Disclaimer: 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.
Chapter 4
The team was in Bethesda’s family room, waiting for news on Ducky’s surgery. Tony had done some investigation on his own and, after flirting with some of the nurses attending the emergency room, he had learned that Ducky had suffered a clean shot through his shoulder, so the old M.E. was in no particular danger. He had share the good news with the team as soon as he got several nurses home numbers, his grin faltering for a few seconds at Gibbs’ annoyed stare.
Trying to deflect Gibbs attention, Tony inquired after clearing his throat “heh… Any leads from the Park, Boss?”
“Nope. Agent Atkinsons’ team was unable to find any evidences on the scene.” He said lifting a half fool cup of coffee to his lips.
“Well, when you think about it, it isn’t such a surprise. We couldn’t even see where the shots where coming from…” Tony commented.
“Still, someone was bound to see a person carrying a riffle in the middle of the morning.” Ziva protested.
“That won’t help.” McGee offered “This is season hunting. A person carrying a rifle inside the Park area wouldn’t stand out from other people visiting the area.”
At that moment, a doctor came to family room asking for Doctor Mallard’s family. Gibbs, taking the lead, moved to speak with the doctor, who was already surrounded by the rest of the team.
“We’re Ducky’s family, Doctor. He has a mother, but she is in no condition to come here on her own.”
“I see. Well, he’s physically fine. He is lucky: it’s a clean shot and there are currently no signs of infection. But, because of his age and the blood loss, we’ll be keeping here over the night for observation.”
“Whoever shot him may try to attempt to kill him here, so we are restricting his visits and posting agents at his door for protection” Gibbs explained to the doctor. Turning to his team, he said “DiNozzo, I want you to go to Ducky’s house and pack him and his mother a bag. They will be staying in a safe house during this investigation.”
“On it, Boss.” Tony answered.
“Ziva, keep him company until our guys assume position at his door. I want to hear from you the second Ducky is awake.”
“Not a problem.”
“What about me, Boss?” Ventured McGee after Ziva had left to find the nurse station.
“Back to the bullpen, McGee. We need to check it out Atkinsons’ findings. We need to figure who did this to Ducky. Besides, Abby must be going crazy with the lack of news.”
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By the time Tony had finished to convince Ducky’s 96 year old mother that he wasn’t a gigolo trying to kidnap her and/or steal his son’s clothes, drive her to the safe house and talk her out of bullying the NCIS agents responsible for her security, he was feeling truly exhausted.
Gibbs smug voice over to phone had him believing that it was all a plot to keep him miserable and away from work until he got a clearance note from a doctor. Of course, the fact that Ducky would be out of commission for a few good weeks made him worried over what kind of new inventive ways of torture Gibbs would come up with to busy him during the long hours of desk duty.
His thoughts were interrupted by a call from Uni Hospital Administration Desk, asking him to come by and correct some information on his personal file since he apparently had forgot a few digits of his social number. He called Gibbs to warn him that he would be making a fifteen minutes stop at the hospital to correct and sign some papers and change the route to the hospital.
While he was wandering along the hospital corridors, trying to locate the administration officer, he was fortunately enough to bumped in to Dr. Atwood. The older man took a few seconds to recognize him, but he seemed genuinely happy to see Toy again.
“Hello Dr. Atwood.” Tony said smiling at the man, offering his hand to shake.
“Anthony, please, call me Robert. How are you, young man?” Dr. Atwood said while shaking Tony’s hand “Did you come here to remove your stitches?”
He brought Tony’s face closer to give a better look at the cut, making the younger uncomfortable by his familiarity. “ah… Call me Tony! Not really. It seems there is a problem with my health insurance and I came here to solve it. Do you mind in pointing me where the admin office is?”
“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you come to my office and we remove these stitches while one of the nurses goes fetch those papers? That will save you time.” Without waiting for Tony’s answer, Dr. Atwood put his arm over Tony’s shoulder and directed him to his office.
Unable to resist the opportunity to get an all clear from a doctor, Tony left himself be dragged charmed by the prospect of getting back to field work.
“You seem a little tired. Is your sprain giving you hard time at work?” Dr. Atwood asked him while removing the stitches.
“Huh? No, not really. It’s been a long day at work, that’s all.”
“I see…”
“Dr. Atwood? Would you mind in giving me a clearance note? I needed to show at work or I’ll spend the rest of my life on desk duty…” Tony whined.
Chuckling at the other man’s behavior, Atwood said “Not a problem, Tony. I’ll check your sprain and if everything is OK, I give you the note.”
“Come on! I swear that I’m OK!”
“Of course you are, young man. But just in case you are anything like my son, I’ll sleep better if you let me check it for you.”
“You have a son?” asked Tony as he propped his leg over the exam table.
“Michael. He used to play basketball just like you.” A sad smile blossomed on the man’s face “Sprained his ankle every year until…He… he died a few years ago. He had cancer.”
“I’m sorry for your loss! I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Please, it’s not your fault. You remind me so much of him; the same attitude.” He reminisced. “Your ankle is fine Anthony. I’ll clear you to normal activities.”
Tony couldn’t help but notice how lonely the older man seemed to look, speaking over his son’s death. “Thank you. Look, if you ever need someone to talk too… My mom died from cancer a long time ago, but I can relate to the feeling of loosing a family member.”
“You are a very gentle young man. Thank you.” Dr. Atwood said, waving goodbye from his office door.
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By the time Tony finally made back to the office, Gibbs was seriously pissed. There were no shred to evidence to help them identify the shooter and Tony had disappeared for whole two hours, which could only mean that he was up to no good.
Contrary to others believes, Tony could recognize signs of danger and if the looks coming from Gibbs were anything to go by, he was in serious problem. He was almost tempted to go hide on Abby’s lab, almost. Any attempt to escape was aborted when Gibbs noticed he was back at the office
“DiNozzo! Where the hell have you being?”
“Hey Boss. I was in the hospital correcting my insurance number when I ran into Dr. Atwood and he offered himself to remove my stitches.” He rambled on. Tony saw Gibbs stiff his posture at hearing Dr. Atwood’s name being mentioned and knew instinctively that the doctor had rubbed of on Gibbs in the wrong way. “I got my all clear note!” He said showing it as a peace offer.
He was spared from Gibbs dress down by a call from Ziva informing them that Ducky was coherent enough to answer Gibbs questions. “What?” Gibbs stared at Tony signalizing their conversation wasn’t over before focus his attention on the speaker.
“Stay with him until we get there.” Shutting the phone without saying goodbye, he turned to Tony and said “Call Abby. We are heading back to the hospital.”
“Right, Boss.”
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It was around 10 pm when Gibbs finally made it home, frustrated by the lack of leads and Ducky’s inability to help with the investigation. The old M.E. had simply stated that he had no idea who would try to kill him and that neither he nor his mother had received any threats. Feeling a head ache coming, Gibbs went to kitchen and started a fresh pot of coffee. He would needed caffeine to mull over some thoughts while he was working on his boat.
At that moment, his cell start to ring, its caller Id flashing DiNozzo’s name. Smiling a little at the welcomed intrusion, he answered after the third call “Gibbs”
The unexpected sound of an unknown voice greeted him over the phone “Good evening, Special Agent Gibbs. This is your first and last warning… He is mine. You keep away from him!”
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.