Chapter 1
He pulled his gun out of its holster and crept along the side of the house, listening intently for any sound. "Mike?" Nothing. "Mike!" Still nothing. Damn. Where the hell did you go Mike? Gibbs is going to kill me. He looked cautiously around the corner into the backyard. Then the world went black.

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"Tony. DiNozzo? Tony!" Damnit, DiNozzo. It sounded like he'd been a little late with his warning of a security breech. He ran out of MTAC and out of the building. He broke every single traffic law in the District of Columbia on his way to the safe house, alternately swearing at other motorists, the idiot that he was attempting to get a sit rep from and just swearing at the world in general. He screeched to a halt mere inches from the ambulance that was parked in front of the house. He moved quickly through the house to the backyard, ignoring the agents that were now scouring the house for anything that could identify the people that had taken Mike and attacked Tony.
When he got to the backyard he stopped short. He had expected to see Tony there, probably flirting with one of the EMT's, but when he saw Tony it was on a stretcher, still unconscious, blood on his jacket. Damn. It looked bad. Whoever attacked Tony must have hit him pretty hard, to cause that. He headed for the nearest paramedic "How is he?" He asked gruffly.

"It's hard to say. He lost a lot of blood, head wounds tend to do that. We won't know anything until we get him to the hospital or he wakes up," she told him.

He moved over to the stretcher, looking at his Senior Field Agent grimly. He should have just kept Mike at NCIS. Or at least on the Naval Base. He should have had more people outside the house. Mike was sneaky and he really didn't want to have the agents guarding him.

He saw a paramedic walking towards him from the corner of his eye, but didn't look up from Tony's face. "Sir, we have to take him to the hospital now. Would you like to ride with him?" The man questioned Gibbs as the others prepared to move Tony.

"Yeah." Gibbs said absent mindedly, following the gurney. The ambulance had been moved so that the back was hanging over the front lawn. They loaded Tony in the back and Gibbs followed, taking hold of the younger agent's hand. The ride to the hospital passed in a blur and the next thing he knew he was standing in the waiting room dialing the number for Abby's lab.

"You're on the air!" Abby cheerful voice answered. He had to smile slightly at her always unique way of answering the phone.

"Abbs… Tony got hit on the head by-"He started to say, but Abby interrupted him.

"Again! That man needs to wear a football helmet 24/7 or something. Seriously." Abby sounded exasperated.

"Abbs, he hasn't woken up yet. And he lost a lot of blood. Whoever hit him really did a number on him." He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line and continued quickly "Abby, I'm sure he'll be fine. This is DiNozzo we're talking about. The man that survived the plague. This is nothing for him." He wasn't really sure who he was trying to convince.

"But Gibbs! That's just it! Tony's luck has to run out sometime! No one can be that insanely lucky forever!" She sounded close to tears.

"He'll be fine. I'll call you as soon as I get any news. I have to call McGee and Ziva and tell them what's going on." Gibbs told her in an attempt to placate her.

"What about Ducky? He'll want to know about it. And maybe he could translate medical into English for you." Abby questioned Gibbs.

"Can you call him?" Gibbs asked her tiredly. He really didn't want to deal with Ducky's new found coolness towards him right now.

"Sure, Gibbs. What hospital are you guys at?"

"Bethesda. Thanks Abbs."

"No prob. But you'd better call me the minute there's any news!" She warned him.

"Sure Abbs. Bye." He ended the call and dialed Ziva's number. She was much easier to talk to in a stressful situation than McGee, who still tended to get flustered.

"David," she answered curtly. She sounded as if she was ready to commit murder. Then again, she probably was. She and McGee had, after all, spent the day looking through puke.

His conversation with Ziva was quick and succinct. She was a straight to the point kind of person. They had found the particular pile of vomit that they had been searching for and were just packing up. After they took it to Abby he told them to go over to the safe house and lead the investigation there.

