Chapter 20

Tony rolled to his side, pulling the blanket with him. He was having trouble sleeping, feeling nervous about going back to work in the morning. Ducky was allowing him to work a half-day, as long as he rested when he got tired. Gibbs had already stated that he was stuck on desk duty and he didn't protest. Tony sighed, coughing lightly. He was excited that tomorrow he actually got to go to his apartment and sleep in his own bed. Gibbs made him promise to call if he needed anything. Tony reflected on the entire situation; the way that Gibbs stayed by him in the hospital, was always there if he had a nightmare or couldn't breathe, he comforted him and fed him when he was too weak. It was like having the dad that he always wanted. Sighing again, Tony got out of bed and slipped on the bathrobe that Gibbs had given him; a leftover gift from an ex-wife that he never used. He slowly walked downstairs to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of milk. His ears picked up the sound of Gibbs sanding his boat in the basement. Tony began to walk down the stairs and sat at the bottom with his cup.

"Can't sleep," Gibbs stated.

He was dressed in an old NIS t-shirt and sweat pants, working by the dim light from his workbench lamp and sanding one of the beams. Gibbs glanced over in his direction and gave him a soft smile.

"I'm nervous," Tony whispered, keeping his eyes on his cup.

The sound of sanding stopped and Gibbs pulled up the saw horse, placing himself near Tony and waiting for him to continue.

"What if I still can't breathe and I have to use the inhaler all the time? I can't be a field agent if I can't chase a suspect or travel to remote crime scenes if we have to walk long distances. I won't be any good for NCIS. I'm an agent, not a desk secretary. Boss… if I can't be an agent, I don't know what to do."

Gibbs didn't speak for a long moment as he let the words sink in. He slowly stood up and sat down next to Tony on the stairs, not touching him at first before wrapping his arm around Tony's shoulder and letting him rest his head on his shoulder. The young man took a shaky breath, biting down on his lip to contain the words seeking to spill from his mouth.

"No one will tell you that you can't be a field agent and I won't let anyone take you from my team. You're still healing; it takes time. Just have patience. It's gonna be okay, I promise."

Tony nodded, blinking away the moisture in his eyes. "Thanks Boss."

He smiled at his boss, completely not expecting the next thing. Gibbs smacked the back of his head, not with the usual force, but enough to stun him slightly.

"What was that for?" Tony asked.

"Rule number eight."

"Always be specific when you lie?"

"No, DiNozzo," Gibbs chuckled, standing up and pulling Tony to his feet. "That's rule number seven. Rule eight is 'never take anything for granted'. Come on, let's get to bed."

Tony smiled. It felt good to be head-smacked again, but he would never tell Gibbs that.

"Did you miss me P-r-o-bie?" Tony exclaimed, dropping his backpack onto the floor by his desk and wadding up a piece of paper to throw at McGee.

"I hate to admit it, but I did miss you Tony," Tim said, sitting down at his desk with his Nutter Butter.

After a breakfast of pancakes and coffee, Gibbs drove Tony to work and went upstairs to meet with the director to get the necessary paperwork for Tony to fill out. He still needed to be medically cleared before he could consider going back to field duty and had to re-qualify with his weapon. Until then, he was stuck on desk duty. Ziva entered the bullpen and smiled at the sight of Tony. She came up to him and hugged him. He returned the embrace and released her at the sound of Abby squealing his name. The woman jumped into his arms, almost causing him to lose his balance.

"Tony, I missed you!" Abby shouted.

"I missed you too Abs."

"I bet it's nice to get out of the house, you were probably turning into Gibbs."

"I did consider starting my own boat after this, but I don't think I could pull off the swagger," Tony teased. Suddenly he froze. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Yep," Gibbs answered. "Don't think you could ever build a boat DiNozzo."

He smacked the back of Tony's head and tossed a pile of paperwork on the young man's desk.

"Sorry Boss."

"Gear up. We got a dead marine in a pool of beheaded rubber ducks."

The team didn't move as they contemplated what Gibbs had just said. A pool of rubber ducks with no heads? Ziva frowned as Abby tried to imagine the situation. Tony sat down at his desk, not able to form any words. McGee was the first one to find his voice.

"Is the marine missing his head also?" the young man inquired.

"Yep, let's go."

