Disclaimer: The usual...don't own them,just inspired by them.
Author's note: Sorry it's been a while, been busy!! Hope you haven't given up on me!
Thanks to: Michael Weatherly - cheeky, charming and criminally handsome – what more could a girl ask for?!
NB – it's a bit slow to start but please stick with it!! Oh and have the kleenex handy! Please review at the end.
Road Kill
The wheels continued to spin in the air as if on an invisible road. There was no movement other than a slight sway as the upside down vehicle momentarily struggled to keep its balance. All seemed still until there came a loud creaking sound. It came from the tree which the car had hit before plummeting down the embankment. It was in pain. The creaking increased as the wounded trunk tore itself in half, pursuing its tormentor. It too rolled down the embankment until it came to rest, in a loud crunch of metal, on top of the vehicle, flattening it further.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
"Where the hell is DiNozzo?" yelled an irritated Gibbs as he looked around for his senior field agent to arrive at the victim's house.
"Right here, Boss!" came a breathless reply as Tony appeared, jogging quickly towards his mentor. He was carrying two large cases as well as his back pack and appeared to be sweating. "Had some trouble with the local traffic cops..." He paused for breath, "...had to leave Ziva, McGee and the truck at the intersection," he explained.
Gibbs eyed him suspiciously, "Why?"
Tony was immediately defensive, which made Gibbs even more suspicious. "It wasn't my fault, Boss...Ziva was driving and ..." before he could finish, Gibbs interjected.
"You were driving when we left NCIS."
"Yeah, I was...but then we stopped and Ziva took over."
Gibbs was confused. "Why?"
"It's a long story, Boss."
"Shorten it," Gibbs wasn't a patient man.
"It was a bet...I lost...she got to drive," explained Tony, quickly. He could see Gibbs eyes' glazing over as a quietly impatient rage began to rise inside him.
"What happened, DiNozzo?!"he demanded.
Tony grimaced through his teeth. "She hit a patrol car...well.. more like side swiped it actually...she didn't..." he mumbled on. Gibbs glared at him with his head turned slightly to one side. He didn't have to give an order, Tony knew instinctively he should shut up and start processing the scene. He picked up the case and bounded quickly down the path to the one storey house.
Tony had finished sketching and photographing the scene by the time Ziva and McGee arrived. Gibbs had said nothing to them. He'd just listened as they made their apologies and excuses. His facial expression was one of insincere understanding. Ziva felt compelled to explain in great detail how it wasn't her fault, but Gibbs just held up a hand, his index finger pointing skywards. His head twitched and his eyes narrowed. Immediately both agents shut up and headed into the house. Tony looked up at their approach and grinned. He wore an expression which said 'Boy, are you two kids gonna get it when we get home?!'. Ziva shot him a look of defiance whilst McGee sheepishly took out some gloves and began putting them on.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
Back at the forensic lab at NCIS, Abby was addressing her machines. "Right men! We've got a busy day ahead of us so you'd better make sure you're all warmed up and ready for action!" Almost as if in answer, the machines beeped one by one to signal that they were in fact all powered up. Abby smiled, she had timed the little pep talk to perfection. She'd had plenty of practice.
She turned as she heard the whoosh of the automated doors. McGee ambled in with an armful of evidence bags, and was quickly followed by Ziva with several more. Abby made her way over to her computer screen but continued talking.
"I hear Gibbs ripped you guys a new one," she said, with the hint of a grin on her face.
"A new what?" asked Ziva confused, she still wasn't completely au fait with all of the different idioms used by her colleagues. Abby just looked at her. McGee pursed his lips and raised his head slightly, a slight crease formed in between his eyes.
"Yeah?...Where'd you hear that?" he asked.
"Ohhh...I hear things," said Abby conspiratorially. Her grin grew wider, she wanted to know the details. "C'mon McGee! Share!"
"Nothing to share, Abs...he hasn't said a word." Tim seemed subdued.
"Nothing?!" Abby was amazed. She knew Gibbs had a fiery temper at times and she wondered why he hadn't chastised two of his agents for being late to a crime scene. That didn't seem like Gibbs.
"Nope...nada...nothing," answered McGee. "It'd be easier if he had.."
"I agree," said Ziva. "It is like being on death row...the waiting is killing me..."
"That's not all that'll be killing you if you two don't get your butts back upstairs..." Tony appeared behind them. "Gibbs wants you to file an accident report ...something about insurance for the damage to the truck."
"There was no damage to the truck," stated Ziva, adamantly.
Tony held out his hands in a 'what can I tell ya?' gesture and pulled a face to match, before waving his right hand around in a circle and pointing upwards. McGee and Ziva made efforts to leave. Tony shouted after them. "See ya...wouldn't wanna be ya!" He grinned back at Abby.
