Tony's head was throbbing. He tried to open his eyes, but the pain was too much to handle. He closed his eyes again and only now noticed that someone was talking to him.
What was going on? Had he had a rough night after partying? Slowly the memories from the last few days came back to him. He dared himself to open his eyes and meet his father's angry eyes. The eyes he looked into weren't dark, but more like his own. "Bobby?"
"Hey, sleepy head. How are you feeling?"
"Fine," he lied. He tried to sit up, but the room started to spin so he lay back down. "OK, I lied."
"The doctor should be here soon, so just stay with me."
"Where am I?"
"Back in bed." Bobby had some amusement in his eyes now. He was still worried. After all, head injuries were difficult.
"Well, when everything is right with the world." Just then a maid came in followed by the doctor. "Dr. Henderson, I'm so glad you could get here so fast."
"No problem." He gave them a small smile and came over of the bed. "Now, lets take a look at the patient."
****************
Gibbs took a deep breath before he knocked on the door. He waited a while before he tried again. Still no response. He stood there a couple of minutes debating with himself if he should unlock the door and let himself in. Maybe he just should come back again after working hours. He was just about to walk away when he heard Tony's phone ring. There were nothing that indicated any movement, so he pulled out the spare key he had to Tony's place for emergencies.
"DiNozzo?" His voice was a little sharper then he would have wanted. He stepped into the apartment. Something wasn't right. He pulled out his gun and walked carefully toward the living room. He kicked something hard. He looked down and saw Tony's gun there. He pulled out his cellphone witout lowering his gun. "Kate, pull the team together and come to DiNozzo's apartment now!" He snapped the phone shut. Something was very wrong here.
****************
"Take it easy, Mr. DiNozzo. It's a light concussion, but you should take a trip to get an x-ray on that head of yours to be on the safe side. And have someone to wake you up every 60 to 90 minute if you go to sleep."
"Thank you, doc." The doctor gave them a gentle smile and walked out.
"Thank god for that thick head of yours."
"Were you worried, Bobby?"
"You never know with you."
"Lets go see grandpa."
"Give it a rest, Tony."
"No, no, he's probably waiting for us." Tony got out of bed and started to get dressed.
"Fine. You win this round, but I think I want a part of the fun of waking you up every 60 to 90 minutes." The only reply was a groan. He couldn't help, but laugh.
"Having fun of my misery are we?"
"You know it." With that they both left with a smile on their faces.
Their grandfather had most of the west wing all to himself, so they had to walk a bit of a distance to get there. The memories came flowing on the way. The closet he had hid himself in for 8 hours after he had broken his mothers porcelain doll by accident. His mother had yelled at him for 5 days after that. Ironically enough she had locked him in that closet 3 hours a day after she was done yelling at him. That was one of the frightening ones, but there were also the depressing ones. The memories should be happy and not sad. He remembered when he was 6, playing with his brother, running through the halls and tripped on a rug and fell. He had been crying when his father had come running. He had picked him up, held him and talked to him til he had stopped crying. Would his father ever be like that again? ‘No,' he told himself. ‘You're to blame for your mothers death. How could he ever even look at you again?'
"I know what you're thinking. It wasn't your fault." Tony jumped. He hadn't even noticed that he had stopped. He was standing in front of a picture of their mother and father on their wedding day. He tried to say something, but his mouth was so dry all of the sudden. He took a deep breath gave his brother a smile and they walked on.
"You are not to blame, Tony." Tony wanted to believe him, but he couldn't.
****************
Gibbs had taken a look all around the apartment without touching anything. He had to make sure that Tony didn't lie somewhere hurt or worse. He closed his eyes. He couldn't think like that. Tony was alive. "He better be or I'll kill him!"
"What did you say, Gibbs?" Just then Kate and McGee came in.
"What's wrong? Have you found any sign of Tony?"
"No, McGee. I haven't. Someone left in a hurry and I'm not so sure Tony left willingly."
"Why do you say that?"
"His gun was on the floor, loaded. Almost every closet in the bedroom and bathroom were open. Like they didn't know where the things were."
"We'll start the investigation."
****************
"Hey, grandpa." Bobby walked in to the living room were their grandfather was, closely followed by Tony. Raul DiNozzo was a shorter and older version of Tony with brown eyes and now gray hair. If one had looked at a picture of him in his thirties and at his grandson, you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
"Robert and Anthony." The enthusiasm in his voice was a warm welcome and both gave him a big smile in return. "I was starting to wonder if you weren't coming to visit your old grandfather."
