2 months later..........
Tim was pulled out a deep sleep by the rising nausea that had started to plague him regularly for the past two weeks. He wasn’t particularly worried about it and had put it down to the disturbing case they had been working on recently.
It had been a particularly nasty one involving the capture and murder of a general’s 15 year old son. He had been snatched whilst doing his morning paper round and had been found four days later by passing joggers, his body washed up on the bank of a river.
The case had hit both Tim and Jethro hard and the memories that surfaced for both of them had been unpleasant and unsettling, leading to both of them working the case until the small hours in the morning, only dragging themselves home when exhaustion took hold. Tim had admitted to feeling bone weary to his lover on the drive home last night and was ushered to bed as soon as they walked through the door.
They had finally caught the suspect and all that was left was the dreaded paperwork, a report neither man was looking forward to writing.
He felt his lover move, a warm arm snaking its way around his waist, pulling Tim closer to him. On any other day this would make him feel comfortable and loved, today it just made him want to.......
‘Tim, what the.........Shit you Ok?’
Jethro was startled awake when his arm was pushed off roughly, his lover pushing the duvet off to run to the bathroom. He jumped out of bed and was met by the sight of Tim kneeling in front of the toilet, retching violently, throwing up everything he had eaten yesterday.
He quickly moved to Tim’s side, kneeling on the hard tine floor to support his lover through the worst of the retching, grimacing as the smell wafted up from the bowl. He leaned over and flushed before standing to wet the washcloth and get a glass of cold water.
‘Here, drink this. You Ok?’
Tim took the water and rinsed out his mouth, sighing as he felt a warm wet washcloth drape across the back of his neck as a warm calloused hand rubbed circles in between his shoulder blades. He felt a pang of regret as Jethro’s hand left his back and removed the washcloth from his neck leaving a cold feeling as the chill of the air snaked across his neck.
He heard the taps turn on and felt the warm washcloth being gently rubbed across his face, removing the sheen of sweat that had appeared during the violent bout.
‘Thanks, I’m fine. Something didn’t settle right’.
He felt his lovers hand gently palm his forehead before moving to his cheek. He nestled into it before starting to heave again.
‘Tim, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Let Duck take a look at you’
The concern that dripped off Jethro’s words made Tim slump, He had refused to see Ducky initially, putting it all down to the case they were working bringing back memories of seeing his best friend’s body mangled when he was a kid.
‘J, I’m good. I think the ca.......’
‘Damn it Tim, for someone so mild mannered you can be a stubborn SOB. Please, for me. I just wanna make sure you’re Ok’.
Tim started at the statement; it was very seldom Jethro used his ‘boss’ voice outside of the office and that alone sent a wave of guilt flowing through Tim.
‘Sorry J, look I’ll go down to autopsy first thing OK’.
He stood and walked unsteadily to the sink to brush his teeth. He heard his lover stand before moving behind him, hugging him tight. His head was resting on Tim’s shoulder blade, his warm cheek sitting against the chilled skin. He didn’t like being firm with his lover but knew it was the only way to get his lover checked out. He also knew that his lover would feel guilty about making him pull out the big guns.
‘Sure, listen, if it is stress then we’ll take a long weekend and go visit my dad. Stillwater’s nice at this time of year’
Tim nodded and turned to his lover, claiming him in a passionate kiss before pulling away.
‘Sounds nice, I’ll ring Jackson later to let him know. We’ve got a couple of hours before we need to get up, you mind if we go back to bed because I’m exhausted and cold’
Jethro pecked him on the cheek and guided him back to bed, both men spooning in the moonlight that streamed through the gap in the curtains. Jethro slipped his leg in between his lovers and rested his feet against Tim’s. He felt Tim’s hand rub down his arm before lacing their fingers together tightly. It wasn’t long before he felt those fingers relax and heard the sound of his lover’s soft, regular breathing, soothing him gently back to sleep.
The sound of the alarm was harsh and sliced through Tim’s head like a knife. He had woken to the loud shrieking, compounding the pounding in his exhausted head. He was relieved when he felt his lover reach over to turn it off.
Jethro rolled back and propped his head up on his hand, tracing the lines of Tim’s face with his other.
‘Morning sunshine, how’re you feeling?’
Tim opened his eyes as much as he can and tried to focus on his lover but the familiar distortions were blurring his vision. Jethro frowned at the glassy slits of green and watched as Tim’s eyes closed again, a groan escaping past his lips as he rubbed at them hard, trying to get rid of the incessant pounding and the flashing stars.
He knew it was completely pointless lying to his lover and moved his hand so it completely covered his eyes.
‘J, m’not feeling so good. Can you get me my migraine meds’
The pained, pinched expression had not gone unnoticed and he gave his lover’s hand a quick squeeze before making his way into the bathroom to grab the tablets. He had always hated the fact that the tablets had become a necessity in their medicine cabinet.
The only saving grace was that Tim didn’t suffer from them often; the bitch was that when he did he was usually knocked off his feet for a couple of days. He made his way back to the bedroom with the meds and a glass of water and helped his lover sit up long enough to take them.
