Jethro could wait patiently when he had to, but he never enjoyed it. The sight of Tony pale and unmoving in the hospital bed only added to his agitation. Every so often, he had to stop and take a breath just to keep from hunting someone down to shout at. He knew that his blood pressure had to be sky high, even with those small breathers. For the last few hours, Tony had been put through every brain test and scan known to the medical community and so far, they hadn’t been given any results. He’d only just been settled into a room and then Jethro had been allowed to see him.
They’d gone back to St. Luke’s, since they were fairly close by at the time and, as luck had had it, Dr. Jamison had again been on duty when they’d come in. He’d been less than happy to see that Tony had needed to come back and instantly whisked him into a wheelchair and away from Jethro. During the four hour wait in the lobby, Jethro had called Ducky to let him know what was going on. It had taken some persuasion to keep the older man from bringing the entire team down to the hospital to wait for news, but Jethro had managed it.
“Boss, can you stop pacing? You’re makin’ me dizzy.”
The soft request instantly stopped Jethro in his tracks and he grimaced. “Sorry, DiNozzo.”
Smiling faintly, Tony waved at him without opening his eyes. “No problem. What’re you still doing here, anyhow?”
“Where else would I be?” Jethro asked in surprise.
“Well, it’s almost eleven at night, so you should probably be at home getting ready for bed so you can go to work tomorrow.”
“Like that’s happening.”
“Boss…”
“Tony, until I know what’s going on with you, I am not moving.”
Tony snorted. “And you call me stubborn.”
Grinning, Jethro confirmed, “I do.”
“Good news,” Dr. Jamison announced from the door.
Jethro looked over at the other man and asked tightly, “What is?”
“There’s nothing to indicate brain damage, or a blood clot, or swelling of any kind,” Jamison replied. “It was probably just a migraine brought on by stress. Were you doing something stressful when it came on you?”
Tony’s eyes opened, even though he winced at the bright hospital lights, and he answered, “Yeah. I was talking to the DA and an IA cop about the guy who almost arrested me.”
“Oh yeah, that would do it,” Jamison agreed.
Looking worried, Tony questioned, “Does this mean I can’t work without getting migraines? I’ve got a high-pressured job and I can’t afford to be taken out like this when things get hot.”
Jamison gave him a reassuring smile and finished crossing over to the bed. “I wouldn’t worry about that just yet. First of all, it hasn’t been all that long since it happened and your body still hasn’t healed completely. Secondly, that’s a completely different kind of stress. Just finish getting better and we’ll keep an eye on you.”
“So can he go home?” Jethro asked.
With a nod, Jamison said, “I don’t see why not. I’m sure he’ll sleep better in his own bed. I don’t want you going back to work just yet, though. Take another couple of days off just to rest, at least until Wednesday.”
“Should I stay with him?”
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary. He’s doing quite well,” Jamison answered. “Just be sure to rest while you’re at home, Tony. I don’t want to find you back here.”
Frowning still, Tony asked, “But, what about when I have to see the DA again?”
“Hmm. Well, why don’t you bring someone you trust with you? Having someone there who you feel safe with will probably go a long way towards keeping you grounded and unstressed,” Jamison suggested.
Jethro didn’t miss the look Tony sent his way, even as fast as it was, and stated, “I’ll go with him.”
“Boss…”
“I said, I’d go with you,” Jethro interrupted firmly. “Besides, I want to talk to them myself about a few things.”
Jamison’s eyes were lit with humor as he agreed, “Of course you do. Well, I’ll leave your paperwork at the front desk. There’s a migraine prescription for you to fill. Keep it on hand in case you get another attack like this one.”
Tony nodded and sighed. “Thanks, Dr. Jamison, I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure.”
Hearing the honest warmth in the doctor’s voice made Jethro want to shove him out the door. Quickly. Especially when Tony shared a smile with the handsome ER doctor. Gritting his teeth, Jethro forced himself to remain silent and set about collecting Tony’s clothes so he could change to leave.
* * * *
Tony snuck another look over at Gibbs trying to figure out what had him so ticked. The other man had been silent for the last half hour, ever since Dr. Jamison had pronounced him fit to return home. Since he knew that Gibbs had been on the same page of getting him home, that couldn’t be the problem.
