"Maybe he's sick?"

McGee rolled his eyes, then wished he hadn't. He was currently half-drunk and half-hungover, which wasn't the way the recovery process was supposed to go. He took another sip of his tea before answering the Goth pacing his floor. "If Gibbs was sick and in hospital, he wouldn't be on his way to pick me up."

Abby nodded and continued pacing, agitated. "You're sure he said it was personal?"

Tim nodded slightly, still cautious of moving his head too much out of fear of dizziness or nausea. He had overdone it last night, on so many levels. He would never, ever have betrayed Tony if he was sober. What he had with Abby wasn't worth it. They were friends, good friends. For a while he had been happy when they had dated, but Abby had even more commitment issues than Tony and eventually her cold shoulder had put barriers between them. They had played around together since, but never while McGee was seeing someone else. He felt like such an asshole.

"Maybe he was just saying it to lure me into work," the field agent said with a shrug. "I hope not, though. I have to sort things out with Tony."

"Look on the bright side," Abby said, approaching his side and patting him on the shoulder. "At least if it is work you'll have a chance to talk to Tony and you won't be stuck leaving messages on his answering machine."

"What if Tony skips work? Takes time off or something?"

Abby arched an eyebrow at him. "Tony DiNozzo? Skip work? You do know your boyfriend, right?"

Tim sighed. "Yeah, I do. That's why I'm so worried. He trusted me, Abby. He sort of trusts all of us, but I'm the first person he's really trusted with...with his heart. I'm worried that this could leave him hurting for a long time. I was supposed to show him that it was okay to let people in, but I might have just done the exact kind of damage that he's been shielding himself from all these years."

"Timmy, Timmy, breathe." Abby provided an example, breathing in deeply and moving her hands up and down in time with her breaths.

McGee pushed away his teacup so that there was room for him to rest his arms on the table and press his face down against them. If anyone else had done this he knew he would be judgemental and self-righteous about it. He had never thought himself capable of something so hurtful. A cutting comment, a harsh prank, those things were just about within his limits. He had been cheated on before and knew how much it stung, how much it made you doubt yourself. He didn't like to think about Tony feeling that way, especially because of him.

A knock on the door made him raise his head slightly. Abby patted him reassuringly on the back. "That'll be Papa Bear. I'll get it."

McGee rubbed his face as she bounced away and tried to look like he hadn't been drinking all night, having sex with Abby and then trying not to cry about hurting the person he was supposed to be having sex with. Even with Gibbs' investigative skills, Tim thought he might be safe. That was one hell of a story to guess from a man's facial expression.

"Hey Gibbs," Abby said cheerily as she opened the door. McGee envied her ability to be bright and bubbly at a time like this. Tony could do the same thing, don a mask and act like the world was full of opportunities. "So what's going on?"

"Abby," Gibbs said by way of greeting, for once not sounding happy to see her as he stepped into the apartment. "I didn't know you were here."

"Me and Tim were just hanging," she said with a nonchalant shrug.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at that. She hadn't sounded so convincing that time. "Well since you're here, I suppose I should tell you both together. Sit down, Abs."

She shook her head, pigtails flailing around her head. "No, I'm good."

"Abby, sit."

The Goth's smile vanished and she walked over to where McGee was hunched over his computer desk, sitting down on the floor beside him with her legs crossed. Gibbs was wearing a serious look, more so than usual, and it gave Tim the feeling that something was very wrong. "Boss, what's going on?"

The former Marine sighed heavily and ran a hand back through his silver hair. "It's Tony."

McGee suddenly felt a wave of sickness stronger than any he'd known that night. His Tony, oh god, what had he done? Tim couldn't even ask for details because he couldn't make his voice work.

Beside him, Abby exploded into panic. "Tony?! What's happened to him?! Oh god, oh god, oh god, McGee we've killed Tony!" The tears that had only just become dormant woke up again with the extra bad news and flowed down her cheeks. "I knew he'd do something stupid! Oh god, I don't care how much we drank, we should have gone after him!"

She was tugging at her hair and Tim felt too numb to stop her this time. Luckily Gibbs stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. "Abs, Abs, shush, what the hell are you talking about?"

