A/N: We apologise for the wait.
"Boss, where are the EMT's. We need that ambulance now!"
Once the initial shock of the situation wore off, Tony had glanced briefly at Gibbs before running over to his friend's side. If he was going to be honest with himself, he was scared witless; seeing Tim laying there, still as a corpse sent fear and panic spiking through him dangerously.
"McGee!"
Tony reached down and put his finger to Tim's carotid artery, he was relieved to feel the thready thrumming of his pulse beating beneath his fingers. Tony moved his hands down over Tim's body to check for any signs' of a gunshot wound before reaching round to loosen the bonds that held Tim's arms behind his back. As he tore off the bonds, he cringed at the angry, red welts that had been caused by his friends struggle against the tight cable ties. Tim didn't stir as they were cut off and Tony noticed the ragged, wheezy breathing coming from his Probie.
"DiNozzo?"
"I've got the ties and gag off him." Tony was too busy trying to help Tim to offer up any more information at that point. He vaguely heard Gibbs' answer travel over to him.
"Good. Take care of him. I need to check on Ducky."
Gibbs had gone straight to Alex to secure the scene. Alex had a gunshot wound to his shoulder but given what the sick S.O.B had put his agent through; he didn't really care or think twice about pulling the guys arms back behind his back and slapping handcuffs on him. Hi picked up the gun that Alex had used and pulled the clip out before tossing across the room. Once Gibbs had him secured, he jumped up and tore towards Ducky with a tight knot clenching in his stomach. Kneeling down, he felt for a pulse and thanked his lucky stars, that it was beating true and strong.
"Duck?" Gibbs tapped Ducky's cheek to try to rouse the M.E. and was greeted by a low groan. Ducky didn't come round fully though; something which worried the senior agent no end. He was busy trying to bring Ducky round when Tony's voice cut through his ministrations.
"Boss. He's not hit! He's burnin' up though." The slight note of panic lingered heavily in the air. It wasn't often Tony sounded so damn rattled over a situation, but Tim was practically his kid brother; what would he expect in that situation. Gibbs felt sure that he could leave his friend for a moment and knew that Tim needed help more so he jumped up and made his way over to Tim and Tony; kneeling down, he brushed back Tim's bangs and winced at the heat he felt there.
Tony stood up and glanced over at Ducky and gasped; Ducky wasn't supposed to get hurt, he was supposed to be safe...to be protected.
"Boss, Ducky? He's out cold." Tony walked over and checked Ducky's pulse for himself and was relieved to also find it strong and steady. "I think he's been drugged somehow."
"I know DiNozzo. He still alright over there?"
"I think so. Just completely out." Gibbs felt a little bit of the tension in his gut release knowing that Ducky was still alright and leaving him to tend to Tim hadn't had a negative impact on his condition. He carried on with his ministrations."Tony, we're gonna need more Medics. Call them and tell em' we're gonna need at least five."
"On it Boss." Tony stood up and grabbed the comforter off the bed. He laid it gently over Ducky and started to walk out of the room; he turned to take a quick glance at Tim and found himself rooted to the spot; he didn't want to leave Tim, his friend didn't deserve that.
"DiNozzo! Go!" Gibbs barked tone startled Tony "Tony, I've got him and Duck'll be fine. I need you to do this for me, alright?" Gibbs tried to focus Tony to the task at hand knowing that the EMT's that had already been called would go straight to the downed agents outside the house. He was also painfully aware of the fact that they would need more.
"Yeah, Boss." The senior field agent relaxed at Gibbs more subdued, soothing tone and continued on his way to make the calls. Gibbs watched him walk out of the room but his attention was grabbed by Tim groaning beside him.
"Hey, Tim. You with me, Son?"
"Boss...don't feel too good." Tim looked bad. His face was so pale it was practically translucent and Gibbs could feel the heat radiated from his agent's body. It was worrying and Gibbs wished Ducky was there to guide him.
"Don't worry, McGee, we'll get you to Bethesda and they'll soon fix you up." Tim started to struggle as the memories of what happened hit him like a tone of bricks.
"Alex!...Boss, Ducky! Where..."
