A/N: I humbly beg forgiveness - with my writing partner going through emergency appendix removal and facing serious complications from that - I completely forgot that we had made it through one more chapter together.

The deadline for the challange this was written for - is the 15th. I've been trying to let Shelbylou get back into this with me - and hope you'll excuse the delay.

While we're waiting to see if she can help me finish this - here's the one chapter we have that should have been posted already.

Again - I am deeply sorrry I forgot about it.


Wednesday morning dawned bright and clear, almost as if in keeping with the continued, yet tiny progress the team was seeing in Tim's recovery. As soon as they all met up together outside Tim's room at seven, they were told by a nearly jubuliant, Ducky, that Tim had woken up earlier and had stayed awake for a good ten minutes, even if those minutes were spent in silent looking around. Heseemed to be doing better. His color was returning to normal and he hadn't panicked at all, although he didn't seem to be able to completely relax while awake.

"Now that he has shown signs of waking up more consistently and for longer periods of time, they will begin to assess whether or not it is safe to remove him from the ventilator when that time comes." Ducky explained to the group as a whole.

"Won't they need to wait to look at his heart and make sure it can handle the stress? I mean, it's been less than those 48 hours the doc talked about." Tony asked..

"Yes, Anthony, you are quite right, the time frame is shorter than what the doctor was hoping for. However, after witnessing the troubled state in which Timothy awoke the first time, I have advised him that it may very well prove to be more beneficial to our young man to be breathing on his own, aided by a much less invasive instrument than the respirator. The only thing that will change will be the need for extra vigilance; both with the readings on his heart rate monitor and in keeping him calm, resting and not depleting his strengthwith talking."

"But, you said he was sleeping again. They'll have to wake him up to remove it, right?" Abby asked in confusion.

"No. We will wait until Timothy wakes up long enough to hear what his doctor has to say. The doctor will have it removed then. In the meantime, they will conduct another Cardiac MRI to look at his heart, as Anthony said. It is prudent that we keep an eye on how his heart is doing."

Before Ducky had even finished speaking, a team of four people; nurses and orderlies alike, swarmed past the team and on into Tim's room. Like an army of worker ants, presumably to make quick work of removing the tubes from his hands and preparing him for the scans they needed to take him for, they moved in quietly, closing the door behind them, leaving the team standing forlornly out in the hall, worry prevelant in all their expressions.

"Come, let's go take that 1st morning break we need. I'm sure we can all use more caffeine to get through this day." Ducky suggested as he drew the group away from Tim's room and down towards the elevator.

"Bring me back a cup of coffee, Duck." Gibbs told him as he sat himself down outside Tim's room.

With sheepish grins of all sorts on their faces, the group filed out, leaving Gibbs alone to wait until his agent was done undergoing the heart scan and returned to his room. The kick of it was, he hadn't even been wheeled out to go to the MRI room yet. Needing to see the young man again before he was carted off, Gibbs remained outside the room waiting for them to wheel him out.

As they wheeled Tim out of his room a short ten minutes later, Gibbs laid a hand on the bed rail, effectively forcing the nursing staff to halt in their progression. Leaning down so that only his agent would hear him, he offered the young man a few words of encouragement.

"Be right here waitin' on ya when ya get back. Just relax and let them get this done, alright?"

Tim nodded in response, his eyes glued to those of his boss, unconsciously letting Gibbs see that he was still scared out of his mind that so much of his life was out of his control right now.

"Hey." The Boss gently chided him. "You're gonna be just fine. No one's gonna let anything happen to ya, alright?"

Again, Tim nodded, this time smiling softly in gratitude for the extra effort his boss was putting forth in trying to make him feel better and the calming effect those words were actually having on him.

The Team Leader nodded and he stepped back, watching as his agent was wheeled out of sight on his way to the MRI. Heaving a sigh of troubled relief, Gibbs turned and headed out; taking this opportunity to stretch his legs and get fresh coffee. It would be a while before Tim was done. Gibbs was back within fifteen minutes. Taking a seat by the door, he closed his eyes in a moment of relief and rest. It had been a hell of a long day and it wasn't even over yet. Unfortunately, all he could do now, was wait.

Two hours later and the patient was once again sleeping soundly in his own hospital room, safely ensconsed in his bed with the team gone on to work, with the exception of Tony who remained by Tim's bedside, unwilling to leave him.

**NCIS***

Wednesday – 5:PM

While Tony had anticipated a day of working things out with Tim so that neither accepted blame for what had happened; he found himself greatly disappointed in the fact that his probie barely woke up at all through out the day; except for a moment here or there; mostly at some nurse's prodding.

Countless hours and a half-dozen movies later after the rest of the team had left him looking out for Tim, he'd seen almost all the day shift of nurses come into Tim's room at one time or another to record the readings off the machines and look him over carefully, but none of them woke him; in fact all of them made the extra effort not to do so.

