Tim's POV
Hospital. Washington D.C
I'm not one hundred percent sure that I trust Abby. I loved her, but she turned her back on me. Why would she do that to me? Every single day, she'd tell me how much she loved me. Was it a lie, or was she just, I don't know, confused or… I don't know.
The day that I proposed was one of the best days of my life, and it was a lie. Who knows? Maybe she was engaged to that other guy. Maybe, maybe not. I thought that I could trust her, but I clearly couldn't. Has she learned her lesson? Only time will tell, but for now, I'll be happy to have the woman that I love, back in my arms.
We just stayed there for a little, and then a friendly face came by.
Gibbs.
He looked at us weird.
"Hey, Gibbs. See that you're out of the cell?" Abby greeted, happily yet awkwardly.
Gibbs nodded.
"Yeah I am. What you two doing there?" Gibbs questioned. He's smirking, and his voice make it sound like he's mocking us.
"Um, we're sorta, engaged now." I answer.
Gibbs looked at us weird.
"So, you two dated and didn't tell me?"
"Well, it's not that we were dating two days ago. More like, five years ago." I defend.
Gibbs looked confused.
"You know that secret relationship that everyone knew about?" Abby asks.
Gibbs nods.
"Yeah. You two keep horrible secrets. So, apparently, the modern way to get engaged is to meet each other, begin dating after a few months, break up, friend zone each other, but flirt at the same time, for a few years, wait until a friend is killed, and the killer wounds one of you, and then bam! you're engaged?" Gibbs mocks.
We remain in silence for a few seconds, and then he continues,
"Because if it is, I did it wrong. Four times."
Abby and I chuckle uncomfortably.
"That'd explain all of the ex-wives." I reply sarcastically.
Gibbs and Abby then look at me weird.
"Too far, hmmm?"
Gibbs just nods.
After a few seconds of silence, Abby speaks up.
"So, uh, how was the, pre-jail?"
Gibbs glares.
"I shared a cell with teenaged gangsters who couldn't keep their pants up, and a man in his mid-twenties that kept looking at me and saying, 'Give me a reason, bro'. Must I go on?"
Abby and I then look at each other uncomfortably.
"No thanks, Gibbs. I've got a pretty vivid picture already."
Gibbs just grunts, then waits a little longer to respond.
"Shouldn't have been there in the first place, Abs. I shouldn't have been there, Tony should be alive, Tim and Alice shouldn't be here, and Ziva shouldn't be on the run. Ugh, it just doesn't make sense."
No, it doesn't make sense. Why would Ziva do this? What part of self-defense doesn't that woman understand?
I just shake my head.
"Tony's funeral is in three days. That's the latest I could get. I'll text you the address." Gibbs announces, and once again, Abby and I nod.
Getting bored and uncomfortable, I press the call button and wait for the nurse to come.
"So, how you feeling, Tim?" Abby asks.
I shrug.
"I'm OK, I guess. Just sore."
Abby nods, and suddenly the nurse comes.
"Yes, ?" He asks.
"Is Alice McArthy awake?"
He eyes me suspiciously.
"I cannot tell you anything unless I have permission from her husband or her Aunt."
"Oh, Aunt Olivia? I had to do a background search on Alice to find her, so I know stuff like that. I know that Aunt Olivia, Olive, I believe Alice calls her, adopted her and her sister, Eren, after her dad, Adam, and brother, Zach, killed her baby sister, Shelby, because she had a disorder, caused from brain trauma caused by the car accident that her and their mother went through two years before, also resulting in the mother's death. Look, I've talked to her twice, but I've looked her up enough to know everything, so you can call us friends. I know that Olive babysat Anthony DiNozzo when they were children. I was friends with Tony for six years before he died, so please just tell Olive that I was friends with Tony and that I need to talk to Alice."
The nurse just stares at me.
"Um, how do you know this?" He questions.
"He's a geek. Spends every waking moment on computers or his typewriter. He plays video games. His nickname is Elf Lord." Abby responds.
The nurse shakes his head.
"You don't have a wife or kids, do you?"
I just look down, ashamed.
"No."
The nurse rolls his eyes.
"Not surprised."
"I am engaged, though."
Looking impressed, the nurse responds,
"Really? How long?"
I shrug.
"Um, I'd say since around two-thirty this evening."
The nurse continues to stare.
"OK, so it's recent. How long have you been dating?"
"Also around two-thirty this evening." I quickly respond.
Once again, stare fest.
"Long story." I add.
"Mhmm, and I don't wanna here it. I'll talk to, OLIVE." The nurse responds, then leaves.
Now that the nurse is gone, Gibbs and Abby apparently decided to make me uncomfortable, too, because they start to stare.
"Stalker, much, Timmy?" Abby mocks.
After that, I basically just mumbled stuff no one can understand until the nurse came back.
"OK, is awake, and if you'd like to see her, you're in luck. Her husband isn't there, her daughter is at school, and OLIVE has to leave" The nurse offers.
I nod.
"OK. Basically, we're gonna roll you into her room."
"OK, nurse. Thank you."
IN ALICE'S ROOM
Alice looks so fragile. She looks so, strange.
