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Floating, she was floating. The smell of blood was gone replaced by the smell of antiseptic. She tried opening her eyes only to squeeze them shut against the blinding light. A single tear escaped her when she let herself believe that she was finally out of the darkness.
She heard His voice, a low hoarse whisper, and she realized He was crying, begging her to come back to Him. He was holding her hand and she poured all of her soul into trying to squeeze back. He cried out her name in response when she did, but she had slipped away to the arms of a restful sleep, knowing if He were there that she was safe.
The next time she woke she opened her eyes and saw Him sleeping with His head near her hand on the bed. He looked tired, and sad, so so sad. With all the effort she could muster she lifted her hand and ran a gentle finger over His lips. His eyes flew open to catch a glimpse of hers a moment before sleep took her again.
Pain, she was surrounded by pain. Again. The monster had returned. Then she heard His voice. Low and soothing, He told her they had to clean her wounds. He promised it would be over soon. He held her hand and told her it was okay to cry. But she didn't. And day after day they would scrub her raw so she would heal. And every day the pain brought it all back and she could feel the monster on her, in her. And her pieces scattered further and further.
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Evie called her boss while she drove back to her hotel, "Carl, I need to take some time."
"I just spoke with Director Sheppard, Eveline. Are you okay?"
Carl knew her past, and was fair and compassionate man that gave her a lot of leeway. They were good friends outside of work as well and truth be told, if she ever gave him even the slightest bit of interest he would jump at the chance to be more than her friend.
"I shouldn't have come back. I wasn't ready to see Him."
Carl knew about Gibbs. Not all of it, but that they had been in a serious relationship. And Carl would sometimes see her staring off at nothing and wondered if she were thinking about Gibbs. Missing him.
"Anything you need Eveline, you know that. And you know I'm here for you."
"Thanks Carl, I'll see you in two weeks."
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"After the surgery she was in another coma. All I could do was hold her hand and beg her to come back to me, Tony."
"How long did that one last?"
"Six days." Tony saw a ghost of a smile cross Gibbs' face and His hand raised to touch His lip.
In a gentle voice Tony asked, "What are you remembering?"
"Ever have something happen you think is a dream at first?"
Chuckling, Tony replied with a cock of his head, "In this relationship with you and Abby? All the time, Boss."
Gibbs looked at Tony, and realized that although said with humor, that the younger man was completely serious.
"I fell asleep with my head on her bed. And she woke up. Just for a minute, long enough to trace my mouth with her finger. It woke me up and I thought I was dreaming. But I saw her eyes, just for a second before she went back out. But it was just sleep this time."
Tony looked hard at Gibbs trying to assess His condition. His eyes were almost back to normal and His breathing was better. The bourbon and the talking seemed to be working.
"The hard part was that they still had to debris her wounds awake or not. They drugged her as much as they dared but it was still awful for her. She would squeeze my hand but she didn't make a sound."
"That is never easy."
"No, it's not. I wish she cried or screamed to let it out, but she didn't make a sound. Wouldn't talk either. They kept trying to push psychiatrists on her but she wouldn't talk to them. Hell, she wouldn't even talk to me. They started pumping her full of anti-depressants and talked about moving her to a psychiatric hospital once her physical health was better. The better she got physically, the more she pulled away from me. I didn't know what to do."
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