Finally things started to get better day by day in a steady way; they moved Tony out of the ICU after one week and after the first visit Tim felt more courageous to go back to visit Tony.

Even after two weeks, Tony wasn't allowed to move around much; not like he really could if he was allowed! The pain had subsided to somewhat more bearable level, but an abdominal injury was no laughing matter.

The worst part was the headache, though. It'd been more than one week from the moment Tony had woken up and he couldn't remember a second without the pain, even in his sleep he wasn't completely pain free. He would keep his eyes shut as much as possible to avoid the light, though.

"How was your day?" Gibbs asked when Tony finally woke up. It seemed like he was sleeping too much lately, but that was totally understandable.

"Boring." He yawned. "How about yours?"

"Can move around much better. Not allowed though."

"That sucks, huh?"

"You think?"

"Actually I know for a fact."

"Yeah, you do now." Gibbs nodded.

Tony didn't say anything in return; he just took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"The headache still there?"

"Huh?" Tony cracked an eye open at that.

"You might hide it from everyone else, but I can see right through your acts. Plus, your doctor doesn't really care about confidentiality since I'm your next of kin."

"That jerk." Tony growled.

"That's a yes, then."

"I just wish it would go away. What if they don't let me get back to work like this?"

Gibbs sighed. "DiNozzo, it's been just one week. You've got a long road ahead of you and by the time you recover and get back on your feet, your headache will be long gone."

The truth was that the scans of his head weren't really promising. Gibbs hadn't said a word about that to Tony, but Dr. Patterson had told him that he might never get rid of the headaches.
Of course, there were some options for him, and by following some procedures, he could get back to work. But Gibbs didn't want to think about those options unless it was absolutely necessary!

In his opinion, it was too soon to say the last word.

"You remember the thing you said about my doctor not caring about keeping things to himself?" Green eyes met blue.

Gibbs frowned, slightly confused.

"He told me about the result of my scans, even though you've apparently warned him against him. I know I'm likely to have these headaches for the rest of my life."

Gibbs cursed under his breath. "It's been just one week."

"I don't really care. It's OK if I can control it with painkillers and keep doing my job." Tony shrugged with his good shoulder. "I hate this pain, but what I hate more is not being able to eat normal food. That sucks out loud." He looked down at his belly; trying to deflect Gibbs' attention from his headache; he didn't want to discuss that or his feelings about it with anyone.

"Yeah, I bet it does." There was a hint of amusement in Gibbs' voice.

"You're enjoying it." That was a statement.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but didn't try to hide his smirk. "You not being able to eat will be torturous for us, why should I enjoy it?"

"You do. I can see it in your eyes."

"Your eyes are hardly open."

"They were open when you said that and I can hear it in your voice, anyway." He paused. "And now that you mentioned it, isn't that a little annoying to talk to me while I try to keep my eyes closed? I mean I would've opened them more, but... Well, all I'm saying is that maybe you should go."

"I'm used to you being annoying." Gibbs teased.

"I think you'd really better go before I say something that would warrant a headslap."

Gibbs smirked. "I can give it to McGee for you."

"You would do that?" Tony's eyes snapped open as his sly grin reached them. "Does that mean that McGee will receive my headslaps from now on? I'm in enough misery." He tried to reason innocently.

"You're not faking those headaches to get back at McGee, are you?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony smirked. "I think I'll catch some shut-eye now, if you don't mind." He really was tired.

Gibbs was about to say that he'd just woken up, but the line of pain on Tony's pale face stopped him. It was clearly taking a great effort for Tony to hide his pain and to keep up with his usual banter; so the Lead Agent just patted the younger man's arm and said, "You do that, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, Boss. Get well, soon." Tony replied.

"Same goes for you. Now shut up and sleep."

"Sure." he smiled.

Tony might be getting too much sleep, but he was definitely getting better and what better way to get rid of pain than sleeping?

.

...

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Two months later, Tony was finally able to get back to office; Gibbs had returned a couple of weeks earlier and had retrieved his team and the team was just waiting for the SFA to get back to work so it could function right again.

Vance was more than happy to have his MCRT back in action. The other teams were good; they just weren't Gibbs and his people and couldn't do what they did.

Once Gibbs returned, things started to fall into place for the first time since the day Tony'd got shot, but it had yet to get back to normal.

That was why the day Tony stepped into the bullpen, wearing his sunglasses and looking like he'd lost a few good pounds and still a little pale, almost everyone stopped by to welcome him back.

Due to his abdominal injury, Tony still wasn't able to eat everything he liked, but he was getting there and his leg and shoulder were completely healed after a long period of physical therapy.

The headache was still there, though. Gibbs and Ducky were the only people who knew about those headaches and were watching the younger man closely for signs of any intense pain, in case Tony pushed himself too hard.

He'd been cleared for field duty, but he'd promised Gibbs that if his headache got bad, he'd take his pills and would even take some rest if needed. But they all knew that Tony never cared much about his limits and was too stubborn to accept that he needed rest or, God forbid, painkillers.

"Tony, you're back." Tim exclaimed when he got to the bullpen and found Tony standing by his desk.

"Seems like the vacation has been good for your observation skills, huh McObservant?" Tony grinned.

"No, yes. I mean we heard that you wouldn't come back for another week." The younger man stuttered a little. It was clear that even though they had talked a lot, he still felt a little uncomfortable and guilty.

