Title: Girlfriend Duties
Author: SplishySplash
Characters: All
Pairing: Tony/Ziva
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: Ziva and Mr. Miami spend Christmas in Switzerland, well that is until Ziva gets a call and has to come home.
"The miles are getting longer it seems, the closer I get to you"
'I'm coming home, to the place where I belong. Where your love has always been enough for me. . .'
Daughtry
Chapter 4: Home
She hadn't been to Switzerland in many years, let alone allowed herself the luxury of skiing down the Swiss Alps with a guy she met in Miami. The new Ziva was apt to more fun activities because she could have fun, not because she was undercover, under orders or in the process of doing something else. Her skiing companion named Russ Calloway, had grown up skiing in this particular region had graciously invited her along and she knew what he expected from her, maybe it was time for it.
The flight was long, but they had hit the ground running with a small stop at the lodge to drop off the luggage he had whisked her up the chairlift to hit a few runs before the sun set completely. Ever the gentleman Russ had ordered a suite with two bedrooms and they both slept deeply from the jetlag and excitement of skiing in the sunset.
The next morning was just as fast pace and it was still very early when they were both on the slopes again. Russ had taught her some tricks, but was surprised when she quickly perfected it was teaching him new things.
"I thought it didn't snow in Israel." Russ asked with an amused smile as they walked into the lodge and they deposited their gear.
She shook her head with a laugh as she pulled her coat. Her hair was matted with sweat under a headband and her cheeks rosy from the cold. "I does not, but it does not mean I have never been skiing. I just haven't been in a long time." She said with a laugh. "And I am a very quick learner."
"Well you would have to be, to be a federal agent." He said with his bright smile. He was tall and strong with light hair, sun bleached from the time he spent on the beach in Miami.
Her smile was coy, she opted out of telling his that her resume included the IDF, Mossad and the fact that she was a trained assassin. She also didn't mention that she kept her weapon close to her at all times. "Well you have some skills for being a journalist." She teased, pulling the headband off her hair before taming it with a tie.
"I am a photographer, thank you." He said with a playful glare. "For the freaking National Geographic and don't tell me you don't know what that is, because I personally gave you one in Hebrew."
Maybe she omitted that she was an American too? Russ was taken by the fact that she was from Israel, something about him taking a tour of the Gaza Strip. It was illustrated in the National Geographic that he had given her and he said it was one of his favorite trips. "Oh right." She played back with a bright smile as they headed up to their suite side by side.
He unlocked their door and they stepped inside of their sitting room, when she turned to face him he had a different smile one she knew well, it was full of lust and she knew what would come next. "So I hope I am not too bold if I tell you that I made reservations at seven at Kronenhalle and it is one of the most famous restaurants in Zurich."
Her heart raced slightly. "I would like that." She said with a smile and looked at the clock. "I better get ready."
He nodded and went into his own bedroom as she went into the other. Slowly she took a deep breath and took her clothes off before stepping into the shower. As the warm water soothed her aching muscles she closed her eyes, she hadn't been on a date and/or slept with anybody in awhile but scolded herself for being nervous because it was something she was very talented in.
She brushed past her nervousness and allowed herself the comfort of the warm water to cover her body. When the water finally ran cold she stepped out of the shower into a room full of steam and full on confidence, all of her insecurities washed down the drain.
In her room hung the navy blue capped sleeved dress that fell to her calves and was 'totally hot' according to Abby. The thought of her friends made her frown, she hadn't thought of them since she had gotten on the plane. After nearly killing Tony for his little prank she had wished them a happy holiday and that was that.
She crossed her room to grab her blow dryer when a small wrapped box fell onto the floor and with a curious frown she bent down to pick it up. Slowly she began to unwrap it, wondering who had slipped it into her luggage without her noticing. She carefully lifted the lid and gasped when she saw the shimmering gold against the light.
It was a charm bracelet.
The bracelet had only three charms on it, one was the Star of David, the Washington Memorial and the other gave away who had hid it into her luggage. The other charm was a small Eiffel Tower, the moment that solidified their friendship. A small slip of paper rested in the box and she gently pulled it out, not to disrupt the bracelet.
The familiar scrawl from Tony almost made her homesick. Merry Christmas Ziva! It was very simple and she smiled, it was so unlike him to just be simple. He probably wrote it when he was in his depression phase.
