Twisted Justice (an NCIS story)

Chapter Nineteen

"Have you been in town long my dear?" Ducky asked.

"No, Sean came and got me this morning, we live in Virginia. He didn't think there was any reason for me to worry in D.C. 'Might as well worry at home as here in the city' he said." She laughed a little, the sadness returned to her face.

"We decided to wait and tell the girls, they're visiting Sean's sister in Oregon, we didn't want them to worry." Her lip started to tremble. "Sean called me Monday afternoon and told me Tim was missing and it might have something to do with the drowning, I thought this was over, I so wished it was over, for Tim. It was so...difficult."

"I'm sure it was.

"He was so distraught after it happened, then he was attacked and..." A tear slid down her cheek, "he couldn't sleep and didn't want to eat. He would hardly speak to anyone. It got better after Sarah was born. He was so good with her and such a help to me, then Emily came along and it was almost like we were back to normal. He's always been good with them."

She smiled sadly.

"Tim has told me so much about you all, I feel like I know you. I had wanted to come and meet everyone before this but I didn't want to invade his life. Sean had business in town this week and that's why he was up here. I am glad to meet you know though. Thank you for finding him, I don't know what we would have done-"

She chocked off and stood up.

"I'm going to get some air Sean."

"Are you ok, I can come with you?"

"No I'm fine."

After she had left Sean turned to Gibbs and got right to the point.

"You rode with him in the ambulance on the way in."

"Yes"

"How was he?"

Gibbs paused so Sean spoke again.

"I don't want the sugar coated version that's why I waited till Olivia took a walk. Olivia is wonderful and sweet and kind, but," he paused trying to think of a diplomatic way of saying what he wanted without disparaging his bride of 35 years, "um, Olivia doesn't handle crisis well."

One corner of Gibbs' mouth turned up. He sounded like Tim, beating around the point, trying to think of the nicest way to say the truth. He quickly became serious again.

"Tim stopped breathing on his own halfway over. His heart was still beating but it was weak. "

"How did he look?"

"Not good, it...looked like it had been a rough few days. There's one more thing you should know, but I really think your wife should hear this too."

Sean nodded.

Olivia soon returned. She knew it would be too early for news of Tim still she couldn't bear to be away and miss something. Sean took her hand.

"Sweetheart Agent Gibbs said we needed to know something, about Tim."

She turned to him

"Yes" she whispered almost not wanting to hear.

"We were talking to him, before the ambulance arrived and he told us he couldn't see." He said as gently as he could.

"What do you mean?"

"He told us that one of his kidnappers hit him in the head and after that he was couldn't see."

Sean's pupils dilated in rage, fist clenched.

"Ducky what does that mean?" Abby asked.

"Well sometimes a head injury or head trauma can cause swelling that presses against the optic nerve and can cause temporary blindness. Interestingly enough the term "optic nerve" is not technically correct, it lies within the central nervous system and-"