As the adrenaline rush wears off, Gibbs starts to feel more unsteady. He is relieved when they get into the other room and the nurse helps him onto the bed. He lies back and closes his eyes for a moment.
"Sister, her head is bleeding." Tony says as he places Leslie gently onto the bed.
"She must have hit it on the floor when the bomb went off. Where is the damn Doctor?" Gibbs asks but his voice seems to lack its usual edge. The nurse places a towel against Leslie head. She tells Gibbs that she will get the doctor immediate as she rushes out of the room.
"Ducky, there's been an explosion at the hospital. How quickly can you get here?" Tony says into his mobile phone. He is concerned about Gibbs and hopes that Leslie is going to be okay especially after the kiss he witnessed between Gibbs and Leslie.
"Oh Dear, how bad is it Anthony? Are they okay?"
"Leslie's got a head injury and she is unconscious. Gibbs is," Tony says softly as his observes Gibbs, "shaken and unsteady. Just get here quickly okay."
"I'm on my way." Ducky says as they disconnect.
"Abby,…" McGee says as he rushes out of the hospital and starts to cordon of the area where the flowers have fallen.
"Hi McGee, Are all of you on your way to the lab? I have some details to share. You can tell Gibbs that the foot and knee print from outside the house indicate a man about 170 pounds in weight and about 6 foot 3 inches tall. The DNA on the glass found in the house matches Officer Matthew's and our smoker's." Abby says as she has a quick sip of her caf-paw.
"Abby…"
"I am running the smoker's details through Interpol, FBI and CIA to find a match but no luck yet. Oh, and the tyre is a Firestone 18 inch high profile so he must have been driving a 4x4 or a jeep."
"Abby! There was an explosion at the hospital."
"What!" Abby shouts as she slams her caf-paw onto the desk. "Are Gibbs and Leslie okay? McGee, they are okay, aren't they?" Abby asks as she feels cold shivers run down her back.
"mmm, Damn it" Leslie moans after a few minutes as she touches her head and winces. Gibbs is relieved to hear her voice and contemplates going to her side, but thinks better of it when he realizes that he would most likely end up on the floor. His head is aching and the room has not stopped spinning yet.
"Leslie, the Doctor will be here in a moment. How are you feeling?" Tony asks as he goes to her side and holds her hand.
"DiNozzo, … My head… What happened?" Leslie says as she feels a stickiness in her hair. "Wait a …minute. Where is …Gibbs?" Leslie raises her voice as she opens her eyes. But she immediately cries out as the bright light sends a shooting pain through her skull. "aaahhhhh hell…." she whimpers as she holds her head with her hand.
"Leslie calm down. I'm here. DiNozzo, go and find that damn Doctor and bring him in here now." Gibbs says sounding a little bit more like himself.
Barely a second later the Doctor and nurse walk into the room and immediately start to attend to Leslie. The cut on the back of her head is long but not deep. The blood loss is a lot as is the case with all head injuries. Gibbs watches Leslie as the Doctor treats her.
As they clean the wound Leslie moans and curses. Gibbs sits up slowly and lets the dizziness pass before he stands up and walks over to Leslie. He takes her hand from Tony's and squeezes it gently. Tony feeling like an intruder, leaves the room and decides to examine the other room where the explosion took place. The doctor decides not to stitch the wound and instead applies a salve to help it close up.
"Jethro, Are you okay?" Ducky says as he rushes into the room just as the doctor gives Leslie a Myprodol shot in her hip to help her with the pain. By this time Leslie seems to have passed out.
"Doctor, she will be okay?" Gibbs asks as Ducky stands next to him and places a supporting hand on his shoulder.
"She has a concussion. She should be okay but she will experience severe headaches, dizziness and disorientation throughout the next few days. Now let me take a look at you while Emily cleans out Leslie's bedding" The doctor says as he and Ducky get Gibbs back into his bed.
"I'm okay." Gibbs insists.
