With his heart in his throat, Gibbs swept the flashlight over the area again, stopping on the pile of blankets in the seat closest to the stockpiled items. He stood there stunned for a split second before smiling with relief as his heart started to beat like a jackhammer in his chest with anticipation and hope. With trepidation and concern of startling him, Gibbs gently pulled the blanket back and found exactly what he'd believed he'd find; what they had all been looking for.
Four hours. Had really just been four hours? From the moment Gibbs had made his discovery, time seemed to speed up around him. He had watched in a fog as he uttered the phrase they all were waiting to hear. "Duck, he's here! Need you back here now."
Though his words had been few, the barely contained emotions behind them had been felt as though a shockwave was rippling out from Gibbs' own heart. As he'd waited for the M.E. to reach him from where he'd been searching, he'd found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the face of his missing agent. Ducky had let a large grin split his face as he'd lifted his chin and given a silent nod to the man upstairs. It truly was a miracle.
Gibbs' words seemed to have a domino effect through the team as Tony'd blinked slowly as the words registered, "he's here." Tony'd turned to Ziva, taken her shoulders in a firm grip and rejoiced "He's here!" Then he'd turned and was gone like a flash into the plane so he could go to his fallen brother's side.
Ziva had stood stock still with her hand resting lightly on her Star of David pendant. She'd been praying silent, heart-felt prayers of gratitude for the safe discovery of her friend, for the family her friend had lost and for the strength that they would all need to help Tim get through this. Gibbs had waited patiently for the barely there movement of her lips to stop because despite not being a religious man, he too had been silently thanking whatever deity that was out there for the return of his boy. Her lips had stopped moving and Ziva had bowed her head slightly before opening her eyes and focusing on Gibbs. He had been quick to offer her a warm smile before nodding towards the supplies that Ducky had left with her when he and the team leader had done their cursory search of the plane. In his eagerness to get to Tim, the M.E. still hadn't come to retrieve them, so Gibbs left the task of taking them to Ducky up to Ziva as he took out his phone to call for a medivac chopper.
Getting the news that Tim's plane had crashed seemed like an eon ago and none of them could really recall the emotions because they were too focused on getting word of Tim's condition from Ducky now. Tony could still remember the wave of relief that flowed over him as he'd first laid eyes on his battered and bruised teammate who had, as Abby had so vehemently sworn, miraculously survived the crash.
A quick, but stern glare from Ducky as Tony exploded into the body of the plane had been the only thing that had kept him from bursting with audible joy at the sight of his probie. He had stood, literally vibrating with pent up energy, as he watched the M.E. gently take note of the visible injuries and possible hidden injuries of the soundly sleeping young man.
Gibbs and Ziva had quietly joined them before Ducky had even uttered a word, obviously waiting until they were all present. "Jethro, I'm afraid, it as I suspected. His head injury is cause for great concern because he has 'slept' through my initial check. I am worried that this isn't a case of our boy being exhausted, but is unconscious and needs immediate medical attention. It's imperative that we get him down from this mountain as soon as possible so he can go to the closest trauma center. We really don't have any time to waste."
Seeing that Ziva had his medical supplies in her hand, the M.E. had given her a gentle, reassuring smile. "Thank you, my dear. I appreciate you bringing my bag to me. Jethro…"
"Medivac's on its' way, Duck. Can we move him and get him strapped to the backboard you've got with you while we're waiting for them?" Gibbs had asked quietly, his concern for the state Tim was in battling with his relief that his surrogate son was indeed alive.
"Yes. Gently, but first let's brace his neck and back. I don't want to take any chances that there are some minor fractures or damage that we cannot see. I know that he has obviously been mobile, but it is best to err on the side of caution." Ducky had spoken softly, "We should be able to slide it between the seat and his back before we move him."
Ducky and Gibbs had soon had Tim strapped down tightly. It wasn't long after that, when they'd heard the tell tale signs of a chopper circling to land. Tony had gone outside and let out a shrill whistle when the medic's crashed through the brush. The Senior Field Agent had watched in awe as the newly arrived medics took over and soon had Tim secured to be moved. Five minutes later, they'd fled the scene with Ducky hot on their heels without even looking back. The fact that the noisy arrival of the chopper hadn't even roused Tim, had churned the worry deep down in their guts and the looks on their faces had given testament to the fear that they all felt.