She looked at him, weighing up his buoyant mood.
"So how come you escaped the wrath of the Almighty?" she asked – meaning Gibbs.
Tony looked proud of himself. "Well, Abs...Apart from the fact that I have seniority over those two kids..." His head gestured towards the door. "I also may have just found the piece of the missing link that may break the case." He held up two more evidence bags. Through the plastic Abby could see a bloodied screwdriver in one and a pair of pliers in the other.
"Oooh...murder weapon?" she cooed.
"You tell me...Ducky says the screwdriver is consistent with the wound found on the Gunnery Sergeant's neck I need you to confirm that it's his blood on the end of it."
"Okay...but how do the pliers fit in?" A frown creased Abby's brow as she held up the evidence bag.
"Yeah...not sure 'bout that ..think maybe it has to do with one of the other victims...let me know when you find something." Tony pushed himself backwards from the leaning position he'd adopted and gestured with his thumbs that he was going back upstairs.
"Don't I always?" answered the Goth. It was a rhetorical question. Abby looked at her machines. "Right you are, men!" and she set to work.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
Gibbs wasn't happy. Not only had another Marine died and two of his subordinates arrived late to the scene, he'd also had the Director on his ass after complaints from the local Sheriff at Fairfax PD about the damage caused to one of his vehicles by a crazed and un-remorseful NCIS agent. Added to that was the fact that he actually knew, and had served with, the dead Gunny. This was the third in as many months – someone out there seemed to have a grudge against Marines – in particular Gunnery Sergeants – specifically Gunnery Sergeants that had served with Gibbs. His gut had long ago begun to get that sinking feeling. The others hadn't yet discovered his connection to the victims and he was hoping to keep it that way – although deep down he knew they'd find out; he'd taught them well enough. He especially didn't want the Director to find out because he knew he would be yanked off the case immediately and she would attempt to give him some kind of protection detail. He winced to himself – last time he'd had protection it had gotten Agent Caitlin Todd killed. He wasn't going to put any of his agents in danger like that again. No ifs, no buts. Gibbs was a stubborn man.
His phone rang. He picked it up swiftly. There was no one on the other end. McGee looked up as Gibbs replaced the receiver, having said nothing. He gave a questioning frown. Gibbs answered his unspoken query. "Wrong extension," he shrugged nonchalantly.
McGee nodded acknowledgement before beginning to report to his leader.
"Boss, I've been thinking..." he began, but Tony interrupted him.
"Careful, McGee...remember what I told you about doing that too often...you don't wanna bust something."
Tim ignored him and continued talking to Gibbs. "...there doesn't seem to be a connection between all three victims other than they were all Gunnery Sergeants serving at the same time, right?"
Gibbs was all ears.
McGee went on, "They all died in different ways – Gunnery Sgt Sanderson was garrotted, Gunnery Sgt Daniels was strangled and the most recent victim, Gunnery Sgt Davis was stabbed."
"Where're you going with this, McGee?" Tony was intrigued by his colleagues ramblings.
"The fatal blows were caused by someone getting up close and personal, Tony. Maybe they all knew their killer. I did some checking...I thought that if they all were serving at the same time, the chances were that they all enlisted around the same time...they did..." McGee paused and looked at Gibbs. "...And so did you." He stopped. Gibbs looked up from behind his desk. His brow creased.
"And so did a lot of other Marines, McGee. What? You think I did it? Or are you just keeping yourself amused?" Gibbs tone was abrupt.
"No, Boss...I just..." Tim was flustered. It hadn't even occurred to him that his report might be suggesting that Gibbs was involved.
Tony and McGee both sensed that a nerve had been touched. They glanced at each other but said no more. Tony returned to his own desk to do some more checking. Pretty soon he had uncovered the reason for his boss' irritability. Gibbs, meanwhile, had taken himself off in search of a decent cup of coffee – he needed to think. He had stormed past Ziva on his way out.
"What's the matter with him?" she asked as she returned to her desk.
"Psst! Ziva!" Tony whispered and jerked his head backwards – a signal that he wanted her at his desk. She frowned, but was intrigued enough to go. After being joined by McGee, the three of them huddled in front of Tony's monitor.
"Gibbs knew all three victims," he announced. "They were all in the same training unit at Paris Island."
"Why didn't he tell us?" asked Ziva.
"Beats me," replied Tony, "...but something's up. He's been acting weird all morning."
McGee was pensive. He'd remembered something. "Maybe it has something to do with the phone call he received just before I gave him my report."
Tony and Ziva looked at him, waiting for him to explain.
"He said it was a wrong extension...I didn't think anything of it, but now I remember...it's happened before."
"Of course it's happened before, McGee...it happens all the time...I've lost count of the number of times my phone has rung and they've got the wrong desk..." Tony showed his irritation at the probie's misguidedness.
