Drowning

Thank you for all your lovely reviews! I'm sorry this has turned out to be quite a marathon. There are one or two chapters to go. I thought this might have been the last one, but my muse had other ideas. Enjoy!

Chapter 31

Waiting rooms sucked, Gibbs thought to himself as he tried to get more comfortable on the plastic chair, but it's a hell of a lot better than Dinozzo still being in that cold basement. Ducky had barely finished examining Tony when the EMT's had arrived. A few quiet words from the normally verbose ME had them hastily bundling Tony out of the basement and into the ambulance. A second team had taken the unconscious Brogan. As much as Gibbs had wanted to accompany Tony to the hospital, he had sent Ducky. He had stayed to make sure evidence was collected methodically and properly. He wanted there to be no loophole that Brogan could slip through when the case went to trial. McGee had taken the photographs and bagged and tagged. Ziva was given the task of taking Vay back to NCIS to make a full statement. Gibbs had told Ziva that the director could make the decision about Vay's immediate future as she had been the one to involve her in the first place. Gibbs wondered how that had gone down with Jenny – not that he cared. He had more important things to care about.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Gibbs looked up to see Ducky. As he went to stand up, his friend protested.

'No, no, Jethro. Sit down. I'll join you. I'm a bit weary myself,' said Ducky.

'What's happening?' Gibbs asked, the urgency in his voice clearly evident. He could not keep the image of Tony's blue-tinged lips out of his mind.

'It seems Anthony has developed a rather nasty case of pleural effusion,' said Ducky. 'It's likely that he had some pneumonia – probably the result of a viral infection – and then the infection spread to the membranes lining the chest wall. He now has fluid between the membranes.'

'He doesn't have the plague again?' asked Gibbs with trepidation. 'It sure as hell looked like it when we found him.'

'Jethro, he doesn't have the plague,' Ducky assured his friend. 'The bronchoscope confirmed the pleural effusion.'

'But what about the blue?' persisted Gibbs, pointing to his own mouth.

'When Anthony had the plague, he developed pneumonia,' Ducky explained. 'Pleurisy and pleural effusion are complications of pneumonia. The blue tinge is called cyanosis. It simply indicates lack of oxygenation. It rather reminds me of a young chap that I…..'

'Ducky!' snapped Gibbs. 'Is Tony going to be okay?'

'As long as he rests properly and takes the antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and painkillers, he will recover,' Ducky explained. 'He'll be in hospital for at least a week. But I heartily recommend once he's recovered that he receive the pneumonia vaccine that is available. The condition that he has is very uncomfortable.'

Gibbs heaved out a whole lot of air he hadn't been aware of holding and slumped back against the wall. Tony was alive and he was going to recover.

'He's sedated for now and will probably remain so for most of the night,' said Ducky, 'which is why I'm taking YOU home now so that you can get some rest.'

'I'll be staying here,' said Gibbs, but then he felt Ducky grab his arm sharply. He turned in his seat to see Ducky look sternly and critically at him.

'You will be coming home with me to rest,' said Ducky in a tone that brokered no argument. 'You are still recovering from a serious injury. Little wonder Anthony has been reckless with his health when his role model has been out gallivanting with a fresh bullet wound. No doubt you'll chew him out, as Anthony would say, about putting himself at risk, but they'll be a good deal of hypocrisy in your words if you do. The young man has you on a pedestal, Jethro. You can't expect him not to take the risks he knows you would.'

Gibbs stared back at his friend, and for a moment Ducky thought that his words had had no effect.

'Tony's gonna be out of it all night?' Gibbs asked.

'Completely, I promise you,' said Ducky. 'He's in a ward that's pretty much ICU. All going well, they'll put him in his own room in the morning.'

'Okay,' agreed Gibbs, suddenly acknowledging the fatigue in his body. 'You're driving.'

………………………………………..

