Author's Note: There's almost so many pairings in this story that I can't list them all lol hahaha Definite McAbby and some Palmer/Ducky Father-son stuff in this one.
Warning: A bit of an intense ending…beware the cliffhanger!

Blank Slate
Chapter 4

Timothy McGee was working in the hot trailer where Cyber Crimes was being set up. He was trying to get the network back up and running so he could get to work on the investigation. Vance asked him to come and help set everything up here because he felt like it was taking the Cyber Crimes unit too long to get set up on their own. Needless to say, folding tables with entire computer servers on them made Tim nervous, but this was neither the time nor the place to question authority—or question anything else for that matter.

"Kick on the A/C before this server burns itself up!" Tim called. He needed to get this server up and running within the hour. The agents needed to be able to do searches and access the internet and databases if they were going to figure out who was responsible for this…this tragedy.

As he worked, Tim wondered about what had taken place with Abby. He'd obviously upset her. He wasn't sure what he'd done though. Abby was acting strange from the minute Tim had made his little joke about Tony. Abby got so angry with him then. And come to think of it…he hadn't seen…Tony…since the explosion…

He gasped and sat up so fast he smacked his head on the table. Raising a hand to his forehead he groaned in pain and he closed his eyes trying to make sense of what he'd just thought of. Was Tony hurt? It would make sense—that would make Abby act weird. Ohhhh and then when they opened the elevator door the first thing he did was…oh he was such an ass!

Tim quickly laid back down under the table. He had to get this stupid server working so he could go find Abby and apologize to her and figure out what had happened to Tony. Tony always had his six. He was always watching his back—even when Tim was showing his ass to everyone and making disparaging and cutting remarks. As he deftly plugged in wires another thought occurred to him.

They'd lost Jonathan Cole. Cole had tried on two separate occasions that he knew of to kill Tony. Tim's hands froze and he let out a harsh breath.

If Tony was hurt and Cole was missing—had he finally succeeded?

If Cole hurt Tony it would be Tim's fault.

xxx

Palmer trotted alongside the gurney carrying Ducky into the Emergency Room. The old man's shirt was opened entirely now and there was a steadily beeping heart monitor attached to Ducky's chest. The noise was reassuring to the young man who had shamelessly left his wife to fend off the wedding guests while he accompanied his best frie—his fa—his ment—his Ducky to the hospital.

The young ME was relieved when the staff in the Emergency Room allowed him to accompany Ducky into the exam cubicle. He wanted to stay close—as Ducky's next-of-kin, Palmer wanted to stay close. He was tremendously honored that he'd been given the responsibility and he took it very seriously.

Palmer stayed in the corner of the cubicle, listening as the attending physicians and nurses rattled off machine readings and numbers. It sounded to Palmer like Ducky'd had a mild heart attack. The doctors wanted to run some tests, but they were optimistic based on the information they could gather early that Ducky would most likely be alright.

There was a break in the chaos then, a moment when everyone vacated the room. Jimmy stepped up to Ducky's bedside and looked over the old man sadly. He wanted Ducky to live forever. Ducky was one of his closest friends, the man he could talk to about anything, the man he could ask any question to, the man who taught so much just by passing on his life experiences. He gently took hold of the older man's hand and squeezed it.

"Gotta be ok Ducky," he whispered.

To his surprise, Ducky sucked in a deeper breath then and his eyelids fluttered. After a couple of moments he blinked his eyes open slowly and licked his dry lips.

"Ohhhh…kay?" Ducky gasped. The oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth muffled his words and Jimmy leaned closer. "T-team…T-To…ny…ohhhh…kay?"

Jimmy bit his lip, wishing he knew. "I um…I haven't heard from Gibbs anymore, Dr. Mallard," he said regretfully. "Last I heard though…Tony's in pretty bad shape."

"Sh…should be…there…" Ducky whispered. His eyes dropped shut and he looked absolutely exhausted.

"We'll go home soon. For now you should rest. The doctor will be back soon."

Ducky blinked his eyes open and they rolled around, looking at the room. "Tired," he said, and his lips barely moved when he spoke.

"Get some rest Ducky," Jimmy told him. "I'll go call Gibbs again and see what I can find out."

Ducky's eyes dropped shut and his breathing evened out. Palmer let out a long breath and wiped the moisture from his eyes. It wouldn't do for Ducky to see him cry.

xxx

Leon Vance was having one of those weeks when he wished he had become anything other than a NCIS agent. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Being a shoe salesman would be nice. From his seat he could look out the small window and see the complex of trailers that was slowly beginning to take shape amidst the rubble. God there was so much death. So much destruction. So much…damage. He ran a hand over his face.

