Gibbs was debating with himself as to whether or not he should call his father and ask him to come down to the hospital. Jack was at Gibbs' house looking after Tony and Abby while they continued to recover. Abby was going home that afternoon with her newly found brother, Kyle. He was going to take her to his house first and introduce her to his wife and pets. Abby was really excited and was counting down the time. Tony was going to be at Gibbs' house for another few days since it was closer to the hospital than his apartment was and it made it easier for Tony to go to appointments. McGee had been at his sister's house for almost a week now and was healing quite well. Dr Smith had told him the day before that he would be able to go back to work in three weeks instead of six on desk duty.
Gibbs was pulling out his phone to call Jack when Dr Smith came up to him. Gibbs looked up when he noticed the doctor and hoped that he was going to get some good news.
"Agent Gibbs, I'm sorry to tell you but it's not good news. Ziva has indeed relapsed. Her heart was under far too much stress and it couldn't cope any longer. She is stable, but we're going to have to go back to surgery and try to relieve as much of the pressure in her chest as possible."
"Do it. Please save her."
The doctor looked at Gibbs and saw that his eyes were full of anguish. He could see that the agent was sad and scared too.
"Of course. If we can relieve the pressure, then she'll be alright. But we do need to keep an eye on her even after she recovers."
Gibbs thanked the doctor for his trouble and then set off to find some coffee. He had decided to call his father and tell him what had happened, but he was exhausted and needed to keep himself awake first.
Jack walked into the hospital with Tony and they headed straight to the fifth floor for Tony's appointment. Jack was waiting for Gibbs to call him and tell him whether or not Ziva would be coming home that day. They had decided that they would keep in touch each day and fill each other in on what was going on. Jack was just about to head into the waiting room to wait for Tony when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and immediately answered.
"Leroy, it's about time. I was getting worried," said Jack.
"Ziva's relapsed dad. She's going back to surgery right now."
Jack could tell that his son was crying and he immediately wanted to comfort him.
"Leroy, I'll be done as soon as Tony's finished with his doctor. Do you want me to tell McGee and Abby?"
"No. They're both busy. I can tell them another day. I need to focus on Ziva dad, but what if she doesn't wake up this time?"
"Don't think like that son, she'll wake up. Ziva's tough. Just put Tony there and I'm sure that she'll be fine. She seems to respond to him more than anyone else."
"You're right. Thanks dad."
"Bye Leroy. I'll see you soon."
"Bye."
Jack closed his phone and sat down just as Tony came out with a smile on his face.
"What are you smiling about Tony?" asked Jack.
"I can go back to work tomorrow. That means I can go back to my apartment and you can stop looking after us. Well, at least until Ziva comes home anyway. Can we go see her?" asked Tony eagerly.
"No. Sorry Tony, but Ziva relapsed last night. She's back in surgery."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Come on, we'll go visit with Leroy for a while. Maybe Ziva will be back in her room soon."
Tony nodded and then followed Jack to the elevator. He was quiet all the way down to the first floor before he decided that he was going to find out how Ziva had gotten worse.
Gibbs stood up when his dad came into view. He couldn't see Tony, but his mind wouldn't let him worry until Ziva was well again. No matter how hard Gibbs tried to think of all the positive things that had happened, he couldn't shift his focus. Ziva was getting his undivided attention now matter what.
"Stay there Leroy," said Jack quietly.
"Where's Tony?" asked Gibbs.
"Talking to the nurse. He wants to know how Ziva relapsed."
Gibbs nodded his understanding and then put his head in his hands. He had called Vance and told him about Ziva. Vance had then told him that the guy responsible for the accident was in custody and that Metro PD was happy to let Gibbs interrogate him first. Gibbs had told Vance that he would do just that as soon as he had spoken with his father.
"Dad, the idiot that caused this crash is in custody. I'm going to interrogate him. Can you stay here and look after Ziva until I get back?" asked Gibbs.
"Sure. Tell him off for me," answered Jack.
"Tell him off for me too boss."
Gibbs turned around at the sound of his senior agent's voice.
"I will guys."
Gibbs left the two of them alone as he headed to the elevator.
