Once they made it to the hospital, Tim led the way to the front desk and flashed his badge at the nurse. "Hi. We're with NCIS. We need information on a John Doe that was brought in. He would've been severely beaten and shot."

"Yes, I know who you're talking about. I'll page the doctor right away," the nurse said.

"Thank you," Tim said.

Just then, a man with dirty blond hair in a suit walked over. "Is one of you Director McGee?"

Tim nodded and held out his hand. "Detective Jackson, I take it?"

"Yes, sir," the detective said as he shook his hand. "I don't mean any offense, but I've never met an agency director so young."

"No offense taken. You're not the first to be surprised by my current position. "Uh, these are Agent DiNozzo and Officer David."

"It's nice to meet you both. If you don't want to wait for the doctor, I know where they've got your man. I can take you," Detective Jackson said.

"Yes, please," Tim said. They needed to know as soon as possible if it was Gibbs. Honestly, Tim wasn't sure what he was hoping for. If it was Gibbs, it would mean they'd found him, but it would also mean he was in bad shape.

Jackson nodded and led the way down the hall. They stopped in front of a room. "He's right in there. Be prepared though, he doesn't look too good.

They all immediately looked through the window. They were all jolted by what they saw. It was definitely Gibbs, but he looked awful. He was covered in bruises and cuts, and barely looked alive.

"Oh, God," Tony said. He'd never seen his team leader look like that, even when he was in that explosion a couple of years ago, he didn't look this bad.

"That's Gibbs," Tim said before turning back to the detective. "Do you know if he regained consciousness at all?"

"One of the EMTs said he may have mumbled the word 'Jenny', but they weren't sure. He was a bit incoherent," Jackson said.

"I…I should call the others now that we know it's him," Tony said before walking away. He also needed to get away from that room for a minute. Seeing Gibbs like that had really shaken him.

"I will go with him," Ziva said before following.

"It looks like your man was left for dead. I guess they decided that if the beating didn't kill him, a shot in the stomach would finish the job," the detective said.

"Well, that was a grave mistake on their part. They don't know Gibbs. That man can survive almost anything. These people will regret underestimating him," Tim said before stepping inside. Like the others, it did affect Tim to see someone he cared about so hurt, but he'd seen worse outcomes for those he cared about. Unfortunately, he knew just how evil the world could be.

Tim tentatively took his boss' hand, slightly afraid he might hurt him. "Gibbs, can you hear me? It's McGee. Boss, if you can, I need you to wake up."

It took a couple of minutes, but Gibbs' hand soon moved in Tim's

"Gibbs? Gibbs, wake up."

Gibbs' eyes fluttered open just slightly. "J…Jen."

"Gibbs, what happened to Jenny? Was she alive when you were both taken out of her house?" Tim asked. He didn't like pressing Gibbs when he was like this, but he had to know if his aunt was still alive.

"Yes. Find... her," Gibbs croaked out.

Tim felt relief flow within him. He still had reason to hope. He didn't know how long he had, but there was still hope that he could find her alive. "We will."

Gibbs' eyes closed once more, and the machines started going off. "Gibbs?"

Seconds later, doctors and nurses rushed in. "You need to leave, sir. You shouldn't be in here."

Having no other choice, Tim stepped out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour passed before anyone came back out of Gibbs' room. Tony and Ziva had returned since then, and they were joined by Ducky, Palmer, and Abby.

When the doctor came out, they all immediately stepped forward. "How is he?" Tim asked.

"I assume you're all with NCIS? I received a message that you were here right before he coded," she said.

"Yes. The man in there is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Is he okay?" Tim asked.

"He's stable for now, but he's still in serious trouble. We need to get him into surgery to deal with the bullet and internal bleeding, but he hasn't remained stable long enough for us to safely operate," the doctor said.

"How bad is it?" Tony asked in a worried tone.

"To be frank, I don't know how he survived this long. If we can get him into surgery, he has a shot," she said.

"How much of a shot?" Tony asked. He didn't like how she said that. It didn't sound like she held out much hope.

"I don't like giving odds. I've seen them defeated too many times," the doctor said.

"Gibbs will be okay. He's always okay. He has to be this time too," Abby said.

"Please, Doc, give us a number. Give us something," Tony said almost pleadingly.

The doctor sighed. "If he survives surgery, maybe thirty percent.

No one seemed too happy to hear that. It meant that their leader had very little chance of survival. They all knew the odds had to be low, but it was still a gut punch to hear the actual number.

"Like I said, I've seen low odds beaten many times. You should all continue to hope," she said.

Tim nodded. He wasn't giving up. He'd seen odds worse than that beaten. Hell, he had beaten odds worse than that. "She's right. Gibbs is strong and he has a lot of reasons to keep fighting."

"I agree with Timothy and the doctor. We must have faith in Jethro," Ducky said.

"I'll let you know when we're able to take him into surgery," the doctor said.

They nodded and watched her leave.

Tim turned back to the others. "I hate to say this, but we can't all stay here. It won't be long before our absences are noticed."

"Unfortunately, Timothy's right. Mine and Abigail's presences will definitely be required back at NCIS," Ducky said. They would be the first ones people noticed weren't there. Abigail never left NCIS when she was on shift, and Ducky only did when there was a dead body.

