A/N - Thanks all, home from the hospital finally as he was released last night.

Tony was still watching his partner when McGee's eyelids fluttered and partially opened. "McGee? Tim, buddy, you back with us?" Gibbs quickly moved up to stand at Tony's shoulder while Ducky went to the other side of the bed and started assessing him while Tony continued to speak. "Hey, how you doing? You gave us quite a scare."

Tim's eyes were open, but it was obvious that they weren't focusing yet as he looked around in confusion. "What happened? Where am I?" He tried to shift and became alarmed when he realized that he was unable to move his arm, the adrenalin helping to wake him up. "What's wrong with me? Am I... I'm in a hospital?"

"You don't remember?" Tony kept his voice calm as his eyes flickered up at Gibbs. The worry he saw on Gibbs' face matched his own. Before Tim could answer him, Ducky bent closer and started a more detailed examination. Tony and Gibbs moved out of the way just as Ziva and Dr. Morrison returned.

"Abby should have the results very soon, Gibbs. How is McGee?" Ziva leaned to look around Gibbs to where Morrison had joined Ducky. "He is awake, that is good, yes?"

"Awake, but doesn't remember anything. What does this do to the case, Boss?"

Gibbs shook his head at both of them. "McGee didn't wander down to that sub-basement on his own. He might not remember much right now, so we work the evidence until he does. Ducky, what's going on?" The other two agents were startled by the appearance of Dr. Mallard in back of Tony.

"As near as I can determine, his last clear memory is almost two months ago. His cognitive functions appear to be intact, so that's a positive sign." Ducky held his hands up, stalling the questions he could see on their faces. "He's been conscious for less than thirty minutes, give the lad some time. Hopefully Abby will have some news soon as the hospital's lab is several hours behind her."

"What's taking them so much longer?" Gibbs hated incompetence, especially when it affected one of his people. Dr. Morrison joined them in time to answer.

"Unfortunately, the lab here did not get the blood sample and needs another one. Don't worry, I'll be looking into that personally."

"You do that. Ziva, you're coming back to the Yard with me to start on the suspects. Ducky, need cause of deaths for our bodies. Tony, you stay here on protection duty. Two more agents will be stationed outside the door."

"Agent Gibbs, I assure you, my patient is safe here."

Other than a glare, Gibbs didn't dignify that comment with a response.

The second they arrived back in the yard, Gibbs' phone rang with Director Vance demanding an update, so the three of them took the elevator directly to the top floor. Vance met them at the door to his office. "Pamela, hold all my calls unless it's the SecNav again."

"Again?"

"You don't want to know, Gibbs." Vance waited until they were all seated around his desk. "First off, how is Agent McGee?"

Gibbs deferred to Ducky. "Timothy regained consciousness a short time ago, but he's lost a large chunk of memory, I'm afraid. Enough that he doesn't remember why he was having the surgery in the first place, let alone what happened in the recovery room."

Vance sat up straight. "Amnesia? Does he have a head injury?"

"His neurologist and I gave him a thorough evaluation, and there seems to be no indication of any assault. Dr. Morrison believes that it may be a case of post-operative cognitive dysfunction, but I don't agree with his diagnosis, at least not yet."

"Explain."

Ducky had had the same conversation with Gibbs on the way back. "If we are to believe Mr. Palmer and Agent DiNozzo, then he showed no loss of memory before he disappeared from the recovery room. POCD should have been evident the moment he was aware enough to communicate. I'm not ready to make a determination until his blood tests are finished."

"In the meantime, we may have a problem with the case." Vance wasn't happy to be bringing this up, but it couldn't be avoided. "Until McGee is able to give a statement, we have no evidence in regards to the murder. We can't even prove there was a murder. All we have is the possible assault and kidnapping of McGee. As soon as the families of those bodies downstairs start showing up with a lawyer, we'll be forced to release them. That is, unless we find something solid to tie one of those deaths into what happened to McGee."

Gibbs was not pleased with the developments. "How fast can you autopsy, Duck?"

Vance cut in before Ducky could say anything. "Start with Colonel Harden's body. His wife is already threatening the agency with legal action and Palmer tells me his body fits the timetable from McGee's call."