"And you actually believed it? Aww, it means I have to work on you harder. You're still too naive, Probie." Tony sighed dramatically.

The teasing was all McGee needed to finally shrug off the guilt he was carrying around since the shooting. He knew that Tony didn't blame him, but he couldn't help wondering how Tony would treat him once he was back to work.

It seemed like despite the long time away, Tony wasn't holding anything against him and was more than happy to be back and had already forgotten the arduous process that he'd been forced to go through in order to just get back on his feet.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Perfect. I'm back, everything is just great." Tony eased himself into his chair and fought down a wince; the truth was that he didn't feel that good. The headache was a little worse than usual since Tony had gotten up earlier that morning and he was reluctant to admit that it was getting the better of him. It was his first day back, after all. "So where is everyone? They trying to throw me a party or something?"

The next thing he felt was a searing pain running through his head as Gibbs' hand connected solidly with the back of his head. "How about that for a party, DiNozzo?"

Tony couldn't hold back the moan that escaped his throat as he grasped the edge of his desk with one hand, pressing the other one to his forehead; his teeth were clenched hard and Gibbs seemed like he'd just been electrocuted, because he suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked back at Tony; his eyes filled with concern and something else that McGee couldn't name but was very much like guilt and remorse.

'Damn, it's gonna be hard to overcome that habit.' Gibbs thought ruefully. "Tony, you alright?"

"Yeah." Tony said quietly, but he still hadn't been able to open his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, Boss. Just give me a second."

"I forgot. Sorry."

McGee's eyes widened. Did Gibbs just apologize? And for slapping Tony?

"It's OK." Tony smiled and carefully opened his eyes.

"Have you taken your pills?"

"Boss." Tony growled.

"They're your teammates, DiNozzo. They'll eventually find out."

"Find out what?" Ziva chose that exact moment to arrive. "Oh, hi, Tony. I told Tim you would come back any day now but he did not believe me. Good to have you back but what were you trying to hide from us?" she stood in front of Tony's desk, demanding answers the way she always did.

Tony would've rolled his eyes if he didn't think it would intensify his headache. When was Ziva going to learn how to talk differently to different people? It was like she was always trying to interrogate everyone.

"He has a headache." Gibbs said curtly.

"Umm, Okaaaay?" McGee didn't know why it was worth hiding.

Tony snorted. Seriously? Gibbs really thought that was enough of an explanation? "It's more like a constant headache; a chronic one. It'll never go away."

"What do you mean? Why not?" McGee asked, confused.

"Oh." Ziva's eyes widened, she was there the first night when the doctor had explained that Tony might be brain damaged. "Is that... Is that because of that... Um, that blood loss thing that his doctor told us about? That had caused his heart to stop, yes?" She asked Gibbs, who just nodded.

"O My God." McGee lost all color in his face. "Your heart stopped?" He sounded horrified and then his eyes widened even more as he connected the dots in his head. "And you mean you're gonna suffer from these headaches for the rest of your life?"

Tony found it almost fascinating how fast McGee's color changed; first it was normal, then his skin turned white, then red, then green. 'What color would be next?' he mused silently. "It's not really that bad. I wouldn't be allowed to get back to work if it was, now would I?" He tried to reassure his Probie. "It just that... Well, sometimes they might get bad, like, umm..."

"Nasty bouts of migraines." Gibbs helped.

Both McGee and Ziva looked at him with wide eyes and sadness.

'Great. Just what I need.' Tony thought. "Look, it's nothing. Why don't we all forget about it and get back to work, huh?" He grinned lopsidedly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, knowing what Tony was trying to do. "Start working." He ordered, trying to give Tony a little space. "Take your pills, Tony. That slap must've worsened your pain." He added.

Tim and Ziva hesitated for a few seconds and stared worriedly at Tony, but finally hurried to their desks when both Tony and Gibbs glared at them impatiently.

"Boss, I'm fine." Tony resisted when he saw Gibbs' glare back at himself, but as Gibbs marched around his desk and grabbed his backpack to find his pills, he gave in. "Fine, fine. I'll take it."

"Good." Gibbs nodded and waited till Tony took a pill, then softly murmured, "It won't happen again."

Tony smiled. "Thanks, Boss, but I told you, it's OK." He meant it.

Gibbs nodded and walked away when he was sure things were under control for now. "You'll get his headslaps from now on, McGee." He said aloud when he found Tim still throwing glances Tony's way, his eyes riddled with guilt and concern.

With some satisfaction, Gibbs noticed that his statement had the desired effect; Tim actually looked horrified and Tony's face split into a genuine wide grin.

"Yes!" Tony laughed triumphantly.

Tim on the other hand was at a loss for words. Looking dumbfounded between Tony and Gibbs; he knew he couldn't complain, since it seemed only fair, but he also knew that nothing would stop Tony from doing something to get him a headslap and the way Gibbs had talked about it? It almost sounded like Gibbs was looking forward to giving them, too! Oh boy, he was doomed; he was about to lose all his brain cells.

"By the way, it's good to have you back, Boss." Tony called after Gibbs.

A smile curled Gibbs' lips and a twinkle lit up his blue eyes. "You too, DiNozzo. You too."

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-The End-

A/N: AND that's it! Let me know what you think? :)

Thank you so much for sticking with me. Your comments really helped me a lot. ^_^

(Sorry for any mistakes.)

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