She glanced from the bracelet to the small digital clock and frowned, it read near five and the restaurant was over forty minutes away. She sat the box down and went into the bathroom and started to try her hair. She was slightly amazed at the thoughtfulness of the gift that he had given her, she had only gotten him the complete Magnum P.I. series per his begging for it.
With her blow dryer plugged into the adapter and into the wall, she started the task of making herself beautiful in hopes to pursue their flirting into something more physical.
Her efforts paid off as her hair fell into soft curls, her makeup not overly done like usual and the dress fit like a glove. When she looked at herself in the mirror she was impressed as a knock on the door made her jump slightly. She grabbed the bracelet from the box and attempted to put it on as she opened the door. It took all self control for her jaw not to drop, he was dressed in a fitted black suit pants and a deep burgundy colored shirt. "Wow, you look beautiful."
"Thank you. You look great yourself." She said and looked down to her bracelet. Russ took the initiative and clasped it together. "Thanks."
"It's pretty. I have always had a fascination with the Eiffel Tower." He said as they neared the door, she grabbed her small clutch and coat and followed him towards the door.
She looked at her wrist and sighed. "Me too." She pulled the door closed behind them and headed towards his rental car.
The drive was slow because the roads were slick and conversation wasn't forced, they talked about their work and travel around the world, he talked about growing up skiing down the Alps as she talked about the endless hours of ballet growing up. They shared a laugh until she gasped at the sight in front of her, the restaurant was beautiful and glowing from the reflection of the snow. "You like it?" He asked as he pulled into the parking lot.
"It is beautiful." She answered with a whisper, looking from him to the building.
She didn't see his smile as he climbed out of the car and moved to open her door. Normally chivalry bothered her, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. This wasn't Gibbs' old fashioned way or McGee's force of habit or even Tony's teasing way, this was Russ trying to impress her and it was working. An unfamiliar flutter when through her as her thoughts brushed through the importent men of her life only to quickly go away when Russ held his hand out to her, she didn't hesitate to take his gloved hand in her own.
Once in the door, their coats were taken by the coat check and Russ spoke in effortless German to the host who nodded enthusiastically as he led the Great Russ Calloway towards his private dining room, Ziva pretended not to understand what was being said and his strong hand went to her back to follow. "Danke." Russ said as he pulled out her chair.
The waiter was waiting for them to get situated before he asked for their drink order. "He said that the house wine was a favorite of Pablo Picasso." He translated for her, slightly flushed in the cheeks. What the waiter actually said that the beautiful lady would enjoy the wine of Pablo Picasso.
"I would like that." Ziva answered quietly, Russ nodded to the waiter and soon they were serenaded with a string quartet from across the restaurant. "This place is breathtaking." It was filled with art and chandeliers dimmed to create an intimate mood.
"It is not all that is breathtaking." He said lowly, taking her hand in his.
She smiled at him. "You are a charmer." She said.
"Only for the beautiful ladies." He shot back playfully, she fought rolling her eyes because she had had this conversation before, or a form of it with Tony and she had seen it in many of his movies. The guy had many positive traits but originality wasn't one of them.
Their moment was interrupted by the waiter bringing them glasses of wine and bread. He asked if they were ready to order and Russ froze. "Do you know what you want?" He asked.
She looked at the menu and her eyes scanned the pages. "Not yet."
"Would you like any suggestions?"He asked timidly as the waiter waited patiently.
She looked up over the menu. "Sure." She said, she didn't really need the help because it did have an English translation if she needed it, as well as Russian, French, Spanish and Hebrew. She was set in the language department.
"I find the Mistkratzerli to be amazing. It is baby chicken cooked in garlic and rosemary." He said almost excitedly.
"Okay, I will have that." She answered closing the cover of the menu and handing it to the younger man. He was dressed in a cummerbund and black slacks, his hair was oiled back and his smile was small. "Thank you."
He nodded as Russ ordered the chicken and some tomato soup. "I ordered some soup, I hope that is alright." She nodded, even though she hated tomato soup. "So tell me something."
"Tell you what?" She asked playfully, taking a sip of her wine and looked at her glass. It was good wine.
He shrugged and mimicked her, taking his own modest sip. "Anything." He answered. "Tell me about your family."
It was almost like a stab through her heart, but she was a great actress and placed a smile on her face. "There is nothing exciting about my family." She lied. "I grew up in Tel Aviv, spent summers in Haifa with my brother and sister. Tell me about your family."