She was so dedicated to Tony. How could I have yelled at her like I did? The irrational accusation turned out to be an absolutely precise one. I overestimated Ziva, and underestimated Alice.
I reach over and I wake Alice very gently, being careful not to move her head around, and she wakes almost immediately.
"Hey, Alice. It's Tim."
She smiles uncomfortably.
"Hey, Tim. Where's Erin?"
"Your sister or your daughter?""
She chuckles.
"You caught on to that? I'm asking about my daughter. Sister won't be coming. I can guarantee that."
"Well, your daughter left for school. Can I talk to you, Alice?"
She shrugs.
"Sure."
I shift uncomfortably in my bed, and then begin.
"I was out of line, Alice. You gave Tony some of the best years of his life, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. He couldn't have asked for a better friend. The reason that I was so rude to you is, I miss him. He may not have liked me, but I considered him a brother."
Alice looks at me with curiosity.
"What do you mean, he didn't like you?"
"Well, he found joy in my misery. Our relationship was big brother, little brother. Little brother naturally loves and looks up to the big one, and the bigger one just can't except the little one."
Alice looks at me weird for a few seconds, and then reaches across and gives me a Gibbs slap.
"You're an idiot. What do you think makes up a healthy sibling relationship? Braiding each others hair? You wanna gossip about boys with Tony? Well, let's bring him back to life. He'd do it, for you. Doesn't matter what it is. If it'll help you or make you happy, he'll do It. He would help you, without regarding his own personal sacrifices. It's what big siblings do. They protect their little siblings. There's two different kinds of caring big siblings, that I know of. First is the supportive kind. They are more quiet and loyal than fun and care-free. They'd jump in front of a train for you in a second, but you can't really call them "friends". More like, obsessive and extra caring guidance counselors. The other is the loving, funny sibling that you can relate to, and can be the ideal "friend". They mostly express affection through teasing. They have their own strange way of showing their love, and if you take time to really, how should I put this, decipher their own little sign and methods, then you will never doubt their love for you again. I loved my sister to death, and not one day went by when I didn't torment the girl. It was just, natural. However, for all good siblings, uptight or care-free, there always comes the time when the younger sibling need help, and the good older sibling will always spring into action. Every single time. They kinda have their own, "Touch them and I'll kill you" instinct. While no one can harm their brother or sister in anyway, for certain siblings, teasing shows love. That was your relationship with Tony, as it was mine with my baby sister, Shelby. No doubt that you cared deeply for him, and vice versa. He loved you, and I am so sorry for your loss, Tim."
Staring at Alice, I take that information in. Can gluing my fingers to the keyboard and stealing my ideas be a sign of love?
The next thing that hits me, is knowing that my brother was in a hospital, once upon a time, with blue lips, gasping for breath, and being eaten alive from the inside out by the plague. He probably looked like a fragile, lonely smurf, fighting for his life. I remember the loss I felt when I was sure that the plague would kill him.
Next, I remember grieving in my small apartment over that cop that I accidentally killed. I remember Tony coming to my apartment in the middle of the night to cheer me up, just like Alice said. He teased me, trying to cheer me up with humor, and he was the warm embrace that I needed when I finally broke down.
Yes, he did love me. I was his little brother. He was my care-free brother that teased me and stuck by my side. Tony was my best friend.
I miss him.
That's when I start to cry again over my newest loss. I'm overcome with so much anguish like I was years ago, but this time, I'm all alone. I will always be alone. I don't care if I'm married with twenty children. I will always be alone, because my brother, my best friend, will always be gone.
Three voices start flooding in, further traumatizing my already enervated mind. The words "It's okay", and "We'll get through this", yada yada yada, come at me like a slap in the face. What about this is okay? What about this can be forgotten? Are they to confined in their little fantasy worlds to realize that our lives will never be the same? That a major lifeline is gone, never to return? That we are suffering through a very significant loss?
I thought that my family was stronger than this.
However, our source of energy has been stolen from us.
We are brought back to reality when the nurse comes back with flowers.
"You guys have flowers. Delivered by some strange foreign lady. Black hair and black eyes. Says her name was-"
"Ziva David?" I finish.
The nurse nods.
"Yeah. Says she works with NCIS, and is friends with Agent McGee. She's busy now, but for future references, is she authorized to visit?"
We just sit like statues for a while, so utterly horrified, that paralysis was the instant outcome, and we remained that way for a second, until finally Gibbs broke the cycle.
"No, she's not. Lock down the hospital. There is a murderer in the building." Gibbs answers.
The nurse looks at us, confused, and then sets the flowers down to start lockdown.
Gibbs rushes over to the flowers, and looks instantly petrified, and almost as instantly, so unbelievably furious. He practically flies out in pursuit, dropping the card in the process.
As the note falls, I easily make out the sinister words written in bold, neat cursive writing.
"I'm not done.
-Ziva"
Author's note: Yeah, short chapter, I know. However, as I wrote this chapter, I realized that this was the best way to end it. This chapter was going to end with Tony's funeral, but that'll probably be more in the middle of the next chapter. Plus, this chapter got it's fair share of emotions, don't ya think? This is by far the most emotional thing that I've ever written, and it's also my favorite, and I am so honored to share it with you guys! Anyway, please comment, follow, etc. This has been a blast so far!...