A/N - Still at the hospital, but he's doing better. They lifted the quarantine protocols at midnight and let me tell you, it's a lot easier to sleep without the mask and gloves on. Thank for all the well wishes.

Calling in a variety of favors, Ducky had every coroner's wagon within one hundred miles. Having them at his disposal made transporting every body that was in the morgue in Bethesda's lower level much easier. Intrigued by the situation, several local medical examiners offered to assist with the multiple autopsies that would be necessary, but Ducky's main concern was their missing agent and what condition he would be in when, and if, he was found. Once he had the bodies securely tucked away in every drawer in Autopsy, he was back at Bethesda helping with the search.

It was a call from one of the intel analysts that had Ducky, Jimmy and the rest of Gibbs' team running to a rarely used corridor leading to the back-up generators in the lower basement of the hospital. In the dusty and dimly lit passage was a hospital bed shoved up against the wall. Jimmy reached it first and was rattling off information before Ducky was within reach.

"He's alive, but his vitals are really low. Respiration shallow, pulse thirty-six and thready and he's diaphoretic." Jimmy rubbed his knuckles hard on McGee's chest. "Deeply unconscious with no visible response to pain."

Ducky nodded as he started his own examination. "At least the bandaging appears to be intact, that's a good sign. Let's get this empty IV removed before it causes problems, and we need to take blood samples. Heavens knows what he's been given to cause this. We need to get him upstairs to better assess his condition."

"When a stretcher gets here, Duck. This is a crime scene now." Gibbs stared at the heavy bandages encasing McGee's arm. "How bad is this?"

"I don't know, Jethro. Unfortunately, I was not aware of his difficulties. Mr. Palmer would be able to tell you more than I could. " The arrival of Tony and Ziva saved Jimmy from having to justify his detailed knowledge of McGee's condition.

"Probie? Oh, man, what did they do to you, buddy?" Tony squeezed past Gibbs and Ducky to stand next to Palmer, reaching out to press his hand against McGee's cheek, hoping to give comfort to the other man. He looked up at Palmer in surprise. "He's freezing."

"He's in shock, Tony. This isn't exactly proper post-op care."

Tony immediately took off his coat and draped it over McGee's upper body just as Balboa arrived with several more agents, a gurney and McGee's neurosurgeon in tow. The tense and rapid paced conversation between the surgeon, Ducky and Palmer was filled with too much medical jargon for any of the rest of them to follow.

At the first break in their conversation Palmer waved over the gurney. Needing to do something, Gibbs and Tony took it from the other agents and moved it closer to the bed. Once it was positioned, they shifted to help Palmer and the others lift Tim. The medical personnel was clustered around his torso, careful to keep his arm immobile and his airway clear, so the two agents supported his legs, Tony automatically straightening the hospital gown to preserve his friend's modesty.

Even though Ducky's arm was under Tim's neck, securely supporting his head, Ziva still laid her hands on the sides of his face, her thumbs stroking his cheeks as they lifted him. "You are safe now, my friend. We will allow no one else to harm you."

Once McGee was safely transferred and ready to be transported upstairs, Gibbs turned to Balboa. The other man knew exactly what Gibbs and his team needed. "Take care of McGee, my guys will process the scene and get the evidence back to Abby."

"Thanks, Mark." Gibbs smiled rarely, but this one was heartfelt. "I owe you."

Ducky handed over a vial of blood. "Tell Abby to run this first, please. We need to know exactly what drugs are in his system."

"We can determine that quicker, here."

"That may be the case, Dr. Morrison, but I guarantee you that our young Timothy did not wander down here on his own."

The neurosurgeon blushed under Ducky's glare. "Under the circumstances, I suppose an independent verification would be justified."

When word spread through the agency that McGee had been found, and under what conditions, the already focused investigation became even more intense. As soon as he briefed the SecNav once again, Vance went down to personally see what progress had been made. His first stop was MTAC, where Nikki Jardine was using the large screen to study the surveillance tapes from the hospital.

"What do we know so far?"

She jumped slightly, but recovered quickly. "Director Vance... we've confirmed that Agent McGee was wheeled into the recovery room at 09.35 this morning. The surveillance tapes don't show the back half of the recovery room so we can't prove which cubicle he was in, but we can rule out about half of them. There was a flurry of activity that moved off camera at approximately 10.05 and then an apparently dead body was removed twenty minutes later. The face was covered, but we're taking still shots of each patient as they're being brought into recovery, hoping to match one of them to one of the bodies downstairs."

"Since the call to Palmer's phone from McGee came in at 10.35, the timetable fits. Make sure to track the movements of the staff; let's see which one of them was spending the most time in that back corner where the cameras couldn't reach. " Vance looked closely at the image currently frozen on the screen, noting that the body language of one of the nurses just didn't seem to fit the circumstances if they'd just lost a patient.

Nikki nodded in understanding as the tech ran the tape back to the beginning. "Sir, have you heard anything about Tim's condition?"

"He's alive, Nikki, that's all we know." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile before heading down to the lab.

The music was loud, with a bass that set his teeth on edge, but he knew that was the least of their problems. His third yell of her name got the lab rat to turn down the volume. "What do we have so far, Miss Sciuto?"

Abby looked frustrated. "Not much. It's a hospital recovery room, wearing gloves and head covers is the norm."

