Dr. Stedman cleared his throat again before he continued. The auburn haired physician's knuckles turned white as he clutched his metal clipboard with apprehension. It looked as if the doctor was trying to remain calm and retain his professional posture. Not comforting in the least. The longer the silence stretched on the louder it seemed to be. It seemed to encompass the waiting room around them and cover them like a silent bubble, in which all the other noise was blocked out. If was like a warning sign that alluded to the atrocities that were anxious to come
"As you know, Agent's Dinozzo and Bishop both suffered from a range of injuries consistent with that of blunt force trauma and severe physical abuse. Owen Fields, the air medic, was able to assess and triage some of the basic areas and our trauma team was able to rectify or at least prolong some of the more detrimental effects. However both of them are still in critical condition and right now our best nurses and doctors are monitoring them around the clock so they receive the best care and reach a more stable condition. It appears that they received a little or next to no medical attention so they will most likely have to go back into the operating room again at some point in the near future. We are unable to do anymore at the moment because their bodies are too weak." The physician began professionally, but each word sounded like a death toll to the retired marine. It felt like the calm before the storm, but Gibbs and his team were going to be right in the center when it started.
"That being said, it appears Anthony was invo-" Doctor Stedman started to explain, but only got as far as the agent's name before being swiftly corrected.
"Tony." Gibbs promptly interrupted. "His name is Tony."
Bishop's former boss, Marlens, looked at him in annoyance, but the two NSA lackeys and the practicing physician seemed to understand the grimness of the situation and why Gibbs team were acting the way they were. They understood that there was a great sense of unity within the NCIS team, so n one called him out on it.
"My apologies, sir." The auburn haired man smiled somberly. "It appears that Tony suffered various degrees of blunt force trauma to his face, legs, abdomen, and other extremities. Most of these injuries resulted in severe bruising, all in various stages of healing. He had a fractured eye socket, but it has largely healed and surprisingly it has healed in the correct way. What was most concerning to our team was the discoloration to the upper chest. MRI scans revealed that he had five cracked ribs and a broken one. We believe when he was transported to the hospital via helicopter, it caused some of the bones to shift and become aggravated during flight, which is what caused the coughing fit. There was no internal bleeding from what we could see, but we're going monitor that for a while longer."
Timothy paled visibly and swallowed the lump in his throat. He had gone through this kind of situation many times before and more than some of those outcomes that had been far less unfavorable and had still resulted in death. Some had not even made it to the hospital. Dorneget came to mind. But Tony and Bishop did make it to the hospital. They had made it to the hospital. And they were still alive. They were very lucky to be alive. But McGee wasn't a stupid man; he knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg. He knew that everything was still a touch and go. If… no. When Tony and Bishop made it through, they were going to have a long road ahead of them. Just like Delilah did.
"Agent Dinozzo also had various cuts and gashes that had become infected. Luckily he was in the early stages and a few doses should be able to rectify the situation. He has a radial distial fracture on his left wrist that has healed improperly. We'll have to rebreak and reset it when he wakes up because his body is to weak to handle it right now. Tony also had a variety of scars consistent of with those of knife wounds. Most aren't too serious and are more superficial than anything else. What has concerned us the most is the stab wound on his upper left hamstring. A knife of some kind punctured the skin and ripped through vital muscles groups that are pertinent for walking properly. Although the body tried to heal itself, severe infection offset and worsened the issue. We believe it must have occurred some time earlier than the rescue because Tony has developed some early symptoms of sepsis and has fever."
Gibbs remembered seeing Tony's blood soaked shorts, how swollen his left leg had appeared against the right, and the peculiar shiny bruise like contusions that marked his leg. Gibbs knew Dinozzo loved his job, but he also knew that his job required a lot of walking. And if the wound was as grievous as he said it was. He frowned inwardly. Stabbing people wasn't usually a preferred method of torture even amongst terrorist groups because the victims of tended to lose too much blood or die from infection before they were able to give any relevant information. So it was often a last ditch effort, but the doctor had said that this stab wound days if not weeks ago. It sent red flags up and it did not sit well in the retired marine's gut. If Alakaso truly wanted information would he have immediately jumped to one of the most potentially fatal wounds of torture? Unless he was using Tony to get to Bishop…
"Will he able to walk?" Gibbs asked.
