I don't own Ncis or any of the Characters. (Unfortunately)

I am not a therapist so a lot of this may not be accurate or correct so I apologise in advance

Chapter 1

"Grab your gear." Gibbs ordered as he walked down the stairs from Vance's office

"What have we got boss." Tony asked, picking up his backpack, ready to go.

"We're going home to pack." Gibbs replied. "We will be staying in a hotel for the next week and attending group therapy sessions."

"Therapy?" Tony gasped in horror. "We don't need therapy."

"The order has come from the Sec Nav." Gibbs replied with a sigh "Abby, Ducky and Palmer will be there too and Vance."

"Why do we need therapy?" Ziva asked.

"They seem to think it will help us re-bond as a team" Gibbs answered "After everything we have been through; they feel we need to get to know each other again."

"But why Vance." Tony asked

"Because we are the Major crimes first response team, we deal with the director the most and the Sec Nav thinks he needs to get to know us and us him."

"Great." Tony growled "So where to and when?"

"The Hilton, at 1400." Gibbs growled. "McGee, go tell Abby. I'll tell Ducky and Palmer."

The group split and headed in their separate directions, all dreading what the week would bring for different reasons.

Tony went home to his apartment and packed all of his best clothes for the next week. The comfort his clothes gave him would be needed to get him through the next week. He hated shrinks, they twisted everything you said and changed it. He was dreading that some things from his past would come out. Things he tried very hard to keep from his teammates and wanted to keep it that way. He was however looking forward to finding out more about his teammates.

When Tony had his clothes packed, he went to the bathroom and packed his toiletries. He opened his medicine cabinet and pulled out his inhaler and his cold pills. He was feeling a bit under the weather and didn't want to be caught without these in case he got a cold. The need for the inhaler really annoyed him but he generally only needed it occasionally in the winter. After throwing the toiletries into his bag and he headed to the kitchen. He made a sandwich for his lunch and after he had finished and cleaned up, he locked up his apartment and headed to the hotel.

When Tony arrived, he couldn't see anyone else so sat down and started reading today's newspaper. He was sitting there for only about five minutes when Ziva and McGee came in and Tim was looking a bit green.

"Did you let Ziva drive Probie?" Tony called out from behind his newspaper.

"Yeah." McGee replied. "We didn't want to bring too many cars. Abby is coming with Gibbs and Jimmy and Ducky are coming together."

"Oh ok." Tony replied and looked over to the door where Abby and Gibbs were walking in.

"Hi McGee, hi Ziva." Abby called as she walked in, in full on Goth attire. "Oh hi Tony, I didn't see you there."

"Hi Abby." Tony replied as he dropped the newspaper and stood up to join the rest of the group.

"This is so exciting." Abby squealed as Palmer, Ducky and Vance all walked in.

"Listen up." Vance called getting everyone's attention "There are two suites booked, three bedrooms each, how do you want to divide it up?"

"Ziva and Abby can share." Gibbs started. "They can share the suite with you and McGee can take the other room. Tony and Palmer will share in the suite with me and Ducky."

"All right." Vance agreed and went to the check in desk.

He returned a few minutes later with key cards and handed them out for everyone. The group then got in the elevator and went up to their floor. The suites were beside each other and the conference room that they had booked was at the end of the hallway.

"Settle in and head for the conference room for 1500." Vance said and they all went into their suites.

"Not bad." Tony said as they entered the seating area and looked at the rooms.

"There are two beds in here." Palmer called from one of the rooms

"That's ours then." Tony replied and hurried to the room. "Which bed do you want?"

"I'll take this one." Jimmy replied and dumped his bag on the bed beside the window.

Tony just nodded and dumped his bag. He unzipped the bag and pulled out his toiletry bag and went to the bathroom. After closing the door, he opened the bag and pulled out the cold pills. He was feeling a little bit worse since he'd left his apartment. He popped two of the pills into his mouth and swallowed them with some water before returning to the sitting area.

"Hey Jimmy." He called. "Do you want to go see what this hotel has to offer?"

"Yeah sure Tony." Jimmy replied as he came out of their bedroom.

"Make sure you are back for 1500." Gibbs called as he walked into the bathroom.

