A/N -I am working hard to get updates done since I have to take advantage of the few moments I have available to write! But I am with you in your eagerness to see what happens next, I never know for sure what i am going to write until I start going - it just comes to me somehow and I am enjoying this one! I hope you all still are as well!!

Last Time One The Long Flight Home . . .

"Now if we don't make it through this landing – do not – I repeat, DO NOT stop investigating or you will lose precious time. Start with the Hangar where this plane was housed and maintained last before we took off in it. Look up flight number Charlie Delta 77319 Zebra – and any maintenance personnel who had any contact with this cargo plane at any time over the past week. Then you need to look towards all of Mossad – starting with Director Eli. Now that's all I have time for so, get moving!"

"Uh okay Boss yeah right away. And Boss - good luck." McGee added, his voice almost giving away his shock, nervousness and fear as he ran to pack a few things so he could head directly to the Airport straight from NCIS. He said a silent prayer for flight CD77319Z and all of the people inside.

~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~

The Long Flight Home

Chapter IX

On Board Flight CD77319Z – Circling the Sky Above Annapolis . . .

As Gibbs was buckling himself into the seat nearest the still unconscious Tony, Vance was heading towards them after having gone to get a sit rep from the Pilots.

"Well?" Gibbs asked him immediately.

"They are going to try one more thing to get the emergency system to release the landing gear. If they can't then it look-"

Both men went completely silent as they suddenly heard the obvious sound of the plane's wheels as they finally dropped into place – proving that whatever measures the Pilots had just tried, had been successful. "Thank God!" Vance was the first to speak as he felt rejuvenated with the relief of knowing they would not have to go through the extremely risky and rough landing with out the gear in place.

Gibbs couldn't help but smile to signal his own relief since he knew Tony would most likely not make it if they had to land the plane bare bottom so to speak. His relief was short lived as the Pilots took advantage of the rarely used intercom system to make a quick announcement.

"I am sure you all knew what that sound was but I do have to warn you that the landing gear may still be somewhat compromised due to damage. It didn't sound like it locked into place as firmly as it should have and trust me, years of flying has allowed me to be able to detect even the slightest change in any of the usual sounds.

We will handle landing as smoothly and cautiously as we possible can but once I give you the signal, you will still need to resume the crash position as a precaution. We are going to attempt to land in about 5 minutes, we are just waiting for the all clear as they are clearing the runway area of any other nearby planes. God bless us all." he added the latter part because he was a devout Catholic and he found prayer to be both soothing and helpful when he was faced with risky landings.

Gibbs and Vance exchanged silent looks of concern and disappointment – their earlier burst of hope somewhat faltering now. Both men tried to keep their hope alive no matter how slight it had become.

Gibbs looked down to check on Tony once more before landing. He could see some blood leaking through the layers of gauze on his head, but not enough to worry about since the cut he had sustained was not very long, it was deep but still not anything to worry about. He was starting to sleep a little more restlessly as the earlier injection of Morphine began to abate. Gibbs just hoped it kept him out though the upcoming landing.

Neither Gibbs nor Vance spoke again as they waited for the Pilot's announcement that they would be landing.

Back at NCIS . . .

Abby was in her lab talking out loud to her many hi-tech machines as she processed evidence for some of the other teams at NCIS. Gibbs team would always be her favorite but when it came to doing her job, she had to treat all evidence and every team the same in that regard. She turned her head upon hearing the telltale sound of the sliding door to the lab, announcing someone's arrival.

"McGee! Ducky! Gosh I've missed you guys, it's been like – 3 hours since I have spoken to anyone on Team Gibbs! And you two are right here!! There is no excuse, you know I get lonely if no one even bothers to-"

"Abby!" Tim spoke up and interrupted her ramble – knowing that Abby could go on for at least another 3-5 minutes with just one endless stream of words. "Sorry to cut you off but this is important!" he explained.

"What? What is it McGee?! You never look that serious unless something bad has happened! Oh my gosh is it Gibbs? Did something happen to Gibbs?! Oh no - what would we do without Gibbs?! I mean, we already had to get by without him once when he took off to Mexico and all but, we all kinda knew he would be coming back. I mean how could he resist- oh, sorry Timmy!! I ramble when I get nervous. Just tell me what it is and get it over with." she said as she grabber her nearby hippo Bert and quickly sat down on the nearest stool, hugging the noisy animal closely to her chest.

"Abigail, you must calm down." Ducky insisted, "It's not healthy to get so riled up my dear girl."

"Abbs – everything is fine, well sort of. Gibbs called me and he needs us all to fly to Annapolis as soon as possible. But there is someone who is hurt but he's holding his own so I need you to try to stay calm -" his words were cut off as Abby took off on another verbal rampage.

