"Hey, how's he doing?" Fornell held out a cup of coffee as an apparent peace offering. Gibbs accepted the drink but gave him a careful look as they moved to a quiet corner.
"It'll take a while, but he's going to be all right. What's going on?"
"Believe it or not, McGee's dog just busted a major drug ring at East Lake Prep Academy."
Gibbs came closer than he'd ever admit to dropping his coffee. Now the strange phone call from Vance made a little more sense. "Vance hand the case over to you guys?"
"Well," Fornell grinned as he scratched at the side of his face. "NCIS is running out of holding cells, so we're getting your leftovers. Never thought I'd see the day when my director was answering to yours."
That did make Gibbs spit out his coffee. "Damn, did you get pictures?"
"I'd like to keep my job, thank you very much."
Snorting, Gibbs wiped at his chin before trying to take another sip. "So, did Jethro catch anybody interesting?"
"Son of an admiral, and the grandson of a general."
"Shit." Wiping up coffee again, Gibbs gave up on his drink until the conversation was over. "Are you serious?"
Fornell was looking very amused as he handed over more napkins. "Yep. Andrew Patterson, son of Admiral Patterson – the Vice Chief of Naval Operations – was caught by McGee's mutt with illegally obtained Ritalin and it turned out that his dealer was none other than Nathan McKay III, son of Air Force Colonel Nathan McKay II, and grandson of Air Force General Nathan McKay – as in the Chief of Staff of the Air Force – as in..."
"Joint Chiefs of Staff. Shit." Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment as he thought it through. "Is there enough evidence?"
"The Patterson kid rolled on the McKay kid. Another witness ID'd Nathan McKay as a known dealer on campus."
"Reliable witness?"
"Senator Stanley's son."
Gibbs had to laugh. "It keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"Oh, yeah. That's where we came in. The Secretary of the Navy was concerned about appearances with the son of one of his highest ranking officers and the son of one of the Navy's strongest supporters on the Hill both fingering the grandson of the highest ranking member of the Air Force. We got warrants and found drugs in his locker and drugs in his car."
"Enough to prove that he's dealing and not just using?"
"Everything from the Ritalin he sold the Patterson kid to heroin. Still adding it up, but it looks like the street value is over a hundred thousand."
"Damn. Let me guess, he's going to roll on his suppliers?"
"Have to let you know on that one. I just stopped by to give you a heads up."
"Appreciate that, Tobias." Gibbs was thinking that now was a good time to see how many vacation days he still had left.
-NCIS-
McGee was being moved to a regular room. He was now stable enough that he didn't need to be in the ICU, so they were moving him directly to the step-down ward. Gibbs was following behind when he felt his phone vibrate. Considering the cases of the day, when they informed him that he wouldn't be able to ride up in the same elevator as McGee he used the opportunity to check the message. It was from Vance and pretty simple.
Call me in private ASAP
Taking the stairs for both the privacy and the exercise, he immediately called Vance back. "What's happened now?"
Tia knows.
"Crap, how did that happen?"
We had some excitement here today.
"Fornell told me, but what does that have to do with Tiana?"
Admiral Patterson's driver heard the scuttlebutt, put it together and blurted it out. We've got her calmed down, but she's scared. Is he up to a short visit?
Gibbs stopped climbing steps and leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. "Yeah, they're moving him to a room right now. Give us about an hour, then bring her up."
-NCIS-
One of the nurses smiled at Gibbs as the medical staff withdrew from the room. Gibbs tried to return the smile but he wasn't sure how successful he'd been. Once they were alone, he bent over the bed and touched Tim's cheek. "Hey, how are you doing?"
Tim eyes fluttered open just a crack. "Nice to be in a bed instead of that over glorified cot. What time is it? Maggie's picking Tia up from pre-school, right? Wait, what was going on with Jethro? Did I dream that?"
That was as good of a place to start. "Nope, you didn't dream it. Maggie kept Tia home from pre-school so she wouldn't hear anything about the raid, then Jackie took her and Jethro to their place before the other kids arrived at Maggie's."
"Good, don't want her to hear about this until there's no choice."
"Which, unfortunately, was a few minutes ago."
That got the green eyes open. "What happened?"
Gibbs could see the pieces falling into place as he tried to explain. "One of Jared's friends had drugs on him."
"Vance called about Jethro's working commands? That really happened?"
"Yep, so there were a lot of people underfoot and..."
"Somebody spilled the beans. Damn it."
"Yeah. Vance and Jackie got her calmed down, but they're going to be bringing her by in a little bit so she can see for herself that you're going to be okay."
"Crap, how bad do I look?"
Luckily Gibbs was a man of few words because the first thought that crossed his mind wasn't what Tim would have wanted to hear. He took a deep breath and went with his second thought. "We've got time to get you cleaned up a little."
Ducky arrived with a nurse in tow. Gibbs had no idea what their plan had been but a quiet word got Operation Tiana in full swing. The bed was raised a few degrees before the nurse got busy washing the blood and the betadine stains from Tim's skin. As soon as the dizziness eased a little, the bed went up a few more degrees. They stopped at a forty-five degree angle, but that was enough to give the impression of 'sitting up' for his daughter's arrival. Gibbs gently brushed Tim's hair down onto his face, covering some stitches along the hairline.
Thirty minutes after Vance's call, a man in a white lab coat walked in and Ducky made the introductions. "Jethro, I'm glad we can discuss this before Tiana arrives. Timothy, this is the neurologist that's been reviewing your case, Dr. Winters."
