A/N: So I'm back with chapter 13 in tow. Thank you for all the reviews and alerts, they warm my heart and make me want to write more and faster :D. Thank you to Finlaure for ultrafast beta reading and I'll let you get to the chapter now.

When the paramedics arrived on the scene, they swiftly moved Tony from the back of the car to a stretcher and examined his injuries. When the medics were satisfied that their patient was stable enough to travel and there wasn't any obvious life threatening injuries, one of them turned to the group of people watching in the sidelines.

"We need to get him to the hospital, there are signs of both shock and infection, and if one of you is planning on riding with him I suggest you hurry."

With that the medic helped his partner to load the stretcher and its unconscious passenger into the waiting ambulance. Gibbs looked torn between wanting, no needing to be with his lover and on the other hand, his obligation to stay back and work his job. Tobias seemed to sense his friend's dilemma and stepped to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go with him Jethro, we got this covered."

Gibbs nodded his thanks and hopped into the back of the ambulance and took a hold of his Second's hand.

Fornell and the two agents watched as the ambulance left the cabin and headed for Bethesda. Fornell looked at the two NCIS agents and noted their slightly lost look, but he was impressed when the look quickly turned to determination.

"Okay, we need to work the scene and see if we can get a lead on Simmons. McGee, start working the inside of the cabin. Todd and I will take perimeter and see if there is any sign of Simmons."

To their credit, the two agents didn't hesitate but went to follow Tobias' orders. There hadn't been any talk about who would take the lead or the credits of the case, but all of the agents had been in agreement that none of that mattered at the moment, so even though they might not have liked it, the two NCIS agents followed Fornell's lead for the moment.

McGee went inside and started working the cabin. He decided to start from what looked like the bedroom. He went into the room and the sight of the bed made him gag. The bed had a large bloodstain on it from where Tony's wound had bled on the beddings. Tim had seen the wound and didn't think it was that serious, but seeing the amount of blood on the bed, he started wondering that maybe it wasn't as superficial as it first seemed.

Gibbs sat in the back of the ambulance clutching one of Tony's limp and clammy hands and carding a hand through his hair as the medics worked on him. Gibbs was dismayed to see that the wound on Tony's side was still bleeding and his breaths were coming in quick huffs. One of the paramedics started an IV on Tony that was pushing fluids in him, while the other medic laid one of the metallic blankets on the shivering form.

Gibbs listened as the medics conversed as they worked on their patient, he didn't understand most of the things that were being said, but words like hypovolemic shock and possible internal bleeding made his chest tighten.

Tony didn't regain consciousness during the drive and when they arrived at the hospital, he was rushed to the ER. Gibbs attempted to follow the gurney, but he was directed to the waiting room and no amount of glaring and snarling could sway the staff. As Gibbs stalked into the waiting room he was greeted with the sight of Abby and Ducky already seated. Abby nervously wrung her hands until she saw Gibbs standing in the doorway and she jumped to her feet and ran to crush the older man into a hug.

"Gibbs! How is he? Timmy called us and told us Tony was being brought here but he didn't know anything else. He also said that he was unconscious and that is so not a good thing, what if he was hit on the head again? He gets hit a lot; I mean he probably has a permanent concussion by now-"

"Abigail," Ducky interrupted Abby's rambling as he came to stand next to the two.

"Why don't you allow Jethro to take a seat and tell us what he knows? It would probably be beneficial to allow him to breath."

"Oh sorry," Abby released her hold on the older agent.

"There's not much to tell, they didn't tell me anything. Duck can you go and find out what you can?"

"Why yes of course, I will find out what I can. In the meantime I'd suggest that you find the restroom and get cleaned up," Ducky indicated Gibbs' hands that had Tony's blood on them. He then turned and went to get an update on the young agent.

Gibbs watched his old friend walk out of the room and he turned to the Goth girl standing in front of him, biting her lip.

"Abby-"

"Duckman's right you should get cleaned up, I'll go and get you a coffee and a Caf-Pow for me if they have them." Gibbs drew her in a short hug and whispered in her hair, "He's gonna be fine."

Abby's answer was quiet and slightly muffled, "I really hope so Gibbs, he needs to be okay."

It didn't take long for Ducky to return with a doctor in tow. Gibbs had been pacing up and down the waiting room after he got rid of the blood on his hands, and Abby had been sitting quietly on one of the chairs. Upon seeing the two doctors Gibbs quickly made his way to them, quickly followed by the Goth scientist.

"This is Anthony's doctor James Stone, Dr. Stone, this is Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, Anthony's legal next of kin and Miss Abigail Scuito, a friend of ours." Ducky introduced the doctor who shook hands with Gibbs and Abby.

"How is he?"

"Well Agent DiNozzo has a fairly severe wound on his side that we deducted to have been made with a knife or some other sharp object, the wound isn't really deep, but unfortunately the knife nicked his liver and that is causing quite a lot of bleeding both external and internal we will be taking him up to surgery as soon as he's prepped. He also has a two broken ribs and strangulation marks on his throat, but what concerns me at the moment is the fact that the wound is infected and Agent DiNozzo is in shock, caused by the drop in his blood levels. He has lost a lot of blood and we're giving him IV fluids to try to combat the shock and we're also giving him a wide spectrum antibiotic to help him fight of the infection. The fact that he hasn't woken up is also a major concern, and there are signs of head trauma, so we'll take him to a CT- scan before we take him up to surgery, but you can move to the waiting room next to the scanning room and operating theaters and I'll have someone keep you updated."

Ducky thanked the doctor, who took his leave. The three people processed the doctor's words and after a while made their way to the other waiting room and once there Gibbs called Fornell for an update.

"Fornell!"

"What have you found?"

"Pretty much nothing, we found a bloody knife in the bedroom of the cabin and we're sure Simmons had DiNozzo tied to the bed because of the cut ropes we found there. The bed is a mess Jethro, there's a lot of blood. How's DiNozzo?"

"In surgery, he's gonna be fine. You find Simmons?"

"No, he's a slippery bastard. There's no sign of him, we called for backup who are scanning the surrounding woods, but I doubt they'll find anything."

"Dammit!"

"Tell me about it. We're about done here so we'll take the evidence to NCIS and start looking for Simmons. You want me to send Todd and McGee to the hospital after we bring the evidence?"

"Yeah, they'll want to know how Tony's doing, they can take Abby back to the lab with them."

With that Gibbs shut the phone and started pacing the waiting room floor. He thought of his agent in the surgery and wished that he would be okay.

The three people waited in silence for a while before Ducky started talking softly to Abby to distract her from the waiting. He was in the middle of telling her a story that she thought made really no sense, when they hear hurrying footsteps. Gibbs heard them too and he stood up when the doctor from earlier hurried into the waiting room and made his way to Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs, there's been a complication."

TBC...

(insert evil laugh here)