After that he had to call the Director and tell her what was going on. The conversation had ended when she suggested that Franks might have been the mole and that he had attacked Tony. Gibbs had hung up on her mid-sentence.

But as he sat there now, he couldn't help but wonder how far Mike was willing to go to stop these guys. He was wondering if this was Mike's Ari, or as Tony had put it, Moby Dick. He didn't think that Mike would be capable of this- oh, who the hell was he kidding, Mike was capable of it. But being capable of something and actually doing it were two totally different things. But then he thought back to the times when he had been looking for Ari. Mike had been drinking Corona on a Mexican Beach for 10 years and he didn't really give a damn about DiNozzo.

God help him, if Mike was the one that hit DiNozzo, he would kill him. He didn't give a damn how much Mike wanted these guys, nobody got away with hurting his people. Especially DiNozzo.

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After what felt like an eternity he spotted a doctor walking towards him and stood up quickly.
"Are you here with Special Agent DiNozzo?" The doctor asked. Gibbs nodded and the man continued. "He's currently in a coma. We're hoping that he will come out of it in the next day or so. We can't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up, but it doesn't appear that there will be any permanent damage if he wakes up."

"If? What the hell do you mean if!"

"His file shows… an impressive amount of head traumas. Each one increases his risk of falling into a permanent coma. However, we are hopeful that he will wake up. He is young, healthy and in excellent physical shape." The doctor told him.

"Can I see him?" Gibbs asked resignedly. He was definitely going to make sure whoever had done this to Tony died a slow and painful death.

"Of course. Follow me, please," the doctor smiled reassuringly at him. Gibbs simply glared. The doctor shifted uncomfortably and turned away from Gibbs, leading him down sterile white hallways. God, he hated hospitals.

The doctor stopped outside of a room and turned to Gibbs "Would you happen to know how I can get hold of a-" he flipped over a page on his clipboard "Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he's listed as Agent DiNozzo's next of kin." The doctor asked.

"Yeah. Two feet in front of you," Gibbs said, exasperated.

"Oh. Well, in that case. Never mind," the doctor smiled at him.

"Why did you need next of kin?"

"Well, it's procedure to notify them and we wanted to make sure they were in the area, in case anything needed to be signed." The doctor explained. "He's in this room here. I'll be back to check on him in a few hours. If you need anything, just ask one of the nurses."

Gibbs took a deep breath and opened the door. What he saw made him stop short. Tony looked so vulnerable. Gibbs cursed softly as he stared at the figure on the bed. He moved over to the chair that sat beside the bed and once more took hold of Tony's hand, silently urging him to open his eyes.

Chapter 2

"I can't believe it! Why does this stuff always happen to Tony?! He's such a sweet guy! And it's not like he goes out there looking for trouble!" Abby ranted furiously.

"Yes. Imagine how complicated our lives would be if he did go out looking for trouble. We'd never work any actual cases! We'd spend our lives trying to find him!" Ziva smirked and Abby had to laugh slightly at that. "Abby. He'll be fine. If only to torment us with more obscure movie references and correct my English incessantly."

"Yeah… but I still worry about him. He seriously has a hospital file longer than Al Capone!" Abby squeezed Bert, who let out a loud fart. Both women smiled slightly.

After minute Ziva broke the silence "Come on, Abby. We need to process all this evidence. The faster we do, the sooner we catch this bastard." Ziva stood up and grabbed a pair of gloves.

"Yeah… I almost feel sorry for this guy." Abby put down Bert, who let out another fart.

"What? Why?" Ziva asked, confused and slightly annoyed. How could anyone, especially Abby, feel sorry for the man that had put her partner in a coma?

"Can you imagine what Gibbs'll do to the guy when he catches him?" Abby smirked.

"The old Gibbs, yes. He'd make the guy die a slow and painful death. The new Gibbs… doesn't seem to give a damn anymore," Ziva said quietly.

