A/N: A bit of a long chapter here.
A bit of a different side of Tim here. Even Abby seems to be a bit off her game at this point.
Stress can do strange things to people.
Step inside to see what's going on with our couple.
The doctor turned towards Gibbs and put his hands out in front of him in an effort to calm the man down. He understood Gibbs' anger and frustration, especially seeing as Tim had been relatively fine when he had left.
"Mr Gibbs..."
"Agent Gibbs." Gibbs all but growled his title out to the young Doctor, it was strange because the title correction was an automatic thing that seemed to fall out of his mouth without him even thinking about it. He mentally kicked himself because all he cared about at this moment in time was finding out what the hell was wrong with his agent, not what the hell the doctor called him.
"Sorry, Agent Gibbs. Tim will be fine. He's reacted badly to the pain medication we gave him. Until the drug runs its course, he will more than likely feel weak, dizzy and extremely nauseous so we've given him a mild sedative to help him sleep off the meds. We'll be keeping a close eye on his progress. If he improves then we might release him in a couple of days."
Gibbs was looking at the doctor warily. He understood that the kid had reacted badly, he really did, but what he couldn't understand was why it took so long for the reaction to present itself in the first place.
"He's been here a couple of days now, Doc. Why'd the reaction take so long to show up?"
"We don't give strong meds with a concussion so he didn't get his first dose until recently. Has he reacted this way before?"
Abby shook her head but let Gibbs reply to the doctor's question knowing that if she spoke now, she may not be able to keep it together.
"McGee? Not that I know of but it's like pulling teeth getting him to take aspirin let alone anything stronger." Gibbs couldn't remember a single time when Tim had taken anything for a headache or his other injuries. Even when his shoulder was dislocated, he refused the meds in lieu of keeping a sharp mind...Too bad DiNozzo didn't have that insight.
"Ahh, I see. Well it wasn't a severe reaction but between the concussion and the cracked ribs we'd like to keep an eye on him for a little while later. You can go back in if you want."
The doctor stood to leave, giving Abby and Gibbs the chance to go and sit with Tim. They entered the room pensively, not knowing what to expect from Tim, feeling a wave of relief at the sight of him sleeping peacefully. Abby went straight over to the side of the bed and pushed his hair away from his forehead lovingly before taking his hand and cradling it gently in her own as if it was made of the finest bone china. She was surprised when Tim lightly squeezed and looked down to see him looking at her with heavy lidded, glassy eyes. She moved forward slightly and smiled at him warmly before bending down and pecking him on the cheek.
"Timmy, hey. It's going to be ok. You're going to be ok." she said reassuringly whilst cupping his cheek to keep his attention focused solely on her.
"..by, wha..." Tim was groggy and felt as though every movement he took was being counteracted by some invisible force that threatened to pull him under at any moment. It took every effort he had to keep his eyes open, let alone do anything else.
"McGee! Go to sleep son and we'll talk when you wake up ok?" Gibbs stepped in and laid a hand gently on Tim's shoulder after seeing his agent struggle. He knew the kid needed sleep and wanted nothing more than to take him home where he could keep him safe.
"Boss, m'sorry."
"Don't apologise Tim. It's a sign of weakness." He watched as Tim's eyes seemed to get heavier and heavier and soon enough his agent's breathing evened out into the healing sleep he needed.
Tim was out for pretty much the full day, only dragging himself out of his sleep briefly when prompted by the nurses or the doctor for the obligatory tests that were needed. Gibbs noticed that whilst he was being woken up, he never really roused and was starting to get worried. Tim finally woke up in the small hours of the morning, looking more alert than he had done previously. Gibbs had been reading a newspaper that he had bought from the gift shop when he heard the small, pained moan that escaped Tim as he tried to get more comfortable and jarred his ribs.
"You back with us, McGee?" Gibbs stood up and moved to the bed, waiting patiently for Tim to track him. Once the large green eyes finally locked on, he reached over to grab the plastic cup off the nightstand. "Small sips, McGee. There you go, atta boy."
