The shrill ring of his cell phone woke Jethro halfway through the first tone. Rubbing at his eyes, he turned it to read the display, but an unfamiliar number showed up. “Special Agent Jethro Gibbs speaking.”

“Hey, Boss. It’s me.”

Frowning at both the unfamiliar number and the weakness to Tony’s voice, Jethro sat up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I need you to come get me.”

“Where?”

“St. Luke’s.”

Jethro managed to keep calm, but just barely. “How badly are you hurt?”

“Not too bad,” Tony answered, then groaned as if to contradict himself. “Look, can you do that when I get off the phone? Thanks. Sorry Boss. And um, couple of busted ribs, bruised hands, and a concussion. That’s why I need you to come get me. They either want to admit me, or someone has to stay with me overnight.”

“You were in a fight?”

A hard laugh echoed over the phone. “No, no I wouldn’t call it a fight. Three guys jumped me.”

“All right, I’ll be there in thirty-five minutes, DiNozzo, don’t move,” Jethro ordered.

Only a little ironic, Tony agreed, “I’ll be here, Boss.”

Hanging up, Jethro rolled out of bed and got dressed with more than his usual efficiency. He was in his car not five minutes later and on the road in six. The drive was practically traffic-free, given the 1:43am time, and he made it into DC in short order. That was good for both his standard road-rage condition, and the other drivers.

It was exactly thirty-three minutes after he hung up from DiNozzo that Jethro walked into the reception area of St. Luke’s Hospital. When the woman smiled up at him, Jethro pulled out his ID and said, “I’m Special Agent Jethro Gibbs and I’m here for Tony DiNozzo. He’s one of my agents and I was told that he’s in the ER waiting for me so he could be released.”

She typed into her computer and nodded a few seconds later. Taking a printout from a small printer, she handed it to him and ordered, “He’s got you as his emergency contact, so that’s fine. Take that through those double doors and give it to the doctor to sign off on, before you bring Mr. DiNozzo home.”

“Thank you,” Jethro said sincerely, then moved in the direction she’d pointed.

It was a few minutes before he located Tony, sitting forlornly on a gurney, holding his head. He watched the young man amidst the chaos of a busy ER on a Friday night gone Saturday morning, and shook his head fondly. Tony was the picture of little-boy-lost and all Jethro really wanted to do was pull him in close for a tight, careful hug.

And then beat the crap out of the men who’d hurt Tony.

As he got closer, the bruises and swelling on Tony’s face became more visible and by the time he was beside the gurney, Jethro was ready to do a lot more than just beat the crap out of Tony’s attackers.

Tony smiled what would have been a smug smile, if his bloodied and swollen lips had been able to do more than twitch halfway there, and announced, “You should see the other guys.”

Snorting, Jethro asked, “I should hope so, or I’d have to let Kate give you those self-defense lessons like she’s been itching to do.”

“Hey!” Tony protested. “There were three of them and I was ambushed!”

Jethro took Tony’s chin between his fingers and tilted the other’s head this way and that to get a good look at all the injuries. Busted nose, cut cheek, the right eye sealed shut and purple with bruising, a serious laceration across the forehead, ending in a respectable goose-egg at the temple. His free hand hovered over the unnatural contour to Tony’s head, but didn’t actually touch it.

“It there had been any more force at that point, you’d be looking at a corpse,” a new voice said gravely.

Releasing Tony, Jethro nodded, having come to that grim conclusion on his own, and faced the newcomer; a serious young man in his early thirties. “Looks like, Dr…?”

“Jamison,” the young man answered.

Jethro took his hand and said, “Jethro Gibbs. So it looks like Tony’s head was hard enough to remain intact, not that that surprises me, but I’d think he’d got a serious concussion. You’re going to let him leave?”

“Only under strict supervision,” Dr. Jamison replied, eyeing Tony sternly. “We’ve already had this conversation, but I want to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation. If there is any dizziness, nausea, double-vision, he is to immediately return for tests. The CAT scans came back clean, but clots and aneurysms can develop with this kind of injury.”

“Oh, I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry,” Jethro promised.

Tony heaved a sigh, but didn’t protest.

“The rest of his injuries aren’t serious, though the ribs will be painful for a few weeks. As long as he changes the tape regularly, normal showers are fine. He doesn’t have any stitches to worry about, he lucked out with some butterfly tape instead. What he needs, however, is rest, and lots of it. His head needs some time to heal and sleep’s the best thing for that,” Jamison finished.

