AN: Hello :) I want to start by thanking you all for reviewing. I tried to reply to all of you (obviously not the guests but I nonetheless appreciate your kind words) but if I somehow missed your review, I am quite sorry! Either way, I am very pleased to see so many people are enjoying my little story and I hope that continues to be the case.
Otherwise... I believe that's all I need to say. There are very slight mentions of McGee's family which came from season 9 so if you haven't seen that, it may be a tiny spoiler but I honestly don't think it's a problem.
A Far Cry From Normal - Part III/IV
Gibbs sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside his youngest agent's hospital bed. It was never a situation he wanted to be in because he had come to see them all as his children. Nothing could ever fill that void left by his wife and daughter but his team came the closest. He hated seeing them in any sort of pain and, looking at McGee, it was evident that the young man's body was ravaged to say the least. He was sleeping now, thankfully, but soon that would end and the pain would become a normal part of his life for the foreseeable future.
Gibbs glanced over to Abby who sat beside him, completely still with concern clearly visible in her red eyes. Immediately after finding out McGee was alive, Ziva had gone out to tell Abby but they had kept her out until Tim was able to give them the girl's location. Gibbs knew she probably hadn't been happy about that but Tim was barely holding onto consciousness at the time so the last thing they need was a hysteric Abby. But when she was finally allowed into the room, she had cried even more, held his hand and then pulled up a chair with no intention to leave. Gibbs, on the other hand, was waiting for Vance to arrive. Even though the Director was contacted immediately after the FBI, Vance apparently also wanted to see McGee with his own eyes. Gibbs understood the necessity; they had all been told their agent was dead, only to find him alive and being treated as a criminal, no less. It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to get over.
"Ah, Jethro and Abigail," Ducky greeted somewhat cheerfully as he entered the room. Gibbs turned around to see the medical examiner looking slightly haggard, but overall relieved. Given that Ducky had first gone to retrieve what was thought to be McGee's body, he had realized the identities had been mistaken about the same time the rest of them did.
"What did you find out?" Abby questioned immediately and stood up but did not leave Tim's side. "Is he okay? I mean, will he be okay because he's clearly not okay right now and…"
"Abby…" Gibbs stated softly, effectively derailing her nervous rambling.
"To answer your question, Abigail, young Timothy has a long road ahead but, should he follow all of the necessary steps, a full recovery can be expected," Ducky stated simply as his eyes wandered to the unconscious man on the bed.
"My, my," he breathed as he began examining McGee. Gibbs knew this was the medical examiner's first real opportunity to fully look Tim over so he completely understood the response. Gibbs imagined that hearing about the injuries were far different than actually seeing them on someone you care about. "What have you done to yourself, Timothy?"
"We believe he wrecked it on purpose," Gibbs answered, unable to contain that scenario that had been playing in his mind ever since he had spoken with the FBI. "It was an empty road, no signs of the vehicle malfunctioning…"
At this point, Abby gasped and exclaimed, "He wrecked it on purpose?! He could have been killed!"
"It' just a theory, Abs," Gibbs replied calmly, motioning for her to sit back down before turning back to Ducky. "Now what exactly did his doctor say is wrong?"
Ducky took a deep breath but before he could get started, Vance entered the room.
"A very good question," he stated simply as he walked in and looked McGee over.
"Damn," Vance breathed. "What exactly happened, Gibbs?"
Gibbs sighed. "All we have are theories right now. The doctor knocked him out after Natalia was found."
"Not that he would have been able to provide you with much information, anyway," Ducky chimed in. When everyone looked at him, he took a deep breath and began speaking slowly.
"Although a full recovery is certainly on the table, Timothy was badly injured in the crash," Ducky stated grimly, his eyes moving between them all. "His injuries indicate that he was not buckled at the time of the incident but was thankfully able to remain in the vehicle. He suffered a concussion, three broken ribs, shattered his collarbone, his arm is broken in two places and swelling around his vocal cords indicated fairly severe whiplash."
Gibbs felt his stomach clench as the list went on and on. He didn't want Tim to have to endure all of the pain that would accompany these injuries for months and maybe even years to come. Especially since McGee had never, to his knowledge, been seriously injured. Gibbs sighed and looked at Abby who seemed to be on the verge of tears once more. Tim was physically broken. They all knew that but hearing it confirmed was not easy.
"They also found some fluid in his abdomen which led to exploratory surgery," Ducky continued after a moment. "They believe everything is patched up and alright down there but their biggest concern is the lung. One of his ribs dislodged enough to collapse is right lung. They have inflated it and are draining the excess fluids, but watching his oxygen levels and ensuring that his lung is healing properly are key to his recovery."
"Oh, Timmy," Abby wailed as she sat back down and grabbed McGee's limp hand. "This isn't right. Not Tim…"
"It's better than the alternative, don't you think Abby?" Ziva asked as she and Tony entered the room.
Tony walked over to McGee and visibly winced. "Ouch," he said quickly as he stared at the younger man's bruised face, "He looks worse."
