As I woke, I was conscious of a cold table under me once again, and the smell of death. This time, however, there was a warm hand clasping mine. "Mark? That you?" I asked groggily.
"I'm here Krystal, I'm here." He said fervently, but quietly. He kept repeating it, and rubbing my hand quickly and nervously.
I tried to sit up, only to be pressed firmly back onto the table. I still hadn't opened my eyes yet, but knew that Ziva was the one holding me down. I cautiously opened my eyes, preparing for the bright lights. However, I was in shadow. There were several people leaning over me. My eyes passed over Ziva and Mark, dismissing them as non-threats. My eyes instead fell on the other faces. I quickly identified Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer. Once they were identified, I relaxed. Besides, between Mark and Ziva, I was safe. I groaned quietly and closed my eyes again. After a moment, I opened my eyes and looked for Gibbs. "How is Tony?"
"He'll live." Gibbs said. As if on cue, I heard a nearby groan. I shook Ziva's hands off and sat up. The room didn't start spinning, so I hopped off the table. I started to walk over to him, but stumbled. Mark steadied and helped me over to Tony. He groaned again, so I checked his leg. It was bandaged tightly, and blood wasn't seeping through. I gently poked at it, and he squirmed away. I put my hand on his chest to keep him from squirming off the gurney. He gingerly opened his eyes, and blinked when he saw me standing over him.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. "How do you feel?"
"Like I was shot. What happened? Who did it?" He tried to sit up, but I held him down.
"Uh-uh. You stay there. You were shot, and hit your head on your desk." I started to say more, but was cut off.
"How would you know that?" Gibbs snarled.
"There was blood on his desk. Not much, but it was there." I didn't even look at him, but felt his eyes boring into the back of my head. I returned my attention to Tony, who was looking at me in amazement. "I don't know who planned it, but Ziva and I caught the dude who shot you."
He stared at me, as though he couldn't believe it. "Y-you and Ziva?" He asked.
I laughed, "Yes, me and Ziva. I'm sure your boss can get plenty of info from him." I turned to grin at Gibbs. He just glared back at me. I grinned broadly in return.
"TONY!" Abby yelled as she ran into the room. She dashed over to him, and probably would have thrown her arms around him, if Gibbs hadn't grabbed her.
"Slow down Abbs. He's gonna be fine."
There were tears running down her cheeks, and she turned into Gibbs' arms. He wrapped his arms around her, and let her cry. After a moment, she sniffed and smiled wanly at Gibbs. He squeezed her shoulders, and she turned to Tony. "Tony, are you okay?" She walked over to him, and gently hugged him, while he was still lying on the gurney.
"I'm fine Abbs." He awkwardly patted her back. As she pulled back, he grinned painfully at her. "Really."
I started to sway slightly, my side throbbing with my pulse. I had lost a lot of blood, and my strength still wasn't fully back yet. Plus, I was getting Thirsty, just as I always did when I got hurt. I leaned against Mark, who looked around for a chair. Ziva dragged one over, and he pushed me into it. That pulled Abby's attention away from Tony.
"What's wrong, Krystal?" She asked, seeming to see me for the first time.
"I'm fine." I lied. My side was throbbing. I hadn't been in this much pain for quite a while.
"No you're not." Ziva said shortly. She turned to Abby, and said, "She was shot. She convinced Gibbs to let her go back up to keep the others safe."
Abby ran over to me and gave me a nearly bone-crushing hug. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. "Why did you do that? Thank you for saving them, though."
"I'm fine." I grinned at her. "And I did it because I was the only one who could. You don't need to thank me. Thank the medics who saved him." Mark squeezed my shoulder, and Ziva rolled her eyes.
"But you risked your life to save him, and you don't even like him!" She exclaimed. There were tears in her eyes as she hugged me again.
I laughed and patted her back. "Don't worry Abby, I'll be fine." I gently pulled her off of me. "But Tony probably needs another hug." I whispered, quietly enough that he couldn't hear.
She laughed and ran over to Tony again. She engulfed him in yet another hug, and I laughed. I leaned my head against Mark's arm, and sighed quietly. I was exhausted, and my side was killing me, not in a literal sense, of course.
Mark looked down at me, then looked back at Gibbs. "Can I take her home? She's been through so much, and she's exhausted."
Gibbs glanced at me, then looked back at Mark. "You can take her to a hospital or a safe-house."
"She can't go to a hospital." Mark said firmly. "And a safe-house isn't as safe as you might think, at least for us."
"We need to protect her." Gibbs said.
"And I can protect her better than any of your people could hope to." Mark said coldly.
"Gibbs," Ziva said, catching his attention. "I can go with them, keep them safe."
