In the Eye of the Beholder 2/?
Chasing their suspect through the heavy underbrush, Gibbs was grateful they'd been able to cut off his access to the playground. In the distance he heard helicopters, but was too busy tackling the man to the ground. He turned to hand the cuffed man off to DiNozzo, but it was a strange FBI agent panting beside him and Gibbs remembered that he'd left his two men far behind, and on bicycles. It took a minute to remember who this red-faced man was. "You want to take him, Jackson?"
Brian Jackson had heard stories about Gibbs, but had laughed them off. Now he wasn't so sure. Gasping and wheezing, he was dreading the long walk back to where they'd left the vehicles. Not even bothering to raise up, he gave a slight wave with the one hand he could lift off his knees. "Nah, you caught him, he's all yours."
Smirking, Gibbs started back towards where he'd left the truck, dragging his prisoner with him.
---NCIS---
"Here, we're down here." Tony felt helpless as all he could do was move out of the way and let the paramedics take care of Tim. Working with an obvious sense of urgency, they wrapped a brace around his neck before strapping him to a board. It was only then that they took the time to start an IV drip before starting the long journey back up the hill. Several FBI agents arrived the same time as the helicopter, their presence reminding Tony to secure his and Tim's weapons with them before climbing into the helicopter ordering the pilot to take McGee to Bethesda.
---NCIS---
Fornell was waiting when Gibbs arrived back at the truck, both the suspect and the other agent staggering to keep up. A jerk of the balding head and two more agents moved up to take custody of the prisoner. Once the transfer was made, Fornell didn't waste any time. "I don't know the details yet, but McGee's been airlifted to Bethesda. DiNozzo didn't say anything, just handed over their weapons before he got on the chopper with him."
Ziva and Sacks arrived as Fornell was talking, and Ziva dropped her bike to the ground as she joined Gibbs. "How badly is McGee injured? Was Tony hurt?"
"Like I was telling Gibbs, I don't know much." Fornell shook his head. "All I know is that DiNozzo seemed fine and it was only one bike that was damaged. My guys are thinking it was a hit and run. They've got the scene secured and an incident reconstruction team is on their way. Go on, get out of here and check on your man. Paperwork can wait."
Gibbs gave a short nod and headed for the truck, Ziva at his heels. Sacks turned to Fornell in disbelief, but Fornell cut him off. "Until Gibbs knows the kid's going to be all right, it's not worth it. Besides, which member of that team actually makes the paperwork clear enough for us to use?"
"Good point."
---NCIS---
"Well?" Tony was on his feet before the doctor was completely through the door.
"Agent DiNozzo, I'm Dr. Jason Elby."
"How is he? He was getting some feeling back in the helicopter, that's good, right?"
Elby sighed. The painful tingling could be a good sign, but he didn't want to give the man too much hope until they knew for sure. He took Tony's elbow and lead him to a group of chairs in a quiet corner of the waiting room "I understand that you have Agent McGee's medical proxy?"
"That's right." Tony sat, but he couldn't keep his knee from bouncing.
"Agent McGee has suffered a cervical fracture..."
"Damn it." Tony bowed his head as he struggled to reign in his emotions. As long as he hadn't heard the words, he could convince himself that Tim had not broken his neck in the fall.
The neurologist knew what was going through Tony's mind and rushed to continue. "The good news is that the fracture is relatively stable and his spinal cord appears to be intact."
Tony latched onto that bit of good news. "But the paralysis and the loss of feeling?"
"Spinal shock and bruising is common with injuries like this. Our main concern at the moment is to limit the swelling because pressure against the spinal cord will be the greatest cause of a permanent deficit. The injury is high enough on his spine that it could affect his ability to breathe."
The image of Christopher Reeves immediately flashed through Tony's mind as he teared up. "You're saying that he could end up a quadriplegic and on a respirator?"
"It's a possibility." Seeing the pain on Tony's face, Dr. Elby rushed to reassure him. "It's also a possibility that in a few weeks he'll walk out of here under his own power. Chances are that his prognosis is somewhere in between."
The trembling hand that rubbed across Tony's face was the final clue Elby needed. "You have his medical proxy, which is all we need, legally, but we have a very long road ahead of us. Am I speaking to Tim's friend, or his spouse?"