"Just the bruising running its course, Anthony," Ducky clarified, also easing Gibbs' concerns. He knew McGee was going to be okay, but it didn't hurt hearing it out loud, especially from Ducky. "I assure you – all of you - young Timothy will be just fine with time and care."
"How could this happen, Ducky?" Ziva asked, her eyes still scanning over McGee's body. "How could they truly believe that he was Copeland? Aren't there ways to prevent such mix-ups?"
Everyone watched Ducky now as it was probably something they were all curious about. Gibbs had wanted to hunt down the highest person at this hospital and demand to know how they had made such a mistake.
"The stars aligned," Ducky answered with a small shrug. "It's customary for hospitals to track down a patient's identity when one is not provide or is unclear, but in this case, both men arrived with complete identities and had similar body types. Also, I assume they used O-negative blood during surgery. Had they tried to use type specific, they may have encountered complications if Timothy's blood type is not the same as Copeland's but clearly that didn't happen."
Ducky sighed and place his hands in his pockets. "Add the investigation of a missing child and you have hospital staff more focused on that than double-checking identities. Of course, they would have discovered it eventually but luckily we found out first. I hate to imagine how awful it was for young Timothy to be mistaken for a criminal and unable to physically refute the assumption," he shook his head then and Gibbs found himself thinking the same thing. Tim was far from a criminal and the mere fact that he had gone even five minutes with people thinking otherwise made his blood boil.
"Now, I must be getting back to autopsy to check Mr. Palmer's work so we can close this case and leave it in our past where it belongs. Call if anything changes, Jethro, though I do not imagine it will."
He grabbed his coat and hat before walking over to McGee's bed. "And you rest up, lad. You have done a marvelous job."
Gibbs smiled as the doctor exited the room, knowing that Ducky was one of the only doctors he truly trusted. If he said McGee would be fine, then it was true.
"What did you find?" Gibbs asked his two conscious agents, which made Vance perk up as well.
"A car that looked like it was stuffed in a sardine can," Tony answered grimly, to which Ziva shot him a look.
"It is being towed to the lab," Ziva continued, her eyes glancing over to McGee and Abby a few times. "It was badly damaged but it was as the highway patrol said: no other vehicles were involved and there were no obvious signs of tampering."
"Is it possible that Copeland lost control?" Abby asked, her posture now oddly stiff. She was no longer holding Tim's hand and when she looked at him, she almost seemed scared of him. Gibbs found her sudden change in body language to be odd but he decided to let it go for now.
Tony shook his head and answered, "They don't think so. A crash like that…"
"So one of them forced the accident," Vance stated, his eyes on Gibbs. Gibbs nodded, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing.
"You think McGee did this?" Ziva asked, her eyes on Gibbs and the Director.
"Makes sense," Gibbs replied.
"How does this make sense?" Abby asked as she stood up and gestured to McGee.
"If he did it, he did so to save the girl," Ziva answered softly, trying to calm Abby down.
"He must have known Copeland was just going to kill him and then go back for Natalia," Tony continued.
"And, the accident didn't occur until they got on the empty roadway," Ziva added, filling in details to what was becoming the most likely story. "If McGee wrecked it on purpose, he would have tried to minimalize casualties."
"So Tim wrecked the car to save the girl?" Abby said quietly as she sat back down, her eyes scanning McGee.
"It's a theory," Vance answered, his eyes sharp on each of them. "But, until he wakes up, it is a likely one. Your team has the rest of the week off, unless otherwise needed. Keep me updated," he finished as he left the room.
Gibbs took a deep breath and smiled as he looked around. His team was alive. Worse for wear, but alive nonetheless. Tony was seemingly pretending to be occupied with his phone but glanced at McGee every now and then. Abby remained in her state of vigilance at Tim's bedside while Ziva stood on the other side of the bed, her hand carefully flattening McGee's unnaturally messy hair.
"There," she said happily as she looked at him, "he looks almost normal."
"Throw some headphones on him and put a controller in his hands and then he'll look right at home," Tony laughed from his corner.
"Yeah, minus the huge mask on his face and all of the swelling, bruises and cuts…" Abby mumbled.
The room quieted and the mood fell once again. Gibbs sighed. He knew that Abby had a big heart and simply didn't do well in situations like this. Truth be told, it was oddly difficult for him to see his youngest agent look so fragile and broken. He would never say it out loud but he knew he often kept Tim in the office and not only because he was gifted with computers. Also, McGee had turned out to be one of the best shots Gibbs had seen in a while so it certainly wasn't because he didn't trust Tim in the field. It was simply because Tim was the youngest and, much like Abby, Gibbs had the strong need to be a little more protective over the young man. But now, to think he had sent the agent right into the hands of a killer with no backup was unsettling to say the least.
He knew no one would blame him, least of all McGee, but it didn't change anything.
Still, he had to focus on the fact that they were all alive, including an innocent little girl, and that's what mattered.
"Rise and shine, McSleepyhead," Tony cooed playfully from the bedside chair. He stared down at McGee and frowned. Most of the swelling had gone down which certainly helped his overall appearance even though the bruising was still very visible. Also, the oxygen mask that had basically eaten the kid's face had been replaced with a simple nasal cannula.
