Todd felt someone gently shake him, awakening him from his semi-peaceful slumber. He had faded in and out several times during their journey, occasionally catching snippets of the conversation between Agent Gibbs and another man with an accent. Todd was sure that Gibbs had introduced the odd man to him, but at the moment, he could barely remember his own name, much less the name of a total stranger. He figured that Gibbs and the other man were talking about him, trying to decide what to do with him. Their words ran together, becoming a jumbled mess in his mind; the only thing that he knew for certain was that Gibbs was still calling him Tony.
He opened his eyes as Gibbs softly said his name. “Ton…Todd, we’re here,” the older man announced.
Todd squinted, trying to bring the agent’s face into focus. “Wh…Where?”
“Right now, we’re still in the parking garage at NCIS,” Gibbs replied.
“NCIS?”
“Yeah.”
Todd closed his eyes again and laid his head back against the headrest. He just wanted to sleep and he found himself wondering if Gibbs would simply let him take a nap in the car. “Sleep in car?” he managed to ask.
“Nope, I’ve got some place better,” the agent insisted.
“This is pretty nice,” Todd slurred as he started to drift off once again.
“Don’t go back to sleep, Todd. I really don’t want to have to carry you.”
The drunken man opened his eyes again. “Then leave me alone.”
“Can’t do that,” Gibbs said. “You’re in custody, remember?”
The passenger side door opened and the unusual man with the strange accent stood over him. “Who are you?” Todd wanted to know.
The elderly man smiled at him. “My friends call me Ducky.”
“Am I your friend?”
The man called Ducky gently patted his shoulder. “I count you among my dearest friends, young man.”
“If you’re my friend, why don’t I know you?” Todd wondered aloud.
“Your memory is just a little fuzzy, Todd,” Ducky assured him. “Give it time; I’m sure that you’ll remember our friendship.”
Todd shrugged. He couldn’t even remember his own last name and here he was being told that he had an actual friend. With the exception of a couple people at the soup kitchen, most of his acquaintances were only interested in taking advantage of him. His so called friends on the streets had quickly learned that he would do almost anything for a drink of whiskey.
“Todd?” Ducky called to him. “Are you all right?”
“’Mm fine,” he mumbled.
“Let’s get you out of this car then, shall we?”
He didn’t resist as Ducky reached in and swung his legs out of the car, but the sudden movement made him feel like he was going to throw up again. Todd felt two sets of hands pull him out of the car. The unexpected movement found his stomach rebelling and he began to try and pull out of the firm grasp of the two men. He fell to his knees and quickly discovered that he had nothing left in his stomach to expel; dry heaves racked his body as he silently wished to die.
After a few minutes, Todd was helped back up to a standing position as Gibbs and Ducky draped his arms across their shoulders. He looked at Gibbs and then turned his attention back to the elderly man with the kind face. What was his name again? Rooster? Goose? Duck? Ducky! That was it. He nodded his head towards Gibbs. “Am I…his friend…too?”
Ducky smiled at him again. “Yes, you are.”
He allowed the two agents to help him to an elevator. Where were they taking him? The doors opened to the small lift and the trio slowly entered. As soon as the doors closed, Todd closed his eyes. He hated small places ever since…No! He wouldn’t think about that. Todd pushed the memory to the back of his mind.
“Todd, you all right?” Gibbs asked.
The young man jumped as the agent forced him back to the reality of the moment. Why did these two men keep asking him if he was all right? “Uh…yeah…no…don’t like small places,” he stammered.
Todd didn’t see the silent exchange of concern between Gibbs and Ducky. It was all he could do to concentrate on remaining upright as the two men held onto him.
“We’re here,” Gibbs whispered in his ear as the elevator came to a stop.
Gibbs and Ducky slowly led him into a room that almost looked like the hospital clinic that he had gone to several times to get patched up. He let them to lead him over to what Todd assumed was a bed. As they helped him upon the bed, he began to secretly hope that Ducky was going to let him stay there and sleep at least for a little while.
