Part 02 of But Now I See
Disclaimers: Please see introduction
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kate was halfway through the novel when Gibbs roused. He tried to move around and grunted as he let himself settle back onto the mattress helplessly.
"Gibbs?" she called out to him softly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," came the gruff reply from the man.
"Do you want some ice chips or something?"
Kate was waiting for the usual refusal when, instead, Gibbs gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Slowly, she moved so she was sitting on the edge of the bed and took the cup the nurse brought over a little a while ago. Having made sure her IV wasn't tangled, Kate stood up and walked over to Gibbs gingerly with the help of the bedside cupboards.
"Agent Todd, what are you doing?" The doctor walked into the ward to see Kate leaning over to feed Gibbs the chips.
"I am just giving Gibbs some ice chips." She looked up at the doctor with annoyance. She wasn't an invalid, damn it. If she couldn't do it, she wouldn't. She was a special agent, after all.
"You could have let a nurse do that." The doctor softened at the agent's glare. The nurse was already moving toward them to take over the job and to help Kate back onto her bed.
"Now, let's see how you're doing, since you're feeling good enough to move around, okay?" Dr. Thompson put down the chart and turned to look at Kate.
Kate endured the prodding of the doctor with barely concealed irritation. Finally, the doctor was done, and declared that she was fit to leave the hospital in two days if there were no complications. She sighed in appreciation.
Then, Dr. Thompson moved onto Gibbs. After going through the agent's chart briefly, he proceeded to examine the several injuries. Then, finally he removed the bandages from Gibbs' eyes and examined his eyes with a flashlight. Sighing softly, he nodded, and the nurses moved to put the bandages back on.
"Agent Gibbs," the doctor started softly when the nurses had finished. Kate took the opportunity to listen closely. "It seems like my previous diagnosis was correct."
"And?" Even injured, Gibbs still managed to sound like a leader in control of all proceedings.
"You'll need surgery if you want to see properly again."
This time, Kate didn't bother to hold back her astonishment. To see properly again? What did that mean, actually? What exactly happened to him? Kate forced herself to swallow the shock and pay attention to what the doctor was saying.
"And the success rate for this surgery? How many people actually got to see again after the surgery?" From Gibbs' tone, Kate knew she had an idea of those figures before he asked the question. She held her breath and waited.
"There is only a 50% chance of success," Dr. Thompson admitted. "But that's hope, Agent Gibbs. That's 50% of being able to see again."
"And if the surgery fails..."
"You'll lose your vision permanently," the doctor sighed. There was no way to change Gibbs' mind once he'd made it up. "But then, Agent Gibbs, there are medical advances every day."
"I've already made up my mind, doctor," Gibbs stopped the medical doctor with a stern voice. "I am not taking the chance that I will be blind should the surgery fail."
"Very well, Agent Gibbs." The doctor sounded defeated. The man knew when he had lost the battle. "In that case, we will probably keep you here for a few more days to make sure your wounds are healed properly, and release you into someone's care."
Gibbs didn't bother with answering the doctor. Kate was sure if he could, he would be rolling his eyes at the doctor's comment. Pain filled her at that thought. His eyes.
When the doctor finally exited the ward, Kate moved gingerly to sit beside Gibbs. She needed to be close to him, to make sure that he was indeed all right.
"Hey," she greeted softly.
Gibbs gave no response to let Kate know if he heard her, so she decided to go on. "You want me to read you the newspapers or something?" she asked with caution, not totally sure how to deal with his loss of sight.
"Sure, whatever," came the reply. Kate fumbled around with the bag of things Ducky brought earlier and took out the newspaper. Flipping it open, she went right for the sports page.
Kate kept reading for about an hour, despite her disinterest and exhaustion. She had never been a sporty person. Correct that. She played sports, but she couldn't care less about teams and competitive sports. Betting once in a while when her friends were badgering her was all she did.
When she looked up, she smiled gently at the man in front of her. Gibbs was sleeping, snoring softly and his features relaxed. Tenderly, Kate brushed Gibbs' hair off his forehead. She willed herself not to look at the bandage that covered his eyes. No, that would break her heart again, and she didn't want that.
The doctor hadn't said anything about what actually went wrong with Gibbs' eyes, but she knew enough to ache for him. He was a brilliant agent and a great mentor. She hadn't had time to analyze what she felt for Gibbs, but she knew it was more than a colleague... much more. She had no idea what would happen to Gibbs when he was released from the hospital, but one thing was definite: he would not be able to return to NCIS. Kate felt another surge of pain in her. He had been an NCIS agent for more than fifteen years, and he lost it all because of one damn explosion.
That wasn't fair... but life had never been fair, had it?
