Jimmy stood in autopsy quietly working when Gibbs entered. Gibbs knew something was off. Jimmy had picked up the habit of talking to his guests from Ducky, so to not hear Palmer's voice was off. Gibbs studied Jimmy's face for a moment. There was something not right. The young man had a look of sorrow on his face. Gibbs's gut had been telling him something was wrong, but he didn't listen to it. All his team was perfectly fine and upstairs in the squad room.
"Do you have something for me, Palmer?" Gibbs barked.
Jimmy looked up, almost as if he was just realizing Gibbs was even in the room.
"Oh, sorry Agent Gibbs, I guess I was deep in thought." Jimmy sighed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Gibbs face softened as he put his hand on Jimmy's shoulder.
Jimmy shook his head. "It is a personal problem that I have to work through; it's no big deal."
Gibbs didn't like that answer but took it.
"If you need to tell me something, I'm here. I know I don't look like the most approachable guy, but I have been married before. If you and Breena are having problems…" Gibbs said.
"It isn't Breena. Our marriage is as strong as ever. But let me ask you something Gibbs. If say Fornell asked you to do something that could mean the matter of his life or death, would you be able to do it without any regrets?" Jimmy asked.
"Depending on what it was, yeah. We have always had each other's backs." Gibbs answered.
"Thanks Agent Gibbs. That makes me feel a lot better." Jimmy replied with a sad smile.
"Are you sure there isn't something you want to tell me?" Gibbs questioned.
Jimmy shook his head. "Just a family friend had asked me to do something for him and I am wondering if I made the right decision."
There wasn't a moment that went by that Jimmy wasn't thinking of his friend lying in the ICU in Paris, fighting for his life. And fighting is exactly what he was doing... Tony wasn't absorbing the oxygen or nutrients being given to him. Even though he had an NG tube and the ventilator settings were being turned higher every day, it was though his body wasn't wanting to accept the help. Tony was too weak to hold his own and his body was giving up. The ICU team was fighting right alongside Tony as they tried to keep his heart rate up and his fever down.
Everyday Jimmy would call Ziva with the latest update from the hospital. He wondered how little Tali was handling all this. She was such a Daddy's girl.
Almost a week and a half after Tony was put on the ventilator, Jimmy received a call. Anytime the phone number to the hospital popped up, his heart dropped. It was one thing for him to call the hospital, but for the hospital to call him was different. He sat down at Ducky's old desk and prepared for the worst.
"Good afternoon. Is this Dr. Palmer?" A male voice came over the phone.
"Yes it is." Jimmy held his breath.
"I'm Dr. Matthew Ryan and I have been taking care of Mr. DiNozzo. I just wanted to call and tell you what was going on. Overnight Mr. DiNozzo had a major stroke. We have him on blood thinners to prevent another stroke or a heart attack. We are still fighting his fever. Every time we think we have his fever down, it spikes again. We have been proning Mr. DiNozzo and trying to suction out the liquid in his lungs, but we have found that his lungs are bleeding. We have him on a blood transfusion now. We are still hoping that the antibodies or plasma treatment will take hold and he will start showing signs of improvement, but it seems as though everyday he is getting worse. If he pulls through this, he will have major brain damage. I am willing to say he would show significant mental damage , even to the point of remaining in a persistent vegetative state the rest of his life. He will never be able to independently take care of himself again." Dr. Ryan explained.
"Is there anyway his partner or daughter can go and see him? Would that help in his treatment?" Jimmy inquired, grasping at straws.
"Unfortunately, no. It is against our hospital policy to have visitors come in and see our Covid patients." Dr. Ryan said.
"So, what do we do now?" Jimmy choked out.
"We hope that he starts to show some signs of improvement. I don't want to get your hopes up, but I don't want to be a downer either. But I would say start getting plans together if they aren't already." Dr. Ryan sighed.
Jimmy thanked the doctor and hung up. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this to Ziva... to tell her Tony could still die but if he doesn't, he won't be the Tony they all knew and loved. He would just be a shell of who he previously was. Jimmy remembered back to what Tony had told him before he ever went on the vent. He wanted to be able to live his life, not be a body in a bed. Jimmy shook his head. It seemed that now the only two options for Tony was being a body in a bed or a body in a casket.