The waiting room was still tense, though there was something other than the normal anxiety adding to the mood. None of them had known what to say after Abby's disastrous visit to McGee, though Ducky had tried explaining that after a concussion, people often got irritable…It hadn't really helped. They all knew that more was bothering Tim than a concussion. Gibbs seemed uncertain of how to act, which was a bit distressing for everyone else; he always knew what to do. Then again, they were at as much of a loss as he was. Not to mention that no one had heard anything about Tony yet, Tony who had been wheeled up to surgery a solid four hours before with a hunk of metal sticking out of his side. Gibbs had to remind himself that at least he wasn't dead yet, they would have told him already, at least he isn't dead…
"Gonna get a coffee," he muttered, standing, and none of the others even bothered looking up at him, too absorbed in their own thoughts to worry about his. Gibbs couldn't help but notice that Abby looked terrible, streaks of makeup on her cheeks, eyes red from crying. He shook his head and walked to the counter upon which sat a meager selection of magazines, most of them dog-eared and outdated, a pot of terrible smelling coffee, and a stack of paper cups. There were a few packets of sugar and cream, a couple straws scattered around. What a depressing place. Gibbs sighed and poured a cup of coffee, sipping it and hating it, sipping it again. He leaned against the counter, looked at the clock. Nearing eleven now, but it felt so much later, felt like it should be at least the wee hours of the morning, or possibly even sometime the next day…It had been such a long day…
Gibbs threw the empty cup away and slowly walked back to the group of anxious people waiting for news. Vance had joined them sometime since Tony had gone into surgery, Gibbs wasn't even sure when, and he already looked just about as worn down as the rest of them. Something about the hospital, about waiting rooms, sucked all the energy and warmth out of the room, drained you like you were aging in fast forward.
The tone shifted as a doctor came towards them, blue scrubs splattered with blood, appearing as weary as the rest of them.
"You here for Agent DiNozzo?" He asked, and there was less excitement at his words, more trepidation, more worry, than before. Gibbs nodded, snaked an arm around Abby who was already trembling. "He…He was in pretty bad shape," the doctor began, and Gibbs wanted to shout that they knew that already and he needed to get on with it, but he restrained himself.
"The metal broke his two bottom ribs and hit his liver," and there Abby started crying, quiet sobs that only Gibbs could feel fully, "But we were able to stop the bleeding. We had to remove a small part of his liver, but it's able to regenerate and we fully expect that to be the case with Agent DiNozzo. He lost a lot of blood and went into shock, and though we lost him once more during the operation, we got him back. We're still replenishing his lost fluids intravenously, and we have him on oxygen to help him breathe. He's going to have a long recovery period, and need lots of rest, but I think it's safe to say that he's doing well considering what he went through." They stood in silence, absorbing the news, relief and worry mixing to form a strange hybrid emotion.
"Can we see him?" Gibbs finally asked, surprised when his voice was slightly unsteady. We lost him once more…The doctor nodded.
"Only one at a time, five minutes at a time. He's still unconscious, but if you want to see him, you're welcome to. Someone will be along to show you where his room is shortly." He turned to leave, and Abby lifted her head.
"Thank you," she murmured quietly, tears glistening in her eyes. "Thanks." The doctor smiled, nodded, turned and walked away. Abby hugged Gibbs fiercely.
"He's alive, Gibbs," she whispered, and Gibbs was relieved to see some of her energy returning, her bounce restored. "He's gonna be okay!" Gibbs smiled and patted her back.
"Yeah, he is," he said. Even as he said it, he wondered what it would mean for McGee. Hopefully it would snap him out of this funk he'd gotten into. The nurse who was to lead them to Tony's room came, but as the others started to go with her, Gibbs stayed behind. He had something else to do first.
"McGee." As predicted, Tim refused to look at him once again. Gibbs felt bad as he realized that McGee could very well be asleep, but he highly doubted it. "McGee, we got word on Tony." The sudden tense set of the agent's shoulders confirmed Gibbs' suspicions. He remained standing there in silence until Tim finally rolled over and faced Gibbs. He refused to meet his eyes, but at least he wasn't just staring at the wall.
"Tim, look at me. Right here, Tim," Gibbs commanded, pointing to his eyes. McGee slowly made eye contact. "He's going to be okay. It was touch and go for a bit, but he's going to be okay. Do you hear me?" McGee nodded, blinking back tears.
"I hear you, boss," he whispered, and Gibbs inwardly smiled. It was a good sign.
"You can see him once you get out of here, so get your ass in gear and get out of here, okay?" McGee actually smiled at that, and Gibbs nodded.
"I'm going to go see him. Rest up, see you in the morning." He turned to leave, but stopped when McGee's voice followed him.
"Gibbs." He turned back, one eyebrow raised. "Thanks." Gibbs nodded and walked up to Tony's room. Everyone else had already been in to see him, and all but Abby had returned home to get what sleep they could.
"Gibbs!" Abby cried, hugging him as he walked up to her. "How's Tim?"
"He's getting there. Doing better than before, but he's still got a little ways to go." Abby nodded.
"Good." She nodded towards Tony's room. "Go on. He needs you, Gibbs." Gibbs took a breath and stepped into the room. It smelled the way they always smelled, clean and filthy at the same time, lingering traces of copper on the air. Tony was still and pale, he hated seeing him like that, how many more times, DiNozzo?, and there were tubes all over the place. IV lines, an oxygen mask, a catheter, heart monitor wires…He never got used to it.
"Damn it, DiNozzo," Gibbs muttered, sinking into the chair next to the still agent's bed. "This seems too familiar for my liking." Awkwardly, he reached a hand out and touched Tony's, careful not to jostle anything. He realized with a pang just how much this man meant to him, how terrified he'd been, how much he needed Tony to be okay. The day's events finally started to take their toll, and he felt his head drooping as he sat there, holding Tony's limp hand. Finally he drifted off to sleep, gentle snores mingling with the other noises in the room.
He didn't see the nurse come in to tell him to leave, didn't see her smile and shake her head and leave quietly. He also didn't see DiNozzo's eyes crack open a bit, focus blearily on his sleeping form, didn't see Tony's brief half-smile before joining him in sleep.
A/N: Next chapter should have some much needed talking between Tim and Tony… Thanks as always for reviews.