Title: Enforcer
Summary: "Daddy, you have to do what Dr Taft says! What good are your rules if you can't enforce them?" Episode Tag 13x08 Saviors.
Second Summary: When Gibbs collapses in the squadroom, Cyril Taft tells him to stay home and rest. But Gibbs has never liked rules, except his own. So why should everyone follow his rules when he won't look after himself so he can enforce them? He just needs to be reminded of this by the one person who has lived with his rules since the day she was born.
Disclaimer: I only own Charlotte and Allison. Also, in this story the girls are approx. 15.
The appearance of Doctor Cyril Taft in the squadroom was unexpected and that was clear by Gibbs' response to it. 15-year-olds, Charlotte and Allison, trailed behind him. Allison kept taking glances at Jeanne who followed behind them with Tony. Allison had heard stories but she had never met the woman, who it was rumored had stolen her father's heart and had refused to give it back. Despite having hers handed back to her by Tony only after he'd broken it, all Allison knew was how hard it had been for her father afterwards.
"Doc. What are you doing here?" Gibbs said, not exactly happy to see his surgeon.
"Joni Ryan. Is she alive?" Taft asked seriously.
"What?"
"Ensign Joni Ryan. She's a surgical tech? Is she in Autopsy, or not?" Taft demanded.
"Uh…no. No, she's not." Gibbs told him.
"You're certain?" He asked.
"Well, yeah. Why? Is she a friend of yours?" Gibbs asked turning sharply to the Doctor.
"A good one. We served together on the Daniel Webster. Matter-of-fact, she assisted on your surgery." Taft told him.
"Tony, you remember Dr. Taft." Ellie said.
"Mm, the man, the myth, the legend. Nice work, Doc." Tony complimented.
"Well, thank you. Gibbs did his part. Not that he'd done much since. Skips a lot of check-ups." Taft said, annoyance creeping in.
"Busy." Gibbs said.
"Are you Dr Cyril Taft? Joni was recruiting you for our relief mission. I'm Dr Woods. We spoke on the phone." Jeanne said stepping forward to shake Cyril's hand.
"Oh. Hi. Um, of course. Your husband was leading the trip, wasn't he? Is he all right?" Cyril asked.
"We don't know." Jeanne said.
"David Woods and Joni Ryan are still unaccounted for." Tony said.
"Not for long. McGee?" Gibbs said.
"Secured some seats for us on a cargo plane headed for Juba, South Sudan in two hours?" McGee said.
"Okay. DiNozzo and I will meet up with Burley in South Sudan. McGee, you and Bishop, provide support from here." Gibbs said.
"Good to go, Boss." Tony called from his desk.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. South Sudan? That's-that's rugged country for anybody, much less a guy six months out of major surgery." Taft said seriously.
"Funny, I don't recall asking." Gibbs snapped.
"Send me a postcard." Taft retorted.
"What about me? I'm not staying." Jeanne said.
"I can't help that. No room." Gibbs told her.
"Look, I've been to South Sudan many times. I know the region, the people, the dialects better than any of you. I'll fly myself there whether you take me or not." She snapped.
"Having an experienced Doctor come along could be to your advantage, Gibbs." Taft said.
"Might not hurt, Boss." Tony said carefully.
"Plus, Boss, it is a cargo plane. I mean, there's plenty of seats." Tim said.
"Okay, fine! Fine. Book her a seat. It's okay. You can come. Just make sure that…" He trailed off, he struggled to speak and he drew the attention of the four people in front of him.
"Boss?" Tim asked.
"Gibbs?" Ellie frowned.
"Just-just…just as…" He trailed off again and his legs gave out from under him.
"Gibbs? Gibbs?! Gibbs, look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Call 911!" Taft called, taking Gibbs pulse at his neck.
"Daddy!" Charlotte made to move to him but Allison grabbed her arms.
"Gibbs, look at me. Look at me." Taft continued to talk to Gibbs while Ellie called the ambulance.
"Dad…" Charlotte whimpered, feeling now not just Allison's arms around her but Tony and Tim's as well. Always there for their little sister.
Charlotte stood with her arms crossed staring at her father in his hospital bed. He stared right back at her. Her stare didn't scare him just like his didn't scare her.
"You have to stay here, Daddy." She said, firmly.
"No, I don't. I have to go to Sudan." He said.
"No, you're not." She said.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Because Dr Taft said so." She pointed out.
"When have I listened to Dr Taft?" He asked her.
"When was the last time you actually followed one of your own rules?" She challenged.
"When the last time you broke one?" He countered.
"I know you dig the sporty gown, Gibbs. There's no need to keep pulling stunts like this to get one." Dr Taft said as he appeared around the curtain.
"Just get me unhooked so I can get out of here." Gibbs said starting to pull off his nasal canula and heart monitor.
"Maybe. After a few more tests." Taft said calmly.
"You know I was fine, until you showed up." Gibbs said.
"Oh, is that right? Uh, cause your team seem to think that you've been a little too quiet lately. Like John Wayne biting-the-bullet quiet." Taft said.
"So?"
"So, I called Director Vance at his conference in Geneva, and he has agreed to put you on limited duty from home. Pending my discretion and under the watchful eye of my head nurse, Charlotte Ironfist Gibbs." Taft said with a smile at Charlotte.
"Where's my phone?" Gibbs demanded.
"Mm, you can call, but he won't budge." Taft said.
"Does he know about South Sudan? Does he know about your missing friend?" Gibbs asked.
"I've got your phone, Dad." Charlotte said, waving the device in her hand.
"Hand it over, Charli." He demanded.
