A/N: Thanks to those who are reading. I have a thousand ideas. It's the sort of thing that tends to happen when I have a bunch of other things that need doing. Chapter 3 should happen by Friday. Please let me know what you are thinking. Sheila

Spoilers for my favorite NCIS bromance episode: season 7, Guilty Pleasure

Grand Canyon Deep

Chapter 2

Tony looked up from where he was bagging the frayed ropes that held McGee to the merry-go-round, his face flushed. "I still don't know what happened here, Boss. You're giving us almost nothing."

"Tony!" Ziva frowned. "Gibbs told us what he knows."

"I put the kid in a cab 7 hours ago and he ends up tied to playground equipment in Prescott Park. And I still don't understand all that they did to him. How the hell are we supposed to run an investigation like this?"

Gibbs was drawing the layout of the crime scene, something that usually McGee did. He was almost too calm as Tony ranted at him. "I'll interview him when we're done here."

"I'm coming too."

Gibbs shook his head. "No. We don't overwhelm him."

Tony pulled his cap off and threw it down. "What does that mean! What happened here?"

Gibbs stared him down. "Look at the evidence. Look at the drag marks through the dirt. They pulled him in here. Tied him down. There's blood evidence on the merry-go-round. They beat him with something, a belt probably. Whatever it was, they hit him hard enough to cut him."

Ziva picked up the plastic bag with the pipe inside. "What about this?"

Gibbs said nothing.

"You said he had no broken bones, Gibbs. I can see the blood evidence on this. What did they do with this pipe?"

"I'll know more after I talk to him."

Tony wheeled around on his heel. "Son of a bitch! What the hell was I thinking? We should've driven him home. Why didn't we drive him home, Ziva?"

She shook her head.

"We let this happen!"

Ziva looked away.

"Enough!" Gibbs glared at them. "We process this scene like we do any other. We don't make any mistakes and we get these guys. Understood?"

Ziva nodded. "I got the name of the cab driver from Capitol Cabs. We visit him after this."

Tony added. "Then we go meet with Metro. We find out what gang runs this park."

"You're going to have smooth it so they don't pull jurisdiction."

"I got it."

"A kid told me that this was T-bone and his crew. Find out from Metro who T-bone is."

"Yeah, we'll find T-bone," Tony said.

"No, DiNozzo. You'll talk to the cabbie and Metro. When it comes time for T-bone, then I'm going to be there along with you. You hear me?"

"Got it."

Gibbs looked over the scene. "Not much else to find here. I'm going to go see McGee now."

Tony stood up. "Tell him…tell him that we've got his six. Tell him that, okay?"

…

McGee was sedated when Gibbs got to his room. He was lying on his side, his bruises a stark contrast to his fair complexion. Ducky looked up as he entered. "It wasn't as bad as we thought. It only took an hour to close his wounds. He's still out from the anesthesia."

Gibbs sat on the other side of the bed. "They sodomized him with that pipe, didn't they?"

Ducky closed his eyes. "Yes. Luckily, that was all they used to penetrate him. Timothy was quite worried about this, but we found no presence of semen."

"When I catch those punks, I'm half tempted to return the favor."

"Today, I won't even try to appeal to your better angels. It sounds like a satisfying response."

They were silent a few moments until Jethro's brow furrowed. "I always thought McGee trusted me. Yet, he seemed so uncomfortable when I was there."

Ducky sighed. "You don't tolerate mistakes well. He's spent the last 7 years attempting to live up to your standards. He knows he shouldn't have chased them into park without backup. That was his mistake, but even more than that, he wonders what would have happened if it had been Ziva or Tony or you. In McGee's mind, all of you would have been able to get away. He is the only one who was weak enough to be captured."

"He was drunk, Duck. I don't blame him for anything."

"Perhaps, but you are allergic to weakness, and his vulnerability right now is going to look a lot like weakness. You can get pretty impatient when your idea of weakness is displayed, especially with him. You remember the crazed fan that killed people from his novel or the time he tried to cover for his sister or when he was protecting Abby from her crazy ex-boyfriend. You were not exactly easy on him during those episodes."

Gibbs frowned. "I'm hard on all of them when they screw up."

"Okay," Ducky sighed. "Just remember that it's different this time."

