Chapter 1
Tony was happy, running through the back alleys situated around the University area while chasing a suspect. He thought how the number of people that considered ‘freeze’ a nice incentive for running was increasing. His old coach would never believe the effect of this word on suspects and how fast they run after hearing it.
Truth to be told, he had lost some precious seconds cursing McGee’s naiveté at yelling the ‘f’ word to the group of suspects before the team had the chance of assume position, sending the suspects running to different alleys and forcing them to split. He would love to kick the probie’s ass, but Gibbs would demand his share first. Since he had to observe the chain of hierarchy, he would satisfy himself with never leaving the McGeek forgot the incident.
The back allies were relatively clean of doors and obstacles and he thanked God for small mercies, because he wouldn’t have to worry about chasing the suspect inside the surrounding buildings or evading objects the man could thrown at him. No hostages either. He thought, That is worth to celebrate.
He was thrilled with the chase. Chasing a suspect like this, wind blowing away his hair, sun shinning, adrenalin pumping in his veins… Days like this showed him how much he loved his job. Tony was about 2 meters behind the suspect and was getting closer at every second passed, he could actually see the light in the end of the tunnel.
Unfortunately, the proverbial light also indicated the end of the alley, because he could see a large park in front of them and that would only complicated things. Soon or later the man he was chasing would find an innocent bystander and was very likely that he would make a hostage. He had to stop this chase as fast as he could. After a bust of speed, he managed to grab the suspect and bring him down just at the sidewalk’s end. They ended up rolling down the stairs built it at the park’s entrance.
A little dizzy from the landing, Tony got up and secured the man, preventing further escapes. He was still out of breath while he was reading the man’s rights. “You have the right to remain silent.” He said, picking his cuffs from his back pockets, “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. AND " this is my favorite part - you have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you, if you wish, big guy.”
Using the man as support, he tried to stand up only to fall back on the floor after realizing that his left foot refused to cooperate with the rest of his body. It didn’t look to bad, but there was no way he could take the prisoner back. Cursing McGeek’s lack of insight, he pulled his cell to call backup.
He never had to make the call, because Gibbs voice stopped him from doing so “You OK DiNozzo?” Tony looked back to see his Boss at the top of the stairs, blue eyes inspecting him in order to detect any injury his agent might had suffered.
“Fine Boss. Jerry here won’t be giving any more trouble, right Jerry?” Tony said giving the handcuffed man small pats over his shoulder.
Gibbs rolled his eyes, praying for patience, before forcing the answers from the younger agent “I meant with you, DiNozzo.” Gibbs went down the stairs and offered him his hand, training hi
s eyes on his agent’s face as if daring him to lie.
Looking sheepishly at his Boss, Tony decided to cave in. Accepting the help, he said “I think I have sprained my left ankle, Boss.”
Gibbs helped DiNozzo to sit down in one of the stairs and returned seconds later to guard the prisoner. It didn’t take long to the rest of the team met them at the park with their prisoner safely tucked in the NCIS car.
An ambulance arrived a few minutes later at Gibbs request and much to Tony’s disappointment to provide medical support for the injured ones. As it turned out to be, Tony’s prisoner only had some small scratches and bruises, but the NCIS agent needed to be transport to the closest hospital available in order.
Hearing the paramedics talk about taking him to the Uni Hospital, Tony remembered his visits to Jeanne and winced internally at the prospect of finding her friends in there. Now, he had no intention to ever cross those doors again if he could help it and, moving according these convictions, he physically distanced himself from the paramedics.
His escapade was aborted by Gibbs standing right behind him, “Where do you think you are going DiNozzo?”
“Boss! I really don’t need to go to the hospital Boss! I’m fine, I swear!”
Annoyed by his agents antics, Gibbs grabbed him by his clothes and forced him inside the ambulance. Before closing the ambulances doors, he sent McGee and Ziva back to NCIS and ordered them to interrogate the suspects while he accompanied Tony to the Hospital. He had no idea why Tony was so anxious about going to the hospital, but there was no way he would let the agent return to work before being checked by a doctor.
It was a short drive to the hospital and Gibbs kept a silent watch over Tony, noticing the anxiety the younger man was experiencing as the ambulance came closer and closer to their destination. Only when the ambulance’s doors opened at the University Hospital emergency entrance, Gibbs realized what was bothering the younger man.
“Ok DiNozzo. Let’s do this.”
“Hmm… Boss…”
“Front and center DiNozzo” Lowering his voice, Gibbs said to his ears only “I have your six, Tony! Let’s do this get the hell out of here.”