Tony turned his head to the side, as though watching McGee from a different angle would somehow change something. The truth was, no matter how many times Ducky and the rest of the medical personnel reminded him that McGee would be okay, Tony couldn't quite ease the concern he felt as each day passed without Tim waking up.
True, it had only been two days since McGee had told them where to find Natalia but it didn't seem right for him to be so alert immediately after the accident and then sleep for days afterwards. He hadn't even woken up when they transferred him to Bethesda.
"Seriously Probie, you're being a little dramatic now," Tony stated as he stood up and began examining the cards and stuffed animals that were placed around the room. He knew the majority of them were from Abby, even the Justin Beiber balloon (which was clearly due to limited choices in the gift shop), but there was an elaborate floral display sent from Tim's grandmother who was currently stuck in some other country due to a snow storm. Otherwise, they had not been able to get a hold of Sarah and, as far as he knew, no one had even tried to reach Admiral McGee.
Tony sighed as he realized Tim really didn't have a strong family but, then again, none of them seemed to. Perhaps that's why they were all so close.
He slowly made his way to the oversized balloon and frowned. He didn't stay up with a lot of the current pop culture but he didn't see what the obsession with Justin Beiber was. And for some reason that completely escaped Tony, he decided to punch the balloon. However, he immediately regretted that decision when the run was suddenly filled with a loud musical outburst.
"Baby, baby, baby, oh…"
"What the?!" Tony said as he grabbed the balloon and squeezed and hit it again, but nothing seemed to quiet it. Finally, after the chorus of the so-called song had run its course, Tony released the balloon carefully. Once he was convinced it was done making noise, he turned around again and stopped dead in his tracks.
Staring back through slightly swollen, but very much open, eyes was Timothy McGee. More importantly, he was doing that thing he did with his eyebrows when he was judging Tony… and that made Tony feel better than he had all day.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he entered the room with a cup of coffee in his hands, "How is he?"
"Awake," Tony replied just as McGee tried to say "Fine," though it really only came out as a croak, followed by a coughing fit.
Tony just stared, suddenly frozen as Tim coughed and his face scrunched up in pain. He was suddenly wishing the younger agent was still asleep. Luckily, Gibbs was not as stationary. Immediately, Gibbs was at McGee's side with ice chips in hand. Moments later, a nurse entered the room and, after doing a quick check and forcing McGee to wear the oxygen mask for another ten minutes, left once again.
Gibbs returned to McGee's side and stared down at him, watching him carefully as the wounded agent slowly moved his hand up to his face.
"Girl?" Tim whispered after pulling the mask.
Gibbs silently replaced the mask and answered, "She's safe."
Tony could see the relief in Tim's eyes and found himself wondering how much McGee actually remembered about the past couple of days.
"I'm assuming she has you to thank for that?" Gibbs asked softly.
Tony watched as McGee opened his eyes again and wearily shrugged with one shoulder.
"Did you wreck your own car? Because if so, I'm going to assume you've been taking driving lessons with Ziva," Tony asked, trying to insert some humor but the reality of the situation kind of ruined the effort. But, slowly, McGee nodded. He then moved the mask again and began talking.
"No choice," he whispered. "Sorry…"
"Don't apologize. There's nothing to be sorry for," Gibbs replied, his hand now lying on top of McGee's head in one Gibbs' rare displays of sentiment. "They have already found two bodies in Copeland's back yard. Both young girls. You saved her."
Tony watched as McGee frowned, clearly upset by the idea of idea of what could have happened. But soon, the muscles in his face loosened and his eyelids began to droop.
"Go to sleep, Tim," Gibbs continued as he stepped away from the exhausted agent.
"Yeah, McSandman," Tony added playfully, "Get even more rest."
Gibbs shot him a look to which Tony smiled in response. He knew McGee could use the sleep but it was still unsettling to see him unconscious so much while looking as bad as he did. It didn't matter, though, because the man in question was already asleep once again.
"So I guess we were right?" Tony asked grimly. "He wrecked it himself."
Gibbs shrugged. "If it was his only choice, then it was a good one. Even if he died, we would have noticed the accident and realized Copeland was connected to the kidnapping."
Tony sighed and glanced at his unconscious partner.
"Yeah, but I don't like the what if's," Tony replied as they stepped outside the room. "I mean… I thought he was…"
"Yeah, I know," Gibbs interrupted, though Tony wasn't sure he would have finished the sentence anyway. It had been hard enough spending that hour or two thinking he had lost his best friend so the last thing he wanted to do was relive it in any way.
But then Tony noticed something that he hadn't seen before… guilt. Gibbs was certainly not the easiest man to read but there were definite signs of guilt and even though Tony knew it was not warranted, he also understood why Gibbs was feeling that way.
"You okay, Boss?"
Gibbs frowned and stared for a moment before replying, "Yeah, DiNozzo."
Tony considered pressing the matter further but ultimately decided against it. Instead, Gibbs turned and walked back into McGee's room with Tony on his heels.
EN: Only one more to go! As always, I hope you liked it and would love to hear from you if you have any comments on the chapter/overall story. Again, thank you for reading and hope you come back for the final piece!