"Of course, Director, better safe that sorry; but I suspect that once Timothy's blood work is done we will have enough confirmation to stand up to a court order."

"And you would be right, Duckman." They all looked up as Abby bounced into the room waving a stack of print-outs. "But then, you're always right, even when..."

Gibbs didn't want her off on a tangent when so much was at stake. "Abs, results?"

"Propofol, close to a lethal dose." She handed the pages to Ducky. "As fast as it metabolizes in the bloodstream, the hospital lab probably won't find it by the time they get around to testing his blood."

"That's damn convenient." Gibbs looked over at Vance, who seemed to agree.

Ducky shook his head as he read through the lists of numbers and chemical notations. "Well, this does explain a great deal. Those in the medical profession often call Propofol the 'milk of amnesia'."

"So, it was given to him to cause the memory loss?"

"Most likely, Jethro, but we can't rule out a more lethal intent. His breathing was very shallow when he was found, a bit longer without medical assistance and we may not have had such a positive outcome. Propofol can also cause the myoclonus and dystonia that we were worried about. That's good, because it makes it less likely that the uncontrolled body movements are caused by neurological damage. I'll let Dr. Morrison know what has been found so that he can better monitor Timothy's recover and then I will start my own investigation with our guests downstairs."

"Hey, you going to stay with me this time?" Tony leaned over as McGee's head turned towards the sound of him talking.

Tim frowned and groaned as his eyes slowly opened. He seemed more aware of his surroundings this time. "Sorry, man, I can't seem to stay awake."

"That's okay." Tony was staring at him. "Do you remember waking up before?"

"Yeah, I think so." The crease between his eyes deepened as he thought. "Gibbs was here?"

"That's right, Buddy, Gibbs was here, Ducky and Ziva too."

"Why?"

"They were worried about you, we all were."

"Why?" The repeated question alarmed Tony until he heard the rest. "Nobody worries about me."

It hurt to realize what his friend was really asking and he tried to reassure him. "Hey, we've always worried deep down, just not been good about showing it. When you were missing, Gibbs had every agency employee within fifty miles tearing the place apart looking for you."

"Missing?"

Tony wasn't sure how much to tell him. "What's the last thing you remember?" He watched while Tim struggled with his damaged memory.

"Umm, we were staking out Nathan Gaines."

"That's good, that's more recent of a memory than the last time you woke up."

"What happened to me?"

"We're not really sure, but we're going to find out. None of us are going to stop until we know what happened, until we know you're safe."

Tim was fading out again. "Why are you being so nice to me? Not dying, am I?"

Tony wasn't quick enough to answer before Tim was asleep again, but he answered anyway as he laid his hand on the blanket covered shoulder. "Things are going to change, I promise."

Ducky nodded encouragingly as he entered Autopsy. Jimmy had the first body prepped and ready for him. The younger man looked up and smiled. "Dr. Mallard, you're back. How's McGee doing?"

"Now that Abigail has determined what he was drugged with, I am much more confident about his chances for a full recovery, at least from that standpoint. I'm afraid I still don't know too much about the surgery itself." This time he gave Jimmy a stern look, "but that will have to wait until we deal with our guests."

Jimmy knew that at some point he'd be hearing about that from his mentor, but for now he kept on track. "I've already taken blood samples from each of the bodies and sent them up to Abby, and the bodies are prioritized by the likelihood that they are our mystery victim using their time of death and potential reason for hospitalization."

"Very good, Mr. Palmer." Ducky looked down at the body on the table. "Then you must be Colonel Harden. Let us see exactly what caused your demise." He paused, scalpel in hand. "You've gotten me off to an excellent start, Jimmy. Now, as trustworthy as Dr. Morrison appears to be, I trust you a great deal more, so I want you to go to the hospital and stay with Timothy. I know that Tony is there and will do everything in his power to keep him safe, but I'd feel better if you were there also to monitor his treatment."

"Of course, Dr. Mallard." Jimmy was beaming from not only the praise but the trust as he pulled off his gloves. "Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?"

Ducky smiled as he shooed Jimmy out the door. "We're fine. You go on while the Colonel and I get better acquainted."