The next morning, at around 10am, Sasha and Gibbs are moved to a general ward. Gibbs has been evasive and snappy for most of the morning and Sasha opts not to pressurize him.
As soon as they are settled in the room Abby and McGee come in to see them. Abby has a Caf-pow and a Starbucks coffee in her hand and the aroma of the coffee causes Sasha to sigh in pleasure. She has been nauseous most of the morning and hasn't been able to down even one teaspoon of breakfast.
"Hey Gibbs, how are you doing?" Abby asks as she pecks him on the cheek and then hands him the coffee. He takes a deep satisfying swallow before answering her.
"I'm doing better now that I have this," Gibbs says indicating the coffee in his hand. Abby smiles at him and then greets Sasha. McGee goes over to Sasha and hands her a cup of coffee, which she gratefully accepts. She practically moans out in pleasure as she has a sip of it. Gibbs stares at her and she looks at him and asks, "What?" Gibbs then ignores her, causing Abby and McGee to wonder what's going on.
"So what do you have for me, Abby?" Gibbs asks as he nods his head to McGee in greeting.
"All work and no play make Gibbs a dull boy." Abby pouts.
"You said that going on a team building trip would be fun and see where that landed me." Gibbs says in annoyance.
Gibbs has decided to be angry with Sasha in order to keep her at arms length. Sasha hears him and feels guilty about everything that she put him and his team through. She tried to apologize to him earlier that morning but he just ignored her. She realizes what he is trying to do but she is still hurt by his words and by the way he has been ignoring her. How the hell am I supposed to get you to open up to me if you won't even talk to me. Sasha questions in frustration as she turns her back to him and looks out of the window. Suddenly the smell of the coffee causes her to become nauseous again and her head starts pounding more persistently.
"McGee do you have anything to report? Otherwise get out of here." Gibbs shouts, and then reprimands himself interenally when he realizes that he is taking his frustrations out on McGee.
"Boss, we've traced the 4th perp. He was James Klutcher. Ex-army, joined Brett in '98. He's wanted for 4 murders in the US. We are running a trace on these 4 perps to see if there is anyone left of their team. Until we know for sure that all of them are dead, Fornell will keep 2 agents posted outside your door." McGee says as he flips his note book closed.
"Good job." Gibbs says to cover his earlier harshness.
"How are Tony and Kate doing?" he asks as the door opens and Tony gets wheeled in followed by Kate.
"Boss, How are you? I should have been on your six. I'm sorry." Tony says as he notes the sling on Gibbs arm. Sasha squeezes her eyes shut, trying to hold her tears back, as she mentally apologizes for everything again and again and again.
"DiNozzo, are you done?" Gibbs asks as he looks his agents over, relieved to see that they are okay.
"Yes, Boss." Tony says, feeling self-conscious about his outburst.
"I'm glad to see you're doing okay Gibbs. On the flight here we were not sure if you would make it." Kate says as she smiles at him. Sasha feels like she's intruding and she can not handle the feeling of guilt overwhelming her. So she decides to get up and get out of the room. She's glad to note that the room has a balcony, because she's sure that she would not be able to walk very far.
She sits up and moves to the edge of the bed, ignoring her aching head and nausea which pushes bile up to her throat. She takes a deep steadying breath and then swings her legs over the side of the bed as Gibbs says, "Sasha, what do you think you're doing?"
"I need some air." Sasha replies as she gets to her feet. Placing her injured leg on the floor sends a jolt of pain through Sasha's body and she shudders involuntarily.
"Get back into bed, now!" Gibbs orders as he sees how unsteady she is. She ignores him and waits for the floor to recede back to its 90 degree angle before moving slowly but purposefully to the balcony. Luckily her bed is closer to the balcony then Gibbs' bed. Everyone stares between Sasha and Gibbs, no one says anything fearing that they might overstep their bounds.
"Sasha, Damn it!" Gibbs shouts as he fears that he's pushed her too far and now she might just injure herself.
Sasha's breath comes in short, shallow gasps. She is sure that she is going to pass out any moment. But then she feels someone standing next to her. McGee takes her arm and helps her into a chair on the balcony. She tries to thank him but is too out of breath to say anything and McGee notices her tears. He hands her a handkerchief and then spreads a light blanket over her legs.
