A/N: I want to thank Junee and Precious Pup for being such devoted readers. This story hasn't found much of an audience yet, and their support keeps me from second-guessing my direction. If you haven't read Precious Pup stories, you really need to look them up. She has really inspired me. Take care and let me know your thoughts. Sheila

Grand Canyon Deep

Chapter 3

They knew how to be there for one another. They'd gone through so much together over the years. From Kate's death to Gibbs' near death to finding Ziva in that desert in Somalia, they knew about hard times. They'd seen each other scared, angry, and they'd seen each other despondent. They weren't a terribly demonstrative group. Mostly, support on Gibbs' team looked like teasing, jokes, and a shared sense of purpose. This time, support meant standing vigil over McGee.

Ziva was downstairs getting a couple of sandwiches when McGee woke up with clear eyes. Tony didn't say anything to him. He just nodded and waited. For a while, McGee just looked back at him, and it was as the two of them were acknowledging the last eight years together.

Tim grimaced and looked away.

Tony leaned forward. "Need more medication?"

McGee shook his head.

"This is a tough one, isn't it?"

McGee didn't say anything.

"I'm going to have to do all the heavy lifting in this conversation, aren't I?"

"Sarah," Tim mumbled.

Tony closed his eyes. "The two of you almost always meet up on Sundays, don't you?"

McGee nodded.

"I'll call her."

He shook his head. "Go see her. Tell her…I was in a car accident. Tell her I'm okay."

"I hate to lie to her."

"Not ready, Tony. Please."

Tony nodded. "It's your show, Tim. I'll follow your lead."

McGee's eyes reddened. "I really screwed up this time, Tony."

"No, Tim, we're not going to do this. If you go there, then Ziva and I got to torture ourselves about not driving you home and Ducky has to torture himself about getting you drunk."

Tim closed his eyes. "Think the boss will forgive me?"

"I know you can feel how angry he is, but Boss isn't mad at you. He wants to find his T-bone and his crew and drop them off a cliff."

"Wouldn't have happened to you."

DiNozzo screwed up his face. "Have you met me before? Same situation, I would've jumped out of that cab too. You know I would've. Stop acting like you should've been McSuperman. None of us would've been gotten away in Prescott Park in the middle of the night after being jumped by a gang. So forget about it already."

McGee sighed. "Things will never be the same."

Tony shook his head. "No, they won't. They weren't the same after Kate or after Somalia. It's life, Tim. We're never the same after something painful. Doesn't mean we don't grow and move on. That's what is going to happen here too."

A tear ran down McGee's cheek. "Some mountains are too high to climb, Tony."

Tony moved his chair until he was next to the bed. He reached over and captured the moisture with his thumb. "You're not going to climb it alone. Just remember that. Okay?"

His rest was punctuated with angry nightmares, and every hour, he found himself sitting upright, breathing hard. After four hours, he got up and showered. He forced down four pieces of peanut butter toast, reasoning that he would probably forget to eat again any time soon, and drank coffee like it was water.

It made sense to go back to the hospital. He should sit there with the rest of them, and talk in soft tones, waiting for McGee to wake so they could soothe and comfort him, but the rage in his body demanded release. He strapped on his sig, attached a 22 to his ankle and headed out. For a while, he only drove around the park. No good could come out of acting in this state of mind. When inertia threatened an explosion, he pulled over and started walking.

His cell rang several times but ignored it. It was Ducky and then it was Tony. They would know to anticipate his mood. For hours, he walked in the destroyed park, staring down drug dealers and pimps. No one approached him. Predators can always smell other predators, and Gibbs was radiating bad news.

He wanted to pull out the Sig and start demanding answers. He fantasized about grabbing dealers around the necks and ramming them up against the wall, his steely cold eyes inches from theirs while he barked out questions about T-bone, but this was not the time or the place. He undoubtedly would have ended the afternoon with a bullet in his back, leaving him no use to McGee or anyone else.

He'd rounded the 15-acre park for the 3rd time when he saw a familiar face sitting on the parking bench waiting patiently. It set his teeth on edge. He stopped 20 feet away, but didn't greet or acknowledge the man.

"You're scaring off the drug dealers. In the time, I've watched you circle this park, I've seen at least three illegal operations close up for the day. Metro oughta' hire you to take a regular Sunday stroll here."

Gibbs looked off in the distance. "It isn't just dealers and punks. Decent people live around here, and it's a crime that this area isn't patrolled better. I've seen one Metro cruiser in the last two hours."

