Author's note: My medical knowledge is patchy at best guys, so please ignore any errors I may have made
The ride from the Navy Yard to Bethesda was mercifully short. It was the first time McGee had been in an ambulance, at least as a passenger not a patient anyway, and he was surprised at how rough it was. He had to cling to one of the overhead bars to stop himself from getting in the way. The EMTs constantly worked on Abby, checking her breathing, her pulse, her blood pressure and making sure the bleeding from her leg had finally stopped.
They pulled up in the ambulance bay in front of the emergency room. Immediately, the EMTs had the gurney out of the ambulance and rolling at high speed into the building. He trailed in their wake, listening as the paramedics fired descriptions and vital signs to the ER team
"Female, mid to late 20's, compound fracture of the lower left leg, possible multiple internal injuries. 911 call said she wasn't breathing, resuscitated before we got there, decreased breath sounds on the left. We scooped and ran"
"Has she regained consciousness?"
"No. Pulse is 120 and erratic"
"Ok, we'll take it from here"
They wheeled her into a room, one of the nurses stopping him from following
"You can't come in here, sir"
"I came in with her... how is she?"
"We'll do everything we can. If you wait here, someone will come out in a few minutes and let you know what's happening" with that, she turned and entered the room.
"Timothy!" he heard his name called and turned, seeing Ducky hurrying towards him "How's Abigail?"
"They're working on her Ducky, they said if we wait here someone will tell us what's happening" he paused for a moment, watching the medical team work on Abby. "Please God, let her be ok"
They lost track of time as they stood waiting for an update from the medical staff; it seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes before one of the doctors came up to them
"Are you here for Ms. Scuito?"
"Yes, we are" McGee answered "What's wrong with her?"
"Are you her husband, sir?"
"No, just a friend. Special Agent Timothy McGee" he flashed his badge "And this is Dr. Mallard"
"Ok. Ms. Scuito has multiple broken ribs, one of which punctured her lung, creating what's called a tension pnuemothorax- a collapsed lung. She also has internal bleeding, and a compound fracture of her left leg. We're about to send her up to the OR for emergency surgery, to re-inflate her lung and repair the internal bleeding. The 911 call said she wasn't breathing; do either of you know how long for?"
McGee shook his head "No, she wasn't breathing when I found her. It took me probably 2, maybe 3 minutes to get her to breathe on her own, but I don't know how long she was lying there for" his voice cracked at the memory.
"Oh, you called it in? Well, you did the right thing, Agent McGee. If you hadn't given her mouth to mouth when you did, she wouldn't have made it this far"
McGee just nodded, caring more about how far she was going to make it
"Doctor, how long is Abigail going to be in surgery for?" Ducky asked
"It depends on the amount of damage, Dr. Mallard, but several hours. Look, I've got to go now. One of the staff will show you where you can wait, ok?"
He turned and called for someone over his shoulder. Quickly an orderly came up to them and led them upstairs to the OR waiting room
"You can wait here, there's tea and coffee down the hall. One of the surgical staff will let you know when they have news"
Left alone in the waiting room, McGee and Ducky sat in the uncomfortable chairs. McGee pulled out his cell phone to call Gibbs, before noticing the sign that read "No Cell Phones, Please". He looked around for a public phone, spotting one on the wall opposite the doors to the OR. He used it to call Gibbs, dialling the number from memory.
"Yeah, Gibbs"
"Boss, its McGee"
"McGee! How is she?"
"Not good, Boss. She's in surgery now; they said she has a collapsed lung and internal bleeding"
"How long?"
"They don't know Boss, they said it depends on how bad the bleeding is" he heard his voice crack on the last word and cleared his throat, fighting back tears "Any idea how she ended up out there?"
"Tony and Ziva found glass and tire tracks. Looks like a hit and run"
McGee clenched his jaw, feeling rage build up in him at Gibbs' words "You mean someone hit her and just left her there to die?"
"Yeah, McGee. We're waiting on a tech from Fornell to come pick up the evidence-"
McGee cut him off
"I'll do it, Boss"
"Excuse me?"
"I'll do it. I'll come back and run the tests. I want to catch the bastard that did this to her" his voice shook with anger
"Ok, but leave Ducky there; I want word as soon as he's got any"
"Got it, Boss". He handed the phone to Ducky and left.
"Jethro, are you still there?"
"Yeah, Duck, what's up?"
"You need to go easy on that young man today, Gibbs" there was silence from the other end of the line "Jethro, you know as well as I do the depths of Timothy's feelings for Abby. He's not thinking clearly"
He heard Gibbs sigh. While McGee never spoke of it, his love for Abby was an open secret amongst the team.
"I need him, Duck, for now anyway. I'll send him back out there as soon as I can"