Ziva, Gibbs and Tony had scrambled to follow in their wake, only to be reminded by the lead medic that they would have to take another flight down because they needed room to work. With disappointment filling their hearts, they accepted the truth and were rewarded with the sound of a second chopper making its way up to them. They would arrive at the hospital mere minutes after their friend and truth be told, there was nothing they could do for Tim now anyway.
Giving his head a firm shake, Tony returned his thoughts now to the phone call that Gibbs had asked him to make.
"Tony, call home as soon as we touch down."
He knew how to speak Gibbs-speak, he was quite fluent in fact. Tony'd mentally translated the request, "Tony, call Abby and let her know she was right to hope."
Tony had shared his happiness with Ziva in the form of a small, genuine smile that she had quickly returned. This call was one that he welcomed making with open arms because he knew that the relief that it would give Abby would be immeasurable. His grin had widened as he'd heard Gibbs tell the pilot to divert directly to the hospital and the poor pilot trying to argue with Gibbs about protocol. Seeing the boss' glare at the hapless pilot almost had Tony laughing out loud. The poor pilot hadn't known who he was dealing with. Failure to comply with Gibbs was NOT an option.
Tony had smiled as he'd realized why he'd been assigned the task of making the phone call. He'd known it was the boss' way of giving Tony back some relief after the rollercoaster ride of sorrow and guilt he'd been on in the last 48 hours even while there was still plenty to worry about regarding Tim's condition. Pulling out his cell phone, he'd hit the speed dial for his surrogate little sister.
"Hey, Abbs."
"Tony! Are you okay? Did you do everything Ducky told you to? Are you calling me with good news? Is…."
"Hey! Abby!" Tony had yelled through her tirade.
"Huh? Oh, Sorry, Tony. What's th…."
"Abby, We got him!"
"Really? Tony, don't play with me!"
"Abby, you were right!"
"You got Timmy? For real?"
"For real, Abbs. He's already at the hospital. We're right behind him, our chopper's landing now.
"Really? I mean…really, really?"
"Yes, Abby, really, really."
"Oh, Tony! That's so great! You guys are the best! I'm gonna go tell everybody. Call me when you know what the doctors say! In fact, you better have me on speaker when he talks to you! I wanna know!"
"You bet, Abbs." Tony had promised as he'd chuckled and hung up.
That call had been made almost four hours ago and now they were all sitting in the waiting room nervously awaiting for news. Ducky finally returned to their midst with a doctor in scrubs on his heels.
"Ducky! What's the news?" Tony asked before anyone else could speak.
"Just a moment, Anthony." Ducky requested as he pulled out his phone and hit a speed dial then speaker.
"Jimmy Palmer." Came the assistant M.E.'s tired voice.
At the answer, Ducky spoke. "Yes Jimmy, how are you dear boy?"
"I'm fine, Dr. Mallard, thank you. How is Tim?"
"I assume Abigail called after Timothy was found?"
"Yes Doctor. I'm up to speed on what took place."
"Good, good. The surgeon is here and I wanted you made privy to the information that will be shared momentarily." Ducky spoke gently knowing how upset Jimmy was at the fact that he could not be there with them.
"Thank you, Doctor."
After hearing Ducky make his phone call, Gibbs turned to Tony, "Tony, call Abby back so she can be in on this too." Gibbs instructed quietly.
"Oh, Right." Tony dug out his phone and hit the speed dial for Abby once more.
"Hey, Tony. How's Timmy?" Abby asked nervously.
"Yes, Agent DiNozzo. What is McGee's condition?" Vance's voice filled the air in the waiting room through the phone.
"Ah, Director Vance." Ducky answered for Tony. "Let's let Timothy's primary surgeon explain, shall we?"
"I understand that the circumstances surrounding Agent McGee's condition have left him without any actual immediate family members and that you are his co-workers?" the doctor asked for clarifying purposes.
"We're his family and have been part of his family for the last 6 years, Doc." Tony argued before sighing heavily and rubbing his hand over his eyes. "We're all he's got left now."
"Ah. I understand. Alright. Now I know Dr Mallard and Agent Gibbs are his proxies, but given the circumstances, I'm sure you're all anxious to hear about Agent McGee's condition. Let's sit, shall we?"
