A/N: These last chapters I couldn't have done so well without help from one of my wonderful reviewers, yellowrose. Yellowrose helped me out a lot by giving me many details to things I missed, such as the injuries. So I thank you, yellowrose, for your help and much appreciated advice. You have no idea how much your details helped.
Chapter Fourteen: More Worries
Gibbs sat in one of the chairs in the ICU's waiting room, clenching his fists and glaring at the ground as he waited for Fornell to come back with Tony and Abby. After the doctors had taken Ziva, he had called Ducky to pick up the body. He and Palmer had arrived and taken the body and Fornell had left, saying that he would go to NCIS and bring Agent Dinozzo and Abby to the hospital. So here Gibbs sat, waiting for the rest of his team to get here, as well as waiting for the doctors to return with news about either of his injured agents.
"Gibbs!" someone called. Gibbs looked up and down the hall as Abby, Tony and Fornell approached him. Abby looked at him worriedly. "Where's Ziva? Is she okay? What's happening?"
"Abby, calm down. Give the man time to answer one question before asking another." Tony said, wheeling up to his boss. "So, how is she?"
Gibbs sighed wearily, feeling his age catching up with him. "I don't know yet. The doctors are still with her and they haven't come out yet. And as for McGee, the nurses are still refusing to allow anyone inside until his fever breaks. I'm still sitting in the dark."
"We all are." Fornell said. "That's the thing I hate most about hospitals. We're in the domain of the doctors and nurses, which means that these are the rules we can't shove our way through like we usually do. It's either do what they say or leave, and no amount of badge waving will make a difference."
Gibbs and Tony nodded in agreement but Abby smirked. "It's a good thing I don't have a badge then, huh?" The three men stared at her as she walked up to the nurses desk and spoke with them a moment before heading back to them with a smile on her face. "The nurse said she can't let me in but she did give me some information."
"What did she say?" Tony asked. Gibbs and Fornell looked at her expectantly, a bad feeling entering their stomachs as Abby's face fell.
"McGee is still unconscious and so is Ziva but her injuries aren't that bad." Abby said, looking nervous and afraid. "The doctor said that it looked like she was able to steel her stomach to avoid any major damage to her internal organs located there but she has bruises all over her body and her left eye is pretty swollen. We'll know more when the doctor comes back out; he's in surgery with her right now."
Gibbs sighed again. He knew Ziva had been beaten pretty badly, from what he saw himself, but he wasn't really sure what the damage was. Now he knew; broken bones, cracked bones, bruising, and he was sure the list would continue when the doctor came out of surgery. It looked like his team was slowly diminishing right before his eyes. First Tim, then Tony, then Tim again, and now Ziva. If Aaron hadn't been stopped when he had, Gibbs was sure that he would eventually be left without a team, and that was a thought he couldn't bear.
Tony sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, completely at a loss. He knew the basics from what Fornell had told them when he had picked him and Abby up from headquarters. He knew that Aaron had beaten Ziva, though how he managed that was beyond Tony. He had an idea of how bad her injuries would be from what Fornell had said but hearing it out loud stung more than he thought it would. He couldn't believe this was happening to his teammates. No matter what Gibbs said, Tony couldn't shake the feeling of guilt slithering through his veins and threatening to tear him apart from the inside out. He was supposed to protect his team when Gibbs couldn't. As senior field agent, it was his job to make sure everyone was safe, while still fulfilling their duties. Yet look at him now; Tim was in the hospital for who knows how long, currently fighting for his life. And now Ziva was in the hospital with an injured leg, injured ribs and who knows what else. How could this week have gotten so wrong so quickly?
As the thoughts tore at the minds of the occupants of the ICU's waiting room, Ziva slowly came to, first noting the steady beeping of some kind of machine near the left side of her head. The second thing she noticed was the extremely painful throbbing in the back of her head, along her entire torso, and her right leg. She tried to mover her leg and gasped when the pain shot through her entire body, causing the machine's beeping to increase.
"Doctor!" someone shouted some distance away. A woman in white loomed over Ziva, a worried crease spreading over her brow as she checked the machine, which Ziva realized was a heart monitor. If it was a heart monitor, then that must mean that she was in the hospital. But why?
A tall Asian man that Ziva recognized came into view, a slight frown on his face as he studied her. "Ms David, can you hear me?"
She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when her throat clenched, throwing her into a coughing spasm. Her mouth felt as though she had swallowed a wad of cotton and the coughing made her lungs burn and her ribs ache. A plastic tube entered her mouth and the next thing she knew, a cool liquid rushed into her dry mouth, watering her parched and itchy throat, her body sagging into the bed in relief.
"Ms David?" the doctor asked.
Ziva looked back up at him and her memory threw out a picture of the man, dressed in a white lab coat, walking out of Tim's room and informing them that he was unconscious with an extremely high fever. Remembering that image triggered another of Tim, standing in the interrogation room, his shirt and jacket lying on the floor, black and blue bruises marring his pale skin from his chest to the waistband of his slacks. Suddenly her body jerked, her heart threatening to burst through her throbbing ribs as she gazed at the doctor. "Tim!" she gasped.