"I'm not that bad, Ducky."

"Last night was his birthday. He brought that girl he's been blushing about for four months. She broke up with him in front of us. He was miserable. We spent hours trying to get him feeling okay again. Where were you?"

Jethro shrugged. "I had things to do."

"You knew this was a really important night for him."

"I bet he was glad there was one less person to watch him getting dumped."

"Yes, but you matter to him a great deal. More than you seem to understand."

"McGee doesn't need a surrogate daddy."

Ducky shook his head. "You really surprise me sometimes, Jethro."

Gibbs leaned forward across McGee. "I care about him like I care about any of them."

"I know how deeply you care, but you never tell them, especially him."

"Are we going to sit here and argue all afternoon? 'Cause if that's the case, I'll wait outside until he wakes up."

There was a short silence and then Ducky sighed. "I plied him with scotch. I saw how he was hurting and I bought him three glasses of Glenlivet. If not for me, he probably would've stuck to his white wine. Undoubtedly, he wouldn't have gotten so drunk."

"Oh for God's sakes, Duck."

"Yes, I know how silly that sounds. I had no notion of what would happen. I should know better than to feel guilty about it."

"Listen to me. I may be a bastard. I may not show my people how I feel for them. I may take them for granted, but I know what I can do. I can fight for them, and I know how to teach them to fight for themselves. And I believe that McGee's going to need that part of me more than he'll need anything else."

…

The cabbie's name was Darby Williams, and Tony and Ziva had the dispatcher pull him in off the streets. Metro sent Detective Phil McCadden over to liaison with them. DiNozzo had last seen McCadden a year and a half ago during an investigation involving the D. C. madam, Holly Snow.

Williams was sullen from the moment they sat down, and it was all Tony could do to keep from bitch-slapping him. Ziva kept a hand on his thigh and took the lead in the interview. "We know our friend, Timothy McGee, was in your cab last night. We were both there when he got in your cab. Instead of taking him straight to Silver Springs as directed, you ended up with him in front of Prescott Park an hour later—"

"That's not what happened," Williams retorted.

Ziva just held up a hand. "We're not going to argue about it, Mr. Williams. These are facts. We were there when he got in your cab, and he remembers how he ended up in Prescott Park."

"I got lost."

Tony shook his head. "See, now you want me to hurt you. It's like you're begging for it."

"It was late. And sure, I took a little detour. Man was sleeping in the back. I need the money. I didn't mean any harm."

Ziva sighed. "He woke up and realized what you were doing."

Williams nodded. "He went bananas. Started screaming at me. Ordered me to pull over right away. Wanted to get out."

Tony chuckled. "I can see that being truthful is a real struggle for you. What do you think, McCadden? You hearing enough to pull his license?"

"We're getting close."

Williams threw up his hands. "What do you want?"

"The truth, asshole."

"We fought in the cab. He was pissed. Said he was a federal agent. I freaked out. Offered to take him to Silver Springs for a flat $30. Thought he would take it, and then some kid ran across the street. Thugs were chasing him. Your friend gets out of the car and takes off after them."

"He told you to call 911."

Williams shrugged.

"It's not a frickin' question!" Tony pounded the table.

"It's a bad neighborhood. I drove down the street and called the cops. Then I left."

Ziva shook her head. "According to dispatch, you never called."

"They're screwed up over there, and I never left my name."

"I don't think so," Tony said. "If I was going to stretch a ride, Prescott Park area is the last place I'd be cruising unless, of course, I had some business over there. I think you live in that area or at least, you have people there. I think you were going to roll the sleeping man in the backseat only he woke up before you could meet up with someone. When he got out of your cab, there was no way you were going to send him any help whatsoever."

"That's a damn story."

"Yeah, but it's my favorite one. And if I can't find another one, I'm going to work all the evidence to fit this one. Putting you in jail feels right to me. I like it. What do you think, Ziva?"

She shrugged. "It wouldn't bother me any."

Williams frowned. "I ain't saying nothing more without a lawyer."

"You do that. In the meantime, your license is suspended. And if you want any of that to change, you're going to be available for us when we catch these punks. I'd like to see you remember some faces. What do you say?"