The two younger men ran out of the room to explore the rest of the hotel like two excited children, leaving the two older men to relax.

"Ducky" Gibbs called as he came out of the bathroom

"Yes Jethro."

"Have you noticed anything wrong with Tony?" Gibbs asked gruffly

"I can't say I have Jethro. Why do you ask?" Ducky asked as he walked toward Jethro who was re entering the bathroom.

"I found these pills in his wash bag." Gibbs sighed holding up the packet to show Ducky "There are only two gone and it looks like a new packet."

"Oh dear." Ducky sighed "I did notice he looked a little tired and pale. I will keep an eye on him Jethro; hopefully we can stop the cold from progressing."

Meanwhile Tony and Palmer had found the gym and swimming pool and they were checking the area out.

"We can go for a swim later Jimmy." Tony said excitedly "And we can go for a workout, maybe tomorrow."

"Um yeah sure." Jimmy agreed "Let's go see if we can find something to do tonight."

"Yeah." Tony agreed "We don't want to be stuck in that room all evening with nothing to do."

"I think I saw a movie theatre on our way." Jimmy said "Maybe we could go see something. Of course the hotel has a bar if all we wanted to do was drink."

"Probably not a good idea, what with Vance, Gibbs and Ducky all here." Tony sighed as they walked around the lobby. "Let's see what else is near here. Maybe we can get pizza tonight."

"Yeah ok" Jimmy agreed and the pair left the hotel.

They took a quick tour of the area and discovered not only a pizza parlour and a cinema, they also found a bowling alley, a pool hall and a wide variety of restaurants. They turned around and headed back to the hotel when they realised the time and they ran back to the hotel as quick as they could manage. They both just managed to run through the conference room door as the others arrived. Tony collapsed into the chair breathing hard, as everyone else took their seats.

"You all right Tony." Gibbs growled worriedly at his agent

"I'm... ok... boss." Tony panted as he caught his breath. "Just need... to catch...my breath."

"Hello everyone." A woman greeted as she entered the room. "I'm Dr. Anita Sullivan but you can just call me Anita. How about we all take a seat and I can get to know you."

Everyone took their seats around the table and Anita took the seat at the head of the table.

"All right." Anita started and turned to Ducky "If you can start and tell me your name and position and NCIS."

"Hello Anita my dear." Ducky greeted. "I'm Dr Mallard but everyone calls me Ducky. I hold the position of the Medical Examiner for NCIS I also act as a personal physician for both Jethro and Anthony."

"Very good." Anita said as she took notes and next looked to Ziva who was sitting beside Ducky.

"My name is Ziva David. I am a probationary Agent but I was previously a Mossad liaison. My position changed only very recently."

"I see." Anita replied and looked to Abby. "Thank you."

"My name is Abby Sciuto and I am the forensic specialist."

"I am Timothy McGee and I am a Field Agent on the major crimes response team."

"Thank you." Anita said and turned to Vance.

"I'm Leon Vance and I'm the director of NCIS."

Next Anita turned to Jimmy.

"Uh my name is Jimmy Palmer and I'm the ME's assistant.

"Thank you Jimmy." Anita said and turned to look at Tony with an appraising smile. "And what's your name."

"I'm Anthony DiNozzo and I'm the Senior Field Agent on the team." Tony replied not noticing that the psychologist was flirting with him.

"And I'm Leroy Jethro Gibbs but everyone calls me Gibbs. I'm the Team leader."

"Ok brilliant, now that I know everyone's name and positions, we can get on with this. Basically what our objective here is for all of you to get to know each other better. I want for you to know how everyone grew up, where they went to school, their likes and dislikes."

"Why do we need to know these things?" Abby asked

"To know why the people you work with think the way they do, to understand where they came from and how it affects their actions today."

"Oh ok." Abby replied with a smile

"We have two and half hours today so I think to start off with we should each tell a little of our childhood."

"Oh God." Tony mumbled under his breath

"You'll be fine." Jimmy whispered as quietly as possible, knowing that Tony didn't like to share.

"All right first up Ducky."

