Boom
A/N I've been really naughty to write this because I should be revising for my A Levels but I just couldn't concentrate on them until I'd at least started this. This plot is based on a Grays Anatomy episode in the second season and I thought the idea might work in the context on NCIS.
Pairing: A little bit of everyone really, mainly TIVA and McAbby with a little bit of Gabby and Giva if you squint!
Disclaimer: I…sob…own…sob…nothing…All Characters belong to the humble producers of NCIS and the Grays Anatomy plot belongs to the writers of Grays Anatomy. No copyright infringement or anything like that purposefully intended. If you think it is lawful please say so and I'll scrape the whole thing! I'm just working the plot line honest!
Summary: Ziva had a feeling...
The alarm blared out as it usually did at 4.30am but Ziva was unusually already awake. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was but something didn't feel right, something was wrong. She didn't know what it was about this day of all days but she just knew something bad was going to happen, whether it was to her or something else, the chill in her bones told her that life was going to change. She felt like today was the day she was going to die.
She shakily got out of bed and stumbled into the shower letting the steaming hot water cascade over her body in an attempt to wash the feeling away but when she emerged from the shower, the sensation was still as evident as ever. She set off on her early morning run, more alert than usual but determined not to let this odd feeling interfere with her strict routine however the distraction pulling at her mind made her late for work. She cursed under her breath as she hastily walked to work, not taking the risk of driving.
*
Gibbs stood in front of the plasma screen looking slightly uneasy. Not a single case had occured in the last few days and it was starting to make him feel restless. Tony approached him up to him.
It's been a quiet week, hasn't it Boss?" he said idily sipping at his coffee.
"I know" Gibbs replied irritably
"That's a bad sign" Tony said trying to identify what Gibbs was looking at. All it seemed to be was some news channel.
"I know that. Don't you think I know that?" Gibbs snapped and turned to face Tony. He snatched the coffee off him and took a sip of it himself. Disgruntled at the taste he frowned and chucked the coffee in the near by waste bin.
"Hey!" Tony said with a frown.
McGee approached them with a look of interest on his face. Thinking that something worth the interest was going on.
"It's a quiet week" He reiterated peering over Tony's shoulder, Tony shrugged him off while Gibbs groans loudly.
"Why is he in a bad mood?" McGee asked Tony with a frown.
"no cases" Tony said
"Right, we've had no cases all week, Tony...where's Ziva?" McGee asked. Tony gave him a how would I know turned to face them.
"I can hear you talking about me" He snapped. Tony and McGee exchanged glances. Tony attempted to explain.
"We're just saying..." He began but Gibbs interupted him.
"Quiet week means trouble. A quiet week is death! A quiet week bodes bad news!" He turns around to face them. "And stop looking at me like that!" he said storming off.
"Where's Ziva?" he yelled. Tony and McGee shrugged.
"I haven't been out in the field in five days. I don't like being cooped up inside" Tony said whilst flicking paper balls at McGee.
"Will you please stop it" McGee retorted.
"Whatever you say McGoo" he said continuing to flick the paper balls in McGee's direction.
As if on cue, the elevator dinged and Ziva stepped out of it quickly, hastily made her way over to her desk.
"Ah hah, here she is!" Tony mocked and she shot him a deathly glare that shut him up instantly. Noticing the look on her face he softened instantly.
"Are you ok?" he asked getting up from his desk and making his way over to hers.
"I have a feeling" she said putting her head in her hands and massaging her temple gently.
"What kind of feeling?" McGee piped up.
"Your ninja senses tingling again are they?" Tony said in an attempt to lighten the heavy mood that had fallen across the room since she had arrived.
"I knew you wouldn't understand Tony, You never understand" she said almost sounding disappointed in him. He instantly felt guilty and placed his hand over hers.
"It'll pass" he said trying his best to comfort her.
"Do you promise?" she replied, he faith in him temporarily restored.
"I promise" he said. McGee watched the scene before him unfold but kept his opinion to himself for the time being.
"Ziva, where have you been?" Gibbs barked as he suddenly rounded the corner.
"I...I..." she began but the phone started to ring and the attention of all four of them was caught instantly.
"I'd almost forgotten what that sounded like" Tony said. Gibbs answered it immediately. The look on his face made Ziva's stomach churn. Gibbs hung up the phone quickly and made a dash for his bag.
"Have we got a case?" McGee said with excitement.
"We're going to Bethesda, Marine got shot"
"He's still alive?" Ziva asked.
"He won't be if you don't get your asses moving'" Gibbs said heading towards the elevator closely followed by his three trusty agents.
*
With thanks to Gibbs's murderous driving, Tony, Ziva and McGee stood outside Bethesda waiting for the amblunace.
"This case is weird. I thought they said the Marine was already going to be here?" Tony said checking his watch.
"This is the first case we've had all week and you're already complaining about it?" McGee argued.
"Where is the ambulance?" Ziva asked.
"You're in the dark as much as I am, I was under the impression the marine was already dead...but he isn't and the ambulance should be here any minute" Gibbs said appearing with several doctors by his side.
"Surely we are getting in the way by standing here?" Ziva wondered.
"A marine was shot, Ziva...it's our job to find out why" Gibbs said before a speeding ambulance skidded into the ambulance bay.
