Chapter 3

Two days later...

Tim opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. It was a hospital ceiling. That same acoustical tile that they all seemed to use. He was in a hospital. He had known that already, he was pretty sure. But how had he known that? And why was he in a hospital?

"Timmy?"

He knew that voice. Tim turned to the side and was instantly enveloped in a tight hug.

"Abby?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're you again!"

"What?"

Abby let him go and looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"Tim, don't you remember? You were acting really crazy."

"Was I?" Tim asked. He looked around again. "Abby, what hospital am I in? Why am I in a hospital?"

"Tim, you're in Fredericksburg, in Virginia. You've been here for days."

"What? How is that possible? I was going to go on vacation." Abby's expression was very concerned. "...wasn't I?"

"Tim, it's been over a week since you left on your vacation. Were you not coming down here?"

"No. That's... not..." He started trying to think.

The door opened.

"Timothy, you're awake!"

Tim jumped and looked past Abby to the open door and was surprised to see everyone there. They all filed in and Tim was worried by so many people here visiting him. He looked at himself and then he looked around at them all.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Did I get in an accident or something?"

"We don't know, Timothy."

"What were you doing in Fredericksburg?" Gibbs asked abruptly.

"I... I don't... I don't know, Boss," Tim said. "I don't... really know where Fredericksburg is. Abby said it's in Virginia."

"Where were you going on vacation?"

"Um... New York... I guess... I didn't get there?"

"We'll find out. Hotel?"

"I printed it all off. Maybe... maybe it's in my... my apartment? Um... I... Why am I in the hospital? I don't feel sick or injured or anything. Just confused."

"Because you were crazy, Probie," Tony said. "Look at your hands."

Tim looked at his hands and was surprised to see that they looked like he'd been in a fist fight. Then, he looked up again.

"Did I hurt someone?" he asked.

"Only yourself," Tony said.

"What?"

Kate silently held out a small mirror. Tim took it and looked at himself. He was shocked to see the bruises and cuts on his face. He looked up at Kate.

"Are you saying I did that to myself?" he whispered.

"You were clawing at your face after we brought you to the hospital," Kate said. "Tim, you were so out of control that they had to put you in restraints."

Tim looked at himself again.

"How could I have done this to myself?" he asked. "I don't remember doing this! I couldn't have done it! That's just not possible!"

He started to feel a curl of panic building up in his chest and a burning sensation that was spreading across his body but with a particular fire burning in his brain.

"I wouldn't do this! I know I wouldn't! You know I wouldn't! You can't tell me that I hurt myself like this! I..."

In the midst of his rant, there was a crashing sound outside the room. Tim jumped and then lay there quivering with tension. Tony quickly stepped out to see what it was. Abby hugged Tim tightly.

"It's okay, Tim. It is! You didn't know what you were doing. We'll figure out what happened to you and it'll be okay!"

Ducky sat down on the other side of the bed and patted his arm.

"Abigail is correct, lad. You don't remember what happened and that's common after a traumatic event. It may come back to you, but we will do our level best to figure it out. Just take a deep breath and try to calm yourself down."

Tony came back in. Tim looked at him with wide eyes.

"No worries, Probie. A big shelf of supplies just fell over. They're cleaning it up. I offered to help, but they need to sort the stuff and I'm not exactly a medical person."

"Definitely not," Kate said, with a smile that seemed a bit forced.

Tim took a few deep breaths and started to calm down.

"How long will I be here?" he asked softly.

"Until they determine that you no longer pose any threat to yourself," Ducky said. "Now that you're thinking rationally again, I anticipate it won't be much longer."

"Am I though?" Tim asked. "What if I'm not? What if I'm actually crazy?" He started to feel panic again and that same burning sensation in his brain. "What if–?"

The lights in the room started to flicker. Tony groaned.

"Oh, no. Not the power going out again," he said. "I thought they fixed it!"

"Timothy, calm down. I understand that you're frightened by all this, but you need to keep yourself calm. There's no need to panic," Ducky said, soothingly. "Deep breaths. Slow, deep breaths. Just calm down."

Tim started breathing deeply, but too quickly. He was nearly hyperventilating.

"No, not like that. Slow down. Deep breath in. Hold it for a moment. Then, let it out slowly."

Tim tried to listen and, after a few minutes of just breathing with Abby hugging him and Ducky's calm presence, he did start to calm down.

And the lights stayed on.

...and he felt a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, Boss," he mumbled, looking down at his battered hands again.