Tim smiled at his bosses ministrations and yawned.
"What happened?" Tim's voice was rough from sleep and discomfort making it sound almost painful when he talked.
"You had a reaction to the meds they gave you. You always had a problem with them?"
"Yeah." Tim's eyes started to droop but he caught himself and forced his eyes open again "Never been good with the strong stuff. Don't like taking them."
That statement made Gibbs balk slightly "Why didn't you tell me, McGee?"
"..S'in my records, …oss." Tim finally succumbed to sleep leaving Gibbs feeling slightly remorseful that there was something about one of his boys he didn't know. He glanced down at Tim's relaxed face and smiled ruefully at how young his agent looked.
"Gibbs." Abby's small voice travelled across the room. "He's asleep?"
"Yeah, Abbs. He's exhausted and still dopey." Abby nodded and moved closer to the bed. "Thought I told you to go with DiNozzo and Ziva."
"Couldn't sleep. I've been thinking about everything that happened and I really don't think Alex could do this. I mean sure, he's got issues but this? No way ,Gibbs!"
"You can't know that for sure, Abbs and I'm still gonna follow that lead."
"But Gibbs..."
"No Abby! I'm serious! I've already got Balboa's team working on it."
"Why Gibbs? You can't do this to Alex because he just needs help! He wouldn't purposely hurt anyone!"
"You can't know that, Abbs." He frowned when Tim shifted restlessly on the bed." Shh McGee, it's ok. You know what, Abby? We're not having this conversation now. If you stay, they you need to be quiet and let him get some rest. If you can't do that then you go to my place."
"I'm staying." Gibbs nodded at Abby's quiet, obstinate tone and settled back in the chair to continue his vigil. He couldn't help the pang of worry, knowing that something wasn't right. First his agent get's shot and now he reacts to a drug that was listed in his records as something he couldn't tolerate and shouldn't have been administered...something's just not right.
Tim had finally, mercifully,been released from the hospital and was trying to get dressed. He was thwarted a few times when his movements either sent shooting pains across his chest or made him feel too dizzy to continue. Abby walked in whilst he was trying to lift his foot to put his socks on and rushed over to him.
"NO! Timmy let me." Abby reached down and pulled Tim's foot forward so she could roll his sock onto him. It had taken the majority of the day for the pain killer to completely purge Tim's system and her boyfriend had dutifully refused anything else to help him with the constant pain that plagued him, it was relentless and left him feeling drained and exhausted. He gasped as the movement of moving his foot jarred his tender ribs but stayed quiet as Abby tended to his needs.
"Ok, you're good to go." Abby had just finished tying Tim's shoelaces and stood up. Tim held out his hand for her and sat rubbing his thumb over her soft skin when she laced her fingers through his own long digits.
"So, we've got a camp out at the bosses eh?" He smiled at Abby's excited stance and watched with fascination s her pigtails bobbed with every movement she made.
"Yeah, it'll be fun, Timmy. Just me, you, Jethro..."
"And the boss!" Tim watched as she giggled at his mock exasperation.
"Of course, he lives there, Timmy."
Tim couldn't help but grin at Abby but sobered quickly when the burning question he had been itching to ask her moved to the forefront of his mind.
"Abbs, how do you know Alex isn't behind all this?"
"I just know, Timmy. He's not dangerous, just angry and confused. He wouldn't do it to me." The statement was heartfelt and sent a shiver of jealousy shooting through Tim. He shook it off at about the same time as he shook his head.
"We don't know that. You know Gibbs is just doing his job right?"
"He's looking in the wrong places, McGee!"
"McGee? What the hell, Abbs, come on! I'm not gonna get into a pissing match over this; I just want you to realise that Gibbs will be exploring every avenue."
"You don't think I know that? Look! I was with this guy for years! He was my first true love so I think that makes me more qualified to know exactly what he's capable of and THIS. ISN'T. IT!" She was being completely unreasonable and knew damn well what she was doing.
