Tony spent a month recovering from his injuries. He went through mandatory counseling to help him cope with the ordeal he had gone through, despite his arguments that he was fine. Secretly, he was glad for the sessions. His usual routine of watching old movies and eating junk food, pretending nothing was wrong, wasn't working. He had been terrified and after he returned home, he had vivid nightmares. The counseling sessions had helped him come to grips with what happened and set aside the fears.
Now healthy, physically and emotionally, Tony was aching to get back to work, driving everyone to distraction with his phone calls until Gibbs finally relented and let him return to the office.
The squad room was quiet, everyone was working on one thing or another, when Tony got in. Gibbs was talking on the phone, McGee was typing furiously and Ziva was hitting her keyboard, muttering to herself.
"I'm back!" sing-songed Tony.
"Welcome back, Tony." McGee never lifted his eyes from his monitor.
Ziva grunted at him and Gibbs totally ignored him.
Crestfallen, Tony sat down at his desk. He looked around, and then turned on his computer.
"DiNozzo!" yelled Gibbs.
"Yes, Boss?" Tony jumped up.
"Go down and find out what Abby got from the samples we sent her."
"Yes, Boss."
Grumbling to himself, Tony went down to the lab, perking up as he heard Abby's loud music blaring.
"Abby!" he yelled.
Abby turned and squealed when she saw him. She ran over and hugged him, holding on for dear life. Tony put his arms around her and hugged her back, gratified that someone was happy to see him.
"Tony!" she bubbled. "I'm so glad you're back!"
"Thanks, Abbs, you're the only one, it seems." Tony looked like a kicked puppy.
"Oh, I'm sure that's not true," Abby consoled. "We were all worried about you and missed you. Jimmy kept asking if we had heard any news, like, every 10 minutes. He was driving Ducky bonkers, and you know how hard that is to do."
Turning serious she asked, "What do you need?"
Surprised by the change, Tony replied, "Gibbs wants to know if you have any results from the crime scene."
"I don't have anything," whined Abby. "Ducky hasn't given me the samples from the body yet. I think Jimmy dropped them, or something. Will you go check for me?"
Sighing, Tony turned and headed for Autopsy. He couldn't believe that they weren't happier to see him. He had almost died, for crying out loud. He was almost sold to slave traders. He had been shot, dragged through a jungle, starved, beaten...
As he entered Autopsy he jumped as "Welcome back" echoed through the room.
Autopsy was decorated with balloons and crepe paper. There was a big sign saying "Welcome Home, Tony" hanging up over the drawers. The autopsy tables were draped with colorful paper tablecloths and filled with all sorts of food, drinks and pastries. Gibbs, Ducky, McGee, Ziva, Jimmy and a bunch of other agents were all standing there, grinning broadly at his shocked face. Well, Gibbs looked a tad amused, the hint of a smile on his face.
Abby ran up behind him and grabbed him. "Did we surprise you? Did we?"
His heart still pounding, he looked around at the others. "Yeah!" he stammered. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I think there's an empty drawer for you, right Ducky?" Gibbs winked at the ME.
"Oh, I wouldn't let dear Anthony take possession of one of my drawers. I'm sure Mr. Palmer and I could bring him back 'round." Ducky smiled, patting Tony on the back.
Handing Tony a drink, Jimmy said, "Oh yes, Dr. Mallard. I'm sure we could take good care of Agent DiNozzo." He grinned happily at Tony.
Laughing, Tony shook his head. "You sure had me going."
Ziva sidled up next to him. "You were practically pouting on your way down to the lab. I could just imagine you kicking the floor, muttering to yourself." She gave him a friendly squeeze on the butt, causing him to yelp.
Everyone was laughing and chatting, welcoming Tony home. Tony was talking to Abby when he felt a light smack to the back of his head.
"What was that for, Boss?" he asked.
"Just a warning not to do anything like that again." Gibbs looked stern, but his eyes twinkled.
"Right, Boss."
~FIN~
Author's Chapter Notes:
A mission to South America turns into something unexpected.
Chapter End Notes:
The characters in this story belong to Bellisarius Productions and Paramount, except for the original characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only; no money is being made. Huges thanks go to Rinne, who makes me look smarter than I am by clearing up my bad punctuation and asking me questions when the story doesn't make sense. She also helps when I just don't know how to get from Scene A to Scene B. hugs to Rinne.
A/N: Spanish is indicated by italics.
A/N: Spanish is indicated by italics.