Somewhere in the murky depths of the darkness that was surrounding him, Tony heard someone repeatedly calling his name, forcing him back up through the mire of exhaustion and pain that had swallowed him whole. The simple act of opening his eyes exposed him to an onslaught of agony making him wonder if there was a knife protruding from his skull; he wished that whoever was talking to him would remove the blade from his brain so he could concentrate on something besides the torment that wracking his body.
He closed his eyes again and tried to swallow the bile that seemed to be stuck at the back of his throat. The nausea quickly became too much for him and Tony felt himself being rolled over onto his side while he lost the meager contents of his stomach. After a few moments of nothing but dry heaves, he was gently rolled onto his back as a moan escaped his lips.
“Agent DiNozzo?”
The voice that called to him was sickeningly sweet but familiar. Where had he heard that voice before? Did he dare try and pry open his eyes again to see who was calling his name? Slowly forcing his eye lids to cooperate, he searched the dimly lit room in an effort to figure out where he was and who was with him. His tired gaze finally came to rest on his father’s nurse who was hovering over him, her own eyes filled with concern.
“Agent DiNozzo?” Julie called out to him once again. “Can you hear me? You’re in the waiting area on the cardiac floor.”
“Hear…just fine,” he whispered. “Head hurts…like a…son of a…”
“I get the picture,” she quickly assured him.
“What happened?”
“You passed out.”
Tony shook his head, instantly regretting the action. “DiNozzo’s…don’t pass out.”
Memories of alarms ringing and the call for a code blue began to echo in his mind. The thought of his father dying was more than his mind could handle at the moment; he had to find out what happened to his dad. Tony struggled to sit up despite the hands that were attempting to restrain him.
“Easy, DiNozzo.”
He should have realized that Gibbs wouldn’t be far away. Tony could always count on the team leader and usually took comfort in the older man’s presence. It had taken a long time for him to accept the fact that even when they had their differences, Gibbs would not walk away; the Marine never left a man behind. He couldn’t say the same thing for his father, but dwelling in the past was not going to change anything.
“My dad,” Tony gasped.
“He’s okay,” Gibbs answered. “It was a false alarm; a couple of the leads got messed up and it caused the alarm to go off.”
Knowing that Gibbs would never lie to him, Tony laid back down on the couch. He curled up on his side, burying his head against the vinyl cushion. “God, it hurts,” he mumbled, not caring if anyone heard him. Most of the time, he had a high tolerance for pain but he had let this particular migraine spiral out of control and now he was suffering the consequences.
He heard a quiet conversation between Gibbs and Julie but he didn’t even attempt to make out their words. Tony knew that he should make himself get off the couch and go and see about his father, but the very idea of moving was something he didn’t want to consider. He couldn’t do anything for his dad until he was able to open his eyes without the urge to throw up.
The agent startled at the unexpected touch on his shoulder, but immediately relaxed when Gibbs spoke his name. “Tony?”
“Yeah?” he replied, his voice barely audible, knowing that the slightest sound would set off an explosion in his head.
“The nurse has gone to find you something for the pain.”
“A gun?”
“Nothing that dramatic.”
Tony didn’t protest when Gibbs took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Just take it easy,” the older man insisted.
“Can’t…do much else.”
“Haven’t seen you have one this bad in a long time.”
“Yeah,” was all Tony managed to say.
“They should have your file from the last time you ended up in ER with a migraine, so it shouldn’t be too much longer before you get some relief.”
“’Kay,” he slurred.
“Can I get you anything?”
“No.”
He squeezed Gibbs’ hand as the pain in his head seemed to magnify ten fold. Tony didn’t try to wipe away the tears that were escaping from his clenched eyes. “Oh man, Gibbs,” he panted.
“I’m right here.”
Tony had no idea how long he lay there before Julie came back in. “Tony, I’ve got a shot that’s going to help with that headache,” the nurse announced, her bubbly personality too much for him to handle. “Then once you feel up to it, I’m sure that Agent Gibbs can give you a ride home so you can get some real sleep.”
“Just give me…the shot,” he growled. “’m not going home.”
“You haven’t had a decent night’s sleep all week, DiNozzo,” Gibbs reminded him.
“Not…my fault.” Tony wished he could take the words back as soon as they came out of his mouth. He didn’t want the team leader to feel like he was blaming him for the disruption of his sleep pattern this past week, but right now his pain was doing most of his talking.
“I need…to…get back to…my dad,” Tony explained as his tears continued to flow. He hated crying in front of Gibbs, but he knew that his mentor wouldn’t hold his emotions against him. Unfortunately his father’s perception on shedding a few tears was something entirely different; weeping was another thing DiNozzo’s didn’t do.