The back doors swung open to reveal a young paramedic helping a very powerful screaming lady who had blood spattered over her climb out of the ambulance.
Tony and McGee pass the screaming lady to Ziva who takes her into the hospital. There is another very young paramedic in the ambulance looking very nervous. Tony looked down at the Marine and noticed the young girl had her hand in a very large chest wound of the Marine.
"Oh my God!" Tony said, looking at Gibbs.
*
"Petty Officer Henrey Marlson. Aged 46. Paramedics found him unconscious and bleeding. Mechanisms of injury are unknown but he has a large sucking chest wound. And a wife with very healthy lungs" McGee said walking briskly down the hospital corridor in order to keep up with Gibbs.
"Is he going to make it?" Gibbs asked stopping to let McGee catch up with him.
"The doctors are still working on him" McGee replied. Gibbs went to enter the truama room in which Henrey was being worked on.
"Em, Boss...you can't go in there" McGee tried to reason with Gibbs to little effect.
"They call me all the way out here to make me wait in the hall? I don't think so McGee" he said pushing open the door.
"Doctor Pitt?" Gibbs called over the main doctor in charge of the case. The familar doctor looked up.
"Agent Gibbs. I see you got my call?..." he said above the noise of the bleeping machines. "How's his respiratory effort?" he redirected to a near by nurse.
"Yes I did, what's this all about?" Gibbs asked.
"Someone tried to shoot this marine, I thought you should know about it" Dr Pitt replied.
"Absent breast sounds on the right side. Air bubbling on the side of the wound. He's shocky and getting a little cyanotic" Another doctor shouted over the noise.
"My wife is …" Henrey stuttered. Gibbs turned to the sound of the screaming women outside the truama room. Ziva was trying her best to comfort her but this sort of thing wasn't included in her mossad training.
"Let's get him intubated and place an effusive dressing on the wound" Doctor Pitt instructed.
"Who are you?" Gibbs asked the girl who still had her arm inside Henrey's chest.
"I'd appreciate it if you left the interrogation the moment" Dr Pitt said.
"Lucy, Lucy Harris" she replied shakily to Gibbs.
"Lucy, why do you have your hand inside this patient?" Gibbs asked, realising how scared the young paramedic looked. The other paramedic interrupted.
"I'd like to say for the record that I told her not to" he said frowning at Lucy.
"I tried to tampon out the wound with gauze and pressure but the only thing that would stop the bleeding was my hand. Every time I tried to move it he starts bleeding out. Can I take my hand out now?" She asked.
"You don't stick your hand inside of a patient when you don't know how he was injured. You don't stick your hand inside of a patient at all." The paramedic yelled at her.
"Yeah, I know that now!" She shouted back almost hysterical.
"I think you should leave" Gibbs ordered to the paramedic.
"She gets to stay?" The paramedic scoffed.
"If you hadn't noticed, She has her hand stuck inside the patient" Gibbs said leaping to Lucy's defense. Lucy smirked at the paramedic who looked very annoyed.
"I'll need you to speak to one of my colleagues" Gibbs told the paramedic as he left the room very disgruntled. Once he had gone, Lucy turned to Gibbs.
"Nice. Thanks" She said greatfully to Gibbs.
"Oh don't be happy. You have your finger on a major bleeder. Mr. Marlson is running out of time. The only thing that you've won is an all expense paid trip to the O.R. by the looks of things" he said smiling sympatheically at her.
"Dr. Redway, prepare to transport her to the O.R and let's make this happen quickly people" Dr Pitt Yelled. "Just another day at the office, huh?" Dr Pitt smiled at Gibbs.
"Tell me about it!" Gibbs replied.
*
Tony stood in front of Petty Officer Marlson's screaming wife with Ziva cringing at the sound.
"She's been going at least 15, 20 minutes. This must be like some kind of record" Tony said frowning at her.
"Look at her. She is not even turning red" Ziva observed.
"Good for her. Boss says shut her up" McGee said taking a place next to Tony.
"Right, I'm heading over to the Marlson residence to collect the evidence with Gibbs once Petty Officer Marlson has gone up to surgery" McGee said hoisting his back pack over his shoulder.
"I thought Boss said for you to shut her up!" Tony said
"No Boss told me to tell you to shut her up." McGee replied smuggly.
"I will go and see what is keeping Gibbs" Ziva said, leaving Tony alone with the scremaing women. He sighed in wonder of how to approach the situation.
"Ma'am. Ma'am" He began but the women just screamed at him even more
"Mrs. Marlson. Are you injured?" He tried again in vain to get the horrific screaming to subside but her screaming just continues which is very annoying.
"I need you to try and calm down. Mrs. Marlson. Can you hear me?" He asked. After getting no response whatsoever he asks her again but a little bit louder.
"Can you hear me?" he asked, trying to be as tolerant as possible.
Mrs Marlson just screamed. Tony, fed up, got up to close to Mrs Marlson and screamed loudly into her face. Mrs Marlson stopped instantly stopped screaming in shock. Tony sighed with relief, the screaming however was still ringing in his ears at having been exposed to it for so long.
"Good. Okay. Now can you tell me exactly what happened to your husband?" Tony asked a lot more quieter that he had done previously. Mrs Marlson substituted her loud screaming with crying instead.