There was a thought lingering at the side of his brain, but he didn't dare let it creep to the full front. You don't ask that question. You never ask what will happen next. Especially not on a day like this.

He'd gotten off the phone with Gibbs not long ago. The other man was not happy, and Leon got it. He really understood, and he really felt bad. Gibbs and Tony had been respectful enough of their director and their careers to come and let him know when they'd gotten together, shortly after Tony got back from his stint on the USS Seahawk. At first Vance tried to throw his weight around, but then he stopped, and he looked at them. And he watched them. They weren't acting any different at work. They were professional, and respectful (as much as Gibbs is ever respectful) and…and they did a damn good job together. Once he realized that he backed off and let them have some space.

And this was one goddamn bitch of a situation. He hated this. Hated that his people were dying, hurting, frightened, on edge. He hated that their orange walls were gone from the bullpen that no longer stood proudly in the Navy Yard. He hated that he got so sucked in with the man who was making the threats—they courted around each other like distant lovers, but neither was willing to bend. Could Vance have prevented this?

He ran a shaking hand over his mouth. Gibbs was worried about leaving Tony. But he needed Gibbs on the investigation. As much as the two butted heads, Vance had to admit that Gibbs and Tony—well they were the best that NCIS had to offer. They were the ones he wanted on all the big cases. And with Tony down for the count, Vance was hoping his assumption was correct that Gibbs would want revenge. If he could use that to his own advantage, Leon felt sure they could get this wrapped up quickly. But to do that he needed to get Gibbs' head in the game.

Vance picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. He listened to the ringing phone and then lifted the phone away from him as the near frantic voice screeched loudly through the phone.

"Hey Baby," he said. He listened for a moment. "I know…I know there's been another explosion. We're on it. But…I need your help." He listened again and then chuckled. "No I don't need you to bring me something to eat right now. What I need…" he sighed. There was no one else he trusted with this task. "Call your mother Jackie," he instructed his beloved wife. "I need you to go to George Washington Medical Center. Agent DiN—Tony's there. He was injured today and Gibbs is…concerned. I need him to help me here though, but he needs to know someone with some sense is looking after Tony. Can you—thank you honey. Keep in touch. I'm sending two Marine Guards to post outside Agent DiNozzo's room. I'll call Gibbs and let him know what the plan is. He is Tony's Medical Proxy. So if…yes he's the one you'd need to call…uh huh…that's right. Thank you baby. I love you too. I'll be home…as soon as I can. I love you." Vance hung up the phone.

xxx

Gibbs was hauling ass across town to the apartment building where Fornell and his team were…Gibbs couldn't even complete the thought. He grunted in frustration when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open without even looking at it.

"Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs! It's Jackie Vance."

Gibbs sighed. He didn't have time for social calls right now. "Hi Jackie," he said softly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know what's going on. Do you have a minute?"

"I have about a minute," Gibbs said. "What's up?"

"I just got a call from Leon. He said that Tony was…that he got hurt today in the explosion."

Gibbs swallowed hard as the image of his precious comatose partner laying in the hospital all alone filled his mind. "That's right," he mumbled. "Can't stay with him. Gotta find the…person who did this."

"Yes, that's what Leon was saying," Jackie said. "So he asked me to go sit with Tony. Are you ok with that?"

"What about your kids?"

"My mother is staying with them. We've got ourselves covered Jethro. I want to make sure you and Tony are covered too."

"Everything's wrong Jackie," Gibbs said, letting his iron-clad control slip for a moment. "Everybody's hurt, and the office is gone, and there's people who are dead, and people who might still d—and then Ducky's…something's wrong with Ducky. Palmer thinks he had a heart attack or something."

"I am going to go sit with Tony, but you need to let the hospital know that I'm coming so they'll let me in. Leon is sending two Marine Guards to keep an eye on us so that we'll be safe."

Gibbs braked for a red light, his eyes wide with surprise. He hadn't expected Leon to be so…supportive. "He needs me to stay at work," the field agent grumped. "Don't wanna be there. Just wanna go stay with Tony."

"I know you do Jethro. But I'll stay with him until you can get here ok? And I'll have my cell phone with me—and the charger—so you can call me any time day or night and get an update ok?"