"We were able to cool his body down with ice packs and cleaned the wound out with saline. Another trauma surgeon also stemmed much of the bleeding from other areas. Right now we're pumping him with antibiotics to prevent further infection. We'll know more when he wakes, but we're cautiously optimistic about his prognosis. We have some of the best physiotherapists in the state that can work with him as soon as possible." Dr. Stedman informed him.
"As I said earlier he is very weak. Both of your agents are malnourished and underweight for their heights and ages, but we will be able to correct this by feeding them intravenous fluids and nutrients through an IV drip until they can graduate to solid and liquid foods. " The doctor added.
The trio of NCIS agents nodded somberly as they took in this troubling information.
"And Bishop?" McGee asked falteringly. The doctor visibly deflated at the mention of the younger agent.
"Agent Bishop's injuries area bit more troublesome. She has several injuries to the back and upper chest that are indicative of blunt force trauma. The size and shape of the contusions allude to some metal bar of some sort. The force to which the bar was applied caused six fractures and two broken ribs. We were going to wrap those, but there have also been several skin avulsions or tears on the back. Skin avulsions usually occur… usually occur during motor vehicle collisions, but high velocity incidents can also cause this type of injury." Doctor Stedman took in the confused faces of McGee, Gibbs, and the rest of the NCIS agents and paused to clarify.
"Skin avulsions are a type of injury that occurs which an section of skin is torn off from the underlying tissue. They can range from skin flaps to complete amputation. Fortunately your agent was lucky and only has a moderate form of these avulsions and suturing usually can repair them. However, in your agent's case sections of skin are missing, so we may have to look at skin grafts at some point, if they are unable to heal on its own. There were also various burn marks, all in various stages of healing. New skin was already forming over that, but we administered salve to decrease risk of infection." Dr. Stedman flipped through the clipboard nervously as he continued on. "Most of the bones in her left hand were broken, but we were able to reset and stabilize them and it is expected that her hand will remain in a cast for at least six weeks as it heals."
Gibbs maintained his stony exterior as he took all of this information in, but on the inside the news was tearing him apart. Bishop and Dinozzo had been gone for just over a month and now both agents had received a plethora of injuries that were worse than some prisoners of war. They had only been gone for thirty-seven days. The fear, pain, and confusion in Bishop's eyes popped up in his head again.
"She didn't know who we were and her eyes were shaky. Is that normal?" McGee interrupted anxiously.
"Confusion is not abnormal in these types of cases because sudden changes from what they have become accommodated to can cause complications. Agent Bishop did suffer from a head injury. Something hit her very, very hard and we believe that is what caused her seizure. Our neurosurgeon, Dr. Hutchins, determined that she had a severe concussion, which impacted parts of the parietal lobe and the cerebellum. When Bishop's parietal lobe was damaged it caused a by-product disorder called nystagmus. That was the appeared shakiness in her eyes that you saw. It's common with blunt force trauma to the head. With the proper medication both can be rectified rather quickly. Unfortunately, she won't be able to receive any form of medication for the moment."
"Why?' Gibbs asked incredulously. Surely, some of degree of medication was necessary for all the pain that she had gone through.
"One of our staff noticed track marks suggesting a history of drug use. Until we determine what type of drugs were used and when they were administered, we cannot administer any more medication because they may cause adverse effects We'll still be able to administer the IV drip but it means no morphine or antiseizure medication until at least a week from now. She was put into a medical coma in order to facilitate the needs." Dr. Stedman said hastily. He voice oozed pity. Gibbs swallowed hard, Bishop wouldn't do drugs willingly.
"Now that we have a better idea of their injuries we know what to look out for. Your agents have a long road ahead of them, but we are rather confident that they'll make it through the night." The physician finished.
