5
The young man turned to his new bride, his eyes bright with emotion.
"I love you so much Mrs Palmer, moving up the wedding…"
"Enough Jimmy, we're going to have a lifetime together. One day…what does one day matter?" Bree smiled at her husband, trying to push to the back of her mind the reason he was heading back to DC. "How long 'til you have to leave for the airport?"
He pulled her close; he'd give almost anything to stay with her, but he knew it wasn't possible. "We should be going…"
"Don't worry, I'll talk to Dad; he knows you do important work, he'll understand…just maybe not today."
"I'm guessing it'll take him about a hundred years to forgive me."
"Nothing to forgive Jimmy; your friends need you, you should be with them." Bree held on tight to him for a few seconds as they shared a tender kiss that was cut short by a rumble of thunder echoing across the sea.
Jimmy glanced up at the sky. "I should go get Doctor Mallard; he'll want to be at the airport before the storm hits." He headed toward the beach and gasped as he saw his beloved mentor fall to the ground, seemingly oblivious to the water lapping around him. Jimmy started running. "Bree! Call 911, hurry!"
Phoof: Ducky lying motionless as the waves wash closer to him.
Phoof: Eight ambulances lined up on the quayside beside the USS Barry, medical and rescue personnel standing ready for action.
Gibbs came to in stages; first off he was aware of a loud noise, like a million bees were buzzing round in his head. Next came pain, not intense…nagging at the edge of his consciousness, something was wrong and he couldn't…then there were sirens, distant at first, fighting hard to be heard above the buzzing…and finally there was movement and a muffled voice.
"Gibbs…Gibbs! Are you okay?"
He knew that voice, if he could just concentrate. "Abby?"
"Thank God…Gibbs, can you move?"
Move? He could try…tentatively he reached out his hand, okay, that seemed to work. He rolled off the soft cushion on which he had been lying and winced as his shoulder made contact with the broken glass on the floor.
The 'cushion' moved a little and scooted beside him. "Gibbs…please talk to me."
"I'm okay…damn noise…Abs, we have to get out…" He struggled to stand and took a moment to steady himself and focus before reaching down to help Abby to her feet. They headed for the door, supporting each other, Abby still holding tight to Bert.
NCIS NCIS
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you followed me in here."
"I simply said, perhaps it would have been better if we had taken the stairs."
"Didn't see you pulling me back Ziva."
"No…no, I did not…perhaps I was not thinking."
"You and me both Ziva." Tony thumped the elevator door in frustration. "It's jammed tight!"
Ziva put her hand on Tony's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "We should sit…wait for someone to come…they will find us Tony." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, Tony or herself.
With one last kick at the door Tony allowed Ziva to lead him the two steps to the back of the elevator. They sat down in the small space they'd cleared of debris, Tony leaned against the smooth metal. "I hate not knowing what's going on out there, sitting here, doing nothing…I hate it!"
"As do I Tony, but until we get out of here there is nothing we can do. But when we get out…we will find him, and we will kill him."
He shook his head slightly, then remembered she wouldn't be able to see his gesture, enveloped as they were in darkness. "Arrest Ziva, not kill. You're an NCIS agent now, not Mossad."
"Do not tell me you have not pictured his death!" Ziva rounded on him angrily. "How many has he killed? We do not even know…cooped up in here…powerless. I cannot bear it when I am not in control."
Tony could feel the tremors that ran through her body, he was pretty sure it was suppressed rage that was causing them, but he had to be sure. "Ziva, are you hurt? Don't hide it if you are, I need to know."
"You have asked me this already. I will no doubt have some bruises…a cut or two; I received worse during preliminary training in Mossad. Nothing is broken; I shall be fit for duty when we are out of here…enough of me…you said your back was hurting…."
"It's fine, just smacked it when the explosion hit. How long have we been in here?" Her quiet laugh surprised him. "Ziva?"
"A question like that cost McGee a very expensive watch."
"How could I forget? This isn't the first time you've been stuck in an elevator…looks like we have time, you care to tell me what you and McGee got up to?"
"We have worked together for so many years and still you do not know me. I never kiss and tell."
"So there was kissing?"
"You are…incorrigible. McGee, as ever, was the perfect gentleman, although he was somewhat obsessed with the time…Tony, you are sure everyone got out?"
