He turned his head against the sun and closed his eyes. The sun felt warm and wonderful on his face, and he leaned back and enjoyed his first weekend off in a month.

"So, did you bring it?"

The old hoarse voice brought Tony back to reality and he sat up and looked over at his grandfather. The old man looked at him over the brim of his glasses. Tony smiled and reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and held it up in front of him.

"Have I ever forgotten your cigarettes? You would bite my head of if I did"

"Don't flash'em around like that", Giovanni ‘Big G' DiNozzo said and snatched ‘em out of Tony's hand, "The nurses are like the goddamn Gestapo, when it comes to these". He scanned his surroundings and stuffed them in his own west.
Tony laughed and took a big sip from his lemonade. The two of them were sitting in the garden of the nursing home, where Giovanni had lived for the past 5 years. It was Sunday and the garden was filled with residents and their relatives. Tony observed them and smiled. Half these people didn't even want to be there. They only came out of obligation or guilt; and to keep their place in the will.
Tony came because he wanted to. His grandfather was the only one in the family he still had contact with. Giovanni never approved that his own son had cut Tony from the will. He couldn't do anything about it, but the relationship between father and son was never the same.

Tony tried to visit a least once a month. Mostly because he liked his grandfathers company, but also to deliver the cigarettes. Giovanni DiNozzo didn't smoke a lot, but he liked the occasional smoke with his espresso, or he would use them as chips in their poker games. Cigarettes were hard to come by. Tony would sit in on their poker games when ever he had the time, which wasn't often with Gibbs as his boss.

"So, how's life, Big G?" Tony asked, turning his face against the sun once again.
Giovanni humpfed, and Tony looked back at him; "Not much". Giovanni looked up at Tony. It was easy to see where Tony had gotten his beautiful eyes.

"You still with those navy cops?"

Tony eyed his grandfather. Giovanni usually never asked about his work. He didn't really like cops. Tony never knew why, but suspected something happened back in ‘the good old days' as Giovanni would always call them.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" asked Tony suspiciously.

"Nothing" Giovanni replied. He was avoiding Tony's stare and looked down. "Jerry died yesterday".

"Jerry Holmes?" Tony raised his eyebrows, "I'm sorry to hear that. I always hoped I would beat him at poker some day".
Giovanni looked around. He leaned in over the table and with his index finger asked Tony to do the same. "I don't thing it was natural" he whispered.
Tony looked surprised, "Why not?"

"Jerry came to me ‘bout 3 days ago. Said he had something important to tell me. He was all jumpy and kept looking around. I followed his gaze but didn't see anything."

"What did he say?"

"Not much. He didn't really make much sense. Kept rambling on about some family house that was unprotected, and how they were all out to get him. Then he said if anything should happen to him, that I should find the key. I thought for a minute that this place had finally gotten to him and he'd gone of the deep end. He was never all right in the head, you know?"
Tony couldn't help laugh as he remembered the poker games with Jerry. The guy was one hell of poker player. He was an old con artist with a bad case of paranoia, who hated everything official or anything connected to the government, and he always looked over his shoulder, like he was being followed. He always had some new theory ‘bout how the government was doing the whole ‘Big Brother's watching'-thing.

"Sure it wasn't just one of Jerry's old tricks again?" Tony asked.

"At first I did, but then he looked me in the eye, and I'm telling you, my boy, he was scared".

Tony didn't really believe it, "Scared of what?"

Giovanni raised his shoulders, "I don't know. All I know is that one minute he's rambling on about being followed and the next he's dead. I'm telling you, Anthony. He was fine the night before".

"Did they do an autopsy?"

"Ha, autopsy!?! On an old guy like Jerry? Everybody around here dies of old age according to them. They just threw his in a box and cleared the room out for the next. No respect I tell you, no respect".

"So what do you want me to do exactly?" Tony asked.

"Well, to do you cop thing! Do me the favour of checking out, how the old con really died. Isn't that what you do every day?" Giovanni gesticulated like a true Italian, waving his arms about to emphasize every word.

"Easy there, Big G. Don't strain your self", Tony teased. But then he saw the seriousness in his grandfather's eyes. Giovanni usually never asked for anything. Didn't like to be in dept to people. But this time he was asking in his own way.

"Okay" Tony said, "I'll see what I can find. Where is Jerry now?"

"The Fisher funeral home. The funeral is on Wednesday".
"Okay. Any idea what he was talking about when he told you to find the key?" Tony asked, as he got up.

"No idea, but that's where it gets misterioso. I sneaked in when they were packing up his stuff. I asked if they'd found a key, but they said his son already picked up all of his stuff but that they never saw a key".

"Yeah, so?" Tony didn't really see the point.

"Jerry didn't have a son" Giovanni answered, a hint of triumph in his voice.
Tony nodded, "I see. Well I'll see what I can find, thought I doubt I'll find anything. It's probably just Jerry's final joke".
"Maybe" Giovanni got up to give his grandson short handshake. The DiNozzo's were not big on closeness. Tony gave him a smile and turned to leave.

"Tony…." He turned to look at his grandfather,

"Thank you…"
____________________________________________________________

Monday arrived way too fast and they were all back at the office. There were no new cases, which suited Tony fine, ‘cause then he would have time to visit Abby. He'd gone by the funeral on his way home yesterday to flash his badge, and get a blood sample from the late Jerry Holmes. It took some convincing and a lot of threats about warrants and a full search. When he heard the word search, he disappeared down to the basement, and came back with a blood sample. Leaving, Tony couldn't help wonder, if they were hiding anything else but dead people in the cooler.

The familiar beep of the lab door opening made the Goth look up from her work. A smile spread across her face when she saw Tony entering. She smiled even more, when she saw the caff-pow in his hand.

"You want something, don't you?" she eyed him as he handed her the caff-pow.
He gave her a brilliant smile and kissed her on the cheek, "What?!? I can't bring you something without an ulterior motive?"

"You would", Abby took a big sip, "but not this time. No, you want something".

Tony laughed, "Guilty as charged" he reached into his jacket and pulled out the blood sample, "I need you to check this for me"

"That's it?!?" Abby took the sample and went to work, "I didn't know we had a case"

"We don't…"

Abby stopped her work and faced Tony.

"Then what is it?"
Tony sighed, "could we call it a personal favour? It's probably nothing. I just need you to check it for me"

"Then what am I looking for?"

"Anything hinky…"

Abby frowned. This was not like Tony to keep thing from her. He usually told her everything. Even the details she didn't need to hear. But for Tony to be this short for information was not normal. It made her worry.
Tony noticed her hesitation. "Really, Abs. It's nothing. Just a favour for someone".

Abby wasn't satisfied, "Are you sick or something?"

Tony couldn't help laugh, "No no. It's not my blood. It's an old guy's. I just need to see if there's anything hinky about it, okay?"

"Okay" Abby answered reluctantly, "I'll have the results in a few hours".

"Thank you, Abs". He walked up close to her, "and if you could….."

"…not tell Gibbs? I won't; if you promise me to tell me that nothing's wrong"

"Nothing's wrong, Abs. Really"

To call the day a slow day at the office would be an understatement. Gibbs spent the day looking though old case files. McGee was upgrading their computers, and Ziva was redoing her report for the third time. Gibbs took one look at it and threw it back on her desk.
"Not good enough"
Ziva looked about ready to explode. She didn't expect any special treatment because she was Israeli, in fact she would have been pissed if Gibbs gave it to her, but to spell check her report once again was almost too much for her. She gave an annoyed grunt and turned her focus back on the computer.
Tony had been unusually quite all morning. On days like this he would normally hassle his co-workers because he hated doing paperwork. But there was no paper-throwing contest and no annoying videogames when Gibbs wasn't there. Gibbs looked up from his work and noticed McGee glancing over at Tony. He had noticed it too. He turned his own focus to his senior field agent. Tony was looking very concentrated, which in itself was weird. He usually looked relaxed and carefree, even when he did his best work. Something that use to annoy Kate endlessly. But not today. Gibbs studied him for a minute;

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs finally barked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Tony' head snapped up, "Yeah, Boss?"

"What're you doing?"

Tony looked at him puzzled, "finishing the Carter-report like you asked me too… why?"
Gibbs though for a second, not knowing just what to say. Why did he call for Tony? Just because he was finally acting like a professional agent and doing his job without too much noise?

"Aren't you done yet? I want it on my desk after lunch!" Gibbs finally barked to excuse himself.

"Sure thing, Boss" Tony said and went back to work.

But Tony wasn't really telling Gibbs the truth. The Carter-report had been done for almost two hours, and at this minute he was going through the mysterious life of Jerry Holmes. Anything he could find on the old man. Bank records, criminal records and anything else he could find. He found Jerry's retirement record, the deed for his old house and some bank statements, but nothing before 1979. It was like Jerry didn't exist until that year. ‘This was what Abby would call hinky', Tony thought to him self, and suddenly a strange though appeared. He turned his attention back to his computer, and after two hours he knew a lot of strange thinks about the old poker-player.
Tony smiled to himself. ‘That old con-artist!'
It was almost 11.30 a.m. and Tony decided to check out Jerry's old house on his lunch break, when his phone rang. It was Abby.
"I'll be right down" Tony got up and headed for the lab.

"DiNozzo! Where are you going?"

"Just running down to Abby for a second. Be right back"

Gibbs looked irritated, "and your report?"
Tony smiled, "it's on your desk"
Gibbs looked down and right in front of him was Tony's report. Damn, the kid was getting sneakier all the time. How the hell did he…? He was slowly turning into Gibbs.
Tony didn't wait for Gibbs' responds and jumped into the elevator and pressed the button.

Abby was standing ready when Tony walked into the lab.
"You're still not going to tell me what this is about?" she asked, her voice filled with accusation.

"That depends on what you found. Did you find anything?"

"Well, your guy here, if it is a guy because I didn't have time to do a DNA-test, has serious health problems. Bad liver, failing kidneys and don't even get me started on his cholesterol. God, I'm beginning to sound like the Duckman".

"Anything else besides his bad choice in lifestyle?"