"It was dark and I don't want no trouble."

"Oh Darby, you got trouble no matter how you look at it. You just gotta' decide which trouble you want to avoid the most. My trouble automatically involves a lot of jail time. So you think about that."

They waited until Williams slunk away and then DiNozzo leaned toward McCadden. "You got info on this T-bone?"

"He runs an arm of the Crips down in Prescott Park. He's a real sadistic son of a bitch. What he pulled on McGee is the same M.O. he's pulled on 5 different victims in the last eighteen months, and those are just the ones willing to step forward."

"What are the five that filed complaints?"

"Three backed out and the other two disappeared."

Tony shook his head. "Well, McGee isn't going anywhere. We're going to nail this asshole."

"How's McGee doing? Is he up for an interview? I can head over there right now."

"Gibbs will interview him," Ziva said quickly.

McCadden shook his head. "Not good enough. You're here as a courtesy."

"McCadden, you know enough about what happened to know that he doesn't need a crowd. Gibbs is the best. He'll do that interview the way it needs to be done."

McCadden narrowed his eyes. "Is this because I told you that he was too nerdy to be a decent wingman for you when we worked that case two years ago? You know, when I told you that you deserved better."

Ziva frowned at Tony. "What is this? Better than McGee? There is no one better than McGee."

"That's just what I told him. McGee is my wingman and always will be. I don't know a better person than Tim McGee. My problem is not what you said. I'd forgotten about all that. It's just that we protect our own, and you'd do the same thing if this was your partner."

"I'm going to need access to him at some point."

Tony nodded. "We'll take it day by day. Right now, we're not going to expose him to anybody but us."

McCadden leaned forward. "Don't think because this is inner city, we don't care about what happens at Prescott. We want that bastard, T-bone, and we've wanted him for a long time. If McGee can get us there, then I'm going to push."

"We're on the same page, Phil, but you're not trampling over him on your way there. We won't allow it."

McCadden got up and pointed a finger. "I better hear from you tomorrow or I'm heading over to Bethesda with or without your okay."

…..

Abby's hair was sleek and long, and she was wearing something black and slinky. Ducky blinked at the femme fatale she could be when she wasn't the forensic prodigy bouncing around in pigtails and a lab coat. As always, she had a brilliant smile for him. She noted the plastic bags of evidence on her table and cocked her head at him. "Why are you babysitting my evidence? What's the case? Has to be big for me to get paged on a Saturday night. Gibbs likes to let me have my weekend."

Ducky sighed. "Sit down, Abby. I need to talk to you."

She froze. "You're being weird, Ducky. What's going on? Why aren't you with the body?"

"There's no body. The victim is still very much alive."

She gripped the edge of her table. "Something's wrong. You're scaring me, Ducky."

"Abby, Timothy was assaulted last night after he left the bar. It's a complicated story, but he was badly beaten…he was assaulted…and he's in the hospital…He'll make a full recovery."

She stared at the bags on her table and stepped away. "This is the Tim's evidence?"

Ducky swallowed. "Someone else will process it. I brought you here because he doesn't want visitors, and this is where you feel safest."

"You're afraid I'll overreact."

"Abby—"

She put a hand up. "It's okay. I do that. Sister Rosita talked to me about it. I wanted to volunteer at the Rape and Sexual Assault Center. She said that it's hard when survivors have to deal with the emotions of the people around them. Sometimes, survivors end up caretaking the people who want to support them."

Ducky nodded. "It's really good that you understand that."

Her chin trembled. "But it's my Timmy."

Ducky opened his arms. "Come here, my dear."

…..

He watched as McGee clutched the bed sheets tightly, gritting his teeth. Gibbs frowned. "They tell me you're refusing medication."

McGee breathed in short pants. "You need a statement from me, don't you? Can't be hyped up on morphine for that."

"We could wait another day or two, Tim."

McGee winced. "This not a priority for you? Don't you want to catch them?"

The anger in his voice startled Gibbs. "Bringing this dirt bag and his people in is my priority."

"Then we can't wait. Let's do it."

"You know the drill, Tim." Gibbs sat down and waited.