"We killed him!" She pretty much shrieked in response. "We never meant to, it was an accident, we were drinking and we got carried away and we never meant to hurt him but he caught us, Gibbs!" Her words were choked by sobs, but McGee could see by the narrowing of their boss' blue eyes that he could hear her perfectly. "He saw us," she whimpered, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. "And he ran off to his car and drove away. We couldn't...couldn't follow him because we were drunk..."

Gibbs let go of her, bringing his strong arms back to his sides. He had clearly decided that she deserved no comforting hug at this point. "He was in a car accident," the man said coldly. "Could have died."

"You mean he didn't?" McGee asked, feeling like he'd just fallen off a cliff but been caught by angels.

"Would that have made things easier for you, McGee?" Gibbs asked in a venomous voice. He was looking at the pair of them as though they were a couple of agent-killing terrorists.

"No!" Tim jumped to his feet, uncaring of the dizziness. "I love Tony! One mistake doesn't change that!"

"Well it's sure as hell changed things for Tony!" Gibbs yelled back. "He hasn't regained consciousness since the crash, he could have brain damage!"

"I'm gonna be sick," Abby whimpered, running off to the bathroom. Neither man made a move to check on her.

"I love him," McGee repeated. "He means the world to me. Getting drunk and fooling around with Abby doesn't make that any less true, it just means I'm an idiot."

"You got that right," Gibbs growled. "I've known DiNozzo nearly six years and I have never seen him as happy as he was with you. How dare you throw that back in his face for a night with the woman you left years ago!"

"I told you," Tim hissed, getting angry, "it was a mistake!"

"And now Tony's paying for it!" Gibbs yelled over the sound of Abby's retching. "He loved you and it's left him unconscious in a hospital bed!"

"Then take me to see him!" McGee shouted back.

"I'm not sure I should," Gibbs replied, quieter than before but still firm and disapproving. "He probably won't want to see you."

"If he's unconscious, he won't have to," Tim said, his voice quaking slightly at the thought of it. It always scared him so much when Tony was out cold. "I need to..." He struggled to get some strength back into his voice. "I need to see what I've done."

"Me too," said Abby, walking unsteadily out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth. "We're responsible for this."

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, you are." He turned away and began to walk towards the door. "You'd better both sit in the back of the car. I don't want to look at either of you."

Abby sniffled a little and reached for McGee's hand to comfort him.

"And if you touch one another, I swear I will shoot you."

Abby snatched her hand back and they followed Gibbs out into the very early morning.

The drive to the hospital was devoid of conversation, mainly because Gibbs replied to every question with either "You'll find out soon enough" or "I am this close to shooting you". Abby cried some more while McGee thought about what he could say when Tony regained consciousness.

Once at Bethesda, Gibbs led the pair through to the room where Tony was recovering. Ducky was still sat with the unconscious younger man, telling him some story about a friend of his who had driven their pedal-bike into a bus and had both arms put in plaster.

"...It was a sight to see him lift a pint glass, I'll tell you," the doctor was chuckling. He glanced up as his friends arrived. "Ah, you see Anthony? I told you Gibbs would bring Timothy along for you. And Abby as well..." the doctor's face fell. "Oh dear, don't cry, sweet girl..." He rose from his seat and went to the Goth, who had fallen apart again at the sight of Tony's battered body. The bruises were nasty, reaching their peak of colour.

"She should cry," Gibbs said casually, his eyes on Tony's body. "This is her and McGee's fault."

"Jethro, how can you say that?!" Ducky snapped.

"Step outside with me and I'll tell you. Abby, you come too. Let's give McGee a minute to examine the consequences of his actions."

"Jethro..." Ducky admonished again.

"Outside, Ducky."

The three stepped out of the room. Tim heard the door click shut behind them, but didn't watch them leave. His gaze never left Tony's form. He looked at the bruises and the bandages, then he caught sight of the stitches.

Taking up Ducky's previous seat, McGee leaned down onto the bed, peering closely at the delicate wires threaded through the skin of Tony's head. His stomach was churning, as it always did at this sort of thing, but he owed it to Tony to take a good long look. This was his fault. He didn't doubt that Tony's emotional state had caused the crash.

His fingers were almost touching the cut, but he pulled back. "Tony, I'm so sorry," he said quietly. Saying the words out loud made him even angrier with himself because they were so insufficient. He'd have to do more than say sorry to earn Tony's forgiveness. He had no idea what, but he would have to make amends. Somehow.

