A/N: Chapter fifteen is finally here. This shouldbe the second to last chapter of our story and I thank you all for your support. Happy reading!

Chapter Fifteen: Awakening

The next few days passed with little to no trouble. There were no cases for Gibbs and his team because at the moment, he didn't have a team. Tony was still in his wheelchair until Dr. Hitsugaya said otherwise, much to Tony's displeasure. Ziva was finally to be released but would remain with her crutches for the next several weeks, though deep down she felt that it was a well deserved punishment for being unable to protect Tim. And Tim himself was still in the hospital, his fever breaking only once last night, only to rise again earlier that morning. Director Vance didn't need to come down from his office to tell Gibbs that his team was shut down until they all recovered. Nor did Dr. Hitsugaya need to tell Gibbs that he recommends his agents not resume any field work until he gave the okay. He had absolutely no intention of letting any of his agents out into the field until he was damn sure they were able, no matter how much they fussed and complained.

Gibbs stood in his basement Sunday afternoon, slowly sanding the beams making up the bottom of his unfinished boat. His mind once again strayed back to the days before, back to the Monday that this whole thing started on. He still couldn't believe it had only been a week tomorrow that this had started. A week today if he was counting the Sunday that Tim was first attacked. Gibbs had been able to give every family of Aaron's victims some peace, knowing that the bastard that had killed their loved one was finally dead. He still had no idea why he had attacked Tim, of all people. What had made him focus so much on Tim, when there were others? Tim didn't fit the pattern Aaron had made for himself. He had beaten, raped, and killed each one of his victims like they were nothing. Yet Tim had remained alive. Why?

"Boss?"

Gibbs turned to look up at the top landing of the basement stairs, Tony staring down at him from his wheelchair. "Yeah?"

"Phone." He said, holding up the receiver to the house phone. "It's Dr. Hitsugaya."

Gibbs set the sander on his work bench and trumped upstairs, taking the phone from Tony and following him into the main part of the house and into the kitchen. "Gibbs." He said into the receiver.

"Agent Gibbs, I have wonderful news." Dr. Hitsugaya said. He sounded both tired and relieved. "Timothy's fever has broken at last, for good this time. It's still a little high, 103.2˚ but it is steadily dropping. We feel that it should be back to normal by midnight tonight, at the latest. If we can get him to at least 100˚, we may be able to consider allowing visitors. Does he have any relatives? I'm afraid that with all that has happened, I wasn't able to ask earlier."

"Yeah, he has his parents and his sister but right now they're all on a trip." Gibbs said. His heart was slowly swelling and his shoulders felt as though a great weight was being lifted from them. Tim's fever had finally broken, for good this time. "His parents are vacationing in England right now and their daughter decided to go with them. Tim had refused, saying he didn't want to leave his work." Maybe he should have made Tim go. Maybe if he had, Tim wouldn't have gotten dragged into this mess.

"I see. Well, in that case, I suppose once visitors are permitted, you and your team may see him but it will have to be one at a time until he is well enough for larger groups." Dr. Hitsugaya said. "He's still unconscious but now that his fever has broken, it shouldn't be long before he regains consciousness. I just thought you would like to know about his fever. And that Ms David is just about ready to be picked up, if you're ready."

"Yes, thank you." Gibbs said, a smile tugging at his mouth when he noticed Tony practically bouncing in his chair impatiently. "And please let me know when he does."

Gibbs clicked off the phone and set the receiver on the counter before grabbing a mug and pouring himself some of the coffee he had reheated from that morning. Then he sat at the table and drank, ignoring Tony's bouncing until finally Tony burst.

"Boss!" Tony exclaimed impatiently. "What happened? He's okay, right? He's recovered? He's awake? Tell me what the doctor said."

"His fever broke." Gibbs said, an amused expression on his face. "It's down to 103.2˚ right now and Dr. Hitsugaya said that if they could get it to stay down at 100˚ at least, they would consider allowing visitors. He's still unconscious but if his fever stays on the good side, he should wake up soon."

Tony stared at him a moment before breaking into a wide grin. "That's awesome!" he exclaimed. "He's finally recovering?"

"Yep." Gibbs said, taking another sip of his coffee. "Looks like he's going to pull through."

Tony wheeled himself around to the counter and grabbed the phone. "I'll call Abby and -"

"Hang on, Tony." Gibbs said. Tony paused and looked at his boss as he stood up. "We've got to go get Ziva first. She's being released now."

Tony set the phone back on the counter. "Then let's go."

