Chapter 3 – With friends like these

"Tell me you didn't drive here," Tony said incredulously as McGee stepped out of the elevator.

McGee shook his head carefully. He sported a large white bandage which wound its way under his chin and over his head. His jaw was dark blue in colour and swollen almost to the point of the comedic. In his left hand, he held an icepack to the major site of the swelling. Tony had a flashback to the bizarre creatures of Spy Kids but wisely decided not to mention it.

"McGee!" Abby cried, launching herself from Tony's desk. McGee held up his right hand defensively as she pounded towards him; he couldn't take a bone jarring hit today. She came to a halt a few inches from him an examined his injuries. "How do you eat?"

"Protein supplement," he mumbled, holding up a selection of satchels.

"That sounds appetizing."

He frowned miserably. "I've been craving a steak since I woke up this morning."

"Are you okay to work?" Gibbs asked skeptically.

McGee nodded his head with slow determination and eased himself into his chair.

Gibbs pursed his lips then gave him a lopsided smile. "Okay then, DiNozzo. Fill him in."

"As far as we can tell, Officer David overcame you, knocked out the nurse, stole her uniform and then strolled out of the hospital. Then she hid out in the ceiling at Mossad to spy on them. I talked to her there this morning when I went over to compare with notes with her old mate Michael. Following so far?"

But McGee wasn't listening; he was entranced by a vision.

"McGee," Tony broke into a grin, "you've been holding out on me! You saw Ziva in that nurse's uniform? C'mon, Probie, spill. I need all the details."

There was a glint in McGee's eyes as he shook his head sadly and indicated his swollen jaw.

"Here," Tony grabbed a notebook and pencil. "Draw me a sketch. Make sure you get all the dimensions perfect."

"DiNozzo!"

"Right, Boss." Tony returned to his chair meekly.

"Where was I..." He fumbled about for the end of his story. "Oh, yes. Ziva's father thinks she killed Ari and he's basically put out a contract on her. She said she would take care of it."

"How can I help, Boss?" The low murmur was difficult to decipher, but everyone knew what he meant.

Gibbs slammed down the phone. "For a start, you can get down to Ducky and see if you can ID the John Doe they just brought in. He matches your description of Ziva's shooter and he seems to bear Ziva's signature."

"Good Lord, Timothy," Ducky exclaimed as McGee walked in the door. "Shouldn't you be home or in the hospital?"

"I'm fine," he mumbled thickly. "Gibbs said you had a John Doe?"

"A what?" Ducky said with exaggerated diction, squinting as though it would clarify the sound.

"The body," McGee tried again.

"I think he's here to identify the John Doe, sir," Jimmy suggested helpfully. McGee rolled his eyes in relief.

"Ah, yes, the body." Ducky chuckled merrily, wandering over to the drawers. "He's only just arrived. Professional kill; I estimate it took less than a second for death to occur."

He pulled out the drawer, uncovered the body and looked expectantly at McGee's eyes for signs of recognition.

McGee stared at the corpse's expression, swallowing hard. There was no doubt he was the man who had shot at Ziva yesterday, but the frozen look of terror on his face, which he knew had only moments to develop, caused something large and heavy to drop in his stomach.

"I wouldn't want to be on the end of Ziva's wrath," Ducky commented casually. Then he caught sight of McGee's face and his tone changed to a more consolatory one. "If she had meant to kill you, Timothy, you would be lying next to him."

McGee's horrified eyes shifted from the corpse to Ducky. He never wanted to be alone with her again. "It's him," he managed finally, relieved to see Ducky return the body to its tomb.

McGee felt the drool flood his mouth as he watched Tony savouring his long overstuffed roll. His entire face ached but it wasn't enough to distract him from the constant hunger pangs competing for his attention. It was nearly 2 PM, more than 24 hours since he had eaten a decent meal. He glanced down at the unappetising protein shake in front of him, willing it to transform into a lean, juicy red steak.

Tony looked up, grinned at him and sank his teeth in again, this time a whole lot more slowly.

"McGee!"

McGee looked up at Abby with hopelessness in his sole.

"I've got a present that's going to rock your world."

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"Really," she assured him. She held her Caff-Pow! cup out for him.

His shoulders slumped. "I'm not really in the mood for Caff-Pow!, Abbs," he said morbidly.

"Do not judge a beverage by its container," Abby chastised. "Smell." She slid out the straw and popped the top so he could get a good whiff of the thick brown liquid.

He shot her a quizzical look and leant in. His eyes opened wide and he took in a deep breath of the aroma. He stared at her in amazement for a moment then grabbed the container from her, rammed on the lid, punched in the straw and started suckling like a newborn, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes in ecstasy.

"I'll have what he's having," Tony said, watching from the sidelines.

Abby smiled. "It's steak, Tony. Blender liquefied steak with lots and lot of water."

McGee drained the container and opened his eyes, a look of absolute bliss plastered over his face.

"Some of my country cousins are not really into oral hygiene, so by the time they are in their twenties, most of the family has to have one of these on hand," she explained. "I keep this one in my lab."

McGee feigned interest but he was clearly just enjoying his first sated experience since Ziva took out his jaw.

Tony looked across at McGee dozing in his chair, his lips tight in concern. Although he had worked diligently in silence and obvious discomfort, McGee had been fading ever since he ingested Abby's wonder broth.

In truth, there was nothing much left for them to do. The director had stripped the case from them and was currently holed up in MTAC. They were left with nothing more than a few long shots to follow up.

"Take him home, DiNozzo," Gibbs said quietly.

Tony glanced over to his boss and nodded. "He should never have come in," he observed.

"Gee, I wonder where he got that from?"

"C'mon, Probie." Tony gently shook McGee awake. "I'm taking you home."

McGee started to protest, but stalled when he met Tony's steely gaze.

He appealed to Gibbs, who gave him a knowing look. "You can't do anymore today," Gibbs assured him. "Get some sleep and try again tomorrow."

McGee blinked in exhausted defeat, collected Abby's blender, and followed Tony out the door without protest.