Tony sighed with his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling in defeat.
*
"Ziva, I want you to stay here and wait for Petty Officer Marlson to come out of surgery...Me and McGee are going to check out the scene" Gibbs said in a hushed whisper. They are both outside the Operating Room. Ziva nods her head in response.
"What about Tony?"She asked, not really sure why Gibbs doesn't seem to think anything of it.
"He'll be getting a statement off Mrs Marlson...ok? Call me as soon as he gets out of surgery" he says turning to leave Ziva outside the operating room.
"Gibbs?" Ziva asked cauciously.
"Everything alright?" he asked noticing the insecurity in her voice.
"I have a feeling" she said, kicking herself at how stupid it sounded coming from her of all people.
"I get those...a lot" he admitted.
"It's a bad feeling, something bad is going to happen" she told him. The tone of her voice freaked him out a little.
"No one is dying today, Ziva" Gibbs said. Before leaving her outside in the hallway alone. She pushed the door to the Operating Room open whilst placing a mask and called over to Lucy who was all scrubbed up with her hand still inside Mr. Marlson.
"How are you doing over there?" She asked.
"My hand is getting numb and I gotta tell ya, this whole insides are all bloody and squishy thing is so not good for my gag reflex. But I'm good. Is this okay? Me being in here like this"
"Once Dr. Pitt scrubs in. He'll have you remove your hand and then you can go." Ziva said reassuringly earning a nod from Lucy
"Good. Cause I know how much medicine I know and it's just enough to never be allowed in an O.R. It's my second week. As a paramedic. I got out of school about a month ago" Lucy admitted.
"You are doing great" Ziva said. Lucy looked up at Ziva.
"Thanks, what's your name?" Lucy asked.
"Ziva David...I am with NCIS" Ziva replied.
"Oh, that's hebrew isn't it?" Lucy said. Ziva nodded.
"I am NCIS' Mossad Liason Officer" Ziva said propping open the door a bit further.
"Mossad...sounds dangerous" Lucy said. When Ziva didn't respond Lucy looked down.
"Sorry" Lucy apologised, sensing the uneasiness that surrounded Ziva.
"It is ok" She answered,more to herself than Lucy.
"So..." Lucy began as an awquard silence fell upon them.
"Do you have family around here? A boyfriend?" Ziva asked as a conversation starter.
"No, no boyfriend. My parents live in Philidephia...I couldn't wait to leave" Lucy said laughing a little. "What about you?" she asked. "Does your family live in Israel?"
"Yes, I can't really say I get on too well with them either" She said.
"There's no ring on your finger? Do you have a boyfriend?" she asked. Normally, Ziva would find this incredibly rude but assumed that this was down to pure anxiety that Lucy was asking questions like this.
"No...but there is this one guy..." she began but Dr Pitt and his team of surgeons swarmed in.
"Officer David? Would you like to scrub in?" Dr Pitt offered. (A/N I know this would never happen in real life) "I think Lucy could use a friendly face" he finished.
"Ok, If it's not breaking any rules or anything" she replied.
"You're NCIS, I trust you and Gibbs" he replied.
*
Tony rubbed his forehead as he felt a head ache coming on. Fortunatly for him Mrs Marlson had stopped crying. One of the nurses had helped Mrs Marlson change into a hospital gown and took her bloody clothes from her. Tony is at her bedside.
"All this blood and none of it's hers?" Tony asked.
"Yeah she's fine. Acute-anxiety reaction. The doctor gave her 2 diazepam P.O to calm her down" The nurse said signing off Mrs Marlson's chart.
"We'll need her clothes for evidence" Tony said. The nurse nodded and smiled.
"Of course, I'll go get a bag in just a second" the nurse said.
"She in shock?" Tony asked.
"I'll say" Mrs Marlson said before the nurse could reply. She shares a look with Tony.
"Can you tell me exactly what happened? I'm Tony DiNozzo from NCIS" He said showing her his ID.
"You mean the shock part? It was shocking. I'm shocked. You tell my husband when I get my hands on him; He's a dead man! Do you hear me? Scaring me like this!" she said.
"Exactly how was your husband injured?" Tony asked, Pen and notepad at the ready when a man called out.
"Cindy? Cindy? Are you in here?" He called.
"I'm over here. Moron!" She yelled back.
A middle aged man looking fairly stressed out and dressed like a war veteran walked up to the group.
"How's Henrey doing?" he asked panting slightly.
"Oh he's bleeding all over the place. That's how he's doing!" she yells "The girl from the ambulance put her hand inside of him! That's how he's doing!" she screamed at him.
"What are you yelling at me for?" the man replied.
"Because, Tom! Because you and Henrey are like idiots! Playing like 8-year olds!" Cindy snaped. Tony tried to intervene but failed miserably.
"Okay we don't play. We re-enact" Tom snorted.
"You play! You put on your costumes and build your stupid toys and you play!" Cindy shouted.
"We re-enact" Tom said defending himself from his best friend's wife.
"Nobody re-enacts World War II. You moron!" Cindy yelled. Tony, giving up all hope of trying to get through the Cindy, turned to Tom instead.