"I know Tony, but not like this...do they ever hang up before they speak to you to find out that they've got the wrong desk?" Tony shook his head. McGee continued, "...He must have received about five in the last couple of weeks..."
"How do you know there isn't anyone on the other end?" asked Ziva.
"He doesn't have the handset in his hand long enough before he hangs up again," answered Tim. "I've been thinking..."
"Whoah, there you go again, McThinker...you better slow these thoughts down, you're gonna burn yourself out!" urged Tony.
"Shut up, Tony and listen!" McGee was running out of patience and time, Gibbs could be back any second.
Tony feigned a hurt expression but then mouthed "I love it when he's masterful" towards Ziva. She grinned but listened as Tim explained his plan to trace all the incoming numbers to Gibbs' extension and cell phone.
"He's not gonna like that," uttered Tony.
"He's not gonna find out, Tony," replied McGee.
"Not gonna find out what, Ziva?" asked Gibbs as he strolled past. The SOB had the sneakiest pair of shoes ever.
Ziva was caught off guard. She looked to the others for help. Tony stepped in.
"Ah gee, Boss...we were discussing what to get you for your birthday and McGee suggested a pipe and slippers...which I think are more up his street than yours...and so I suggested ..."
"Alright, alright...back to work...break's over." Gibbs couldn't be bothered hearing any more.
The three agents sighed quietly – Tony's deflection had worked, it seemed. Ziva mouthed a silent thank you in Tony's direction before sitting back behind her desk. He mouthed back, "You owe me!" He pointed to himself and drew and imaginary one, then pointed at her and drew an imaginary zero. She shook her head incredulously.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
Abby had been working non-stop since they had brought the evidence in at 5.30 that morning. It was now just after lunch and she had managed to process the majority of the bags that McGee and Ziva had deposited with her. She had also run the blood from the screwdriver through the system. It did indeed belong to the dead Gunny.
"Good work, Abs," was all Gibbs said, as he placed a large CafPow in front of her. She stopped and studied him closely.
"What?" he asked, looking at her briefly before returning his gaze to the results on the plasma screen.
Abby bit her lip and continued staring. Her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to work something out.
"Spit it out, Abby," ordered Gibbs who could sense the Goth was still staring.
"Spit what out, Gibbs?" she asked.
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Whatever it is you want to ask."
Abby paused. She breathed out heavily. "How do you know I want to ask anything?"
"Call it a gut feeling. Well? ...I don't have all day, Abs." His eyes implored her to get on with it.
"Why didn't you chew out Ziva and McGee this morning?"
Gibbs laughed. "Is that it? Ha!..." He shook his head. Mystically he added, "Guess I just wasn't in the mood, Abs...Call me when you've processed the pliers...I wanna know what that substance is."
"That's easy, Gibbs...it's brake fluid." Abby hadn't even put it anywhere near the mass spectrometer yet. Gibbs brow folded. Abby reminded him about all the hours she'd spent pulling old cars apart when she was younger.
"I know the smell of brake fluid, Gibbs...Give me a little longer and I'll be able to tell you the name of the particular brand, which model of car it is used in and possibly who bought it." She beamed at him.
He kissed her gently on the cheek. "Every faith in you, Abs...call me" and with that he left.
Back upstairs, Tony was grabbing his gear as Gibbs approached.
"Boss, we got another one! Got the call 2 minutes ago." Gibbs stopped in his tracks and cringed slightly.
"Where?"
"Just outside Woodbridge, Virginia...local found the body on a country road." Tony continued his brief as they made their way to the elevator.
"Tony...you and McGee take the truck...Ziva...you're with me." Gibbs tightly grasped the keys, to the car he always requisitioned, in his hand.
It took about 4o minutes to get to the scene. Ziva wasn't sure they would live that long. Gibbs' driving was more erratic than usual. He seemed to be taking far more risks and drove at speeds that she herself wouldn't have attempted on some of these rural roads. The car seemed to defy all the rules of gravity as it screeched around the bends on the hilly terrain. She could smell the brakes cooking as they pulled up at the sight of flashing red and blue lights. Several minutes later Tony and McGee arrived in the truck.
Gibbs was already standing over the body, having been briefed by the officer on scene. The coroner's van pulled up and out stepped Ducky – the ever present ME. Jimmy Palmer, his assistant, fiddled with the rear doors and pulled out a gurney, on top of which was a body bag.
"Jethro?" Ducky walked over to where Gibbs stood by the body. The experienced agent looked at his old friend and colleague.
"You got first touch, Duck," he announced.
Ducky grinned. He bent down to look at the deceased, who was lying face down, a mass of blood covered the back of his head.
"Cause of death, Ducky?" asked Gibbs.