"Alex is down McGee. Calm down...that's it, just take it easy." Tim turned his head to glance at Alex as he lay a few feet and saw that he was handcuffed and secured. Gibbs followed his youngest agent 's gaze as it travelled over to Ducky and had to restrain Tim when he started to struggle to get to the M.E.
"Tim!...McGee, he's fine. We think he's been drugged. Damn it, Tim, QUIT IT!" He helped lower Tim down the floor as exhaustion overtook the man's severely weakened body and he slumped helplessly to the floor. Gibbs frowned as Tim's eyes rolled back in his head momentarily before the gaze shifted to look at Alex.
"Why's he bleeding?"
"I shot him. Through and though, McGee. Nothing life threatening."
"Ok." Tim's quiet, hushed tone worried Gibbs and the older agent could see Tim's eyelids starting to droop.
"Stay with me here, Tim. How're you feeling now? Think you can stay awake?"
"M'fi..." Tim didn't want to worry Gibbs anymore than he already had and closed his eyes so his boss couldn't see the lie in them.
"That crap doesn't fly with DiNozzo and it sure as hell doesn't with you. I'll ask again, How are you feelin' now McGee and I want the truth. You said you didn't feel so good 5 minutes ago; you feel worse?" Gibbs cupped Tim's cheek in his hand and pulled Tim's face around so his agent had no choice but to open his eyes and look at him.
"Not so good,Boss….. Hurt's and can't breathe."Gibbs frowned at the earnest answer and scrutinized the sick man lying in front of him.
"Help'll he here soon. You wanna sit up? It might help ease your chest."
Tim nodded and felt himself being lifted gently. He couldn't help the gasp of pain that escaped his lips as sharp jabs stabbed into his chest. Each difficult breath had started to sound raspy and Gibbs frowned at the slight wheeze he heard as he lifted his second surrogate son. Moving behind Tim, he managed to manipulate his position so that he was sitting with Tim in between his legs; the young man's back was resting easily against his chest and Gibbs couldn't help but rest his head on top of Tim's.
"Breathe Tim. That's it, just breathe. Follow my lead if you need to...Good; that's good." Tim felt Gibbs's chest rise and fall with every breath and tried desperately to mimic the rhythmic rise and fall. Gibbs had bowed his head down and was whispering his words of support and encouragement; every word aimed at getting Tim to breathe and keep breathing until help reached them.
There was a shuffling sound coming and Gibbs glanced up to see Ducky trying to sit up; his friend soon managed it and held his head with his free hand; the other gripped onto the beds mattress as his friend swayed dangerously.
"Duck, you alright?" Gibbs couldn't move to help Ducky and was relieved when the man managed to stand up and stagger over to them. The M.E. dropped to his knees heavily and closed his eyes against a wave of nauseating dizziness.
"I think so Jethro. What happened?"
"Greene got in and it looks like he pulled a number on you and the guys outside. McGee's sick Duck, but we've called the medics." Gibbs watched as Ducky placed his hand on Tim's forehead before once again swaying where he was knelt. "You sure you're okay?"
"Just a bit dizzy. He's got a fever, Jethro. We need to get that down." Gibbs was saved from answering by his old friend, by Tony's voice travelling up the stairs.
"Boss! The paramedics are here! You want me to show them up?" Gibbs knew why Tony was asking the question but at that current moment in time he had no interest in whether or not Alex was unguarded, he just knew that Tim needed help and he needed help soon.
"Whadda you think, DiNozzo?"
There was commotion as two EMT's ran into the room. They both stopped at Alex to assess the damage to the handcuffed man's shoulder.
"Hey! My agent's worse than he is right now so how about you get over here and treat him?" Both medics looked up at him before letting their eyes trail down to the other people that needed attending too.
"Sir we'll get to h..."
"Damn it! Another bus is on the way so get over here and help him. He's struggling to breathe and needs to be in the hospital." The anger and worry in Gibbs' face made the tallest one move towards him.
"Alright. My colleague is going to assess that guy whilst I look over..."
"McGee. Tim McGee." Gibbs jumped in with Tim's name which earned him a small smile.