Abby looked down. It was true. Since he had come back Gibbs had been more distant with all of them, especially Tony. She knew that Gibbs treating McGee like his golden boy was getting to Tony. But she hoped that this might make Gibbs snap out of his Corona induced haze. But if Gibbs didn't kill the guy-or at the very least cause him a great deal of pain and suffering- she sure as hell would. Well, that is, if Ziva didn't beat her to it.


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Gibbs was still sitting next to the bed, staring at Tony as though willing him to wake up when Ducky entered the hospital room.

"Oh dear Anthony what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Ducky muttered to himself. Gibbs didn't look up as he moved over to stand beside him. "What happened?"

"Someone snuck up on him, hit him and took Franks." Or Franks attacked Tony and went vigilante. Gibbs thought bitterly.

"Mm…" Ducky answered absently, moving to the foot of the bed and picking up Tony's chart.

"I have no idea what any of that means." Gibbs gestured to the file in Ducky's hands, looking up from Tony for the first time.

"He lost some blood and definitely has a concussion, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage, assuming he wakes up." Ducky summarized succinctly. "Although he was hit rather hard he should have woken up by now."

"Yeah, well, when was the last time DiNozzo actually did what he was supposed to do?" A small smile played on Gibbs lips.

"Yes, well, this actually reminds me of another case. The man showed absolutely no signs of any brain damage, but he remained in a coma for quite some time. In fact-"

"Look, Ducky. I just… Can you maybe tell me about this another time? Please." Gibbs sounded tired, defeated.

"Ah, but Jethro, you don't need me to tell you about it at all. I'm referring to your recent coma. Perhaps young Anthony is more like you than you care to admit." Ducky turned and exited the room, leaving Gibbs alone with his thoughts.

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Chapter 3

How the hell was Ducky managing to connect his coma to Tony's current condition? He had been in an explosion, had other injuries. But he knew that wasn't what Ducky had been referring to. He hadn't wanted to wake up because of Shannon and Kelly. What reason would Tony have to not want to come back? But he thought he knew the answer to that question, too. Gibbs had quit, just up and left without any warning and had handed Tony his gun and badge and his only words were, "You'll do." And then he just showed up, again with no warning and just dumped all his stuff on his old desk.

Jenny had hinted at the fact that he should, at least, acknowledge Tony had done a good job of leading the team. But he'd just ignored her. Damn, he hated it when she was right.

"Ah, hell… Tony, I… I'm sorry. I screwed up." Gibbs said quietly.

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Outside the hospital room Ducky smiled slightly. Now all Gibbs has to do was say it when Tony was conscious. They were both so pig headed and neither one of their strengths was actually talking things out. Just ask any of Gibbs ex-wives. They both seemed to prefer the 'grunt and move on' method, which didn't always work.
It was no wonder McGee always went to Abby to talk. He was surrounded by Tony, Ziva and Gibbs. They weren't exactly the most open people on the face of the planet.

As he walked out of the hospital into the bright sunlight he silently pondered if there was any hope for McGee.

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Chapter 3

How the hell was Ducky managing to connect his coma to Tony's current condition? He had been in an explosion, had other injuries. But he knew that wasn't what Ducky had been referring to. He hadn't wanted to wake up because of Shannon and Kelly. What reason would Tony have to not want to come back? But he thought he knew the answer to that question, too. Gibbs had quit, just up and left without any warning and had handed Tony his gun and badge and his only words were, "You'll do." And then he just showed up, again with no warning and just dumped all his stuff on his old desk.

Jenny had hinted at the fact that he should, at least, acknowledge Tony had done a good job of leading the team. But he'd just ignored her. Damn, he hated it when she was right.

"Ah, hell… Tony, I… I'm sorry. I screwed up." Gibbs said quietly.

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Outside the hospital room Ducky smiled slightly. Now all Gibbs has to do was say it when Tony was conscious. They were both so pig headed and neither one of their strengths was actually talking things out. Just ask any of Gibbs ex-wives. They both seemed to prefer the 'grunt and move on' method, which didn't always work.
It was no wonder McGee always went to Abby to talk. He was surrounded by Tony, Ziva and Gibbs. They weren't exactly the most open people on the face of the planet.