"Ah well." Ducky began. "I was born in Scotland in a small village. My parents were well off so we were never short of anything. I was the eldest child of two so I was the apple of my mother's eye. I had one brother who was two years younger than me. We went to primary school in the village. There were only ten children in the class so it was great fun. I later went to a very exclusive boy's school called Eton, which by the way is where all of the male members of the royal family attend. My parents later divorced, which in that time was very unusual. That made life a bit more difficult but we managed. I later studied Medicine in the Edinburgh University Medical School. When I qualified I joined the British Military. Well I suppose that's a bit more then my childhood. Would you like me to elaborate on anything my dear? I have many stories I can tell."

"No thank you Ducky, I think that will do for now." Anita replied. "We may come back to more of it later."

"Very well." Ducky agreed with a smile. "Ziva my dear you can go next."

"Ok." Ziva replied "I grew up in Israel with my Mother, Father, my sister Tali and sometimes my half brother Ari. My father was a high ranking Mossad officer so we did not see a lot of him but my Mother was always there. From an early age I trained in various martial arts to prepare to become a Mossad officer. My Mother did not like that very much and tried to get me to do more girly things like playing with dolls. I preferred GI Joe."

"You never played with dolls." Anita asked curiously.

"No I was never interested in them. I did however enjoy dancing and did not mind doing ballet. I also enjoyed playing the piano. My sister Tali died in a suicide bombing when she was 16. It was the same time that I joined Tzahal, as is compulsory for all women. I then joined Mossad. That was my childhood."

"Thank you Ziva." Anita said and turned to Abby. "Abby can you tell me a bit about your childhood."

"Sure." Abby replied happily. "I come from a big family. I'm the oldest and I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Both my parents are deaf and so is one of my sisters. Our house was very quiet growing up but as we got older we always played a lot of music and we played it loud because it didn't bother my parents. I grew up in the south and it was pretty cool. We had alligators in our back garden so it was dangerous but really fascinating. I loved school and won loads of science fairs. We had a junk yard near our house and I used to sneak in and look at the car wrecks trying to figure out what happened. That's why I went into forensics."

"Ok." Anita replied with a smile "Tim you're next"

"Um ok well I ah, grew with ah my mother and father and my little sister Sarah. We had a pretty normal life. Well normal for an Army brat. I liked school, I wasn't very popular but I had a good group of friends. I ah, loved computers and computer games so later I decided to go to MIT to study computers I also went to Johns Hopkins."

"Good." Anita replied. "Now Leon, your turn."

"I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio where I lived with my parents. I have no siblings, but I had some very close friends. I didn't love school but did ok. Like McGee I loved computers and spent a lot of time on them. I move to Chicago when I finished school where I took up boxing. I signed up for the marines but I was discharged for a Medical condition."

"All right." Anita smiled "Jimmy you can go now."

"Alright." Jimmy smiled "I grew up with one older brother, my mother and my father. We lived just outside Washington and I loved where I grew up. I loved school, especially science, but I was very awkward as a child and I only had a few close friends. I spent a bit of time in and out of hospital with my diabetes. My mother was always with me though and because of that we were very close. We still are. Because of the amount of time I spent in hospital, I decided that I wanted to become a doctor."

"Very nice." Anita replied "Tony,"

"I grew up in Long Island with my mother and father. My father has a lot of money so we had a huge house. My mother died when I was 8 and I went to boarding school from when I was 9 and then I went to Military school when I was 12 and from there I went to Ohio State."

"Would you care to elaborate on any of that Tony?" Anita asked.

"No." Tony replied with a smile.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs growled. "Do as the lady asked."

"Yeah we'd like to know." Abby added softly. "We don't know anything about your childhood."

"What more do you want know?" Tony asked reluctantly.

"Where did you go to school before boarding school?" Anita asked.

"I didn't, I was home schooled." Tony sighed.

"Oh and why was that." Anita asked coaxing Tony to talk.

"My mother was a bit over protective and didn't want me to go."

"Were you ill?" Anita asked.

"I was born nearly two months premature and I was in and out of hospital until I was about 9. My mother had a few miscarriages before and after I was born. She never had any more children." Tony replied reluctantly hoping that Anita would give up and move onto Gibbs.

"Did you have many friends growing up?" Anita continued

"No, not until I went to Rhode Island." Tony sighed and looked down at his hands.

"Did you enjoy military school?"