This time Tony couldn't blink fast enough and he brushed away a tear. "Our... our first anniversary is next month. God, this can't be happening."
Elby laid a hand across Tony's shoulder. "I assume you and he are not out at work?"
"No." Tony gave a shaky laugh. "Only two people know about us. You don't know how hard that is at times."
"Actually, I do." Jason bend down enough to look Tony in the eye. "My life partner's name is Scott and someday very soon the Navy will let me say that in public." The relief and gratitude he saw on the other man's face told Elby that he'd made the right decision.
Tony took a deep breath and sat up straighter as he visibly pulled himself together. "Okay, so what happens now? How do you prevent the swelling from doing any more damage?"
"He'll be placed in the intensive care unit. We've already started him some very strong steroids to counter the swelling and we're going to put him in a medically induced coma for at least a few days."
"A coma?"
"The less strain on his nervous system the better. He'll be on a ventilator to support him if he does lose the ability to breath on his own." Dr. Elby could see the fear on DiNozzo's face. "Come on, you can be with him while we get everything prepped. The two nurses that are in with him are very good at respecting a patient's privacy."
---NCIS---
Leaving Fornell and Sacks in a cloud of dust, Gibbs sped down the road towards Bethesda with Ziva quietly sitting next to him. "Get me some answers."
She nodded, deciding to try dispatch first. Ziva could only imagine what Tony was feeling if McGee was seriously injured and what she wanted to say to him could not be said with Gibbs next to her. After a brief discussion with the dispatcher, Ziva was able to get an update from the team at the scene of the accident before closing her phone and turning back to Gibbs.
"It appears he was hit by a car. The agent I spoke with believes that the impact was enough to knock him over a railing. From there he fell down a steep embankment approximately seventy five feet before landing in a creek bed. He..." Ziva's voice wavered for a second before she forced herself to continue. "He did not drown because his upper body was not in the water."
Gibbs was trying to imagine the scene. "Was he unconscious?"
Ziva stared at the passing trees, refusing to show her fear to Gibbs. "No, the paramedics called it in as a suspected broken neck with major loss of function."
There was no verbal response, but she heard a fist hitting the door as their speed increased.
---NCIS---
Trying to remember everything he learned in college about the human nervous system, Tony let himself be led to the small room that held his life. "Tim, oh God, Tim."
Over the last few hours the scrapes and bruises had become more evident, but what struck Tony the most were the heavy sandbags that surrounded Tim's shoulders and head, preventing even the slightest bump of the bed from transferring to his badly injured neck. He was naked under the thin sheet, the clothes he'd been teasing Tony with only hours earlier, sliced away and tossed in a corner. Before Tony could ask about the necklace that was missing from his bare chest, Dr. Elby laid an envelope in his hand.
"Here, this seems to mean a lot to Agent McGee. I'm sure he'd be more comfortable with you holding onto it."
Tony could feel the chain and metal disc through the thin paper and pressed it against his own chest, remembering the early Fall morning when he and Tim had pledged to love forever and exchanged the symbols of their love, each engraved with a reminder of the other man.
"It'll be back where it belongs soon, Tim, I promise." Tony leaned close to hear the weak voice.
"I'm scared, Tony."
"Me too." Ignoring the nurses, he first kissed Tim's forehead. "It's going to be okay." His left brow. "You're going to be all right." His right brow. "We're going to get through this."
"Promise... promise me you'll be here when I wake up?" On Tim's side, Dr. Elby injected the needed medication into his IV.
Tony gently kissed Tim's lips. "I promise. Wild horses couldn't keep me away." He watched as the beloved green eyes started to lose their focus. "I promise." He pressed his lips against the now slack lips one more time. "I love you, Tim."
Eventually, Tony straightened up, still clutching the envelope to his chest as he wiped his eyes with his other hand. Jason reached out and touched his arm. "It will take a few hours to get him settled up in the ICU. This would be a good time to take a break, get cleaned up and get yourself something to eat."
"Yeah, yeah, okay." Tony glanced down at the dirty and torn clothes he was wearing and the tangle of leaves caught in his shoelace. "I'm probably scaring the natives."
He turned away from the bed to look up into a pair of shocked blue eyes.
"Boss?"