Chapter 6
Gibbs sighed deeply, debating on what and how much to tell Jenny. He wasn’t the type of man who usually spilled his guts, but he’d been on an emotional rollercoaster for quite a while, starting from when Maddie Tylor had walked into his life again a few days ago, and he was just about at his limit. Also, given his previous involvement with Jenny, she might not be the best person to talk with about this particular subject.
He finally asked, “Who am I talking to right now; the director of NCIS, my former lover or my friend?”
“I’ve always been your friend, Jethro, regardless of what else I’ve been.”
Gibbs thought for a minute and then decided if being in a relationship with Tony was going to be a problem on the job, he’d simply retire. He’d lived for nothing but his job for a lot of years and he figured if there was going to be a problem, he’d rather not work at NCIS at all rather than have Tony transferred from his team. He steadfastly didn’t think that if Tony didn’t recover, none of that would matter anyway.
“I love him, Jen.” Gibbs glanced up at Jenny to gauge her reaction to his blunt statement.
“I didn’t realize you two were… ” She trailed off, unsure of what words to use to label their relationship, but it suddenly became clear to her why Gibbs was displaying such an extreme reaction to Tony’s illness.
“Oh, we’re not. At least, not yet.”
“Is this something you’ve just realized because you nearly died yesterday?”
“More like something I’ve just acknowledged because I did die yesterday.” No way was he telling her about seeing Shannon and Kelly when he was dead. That was something he’d only share with Tony.
“Do you know if Tony returns your feelings, Jethro?”
“Yeah, he does.”
Jenny smiled. “I didn’t realize you swung that way.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Jen.”
“As far as I’m concerned, if you and Tony love each other, gender isn’t really an issue. I’ll pray for Tony to get well so you two can be together.”
Gibbs looked at her in surprise.
Jenny chuckled. “Not the reaction you were expecting?”
“Not exactly.”
“Jethro, I know I missed my chance with you a long time ago, and I’ve accepted it and moved on. Now, all I want is for you to be happy. If you can find that happiness with Tony, then I’m happy for you.”
“That’s an awful lot of happiness, Jen.”
“Well, you both deserve a lot of happiness.”
“What about work?”
“As long as you keep it out of the office, then the director in me doesn’t have a problem with it.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Jenny looked at her watch. “Jethro, I’ve convinced the doctor to overlook the rules and let you stay in here with Tony.”
“How’d you manage that, Jen?”
“Let’s just say that being the director of an armed federal agency has its advantages sometimes.”
“Thanks. I don’t want him to be alone.”
“I need to get to the office. Let me know if there’s any change,” Jenny said as she started to leave. When she reached the door she turned to face Jethro again. “And call me if you need anything.”
As the director walked away, Gibbs called, “Jen, I really need some coffee.”
Jenny turned back and chuckled. “I’ll ask one of the nurses to bring you some on my way out.” She winked, “Oh, Jethro, give Tony a kiss for me.”
XXXXXXXXXX
In the four days since Tony had been put on the respirator, Jenny had stopped by a couple of times a day to bring Gibbs food, clothes and books, and to get updates on Tony’s condition. She left the subject of the rest of team alone, for which he was grateful. He couldn’t think of much besides Tony, and how afraid he was that he could lose him before he’d ever really had him.
Gibbs didn’t know for sure, but he thought that maybe Jenny had paid the nurses to supply him with coffee regularly, because every couple of hours without fail, one of them brought him a fresh cup.
He couldn’t stand it that Tony was so quiet and still. He wasn’t used to seeing Tony like that. The younger man was usually so full of life; always on the move, cracking a joke, teasing his coworkers, playing a prank or making inane movie references. The only movement from Tony now was the rise and fall of his chest as the ventilator forced air into his lungs, and the only sounds were the hiss of the ventilator and the beeping of the heart monitor. Gibbs would give just about anything to see Tony smile and to hear his laughter.
The only time Gibbs left Tony’s room was to shower and change every day, and he always rushed so he wouldn’t be away from the younger man for very long.
Dr. Pitt had stopped by a few times, and explained to Gibbs how Tony’s treatment was going. None of the doctors held out any hope for Tony’s recovery, but Gibbs didn’t want to give up on him.
One of the nurses told him that patients in comas recovered more quickly if someone talked to them, so Gibbs talked more to Tony than he had in his entire life. He sat in the chair next to Tony’s bed and held his hand as he told him about his childhood, his time in the marines, his life with Shannon and Kelly, and cases he’d worked on over the years. When he ran out of stories to tell, he read to Tony aloud.
When he was exhausted and coffee couldn’t keep him awake any longer, he would lie down on the cot in the corner of the room the nurses had provided for him and fall into an exhausted slumber.
Gibbs hated to admit it to himself, but he actually missed the other members of his team. The nurses kept him informed of the many phone calls they received asking about Tony’s progress. Gibbs was still angry with them, though, because of what he saw as their neglect of Tony and he didn’t contemplate the idea of lifting the ban keeping them from visiting.
On the fourth night of Tony’s coma, Gibbs thought about the agreement he and Tony had made a couple of years before when he’d returned from Mexico, after Tony had gotten over what a bastard Gibbs had been to him when he took his old job back anyway.
Once they were getting along better, Gibbs and Tony had a long talk and had decided to make each other his medical proxy, next of kin and power of attorney, so each of them would have someone to speak for him if he couldn’t speak for himself. They had decided on a five-day limit for life support, after which it would be removed, come what may.
Tony had admitted to Gibbs that he’d been shaken when he visited him in the hospital and saw him in a coma and on a respirator. Everyone had thought Gibbs’ father was dead, so no family member had been advised of Gibbs’ situation. At that time, Gibbs hadn’t had anyone to speak for him, and neither Gibbs nor Tony liked to think about what would have happened if Gibbs hadn’t come out of the coma. Tony didn’t like the idea of being on life support indefinitely either; hence, the five-day limit.
Gibbs still hadn’t told anyone about his father. He would have to rectify that when Tony woke up. Tony deserved to know everything about him, and Gibbs would make sure that he did.
Now, on the fourth night of Tony’s coma, with no sign that the younger man was getting any better, Gibbs thought about that five-day limit. On one hand, he didn’t want to give up on Tony, but on the other hand he’d made a promise to the younger man, and he knew he’d have to keep it. If Tony wasn’t better by the next morning, he’d be taken off the respirator, and if he didn’t start to breathe on his own, Gibbs would have to let him go. He hated that thought more than anything.
TBC
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