"It was fine." Tony sighed. "I made friends and started playing basketball and football. I didn't like taking orders but I got used to it."

"Ok we'll leave it there for now but I want to come to you Tony." Anita said. "I think there is a lot more to learn about your childhood."

"No there isn't." Tony sighed again. "Gibbs you can take your turn now."

"Alright." Gibbs agreed. "I grew up in a small town called Stillwater. I lived with my mother and father. My father was a pilot in the Army and my mom stayed at home. My father gave up flying when I was about 5 and opened a store. I helped out a lot in the store after my mother died. That was when I was about 14. School was alright, I wasn't the best student but I did ok. I joined the Military as soon as I finished school."

"Ok guys that was great." Anita said "How about we take a ten minute break to get some coffee and then we can talk some more."

Everyone stood up and went to the coffee machine except for Tony and Jimmy who remained sitting.

"That wasn't too bad." Jimmy said

"Yeah it was." Tony scoffed. "She asked me questions and I had to answer. I really don't want to have to go into details."

"It's ok Tony. No one is going to judge you." Jimmy assured. "Come on let's get some coffee."

"Yeah all right." Tony agreed and the pair joined the others and made some coffee.

"I have noticed that Tony does not like to talk about his childhood." Ziva noted before Tony and Jimmy joined them.

"We have noticed that through the years my dear." Ducky sighed "I do not think he had the best childhood. Now quiet here he comes."

The all drank some coffee and walked around the room to stretch their legs. When the 10 minutes were up they all sat again in their seats.

"Ok now that we have the basics on everyone's childhoods I think we need to go into a bit more detail." Anita said. "So Abby tell me why you dress in Goth attire."

"Um I always have." Abby replied "I started dressing like this when I was a teenager."

"Yes but why. What happened that made you dress like that. You don't have a typical Goth personality. What happened before you started dressing this way?"

"Um, my, ah, friend died in a car accident." Abby said sadly. "I guess after that I kinda thought about death a lot and I suppose that's when I started dressing like this."

"Was it a close friend?" Anita asked.

"Yeah she was my best friend." Abby said as a tear fell down her cheek. "I was supposed to be in the car that day but I had a hinky feeling so I didn't go."

"It's ok Abby." Anita assured "It wasn't your fault."

"I know." Abby assured as another tear streaked her face and McGee pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry to bring up something painful." Anita said softly "But in the next week we are going to be bringing up some painful things but it will help the others to get to know you better. If there is something that you really don't want to answer then just let me know. Sometimes it helps to get these painful things out. I know it's something you don't want to have to go through, but it could help so just think about it."

The entire group sighed but nodded in agreement and Anita continued. "Tim, tell me why you enjoyed computers so much."

"Ah well I just liked them." Tim stuttered. "I especially liked to play games on them."

"What kind of games did you play?" Anita asked

"Um, fantasy games mostly. Dungeons and Dragons type of stuff. The World of Warcraft of the time." Tim replied "I played others but I enjoyed those the most."

"Why?"

"They were different than real life. You could get lost in a different world." Tim replied with a happy look on his face.

"And what were you trying to escape." Anita asked curiously

"I wasn't."

"Of course you were." Anita replied "Everyone has something that they do to help them escape life. So what did you want to escape? Was it your parents?"

"God no." Tim snapped. "My parents were great. They were always there for me and my sister."

"Something at school then." Anita continued. "Maybe your friends or other kids."

"Other kids." Tim said quietly. "I was a bit of a geek at school and a lot of the other kids like the jocks, used to bully me."

"And how did they do that."

"Pushed my head in the toilet, knock my books, called me names constantly and beat me up. All the typical things that bullies do." Tim replied unhappily.

"Oh Timmy." Abby gasped and pulled him into another hug. "That's horrible."

"Thanks Abbs." Tim smiled slightly "It was a long time ago."

"I know but still." Abby said and smiled back. "I won't let anyone do that to you ever again."

"Ah thanks." Tim replied.

"All right Tim thanks for sharing that." Anita said "So Leon, tell me why you started boxing."

"I wanted to learn to fight." Vance replied.

"Why did you want to fight?"

"Where we lived was a tough neighbourhood and I wanted to be able to protect myself."

