So Ghostbusters II. I love it even though it's not as good as the first one, I mean come on, a river of slime? Really Dan Akroid? Really?
Anyway. There is a point to this, I promise.
In Ghostbusters II Venkman at point says, "Sometimes sh*t happens, someone's got to deal with it, and who you gonna call?"
Well in my family apparently you call me. Not sure I'm the best candidate, but I'll do my best. The point is, this will be the last upload for about a week. I should be back in around seven or eight days and will try to get the next chapter posted as soon as I can. Sorry for the inconvenience but family comes first.
Hope you enjoy, please tell me what you think!
~Renee
*Warning! Contains spoilers for The Haunting (The 1963 version, not the remake that should never be mentioned.)*
FYI-Best scary movie. Ever. Scared the crap out of me. And no I was not alive when it was first released. I wasn't even alive when Ghostbusters II was released. Beat me by two years.
Sorry about the super long A/N!
Read away!
"But then, just when you think they're going to get out, Eleanor runs out in front of the car and is hit. And that's when you realize, Hill House actually drove her to commit suicide so she could stay with the house forever. It was amazing and incredibly spooky, really worked me over as a kid. The last lines, oh gosh I heard them in my nightmares for months. 'Hill House has stood for 90 years and might stand for 90 more. Within, walls continue upright, bricks meet, floors are firm, and doors are sensibly shut. Silence lies steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House. And we who walk here... walk alone. '. Ugh. Seriously Gibbs, messed up. I mean I was only six at the time, probably not the best choice for me to watch... but then again, it's not like anyone was really paying attention to what I was doing… it wasn't the worst movie I had seen. A great one was Vincent Price's-"
A groan from beside him alerted Tony to his friends' return to consciousness.
"Morning sleeping beauty. Another good one. 1959. You know they still have no idea who played the queen? They have no record of her voice..."
Gibbs cursed under his breath and struggled to sit up. Tony winced as he leaned down to help, offering an arm and a shoulder till the older man could get his balance.
Gibbs huffed and situated himself, mumbling towards Tony.
"It's official DiNozzo. You never shut up."
Tony grinned.
"Got to keep myself occupied somehow. Even talk in my sleep boss. Or so I've been told anyway, never bothered to find out myself. How's your head?"
Gibbs raised a hand and rubbed his temple.
"Been better. What happened?"
"After you answer me. Any double vision? Nausea? Memory issues?"
Gibbs growled.
"I'm not telling you what you missed until you answer me. If you have a concussion we need to know."
"And do what?"
Tony sighed.
"It's better to know and be unable to do anything than to be ignorant and do something to make it worse."
Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"No double vision, I feel fine. A little headache. Just a little confused on what happened after I pulled into your apartment. Happy now?"
Tony shrugged and hide the shudder of pain that accompanied the movement.
"Not particularly. Doesn't sound like you have a concussion though. That's always good. As for what happened. You came in the room and found a little bit more than you bargained for and then accidentally broke my cover. Which ticked off an already angry man. Patrick hit you in the temple with his gun and dragged us out of there. We were shoved in the back of a car and tore out of there, headed north. I'm not sure what happened next, I think I blacked out a little in the car…" Tony screwed his mouth to the side and drew his eyebrows together.
"Sorry about that boss. I woke up here with you about an hour ago. Or at least I think it was an hour ago...they took my watch. And my wallet. And yours. Phones, keys, badges, even found the knife in your belt. Didn't even have to look for it, they knew exactly where it was..."
Tony chewed on his lip and moved his hand to his side, hissing slightly as he applied pressure.
"Bright side though, when I woke up, I heard Steven tell Patrick that the cops showed up right after we got out of there, Maggie and Greg both got out fine. They're okay. We must have missed your back-up by only a few minutes." His breath caught in his throat as he shifted positions. "Hell of a time to be late."
Gibbs' eyes narrowed.
Why is he…
Oh Sh*t.
Gibbs suddenly moved closer to Tony, startling the agent and causing him to jerk away and close his eyes against the sudden onset of nausea and sharp agony.
Gibbs' voice was harsh and brittle, but Tony could hear the concern and worry behind it.
"Let me see."
He shook his head.
"I'm fine boss."
"Not a request DiNozzo. Now."
Tony sighed and turned a little towards the man, showing him the side that he had been so carefully guarding.
Gibbs clenched his jaw at the red inflamed wound at Tony's side. He took a deep breath and began to slip out of his over-shirt.
"DiNozzo...did I hear you apologize for passing out?"
Tony winced as Gibbs ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt.
"Never apologize. Rule six. Right. And I didn't pass out. DiNozzo's don't pass out. I just...closed my eyes for longer than I meant too."
Gibbs snorted as he began to wrap the makeshift bandage around Tony's side.
"Right." He looked up from his ministrations and stared into what he could see of Tony's eyes. "You've been shot Tony. Don't apologize for...closing your eyes. Anyway, it's my own d*mn fault. Bursting in there like a rookie. Not even McGee would be that stupid."
