Forty-eight hours came and left and days drifted by. Tony swam in and out of consciousness through these days, kept down by the strong pain medication and the stronger still pain. Every time he emerged from unconsciousness there was one of his team there, he figured they had gotten some sort of roster figured out. He could hardly bring himself to be his usual positive self, every time he woke up he got a fair punch in the stomach when he got waved at or they mouthed words at him.
He'd seen Gibbs who had hardly looked up from his newspaper before Tony was asleep again. McGee had sat awkwardly in the chair beside his bed, offering him some water and writing down what had being happening with the case. But Tony's mind had been foggy and clouded from the meds and he gave up on reading the information and settled with faking sleep. Abby was the only one he had really seen and communicated with, she had sat on the edge of his bed, rummaging through a skull and cross bones purse to pull out a black pen with a detached zombie head on the top, and a Gothic notepad with black lacy frills on the edges. She hadn't acted like nothing was wrong, nothing had changed or soon it would all work out. She was being realistic, wasn't pressuring him to talk or to plan ahead. She was just being there with him. A comfortable weight on the edge of his bed reminding him that he wasn't alone.
Even Abby couldn't stop the 'what ifs' that were flying around inside his head. He could live with the scars; he would have to- it wasn't as if he would be getting a choice. But deafness, a disability was something he wasn't sure he could handle. How would he watch movies? How would he order a meal at a restaurant? How would he talk on the phone? How he pick up girls? How would he do his job?
They had told him that it was unlikely he would fully regain his hearing if at all. He was now a week into the hospital stay.
'I can teach you sign language' Abby wrote
Tony stared at her in silence.
'My parents are both deaf Tony, I know it might seem like it.. But this isn't the end of the world.'
'But you can see it from here.' Tony replied awkwardly, he hadn't gotten used to speaking aloud and had no idea what his voice sounded like.
'Too loud that time. See what? The end of the world? I bet you can't.' She wrote back, raising her eyebrows at him. She was the only one that honestly told him when the volume of his voice was wrong.
"Not really, I can. It's a world where Gibbs is social and McGoo rides a motorcycle." Tony half smiled back, trying to soften his voice a bit.
'Better. God, that sounds terrifying. Tony I know it seems bad, and it will continue to seem bad for while. But Tony it could be so much worse, you could be dead.' She wrote back before pulling him into a hug. Tony hugged back.
"I'm trying Abbs, you know that." He half whispered into her ear. She pulled back and kissed him on his good cheek. Before leaning back to grab the zombie pen from where she had left it.
'Back to the important stuff- Sister Rosmerta bowled a four in the first round' she started off again while Tony read the words as she wrote them down on the patterned paper, hugging him and explaining her bowling adventures of the week. Half an hour later the haggard daytime nurse swung open the door to Tony's room, announcing on a small whiteboard she carried that is was time to change the dressings and bandages before another dose of pain medication. Tony winced as he read the words and prepared himself for the well known and much feared process. Abby stood back and watched as the nurse began the slow process, Tony lay still and tense as she unwrapped his arms, showing red, blistered, burnt and angry skin. The second degree burns hurt more than the third for Tony due to the reduced sensation. His face and neck hurt the most, and part of his left arm. As soon as the practice was finished the nurse admitted more pain medication which seemed to work immediately.
The nurse left the two alone again and the goth resumed her previous position. Abby sat stroking his bandages while he felt his body relaxing and the pain slowly ebbing away.
"Thanks Abbs" He whispered to her, feeling his eyelids drooping. She smiled down at him and spoke despite him not being able to hear her.
"You will be okay, I know you will."
He looked at her and nodded, knowing somewhere inside him what she had said. She pulled her hands away before rummaging in her handbag once more. Out came a pocket sized stuffed doll that she cradled in her hands. Tony caught sight of a tiny glued on image of his own face with a minute strip of fabric wrapped around it's head, before he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Abby left as soon after, meeting Ducky at the hospital exit.
"Abigail! Jethro told me I might meet you here, tell me; how is our dear patient today?" The doctor said smartly when he noticed the young goth walking his way.
"He's doing like, heaps better. He's gonna get through it Duckster, I can feel it. He made like five Tony jokes today. Like, real ones not the corny fake ones he was doing yesterday."
"They're all corny Abbs, I think you're the only one that actually gets what the hell he is going on about."
The two turned to see McGee strolling in from the car park, he shook hands with Ducky before giving Abby a kiss on the cheek.
"Well I certainly am glad to hear he is doing well, our Anthony certainly is a fighter - reminds me of a lad I one met back in '87. Caught up in some oil production company fire.."
"Sorry to interrupt Duck, Abby- Gibbs and Ziva think they might have found our guy, or girl in this case. Tony's therory was correct - the wife. She'd found out about Milbroader's other wife, Jane Milbroader, she ran the Stillston Lorry sight with her sister - our victim Sarah Stillston. Seems as though Jannet Milbroader killed the wrong sister. Ziva is interrogating her now, we are pretty sure we'll get a confession."
"I'll head back there now and sign those papers. Tony's asleep just so you two know." Abby replied and turned to leave.
"In that case, Timothy you may return with Abigail. I am going to speak to his doctors about when he should be able to return home and the his future treatment. I'll stay with him after that and contact you when he awakens"
The two nodded their thanks and left to return to the office.