"Must have, we were pretty much the last ones in the building, if I could just get a bar on this damn phone I could find out for sure."
NCIS NCIS
"It's no good Abs, they're locked tight."
They'd wasted precious seconds trying to open the doors before Gibbs made his frustrated admission. Abby grabbed his arm, she wasn't sure either of them was hearing everything clearly right now.
"Gibbs, we have to get out." She glanced at the broken bottles on the floor, so far the chemicals hadn't started to merge, but it was only a matter of time…Gibbs saw her fearful expression, and the direction of her gaze; they couldn't sit around waiting for rescue. The door was no good, only one option; he pointed to the windows and reached for Abby's hand. Doing their best to dodge the shattered remnants of Abby's lab they raced to the windows, open now to the outside world, all they had to do was climb up to street level.
The storage units beneath the windows were strewn with broken glass, so Gibbs took off his jacket and swept the glass to the floor. He ignored the pain in his arm as the first whiffs of noxious chemicals assailed his nostrils; he took Abby's hand noting the new fear in her eyes.
"Go Abs, we've wasted enough time, this is the only way out."
She threw Bert out of the window, then opening two of the drawers to use as footrests she scrambled onto the countertop, quickly followed by Gibbs, he steadied himself for the jump, his arm was throbbing now, pulling off his jacket hadn't helped...he had to ignore it, all that mattered now was getting the two of them out of the building and making sure his team was intact.
"We have to get away from the building, they'll have a triage station somewhere, come on Abs!"
She was staring at the lab, all her precious equipment blown to pieces, her eyes filled with tears, and then she turned to Gibbs with a gasp, how could she be crying over her lab when…"We have to find everyone, I have to see them Gibbs, to see they're safe."
She took his outstretched hand and they ran toward the flashing lights they could see near the Barry.
NCIS NCIS
"Tony, do you have a signal?"
"No, you?"
"Nothing…they will be fine Tony, I am sure we were the last."
"How can you be sure? Stuck here by my own stupidity, an elevator! Evacuation Procedure 101, do not get into an elevator, so where does 'Very Special' Anthony DiNozzo end up? They could be dead Ziva, and we're doing nothing!"
She could hear the rising note of frustration and fear…not for himself, but for their friends. Ziva reached out in the darkness and took his hand. "Tony, you must listen to me. Gibbs would never leave Abby behind, McGee, he helped to raise the alarm, he would have been one of the first out…they are safe, as we will be when they come for us."
Tony raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I hope to God you're right, we lose too many people in this job…way too many…"
"Indeed, we are sometimes reminded that life is short…and that we should not miss opportunities when they arise. Tony…when we get out of here and Dearing is…"
"In prison."
"Have it your way…Tony…you and I…we are partners I know, but…I do not know how to say this."
"Could we be something more, break Rule 12 maybe?"
She couldn't read his expression, so Ziva wasn't sure whether he was smiling, but he sounded serious, had he already considered the idea? "What do you think?"
"I think…we tiptoe round this every day Ziva, not sure this is the right time…if there ever will be a right time…"
"We could start with baby steps…we have time now Tony…time to…" She felt his hand caress her cheek, and turned toward him, her lips ready to meet his when Tony's phone gave out its shrill ring tone.
"Now we get a signal!" He checked caller ID. "Boss! How are you doing?"
"Better than some…is Ziva with you?"
"Yeah, we...we're stuck in the south elevator."
"What! Doesn't matter...are you hurt?"
"No...we got dinged around, but nothing's broken."
"Good, rescue teams are in the building, but they're evacuating the...the most seriously injured first; they'll get to you soon, then we get to work."
Tony smiled grimly, this was more like it. "We'll get him Boss, Dearing has to pay."
"He will Tony, that bastard is going to wish he'd never been born."
Gibbs switched off his phone and held on tight to a trembling Abby as they stood aside to let another gurney be wheeled to another ambulance; they'd seen so many being wheeled away in such a short time, only this wasn't just another gurney, this was the one carrying Tim McGee.
Phoof: Tim, oxygen mask over his face, head secured to a back-board, arms and hands bloodied, an EMT holding an IV bottle in place.
Phoof: The squad room, broken glass all around, an abandoned back-pack lying amidst the debris.
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