Chapter Thirty-Five
Gibbs knew that he had to inform Tony that Kamisnski was now at large, having only been charged with what they found in his warehouses and there was nothing that he could do - legally - oh, there were a hundred and one things he could do to see that the man was punished for his crime against Tony illegally, but he wasn’t sure that Tony would want him to actually kill the man and risk his own freedom for that.
He told Ziva and McGee to search for anything that would link the Lieutenant Commander to the Petty Officer and told Abby to check for anything from the warehouse that would carry some kind of forensic link to the scene where Tony was attacked. If they could prove that maybe Woodman worked for Kamisnski and knew him through the warehouses, maybe they could get a Judge to agree that he was the one who ordered the hit on the word of a confessed rapist and druggie.
He left the bullpen, furious with himself for not thinking about that sooner and having a more secure case before altering Kamisnski to their case, now the man had a chance to get someone else to take the fall so that he could again walk free and if Gibbs had anything to do with it, it wouldn’t happen. His main worry was Tony’s safety, so as he drove he called the Marine on duty and informed him not to let anyone in without showing ID, including NCIS staff - they still had to find their leak, if there was one at all. He wanted a log of all Tony’s visitors from then onwards so that if an attempt on his life was made, they had someway to trace everyone who had seen him before and after. He also asked for the Marine to tell the staff that from now on, Tony was a ‘no information’ patient, meaning they wouldn’t even say if he was a patient at the hospital, let alone his room number. That should make it harder for Kamisnski. Harder, but not hard enough.
Gibbs drove faster than usual, avoiding cops by using his siren that hadn’t been used since the day he found Tony, he knew it was breaking the rules but right then he didn’t care - he just wanted to get to his partner and make sure he was okay.
When he arrived on Tony’s floor, he had no problem finding the private room they had arranged for him. He was desperate to find out any news of Tony’s condition and it felt like he hadn’t seen him all day even though he’d been in and out. He planned to crash here tonight with Tony, as he had done the last few nights Tony had been in the hospital. At least this time, he was off the ICU and showing signs of actually recovering.
“Hey, Tony,” Gibbs said, when he saw Tony lying down, watching the small TV fixed to the wall. He leant down and gave him a kiss on the forehead - which the Marine guarding either didn’t see or chose to ignore.
“Boss, it’s good to see you, I’m going out of my mind with the crap they call TV,” Tony said, smiling.
“How are you feeling? What’s the doc saying?” Gibbs asked.
“He came to see me once I’d been moved and apparently my latest blood results showed a lot of improvement in my kidney function so they’re gonna remove this tube at some point tomorrow. I still have to keep taking the meds for my liver though, it’s not recovering as quickly as they’d hoped it would. I also have to keep the catheter in for a few more days to monitor my urine output and to keep an eye on my kidneys, but he said after that they should be able to take it out. He’s arranged for me to see a new head doctor tomorrow morning, so that you’ll be here with me in case I freak out again and my latest EKG showed improvement so the surgery went well and the placement and all is okay.”
“That’s all good, but how are you feeling?” Gibbs asked, again, having digested all the medical information Tony had given him. It was the first time since his admission that Gibbs had not been present when the doctor came to see him.
“Tired, sore and a little sick,” Tony admitted.
“Have you told the nurses?”
“Didn’t want to bother them, it’s just a little pain and some nausea, what can they do?”
“You’re written up for meds to combat both of those, so ask for them next time.”
“What do you mean, ‘next time’?” Tony asked, sounding confused.
“Well, I’m going to go and get them for you this time, but you’ll have to learn to speak up, DiNozzo, you’ve got a long recovery ahead of you both physically and mentally and the nurses are here to make that recovery as smooth as possible, remember that.” With that, Gibbs left the room, tipping his head to the guard and headed to the nurses station which was located down the hall to the left.
When he got there, the only nurse present was on the phone with what he guessed was a relative of one of the other patients, so he stood back to give her some privacy and waited.
“What can I do for you, Agent Gibbs?” the nurse asked after about five minutes. Gibbs didn’t have to guess that she knew who he was because of Dr. Foster who would have told them to expect him to hang around and stay the night with Tony.
“Agent DiNozzo is experiencing some pain and nausea, Dr. Foster said it would happen with some of the medications he’s on, I wondered if he was written up for anything to help with that,” Gibbs asked, using his polite voice and giving her his best smile.
“He is, I’ll go and draw up the meds and be along to give them to him shortly. Will I need my ID to get past the guard?” she asked.
“Yes, even though we know you’re coming, he still has to check,” Gibbs explained.
“That’s fine,” she said, before disappearing from the desk to draw up Tony’s drugs. Gibbs headed back to Tony’s room, his ID out for the guard to check already.
“They’re going to bring you something in a moment; you think you can hold out that long?” Gibbs asked, gently, worried for his partner, the man he loved.
“I’ll be fine so long as no one makes any sudden movements,” Tony replied, looking green around the gills.
“I’ll wait until the nurse has been, but I have something to tell you.”
“Good or bad.”
“It’ll keep for a few minutes,” Gibbs said, pulling a chair up so that he could sit next to Tony’s bed. The cot he had slept on in the ICU had been moved down with Tony and was set up in the corner. Gibbs hoped he managed to get some decent down time tonight because he would be up early with Tony’s meeting with the shrink and then once that was over, he would have to get back to NCIS to see about putting Kamisnski behind bars where he belonged.
The nurse appeared with a syringe and a cup with two pills in it. “These are codeine, they should help with your pain, if they don’t you’re written up for something stronger if you need it. So let me know. This,” she said, holding up the syringe, “is Companzine, it should help with the nausea. I’ll give that to you IV first and then when you feel less sick, take the pills. We don’t want you throwing up when you don’t have to.”
Tony nodded and she injected the Companszine into his IV, which seemed to relax Tony as well, he closed his eyes.
“Try not to give in to sleep just yet, not until you’ve taken your pain medication. I’ve had this stuff before so I know it makes you sleepy,” the nurse said before leaving the room.
Five minutes after the injection, Tony swallowed the pills and settled back against the pillows. “What did you have to tell me, boss?” Tony asked, sleepily.
“If you need to sleep, it can wait until morning,” Gibbs asked, even though he knew that he really should tell Tony now so that his guard was up.
“Can it? Thanks, boss, that stuff has really knocked me out.” Gibbs watched Tony’s chest rise and fall, sitting there holding his hand until his breathing had evened out and Gibbs knew for sure he was asleep.
“I’m sorry, Tony,” he whispered, before giving him a gentle kiss on his forehead and retiring to his cot in the corner. He was sorry that he hadn’t been able to keep Tony safe, from the rape, from the attack, from everything. But, most of all, he was sorry that because of his errors, Kamisnski was walking the streets, by all means, a free man.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Who will catch DiNozzo when he falls?