Tony had been on muscle relaxants for five days, though he was back home with Gibbs, now. Today, Ducky had come over to administer some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, and assist the agent in some stretching exercises, which he'd have to keep up at least fifteen times a day.

Tony wasn't fighting the routine. He wasn't complaining. He wanted to work hard to get himself better. But he was getting frustrated at the fact that he still couldn't walk. Gibbs kept telling him, "You'll get there." And Tony knew he was right. But the progress seemed so slow.

Perhaps it was the fact that he'd gotten himself a bit better, before he'd worsened the problem during the rescue mission. He'd made so much progress, and pretty much reversed it all, and then some.

His friends understood his frustration, though there was little they could do to help speed up the process. Nothing they weren't already doing, anyway. McGee had been over every day, distracting Tony by getting him involved in the video game he'd set up. Tony actually looked forward to it, though he wouldn't admit it to Tim. It was nice to get sucked into an alternate reality for several hours. It was only when the need arose that he had to leave the game and get to the bathroom, that he was sorely reminded of his physical situation.

Two days after the stretching routine, found Tony able to use crutches to get himself around. It brought a new light to the agent's eyes; renewed hope that this was working, and that he was getting somewhere with his recovery. He was even able to help Gibbs make dinner, that evening.

It was as they were just finishing up with putting dishes away, that there was a knock at the door. Gibbs, not expecting anyone, glanced at Tony, and then McGee, who both shrugged. Then he set out to answer the door. Vance stood outside of it, sticking his chin up a bit once the door opened for him. "Leon?"

"Jethro," he greeted. "I've got some news."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes for a moment, looking the man over, and noting the confident posture. He backed away a bit, inviting him inside with a gesture. It wasn't very surprising that Vance would hand-deliver the news, as they were all pretty much on edge with the possibility of being watched somehow.

"What is it, Leon?" Gibbs asked, once they reached the living room.

Vance turned to face the lead agent. "How's DiNozzo doing?" he asked, not seeing the SFA come through the kitchen door with McGee.

"He's doing great. Should be ready to come back within a couple of weeks. Now what's the news?" Gibbs asked, losing his patience.

"There was a moron working within SecNav's office, is what the news is," Vance began. "Had no clue what he was getting himself into, when he agreed to accept an outside bribe."

"Outside bribe?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

"Someone wanted you taken out."

"I thought you had news."

"We still don't know who."

"Still waiting on the news, Leon."

"They wanted it to look like you were killed on the job; wanted no personal involvement in your demise. That much, we know."

"So it wasn't the cartel," McGee spoke up.

"And it wasn't the guy you'd sent him after in the first place," Tony chimed in.

"That's right," Vance glanced at them, then back to Gibbs. "Edward Lee Barker," he told them. "That's the man in SecNav's office, who's on his way to Gitmo as we speak. He'll be interrogated until we get a name."

"Barker doesn't sound familiar," Gibbs said.

"Only been workin' there for a few months, is why," Leon told him. "He's the nephew of Eric Lemming." He looked at Gibbs with raised brow.

"Jarvis's uncle..."

"It's why he was so reluctant to accept there was somethin' goin' on."

"How does little Eddy have the power to make a call like sending Gibbs on that mission?" Tony asked, making his way to the couch on his crutches; McGee following behind him, watching in case the older agent needed assistance.

"He made it look like Lemming signed the order. Brought it to Jarvis to carry out."

"And that worked how?" Tony asked.

"It's how things were being handled before all of this; Lemming would hand off assignments and have Barker deliver them out. He wanted to give the kid some responsibilities. He had no idea Barker was capable of somethin' like this," Vance explained.

"Nepotism rarely ever has a good outcome," Tim said, as he helped Tony by taking the crutches from him, and helping him sink down onto the couch.

"Well, it works for those family-owned Chinese buffets," Tony countered.

"I said 'rarely', not 'never'."

"There are a lot of Chinese buffets, McGee."

"Tony..."

