Guardian Angel - Chapter 10

"Okay, so we're about making our way down...White Rocks Trail. We need to watch out for a signpost designating the spur to Cave Falls." Tim said as he studied the map. "If we make good time we should be at the cabin by lunchtime."

Gibbs checked his watch and sighed heavily when he saw that it was only 0830. He really hoped that Tim had allowed for breaks in there because he wasn't sure how they'd all do on a hike that long.

"Cave Falls?" Ziva asked. "Sounds nice."

"Yeah." Tim replied distractedly. "The sign is on the south side of the trail and that's where the spur head steeply downhill to Cave Falls. Once it bottoms out, that's where we cross the river."

"How the hell do you know this stuff, Probie? Not like you've done much hiking...ever!" Tony snorted and was rewarded by a sharp blow to the back of his head. "Hey..."

"McGee had the good sense to actually talk to the rangers on the way up DiNozzo. If you weren't too busy sleeping, you would have heard what the route entailed." Tony looked at his boss sheepishly.

"Sorry, Boss. Probie, you said we gotta cross a river? It's gonna be freaking freezing in there!"

"I know, Tony. That's the only way across though. I checked. And you're wrong about me never hiking. You forget I was a Cub Scout in my youth?"

"But we're gonna get wet!"

"DiNozzo." Gibbs finished rummaging around his bag and pulled out three small, clear packs. He tossed one to each of his agents and closed his bag.

"Wiggy's Waders?" Tim asked. "Boss?"

"Dad had some in the store last time I was there. Thought they might come in useful."

"What are they?" Ziva asked as she stowed the pack in her own bag.

"Waterproofs. Slip em over your legs and pull the drawstring round the top of your leg. They'll keep you dry."

"How deep is the water?" Tony asked with a worried tone knowing that if the water was deep, then the waterproofs that the boss had just given him wouldn't help. "I mean what if..."

"About knee level. It's not deep, Tony. Don't worry; the only thing to remember is getting across quickly because of the cold. Just make sure you've got your thermals on." Tim grinned and followed suite as Gibbs let them onwards once again.

***NCIS***

"Oh my!" Ziva stood at the top of the falls looking down with a look of pure awe on her face. It was always a surprise that she found wonder in the sheer beauty that surrounded her; especially given how hard she could seem sometimes. "It is breathtaking, yes?"

"It is." Tim agreed from a few feet behind her and turned to see Tony glancing over the edge.

"Probie, thought you were scared of heights?"

"Why do you think I'm staying back here?"

"Good point. So, McOrienteer, where too now?" Tim cringed at the new name and shook his head.

"That's terrible. Really, terrible. Boss, we need to follow that trail down to the bottom. When we cross the falls, the map becomes pretty much redundant and we have to follow the instructions that the rangers gave. We've got a couple of hours of bushwhacking to get through before we hit the cabin."

"What do we do then?" Ziva asked. "Surely we are not going in dumb."

Gibbs turned to her with a frown and shook his head. "Blind Ziva and no, we're not. We're gonna sit tight and scope out the situation before goin' in."

"Sorry, blind what?"

"Going in blind." Tony supplied with a grin and moved away from the edge of the fall just in case Ziva decided to throw him over.

"Oh. So, is Natasha alone up there? It will make it easier that way, though not as much fun. Gibbs, how are we going to get her back to the car?"

"Cuff her and hike her back." Gibbs answered gruffly. "DiNozzo! You alright?"

"Yeah, Boss. I'm good." Tony replied and replaced the cap on the inhaler that he had dug out and used. "Just the thin air. Nothing to worry about."

"You need longer?"

"Nope. Let's get this show on the road." He grinned and followed when Gibbs led on once again. He glanced at the sky. Tim had told him that there would be storms heading their way, but that was last night and the most they got was a couple of showers. Now though, the sky was getting darker and darker and the clouds that rolled over were practically black. Great! He thought; that's all we need.

Just as the trail bottomed out, a huge clap of thunder sounded overhead and the heavens opened up. It wasn't just a small rain shower either; no, the deluge of water that fell had them all soaked to their skin before they had a chance to pull on their coats.

"Jesus! I'm soaked!" Tony grumbled through the hood of his parker as they walked down the trail to the crossing point of the river. "Fat lot of good the waterproofs are gonna be at this rate."

"I know, Tony. But at least the waders will give us some protection." Tim soothed. "I wouldn't want to be crossing that without them." Tim pointed to the river and cringed when the wind battered the water making it look choppy and impossible to cross.

"We're gonna cross that?" Tony replied with horror. "How the hell are we gonna get across? We'll be swept away!"

"It's not that deep, DiNozzo and we're gonna be tethered." Gibbs had pulled off his backpack and was uncoiling the rope that had been hanging off the front of it. "I'll go first. Ziva, you're behind me, then Tony and Tim, you've got our six."

"Got it, Boss." Tim walked towards Gibbs and crouched down in front of him. "You want help?"

