Time Skip: Three days later
Sarah dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
By now, she knew every inch of the waiting room.
Thankfully, Penny was still alive. But her condition was still considered critical and the doctors had to resuscitate her several times.
Sarah nearly had a heart attack the first time her grandmother stopped breathing.
The ER staff took pity on her and allowed her to "move" into the waiting room, so to speak.
Even Nurse Ratched acted somewhat human.
Sarah had to force herself to go home, take a shower and grab a bite to eat yesterday. The food tasted like sandpaper and she had to will herself to chew and swallow.
Nurse Ratched noticed her blood sugar levels were getting low.
She practically barked at Sarah, threatening to remove her from the hospital altogether unless she finally got some food.
Sarah didn't want to leave. She wanted to remain in the hospital in case her grandmother woke up. Stubbornness ran in the McGee family and it was a trait that Sarah had in spades.
She only relented when Nurse Ratched pointed out she wouldn't do her grandmother any favors if she collapsed.
Sarah complied and raced back as soon as she was done with her shower.
Every night, she would take sleeping pills.
Otherwise, she would only stare at the ceiling and count the tiles instead of sheep.
Penny wasn't her only problem.
So far, NCIS hasn't contacted her with any updates. If Sarah wasn't preoccupied with Penny's condition, she would be dialing Vance every hour, on the hour.
She made a mental note to contact NCIS later on.
She hoped they got the sick fuck who was torturing her brother.
Sarah rubbed at her forehead. She was still taken aback by her mother's lack of concern for Tim's welfare.
Then again, perhaps she shouldn't be.
Even as a child, Sarah wasn't blind.
Noelle would never earn Mother of the Year awards. However, she gave Sarah at least some love and affection.
Tim was a different story.
Noelle would glare at him with hatred shining in her eyes. It was eerie since Tim inherited his emerald-green eyes from his mother.
When Tim got into his car accident many years ago, the only people who visited him in the hospital were Sarah and Penny. Noelle couldn't be bothered. Officially, she was busy entertaining other naval wives.
In reality, she was preoccupied with her latest lover.
As usual, John McGee was at sea.
Even when he got news of his son's accident, her father was more concerned with advancing his career.
On the rare occasions he was ashore, her father was busy schmoozing with politicians and high level naval officers.
Tim never registered on his radar.
Sarah wanted to vomit at Noelle's reaction to the news of Tim's accident. There was a look of savage glee on her face when a police officer contacted her with the news.
Then an angry scowl replaced her shit-eating grin when she learned her son was still alive.
It should've been the other way around, Sarah mused.
Noelle seemed to despise Tim from the get-go.
She mocked him everytime he had trouble with bullies. Everytime he came to her with a problem, she would shoo him away and act like he was less than dirt underneath her precious designer shoes.
You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out Noelle wanted nothing to do with him.
But Sarah thought the stupid bitch would at least care that Tim was in danger. Whether she liked it or not, Tim was still her son.
Her father was another problem.
John's condition continued to worsen.
She knew that something was agitating him. But he refused to elaborate as to what was going on with him.
And he was eerily calm.
It was like he didn't care that Tim could die.
In fact, he showed more concern when he got the news that Penny was in an accident. What was wrong with her family?
What did Tim do to deserve such hatred, indifference and contempt?
Sarah checked her watch. It was nearly noon.
With nothing better to do, she decided to head to the cafeteria and get a bite to eat. Admittedly, she wasn't hungry.
But she wasn't up for another round with Nurse Ratched.
Not yet, anyway.
Did I do the right thing, Vance wondered for the thousandth time.
He reached into the box to pull out another toothpick.
Vance knew Gibbs would protest the instant he received orders to pull out of the McGee case.
In Vance's opinion, this had to be done.
His secret investigation required delicate handling.
Gibbs was about as delicate as a bull in a china shop. Vance couldn't afford to let Gibbs run the show with his cowboy methods.
And Vance was worried DiNozzo would make things worse.
Don't get him wrong, he knew the former cop was a great agent.
However, DiNozzo was angry and snapping at everybody over every little thing. He was a ticking time bomb and letting him participate in this investigation would only lead to disaster.
It was so bad, DiNozzo was (stupidly) yelling at Gibbs.
Which, in turn, would earn him more Gibbslaps than usual.
Vance remembered the shock he received when he got a call from Sergeant Dale Wilkins, who worked for Metro.
As Wilkins admitted what he learned from Sarah McGee, this caused Vance to recall what Penny Langston uttered in his office hours earlier.
Vance suspected Sarah was right.
That Tim had been kidnapped before and Admiral McGee used his naval connections to cover it up.
Vance knew he had to be circumspect in his investigation.
He ordered Wilkins to keep this to himself.
This was precisely why he pulled Team Gibbs off the case. Not only were they taking McGee's kidnapping too personally, Vance didn't want to tip off the higher-ups that he was digging into McGee's past.
Gibbs didn't know the meaning of the word subtle.
And DiNozzo was too angry and hotheaded to be reasonable.
In Vance's opinion, this had to be handled in a secretive fashion. Just like when he originally split up the time to root out the mole, who turned out to be Michelle Lee.
So far, Vance was running into dead ends.
Admiral McGee did an annoyingly good job at sweeping things underneath the proverbial rug.
Vance could admire that.
And he did, albeit grudgingly.
Vance absently chewed on his toothpick, deep in thought. He made sure to keep Team Gibbs occupied with cold cases.
He wouldn't put it past any of them to take matters in their own hands and try to rescue McGee themselves.
Especially DiNozzo.
Fortunately, Bishop managed to find a new lead on a cold case she'd been perusing and the team was out pursuing aforementioned lead.