"When will they be able to talk?" Marlens demanded almost immediately. The NSA official looked impatient and almost apathetic towards any of the information about his agent's conditions. It seemed like a stark contrast to how protective he'd been of Bishop when she had worked obsessively on the Parsa case. It was like he seemed to care about his agents when a case worked in his favor and ignored their well being when it got in the way of getting what he wanted. Gibbs could remember Bishop coming in with dark circles on more than one occasion when she was still working jointly between both departments. Marlens apathetic attitude caused fury to build up within him.
"Err… As I said earlier, Agent Bishop is in a medically induced coma, she won't be expected to wake up for another couple of days. Agent Dinozzo will be under anesthesia for quite a while too. I think it is important to realize that even when they wake up, there is still a certain degree of undiagnosed psychological trauma that-"
"When they wake up will they be able to talk?" Marlens interrupted.
"Well. Technically yes, but…" Dr. Stedman started.
"Good. Then when they wake up, you call this number immediately. The media is not to be informed about their rescue." Marlens said pulling out his card. "National Security could be compromised. If we learn you did not call us immediately when they wake up, I can have you arrested for obstruction of justice. That means twenty years in prison."
"But the head injuries could-" Dr. Stedman began again.
"Look son. These are thousands of lives we could be talking about and what you have on your hands are only two. So be a patriotic man and do it for your fucking country." Marlens shut the doctor down. Then the older NSA official directed his attention towards the seething NCIS agents.
"And you men. Don't you dare think of asking any questions without an NSA agent by your side. This is out of your jurisdiction and into ours. I will make sure your badges get taken away if you get to involved." Marlens instructed.
"What makes you so sure that they've released information?" Ducky asked solicitously.
"Because I'm not stupid Doctor Mallard. Of course they gave up information. It isn't a coincidence that one of our important, confidential files was hacked into within the time frame of their kidnapping. It took us hours to get rid of the virus that was released into the system." He hissed harshly. What kind of file would get the National Security Agency so worked up?
"What makes you so sure that Tony and Ellie had something to do with that?" McGee asked, stubbornly refusing to believe his coworkers had anything to do with it.
"Not Tony. Bishop. Before she transferred to your goddamn boat team, she was part of the team of analysts that created the file." Marlens said Bishop's name with disgust.
Gibbs glared at him with narrowed his eyes as he pondered this information. However it still didn't make any sense. Why take Tony along with her, instead of the rest of the analyst team? The easy answer would be to use Dinozzo as leverage against her. However if that was the case, why was Bishop injured the most if she had the information he needed? What was on the file that Alakaso had been willing to go so far? McGee voiced his concerns.
"That's…. If a group of people created a confidential government file that required an abnormally high clearance level then each individual would get a different section of the passcode to prevent such occurrences from happening. Bishop couldn't have known all the codes. It's impossible." Timothy counterattacked.
"The four other agents who worked on the case are dead, Agent McGee. Jonathan Chen. Car wreck. Devon Preus. Heart attack. Shin Yee Teh. A random mugging. They were all accidents. Except Jonathan had never gotten a ticket in his life. Preus climbed mountains in his free time. And Shin Yee was a tickler about safety. No one knew to connect these deaths because only the highest clearance levels knew about it and the file wasn't as relevant as it is now. Bishop's the only one still alive."
"What about the fourth?" Ducky questioned. ""You said there were four other agents. You only said three."
"Jacob Malloy…. Gunshot wounds. Just because Bishop didn't know the codes to the files does not mean she didn't know the information." Marlens argued.
"Did she know?" Gibbs asked.
"Excuse me?"
"Did she know that they were dead?" Gibbs asked coldly.
"I… Not that I'm aware of." Marlens grumbled admittedly.
"Then don't make her out to be a terrorist, if she isn't one." The marine growled. This time the infamous Gibbs stare made some leeway.
"Stop insulting my intelligence and get the fuck out of my way. I have a job to do." Marlens deflected.
