Dum Vita Est, Spes Est
While There's Life, There's Hope
They worked in silence, abandoning all pretence that this was a case like any other. They worked and they waited; the only word from Ducky so far was that Tim was in surgery, and that the doctors were worried about a head injury…
So they kept occupied, desperately trying to concentrate, to find a single, useful piece of evidence. Ziva and Tony were watching the new security tapes that they'd collected from the 24th Place businesses; Abby was running DNA on the blood from the door. She had already ascertained that it was Tim's blood group, and none of them had any doubt that the final DNA results would confirm it was his. Gibbs had been bringing Goodall up to speed on what little they had to go on in the Renton case. He joined Abby in her lab to check on her progress, and was not surprised to find that she had nothing more, they hadn't given her much to work with, so he could hardly expect anything, but that didn't stop him hoping.
Then came the call Gibbs had been waiting for, yet dreading.
"Duck…what's the news?"
Abby stopped what she was doing, and turned to listen, so Gibbs put the phone on speaker.
"Jethro…I…"
He heard his old friend take a deep breath.
"Jethro, Timothy is out of surgery, but...he's in a coma…you need to call his parents…they should be here."
Gibbs wanted to ask more; to get the detail on Tim's condition, but the words wouldn't come. Abby took over.
"Ducky…tell me…he's going to be okay, isn't he? He has to be…it's Tim…"
Her voice had risen an octave, and even for Abby she was sounding breathless.
"Abigail, calm down. We must hope for the best…and perhaps say a prayer or two. His family should be here, if he…when he regains consciousness he will need them close by."
"Can we see him?"
"Not just now; Timothy is in the ICU under close observation."
Gibbs snapped back into full Team Leader mode…observation, what if whoever did this to Tim was watching…waiting to finish the job?
"I'll call his family Duck, but I have one more call to make first."
Gibbs gave Abby a quick hug, and dialled another number.
"Leon, I need a security detail for McGee."
"How's he doing Gibbs?"
"He's in a coma…in the ICU."
"And you think he's still in danger from whoever put him there?"
"I honestly don't know, but I don't want to take any chances."
"I'll get on it right now."
"I should have thought of it before…They left him for dead out there, if they find out he's still alive..."
"You think there was more than one attacker?"
"That's another thing we don't know Leon...seems like all we've got right now are questions, no answers. But I don't want to take any chances with Tim's safety."
"They can't get to him so long as he's in the ICU, and I'll have two agents there within thirty minutes…Gibbs, we will protect Agent McGee, you concentrate on finding his attackers."
"Thanks Leon."
Abby stood by his side and silently took hold of Gibbs' hand; he pulled her close and held her for a moment. She gave a deep sigh.
"Gibbs...if Ducky wants you to call Tim's parents...we've never had to do that before...I mean we would have called your dad when you were in the hospital after the explosion...but we didn't know about your dad, and now Ducky says you should call..."
She finally ran out of breath and started to cry silently. Gibbs led her gently to the office, and sat her down.
"Abby...I know you're scared, and I know you want to visit the hospital...but you heard what Ducky said, we can't visit tonight...and we still have work to do. Can you do that for me, for Tim?"
A quiet sniff was followed by a single nod of her head. Gibbs kissed her cheek.
"Good girl."
He didn't want to make this call with Abby listening, so Gibbs headed up to one of the conference rooms, and chose Commander McGee's number from the directory on his phone.
"Hello?"
Gibbs could hear the clink of glasses and animated conversation in the background.
"Commander McGee; my name is Gibbs…"
"What's wrong? Hang on…too much noise."
Gibbs heard a door open and close, and suddenly the background noise was gone.
"Go ahead…Tim, is he…?"
"He's been hurt Commander; it's bad."
There was an audible intake of breath at the other end of the line.
"How bad? Where is he?"
"He was stabbed, lost a lot of blood, and there's a head injury, he's in the ICU – Washington Center."
"I have to see him, can I see him?"
"Doctor Mallard, he's our ME…"
"Ducky, Tim says he likes to be called Ducky."
"Yeah, Ducky. He's at the hospital, and he'll stay with Tim until you can get a flight."
"Don't need a flight, I'm in DC; I'll get a cab…I should call Tess…"
"Would you like me to call?"