The car finally pulled up in front of his apartment building and Tony sat there for a moment before asking, “Everything okay?”
At the same time, Gibbs asked, “How’s your head?”
Tony grinned at Gibbs and said, “It’s fine. Well, there’s a little throbbing leftover, but the meds pretty well kicked the migraine’s ass.”
“Glad to hear it,” Gibbs replied, lips almost twitching into a smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow to make sure you’re still alive.”
“Boss, what if I can’t…”
“Good night, DiNozzo. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Tony hesitated, knowing that the other man had cut off his question knowing exactly what he’d been going to ask. Which was, in itself, an answer. Gibbs wouldn’t accept that Tony was out of a job, not so early in the game, and he shouldn’t either. Smiling, Tony agreed, “Talk to you tomorrow. Night, Boss.”
Getting out of the car, Tony offered a brief wave then headed for the building. Inside the safety of the foyer, he turned around and discovered that Gibbs was still waiting to make sure he got into the building itself. Thankful that the other man was too far away to see the flush of pleasure that action prompted, Tony waved again and unlocked the main door and stepped inside.
When he looked back again, Gibbs was gone.
* * * *
“So how’s Tony?” Kate asked as Gibbs headed for his desk.
The older man shrugged. “Haven’t talked to him yet today. He was fine when I dropped him off last night, though, and there haven’t been any calls from the hospital, so I assume he’s still fine.”
Eyes narrowing at the other agent as he sat at his desk and inhaled some of that paint thinner he called coffee, Kate observed, “Nobody’s bombed the country yet today but that doesn’t mean we aren’t in trouble.”
Gibbs ignored her, powering up his computer.
Oh yeah, it was going to be a fun-filled day at the office with Tony out of commission, no doubt about that. Gibbs was always impossible without the younger agent around to take some of the edge off. She hated to admit it, but Gibbs scared her too much for her to mouth off to him the way Tony did, and without someone to do that, Gibbs was usually unbearable.
The phone rang and she picked it up with, “Special Agent Todd speaking.”
“Hey. Bossman in yet?”
“Yep.”
“Ooh. That doesn’t sound good.”
“How about we switch for the day?”
“No, I think not.”
“Kate!”
“Gotta go,” Kate said quickly, hanging up and glancing over at Gibbs with an innocent expression. “Yes, Gibbs?”
“If you’re done giving Abby my temperature, I’d really like to get to work.”
Oh yeah. A real fun-filled day.
* * * *
When Tony woke up the next day, it felt like he’d gotten a hangover without the fun part of getting one, which really sucked. If you were going to do the time, you should at least do the crime. Sighing, he rolled slowly out of bed and aimed for the bathroom to take care of business.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Tony grimaced. His nose was still twice its usual size and his cheek was purple and green; not his best colors. Aside from that, his eye was visible now, but still hideously ugly and also out of proportion, though not nearly as bad as his nose.
“You’re an ugly mother, no doubt about that,” he sighed to himself. “Not exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch, either, getting jumped like that. Why the hell didn’t you just take a cab like you should’ve?”
That stung. Knowing that he might not have been drunk, but he’d been drunk enough not to hear someone coming at him, even from the shadows. And that was way the hell too drunk for him to have thought he could drive. He had better than average reactions, that was a fact. Alcohol still dimmed those responses the same as anyone else, that was also a fact.
“So on top of being a first class chump, you’re a stupid asshole,” he informed his reflection tiredly.
He stiffened as the thought came to him that maybe that was what Gibbs had been so ticked about the night before. Maybe the older man had suddenly realized, really realized, that Tony’s judgment had been so impaired that he had been going to drive when he shouldn’t have been doing any such thing. Gibbs was more than just a stickler for things like that, he was nearly obsessive about it. Anything that could harm an innocent civilian was akin to gross negligent behavior.
“Oh shit,” Tony muttered as his head started throbbing angrily again.
Ignoring it, he turned and went back into the bedroom to get dressed. He had to get to the office to make sure Gibbs hadn’t lost all respect for him. A phone call wasn’t going to do it because Gibbs would be able to blow him off.
