Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. Or Gibbs. Although I wish I owned Gibbs. That would be awesome. I own Brianna. She is my original character. Andie is the character of a friend of mine, whom gave me permission to use her as more of a background character. Please do not use either. Enjoy! Reviews would be appreciated :D
She had been at home when she got the call. She knew her dad was on a case, and seeing Tony's name on the caller ID made her stomach do flip-flops. Usually it was her dad calling her at night; letting her know he was safe and telling her good knew she was about to hear something as she hit the answer button.
"H-hello," she said, swallowing down the lump that was already forming in her throat.
"Brianna? It's Tony. Hey, I don't want to worry you but there was an explosion. Your dad's in a coma. Ducky's on his way over to pick you up and take you to the hospital with him."
She wasn't fighting the tears anymore. "O-okay. Th-thanks for calling." When she hung up, the sobs started. She had always known her dad had a dangerous job, but this was the first time it really sunk in. Her crying didn't slow down until Ducky pulled up and knocked on the door.
She opened it and tried to smile, though only half her mouth was upturned. "Hey Ducky," she said quietly, stepping aside so he could come in. It only took her closing the door and the two of them sitting on the couch before she launched into a ton of questions.
"What happened? Where is he? How is he? He's not going to die, is he? Ducky, tell me he isn't going to die." The tears had started up again, and once again she didn't hold them back.
"Calm down, young child," he said in a firm, yet gentle, voice. "He was in a room on the ship when the bomb exploded. The blast caused some head trauma, which is why he's in the coma. We don't know how long he'll be in it. He's at Portsmouth Naval Trauma Center. They are taking good care of him. I went up and saw him. There isn't much we can do for him, so we'll sleep here tonight and then go visit him in the morning."
Brianna listened, nodding and forcing herself to calm down. "Okay. You can have one of the guest rooms. I'll show you where they are. Do you want anything to eat or drink?"
"I know where they are, dear. I don't want anything. Why don't you go up to bed. We'll wake up bright and early and go see him."
She nodded again and made her way upstairs, taking a shower and then heading to bed. He took her a while to fall asleep. It was not a good night's sleep and by the time it came for her to wake up, her eyes were bloodshot. She got ready quickly and made her way downstairs. She was surprised to find Ducky down there, making breakfast.
"Eat up," he told her, pushing some bacon and eggs in front of her and then fixing himself a plate. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
"Thanks Ducky, but I don't think I can eat anything right now." She moved the food around with her fork, taking a couple of bites before pushing it away from her.
"Okay let's go then," he said when he finished eating and cleaning up the mess. He could tell she was very distraught, and he honestly couldn't blame her. He knew if he felt horrible, she must be feeling even worse.
He quietly led her out to the car. Usually, he would tell a story or two, but he could tell she wasn't in the mood for it right now, so he kept quiet. When they finally reached the hospital, he opened her door for her, escorting her up to the ICU.
"Sorry, but only family is allowed back there," the nurse said automatically when they reached the desk, but then looked up. "Oh, Doctor Mallard, it's you. This must be Brianna. Yes, you mentioned you would be bringing her up today. Go on back."
Brianna offered a small smile as Ducky thanked the nurse and then the two of them walked back there together. When she saw him laying there, she started crying again. Pushing past Andie, who was already up there, she sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. Forgetting anyone else was in the room, she started talking to him.
"Daddy, how did you let this happen? You always promised me you would be safe. You told me nothing would ever happen to you, yet now you're in here. Damn it, daddy. You better not die on me. Mom already abandoned me. You can't leave me too. You just can't."
She felt arms around her and she turned into them, crying into Andie's shoulder. "I can't lose him," she sobbed. "I can't."
"Shh. B, it's going to be okay. C'mon. The doctor needs to look him over. I'm going to head out to get some food. I've been here all night. Come into the hall until you calm down."
Brianna nodded and walked into the hall. She watched Andie walk away as the doctor went in to examine him. She was about to walk in when she heard muffled screaming and ran in. She saw him thrashing about. He was awake.
"Daddy!" she said excitedly, standing next to Ducky, both with smiles on their face. When the tubes were out, he started talking.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're at the hospital," the doctor answered. "There was an explosion."
"It's great to see you're awake, Jethro," Ducky said. "You gave us quite a scare!"