"This is gonna be a weird one," Tony commented.

Gibbs moved towards the elevator, causing Ziva and McGee to scramble to get their stuff together and get into the elevator before the doors closed. Tony sighed, shaking his head as he picked up the first piece of paperwork and studied what he had to fill out.

Around lunchtime, Tony's phone rang and he quickly picked it up, hoping that Ziva and McGee were on their way back. He was bored and when Tony was bored… he tended to get into trouble. It was Gibbs, calling to make sure that he had eaten. Tony lied, but Gibbs ordered him to eat. After a light lunch, Tony headed down to Abby's lab to see what she was doing. The woman was running around her lab, analyzing photos of rubber ducks that McGee had sent her from the crime scene. He decided not to bother her and went to see Ducky. The older man hadn't begun his autopsy of the body yet and Palmer was scrubbing his hands.

"Hey Tony, it's good to have you back," Jimmy greeted.

"Thanks. Hey Ducky, can I have a minute?"

"Of course Anthony."

The Scot turned to his assistant and smiled at him. Jimmy quickly took the hint.

"I need to get some… chocolate for my…" Jimmy began. He didn't finish the sentence before disappearing from the room.

"What can I do for you?" Ducky asked, motioning for him to see down on the cold table.

"Just a check-up," Tony answered, reluctantly climbing up on the table and removing his jacket.

He waited as Ducky listened to his chest as he breathed, took his temperature, checked his blood pressure, and listened to his pulse. Tony sat anxiously, wanting to pull the thermometer from his mouth and ask what Ducky was writing down on his clipboard. Ducky asked him to breathe deeply as he put the cold stethoscope on his back.

"Your temperature is normal, along with your blood pressure."

"What about my lungs?" Tony's question hung in the air for a moment.

"They sound clear. Your residual coughing should clear up in a few days. I'm giving you a clean bill of health, Anthony."

"Thank you."

Tony jumped up from the table and returned to the bullpen, excited to give the team his good news. He returned to his paperwork and putting out a BOLO with the information that McGee had sent him a little while before. The elevator dinged a few minutes later and Ziva stepped out with McGee. She looked quite confused.

"I do not understand the purpose of a rubber duck," Ziva protested.

"There isn't one," Tim replied. "I guess, kids like to play with them, but they don't have another purpose. I did have a collection of them when I was younger. Doctor Duck, Pumpkin Duck, Firefighter Duck."

"Of course you would, Probie," Tony added.

"Thanks Tony." McGee rolled his eyes and went to his desk.

Tony smiled, waiting for them to sit down. McGee placed his hands on his keyboard and Ziva sat in her desk chair. He burst out laughing at the looks on their faces and listened to their exclamations. McGee lifted his super glued fingers up, stuck to the keyboard and Ziva quickly stood up from her chair, finding it covered in syrup.

"Tony!" the two said in unison.

He watched as Ziva tried to clean herself, using a Kleenex to wipe at the syrup, but it just got stuck. McGee tried to get his desk drawer open where he kept a bottle of nail polish remover for this purpose. The whole time they were insulting Tony and Ziva was threatening him, yelling something about killing him six different ways with his Mighty Mouse Stapler. Tony sat back and just watched the whole situation. McGee came over to Ziva, trying to ask her for help, but she wasn't listening. Tony continued to laugh as Abby came upstairs to give them information about the case and witnessed what was going on. She scolded Tony as she took out the bottle of nail polish remover and handed Ziva a towel. Tony knew Gibbs was behind him before he even spoke.

"Feeling better Tony?" he asked softly.

"Much better."

Tony smiled as Gibbs smacked the back of his head and came around into the bullpen, listening to the complaints of his team as his son sat laughing. Yep, this was family.

That's the end of my wonderful sickTony story! I'm sad to see it end, but I'm glad that all of you enjoyed reading it! Thank you for all of the reviews, especially the long ones that always left me with a smile on my face!

I've got plenty more ideas for stories, even one about Ziva's relationship with Rivkin before his death. It'll be focused on Tony and Ziva, but it will start out with how she fell away in their friendship. Hopefully, I can get the first part up soon, so keep an eye out! :) I've also got a Tony kidnapped idea floating around in my head. :)

Thanks again! Please leave a last review!

Emma