"No fingerprints?"

"No fingerprints, no stray hairs and so far, no DNA. I can prove that the phone Ziva found is McGee's and that the battery was removed less than a minute after his call to Palmer was disconnected, but that's about it. They brought me three containers of sharps and I'm testing all of them for what they contained. I'm also looking for possible patient DNA, but that would be only if the needle was injected directly into skin instead of the IV tube. I'm analyzing the blood sample from McGee, but that'll take at least another twenty minutes, and that's only if common substances are in his blood."

Vance was disappointed, but not surprised. "Keep at it, Abby, if anyone can find something, it will be you. Let Dr. Mallard know the second you have the results back on McGee's blood."

She nodded, chewing on her lower lip. "Ziva said he's still unconscious. That's not good, Leon."

"It's better than dead, Miss Sciuto."

Gibbs leaned against the wall, cup in hand, as he watched Ducky and Dr. Morrison examine McGee again. The random twitching had started a few minutes earlier, and Gibbs could see the worry in his old friend's eyes. Morrison left, saying that he was going to push the lab for the blood test results, as Ducky joined Gibbs.

"What's happening to him, Duck?"

"I don't know, Jethro. He's showing signs of mycolonus or possibly distonia, which is most distressing."

"In English?"

"Neurological issues, if it's distonia, then this twitch is likely permanent."

"Damn." Gibbs rubbed his mouth as he watched another spasm twist McGee's body. "Is this from the surgery or whatever was done to him later?"

"Both, neither, a combination of several things. Right now we just don't know. It could possibly stop in the next few hours. Until we know more, let's not borrow trouble, Jethro."

"Easier said than done, Ducky." He had more to say, but the door opened to admit Tony and Ziva, both carrying a stack of files.

"Hey, Boss, how's he doing?" Tony barely gave Gibbs and Ducky a nod before moving to stand next to the bed, frowning at the tangled bedding and his still unconscious teammate.

"Any word from Abby about what McGee was drugged with?"

It was not the response they wanted and they exchanged a look before Ziva spoke up. "I will call and find out." She added her stack of files to Tony's before slipping out the door. After she left, Tony set the combined stack on one of the nearby chairs and bent down to better look at his friend.

"Is he starting to come around, is that why he's so restless?" Tony reached out to straighten the blankets and instead caught McGee's right hand when his body suddenly convulsed. "What's wrong with him?"

Ducky glanced at both men, sighing. He'd hoped to not alarm them until more was known. Unfortunately, Tony, like his mentor, was like a dog with a bone, just like the man they were so worried about. "As I was starting to tell Jethro earlier, he is possibly suffering from a form of mycolonus, which is the random twitching you're seeing. Timothy's case is a bit more severe than what is common, but it's not unheard of."

"What's causing it?"

"It's possible that it's a neurological issue, Tony, but more than likely it's a reaction to the unknown drugs in his system."

Tony thought about what Ducky had said as he studied his friend. His left arm had been carefully strapped against his torso, probably to protect the fragile repairs from the violent tremors. Gibbs spoke up before Tony could question the Scotsman further.

"What about the other condition you said could have?"

"Distonia is a less likely cause, as I said. I also said we shouldn't borrow trouble, Jethro. Let's wait until we have an accurate assessment of what medications are in his bloodstream before we start to panic."

"Yes, Pamela?" Vance rubbed his forehead as he answered the intercom. He had just set the phone down from yet another call from the SecNav, so it couldn't be the man calling back for yet another update.

Her voice was slightly distorted over the older intercom. Sir, Colonel Harden's wife is on line three. Apparently her husband's body was brought in from Bethesda and she's demanding that it be released to the funeral home immediately.

"Thank you, Pamela, I'll take care of it." Sighing, Vance took a deep breath before he picked up the phone.

"Mrs. Harden, this is Director Vance."

Director, I want my husband's body released immediately. Your agency has no right to interfere in our family's lives.

"Ma'am, I understand how difficult this is and we're not trying to make it any more painful for any of the families involved, but unfortunately it is necessary to investigate several of the deaths that have occurred at Bethesda, and regretfully, your husband's is one of them. It would be much quicker if you would authorize the release of his medical records, however." Vance held his breath, the last three families had quickly agreed to the release of the records.

His medical records? Haven't you people taken enough from us? You'll be hearing from my lawyer.

He just managed to pull the phone away from his ear before she slammed her end down. Vance dropped the hand piece down in the cradle before hitting the speaker phone button and then dialing Autopsy. Palmer had stayed aboard the Yard, prepping and sorting the bodies for the massive run of autopsies later that day. Jimmy picked up on the third ring and Vance didn't mince words.

"How far down the list is a Colonel Harden? His wife is already starting to cause problems."

Really? Actually I have his body scheduled for the first autopsy as soon as Dr. Mallard returns from Bethesda.

"Any particular reason?"

Of the three bodies whose time of death fit the closest with the timetable, his had the most recent surgical incision.

"Good call, Palmer, keep me informed. The widow is refusing to let us see the medical records and is already threatening us with her lawyer."

I thought most of the families were cooperating, Sir?

"All but her. Keep Dr. Mallard on track when he returns because I don't want a court order showing up before he's finished." Vance was already bracing himself for his next call to the SecNav as he disconnected the call.