"Point is," Vance interjected, "You're free to come back to work. No need to lay low anymore. We don't think you're in any danger. Well...no more than usual, anyway."

"What do you mean, he's not in danger?" Tony retorted, angry now. "There's someone out there still at large, that wants Gibbs out of the picture. You don't even know who it is!"

"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned.

"You're right," Leon told him. "We don't know who it is. But whatever their reason behind wanting him gone, the longer we keep you all in hiding, the more opportunity they have to do whatever it is they're planning. Without Gibbs as a threat, they might carry through before we ever get the information outta Barker."

"How do you even know Barker knows who it is?" Tony asked.

"We don't. But...it's all we have to go on."

"Wait," McGee said, and they all looked over at him. The youngest agent had wild eyes, darting back and forth in the air in front of him, as he seemed to be calculating something in his brain. "What if..."

"What if what, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

Tim's eyes settled on his boss's. "What if...Barker wasn't the only one that accepted a bribe?"

"I'm not following," Vance looked between the two men. But Gibbs' gears seemed to be turning, now.

McGee continued, "What if the airport mechanic didn't just mess up the inspection?" Tony looked up at McGee, who was still looking at Gibbs. "What if he accepted a bribe, to turn the other way, and if anything were to happen, to claim ignorance, take the money, and go retire somewhere warm and sunny, once all the dust settled?"

"Would take an awful big bribe, to make a man not care about risking that many lives," Vance commented. "But that'd mean Gibbs isn't the only target."

"Or that whomever did this," Tim interjected, "Knew it'd be difficult to get rid of Gibbs, if Tony was still around."

"Either way, we've got another witness to interrogate," Vance said. "I'll get on bringing him in. And I'll see you in the morning, Gibbs?"

Gibbs gave him a slight nod, though his attention was mostly on the seated agent, now. Vance let himself out, as Gibbs appraised Tony. The senior field agent's mind seemed to be going a mile a minute. McGee was aware of it as well, and had a concerned look on his face, surmising what the agent likely had going through his mind, but only because it had been on the table before. Before thinking they'd found the true reason for the crash. But his worst assumptions were turning out to likely be true...

"I could be wrong," Tim said, suddenly regretting having brought it up in front of his friend, before knowing for sure.

"You could be right," Tony countered. "God..." his head dropped into his hands. "All of those people are dead...because this monster was after me."

"If McGee is right," Gibbs said, sitting down beside the agent, "Then all of those people are dead because someone was greedy. And because someone is a monster."

"But if I'd decided to road-trip it, all of those people would be alive, today," Tony retorted. "Max would..."

"You can't do that, Tony," Tim sank down on the other side of his friend. "You can't blame any of this on you. It's not as if you did something to deserve being a target. And you'd have sacrificed yourself to save those people, if you could have. Even if none of them would've done the same."

Tony's eyes closed and he shook his head, "It doesn't matter. None of that matters. It doesn't change anything."

"You don't get to do that," Gibbs shook his head, and Tony looked at him in question. "You don't get to sit there and blame yourself, Tony. Because this was about getting to me. They tried to kill you, so they could get to me. Those people died because of that. So if anyone should feel the weight of all the senseless loss, it's me."

"Boss..."

"But I don't," he stopped him, before he could continue. "Because there was no warning; nothing I could've done to stop it. And as far as I know, I didn't do anything to warrant these attacks on us. So no, I won't take the blame. I won't let myself feel guilty. And I sure as hell won't let you."

For long minutes, there was silence blanketing the room; all three men deep in thought. Then Tony broke that silence. "I'm really tired," he said, his voice laced with indications that the statement was a hundred percent truth. "I think I'm just...gonna go to bed."

Gibbs stood, as did Tim, but the older man motioned for him to go on ahead; that he'd help Tony to his room. McGee nodded, slightly disappointed that he couldn't help, and left to go upstairs. Tony was staying in the downstairs guest room, until his legs were up to par again.

Gibbs helped Tony up, and handed him his crutches. He walked behind the younger man, being a sort of spotter, in the case that Tony ran out of strength and needed some help. Once he got to his bed and sat down, Gibbs took the crutches and set them against the wall beside the bed.