"Exactly what happened?" Tony asked, pen poised at the ready.
"You wanna know what happened? What happened is my husband and his moron best-friend-" Cindy began but Tom interupted.
"Can you stop calling me a moron?" he said.
"Moron best-friend! Decided to build some kind of big gun" she spat.
"Yeah an exact replica of the finest allied anti-tank weapon of World War II. The M19A bazooka" Tom said proudly. This was the stupidest thing Tony had ever heard but restrained himself from releasing his own opinion to let Cindy continue with the story.
"So they put on their stupid costumes and they go out into the backyard and they try to shoot the thing!" Cindy continued. Tony, by now, was thoroughly confused.
"I'm the gunner. James is the loader. Okay we follow the specifications exactly" Tom said to Tony to nodded in response.
"You should see it. It's a 60 millimeter. One and a half pound rocket. It's a beauty" Tom said, Tony shook his head in astonishment.
"It didn't work. So like an idiot my husband has to go and stand in front of his big gun to see what went wrong! That's when the stupid toy starts working!" Cindy shouts angrily.
"Stop calling it a toy" Tom says raising his voice.
"It's taken up half my garage. I'll call it whatever I want!" Cindy said through gritted teeth. Something suddenly dawned on Tony while Cindy and Tom were arguing. He put his hand up to silence the pair.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, he shot himself with a bazooka?" Tony said, calculating the extent of the problem which he was amazed hadn't dawned on the two other people yet.
"Yeah!" Cindy snorted.
ALEX turned horrified to Tom "He shot himself with a bazooka?" he said again. He started to panic. Tom nods.
"Like I said, morons! The pair of them!" Cindy said.
"Was there an explosion?"Tony asked impatiently
"Huh?" Tom asked unware of what Tony was getting at.
"Was there an explosion?" Tony asked again insistantly.
"No. Why?" Tom said in confusion. The colour drains from Tony's face, his features worn with horror.
It suddenly dawns on Tom too. "Oh crap" He said, horrified. Tony sprints to the nurses station.
"Where's the OR?" He asked, trying to remain as calm as possible.
"The fourth floor, why?" The nurse asked but Tony was gone in a flash.
"Boss, we've got a problem!" Tony gasped into the phone while he kept running.
"What?" Gibbs said irritably.
"You need to get back here now!" he said snapping his phone shut.
"What? What is it?" Cindy asks completely unaware.
Tony legged it down the corridor as fast as he could jumping up stairs, three steps at a time. A doctor attempted to slow him down.
"Hey! Slow down!" He said trying to restrain Tony who ignored him and kept running.
*
In the OR. Ziva is scrubbed in and there are several doctors and nurses surrounding Dr Pitt who is about to start the surgery.
"Okay everyone. I'm going to do a throacotomy and Lucy here is going to pull her hand out. is going to clamp the bleeder when we have more exposure." Dr Pitt said professionally. He turned breifly to Lucy "Ready?"
"More than ready" Lucy replied, looking at Ziva.
"You'll be fine" Ziva assured her.
"Scalpel" Dr Pitt instructed. A nurse handed him a scalpel punctually.
*
Tony sprinted down the hallway, breathing hard and entered a stairwell.
*
"Okay, on the count of the 3. One." Dr Pitt said. Ziva held her breath.
*
Tony kept running but skidded to a halt to check a board to find which room Mr Marlson was in.
*
"Two." Dr Pitt said slowly. The tension building in the room was beginning to suffocate Ziva.
*
Tony was still running. He ran and ran until he felt his lungs beginning to burn. He grabbed a mask and held it too his face.
*
Dr Pitt was about an inch away from flesh and from making an incision and as he just pressed the scalpel against Mr. Marlson's skin. Tony slams open the door breathless.
"Dr. Pitt! I need to speak with you" He said panting heavily.
"Tony! What the hell are you doing!" Ziva snapped. Tony frowned.
"What are you doing in here?" He said sounding distraught with panic.
"I am in surgery Special Agent DiNozzo" Dr Pitt said sounding rather annoyed.
"You wanna talk to me" he insisted. Dr Pitt looked at him for a bit before handing the scalpel back to the scrubs nurse. Dr Pitt made his way over to Tony who stood at the doorway while the O.R team including Lucy and Ziva just looked over at the two. Ziva's heart raced.
"Special Agent DiNozzo, if you interrupt me in my O.R before-" he began but Tony cut him off.
"Was it through and through?" Tony interupted.
"What?" Dr Pitt said in disbelief.
"The wound on Henrey Marlson. Was it through and through?" he asked again.
"No, it was just an injury. No exit. Why?" Dr Pitt said alarmed by Tony's expression.
Lucy turns her head to Ziva
"He's cute. Is he single?" she asked Ziva. Ziva felt like saying no straight out but the look on Tony's face made her unable to reply. She just stared at Dr Pitt and Tony who were talking in hushed tones. The O.R team gave each other confused looks. The anaestheologist Dr. Stilton also looked confused.
Dr Pitt took one step back into the O.R and Tony half-closes the door watching.
"Lucy" Dr Pitt asked
"Yes, Dr. Pitt?" Lucy replied innocently. The sweetness in her voice made Tony's heart break.