‘Think you can keep them down?’
Tim leaned in to his lover and rested his head on the firm shoulder, sitting up really didn’t help at all.
‘Yeah, think so’
It was all he could manage to say, Jethro could see the effort it took to answer his lovers question. It was one that was asked every time. There were rare occasions the meds had been thrown back up meaning the only way he could get the meds in his lovers system was to either inject them or give him a tab that melted on his tongue. The latter was something the two men had been meaning to restock.
‘Ok, lay back. I’ll be back soon’
He pressed a cold compress onto Tim’s hairline and walked out of the bedroom with his phone. He needed to make a couple of calls and knew Tim would drift off as the strong meds took hold.
He ran down the stairs and made his into the kitchen to pour himself a coffee and dialled, waiting for the familiar voice on the other end.
‘Duck, it’s Jethro. Listen I need you to come over and look at Tim’.
‘Jethro, good morning. Is the dear boy Ok, it’s rather early to be ringing’
Jethro couldn’t help but smile at the chirpy voice of his friend. They had known each other for years and had soon forged a friendship bond that was as strong as ever.
‘He’s not doing well duck. He’s been feeling sick for a couple of weeks and last night hurled for an hour. He’s woken up this morning with a migraine’
‘Oh dear, I’ll be right over, the nurse has just arrived to tend to mother. Give me 15 minutes’.
‘Thanks Duck, the door’ll be open’.
He hung up and rang the office to let them know neither of them will be in today. It wasn’t too much of a problem; the case was wrapped up and they were ploughing through the mountain of paperwork, something he could do at home.
‘Ok, thanks Leon, I’ll get the reports over to you this afternoon’
He hung up the phone and took a long swig of his coffee, spluttering when he heard an ominous thud from the bedroom.
He ran up the stairs two at a time and barged into the bedroom glancing at the bed to find it empty.
He heard the whimpering before he saw his lover curled up into a ball at the side of the bed. It was obvious what he wanted to do, the small pool of bile sitting at the side of his head made it clear that the nausea had returned. Jethro sighed at the sight of the small pill sitting in the middle of it.
‘Tim, Shit, it’s Ok, think you can get back in bed. I’ve called Duck and he’ll be here any minute’.
Tim let out a strangled sound as he was lifted gently from the floor. The pounding in his head growing fiercer with every movement. It was no easy task, Tim was pretty much dead weight as his lover lifted him, finally getting him back into bed and covered up before Ducky arrived.
‘Jethro, can I come in?’
Ducky knew his friend had asked him to be there, but he had long learned to stop outside the master bedroom and knock gently.
‘Yeah, er, give me a sec Duck’
He pulled on a pair of sweats and walked over to the bedroom door, opening it to give his friend access.
Ducky looked around the room and noticed the mess on the floor. He moved quickly to the side of the bed and sat in the chair Jethro pulled over.
‘Thank you Jethro. Oh dear Timothy, I understand you are feeling quite poorly. I take it you didn’t manage to keep the tablet down dear boy’.
Tim tried to open his eyes at the sound of Ducky’s voice; he had always liked the coroner and usually found his voice somewhat comforting. Today it echoed uncomfortably through his head as the daylight assaulted his eyes making him whimper.
‘No’
The weak response made the ME frown and he turned towards Tim’s worried lover who was hovering near the end of the bed.
‘Jethro, I need to turn the lights on but I think they may be too much for poor Timothy here to bear. Can you get me something to cover his eyes?’
It wasn’t long before Jethro returned with a folded up towel and waited for Ducky to drape it gently over Tim’s eyes before turning the lights on.
The exam didn’t take very long and Tim soon felt a sharp prick in the crook of his arm. Slowly, the pounding subsided, being replaced by the medicated sleep that was needed to shift the migraine.
‘Jethro, I don’t like the way he looks. The medication should get rid of the migraine but he’s dehydrated and I doubt very much he will be able to keep any water down at this point. I’m afraid a trip to Bethesda is called for’
Jethro ran his hands through his hair, the breath he had inhaled puffing out in a long spurt.
‘Duck is that really necessary, I mean it’s jus.......’
He was cut off by an unusually sharp reply from his friend.
‘Jethro do not countermand me. He’s dehydrated and will struggle to keep fluids down. The only way to get him rehydrated is through an IV which I certainly can’t give him here. We may need an ambulance because I’m not too sure how Timothy will handle the transport’
Jethro nodded, he knew it was futile to argue with his friend and pulled out his phone to ring for an ambulance.
The trip to the hospital had been uneventful. The meds Ducky had given Tim knocked him out cold and he was unconscious throughout the paramedic’s ministrations. They had checked Tim’s vitals before lifting his limp form onto a gurney; luckily Ducky had helped Jethro pull a pair of sweat pants on so the ambulance crew weren’t dealing with a very naked unconscious Timothy McGee.
‘Dr Mallard, do you know if he has a history of hypertension, his blood pressure is a little bit high’
Ducky shook his head and turned his attention to the medic.