As he walked out of the hospital into the bright sunlight he silently pondered if there was any hope for McGee.

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Chapter 4

~3 Days Later~

Gibbs was, once again, sitting next to Tony's still unconscious form, hoping that the young man would wake up soon and reflecting on the events of the past few days.


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They had just received Intel on the location of Arkady Kobach. That led them to an apartment across town. McGee went through the phone records and discovered that several calls had been placed to a cheap hotel room.
The team had entered the hotel room to discover it deserted except for a few empty Coronas and an empty pack of cigarettes. Mike's brand. It looked like Mike had been the one that had attacked Tony.

Gibbs was going to kill him.

He made his way down to the Hotel Bar and found Mike standing there, holding a gun on Kobach. As Gibbs watched Mike shot him and then turned to Gibbs.

"They never would have made anything stick." Franks said matter-of-factly. He paused. "DiNozzo okay?"

Gibbs was across the room almost immediately. He grabbed the front of Mike's shirt and shoved him up against the wall "Tony is in a coma because of you, you bastard!" Gibbs yelled, eyes glinting with cold fury.

At that moment McGee walked in "Boss, I-" He froze at the sight of a furious Gibbs holding Franks up against the wall, not to mention the dead Russian in the middle of the floor.

Gibbs released the front of his shirt and turned him roughly around and pulling out his cuffs. "Mike Franks, you're under arrest for the assault and attempted murder of a Federal Officer. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law-"

"Hey, I just wanted to knock him out! I wasn't trying to kill him!" Franks objected angrily.

Gibbs acted as though he couldn't hear him, despite the fact that under the surface he was boiling. He led Franks out of the building and shoved him hard into the side of the car as he opened the door. He made sure to smack his head on the roof as he shoved him unceremoniously into the car and slammed the door in his face.

He'd told Ziva and McGee to take him back and let him sit in interrogation-in the handcuffs- until he got back to conduct the interrogation. He'd waited until DC Metro arrived at the scene, he'd given his statement and then he'd driven to the hospital.


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Gibbs sighed and shifted in his seat. The doctors had informed him that the longer Tony was in the coma the less likely he was to come out of it. The thought of never hearing Tony's voice again had hit Gibbs hard. He hadn't realized how much he depended on Tony to diffuse him, keep him from going crazy or killing someone. Gibbs silently cursed again. He didn't think he could live with himself if Tony didn't wake up, to look at the shell of his Senior Field Agent forever. To think that Tony thought that Gibbs hated him.

Gibbs fell into a restless sleep, his guilt still swirling around his mind.

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Chapter 5

The first thing that he was aware of was the stinging smell of antiseptic. That probably meant he was in a hospital. But he had no idea how he might have gotten there. His head hurt. Probably another concussion to add to his ever growing collection. The last thing he could remember was guarding Franks. Then Gibbs calling him… something about security… going off script, maybe. Everything was fuzzy. Gibbs wanted to talk to Mike… but Mike had disappeared. He remembered going into the backyard… then nothing. Damn. He was probably in a hell of a lot of trouble for losing Franks.

He opened his eyes slowly; it felt like his eyelids weighed a hundred pounds. He blinked, trying to bring the world into focus. It was dark. He moved his head slowly to the side. Someone was sleeping restlessly in the chair next to the bad. It took him a minute to identify the figure.

Gibbs.

"Boss?" He whispered. Gibbs jumped and looked around. Tony smiled to himself. He had finally managed to get one up on Gibbs.

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"Boss?" It was possibly the most wonderful thing he had ever heard in his entire life. He looked into the green eyes that were currently studying him warily. He got up quickly and moved to sit on the side of the bed, grasping Tony's hand.
"Tony? You with me?" Gibbs asked gently.