Ducky looked up. He noticed that his friend was looking a little bit pale. "First glance? Blunt force trauma to the head...probably caused massive bleeding in the brain. I can't be sure until I get him back."
"Okay, thanks, Duck."
At that moment Gibbs' cell phone rang. "Gibbs," he answered. There was no one on the other end. A dial tone. Jethro cursed and put the phone back in his pocket. Tony and McGee looked at each other.
"Wrong number?" braved Tim. Gibbs just glared back at him.
Ducky and Palmer began to roll the victim over to get him into the body bag. Beneath him, on the road and spattered with blood was a piece of paper. On it were typed a series of letters that made Gibbs' blood run cold:NCISGSGT.LJG
Ducky had a look of concern on his face. Tony, McGee and Ziva all looked at Gibbs. Momentarily, their leader was stunned. His cellphone brought him round. He yelled into it.
"Where the hell are you, you son of a bitch?"
This time there was a reply. "I see you got my note."
Gibbs spun around in a circle, looking at the small group of people that had begun, inevitably, to gather. The dial tone clicked on his phone. He squinted. In the distance, behind their parked vehicles he could just make out the outline of a figure jogging up the hill. Throwing down his phone, he set off at once in pursuit. His sudden burst of movement took the others by surprise. Tony dropped his bags and ran over to Gibbs' car – the keys were still in the ignition. McGee ran to the truck to move it out of Tony's way and Ziva began directing the other cops to move their vehicles so that Tony could get through. Ducky stayed with the body.
The figure was fast approaching a sharp left hand turn. Gibbs was further behind than he wanted to be. Tony pressed his foot against the accelerator and was soon catching up to his boss, who gestured and shouted for him to go past and head them off at the bend. He followed the order. At great speed he approached the bend but the figure appeared to have slowed; in fact he seemed to have stopped and was beckoning him on. Tony realised he wouldn't make the bend at this speed so he slammed his foot on the brakes. Nothing happened.
Gibbs continued to run at full speed. He was yelling at Tony to slow down. He could see the figure standing motionless directly in front of the vehicle's approach. "The bastard wants Tony to hit him," he said aloud. Despite the burning feeling in his leg muscles, he pushed himself onward.
Tony was frantically pumping the brakes. He could smell them burning but there was nothing happening. It all happened so fast; the thud on the bonnet and windscreen as the body bounced off the car; the crunch of the impact between car and wood at high speed. Tony raised his hands instinctively, a loud yell escaped his lips, "NOoooooooooo!"
Tony's scream was echoed by each member of the team as they witnessed their friend disappear over the edge of the hillside. Gibbs screamed as he ran, "Tonnnnnyyy!" McGee and Ziva had begun following immediately in the truck once they had got all of the other vehicles out of the way. Both yelled as they saw the car plunge off the road.
Gibbs was the first to reach the scene. He looked over the edge. The wheels continued to spin in the air as if on an invisible road. There was no movement other than a slight sway as the upside down vehicle momentarily struggled to keep its balance. All seemed still until there came a loud creaking sound. It came from the tree which the car had hit before plummeting down the embankment. It was in pain. The creaking increased as the wounded trunk tore itself in half, pursuing its tormentor. It too rolled down the embankment until it came to rest, in a loud crunch of metal, on top of the vehicle, flattening it further.
"TONY?!" yelled Gibbs. "HANG IN THERE! I'M COMING!" He began his descent at a reckless pace.
McGee screeched to a halt at the top of the embankment. He and Ziva jumped out and ran to the edge. The first thing they saw was the tree on top of the car. Ziva couldn't disguise her sharp intake of breath. She muttered something in Arabic. McGee translated, "Oh God!" He gulped. This was not good.
Gibbs continued shouting to Tony. "Hang in there, Tony!" There was an air of desperation in his voice.
Ziva came to her senses first and began unloading equipment from the back of the van. She pulled out ropes and harnesses – this was the first time she'd had to use them – in fact, she hadn't realised they were there until a few days ago when she was doing the inventory. McGee joined her swiftly. Other police vehicles began arriving. The officers had informed Fire and Rescue, who were on their way. No one spoke but everyone acted – training kicked in.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
The mass spectrometer pinged as it announced that it had finished its analysis. Abby walked over to her most reliable piece of equipment. "Good work, soldier!" She continued her little game. It kept her occupied and stopped her getting lonely as she spent many hours alone in the lab. Carefully she read the results of the ingredients. She ran it through the databases in her computer. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long to find out what model car used that particular brand of brake fluid. The computer hummed softly and she slurped the final dregs of her CafPow. Eventually, the screen stopped whizzing and the results appeared before her eyes: make, model and main buyer of the fleet of cars which used the fluid. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the four familiar letters. She grabbed the handset of her phone.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
Ducky wasn't sure what to do. He and Palmer had collected the evidence as best they could and they had placed the body into the van. He instructed Palmer to get into the driver's seat as he bent down to retrieve Gibbs' cellphone. Immediately it began ringing. The display showed Abby's name. Ducky groaned.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Ducky? What are you doing with Gibbs' cellphone?" Abby didn't wait for a response, she continued her garbled report. "Never mind...no time! I need to speak with him right now!" she demanded.