"What? We're not leaving Gibbs. He needs us," Abby said. She couldn't believe they were even talking about leaving. She for one wasn't leaving until she knew Gibbs would be okay.

"Abby, if we all stay here, others will realize more is going on than we have told them. Plus, we still have jobs we have to do," Ziva said.

"Who cares if anyone finds out now. We've found Gibbs," Abby said.

"Director Shepard is still missing, Abby. And we have no idea who came after them. There's still the possibility that we have a mole. This is not over," Tony said. He couldn't believe Abby was acting like this. He wanted to stay as much as she did, but he understood that there was still work to be done. He also understood that while it was good they found Gibbs, even if it was in bad condition, they still had to worry about Jenny. Abby seemed to have forgotten that.

Tim was doing his very best not to explode. Once again, Abby showed what little concern she had for Jenny's welfare. He got that Gibbs meant more to her, just as Jenny meant more to him, but he did not understand the complete afterthought. If Jenny had been the one they found first, though he would hate leaving her, he would still do all he could to find Gibbs.

"I'm not leaving Gibbs while he's hurt," Abby said stubbornly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Yes, you are," Tim said. He'd had more than enough of Abby's crap. He had too much on his plate to deal with her on top of it. He didn't like giving orders to those he considered friends, but they all had jobs to do. "You're going back to NCIS and you're going to do your job."

Abby glared at him. "Oh, you're ordering me around now? You're gonna throw your weight around as the supposed director."

"It seems to have come to that, so, yes," Tim said.

"Abby, if he could, Gibbs would tell us to get back to NCIS and do our jobs," Tony said.

"He already has. I was able to speak to Gibbs right before the machines went haywire. His exact words were, 'find her'," Tim quoted.

"Understandably, Jethro wants us to focus on Jennifer," Ducky said.

"I'm not leaving! And you can't make me!" Abby yelled at McGee. "I don't care if SecNav was stupid enough to put you in charge. I don't answer to you. If you even try to force me to leave Gibbs, I will make your life very difficult!"

"Abby!" Tony exclaimed stunned. She was acting totally over the top. She had just threatened the director, even if he only had that position temporarily. He knew she was used to getting what she wanted because she was Gibbs' favorite, and he would typically have her back, which was probably what she meant with her last statement, but this was way over the line. Gibbs would probably head slap her at this point if he could. Temporary or not, McGee was the director, which Abby should be grateful for because anyone else would have at least suspended her at this point, if not outright fired her.

Tim glared at her. At this point, he doubted very much that the friendship he had with Abby could be salvaged when this was over, not with her willing to blackmail him. He knew she was threatening to tell everyone about his relationship with Jenny. Well, she was mistaken if she thought he was going to let her do that. He didn't want anyone else to know before he got the chance to speak to Jenny, assuming that ever happened, but he would not allow Abby to use it against him because she didn't like the calls he made. "Abby, let me make this very clear. I will not be intimidated by you. You do whatever you feel you need to, but either way, you will be going back to NCIS, or you'll be suspended."

Abby gaped at him in disbelief. "You can't suspend me. You're not even the real director! Besides, Gibbs wouldn't let you!"

"Apparently, you did not read the same memo as the rest of us, Abby. McGee has the full power of the director's position. And I doubt even Gibbs would defend you at this point.

Abby glared at McGee, as though expecting him to back down. When he didn't, she huffed angrily and stomped off.

"We'll make sure she gets back to NCIS. Uh, I know we can't all stay, but someone should," Tony said.

"I will stay. Agents are out of NCIS for hours at times while working," Ziva said.

"I'm sorry, Ziva, but I can't let you stay either. It would make Tony a one-man team," Tim said apologetically.

Ziva sighed. She should've realized that. She supposed everything that had happened was making it harder for her to think clearly. "Yes, of course."

"I'll stay," Palmer spoke up. "My disappearance will be noticed the least. No one really pays me much attention."

"Thank you, Jimmy. That would be great," Tim said with a smile.

"What about protection for Gibbs," Tony asked. He was pretty sure at this point that Gibbs had not been an actual target, given that he was left for dead and Jenny wasn't, but the people who did this might still come after him if they realized they failed to kill him.

"I have a plan for that. I'm gonna speak to that Metro detective again and see if they'll help us. If so, we may have share the case," Tim said.

"Actually that could be helpful since we're limited to what we can do, given the need for secrecy within NCIS," Tony said. He had to admit that McGee was better at this than he expected. He figured the younger agent would be incapable of making good calls, and that he lacked the backbone to truly lead, but McGee had just demonstrated otherwise. His leadership skills were much better than Tony realized. Maybe they were even better than McGee realized himself. Tony had to wonder if the team, and by that he meant him and Gibbs, stifled McGee's potential. If so, that needed to be fixed.

"I was thinking the same. I'll see you all back at NCIS after I arrange protection," Tim said. He wouldn't leave until he made sure Gibbs would be safe here. He only hoped that detective hadn't left yet. "Jimmy, call with any news on Gibbs' condition.

"I will," Palmer promised.

The four others all began walking away.