A little paranoid about what Gibbs might consider safe driving, especially since his head was still throbbing and his vision not that great, he called a cab.
* * * *
Jethro sighed as he tried to concentrate on the report that just wasn’t making sense to him. His powers of focus were next to nothing and had been for the last twenty minutes when he’d called Tony and gotten no response. It was only just after ten, so the young man could still be knocked out from the drugs. Probably was, matter of fact.
You’re just being an idiot, he thought to himself. Tony is sound asleep in bed and not in any trouble.
And yet, trouble always seemed to find Tony, which was the basis for Gibbs’ current worry. A constant worry, really, that was usually kept at bay because the other agent was more than capable and could handle himself in pretty much any situation. Now, though, Tony was partially incapacitated with the head injury and couldn’t defend himself from any real attack, thanks to his other injuries, too.
“I thought you said DiNozzo was supposed to be resting at home.”
Kate’s comment jerked Jethro out of his thoughts and he scowled on seeing Tony exit the elevator and head their way. Angry that the young man had so flouted the doctor’s orders, he stood and stalked over to Tony, snapping, “DiNozzo! What the hell are you doing here?”
Tony flinched at the cold welcome and swallowed before answering, “I uh, I had to talk to you about something.”
“There is this thing called a telephone,” Jethro growled. “I know you have one.”
Flushing, Tony said, “It’s important.”
Not relenting, Jethro took the other man’s arm and led him towards the nearest conference room. When it turned out to be in use, he went on to the next one. Finding it empty, he practically pushed Tony inside and closed the door behind himself with more force than strictly necessary. “What is so important that you defied a doctor’s order to come into work?”
Tony’s eyes were wide as he replied, “I’m sorry, Boss…I shouldn’t have been about to drive home Friday night. I shouldn’t have been anywhere near a car with keys that night.”
Jethro was so thrown by the apology that he just gaped at the other man for a few seconds before regaining his composure. Just to make sure he understood, he asked slowly, “You came down here to tell me that you were sorry you were going to drive home Friday night?”
“Yeah,” Tony confirmed, uncomfortable. “If my reactions were slow enough not to hear them coming, I shouldn’t have been even thinking about driving.”
A kind of dark amusement surfaced in Jethro as he contemplated the nervous, apologetic young man standing before him like a child before a teacher that they thought they’d disappointed. A fond sigh escaped before he could restrain it and he asked, “DiNozzo…what the hell am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know, but if you could cut my head off while you decide, I’d appreciate it,” Tony replied plaintively.
Noticing the pallor on Tony’s face now that his anger was under control, Jethro closed the distance and guided Tony into a chair. “Close your eyes and put your head down. Did you bring the medicine with you?”
“I forgot it,” Tony mumbled through his arm.
Eyes rolling, Jethro muttered, “Of course you did. Okay, don’t move. I’ll see if Ducky has anything you can use.”
“Not going anywhere. Promise.”
Shaking his head, Jethro walked to the phone and called Ducky’s extension.
“Dr. Mallard speaking.”
“Ducky, do you have anything for migraines?”
“I’m afraid not, Jethro. I have some normal pain relievers though. I didn’t realize you suffered from migraines. That’s new, isn’t it?”
“Not me, DiNozzo’s here.”
“Oh dear. No, I definitely don’t have anything to help with what he’s probably suffering through. Best thing is to get him back home as soon as you can.”
Eyeing the forlorn lump bent over the table, Jethro nodded. “That’s what I plan to do, thanks Ducky.”
“This time, be sure he stays there, eh Jethro?”
“I’ll try,” Jethro promised wryly.
Hanging up, he walked back to Tony and said, “All right, DiNozzo, time to get you home to your drugs.”
“Can’t you just kill me and cart my body back?”
Jethro hid a grin, answering, “No. Now come on, lean on me.”
They got him up and, though Tony’s eyes were slits, they were open enough to help with navigating through the office. Jethro kept a hand at the base of the other man’s spine and he nodded briefly to Kate as they headed for the elevator. She gave him a frown that bordered on a glare and he could practically hear the warning to go easy on Tony until the other was back to normal.
Or else.