"Ohmygosh-ohmygosh! Who Timmy tell me WHO?!! It's Tony again isn't it?! I know it is – cuz it's always him! Vance should never have made him go on that really long trip when he is still healing from that fight!! What is the-"

"Abby you need to shut up and let me finish dammit! We don't have time for this." McGee's own stress caused by the pressure of being in charge at a critical time when he did not want to let down his boss, but that stress was combined with worry about Tony and the unstable plane that he and Gibbs were on – it all got the best of him as he reacted in a way that was as unnatural for McGee, as smiling was for Gibbs.

"Sorry Abbs, I'm sorry – I just – we . . . we have to get some work done before we leave so we don't have time for any extra – anything. Can you forgive me?" he asked her with all the sincerity he could muster.

"You know Gibbs would headslap you a good one for apologizing?" she said, smiling to make sure he knew she accepted it and was shutting up.

"Thanks. Now I brought Ducky down here because Gibbs already filled him in on some things and Gibbs asked me to garner both of you to help with some investigative research that he needs us to do and bring with us when we meet them in Annapolis. Gibbs didn't tell me what is going on with Tony, he just said I should have Ducky explain so to save time, I wanted him to just fill us in together so we can get started on the list of things Gibbs needs us to do." he stopped and turned to Ducky.''

Ducky realized that was his cue so he brought them up to speed.

"I received a call from Gibbs from the satellite phone they had on the plane. It turns out that some of the injuries that Tony sustained during his altercation with Michael Rivkin, had somehow been aggravated to the point where I believe his spleen may have encountered a small tear. The concern is that the flight that has been somewhat rough according to Jethro, if severe enough it could cause the tear to become larger and therefore more life threatening. But they do have an ambulance on stand by that will be ready and waiting to rush him to the nearest Medical Center.

Now I have already placed a call to a former associate of mine whom is now a top Trauma Surgeon at that very Hospital. He said he would be on site and awaiting the arrival of the ambulance. Tony will be in very good hands."

Abby's eyes filled with too many tears for her large eyes to contain, as the overflow finally rolled down her cheeks taking some of her thick black mascara along for the ride. She didn't let it deter her from what needed to be done, in fact if anything it had only propelled her into action.

"Okay then teammates, we have a fallen comrade to get to so let's get moving and do what needs to be done so we can get on a flight sooner rather than later!" she commanded as she slid immediately into professional work mode, rising from her seat she quickly set Bert down on the stool and turned to await further instructions from McGee.

"Okay McGee – what do you need me to do!"

Flight CD77319Z – As it Begins to Descend Towards the Runway . . .

The announcement they had been waiting for came just 5 minutes after the Pilot's last announcement.

"Okay all, we have received the all clear to go ahead and land this bird so, nows the time to assume the position as they say." he uttered, trying to keep things light since panic and worry never helped anything.

As the plane approached the long runway, getting closer and closer, the Pilot made a quick sign of the cross as he said one last prayer for a safe landing.

The tires of the massive plane got closer and closer to their final destination, a thin layer of foam covered the main path of the runway making it deceptively appear to be almost cushioned with the thick, white substance – as if landing on it would be as soft as laying on a thick pillow top mattress. Unfortunately, he knew that was not going to be the case.

The Pilots allowed the tires to briefly touch the runway, that was a normal part of beginning to land but in this case it was also to test the stability of the landing gear as they bounced lightly once, then twice, but then on the third touch down onto the hard surface and still going at an extremely high rate of speed – there was a loud CRAACCKK that could be heard for miles as the landing gear suddenly collapsed having been unable to lock firmly into place as it gave into the damage it had received during the earlier explosion that had weakened it's integrity.

The gear completely crumbled under the massive weight of the cargo plane sending the plane down hard onto the runway with massive sparks flying in every direction as the metal parts of the broken gear, and the bottom of the plane itself, hit with enough impact to severely jar everyone inside!

Emergency vehicles started moving slowly, Fire Engines ready to descend upon the plane at every angle once it finally slid to a stop – though no one knowing how far it would go before it finally came to a stop, or what shape it would be in when it did! There were two ambulances ready to pounce as well, having already been informed of the critical patient inside the potential death trap.

Both the Pilot and the Co-Pilot cussed simultaneously upon realizing what had transpired. They were sweating from exertion as they fought to manually control the nearly out of control plane as it wobbled and skidded forward with the nose of the plane turning slightly right and then back towards the left. With the landing gear rendered useless they now had to rely on other, less ideal ways to slow the plane down.

The first action was to utilize the many flaps the plane had including what were referred to as 'spoilers' that were typically used in conjunction with the wheel brakes. The Pilots began to flip switches frantically to maneuver the flaps and spoilers into various positions in order to alter the airflow and hence lessen the speed with which they were hurtling down the long runway. Another means to the safe end they were hoping to achieve was to activate the reverse thrust and once the plane had finally begun to slow to a much slower estimated speed, they would kill the power on the only two remaining engines that were still running – shutting them off prematurely would compromise the plane's trajectory and could be catastrophic to say the least!