"Don't apologize," Gibbs said, tersely. "Keys to your place?"

"I've got a set!" Abby piped up.

"Oh, do you?" Tony asked.

Tim blushed bright red. He could feel his cheeks as if they were on fire and he looked anywhere but at Tony...or anyone else in the room.

"Not now, Tony," Kate said, sounding exasperated. "This is not the time to tease him."

"Abby, let him go," Gibbs said.

"Aw, Gibbs!" Abby protested.

There must have been a silent command because Abby released him and then stepped back from the bed. Her seat was taken by Gibbs.

"McGee," he said.

Tim looked up at him.

"You don't remember anything?" he asked.

Tim shook his head. "Nothing, Boss. I promise. I... I thought... that... that I hadn't... that I hadn't even gone on vacation yet. I didn't know how long it had been. I don't remember!"

"Okay. If you do, call. No matter when. Don't wait. Got it?"

Tim nodded mutely.

Then, Gibbs put a hand on Tim's shoulder. Tim looked at Gibbs' hand with a little bit of surprise and then back up at him.

"It's okay," Gibbs said, his voice low. "We're your team. We're going to figure it out."

Tim swallowed hard and nodded.

"Thanks, Boss," he whispered, almost inaudibly.

Gibbs squeezed his shoulder and then stood up. Tim went back to looking at his hands. How could he have been hurting himself to the point that he injured his hands and his face? How could he have been that out of control? He started feeling tense again, and that fire was back in his brain.

A hand on his arm, startled him out of his rapt contemplation of his hands. He looked over and saw Kate looking at him with concern.

"It's all right, Tim. You're going to be fine."

"H-Here's y-y-your mirror," he stammered and held out the small mirror she'd given him.

As Kate reached out to take it, suddenly, he felt like it was burning his hand. The mirror cracked and fell to the floor, shattering into pieces. Tim let out a yelp as Kate jumped back to avoid the now-broken glass.

"I'm sorry," Tim whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"Hey, Tim. It's okay. I didn't have a grip on it. You let go too soon and it fell. It wasn't expensive. But I'll find someone to come in and clean up this glass. Don't want anyone getting cut."

"Timothy, you needn't be so anxious. Everyone has their clumsy moments," Ducky said. "Your doctor dropped his flashlight the other day and broke it."

Tim nodded, but at the same time, he was going over what had happened. The mirror had cracked and then he had dropped it. Why did it crack? How?

Kate came back in.

"They're sending someone from maintenance to come and clean up the glass. Now, Tim, I was going to be staying with you tonight. We've had someone here every night since you came. Since you're awake now, are you okay with me being here?"

"What if I hurt you?" Tim asked.

Kate smiled gently. "I'm not worried."

"Okay."

"And on that note, I think we should all give Timothy a break from our scrutiny," Ducky said, standing up. "I'm very glad to see you functioning so much better than you were, and hopefully, tomorrow brings even more improvements."

"Thanks, Ducky," Tim said.

Abby leaned over and hugged him again.

"Don't worry, Tim. Everything is going to be fine."

At the moment, Tim wasn't sure he believed her, but he just nodded.

"It looks like rain out there," Kate said, looking out the window. "Drive safely."

"Will do," Tony said.

Gibbs left without saying anything else. Everyone left and then it was just him and Kate.

Tim felt a bit awkward in the midst of all his other emotional instability. Ever since he'd met Kate, he'd been simultaneously attracted to her, scared of her and comforted by her. And in this situation, he didn't think that he was really at his best. While Kate wasn't worried, he was worried. He'd apparently done things to himself that he didn't remember. He'd been missing. He'd been hiding in an abandoned village in Virginia and...

His mind stuttered to a halt. Had they told him that last bit? Tim didn't think they had.

Did I just remember something?

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on that statement he'd made in his mind. It was hard though. There was this pressure on his brain that was building up. Plus, as he kept trying to remember what had come before all this, that fire was starting in his brain again. He kept thinking and thinking and then, it felt like something in his brain exploded.

"Whoa!"

Tim sat up with a startled cry and opened his eyes wide. Kate turned to him, looking surprised.

"Sorry, Tim. I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just looking out the window. I think the wind just blew a tree over outside the hospital. I didn't think the wind was blowing that hard yet."

Tim looked out the window. It was now full dark and rain was lashing against the glass. When had that happened?

"I was asleep?" he asked.

"Well, I thought you were."