“Todd,” Ducky began. “I want to examine you and make sure that you’re not hurt.”
“’Mm fine,” he repeated. “Just sleepy. You’re a doctor?”
Ducky nodded. “Yes, I am and I would feel better if I could come to that conclusion myself, my dear fellow.”
Todd ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I should’ve known.”
“You should have known what, Todd?”
“Always a catch.”
“There’s no catch, Todd,” Ducky tried to reason. “Jethro and I are concerned about you. We just want to make sure that there’s nothing wrong with you aside from…well aside from…”
“Being drunk?” Todd finished.
He saw a grin spread across Gibbs’ face. Todd wasn’t sure what the agent found so funny, but it didn’t matter; he was used to being laughed at by others.
“I guess that’s one way of putting it, my dear boy,” Ducky conceded. “Now, do I have your permission?”
“Can I have a drink?”
“I’ll have Jethro fetch you something.”
“All right,” Todd reluctantly agreed, “but nothing funny.”
“I will fully explain everything that I do before I do it,” the older man promised.
Todd nodded and watched as Ducky pulled Gibbs off to the side out of his earshot. He was still uneasy about this examination that the doctor seemed intent on doing and the fact that the two men were being so nice to him completely unnerved him. What kind of mess had he gotten himself into? When people were nice to him, they usually wanted something. So, what did these two men want? He couldn’t imagine either one of these men actually wanting anything that he had to offer. Todd figured that in time, Gibbs and Ducky would figure out that he wasn’t worth their time and then he could go back to his life on the streets.
The images of the dead naval officer began to play in his mind. How could he be so stupid? Why did he keep forgetting that Gibbs had taken him into custody? They were looking for a scapegoat; someone to blame for the murder of a man that he didn’t even know. Todd knew that he had committed more crimes than he would care to admit, but he would never resort to killing someone. Although he had considered it at one time, there was something that always prevented him from crossing that line. Had something in him finally snapped? Had he killed that man?
Todd sighed. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Gibbs reluctantly left Tony in Ducky’s capable hands; his primary concern now was getting some coffee and some type of nourishment for the young man. They had agreed that before Gibbs could begin to piece together what had happened in Baltimore, it was imperative to get Tony sobered up enough that he could hopefully remember what had happened. He just hoped that the evidence that Ziva and McGee were gathering didn’t implicate Tony in the murder. Of course, knowing DiNozzo’s luck…Gibbs shook his head to force those memories out of his mind. He believed in Tony and he had to make sure that his faith remained strong.
He was now on his way to see Abby to tell her that Tony was alive. Next to him, Abby had taken Tony’s disappearance the hardest. She and Tony had always enjoyed a unique and special relationship and now a void had been created in the Goth’s life that she had attempted to replace by creating a shrine for DiNozzo in her lab. She had pictures of Tony covering one entire wall: but it was the episodes of Magnum, P.I. as well as the James Bond movies that DiNozzo loved that were downloaded on her personal lap top, which she would watch over and over, that spoke volumes of how much Abby missed Tony.
Ducky was going to need her to run some blood tests and Gibbs wanted her to be prepared before she saw Tony. He knew that she had seen DiNozzo drunk before, but she had never seen him like this. His senior agent very seldom would drink until he was smashed unless he was with his frat buddies or after a particularly difficult case, but to see Tony craving alcohol like it was food was almost too much to bear.
As he headed towards the lab, he dialed McGee’s number and instructed him to pick up several black coffees and some soup before they returned. He quickly hung up to avoid answering any of the younger man’s questions, mainly because he didn’t have any answers. Gibbs hadn’t missed how McGee and Ziva looked at Tony. Their expressions were a mix of disbelief, sadness, joy, and disgust; he hoped that he didn’t have to remind them to school their features around Tony. DiNozzo wasn’t going to need their pity; he was going to need their help.