He took the distraction with ease and she let go of the breath she was holding discretely as he talked about his brother breaking his arm on the same hills they went down earlier. They share a laugh as he reminisced, but she didn't give up any real details of her past.
The soup was placed on the table and she swirled it around for a bit before her cell phone rang from her clutch at her side. With a surprised look she pulled it out and he looked at her expectantly as she saw the name flash across the screen. "I need to take this." She said apologetically and stood up.
"Do you have to?" He asked placing a hand on her arm to stop her.
She looked at her phone again and nodded. "I have to, they would not call me unless there was a problem. . ." She opened the phone and pressed it to her ear. "McGee?" She walked away into the privacy of the hallway.
"I'm sorry to disrupt your vacation . . ."He said fuzzily from the other end, she looked on the clock and calculated the time to be near two in the afternoon in Washington.
She pushed her finger into her ear to hear him better. "It is okay, what is wrong?" She asked loudly through the fuzz.
His words came out broken. "It's . . . ital. . ." Ziva frowned and moved towards the window and it cleared up.
"Wait you are breaking up." She said, her heart rate picking up quickly. McGee wasn't very good at covering up his anxiety.
McGee took a deep breath. "Tony's dad had a heart attack and is in critical condition." He said.
Her heart dropped into her stomach. Tony had just reconciled with father and now suddenly he might lose that bond that had just formed between the two of them. "Where is Tony now?"
"On his way to New York, we just got the call thirty minutes ago." McGee said, Ziva ran her hands through her curls impatiently. "He is a mess."
She was in Zurich, Switzerland and Tony needed her.
"Get me on the next flight out of Zurich." She said firmly. "I do not care how many layovers it takes, get me to Tony."
"Okay." McGee said on the other end without question, she could hear him furiously typing. "The next flight is in an hour and a half, if you hurry."
With a determined sigh she stood up tall. "I will be there. I will keep in touch." She closed the phone and trotted back to Russ who was patiently waiting with their baby chicken. Russ jumped up at her sudden abruptness. "I am sorry Russ, but I have to go."
"Go? Go where?" He asked, standing up confused.
"I have to go home right now." She said and started to trot towards the exit, when he grabbed her arm to stop her and it took all of her self control to keep from hitting him.
He looked worried. "What is going on Ziva?" He asked.
She sighed, suddenly annoyed with the man who had invited her thousands of miles from Tony. "My friend's father just had a massive heart attack and he needs me. I need to get to the airport." She said collectively, already forming a plan to hurt the man if he tried to stop her again. "I am truly sorry." Russ looked defeated and watched as she asked for her coat, rushing out the door.
Once outside the cold winter air chilled her as a bright yellow taxi idled in front of the old restaurant with the driver leaning against it and he gave her the once over. "Are you Ziva David?" He asked in English, his accent laced thick with German and French undertones.
"Yes." She asked with a raised brow and the man moved to open the door for her.
"I vas sent to take you to the airport." He said and she nodded, silently sending a prayer for McGee who was quick on his feet to arrange her trip back home. She climbed in the old taxi that was surprisingly clean and the driver climbed into his own, footing the gas pedal to the floor and they sped off.
She searched her clutch for her phone and it didn't give away anything, Tony hadn't tried to call, text or even email her and McGee hadn't sent her an itinerary, she was flying blind and that made her uncomfortable.
They arrived to the airport in what was probably record timing and she searched her clutch for money to pay the man with. He held up his hand, dismissing the small amount of Euro that she had on her. "Do not vorry, it has been taken care of." He said, she was glad that she got the only honest taxi driver in all of Europe.
"Thank you." She said running into the doors and almost immediately she saw her name on a sign held by a woman dressed for business. Ziva approached her with caution and the woman's stony expression turned into a soft smile.
"Ziva David?" She asked and Ziva nodded breathlessly, her accent was surprisingly American almost with a southern twang. "My name is Special Agent Cora Sanders and I was asked by Agent McGee to give you these." She handed her a manila envelope and slowly Ziva peeked inside the contents. A copy of her passport, visa and her plane tickets as well as a small stash of cash filled the envelope. "Agent McGee said that he wasn't able to get any direct flights, so it is going to be a very long trip home."
She was relieved really, that McGee had made sure she was set. "Thank you." She said slightly stunned and the Agent motioned for her to follow her.
"Agent McGee had asked that I see you to the gate." The agent said and Ziva nodded, following her down a busy hallway and flashed her badge at the security gate before speaking in rapid German to the guard who had allowed them right through with a suggestive smile towards Ziva.
