Ducky and company emerged from the woods onto the roadway just in front of the gates to The Winslow Mining Company. The security guard at the entrance was already aghast having seen a helicopter land in the parking lot and the local sheriff and doctor demanding that the gates be opened. Now seeing the three men carrying another appear from the thicket barely caused him to raise an eyebrow. The picture was becoming clearer to him at least as he approached the two men and offered to help. Ducky gratefully relinquished his corner of the make shift stretcher. He was exhausted. Tony noticed this and was a little concerned.

"Are you alright, Duck?" he asked, realising how tired Ducky looked.

"I'm fine thank you, Anthony," Ducky replied. "Don't worry about me. Let's just get Jethro to the ambulance."

Tony didn't argue as his elderly colleague led the way. As they walked through the gates, the paramedics from the helicopter rushed to meet them. Ducky explained Gibbs' injuries and recommended that they get him to the hospital as a matter of priority. The paramedics agreed and they quickly began loading him into the ambulance.

As they were doing so another patrol car screeched to a halt just inside the gates. Jackson Gibbs ran from the vehicle towards them. Tony and Ducky turned and stopped him.

"Where is he? I need to see him," Jackson shouted, trying to be heard above the roar of the rotor blades.

"Just let them work, Jack. You can see him in just a minute. They're getting him secured for the flight. You'll be able to go with him," Tony shouted back, as he looked over at the still unconscious figure being lifted into the helicopter.

The three concerned men watched helplessly as the paramedics did their jobs. Finally the helicopter pilot shouted to them that they were ready for take off.

"We've room for two more," he told them. The men looked at each other, each wanting to be with Gibbs. There was no question about Jackson going.

"You go, Duck," Tony insisted. There was no argument as one of the paramedics assisted Ducky to climbed aboard. "Where are you taking him?" Tony asked just before they closed the doors.

"Mercy Hospital, Allentown," he replied before closing the door and signalling to the pilot to take off.

Tony and the other onlookers backed away as the downdraft increased and the Medivac Helicopter slowly rose into the evening sky. Tony watched the blinking light of the helicopter until it disappeared from sight. Then he asked the deputy for a ride back to where they had left his car. It was dark by the time they reached it. Tony thanked the deputy and tiredly sat back into his sedan. As the deputy drove away, Tony sat holding on to the steering wheel his head bowed, allowing the emotions that he'd been bottling up for the last two days to spill out. To Tony, losing his boss would have been like losing a member of his family. It was unthinkable. This day had been a rollercoaster. Being told Gibbs was dead had really shaken him. Then finding him alive felt like a miracle. Now, he just prayed that they had reached him on time. He took a deep breath and wiped away his tears with his sleeve. Composing himself, he started the car and turned to head back to Stillwater. He knew Abby, Ziva and McGee would be wondering what was going on.

As he arrived back in the sleepy town, there was little activity on the street. When he turned down the street towards Gus' house he saw Abby waiting anxiously on the pavement. She rushed to the car as he pulled up.

"Tony! Where is he?" she called as he opened the car door. She noticed his red, puffy eyes. "Oh no, tell me he's okay," she pleaded.

"He's on his way to hospital, Abs. He was in bad shape when they took him," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and guiding her back into the house. Once inside he was able to update the rest of the team and Gus on the events of the evening. They were all relieved and anxious at the same time. They were eager to get to the hospital and so they wasted no time in beginning their journey to Allentown.

Meanwhile, the helicopter was landing on the roof of the Mercy Hospital. There was a trauma team waiting to greet them. They whisked Gibbs from the roof top to the elevator and down to the Emergency Room. All the while both his father and Ducky remained at his side. They stood aside as Gibbs clothes were cut of him and the medical team determined the extent of his injuries. They then covered him with a thermal blanket to bring his core temperature up. Ducky paid careful attention to what was going on, trying to pick up any snippets of information he could. Jackson also listened carefully but didn't really understand the implications of the stats and medical jargon that was flying around the room. Then a nurse approached them.

"Why don't you gentlemen wait outside?" she suggested, ushering them out whether they liked it or not. "We'll be monitoring him for a while and then we'll send him for a head CT. I'll come and get you if there's any change."

"Okay, thank you," Ducky said, showing Jackson to a row of seats on the corridor outside the Trauma Room. Ducky looked at the confused and worried expression of Jackson Gibbs and was adamant to try and help him understand what was happening with his son.

"He's in the right place you know, Jack," he began. "They're trying to stabilise him right now. His core body temperature is low, causing a low pulse rate. THey need to rehydrate him and warm him up. When his stats improve, they'll do a head CT," he continued. "Do you know what that is?"

"Some kind of x-ray?" he answered, looking anxiously into Ducky's face.

"That's right. They'll use it to check for any bleeding on his brain or other internal injuries," Ducky explained. Ducky squeezed Jack's shoulder. "He's strong, Jack. He'll be okay," he said confidently.

The two men sat patiently and waited. Ducky left only once to get them both coffees. Eventually the nurse returned.

"We're about to bring him upstairs for his CT. If you'd like to see him, you can go in now for a few minutes," she said kindly. Both men stood and followed her.

Gibbs remained unconscious on the gurney, attached to monitors and tubes. His eyes were swollen and bruised. The ghastly gash on his head was covered with gauze but his silver hair still looked black from the coal dust in the mine. It was still matted with dried blood although someone had obviously attempted to clean the blood from his neck and face. The sight sickened Jackson. This was his only son, his only family, his legacy. Timidly he approached the gurney. He was almost afraid to touch his son. He took Jethro's hand gently between in his own and softly brushed his bruised face with the back of his other hand as any father would to his child.

"Leroy," he whispered. "It's me, Dad. You're going to be okay, you hear me son?" He turned to Ducky and asked, "Can he hear me, Dr. Mallard?"

"I'm not sure," Ducky replied. "But you should keep talking to him. I expect he knows you're there."

The doctor treating Gibbs returned and told them that he was going up to have his scan. Ducky watched the touching scene as Jackson kissed his son on his forehead. Whatever had gone one between them, his father's love had never diminished, he thought. They left the room and returning to the waiting area. They watched as Gibbs was wheeled to the elevator and taken upstairs. They waited for what seemed like an age before the doctor returned.

"The scan shows a small depressed fracture in the temporal bone of his skull. There is some swelling but the good news is that there's no bleeding so we won't need to operate. However, he will require surgery on his knee but we'd rather wait until he's stronger before undertaking any surgery. He's being settled in to an ICU bed on the 3rd floor if you'd like to see him," the doctor explained.

"Thank you Doctor. Might I ask how you propose to treat the brain injury?" Ducky enquired, preferring to know as much as he can.

"We'll start him on Mannitol. It's usually very effective in traumatic brain injury. Then I'll arrange that he take a series of anti-convulsant drugs for the next week or so, just as a precaution," he explained.

"Thank you, Doctor," Jackson said, shaking the doctor's hand. "Thank you."

Jackson and Ducky took the elevator and proceeded to the ICU. They were shown to Gibbs room by an attractive young nurse. The room was dimly lit and Gibbs lay there ever so still. His father took position at the head of the bed and began to speak words of reassurance to his son once more. Ducky was relieved to see that Gibbs pallor had improved and that he looked much better than the last time he had seen him. Automatically he picked up the chart at the end of Gibbs' bed and studied it silently. Then he sat, reassured men and willed him to wake.

Keep going...we're nearly there. Just one more chapter!