‘No, the boy has always been in perfect health apart from the odd Migraine and cold’
The medic nodded and helped his partner lift the gurney into the ambulance, Jethro stepped in after them after being assured Ducky would meet them there.
Tim had been hooked up to an IV in the ambulance, the much needed fluids pumping through his veins before reaching the hospital. There wasn’t much for the medic to do as Tim’s vitals all looked good apart from the high blood pressure which was probably caused by the stress of being ill.
It didn't tke long fo them to get to he hospital and Jethro watched as his lover was whisked away into an examination room. There was nothing he could do now but wait so he sat down with the clip board and filled out the hospital forms
Bethesda ..........1 hour later
Jethro currently sat in the waiting room of the hospital, both elbows resting on his knees while his hands cupped his tired face. He was jolted upright by a pat to his back and a large coffee being thrust into his hands.
‘Any news Jethro?’
Ducky watched as his friend shook his head and took a long swig of his coffee. He felt like he had been waiting for hours and was getting more worried with every passing minute. If it was a case of simple dehydration then why the hell was it taking so long.
‘Who’s here for Tim McGee?’
The two men stood and made their way over to the young doctor who had emerged from the examination room. She smiled at the sight of them, the younger of the two obviously wound tighter than a coil. Jethro looked at the Doctor, expectantly waiting to hear how Tim was doing.
‘Tim’s going to be fine. We’ve kept him on the IV to rehydrate him and have given him some medication to bring his blood pressure down. We noticed his blood sugar levels were low which may be due to the nausea. We’ve added a glucose IV to bring that up’
Ducky nodded, the relief on his face visible. He glanced to the side to see Jethro’s tense shoulders relax.
‘Can we go sit with him doc?’
Jethro looked at the doctor and she noticed his eyes were almost pleading with her.
‘Sure, I don’t see a problem with that, though I would like to keep an eye on him until tomorrow for observation’
Jethro nodded and followed Ducky into the examination room. He looked at the pale face of his lover and felt a pang of sadness, seeing his lover sick always upset him, seeing him hooked up to the two IV’s and the nasal cannula sent a pang of panic through him.
‘Jethro, it’s Ok, the oxygen is only a precaution, he probably doesn’t need it but its always better to err on the side of caution’
Jethro nodded and made his way over to his lover, picking up the hand without the IV’s, he started to trace small circles over the back of Tim’s hand with his thumb, using small soothing motions that he knew would relax his lover had he been awake.
It was eight in the evening and Tim had been moved into a small private room. He was still sleeping peacefully and Jethro hoped they would let Tim home tomorrow, something that depended on how his migraine was and on whether or not he could keep anything down. Jethro sat in the uncomfortable hard chair, his head dropping slightly as his eyes threatened to close when he heard a small groan from the bed.
He jumped up quickly and rested his hand on Tims forehead, brushing the strands of hair backwards off his face.
‘Timmy. Hey. You’re gonna be fine Ok, you’re in the hospital’
He was holding Tim’s hand and waited for the first peek of green as his lovers eyes opened slowly. It didn’t take long as Tim looked around the room, his brow furrowed with confusion.
‘Hey.........what.......’
Tim cleared his throat and tried to swallow, the hours of sleep making his mouth and throat feel as though a desert had taken root there. He felt the head of his bed rise and an ice chip being pressed to his lips.
‘Easy Timmy, this’ll help. Take it slowly. How’s your head?’
He frowned deeply at the soothing voice. He really did know his lover too well and could pinpoint the underlying concern easily.
‘Better, I just feel tired now. When can I go home?’
‘Tomorrow morning hopefully, we’re just waiting on some test results’.
Tim nodded and felt his eyelids drooping. He was pulled back by the doctor walking in the room.
‘Tim, it’s good to see you awake. How do you feel?’
She watched as her patient nodded tiredly and took that to mean he was feeling better.
‘Good, we’ve got your test results back and would like to be the first to congratulate you’
Both men looked at her, their expressions completely blank with anticipation. Jethro’s patience was waning and Tim could see his lover glaring at the Doctor. He placed his hand on Jethro’s arm to still him before he started with the typical Gibbs diatribe.
‘Can I speak freely in front of your friend?’
Tim nodded and reached his hand up to rub at his eyes.
‘Not my friend, my life partner, whatever you have to say you say in front of him’
She nodded and smiled; a sickly sweet smile that made Jethro want to slap her silly. He stayed near Tim, letting his lover ground him with the hand on his arm.
‘Ok. Tim your blood results have confirmed you are pregnant, we’re not too sure how far along yet but we’ll do an ultrasound in the morning to find out. I don’t know how much you know about male pregnancies, but they are becoming more and more common. They do hold higher risks...............’.
Jethro felt his cheeks flush and heard an ominous buzzing in his head, he didn’t actually manage to hear what else the doctor had said after ‘you’re pregnant’ because the world had greyed out around him.
Tim felt his lover jerk as his legs buckled, and reached out to try to catch him, he was too late and he looked down to find his lover out cold on the hospital floor.
___________________________________________________________________________
Well guys here you go, Chapter 2 finally up. I hope you all enjoy and as usual, please review
Shelbylou x
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.