Taking a deep breath, Gibbs walked into Abby’s lab to find her sipping on a Caf-Pow as she stood staring at Tony’s picture on the plasma. He moved to stand behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Abs?”
She whirled around and set her Caf-Pow down. “Gibbs!” she exclaimed. “Back so soon? Where’s my evidence?”
“Ziva and McGee are bringing it,” he answered. “I came back early.”
“Why?”
Gibbs took her by the shoulders and gently sat her down. “You should sit down for this.”
Abby licked her lips nervously. “Gibbs, you’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry, Abby, but I need you to listen to me.”
He waited until he was sure that he had Abby’s undivided attention. “When we got to the crime scene, Baltimore PD had a suspect in custody. I went over to talk to him and discovered that it was Tony. I…”
Gibbs didn’t get to finish his sentence. Abby jumped up out of her seat. “Where is he?” she frantically asked. “Where’s he been? Oh, my god, is he all right? Of course, he’s all right; you just said you talked to him. Wait a minute; did you say he was a suspect in a murder? How’s that possible? Tony wouldn’t kill someone, I mean not unless he had to. I know that he’s killed people before, but he wouldn’t do it in cold blood.”
He held his hand up interrupting her tirade and then pointed to the chair. She started to protest, but he gave her a stern look and she fell silent and sat back down. “I told you that you need to listen to me.”
“Sorry,” she said.
He smiled as she made the motion of zipping her lips. “Ducky and I have brought him back and he’s in autopsy now so Duck can check him over,” Gibbs continued. “Tony’s evidently been living on the streets for at least a few months; he’s doesn’t look like the same DiNozzo. He doesn’t know who he is and he doesn’t know who we are right now; he goes by the name of Todd.”
Gibbs took a calloused thumb and wiped the tears off of Abby’s cheeks. “I need you to be strong. Ducky will be sending you some blood work to analyze so we can find out if there’s anything physically wrong with Tony other than…”
She unzipped her lips. “Other than what, Gibbs?” Abby wanted to know.
“He’s apparently been drinking a lot lately. Right now, he’s so drunk, he can barely stay awake long enough to carry on a conversation.”
“He’s drunk?”
The team leader nodded. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”
“Unless he’s with his frat brothers, he usually…”
He gently squeezed her hand. “I know, Abs. What I need you to do is when you see him, don’t pressure him. Be his friend.”
“That’s easy to do.”
“He’s not too accepting of strangers right now.”
“He’ll get his memory back,” Abby declared.
“I hope so, Abs.”
“Positive thoughts, Gibbs,” she urged. “Positive thoughts.”
“I’m trying, Abby.”
“Even though we don’t know what happened, at least we know he’s alive,” Abby reminded him. “We can help him put the pieces back together again, Gibbs. I know we can.”
“Be sure to pass on your optimism to McGee and Ziva. We all need to be on the same page.”
“Yes, sir,” she saluted.
“Don’t call me sir, Abby.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He grinned at their longstanding joke. “I’m going to talk to the Director,” he informed her. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“I’ll go and see if Ducky needs any help,” Abby cheerfully suggested.
“Abby, I don’t…”
“No pressure,” she promised.
Gibbs nodded his approval. He couldn’t blame Abby for wanting to see for herself that Tony was indeed alive. Personally, the last thing he had wanted to do was leave autopsy, but DiNozzo seemed more at ease with Ducky, at least for now, so he had left to take care of some other matters.
The former Marine gave Abby a kiss on her forehead and headed towards the elevator. “Don’t overstay you’re welcome,” he warned.
“Maybe I should tell you the same thing.”
“What? I’m just going to tell Director Shepherd that Tony has been found.”
“Are you going to tell her that he’s a suspect in the murder of a naval officer?”
He grinned and gave Abby a wink. “I don’t know if I’ll remember that part.”