"Oh."

Kate smiled and walked over to sit beside him.

"I know you've only been on the team for a couple of months, so we don't know each other really well yet, but don't be embarrassed by this. We've been worried about you, but I'm really glad that you're in your right mind now and we'll be able to figure all this out eventually."

"Thanks, Kate," Tim said softly.

"No problem. It's pretty late and I'm sure you need your sleep after all this going on. So lay back and relax. I'll be here all night."

"I'm sorry you have to be."

"Don't be. I'll get some sleep on the cot and it'll be fine."

"Okay."

Tim lay back down and stared at the ceiling. After a while, he closed his eyes, but as tired as he'd been, now, his brain seemed to be running a million miles an hour. He couldn't seem to wind down at all. He had too much energy. Way too much energy. He lay there for some period of time. The room was silent. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

He sat up and looked out the window. The rain was still falling, but the wind had calmed. Kate was sleeping on the cot. Tim found that he was almost shaking with energy. He really needed to get rid of it, but what could he do?

He got out of bed and walked to the window, only remembering at the last second to pull the IV stand along with him. He didn't know what they were giving him in the IV, but he didn't want to pull the needle out of his arm.

He stared out the window. He had a view of the parking lot. Not particularly inspiring.

It's dark anyway. What does it matter?

He didn't like the parking lot lights, though. They were shining right into this room and he didn't like it. The lights were just too bright. They reminded him of something he didn't remember. He stared at the lights, wishing they would just go out.

There was a flash of lightning and Tim blinked a little bit in the sudden light and then looked out the window again.

One of the lights was now out. He stared at the now-dark light.

Lightning flashed again, followed by a roll of thunder only a second or two later. He blinked again.

A hand on his arm.

He yelped in surprise and pulled away from the hand, panicked about what was going to be done to him now.

Now? What did I mean by that?

He was more and more afraid of the dark shape and he backed away until he ran into a wall.

"Tim, what are you doing out of bed?"

It was Kate. Tim was so relieved that it wasn't... whatever he was afraid of it being that his knees went weak and he slid down the wall to the floor, covering his head in his hands.

"Tim, what's going on?"

For a few seconds, he couldn't even speak, but then he tried to explain.

"Couldn't sleep... but couldn't stop thinking... couldn't... and I went to the window. Didn't like the lights... Then... the hand on my arm. I was... afraid... fingers stabbing into my brain and..."

Kate knelt down beside him and hugged him gently.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, Tim," she said softly. "It's okay. It's just me here. Are you remembering anything?"

Tim was breathing irregularly.

"Something scared you, and I don't think it was really me. What is it? Even if it doesn't make sense."

"Fingers stabbing into my brain," he whispered. "And bright lights. Stabbing into my brain. Too much energy and... I don't know."

"Take a nice, deep breath, Tim. Whatever you're remembering, it's not happening now. Just relax."

Kate kept up a calming flow of words and after a while, Tim felt his panic start to fade and he was able to lift his head and look at Kate sitting beside him in the shadows.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay. You think you can get back into bed now?"

"Y-Yeah."

Kate stood up and then held out her hand. Tim hesitated and then took her hand. No claws or scales, although he didn't know why he thought there would be. He stood up and walked back to the bed and lay down. To his surprise, Kate sat down beside him and put a hand on his arm. It was a comforting hand, not like that other one.

"I'll just stay here until you're able to sleep, okay?"

"Y-You don't h-have to," Tim stammered.

"I know that. I will."

Tim tried to relax on the bed. He still didn't feel tired. He was too tense, but Kate just sat beside him. She didn't say anything. She stayed beside him and after a long time, Tim started to relax.

After a while, he felt himself fading into darkness.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Kate took a breath and let it out softly as it was obvious that Tim had finally fallen asleep. He seemed relaxed for about the first time since they'd found him. That had been a little shocking. Before this week, if asked to describe Tim, she would have said a little naive, very smart, and somewhat shy. This kind of thing just didn't happen to people like she thought Tim was.

What could Tim have meant? He kept talking about fingers stabbing in his brain. He'd said that once before when they'd had to put him in restraints because he was clawing at his own face.

She shook her head and then carefully let go of his arm, watching to see if he tensed up again or not. He remained relaxed. Good. Fully asleep and maybe now she could get some sleep, too. The rain was calming down which was good.

Kate lay down on the cot and tried to relax herself. Tim wasn't dangerous. He wouldn't hurt her.