Ducky and Gibbs spoke to the paramedics who had arrived on scene. They provided Ducky with a medical bag filled to the brim with supplies. Once he had everything he needed he walked cautiously up towards the house.
Gibbs made the call to Lopez and told him that the doctor was outside and asked if he would let him in. Lopez agreed. Gibbs nodded to Ducky who slowly approached the house. He strode to the front door and knocked. After a minute the door opened a crack and Lopez allowed him to enter. He instructed Ducky to drop the bag and patted him down to search for concealed weapons. Satisfied when he found nothing, he allowed Ducky into the living room.
The sight that greeted Ducky caused him great concern. Tony sat on the floor with his back to the sofa. There was dried blood on his lip and his eye and cheek were bruised and swollen. His hands were bound behind his back. Tony's eyes widened with surprise when he saw Ducky enter the room. Ducky gave a wink and a slight shake of his head and hoped Tony would understand not to let on that they knew each other. Tony remained quiet and thankfully understood.
Ziva lay on the ground with her injured leg raised as Tony had left her. Her pants leg was soaked in blood which had also formed in a small pool beneath her. Ducky noticed her deathly pallor and didn't like what he saw. Her eyes were closed. He hoped she was just resting and not unconscious. He went towards her and knelt beside her. He touched her cheek and she woke with a start and grabbed his hand in an instinctive defensive reaction. She raised her head, trying to sit up.
"It's okay dear girl. It's me, Ducky," he whispered as he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her lying down.
"Ducky? What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"I'm here to look after you, my dear. Jethro is going to get you out of here. Until he does, I'll be looking after you," he explained calmly. She tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it. "Now let me see," Ducky said as he took a scissors from the medical bag and cut away at Ziva's trouser leg. He could see the entry wound and searched for an exit wound but found none. The wound was still bleeding.
"The bullet is still inside," he commented as he produced gauze and bandages from the bag. "I'm going to put a pressure bandage on the wound. It will feel uncomfortable but I'll give you a shot of morphine for the pain," he told her, squeezing her hand. Ducky could see she was drowsy and battling to remain conscious. She needed fluids as it was obvious to him that she was going into shock from the blood loss. Luckily the paramedic was experienced enough to pack a bag of saline in the kit. He would have to start an IV. As he prepared to do so, he realised it had been decades since he had last inserted an IV needle. Not too many of his patients were in need of IV's by the time they reached him after all.
"You'll feel a bit better once the fluids start," he explained as she flinched when he found the vein in her arm. He hung the bag from a lamp stand and then turned to Tony.
"How are you holding up, son?" he asked feeling around Tony's eye socket and cheek.
"Ow," Tony complained as he examined the bruised areas. "I'm okay. How's she doing?"
"She needs to be in hospital. There's nothing broken from what I can see," Ducky told him, referring to his facial injuries. He took a sterile wipe and cleaned the blood from his lip.
"What's happening out there, Duck?" Tony asked in a low voice and shifting his weight uncomfortably.
"Gibbs is talking to him. He's asked for a car and they're working on that. I don't know after that. Just be ready for anything," Ducky said before Lopez interrupted.
"What are you whispering about?" he shouted, marching towards the three.
"I was just saying how this young lady needs to be in hospital," Ducky replied, getting back to his feet. "You do realise that if she doesn't get to hospital soon, she's going to die on your living room floor."
Lopez looked down at the now feeble looking girl on the floor. She was struggling to stay conscious as the effects of the morphine kicked in. She certainly didn't look like any kind of threat to him or anyone else now.
"If you let her go, I'm sure they'll look kindly on it," Ducky said, hoping to soften him up.
"Are you done?" Lopez asked gruffly. Ducky nodded. Lopez took him by the arm and roughly shoved him towards the door.
"Let me take her with me," Ducky pleaded as he was pushed out on to the porch. Lopez slammed the door in his face.
Ducky trotted swiftly over to where Gibbs was waiting. He looked dejected and disappointed.
"I'm sorry, Jethro," he said shaking his head as he reached him.
"Why, Duck? Is she alright?" he asked fearing the worst.
"I couldn't convince him to let her out of there. She's lost a lot of blood Jethro. She's very weak and needs to be in hospital," he explained.
