I got sick, so this chapter is a little overdue. Sorry readers! *Gives hugs* And thank you guys for the reviews! The support you guys provide is fantastic and I love it. Seriously? 75 reviews? You guys are wonderful.

Peachmikey11 - I'm sorry, there isn't too much more Tony whump left. A little bit, but not anything incredibly huge.

Hermione's Shadow - I was worried about the adoption thing, I'm glad you don't think it's that too far out of left field.

Shialuvr222 - Your review made me giggle. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

This chapter is a little short, but I'm not trying to short Chang you guys (My love goes to anyone who gets that reference) :D. It's more exposition than anything else. And to be sure, I don't have any medical experience and I'm not a doctor in any sense of the word, Time Lady or medical. ;) All the info I get is from the internet, so there may be (And probably are) mistakes, so I try not to dwell to much on the medical bits more than necessary. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 12

It all passed by so slowly, and yet so quickly at the same time. There wasn't anyone else in the waiting room, or perhaps there was. Gibbs didn't notice.

He had never felt so detached in his life; there was no emotion, no dread, no pain. Absolutely nothing.

So unlike the torturous pain and rage of losing Shannon and Kelly. Or the slow, poisonous guilt of Kate. Nor the burning anger and grief of his mother. Not even the quiet sorrow of Jenny.

As if he was just an observer of the man, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The tired looking man sitting in a small, uncomfortable waiting room chair with a coffee cup resting in his hand. The man with the expressionless face, who could have just walked in off the street for no reason what so ever. Not even knowing where he was going. Davies walked gently up to him, took the empty coffee cup and replaced it with a fresh one.

"Here you go, Sir." Damn kid, though Gibbs had never told him about calling him 'sir'. He wondered for a brief second, why he was even there. He didn't know Tony or Tim; he wasn't one of their agents. Davies received no reaction for his kindness. He hesitated for a second, but then walked down the hall and was gone.

At some time, Ziva was there too. Sitting solemnly besides him, not speaking a word. Fingering the pendant around her neck, anguish hidden in her dark eyes, her face blank. She was there almost the whole time he was.

Abby also arrived at one point. Had he called her? He was running on autopilot, he wasn't sure. She clung to his arm, a few wayward tears drifting down her face. She constantly harassed every nurse or doctor that happened to have the misfortune of strolling by, for information though the answer was always, "I don't know." or "Surgery still."

Jimmy and Ducky arrived shortly after Abby. Ducky's face was seemed more lined than before, had he looked that old the last time Gibbs seen him? That world-weary? Jimmy, however, looked the exact opposite. He looked many years younger than his actual age. His face holding a confused, concerned look, he wrung his tie nervously. Gibbs was reminded that both Tim and Jimmy were the same age; they had that sort of timeless face. The face that looked ever young, never aging beyond boyhood.

"Have we heard anything yet?" A beat. "Jethro?" Ducky was talking to him.

"Nothing. Nothing yet." Gibbs returned to the pilots seat, answering wearily. Ducky turned to look behind him, but then took a seat next to Ziva when he found no one to glean information from. Jimmy folded his coat over his arm and sat down next to Ducky. And there they sat, Abby, Gibbs, Ziva, Ducky, Jimmy. Waiting for news, and almost wishing it would never come. None of them moved, not even when Davies brought them all coffee and then waved goodbye. They all held their breaths.

o-o

Finally a doctor walked into the waiting room and stopped. "Are all of you here for Special Agents Dinozzo and McGee?" Shaking the heaviness from his limbs Gibbs got to his feet. Followed closely by Ducky, the rest were nodding off.

"Yeah, so..."

"Agent Dinozzo had a minor concussion, however the impact of his brain against his skull caused by a blow, or perhaps a fall caused an Intracerebral hemorrhage. These can be extremely dangerous. We had to perform surgery, we repaired the broken arteries and damages tissues the best we could to try and reduce the swelling."

"How serious was the swelling? Will it affect any of his cognitive abilities?" Ducky adjusted his glasses, staring pointedly at the doctor. The doctor shifted uncomfortably under Ducky's judging stare.

"Too early to tell, we'll know more after we do an MRI in an hour or so to see how much the swelling has been reduced. From what we saw during surgery, the swelling isn't too severe but only time will tell. Best case scenario, he makes a full recovery, the worst," He hesitated. "Extensive brain damage. If the swelling doesn't go down in the next few hours, we'll try lowering his body's core temperature to reduce it."

"And Agent McGee?" Ducky asked.

"He had three broken ribs and several cracked ones. One of the broken ribs recently punctured his lung and it collapsed in surgery. We put in a chest tube, however he'll be susceptible to infection more so. We found signs of the beginnings of pneumonia, but we're watching very carefully. He also had a broken ankle, but it's a clean break and we were able to put pins in very easily."

"Can we see them?" The doctor looked curiously over to the new voice, Abby had come up and slipped up next to Gibbs. The doctor hesitated.

"Only family can visit while they're in intensive care. Have they been contacted?"

"Tim's family is on vacation and I can't get a hold of them." Abby looked despondent. Ziva looked up.

"Sarah?"

"Her too." Abby smiled softly. "Tim decided they needed a vacation. And Tony and his dad," Abby shifted uncomfortably. "They're not on the best terms at the moment. Plus, he's out of the country." Abby finished, Gibbs turned to the doctor.

"We're their only family available now." He stared intently at the doctor, blue eyes piercing.

"Please." Ziva said softly from behind. Rubbing his face, the doctor decided it wasn't worth a fight.

"Fine, but two at a time." The doctor raised an eyebrow as Abby gave a large smile and half hugged him.

"Thank you so much!" And with that, she rushed down the hallway.

Ziva slipped silently past him, but gave him a grateful look. Jimmy followed close behind. "Thanks." Jimmy gave the doctor a tired smile. Ducky clapped the doctor on the shoulder.

"Thank you, we have quite a bit to discuss." Ducky stared pointedly but went on his way.

Gibbs looked to his team's retreating forms; he wanted to follow then, to make sure. Glancing at his watch, he sighed inwardly. He needed to go back and do an interrogation, one he would enjoy, but still. Giving one last, almost longing look down the hallway he turned to the doctor.

"Anything changes, you call me." After handing the doctor his card, and giving him a challenging stare, Gibbs turned and went out the doors.

And he was gone, as if he had never been there at all.