"Yeah… I think so boss. Wh-What happened?" He asked weakly, looking up at Gibbs.

"Franks attacked you." Gibbs said bitterly "The bastard played us. Used us to get Intel and went rogue. Used a tape of Cabaña music to lure Arkady Kobach to the bar of some cheap hotel and shot him."

Tony stared at him like he had grown several extra heads. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

For the first time in days Gibbs laughed. "No. As insane as it may sound, I am completely serious."

"Jeez…" Tony muttered, shaking his head "Ah!" He closed his eyes in pain.

"Tony? What's wrong?" Gibbs questioned his voice full of concern.

"Remind me not to do that again…" Tony said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, probably wasn't your best move." Gibbs agreed, gripping Tony's shoulders. "Just breathe. It'll pass." Gibbs urged quietly.

After a moment Tony opened his eyes again and looked down. "Gibbs, I- I screwed up," he said softly

Gibbs sighed "Tony, look at me." When Tony continued to study his hands as though they were the most interesting thing he had looked at in weeks, Gibbs reached out and gently lifted his chin so that Tony's eyes met his. "You didn't screw up, Tony. I did. I swallowed every damn lie he told me."

"Boss, I-"

"No, Tony. Listen to me. This is in no way your fault. You hear me?" Gibbs watched Tony carefully.

"Gotcha, Boss." Tony smiled slightly.

"Good." There was a moment's silence "You had us pretty worried there." Gibbs stated softly.

"Sorry about that, Boss, I-" But he was cut off by a loud squeal from the doorway.

"TONY! You're awake!" Abby launched herself at him.

'Ah! Abbs… good to see you, too… But I can't breathe…" Tony gasped.

"Oh, sorry!" Abby exclaimed letting go of him and perching herself on the edge of the bed. She turned to Gibbs and punched him in the arm, hard.

"Ow, Abbs! What was that for!" Gibbs rubbed his arm, looking at her in confusion.

"Not calling me the minute he woke up!"

"He only woke up a few minutes ago! Jeez…" Gibbs rolled his eyes at her.

Abby glared at him for a few more seconds before turning her attention back to Tony and punching him on the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?" Tony asked looking injured.

"Abby!" Gibbs growled.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Anthony DiNozzo!" She told Tony in her best Gibbs' voice.

Tony continued to look injured for a few seconds, still absent mindedly rubbing his arm and then his face broke out into a smile "Sorry about that, Abbs. I'll try not to do that again."

"See that you don't, buster!"

"So how long was I out, anyway?" Tony asked curiously.

Abby and Gibbs looked at each other before Gibbs answered "Four days."

"Four days! How hard did Mike hit me! Was he trying to kill me or something!" Tony exclaimed in shock.

"I don't know if he was actually trying to kill you, but I charged him with attempted murder, anyway." Gibbs voice was hard.

"I just so glad you're awake, Tony!" Abby cried, wrapping her arms around Tony's neck again.

"Thanks, Abbs." Tony wrapped his arms around her, carefully avoiding any and all spikes she might be wearing.

"Ah, Anthony, you're awake!" Ducky had just entered the room, followed by McGee and Ziva.

After several minutes of everyone making sure that Tony was, in fact, alright, Abby spoke. "I've really got to get back to the office, I have a huge pile if evidence to go through."

"Yeah, we should probably be getting back, too. I can't see my desk under the hill of paperwork." Ziva said as she and McGee stood up.

"Mountain, Ziva. Mountain of paperwork." Tony corrected automatically.

"Whatever."

"I should get a start on Mr. Kobach." Ducky agreed and they all exited the room and Gibbs and Tony were once again left alone.

Tony shifted uncomfortably "So… what did Franks say in interrogation?"

"Nothing, yet. He's still cooling his heels." Gibbs smirked.

"How long has he been in there?"

Gibbs checked his watch "About 17 hours."

"Are you serious!" Tony had never heard of someone being left in interrogation for that long.