He left the waiting room immediately, not sparing a single glance to the rest of the team as they watched him leave. Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose as he forced him to calm down. He needed to be clearheaded to talk to the doctor.
"When can we see them?" he asked, redirecting his attention back towards the physician, who had been standing awkwardly during the entire confrontation. Another doctor who had appeared next to him, an Asian man with a thick head of grey hair, answered the question for him.
"Your agents are in separate rooms due to the complex situation. You can see them both now, but only two at a time. Only one of you needs to sign these agreements. It just states you aren't blood family, but are here from governmental purposes. The rest of you can follow me."
Gibbs hastily signed the agreement as the rest of the team was led down the hall. Gibbs started to follow them, but Dr. Stedman stopped him.
"There was something else." Dr. Stedman. Showing him the last paragraph on the file, Gibbs heart sank as he read the information and then reread it again. Suddenly it made horrifying sense and Gibbs wished it didn't. That instead everything could be attributed to confusion, but it wasn't and now he couldn't erase it from his mind.
"Now I can do further testing, but your agent is in no shape to give consent. Would you mind?"
Gibbs nodded.
Day Five since rescue…
Gibbs and the rest of the team had split their time between both agents. Right now he sat with Abby in Bishop's hospital room. His youngest agent looked like a mummy wrapped in gauze. Her face was pale, but the retired marine could see the yellow bruises that were partially obscured by the bandages wrapped around her head. Her broken arm was incased in dark blue plaster and laid clumsily, but the track marks were still slightly visible on her inner elbow just above the crook of her arm. Scarred, distorted and bumpy blackish flesh marred several areas along her shoulders and neck and disappeared under her hospital gown. Two separate IV drips fed fluids and nutrients into her body, but it didn't seem to be doing anything despite what the nurses were saying. A far cry from the probie that had become a staple in the office as she sat cross-legged on the floor, with her attention fixed on her computer and ear buds dangling from her ears, often holding some kind of junk food item. Now she looked like a ghost. She was breathing steadily, a sign that her ribs were healing, but even that bit of good news hadn't been satisfying. In the last five days, Bishop had lapsed into two more seizures, and there was nothing they could do about it except let her ride it through.
No anti seizure medication could be administered until the increased levels of Mescaline and Benzodiazepine left her system. Apparently the monsters had developed their own dangerous concoction of drugs that to keep her down. The doctor had told him Mescaline was a drug similar to LSD and the other was similar to a sedative. The antidote for one could not be administered without instigating other. All the doctors could hope to do was flush her system with fluids and hope for the best. It seemed absurd to Gibbs, but apparently necessary to the doctors so he kept his mouth shut and listened to the steady beeping of the hospital machine. At least she was still alive. Our agents are strong. Ducky had said. He only wished they didn't have to be.
The rest of the group alternated between the hospital and work. Even Vance had made it a priority to drop by and check in on them, unable to do so earlier because of NCIS related business and the tying up of 'loose ends'. However it became eminent that not all of them could stay off duty for so long. So they usually came in shifts. Jimmy had gone first because he had a wife and kid to care for. Then Ducky had left because the bodies were still coming in. Vance had always been on a time crunch. Even Joseph and Alex had made a couple of visits. Right now only three of them were here. McGee was with Tony. He and Abby were with Bishop and the steady beeping of the hospital machines was the only things keeping him going.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Suddenly McGee burst into the room an ecstatic look on his face.
"He's awake!" the computer specialist practically shouted. "Tony's awake!"
Abby practically leapt from the chair, but Gibbs told her to stay with Bishop. Someone needed to stay with her. Someone that he could trust. Gibbs followed McGee down the stark, sterile hallways of the hospital. The chatter of nurses in blue scrubs, beeping of pagers, and someone retching the background filled the place with incessant noise. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere as they rushed past him and save lives, but that was okay, he was in a hurry too, but he doesn't know if he's ready. Gibbs heard the screams before he saw them, but the retired marine can recognize the voice as Tony's. The special agent in charge reflexively reached for his service weapons as he stopped in front of his door and steeled himself for what he's about to see.
