Tag to S5 E7 Requiem
Gibbs was still too disoriented from almost drowning to protest when the paramedics put him on a gurney and started wheeling him towards the ambulance. Dimly, he could hear them talking to Maddie, trying to keep her awake and aware.
He was struggling to stay awake when he heard Tony talking to McGee and Ziva. Tony sounded like he was breathing hard. Then it hit him, Tony had been in the water, and it wasn't exactly warm out right now. He'd had to have run over, dive in the water, swam down to get her, put her down on the dock, come back for him, and then performed CPR on them both.
Suddenly he was wide awake and ripping off the oxygen mask the paramedics put over his face.
"DiNozzo!" He yelled as loud as he could before coughing. "Hospital, go." He ordered.
His lungs...
"Aw, Boss." He heard Tony complain, and then he saw Ziva grab him by the arm and bring him over to the ambulance where Gibbs was fighting the medics.
"Dr. Pitt... Bethesda. Call him for Tony." He informed the medics, fighting them off as they tried to put the mask back on.
"Alright. Alright, Dr. Pitt from Bethesda will be called while we drive. But we need you to calm down and put this back on."
"Oxygen, Tony." He said, allowing them to put the mask back on.
"Boss, I'm fine. You're the one that almost drowned." Tony protested.
"Tony, your lungs are compromised, remember? The smallest cold could kill you?" Tim asked him rhetorically. "And you just went for a swim in cold water." The medics stopped to look at Tony in alarm, the next thing he knew, he was being sat down in the ambulance, another blanket was wrapped around his shoulders, and a mask was being shoved in his face, to his very loud protests.
A hand hit the side of the ambulance, making everybody stop and look around. Gibbs was silently glaring at Tony, who sat back with wide eyes and didn't say another word while the medics finished setting up the oxygen tank he was now attached to.
"We'll finish things up here, Boss. And then come over to the Hospital, or meet you back at the office if you get released before that." Tim assured Gibbs, and stepped back as the paramedics went to shut the door. Gibbs just nodded, and then they were gone.
When the ambulances were gone, Ziva sighed. "If Tony had not been here..." She said quietly.
"Yeah. I'm sure the boss would have figured something out... but yeah." Tim agreed.
"Did you not hear Tony? Gibbs was trapped under the steering wheel and could not get out." Ziva reminded him.
"Come on. We need to finish processing the warehouse, and we need to make sure all the money is there." Tim finally said after a moment.
Four hours later, both Gibbs and Maddie were released with a warning to take it easy for a couple of days, and let their lungs recover from the strain of all that water being in them. After seeing Maddie off safely with an agent, who would take her back to the Yard and get her statement before making sure she was safely with a friend for a few days, Gibbs went hunting for his SFA and friend.
"Hey." He greeted, knocking on the door.
"Ah, Agent Gibbs, good to see you again." Brad Pitt said with a small grin on his face when he turned around. "Thanks for having them call me, the ER doctor that was looking at him was about to give him some meds that would really mess up his lungs before I got here... without even running any tests! Honestly, when a specific person has been called in because that person is familiar with the patients rather unique medical history, you wait for them to get there." He grumbled and turned back to the patient in question.
"He ok?" Gibbs asked after quirking a small grin.
"So far I don't see anything to cause me any concern. No wheezing or rattling, and he's finally stopped coughing, although I recommend he use his inhaler as prescribed for the next few days just as a precaution to keep those airways nice and open. There was a small amount of water in the lungs, but I don't think there's any danger of pneumonia setting in, as long as you stay warm and dry for the next few days and take your meds." Brad warned, and Tony grimaced at the thought of actually using his inhaler. He usually only used it on the few rare occasions where he couldn't breathe because of an attack, which was luckily quite rare for him.
"He'll stay with me for a few days." Gibbs promised Brad when he looked over questioningly. Apparently that was the right answer, because Brad looked satisfied enough.
"I don't need to be babysat." Tony immediately protested.
"DiNozzo." Gibbs warned with a glare. Tony stared back in defiance, but backed off quickly enough, grumbling the whole time.
Brad had to hide his smile at the familiar by-play between the two of them.
"We'll go into the office to drop off our reports, but I think Jenny will let us have the rest of the week off." Gibbs said with a sigh.
Tony actually smiled in relief. He could use a few days off. "Boss?" He finally said warily. Gibbs grunted in question. "Can you please stop going off on your own? Nothing good ever comes of it." He pleaded. "This was too close this time."
Gibbs looked at him guiltily. "I can try." He said simply. They both knew that this wouldn't be the last time he went off on his own, but he could certainly try to communicate with his team more. "But I know you'll be right behind me."
Tony glared petulantly. "I can't stay mad when you say stuff like that." He huffed. Gibbs quirked a smile.
Brad didn't hide his amusement this time. "I will go send in a nurse or something with discharge paperwork, along with a doctor who actually works at this hospital to confirm my results to sign off on the discharge." He smirked.
"Thank you, Dr. Pitt." Gibbs said as he left. Brad just waved a hand at him dismissively.
Tony sighed. "Can we work on the boat tonight?" He asked plaintively. He missed working on it, it had been a while.
"I don't know if that will be a good idea..." Gibbs said slowly. And he really didn't. Tony's lungs were already compromised today with the little bit of water he inhaled. Adding sawdust to that probably wouldn't help matters.
"Isn't that what you got that dust filter... thing for?" Tony asked. Gibbs had gotten a dust vacuum for his basement not long after Tony got the plague, so that Tony could be down there with him and not have to worry about too much dust settling into his scarred lungs and causing problems.
Gibbs snorted. "I did, didn't I?" To be honest, he hadn't remembered that until just now. But then again, he didn't think Tony had been in his basement since he got back from Mexico.
"Alright, I hear that you are getting out of here." A doctor said, coming into the room closely followed by Brad, who stood back and watched the E.R doc make his ruling that, yes, Tony could leave. "Just sign these forms and leave them at the desk on your way out." He said with a smile, and left.
"Well, I should get back to Bethesda, I still have a few hours on my shift, and a consultation scheduled for right after." Brad said, checking his watch. "You, take it easy for a few days, I don't want to see you in my hospital until your next appointment." He warned Tony, who merely grinned.
"Steak, tonight?" Tony asked hopefully while they walked out of the hospital, only to be met with another agent, sent by Jenny to get them back to NCIS, where they left their personal cars. Tony vaguely wondered who had drawn the short straw and had to round up the agency cars used by the two of them that day. He didn't even know where Gibbs had left his before going to that dock.
"Sure, why not?" Gibbs asked after a moment. Tony merely grinned.
