The first thing Tony was aware of as he began to climb out of his drug-induced slumber was the sound of hushed voices. It was something he'd grown accustomed to over the course of the last two weeks; the quiet whispers that always ceased when they realized he was awake.
"…have to see what else he thinks he's going to need."
"And you're going to stay tonight, right? Then we'll switch off in the morning?"
"Yep. I've actually made up a schedule. I thought we'd go over it this afternoon with Gibbs, just so he's not completely bombarded when we all start showing up at his house."
They were making plans, Tony realized. They were always making plans and while he couldn't tell for sure, he was almost certain they had to do with him. Funny that they never bothered to ask what he wanted.
From the bits and pieces of the conversations that he'd put together, he knew that his doctors were discharging him later that afternoon. They weren't happy about it, but Gibbs had gone to bat for him and got them to agree to release him, but of course there were stipulations. Things could never be easy.
He was being discharged into the care of his teammates. More specifically, into the care of Gibbs and while he was grateful that he wouldn't be stuck in the hospital any longer, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.
Releasing a quiet sigh at the thought, he forced his heavy eyes open and almost immediately the conversation halted as Kate and Abby turned their full attention to him.
"Hi there," the forensic scientist greeted, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. "How ya feelin' today?"
"Tired," he responded, his voice thick with sleep. "Wha' time s'it?"
"A little after ten. You slept the whole morning away, as usual," Kate responded, her tone light. He knew she was baiting him, trying to get a rise out of him as she always did, but he just didn't have the energy.
"Nice try, Kate," he muttered pushing himself up against the pillows as best he could before the pain in his leg became too much. "Where's… Where's Gibbs?" He asked through gritted teeth, barely resisting the urge to cry out.
"He should be here in an hour or so to pick you up," Abby smiled, running a hand through his hair. "You're goin' home today!"
"To Gibbs', you mean."
"Well… yeah. But at least you won't be in the hospital anymore."
Rolling his eyes, Tony dropped his head back against the pillows, sighing quietly. "I need to get dressed."
"That's what I'm here for," Abby grinned, holding up the pair of sweats she'd grabbed from his apartment for him to wear home. "I'm pretty sure these will fit over the bandages."
Reaching for his clothes, a quiet growl escaped him when Abby held them out of reach. "Abby…"
"You need help getting dressed, Tony."
"I can do it myself. Give 'em to me."
"You can hardly move! Just sit still and let Kate and I help you."
"I don't want your God-damned help!" He snarled, though he immediately regretted it when she all but threw the clothes at him, the tears shining in her green eyes.
"Fine. Do it yourself then," she responded.
"Abby," he tried, but it was to no avail. Before he could even utter another word, she was on her way out the door without so much as a second glance.
"I'll go talk to her," Kate sighed, pushing herself up from the chair beside his bed before she dropped a hand to his shoulder gently. "Do you want me to send a nurse in to help get you dressed?"
"I can dress myself," he mumbled, not meeting her eyes as he pushed himself up just a little more against the pillows.
"One of these days, you'll stop being a stubborn jackass. I won't hold my breath for it, of course, but I have faith that it will happen," she smirked, patting his arm before she hurried out of the room, intent on finding her friend.
He waited until the door closed behind her before he reached around to untie his hospital gown, but he immediately regretted the action. A loud gasp escaped him as the movement pulled at the stitches in his stomach, very nearly bringing him to tears. Dropping his arm back to his side, he dropped his head back to his pillow and took a deep breath, trying to decide on a plan of action.
His mind was still clouded from his last dose of painkillers, preventing him from thinking clearly. He could feel the anger beginning to well up in his chest at the thought that he couldn't even manage to untie a hospital gown, and with a cry of rage, he balled the sweats up and threw them as far as he could. Gripping the wire attached to his IV, he pulled, barely registering the pain as the needle was ripped from his skin.
From the time he was eight years old, he'd always taken care of himself and now, the fact that he could not even manage to change his clothes without assistance threatened to break him. He'd managed to hold himself together, to control his anger over the situation he was in, but somehow, in the last three minutes, it had become too much to bear.
The last thing he wanted was to have to depend on anybody other than himself.
A dry sob tore from his throat as he pushed himself up again, his vision blurry with tears. Swinging his good leg over the edge of the bed, he gripped his other thigh and attempted to move it despite the excruciating pain that sliced through the drug-induced haze that he'd yet to come completely out of.
He was vaguely aware of the sound of the door being forced open followed by voices calling his name, but he couldn't bring himself to focus. He could feel the hands pushing him back against the mattress and while he refused to give in, they were stronger. Several hands gripped his arms, holding him there against his will and it wasn't long before he felt the stick of a needle in his arm.
His muscles began to relax almost immediately despite his best attempts to fight off the effects of whatever sedative they'd administered. A quiet moan escaped him as his fingers clenched the sheets on his bed one last time before the darkness began to settle around him once more.
It was nearly an hour later when Tony began to pull climb out of his drug induced haze, the throbbing pain in his leg bringing him back to the here and now. He groaned loudly, shifting against the pillows in an attempt to make himself more comfortable.