Nodding, Jethro was about to speak when someone beat him to it.

“Anthony DiNozzo?”

All three of them turned at the newest voice and Jethro found a uniformed cop standing behind the doctor. He was in his forties with a bit of a gut and the florid skin Jethro associated with a man who’d been friends with a bottle at some point or another.

“That’s me,” Tony answered.

As soon as Jethro saw the man pull out his cuffs, he moved to stand between Tony and the cop, demanding, “What’s going on, here?”

“He’s under arrest.”

“For what?” Tony exclaimed, incredulous.

“Assault and battery, with intent.”

“You have got to be shitting me!”

Jethro snapped, “Quiet, DiNozzo!”

“Sir, you need to move,” the cop ordered.

He eyed the other man for a moment, then asked, “What’s your name?”

“Officer Korinski.”

“Office Korinski. You’re telling me, that the men who attacked DiNozzo here are pressing charges against him?”

“That’s right.”

“And there’s three of them, to one of him.”

“Correct.”

“And you believe them.”

“I have no reason not to.”

“This is such a load of…”

“DiNozzo!”

Tony subsided with a glare, but he did subside. Thankfully, because Jethro saw from a quick look to the doctor that Tony getting agitated about anything was bad. Returning his attention to the cop, Jethro said calmly, “You’re making a mistake here, and you really need to think about what you’re doing.”

Sneering, Korinski replied, “I don’t need to think about anything. Not with someone like him.”

“Yeah, you do. Because if you arrest and book DiNozzo, I’ll not only have him out on bail in less than an hour, but you’ll be working in traffic for the rest of your life.”

“Are you threatening…who are you to threaten me like that!?” Korinski challenged angrily.

Jethro pulled out his badge and stated, “Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS. This man is on my team and there’s no way in hell I’m letting you arrest him on a trumped up charge like this.”

“Look, Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, I don’t know if you know this, but your boy here is…”

Arching an eyebrow at him, Jethro prompted coolly, “Yes?”

As if just realizing that there were a lot of witnesses in the immediate area, and a number of them were paying close attention, Korinski hesitated. Whatever he’d been going to say was changed to, “Has a temper. He flipped out and attack those guys, so I’m arresting him and bringing him in.”

“Okay. I want your badge number, the correct spelling of your name, and your Captain’s name and phone number,” Jethro stated. “Now.”

Korinski swallowed, nervousness slipping through the mask of bravado, and didn’t answer.

Turning to Jamison, who was glaring at the cop with almost as much force as Tony, he asked, “You got a pen and paper I can borrow?”

Jamison took out his prescription pad and gave it, with a pen, to Jethro. “Write down an extra set of the information for me, too, if you would? Just so I can give this man’s captain the unedited version of Agent DiNozzo’s injuries versus those of the three men who attack and nearly killed him.”

They both looked expectantly at the cop, who was distinctly paler, and unsure of what he should do. He clearly hadn’t expected to find any resistance, though Jethro knew that he probably should have. They were too close to DuPont Circle for any homophobic attitude not to be met head-on. But, not wanting to push the man into a corner where he’d take Tony in no matter what, Jethro said, “Let’s think this through, Officer Korinski. You can take Agent DiNozzo in and bring down a whole host of trouble on yourself and your three friends, or you can convince them not to press charges.”

“They’re not my friends!”

Ignoring the protest, Jethro continued, “You can go back to work and forget that this happened. I’ll be willing to overlook the one incident.”

Korinski hesitated again, then said, “I’ll talk to them.”

“You do that,” Jethro encouraged neutrally, struggling not to punch the man in the face. “We’ll be here.”

After the cop left, Jamison snapped, “Bigots like that shouldn’t be allowed to wear any uniform, never mind a cop’s.”

Jethro snorted. “No kidding.”

“Ah, Boss?”

Looking over at Tony, Jethro saw how pale he looked and hurriedly closed the distance between them, supporting the other with a hand to his back. “What’s wrong, Tony?”

“Just…you knew?” Tony asked, eyes wide and fearful.

Oh. That, Jethro realized suddenly. Of course Tony would be freaking out. Jethro had never brought it up because it had nothing to do with Tony’s performance on the job. Nodding, he confirmed, “Yeah, of course. You can’t get hounded out of three different jobs for being gay and not have your supposedly superior officers not want to tell the new boss all about your orientation.”

