Worst Nightmare

Chapter 3

Ellie put her car in park and killed the engine, her gaze on the multi-storied grey edifice across the street. She hated hospitals, really really hated them. If it had been anyone other than Gibbs that had told her to go to this particular hospital she would have…

No.

She deserved to be here. This was her punishment for failing her teammate. It was certainly mild in comparison to what her inaction had cost him, right?

Despite Gibbs' declaration, she still questioned her status with the team. How would Tony and Abby react to her presence? And could they ever forgive her?

Ellie sighed and climbed out of the car. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and started walking towards the entrance. As she approached the front doors a group of people noticed her approach and with a sinking feeling she recognized some of them as members of one of the news crews that had been at the scene.

"Agent Bishop! What is the status of the suspect?"

"How does it feel, knowing you work with a-"

"No comment!" She snapped and pushed past them and into the interior of the hospital. She knew better than to talk to the press, but their questions made her seriously want to tell them off. How anyone could even think that about Tim…

She stalked to the information desk and showed her badge before requesting to see McGee. The nurse eyed her suspiciously and Ellie worked to cool her lingering anger. After a few moments she managed to give the receptionist a polite smile and made her request again. The woman directed her to the elevator and informed her that the ICU was on the fifth floor. With a nod of thanks, Ellie hurried to the silver door and pressed the up arrow. To her relief the doors opened almost immediately and she stepped inside.

When she arrived at the ICU she was directed to a room at the end of the hallway and as she walked towards it she felt a faint tightening sensation in her chest. Fear. She was afraid of what she would see when she entered McGee's room, and she dreaded the response that Tony and Abby would have to her presence. She paused a few yards from the room to collect herself before advancing to the room and stepping through the doorway.

And stared in horror at the patient within.

If she hadn't been told that this was McGee, and if she hadn't seen Tony and Abby sitting quietly by his bed, she never would have believed that this was her teammate. McGee was so battered that he was unrecognizable, and instead of the happy, healthy man who had been gently teasing her on their walk back to the car, he now looked like what he in fact was: a victim who had nearly been beaten to death.

Her involuntary gasp drew Tony and Abby's attention away from McGee and they turned to stare at her. Tony had dark circles under his eyes and two day's worth of beard growth on his face, but he looked younger somehow, more vulnerable. Abby, on the older hand seemed to have aged. She wore no makeup and was paler than usual, her eyes red-rimmed.

Ellie saw a flash of anger cross Tony's face before he turned back to his partner. It was Abby who finally broke the silence.

"Why are you here?"

Abby's voice was flat, with none of her normal bubbly exuberance. She didn't smile, but she didn't display the anger Ellie had seen in Tony's reaction to her presence, either.

"Gibbs sent me to relieve Tony so he can go home and get some real sleep. Gibbs also said he needs you to review the security tapes from the night of Anna Hayes' rape." Abby's eyes narrowed and Ellie hurried to continue. "We have a new artist's sketch for comparison. McGee was cleared, of course. The DNA didn't match."

"You think we need a test to tell us that?" Tony muttered, his face still in profile. "And I'm not leaving until we're ready to interrogate those bastards that did this to Tim."

"Gibbs is interrogating them now," she replied and mentally kicked herself when she saw Tony's reaction: he jumped to his feet and ran out the door without a backward glance.

"Tony, wait!" She started to run after him but stopped when she realized he was unlikely to listen to her. Gibbs really is going to kill me this time. She returned to the room where Abby still sat, watching McGee. Ellie sat in the chair that Tony had vacated and sighed.

"He's never going to forgive me, is he?"

"He will. Once Tim is better, he'll forget how worried he was and everything thing will go back to normal," Abby assured her, and Ellie suspected she was trying to reassure herself as well.

"Will Tim get better?"

"He already is. The intracranial pressure is down to almost normal levels and they think they'll be able to remove the drains in the next day or two."

"But what about…" She pointed to the ventilator forcing air in and out of his lungs through the tracheotomy tube they'd been forced to use.

Abby's expression crumpled for just a few seconds before she regained control. "They're giving him at least another 48 hours, and then they'll give him a spontaneous breathing test. Once he passes that they'll remove the vent."

"And if he doesn't pass?" Abby's lip quivered. "Abby?"