It was almost as if this guy still held a special spot in her heart and that hurt more than the physical injuries that he had sustained. Tim struggled to understand exactly why she would be defending Alex so passionately when he was the here and now, the victim of some whack job that seemed hellbent on hurting him or..and...Abby. He was about to snap a reply when Gibbs walked in pushing a wheelchair; effectively ending the skirmish that was starting to get heated.
"You ready to get out of here, McGee?"
Tim silently nodded and stood up gingerly, biting back any winces or groans. "Do I really need the wheelchair boss? I can walk." Tim eyed the contraption with an air of trepidation but didn't actually make a move from where he stood leaning stiffly on the bed.
"Well if the way you are standing is anything to go by then yeah, you do McGee. It's SOP in this joint so hop in. Abbs, grab his gear and let's go."
Gibbs waited for Tim to slowly lever himself down into the wheelchair and turned it expertly so he could push his agent out of the hospital to the safety of the car. His skills at manoeuvring the chair was testament as to how many times he had done this for his team, that fact alone saddened him as they made their way home.
Gibb's got Tim settled on the couch and walked into the kitchen to finish making some much needed coffee. As much as he needed to stay with his injured agent, the hospital coffee really didn't cut the mustard and left him with a craving for a mug of his own favourite blend.
He knew something had been wrong between the two newly fledged love birds given the two of them hadn't spoken a word on the way back from the hospital. Abby had chosen to move straight to the guest bedroom, leaving the two men alone downstairs. Gibbs grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and move into the living room to sit and talk to his agent, hoping to drag whatever issue Tim had out of him so he could rest easily and comfortably.
"You all right, McGee?" Gibbs handed Tim the bottle of water and sank into an armchair.
"Yeah, Boss, I'm good." Tim's quick, quiet reply alerted Gibbs to the fact that all was not right with his agent and he couldn't decide whether or not it was down to the pain and exhaustion from his injuries, or whatever happened between him and Abby when he'd gone to get the discharge papers and wheelchair.
"You wanna talk about it?" Tim huffed out a small laugh and shook his head.
"Thanks, but no thanks, Boss. All I want to do is sleep right now but the thought of tackling those stairs doesn't seem the least bit appealing."
"Then don't." It was the typical Gibbs response, if there was a simple answer to all of this, he could always rely on his boss to come up with it.
"Gonna have to at one point boss, I'm too tired to pull an all-nighter." Gibbs laughed loudly at Tim's humor and shook his head.
"Stay down here McGee, you won't need the stairs and I can vouch for that couch." Tim was about to reply when they were sidelined by the sound of Abby's platforms clomping down the stairs.
Abby had decided to come to Tim and was carrying her laptop and some DVD's in her overfilled arms.
"Hey, Timmy. Do you want to watch a movie with me?" There was a hint of an apology in her voice and Tim allowed himself to give her a small grin at her for the offer.
"Yeah, okay, what have you got?" Tim replied, he was more than willing to meet her roundabout apology half way if it meant keeping the peace.
Abby practically bounced her way over to the couch and made quick work of setting up the laptop ready for the movies that she had chosen. She handed the pile to Tim and winked at him knowingly.
"You choose."
He flicked through the pile and pulled out the new star trek movie that Abby had strategically placed in the middle of the pile knowing he would zone right in on it and ignored the rest; he put the rest of the pile to the side and handed over the film that Abby knew he would was dying to see with a huge grin on his face.
"You want to watch with us, Boss?" Tim already knew the answer to his question but felt obliged to ask it anyway.
"Nope! I'll be in the basement."Gibbs got up and sauntered over to the door of the basement leaving the couple alone to enjoy their time together in peace.
"Just me and you then Abbs." Tim said with another small grin and tried to settle back as much as his injured ribs would let him. He let a small groan. "This really sucks."
"I know, Timmy, but look on the bright side; we get to spend some quality time together." She sat on his uninjured side and laced her fingers through Tim's before hitting the play button on the laptop. The two of them settled in to watch the movie, oblivious to anything else but the film and the closeness that this simple act provided.