"Yes! I found something hinky" Abby smiled and her fingers ran across the keyboard.
Tony walked closer to the screen.

"See this?" Abby pointed to a chart on the screen. One column was higher than the others and it was blinking.

"Yeah, what is it?" Tony's knowledge in chemistry was limited.
"Digoxin. It's a drug used to treat patients with heart conditions. Angina, those kinds of things. But they are usually in very low doses because it's very hard to control the concentration in the plasma and it's extremely toxic. Normally you'd find…."

Tony cut her off, "Abs, the short version. Did it kill him?"

"Yep, definitely! The concentration suggests a one-time dose of more that 200 mg. Anything higher than 20 mg and you're history".

"Could it be an accident? Maybe he took too many pills by mistake?"

"No way! This stuff usually comes in pills containing 0.25 mg. Do you know how many pills that is? It's like over 800 pills! It only leaves two possibilities: either he intended to kill himself, which is unlikely with that many pills or he was given it intravenous, and that usually means one thing…"

"Murder" Tony finished her sentence.

"Yep, your guy here was probably murdered" Abby said, finishing her presentation.
Tony thought about it for a minute. This changed the situation. If Jerry was really murdered; who did it, and why?
Lost in thought he didn't notice Abby staring at him.
"So, now are you going to tell me what this is all about?"
Tony frowned. He actually wanted to bring Abby in on his little mystery, but didn't like to bring anyone in on it, before he knew for sure what this was all about.

"Sorry Abs. Maybe later" He gave her a smile and a thank you and left before she could ask again.
__________________________________________________

Everyone was surprised when Tony said no thanks to lunch, especially because McGee was paying because of an old bet with Tony. They all stared at him when he went for the elevator; then stared at each other.
"Anyone know what's going on?" Gibbs asked the rest. Both Ziva and McGee shook their heads. Gibbs didn't like that answer. Tony was not acting like ‘Tony'. Something was up.
___________________________________________________

The house was old and had seen better days. It was made of wood, built like southern houses with a huge porch and a rocking sofa hanging down from the ceiling. The front porch was covered with leaves and an old ivy plant covered most of the railing. The plant seemed to be eating the house slowly; it's mission to one day cover the entire house. Tony tried to imagine what it had looked like in the good old days, when Jerry bought it. It must have been beautiful. He wondered why Jerry hadn't sold it when he moved to the retirement home.

Walking up the front stairs, Tony scanned the surroundings. It was a typical American suburban neighbourhood. Some kids were play down the street, and occasionally a car passed by, but other than that it was very quiet. Tony turned his attention back to the house and noticed that a few of the windows were broken. Probably the neighbourhood kids playing baseball or something. Tony could already imagine the stories about the old con-artist who used to live here. Now the house actually looked a little haunted which only would add new fuel to the stories.
Tony tried looking in through the windows but couldn't see anything. When he grabbed the door handle he found the door unlocked. Automatically his senses intensified, like a reflex. Occupational hazard, he thought.
He walked into the hallway and was amazed. The house was even bigger on the inside. He started walking around the house, occasionally lifting a book or touching a surface. Walking through the many rooms brought memories back to Tony. The house had an uncanny resemblance to Charlie's parent's house, an old childhood friend. Tony and Charlie used to spend hours playing hide and seek in that house. There were so many hiding places. It once took Charlie 2 hours to find Tony. He's found the perfect spot in the attic. So many hiding places.

‘I don't even know what I'm looking for', Tony thought,
‘a key maybe? So, if I was an old con-artist, where would I hide a key?'

Tony sighed, it was almost impossible. Like finding a needle in a haystack. He looked at the time. He had to get back soon or Gibbs was gonna suspect something. Knowing his boss, he probably already did.

Tony took a quick look upstairs. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but Tony had a fealing that someone else had been here recently. The floor was covered with a thin layer of dust and there were footprints here and there. Maybe Jerry came to visit his old home. Tony turned and headed downstairs again. But suddenly he stopped his walk down the stairs. In the middle of the hall, a huge chandelier was expanded from the ceiling. Tony had seen it earlier but didn't take much notice of it. Now he studied it closer. It was actually beautiful, a small ring on the top and long rows of glass-pieces led down to a bigger ring, where the light bulbs where. Then long rows of glass-pieces hung down, assembled in the middle and creating long arches. It wasn't the shape in it self that caught Tony's eye. It was the fact that all the little glass-pieces were in the shape of spades, club, diamonds and hearts. The perfect chandelier for a card player like Jerry. Tony wondered if Jerry had had it made especially for him. Then he thought he saw something hiding up in the chandelier, but he before he could look closer, another feeling hit him.
A chilling feeling; he was not alone in the house.

Tony looked around the hall and his hand instantly went to his gun. He took two steps down, and suddenly several loud shots rang through the house. It took a while before Tony noticed that something was seriously wrong.
Then pain.
His legs started to give in, and he tumbled down the last three steps. The gun fell out of his hand, his fingers losing all strength. He landed on his back and had to fight to keep his eyes open. He frantically turned his head from side to side, but didn't see anyone. He tried to lift his head, and then he noticed the red colour spreading across his chest. He led his head fall, suddenly very tired and his eyes fluttered. ‘Have to stay awake' he whispered. Then he closed his eyes…

Gibbs looked at his watch for the third time in the past ten minutes. The hands showed 1.20 p.m. Then he looked over at Tony's desk. It was empty. Tony was still not back from lunch. Gibbs reached for his phone again and hit the speed dial for Tony. After four rings it went to voice mail, ‘Hey, you've reached….' Gibbs slammed the phone down, causing Ziva and McGee to look up from their work. Not that they were getting a lot done. They also kept looking over at Tony's desk wondering where their teammate was and why he'd been acting so strange all day.

Gibbs was just about to call Abby, when his phone rang. He picked it up and started yelling,
"DiNozzo, you better have a damn good excuse for being late! Where the hell ARE you???"

The other end of the line was quiet for a few seconds. Then a female voice answered
"…uhm… excuse me? I'm Doctor Meredith Parker and I'm calling from Port Smith Trauma Center. I'm calling for Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

The voice stopped. All colour drained from Gibbs' face and he felt like his heart skipped a beat. McGee and Ziva had stopped working when the call came and all their focus was now on their boss. They were alarmed by Gibbs's sudden change in voice and colour.

"That's me" Gibbs answered, his voice several decibel lower but still strong and firm.

"I'm calling to tell you that Anthony DiNozzo was admitted to the hospital half an hour ago, and you're listed as his emergency contact."

"How is he?" Gibbs demanded to know almost before the doctor could finish her sentence.

"I'm sorry to say but he's in critical condition at the moment. He's being taken to emergency surgery right now."

"What happened?"

"Sir, if you would come down, and then I can explain…" The doctor started, but she was cut of.

"what happened?!?" Gibbs demanded, his voice rose.

"We're not sure. He came in with several gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen and thigh. I'm afraid that all I can tell you at the moment".

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll be there in 5 min" Gibbs said and hung up. He sighed and looked up. McGee and Ziva were standing in front of him, both looking scared and concerned.

"Gibbs…?" McGee asked.

Gibbs took a deep breath, "Tony has been shot. He's at Port Smith in critical condition"

"What!?!" this time it was Ziva's turn to respond.

"That's all I know for now" Gibbs said, stood up and reached in his desk drawer for his gun, "You two, get on Tony's computer and find out what the hell he was working on. Then find out where he was found, and get over there. Call the locals, and tell them we're taking over the investigation. I'm going to the hospital"

McGee started to protest, "Gibbs, could I…"

Gibbs knew what he was going to ask, and looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
"McGee, I need you here. I want this son of a bitch found right now!" he grabbed his coat and headed for the elevator. "Get down to the lab and tell Abby. Ziva, call Ducky and have him meet me at the hospital." Then the elevator door's closed behind him.

McGee looked at Ziva for a second, his eyes slightly moist. He could see Ziva was sharing his fears.
"Let's go, McGee" she said, and grabbed her phone and called autopsy. McGee then headed for the lab…

Gibbs stormed into the trauma centre, demanding information. He was asked to wait for the doctor.

Waiting. He hated waiting.

Ducky came in not long after and Abby was with him. She'd insisted on coming and there wasn't much Ducky could do to stop her. When they came in, Abby ran over to Gibbs and threw her arm around his neck, tears running down her cheeks.

"Jethro, we came as soon as we… what happened?" Ducky asked, his hat in his hand and a concerned look on his face.

Gibbs ran his hand up and down Abby's back and tried to comfort her, "I don't know, Ducky, we're waiting for the doctor. All I know is that he was shot".

Abby let go of Gibbs and looked at him, "He's gonna be okay, right?"

Gibbs kissed her forehead, but didn't answer. "Of course he is, my dear", Ducky said and escorted her to a chair. "Anthony is a strong and healthy young man…"
The doctor walked in and they all stood up, anxious to hear news. "Special agent Gibbs? I'm Doctor Parker" She shook Gibbs hand and asked him to take a seat. Gibbs introduced Ducky and Abby and they all sat down.

"How is he, Doctor?" Abby asked in a low voice.

"As I told special agent Gibbs on the phone, I'm sorry to say that Mr. DiNozzo is in very critical condition. He was shot four times. One bullet entered his left thigh and locked itself in his femur bone. Luckily it didn't damage the femur artery. The second bullet entered the upper right quadrant of the abdomen".

"Did it damage the liver?" Ducky asked, more than familiar with the human anatomy.
The doctor looked at him, "I'm afraid so, Dr. Mallard. The ultra-sound we did in trauma, showed bleeding from the liver. What other damage the bullet did, we won't know until he's out of surgery."

"What about the other two?" Gibbs was the next to ask.

"Well, they both hit his chest. One punctured his left lung. The second…" The doctor took a deep breath, "I know this sound scary, but it hit his heart."

Abby sobbed loudly and buried her head in Ducky's shoulder. The old coroner put his arm around her, and tried the comfort her, but tears made his own eyes moist. Gibbs didn't make a sound, but Ducky could see his fists clenched even harder. He didn't know what Gibbs would do, when he found whoever did this, but somehow he imagined he'd have another customer in autopsy, and right now he was actually looking forward to it.

