Last chapter was the one that wouldn't end. This was the one I couldn't sit and just write. I dragged it out, and I apologize. Ah well. You will find out what's up with Tony and the rest of the mission though! I do have the ending planned out; so if you have a great idea that you want to share for me possibly use, I'll try to fit in somewhere. You're also finding out why Gibbs is so mad at Tony! Or at least part of that reason.
There's also a much more recent flashback in this chapter, but it'll be one of the few from in June. April and May flashbacks, when we get to that point in the timeline, will show how the team began to…well, I'm sure you can guess.
June 16, 2010: Washington, D.C.
0840 Hours
Tony stared at the results, realizing what they were almost immediately. "So…what?" he asked, trying to play it off.
"Tony!" Abby cried, exasperated. "You have, or at least had, codeine in your system! It almost killed you, too! I'd call this a very big deal."
"Abs…" Tony began.
"What?" she snapped through the beginnings of tears.
"I already knew I was being drugged. I'm fine now."
"Not according to my baby! You still have massive amounts of it in you! Do you know what this means?"
"Yes, Abby, I am well aware of what it means," Tony said, quietly cursing Gibbs for making him do this to Abby. "I should've warned you, though. I was sick a couple days ago, but better now. Call Bethesda if you don't believe me. They treated me."
June 10, 2010: Bethesda, Maryland
2330 Hours
"Out of the way!" shouted an INTERPOL agent as he and another rushed a gurney into the emergency room.
The on-duty nurse stood with a hand to her mouth. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Not sure. Does he have a doctor here?" the first agent asked.
"Name?" she asked, her professional demeanor in place during the crisis.
"Anthony DiNozzo."
After a moment, she said, "Yes, Dr. Pitt. I'll page him to meet you outside the fourth floor elevators, right through this door." She pointed, then reached for the microphone to the speakers throughout the hospital. "Dr. Pitt, please report immediately to the elevator doors on the fourth floor. Dr. Pitt, fourth floor elevators immediately."
"Man, do-do you think he'll die like Weston?" the younger agent asked hesitantly.
The older shrugged. "He's less doped than him. We can only hope."
The elevator seemed to take forever to the two agents. When the doors finally opened, they saw the doctor who had been paged.
"Ah, my favorite patient!" he chuckled. He motioned the orderlies to take him. "Get blood samples to the lab as soon as possible," he ordered, and they rushed off with the gurney between them.
"I'm Dr. Brad Pitt, no relation to the actor. What happened to Tony?"
"Agent Hamilton, this is Agent Emerson, both from INTERPOL. We don't really know the answer to that. He and another of our agents, Agent Weston, were drugged during an undercover operation. We don't know with what, we found DiNozzo barely lucid and Weston dead. Our helicopter rushed him over from Somalia."
"So he's been like this for at least seven hours?" Pitt asked.
"We don't know. He seemed coherent on the way over but passed out about the time we reached the shores of the U.S.," Emerson said.
"Well, I'll get back to you," Pit said, frowning as he nodded to them and brushed past.
The two agents sat in the waiting room, watching as it slowly emptied. Several hours later, Pitt came down and spotted them.
"He was drugged for about two hours before you found him. By the looks of it, he was being drugged for some time before he succumbed. He's very lucky he made it here. He'll be ready to go by Sunday, if not before knowing him."
"Thank you, Dr. Pitt," Hamilton said, shaking Pitt's hand. "My partner and I will be in touch."
June 16, 2010: Washington, D.C.
0852 Hours
Abby huffed. "So, you were ten miles away and we didn't know?"
"Guess so," Tony said, smiling ruefully. "But, as I'm walking and talking, you needn't worry. Brad said I'll be fully done with drugs in my system by the end of the week."
"Well, all right then, my boy. You have passed your physical. I will put it on file and give Jethero the good news." Ducky turned and left.
"Well?" Abby demanded. "The rest of your mission!"