The path towards the terminal was only slightly familiar, but she was distracted and only focused on not running into anybody, her mind swimming with thoughts of her partner who was suffering by himself on his way to New York, but it was probably worse than she imagined because she didn't get the details.
Before she even realized, she was bid farewell and a Merry Christmas from the agent and walking down the skyway to the plane. As she took a seat in a middle seat near the front, she mentally chastised herself for her lack of attention to her surroundings, she didn't even know where this plane was taking her.
Next to her was an elderly woman who smiled politely and on the other side of her was occupied by her claustrophobic twin sister. She could feel the nervousness radiating between the two of them, the one next to the window for being separated and the other for being in the plane. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes as the plane taxied away from the airport. As the plane began to pick up speed, she felt bad.
For abandoning Russ the way she did.
He liked her, hell she liked him. She sighed as the plane started to rise and instructions came over the intercom in both German and French that the plane was on time to Paris and that they would be there if forty minutes.
Maybe it just wasn't meant to be, she had her priorities and her love life at the moment wasn't one of them.
The plane jolted and the woman to her right tensed and whimpered. It was going to be a long flight. Long was an understatement, the seemingly clear dark skies had given away to phantom turbulence and the woman to her right who Ziva had learned named Marion, had a phobia of flying and had to get to the birth of her great granddaughter or something. She spent the better part of the time trying to calm both her and her sister down in French.
Half way to Paris the women had worked themselves into hysterics. It took all of Ziva's patience, two stewardesses and a bottle of brandy that was stowed away by the captain in the cockpit to calm them into a stupor and when the plane landed, they had to be carried off the plane.
Ziva had to run barefoot through Charles De Gaulle airport to catch the next flight to London Heathrow Airport and when she finally made it to the terminal, she was the last person to board and she gained dirty looks from the steward trying to close the gate. Luckily for her and the people on the plane it wasn't full and she had a row to herself to close her eyes, dozing in her place until a hand was placed onto her shoulder.
When she opened her eyes, the super tall and super skinny flight attendant asked if she wanted something to eat. She shook her head with a glare and plucked the Sky Magazine out of the pocket and borrowed a pen from the lady across from her to do the Sudoku puzzle in it.
She completed that and the crossword puzzle, Tony would've been proud of her movie knowledge skills as the plane landed in London and her mood had improved a little bit.
This time she didn't have to run to her next gate, taking advantage of the long walk to stretch her cramped legs and to check her messages. Pulling the phone out of her bag and pressing the power button gave her nothing, the battery was dead. Not only was she at the midpoint of her travel, her communication was down also.
Her muscles ached and she wasn't even on the longest stretch of her trip. The news on the passing TV's warned travelers that flights out of Heathrow were touch and go, depending on the weather but her flight to Boston looked promising.
At least it was only delayed and not cancelled.
Just outside her terminal she used the pay phone to call Tony. Having to call collect, type in her credit card number and finally his cell phone headed nothing but his voicemail. Slowly she hung up the phone and took a calming breath. She repeated the process and called McGee.
It rang and Ziva looked at the large LED clock that was across the terminal. It was late in London and she did the math and it made it near early evening in Washington D.C. "Hello?"
"Tim." She said with a sigh of relief.
"Ziva?" He asked and she could hear him shift the phone against his face, probably looking at his watch. "How is . . . London?"
"Quiet, it is late." Ziva answered with a yawn to prove her point. "There is a delay because of the weather."
He was typing quickly and she could hear it in the phone. "According to NOAA, there should be a good enough window for your plane to get out and Boston will be clear, New York is beautiful despite the situation."
"You are in New York?" She asked surprised.
"We all are. Gibbs flew out with Tony and then Abby and I came up after I squared away your travel." He said. "He's talking to the doctors right now." Before she could ask about it.
Her hand went through her tangled hair. "What happened?" She asked, holding her breath.
"He was in a car accident, it's still unclear if the heart attack caused the car accident. He hasn't been stable since he was brought here and now the doctors are performing a triple bypass and they are discussing with Tony the reconstruction portion of the surgery."
Ziva angrily wiped a tear that had slipped from her eye. "Reconstruction?" She asked with a gasp.
"He's got a lot of broken bones, but I don't know any more than that until Tony gets back." He said before a voice came into the background and the phone was passed to another voice.
"Are you almost back yet?" Asked an upset Abby.
