Chapter Twenty
At first, Gibbs couldn’t remember where he’d parked his car. In all the confusion and hurry to get Tony seen to, it had been dumped outside the ambulance entrance of the ER. He assumed Ducky must have moved it during one of those times when he’d been left alone with Tony. He thought about ringing the man to find out where he’d parked it, but then he spotted the siren, still atop the car and headed in that direction.
He was surprised that the siren was still there, surprised that someone hadn’t stolen it to get away with going fast, but then again the adaptor that made it run off the car engine and work was inside the locked car and although he’d been in the hospital for over twenty-four hours, no one had obviously thought about breaking into his car to steal the siren, so there it had stayed.
Once he got into his car, he flashbacked to the last time he was there - with Tony in the back, dying and Ducky trying to keep him alive - it took him several minutes to stop shaking and be able to actually put the key in the ignition and start the car.
He drove towards his home at his normal, breakneck speed. It wasn’t an emergency as it had been the last time he’d driven, but he was desperate to get everything done within the two hour time slot Dr. Foster had given him for Tony’s tests to be over with.
He pulled into his parking spot, not ten minutes after leaving the hospital, he climbed out of the car and locked the doors, remembering just in time to take the siren off the top of the car and stow it away in its normal place. Gibbs then went inside and stripped as he headed to the shower. He intended to spend as little time at home as humanely possible, even if it did leave a mess to clear up when he finally returned. He didn’t care about that; all he cared about was getting back to Tony at Bethesda.
He showered quickly and threw on some clothes when he was done, then he packed a bag he had grabbed out of the wardrobe and went back to the car. Flinging the bag in the backseat, he made his way to the Navy Yard.
When he arrived at NCIS, he found Ziva with her head down, working on the sketch for the BOLO. McGee was nowhere to be seen, but Gibbs guessed he was probably down in Abby’s lab helping her with something. He could see Tony’s statement on McGee’s desk, all typed up and ready to be signed when Tony was ready. He didn’t stop to talk, just stormed past Ziva and the other empty desks and headed for the elevator that would take him to the morgue.
Thankfully, when he arrived at the morgue, Ducky was on his own, which was good because with the sense of urgency that he felt, Gibbs didn’t think he’d be able to handle Palmer.
“Hello, Jethro, what brings you down here? Nothing bad, I hope?” Ducky asked, when he looked up from the paperwork he was working on and saw his friend in the doorway.
“Tony’s fine, there’s just a few things I wanted to go over with you while I have this little break from the hospital,” Gibbs said, reassuring the old man.
“Why have you left?”
“Tony’s having some tests and the doctor kinda ordered me to go home, change and shower. So, I’ve done that and still have ninety minutes before Tony’ll be back from his tests and there’s a few things I’m worried about and need clarifying.”
Ducky pulled over one of the stools and motioned for Gibbs to sit down. “I’m all ears, Jethro. I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.”
“You know about Tony needing dialysis?”
“Yes, if you remember I arrived there just after his first session.”
“Okay, well his doctor isn’t sure how long he’ll need it for and whether or not he’ll need a kidney transplant as a result of the damage done by the overdose. I want to know how likely it is that there’ll be permanent damage.”
“Well, without seeing Tony’s tox screen and knowing how much Vicodin he ingested and how long it was in his system and how much was absorbed by the body, I can only go with what his doctor is telling you, Jethro. There may be a chance that Tony’s kidneys just can’t heal from the damage and if so, then a transplant will be needed and until a match can be found, he’ll need dialysis three times a week.”
Gibbs sighed, filing the information away to explain to Tony later. “What about his liver?”
“Well, they’ve started him on drugs to combat the damage done there and the liver is an excellent organ in that it heals itself, so it’s likely that with time and the medication, Tony can recover from that. Of course, he won’t be able to drink alcohol for a long while as that is detrimental to the liver and he’ll also have to be careful which over the counter medicines he uses as some of them are known for liver toxicity.”