"Completely. And the cuffs are still on." Gibbs said with a self satisfied smirk.

"Wow, Gibbs. That is cruel and unusual punishment."

"Yeah, well, I plan to make him suffer as long as humanly possible." Gibbs voice had turned hard.

"Wow. Remind me to never piss you off this thoroughly," Tony said, impressed.

"Well, you won't manage to unless you plan to knock yourself out and put yourself into a coma." Gibbs looked at him steadily.

"Um… I'll keep that in mind…" Now he was just confused.

"Tony, listen to me. I'm not pissed because Franks lied to me. I'm pissed because he could have killed you." Gibbs watched as Tony processed what had been said.

"Boss, I…" Tony had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. None.

"Okay, Tony, I'll make this simple. I do care. No matter what I say, I'm proud of you. Got that?" It was true. He was proud of Tony. Tony was like a son to him.

"I know, It just… It would be nice to get a simple 'Good job' every now and then," Tony said quietly.

"I'll try to remember that." Gibbs nodded and stood up. "Get some rest."

"Sure, Boss. Thanks." Tony smiled at Gibbs, who smiled back at him, a rare, true smile.

"Night, DiNozzo."
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Chapter 6

Gibbs stood in the observation room watching Mike squirm; the man clearly needed a cigarette. Gibbs smirked. Not gonna happen anytime soon. The door opened and he turned to see Jen walk in. He nodded to her and walked out into the hallway.

Gibbs took a deep breath and opened the door to the interrogation room where Mike had been sitting for the past 20 hours, give or take. Gibbs had decided to not only obey all speed limits, but had also stopped at home, showered, gotten coffee (twice) and sorted through his email and read all the interdepartmental memos from the past week before conducting the interrogation. He slammed the door behind him and stood glaring at Mike for a minute before silently walking over to the table and dropping the file on it. He pulled out the chair roughly and sat dawn, still glaring.

"Listen, I didn't want to hurt DiNozzo, but Kobach had to be stopped." Mike pleaded, trying to make Gibbs understand. Gibbs simply continued to glare.

"Probie, are you gonna say something or are you just going to sit there and glare at me all week?" Mike was starting to get annoyed. Gibbs simply opened the file and began to look through it.

"C'mon, you don't really think that's gonna work on me, do ya Probie?" Mike rolled his eyes.

"Nope. I'm just reading your... colorfully given statement." Gibbs, said, not looking up and flipping a page over absently.

"Yeah, well, the guy was an ass." Mike shifted uncomfortably. "Are the cuffs still really necessary?"

"Yes. Orders from the Director. She wanted to ensure that the rest of NCIS remained conscious." Gibbs snapped.

"Hey, if you hadn't put DiNozzo on protection detail, this never would have happened!" Mike objected loudly.

"Don't. You attacked him because you wanted to be a damn cowboy. You could have killed him." Gibbs got up and moved around the table. He leaned in close to Mike's ear and whispered, so that only he could hear it "The only reason I didn't shoot you is because Tony didn't die. If he had you would be dead right now. So you had better thank your lucky stars that DiNozzo has one hell of a stubborn streak." Gibbs straightened up and picked up the folder. He walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Jethro? How's Tony?"

"Better. He woke up a couple of hours ago." Gibbs turned to look at Jenny.

"Good. Fornell is here to interrogate Franks." Gibbs gave her a questioning look "The FBI is dealing with the murder of Arkady Kobach. It was either them or DC Metro. A civilian killing a civilian isn't in our jurisdiction, Jethro."

"Fine." Gibbs brushed past her.

The door to the elevator opened and Fornell appeared. He saw Gibbs and moved back inside. Gibbs followed him and waited for the car to start before flipping the emergency stop switch.

They stood in silence for a minute until Fornell asked "How's DiNutso?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at Fornell's intentional mispronunciation of Tony's name. "He'll be okay. Woke up a couple hours ago."

