Disclaimer: I don't own anything NCIS, If I did, Jimmy Palmer would kick major ass.
No Comfort For The Guilt Ridden
" His name is Keith Palmer... He's my brother"
These simple word brought with them a deathly silence marred only by Jimmy's harsh breathing. After what seemed an eternity, Gibbs spoke.
" Dinozzo, get Palmer to the hospital, have him taken care of, then take him somewhere safe. " Barked Gibbs as he reached out and helped the battered young man to his feet before Tony took over with a determined nod. The two of them walked slowly passed the concerned and still stunned faces of Ziva, McGee, and Ducky. As they passed the M.E., Jimmy paused and turned to Ducky.
" Sorry I was late sir." Rasped Jimmy before bowing his head as a fresh wave of pain washed over him.
Ducky felt a deep pang of guilt as he watched his assistant limp away with Tony's help. The annoyance he'd felt was long gone.
" His brother did that to him?" Asked McGee, breaking the silence.
" Apparently so, this brother also bombed a U.S military base and killed all those men." Said Ziva grimly.
" This brother is going to answer for everything he's done, you can bet on that, know get back to work!" Barked Gibbs, barely contained fury lacing his voice.
Tony hated seeing Jimmy Palmer like this, the bruises marring him becoming more and more pronounced by the second as the two of them rode the elevator up to the main floor.The doors opened and they were greeted by lovely Goth girl, Abby Scuito, who at first smiled jovially at them. The smile quickly disappeared when she saw the state Jimmy was in.
" JIMMY, WHAT HAPPENED!" She exclaimed in concern.
" Big Bro stopped by for a visit." Rasped Palmer as Tony gently led him out of the elevator towards the main doors thatwould lead them to the parking lot.
The drive to the ER was in utter silence with Tony stealing glances at his injured passenger, who sat gazing out the window with sad, almost weepy eyes. When they reached the ER, Jimmy wordlessly got out with Tony keeping a firm yet gentle grip on his arm. The two men walked through the doors. They walked up to the front desk where Tony did all the talking and signing in.
" Excuse memiss but I could really use a doctor for my friend here, he got worked over pretty good."
The young woman behind the desk glanced at Jimmy, who was standing behind Tony, trying to hid the vivid discoloration around his throat with the color of his shirt. He was glad Tony was doing all the talking, he knew he wouldn't be able to use his voice in a few more minutes.
The receptionist waved over a male doctor with wavy brown hair and deep-drown eyes. He took one look at Jimmy and immediately sprung into action.
" The two of you come with me, Cassy, is there an exam room open?" Asked the Doctor to the receptionist. She nodded and pointed down the hall.
" Exam 3 is clear." She said quietly before giving Jimmy a reassuring smile as he and Tony followed the Doctor.
" I'm Dr. Hess, Mr. Palmer, please take a seat on the bed for me." Said Dr. Hess. Tony watched as Jimmy all but sleepwalked his way over to the bed and sat down, his green eyes staring vacantly at the grey tiles of hospital floor.
Dr. Hess gently reached out with his now latex gloved hands and tilted Jimmy's head up for a better look at the cuts and bruises on his face as well as the livid bruising around his throat. Tony winced when he saw the purplish black bruises. Jimmy however, remained vacant and silent throughout this.
" I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt." Said Dr. Hess quietly, his eyes showing his sympathy for the young man. Jimmy obeyed and began unbuttoning his ruined shirt. When it came time to shrug it off, Tony saw the badly hidden grimace and moved into action.
" I got it." He said quietly and quenched any protest with a stern look. Jimmy lowered his gaze back to the floor and allowed Tony to gently ease the shirt off of his shoulders, exposing more bruises and what looked horrifyingly like tazer burns.
" Jesus." Swore Dr. Hess softly behind a equally horrified Tony. The doctor managed to shake himself out of his stupor and set to work examining the damage.
Throughout this, Jimmy kept his gaze to the wall and only seemed to snap out of it when Tony gently tilted his chin up so that they were staring at each other.
What Tony saw in those green eyes made him want to find Keith Palmer and bash his head in personally.
In Jimmy Palmer's eyes were unshed tears and guilt.