"Oh, you know. Late night out on the town."
"You don't look so good, Anthony." With the first happiness from seeing his grandsons gone, he could really look at the boys. And what he saw made him worried. Robert looked as good as always, but Anthony looked terrible. He recognized the round mark on his cheek was from his son's ring.
"Ah, with my line of work you h..."
"He slipped on the bathroom floor and fell. He has a concussion." Tony looked over at his brother who just grinned at him.
"Yeah, OK. I slipped on the bathroom floor and have a concussion."
"And the bruises? When did my son give you them?" Tony just looked at the floor. He couldn't deny it, so he just kept quiet. Bobby just looked sad at this. Raul sighed. He had to talk to his son about this, but he had another matter that had to be explained first. "I have something important to tell you. I have recently gotten some notes in the mail." Tony's head snapped up. The investigator in him started to wake up and go on alert.
"What kind of notes?"
"Threatening ones." He sighed again and pulled out something from his jacket. Tony took them and looked at them. Bobby looked over his shoulder.
Long time no see, old pal.
You know, I've been checking up on you. And I think you are a cinaiving little weasel, that should be hanged. But no, that would be so wrong of me. I couldn't do that. No, no, no. I don't want you to end like that. I'm sorry... Shot or maybe a knife to the throat. I had so many fantasies on how I'm going to end your life, but I want it to be a surprise. So don't ask me. Well, you probably don't even remember me, so how could you? Ask me I mean.
I know this is a short letter, but I promise I will write to you again.
Don't want you to die of old age or something, before I can end your life for you. So I wish you well, from 031278.
P.S. Another promise. You will suffer.
Tony looked quickly through the rest of the letters. They all said about the same thing. Threats to kill his grandfather.
"Have you called the police?"
Raul gave a small laugh, except it wasn't funny at all. "Boys, you know that I was a lawyer for over 40 years."
"Yes, and one of the best." Bobby and Tony had always looked up to their grandfather. Bobby had walked in his footsteps. He became a lawyer himself and a successful one. Tony wanted to put criminals behind bars, but chose another way to do it. That's why he had gone in to law enforcement.
"Thank you, Robert. You're not so bad yourself." He gave him a small smile for the compliment, but the importance of the moment made it short. "I don't trust the police anymore. It can be someone on the force whose toes I have stepped on and I have stepped on a lot of toes, just as much as it can be someone I've put in prison."
"I'll take them with me. I'll check it out."
"Thank you, Anthony. I don't like to do this to you, but at least I can trust you."
"I'll jump on a plane back tonight and I can take a look tomorrow at work." Tony looked at the letters again. He hoped that it was just an empty threat, but he couldn't be sure. Suddenly he swayed and the roomed started spinning. He sat down in one of the chairs that was closet to him.
"That's it. I'm taking you to the hospital." Tony was about to protest, but his brother put up a hand to stop him. "If you're going home tonight I want to make sure you're alright first."
"You go on, boys. I'm sorry that your stay has to be so short, Anthony."
"Me too, grandpa." He went over to his grandfather and gave him a hug. Just then his father came in. Tony instantly straightened himself up. The silence seemed to last forever.
"Come on, Tony. Lets get your bags packed." His brother took him by the arm and started walking. When they were about to walk past his father he throwd an arm out and stopped Tony. "You're leaving?"
"Yes, dad. I have to go back to work."
"Off course, I'll drop you off at the airport."
"Don't worry about it, dad. I'll take care of it." Bobby tried to drag Tony with him, but their father still hold him back.
"You don't have to do that."
"I don't mind." Tony was finally let go.
"Bye, grandpa. I'll talk to you soon."
"Be well, Anthony." His son was just about to turn around and walk out. "Phillip Anton DiNozzo, come over here." The tone in his voice always made him freeze right on the spot. He respected his father and didn't want to do anything to upset him.
"Yes, papa?"
"How can you treat your son, my grandson, like this? He doesn't deserve this."
"He killed Kelly!" The rage got the best of him. He hated losing control, but his younger son had that affect on him.
"No, he didn't and you know it. It is miracle that we didn't lose them both. Why can't you see that?"