When the agents step into the room, Dr. Stedman was standing above his injured agent. A lanky nurse stood at his side hastily wrapping hardening plaster around Dinozzo's forearm obscuring his view of the brown-haired agent. Gibbs removed his hand from the gun when he realized there was no real danger and walked further into the hospital room. Tony was still hidden from view, but Gibbs could hear him loud and clear.
"Stop! S-stop it! I don't know. W-where is she? P-please! Tell me where she is!" Tony called out groggily in disconnected sentences.
"He's still on morphine. Apparently it's going to make his head loopy for a while." McGee said quietly to his boss. His voice rose when he responded to Tony. "Bishop's safe Tony. She's here in the hospital with us."
Dinozzo made no inclination that he had heard Tim as he continued to ramble endlessly. As the physician moved away from the hospital bed and towards them, Gibbs could see Tony more clearly. His temper spiked when he saw that his arms were restrained to the bed.
"Why the hell is he restrained to the bed?" Gibbs demanded.
"Agent Dinozzo was trying to pull out his IV drip and sensors. He wouldn't listen to any attempts to prevent this behavior, so it is necessary for his arms to be restrained to prevent him from causing any further harm." Dr. Stedman informed him as he wrote some notes down on a paper. "We've also re broke his arm so that the radial distial fracture can heal properly. If he kept moving round it could aggravate the injury and result in it healing improperly. Trust me Agent Gibbs. This is in his best interests."
The physician didn't say anything else as he checked to make sure the intravenous fluids were flowing properly and dismissed the nurse to go do other work.
"Look I'm breaking protocol by letting you in here first. I can give you twenty minutes alone with him, but then I'll have to make the call to the NSA official and inform him about your agent's condition. I hope you understand, but I can't afford to go to jail." Dr. Stedman said.
Gibbs nodded in appreciation as the two agents made their way towards the guest chairs directly across from the hospital bed.
"The call button is right there if you need anything." Dr. Stedman informed the duo, the door closed softly behind him.
"I know." Gibbs responded softly, but the man was already gone. Hospitals were no stranger to the Special Agent in Charge. The retired marine moved to sit next to Tony who looked blanketed down with the amount of morphine that was being pumped into his system. Dinozzo ceased his tirade as he looked up at him unrecognizably with cloudy, pain-filled eyes. A painful lump formed in Gibb's throat as he couldn't help but think about everything they'd gone through the last two months. A few moments passed but the brown hair agent remained stock still as he ran a cursory glance over the duo. Suddenly a flash of recognition flashed through his brown haired agent's eyes. Dinozzo grunted in pain as he abruptly grabbed Gibbs by the arm and tried to sit in an upright position. Gibbs moved to stop him, but Tony wasn't having any of it.
"G- Gibbs… Gibbs! They have Bishop! They won't tell me where she is! You have to-" Tony voice was muddled with the effect of the drugs but despite the far away look in his bloodshot eyes, his brown orbs focused keenly, almost desperately on Gibbs as he begged him for help, but the retired marine interrupted into his incessant rambling.
"Bishop is here in the hospital Tony. She's right down the hall. She's safe. She's fine. She's going to be fine." Gibbs tried to placate. Tony's eyes cleared some more as the morphine began to wean off his system. His eyes narrowed a little and his mouth contorted into a grimace as he tilted his head to focus on the marine.
"That's what h-he said when they were dragging her out of the fucking cell." Tony said monotonously as he shifted his attention back toward the door that Dr. Stedman had exited from. It was as if he was silently willing the man to come back in so he could demand what he had done with his coworker. It became painfully evident that there was a degree of distrust in the air. Both McGee and Gibbs were left aghast struggling to find some way to respond to his statement.
"Alakaso's dead, Tony. He's dead. We shot him." Gibbs informed his brown-hair, red-eyed agent. Tony's frantic gazing around the room paused on the marine once more, his bloodshot eyes struggling to focus on him.