"Er he's a little busy right now, Abby..." Ducky tried to sound and act normally for her sake, he didn't want to upset her...not over the phone.
"Ducky! It's important...I've got the results of the brake fluid...I know the make and model of the car that uses it...and the main buyer!...It's us!...NCIS...Ducky I think someone may have tampered with one of our vehicles...I've had them all impounded just to be on the safe side..."
There was a stony silence. Ducky didn't know what to say.
"Ducky?...Oh and you might want to tell Tony he was right...the pliers may turn out to be a murder weapon after all..." She waited for a response.
All she got was "Oh Abigail..."
NCICNCISNCISNCISNCIS
Gibbs reached the vehicle. He could hear the metal groaning under the strain of the heavy tree. He closed his eyes for a split second and swallowed hard before stepping around to the side of the car. It had landed on a plateau about 30 feet down the embankment. Gibbs didn't want to think about the large drop on the other side of the plateau. As he slid slightly around the base of the tree trunk he caught sight of a hand. It was lying palm up. Tiny rivers of red tracked across it. It didn't move. Gibbs took in a deep breath. His throat felt like sandpaper. His voice was hoarse.
"Tony?...Tony?...Can you hear me?"
He lowered himself to his knees, careful not to lean on the car in any way. He braced himself as he leaned forward to look inside the crushed wreckage.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
Fire and Rescue had arrived and they were fixing up the equipment needed to extricate someone from a vehicle. They needed hoists and pulleys and air bags and the jaws of life plus all manner of ropes and harnesses. The paramedics had arrived too, complete with a trauma doctor who had been dispatched especially. They all needed to get down to the plateau. It was big enough to accommodate them but the Fire crew were adamant they needed to stabilise the vehicle before anyone else descended. They began a slow process of sending a couple of the crew down with cables and harnesses which would be hooked around the car and held in position by the winch on the front of one of the trucks.
Tony was lying motionless on his back. Gibbs could only see bits of him as the seats were now on top of him. He was lying on the ceiling of the Ford, his legs were somewhere beneath the dashboard and the headrest of one of the seats was pushing into his left side. Blood smeared his right temple. He seemed to be facing the left side of the car. The base of the rear seat was touching Tony's forehead. It was his right hand that was sticking out from beneath the wreck. Gibbs couldn't see his left. Tentatively, he felt for a pulse. He couldn't feel anything. He withdrew his hand and shook it. He was shaking. He called out Tony's name again as he placed his hand on the younger agent's wrist. After an agonising few seconds, he sighed heavily. He could hear a soft rasping sound - Tony's breath. A finger on the hand twitched. Gibbs closed his eyes.
Ducky and Palmer finally arrived on foot. They'd had to park further down the hill due to the high number of rescue vehicles that were present. Ducky had reassured Abby that as soon as he found out about Tony, he would let her know. He'd hated breaking it to her over the phone. She'd gone very quiet at first and he could sense how wide her eyes would be as she tried to stifle her tears. Eventually, her voice gave way and she sobbed. He didn't want to hang up on her but he knew it would be worse for her if she was listening in on the rescue.
He made his way to the edge and looked down. He crossed himself. As Medical Examiner he knew of only one outcome to vehicles that looked like that one after a crash. He sent up a silent prayer.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
Gibbs opened his eyes again and stood up. He looked up to the others. "HE'S ALIVE!" he shouted.
Ziva exhaled a relieved laugh - it came out part sob. McGee smiled and sighed heavily as he wiped his eye. Ducky blew out air quickly and loudly. He looked upwards and mouthed a silent 'Thank you'.
The car was stable and the rescue crew sent down the doctor and a paramedic. Gibbs greeted them and helped release their harnesses. Gingerly they made their way to their patient. It wasn't going to be easy to gain access. The paramedic began to start an IV line in Tony's protruding arm whilst the doctor lay down on his front and squeezed as far as he could into the car to assess Tony's injuries. , all the while talking to him. He wriggled himself back out.
"Doc?" Gibbs didn't need to ask any more.
"His injuries are critical...I can't assess him fully until I get more access but we need to get him out of there as soon as is humanly possible."
More crew members arrived on the plateau along with some heavy duty air bags and cutting equipment. Whilst they were discussing a plan of attack, Gibbs became aware of a different type of noise.
"Shhhhh!" He motioned to everyone for silence. He strained his neck closer to the car to hear. There it was again. He crouched down. A very low, strangulated, hoarse voice spoke.