"No…thank you, I'll do it…Gibbs, is he going to make it?"
The question came out as a sob, as Andrew McGee struggled to maintain some self control.
"I wish I knew sir."
There was a long silence as Tim's father took several deep breaths, and when he answered there was a new strength in his voice.
"He'll make it…he has to…I have to call his mom. Goodbye Gibbs."
Gibbs stared at the suddenly silent phone, switched it off, and headed back to the bullpen. He was surprised to see his hand shaking as he put the phone back in his jacket…these calls never got any easier, no matter how many times you had to make them.
Tim's dad hadn't asked how his son had been hurt, or whether they had caught the people who had hurt him; his focus right now was on his family. But Gibbs knew the questions would come, and as things stood they had nothing to tell him.
Tony banged the remote on his desk in frustration; his eyes were gritty and sore from staring at the screen, desperate for any hint as to the identity of the people who'd attacked Tim.
So far they had come up with nothing; he knew Ziva was as frustrated as he was, she was better at hiding it. Ever since Abby had called with Ducky's update on Tim's condition, their frustration had increased tenfold; and seeing the pictures showing brief glimpses of him running through the rain toward the various business premises had only made things worse. He was going about his job, that routine, almost boring part of the job that often led to the resolution of a case…and now he was in a coma…
Tony checked the time stamp on the last frame of footage; Tim was walking into the lobby of the 24 Club…that was it, the last frame on which he would see Tim. It was a matter of minutes after this that someone had beaten him, stabbed him…
"Anything?"
Tony glanced up, unsurprised to see that Gibbs had made his usual silent way into the bullpen.
"Nothing, the few people who were around look legit, delivery guys, office workers…but Abby's going to start running facial recognition; to be sure."
Gibbs cast an enquiring glance at Ziva, but she shook her head, she had drawn a blank too.
"Gibbs, Abby said you were going to call McGee's family."
"Yeah, his dad's right here in DC, I am not going to tell him we have nothing. There has to be something, we're just not looking in the right place."
Ducky was waiting; Gibbs had called to forewarn him that Commander McGee would be here much sooner than expected. He stood outside Tim's room, and as the elevator doors opened he saw a tall man, clad in the uniform of a Naval Commander, this had to be him, his normal erect military bearing had been beaten down by anxiety and uncertainty. Any possible doubt dissipated the minute the Commander glanced toward the ICU nurse's station; those soft green eyes had been inherited by his son.
"Commander McGee? I'm Donald Mallard."
Ducky held out his hand, and Andrew shook it briefly.
"Andrew please, may I call you Ducky?"
"I would be honoured…Andrew, is your wife with you?"
"No, I'm here for a conference at the National War College. She's still in San Diego; trying to get a flight…can I see him?"
"Of course, Timothy's doctor has ordered family only visiting for the time being; he has been kind enough to offer me visitation rights, as a professional courtesy…come with me."
They took the few steps to the door of Tim's room and Andrew caught a glimpse of his son through the large observation window.
"Oh Lord…Ducky, would you come in with me?"
"Absolutely."
Ducky opened the door and allowed Andrew to enter first.
"Don't let all the machinery overwhelm you Andrew, each and every tube and monitor is essential to Timothy's treatment and eventual recovery."
Andrew stooped his tall body and looked closely at Tim's face; the bruise on his temple had darkened in the hours since he had been found, and against his ghostly pale complexion it looked darker still.
"This is what caused the coma?"
"Not only that, there is evidence that his head struck a door frame…and of course the shock and blood loss…"
Andrew collapsed into the chair beside Tim's bed, and gently reached out for his hand.
"He's been hurt before…and it was bad, but I never saw him…after the car accident, I was at sea…Tess, his mom, she dealt with that alone…and it...it's not like I haven't seen wounded men before, in the service you're lucky to escape seeing things like that, but…Ducky, this is my son. I wish Tess was here, she'd know what to do…what do I do Ducky?"
"You're already doing it Andrew, you just need to let him know you're here, talk to him."
Andrew gave a brief glance at Ducky, then turned again to his son.
"Tim if you didn't want to come out for dinner tonight, you only had to say…you didn't have to get…"
Andrew leaned his head on Tim's hand, and Ducky watched, powerless to offer comfort as huge sobs shook his body.
"Oh son, don't give up…your mom will be here soon, she'll make everything better…."