Tim leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to Tony's still lips.

"You have to wake up, Tony," he said quietly. "Everyone's worried. Besides," he tried to smile, "I've got a lot to make up for. We were doing so well. I never thought I'd be the one to mess this up." McGee sighed. "Just wake up, okay? The forgiveness and the grovelling can come later, just wake up." His hand, which held Tony's, was trembling. "I... I want to see you smile," he confessed. "I don't even care if it's in my direction. You have to wake up. Please." He pressed another kiss to Tony's lips and settled back in the chair to wait. People had car crashes every day. Tony had woken up from far stranger things. Tim just had to wait and plan his apology.

*

Abby thought that Gibbs' reaction, though it wasn't as bad as it could have been, was as bad as it was going to get. She hadn't expected to see Ducky look at her like he was doing at that very moment. His gaze was so cold it made her shiver. She was getting her fair share of disappointed looks that evening. Ducky was always so kind and gentle that his displeasure and disgust hurt even worse than Gibbs', since the former Marine was gruff with most people.

"I thought Tony was your friend," the Medical Examiner said disbelievingly. "How could you do such a thing?"

"We were drunk, Ducky," Abby pleaded. "You think I don't want to go back in time and change it? Even if Tony wasn't hurt I'd feel guilty as hell! We just weren't thinking!"

"Obviously," Gibbs muttered. He turned to Ducky, who was still giving Abby a look usually reserved for despicable criminals. "Has he had those scans yet, Duck?"

The older man nodded with a sigh. "The doctors are getting the results through and examining them now. I've offered my assistance with..."

"GIBBS!"

The three of them flinched at the loud interruption and Gibbs turned away from Abby and Ducky to deal with the irate Mossad liaison marching towards them. Ziva flicked her dark hair over one shoulder. She looked at Abby's tear-streaked face, Ducky's concerned expression, then finally fixed her glare on Gibbs. "Where is Tony?"

Gibbs reached out a hand to her shoulder, more comfort than he'd given Abby since finding out the truth behind what had happened. "Ziva..."

The Israeli woman batted his hand away as though it offended her. "Did you think I would not recognise his car because it was so wrangled?!"

"Mangled," Abby whispered.

"I don't care!" Ziva screamed, frustrated. "The police said he was here. Why was it the police who informed me, Gibbs?!"

"It should have been me," Gibbs nodded.

"It should have been..." Ziva trailed off, her anger slightly mollified by Gibbs' admission. "Yes. It should have. Where is he?"

"He's with McGee," Gibbs said quietly.

"Oh." Ziva bit her lip. "I suppose McGee is a more important visitor." She nodded to herself. "I can wait until he is ready for more visitors." She frowned then. "He is conscious, yes?"

The three of them shook their heads. "No," Ducky said quietly, "Not yet. But the doctors are optimistic."

Gibbs put his hand on her shoulder and this time Ziva let him. "Come on," he said gently, "I'll take you to him and you can tell me about the scene of the accident."

Whenever anyone said the word 'accident' Abby cringed. It made her want to scream that it wasn't an accident, her and McGee had made it happen and they ought to be locked away – separately – until Tony said they could be released.

"I do not want to interrupt McGee's time with him," Ziva said. "I will wait."

"Trust me," Gibbs said, "McGee's had more time with DiNozzo than he deserves. When you've told me about the scene I'll bring you up to speed, but you have to promise not to kill anyone."

Abby shuddered as Gibbs led the Mossad agent off to Tony's room.

"Do you think she'll kill me?" Abby asked Ducky nervously.

The M.E just shrugged as though it was irrelevant then walked off in the direction of Tony's room. His unusual silence was worse than the disappointment and Abby curled up on one of the plastic seats and wept.

*

Another eventful hour passed before Tony awoke. Ducky had the privilege of being sat by his side when consciousness finally arrived. Everyone but Abby had been there moments before, but then Jethro had told Ziva the full story and now he was trying to prevent her from leaving Abigail and Timothy in the same state that Tony was in.

He had been regaling young agent DiNozzo with the story of a friend from his first year at University who claimed to have been abducted by aliens, when Tony murmured his name.

"Ducky?"

Immediately the old doctor was checking his pupils. "Anthony, my dear boy, you've had us all so worried."

