In Limbo:
DiNozzo's Room:
Tony didn't have to have surgery after his small seizure. It had been the pressure buildup that had caused it and they had had to remove the bandage covering the hole in his head in order for the pressure to be released a little, so now Tony looked a little like a conehead.
The Emergency Room:
The hospital stay wasn't that long; in fact they were in and out with no problem at all. It was one of those slower days in the Emergency Room and the second they got there, the doctors were able to see them. When they left the hospital, the doctor told Mrs. DiNozzo that the cast couldn't get wet and that Tony would have to wear a plastic bag in the shower over his cast so it wouldn't get wet. She thanked him and they left for home.
Home:
When they got home, their father was still not home so Karen and Tony went up to their rooms and got changed into something more comfortable before coming down to help their mother in the kitchen. She had shooed all the maids and staff out of the kitchen to do something else while she was there. While their mother was at home, the staff new better than to be in the kitchen. Mrs. DiNozzo was a fare cook and always wanted her kids to know that it was okay to cook for one's self. Those that didn't come from money always cooked for themselves and for others so it was alright for them to cook for themselves as well. As their mother got to cooking the main part of the meal, which in this case was lobster, Karen went to the refrigerator and pulled out the makings for salads and Tony went to the cupboard to get the rice cooker out to make steamed rice, something they always had with lobster.
When the rice was done, Tony helped his sister set the table and get the butter dishes out for the melted butter that they always dipped their steamed lobster into. They were laughing again, something that always seemed to happen when the two were around each other. They were laughing so loud that they didn't hear the front door open nor did they hear their father walk into the kitchen to see what was going on. They only knew he was there when he finally spoke up.
"What is going on in here?"
"Oh good your home sweety, just in time for some dinner."
"Sarah, I already ate and if you would have stayed at your sister's house you would have known that. I stopped by the house and they said that you had to leave because Tony here broke his arm on the trampoline."
"It was an accident Anthony, you have to know that. Tony landed a little sideways on the trampoline and when Karen bounced back down, he was thrown off sideways. Even the doctors understood that it was an accident."
"I don't care! I hear from your sister that Tony ruined his new suit. Do you have any idea how much that cost me? He was supposed to use it for his upcoming dance and now I have to go out and buy him a new one. I'll be in the study. You can find me there after you've all eaten."
Anthony DiNozzo Sr. left the room and Sarah DiNozzo looked at her kids who had stopped laughing. Tony had an arm around Karen's shoulder, as if to protect her for some reason. She went to her kids and hugged them before telling them that the table looked wonderful and that they could always use the leftovers for lunch the next day. That brought a smile to the kids' faces and they went to help bring the food to the end of the table that they were eating at.
After dinner and all the food and dishes were put away, Tony and Karen ran up the stairs to play a game of checkers before heading to bed themselves. They were laughing, because Karen was using her powers to win the game and Tony was trying not to let her win. But over their laughter, they could hear their parents arguing, probably about what had happened at the party earlier that afternoon. After the game of checkers, they went to their separate rooms and fell asleep listening to the music that drowned out their parents arguing.
The Accident:
Tony was up before Karen was the next day. He was in the kitchen having some oatmeal when his sister walked in in a robe. She was rubbing her eyes, trying to get all the sleep out of them. Their mother was still in her room but their father was gone for the week, he had business to attend to in New York. Karen nodded at Tony before grabbing a bowl of oatmeal as well. They both sat together at the counter eating and waiting for their mother to come down the stairs. They were planning on going to the zoo today and their mother had told them that they could do what they wanted after the trip.
Tony and Karen were in the back seat, their mother was driving her Cadillac like normal, never went anywhere without being in the car. The radio was on and a song was playing but which one, Tony didn't know. Karen and he were talking about what they were going to see first. They were always particular to the lions and tigers and Karen always said that one day she was going to work at the zoo. Tony was just about to ask his mother a question when she slammed on the breaks and swerved to get out of the way of the oncoming truck that was going the wrong way. Tony threw his arm across Karen's chest and held on tight, to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt in the process of what was going on.
Their mother was unable to swerve out of the way of the truck and was hit head on. Tony always made sure that Karen sat behind a seat so that he could protect her if anything bad happened and he just happened to be in the middle seat when the car was hit. Keeping his arm over Karen, instead of going through the window shield because of his seat belt, he threw himself over Karen so she wouldn't get hurt in the crash. People were screaming and he was vaguely aware that Karen was screaming as well.
Then everything stopped moving and Karen's screams turned into a whimper. Tony's back was hurting him and he thought he felt something warm run down the back of his neck. When he tried to move, Karen held onto him so he couldn't. He needed to see if his mom was okay but Karen wouldn't let him move.
"Don't move Tony, you got hurt."
"I need to see how mom is doing."
"I'm alright kids; listen to your sister Tony. I can hear the sirens racing to us now, we'll get out of here soon, don't you worry."
"I'm not worried about me mom, I'm worried about you."
"I know you are honey, but listen to your sister. Let your sister be the big kid right now."
"I save her mom; I made sure she didn't get hurt."
"I know you did big guy, I know you did."
They stopped talking and let the medics take over. His mom was talking and that meant that that was a good sign. But it was getting hard to keep his eyes open and even though Karen told him to stay awake; he was unable to keep his eyes open any longer. The second he shut his eyes he heard someone start to scream again and his eyes snapped back open as he tried to look at his sister. She was smiling which made him think the only reason she had screamed was to keep him awake.
