Dawn was just breaking when Kate stirred. Guess I slept after all,' she thought. Reflexively she went to stretch, but the pain of her damaged skin brought the motion up short. She looked down at the red, blistered skin on her upper body and was grateful that Ducky had said there would be no permanent damage from the contact with the poison. She wondered how Gibbs was doing. She hadn't heard anything else from his side of the curtain last night; did that mean he slept nightmare free? And what about his poison symptoms? Come to think of it,' Kate realized, Ducky never told me anything else about this poison. He just asked me a bunch of questions!' Wanting an update on Gibbs' condition and needing to relieve herself after a night's sleep, Kate rang for a nurse. She needed more help with the former, but pretended the opposite.

Gibbs heard noise. Not excruciating noise, not even terrible noise, just noise. Carefully he opened one eye. Light, but not light he recognized. Okay, not home, not the office.' Gibbs fought for the last sequence of memories. Slowly they came. Erickson's house, vomiting on the lawn, an ambulance ride, falling out of a hospital bed. Hospital. Hell.' Gibbs tried to sit up, but a tsunami-force pain hit his head accompanied by a surge of nausea. He saw the ubiquitous kidney shaped basin nearby and grabbed it just in time. There was, however, precious little for his stomach to expel. He was appalled to see blood in with the small amount of mucous. Thinking to get rid of it before anyone should see, Gibbs tried get out of bed. His movements were arrested by a towering blonde nurse.

Good morning, Agent Gibbs! Now don't worry, I'll take care of this. Dr. Mallard is very concerned about you and he requested me, specifically, to take care of you. So back into bed with you, let's make sure you're nice and comfy, okay? Good. Now you stay right there. If you need anything at all, you just push this call button and I'll be right in.

Gibbs took the call button like a chastised schoolboy. Never in his adult life had he felt dwarfed by a woman, but she had at least six inches on him, and she was built like an athlete! What a Marine she'd have made! Gibbs lay back in the bed; Ducky knew his business. She was probably the only nurse on the staff Gibbs wouldn't be able to boss around.

I'm saying Agent Gibbs had a quiet night and we don't want to disturb him. The nurse said quietly but forcefully as she maneuvered Kate from the bathroom back to her bed.

Kate was getting pretty ticked with the attitude she was receiving from Nurse Go-To-Bed. She heard voices from the other side of the curtain and decided to take matters into her own hands. Pulling her elbow from the other woman's grip, she turned and headed for Gibbs.

Hey wait, you can't do... Gibbs' head swiveled in the direction of the curtain as Kate's messy-haired one popped around it. She was swiftly followed by a petite nurse who reminded Gibbs of an annoying bird.

Miss Todd, I don't believe you should be out of bed just now, and I really would appreciate it...

Gibbs cut her off, Agent Todd is more than welcome to visit. Right now I think seeing each other alive and well may be the best medicine for both of us. Isn't that right, Kate? His voice, though raspy still, still held the tone of command.

Well, I don't like it. And I'm going to let Dr. Mallard know! She humph-ed out of the room. Kate held back her laughter until she was gone.

Wait until she finds out Ducky's on our side! That'll just ruin her day! Kate's laugh ended with a peculiar cough, which earned her a concerned look from Gibbs. She waved it away as she perched at the foot of his bed and said, Sore throat from all that puking.

Gibbs nodded. Ah yes, I know the feeling. So how are you doing? I'm afraid my memories of the last twenty-four hours are pretty scrambled. I remember both of us being sick in the ambulance, but I don't recall hearing exactly what happened to you. His voice had begun to fade with each sentence, and he hated that any weakness showed.

Kate, to her credit, showed no sympathy for the infirmity; to do so would only have infuriated him. Remember the hot tub? There was something either in the water or the algae. Everywhere I was wet I started having this burning itch. Tony caught on to what you meant when you said poison. He had me get the EMTs to rig a shower; made a big deal of getting us clean and out of our clothes and then sending everything back to Abby, pronto.

Good man, Dinozzo. When he's not distracted. So how's your skin, then? Gibbs assumed she had recovered, as his face had certainly stopped hurting. Although as predicted, his scalp was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

In response, Kate peeled open the hospital gown she was wearing. The crackling and broken pieces of skin surrounding her blisters looked like a frozen pond breaking up in a spring thaw.

God, Kate! Gibbs hand reached out to her of its own volition before conscious thought arrested the movement. I don't have any burns like that on my face, do I? He didn't recall seeing his face in a mirror at any point, but he was sure if the damage had been that severe, he'd have known. How is it that you came off so much worse?