"What happened?" the senior field agent sounded tired and dehydrated, but coherent.

"You lost your car, I'm afraid," Ducky said, smiling gently down at him. "It wasn't all that old either, was it?"

"I crashed?" Tony asked, still blinking from the light in the room. "I don't remember that."

"What is the last thing you do remember?" Ducky asked, frowning. They had just been through this with Jethro, he wasn't bloody having it again. At least Tony had recognised him, which meant some long-term memory remained intact.

"Uh..." Tony frowned at the white bedcovers as he thought it over. "I was putting in some late hours..."

"Again..." Ducky said disapprovingly. The boy never got any sleep.

"Yeah..." Tony chuckled. "I gotta keep my edge, Ducky." Then he turned serious again. "I got in the car... Was going to see McGee..." His frown deepened, then he winced as though in pain. "That's all I can remember." Then he gasped. "McGee! I was going to see him! He doesn't know where I am!"

Ducky put a hand on Tony's chest to stop him sitting up. "Easy, easy. He knows you're here."

Tony's lips moved into a pout. "Then why isn't he here?"

"He stepped outside for a moment. He has been sitting faithfully by your bed." Ducky mentally kicked himself for using the word 'faithfully', but the tactlessness was lost on Tony.

"Could you get him for me?" Tony asked pleadingly, using what the others referred to as his 'puppy-dog eyes'.

"Of course," Ducky agreed, rising his aching bones from the chair and wandering out of the room. He closed the door gently behind him and walked down the corridor in the direction of the multilingual swearing.

Gibbs was standing between Ziva and Abby to try and prevent any casualties. McGee was holding a hand to his cheek, which was unusually red.

"Ziva, just calm down. You promised me..."

"Gibbs, they could have killed him! They know that Tony is tremendously insecure yet they smeared their relationship in his face!"

"Rubbed, not smeared," Abby corrected.

"Do you want to die, Abby?!" Ziva cried.

"Tony is awake," Ducky announced to them, turning the scene into a tableau vivant. "I am going to fetch a doctor, but in the meantime he has requested Timothy." He was aware he had spoken the young agent's name in a rather displeased tone, but considered it well-deserved.

McGee stopped rubbing his sore cheek and sighed. "Guess it's time to face the music."

"Not necessarily," Ducky said grimly. "Tony appears to have no memory of your disgraceful indiscretion. He claims his last memory is leaving the office."

"He's got amnesia?" Jethro asked, concern filling his voice. After all, he was still only just about recovered from his own memory problems.

"It seems so," Ducky replied. "I don't know the full extent of it, I want to have him examined by his doctor. The man's very competent, I hold him in the highest regard."

"He doesn't remember what we did?" Abby asked from her seat, sounding shocked.

"No," Ducky said. "And I won't be the one to tell him."

"Does he need to know?" McGee asked quietly, wilting a little under the glares of everyone except Abby. "I mean...it might be too stressful for him at this point."

"You damn coward," Gibbs growled. "I should have you pulled from my team."

"Unfortunately..." Ducky wanted to bite his tongue and let Jethro force Timothy to do the right thing, but the 'right' thing to do was not necessarily what was best for Anthony at that moment. "...despite McGee saying that as an excuse for his spinelessness, he may be correct. The human mind can be a very fragile thing. Let me speak with his doctor before we make any foolhardy decisions."

"And know that if Tony gives the words," Ziva pointed at McGee and Abby in turn, "I will make your lives hell."

"What makes you think I haven't been there and back, seeing Tony in that state?" McGee snapped. "I'm going to talk to him and hope the sight of me doesn't trigger a flashback or something."

"Good luck," Abby said, still quiet and withdrawn in the corner. Ducky almost felt sorry for the girl, but thoughts of Tony's stitches reminded him that she deserved to carry the guilt for at least a little while longer.

*

Tony was feeling around himself when McGee arrived. Not in that way. He was checking out the various bumps and bruises he'd got in his car crash. When he sat up the pain in his ribs had almost sent him crashing back down again, but after a few slow, agonising breaths it faded to an acceptable level. That was when he noticed the persistent ache in the upper thigh of his left leg. Prodding it led to another explosion of ow. But he could move the leg, so it couldn't be a break. The same couldn't be said of his right wrist, which he couldn't move at all. A couple of fingers could be wiggled, but not without pain. There was a sort of splint holding the arm in place and there were some worrying bandages around the wrist. He pulled at them and saw the stitches underneath. Owch. He was glad he couldn't remember getting that. Or any of the ugly bruises.