The doctor shook hands with both men. "Mr. McGee, it's good to see you awake. How is the dizziness?" He pulled out a pen light and started a quick exam as he waited for the answer.
"I wouldn't want to stand up right now, but at least I'm not feeling like I'm going to fall out of the bed without moving."
Exam over, Dr. Winters leaned on the bed rail. "Yes, Dr. Mallard mentioned how bad it was and I was able to confer with the doctor you saw in Boston while you were in college, along with several of my colleagues that have studied patients with previous bouts of vestibular neuritis. While you will be more prone to a re-occurrence of the symptoms, we don't think you're at any higher risk for another full attack of vestibular neuritis."
"That's good, right?" Gibbs looked at Winters, then Ducky.
"Absolutely." Getting comfortable, Winters snagged a chair and dragged it over to sit down. "One of my colleagues up in Seattle had a suggestion that I'd like to put out there for you. He was in charge of a group study last year on possible treatments for vestibular neuritis. The results have been mixed, but with no significant side effects, it might be worth a try in your case to help minimize any possible flare-up."
"Really?" That got McGee's attention. "What is it?"
Gibbs was a little more cautious. "Ducky, what do you know about this?"
Ducky nodded in approval as Dr. Winters explained. "It's a drug called meclizine. It's been used for years for treatment of dizziness and nausea caused from other inner ear conditions."
"And Timothy," Ducky finally spoke up, looking very enthused. "I suspect that if it helps with your dizziness now, you might find it much more effective than the anti-nausea pills you currently take when you're on board a ship."
"You said no significant side effects, but what could they be?" Gibbs was encouraged, but cautious.
"Dry mouth, slight headache, possible nausea. If any of that becomes a problem, we'll just stop the meclizine."
"Okay, let's try it. Can I start before my little girl arrives?"
Winters nodded to a nurse, who stepped out and returned a moment later with a pill cup. "Absolutely."
-NCIS-
Arriving at the hospital parking lot just past sunset, Vance shut off the engine and turned to look at his passenger in the back seat. "Okay, remember, Daddy is going to have lots of cuts and bruises, but he's going to be all right. They've probably also given him some medicine that will make him sleepy, so don't be scared if he falls asleep."
Tiana gave him a wide-eyed nod, but didn't say anything. When Vance lifted her out of the car, she clung to him, so he carried her into the hospital. There was a line at the information desk but Gibbs had sent the room number to him so Vance went straight to the elevators. When they arrived at the correct floor, a nurse looked up from the chart she was updating.
"Is this Tiana?"
Vance was surprised at the recognition but before he could answer, Tia bobbed her head and wiggled to get down. "Are you my daddy's nurse?"
"I'm one of them and he told me that you were coming to see him." She waited until Vance sent Tiana on the floor, then bent down to be eye to eye with the little girl. "I know you're very excited to see your daddy and he really wants to see you, but we have some rules, okay?"
Thumb in mouth, she nodded so hard her topknot bounced. The nurse took one of her hands while Vance held the other and quietly explained about how she needed to be careful and gentle with her daddy and how they needed to not make any loud noises. The list of rules was finished as they arrived at the door to McGee's room and the nurse bent down again. "All right, you ready to go in quietly and see Daddy?"
Another nod but this time the brown eyes were brimming with tears and the nurse gave her a hug. "Oh, Sweetheart, he's going to be all right, we just have to be very gentle with him while he heals. Okay?"
"Okay."
Not being able to ask in front of Tiana, Vance didn't know what to expect when the door was open and he split his attention between Tia and the figure on the bed. Wraps and braces showed the damage to his arms, while his face was bruised. Vance suspected that the hair coming down onto his forehead and the side of his head covered the worst of the bruises. Anything else, and he knew there was more, wasn't visible.
"Daddy?"
At the frightened and wobbly voice, Tim's eyes popped open. "Hey, Sweetpea."
-NCIS-
"Shh, just rest until she gets here." If the gentle words didn't lull him to sleep, the tender hand stroking above his eyebrows would. Between that and the various meds, he knew that staying awake was going to be a lost cause.
"Don't let me sleep through her visit."
"I won't, I promise."
With that, Tim let himself drift off, feeling secure in a way he couldn't yet describe.
A hand touching his arm gave just a moment's notice before -
"Daddy?"
The fear in her voice hurt almost more than the fall had. "Hey, Sweetpea." Tim smiled at her and watched her lower lip tremble. "Come here, Baby."
She moved closer to the bed, then stopped. "I don't want to hurt you."
Tim wanted to tell her that she wouldn't, but she was on his more damaged side. "Jethro?" It was barely a whisper, but it got him the results he wanted as Gibbs moved around the bed to where Tia was. "Come here, Sweetie, I've got you."
Jethro scooped her up and carried her back to Tim's less injured side and carefully laid her down on the bed, helping her cuddle close without causing any problems. The tears finally came and Tim was able to hold on and ride it out with her. "I'm okay, Tia, I'm going to be fine and tomorrow we'll all be home together."
Ducky had been quietly watching from the corner until now. "Timothy -"
"I'm going home first thing in the morning, Ducky." He gave his most determined stare until finally Ducky nodded.
"I will inform your doctors, but I can't guarantee they will be very happy about this." Ducky glanced down at Tia and a ghost of a smile crossed his face. "But I will tell them that I'll be staying with you for the first day or two to monitor your progress. That might help."
"Thanks, Ducky."