How To Relate: Chapter 13
Title: How To Relate
Author: justhowthisgoes
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Pairing: None
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Season 7
Summary: Tony has been getting threatening letters and the team is worried, but Tony isn't taking them seriously. Then come the attempts on his life. Could the new girl at NCIS be involved? And what secrets from Tony's past will be revealed in the search?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 13
When It Rains…
Ziva turned out of the Navy Yard and drove through the dark D.C. night.
Tony was a conundrum all right. One minute he'd be so irritating with his teasing and juvenile behavior that she could cheerfully beat him to death with a file, and the next minute he'd seem so utterly vulnerable that the only thing she wanted to do was protect him from all the outside influences that conspired against him.
She sighed. She hated it when they were not speaking to each other.
Perhaps she had made too big a deal out of his comment about Ari. Even though it was ancient history, it still hurt for him to throw that in her face. But what had truly made her angry was the fact that she was so concerned about his safety and he was seemingly so cavalier toward the same.
She knew he regretted what he had said and she knew she had acted unfairly in response to his apology, but at that moment the last thing she'd wanted to do was explain to him the real reason she was so upset. So instead she had snubbed him.
Well, now the orb was in her court, as they would say. Or was it 'the ball was in her field'? Stupid idioms.
Ziva made up her mind and turned onto Tony's street, nearly being hit by a dark jeep that was speeding out. She muttered a few choice phrases about what she thought of the driver's parentage, upbringing, and personal hygiene, before pulling up across the street from Tony's apartment.
Recognizing Ali's vivid green Beetle parked in front, she briefly considered leaving but then steeled her resolve and got out of her car.
You'll have to do this eventually. Ziva reminded herself. She is Tony's half-sister.
She could be civil, she could be cordial, she could admit that maybe she had been wrong. She could do that, right?
She walked up the steps to Tony's apartment and knocked on the door. It fell open at her touch. Wary, she swiftly drew her gun and then froze, her eyes widening in shock and confusion.Tony groaned as he regained consciousness. His head pounded and throbbed with every beat of his heart.
"What happened?!" he heard a slightly accented voice exclaim over the persistent ringing in his ears, as if far away and through a tunnel.
That's what I'd like to know.
Where was he? What was going on?
His eyes fluttered open and he began to sit up, the room spinning dizzily around him. Oh, that was a mistake. Even the slight motion caused a wave of nausea and he turned to his side and threw up. As he closed his eyes tightly, waiting for his stomach to stop turning somersaults, he vaguely felt someone patting his back and murmuring soothingly.
He opened his eyes to see Abby kneeling beside him, looking down at him anxiously, McGee behind her on his phone, and Ziva in the doorway holstering her gun. He pushed himself to a sitting position, gritting his teeth against the queasiness that threatened to overwhelm him again.
McGee hung up his phone. "Gibbs is on his way with Ducky."
"Tony," Abby began gently, her hand still on his shoulder. "What happened?"
He shook his head to try to clear his vision, wincing at the pain that shot through it.
As a kid, he'd always thought it was funny in cartoons when anvils dropped from the sky, but just now he felt nothing but sympathy for their targets.
Suddenly it all came back to him.
Ali.
Movie night.
A knock at the door followed by a crack to the skull.
Not likely by an anvil. That thought was laughable.
He snorted. "Well I guess I know how Wile E. Coyote feels anyway." The words came out slightly slurred.
"What? Tony, what are you talking about?" Abby looked baffled.
Tony was struggling to push past the fog in his brain. He knew that something was wrong, something was missing, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Tony?" Abby asked again, sounding worried. "Talk to me."
"Sorry." He spoke more clearly this time. "Just trying to decide which one of you to answer."
Abby exchanged a look with McGee that said 'yup, he's got another concussion'. Her fingers tenderly probed the swelling on the back of his head. "You've got quite the goose-egg there, my friend."
"Tony, what happened?" McGee asked.
