32 down, 68 to go
What Lies Beneath
Chapter 7 - Rule Fifty Two
The silence that followed the demon’s exit was broken by a soft curse from Ducky. He stepped towards McGee, immediately followed by Palmer, but Dean blocked their path.
“Wait.”
“I need to check-“
“And I’ll let you. But first…” He pulled a silver flask out of his jacket. “Let me make sure it’s gone. Just a little holy water, that’s all.”
Reluctantly Ducky stood back and allowed Dean to approach the inert form of the agent. After pouring some of the contents of the flask on McGee and receiving no response, Dean gestured for Ducky to proceed.
The M.E. crouched down next to McGee and cautiously placed his fingers against the agent’s neck, fearing what he wouldn’t find but he was able to detect the faint beat of the young man’s heart.
“He’s alive,” Ducky exclaimed and started to check McGee’s vital signs as the rest of the team moved closer. McGee’s pulse was weak and slow, and when Ducky pried open his eyelids his pupils reacted sluggishly to the light, much too slow for Ducky’s comfort.
“Timothy, can you hear me?” When he didn’t get an answer, he tapped McGee’s cheek, then pressed the knuckles of his right hand into McGee’s chest and drew them down, exerting as much pressure as he could. There was no response.
“Call an ambulance. We need to get him to a hospital immediately.”
Tony pulled out his phone and stated to dial while Gibbs crouched down next to Ducky. “What’s wrong with him, Duck?”
“He appears to be deeply unconscious, essentially comatose. Beyond that, I couldn’t even venture to guess how his experience has affected him. He needs medical attention, that I can tell you.” He began checking McGee for injuries, gently palpating his limbs and neck before checking his chest and abdomen.
“Can we move him?” Tony asked, holding a hand over the speaker of his phone.
“I can’t find any obvious signs of trauma,” Ducky replied and glanced up at the strange symbol painted over the area where McGee lay. “But yes, it would be best to transport him to a more comfortable location. Be careful.” Gibbs nodded to Damon who stepped forward and crouched down, gently sliding one arm under McGee’s shoulders and the other under his knees before slowly lifting him from the floor. Palmer helped him adjust McGee’s body so his head and neck were properly supported before Damon carried him up the steps to the living room, followed by the rest of the group. He carefully lowered McGee onto the sofa and arranged his body into a comfortable-as-possible position. McGee never moved or made a sound.
“Will he be OK?” Abby asked as she held onto Gibbs for support. Ducky shook his head.
“I don’t know. We won’t know until we get him to the hospital for a more thorough evaluation. Lord knows what that thing did to him while it had control of his body.”
“But it promised not to hurt him…”
“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but demons ain’t exactly trustworthy,” Dean remarked as he watched the group from the doorway.
“Doesn’t look like you are either,” Tony snapped. “You were going to kill him!”
“Correction: I was going to kill a demon. I had plenty of reasons to think your friend was gone. At least it didn’t take me eight months to figure out he was possessed.”
Tony started towards Dean but was held back by Damon. “Don’t, man. Just don’t.”
“Will McGee be OK?” Gibbs asked as he gave Dean a look that had reduced many suspects to tears. Dean just shrugged.
“Dunno. Most people who are possessed for that long wind up dead before we can even get the demon out. He’s got a chance, at least. Enough time, and a buttload of therapy, he should be OK. As long as his body wasn’t damaged while the demon was in control.”
“Not that we know of.”
“Then he’ll live.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure, like…ninety percent.”
Tony looked like he wanted to punch Dean again, but a look from Gibbs stopped him.
“Will the demon come after him again?” Ziva asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
“Probably not. Sounded to me like it was already finished with him.”
“How can we make sure?”
Dean sighed and pulled down the collar of his t-shirt to reveal a tattoo of a five-pointed start surround by a circle of what looked like black flames. “Anti-possession symbol. I’ve got a charm McGee can wear until he can get something more permanent. If he wants to, that is.”
“And the rest of us?”
He glanced at Bobby, who nodded. “We’ve got enough of the charms to go around.” The older man retrieved his bag and pulled out a bunch of cords, each strung with a flat silver disk inscribed with the same symbol that formed Dean’s tattoo. He handed them to the group and they silently slipped the necklaces over their heads while Abby took an extra and gently eased it over McGee’s head. He remained silent and unaware.
