Tony's vigil over Abby was interrupted by Ducky's arrival just as Gibbs had warned it would be. The M.E. smiled encouragingly at Tony before moving quietly over to the end of the bed and reading Abby's medical chart; going over it with such a careful scrutiny, that he lost himself momentarily. Finally, after a few minutes, Ducky replaced the chart and looked over his young friend for himself. Since she was sleeping comfortably, he wasn't about to wake her and gently leaned in to check her head with no jostling what so ever. Once he was satisfied that she was indeed okay, he turned to Tony and held out his hand, gesturing towards the door. Tony nodded and stood up stiffly before stretching out the stiff back muscles that came from sitting for far too long in the same position.
As Ducky prepared to usher Tony outside for a quick chat, they both caught sight of Ziva looking through the window in the door. It struck them as strange but it was obvious that she couldn't quite bring herself to enter the room and instead, had chosen to play the silent witness to the room. Both of the men quickly joined her in the hallway and managed to thwart her attempts at getting away cleanly. As the door closed behind Tony and Ducky, they finally spoke freely.
"Mornin' Ziva." Tony greeted her cheerily. He was in a good mood since both of his surrogate siblings were alive and were healing well, even if Tim had a painful road ahead of him before his recovery would be complete.. Tony did wonder how his Probie would fare emotionally with everything that had happened.
"Good morning, Tony. How is Abby?" Ziva's greeting brought his thoughts to a standstill. Before he could offer her an answer, the M.E. answered for him.
"She's sleeping comfortably, Ziva. We should let her do so as long as she's able." Ducky explained. "Her prognosis is good. Barring any unforeseen complications, they will most likely release her tomorrow. We'll know more after her CAT scan this morning."
"Since she is asleep, I will not disturb her. I need to go on into work. Ducky, do you need a ride?" Ziva asked as relief flowed through her that she would not have to talk to Abby right now. Surely McGee would understand no one waking her up right now.
"No, thank you my dear. However, I will be delighted to give you one." Ducky chuckled. He knew exactly how Ziva drove and wasn't prepared to experience a rough ride into work.
Ziva smiled even as Tony laughed outright. "Thank you, Doctor. I would be happy to ride in with you."
"Let's give Anthony a chance to stretch his legs before we take our leave, shall we? I'm sure he is in need of a least a short break." Ducky suggested and patted Tony's shoulder gently.
Ziva looked slightly upset at the idea of staying in Abby's room and Tony saw the darkened look that flitted across her face. He took pity on her and dragged her along with him, leaving Ducky to keep a sleeping Abby company.
As they walked down the hall towards the restrooms, Tony slowed down before demanding the answers to the questions that had started dominating his mind.
"Spill it, Ziva. What's going on with you?"
"Tony, I do not know what…"
"Yeah, you do. You can't get outta here fast enough! What the hell's up with that? All of a sudden you don't wanna be here for your wounded friends who consider you a part of their family?" Tony found it difficult keeping the distasteful anger out of his voice.
"Tony, that is not it."
"Okay. Then what is it?" The Senior Agent demanded.
"It is Abby. It is like I tried to explain to Gibbs. I cannot help Abby right now."
"Ziva, she's gonna need you. You're her big sister and she's gonna need you more than the rest of us."
"And what about McGee, Tony? What about what he is going to need?" Ziva stopped dead in her tracks and turned to grasp him by the sleeve so he would stop as well. It seemed to work and Tony turned to face her head on with a confused look on his face
"Ziva. None of us are gonna leave Probie in the lurch. You can bank on that! That's why we need you to help us with Abby. "
"Tony. I am too angry with her right now. She could have stopped this before it got so far out of control; before McGee got hurt as badly as he did. Look at the severity of what he has to recover from now!"
"Zee. I get it. You said you told Gibbs this? What did he say? Let me guess; he told you it wasn't gonna help either of the patients to think like that, didn't he?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, Tony, that is what he said. But it is what McGee said that carries the most weight." Ziva held his firm gaze stubbornly.
"Wait a minute, McGee heard you two talking about it? How'd he take it?"