He glared at her, then grinned. "Good idea, David. You and McGee go with them."
Mark looked at me in horror. I looked back, then glared at Gibbs. "We don't have a place to stay around here. Or a car."
"We'll provide them." Jenny said, walking in.
I took a deep breath, preparing to argue, but Mark squeezed my shoulder warningly. I looked up at him, a question in my eyes.
"Director, it would be better if there was just the three of us. We are more than capable of protecting Krystal."
"I know you are, Officer David, but I don't know him." She gestured towards Mark, "And I want people I know protecting her."
"Director." I said, "I would prefer if only Ziva and Mark were to be there. I know and trust them, and I know they are better prepared to protect both me and themselves."
"And I would prefer if there were more then 2 people protecting you. More people is better. Three people cannot fight 5 people with guns."
Ziva, Mark and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing. We could fight three times as many, and had in the past.
The director, Gibbs and Ducky were staring at us in astonishment. Tony opened his mouth to say something, but Abby nudged him in the ribs.
I stood up , and started to walk towards to elevator.. Gibbs grabbed my arms, and I glared at him. He ignored it, and pulled me back. I stumbled, but his hand kept me upright. Mark started forward, but I signaled for him to relax. Gibbs tried his glare on me again. "You will go into a safe-house, and you will cooperate with us."
"And if I don't?" I spat.
"I will arrest you."
"For what." I laughed, "I've done nothing wrong."
"For hindering an investigation."
"I am the victim of the crime you are investigating. That would go over well in court."
"I don't plan on it going to court."
"Then you don't plan on arresting me. My lawyer would make sure that it did, if it was an unfair arrest."
He glared at me, and opened his mouth to retort, but Jenny interrupted. "Would you please go into a safe-house. We'll only send one other agent, and he will mainly stay outside to keep watch."
I looked at Mark, and he nodded nearly imperceptibly. I turned back to the director, and said "Fine. Who will the other agent be?"
"Agent McGee." Gibbs said, angrily.
"That is fine." Ziva spoke for the first time in a while. I glanced at her, and she signed that he was the right person.
Mark and I nodded, and Jenny relaxed.
"So where's this safe-house?" I asked, "And when can we meet Agent McGee?"
"Whenever you want. He brought you down after you were shot." Gibbs said.
"He may blush when you are introduced." Ducky said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I raised my eyebrow at him in a silent question. "He didn't realize that you were not wearing any clothes, until I started unwrapping the bandage."
"He nearly plated me over as he left." Ziva stated.
"Bowled." Tony and I said in unison. We looked at each other in surprise, then started laughing.
Ziva scowled, but I could tell she didn't really mind. "What is bowled?"
"He bowled you over, not plated." Abby explained, seeing that Tony and I were unable to respond.
After a moment, I gasped for breath. Between the gunshot wound and the laughter, I was practically unable to breathe. "Can we get going, please? I need to take care of some things."
Jenny looked closely at me, then nodded. "Go. Gibbs, you drive them to the safe-house, and have McGee follow. Make sure the house is fully stocked with everything they need."
Gibbs nodded, then stalked out of the morgue. Mark, Ziva, Abby, and I followed closely behind. Abby went to her lab, while we followed Gibbs to the bullpen. There was still blood on the floor, and an agent was sitting to the side, watching the people cleaning.
"McGee! Grab your gear." Gibbs barked. "You're on babysitting duty with Ziva." The agent looked up, then grabbed a backpack and joined us. I was subtly leaning on Mark, but managed to smile at him. "You and Ziva are going to be taking Krystal and Mark to a safe house, and keeping them safe." Gibbs informed him shortly.
Nice to meet you, Agent McGee." I said brightly, offering my hand. I grinned wider as Ducky's prediction came true as he blushed, even as he took my hand.
"Same here, Miss...um?"
"Krystal." I supplied. "And no 'miss', just Krystal."
"Okay... Nice to meet you Krystal." The blush spread to his ears.
Ziva nudged me, and motioned for us to follow her to the elevator. Gibbs was waiting for us, a scowl on his face. We rode down in silence, and followed Gibbs to the car.
"Please tell me that Ziva's not driving." I pleading, remembering her 'skills'. They kept us alive when we were being chased, but they were almost as scary as those chasing us.
McGee grinned, and Gibbs climbed into the driver's seat. Ziva climbed into the driver's seat, while Mark and I climbed into the back. No sooner had we buckled our seat belts, then Gibbs was peeling out of the garage. Mark and I grabbed the seats so we didn't get thrown around. I looked at Ziva, and she smirked back at me. I stuck my tongue out at her.