"They're understaffed and overwhelmed."

"Yeah. Who called you in?"

Fornell shrugged. "First Ducky. Then DiNozzo."

"What do they expect you to do?"

"Be your friend."

Gibbs glared at him. "They tackled him, dragged him behind a building, nearly beat him to death, and when he gets to the hospital, all he can think is that I won't forgive him because he lost his badge and his gun. He goes back to the damn scene of the crime because he's afraid of disappointing me."

"He was in shock."

"He gave a witness statement to me, and I could barely look at him. I feel so damned guilty. Why does he still look like he's 25 years old?"

Fornell got up and started walking the park with Gibbs. "Because his face is as smooth as a baby's bottom."

"No, it's his sweetness. Eight years doing hardcore law enforcement and he's still kind and gentle. He suffers more than the rest of them. They were born for this. They're natural hunters. He has to work at it every day. He does what he does only because he wants to serve justice. He doesn't need it like the rest of us. It's so frickin' idealistic it drives me crazy."

Fornell nodded. "Yeah, that's McGee."

"It was his birthday two nights ago, and I didn't go to his party. I didn't go last year either. I go to all the other ones."

"I've always said you were a bastard."

Gibbs nodded. "And I kind of want him to think that about me. I'm not sure why."

Fornell was eyeing a man holding onto the arm of a young girl. He shook her roughly. "Wanna' beat up a pimp?"

"How about we just shoot him?" Gibbs said. The man looked in their direction and Gibbs pulled out his badge, making sure the gold in his shield caught the sunlight. Man let go of the girl, and she ran off down the sidewalk. Gibbs gestured with his head, and the man slunk away.

Fornell looked at him. "He needs you, Jethro."

"I know. I'm trying as hard as I can. I'm harder on him than I am on the others. You know, Tobias, sometimes, I think I'm trying to toughen him so that he'll survive this work better."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Gibbs sighed. "They don't think I care enough, but the truth is that it's eating me up inside. I really do care about him just as much as I do the others. I need that sweet kid to be okay."

Tobias patted him on the back. "But you won't let anyone know the truth of it. You're a complicated man, Jethro."

His cell rang again and this time he picked it up. "What's going on, Abs?...Okay, I'm on my way. Tell him to stay out of McGee's room."

"McGee okay?"

"McCadden from Metro is there and wants to interview McGee. He could barely get through a statement with me. McCadden needs to hold off."

…..

The coffeehouse was crowded, but she wasn't hard to spot. She was the one sitting alone at the back of the room. She didn't look up from her laptop even when he was standing a few feet in front of her. He smiled. She was such a McGee. "Sarah?"

She looked up at him and panic registered on her face. "Oh God! Tell me he's not dead."

"No! I'm sorry, Sarah. I didn't think. He's okay. Well…he's not great. Uh, he had a car accident, but he's alright."

She deflated. "I called him three times. I didn't worry right away. He gets wrapped up in his writing sometimes, and he doesn't hear the phone. Then I saw you and I thought…"

Tony sat down across her. "He got banged up pretty good. He's going to be at Bethesda for a few more days."

"Has he called Mom and Dad?"

Tony shifted in his seat. "He'd prefer not to bother them just now."

"Yeah, he's like that. Never wants to make a fuss. You sure he's not in danger?"

"Nothing life threatening. I promise you."

"I want to go see him."

"Sarah, can you wait a day? He's mostly sleeping right now. He's on quite a bit of pain medication. I think he can appreciate your presence a little more tomorrow."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're lying to me about something."

"Seriously, it's exactly what he asked me to say. I'm going back. I'll call you if there's anything to know. Promise."

She sat back in her chair. "Something's not right."

Tony looked away. "Sarah, I need you to trust me. Tim is going to be okay. If he were in any danger, I would be pulling you out of here right now. I promise."

"Okay. I'm coming tomorrow right after classes."

He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Good girl! Give him time to feel a little better. He'll be happy to see you."

….

Gibbs found McCadden in a chair outside McGee's room. "DiNozzo told you that I would interview him."

The detective stood up. "I have my own questions."

"He's hopped on medication. Right now, I'm the intermediary."

"Not good enough, Gibbs. McGee isn't Navy personnel. It's not an NCIS case."

Gibbs nodded. "Listen up. He's not lucid. You can't see him."

McCadden got up. "I talk to him tomorrow or I arrest him as a material witness. These are your choices."