Those were exactly the words Tony needed. The Jeanne debacle was recent and still painful, but he wasn’t exactly alone. They weren’t alone. Gibbs saw the effects of his words the minute that idea crossed Tony’s mind: his postures relaxed and a small smile came to his face.
Things were chaotic inside the emergency room. Dozens of patients were in the reception, waiting for their names to be called. Apparently, some accident had occurred on the highway and several doctors and nurses on DC area were designated to help the surviving victims.
The short hospital staff was having serious problems to attend the patients and deal with the victims of the accident, also, now and then, they were forced to calm down parents and relatives angry at the lack of attention or information.
Gibbs had no hopes of leaving the hospital anytime soon and, after finding a wheelchair to Tony and ordering him to stay put until his return, he stepped outside the reception to make a few phone calls.
Tony never liked hospitals and seeing the distress that people were showing around the hospital corridors only made him want to stand up and to something to help them. He was particular watching a huge man yell at the nurses in hopes to provide medical help for his sick daughter when a gray haired doctor came strolling down the corridor.
The minute the man saw the doctor, the situation went sour. The man’s actions escalating to borderline violent and the commotion sending the other patients to the deep end. The doctor, probably on his 50’s, must have noticed the same things since he was now trying to lure the man away from the other patients in a calm voice, trying to isolate him and prevent a riot inside the reception.
Everything was going fine, until the man lost his mind and punched the doctor, knocking out the older man. Unsatisfied with his punch, the man moved closer to keep hitting the doctor, managing to kick his side at least once.
Not seeing any help arrive, Tony launched from his wheelchair and put himself in the line of fire. Knowing he was in no condition to fight a man twice his size, he tacked him down as fast as he could and pray for Gibbs to show up.
Gibbs heard the commotion but wasn’t fast enough to stop the man from punching Tony’s face a few times. “Hey! Stop that! Son of…” Realizing there was no way of talking the man back to his senses and mind full of the children watching the scene, Gibbs hold the man’s neck in a fierce lock, making breath a hard task for the offender.
“You OK, Tony?”
“Hey Boss… What took you so long?” Tony said breathless, touching his brand new cut over his right eye.
“DiNozzo! I swear, one of these days…”
A third person interrupted Gibbs tirade by clearing his throat. The NCIS agents turned around to see the doctor standing up at their sides. “Thank you gentlemen, I’m not sure what would had happened to me with you hadn’t stopped him. Specially, you young man…” He said turning to Tony.
He went down on his knees and brought his hands to Tony’s face, gentle fingers holding his head in a determined position to check the small cut. Blood was seeping and the doctor searched his pockets for his handkerchief in order to stop the bleeding.
As the doctors green eyes fixed on Tony’s, Gibbs couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how strange the whole scene seamed to be. Looking more particularly at Tony, he saw him mesmerized be the doctor’s gestures, his silence completely unnatural to his irrepressible persona.
“I’m being rude... I’m doctor Robert Atwood. What’s your name, young man?” The doctor asked him.
“Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo” Gibbs answered a little more forceful than needed “He sprained his ankle a few hours ago and now got himself into a fight.”
“Ouch. That’s not fair Boss! I was sat exactly where you told me to be! I never went looking for trouble.”
“Of course, not! You’re never looking for trouble, Tony. It finds you!” Gibbs went on satisfied at their familiar banter.
Chuckling at Tony’s indignant face, the doctor offered his hand to help him standing “Why don’t we go to the infirmary so I can stitch this cut of yours while your boss here take this man to the Security, huh?” Turning back to Gibbs, he said “I’m really sorry for the trouble. As you may have noticed, we are really short handed here. Nurse Brown will accompany you to the Security office and, once it’s taken care of, she can bring you right to the infirmary. What do you say?”
Gibbs was surprised by the doctor’s change of attitude, the man seamed to have snapped of whatever spell he was under. Seeing that Tony would get the needed treatment, he saw no harm in letting them go, but not without a warning. “If he gives you any hard time, you let me know. He’s not a very big fan of hospitals.”
“Not a problem, Mr….?”
“I’m Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Tony’s boss.” Turning to follow the nurse, he tossed over his shoulder, “I’ll be backing as soon as possible DiNozzo. Don’t even think about signing any AMAs in my absence.”
“That thought never crossed my mind, Boss.” Tony added sheepishly.
Story Notes:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Chapter Notes:
No parent should ever have to bury a child no matter how old or young they are and no child should grow up without the love and security provided by a father. What if someone else decided to be Tony's father?
Chapter End Notes:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.