Tony’s fingers twitched. He had been in a coma for three weeks and Team Gibbs was concerned he would never come out of it. They had all spent time at his bedside. Sitting with him, talking to him, and telling him the latest news in the world of NCIS.
He was told the case of the dead Marine had been solved. The shooter had policed his brass. The brass Ziva had found was from someone else, some unrelated event and weapon. The guy had been some whack job who had sneaked into the field testing area. He then had just started picking off people at random. He was judged unfit to stand trial and was in a psych ward at Bethesda. He had been a wanna-be sharpshooter who had not made the grade in his psych eval.
Abby had felt Tony’s left hand twitch, but she was not sure it was really him, or if it was her wanting him to get better so bad that she had imagined it.
Tony’s hand moved this time, not just his fingers. Abby was overcome with emotion and started to cry. She squeezed his hand tightly in response.
“Abby?” Gibbs asked, concerned when he saw tears in her eyes.
Abby smiled. “He moved his hand.”
Gibbs couldn’t help but smile at this little ray of hope. Tony had not moved a muscle in three weeks. This meant he was trying to wake up. He was trying to come back to them.
Gibbs quickly exited the room and called the rest of the team and alerted Tony's nurse. They had all had a tough three weeks and were needing for any kind of good news. By the time Gibbs reentered the room Tony had his hands on the respirator tube and had begun to pull. Abby was talking to him and holding his hands, but panic had set in. Tony felt like he was choking.
“Tony!” Gibbs said racing to Tony’s bedside.
Tony stopped immediately, trying to place the voice that called his name. It took him only a few seconds to recognize it as Gibbs’.
“Tony, stop fighting. Abby is trying to help you. Listen to her.” Gibbs said, taking one of Tony’s hands and holding it.
Tony looked in the direction of Abby’s voice. He was unable to move his head because of the tube.
Abby had leaned over Tony. She was holding tightly to his hand and was talking in his ear. “Tony, the tube is there to help you. You need it to breathe. Don’t pull it out. The doctor will take it out if you want. We don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
By this time Gibbs had grabbed Tony’s other hand after having pried it off the breathing tube. “Listen to her, Tony.”
Tony stopped fighting. He seemed to understand Abby, seeking her with his eyes. Tony suddenly closed his eyes and squeezed both theirs hands tightly. His features etched with pain. The episode only lasted for a few seconds.
Abby pressed the nurse call button. She had to let go and in that second, Tony grabbed the breathing tube and gave it a yank. Tony didn’t pull the tube out. He just disconnected the two pieces. An alarm pierced the air, leaving Tony looking confused holding the tube in his hand.
Tony’s nurse, Mallory, who was already on her way, picked up the pace when the alarm sounded. She arrived at her patient’s room first. She was pleased to see her patient alive, awake, but slighfly confused, holding a piece of the breathing tube in his hands.
“Agent DiNozzo, my name is Mallory. It’s nice to have you back.” Mallory said. She manually turned off the alarm and then pried Tony’s hand off the breathing tube. Tony’s grip was strong, even in his weakened state. “Agent DiNozzo, I need to reconnect the tube. It’s ok. The doctor will remove it if you want,.”
By that time Tony’s doctor, Dr. Gerald, a 50-year-old man with receding gray hair had arrived. “Agent DiNozzo, I will remove the tube if you want. Blink to let me know if you want the tube removed.” Tony blinked several times.
“That was a definite yes.” Dr. Gerald observed. “When I count to 3, I need you to blow out a really hard breath. The tube will be out in a matter of seconds,”
Dr Gerald completed the procedure and Tony lay back on the bed exhausted and breathing hard. He had bad to raise up slightly when the tube came out and it had worn him out. He closed his eyes and rested as his breathing returned to normal.
The doctor allowed Tony to rest as he checked Tony’s IV’s and the dressing over his wound. The wound was practically healed, except for a very small area were the incision site had become infected. The doctor then listened to Tony’s lungs, putting his stethoscope on Tony’s bare chest.
“Agent DiNozzo....”
“Tony…thank you." Tony said. His throat feeling and sounding like sandpaper.
“Tony,” Dr. Gerald nodded. “...you are to give that throat a rest, 3 or 4 hours. You can have ice chips, but that's it.
Mallory magically appeared by Tony’s beside with a cup of ice chips and a spoon. She fed him a couple of spoons full. Tony greedily took them, closing his eyes and letting the cold water soothe his throat.
Dr Gerald continued. “Your lungs sound clear.” Dr, Gerald said, passing his stethoscope back around his neck. “I was concerned, given your past history. Your wound is also healing well. You had a secondary infection, but it will be all gone in a few days. You will not have any major scaring, just a thin red line. You will have to look hard to find it.”
Tony opened his eyes and nodded to let the doctor know he had heard and understood what the doctor had said.
Mallory and Dr. Gerald left with instructions to Gibbs and Abby about the ice chips.
Tony closed his eyes again for just a moment. He then opened them, again and locked his gaze on Gibbs and Abby. They both moved from their spot in a corner, out of the way of the nurses and doctors. They took up spaces an either side of his bed.
Abby, who had been crying, happy he was now awake, stroked Tony’s cheek. She then pulled up a chair and sat down. She then rested her head on Tony’s shoulder, and laid a hand on his chest.
Tony put his hand in Abby’s hair and gently pulled her pigtail.
Abby raised her head arid looked at him. “Tony?”’ She laughed and tied to hug him, gently.
Tony smiled back, the old familiar mischief in his eyes. Tony then looked over Abby’s head at Gibbs. Tony smiled at Gibbs reassuring Gibbs that he was ok.
Tony had seen how upset Gibbs had been when they were out in the field, before the ambulance came. How Gibbs had reacted to his convulsions. But Gibbs’ anger had made Tony upset. He didn’t understand why Gibbs had been so angry at him.
Gibbs looked at his Senior Field Agent. He was ecstatically happy that Tony was awake. These past three weeks had been torture, waiting to see if Tony would wake up at all. Thinking he had lost his friend and the man he thought of as his son hurt more than he could ever admit. Gibbs nodded at Tony, letting him know he got his message, loud and clear.
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