A/N: First of all, huge thanks to all the reviewers and for the tremendous response. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.
Secondly, I really appreciate the help ltjvt1026 gave me in identifying the weapons used in the episode by the badguy in the helicopter. :]

I've set this during winter, so it's probably about February/March as this episode came after Silent Night, the Christmas Episode.


They had disappeared, not without a trace, but still Gibbs did not want to track horses for miles and miles, possibly getting himself lost in the process. He stood at the top of the rocky outcrop, scanning the land for any sign of life other than the gentle flames licking at the wreckage of the helicopter. There was nothing: no horses; no buildings; no streams; and other than Tony, Boyd and Risi, no people.

Have to call McGee when I get back – we're going to need a medevac to get Sheriff Boyd out of here.

Turning full circle, a haze of dust caught his attention. It seemed to be moving in the same direction Gibbs and DiNozzo had in their rented SUV. Gibbs squinted hard; trying to distinguish what it was that was kicking up the cloud. It was too big to be a single horse and nobody had called the cavalry yet: they were most likely more hostiles.

Great, more paperwork! Should have requisitioned that helo...

Looking again, he could only just make out a black oblong sparkling in the intense sunlight. Quickly hefting his bed roll – the only thing he had found while tracking the horses – over his shoulder, Gibbs started urgently back down the incline, ignoring the stabs of pain that flared in his shins and knees with each jolting step. He hated winter. No matter how fit he kept during the year, his knee always acted up during the coldest season. Especially on chilly days when he was crashing down an unforgiving hillside.

Tiny rivers of dust and small pebbles cascaded down the hillside as he pounded onward.


Tying off the last knot in the makeshift bandage, Tony jerked upright, instantly alert as muttered cursing and the sound of scuffing feet reached his ears. He reached nervously for his gun even though it was empty – all their spare magazines had been with the horses. As the muttering came closer, Tony smiled – he would recognise those growls anywhere – but as Gibbs came into sight, the grin was quickly smothered, replaced once again with concern. The younger agent scrambled to his feet and started towards Gibbs, who was limping slowly forward. To Tony, the limp seemed more pronounce. "Boss, you OK?" In true Gibbs fashion, the Marine ignored Tony's question.

"Got more incoming," He grunted, swinging the bed roll off his shoulder as he stalked towards the group. "DiNozzo, call McGee, organise a Medevac from the cabin. There's a large enough clearing there to land." Gibbs brushed past Tony as the younger agent nodded and pulled the satellite phone from his pocket, flipping it open and dialling the familiar number. Gibbs dumped the bed roll at Boyd's side, kneeling down awkwardly to check Tony's handiwork. "Boy did a good job, Gibbs," Sheriff Boyd insisted, smiling genuinely at Tony – Gibbs was not the only one the man could read easily, and at the moment, DiNozzo looked like he needed a little assurance that he was doing the right things. Absent-mindedly, Gibbs nodded as he used one of the thin ropes that held the roll together to strengthen the binding.

When he was satisfied with the added bandaging, Gibbs straightened, grimacing as pain shot through his legs, and extended a hand to the older man. "Can you walk?"

"I can, but I don't think we'll be walking out of here, Agent Gibbs, at least, not without the horses." Grasping Gibbs' outstretched hand, Boyd's voice was slightly less gravelly than it had been when they had met, but the sound still brought a small smile to Gibbs' lips as he thought of DiNozzo's impersonation when they had been in the bullpen. "They've bolted," Gibbs replied simply, as he hauled Sheriff Boyd to his feet and allowed the man to lean on him as he got his balance. Again, Gibbs was ignoring the pain the added weight caused his aching knees. "DiNozzo had the right idea: use a helicopter. We're heading back Dina Risi's cabin. We'll meet the bird there." At that moment Tony walked up, nodding to the sheriff before reporting to Gibbs.

"McGee's calling in the cavalry, boss, but until they get here, we're on our own." He gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, as if he had nothing he wanted more to do than hike back to Dina Risi's log cabin and wait for an uncomfortable evacuation helicopter, while possibly being searched for by a bunch of well-armed hitmen.

I shouldn't have worn my cowboy boots!


Abby's nervous chattering was starting to get on McGee's nerves. He knew she was only expressing her concern for their colleagues but she had been fretting in her lab ever since she had seen the footage of the gunfight. Her usual music had been replaced by depressingly slow dirges, which only seemed to make her more anxious "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God... Gibbs... and, and Tony... Oh my God! What if that was Tony that went down... or Gibbs! Gibbs would never stay down, not even after Ari shot him." She flapped her hands subconsciously and turned to the agent standing stoically in her lab. "Oh my God, McGee, what're we going to do if it was Tony?" Tim thought for a moment, then a smirk blossomed on his face – a product of too much praise from Vance and too few reprimands from Gibbs. "Celebrate?" That earned him a painful and not at all playful blow to the arm, the unpleasant smirk disappearing to be replaced by repentance.

"That's not funny, Tim! He could be seriously hurt, he could be bleeding out right now... McGee, he... He... He could be dead!" Fresh tears welled in her eyes as McGee tried to console her.

"Abbs, Gibbs said they were all fine. If it was Tony, he would have said something." Abby glared at him, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"And if it was Gibbs?" They both knew what Gibbs would say if he was injured, but McGee was saved from speculating by the ring of his cell.

"Special Agent Timo—" The voice on the other end cut him off rudely but McGee smiled as he listened. "Tony! Are you—" Tim turned away quickly as Abby made to snatch the cell from his ear, and barely caught what Tony said. "Yeah... Yeah, I'll do it... Listen, are you all all right? I mean... Abby's going crazy here because she sneaked in to MTAC and watched the live feed— No, I'm not calling your lawyer in London..." McGee rolled his eyes and had to smother a smile – even in serious situations, Tony found some way to detract from the angst. "Yes, I'll do it as soon as you tell us you're—" The click on the other end told the younger agent that Tony had already hung up, but he muttered back anyway, "Good luck, DiNozzo."

McGee turned back to Abby, a relieved grin on his face. The goth, however, was bouncing up and down in anxious anticipation, her pigtails bobbing up and down. "Well?" she demanded, punctuating her question with a strong squeeze of Bert, her hippo which she was hugging fiercely to her chest. "They're fine," He answered confidently, already dialling another number and holding the phone once more to his ear. Abby glared at him – after all her worrying, the only thing McGee could say to comfort her was that they were 'fine'!


A/N: Well, there ya go. A little on the shorter side but this was a good place to break... Also, this alternative ending won't be nearly as long and drawn out as my last one - quite a few people commented on that and I have to admit to agreeing with them.

Anyhoo, in the next chapter you'll find out what's up with Gibbs and the action'll kick off after that. *evil grin*