Leviathan

Intended as a WEE Fic for Leona Esperenza, but I didn't get it done in time.

Prompt #3 – Let me go.

Rating: T/FR 15

Genre: Sci-Fi/Mystery/Horror (but not related to the monsters on Supernatural, I promise.)

Tim-centric, brief appearances by the rest of the team, Fornell, Vance, the SECNAV, and lots of OCs.

Summary: McGee is given a temporary assignment as the lead agent aboard an offshore Navy facility. He soon discovers there's more to the situation than meets the eye. A lot more.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything except my demented sense of imagination.

This story was inspired by a rather strange dream I had which grew into a rabid plot bunny.

Special thanks to DinaLori for the beta.

XXX

Chapter 1

"Man down, man down!"

Tim shouted the warning as he ran after the fleeing pickup truck that had just slammed into Gibbs, sending the lead agent flying over a retaining wall and out of sight. He raised his gun and emptied the clip into the rear window of the vehicle, barely even aware that he had done so. Suddenly, the truck swerved to the right and plowed into one of the cement pilings beneath an overpass, crumpling the front end and bringing the vehicle to an abrupt halt.

Tim saw two of the FBI agents that had accompanied them on this mission run towards the truck, weapons drawn, and he turned and ran back to the spot where Gibbs had disappeared.

"Boss! You OK?" he yelled as he approached, and fully expected to hear the usual sarcastic reply. Of course he's OK. It's Gibbs. He's practically indestructible. This time, however, he was greeted by silence.

"Boss?" Tim reached the short cement wall that served as a safety barrier between the road and a sharp drop-off. He looked over the side and felt his heart stutter in his chest as he took in the sight below. Gibbs was lying in a crumpled heap, unmoving, and Tim could see spreading red stains on Gibbs' body.

"Oh God…" He frantically searched for a path down and nearly jumped when a familiar voice sounded in his ear.

"Status, McGee."

"Gibbs is down. We need an ambulance, now!" He heard a soft curse and then Vance relayed the information before speaking directly to him again.

"What happened?"

"A truck hit him. He's at the bottom of a ravine. I'm trying to get to him now." Tim half climbed, half slid to the bottom and ran over to the still form of his boss. He hesitated a moment, fearing what he might not find after seeing Gibbs condition close-up, and reached out to check for a pulse. He felt a moment of panic when he couldn't find one, but finally he was able to detect a faint beat.

"McGee?"

"It's bad. We're going to need MedEvac." He heard Vance relay the order and returned his attention to Gibbs. He briefly wondered how someone could be alive in this state, but then he reminded himself that this was Gibbs, after all. He still prayed for the chopper to hurry.

"Boss," he said as he leaned down to speak in Gibbs' ear. "I know you always are the one telling us we don't have permission to die. You know that goes for you, too. Right? Please, Boss, please be OK…"

He heard a commotion above and looked up to see Fornell staring down at him, his face devoid of color.

"Is he…?"

"MedEvac is on its way," Tim shouted back as he tried to control the surge of anger he suddenly felt at the FBI agent's appearance. It had been Fornell's idea to be here, and despite Gibbs' arguments the teams had been spit to cover two surveillance points. If they had all been together…

"Kid, are you OK?" Fornell asked, obviously bothered by McGee's silence.

"Did you get the driver?"

"No, you got him. He's dead."

"What about-?"

"The suspect showed at the other place and your team took him down. It's over."

Tim didn't bother to respond. He concentrated on willing Gibbs to stay with him, and wondered if his team would ever forgive him for what had happened.

XXX

The waiting was agony.

Tim had arrived at the hospital about forty minutes after the MedEvac chopper and had been directed to an alcove near the ER where several people were sitting, waiting to hear news about other patients. The nurse on duty told Tim that Gibbs was being prepped for surgery, and that as soon as there was anything to report, they would let him know.

And so he had waited. The hours passed, and the other residents had received their news and moved on, only to be replaced with others, anxiously awaiting reassurance that the people they had brought here would be OK. Tim stayed, not even moving to get coffee, lest he would miss the doctor's return.

The image of his critically injured boss was burned into his mind and his thoughts were contaminated by fear. He was afraid for Gibbs, more than he had ever been. The man had been injured in the line of duty before, more times than Tim cared to remember, but this time…

Amidst the fear for his boss was anxiety concerning the rest of his team: how they would react-especially Abby-and what would become of them if Gibbs didn't make it. Father-figure, mentor, friend; all of these applied to the relationships between Gibbs and his team at NCIS. The idea that they could lose all of that weighed heavily on Tim's mind.