Tony chuckled.
"You don't give him enough credit boss. Besides, he might be our best bet right now at getting out of this."
Gibbs shook his head and leaned in closer to Tony's side, trying to judge how much blood the younger man had lost between first getting shot and ending up wherever they were now.
Judging by the graying of Tony's face...Too much.
He swallowed and kept his tone light.
"Nah, two missing federal agents? They'll call the FBI."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Fornell?"
"Vacation."
Tony laid his head back on the wall.
"We're so screwed."
Xxx
Morrow glared at the shaking man standing in front of him.
"Let me get this straight. We are missing two of our best agents, Gibbs and DiNozzo, because they were kidnapped from DiNozzo's home?"
McGee fluttered his hands uselessly.
"I...it was his neighbor's home actually. Tony had to take a personal day for the kids… I don't really know the whole story… something with the mother..."
Morrow nodded.
"What do we know so far?"
Tim swallowed and took a breath, trying to get his nerves under control. Gibbs and Tony were counting on him, this wasn't time for him to be…
Well, him.
He straightened his shoulder.
"We don't know a lot yet, Abby is running information on the children's family, trying to figure out who would target the family and then take Gibbs and To-DiNozzo. We haven't come up with anything yet, but we're trying. The FBI liaison is due here soon and should...well, hopefully they'll be able to help."
McGee seriously doubted that, from the side comments Gibbs always made, the FBI seemed to do little but hinder their investigations. But he had hope. He had to. Because right now that's all they had.
Morrow nodded.
"Let me know as soon as you have something."
McGee nodded and prepared to leave, but was called back by Morrow before reaching the door.
"Agent McGee, what happened to the children? You said Tony was with children in their apartment when they were attacked. Where are they? Have they been able to help? Are they alright?"
McGee almost head slapped himself. He wasn't cut out for this. Gibbs was supposed to handle the details. Or Tony. That's what they were good at.
Focus. They need you. This is no time to start doubting yourself.
"The kids say that Tony was getting ready to take them for breakfast, they were spending the day with him because their mother is...sick. The details are still fuzzy on that. We're trying to reach the parents. Maggie, the eldest, told us that men broke into the home and Tony sent her into her brother's room to wait. Apparently he slipped her his cell too, because Gibbs ended up talking to her and finding out what was happening. She said she spoke to the… the cowboy, we're rolling with that being Gibbs, until he arrived at the apartment and he promised he would be right in but he never came to get them. She said there was a lot of shouting from Tony and then quiet until we showed up. It sounded like we missed them by a matter of minutes. They're with Abby now, both a little shaken up, but they'll be fine."
Morrow sighed.
"Alright, thank you. Let me know if you have any leads. I want them home and this wrapped up quickly."
McGee nodded and all but ran from the room.
That makes two of us.
He shook his head and headed down to the lab, eager to see if Abby had found anything.
Morrow watched the door shut and turned back to the window.
Two weeks away from retirement.
Two weeks.
Of course you would choose this time to get in trouble Gibbs. I hope you give my successor this much grief. And if you or DiNozzo are in anything less than perfect shape, I'll kill you myself.
...
"And then Tony climbed all the way into the vent until all we could see was his feet and he had to pull Geoffrey out by the ankles!"
Abby raised her eyebrows and took a long sip of her Caff-pow.
"How did Geoffrey get in the ventilation shaft to begin with?"
Maggie looked over at Greg who shrugged his shoulders.
"We don't know, but he was stuck in there for three hours before Tony figured it out. Mrs. Cray was so happy that Tony found him that she gave Tony a big kiss. On the lips!"
Greg made a face.
"It was gross."
Maggie giggled.
"Mr. Cray was really mad. He punched Tony in the face. Then Mrs. Cray yelled at him and Geoffrey couldn't come and play for the rest of the week."
Abby chuckled.
"Huh." She looked up as the lab doors opened and McGee came in followed by Ducky and Palmer.
"Hey Timmy, did you know that Tony climbed in a ventilation shaft to save an eight year old and was then punched in the face after being kissed by a grateful mom?"
Ducky laughed quietly while McGee rubbed his forehead.
"Of course he was. Abby do have anything for me?"
Abby beamed at him.
"You sound so...Gibbsy. I like it McGee."
She winked at him and Maggie elbowed Greg as Tim blushed.
Abby spun in her chair and turned back to her monitors.
"Alright. I have a few things to go over with the two of you, but first..."
She looked pointedly at the children.
"Hey Jimmy, would you mind taking the kiddos in the back? I think I have some coloring books still stored back there."
Jimmy glanced between the other three and nodded, gesturing for the children to follow him.
Maggie and Greg jumped to their feet and chased after Jimmy eagerly.
Once they passed through the other set of doors, Abby's lower lip began to quiver.
"All I have from the inside of the apartment is a shell casing and some blood. A lot of blood."
She looked at Ducky as her eyes began to fill.
"It's Tony's. He was shot. There's a...a lot of blood Ducky. And now he's missing and Gibbs is gone too and I don't have anything else but some fuzzy video and a partial plate."