It didn't seem like two minutes before the end credits started to roll and even Abby had to admit to enjoying the film. She had never been a trekkie and attributed mainly to the fact that she was watching with Tim.
"That was a good choice, Timmy." She offered with a smile before leaning up to give him a quick kiss.
"Thanks." Tim was feeling relatively smug at having pleased his girl with his movie choice and let her settle back against him again. They sat there in silence whilst Tim carded his fingers through Abby's raven hair which, for the first time, was hanging loosely around her shoulders instead of being tied in her trademark pigtails. Abby felt Tim relax gradually, so seized the moment to tackle the cause of their argument in the hospital.
"We need to talk, Timmy." She said quietly in the hope that her calm voice would coax the conversation out of her boyfriend without them coming to blows.
"What about?"
"Alex"
"Abby, I'm tired and I really don't wanna have this conversation right now." Tim answered with a deep sincerity.
"No, Tim! We need to talk about it now!" Abby demanded, she wished she hadn't admitted the whole affair now but the can of worms had been opened leaving her defending Alex with a determined vehemence that threatened to tear her apart.
"No. Abby. We're not!" Tim bit back sharply, he was hurting far too much to deal with this right now and the more she demanded he do this her way, the angrier he got. Before he said something he'd regret, Tim stood up painfully and forced himself to climb the stairs, making his way to the only room in the house he knew would be safe from his house mate's clutches at the moment. He soon found himself entering Gibbs' room and closed the door behind him, relishing the security he felt at being totally alone. He walked stiffly towards the other door and entered before turning round and locking the door behind him.
Abby would never think to look for him in Gibbs' bathroom. She wouldn't think he'd have the cahoonas to hide out from her in here. He groaned loudly when he bent down to drop the toilet lid and sat down on the cold porcelain. He fought the pain that was working its way through his overtaxed body and started to regret moving up the stairs at all when wave after wave of stabbing pain made him pant harshly in the cool bathroom. Harnessing every ounce of inner strength he had, he silently rode it out until finally, after what seemed like hours later, it finally subsided to a dull ache that seemed to be the norm in recent days. He sighed with relief and stood up gingerly to make his way back to the confines of the bedroom so he could get his head together in peace.
He stood there panting with the exertion and feeling completely exhausted, he finally forced himself to move; knowing he needed to vacate Gibbs' bathroom and go back downstairs to the couch where he could lay down and relax. As he trudged toward the door, he heard a sharp knock on the other side. Startled, he froze for a second waiting for the person to announce their presence.
"McGee? Get out here and talk to me." Gibbs said authoritatively in an attempt to get Tim out so he could assess his condition. He was slightly pissed at the fact that his agent had stupidly gone out of his way to hide and possibly cause himself a world of pain in the process.
As he did as he was told, his heart dropped. Why was it the more he tried to keep up his bravado and try to show strength in front of this man; the more it backfired on him? Couldn't he ever get this right? Next thing you know, Gibbs would be reading him the riot act for not giving Abby what she wanted, and he really hoped Gibbs would at least wait until tomorrow to do it. Tim didn't know how much more of anything he could take tonight so decided to just suck it up and do whatever Gibbs asked of him until he could get through long enough to get to bed.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and was shocked to find Gibbs sitting on his bed, waiting patiently for him to come out.
"Boss. I'm ..."
"No. McGee. You know better. Just sit down here and tell me what the hell's going on." Gibbs' tone held a small note of frustration but all in all, there was nothing but worry in the older man's eyes.
"Is Abby okay?" Tim asked with genuine concern.
"She's fine. Pissed, but fine. Start talkin, McGee."
Tim nodded but felt the onset of his body's betrayal. The world greyed out monetarily as Tim legs gave out on him making him list dangerously to the side involuntarily. Before he could stop himself, he felt Gibbs' strong arms steady him to stop him from injuring himself further.