Gibbs didn't say anything as McCadden disappeared down the hallway. He wasn't going to be able to protect McGee from Metro. It was, by all rights, their case, and McGee was going to have to suffer the indignities that all crime victims did when forced to share their trauma with strangers.

He got up and opened McGee's door softly. The lighting was dim in the room. Abby was sitting in a chair next to the bed resting her head on the mattress, her hand interlaced with his. She looked up when Gibbs entered. "He's sleeping again."

Gibbs nodded.

Her hair was tied back in a single ponytail, her face clear of all make-up. "He's had a rough day. They're giving him less medication so he doesn't hallucinate, but it means he feels the pain. It's impossible for him to move at all without terrible pain. He's been just miserable. Keeps asking where you are."

He closed his eyes. "I…uh, just…well, I'm here now. I can relieve you."

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving him."

"Abs, you need to rest."

"I'm just fine. Gibbs, this is where I belong…with him."

Gibbs' face softened. "I've waited years for you to say that."

She bit her lip. "It's scary."

He put his hands on her shoulders and massaged her gently. "It's always scary when it's the real thing."

She smiled up at him and he leaned over, whispering in her ear. "Just remember that it's going to take a while for him to feel safe again. He's not going to be McGee again for a while."

She nodded, her eyes wet.

He sat down in a chair in the corner of the room. "How about we both sit with him?"

….

"We have phones now! I know you understand them. I've seen you operate one on numerous occasions. What did you think? Did you think you had the weekend to put him back together and then nobody would have to know?"

Gibbs sat in the waiting room and took it. Usually a fight with Vance had him nose to nose with the man, but there wasn't one damn thing Vance said that he didn't agree with and he was exhausted after a night of McGee howling through his nightmares. He waited until the Director had said his piece. "We need in on the investigation. I need it to be a joint task force. I need Metro to understand that, for now, only my team has access to McGee."

Leon Vance sighed deeply and sat. "The trauma's bad?"

"He had nightmares all night. He's ashamed, embarrassed. He can't let go of the idea that I'm disappointed in him."

"Should I see him? I want to tell him the whole agency's behind him."

"How many work visitors did you want when you were in the hospital after you got shot? He looks bad. Feels helpless. He doesn't want you to see him like this."

Vance nodded. "Yeah. I wondered. Metro's not going to be a problem. The commissioner owes me. I pulled his butt out of a situation about a year ago. The only problem I see is you and your version of vigilante justice. Do not make this a bigger mess than it already is."

"We do this by the book."

"I'm pulling your team from the roster for the time being. I want daily updates, and if he wants to see me, I will be here within the hour. And make no mistake, the minute that boy is on his feet, I'm calling in the Incident Response Team. He's going to need some professional help."

Gibbs nodded. "I should have called you earlier, Leon. I don't know where my head was."

"Well, you look a little traumatized yourself. Might want to think about that some."

…..

"Tony!"

DiNozzo held the elevator for Gibbs.

"How was your day, Boss?"

"Asked Balboa's team to try and track that kid, Devon. They were completely useless. Kept asking me questions about how I wanted them to accomplish that. Ya' give McGee a task like that, and he writes some kind of computer program, and, poof, we find what we need. Balboa's people are amateurs compared to McGee."

"Yeah," Tony said and then gestured to the dark haired young woman next to him. "You remember Sarah. I just picked her up to come and see Tim."

Startled, Gibbs looked around Tony. "Sarah, sorry I didn't see you. How are you?"

She nodded. "Good. I'm in grad school now."

"Writing the next great American novel?"

She smiled. "Poetry right now. I have two published in an anthology coming out in the spring."

Gibbs nodded. "Terrific. Tim will have to tell us where to buy a copy."

"Ah, Boss, Sarah here was asking how long Tim might have to stay in the hospital after his accident."

"Accident?" Gibbs' brow furrowed.

"Yeah, Tim asked me to tell her about the car accident."

Gibbs looked up at the ceiling. The Sarah McGee he'd met all those years ago was far too intelligent to be fooled long by such a story. "I imagine he'll be out in a couple of days. Is McCadden meeting us here?"

Tony turned to Sarah. "We're doing a joint investigation with Metro police regarding the car that slammed into Tim's car…and then sped away."

"Okay. I didn't realize it happened like that." She wore a confused expression on her face. "The reason I'm asking about his stay is that he hates hospitals. He can't sleep. He must be pretty banged up if he lasted three days here."