"You look pale and I know that you must have a terrible headache with some blurred vision and disorientation. Emily will get you some medication for the headache shortly." The doctor says as he leaves the room.
"Ducky, I need you to stay with us just for a short while. Tell DiNozzo to start processing the other room. I'll be up in a few minute to help him, just as soon as this headache clears a bit." Gibbs sighs has the nurse gives him a shot.
"I will be here Jethro to keep an eye on both of you." Ducky says as he takes a seat between both beds. Gibbs closes his eyes with the intention of getting up within a few minute but soon he is fast asleep.
The room is a mess. There is glass and broken flowers everywhere. The window pane has also been knocked loose. Tony goes to his car and gets his bag so that he can start bagging the evidence.
"McGee, what do you have?" Tony asks before proceeding back upstairs.
"Tony there is some kind of residue on some of the flowers that I have collected. Abby will have to trace it for us. Also I think that I have found the timing device and it looks like it was remotely controlled which means that the guy activated it only once the flowers were delivered. In order to do that.."
"He had to be close by. McGee, meet me up stairs once you are done here. Then we can have everything sent to Abby. After that you need to start working on the hospital surveillance cameras so that we can try to identify any person or people who may have been acting suspiciously. We also need to trace the delivery guy and his company. Most likely the delivery guy is linked to this."
"You got it, Tony. How are Gibbs and Leslie?"
"In pain, angry but the doctors say that they will be okay. We are going to have to find a safe place for them and I think that we should move them from here as soon as possible."
"I'll be up in a moment and then I'll fill you in on what Abby has so far on all the other evidence we collected from the house." McGee says as he calls Abby.
"Abby."
"McGee how are they. I am going out of my mind here."
"They are going to be okay. Abby I need you to get into the Hospital's surveillance system and down load everything from 8:00am to 9:30am. I also need you to trace the flower delivery guy and see if you can track him from the time he parked his vehicle to the time he returned to it. Get us the plate if possible."
"You got it."
"I'll see you later today with the new stuff we've bagged."
"Okay McGee."
"Miller, where are you?" Fornell growls into his phone.
"I'm at the Bureau boss." Miller answers.
"What the hell are you doing there and why aren't you or Jones at the hospital like I ordered you to be."
"Excuse me boss but we got a call at 8:00am saying that the NCIS agents would take over as the two agents were being discharged this morning.
"I never issued any such order so get you butts back to the hospital. There's been an explosion and I need you two to work with the NCIS team to clear the scene and collect evidence." Fornell instructs as he makes his way to Gibbs' room.
He enters the room quietly and looks from Leslie to Gibbs and then Ducky.
"How are they doing?" Fornell asks Ducky with his voice lowered.
"Their injuries have been aggravated. Weren't your people supposed to keep them safe? I must say that I am quite disappointed by the service of your department, Mr. Fornell." Ducky says.
"Hey, my guys were pulled of at 08:00am this morning. This makes me wonder if the guy we are looking for isn't an intelligence officer. My team is on their way back here and they will help the NCIS Team to process the scene. We are also checking hospital surveillance to trace the guy." Fornell says as Tony enters the room.
"Fornell, I have more faith in my own people. Let us process the scene and we will share our information with you." Gibbs says as he slowly opens his eyes. Tony is surprised to hear Gibbs compliment.
"Sorry Jethro dear boy. Did not mean to wake you. How are you feeling?"
"Better." Gibbs says as he stares at Fornell
Fornell stares back for a few seconds and then he sighs and says "Gibbs, I'm sorry about all of this. We will trace the call that called my guys off but we are going to process this with your team. It's already been cleared by your Director and with you being incapacitated there is no other option."
"Fornell, I am not incapacitated." Gibbs whispers dangerously softly, "And I will be taking over the running of this investigation with immediate effect."
"Gibbs, you and Leslie are to be transferred to a safe house within the next few hours, as soon as the doctors clear both of you. This is not up for discussion."
"Hey, we will take care of getting them to safety. We've already seen how efficient your team is." Tony says.
