A/N: I am amazed and honored by the number of hits on this story, for all of you who have taken the time to review, add to your list of favorite stories and list of stories you are following. I work in a job that at time can be very stressful, overwhelmingly sad but always rewarding. Reading fanfic and now writing my own stories has become a fun outlet for me. Sometimes you just need to escape real life.

I thank my wife for taking the time to proofread, though every time I look over this story I find that I missed one or two, so I apologize of any errors.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing.

LAG

Tony and the Red Dog

Chapter 2.

Gibbs stood in front of the big windows near the bullpen. Watching the swirling snow as the lights that lit the banks of the Anacostia River flicked on. He looked at his watch with irritation, Tony should be back in about an hour, but he was having a hard time ignoring his gut. Something about Tony alone out in the snow should not feel right to Gibbs, but when he thought of Tony, he still felt a burning rage. He had told Tony that he did not blame him for Jenny's death but since bringing Tony back from his time as Agent Afloat he had not been able to stand the sight of the man and had done everything to drive him away. In reality, Gibbs thought to himself, things between him and Tony had been strained since he had returned from Mexico, but these past several months he had become openly hostile towards the younger man.

As he stared out the window he could see the reflection of Ziva and McGee, his team working diligently, looking for leads in this case. When had he stopped thinking of Tony as part of his team? Behind him, Tony's desk stood empty.

With a deep sigh he turned and headed back into the bullpen.

"Set-rep!" he called out in a gruff voice.

McGee jumped up from his chair and grabbed the control for the plasma as Ziva came around her desk and stood next to him.

On the screen appeared a photo of their murder victim in full dress uniform.

McGee start, " Warrant Officer Thomas Spencer, was born in Portsmith, Maine. His parents Vivian and Henry Spencer still live in Portsmith and he has one brother who is two years older and lives in Norfolk, VA. WO Spencer enlisted in the marines right after graduating from high school in 1991, completed basic training at Paris Island, SC and has spent time at Camp Lejeune, NC and Camp Pendleton in CA. He also has been on a number of deployments of about 6 months each on a number of navel vessels in the pacific. "

McGee paused and looked over at Gibbs, Gibbs with an impatient, "Get on with it."

Ziva took this opportunity to jump in, " Performance reviews are all good and WO Spencer has moved up the stairs in rank."

Under his breath McGee mumbled, "Ladder not stairs."

Ziva, ignoring him continued, "WO Spencer had just completed the 13 week training program at Quantico and received his commission last Tuesday."

McGee jumped back in, "WO Spencer was on leave, following completion of his training and according to his Commanding Officer, he had received orders to go back to Pendleton and was scheduled to report on January 6."

Ziva again took the lead, "WO Spencer does not appear to have much of a personal life, he is single, was staying on base."

With a huff, Gibbs looks at Ziva and McGee, "Come on people, find me something we can use, so our victim was a boy scout, someone out there wanted him dead, dig deeper, think outside of the box!" With last statement he looked over at Tony's desk, Tony who always came up with the unexpected, who knew how to think outside the box, taking a deep breath, he yelled out as he headed to the elevator, "Going for coffee. Find me something we can use!"

Ziva and McGee, looked at each other then headed back to their desks, as they sat down they both glanced over at Tony's desk and then toward the window, when they looked back at each other Ziva mouth to Tim, "Where is he?"

Tim looked back and quietly he said, "any where but out there I hope" and as a deep sense of concern for his absent teammate over took him, he realized that he meant it.

Chapter 3.

As Tony became aware of his surroundings he found that he was trapped under a large branch. The initial blow had knocked him senseless; he did not think he had been out for very long. Tony tried to move but found that his left arm was pinned under the tent he had been holding. With his weight and the tree pinning him down he was unable to free his arm. Tony discovered that he was able to move his right arm, but had limited range of motion, as he was not able to lift his torso or turn his body as the branch kept him pinned in place.

Tony also tried to move his legs and while he was able to move his left leg, attempting to move his right leg elicited extreme pain from his thigh. As his right arm was free, he tried to reach back to feel his leg and was surprised to find blood on his hand. Feeling back along his leg, he felt for the injury but stopped when he encountered what felt like a piece of branch disappearing into his leg.

Tony put his head down and felt a sense of despair overtake him. So this is how his life would end, freezing to death, pinned under a tree alone in the forest.

Tony wondered if Gibbs and the team would even care or if they would only be upset because he delayed their getting the murder weapon.

A slight vibration near his left hip brought Tony out of his dark thoughts. Tony remembered the cell phone he had slipped into his coat pocket but it did him no good as he it was pinned under him and he could not reach it with his right arm.

Tony hoped that maybe, just maybe they would send someone out to look for him.