Gibbs had just finished debriefing Jenny, taking great pleasure in informing her that his team had managed to clear Tony’s name and catch the real murderer. He wasn’t in the mood to stay and hear her platitudes of reassurances of how she always had the utmost faith in him and his team and how she was glad that he could now focus on helping Tony. The team leader simply acknowledged her with a curt nod and turned to leave.
“In a hurry, Agent Gibbs?” she inquired.
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Are you headed back to the hospital?” Jenny wanted to know.
“In a few minutes. I have a couple other things I need to do.”
“Maybe I could ride with you. I haven’t had a chance to stop by and see Tony.”
“It’s probably not a good idea, Jen,” Gibbs said.
He could see her visibly bristle at his response. Gibbs knew that she hadn’t expected him to say no, but he had taught her long ago that she should expect the unexpected; evidently that lesson must have slipped her mind.
“Why not?” the director asked. “Everyone else has seen him.”
“Just the team.”
“I’m part of that team.”
A small grin danced on his lips as he opened the door of her office. “You just keep believing that, Jen.”
He walked into the reception area, past Cynthia, and headed towards the stairs that would take him to the bullpen. The team leader knew that Jenny would be right behind him, demanding an explanation, and of course, he was right. He knew her well.
The ex-Marine sat down at his desk and picked up the phone to see if Ducky had returned yet. Gibbs didn’t look up as she stood over him, hands on her hips, defiance in her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean, Agent Gibbs?” she tersely demanded.
“You’re an intelligent woman, you figure it out,” he replied.
“I am part of every team here including yours, Agent Gibbs; that’s one of the benefits of being the Director.”
“I’m sure it is. I guess another benefit is being able to use your position of power to settle your own personal vendettas, isn’t it?”
“Is that what you think I’ve done?”
He slammed down the receiver and stood up. “No! It’s what I know you’ve done!”
There was so much that he wanted to say to her, but in the bullpen, in front of her subordinates, was not the time or place. The events of the past few days were beginning to take a toll on him and his temper was closer to the surface than usual. Concern over Tony had consumed him and until DiNozzo was back sitting at his desk annoying McGee and Ziva, his control would be tenuous at best.
“I’ll be in autopsy,” he grunted.
He headed towards the elevator, leaving an outraged Jenny Shepherd staring after him. As he turned the corner, he met McGee who was escorting a woman and a child sporting visitor badges. His eyes met those of the younger agent, silently waiting for an explanation as to why he was still here and why these visitors were here this late at night.
McGee cleared his throat. “Uh, Boss. This is Ms. Olivia Carter and her daughter Megan; I met them on my way out. They were looking for information on Todd Gibbs,” he quickly added.
Gibbs studied the woman and child for a few seconds before dismissing McGee with a nod. “I’ll take it from here McGee. Go on home and get some rest.”
“Right, Boss.”
“I’ll see you in the morning at the hospital.”
“I’ll be there,” the younger man promised.
The team leader extended his hand to the woman, whose appearance led him to believe that she had led a difficult life. The fine lines of exhaustion around Ms. Carter’s face were familiar to him; Tony had the same lines of fatigue, especially around his eyes. Her clothes were clean, but faded and bore several patches indicating that she had been forced to repair the holes several times. Her daughter did not appear to be as world weary as her mother, but given time, she would bear the marks of someone older than their actual years.
“I’m Special Agent Jethro Gibbs,” he introduced.
“Gibbs,” Olivia repeated. “Are you related to Todd?”
“Uh…no, not really,” the ex-Marine answered. “So, how do you know Todd?”
“We know him from the shelter,” she replied, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment.
“The shelter?”
“The Angels of Mercy Shelter. He comes there a couple times a week for a hot meal,” Olivia explained. “Sometimes he’ll stay over night, but usually it’s so crowded that he just eats and leaves; he doesn’t like staying in one place for too long.”
“How long has he been coming to this shelter?”
“Almost a year.”
“I see.”
Gibbs knew that he had the opportunity to discover some of what had happened to Tony during the year that he had been missing, but now he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to know. Whatever had happened to DiNozzo during that time had obviously turned the young man’s world upside down. “Let’s go somewhere where we can have some privacy,” he suggested.
“All right. But first can you tell me if Todd is okay? Will we be able to see him?”
“He’s at the hospital right now.”
“Is he sick again?” the young girl shyly asked.
The team leader knelt down so that he was eye level with Megan. “What do you mean?”
“Todd is sick a lot, especially when he drinks.”
“Megan!” Olivia chastised.
“It’s all right,” Gibbs assured her. “I know.”
Reaching out with his hand, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind the girl’s ear. “Yeah, he’s pretty sick, but he’s going to get better.”
“That’s good. Todd’s a lot of fun to be around when he’s not sick.”
“Yeah.”
Standing up he gently took Olivia by the elbow and escorted her and Megan to one of the conference rooms. “Make yourselves comfortable,” he insisted. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
“I’d like some hot chocolate,” Megan said, with an enthusiasm that reminded him of Kelly.
“I think we can manage that,” Gibbs said with a smile. “Anything for you, Ms. Carter?”
“Some coffee would be nice,” she softly replied.
The team leader nodded. He picked up the phone and dialed Abby’s number in the lab. “Abs, I have a favor.” Gibbs placed the order and asked her to join him in the conference room. Abby was the one person that Tony seemed to trust implicitly; she should hear what Olivia and her daughter had to say.
