Gibbs' head was spinning. Snapping his phone shut, he quickly looked over at his recovering agent, to find him no longer peacefully sleeping as he should be, but actually grimacing in pain and trying hard to hide it.
"Hey, Tim. Ducky gave you a sedative, are you still in so much pain, you can't sleep?" Gibbs asked quietly in concern.
Tim silently nodded his head as tears of pain slipped down his pain pinched face.
"Ok, son, I'll get Ducky back here; see what we can do, okay? Just try to relax." Gibbs soothed as he flipped his phone back open and called the M.E. Even as he waited for Ducky to answer, Gibbs put a comforting hand on Tim's shoulder and squeezed supportively. "It's gonna be okay, we'll take care of you."
"Jethro? Is something wrong with Timothy?" Ducky answered without wasting any time.
"Yeah, Duck, your sedative's not working. He's awake and in serious pain." Gibbs answered solomnly as he kept his compassion filled eyes glued to his agent in case the young man looked his way.
"I'll be right there!" Ducky said with worry.
Snapping his phone shut again, Gibbs put it away and sat down next to his agent, on the bed, bringing his now free hand up to Tim's
"Here, if you need to grab something to ride it out til Ducky can help, just squeeze my hand." Gibbs gently offered.
"Ss.. Okay... Fine...Boss..." Tim managed to say between the waves of pain that were crashing through him. "Where....?"
"Safe. Now, relax. Stop trying to be tough. Nothing wrong with needing to express the pain, Tim. Might actually help."
"K." was all Tim managed to allow himself in response. Even as the tears continued to flow and the pain remained etched in his face, Tim stocially tried to ride it out silently.
With Tim fighting so hard to stay strong, Gibbs felt compelled to silently offer more in a way that he wouldn't refuse. Relocating himself to the chair beside the bed, Gibbs sat right behind Tim's shoulders and wrapped his arms around the young man's shoulders and held him securely and continued to talk quietly to him, promising him that he'd be okay, that he wouldn't be left alone and that they'd do what they could to ease his pain. As he continued to do this, another thought popped into Gibbs' head. While the poor kid was awake, even in pain as he was, he needed to be asked this question.
"Tim. I know you're hurting, but I have to ask. I need Elizabeth's # so I can let her know you're okay." Gibbs gently pushed him since he thought it was seriously important for the young man.
Surprisingly, Tim vehemantly shook his head in refusal. "No!" was the audible response he pushed himself through the pain to express..
"Ok, Tim. We'll talk about it when you're not in so much pain." Gibbs soothed as he continued to hold onto him so he'd have something to help him ride it out.
Duky arrived and promptly checked Tim's vitals while apologising to the young man for his pain. The M.E was nearly distraught at the sight of his patient in so much unexpected pain. The young man should have been blissfully asleep, not fighting through this! "I honestly, don't understand why the sedative did not work for you, my dear boy. I've discussed it with your emergency room doctor and we both agree that I am able to give you just a bit more. Hopefully, it will make the differnce for you. I am so terribly sorry, Timothy."
"Not...your...fault..." Tim manged in gasps between pain-filled breaths.
"Please, Timothy, save your breath. Try to relax, Why don't you squeeze Jethro's hand to ease some of the pain?" Ducky advised as he valiantly smoothed out his expression for Timothy's sake as he got straight to work. While Ducky quickly administered the small dose of additonal sedative Gibbs continued to hold on to his agent in an attempt to comfort him. Thankfully, the extra dose seemed to help almost immediately. As Tim's body slackened in Gibbs' arms and the young man's breathing evened out, the pain eased from Tim's features and his eyes began to drift close. Tim's whispered words came as no surprise.
"Thank you."
Ducky was almost beside himself with emotions, so angry and upset that Tim had had to go through that, it was all Gibbs could do to calm the M.E. down.
"Ducky! Don't do this. You heard what Tim said. It wasn't your fault!" The need to keep his voice down hindered Gibbs' ability to successfully get through to his friend.
A knock on the door disturbed them, sending a sliver of anger through Gibbs at the interruption. As he snapped the door open, he was surprised to find Abby and Tony there. Before they could speak, Gibbs spoke quietly but with steel in his voice.
"Get Palmer up here, now! "
Ducky looked at Gibbs in shock. "Jethro, I..." Ducky tried to respond.