Tony pretended to think for a moment, then got punched in the arm by Abby. "All right, all right, Abs! Jeez!" She only stared at him expectantly. "OK, so after the captain made his announcement…"
March 9, 2010: Near international waters, out from the Jamaame port
1205 Hours
"Do it. Now," Roble ordered.
Taban turned back to the computer. "Just a moment…now!" he said triumphantly.
Tony glanced uneasily over his shoulder. "I wouldn't count the Navy men out just yet," he warned. "They're up to something; I feel it in my gut."
"Yeah?" Roble snorted. "Did your 'gut' tell you to shut up too? Because that's what my 'gut' is telling me to tell you right now!"
"I'm serious!" Tony shouted heatedly. "I grew up in America, seeing what the Navy was up to! They aren't going to quit just because their captain told them to! We need to be on the alert!"
"He's right," the captain tried to interject, but was rewarded only with a backhand slap by Roble.
"Shut it! Both of you!" Taban screamed, throwing Tony and Roble for a loop; the normally easy-going pirate, if there ever was such a thing, was not going to take it today. "We need to get this done, or it'll be all of our heads! Quiet down and do what the plan says."
"That's not going to work," the captain said knowingly.
Roble made to hit him again, but was startled by a solid rumble below his feet. Tony stumbled, grasping onto the guard rail outside the door.
"You idiot!" he heard Taban scream at Roble as he was tossed behind a wall; just in time, apparently, as the steerage room blew. Board chunks and wood splinters flew. Several screams came from within, presumably from the injured and dying men. Tony stumbled up, his handgun forgotten on the deck, as he made his way to the doorway.
Cautiously, he opened it inward. The only thing that remained was the splintered, burned bodies of three men. Looking over the rail, Tony saw the ship begin to come in closer to the harbor; out to the side, he saw the rescue boat that was to be for the pirates when they finished their job. The height wasn't too bad; he could jump and not be hurt too badly.
Tony tried not to hesitate, but did for a split second; enough to hear pounding feet. It spurred him into action. He pulled his body up to the rail and climbed to the other side, letting go and falling to the ocean.
Putting his feet first, such as was taught, didn't make it too bad upon entering the water; it still felt like landing on concrete though. His next thought was cold, followed by his desperate need for air. The March-temperature water forced shock from him and made him move.
Reaching the surface, he gasped in air, then went back under to avoid being seen. By memory, Tony swam for the boat.
Ten minutes later found him hauled in and down in the boat, where he was sat down and something warm-the stuff they called 'coffee,' which was little more than water-was forced into his hands. Right now, Tony didn't care that it tasted like rainwater mixed with mud; he greedily drank it, if only to warm him up faster.
"Where are Roble and Taban?" Ghedi asked in a deadly quiet voice, obviously displeased.
"Dead," Tony ground out.
"Funny that you should survive, American."
The word was spat in his face, and Tony bristled, trying to keep his façade up.
"What the hell, man? You accusing me of working for them when I nearly got blown up too? What is this?"
Ghedi smiled predatorily. "This is you proving loyalty. You held up an American ship and ran even though someone needed you. You are loyal to yourself, as you should be."
No! Tony's inner voice wanted to scream at him. This isn't me at all! But he said nothing, watching as Ghedi poured him another cup of hot water/mud and toasted to him.
June 16, 2010: Washington, D.C.
0900 Hours
"Tony, that's horrible!" Abby protested, wrapping him in a hug.
"It worked," Tony said.
But even as he felt welcomed by his teammates, he couldn't help but think of one who still hadn't welcomed him back.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
At the same time Tony told a story to those in Abby's lab, Gibbs was sitting at his desk, wondering why Tony had come back after all these months.
Dead, his mind whispered. That's what you thought of him. Dead. You don't need him on your team! They got used to him being gone, and he waltzes back in like nothing's wrong? He betrayed you!
And the more Gibbs thought about it, he knew it wouldn't work out as well as everyone hoped. He wouldn't be able to be back. It was for the best.
Even if that best was just for Gibbs himself.
I do hope you guys aren't disappointed by the chapter! And again, I'm sorry it was late-ish!