"Thanks, Boss," Tony said, quietly, as he situated himself on the mattress, and expected the older man to leave.

"I would've felt guilty," Gibbs said, almost under his breath, not completely certain he should even speak.

"Huh?" Tony turned his head to look at him.

"If you'd died in that crash," Gibbs elaborated, meeting his eyes. "If I'd have ever found out that this was why, I'd have blamed myself." Tony wasn't certain what to say to that. He wasn't even sure that, if he did know what to say, he'd be able to, because he was a bit frozen. "Even though I'd have known in my heart that you wouldn't blame me; that you wouldn't want me to blame myself, I still would have. So I get how you might feel that way...about Max." Tony flinched. "But I can't imagine that he'd want you to blame yourself, either. You tried to save him," he continued. "You put him before yourself, and had the situation been any different, he would've lived, and you'd be the one he was feeling guilty over."

Tony's head dropped with his gaze; eyes wandering over the covers on the bed.

"At the end of the day, there was only one person who stood in the path of life or death, and chose death for those people. And it was the man that accepted that bribe. Doesn't even matter what kinda monster offered it. It all boiled down to that guy's decision, and he chose to only care about himself. He's the one to blame. He's the one you should be pissed at. Not yourself. He's the reason those people are dead; why Max is dead. He's the reason you're in pain. Not you."

There was a long moment where neither man spoke. Thoughts ran through their heads, knowing that what Gibbs said was right. But knowing that regardless of how they needed to accept the facts, that blame was something neither truly had complete control over feeling. They'd just have to settle for what they could manage.

"Boss?" Tony looked up at Gibbs.

"Yeah?"

"What if we don't figure out who it is?" he asked. "What if these bribe-takers don't even know who to point to? It's possible... I mean, there are ways to make a bribe without showing your face or using names. What if we don't find who did this?"

"Then we keep going," Gibbs replied, after thinking about it for a moment. "We didn't know there was someone out there, before. But now we do. Now we've got a heads up. We can't let them stop our lives. But we're aware now; we know to keep our eyes peeled and our guard up. But we don't let it stop us from doing our jobs and living our lives."

"It's like we have our own personal terrorists..."

"In a way, yeah. But we can't let them win, Tony. You can't let them make you afraid."

"I'm not afraid..."

"Good."

"Are you afraid, Boss?"

Gibbs looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "Not as long as you've got my six."

Slowly, Tony's mouth curled into a smile, which Gibbs returned. Gibbs then moved to head toward the door.

"G'night, Boss," Tony called after him.

"Night, DiNozzo."

"Oh, hey, Boss?"

"Yeah?" Gibbs poked his head back in the doorway.

"Make sure McGee isn't upstairs worrying. Remind him he's not supposed to do that..." Gibbs quirked a brow. "Don't look at me like that! If you can get me to stop, you can get him to. Read him a bedtime story or something. Check under the bed for monsters... Just...just do what you do best, Gibbs."

"What I do best?" he raised both brows.

"Knock some sense into us," he smirked.

Gibbs couldn't help the smile, as he shook his head. "Goodnight, Tony."

"Night, Boss!"

Tony curled onto his side and switched off the light. Snuggling down into the pillow, he allowed himself to relax, and soon drifted off to sleep, peaceful in knowing that no matter what lay ahead for him and his team, they'd be able to get through it...together.

~The glorious end~

AN: So our story concludes...but clearly I've left this open-ended. There are questions left unanswered, and bad guys still at large. But the story was about Tony's incident and recovery...so should I decide to continue the story (and that's likely), it'll be in the HaL verse. It will also be at least a few months before I'd be able to continue. I've got a lot on my plate right now, that I need to get done, so I can do regular updates once I get to this again.

Thank you all so much for sticking by this story! And a special thanks to all my anon reviewers, whom I couldn't personally respond to. Your continued support means a lot! Thank you so much!

~Xe