First 24 hours
"We did our best to stop the bleeding, she was shot in the lower abdomen. She was lucky, the shot missed all major organs, however it did nick a vein that caused a severe bleeding that was our main concern," he looks around, deadly serious, "we lost her once on the table, but we were able to bring her back, but added to the time she was submerged and the time she had no pulse, we have no way of knowing what after effects she might have," he takes a deep breath, "besides that, she has a broken wrist from the chain on her arm, several lacerations on her face, chest and neck, consistent with beatings, two cracked ribs, one that nicked one of her lungs and a multitude of scratches. She is right now in an induced medical coma, as her body needs the rest to heal. The next twenty four hours will be essential to check her future progress."
"What are her chances?" Hotch, looking at the doctor, who shakes his head, wants to know "as long as she survives these first twenty four hours, her chances increase one hundred fold, but her body is quite weak and it had suffered several successive shocks, so…" he shrugs, "we just have to wait."
"And pray," says little Priscilla, who came to stand close to the adults, and left her doll on the floor and now was holding Gibbs hand by his pinkie. She looks up at the adults who are all staring at the little child, "auntie Joy always said that , when there's nothing else to do, you have to pray."
Joseph smiles at his grandchild, gets down on his knees and opens his arms, and she runs to him and hugs him, hiding her face in his neck, "you are completely right," he stands up with the child in his arms, and looks around the room, "the doctors do what is possible in human hands," he nods to the doctor, "now we leave the impossible to God's hands," and takes his grandchild to her mother and deposits the child in her arms.
Maggie is not satisfied, "Can we see her?" The doctor sighs, "she is resting in post-op right now, as soon as she is taken to a room we will inform you," he looks briefly at Ducky, and signs to him that he would like to have a private talk with him. Ducky nods and follows the doctor through the doors marked authorized personnel only.
The agents and the family sit down again, waiting until she is transferred to a room. McGee sits down and rubs his face with his hands, he lowers then and looks at them, they are shaking a little. Reid sits down beside him for a moment, and McGee looks at this man who, even for a short while, had Joy in his grasp and left her go, "she's a fighter," Reid says, looking at his own hands, and he looks up at McGee, "and also an extraordinary woman, don't make the same mistake I made, don't let her get away," McGee smiles at the profiler, all past grievances forgotten, "I'm not planning to." They smile and shake hands.
Matthew sat down slowly beside Sarah McGee, who was fidgeting nervouslyin her seat. "Have you met my sister?" he asks, just to start a conversation, Sarah smiles, "yes, we had lunch once with Tim and a couple of times just the two of us," Matthew nods, desperate to find something else to talk about with her, "she talks a lot about you guys," he looks at the beautiful girl, "really? Has she ever mentioned me?" Sarah smiles, "she might have mentioned an episode with frogs and a rocket…" Matthew frowns, trying to remember said incident, and his eyes get huge, "she told you that…" Sarah's smile get bigger, "tell me, why did you think that frogs were the ideal animals to colonize the moon?" Matthew laughs and looks at the beautiful eyes of the girl, not a girl, woman you idiot, before him, and feels like he is diving into a deep pool and starting an amazing journey, "I have no idea." They grin at each other shyly.
The incipient courtship was not missed by two pairs of keen eyes, "It seems we will be adding another McGee to our family?" says Hope, and she grins towards Temperance, who is eating a donut with gusto, licking her fingers, as she hadn't eaten anything since Hope called, telling to get ready and packed to travel somewhere on short notice, "wanna bet how long it takes until they get together in the sack?" Hope looks at her younger sister, horrified, "why would I be doing something that gross? Betting about my brother getting laid?" both sisters snicker, "twenty bucks he will have her by the end of the week," Temperance looks at the two sitting and how they lean towards each other, "twenty bucks he will have her in less than twenty four hours," Hope's mouth is a perfect O, "I'm shocked," she grins and they shake hands, "deal," "May I ask what are you two ladies talking about?" they jump, scared, and look at their father with guilty expressions on their faces. "Nothing, dad," they say. Their father looks at one, then at the other, and none meets his gaze. He looks across the room at Matthew talking with Sarah, "Ok, I bet fifty bucks she will be his date for our Christmas gathering," both girls look with shocked expressions on their faces, "DAD!"
Ducky comes out of the restricted area and walks directly to Gibbs, "Jethro, mind coming with me to the cafeteria, I believe I'm in need of a little bit of tea," and without waiting for his reply, steers him down the corridor towards the elevators.
Once inside one, as soon as the doors close Ducky engages the brakes and looks at Gibbs, "what's wrong?" Ducky takes a moment and finally, "there were also other injuries that the good doctor did not wish to say to a room full of children," Gibbs takes a step back, leans against the door, and stares down at Ducky, silently ordering him to keep going, "they ran a rape kit, as some of the bruises were consistent with said abuse," Ducky sighs, "she was raped, brutally, there is some tearing on the internal tissue, that they were able to fix, and several bite marks on her breasts, they already started a course of antibiotics, the morning-after pill and they are also running tests for all STDs known to man," Gibbs stares down at Ducky, "any chance she might get pregnant?" Ducky shakes his head, "the chances are slim, as she is under heavy hormonal treatments due to her endometriosis, but still, it is better to be safe than sorry," Gibbs is concerned about another thing, "is the doctor going to tell the family?" Ducky looks uncertain for once, "he wanted to know from me who would be taking care of her, once she gets better, as he is more concerned about the psychological after effects than the physical ones, and I can't blame him." Gibbs thinks about the family they had the opportunity to meet and see in action, and he has no doubts in his mind, "her family will take care of her, if she is going to be nursed by anyone it will be by her parents, they will take her home as soon as she is fit for travelling," Ducky nods, "that's what I imagine as well, but if they take her with them, will she come back to us?" he voices his fear, and shakes his head, "they will protect her something fierce, and I don't know if they will let her go easily to a place where she might be put in danger again."
Gibbs stands straight again, and disengages the brakes of the elevator, and they hear a ping as the doors open, "that's her decision to make, not theirs."
Outside the doors is Ziva, she looks at the two men, "she was taken to a room, they will let us see her now."
Reviews make my day a brighter day, so please leave at least a line. thanks.
a/n: Today I went to a Michael W Smith show... He rocks! I will try to add some of his songs to the next stories... hehehe