A/N: I'm still not sure if I like this chapter, but it does work. Sort of. After 2 rewrites, I kinda gave up. F.

This time when he woke up, he felt more alert, more normal. He guessed the last of the sedatives they'd given him were finally wearing off. Clear thought was returning, which was relaxing. He may not always be able to express what he was thinking, but he'd always been able to think clearly. The chemical induced fuzziness wasn't to his taste. Neither was the constant falling asleep.

He slid his free hand up under his pillow, making sure the velvet box hasn't gone missing in this latest bout of sleep. He'd almost had a heart attack when Tony had told him he'd given his things to Abby. He'd thought for a moment that for once in his life, Tony hadn't pried into other people's things, and so hadn't seen the box. He never thought he'd be grateful for DiNozzo's nosiness, but in this instance, he was.

Now, what did he do with the ring? The old fashioned romantic in him told him to wait until he got out of this hospital, out of the many layers of bandages that was stopping him from moving, so he could get down on one knee and ask the scariest question a man could ever ask a woman. It was the same side of him that had led him to ask permission of both Abby's father and Gibbs.

The other side of him demanded that he do this now, tonight. Sure, it wouldn't be the most romantic of proposals, but it would be memorable. He wasn't given to acting on impulse, at least most of the time, but he had to admit that when it came to Abby, acting on impulse worked. Tony had called him crazy for it earlier, but it was what had made him ask her to move in with him so quickly. He was still occasionally shocked that she'd agreed.

Doubt was niggling at him again. He knew that Abby loved him; he had no doubt of that. But he knew that Abby had problems with commitment, even if they rarely showed these days. He sighed, brushing the doubts aside once more, telling himself that it was normal. The word 'no' probably haunted every man in this situation.

Back to his original problem. What did he do with the ring now? Part of him was annoyed that his plans had been destroyed. He'd waited seven years to do this, and he really wanted to do it once and once only. Why couldn't the universe cut him a break and let him do it his way?

The entrance of a nurse, coming to check his vital signs again, broke into his musing. They never told him what they were writing down on his chart, but he assumed it was good news by the way they kept taking machines away. It occurred to him that for the first time since he woken up, he was alone. Where was Abby? He hoped she was out getting food, or some much needed sleep. She'd dodged the question when he'd asked her before, but he got the distinct impression that she'd barely slept the night before.

He forced himself to focus on his question. If he was going to do this tonight, he had to make up his mind fast. He couldn't see a clock anywhere, but judging by the light coming through the window, it was edging towards late afternoon. He was running out of time.

...

Once Tim had faded back off to sleep, Tony and Ziva left his room quietly. Abby was waiting for them in the hallway

"He's asleep?" she asked in a hushed voice. At their nods, she sighed a little. "Come on" she insisted, linking arms with them and tugging them along with her. "I need some food"

They headed down a floor to the cafeteria, finding some edible looking food and a table to sit at. Despite her insistence that she was hungry, Abby merely picked at her food, looking troubled.

"He will be ok, Abs" Tony reassured her. She looked up quickly at that

"I know, Tony." Her voice was sad

"Abby"

"What if he wasn't, Tony? What if he'd died, the way Kate did? I don't know if I can do this on my own"

"Abby, Probie is the least likely of any of us to get hurt. This is the first time he's been badly hurt since he joined the team"

He studied her face as he spoke. Something was wrong, off. This wasn't just the panic of almost losing someone you loved; he'd felt that when Ziva was in Somalia. This was something else. A suspicion popped into his head

"Do what on your own?" Ziva asked

Cutting across her, Tony voiced his sudden thought

"Abby, are you pregnant?" he knew it was abrupt, but it had to be asked

She nodded slowly, looking a little scared

"Does McGee know?" he heard Ziva's question from beside him

Abby shook her head "I'd only just finished running the blood test when Ducky came and got me yesterday" she explained

"You need to tell him, Abs" Tony's voice was serious.

"I know, Tony. I just don't know how"

...

Abby went slowly back into Tim's room. Hopefully he was awake again now; Tony was right. She really needed to talk to him.

Seeing that he was awake and looking for her, she clambered on to the bed, lying beside him and resting her head on his good shoulder. Always able to read her mood, he gently tilted her head up, making her look at him

"Abs, what's wrong?"

The love and worry in his face brought tears to her eyes.

"I thought you'd been killed, Tim". He didn't reply, sensing that reassurances wasn't what she was looking for right now

"I know you have a dangerous job, and I've always worried when the team goes out in to the field. It's hard when you're stuck back at the office, you never know if you guys are all going to come back in one piece. But this was different, Tim. This is the first time that you've been hurt since we started dating. I don't know how to handle this" She turned her face into his chest, muffling her sobs against him

He stroked her hair, not knowing quite what to say.

"Abby, I can't promise that I'm always going to come back safely; you're right, I have a dangerous job. But I can promise you that I'm always going to try to be safe. I want to be able to come home with you every night, not wake up in hospitals"

"Tony said that you're the safest of the field agents"

He considered that for a second

"Yeah Abs, I probably am. I don't spend as much time out in the field as the rest of the team; Gibbs always has me working with you, or up in MTAC, or something like that" He paused. "I'm sorry I scared you, Abs"

She gave a watery sniff, sitting up again. "Hell of a way to spend our anniversary, Tim" she gave him a lopsided smile.

He nodded "I had dinner reservations... and something I wanted to ask you. This isn't the right place to do this, but" she was watching him with a quizzical expression on her face. He took a deep breath, pulled out the velvet box and said the scary words

"Abigail Scuito... will you marry me?"