"Protect yourself from whom."

"There were a lot of gangs in the area and they didn't like people who weren't in gangs. At the time there was a boxing club there and a lot of guys joined up to stay out of gangs and out of trouble."

"And what made you join."

"I got in some trouble and my parents said that I needed to do something to stay off the streets and boxing was the only thing around."

"Very good." Anita replied. "Gibbs, why did you leave home so young."

"The town was a mining town and I didn't want to be a miner." Gibbs replied "There weren't many other jobs there."

"Did you not have any friends there that you wanted to stay for?" Anita asked.

"No not really." Gibbs sighed. "After my mother died I was angry and I got in a lot of fights with the other kids."

"What about your father. Did you not want to stay with him?"

"My father and I didn't get on great at that time. I worked a lot in the shop and didn't want to be stuck doing that forever."

"Ok Ducky." Anita said. "How did your parent divorce affect your life?"

"Oh well, as I mentioned before it was very unusual at time for people to get divorced. It was a big shock for me and my brother. We didn't really understand what was going on and why it was happening. It caused a lot of problems at school. Eton was a very prestigious school and they didn't like that my parents were no longer together and like young Timothy, a lot of the other children made life worse by calling us names and bullying us. My mother was a very strong woman and she helped us to rise above it and to get on with things. After the divorce we didn't see a lot of my father and that upset me greatly. I have remained very close to Mother, most likely because of all of this.

"Thank you for sharing that with us Ducky." Anita said. "Now Ziva, tell me a bit about your dancing."

"I always enjoyed dancing around the house while listening to music. My mother was always trying to get me to be more feminine. She enrolled me in ballet lessons. At first I was unsure about it but after the first few lessons, I loved it. I spent a lot of time practicing at home for our dance recitals. My mother was delighted. I loved the recitals and loved to look out and see my mother watching me."

"Your father didn't attend the recitals." Anita asked.

"No." Ziva replied as a sad look fell across her face. "My mother said that he was too busy to attend."

"This upset you." Anita noted.

"Yes." Ziva agreed "Everyone wants their parents to see them perform on stage. I was upset that my father was never present."

"It was a bit more than that." Anita said.

"I looked up to my father and he let me down." Ziva said angrily. "He later told me that dancing was a waste of time and would not help me as a member of Mossad. I stopped dancing after that."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Anita said "You should take up dancing again."

"Maybe." Ziva agreed with a forced smile.

"All right now Jimmy, tell me about your time in the hospital." Anita said.

"Ok um well it started when I was about 12. I collapsed at school and was rushed to the hospital. When I woke up a few hours later I was on a drip and my mother was sitting beside me crying. She told me then that I had diabetes and I thought that I was going to die. I was really scared of needles at the time and when I found out I would need daily injections, I really freaked out. My mom hugged me and told me that it would be ok. Over the next few years I was in and out of hospital because as you grow up your body chemistry changes and my insulin levels were all over the place. It made life hard at school because I was off sick so often and some kids were mean about it but it wasn't that bad."

"Thank you Jimmy." Anita replied. "Tony would you like to tell us about when you were ill. Did you spend much time in the hospital."
"I don't remember much of it." Tony replied "I know I was in hospital until I was nearly 4 months old. But obviously I don't remember that. I have a few vague memories of hospitals so I'd say I was in hospital a few times."

"What about when you were a bit older?" Anita asked.

"I was in hospital again when I was about 6 and I was in there for a while. I really hated hospitals."

"What was wrong with you?" Anita asked.

"I don't know." Tony replied "They never told me"

"Nobody ever told you what was wrong with you." Anita asked shocked "How is that possible. Ducky you are his doctor. Do you know?"

"I am afraid not." Ducky replied "I only have his records from when he was 18 onwards."

"That's strange." Anita commented. "Why would that be?"

"My father had a private physician, so my father most likely kept the files private." Tony said with a sigh.

"Ok what do you think may have been wrong with you, if you don't mind that is?" Anita asked.

"Um I remember all my hair fell out, so looking back, it was probably cancer of some type." Tony replied quietly

"Oh Tony." Abby cried. "You never told anyone."

"Sorry Abbs." Tony said with a small smile.