Soon they heard the sirens approaching and Dean grimaced. “Sounds like that’s our cue to leave. We’ll clean up downstairs, then be on our merry way.”
“Thank you,” Gibbs replied. “I appreciate that you got rid of that thing and saved my agent…but I never want to see you again. Clear?”
“Crystal.” Dean gave him a mock salute and headed downstairs. Bobby just shook his head.
“Boy means well, but he’s had…a rough time lately.”
“He lost his brother?”
“Yeah. Pretty much the only family the kid had left.”
“Let Dean know he has our sympathies. If he will accept them,” Ducky stated as he re-checked McGee.
“Will do. You have anymore problems, you can call me. I’ll do what I can.”
“Appreciate it,” Gibbs replied, speaking less harshly than he had to Dean. Bobby nodded and headed for the stairs as well, disappearing from view just as the paramedics arrived.
“What happened?” the older of the two men asked as they began to assess their patient.
“We were just talking and he collapsed,” Tony offered with a glance at his boss.
“Did he complain of any pain before he went down?”
“No. No, we didn’t know what… We didn’t know anything was wrong.” Tony didn’t take his eyes off of McGee as the two men checked his vital signs.
“BP 80 over 50, pulse 50 and thready. GCS of 3,” the younger paramedic announced. “We’d better scoop and run.”
“Copy that.” They quickly secured McGee to a stretcher and hurried him out the door to the waiting ambulance.
“I’m going with them, Jethro. I’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks, Duck.”
Ducky made it to the ambulance just as they had secured the stretcher inside. After a brief discussion with the paramedics, he climbed into the back of the ambulance and took a seat next to McGee’s gurney. He grasped the agent’s limp hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, hoping to have the action returned. Nothing.
“Please come back to us, Timothy. Fight this. I know you have it in you, lad. Fight.”
XXX
“What’s taking so long?” Tony exclaimed as he paced the length of the waiting room. “It’s been hours.”
“Duck said they’re doing tests. Takes awhile.”
“Yeah, but how long--” Tony caught a glare from Gibbs and bit back the rest of his question. He flopped into one of the waiting room chairs and sighed. “He’s going to be OK, right, Boss?”
“I don’t know.”
Shocked by Gibbs’ response, Tony studied his mentor for a brief moment before he felt his heart sink. He’d seen that expression before. It was not comforting.
“I can’t believe I missed this. I should have--”
“You got a lot of experience with demon possession, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked in a low voice.
“Well, no, but...I knew something was wrong. I should have…done something.”
“And it is likely that you would have gotten yourself killed,” Ziva replied, her carefully crafted blank expression cracking slightly. “I have heard stories, and...situations such as this rarely end well for anyone.”
“It sure as hell didn’t end well for McGee.”
“It could have been worse, Tony. He is still alive.”
“As far as we know...what’s taking so long?”
“Take a walk, Tony.”
“What?”
“You are not helping yourself or McGee right now. Go burn off some of that anxiety.”
“Are you saying I don’t have the right to be--?”
“That is not what I said.”
“She’s right, Tony. Take a break.”
“But what about…” He unconsciously touched the silver pendant that hung around his neck.
“You are protected. When Ducky returns, we will call you. I promise.”
Tony studied both Ziva and Gibbs with barely concealed skepticism. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”
“No, Tony, we are not. You do need a break.”
“OK, fine. But if you hear anything…”
“Go.”
Tony turned and left, grumbling a few things that were probably rude but Ziva ignored him. When he was out of sight, Gibbs turned to her.
“You know something about all this?”
“Only stories, Gibbs, and…” Her expression faltered. “I have never heard of someone surviving this long. I am sorry.”
“McGee survived.”
“Yes, but...what part of him? Is he ever going to be all right again? Or is he just an empty shell?”
“He’s still in there. The demon said he was.”
“Demons also lie, according to those two men who helped free McGee.” Gibbs didn’t reply. “And even if he is, chances are he will never be the same.”
Gibbs sighed. “No, probably not. Damn it…”
“Don’t you dare,” Abby whispered, breaking the silence she had maintained since they had left Gibbs’ house.
“Abby…”
“No, Gibbs, don’t you dare give up on him! We’re going to get him back. He wouldn’t give up on you. Or you, Ziva.”
“No, he would not, but this...is not like anything we have encountered before.”
“I don’t care! He will get better. He has to! I need...I need to tell him I’m sorry. I’ve been awful to him, so many times, and… I don’t want him to hate me!”
