Section 96

"I'll be right outside if you need anything." The guard shut the door to the infirmary room and Gibbs could see him take up a guard position.

"You're not Junior."

"Obviously." Gibbs said dryly. The last few weeks hadn't been kind to the other man. Dressed in infirmary issued pajamas, Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. bore little resemblance to the scion of New York society. During the two weeks since the attack, the bruises had faded to faint echoes attesting to their initial severity. His left arm was in a cast held to his chest.

"Did you tell him I need to see him?" Senior said pathetically. "They... they murdered Jeanne. Does he know? He's all I have left. I need my son."

"Nine point eight."

Senior looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Your performance." Gibbs said. "I give it a nine point eight. The cast, bruises and bedridden act were worth at least two points."

"Act? Junior is all I have left. Is it so unbelieveable that I need my son?"

"Yep. And his name is Tony, not Junior. So, cut the crap. We both know that you have no feelings for Tony; so what do you want?"

"It was worth a try." Senior laughed.

"Why did you insist the warden call him?"

"I want out of here. He owes me that much."

"He owes you nothing. Exactly what you gave him. You belittled him, disowned him, sent him away to boarding school. Yet, he kept trying."

"He was never worth much. You'll see."

"I have seen." Jethro smiled. "Tony is a hundred times the man you will never be."

"Oh, please, spare me the sap. Keep it for the masses who don't know better."

"You hate him. Why?"

Senior looked deeply into Jethro's eyes. "Get me into witness protection."

"No dice. No deals. That was the agreement when Tony turned you in."

"Might have known it was the little bastard's idea. I knew he was responsible for this."

"Tony wasn't responsible for your mistakes. The drugs, the trafficking, blackmailing Mabus."

"You have done your homework."

"His widow had the records."

"Not all of them." Senior sneered. "That little bastard has ruined everything in my life from the day I laid eyes on him."

"He was a baby; not capable of ruining your life."

"Our life was perfect." Senior mused. "We were young, rich, beautiful then we had to fly to Italy for that damned funeral. I didn't want a kid, but Eleanor had decided we need a baby, an heir. When she saw the brat, she was fixated on it. She was certain it was a sign and that it was meant to be our son. Just because she couldn't have a child of her own."

"Don't you mean, you couldn't?" Jethro interjected.

"My, my, you have done your homework." Senior turned back to face Gibbs.

"When you were incarcerated, they subpoenaed all your medical records. Vasectomies weren't that common in the seventies. I guess you never told her the truth."

"She wanted kids, an heir, a family. We were at the pinnacle of society. Hell, we were society, Eleanor and I. I didn't want some squalling brat ruining our life. So, yeah, on one of my business trips, I had the matter taken care of. No need for anyone to know."

"You let her believe it was her fault."

"So what? She wanted that brat; I got him for her. Never did see what she saw in it. But, heh, happy wife, happy life, right? I let her bring it home with us. We flew back to New York. I hired a nanny but Eleanor didn't want a nanny, she wanted to be his mother." Forgetting his invalid act, Senior pushed back the sheets with his good arm and crawled out of the bed. He went to stand by the bar-covered window. "It wasn't a month until it started. Eleanor kept getting these photos of her and it. Someone was following her. Pictures of them at the park, the store, on the street - they just kept coming. Then the phone call. Mabus! He had tracked us down; told me that he thought he might need his son back. I told him to take him, but Eleanor… She was attached to it. Told me she loved it. That red, squirming, mewling brat." Senior shuddered. "I didn't see how she could but, she cried and cried. So, I paid what he wanted."

"It didn't stop though. The pictures kept coming and periodically the calls. I paid and paid but it didn't make a difference. Eleanor was frantic all the time. Drove her to the bottle. I knew when I walked into the house, I could always tell that an envelope had come, knew when I walked through the front door. She'd be stinking drunk and grasping onto him as hard as she could. I paid through my teeth for that brat."

"Mabus thought he had me trapped. I remember the call that came the night of Eleanor's funeral. How he said that maybe he should come get his son; since he could provide him a mother." Senior laughed harshly. "You should have heard him, when I told him to come ahead; that I'd never wanted the little bastard. God, I could use a bourbon. Don't suppose you could get me a bottle?"

"Nope." Jethro said dispassionately.

"You're nearly as worthless as he is." Senior complained.

"So you decided to turn the tables on Mabus?"

"Figured he owed it to me. I had to raise his bastard."

Jethro snorted. "Tony raised himself and thank God he did. I'd hate to see what we might have become if you or Mabus had raised him."

"It's time to go." Tony said from the door.

"Junior…"

"Don't even try it." Tony said emotionlessly. "I told Jethro it was a waste of time to come here. Don't ask for me again. As far as I'm concerned, you're nothing to me. Don't call, don't write, hell, don't breathe for all I care."

With a shrug, Jethro moved to join his husband. "At least now, you know the whole truth. You can put this behind you."

Without another word, the two men left the room leaving the guard to lock the infirmary door with a definite click. The man by the window suppressed a grimace at the sound. He would never get used to that he was sure. Looking out the window, he tried to figure out where it had slipped out of his control.

"You okay?" Jethro asked as he helped Tony into Cranberry, as Tony insisted on referring to the car.

"Yes." Tony looked at him a bit surprised. "You were right." He punched Jethro's arm when he smirked. "I could never understand what I did to make him hate me. Now I know. Absolutely, nothing."

Jethro shut the door and went around to the passenger side. As he put the key into the ignition, Jethro saw Tony smile. "Ready to go home and face Sunday dinner with the family?"

"Yes, let's go home." Tony confirmed.