The Hospital:
The next thing Tony remembered was being wheeled into the hospital. He must've passed out again without hearing Karen screaming. Karen was on the end of his gurney because she refused to leave his side. He couldn't see where their mother was nor did he know if they were taken to the same hospital. When Karen saw his eyes open she smiled at him.
"Welcome back sleepyhead. They wouldn't let me scream at you when you closed your eyes again so I made them let me ride on your gurney."
"Where's mom?"
"They were still trying to get her out of the car when we left in the ambulance. She told me to go with you so here I am. And I thought you were supposed to be the big brother?"
"I saved your life didn't I?"
"You threw your arm across my chest and then covered me up, so yes, you did save my life. Dad will be proud of that."
"Speaking of dad, have you called him?"
"Yes, he said he was on his way back from New York. I think he's really coming to see mom though. I don't think he was that worried about you and me."
"He's our father Karen; he has to be worried about us if we are in a car accident."
"Yeah well, he might be worried about you, but not me. When I told him I wasn't hurt he scoffed it off like I should have been."
"Why don't you let the doctors look at me now?"
"I'm not going anywhere, but I will hop off so they can look at you. Mom told me to keep an eye on you no matter what, so were stuck together no matter what."
"Fine."
They stopped talking and Karen jumped off the gurney to let the doctors look at him. She stood in the corner but got worried when Tony started to fall asleep again. She walked up to him and grabbed his hand so that he knew she was there for him. He opened his eyes and looked at her smiling. She smiled back and warned him that if he fell asleep she'd start screaming at him again. He cringed at that part and the doctors laughed a little.
The doctors bandaged his head and said that they were going to perform a scan on him, but that his sister was just going to be outside the room. Tony nodded the best that he could and made sure to keep his eyes on his sister as they performed the test they wanted to perform. When the test was over, Karen was allowed back in and the neck brace was removed from around his neck. His bed was lifted a little so that he could talk easily with his sister while the doctor stitched up his scalp, which was the reason why he'd felt blood running down the back of his neck when he was in the car. When the doctor was done, he was left alone with a nurse for a few minutes as he was called to help out on another victim from the same car crash.
Tony looked over to the other room and though he knew that Karen couldn't see what was going on, he could see. The doctor that had been in the room with him was working on their mother. The nurse noticed him looking at the woman and moved in front of his view. Now Karen was interested in why the nurse moved in front of his view of the other room. She left him in the room and went out the door to look through the other door at the person the doctors were working on.
When she saw the person the doctors and nurses were working on she screamed and ran back to Tony's room, climbing onto his bed and holding onto Tony for dear life. She had started to cry which meant that she had seen who the doctors were working on. The nurse put up a blinder between the two rooms so that nothing else could be seen.
When the doctor came back into the room, from the other room that held their mother, Tony and Karen knew that their mother was not going to be going home with them. The doctor called in Social Services and then waited with the siblings as they waited on the Social Worker to arrive. When the Social Worker arrived, the doctor talked to her outside of Tony's room before coming inside with her.
"Tony, Karen, my name is Sylvia. I understand that you were in an auto accident with your mother today."
"She was taking us to the zoo because it's our favorite place to go when she's home." Tony said.
"I see. Do you know where your father is by any chance?"
"I called him on the way to the hospital while the medics were working on Tony. He's on his way home from New York as we speak. He had to catch a flight and all before he could get back here and then there's the security he has to go through so it might be a while."
"Well Tony will have to stay the night because he has a concussion from the accident. But I'm afraid you won't be able to stay with him Karen."
"But I have to. Mom told me to stay with him. And with mom dead, we're all each-others got until our dad gets here to take the two of us home. Please don't take me from my brother. I promise I won't make a sound if I can just stay with him."
"You know Sylvia; I can put a cot in the boy's room so that his sister won't have to leave. And after what the two just went through, it might be a good idea if she stays the night with her brother. She was involved in the accident as well so she'll need to be looked after just for the night."
"If you are trying to make a point Dr. Jackson, you don't have to. I understand where you are coming from but my department has their rules too. If the girl wasn't hurt in the accident then she can't stay here."
"So fudge your report a little. They just lost their mother in a horrible car accident and her brother is injured. Say she received a laceration to her arm and she needs to be monitored just like her brother does."
"You know that I can't do that Dr. Jackson."
"Then I will write up a chart and it will be real."
"Fine, I will fudge the report and make it so the girl can stay with her brother for the night. But their father better be here by tomorrow or I'm going to have to take both of them into custody until he arrives."
"Dually noted Sylvia. We'll see you tomorrow."
Sylvia the Social Worker walked out of the room and back upstairs where she had a small office. Since Social Workers were needed in hospitals most had offices where they could do their work without having to rush everywhere when trying to get to a hospital to see someone. Dr. Jackson turned back towards the DiNozzo siblings.
"So now that we have that all figured out, who's hungry?"
"I am!" Karen said perking straight up after hearing something about food. Tony just nodded that he was.
"Alright then I will be right back. I need to order you some food and the two of you need to be moved to another room as this is a trauma room and we're going to need it sooner or later."
"Alright Dr. Jackson."
Dr. Jackson headed out the room and a nurse and orderly walked in and pushed Tony's bed to another room which had two others beds in it as well. It wasn't a private room but Mr. DiNozzo would take care of that when he got to the hospital the next day. After some food was delivered, Tony, with Karen on the same bed, fell asleep in each-other's arms so that nobody could take them from each other. A nurse came in every now and then to check on the two but as of yet, they didn't have any roommates so there was no problem.