Ziva moved to the chair next to the sobbing woman and put an arm around her shoulder. “I do not believe that McGee could hate you, Abby.”
“Ziva’s right.” Gibbs sighed. “And you’re not the only one who needs to apologize.”
“I thought you had a rule against that?”
“Yeah, well, I’m not always right.” Both women looked at him in surprise as he chuckled softly. “Guess that should be a new rule.”
“Are we also adding a rule that if your teammate is acting weird, check for demonic possession?” Tony snarked as he returned to the waiting room. His too-wide grin vanished when he saw Abby. “Is McGee…?”
“We have not heard yet, Tony.”
“Right.” He flopped into vacant chair next to Gibbs. “What’s taking so long?” He winced as Gibbs smacked the back of his head. “Thanks, Boss.”
The group lapsed back into silence as they waited for news on McGee. After another hour Ducky and another doctor stepped into the waiting area. Their expressions were not comforting.
“How is he, Duck?”
The other doctor answered for Ducky. “Agent McGee is stable, but still in serious condition. He appears to be suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition and we’re giving him nasogastric and IV fluids at this point to stabilize the resulting electrolyte imbalance. His kidneys have started to shut down and we’re performing dialysis to counteract the dysfunction.” The doctor sighed. “Frankly I’m surprised he didn’t collapse long before this. We’re looking at the results of months of self-neglect.”
“It wasn’t his fault!” Ziva squeezed Abby’s arm to silence her.
“Be that as it may, it will take quite some time to recover...if he survives.”
“He might die?”
“It’s a possibility, especially considering the fact that his GCS scores have not improved since he was brought in. He’s still in a deep coma. Hopefully once we’ve dealt with the other issues he’ll start to regain consciousness but at this point… The good news is that we saw nothing on the MRI or CAT scan to indicate any abnormalities. As far as we can tell there’s nothing physically causing his comatose state: no injuries or disease. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Can we see him?” Tony asked, his worry painted across his features.
The doctor glanced at Ducky, who nodded. “Yes, but only two at a time. We need room to work. It’s unlikely that he’ll be aware of your presence, but unless the latest tests show otherwise, I think it would be beneficial for Agent McGee if he wakes up that he has someone he knows with him.
“When.”
“I don’t want to speculate--”
“No, not if. When McGee wakes up.”
The doctor glanced at Ducky again who gave him an ‘I told you so’ look. “OK, yes, when Agent McGee wakes up, he’ll need support of family...and friends.”
“We’ll be here. We won’t fail him again,” Tony declared, eliciting nods from the rest of the group.
“What did happen?” the doctor asked. “How did he get to this point?”
“That’s a long story, Doc, and one we can’t talk about.”
“Classified?”
“Something like that.”
The doctor studied Gibbs for a few moments before nodding. “All right. We have Agent McGee settled in the ICU. If you’d like to see him now--” Abby and Ziva immediately jumped to their feet. “Follow me.”
The team followed the doctor to the unit, silently dreading what they would see when they reached the room. Through the window outside the unit they could just barely see McGee, lying pale and still in one of the beds, surrounded by machines.
Abby and Ziva held on to each other tightly as they followed the doctor to McGee’s beside while Tony, Gibbs, and Ducky waited outside.
“He looks awful,” Tony muttered. Gibbs nodded silently, his eyes on the group beyond the window. He watched as Abby and Ziva each took one of McGee’s hands in their own and started talking to him, although their words did not reach the men waiting outside. “Boss, do you really think…” Gibbs turned and glared at his senior agent. “He’ll be OK. Got it.”
The sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention and they turned to see an unexpected visitor.
“Leon. What are you doing here?”
“I was informed that one of my agents is in the ICU. What happened?”
“We were talking to McGee and he just collapsed,” Tony repeated the semi-truth he had used before.
“Current status?”
“Comatose,” Ducky replied. “Beyond that, I can’t really share that information.”
Vance’s expression told them he already knew some of it. “Did he do this to himself?”
“It wasn’t his fault, Director.”
Vance raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? It appears as though your team hasn’t been big on communication these last few months. Things have been a bit tense.”
“What do you want me to say, Leon? I dropped the ball? Yeah, I did, and McGee’s paying for it. I had no idea how bad it was.”