McGee shifted a little, the pain radiating on his face. "When I ran into the park, I knew I was making a mistake. It was too dark. None of the lights in there were being maintained. I tripped over something, and before I could get up, men were on top of me. I was kicked and hit, and then I was frisked. They took my gun, wallet, badge, and keys. I tried to fight but there were too many of them. I was dragged for quite a distance. I remember thinking when they pulled me behind the building that I was probably not going to make it out alive. It was the perfect cover. Nobody around…"

McGee stopped to take a breath. Gibbs merely waited.

"They pulled my clothes off. I was tied face down to the bars of the merry go round. It was surreal. I couldn't really imagine what they wanted. I couldn't process the idea of rape. It was too much…" McGee's chin trembled.

"We can do this later," Gibbs said softly.

McGee shook his head and whispered. "Just give me a minute."

Gibbs waited while McGee rubbed at his face and composed himself.

"I listened for clues: names, places, anything. I heard the name T-bone and I heard the name Rufus. They argued over who would get to beat me first. There must have been six men. I thought they were going to beat me to death with pipes, but they had something else in mind. I've never been beaten with a belt before. I think it was a belt or belts or whips…I don't know. I've never known pain like that before…It became a contest to see who could make me beg, but I wouldn't play…"

Gibbs leaned forward. "Tim, there's no shame in doing what was necessary in order to survive."

McGee's eyes were soft and wet. "I wasn't being brave, Boss. Just stubborn. Always been like that. When I was a kid, I used to stand there like a frickin' statue when I was getting bullied. Never let anyone see a tear until I got home. Make no mistake. I wasn't silent. I screamed plenty. Cursed. I just wouldn't beg."

"How long did it go on?"

"Forever," he whispered. "I passed out a couple of times. Thank God for that."

"And the pipe?"

McGee shook his head. "I woke up and the pain was different. It was indescribable. I thought I was being stabbed. I knew I was dying. Prayed it would be quick. Passed out again. I woke up and someone was fumbling at the ropes on my wrists. It was a kid. African American. Looked to be about ten or twelve. It was dark. Hard to say. He told me to run. Said they would come back. I didn't argue. I just went. Left that child behind. Should never have done that."

Gibbs nodded. "I think I met that kid. He's okay."

"I collapsed on a curb. I woke up and police were there. They loaded me in the back of the cruiser and took me here."

Gibbs worried his lip for a moment. "But you didn't stay. I understand it had to do with your boss killing you if he found out you lost your weapon and your badge."

McGee grimaced. "I wasn't thinking, Boss."

"You remembered me telling you that if you ever lost your badge or gun, you shouldn't bother coming in. I must've said that to all of you a hundred times. I was always worried about it because it meant an automatic suspension. But you had to know that it wasn't worth your life. You had to know that I would fight for you if it ever happened."

McGee grit his teeth and moaned.

"Pain is getting too bad. I can tell." Gibbs stood up.

McGee shook his head. "Let me finish, Boss."

"It's enough, Tim. I know enough now." Gibbs buzzed for the nurse. McGee struggled to remain stoic, but the pain from his many injuries was too much. He held a hand over his mouth, his eyes closed tightly. When a nurse didn't appear immediately, Gibbs cursed and went in search of help.

…..

Gibbs lifted his stiff neck from his arms. The room was blurry and it took a moment for his vision to focus. The clock on the wall said 4:30 a.m. and there was a cold cup of coffee on the table in front of him. He was in a cafeteria. He shook his head and groaned. He'd left McGee's room at 1 a.m. He pushed away from the table and got up. He picked up the coffee and found a microwave near the utensils and napkins. Coffee heated, he headed for the elevator. He was passing the waiting room on McGee's floor when he saw them. Abby was sleeping on a pillow on Ducky's lap while his head leaned against the back of the chair and he snored. Ziva curled up like a cat sleeping in a chair while Tony sat in a chair next to her like a sentinel, his eyes wide open.

"What are you doing here?"

Tony glared at him with bloodshot eyes. "He belongs to us too."

"How are we going to be any good to him if none of us gets any sleep?"

Ducky lifted his head. "How is he?"

Gibbs shook his head. "He's on a lot of pain medication. Not very lucid. I fell asleep in the cafeteria for a few hours. I should go back in."

"I'd like to hear the interview you did," Tony said.

