Abby was still having a difficult time believing what had happened. Her worst fears had been realized when Ducky had informed her that Tony had been shot. Memories of Kate’s untimely death came flooding back and it had taken a few minutes for the ME to convince her that Tony was still alive.
As soon as she was alone, Abby put on one of Tony’s favorite jazz albums and sat down on the floor, hugging Bert to her chest. “You have to be all right Tony, or I’ll kick your ass. The last thing I told you was to be careful and what happens?” She squeezed the hippo tighter. “You go and get shot.”
“Abby?”
It was McGee. He and Ziva were bringing her evidence to process from the crime scene and she wasn’t looking forward to the task. Wiping her tears, she met them as McGee set a box of evidence and asked, “Abby, are you all right?”
The Goth began to pace. Maybe that last Caf-Pow! hadn’t been such a good idea. “No, I’m not all right! Tony’s been shot and I’m here processing evidence. I need to be at the hospital!”
“There’s nothing you can do there, Abby. At least here you can stay busy and keep your mind off…”
“Off of what, McGee? How am I supposed to keep my mind off of Tony? I need to be there for him and for Gibbs. Gibbs must be going out of his mind!”
Abby suddenly found herself face to face with McGee as he blocked her path. The look in Tim’s eyes scared her. Something was wrong.
“Abby,” McGee began. “Ziva and I have something to tell you.”
“What’s wrong? Tony’s not…the Director said that he wasn’t…oh my God, he’s dead, isn’t he?”
McGee shook his head. “No,” he quickly answered. “The last we heard, Tony was still in surgery.”
Balling up her fist, she punched him in the shoulder.
“Ow!” he cried out. “What was that for?”
“For scaring the hell out of me!”
Pushing past McGee, she began to sort through the evidence. “Is this all there is?”
She glared at McGee when he grabbed the evidence bag out of her hand. “Abby, you’ve got to hear us out!” he demanded, his tone carrying a sharper edge than she was used to.
Abby crossed her arms and impatiently waited for McGee to continue. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to hear what he had to say, but she also knew that she really didn’t have a choice. Abby could see the concern and uncertainly shadowing the faces of her friends; whatever they had to tell her was obviously causing them a great deal of stress.
Her expression softened as she pulled McGee into a hug, crushing the evidence bag between them as she apologized profusely. “I’m sorry, Timmy. I’m so sorry. I’m just so worried about Tony and…”
“I know, Abs,” he murmured in her ear. “We’re all worried about Tony.”
Pulling away, she leaned against the counter and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself to hear and absorb what McGee was going to tell her. She opened her eyes and nodded, “All right. I’m ready.”
McGee blew out a pent up breath. “Abby, there’s no easy way to say this.”
“Say what?” Abby anxiously inquired.
She watched with interest as McGee glanced in Ziva, who in turn acknowledged his silent question with a curt nod. He turned his attention back to Abby and continued, his confidence seemingly increasing a notch or two.
“You know that Tony was shot four times. Once in the side, once in the shoulder, and twice in the back.”
“Ducky told me that much,” she said.
“Well, Ziva and I were processing the crime scene and we discovered something unexpected,” McGee explained. “Judging from the sketches, measurements, and photos, we think that, I mean the evidence indicates that the bullets that Tony took in the back didn’t come from the guns of the perps.”
“What are you saying, McGee?”
“We suspect that Gibbs shot Tony in the back,” McGee finally admitted.
“What? That’s impossible!” Abby vehemently declared. “Gibbs would never hurt Tony!”
“I’m sure it was an accident,” Ziva quickly added. “A miscalculation or…”
“Gibbs doesn’t make miscalculations, Ziva!”
“Not usually,” the Mossad officer corrected. “But you have to admit that Gibbs’ judgment has been clouded these past few days. He was obsessed with finding Sarah and perhaps he just did not see Tony. Until we talk to Gibbs…”
“He’s innocent until proven guilty!” Abby snapped. “He wouldn’t shoot Tony.”
“Abby, I know that this is difficult for you to hear, but once you start processing the evidence, you will come to the same conclusions. We are on our way to the hospital to talk to Gibbs and until we know exactly what happened, we need to keep this under wraps. Not just for Gibbs’ sake, but for Tony’s as well.”
The Goth nodded in agreement. “All right, but you’re wrong. Gibbs would not do that to Tony. I mean Tony is like his son and…”
“We know, Abby. That’s why we have to know for sure,” McGee said.
“Then you both better get out of my lab,” Abby ordered. “It looks like I’ve got some work to do.”
“Abby…”
Grabbing McGee by the shoulders, she turned him around and pointed him towards the door. “I’ll call you when I have something.”
