Chapter Two

Sarah

Sarah squealed when she got Tim's text saying he'd had a letter from Geordie. She always missed her eldest brother, they were so alike in ways, both of them not caring much what other people thought and being somewhat rebellious. After years of effort by Tim, Sarah had finally started to moderate her rebelliousness and her fiery hot temper, especially after her horrible experience with her murdered ex-boyfriend. Now she quickly called Tim and he read the letter to her. She felt the same sense of relief she had every time they heard from him; Geordie was still out there somewhere. She just wished he'd come home and then she wouldn't have to worry about him for the time he was home.

It was draining sometimes, having two brothers in dangerous jobs. Mostly she tried not to think about it because she'd go crazy if she lost either one of them. She'd already lost Patrick, whom she didn't really remember anymore. Luckily, Tim, trying to deal with his grief, had told them lots of Patrick stories when they were growing up. She thought of her little brother Rob and how he would have a nice safe job as a doctor. Unless he decided to join that "Doctors without Borders" organization that Ducky had told them about! GAH, brothers! She turned back to her newest novel and fueled by her happiness at hearing from Geordie and frustration with her brothers' choices of careers; she added ten thousand more words.

Tim

After a wonderfully private weekend spent with each other, Tim and Ziva geared up to return to work Monday morning. When they arrived it was to find Vance in the bullpen, a sense of barely controlled chaos in the squad room and Gibbs just calling in DiNozzo, Ducky and Jimmy. There had been two explosions at Norfolk with at least three ships involved and an unknown number of personnel. At this point they didn't know whether the explosions were bombs, terrorist attacks or something else. Tim swallowed, hoping his uncle and godfather hadn't been anywhere near; he thought both had been due back at the Pentagon this week for additional meetings. The overnight teams would stay at the office and help man the phones, at least for the morning, while the rest of the DC teams would head to Norfolk, with Gibbs' team taking point. They had their go bags with them, having just restocked them, so they grabbed the rest of their gear, plus Tony's gear and ran after Gibbs. DiNozzo was three minutes out; Gibbs decided to wait for him, he wanted all of his team with him from the start. Ducky and Jimmy would join them there, Vance's executive assistant was using Ducky's contact list to line up possible help for them.

DiNozzo careened into the parking garage, slid into a space, jumped out of the car with his go bag and dove into the backseat of the sedan as Gibbs started to pull away. "Here Boss."

"Good job, DiNozzo." The two boys in the backseat looked at each other and buckled their seat belts, knowing this would be an extra wild ride. That it was; both the ride and the case. They finally returned to DC Saturday morning, having done everything they could on site, but it was late afternoon Sunday before Gibbs sent them home to sleep, with orders not to return until 1000 Monday morning. The rest of the week was spent mostly at the office and in the field chasing down leads, but at the end of that second week they had their answers and a location for their suspects.

They geared up once again, this time taking two teams, four vehicles and approaching the remote cabin from different directions. Since the bombings were a matter of National Security, they had access to many different resources. They had carefully studied the satellite maps of the area, provided by Abby's friend Ashton who had moved from NASA to DHS and noticed the two dirt roads leading to the front and back of the cabin.

The perimeter was hilly and rough terrain, heavily forested but luckily not a lot of brush; there was a gorge on the west side of the property, with a creek running through the bottom of it. There was a wooden bridge running across the gorge, with the drop to the water about 12-15 feet. Beyond the bridge was wilderness, with a mass of trees, hills and valleys. They all fervently hoped to stay far away from that side of the property. There'd been a concern raised about tunnels or underground lairs, but the satellite shots showed nothing below ground.

Now before they made their final approach, they contacted Ashton, now joined by a DHS agent, and he located two heat signatures, one in the cabin, one outside, about 100 yards east. Gibbs swore, the second access road was on the eastern side of the property and it seemed one of the dirtbags was close to blowing their stealth approach. He alerted the agents taking point on that road; the suspect could be planting explosives or even just nails to slow them down. Ashton further reported neither heat signature was moving rapidly so the outside guy must be preparing rather than reacting. They still had the element of surprise.

Ericson, suspect #1 in the cabin, wasn't going down without a fight and cost himself a bullet in his calf before he surrendered. Schneider, the suspect on the loose, proved to be a more difficult capture. He had Tim, Tony and two agents from Carter's team on the prowl now, looking for him. Ashton was providing updates as he could but with so many of them moving around the property it was difficult to pinpoint one heat signature.

Tony swore, quietly under his breath, but impressively. At least Tim was impressed, he hadn't been aware Tony knew that particular language. He looked to his partner and SFA, "Split up, two pairs? Or stay together?"