Even the doctor had come in to check on him made no effort to wake Tim, although that visit offered nothing new in terms of an update on how their patient was doing, it did ease Tony's guilt a little when he was informed that things were looking good for his 'little brother'

Finally, feeling relieved enough to actually concentrate on a movie, Tony was startled out of it before he realized almost two hours had passed. "DiNozzo, how's he doin'?"

"Whoa, Boss! Wasn't expectin' ya."

"It's five thirty, DiNozzo." Gibbs reminded him.

"Really? Wow. Uhm, to answer your question, he's been sleepin' all day. Barely said two words to anybody and that was only to one of his nurses."

"Good."

"Thought you said he was wakin' up more."

"He knows sleep is what he needs, Tony. When his body's had enough, you'll know it. Abby and Ziva will be here in a minute. Go with them and get something to eat and take a break. Don't let me see you back here before 7."

"On it, Boss." Tony replied as he stood and stretched while he waited for the girls to arrive.

***NCIS***

Wednesday 7:00 PM

Evening arrived and with it came the rest of the team back from dinner to see Tim, with both Abby and Ziva immediately taking up the seats at his bedside. Gibbs had taken the opportunity with their arrival, to take a much needed break as he and the M.E. took their conversation outside where they could stretch their legs and Gibbs could eat his sandwich in peace. As they settled down on the bench they'd stumbled across, Gibbs unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite while Ducky regaled him with the tale of what had taken place with the rest of their motely crew over dinner.

Unexpectedly, the Team Leader found his own food hard to swallow and set the untouched part of it back down on the wrapper as Ducky handed him his coffee. "Eat, Jethro. You need to keep up your strength."

"Thanks."

"How are you holdin' up, my friend? Something's been playing on your mind all day, I could see it."

"Just how much of a 'nick' to his heart are we talkin, here, Ducky? The doc made it sound life-threatening but then talks about it as if it's not. What was all that talk about not stressing his heart in case it starts bleeding again – seems to me - that McGee won't be allowed out in the field if that were the case? Wouldn't they have said his job would have to see some changes?"

"I understand your confusion, Jethro. Rest assured, they are simply erring on the side of extreme caution where Timothy's heart is concerned. The bullet passed closely enough that it barely touched it and thankfully so. Any further to the right and as the doctor said, Timothy would surely not have survived the havoc that would have wrought.

"Thank God. Don't think Tony woulda been able to deal with loosing McGee like that."

"No, he most definitely would not have and I am quite certain that none of us would have."

"Yeah. You're right about that." Gibbs answered somberly, his heart in his voice.

Silence returned between them as Gibbs managed to finish his sandwich and drink his coffee. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again, this time, the silence broken by Ducky.

"Jethro, when Timothy is sufficiently on the road to recovery to be released from here, what do you have in mind?"

"You thinkin' I already have it all planned out?" Gibbs smirked.

"You always do, my friend and we both know Timothy well enough to realize he will be wondering this very thing almost from the moment he is able to remain awake long enough to think on things."

"This time, I think I'm gonna have to let that be your call, considering what we're dealin' with, don't ya think, Duck?"

"Well, in that case, I believe he should be made comfortable in my home, where everything he could need is on one floor and there is plenty of reading to keep him quietly occupied while he mends."

"You don't think I read?" Gibbs smiled at his friend's faux paux

Ducky smiled in return, choosing not to answer that question as he stood from the bench and made to go back inside. "Shall we see how our patient is doing?"

"What kinda time are we lookin' at before we can spring him from here?" as he joined his friend in their trek back to Tim's room

"Oh, I would say at least a week if not, two."

"Two?"

"It depends, I suppose, on the level of caution Timothy's doctor wishes to follow." Ducky warned.

"None of my people like hospitals, Duck. I think he'd mend a hell of a lot quicker at your place."

"That may very well be so, Jethro, but as I am not Timothy's treating physician right now, it is not my call to make. I can; however, stress that point with his doctor and see what I can do to help him see the validity of it as the best place for Timothy to be, when the time comes that he is able to withstand the trip. But, do remember, my friend, that will be at least a week from now. It is more important that his body be given adequate time to rest and begin to right itself, first."

"Yeah. I hear ya. I just hope McGee can be convinced to be a model patient for that long." Gibbs replied.

"Well, he always seems to listen to you rather well." Ducky reminded his friend with a slight smile. "After all, you did tell him to sleep as much as possible and Anthony said Timothy has done that all day."

"Good thing, too!" Gibbs said seriously. "Don't know what I woulda done if I'd walked in and found Tony keeping him awake with all that movie nonsense he sprouts off all the time."

"With all the guilt that young man is carrying around, Jethro, did you really expect that he would have done such a thing?" Ducky asked with disappointment.

"No. No, I didn't." Gibbs admitted as they reached Tim's room and silently watched the women sit as silent sentries at their wounded friend's bedside.

