Title: Misconceptions 16/?
Author: Ceindreadh
Email: Ceindreadh@eircom.net
Website: n/a
Permission to archive: Yes to WWOMB, anybody else, please ask first.
Fandom(s): NCIS
Genre (general, hetero or slash) : Slash, M-PREG, Angst/hurt-comfort
Pairing/Characters: Gibbs/DiNozzo, McGee/Jimmy
Rating: T
Warnings: THIS IS AN M-PREG FIC. If you don't like M-Preg then don't read it. If you read it anyway, then don't go complaining to me that you don't like it *because* it's M-Preg
Later chapters *will* feature minor character death, just so you know.
Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Notes: Thanks to FatCat for her Beta'ing
I was going to go into this whole pseudo-scientific explanation as to how M-Preg works in this universe, but then I thought, Feck it. It works, and that's it.
Okay, I make no claim to medical knowledge - yes, that's probably obvious, considering this is an M-Preg fic! I apologize for any other medical inaccuracies that may crop up.
Previously on NCIS - Gibbs and McGee were trapped following an explosion. Tony and Jimmy waited anxiously at Bethesda for news.
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[16]
Ducky sat down in front of Tony and Jimmy. "My boys," he said gently.
"They...they've found them...haven't they?" Tony's voice was strained.
Ducky nodded, "Jethro and Timothy *have* been located...alive," he said.
Tony let out a half sob, half sigh of relief. "I knew it," he said, brushing his hand over his eyes. "I knew even a building falling on top of him couldn't kill Gibbs. Where is he, Ducky? They're bringing him here, right?" He started to stand, but Ducky put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Anthony. As I said, they *are* alive...but they are both in a critical condition."
"Critical?" Jimmy's voice was more of a whisper.
"I'm sorry, Jimmy, Tony. They're being medevaced here, but it looks like they'll both be requiring emergency surgery..." Ducky could see that both men were nearing their breaking points. He reached out and took their hands. "They'll be in good hands. The Doctors at Bethesda are the best in the city...but you *do* need to be prepared for the worst."
Tears were trickling down Jimmy's face, "They...they could die?"
"The Doctors will be able to tell you more when they've had a chance to examine them."
Tony put his arm around Jimmy, "Hey, it'll be okay kid. Gibbs is tough as old boots, and Probie's got a stubborn streak in him a mile wide. They'll be fine...they both will...right Ducky?"
Jimmy looked at Ducky and saw something in his face, "There...is there something you're not telling us, Doctor Mallard?"
Ducky hesitated before continuing. On the one hand, he didn't wish to upset them any further, but on the other hand, he didn't want to lie to them either. "The rescue workers have completed clearing the scene...I'm afraid that Paula Cassidy didn't make it."
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Paula was dead, thought Tony as he sat in the waiting room, all huddled up on his chair. Paula was dead, and while a part of him grieved for her loss, Tony couldn't allow himself to dwell on it just yet. Gibbs was alive...for the moment at least, and Tony couldn't let himself focus on anything but him.
"Agent Gibbs has two cracked ribs and a broken collarbone, along with numerous bruises and abrasions," the Doctor had told Tony. "But what we're most concerned with is the blow to his head. He was unconscious when located, and a scan shows some bleeding inside his skull. We need to operate to reduce the pressure...but there *are* risks...he may not survive the procedure in his weakened stage. But if we do nothing, if we wait, the damage may be irreparable, and he may never wake up."
"I don't understand," said Tony, shaking his head, "Why are you telling me this? Why aren't you just doing what you need to do to save him?"
"Agent DiNozzo...this is your decision to make, but it needs to be made quickly."
Tony looked at Ducky in confusion.
Ducky nodded, "I've checked it with human resources at N.C.I.S. Jethro filed the paperwork several weeks ago. You have his power of attorney, and the authority...the *responsibility* to make medical decisions for him." Ducky looked closely at Tony, "I take it Jethro never told you?"
Tony shook his head, "He never mentioned it...Ducky, what should I do? I...I can't think clearly....I don't know what Gibbs would want me to decide..."
"Jethro would want you to make whatever decision you felt was right. He trusts you Tony, trusts your judgment. Otherwise he wouldn't have put it in your hands."
Tony wished that Gibbs had said as much to *him*.
