A little warning, this fic is very sad and dramatic. Containing character deaths.
Slightly Jibbs, Tiva and McAbby.
She was crying, her whole body shaking as she looked at the burning building, knowing her friends were inside. She had been one of the first to get out of there, one of the lucky ones, the fireman had said. She was standing at a distance, waiting for someone to tell her that the people she loved had made it out of the fire alive.
A man was running towards the stairs, he could barely breathe, barely see. The flames haunted him, closed up on him. But he didn't turn, because he had someone to save. He knew she was trapped, had no way out. She might be hurt, he didn't know, couldn't think clear. The flames nearly caught him now, but he ran faster. Even if he did get to her, there was no way they'd be able to get out of the burning building, he knew that, but couldn't accept it. They would find a way, as long as he got to her. There she was! Coming right towards him, she saw him, but immediately collapsed as the smoke made it so hard to breathe, she couldn't get any air. He was having a difficult time breathing himself, and a few yards away from her, his legs refused to carry him any longer, he shouted her name, she didn't react. Her name would be the last word he ever spoke as the flames reached their bodies that were lying so close, but still not touching each other, so close but still not close enough for them to be together. He had to change that, wanting to die with her, he moved himself, though the pain that roared through his body, he moved until he lay beside her, closed his eyes, and let life go.
Another man was trying to escape the flames, crossing through what had once been the squad room, and he ran for his life and tried to look for his friends, he had no idea if they were still in here or outside, safe. He saw a door, a way out…
The woman outside prayed, she had a blanket wrapped around her, she had no injuries, but her whole body ached. They wouldn't die… those words circulated in her mind, and she believed in them.
Meanwhile, in the building, the firemen had found the two bodies next to the stairs on the upper floor. A man and a woman.
Down in the squad room, two people were running together, trying to avoid being hit by a falling wall. The woman screamed, she hadn't made it past the wall, her legs were stuck. The man was a little bit ahead of her, but he turned back, determined to help her.
"No, leave me! Save yourself!" she shouted but he didn't obey, he tried to free her legs instead.
"Go!" she didn't want him to die too, she loved him, he had an opportunity to get out, he should take it, but he wouldn't. He loved her; he wouldn't leave her here to die. She was in pain, and she was loosing consciousness. He knew he'd rather die than live without her; he'd rather go wherever she went, instead of running out through the door without her. He couldn't carry her, she was stuck. The smoke had made him dizzy, and he soon fell down onto the floor, next to the woman, his last thought was that he loved his team, and that he'd die for them.
The woman outside covered her eyes as the building started to collapse, none of her friends were out yet, at least she hadn't seen anyone. The firemen worked their hardest to take out the fire, but the flames were too big, too hot. She heard someone call her name, someone she knew. Abby took away her hand from her eyes, and looked around, looking for McGee. She didn't see him. The hope that had lit in her eyes went out as she thought it had only been her mind playing tricks with her.
"Abby!" She heard it again! This time she was sure she wasn't just imagining, that was McGee's voice, but where was he?
"McGee?" she shouted, spinning around on the spot, trying to make out his face amongst all the others NCIS agent that had gotten out of the building. She didn't see him! What the hell was going on?
"Abby" she heard him saying again but this time she felt someone touch her shoulder at the same time, she spun around, and there was he, wrapped in a blanket, just like her.
"Oh, thank God, McGee!" Abby said and hugged him tightly. He carefully pushed her away.
"Yeah, I'm just a bit sore" he said and winced in pain.
"I'm sorry. Come sit down" she said and led him to the chair she had been sitting in while she had waited.
"Thanks. Have you seen anybody else?" he asked and she shook her head sadly. "No, no one."
She stood behind him, having her arms around his neck loosely, and both of them looked at the burning building, and occasionally they would look around to search for one of their friends.
Gibbs was running up the stairs, he wouldn't try to get himself out of there until he found her, found Jen. His gut told him she was trapped in her office, but he didn't know weather she was hurt or not, he just had to get to her, he couldn't leave her behind… The flames were catching up on him, but now he saw her, running towards him. But in the moment she saw him, she collapsed. His legs betrayed him, and he had to crawl to get closer to her. "Jen!" he shouted, which would be the last word he'd ever say. Everything was blurry, he had a hard time breathing and he felt he was dying, but he had to reach her, had to be with her. He wanted to die with her. "Jethro," she whispered as he caught hold of her arm "Thanks for coming for me, Jethro". She could let life go now that he was beside her, to die with her.
McGee ran through the squad room, trying to find a way out, and at the same time he was looking for his friends. He saw a door, a way out…he decided to save himself, hoping the others were already outside.
The firemen found the damaged bodies of Jen and Gibbs on the upper floor, the man who found them was touched by the sight, they had probably been in love, he thought as he arranged for them to get escorted out of there.
Down in the squad room, Tony and Ziva were running towards a door, the same door McGee had escaped through. They tried to avoid a falling wall, but Ziva was caught underneath it, and screamed. Tony was a little bit ahead of her, looked back and saw her lying there, crying out in pain. He turned and was immediately at her side, trying to help her get free.
"No, leave me! Save yourself!" she shouted at him, but there was no way he would do that, no way he'd leave her. "Go, Tony!" Ziva didn't want him to die, she loved him, wanted him to take the opportunity he had to get out of there before it would be too late. But Tony wouldn't leave her, since he was in love with her, he couldn't just abandon her. Ziva was loosing consciousness and he felt himself go weaker for every second, for every breath he took. At last he fell down on the floor next to Ziva, and his last thought before everything went dark, was that he loved his team, and that he would die being proud of having been working under Gibbs, together with Kate, McGee, and Ziva.
It was so hard, the fire was out, and the firemen searched for bodies in the ashes. Abby was speechless, no one had told her yet, but she just knew. She knew Gibbs hadn't made it. He would have come looking for her, making sure she was ok, no matter how injured he was, he would have wanted to know she was safe. She caught a fireman who walked by, the same man who had found the remains of Jen and Gibbs.
"Have a Jethro Gibbs being identified as a victim of the fire?" she asked him with a shaking voice; McGee looked at her, and squeezed her hand while waiting for him to answer.
"Yes, I found him near the stairs, lying next to a woman. I managed to get them out of there" was the answer he gave them, he didn't like it when he had to tell someone that the person they were looking for had been found dead.
"Was he…is he…dead?" Abby asked, and he sadly nodded his head. She threw herself at McGee, crying.
"Who was the woman you found with him?" McGee asked.
"According to her id, she was the director of NCIS" the fireman said, and then he left them, couldn't bare to see the looks on his face, or hear the woman's crying.
"Gibbs and Jenny, together, of course" McGee sighed and hugged Abby hard, while tears were running down his own cheeks.
Close to where Abby and McGee sat, someone had just identified the bodies of Ziva and Tony. This fire had claimed many lives, and would bring so much sorrow to friends and families of the departed ones.
Abby sat in McGee's lap while he rocked her back and forth; hoping he gave her some comfort, but he knew it would take more than that to make her feel better after the loss of Gibbs. Suddenly she lifted her head from his chest, and pressed her lips against his.
"I'm gonna miss them all so much" she said. And so would McGee. They would miss not only Gibbs, but Tony, Ziva, Jen and as always, they missed Kate. They would try and get through this, together. Though the pain of losing their friends would always haunt them, they would get through this together