So it took me longer to write this story because I wasn't really sure how to word it. I hope you like the story and I hope it makes sense. *This Chapter contains spoilers for About Face.
Once Tony and Gibbs reached Bethesda and got Palmer medical attention, they sat down in the waiting room while they waited for Ducky.
"You want to hear the long story now?" Tony asked Gibbs.
"No, wait for Ducky. I'm sure he'll want to know what happened." Gibbs said. Tony opened his mouth to say something but someone caught his eye. Gibbs looked up to see Tony in a daze.
"Why don't you just go flirt with her DiNozzo." Gibbs said. Tony blinked then looked at Gibbs and asked,
"Does Abby have a bat signal or something?"
"What's a bat signal?"
"Not important just … look." Tony said as he pointed to the reception desk. Gibbs looked in the direction that Tony was pointing to and saw Abby.
"Either McGee called her or she was with him when you called." Gibbs said as he got up. Gibbs could see the nurse was confused by Abby's explanation of why she was there and who she wanted to see so he walked up to her. Abby was still trying to explain why she was there to the nurse when the nurse interrupted,
"Ma'am hold on one second. Can I help you sir?" Abby turned around to see who the nurse was talking to and when she saw that it was Gibbs, Abby threw her arms around him and said,
"Gibbs! Is he okay please tell me that Jimmy's okay." Gibbs looked at the nurse with Abby still wrapped around him and said,
"She's with me." They turned around and Abby let go of Gibbs. Gibbs put his arm around Abby's shoulder as they walked back over to Tony. As Abby sat down Tony asked her,
"Abby do you have psychic powers or something?" Abby laughed and said,
"No Tony, McGee was helping me bring evidence I was testing back down to the evidence garage when you called. Gibbs has psychic powers, don't you Gibbs?" Gibbs looked at her with a half-smile. "Is Jimmy okay?" Abby asked in a quiet tone.
"Yeah he'll be fine. He's in surgery getting his knee fixed right now." Gibbs said in a gentle tone.
"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked.
"He said he was going back to his desk to call Ziva for help and to contact metro." Abby said.
A familiar Scottish accent caught everyone's attention.
"Standard knee surgery usually takes around two hours. How long has he been in there Jethro?" Ducky asked. Gibbs looked down at his watch and said,
"About an hour and a half." Ducky sat down next to Tony and asked,
"Tony, what happened?" Tony was just finishing his story about what happened earlier when he was interrupted. A doctor walked up to them and said,
"Hi I'm Dr. Schneider; Mr. Palmer is out of a successful surgery. I'm expecting him to fully recover."
"Can I see him?" Ducky asked.
"He's in ICU resting but, of course you can Mr.…"
"Doctor, Doctor Mallard."
"Of course you can Dr. Mallard." Ducky got up from his seat and followed Dr. Schneider to ICU.
"So what field are you in Dr. Mallard?" Dr. Schneider asked.
"I'm a medical examiner and Jimmy is my assistant."
"How long has he been your assistant?"
"Almost five years. He's a very good assistant and I have a great deal of respect for him." Ducky said as he walked in to ICU. He smiled as he walked towards Palmer who was resting in the hospital bed.
"I must say Mr. Palmer, it alarmed me very much when Tony called saying you had been hurt. You are more than my assistant Jimmy; you are a young man who I am proud to call a respected colleague." Ducky said.
"Thank you doctor." Jimmy said with his eyes still closed. He opened them and said,
"I respect you more than anyone else, Dr. Mallard." Ducky kept his smile. "I've been shot at before Dr. Mallard. But I've never been shot."
"Has this event brought back painful memories for you?"
"I remember the fear I had when Suskavcevic shot at me." Palmer said. Ducky raised his eye brows.
"You know, the guy who impersonated Rick Baxter."
"Ah yes, how could I forget that case." Ducky said as he looked down at Palmer who had a blank stare on his face.
"A wise man once told me that you can't suppress that fear, it's what you do with it that counts." Ducky said. Palmer looked up at him and asked,
"Who was that?"
"Me." Palmer looked over at the door to see Gibbs, Abby, and Tony all standing there. Palmer saw Ziva and McGee run up behind them. He smiled as they walked in. Palmer was feeling really happy that he was a part of what was considered to be a big, happy, and disfunctional family.
