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“So, do we think the Petty Officer is a victim or the perpetrator,” Tony asked as he leaned back in his chair and swiveled around, head tipped back to stare up at the ceiling. They had been at this case for hours and didn’t seem to be making any progress whatsoever. His mind was fried and he was starving. Where was Probie with that takeout?
A small ball of paper flew through the air and knocked Tony in the forehead. Tony straightened, eyes narrowed. “What was that for Zee-vah?”
Ziva’s eyes glittered in frustration. “Were you not listening to me? We have phone records proving that Petty Officer Burrows was at the scene of the crime and then left.”
“No, his cellphone left,” Tony corrected as he straightened with a finger pointed in Ziva’s direction. “That doesn’t mean he did it.”
“Then where is he? We only found his blood at the scene and no body. That means something is after foot!”
“After foot?” Tony gave a shuddering pause. “You mean, afoot, Ziva. Afoot.”
“That is what I said.”
Tony groaned and pitched forward, head bowed over his knees as he threaded his fingers through his hair and pulled. He was starting to get a real headache and his stomach felt empty. Although not normally one to complain about working conditions, his patience was only growing thinner.
“Perhaps we should interview the wife again? I don’t believe she has no known whereabouts for her husband,” Ziva continued, ignoring Tony’s predicament.
“You sounds like Gibbs,” Tony groaned with a look to his Boss at the desk that his superior was sitting at. “He always thinks the spouse has something to do with it. Of course a man with three ex-wives would feel that way.”
“What was that, DiNozzo?”
Tony’s head snapped up as a sheepish grin crossed his face. “Oh, nothing, Boss. Just wondering about life.”
Gibbs didn’t answer, which Tony didn’t expect him to. He leaned back in his chair and stared longingly at the elevator. “Where is Probie? It’s been ages! We go to the same Chinese place every time we order in. How long does it take to find it?”
“There may be traffic, Tony.”
“At ten o’clock at night? We’re just lucky they’re still open,” Tony flashed back, frustrations flaring as his stomach let out another harsh grumble.
Ziva opened her mouth to speak when the elevator doors suddenly opened to reveal a very disheveled McGee. He held a few different bags hanging from one arm, while the other held a drink carrier. He seemed apt to topple over at any moment, eyes wild as he looked around aimlessly.
Tony was on his feet immediately. No matter what they would say otherwise, he wasn’t a complete asshole when it came to McGee. Besides, if Probie dropped the food, Tony may just lose it.
“Let me help you there, Probie.” Tony took the drink carrier and one of the bags before carrying it back to the desks. As he set the drinks now, a frown etched across his face. “What the hell is this? This isn’t our usual place.”
“The ‘usual place’ was closed,” McGee grumped as he set the rest of the bags down, shaking out his arms as feeling started to return to his fingers. “This was the only Chinese place that was open. They had all the same stuff, so I didn’t think it would matter much.”
“Food is food,” Ziva chimed in as she examined the first bag and selected her veggie stir fry meal. “Just be glad we got something and get back to work. I doubt Gibbs will tolerate this much conversation.”
Tony knew she was right. He gave a small shrug and found his chicken, rice, and a side of noodles. He savored the smell, mouth watering as he carried it over to his desk. He swiped one of the drinks and downed a generous amount before turning to his food. He opened the top and unwrapped a plastic wrapped fork as he prepared for the first bite. Lunch seemed like a lifetime ago and he couldn’t imagine anything better.
He began to wolf down his food at a record rate, shoveling rice and chicken in as well as slurping down noodles. Both Ziva and McGee exchanged a glance as they turned to their own meals with much more restraint, while Gibbs hardy touched his portion. He continued to go over paperwork that had been faxed over to them, hardly looking up or seeming to register that the rest of his team was still there.
Tony went in for another bite when he felt a scratch in his throat. He coughed lightly before setting down his fork and reaching for his drink. However, drinking only made things worse as he ended up sputtering, desperate to dislodge whatever it was that was choking him.
“Tony, you okay,” McGee called from his desk.
Tony gave him a weak thumbs up before he started to cough again. This time his throat didn’t just feel raw, it felt tight. In fact, Tony realized in horror that he was struggling to breathe. He gasped hard as he attempted to stand before falling to the side, knocking over the remainder of his food to the floor as he rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with tears pooling in his eyes as he struggled for breath.
“Tony!”
Tony heard Ziva’s scream before he saw Gibbs hovering in front of his line of vision. He felt his boss press two fingers to his throat as Tony writhed in shock, a weight seeming to settle on his chest. Breathing was near impossible as he lifted a hand to try and pull at his tie as if that would solve all his problems.
“Stop it,” Gibbs snapped as he took the initiative to undo the top buttons of Tony’s shirt and remove his tie. A glimmer of panic shone in his gaze as he looked over his shoulder to the horrified McGee and Ziva. “Call 911! And Ducky!”
