Chapter 5: Break Through
A few hours later, now in a private room on a different floor in the hospital, Gibbs sat next to the figure in the hospital bed. He was still trying to understand what in hell was going on and how things had gotten so bad for Tony without him even realizing it. In his mind, he categorized the injuries Tony had again, feeling his fists reflexively tighten in anger.
Tony’s collar bone was broken.
Severe concussion from multiple head traumas.
Fractured cheekbone.
Five broken ribs.
Badly bruised arms; bruises that could only come from defending or protecting oneself.
Shattered right ankle--the surgeons were hoping for success with plates and pins--it was still unknown how it had gotten so badly damaged.
Tony’s left knee--the one he’d injured in college playing football--would possibly need an operation to be repaired.
And then, there were the internal injuries. The doctors were carefully monitoring his kidney and liver production. His spleen was swollen and inflamed. It looked like he’d been raped repeatedly. They learned that Tony had an ulcer as well. Gibbs sighed. Stan Burley had an ulcer too--it was why he left the team to go be an Agent Afloat. But Gibbs was willing to bet that Tony’s wasn’t the result of working for Gibbs.
Gibbs leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands.
“Why didn’t you let me help you sooner, Tony?” He whispered, quietly questioning the sleeping man on the bed.
He wondered how Tony had managed to not only stand up, but to get out of the building and out back to the alley with all of these injuries. Just about any one of them could have been enough to stop a normal man in his tracks. Gibbs knew that it was the adrenaline rush coupled with Tony’s will to survive that had gotten him out of that apartment.
Unfortunately, because of his injuries and the way he’d struggled and fought in the ER, it had been decided that it would be best if Tony were restrained--at least until he could calm down and think rationally. Gibbs reluctantly agreed to let them, under the condition that he stay with Tony at all times. The Velcro straps still pissed Gibbs off, regardless of the reasoning.
There was a knock on the door and Gibbs raised his eyes, immediately alert. Ducky entered quietly, carrying a thermos of coffee and accompanied by Tony’s doctor.
“How is Anthony?” Ducky asked softly, gazing at the unconscious man on the bed.
“Still sleeping off the sedative,” Gibbs said, taking the thermos. “He hasn’t moved at all.”
The doctor checked Tony’s pupil response, his blood pressure, his temperature, and his bandages. Then he turned on the light and set about waking Tony up.
“What are you doing,” Gibbs asked him. Wouldn’t it be better to let him sleep for a while? To rest before having to face all this?
“I need to check how coherent he is,” the doctor explained, shaking Tony’s shoulder opposite the broken collar bone. “Mr. DiNozzo? Mr. DiNozzo I need you to wake up.”
Tony groaned and Gibbs knew, he knew Tony wasn’t going to like the restraints--he was going to hate them.
Tony blinked one eye open--the other was still swollen shut. He glanced around blearily, before his gaze settled on the strange man standing over him--and he freaked out. Gibbs quickly stepped close and began speaking softly, trying to calm the desperate man.
“Shhhh Tony it’s okay, it’s Gibbs. I’m right here. This is your doctor; shhhh it’s alright,” Gibbs stated, coming to Tony’s aid when the doctor didn’t speak up.
Tony’s gaze slid over to him. “B-bosssss,” he slurred.
Gibbs smiled reassuringly. “I’m right here.”
Tony moved to raise his hand and realized quickly that he couldn’t. “W-what…Boss?”
“You were fighting the doctors Tony. Tryin’ to leave.”
“Mr. DiNozzo, my name is Dr. Tomkins. Can you tell me where you are?”
Tony looked around. “H-hosssspit’l,” he slurred.
“Very good. Can you tell me your birthday?”
“J-July…8th…1972,” Tony whispered. This was so exhausting, why wouldn’t they just let him sleep? God his head hurt. Scratch that. His whole body hurt. He groaned.
“I know it hurts. Just a couple more questions.”
“No Doc,” Gibbs spoke up. “He’s had enough.”
“I need to complete the concussion check. It’s imperative that--”
“Dr. Tomkins, I believe Anthony has proven his coherency. He recognized Agent Gibbs, he knew he was in the hospital and he could tell you his birthday. The boy is obviously in pain; it’s time to let him rest,” Ducky spoke up, taking control of the situation before Gibbs lost his temper.
Tony groaned again, and his hands twitched in the restraints. “Take ‘em off Boss,” he pleaded, ashamed of the way his voice cracked. “Please…I’ll…I’ll be good…I won’t fight…Boss please…” Tony stopped himself, not ready to admit that Declan had him tied up at some point during this nightmare.
Gibbs nodded though. He understood. The restraints were reminding Tony of his recent nightmare. “Get the restraints off of him,” he ordered the doctor.