“Your dad is fine, Tony. He’s in good hands.”
“Still need to be around…he’s not had a…lot of…experiences with hospitals.”
He heard Julie clear her throat and Tony motioned for her to give him the shot; she didn’t need to witness the pending disagreement between him and Gibbs. “I’ll uh, need to give this to you in your…”
“Thigh,” he finished. “I know the…drill.”
Tony fumbled for his belt but his fingers were refusing to cooperate. Groaning in frustration, he was grateful when Gibbs asked, “Need some help, DiNozzo?”
“Will you respect…me in the…morning, Boss?” Tony feebly quipped.
“Always, DiNozzo.”
It didn’t escape his notice that Gibbs was making every effort to preserve his dignity as the team leader provided the nurse access to his bare thigh. Tony felt the prick of the needle and the medicine enter his blood stream; hopefully before much longer, he would feel the much needed relief of the sheer agony that was burning inside him.
“Thanks, Gibbs,” he mumbled.
“You’re welcome, Tony.”
“I need to check…on my dad.”
“I’ll do it,” Gibbs volunteered.
If it hadn’t hurt so much, Tony would have more than likely been overtaken by a fit of laughter. The idea of Gibbs having a civil conversation with his father was almost ludicrous; there wasn’t a doubt in Tony’s mind that a simple feat such as checking to see how his dad was, would turn into another battle of wills.
“I don’t think that’s a…good idea, Gibbs.”
“I’ll just make sure he’s all right.”
“Still…don’t think it’s a good idea.” Tony was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. His sudden desire to sleep was overwhelming his ability to protest Gibbs’ willingness to talk to his dad.
“I’ll stop in and check on him,” Julie volunteered.
Tony winced as he mutely nodded his thanks. “Tell him…I’m okay. Not sure he’ll ask, but you can tell him anyway.”
“I will,” she promised.
As Tony closed his eyes, he heard Julie tell Gibbs that she would bring a blanket for him and that he could sleep on the couch as long as he needed to; it was a good thing that they didn’t insist that he go home because at the moment, he wasn’t sure he could even sit up. He knew that sleep was the only thing that would help him at this point and if he was going to be of any use to his father, he would have to succumb to the demands being placed on his body.
The last thing he remembered was Gibbs covering him with the blanket that the nurse had provided him with and sitting down across from him, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible in the hard plastic chair. Tony drifted off to sleep, hoping that when he woke up, he would discover that everything had simply been a bad dream.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Anthony DiNozzo, Senior was not a happy man. He thought for sure that Tony would have come running at the sound of the code blue page, but he had only been successful in alerting the doctors and the nurses, who had arrived with every intention of saving his life. Turning on his charismatic charm, he sheepishly apologized for unknowingly dislodging the leads in his effort to get more comfortable.
His doctor had obviously been slightly perturbed, but his nurse assured him that everything was all right and that she would go find Tony and inform him of the false alarm. Senior had flashed his winning smile once again and thanked her as he took her hand and kissed it. Her cheeks had flushed and she had nearly tripped rushing out of his room; even if he was flirting with a married woman, it was comforting to know that he had not lost his touch in dealing with the opposite sex.
That had been almost forty five minutes ago and he had seen Julie up and down the hallway several times and she had yet to stop in and let him know that she had found Tony. He abhorred the very idea that Tony could be listening to the concerns that the interfering Marine had about their father and son relationship. His son truly admired and respected the team leader but as he had taken great pleasure in reminding Gibbs, Tony was his son.
He was getting ready to push the call button when Julie sailed in the room, apologizing profusely for not getting back sooner. “I’m so sorry, Mr. DiNozzo; your son got sick and I was just trying to get him situated.”
Senior’s brow was knit together, puzzled and concerned by her revelation. “Sick? What’s wrong?”
“He has a migraine,” she explained. “When Tony heard the code blue, evidently he passed out and when he came to, he was in terrible pain. He’s obviously been working on a migraine for a while. I got him some medicine and he’s sleeping it off in the waiting room. Agent Gibbs is with him.”
“A migraine? I didn’t realize he still had those,” he muttered to himself. “I figured that he would have grow out of them.”
“So he suffered from them as a child?”
“Sometimes,” Senior replied. “The doctor thought that stress was usually a triggering factor.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s been a stressful day for him; it’s not easy when your loved ones are sick.”
“I suppose your right. I think that he said something about not having a lot of sleep the last few days,” he purposefully recalled, not wanting to accept that he was the cause. “Sometimes I worry about him keeping up such a strenuous pace; his Boss never seems to cut him a break.”
