Ch 4

I Do Not Own NCIS

"Now let's see. Who do we have here? Which one of you is Timmy?" Tim cowered against Gibbs, sucking his thumb, his eyes locked on the nurse's every move. The nurse leaned closer, crouching down so she was level with his line of vision. She gently moved Tim's hair from his face and forehead, the smile in her eyes and the soft touch, easing his tension.

Breathing in deeply, Gibbs detected the scent of roses, creating a peaceful, content feeling in his chest that spread through his body. There was concern written all over her face, as she eyed the scratches and blood over Tim's body but still managed to muster a tender smile, for the frightened child.

"Hi, Tim. My name is Jenny. Is this your teddy bear or is this his?" Jenny pointed at Gibbs, her eyebrows raised; questioning. She gently, squeezed his toes through his cookie monster slippers, teasingly.

Tim smirked, shyly, keeping his thumb in his mouth. "Heesh...m-m-mine." Tim blushed, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oh? Does he have a name, sweetheart?"

Tim shrugged, "I dunno. I never axed'm."

Gibbs and Jenny smiled at each other. Jenny mouthed the words, "He's adorable," to Gibbs.

"Oh...he's not mine-"

Jenny referred back to her file. "Uh..oh. I'm sorry. I haven't completely read your chart yet. It's just that the way that he is so attached to you-"

"I found him wandering the streets."

"Alone?" Jenny's face showed alarm, her smile fading quickly. "I'm sorry, no one brought me up to speed. I just got off my break." Jenny referred to her clipboard, flipping pages. "Oh, okay. I understand now. Oh my. It says here you saved him from a moving car-"

"It was just pure luck that I found him when I did. There was no way the driver would have seen him."

Jenny crossed her arms, tilting her head in admiration towards the man sitting in front of her. "And humble, too," she whispered, winking at him.

Now, it was Gibbs' turn to blush.

"So, Gibbs, is it?"

Gibbs cleared his throat, sitting straighter in his chair. "Special Agent Gibbs, I'm an NCIS Federal Agent."

"Oh, excuse me, Special Agent Gibbs." Jenny cleared her throat, producing an expression of seriousness by straightening her neck and piercing her lips. "Now, when you saved him from the car, would that explain the dried blood here, see? On Tim's forehead?"

"I noticed that after we jumped from the car, and we landed on the sidewalk but it was dried then, too. He did not come in contact with anything. He was nestled securely in my arms."

Gibbs noticed that Jenny was gazing into his eyes as he explained what had happened. He felt his heart rate exhilarate, while wiping his sweaty palms down his thighs.

Jenny cleared her throat, again then brought her attention back to Tim. "Does your head hurt, honey?" Tim shrugged.

"I was off duty when I spotted him. You can tell by looking at him there are signs of neglect besides the fact he was all alone on a busy street."
"Yes. One of first priorities is to get this little guy cleaned up." Jenny made eye contact with Tim, ruffling his hair. "But, first I need to take Tim's vitals before the doctor sees him." Tim squirmed in Gibbs' lap, looking to him for reassurance, his appearance, frightened and agitated.

"Oh, honey. It's okay. I'm just going to take your temperature-" Tim buried his face in Gibbs' shirt, clutching it, trying to burrow for safety.

"But first..." Jenny waited till she received Tim's attention. "Gibbs will have his temperature taken. Okay? You can watch." Tim peeked, now curious.

Jenny inserted a thermometer gauge in Gibbs' ear as Tim looked closer at the object.

"Hey. I did dat b'fore."

"It doesn't hurt, right?"
Tim shook his head, "Nope."

Jenny addressed Gibbs. "Your temperature is fine, young man, thank you for your patience."

"No. Thank you, nurse Jenny." Jenny playfully crossed her eyes at Gibbs peeking her tongue out through beautiful, plump, red lips. They held each other's gaze a little longer than necessary.

"Are you ready now, Tim?" Tim was skeptical then looked at both their faces. He nodded then sat back against Gibbs' chest, straightening his back with confidence.

"Tim, I'm so proud of you, you are a very brave boy." Jenny wrote down the reading then got a couple of blood pressure cuffs from a shelf, one bigger than the other.

