None of them were good at waiting.
Every time they'd had to sit like this, sit and wait for news of one of their team, they'd had other things to do. To occupy them so the wait didn't seem quite as interminable as this. Now they had nothing. Novikova was dead- Gibbs' double-tap had seen to that-, her henchman was in custody and the Director had turned the case over to another team. The only activity had been when McGee's parents and sister had arrived, and later when Abby was unloaded after her transfer from Bethesda. She was asleep again, sedated, something she'd tried to resist. She'd only consented once Gibbs had convinced her that McGee was going to be in surgery for hours yet. Even then, she'd made him promise that he'd wake her when they had news. He only hoped he'd have good news to wake her with.
Gibbs broke the boredom a little by practically forcing Ducky to have his injuries assessed, much to his old friend's disgust. He was relieved when they were pronounced to be minor; soon Ducky rejoined the group in the waiting room, and the tedium settled in again.
...
Hours passed.
Finally, after what felt like days, a doctor appeared in the waiting room.
"Family of Timothy McGee?"
McGee's parents stood; instinctively Gibbs stood also, and then felt foolish for doing so. Before he could sit again, Brett McGee waved him over, Maureen adding her encouragement.
"You should hear this too."
The doctor waited until Gibbs was level with the McGees before beginning
"Your son was brought in with a depressed skull fracture. The pressure that the bone put on the brain caused a large subdural haematoma- a blood clot on the surface of the brain." He paused, making sure that he was being understood. "Now, I removed the fragment of bone, and the blood clot. He's being taken to intensive care straight away."
"Is-is he going to be ok?" Maureen choked out.
"It's too early to tell" the doctor said gently. "The next 24 hours are critical."
"Can we see him?" The question came from Brett.
"For short periods, yes. And no more than 2 people at a time."
The doctor signalled to someone in the background; an orderly came forward and led the McGees away down the corridor. The doctor waited until they were out of earshot before addressing Gibbs
"How did Agent McGee get his injuries? The head wound was obviously fresh, but some of his other injuries had started to heal."
Gibbs sighed. "McGee was tortured, Doc. They chained him to a wall and beat him... with a length of steel pipe."
The doctor nodded. "I see. But that doesn't explain the injuries to his hands." At Gibbs' quizzical look, he continued "I assume he was handcuffed?"
"That's right."
"Both your agent's thumbs were dislocated. While it's extremely painful, no torturer would do that- it's about the only way a handcuffed person can get their hands out of the cuffs. Furthermore, one of McGee's thumbs had been reset."
"And?"
"Once a dislocated joint has been reset, the pain eases almost instantly. Why would a torturer deliberately stop his victim from feeling pain?" He paused for a moment, making sure Gibbs understood what he was saying. "Was Agent McGee handcuffed when you found him?"
Gibbs shook his head slowly.
"Then I'd say your agent was trying to escape."