She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. Ducky came forward and pat her arm while McGee put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright Abigail. Gibbs is with Anthony now, and you know he won't let anymore harm befall our dear friend."
Abby nodded.
"But what if he gets himself hurt doing something stupid?"
Tim shook his head.
"Tony won't let him do that either. They'll watch out for each other. They always do. They're a great team. You said so yourself."
She nodded and began to type, brushing away tears.
"I found a partial plate from the apartments security system. I got three men dragging Gibbs and Tony from the building and into a black SUV, there was mud on the plate and all I got is V and 63. As for the men themselves, I have two large hispanic men and tall thin pale guy with dark hair. No other distinguishing features can be made out. That's all I got for you."
Tim nodded and chewed on his lip.
Abby looked between the screen and Ducky for a few minutes before whispering.
"Ducky….can you look at the amount of blood on the floor and tell me… is Tony alright?"
Ducky sighed and furrowed his brow.
"I'm afraid I can't answer Abigail unless I know where he was shot. But as long as it wasn't in a fatal area and Jethro was able to stop the bleeding… I have every faith that Anthony will prove his resilience once again. Besides, think about what Jethro would do to him if Anthony was anything less than well."
McGee snorted.
"Gibbs would kill Tony all on his own."
Abby smiled slightly and began to try and clear her eyes.
"Thanks guys. Okay, I know you need to get Palmer back to autopsy, I just didn't want them to hear any of this. Or see me cry. I'm trying really hard to stay happy for them. They're helping a lot. They have some really good Tony stories. I wonder why he never tells us these. They told me a great one about their mom's broken refrigerator and Tony ending up covered in butter and spaghetti sauce..."
McGee rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Probably because he figured we'd never believe him. Thanks Abby, I need to head upstairs and see if we've gotten a hold of their parents yet and where our FBI people are. I'll be back down later."
She waved goodbye as he left the lab and Abby turned back to the computer.
"They're going to be alright. Tell me they're going to be alright."
She could hear Ducky sigh.
"They will be fine. On their own they do incredible things. Together? We have nothing to worry about."
Abby nodded and Ducky slipped out of the room. Once he reached the hall, he leaned against the wall and sighed.
"I hope."
Xxx
"So, I suppose you're curious about what happened?"
Gibbs adjusted the bandage and nodded to himself.
It'll have to do for now.
"You look like the living dead DiNozzo, don't think you're really up to story time."
Tony chuckled.
"Good reference boss. Night of the Living Dead. 1968, great film, the remake was-"
Gibbs put a hand up.
"If you start talking about one more d*mn movie, I swear I'm going to end you myself."
Tony grimaced and looked up at the ceiling.
"Sorry boss. Trying to keep myself awake. Habit."
Gibbs sighed.
"Tell me about what I missed."
Tony changed positions again, trying find a spot that didn't aggravate his burning side.
Gibbs sighed and turned, putting his back against the wall and grabbed ahold of Tony, turned him gently so that his back leaned against his chest. He moved his legs until they were stretched out in front of him and Tony was half laying down, supported by Gibbs.
"Boss?"
"Shut up and talk."
Tony grinned.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that."
He settled himself against the mans firm chest and sighed, feeling the reassuring movement of Gibbs steady breathing.
He focused on the steadfast action and began to relay what had happened before Gibbs had showed up. When he got to the point to where Maggie had showed up, he cleared his throat and smiled slightly.
"When she gave me a hug, I pulled my phone out of my sweatshirt and dropped it in her jacket pocket. I knew you would call eventually, you can never leave me be on my days off. Hoped the kids would answer and you would figure something was up."
Gibbs nodded.
"I was on my way over, planning on stopping by. Maggie said that her father's angry friends were there and you didn't look happy."
Tony made a noise that was part snort part groan.
"Yeah, not happy about covers it. He had one of the men, Steven I think, search the room for something. They left the kids alone though. Patrick insisted that he didn't want to involve children in his 'business'. Wouldn't tell me what he was after either. Acted as if I was supposed to know."
Gibbs nodded.
"How long did it take you to convince him you were Jonathan's brother?"
Tony looked up at the ceiling.
"No time at all. He accepted it immediately. Makes sense if you think about it. Why would a random neighbor be in the house with the kids? An uncle- now that works."
Gibbs grinned.
"And would keep them away from the kids."
"Yeah."
He shook his head.
"So then?"
"Then he told me what he was after. I didn't take it very well."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow.
"I um...sort of decked Patrick in the eye and took Steven to the ground. Then Lawrence pulled a gun and you can guess what happened next."
"You attacked three armed men?"
"Only two of them were armed."
"DiNozzo..."
Tony sighed.
"I moved on instinct boss. If what they were looking for was in the apartment… I couldn't let them find it. Had to try."
Gibbs looked at the back of Tony's head, his gut churning.
"Tony?"
He turned his head and looked up at Gibbs.
"We have a problem Gibbs."