Dark Awakening
Jethro Gibbs began to stir.
Something was wrong. His head hurt like a bastard, and why the hell couldn't he see anything? True, it was probably the middle of the night, but he should still see light bleeding in from SOMEWHERE.
It took a few moments of angry thinking for him to come to the realization that he was not in his own bed. The smells of disinfectant were strong to him, and when he realised that he had an I.V. stuck in his arm, it slowly dawned on him where he was, and why he was there.
His first thoughts were of Kate and Tim. Where were they? They had been with him, but now they were gone. Did the suspect shoot them too? Were they dead? Oh, God, not his team. He couldn't lose his team like that.
"Kate! McGee!" he started yelling, becoming more and more agitated by the moment. Monitors started going off at the nurses' station, and before long, someone was by his side to calm him down.
"Special Agent Gibbs," a gentle yet professional voice said. He calmed down long enough to listen to the voice. "Gibbs," it repeated, "My name is Cmdr. Tristan Webster, I'm a neurosurgeon at Bethesda Naval Hospital. You were shot."
Gibbs would have nothing of small talk, and the news that he had sustained a bullet wound seemed to have escaped his notice. "Where the hell is my team? Where're Todd and McGee? Damnit, what happened?"
He heard someone else enter the room, and felt jostling on the line feeding in to his arm.
"They're fine, Agent Gibbs. They saved your life, actually. Your whole team was here, waiting for you to get out of surgery, until I made them all go home."
"Shot?" Gibbs asked, suddenly realising what he'd been told. "Is that why I've got a headache that would knock over a damn elephant? And why the hell can't I see anything?"
Cmdr. Webster exchanged a look with the nurse. Wordlessly, she left the room, and went to the nurses' station to contact the team.
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Tony was startled awake by the sound of a phone ringing. He opened his eyes, disoriented at first, then quickly remembered that he had been sleeping on Abby and Tim's couch. He reached gingerly across Kate's slumbering form, and picked up the phone.
"Hello," he said, his voice still thick with sleep.
"Special Agent McGee?" the female voice on the other end asked politely.
"DiNozzo. Who's asking?" he said, rubbing his face, and running a hand through his hair.
"I'm calling from Bethesda. Special Agent Gibbs is awake."
Tony didn't even remember hanging up. Immediately, he sprung to his feet, and roused the rest of the team. They were out the door in a matter of minutes.