The waiting room was empty save for the sleeping agent and medical examiner perched in the chairs across the room, quiet snores escaping them. It had been a long night filled with copious amounts of coffee and bad reruns on the television mounted on the wall.
There had been no news DiNozzo, though he guessed that was a good thing.
Pushing himself to his feet with a quiet groan, he stretched his aching muscles and made his way over to the trashcan to deposit his empty coffee cup.
Outside, Doctor Reid knocked lightly on the door to the private waiting area before stepping inside and offering his hand to Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs. I'm Doctor Reid, the Orthopedic surgeon who performed Agent DiNozzo's surgery."
"How is he?" The silver-haired man asked gruffly, shaking the young doctor's hand.
He hesitated, searching for the words he needed to explain the situation. "The damage was much worse than we anticipated. X-rays can only tell us so much, but when we actually got inside…" He trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Unfortunately, a full knee replacement won't work. We've repaired it as much as we could, butâ€""
"What are you saying? He's not gonna walk again?"
"Probably not, no," the doctor admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's going to need some intense physical therapy, as Doctor Michaels told you last night. After that, he may be able to walk on it, but probably not without assistance."
"And what about field work?" Gibbs asked, thinking about his Senior Agent's career ending so abruptly.
"Even after the PT, I can't see his knee being strong enough for that. He could still work for the agency, just not in the capacity that he's accustomed to." The young doctor released a sigh and ran his hand through his short hair. "I'm very sorry. We were optimistic that we'd have good news for you, but the damage was just too extensive."
The older agent sagged under the news, leaning heavily against the wall as he tried to process what he had just been told.
"I'm very sorry," Doctor Reid said again.
"When can we see him?" Gibbs asked.
"Probably not until later this afternoon. He's being moved to recovery now and he's probably going to be there for awhile before we'll move him back to the intensive care unit."
"I wanna be there when you tell him."
"Agent Gibbs, with all due respectâ€""
"He's my agent," Gibbs growled, his blue eyes staring unrelentingly at the doctor. "I wanna be there."
"We'll have to run it by Agent DiNozzo first. If he refuses to allow you into the room, there's nothing we can do about that."
"He won't if he knows what's good for him," the agent snorted.
Eyeing the older man carefully, the doctor nodded. "I'll make sure Doctor Michaels notifies you when he wakes up. Again, I'm sorry. I wish there was more I could do."
"Yeah," Gibbs sighed, watching as the doctor made his way out of the waiting room, his white coat billowing behind him. "So do I."
Pushing away from the wall, Gibbs glanced over at Kate and Ducky before he slipped out of the waiting room, the anger over the situation welling up in his chest.
On most days, Anthony DiNozzo annoyed and pestered the hell out of him, but truth be told, the younger agent was easily one of the best agents he'd ever worked with. The very thought that his career was over for him at such a young age was almost too much to bear and as he stepped out into the early morning sunlight, he threw his fist at the wall.
His knuckles split on impact, splattering to ugly brick with little droplets of blood, but he was oblivious to the pain. In all of his years as a team leader, he'd had agents come and go, though he'd never lost an agent to circumstances such as this. Releasing a harsh breath, he turned to lean against the wall, cradling his hand against his chest as he stared out into the parking lot, narrowing his eyes just slightly when he saw Abby's hearse pulling in.
He watched as the woman climbed out of the driver's side and was quickly joined by McGee before the pair made their way towards the entrance of the hospital. They looked as though they'd been up all night, but that didn't surprise Gibbs. He hadn't expected them to get any sleep.
"Gibbs!" Abby called out when she spotted him, waving as she jogged over, tugging McGee behind her. "How is he? Did he have his surgery already? Can we see him?"
"The two of you should be home Abs," he said by way of greeting, eyeing the pair carefully. "Did you even sleep last night?"
"Of course," she responded, though she wilted under his intense gaze. "Well, okay, not really but we tried, Gibbs. We really, really tried but it just didn't happen."
"Uh huh. You should go back home. Try and get a couple hours. I'm gonna need both of you later."
"I'm not goin' anywhere," she scowled, her usually friendly face darkened as she silently dared him to try to make her leave. "I let you and Kate bully me into leaving last night and I couldn't sleep anyway, so you can just forget about it."
Both men watched as she pushed past them and stalked into the hospital, allowing the heavy doors to clang shut behind her.
Releasing a quiet sigh, McGee reached up and ran his fingers through his short hair. "Sorry, Boss. I tried to make her rest last night, but she was too worried about Tony to sleep."
"Uh huh," Gibbs responded, looking over the younger man in front of him carefully. "And what about you? You get any sleep?"
"N… not exactly. How…" he trailed off, swallowing hard. "How is DiNozzo?"
"Same as last night," Gibbs responded, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. "They're gonna let him wake up this afternoon and then I guess we'll see."