She waited until Ziva and McGee left before she picked up another evidence bag. It was Tony’s gun. How was she supposed to do this? Ziva and McGee wouldn’t lie to her. They were trained investigators and they wouldn’t have told her of their suspicions unless they truly believed that Gibbs had shot Tony. There had to be a mistake and she was going to prove them wrong. She had to. Abby couldn’t shake the feeling that the only way to keep her family from falling apart was to prove that Gibbs was innocent of any wrongdoing.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Gibbs joined Ducky as Dr. Winesett escorted them to his office. He was glad that the ME was here with him; the team leader knew that he would have a lot of questions and Ducky would be able to help him sort out what exactly Dr. Winesett was saying. As much as he dreaded hearing about Tony’s condition, he wanted the truth. He didn’t want any false platitudes; Gibbs simply wanted to know if he had ruined DiNozzo’s life.
The doctor gestured for them to sit down as he pulled up a chair and joined them. Gibbs was impressed that this doctor didn’t hide behind his desk; Dr. Winesett evidently wasn’t one to distance himself from his patients and their families. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” the physician began. “I wanted to make sure that Agent DiNozzo was settled in recovery before I spoke with you. He should be in there another half hour before we move him to the Critical Care Unit.”
“Well as you can imagine Dr. Winesett, we are most anxious to hear about how young Anthony is doing,” Ducky said.
The team leader nodded in agreement, uncertain of whether he could trust his voice to speak.
“Of course. Well, I already told you about the wound to his shoulder and his side. Barring any unforeseen complications, Agent DiNozzo should fully recover from those injuries,” the doctor stated with confidence.
Clearing his throat, Gibbs managed to ask, “What about the bullets he took in his back?”
“His right ureter was torn by shrapnel from one of the bullets. In simple terms, the ureter is the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder. He also had some fragments imbedded in his right kidney but thankfully, the damage wasn’t too severe. We managed to remove the fragments and repair the ureter, but we will have to keep an eye on his kidney and bladder function for quite a while.”
“What about the other bullet? The one you don’t want to tell me about?”
“Right now, there is too much swelling around his spinal cord to know the full extent of the damage,” the doctor informed them.
“But you have a pretty good idea, don’t you, Doc?”
“Yeah,” Winesett admitted.
“Well?” Gibbs pressed.
“Because he was shot as such close range, the damage ended up being quite severe. His spinal cord has been partially severed between the T10 and T11 vertebrae. He also has several fragments lodged against his spine that are too risky to remove at this time. Hopefully when the swelling goes down, we’ll be able to remove them before they cause too many problems.”
Gibbs cradled his head in his hands. He felt Ducky squeeze his shoulder, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. The team leader took a deep breath and blew it out, knowing that he had to pull himself together. Meeting the doctor’s compassionate gaze, he asked, “What now?”
“For now, we are going to keep him in a drug induced coma to keep him still. Until the swelling goes down and we can see what we’re facing, I don’t want the chance of him trying to move around and doing even more damage.”
“How long will you keep him in the coma?” Ducky asked.
“At least two or three days,” Winesett answered. “It’ll also give his body a chance to start healing without having the added stress of discovering that he’s…”
“Paralyzed.” Gibbs abruptly stated, finishing the doctor’s sentence.
“Agent Gibbs, your agent has the top surgeons and physicians attending to him; we are doing everything we can to help Agent DiNozzo.”
“Will it be enough to help him walk again?”
Dr. Winesett fell silent. Gibbs had his answer. DiNozzo was now facing life in a wheelchair and it was his fault. “Can I see him?”
“Of course, I’ll take you up to Critical Care. I want to check on him before I leave for the day.”
The trio began their trek towards CCU, the two doctors engrossed in conversation as the former Marine tried to follow the medical jargon. Ducky and Dr. Winesett were discussing the potential problems Tony was facing, and Gibbs had to admit to himself that he wasn’t ready to consider what the future held for DiNozzo. The team leader was having enough trouble dealing with the present; he knew that Ducky would fill him on the sordid details later.
Gibbs was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize that they were now standing outside the door of the Critical Care Unit. “If you gentlemen will wait here, I’ll have a nurse come and get you when Tony’s settled in,” the doctor assured them.
The team leader merely nodded as the ME thanked Dr. Winesett. As soon as the physician was out of sight, Gibbs walked into the waiting area and sat down on the couch. He knew that Ducky had followed him and was now sitting beside him, waiting for him to say something. Although he was considered to be a man of few words, at the moment, he had nothing to say.
“Jethro?” Ducky called out to him.
“Yeah?”
“There’s still hope, Jethro. Once the swelling goes down…”
“He’s still going to be paralyzed, isn’t he?”
