Another Roommate
Tony and McGee woke up a few minutes apart, stirred by the same thing.
They had another roommate.
They turned their heads and groaned in unison as they realized who it was.
Gibbs.
"I thought you weren't hurt, Boss," Tony finally said. Gibbs looked at him, his trademark stare a shadow of its former self. "I was wrong, DiNozzo. Turns out I bruised some insides. I almost got away with it, too."
"What happened, Boss?" McGee asked. Gibbs groaned again, without meaning to. "I was in the morgue and I…" he trailed off. McGee and Tony shared another look, their curiosity piqued. "I passed out, okay? Ducky brought me in. Then he proceeded to lecture me, and told me about three only vaguely related stories in between scoldings. Made me wish I'd been knocked unconscious."
He scowled as he heard his two agents snort and start to giggle uncontrollably. "Ow, ow, ow," they gasped, in between fits of laughter.
"Hey! I'm still your Boss," Gibbs protested lamely, to no avail.
"I hate to break it to you Gibbs, but backless gowns and bedpans are the world's best equalizers. Here you're just another injured schmuck, like me and McGee."
"Are you at least allowed coffee?" McGee asked, between chuckles.
Gibbs snorted. "Doesn't matter if I'm not," he said stubbornly. "Why? You got a source?"
Tony looked over and grinned at McGee, who grinned back knowingly.
"No, but he's got his own private angel of mercy," Tony said slyly.
Gibbs sat up slightly, cringing briefly. "Abby?" he asked hopefully.
McGee said nothing right away, instead first opting to grin like the Cheshire Cat.
"She's bringing my pj's. And she's bringing some for Tony. And you too, if you want. And I'm sure she wouldn't mind stopping at your dealer's for a fix for you."
"Pj's?" Gibbs asked, sounding more interested in that than the coffee, suddenly. "Real pajamas? No more peep shows?"
"Oh yeah, Boss," Tony said. "I've seen more than enough of Probie's tat. And he's had more than enough of showing it off."
"Amen, brother," McGee said, and Tony answered him with, "Oh, yeah." They exchanged a thumbs up.
Feminine giggling was heard at the doorway, and Ziva walked the rest of the way in.
"What's this about a tattoo, Tim?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows. McGee smiled at her sweetly. "That's need to know, Ziva. And you don't need to know."
"And the rest of us don't WANT to know," Tony said. "But I have to say, it's very nicely done. Subtle, yet still eye-catching." McGee fired a dirty look at him, and Tony stuck out his tongue. Gibbs just rolled his eyes.
"Abby is on the way with your other things. Does Gibbs need anything?" she asked, turning to the boss.
"My dignity, if you can find it. I left it at home. Or maybe it was the office…" he said, frowning with more than a little self-pity.
"Last I checked, Gibbs, your dignity was in autopsy. You left it there when you passed out in front of Palmer," Abby said, as she bounced into the room. She approached McGee with a flourish. "For you, my Fair Prince," she said, her free hand catching him under his chin, giving him a kiss, and depositing a package on his lap. He grinned at her and his eyes shone with tearful gratitude. She smiled warmly at him as she turned and went over to Tony. "And for you, dearest Anthony," as she reached over and pinched his cheek, dropping a package on his lap as well. "Boxers, not pants. The cast," she said, gesturing to his leg. Tony grinned like a kid on Christmas morning. She turned to Gibbs, who looked at her with slight surprise in his blue eyes. "And for you, my Silver Haired Fox," she said, bouncing across the room towards him, and dropping the third package on his bed. "I knew you'd want real pj's too, so I took the liberty," she said simply, shrugging sweetly.
The three men gazed at Abby, adoration shining in their eyes. "Dibs on the bathroom!" McGee said, as he slid out of bed, scowling at Ziva as she tried to sneak a peek at the much-talked-about tat. He clutched the package to his chest with his damaged wrist, as he reached behind to keep the gown closed, and scurried as quickly as he could into the bathroom. In a few moments, he emerged, looking utterly comfortable, and quite pleased with himself. "Tony, you next?" he asked thoughtfully. Tony smiled at him. "You know the drill, Probie." McGee went over to him and helped him into the wheelchair, glaring protectively on Tony's behalf at the women, as they both tried to sneak a peek, this time at Tony. When they turned to Gibbs, they discovered that he was already changed. "How'd you do that?" Abby asked, shocked. Gibbs just grinned at her, and winked. "While you and Ziva were distracted by Tim's tat, and Tony in general. The rest is classified."
They all turned to look as Ducky entered the room, carrying a take-out tray from Starbucks.
"This should not be allowed, Jethro," Ducky scolded. "But a small cup shouldn't hurt too much. Anyway, I fear the effects of your caffeine withdrawal would be more detrimental to Timothy and Anthony than a small fix would be to you, my friend."
"Thanks, Ducky," McGee said, as he wheeled Tony towards the bathroom. "Holler if you need help with the shirt," he said, as he pushed the chair in and closed the door.