Before anything could be said, Tim's doctor arrived behind them, "Glad you're all here. It makes it easier to share my good news. Tim can be taken off the ventilator. I know it's late and it's not common for us to do something like this late at night, but he was sleeping comfortably and as badly as he needed that, I felt it was more important than taking him off the ventilator. He should be plenty rested now, at least enough to withstand us removing it. However, nothing else regarding the visitation restrictions changes. No stress and no keeping him awake."

"That's wonderful. When will you remove it?" Ducky asked as he looked at the doctor.

"As soon as he's awake enough to hear what I have to tell him."

"He is awake." Ziva announced from the bed, her eyes on Tim as he looked at the Doctor in the doorway.

"Good. Hello, Tim. I hear you've followed my orders pretty well and slept almost all day today. That's great. It means we can have confidence that your heart is on the mend. Your MRI looked very good. Your heart's showing no signs of trauma or even stress so whattaya say we get this ventilator off and let you go back to breathing on your own?"

Tim's eyes lit up and he nodded.

Chuckling, the doctor looked at the rest of them. "Alright. We're gonna need some elbow room here, so why don't all of you wait out in the waiting room and someone will come get you when he's ready for you to come back in?"

"Doc…." Gibbs protested.

"If you wish, you may wait outside his room, but we cannot have anyone else in here while we remove the tube. We simply have to have the room to work."

"We'll be right outside." Gibbs promised as he held the door open for the ladies and then Ducky.

"Doctor Mallard, you're welcome to stay and assist. I'm sure Tim would appreciate your presence and I could use an extra set of qualified hands." The doctor called out as the team left the room.

Ducky turned around and looked at Tim. "Timothy?"

Tim nodded his agreement with what looked like hope in his eyes so the M.E. came back into the room, letting the door close between himself and the rest of the team.

**NCIS**

Wednesday Night – 9:00 PM

It seemed like forever before Ducky came out to the waiting room where the others had retreated to so Tim could have a modicum of dignity, to let them know Tim was safely off the breathing machine and that his lungs were working fine on their own but the look of absolute peace on his face, was worth the wait. There was no doubt that their teammate was okay. It brought smiles to all of their faces.

"He's okay?" Tony verbalized just to be on the safe side.

"Yes, Anthony, Timothy is doing quite well, although his throat, as you can well imagine, is feeling quite raw after spending all that time with that tubing there, so we do not want him talking at all this evening. You can, however, go visit with him so long as you continue to keep your visits calm and do not let him try to do anything for himself just yet."

"No sweat, Doc." Tony gave back glibly, too relieved to watch his tone. "C'mon, ladies, we've got a man to go visit."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs called out warningly, his eyes clearly demanding that Tony be on his best behavior.

"I'm on it, Boss. I swear. " Tony vowed.

"Do try to refrain from letting him hear any talk about the shooting." Ducky requested, causing Tony to genuinely wince.

"Yeah." Was all the Senior Field Agent could say, his steps slowing with the pain of the M.E.'s words striking him in the heart.

"Cmon' Tony! Let's go see Timmy!" Abby cajoled as she slipped her arm through his and fairly dragged him as she hastily headed towards the right door, Ziva silently walking beside him.

"Jeez, Duck." The Team Leader griped.

"I do apologise, Jethro, I meant no harm to Anthony. I shall talk to him about it later, I assure you."

Gibbs nodded silently as he drank from his coffee and headed in the direction his crew had just gone in, Ducky walking beside him and neither of them saying a word; both soaking in the good news that things were looking up for Tim.

***NCIS***

Tim's chest and shoulder still felt like Tony's fire breathing dragon was sitting on them, despite the pain meds he was getting and it was keeping him feeling very weak. While he was thankful that the god-awful breathing tube was gone, he was even more thankful to still be alive, even if his throat did feel like it had been put through a cheese grater. As he lay in his hospital bed waiting for the impending visit from his team, he couldn't help but revisit the events leading up to him laying here with a gunshot wound in his chest and shoulder muscle.

"Oh, oh this is my favorite one of all. 'This kind of war, you've gotta believe in what you're fighting for.' Colonel Madden, Back to Bataan.".

"Tony!" Tim exclaimed angrily as he turned in his chair and glared at the Senior Field Agent. "Enough! Alright? Jeez!"

"You know, McWhiney" Tony said. "You just can't handle ..."

BOOM!

The deafening sound of a gunshot resounded through the squad room; drowning out all other noise even as the flash of searing pain roared through his body, stealing his breath away.

Tim shook his head in disbelief. Why couldn't he have just put up with Tony's ranting just like he'd always done? If he had, none of this would have happened in the first place. He'd done this. And now Tony was obviously out of a job or he wouldn't have been sitting here babysitting him all day.

Heaving out as much of breath of frustration as he could, Tim wiped at his suddenly wet face.

Damn it to hell! Why did he always have to be such a screw-up?