The Defiant One
-Part 2-

Jethro Gibbs hated hospitals with a passion, but once again here he was waiting in one. Just… waiting. That's all anyone ever seemed to do in these places. Endless hours of sitting or standing around, having to harass nurses and doctors just to get the most minute details. Hell, how did people find hospital television programs so interesting? These places were only about waiting, paper work and HMOs. And what do you do after all that? More waiting.

Impatiently he looked down at his watch. It had been an hour since the ambulance had brought DiNozzo in and they'd had no word. He'd just gotten off the cell with Abby and she, Ducky, and McGee were on their way to the hospital. Before he'd gotten on the phone Kate had offered to go get a cup of coffee for the both of them and had went in search of the nearest coffee machine or cafeteria.

A nurse suddenly came out of the double doors the paramedics had taken DiNozzo into and Gibbs contemplated asking her about his condition. She quickly disappeared down the hallway before Jethro could get to his feet and open his mouth.

He sighed and sat back down, running a hand over his forehead. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to go home and hit the sack. Sink into oblivion and not move until next Tuesday. He'd had a few hours sleep during the previous night while Kate kept watch, but the effects of his nap were fading. Coffee would keep him going for another few hours though. Where was Kate anyway?

"Special Agent Gibbs?"

Jethro looked up and noticed a tall, brown haired man standing before him. He was clad in a trademark white labcoat and blue scrubs underneath. "DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he stood.

"Agent DiNozzo is going to be fine," the man replied, sticking out a hand. Gibbs shook it.

"I'm Doctor Morris," the newcomer continued. "As you know, Agent DiNozzo suffered a deep gash on his neck. Fortunately for him, the knife missed his vital arteries and his vocal cords as well. We were able to stem the bleeding and suture the wound. The amount of blood Agent DiNozzo lost wasn't extremely severe, but it did cause him to go into a mild state of Hypovolemic shock. Besides the lose of blood, his body is physically exhausted, which didn't help the situation any. Do you know the last time he slept?"

Gibbs shook his head. There was no telling if DiNozzo had gotten any rest his first night out on the lose with Jeffrey, or the second with Lane. If he had a guess, he'd wager that Tony hadn't slept at all, and if he had, for short lengths of time only.

"Well, Agent DiNozzo is currently sedated and being given IV fluids. We did a blood transfusion to replace what he initially lost and are trying to get his BP back up to normal. When he wakes up later tonight we'll see how he's feeling. If there aren't any further complications, he should be able to leave in a day or two I'd say," Morris finished.

"When can we see him?" Gibbs asked.

"He's going to be moved to a private room on the sixth floor in a few minutes. After that, you will be allowed to see him one at a time until visiting hours are over."

"Thank you doctor," Jethro replied. "I'll be sure to tell my team."

The physician walked away, leaving Gibbs alone in the waiting room. The NCIS agent sat down in the chair behind him and nodded to himself. Now it appeared DiNozzo really wouldn't be his first causality. He hadn't wanted to really believe that Tony was going to die… but there had been a brief moment before the ambulance had come that he had begun to really feel the twangs of worry take hold.

Gibbs shouldn't really be surprised that DiNozzo had pulled through it all so well. The younger man probably just wanted to survive so he could find new and endless ways to irritate him.

He felt a small smile pull on the corners of his mouth as a voice called his name. Jethro turned to see Kate striding towards him, two blessed styrofoam cups of coffee in her hands.

"Ah," he murmured, grasping the hot beverage. He took a drink and let the warm liquid slide down his throat. "Thanks, Kate."

"Was that Tony's doctor?" she asked, taking her own tentative sip.

As Gibbs filled her in on what Morris had said her face seemed to soften.

"That's good news," she respond contentedly. "Now I don't have to feel bad for hurting him over that Shih-Tzu remark."

"Now, now Agent Todd, give him a week at least to recover." Gibbs smiled. "Then he's all yours."

She grinned and asked, "Have you called the others?"

"On their way."

Kate took another drink and found an open chair. "So then, I guess we wait," she said, picking up a nearby style magazine.

Jethro scowled a bit and sat down next to her. Of course they managed to find the only waiting room without a television set. He grabbed a magazine as well off the table and inwardly groaned. The worst part about waiting? No decent entertainment. Would it kill a hospital to get reasonable reading material? All they ever seemed to carry was a collection of ten-year-old Highlights for kids and gaudy entertainment magazines.

In defeat, he idly flipped through an old US Weekly and silently pondered what a "Bennifer" was.

This was going to be a long night.

Heidi Klum was running along the beach, her blonde hair flowing freely in the wind and her bikini barely managing to cover every curve of her luscious, toned body. She turned back towards him and smiled with flawless white teeth, motioning him forward. He took a step towards her and felt his fingers brush hers and then…

He woke up.

Anthony groaned as his consciousness slowly returned and he found himself staring up at a ceiling he didn't recognize. His body felt strangely sore and there was something wrapped around his throat. He carefully lifted a hand towards his neck, but felt a sudden pain in the raised appendage. He was surprised to see something sticking into the back, covered by a strip of tape that pulled at the tiny hairs on his hand. It almost looked like… an IV needle.

Well, this was interesting.

Tony blinked a few times, clearing the gunk out of his eyes. There was an IV in his arm, the air had the distinct odor of antiseptics to it, and he was pretty sure the happy emotions he was feeling was purely drugged induced. Hospital. Damn, what had he done now to end up here?

"Welcome back DiNozzo."

Tony was startled to hear his name and turned his head slowly towards the right, winching at the tightness it caused on his throat.

Gibbs was sitting in a chair near his bed, a TV remote in his lap. The older man lifted the device and turned off the muted television that hung on the ceiling. The room darkened a moment before he switched on a small light attached to Tony's bed.

