A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. My life has been really crazy lately. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed and added this story to their story alert. I'll try to get the next chapter (which will be the last chapter) up ASAP. Enjoy!
It was getting later into the afternoon when Kay finally returned to the waiting room. She was relieved to see that Abby wasn't there. She wasn't ready to face her yet.
However, Sarah and the rest of the team were there. They looked up at her approach.
"How's he doing?" asked Gibbs.
"Same as before," Kay replied. "Still not awake."
"I'm going back to him," said Sarah, "Anyone want to come with me?"
Tony spoke up, "I'd like to go, too." He stood up and followed Sarah out of the waiting room.
Kay sat down and leaned her head back against the wall. She felt exhausted and emotionally drained. In a way she wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but she didn't want to miss Tim waking up. Instead, she simply sat there, not really paying attention to what was going on around her. Thoughts were whirling in her head, going too fast for her to catch any one of them.
Then she heard the voice she'd been dreading. She opened her eyes to see Abby standing there. Abby completely ignored Kay and spoke only to Gibbs.
"Any news on Tim yet?" she asked.
Gibbs glanced at Kay before answering.
"Still asleep. Sarah and Tony are in with him now."
Just then, Tony came running into the waiting room.
"He's waking up!" he cried.
Kay started to stand up, but Abby was running out of the room before she had a chance. Kay sat back down. All her guilt and doubts came back to her. Of course Tim would want his sister and his best friend to be there when he woke up.
Kay just sat there as Gibbs questioned Tony.
"How awake is he? Is he talking to anyone?"
Tony answered. "He's not very lucid right now, probably from the pain medicines. But he did recognize me and Sarah." Tony glanced at Kay, but she didn't see it. "He was asking for someone, but his speech was so slurred we couldn't tell who."
In Tim's room…
Abby ran to the door of Tim's room, then skidded to a halt just outside. She took a moment to compose herself, then walked into the room.
The first thing she noticed was Tim's eyes open and fixed on his sister. He seemed to be trying to say something, but was having trouble getting the words out. Abby walked in and stood at his side, picking up his hand.
"Hey McGee," she said softly. "How's it going?"
Tim swiveled his head to look at Abby. His eyes were a little unfocused, but he recognized her anyway.
"Hey Abby." was all he said. He tried to say something else, but his eyes closed, then opened again.
"I'm going to find the doctor and let him know Tim's awake." Sarah told Abby. She leaned down and gave Tim a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back later." Then she left Abby alone in the room with Tim.
Abby looked down at her friend. She could tell he was trying to stay awake and say something, but having difficulty with it. She leaned down close to his ear.
"It's ok, Timmy. You don't have to stay awake. It's enough to know that you are waking up."
Tim sighed and closed his eyes. He squeezed Abby's hand to let her know he was still awake, for the moment.
Abby dashed away tears of relief that had formed in her eyes. She kissed Tim's cheek, then whispered, "I love you, Tim."
Tim gave a small smile and quietly said, "Love you, Kay."
Abby froze. "Tim?" she whispered, but received no response. He had already fallen back to sleep.
In the waiting room…
The team sat quietly, waiting for more news of Tim. Kay sat with them, wondering if she would even get to see him. She doubted Abby would be out soon, and there were the others who wanted to see him, too.
Abby came walking back into the waiting room. She had her head down and was moving very slowly.
"He's asleep again," she told the others, "but he kind of asked for someone before he fell asleep."
For the first time, Abby looked straight at Kay. "He wants you." she told her.
Kay couldn't keep the look of surprise off her face. "He asked for me?"
Abby just nodded, then sat down.
Kay stood up slowly. She desperately wanted to see Tim, but was a little unsure. She walked out of the waiting room and toward Tim's room. When she got closer, she saw Sarah with the doctor. She walked slowly up to them.
"He woke up for a little while. He recognized us, even though he couldn't focus very well," Sarah was telling the doctor.
"Well, it's a good sign that he is waking up. He may be awake off and on for a while, until the sedatives are out of his system." the doctor replied.
Sarah looked up at Kay's approach.
"He's asleep again, but you're welcome to sit with him," she told Kay, "I have to leave, but I'll be back tomorrow."
"Ok, I'll stay with him," Kay told her. She entered the room and looked at Tim. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
Kay sat on the edge of the bed and took Tim's hand.
"Tim," she whispered, "I'm here. Abby said you wanted me, so I'm here. I'll stay as long as you want me to. I hope you wake up again, but if you need to sleep, I understand."