Gibbs sat in the living room with Tony that night, both of them waiting for the phone to ring, in the hopes that Dr. Hitsugaya would let them know how Tim's fever was going. Hopefully his fever was now nearly non-existent. When they had picked up Ziva earlier, Dr. Hitsugaya had said that he would call them by ten o' clock that night for one last update of the night on Tim's condition. It was now nine thirty. Another half hour to go.

Tony sighed impatiently and brought his pillow down on his face, using his uninjured leg to kick the couch cushions beneath him. "This waiting is killing me." He complained, his voice muffled by the pillow. He lifted the pillow from his face and peered at Gibbs sitting in the armchair behind his head. "Is it ten o' clock yet?"

Gibbs sighed. "No, Tony. It's not. It's now nine thirty-two, two minutes past the last time you asked. Relax." Gibbs said, leaning back in his chair. "Take a nap."

Tony glared. "If I fell asleep, I wouldn't wake up again until morning. And you wouldn't wake me up when the doctor called, would you?" Gibbs smirked but remained silent. "That's what I thought. No thanks. I'll stay awake."

"At least you won't have to go anywhere." Gibbs said, eyeing the couch. "You're already in bed."

Tony scowled. "The only reason I'm on the couch is because I can't get to the spare bedroom because of the stairs." His scowl deepened and he turned to glare at the wheelchair sitting innocently in the corner. "Stupid chair."

"Quit complaining, Dinozzo." Gibbs grumbled. "Otherwise I'll just knock you out myself."

Tony jammed the pillow back on his head and crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling indistinctly. Ten minutes later, Gibbs looked down at his senior agent, noticing that the grumbling had stopped. Gibbs raised an eyebrow and lifted the pillow, smirking at his sleeping agent. He placed the pillow on Tony's chest, so he didn't accidently suffocate with the pillow on his face, and continued to wait for the phone, more thoughts of the past week playing through his head.

Several minutes later, Gibbs's house phone rang and Gibbs reached for it, grabbing the pillow from Tony's chest and whacking him on the head with it. "I wasn't sleeping, boss." Tony said, jerking awake and pushing himself half way up.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and answered the phone. "Gibbs." He said.

"Agent Gibbs, it's Dr. Hitsugaya." came the reply. Gibbs nodded absently as the doctor continued. "Tim's fever has finally returned to normal. I checked his vitals and everything seems to be returning to normal as well. His bones are mending properly, and his bruises are beginning to fade. Slowly."

"Thank you, doc." Gibbs said. "Now that his fever is gone, do you have an idea when he should wake up?"

"It's hard to tell, but I believe he should regain consciousness sometime this week." Dr. Hitsugaya said. "However, I'll keep you informed if he wakes up early or if anything else happens."

"Thank you." Gibbs repeated. "Good night."

"So?" Tony asked expectantly.

"His fever is gone." Gibbs answered. He stood up and stretched before placing the receiver back on the stand and heading for the stairs. "They're going to keep him in the ICU ward until they're sure his fever won't return and they'll let us know if anything changes."

"That's good." Tony sighed in relief. Then he yawned and settled back down. "Do we have work tomorrow?"

Gibbs nodded as he headed up the stairs. "Yep, so get some sleep."

Tim first realized he was alive when he heard the steady beeping of a machine near his left ear. Death shouldn't be this noisy. He tried to take a breath but suddenly stopped, his throat clenching at an object stuck in his windpipe. He froze, taking a timid breath from his nose instead. It was a bit painful but much better than using his mouth. Fear was the only thing that kept him from panicking as he carefully let his senses run throughout the room, trying to make out where he was and whether or not it was safe to open his eyes and reveal that he was conscious. He was lying on something soft, he noted, his fingertips shifting slightly against the soft material. Cloth, it seems. The aroma of the room made him think of rubbing alcohol and disinfectant. Adding them together and taking into account the noise of the machine and the unknown object in his mouth, he guessed he was in a hospital, though how he got there was an entirely different matter. Still, it seemed that he wasn't in any danger and slowly opened his eyes.

Or at least he attempted to. His left eye opened a crack, showing him a bleary white room with bleary, oddly shaped objects. His right eye, however, wouldn't open at all. In fact, it sort of felt like something was covering his eye, preventing it from opening. Was it injured? He wasn't sure. It didn't hurt, unlike the rest of his body, but he couldn't exactly feel it either. Perhaps it was just numb. But what if it wasn't? What if his eye was gone? What if something happened and they had to take it out? He could lose his job. He wouldn't be able to work ever again, at anything. Panic swelled in his chest, increasing when he took a shuddering breath through his mouth and felt his throat muscles clamp down on the foreign object, blocking the much needed oxygen. The machine near his ear beeped rapidly, frightening him even more.

