SO MUCH MORE
Author: Gosgirl
Rating: Eventual MA
Pairing: Gibbs/Abby/Tony
Category: Angst/romance
Spoilers: up to Season 7
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. NCIS and its characters are the property of DPB and CBS. If I had a silver-haired, blue-eyed Marine to play with, do you think I'd have time for writing?
Summary: Tony and Abby are already friends with benefits but when the pair are in an accident, will it push Gibbs, Tony and Abby to acknowledge their feelings? Established Tabby. First time Gibbs/Tony/Abby.
A/N: I promised this to ncislove ages ago... and she has been waiting not so patiently for it! Hugs to Gibbsredhoodie for keeping me in line.
Chapter 1 – Not Again
Gibbs barrelled through the door of ER, a familiar terrible mantra running through his head...
Not again... please God, not again.
Don't let him lose two people he loved in another car accident.
Okay, this one was different as it actually sounded just like an accident rather than the long ago shooting that had caused a fatal car crash and destroyed his world, but the parallels were still close enough to make his gut churn.
But at least this time he was here... not half a world away.
When the call came through that evening from Metro police that DiNozzo and Abby had been involved in a car accident and Abby was unconscious at the scene, his heart nearly stopped.
DiNozzo's condition wasn't clear, although the detective who'd drawn the short straw in calling him at least said his SFA was walking wounded. The detective had said that Abby was being taken to hospital and DiNozzo was in the ambulance with her, and Gibbs had set off from home in close to a panic, breaking some of his own speed records in a frantic dash to reach them, oblivious to the trail of traumatized drivers he left in his wake.
Feeling no compunction in flashing his badge and queue jumping, Gibbs caught the eye of the on-duty receptionist, ignoring the glares and the muttered comments from the other people waiting at the desk.
"Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Abigail Sciuto, can you tell me where they are and their condition?"
The nurse looked up at him, startled at the tone which was terse even for such highly stressed surroundings as the ER. "One moment please, sir." She keyed the information into the computer and after a few moments, turned back to Gibbs.
"Room 4 at the end of the corridor... their condition is being assessed at the moment, so I'm not sure you can go in there." The last words were said to his retreating back as Gibbs stormed off down the corridor in the direction indicated.
Taking a deep breath to try and control himself before going inside the room, Gibbs lifted a hand to push open the door, not altogether surprised to see it trembling slightly.
What he saw from the doorway didn't do much to calm him, although it did at least unclench one Tony named knot in his gut when he saw the man in question sitting on the edge of a bed, with a nurse standing next to him, attending to his arm.
Gibbs fought the urge to sag against the wall, vaguely registering DiNozzo complaining to the nurse who helping him out of his shirt.
"Do you know how much this shirt cost? I mean I grant you all the blood on it doesn't exactly help recognize the designer label and being torn like this isn't gonna improve its look, but at least all the blood could be washed out."
Gibbs recognized the words and tone of voice for what they were, DiNozzo's usual attempt to deflect attention from the fact that he was scared... and Gibbs guessed that he wasn't frightened for himself.
And when his eyes moved to the figure in the other bed, Gibbs understood why... the Abby knot in his gut clenching harder.
Momentarily robbed of movement and speech at the sight of Abby lying motionless on the second bed, Gibbs stood just inside the doorway. Abby looked even paler than normal and in contrast to her usual constant motion, she was lying unnaturally still as a white-coated doctor leaned over her, shining a light into her eyes.
Torn between going to Tony or Abby first, his dilemma was solved when Tony called out a soft greeting, "Hey, Boss."
Tony's voice at least freed Gibbs' paralysis and he walked further into the room, taking in the worry clouding the younger man's green eyes. His face was pale and strained, and spotted with blood, along with streaks of red down his arm from what looked like a nasty cut and a bruise was developing across the skin of his bare chest.
"How is she?"
"Don't know yet, Boss. As you can see, they're doing tests. She was... knocked unconscious when the car crashed... Don't know if there's any other injuries... other than the cuts you can see," DiNozzo gestured vaguely, his voice cracking.
Gibbs stared at the still figure in the bed, moving closer. If it hadn't been for the small cuts he could see over her face and neck and down onto her arms, it would have looked like Abby was sleeping peacefully.
It looked as if some of the blood on her face had already been wiped off, leaving smears across her usually flawless skin and her dark silky hair was loose on her shoulders, a stark contrast to the white sheets. Abby was now in the typical unflattering hospital gown, her clothes on the chair by the bed and Gibbs could see her blouse was stained with spots of blood.
