"Anthony, come in and close the door behind you." Dinozzo Sr. welcomed Tony into his own room.

His voice was soft and he sounded kind of nice but Tony knew that this was only an act. In a few minutes his dad would most likely beat him to death.

For a moment Tony thought about running away. Fornell or some of his other agents should be watching over their residence. Their car must be nearby. They could save him... But Dinozzo Sr. seemed to be able to read minds.

"Anthony, running will not help you. Well, it might help you, but it will certainly not help your sister. You love her, don't you? She is not at school anymore; if that's what you think. I picked her up earlier."

Tony turned pale. His dad wouldn't dare to harm Sofia, would he? She was his daughter, too. He must love her, too, at least a bit. How could he threaten him like this?

"Close the door now, Anthony. We need to talk."

Tony obeyed. He stepped into the room and closed the door.

He felt very uncomfortable.

His room was small and he felt crowded with his dad and his two watchmen the small room. His father seemed to be satisfied as he saw Tony trembling lightly. He continued to look into his exercise book.

"Now, Anthony. I didn't know you were this good at Spanish. Didn't you fail in Spanish last year?"

Tony gulped. He had watched his father talking and even interrogating many people in the last few weeks. He never came straight to the point, he loved to see his victim being on edge and trembling of fear.

"Answer, when I talk to you, Anthony!" Dinozzo Sr. shouted angrily.

"Yeah, I failed, but only because I missed the first exam and because I fell asleep in the second. Moreover I think my teacher hates me. I guess I shouldn't have told her that she looks like Hagrid, that fat half-giant from the "Harry Potter" movies. You saw the movies, didn't you? Actually this situation reminds me of when Harry…" Tony babbled nervously, but was interrupted by his father.

Tony tried to hide how awfully scared he actually was. He tried to smile but it was the first time in his life that he wasn't able to smile.

Then he remembered the bugs in his room which he installed for the FBI. They would hear their conversation and they would save Tony. At least Tony hoped so.

"Shut up, Anthony. Don't you realize the situation you're in?"

"I know that, dad; more than you think."

Anthony Sr. smiled. That man really was evil.

"My dear son, I read your exercise book. You still make some grammar mistakes but really not many. Your vocabulary is quite nice, too. I have to admit your teacher gives you some boring homework. I mean you are, how old? 18? 19? Come on, who wants to write about his Christmas presents at this age? But you do have a fertile imagination, because I can't remember giving you a new laptop." Tony looked at his dad with hatred, but Dinozzo Sr. only smirked.

Tony was sure that his dad knew that he was actually 17 years old. He just wanted to make clear that he didn't care about Tony at all; that he didn't even care how old his son was.

"But you know, what is much more interesting than your report on Christmas, Anthony? Well, you wrote some other very interesting reports. I will translate it: '1st January... Today I went to a meeting in Las Cruces in New Mexico to inspect ten girls who are supposed to be bought and sold by my father. I met with a guy, a white male about 35 years, about 5,6 feet high, brown hair, brown eyes. He was named Nick, I didn't get his full name, but he is just a middle man without much importance. ... and so on…' Anthony, tell me, why did you write this down in you exercise book? Did your teacher asked you to write down what you did on the 1st of January? But that wouldn't explain the fifty other reports that you wrote down."

"It is my diary. Am I not allowed to write in a diary?" Tony asked somewhat angrily.

Dinozzo Sr. nodded to his henchmen. Before Tony could even react, they grabbed him and pressed him into a chair. Dinozzo Sr. got up and went to Tony. Tony couldn't move because the henchmen held him so tightly.

"How dare you to lie to your father? I give you one last chance. Why did you write those reports?" Dinozzo Sr. asked.

"I told you, it's a diary." Tony repeated his lie. But the next moment he felt his father's fist in his face. Tony winced in pain.

"So? Tell me the truth." Dinozzo Sr. spat.

"Diary." Tony replied strongly.

His father beat him again but this time Tony didn't even struggle. He expected it this time.