"Split up, 2 pairs. We're used to working together, know each other's signals, etc. and so do Miller and Eastman, so we'll split by team. Miller, you two take the northwestern side, we'll take the southwest. Code word is daiquiri, backup is fantasy. Got that?" When the other three agents repeated the codes, Tony gave the signal and the two teams headed off.

As Tim and Tony moved stealthily through the trees, they had an update from Ashton, "There's someone moving toward the gorge, he's close to the bridge, will reach it in approximately three minutes. " Tony swore again, they would be the closest to that damn bridge; he'd had a bad feeling about it since they first saw it on the map. Tim felt cold prickles at the back of his neck and swung around, finding nobody but DiNozzo. They took off in a quick walk, trying to remain as quiet as possible. DiNozzo called Gibbs with an update and their position. Gibbs was not at all happy about this but there was nothing he could do at the moment.

Not wanting to miss the suspect, DiNozzo and McGee had now broken out into a run. Coming into a clearing, they saw the suspect with one foot on the bridge. He wasn't hurrying, didn't seem to realize they were close as he ambled across the bridge. Signaling his plan to Tim, Tony knew they had to get this guy before he disappeared into the wilderness. Tim's eyes bugged out, his friend was crazy but there wasn't time and they needed drastic action. They flew across the bridge and Tony took a flying leap onto the suspect's back, tucking his head and torso down as low as he could. The man turned to fight and Tim shot him point blank in the head, leaving his partner safe. However, as he took the shot, he heard a rumble and yelled as the bridge collapsed beneath the three of them.

Rob woke suddenly, his heart pounding, wondering what had caused him to wake up. It was mid-afternoon after he'd worked a double shift. He had expected to sleep for another three hours, minimum. He sat there in bed and listened to the silence, and knew something was wrong. He called Sarah and found she was working but also had stopped, feeling…something. They'd heard from Tim and their uncle earlier in the week; knew NCIS was working the double bombings at Norfolk and that Gibbs' team was lead. Uncle Jim had actually seen Tim at Norfolk but they had both been on the move, so had literally waved in passing.

The siblings knew if something had happened to Geordie it would likely be days or weeks before they heard anything, if they ever heard anything at all. That brought them back to Tim and that seriously frightened them. He had been their rock their entire lives, the only parent either remembered. Still on the phone together, Rob told Sarah he was on his way to her place and she sighed with relief. While she was waiting for him, she sent a text to her uncle, asking if he knew anything. He didn't but told her he'd see what he could find out. Sarah didn't want to wait, she knew she could also have called Ducky or Jimmy, but she wanted to know now, so she called the number Tim had programmed into their phones, the Director of NCIS.

Her call was answered by Ms. Cook, his executive assistant, as the Director was on the line with one of his agents at the scene. When Sarah said her name, blurting out Sarah McGee rather than Sarah Gibbs, Ms. Cook knew that her boss needed to speak with this young woman. She explained that the Director was on another call but would want to speak with her. Sarah agreed to wait and then promptly burst into tears as Robbie walked in the door. Putting the phone on speaker, they held onto each other, the two youngest of the siblings, praying for their brother's life.

When the bridge rumbled and started to collapse, Tony released the dead guy and grabbed one of the railings, which thankfully held. As he pulled himself farther up onto the railing he heard Tim yell and knew his partner had fallen. Hoping that on the way down he had somehow caught onto something that hadn't disintegrated, DiNozzo looked around as much as he could. Nothing. Everything below the two parallel railings had disappeared into the gorge. Unfortunately, Tim must have been taken down with the rest of the bridge. Tony called out for him,

"Tim….TIM….MCGEE…GIBBS JR… Oh PROBIE, Come on Probie, talk to me, tell me you landed on your feet and you are climbing up now. PROOOOOOBBBBBBIIEEE".

He thought he heard a response and his heart pounded, but when he looked up, he saw Miller and Eastman at the head of the former bridge, looking at him in horror. He gave them an update, "Schneider is dead, I jumped him and Tim got in a head shot. Unfortunately, Tim went down with the bridge, I guess three bodies running on the thing were too much. I haven't been able to raise him."

Miller took a deep breath, "We called it in DiNozzo, they're bringing rope and tackle to get down there to get the bodies; I mean Tim and the dead guy. Tim's strong, man, he's got everything to live for, I'm going to believe he's alive and either unconscious or can't be heard right now." Tony nodded, not able to speak over the lump in his throat. They were armed Federal Agents, they knew the odds, had lost friends and colleagues. Apparently none of that meant anything right now, he found himself wanting to fly into the gorge, pick up his best friend, little brother really and wave a magic wand to heal any wounds.

