Tony was wheeled out of surgery and into a private ICU room 4 hours later. His right lung had collapsed. There had been nicks and tears from the path of the bullet to internal organs. But the biggest and most dire complication had been the coma that Tony had slipped into during surgery. His body had not been able to take the added assault of surgery and had decided he needed a rest. He had been hooked up to a respirator, a morphine pump and a couple of IVs.
“Coma!” Gibbs said, after Dr. Jonathon Becker explained the situation and Tony’s prognosis. He looked through the unobstructed observation window into where the comatose field agent now lay.
Gibbs, Tim, and Ziva had been out in the field looking for evidence of their shooter and finishing the collection of evidence on the original crime scene. Tim and Ziva returned to NCIS so that Abby could process the evidence, and so that they could give her the news about Tony, which neither was looking forward to doing. They then dropped Gibbs off at the hospital so that he could receive an update on Tony’s condition. Ducky and Palmer had returned to NCIS with the original victim and were awaiting news on Tony’s condition.
Ziva and Tim walked into the lab, their arms full of evidence bags. Evidence in Tony’s shooting involved a strip of a black and white checked flannel shirt snagged on a branch in the path Gibbs believed the shooter took when he made his retreat after shooting Tony. There were also two spent rounds from the same type of gun. This led Gibbs to believe that the shooter shot the marine and then waited around for NCIS to arrive. Abby turned to greet them, but could tell that they had both been crying.
“What!?” Abby asked, wringing her hands. “What?!” She looked past them and when she didn’t see anyone else follow them into the room she became even more panicky. “Gibbs?” She paused, no reaction. “DiNozzo?” She flung herself at Tim. “Oh god, not Tony! Not Tony?” She released her grip and stepped back. “He’s not….”
Ziva shook her head, again at the verge of tears, remembering what Tony had wanted to say to her. “He is not dead. He is in surgery. We dropped Gibbs off at the hospital to get an update on Tony’s condition.”
Gibbs took that exact moment to call McGee’s phone. “Boss.” McGee said, answering on the first ring.
Both Ziva and Abby fell silent to listen to Tim’s side of the conversation.
“Yes, Boss.” McGee’s expression changed, but it was unreadable. “Yes, I will tell Abby.”
Gibbs then made the call to Ducky.
“Tim,” Abby said, growing alarmed. “What is it? What is going on?”
“Coma?!” It was the only word Tim could manage to say. He shook his head in disbelief.
“Tony is in a coma?” Abby asked.
Ziva was stunned. She couldn’t speak.
“Comas are not good, Tim. People don’t wake up from comas. They die. We can’t lose Tony that way. He can not die. Gibbs wouldn’t allow it.” Abby said, pacing the floor of her lab.
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