"What do you feel? Inside of Mr. Marlson. What is your hand touching?" he asked in all seriousness.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked confused.
"Is your hand touching anything hard?" Tony asked. Ziva looked up at him, the look in his eyes was very unsettling.
"Hard?" Ziva replied in confusion.
"Like metal?" Tony nodded.
"Um, I don't know" She replied and attempted to move her hand
"Don't move your hand. Just tell me what you feel" Tony said sternly.
"Tony, what's going on? Where's Gibbs?" she asked, a hint of pleading in her voice.
" He's coming. Lucy? What do you feel?" he asked focusing on the girl.
"Um, my finger tips are touching something kinda hard." She nodded "Yeah, yeah definitely"
"Oh my god!" Dr Stilton gasped in realisation.
"Dr. Milton!" Dr Pitt said sternly.
"What? What's wrong?" Lucy said panicking.
"Lucy, I don't want you to move. Not your hand, not your body. Not an inch" Tony said calmly.
"Okay you should know your starting to scare me" Lucy said shakily.
"Don't be scared. Everything is going to be fine" Tony said. He turned to Ziva.
"Ziva could you ah-" He motioned with his head for Ziva to come forward. Ziva left Lucy's side and walked up to him looking very confused.
"I want you to walk out of this room. Gibbs is waiting outside. Walk, do not run. Go and tell him that we have a code black" Tony said in a whisper, his lips were so close to her ear it sent shivers down her spine.
"I am sorry, code black?" Ziva asked. Cursing her lack of understanding the english language.
"Code black. Tell him that I am sure. And then tell him to call the bomb squad" He tells her. Ziva looked at him in concern.
"Go, now!" He said. She followed his instruction and left the room. Just like Tony said, Gibbs, McGee and Abby were all waiting outside the OR.
"Ziva what the hell is going on here?" Gibbs shouted.
"Ziva, why are you shaking?" Abby said approaching her to give her a hug.
"What are you doing here Abby?" She asked.
"I came to pick up Mr Marlson's clothes" She said holding up a clear bag.
"Ziva?" Gibbs said sternly.
"Tony said Code Black" she said.
"Are you sure, that is what he said?" Gibbs asked taking her by the shoulders.
"Yes, he said for you to call the bomb squad...the Marine was shot with an unexploded bazooka from world war two, a young paramedic has her hand touching it..."
"Inside him?" Abby asked
"She was trying to stop the bleeding"
"Oh my god" McGee gasped. Gibbs flipped out his phone.
"Can you imagine? What she stick her hand in there for anyway?" Abby said with her back against the wall.
"She was trying to save his life...it was all she could do to stop the bleeding" Ziva replied.
"And now she might die because of it" Gibbs said, "Bomb squad is on it's way, we are in charge of this building now until they arrive...the hospital is being evacuated as we speak"
Tony opened the door and steped outside into the hallway.
"What do we do now?" McGee asked
"I go back in and wait for the bomb squad. You leave. You all leave, it is NOT a request." Gibbs said. "Dr Pitt and Dr Stilton will remain in there with Lucy"
The other doctors and nurses that have already left the OR start to leave including Tony, McGee and Abby. Ziva remains where she is
"Ziva, come on...you heard the boss" Tony said taking her arm but she shrugged him away.
"Officer David..." Gibbs said.
"I'm staying...Lucy needs a friendly face" Ziva began.
"Ziva, this is not the time or place for friendly faces...you cannot stay here, go with DiNozzo, now!" he ordered but she remained where she was.
"Don't do this Ziva, please...come on" Tony begged but she stood her ground. Gibbs knew full well that he wouldn't be able to pursuade her otherwise.
"Ok, you can stay until the bomb squad arrives, then you MUST go...or I'll fire you're ass back to Israel" he said. Ziva looked at Tony and their eyes connected for a second. Tony didn't doubt how brave Ziva was and it was one of the things that made him fall in love with her. He always had...and now he was leaving her. He walked off with the others looking over his shoulder at her.
Dr Pitt emerged from the OR.
"The bomb squad will be here soon but until then, I'm in charge ok?" he said to Dr Pitt who nodded.
"All I need is Dr. Milton to keep him under. I can do the rest myself" Dr Pitt replied.
"Fine. I don't want anybody in here that doesn't need to be in this O.R. When the bomb squad arrives we'll take it from there" Gibbs ordered. Dr Pitt and Ziva nodded.
*
Lucy remained in the OR looking very nervous. Dr. Stilton slowly pumped the manual ventilator, an ampoule bag. Dr Pitt is standing a few feet away watching with Gibbs and Ziva close by.
"So, so I'm touching live unexploded ammunition?" Lucy said.
"I'm afraid so" Gibbs said
"Huh. Not the greatest feeling in the world" Lucy chuckled half heartedly.
"No. I guess not" Gibbs said
"And he's still out?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah" Dr Stilton replied.
"But he's not hooked up to the machine anymore?" Lucy reiterated
"I had Dr. Milton take him of the ventilator. The flow of oxygen posed a danger. The ampoule bag is breathing for him now" Dr Pitt confirmed.
"He can't hear me?" Lucy asked.
Dr Pitt shook his head "No"
Lucy nodded and looked down at her hand which was buried inside Mr Marlson.