He began to wonder what he could have done to prevent this. Had he failed Gibbs? The lead agent had directed Tim to check another vantage point and he had followed his orders, despite the slight sensation in his stomach that foretold something was waiting to go wrong. He wondered if Gibbs had sensed it as well, and had moved his agent away from the danger, or of perhaps Gibbs' famous gut instinct had failed him at the worst possible time. He was Gibbs' back-up. He should have had his boss' six. He had defied orders before in order to be there for the lead agent. Why hadn't he done it this time?

Soon Tim's thoughts circled around to Gibbs himself. Would he survive? If he did, considering the other times he'd been injured, would he be able to recover? Would he ever be the same? Would ever even be their boss again? Gibbs' work was his life. Sure, he had retired before, but now he didn't have his old friend and mentor to help, and even then he hadn't been able to stay away. If he couldn't be an agent, couldn't do the job…

His thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a familiar figure and Tim rose to his feet as the man approached.

"Ducky! Have you-?"

"I'm afraid I don't know much more than you, Timothy. The lead surgeon has promised to come and speak with me when he can, but at the moment, all we can do is wait. How are you holding up?"

"I…I'm OK. I'm worried about Gibbs, though. He looked… it was really bad, Ducky. Worse than I've ever seen."

"Yes, so I have been told. However, the emergency room attendants have told me that it could have been worse. Your quick thinking got help to him in time, and that has made a world of difference."

"I hope so. I just…this shouldn't have happened at all. What if I-?"

"Do not blame yourself, Timothy."

"But I-."

"You followed orders." Both men looked up to see Fornell standing there and he continued. "None of us had an idea what was going to happen. Not even Gibbs."

"What did happen? It seemed like that truck came out of nowhere, and—"

"The driver was waiting for Gibbs to appear," Fornell replied. "Turns out he was the brother of a man Gibbs put away ten years ago. The man died in prison a week ago, and his brother had been stalking Gibbs ever since. We found proof of that in the vehicle when we processed it."

"But how did he slip past us?"

Fornell sighed. "I don't know. We'll be checking into that, trust me." He turned to Ducky. "Any word yet on Gibbs?"

"I'm afraid not yet, but I dare say that at this stage, no news is good news."

"Right. Listen, I need to get back, but let me know when you do hear something, alright?" He turned to Tim. "Don't worry kid. Gibbs is as tough as them come. He'll be fine."

"I hope so."

"The rest of your team will be here soon. Vance figured keeping them busy was the best thing right now. I tend to agree," Fornell explained.

"Oh, God. I should—"

"Stay right here," said Ducky. "The Director is expecting you to act as contact person here at the hospital and I've authorized them to give you the updates. I do need to get back and deal with the driver of the truck, but I wanted to make sure that you're up to this, Timothy."

"I'm fine, Ducky. I just wish they would tell us something…and they will when they can. Got it."

Ducky smiled and patted Tim's shoulder before heading towards the exit, followed by Fornell. Tim sighed and sank into his chair, resigning himself to another long wait.

Two more hours passed before he heard a group of familiar voices and rose from his chair just as the rest of his team came into view.

"Timmy!" Abby launched herself at Tim as soon as she saw him, nearly knocking him over in the process. "What happened? Where's Gibbs? Is he OK? Vance told us he had to go to the hospital but he didn't say why, he just said you were here and everything is being handled, but Gibbs really hates hospitals so it would have to be bad for him to be here, especially this long and—"

"Abby!" Tony interrupted her rant. "Give Probie a chance to breathe."

"Right, sorry." She released Tim and he swayed slightly before regaining his balance. "So, where is Gibbs?"

"He's still in surgery. They haven't told me anything else yet."

"Surgery? What-?"

"He'll be fine, Abby," said Tony, and shot Ziva a look. She nodded in understanding.

"Come on, Abby. McGee looks like he could use some coffee. We should go find some for him."

"But…" She glanced between the three team members. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I am sure we will all learn more as soon as the doctor returns. In the meantime…"

"Yeah, OK. But if he does return, make him wait until we get back before he tells you anything, alright?"

"OK, Abbs."

She reluctantly allowed Ziva to lead her away, and as soon as they were out of earshot Tony turned to Tim, his expression dead serious.

"What happened?"

He quickly told Tony what had occurred and how Gibbs had been injured. The senior agent swore and turned away for a moment before he could continue.

