Moments & Fragments
Part 1
This is my take on what should have/could have happened at the end of SWAK.
Gibbs returned to the hospital as he had planned to. There was no way he could have gone home and switched off while one of his people was struggling to remain alive. Yes, he had given him a directive to live, but, this time, Gibbs needed to make sure. It wasn't everyday one of his team was infected with plague. He needed to actively have his agent's six.
He encountered both the nurse and Dr. Pitt at the nurse's station outside the isolation unit.
'Agent Gibbs,' said the doctor in greeting, extending his hand. This was, after all, the rather intimidating, older man whose words had seemed to cause the younger man to rally. Dr. Pitt was keen to keep such a person close at hand in case the situation deteriorated again.
'Why aren't you with him?' demanded Gibbs, instead of shaking the doctor's hand. Dr. Pitt gestured towards the isolation room before them.
'He's actually finally sleeping,' he told him. 'We can monitor his vitals from here without disturbing him.' Gibbs peered through the glass at Tony's sleeping form and then at the various, beeping monitors on the desk. Satisfied, he relaxed slightly and asked for a report on Tony's condition.
'Without the mumbo jumbo,' he added. 'You can save that for Doctor Mallard.'
'Well, his respiratory system has been severely compromised', Doctor Pitt told him. 'There is likely to be permanent scarring of his lungs. He is extremely weak, which is dangerous because he needs to clear his lungs of the… gunk that has built up in them. We've put in a drip and a catheter so that he doesn't have to waste energy eating or peeing.'
'Is he sedated?' asked Gibbs, gazing at Tony through the glass.
'Too risky,' replied Dr Pitt. 'He needs to actively clear his lungs, as unpleasant and exhausting as that must be. He fell asleep about a half hour ago from sheer fatigue. It's important that you realize that he's not out of the woods yet, Agent Gibbs.'
Gibbs said nothing but continued to stare through the glass. He would not lose Dinozzo like this. Hell, he didn't want to lose him ever, but for him to be a totally innocent victim of one woman's insane quest for revenge was unthinkable and unacceptable.
………………………………………….
Tony felt as though an unyielding vice was crushing his windpipe. An invisible pair of hands was in his chest, strangling his lungs. His heart pounded in his ears. He was reminded of a time in his childhood when an older, unkind boy had, for a joke, pushed him beneath the surface of the pool and held him there. Tony had thrashed his arms and legs wildly. The boy had eventually released him, but not before black spots had begun to appear before Tony's eyes. He had fought his way to the surface and taken down an enormous gulp of air. Next he had swum to the pool edge, trembling violently and coughing up great mouthfuls of water. He was shivering, despite the heat of the day. He wondered if the mean boy was going to come after him again.
…………………………………………….
Gibbs followed hot on the heels of Pitt and the nurse to Tony's bedside. They had sprung into action the moment the heart monitor began to go berserk. Gibbs was appalled by the bluey-black tinge to Tony's lips, but more shocked by the way the man was obviously struggling for breath in a room that had a plentiful supply of air. Pitt and the nurse went to opposite sides of the bed and hauled Tony into a sitting position. Tony's head slumped forward as Pitt began to pound on his back. Just as the heart monitor spiked, Tony began to cough. It was more like the cough of a chronic smoker than the athletic young man that Tony was, but it was music to Gibbs' ears. Gibbs saw the relief on Pitt's face as he continued to forcefully pat Tony's back, encouraging him to cough more. Again Gibbs struggled with suppressing the anger he felt toward the woman who had made this happen, but he told himself that it would not help Tony if Gibbs channeled all of his energy into hating her for what she had done.
The nurse brought a cloth in her gloved hand up to Tony's mouth and gently wiped away the evidence of the coughing fit, but not before Gibbs had noted the disturbing mix of dark red and green. During the coughing fit, Tony's body had been rigid. Now, the coughing subsided, his head slumped forward again, his body still help upright by the doctor and the nurse. He was completely spent.
'That's really good work Tony' the doctor told him. 'We'll just keep you sitting up a little while longer. You're doing really well.'
Pitt looked at Gibbs who had remained at the foot of the bed, his gaze fixed firmly on his agent for whom he obviously had some kind of great attachment. Perhaps they were somehow related, Pitt thought to himself.
'How do you feel about swapping with me?' Pitt asked Gibbs. 'I'd like to check his vitals, and Tony can't sit up independently at the moment.' Gibbs quickly took off his street jacket and pushed up his sleeves. Sitting sideways on the edge of the bed in front of Tony, who had remained eerily silent apart from the coughing fit, Gibbs slipped his right arm under Tony's left, replacing Pitt's. The nurse gratefully eased her support away as Gibbs snaked his left arm under Tony's right. Tony fell forward against him and his head came to rest on Gibbs' shoulder, his arms hanging loosely. Gibbs held Tony to him, being careful not to squeeze too tightly. The poor kid was having a hard enough time breathing as it was!
'I've got him,' said Gibbs, quietly. 'Do what you have to do.'
Tony felt some relief as sweet air partially filled his clogged chest. The black spots began to clear and the pounding in his head abated. He felt two strong arms supporting him without making him feel trapped. The arms were strong. and grounding. He felt a wave of calm wash over him. The panic and danger were over for the moment, but the person was still there. He managed to murmur something and then drifted into blissful unconsciousness once more.
Gibbs watched as Pitt and the nurse checked Tony's pulse, blood pressure, and the various lines he was hooked up to, and then they left the room with whispered instructions to lay Tony back down after about five minutes or so. Alone with Tony with the blue lights dimmed, Gibbs was taken back some years to nights spent sitting up with Kelly when she had been sick. Gibbs had always marveled that when medicines hadn't worked, it seemed that the only thing that had the power to soothe her was for him to hold her like he was holding Tony now.
Protocol dictated that Tony's father had to be notified about Tony's current medical emergency, and Gibbs had asked the director to make the call. But Gibbs knew he wouldn't show up. If he was 'lucky', Tony might receive flowers sent on behalf of the family. Part of the situation suited Gibbs because Tony didn't need the angst that would be created with the arrival of his father, but it ate at Gibbs that Tony always seemed to have to endure injury or illness without much help. Well, Dinozzo wasn't going to be able to recuperate from the plague on his own, and Gibbs was adamant that he wasn't going to try.
Tony's shivers broke Gibbs from his reverie.
'Back to bed for you,' Gibbs told him quietly, and gently eased the younger man back towards the pillow. Tony put up no resistance, Gibbs noted. Pitt was right; he was as weak as a kitten. As he pulled the blankets up to Tony's chest, Gibbs saw the younger man's eyes open a crack and his blue lips move slightly. Putting his ear closer to Tony's mouth, Gibbs listened for a while then frowned. When he looked back at Tony's face, he was fully asleep again. Gibbs whispered something in Tony's ear before settling himself in the chair that was beside the bed.
'Did he say something?' asked the nurse as she returned with Tony's chart.
Gibbs looked at her quizzically.
'I saw through the glass. Was he lucid? The doctor will want to know.'
'I'm not sure that Tony is particularly lucid when he doesn't have the plague,' said Gibbs. 'He said don't let him get me again', Gibbs told her.
'Probably delirious,' said the Nurse, casting a sympathetic glance towards Tony.
'Well I told him I had his six anyway,' said Gibbs. 'Tell me, is there anywhere I can get a decent cup of coffee around her?'