“Now Agent Gibbs we talked about this and we both ag--”
“Ducky get this guy out of here and get me a damn doctor that will listen,” Gibbs snapped, undoing Tony’s restraints on his wrists. “It’s okay Tony, I’m right here. You have to stay calm though, or they’re going to put the restraints back on and I won’t be able to stop them alright? Can you do that?”
Tony blinked a couple of times and then nodded slightly as Ducky escorted the angry doctor out of the room. Gibbs sat down on the edge of Tony’s bed and looked at this man that he had grown to care for so deeply. Gibbs gently pushed some of the hair back from Tony’s forehead and refused to let himself think about what Tony had said just before he succumbed to the sedative in the Emergency Room.
“Boss” Tony’s voice was quiet, his breathing hitching in pain.
“Yeah, DiNozzo; you need something?”
“Li-lights…”
“Oh hell, hang on,” Gibbs said quietly, standing to turn off the main light in the room, leaving only the dim glow of the light above Tony’s bed.
“You wanna sleep?” Tony blinked and then shook his head. No.
“Well if you aren’t going to sleep, then we’re going to talk. How much do you remember about what happened?”
Tony blinked at the Gibbs’ firm question. “I uh…well Gibbs I was he-heading t-to the store a-and…and th-this g-guy--”
“Don’t lie to me DiNozzo. It won’t work. Tell me about Declan.”
Tony closed his eyes and looked away. Gibbs let out a long breath and waited for Tony to answer. Finally Tony opened his eyes and looked back to Gibbs.
Gibbs immediately noticed sheen of tears in his agent’s eyes.
“Ya know Boss, ever since I was a kid…everyone’s always told me I’m such a fuck up and…and that I always break the rules…everyone. And then…y’know for years I convinced myself I could leave whenever I wanted to, that I wasn’t like the vics in the seminars. I mean, I’m the screw up. But, I tried to leave him…tried when I moved here, swear Boss. He found me. Always finds me.”
“How long Tony? Because I gotta tell ya…looking at you like this…You can’t take much more, DiNozzo.”
“Met him at college, Boss…almost ten years,” Tony whispered, looking away again.
Gibbs put his finger on Tony’s chin and faced his second. “You don’t deserve this Tony; no one does,” Gibbs told him.
Tony’s eyes widened slightly.
“Not your fault,” Gibbs told him.
Tony’s eyes widened slightly. “Is my fault,” he insisted. “Keep breaking the rules. Father always said I was ‘hands on’ project,’” he said sadly.
Gibbs thumped him very gently on the side of the head. “You’re not stupid, Tony; you called me. You got help. That makes you smart. Strong. Reason I hired you in the first place.”
There was silence as Tony stared at Gibbs, broken only by a poorly hidden yawn. "Rest Tony, I’ve got your six."
Gibbs sat back down on the hard plastic chair and picked up the thermos, watching as Tony’s eyes slid shut. It was going to be a long night.
xxx
It wasn’t long after Tony fell asleep that Ducky came back in quietly with a new doctor, an attractive young woman named Dr. Brown.
“He just fell back to sleep about twenty minutes ago,” Gibbs told them softly.
Dr. Brown nodded. “I won’t wake him. I just want to take a look and see how he’s doing,” she said softly. Her gentle fingers quickly checked his injuries and Tony didn’t even stir under her ministrations. Gibbs liked her immediately. She’d take good care of Tony.
“Do we know who did this to him,” she asked softly.
Gibbs nodded. “His domestic partner.”
She sighed sadly and nodded her head. “We unfortunately see a lot of abuse,” she said. “Do you know if the other doctor ordered any blood tests to check for STDs or infections?”
Gibbs wasn’t sure of the answer. Ducky spoke up. “No my dear. He was more concerned with the concussion and broken bones.”
The doctor narrowed her eyes a bit. “We should do some tests. I don’t want to overlook anything.”
Gibbs spoke up. “Is there a way to do it without waking him up? He was pretty tired and hurting pretty bad,” he said.
The doctor nodded. “I can do it painlessly,” she said. “Give me just a minute.”
“Don’t you need a lab tech or something to come do it?”
“Normally I would…however after everything Agent DiNozzo has been through, I’m willing to bet he’s feeling pretty traumatized. The fewer strange faces we throw at him, the better off I think his emotional state will be, and it will take less time it will take for him to heal physically if he’s cared for emotionally as well. I’ll talk to the staff and make sure he gets the same nurses on rotation and I will be his doctor--if that is agreeable for you, Agent Gibbs.”
Gibbs blinked. He’d never encountered a doctor so in tune with her patient’s needs. She was concerned for his physical, mental, and emotional health. She wanted to make sure that his family was on board with her plan and was asking his opinion…Gibbs blinked again.