"No, Duck! You need a break! You're no good to anyone when your this upset. Until you can calm down and relax, I don't want you back in here." Gibbs told him quietly and and with a comforting arm around the older man's shoulders. "You need to accept that Tim was right. This was not your fault! We need you to help us take care of him. Don't forget that. Now, go, take a break."
"Yes, I believe I do need to calm down, Jethro. Thank you." Ducky finally admitted with his heart still on his sleeve.
"Anytime, Duck." Gibbs told him with a comforting pat on the shoulder and an encouraging smile.
As Palmer arrived with worry on his face, Gibbs calmly drew him into the room and pointed him in Ducky's direction, leaving the explaining up to the Doc. While Ducky talked to Jimmy, Gibbs stepped out into the hall and let Abby and Tony say what they needed to tell him.
"Gibbs!
"Abby, calm down. We just got Tim back to sleep and with all the pain he's in, the last thing he needs, is to wake back up anytime soon." Gibbs warned her.
"On, no! Oh, Timmy!" Abby got sidetracked while her emotions ran away from her at the thought of her Timmy in pain.
"Abby!" Gibbs growled warningly.
"Sorry, Gibbs. Okay. So, we have two shooters, Gibbs. One of them shot Timmy from behind and the other one shot him from in front of the car. Which fits with his gunshot wounds, right?" Abby asked.
"Yeah, that fits. Any idea who it is?" Gibbs pushed.
"Not yet, Boss. But I have an suggestion." Tony offered.
"Spit it out." the boss direc ted more quietly than usual.
"It's the exact wording of the notes, Boss. There's something to it, I just know it." the Senior Field Agent explained.
"Ok, Tony go with your gut on this one. No one leaves here alone and without telling me!" Gibbs ordered.
"Got it, Boss." Tony promised.
"Abby, I want you to take Ducky to the breakroom and sit with him, keep him company. Tony, spare a few minutes to go with her, get Ziva on it too." Gibbs said in what had to be the strangest request he'd ever made of them.
"Boss?
"Gibbs?"
"Let's just say, Ducky could use a little cheering up right about now." Gibbs said cryptically.
At the puzzled looks he got, Gibbs relented and explained. They'd be better able to help Ducky if they knew what the problem was anyway. He knew if they were aware of the problem, they wouldn't push Ducky to talk about it.
"Look, Ducky gave McGee a sedative and I sent him on a break. The sedative didn't work and Tim woke up in serious pain. Ducky blames himself."
"Got it! Don't worry, Boss. We'll take care of him" Tony promised with the emotion of an understanding and compassionate son now intent on taking care of an emotionally overwrought Uncle.
"C'mon, Ducky, we all need a coffee break." Abby urged the M.E. as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle and began propelling him out of the room. As Tony backed her up and they departed with Ducky, Palmer sat down and began his vigil with a vengence.
"Palmer." Gibbs said quietly.
"Yes, Agent Gibbs?" Jimmy timidly asked as he bit the bullet and made himself look up at the older man he was still so petrified of. Here he was, now responsible for the care of one of this man's agents and Jimmy knew he was also putting himself in the line of fire, but what choice did he have?
"Nothin' to be scared of. You'll know when you're needed. Trust your instincts. Relax." Gibbs tried to calm the young man's obvious nervousness.
"Thank you, Sir. It's just..." Jimmy struggled for the words as Gibbs' uncharacteristically soothing words threw him off balance.
"Just what, Jimmy?" Gibbs' quiet tone unnerved Jimmy. He hadn't heard it since that shooter had been after him, keeping in fear for his life a couple of years aog. Well, no, he'd heard it from the man when they'd found him out about his relationship with Michelle, too.
" I don't want to... you know..." Jimmy hedged.
"You don't wanna be the one to make a mistake. None of us do. Relax. If you're not comfortable having to do something for Tim, just call Ducky if you have to. Nothing to be scared about, Jimmy. Staying scared is how you screw up." Gibbs told him in that same quiet tone.
"Thanks, Agent Gibbs." Jimmy said quietly.
"No problem, Jimmy. Since you've got this covered, I'm gonna slip out for a minute. Any medical problem that you can't deal with, you call Ducky." Gibbs said with an encouraging smile.
"Yes, Sir." Jimmy said as Gibbs left the room.
Jimmy glued his eyes to Tim, unwilling to miss any sign of trouble.