Disclaimers: Please see introduction
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kate was halfway through the novel when Gibbs roused. He tried to move around and grunted as he let himself settle back onto the mattress helplessly.
"Gibbs?" she called out to him softly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," came the gruff reply from the man.
"Do you want some ice chips or something?"
Kate was waiting for the usual refusal when, instead, Gibbs gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Slowly, she moved so she was sitting on the edge of the bed and took the cup the nurse brought over a little a while ago. Having made sure her IV wasn't tangled, Kate stood up and walked over to Gibbs gingerly with the help of the bedside cupboards.
"Agent Todd, what are you doing?" The doctor walked into the ward to see Kate leaning over to feed Gibbs the chips.
"I am just giving Gibbs some ice chips." She looked up at the doctor with annoyance. She wasn't an invalid, damn it. If she couldn't do it, she wouldn't. She was a special agent, after all.
"You could have let a nurse do that." The doctor softened at the agent's glare. The nurse was already moving toward them to take over the job and to help Kate back onto her bed.
"Now, let's see how you're doing, since you're feeling good enough to move around, okay?" Dr. Thompson put down the chart and turned to look at Kate.
Kate endured the prodding of the doctor with barely concealed irritation. Finally, the doctor was done, and declared that she was fit to leave the hospital in two days if there were no complications. She sighed in appreciation.
Then, Dr. Thompson moved onto Gibbs. After going through the agent's chart briefly, he proceeded to examine the several injuries. Then, finally he removed the bandages from Gibbs' eyes and examined his eyes with a flashlight. Sighing softly, he nodded, and the nurses moved to put the bandages back on.
"Agent Gibbs," the doctor started softly when the nurses had finished. Kate took the opportunity to listen closely. "It seems like my previous diagnosis was correct."
"And?" Even injured, Gibbs still managed to sound like a leader in control of all proceedings.
"You'll need surgery if you want to see properly again."
This time, Kate didn't bother to hold back her astonishment. To see properly again? What did that mean, actually? What exactly happened to him? Kate forced herself to swallow the shock and pay attention to what the doctor was saying.
"And the success rate for this surgery? How many people actually got to see again after the surgery?" From Gibbs' tone, Kate knew she had an idea of those figures before he asked the question. She held her breath and waited.
"There is only a 50% chance of success," Dr. Thompson admitted. "But that's hope, Agent Gibbs. That's 50% of being able to see again."
"And if the surgery fails..."
"You'll lose your vision permanently," the doctor sighed. There was no way to change Gibbs' mind once he'd made it up. "But then, Agent Gibbs, there are medical advances every day."
"I've already made up my mind, doctor," Gibbs stopped the medical doctor with a stern voice. "I am not taking the chance that I will be blind should the surgery fail."
"Very well, Agent Gibbs." The doctor sounded defeated. The man knew when he had lost the battle. "In that case, we will probably keep you here for a few more days to make sure your wounds are healed properly, and release you into someone's care."
Gibbs didn't bother with answering the doctor. Kate was sure if he could, he would be rolling his eyes at the doctor's comment. Pain filled her at that thought. His eyes.
When the doctor finally exited the ward, Kate moved gingerly to sit beside Gibbs. She needed to be close to him, to make sure that he was indeed all right.
"Hey," she greeted softly.
Gibbs gave no response to let Kate know if he heard her, so she decided to go on. "You want me to read you the newspapers or something?" she asked with caution, not totally sure how to deal with his loss of sight.
"Sure, whatever," came the reply. Kate fumbled around with the bag of things Ducky brought earlier and took out the newspaper. Flipping it open, she went right for the sports page.
Kate kept reading for about an hour, despite her disinterest and exhaustion. She had never been a sporty person. Correct that. She played sports, but she couldn't care less about teams and competitive sports. Betting once in a while when her friends were badgering her was all she did.
When she looked up, she smiled gently at the man in front of her. Gibbs was sleeping, snoring softly and his features relaxed. Tenderly, Kate brushed Gibbs' hair off his forehead. She willed herself not to look at the bandage that covered his eyes. No, that would break her heart again, and she didn't want that.
The doctor hadn't said anything about what actually went wrong with Gibbs' eyes, but she knew enough to ache for him. He was a brilliant agent and a great mentor. She hadn't had time to analyze what she felt for Gibbs, but she knew it was more than a colleague... much more. She had no idea what would happen to Gibbs when he was released from the hospital, but one thing was definite: he would not be able to return to NCIS. Kate felt another surge of pain in her. He had been an NCIS agent for more than fifteen years, and he lost it all because of one damn explosion.
That wasn't fair... but life had never been fair, had it?