"I will not be hiding out in some safe house while someone is out there trying to kill me. I need to get this guy and I need to do it now. Leslie can be taken to the safe house and Ducky you should go with her to make sure that she is okay. But I…"
"Jethro, I think that you need to take care. I hate to admit it but Fornell is right. With your injuries you are more likely to hamper the investigation. Both of you need some time to rest and recover."
"Ducky is right Boss, you should listen to him." Tony says
"And you should watch how you speak to your boss or you could get fired." Gibbs says as he glares at Tony.
"I know what I am capable of and I am fine to handle this investigation." He says as he looks at Ducky and then at Fornell.
"Gibbs, If you go back … then so do I." Leslie sighs hoping that he will not call her bluff. Right now her vision is blurred and she feels as weak as a babe.
"Leslie, you are in no condition….." Tony says as he notes how weak her voice is.
"Leslie let's not start this again." Gibbs says as he looks over at her and notices her blinking rapidly as if she is trying to clear her vision.
"Both of you are being insensible. As Fornell has stated, this order has come from the Director."
"That's right so forget about getting back on the investigation, both of you. You will be moved to the safe house this afternoon and Dr Mallard will stay with you to ensure that your medication, etc is administered on time. I will have my men in the house and on the perimeter" Fornell says. He looks at Tony and continues, "And they will check in with me and you DiNozzo, every hour."
Leslie holds her breathe as she waits for Gibbs to negate everything. When he says nothing, she looks at him through blurred eyes. He is annoyed and furious at having his hands tied but he can not see a way to get out of it. He eventually says, "Okay Fornell, but just for a day or two and then I'm taking over. End of discussion."
Fornell nods to Gibbs as he leaves the room and he asks Tony to join him so that they can finalize the transfer to the safe house and the procedures that they will be following.
McGee enters the room a few minutes later. "Gibbs, how you doing?"
"McGee, what do you have for me?" Gibbs asks, dispensing with the pleasantries. Gibbs pushes himself up into a sitting position as McGee says, "Abby has confirmed….."
As they are discussing the case Ducky makes his way to Leslie's side.
"Leslie dear, How are you doing?" Ducky asks as he places a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh Ducky, I'm okay."
"Really?"
"Okay, I'm in a bit of pain, nothing major"
"Oh!"
"Oh Ducky you are too wise. I'm exhausted, aching and lightheaded. But please do not let Gibbs know. I don't want any special treatment from him or the rest of the team." Leslie whispers.
She then remembers the kiss and she widens her eyes as she stares at Gibbs.
"What is it Leslie?" Ducky asks suddenly concerned.
"I…. Gibbs….. I think…. I don't know… It can't be" Leslie mumbles as memories flash through her mind.
"Leslie, do you need me to get the Doctor," Ducky asks getting very concerned. Gibbs overhears him and looks at Leslie.
"What is it Leslie?" She meets his eyes and knows that it is true. They did kiss with wild abandon on the floor after the explosion. Suddenly she looks away and closes her eyes as a bright red hue washes across her cheeks. What is wrong with me? How did I let it happen? He is my Boss for God's sake. Leslie ponders as she feels absolutely embarrassed. Mmm, but it felt so good and he is a delicious kisser! Another part of her says and she actually groans out loud as she covers her face with her hand.
McGee looks from Leslie to Gibbs and feels unsure of whether he should continue with his report.
Ducky touches Leslie's forehead and wonders if she has developed a fever since her face is suddenly flushed. He looks over to Gibbs and notices that Gibbs is staring at Leslie with an odd smirk on his face. Totally out of character for Gibbs and totally inappropriate in this case, Ducky thinks as he tell Timothy to get the Doctor.
"No!..." Leslie practically shouts. "No Ducky, I'm fine. I just need a sip of," she looks at Gibbs and quickly looks away, "a sip of water. Thanks Ducky." She murmurs.
Gibbs cannot hold back the full smile on his face as he realizes that Leslie has just remembered the kiss that he has been reliving for most of the day.
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