As the team quickly sat down and looked at him with growing impatience, the doctor kept talking. "I'm Dr. Greene and as your M.E. has stated, I was the lead Surgeon who operated on Agent McGee. While he's extremely lucky, he is suffering from exposure which can't quite be classified as hypothermia, but we'd still like to get his core temp up. He has severe abdominal and chest wall bruising that will need to be monitored to make sure that there are no complications."
The doctor took a break from talking to look and make sure all of them were still following what he was saying. Satisfied they were all still listening, he carried on.
"He had some swelling in is abdominal area, thus the need for laparoscopic exploratory procedure of that area. We found a very small bleed that we quickly cauterized and repaired. The fact that he suffered no more serious injuries is quite remarkable. However, it's the head injury that worries me. He has a small hairline skull fracture which has caused some swelling around his brain. We'll need to keep a close eye on that. If it doesn't go down on its' own within the next 12 hours, we'll have to go in and relieve the pressure."
"Why didn't you just do it while you had him under, Doc?" Tony demanded. He hated the fact that it was now a waiting game and that Tim's life seemed to dangle dangerously by the thread that was known as intracranial swelling.
"There's only so much trauma a body can withstand at one time, Agent…..?"
"DiNozzo." Tony supplied.
"Anthony, do calm yourself and let the good doctor explain, will you please?" Ducky asked gently.
"Sorry."
"I understand. Please keep in mind that we will do everything we can to make sure he recovers fully and without any lingering effects. As I already stated, he is extremely lucky and is suffering no life-threatening injuries with the possible exception of his head injury."
"Meaning what, Doctor?" Vance asked into the silent room.
No one knew what to say and were totally confused about the fact that Tim had no life threatening injuries, but the skull fracture could turn on a dime and potentially kill their teammate after they'd just gotten him back from the jaws of death once already.
"Director Vance, is it? What I mean is that barring any complications, as soon as Agent McGee's brain scans return to normal and he has reached healthy levels of hydration, nutrition and rest, he will be well enough to go home with you. As for returning to work; that will be up to whatever standards the job presents."
"His job is not the issue right now. Give me a timeframe, what exactly are we looking at to take him home with us." Gibbs asked firmly.
Right now, getting Tim back at work wasn't his priority and he wanted that fact to be known. The team leader was more worried about getting his agent home so that he could recover and grieve for the family that he'd lost. His return to work could wait until Tim was ready and if anyone pushed him, then Gibbs would have something to say about it.
"Gibbs…" Vance's voice came through the phone in an obvious attempt to argue the point.
"No, Leon! With everything else he's gonna have to deal with, his job is the least of our concerns right now!"
Vance's resigned sigh rang clearly over the phone.
"So, Timmy's gonna be okay, right?"
"Abbs, let's let the doc finish explaining, alright?" Gibbs encouraged his lab rat calmly.
"If I may," Jimmy broke in, "Dr. Greene, do we know what his ICP is at the moment?"
"We haven't yet determined what his intracranial pressure is at the moment. If the need arises, we will insert a bolt…" He paused at the frowns of confusion on his audiences faces. "Sorry. I know Dr. Mallard and Jimmy know what one is. A bold is a device that measures the pressure on his brain. I don't see a need for such an evasive procedure at the moment so we're going to work on reducing the swelling with drugs first." Dr. Greene answered.
"Thank you." Jimmy said, relieved.
"You're welcome, Now Agent Gibbs, Director Vance, as much as I would like to give you an exact time, it wouldn't be prudent. Agent McGee is in control now. We will monitor him for the swelling and for any other complications that may arise, but I cannot determine the exact length of time it will take for him to fully recover. I won't sugar coat anything for you. The head injury alone gives me pause as to how he managed in that wilderness alone for as long as he did. He must have been in great pain. The fact that he is still alive tells me that it is probably the time spent without medical attention, more so that the actual severity of the injury, that has caused his current state. Now, as to your question of when he can return home, I have to tell you it's the same uncertain time frame with the same reasons behind it. We'll have to wait and see. Let's take one day at a time, shall we?"
"Understood." Gibbs didn't like uncertainty, in fact, not being certain, especially when it came to the well-being of his agents, pissed him off. Nevertheless, he would comply as long as Tim was recovering. Nothing else mattered, no matter what Vance had to say about it.