Suddenly an Asian man in a white lab coat rushed into the room, two nurses trailing behind him. The nurses began checking the machine as the man, doctor he assumed, leaned over him. "Timothy? I need you to relax." The doctor ordered. His voice was gentle but firm and Tim found himself trying to obey his command. He tried to reign in his panic but it increased when he started to gag on the object in his throat. "Timothy, calm down. You have a breathing tube in your throat. It's okay. Just breathe through your nose. I know it hurts but it's better than suffocating."

Tim instinctively held his breath and carefully drew air through his nose and into his lungs. "That's good." The doctor coached. "Keep doing that. Breath through your nose, that's it. Calmly. Good." Tim continued to take deep breaths through his nose until his throat unclenched and he sagged back on his bed with a sigh through his nose.

"Feel better?" the doctor asked. Tim nodded slightly. "Good. Now, Timothy. I'm Dr. Hitsugaya. As you may have assumed, I'm your doctor. You've given us all quite a scare. Do you remember anything before waking up?

Oh, he definitely remembered. He remembered everything. Driving home with Tony behind him, Tony telling him to go on ahead when a cop pulled Tony over, being grabbed from his car and carried behind the apartment building, the scene that took place there, him dragging himself up to his apartment and kicking the door closed before he slipped unconscious. Next moment, he woke up here. Tim looked up at Dr. Hitsugaya through his single eye and nodded slightly. The doctor looked at him sadly. "Do you remember everything?" Again he nodded. "I thought so. I'm sorry you went through that. I'm not going to pretend like I know what you're going through because I don't. But I will say that keeping it inside is neither healthy nor safe. There are people you can talk to or you could always talk to someone you trust. But I highly recommend that you talk to someone. Understood?" Tim hesitated before nodding again. He hadn't exactly said he had to tell someone. He just recommended it, as his own professional opinion.

The doctor nodded. "Good, now that that's taken care of, we need to make sure you understand your current situation. You still have a slight concussion but it's going away. I'm going to check your eyes and make sure on a few things, okay? And by the way, I'm sure you've realized by now that you can't see out of your right eye. That's because it is bandaged over. Your eyelid has swollen to the point that it has sealed itself shut. We've put some medication on the bandage to help with the swelling." He pulled a long silver tube from his breast pocket and turned a knob before pointing the lighted end at Tim's face. "Now, I want you to follow the light with your eye only. Good. Follow the light only with your eye. Good." Then he put the light away and turned back to him.

"Now where should I start?" he said. He tapped at a thin tube connecting the bigger tube in Tim's throat with a machine on his right side. "First, this tube is in your throat because several of your ribs were broken and one of them stabbed into your lung. We were able to place a patch over the tear but it will take a while for the patch to merge with the lung tissue, so until then, you're going to have to breathe through the tube. Don't worry, it's not permanent.

Secondly, we noticed that your broken ribs were already broken and had begun to heal incorrectly. We had to rebreak them and shift them back where they were to go. Fortunately, only a day had passed, so there was no permanent bone damage. Your lower lip was sliced open but it's healing quite well with the stitches. They should be ready to come out soon. I'm also assuming you've noticed that it hurts to breath through your nose. That's because your nose is also broken. It was a clean break, so it wasn't too hard to set right. It should heal within a few weeks, as will the rest of your broken bones. The major breaks will take at least two months, and that includes both of your legs. Neither of them wanted to mend properly. We had to go in and surgically place them together a second time. You were lucky with your right leg. It was the worst break out of all of them. Both the Tibia and Fibula are broken and though they will heal just fine, you won't be able to use it as extensively as you usually do. If you play any sports, that rules them out.

Your left leg is in better shape. A clean break across the femur, easy to place back, though it did put up a fight. That one should heal with no problems at all. Your ribs are fine, though almost all of them are broken and your left arm is also broken in two places, both of them above the elbow. You noticed the casts? Your arm should heal first but all in all, you'll end up incapacitated for at least two and a half months, and possibly out of work for three, maybe four. I realize this is upsetting, judging by how much you seem to love your job, according to your teammates, but don't feel too bad. They're no better than you right now. Your friend Anthony is currently in a wheelchair with a leg and hip injury. His arm and shoulder weren't too bad. And your friend Ziva will be in a cast and crutches for several weeks, if not a month, and won't be going back to field work for at least two while her ribs and sternum heal. And your boss has informed me that your whole team has been taken off duty until further notice. So you're not really missing much." Dr. Hitsugaya stood from his seat on the edge of Tim's bed and sighed. "Normally I would ask you if you had any questions but seeing as how you can't speak at the moment, we'll just save that for tomorrow; your lung tissue should be strong enough for you to breath on your own by then. Do you think you can hold off on the questions until then?"