"Glad to hear it. I'm told it was your old boss." Fornell looked at Gibbs questioningly.

Gibbs nodded curtly. "Bastard played me." He growled.

"I surprised you didn't kill him." Fornell smirked slightly.

"Too easy. I've had him handcuffed in interrogation for the past 20 hours." Gibbs eyes glinted mischievously.

"Great. Now he's gonna whine to me about it." Fornell moaned.

"Yeah. So?" Gibbs leaned over and flipped the switch, causing the elevator start moving again.

The doors opened and Gibbs stepped out of the elevator and turned to grin at Fornell as the doors began to close. "Have fun."

The doors closed on Fornells scowling face.

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Chapter 6

Gibbs stood in the observation room watching Mike squirm; the man clearly needed a cigarette. Gibbs smirked. Not gonna happen anytime soon. The door opened and he turned to see Jen walk in. He nodded to her and walked out into the hallway.

Gibbs took a deep breath and opened the door to the interrogation room where Mike had been sitting for the past 20 hours, give or take. Gibbs had decided to not only obey all speed limits, but had also stopped at home, showered, gotten coffee (twice) and sorted through his email and read all the interdepartmental memos from the past week before conducting the interrogation. He slammed the door behind him and stood glaring at Mike for a minute before silently walking over to the table and dropping the file on it. He pulled out the chair roughly and sat dawn, still glaring.

"Listen, I didn't want to hurt DiNozzo, but Kobach had to be stopped." Mike pleaded, trying to make Gibbs understand. Gibbs simply continued to glare.

"Probie, are you gonna say something or are you just going to sit there and glare at me all week?" Mike was starting to get annoyed. Gibbs simply opened the file and began to look through it.

"C'mon, you don't really think that's gonna work on me, do ya Probie?" Mike rolled his eyes.

"Nope. I'm just reading your... colorfully given statement." Gibbs, said, not looking up and flipping a page over absently.

"Yeah, well, the guy was an ass." Mike shifted uncomfortably. "Are the cuffs still really necessary?"

"Yes. Orders from the Director. She wanted to ensure that the rest of NCIS remained conscious." Gibbs snapped.

"Hey, if you hadn't put DiNozzo on protection detail, this never would have happened!" Mike objected loudly.

"Don't. You attacked him because you wanted to be a damn cowboy. You could have killed him." Gibbs got up and moved around the table. He leaned in close to Mike's ear and whispered, so that only he could hear it "The only reason I didn't shoot you is because Tony didn't die. If he had you would be dead right now. So you had better thank your lucky stars that DiNozzo has one hell of a stubborn streak." Gibbs straightened up and picked up the folder. He walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Jethro? How's Tony?"

"Better. He woke up a couple of hours ago." Gibbs turned to look at Jenny.

"Good. Fornell is here to interrogate Franks." Gibbs gave her a questioning look "The FBI is dealing with the murder of Arkady Kobach. It was either them or DC Metro. A civilian killing a civilian isn't in our jurisdiction, Jethro."

"Fine." Gibbs brushed past her.

The door to the elevator opened and Fornell appeared. He saw Gibbs and moved back inside. Gibbs followed him and waited for the car to start before flipping the emergency stop switch.

They stood in silence for a minute until Fornell asked "How's DiNutso?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at Fornell's intentional mispronunciation of Tony's name. "He'll be okay. Woke up a couple hours ago."

"Glad to hear it. I'm told it was your old boss." Fornell looked at Gibbs questioningly.

Gibbs nodded curtly. "Bastard played me." He growled.

"I surprised you didn't kill him." Fornell smirked slightly.

"Too easy. I've had him handcuffed in interrogation for the past 20 hours." Gibbs eyes glinted mischievously.

"Great. Now he's gonna whine to me about it." Fornell moaned.

"Yeah. So?" Gibbs leaned over and flipped the switch, causing the elevator start moving again.

The doors opened and Gibbs stepped out of the elevator and turned to grin at Fornell as the doors began to close. "Have fun."