"Thank you Doctor." Vance's voice breaking the heavy silence "Agent Gibbs, keep me posted. As soon as he's clear to move, I'll have a plane ready to bring you all home. Your team is officially off duty roster until further advised."
"Will do. Hey, let's keep the press outta this, huh, Leon?" Gibbs asked. The last thing any of them needed was journalists turning up about Tim. It was definitely the last thing Tim needed because in order to get over this, he needed the time to it out of the public eye.
"You'll get no argument from me, Gibbs. I'll keep them out of the loop."
"Appreciate it."
"Gibbs! Gibbs! Don't hang up!" The formally quiet lab rat exclaimed.
"What is it Abby?" Gibbs couldn't help but smile.
"Tell McGee…." She ordered excitedly.
"I'll tell him Abby….I'll tell him as soon as I can."
"And give him…."
"No, you give him your hug when we get home." Gibbs cut her short calmly.
"Kay….bye."
"Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of this. Dr. Mallard, please tell Tim," Jimmy swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, "Please tell Tim I send my best and, and that I'm sorry."
"I will certainly do that for you, dear boy. You get some rest and I will keep you updated when we learn more." Ducky smiled knowing what his tender hearted assistant was going through.
Gibbs leaned over and spoke directly into the phone, "Palmer, appreciate you taking care of Abby and doing what needed done with McGee's family. Consider yourself assigned to stay on it til we get back. Now do what Ducky said and get some sleep."
"Th…thank you, Agent Gibbs. Good-bye." Jimmy hung up to a chorus of good-byes from all in the room.
"If there's nothing else…." Dr. Greene spoke quietly.
"No, Doctor, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. May I accompany you back to check on young Timothy?" Ducky answered calmly.
"Of course." Dr. Greene smiled warmly, then turned to the small group, "Once we get him settled in ICU, I'll make sure you are allowed in to visit. He's going to need all of you once he becomes aware of what has happened. I will also have a grief counselor ready to speak to Agent McGee once he's been told the news about his family. I would advise waiting a day or two after he awakens before telling him though because the stress could cause the afore mentioned complications. I would also like to be present in case of any adverse reactions."
Gibbs surprised them all and shook his head. "No."
"Jethro?" Ducky asked with a confused frown. "Surely you…."
"I don't want him told about anything! Not his family, not the crash, none of it!" Gibbs' vehemence shocked them all.
"Agent Gibbs…." The doctor argued.
"Until we know what he remembers, I don't want him told anything! I don't want him to hear it from anyone, not even his nurses! I don't even want him to have a t.v in his room!" Gibbs ordered with steel in his tone. "After everything he's been through, the last thing we want is for him to let anything set his physical recovery back, am I wrong about that, Duck?"
"No, Jethro. You are not wrong. In fact, I do see the validity of your point. I also believe you are recalling your own experience with memory loss and are drawing from that." Ducky replied quietly as he walked to his friend and offered a supportive hand to his shoulder.
"Doc?" Gibbs looked to Tim's doctor for his view on the decision.
"As you wish, Agent Gibbs. I will instruct my staff to keep a lid on the subject."
"A tight lid, Doc. If and when Tim asks, I want him to hear it from us, his team, not from the strangers in this hospital." The boss declared. "I also want your staff to know that Dr. Mallard and I are Tim's medical proxies because I don't want anything done without one of us giving the okay or knowing about it. I don't wanna find out that something's gone wrong there because of an admin error…Oh, and no one talks to the press! Got it?"
"Jethro, calm yourself, as you recall, I am Timothy's primary physician and that will go a long way toward ensuring you and I are consulted as you are requesting."
"Good. Just so we understand each other." Gibbs looked at the doctor, waiting for his compliance.
"Understood." The doctor answered with a frown, "I'll have someone get back to you with the information on becoming Agent McGee's emergency medical proxy, Agent Gibbs. And I'll make sure my staff complies with the order not to turn your agent's recovery into a media circus. His being the only survivor of that crash won't stay a secret for long, though."
With a nod and a quick "thank you", Gibbs fell silent, the task of telling his young agent that his family, his entire family had been taken from him in the blink of an eye, causing him to do something he hadn't done in a very long time.
He prayed.