What's Eating Timothy McGee? 8/? gen.
It didn't take long for McGee to crash once Gibbs had gotten him in the house. By the time Gibbs was pulling the blankets over him in the small downstairs bedroom, he was asleep. Wanting to stay close, Gibbs settled on the sofa with an old, familiar book.
A little more than an hour later the first nightmare started. Gibbs rushed in, not wanting McGee to injure himself. Sure enough, the younger man was struggling with an unseen foe when Gibbs entered the room.
"Easy, easy, Tim." Gibbs gently caught the waving arms and pressed them back down, careful not to disturb the dressing on his left arm. It took a minute, but Gibbs realized that Tim was reliving the attack, trying to defend himself from the drugged up dog. It was only forty-five minutes before the second nightmare started, but the time the third one hit, Gibbs had moved a chair into the bedroom.
The hand resting on his forehead seemed to keep the nightmares at bay and Gibbs slouched down in his chair, finding a reasonably comfortable position for the rest of the night.
At 0500 Gibbs awoke, pleased by the few hours of sleep McGee had managed. Knowing the younger man wanted things as normal as possible, Gibbs slipped out to start getting ready for the day. After a quick shower, he arrived back in the bedroom just as McGee was waking up. He helped the younger man get ready for the day and coaxed him into eating a light breakfast.
Arriving at the Yard, they found that someone had beaten them there. A padded ottoman had replaced the broken chair and a soft pillow was waiting on McGee's desk. Tim glanced over at his boss, amazed at how he'd managed it.
Gibbs shook his head. "Wasn't me." Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar figure and let him listen. "Don't push yourself too hard today, you didn't exactly have a full night's sleep last night."
"Sorry, I didn't keep you awake, did I?" Tim settled at his desk, his leg up on the ottoman the the pillow supporting his arm.
"How long have you been having nightmares about the attack?" When McGee looked up, surprised, Gibbs explained. "You were fighting off the dog in your sleep."
"Oh." Tim looked down and shrugged. "I'll get used to it, I always do, but maybe I should stay at my own place. That way I'm not keeping you up, too."
A well placed, but soft, slap to the back of the head made Gibbs' point. "Not open to discussion, McGee." He glanced back over, but their watcher was gone.
---NCIS---
Ziva didn't have time to step off the elevator before Tony grabbed her arm and turned her away from the bullpen. Without a word, he led her to the back elevator and down to the sub-basement.
Abby looked up as they arrived in her lab, Tony still tugging Ziva behind him. "Hey, Tony, what's up?"
"Yes, Tony, what is the problem this morning?" Finally released, Ziva stared at her partner. "What is going on?"
"What do we know about when McGee was attacked by the dog?"
Abby became instantly quiet while Ziva frowned. "Tony, we were there, remember?"
"No, we were inside the house. We didn't know what was happening until it was over."
"And we never really talked to him about it, not the way we should have." Tony had been looked at Ziva as they talked, but then pointedly glanced over at Abby, who was staring at the floor.
It took a moment, but Ziva realized what DiNozzo had planned and nodded her consent. "You are right, we never did. Come along, Abby."
"What? Where are we going?" Tony and Ziva both had an arm hook through one of hers, carrying her along. It wasn't until they were in the elevator that Tony explained.
"After we have a bad experience out in the field, we need to talk about it, get it out of our systems. Probie never got the chance."
"Yes, Abby," Ziva picked up where Tony left off. "Even if McGee did not want to speak of the details, he would have used his free writing to work his way through what happened to him. His arm was too badly injured for that to be an option."
"Okay, so you guys are going to make him talk about it. What does that have to do with me?" Abby actually had a pretty good idea as she stared at the floor of the metal box.
"He needs to talk and you need to listen." Not giving the lab rat the chance to back out, he marched her out of the elevator. Letting go of her as they approached McGee's desk, Tony squatted down next to McGee.
Tim had settled into his seat, getting his leg elevated and his arm supported on the pillow. Now he watched as the rest of the team gathered in front of his desk. "Hey, guys, what's up?"
"We never debriefed after you were attacked." Tony pointed to the heavily bandaged arm. "I think it's time we did."
"Yes, McGee," Ziva didn't let go of Abby's arm as the two of them stood in front of McGee's desk and Gibbs watched them carefully. "Start from when we separated at the car."
"Umm, okay. Tim stared into space as he thought back. "You guys went to the front of the house and I had to circle around. I always have to rush when I'm the only one covering the back."
Abby couldn't help herself. "Why?"
"It's a lot quicker for the three of them to make sure the front is secure than for just one person to secure the rest of the outside." Tim shrugged, not noticing the guilt that flashed on several faces. "Anyway, the back door was ajar, so that's where I stationed myself. I had my weapon drawn in case he made a run for it, and then..."