"Dear Anthony, you know, I can do this all night, unfortunately you might not last that long. You don't have to tell me the truth, son. You don't have to tell me that you betrayed me, because I know."

Tony glared at him. How could he know?

"Did you know that I never got the chance to sell those girls? The FBI got them when they were transported. Is there any chance that this has anything to do with your reports?" Dinozzo Sr. asked as he came to eye level with his son.

"The girls are free?" Tony didn't know that. Fornell promised him that they would do something about those girls but actually Fornell never told him that they rescued the poor girls. Most likely the man had forgotten to tell Tony. Maybe he didn't realized how important it was to Tony.

Tony felt delighted.

For a short moment he even forgot the terrible situation he was in.

"You seem to be happy about that…" His father said, then beat him a few times in his face.

"Still happy about that, Anthony?" He asked. But Tony only smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I am happy... happy that I am not like you." Tony explained. Again his father slugged him.

But Tony ignored it and continued to smirk.

"I would watch your words, boy. You might not be scared of any beating or even death but I guess your sister is." Those words were harder to take than any beating. "Now, listen, boy, if you want to live; if you want your sister to live without any harm tell me the truth," Dinozzo Sr. explained. "Are you working for the FBI?" How could he know? Tony felt that he was trembling again. If his father knew, there was no way that Tony would survive today. But what about Sofia?

His father walked slowly through Tony's room and took a look at his son's stuff. Finally he found a baseball bat.

"You like sports, don't you, Anthony?" He asked as he watched the bat in his hands. He moved to Tony again. "You know, I never played Baseball. I did have to work hard at your age. Explain it to me: how do I swing that thing? Like this?"

The next moment Tony felt pain in his leg. He screamed and he couldn't suppress some tears. Tony was sure that his dad just broke his leg.

"My dear Anthony, don't think that I will kill you just like that and that your story ends here. I wanted you to work for it... and you will, Tony. Tony- that's what your friends call you, isn't it? We are friends, aren't we? Well, Tony, you will keep your undercover job at the FBI. But you will give them the information I want you to give them."

Tony had a hard time concentrating on what his father said. He felt dizzy.

Did his father just ask him to betray the FBI? To give them false information? To bring those Agents in danger?

"Oh, I almost forgot, Anthony. The bugs you installed I removed them. I hope you don't mind."

No... It couldn't be. That was Tony's last hope.

"You will do as I say. I know that you won't do it for your own life, but you will do it for your sister. You will not see her until I am satisfied with your job. Do you understand me?"

Tony gulped. He would betray Fornell. He didn't like that; he actually hated that; but his sister meant everything to him and Dinozzo Sr. knew that.

"Do you understand me?"

Tony nodded.

"Answer me with words!"

"Yes, Sir." He answered weakly.

"Well, maybe we will get somewhere. Oh, and I have a mole in the FBI. Don't even think that you can ask them for help. You don't want to risk your sister's life."

Tony nodded again. He expected his father to not be that stupid.

"I am happy that we got a chance to talk, Anthony. Communication is the most important thing in a family. But I will leave for five days for a business trip. Call Fornell now. Tell him that I am away and that you will take a few days off because you will not have a chance to observe anything that you could report." Dinozzo Sr. handed Tony his mobile phone. Tony didn't even notice that he had actually taken it from him. Tony dialed the number and talked to Fornell, while his dad listened.

He didn't know how but he could talk clearly without showing fear or pain. He explained that his dad was absent and that neither had to expect him to call nor that he had to watched at the Dinozzo mansion.

Fornell believed his story and the call was ended quickly.

"Now, Anthony, if you don't mind. I will leave and come back in five days. If you call the ambulance or anyone else for help, be sure that your sister will need an ambulance, too."

Tony was stunned.

"But… my leg… I think it's broken."

"So what? In five days I will take you to a doctor. Don't you think that you deserve punishment? You betrayed me. Do you know how much those girls cost? I lost millions of dollars because of you."

Tony knew that his father would never pity him. He wouldn't even mind if Tony died in those five days.

