A/N: this chapter will not have the book's characters brought in.

"Ah, Mr. Franks, hello!" Ducky greeted with as much cheer as he could muster, sticking his hand out. "How are you, dear fellow?"

"Not too well, considerin' I just found out my Probie's been laid up." He replied, turning to Gibbs in the bed after shaking Ducky's hand.

"You are only just now hearing of this?" Ducky questioned as he too turned towards Gibbs, yet still looked at Franks as he talked.

"I was in Quebec, working on assignments." Franks replied, absentmindedly rubbing the nub where his trigger finger used to be.

"Assignments from whom, Mr. Franks?" Ducky asked, noting the sly grin that was spreading across Mike's face.

"Assignments." He stated firmly. "Anyway, I got back and when I went to Jethro's, there was crime scene tape. When I noticed the blood stain on the garage floor, I deduced what had happened."

"Ah, well that must have been quite a way to discover it, hm?" Ducky asked him, reclaiming his seat as Mike took the hard, straight-backed chair on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah, sure was." He replied. He then turned to Jimmy, as if just realizing he was in the room.

"What are you?"

"Oh, um, I, see sir, I'm.." Jimmy gulped. "I'm Jimmy Palmer...Doctor Mallard's assistant?"

Ducky smiled, "easy, Mr. Palmer. He won't bite."

"Right, Doctor Mallard." Jimmy nodded, but Franks and Ducky had already started talking again.

Jimmy tuned them out and turned to Gibbs. He'd long since been able to differentiate this Gibbs from the other Gibbs. From the real Gibbs.

That being said, it hardly fazed him to look at him now. He just saw a body, much like the bodies he sees in Autopsy.

He dismissed his thoughts and turned to the EEG. It read 11 alpha frequencies, which was normal for a comatose patient. He sighed and looked back down at Gibbs.

"Everyone would be really happy if you could wake up..." Jimmy whispered to him. "...Sir."

"Ah, well yes Mr. Franks."

Jimmy turned back around to Ducky and Franks. They were shaking hands as Ducky spoke. "I suppose I will see you soon, then."

"Sure will." Franks nodded and left the room.

"Oh, Jethro, wasn't that a pleasant surprise?" Ducky turned to Gibbs and rested his hands on the bed railings. "Mr. Franks came to visit. Though it was terribly awful how he found out about your injury."

The IV machine made a slight beep, alerting Jimmy and Ducky to it.

"Ah, it delivered his medication." Jimmy said softly, and Ducky nodded.

"That it did, Mr. Palmer." Ducky sighed and settled back into his easy chair. Jimmy looked over at the EEG machine, and saw that it now read 12 alpha frequencies, which was still normal. ('Normal' for a comatose patient is anywhere between 8 and 12 alpha frequencies) But what struck him as odd was the 3 delta frequencies. That was not normal in a comatose patient.

"Doctor Mallard?" He asked, turning around. But he stopped when he saw that Ducky was lying in the chair, his head resting on his hand, asleep. Jimmy carefully removed the good doctor's glasses and set them on the table.

"Goodnight, Dr. Mallard." Jimmy said softly. He then nodded at Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs."

Where was he to go with this? Surely, the nurses and doctors would just put it off as stress over a friend, but Jimmy knew better.

So where to go with this...Anomaly?

The head of Team McGee, of course.

Tim looks up at the knocking on his apartment door. He and Tony have been gathering on a nightly basis, going over notes and seeing if there is anything in the reports that might tell them who wants Gibbs dead. Tony stares at him, "You expecting anyone tonight Tim?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Go ahead and let them in Tony."

Jimmy stares at Tony when the older man opens the door. Jimmy's not sure if he should come in and tell them of his suspicions when Tim says, "What's going on Jimmy? I thought that you were the one watching Gibbs tonight."

"I did until Dr. Mallard and Agent Franks showed up. Dr. Mallard is still there; I think Franks was heading somewhere, but I really don't know where he was going."

Tim and Tony exchange hidden smiles. Both men remember when Tim used to speak that fast. Tim stands up and ushers Jimmy into the room.

Tim then offers Jimmy a cup of coffee and the autopsy assistant accepts it gratefully. He inhales the aroma before taking his first sip. While it's strong, it's nowhere near the rotgut that Gibbs used to drink and that brings Jimmy's attention back to the two agents.

"I think that Agent Gibbs is being drugged."

Two pairs of eyes are instantly turned to him, and Jimmy pulls out the EEG report that he managed to put into his pocket before leaving the hospital. The other two men look at it quizzically and Jimmy shows them what he'd found.

"These are alpha waves and are common in a comatose patient. These," he points at a separate pattern, "are delta waves."

Tim looks up from the paper. "I take it that delta waves aren't common in a comatose patient?"

"Not as high as those are spiking. I'd almost bet that he's being given some sort of neural inhibitor that's preventing him from waking up."

Tim inhales at that implication. He and Tony exchange glances and Jimmy looks at the agents, both of whom have gone pale. Both pull out their phones and call Ziva and Abby asking the two women to meet them at Tim's apartment. Jimmy sips at his coffee wondering just what Team McGee is going to do.

When the women arrive, Tim explains what Jimmy found in regards to Gibbs' EEG.

"What do you want us to do Tim?" Ziva is calm as she asks the question. Tim flashes her a quick smile and quickly outlines his plan.

"Jimmy, can you and Abby get a list of all doctors and nurses that have come into contact with Gibbs since this started? Start running the names through all your databases Abby, especially AFIS and Interpol."

"Tony, you and Ziva find Franks and see if he can tell you anything about previous cases that he and Gibbs might have worked. I'm going to go talk to Vance and see if he can give us any other insight."

Tony stares at Tim for a few seconds after the others have dispersed. Tim shifts then asks, "What is it, Tony?"

"Nothing, just glad that you're starting to feel more comfortable in those shoes that Vance demanded you fill."

Tim sighs as he admits, "I still don't like it, but as long as I have you in my corner I can deal with it, Tony. Without you and the others I'd have fallen apart a long time ago."

"That's what team mates are here for. We come together as a team…or so a wise Probie-wan Kenobi told me a few years ago, when Gibbs disappeared for over four months. Don't worry, Tim, we've got your back man."

Tony leaves and Tim heaves another sigh as he anticipates talking to Director Vance about this newest development. It had been bad enough to find out that Agent Fornell and his former wife Diane had been framed by yet another of Gibbs' ex-wives. To now have someone able to keep Gibbs in a coma and have it undetected by the other doctors and nurses is extremely worrying. Tim shrugs into his coat and leaves his apartment heading for NCIS.