Chapter 13

"So I was right?" Abby asked delightedly.

"Yeah, you were right," Tony said. Talking with Ducky had given him some equilibrium about what had happened, meaning that he could talk about Tim's partial recovery as a good thing without dwelling on how far Tim had to go. "He's not all the way back yet, but it looks like Jethro pulled him back a little bit."

"That's great! I knew Jethro would help!" Abby said. "I'll have to go and visit after work, see how he's doing. Will his parents be there?"

"Probably, but that doesn't mean you can't be there, too."

"You're right. I'm so glad that Tim is doing better!"

Abby was nearly dancing back to the elevator, but then, she'd always been more accepting of how Tim had changed. Even if Tony had pointed out that Tim was having trouble still, she would have been happy to be right and happy to have Tim back at all. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Ziva looked at Tony.

"There is something wrong?"

"Like I said, he's not all the way back yet," Tony said and looked at his monitor, hoping that Ziva would accept that.

Fat chance.

"You seem bothered."

"I do?"

Ziva furrowed her brow.

"What is it, Tony?"

Tony sighed.

"Tim woke up, but he could barely speak a sentence without freaking out. I'll admit it...I hated seeing him like that. It was better than nothing...but not much more than that."

Ziva sat back and nodded.

"I see. He has a long way to go."

"Yeah."

"I will take that, Tony. Anything is much better than nothing."

"Yeah. I just don't want to see him stuck this way. It was bad enough the first time."

Ziva stood up and walked over to Tony. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"You will not. He will get better."

"I hope so."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Fornell called ahead to see if they could run down Russell. No matter how much there was to this, they did need to talk to him. Fornell had to admit that he was a little bit skeptical about Tim's accusation. It was clear that Tim was unstable at best right now. It was unfortunate, but it had to be acknowledged.

...and the reason for Tim's current instability had to be acknowledged as well which was shameful. Although it galled him, it was obvious that Wheeler and Blair were the cause. They had abducted Tim and the assault on the safehouse (whoever it had been) had disconnected his brain. It was wrong. It was terrible, and while he wanted justice for the murders, they had really brought it on themselves.

Sacks called him back before he got to the office.

"Fornell?"

"Yeah?"

"No sign of him here, and he didn't come in this morning at all."

That pulled Fornell up short. It was the middle of a work day. Russell should be at work either at the office or out in the field somewhere.

"Does he have a case going?"

"Only the Allen case. He's been the lead on that since day one."

And he would be perfectly placed to know when progress was made since he was in charge. If Blair and Wheeler had really been trying to make themselves seem better than they were...and if it really was about the Allen case, then, they would have contacted him if they'd got anything out of Tim...and essentially, signed their own death warrants...which meant, if they had called him and been killed for it, Tim had found something.

"When was the last time he was there?"

"I don't know."

"Find out, Sacks. By the time I get back, I want to know what Russell was doing."

"Why?"

"Because Agent McGee said that he was the one who killed Wheeler and Blair."

There was a significant silence. Fornell understood since it was the same thing he'd been thinking.

"We've had an accusation, Sacks. We're taking it seriously."

"Understood."

"Good...because if McGee is right, then, Russell is not only a murderer, he's also Allen's smuggler."

Fornell hung up and continued on his way, his mind working through all the possibilities. He didn't want to think that it was possible, but it didn't help that Russell was singularly unlikeable and always had been. He could easily believe that Russell was guilty of something, even if he didn't want to believe that Tim was right.

But Russell was also an experienced FBI agent. If he'd somehow clued into the possibility of being arrested, he would know exactly how to avoid being caught.

This was not the way he would have chosen to have this case end. If it was what it looked like right now, then, there was one agent who was a murderer and smuggler. The other two agents were kidnappers and had paid for that with their lives.

If Russell was the bad guy, then, they needed to find him and arrest him...before he could get away with murder...or decide to eliminate the witness who had got away.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim woke up again. He had slept, but he had awakened.

Before he could start to panic about not knowing what was going on, about being alone, about falling off the world, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tim?"

"Mom," he whispered.

"That's right. You're safe."

"There were guns, Mom," he whispered.

The hand became arms around him...and a familiar scent.

"You're safe, Tim. No guns here. You're safe!"

"Abby."

"Yeah! I'm so glad you're back with us, Tim."

"It was..." Then, he didn't know what he was saying and he stopped talking.

"Don't worry. Jethro is just doing his business. He'll be back soon."

"Open your eyes, Tim."

"I'm afraid."

"I know. Do it anyway."

