McGee woke, his head pounding, in the hospital. Checking his watch on the bedside table, he sat up. Why was he here? What happened? The more he tried to remember, the more stressed he became. Jumping out of bed, he ran to the door.
"Nurse!" he yelled. A kindly nurse appeared, smiling.
"You're up" she said gently. "But I think it might be better if you lay down". Putting her arm through the crook of his, she led him to his bed.
"No! No, you don't understand. I'm an agent, NCIS. I have to get to work!" he cried. "I've got to help!"
"Later, now you must rest," she said, pushing him. He resisted. Grabbing his clothes he ran out of the room.
"Security, we have a runaway patient," she muttered into the phone in the nurse's quarters.
Quickly ducking into the men's room, he locked himself in one of the toilets, and then he changed into his work clothes. Pulling the robe off, he dropped it on the floor. Putting his trousers and straightening his tie he ran out the front door. From the left a large bus approached, heading in the direction of NCIS. Getting change out of his pocket, he counted the correct amount then put the rest back. The bus came to a halt, just in front of him. Stepping up, he handed the change over to the driver, who promptly gave him a ticket. Taking a seat near the front, he watched as the hospital disappeared behind him.
If he had looked back, he would have seen the security guards standing out the front looking around confused.
As the bus pulled up near NCIS, McGee stood up, taking care not to irritate any6 other patrons. "Excuse me," he said to a young woman who was rushing to take her seat. She moved slightly and let him through. "Thanks," he said, before exiting the bus.
Walking up to the familiar building, he saw the silhouette of Gibbs through the window. The figure turned away, not returning. He opened the door, and stepped through the metal detector. Entering the elevator, he wondered what everyone was thought, and knew.
The doors open and he emerged. Figures came into view, and he waited.
"McGee!" Abby cried in delight as she hugged him around the neck. Releasing him, she led McGee across to his desk.
Then it happened, a slap to the back of the head. As a reaction, he put his hands to the back of his head.
"Oww, what was that for?" he asked. "I haven't even started working and stuffed up yet!"
"It's for scaring the crap out of m…. I mean Abby and Ziva" DiNozzo said as he walked back to his desk.
"Excuse me Tony" Ziva's cool voice said. "You were the one going paranoid because you had no one to Gibbs slap".
"And what about you Zi-va?" DiNozzo said with a smirk.
She glared. DiNozzo pretended to shiver.
"Did the room just drop a hundred degrees?" he said. Ziva leant down on his desk and glared at him.
"No that's just you" she said sharply. Reaching around, she Gibbs slapped him. His face became shocked, then annoyed. He stood, raising an eyebrow.
"What was that again?" he asked, bitterly.
And again she slapped him.
"That's it!" he said, jumping quickly around his desk. Reaching, he grabbed her around the waist.
"TONY!" she yelled in his ear. He quickly dropped her clutching his ear.
"Umm guys" McGee said, desperation in his voice.
"What McGee?" they both asked.
Looking, they saw him pointing to something. Following his finger, they looked up to the top of the stairs.
And saw the Director and Gibbs had witnessed the whole thing.