But sadly, the arrival of Theresa McGee did not make everything better. Tim remained in his coma, on a ventilator, and after numerous tests; EEGs, MRI scans CT scans, the doctors started to talk about the possibility that he might never wake, and if he did, he may never be the man he was before the attack. The double blow he had received had caused his brain to be shaken violently in his skull, coup, contrecoup Ducky told them…one of the most dangerous types of head injury, and one that could leave the victim with lasting complications…
Things were no better with the search for Tim's attackers. Director Vance had offered Gibbs every agent he needed, access to MTAC, the FBI…anything that may give them a lead, but they had nothing to work with. Countless hours of re-checking security footage, re-interviewing virtually everyone who worked in the 24th Place area, combing the alley again, going through dumpsters…they had exactly what they had the day Tim had been stabbed…absolutely nothing.
After two days the doctor allowed the family only rule to be relaxed, hoping as they all did that the presence of his friends could be the catalyst that would bring him out of the coma.
As the days went by, Tim did make improvements, slight as they were; he was taken off the ventilator, and his vital signs were much more stable, and stronger…but he showed no signs of regaining consciousness. The security detail had been scaled down, there had been no attempt to breach security, and with no leads to chase in their case Gibbs and the team took over the watch on Tim. They were joined by Abby and Ducky, but no one complained that they weren't field agents…they were Tim's friends, and that was what he needed more than any amount of armed security.
So the team divided their time between their fruitless search, and sitting with Tim and his parents.
They listened enraptured to tales of Tim as a youngster, his car accident, his troubles at school, his ease with math, science, his near genius with computers. They heard about the constant moves from one base to another, the difficulty in making new friends, the close ties he had to his little sister, how she brought out the protective instinct in him…and Tony had to ask.
"I was wondering…why isn't Sarah here? Wouldn't she want to be with him?"
Theresa smiled and took a moment before she answered.
"We've thought long and hard, Drew and I…but Sarah's on a hiking holiday in Yellowstone…no phones, communing with nature she said."
Tony couldn't believe that.
"This is Sarah…McGee's little sister? Didn't think she could survive without her blog!"
"She's grown up a lot in the last year or so…and her boyfriend loves the outdoors."
Tony nodded sagely…now that he could understand. Gibbs turned to Andrew.
"We could have the Rangers find her…"
"Let's just wait Jethro…I really don't want her to see her big brother like this…"
They let the subject drop, it was entirely up to Theresa and Andrew, but they'd be ready to find Sarah if necessary.
The conversation turned again to Tim, and his parents heard more about their son's time at NCIS; his evolution from naïve, stammering case agent at Norfolk to an integral part in the most prestigious team in the whole of NCIS.
For two days they talked about pretty much anything to do with Tim, aside from the fact that when he woke from his coma, he may not be the Tim they had been talking about…none of them had forgotten those dread words that had been spoken more than once by the medical staff.
"We have to prepare ourselves for the fact that there may be some brain damage."
No, his family and friends were not going to prepare for that; Tim would be okay…a little disoriented at first, but he would be okay.
On the sixth morning after the attack Gibbs entered Tim's room and handed Andrew a fresh cup of coffee.
"I think this is the longest I've ever gone without having a conversation with Tim…except sometimes when I was at sea…Is it too much to ask Gibbs? I just want to hear his voice again, to tell him I love him…I didn't tell him that enough, I should have…"
"He knows Andrew."
They sat in silence watching Tim breathe, and appreciated anew the fact that he was breathing unaided; the ventilator was gone, the chest tube was gone; the bruise on his head had entered what Tony called its Technicolor stage, but Tim was looking a lot better than he had when Gibbs had first been allowed to visit…
"Jethro! Did you see?"
Andrew was out of his chair and holding on to Tim's hand. Gibbs had seen…Tim's eyelids had fluttered open slightly, almost imperceptibly; but it was enough to have hid dad holding tight to his hand. Gibbs laid a restraining hand on Andrew's arm.
"Steady Andrew, don't rush him…"
They both waited, each of them holding their breath...there it was again…and this time the eyes stayed open. Tim seemed to take an age to focus, but he did…and his eyes locked on Andrew McGee, he looked a little confused, and in a voice raspy from lack of use, whispered.
"Dad?"