“As I said, it appears. One thing this job requires is that I look below the surface of a situation. I’ve seen how worried you were, Gibbs, and I know how loyal you all are to each other.”
“Apparently not enough,” Tony muttered before looking Vance in the eye. “Director, I have a confession to make.”
“Just one?”
“Do you remember the mission when you sent me to Iraq, along with Agent Jardine?” Vance nodded. “McGee didn’t volunteer for the mission and you…berated him for not showing initiative, but it was my fault. I told him not to volunteer. He listened to me, and…”
“I know.”
Tony’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “McGee told you?”
“No, he didn’t. I had my suspicions, and I wanted to see if the team was as dedicated to each other as I had been told. Now, I could tell from his expression that I was right, that he had wanted to go, but he never told me what happened. I had to wonder after that why he would maintain that famous loyalty. So, as I said, I looked deeper. There’s a lot more to your team than just teasing and pranks, isn’t there?”
“I’d like to think so…”
“Well, I know so.” He smirked. “I can see quite a lot from the catwalk.”
“Could you see how we missed this?” Gibbs snapped.
Vance sighed. “You’re not the only one wondering, Gibbs. I know your team was worried. I even tried talking to McGee, but he seemed so...normal.”
“On the surface.”
“Yes. I know Ms. Sciuto was checking on him. I made those same checks myself. Whatever this was… it was not something we could have foreseen, giving our training and experience.”
Gibbs shot Vance a look, wondering if the man knew more than he was telling. “Could someone else have seen it?”
“I don’t think the ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda game’ is going to benefit anyone at this point. Hindsight’s certainly not going to help McGee now.”
“Can we?”
“If anyone can.”
“We plan to.”
“Glad to hear it. Doctor Mallard, I’d appreciate updates of whatever you can tell me.”
“Of course, Director.”
“I’ll take your team off rotation for now, Gibbs. Concentrate on your agent.”
“Thanks, Leon.”
After Vance was out of earshot, Gibbs turned to Ducky.
“What do you think, Duck?”
“I think we’re dealing with this as best we can. It’s really up to Timothy now to find his way back to us. Nevertheless, he has a tough journey ahead, and I am not sure he can make it alone.”
“He’ll make it, Duck. We won’t leave him behind. Not this time.”
TBC…
Chapter 7 - Rule Fifty Two
The silence that followed the demon’s exit was broken by a soft curse from Ducky. He stepped towards McGee, immediately followed by Palmer, but Dean blocked their path.
“Wait.”
“I need to check-“
“And I’ll let you. But first…” He pulled a silver flask out of his jacket. “Let me make sure it’s gone. Just a little holy water, that’s all.”
Reluctantly Ducky stood back and allowed Dean to approach the inert form of the agent. After pouring some of the contents of the flask on McGee and receiving no response, Dean gestured for Ducky to proceed.
The M.E. crouched down next to McGee and cautiously placed his fingers against the agent’s neck, fearing what he wouldn’t find but he was able to detect the faint beat of the young man’s heart.
“He’s alive,” Ducky exclaimed and started to check McGee’s vital signs as the rest of the team moved closer. McGee’s pulse was weak and slow, and when Ducky pried open his eyelids his pupils reacted sluggishly to the light, much too slow for Ducky’s comfort.
“Timothy, can you hear me?” When he didn’t get an answer, he tapped McGee’s cheek, then pressed the knuckles of his right hand into McGee’s chest and drew them down, exerting as much pressure as he could. There was no response.
“Call an ambulance. We need to get him to a hospital immediately.”
Tony pulled out his phone and stated to dial while Gibbs crouched down next to Ducky. “What’s wrong with him, Duck?”
“He appears to be deeply unconscious, essentially comatose. Beyond that, I couldn’t even venture to guess how his experience has affected him. He needs medical attention, that I can tell you.” He began checking McGee for injuries, gently palpating his limbs and neck before checking his chest and abdomen.
“Can we move him?” Tony asked, holding a hand over the speaker of his phone.
“I can’t find any obvious signs of trauma,” Ducky replied and glanced up at the strange symbol painted over the area where McGee lay. “But yes, it would be best to transport him to a more comfortable location. Be careful.” Gibbs nodded to Damon who stepped forward and crouched down, gently sliding one arm under McGee’s shoulders and the other under his knees before slowly lifting him from the floor. Palmer helped him adjust McGee’s body so his head and neck were properly supported before Damon carried him up the steps to the living room, followed by the rest of the group. He carefully lowered McGee onto the sofa and arranged his body into a comfortable-as-possible position. McGee never moved or made a sound.