"Ms David, you must relax!" the doctor commanded, taking her hands and placing them at her sides. "Stay calm! Your friend is okay. He's fine."
No, he wasn't fine. Aaron was here and he was after Tim. Why wasn't anyone doing anything to help him? Where was Gibbs? Was she too late? No, she refused to believe that. She had to believe that he was alive. She had to find Gibbs; she had to warn them. "Gibbs!" she cried, struggling in the doctor's grasp. "Aaron!"
"Doctor, I have the sedative." A nurse said, coming around to the other side of Ziva's bed, syringe in hand.
"Wait." The doctor said, holding a hand up. He turned back to Ziva. "Ms David. Ziva. I need you to relax; you're going to bite your tongue if you don't. Your friend is fine. The other guy is gone."
"No, he's here!" Ziva cried, unable to comprehend what the doctor was saying. Her ribs throbbed painfully and her breathing became difficult. "I need to find Gibbs!"
"Okay, okay." The doctor soothed. "Would you feel better if I got Gibbs for you?"
Ziva nodded her head urgently and then stopped when her head started swimming, her struggling slowing down. Finally, they understood. She needed to find Gibbs; she needed to warn him about Aaron.
The doctor nodded back. "Alright, I'll go get him but you have to promise me that you won't take off or struggle. Can you promise me that?" Ziva nodded impatiently. "Okay," he looked up at the nurse. "Stay here with her, keep her calm but don't give her the sedative unless I say so or unless it is absolutely necessary." Then he turned and left the room.
Gibbs and the rest of their group leaped to their feet, except Tony, as Dr. Hitsugaya burst through the doors. "Agent Gibbs." He said urgently, rushing toward him. He grabbed Gibbs's arm and gently but urgently tugged him towards the doors, leaving the others to stare after them, bewilderment clear on their faces. "You need to come with me. Officer David is becoming extremely hysterical. She thinks your Agent McGee is in danger from that man, Aaron. She won't listen to us when we tell her that he's fine but hopefully you can. She's requesting you."
Gibbs nodded and quickened his pace, following the doctor as he let his arm go and led him down the hall to the room Ziva was in. He rushed into the room and knelt next to the bed. "Ziva?"
Ziva lurched forward, trying to sit up, the nurse pushing her back down by her shoulder. "Gibbs!" she cried. "McGee!"
"Ziva, relax!" Gibbs ordered, taking her hands in his and holding her wrists together to keep from hurting herself. "McGee's fine. He's okay."
"No!" she gasped, shaking her head and wincing in pain from the side of her swollen face. "Aaron."
"He's dead, Ziva." Gibbs revealed. Ziva paused, staring at him with confusion filled eyes. "He's dead. We killed him. We stopped him. You stopped him. You distracted him away from Tim until I got there. He's gone now. He's gone and he's never going to hurt you or Tony or Tim ever again. It's over."
"It's over." Ziva repeated.
"Yeah, it's over." Gibbs nodded, placing her hands against her chest. "He's gone."
"McGee?" she asked hesitantly.
"He never touched him." Gibbs said. "He never got the chance."
"Where is he now?" Ziva asked. "Where is McGee?"
"Aaron is in the morgue with Ducky." Gibbs paused before adding. "And McGee hasn't woken yet. His fever is still keeping him unconscious."
Ziva nodded, her eyes getting heavy and sleep threatening to take her. "Go to sleep, Ziva." Gibbs ordered softly, gently placing his hand on the non-swollen side of her face. "Get some rest. I expect a full recovery, so you get some sleep."
Ziva nodded slowly, her eyes closing. "Okay." She whispered. Her eyes closed and darkness took her.
Gibbs sighed in relief as Ziva finally fell asleep. He stood up and turned to the doctor. "So how is she?" Gibbs asked.
"Well, she hurt her ribs with her struggling but it's not too bad." The doctor replied. He exited the room, Gibbs and the nurse following, and closed the door behind them before turning to face Gibbs in the hall as the nurse walked away. "She has several broken ribs, along with a cracked sternum, nothing life threatening there, but they will be pretty painful for a while, especially when she inhales. She has a minor concussion, surprisingly, but that will go away over time. She also has a fractured right femur, which was damaged pretty bad during the fight but it should heal fine after a few weeks, possibly a month or two. She'll be in a walking cast until then, along with crutches and will need to return in a couple weeks to make sure it heals properly. And of course she has several bruises along her body, mainly around the abdomen and upper torso, and a nasty bump and cut on her temple from a blunt object. The side of her face is pretty swollen, as you just saw, with a small cut on the side of her lip but there won't be any lasting marks except a small scar from the stitches over the bump on her temple. All in all, she should make a full recovery by the end of the week, at most. She was lucky."
Gibbs nodded, sighing in relief. Two of his agents, two of his kids, were going to make it. But what about the third? Gibbs looked back at the doctor. "And McGee?" he asked. His stomach clenched when the doctor hesitated.