He looked at Ducky and Brianna and a look of fear and confusion crossed his face. "I don't know them," he said.
Ducky had to catch Brianna as she almost collapsed again. Her dad was awake, but he didn't know who she was.
She was in the back of the room now, huddled to herself, listening to Ducky's story about being left behind by his mother. When he finished, he asked Gibbs if he remembered it.
"I remember the shirt, not the story," Gibbs replied, turning his attention to Brianna. She walked over to him and smiled sadly. "Who are you?" he asked her.
"It's me," she said. "It's Brianna. I'm your daughter."
"What? No! My only daughter was Kelly and she died. I don't have a daughter."
Brianna couldn't say anything. She ran out of the room and barely made it to the bathroom before she collapsed into sobs.
She heard a knock on the door and was soon greeted by Andie. "Hey, B, calm down. What happened?" Andie had seen her run in there on her way back to Gibbs' room. She knew something must have happened.
"He—he woke up," she said between sobs as she tried to calm down. "B-but he—" She couldn't go on. The thought of what had happened was too much for her. Andie pulled her closer and ran her fingers through her hair soothingly.
"B, tell me what happened." She was trying to keep herself calm, a million scenarios running through her head about what could have happened after he woke up.
"He doesn't remember me," she whispered as more sobs wracked her body. "He doesn't know who I am." She continued to cry into Andie's shoulder.
"Hey, B. I bet it's just because he was in shock. C'mon. I bet when I go in there with you, he'll know both of us. Let's go see." She stood up and helped Brianna up, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "It's normal for some memory loss at first. I would be surprised if he didn't welcome you with open arms when we got back."
If only she knew what would actually happen when they walked in there. Ducky stepped out when he saw them, leaving just the two of them alone with Gibbs. He still had a confused look on his face, trying to remember where he knew them from.
"Who are you?" he asked again. Brianna had to bite her lip to stop from crying again. She wanted to stay calm while they were there.
"Hey, Jethro. It's Andie and Brianna. We're engaged, remember? Brianna's your daughter." She watched Gibbs shake his head and had to duck in time as he threw the remote across the room.
"Stop lying to me!" he shouted. "My only family are Shannon and Kelly and they both—they both died because of me. Get out. GET OUT!"
Andie quickly led Brianna out of the room and down to the main floor. "Bri, don't worry. It's normal for someone to have amnesia. He'll remember us, just give it some time okay?" She was doing her best to stay strong for the young girl, but it was hard on her, too. Hearing him yell at them like that—hearing that he didn't know them; it was all very hard.
They spent the next few days checking up on him, but it seemed nothing they did would make him remember. Even when his old boss, Mike Franks, came up, he only spoke of Shannon and Kelly. They were starting to give up hope. They were at the NCIS office, trying to help in whatever way they could to get their mind off of what was going on.
Brianna was playing a game on her phone and Andie was taking pictures of the place for a scrapbook she wanted to make. Ziva had taken off to talk to Gibbs, to try to get him to remember. Brianna just sighed. "Do you think that it will work? I mean, he hasn't remembered anyone else. What makes her think he'll remember her?"
"I don't know," Tony said honestly. "But it's Ziva. She's always had her own way of doing things. Besides, I know she feels guilty about how she's been acting. Maybe it'll give her something to work with."
"Yeah. I hope so." They were still there an hour later, when they heard Ziva's voice coming from the direction of the elevator. When she heard another voice with her, Andie's eyes opened widely. Gibbs was standing there in hospital scrubs. She was close to the elevator and Gibbs immediately hugged her, giving her a quick kiss.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I could never forget you." She nodded, hugging him back until his eyes landed on Brianna, who was standing there, looking at the ground sadly.
"BG!" he said, running over to her and wrapping her in a hug. She was almost afraid to hug him back and she continued to look at the ground until he tilted her chin up. "Brianna…sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head and wiped away the few tears that were falling from her eyes.
"Daddy, you—you remember me?" she asked, still unsure.
"Brianna Ashley Gibbs, I could never forget you. Ever. I know that what happened was not part of what you expected. I can guarantee you it won't happen again. I love you BG." He had to blink away a few tears of his own as he hugged her close, resting his head on top of hers. "C'mon. Let's get Andie and go home."
She nodded and held on to him tightly, as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, wrapping the other around Andie. The family was whole again. All was well.