"You shot him?" he asked creakily.
"We shot him." Gibbs confirmed.
"You gave him to quick a death." Tony said bitterly. His voice is quiet, but Gibbs can hear the anger hidden in his voice. At least, Dinozzo had stopped looking anxiously around the room. Instead he focused his attention on the IV drip that's putting fluids into his vein that he'd apparently been trying to rip out of himself moments before.
"It's to get more nutrients into you, so you-" McGee started to explain, but Tony interrupted him.
"If you guys are here then who's with Bishop? Jake's only a lawyer so he won't be able to protect her if they come back for her. He-" Tony started to ramble weakly again as he started to work himself up again. The beeping on the machines behind him began to grow faster.
"You need to calm down Tony. Bishop's with Abby. You need to stay calm so you can both get better." Gibbs stopped him and Tony shut up for a minute as if he were concentrating on something.
"If Abby's the only one with Bishop then where's Jake?" he questioned timidly, but the stricken look on McGee's pale face and the silence from Gibbs told Dinozzo the answer. "Oh god. He's dead isn't he?"
"He's dead." Gibbs affirmed. Tony turned his head away from them as if that could hide the despair in his eyes and the watery tears that threatened to leak out with them. The brown haired agent lapsed into silence as he contemplated this information. Rather than all out grief, he wore a look more like begrudged acknowledgement. Had he known?
"He told us they were going to kill him if we didn't say anything. And now he's dead." Tony rasped darkly. The beeping spiked once more on the hospital machines behind him as his heart rate increased again. "He's dead. I killed him."
"Tony you didn't kill him. Alakaso and his lackeys did."
"D- don't say his name. Don't ever say his name!" Tony rasped loudly. His voice rose as the unshed tears fell from his eyes.
"Okay. Okay. Tony calm down."
An uncomfortable silence settled across the room. Minutes pass by but no one said a word. Gibbs watched the silent tears fall from his eyes and listened to the beeping of the machines begin to slow down but Tony steadily refused to meet his or McGee's eyes. The other agents don't miss it when the brown haired agent winced in pain as he tried to shift his position, but neither says anything. They only watch in concern. Dinozzo had redirected his attention to picking at a loose piece of thread and their priority right now was keeping him calm.
"How long were we gone?" Tony eventually asked quietly as he continued to pick at the thread.
"Thirty…. Thirty seven days." Gibbs replied solemnly. A beat of silence passed.
"It felt like so much longer."
A soft knock on the door interrupted them. It was Dr. Stedman signaling that their time was almost up. That it was time to throw Tony to the sharks.
"You have to listen to me closely Dinozzo. Agent Marlens is coming to talk to you and ask a few questions about the ordeal." Gibbs told him seriously.
"Who's Agent Marlens?" Tony questioned stonily. His voice didn't have its usual pep and his eyes did not have the usual sparkle. Instead they were like marbles that held no life in them. It struck a sense of uncomfortable familiarity in the retired marine's head. It was the look of someone who had utterly given up. Dinozzo didn't even sound as if he cared if he got an answer or not.
"He's works for the NSA. He used to be… He used to be Bishop's boss. He needs to know if you released any information into their hands."
"We didn't say anything." Tony said defensively as he looked at Gibbs with an accusatory glare.
" I'm sure you didn't. Just tell him that."
"I have nothing to say… I didn't know anything…." Tony voice was quieter, more defeated the second time around. He sounded like a kid. His eyelids drooped as he began tugging at the restraints again.
'Then tell him what you told me… and it will be fine."
The stricken look on Dinozzo's face told him he didn't believe a word he said, but Gibbs didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth either. Both of the uninjured agents said their goodbyes, but Tony had clammed up and refused to meet their eyes. When the door closed silently behind them, it felt like they were abandoning a lost, confused child.
