Chapter 27:
For once Gibbs was more than happy to follow Ducky's advice. Although he had changed out of his dirty clothes at the hospital, he still felt grungy. He wasn't one to indulge in long showers, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make an exception. The hot water helped to relieve the tension in his muscles that had appeared not long after he had been substituted for Erikson's punching bag.
While Ducky had only suggested a shower before returning to the hospital, Gibbs had no doubt that the older man would try to persuade him to eat something from the hospital cafeteria once he arrived. That was something that Gibbs would not do. He had seen the food that they served there before and besides, he had promised Tony that he would bring him something more edible to eat then the sludge the nurses would be trying to shove down his throat.
After filling up his mug with a fresh cup of coffee Gibbs sat down in the living room for a few moments to relax. He wanted to get all of his thoughts sorted out before going in search of something to eat that Ducky and Abby would approve of. A lot had happened in the last few days and oddly enough, everything that had happened seemed to revolve around Tony in one way or another.
Gibbs chuckled lightly to himself. He had never met anyone who had such a conflicting amount of good and bad luck. Tony was unfortunate enough to get shot and thrown into a river but advantageous enough to not only survive but manage to single-handedly complete their original mission and save the lives of everyone else. As soon as he got the chance Gibbs planned to put a commendation in Tony's file.
Taking another drink of coffee, Gibbs let his mind wander back to earlier in the mission, before things had gone to hell. In the past few days he had learned more about Tony then in all the years he had worked with the younger man. There had been the subtle hints of course, but like Gibbs, Tony tended to play things close to the vest. If you don't let anyone in then they can't hurt you or use what they learned against you. Classic survival tactic.
Gibbs was fairly certain that Abby already knew everything that he had recently learned, probably more. He had noticed that whenever a case got too bad, or the day in general just sucked, Tony seemed to go to Abby to work things through. He was glad that Abby was there for him, but it was still a bit disheartening knowing that Tony hadn't come to him first.
'But then again, why should he?' Gibbs thought to himself. It wasn't like he had given Tony any indication that he was willing to listen before. There had never been any real opportunity for the two of them to talk about anything not work-related, not that that was an excuse by any means. His father once told him, "If it's important, you make the time."
Abby seemed to be able to make the time, so why hadn't he?
Gibbs shook his head to clear out that train of thought. No sense in worrying about that now. The important thing was that Tony had opened up to him.
Checking his watch, Gibbs figured that he had spent enough time relaxing to satisfy Ducky. After finishing the last of his coffee, Gibbs headed back in the direction of the hospital.
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When Tony had drifted off to sleep Abby had been keeping him company and as he woke up he was pleasantly surprised to see her still there. No matter how much of a good friend Tony knew her to be it still surprised him when she stuck around for things like this. Sitting in a hospital was not his idea of fun, although if the roles were reversed he would be doing the same thing.
"Ah, good your awake," Ducky said suddenly from one corner in the room causing Tony to jump. "Just in time too. Abby, go tell the nurse outside so she can come in and check his bandages."
"Geez, Ducky. Didn't see you there," Tony said as Abby went out into the hall. "You trying to give me a heart attack or something?"
"Don't be silly, Tony. You're heart's way too strong for something silly like a heart attack," Abby said as she re-entered the room followed by a nurse.
Tony grinned at her. "Only because of your good influence, Abby."
She shook her head at him as she returned the grin. "So true, where would you be without me?"
"Let's not even go there," Tony said with a laugh as the nurse approached his left side.
"If you two wouldn't mind waiting outside until I finish?" the nurse asked as she pulled on a pair of gloves.
"Of course. We'll just go grab something from the cafeteria," Ducky said as he moved towards the door with Abby.
"Hey, can one of you call and see if you can find out how the raid went?" Tony called out to them.
"Don't worry, Gibbs will update you when he gets here," Abby assured him.
Ducky nodded. "I doubt he will be gone much longer. Patience, Anthony."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Right, patience. Since when have you ever known me to have any?"
"Alright, Mr. Dinozzo, let's get these bandages changed," the nurse said as she helped him move the hospital gown away so she could get to work.
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Gibbs had just entered the hallway that where Tony's room was when he saw Ducky and Abby walking towards the vending machines. Knowing that neither of them would leave him alone unless he was asleep, Gibbs headed over to them. If Tony was still sleeping he wouldn't want to wake him up, which was sure to happen since he was carrying food.
