A/N: I spent the last week in Louisiana, and am totally overcome by the emotion I felt. I have another chapter of this fic almost done, but most of my fic writing time this week has been spent on a new story that revolves around Abby and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. As usual, I direct my emotion into my stories. It should be done in a week, and I intend to post every few days during November. If anyone is interested in seeing pics, feel free to check out my journal. (wiccagirl24 (dot) livejournal (dot) com)
II
The first thing Abby asked the nurse when she came in the next morning was when they would release her. The nurse told her that it was up to the doctor, who would be doing rounds in a couple of hours. It was not the answer Abby was hoping for. Before leaving the room the nurse handed her a tray with a bowl of green Jell-O and another of what was probably supposed to be oatmeal.
"Why do hospitals only ever have lime Jell-O?" Abby asked rhetorically as she poked at the offending food with her spoon.
"They don't want their patients getting too comfortable, Abbs." Tony reached for the Jell-O and tossed one of the squares into his mouth. "If they started serving the red kind, or heaven forbid real food, people might actually want to stay here."
"I don't think that food is at the root of most people's desire to leave the hospital, Tony," Ziva remarked.
"You have much to learn about American hospitals," Tony shot back. "And for your first lesson, I will teach you how to sneak real food into a hospital room. Come on."
"Where are we going?" Ziva asked, even as rose from her chair to join him.
"To get Abby and the rest of us breakfast, of course."
"Hey Tony?" Abby called out as the two agents left the room. "You might want to wash your face before you go anywhere. And don't forget to look in the mirror."
"Sure Abbs," he said absently. By the time he was halfway down the hallway he was trying to explain to Ziva what Jell-O was, though, and forgot all about Abby's warning.
"I'm afraid Mr. Palmer and I must be leaving," Ducky informed Abby. "We have reports that need to be filled today, in addition to other things."
"Don't forget the autopsy that is waiting for us, Dr. Mallard," Jimmy offered helpfully.
"Palmer!" Ducky, Gibbs, and McGee all exclaimed at the same time. Gibbs, being the closest to Jimmy, slapped him on the back of the head.
"Opps." It hadn't occurred to him, until he felt four pair of eyes starring at him, why he shouldn't mention the body that was waiting back at the morgue.
"What aren't you guys telling me?" She was used to Palmer's blunders, and probably wouldn't have paid any attention to what he had said. It was the reactions of the other men that convinced her that they were hiding something from her.
"We'll talk to you latter, Duck," Gibbs told his friends, subtly nodding his head towards the door.
"I'll be checking in on you soon, my dear," Ducky said. "And please do follow the doctor's orders, whatever they may be."
"McGee?" Abby asked pointedly when the ME and his assistant had left the room.
"I'm not sure... that is, I think that..." McGee stuttered.
"You should go out in the hallway to answer your phone call, McGee," Gibbs said pointedly.
"What phone call, Boss?"
"That one." When Gibbs dialed McGee's number into his own cell, McGee got the not so subtle hint.
"I don't like it when people keep things from me, Gibbs. I don't need protecting from whatever it is you are hiding."
"You're in a hospital bed. Do you really think I'm going to burden you with any more then I have to?" She was wrong when she said that she didn't need protecting. She needed a hell of a lot more then she had received, and that was something he would have to live with.
"Burden? I think I'm past the point of being burdened, Gibbs. I just spent the last four days wondering if each moment might be my last." Gibbs flinched at her words. "Telling me that the bastard that enjoyed having that kind of psychological control over me is dead is not a burden. It's a relief."
"I killed him," Gibbs said simply.
"I'm sure he didn't give you a choice," Abby proclaimed.
"He hurt you," was Gibbs' only reply.
II
"Where'd Gibbs go?" Tony asked when he entered the hospital room carrying a brown paper bag. His cheek was bright red from being scrubbed harshly, but there was still a faint trace of marker on the skin.
"To get a cup of coffee. I asked for a Caf-Pow! too, but from the glare he gave me I don't think he'll bring me one," Abby said.
"Good thing you have us looking out for you then." Tony motioned towards Ziva, who was carrying another paper bag and a familiar red plastic cup.
"Thank you," Abby smiled as Ziva handed her the drink. "I've been dying for one of these."
Dying. Neither Tony nor Ziva said anything at the comment that normally would have been a casual reference.
"So what else did you bring me?" Abby asked, ignoring the tension in the air.
"Breakfast burritos." He handed her one, unwrapping it first, and then took one out of the bag for himself. Ziva rolled the small table from the corner of the room the side of the bed, and the three of them sat in an awkward circle and ate their breakfast in silence.
II
Between the concussion and the dehydration the doctor wanted to keep an eye on her, so it wasn't until that evening that he agreed to release her. Even then, Abby suspected, it was because of a phone call Ducky had placed that afternoon. The weight of Ducky's name in the medical community reached even to doctors who treated the living, it seemed.
"You ready to go, Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he stood next to the wheelchair.
"Do I really need to answer that?" It was just the two of them again, the rest of the team having left for DC a few hours ago.
"Then let's get out of here. We have a couple of hours of driving time before we're home."
"Hours? It didn't seem that long the first time, but that might have been because I was unconscious," Abby joked morbidly.
"Abby, I…" Gibbs began.
"Sorry, Gibbs," Abby apologized. "That wasn't as funny as it sounded in my head. Let's go."
A nurse pushed Abby's wheelchair until they reached the lobby, then Gibbs took over. He helped Abby settle into the front seat of the car, and buckled her seatbelt. They hadn't been driving for more then ten minutes before she fell asleep, and she stayed that way for the rest of the trip. She didn't notice when they drove past the exit for her home, and barely stirred when he carried her into his house.