"Call me when you're ready to come back inside." McGee says as he turns around and walks back into the room. Gibbs glares at him thinking that he should have brought her back to the bed. Abby and Kate smile nod to him indicating that he did good. Tony looks at him with a bit of amusement in his eyes. Wow, Probie, what a gentleman you are? Tony smirks and then schools his features when he sees Gibbs glaring at him.
Just then Stacey arrives with Jason. She greets all the agents and notices that Sasha is out on the balcony. She also notices how Gibbs keeps looking at Sasha when he thinks that no one is watching. Stacey introduces Jason to all the Agents and then Jason extends his hand to Gibbs and says, "Thank you, Agent Gibbs for saving us and for saving aunt Sash."
Gibbs shakes the young boy's hand, as he smiles at him and says, "Well, it was my pleasure."
"So does that mean that you forgive Aunt Sash for tricking you into helping us? She only did that because she was so scared that those bad men would hurt us. But she was also scared that they would hurt you. And when she came into the cabin to untie us, her leg was bleeding a lot." Jason says as tears start streaming down his face, "But she told mommy to go and help you first, because she didn't what you to die. I think she likes you. So please don't be mad at her." Jason says as Stacey hugs him and tries to calm him down.
"Jason, we're not mad at Sasha. We understand why she did what she did." Gibbs says as he tries to put Jason at ease.
"Thank you Agent Gibbs. You're my hero!" Jason says as he pulls himself onto the bed and gives Gibbs a huge hug and a kiss on his cheek, causing Gibbs to smile in surprise. Abby and Kate think that this moment is just too precious and Tony and McGee grin as well.
Jason looks at his mom and she hands him a box, which he hands to Gibbs and says. "I wanted to buy you M&M's but mom said that you would like this better." Jason says as he hands Gibbs a box of coffee flavoured chocolates. "Oh and this is for you too." Jason says a he pulls a page out of his pocket and unfold it.
"This is me and Mom and this is you and Aunt Sasha holding hands and walking along the beach."
"Thank you, Jason." Gibbs says, deeply touched, as he accepts the picture and Jason slides of the bed.
"Mum, where's Aunt Sash?" Jason asks when he sees the other bed empty. Stacey points to the balcony and Jason looks at all the agents and places his finger on his lips, indicating that they should be quiet. Then he walks out onto the balcony very quietly and approaches Sasha from behind. Sasha is lost in her thoughts and she doesn't even hear Jason as he comes up behind her.
Then she suddenly feels two small hands cover her eyes and she jerks is shock, sending pain pulsating through her head and thigh. As she gasps she hears, "Guess who?" She turns around suddenly ignoring the pain, nausea and dizziness and cries out, "Jason!" She pulls him in front of her and then hugs him close. Jason hugs her back as he climbs onto the chair and stands up next to her. He pushes her back and wipes her tears away causing Sasha to smile at him. Then he proceeds to kiss her forehead, then her eyelids, then her cheeks and finally her lips. Then he hugs her again as both of them cry. The picture they paint is so tender and loving that tears gather in Stacey and Kate's eyes. Gibbs' eyes also become a bit moist and the rest of the team is touched by the emotions displayed by the two people on the balcony.
Stacey, Sasha and Jason spend the next half an hour together while Gibbs and his team go over the case. Stacey can see that Sasha is very tired so she tells Jason to go and wait inside the room while she helps Sasha to her feet.
"You know that you should have stayed in bed." Stacey says
"I just need to get a way from …" Sasha says as she feels incredibly lightheaded. Gibbs notices Sasha blinking rapidly and hesitating as she takes her next step. "McGee, help her." he orders. McGee is already moving to do just that. He helps Stacey to get Sasha back into the bed. Once she is settled, Stacey presses the buzzer for the nurse's station.
"Have you eaten anything today?" Stacey asks, but Sasha's breath is coming in short gasps so Gibbs replies, "No, she hasn't had anything other than a bit of coffee."
"Why?" Stacey asks as she becomes concerned.
"Nauseous." Sasha sighs as her head pounds mercilessly.
"That's because of the concussion." Stacey says as the nurse walks in.
"She's too nauseous to eat. I think that you may have to hook her up to an IV line again." Stacey says. The nurse takes a look at Sasha noting her pale complexion and her low blood pressure. She leaves a few minutes later and then returns with a saline bag, IV line and two syringes. The nurse hooks up the line and administers the medication. Gibbs watches Sasha deeply concerned about her as she falls into an exhausted sleep.
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