Worst Nightmare

Chapter 4

Gibbs stepped off of the elevator and started walking towards the ICU to visit his agent for what he sincerely hoped would not be the last time. McGee's doctors had given him as much time as they possibly could before attempting the test that would determine if he would be able to breathe on his own, but that morning they had informed his family that they really couldn't put it off any longer, and they in turn had informed the team.

When he arrived at the waiting room, he wasn't surprised to find Tony and Abby already there, the worry that Gibbs himself was feeling but couldn't show plain on their faces. He also wasn't surprised that Bishop was not there. He knew she was spending every waking moment trying to find the man responsible for what had happened to McGee.

The person that Gibbs was surprised to see was sitting in the far corner of the room, away from his team. The man still had the bearing of his rank, but the illness that had forced his retirement was more than evident in his appearance. After a glance at his team, and a brief nod of acknowledgement from Tony, Gibbs walked over and took the seat next to the only present member of McGee's family.

"Admiral."

"Gibbs."

The man remained silent for several moments before letting out a deep sigh.

"I guess you're surprised to see me here." Gibbs turned to the man, his eyebrows raised, but remained silent. "Never thought I'd be here, either. Never expected...Tim to get hurt like this."

"None of us did, Admiral."

John McGee shook his head. "I know you don't think I respect my son, Gibbs. Hell, I haven't given you any reason to think I do, but...I know he's a good man." He snorted softly. "A better man than I ever was. He didn't...he doesn't deserve this. Any of it."

"No, he doesn't."

"Then how the hell did this happen? I've heard the scuttlebutt, and the 'official report' your director made, but it doesn't make any damn sense."

Gibbs sighed. "The truth doesn't make much sense. Tim was mistaken for someone else. Some men decided that someone needed a beating, and your son was caught in the middle."

"You and I both know there's more to it than that."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now. It's being handled."

"And the men that did this to Tim?"

"They're going to pay."

"Good."

Before the Admiral could ask another question he was distracted by a pair of women who walked out of Tim's room. Penny Langston was supporting the other woman who looked like an older version of Sarah McGee. The woman glanced at the group in the waiting room and after her gaze fell on the Admiral she straightened and marched toward the elevator, but Gibbs could see the evidence of tears on her cheeks. Penny gave her son a sympathetic look before approaching Gibbs, who stood to greet her.

"Ms. Langston."

"Agent Gibbs. Thank you for coming. It will mean a lot to my grandson that you're here."

"How is he?"

"The doctors tell me he's showing signs of increased consciousness. They expect him to pass the test without complications but as to when he'll wake up, they're less certain."

"He'll wake up."

She gave him a faint, humorless smile. "Why? Because you don't give him permission not to wake up?"

"No, ma'am. Because he's stronger than most people give him credit for." He noticed the Admiral shift uncomfortably but didn't say anything to him.

"You're not telling me anything I don't know, Agent Gibbs." She sent her son a pointed look. "But I appreciate your confidence in my grandson." After a quick glance down the hall she gave him a weary smile. "I should go check on Mary."

"She's not going to stay?" John asked, and Penny's eyebrows raised slightly at his tone.

"She said what she needed to say to Timothy, and she trusts Timothy to do what's best. For him."

John said nothing, but Gibbs sensed there was much more he wanted to say, and it was part of a very old argument. Penny gazed at him for several moments before she returned her attention to Gibbs.

"Dr. Mallard is speaking to Timothy's doctors, and as soon as they are finished they will determine if Timothy can breathe on his own. I'm not sure how much longer he can delay them, so…"

"Understood." She gave him a slight smile and started to walk towards the elevators. Gibbs glanced at Tony, meeting his gaze for just a moment, and the senior agent nodded. He guided Abby to her feet and the two of them headed off to Tim's room. The Admiral remained silent until they were out of sight.

"I never wanted him to be in law enforcement, much less NCIS." John sighed. "He's too much like his mother. Got more from her than just his appearance." Gibbs turned to him, eyebrow raised, and John huffed softly. "Mary is Sarah's mother, not Tim's. Mary raised him from the time he was three, and he calls her 'Mom', but he never really knew his real mother. She...died when he was a toddler."

"What happened?"

John sighed again. "Karen was a police officer, from a long line of them. We met when she was a patrol officer in Annapolis, while I was at the Academy." He chuckled softly. "I know I don't look like the sort of person to believe in all that 'love at first sight' crap, but...it was. We were married as soon as I finished at the Academy, with the understanding that she could stay in her career. She was as dedicated to it as...a Navy officer is to the Navy."

Gibbs nodded silently. He knew the Admiral's record, and wasn't all that surprised that Tim's mother would be as tenacious as her husband...or her son.

"A few years later Timothy was born, and I thought… I thought she'd finally be willing to leave her job and settle down." He snorted softly. "I think my mother may have had some influence, but when Timothy was eighteen months old Karen decided she wasn't meant to be a stay-at-home mother. We argued… Our first major argument, and finally we compromised. She had a desk job with one of the smaller districts. Even with that, she was happy." He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to hide the fact that his eyes were wet. "Six months later, she was gone. Some bastard walked into the station one morning and opened fire. She died sitting at her desk, where she was supposed to be safe." One trembling hand curled into a fist. "She was eight weeks pregnant."

Gibbs winced. He was gaining a greater understanding of the man that had shaped his agent, but there were still some things he needed to know.

"Does Tim know what happened?"

