Sitting up in bed, a dry sob escaped Tony as he looked around the unfamiliar room, trying to remember where he was. It was the pain in his leg that had pulled him from his drug induced slumber and that, along with the incessant beeping of the machines at his bedside served as a reminder.
This was the same place he'd woken up for the last twelve nights.
Sinking back down against the uncomfortable mattress, he swiped a hand over his forehead. His entire body ached though it was his leg that was the worst. The medicine they gave him, thankfully, kept him knocked out for hours at a time but every time they started to wear off, the pain was nearly unbearable.
Releasing a quiet moan, he gathered up what little bit of strength he had and reached for the call button beside his bed when the sound of shoes slapping against the hard floor reached his ears.
"Beat ya to it," the pretty young nurse said with a smile as she slipped into the room, pulling a metal cart behind her. "Hurting again?"
"Yes," he managed.
"Like clockwork," she responded, making her way over to the bed. "I don't know why they won't give you something to keep you out longer. I can't imagine you're getting enough rest like this." Leaning over, she pulled the blanket down, offering him a slight smile. "Just going to check your leg. I need you to stay really still for me, okay?"
He nodded, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. He could feel the bandage being pulled away from his skin and it was all he could do to keep from crying out.
"There we go," she said gently. "Almost done and then I'll give you some more medicine, okay?"
"O… okay." Swallowing hard, he released a shallow breath before he opened his eyes. "Did… did anyone come by tonight?"
"Your two girlfriends were here when I started my shift."
"Not my girlfriends."
"Coulda fooled me," the nurse responded playfully. "I think the one with the black hair was just seconds away from givin' you a sponge bath."
He chuckled, immediately regretting the action when his muscles tensed painfully. "Yeah… she probably… she probably would have. Leave the sponge in here next time and we'll test the theory."
"Might wanna wait until you're back on your feet. She looks like she could get a little rough."
"Oh, you have no idea," he responded, motioning her closer as she covered his leg with the blanket. "You should see the marks she leaves on her boyfriend. I think she really is a vampire sometimes."
"You definitely have a… different crowd, but it's clear that they all love you very much," she said, reaching up to smooth his hair back off of his forehead. "You ready for your next round of medicine? I have a feeling your father would kick my butt if I found out I was keepin' you up all night."
"My… my father?"
"Seems like a nice guy. A little grouchy, but the other nurses told me if we kept the coffee goin' for him, his bark is worse than his bite," she grinned, grabbing a syringe off of the cart. "Ready?"
He nodded, shifting just a little against the mattress in an attempt to find a comfortable position as she slipped the syringe into his IV line.
Almost immediately, he could feel his eyelids drooping, the pain receding into the background as a comfortable haze settled around him.
"Sleep well, cutie," she said as she removed the syringe and stepped back from the bed, watching as he slipped into what she hoped was a painless sleep.
::::::
The sun was just beginning to peek through the dusty basement windows when Gibbs finally laid down his sander. Stepping away from the skeleton of the boat, he sagged against his workbench and ran a hand over his tired face, trying to remember just when his sleeping schedule had gone to hell.
One could argue that he hadn't kept a normal sleeping schedule since… well, in quite a few years, but over the last two weeks, it had gotten progressively worse.
Damn DiNozzo.
Grabbing the bourbon filled coffee cup, he drained the last few drops and resisted the urge to throw the cup against the wall. He hadn't spoken to Tony since the morning after his second leg surgery the week before. The doctors had cautioned them all that it served no purpose other than to clean out the remaining bone fragments, but the word of warning had done no good. They'd all been expecting a miracle.
He'd heard from Kate and Abby that the nurses had managed to get his agent out of bed once or twice in the last week, but rather than make him feel better, their reports only served to make him angrier. DiNozzo had been out of bed, but he'd only managed to take a single step before his mangled leg gave out and nearly sent him crashing to the floor.
The nurses had gotten an ear full after that one. It had been Tony's idea, but most of Tony's ideas when it came to things like that were bad and after spending a week and a half with the man, they should have picked up on that.
McGee had been spending more and more time at the office, though Gibbs was sure Abby hadn't even noticed. She focused so intently on their broken Italian that she never even noticed how close McGee was to shattering under the guilt that he carried with him.
He'd all but ordered the younger man to quit blaming himself for the shooting that led to DiNozzo's injury, but it was to no avail. He was hell bent on shouldering that burden and nothing anybody said or did could convince him to share the blame.
Releasing a sigh, he pushed himself away from his workbench, abandoning his boat for another day. According to the schedule he'd memorized after a day and a half, Tony was just about due for another round of medication. He didn't visit when the young man was awake, knowing that he had more than enough company between Kate, Abby and Ducky, but he couldn't bring himself to stay away when his agent was oblivious to the world around him.
At least then he wouldn't have to pretend that everything would be alright when he knew it things would never be the same again.
---
Stepping up to the nurse's station, Gibbs drained the remainder of his coffee before he tossed the cup into the trash can behind the desk, offering the nurse a smirk when she turned to glare at him.
"Oh…" She said, recognizing him immediately. "It's you. All done terrorizing my nurses for the day?"
"Uh huh. For now, anyway."
"Then, please, tell me what I can do for you, Special Agent Gibbs."
"I wanna talk to DiNozzo's doctor."
"Doctor Michaels isn't in this ward today."
"Then tell me where he is and I'll go find him."
"As much as I'd love to have you out of my ward, I can't do that. He's tending to other patients and won't have timeâ€""
"I don't care what he's doin', I wanna talk to him. Now."
