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 6
Gibbs could honestly say that it had been a long night and it would be a hell of a day. McGee and Ziva showed up at the hospital around 4:00 am to report him they found no witness and they were searching for something in the traffic tapes. Abby had called at somepoint to explain that due the amount of fingerprints inside Tony’s apartment " she needed time to process and identify them all. She had found a considerable amount of some sort of benzodiazepine on Tony’s beer and babbled on how incredibly smart - in a hinky way " a person had to be to think on something like that, since it was guarantee that Tony would only be drugged during the nights. He hadn’t appreciated the fact at all, because it showed him that whoever did it knew a little too well Tony’s habits.
In the morning, he could no longer denied himself a cup of coffee and, trusting in the two marines guarding his unconscious agents, he went down the hospital cafeteria to unwind. Half an hour later he walked back to the room only to find Dr. Atwood animatedly discussing with a now very awake and talkative Ducky.
“That is truly fascinating Doctor Atwood. A few years ago, I took a trip to study the burial rites among the Ariaal nomads and I found myself intrigued for this precisely particular aspect of their culture. You see…”
The whole scene seamed very disturbing to Gibbs: he had a bad gut feeling over that man and here he was, sitting at an unconscious Tony bedside and chatting with Ducky like he belonged in there. As “Dr. Atwood” lifted his hands to brush Tony’s hair away from the young man’s face, Gibbs realized that he had enough. He walked stiffly in to the room and out his hand over Tony’s head, mentally screaming at the man for even consider touching what belonged to him.
That gesture wasn’t lost to Atwood, who, after inconspicuously retreat his hand, decided to challenge Gibbs by holding to his ground at Tony’s bedside. There was a strange light shining on the doctor’s eyes as if he had not a care in the world, as with Gibbs was nothing else than a figure from the past.
“Jethro! I’m glad you are back! I believe you already met Dr. Robert Atwood. He was the doctor responsible for Tony’s care at the Uni Hospital?” Ducky told him oblivious to the tension between the other men.
“Oh, I remember him. Ducky. So Dr. Atwood, what brings you here?” Gibbs asked him scrutinizing the other man’s posture as he searched for any signs of lies.
“I thought about inviting Tony for breakfast, he was very kind to me the other day listening an old man’s whines. I wanted to thank him for lend me his shoulder.” Atwood bragged about it, making Gibbs eyes narrow in annoyance.
“Young Anthony can be remarkably understandable and kind, even with total strangers…” Ducky rambled on unaware of Atwood’s reaction at being compared to a stranger.
Gibbs eyes lighted up in satisfaction at his friend’s unconscious barb and carried on “And how do you know his was here?”
“The NCIS agent securing Tony’s apartment told me I could find him here.”
‘Ex NCIS agent’ Gibbs corrected mentally. He would make sure whoever spilled Tony’s location to a complete stranger during a stalking investigation would be transferred to North Pole by the end of the morning.
Gibbs felt Tony stirring under his hand. “About damn time DiNozzo!” He said to the awakening man.
“Boss? What…” Tony moved to sit up, by was stopped by two hands holding him down “Where the hell I am?”
“You’re in the hospital, Tony!” Dr Atwood explained to him gently.
“What?” That didn’t seam right to him and he mentally retraced his steps, trying to figure out what could possibly send him to a hospital bed. He had came home after spending some time at Ducky’s bedside, set the TV to watch some movies and opened up a beer and… and what?
Seeing Tony growing more and more anxious, Gibbs told him “Someone drugged you Tony. We think that fancy beer you buy was spiced up.”
“WHAT?” Now, he was officially freaked out. “I don’t remember…”
“That was probably some sort of benzodiazepine, lad.” Dr. Atwood explained to him “It won’t cause you any harm, but that’s probably why you don’t remember a thing.”
“Dr. Atwood here is right, Anthony. It is an awful experience, young man, but we should be thankful for small graces. The substance itself is harmless when compared to others sold on the streets.”
“Like GHB? Was I…?” He couldn’t say it; his mind was going into overdrive…
Gibbs took his face on his hands and fixing a steady glare on the younger man told him seriously “Hey! No, they simply drugged you. I believe you got yourself a stalker, DiNozzo! The SOB called me to brag about it.
“But, who would do such a thing?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find it out!” Gibbs assured him. ‘And then there will be hell to pay!’ he thought.
Hearing those words from Gibbs worked like a charm on Tony. ‘Gibbs is here, he wouldn’t lie to me or let any harm come to me. He’ll work the things out.’ Turning his sight from his Boss and looking at Dr. Atwood, Tony’s curious nature got the better of him “Hey Doc! What are you doing around here?”
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Back at the Atwood’s residence, Kathleen came back from the kitchen were she had been preparing Mrs. Atwood’s breakfast for the last 30 minutes and considering the small changes on her job.
The Atwoods never had mistreated her and were always generous to her, paying here almost double of the salary usually paid to nurses, giving her flowers or small tokens of appreciation for her hard work. She was happy to work for them and started to consider them as family or something as close as possible to it.
That’s why she couldn’t help but notice the changes on the couple’s behavior for the last week. It started with Mrs. Atwood, but that was only normal since she was the most sensitive in the house. The brunette woman seamed more distant than usual during the last days, like she was retreating farther and farther away from reality. Kathleen could barely got a reaction for her these days!
And there where the small disappearances of her to consider, since from times to time the woman would leave, driving Kathleen crazy with concern for hours before she could finally found her sat on the wheelchair at some point of the house or the front garden, like she was trying to run or hide.
Or maybe Kathleen was going crazy… When was the last time she got a vacation?
But then there was Dr. Atwood as well. Unlike his wife, he was smiling and more energetic these days, like he had opened up to the world. One morning he had told her about his son and showed some pictures of him running, playing basketball in college, partying with his friends. There was a proud smile on the man’s face and she couldn’t help but compliment the young man on the pictures.
That had been the first time he showed her Michael’s photos but, after that day, they were placed around Dr. Atwood’s library and kept it zealously behind closed doors. She knew this only because she had being the one responsible to take the pictures to a shop in the mall and having them framed.
Her personal opinion on the Doctor’s behavior must have been easy to discern, because he had later explain to her that his wife’s strong reaction to the photos forced him to hide them in the library.
She agreed and let the whole thing go, no longer questioning the appearance of new photos, cds and movie dvds around the house, or inquiring the sudden urge to leave the house even before the sun arise, or his late arrivals at home. ‘There was something going on with the couple...’
Shaking herself from these paranoids thoughts, Kathleen went to feed Mrs. Atwood.
“What do you think is going on around here, Mrs. Atwood?” She asked patiently to her charge. The woman never answered her, she wasn’t expected to, but her eyes turned to the family picture carefully placed over the fireplace
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.