John started to shake his head but paused. "He might. I never told him, and he never mentioned it to me, but I'm sure he got curious at some point, especially when he found out that the woman he thought was his mother isn't. Kind of hard to hide that where the name on the birth certificate didn't match. Tim hates being lied to, and that…" John chuckled. "He has his mother's temper, too. Saw that again a few years later when he joined your team." He glanced at Gibbs. "I knew your reputation, Gibbs, even back then. Told him he was throwing his life away. He...he actually hung up on me. We didn't speak for…"

"Seven years."

"Guess you heard that story, then. That when you decided that I didn't respect anything my son does?" Gibbs' eyebrows rose. "You're not the only one with inside sources."

"Guess not."

"I know I was hard on Tim while he was growing up, pushing him to be like me instead of his mother. To go into the Navy where I've been...well, except for the last year of Vietnam, I've been relatively safe. And I know my son is smart. I thought he could go so far, but… He got his mother's stubborn streak, too."

"Not just his mother's, I'm guessing."

John chuckled. "No, you're right. He gets that from both sides. Wish I had recognized that sooner." He turned to Gibbs. "Doesn't excuse my actions, I know. I just hope...I hope he gets the chance to hear me say that."

"He will. Tim's not a quitter. I've may not have known him his whole life, but over the past ten years...he's turned into a man that I respect. Not just because he's smart. 'Heart of a lion', that's how DiNozzo described him once, and it fits."

"I hope you're right, Gibbs."

Gibbs didn't reply and they sat in silence until they saw Ducky approaching with two doctors and a rather severe-looking woman in a conservative dark grey suit. Both men stood as the group reached them.

"Jethro, Admiral, I've spoken with Timothy's doctors. They believe that nothing can be gained by delaying the test any longer." He glanced at the woman standing silently to his left. "Ms. Cartwright concurs."

"What right does she have to determine when they kill my son?"

Ducky flinched slightly at the Admiral's tone but the woman was unfazed, and Gibbs got the impression that she'd heard worse.

"I am the patient advocate representing Agent McGee. I am simply here to make sure his wishes are honored." She turned to the doctors. "Shall we proceed?"

The elder of the two, Dr. Khanna, disappeared into McGee's room and a few moments later his most recent visitors emerged. Abby's face was streaked with tears and Tony looked as though he had lost his best friend.

"Boss, are you...can you be with him when…?"

"We both will," declared the Admiral and when the second doctor started to protest that only family was allowed, a glare from John McGee silenced him.

Gibbs bit back a smile and followed the doctor and the Admiral to Tim's room but his humor faded when he saw his agent. Tim's bruises were fading, having reached the purple-green- yellow stage. His face was no longer swollen but he still looked so fragile that for a moment Gibbs almost doubted his own assurances that Tim would survive all of this after all.

Dr. Khanna had finished his examination and turned to the rest of the group. "His scores are improving. I am confident that he will pass this test. Are we ready?"

"Give me a moment," John murmured. Dr. Khanna nodded and stepped back. John rested his fingers on the least-bruised part of Tim's face and stood silently for several moments, his eyes closed. Finally he leaned down and whispered in Tim's ear. "I am sorry Tim. Please give me a chance to earn your forgiveness." He straightened, nodded to Gibbs and switched places with him.

Gibbs rested his own fingers against Tim's cheek and leaned down to speak softly to his agent. "You already know what I'm going to say, Tim. You know what you don't have permission to do." He saw a faint twitch under Tim's eyelids and smiled. "That's it, Tim. You fight this."

John wrapped his fingers around the tips of Tim's fingers that were protruding from the cast on his right arm. He gave them a gentle squeeze and smiled when there was a weak response.

"OK. Let's do this."

Dr. Fields joined Dr. Khanna on his other side. "Alright. We're going to disconnect the pressurized system from his tracheotomy tube and replace it with straight oxygen. If he begins to breathe on his own, the extra oxygen will be necessary due to his damaged lung, but the machine will not be breathing for him. Is that clear?" His attention turned to the doorway where the advocate and Ducky waited. Both nodded. "Good." The two doctors worked together to perform the task and Gibbs watched Tim's chest closely as the switch was made. When the pressure was turned off Tim's chest fell, and there was a few moments of stillness before it slowly rose and fell on its own in a weak but steady rhythm. Gibbs let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and turned to the Admiral. John's eyes were wet but he was smiling for the first time since they had entered the hospital.

"That's it, son. You...you did good."

Gibbs noticed another twitch under Tim's eyelids but other than his steady breathing he was still.

"The patient has spontaneous respiration," Dr. Fields announced and turned towards the advocate again. She nodded and handed him a clipboard. He and Dr. Khanna quickly signed the attached paper and, after giving them a slight smile, she turned and left. The Doctors performed a few more checks and then left, motioning for Ducky to enter the room.

"When will he wake up, Duck?"

Ducky performed his own quick check as he considered the question. "I can't say with any certainty exactly when but I imagine, if his GCS scores continue to improve as they have, then it should be within the next few days."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"We will know better when he does wake up, Admiral. We won't know the level of cognitive damage, if there is indeed any, until that happens."

"What sort of damage?"

"At the very least I expect some memory loss. Most patients with head injuries won't remember the incident that lead to the injury. I imagine he will be slow to regain some basic skills, but unless the damage is greater than we expect, he will regain them."

"So he'll get back to normal?"

Ducky sighed. "There's a possibility that he will, but nevertheless it will be a long and arduous journey. His other injuries need to heal as well, and those will take several weeks at least. He's going to need a lot of help and support, that is certain."

"He'll get it," both men replied in unison and Ducky smiled.

"Of that, gentlemen, I have no doubt whatsoever."

TBC...

A/N: I'm going out of town for the day, so I'm posting this chapter now. To the guest that asked: yes, this story is being posted on multiple sites (on NFA for a challenge, as well as here and AO3).