The elevator doors opened and they filed out. They found an exhausted Abby resting her head on Bert outside McGee's door. She popped open a green eye when she heard them approaching.

"Is the doctor in with McGee?"

"No, Detective McCadden is."

"What!" Gibbs pushed through the door. Tony gestured for Sarah to wait before following on his heels.

McCadden was sitting next to McGee's bed when Gibbs accosted him. "I thought I told you to stay away from McGee!"

McGee looked up, still lying on his side. "Boss, calm down. I invited him in."

McCadden stood up. "Yeah, McGee here thought it was a good idea to actually collaborate with the police unlike his boss and his partner."

"We were just going over my story. I'm afraid it was so dark that I'm not sure I can identify anyone in a lineup, but I'm willing to try."

Gibbs shook his head. "Tim, I wanted to protect you from having to share the story too many times."

"You didn't want me to be humiliated and I appreciate that, but I guess I'm going to get used to it because from now on, I'm always going to be that stupid, drunk NCIS agent that got brutalized in Prescott Park."

Gibbs softened. "It's not going to be like that."

Tim sighed. "I want to go home."

"Ducky will talk to your doctor."

"I just need a bottle of pills, and then I can go home and be alone. That's what I want!"

"Not going to happen like that, Tim!"

McCadden's eyebrows rose. "Okay, I have a statement now so I think I'll go. Look forward to working with my NCIS buddies. What say we meet up in the morning and compare notes?"

"Our house: 8 a.m." DiNozzo growled.

"Sure, you just let me know when the actual collaborating starts. In the meantime, I'll just deal with you treating me like one of your probies." He stomped out before anyone could respond.

McGee frowned. "Why are you treating McCadden like that?"

"Did you know that two years ago he said I deserved a better geek than you?"

McGee screwed up his face. "Are you kidding! You insult me worse most days of the week."

"It's different 'cause you're my friend, probie, and partner," Tony said and then frowned at his own response.

Gibbs gestured. "Sarah's here. Are you sure you don't want her to know the truth?"

"What I tell my sister is my business, Boss."

"You're right about that."

McGee winced. "I'm not very patient right now. I'm sorry. I just want to go home. I don't like hospitals. When I was kid and I had my car accident, I had to be in the hospital for over a month. I really hated it."

"You're not ready to go home. You can't even sit up."

McGee closed his eyes. "Please help me convince Abby to go home for the night. She's exhausted and I'm really not a nice guy right now."

"I'll stay with you tonight."

Tim shook his head. "No Boss, you go home too. I really just want to be alone, and since I can't have that, I'll let Sarah babysit. It'll be nice to spend time with someone who doesn't know what happened."

"You sure?"

"Please."

"Okay, Tim. You call the shots."

McGee sighed. "If only that were true."

Gibbs studied him. McGee was definitely lucid but frustration and anger were taking over. Combine that with the pain and the trauma, and McGee was hardly the same man they knew a mere four days ago. "I'll send Abby in to say good-bye."

McGee nodded.

DiNozzo cocked his head. "I'll stay if you want to talk. You can be as crabby as you want and it won't bother me a bit."

"Take a raincheck? I feel trapped right now. Not good for anyone."

"You think Sarah can take it?"

"You've never seen her in a bad mood before. Trust me. She can handle my mood."

The door opened and Abby crept in, wearing a frown. Tony kissed her on the cheek and left. "You don't want me here anymore?"

Tim reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "I just want you to rest. You need a break."

"It's not something I did?"

"The only time in the last couple of days that I've felt good is when I've see your face."

She leaned over and buried her face in his neck. "Then I'll stay."

He shook his head. "I need space, Abs. I'm so mixed up inside. I need time to think."

She leaned forward, her face inches from his. "Don't push us away."

His mouth twitched but he said nothing. Finally, she sighed and stood up. "I'm going to be back here in the morning, and I don't care if you want to see me or not. You hear me?"

…..

His cell rang and he instinctively looked at the clock. It was 6:30 a.m. Gibbs cursed and sat up. The events over the last few days had worn him down and now he'd overslept. He planted the cell on his face. "What?"

"It's Sarah, Sarah McGee." He could hear ragged, panicked breathing. "Tim didn't have a car accident, did he?"

"Where are you? What's happening?"

Her voice shook. "I'm at Tim's apartment and I think I made a terrible mistake. Can you come?"

TBC