"Tim. Can I call you Tim?" Tim nodded and coughed slightly "Alright then. Tim, I'm Danny Tobin. I need you to tell me what's wrong."
"Pleurisy...Hard to breathe...hurts...feel as though there...is something else..." Each word was punctuated by a wheezy inhalation.
"I'm going to get you on oxygen now and I want you to try to breathe as deeply as you can." Tim felt an oxygen mask slip onto his face and let himself drift slightly. He barely felt the sting of the IV or the thermometer slip into his ear before greyness swooped down and sent him spiralling into oblivion.
"Sir..."
"Gibbs. I'm his boss."
"Gibbs." The EMT nodded as he wrapped a cuff around Tim's arm. "I can't give him anything to ease the pain because of his breathing issues. He's out at the moment which might just be the saving grace we need in terms of moving him."
Gibbs blew out a breath and helped Danny move Tim so he was lying down on the floor. Gibbs felt a pang of guilt as he remembered the two agents laying downstairs.
"What about my other men?"
"It looks like they were drugged. There's another team down there dealing with them and they'll be on their way to Bethesda soon. It looks like they'll be ok; hell of a headache though." Danny glanced at Ducky and smiled ruefully "You too, huh. You can come with us and we'll have you both patched up in no time."
Ducky smiled at the young medic and stood up with Gibbs' help.
"Thank you, Jethro. My head is clearing slightly now but I think it would be prudent to have someone check me over."
Gibbs nodded and blew out a relived breath; all the while making a note to find out how the hell two trained agents stationed at different points in the house and Ducky, managed to find themselves drugged.
"Danny, this guy's not critical so he can wait for the other Ambulance." The other EMT shouted across from where he was kneeling down beside Alex. "We need to get these cuffs off."
"Not gonna happen. He's the one that has caused this and he stays cuffed until another bus arrives. We can cuff him to the gurney so you can treat him properly." Gibbs knew he was being malicious but he couldn't help it. There was no way he was gonna let this whack job hurt anyone else.
"Sir..."
"NO. Damn it!" the vehemence in Gibbs' tone told the EMT's everything they needed to hear and the two of them busied themselves getting Tim ready for transport. It wasn't long before two more medics arrived to take care of Alex. Gibbs glanced up at the door and saw Tony standing there looking majorly pissed.
"Tony. Go with Greene. Secure him to the gurney and don't let him out of your sight."
"Got it, Boss." Tony caught the Keys that Gibbs tossed him and moved out of the doorway.
With that, the four men made their way out of the bedroom pushing Tim on the gurney. Tony looked on as his friend was taken to the hospital to finally get the treatment he so desperately needed.
Ducky had been checked by the doctors at Bethesda and had got away with nothing more than what amounted to a hangover. Blood tests had revealed traces of something resembling chloroform in his bloodwork; not enough to poison but enough to knock them out for a while. He glanced up when Tony entered the room and frowned at how pale the senior field agent was.
"Anthony?" Ducky made his way over and crouched in front of the frazzled young man. Tony leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees; his head hanging down low as he gazed at the floor.
"You okay, Ducky?"
"Nothing a good night's sleep and some analgesics won't cure, dear boy. How are you doing?" Tony nodded at Ducky's statement and huffed out a breath.
"That shouldn't have happened, Ducky. Tim shouldn't have been in that position. Hell, you shouldn't have been put in that position." Tony's quiet voice worried the M.E. and he wondered whether Tony had gone into shock.
"There was nothing anyone could have done, Anthony. You were not to know Alex would be able to overpower two agents in order to get to Timothy."
"How'd he do that, Ducky? How the HELL DID HE DO THAT?" Tony stood up and started to pace the small room; his anger rolled off him in waves and left Ducky with nothing to do but stay where he was until Tony's rage finally burnt itself out.
"HE COULD HAVE KILLED MCGEE! HE COULD HAVE..." Ducky jumped at the sound of something crashing against the wall and dared to look up, only to see the trash can laying on its side with a dent in it where it had hit the wall.
"DINOZZO, STAND DOWN!" Gibbs' authoritative voice rang through the room and Tony deflated slowly.
"Boss, McGee...Tim could have died. If we hadn't gotten there ..."