His fantasy was interrupted by the arrival of Gibbs and Carter, his phone to his ear, and one of Carter's agents. Ziva had ridden with Ericson to the hospital; one of the other agents had driven there to meet her as the prisoner's wound would not keep him from being a flight risk. Tony was glad Carter was still here with them, if Gibbs went nuts, he could help.

"TONY, Tony, you ok, what happened?"

"Need rope, Boss, lots of it, the bridge disintegrated and took Tim down into the gorge."

"Have you tried calling to him?"

"No answer Boss."

Carter spoke up, "Vance has ordered a helo with a squad of Marines to get down into the gorge. EMTs, ambulance, Ducky and Jimmy are on their way." When Gibbs' already pale face went a shade paler, Carter hurried to add, "To help Tim, Jethro, and for Schneider's body."

Tony interrupted, "It was a great piece of teamwork, Boss, I tackled Schneider and Tim got a head shot." Gibbs nodded, trying to find some calm so he could help his boy. "Good work, Tony, proud of you, both of you."

Miller and Eastman's eyes nearly bugged out until they received a glare from their boss. So the rumors were true, Gibbs had unleashed his previously doubted human side.

Knowing they couldn't do anything for Tim with the short piece of rope Gibbs had dug out of the trunk of the sedan, they did manage to guide Tony, using all his phys ed training to edge carefully across the railing, the rope attached to his waist, until he reached the boulder the rail was set into and was helped onto solid land. His legs wobbled and he reached out to grab onto Gibbs for balance. As he steadied himself, they heard the thrum of a helo. Appearing above the trees, the pilot took three swoops over the gorge before settling down on the eastern side of the bridge.

The Marine squad and the EMTs climbed out, carrying rescue equipment. The squad leader reported they had spotted two men, one obviously dead with a hole in his forehead and the other their missing agent. When the man reported that Tim's eyes were open and that he had moved his hand and forearm in a waving motion, Gibbs' knees buckled and Tony grabbed him and held on, balancing them both. Rick Carter, standing behind them, put his hand on Jethro's back.

One of the EMTs was a former Marine, still rated on the drop and rappel they would need to do, so he would join the squad and triage and treat Tim before he was moved.

As they prepared for the rescue, the NCIS ME van pulled up and Ducky jumped out, nearly forgetting to stop the van. "Jethro?"

"He's alive, Duck, they said his eyes were open and following them and he was able to move his arm to wave."

"Oh Thank God…Anthony, are you injured?"

"No, Ducky, not at all."

"Good, Jethro, perhaps you had best call Vance. Your daughter and youngest son are there, waiting to hear."

"How…how?"

"I don't know. Jimmy took a call from the Director on our way here to let us know that Sarah and Rob had called in while he was on the phone hearing about the incident."

Gibbs shook his head in wonder, "They're something, those kids."

Carter gave a 'keep it shut, no questions' glare to his team members who had just found out that Gibbs apparently had children. While Vance and the head of HR knew about the newly discovered father and son relationship, very few other people outside the team had been told and remarkably, there were no leaks or rumors. Rick Carter was one who knew, his team did not. Ziva had told Tim she thought the lack of leaks was Tony's doing, that he had somehow found a way to keep at least Abby's mouth shut. Tim had considered the possibility that for once Abby thought silence on the subject was in her best interest. Not only to keep her out of trouble, or more trouble, with Gibbs and Vance, but also to maintain her "favorite" image.

Now the Marines and the EMT quickly made their initial drop and started rappelling down the narrow gorge. They had just about two hours of daylight left and they needed to first secure Tim and get him out and also bring the dead man up, since there would be nothing left if the body was left overnight.

The EMT found Tim fairly alert and in some pain, which was a good sign. He wasn't able to speak but was breathing all right, another good sign. He could move his legs and feet, but was unable to maneuver and the EMT suspected a back injury. The fact that he had movement in all his limbs was reassuring however, and after putting a neck and back brace on him, the Marines acting as the EMT's assistants got a backboard under Tim and got him onto a stretcher. Before they lifted Tim, the EMT took a closer look at Schneider and officially reported him dead. The helo pilot lifted Tim's stretcher, the EMT and two marines out of the gorge, the three men guiding the stretcher. Rather than place him on the ground and then move him again, the helo brought Tim and the EMT all the way up and into the helo, and then landed again.