“Will he be OK?” Abby asked as she held onto Gibbs for support. Ducky shook his head.
“I don’t know. We won’t know until we get him to the hospital for a more thorough evaluation. Lord knows what that thing did to him while it had control of his body.”
“But it promised not to hurt him…”
“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but demons ain’t exactly trustworthy,” Dean remarked as he watched the group from the doorway.
“Doesn’t look like you are either,” Tony snapped. “You were going to kill him!”
“Correction: I was going to kill a demon. I had plenty of reasons to think your friend was gone. At least it didn’t take me eight months to figure out he was possessed.”
Tony started towards Dean but was held back by Damon. “Don’t, man. Just don’t.”
“Will McGee be OK?” Gibbs asked as he gave Dean a look that had reduced many suspects to tears. Dean just shrugged.
“Dunno. Most people who are possessed for that long wind up dead before we can even get the demon out. He’s got a chance, at least. Enough time, and a buttload of therapy, he should be OK. As long as his body wasn’t damaged while the demon was in control.”
“Not that we know of.”
“Then he’ll live.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure, like…ninety percent.”
Tony looked like he wanted to punch Dean again, but a look from Gibbs stopped him.
“Will the demon come after him again?” Ziva asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
“Probably not. Sounded to me like it was already finished with him.”
“How can we make sure?”
Dean sighed and pulled down the collar of his t-shirt to reveal a tattoo of a five-pointed start surround by a circle of what looked like black flames. “Anti-possession symbol. I’ve got a charm McGee can wear until he can get something more permanent. If he wants to, that is.”
“And the rest of us?”
He glanced at Bobby, who nodded. “We’ve got enough of the charms to go around.” The older man retrieved his bag and pulled out a bunch of cords, each strung with a flat silver disk inscribed with the same symbol that formed Dean’s tattoo. He handed them to the group and they silently slipped the necklaces over their heads while Abby took an extra and gently eased it over McGee’s head. He remained silent and unaware.
Soon they heard the sirens approaching and Dean grimaced. “Sounds like that’s our cue to leave. We’ll clean up downstairs, then be on our merry way.”
“Thank you,” Gibbs replied. “I appreciate that you got rid of that thing and saved my agent…but I never want to see you again. Clear?”
“Crystal.” Dean gave him a mock salute and headed downstairs. Bobby just shook his head.
“Boy means well, but he’s had…a rough time lately.”
“He lost his brother?”
“Yeah. Pretty much the only family the kid had left.”
“Let Dean know he has our sympathies. If he will accept them,” Ducky stated as he re-checked McGee.
“Will do. You have anymore problems, you can call me. I’ll do what I can.”
“Appreciate it,” Gibbs replied, speaking less harshly than he had to Dean. Bobby nodded and headed for the stairs as well, disappearing from view just as the paramedics arrived.
“What happened?” the older of the two men asked as they began to assess their patient.
“We were just talking and he collapsed,” Tony offered with a glance at his boss.
“Did he complain of any pain before he went down?”
“No. No, we didn’t know what… We didn’t know anything was wrong.” Tony didn’t take his eyes off of McGee as the two men checked his vital signs.
“BP 80 over 50, pulse 50 and thready. GCS of 3,” the younger paramedic announced. “We’d better scoop and run.”
“Copy that.” They quickly secured McGee to a stretcher and hurried him out the door to the waiting ambulance.
“I’m going with them, Jethro. I’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks, Duck.”
Ducky made it to the ambulance just as they had secured the stretcher inside. After a brief discussion with the paramedics, he climbed into the back of the ambulance and took a seat next to McGee’s gurney. He grasped the agent’s limp hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, hoping to have the action returned. Nothing.
“Please come back to us, Timothy. Fight this. I know you have it in you, lad. Fight.”
XXX
“What’s taking so long?” Tony exclaimed as he paced the length of the waiting room. “It’s been hours.”
“Duck said they’re doing tests. Takes awhile.”
“Yeah, but how long--” Tony caught a glare from Gibbs and bit back the rest of his question. He flopped into one of the waiting room chairs and sighed. “He’s going to be OK, right, Boss?”
“I don’t know.”