“What’s wrong with him,” Ziva began while McGee lunged for the phone on his desk.
Gibbs’s eyes narrowed. “Call!”
Ziva didn’t hesitate to turn to her own phone while Gibbs drew closer to Tony. “I know, I know,” he began as he watched his Senior Field Agent struggle for each breath. “You’re going to be fine. Just keep breathing.”
Tony’s lips were already turning blue and he struggled to move his lips to formulate words. “Can’t……Boss.”
Gibbs reached over and lightly hit Tony on the top of the head. “Don’t you dare tell me you can’t. You die on me and I’ll kill you myself.”
Tony’s mind attempted to formulate exactly what Gibbs meant by that when Ziva rushed forward. “Ducky is on his way, but I didn’t know what to tell him. He was fine before he started eating.”
“It looks like an allergic reaction,” Gibbs explained as he reached for his ankle. He pulled a pocketknife from his sock and reached down to Tony’s thigh. Expertly, he sliced a clean strip and pulled either side until his bare thigh was exposed.
“McGee!” Gibbs twisted back to look at McGee. “Tell them he’s going into anaphylactic shock. Then go and meet them downstairs. We can’t waste anytime.”
“Yes, Boss. Right, right away.” McGee turned back to the phone, speaking quickly to the 911 operator as sweat began to roll down the back of his neck.
Tony crunched forward and slumped back down. A terror like he had never felt like before washed over him, nearly causing him to sob. The more he tried to breathe, the harder it became until he was certain that he wouldn’t be able to soon. He couldn’t reckon what was happening to him, other than Gibbs’s face may be the last thing that he ever saw.
“Stay awake,” Gibbs snapped as he gave Tony’s body a harsh jostle. Tony’s gaze momentarily flickered into focus upon seeing Gibbs so fierce in front of him. “Breathe, damnit, breath.”
Tony wanted to point out that if he could, he would, but his lips were tingling and swollen almost as much as his throat was. His eyes were even starting to be affected and he almost wished for death.
Just when Tony suspected he may start to slip back into unconsciousness, he heard Ziva exclaim Ducky’s name. The ME traded places with Gibbs with some kind of object in his hand. Something slammed hard into the flesh of his thigh. He hardly felt it if he was being honest, but as soon as the object was pulled from his thigh, he was able to take in a semblance of a breath. He ended up coughing hard, relieved when his throat opened up just enough to let out a rattling wheeze.
“That should hold him over until the paramedics arrive,” Ducky explained to Gibbs as he lifted Tony’s wrist and began to check his pulse. “Young Anthony is fortunate that Miss Abigail keeps an epipen or we may be having a much different conversation.”
Tony blinked deliberately, hoping to catch someone’s attention. When that didn’t work, he lifted his left hand, frustrated when it flopped down without so much effort. His lip quivered when he tried to speak, tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth as he floundered for words.
Ducky rested a hand on Tony’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t try to talk, dear boy. Blink once for yes and twice for no. Do you have any known allergies?”
Tony blinked twice.
“That means it could be a new allergy, or perhaps one he just wasn’t aware of,” Ducky explained to a still worried looking Gibbs. “Either way, the paramedics will have more insight.”
Tony wanted to protest. He hated going to the hospital, and tended to avoid it all costs. However, he knew there was no talking his way out of this one now.
“We just need to keep him awake,” Ducky continued.
Gibbs leaned back over and watched over Tony intently. Anytime he even attempted to close his eyes, Gibbs would nudge him until his eyes sprang back open. Gibbs fixed him with a stern glare that only Gibbs could give and Tony wasn’t about to fight it. That didn’t help the exhaustion and pain that Tony was still experiencing.
“Boss, the paramedics are here.” Ziva rushed up to help McGee lead them forward as three paramedics rushed in with a gurney, a medkit slung across one of their backs while another held portable oxygen.
Tony’s heart leapt in his throat as he saw them approach. He started to twist until Gibbs anchored his shoulders to the ground so he couldn’t move. “Easy, Tony.”
Despite his own fear, Tony felt himself relax when he heard Gibbs’s voice. His eyes flickered closed as tears rolled down his cheeks. No matter how much he didn’t want to show any pain, he also couldn’t bring himself to push down that feeling.
“We administered an epinephrine injection,” Ducky explained to one of the paramedics. “He’s conscious, though sluggish. I’m unaware how much he can understand at this point.”
“We got him from here,” another paramedic assured as she dropped down besides Gibbs. Her tone was patient, though when she tried to lean closer to Tony, Gibbs appeared to square his shoulders and hold his ground. “I got him, I promise, but I do have to examine him.”
Although still reluctant, Gibbs was persuaded to draw back and allowed the paramedic to take his place. She set her medical kit aside and flashed Tony a smile. “We’re going to take good care of you,” she reassured as she placed a pulse oxygen monitor on his finger. “You just try and stay awake for me, okay?”