"You will."

"Where is it?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Are you and I going to have a pissing contest I don't know about?"

"I'd do anything for him. He's dorky and loyal and sweet, and I love him like a brother. I will not be kept in the dark about this."

Gibbs sighed and nodded. "Not my intention, Tony. Just don't want to overwhelm him."

Ziva sat up and Abby climbed off Ducky's lap. She brushed the hair out of her eyes, and came over to Gibbs, enveloping him in a hug. "Thanks for taking care of him, Gibbs."

Something about it stabbed his gut and he pulled away. "Really not much I can do."

She searched his eyes. "Timmy believes everything that comes out of your mouth, and I know you'll tell him all the right things so he gets better."

Before he could respond, a howl erupted down the hall. Then a nurse ran by. Gibbs took off after her. He ran into McGee's room after her. McGee was on the ground in his hospital gown, attempting to drag his pants up over his thighs.

The nurse dropped down beside him. "What are you doing, Mr. McGee?"

McGee looked past her to Gibbs, his eyes feverish. "I heard the call out, Boss. I'm just having trouble with these pants. It's like they're on fire. Tony must've done something to them. Just give me a minute. It won't happen again. I promise."

Ducky pushed past Gibbs and knelt beside McGee. "It's okay, Timothy. You don't need your pants right now. They're chafing against your wounds."

"It's a call out, Ducky. Something really bad happened to a guy in a park. We gotta' get there now."

Ducky turned to the nurse. "Call his doctor, please."

She got up and ran out the room. Ducky looked up at Gibbs and the rest of the team assembled in the doorway, faces frozen in shock. "He's hallucinating. It sometimes happens with this much pain medication."

Tim grabbed at Ducky's arm. "He's getting hurt really bad; the kind of bad that you don't come back from. I don't think he can survive it."

Ducky nodded at Gibbs and Tony. "Help me get him back into the bed. He's very fragile. Be careful."

Gibbs and Tony slowly lifted McGee by his arms, and he howled again as his wounds had to stretch again. They carefully leaned him against the bed and rolled him onto it. There was more yelling that subsided to panting. McGee found Gibbs' eyes and shook his head. "I don't think we can get there in time, Boss. It's like a never-ending hell and I wish it would just be over for him."

Gibbs stared at him, speechless.

Tony turned to Ducky. "Is this some weird kind of transference? He's talking about himself in the 3rd person like it's happening all over again."

"It's a delusion. His mind is struggling with the reality of what happened. By externalizing it, he's able to maintain some control. This is the only safe way he can process it."

McGee shook his head. "This pain will never stop, will it? That poor bastard."

Silent until now, Ziva slipped past Gibbs and took Tim's hand. "The pain does stop. It does. I promise."

He fixed his eyes on her and sighed deeply. "Ziva. Thank God you're here. You understand."

Her eyes were wet as she stroked his cheek softly. "I do."

His breathing began to settle. "It's too hard. You know. It's too hard and I remember when you said you didn't want to live anymore."

She nodded. "But you and Tony and Gibbs wouldn't let me give up."

"We should've listened to you."

"But then I would be dead now."

His foggy mind tried to organize it all and a look of distress crossed his face. "No Ziva."

She leaned over and spoke into his ear. "You won't suffer the pain alone. We are here and we will hold on with you until it gets better."

The nurse came back in. "The doctor's on the phone. Can you talk to him, Dr. Mallard?"

Ducky nodded and followed her out. Gibbs leaned against the wall, looking almost as fragile as McGee. "I don't know what I'm doing. You all understand this better than I do. We should take turns sitting with him. He shouldn't be alone like this."

Ziva nodded. "I will stay with him first. We share an understanding. He needs that now."

"Good," Gibbs nodded.

"I'll take over when you need rest," Abby said. The rest of the team looked at her and she sighed. "I know you think I can't handle it but I can. I've learned a lot about handling my emotions. I know how to do this. Besides, Timmy will feel safe with me. I promise."

Tony found a chair in the corner of the room. "I'm not moving from this spot until he's lucid again."

Gibbs looked around the room and felt out of place. "I…uh, should go home for a few hours."

Abby nodded. "Get some rest. We'll take care of him."

….

TBC