"Then?" Tony tapped his good leg to keep him on track. "Is that when the dog came running out?"
Tim shook his head. "Not running, jumping. He came through the door airborne, head high. I didn't even know what was coming at me."
"You couldn't see it?" Once he thought about it, Tony realized that the sun had been high in front of McGee, the covered deck and doorway in deep shadow.
"No, I thought Hanson had thrown something out the door."
"To distract you before he made his escape?" Ziva had seen suspects do that multiple times, they all had.
"Yeah, that split second was enough that I couldn't adjust my aim quick enough and he plowed into me. I remember my head slamming onto the concrete and getting the wind knocked out of me. The dog had his teeth buried in my arm and he was clawing at my throat."
Abby whimpered and covered her mouth as she listened, but the rest of the group was focused on McGee. Tony started to say something, but Tim resumed his tale.
"When he jumped me, it knocked the gun out of my hand. The sun was in my eyes, I couldn't see anything, just the dog's outline as he kept tearing at my arm. I was just fumbling around with my other hand, trying to find my gun. I could hear... I could hear his teeth grinding against the bone and his growling. He was growling so loud, I was sure you guys could hear him."
From his desk, Gibbs carefully watched everyone's reaction. Tony and Ziva were watching McGee intently, both looking uncomfortable, while Abby had closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Up on the catwalk, he caught a glimpse of Director Shepard listening, along with a few people from HR. At his own desk, McGee seemed unaware of the affect his words were having as he stared off into space.
"You did not yell for help, McGee. Was it because you still could not breathe?"
Tim's eyes flickered slightly, so they knew Ziva's question registered on some level. Finally, he answered, but his voice was so low, they had to lean closer to hear. "I thought you guys were in trouble."
"Why?"
"I told Gibbs that I was in position and that the back door was open. Gibbs acknowledged me and you guys went in. That was the last I heard over the wire."
"Shit." Tony hung his head as he fought the urge to hit something. The fact that McGee wasn't screaming and had bounced right back up was what convinced him that the younger man wasn't badly injured. Now, he and the others saw the situation in a whole new light. "When did you realize that we were alright?"
"After I shot the dog. All I could think about was getting in there to back you guys up - didn't know you had the scene secured until Ziva walked out the door."
"When Tony and I came out there, we saw you upright and moving around, I thought you were okay." Gibbs shook his head in a near apology. "We should have checked closer. When did it all finally hit you?"
Tim didn't look up as he smoothed the edge of the gauze wrapped around his hand. "I guess after I got back here with the dog. Abby was yelling at me about how bad I was because I shot the dog and I finally realized how much it hurt and how close I came to getting killed. You guys were still processing the scene and Ducky and Palmer weren't back yet either. I just found a corner to hide in until I stopped shaking, then I went back to work."
Tony looked over his shoulder at Abby, seeing the tears dripping off her down-turned face. "See, and we thought you were here getting fussed over by Abby and that by the time we got back, you'd be ready for some teasing to lighten the mood." At his words, Abby started crying even harder and ran out of the room. Ziva started to follow her, but Gibbs shook his head.
"No, let her be. She's got some real thinking to do."
Sensing that his friend had also reached the end of his endurance, Tony stood and rested his hand on Tim's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Buddy, we let you down, but it won't happen again."
"I am sorry, too, McGee." Ziva leaned across the desk and kissed his cheek. As she and Tony returned to their desks, Gibbs gave an encouraging nod to McGee, reinforcing the support he'd found from the team.
As the working day started, they settled in to work. The new case had few leads and took most of their concentration. The few times that Tim's focus wandered. It was just as likely to be Tony to pull him back in, even if DiNozzo still didn't know all the details.
---NCIS---
Once the team was progressing on the case, Gibbs slipped away and went down to the sub-basement. No music was playing and Abby was in her office staring at her computer screen. Gibbs could hear the muffled sounds of dogs growling and snarling. Curious, he moved closer to see what she was watching.
Highlights of trained military and police dogs attacking well-padded volunteers, knocking them down and shaking them like rag dolls filled the screen. Abby was crying again, or still, as she watched.
She reached out and paused the video. The image froze eerily similar to how McGee had described his attack, the dog's teeth buried in the padded arm protector while his claws scraped across the metal and leather neck guard. Even Gibbs was uncomfortable with the image.
"Abs?"
"He must have been so scared, Gibbs."
"In his place, any of us would have been."
"Even you?"
Gibbs tapped the screen. Through the steel face guard, even the training officer's face showed a trace of fear. "Oh, yeah."
"He seemed so different with me, but that's the way he was trained, wasn't it?"
"I think you know the the answer to that one, Abby." Seeing the thoughtful look on her face, Gibbs left her to make her own decisions.