Kevin McDermont was driving with his two boys, when he first saw Ethan. Between his general exhaustion and the driving rain, it took time for him to realize that there was in fact a boy. He wondered what could possibly drive a teenager out in this kind of weather. Even older generations wouldn't dare venture out in a massive, early morning rainstorm. Visibility was non existent and with it being a Friday night there were a great deal of impaired drivers on the road.
Kevin and the boys were only out because, Kevin's mother in law Sylvia had begun to experience severe dizziness and difficulty breathing. Kevin had called 911 but due to the weather it would be at least half an hour. Jillian was too freaked out to drive. So Kevin loaded the boys into the car and drove to the hospital. Sylvia was now admitted and stabilized. Kevin thought that meant he could go home and get some shuteye. Then he spotted the boy. A former Fire Fighter/EMT, Kevin knew it was his duty to render aide. He was starting to pull over when he noticed how erratic Ethan's behavior was. Again he did not know the boy and did not know what was causing the behavior. For all he knew Ethan was dangerous. If it were just him he would stop in a heartbeat but he would never forgive himself if something happened to the boys. He did all he could; pull over, lock the doors, and call 911.
He must have startled Ethan because the next thing he knew, Ethan was crashing hard onto the ground. He cringed as Ethan's head bounced off the sidewalk. Instead of reporting a possible psychiatric case. He was reporting a brain injury.
"Miles, Fredrick stay in the car!" Kevin ordered as he raced to Ethan's aide.
Tony sat alone at the kitchen table. He had not been able to sleep all night but was afraid to return to bed after discovering that Ethan was not in his room. He just sat up and waited for the inevitable. He had failed his son. It was not long before Donna and Brandon joined him. The trio just sat up at the table and waited for something to happen. It was Tony who got the call.
"Hello?"
"Am I speaking to Anthony DiNozzo?"
"Yes"
"Father of Ethan DiNozzo?"
"Yes"
"This Martha Higgins from Georgetown University Hospital. Your son has been admitted to our ICU. It seems he wiped out on his bicycle and hit his head on a curb. He is currently in extremely critical condition. I recommend you and your family get here immediately."
"Ye...Yes we will be right there."
Tony, Donna, and Brandon raced to the hospital. Tony called Maria and Trevor as they drove. Before long the entire family had gathered in the waiting room. The prognosis was not promising. Ethan had severe brain injuries, neck fractures, broken ribs, along with massive internal bleeding. He only had a four percent of making it through the day. The family had some very difficult decisions to make.
"The thing is Ethan's initial scans were not promising. They will be preforming a second set of scans after rounds but preliminary testing..." Tony trailed off.
"Brain death" Donna sighed.
"Of course if Ethan is brain dead. We have to decide." Tony finished.
"Your father and I want to decide as a family." Donna explained.
"I know Ethan would hate being bed ridden and sick." Maria sighed.
"I have to agree." Issac replied.
"I am not part of the family. I barely know Ethan but they are right." Jasmine commented.
"He deserves better." Brandon sighed.
"But he's still alive isn't he?" Trevor asked.
"He is alive in the physical sense but not in any other sense." Issac explained.
"I know but he is alive and Ethan was a fighter." Trevor insisted.
"I know if it were me. I would not want to be kept alive. I would want the same for Ethan, for any of you." Donna explained.
"My wishes are known. I know Ethan would make the right choice if it were me. I just hope we are making the right one." Tony explained.
"If you are going to kill him. You are wrong!" Trevor snapped.
At nine o'clock in the morning Brandon was taken back for his second scans. The family had been advised to prepare themselves. The family sat in the ICU waiting room. Clinging to each other and waiting. Maria buried herself in Issac's arms. Tony and Donna just held each other and wept. Brandon wandered around aimlessly. While Jasmine did her best to get Trevor calmed down.
"Family of Ethan DiNozzo?" Dr. Harris called.
"That's us." Tony replied.
"I am sorry but Ethan is brain dead." Dr. Harris announced.
The family's worst fear had been confirmed. Ethan was brain dead and fading fast. They were now forced to make the hardest decision they would ever have to make. Really it was easy. Only Trevor wanted Ethan kept alive. Everybody else knew that Ethan would not want to be kept alive by machines. They knew what they had to do, but that did not make it any easier. How do you tell doctors to turn off your child's life support.
"We all know what we have to do." Tony declared.
"Yeah" Maria sighed.
"It's clear" Issac confirmed.
"It's the right thing." Jasmine added.
"It's hard for us but it's what Ethan would want." Brandon agreed.
"We have to turn off life support." Donna stated.
"Can't we just give him one more chance?" Trevor begged.
Tony and Donna made the necessary calls while Trevor and Maria went in to spend some final time with their younger brother. The coming hours and days would be misery for the family. Deep down Trevor knew the family was making the right decision but that did not make it any easier. He was not ready to say goodbye to Ethan. In truth nobody was.
A/N: How will the family cope with their tragedy? New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.