The doors closed on Fornells scowling face.

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Chapter 7

"Ready to go DiNozzo?"

"Yes!" Tony practically yelled, jumping up from the bed.

Gibbs rolled his eyes at Tony's obvious excitement; he hated hospitals as much as Gibbs did.

"C'mon, DiNozzo. Let's go." Gibbs smirked as Tony practically skipped out of the hospital room. They had managed to avoid Gibbs having to wheel Tony out due to a combination of Tony charming the hell out of most of the nurses and Gibbs scaring the hell out of the rest of them.

They got into Gibbs car and Tony quickly grabbed the holy shit handle as Gibbs peeled out of the parking lot the moment Tony had gotten his door closed. He expertly buckled his seat belt one handed as Gibbs made one of his turns that defied the laws of physics.

"Jesus, Gibbs, are you trying to give another concussion!" Tony cried as his head narrowly missed smashing into the window. Tony's mouth dropped open as Gibbs actually slowed down to within 10 miles of the speed limit. "Um…. Thanks…."

Gibbs smiled slightly.


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Gibbs stopped the car and Tony looked around in confusion "Um, boss? This is your house."

"Yep." Gibbs stated simply as he got out of the car. Tony followed him, still looking confused.

"But, why…?"

"DiNozzo, you still have a world class concussion, you are not going back to your apartment. I've seen that place." Gibbs said, exasperated.

"Hey! What's wrong with my apartment!" Tony asked indignantly.

"We'll start with the lack of decent food and work our way up." Gibbs rolled his eyes as Tony opened his mouth "And don't even think about saying that you'll order in." Tony closed his mouth again. Gibbs smirked.

"Abby brought over some of your stuff. I have no idea how she got into your apartment, but I kinda figured I didn't want to know." Gibbs jerked his head at a duffel bag that was sitting by the door. "Take the spare bedroom." Gibbs wandered into the kitchen to make coffee while Tony went upstairs to change out of the scrubs they had given him at the hospital.

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15 minutes later Tony wandered downstairs and was greeted by the smell of coffee. God, he needed coffee. But he didn't need it bad enough to drink that…toxic sludge that Gibbs referred to as coffee.
"Here." Gibbs said, tossing Tony a thermos "Abby also brought this over for you… there's a note on the side."

Tony read Abby's note -which was written in here usual blood red ink- and laughed.

Tony-
Figured you'd be needing coffee and
I didn't want you to go into another
coma because you tried to drink
Gibbs' special blend.
-Abby

He opened the thermos and inhaled deeply. He made a mental note to buy Abby a dozen black roses as soon as possible.

"I can't believe she actually suggested that my coffee would put you in a coma." Gibbs said in a mock affronted voice. Tony smirked.

"Well, Gibbs, your coffee is a little… strong." Yeah, and that's putting it nicely.

Gibbs rolled his eyes as Tony took a long drink from the thermos and sighed contentedly. "Here. Eat." He said as he put two plates of Lasagna down on the table.

"Oh, I love you boss!" Hey, he couldn't help it; he was Italian, after all.

"No, you love Ziva." Gibbs corrected as he sat down. "She's the one who made it."

"Yes!" Tony quickly picked up his fork and took a huge bite.

Gibbs shook his head slightly and also took a bite. Once had had swallowed he looked up. "I think I love Ziva, too."

"Yup. She makes the best lasagna ever!" Tony said between mouthfuls.

They finished eating in silence and by the time they were done there wasn't much of the lasagna left, despite the fact that Ziva had made a ton. After they were done Tony followed Gibbs down to the basement and watched him working on the boat. It actually looked like a boat now.

Gibbs pulled down the bottle of bourbon from behind the paint stripper (where, in Tony's opinion, was exactly where it belonged) and poured some into to two mugs, handing one to Tony. Tony looked down at it and then up at Gibbs, a small smile playing on his lips.

"What, no Corona?"
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