“Background check. Right. I didn’t even think…”

Rubbing his hand across the too-tight shoulders briefly before he pulled away, Jethro assured him, “Doesn’t make a difference, DiNozzo, you know me better than that.”

“No, I know, I just…I didn’t know, you know?” Tony mumbled, staring at the blanket between his fingers.

“Doc, could you give us a minute?” Jethro asked.

Jamison nodded and left, pulling the curtain around the gurney for privacy.

“Tony, look at me.” It took a few seconds, but when the younger man finally did, Jethro continued, “Who you love doesn’t make any difference to how you do your job. Although I would take it as a personal favor if you’d stop picking out Matta Hari’s who like to try and kill you, in order for you to stay in a closet you don’t need to be in. You’ve given me a host of new gray hairs that I could do without.”

At that, a tentative smile surfaced and Tony nodded shyly. “You got it, Boss.”

The curtain pulled back just then and Officer Korinski said flatly, “They’re not going to press charges.”

“And I’m sure we’re all very glad about that,” Jethro replied, wry. “Thanks for your assistance, Officer Korinski.”

The man grunted, clearly aggravated, and left.

Shaking his head, Jethro looked at Tony and said, “All right, DiNozzo, let’s get you home.”

* * * *

Gibbs’ lack of reaction was both the best and worst of every imagining Tony had ever gone through in his mind about the other man finding out he was gay. The non-reaction reassured him that Gibbs really didn’t care as long as it didn’t affect his performance at work. Problem was that if Gibbs had known all along and had never once tipped his hand or made a move, it was a really good chance that he wasn’t interested in Tony romantically.

Damn it.

Shifting uncomfortably on his bed, Tony ignored the sharp pains in his side as he contemplated getting upright and starting the morning. Or, more accurately, the afternoon, since it was almost one o’clock. He could hear Gibbs puttering around in the kitchen and something smelled great, but a lingering embarrassment held him under the covers.

“Out of bed now, DiNozzo, or I’ll assume something’s wrong and cart your ass back to the hospital.”

Well. That solved that.

Groaning, Tony rolled carefully onto his good side and then pushed himself into a sitting position. Gritting his teeth, he stood and headed for the dresser, snagging his sweats and struggling into them. Not bothering with a shirt, he padded barefoot out into the main apartment area and didn’t stop walking until he’d hit the bathroom.

Taking care of business was more painful than he expected and he was a little worried when the urine started out pinkish, but it went normal before he was done. Breathing a shallow sigh of relief, Tony finished up and headed for the kitchen.

“Everything okay?” Gibbs asked, already seated at the kitchen table and eating an insane amount of eggs, bacon, home fries and toast.

Eyeing the plate suspiciously, Tony countered, “You’re not going to make me eat all that, are you?”

“At least half. Sit. And answer the question,” Gibbs ordered, standing.

Tony lowered himself slowly into the chair and watched as Gibbs moved comfortably around his kitchen. “I’m fine. Well, everything’s pretty much one massive bruise, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”

“Sure there is.”

Tony was going to ask what, when Gibbs set down the plate and there was an assortment of pills on it, as well as food.

“Some need to be taken on an empty stomach, so you can take them in a few hours.”

“Gibbs, Boss, you don’t need to do all this,” Tony protested, starting to eat, even as he ignored the pills.

“Take the damn pills, DiNozzo. You’re in pain and there’s no need for it.”

Hating the whiny tone that he just couldn’t help, Tony complained, “I’ll just fall asleep!”

“Like you’re going to be able to do anything else today anyhow? Tomorrow, either, probably.”

Grumbling, Tony nonetheless started taking the pills, washing them down with the milk he’d been given. “So what are you going to do all day?”

“Relax.”

“You can do that?”

“Watch it, DiNozzo.”

Tony grinned at the growled warning, even though it hurt to do so. “Sorry, Boss.”

“I’m going to finish reading your paper, since you can’t, and then watch football,” Gibbs announced. “And then, I’m going food shopping, since that seems to be a foreign concept to you.”

“It is not!” Tony protested.

Gibbs just looked at him.

“Hey, I shop.”

“Uh huh.”

Letting the subject drop, Tony asked, “When are you heading home?”