Kay squeezed Tim's hand gently, and was startled to feel him squeeze back. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He seemed to stare straight ahead for a moment, then turned to face her. His eyes were unfocused, but she knew he saw her, anyway.
"Kay…" he whispered.
Tears welled up in Kay's eyes. "I'm here, baby. I'm right here." She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed the back. Then she leaned down and gently kissed his lips. She started to pull back, but then felt his hand on the back of her head. Their faces were close together, but far enough apart for her to see his eyes. They were focused on her.
"Kay…" he said again. He seemed to be trying to say something else, but having trouble getting the words out. He closed his eyes, then opened them again. They were now completely fixed on her.
"Kay," he said softly, "Lo…love you."
Kay couldn't believe her ears. Had he really said he loved her?
"I love you, Tim." she said. She saw a smile play across his lips, then his hand pulled her down for another kiss.
"Whoa," said a voice from the doorway. "Am I interrupting something here?"
Kay broke the kiss and looked toward the door. Tony was standing there, a startled expression on his face.
"Yes, you are," Kay told him, still smiling. She looked at Tim. He also had a soft smile on his face. "But I think it's ok, for now."
Tony walked further into the room. "Hey, Probie," he said to Tim, "you've been holding out on me."
Tim smiled and looked at Tony. "None…none of your business." he told him.
Kay had to laugh at the almost offended look on Tony's face.
"We couldn't tell you," she said, "or you might have accidentally let Gibbs know."
"Hey, I wouldn't have told him!" Tony said. "I can keep a secret."
"Uh-huh," Kay said, "If you had known, would you have stopped asking me out?"
Tony looked offended again. "Of course! I wouldn't muscle in on my friend's girl. After all, he's had so few…"
Kay grabbed a pillow from the chair next to the bed and threw it at Tony. It smacked him right in the face.
"See?" she told him, "You would have made a comment like that and Gibbs would have known something was up."
Tony picked the pillow up from the floor and tossed it back at the chair.
"I wouldn't make a comment like that in front of Gibbs." he told them.
"You just did." came another voice from the hallway. Gibbs was standing there, coffee cup in hand and a small smile on his face.
Tony had a "deer-in-the-headlights" look on his face.
"Uh, hi boss," he said, looking over at Tim and Kay. Tim looked a little apprehensive, but Kay was almost laughing. "Um, aren't there only supposed to be two visitors in the room at a time? I'll leave."
Gibbs stopped him. "I'm not in the room, I'm outside the doorway."
Tim still had a worried look on his face. He kept looking between Gibbs and Kay. She saw the look and leaned down to give him a quick kiss.
"It's ok," she told him, "he knows."
This only seemed to make Tim more nervous. "Are we in trouble?" he asked.
Kay looked to Gibbs. He smiled at both of them.
"You're not in trouble," he assured Tim. "I've already told Kay that as long as you can keep your personal relationship separate from your professional one, I'm ok with it."
Tim let out a large sigh of relief. He looked at Kay again and smiled. His eyes started to droop again.
Kay noticed and stroked his cheek. "Getting sleepy again?" she asked him.
He just nodded. His eyes drooped even further, but he seemed to be fighting it.
"It's ok, sweetheart," Kay told him, "go ahead and go back to sleep. We'll be here when you wake up."
Tim sighed and smiled. He let his eyes close completely. He squeezed Kay's hand one more time, then his whole body relaxed. His breathing became deep and regular.
Kay smiled affectionately. She looked over at Tony and Gibbs. They were both watching her, Tony curiously and Gibbs patiently. She smiled at both of them.
"I guess y'all want to stay with him for a while?" she asked.
Gibbs just nodded and Tony said, "Yeah, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Kay replied. "I'll go back to the waiting room for a while."
She kissed Tim's cheek and laid his hand down by his side. Then she walked past to two waiting men and turned back toward the waiting room. As she drew closer, she started to wonder about Abby. She had certainly seemed down when she had told Kay that Tim wanted her. Kay began to wonder just how much Abby cared about Tim. Kay wasn't worried about how Tim felt anymore; after all, he had just told her he loved her. But she still didn't know about Abby.
Kay sighed. It seemed as though she and Abby were going to have to have a talk about Tim. Kay didn't want to hurt Abby's feelings; the two women had become friends over the past seven months. But she also needed to know how much Abby cared about Tim. They needed to work things out, for Tim's sake and the sake of their relationship.
Kay approached the waiting room cautiously. She wasn't sure what was waiting for her there. But whatever was to come, she would work her hardest to keep both her relationships with Tim and with Abby intact.