"Don't step foot out of this house." Dinozzo Sr. ordered. "But I guess you won't be able to go anywhere." He laughed and kicked at Tony's leg. Tony screamed in pain again. The next moment, his father was gone.

When Tony first woke up he was confused. His head hurt but his leg was even worse.

It was dark outside and Tony had no idea what time it was. After a few seconds he remembered that his father found out about him working for the FBI.

Tony sighed.

He would have to betray those agents. Life never seemed to get better for Anthony Dinozzo Jr., but what could he do?

He could call Fornell and explain the situation. But what if his father found out? He still had Sofia. She was Tony's only reason that he fought so hard for a better life. He wanted to believe that that girl had a chance to have at least some nice memories of her childhood.

But as time went on, he lost his faith. The poor girl must be dead scared... So was he.

But first before Tony would think about a plan to save his sister and himself, he would have to survive five days without medical treatment.

Tony slowly tried to get out of bed. He had to go to the toilet.

He needed at least ten minutes to move get off the bed and to sit on the floor. It took another half an hour to crawl to the bathroom door which was on the other side of the room.

Tony decided to stay there for a while. Here he could drink something.

It wasn't as comfortable as his bed, but Tony was fine with lying on the cold floor. He felt hot and the coldness of the ground was comfortable.

He must have a fever.

He just wanted to think about a plan to save his sister, but he fall asleep.

Tony wasn't at school for three days. Kelly looked at her display with worry. Neither did he answer her calls.

"Sweetheart, what bothers you?" Gibbs asked while serving her lunch.

"It's nothing, dad." She lied.

"Sure? How was your class test today? You learned a lot. If it wasn't good, I wouldn't be angry. I know that you work hard." Then he laughed. "A lot harder than I did at your age."

"No, the class test was fine… It's about Tony." Kelly confessed.

First she thought her father would be annoyed by the topic, but instead he seemed to be very attentive.

"Tell me. What happened?" Gibbs asked kindly.

"He wasn't at school for three days. You know I was so happy. He was used to skipping classes a lot, but since New Year… he was at school every day. But today he didn't even come to the class test. He didn't call school to excuse himself. But what worries me most…he does not answer my calls." She explained to her father.

Gibbs nodded.

Did her dad actually worry about Tony, too? Why was that?

"Let's eat." Gibbs calmed her down. "I am sure that Tony just has the flu and forgot to call the school."

"Yeah, sure." Kelly answered but still had a weird feeling in her gut.

Gibbs rang the bell of the Dinozzo mansion.

He smiled ironically.

Didn't he try the same thing a few weeks ago? Hadn't Tony just lied to him?

Nobody opened the door so Gibbs rang again. Why was he that concerned about Anthony Dinozzo Jr.? There must be billions of children having the same problems as Tony. Gibbs had many cases with abused kids. Those were some of the hardest cases. But he felt special about Tony and his sister. Tony wasn't just any kid to him; maybe because he was Kelly's friend? Gibbs really didn't know.

Fifteen minutes passed. Gibbs wasn't known for his patience. Did the FBI still watch Dinozzo Sr.? If they did, why didn't Fornell call him until now?

Something felt wrong about the situation.

Gibbs dialed a number.

"McGee?"

"Yeah, boss? Why aren't you here yet? Did something happen? I thought you would only be away for lunch with Kelly?" McGee asked with some worry.

"Yes, but something cropped up. Can you trace a phone for me?"

"Yes, I can. Which number?"

Gibbs dictated Tony's phone number and then he waited for McGee to find the boy's location.

"Well, whose phone is it? It's in the Dinozzo mansion. Are you tracing Kelly's friend? What did he do?" McGee asked.

"Nothing, it's just my gut feeling. Something is wrong. I expect you and Ziva to finish today's paperwork. I'll see you later."

Gibbs hung up before McGee could say or ask anything else.

At least Tony's phone was at home. But why didn't he open the door? Did his bastard father take him somewhere else?

Gibbs didn't know. But his gut was almost screaming. Gibbs just decided to break in.