"Never mind, McGee. C'mon, you need to get some sleep." Gibbs advised as he helped Tim out of the room and down the stairs.
Tim was almost asleep on the couch 10 minutes later, after having taken the pain pills Gibbs got out for him and ordered him to take. As sleep took his agent over, the older man watched him with a deep concern that came from seeing your child in pain. This kid had been through so much lately. He wasn't a runner. Tim didn't usually run from what bothered him. What the hell was going on here?
"Is he okay?" Abby's voice came from the doorway behind him and seemed small and timid compared to the normal excited voice the Goth had.
Gibbs finished covering Tim with the comforter and walked over to Abby, ushering her away from Tim and back towards the kitchen. He was reassuring her as they went.
"He's exhausted and his body's still giving him hell, Abbs. But, he'll be fine."
"Good. Okay."
"What's going on, Abby? What the hell happened?"
"I pushed him to talk and he refused. Gibbs, he's never refused to talk to me before!"
"Abby, he just got out of the hospital and is scared and worried about the fact that someone is after him. He's been through hell in the past few days and is still recovering! Did that even occur to you while you were pushing him?"
"No Gibbs. I guess I had tunnel vision but I just wanted him to know how I felt. How is that wrong?"
"What was so important that you had to make McGee feel bad enough to hide?"
"Alex." Abby said quietly.
"What about him, Abby?"
"I wanted to convince McGee that Alex can't be behind this."
"And you had to do it tonight? Abby he's hurtin' right now and should be resting."
"Well, yeah, Gibbs. It's important that Tim and I agree on this. We can't be chasing this from two different ends!"
"Okay. Abbs, but McGee might not agree. For now, Cut the man some slack and don't expect him to not to check out all the leads in this; even if they do point to people you think aren't involved."
"Gibbs!"
"Abby, go get some sleep. We'll pick up the investigation tomorrow. I suggest you save that conversation for a couple of days. You could both use a break."
"Okay. Gibbs.." Abby said with tearfully, as she kissed him on the cheek and took herself off to the solitude of Gibbs' spare bedroom where she could sit and think alone.
The next morning came round quickly and Tim woke up feeling as though he could barely move. The pain was intense and any small movement sent the tendrils of agony slicing over his frazzled nerves. To top it off, the stiffness was even worse. Still, he was unwilling to let Gibbs see any weakness in him and he forced himself to get up and move slowly to the kitchen for breakfast. As he slid his strongest mask in place, he could only hope that the rest of what he was feeling, was tucked away and safely hidden from the world.
"Mornin', Boss." Tim greeted in a quiet tone as he entered the kitchen to find the older man already sitting at the table, enjoying his first cup of coffee of the day.
Gibbs silently nodded back at Tim before pushing the chair across from him out with his foot. After Tim sat down, Gibbs settled the newspaper down and raked his eyes over his agent. He felt the sympathy pang sharply at the pain and stiffness he saw in those youthful green eyes.
"How you feelin,' McGee?"
"I'm okay." Tim answered in what he hoped, was a believable tone. He really hoped Gibbs wouldn't push this.
"Yeah?" Gibbs asked with a knowing smirk and poured Tim a mug of the coffee he had brewed earlier.
"Yeah, Really, I'm good." Tim let yet another white lie slip out of his mouth and wondered whether Gibbs would see right through him. He'd do anything to keep up the show of strength, not wanting to appear weak in front of the man that had given him a chance in the first place. He could feel his boss' steely gaze scrutinizing him and was relieved when he head Abby heading towards the room.
"Mornin', guys." Abby said as she came into the kitchen.
"Mornin', Abbs." Came the unified reply. While Tim greeted her, his eyes went directly to hers, searching for a glimpse of what she was feeling after their fight last night. Gibbs' eyes flicked over to Abby but quickly returned back to his agent; knowing he was both trying desperately to hide how he felt, and lying about it. The question was, why? Why would Tim feel the need to hide what he was going through from him? Hadn't they gotten over all that? Maybe it's time to ask Ducky for his opinion.