He sighed deeply. Another hospital stay. They should start putting his name on one of the gowns and keeping it in the closet for him. He should at least have a parking space reserved outside. Tony ran a hand through his hair and hissed when his palm snagged on something. Feeling a chill run through him, he began gingerly touching the side of his head. More stitches. That explained the headache. They'd shaved some of his hair too. Damn.

Tony suddenly had a small panic. Stitches and bruises everywhere, he must look terrible! Did he want McGee to see him like that? He looked around for a mirror so that he could judge the damage, but there wasn't a reflective surface to be found. Before he could struggle out of bed and find a restroom with a mirror, McGee entered the room. Tony noticed the redness of his cheek immediately. "What happened to you?" he asked curiously.

Tim raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that my line?" he asked with a small, forced smile. He wandered over and sat in the seat that Ducky had just vacated. "You're the one in a hospital bed."

"Yeah, apparently I've lost the ability to drive," Tony said with a groan. "Still, could have been worse." It could always be worse.

"It really could have," McGee agreed in a slightly shaky voice. "You had me so scared, Tony. You were unconscious for hours. They were doing CAT scans, and..." McGee met his eyes and Tony was worried by the strange expression in them. "You know I love you, right Tony?"

"Sure, Probie," he replied, not hesitating to use the nickname that had ceased to be an insult and had become a pet-name. "I love you too, you know that."

McGee smiled and let out a sigh, as though deeply relieved that a car accident hadn't somehow stopped Tony from loving him. "That's great. I..." he trailed off, leaning in for a kiss instead, which Tony welcomed warmly. The kiss wasn't prolonged, just enough to comfort the two of them. Then McGee was staring down at him again as though the danger wasn't over. "When Gibbs told me there'd been an accident, my mind went to dark places. I was so worried. I was begging you to wake up and smile again."

Tony beamed, showing off his shiny teeth. It was his biggest smile, his 'aren't I the cutest?' grin that he used to endear people to him or piss them off, with no middle ground. It was a 'love me or hate me' smile. Sure enough, it turned McGee's frown upside down, though his eyes were still sad. Then Tony realised there might have been a reason for the lingering misery. Something they weren't telling him.

"Did I hurt anyone else?"

Tim was staring at him but not quite meeting his eyes, like he was looking slightly to the side of...oh. Of course. He was looking at the ugly stitches. Tony fought the urge to cringe. At Tony's anxious question, McGee snapped his eyes back to look at Tony's. "No! Oh, no, Tony, no." Then he frowned. "Actually... I never asked." Tim winced at the admission. "But Ziva should know."

"Ziva? How come?" What was Ziva even doing here? Gibbs was his listed contact, McGee was his boyfriend. He wouldn't expect anyone else to come down here just because he'd been an idiot. Maybe she was there to observe the irony, since he had made so many comments about her driving skills in the past. He liked to think she wouldn't be so cruel, but wouldn't put it past himself to make a crack like that if the roles were reversed, so why should she be too moral about it?

"Gibbs had her checking the scene of the accident, just to make sure," McGee said. There was something in the way he was speaking, the way he was looking away all the time... It was making Tony uneasy.

Before he could question it, Ducky walked in with a doctor that Tony didn't recognise. "Anthony, this is Doctor Williamson. He's been looking after you."

Tony went to wave, belatedly remembering with a wince that he needed to become left-handed. The doctor noticed his pain.

"Be careful of that wrist," Doctor Williamson said, a bit late for Tony's liking. "You've got a broken wrist and a nasty cut. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was in a car crash," Tony replied dryly. He hated this part, the prodding and poking and questions from people who nagged because it was their job, not because they cared.

"Do you want some painkillers?" the doctor offered. "Your body has taken a lot of punishment this morning."

Tony grinned cheekily and cast a glance at Tim. "Not the first time," he said with a wink.