The doctor continued, "The bullet pierced the pericardium, but it only did little damage to the heart itself. It did however cause a lot of bleeding in his chest and he went into cardiac arrest twice. Luckily we managed to get him back and stable enough to go up to surgery."
The doctor stopped and let all the information sink in.
Abby was still sobbing.

Gibbs stared away from the others. He tried to imagine all of Tony's injuries but stopped. There were just too many. How Tony was even alive, was incomprehensible. He should have been dead.
Ducky was wondering the same and asked, "How is it possible that the bullet didn't do more damage to the heart? It should have gone all the way through."

"That's a bit of a miracle, Doctor", Dr. Parker said and reached into her pocket. She pulled out Tony's badge. It looked a little different… with the huge hole in the middle.

"This was in his breast pocket. The bullet went through this first, then a rib before it entered his heart. By then it had slowed down enough to only touch the heart." The doctor handed the badge to Gibbs and said, "Mr. DiNozzo is a very lucky man. He must have a guardian angel." She smiled.

"Will he be okay?" Abby had looked up when the doctor showed the badge.

"I wish I could say yes, but I can't. We'll know more once he's out of surgery" Dr. Parker said and continued, "he lost a lot of blood and his body is going into shock. I won't lie, he's in for one hell of a fight."

"He'll be fine" Gibbs said like a statement and no one dared question it. Gibbs gave Tony an order a while back and it still stood. He didn't have permission to die.

"We'll see" the doctor simply replied.

"Do you know anything about what happened?" Gibbs asked.

"I spoke to the paramedics who brought him in. According to them Mr. DiNozzo was found unconscious in an old abandoned house. A man out jogging heard shots fired and called the police. Then he walked in and found Mr. DiNozzo. He started CPR and waited for the ambulance. If he hadn't found him so quickly, he wouldn't have made it."

"Okay, thank you, Doctor."

The doctor smiled again, "Please have the nurses call me if you have any questions. Otherwise I'll be down when the surgery is over. Is there any family we should contact?"

"No", Gibbs answered. "We're his family".

The doctor nodded and left.

Gibbs got up just as his phone rang, "Gibbs!"

"Boss, it's McGee. I called the switchboard, and found the address where Tony was found. We're heading there now".

"Good McGee. Give me the address and I'll meet you there". Gibbs was about to hang up after he'd gotten the address, but McGee stopped him.

"Boss, how is he?"

"Not good McGee", was all Gibbs answered before he slammed the phone shut. Someone had better pay for this soon.
Gibbs turned to Ducky and Abby, who were still sitting quietly. Tears were still running down Abby's cheeks but they were silent tears.

"Abby, I need you back at the lab"

Abby protested at once and got up, "Gibbs! I wanna….."

"I know you do Abby, but I need you at the lab. McGee and David found the crime scene and I want everything tested!" He walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Abby looked like she would collapse under the pressure of his strong hands. "It's important we get everything done perfect, and I only trust you to do it."
Abby gave him a hint of a smile, "Okay. Me neither. Not when it's Tony." She walked over to Ducky and took her coat. "But I wanna be here when he wakes up. Hospitals scare me, and I don't want him to be alone"

"I'll keep an eye on him" Ducky said and looked at Gibbs who nodded. He'd have wanted to ask Ducky to stay anyway. Tony was not gonna be alone.

"Call me as soon as he gets out of surgery" Gibbs said and walked out with Abby.
_________________________________________________________

Ziva stood still for a minute after she'd ducked under the police tape. There were several people walking around the house, talking. But what caught her eye was the mess on the floor in front of her. A large pool of blood spread out. Pieces of gauze, plastic packing and tubes were lying about on the floor. She sighed when she imagined Tony lying right in the middle of the mess, and she felt sad. She'd been with the team for over a year now and after a bit of a bumpy start, things were good now. Even with Abby. She'd come to regard them as friends, even close friends, which was unusual. In Israel she was never this close with her colleagues. Maybe it was her own fault. She had a hard time trusting people. But in the States she had come to trust her co-workers and Gibbs in particular. She'd even killed her own brother to save Gibbs, and that was only after a few days with the man. It had taken a bit longer with the rest, but she knew that when Gibbs trusted these people with his life, they were trustworthy. Especially Tony. Then Ziva felt rage inside. Whoever did this better run and hide, if he or she had any hopes of growing old.
When McGee walked in he also hesitated, and Ziva knew his feelings where the same. Despite the fact that they all teased and sometimes tortured each other, they were friends.

The local police had been informed that NCIS would be taking over and everyone understood. When the two NCIS-agents walked in, people stepped back and let them do their job.

Gibbs walked in 20 minutes later and put on his cloves. With his eyes focused on the blood he asked, "Okay, what've we got?"

"Well, as far we can tell Tony was standing on the stairs when he…." McGee started, but the last words were hard to say. "When he was shot. We found one bullet wedged in the 6th step from the top. There were traces of blood on it, so it must have been a through-and-through. But you probably already knew that, so…"

Gibbs looked down, "What else have you got?"

Ziva lowered the camera, "Found four cartridge cases over here, to the right. It's a .38 calibre."

"Anything else?"

"Uh..yeah… It looks like whoever was here might have been looking for something. Whether that was Tony or the kil… " McGee said

"He's not dead, McGee," Gibbs' reply came so fast, McGee didn't even realise his mistake.

"Sorry Boss! I know…. Whether it was Tony or the shooter, who was looking we don't know, but we found two sets of footprints on the second floor, and one of them are not the same size as Tony's." McGee looked down. So stupid, how could he say the killer? Tony wasn't even dead. He hadn't given up on him yet, had he? No, Tony was a fighter. He'd make it through this, and McGee would make sure the shooter paid.

Gibbs walked around the pool and walked up the stairs. Halfway he stopped. Then he turned around and looked around the hall. Without even knowing it, he was standing in the exact same spot as Tony was only two hours earlier. Or maybe he did know… If a fold in time was made, the two figures would melt into one. Two men who in so many ways were unlike, but in even more ways were so alike it was scary. Even if Ducky was the only outsider who could see it. And as Gibbs stood there, he turned his head as Tony had and noticed the chandelier. But other that the design, Gibbs didn't notice anything else, and he walked down the stairs again.

"Bag and tag everything and I mean EVERYTHING! I'll dust for prints" Gibbs ordered and grabbed the kit from McGee's bag. Ziva and McGee didn't comment, but only nodded and went back to work. It was unusual for Gibbs to do the manual work, but nothing about this case was normal.
________________________________________________

The ride home was quieter than usual without Tony to lighten the mood. The silence made everyone even more aware that he was not there.
When they got back to the office, McGee immediately sat at Tony's desk and turned on his computer. Ziva had taken the evidence to Abby. Gibbs pulled his gun and was putting it in his desk drawer when his phone rang.

"Yeah?" he answered.
He recognized the voice on the other end of the line. It was the Director's secretary, Cynthia.

"Special Agent Gibbs, the Director wants to see you in her office…ASAP" Cynthia sounded almost scared to say it.

"I'll be up", Gibbs answered. As he hung up he cursed himself, because he knew he'd forgotten to inform Jenny Sheppard about the shooting. Now she'd probably gotten the call from the police chief.

"I want answers by the time I get back" his pointed his indexfinger at McGee as he walked by.

"Got it, Boss" McGee said without looking up.

Walking up to the Director's office Gibbs felt angry. This was not the time to start hassle Gibbs about his problems with authorities and chain of command. She knew him better than most. He did not have time to run around and notify everybody, just because they needed to show who was boss. His senior field agent was fighting for his life and he still had no idea as to who did it or why.

He walked past Cynthia and without waiting for her permission walked into the Director's office. Jenny was sitting at her desk, glasses on her nose and was doing paperwork. When Gibbs walked in, she looked up and removed her glasses.

Gibbs didn't give her a chance to start, "Look, Jen, this is not the time to start lecturing me about how's boss. I've got an agent in the hospital, and crime scene I have no idea why he was at and no suspect, so I don't have time to run around telling everyone personally what happened!"
Jenny sat quietly and listened to Gibbs' outburst. When he was done, she calmly asked,

"How's DiNozzo?"

Gibbs was surprised by her question and was silent for a few seconds. Then he let out a sigh and his shoulders relaxed a bit.
"He's still in surgery. He's got a punctured lung, broken thigh, damaged liver and a bullet near the heart."

"Is there anything you need? More agents?"

Gibbs gave her a crocked smile, "you know me better than that. Anything else?"

"No, that's all. Just wanted to check up with you."

As Gibbs turned to leave, the Director said, "You know, I'm not always the enemy. You know ME better than that"
__________________________________________

When Gibbs got back downstairs again, McGee and Ziva were standing together at Tony's desk. They were talking and didn't notice Gibbs.

"Talk to me!" Gibbs said as he reached his desk. McGee got up and pushed the clicker.
"Well, the house Tony was found in, is owned by a Larry Holmes" A picture of Jerry Holmes appeared. "I checked log in Tony's computer. Seems he did an extensive background check on the guy."

"What did he find?"

"Not a lot. He found the usual things; Bank statements, retirement papers, but it seems he wasn't able to find anything from before 1979. There is no record of a Jerry Holmes anywhere."
Gibbs studied the picture of Jerry Holmes. His gut was telling him one thing: Crook. He looked down at his clock. Tony had been in surgery for 4 hours now. He turned his focus to the screen again.

"Did Tony do any other searches today?"

Ziva answered, "He did. Computer shows he found a man named Harold James, who mysteriously went missing in 1979, only a few days before Jerry Holmes appeared." Ziva took the clicker. "This is why" She pushed the button and a new picture of Jerry Holmes appeared. He was a little younger and the name under the picture read Harold James.

"Tony found out that Jerry Holmes really was Harold James".

"Did he find anything on this guy?" He pointed at Harold James.