"Somebody knocked at the front door. I thought it was you guys." He suddenly thought of what had been bugging him. "Where's Ali?"
He glanced around the room as if expecting her to be in a corner, and saw the side table upended.
Well, that explained the crash.
Abby looked surprised. "Didn't she leave? She was gone when McGee and I came back."
"No," Tony insisted. "She was still here."
"Are you sure? You know, you probably have a concussion." McGee reminded him.
"I'm sure and I'm fine!" Tony snapped, then immediately wished he hadn't as the words resonated loudly in his head. "I was in the back and Ali answered the door."
"Her car is still in front of the building." Ziva put in.
Tony fought to contain his increasing panic, but Abby did nothing of the sort.
"Oh no! Ali's been kidnapped!" she exclaimed, sounding somewhat hysterical.
McGee looked puzzled. "Kidnapped? I know Tony's been threatened, but why kidnap Ali?"
"Well," Abby continued frantically, her eyes wide with horror. "the latest letter made threats against Tony's family too!"
Tony suddenly felt sick again, but it had nothing to do with his head injury. "And my P22 is gone."
"Are you sure?" asked Ziva.
"Well, it's not here, is it? I had it before I got hit." He bit back a groan, more at this new development than the considerable pain in his head, and cursed. "I'm such an idiot. Not to mention that this entire thing is my fault. How could I have been so stupid?"
"Tony, this isn't your fault," McGee told him.
"Then whose fault is it? Huh, McGee?" Tony demanded, staggering a little as he moved to stand. He waved off assistance and leaned heavily against the wall. "I'm fine. We need to call Gibbs."
"Tony," McGee said, speaking to him as if he were a small child. "We already called Gibbs. He'll be here soon."
"Oh…" he struggled to remember through his still-fuzzy brain.
Ziva spoke up. "How do we know that Ali has been kidnapped?"
His brain couldn't be that fuzzy. "What are you talking about?"
"Well," she began carefully, "I know you may not want to hear it, Tony, but this whole thing does seem rather… convenient."
"Convenient?" Tony still wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"Suspicious."
"Suspicious?" Tony folded his arms defensively. "And just what do you mean by that?"
Ziva folded her own arms in a matching gesture. "I think you know exactly what I mean by that."
They locked eyes intently for several long moments, neither blinking, neither conceding an inch.
Their impromptu staring contest was abruptly broken off when Abby dashed between them over to the doorway where Gibbs had just arrived with Ducky.
"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, practically humming with nervous energy. "Gibbs! Ali's missing, and she's probably been kidnapped, and Tony's hurt again, and I think he has another concussion, and… and…"
Gibbs took in the scene with one piercing glance. He turned and began giving orders. "McGee: BOLO. Ziva: prints. Abby-"
Abby stopped her frantic pacing and looked at him. "Gibbs?"
"Calm down."
Abby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Right. Ok. Oh, I know! I'll go get some ice for Tony."
"Abbs, I'm fine. Barely even have a headache." Tony made as if to stop her.
"DiNozzo!"
Tony looked at him. "What should I do Boss?"
"Sit down and let Ducky look you over."
"But Boss, I'm fine. I just-" Tony began to protest.
"Sit!" Gibbs barked sternly. "Ducky, if he gives you any problems, feel free to sedate him."
Tony scowled deeply at this, but did sit.
Ducky tutted disapprovingly as he began to check Tony over.
"You have had quite a knock to the head, haven't you my dear boy? When ever will you learn to stay out of trouble? Although I suppose it can't always be helped. You know, you put me in mind of a dog my mother once had, Terry was his name. Short for Holy Terror." Ducky chuckled. "He was always getting into scrapes and he had no fear, even when it was merited. I remember one day, he met up with a porcupine. It was twice his size, but he was undaunted and would not be called back…" He shook his head. "The poor fellow came out looking more pincushion than Pomeranian."