Vance ordered Gibbs to put DiNozzo on a leash.
He didn't want to lose DiNozzo, as his experience and excellent record spoke for itself.
But he couldn't have the man losing his temper. Vance lost count of the complaints he'd been receiving from suspects, other agents and staff alike. The denizens of CCU were especially miffed as DiNozzo had less patience than usual.
Everytime he had to deal with a computer expert, he would make especially snide remarks.
If he kept this up, he was going to get fired.
Vance was jolted from his thoughts when his cell phone vibrated.
He got two texts. One came from Gibbs, who explained the lead turned out to be another dead body with the same modus operandi.
The second came from Kort, who wanted to meet him in a secret location.
Oh, joy.
I slowly lowered my binoculars.
My grin threatened to split my face.
I'd always suspected that Gibbs and the others didn't give a shit about Tiny Tim. I was pleased as punch to learn I was right.
As usual, I was careful.
I didn't use my SUV.
I carefully disguised myself and made sure my car was especially hidden as I took pictures and videotaped the proceedings from afar.
Gibbs, Tony and Bishop were working on a different case.
Which had nothing to do with Tiny Tim.
Normally, Gibbs had sharp senses. But I am one of those rare individuals that could conceal himself completely.
In other words, I was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
In that sense, I was like Ted Bundy.
No one ever suspected my true nature. I am a master when it comes to stealth, disguises and masks.
There are a "lucky" few who get exposed to the man behind the mask.
Like Tiny Tim.
Speaking of the waste of space, he was recovering from our latest "session" together. I knocked him out with a syringe.
I had plans for the little shit as soon as I returned to the cabin.
Fortunately, there was no rush as the drug would keep him unconscious for hours.
I raised my binoculars again. They were acting like it was just another day on the job. There was no indication they cared that Tiny Tim was enjoying my tender ministrations.
Oh, I couldn't have planned this better if I'd tried!
I made a mental note to show the footage to Tiny Tim. After all, this was the Christmas season and I'm feeling generous for a change.
Besides, he had to be so bored, with nothing to see but the four walls of his current home. It occurred to me that I was being a rude host.
I should provide some entertainment.
Unaware of their shadow, Team Gibbs wrapped up their investigation and returned to NCIS.
However, DiNozzo didn't want to solve the murder of Petty Officer Leland Frost.
He wanted to investigate McGee's kidnapping.
After he got into another shouting match with Gibbs, the former Marine finally snapped and told DiNozzo to go home.
He was tersely ordered to get some sleep and come back in a calmer mood the next morning.
Otherwise, he wouldn't come back, period.
Furious, DiNozzo raced home, barely obeying the speed limits.
DiNozzo couldn't understand his boss. Why was Gibbs meekly following Vance's orders? He lost count the number of times Gibbs took matters into his own hands.
Especially when a member of his team was in danger.
McGee should NOT be an exception to the rule.
DiNozzo suppressed a grimace. Even he knew he was extremely angry and out of line. He knew he shouldn't be yelling at people for real or imagined infractions.
And he was reaching new levels of stupidity by getting into arguments with Gibbs of all people.
But he couldn't help himself.
His surrogate younger brother was in danger and DiNozzo couldn't help him.
If things didn't change soon, DiNozzo was going to take matters into his own hands. He didn't care if this cost him his job or his life.
The only thing that mattered was saving McGee.
DiNozzo parked his car and headed for his apartment.
As it was, he was on thin ice with Gibbs. There was no point in disobeying him. Not yet, anyway.
DiNozzo headed inside, not even bothering to lock the door behind him.
He kicked off his shoes and popped a couple of sleeping pills into his mouth. Then he plopped face-down on his couch. He was asleep before his head hit the cushion.
I couldn't believe my luck.
Tony didn't bother to lock the front door!
The risk of discovery was great, but I couldn't help myself. I felt like the fan who was finally able to meet the celebrity he or she idolized.
I tiptoed my way into the apartment.
As usual, I made sure I wore medical gloves.
There were also hospital scrubs over my shoes so I wouldn't leave any foot impressions behind.
Tony was face down, fast asleep.
I stealthily made my way throughout the apartment.
I couldn't help myself. I rifled through his drawers. I perused his photo albums. I pawed through his belongings.
But I straightened them afterwards.
There was no point in letting him know someone had been in his apartment.
I took several souvenirs. I made sure they were items that wouldn't be missed. I held them to my nose. I felt a wave of ecstasy as I closed my eyes and inhaled his familiar scent.
Even after all this time, he still wore the same cologne.
I did the same to his clothes.
Finally, I reached Tony's couch and got into a crouched position. It was a compulsion I couldn't control.
I stared at him.
Unable to look away.
Normally, I'm as cool as a cucumber. However, my idol was finally just a few feet away from me.
It was all I could do to avoid squealing like a schoolgirl.
I wanted to reach out and stroke his hair.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a homosexual. But Tony was a virtual god in my eyes. Someone who deigned to let the mortals gaze upon his awesome visage as he walked amongst the unwashed masses.
They didn't deserve the privilege.
Especially Tiny Tim.
I gave into impulse. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of sewing scissors. Then I pulled out a Ziploc bag.
I carefully cut a few hairs and let them fall into the bag.
Reluctantly, I got to my feet.
I carefully closed the bag and shoved it into my pocket alongside the scissors. I gazed longingly over my shoulder as I exited. I didn't want to leave.
However, it was too soon for Tony to learn who I was.
Besides, he was getting his Christmas present soon enough. With a sad sigh, I tiptoed out of the apartment and carefully closed the door behind me.
I contented myself with the knowledge that soon Tony would know all that I'd done for him.
I pictured my idol's happy reaction as I returned to my car.