"Oh yeah" McGee answered, but regretted his superior tone, "Harold James has had few encounters with the police back when he was young. A few bar fights and 2 parking tickets. But the most interesting are the two arrests for fraud. Once in a casino in Vegas and once in New York. In New York he coned a family for over a million dollars. He was arrested, but the money was never found."

"So the shooter might have been looking for money in the house?" Gibbs said.

"Money, stocks, papers, keys. It could be anything. Nobody knows where the money is."

"Okay, let's find Harold James!" Gibbs ordered and was about to sit down at his desk when McGee stopped him.

"Ahh, Boss, we already did"

Gibbs turned around again and gave McGee an odd stare.

"He's dead, Boss. Died in a retirement home 2 days ago" McGee said.
Gibbs felt the anger rise. A dead end.

Then Ziva stood up, "However I did find out something interesting…"

"What?!" Gibbs demanded.

"Well, I know how you feel about coincidences. The retirement home that Jerry Holmes lived in? There was another resident I found interesting. Holmes' neighbour? His name was Giovanni DiNozzo."

"Tony's grandfather? He's alive?" McGee asked with a bit of disbelieve in his voice.

"It would seem so" Ziva answered and closed her file.

Gibbs stood for a minute. This was not a coincident.
"Let's go see Mr. DiNozzo. My gut says he knows something."

Just then the elevator doors opened and a black tornado came storming out in the shape of Abby.

"Gibbs, I'm done with the evidence!"

"Already?" McGee looked at here, but received a death glare in return.

"What'd you find Abs?"

"We'll skip the whole presentation today. Tested the blood and it matches Tony's blood type, but that's no surprise. Found a ton of prints. Some are Tony's, but there were two other sets. One came back for a Jerry Holmes, but he's the owner of the house, and he's dead, so it couldn't be him."

"We know, Abby. What about the other?" Gibbs said.
Abby glared at her. How did he always know?

"It didn't match anybody in AFIS, but I'm still looking."

"Okay, thanks Abs" Gibbs said and started to walk past her. She put a hand in his chest.

"Wait, I'm not done, Gibbs" She looked at him, then looked down. "I promised him I wouldn't say anything, but now…"

"What, Abs?"

"Tony came to me this morning with a blood sample he wanted me to run some tests on"

"What?!?"

"Yeah, but he was very secret about it. Didn't say where he got it from or anything."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner, Abs?" There was a hint of accusation in Gibbs' voice.
Abby looked like she was about to cry, "He said everything was okay. That nothing was wrong and I promised not to tell you. He promised, Gibbs. He promised everything was…"
Gibbs put his arms around her, and she let herself go and cried.

"It's okay, Abs. You kept your promise." She pulled away from him again and dried her eyes.

"What did the blood test reveal?"

"That the person was murder with a serious overdose of Digoxin. It's a heart medication."

"Did you find out where the blood came from?" McGee asked.

"I pulled DNA and compared it to a hair found at the house. Results aren't in yet, but I think I already guessed who it's from."

"Jerry Holmes" Gibbs said.

"Yep"

"Tony found out his death wasn't natural" Ziva stated.

"So whoever shot Tony might also have killed Jerry Holmes"

"Let's go talk to Mr. DiNozzo. Maybe he can shed some light on this mess."

"Uhm, Gibbs?" Abby said as they walked to the elevator. "When I'm done with the tests, can I.."

"Go" was all Gibbs responded.
Abby lit up in a smile.

_________________________________________________

Ducky was sitting in the waiting area, reading a fascinating article on the African Tze-tze fly. He stopped for a second and peered over the magazine. Down the hall, Dr. Parker came walking up towards him. He put down the magazine and looked at the time; 6 hours. As the doctor came closer Ducky stood up but then he froze. The look on her face was not joyous. There was sadness and fear.
"Oh, dear…"

Abby's call came in on the computer 5 minutes after they left NCIS. On the computer screen Abby looked so tiny in the huge lab.
"Gibbs, I got a hit on the other set of prints. I'm sending it now" Abby said as she was tapping on the keyboard.
An image appeared on the computer in the car.
"The guy's name is Daniele Tacconelli. He got a record a mile long; Assault, aggravated assault, robbery etc. You name it, he's done it".

"You got an address?" Gibbs asked and McGee got out his notepad.

"Yeah, but there's something else you should know first, Gibbs"

"What?"

"Daniele Tacconelli has been tied to the Italian Mob" Abby said.

"He's mafia?"

"Yep. According to his FBI-file, he works for the Valentino family here in Washington".
Gibbs was about to say something, when McGee interrupted him.

"Wait boss, the Valentino family?"

"What about ‘em, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"That's the family Harold James stole the million dollars from…"
For a minute no one spoke. Gibbs stared at the road as the pieces of the puzzle started to come together in his mind. Suddenly everything was starting to make sense. Harold was not only a con. He was a stupid con. Stealing from the Mob?

"So, that's why Harold James changed his name to Jerry Holmes; to hide from the Mob" Ziva said, thinking the same as Gibbs.

"Yeah. But they found him and killed him, and now they want their money back" Gibbs said.

"And Tony got in the way…" McGee said.

"…yeah…" Gibbs answered and grabbed the steering wheel harder.

For a few seconds no one spoke. Then Abby broke the silence,
"Hey Gibbs, did you know that his name, Daniele, means ‘God is my judge'"
Gibbs' lips curled up, "God won't be saving him this time" *
__________________________________________________

The Green Leaves retirement home was a beautiful place. It consisted of a main building and two adjacent buildings, where the residents had their apartments.
A nurse led them down to the garden, where Giovanni DiNozzo was sitting with his newspaper. Gibbs suddenly realized how little he knew about Tony's family. He knew Tony didn't have any contact with his parents after they cut him out of the will. From what little Tony had said, it sounded like a good thing. The things he'd told were not happy childhood memories. But Tony never mentioned his grandfather. The nurse told them that Tony came by once a month or so to see his grandfather and play poker. Gibbs had no idea.

Giovanni ‘Big G' DiNozzo was sitting on a bench with a small table in front of him.
"Mr. DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked and reached for his badge.
Giovanni DiNozzo looked up and eyed Gibbs suspiciously. Then he turned his attention back to the newspaper. "Who wants to know?"
The first thing Gibbs noticed about the old man was his eyes. They were Tony's eyes.

"My name is Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS" He showed him his badge. "This is Special Agent McGee and Officer David."

Giovanni looked up in surprise, "Navy? You work with my grandson?" he asked and put the paper down and waved his hand for them to sit.

"Yes, Sir. Tony is a part of my team".

Giovanni looked around the group. Like any true DiNozzo, his eyes rested a little longer on Ziva.
"I'm guessing this isn't a social visit. Where is Anthony?" He focused his gaze on Gibbs.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but Tony was shot this morning. He's at Port Smith Trauma centre."

Giovanni stopped his movement, "How bad?"
"He's in critical condition. Right now he's in surgery"
Giovanni looked around the garden. Then he looked at Gibbs, "Is this because of Jerry?"
"Jerry Holmes? You know what Tony was working on?"

Giovanni suddenly felt extremely guilty. This was his fault.
"Jerry Holmes was my friend. He died two days ago, but something wasn't right about it, so I asked Tony to check it out".
Gibbs felt a sudden rage against the old man in front of him. How dared he bring Tony into this?

"Tony found out that Jerry Holmes wasn't his real name. His real name was Harold James. He once stole a whole lot of money from some very powerful people and the money was never found".
Giovanni couldn't help smiling, "Well, I'll be damned. Guess his stories were true then".

"Tony was found in Jerry Holmes' old house. Do you have any idea what he might have been doing there?" Gibbs asked.

Giovanni thought for a minute. Tony would have laughed at him and asked how it was going with the Alzheimer's. Always ready with a joke. The old man closed his eyes. Gibbs leaned forward, afraid that the old man was getting sick or something. Good looks obviously ran in the DiNozzo Family. It was easy to see that Giovanni had been a handsome man back in the days. And even at 86 there was still a certain charm to the man. Same charm Tony showed his surroundings every day.

Giovanni looked up again, "Did Anthony say anything about a key?"
"He never said anything about what he was doing. A key?" Gibbs asked. Finally they were getting some answers.

"It might not be it… but before Jerry died, he kept rambling about some key, I needed to find. What it was for or where it was, he never said".
McGee joined the conversation, "Could it be in his personal belongings here?"

Giovanni shook his head, "The staff didn't find anything, but that's also strange. His stuff was picked up by his son".

"Wait, his records never mentioned a son?" McGee said.

"That's because Jerry didn't have one". Giovanni pointed his finger at McGee to emphasize his point. Just then Gibbs' phone rang. He excused himself and walked away.

When he got back, both Ziva and McGee got up.
"That was Ducky. Tony's out of surgery".

"And?" Ziva asked.

"He said, we should come to the hospital".

Giovanni got up, "Special Agent Gibbs, I wanna go see my grandson. Got room for an old man?"

Gibbs nodded his head and turned to leave. Giovanni picked up his jacket and his cane and followed. He walked up to Ziva and put his arm under hers, "I can see what Tony was right when he talked about you".
"Sorry?" Ziva asked a little confused. But Giovanni just smiled.
__________________________________________________________

Ducky was waiting for them outside Tony's room in the ICU.
"What's going on, Ducky?" Gibbs asked. The concern was evident in his face.
Ducky was about to say something when he noticed the elderly gentleman who was standing along side Ziva.
"Hello, I don't believe we've met", he extended his hand to the stranger.

"Ducky, this is Mr. DiNozzo, Tony's grandfather. Mr. DiNozzo, meet Dr. Mallard. He's our medical examiner" Gibbs explained and the two shook hands.

"I can tell by the expression on all your faces that Anthony never told you he had a grandfather" Giovanni said.

"I'm afraid so. Anthony didn't…" Ducky answered.

"Ducky…" Gibbs was getting impatient.