“I figured that I’d stick around for the weekend and we can just drive in together on Monday. Your car’s not going to be fixed before Wednesday, by the way.”

Tony groaned. “What did they do to it?”

Gibbs laughed and answered, “Nothing. Your engine wouldn’t start when Abby tried to bring it back here. She called a tow truck and I had her send it over to my garage.”

“I have a garage, you know.”

“Yeah, and the amount of time your car spends there means that they don’t know how to fix cars.”

Sighing, Tony had to admit he was right, even if he didn’t want to. “I can’t afford the place you go to, probably.”

“You’ll get a discount,” Gibbs replied easily. “Don’t worry about it.”

Even knowing that Gibbs was giving him an order in regards to his personal life didn’t cut through the fog of drugs that was already enveloping him.

“Finish eating before you fall asleep in your eggs,” Gibbs ordered.

Tony did as he was told, eating on automatic pilot, which was too bad because he was pretty sure the other man was a really good cook. When the plate was clean and the glass empty, Gibbs herded him back into bed, making sure he was under the covers. Everything was mostly fuzzy by then, as if a veil of cotton surrounded him, but Tony thought he felt something brush across his forehead before succumbing to darkness.

* * * *

Jethro woke Tony once for his medicine, about halfway through the afternoon, and Tony came out on his own to use the bathroom another time, but otherwise, he was on his own. He resisted the urge to rearrange things in the haphazard apartment by concentrating on the football game. Once it was over, he debated going out for groceries, since Tony would probably be up shortly, but decided that he’d better.

He wrote a note and taped it to the bathroom door, hoping Tony would see it and go right back to bed. Jethro knew from personal experience how debilitating a head injury like that was. His stomach still did flip-flops when he thought about just how close Tony had come to being killed or permanently brain damaged.

Then, naturally, he got angry.

Even though he’d told Korinski that he’d overlook the incident, Jethro wasn’t all that sure that he could. Tony had been able to defend himself to a respectable degree, especially given that it had been three on one. But if those three assholes were targeting people who couldn’t, whether from the drinks they’d had in the club, or a lack of experience, defend themselves, then someone was, eventually, going to die. A civilian, in all probability, and that was just as unacceptable.

On the drive to the grocery, he checked his voicemail. One from Kate, assuring him that if he needed to look after DiNozzo on Monday, too, that she could handle things at the office. Another from Abby, both bitching about the trek to get Tony’s car taken care of, and demanding an update. And still another from Ducky, complaining that he’d had to hear about Tony’s situation from Abby and not Jethro, directly. Eyes rolling at his friend’s indignant tone, he went on to the last message just as he pulled into the parking lot.

“Agent Gibbs, I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday, especially since you’re probably still caring for Agent DiNozzo, but my name is Karen Whitcomb and I work at the D.A.’s office in DC. Dr. Jamison is a friend of mine and he told me what happened to your subordinate last night and I’d really like to talk to both of you about options for prosecuting Officer Korinski and the men who attacked Agent DiNozzo. Please call me at 202-555-3564 at your earliest convenience. Thank you, and please give Agent DiNozzo my best.”

Thoughtful as he turned off the car engine, Jethro didn’t move for a few minutes. He had to admit to the fact that he would love to go after Korinski for abuse of power, misconduct, and anything else the DA could throw at him, but it wasn’t his call. And Tony was too drugged up to really give it the proper thought it deserved.

Making a decision, he called the number and was surprised that the woman answered, since it was a good four hours after she’d left the message.

“Karen Whitcomb speaking.”

“Ms. Whitcomb, this is Jethro Gibbs.”

“Oh! Agent Gibbs! I’m so pleased you called me back!” she exclaimed. “I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear from you until at least Monday, maybe not at all. How is Agent DiNozzo?”

“Still sleeping, I hope. I’m on a grocery run,” Jethro answered.

She chuckled and said, “Well, I won’t keep you, then. I gather you haven’t spoken to him about this yet?”

“Just got the message,” Jethro admitted. “But I didn’t want to leave you hanging the rest of the weekend. I’ll talk to him about it but, to be honest, I don’t see him going through with any kind of prosecution.”

Surprise plain in her voice, Karen asked, “Really? Whyever not?”

“You’d have to know DiNozzo, but he’s not really into personal confrontations if it’s avoidable,” Jethro informed her.

“I’m sorry to hear that. But you’ll talk to him.”

