Gibbs paced the waiting room increasingly growing more aggravated and impatient. Ziva sat slouched with McGee on the uncomfortable waiting room seats; their shoulders pressing together as they dismally watched Gibbs wearing a trench in the vinyl hospital floor.
Gibbs had been examined in the two hours they had been waiting; he had been treated for minor burns on his arms and hands, smoke inhalation and a minor concussion from being hurled across the room.
McGee sat staring mindlessly at the peach colored walls in front of him, plastered with vibrant pictures of happy scenes, accompanied by inspirational quotes across the bottom. In the first ten minutes McGee had grown confident that he was now an expert on belief, attitude and ambition.
The team had tediously been over what had happened in minute detail a number of times. None of them could decipher much of the situation from the hospital waiting room, though none of them were prepared to leave without first hearing of Tony's condition.
Gibbs and Tony had entered the warehouse; Tony had branched off into the office on the far right alone, to turn off the alarm. Meanwhile Gibbs had started the search across the main storage room. Tony had called out urgently to Gibbs before the whole place had blown up, the source of the blow coming from the office Tony had been occupying.
The three of them looked up as the door to the waiting room was flung open, smashing the wall behind it. A tall, tear-stained Goth skidded in, immediately shuffling to the miserable looking three in the corner. She was closely followed by the grave-faced pathologist. Her platform shoes echoed boldly on the vinyl floor, Abby reached the small group but in her hurry skidded right passed them; she whipped around and backed up with a few small, fast steps, her arms flung out to her sides as she braced herself.
"I came as soon as I could, it was killing me on the inside having to finish all those tests when Tony was hurt, nobody would tell me how hurt so I just tried to keep up my positive thinking and I took extra special care of my Tony voodoo doll. It was my best work Gibbs, just for Tony. I managed to get some really interesting hits off the tea towel you gave me from the Milbroader case. But that doesn't matter now; the only thing that matters now is that Tony is okay, Tony is always okay. Oh my god, are you guys okay?" Abby managed all in one breath. She looked wild with her pale make up half rubbed off and dark mascara stains strewn down her face.
"Abby, sit down. We are all okay. We haven't heard anything yet but they said it shouldn't be too much longer." Tim reassured her, gesturing for her to take his seat on the washed-out hospital seat.
She looked at him with wide eyes before pulling him into a much needed hug.
"What if he's not okay?" She squeaked to Gibbs, staring at him over McGee's shoulder.
"Then he'll have me to answer to Abbs, come here." He replied. Abby pulled away from Tim and into Gibb's arms.
Ducky had marched off briskly on Gibb's instructions, hoping that his medical knowledge and title would get some information on their injured agent. The team lapsed into silence as they awaited nervously for news of their partner. Gibbs continued pacing; Ziva sat absently on the chairs next to McGee and Abby. Abby sobbed silently into Tim's shoulder.
A short while later Ducky reentered the waiting room following closely behind a solemn looking doctor. The crowd of four were instantly on their feet eager for any news.
"Hello, I am Dr Michael Davidson, Special Agent DiNozzo's doctor for the time being." Dr Davidson said, gripping a chart in both hands.
"Tony," Abby interjected, "Call him 'Tony'" The Doctor nodded at her, taking in Abby's appearance quickly before clearing his throat to begin.
"I am going to put this quite simply: Firstly, I want to re-assure that that Tony is in a stable condition and is currently in our ICU area.
"Tony has suffered second and third degree burns to his neck, face and arm. The burns were not severe enough to require any skin grafting, unfortunately there is a high possibility of scarring. He has also retained skull fracture.
There may be a chance of sensorineural hearing loss. While he is still unconscious we cannot yet perform any audiometric tests, though from what we have gathered from the scans we performed on arrival there is a possibility. This we won't know until he regains consciousness, and if it is the case, there is a chance it may only be temporary."
Abby moaned into Ducky's shoulder and Gibbs ran a hand through his silver hair.
"Can we see him?" Gibbs asked quietly.
"Only two at a time, the ICU has restricted visiting hours, though we expect to move him from there into a general ward when he wakes up."
Dr Davidson then bid them goodnight and left the waiting room to tend to his other patients. The group of five stood together.
"Is it bad Duck?" Gibbs asked
"I haven't yet seen Anthony, but from what I have been told it isn't the best case scenario, no." Duck replied evenly before turning to Abby. "Abigail why don't you and Jethro go in first, we'll wait out here."
Gibbs nodded in Ducky's direction before offering an unreadable expression to his two younger agents. He turned and followed Abby down the hallway and to Tony's room.
The last time Gibbs had seen Tony in a hospital bed it had been years before when he had come disturbingly close to dying from a bout of pneumonic plague. He still got shivers when he thought of those blue lights and could almost hear his agent's gasping breaths. The room in which he entered was eerily silent for one that his senior field agent occupied. The silence was broken by the steady beeping of a heart monitor and the whirring of a couple of machines DiNozzo was hooked up to.
Abby couldn't control her tears when she caught sight of one of her best friends lying motionless in the hospital bed. His arms were clad in thick bandages that wrangled their way up to his shoulders. His neck was plastered with patches that continued up and covered the left side of his face, a thick bandage wound its way around Tony's head.
Abby made her way over to Tony's face and unnecessarily neatened the sheets and pillow before pulling up a chair and resting her hand on Tony's. Gibbs remained standing awkwardly at the end of the bed, looking anywhere but the figure in the bed. He rested a hand on the cool metal bars that lined the foot of the bed before sending an apologetic look Abby's way, and shuffling out into the empty corridor. He had work to do, he was not going to stand around while the person that injured his agent got away.