Ziva quickly made her way down the hall to the room Abby told her McGee was currently in. When the forensic goth had come to Gibbs' room to find Ducky and mentioned something about Tony being brought in to the ER, they were gone too quickly for Ziva to have asked what had happened. So she needed answers from the one person who'd know.

The door was open, and she could see him before she entered the room. He was hunched over in a chair, his head in his hands. He was very still, but as she approached, she could tell that he was shaking. Why he'd been left alone, she was unsure.

"McGee?" She crouched down in front of him, concerned now not only for Tony.

"Ziva?" His voice cracked as he picked his head up and met her eyes. His were red-rimmed and glassy, tears streaking his paled cheeks. "I...I thought you were in California?" He sniffed.

She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "I stayed. I was going to spend Christmas with my family, here. With all of you." Her eyes shifted for a moment. "Then I received a call about Gibbs...and now there is something wrong with Tony... I stayed here because I didn't want him to be alone," She met his eyes again. His suddenly refilled with anguish. "McGee, tell me what happened." She put a hand on his cheek and tried to swipe away some of the tears with her thumb.

"I don't know," he let out a choked sob and then tried his best to compose himself. "I...I was worried about him. What happened to Gibbs really messed him up, ya know? I mean, it's understandable. But apparently Tony overheard a conversation Ducky was having with one of Gibbs' doctors who seemed to have a very pessimistic opinion about his recovery. I think...I think Tony believes that Gibbs, for certain, isn't gonna wake up. He thinks he's already lost him."

"I do not understand," she said as she shook her head.

"I took him to Gibbs' house so he could get some sleep," he continued. "From the time I dropped him off, I felt like something was really wrong. I needed to check on him. By the time I got back to Gibbs' place, Tony was gone."

"Gone?"

"He'd been drinking," he explained. "Nearly an entire bottle of bourbon was gone. And he called a cab to take him to his apartment."

"I thought he did not want to go back there?"

"Apparently there was something there that he needed." Fresh tears fell, and his voice was pinched. "By the time I got there..." He shrugged out of her grasp and hid his face in his hands again.

"McGee, what is it?" she insisted. "What did you see?"

"There were sleeping pills," he said, barely audible. Ziva's breath quickened against the pounding of her heart. Tim looked back up at her. "I don't know how many he took. There were a lot on the floor. But when I found him, he was barely breathing..."

Ziva wasn't sure how to process this news. Her eyes darted back and forth between Tim's. "What?" came out as a whisper.

"I don't know what to think, Ziva," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know what to think about any of it. Tony wouldn't do that...he wouldn't. Not like that. He wouldn't try and kill himself...would he?"

Ziva shook her head instinctively. "I do not know. I don't think so..."

"He wanted to sleep," he told her. "He was so tired, and with everything that's happened... God I shouldn't have left him by himself. He was a mess. He wasn't thinking straight. He was exhausted, that's all...He just wanted to sleep. He couldn't have meant for this to happen. We can't let them think that. We have to do something, Ziva."

"We will first make sure that he is all right," she told him, then found herself leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. Perhaps it was because he was so distraught over what he'd seen; how he'd discovered their friend. Maybe, though, it was because he was so willing to defend his honor, no matter what.

He accepted the embrace and found himself clinging to her.

"Then, we will go and investigate the scene; discover what might have happened," she finished. And she felt him nod.

"Thank you," he said in a whisper.

11 00 11 00 11

"Anthony is stable," Ducky told Abby and Jackson. "As far as what happened, Timothy has asked that the information be kept confidential until he and Ziva can conduct a proper investigation into the matter."

"Investigation?" Jackson furrowed a brow. "Was he attacked?"

Ducky shook his head. "No. I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that."

"Well, what part of him is hurt, Ducky?" Abby asked. "Can we see him?"

"Now, Abigail, this isn't a game of twenty questions. I can't reveal what's wrong without giving reason for stipulations into the matter. I suggest we wait until the remaining agents on Jethro's team find...whatever it is they need to find."

"Concerning what, Dr. Mallard?" Vance's voice sounded from the doorway to Gibbs' room.

The three of them looked over at him. "Director," Ducky greeted... Oh my...

Tbc...