Don't own the characters.
The aftermath of a massacre isn't pretty, can they bring their agent back from the depths of his mind. Just a one-shot.
Okay after looking at a picture this came to me so enjoy.
Aftermath.
As the coppery blood clung to the air in the abandoned warehouse, the birds sung a sombre tune, they to had seen the horror of the last few nights, heard the screams as peoples lives were extinguished. Watched as a three man team raced to rescue one of their own, one who's life was slipping away with the rest of the blood mixed with hope leaving his body. The sun had set hours ago, not wanting to see the outcome of the day, the day which had started badly anyway. Leaving the moon to hang brightly in the sky, as if it were a guiding light, for the team who had now reached the warehouse to follow.
Entering the crimson sprayed room, they saw all their horrible crimes scenes all in one, the complete destruction of life, life carelessly thrown away as if it were nothing. The systematic way the bodies had been cut and almost ripped apart, at first they thought they couldn't possible find their friend alive in all of this…this bloodbath. It would turn even the most experienced crime scene investigator's and agent's stomachs. Then they saw him, the one who they had been looking for…
One look in his eyes and they couldn't read the expression.
Or, maybe, they wouldn't associate it with the person they knew.
Couldn't believe that someone had caused the look that the once brilliant green eyes now held…
…Now, the eyes were dull, no mischievous spark, no hint of a mega watt smile reaching those haunted eyes.
They had been too late, too late to save him from the horror. They had only seen the outcome; he had seen the cause to the massacre before them.
They'd left him here will all the death and the bodies, all he could have seen were the bodies, everywhere, in his head, in his dreams, in reality. They could no longer reach the man they knew. How could they get back what had been ripped from him?
They knew their friend, part of their family may have been changed a little by the constant torture….But, they could barely look at the scene as it stood now, he had seen it happen, was covered in its blood. He was part of the crime scene and he didn't even know it, couldn't see anything but the horror of the last week.
And they realised without a shadow of a doubt what the look was, what they weren't willing to accept.
Pure and complete terror.
They couldn't accept it because they didn't know how to fix it. Could they fix it? What would happen if they couldn't? What would happen to him now?
The guilt festered within Gibbs as he watched the rest of his team process the crime scene, he needed to get Tony out of here as soon as possible, but the paramedic weren't here yet, and Tony was fading. The remaining light in his dull eyes still dimming as he held him in his arms, he didn't care that he would get reamed out for not follow procedure, the procedures could go to hell for all he knew. But, what did he know really?
Tony had gone missing in the middle of a very gruesome case; they had had nothing to go on, not for the case or for finding where the killer had Tony. Just nothing. False leads and fading hopes were all they had been given.
And they hated it, Abby had been near tears by the end of it all, only perking up as they finally found the clue they needed to find Tony, but they had been too late for the other captives. And Tony had been forced to watch and forced to see their dead bodies for a day or two by the smell of them. But to add injury to insult, they had come back just before the team had got there and hurt Tony, leaving him to die in this hell hole.
He felt movement and looked down at his senior field agent, the agent looked back at him with a spark of hope but it was quickly replaced by something…no please…a blank look. Did Tony even recognise that it was Gibbs that held him like a son, it was Gibbs who had cut him from the bonds around his wrists and ankles, and it was Gibbs who kept a firm hold on the cloth held to Tony's side.
Tony shifted away from the grip but it only tightened and pain crossed his face but the look was still blank. A sudden emptiness crept into Gibbs heart, if Tony never remembered what he had with the team, never remembered that they had been his family for the past eight or so years, it would be worse than death. As he would still be alive but out of reach. Never sharing that care-free nature, never seeing the easy going person that he could be again. For a moment he even wished for some inane movie reference, anything that showed him his Tony was still behind those dull eyes. Anything. Something. Please.
Gibbs could hardly find the words to help, didn't know what to say to the man lying on his knees, so he watched as his agent lost the struggle, but he needed…no, wanted to help. Do anything that he could to help…but, what. Suddenly he remembered another time, four years ago, it had been so close in that blue lit isolation chamber, what he had said then had worked, but a lot had happened since and he knew Tony believed that he no longer cared. His actions hadn't helped his case either, but it had been to protect him from feeling what he did now. But now he needed to show he cared, even wanted to and he didn't care who heard.
"Tony?" he asked in a voice so soft it couldn't have possible been his. It got no response and the vice around his heart tightened. Reaching his hand around to the back of Tony's head he gently tapped it, merely a token of the usual head slap.
Tony's eyes narrowed minutely, barely shifted if you weren't looking close enough but Gibbs had been. Was that a spark of recognition? Gibbs' breath caught in his throat as he saw it, he'd found Tony in the darkness and brought him back but the fear was still there, he knew it would be a long road. But, he would do it every single time if he had to. Just to get his Tony back.
Having gotten used to physical violence over the week he had been trapped, Tony flinched from the soft touch when Gibbs held his cheek in his free hand. He panicked but Gibbs held firm, which calmed him somewhat, the deal breaker was the look of concern mixed with fear in the bright blue eyes. he listened to the man he now recognised as Gibbs, his boss, his mentor, his…the thought stopped and the images were back, images of torture and death, peoples screams resounding in his head, he squeezed his eyes shut tight, wanting the images to go away. Then he heard the soft voice again.
"Come back Tony, you're safe now."
He doubted that fact but looked up to find Gibbs relaxed; Gibbs only relaxed when the bad guys were in a cell or dead. So he dared to hope, dared to believe everything would be okay. Looking into his boss's eyes he saw the truth and something else…fear. But of what and he remembered the pain, his life was slipping and even Gibbs couldn't fix that. He was scared again, he didn't want to die, not now, not when he needed to be sure the people who had done this were really dead. Needed justice for the waste of life, for the innocent life lost in front of him. his mind had wandered again, he knew it, Gibbs knew it so brought him back again.
"You. Will. Not. Die. You got that?" the tone firm, the same amount of care, maybe, even more than the last time when the blues lights had surrounded him.
And he did get it, so he nodded a little which elicited a small smile from Gibbs. He understood that no matter what, Gibbs would not let him down, and he would always have his six and his doubts lifted. The ones that had been creeping into his heart recently and he felt lighter. Then he heard the sirens and the sigh of relief that came from Gibbs as the paramedics swooped into action. Now he didn't feel as scared, Gibbs would help him through the nightmares that were to come. Gibbs would always be there no matter what, so he let go. He could rest now…
The end
A kind of weird ending but hey that's what my brain wanted, hope you all like it. Please read and review as always. Though i may think of extending it at a later date, let me know if you think i should.