The drive to Bethesda seemed to take forever. It might have been because Ducky was driving instead of him, but more likely it was because he didn't know what was happening to Tim. Luckily, Ducky had the presence of mind to drop him off at the emergency entrance instead of taking him along on the hunt for a parking space.

Gibbs rushed inside and looked around, finally finding Tony sitting in the corner nursing a full cup of coffee. "Tony, how is he? Is there any word?"

"Not yet. They took him straight back for x-rays and a CAT scan. The doctor promised that he'd get the results rushed." Tony had jumped to his feet when he saw Gibbs and now handed over the coffee. "Here, this is for you. It's not great coffee, but it's all they have here."

Having found parking, Ducky arrived, slightly out of breath, and with a nod to Gibbs used his credentials to go directly back into the emergency department.

Tony tried to be optimistic. "Ducky will get us answers."

"He was still unconscious, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, but..." Tony's voice trailed off, then he shook his head. "He's going to be fine. He has to be."

-NCIS-

"No skull fracture, that's good."

"Agreed." Adjusting his glasses, Ducky leaned closer to the image. "However, with a childhood bout of vestibular neuritis, we may be dealing with the same symptoms for a while."

The emergency room physician nodded in agreement. "There was some permanent damage?"

"Yes, but minor. It only affects him aboard ship."

"I've seen it before. We'll have one of our neurologists review his records, determine how concerned we should be."

Ducky paused. This was necessary medical information between two doctors about a patient they were caring for, but still... "There are no medical records from the original illness. However, a neurologist in Boston diagnosed him from the resulting damage while he was in college. I'll make sure the information is added to his records here."

"Good. I'll deal with the shoulder and the other injuries if you want to let the family know how he's doing."

"Thank you. That would be best, I know they're quite worried." In his mind he substituted 'frightened' but he'd never actually say that out loud.

-NCIS-

Gibbs had only managed to sit for a few minutes before he was up and pacing. Tony didn't argue with him, but the sympathetic look on his face was almost as bad. The coffee was terrible, as promised, but Gibbs managed to choke down half of it before Ducky arrived back in the waiting room.

"Ducky, how is he?"

"Incredibly lucky, Jethro." Gibbs sagged in relief at his words and Ducky took his arm and led him to the nearest bank of chairs, where DiNozzo joined them. Once they were all sitting, Ducky launched into his explanation.

"There is no skull or spine fractures, which was our greatest concern with that great of a fall. However, he has a rather severe concussion, which is not much of a surprise. We won't start to worry too much unless he fails to regain consciousness in the next few hours. He also has several fractured ribs and even more that are deeply bruised. There's a hairline fracture of his upper right arm in addition to that shoulder being dislocated. His right wrist is broken while the left is sprained at the least, in addition to several fingers on each hand that are either sprained, fractured or dislocated. Currently, there is some internal bleeding, but we suspect it will stop on its own without surgery."

"You call that lucky?"

"Yes, Tony, I do. It could have been much, much worse. It will be a very painful recovery, but he should make a complete recovery in time." Ducky tried to not make too much eye contact with Gibbs, knowing the other man would pick up on the fact that he was holding something back.

"This isn't the first time he's dislocated that shoulder, Duck. That going to cause a problem?"

"We won't know for sure for a few weeks, Jethro. It is possible that at some point Timothy may need surgery to tighten up the damaged tendons and ligaments. It's also possible that it will fully stabilize on its own."

Gibbs nodded, then turned to DiNozzo. "The case is still active."

Obviously knowing a dismissal when he heard it, Tony climbed to his feet. "Yeah, you'll let me know when he comes to, or when – well, you know."

"Yeah. Thanks, Tony."

Tony patted him on the shoulder and then gave Ducky a careful look before walking away.

Gibbs watched him go around the corner before turning back to Ducky. "Okay, what aren't you telling me?"

It was all Ducky could do not to laugh. They knew each other far too well. Luckily, Tim had updated his medical forms when Tiana had come into his life and Gibbs had full access. "Has Timothy ever spoken to you in depth about his problems with seasickness?" He watched as Gibbs searched his memories.