DiNozzo winced at the brightness, but his eyes quickly adjusted. "Boss? What uh… I'm a bit…"

Gibbs leaned forward. "You were injured by Jeffrey White, remember?"

The events of the past two days came rushing back to the ex-homicide detective like an out of control wave. Jeffrey White. Antiquities. Prison bus. Escape. Lane. The cabin. Jeffrey had a knife. Jeffrey was… dead.

"Yeah," he murmured bitterly, "it's all coming back, Boss." He gently touched his throat with the IVless hand and felt the bandage encircling it. "I was hurt?"

"Jeffrey wounded you before you shot him," Gibbs answered. "You lost some blood and went into shock. The doctor said your body was physically exhausted too. You slept at all in the past two days?"

Tony tried to recollect the last time he'd gotten more than a few hours of rest. "Uh… I don't think so," he finally replied. "The first night I couldn't sleep, and the second I spent trying to make sure Lane wasn't going to come in during the night and uh… well, you know. I maybe shut my eyes for ten minutes that morning before Jeffrey woke me up."

Gibbs nodded to himself. "I thought so."

"Boss, the Iraqi antiquities. Are they safe?"

"Yeah, they're being returned as we speak. You did good DiNozzo."

Tony laughed and sat up a bit. "Yeah, was this before or after I went gallivanting about with a psycho and didn't realize it? What about the part where I let him crash the truck? Or is it good that I killed him, Gibbs? One less annoying nerd in the world."

The other agent narrowed his eyes. "No, you got out alive. You left us clues, you stopped cold blooded, murdering thieves from getting away. That's why you did good, Tony."

DiNozzo looked away and closed his eyes. "I killed him, Gibbs. I spend hours just talking to him, getting to know him. I told him we were like the two characters from The Defiant Ones, chained together for a reason. God, I…" He paused and took a breath. "I thought we were friends. He trusted me, all the way to the end. He had suspicions but… he still wanted to trust me. And I killed him, Boss."

Gibbs was a bit startled from DiNozzo's reaction. "Look at me," he insisted, but the younger man didn't move.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked a little louder and his teammate finally glanced over.

"He put a knife to your throat, Tony. Friend or not, he was going to kill you and you know it. He was going to drag that damn thing across your throat and sit calmly as you died in the front seat of that car. You did the right thing. You stopped a murderer DiNozzo. While you were on the run with him, we discovered four other deaths tied to Jeffrey White, including Lane Danielson. All with cut throats. Who knows how many else."

Anthony felt this stomach tighten. Three people besides Lane? Jeffrey had killed others? His eyes intently studied the IV in the back of his hand. How hadn't he sensed any of it? He was so used to staring down killers, but he'd been with Jeffrey for days and never seen a glimmer of true malice in the other man's eyes. Four other people, slain by the quick swipe of a knife. He sighed heavily.

"You okay?"

After a silent pause, Tony finally looked over at the man sitting next to his bed. "No," he answer honestly. He was so sick of always acting like the cheery one in front of the others. Sometimes it just felt good to be Tony, not the one everyone else expected. He didn't feel okay.

Gibbs looked at him a moment, aberrant concern in his blue eyes, but his voice was sure and steady. "You will be, DiNozzo."

Tony wasn't sure what to say. Gibbs seemed so confident that he'd done the right thing and was so sure that he would also be okay. If Gibbs believed it… there had to be truth in it somewhere, didn't there? "I hope so," he eventually replied. "Thanks, Boss, for what it's worth."

"I do my best," the senior agent respond.

Tony felt a yawn forming and tried to stop it, though rather unsuccessfully. He smiled lopsidedly. "Guess I still need to catch up on some sleep. What time is it anyway?"

Gibbs peered at his watch. "Quarter till midnight."

"Midnight?" Tony asked, startled by the hour. "What are you still doing here?"

"I sent the others home at eleven and told them I'd hang around."

"Yeah, but it's got to be way past visiting hours. How'd you get to stay?"

Gibbs shrugged. "I told the night nurse that you had vital information about the case that I needed the moment you woke up. There just wouldn't be time for her to call me and have me drive back."

Tony looked a bit perplexed. "Uh, I don't have any information that you didn't know already, Gibbs."

"The nurse doesn't know that, does she?"

Tony chuckled lightly, leaning back into his pillows. "Sneaky, Boss. Very sneaky." He yawned again and felt his eyes lower a bit. "When can I go home?"

"The doctor said in a day or two. He wanted to monitor you a little more before letting you go. Get some sleep Tony."

Anthony resisted his drooping eyes and glanced over at Gibbs. "You don't have to stay you know."

"I know."

The corner of Tony's month curved slightly but he didn't say anything else as he made himself comfortable. He was just about to drift off when he heard Gibbs speak.

Not bothering to open his eyes, he mumbled, "You say something, Boss?"

Gibbs patted his arm. "Yeah, I just asked you to say hello to Heidi for me. And tell her to put on some sunscreen would you? With that little blue bikini on, the sun cannot be good for her skin."

Tony groaned loudly into his pillow.

Next to him, NCIS Special Agent Jethro Gibbs just smiled.

"'Night DiNozzo."

-El Fin-

So, that's it. Did it suck as much as I think it did? lol Please leave a review, 'cause that's the only way I'll know.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed already. You guys are so nice (and some a bit sadistic towards Tony ::evil grin::). Even if I think the first part was kinda bad, I felt better after reading those reviews. I've been tweaking Part 1 and have been reposting new bits. Maybe someday I'll get it where I want it to be. I do like Part 2 better, however. Thanks again! And as Eyes Only would say: Peace Out.

Viva NCIS!