"Listen Gibbs… About what happened yesterday… I never…" He stopped, blinking back the tears that were burning his eyes. "I screwed up."
"You did," Gibbs agreed, squeezing his shoulder firmly. "But so did DiNozzo and so did I."
"I don't…?"
"Tony knew you didn't have much experience in the field. He shouldn't have left you to clear a room by yourself. I took the fact that you're a certified agent for granted, McGee. I shoulda kept you with me, showed you how we do things and I didn't. I'm as much to blame for what happened to DiNozzo as you are."
McGee said nothing as he dropped his gaze to the pavement, swallowing against the sob that threatened to escape him. "I shouldn't have come here, Boss. When I was given the opportunity to work with your team, I jumped at it, but I shouldn't have. I'm not like you or Kate or Tony. I'm justâ€""
"You're a good agent, McGee, and with a little training, you'll do just fine," Gibbs assured him before he released him. "C'mon. Let's get in there before Abby drives the nurses crazy."
Nodding at the older man, McGee swiped at his cheek with the back of sleeve before he released a shuddery breath and followed after Gibbs, his shoulders slumped as he tried to prepare himself for what he was sure was going to be a difficult day.
::::::
Shifting for what felt like the thousandth time since arriving at the hospital that morning, Abby released a loud sigh and slumped down in the hard chair, swiping tiredly at her eyes. Though she'd never admit it to anyone, she was completely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go crawl into her own warm bed and sleep until next morning, but she refused to leave until she saw Tony.
She had been crushed when she'd found out that Kate had an opportunity to go back and sit with their injured friend after she'd been sent home the previous night, but she had tried to not make a huge deal about it, especially given the fact that she knew McGee needed her more than anyone at the hospital had.
"You okay?" McGee asked quietly, nudging her as she shifted again.
"Just can't get comfortable," she said, glancing up at him. "No big deal."
"Why don't you lay down across these chairs?" He suggested, shrugging out of his jacket before he balled it up as a makeshift pillow. "Here."
"You sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all," he promised, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Go on. You'll wanna be well rested when you get to see T… Tony. He'll be pissed off if he knows you were up all night worrying about him."
"Good point," she conceded, releasing a quiet sigh as she accepted his jacket and stretched out against the empty chairs with an appreciative groan. "Wake me up if you hear anything?"
"Absolutely. Get some rest."
From across the room, Gibbs watched as she settled in beside McGee, her green eyes fluttering shut as he ran his fingers through her hair gently, brushing the long strands away from her face.
Glancing up at the sound of the door opening, Gibbs cursed inwardly when Kate stepped inside, fresh cup of coffee in hand; he'd been hoping for a doctor.
"Still no word on Tony?" She asked, pressing the coffee into his hand as she dropped into the chair beside him.
"Nope," he responded, raising his drink in thanks before he took a long sip. "Nice shower?"
"Would have been better if I hadn't been so tired that I tried to use shaving cream instead of conditioner, but all in all, not bad," she responded with a shrug. "Where's Ducky?"
"Harassin' the doctors, last I checked. Doesn't seem to be makin' much headway, but he's not givin' up."
"You really think he's gonna be okay?" She asked, lowering her voice as she glanced across the room at McGee.
The older man opened his mouth to respond when the sound of the door opening again caught his attention.
"Agent Gibbs?"
Glancing over at the sound of the voice, Gibbs pushed himself to his feet and motioned for Kate to stay put. "He awake?"
"He is," Doctor Michaels nodded. "Are you ready to come back?"
Across the room, Abby pushed herself up into a sitting position, pulling away from McGee as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Tony's awake? Can I see him?"
"Not now, Abby," Gibbs responded as he moved to follow the doctor out of the waiting room.
"But Gibbs! That's so not fair! Why do you get to go andâ€""
"Not now, Abby," the older man growled, offering her an angry glare. "Stay put." Tearing his gaze away from her, he forced himself to ignore the tears he'd seen building behind her green eyes as he followed the doctor of the waiting room, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
The two men were silent as they made their way back to the intensive care unit, and as they drew closer to Tony's room, Gibbs could feel the anger beginning to bubble again. "You haven't told him yet, have you?"
"No, not yet. Doctor Reid made it very clear that you were to be in the room with Agent DiNozzo when we gave him the news."
"How's he doin'?"
"He's in a little pain, but he seems to be doing well. A little groggy from the surgery, but that's to be expected."
Gibbs nodded, though didn't respond as they paused outside of Tony's room.
"Ready?"
Nodding again, the agent followed the doctor into the room, schooling his face into an impassive look as he made his way over to Tony's bed.
"H… Hey, Boss," the younger man greeted, his voice weak and hoarse as he blinked sleepily in an effort to clear his hazy vision.
"Have a nice nap?" Gibbs asked by way of greeting, unable to stop his smirk as a slight smile formed on Tony's lips.