"My wife would still be alive if it wasn't for him."
"It's unfair to blame this on Anthony. He had nothing to do with it. Or maybe it isn't about him at all." His son looked at him. He looked at him with surprise in his eyes. "When you slap your son. Who is it that you really want to hit? Could it be me?"
"Where would you get that idea?" Phil DiNozzo was starting to get agitated. He didn't like where this was going.
"You must see who he looks like. Is that really the reason?"
"No, the reason I can't look at my son anymore is that he is the reason the light of my life is gone." He had almost spat out the word son. With that he left the room and left his father with his thoughts.
****************
"It is mostly Tony's prints that you found in Tony's apartment." Abby sat in her chair spinning around. Gibbs found this peculiar, case this was after all a coworker and a friend that she was trying to find a clue to his disappearance.
"And?" Gibbs was starting to get annoyed. He usually wasn't like this to Abby, but he didn't like the fact that he didn't know where she was going with this.
"I did find some prints that weren't his."
"And?" He repeated.
"It didn't come up in COTIS."
"Abby!"
"But some of the hairs you found..." She paused. Only for the dramatic effect.
"You got a hit on that?"
"No." Before Gibbs could say anything she continued. "Well, not really."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Abby?"
"I didn't get a direct hit, but he's defiantly related to our young boy."
"Related?"
"It looks like junior DiNozzo got a visit from senior DiNozzo."
"His father?" He didn't know much about Tony's family, but he did know that they weren't in contact with each other on a normal basis. Maybe there had been a family emergency that had made him leave the way he did. If that was the case Tony would regret the day he was born.
****************
"I can't believe it." Bobby looked over at his brother. "The doctor actually OKAYED you."
"Just a light concussion. There shouldn't be any problems, if you don't count the throbbing headaches."
"No, I was thinking of your head in general." Tony hit his brother in the shoulder, who just grinned even more. "We better get going if you're to make it in time for your flight."
"A small visit. Both happy and sad."
"It was nice to have you back here. Next time you can come and say with me and maybe stay for a while."
"Maybe." Tony was left with his thoughts. He loved seeing his family again, but it brought back a lot of painful memories. He knew that if he could help it he wouldn't be back here any time soon.
****************
The next day when Tony came back to work he walked in to the bullpen with everyone there looking through files and evidence. Even Ducky and Abby was there. They all looked up when he came in.
"Hi. What's going on? Hot case?"
Everyone flew up from their seats. Abby was the first one there and she threw herself around his neck.
"What's going on?" He was surprised by the welcome. He appreciated it, but it was a bit disturbing.
"Don't you ever do that again." Abby said angrily and hit him in the shoulder. He didn't say anything, he just rubbed his shoulder. When he let his hand fall down his shoulder got another punch from Kate this time.
"What's going on?" He kept repeating himself and didn't get any answers.
"Spill it, DiNozzo." Tony was really confused. He didn't understand why they were reacting like this. Even Gibbs was up and he didn't look happy.
"Spill what?" Ducky suddenly grabbed his chin and turned his head from one side to another. "It's not a big deal, Ducky. Just a misunderstanding." Referring to his bruise.
"Where have you been?" This time it was McGee speaking. Tony was surprised by the tone in his voice. They had been worried.
"At my fathers place. My grandfather had something important to tell me."
"That's it?" Gibbs had to restrain himself from yelling.
"Basi..." He stopped in the middle of the word, because of the head slap from Gibbs. He stopped breathing for a minute. The others noticed the way Tony hunched. He took a deep breath and straightened up. "And there is the fact that I have a small concussion after a little accident."
"Accident?"
"Yeah, there was this big guy that..." He was interrupted by Gibbs calling him by his surname. "Okay, I slipped on the bathroom floor." Kate laughed out loud and McGee tried to hold back a snicker, while Abby just smiled.
"And the bruises?"
"Your thinking of the round mark." Tony thought quickly through his possible answers. "I slipped sideways head first in to the bathroom counter and hit one of the knobs. And I hit the back of my head when I hit the floor."
Gibbs looked over to Ducky. He could see that the ME hadn't believed that story either. Something was going on and he would find out what.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Why does his grandfather want to talk to him?
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks to Kathy, who did the beta reading for me. And to you who gave me feedback, thank you for giving me the inspiration to continue... Am I doing alright?