Grimacing in reply, Jethro was glad when the elevator doors closed. Tony might be brave, or stupid, enough to risk getting emasculated by her on a regular basis, but Jethro sure as hell wasn’t.
* * * *
Abby frowned when she saw that Gibbs wasn’t at his desk. She angled over towards Kate’s instead and snuck up on the brunette with an unholy grin. Just as she was about to goose the other woman…
“Don’t even think about it, Abby.”
Huffing in disappointment, Abby leaned against Kate’s desk and grimaced to counter the smirk on the agent’s face. “Where’s the Bossman?”
Kate’s eyes rolled as she answered, “Bringing Tony home.”
“What!? What was Tony doing here?” Abby demanded.
With a shrug, Kate answered, “You’ll have to ask him that yourself when he can see straight. He looked in pretty rough shape when they finally left. But don’t worry, Gibbs’ll take care of him.”
Abby snickered. “Oh yeah. He’ll definitely do that.”
Kate gave her an apprising glance, then demanded, “Spill it, Sciutto. What do you know?”
Blinking at her innocently, Abby protested, “Nothing! I don’t know nothing about anything. I’m just an innocent lab tech, remember?”
In the span of a heartbeat, Kate went from relaxed and sitting, to being on her feet and most definitely in Abby’s personal space. Abby’s eyes went wide as the agent leaned in towards her and purred, “If you know something and don’t tell me…well…you won’t like the results, Abby.”
Swallowing heavily, not intimidated so much as turned on by the unexpected display of, well, intimidation, Abby licked at suddenly dry lips and felt the urge to squirm and press her already tight jeans in a little tighter. “I uh…no, I mean, I really don’t know anything. I can speculate though, I really can. If you want me to.”
Kate’s lips curved into a slow grin, but she simply sat back down and answered easily, “No, that’s okay. I can do plenty of speculating on my own.”
Breathing a little easier, irrationally disappointed, Abby pushed off from the desk. Still a little flustered, she asked, “We still on for Gripe Night?”
Kate flashed her a smile. “Absolutely. I’ll be ready by six tonight. Make sure you are, too.”
There had to be a way to disconcert the other woman, but Abby couldn’t really figure it out just then. Her heart was still beating too fast from the unusual encounter. “Right. I will. Sure. See you then.”
On her way back to the elevator, Abby was sure she could feel Kate’s eyes on her and smirked. Even though she’d never really considered Kate as a potential in the romance department, aside from the general, “God she’s hot, I’d so do her,” type of thoughts, it was still good to know that she still had It.
* * * *
Jethro was fully supporting Tony by the time they got to his apartment. Tony’s arm was over his shoulder and holding tight, the length of him curled into Jethro’s arms in a way that under any other circumstance would be very pleasurable. Unfortunately, all it did just then was bring the haggard expression all that much closer to Jethro, which caused him to grit his teeth since there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
They had just barely reached the bed when Tony collapsed on it and curled into a ball. Jethro went to the bathroom and found the bottle of pills still in their pharmacy bag. His jaw tightened at the evidence that, yet again, Tony wasn’t taking care of himself, but he just poured a glass of water and headed back to the bedroom.
That was going to be a definite topic of conversation just as soon as DiNozzo could see straight.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jethro gripped Tony’s shoulder and said, “Come on, DiNozzo, turn over and take your medicine like a good boy.”
A groaning laugh answered him, but Tony turned over and squinted up at Jethro. “When have you known me to be a good boy?”
“Good point. Just take the damn medicine,” Jethro answered, flashing him a brief smile.
Jethro actually had to support Tony’s head to get him to swallow the water without choking on it and it just about killed him to see Tony that weak and shaking. The moment he took the water away, Tony closed his eyes again and curled into another ball.
Rubbing his hand firmly up and down Tony’s back, Jethro didn’t move. He wasn’t sure what else he could do, but he had to do something. Seeing Tony in pain was something he could definitely do without. With a sigh, he said, “You need to start thinking about yourself, DiNozzo. Stop worrying so much about what other people think.”
“Not oth’people, juz’you,” Tony slurred.
Ouch. That makes me feel a lot better, thanks Tony, Jethro thought with a wince.