“That’s uh…that’s good,” he said, still shocked.
“I’m just going to go get my supplies to do the blood tests and I’ll be right back,” she said softly. She checked his chart. “I’ll get him something for the pain, too.”
Gibbs nodded and the doctor left the room. Gibbs turned to Ducky. “Where’d you find her,” he asked. “I like her. She’s smart.”
“Indeed Jethro. She is a wise girl and a good doctor. She will take good care of our Anthony.”
“He talked to me a bit Duck, before he fell back to sleep,” Gibbs commented.
“Oh?”
Gibbs nodded. “He’s been with this guy for ten years. Finally just now realizing how serious the situation is. Think he’s scared, Duck, but he’s not admitting it.”
“Anthony is a strong boy to have weathered this on his own for so long,” Ducky said.
Gibbs nodded. Ducky watched his friend carefully. “The question remains,” Ducky said softly, “What are you going to do with the information you have?”
Gibbs looked at Ducky through narrowed eyes. “What are you talking about Duck?”
“Are you going to go after his partner?”
“Tony gets some say in that. We didn’t get that far.”
“I’m impressed you got as much information as you did. Anthony is a very private person. The fact that he asked for help at all speaks of his realization of the seriousness of the situation.”
“I just don’t understand why I didn’t know any of this before,” Gibbs said, running a hand over his forehead.
“Jethro I hardly think we can blame Anthony for not telling you about his sexual orientation, nor can we blame him for not telling you about his abusive partner. I’d wager that he’s been hiding this for so long that he doesn’t know how to talk about it.”
“He should have known he could trust me, Ducky!”
“It isn’t a matter of trust, Jethro; it’s a matter of survival. The fact that he called you says a great deal about his trust in you. As for his sexual orientation, we work for the Department of the Navy--we aren’t military, but we are close enough that Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell is a consideration. Anthony enjoys working at NCIS--working for you Jethro--and you’ve had his six more times than he can count. I think you represent something to him that he is sadly unfamiliar with.”
Gibbs sighed. “And what would that be?”
“Safety Jethro. I’d imagine that is something he is quite unused to having. For now I must get back to my mother and the Corgis; I’ve been gone a bit longer than I had planned. But, I’ll check back in on both of you tomorrow. ” Ducky quickly gathered his hat and coat before leaving Gibbs sitting silently in the room.
A moment later the doctor popped back in. She pulled the rollaway table close to where she was standing and set down her supplies. Gibbs eyed the equipment skeptically. “What” he asked while pointing to a sterile package, “is that?”
She smiled. “This is a butterfly needle. It’s a 25 gauge which is the smallest needle we have on supply here. It’s actually most frequently used on children; it’s usually quite painless for adults. I should be able to take the blood sample without waking him. This alcohol swab has lidocaine in it as well to numb the skin a bit before I stick him.”
She quickly unwrapped the alcohol swab and the needle and lifted Tony’s limp, sleep heavy hand from where it rested against the side rail. “Was he restrained?”
Gibbs ran a hand over his forehead. “He kept trying to pull out his IV and leave the hospital. He was fighting me and the doctors…we were afraid he was going to hurt himself more. I unstrapped him as soon as he woke up though. He’d calmed down enough that he wasn’t fighting anymore. The restraints scared him…I think his partner may have had him tied up or restrained at some point…”
Dr. Brown nodded. “It’s difficult to see people who are normally so strong and confident be in such a vulnerable position,” she commented, swabbing Tony’s hand with the alcohol wipe. Tony didn’t even flinch.
Gibbs wondered at this empathetic doctor who took such great measures to ensure her patients’ comforts. “He’s very strong and confident,” Gibbs said softly, his voice clouding with emotion slightly. “One of the strongest people I know,” he said. He watched as Dr. Brown deftly inserted the needle into the back of Tony’s hand. Tony didn’t move, continuing to peacefully sleep.
She quickly drew the blood sample she needed and removed the needle. “That worked quite well,” she said, making a note on his chart of what types of needles to use on Tony. “I spoke with the nursing staff. JoAnn will be your night nurse and Stephanie will be your day nurse. They’re both very highly qualified and smart girls who care deeply for their patients,” she said.
Dr. Brown picked up the syringe she brought with her. “This is a low dose of morphine,” she said, inserting the syringe into the port in Tony’s IV and began very slowly injecting it. “The dose will last about four hours and should get us through until it is time to start prepping him for surgery on his ankle.” She eyed Tony’s splinted ankle and elevated and swollen knee. “Do you know when his orthopedist is going to repair his knee?”
“He didn’t say…he was talking more about the busted ankle…You know, Tony walked out of his apartment building and called me to come get him,” Gibbs said quietly.