"You… You know me. I'm a… always up for a good nap," he responded, barely stifling a yawn. "'S everyone still here?"
"Uh huh. You really didn't think they were leavin', did you?"
"McGoo too? He… he's okay, isn't he?"
"McGee's fine, DiNozzo. How much do you remember from yesterday?"
"N… not much," he admitted. "He was… he was with me though, right?"
"He's fine," Gibbs repeated, not missing the way that Tony relaxed visibly at the reassurance.
"Good. I thought that maybe he…" he trailed off as he attempted to shift on the bed and realized his leg was dead weight. "B… boss?"
The older man glanced over at the doctor before he turned his attention back to his agent. "Tony…"
"I can't… I can't move my leg. Why… why can't I move it?"
"Doctor Reid is on his way in now to speak with you, Agent DiNozzo. He's the doctor that performed the surgery on your leg this morning," Doctor Michaels responded.
Almost as if on cue, the door opened again and Doctor Reid stepped into the room, his face set in a forced smile. "It's nice to see you awake. I'm Doctor Reid."
"What's… what's going on?" Tony asked, eyeing the man suspiciously as he attempted to move his leg again.
"You took two bullets yesterday, DiNozzo. We responded to a hit on a BOLO for Petty Officer Jameson's vehicle and when we were clearing the house…" Gibbs trailed off, glancing back at the doctors.
"The first surgery went well," Doctor Michaels explained. "One of the bullets penetrated your stomach, though you were extremely lucky that it didn't hit any of your vital organs. Our biggest concern, initially was the blood loss, but after we were able to stabilize you, the surgery was pretty text book."
"Doesn't… answer my question," Tony growled, swallowing hard as he glanced over at Gibbs.
"The second bullet, unfortunately, shattered your knee cap," Doctor Reid said, his face faltering just slightly when Tony winced visibly.
"Wh… what?"
"Initially, we thought that while extensive, we would be able to repair what was left, but this morning during the surgery, we realized the damage was more extensive than we originally thought."
"Boss…" Tony tried, his voice cracking despite his best attempts at steadying it. "What's… I don't…"
"I am very sorry, Agent DiNozzo."
"S… sorry? You're… you're sorry? I don't understand… Boss, what's he sayin'? I'm not… what about work?"
"DiNozzo…"
"What about work? What about my job, Gibbs?"
"Tony," he tried again, gripping his agent's arm gently.
"Fuck," the Italian whispered, closing his eyes against the tears he could already feel sliding down his cheeks. "Fuck."
He dropped his head back against the pillows as a hoarse sob tore from his throat, his hazel eyes fixed firmly on the ceiling tiles as he tried to regain control of his emotions.
"Give us a minute," Gibbs said gruffly to the two doctors. He watched as they left the room quickly, both of them appearing relieved before he turned back to his agent. "Tony."
"Just… don't Gibbs. Please," he managed, his voice cracking again as he brought his hand up to swipe at the tears sliding down his cheeks. "Please."
Falling silent, the older man grabbed the chair from the corner of the room and pulled it over to the bed before he sank down into it, releasing a shuddery breath.
"My… I know th… that I goofed off a lot, Boss, but this… my career was everything. I just… what am I… what am I supposed to do now?" He asked, another sob escaping him. "What do I do? Tell me what to do."
"This isn't gonna be easy but you're not gonna have to deal with this alone. You know that."
Tony said nothing as he swiped at the tears on his cheeks again.
"And I'm not just gonna let you go. Even if you never set foot in the field again, you're still part of my team. Nothin' changes that. You got me?"
Gibbs watched as the younger man turned his face away, his teeth sinking into his lower lip as he tried to regain his composure. Reaching out, he tapped him gently on the head, narrowing his eyes.
"Hey! You got me?"
"I gotcha, Boss," Tony responded, his voice still thick with emotion as he closed his eyes. "'M not… feelin' well. I needâ€""
"I know." Pushing himself to his feet, Gibbs dropped a hand to Tony's shoulder and squeezed gently. "We'll just be outside. I'll hold 'em off for awhile, but you know they're gonna want to see you."
"Not right now. I just… I need to be alone for awhile."
"When you change your mind, just say the word."
Making his way out of the room, Gibbs released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The hard part, for now anyway, was over, though he had to admit the idea of telling his team wasn't looking any better.
"Get it over with," he grumbled to himself as he stepped out of the intensive care unit and paused just outside the waiting room door. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he inhaled slowly before he stepped inside only to be ambushed almost immediately by Kate and Abby.
"How is he?"
"What's going on?"
He looked between the four people that were sitting around the small waiting room and ran a hand over his face as he contemplated how to explain that their friend's life had just changed forever.
Chapter End Notes:
A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and those of you who added this story to your alerts. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this because I'm really enjoying writing it. Special thanks to my friend Kelley for all her help with this one. Don't forget how much I love reviews and I hope you guys all have a great weekend!