"Lucy? Are you ok?" Ziva asked
"What if I just take my hand out really quickly?" Lucy asked panicking more and more by the minute.
"We'd have to ask the bomb squad that when they arrive but I'm guessing that would cause the ammo to shift and explode" Gibbs replied.
"Oh." Lucy nodded, teary eyed.
"Lucy?" Dr Pitt called out to her.
"Yeah?" She replied
"You're hand is keeping Mr. Carlson from bleeding out. You are keeping him alive." Dr Pitt said optimystically.
Lucy nodded and closeed her eyes "Right. And the bomb squad is coming?" She asked, tears starting to fall. The scene made Ziva's heart break. She stepped out from behind Gibbs and went over to Lucy.
"The bomb squad is coming" Gibbs assured her
"Okay. Okay" Lucy nodded again more and more teary eyes.
*
"We're having pre-op patients transferred to University Hospital and all trauma re-routed to DC General. There is no danger to the north, south and west wings of this hospital. Just the east surgical wing. That said anyone who wants to leave can leave. No-one stays unless they volunteer to stay, understood?" Tony boomed to the group of doctors and nurses crowded around him. The group nods and dispurses.
"Wow, Tony...you really controlled them!" Abby said impressed.
"Abby this is really serious, Ziva's up there with a bomb!" he said panicky.
"and Gibbs" McGee added.
"...and Gibbs" Tony added turning slightly pink.
A nurses appoaches him
"Special Agent DiNozzo, the Bomb Squad just arrived" She said before before called away to another patient.
"Great, thanks" Tony said whilst ruffling his hair.
"Whose in charge?" asked a tall man with a regular build. He was wearing a bulky bullet proof vest and had at least 10 armed men behind him.
"My boss is upstairs, we're NCIS, the patient is a marine" Tony said
"Makes no difference to me" the guy said. "The names Guy Younger, Bomb Squad" he said.
"We guessed" Abby said sarchastically.
"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS" Tony said extending his hand. When Guy didn't accept it, Tony frowned and followed him to the elevator.
"It's right this way..."
*
Gibbs was speaking on the Operating Room phone.
"Thanks Tony" He said before hanging up.
"Bomb squad has arrived" Gibbs said rushing out of the room.
"Brad, Ziva...with me" Gibbs instructed. Ziva exchanged a look with Lucy.
"It's fine" Lucy said "The bomb squad is here now, everything will be alright" she smiled weakly.
"I'll be back in a minute" Ziva said before following Gibbs out of the OR.
They were greeted by the bomb squad who had just come off the were closley followed by Tony.
"You the surgical team?" Guy asked.
"I am" Dr Pitt said stepping foreward. "These guys are from NCIS" he motioned to Gibbs and Ziva.
"Ziva! Gibbs!" Tony ran over to them. "Are you guys ok?" he asked.
"We are fine Tony" Ziva assured him.
"Guy Younger, bomb squad. All right spread out and check the area and then we'll secure the patient...Where are they?"
Gibbs points to the OR which contains Lucy, Mr Marlson and Dr Stilton.
"Dr. Pitt has them in there" he informed Guy.
" Right, the rest of this floor has been evacuated?" Guy asked
"It has. Yes" Gibbs nodded in response.
"Okay, you stay here. Nobody moves unless I say so...NCIS don't need to be here now, its not safe" Guy said.
"We're not going anywhere, we're here to help" Gibbs said standing his ground.
"You are not going in there, you can wait here, you hear!" Guy said, earning a nod from the quartet. "Agent Gibbs, Dr Pitt, with me" he beckoned. Gibbs went to follow him into the x-ray room closely followed by Dr Pitt but he turned around to face Tony.
"Tony, I need you to go back downstairs and find Mr Marlson's wife, give her an update" Gibbs ordered once Guy had disappeared.
"Why can't McGee do it? He's already down there!" Tony argued, the very thought of leaving Ziva near the bomb without him terrified him. Gibbs sensed this vibe from Tony and spoke in a hushed tone into his ear.
"Your feelings of this situation are compromising your ability to work on this floor...I need you to go" he said. Tony knew exactly what he was talking about but how could he have possibly known? Tony took looked at Ziva who smiled at him softly, taking in as much of the beauty on her face as he could. Gibbs watched the silent interaction between them and knew that when the time came, there was nothing he could do to stop them falling in love with each other.
"See you later" Tony said to them both. Ziva's eyes started to fill with tears but swallowed hard. He was gone.
*
McGee was sitting against the wall in a hallway overlooking the floor below filled with the police and hospital staff. Abby came over and sat down next to him and hands him half of her sandwich.
"Eat something" She said crossing her legs beside him.
"Who knew Tony and Ziva would be on a floor with a bomb?" McGee said nochalently.
"Yeah...I know" Abby replied taking a bite out of her sandwich. "They'll be ok though, McGee, Gibbs won't let anything happen to them" she said, patting his shoulder.
"Is it wrong that I'm jealous? It's alright that I'm jealous, right?" McGee turned to look at Abby.
"The fact that you're jealous because they might blow up the guy is not a reflection on our character. It's about feeling useless" Abby said wisely.