"Sorry... 'bout ...your car...boss."
Gibbs smiled widely and exhaled loudly, "Ahhhhhhh DiNozzo" - his tone implied 'what am I going to do with you?' He peered into the vehicle. Tony tried to shift his head slightly but immediately howled out in agonising pain.
"NO! Tony, don't try to move."
The doctor looked at Gibbs, "Well, that's a good sign, at least." He smiled, but was wary – he'd seen this happen before.
Gibbs remained, talking to Tony and explaining what the crews were going to attempt so that he was aware of any noise or movement. The doctor asked him to try and find out more about Tony's injuries.
"Tony? Where does it hurt?" Gibbs shook his head, it seemed like such a stupid question. "Tony?" He listened intently. He could hear the young agent's rattled breathing and his attempts to get enough saliva swallowed, so that he could speak.
"I think...I broke...a finger..." came the reply. Gibbs couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"Anything else? What about your legs?" he implored.
"Can't ...feel...left one..." There was a pause as Tony struggled to get enough breath to continue. "...Can ...move...right foot..." Gibbs looked back at the doctor, who nodded in acknowledgement.
"Gibbs?" Tony seemed to have to force out the word.
"Yeah, Tony...I'm here." Jethro squeezed the agent's hand as if to prove his presence.
"...Hh..hot..."
"You're hot?" asked the doctor, quickly. "Where?" There was no reply. Gibbs picked up the concern in the medic's voice.
"Tony? Where does it feel hot?" he urged. After a long pause, Tony answered.
"Ssssstomach... an' ...chessssst." His speech sounded dreamy.
"Tony? TONY? Do NOT go to sleep! Repeat DO NOT go to sleep. That's an order!" Gibbs was worried, but adamant he wasn't going to lose him...not like this.
The fire crews had placed the air bags into position. It seemed to have taken an incredibly long time to get this done, but first they'd had to remove the tree. They hadn't even begun any cutting yet. There were yells that they were about to inflate them. Gibbs warned Tony. The doctor stood poised, ready for action. The pump was activated – it was unbearably loud. Ziva and McGee winced and placed fingers in their ears. They both had harnesses on ready for descent but had to wait for the pump to finish before they could go.
There was loud creaking sound as the metal began to feel the pressure of the air forcing it upwards. Tony screamed out in pain.
"SHUT IT OFF!" yelled Gibbs. He signalled by moving his hand across his throat in a slicing action. The pump died down. Tony continued to scream. Gibbs was helpless – there was nothing he could do to take away the pain. The doctor dived forward and scrambled towards the distressed patient.
"..Fire...burning...stomach" were the only words Tony could get out in between screams.
The doctor yelled back to the paramedic.
"Tell them to lower it back down a little!" The paramedic repeated the instruction.
Gibbs was incredulous. "WHAT?"
The paramedic explained that Tony was bleeding internally and that the pressure of the vehicle was actually stemming the flow – when the vehicle was raised, the blood began to flow again, causing a burning sensation. Tony's only chance of survival was if they could stem the flow long enough for the crew to cut him free, but not so long that it would create toxins in his blood which could then result in multi-organ failure. It was a common problem in crush victims.
Upon hearing Tony's screams, Ziva and McGee immediately began to descend on their ropes. They released themselves and made their way over to Gibbs who was arguing with the doctor.
"Well, can't you give him some morphine or something for the pain?" He wanted to know why they seemed to be prolonging Tony's agony. Gibbs hated feeling helpless. The doctor calmly explained that morphine would compromise Tony's already badly compromised breathing. He didn't want to risk respiratory arrest.
"How's he doing?" asked a concerned McGee.
"Something wrong with your ears, McGee?" snapped back Gibbs. Sensing his own overreaction Gibbs then astounded the two agents by apologising. They looked at each other and then back at the vehicle. They became more aware of Tony's low moans and rattled breathing. Pain was etched on all of their faces.
The crews busied themselves with trying to get access through the chassis of the upturned vehicle. They had been cutting for a while when they had a small breakthrough. The violent action of the crash had severely weakened the structure of the car, in fact it had snapped the chassis towards the rear wheels. This meant that they should be able to sever the rear base of the car if they cut through the sides. They would then be able to raise it up to reveal Tony's head, neck and shoulders.
The doctor discussed it briefly with the Lead Rescuer before giving the go ahead. They needed to get Tony out faster than ever now, his oxygen sats were low and dropping by the minute. So far the rescue operation had taken just over two hours – the golden hour was long past.
With an immense amount of effort and the boost in moral, the fire crews had soon removed the section of the car. Tony came into view. Ziva winced. He was soaked in blood from a variety of gashes on his head which was twisted slightly to the left. Blood had obviously pooled on his eyelids and around his eyes whilst he'd been unconscious. He was finding it hard to open them.
