A/N: First off, this is a missing scene from the season 10 premiere. If you don't want to be spoiled for at least a little bit of it (not that it resolves the episode, but there are a couple of things in there), then, don't read this. I was just a tad disappointed at how the premiere went. There were some beautiful moments but they were spoiled by missed opportunities and what I consider some sloppy writing. ;) Anyway, this is just a scene that I wish had been in the episode after that nice moment in the bullpen when Tim realizes he's been injured.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or the characters and I'm not making money off this story. Any recognizable dialogue (if I got it right after one viewing) is the property of the NCIS franchise.

Could Be Worse
by Enthusiastic Fish

"I'm going to get some air. It's hot in here," Tim said, vaguely. He had come to and just kind of stared at what there was around him. When Gibbs came in, he hadn't been able to keep up with what he was asking. Now, though, he just wanted to get out of the bullpen...get some air. He started to take off his jacket and took a couple of steps toward the exit.

"Tim, wait."

Gibbs reached out and stopped him from going on. He looked at Gibbs in confusion and then followed his gaze down. ...and saw a shard of glass sticking out of his torso. Part of him was interested that he'd been stabbed by glass without even noticing it. Yes, of course, there was only a little bit of blood, but still. He'd been stabbed! By glass!

He looked back up.

"That's not good," he said.

Gibbs grabbed hold of him and Tim looked down again, watching the bloodstain spread.

"Can we get some help here?" Gibbs called.

Tim wasn't sure just where the other person came from. He just knew that he was suddenly moving a lot faster than he had thought he was able to as the world spun around him. He was still really hot.

"Stay with me, McGee," Gibbs said from very far away.

Tim wondered where he'd gone. He could still feel someone (or a couple of someones) propelling him forward, but it was getting harder for him to focus.

"You're okay, Tim. Just stay with me."

"Where did you go?" he mumbled.

"I'm right here."

"It's still hot, Boss."

"We're getting you outside, Tim. Don't worry."

"Okay."

Then, there was a bright light in his eyes and Tim blinked at it.

"I need some air."

"Hey! Over here!"

Tim wondered who Gibbs was shouting at.

"Sit down, Tim."

Tim sank down at command. There was something to sit on.

"Tim, look at me."

Tim tried to focus on Gibbs. He knew that he must be there...somewhere. ...and there he was. Right in front of him.

"Good. Now, you're okay. Hear me?"

"Yeah...Boss. I hear you."

"Good. They're taking you to the hospital. I'll check on you later. Okay?"

Tim nodded. "Okay."

"Good."

He disappeared from Tim's view.

"Boss?"

He was back.

"Tim, you need to go to the hospital and they'll patch you up. All you'll need is a band-aid."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Go on. I'll check on you."

Tim nodded.

"Okay. I'll...go...now?"

"Yes. Now."

"Okay."

There were other people who came into his view and got him into an ambulance. He wondered how serious his injury actually was because he didn't feel like he was dying or anything. It was just hard to...focus.

"I'm not...dying or anything, right?" he asked the people around.

"No. You're not dying, Agent McGee."

"Okay. Good. I'm okay?"

"You will be. Just lie still."

"Okay. I've been saying that word a lot, haven't I."

There was a chuckle.

"Yes, but that's all right."

"Okay."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Gibbs sighed as the ambulance pulled away with Tim aboard. There was no way of knowing how far that shard had penetrated. It could be a fraction of an inch. It could be penetrating major organs. He just didn't know how much of Tim's disconnect had to do with the shock of the moment and how much had to do with his injury. He hoped it was predominantly the former. There was just too much happening for him to lose one of his agents.

He had felt such relief at seeing Tim on his own two feet in the bullpen. He'd been a little disconnected but okay. ...until he'd started wandering away toward the exit, complaining of being hot. Then... Gibbs sighed again. The one good thing was that Tim had managed to stay on his own two feet...mostly. He had kept talking and while he was definitely more than a little out of it, he wasn't delirious by any means.

He looked around at the chaos. It was becoming more controlled by the moment. They were going to be getting Tony and Ziva out of the elevator very soon. Abby was okay.

He couldn't stand around here not knowing what Tim's status was. He could go to the hospital for a little while and then come back. He knew that Fornell was working on everything. He knew that there was no shortage of people running around.

...and there was one person who was alone at the moment.

That decided him. He left the Yard, choosing to check on his agent rather than stand around waiting.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"You are lucky, Agent McGee."

Tim lay there, trying to believe the doctor. It hadn't taken long for the pain to hit. They had been good about getting him taken care of, but still...

"Any deeper and you wouldn't have just a cut. You'd be in surgery with a punctured spleen or kidney."

"So...instead?" he asked.

"Instead, you need to stay here overnight to make sure that we didn't miss anything. A really slow bleed could be hidden from the scans. We'll give you another examination tomorrow morning and then, you'll be released...but you need to take it easy."

Tim almost could laugh at that...except that it would hurt. Take it easy? With that maniac out there? Impossible. No one would be taking it easy until Dearing was...gone, whether that meant dead or something else. Gibbs wouldn't accept taking it easy. No way.

"How is he?"

Gibbs' voice made Tim sit up...too quickly. The stitches pulled and proved that the pain relief was not absolute. He leaned back just as quickly.

"I'm...going be okay, Boss. Just...not yet. What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you?"

Gibbs looked at the doctor. "He's going to be fine?"

"Yes, absolutely. For a wonder there was no major internal damage. We were able to remove the shard. No splinters. Your agent is going to heal up just fine."

"See?"

"We're going to keep him overnight to make sure that we're right, but he'll be released in the morning."

Tim smiled.

"Boss. I'm okay. Really. I'll let them fuss over me tonight and then, I'll be released tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"Positive. There are lot more important things to worry about than this. A lot more."

Gibbs was clearly torn about leaving him there.

"Go on, Boss. We were all lucky. Let's see if the luck will hold."

Gibbs stared at him for a long moment and then nodded and left. Tim settled back against the bed.

"You didn't tell him how bad it could have been, Agent McGee."

Tim smiled. "He has enough to worry about. People died out there, today. He doesn't need to worry about what could have happened. What actually happened was bad enough."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The next day...

"You all right, Tim?"

Tim smiled. "Nothing a band-aid couldn't fix."

Gibbs smiled back, and Tim knew he'd been right. There was no reason to share how much worse it could have been. He had some pain meds, not really strong, just enough, and he would move carefully.

No one would know. They'd just focus on stopping the man who could have killed one more person than he already had.

It could have been worse. No one needed to think about that.

FINIS!