She drew in a deep breath. "McGee has a living will. If he doesn't start breathing on his own after the test…" Her voice cracked and she shook her head. "He'll pass it. He has to."

Ellie nodded, understanding what Abby couldn't bring herself to say: if Tim couldn't breathe on his own, they would have to let him die.

"This isn't right," Ellie murmured, mostly to herself. "He didn't do anything." She sighed. "I didn't do anything. When they first started in on him, I was so shocked, I couldn't...I yelled for help, but no one...and then I yelled at them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. I couldn't shoot, I was afraid I'd hit Tim, or a bystander, but...they wouldn't stop. Not until Gibbs…" The tears that had been threatening to fall or the past two days started to track down her cheeks. She bowed her head, ashamed, and scrubbed at her face to try and erase the signs of her weakness.

After several moments she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Abby who gave her a small yet sympathetic smile. "You're not the one who hurt him."

"I didn't help him, either."

"But you will. You found what Gibbs asked you to find, right?" Ellie nodded. "Good." Abby stood. "And now I'm going to go help find the bastard that started this whole thing."

Ellie finally managed a small smile of her own. "OK."

Abby bent down and very gently kissed Tim's cheek. "Keep fighting, Timmy. We're not going to lose you. Gibbs doesn't give you permission to give up, and I don't either." There was no response from the unconscious man, but just hearing those words made Ellie feel just a bit better.

"Go get him, Abby."

"Oh, I will." She left and Ellie scooted forward on her chair so she was looking directly at Tim's bruised and battered face.

"McGee...Tim. I really hope you can hear me. I just wanted to say...you're a good person, Tim. You didn't deserve any of this and I...I really hope you're going to be OK." She lightly brushed one finger down his cheek. "I really, really do."

XXX

After he had given Bishop the order to leave, Gibbs entered Interrogation and sat at the table, ignoring the voices raised in protest as he stared at the group in silence. The lawyers for the three men were the loudest, while two of the men also complained about their treatment. The third man remained silent, staring back at Gibbs with a hint of smugness in his expression. Gibbs was looking forward to wiping that look off of his face once and for all.

He listened for a good twenty minutes and, finally tiring of the tirade, Gibbs slammed his fist on the table, making everyone else in the room jump. After seeing his expression the lawyers seemed to sense that this was the time to listen to him and they returned to the chairs behind their respective clients.

Gibbs opened the folder he had brought with him and removed the first picture, which he placed on the table facing the group.

"The man you assaulted two days ago: Special Agent Timothy McGee." He took in the shocked expressions on two of the men's faces. "You're being charged with attempted murder of a federal agent. You're never going to see the light of day again."

"He's a rapist," Batavia snapped in indignant and righteous fury, quickly recovering from his surprise. "He should have never-"

"-have been accused in the first place. DNA test cleared him. He is innocent."

"My client clearly believed…" One look from Gibbs silenced Batavia's lawyer and his client shifted uneasily in his seat. Gibbs took out a second picture and Batavia winced when Gibbs placed it on the table next to the first.

"You broke his jaw, nose, and cheekbone." He placed a third picture on the table. "Broke four of his ribs. Two went through his lung." A fourth picture. "Fractured and dislocated his right kneecap." Gibbs turned to glare at Moore before placing a fifth picture on the table. "And you broke his both his arms and his right foot. The bruises match your shoe prints from where you stomped on him." Gibbs added another picture. "Bruised kidneys." Another picture. "Ruptured spleen and internal bleeding." Another picture. "Bruises over seventy-five percent of his body."

Both men now looked suitably horrified by what they'd done, but still Batavia tried to protest.

"We were acting on what that woman said. We-"

"Decided to be judge, jury, and executioner. Agent McGee is still in critical condition. If he doesn't survive, I will do everything in my power to make sure you pay."

"No jury would convict them," Moore's lawyer retorted. "Their intent was heroic-"

"There was nothing heroic about this!" Gibbs yelled. "Your client nearly beat a man to death based on the words of a stranger on the street." He turned to Batavia's lawyer. "So did yours."

Travers' lawyer cleared his throat. "I can't help but notice you seem to have left my client out of this conversation."

Gibbs chuckled humorlessly. "And I'm sure he hasn't told you why I would."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Travers replied, but Gibbs saw a brief flash of fear in the man's eyes although the smug smile remained.