Ducky's face turned serious again, "Well, it seems that our young Anthony has been through quite a ordeal on the operating table. He's lost a lot of blood and he went into what we call hypovolemic shock. It means there isn't enough blood in the body to keep up the oxygen supply for some parts of the body and it took quite a while before they were able to restore his blood volume"
"What does that mean? In English, Ducky" Gibbs said.
"When a body is without oxygen for so long, there is a high probability that the shock condition will become permanent. It can cause sepsis, uncontrollable bleedings, brain damage or in worst case multi organ failure. Unfortunately there's no way of telling what will happen".
"What are his chances, Dr. Mallard?" Giovanni asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know, Mr. DiNozzo. He's stable at the moment, but we don't know what will happen in the next few hours", Ducky turned to Gibbs, "which is why I thought it best that you all see him now".

"He's not dying, Ducky. He'll make it". Gibbs said.

Ducky just smiled and hoped Gibbs' gut was right as always.
"You can see him now, but only for a few minutes. Abby's in there now"

Gibbs walked up and opened the door. Then he stopped for a second. The room was bright as the window faced west and the sun was setting. It was bathed in a beautiful orange light and the sunrays were clear. Tony's bed was standing in the middle of the room, but it didn't look like it was Tony lying in it. Even in the yellow light his face was pale and his entire chest was covered with bandages. He had a tube in his mouth which was hooked up to a respirator to help him breath. There was a silent wheezing coming from the machine and a single beep indicated his heart rate.
Abby was sitting by his bedside, her head resting on the bed. She was slowly running her fingers through Tony's hair, softly whispering something to him and she didn't notice Gibbs as he walked up to her.
"… it means invaluable and that's what you are, so you can't just leave.."
Gibbs placed his hands on her shoulders and she lifted her head from the mattress.
"Been reading in the book of names lately, Abs?" Gibbs asked.
Abby got up. "My cousin is having a baby, so I was trying to find a really cool name for the baby with a cool gothic meaning" Her smile didn't even come close to her usual smile.
Gibbs kissed her on the head before she walked over to Ducky and Gibbs turned to the pale figure in the bed. He felt anger rising in his chest and it took hold of his heart. The shooter was going to pay.
Ziva had walked up on the other side of the bed and was holding Tony's hand. She bent down and whispered something in his ear. Then she placed a kiss on his forehead and left.
McGee walked up to the end of the bed, didn't really know what to do with him self. He finally just touched Tony leg and left. Gibbs walked up close to the bed, bent down and whispered, "The order still stands. I'll take care of the rest".
Giovanni walked up behind Gibbs and Abby pulled out the chair for him and he sat down by the bedside. He took Tony's hand.

"We'll find the shooter. I promise" Gibbs said and Giovanni nodded.

Gibbs walked over to the other. "Keep an eye on the two" he said to Ducky and Abby.
"Of course, Jethro" Ducky answered. "Oh, Jethro there's one thing before you go"

"What?"

"I don't know if it means anything, but Dr. Parker suddenly remembered something from the trauma room".
This got Gibbs' full attention. "What did she remember?"

"Well, Tony was conscious for a minute or so in the trauma room and he whispered something to one of the nurses. She doesn't know if she heard him right because of all the commotion and..."

"What did he say, Ducky?"

"she thought he said 'chandelier'. Does that mean anything to you?"

Gibbs turned on his heels and stormed out of the ward. Ziva and McGee ran after him.

"Boss, where are we going?" McGee said while trying to catch his breath.

"Back to the house"

The car came to a squealing halt in front of the house of Jerry Holmes. Gibbs was the first person out of the car and he ran up the steps and left Ziva and McGee struggling to keep up.
"Gibbs!" Ziva shouted, "How do you even know that this is the place Tony was talking about? The nurse could have heard wrong".
Gibbs stopped at the door and turned to face Ziva, "Because I know!"
Ziva caught up with him. She stared him in the eyes; and she trusted him; or she didn't want to argue with him. "Okay".
They all three entered the house. Their eyes were focused on the chandelier in the middle of the room.
"McGee, get me something to stand on" Gibbs ordered. McGee went out into the kitchen looking for a stepladder or a box. Gibbs walked up the stairs to the exact same spot as before and turned. From the floor Ziva was staring up at the chandelier. She walked around, turning her head this way and that, spinning until she felt dizzy. Gibbs was looking from the stairs.

"Ziva, turn on the light" Gibbs said and squinted his eyes to get a better look. When the light came on, he had to close his eyes for a second to adjust. When he opened them again, his eyes caught a glimpse of something attached to the inside of the large metal ring. He took a step down, and he saw it even clearer.

"McGee! Get in here!" he shouted.

McGee came running, "Boss I couldn't find anything…"
Gibbs looked around the hall and then back at his two agents.

"You'll have to do then".

McGee looked a little puzzled, "Uh...Boss...what...eh"

"Up!"

McGee looked up. There was no way he could reach it. "Uh… Boss I can't…"

"You can't" Gibbs turned his eyes at Ziva, "But she can".

Suddenly McGee understood what Gibbs meant. He looked at Ziva, sighed and then bent down so she could climb up on his shoulders.

"Don't fall and break anything. I've already got one agent in the hospital" Gibbs said with a hint of a smile.

Ziva smiled as thanks for the concern. Then she climbed up on McGee's shoulders and he stood up. A little shaky at first, then more steady. He almost lost his balance when Ziva kicked him in the side. He'd stood up so fast that she hit her head on the bottom of the chandelier. Gibbs explained where he'd see the object and Ziva quickly found it. She jumped down and gave it to Gibbs.

"It's a key" she said.

"Yeah, I can see that Ziva. But what's it for?" Gibbs said as he turned the key around looking for markings of some sort. There was nothing.

"Maybe Abby can find something on it, Boss" McGee said.
Ziva pulled out an evidence bag, and Gibbs put the key in it.
"Yeah" Gibbs turned and took a good look around the hall one more time. The shooter must have been standing behind an old closed which was stand in the dining room. That's were they found the cartridge cases. Abby would create a virtual sketch of the crime scene for the trial. If there ever would be a trial. That would require a defendant. One who was alive.

"What now, Boss?" McGee asked. "Do we go after Daniele Tacconelli?"
Gibbs stood for still for a second, and a plan came together.
"No. First we need something to bargain with" Gibbs answered.
__________________________________________________

Giovanni was sitting by Tony's bed side and held his hand. Abby was sitting on the other side in the windowsill. The nurse had allowed two persons to stay with Tony after a little convincing from Ducky. Abby had one foot up and leaned her head on her knee.

"You look exactly how I pictured you" Giovanni said without looking at Abby.

"Sorry?" Abby asked a little puzzled.

Giovanni looked up. "Anthony told me about you. He said to imagine his cousin Samantha and then her complete opposite. He was right. You don't get much more anti-Samantha than you".

"Oh" was all Abby could answer. She tried to picture this Samantha. What was her complete opposite?

Giovanni answered the question for her, "Samantha is a 265 pounds woman who dresses in sweatpants and who's idea of party cloths is a dress that should not have made it out of the 80's. She sits at home all day and watches ‘Days of Our Lives'" Giovanni laughed and looked at Abby. "And he also said you were a very special person to him. I can see why".

Abby looked down and mumbled a thanks. She wasn't use to hearing so much praise. She and Tony never said these things to each other because on some level they both knew what they meant to each other. Abby looked at the fragile figure in the hospital bed. Tony was one of her closest friends. After Kate's death the two had gotten even closer, and found comfort in each other. When Abby had a bad day, Tony and Gibbs were the only two who could make her smile genuinely. And on days like these Tony would show up at her apartment with a pizza and a movie. Sometimes they didn't really say anything to each other. Tony would be patient and wait until Abby was ready to talk about what ever was bothering her. He always put his arm around her and she would rest her head on his shoulder. They could sit like this for hour. Abby really needed Tony's arm around her right now to comfort her and for him to tell her that everything would be alright.

"I wish I could say that Tony had told me all these great things about you, but he never mentioned anything. He never really talks about his family" Abby said.

Giovanni looked at her, "I can imagine that. Anthony and his father, my son, don't really get along. Actually they never did" Giovanni looked down. "I should have done something years ago, but I just stood by and let it happen".

"What do you mean?"

"Anthony was a wonderful boy when he was young. Energetic, funny, lively" Giovanni looked at Abby again, "And cheeky as hell"
Abby smiled. Just like she imagined him.

Giovanni continued, "Anthony's father never paid much attention to him. Having a child was always Anthony's mother's lifelong wish. She loved that boy more that life itself".

"What happened?" Abby asked.

"Isabella, that's Anthony's mother, died in a car accident when he was 12 years old. It tore the little family apart. Both Anthony and his father were devastated but they couldn't find comfort in each other. Instead they drifted further apart. My son became more and more angry with everything and everybody. Somehow he blamed Anthony for taking his wife away from him" Giovanni stopped and looked at Tony. He squeezed his hand a little harder. "And he took his rage out on the boy. Emotionally and physically".

Abby felt tears come up in her eyes. She never knew.

"It stopped when Anthony moved to collage. His father didn't approve of Anthony's choice to concentrate on his football, of course, but he paid his tuition. But when Anthony chose to join the force, my son disowned him. Anthony never did anything right in his father's eyes". Giovanni stopped and for a few minutes no one spoke. Then he continued, "I should have done something. I knew what was going on, but I never did anything. I let my own son break that little boy. I…" Giovanni was about to continue, but Abby stopped him,

"He didn't break him. In spite of what his father did, Tony grew up to be one of the most loving and caring people I have ever known".

"He gets that from his mother" Giovanni said.

"It made him a fighter" Abby looked at Tony, "And that's why he's going to make it through this too".

"I still should have…"

"Tony doesn't blame you for anything. If he did he wouldn't still come to see you". Abby said.

"Maybe" Giovanni leaned in over Tony and said, "She's one tough lady" Then he smiled at Abby.
Abby smiled back and just then there was a knock on the door. It was Ducky.
"Sorry to interrupt. Abby, Gibbs needs you back at the lab.

"Okay" Abby jumped down from her place in the window. Before she left, she walked up to Giovanni and gave him a hug.
"Thank you" he whispered.
Abby gave him a smile in return and walked out.