The doctor moved in and immobilised Tony's neck whilst the paramedic placed a stif-neck collar into position. Tony winced and his breathing sounded worse than ever but through slitted eyelids he could just make out the outlines of four figures. They were all smiling at him.
"Hey, Tony..." Each of them said, except the fourth.
"And you say my driving is bad!" joked Ziva. Tony attempted to laugh but couldn't. He set off coughing and moaned loudly as intense pain enveloped him. As it subsided, he looked back at the concerned faces. He could hear the doctor telling him that they were going to move the seat which had been pressing on his left side – that he would probably experience the burning sensation again. This was the critical moment. Tony waited, whimpering softly and struggling to breathe.
"Aaaaaarrrgghhhhh!" came his screech. Ziva flinched and placed her hand up to shield her eyes. It was too much to bear. Slowly, Tony came back to his senses as the burning seemed to abate. He felt a different sensation – a floating feeling, like he was lying on his back in a rowing boat...drifting.
"Tony!...Everything's going to be fine...You're gonna be okay..." McGee's voice drifted in and out.
"Tony? Stay with me Tony! Don't you go anywhere!" Ziva was trying to keep him awake.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs' voice was loud and clear. "You hear me? You will not die!" It had worked once before, when Tony had been stricken with the plague, after a bio-terrorism attack. "You hear me, Tony?"
Tony snapped back. "Gotcha...Boss..." He could see them all again. He was still in the car.
Gibbs looked at the doctor, who shook his head slowly. Gibbs closed his eyes briefly before looking back at Tony. Tony sensed a change in the air and in himself. He could feel everything and nothing at the same time; pain and no pain, simultaneously; then the drifting sensation again. He looked at his four colleagues. He needed to say something.
"McGee?..." he inhaled as much breath as he could.
"Yeah, Tony?" McGee smiled at him, but his bottom lip was trembling slightly. He pursed both lips to try to stop it but just ended up looking like he was sulking.
"You're...a ...good agent...kid..." Tony winced. McGee nodded but said nothing. Words failed him.
Ziva had tears streaming down her face but turned her attention to her friend when he called her name.
"Zee-vah ...Da-veed?..."
"Yes, Tony?" she sniffed, smiling weakly at Tony's deliberately exaggerated pronunciation.
"Take...care...of...McGee...for me, ...would...'ya?" He struggled to get the words out.
"Of course..." she sniffed again, and Gibbs placed his hand on her arm.
"Boss?..." Tony fixed Gibbs in a stare. Gibbs nodded. "...hhh...it's...been...an honor...sir!" He tried to shout the last word as a soldier would, but it only came out as a strangled whisper. Gibbs' eyes flickered sideways, but returned to Tony's gaze.
Raising his hand, Gibbs saluted, "You'd make an excellent Marine, Tony," he stated as he breathed out. He smirked whilst adding, "...if you'd only cut that damn hair!..." He smiled fondly at the younger agent. Tony smiled back, then turned his attention on McGee again.
"McGee?...Say hi to Abby and the Duckman from me..."
"Will do, Tony..." He smiled at his friend and tormentor.
Tony grimaced loudly and closed his eyes, but then opened them again. He was willing himself to carry on. He looked past McGee, at the fourth figure, who had remained mysteriously quiet throughout all that had gone before. Tony nodded and smiled. Tim glanced behind him to see who Tony was looking at. There was no one there. He looked back at Tony with a puzzled expression. Tony breathed in and felt everything relax. His eyes glazed over and he succumbed to the darkness.
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Several weeks later.
Ziva sat at her desk. She seemed transfixed as she stared at nothing. It was a similar picture at McGee's desk. Things had changed. There was an atmosphere of seriousness and neither one of them seemed capable, or willing, to try to lighten the mood. Gibbs had been more intense than usual and their workload had increased.
The smell of coffee wafting by seemed to bring her round. She looked up just as Gibbs sat down at his desk. He glanced over at McGee and then surreptitiously sideways at Ziva. Both had open case files on their desks, both seemed to have had the stuffing knocked out of them. He knew exactly how they felt. Things had changed.
"McGee?" He tried to break up the uncomfortable monotony. "You get anywhere with those phone records?"
Tim snapped out of his trance. "Errr...which phone records would those be, Boss?"
"Staff Sergeant Morrison's...the fraud case? We've been dealing with it for months!" Gibbs needed to be on top of things. He was exasperated at the idea of no progress.
"Oh, those phone records...let me just check..." Tim flicked through another folder on his desk but couldn't find what he was looking for. His eyes searched upwards as he tried to remember what he'd done with them. Suddenly, it came back to him.
"Problem, McGee?" Gibbs was waiting.