"Funny. Your sister tried to B.S. us, too. When Agent McGee arrested her." The smile vanished. "You did fail to mention that to your lawyer, didn't you?"

"Agent Gibbs, I need some time to speak to my client-"

"Yeah, I bet you do." He pulled the last two pictures out of the folder and set them on the table. Both of the other men looked like they were going to be sick when they saw the first of those two pictures, but Gibbs almost immediately placed the second one on top. "Especially since this is the injury that could potentially kill my agent. And your client inflicted it. His attack on McGee was premeditated."

"What are you talking about?" Moore's lawyer asked as both Moore and Batavia stared at Travers in anger.

Gibbs pulled sheaf of papers from the folder. "Madison Travers. She set up a young woman, Sarah McGee, to be raped as payback for some stuff she wrote. A Navy sailor was murdered in the process." Gibbs passed the papers to Moore's lawyer. "Madison did time, and her brother here was looking for revenge. He's been stalking Agent McGee. All the proof we need, it's in there." He glared at Travers, who shifted uncomfortably. "You used Anna Hayes as an excuse to do what you were planning to do all along." He tilted his head toward Moore and Batavia without breaking eye contact. "And you got them to help you."

Moore turned to Gibbs. "I didn't know anything about that!" He glanced at Batavia, who nodded emphatically. "We want a deal!"

Gibbs gave him a cold smile. "I don't make deals."

He rose from his chair and leaned into Travers' personal space. "And if my agent does die, I will personally be there when they stick the needle in your arm." He turned towards the mirror and nodded, and almost immediately the door opened to admit three agents who handcuffed the three men and led them, protesting loudly, from the room. A brief, satisfied smile crossed Gibbs' face when he caught Travers' expression just before he was led away. It disappeared quickly as he left Interrogation and met Vance in the hall.

"Problem, Leon?"

"Agent DiNozzo is downstairs. I understand he's highly irate that you didn't wait for him."

"And he had orders to go home."

"Not that you really expected him to follow them."

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "Nope. He give the guards any trouble?"

"No more than expected. Do you want me to-?"

"I'll handle it. Travers?"

"Like you said, we don't deal. Maximum sentence...regardless of the final charge."

"And the other two?"

"Felony assault, maximum sentence as well."

"Getting soft on me, Leon?"

"Just doing what's best for the agency. And Special Agent McGee. He'll never have to face them in court...no matter what." He studied Gibbs for a moment. "Any change in his condition?"

"I'm sure I'll find out from DiNozzo."

"I'm sure you will."

Gibbs headed for the bullpen, only to be confronted by Tony as soon as he walked into view.

"Gibbs, what in the hell? You-"

"My office. Now."

He started walking towards the elevator and after a few steps he sensed that Tony was following him. Once they were both inside and the doors had closed he flipped the switch and turned to his senior agent. Tony was livid.

"I should have been there when you interrogated those bastards!" Tony ranted as Gibbs slowly shook his head.

"Could you have trusted yourself to be in there?"

"I…" Tony's shoulders sagged. "No. Not really. But-"

"And you won't do McGee any favors by punching the guys that attacked him. It's finished. They'll never see the light of day."

"They better not," Tony muttered. "But I should have… Damn it."

"Nothing you could have done would have changed anything." Gibbs expression softened slightly. "How's McGee?"

Tony sighed. "Still in a coma. They…" His expression crumpled for a brief moment before he regained control. "They're talking about pulling the damn plug on him!"

"When?"

"A couple more days. His doctors want to give him the best chance, but… What if it's not enough? I've already lost… I don't want to lose another partner."

Gibbs nodded in understanding. "You won't. McGee won't let you down."

"Not sure how much choice he has, Gibbs."

"He has enough." The two men stared at each other for several moments before Tony finally nodded.

"OK."

"Go home, Tony. You're no good to any of us, especially McGee, if you're not able to give a hundred percent. You need sleep in order to do that."

"Not sure that I can sleep."

"Go see Ducky, then. But do it."

"Yes, Boss."

Gibbs flipped the switch and when the doors opened he left Tony in the elevator. After making sure he stayed until the doors closed, Gibbs walked to his desk and sat down with a sigh. There was work to do, but he needed his team, most of his team back in order to do that.

In the meantime, all he could do was wait.

TBC...