"Thanks Jackie," Gibbs whispered. He blinked and felt tears sting his eyes. This day was… He shook his head and swallowed hard. "I'm gonna go call the hospital. Let 'em know you're coming. I'll call you back later."

He hung up the phone before she could answer. Before he could dial, however, his cell phone rang. Gibbs glanced at it and nearly sobbed in relief.

Fornell.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Geez Jethro you sound like someone died."

"Thought you had, Tobias."

"What?"

"Heard you and your team were in the apartment that exploded. I'm heading there now."

"I'm on my way there too. Had a couple of agents there…no word on their condition yet."

"Which agents?"

There was a pause, and Gibbs knew that it wouldn't be good news. "Sacks and the SWAT Team."

"Ah dammit Toby," Jethro groaned. Sacks was Tobias' senior field agent just like Tony was his—only without the romance. "I…I'm coming ok? I've got your six."

"Thanks Jethro."

Fornell hung up before Jethro could.

xxx

Tim raced through the maze of trailers, looking for the forensic lab. He couldn't remember what number he'd been told it was. He stopped in between four trailers and ran a hand through his short hair and looked around. There it was. Trailer number 13—complete with bats on the door made out of caution tape. Steeling himself for the shitstorm knocking on this door would create, Tim took a deep breath. He needed to talk to Abby. She needed to know that he didn't have a clue about anything that happened—and he still didn't have any specifics.

Knocking on the door, Tim wondered vaguely where Gibbs was and what time it was. He was surprised when the door burst open suddenly.

Abby stared at him, her makeup smudged, her face streaked with dried blood, her pigtails were crooked. She looked a mess, and yet—was maybe the most beautiful sight he'd seen all day.

"What do you want." Abby's voice was flat. She sounded tired, hurt, heartsick—all of it.

"I want to know what's happened to Tony," Tim said quietly, stepping up into her space—knowing he might be taking his life into his hands by doing so. But what the hell—he'd already survived an explosion today. Surely he could handle Abby.

"What do you mean you wanna know what happened to Tony?" Abby narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "According to you, Timmy, you've got all the answers!"

"Look, Abby," Tim raised his eyes to the sky for a moment before he looked back at her. "Will you listen to me? Please?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Abby snapped.

"Then listen to me. You don't even have to talk!" Tim exclaimed.

Abby's eyes narrowed more. "You have 30 seconds," she said snippily, looking at her watch. "Go."

"What I said…getting off the elevator. I'm sorry Abby. It was tasteless and inappropriate. But…But you gotta understand something," he pleaded. "Ziva and I…we were in the elevator. We didn't know—and nobody's told me YET—what happened to Tony? So I'm asking you," Tim said softly. "Please Abby. Please…what's happened?"

"Tony and I were running the tapes trying to figure out what was going to happen," Abby said quietly. "And we realized that the bomb threat was real this time. We put in the calls and started heading for the exit. We'd established that the bomb was in the parking garage—and since that is…was the closest door to my lab…we headed there first, but then we turned around and headed for the main entrance. Tony and I were juggling all of the evidence—we were trying to bring everything we needed to make the case out with us."

Tim listened with rapt attention, sure that the story didn't have a happy ending. "I stumbled," Abby said, her voice cracking. "I fell and when I did, I screamed. Just kinda came out y'know?" She shrugged one shoulder sadly. Tim nodded.

"Tony turned around. He was a bit ahead of me. Tim…oh God Tim he was out—he was out of the building and safe! He heard me scream and he turned around. He ran back towards me, but…" tears dripped pitifully from her eyes. "That was when the bomb exploded. Tony took the full force of the blast right in the face. He was unconscious when they took him away. Vance won't let Gibbs go to him. And it's all my fault. Tony would be fine if it wasn't for me!"

Tim pulled Abby into a hug. "I didn't know," he said. "No one told me. I would never have said what I did if I had known…"

Abby leaned into Tim's comfort for a moment, but then pulled back. "I still don't understand something though."

"What's that?"

"You and Ziva had Cole. You were going to question him."

"Yeah," Tim said. He didn't like where this line of questioning was going.

"He wasn't in the elevator with you when we found you."

"No," Tim said quietly. "He wasn't."

Abby crossed her arms and stared at him. Tim had the good graces to look sheepish. "We lost him," he mumbled.

"Yeah I got that much," Abby said pointedly. "Where IS he?"