Tony couldn’t give a verbal answer, and even if he could, he doubted anything would come out coherently. Besides, he felt dangerously close to falling asleep no matter how much Gibbs or anyone else tried to prevent it. The feeling was just too strong and he felt his eyelashes flutter despite himself.
Even after an IV was secured to his arm, Tony felt himself drifting. Despite what was going on around him, Tony drifted off without knowing if he would ever be able to bring himself back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next time Tony awoke, he didn’t recognize his surroundings. Everything was white and there was something clunky on his face. His arm was swore, yet his throat was even worse. He could hardly swallow without feeling it would cause him to burst into tears. Some scratchy blanket was strewn across him while the sound of beeping greeted his ears. Everything felt wrong and it caused his anxiety to spike.
Just when Tony was about to reach and pull out his IV, a strong hand rested over his arm to halt him. Tony’s brow furrowed in frustration, but when he looked up, he noticed a familiar figure hovering beside him. It looked like Gibbs, but that couldn’t be right. Why would Gibbs be in this strange place?
“You keep that where it’s supposed to be,” Gibbs ordered. “Or you’ll have hell to pay.”
Tony believed him without a doubt. Still, he wanted answers and he feared that Gibbs was the only one that may tell him the truth.
His fingers came to tap at the mask on his face before trailing down to his throat. It wasn’t nearly as tight as it had been, but he wouldn’t go so far to say that it was comfortable. A cough threatened to tear from his lungs, and it took all of his concentration to push it down.
The mask was situated back more securely on his face, the familiar hiss of oxygen invading Tony’s lungs. “Breathe as deeply as you can, slowly.”
Tony followed his Boss’s commands, chest no longer felt like it was seizing. He blinked the tears from his eyes and looked to Gibbs curiously.
Gibbs was quick to give Tony’s head a firm slap. “That’s for not knowing about your own allergies.”
“I don’t have….”
“Maybe you didn’t know, but you’re damn sure now deathly allergic to peanuts.”
Peanuts? Tony was beyond confused. He had peanuts before, in fact he was certain that he had some recently. Not to mention he had Chinese food all the time. How was it that now he had a severe reaction when he hadn’t before?
Before Gibbs could explain further, the curtain was pulled back and a doctor stepped through. A stethoscope hung around his neck with a pen tucked in his pocket. “How are we feeling?”
Tony lifted his hand with his palm facing downwards before tipping it from one side to the other.
“Your O2 stats aren’t quite where I’d like them yet, so we’re going to keep you on oxygen for the time being.” The doctor eyed the monitor before turning back to Gibbs and Tony. “In the future, I would certainly recommend always carrying an epipen just in case. Now, I believe you have a fairly severe peanut allergy, but an allergist should be able to run tests to find out if you’re allergic to other tree nuts as well.”
“He never knew he was allergic,” Gibbs pointed out. “Can something like this just happen?”
“It is rare, yes, but it can happen. Now, I was going over your chart and I noticed that you were hospitalized by the plague. Is that true?”
Tony’s face grew hot at the memory and he was suddenly glad that he wasn’t able to speak. “We’re NCIS agents. It was an unfortunate event.”
“Well, that much of a shock to his immune system could’ve certainly caused things to go a little haywire. In an attempt to rebuild itself, it may have overcorrected so to speak.” The doctor scribbled something on a piece of paper before handing it over to Gibbs. “I would certainly recommend that allergy testing sooner rather than later. The last thing we want is something like this to happen again.”
That was an understatement in Tony’s opinion. He couldn’t even remember much of what happened, besides the feeling of despair and hopelessness. Being unable to breathe reminded him of his time with Y-pestis, which was one of the darkest times of his life. He would be damned if he let something like this rule his life like that.
Gibbs dipped his head. “Thanks, doc. Any idea when we can get out of here?”
“I’d like to observe him overnight just to make sure his oxygen saturation continues to improve. But, if everything looks good, I’d say he can be released tomorrow morning.”
If he could’ve, Tony would’ve leapt for joy. He hated hospitals, and while spending time overnight was far from ideal, at least they weren’t going to keep him for any longer. Gibbs would make sure he called that number to the allergist sooner rather than later.
“I’ll leave you to rest. Let the nurses know if you need anything.” The doctor gave a small dip of his head before heading out the room, curtain closing right behind him.
Tony twisted his head so he had a better vantage point for Gibbs. His left hand came up to his lips and pulled forward, until his hand was almost chest level.
“You don’t have to thank me,” Gibbs murmured gruffly. “And don’t even think about trying to apologize. This could’ve happened to any of us.”
Tony wasn’t sure about that. He seemed to have the worst luck if he was being honest. But, he didn’t want to point that out. All he could do was keep taking as deep of breaths as he could manage through the oxygen mask and hope that something like this never happened again.