"How long were you sick for?" Anita asked as the others all looked at Tony with pity in their eyes.

"I think I was in hospital for a few months but my mother brought me home because I hated it there. They set up a small hospital in my bedroom and I was there for nearly a year before I got better."

"Wow, how is it none of us knew any of this." McGee asked.

"It's not something that comes up in conversation." Tony said.

"Did your mother comfort you like Jimmy's did?" Anita asked.

"No not really." Tony replied "When I got sick she started drinking a lot. She always drank but it got worse and I didn't see much of her. There was always nurse's around to take care of me."

"Were you sick after that?" Anita asked.

"No, I was never sick after that, only broken bones and concussions." Tony replied wearily.

"Ok guys, I think we can leave it there for tonight." Anita said seeing the look on Tonys face. "We'll meet again in the morning at 10am. Have a nice evening."

"Yes and you too my dear." Ducky said as they all stood up. "We will see you in the morning."

"Shall we go for dinner?" Ziva suggested. "I am hungry."

"Yes that sounds like a wonderful idea Ziva." Ducky agreed. "I am sure there are some nice restaurants in the area."

"Yes there are a few not far away." Jimmy confirmed "Tony and I saw a few earlier."

"Very good." Vance said "Let's go back to our rooms and meet in the lobby in say, half an hour."

"Yeah all right." Gibbs agreed and everyone left the room with Jimmy and Tony trailing behind.

"You all right." Jimmy whispered as they walked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Tony said with a sad smile. "I just hate everyone knowing all of that. They were all looking at me with pity and I hate that."

"They were just concerned Tony." Jimmy assured as they neared the door.

"Thanks Jimmy." Tony replied and they entered the suite.

"I'm gonna hit the head." Tony said and hurried to the bathroom before anyone could say anything.

"Shit Duck, how did we not know any of this." Gibbs growled but quietly.

"Anthony didn't want us to know." Ducky sighed. "He is very private when it comes to his childhood."

"I know." Gibbs growled and sat down on the couch.

"We need to give him some space." Ducky said. "He will no doubt have a lot on his mind."

"Agreed." Gibbs said just as the bathroom door opened. "Anyone else need the head before we go."

"Yeah." Jimmy replied and hurried into the bathroom as Tony went into their room.

Gibbs gave Ducky a glance and they both watched the bedroom door. A few minutes later Palmer came out of the bathroom and at the same time Tony came out of the bedroom.

"Are we ready to go?" Tony asked as he pulled on his coat and scarf.

"Yes just let me get my coat and we will be ready." Ducky said and he and the others grabbed their coats.

Five minutes later they were waiting in the lobby for the rest of the group. They were only waiting for five minutes when the rest of the group arrived.

"Tony, lead the way." Abby said and kinked arms with Tony.

Tony led the group through the streets and to one of the Italian restaurants he and Jimmy had seen earlier.

"Mmm. I love Italian." Abby said as they went into the restaurant.

"Me too." Tony agreed. "Table for 8 please."

The group was seated at two tables side by side. At one table Gibbs, Vance, Ducky and McGee sat and at the other were Tony, Jimmy, Abby and Ziva.

The waiter handed them their menus and left them for a few minutes to decide what they were having.

"Tony what is 'Truffle Carbonara'" Ziva asked after a minute "And why is it so expensive."

"It's the same as normal Carbonara but they have added expensive mushroom." Tony replied. "It's nice but I don't think it's worth the money."

"All right." Ziva replied and returned to the menu.

The waiter returned a few minutes later and took their orders. Ziva had decided to go for the normal Carbonara in the end. They also ordered some drinks. The drinks came after only a few minutes and everyone relaxed and enjoyed the beverages but no one was talking. Soon the food arrived and they all started eating to avoid conversation. Because of this they finished the first and main course quickly and decided to order some desert.

Tony was very grateful that no one was talking, but the tension was very thick within the group.

When the desserts were finished they ordered another drink, as everyone was at a loss as to what to do next.

"Does anyone have any idea what we should do for the rest of the evening?" Abby said after a few minutes.

"There's a pool hall near here." Tony suggested. "Or there is a cinema or a bowling alley."

"Oh bowling." Abby said eagerly. "I love bowling."

