Baby Sitting

Chapter 2

'Gibbs! Is Tony okay? Tell me he's okay! What happened? Is he okay?

'

Gibbs held up his hand – a gesture he hoped would halt the barrage of questions from Abby.

'Come on!' persisted Abby, nervously clutching the lapels of her lab coat. 'I calmly get to work, and there's a message on the lab phone from Ducky saying that Tony's in hospital but he's gonna be okay, but people don't go to hospital if they're okay, and Tony doesn't go the hospital even if he isn't okay, unless he's unconscious or he's been shot or both, so tell me what's wrong Gibbs!'

'Stop talking and I'll tell you,' said Gibbs, fatigue making his voice heavy. Once Ducky had delivered the news that Tony was stable, Gibbs had suddenly felt the effects of a near sleepless night and the drama of the frantic drive to the hospital.

'Gallstone,' said Gibbs. 'A big one. He's gonna be fine.'

Abby shook her head and sank down in the chair besides Gibbs.

'Poor Tony,' she said. 'My uncle had gallstones. He said it sucked. So Tony woke up in pain in the middle of night and called you. That's so sweet Gibbs.'

Gibbs scowled at her description. There had been nothing sweet about finding his number one field agent writhing in pain on the floor.

'He was already at my place,' he explained. 'No heating in his apartment – again.'

Abby regarded Gibbs for a moment. She took in the darkness under his eyes and the fatigue in his overall demeanor. As usual, he was putting on the hard ass act, but he couldn't fool her. Abby suddenly flung her arms around Gibbs and delivered an almighty squeeze.

'Are YOU okay?' she whispered over his shoulder.

'To quote Dinozzo: FINE,' he replied, tersely.

'Ah, Jethro, Abby my dear,' said Ducky in his usual expansive manner as he came upon the pair in the waiting room. Abby let go of Gibbs and turned expectantly to the old M.E.

'Resting comfortably,' he announced. 'He'll come round soon. Another 3 to 5 days in hospital, I'm afraid, and then several weeks at home or doing very light duties at work. I'm afraid Anthony won't be too happy about an extended convalescence, but he'll make a full recovery.'

'I don't care if he's happy about it or not,' said Gibbs, gruffly. 'He'll take the time off and do desk duty or he'll be looking for another job.'

'So what did they have to do in surgery?' asked Abby, slightly rattled by Gibbs' statement.

'Well, my dear,' began Ducky, warming to the topic, 'these days one would typically have gallstones done via key-hole surgery. In Anthony's case, there was substantial inflammation and the beginning of an infection. The emergency C.T. scan they performed upon his arrival confirmed it. The surgeon made a six inch incision across his abdomen and removed the gallbladder.'

'Ouch!' exclaimed Abby.

'Ouch indeed,' agreed Ducky. 'However, people live quite normally without a gallbladder. Anthony's not in the typical high risk category. Predisposition is genetic. He most likely has a close relative with the problem. Of course the pizza with excessive cheese would not have helped matters.'

'He told the paramedic there was no family history of stuff like that,' Gibbs said sharply.

'He probably wouldn't really know,' said Abby. 'It's not like he sees his family much.'

Gibbs shook his head and abruptly stood up.

'Well, he should make it his business to find out,' he grumbled as he threw the polystyrene cup that had held what the hospital had described as coffee into the bin.

'I'm going to get decent coffee,' he called over his shoulder as he was leaving the waiting room.

'Perhaps you should get some sleep,' suggested Ducky.

'Coffee,' repeated Gibbs, without turning around. 'I can sleep tonight. In peace.'

Abby watched Gibbs go before turning to Ducky, her face anxious.

'He's not mad at Tony, is he?' she asked.

'No my dear,' Ducky replied. 'But I think Anthony's given our fearless leader quite a scare.'

……………………………………

Mick O'Connor looked out through the blinds to the street and, sure enough, there was the same car and the same young man in a hooded top that he had seen three times before. It was 9.00am – a full hour before the gymnasium was due to open. When Mick had first seen the car pull up, he has assumed it was some fitness fanatic who didn't know the gym's opening time was 10.00am. As Mick watched, undetected, he saw the hooded man reach into the car and retrieve something before walking briskly away, the car going off in the opposite direction. Mick resumed his duties of switching on the equipment and lighting, but his mind was on what he had just observed. His gut was telling him that there was something wrong going on. He began to devise a way of finding out.

…………………………………..

'Check it out!' enthused Abby as she peered into the sealed specimen glass. 'It's awesome, McGee.'

McGee paid the glass a cursory glance and squirmed uncomfortably. He never would understand Abby's enthusiasm for the macabre and gory.

'It certainly is a beauty,' boomed Ducky. 'I have a good mind to get exact measurements so I can check it against a case I read about in a medical journal.'

'Cut it out,' protested Tony, weakly, from the bed. He'd barely regained consciousness before his room had been filled with first the doctor and then Abby, Ziva, Ducky and McGee.

'It appears that the surgeon already did,' said Ziva. Tony rolled his eyes before scanning the room for Gibbs who was nowhere to be seen. Probably gone for decent coffee, he told himself. As if on cue, Gibbs made his entrance, coffee in hand, and scowled at the assembled members of his team.

'I didn't know it was everyone's rostered day off,' he said, dryly.

'Come on, Gibbs!' protested Abby. 'Timmy and Ziva had to make sure Tony's okay. And McGee could not have coped with missing the sight of this gallstone,' she added as she held the glass towards McGee. Abby was pleased to see Tony smile slightly.

'Anthony woke up about an hour ago,' explained Ducky.

Gibbs made eye contact with Tony and acknowledged him with a nod. The younger man was as white as a sheet and looked ready to fall back to sleep at any moment.

'You were incredibly lucky that you were at Gibbs' house already,' Ducky told Tony. 'I doubt you could have driven yourself anywhere or called for help.'

'What if you hadn't been there?' asked Abby, her eyes turning serious.

'Would have dealt with it,' whispered Tony, secretly doubting his own words. The memory of the pain was still fresh.

'Some leggy blonde would have brought him in,' said McGee, but his attempt at humour didn't impress Gibbs.

'Okay, Dinozzo's fine,' said Gibbs, raising his voice. 'McGee, David, there's a stack of cold cases to go through. I'll be back soon to check your progress. Abby, I'm sure you have work to do as well.'

The pair of agents, Abby and Ducky quickly made their exit, but not before Abby had placed a kiss on Tony's cheek, Ziva had given Tony's arm a gentle squeeze, and Ducky had cast a warning look at Gibbs.

'