"Ineffectual" Said McGee in almost a whisper. He knew how crazy this feeling was, he was jealous of Tony and Ziva in so many ways. They were so close no matter how much they denied it-he was always the one on the side. And now they were on a floor, with a bomb, and could die...it was exciting, but he was just on the ground floor below.
"We should do something! Anything!" McGee said standing up. Abby smiled
"That's more like it...let's go up there" Abby said taking him by the hand.
"Abby we can't we're not allowed!" He argued.
"McGee! Do you want to be part of this or not?" She said heading towards the stairs. She turned around to see McGee still standing there.
"McGee, if they're going to die today I at least want to say goodbye" she said sadly, her tone changed completely. This statement snapped McGee and looked behind him before following her.
*
In the x-ray viewing room, Gibbs, Guy and Dr Pitt were looking at the x-rays of Mr. Marlson. Ziva is seated on the floor outside the Operating room. She was never going to doubt her feelings ever again. She had a feeling something bad was going to happen to today and now she outside a room with a bomb that could explode at any minute. She knew she had been in love with Tony for a long time but she didn't go with her feelings and now she might never be able to tell him.
*
"There is no telling how dangerous it is. We need more info" Guy said observing the x-ray before him.
"The longer we wait, the greater the chance he'll bleed out and die" Dr Pitt replied.
*
Lucy and Dr. Stilton were both still in the OR alone and as an extra precaution, they had been given and were wearing flak jackets. The tension and uneasiness in the room was suffocating.
"Pink mist" Dr Stilton whispered.
"Excuse me?" Lucy replied a little taken aback.
"That's what the bomb squad calls you when you blow up. Pink mist. I read that somewhere. Bomb goes off and anyone in range explodes into a billion pieces. You're liquid. There's nothing left" he said. Lucy's stomach began to churn at this. She coulnd't understand why he was saying this to her.
"...Just flecks of human flesh and blood. Pink mist. Sometimes they don't even find a finger. One minute you're a person, the next … you're bloody rain" he finished, staring at Lucy for a little bit. He suddenly holds out the ampoule bag to her.
"Here take this" he said.
"What?" Lucy stammered in fear. He wasn't going to leave her was he?
"Go ahead" he encouraged. Lucy did what she was told and took the ampoule bag with her free hand.(Hannah takes the ampoule bag with her free hand
"Now I want you to squeeze it in even beats. Okay?" he said. Lucy began to squeeze the bag.
"Now not too fast. Not too fast. There you go" he said rising out of his chair.
He started to back out of the O.R slowly and turned to leave. He reached a different door to which Ziva was on the other side of.
"Dr. Stilton?" Lucy said desperatly.
"I've got kids" He said with a sad smile on his face. Lucy was shocked as she realized that he was leaving her alone.
" Even beats, okay? That's it" He said leaft the OR and leaving Lucy thoroughly scared by herself.
*
Tony was severely worried. Once he'd come back down stairs he had tried to find McGee and Abby but he could not find them anywhere. He was sat in a conferance room with Mrs Marlson.
"What about my husband? How long can he stay like that with live ammo inside him?" she said, her voice raw with distruaght.
"I honestly don't know" he replied avoiding eye contact. All he wanted to do was yell at her because he husband was probably going kill the love of his life.
"You're going to try to save him, right?" She asked. Tony sighed.
"The doctors are trying everything they can. First the bomb squad has to determine the best way to retrieve the device" he said. He noticed Tom come up behind them.
"I'm sorry Cindy. I'm so sorry" he begged.
"Shut up. We've got 3 kids and you've got him building bazookas!" she said. She turned back to face Tony "Oh god. He's gonna die." She started to cry again.
"My team are up there too! They might die too! The love of my life, is up there too...I might never see her again!" he yelled. He shut himself up instantly regretting the unprofessionality of his outburst. Cindy sits down stunned to silence.
"Ah Tom, why don't you go with officer there and answer his questions about the device you guys built" Tony suggested, he really couldn't face discussing the thing that was capable of killing his team.
"Oh anything, anything to help" Tom said dissapearing. A nurse appears at the doorway.
"Agent DiNozzo, your Director is on the phone" she said. Tony groaned as he got up from his seat.
"Uh Nurse, why don't you get Mrs. Marlson a cup of coffee?" Tony said. The nurse nodded and left, Tony went to leave but Mrs Marlson spoke up.
"I guess I should look on the bright side. It's not like this can get any worse. I mean this is it … this is bad as it gets, right?" she said. Tony was silent.
*
Ziva was still sat outside the OR when she began to hear faint foot steps that were getting closer and closer. Suddenly the stairwell door opened and Abby and McGee appeared. Ziva got up.
"What the hell are you doing up here?"She asked for the second time that day.
"We couldn't just stay down there doing nothing" Abby argued.
"It's dangerous, Abby you must go back" Ziva said. Abby shook her head.
"Where's Tony?" McGee asked.
"Gibbs sent him downstairs" Ziva said, the very mention of his name brought tears to her eyes. "You guys should really go, Gibbs will spill you when he sees you here" she said.
Neither McGee or Abby felt the need to correct Ziva's mishap of english at this moment, feeling it wasn't really necessary.
"Where's Gibbs and the bomb squad?" McGee asked, observing the quietness of the hallway.