"He told me I need to forgive her." Ziva said with a heavy sigh.
"Yeah? That sounds like Probie. What' you tell him?"
"That I would do so, for his sake."
"Oh no, Ziva. Let me guess Probie told you that you had to do it for your own sake, didn't he?" Tony shook his head knowing damn well what Tim would have said. For all their brotherly bickering and banter, it was a quality that he'd always respected in Tim.
"Yes."
"Typical. But he's right. So, now what?"
"Now, I will talk to Abby when I can. But, it will be as I have already warned Gibbs. I will not allow her to hurt McGee again. I am not afraid to tell her so either."
"Look, Ziva. I'm with you on this, but the last thing McGee's gonna need or want is to even think that we're turning on each other."
"I agree. I will do my best to make peace with Abby. But I will not allow her to hurt him again. If that makes him angry, I will accept that consequence." Ziva vowed.
"Okay. Guess I can't fault you for that. Don't worry, I'm sure McGee will thank you for being willing to stand up for him."
Tony entered Tim's room a good fifteen minutes later and took over for Gibbs. Since Tim was sleeping peacefully, the change was made with silent communication and in very short order. As Tony settled into the chair Gibbs had just vacated, his thoughts of the conversation he'd just had with Ziva swirled through his mind.
"Damn, Probie. She's a tough nut to crack but thanks for trying anyway." Tony whispered gently enough so as not to wake Tim. "I have no idea how you're gonna do this, but I know you have a plan."
Gibbs headed to Abby's room; his conversation with Tim sill resounding in his head. As he entered the room, he was relieved to find that Abby had already been taken for her CAT scan and would be gone for another fifteen minutes. He decided to take advantage of the break and accompanied Ducky back to the Nurse's station where Ziva was sitting in the hallway, waiting patiently for the M.E.
With little conversation, Ducky and Ziva departed, leaving Gibbs standing in the same spot waiting nervously to to hear Abby's prognosis. It was tough and he had to bite down his impatience, so to keep busy, he walked down the corridor to take the break that he needed. When he got back to her room, it was to find she'd already been brought back in and was sleeping again. He caught the Doctor's eye and watched as the man headed out of the room, leaving him with no option but to follow.
"Hey, Doc." Gibbs watched as the doctor stopped and turned around. "How's she doin'?"
"Everything looks good. She should be good to go home tomorrow. But, I would like her to stay with someone who will keep an eye on her for at least the first 48 hours. "
"Not a problem. And my agent?"
"Nothing's changed since the last time we talked, Agent Gibbs. The rest he's gotten since then certainly helps. But, I would prefer he not try to carry on any conversations of any length right now. You said don't want him to think he's alone and I understand that. But, I will bar all visitors if they don't stop trying to make him talk."
"Doc, you don't know McGee. If he's got something on his mind, it drives him crazy if he can't spill it."
"If he doesn't have anyone to spill it to, he can't very well have that conversation, now can he? Lay down the law with him or I will pull all visitors from him for the next 48 hours! At the end of the day, it's for his own good. He's still struggling so if we limit him to give his lungs a rest then it's better for him in the longrun."
"Okay. Doc. I'll see what I can do. Listen, I need you to do me a favor."
Ten minutes later, Gibbs headed into Abby's room, having succeeded in talking the Doctor into what he wanted accomplished. Now, he needed to have a heart to heart with Abby and was more than happy when he saw her awake and working her way through her breakfast with obvious distaste.
"Hey Gibbs." She greeted somberly. It was as if she knew he'd come to read her the riot act for how bad things had gone wrong.
"Hey, Abbs. How you feelin'?"
"Okay. My head kinda hurts but they said I couldn't have anything for it until after I eat, so I'm forcing myself to eat this stuff. Ugh! "
Gibbs smiled. Having to eat hospital food wasn't high on his list of good things in life either. As he moved closer to her, he bent down and kissed her on the cheek before backing up to the chair beside her bed. He made sure his eyes were on the door, unwilling to be taken by surprise while he talked to her.
"Gibbs, I'm sorry." Abby blurted out mistaking his silence for something completely different to what it was.
"For?"