Abby put her eyes to the microscope. Under it was the key found at the house.
"It's your basic padlock key, Gibbs" Abby looked up.
Gibbs cursed under his breath. This could not be another dead end. It would be a hell af a lot harder to get their hands on the money with nothing to go on. And the mafia would close ranks around Daniele Tacconelli. Unless Gibbs could find a way to get to him; No matter the cost.
Abby bent down again. After a minute she suddenly said, "Wait, there's something…"
"What is it, Abs?" Gibbs was getting impatient. They seemingly were getting nowhere, Tony wasn't getting any better according to Ducky and Abby was being mysterious. His patience was really running low.

"McGee, hit the lights" Abby said without lifting her head.

McGee looked a little puzzled, but did as she asked. It was not always wise to ask questions or express doubts when it came to Abby. McGee had learned that from bitter experience. He walked over to the wall and hit the switch. The lab went pitch black except for a few red and green light that were blinking from Abby machinery.

"Whola!" Abby straitened up and smiled, but no one smiled back.

"What?!?" Gibbs snapped.

"Okay, Gibbs, you need to seriously consider those glasses. They're not that expensive, you know, plus you would look great with them". Gibbs just gave her a stare.
"Oookay! Well anyway, come closer". Abby stepped back so Gibbs could see into the microscope. Boy, that man was in serious need of some coffee, and soon; or someone might not live to see tomorrow.
When Gibbs stepped closer he suddenly realized that something on the key was glowing. From a distance it just looked like a small spec, but when he looked in the microscope it became clearer. Two small initials came into focus; G.D.

"G.D.?" Gibbs stood up and looked around the group.

"Could be a storage room, a bank, anything" McGee suggested.

"Or a person…" Ziva leaned against the table with her arms crossed. She tilted her head and looked over at Gibbs.
It didn't take long for Gibbs to know where she was going with this.

"Giovanni DiNozzo"

"Tony's grandfather? You think he knows more than he's telling? There's no way, Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, "'cause if he knew something he would have said it, and he would never do anything to hurt Tony. There's…"

Gibbs put his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down Abby. We're only saying that Giovanni may be more involved in this then he's aware of".

Abby took a deep breath. Gibbs suddenly turned and walked into Abby's office without another word. The rest of the group stood silent for a while, all lost in their own thoughts. But all of them were essentially thinking about the same thing, or person; their teammate who was fighting the fight of his life right now. And there was nothing they could do to help him.

Ziva broke the silence, "Does anybody know…"

"I called Ducky 5 minutes ago. No change." Abby answered.

"Oh..." Ziva nodded and walked up next to Abby. She put her eyes to the microscope.

"G.D., G.D., G.D…" she muttered to herself.

"Doesn't have to be Giovanni DiNozzo. It could be anybody. Harold James stole that money 27 years ago. As far as we know, Harold James only knew Tony's grandfather from the retirement home. He had to have hidden the money somewhere for all those years. And it had to be somewhere good because as far as we know, the Valentino Family haven't found the money either".

Abby turned to face McGee, "He could have hidden the money somewhere for all those years, but when he met Big G, he changed his plans and included him in the new plan".

"Not likely" Ziva joined the conversation, "if he'd found a good hiding place for the past 20-something years, why change it? Because he met Giovanni? Seems unlikely"

"Maybe he spent it all?" McGee suggested.

Abby started walking around the lab, "But if he spent all that money, why was he afraid the Mob finding him?" She stopped and faced Ziva and McGee. Both agents had their eyebrows raised. Abby shook her head, "Dah, I know they would kill him! But if there was no money to hide, why tell Big G about the key?"

"She's right" Gibbs said as he walked into the lab again.
They all turned to face him.

"Gibbs, where did you go to?" Abby asked.

"I called the hospital to talk to Giovanni" Gibbs said, but he stopped what he was about to say. At the mentioning of the word hospital, they had all straitened up and their eyes focused solely on Gibbs.

"No news" Gibbs said. All their bodies sank a little, and he continued, "Giovanni has no idea why his initials would be on the key".

Ziva sighed, "So basically we're back to square one. Again".

Gibbs lid up in a small smile, "Not entirely, Ziva David. When I mentioned the letters to Giovanni, the first thing he said, was Gary's Diner. Apparently Harold James used to talk a lot about the place. He had breakfast there every day as a kid, and he also worked at the place as a teenager".

McGee eyed his boss suspiciously, "Boos, it could just be a coin…" McGee stopped himself before he finished the sentence. He knew how his boss felt about these things. "I'll find an address, Boss" He turned and used Abby's computer to find the needed information.

"Gibbs, this seems a little…" Ziva crossed her arms, "Well, it seems a little too easy"

"Sometimes the most simple answer is the correct one" Gibbs answered.

Both Ziva and Abby stared at him.
"Whoa Gibbs" Abby said, "Did you convert to Buddhism or something?" Gibbs just gave her a hint of a smile.

"You got that address jet, McGee?"

McGee hit enter, and Abby's printer started, "just printing it now, Boss" McGee said and walked over to collect the paper.
Gibbs stood for a minute and collected his thoughts. A plan had been forming in his head for some time now, and the final pieces were just starting to fall into place. He didn't just want the shooter dead. He wanted to bring down the entire Valentino Family. They were just as much to blame for Tony being in the hospital as Daniele Tacconelli. They were all going to pay. And Gibbs didn't care if he had to break the law to do it.

"Boss…?"

McGee's question brought Gibbs' thoughts back to the lab.
"McGee, Ziva. you two, get over to the diner and find that money. When we've got the money, we have something to bargain with".

McGee looked puzzled. He was trying to follow his boss' trail of thought. "Boss, I don't get it. Bargain with whom?"

Ziva was way ahead of McGee, and knew what Gibbs' plan was. "You mean to bargain with the Valentino Family, yes? The money for Daniele Tacconelli"

When Gibbs didn't answer, Abby took a step forward, "Gibbs…?"

"Boss, we'd be breaking the law big time"

Gibbs looked around the group, and he realized something. Although they were all a bit shoked by the idea, none of them had said no or tried to talk him out of it. They were all willing to break the law to avenge Tony. Ducky was right. They were a little odd, dysfunctional family. But they were still family.

But that was not Gibbs' plan… Not yet…

Gibbs grabbed his phone, "The Valentino Family are not the only ones looking for that money. Someone else wants it too".
Gibbs turned, dialled a number and headed for the elevator.
"Tobias, meet me in my conference room".

A small bell dinged as Ziva and McGee entered the diner. There weren't many guests. A couple sat in a booth at the far end of the diner. A guest was drinking his coffee at the counter. Behind the counter a man with an apron was cleaning the table. He looked about 60, bald head and a belly that probably made impossible for him to see his feet. He looked up, when the NCIS-agents walked in.

"Hallo, how can I help you two?" he said as they reached the counter.

Both agents pulled out their badges.
"I'm officer David, this is special agent McGee, NCIS. We're looking for Gary?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "NC-what?"

McGee sighed, "NCIS, it's the Naval Criminal Investigative Service". For the first time since this whole thing started, McGee was glad Tony was not there. He would have slapped the man silly. McGee smiled to himself. Actually he would have liked to see that right now.

"Navy cops, huh? Well, I'm Gary, Junior that is. My dad died 10 years ago".

"He was the first owner of this Diner, yes?" Ziva asked and pulled out her notepad.

"Yep, my old man started this place more than 70 years ago. Managed it until he was over 80, before he would let me take over. Stubborn old fool".

"Did you know, or did your father ever mention a Harold James or a James Holmes?" McGee asked.

"Old Harold James? Yeah, I knew him. He used to come in every day when I was younger. Used to work here, you know? He would come in every day, sit at the counter, flirt with my mother, tell me jokes and entertain the whole diner with his stories. Man, he was a lot of fun". Gary Jr. shook his head and laughed. "Then one day he came in, all serious and wanted to talk to my dad. The two of them went out the back, and then Harold came out again, walked out and never came back. We never saw him again".

"Do you have any idea what they were talking about?" Ziva asked.

Gary Jr. shrugged his shoulders, "Not really, but I do know…" Suddenly he stopped. He looked from McGee to Ziva and back again.

"You're here about the box, aren't you?"

McGee's eyed widened. Could this really be it?

"Yes" Ziva lied.

"My old man always told us to stay away from it. We were never allowed to touch it. Said he'd promised to keep it safe for Harold. Never opened it, as far as I know. Don't think he could either".

"Can we see it?" Ziva asked.

"Wait, how do you even know about it?" Gary Jr. asked, "My dad never said anything about it to anybody!"

McGee answered him, "Harold James was murdered 3 days ago. We think it has something to do with the box".

When Gary Jr. didn't say anything, Ziva reached into her pocket, "and we have this". She pulled out the key and held it up.

Gary Jr. looked puzzled. Then he lifted the counter top, and let Ziva and McGee in.
"It's up in the attic". He lead them up the stairs to the hall, and up a small latter to the attic. When they got up, he started rummaging around to look for the box. He finally found it under a stack of old cloths.

"Here it is" he said, and dragged it out to the middle of the
floor.

McGee squatted by the box and took the key from Ziva's hand. He pulled it from the plastic bag and placed it the lock. It went in without a problem. He hesitated for a second, and looked at Gary Jr. "Thank you, we'll take it from here"
Gary Jr. looked extremely disappointed but he finally turned and crawled down the stairs.

Ziva leaned in over McGee when he turned the key. It opened with a small click. McGee removed the padlock and took a deep breath.

"Oh for Heaven's sake, open it already, McGee!" Ziva hissed. Her patience was running out really fast.

McGee looked up at her and then he opened the box.
Even though they already knew what they would find it the chest, McGee still said, "Whau!"
Ziva grabbed a bundle of bills. She flipped trough them, "All ten dollars bills".

"One million dollars" McGee said.

Ziva put the bundle back and McGee closed the box again.
"We better get this back to Gibbs" Ziva said.
McGee stood up and they both grabbed the handles on either side of the box.

