Walking into the hospital room to talk to Andrew for the first time in three days, Gibbs could only thank God that the man had had the good sense to use the high-backed booster seat for his child - it had saved her from serious injury in the accident today. The NCIS Agent was relieved to see the young man awake and looking much better than he had the last time he'd see him.
It came as no surprise that Andrew's attention was focused on the pint-sized visitor fast approaching his bed now.
"DADDY!" Shyanne exclaimed happily. "You're awake! You was sleepin' when I came to see you last time!"
"I'm sorry sweetie. I've missed you!" Andrew told her as he held out his arms to her, albeit weakly.
Dustin gently picked up his niece and set her down on the bed just as gently in his brother's arms. "How ya doin' Bro?"
"What are you doin' here Dut?" The older man looked at his brother warily, obviously expecting trouble.
"Came to help - check on you - be there for Shy- and you." Dustin replied without hesitation. "And to help you do you know what to you know who." the younger man hedged, obviously keeping focus on the fact that little ears were listening. "We both know why he did it."
"Have to let the law take care of it, Dut. I've got a daughter to think about."
"Lemme take her for you, Andrew. I'll stay at your place. That way..." the young man paused and smiled as he looked down towards the little girl at the heart of the matter on his mind.
They all smiled at the sight of Shyanne now asleep in her father's arms.
Dustin continued on." She can settle back into her routine in her own place, her own room..."
Andrew interrupted to strongly object. "NO."
"I'm not gonna..."
"Linda still spend time with Luke?" Andrew's question seemed off the wall and Gibbs was taken by surprise with it.
"Well, yeah, Bro. She's his mom."
"Then no."
"Look man, I know she's irresponsible and lets him see ..." Dustin tried to plead his case.
"The gun, Dut? ...inappropriate towards...no! I know it's her doin' but no..." Andrew insisted even as he kept his voice down so Shyanne could sleep on
"I promise, I won't let them be alone together even for a minute."
"Already got Gabby, Dut. Between them, your hands are full."
"Well, I'm not leavin'. Got a room - and I'm stayin' til you're outta here and I can take you home, help you out." His little brother insisted. "Mamma wouldn't want you goin' through this alone and you know it."
"Dustin." Andrew groaned wearily. "I've had a few years of Renee's mom drilling into our heads whenever Renee and I were fightin' that our kids need both parents. Yours do too."
"Torri's got Gabby. Linda's got Luke. I can go visit them when you're sleepin' or something."
"Dut. Thank you, but you need to spend time with your kids."
"I hear ya bro, but we both know that Torri will skin me alive if I leave you here alone."
"He's not alone." Gibbs spoke up for the first time. "He's got Federal Agents and a medical examiner with all the doctorin' ability he'll need while he heals up."
"You're gonna let him stay with you?" Dustin asked in shock.
Gibbs shook his head. "Dr. Mallard, the Medical Examiner who works for NCIS - has agreed to let him stay with him and take care of him. My agent who stumbled across them as this was going on - will be on hand to continue to look after Shyanne."
"Your agent - you mean the one who looks like death warmed over right now?" The younger man's tone was full of skepticism.
"Something happen to Agent McGee?" Andrew asked with worry.
Gibbs speared Dustin Edwards with an angry glare before turning his attention to the patient. "He'll be fine. Might as well tell ya now, he and your daughter were in a car accident earlier. She's fine. Not a scratch on her, thanks to that high-backed booster seat you've got."
"How'd she handle it?" Andrew worried as he watched his daughter sleep peacefully unaware in his arms.
"Don't know. I wasn't there. When Tim called me, she was getting upset, asking for me loud enough I could hear her through the phone. Not sure why since I wasn't with them."
"Why weren't you?" Dustin asked almost angrily.
"Because they were just coming to see your brother. Shyanne wanted me to watch over her new dog until they got back." Gibbs answered calmly as he looked directly back at him, not even blinking.
"That's right she said something about you getting her a dog." Dustin grinned as he looked at his brother, obviously waiting for a negative reaction.
"Oh, God. What kind? Please don't tell me it's as big as a horse." Andrew begged tiredly.
