Disclaimer = I OWN NOTHING
Nell could hear voices in the blackness. They were not ones she could place in her mind, or even speaking a language she could understand, but she listened anyway. She wondered what had happened, why she could only see darkness, why she could not move.
"Help! Please." She tried to speak, but could not tell if any sound had come from her mouth, or even if her lips had moved. So she tried again, and again. Then it dawned on her,
Is this what it is like to die, am I dead?
She pondered this thought for a while, but the more she thought the more she became aware that her head was pounding.
This can't be death, she thought, or I wouldn't feel any pain.
Slowly, after what felt like hours, things became clearer. The voices became sharper, now speaking English, but still to muffled for her to understand the words. Her vision was beginning to clear, and she was aware of the whiteness that surrounded her.
Oh god, I'm in a hospital.
She pondered that thought, wondering how in the world she had managed to land herself there. The memories were coming back, but slowly. She remembered bits and pieces, like Eric's face, Callen asking her to read the victim list, names, LAX going up in flames on the screen. But nothing yet that could have put her in a hospital, until…
"Miss Jones?" a voice interrupted her thoughts, damn! I almost had it. "My name is Nurse Lily, I'm going to take your hand and I would like you to squeeze it if you can hear me. OK?" Nell felt a hand grab her own, then she squeezed. Nurse Lily let go of her hand and continued to speak. "Very good, now your vision is probably a little blurry right? That's normal, but I'm going to take you off some of your anaesthesia in a little and it should clear up. For now though I want you to try and sleep so we can ease you off it ok?"
Nell could only assume the nurse had left the room, because she didn't hear any more from her. But she did what was asked and shut her eyes. After only a few minutes she felt sleep take over, filling her mind with a dreamless sleep.
Eric paced absently around the brightly lit waiting room. Waiting room, he thought in disgust, they should call it the room of nervous wrecks. The last he had heard was that his partner was in surgery for a fractured skull, with a concussion to boot. But it had been 8 hours and he had heard nothing, it was driving him mad.
The rest of the team had been there as well, Callen, Sam and Hetty having driven over as soon as the ambulance had taken Nell, along with Eric, to the hospital. Kensi and Deeks had also come, once they were done at the airport. But only Hetty was there with him now, and was currently sitting quietly reading some magazine in a crazy language Eric couldn't name. The others had left, either to work on the case or get food.
"Nell Jones?" a doctor appeared, calling out the name into the full room. It only took the two NCIS a second to reach him, both looking anxious and worried.
"That would be us." Hetty stated clearly, she didn't seem shaken up by this odd turn of events, but, Eric admitted to himself, this was Hetty Lang they were talking about, nothing rattled her.
"You are family?" The doctor asked, stating he could only reveal a patient's status to family members.
"Close enough" The small woman gave him her 'Hetty look', which could be quite intimating Eric found.
"Well then…" The doctor looked down at his clipboard. "Miss Jones has suffered a concussion, along with a fractured jaw and skull. She has been out of surgery for two hours and is doing well; we are planning to wake her up fully in another three. But first, I have a few questions I would like to ask. First, Miss Jones does not have a next of kin listed on her form, is there anyone we can contact?" Eric looked at Hetty, who in turn looked at him. He shrugged; he had never really asked her about that… something he regretted now.
"No, there is no one else." Hetty replied, certainty filling her voice.
"OK then, next, do you have any idea what caused her injuries? You have stated that she blacked out and hit her head, but what caused the fainting spell?" This time it was Eric who answered
"There was this picture, of a girl, maybe 15 or 16, who was killed in the blast at LAX this morning. Nell seemed to recognize the girl, and she started crying and shaking. She had me repeat the name and then she fainted… She said something though… um, not a word I recognized." Eric took a minute, trying to remember what his partner had said. "Sesra, I think, or maybe Sestra? It was hard to make out." He looked down at the ground. Damn, I should have paid more attention.
"Thank you, that's all we need to know." The doctor turned around and started to leave the room, but not before Eric called out.
"Wait, when can we see her?" The doctor turned back to face him and answered
"We will let you know when she wakes up."