DISCLAIMER:- I do not own NCIS or its characters and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: - This chapter and subsequent chapters contain medical jargon and procedures. I have no medical knowledge or experience (other than that gained as a patient). I have tried to be as accurate as possible and hope that any inaccuracies can be overlooked in favour of the story line.
Chapter 9
Since they now had pain relief medication, Palmer gave Ziva an injection of a small amount of morphine and placed her splinted arm in a sling. She was dozing at one end of the couch. After arguing back and forth with Ducky on the cell, Gibbs begrudgingly relented and allowed Palmer to clean and tape the deep gash above his eye, strap his knee and check his ribs. There were no breaks evident but his torso was a mess of lacerations and mottled bruises from contact with the rocks and debris in the river.
Gibbs then ordered Palmer and an equally exhausted McGee to take a break, after bestowing them with a rare but heartfelt, "Good job." They were now sleeping lightly, Palmer in an armchair and McGee on the other end of the couch.
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Gibbs kept a silent vigil beside Tony's unconscious form. He thought back to the last words Tony had said to him and the look of hurt and resentment in his eyes. Gibbs was a hard taskmaster. He pushed his team to their limits and then some. He was also a man who cared deeply about his people. After all they'd been through, how could Tony think that Gibbs would deliberately let him down when he needed him the most?
Tony was taking rapid and shallow breaths. His skin was very hot to touch and he was sweating profusely. Restless and delirious he began thrashing about and throwing the blankets off. Gibbs didn't need the thermometer to know that Tony's fever had risen, but he found himself reaching for the cell to call Ducky when the thermometer showed Tony's temperature at a critical 105.1.
Ducky instructed Gibbs to remove Tony's blankets and replace them with cotton sheets so that his excess body heat could escape and to sponge him down with tepid water. Gibbs had removed the blankets and prepared the water and sponges when Palmer appeared beside him. Wordlessly, Palmer picked up a sponge and helped Gibbs as they bathed Tony's limbs, chest and abdomen, carefully avoiding his wound.
"Agent Gibbs, if you can lift his shoulders, I'll sponge his sides and his back," Palmer said.
Gibbs carefully lifted Tony's shoulders causing him to wince and groan softly at the pain the movement caused. His head lolled back onto Gibbs' chest while Palmer ran the cool sponge over him. Gibbs gently laid him back down, continuing to sponge Tony's sweaty face and hair. He leaned close to Tony's ear and said softly.
"You listen to me, DiNozzo. You will get well. You will not die thinking I don't care."
As much as he had tried to give them some privacy, Jimmy Palmer overheard Gibbs' whispered message. Palmer had enormous respect for Gibbs but was also quite intimidated by his gruff, no nonsense manner. Even though the older man could wilt Palmer's resolve with a steely look, Palmer felt he needed to speak up.
"Ah…Agent Gibbs." Jimmy began nervously. "I didn't mean to, Sir, but I just overheard what you said to Tony and I think you may have the wrong impression."
Gibbs looked perplexed. "What?" he asked brusquely. "You were there, you heard what he said."
Palmer almost lost his nerve but decided to push on.
"Yes, Agent Gibbs...I mean…yes I was there, not yes you don't care about Tony…I mean…"
"Palmer!!" Gibbs was losing his patience. He wasn't one to openly speak about his feelings with anyone, including this well-meaning young assistant ME.
"Agent Gibbs, Tony has been in various stages of consciousness since this afternoon," he explained. "When he was conscious he was usually delirious and seemed to be recalling some unpleasant moments in his childhood."
"Palmer, you're getting as bad as Ducky! What the hell are you talking about?"
"What I'm saying, Agent Gibbs is that even though Tony was looking right at you, I don't think he was seeing you at all. I think Tony thought he was speaking to..."
"His father!" Gibbs finished.
"Yes, Sir," Palmer said. "I just thought you should know."
He excused himself to pack up their supplies for their return trip on the Black Hawk. He also needed to prepare the body of Daniel Johnson (which was still in the coroner's van), for transportation back to Washington.
Gibbs watched him for a moment. He'd always thought him a nice kid, a bit on the jumpy and nervous side but bright and dedicated and Ducky thought the world of him. Today, with Tony's life in the balance, this young man had truly shown his worth.
He thought about Palmer's words. It was entirely possible that, in his delirium, Tony thought he had been speaking to his father. Most of the snippets of Tony's difficult childhood that Gibbs knew about had been revealed when the younger man had been sick, injured or drunk. With his defences down, some of the more unpleasant memories found a way to slice through the layers of pretence and nonchalance that Tony used to deny or suppress their existence.
Gibbs hoped like hell that Palmer was right but realized he may never know for sure.
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Ziva woke and moved to Gibbs' side. "How is he?" she asked.