"They are in the x-ray room assessing Mr Marlson...they have been in there for a long time...trying to figure out how to not blow everyone up" she said almost silently. Abby marched over to her.
"Don't talk like that Ziva, you're the brave one! You chose to stay here with Lucy, for Lucy...Gibbs and the bomb squad will figure something out, Dr Pitt will save Mr Marlson and everything will be fine.
"So how are they going to remove that ammo without killing him and James?" Abby asked as she walked up to the outside of the OR with Lucy and Henrey Marlson.
"Abby!" Ziva followed her quickly. "The bomb squad guy said you're suppost to stay away from there!" Ziva said
Abby peered into the OR through the window on the door. "Is it me or is she shaking?" Abby said. They both looked in. They saw Lucy shaking and squeezing the ampoule bag.
"Is she squeezing that ampoule bag by herself?" McGee said in shock.
"Where's the anaestheologist?" Abby looked from Ziva to McGee.
They opened the door slowly. Lucy was by herself and looked very pale. She was also shaking very badly but she was still squeezing the bag. She was very nervous and teary-eyed and scared.
"Lucy?" Ziva called over. Lucy looked up at her "Where's the anaestheologist?"
"He um … he left" she said "I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die" she whispered to herself through tears. She struggled not to cry and breathed erratically.
" Lucy" Ziva called.
"I think I'm going to take my hand out now" Luct said starting to cry, her breathing was shaky.
*
Completely unaware of the developments, Gibbs, Guy and Dr Pitt were still in the x-ray room.
"When the hell are people going to learn?" Guy said in disbelief.
"Well it may not be as bad as it seems" said Dr Pitt optimystically.
"Her hand is holding that device steady" Gibbs said observing the x-ray.
"Or maybe her hand is simply in there with the ammo. We can't know" Dr Pitt sighed scratching his head.
"Well my guys talked to the friend. That device is home made which means it's unstable and very unreliable. It could be a dud but we have no way of knowing. Add that to the fact you've got a nervous paramedic's hand in the body cavity" Gibbs said.
"It's definitely as bad as it seems" Dr Pitt said changing his tune.
"That's what I'm saying" Guy argued.
"Hey, somebody help! Help here!" They heard a voice call out from the OR. Gibbs frowned, he knew that voice from anywhere.
"Abby?" he thought.
They all sprinted from the room and across the hall to the other O.R. Gibbs, Dr Pitt and Guy entered the O.R. Abby was now pumping the ampoule bag. Ziva and McGee were standing either side of Lucy trying to comfort her.
"I think I'm going to take it out now" Lucy said clearly upset.
"Okay we're almost to the finish line. You can do this" Ziva said, trying to sooth the young girl.
"No, no. No, I just want to take it out and be done with it" Lucy said hysterically through tears.
"Lucy, It won't be much longer. Remember you're keeping him from bleeding out" Dr Pitt told her reassuringly but it was having little effect.
"No!" Lucy gasped through gritted teeth "I am 22 years old! I should not even be in here! This is some kind of mistake!" She cried hysterically.
"She's panicking. We need to clear the room." Guy said to Gibbs.
"I am not leaving" Ziva said stearnly.
"David, let's move! Abby, McGee!" Gibbs ordered.
"I am not leaving her, Gibbs" Ziva replied.
"Get everyone out now Gibbs". Guy said desperatly.
"She's my agent. I am responsible for her." Gibbs said.
Ziva placed her hand on Lucy's arm that was inside Henrey. Everyone began to talk at once.
"No, it's gotta come out! It needs to come out!" Lucy said breathlessly.
"McGee, Abby! Go with Dr Pitt" Gibbs said trying to remain as calm as possible.
"It's alright. Lucy, look at me!" Ziva tried to reason with the young girl.
"NO! It's gotta come out. No, NO!" Lucy said shaking her head.
"Lucy, look at me. You can do this...you have come this far!" Ziva said starting to panic herself.
"Lucy, you need to calm down. You need to relax. Everything's gonna be fine" Gibbs said
"No!" Lucy said shaking her head vigourously. Her tears were spilling over her eyes by now, her eyes red and raw.
"It's ok Lucy, you're doing great" Abby said.
"Hannah. You can do this" Gibbs said.
"No. It has to come out...I can't bear it any longer!" Lucy shouted
"You keep it there. Just a little while longer" McGee said.
"I have to! I have to!" She yelled, pulling her hand out fast. Gibbs, Abby, McGee, Dr Pitt and Guy all fell to the ground with their arms above their heads. Ziva was still standing as she watched Lucy run to the door. As she opened it she left a bloody hand print on the wall as she ran out. Ziva just stared after Lucy as the door shut slowly.
Abby stood up slowly and saw that Ziva now had her hand inside Henrey Marlson. Gibbs stood up as well.
"Ziva!" Abby whispered in shock.
Ziva whispered inaudibly in hebrew. Guy stood up as well closely followed by McGee. Guy moved to go up to Ziva.
"Just stay right where you are. Nobody move. Stay exactly where you are" Guy said. Ziva looked up and her eyes caught with Gibbs. She took a slow deep breath trying to process what she had just done.
"What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?" She whispered to herself and she took a deep breath "What did I do?" she breathed again
"What did I do? What did I do?"