A/N: Ok, this may be the last chapter for a while. I'm getting kinda busy with kids about to be out of school. But I hope you enjoy this chapter, and PLEASE review!
Kay reached the hospital at about seven-fifteen. She checked the floor for the ICU, then took the elevator up. As she approached the receptionist's desk, she saw two familiar figures standing there.
"Gibbs, Ducky," she called out. Both men turned to look at her. Gibbs met her halfway to the desk and engulfed her in a hug. After a moment, they broke apart and Kay walked to Ducky, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Any news on Tim?"
Ducky shook his head. "I'm afraid not much yet, my dear. The doctor hasn't been in to see him yet, so we can't go in."
"At least we won't have to wait until eight to go in, unless the doctor takes longer than that to get here." said Gibbs. "His sister, Sarah, has been contacted and she'll be in later today, but she's already given permission for the team to see him once the doc's done."
Kay breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad she'll be here. I know how close she and Tim are."
Just then, a short, stocky man came to the nurse's desk. He spoke quietly to her for a moment, then looked to the trio watching him.
"I'm assuming you three are here for Agent McGee?" Seeing them nod, he continued, "I'll be in to see him in a moment. Looking over his chart, his condition hasn't seemed to change since the last doctor saw him. Once I've finished examining him, you may go in to see him, two at a time, providing he is stable. Please wait in the waiting room until I am done."
"Thank you, doctor," replied Gibbs. He led the other two to the small waiting room down the hall.
It seemed an eternity before the doctor entered the room where the three were silently waiting.
"I'm upgrading Agent McGee's status to stable." he said. He looked at his watch. "It's technically not visiting hours yet, but I'll allow you to go in and see him. He's still heavily sedated, so don't expect him to respond to any stimulus. He's in room 512, take a right at the first hallway and go down three doors. Remember, only two allowed in the room with him at a time."
"You two go ahead and see him," said Ducky. "I'll wait near the nurse's desk in case the others show up."
"Thanks, Duck." said Gibbs. Kay just nodded her thanks.
The two of them followed the doctor's instructions to Tim's room. Kay couldn't stifle the small cry that came from her when she saw all the machines hooked up to him. Gibbs put his arm around her shoulders.
"You ok for this?" he asked gently.
Kay nodded. "I need to be with him."
Gibbs squeezed her shoulders once before letting his arm drop to his side. He walked to Tim's right side, but couldn't get very close since that was the side the IV's were hooked up to.
Kay walked to Tim's left side, which only had a pulse ox monitor on his finger and a blood pressure cuff on his upper arm. She gently lifted his left hand and held it in both of hers.
They both watched Tim sleep for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Gibbs was thinking about all the times McGee had broken codes that led to a break in a case, and all the times he'd find the most esoteric information that would ultimately lead to an arrest. Tim was the best at what he did.
Kay was thinking about the last evening they had spent together. God, was it really only a few days ago? Tim had picked up Chinese food for dinner and gone to her place. They had found a good movie on TV and sat on the couch, eating and watching the movie. She hadn't even had to tell him what she wanted for dinner; as soon as they had decided on Chinese he knew she'd have the shrimp with lobster sauce, and he'd get the Kung Pao chicken. They'd each get wonton soup and share an order of Crab Rangoon.
Kay almost started crying at the thought of that night. After they'd finished eating, they'd simply cuddled on the couch and watched the rest of the movie. A small smile played over her lips as she thought about how he'd been so tired he'd half fallen asleep by the time the movie was over. She'd had to nudge him awake and then almost strip him down once they'd gotten to the bedroom. He'd fallen asleep immediately, but she'd lain awake for a little while, watching his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. If she'd known the next time she'd see him sleep would be under tubes and bandages…
Kay stopped the thought. She had to keep positive, both for her sake and for his. When he wakes up, she thought, he's going to need support to get through this, and having me bawl over him like a baby won't help.
Kay was so lost in thought she didn't notice Gibbs slip out the door. Her eyes were for Tim only. The next thing she knew, Ziva was in the room, standing at the foot of Tim's bed.
"He does not look well," she said. "He is much paler than usual." Ziva moved to the side of the bed, glancing at all the monitors.
Kay simply nodded. She surreptitiously wiped the back of her hand across her cheeks, wiping away the tears that had accumulated there. Then she took a slow, shaky breath. She looked to Ziva.
"When will his sister be here?" Ziva asked.
"I'm not sure," replied Kay. "Sometime this afternoon, I think." She looked down at Tim's sleeping form again. "Ziva, have you ever loved someone, then almost lost them?"
Ziva didn't respond immediately. "Yes," she said simply. "At least, I believed I was in love with someone. Then he was taken from me before I could work out my feelings for him."
Kay looked up at Ziva again. "How did you handle it?"
Ziva looked Kay in the eye. "I let myself mourn, then I moved on. I do still think of him very often, but I have learned that you cannot let grief take hold of you forever." She cocked her head at Kay. "Are you saying that you do love McGee?"
Kay felt the tears fall down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. "Yes. I love him. I don't know what I'll do if I lose him."
Ziva moved around the bed to stand next to Kay. In a very un-Ziva-like move, she put her arm around Kay's shoulders and pulled her into a hug.
Kay couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely now. She sobbed into the slightly taller woman's shoulder uncontrollably, while Ziva simply held her. After a moment, Kay pulled away.
"I'm sorry," Kay apologized, "I can't help myself from crying every time I think I might lose him."
Ziva patted Kay's shoulder, then pulled her arms away. "I do understand," she said softly. "It is…difficult to think of such things. But you must stay strong, and have faith. Pray that he will recover fully, and tell him how you feel when he awakes."