That nauseous feeling returned to Gibbs. Knowing Ziva was hurt made him livid. His frustration grew knowing that she was only a matter of feet away from him but that in that moment it may as well have been miles. He knew he had to get her out. He could only think of one way to do that. Time to do things his way. He picked back up the phone with a determined look in his eye.
"Lopez, it's Gibbs here again. I've just spoken to the Doctor and he tells me that Agent David needs to get to the hospital. I have a proposal for you," he said, knowing what he was about to do was far from wise but entirely necessary. "If you release her I will take her place."
Ducky and Harris both spun around and shook their heads and gesticulated their objection on hearing his proposal. But Gibbs raised a hand and cut them off. He waited for Lopez to consider his suggestion.
"Okay, you come in and she can go. But I still want that car. What the hell is the delay?" Lopez shouted at him. "She stays until my ride gets here."
"It's on its way. Won't be much longer, okay?" Gibbs informed him despite not having any idea how long they'd have to wait for the vehicle.
"Okay," Lopez replied and put the phone down.
Gibbs turned to Harris and Ducky.
"He's agreed to release Ziva," he confirmed to them. "She gets out when his car gets here. Get your guys to hurry it up, Harris," he said, turning back and looking with trepidation at the house.
"Jethro, you're not really going in there, are you?" Ducky enquired apprehensively.
"I gave my word, Duck. If Ziva gets the medical attention she needs it'll be worth it," he replied solemnly. He turned back towards the SUV and began to remove his weapon. He knew there was no point in trying to conceal a weapon and risk it being discovered. The betrayal could be enough to push Lopez over the edge. Ducky watched as he prepared himself. He worried for Gibbs. He knew he wasn't one hundred percent fit and hoped it wouldn't endanger him as this saga unfolded.
"You will try and avoid confrontation in there, won't you Jethro?" Ducky said to his friend. Gibbs turned and smiled, knowing that if there was any confrontation inside the house, it would be entirely out of his hands. He patted Ducky on the back in an ambiguous display of reassurance. Gibbs strolled anxiously behind the cordon checking the road every minute or two to see if the car for Lopez had arrived. Eventually a blue sedan was driven slowly in their direction. This was it, he thought, trying to get into the correct frame of mind for what was to come. After a few deep relaxing breaths he returned to the SUV and took the phone in his hand and called the house again.
Lopez answered quickly.
"Hernando, your car is here. I want you to bring Ziva to the door. A paramedic will come to the door with me. You let him take her and then I will come in and bring you the car keys," Gibbs told him.
"Okay. You come in unarmed. You try anything, I put a bullet in the funny guys head, got it?" Lopez threatened referring to Tony.
"I've got it. You can trust me, Hernando. All I want is for everyone to get out of this alive. I'm on my way," Gibbs said before ending the call. He looked at the concerned faces on Ducky and Harris.
"We're on!" he said striding away from the two men and meeting up with a paramedic who was standing beside the parked ambulance. They conversed for a couple of minutes, Gibbs explaining to him what would happen. The paramedic seemed unfazed by the arrangement and was happy to assist Gibbs in his efforts to free his agent.
Meanwhile inside the house, Lopez marched over to Tony and kicked his feet.
"Get up!" he ordered. Tony obeyed and slowly got to his feet. Lopez removed the binds from his hands. DiNozzo hadn't been able to hear the conversation that Lopez had on the phone so was unsure what was going on. Lopez kept his weapon trained on him the whole time. "Get her on her feet!" he barked, motioning towards Ziva. Tony leaned down and took hold of Ziva behind her shoulders and as carefully as he could, eased her into a sitting position. Ziva groaned as the movement roused her and awakened her pain once more.
"What's going on?" she asked her colleague groggily.
"I wish I knew," Tony replied deliberately loudly, looking up at Hernando.
"She's getting out of here," Hernando told him as he waved his gun, signalling him to get her to her feet. As Tony hauled Ziva to her feet, she couldn't help but cry out in agony. She leaned on him and stood putting her weight on her uninjured leg. Now that Tony was on his feet he could see for the first time out through the window. He saw the armed naval personnel outside as well as cars with lights trained on the house. As he helped Ziva over to the front door, he noticed two men walking towards the house, their hands raised. Through the poor light he could make out that one of the men was his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Seeing him srtiding towards them gave him comfort and helped renewed his strength. He knew this would be over soon.