"Gibbs. Gibbs. GIBBS!"
She couldn't move.
Why couldn't she move?
Where was Gibbs?
Why wasn't he coming to help her?
She struggled, but she didn't get very far.
"Gibbs! Gibbs! Where are you?"
"Abby. Abby. ABBY!"
"GIBBS!" With a gasp, Abby's blue eyes shot open. She tried to rise to a sitting position, but something was holding her down. She panicked and tried to struggle.
"Abby! Abby, calm down!"
"Gibbs?" Abby relaxed when she heard the familiar, soothing baritones of her beloved silver fox.
"Abby, it's okay." Gibbs said. "Things are going to be just fine."
"Fine?" Abby blinked. "Then why can't I move?"
"You had to be strapped down." Gibbs explained. "You were thrashing around in your sleep. The doctors didn't want you to aggravate your burns."
"Burns?" Abby paled. She tried to raise her hands. "What happened?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" Gibbs asked.
"The garage exploded." Abby paled even further. "What about Ruby? Is she okay? Why am I not dead? I saw the flames moving towards me and my feet were frozen and it-"
"Shh, shhh!" Gibbs gently held her shoulders to stop her rambling. The beeping in the heart monitoring machine began to increase as her panic and agitation rose. "You need to calm down. Take a few deep breaths." Abby automatically complied, trying to control her rising panic. Finally, the beeping decreased after she'd taken several big breaths. "That's a girl. That's it. It's all okay. You're safe now."
"What happened?" Abby asked.
"When the garage exploded, you were blown away from the point of impact." Gibbs said. "You hit the far wall and hit your head. You suffered a concussion as well as minor, first degree burns on your arms and hands."
"So I didn't burn alive?" Abby asked in relief.
"No that was just a dream." Gibbs said.
"And Ruby?" Abby asked.
"She's fine." Gibbs said. "She was far enough away that the explosion didn't affect her."
"Thank God." Abby sighed, closing her eyes.
"The doctors assured me you'll make a complete recovery." Gibbs said. "But you're going to have to remain here a few days so they can monitor your concussion. Then you'll have to take some time off work while your skin heals."
"But what about the case?" Abby protested.
"Ruby can take over." Gibbs said. "And we'll have Danielle assist her." Danielle Evans was the second best forensic scientist NCIS had to offer.
"But Timmy needs my help!" Abby exclaimed. "How I can help him if I'm sitting here, rotting in the hospital?"
"Tim would want you to concentrate on your health." Gibbs said. "You won't do Tim any good if you try to work and aggravate your condition."
"But." Abby tried.
"But nothing." Gibbs said gently yet firmly. "Abby, you won't do anyone any good if you try to leave the hospital prematurely. You need to recover from your wounds and that's final."
"Okay." Abby said somewhat petulantly.
"It'll be okay, Abbs." Gibbs said. "Tim will be okay. We'll find him and get the bastard who did this. I promise."
"Promise?" Abby asked warily, as if afraid that Gibbs wouldn't keep his word.
"I promise."
By some miracle, Sarah made it George Washington University Hospital without getting a speed ticket or causing an accident.
She was panting and sweating up a storm by the time she made it to the emergency room.
Sergeant Wilkins was waiting for her near the front desk.
"Where's my grandmother?" Sarah demanded. "Is she... Is she..." She couldn't even complete the question.
"Ms. Langston is still in surgery, Miss McGee." Wilkins said. "I'm afraid I don't know anything other than the fact that she is in critical condition."
"What happened?" Sarah ran a hand through her long brown locks.
"Ms. Langston was speeding, Miss McGee." Wilkins said. "She was going nearly sixty miles per hour in a 30 mile zone. There was a drunk driver approaching from the opposite direction. She was going too fast to slow down or avoid him. They crashed upon impact. The accident was horrific as both were driving fast and neither person was wearing their seat belt. The drunk driver was killed instantly. It is only due to a miracle that your grandmother is still alive."
