Reassurance
Shellie
McGee watched nervously from the corner as Tony walked cautiously toward the building, gun held steadily in front of him. He saw a flash in the corner of his eye a second before gunfire cracked the air. Tony's body twisted and his head snapped back on his neck. He folded abruptly and seemed to hit the ground before the gun's echo died away.
He wasn't being heroic; he wasn't being brave. He also forgot all the rules Gibbs had thrown him like treats for a pet. McGee's feet moved automatically. With his gun held out, pointing uselessly without aim, McGee ran quickly toward Tony's body. Gibbs' voice shouted from behind him and the distant crackle of shots exploded above, like fireworks on the 4th of July. Ziva's slim form, moving almost like an automaton, glided along his peripheral. Her weapon was nothing but an extension of her arm, and she hit her targets with precise and even success, one after the other.
A hot spear lashed through his side. McGee knew he'd been hit, but he gritted his teeth, arguing with the knot that twisted through him and grabbed the back of Tony's collar. Legs pumping, lips curled in against clenched teeth, he pulled and managed to look up where he was going. Almost as an afterthought, he raised his gun, daring anyone to try and stop him from rescuing Tony.
Gibbs' hands planted on his shoulders, both stopping him and supporting him when his momentum nearly tumbled him to his knees. He glanced back over his shoulder and allowed his boss to ease him to the ground.
Officers and other personnel descended. McGee's hands were pried from Tony's collar. He struggled to sit up, but found Gibbs' hand behind his head, and another pressing gently against his chest.
"We've got Tony, McGee, take it easy."
Winded, suddenly spent from his sprint with Tony, McGee gulped in air and lifted his eyes to Gibbs. He watched as the older man lifted his chin and spoke to someone nearby. "We need some help here -- I've got a bleeder."
'Bleeder. I've been hit.' As if offended with being ignored, his wound chose that moment to remind him of its presence. He curled in, mindful of Gibbs' hand sliding to his back and supporting him as he rose slightly from the ground.
"Easy, take it easy, McGee. I'm right here."
McGee nodded and did his best to relax and ease some of the tension in his side. "T-Tony?" He looked up, anxious to see the answer in Gibbs' face rather than hear his words.
Gibbs smiled. "He'll be fine. He's awake and flirting with the pretty paramedic who's treating him now."
McGee's relief cut short when a painful twinge squeezed through his side. A gasp was surprised out of him.
More hands touched him, eased him to his back. He shut his eyes and just followed directions as someone spoke to him. A certain tightness around his arm as his blood pressure was taken, an uncomfortable prick in the back of his hand as an IV was started, and the soft warmth of a blanket settled over him as he was transferred to a gurney, and finally to an ambulance. The quiet reassurance of Gibbs' voice lulled him into sleep.
He and Tony would be fine; he had Gibbs' word on that.
The End