At DiNozzo and Carter's insistence, Gibbs climbed in the helo with his son. When he sat down next to the stretcher, he reached out and gently touched Tim's face. Tim's eyes had been closed, now he opened them to see his father there with him. His boy managed to lift his hand and signed to him that he loved him and to tell…but the EMT intervened. "Agent McGee, you need to keep still, your boss here knows you're alive and we want to keep your injury to a minimum, ok? Don't nod your head, just blink your eyes." Gibbs then shocked the young medic by leaning down and kissing his kid's cheek. The EMT smiled to himself, nice boss, obviously a lot closer than any boss he'd ever worked for.

When Tim still seemed upset, Gibbs leaned in, "Timomine, you'll be all right, I'll call Vance right now, Sarah and Rob will be at the hospital and Ziva's driving the prisoner so she should be back by now too. " That got a smile out of his son and he calmed a bit, calming further when Gibbs reached for his hand first looking to the EMT for permission. He nodded so Gibbs held on while he called in.

"Leon, yeah, I'm on the helo with Tim and our EMT, we're on the way to Bethesda. He's conscious but he's having problems talking so no voice right now. Ducky said my kids are there, can I…" Leon never stood a chance against a relieved Sarah and Rob. "Dad, can Tim hear us?"

"Yeah, Robbie, he can hear you, he's heard your voice and he's smiling. The medic wants him to stay still and remain as calm as possible, son, so don't go telling him any wild tales, ok?"

"Yeah, Dad, ok…"

"Tim, big bro, can you hear me?"

"Sarah, I promise he can hear you, he's blinking at me and the medic wants him to remain calm."

"Oh, sorry."

"Gibbs, we'll meet you at Bethesda."

"Wait Leon, is Ziva back yet, they left with the…they left before this happened."

"Hang on, Jethro, Pam is updating me…" Gibbs heard Ms. Cook talking softly to Vance and then Leon was back on the line.

"Ziva came back from the hospital while Ericson is in surgery and somehow heard about what happened to Tim. I guess no one got a chance to tell her Sarah and Rob were here; she ran out and jumped into her car, the guards at the gate report she turned north, so she'll probably meet you at Bethesda."

Gibbs looked at Tim and saw a relieved smile. "Copy that Leon, our boy heard that too."

"Do you want us to call the Hubbards?"

"No, we'll do that from the hospital."

"All right, we'll see you there." The call ended just as the pilot informed them they were three minutes out from Bethesda. The EMT had taken Tim's vitals again and relayed them to the hospital. He'd figured out the guy's boss was actually his father and he felt silly for having thought a boss would kiss one of his team, even after being afraid he'd died.

The helo landed and the emergency team swept Tim away and the helo thrummed away, back out to retrieve Schneider's body. Gibbs was left to find his own way to the ER. Unfortunately, he knew the way all too well although not usually from the rooftop; this was his first helo delivery. When he got to the Emergency Room, he found Ziva arguing with the receptionist/gate keeper. "Look, he is my boyfriend; he needs to see me, just to see me; that is all I ask."

"I'm sorry, Miss, you're not authorized…"

Gibbs stepped in, "She's listed as his medical proxy and so am I."

"And you are?"

"His father, Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"I see sir. Oh, he's listed under Gibbs here, not McGee, that's odd."

"No, it's not; it's just a long story. If anyone else comes in looking for Agent McGee, you don't need to tell them his name here is listed as Gibbs, right?"

"Well, no sir, since you've requested it be handled that way and you're listed as next of kin, we have to respect your wishes."

"Except he's not dead; he's injured."

"Yes Sir, Miss, if you'll take a seat, I'll let his medical team know you're here."

"Thank you." Ziva looked like she'd been crying and Gibbs gave her a warm hug.

"He's going to be all right, Zeevers, he's alive and alert. He had movement of all his limbs."

"That is good, Gibbs, I had not heard that."

"Sarah and Rob were up in Vance's office already when you got there."

"How…did I miss a call?"

"No Ziva, they called Vance while he was on the phone with Miller being updated."

"Then…how?"

"Don't know, we'll ask them when they get here. Vance is bringing them over."

"Oh, they must think I am horrible to run off and leave them."

"Doubt it. They heard Vance and I talking about it."

"Are you going to call Jim and Claire…and Maisie?"

"Thought we'd wait for the kids and then call them." As he said that, the double doors swung open and his kids walked in. He held out his arms and they ran straight to him, Sarah snagging Ziva on the way and tugging her into the family hug. Gibbs kissed the top of each head, looking up to see Vance trying to hide his amusement. "Thanks for helping them, Leon."

"Just glad our boy is alive, conscious and alert, Gibbs. Hear anything yet?"

"No, but the helo only landed eight minutes ago, I imagine the exam will take a bit longer."