"Uhhh...no problem, Boss...it's just that..." he struggled to finish the sentence.
"What?"
McGee's eyes dropped to the floor. "It's just that...Tony was working on them...and he doesn't appear to have put them back in the folder." All of their eyes drifted towards the empty chair behind the desk at the far end of the bull pen.
"Oh...okay" Gibbs patted his pockets as if looking for his glasses. "Let me know when they turn up."
McGee looked over to Ziva. Gibbs stood up suddenly. "I'm going for coffee...you want some?" Once more they exchanged glances before declining. Gibbs strode off. Things had definitely changed.
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Abby had some kind of dirge playing in her lab. It reflected her sombre mood. It hadn't changed for several weeks now. She gazed at the picture of Tony that she had scanned into her computer, her monitor taking on the role of a giant photo frame.
A voice behind her caused her to stir.
"Hello Abigail..." It was Ducky. He looked from the Goth to the screen behind her then placed his head on one side. He held out his arms. "C'mon my dear." Abby hurried into his embrace.
"I miss him, Ducky." She sniffed. "It just isn't the same without him."
"I know Abby. We all miss him...Still...the work must continue all the same." He stepped back and patted her shoulders. "Did you manage to get to that sample I sent up?"
"Yep. It's over here." They both moved over to the comparison microscope and continued 'the work.'
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A few more days later and Abby's mood had lightened considerably. Her music was back and she was bounding around her lab.
"What's got into you, Abs?" asked Ziva as she dropped off some evidence.
Abby smiled secretively. "Just had some good news, that's all."
"You want to share?...I could do with some good news...not been much about lately."
"Not just yet, Ziva. But I will let you know, I promise." Abby could be very mysterious at times.
Ziva shrugged and raised her eyebrows. "Okay." She left. Abby grabbed her coat and headed for the doors to the elevator. She clicked her heels and grinned as she waited for the doors to ping closed.
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A few hours later.
The elevator doors pinged open and McGee and Ziva overheard the tail end of a conversation which caught their attention.
"Well, next time I won't come and get you!" Abby sounded exasperated.
"Just leave the hearse at home, would ya? Caused me some serious flashbacks there, Abs!" responded a very familiar voice.
"I'm sorry, but it was the only thing you'd fit in,"retorted Abby.
Ziva looked over at McGee as McGee looked over at Ziva. Both rose up out of their seats slowly and looked over at the elevator. Huge grins formed on their faces.
A wheelchair bound Tony emerged, his left leg in a full cast up to his thigh and protruding from the seat of the chair.
"I can manage, Abs!" he insisted, taking control of the wheels. He headed towards the gap leading to the bull pen, but misjudged slightly and walloped the filing cabinet as he swung around. Abby caught the stack of files that had been placed on the top.
"Hi kids, I'm home! Miss me?" Tony beamed at the astonished but happy looks on his team mates' faces.
"What are you doing here, Tony? I didn't think you were due out for a few more weeks," asked Ziva.
"Yeah, well...they let me out for good behaviour." He raised his eyebrows mischievously. He'd only been there a matter of minutes and already there was a change in the air.
"I see your driving hasn't improved, DiNozzo." Gibbs appeared from behind Tony and cast an eye backwards at the filing cabinet.
"Whoah...hey...I see your sneaky shoes are still working!" Gibbs always had the element of surprise.
"So you just visiting or are you here to clear your case load?" Gibbs queried and gestured towards Tony's desk. His chair was empty but his desk was far from it. Several stacks of folders awaited attention. Tony frowned.
"You're kiddin', right?...Boss?" Gibbs adopted his serious face.
"Tony? When have you ever known me to 'kid' you ?" He looked intensely at the young agent.
Tony creased his brow. "Never, Boss."
Gibbs looked back at the stack of files. Tony looked from Gibbs, to McGee, to Ziva, to his desk. He took in a deep breath, coughed a little and looked up quickly to see if anyone was about to offer an sympathy. No one did. Ziva was behind her desk, typing something into her computer, McGee was on his phone and Abby was making her way to the elevator. He sighed and then tried to manoeuvre himself behind his desk but couldn't. Ziva stood up and moved his chair out of the way before skilfully turning him around and reversing him into position. He had to sit side on to his desk but it would work. She bent and whispered low into his ear, "That's a favour, yes? This makes us even?" She flicked his ear playfully and returned to her desk. She pointed at herself and drew an imaginary one then pointed at him and did the same again, raising her eyebrows suggestively and grinning.
Tony struggled out of his jacket and picked up folder on top of the first file. Gibbs stood up from behind his own desk, picked up his coffee cup and headed off in search of a refill.
"Good to have ya back, DiNozzo!" He waited until the doors pinged shut before grinning widely and repeating, "S'good to have you back...Tony." He really meant it.
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