Tim thought about this and then nodded. He had a lot to think about anyways. "Good." The doctor said with a nod of his own. "Then I'll record your status on your record sheet and then I'll call your co-workers and let them know you're awake." The doctor paused. "Unless you don't want them to know yet?" Tim shook his head immediately. He didn't want to see anyone just yet. He had too much going through his mind to worry about anything else. The others could hold off on him for a few more minutes. Besides, he didn't want to see the anger he knew would be on their faces when they saw him. How could they not be angry? They had risked their lives for him Why? He ended up hurt anyways. They weren't even the target, he was. He couldn't blame them for hating him. They had every right.

"Are you sure?" Dr. Hitsugaya asked. "Your friends are really worried about you. They've been waiting for you to wake up since your fever broke on Sunday. Wouldn't you want to give them a bit of closure?"

Tim shrugged and nodded. "Alright, I'll let them know you're awake but aren't ready for visitors just yet." The doctor said, sensing Tim's distress. "Will that be okay?" Tim nodded again.

Dr. Hitsugaya nodded and continued to check his vitals before he was finally satisfied. He quickly wrote his notes on Tim's chart and replaced it at the end of the bed before leaving the room and shutting the door. Tim let his head sink back into the pillow and he sighed through his nose, wincing at the pain that accompanied the breath. So he was alive. But at what cost? Gibbs was no doubt pissed at him for putting his team in danger, and Tony and Ziva had both been injured for no reason other than defending him. If it wasn't for him, Aaron wouldn't have gone for them. Where was Aaron now? Did they catch him? Is he still out there? Did he get away? He knew that if Aaron had gotten away, Gibbs would become obsessed with catching him. Not because he wanted to protect Tim, but because he didn't like to have a criminal get away from him. He could feel the guilt swelling in the pit of his stomach at the thought of how much trouble he had placed on his teammates. He had to get out of this hospital as soon as possible. He wanted to find some way to make it up to his team. He had a decent amount of money saved up in his account. Perhaps he could send them on a trip or something. Like an expensive cruise or something.

Tim looked behind him at the heart monitor, the steady beeping lulling him to sleep. Maybe I'll think more about that later. He thought as his heavy eyelid started to close. When I'm not sleepy.

Gibbs, Ziva and Tony sat in the bull pen Wednesday afternoon, the three of them constantly eyeing Gibbs's phone in the hopes that Dr. Hitsugaya would call them with information on Tim. They hadn't heard anything more on him since Sunday. They were becoming increasingly agitated, Tony still in his wheelchair and Ziva still learning how to maneuver herself around with her crutches. She did, however, learn that she could use them quite effectively in bonking Tony on the head with the rubbery end when he tried to steal one.

Gibbs looked at the clock at the corner of his computer screen. One o' clock. He looked up at Tony and Ziva. "One o' clock. Time for your pain pills."

Tony took a baggie of small round blue pills out of his pocket, grumbling to himself as he put two into his mouth and swallowed them with a swing from his water bottle. Ziva took hers gracefully, smirking at Tony when he made a face. "I hate pain meds." He grumbled, taking another drink. "They always taste disgusting."

"You shouldn't taste them at all if you take them properly." Ziva said. "And medication isn't supposed to taste like candy, Tony."

"Yes, thank you, Zi-va." Tony scowled. "I'll have you know-"

The three of them paused, their heads swiveling around to Gibbs's desk phone as it rang. Gibbs grabbed the receiver. "Agent Gibbs." He said.

"Agent Gibbs." Dr. Hitsugaya's voice floated through the receiver, the cheerfulness in his voice giving Gibbs a hopeful feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Great news. Timothy has awakened."

"He has?" Gibbs asked, glancing up at Tony and Ziva. "Just a second, let me put you on speaker so you can tell Tony and Ziva as well." He pressed a button and placed the receiver back in place. "You still there?"

"I'm here." The doctor said. "Good after noon, Anthony. Ziva."

"Hey doc." Tony greeted, wheeling his chair up to Gibbs's desk, Ziva using her crutches to push her desk chair up behind him. "So how's Tim?"

"Well, as I have just told your boss, Timothy has regained consciousness." The doctor said brightly. "He woke up about an hour ago and I checked his vitals. He seems to be doing well. Unfortunately he remembers everything. He has refused visitors for now and I would prefer he not have any for a while. He's still too weak to go through any stress caused by a visitor upsetting him. He's under antibiotics and pain medication right now. He'll be slipping in and out of sleep for a while. I recommend waiting until at least this time tomorrow."

