A/N: This little idea actually came to me when I saw "Fame" in theaters. Near the beginning of the movie, one of the characters says, 'Another dead body, and you wanna keep running.' This made me think of all the death in NCIS...which led to this drabble. Takes place circa-Season 6.
Warning: Major character death.
(If this looks familiar, I originally submitted it yesterday, but there was a glitch and I had to do a repost.)
Disclaimer: I own neither NCIS nor "Fame."
Keep Running
Faster. Faster.
Take a breath. Not that you deserve the air, but if you don't breathe, you'll have to slow down, and you can't. You can't let them catch you.
Faster. Faster.
They are coming.
--
"Tony! Tony!"
He won't stop, will not accept the fact that his legs are betraying him. They simply cannot hold out any longer and let him know by giving way suddenly, forcing him onto the unforgiving concrete.
He tries to get up, to keep going. But his fumble is all the time they need to reach him, and they will not let him go anywhere.
Arms wrap around him, struggling to hold his shaking frame, to control his flailing limbs.
--
No. No.
You have to keep running. Have to keep moving.
Can't think, can't feel.
It hurts too much.
--
"Stop! Stop!"
Ziva is shouting at him, pleading with him, but he doesn't comprehend what she is saying. All he cares about is freeing himself from her grip. Abby's tear-streaked face swims in his vision, and he realizes he is crying, too.
Damn.
He lashes out again, and something sharp pricks his upper arm.
--
Stabbed.
No, shot.
Not by a gun. A shot.
Of what?
--
Palmer helps Gibbs lift the prone figure into the back of the medical van, and they begin to drive back to headquarters. The entire team is as silent as the tranquilized agent.
As still as the dead body down in the morgue.
Ducky bites down on his lip to avoid the threatening tears. He is not afraid to cry, but he does not want them to see. Not today, not now. He must be strong.
For them.
--
Blackness. As dark as death, but different.
You must not fight it. It will give way when it is supposed to.
Accept what has happened.
Who has died.
--
Abby watches him in his sleep; is pained by the way his face contorts in a nightmare. She is still recovering from the chase, from running through the Yard in platform boots. But she had no intention of being abandoned.
Not again.
Because sometimes when she is left behind…not everyone comes back.
Like yesterday.
--
Faces. They are everywhere, surrounding you.
Don't be afraid.
Give in.
It is all you can do.
--
Ziva holds her breath as his eyelids flutter. Her shoulder brushes against Gibbs, and this is somehow comforting.
Gibbs is the rock. He will make everything all right.
The room tenses up, preparing for the worst.
Green eyes blink open.
--
They are staring at you.
They want to make sure you'll be all right.
Everyone is there. Everyone.
Can you see the fallen, too?
--
Tony looks around at them, confused.
He can see Gibbs, Abby, Ziva, Ducky, and Jimmy watching him in trepidation.
Then there are the others. The ones blurred in shadow.
Kate. Paula. Jenny.
Tim.
Understanding dawns on his face and he seems about to smile. Until everything collapses into tears instead.
It is better than outright hysteria, and so his friends will accept it. They will work on it.
A/N: Reviews are love. :)