"Everything! All of this Timmy getting hurt! Ducky getting hurt!" Abby practically sobbed.
"Abby. Ducky's fine. We do need to talk about McGee though."
"What about him? Is he okay?"
"He will be, but it will be a long painful recovery according to his doctor and Ducky. But, right now, his main worry is you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You. He insisted on talking about it when he woke up a while ago. Even after everything you've put him through, he's not willing to let you go." Gibbs softened his gaze and sat forward resting his elbows on his knees. He watched as different emotions flickered over her face and waited.
"Really? OH! Wow." Abby couldn't believe what she was hearing and felt the spark of hope reignite within her.
"I gotta tell ya, Tony and Ziva, well…"
I'm guessing neither of them wanna ever talk to me again." Abby groused meekly.
"Abbs, you know better than that."
"Yeah. I guess I do. "
"I warned you who you'd have to watch out for if you hurt McGee again, Abbs." Abby settled back and though back to the conversation that she had had with him.
"You hurt him again, and it won't only be me you have to deal with; you'll have his team to contend with and it'll be quicker than you can think twice about things."
"Tony and Ziva?"
"They care more about him than you think, Abbs."
"Yeah. You did. But, I didn't do anything since you and I talked. In fact, I haven't spoken to him since, except that little time in his hospital room right before Alex showed up!"
"I know. But, looks like your biggest concern right now is Ziva. She's seriously pissed."
"I don't doubt it." Abby kept her eyes locked on her hands in front of her as she spoke and Gibbs could feel the sadness that rolled off of her. "I can't fix this can I?"
"What? You giving up?"
"No! It's not like that. It's just….."
"Just what? You messed up, Abbs. Move on and try to mend those fences."
"How?" Abby looked as though her heart had just been ripped out through her throat and she couldn't help the tears that started to fall. Gibbs stayed where he was knowing that holding her right now would be counter productive to what he wanted to achieve.
"How many times have I gotta tell you this? It's up to you and you'll know what to do when the time comes."
"But…"
"No buts, Abbs." Gibbs looked up and saw an orderly hovering in the doorway "You ready?"
The orderly nodded and moved into the room with a wheelchair in tow. "Yes, Sir. Miss Scuito, your chariot awaits."
Abby looked between the two men in her room and accepted Gibbs help as she stepped into the wheelchair.
"Gibbs, where are we going?"
"You're moving out, Abbs." He followed them out of the room with a smirk on his face. "We've got you a new room for the night but there are some orders that you have to follow."
They stopped outside Tim's room and Gibbs knelt down in front of her.
"Abbs, I'm doin' this because he'll spend all of his energy worrying about you otherwise. And you both need each other but if you hurt him again, then I will have you up on reprimand so fast that your feet won't touch the floor. Got it?"
"Ye…Yes, Boss." Abby swallowed and had the good grace to look abashed at the order.
"Right. You're gonna be released tomorrow, but for tonight you're gonna stay with McGee. There's a bed set up already for you. He's not allowed to talk; he can listen, but the doc's want him to stay silent for a couple of days to let his lungs heal. You think you can help with that?"
"Of course. I promise, I'll try my hardest."
Gibbs nodded and followed the orderly into the room. It wasn't long before Abby was settled and as she glanced over, she noticed two green eyes gazing at her through a drug induced haze.
"Ab..Abbs?"
"Hey! McGee. The doc said no more talking for you for the next 48 hours, so zip it, all right? Let those lungs of yours do some healing." Tim nodded at his boss' quiet and sympathetic order and let his eyes close whilst he drifted back to sleep. "I'm gonna go and talk to Tony. I'll be back soon…and don't disturb his sleep or….."
"Let him talk. Got it." Boss turned back towards the door to leave but was stopped by a small voice behind him. "Gibbs?"
"Yeah, Abbs?"
"Thank you."
"You wanna thank me? Don't screw this up."
"I won't, I promise."
"I'm holding you to it. Look after him."
"You can bank on it!"
"Good. Oh, and Abbs?"
"Gibbs?"
"Figure out how you're gonna fix things with Tony and Ziva. I want my team back whole!"
"Understood."