"So bowling it is." Gibbs said and looked around to the others and everyone nodded in agreement.

Vance paid for the meal on the company credit card and then Tony and Jimmy led them to the bowling alley. They all turned over their shoes and were handed the ugly bowling shoes.

They took two lanes beside each other and divided into two teams. Abby, Tony, Gibbs and Jimmy against Vance, Ziva, McGee and Ducky.

The game was close at the start but after a few rounds Abby's team was ahead by a mile. Tony turned out to be great at bowling, as did Jimmy. Gibbs was all right but didn't compare to the others. On the other team Vance seemed to be doing the best with Ziva not far behind. At the end Abby's team won and Tony had the most points over all. They all had a great time and forgot about what they had been talking about that day. Eventually they had finished up and it was getting late so they decided to go back to the hotel.

"You're really good Tony." Abby said as they walked. "You should think of the joining me in our bowling league."

"I don't think so Abbs." Tony said and suddenly he started sneezing.

"Bless you." Abby said. "Are you alright."

"I'm fine." Tony assured "It's just a bit cold out tonight."

"Yeah that's true." Abby agreed and they continued on, not see the look between Ducky and Gibbs.

Ziva, Jimmy and McGee were walking just behind Tony and the three older men fell back a bit.

"Tell me Gibbs." Vance said when they were out of earshot of the others. "Why did you do the rooms the way you did."

"Ziva and Abby had to go together being the only girls. They'll talk to each other if they get upset by anything. McGee will talk to Abby so I wanted them in the same suite. Out of everyone the only person Tony would maybe talk to is Palmer." Gibbs explained.

"Why am I in the suite with McGee and the girls?" Vance continued.

"Tony seems to be coming down with a cold so I want to be near him and I want Ducky around in case anything happens."

"That's a bit over kill for a cold." Vance commented.

"No not really." Gibbs said and they sped up to catch up with the others.

"What are we doing now?" Abby asked as they neared the hotel.

"It's getting late Abby." Gibbs said. "I don't know what you are doing, but I'm going to bed."

"Yes I agree with Jethro." Ducky said "I'm getting too old to be staying out late."

"I never said I was old Duck." Gibbs barked but the smile showed he wasn't angry.

"Well I'm not old and I want to go out to a club or something." Abby scowled. "Tony you'll come with me wont you."

"Actually I'm kinda tired Abby." Tony said softly

"That's ok Tony." Abby sighed "Timmy will come with me."

"Um, all right." Tim agreed reluctantly. "Ziva, Palmer, do you guys want to come."

"Yes I think I will." Ziva replied.

"Um I don't know." Jimmy said uncertainly.

"You should go." Tony said to his friend. "You'll have a good time."

"Um all right then." Jimmy replied. "Are you sure you won't come Tony."

"Na, not tonight." Tony said and gave a small smile. "But have a drink for me and be quiet when you come in."

"I'll try." Jimmy assured and with that the 4 left the others in search of a night club or a bar.

When they were gone Ducky, Vance, Gibbs and Tony went in to the hotel and went up to their rooms. When Tony got into the suite he hurried to the bathroom and got ready for bed. He downed some more cold pills and put his inhaler into his pocket as he started coughing slightly.

'Damn' he thought as he walked back into the sitting area 'I hate feeling sick especially with everyone here to see me.'

"Are you all right Anthony?" Ducky asked

"I'm fine Ducky." Tony assured with a forced smile. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Good night Anthony. Sleep well." Ducky said with a smile as he walked towards the bathroom himself.

"Night Tony." Gibbs said. "You know where I am."

Tony nodded, thankful that Gibbs wasn't pushing him to talk, but let him know he was there. That's what he liked about Gibbs; he never pushed Tony to talk about his childhood. In all the years they'd worked together he never asked him to go into details.

Tony gave a small smile and then went to his room. He put the inhaler on his locker and then stripped out of his clothes and changed into his sweats and t-shirts. He climbed into the single bed and pulled the covers tightly around him. He curled up as much as his tall frame allowed and after a few minutes he fell asleep.

Gibbs and Ducky stayed in the sitting room talking for a while, discussing all that was revealed today. They too went to bed a while later.