"Not good," he replied. "Can you watch him for a few minutes, I need to find out what's happening with the medivac?"
She nodded and taking Tony's hand in her own, she looked at her partner. Still burning with fever, Tony was becoming agitated – muttering and squirming beneath the sheet that was now damp with his sweat. Ziva took the face cloth from Tony's forehead, surprised at how warm it had become from his body heat. She placed the cloth in the cool water, wringing it out before replacing it on Tony's forehead. She leant in close, ran her fingers through his hair and whispered softly.
"Shhh Tony. You must rest now. We are here and we will take you home soon. Shhh." Ziva continued to speak to him in Hebrew. Gibbs watched as her soothing tone seemed to settled the younger agent.
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Gibbs grabbed his cell and called Abby.
"Gibbs! I knew you weren't dead. I told the Director that you wouldn't do that to us, or to Tony when he needs you so much." Her voice was trembling with worry. "How's Tony?"
"We need to get him out of here, Abs. I need you to brief me on the weather and on the medivac," he said.
He heard Abby take a large gulp of Caf-Pow to calm herself before she answered.
"The hurricane is a Category 3, Gibbs, with average wind speeds from 111-130 mph," she explained. "As you know, the eye is the calmest part of the hurricane but it is almost completely surrounded by the eye wall which is the most violent part of the hurricane and contains thunderstorms and the strongest winds. The Black Hawk will need to enter and exit the eye of the hurricane, via the break in the eye wall. It's tricky, Gibbs but Colonel Warren has assigned his best pilot and crew."
Abby continued. "Information from the Radar Specialists at Quantico is that you are currently experiencing the effects of the eye wall. When the eye moves to your location the storm will lull for about 90 minutes. That's when the Black Hawk will go in and get out. Approximately, 30-minutes from now at 2045."
"So we still have a 'go' for the medivac?" he asked.
"Yes. The Black Hawk will stop and collect Ducky first so they have a Doctor on board for Tony," Abby explained. "They should reach you by 2130 but will contact you 10 minutes out."
"We'll be ready. Thanks Abs." He had almost closed his cell when he heard her call frantically.
"Gibbs! Gibbs!" Then her voice softened as she told him. "Bring him home, 'kay?"
"We will Abs," he promised. He had almost disconnected the call a second time when he heard her call again.
"Gibbs! Gibbs!" Her voice was still soft as she said. "I'm glad you're not dead!"
"Me too, Abs," he said and snapped the cell closed.
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Palmer changed the empty bag of saline and checked the drip rate on Tony's IV. He put his hand in his back pocket.
"Oh, Agent Gibbs, I thought you might like to hold on to this for Tony," Palmer said, placing the familiar knife in the palm of Gibbs' hand.
'You used this to remove his appendix?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes, Sir…er…Agent Gibbs," Palmer replied. "We were lucky he had it with him. There was nothing else here that we could have used as effectively."
After wiping the sweat from Tony's face and neck, Gibbs sat looking at the knife. He remembered the day he had given it to Tony and the look of delight on the younger man's face.
"See DiNozzo?" He said to the unconscious man. "Rule number nine. I told you it would save your life one day!"
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Relief swept over all of them when the call advising of the imminent arrival of the Black Hawk finally came. They collected their gear, supplies, and all evidence gathered at the scene – including the body of Daniel Johnson – and waited anxiously for the Marines to arrive.
The eye of the hurricane had arrived, significantly calming the wind and rain. The lightning and thunder had ceased temporarily.
They heard the Black Hawk moments before seeing it. It landed in the nearby field and four Marines alighted quickly, carrying two portable stretchers. Upon their arrival on the front porch one of the Marines spoke to Gibbs.
"Agent Gibbs, Colonel Warren sends his compliments, Sir," he said.
"Thank you, Sergeant," Gibbs said. "We appreciate your helping us out."
"No problem, Sir, we already have your Doctor aboard – talkative little guy, Sir," the sergeant said with a grin.
"That he is, Sergeant," Gibbs replied. "That he is."
Although his fever was still dangerously high, they wrapped Tony warmly in blankets. The Marines carefully lifted Tony onto one of the stretchers and carried him to the waiting helicopter. After everyone was aboard, including the DB, the Black Hawk lifted off and commenced the 45-minute flight to Bethesda.
Thankfully, the flight was reasonably uneventful. Ducky had given Tony the mildest of sedatives after he became disoriented and tried to pull his IV out. He slept for the rest of the journey.
Upon their arrival at Bethesda, Tony and Ziva were taken to the emergency room while Gibbs, predictably, refused treatment. After a brief examination Tony was whisked away to surgery and his anxious teammates continued their vigil in the hospital waiting room. They were thankful that he had made it this far but his condition was still listed as critical.
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