"You know how to tie knots, McGee?"

"You saw me storm lash a tent last night, didn't ya." Tim grinned "Knot's are no problem. Fomer Cub Scout, here, remember?"

"Okay, put on your waders. Once you've all got em on, we'll make a start tethering."

It didn't take long for Tim to pull on the waders and once he was sure that everyone else had followed suite, he started the job of tying the rope securely around Tony and Ziva. They were tied together with only an arm's reach of distance between them so that they could grab the person in front if need be.

"This is cosy, Zee-vah." Tony drawled but winced when Gibbs issued another head slap before helping Tim tie him at the head of the human train.

"What about you, McGee?." Gibbs asked. "You need help?"

"I'm good, Boss." Tim answered with a smile. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Let me know. Just make sure it'll hold."

"Will do." Tim finished what he was doing and moved down the line to pick up the long length that was left. He made quick work of tying a strong knot and gave the signal that they could start moving.

"Alright, listen up! Put a hand on shoulder in front and follow their lead. DO NOT stray of course because the water is gonna be rough as it is." Gibbs was shouting at the top of his lungs to be heard over the wind, rain and turbulent water before him. "If you see someone going down, then try and stop their fall because you're goin' down with em otherwise." He took one tentative step into the water and balked slightly at the shock of the fast moving, freezing cold water.

"Oh. My. God!" Tony exclaimed once he was in.

He carried on and felt the water rising up to his knees and missed Ziva's hiss behind him. Tim held his breath and tried to prepare himself for the sharp sting of cold that he was bound to feel through the layers that covered his legs and sure enough, the initial sting of the cold stole his breath away, but he pushed forward through the pain and they were soon making good progress towards the other side. The cold soon gave way to numbness and Tim thanked his lucky stars that the river wasn't that wide and they would soon be at the other bank and into the woodland that would hopefully, provide them with some shelter.

So far so good, McGee. Come on, you can do it. Tim's mental mantra kept him going, but about three quarters of the way across he stumbled and the poles he was using slipped out of his grasp, only to hang loosely around his wrists by the straps. With a curse that no one would hear, he was left with no choice but to put his hands out in the hope that he would be able to grab onto Tony, and stop both himself and everyone else from tumbling into the freezing water. Unfortunately, the rope in between him and Tony was slightly longer than the ropes that he had tied around the rest of his team members, and his arms dipped into the frigid water below, catching the bottom enough so that he could stop himself from falling. His hands soon wrapped around the poles again and he was able to use them to regain his footing and move forward quickly enough that there was little disruption in the line of people crossing the river.

Tim saw Tony turn slightly at the tug of the rope and realised that the length had pretty much hung loose all the way across.

"Keep going, Tony!" he shouted above the wind and saw his friend nod once. It didn't take long for them to reach the other side and Tim made quick work of releasing everyone from the ropes that bound them.

"I'm f...freezing." He said to Gibbs as he untied the secure knot he had made. "C...could do with a hot d...drink."

"Tim...McGee! Look at me!" Gibbs commanded and cupped his youngest agent's chin so that Tim had no choice but to look at him. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothing." Tim stuttered out as he shivered. "I k...kinda s...s...stumbled a bit put used my a...arms to steady myself."

"That the tug I felt?" Tony asked. "I thought you'd just fallen behind."

"You didn't look?" Gibbs shouted, the effect not being lost over the noise of the storm because of the glare. He turned back to Tim. "You fall in completely?"

Tim shook his head and ripped off his soaked gloves so that he could blow into his hands. "N...no. Just dipped my arms. I...I'll warm up as s...soon as we start moving and get out of this rain."

"Alright. Let's get moving. DiNozzo! Ziva! We're gonna keep going till we find somewhere to use for shelter, then we're gonna stop for a break."

Tim looked aghast. There was no way they were going to find shelter out here and the best course of action would be to just keep on moving until they reached the cabin. He'd soon warm up. "Boss. I..."

"You are gonna put these on and keep your fingers movin'. The water wasn't cold enough for hypothermia or frost bite, but you still need to warm up." Gibbs handed Tim his spare thermal gloves that he packed just in case he needed them. "Come on."

They got moving again and were soon deep in the woodlands, hiking through the back country of Hazel Mountain. If the weather hadn't been so dire, then it would have been beautiful. As it stood, the storm was starting to hit with a vengeance and the wind was starting to really kick up, lashing the heavy rain sharply against their exposed faces.

"Boss!" Tony yelled ten minutes later from where he and Ziva had take point. "There's some kind of ledge small cave over there." Gibbs followed Tony's finger and saw that there was a wall of rock with a natural hollow in it that would provide some shelter from the wind and the rain. He nodded at Tony and steered Tim in that direction, following in the footsteps of his other two agents.