“Right. They’re doing an MRI and an EEG at the moment, something about possible brain damage because of the arrest starving oxygen to his brain, which could explain the repeated seizures,” Gibbs said, moving on quickly because he feared that if he stopped Ducky would launch into one of his stories and delay him further. Gibbs knew the Director was going to be the hardest to get away from and wanted to leave plenty of time to talk to her.
“It sounds like you understand that one perfectly fine, what’s the question, Jethro?”
“If it turns out there is damage, or that Tony has some seizure disorder, will he be able to return as an active Field Agent?”
“I’d have to double check the most recent medical guidelines, but as far as I can remember, as long as the seizures are controlled and will not be induced by the work he does, then there is no reason why Anthony can’t come back to work doing the same job he did before this unfortunate incident. He’ll be on desk duty a while because of his shoulder injury and he wouldn’t be allowed to drive until he’d been seizure free for six months, but other than that, I really don’t see a problem with it.”
“Thanks, Duck,” Gibbs said, smiling.
“I take it that that is what you wanted to hear?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“Can I interest you in a drop of a little something before you head back to Bethesda?”
“Thanks, Duck, but I’ll get something from the canteen before I leave. I have to go and have a word with the Director and I want to get back to the hospital before Tony is back from his tests so that he’s not alone.”
“I heard from Abby that you managed to get a statement and description of his attacker?”
“We did, Ziva’s up there now making up a sketch for the BOLO,” Gibbs told him, standing up to signal that he really did have to leave.
“Well, give my love to young Anthony and tell him we’re all rooting for him. I’ll come and see him in a few days when he’s hopefully off ICU and in his own room.”
“I’ll tell him. Thanks for the info, Duck.”
“Anytime, Jethro.”
With that, Gibbs left the morgue and entered the elevator, pressing the button for the Director’s office. He was dreading having to talk to Jen about Tony, but he knew it had to be done and he needed to arrange some personal leave to allow him to be able to stay with Tony while he recovered. He knew he was going to have a fight on his hands, because the Director would want to know why Tony’s family couldn’t be called in to look after Tony if he needed looking after. For the Director of NCIS, she wasn’t half dense sometimes.
He did the unusual and knocked on the Director’s door. Cynthia wasn’t at her desk so he assumed that it would be fine for him to speak to the Director and if she was in a meeting, he was sure she would let him know.
“Come in,” she called from inside the room.
Gibbs opened the door and stepped inside, stopping in front of Jenny’s desk. “Cynthia wasn’t there so I assumed…”
“You assumed correctly, but you knocked, which means I’m going to pay big for this meeting,” she told him.
“I need to arrange some personal leave.”
“Why?”
“To look after Tony.”
“Tony’s a big boy, he can look after himself.”
“Have you forgotten that he tried to take his own life less than twenty-four hours ago? That he’s in the ICU at Bethesda, currently having tests to check for brain damage?” Gibbs snapped, giving away more information than he had intended to.
“I remember, Jethro, I just don’t see why you need to take time off to care for him when he has a family that can do that just as well.”
“His family is us. Either you give me the leave - of which I have more than enough - or I resign, your choice.”
The Director sighed, dealing with Gibbs often gave her a migraine, but she could see that he wouldn’t be moved on this subject, so she took the easy option.
“How long do you need?” she asked, pulling out the appropriate forms.
“Two weeks to begin with, I’ll review it when I know more about Tony’s condition.”
“Sign the form, and please, give Tony my love,” the Director said, not once looking Gibbs in the eye. Gibbs signed his name in the box, nodded at the Director’s request and left her office, heading for the parking garage.
Once he got to his car, he checked his watch; it had taken him just over an hour to do all he needed to do, so he thought about stopping at his favourite coffee shop to stock up on coffee. He had time to have at least two cups and order another to take back to the hospital with him. He smiled as he headed in that direction, he was going to be back before Tony with time to spare and he hoped that the doctor gave him the news he was hoping for.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Who will catch DiNozzo when he falls?
Chapter End Notes:
I know I normally only post a chapter a day - but since it's Good Friday, consider this an early Easter present...hope you all enjoy and please continue to leave me your feedback: good or bad. It makes me a better writer to hear what my readers think. Thank you.