Growing Up McGee

The Tragedy - Chapter 2

 He quickly snapped out of his gaze. "What about my daughter, Morgan?"

"She's fine. She only suffered minor injuries, but she is unconscious." The doctor answered.

McGee took one, long, last look at his son before asking, "Can I go see her?" The doctor nodded and McGee followed him into Morgan's room. She had a few bruises, as well as a broken wrist, but compared to Delilah and Johnny, she was lucky. He sat with her, contemplating how he was going to tell her about Delilah and Johnny. McGee wasn't good at these things. Bishop was usually the one who made those visits at work. It's not like he didn't sympathize with the victims' families, he just never knew what to say or how to comfort them. This time, however, he didn't have to talk to strangers. He had to talk to his daughter. He wasn't sure if that was going to make things better or worse. McGee sat with those thoughts for a couple hours, until he heard the hospital sheets rustle.

"Ow!" He heard her groan as she woke up. "Mom, where are you?"

"Hey, Morgan." McGee said softly, squeezing her hand. She seemed to look relieved for a moment, knowing she wasn't alone. But, then it all seemed to come back to her.

"The car..." She trailed off, sounding a little out of breath.

McGee rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her. "Yeah, honey, you got in a wreck. But you're going to be okay."

She looked around the room for a second. "Where's Mom and Johnny?" He suddenly felt tears begin to form in his eyes. He knew he couldn't let her see him cry, so he tried to hold them back as best he could. He stood up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Um, well," McGee stuttered, trying to figure out what he was going to say, "I'm so sorry Morgan, but..."

"But what?" Morgan asked worriedly.

"They didn't make it." McGee whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Morgan looked at him in horror. "What?"

"I'm so sorry," McGee told her.

"No, you're wrong, they can't be..." Morgan trailed off, starting to get out of bed. McGee gently grabbed her arm. "Honey, you need to stay in bed."

"I'm going to see Mom and Johnny." She told him anxiously.

"Morgan..." McGee started, but Morgan interrupted, "Where are they?"

"They're not here." McGee told her, tears starting to roll down his face.

"Why are you lying?" Morgan asked, her voice breaking from emotion. She started to walk towards the door, but McGee grabbed her arm again and turned her around, a little more forcefully than he meant to. He bent down to her level. "I'm not lying. They're not here, Morgan."

"Then where are they?!" Morgan yelled, crying.

"They're dead!" McGee yelled back, tears streaming down his face even more.

Morgan just stood there, a little taken aback. She seemed to snap back into reality, and she slowly stepped back and sat on the side of her hospital bed, staring off into space. McGee took a moment to collect himself, and he immediately regretted shouting at her. He slowly sat down beside her. "I didn't mean to-"

As soon as he started talking, Morgan broke down in sobs. McGee's heart broke. She sobbed into his shoulder until she fell asleep. 

Tim laid her back down on her hospital bed, and that's when it hit him. He was going to have to raise Morgan all by himself. He was starting to panic, but tried not to show it in case Morgan woke up. He had to get out of the hospital, but he couldn't just leave her. So, he did what he had been dreading. He stepped out of the room and called Gibbs. He heard the phone's ringing come to a stop. "Gibbs."

"Hey, Boss." McGee responded.

"McGee, what happened?" Gibbs asked. McGee sighed and told him everything, surprisingly not sobbing through the whole story.

"Oh, God, Tim." Gibbs gasped. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thanks, Boss." He said before hanging up the phone.

Gibbs arrived ten minutes later, just as he said he would. He knocked on the door before entering Morgan's room. He saw Morgan asleep in her bed and McGee sitting in a chair next to her. McGee stood up as Gibbs entered the room. Much to McGee's surprise, Gibbs walked over and hugged him. When they both let go, Gibbs said, "Take as long as you need, Tim." McGee nodded his thanks and glanced at Morgan before he left. Gibbs sat with Morgan until she woke up. "Gibbs?"

"Hey." Gibbs answered softly.

Morgan rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up. "Where's my Dad?"

"He went out to clear his mind." Gibbs told her. He easily could have made up a lie, but the last thing he wanted to do was lie to the poor girl.

Morgan just sat there silent.

"Um, Morgan, you can cry if you want to." Gibbs said awkwardly. "You don't have to hold it back just because I'm here."

'I'm done crying." Morgan told him bluntly. They sat in silence before Morgan asked for some food. Gibbs flagged down a nurse, and she brought her some Jell-O while she was eating, the two talked about school and Gibb's boat. He told her some stories about old cases, remembering how McGee mentioned a few weeks ago how interested Morgan was in his job. Gibbs didn't talk to her about Delilah and Johnny, though. When she wanted to talk about what happened, she would talk.

Meanwhile, McGee was back at his house, trying to clear his head. He cried for a solid hour before pulling himself together and calling family and friends. When he broke the news to Delilah's parents, they were angry and blamed him for what happened, which only made McGee feel worse. They were on a trip in Italy, so they wouldn't be coming home for a couple of days. This was a relief for McGee, because he knew he and Morgan needed a couple days before they could deal with them. After that conversation, he called Bishop and Tony, hoping talking to them would make him feel better, and it did. Bishop offered to bring dinner and groceries, while Tony let McGee talk out all of his feelings. They were the few people left that truly cared about him, besides Morgan, Gibbs, his sister, and his mom. When he was finished calling everyone, he went back to the hospital to see Morgan awake, eating some Jell-O while talking to Gibbs.

"Hey." He said as he walked through the door. "How's your wrist?"

"It hurts." She answered truthfully. Morgan knew that simply saying 'I'm fine' in a hospital wasn't going to get her any better.

McGee sat down on the edge of the bed with concern. "Did they give you any painkillers?"

"About ten minutes ago." Gibbs answered for her. "They should start working in about twenty minutes."

McGee nodded. "Thanks for sitting with her, Gibbs, it means a lot."

Gibbs took that as his cue to give them some space. "No problem. If you need anything, just call me."

"Thanks, Boss." McGee replied. "I will." Gibbs waved goodbye to Morgan and left. Morgan and McGee sat in silence for a moment. "How's the Jell-O?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"It's good." She replied. There weren't a lot of times where the two were together, so it was a little different being just them. It wasn't like they weren't close, they just hadn't been through a traumatic experience together before.

McGee cleared his throat awkwardly. "Granny's coming tomorrow morning."

Morgan's eyes lit up for the first time since the incident. Her Granny was McGee's mother, and by far her favorite grandmother. "She is?"

"Yep," McGee stated, proud of himself for cheering her up, "and Grandma and Grandpa are coming the next day." He saw her eyes dull once again.

"Why?" she asked. McGee felt like Gibbs - slapping himself for mentioning them. The family wasn't very fond of Delilah's parents. They only saw them once a year, and they weren't the nicest people.

"They just wanted to see how you're doing." He answered calmly. When he heard her sigh, he added, "I don't really want them here either, but maybe if they come this time, they won't come back for a while."

Morgan took a bite out of her Jell-O. "Maybe."