"I am in London, my flight leaves in twenty minutes." Ziva answered, forcing herself to calm down. She didn't know what it was about Abby that made her so emotional, but the tears started to slide down her cheeks.
A small hiccup of a sob escaped Abby's mouth. "I have never seen him like this , well except when we thought. . . you were gone. . ." She said. "Looks so lost, he needs you."
"I am almost home." She said as her flight was called to board. "I have to go, just tell him I will be there soon." Abby said her goodbyes and Ziva slowly hung up the phone. She crossed the terminal and waited in line to board the plane, slightly relieved to know that Tony wasn't alone.
Luckily for her, someone was watching out to her and she was magically upgraded to first class. The friendly stewardess led her to her much bigger seat, which gave her more room to stretch out and she did. Almost immediately she placed her clutch into the front pocket and wrapped her blanket tightly around herself, dozing off because she knew that she needed to be alert when she got to New York.
When the plane finally landed some six hours later, the sun hadn't risen yet and surprisingly enough she felt almost well rested, even though she didn't really fall asleep. "Thank you for flying with American Airline and welcome to Boston." Said the voice over head and Ziva sat up straighter, suddenly looking forward to not flying for awhile after this trek.
She got off the plane and walked across the terminal to the TV screens that held the flight information. Boston to LaGuardia was leaving in fifty minutes, two terminals over. She rolled her eyes and trotted to the metro train that luckily was waiting for her. Unluckily for her the train moved at the speed of glue, rattling slowly across the icy tracts towards the first terminal.
The train stopped and all its occupants had to get off, to get through customs before she could catch her last flight. She brushed passed the business professionals, who looked as if they were hitting the ground running literally and even though the airport was abandoned the line for the customs was long. With a huff she got behind a Japanese family, with two irritated children and two English to Japanese dictionaries. She rolled her eyes, wasn't it supposed to take this long if you were an American.
A man in TSA uniform marched down the line. "If you are an American, than go to the second lane." He said gruffly and Ziva released a sigh, taking the advice to the much shorter 'American' lane. Two people in front of her gave her a bit of relief and not five minutes in the new line it was her turn.
She pulled out her passport and sat it on the table and the older woman looked it over. She typed furiously on the computer and it beeped. "I'm sorry Ms. David, but I cannot accept your passport." She said handing it back to her.
"What do you mean you cannot accept my passport?" She seethed, slamming her hands on her desk.
The woman glanced over her glasses. "I'm sorry, but your passport has been flagged. You may contact your embassy. . ." She started and Ziva quickly interrupted.
"I am an American citizen!" She roared. "I need to get to New York."
The woman tensed up and tried to be nonchalant about pressing the panic button. "I apologize, but there is nothing I can do about this, if you contact. . ."
Ziva was seeing red as she forced her feet to stay planted on the linoleum. "I have been traveling for fourteen hours and I need to get to New York. . ." She said until a rough hand on her shoulder and turning her around. Two TSA agents stood shoulder to shoulder, looking firm and ready to take her out if need be.
"Please come with us Ms. David." He said sternly and with a deflated sigh, she followed towards an employee entrance. The bigger of the two stopped and faced her, his stony expression turned into a small smile. "I apologize for that."
She looked at him confused as the other one spoke. "She is a mean old lady." He said with the matching smile. "You have only been flagged because Special Agent Timothy McGee had asked we hold your flight until you arrived and make sure that you get on that plane."
"He did that?" She asked and followed them to a golf cart that was waiting for them.
The bigger one rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I owed Tim a favor and this was easy." He said as he climbed on the back of the golf cart, Ziva took the passenger and the other agent took the driver's side and soon they sped away from the customs gates towards her destination.
McGee had really taken care of her.
They stopped at her terminal and she jumped off. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She said rushing to the walkway.
The two men shared a look. "You forgot to tell her that someone was picking her up in New York." Said the other man and Tim's friend's face fell and all he could do was shrug his shoulder before returning back to work.
*~*/
Gibbs checked his watch for what was probably the third time and was about to call McGee to double check that Ziva had gotten on the plane. Until he saw her come from the security exit with her hair twisted into a knot at the back of her head. She looked up to see him above the crowd and her dark eyes made contact with his blue ones, as she weaved against the early New York populations and stopped in front of him. "Gibbs?" She asked surprised.