Marlens arrives only minutes later. His face red with exertion, but the familiar black trench coat was impeccably put together. He was holding a legal pad in one hand and a black leather briefcase in the other. It looked like he had just walked in from the office. Or rather ran. Gibbs watched from across the hall as the NSA official exchanged words with the physician and disappeared into the room. McGee went back towards Bishop's hospital room, but Gibbs stayed exactly where he was. Even if he couldn't be in the same room as Tony, he would damn well guard it.
This time gave Gibbs a moment to mull over his thoughts, but it only gave him an uncomfortable amount of time to dwell on the mistakes he'd made in the past and he couldn't get Tony's tortured face out of his head.
Marlens didn't leave the room for another hour and that was only after a nurse had forced him out on the premise that visiting hours were over and they had to give Dinozzo some medicine. Marlens did not look to please with the answer, but didn't see to argue much. The legal pad he had earlier had disappeared into his black briefcase and the trench coat man soon disappeared out the door with both. There was an oddly smug look on his face.
When Gibbs entered the room again, Tony did not even look towards the door. He was subdued and quiet, but his gut told him that Tony was watching and waiting. A tactic he'd probably perfected in the Columbian hellhole. It was the complete opposite of what the special agent in charge had come to expect, but Gibbs could understand why it was true. As Gibbs settled back into the chair, he saw that the nurses had upped his morphine dosage. No wonder he was acting more loopy than usual. Tony looked over at him tiredly.
"You know… You know I should thank him Gibbs." Tony started morosely. He sounded like he was drunk, even though Gibbs knew that was impossible. "Through all of that fuckery. Through all that shit he put us through. That huge pile of shit! H-he did teach me something Gibbs. You want to know what that is Gibbs?"
Gibbs didn't answer. He just let Tony continue with his drug-induced rant and get whatever he needed to get off of his chest.
"Life isn't like it is in the movies Gibbs. Not even close. And maybe Gibbs… Maybe if the movies don't exist… Then the happy endings don't either.
Day Nine since rescue.
Unlike Tony when Bishop woke up Gibbs and Abby were both at her side. Dr. Stedman had decided that after a week of being unconscious it would be okay to get her off of the anesthesia and transition to more stable pain medication. At some point the doctors had fixed her with some dark shade-like material that resembled sunglasses. Apparently to help with the nystagmus and lessen the effect of whatever damage could have affected her brain. The Asian doctor, Dr. Xu had gone over the two primary areas of impact, the cerebellum and the optical lobe with him before and what to expect. Of course nothing would be definite until she was up and moving, but that would be a long painful process.
"This is the a shot of Micodye. It's a moderate form of adrenaline. It should wake her up relatively quickly." Dr. Xu told them absent-mindedly as she filled a syringe with a pale yellowish liquid.
Gibbs and Abby watched with apprehension as the doctor probed the crook of Bishop's non needle marked elbow for a place to insert the needle.
"She's intubated. So when I want you to tilt to the side while I disengage the device." The physician instructed as she administered the shot. The anesthesia left Bishop's system almost abnormally quickly after she was injected. Within minutes the probationary agent had let out a horrifyingly haggard scream and had turned sharply to her side and begun to cough spastically. The blonde haired agent scratched hastily at her throat with her uninjured hand while the injured one clunked violently against the metal side of the hospital bed. Abby recoiled violently away from the blonde, but Dr. Xu immediately laid her hand on the agent's back and in one swift thrust took out the intubation tube.
Bishop lay there for a second like a fish out of water, as she took big, shuddering breaths and scrunched her eyes tightly together as she tried to acclimate to the pain. Almost immediately she starts reaching for the IV drip, but the doctor stops her. Gibbs doesn't know if the movement as conscious or not. Bishop froze under the doctor's touch and stopped struggling almost immediately
"Mrs. Bishop? I need you to open your eyes for me." Dr. Xu asked sympathetically.
" Don't make m-me do it. I- It hurts… " Bishop bit out in a gravely, pain-filled voice. Her teeth are chattering, but he doesn't know what for, it's just above room temperature. She doesn't open her eyes.