Gibbs undid the button on his cuff then rolled up his sleeve.

"Okay, now time for your blood pressure readings, Special Agent Gibbs, if you may." Gibbs extended his arm then Jenny wrapped the cuff around it, pushing his shirt sleeve up higher. "You know, I didn't ask you if you were injured helping Tim out."

"Now that you mention it, I did bump my head on the sidewalk when we landed."

She gasped. "You did? You should have told me that, Special Agent Gibbs-"

"Jethro is fine."

"So, now it's Jethro?"

"I figure since we are going to be working closely in helping this little guy out and making sure he is okay we should maybe, bring it to a more personal level."

"Oh, you do?"

Jenny placed a stethoscope on Gibbs' arm listening.

"And, if..." Gibbs started.

"Shhhhh." Jenny's face was serious.

Gibbs locked his lips tightly, smirking at Tim, slightly embarrassed. Tim put his finger on his closed lips. "Ssshhh, Gibb." Jenny winked at the tot.

"It is a bit elevated, Jethro, but I can understand why. Now, show me where you bumped your head."

Gibbs felt around the back of his head, grimacing once he found the area. She placed her fingers over his as he felt a strong zing race through his veins. He would be surprised if she hadn't felt a jolt of energy from his skin to hers.

She looked closer, with a quick gasp. "That is a big bump, but... no blood. You're very lucky, Jethro." Jenny squeezed an ice pack then placed it on Gibbs' head. Gibbs placed his hand over hers, smiling to himself.

"Okay, now Timmy we are going to check your blood pressure, okay, sweetie?"

"Yus."

"Now just sit still, sweetheart and we'll be done in a minute." Jenny rolled up Tim's sleeve then pumped air into the meter, listening with the stethoscope for the thumps to indicate his reading. Tim placed his finger over his closed lips. "Ssshhh," looking at Gibbs. Gibbs chuckled, pulling Tim's head close, kissing it.

The doctor stepped into the room, quickly gaining their attention with his loud, boisterous voice. "So, this is the famous, Timmy I've heard so much about. Hhhmmmm. Thought you'd be taller." The doctor rubbed Tim's back.

Jenny stood behind the doctor rolling her eyes. "Dr. Dillinger. This is Tim and this is Special Agent Gibbs from NCIS. And I will agree with you doctor. They have quite a story."

The doctor pulled something from behind his back presenting it to Tim as the little boy's eyes widened, excitedly accepting the item from the doctor's hands. "Hey, dat's mine!" Gibbs smiled to see it was the toy that Tim and Gibbs almost lost their lives over; an action figure resembling many of Tony's toys at home.

"Hey, doc. How did you get a hold of that?" asked Gibbs.

"An older woman by the name of Betsy stopped by and said it belonged to 'that sweet, little baby boy who almost got hit by a car but was saved by that kindly, young gentleman with the beautiful blue eyes.' Dr. Dillinger sarcastically blinked his eyes. Gibbs smirked, shyly. "She thought it would make him happy to have it back."

"Well, she was right." piped in Jenny. "Look at that smile." Gibbs caught the sight of tears welling in Jenny's eyes as she watched Tim's mood perk up. He thought this would have been a good time to give her a hug if he had known her better.

"Okay, what I need from you, Tim is to hop up on the table. Can you do that for me, big guy?"

Gibbs stood with Tim, placing him on the table then sitting next to him. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving."

"We just have to remove your shirt, Timster, to listen to your heart."

"Do'm first." Tim pointed to Gibbs.

"How about Jenny and I check you both at the same time?" Jenny walked next to Gibbs, sneaking her stethoscope into the unbuttoned, opening of his shirt. While Tim was distracted Gibbs spoke to Jenny quietly.

"So, how is he so far?"

"Well, there are indications that he is dehydrated and there are signs of physical abuse. He may need a couple of stitches where he hit his head. We'll know more once the doctor does a thorough exam but he may need to stay overnight. I have called a social worker to come in."

"Now, is there a way I could take him in as foster care?"
Jenny did a doubletake. "Well, that would be something that would be discussed with the social worker. Have you had experience in this area?"