McGee blushed, embarrassed by Tony's lack of inhibitions. The two of them had decided though, back when they'd first embarked on this crazy road together, that they weren't going to hide from anyone. They were strong enough to take everyone's reactions and they had a lot of people supporting them to help. Didn't mean Tim was comfortable with Tony making references to their bedroom experimentation, mind.

Ducky shook his head fondly. "I'm afraid Tony will refuse medication, Doctor Williamson. He's very stubborn."

The doctor smiled slightly at that. "Well, I won't have it said that I'm pushy. As long as Agent DiNozzo realises he can have something for the pain at any point."

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Tony lied with a smile. His head was killing him. "I've worked with worse."

Predictably, his head was the first thing the doctor chose to examine. "I'm afraid you won't be back at work just yet," he said as he shone a light into Tony's eyes. "You have some memory loss. Now, while it's normal to lose the immediate time around the accident, Doctor Mallard says you've lost more than that."

Tony peered past the doctor at Ducky, who was looking grave. "How much?"

Gibbs strode into the room, Ziva and Abby behind him. "Your car was pretty far from the Navy Yard, DiNozzo. If the last thing you remember getting in the vehicle, you've lost a while."

"Oh." Tony didn't like that. Not one bit. Anything could have happened and now it was gone. Still, at least he hadn't lost a whole fifteen years like the bossman. An hour at worst. He'd lost more than that on some wild nights out.

"Tony was worried there might have been someone else in the accident," McGee said, looking up at Ziva. "I never asked, so..."

"No," she said firmly, her arms folded. "Tony swerved to avoid a truck and went over the hillside. I have spoken with the driver."

Tony frowned, the movement making his head ache more. "Why was I avoiding a truck? Someone must have been at fault."

Ziva's jaw clenched for a fraction of a second. The only way Tony ever knew when she was bluffing. It didn't always happen, it depended on her mood. But when he did see that little twitch of the cheek he knew that she was about to be less than truthful. "I assume it was the poor visibility of the area. The police had already messed off most of the scene, so there was little evidence to clarify what happened. I do believe it was an accident though."

Tony smiled. "You mean 'messed up'."

She smiled back. "Thank you."

And if that reaction didn't convince him something was up, the awkward silence of the room would have clued him in. No jokes he made could lighten anyone up, though there were vague attempts at smiles. He didn't doubt they were happy to see he was alright, but there was something they weren't telling him. He was sure of it.

"Is something wrong?" he asked eventually, sick of the facade.

"You mean aside from you being in a hospital bed?" Gibbs asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. Everyone seems really...grr."

"Well it's really early," Abby said with a weak smile. "Plus some of the people here are 'grr' anyway as a matter of habit."

"You expect me to believe everyone looks like someone died because it's early?!" Tony snapped at the Goth woman. He didn't believe that for a second. Did she think he was stupid?

He noticed everyone was staring at him. "What?" He asked nervously. Thinking on what he'd just said, he had to admit he had been a little snappy. "Sorry." He moved to rub at his face with his hand, but a shooting pain reminded him to use his left. "Tired."

"I think Agent DiNozzo needs some rest," Doctor Williamson said diplomatically. "One visitor maximum today."

"McGee," Tony said quickly, looking towards his lover for agreement.

"Sure Tony," Tim said, his smile seeming more genuine by the minute. "I'll stay."

Gibbs patted him on the cheek and told him not to do anything stupid. Ziva took his hand and swore that she was only a phone call away if he needed her, which was strange. Ducky promised to check in on his progress later. Abby tried to hug him, but he struggled away.

"I'm hurt, Abs. You'll make it worse if you squeeze me like Bertie the damn hippo."

She looked slightly upset. Tony had never rejected one of her hugs before. But he did hurt and he wasn't in the mood for Abby's emotional displays. He knew she meant well, but he just didn't want to deal with it.

Once she had left, wishing him well, it was just Tony and McGee left in the room. That was far more relaxing. As Tony settled down on the bed, McGee stroked his hair where the stitches weren't in the way.

"I didn't think I'd be able to do this again," Tim said softly as his gentle fingers soothed Tony's headache.

Tony smiled and closed his eyes. Maybe that's all it was. He'd just frightened everyone with another close-call. No big secret, no cover up, just paranoia from the concussed guy. Yeah, that sounded far more plausible.

He sank into sleep, counting himself lucky not just for seeing another day, but for seeing it with Tim.