Tuesday

“What gives? I haven’t seen you this quiet since that fiberglass deathtrap of yours was stolen and totaled.” McGee mumbled worriedly. Tony had been withdrawn these last few days and he wasn’t the only one to notice. McGee would never have thought about it were it not for Ziva’s ever observant comments.

“Does Tony look especially spiffy today, McGee?” Ziva asked on Tuesday, noting the expensive, well fitted suit as the senior agent sauntered by placing a large coffee on Gibbs desk then dramatically sliding in his own seat. He came to rest in front of his computer, immediately banging away, ignoring the obvious silence of the bull pen.

“The Dolce & Gabbana two-button wool. Very nice, Tony. Seeing a new girl tonight?” McGee wondered aloud, knowing his partner couldn’t resist the bait. Tony just picked up the phone, doing his best to ignore the mischievous geek and cunning Israeli. A comical look of worry crossed Tony’s face as he stuttered to answer, not even noticing the man next to him take special interest in the interaction. Even Ziva leaned forward slowly, hoping to hear a raised voice on the other end of the line.

“We- well no, but-“ Tony started then sat in silence, mouth moving in vain as his brain tried to make words. “No, Boss. Yes Boss. Yes Boss. I-” Click. “He hung up,” Tony needlessly explained as he pointed to the phone in his left hand.

“Is Gibbs here?” Ziva demanded, getting back to work in case he materialized behind her.

“Oh yeah,” Tony sighed. “And we’re on cold cases, not sabbatical, so you two had better be cracking some cases over there or you know who’s gonna have your you know-“

“What, DiNozzo?” Gibbs demanded, sidling into the bullpen.

“Nothing, Boss. Just finding you a hot case,” the words rolled off Tony’s lips like a well-rehearsed line and Gibbs just smiled and opened his own file as he absently picked up the steaming coffee and sipped without looking up.

The day progressed with little chatter since Tony didn’t seem interested in entertaining his team. Just before lunch Gibbs disappeared into MTAC and Tony breathed as sigh of relief which was not lost on Ziva though Tim was wrapped up in a background check of a shady character from an identity theft ring. “This is pointless. I don’t even know this guy’s real name and he doesn’t have any girlfriends according to all the witness statements.”

“Well, if you find the significant other, you can usually find the perp, McObvious.”

“That’s what I said, Tony, only no girlfriends.”

“What about boyfriends, McGoober?”

“I…okay, yeah, I guess I should’ve thought about that,” McGee acquiesced, giving Ziva an embarassed look but she just smiled a shrug and changed the subject.

“What is for lunch?”

“Is it that time already?” Tony froze, looking up and over his shoulder at the door to MTAC. “Well what do you want, probie? On me,” he smiled magnanimously like a too-happy politician. He slowly arose from his seat, grabbing his gun and wallet. “I’ll surprise you,” he said, ignoring Tim’s questioning look.

“Your gun, Tony? For a lunch run?”

~

Better safe than sorry, Tony figured as he moved gingerly towards the elevators, engendering as much sympathy as possible. He wasn’t taking any chances since he could hardly sit now after putting himself in unnecessary danger during their last case. Snapping on his holster, Tony barely stifled a yip as he jarred the strap of the chastity contraption Gibbs made him wear. None of this would’ve happened had he not been trying so hard to get Gibbs attention. Last week, Tony played super cop and as usual, it came to a spectacular finish involving Tony chasing a gang member through the Binghampton projects… and getting a bit roughed up by his Vicelord cronies. Ziva and Gibbs showed up just in time to put a total of 9 rounds into three shoulders and two legs. In hindsight, Tony knew he was lucky to only have bruised ribs, two broken fingers and bloodied face. It wasn’t the first time he had to straighten out his nose, but it was the first time Gibbs did it for him. He smiled remembering last Friday night, sitting on the back of the ambulance, swearing he didn’t need to go to the hospital as he watched Ziva have entirely too much fun cuffing the men and shoving them into the back of the black and whites that had just arrived. She was nothing if not fiercely loyal, despite appearances. By the time she made it over to where he sat, gurgling about being fit as a fiddle and healthy as an ox, Gibbs had left McGee to sort out the criminals and was stoically cataloging Tony’s injuries.

“Boss, it looks much worse than it is, really. I’ll be good as new tomorr-“

“You’re going for xrays,” he said, his hand moving toward Tony’s ribs, not missing the slightly defensive jerk away from him. “And to make sure you don’t have a concussion.” Gibbs said and Tony abruptly stopped arguing.

“Okay Boss, but I was sooo looking forward to getting home,” Tony pouted with a pitiful puppy dog look at which Gibbs couldn’t help but smile.

“At least you don’t have to wrap up,” Gibbs said, gently pushing more than holding Tony’s chin as he inspected the battered face. “Deep breath,” he said as the sole warning before pushing at Tony’s nose until they both felt the thick pop of his nose aligning beneath the unexpected groan.

“Thanks, Boss,” he whispered, turning into the ambulance to get away from Gibbs’ tender mercies just as the annoyed EMT swept in and announced the other emergency workers arrived and they would be leaving.

“Stay at Bethesda, Tony. I’ll be there to pick you up.” It was an order and Tony would never disobey and order from Gibbs. So he stayed.


Tony smiled remembering that night bittersweetly. In truth, the night was painful and traumatic, but he couldn’t help but think this was somehow bringing them closer.