"We did, Tony. We got there and the only thing wrong with McGee is the stuff he already had. Sit down." Gibbs grabbed Tony's bicep and guided him to the nearest chair. "McGee's gonna be fine. He's with the doctors now, so acting like this isn't gonna help the situation."
"I know, Boss. It's just so damn frustrating knowing that we didn't protect him."
"We did as much as we could, Tony. I'm gonna go and get some coffee. You want anything."
"Coffee sounds good,Boss." Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder and turned to his old friend.
"How you doing, Duck?" He couldn't help the worry that filtered through.
"I am fine, Jethro. No permanent damage to either myself, or the two poor agents that succumbed to the drug that the troubled young man used." Gibbs nodded and guided Ducky to the chair.
"Take care of him for me, Duck. Tea?" Gibbs knew Ducky would feel better doing something and that he had gotten the all clear from the doctors.
"Yes, please, Jethro and of course I'll take care of him." Ducky moved to sit with Tony and Gibbs walked out of the room feeling heavy and uncomfortable at what he was about to do. Pulling out his phone, he dialled Ziva's number.
"Da'vid."
"Ziva, It's Gibbs. Listen, I need you to talk to Abby for me."
"What has happened?" Damn that woman's intuition; Her instincts was one of the things that made her a damn fine agent but right now it had been a curse rather than a blessing. He could hear talking in the background, something that stopped as soon as Ziva asked the question.
"I need you to go somewhere private a minute for me. I don't want Abbs panicking" He heard some shuffling and the sound of a door closing.
"What is wrong, Gibbs?"
"McGee's at Bethesda. Me and Tony went back to my house and found the guys on protection and Duck out cold. Turns out they were drugged."
"Drugged? With what?"
"Doesn't matter right now. I want you to talk to Abby and tell her McGee's at Bethesda; try to keep her calm and don't tell what happened just yet." Gibbs didn't want Abby to know what had occurred knowing the Goth would be consumed with pure grief and guilt over the situation; he knew he should be the one talking to her about this, but his anger at her was still raw, especially seeing as Tim had once again suffered.
"Should it not be you who talks to her Gibbs? I am not sure whether or not she will listen to me." Ziva's worried Tone didn't go amiss making Gibbs sigh heavily.
"Ziva, right now you are there and can give her the comfort she needs. I'm not in the right frame of mind to be dealing with it over the phone."
"Understood. How is McGee? What happened?" Gibbs ran his free hand through his hair and leaned against the wall to gather his thoughts.
"Alex Greene somehow got through protection and to McGee. Duck was out cold in the bathroom and the S.O.B had McGee bound and gagged whilst holding a gun to him." Ziva cursed loudly in Arabic and then apologised to one of the nuns that obviously walked past.
"I will speak to her and we will be there soon. How is Tim?" She repeated the question and the use of Tim's Christian name startled Gibbs slightly.
"He's still with the docs so we won't know anything yet. Calm her down before you get here. I don't want her worrying everyone else." He snapped his phone shut and went in search of the caffeine he desperately craved; it was going to be a long night but no matter what he wasn't going to leave his agents side.
Ziva put her phone back in it's holder on her belt and made her way back into the room. She saw Abby sitting there talking to Sister Roseta and slowly walked towards her friend.
"Abby. That was Gibbs. There was an incident at his house and we are needed at Bethesda."
"Oh my God. Timmy!" Ziva blanched at the blaspheme and glanced over at the sister that was currently sitting on the couch next to her friend.
"Abigail Scuito! No matter what, you shall not take the Lord's name in vane." The gentle rebuke made Abby shrink slightly.
"Sorry. I'm so sorry. You know I wouldn't...I don't..."
"Don't worry, child. Ziva, what happened?" Sister Roseta slipped her hand into Abby's and held it gently as Ziva recounted what she knew.
"Is Tim okay? I need to be with him." Abby stood and grabbed her handbag only to have it taken out of her hands.
"You need to put on some clothes first Abby." Ziva watched as Abby nodded and relented her grip on the bag.
"I'll be five minutes!" with that she ran out of the room to change.
"I will pray for your friend, Ziva. I know God will listen." The nun's soothing voice calmed Ziva who just nodded and smiled sadly.