“Yes, I will.”

“That’s all I can ask. Thank you again for calling me back.”

“You’re welcome. Good bye, Ms. Whitcomb,” Jethro said before hanging up.

It rankled that Tony probably wouldn’t go after these guys unless Jethro pointed out that innocent civilians were getting hurt, too. But that would be manipulative behavior, which he hated. Tony would stick up for anyone and everyone, except himself, and that bothered him most of all. He didn’t know what had gone down with Tony’s family while he was growing up, but Jethro suspected that it had left a gaping hole where the young man’s self-esteem should be.

Sighing, he got out of the car and headed for the store.

* * * *

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. When Tony woke up in the late afternoon, his head had actually stopped throbbing, and he could see about halfway out of his right eye. He was worried that his vision had been affected, since it had been such a hard punch, but the doctor had said they couldn’t do anything to check until the swelling went down and it had healed a bit. Thankfully, he found that he could see out of it, which was half the battle.

Moseying into the living room, he settled carefully on the couch beside Gibbs and said, “Did I mention, thanks, Boss?”

Gibbs looked over at him. “Yeah. And you’re welcome. Now shut up and let me watch the game. I don’t do this often.”

Grinning, Tony did just that and they both wound up rooting for New York over LA, though neither team was a favorite of either man. He automatically downed the pills and milk that Gibbs handed him towards the end of the game, and then gave a running commentary when the other man started making dinner.

When it was over and they sat across the table over hamburgers and fries, Tony said, “You’re pretty handy in the kitchen, Boss.”

Dry, Gibbs answered, “Comes from having three wives who couldn’t, or didn’t have time, to cook. Self-defense, DiNozzo.”

Tony grinned and took another bite of his burger, which really was very good. Around a mouthful, he observed, “You could open a hamburger joint or something.”

“Thanks,” Gibbs replied, flashing him a brief grin. “And speaking of self-defense, are you going to tell me exactly what happened Friday night?”

Sighing, though he’d really expected it sooner, Tony washed down the burger and recounted, “I was just getting out of the club and on my way to the car when they jumped me. I’d had a few beers, so I wasn’t as fast in reacting as I should’ve been. They’d never have gotten the drop on me otherwise, Boss.”

“I know, DiNozzo. Keep going.”

Reassured by the firm tone, Tony finished, “Not much else to tell. Two of them held me back while the third whaled on me. I managed to get free by tripping one of them, then I got in some good shots of my own until one of them clobbered me over the head with something. After that, things got really fuzzy. I do remember someone shouting for help, and then a few more voices, but nothing else until I woke up in the hospital in the middle of an MRI.”

Thoughtful, Gibbs nodded and kept eating. Tony knew he was chewing over more than the food, and gave him the space to get his thoughts in order.

“Can you ID them?”

The abrupt question made Tony wary, but he answered, “Yeah. There was a streetlight not ten feet away. I didn’t get hit in the eye until just before I got loose. Why?”

“I got a call from someone at the DA’s office and they want to arrest the men who attacked you,” Gibbs announced. “And the cop who was going to arrest you at the hospital, too.”

Stiffening, Tony shook his head. “No way.”

“DiNozzo, come on! It’s not like you have to worry about your job being in jeopardy this time. None of us cares who you have sex with,” Gibbs practically exploded.

“Forget it, Boss, it’s not worth it,” Tony insisted, not meeting the other man’s eyes.

Gibbs stood, the chair scraping unpleasantly against the floor, and walked over to him. Cupping his chin, the older man tilted Tony’s head up so their eyes met and stated, “You are worth it, Tony. You are more than worth it. Hell, if I could, I’d beat the crap out of those men myself to make them pay for what they did to you. But I can’t, because it’s just as wrong as what they did to you. I can’t and won’t make you do this, but I really think you should. It’ll be good for you in the long run, and if you don’t, I think you’ll regret it.”

Swallowing heavily, unable to tear his eyes from Gibbs’ piercing blue ones, Tony whispered, “I’ll think about it, okay Boss?”

With a slow nod, Gibbs agreed, “Okay. Now finish your supper.”

Relieved, Tony bent his head to his plate again and tucked in, his thoughts whirling.

* * * *

“Hey Boss, I need to duck out early this afternoon.”

Glancing over at Tony, who was still in vivid Technicolor, but looking and moving a lot better, Jethro questioned mildly, “Why?”