"Do you know what his plan is?" McGee asked.
Ziva looked at him, "You never know with Gibbs. All I know is that the Valentino Family and Daniele Tacconelli will pay for what they did". She put the box down while McGee crawled down the stairs, "One way or another".

_________________________________________________________

"Good job, McGee. You and Ziva meet me at the Valentino estate. I'm gonna swing by the hospital first and then meet you there". Gibbs flipped the phone shut before McGee could answer.
He pulled the sedan into the parking lot and walked up to the ICU.

As he walked down the hall to Tony's room, he saw that Dr. Parker and Ducky were standing outside, talking. When he got a little closer, he caught the end of the conversation.

"… and we've decided it's time we turn off the respirator," Dr. Parker said, and Ducky nodded.

Gibbs felt his knees become weak as he walked faster towards the two doctors. This was not happening. It'd only been 24 hours since Tony was shot. They couldn't give up on him yet. He was a fighter. He was going to make it. He had to. Gibbs felt like a cold hand had reached into his chest and was trying to crush his heart. It hurt like nothing else. He never though he would feel like this again. After Shannon and Kelly he'd promised himself, he would never let anybody get that close again because the pain was too much. But Tony, Abby and the others had found a way in. And the pain was back.

Gibbs stopped as he reached the two, "You are not going to turn of that respirator!" He ordered Dr. Parker, "Tony will get through this. He doesn't have permission to die!"

Dr. Parker put her hand on Gibbs' arm, "Relax Special Agent Gibbs. Special Agent DiNozzo is not going anywhere if I can help it"

Gibbs started at her, confused. Ducky answered him, "Tony is actually starting to get better, Jethro. He's been fighting the respirator for the past half hour, which means he's starting to breath on his own".
Gibbs let out a sigh.

"What we want to do is change the settings on the respirator, so that he is breathing on his own, and the machine only supports him, when he's not getting enough air. It's a good thing, Special Agent Gibbs. It means he's getting a little bit better". Dr. Parker gave Gibbs' arm a short squeeze and let go.

Gibbs felt his heartbeat slow down again. "Is he awake?"

"No, not yet. And we don't know when that'll be. We're no longer keeping Special Agent DiNozzo sedated. It's up to his own body now. He'll join us again, when his body is ready for it". Dr. Parker said

"Is he gonna be okay?" Gibbs asked.

"We still don't know, Special Agent Gibbs. As I said he's doing a little bit better, but there's still a long way to come. I'm sorry I can't give you any guaranties" Dr. Parker said, and then she left.

Gibbs walked into Tony's room and looked at his wounded agent. Abby was asleep in a chair by Tony's bedside, holding his hand. Ducky had driven Giovanni DiNozzo home an hour ago. Hospital chair were not meant for elderly people. Gibbs walked to the other side of the bed and took Tony's hand. He stroked Tony's head with the other hand. On the monitor, Tony's heart rate slowed down a little. Gibbs stood like that for a few minutes, mindlessly running his finger through Tony's hair. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but to Gibbs it seemed like Tony looked a little more relaxed after a few minutes. He leaned down and whispered, "Hang in there, okay? I'll take care of it for you".
Gibbs stood up and walked out to Ducky. "You're staying?" he asked.

Ducky smiled, "Thought I'd stay. A least until we know for sure that young Anthony is out of the woods. He wouldn't like to wake up in a hospital alone, although neither Abby nor you would ever let him".

Gibbs smiled, "Thanks, Duck" He turned to leave but Ducky stopped him.

"Jethro, Abby told me what you are planning on doing".
Gibbs turned to face his old friend.

"I know you want revenge, Jethro, and so do I. But once you go down that road, there's no turning back".
Gibbs didn't say anything. He just turned and left.
__________________________________________________________

The Valentino Estate was everything you'd expect of a mafia home. Nothing about the place was small. Arches, columns, statues. It had everything. Gibbs walked up the front stairs to the main door. Behind him Ziva and McGee were keeping their eyes open.

Before he knocked, he turned to Ziva and McGee, "You still have time to turn back. You don't have to do this".
Neither of the agents spoke. Then Ziva walked up besides Gibbs and knocked on the door before she stepped back. Gibbs gave her a grateful look and turned to face the door.
It was opened by a huge guy with a face like stone. He didn't say anything, just opened to door wider and the NCIS-agents walked in. The hall was, like the outside, huge. Gibbs, Ziva and McGee looked around as the huge guy led them to a door down the hall on the left. He knocked and waited for an answer.

"Enter" a deep voice answered on the other side and the door
was opened.

Inside was an office. By the window was a huge desk and behind it, Guido Valentino was sitting in a huge leather chair. There were four armed men standing around the room. All had their arms crossed and only one facial expression. McGee felt like he'd just stepped into a scene in 'Godfather'. Why did everything about these people always have to be so cliché?
Gibbs stopped in the middle of the room.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I presume? I must say I was surprised to get your call", Guido Valentino said. He leaned slightly forward and placed his elbows on the desk. He looked over at the goons by the window and nodded. Three of them walked up to the special agents and started searching them. None of them protested. McGee adjusted his glasses and stifled when the goon touched his groin.

"I apologize for the discomfort, but I'm always a little suspicious when cops call to make a deal. They can keep their weapons" Guido Valentino said.

Gibbs nodded when the search was over. They didn't find anything.

"Now, special agent Gibbs, what is it, you seem to think I can do for you?" Guido Valentino asked.

Gibbs straitened his jacket and said, "It's very simple, Mr. Valentino. You have something I want, I have something you want. We trade, everybody's happy".

Guido Valentino laughed. "Straight to the point, I like that. And what exactly is it you think I have that you want?"

"Daniele Tacconelli" Gibbs said without batting an eyelid.

Guido Valentino's face turned serious. "Daniele works for me. That's true. But why would I turn one of my own people over to the feds just like that? And just what is it he supposedly did?"
Gibbs felt the rage rise in his chest. Supposedly? He controlled his anger.

"I want him! And I have something you want. Let's just leave it at that" Gibbs answered. He never took his eyes of Guido Valentino.

Again Guido laughed. "Look around you special agent Gibbs. I have everything I want. I doubt you have anything to offer me. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do". Guido Valentino turned his attention to some papers on his desk and ignored Gibbs.

But Gibbs was not ready to leave.

"Harold James… Ring a bell?" he said.

Guido Valentino stopped working and looked up. He tried to look uninterested.

"Why would that name mean anything to me?" He had a hard time controlling the obvious anger.

"Well, I would think you would know the only man who ever succeeded in stealing from your family" Gibbs smiled. "What's most interesting about it is that we managed to find, what you never did".

Guido Valentino jumped out of his chair. He walked around the desk and stood a few feet in front of Gibbs. Gibbs didn't move.
"You're telling me, that you have my money?!" Guido Valentino demanded.

Gibbs tilted his head, "your money? I thought you didn't know Harold James?"

Guido Valentino composed himself and smiled, "You're a dangerous man, special agent Gibbs"

He walked back to his desk and sat down, "But this isn't the children's playground either. So you propose a trade. The money for Daniele Tacconelli?"

Gibbs nodded. The meeting was going according to plan. He would get his shooter. This was an offer Guido Valentino could not refuse. He wanted that money more than anything. It was his honour at stake.

Guido turned to one of the goons and whispered something to him. Then the goon left and came back with a friend. Between the two Daniele Tacconelli was kicking and screaming.

"Guido, you can't do this!"

Gibbs felt anger when he saw Tacconelli. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the same disgust and rage in Ziva's and McGee's eyes.

Guido didn't look at Tacconelli but kept his eyes fixated on Gibbs. "We have a deal, Special Agent Gibbs" he said.
Gibbs nodded and looked at Tacconelli, who was still fighting his captors.

Tacconelli looked frantically around the room and then back to Guido Valentino.

"Guido, mi amigo fidato! I trusted you! You told me to kill the fed! He got in the way and you told me to kill him!"

"I didn't pull the trigger. I have you to do the dirty work. And now I don't need you anymore!" Guido yelled. He was now standing with his hands on the desk.

Gibbs' eyes turned to Guido Valentino. He finally got what he wanted. Out in the hallway shouting was heard. "FBI! Don't move!"

Guido turned to Gibbs. He realized too late that his family had been coned again; this time by the NCIS. He locked eyes with Gibbs. Suddenly he went for his desk drawer and pulled out a gun. Then all hell broke loose in the office. Gibbs quickly ducked down behind a couch and reached for his gun. Ziva and McGee took cover behind two chairs. The goons started firing wildly around the office and Ziva and McGee fired back…

When Tobias Fornell walked in the office five minutes later, Ziva was handcuffing one of the goons. He was bleeding from his left arm, but Ziva took no notice of it even though he was yelling at her. Gibbs was crouched beside McGee who was leaning against a bookcase. He was bleeding from a small wound on his shoulder. A bullet has grazed him but the bleeding wasn't bad and Gibbs was putting a handkerchief against the wound. Fornell crouched down beside them.

"You ok?" he asked McGee, who nodded.

"Not too bad. Maybe a stitch or two" McGee said.

"Paramedics are here" Fornell said and got up. The paramedics walked in and took care of McGee. Gibbs got up.

"Valentino?" Tobias asked. Gibbs pointed to the corner of the room. Guido Valentino was lying dead with 4 bullets in his chest.

"And Tacconelli?"

Gibbs pointed to a body on floor. Tacconelli had a bullet in his knee and six bullet holes in his chest. In his hand he held a gun.

"Was that gun there the whole time?" Fornell asked and eyed Gibbs.

Gibbs shrugged his shoulder, "As far as I know" He looked up at Tobias. Tobias just nodded and took a look around the room.

"You're still okay with us taking credit for this? And the money?" he asked.

Gibbs nodded, "I got what I wanted. You deal with the paperwork" He smiled and he and Ziva followed McGee out to the ambulance. Before he got in, he turned to Tobias and threw him a set of keys. "Money's in the trunk. Help yourself".
Fornell looked at the keys and smiled.

__________________________________________

Over the next few days Tony slowly but steadily started to get better. With both McGee and Tony out on sick leave, the team was pulled from active duty until further notice, which suited them just fine. It gave them a lot of free time, and they spent most of it at the hospital.

