Chapter Four

Tim didn't stir for the rest of the night; Tony watched every breath and waited for any sign that Tim was in pain, but he was still and seemingly untroubled in his drug induced sleep.

"They got you on the really good stuff now Tim." His whisper was as quiet as he could make it, he didn't want to run the risk of disturbing Tim, but he felt the need to speak his thoughts aloud, even if no one was listening. "You feel any pain, you tell me, understand?"

"He can't hear you Tony; Doc says he'll be out for a few more hours."

Tony shook his head briefly; sometimes he wished Gibbs could step out of stealth mode. "I know Boss; he should sleep; when he came round last night, that was bad, he was hurting so much…I don't want to see like than…never again."

Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Doctor Solanki warned us about the pain Tony, remember? He said it could take time to get the meds right."

"Yeah, I heard him…didn't make it any easier watching Tim last night."

"Guess it wouldn't…go home Tony, I'll take over."

Tony wanted to stay, to be here if Tim woke up in pain; but he could use some sleep, and if he had to leave Tim, he couldn't leave him in better hands. "You'll call me if he wakes up?"

"Only if I think you need to be here; Tim's not the only one around here who should be sleeping – go."

"I'm going; I'll be back this afternoon."

"No Tony, I see you here before 19.00, I'm kicking you right back home. Come on Tony, you know Abby wants to spend some time with Tim; Ziva and Ducky too…we got Tim covered."

Reluctantly Tony got up from his chair, he gripped Tim's hand. "See you later kiddo, take it easy."

Gibbs ushered Tony out the door. "He's doing good Tony, remember that."

An hour later Gibbs was reminding himself what he'd said to Tony. Tim looked so much better than he had when Tony and Jimmy were fighting to keep him alive; but he didn't look good, not by a long way. He heard the door open.

"Er…Agent Gibbs…is it okay for me to come in?"

Gibbs got up from the chair and ushered the young man toward the bed. "You don't have to ask Jimmy, you saved Tim's life, if anyone has a right to see him it's you."

Jimmy blushed to the roots of his hair. "Wasn't me, Tony did all the hard work."

"Not all."

Gibb watched as Jimmy checked the monitors and gave a brief smile. "Doctor Mallard said he was doing better, I just wanted to see for myself, oh…" The smile left Jimmy's face as he took a long look at Tim. "Look what I did…I never meant…Gibbs, I didn't mean to hurt him." Jimmy was staring at the dark bruise on Tim's chest.

"You kept his heart beating; you think Tim's going to care about a few bruises when he knows what you guys did for him?"

"I…I guess not, but…"

"But it still hurts to see him like this…"

"You too?"

"Oh yeah, he's one of my team Jimmy, and we almost lost him."

"Almost…that's the key word Gibbs, Tim's over the first hurdle, he survived the immersion and the surgery, every minute he's sleeping, he's healing. The trauma medicine here is first class, and I know he's going to have all the support he needs from you and the others. I'd say considering what he's been through, Tim's in a pretty good place right now." Jimmy could feel Gibbs staring at him, and he blushed again, but when he looked up Gibbs was smiling.

"Ducky's taught you well Jimmy. You heading in to work?"

"Yes, we're doing the Byard autopsy today…Is it wrong to say I'm glad he's dead?"

"Not in my book, he killed a Marine and tried to kill two of my people, death was the best thing he had coming to him."

"I wanted to help with the autopsy Tim, just so I could crack a few of Byard's ribs, but Ducky wouldn't let me."

"I should think not my dear. And you can rest assured; I was not gentle with my guest."

Abby and Ducky had come directly after work, and they had both been a little disappointed that Tim showed no signs of waking. Ducky tried to see the bright side as ever.

"At this early stage of his recovery, there will be a great deal of post-operative pain, not to mention Timothy's other injuries, I think this medicated sleep is probably best for him."

"I know, I miss talking with him…Timmy, he's always been there for me, and I wanted to…Ducky, did you see?"

"Yes, now don't rush things…"

Tim could hear voices; close by…he turned his head to the noise, who was here? Where was here? He couldn't remember…he should know…his hand reached out, Tony…Tony would help him…

"T…Tony…"

Abby held onto Tim's hand. "Tony's not here Tim, he'll be here later, it's me Abby, and Ducky."

Tim's eyes seemed fevered, and he was struggling to focus. "No, Tony…he was…he was hurt…I saw…where is he? You have to tell me!"

"Abby, see if you can find Doctor Solanki, hurry dear." With a despairing look at Tim, Abby ran from the room. Ducky was worried about Tim too, but they didn't need Abby going into meltdown, they needed calm. "Timothy, please listen to me, you are in the hospital, Tony if perfectly fine, he's at home right now, but I can call him if you would like."

