Chapter 25

Tim had his street clothes, including his wallet, as he'd hoped. Now, he was ready to see just how well he'd manage getting around. If he was going to collapse after taking ten steps, it wasn't worth trying.

Carefully, he stood up, ignoring the slight dizziness as he walked toward the door. As Marc had promised, he was walking, albeit with some hesitation. He ran out of energy very quickly, but if he could walk, he could manage. He got to the door and stepped out into the hall.

...and stopped in surprise.

"Agent Saunders...what are you...doing here?" he asked.

Adam Saunders, the newest MCRT agent, smiled at him.

"It's my turn for guard duty, Agent McGee."

"Who are you guarding?"

Adam's expression turned quizzical.

"You, last I checked."

"Me? Why?"

"Because we don't know who was the target, you or Ormond. ...and even if we do, you're a witness."

"But...I don't remember."

"The killer may not know that, and until we're sure, you're under guard."

"How long?"

"Almost since you came here. ...uh...didn't anyone tell you?"

"No," Tim said. "No one mentioned it."

"Oh. I hope it wasn't supposed to be a secret. Didn't you notice anyone when you left your room?"

Tim shook his head slowly. He wasn't sure if he should be irritated about being under guard without being told or if he should be annoyed that it would be nearly impossible to get out of the hospital with someone trying to keep him safe.

"Anything you need, Agent McGee?"

"Uh...no. Thanks."

Tim went back into his room and sat down on the bed. He sat there for a while. They didn't know if he was the target or Charles. At this point, it seemed impossible that the killer would not realize that Tim couldn't remember anything. If he had remembered what happened, the killer would be arrested, right? And if he had gone up to Charles' office, it made a lot more sense for it to be about Charles than about Tim. ...and Tim hoped that it wasn't about him because that would mean that Charles' death was on his head. He didn't like the idea that it could be his fault for stupidly running up to Charles' office.

If only I can remember what I was thinking, what I saw.

He had to modify his plan, but he'd figure it out.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Hey, Eric," Bao Li said. "I heard you might be finishing soon!"

"I don't know if the department could survive without you here," Bob added with a grin. "Will any of the faculty know what to do?"

Eric laughed.

"Where did you hear that?"

"It's been going around," Arnold said. "Ever since the last faculty meeting. Is it true?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Eric asked with a smile.

"Are you kidding?" Lancer said. "Who else knows all the ins and outs of the department? I'll bet you know things about this place that no one else knows."

"That's going a little far."

"I doubt it," David said. "I always thought they should just make you a default faculty because you know as much or more than anyone else about how to function here."

"Well, thank you. Hey...where's Lancer?"

"He's still having trouble with what happened," Arnold said. "I think it would be easier if he could see that Tim was okay, but no one is allowed in to see him except his family and the NCIS people."

"How do you know that?" Eric asked.

"We tried to go and visit last week," Arnold said. "He had a guard!"

"Wow. Tim must be really important," Bao Li said. "Did the guard tell you anything?"

"She said that Tim was getting better, but that it was going to take time. That was all. Do you think we're all suspects?" Arnold asked.

"I guess we'd have to be," David said. "If we were in the building..."

"Yeah, I guess. Do you think Tim will want to come back here after? I mean...wouldn't it be hard to deal with what happened here?"

"Tim's stronger than that," Pradnya said. "As soon as he can, he'll be back. Do you think he saw who killed Charles and that's why they're guarding him?"

"If he did, wouldn't they have arrested someone already?" Eric asked.

"...unless he forgot," Bob said. "People with head injuries can get a kind of amnesia where they forget what happened around the time that they were injured. I got a concussion once when I was playing football in high school. I still don't remember actually getting hit."

"If he doesn't remember, though..."

"Maybe he will later. Not everyone forgets."

"On another topic, have any of you had your finals postponed?" Bao Li asked. "Sherman said the final would be next week instead of this week."

"Jaye postponed the finals for Charles' classes, but Roger didn't."

They started comparing schedules and the conversation moved on to other topics.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"...and so, we're kind of at a standstill," Abby finished. "We have a lot of information, just not what we need."

"The paperweight your professor described hasn't shown up at all," Tony added. "We figure he's telling the truth, but it wasn't in the office or at Ormond's house."

Tim nodded and thought about it for a few minutes.

"I am sorry that we have no good news for you about the case," Ziva said into the silence.

"Oh...it's not that." Tim looked at them and was simultaneously relieved that they were being so patient and strangely-annoyed that they weren't pointing out the fact that he was still thinking too slowly.

"Then, what is it?" Jimmy asked. "Is it Professor Ormond?"