Tony heard some footsteps. His heartbeat fastened. His dad wasn't supposed to return for another two days. Why did he come so early? Tony was scared. He felt too weak to resist any beating.

Tony tried to calm himself down. Maybe his dad was going to get a doctor? Tony was of no use for him if he had a broken leg. But still Tony was shaking. It was too much. Everything was too much. His father not only broke his leg but also his fighting spirit.

Tony crawled to the door of the toilet and locked it up. If his dad was drunk, he wouldn't get into the toilet. If he wasn't drunk, well, he would be able to open it and he would be angrier about it.

After a few minutes someone tried to open the door, then knocked.

"Tony?" Someone asked with uncertainty. It was Gibbs. Why the hell was Gibbs here?

"Agent Gibbs? Why are you in my house? Did you break in? That's a crime, you know." Tony answered trying not to stutter.

"Tony, open the door. Now." Gibbs ordered

"Nope. I am taking a shower, sorry, I am not descent. Please leave my house or I will call the police." Tony replied.

"I didn't hear water flowing. That means that you didn't take a shower yet. Dress yourself up. I will leave if I see that you are alright. You can take a shower after that."

"Why should I? This is my house. I don't have to listen to you."

"Fine, then I will wait until you are finished." Gbbs replied stubbornly.

"I will call the police if you don't leave." Tony warned once again.

"Okay, call the police. At least you would have to get out of the bathroom." Gibbs said smugly.

"I've got a mobile phone. I don't need to go out to call the police." Tony replied.

"Well you will have to when they arrive." Gibbs said.

Shit, Gibbs was right.

"Please, Agent Gibbs. Leave me alone."

"Why didn't you come to school? You skipped your class test." Gibbs asked curiously.

"I have got really bad rash. Looks a bit like acne, even worse. My face is all red and purulent. I was too embarrassed to come to school."

"That's a lame excuse, Dinozzo. You had better ones."

"No, it's not an excuse, honest."

"Okay, then show me."

"I told you, I am embarrassed."

"I am a federal agent and I am a marine. I see corpses every day. I saw grown up men pissing their pants out of fear. Do you really think that some acne could affect me in any way?"

"Please, Mr. Gibbs."

"No, I will not leave."

"Fine, I will not open the door."

"You are childish, Tony."

"I am not fully grown yet. Technically I am a child. It is my right to be childish."

There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah, you are a child, Tony, not only technically." Gibbs voice softened. "It is your right to be childish. But you know what? It is your right to accept the help of grown-ups, too."

Tony tried to fight against his tears. It would be so nice to just open the door. Tony could tell him everything. He would help Tony and give him some food. Tony was dead hungry. And that Dr. Mallard would come. Tony didn't like doctors or hospitals, but Tony could deal with that elderly man. But then again Tony remembered who his father was. Tony remembered that he had to protect his sister. The FBI failed. Why should he believe Mr. Gibbs? He was a federal agent, but Tony wasn't even sure what NCIS actually stood for.

"There is nobody who can help me." Tony said with a sigh.

"You are wrong, Tony. I can. Trust me."

"Why do you even want to help me? I am nothing but a troublemaker. I am stupid and good for nothing. I am not good enough for your daughter. I failed in protecting my sister. Don't bother with someone like me. You will regret it."

"Tony, listen. I don't know who told you such bullshit, probably your father. But you are neither stupid nor good for nothing. Kelly likes you. She will most likely kill me because I told you that, but you are very important to her. She is very worried about you. So am I." Tony started to cry silently. He hoped that to be true.

"Tony, I really want to help you. You are an amazing person. You have been very brave. You protected you sister like no other brother could do. But you don't have to do that anymore, at least not alone. I will help you. Do you trust me?"

Tony nodded even though he knew that Gibbs you couldn't see him. But Tony was just too weak to answer.

"Please, Tony. Open the door."