Quietly he approached them and when he was directly behind Abby, he asked, "Run out of Caff-Pow! already, Abs?"
Abby jumped and whirled around and slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Gibbs! Don't do that! We're in a hospital!"
Gibbs smirked. "Guess it's a good thing I brought this then, huh?" Abby's eyes were immediately drawn to the savored drink held in Gibbs' hands.
"Yes, a very good thing," Abby said as she took the soda and took a long drink.
"Jethro, glad to see you took my advice," Ducky said as he took in Gibbs' appearance.
"Had to get all of the grime off after being in the same room with Myers," Gibbs replied. "Tony still asleep?"
"No, he just woke up as a matter of fact," Ducky answered. "The nurse shooed us out so she could change his bandages and such."
"You won't be allowed in, either Gibbs," Abby told him, anticipating what was to come.
Gibbs sighed. "I brought him food. He's going to be mad when he finds out I withheld it from him."
Ducky chuckled. "Better to delay giving it to him than risk the nurse catching you sneak in food. What did you bring?"
"Chicken dumpling soup. Put it in a thermos so it would stay heated," Gibbs said. "Brought some crackers and cookies, too."
"That's it?" Abby asked. "Come on, Gibbs. You know how much Tony eats on a regular basis."
Gibbs nodded. "I also know that when he's injured or sick he tends to lose his appetite. Trust me, there's enough."
Abby nodded as Ducky spoke up. "And what about you? You need to eat something as well."
At that Gibbs grinned. He had come prepared for this. "Cheese steak sub," he told them as he held up the bag. "No sense for Tony to eat alone."
Ducky sighed. It was obvious that he didn't whole-heartedly approve of what Gibbs had gotten for himself, but he also knew better than to say anything. At least had gone and gotten something without someone having to try to convince him to eat something. Ducky knew small miracles when he saw them.
"So is Myers still alive, or do I need to get back to perform another autopsy?" Ducky asked curiously.
At that Abby looked at both Gibbs and Ducky with wide eyes. "Oh please don't tell me that I missed it! Gibbs! You should have let that piece of scum rot in his cell a little longer."
"You can always watch the interrogation tapes, you know," Gibbs told her.
"It's not the same thing," Abby pouted.
"I highly doubt this will be your last chance to watch Gibbs interrogate someone," Ducky assured her.
"But this is different! Tony got hurt and he's partly to blame!" Abby said.
"Don't worry, Abby," Gibbs reassured her. "Myers got what was coming to him and he still has plenty of jail time to look forward to."
Abby sighed. "I suppose so."
"Why don't you fill me in on how Tony's doing?" Gibbs asked her.
"Jethro, he's fine. Changing bandages is quite normal, I can assure you," Ducky spoke up.
"I wasn't talking about his physical condition, Ducky," Gibbs spoke quietly.
A silence came over the three for a moment as they contemplated what Gibbs had asked.
"He's doing ok. Afraid no one will give him an update. Asked one of us to call to find out what is going on," began Ducky.
Gibbs shook his head. "I told him I would be back to tell him what was happening."
"You know how he is, Jethro. Saying and doing are two completely different things where he is concerned," Ducky continued.
Gibbs nodded his head in agreement then turned to look at Abby, who had been silent since he had asked his question. She now seemed to be in deep thought.
"Abby?" At Gibbs' voice she looked up at him. "Something I should know?"
She held his gaze for a moment before answering. "Yes," and at that Gibbs grew even more worried. "Don't shut him out now that you both are back here."
Despite all of the thoughts that had run through his mind, that was not what Gibbs had expected Abby to say.
Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Tony told me some of what the two of you talked about. I'll tell you this much, what you now know is not everything there is to know about the mystery that makes up your senior field agent. You go back to normal and you will be throwing the trust he showed you in his face. If that happens I can guarantee you that you will find yourself an agent short one day when you show up for work."
Gibbs opened his mouth to say something, but Abby held up her hand to indicate that she was not yet finished. Gibbs wisely stayed silent.
"When I say that he trusts you, I'm not talking about the kind of trust needed when someone's watching your back in the field. This is a different kind of trust. I can't explain it any more than that. Tony respects you, looks up to you. Don't make him regret opening up to you."