Kate watched the play of emotion over Gibbs face as she carefully rewrapped herself, trying hard not to wince as she did so. She was grateful beyond words that it was Ducky who told her she would heal completely. She doubted she would have trusted another doctor with the same statement. Ducky said that because I had been exposed to the liquid form of the poison, I had the worst of the skin irritation. It honestly looks worse than it is. It's like having a really nasty sunburn that itches like a really nasty rash. He prescribed some salve for it and said it would clear up completely in a week. I have my doubts about the week' part. But he said not to worry. He was more concerned that I didn't swallow any of the water from the hot tub. When I told him I hadn't he said he was pretty sure I'd be fine. Kate realized he was still concerned about his own appearance and added, Your face just looks red and puffy, as if you'd scrubbed it too roughly for too long.

How far does that go? Gibbs motioned toward her injured upper chest.

It starts where the latex gloves stop and down to just about the bottom of my rib cage. Kate looked him in the eye as she spoke, wondering what he'd say.

He studied her injuries with a critical eye, as though he were analyzing a crime scene. That explained the wraps on her arms,' he thought. Must keep the salve from getting rubbed off every time she moves.' He sighed deeply as he realized the extent of real estate on her body that was damaged. As if that shit Erickson didn't have enough to pay for,' he thought. The two of us here, Bourne and his team down, DiNozzo is God only knows where.' Gibbs closed his eyes. Finally after another long minute passed he said, I'm sorry, Kate. We shouldn't be here, any of us. But when Erickson gave up that house...

Kate cut him off mid sentence. Don't you dare apologize to me for doing your job Gibbs! You did the right thing. That man is dangerous with a capital D, and we all knew it going into that house. And we knew what we would find there, too, because he told us. He never said it would be easy. Remember, he smiled when he told us. Just like those Marines said he smiled when he rationed out the poisoned water. If we were too foolish, or too cocky to think it through and take all the precautions fine. Then we all take the blame. Not just you. So don't you dare try to take all the blame for this. She wound down her speech breathing heavily. God, how that man could infuriate her!

He fixed her with his piercing blue gaze for a moment, but she wouldn't back down. Allowing the truth of her words to sink in, her changed the subject. So does that rash hurt? Would it cause you to, say, let out a small scream in the night?

Now she blinked in surprise. Um, yeah actually, it does. That's why we finally wrapped my arms, because it goes all the way around, and I was having trouble sleeping. Unfortunately we can't really do that with the rest of me. I rolled over last night at one point and yelled loud enough to bring the nurse running. According to Ducky, you were having a nightmare and you must have heard me. He said you fell out of bed. She left it at that, wondering why he'd brought the matter up at all.

Nodding, he replied, I sort of remember the conversation with Ducky. It was very strange though. Apparently what ever he gave me for pain relief made me very woozy. I think that's where the nightmares came from, but I'm not sure. It was a tough conversation to follow, at least it seems so now. I'm just trying to reconstruct my day.

Well, you're going to have to do it without me. I think I want to lie back down for a while. Ducky said there shouldn't be any more problems with the poison, but I'm starting to feel a little headachy and maybe a touch nauseous. Kate stood up slowly when a large -- no gigantic -- blonde nurse came in. Kate was forced to tilt her head all the way back just to look at the woman.

Ah, Agent Todd! You have been chatting with Agent Gibbs. Ducky said that it would be okay, as long as you do not tire yourself out. Here, let me help you back to bed; looks to me like you stayed just a little longer than you should have. Next time, be sure you call me for help. Ducky has assigned me, personally, to be your nurse, to see that you are properly taken care of. There, all set.

Kate was settled back in her bed, pillows and bed covers arranged and call button placed in her hand, much the same way Gibbs had been handled earlier. She had to blink twice at the speed and quiet precision with which the nurse had accomplished her goals, while leaving her patient no room for discussion. Of course the fact that she seem to be twice Kate's size didn't hurt.

Hey, Gibbs! Kate called through the dividing curtain. Who was that?

Didn't you hear? She's our new nurse, sent special from Ducky, came the muffled reply.

So you've met her already? Do you know her name? Kate was starting to feel like a schoolgirl passing notes about the teacher.

First thing this morning. She didn't say. There was a pause. Then came an entirely un-Gibbs-like comment. Maybe it's Brunhilde?

Kate blinked and stifled a laugh. That she would have expected from Tony, not Gibbs. She didn't know whether to chalk it up to the poison and be worried, or to the fact that their new nurse made them feel like slightly naughty children.

Feminine laughter floated into the room from the hallway. Not a bad guess, but I have actually heard that before. The blonde head appeared in the doorway, visible to both occupants. Just so you know, my name is Laurel. She smiled, and went back to where ever nurses went to when they disappeared.

Kate heard a grinding chuckle from behind the curtain. She snickered at his uncharacteristic reaction and whispered, which prompted a number of snorts in return. His ill-suppressed laughter lulled her into much-needed slumber.