"Thank you. I appreciate that. I too will pray." The two of them was silent for a while and didn't hear Abby streak into the room fully clothed.
"Let's go, Ziva! Sister Roseta, I'll call you later if that's alright?" Abby walked over to the nun and wrapped her arms around her.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Abigail. I will wait to hear from you."
With one last goodbye, the pair made their way to the hospital. Abby couldn't help the twisting in her gut at the fact that she hadn't had the chance to apologise or see the man that she loved, cherished and adored; but in the same breath had treated like nothing but dirt. That was something she would truly have to come to terms with before she could even begin to heal the broken relationship that she had recently started.
"Abby. Are you well?" Ziva's voice cut through her thoughts and she shook her head slightly.
"No Zee. I'm not. The way I treated him ...and now he's there becau...How do I fix this?" Abby had no idea how to word what was on her mind.
"You have behaved badly but it is not unforgivable, Abby. Tim has a gentle soul and doesn't know how to hold a grudge. That is why, you must talk with him and apologise for what it is you have done."
"I know. I just don't know how."
"You will." Ziva's simple answer confused Abby a little bit and she took to staring out of the window until they reached their destination.
"Dr. Mallard." One of the emergency doctors walked into the waiting room where Ducky, Gibbs and Tony were sitting silently, sipping on their drinks. The doctor smiled when all three men jumped up and made their way over to them.
"I take it you have news on Timothy." Ducky greeted the doctor with a simple handshake as he asked the question that everyone was anxious to hear the answer too.
"I have and he's going to be fine. I won't lie to you, the man is very sick. I understand he was diagnosed with Pleurisy?"
"Yes. We were treating him for the condition but he presented with signs of some infection last night. I prescribed antibiotics and was waiting for them when..."Ducky went silent as the memories of the situation became prevalent in his mind.
"It looks like the onset of pneumonia but it's been caught early so we've started him on a strong course of antibiotics which are being administered through his IV. We can't do anything about the pleurisy but I can still hear some grinding so we'll treat that the only way we can."
Ducky nodded "With painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication."
"Yes, Doctor Mallard. He'll be our visitor for a few days yet but all being well, we'll release him. I'm hopeful that the pneumonia has been caught before it takes hold completely but for the time being we've got him on oxygen to help him breathe. Don't worry, it's not as serious as it sounds and his chest doesn't sound too bad at the moment. There's fluid on his lungs but his body will expel that naturally as time goes on."
Tony winched heavily and understood exactly what that meant. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to go and sit with his probie and help him through the painful hacking that was bound to accompany Tim's other symptoms.
"Can we see him?"
"He's just being moved to a private room and then you can go and sit with him for a couple of minutes. I want you all to go home and rest; Dr Mallard, is there anyone you can stay with?"
"He'll stay with DiNozzo." Gibbs' gruff voice let it be known that there was no room for argument and Tony looked at Ducky knowing damn well that Gibbs wouldn't be leaving Tim's side tonight.
"Just you and me then, Ducky."
"That it is my dear boy. I would like to see Timothy first though." Ducky's pleading eyes turned towards Gibbs. Gibbs nodded at him and turned back to the doctor.
"Which room?"
"Second floor. I don't know what room just yet but you can always ask someone at the nurses' station up there and they'll direct you."
"Thanks doc." Gibbs sat back down in one of the chairs and watched as the doctor walked away.
"He's really gonna be ok?" Tony's whispered question had Gibbs sighing heavily. That was one thing he couldn't promise but he knew in his heart of hearts that his youngest agent could finally move on with healing both his body and his relationship with Abby.
"I hope so Tony. He's in the right place and can only get better."
"Yeah. He's gonna be fine. Probie's been through too much not to be." Tony was obviously trying to convince himself of that fact and Gibbs could almost feel his senior field agent pulling himself together.
"How about we go and see him. You can tell him that yourself." Gibbs clapped Tony on the back and walked to the door; it wasn't long before he was followed out by his two colleagues and couldn't help but smile with deep relief at the fact that Tim was safe and the only things the young man had to worry about now, was getting better and building the bridges with Abby.