Gibbs was sitting in the chair beside Tony's hospital bed late at night. He always took ‘the graveyard shift'. It wasn't like he would ge much sleep anyway as long as Tony was sick. And the boat would still be there when this was over. If it would ever be over.
Lost in his own thought, Gibbs suddenly jumped, when he felt someone squeeze his hand. He looked up at Tony, but his eyes remained closed. Gibbs got up and squeezed the hand back.

"Tony? You with me?"

Tony remained still. Maybe he'd just imagined it…

Gibbs leaned down again and said, "It's okay. You're safe. We took care of it for you"

Suddenly Tony squeezed Gibbs' hand again, and Gibbs placed his hand on Tony's head.

"It's okay. I got your back. Go back to sleep"
Gibbs settled back into the chair, closed his eyes and smiled.

Then he fell asleep.

The first thing he sensed was the strong smell of coffee.

Gibbs.

His boss had to be near by. Everything else was dark, but that could be because his eyes were closed, and he was having a hard time opening them. His body felt like one big bruise, and his mouth felt like he'd tried to eat a sandbox. There was something strange about his breathing too. He felt an itch on his thigh and wanted to scratch it so bad, but like his eyes his arms felt like they weight a thousand tons.

Tony tried to open his eyes again, but failed.

He didn't have any recollection of where he was or why he was here. This was the first time in what seemed like years that he was able to think even fairly straight. Everything else was kind of blurry.

Hospital.

He remembered someone telling him he was in the hospital. But why?

And dates.

He remembered different dates. August 23rd, 27th and 28th.

But that couldn't be right. Last time Tony remembered checking the newspaper was on the 18th.
He also remembered hearing voices talking to him. Some were strangers but some were also familiar. He remembered hearing Abby's voice. It had seemed so far away. Like a dream you can't really remember but it's there. And yet he had the feeling she was very close.

He remembered hearing the melody in Ducky's voice. It was the same melody he always used when he was telling one of his many stories. How could one person know so many stories? Tony remembered hearing Ducky's voice several times. But, like Abby, it had seemed so far away.

Tony remembered hearing Ziva talking Hebrew. He had no idea what she'd said, but it was her tone that came through the clearest. There was something special about Ziva's voice. It could be hard and serious when needed. Or it could be soft and sexy, playful. But in Tony's mind it had been different. It was low and serious, but there was nothing hard about it. It was almost sad. And far away.

McGee had been there to, but there had been something different about his voice too. It had a different tone, almost melody about it. Like he was reading something out loud.

He didn't really remember Gibbs' voice. But he remembered his presence. He remembered the feeling that Gibbs was there. And that he was safe.

Safe? Safe from what?

While trying to sort out all the memories, Tony suddenly heard voices again. There was more than one, and they were talking to each other. He wanted to open his eyes so badly, but they felt like they were being held down by two tons of lead. He finally managed to open them a crack, but quickly closed them again. The light was so bright. Suddenly the voices stopped, and someone turned off the light. He felt someone take his hand and call for him.

"Tony? DiNozzo? Tony, are you with me again?" Gibbs.

Tony tried to open his eyes again and this time he succeeded. He had to blink a few time to focus. Slowly he opened his eyes again and looked up at Gibbs. Ducky was standing on the other side of the bed. He tried to say something, but no sound came out.

"Anthony, my boy, you can't talk. You have a hole in your throat and a tube to help you breath" Ducky said. Tony's eyes widened and his arm instinctively tensed. He wanted to feel his throat. Gibbs grabbed his hand, "Easy! You have to take it slowly. Otherwise you'll just pull something".
His arm felt weak. Slowly Gibbs helped him find the tube so he could touch it. It felt weird.

"Do you remember what happened?" Gibbs asked him.

Tony was about to say something, but realized he couldn't. Then he shook his head.
Gibbs took a firm hold on Tony's arm.
"Do you remember investigating a suspicious death for your grandfather? Jerry Holmes?" Gibbs asked. He squinted his eyes slightly.

Tony blinked a few times. Then it all came back to him. Flashes and glimpses. The Sunday with his grandfather, the blood sample, the records, the house, the chandelier…
Then nothing.

Gibbs saw Tony's eyes looking all around the room, and he knew he was remembering. When Tony's eyes returned to Gibbs, he continued;
"You were shot at Jerry Holmes' house. It was close call for awhile, but you pulled through. You've been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past week. The doctors expect you to make a full recovery.

Tony closed his eyes for a second. Thank God. The pain would eventually go away, and he would be back to his old self.

"The tube in your throat will be taken out in a few days, when the doctors think you'll be able to manage without it. I don't think it will be long. You're making excellent progress. And then you'll be able to talk to us again" Ducky said and smiled.
Tony smiled to Ducky and shifted his weight little in the bed, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through his chest and he squeezed his eyes shut.
Both Ducky and Gibbs put a hand on his shoulders.

"Yes. You took three bullets to the chest, Anthony. I'm guessing the painmeds are starting to wear off. I'll find you some more" Ducky said and left.

The pain was starting to wear off, as long as he didn't move. Gibbs was still standing by the bed, his hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony nodded slowly. It was gone again. He felt his eyelids become heavy again. Gibbs noticed it too.

"Go back to sleep, DiNozzo. I've got you six"
Tony looked at his boss and closed his eyes again.
______________________________________________

The tube was removed after two days, and a few hours later the team were all gathered in Tony's room. Abby was sitting next to Tony in the bed, her head placed on his shoulder. Ziva was sitting on the edge of the bed. Ducky and McGee sat on two chairs, and Gibbs was standing leaned against the wall. Ziva was giving Tony the full version of everything that happened since he was shot.

"…and then Gibbs made a deal with the FBI"

"Wait… deal with the FBI?!? You sick or something boss?" Tony whispered. His voice was still hoarse. Gibbs just smiled.

"Well yes" Ziva continued, "Gibbs knew the FBI had been investigating the Valentino Family for years. They knew everything about them. He read their file on Guido Valentino and knew that his pride could be used against him. He was willing to anything to get that money. So Gibbs and Fornell made a deal. The FBI would get full credit for the arrest and finding the money. All we wanted was the shooter so we could prosecute for the shooting. Now that won't be necessary".
No one spoke for a while.

Tony looked at Gibbs, "Still can't believe you gave the arrest to Fornell. This was our chance to make the 11 o'clock news".

"Too much paperwork, DiNozzo" Gibbs answered.
Tony smiled. Somehow he already knew the real answer.

Abby was running her fingers up and down Tony's arm. She looked up and said; "There's one thing that I still don't understand"

"What, Abby?" McGee asked.

"If Harold James managed to hide from the mob for all those years, why did he never spend the money? I mean, I counted all those babies. There's still a million bucks".

"Fear?" Ziva surgested. "From what Giovanni told us, Jerry Holmes was always paranoid. Always thought someone was after him- Maybe he always thought the mob would find him if he used the money".

"Sound fair enough" Tony said, "I know that Ziva thinks they are amateurs. But stupidity and ammunition is still a bad combination".

"Amen to that", McGee said.

"How's the arm, Probie?" Tony asked.

McGee smiled, "Just a scratch. Nothing to it"

"Oh yeah? Did you show the wound to Abby for sympathy?" Tony said. That earned him a light slap on the arm from Abby.

"Be nice. Poor McGee couldn't move his arm for days. I had to help him out. A lot".
Both Ziva and Tony started laughing, but Tony had to stop, when his chest started hurting. Gibbs noticed it and stood up.
"Okay, everybody out. DiNozzo needs his rest"
Everybody said their goodbyes to Tony, and Abby got out of the bed. Gibbs was the last to leave. He walked up to the bed. The smack of the head came unexpectedly.
"Hey, easy Boss! What was that for?

"That's for running around, doing your own little investigating without telling me. Look where it got you" Gibbs said, but there was more worry in his voice than anger.

Tony looked down. "Gotcha, Boss. Won't happen again"

"Better not" Gibbs said, "Now get some sleep".

Tony looked around the room, then down on his hands. He was about to say something, but before he could say anything, Gibbs had turned off the light, pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed. And then Tony didn't need to say anything anyway. Gibbs knew. Instead Tony shifted a little trying to get comfortable. Before he fell asleep, he looked at Gibbs.

"Boss…?"

"Yeah?" Gibbs said.

"Thank you".

Then Tony fell asleep.
_____________________________________________________

The wind blew through the garden. It lifted the fallen leaves and scattered them all over the garden. Two men were sitting on a bench in winter coats, enjoying the sound of the wind and the smell of fall. The older man looked at the younger:

"So, did you bring it?"

Tony looked at his grandfather and reached in his pocket.

"This is total déjà vu" he smiled and handed the cigarettes to Giovanni. Tony raised an eyebrow,
"You don't have another dead friend you want me to investigate, do you? Because Gibbs is gonna kill me".

Giovanni just smiled and took the cigarettes. He'd gotten used to the way his grandson used humour to deal with the serious things in life. It had been two months since the shooting.

They sat in silence for a while. Then Giovanni turned to face his grandson.
"Tony, I want to apologize to you" he said.

Tony protested, "Big G, I already told you. None of this was your fault. Look at me, I'm fine!"

Giovanni shook his head, "No, it's not about the shooting" He paused for a second, before he continued.

"I want to apologize for never being there for you when you were younger" He looked at Tony. "I knew what was going on in my son's house. What he did to you. And I never did anything to stop it". Giovanni looked down, but looked up again when Tony put his hand on his arm.

"You did more than you know" Tony tried to catch Giovanni's gaze, "your door was always open and still is. Your house was a refuge for me. It was the one place where I felt safe. Where he couldn't reach me. I was safe" Tony smiled. "Besides, apologizing is a sigh of weakness. Especially when there's nothing to apologize for".

Giovanni looked up at Tony and smiled. Then he turned and looked out over the garden. They sat like that for a while. The Giovanni asked;

"So, when are you gonna get your shit together and ask that lovely little Israeli out?"

Tony just laughed.