Shocked by Gibbs’ response, Tony studied his mentor for a brief moment before he felt his heart sink. He’d seen that expression before. It was not comforting.
“I can’t believe I missed this. I should have--”
“You got a lot of experience with demon possession, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked in a low voice.
“Well, no, but...I knew something was wrong. I should have…done something.”
“And it is likely that you would have gotten yourself killed,” Ziva replied, her carefully crafted blank expression cracking slightly. “I have heard stories, and...situations such as this rarely end well for anyone.”
“It sure as hell didn’t end well for McGee.”
“It could have been worse, Tony. He is still alive.”
“As far as we know...what’s taking so long?”
“Take a walk, Tony.”
“What?”
“You are not helping yourself or McGee right now. Go burn off some of that anxiety.”
“Are you saying I don’t have the right to be--?”
“That is not what I said.”
“She’s right, Tony. Take a break.”
“But what about…” He unconsciously touched the silver pendant that hung around his neck.
“You are protected. When Ducky returns, we will call you. I promise.”
Tony studied both Ziva and Gibbs with barely concealed skepticism. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”
“No, Tony, we are not. You do need a break.”
“OK, fine. But if you hear anything…”
“Go.”
Tony turned and left, grumbling a few things that were probably rude but Ziva ignored him. When he was out of sight, Gibbs turned to her.
“You know something about all this?”
“Only stories, Gibbs, and…” Her expression faltered. “I have never heard of someone surviving this long. I am sorry.”
“McGee survived.”
“Yes, but...what part of him? Is he ever going to be all right again? Or is he just an empty shell?”
“He’s still in there. The demon said he was.”
“Demons also lie, according to those two men who helped free McGee.” Gibbs didn’t reply. “And even if he is, chances are he will never be the same.”
Gibbs sighed. “No, probably not. Damn it…”
“Don’t you dare,” Abby whispered, breaking the silence she had maintained since they had left Gibbs’ house.
“Abby…”
“No, Gibbs, don’t you dare give up on him! We’re going to get him back. He wouldn’t give up on you. Or you, Ziva.”
“No, he would not, but this...is not like anything we have encountered before.”
“I don’t care! He will get better. He has to! I need...I need to tell him I’m sorry. I’ve been awful to him, so many times, and… I don’t want him to hate me!”
Ziva moved to the chair next to the sobbing woman and put an arm around her shoulder. “I do not believe that McGee could hate you, Abby.”
“Ziva’s right.” Gibbs sighed. “And you’re not the only one who needs to apologize.”
“I thought you had a rule against that?”
“Yeah, well, I’m not always right.” Both women looked at him in surprise as he chuckled softly. “Guess that should be a new rule.”
“Are we also adding a rule that if your teammate is acting weird, check for demonic possession?” Tony snarked as he returned to the waiting room. His too-wide grin vanished when he saw Abby. “Is McGee…?”
“We have not heard yet, Tony.”
“Right.” He flopped into vacant chair next to Gibbs. “What’s taking so long?” He winced as Gibbs smacked the back of his head. “Thanks, Boss.”
The group lapsed back into silence as they waited for news on McGee. After another hour Ducky and another doctor stepped into the waiting area. Their expressions were not comforting.
“How is he, Duck?”
The other doctor answered for Ducky. “Agent McGee is stable, but still in serious condition. He appears to be suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition and we’re giving him nasogastric and IV fluids at this point to stabilize the resulting electrolyte imbalance. His kidneys have started to shut down and we’re performing dialysis to counteract the dysfunction.” The doctor sighed. “Frankly I’m surprised he didn’t collapse long before this. We’re looking at the results of months of self-neglect.”
“It wasn’t his fault!” Ziva squeezed Abby’s arm to silence her.
“Be that as it may, it will take quite some time to recover...if he survives.”
“He might die?”
“It’s a possibility, especially considering the fact that his GCS scores have not improved since he was brought in. He’s still in a deep coma. Hopefully once we’ve dealt with the other issues he’ll start to regain consciousness but at this point… The good news is that we saw nothing on the MRI or CAT scan to indicate any abnormalities. As far as we can tell there’s nothing physically causing his comatose state: no injuries or disease. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Can we see him?” Tony asked, his worry painted across his features.
The doctor glanced at Ducky, who nodded. “Yes, but only two at a time. We need room to work. It’s unlikely that he’ll be aware of your presence, but unless the latest tests show otherwise, I think it would be beneficial for Agent McGee if he wakes up that he has someone he knows with him.