Kay nodded. She ran the heels of her hands to wipe away the fresh tears.
Ziva patted Kay on the shoulder again, then said, "I will leave you alone now. A few others have arrived, so I'm sure one of them will be in shortly."
Kay gave Ziva a tearful smile. "Thanks, Ziva." Ziva smiled and nodded, then she was gone.
Kay turned once again to Tim. Holding his hand again, she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I'm here. I love you, baby. Please don't leave me." She moved her head up and kissed his cheek, then ran her thumb across his cheek to wipe away her tear that fell.
"Why are you still here?" came an angry voice from the doorway. Kay turned in surprise to find Abby standing there, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "You shouldn't even be here."
"Why-why not?" asked Kay, very confused.
"Because it's you're fault he's here, that's why! He wouldn't have almost died if you had been doing your job!" was Abby's reply. "If you'd had his back like you should have, he wouldn't have gotten shot!"
Kay was stunned. "Abby, I-I did everything I could. I just couldn't keep up…"
"Yeah, you couldn't keep up. That's a great excuse for almost getting your partner killed."
Abby's scathing tone cut right to Kay's heart. She was voicing thoughts that Kay had been consciously pushing out of her mind, thoughts of guilt and self-blame. Kay tried to stammer out something else, but Abby cut her off.
"Timmy cares about you, he has since you joined the team, and this is how you repay him? By letting him get shot by a psycho?"
"Abby, I care about him, too. And I didn't just let him get shot!" Tears were pouring down Kay's face by now; she couldn't stop them.
Abby's glare didn't abate. If anything, her scowl became more pronounced.
"You don't care about Timmy, not the way I do. I would have shot the bastard down before he even had a chance to raise his gun at Tim. I would have…" Abby couldn't even continue. Tears were streaking down her face, even as she glowered at Kay.
Kay couldn't take it anymore. Sobbing, she pushed her way past Abby and down the hall. Instead of turning left to go back to the waiting room, to all those prying eyes, she turned right and ran down the hall until she found the ladies' room. She slumped against the sink counter. Abby was right. If she, Kay, had done her job, if she had protected her lover the way she should have, he wouldn't be buried under numerous tubes and hooked up to so many monitors.
Abby stood in the doorway to Tim's room, still crying. She moved toward Tim's bed slowly, watching his face intently. She was still furious at Kay, blaming her for Tim's condition. If she really cared about him, Abby thought, she would have protected him. I would have protected him, if I'd been there. A part of her knew she was being unfair to Kay, but that part was buried under all the pain of Tim being hurt so badly and the need to blame someone for what happened to him.
She moved to Tim's bedside, picking up his hand. "Timmy," she said softly, "come back to us. Come back to me. You know I love you, Timmy. Please don't die." Tears poured down her face, streaking her makeup. She listened to the sounds of the machines in the room, the whoosh of the breathing machine and the steady thump, thump of the heart monitor. She jumped when she heard the familiar voice behind her.
"Abigail, dear, don't fret." said Ducky in his crisp, cultured voice. "The doctor has said that Timothy is stable, which is a good thing. I believe our young man will make a full recovery, as should you." He moved up to place a gentle hand on Abby's shoulder.
Abby turned toward him. "But what if he's not ok, Ducky? I mean, heart surgery is tricky, right? What if his heart doesn't heal the way it's supposed to? What if…" She couldn't continue the thought.
"Dear, heart surgery can be tricky, but this hospital has one of the best team of surgeons around. I know the lead surgeon personally, and I can vouch for his experience and skill. When he said that Timothy will pull through, I believe him."
Abby leaned down and gave the Englishman a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Ducky. I needed to hear that."
They both watched Tim in silence for a few minutes, then Ducky spoke up.
"I believe that Anthony has not yet had a chance to visit with our patient. I'm going back to the waiting room to allow him in." He patted Abby once more on the shoulder, then turned and left the room.
A few minutes later, Tony walked in.
"Wow," he breathed, "he looks pretty bad. I mean, I knew it was bad, but this…" He just shook his head.
"I know," replied Abby, tears threatening again. "But Ducky said he'll be ok."
"Well, if the Duckman says Probie will be ok, then I believe him." said Tony comfortingly. He moved up behind Abby and put his arms around her waist. She leaned back into his embrace gratefully. He kissed the top of her head, then put his chin on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Abs. McGeek'll be back to annoying us with his tech-talk in no time."
Abby had to smile. "He doesn't annoy me with it." She thought a moment. "At least, not most of the time. But, then again, I can understand what he's talking about." She elbowed Tony playfully.
"Hey, ouch! Ok, so you two geeks will be back to talking about computers and facial recognitions and your mass spec in no time." Tony grinned down at his favorite Goth.
She smiled back up at him, comforted for now. Turning back to the bed, stroked Tim's hair in a familiar gesture. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, then straightened back up.
"I guess we should get back to the waiting room. I don't know who else might want to come back and visit with him." Briefly, Abby thought about Kay. She didn't know if she could stand to see Kay back in the waiting room, possibly being comforted herself.
Her anger flared up again. Kay didn't deserve to be comforted. It was her fault this had happened.
Her resolve bolstered, Abby turned to follow Tony out the door. She still didn't know what she'd say if she saw Kay, but she knew she wouldn't keep quiet. It just wasn't in her nature to stay silent when it came to her feelings.
Fortunately, Kay wasn't in the waiting room. Abby gave a brief thought as to where she might be, then she put it out of her mind. Here was the team that Tim belonged with. These were the people who truly cared for him, and that was all that mattered.