Tony merely frowned at this narrative.
Ducky shone a penlight into Tony's eyes to check his pupil reaction. "All right Anthony, you know the drill. Follow the light."
Tony unenthusiastically and rather sullenly obeyed. The light made him feel nauseous again and he nearly gagged.
"Any problems with your vision? Hearing? Feeling ill at all?"
"No," he lied. "I'm fine, Ducky."
"He was seeing double before," Abby interjected as she came back into the room and handed Tony a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a washcloth.
Tony looked annoyed, but applied the cold compress to his head. "I'm fine," he insisted stubbornly.
"And he threw up after he came to. And then he was all hinky and off-balance when he stood up." Abby folded her arms and stuck out her chin, as if daring Tony to contradict her.
He took her dare and held her gaze. "How many times do I have to say that I'm f-"
"So help me DiNozzo, if you say you're fine one more time, I'll headslap you right into next week!" Gibbs growled, raising his hand as if to carry out the threat.
Not wanting to risk it, Tony closed his mouth and glared hazily in Gibbs' direction.
Ducky came to Tony's rescue. "I don't recommend it, Jethro. Anthony has indeed suffered a moderate concussion, so I would forbear from any headslapping for the moment. It would most definitely do more harm than good."
The ME rummaged through his medical bag for a moment then turned back to Tony, holding out something in his hand. "Now Anthony, the best cure for concussion is rest, as I'm sure you know by now, but I daresay you won't be able to sleep at all if we don't give you something for your headache."
Tony's jaw worked for a minute and then he let out a huff. "Fine," he said, taking the pills from Ducky and dry-swallowing them.
Gibbs watched this, knowing that Tony's head must hurt a lot more than he'd let on if he would take painkillers without even arguing with Ducky.
"That's a good lad," Ducky said, clapping Tony lightly on the shoulder. "And someone will need to stay with you tonight and monitor your condition."
"I don't need a babysitter," Tony objected irritably.
No one paid any attention.
Abby raised her hand. "I volunteer to stay with Tony."
Gibbs shook his head. "No, Abbs."
"But Gibbs…" Abby protested, looking at him pleadingly while clasping her arms around Tony's waist.
"Abby, I need you in your lab. That'll help more. Plus I want an agent with him at all times."
"Protective custody… So who do I get: the Prob-ie or the Prob-ette?" Tony mused, the painkillers already beginning to have their loopy way with him. "Who will come out on top: the Johns Hopkins grad or the ex-Mossad assassin? The novelist or the multi-linguist? Sounds like a bad reality show."
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "McGee, you're watching Tony tonight. Take him to your place. Ziva and I will finish going over the scene here."
"Got it, Boss," McGee said.
"Watching me? What am I, five?" Tony asked, toying with Abby's fingers.
Again he was ignored.
"You'll need to wake him every hour, Timothy," Ducky instructed. "Make sure he's still coherent. Well," he amended with a look at Tony, "as coherent as can be expected."
Tony shot him a half-hearted glare before turning back to the distractingly shiny bows tied around Abby's pigtails. "I can hear you, you know."
Ducky chuckled, addressing McGee again. "And make sure he takes plenty of fluids, but not soda; water, juice, or milk. He needs to stay hydrated. And if he becomes ill again, or has any other worsening symptoms, call me straightaway."
"Will do, Ducky," McGee headed for the door. "Come on Tony, let's go."
Taking one step before realizing he could go no further, Tony stopped. "Abby. You'll have to let go now."
Abby hugged him tight for good measure before complying.
Tony turned to Gibbs.
"Boss," he began, suddenly sober, his eyes downcast. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let my guard down, I-"
Gibbs cut him off. "Don't apologize, DiNozzo, it's-"
"-a sign of weakness," Tony finished. "Yeah, I know."
Gibbs put a surprisingly comforting hand on Tony's shoulder and gently squeezed. "It's not your fault, Tony. We'll find her."