"I should make your ass stay in the damn hospital," Gibbs growled from his place beside Tony's bed, his eyes never leaving the newspaper in his hands.
"B… Boss?"
"You heard me, DiNozzo. What the hell were you thinkin', pullin' a stunt like that? You know how hard it was to convince your doctor to release you in the first place?"He asked, dropping his paper before he pushed himself to his feet. "You think you're capable of behavin' like a sane person now?"
"I'm fine," he muttered, reaching up to swipe tiredly at his eyes. "Can we go?"
"Gotta get you changed first unless you wanna parade around the parking lot in an airy hospital gown. Your call," the older man responded, a slight smirk on his face.
"I can dress myself," he managed, though his voice was void of all emotion.
"Because that worked out so well for you last time," Gibbs responded dryly, grabbing his agent's discarded clothes from the other empty chair. "Trust me, DiNozzo. You give me any shit and a sedative will be the least of your worries. We clear?"
For a half a second, Tony debated arguing, but he knew his boss wouldn't back down as easily as Abby had. With a resigned sigh, he nodded, dropping his head back against the pillows. "Clear."
"Good. Stay put. I'll be right back."
"Where you goin'?"
"To get your discharge papers and make sure they haven't changed their minds before I go through the trouble of gettin' you changed," he snorted as he headed out of the room, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts once more.
He didn't have much time to dwell on his current situation, because almost as soon as Gibbs left the room, Doctor Reid stepped in, his usual smile pasted on his face. "How are we feeling today?"
Offering the man a bored look, Tony rolled his eyes. "Can I go now?"
"Almost. There are a few things I wanted to discuss with you first then we're going to go ahead and put a cast on that leg before we send you home."
"Cast?"
"To help you keep it still. It's easy to do here when you're confined to a bed, but when you go home, it won't be nearly as easy. Of course, having a cast does not mean you're to be up and moving around constantly. We are sending you home with some crutches, but they're to be used for short periods of time only."
"Whatever. Can I go now?"
"Not quite," Doctor Reid said, a frown forming on his face. "If you aren't going to take this seriously, then I can't discharge you, Tony. I know you're anxious to get backâ€""
"I get it," the agent snapped, his tone coming out in a growl. "I'll stay off my feet. Gibbs will make sure of that."
"I certainly hope so, for your sake," the doctor sighed. "We've already scheduled you for your first physical therapy session. It's in two weeks, but I'm going to want to see you in my office the day before so we can cut the cast off."
"Fine, fine," Tony replied dismissively, glancing over to the doorway when his boss stepped back into the room, one of the nurses in tow.
Doctor Reid's frown darkened just slightly before he shook his head, motioning for the nurse. "Okay then. Let's get this cast on you, then you'll be on your way."
Leaning against the door frame, Gibbs released a quiet sigh. From the very minute that Tony made it known that he wanted to be discharged, he'd done everything in his power to make it happen, as though granting him this small thing would somehow make up for everything he'd lost two weeks ago. He'd been certain that he was making the right call in pushing the doctors to release him, but now, he wasn't so sure.
::::::
It was the quiet creak of the bed that tipped him off first. Though sandpaper scraping against wood should have masked the sound, he heard it loud and clear. One creak followed by another and in a half a second, he'd dropped his worn sandpaper to the workbench and practically sprinted to the stairs.
It was something he'd promised he wasn't going to do. In fact, it was the whole reason he'd sent Kate and Abby home despite their numerous protests. The last thing Tony DiNozzo needed right now was someone to wait on him hand and foot. There was a need for independence that he'd seen shining through in the hospital, but despite earlier promises to himself, he found himself taking the stairs two at a time.
Throwing the basement door open, he paused, listening carefully. Another creak, this time coupled with a quiet moan. His eyes found the bright numbers illuminating the front of the microwave and did a quick mental calculation before he hurried into the front hallway, grabbing Tony's bag of medicine.
The nurses had given DiNozzo a final dose of medication before they'd sent him on his way that afternoon, effectively knocking him out. He'd protested it, of course, in typical DiNozzo fashion until it kicked in and then it was all he could do to stay awake until Gibbs got him in the house and into the large bed he'd moved downstairs.
"Sonofabitch!"
The quiet curse pulled Gibbs from his thoughts. Medication in hand, he made his way over to the living room, leaning casually against the frame as he watched his senior agent, completely and totally unnoticed.
There was a thin sheen of sweating coating his forehead as he struggled to push himself up on the mattress. The cast that Reid had fitted him with came up to his mid-thigh, completely and totally immobilizing his shattered knee. Even finding a comfortable position on the bed was nearly an impossible task and if it hadn't been Tony on that bed, watching him try to push himself up might have been funny.
But it was DiNozzo, the man who'd downright annoyed him at times with all his excess energy and at that very moment, Gibbs couldn't think of anything less funny.