Tim found that he could smile at how his mother was talking to him. It gave him the courage to open his eyes. Abby was very close to him, hugging him. His parents were sitting beside his bed.

In the hospital, Tim remembered. He was in the hospital, but he hadn't been hurt, had he?

No.

He took a breath and tried to think.

"Gibbs was here," he said softly.

"Yes, he was. He stayed until we got here."

"And Tony before him."

"You haven't been alone, Tim," his father said. "Not once since they brought you here."

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling?" Abby asked.

"Afraid," Tim said. "But...it's not...not as bad as it was. Why not?"

"You're just thinking more, Tim," his mom said. "It's a good thing."

"Is it?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"So...I have to keep thinking?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. You do, but you would anyway."

The door opened and Tim tensed, looking toward it in fear...but it was Tony with Jethro. He smiled.

"Hey, awake again, huh, Probie?" Tony asked.

Tim smiled at him and then smiled even more widely at Jethro as he tugged on his leash until Tony let him off it. The German shepherd jumped up on the bed and began licking Tim's face again.

"Ziva was going to come tonight, but she started feeling sick. I warned her about that Chinese place by the Metro, but she wouldn't listen. So you're stuck with me again."

"Stuck with you?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. It's evening and you're parents are getting time off."

Tim nodded, but he knew that there was more to it than that. Still, he was feeling a bit more settled than he had been the last time, and he was okay with just accepting what Tony said if it meant that he didn't start falling off the world again.

Abby hadn't let him go yet, but he liked the feeling. It was so secure that he felt that he could keep smiling.

"I'm glad to see you smiling," Abby said. "It's a lot better than you were."

"Thanks, Abby."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony was a little envious of how easily Abby accepted the way Tim was. When he came into the room, Abby was just hugging him and she looked as thrilled to see him the way he was right now as she was to see him when he was normal.

But even Tony could admit that Tim was a lot better than he had been just that morning. It was like the first shock of getting back had pushed him onward at an accelerating rate. It made Tony feel a lot better than he had before.

For the rest of the evening, Abby sat with Tim's parents while Tony checked out the security of the hospital. He talked with the guards about Agent Russell. He also talked to the nurses on duty. He showed them a picture of Agent Russell and let them know that he should not be admitted for any reason and that they should call NCIS or the FBI if he showed up. Fornell had seemed skeptical about Agent Russell coming to the hospital if he'd already clued in to their suspicions. It would make more sense if he simply cut his losses and made a run for it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

By the time Tim's parents headed to their hotel for the night, Tim seemed almost relaxed. Not quite, but almost.

Tony settled on the chair beside Tim. Jethro was back in his position on the bed, his head on Tim's chest.

Tim had been drowsing, but then, he suddenly sat up and looked around, his eyes wide open. He was afraid until his eyes fell on Tony. Then, after a few seconds, he leaned back and relaxed a little.

"You're here still."

"Yeah. All night."

"Why?"

"We said we wouldn't leave you alone. As long as you need someone here, someone will be here."

"You don't like it, though," Tim said.

That was familiar. Tim staring at him with that evaluating expression, staring into his soul, it seemed sometimes. It was almost a relief to have Tim acting that way.

"I like it better than what you were like before," Tony said, hoping that would be enough, but he was relieved that Tim wasn't pursuing the extra reason why there was someone sitting in his room, and a security guard patrolling the halls on the lookout for Russell.

"But you still don't like it," Tim said.

"No, I don't," Tony said, deciding to be honest. "But you're getting better, Tim, and that's a good thing. I'm really glad that you're starting to get better now. I never thought it'd happen so fast based on this morning."

Tim nodded slowly. He tensed and breathed heavily for a moment. His eyes closed. Tony felt awful for reminding Tim of how he'd been feeling earlier that day. Jethro sat up and whined and licked Tim's face. After a few minutes, though, Tim relaxed a little.

"No guns," he whispered.

"No," Tony said.

Tim nodded again.

"I'm sorry," Tony said. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay."

Tim's eyes opened again.

"It's hard to think right. Mom says it'll get better."

"It already has," Tony said.

"Yeah." Tim yawned and looked at Tony. "Thanks for being here when you don't want to be."

Tony smiled. "My pleasure, Tim."

Tim smiled back and then closed his eyes.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

There was a thump.

There was a growl.

The comforting weight vanished.

Another thump and a whine.

Tim opened his eyes and breathed heavily.

A gun.

Pointed right at his head.

"I understand that you don't like guns much anymore, Agent McGee," Agent Russell said. "Don't worry. You won't have to be afraid for long."