"Wait, so he doesn't want to see us?" Tony asked incredulously. "Why not? What's wrong with him?"

"Tony!" Ziva scolded.

"Well, Mr. Dinozzo." Dr. Hitsugaya said. "It may be from the guilt he feels."

"Guilt? Why would he feel guilt? Guilt from what?" Tony demanded.

"I don't know." The doctor said. "I didn't ask but you could see it in his eyes. I asked him if he wanted me to let you know that he was awake and at first he shook his head 'no'. Then I asked if he was sure because you were all worried about him and if he thought you deserved a bit of closure. And he hesitated before amending. And his expression showed, not fear, but guilt. It was clear as day in his eyes. Or 'eye' as he only has one right now."

"Do you think he will be staying in the positive?" Ziva asked before Tony could respond.

"It looks that way for now." He answered. "I've explained his wounds to him and how it will go for a while. He was a bit upset about hearing that he won't be able to return to work for at least a month but I believe he understands the reason behind it. His bones and tissue damage are slowly healing and seem to be doing fine in that sense. All in all, I do believe he will make a great recovery."

"That's good, doc." Gibbs said. "Thank you for your help. And we appreciate you calling and letting us know that he's awake."

"You're welcome, Agent Gibbs." The doctor said. "I'm sorry your agent doesn't want to see you all just yet but hopefully with time, he'll feel differently."

"Hopefully." Gibbs agreed.

"I don't get it." Tony said when Gibbs ended the call. "Why would he feel guilty?"

"It is McGee." Ziva said. "Perhaps he is feeling the same type of guilt that we, ourselves, are feeling."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked, though he refused to meet her gaze. "I don't feel any guilt."

Ziva gave him a look. "I mean the guilt we all feel about being unable to protect him. I know we all feel it, even though we pretend we don't and Gibbs told us not to. We know each other too well to get away with lying about it. I know you feel bad about not being able to get to McGee before Aaron and his men did. And I know that you, Gibbs, feel just as bad about not being able to protect him, too. I, too, feel the same. I was in the hospital and almost failed to keep Aaron away from him.

McGee must feel the same kind of guilt but more because we got hurt trying to protect him. I believe that is why he feels guilty. Because we got hurt for his sake. And for Gibbs, it could be because your team nearly died trying to protect someone that you don't think too highly of."

"Wait a minute." Gibbs said angrily. "What do you mean 'not think too highly of'?"

Ziva looked at him hesitantly. "McGee has told me a few times that he thinks you do not care about him the same way you do Tony or Abby. At first I told him that he was wrong but then he pointed out examples and he is right. I see it too. Not as much as he does, but I do see it."

"Like how?" Tony asked quizzically.

"When the dog attacked him, Gibbs did nothing to stop Abby from being angry at him for shooting it nor did he stop you from tormenting him about it." Ziva explained. She turned to Gibbs. "When he loses something or forgets something, you yell at him in a way that you wouldn't have with Tony or I. You send us out into the field almost all of the time but you hardly ever let him get away from his desk. You may have your reasons for doing what you do the way you do them, but he, as he puts it, is not a mind searcher. He does not know what you are trying to do by treating him the way you do. Imagine the way you treat him when he makes a mistake or does something wrong. Then imagine Abby or Tony doing that same thing. You would treat them differently, yes? Why? That is what he does not understand. And he is right, he is not a mind searcher."

"Mind reader." Tony corrected quietly.

"That, too." Ziva said. "He says he feels as though he is the,- how did he put it?- fourth wheel on a tricycle. Unnecessary. And that any moment now, he will be sent back to Norfolk to work with the other geeks. Yet even though you treat him the way you do, he still tries to do everything he can to please you. He does not wish to be a burden to any of us but because of what happened with Aaron, it would seem that he feels that that is exactly what he has become." Ziva stood u from her chair, using her crutches for support, and headed towards the back elevators. "I am going down to tell Abby and Ducky that McGee has awakened."

Tony silently watched her disappear into the elevator, even more guilt filling his stomach along with the pain pills, before looking back at his boss. "I think we screwed up, boss."

Gibbs nodded his head absently. He felt as if he had just suffered an extremely rude awakening. And this was not one he could lightly brush off. "Yeah, Tony. I think we did."

A/N: Not exactly how I wanted it to go, but it is extremely difficult to think of what else to write while doing my last homework assignments before next week. Last day of classes on the second of June. Whoo! Then I'll have way more time to write. For now, just review and let me know what you think. Story's almost over and next chapter will be longer than this one.