Making his presence known, he pushed himself off the doorframe, dropping the bag of medicine onto the coffee table. "Where you goin'?" He asked, his voice rougher than intended.
"Bathroom," was the barely audible reply. Cocking an eyebrow at the younger man, Gibbs reached for the crutches propped up against the wall, but Tony's voice stopped him. "Don't!"
It was only a single word, but Gibbs could hear the anger in his voice. "What?"
"Don't need your help," he spat, maneuvering himself to the edge of the bed. "I can do it myself."
"Whatever you say, DiNozzo." Backing away from the crutches, Gibbs held his hands up in surrender. It was almost painful to watch him reaching for the crutches, his face screwed up in a look of pain and it took every bit of his willpower to keep from grabbing the damn things and thrusting them into his hands.
He knew that this was something Tony had to do for himself and as much as he wanted to help, he stayed where he was. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Tony's hands finally closed around them, pulling them closer.
Gripping the tops of the crutches firmly, Tony pulled himself to his feet, barely stifling a cry as he jarred his leg. Somewhere in the back of his head, he was aware that he'd pulled on the stitches in his stomach, but it was nothing compared to the excruciating pain in his leg.
Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard and took that first tentative step, gritting his teeth to help stifle the embarrassing sounds he was sure he'd make.
Though the bathroom was less than twenty feet away, it seemed like an eternity and by the time he'd made it there and back, he was completely and utterly exhausted. Sinking down onto the mattress, he dropped his crutches to the floor beside the bed for better access, a quiet moan escaping him as he shifted to find a position that wouldn't hurt.
"You ready for your medicine?" Gibbs asked, his voice startling Tony from his thoughts. He'd almost forgotten that he was still there, and the very thought made him angry. In the two years he'd worked with Gibbs, he'd done everything possible to avoid showing weakness in front of him, and now, the older man had a front row seat to him at his weakest.
"Don't need it," he growled.
"Don't be an idiot, DiNozzo. Take the damn medicine."
"I said I don't fucking need it!"
Gibbs could feel the anger rising in his chest, though he managed to curb his desire to deck the younger man, knowing it was the pain talking. "Tony…" he started, a warning tone to his voice. "Do not make me pin you to the God damned bed and shove these down your throat."
The Italian held his boss' gaze defiantly for a moment before sagging, knowing that the silver-haired man wouldn't hesitate to follow through with his threat."Fine," he muttered, dropping his gaze. "Gimme the damn pills."
Releasing a sigh of relief, Gibbs fished a bottle from the bag, his eyes scanning the label before he tossed it to his agent, a frown darkening his face when he missed.
Tony could feel Gibbs' eyes on him as he fumbled with the childproof cap on the top of the bottle, his hands shaking slightly as he struggled. His leg hurt so bad and though he'd argued with the older man about taking his medication, he just wanted the pain to go away.
He could feel the anger beginning to well up in his chest after another unsuccessful attempt at opening the bottle and with a loud cry, he threw it across the room.
"And what exactly did that accomplish?" Gibbs asked as he made his way over to the bottle.
"It made me feel a whole hell of a lot better," he spat, another low moan escaping him as he jarred his leg.
"Did it really?"
The younger man didn't answer, dropping his head back to the pillow as he closed his eyes, swallowing back another moan. His face, while still sweaty, had gone pale. Releasing a quiet sigh, Gibbs gripped the bottle in his hand before he headed into the kitchen to get his agent a glass of water.
It wasn't long before he heard Tony's voice calling out to him, his tone pained.
"B… Boss?"
He shook two pills out of the bottle and into his hand before he made his way back into the living room, his face impassive despite the concern he felt for his agent. "Yeah, DiNozzo?"
"'M sorry," he mumbled. "Don't… don't mean to be such an ass. Just… can't help it."
"I know." Without another word, he handed the younger man the glass of water before he pressed the pills into his hand. "Take them. You'll feel better."
"Doubt it," he managed, though he swallowed the pills without protest. "Don't help with the pain. Just puts me to sleep."
"We'll talk to Ducky in the morning," Gibbs promised. "See if we can get you switched to something else."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Get some rest, Tony."
He watched as he shifted on the bed, kicking the covers away from his body with his good leg. It wasn't long before the pain killers began to take effect and with a final sigh, Tony drifted off.
Sinking down into the chair near the doorway, Gibbs crossed his arms over his chest. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't do this, that he wouldn't hover as Kate and Abby had planned to do, but here he was, watching over Tony like a mother hen.
The thought was enough to bring a slight smirk to his face as he dropped his head back against the back of the chair, settling in for a long night.
Chapter End Notes:
A/N: Holy cow! I'm back! So so sorry for the long wait between chapters, but real life has been kicking my butt these last couple weeks. I'm in the process of moving, so until we get completely settled, the updates may be scarce. The good news is I'm back at work for a vacation from my vacation so hopefully, the updates won't be *too* scarce. But you know what motivates me to write faster? You guessed it: reviews! So keep them coming, huh? Huge thanks to my friend Kelley for all her help with this chapter! You're the best girl!