Dr. Brown’s eyes widened. “He walked out,” she murmured, shaking her head. “The wonders of adrenaline.”
Gibbs nodded. “I don’t know how he did it; I’ve been thinking about it since he was admitted and I still can’t figure it out. But, he made it out back and hid behind the dumpster and called me to come help him.” Gibbs paused and shook his head. “He’s worked for me over two years now…you’d think I would have noticed…something,” Gibbs said, his voice full of guilt.
Dr. Brown shook her head. “Not if he didn’t want you to notice,” she said. “Abuse victims are experts at hiding things--think of them as undercover operatives,” she said, not realizing how good Tony was at undercover work. At least that made sense now, Gibbs thought dryly. No wonder DiNozzo was one of the best undercover agents around; he certainly got enough practice. Gibbs turned his attention back to the doctor as she began to speak. “These people know that their key to survival is to keep their abuse a secret. Often they even feel they deserve it, which plays into the emotional abuse that typically goes with severe abuse like this.”
Gibbs looked at his sleeping agent and sighed. “He’s so strong--always putting everyone else back together. He brushes off serious injuries as though they’re paper cuts.”
“That’s probably because he wants to hide either the cause of his injuries, or hide injuries from the abuse that would show up if he were examined for something else.” Dr. Brown reached for Tony’s blood sample. “I should get this to the lab. I’ll leave you two to get some rest. If you need me just hit the call button. I’ll check back in a couple of hours.”
Gibbs thanked her and she left the room. He stood up and paced around a bit, trying to wake himself up. He needed to stay alert in case this O’Sullivan bastard showed up. Tony groaned softly on the bed as he shifted a bit, but he didn’t wake up. Gibbs sat down on the edge of the bed and carded his fingers through Tony’s hair.
“This is too much for you to handle alone, Tony,” Gibbs whispered. “Please,” he begged, “please don’t shut me out.”
Gibbs moved down to sit in the chair by the bed, holding Tony’s hand gently in the dimly lit room, the gentle beep of the heart monitor letting him know that all was well with his agent. Tony was here. He was safe and would recover. Gibbs would make sure of it. He would be with him every step of the way. It was with those thoughts and the reassuring beep of the monitor that he let himself fall into a light doze.
xxx
A few hours later, Dr. Brown opened the door to enter the room with Tony’s surgeon. Dr. Brown smiled sadly when she saw Gibbs asleep with his head on the bed, one hand gently holding Tony’s. The instant the door opened fully, Gibbs was awake and on his feet, his eyes wide, his body tense. He was in full protector mode, Dr. Brown realized.
“Easy Agent Gibbs. It’s just me and Dr. Corkran, Tony’s surgeon. We just came to check and see how he’s doing. Sorry we startled you.”
Gibbs ran a hand over his eyes and looked at Tony. He hadn’t moved since Gibbs sat down next to him, some three hours earlier.
“We need to do a concussion check,” Dr. Brown said. “I’m sorry to have to wake him up, but it’s very important to make sure his brain function doesn’t deteriorate.”
Gibbs nodded. He’d had enough concussions of his own to understand that.
A few minutes later, Dr. Brown nodded her head and told Tony he could go back to sleep. Tony looked around sleepily for a minute; Gibbs was sitting beside him and he realized that his boss was holding his hand. Feeling safer than he’d felt in years, he nodded his head slightly and went back to sleep.
Dr. Brown patted Gibbs on the shoulder. “He trusts you,” she said softly. “He feels safe with you. So what I’d like to do, if it is alright with you, Agent Gibbs, is have you in recovery tomorrow so you’ll be there when he comes around.”
“That is highly irregular, Dr. Brown,” Dr. Corkran stated.
She quickly turned on him. “I am his primary physician here; what I say goes. It would be in Agent DiNozzo’s best interests for us to let Agent Gibbs be there when he comes out of the anesthesia. Don’t argue with me on this one Ron,” she said, “you’ll lose.”
Dr. Corkran eyed her for a moment, and then relented with a slight nod. It wasn’t like it would really hurt anything for Agent Gibbs to be there. It just wasn’t standard operating procedure, the doctor thought to himself.
Dr. Brown turned back to Gibbs. “I believe having you there would cut down on his anxiety, and we will be able to avoid the use of the restraints.” Gibbs nodded. He didn’t want them to tie Tony down again.
“I’m glad to do whatever is best for Tony,” Gibbs said.
Dr. Brown smiled. “Alright then. The anesthesiologist will be in at about 0600 to prep him for surgery. It’s fine to let him sleep until then. I’ll do one more concussion check before then, but other than that we can let him rest.” She looked from the doctor to the special agent and back to the doctor. “You should get some rest too,” she said softly to Gibbs. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
TBC…
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