The doctor standing by the bed, writing on her notes, looked up. "And you are?"
DiNozzo cut in before Gibbs could reply. "He's Agent Gibbs. He's listed as the emergency contact for both of us and he's also our boss."
The doctor nodded, taking in the concern on both men's faces. "We're taking Miss Scuito down for a scan now, just to see if there's any internal bleeding or swelling... standard practice after being knocked unconscious, as I'm sure you both realize. Although from my initial examination, I don't think that's the case but we need to make sure."
"She been unconscious since the accident?" Gibbs asked, looking to DiNozzo but it was the doctor who answered.
Gibbs desperately wanted contact with Abby but hesitated to touch her head where a bruise was already darkening her forehead, so settled for brushing his fingers gently over the back of her hand as he listened.
"She has, yes. The head injury looks superficial but given she's still unconscious, we need to make sure there's nothing else going on, and I'd feel happier obviously when she wakes up." The doctor handed the notes to the nurse before looking down at Abby. "She's breathing normally, her responses are normal, so that's also a plus. The cuts you can see are fairly superficial, although a couple might need stitches and there don't appear to be any broken bones, although I imagine there'll be a fair amount of bruising. As you know, air bags can pack quite a punch."
Gibbs nodded his thanks and looked back at his senior agent, feeling guilty he hadn't asked before, "What about you, Tony?"
DiNozzo didn't take his eyes off Abby as he answered. "I'm okay, Boss."
"You look like crap."
DiNozzo smiled slightly but it was a shadow of his normal wattage. "Thanks, Boss. You always know how to make me feel better... I got off lightly... just this cut on my arm and a few other bumps and bruises... ow."
"Well, if you'd hold still, this would go a lot faster and be far less painful, Agent DiNozzo," the nurse argued as she attempted to clean Tony's arm wound. "We don't usually treat patients side by side."
"I'm not leaving her... not till I know she's okay." Tony's tone was adamant, glaring at the nurse and she subsided as he looked back at Abby.
"What happened, DiNozzo?"
DiNozzo dragged his eyes away from the still figure on the bed and met Gibbs' gaze, and the anguish he read there tore at Gibbs. "We were going out to a club... a new one Abby wanted to visit. We were nearly there... the road was wet and a bit icy but y'know, not too bad... nothing we don't see every winter, and we hit traffic so that slowed me down a bit. Good job too coz then..."
DiNozzo trailed off for a moment, averting his gaze, swallowing hard before he could go on. Gibbs fought the urge to reach out, trying to give encouragement when Tony's eyes came back to meet his.
DiNozzo stared at him for a moment before nodding slightly, his shoulders straightening slightly as he somehow gained whatever he needed from Gibbs' gaze. "Tire blew, Boss. I swerved to avoid the car in front and we hit a patch of ice and the car skidded sideways and I... I couldn't stop it... Not sure what we hit on the way but the next thing I know we're mashed right up against a wall. Abby's... Abby's side of the car hit the wall and she, um... she was unconscious... hit her head on the side window or maybe the air bag hit her. I dunno. Glass everywhere... windscreen and side window and her face was covered in blood..."
A tremor he couldn't control shook his voice as re-lived it and DiNozzo looked back at Abby in the bed, falling silent.
Gibbs stared down at Abby, eyes tracing the cuts on her face, her arms, her shallow but even breathing. He squeezed her fingers gently before turning towards DiNozzo. Approached the other bed, he leaned back against it, next to the younger man. "It was an accident, Tony."
"Yeah, I know... a freak accident... not that that makes me feel any better." He glanced sideways and Gibbs could see the anguish in Tony's eyes. "I'm sorry, Boss."
Gibbs shook his head. "Not your fault, Tony." He suspected DiNozzo would blame himself and knew it would be hard to deflect both that and the second guessing which was no doubt just around the corner.
"Huh? We can't know that yet, can we?" Tony burst out.
"How so? You cause that tire to blow?"
"No, but if I'd kept better control of the car, we wouldn't have hit that wall and then..." DiNozzo shook his head. "What if I had a slow puncture and didn't notice it and that caused the blow out? What if I was distracted by talking to Abby and didn't react fast enough?"
