Chapter Sixteen
Gibbs watched Dante for a few moments before speaking again. Dante was a study in contrasts for Gibbs, the man Tony had spoken about versus the genuinely remorseful father before him. Gibbs nodded, his decision more firm than ever. He’d work with Tony, but he wouldn’t make any promises.
“Dante, get at least four hours of rest. I’ll do my research and speak to Tony. Come back to the hospital when you’re ready, but don’t go any further than you did before. And don’t push me,” Gibbs said, getting ready to leave. “Tony will see you when he’s ready and on his terms, or maybe not at all. You need to accept all possibilities.
“I know,” Dante said, eyes looking over-bright for a moment, the sheen of tears turning them almost liquid and giving them even more intensity. “I won’t push, Jethro. Tony is more important than anything or anyone,” Dante promised.
He waved the waitress over and took a few blank pages from her check register. “Because of all the new medical legalities, I’ll need to let my doctors know that they can speak to you and your physician. What is his name and what are your contact numbers?”
They exchanged details, scribbling on the pieces of paper quickly, Gibbs’ urgency to get back to the hospital clearly showing. Gibbs scooped up the paper as soon as Dante was done and made a move to stand when the other man spoke.
“All right. Soon as I get to my hotel, I’ll send a fax to my doctors, telling them they can speak freely to you or Doctor Mallard. You have all my contact details now.” He pulled in a breath of air and held it for a few long seconds.
“Jethro, whatever the outcome of this is, please take care of Tony. He needs someone like you in his life. I’m glad he has you, to tell the truth.” Gibbs stood, extending his hand to the other man. Dante clasped it, squeezing firmly before the men broke apart and went their separate ways.
Gibbs rushed back to the hospital, even though he knew it wasn’t likely that Tony was back in his room yet. He raced past the knot of people he recognized and into the room, moving back to the group only after satisfying himself that everything was all right and Tony was still undergoing testing.
Ducky, Abby, and Jenny stood in a tight grouping and as soon as he started back down the corridor, Abby ran a few steps toward him, squeezing him in a tight hug. “Gibbs! Ducky said that Tony’s father was here. You can’t let him see Tony. Have you heard the stories about his childhood? He was a monster and him being here can’t be good at all.” She pulled back, chewing on her lip, the scarlet of her lipstick looking extra dark against her pale skin, marred only by the purplish shadows under her eyes.
“I know, Abbs. Settle down.” Gibbs tugged her in close, wrapping his own arms around her before leading her to a chair. “Sit down and let me tell you about it.” He took in Ducky and Jen as well, motioning them closer. He didn’t want his voice to carry too far. “All of you listen up. But keep your voices down. I’m the one who will break this to Tony, when I feel the time is right. Not sooner. Understand, Abbs?”
Abby bit her lip again and nodded. Gibbs gave her one more gently protective hug, easing her down into the chair he’d led her to. “What Tony said was the truth, but it wasn’t the complete story,” Gibbs began.
“Embellishment?” Ducky asked quietly and Gibbs gave him a dirty look.
“No, Doctor,” he snapped and Ducky winced before meeting his eyes again.
“Might be whitewashed,” Gibbs continued. “But…” He sighed, trying to find the right words. “Tony’s parents were both mentally unstable. His father is under treatment for mental illness. Many of the things were done when he admittedly was out of control. He’s stable now, or so he says. Seemed apologetic, horrified about what he’d done.”
Gibbs withdrew the information, written on the back of the blank diner check. “Ducky, you should be authorized to deal with these doctors within the hour. Need you to get everything. Jen, need something from you too.”
“Anything.”
“Need a complete background done on Dante DiNozzo and Tony’s mother. I want to know what we can find through official channels. Not exposing Tony to this unless I have complete faith this guy is for real.” Gibbs could probably have called in a favor from Fornell, but he wanted this to be done by NCIS, agents Jenny could trust. With the information coming down directly from the head of the agency, it would be extra thorough and expedited. “Any information on mental illness on either side of the family as well.”
“Not a problem,” Jenny promised.
“Need anything from me?” Abby asked, speaking quietly, jiggling her leg up and down. She made a move to stand, but Gibbs loomed over her, instructing her without words to stay seated.
“Yeah. Need you on my six, Abbs. To sit with Tony and distract him. Damned doctor gave him the rundown of the worst of his injuries. He’s shaken up. Gonna need us to distract him and keep his spirits up.”
For some reason, Gibbs didn’t mind sharing Tony with Abby; it didn’t make him feel quite so territorial, quite so defensive.
“Got an ETA on his return, Duck?” Gibbs asked, arching a brow. Jenny was already drifting off, phone in hand, but Ducky hadn’t moved yet and his information was an important piece to the puzzle.
“At least twenty minutes,” Ducky began, consulting his watch.
“Plenty of time for you to make your calls then,” Gibbs shot back. “Even if you don’t have authorization yet, introduce yourself, explain the situation. You have my permission to discuss Tony’s condition with the two doctors mentioned there.”
“Ah yes, very well then, dear boy.” With that, Ducky scurried off.
Gibbs sank into a chair next to Abby and closed his eyes. Talking with Dante had awakened things in him, not only dealing with father and sons and his own family’s failure there, but Gibbs had been faced with something he had wanted to push away and pretend never had existed, the mental illness in his own family.
He and Tony were damned similar in some ways and so different in others, but they both had one thing in common, the mental illness of a parent. Gibbs was waiting on the facts about Tony’s mother, but he could well imagine it.
It wasn’t as if he was a stranger to it. Regina Gibbs had been committed when Gibbs was eleven, had died in a fire that had torn through the institution she’d been placed in. She’d died when she was only thirty-four, and Gibbs himself only, thirteen. Gibbs had never forgiven his father for giving up on his mother like that, for letting her rot in a place that had taken her life. And when the cause had been listed as arson, a fire set by one of the patients, Gibbs had learned to hate his father. Jackson could have done more, should have done more.
Now that he was an adult, Gibbs was mature enough to realize that Jackson had been protecting him as best he could. As a father, seeing his wife bearing down on his son with a butcher knife in hand must have terrified Jackson. And Gibbs himself had kept so many things quiet, the way his mother used to hurt herself by breaking glasses and cutting her feet with the shards, the way she used to drink medicines if she was having a bad day. The fact that he’d gotten used to listening to her talk to the invisible people around her. The fact that he took the spankings that went on for hours like a “good little soldier”.
And that was only the beginning of the darkness…
“Gibbs?” Abby said, her voice concerned. He blinked a few times, chasing away the darkness for now.
“Yeah, Abbs?”
“You okay?” She rubbed her arms and then his and he realized that goose bumps had broken out over them. “You had this look in your eyes that I’ve never seen.”
Gibbs nodded. “Ghosts of the past, but they can’t hurt me.”
Abby’s smile was forced and Gibbs had a feeling that despite how well cloaked he kept his emotions, that she was seeing right through him. “Not any more.”
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