"He's still unconscious and his fever has yet to break." Dr. Hitsugaya replied. "We won't know more about his condition until his fever breaks. There's not much more we can do until then. His fever is our main priority right now."
Gibbs sighed again and slumped against the wall behind him. He was exhausted and weary. Tim wasn't out of the woods yet. Ziva was going to recover after a bit of rest and her bones would all heal after several weeks in their respective casts. Tony was still in the wheelchair, though how long would be up to his wounds. But Tim. Tim was still unknown. His fever was so high that no one was allowed in the room for fear of contaminating him.
"Agent Gibbs." Gibbs looked up to see the doctor with a worried expression. "You and your people should go home and get some rest. There's not much any of you can do, I'm afraid. And you all look like you might end up in rooms of your own if you stay awake any longer. It'll take a few hours for Officer David to awaken from the antibiotics we're giving her but I will call you when she does, if you'd like."
Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. That'll be fine." Gibbs headed back to the waiting room alone, pondering what to do next. He wasn't quite sure it had sunk in that Aaron was gone and this whole mess was finally over. No, not over. Not yet. Not until Tim makes it out of this alive. And damn it, he better make it out alive. Gibbs walked through the doors leading into the waiting room and was soon surrounded on all sides.
"What happened?" Abby cried, shoving her way to the front. Her eyes shone with worry and tears streamed freely down her face. "Is she okay? Did something happen?"
"Boss?" Tony asked hesitantly.
"Give him some air." Ducky scolded their group. He turned back to Gibbs and led him to one of the chairs. "How is Ziva, Jethro? What did Dr. Hitsugaya say?"
"Ziva's going to be fine." Gibbs told them. He noticed the group visibly relax and continued. "She has bruises and cuts, along with the injuries Abby said earlier. She also has a cracked sternum but all of the bone injuries will heal fine, as will the cuts and bruises. She has a concussion and stitches on her temple but those will also go away. She'll be in casts and crutches for about a month, maybe two."
"But why was the doctor so freaked out earlier?" Tony asked.
"Because she woke up and remembered Aaron." Gibbs said. "She wanted to warn me that he was here and looking for Tim. I told her he was gone. She was safe." He looked at Tony. "You were safe. And McGee…" Gibbs sighed. "McGee is still unknown."
"His fever hasn't broken yet?" Ducky asked solemnly.
Gibbs shook his head. Then he looked up at them sternly. "But right now, I want all of you to go home and get some sleep. No arguing." He said when the group started to protest. "Ziva has been given antibiotics that will keep her out for several hours and we won't be able to see her when she wakes up if we all pass out from exhaustion first. Dr. Hitsugaya has assured me that he will call me as soon as she's awake and when she does, we'll be allowed to see her."
"No doubt, they'll move her to a regular room when they're sure she'll be okay." Ducky said. "I believe you are right, Jethro. We won't be much good half asleep on our feet. Lord knows how stressful the week has been for all of us. Though it is early, I agree that rest is much needed right now."
Slowly the others agreed and began to depart, Abby going with Ducky and Palmer, before only Tony, Gibbs, and Fornell remained. "Mind giving a cripple a ride home?" Tony asked, looking between Gibbs and Fornell.
"Yeah, Tony." Gibbs said, standing. He turned to Fornell as the three of them headed to the exit and out into the parking lot. "Glad for your help, Tobias." He said, shaking the other man's hand.
"No problem." Fornell said with a smirk. "I'm sort of getting used to saving your ass. And getting your problems dumped into my lap."
Gibbs smirked back. "At least we know you're worth your position, if only slightly."
Fornell scowled good naturedly and headed to his car. He stopped before getting into his car and turned back to Gibbs. "You owe me, Jethro. And let me know what happens to your boy. He's a good kid."
Gibbs shook his head, a small smile ghosting his face. "No. He's a good agent." Fornell nodded and got into his car and drove away. Gibbs sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day and gazed at the setting sun, the clouds and sky drenched in colors of pink and yellow and orange and red and everything in between. How calm the sky looked, even if it did look like it was on fire. It was hard for him to believe that it could be so calm when there was a disaster going on in the body of his youngest agent.
"Boss?" Tony asked, concern dripping from his voice like water from a broken pipe.
Gibbs tore his eyes away from the flaming sky and turned back to Tony and nodded to him. "Let's go." He helped Tony into the front seat and folded up the wheelchair before shoving it into the back seat and climbing into his own. As he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, he couldn't help looking at the calm sky once more and hoped that this calm wasn't the calm before the storm. He wasn't sure he or the others could take another one.
A/N: I know this one is short and not very fulfilling, to say the least but I really wanted to post this and I couldn't think of what else to write. This isn't the end though. Tim isn't just going to stay in the hospital, you know. I'll begin writing the next chapter after this one is posted, so expect it by Thursday or Friday. Please review. Or you can wait until the next chapter and review both at the same time. Up to you.