"If I was sure you hadn't hit your head too, DiNozzo, I'd slap you into next week." Gibbs ignored the startled glance the nurse threw him and turned to face Tony to push home his point. "Accidents happen... how d'ya know your driving didn't stop the crash from being any worse?"
DiNozzo fell silent, shaking his head, clearly unconvinced as he stared at the bed. Gibbs tried a different tack. "Everythin' you did after the tire blew... you did the best you could."
When DiNozzo opened his mouth as if to protest, Gibbs cut him off. "I know you did your best, Tony. You'll drive yourself mad second guessin' yourself. But we need to get that car checked... just to be sure."
DiNozzo thought for a moment before nodding, "Yeah... make sure the tire blowing was an accident."
Gibbs nodded. "Yup... I'll call McGee. Get your car towed to the evidence garage where..."
He trailed off as they both looked towards the other bed, where the one person they trusted to find out quickly if the car had been tampered with was lying there unconscious.
DiNozzo sent him a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, Boss... I know. My mind went there too... it's automatic." He paused, taking a deep breath before he could continue. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to her... Abby has to be alright. She has to. Can't lose her."
Gibbs swallowed at the raw pain in DiNozzo's voice, sharing the sentiment. He sought to distract his agent, seeing the sympathetic glance the nurse was giving Tony. Gibbs gripped Tony's chin, tilting his head gently to the light, taking in the bruise on his cheekbone. "What happened to you?"
DiNozzo shrugged, moving his head slightly so Gibbs dropped his hand. "Not sure... it was all a blur there for a minute. Air bag caught me and the cuts... glass from the shattered windscreen I guess... just a few stitches, it's fine."
The nurse's words added to the sceptical glare Gibbs was throwing him. "It's not just a few stitches, Agent DiNozzo. This cut is deep into the arm muscle and a sticking plaster is not gonna cut it... which is why I'm giving you the benefit of my superb sewing skills. Plus what other bruises have yet to emerge."
"DiNozzo..."
"Okay, okay..." Tony conceded reluctantly, gesturing at his chest. "I'm a bit bruised from the seatbelt giving me a bear hug... and my shoulder and neck ache a bit I guess but we're not talking full blown whiplash here, are we, doc?"
The doctor glanced up from where he was placing a phone call. "We'll let x-ray decide that, shall we?"
DiNozzo rolled his eyes and met Gibbs' gaze again. "I've gotten worse headaches from you. It's nothing, Boss, really... it's Abby I'm worried about."
The doctor replaced the receiver and approached the two men. "Well, we'll be taking Miss Scuito down for her CAT scan any minute and you can go along too, Agent DiNozzo... I'd like an x-ray on that neck and shoulder. Then we can move Miss Scuito to another room until she regains consciousness, and provided everything checks out, you can be discharged, Agent DiNozzo."
"Okay, doc, thanks." DiNozzo glanced at Gibbs. "I'll stay with her and wait till they send her back... and then I'll stay with Abby in her room, if they'll let me."
Gibbs nodded and reached up to rest a hand on DiNozzo's shoulder. "I'll be here."
For a moment DiNozzo appeared to lean into his touch, giving him a brief but relieved smile as he straightened up. "Thanks, Boss. Can you get McGee to pick me up some spare clothes?"
Gibbs nodded, and the nurse finished placing a bandage over the cut on DiNozzo's arm before handing him a spare scrubs top. "This should do for now... keep you decent on the way to x-ray."
They were distracted by the arrival of porters and a wheelchair, which DiNozzo tried to refuse until he met Gibbs' glare. Gibbs watched Abby's bed being wheeled out the door, followed by a protesting DiNozzo in the chair.
The nurse appeared at his elbow, pulling his attention back. "I need you to fill out the usual forms, Agent Gibbs. You know the drill. As Miss Scuito has listed you and Agent DiNozzo as her emergency contacts, if you could also give us what you can there, and I'll get Agent DiNozzo to do his own when he gets back... unless you can make a start on those too." She began to turn away before turning back, adding kindly, "And it might help the wait go a bit easier and I'll let you know which room they move her to afterwards."
Gibbs nodded, forcing a slight smile of thanks and took the forms, grateful for something to do. He needed a minute to calm himself before he could leave the room, hating this lack of control he had over what was happening. He also needed to contact the rest of the team to let them know what had happened.
It wasn't something he was looking forward to... fielding questions he couldn't answer.
But at least it would distract him from Tony's words playing on a constant loop in his head...
Abby had to be alright.
TBC...