Tony looked up at the door lock. Right now that door lock wasn't just a door lock. Tony knew that Agent Gibbs could open it easily –he could break into the house, too. But the door lock was a symbol. If Tony opened that door now, that would mean that he trusted Gibbs. And Tony hadn't trusted anybody in his entire life. But could he trust Kelly's father? No, he couldn't. He just couldn't. But he wanted to. Maybe he could?

"Tony, can you open the door? Please, son."

Tony could hear Gibbs sighing in relief as he finally opened the door.

First Gibbs was relieved to get into the bathroom; he was even happier that he had gained the boy's trust. But in the next moment he wished not to be here.

Tony was a picture of misery. He didn't look much better than the body at work today. His face was swollen and mostly blue and green. One of his eyes was barely open and his lips were bloody. The boy was sitting on the ground, breathing heavily. But he was smiling, too.

"See, I have got a really bad case of acne." He joked. But Gibbs really didn't see the fun of it.

"Tony, that isn't funny at all. How do you feel? Do you feel dizzy?"

"Dizzy? Do you want to know if I have a concussion? Well, I guess I have one. Two days ago I saw everything double and I puked quite a lot. And yes, I do feel dizzy." Tony answered harshly.

Gibbs knelt down next to Tony.

"Tony, you have to go to the hospital. Can you walk? I will get you in the car. We will be at the hospital in no time."

"Please, no hospitals, Agent Gibbs. My father would kill me if I get in a hospital now."

"He will not. I am here to protect you."

"Yeah, but my sister. He has my sister. Please Agent Gibbs, no hospitals."

"He has you sister?" Gibbs was worried about the girl, but here was Tony who surely needed help first.

"Yeah."

"Is she OK?"

"I think so. As long as I do nothing stupid, he said, she's going to be fine."

"Okay, don't worry. I will get your sister, too. But first I will get you to Ducky. Are you fine with that?"

Tony nodded.

Gibb touched Tony's shoulder gently.

"Can you get up, Tony?"

"Yeah, but I can't walk. My leg is broken."

"Holly shit, Tony! Your dad broke your leg? Well I guess there is no other way. I will carry you. You don't seem to be that heavy."

"Ducky, I've got a patient for you."

"A patient?" Ducky asked with curiosity.

"Yes, a patient. Do you have a wheelchair or something like that? His leg is broken. He's in my car."

"If his leg is broken, you should rather bring him into the hospital, Jethro." Ducky said.

"He doesn't want to and I agree with him. He might get into trouble if he goes to the hospital." Gibbs said.

"May I ask if I know my patient?" Ducky asked.

"Yes, you do." Gibbs said. "His name is Anthony Dinozzo."

"Oh, my dear." Ducky said. "Not again. What happened to the poor lad?"

"Don't know yet for sure. But he really needs a doctor." Gibbs said.

"Isn't this actually an autopsy table?" Tony asked with a bit of fear. He obviously felt uncomfortable by the thought. "You're a coroner? Are you even a doctor?"

Ducky would have felt offended if it weren't a wounded teenager who had asked him such a stupid question.

"Yes, I am a doctor, Anthony." Ducky said reassuringly. "First, let me take a look at your leg."

"Okay, doctor."

"So far, I am finished, Anthony."

"Thanks, Doctor Mallard." Tony sighed in relief. He felt a lot better.

"Please, call me Ducky. I told you that already."

"So, Ducky, how is he?" Gibbs asked.

"He has a concussion. His leg is broken but an operation would be unnecessary- Lucky you, Anthony, you really don't need to go to the hospital even though I would appreciate it." Ducky explained.

"Well, then, thank you, guys." Tony was unsure what to do now.

He was happy; his leg didn't hurt that much anymore.

Gibbs and Ducky helped him a lot already, but should he tell them…everything? Tony trusted Gibbs but thought he didn't want him to bother too much.

He was a busy guy and had a hard job. Kelly always complained that her dad didn't have any time at all. Agent Gibbs barely had time to see Kelly's dancing and music performances at school although Tony was sure that this guy would love to see his daughter performing anything. Why should that man lose his time with his daughter?