"Abby, we leave in 30." Gibbs told her as he got up out of his chair, gesturing for her to take his seat. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed the large cup of her beloved caf-pow. As he set it down in front of her, her eyes lit up and she literally squealed, sparking smiles from both men. Gibbs made his excuse of getting ready for work as he left the two of them alone for breakfast.
"You okay, Abbs?" Tim asked her gently as soon as he heard Gibbs close his bedroom door.
"Yeah, McGee. I'm fine." She replied testily, still stung by what had happened last night.
He really didn't think he should have to do this, but for the sake of peace between them, he was willing to do it; this time. "Abby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you last night. I'm really sorry."
"I forgive you, Tim." She gloated at how quickly he apologised. Smiling at him, she allowed her bubbly self to resurface; after all, he'd just proven she was right and that made everything all right. As she sat there internally gloating at her victory, she failed to see the malingering hurt that showed in his eyes.
When she did finally look at him, she only saw that he still looked haggard and like he could use another full night's sleep. As his recovering body soon made its displeasure known, his face pinched slightly with the pain. It was that look that sent the stab of remorse driving through her heart.
Gibbs' words from last night came back to her
"Abby, he just got out of the hospital. He's still recovering"
" Cut McGee some slack."
Try as she did, Abby just couldn't get past the indignation of Tim persisting in allowing the investigation to head in Alex's direction. But that didn't mean she didn't care about her Timmy. She had no doubt that Tim understood that. Still, it looked like he needed to go straight back to bed.
"C'mon, Timmy, let's get you back to the couch. You need to get some more sleep."
"I got him. Abbs. Go get ready. C'mon, McGee, you're taking my bed while we're gone." Gibbs said as he came back into the kitchen.
"Boss, what about….?" Tim asked in confusion.
"Ducky'll be here in a minute. He's gonna stay with you until Tony gets here in an hour or so. Gibbs interrupted his question as he helped him to his feet and followed him to the stairs, remaining at his back, ready to steady him if the need arose.
Once he was settled comfortably in the bed and had taken his next dose of pain meds under Gibbs' glare daring him not to, Tim was able to relax and even his edginess seemed to be easing off. As Gibbs watched surreptitiously from the door, Tim's body seemed to melt into the bed as the tension slid off him like a shirt being discarded.
"I'll send Abby up here before we leave." Gibbs told him.
"K." Tim said sleepily.
Sure enough, Abby bounded up the stairs under the rush of a one minute warning from the boss.
"Hey, Tim, you be good today and don't try to do too much all right?"
"Mmm. Hmm." Was all Tim could manage. Abby, obviously still smarting from the arguments, found the anger rise in her at what she took to be Tim's blasé attitude.
"Timmy! Are you listening to me?"
Tim jumped slightly and looked daze, as his mind was pulled harshly out of the realms of sleep that it had started to slip into. Blinking, he looked at her and answered her more coherently. "Yeah, Abby. I'm right here. Please don't yell."
"Well, if you'd answer me so that I know you're listening, I wouldn't yell, McGee! Her voice was practically dripping with the venom she had injected into that one statement.
"Ok. Abby." Tim gave her. Anything to keep the peace from disintegrating and the resulting uproar was just cleaving his head open.
"Now, while you're not working today, Tim. I would appreciate it if you could think about what we talked about yesterday." She saw the opening and decided to grab the bull by the horns.
"Abby…"
"This is very important to me, McGee."
"I know, Abby. I know. But, it's like I told you. There's no way we're not gonna investigate every possibility on this."
"If you think that I would get engaged to someone who would ever do something like this than you don't know me nearly as well as you think you do. And there is something wrong with that after all these years of working together, McGee!"
"Abby! Let's Go!" Gibbs shouted down from the stairwell.
There was enough anger thrown into his voice that Abby knew he'd heard her yelling at Tim just now. Abby realized her goose was cooked. What she didn't realize was that she'd just broken Tim McGee's heart; again.