Who ever heard of being punished when you’re injured? Or torturing a hero, for that matter? In hindsight, Tony could understand Gibbs point of view; the guy Tony had chased was just a meaningless cog in the gang they suspected of supplying the drugs ensign Jacobs used to overdose. They could have found anybody else to help them get closer to the key players, but Tony was especially wired up that day. On a positive note, the guy led them to heavy weights in an ambush Tony was fairly sure he wasn’t supposed to walk away from. It was a good day, all things considered.
Gibbs hadn’t seen it that way. He’d closed the case thanks to Tony’s inadvertent round-up of the criminals and was double parking at Bethesda when Tony called him. “Stay put,” he said before the trademark click. “So what’s the verdict, doctor?” Gibbs demanded of the little lady in the blue scrubs perusing Tony’s chart. She couldn’t have been more than five feet and her skin was the flawless complexion of coffee with crème as she surveyed Gibbs and then her patient. There was clearly a question in the way she looked at DiNozzo whose smile was a shrug of acceptance.

“Your partner,” she said as if it was obvious then continued with her prognosis. “Besides the contusions and lacerations to your face, arms, and legs, you have bruised ribs and a slight fracture on your left,” she paused to take in her patient’s unexpected laugh. “Something funny Agent DiNozzo?”

“Not really. No. It’s just, I’m no stranger to broken ribs and cuts and bruises,” he said, looking at Gibbs who he could tell was still wondering about the ‘partner’ comment even though the older man’s blue eyed stare gave little away.

“You could stay out of the hospital if you’d stay out of trouble, Tony,” Gibbs pointed out and immediately Tony quit joking. Instead, he managed to look contrite. He smiled at the pretty doctor, flirting a bit before he continues.

“Partners for almost ten years and he still thinks I can stay out of trouble,” Tony laughs with the doctor until he’s overcome by a fit of coughing that makes Gibbs step closer to his side instead of hovering in the middle of the room. “I’m ‘kay,” he manages to get out, watching the intense look of concern on Gibbs’ face.

“Sit up, Tony,” Gibbs demands, pulling him forward and arranging his pillows so he can sit up and breathe better. He remembers the plague and Tony shuddering on the hospital bed like a dead man with cracked and blood stained blue lips. After that bout of sickness, they knew Tony had to take it easy, but that didn’t stop the reckless agent.

“That’s what I’m concerned about, gentleman,” she explains, pulling out her stethoscope to listen to his chest. “You’re no stranger to these injuries so you know they just need time and care to heal. That means light duty for three weeks and follow up with your doctor in about a week.”

“Oh, I feel fine, doctor,” Tony assures with a beatific smile.

“I’m sure; you’ve got a hell of a cocktail in that IV, but when you wake up you’ll feel a bit different. Besides, your breathing isn’t sounding so good. I’ll just need to check your chest films and I’ll let you know if you can leave. It’s the funniest thing, I thought they were ready over an hour ago, but somebody must have pulled them accidentally.”

“That would be me, Chandra,” a familiar voice rang out as a tall, athletic man sauntered into the partitioned room of the ER. “Gibbs, Tony- you just can’t stay out of trouble, can you?”

“Brad! I’ll be whipping you on the court in no time,” Tony promised.

“Dr. Pitt, what about Tony’s x-rays?” Gibbs demands, wanting to shut down Tony’s natural tendency to flirt as much as he wants to get to the prognosis.

“Chandra’s right, we definitely have to make sure his breathing isn’t compromised before we can let him go. Lucky for you, Dr. Mallard called and told me to get down here to check out Tony’s charts- they would’ve kept you here forever. The problem is that fractured ribs can make it difficult to breathe for a lot of reasons but you still have to breathe deeply so you don’t catch pneumonia. Because of the damage to your lungs, you sound like you’re about to die to this unsuspecting doctor,” Brad says, smiling at the petite woman in scrubs identical to his own. “We can discharge if he promises to be supervised at all times for the first three days- that means no cooking, cleaning, or… any other rigorous activity for three days, just deep breathing and respiratory therapy. Deal?” he said in a voice that would brook no argument as he looked at Gibbs who gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Great. Then I’ll see you Tuesday to release you to light duty if I like what I’m hearing.”

“I’ll be good as new,” Tony says, trying not to think about the fact that his lungs are damaged forever. He was glad Brad was there to help get him released because he didn’t know what he’d do if he had to spend another hour away from Gibbs. As was hard enough sit there on the hospital bed with Gibbs standing so close and not take his lover’s hand and pull him down to lay beside him. After what seemed like forever, a nurse is pushing Tony out and Gibbs is waiting to usher him into his car. It’s not until they hit the beltway that Tony reaches for Gibbs hand where it rests along the divider.

Gibbs smiles. He entwines their fingers, peppering the back of Tony’s cold hand with light kisses. “You’re freezing, Tony. We gotta get you home and warmed up,” he said, stepping on the gas and blasting the heater, hating that Tony would sit there and not turn on the heat himself or at least speak up. Then Gibbs shot a quick glance at his lover and smiled to show he wasn’t angry. Maybe holding hands is his way of letting me know he’s cold, Gibbs thinks hopefully. He wondered how long it would take before Tony insisted on being comforted and he’s satisfied that it only took a few minutes. He’s been working on getting Tony to voice his needs since he realized that half the time Tony does something dangerous it’s because he’s trying to get Gibbs’ attention. Gibbs wonders if he’s being stupid for thinking the problem is obvious, but he sees no reason why Tony can’t just tell him when he needs attention. It would save him a whole lot of hospitals visits, if nothing else. Gibbs knew Tony needed to be held and kissed and stroked and told everything would be alright. So this was a small triumph but it came after the minor disaster of the day which was really just the culmination of Tony trying to get Gibbs’ attention after three days of capers. But it was a start and it helped Gibbs justify the light touch he felt obligated to take in dishing out Tony’s punishment.