"Worse." Gibbs grinned. "It's an ankle biter."
"Wonderful. Exactly what breed is this toy energizer bunny?"
"He's a Jack Russell Terrier. I'll be glad to keep him if you decide you don't want to."
"No. I'd never do that to Shy. She's probably in love with him by now."
"Might wanna consider getting him a four-legged playmate." Gibbs couldn't hide the apology in his tone.
"What? Why?"
"He's attached to the dog that came home with him, for Agent McGee."
Andrew sighed tiredly. "Not gonna worry about that now."
"What the doc say about you checkin' out, Andrew?" His brother asked.
"Day after tomorrow if everything goes okay."
"You need to rest." Gibbs told him. "Got a coupla weeks of recoverin' to get through."
Andrew nodded as he silently looked at his brother.
"Lemme' take her at least for tonight."
"I promise you, Dustin, if you had anything at all to do with..." Andrew's tone was hard and angry yet quiet enough it didn't disturb his daughter.
"I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt your girls - you know that! I had nothing to do with this!"
"Not a believer in coincidence, myself." Gibbs quietly stated.
"What - me gettin' here after your agent and Shyanne were in the accident? If I wasn't in the middle of that coincidence, I wouldn't either. But, this time - that's exactly what it was. I couldn't get here any sooner. That doesn't mean I had anything to do with it!"
"Relax, Dut. I know you didn't have anything to do with today." Andrew told him wearily. "I just had to ask."
"Thank you! Too bad, you're not the only one that needs to believe it. Andrew, you know I had nothing to do with Mamma's accident either, right?"
His brother sighed as he replied. "Yeah. I know that too."
"Good. Then you'll let me take Shy for tonight?"
"Not to my place. She'll have to wait for me to be able to take her home myself for that."
"Okay." Dustin agreed.
"Wake her up before you take her. I don't want her being taken from me without knowing it."
Dustin smiled as he gently woke his niece. "Hey Pretty Girl, time to go."
"Go?" Shyanne asked as her eyelids fluttered a few times before they remained open.
"Hey, sweetie, Uncle Dut wants to spend some time with you tonight. That okay with you?"
"Are you coming, too, Daddy?" The pint-sized voice asked with abject hope shining in her eyes.
"Not tonight, Honey. Two more days and I'll be able to come with you. Okay?" Andrew told her with a small smile meant to encourage her.
"But I wanted to stay with you!" She pouted as her eyes became glassy with unshed tears.
"Honey, Daddy has to sleep a lot. You and I can see each other again when I'm awake after lunch tomorrow - okay? Uncle Dut'll bring you back then." He told her.
"Promise?"
Dustin squatted down in front of the 5 year old - bringing himself where they were face to face at her level. "I promise, Pretty Lady. You have a lunch date with Daddy tomorrow."
"Yea!" She cheered. Looking at her Uncle, she smiled. "Can we go get Luke now?"
"No, Honey. Luke's with his...he's not with me tonight." The young man struggled to word his answer in a way that avoided any talk of mothers.
"Oh. But what will we do?"
"Well, we can go get some dinner and then we can watch a movie. How's that sound?"
"Yea! The Good Dinosaur!"
Andrew chuckled. "You knew that was comin'."
"Oh, yeah. Wasn't that the movie that ..."
"Gammy took me to see for my birthday - just the two of us!"
"And got you actin' like Spot for a month! I remember."
"Uh-huh!" Shyanne smiled at the memory. "Can we have popcorn?"
"Of course we can have popcorn, silly! It's not a movie without popcorn!" Her uncle agreed with a grin.
"After a good dinner, Shyanne." Andrew reminded his daughter.
"Yes, Daddy." She replied before beginning to slide down off the bed.
"Hugs and love, Shy." Andrew requested, smiling as his little girl embraced him fully, squeezing him tight. "Love you, Princess."
"Love you too, Daddy." She murmured before sitting up and moving to slide down off the bed
Dustin stepped in and scooped her up into his arms. "There ya go. Ready?"
"Yes! Wait!"
"What is it honey?" Andrew asked.
"What about Rex?"