He continued to rub Tony’s back, feeling the tension slowly leave the young man’s body through the contact. He still couldn’t believe that Tony thought Jethro might be angry with him. Tony’s logic was normally faultless, if a little premature sometimes, so this time he supposed that he should blame the head injury.
Tony hadn’t heard the men attacking him because it had been an ambush and the men had known what they were doing. Tony’s blood alcohol hadn’t been over the limit. Jamison had told him that which, while strictly was considered breaking the rules, had been more along the lines of heading off trouble at the pass. After Korinski’s attempted arrest, Jethro had needed to know any and all possible problems coming at them and had asked about Tony’s Blood Alcohol Level.
He’d have to straighten Tony out about that just as soon as the other could think properly. In the meantime, it was really nice just to sit there and have the liberty to soothe Tony through the gentle, slow massage.
* * * *
Tony woke slowly and in his own bed which, for some reason, didn’t feel right. His head was still pounding, which made thinking difficult, but he forced himself to sit up as the fullness of his bladder wouldn’t be denied any longer. He gasped in pain and clutched his head as the world came at him in waves of nausea. Breathing shallowly, Tony managed to stagger to his feet and get to the door, leaning against the wall for support once he got there.
He made it partway there before a startled, “What the hell?” surprised him and he whipped his head around too fast. Crying out in pain at the stab in the base of his neck, Tony collapsed to his hands and knees.
Strong arms surrounded him and he fell the rest of the way against Gibbs, who bent over him and rubbed his back in soothing motions. “Come on, DiNozzo, back to bed.”
“I have to use the bathroom,” Tony gritted out, not opening his eyes. “I refuse to wet my bed like a child because my head hurts.”
“Right. Okay, keep your eyes closed and just let me lead then.”
Grateful for the matter of fact tone, Tony did exactly that and let Gibbs pull him slowly to his feet. It was scary, even though he trusted the older man. Essentially blind, since any amount of light sent shooting pains into his brain, Tony had no choice but to go where Gibbs led. His feet felt the tile, finally, and then Gibbs guided Tony’s hands to the sink counter and said, “Do you want me to help you out here too?”
Tony thought about it for a second, then shook his head. It would be too humiliating.
“Okay. I’ll be right outside. The light’s off, so it’ll be dark when you open your eyes.”
“Thanks, Boss.”
When the door closed, Tony hesitantly opened his eyes. It was almost pitch black, thank God, and he released a shaky breath. He quickly undid his pants and relieved his bladder, nearly groaning as it emptied. He only didn’t because he knew Gibbs would hear him, what with the hovering he was sure to be doing, and come barging in.
When everything was taken care of, he splashed some cool water on his face and sighed again, closing his eyes. “All right, Boss.”
The door opened again and sure hands settled on his back and took his hand. “The medicine didn’t help at all?”
“Guess not,” Tony answered.
“I’d ask how your vision is, but since you can’t open your eyes, that answers that,” Gibbs mused softly. “Nausea?”
“Only when I try to see or move.”
Gibbs snorted. “I guess that concussion isn’t as gone as Jamison thought.”
Tony didn’t really answer, too tired to do more than just grunt.
“Here we are,” Gibbs announced. “Bed’s right in front of you.”
Reaching out blindly, Tony found his hand taken in Gibbs’ and brought to the edge of the bed. Once back under the covers, Tony impulsively grabbed Gibbs’ hand to keep him from leaving and whispered, “Don’t go.”
“Hey, easy there DiNozzo, I’m not going anywhere,” Gibbs assured him.
The bed dipped and Gibbs’ fingers gently combed through his hair, massaging his scalp with just enough pressure to feel good. Even as out of it as he was, Tony knew this wasn’t normal Gibbs’ behavior, he just didn’t know what to chalk it up to. Setting it aside to deal with later, he mumbled, “Feels good.”
“I’m glad,” Gibbs replied softly. “Try and get some more sleep.”
Tony would have nodded, but knew that would just set off the throbbing again. Instead, he settled for a deep, relaxing sigh and concentrated on the feeling of Gibbs’ fingers scratching through his hair in a surprisingly intimate fashion.
It was something he could definitely get used to.