"No. I'm holding onto it for safe keeping." She said slipping it into her pocket.
"We want Ryan found, but right now, you're in no condition." Taft said.
"You forget about South Sudan, Mister. You're not going anywhere." Abby snapped as she appeared at Taft's elbow.
"Abby…"
"Don't 'Abby' me. You collapsed in the squadroom, Gibbs. You scared Charlotte. She was sobbing in Ellie's arms when I arrived here. What part of that is okay with you?" She asked.
"Were you there? I didn't not collapse." Gibbs said.
"Yeah, you kind of did, Gibbs." Ellie said as she stepped into the small area.
"Aw, swell. Where-where's DiNozzo? Where-where's McGee? Let's bring the whole gang in here." He said, annoyed at the coddling.
"Actually, they're…somewhere over the Atlantic right now." Ellie said.
"What?!" He demanded.
"Next flight to South Sudan wasn't for another two days, so they made an executive decision, knowing that you were in good hands." She said.
"So, you listen to Dr Taft and let them worry about Burley and…Jeanne Benoit. Really? Wow." Abby said, it seemed everyone was preoccupied with that little fact right now.
"Daddy, you have to do what Dr Taft says! What good are your rules if you can't enforce them?" Charlotte pointed out, her comment was met with matching smiles from Abby and Ellie.
"You think steak is really the best thing right now? You could have had a heart attack." Charlotte said.
"But I didn't. I'm sorry if I scared you, Charli. But I'm fine." Gibbs said.
"Dad, you collapsed in your squadroom. In front of your team. Do you really think that it's a good think to be eating something like that?" Charlotte said.
"While you eat that 'rabbit food'?" He teased.
"That 'rabbit food' is going to help me while I'm on my feet. It may not be too good in the long run, but I have to have my cholesterol checked routinely to make sure I'm in tip top shape to continue training." Charlotte said.
"But if you wanted you could have some steak?" He asked.
"If I wanted to, sure." She replied.
The door opened and Dr Taft stumbled inside, "You don't answer your phone?"
"I didn't hear it," Gibbs said.
"Right. Oh. What a lovely brunch. Very healthy." He remarked seeing the steak.
"Look, I'm at home, Doc, doing what you said. Isn't that enough?" Gibbs sighed.
"Forgive me for caring. And you're right. It should be enough, since all your tests turned out normal." Taft said.
"All?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah. Blood work, EKG, PET Scan, CAT Scan, everywhere a man can be scanned, you're humming like a turbojet." Taft said.
"Okay then. Want to share the steak? My daughter doesn't want any." Gibbs said, throwing another distaste look at Charlotte's salad.
"I prefer my meat not to be mooing when I eat it." She mumbled.
"I got to get to work." Gibbs added as if she hadn't spoken.
"No, thanks. Uh, and no, you don't. or rather, you can't…work." Taft said, "Not yet,"
"Why not?" Gibbs asked.
"I saw you go down Gibbs. You did collapse. The pain you felt was very real and it quite literally knocked you on your ass." He said.
"You just said you didn't find anything." Gibbs snapped.
"Which leads me to believe that what you were experiencing was likely stress-related. A physical manifestation, of an emotional response." Taft said.
"So, you think this is in my head?" Gibbs asked.
"Not exactly 'in your head' suggests that you imagined it. It's more…cellular than that . it was real." Taft explained.
"Cellular?" Gibbs frowned.
"Your body has a memory Gibbs, and people who've been shot and nearly died don't just get up and go on with their lives. Like nothing happened. you have to talk about it. Go to therapy of group counseling." Taft suggested.
"Yeah. No." Gibbs asked.
"That's it? 'Yeah. no.'?" Taft asked.
"The only therapy I need is my job." Gibbs said, Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"Mm, be sure to put that on your tombstone. So, you're not even going to entertain the possibility that the psychological toll of what you went through might be bigger than you're aware of? Or are willing to admit?" Taft asked.
"Doc you want some of this steak or not?" Taft got to his feet picked up Gibbs' fork, stabbed it in to the steak, walked to the bin and tossed it in, "I'm gonna take that as a no."
"People who've been shot don't eat like nothing happen either. As your doctor, I'm not gonna watch you kill yourself." Taft said sourly, before giving Charlotte an approving look to her salad and then walked out.
Charlotte sighed when she exited the elevator after school a week later. Allison was already there but Charlotte had to attend her squad's practice.
"Hey, Charli. How was practice?" Allison asked.
"Fine. Krystal is being a bitch as normal. Doesn't like that the team voted me captain. She is being super nasty to Amanda my deputy." Charlotte said.
"Amanda's Hispanic, right?" Allison asked.
"Yeah." Charlotte nodded., "So, Krystal is being mean to her again. Like, really mean."
"And, you is she mean to you?" Allison asked.
"She knows I can kick her off the squad she knows better." Charlotte said.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Look at you Munchkin!" Tony crowed, "all dressed up. Cheerleading practice, right?"
"Right. Captain – so I have to be there." Charlotte said.
"Sucks. You know he came back to work too early?" Tony asked.
"Yep. I knew he would. Even I couldn't stop him." Charlotte said.
"You tried, just like Taft asked." Tony said.
"He's got to talk about it, Tony." Charlotte said.
"I know but you just can't tell him." Tony pointed out.
"Well, I'm kind of hoping he'll talk to you about it. Do you think you could try?" She asked.
"I can try sure. But no guarantees, okay?" Tony said.
"Okay. You bring the pizza. I'll supply the beer." Charlotte grinned.
"Deal." Tony said with a matching grin.