“I’m um, I’m going to meet with Ms. Whitcomb.”

The hesitant answer made Jethro want to cheer, but all he did was nod shortly and answer, “Good.”

Relieved, Tony nodded. “Thanks, Boss.”

When the young man didn’t move, Gibbs prompted, “Something else?”

“No, sorry, just, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tony replied, turning around.

“Hey DiNozzo?”

“Yeah, Boss?”

“You want some company?”

The smile Tony flashed at his question went right to Jethro’s heart, but the answer was in the negative. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jethro watched him leave, aware of Kate’s gaze on him, but ignoring it. He knew that she thought something was going on between him and Tony, but there wasn’t.

Damn it.

* * * *

The DA’s office was a lot like any other public servant’s office: small, cramped and equipped with computers and phones that were at least ten years old. It was a maze, trying to find Karen Whitcomb’s office amidst the rabbit warren of cubes, makeshift cubes, and offices without numbers or nameplates. About fifteen minutes in, he was longing for the sharp order of NCIS and Gibbs’ anal OCD to come over and organize the place.

He finally snagged a young woman to ask directions from and, surprisingly, she brought him over to the office instead of just pointing the way. Through the open door, he saw another young woman, dressed professionally with long, dark hair swept up into a bun, and an older man who looked like he could give Gibbs a run for his money for old-school military-ness.

“Mr. DiNozzo’s here, Karen,” his guide announced.

The woman behind the desk stood, as did the man, and Tony entered the office. As they shook hands, she said, “This is Detective Walter Cameron. I asked him to drop by to talk to you about the situation, I hope you don’t mind.”

Feeling the distinct need to duck and run, Tony only kept those fears at bay by remembering the earnest look in Gibbs’ eyes and his words, ‘You are worth it, Tony. You are more than worth it.’ He shook Cameron’s hand and greeted, “Detective. Good to meet you.”

“You too, Agent DiNozzo. Sorry about what happened,” Cameron apologized. “We’ve gotten complaints before about this kind of situation with Korinski, but the victims wouldn’t go through with the prosecution. They were too scared to take on a cop.”

And I’m not? Tony demanded silently, incredulously. Aside from the fact that he knew exactly what happened to people who went against cops, he had been one of them for a long time. Not this particular force, but still… Shaking off the lingering doubts, knowing that Gibbs would say a bad cop deserves no loyalty, he finally replied, “I’m not exactly thrilled about that myself, but if it will stop future attacks, then I’ll do it.”

Relief swept over both of their faces and Tony suddenly realized that they hadn’t been sure that he would do anything except talk to them. Disgusted, he thought, I must’ve sounded like a scared rabbit on the damn phone.

The next hour were spent going over strategy and what Tony could expect. All the various possibilities that he could expect from harassment to no reaction at all. Korinski wasn’t well liked on the force, so there might not be any support, but Tony knew none of them really believed that. Dealing with his three attackers would be much easier in that they didn’t have any kind of association with the police, outside of Korinski.

By the time they were done, Tony’s head was throbbing and he wasn’t all that sure that he’d be able to drive home.

“Did you want me to call you a cab?” Karen offered, concerned.

Tony waved her off and said, “No, I’ll be fine. Do you mind if I just close my eyes for a few minutes? That should do the trick.”

“That’s fine. Use my sofa here. Walter and I’ll start the ball rolling,” she said, smiling kindly. “And Tony, thank you so much for doing this. Getting even one crooked cop off the force is a big thing. You should be proud of yourself.”

Shrugging it off, he didn’t really answer, just started to get comfortable. Or, he tried to, since his legs were too long for the office sofa. He heard the door click softly shut and tried to relax, knowing that the stress of the whole thing was a big part of the problem.

He wasn’t sure how much longer it was that the door clicked back open, but he said, “Just a few more minutes, then I promise I’ll be out of your hair, Karen.”

“Open your eyes, DiNozzo, I’m taking you home.”

Startled, Tony bolted upright, then groaned and clutched his head from moving too fast. Almost instantly, Gibbs was beside him, supporting him. He leaned into the embrace, gasping as waves of pain continued to bash through his head.

“That’s it, I’m bringing you back to the hospital,” Gibbs stated.

Even if he’d had the energy to protest, Gibbs’ tone forbid it, so Tony just got to his feet and continued to lean on the other man as they left the office.