"How bad was he, McGee?"

"Tony, I…I was surprised he was still alive when I got to him. It was…awful."

"And you haven't heard anything?"

"No. Ducky said no news is good news, but it's been a few hours now, and…Tony, I'm really worried."

Tony plastered on one of his famous fake grins. "Oh, come on, McGee, this is Gibbs we're talking about here. The man's been blown up twice, shot, nearly drowned, hit by a car, kidnapped by a drug cartel, and dealt with his ex-wives. You really think this is going to-."

"Tony, don't patronize me. I was there. I know how bad it was, and I'm afraid that this time…this time his luck…might have run out."

The grin disappeared. "Don't say that, Tim. You know he wouldn't give up on one of us, so-"

"I told him that. I told him we didn't give him permission to die, either. But…what if he doesn't listen?"

"He'll listen. He'll be fine." Tim could see that Tony was trying to hide his own doubts and fears, and decided not to call him on it.

"I hope so."

They both settled into chairs and leaned back to wait. Soon Abby and Ziva returned, bearing coffee that was just to the side of drinkable, but it was better than nothing. Two more hours passed, and finally a doctor in surgical scrubs entered the waiting area. He seemed surprised by their presence.

"You're all here for Agent Gibbs? I was told to ask for an Agent McGee."

"That's me. Whatever you need to tell me you can tell them, too."

"I see. Has anyone contacted Agent Gibbs' family?"

Tim glanced at Tony, who stepped forward. "The director called Agent Gibbs' father and is arranging transportation for him. He'll be here as soon as possible."

"I see. Well, we have repaired the internal injuries that Agent Gibbs sustained and our orthopedic specialist is currently working on stabilizing the fractures in his extremities. Agent Gibbs was extremely lucky in that his head injury was relatively minor and although he has suffered a concussion, there does not appear to be any swelling or bleeding in the brain. If all goes well in this last stage, he will be moved to the intensive care unit for observation for at least twenty-four hours, and after that time he will be allowed visitors."

The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

"See, McGee, I told you, Boss will be back to his old self in no time."

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple. The number and severity of fractures he did suffer was rather high, with many of these requiring both internal and external fixation, and will take considerable time to heal. Agent Gibbs will require extensive physical therapy and may not be able to return to the field, depending on how well everything does heal. If he were younger, this would not be as much of an issue, but for man of his age-"

"He's not that old," exclaimed Abby, an indignant expression on her face. "And you're seriously underestimating him of you think this is going to keep him from his job!"

The doctor sighed. "I simply meant that it will be more difficult. I am aware of Agent Gibbs' reputation, but he is human, and thus is subject to these limitations. I am also aware that attitude plays a huge part in recovery, and I have no doubt he will do everything he can to return. It is going to take time."

"How long?"

"I estimate at least six to eight months."

"Months?"

"Yes. Perhaps as much as a year. Considering that Agent Gibbs is nearing mandatory retirement age…"

"He won't retire," said Tony. "Tried that, didn't work."

"Then he has a long road ahead, but I trust he will have support along the way." They all nodded. "Now, I know you have been waiting here for quite some time, so I suggest you go home and get some rest. We'll inform you when he's ready to see you." The doctor turned and walked back down the hall, leaving a stunned and silent group in his wake. Finally, Tony broke the silence.

"The rest of you should go home. I'll stay and keep an eye on the Boss." Abby started to protest but Ziva took her by the arm.

"Come, Abby, we have work that needs to be done. The sooner it is done, the sooner we can return and concentrate on helping Gibbs, yes?" She turned to Tony. "I will explain your absence to the Director. McGee, would you like to ride back with us?"

"Uh, no, Ziva. I have a car here."

"Very well. I will see you back at the Yard." She nodded and left, pulling the reluctant forensic scientist with her. Tim watched the pair leave and then turned to Tony.

"She's worried."

"Yeah, but she's not about to show it. Go on home, McGee. I got this."

"Tony…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Gibbs."

"Wasn't your fault, Tim. Fornell told us what happened. I'm just glad Boss had one of us there afterward."

"I don't think I was much help. I couldn't… I couldn't do anything for him."

Tony put a hand on Tim's shoulder. "Trust me, you helped. Now go home. I got this, Tim."

"I'll have to report to Vance, but…I'd feel better if I knew he was in recovery, at least, before I go."

Tony simply nodded, and the two men settled in to wait.

TBC…