Hanging up the phone, he smiled at the woman and the girl. “It shouldn’t take too long.”
“We don’t want to be any trouble.”
“Believe me, you aren’t.” Gibbs sat down across from them, momentarily debating whether he should reveal the truth to them. Trusting his gut, he blew out a pent up breath and began; after all, they had come to NCIS, looking for their friend.
“The man you know as Todd Gibbs is actually Anthony DiNozzo. He’s my senior field agent and he was sent undercover about a year ago and he simply vanished. We found him again a couple of days ago at the scene of a murder and discovered that he has no memory of his former life.”
“That’s horrible,” Olivia exclaimed.
“Yeah, it is. We don’t know anything about what happened during this past year other than he’s been living on the streets and is an alcoholic. Right now, he’s in no shape to tell us much of anything.”
“I don’t know how much help we can be, but we’ll certainly try. Todd, I mean Tony, would always seek us out at the shelter to make sure we were all right. For some reason, he thought that he needed to watch out for us.”
“You must be very special to him.”
“He’s a good man to have on your side.”
Gibbs nodded in agreement. “Yes, he is.”
“What do you want to know, Agent Gibbs?”
The team leader wasn’t sure how to answer her. He wanted to know everything that she could tell him, but yet, he was afraid to find out the truth. What had happened to Tony to make him forget who he was? Was there something that happened to DiNozzo that was so agonizingly painful that he had to resort to his undercover identity to help him cope? There were so many questions that needed to be answered and those answers could very well lie with this mother and her little girl.
“Why don’t you start with the first time you saw Tony…”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
***dream/flashback***
The broken man cried out as he felt someone grab his arm. He knew what was coming and he didn’t think that he had the strength to endure the agony that was about to be inflicted on him once again. How long had he been here? Wasn’t someone looking for him? Surely someone was missing him by now.
“Please…don’t,” he whimpered.
“Don’t what?” a deep voice resonated in his head.
“No more…no more.”
A rough calloused hand stroked his head and he jerked away. “Leave…me…alone.”
He gasped as his head was pulled back until he was staring at the hidden face of one of his captors. “I’ve got something here that will help you feel better,” he snarled.
“Don’t want…it!”
“Yes, you do. You know you do.”
“No…can’t want it.”
“Tell me your name,” the dark figure demanded.
“Told you…my name,” the wounded man gasped.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Todd…Gibbs…my name is…Todd…Gibbs.”
“That’s not the right answer, my friend.”
Todd screamed when he felt the needle plunge in his arm. The familiar feeling of dread came over him as he curled up on his side, sobbing as the images of his darkest dreams began to assault him. The cries of the dead mixed with the demons of his mind forced him into the pits of despair that he could not begin to describe.
He winced when he felt a boot make contact with his back. “You stubborn bastard,” the man seethed. “I’m going to break you and you’ll tell me what I want to know.”
Todd ignored the threats of his tormentor. “Go…to…hell,” he spat.
“You first.”
“Already there,” Todd rasped.
“Get used to it.”
Todd closed his eyes as he watched his fears become reality in his mind. He felt as if his skin was on fire and he tried to roll from side to side, attempting to extinguish the flames. The younger man couldn’t hear the conversation between his captors as his pain filled screams grew with intensity. He didn’t realize that he was about to be set free, all that he could think about was the burning sensation that was consuming him from the inside out. When Todd finally succumbed to the darkness, he had no idea that when he woke up the next time, he would no longer be held captive by people, he would be held captive by his mind.
***end dream/flashback***
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ziva was abruptly awakened by a blood curdling scream. She bolted upright in her chair to discover Tony thrashing about on the bed, begging someone to help him. Standing over him, she cupped his face and called out to him. “Todd! Wake up!”
Tony began to struggle even more. “Burning…I’m…on…fire...help me!”
The Mossad officer was used to seeing pain and suffering, but this was different. This was her partner and her friend and she could not block Tony’s agonizing cries out of her mind. She shuddered to think how disappointed her father would be to discover that she was allowing herself to be controlled by her emotions.
Ziva grabbed a washcloth and wrung it out in some cool water and began sponging Tony’s face and arms. “Just relax, this should help.”
“God, it hurts!” he moaned.
“I know, Todd. I know,” she whispered.
“Make…it…stop…just…kill…me.”
Ziva shook her head. “That is not the answer. Believe it or not, you are almost through the worst of it.”
She began to hum as she continued to sponge off his sweat soaked body. “You are doing fine,” she softly muttered. “Just relax.”
“I can’t.”
“Please Todd, just try.”
“Don’t want…to sleep. Scared.”
Being afraid was not something that Tony easily admitted. “It is all right to be scared, Todd.”
“No, it’s not. Not according to…”
Ziva stopped her ministrations and studied the ailing man. “According to who, Todd?”
Her heart almost stopped when he looked at her, his normally vibrant eyes hidden by confusion and pain. Was he remembering something?
“Todd? Who told you that it was not acceptable to be afraid?” she asked again.
He closed his eyes as a single tear escaped down his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled over and over. “I’m sorry. I messed up.”
“Todd? Answer me,” she demanded, her tone gentle but firm.
DiNozzo turned his face away from her. She had to lean over him to hear his answer. Once again, Ziva received a surprise when Tony whispered the one name that she would have never expected.
“Gibbs…”
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