Enjoy!
Family Chapter 3
When Jethro got to the hospital the rain poured down. He killed the engine and took a deep breath before he pulled the jacket over his head and ran into the ER. The waiting room was almost empty except for a young couple with worried faces. He walked over to the reception.
"Hi I'm Jethro Gibbs. Anthony DiNozzo was brought in here about half an hour ago. Do you know what his status is?"
"Are you his next of kin?" The curt receptionist asked.
"No I'm no-"
"Then I'm afraid I can't give you any information on Mr DiNozzo"
"For god's sake they called me in here…"
"Jethro Gibbs?" A man in his early forties asked as he came running towards them. Jethro nodded.
"I'm Dr Ryan, Anthony's doctor" He said and extended his hand.
"You can come with me" Dr Ryan said and Jethro cast a smug glance at the receptionist who glared at him before he followed Ryan into the hallway.
They past at least five doors until they came into a large room full nurses and doctors. It was chaos.
Dr Ryan stopped and pulled the curtain and motioned for Jethro to go in.
Jethro winced when he saw Tony.
The kid lay propped up on the bed with a support collar. His right eye was swollen shut and his face was full with cuts and bruises. His nostrils were clogged so the bleeding would stop faster. A bandage was tightly wrapped around his head. His brown, ruffled hair sticking out in a few places. Jethro took a deep breath before he walked up beside the bed.
Tony's eyes were closed and his breathing was laboured. You could hear the wheezing as he took painful breaths through his mouth. Jethro took Tony's hand in his and squeezed lightly. Tony slowly opened his green eye and squinted back at Jethro.
"Hi kiddo" Jethro said softly while he brushed his thumb over Tony's hand.
"Y-You 'ame" Tony whispered miserly. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Jethro didn't know if it was a tear of pain or what he was going through. He took his free hand and gently wiped it away. He was startled by the heat radiating from the young man.
"Yeah Tony I did" Jethro answered. His voice thick with emotions. How could the kid think he would just ignore him? He brushed a stray of Tony's sweaty hair from his eyes and squeezed his hand once more.
"I 'orry' Tony whispered.
"What are you sorry for Tony?" Jethro asked, he just wanted to wrap the kid in a big, comforting hug.
"Be'ore whe' I s-scream-med" Tony whispered.
"Hey don't think about that. It's okay, I promise" Jethro soothed. How could the poor kid think about that when he was laying in the hospital beaten up?
"What happened Tony?"
"Mhhm I s-saw a g-girl who wasss 'eing-g robbed-ed, I's trying oo 'elp h-her" Tony sounded so vulnerable and fragile when he explained what had happened, Jethro felt proud of the kid who lay in front of him on the hospital bed even though he just known him for a day. He squeezed Tony's hand and looked into the boy's green eyes.
"That was very brave Tony" Jethro said.
"Mr Gibbs, can I talk to you for a second?" Dr Ryan asked from behind him. Jethro gave Tony's hand a finale squeeze before he followed Ryan out.
Jethro and Dr Ryan walked out of the room and into the hallway, away from all the panic and despair in the emergency room. Ryan motioned for him to sit down and then he sat down on the chair opposite from him. He took a deep breath before he began to list Tony's injuries.
"Okay, right now Anthony is stable but he's in a serious condition. When he was brought in he was unconscious, we did a CT scan and everything was alright, no internal bleeding or serious head injury but he has a minor concussion. His right eye is swollen shut and it could be some complications but we'll not know until the swellings gone down" Jethro interrupted before he could continue.
"What kind of complications?"
"Loss of sight but like I've said we can't know until the swelling goes down" Ryan answered. He ran a frustrated hand through his dark brown hair and continued.
"He also has two cracked ribs and a broken ankle. We have him on painkillers but we're going to sedate him when we transfer him to a private room. He has a slight fever but it's not dangerously high"
Jethro listened carefully as Ryan talked about Tony's injuries. And suddenly it hit him. Who the hell was Tony's next of kin? It had to be someone right?
"Who is Tony's next of kin?" Jethro asked with a yawn. He hadn't slept in nearly 24 hours. He figured he could buy some coffee from the cafeteria when he had talked with Ryan and contacted Shannon.
Ryan sighed deeply
"Yeah about that, He doesn't have a next of kin. We only contacted you because Tony asked us to do it. We wondered if he wanted us to call his parents, he said no directly"
"His mother is dead and I suspect his father is abusing him" Jethro said quietly.
Ryan put his elbows on his knees and sighed again.
"When we examined him, we found bruises that were older than a week. Someone has beaten him before tonight. We also found some scars that could've been inflicted by a broken glass bottle or some other sharp item, his leg has been broken before and his arm more than once"
Jethro exhaled deeply. He was going to kill that bastard who called himself a father. How the hell could you do that to your child? He himself would never, ever hit Kelly. Only the thought made him sick. He rubbed a tired hand over his face. He would do everything in his power to help Tony and if Tony wanted to come and live with them he could. Because he and Shannon would take care of him and love him like their on son. Dr Ryan's pager sounded. He rose from his chair and shook hand with Jethro.
"I gotta go but I'll contact you when Tony has been transferred"
"Yeah, thanks" Jethro answered as Ryan walked out of the room. He sat heavily down on the chair again and picked up his cell. He pushed speed dial one. After two rings Shannon picked up. Jethro closed his eyes as he heard Shannon's worried voice.
"Jethro how his he? Tell me he is going to be okay" she sobbed.
"I…I think he's going to be okay Shan"
"What?" Shannon whispered. "He has to be okay, he has to"
"Listen to me Shannon, You listening?" His tone was gentle and comforting.
"Yeah" Shannon croaked.
"Alright, He's stable but it's pretty serious-"
"Oh my god" Shannon gasped.
"Please let me talk Shannon"
"I'm sorry Jethro keep going"
"The doctors found bruises that are older than a week" Jethro heard Shannon gasp "And scars that could've been inflicted by something sharp like a broken glass bottle" Jethro sighted.
"I knew that bastard abused him" Shannon growled. Jethro stood up and began to pace.
"We'll take care of him later honey, but now we gotta focus on helping Tony" Jethro said softly.
"I know, I'm coming to the hospital Jethro"
"What about Kelly?"
"I already called Michelle, she's coming over" Shannon answered. Michelle was their neighbour and was always there to help if they needed anything.
"Alright, Love you" Jethro said.
"Love you to" Shannon answered and hung up.
TBC
Sorry for my bad English, I'm from Sweden.