Ducky nodded. “Yes, but the damage may not be as severe as they think. We’re just going to have to wait and see.”
“I don’t want to wait, Duck! I want somebody to tell me that Tony is going to walk again. How can I face him knowing I did this to him?”
“It was an accident, Jethro,” Ducky reasoned. “A horrible accident and nothing more.”
“It should have never happened!”
“But it did and you are going to have to accept that fact. Tony is going to need all our support, especially yours.”
“When he finds out what I’ve done, he’s not going to want me anywhere around him,” he growled.
“I think you’re underestimating Anthony. He’s proven to be quite the fighter and I can’t imagine that he would let something like this change his perspective on life.”
Gibbs leaned his head back against the cushion. “You really believe that, Duck?”
The ME sat down beside him. “It will take him some time to get used to the idea, but I do believe that Anthony will be able to reclaim his life.”
“I hope you’re right, but I know DiNozzo and I know how he thinks. This is going to kill him.”
“Jethro, I…”
“Duck, please,” the ex-Marine snapped.
“Very well,” the ME replied.
The team leader had not meant to hurt Ducky’s feelings, but he couldn’t bear to hear any more promises that everything was going to be all right. The fact remained that things were never going to be the same all because of one careless moment.
Gibbs tried closing his eyes, wishing that he could block the images playing in his mind. He wasn’t sure if he ever going to be able to look Tony in the eye again; truthfully, he wasn’t sure that he would even be able to stand looking at his own reflection in the mirror.
“I’m sorry, Duck,” he said. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself.”
“It’s quite all right, Jethro. I assure you that I didn’t take it personally. In fact, I remember a time when…”
Before Ducky could continue his recollection, a nurse came in the waiting room to inform them that they could see Tony. Nodding his thanks, Gibbs stood up and followed the nurse into the CCU, the ME staying close behind him.
Stopping just outside Tony’s room, the nurse introduced herself. “My name is Hannah and I’ll be Agent DiNozzo’s nurse for the rest of the evening. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask.”
“Jethro Gibbs and this is Dr. Donald Mallard,” the team leader stated.
“I’m sure that you’re aware that Dr. Winesett is keeping Agent DiNozzo in a drug induced coma for a couple of days so his body can begin healing. He is hooked up to several IV’s and monitors, and we’re still trying to replenish the blood he lost, but thankfully, he’s not on a respirator. Of course, because of his history, we will be watching for signs of pneumonia. Dr. Pitt has been notified that Agent DiNozzo has been admitted, so I figure he’ll be stopping by.”
The Scotsman leaned over and whispered to the team leader. “That’s good. I was actually going to suggest we notify him of the situation.”
Gibbs nodded in agreement as he stared through the window at Tony’s still form. “Can I go on in?” he quietly inquired.
“Of course,” Hannah answered. “I would even suggest talking to him; it may help his recovery. You would be amazed at what people in comas seem to remember once they are awake.”
“Been there, done that,” Gibbs mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.”
“Jethro, you go on in and be with Tony,” Ducky suggested. “I’ll be along in a few minutes after I look at his chart.” The ME smiled at the nurse. “I am his primary physician after all.”
“I know,” she said, returning the older man’s grin. “I’ve read his history. Not everybody has a medical examiner as their family doctor.”
“I just have two patients, but of course, they keep me very busy. They constantly remind me why I prefer to work with the dead. They can’t talk back,” the doctor teased.
Ignoring the exchange of banter between Ducky and the nurse, Gibbs slowly entered Tony’s room. If it hadn’t been for the tubes and wires attached to the younger man’s body, he would have assumed that Tony had merely been sleeping. The only sign that he had been wounded was the fact that his left arm was bound to his body; all his other injuries were being hidden by the blanket that was pulled up to his chest.
Gibbs pulled a chair up beside his bed. Tony had been by his side for almost seven years and this was how he repaid his loyalty, by putting him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He placed his hand on top of Tony’s, mindful of the IV’s supplying life saving measures to the agent’s ravaged body. If DiNozzo were awake, he would probably chafe at the physical contact, insisting that Gibbs not make a fuss, but secretly cherishing the attention he was receiving.
Tony was an enigma, that much was for certain. DiNozzo wanted Gibbs’ approval more than anything and he knew that, but Tony wasn’t afraid to challenge his decisions if he thought the team leader was wrong. Just this morning, DiNozzo had questioned the former Marine’s judgment in the case of Sarah Carpenter and Gibbs had all but ignored him. Maybe if he had listened, Tony wouldn’t be lying in CCU, unaware that his life was about to change forever.
Chapter End Notes:
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