"Mrs.. Bishop. My name is Dr. Xu. You're at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Your boss and your coworkers are here with you. You're safe, but I need you to open your eyes." Dr. Xu instructed once more.
Gibbs could see the struggle it took for Ellie to open her eyes, but she somehow convinced herself to comply. He was hesitantly relieved when her eyes weren't glassy with past, but glassy with pain instead. A flash of recognition flashed through them as she laid her eyes on her two superiors.
"Gibbs?" she called out gravely. A violent tremor rocked her body. Abby jumps in and starts asking questions, but the physician shushed them. Then Dr. Xu who expertly removed the glasses and flashed a light in his youngest agent's eyes and obscured her completely from vision. Then she orders both the agents to step outside because she apparently needed Bishop's complete undivided attention and concentration to carry out a few more tests. Bishop didn't say anything further as Dr. Xu pushed them out of the room. Her eyes were scrunched tight again as the waves of pain took over.
The physician lets them in twenty minutes later, but she stays in the room as she writes notes down on Bishop's medical record. An IV has been inserted and is currently dripping what Gibbs assumes to be morphine because Bishop looks relatively calmer than before.
"How are you feeling Bishop?" Gibbs asked as he sat down across from her. Abby hovered hesitantly in the background still spooked from the sudden reaction. Neither missed the way the former analyst shrunk away from them.
At first Gibbs doesn't expect a reaction. He couldn't even see her eyes behind the dark obscured shades. And true to his thoughts, Bishop initially doesn't give him much of a response anyway, only a pained cough. The former analyst had managed to slightly curl herself into a somewhat fetal position. As she lay on her side, she'd drawn her knees up as far as they could go and wrapped both of her arms cumbersomely around her torso. Around the same area that he'd seen bleeding profusely only days earlier. The retired marine watched the blonde's brow furrow as she concentrated on how to answer the question. Apparently the morphine had just started kicking in and had made it difficult to focus, but eventually she sucks in a shaky breath and meets his eyes. Or at least she appeared to; the heavy set glasses obscure his vision of them.
"I'm fine," she rasped haggardly. Gibbs heart sinks. He can take one look at her and see that definitely wasn't the case, but he doesn't want a repeat of what happened with Tony so he lets his slide,
"Where's… Where's Tony? Is he okay?" Bishop bit out painfully. Gibbs
"He's resting just down the hall. He's going to be okay." Gibbs stated.
"He's going to be happy to see you're awake." Abby piped in. It was true. He'd been asking about Bishop ever since he opened his eyes. Unfortunately medical reasons prevented either of them from seeing the other. Not until Tony was strong enough… Fortunately, unlike Tony, Bishop seemed to accept that answer right away and not question it. Bishop hissed in pain she shifted her position so that her back was to the wall and she was facing the door. Gibbs vaguely remembered Tony doing the same the first time he walked in. The room lapsed into a slightly uncomfortable silence as each agent waited for the other to fill in the silence.
"How d-did you… H-how did you" Bishop stuttered then trailed off before finishing the question. Gibbs, Abby, and Dr. Xu looked concerned at this apparent predicament.
"Ellie? Are you okay?" Dr. Xu asked as she put the clipboard back onto the table. Bishop doesn't reply as she looked around the room her brow scrunched in confusion.
"W-where's Jake?"
Abby let out an involuntary squeak and Dr. Xu, having been informed of the situation before hand, looked away. Gibbs felt his heart constrict in his chest as he tried to breach the topic. He looked at the Doctor. Was it really healthy to tell such and injured argent that the love her life was dead? Dr. Xu nodded in return.
"Ellie. There's something we need to tell you about Jake."
I'm having an abnormal busy summer and my time zones are constantly changing so sorry for the sporadic updates. However, I made a promise to finish this story so I am going to finish this story.
Please review and constructive criticism, hints, or compliments are greatly appreciated. One lucky reviewer may get an exclusive preview of the next chapter before I post it.