“Agent Gibbs is with your son right now; he seems very concerned about him.”
“I’m sure he is,” Senior growled, his dislike for the lead agent intensifying every second.
Julie nervously cleared her throat. “Your son wanted me to tell you that he’ll be okay and that he’ll be up to see you in a little while.”
“Whenever he’s ready; I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” he grinned, making a sweeping gesture towards the monitor and IV’s that were attached to him.
“I’ll check on your son periodically for you and let you know how he’s doing.”
“I’d appreciate that. He’s my only child; I can’t help but worry about him.” He had slipped back into the role of the concerned father which seemed to endear him even more to the nurse.
“I’m sure you do. He’ll be fine,” Julie assured him. “I’m on for a few more hours, so just buzz if you need anything. In the meantime, you get some rest; you’ve got a pretty big test coming up.”
“I will,” he acquiesced. “Thanks for everything, Julie.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. DiNozzo.”
As she turned and headed towards the door, he called out to her. “There is one more thing, if you don’t mind.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’d like to speak with Agent Gibbs.”
“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You got pretty upset the last time and you really need your rest.”
“Please, just for a moment,” he pleaded.
“I’ll tell him that you want to see him but I wouldn’t count on him making an appearance right now; I really don’t think he’s going to leave your son’s side.”
Biting back a sharp retort, Senior nodded his thanks as Julie left to tend to another patient. He would save his wrath for Gibbs; the man was determined to undermine his position in Tony’s life and he couldn’t let that happen. Of course, if he were honest with himself, he knew his son more than likely looked upon Gibbs as his father; he had certainly never treated Anthony like a son.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, he began to construct a plan to win Tony’s love and devotion. He had to turn his son against the team leader and in order to do that, there would have to be breach of trust. Senior knew that he was an expert on betraying the trust of people; he had done it enough in his life to the point that he was now alone.
He closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep as memories of the past churned inside his mind vying for a place in his dreams. Anthony DiNozzo, Senior never accepted defeat and he was not about to start now. He had lost his money and the love of several women, but he would not lose his son. Tony was all he had now and although their relationship was strained, his position of power in his son’s life would not be threatened by a former Marine grunt who couldn’t mind his own business.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was the commotion in the hallway that brought him out of his self imposed musings and it was the familiarity of the voice that forced Jethro Gibbs to go and see why Abby Scuito was arguing with one of the nurses. He walked out into the hallway and took the scientist by the arm and escorted her to the waiting area.
“Abs, what are you doing here?” he inquired, his own fatigue wearing on his nerves.
She glared at him with eyes that silently challenged his authority. “Someone didn’t call me and tell me what was going on so I decided to come down here myself and no one here seems to want to tell me anything and...”
Gibbs stepped aside as she peered over his shoulder. “Tony! What happened? Why’s he asleep on the couch? If he had a heart attack, what’s he doing in here? What’s going on?”
“His father had a heart attack and has been admitted for some tests and possibly surgery,” Gibbs patiently began to explain, knowing that Abby was worried about her friend. “Tony’s all right; he has a migraine and he got some medicine and is sleeping it off. He refused to go home, so he’s sleeping on the couch.”
“Is Tony’s dad okay?”
“I guess so,” he shrugged. “He’s going to have a heart cath later to see what’s going on; Tony wanted to make sure he was around for it.”
Abby made her way over to the couch and knelt down beside Tony as Gibbs reclaimed his seat. Every once in a while, he found himself wondering how far Abby and DiNozzo’s friendship extended, but he also knew deep down that Tony and Abby would never cross that line.
He watched as she began to lightly run her fingers through Tony’s hair. “He hasn’t had a migraine in a long time. I figured he would have gotten one when his dad visited the first time, but he didn’t.”
“Or he hid it from us,” Gibbs stated.
“True. He doesn’t like to appear weak, especially in front of us.”
“Thank his dad for that.”
“Gibbs, why don’t you like Tony’s dad?” she inquired. “He’s so charming and such a flirt. I just picture Tony being just like him when he’s older.”
“Yeah, he oozes the charm,” the team leader stated. “Let’s just say that he’s passed up a chance of a lifetime.”
“And what would that be?”
Gibbs sighed, sorrow and regret filling his heart at his own loss. He doubted that particular wound would ever completely heal and Anthony DiNozzo, Senior was willing to be satisfied with simply bouncing in and out of Tony’s life whenever the mood hit him.
“Gibbs?” Abby called out to him. “What chance are you talking about?”
The team leader stared at Tony, who remained oblivious to their conversation. When he finally met Abby’s gaze, he didn’t bother to hide the anguish that he felt in his heart. “He’s missing his chance to be a father.”
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