shortly after tragically losing her older brother. They'd get together at Jen's place; Ziva and the kid would go out, David and Jen would hit the sheets. And while they were busy, still another David offspring would rifle through whatever papers or computer files he could. The operation came to a head last evening. David and offspring are being held temporarily, my guess is at Langley, and are being questioned until they are deported. Ziva and Jen are in custody at NCIS. I spent most of the night interrogating both of them."
"So, what happens next?"
"Jen gets moved from NCIS, some assistant Directorship with no power or access at the CIA, where she'll be watched carefully for the rest of her life. Ziva's questioning will continue until we're sure of everything."
"She won't talk Boss."
"Oh she'll talk. We've got the kid sister."
"Jesus, Jethro," Tony exclaimed. "Is there anything you won't do?"
"DiNozzo, I've done a lot of things in my career, most of which I can't even tell you about. Some of which I am not proud of at all. Yes, I've cold bloodedly shot someone when ordered to as a sniper, integrated others very vigorously. It's why I'm so good at it. I've even fucked to get the job done. That was what you saw with Jen, Tony, the job and nothing else."
"You don't owe me any explanations, Boss. I understand you were ordered not to tell anyone about the operation you were carrying out and you did what ever it took to do get the job done."
"I'm not talking as your boss, Tony. I'm talking as your lover. We need to talk this out, or it will fester between us. I've lost three marriages in part because of the job; I'm not ready to lose you."
"Gibbs," Tony began. "I'm not going anywhere. I, uh, overreacted to what I saw, got a little drunk, that's it. Not the end of the world and certainly nothing for you to bother about."
"It bothers me that you acted so far out of what's normal for you," Gibbs reached out, gently caressing Tony's unshaven cheek. "It bothers me that you thought that I'd betray you so easily, especially in our own bed."
"Got it Boss. I may not have as much of a past as you do, but I've done a few things undercover that I'm not very proud of, too. I'm coming home as soon as Ducky says I can go," Tony smiled. "But there's one thing Jethro, those damn sheets had better be gone, because I'll be damned if I make love with you on them."
"Replaced already, Tony, with a brand new set of 500 count sheets, only these are a much nicer color then those taupe assed things you picked out," Gibbs laughed as he leaned gently brushing his lips over Tony's.
Story Notes:
The NCIS muse awoke and this is what came of it. This fic was to be something different altogether; it just took a left rather then a right at Albuquerque.
Acknowledgments: Stacy, aka slash_girl for having toiled over this fic and made it all the better for her editorial work. Thanks tons, for all the help.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Set in season 3, no particular episode comes to mind, except for one of the yucky MD/Gibbs flashbacks. Ducky helps a badly hung over DiNozzo deal with his feelings for Gibbs and a perceived betrayal.
Chapter End Notes:
The NCIS muse awoke and this is what came of it. This fic was to be something different altogether; it just took a left rather then a right at Albuquerque.
Acknowledgments: Stacy, aka slash_girl for having toiled over this fic and made it all the better for her editorial work. Thanks tons, for all the help.
Acknowledgments: Stacy, aka slash_girl for having toiled over this fic and made it all the better for her editorial work. Thanks tons, for all the help.