The door opened and he stepped in, pushing the button that would take him to the Director’s office. He was going to enjoy making Jen eat her words. She was so convinced that Tony was dead and it was going to be a pleasure to prove her wrong. Their relationship had been strained after he had discovered that she had used Tony for her own personal vendetta. She had destroyed the first real love that DiNozzo had ever experienced, scarring the young man for life. Gibbs hadn’t forgiven her for exploiting Tony and the agent’s disappearance had only widened the rift between him and Jen.
As the lift stopped, the door opened to reveal Director Jenny Shepherd in front of him. He met her icy stare as she crossed her arms. “I assume you were on your way to see me and inform me that you found someone who could be Agent DiNozzo.”
“No, I was on my way to inform you that I have found Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and you can tell the replacement that you have lined up that his or her services will not be required after all,” the team leader growled.
“Really? How do you this, Jethro? How do I know that you’re not grasping at straws?” she argued.
“The man down in autopsy is Tony DiNozzo. I would bet my life on it.”
“I’m sure that Ducky or Abby is going to do a D.N.A. test to confirm his identity.”
His eyes narrowed as his anger and frustration began to fester. “I’m sure they will, Madame Director. However, I don’t need a scientific test to tell me that my senior field agent is alive and well. If you recall, I never accepted the fact that he was dead.”
“I’m well aware of that Agent Gibbs,” she retorted. “For your sake, Jethro, I hope that this man is Tony.”
“Really? I’m kind of surprised to hear you say that, Jen.”
He stood his ground as she entered the elevator and hit the button that would take her to autopsy. Gibbs reached out and hit the emergency stop button. “You’re not going down there, Director.”
“Why not?”
“He’s getting examined by Ducky. Tony doesn’t need an audience. How did you know about this anyway?”
“I received a sit rep from Ziva and McGee,” she admitted. “Now, since you don’t want me to see Tony, perhaps you would like to answer a few questions.”
“Such as?”
“I’m curious to know when you were going to tell me that the man downstairs doesn’t even know his name or that he even works for NCIS; or when were you going to tell me that this man is the only suspect in the murder of a Navy lieutenant.”
“He didn’t do it, Jen,” Gibbs seethed.
“How do you know? Where’s the evidence that says he didn’t do it? McGee and Ziva are just now getting back,” she pointed out. “You have no idea if our John Doe killed the lieutenant or not!”
“What do you want from me, Jen?” Gibbs shouted, not caring that his voice was echoing inside the elevator.
“I want you to get your head out of the clouds and think like an agent, Jethro. You have a job to do and you need to lay aside your personal feelings and do it. You can’t treat this man any different than you would any other suspect in a murder investigation.” She took a deep breath. “Jethro, I sincerely hope that you’re right and this is Tony and I hope that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but if this man is DiNozzo, and the evidence convicts him, what are you going to do?”
Gibbs hit the switch that restarted the elevator. “Tony didn’t kill that man. You know it and I know it. Until you can prove otherwise, Director, you better stay the hell away from me and especially from Tony.”
The door opened on the floor that housed the Director’s office. “I suggest you go back to your office, Director. We will let you know when we have something; but if I were you, I’d go ahead and start working on that formal apology that you’ll be issuing to Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo once he recovers.
“An apology? This from the man that says apologizing is a sign of weakness.”
“Unless you’ve ruined somebody’s life,” he quickly added as the door shut, separating him from the Director. The team leader didn’t care that Jen was probably fuming by now; as far as he was concerned, she need to sit and stew for awhile. Maybe then she would actually start considering someone else’s feelings other than her own.
“That went well,” he mumbled. Turning his back to the door, he hit the wall with his fist. “Damn it!” How dare she? How dare she believe that, even with amnesia, Tony could kill somebody?
He glanced at his watch. McGee and Ziva should be checking in evidence right about now. He would get Abby to work on it right away, knowing that the sooner that they cleared Tony’s name; the sooner they would be able to put this behind them and help DiNozzo focus on remembering the life that he left behind.
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