Once they were all huddled under the overhand, Gibbs was relieved to see that the two small walls at either side of them protected them from the worst of the wind and that the depth of the cave meant that the small patch of ground in front of them was relatively dry. "Ziva, I'm gonna try and get a small fire going because we need something hot to drink. You think you and DiNozzo can use something as a wind guard?"

"I think so, maybe one of the sleeping bags will work while you try and light the fire, yes?"

"Worth a try." Gibbs pulled some kindling and bracken that he had packed away.

"Um, Boss? I don't wan...Why do you have that in your bag?" Tim asked as he rubbed his hands together in an effort to chase away the cold.

"You told us there was a storm on the way last night. Thought it might come in handy." Gibbs replied as he set up the basis for the fire. Tim moved forward from where he was huddled in the corner of the makeshift shelter to help. "Stay there, McGee. We're wet, but the rain isn't as cold as that water was and I want you to dry off a bit first. Good job you got that waterproof coat."

"Yeah. I c...can't warm up t...though B...Boss. My hands are still fre...freezing."

"I know. We'll get this fire started soon enough. How're your legs doing?"

"Cold, but d...dryer." Tim admitted ruefully. Gibbs soon had the kindling surrounded by a tepee of dry wood and lit the fire using a windproof lighter he had packed.

"Gibbs, how is this?" Ziva asked as she stepped in from the storm with Tony beside her. The Boss looked at the makeshift wind breaker and grinned.

"It's good. What'd you use?" Gibbs eyed their handy work and had to admit that it was effective and left enough of a gap to let the smoke from the fire vent out.

"My sleeping bag and the rope. Ziva had a knife tucked away in an ankle sheath, so we used that to make the holes in the corners." Tony shrugged and sank down next to Tim. "Primitive, but it works. I kinda feel like that guy...what's his name? You know Man versus Wild?"

Tim thought about it for a minute and drew a blank until he heard Ziva pipe up. "Bear Grylls. I watch that programme. It is very entertaining."

"Woah! Ziva, you watch that?" Tony's surprised question made Tim chuckle. "Seriously, Probie, she watches that?"

"Why not?" Tim answered with a shrug. "I've only watched a couple of them. Why does it surprise you that Zee likes stuff like that?"

"Dunno, just does."

"I am very eclectic in my tastes, Tony. I like many things. I have told you this before, yes?" Ziva added with a twinkle in her eye. "Gibbs, have you ever watched the programme."

"Nope." Gibbs answered quickly and set about using the fire to boil the water in the camping stove. "No time."

"Busy building your boats, Boss?"

"Not right now, Tony. Christmas is a couple of months away, so I'm makin' toys like I do every year."

Everyone fell silent and watched Gibbs set up the stainless steel camping mugs, ready for when the water has boiled. In true testament to how much he knew his agents, he set about preparing their favourite drinks and within minutes, the men were enjoying hot, steaming mugs of coffee and Ziva a perfectly brewed mug of tea.

"Hey, Boss. There water left in that kettle?" Tim asked.

"No, but we can boil more. Why?"

Tim placed his mug down on the floor and fumbled in his bag for a moment before pulling out two small thermos flasks. "We can fill these so we don't have to stop again. We've got a couple of hours of hiking ahead of us, and if the storm keeps going, then we might need a hot drink later on."

"Good thinkin', McGee." Gibbs praised and took the offered flasks. "Coffee alright with you, Ziva?"

"That is fine. At this point, anything hot and wet is more than acceptable." Gibbs huffed out a short laugh and filled the kettle once again.

"It's gonna be gone lunchtime by the time we get there. I'm guessing mid afternoon with the storm and the breaks. How do we know Natasha's still going to be at the cabin?" Tim asked from where he was still huddled in the corner, only now, he was nursing the hot drink in between both his hands; leeching the warmth and letting it warm his cold numbed hands.

"We don't."

"What if she bolts, Boss?" Tony picked up the thread of the conversation with a frown.

"She won't get far." Gibbs replied. "Vance has got LEO's on every exit into and out of Shenandoah until we catch her."

"How'd he manage that?"

"Don't know. Don't care, McGee." Gibbs' lips quirked up slightly at the question because sometimes, Tim could seem so desperately innocent. Truth be told, he found it refreshing; damned if he hadn't thought about the fact that this job could strip that from his agents in a heartbeat and they'd all put up with more than their fair share of crap over the years.

"Fair enough." Tim drained the rest of his coffee and used some of his water to rinse out his mug.

"Better?"

"Tons. Thanks, Boss. Sorry for holding us all up." Tim flushed slightly and handed the mug back to Gibbs.

"Don't apologise. Sign of weakness." He collected in the other mugs and followed Tim's lead with rinsing them out. Once that was done, he set about putting out the small fire whilst Tony took down his sleeping bag and rolled it up again.

"Damn, it's soaked through!"

"It'll dry. You guys ready?" Gibbs asked and waited for the universal agreement that told him his agents were ready start the last leg of their hike in the wilderness.