"He'll be fine with me until you come back. That way when he goes with you - it'll be back to your house where he'll stay with you." Gibbs offered her soothingly.
"Okay." The child readily agreed with that logic, settling back down in her Uncle's arms once again.
As the pair headed out, Andrew called to his brother. "Dustin!"
The younger man turned back. "What's up?"
"DON'T let Dad near her!"
Dustin's face became a vision of determination mixed with anger. "He's not gettin' within 100 mile of either of our kids!" That expression and mood was short-lived as the younger Edwards sibling refocused his attention on the little girl in his arms. "Ready, Darlin'?"
"Yes!"
"Okay. Let's go get some dinner and dinosaurs!"
Watching his brother leave for the night with his daughter, Andrew sighed wearily as he closed his eyes.
Knowing that it was important that the still recovering patient get his rest, Gibbs headed to the door.
"I think I know what you're thinking." Came Andrew's quiet voice from behind him.
Gibbs quickly turned around and retraced his steps, sitting down in the chair beside the man's bed. "About what?"
"You think I haven't been thinking clearly about things. And you're right. Losing my wife, ...my baby girl... and my mother all at the same time...Renee's mother, too, who always treated me like one of her own, there wasn't anything that woman wouldn't do for me or the girls. It was too much."
"I get it."
"I used to be able to talk to her about anything I was upset about. Especially her daughter. I'd never met anyone who was so objective towards the crap their kid pulled on other people as she was. Those two used to fight all the time because Renee couldn't understand why her mom wouldn't side with her all the time."
"Loosin' her and your mom at the same time felt like you were loosin' two moms." Gibbs surmised quietly. He understood exactly why this had been so hard on the young man.
"Yeah. And I know no one did anything deliberate. It was an accident. I just..."
"Wanted someone to blame."
"Stupid, I know."
"Not stupid, Son. Human. Trust me. I've been there." Gibbs sympathized with him.
Andrew sighed again as silent tears slid down his face.
"Get some sleep. Fresh start tomorrow." Gibbs turned towards the door, leaving the man his dignity.
"Thank you. And thanks again for taking care of Shyanne." Andrew managed roughly.
"Welcome." Gibbs offered before he headed out, hoping to be able to talk to Tim's doctor.
Heading down the hall, the Team Leader sighed. He hadn't meant to be gone so long, but at least things were looking up for the Edwards family.
"Agent Gibbs! I've been waiting for you."
"Doctor."
"Your agent tells me that you're his medical proxy."
Gibbs looked at him in silent surprise.
"Hmm. He never said anything to you? It doesn't matter. What matters is that you sign the necessary paperwork for the treatment plan."
"You're keepin' him?"
"Overnight."
"For observation."
"Since he admitted to the moments of unconsciousness at the accident scene, yes."
"Gonna wake him every two hours for a check on his function ability?"
"I've seen nothing that necessitates quite that often. He's sore from being bounced around, but has no other injuries. This is merely a precaution against possible head trauma. Every three hours should suffice."
"I'll do it."
"Agent Gibbs, you're not..."
"Goin' anywhere. Been through this with my other agents a few times. I know the drill. And I'm not goin' anywhere til he's ready to go home."
"All right. But, if you have any problems, you make sure you let the nurses know!"
Gibbs nodded as he stepped into Tim's room and closed the door behind him. A small smile crossed his face at the sight of Tim peacefully sleeping, his hair all tousled and his frame looking almost small under the blanket covering him up to his chest. Walking closer to the bed, the older man frowned as he got a better look up close.
Tim's hands were clenched, his brow was furrowed. His head was beginning to move from side to side in a restlessness that tore a hole in Gibbs' heart. Knowing this angst was probably going to be revisiting Tim throughout the night and that it would be robbing the young man of precious sleep he really needed, the Team Leader did what he thought best to kill both problems with one move. Sitting down on the bed, he scooted over until he was able to scoop Tim up and literally let him sleep in his arms - a father offering his hurting son all the solace and comfort he could. Taking one hand, he began soothingly carding Tim's hair as he quietly spoke to him in an effort to calm him. "Easy, Tim. I've gotcha. Sleep easy son."
