Life Line: An NCIS Fanfiction [Book One]

Chapter 40 - Flat Line

A day had passed since Tim and Carter were found. Tim was recovering quickly, Carter on the other hand was a different story. Her surgery lasted for nearly fourteen hours, and had been sleeping ever since.

"Gibbs?" Tim asked, waking up from a nap. He looked over to see Gibbs sleeping in the chair next to his bed. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah, McGee?" Gibbs said, snapping awake.

"Have you heard anything about Carter?"

"Not yet... She hasn't woken up." Gibbs rubbed his eyes, "I am going to get some coffee... Want anything?"

"Can you ask if I can go see her?" Tim asked, looking at his hands that were folded on his lap. Gibbs nodded and flashed him a smile as he walked out of the door. He was gone for a few minutes and when he finally returned, Tim sat up. "Well?"

"Let's go." Gibbs said as a nurse pushed a wheelchair through the door.

"Thank you so much, Gibbs." Tim said throwing the blankets off of him.

"I asked for me too, McGee. She means a lot to me too." Gibbs said, grabbing onto Tim's arm to make sure that he wouldn't fall over. Once Tim was in the wheelchair, Gibbs pushed him down the hall and to the elevator. When the doors opened, they went down the hall towards the ICU.

"Carter." Tim whispered as Gibbs pushed him through the door. Carter laid on the hospital bed, covered in wires and monitors. An oxygen tube was snaked around the head of the bed. A heart monitor in the corner of the room reassured the nurses that she was alright by beeping every thirty seconds or so.

"Hello. You must be with NCIS." an ICU doctor said entering the room, "My name is Dr. Samson. I have been taking care of Carter since she got here yesterday. Her brain activity has been decreasing slowly. Everything else seems to be functioning properly... If you want to talk to her you can. There is a possibility that she can hear you."

"Gibbs?" Tim asked, looking up at Gibbs. Gibbs slowly pushed Tim's wheelchair closer to Carter. "Carter. Please wake up soon. I love you so much... It should have been me in front of that bomb, not you." Tim grabbed her hand.

After Tim and Gibbs had talked to Carter for a few minutes, her heart monitor suddenly spiked. The beeping became rapid and had gotten louder. A team of nurses and Dr. Samson came running into the room. They moved Tim's wheelchair back out of the way and pulled off Carter's hospital gown.

"Get the crash cart!" Dr. Samson yelled and two nurses ran out of the room. Tim jumped out of his wheelchair as the beeping sound became a continuos sound and the line on her heart monitor went flat. The nurses came back with the crash cart and held Tim back from getting to Carter. "Clear!" Dr. Samson yelled as he pressed the paddles on to her chest.

"Carter!" Tim cried.

The End