Even with all they had accomplished so far, it seemed as though time stood still while they continued to slide and fight to keep the plan from turning and then even worse, rolling which could happen in the blink of an eye at any point during the ultra dramatic landing.

In the passenger and cargo section of the plane where Vance, Gibbs and Tony were housed, Gibbs and Leon assumed the crash positions and held on tightly as they felt the initial touch down onto the runway, it seemed normal enough so far but they continued to unknowingly hold their breath as they felt the second 'bounce' that was slightly rougher than the first. Everything had seemed to be proceeding nicely thus far while only a little bit rougher than a normal landing.

But that was until they felt the third and most distinct touch down that was significantly harder than the first two, the jarring impact was immediately followed by the loudest cracking noise like nothing they had ever heard before! They could feel the impact of the wheels collapsing almost directly beneath them as their bodies were heaved forward to the point that the seat harnesses threatened to cut into their skin right through their clothing. Then just as quickly they were thrown backwards against the backs of their seats, their necks being subjected to enough of a jolt to leave them both with a bad case of whiplash for certain. They continued to brace themselves as best they could, as they continued to be tossed in almost every other direction as the plane careened and slid from left to right struggling to right itself without rolling. Gibbs kept trying to check on his now semi-unconscious agent, concerned by the intense groans of pain that were escaping Tony's lips as the trauma of being shaken around like leaves in a wind storm, managed to rattle his stretcher and aggravate his broken ribs and arm – as well as his throbbing head - basically forcing him back to consciousness.

Both men could hear numerous items and parts of the plane that had been shaken free from the severe impact, some of the cabinets had been thrown open as their latches drastically shifted due most likely to the shocking collision of the plane's bare bottom as it struck the concrete runway hard! Some of the many reinforced seams throughout the massive plane began to moan from the added strain that threatened to pull them apart, compromised from the forced expansion and retraction of the outer hull of the plane as it fought to resist the urge to pull itself apart.

Vance was so busy praying for his own life, begging to survive and to be allowed to see his family once again, that he didn't even notice as Gibbs began to release his own seat harnesses which would essentially put him in severe jeopardy of being hurt or worse – killed – if the plane were to suddenly roll and begin tossing him about the plane like the ice inside a martini shaker.

But as soon as Gibbs had noticed the various items and even parts of the plane that had begun falling from seemingly every angle of the plane, he knew that it was up to him to shield his Senior Field Agent since Tony had been completely exposed to every falling danger around them since he hadn't been able to assume the semi-protective crash position like the others had.

Jethro, without giving the slightest amount of thought to his own wellbeing, had quickly freed himself and then threw himself down to cover Tony's prone body with his own as cautiously as he could so as not to jar the stretcher – or Tony.

Smoke was starting to fill the cabin for the second time during the endless flight, caused after the sparks beneath the plane had turned into full out flames as though the fire suppressant foam retardant consisted of nothing more than shaving cream!

Knowing that he would be of no help to Tony whatsoever, if he were to become thrown off of his post as a literal body guard, Gibbs took one of his arms and grabbed one of the nearby harness straps that was still dangling down from his seat, he then proceeded to wrap the thick strap around and around his forearm to give him something to hold onto while they continued to be thrashed around. He then took a second to assess his agent looking for any sign that he was going further down hill. He was relieved to see that Tony looked roughly the same as he had when they first got him onto the stretcher. Though his eyes were only barely starting to blink as he was still fighting his way back towards consciousness - the sounds of the screeching and tearing metal beneath them was ear shattering in it's volume – almost echoing throughout the nearly silent plane as everyone still held their breaths periodically, not knowing how this was going to end.

Finally breaking the disturbing echo, distress calls could now be heard from the direction of the cockpit as the Co-Pilot started to yell every procedure out loud for the flight tower to hear through their open frequency. He ran through each and every course of action that was part of the emergency protocol now that he was finally able to speak. Up to that point he and the Captain had been far too focused on controlling the precarious state of the plane but once they felt they had established some level of control, they knew they had to verbally announce each move since the infamous 'Black Box' would be used to determine what happened and the information would be used whether the ending result was a positive one, or a negative and deadly outcome.

To Be Continued . . .

A/N - I chose this place to stop just to keep the suspense and excitement of the long awaited landing going! I hope that's okay with all of you. I will make every effort to get the next update done in the next day or two since I know I hate waiting for updates on my favorite stories when they get to this climatic stage. PLEASE KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING – THEY REALLY DO EXCITE AND INCENT ME TO UPDATE ASAP!! THANK YOU ALL :-)

BnB