After a moment of silence, Gibbs cautiously asked, "Anything else I should know?"
"Just one more thing," Abby said. "If you hurt him in any way, shape or form, you will have to deal with me. Remember, you are not the only one around here who knows how to kick ass."
Gibbs gave her a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
Ducky cleared his throat and said, "Well, if you're done threatening him, Abby, I believe that was Tony's nurse walking down the hall. Perhaps we should head back so the two of them can eat?"
Abby pretended to think about it before agreeing. "If we wait much longer we'll probably start hearing Tony's stomach growling."
The trio laughed as they headed down the hallway back to Tony's room.
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Tony sighed to himself as he flipped through several channels on the television in his room. He was bored and he was giving serious thought to trying to reach over to the table by his bed to grab the phone and get a progress report on his own. He really wished Abby and Ducky would hurry back. The nurse that had been changing his bandages was not much of a conversationalist.
Just then another nurse entered his room pushing a cart filled with several trays of food.
"Here ya go, eat up! Don't want to lose your strength!" the nurse said cheerfully.
Tony managed to give her a fake smile at the sight of the piles of, well, something on tray.
"Thanks. Looks very, uh, nutritious," Tony told the nurse as she smiled at him and wheeled the cart out of his room and moved on.
Tony picked up a fork and picked through the mush. Grimacing, he pushed the table over his bed away. There was no way he was eating that. He wondered how long he had to look at it before someone came around to collect the tray.
"People in prison get better food than this," Tony muttered to himself.
"Our tax dollars at work," Gibbs said as he walked into the room, followed closely by Abby and Ducky.
"Boss!" Tony exclaimed as he moved to sit up straighter.
"You stay right where you are, young man!" Ducky scolded. "Moving around like that will get your stitches pulled out, which might lead to you having to stay here that much longer."
Tony immediately settled back down at the threat of prolonging his hospital stay.
"Ew gross! Tony's right. Prisoners do get better food," Abby remarked as she started her own examination of the sludge on the tray.
"I think you should take it back to your lab, see what you can find," Tony suggested as his face took on a disgusted look.
"I myself never understood why hospitals serve such grotesque meals," Ducky said as he checked to make sure Tony had settled properly. "Especially if a doctor wants their patient to heal. No one should be forced to eat such…"
"Maybe you should take it out of here," Gibbs interrupted Ducky. "Before Tony loses any appetite he as left."
"Ah yes, excellent idea," Ducky said. He walked over and took the tray away from Abby, who was still moving the substances around with a fork. Once the tray was gone, Gibbs grabbed the table and moved it back up towards Tony and placed a thermos and crackers on top of it.
"What? You're giving me food that I can't see? That doesn't make me feel much better about it than the hospital food, Boss," Tony stated.
Settling down into the chair by Tony's bed, Gibbs pulled out his own food before answering. "It's chicken dumpling soup, Dinozzo. Eat it before it gets cold."
Tony's face seemed to lighten up at that and opened the thermos. Gibbs unwrapped his sub and took a bite, keeping an eye on Tony to make sure he didn't try to sit up again as he ate.
"Well, I think we should leave these two to their meal," Ducky said as he came back from discarding the tray. "Let them talk shop and all that."
"Thanks for stopping by," Tony said in between eating. "I know hospitals aren't the greatest place to hang around."
"But you are, silly," Abby said as she stood up to join Ducky at the door. "I better not hear that you're trying to move around too much. If I do I'll tie you down!"
Tony laughed. "Promises, promises."
"Yeah, well…" Abby began but Ducky pulling on her arm stopped her from continuing her remark. "See you guys later!"
"Take care," Ducky said, and with that they were gone.
Tony turned to look at Gibbs. "So how are things going?"
Gibbs resisted the urge to reach over and slap Tony across the head. "Finish your soup, first. I'm not talking with my mouth full."
"Yes, Boss," Tony said and continued to enjoy the much more edible food that Gibbs had brought.
Chapter End Notes:
Author's note: Yeah! Another chapter already, right:D Some people have expressed their sadness because it sounds like this story is getting ready to end. Yes, it is, but where one story ends, another begins! Hope everyone will stick around to read my next story when it comes around! Until then, enjoy this chapter and the rest that will make up this story! Thanks again for all of your exciting reviews, glad to see it is so well accepted by the readers!