"Just enough that I always suspected there was a physical reason more than just run of the mill seasick. Why?"

"I will leave the details of how it happened to Timothy, but yes, you are correct. An illness and a head injury at the same time when Timothy was a child caused some permanent damage to his inner ear. Luckily his hearing wasn't affected, but there was subtle damage to his balance."

"Enough that his body can't compensate well enough when the ship is constantly shifting?"

"Yes, exactly, and because the concussion is centered on the same side of his head, I suspect that it may exacerbate his symptoms, at least for a while."

Gibbs gave him a careful look and Ducky knew there were more questions coming. "Illness and injury? Was it his father?"

This was getting beyond medical, unfortunately. "No, it was not, but anything else, I'm afraid..."

"You can't tell me."

"It is not my story to tell, Jethro. It is Timothy's and he will tell you when he's ready." One sniff of the cup had told even Ducky that the coffee here was barely palatable. "Now, why don't you go out to the coffee cart in the courtyard and get yourself a decent cup. By the time you're back, I should know when Timothy will be able to have visitors."

-NCIS-

Ducky was right, the coffee from the cart outside was better, but Gibbs was still restless. He knew he really wouldn't be able to relax even a little until he could see Tim for himself. Finally, Ducky came out the door again. "Duck?"

"They're keeping him in the ER for a while longer so they can monitor him, but you can come sit with him if you'd like."

Gibbs didn't have to be asked twice and after quickly gulping down the last of his coffee and tossing the cup, he followed Ducky through the double doors as Ducky continued to talk. "Normally they would place Timothy in the ICU, at least until he'd regained consciousness, but visitors are strictly limited up there so we managed to stall that for a few hours."

"Thanks, Ducky. I owe you one."

"Actually, you owe me several, but take good care of our lad and I'll call it even."

At the door, one of the nurses smiled at them. "He's becoming more responsive. I wouldn't be surprised if he wakes up in the next little while."

That was good news, but slipping through the door and seeing Tim for himself was even better. He looked bad, Ducky had warned him about that, but he was warm and alive and breathing on his own and for now that was enough. There was a stool near the head of the bed and Gibbs sat down, brushing his hand down Tim's face, not quite touching the skin. Even at that he could feel the heat of the bruises and leaned close to kiss his temple.

"You scared the hell out of me, Tim. Now I need you to wake up and tell me that you're going to be okay pretty soon. I know you need to rest for now."

Nurses came in and out and Ducky stood by his shoulder, but Gibbs didn't pay any attention to that, not until he sensed a slight movement from McGee. "Ducky, he's waking up."

Ducky leaned closer, but let Gibbs do the encouraging as the nurse called for his doctor. "That's it, Tim, come back to us. Time to wake up."

It took a few minutes, but eventually the green eye slowly opened. "J'ro?"

"Hey, welcome back. How you feeling?"

The eyes closed again with a wince. "Hurts, dizzy."

Gibbs gave a worried glance to Ducky but kept his voice calm and quiet. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. You had a pretty bad fall."

The arrival of the doctor meant that Gibbs had to step back, but he stayed close enough to listen as Tim answered questions proving that he was cognate of time and place, which was a relief. Another round of tests was ordered, then they were left alone again.

"How b'd?"

Tim was obviously tiring and Ducky kept it brief. "You were very lucky. There was some minor internal bleeding, but it has almost stopped. Other than that, the worst is a concussion that may cause you some vertigo for a few weeks, a few fractures and a dislocated shoulder."

Blinking, Tim looked down at himself and saw which shoulder was strapped tight. "Ah, hell, again?"

"Yes, well, we'll see about getting you a punch card. I believe every fifth dislocation will qualify you for an upgrade."

Tim was already asleep, but Gibbs wasn't amused. "Not funny, Duck."

"He will be fine, Jethro." After a stern look, Ducky moved toward the door. "Now, I believe we have some people that are waiting to hear about Timothy so I will make the calls while you stay here."

A/N - With the job I used to have, I've heard dozens of horror stories about falling off of roofs. It's amazing how different the outcomes can be, thanks all, see you on Monday.