Silently, the two men followed along as McGee was moved to a private room on the third floor. Gibbs was sure that 'Mom' had pulled a few strings to achieve that, but he wasn't going to argue. Once they arrived on the third floor, they were pointed to the lounge where the rest of the 'family' was waiting, minus Major Harrison who had finally returned to base. Still too stunned to complain, they followed the duty nurse who insisted on escorting them in. Once inside she held up her hands to stop the questions.

"We've given him a strong sedative and he's not going to wake up until morning. We are getting him settled into bed right now and then family can come in for just a minute, starting with Mom. After that, I'd suggest that everyone go home and get a good night's rest." She turned to the older brother, deciding he was the best to answer her question. "Besides your parents, who is here from the family?"

DiNozzo was definitely a bit loopy by this point, not that anyone could tell the difference between that and his normal state of being. He took a deep breath and began the introductions. "This is our half-sister, Abby, we share the same Dad. That's our half-sister, Ziva, from Mom's side of the family. Over there is Gramps." With an amused expression, Ducky gave a wave to the nurse. "Next to him is our cousin, Jimmy."

The nurse looked around at the group, ready to question, then decided she really didn't want to know. As she hid her smile, she escorted Jenny to wish her son goodnight.

_____________________

Jenny Shepard had been a good field agent, and an even better undercover operative. Entering the darkened hospital room she prepared to put on the persona of the worried mother. Once inside, she found the worried director persona was quite enough.

"Oh, Tim." She ran her hand across his hair studying the bruises that marred his face. His quick mind was such an asset to NCIS, one that she always assumed would be there, ready to assist, shrugging off the jokes and teasing that came from his more physical and aggressive counterparts. Just how close had they come to losing him to the rocks in the cave-in, never mind how close they came to losing him before they ever got a chance to know him was something she wasn't ready to think about. Underneath her hand he shivered and she turned to the nurse checking his chart. "Could we get another blanket?" Somehow, helping tuck the flannel around his still form made her feel better.

A silent decision sent Abby in next. She couldn't find a way to hug him the way she wanted, so she settled for gently laying her cheek on his forehead. "Wow, he's really warm. Can we get rid of this extra blanket?" The nurse smiled and helped Abby fold the blanket down to the foot of the bed.

Ziva was next to enter the small room. She pulled the chair next to the bed and sat down, leaning her crutches against the wall. She watched him sleep as she ran her fingertips over the bed rail. Eventually she leaned forward, resting her face on the rail as she spoke. "You know how much I hate hospitals, Timothy. We need you better so we can take you home and Tony can tease you and I can fix all your favorite foods." She realized that she had no idea what McGee's favorites were. He was polite enough that he would never admit he didn't like any homemade treat that made it into work. She would have to figure it out for herself. Pleased to have a plan, she palmed the side of his face as she stood. His face felt cool to her hand, so she turned to the nurse. "He seems a bit chilled; would you help me with this blanket?"

Ducky and Palmer visited together, grilling the nursing staff as to the care his 'grandson' would be receiving. While they were in the room, Ziva watched Tony. Concerned, she moved closer. "Are you all right?" She stood in front of him; he stared off into space over the top of her head. When she repeated her question he finally gave a short, jerky negative shake of his head. Before she could press him further, Jimmy and Ducky returned to the waiting area and Gibbs herded the entire group down the elevator and outside.

__________________

Dawn was a few precious hours away as the group clustered together in the parking lot, as Gibbs gave them orders. "Ducky, I want you and Abby to identify the suspect. The body should be there by 06-hundred." They both were eager to get started and Ducky immediately got out his phone, checking to see if the body had arrived ahead of schedule. Knowing that they had it well in hand, he moved on.

"Ziva, as soon as they have an identity, start connecting him to Maycap." The Israeli was pleased but had a question. "What about Evans?" Realizing she had not mentioned him to anyone else, she hurried on. "Marty Evans was the lead investigator of the original case. McGee has kept in touch with him over the years."

"Not tonight, we'll worry about him later." Dismissing the retired agent from his mind, Gibbs went on to assign the mast important task. "Tony, find the grandfather, make sure he's dead."

"You got it, Boss." The steel in DiNozzo's voice instantly set off alarm in the rest of the team.

Jenny raised an eyebrow as she turned to Gibbs. "Why does he need to be dead?"

For the first time since the call came in, Gibbs allowed his anger to show. "Because I don't have time right now to kill that son of a bitch myself." He turned and began to move back to the hospital entrance. "Meet back here at 09-hundred – that's when visiting hours start, and Jenny, don't call his parents yet. Wait 'til I'm there. "

"Jethro, where are you going?" Ducky had planned on giving his old friend a ride home.

Gibbs didn't even turn as he answered. "Staying here. 09-hundred, sharp people."

Once he was out of earshot, Jenny turned to DiNozzo. "Why doesn't he want me to call Tim's family, and what's the deal about the Grandfather?"

Tony didn't even attempt to mask the bitterness in his voice. "His grandfather told him that he should have been the one that died." In the shocked silence he continued. "I think the Boss wants to hear his parent's reaction himself to know if they believe it too."

__________________

After conning a cup of coffee from the woman at the nurses' station, Gibbs quietly entered McGee's hospital room. He settled into the lone chair in the room and watched the restless sleep that trapped the young man. Eventually he stood up and leaned over the bed. "Hey, kiddo, let's get rid of this extra blanket." He didn't have a clue why the nurse walking down the hallway started laughing.