A/N: Better late than never! Eye of the Beholder tomorrow (and maybe I might post the first chapter to the sequel to The More Things Change even though I haven't finished the story yet.) And oh, yeah – don't own them, just playing with them. (See profile for full disclaimer.)
Chapter 6
Vance was disappointed, maybe even disgusted, with Abby's behavior. He knew she could be emotional and over the top, but he never thought that she would turn on DiNozzo. The two of them were tight – or so he thought. He only hoped that her coworkers could get her to see the error of her ways.
Shaking his head, he started toward his office only to be stopped by his admin. "Director, security just called. Jimmy Palmer notified them that paramedics and a Medevac chopper were on the way."
Vance frowned. "Who's injured?"
"They didn't say but they were told to send them to Autopsy. I assume that Dr. Mallard is treating whoever it is."
With a bad feeling, Vance called down to Autopsy and his unease grew when no one answered. He debated for a moment on whether or not to just go down to find out what was going on and decided that he would just be in the way. He would wait until someone called (or 15 minutes – whichever came first.) After ten minutes, Vance changed his mind. He was tired of waiting so he headed out the door of his office and toward the elevator, but before he could push the button his phone rang.
"Vance," he answered without looking at the display. Somehow he knew it would be Gibbs. He listened as the team leader explained what was happening. "Keep me posted. I'll let the others know. And Gibbs – I'm sure he'll be fine." Vance was not surprised when Gibbs hung up the phone without comment. 'Now the fun part,' Vance thought, as he went to tell Gibbs' team the news.
McGee could tell by the look on Vance's face that something was wrong. His suspicions were confirmed when Vance spoke. "DiNozzo is on his way to Bethesda. He collapsed down in Autopsy with a severe headache and apparently experienced some kind of seizure. Gibbs and Dr. Mallard are on their way to the hospital and will keep us informed." After he finished, he waited for the expected outburst and he was not disappointed.
"But he was fine earlier," McGee exclaimed. "I mean, I know the bruising looked bad but he seemed fine other than that."
With a glare at Abby, Ziva interjected, "At least he did until Abby started in on him. Or perhaps, Abby, this is just another attempt at getting attention. According to you he would go to any lengths to do so."
Abby was near tears but was uncharacteristically silent. Vance and McGee had really let her have it but she was stubbornly holding on to her belief that Tony was jealous. Why couldn't they follow the evidence – not going to lunch with the team, disappearing when Maggie and her mom came by, not congratulating Tim on the commendation until he realized everyone was waiting on him to say something – and see that all of those things made it obvious that she was right and they were wrong? And really – how hard was it to fake a headache? When the truth came out Abby was sure that she would be vindicated. In the meantime, however, Abby decided to act contrite and hopefully the others would chalk it up to Abby's known eccentricities. Quietly she said, "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have accused him like I did. We need to go to Bethesda so I can apologize." 'And see that this is all just another play for attention,' she added silently.
"Sorry," Vance said. "Gibbs requested that no one visit until they know what's wrong, which really makes the most sense. They may get DiNozzo to the hospital and find out there's nothing to worry about. It would be ridiculous for you to go all the way to Bethesda only to be told he's on his way home."
"But what if he's not okay?" Tim asked worriedly. "What if there's something really wrong with him? We should be there for him."
Vance shook his head. "Agent Gibbs or Dr. Mallard will call when they have news. Until then, I suggest that you get to work. Agent McGee, you and Agent David can continue working on those cold cases for now. And you need to get back to your lab, Miss Scuito. Even though Gibbs' team is on cold cases, the rest of the office is not. I'm sure you have some work to do for other teams." At that he turned and went up the stairs to his office, leaving the others to do as they were told.
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Gibbs paced the waiting room, occasionally stopping to stare at the doors leading to the treatment rooms. They had allowed Ducky to go back but told Gibbs he had to wait until Tony was stabilized, whatever that meant. His phone vibrated (again) and he glanced at it, noting that he had yet another text from McGee. He was about to call and tell them to stop texting him, when Ducky came through the doors.
"How is he, Duck?" Gibbs asked anxiously. "What's wrong with him?"
"Calm down, Jethro," Ducky replied. "Let's have a seat."
Gibbs' stomach dropped. He was sure that it must be bad news if Ducky wanted him to sit. "How bad is it?"
Ducky sighed. "We don't know for sure yet. They have taken him for a CT scan and those results will determine the course of treatment. He is awake and coherent though still in a great deal of pain. They are going to admit him – they'll take him to his room as soon as they finish the scan. Come now, Jethro. Let's go get some coffee for you and then we shall go wait in Anthony's room."
Two hours later and Tony was resting in his room while Gibbs leaned back in the recliner next to the bed. Ducky had gone back to the Navy Yard as soon as the doctors had told him and Gibbs about the scan results. There was a bleed and though small, the pressure was enough to cause both the severe headache and the seizure. The doctors were hopeful that the medications that Tony was receiving would alleviate both problems and were reasonably certain that surgery would not be necessary. However, he would have to stay in the hospital for several days until the doctors were sure that the bleeding was resolving. With a sigh, Gibbs closed his eyes, deciding to get a little rest himself until Tony woke up.
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Ducky had called Jimmy with an update on Tony before he left the hospital, so when he returned to the Navy Yard he went straight to the director's office to let Vance know about Tony's condition. Afterwards, he went to the bullpen to bring Ziva and Tim up to date as well, telling them that they could visit Tony that evening if they wanted to. Tim offered to tell Abby but Ducky declined, saying that he would take care of it himself. In fact, he was looking forward to putting Miss Abigail Scuito in her place.
TBC