...
Chapter 14
Author: justhowthisgoes
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Pairing: None
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Season 7
Summary: Tony has been getting threatening letters and the team is worried, but Tony isn't taking them seriously. Then come the attempts on his life. Could the new girl at NCIS be involved? And what secrets from Tony's past will be revealed in the search?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 13
When It Rains…
Ziva turned out of the Navy Yard and drove through the dark D.C. night.
Tony was a conundrum all right. One minute he'd be so irritating with his teasing and juvenile behavior that she could cheerfully beat him to death with a file, and the next minute he'd seem so utterly vulnerable that the only thing she wanted to do was protect him from all the outside influences that conspired against him.
She sighed. She hated it when they were not speaking to each other.
Perhaps she had made too big a deal out of his comment about Ari. Even though it was ancient history, it still hurt for him to throw that in her face. But what had truly made her angry was the fact that she was so concerned about his safety and he was seemingly so cavalier toward the same.
She knew he regretted what he had said and she knew she had acted unfairly in response to his apology, but at that moment the last thing she'd wanted to do was explain to him the real reason she was so upset. So instead she had snubbed him.
Well, now the orb was in her court, as they would say. Or was it 'the ball was in her field'? Stupid idioms.
Ziva made up her mind and turned onto Tony's street, nearly being hit by a dark jeep that was speeding out. She muttered a few choice phrases about what she thought of the driver's parentage, upbringing, and personal hygiene, before pulling up across the street from Tony's apartment.
Recognizing Ali's vivid green Beetle parked in front, she briefly considered leaving but then steeled her resolve and got out of her car.
You'll have to do this eventually. Ziva reminded herself. She is Tony's half-sister.
She could be civil, she could be cordial, she could admit that maybe she had been wrong. She could do that, right?
She walked up the steps to Tony's apartment and knocked on the door. It fell open at her touch. Wary, she swiftly drew her gun and then froze, her eyes widening in shock and confusion.Tony groaned as he regained consciousness. His head pounded and throbbed with every beat of his heart.
"What happened?!" he heard a slightly accented voice exclaim over the persistent ringing in his ears, as if far away and through a tunnel.
That's what I'd like to know.
Where was he? What was going on?
His eyes fluttered open and he began to sit up, the room spinning dizzily around him. Oh, that was a mistake. Even the slight motion caused a wave of nausea and he turned to his side and threw up. As he closed his eyes tightly, waiting for his stomach to stop turning somersaults, he vaguely felt someone patting his back and murmuring soothingly.
He opened his eyes to see Abby kneeling beside him, looking down at him anxiously, McGee behind her on his phone, and Ziva in the doorway holstering her gun. He pushed himself to a sitting position, gritting his teeth against the queasiness that threatened to overwhelm him again.
McGee hung up his phone. "Gibbs is on his way with Ducky."
"Tony," Abby began gently, her hand still on his shoulder. "What happened?"
He shook his head to try to clear his vision, wincing at the pain that shot through it.
As a kid, he'd always thought it was funny in cartoons when anvils dropped from the sky, but just now he felt nothing but sympathy for their targets.
Suddenly it all came back to him.
Ali.
Movie night.
A knock at the door followed by a crack to the skull.
Not likely by an anvil. That thought was laughable.
He snorted. "Well I guess I know how Wile E. Coyote feels anyway." The words came out slightly slurred.
"What? Tony, what are you talking about?" Abby looked baffled.
Tony was struggling to push past the fog in his brain. He knew that something was wrong, something was missing, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Tony?" Abby asked again, sounding worried. "Talk to me."
"Sorry." He spoke more clearly this time. "Just trying to decide which one of you to answer."
Abby exchanged a look with McGee that said 'yup, he's got another concussion'. Her fingers tenderly probed the swelling on the back of his head. "You've got quite the goose-egg there, my friend."
"Tony, what happened?" McGee asked.