"He fell…there was blood…Ducky…I can't remember…"

Ducky held Tim's hand. "Have I ever lied to you?" A slight shake of the head. "Then believe me now, you must calm down, your injuries, ah, here's the doctor now. Look at me young man, I'm going to call Tony, do you hear me?"

"Really?" Tim was so confused, Ducky said he was injured, he couldn't feel anything…shouldn't there be pain? Another doctor…did he know this one? Why was everything so mixed-up?

"Stay calm please Timothy, I'll be right back." Ducky whispered a few words to Doctor Solanki and headed into the waiting room to call Tony, Abby was at his heels.

"Ducky, what just happened in there? I thought he'd be better."

"He's confused; the painkillers, the trauma, there's no magic spell to make him 'better', remember what we agreed earlier?"

Abby nodded slowly. "Give him time. I know I should be patient; is it so wrong to want him back?"

"My dear girl, we all want that. Let me call Tony, and then I'm sure we'll be able to go back in to see Timothy."

Tim was sleeping again, but judging by the restless twitching of his fingers and his irregular breathing, it wasn't a deep sleep.

"As you can see, Tim's not allowing himself to relax completely, he's concerned for Tony's well-being, and it took a lot of persuasion and the threat of heavier sedation for him to gain any kind of control."

"Tony is on the way, when Timothy next wakes, I have a feeling that he won't have to worry too much about Tony's whereabouts."

Ducky guided Abby back to her seat beside the bed, she glanced up at Doctor Solanki. "Could I hold his hand? Maybe knowing we're back will help him to settle."

"I think that's a very good idea. Doctor Mallard, do you have a minute?"

They stepped outside and the doctor made a brief amendment on Tim's notes, then turned his full attention to Ducky.

"This is a worrying development; I had been expecting some anxiety issues, re-living the near drowning is a common occurrence in survivors as you know, and they are most vulnerable when they wake from a deep sleep. But Tim's disorientation and his fears for his friend exacerbate the problem; you saw his agitation earlier, if he pulls out his IVs or the catheter, tears his stitches…You don't need me to tell you that could set back his recovery dramatically."

"I'm sure he will be calmer when Anthony arrives. They were together you see, when Timothy was...when Byard stabbed him. The way I understand it, Tony had fallen to the ground and Tim tried to prevent Byard attacking him, then Byard stabbed Tim and he fell into the water."

Doctor Solanki stared at Ducky with new understanding. "So Tim's last sight of his friend was of him lying on the ground, possibly injured."

"Precisely, and when Tony wasn't here when he came round…the panic set in."

"Then the sooner Agent DiNozzo gets here, the happier I'll be."

"Tony, you should sit down, the doctor said McGee could sleep for hours…"

"I hope he does Ziva, Ducky says it's the best thing for him right now."

She stilled his pacing with a gentle touch on his arm. "And you, do you not need rest too?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Wasn't me who nearly died, and I've had all the rest I need today. When Tim opens his eyes again, first thing he's going to see is Very Special Agent DiNozzo."

Ziva smiled, this was more like the Tony she knew. "Very well, and you are sure you do not wish me to stay?"

"Thanks Ziva, but like you said he could be sleeping for hours, and unlike me, you have to go in to work tomorrow."

"Then I wish you good night." She leaned in to give Tim a quick kiss on the forehead. "Good night McGee, I hope to be able to speak to you tomorrow."

"Just you and me again; you know Tim, you're not the most exciting company right now, maybe I should bring in some DVDs…"

"Or…a book…"

"Hey! That's sneaky, I thought you were sleeping."

Tony stood up and moved close to the bed so that Tim would be able to see him, to see that he wasn't hurt. He watched closely as Tim's eyes opened fully, and he tried to focus.

"You really…okay?"

"A1 Tim, told you before, you don't have to worry about me."

"I thought…when you fell…"

Tony swallowed hard before he trusted his own voice. "You know me, Special Agent Indestructible, always cheating death."

Tim looked directly at Tony and gave a brief smile. "Not what…you said…Chimera…"

"There was bad mojo in that ship, and rats…did I ever tell you how much I hate rats?"

"A few times…Tony…I'm glad you're…here…" Tim's eyelids fluttered closed, and his breathing settled back into a regular rhythm.

"Only because of you Tim." He would tell him one day, let him know he understood the debt that was owed; but right now Tim just needed to know he was close. Tony could paste on the super confident indestructible Agent DiNozzo face for as long as necessary. If Tim wanted him to be okay he would be, and just so long as he didn't close his eyes and re-live those seemingly endless minutes after he dragged Tim out of the water he was okay. Problem was, Tony had a feeling that those images were not going away, not for a long time.