"Um…well…" Tim ran a hand over the back of his neck. "We were uh…when the evacuation alarm sounded…we were looking for him."

"Where did you lose him?"

"We uh…we aren't sure."

Abby blinked. "You aren't sure."

"No," Tim whispered.

"You do realize that this is the same man who tried to kill Tony," she said. "Twice."

Tim swallowed hard, not liking that Tony was hurt and Cole was missing. "Yeah," he croaked. "Yeah I realize that."

Abby shoved his shoulder. "Don't you think maybe it'd be a good idea if you went and FOUND HIM NOW! BEFORE HE FINDS TONY AND KILLS HIM AGAIN!"

"Uh, yes, uh on it Boss, er, Abby," Tim sputtered, turning and fleeing the lab. He had to find Cole.

xxx

Jackie Vance spoke briefly with the ICU Staff when she got to the hospital. The doctor had already briefed the nurses of the situation. The nurses, fiercely protective of their ill and injured patients, made it very clear that the other patients should not be disturbed. They were sorry that a federal agent was injured but he was no more special than all of the other patients on the floor. Dr. Granger assured them that aside from seeing Jackie and two Marine Guards, there would be no other noticeable difference. The medical staff was given permission by Gibbs to update Jackie as they would him.

The nurse who was taking care of Tony guided Jackie down the hall. "He's still unconscious. The doctor is concerned because he's not woke up yet. Every hour he remains unconscious increases the likelihood of Agent DiNozzo dropping into a coma—which decreases the chances of him ever waking up."

Jackie covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide. "Has…has anybody told this to Gibbs?" she asked.

The nurse nodded. "The doctor explained to Mr. Gibbs that Agent DiNozzo may be dropping into a coma."

"Call him Tony," Jackie said. "He prefers that."

The nurse, whose name was Amelia, nodded. "Ok we can do that," she agreed. "He's in here." Amelia pulled back the curtain.

Jackie's eyes widened when she saw Tony. "Oh no," she murmured. She took a step forward, her eyes trying to take in every detail at once. "Oh Tony, oh honey," she breathed, moving her hand over his legs, smoothing the wrinkles in the blanket over his ankles.

"Ok if you don't need anything, I'll just do a quick check and get out of your way." She made a note on the dry erase board on the wall that Agent DiNozzo prefers to be called Tony and then turned back to her patient.

Jackie watched with a heavy heart as the nurse tried in vain to get a response out of the young man on the bed. Amelia checked Tony's pupil response and changed a couple of bandages on his face and arms. "He will get the large bandage on his head changed first thing in the morning," Amelia said. "This," she held the small plastic box with the wire connecting it to the bed, "is the call button. His alarms should go off if there is a problem, or if he wakes up, but this will also call us—so don't hesitate to use it if you need it."

"Thank you."

"Oh and if you need to use your cell phone, I'm going to ask that you step out into the hall and please keep your calls short."

"I can do that," Jackie assured Amelia. "Thank you for letting me stay with him."

Amelia nodded. "I'll check on you in an hour. Call if you need me before that."

Jackie nodded and sat down in the chair that had been provided for her next to Tony's bed. "Oh Tony," she murmured, "you have to pull through this. I don't know what we'll do with Jethro if you don't."

xxx

Gibbs hopped out of the car at the apartment building. Fire trucks and ambulances were still parked close and no one was being admitted into the building yet. The senior agent scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces. He saw several NCIS agents on the scene—many that he'd spent the evening working with on the scene at the Navy Yard.

"Jethro!"

Gibbs whipped around, relief washing over him. "Tobias!" he called, waving an arm. "Over here!"

Fornell rushed over to him. "The DCFD said we'll be able to get inside soon."

Gibbs nodded and looked around. "Any suspects?"

Fornell looked grim. "Same suspect you're looking for," he said. He looked at Jethro. "First one who gets him gets dibs?"

Before Jethro could answer, a voice rang out in the night. "I NEED A BUS!"

"Ron?" Fornell breathed, his eyes on the door. The tall, dark-skinned man was leaning against the door frame. He was covered in dirt, soot, and blood, but he was alive! Fornell pushed passed Jethro and hurried towards his second in command. Gibbs followed his friend close behind. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

"GET BACK!" Ron was shouting, waving his arms at everyone who approached him. "GET BACK GET BACK!" It was obvious he was injured. "There's another bomb! Get back!"

Before anybody could take Sack's advice to clear the building, the world exploded all around them.

TBC…