For a moment, the nurse debated arguing with him, until his gaze hardened. Setting her mouth in a tight frown, she lifted the phone and pressed the button to page the doctor, her eyes never leaving Gibbs'.
"Happy?"
"Ecstatic," he responded dryly. "You can tell Doctor Michaels I'll be in with my agent."
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled."
Offering the red-headed woman a sarcastic grin, Gibbs stepped away from the nurse's desk and made his way back down the hall to Tony's room.
He froze in the doorway when he watched Tony's eyes flutter open sleepily just seconds before turned his head to the sound of the footsteps. "Oh… hey, Boss," he greeted, his voice thick with sleep. "Thought… thought you were one of the nurses."
"No such luck," the older man responded, school his face into the usual look of indifference. "How's the leg?"
"Just…" he trailed off, barely stifling a yawn. "Just peachy. I'll be up an' outta here in no time." Releasing a quiet sigh, Tony shifted on the bed just slightly, a gasp escaping him as a sharp pain shot through his leg. "Sonofabitch," he cursed, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. "Don't… don't think I'll ever… get used to that."
Gibbs was at a loss for words as he lingered by the doorway. Though he wasn't a man of many words, there was so much he wanted to say to the younger man, but he had no idea where to begin. Luckily though, it wasn't long before Tony's eyelids began to droop again.
Thankful for the reprieve, he began to back out of the room when DiNozzo's weak voice stopped him.
"Don't go, Boss."
"You need your rest."
"Not… not time for my medication yet. Gonna have to wait this one out for awhile."
"Tonyâ€""
"Don't… don't like bein' alone in here. Too much to think about, y'know?"
"Yeah…Yeah, I know."
"When d'you think they'll let me come home?"
"I'm not sure, but we'll ask the doctor."
"Haven't seen him," Tony mumbled. "Haven't seen anyone but Abby and Kate."
"Ducky's been here too."
"Must be when I'm asleep," Tony responded, stifling another yawn. "Never… never comes when I'm awake. Neither do you. Or McGee. Where is McGee?"
"Back at the office."
"We get Jameson yet?"
"No, not yet."
"Wanna get him, Boss. S'his fault."
"We'll get him, Tony," Gibbs promised, sinking down into the chair beside his bed, releasing a quiet sigh. "We're gonna get him."
"S'good. I know you will. You… you always get your guy."
"And I promise we'll make the sonofabitch pay."
A quiet knock sounded on the door and Gibbs couldn't help but feel thankful for the interruption.
"Sorry," the nurse said sheepishly as she slipped into the room, pulling the metal cart behind her. "All ready for your medicine, Tony?"
"No," he mumbled. "Talkin' to Gibbs. Don' wanna sleep."
"Go on, DiNozzo. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
"I promise," the silver-haired agent said. "We'll talk later."
"Tell Doctor Michaels I wanna go home, 'kay Gibbs? I wanna go home."
"I'll tell him."
"Thanks, Boss."
Gibbs watched as the nurse removed a syringe from her cart, slipping into Tony's IV. It wasn't long before his agent's body went limp, the look of pain disappearing almost instantly from his face.
"Doctor Michaels is on his way in now, Agent Gibbs," the nurse told him, adjusting Tony's blanket gently.
Offering a curt nod, Gibbs sank back into the chair, his eyes never leaving his sleeping agent as the nurse slipped back out of the room almost as quickly as she'd come.
It wasn't long before another set of footsteps in the hall caught his attention. Pushing himself to his feet, he swiped his hands on the front of his pants before he stepped out into the hallway to greet Tony's doctor.
"Agent Gibbs," Doctor Michaels said by way of greeting, holding his hand out for the older man.
"How's he doin'?" Gibbs asked, gripping the doctor's hand briefly before he released it. "Really."
"I wish I had better news for you, but unfortunately, there's no change from our original diagnosis. We won't know anything for certain, of course, until we get him into physical therapy but that's going to be at least another two weeks."
"Why the wait?"
"We have to give his leg a chance to begin the healing process before we put the added stress on it. The kind of therapy he's going to need just to be able to walk more than a few steps at a time is going to be intense. If we sent him in there now, he'd only do more damage."
"What about him coming home?"
"Not an option right now. He would need a lot of assistance and with him living alone on the third floor of an apartment building, it's just notâ€""
"What if we made other arrangements?"
"As long as they included him having twenty four hour assistance, then we would be able to release him. But I should warn you… caring for someone with this type of injury is not an easy task."
"I don't care. It would be better for him than bein' cooped up in this damn hospital."
"I'll have to speak with Doctor Reid before we're able to formally discharge him, but I should have an answer for you by the end of the weekend."
Offering the doctor a curt nod, Gibbs shook his hand in thanks.
"I'll be back this afternoon to speak with Agent DiNozzo before his next round of medication."
"Make sure you do," Gibbs said, a slight warning to his tone. "He said he hasn't seen you."
"I'll make sure I speak with him," the doctor repeated.
"Good." Crossing his arms over his chest, he watched as the doctor turned and disappeared down the hall before he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and slipped back into Tony's room.
"Just hang in there a little longer, DiNozzo. Gonna get you out of here." Though he was unsure whether or not Tony could even hear him in his drug induced slumber, he couldn't help but notice the way he seemed to relax even more against his mattress and he liked to think that Tony heard him just fine.
Chapter End Notes:
A/N: Hey there guys! Sorry this one took me a little while. I've just been so darn unmotivated, but hopefully I'm over that now! Thank you so much for the reviews after the last chap. I can't tell you how much they mean to me. Nothing makes me smile like seeing my inbox light up with new alerts so make me happy and click that fun little 'review' button at the bottom of the page, huh? Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this one!