"No." Tim shook his head, although that did bother him. He just didn't want to talk about it.

"I wish you had told us it was him who was giving you all that grief," Tony said.

"He didn't deserve to die, Tony!" Tim said with more heat than he'd planned.

"Hey, I didn't say he did!"

"Sorry. I'm sorry," Tim said and let out a loud exhalation.

There was an awkward silence.

"Was there something else, Tim?" Abby asked.

"Have you looked at the other security cameras on campus?" Tim asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if this is...stupid or not, but...you seem pretty sure that it was someone in the department who did this."

"It's what makes the most sense, although we can't rule anything out really at this point," Tony said.

Tim spoke slowly, making sure he got everything out as he meant it. "Well...if the cameras at the...the computer science building were tampered with...maybe whoever did it fiddled with the other cameras on campus to hide himself from being seen somewhere he said he wasn't. Does that make sense?"

"That makes a lot of sense, Probie," Tony said. "See? That's why we need you back! We've been so focused on what we've got that we've forgotten to look around!"

"You don't have to patronize me, Tony," Tim said. "I know I'm still not back to normal."

"He's not!" Abby said. "It is a good idea and I'm going to bug Gibbs about it today. Definitely."

"Today?" Tim repeated. "It's nine in the evening, Abby."

"Okay...first thing tomorrow morning!"

Tim smiled.

"Are you sure you're not just being nice to me? It's okay if it's not...a good idea," he said.

"We are not just being nice," Ziva said. "You are still smart, Tim. That has not changed and you have good ideas...as this one is."

"Okay." Tim smiled again but then remembered that he had a guard in the hallway and his smile faded.

"What is it?" Abby asked.

"It's okay if you still can't remember. We'll figure it out," Tony said.

"No, it's not that. Why do I have a guard out in the hall? Why is there someone watching me? ...and why didn't...anyone tell me about it?"

They all looked genuinely surprised.

"We weren't trying to keep it from you, Tim," Abby said. "Really."

"Then, why not tell me?"

"Because it didn't come up," Tony said. "You've only been really connected for a couple of weeks, Tim."

"You don't have to remind me," Tim muttered.

"But we just didn't think of it. It's normal for us now. There's always someone out there...until we know for sure that you're safe."

"But it seems silly to think that someone would be coming after me...now. Wouldn't they have...tried? And I don't...remember! If I was remembering something...important...I would have told you already!"

"We can't make that assumption," Abby said. "We don't want to. What if we're wrong?"

"We'd never forgive ourselves and you know it," Jimmy said. "No one wants to risk being wrong about that."

"Yeah...do you?" Tony asked.

"Guess not."

"Why were you so upset about it?" Ziva asked.

"It was...just a surprise. It felt like you were...keeping...secrets from me. Thinking that I couldn't...get it or something because I'm..."

Abby leaned over and hugged Tim tightly.

"No, Tim! We weren't. It really was just...we didn't think about it. I'm sorry!"

Tim tried to let go of the irritation which had taken him by surprise. He didn't want to be angry at his friends, but he couldn't help it. It was like he had this thread inside him that kept pulling him toward anger. He suppressed it, though. They wouldn't leave him alone if they were too worried about him.

They left about ten minutes later when Tim claimed that he was tired. They left and Tim stared at the ceiling, wondering how he was going to get out.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The next morning, true to her word, Abby accosted Gibbs and got him to request the security video from the other buildings on campus, particularly the places that the people who had been in the building claimed to be. Then, as soon as she got it, she threw herself into going through all the video, searching for the same manipulation she had found before. It was all she wanted to work on, but of course, it couldn't be. There were other things she had to do. Still, she persevered.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

There was a crashing sound that startled Tim out of his contemplation of the ceiling. He got up and carefully walked to the door. Agent Saunders was down the hall where a gurney looked like it had been knocked over. Someone was lying on the floor. A nurse was calling for a doctor.

Tim suddenly realized that there was no one watching him.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Adam Saunders walked back to Tim's room. A badly-placed ceiling leak had left a puddle on the floor and there had been the worst possible result. A patient being transferred to another room had been knocked to the floor. He figured that Tim had likely heard all the noise even if he hadn't come out. He didn't want to leave Tim with the impression that he couldn't speak to anyone if he wanted to.

"Hey, Agent McGee, there was a bit of an accident down the hall and..."

He stopped and looked around.

"Oh, no."

He looked in the bathroom.

No. The room was definitely empty.

"Oh, no."

Then, he saw the note on the bed. He looked at it.

"Oh, no."

He pulled out his phone and dialed quickly.

"Agent Gibbs, you're going to kill me."