"Miracle?" Sarah echoed dumbly.
"She lost a lot of blood, Miss McGee." Wilkins said. "It was hard to determine what injuries she sustained, due to all the blood, but the damage the cars sustained was a story within itself."
"Oh God." Sarah looked ready to throw up.
"Miss McGee, do you know why your grandmother was driving so recklessly?" Wilkins asked.
"She was driving to meet me." Sarah admitted.
"Why?" Wilkins said. He didn't understand why Penny would drive so recklessly to some destination if she was only going to meet her granddaughter.
"I wanted answers." Sarah was lead to a private room.
"Answers?" Wilkins repeated.
"Do you know about my brother?" Sarah asked.
"Yes." Wilkins said. "NCIS's director, Leon Vance, sent out a discreet bulletin to all the police departments in the area. Which was why we knew to look for his car."
"Then you know he has been kidnapped before?" Sarah asked.
"He has?" Wilkins blinked. "But that's not in his file!"
"He has!" Sarah insisted. "I overheard my father and grandmother arguing. My father is John McGee, a prominent admiral in the navy. He is also at Bethesda, suffering from stage 4 terminal cancer. While I don't know the specifics, they implied that something happened to Tim in the past and my father did his level best to cover it up."
"Then how do you know he was kidnapped?" Wilkins said.
"Before I contacted my grandmother, asking her to meet with me, I talked to my mother, Noelle." Sarah explained. "My parents divorced a long time ago. I called my mother to let her know that Tim had been kidnapped. Let's just say she didn't act like an overly concerned mother. She only got angry because I had the 'gall' to interrupt her precious honeymoon. Then she said it was his fault that he got kidnapped, just like the last time."
"Okay, I'll look into it." Wilkins said. "I'll contact NCIS and see if Director Vance can't unearth anything. In the meantime, I highly suggest you concentrate on your grandmother and let the professionals handle it."
"I will." Sarah promised. "And thank you."
I whistled my favorite song as I carefully used my tools to make the next letter.
Down below, I knew Tiny Tim was still whimpering like a whipped dog.
Stupid little pussy.
My contempt of him was growing by the hour.
As usual, I made sure not to leave behind any fingerprints. I got the idea from the movie, The Bodyguard, which starred Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.
I used the same method to glue the cutout letters to a white piece of paper.
I sincerely hoped Tony liked his latest present.
It was the Christmas season after all and I knew Tony would appreciate my efforts.
Unlike Tiny Tim.
The stupid bastard was so ungrateful.
And after all I'd done for him.
Jeesh.
You just can't please some people.
When I was done with the letter, I carefully used tweezers to place it and the accompanying photographs in a large manila envelope.
I used some glue to seal it closed.
I made sure my medical gloves were on as I wrote Tony's address across its face. Being the genius I am, I know to write in large block letters so no one could get a proper sample of my handwriting.
I continued whistling as I grabbed another large photograph.
This one didn't feature Tiny Tim at all.
I entered another secret room after removing a painting of a waterfall, revealing a keypad. I inputted the combination and a panel slid aside.
I made a mental note to change the combination as it was time.
The panel slid closed behind me and I turned on the lights.
Practically every inch of wall space was covered with photos. I found an empty spot and carefully secured it to the wall.
I stepped back to admire my handiwork.
The pictures had only one subject.
They showed a man chatting with some woman at a bar. Another picture showed him entering an apartment building. Another photo featured him leaving a laundromat with his full basket in tow.
Another photo showed the same man doing his job.
He was never aware of my scrutiny.
I was always too afraid to approach him. Normally, I'm not afraid of anything. But he was my idol.
My hero, if you will.
Soon, he will know the depths of my admiration. Soon, he will know the lengths I will go to, in order to express how much I idolized him.
Before I exited the room, I just had one thought:
Merry Christmas Tony, and have a Happy New Year...