His dad's organization wasn't Gibbs' case. Moreover Tony didn't see any personal reason for Gibbs to help him.

"Talk, Tony." Gibbs ordered staring with his scary eyes again.

"Talk about what?"

Gibbs didn't answer but continued to stare.

Tony gulped. That man really could look evil.

"Me and my dad… we had a fight three days ago. Well, you saw the result."

"Wait Anthony… Your leg was untreated for three days? You should have called the ambulance. That was very careless of you. If you do not treat broken bones…" Ducky explained but was interrupted.

"Sorry, I know. But…"

"But what Tony?" Gibbs was getting angry. Not at Tony but at his heartless father.

"Sorry…" Tony looked at Gibbs.

Gibbs changed his mood much too often for Tony to understand him. First he seemed to hate Tony, and then he was nice and talked about trust, now again he seemed to be furious.

"Dear boy, you don't have to excuse yourself. You don't have to think that Gibbs is angry at you. He isn't at all. He is angry at your father for what he did to you." Ducky clarified as he saw the boy's doubt. "Besides you constantly keep breaking Jethro's sixth rule. Now, please explain to us what hindered you to call an ambulance."

Gibbs' sixth rule? Tony didn't understand. Maybe he was still confused because of his concussion.

"My dad, he forbade it. He wanted me to wait until he returns from his business trip in two days. It was kind of a punishment. He threatened me with my sister's life. I didn't dare to call anyone." Tony told them. What would they do? Would they regret offering him help?

"Where is he?" Gibbs asked still not quite believing what a bastard that man was.

"Sorry, I don't know"

"You did nothing wrong, Tony. What was that 'punishment' for?"

That question was what Tony feared most. He was kind of fine with explaining that his father beat him. But telling them that his father was the leader of a criminal organization? Telling them that he worked for the FBI? Fornell would kill him for sure if he told that to anyone... especially someone from another agency. But it was also Fornell's fault that he was in this situation.

"I kind of betrayed my father."

"How did you do that?" Gibbs wondered.

"I pretended to work for my father. But instead… I gave all information I got to the FBI."

"What the hell! Tony! Are you crazy?!" Gibbs shouted. If Tony thought that Gibbs was scary before, he was wrong. That was scary.

"I am sorry, Agent Gibbs… I didn't want…"

"Didn't want what, Tony?!"

"Didn't want anyone to get involved. I am sorry I upset you…"Tony's voice was low.

"Yeah, you upset me! To spy on your father? That was insane!" Gibbs head got red. His voice got louder with every word. Tony tried to not shake. He was happy that Ducky stepped forward to Gibbs and interrupted him.

"Jethro, please, calm down. Shouting isn't helping anyone. And I believe that our Anthony needs some rest. Moreover I am worried about something else. Anthony, what did you eat in the last three days?"

"I drank a lot of water." Tony said. "But I didn't eat that much… actually… I ate nothing. You know, it was too hard to move anywhere. I stayed in the toilet."

"Tony!" Gibbs voice wasn't less angry than before. "Why didn't you say anything? You must be starving. Lie down, get some rest. I will get you something to eat. But we will talk later. What do you want to eat? "Tony needed some seconds to understand that Gibbs was actually nice to him even though he was shouting at him.

"Don't care. Anything is fine." He answered him finally.

"Say, Tony, what do you want to eat?" Gibbs repeated his question.

"Pizza?"

Ducky watched as Gibbs hurried outside. Jethro must like that boy.

Well, Ducky liked him, too. Tony was a brave and good guy. He took care of his sister better than most teenagers in his situation would do.

Tony reminded Ducky somehow of Gibbs, too. He was a stubborn boy who didn't care much about himself. Tony had a big heart for sure. Ducky was delighted that they had the chance to help Tony before he could come apart at the seams or even worse... he became like his father.

"Well, my dear Anthony. I have to continue my work. I assume you have never seen a dead body before? I hope you will not get ill. But I could take you somewhere else to rest. What do you think, Anthony?"

But the only answer Ducky got was the calm snore of the sleeping boy.