“When.”
“I don’t want to speculate--”
“No, not if. When McGee wakes up.”
The doctor glanced at Ducky again who gave him an ‘I told you so’ look. “OK, yes, when Agent McGee wakes up, he’ll need support of family...and friends.”
“We’ll be here. We won’t fail him again,” Tony declared, eliciting nods from the rest of the group.
“What did happen?” the doctor asked. “How did he get to this point?”
“That’s a long story, Doc, and one we can’t talk about.”
“Classified?”
“Something like that.”
The doctor studied Gibbs for a few moments before nodding. “All right. We have Agent McGee settled in the ICU. If you’d like to see him now--” Abby and Ziva immediately jumped to their feet. “Follow me.”
The team followed the doctor to the unit, silently dreading what they would see when they reached the room. Through the window outside the unit they could just barely see McGee, lying pale and still in one of the beds, surrounded by machines.
Abby and Ziva held on to each other tightly as they followed the doctor to McGee’s beside while Tony, Gibbs, and Ducky waited outside.
“He looks awful,” Tony muttered. Gibbs nodded silently, his eyes on the group beyond the window. He watched as Abby and Ziva each took one of McGee’s hands in their own and started talking to him, although their words did not reach the men waiting outside. “Boss, do you really think…” Gibbs turned and glared at his senior agent. “He’ll be OK. Got it.”
The sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention and they turned to see an unexpected visitor.
“Leon. What are you doing here?”
“I was informed that one of my agents is in the ICU. What happened?”
“We were talking to McGee and he just collapsed,” Tony repeated the semi-truth he had used before.
“Current status?”
“Comatose,” Ducky replied. “Beyond that, I can’t really share that information.”
Vance’s expression told them he already knew some of it. “Did he do this to himself?”
“It wasn’t his fault, Director.”
Vance raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? It appears as though your team hasn’t been big on communication these last few months. Things have been a bit tense.”
“What do you want me to say, Leon? I dropped the ball? Yeah, I did, and McGee’s paying for it. I had no idea how bad it was.”
“As I said, it appears. One thing this job requires is that I look below the surface of a situation. I’ve seen how worried you were, Gibbs, and I know how loyal you all are to each other.”
“Apparently not enough,” Tony muttered before looking Vance in the eye. “Director, I have a confession to make.”
“Just one?”
“Do you remember the mission when you sent me to Iraq, along with Agent Jardine?” Vance nodded. “McGee didn’t volunteer for the mission and you…berated him for not showing initiative, but it was my fault. I told him not to volunteer. He listened to me, and…”
“I know.”
Tony’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “McGee told you?”
“No, he didn’t. I had my suspicions, and I wanted to see if the team was as dedicated to each other as I had been told. Now, I could tell from his expression that I was right, that he had wanted to go, but he never told me what happened. I had to wonder after that why he would maintain that famous loyalty. So, as I said, I looked deeper. There’s a lot more to your team than just teasing and pranks, isn’t there?”
“I’d like to think so…”
“Well, I know so.” He smirked. “I can see quite a lot from the catwalk.”
“Could you see how we missed this?” Gibbs snapped.
Vance sighed. “You’re not the only one wondering, Gibbs. I know your team was worried. I even tried talking to McGee, but he seemed so...normal.”
“On the surface.”
“Yes. I know Ms. Sciuto was checking on him. I made those same checks myself. Whatever this was… it was not something we could have foreseen, giving our training and experience.”
Gibbs shot Vance a look, wondering if the man knew more than he was telling. “Could someone else have seen it?”
“I don’t think the ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda game’ is going to benefit anyone at this point. Hindsight’s certainly not going to help McGee now.”
“Can we?”
“If anyone can.”
“We plan to.”
“Glad to hear it. Doctor Mallard, I’d appreciate updates of whatever you can tell me.”
“Of course, Director.”
“I’ll take your team off rotation for now, Gibbs. Concentrate on your agent.”
“Thanks, Leon.”
After Vance was out of earshot, Gibbs turned to Ducky.
“What do you think, Duck?”
“I think we’re dealing with this as best we can. It’s really up to Timothy now to find his way back to us. Nevertheless, he has a tough journey ahead, and I am not sure he can make it alone.”
“He’ll make it, Duck. We won’t leave him behind. Not this time.”
TBC…