"Somebody knocked at the front door. I thought it was you guys." He suddenly thought of what had been bugging him. "Where's Ali?"
He glanced around the room as if expecting her to be in a corner, and saw the side table upended.
Well, that explained the crash.
Abby looked surprised. "Didn't she leave? She was gone when McGee and I came back."
"No," Tony insisted. "She was still here."
"Are you sure? You know, you probably have a concussion." McGee reminded him.
"I'm sure and I'm fine!" Tony snapped, then immediately wished he hadn't as the words resonated loudly in his head. "I was in the back and Ali answered the door."
"Her car is still in front of the building." Ziva put in.
Tony fought to contain his increasing panic, but Abby did nothing of the sort.
"Oh no! Ali's been kidnapped!" she exclaimed, sounding somewhat hysterical.
McGee looked puzzled. "Kidnapped? I know Tony's been threatened, but why kidnap Ali?"
"Well," Abby continued frantically, her eyes wide with horror. "the latest letter made threats against Tony's family too!"
Tony suddenly felt sick again, but it had nothing to do with his head injury. "And my P22 is gone."
"Are you sure?" asked Ziva.
"Well, it's not here, is it? I had it before I got hit." He bit back a groan, more at this new development than the considerable pain in his head, and cursed. "I'm such an idiot. Not to mention that this entire thing is my fault. How could I have been so stupid?"
"Tony, this isn't your fault," McGee told him.
"Then whose fault is it? Huh, McGee?" Tony demanded, staggering a little as he moved to stand. He waved off assistance and leaned heavily against the wall. "I'm fine. We need to call Gibbs."
"Tony," McGee said, speaking to him as if he were a small child. "We already called Gibbs. He'll be here soon."
"Oh…" he struggled to remember through his still-fuzzy brain.
Ziva spoke up. "How do we know that Ali has been kidnapped?"
His brain couldn't be that fuzzy. "What are you talking about?"
"Well," she began carefully, "I know you may not want to hear it, Tony, but this whole thing does seem rather… convenient."
"Convenient?" Tony still wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"Suspicious."
"Suspicious?" Tony folded his arms defensively. "And just what do you mean by that?"
Ziva folded her own arms in a matching gesture. "I think you know exactly what I mean by that."
They locked eyes intently for several long moments, neither blinking, neither conceding an inch.
Their impromptu staring contest was abruptly broken off when Abby dashed between them over to the doorway where Gibbs had just arrived with Ducky.
"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, practically humming with nervous energy. "Gibbs! Ali's missing, and she's probably been kidnapped, and Tony's hurt again, and I think he has another concussion, and… and…"
Gibbs took in the scene with one piercing glance. He turned and began giving orders. "McGee: BOLO. Ziva: prints. Abby-"
Abby stopped her frantic pacing and looked at him. "Gibbs?"
"Calm down."
Abby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Right. Ok. Oh, I know! I'll go get some ice for Tony."
"Abbs, I'm fine. Barely even have a headache." Tony made as if to stop her.
"DiNozzo!"
Tony looked at him. "What should I do Boss?"
"Sit down and let Ducky look you over."
"But Boss, I'm fine. I just-" Tony began to protest.
"Sit!" Gibbs barked sternly. "Ducky, if he gives you any problems, feel free to sedate him."
Tony scowled deeply at this, but did sit.
Ducky tutted disapprovingly as he began to check Tony over.
"You have had quite a knock to the head, haven't you my dear boy? When ever will you learn to stay out of trouble? Although I suppose it can't always be helped. You know, you put me in mind of a dog my mother once had, Terry was his name. Short for Holy Terror." Ducky chuckled. "He was always getting into scrapes and he had no fear, even when it was merited. I remember one day, he met up with a porcupine. It was twice his size, but he was undaunted and would not be called back…" He shook his head. "The poor fellow came out looking more pincushion than Pomeranian."
Tony merely frowned at this narrative.
