I was planning on posting this yesterday because I didn't have school, but I ended up staying at my cousin's house. And we watched My Little Pony most of the day. Don't judge, it's a cool show and the ponies are really frickin' pretty. *insert awkward silence here* ...yeah, I apologize for my weirdness. Let's just get on with the story.


Ziva gently towel bathed Michael, who was happily playing with a dirty rubber duck. She ran her hands through his blond hair and hummed a Hebrew lullaby. He turned to look at her with a smile plastered on his face. Michael lightly hugged her around her neck and whispered in her ear.

"Where are Tony and Agent Gibbs?" he asked.

"They will be back," Ziva replied, avoiding his question.

He nodded, accepting her answer. "How is Timmy Turner?"

Timmy Turner was the name Michael had given McGee. The two had grown close while talking about video games that no longer existed. McGee had woken up just hours before and he was faring well. He had survived the sickness. Amaryllis wasn't doing as well, she had yet to wake up.

"He is well," she said simply.

"What about Mommy and the baby?"

"They are fine as well," Ziva lied.

Ziva finished bathing him and encouraged him to go visit Abby while she tracked down Jimmy, Riff, and Fornell. Michael ran off, happy to have a chance to play with Abby. Ziva found Fornell putting his daughter to bed. Silently, she crept up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Jeez, David, you scared the sh…poop out of me," he said, minding his language around his daughter.

"Gibbs, Tony, and Joshua are missing," she stated bluntly.

"They must be around here somewhere," Fornell said, looking around as if they would suddenly appear.

"They are not," she said. "Grab your gear and wait at the east entrance while I rally a search party."

Ziva walked away without another word, towards the medical wing. She literally stumbled upon Riff and Aurora on the way. The poor girl wasn't going to live through the sickness as her body was shutting down. But Riff never gave up hope. Ziva quickly explained to him what was going on, then continued on her way.

When Ziva entered the medical wing, the smell of rotting corpses hit her like skunk spray. She pulled her shirt over her nose and tried not to look at the bodies that had yet to be buried. Jimmy was seated next to McGee, who was greedily eating a can of carrots. Jimmy had overcome the sickness within a week of catching it.

"Hi, Ziva!" McGee said happily. "Glad you came."

"Jimmy, I need to speak with you."

"As a doctor or a soldier?"

"A soldier," she quietly replied. "I'd prefer to speak with you in private."

McGee cleared his throat. "If it concerns soldiers, I would like to help."

"You are not healthy enough." Ziva snapped.

McGee gave her the best Gibbs glare he could muster. He was not going to be left out because of his health. He would do anything he could for his country. After a few minutes under his gaze, Ziva finally broke down and told him he could come. The here grabbed their gear and made their way to the east exit.

When they arrived, Riff, Fornell, and Luna, who was not invited but came anyway, were all waiting. Ziva quickly explained the situation to them all and they set out. They all agreed to stay together so they didn't lose anybody.

Ziva spared a lingering glance at the destroyed Lincoln Memorial. She knew they were dangerously close to the White House, but she didn't care. The only thing she cared about was finding Tony, Gibbs, and Josh. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, causing Fornell to run into her.

"David, what the-" He stopped midsentence because his eyes found what caused Ziva to stop.

Josh lay sprawled and face down on the pavement, riddled with bullet holes. Dried blood stained the ground all around him as if it were paint on a drywall. Jimmy gently rolled him over to find part of his face blown off. He looked up to find more blood about twenty yards away.

"We've got a blood trail," he announced.

Before they had a chance to follow it, a man came running towards them, screaming for them to run. It took them a moment to realize the man was Tony. None of them ran because they were shocked that they had just stumbled upon Tony. They only began to run when they heard gunshots.

Tim, who was still recovering, stumbled and fell. Tony ran back to him and tried yanking him to his feet. The cold steel tip of a gun met the back of his head and he stiffened. Slowly, he stood up with his hands raised over his head and turned to face his attacker.

Gibbs's finger hovered over the trigger of the gun, daring Tony to try and run. Gibbs's normally brilliant eyes sparkled with madness. His brain didn't register that he was about to shoot the man who was like a son to him.

Before Gibbs could pull the trigger, McGee, who was still on the ground, swept Gibbs's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a thud and Tony ripped the gun from his hand. McGee held Gibbs down and the others emerged from behind a ruined building. Gibbs's eyes bored right through them, but when he saw Jimmy, a relieved look washed over his face.

"Palmer," he stuttered, "I see them everywhere."

Tony was quick to explain. "He thinks Joe Henderson killed us."

Jimmy nodded. "Come on, Agent Gibbs, it's freezing out here. We will get some shelter."

McGee let him stand up and Gibbs trustingly followed him. Jimmy examined the wound on Gibbs's arm, which was still dripping blood. Then he set Tony's nose. Fornell watched as the bone snapped back into place. For some reason, Gibbs didn't believe he was real either.

"Hey, DiNutso," Fornell called. "What happened to your face?"

"Gibbs hit me," Tony growled through clenched teeth.

The rest of the walk home was silent. As they entered the subway, their ears picked up the rare sound of a helicopter slicing through the air. They all quickly hurried inside and closed the grate covering their entrance. They ran through the tunnels, warning everyone of what they heard.

Ducky was mildly surprised when the whole gang came running in. He didn't listen to what they were all screaming about. He quickly put a wet rag on Tony's nose and began to tend to Gibbs's arm. He cleaned it to the best of his ability and sewed it up.

Tony held the rag to his nose, which occasionally dripped blood. He couldn't believe Gibbs had hit him! He had to keep reminding himself that Gibbs wasn't himself. The Gibbs he knew wouldn't intentionally hurt him. Tony ached, not because of his nose, but because Gibbs was dying.

Gibbs sat on the edge of a cot examining his stitches and fingering a piece of paper in his pocket. The paper was important, he just couldn't remember why. His mind didn't process what it said anyway, so he let himself forget about it.

In the distance, he heard bombs go off.


I want to apologize for any typos in this chapter. I usually read them over again before I post them, but I was too lazy. Anyway, I'm in the process of typing chapter 9. So chapter 8 is ready to be posted, I just need to find time to do that. Oh, and nobody reviewed last chapter! That makes me sad. I like reviews. Reviews are cool. Okay, one more thing before I shut up and leave you alone, I promise! So me and Charlie both think that NCIS tonight is gonna suck. Reasons? First, it will have a lot of Vance in it, and nobody likes Vance because he's a jerk who probably kicks puppies in his free time. And...well, that's actually pretty much it. And while I'm on the subject of NCIS, who else thinks that Dr. Ryan has some ulterior motive for wanting to be with Gibbs? Me and Charlie think she's a Russian contract killer hired to kill Gibbs. And have any of you noticed that a lot of bad guys on TV are Russian? Or am I just crazy? Well, I am crazy, but...oh, just ignore me. I'm gonna shut up and go before this authors note turns into an essay.