"Tony," said Ducky, after a few seconds had passed. "I don't wish to pressure you unduly, but if the doctors are to have any chance of successfully operating, they need to do it now."
"What? I...okay..." Tony buried his head in his hands, "Tell them...tell them to operate...to do what they have to do..." And God help me if I'm wrong, he added silently to himself.
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Jimmy too had been sat down with a Doctor to discuss his lover's medical condition.
"Agent McGee has a broken ankle. It's minor and there should be no complications from it. He's also suffered a blunt force trauma to the abdomen, causing internal bleeding and formation of a blood clot, which is putting pressure on his spinal cord. If we don't remove the clot soon, then he could be paralyzed from the waist down."
Jimmy swallowed hard, "So you're going to operate, right? You'll operate and you'll fix it and he'll be okay...won't he?"
The Doctor and Ducky exchanged glances before Ducky said; "Timothy is in a severely weakened state right now. He *is* stable...but he may not be strong enough to survive a major surgery if they operate now. However, if they wait until he's stronger, the damage could be permanent."
Just like Tony before him, Jimmy knew that his lover's fate rested in his hands. Do nothing, and while Tim would probably survive, he might never walk again...or let him be operated on and risk losing him forever.
Unlike Tony, however, Jimmy had known that it would be his decision to make. A few weeks after his pregnancy had been confirmed, he and Tim had gone to a solicitor and signed the papers that gave them full legal authority as each other's next of kin. It had been mainly because of the baby. Jimmy had wanted Tim's parental rights to be without question, and if - God forbid - things went wrong during the delivery, Jimmy knew that he didn't want anybody else making medical decisions on his behalf.
It had occurred to Jimmy at the time that given Tim's profession, that some day *he* might be called upon to exercise that authority on Tim's behalf, and it had scared him. The thought of losing Tim scared him, and not just because he didn't think he could cope as a single parent.
He'd grown up watching his mother struggle to raise two kids on her own. She'd managed all right, but it had been a constant struggle, both financially and emotionally, and Jimmy didn't think he was strong enough to do it himself.
But to condemn Tim to a life in a wheelchair, just because *he* was afraid of being a single parent...that wasn't right either. Tim deserved better than that from him. If there was the slightest chance of him being able to make a full recovery, Jimmy had no right to deny it.
Swallowing hard, Jimmy said, "I...I want...*Tim* would want...please, operate now..."
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The room was a very silent place as the group waited for news of the surgeries.
Ducky had half heartedly suggested to Jimmy and Tony that they return home with him and rest. "It will be several hours before their surgeries are complete," he had told the pair, "and even after that, it will undoubtedly be several more hours before they regain consciousness." Ducky hadn't really been surprised when both young men turned him down flat.
"I have to be here, Ducky," Tony had said. "I know I can't *do* anything...but I can at least be here...under the same roof."
Jimmy had echoed Tony's sentiments, refusing to leave the building.
Ducky had expected no less, but he had had to make the effort. If truth be told, he himself was just as glad to be staying at the hospital as well. He had however pulled a few strings and arranged for a private room with two beds to be made available for the group. "If you insist on staying, then you might as well be as comfortable as possible while doing so," he had told Tony and Jimmy. "I know that telling you to sleep is probably a waste of my breath, but you'll be more comfortable lying down than sitting on those wretched chairs. And if you can get some shut eye, then so much the better. But at least you'll be resting."
He hadn't taken no for an answer, and now both beds were occupied.
Ducky sat in a corner of the room, keeping a watchful eye on both of them, and Abby too. She was so subdued. Ducky hadn't seen her this quiet since...well, not since poor Caitlin had died. But then, everybody was bound to be affected by today.
Ducky had stepped out of the room briefly, to contact Director Shepherd regarding the situation.
"Ducky, I've just gotten off the phone with Paula Cassidy's father. I need you to be honest with me," Jenny had said to him, "Am I going to have to be making more calls of sympathy?"
Ducky sighed, "I really don't know, Jenny. I really don't know."
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To be continued
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs and McGee are trapped. Tony and Jimmy are waiting frantically for news of their lovers.
Chapter End Notes:
I wrote a fic called Reality Check, which featured an M-Preg dream. Feedback was so positive that I decided to do the real thing.