Ducky shone a penlight into Tony's eyes to check his pupil reaction. "All right Anthony, you know the drill. Follow the light."
Tony unenthusiastically and rather sullenly obeyed. The light made him feel nauseous again and he nearly gagged.
"Any problems with your vision? Hearing? Feeling ill at all?"
"No," he lied. "I'm fine, Ducky."
"He was seeing double before," Abby interjected as she came back into the room and handed Tony a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a washcloth.
Tony looked annoyed, but applied the cold compress to his head. "I'm fine," he insisted stubbornly.
"And he threw up after he came to. And then he was all hinky and off-balance when he stood up." Abby folded her arms and stuck out her chin, as if daring Tony to contradict her.
He took her dare and held her gaze. "How many times do I have to say that I'm f-"
"So help me DiNozzo, if you say you're fine one more time, I'll headslap you right into next week!" Gibbs growled, raising his hand as if to carry out the threat.
Not wanting to risk it, Tony closed his mouth and glared hazily in Gibbs' direction.
Ducky came to Tony's rescue. "I don't recommend it, Jethro. Anthony has indeed suffered a moderate concussion, so I would forbear from any headslapping for the moment. It would most definitely do more harm than good."
The ME rummaged through his medical bag for a moment then turned back to Tony, holding out something in his hand. "Now Anthony, the best cure for concussion is rest, as I'm sure you know by now, but I daresay you won't be able to sleep at all if we don't give you something for your headache."
Tony's jaw worked for a minute and then he let out a huff. "Fine," he said, taking the pills from Ducky and dry-swallowing them.
Gibbs watched this, knowing that Tony's head must hurt a lot more than he'd let on if he would take painkillers without even arguing with Ducky.
"That's a good lad," Ducky said, clapping Tony lightly on the shoulder. "And someone will need to stay with you tonight and monitor your condition."
"I don't need a babysitter," Tony objected irritably.
No one paid any attention.
Abby raised her hand. "I volunteer to stay with Tony."
Gibbs shook his head. "No, Abbs."
"But Gibbs…" Abby protested, looking at him pleadingly while clasping her arms around Tony's waist.
"Abby, I need you in your lab. That'll help more. Plus I want an agent with him at all times."
"Protective custody… So who do I get: the Prob-ie or the Prob-ette?" Tony mused, the painkillers already beginning to have their loopy way with him. "Who will come out on top: the Johns Hopkins grad or the ex-Mossad assassin? The novelist or the multi-linguist? Sounds like a bad reality show."
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "McGee, you're watching Tony tonight. Take him to your place. Ziva and I will finish going over the scene here."
"Got it, Boss," McGee said.
"Watching me? What am I, five?" Tony asked, toying with Abby's fingers.
Again he was ignored.
"You'll need to wake him every hour, Timothy," Ducky instructed. "Make sure he's still coherent. Well," he amended with a look at Tony, "as coherent as can be expected."
Tony shot him a half-hearted glare before turning back to the distractingly shiny bows tied around Abby's pigtails. "I can hear you, you know."
Ducky chuckled, addressing McGee again. "And make sure he takes plenty of fluids, but not soda; water, juice, or milk. He needs to stay hydrated. And if he becomes ill again, or has any other worsening symptoms, call me straightaway."
"Will do, Ducky," McGee headed for the door. "Come on Tony, let's go."
Taking one step before realizing he could go no further, Tony stopped. "Abby. You'll have to let go now."
Abby hugged him tight for good measure before complying.
Tony turned to Gibbs.
"Boss," he began, suddenly sober, his eyes downcast. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let my guard down, I-"
Gibbs cut him off. "Don't apologize, DiNozzo, it's-"
"-a sign of weakness," Tony finished. "Yeah, I know."
Gibbs put a surprisingly comforting hand on Tony's shoulder and gently squeezed. "It's not your fault, Tony. We'll find her."
...
Chapter 14