He looked her over and could see just how tired she was with the dark bags under her eyes. "Phone dead?" He asked and she nodded behind her hand that was covering up her yawn. He opened his arms to her and she stepped into his welcoming embrace. Her muscles were tense from four flights and over fifteen hours of flying. She missed being home in America and she didn't realize until she sighed against her boss.
She nodded again before she sobered up and took a step away from him. "How is Tony?"
It was Gibbs' turn to sigh. "Senior is still in surgery, had a double bypass and had to go back for another one." He said. "Junior needs you."
It was a very un-Gibbs like comment and Ziva was too jetlagged to think about it. He led the way through the exit and through the parking garage to a rental SUV. Silence filled the vehicle as he drove towards the hospital and the New York skyline filled her view. She had always loved New York City, mostly because she secretly loved Broadway and partly the fast pace of the city, but she is here to be with her partner who was in pain.
Ziva had slipped her shoes off her feet and closed her eyes. It wasn't until Gibbs had shook her awake to see that the sun had started to rise and that they had arrived at the hospital. She opened the door and slid her shoes back onto her feet before following him into the hospital.
The elevator took him to the third floor and almost instantly he turned to face her, as if he knew that she was coming. He crossed the room and she met him halfway, wrapping her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground while burying his face into her neck.
To their coworkers, it was a scene from one of many of Tony's movies as Abby and McGee stood up to see what had caused Tony to move so fast. They watched in awe as Tony melted against her and Ziva was whispering to him.
Gibbs stood behind them holding Ziva's shoes in his hand and just watched. Tony whispered to her and she nodded against him, he couldn't hear what he was saying to her but she whispered that she wasn't going anywhere. As stubborn as he was for the rules, Gibbs knew that Ziva was what he needed to pull him through this no matter the outcome, he had become so dependent on her in the last year that now that she was here in his arms, he would be okay.
McGee and Abby had moved to Gibbs, giving the pair some privacy. "I think I need a Caf-Pow." Abby announced, loud enough for the whispering pair to hear her. Gibbs and McGee followed her back into the elevator and down to the cafeteria. With a heavy sigh Abby grabbed the largest cup and poured the red liquid into it as Gibbs and McGee filled their coffee. "I don't think I have ever seen anything like that before."
They sat around the ugly hospital cafeteria table in silence. The silence was unbearable for Abby, who fidgeted in her chair. "Do you think Tony is going to be okay?"
Gibbs nodded and took a sip of his coffee, but McGee spoke. "Ziva just got off 4 different flights to be here with him, he will be okay." McGee said.
Abby took that answer and another sip from her Caf-Pow. "It is rather romantic." She said between sips. "But I do hope Tony Senior is okay though."
McGee looked down at his cup. "He is tough." He answered, not that he liked the man but for Abby's reassurance. "Just like our Tony." He was here for 'his' Tony, their Tony who know way to much about movies than what was normal, teased each of them (except for Gibbs and Abby, really and well Ziva too) and over all had a heart of gold.
Gibbs looked at his watch, the doctor had promised them an early briefing which was due to happen any minute. He stood up and they looked up at him slightly confused. "Come on." He said and then followed him back to the elevator.
When they reached the floor, it had appeared to be empty but upon further inspection they saw the pair. Abby cooed slightly at the sight of them asleep on the loveseat that she had vacated not that long ago and had spent the majority of the night on, Tony's head was on the arm of the couch with his body stretched down it, with his feet hanging off the edge and flush against his body with her back laid Ziva held into place by his hand that held hers tightly at her stomach and his face was buried into his neck while hers was buried into his arm that was a make shift pillow.
Gibbs, like the father-figure he was grabbed his jacket from the back of the other couch and wrapped it over the two of them. The three of them took the other couches, just watching them sleep or picking up a random magazine or just staring into space as the sun rose completely.
A doctor came out and Gibbs stood up, as did McGee and Abby. "How is he doc?" Gibbs asked quietly.
"The second surgery went beautifully." He said just as quietly, looking over the son of the man he had just spent a total of 10 hours working on. "He should make a full recovery, with a lifestyle change."
The room seemed lighter and Tony wasn't even awake to hear the good news. McGee moved to shake him awake when the doctor stopped him. "You don't have to wake him just yet, he'll have at least an hour in recovery and then once he's in his own room he can have visitors."
They knew it was more for Tony's benefit, but didn't argue it. "Thank you, doctor." Gibbs said and took a seat back down to his magazine.
For now he would let them sleep.