"I have an adopted son at home."

Jenny gave Gibbs a nod of admiration. "Impressive."

"The thing is, I've grown fond of Tim and I promised him I would stay with him. Now, I'm starting to realize what that, now entails."

"Well, they still need to ID him and then search for any blood relatives that would agree to take him in."

"I know how I could get this moving quicker. I need to make a call but cell phones aren't allowed-" Gibbs nodded towards the hall.

"Sure. Use the hospital phone at the nurse's station so you can remain in Tim's sight. That would be fine."

"I have a friend who is an FBI agent. He may have heard something about Tim's family."

"Tim could be a witness in a crime?" Jenny understood the possible dire situation this little boy may have been involved in as soon as the words left her lips.
"Yes."

"Well, go ahead. And, if anyone asks, tell them I said it was okay. Just remember to dial-"

"Nine first?"

"Right."

Gibbs was grateful there was a phone located just across the hall in view of Tim. At first Tim whined reaching for Gibbs but once Gibbs explained that he would stay near, he reluctantly quieted down. Gibbs was grateful for Jenny's help by reassuring and comforting him. They were now preparing him for a sponge bath as they partially closed the curtain but leaving it open enough so he could keep Gibbs in his view.

Gibbs dialed Fornell's number. "Tobias."

"Gibbs, why are you calling from the hospital?"

"I'm in the emergency room-"
"Are you okay?"
"Don't go getting all teary-eyed on me now. I'm fine. This has to do with a case. Have there been any crime scenes in the southeastern Anacostia area lately?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm at one now. Whattchya got?"

"I found a toddler; a boy, wandering down Bishop Street."
"Alone?"

"Yu...huh."

"Son of a bitch. I'm with the local police. We're in a multi-family home, one street over from there. Caucasian female; found dead of apparent drug overdose."

Gibbs sighed, almost falling into a chair as he scrubbed his face. "Dammit, Tobias. Did you ID her, yet?"

"Uh, Williams. Patrica Williams. She's just a kid."

"Tim talked of a Steve. Probably a boyfriend..?"

"Tim, uh, yes. That's the name the neighbors had for the boy. Apparently Miss Williams was a single mom. Come and go boyfriend. Neighbors said they usually fought, could get ugly at times. They suspected he may have been abusing the kid-"
"It comes out now?!"
"Hey, don't kill the messenger."

"Yeah, Tobias. I know. Meet me here. I can't leave him." Gibbs hung up the phone not waiting for an answer.

He walked back into the room just as Jenny was putting a clean gown over Tim's head, his arms raised up to help her along. His face was now clean and some scratches were bandaged. Gibbs was amazed at what a little soap and water did for the boy. "Gibb!" Tim smiled, his arms raised in a 'v' position, happy Gibbs was close by, again. Gibbs gave Jenny a concerned look telling her he knew something more about Tim's situation, then rubbed Tim's knee. "You did good, Tim." Gibbs could see a butterfly bandage had been applied to the cut on his forehead. The doctor was standing by Gibbs' side referring to Tim's medical chart.

Jenny touched Gibbs' arm. "The doctor thinks inserting an IV could be too traumatic for Tim at this time, so if you would like to take a seat we will prepare a bottle and you can hold him, but that is purely up-"
"Oh, of course." Gibbs was already picking Tim up, cradling him in his arms.

"Are you thirsty, Timmy." Tim nodded as he yawned, rubbing his eyes. Jenny handed Gibbs the bottle. "Is this that Pedialyte...stuff?"

Jenny chuckled, "Yes, it is."

Jenny crouched next to the seat as they both watched Tim take the bottle, holding it as he drank.

"Probably too old to be drinking from a bottle." suggested Gibbs.

Jenny wiped the hair form Tim's forehead. "That's okay, poor little guy, after all he's been through."

"As soon as he wakes he needs to eat. His stomach has been growling."

Jenny nodded. "Of course."

Tim's eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep.

"You found out some information on Tim, didn't you?"

Gibbs couldn't meet Jenny's eyes, as he watched Tim fall asleep. "Yes, I did. And it's not good."