Before he'd even opened his eyes, Tony knew that he was in a hospital room. The smell and the sounds gave it away. And the fact that he felt like crap. Opening his eyes, he realized that he was in a private room. His upper body was propped up with pillows to ease his breathing. He had a drip in his arm. He guessed that whatever was going into his body, there was some painkiller in there. His chest still ached, but there was nothing like the crushing pain he had felt the night before. Turning his head, he saw an empty chair. Swallowing, he felt disappointment wash over him and closed his eyes again. Dismissing the empty feeling, Tony thought back to the case. He had a vague memory of Brogan falling and then the arrival of the team. The team would be tying up the loose ends now. Everything had ended well. Dianne was back with her family and Brogan was going back behind bars. He was safely in the hospital. There wasn't any real need for any of them to be here with him.

'You could increase security,' his father's friend told him as he threw some more money into the middle of the table.

'What for?' asked his father, playing a card as Tony listened intently from his hiding place under the table.

'Three children under the age of ten in this neighborhood have been taken and held to ransom,' said the man. 'Are you not afraid that you will be the next target? It is no secret that you have great wealth.' Tony heard his father laugh and the sound of more money being thrown into the pot.

'Let them take him,' he said. 'They will not get a cent out of me. In fact, they'd be doing me a favour and saving me money in the long run.'

Tony drew his knees under his chin and tried to cover his ears. Fat tears began to course down his cheeks.

'You are joking,' persisted the friend. Tony saw his father's legs move, indicating that he was leaning forward in his seat.

'I never joke,' said his father, his voice cold and hard. 'I'll raise you ten. Enough talking.'

Tony shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memory. He brought his hand to his face and swiped at his eyes, just as the door opened.

'You're awake,' said the young nurse, stating the obvious, reminding him of another thing he hated about hospitals. 'Would you like a visitor?'

'Sure,' replied Tony. Anything to distract him. The nurse retreated and soon Gibbs was by his bedside and occupying the chair that had stood empty.

Gibbs looked Tony over critically. Satisfied that his agent was no longer on the brink of death, he delivered something of a lopsided grin that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

'You okay?' he asked.

Tony gave a snort and nodded towards the drip.

'So long as they're pumping me full of that stuff I guess I am,' he replied. Gibbs immediately noticed the weakness in his voice, and something else he couldn't quite place.

'What are you doing about Vay?' asked Tony, changing the subject.

'What do you think we should do about her?' asked Gibbs, curiously.

'We should cut her some slack,' Tony told him. 'Brogan blackmailed her into making NCIS go away. It's not her fault she's got a dodgy relative.'

The pair sat in silence as Gibbs regarded Tony. He had done a lot of thinking about what he needed to say to Tony. Ducky's words were still ringing in his ears. He wanted to do this right.

'How's your gunshot wound?' asked Tony, suddenly – throwing Gibbs off balance again.

'Better,' he replied. 'Ducky's making me take it easy now that we've found you.'

A slight smile played at the edges of Tony's mouth as he imagined Ducky giving Gibbs a stern lecture. The ME was just about the only one who could do that and expect to stay alive.

'Tony, why the hell didn't you go straight to the Partingtons?' asked Gibbs.

'Come on, Boss,' said Tony, in the weak voice that Gibbs decided he hated as much as the blue tinge that had almost completely disappeared. 'You definitely needed a change of clothes. I wanted to save you the bother. And besides, if I'd got there earlier, I would have scared off Brogan and then we might never have got Dianne back. I was kind of meant to get there when I did.'

'I hope you're not gonna say you were using your sixth sense,' growled Gibbs. He'd had enough of so-called psychics.

'Just my gut,' said Tony. 'I've learnt from the best.'

Gibbs lent forward and rested his elbows on the bed, bringing his face closer to Tony's. The younger man unsuccessfully attempted a flippant look, but he was still too unwell to direct energy into assuming and maintaining his usual mask.

'Why the hell are you so reckless with yourself?' Gibbs asked him. He spoke quietly, but his tone was serious and Tony knew he was demanding an answer. He managed to look his boss in the eye for a little while before redirecting his gaze to the bedspread.

'You tell me to leave you to drown in the river,' continued Gibbs when no answer was forthcoming. 'You dismiss any injuries you might have sustained when the car ran off the road. Damn it, you persuade a known criminal with a personal grudge against you to take you in place of someone you don't even know. I'm starting to think you have some kind of death wish.

Tony felt his face flush and coughed lightly before responding. He had heard Gibbs speak like this before. There was no way he was going to leave without getting some answers. But Tony wasn't sure what answer he was going to give him.