A/N I have a thought guys about the season ending this year. I've read some of the possible spoilers (if you don't want to read on, find the next asterix)
**for the end of the season and I have a theroy to why Ziva is acting strange. I think she has been doing an undercover mission for Moussad once she came back from over there. If you think about the ep Agent afloat, Ziva says, orders are orders. Now I'm not thinking it is just because she likes Michael Rivkin. I think she has been ordered to spy while in America thinking it's for Daddy but in fact it is for Michael who is a dirt-sucking scumbag traitor dude. What do you think? Also I think Macey was one of Gibbs probies and she felt that he hated her for leaving Majo9r Crimes to run her own team in LA. Just my thoughts. **
Anyways OMG guys, thankyou all for all your reviews and the new comers, welcome, and to the faithful I'm forever in your debt. It seems to be flowing a bit better than it was about a month ago so lets hope that I can get this one finished soon so I can focus on Inside Job (shameless plug shameless plug lol) Now on with the drama ...
From Chapter 11:
The familiar voices had long since disappeared with the closing of visiting hours. All that remained were the common sounds of computer fans whirring, keyboards clicking into the hollowness of an empty hallway and the soft voices of nurses at their posts keeping guard on their patients further down the corridors.
Tony awoke to fear of the unknown and the silence of nobody having waited for him.
Tony went through a checklist in his head to try and figure out what had happened. He remembered the pain that didn't seem to be with him anymore, the burning in his chest and the deep sharp breaths that he had to have been taking to try and catch up with his boss. 'Gibbs?' he thought with a saddened look on his face, not realising, momentarily why it made him so upset. He had a vague recollection of running down a hallway towards the front of the hospital to try and catch Gibbs before he disappeared out of his life as a friend, as his Dad. Then it dawned on him. What if Gibbs never came back? He would just be another person that had disappeared when Tony needed them the most.
Three Days Previously:
"Hi, Tony."
Abby was feeling the guilt overwhelm her as she walked into Tony's hospital room carrying another two black roses. She put it next to the one that she had brought with her the other day. The second one that she brought today was to make up for the fact that she had not come to see him yesterday. She placed both the delicate flowers into the second vase that she had bought in with the first rose, delicate white porcelain with a black thorn motif running across and around it. She then went to top them up with a bit more water and after having done that, placed it up high so it wouldn't interfere with Tony's allergies. She then went and sat in the plastic chair that had kept Tony company through the night.
"I'm sorry Tony. I'm sorry that I didn't come and see you yesterday. We've been working our butts off trying to locate Gibbs for you."
Gibbs is gone?
"Yeah, Gibbs just up and left, we can't find him. We think the guilt may have actually overridden his sense of duty this time."
Guilt? Oh yeah, that was because he SHOT me right? He does know that I could never be mad at him forever right?
"I don't know if he'll ever forgive himself for the freak accident that had meant that he had shot you." Abby sighed with the weight of having worked twenty-two hours of the previous twenty-six. She knew they were going to find Gibbs but he would have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
Freak accident Abs? He never said it was a freak accident.
"The doctors never gave us a chance to. You were getting upset and we were pushed out of your room and you wouldn't talk to Gibbs, not that I'm blaming you Tony," Abby's tears were rolling down her face as she spoke, displaying the loss that all of the team were obviously feeling. "Gibbs was always going to explain it to you, or Ducky. We just haven't had the opportunity."
Abby gently placed one of her lace-gloved hands onto Tony's wrist, rubbing the skin below so softly. She was startled by a voice at the door.
"Any change?" Abby turned around to see who owned the familiar tone, smiling towards them.
In the offices of NCIS, Tim had returned to work early to start going through all the Airport footage that he and Ziva had collected over the last part of the afternoon of the previous day. It had been harder work with just the two of them. At least it kept them busy, not having to think about the fact that they were hunting down their boss so that he could fix the problem with their other partner. They had also managed to get a hold of all the flight records for all the flights coming in and out of Mexico for the last few days. There was a lot of ground to cover. Tim had sent Abby home because she had been working non-stop since Gibbs had disappeared. He had told her to get some rest and start a-fresh in the morning because they would need her help with some of the footage they had collected. He was sorting through the last of the flight lists when a very familiar name popped up among the rest. He wrote down the flight number and the gate number at the airport where it was. He needed to see if this was the same person he thought it was or if it was just another person with the same name. It was definitely too much of a coincidence really. Tim's voice echoed the two familiar voices that were absent in the bullpen – "In the words of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs – 'I don't believe in coincidences.'" For the first time in days, Tim had a smile on his face and a lead to where to start tracking down the team's fearless leader.
Gibbs stared out of the window overlooking the day that had embraced Washington. From where he stood he had a clear vision of the Navy Yard, watching his distant colleagues as they hustled and bustled in and out the main door of his place of employment. Gibbs didn't know what he had been thinking. Why was he spending his time here and not with his boat, grinding and sanding away all the cares in his life? It was because the boat couldn't help him at the moment. No matter how much sawdust he got covered in or how hard he felt he needed to pummel the dowel into the planks of the boat, Gibbs situation was not changing. Gibbs had been eyeing the bottle of scotch that sat proudly on the mantle of the room he was a guest in. It had replaced the bottle of bourbon that Franks had half consumed the night before. Gibbs smiled at the image of his former partner asleep on the single seater that was sat immaculately in the middle of the suite, the bottle threatening to fall out of his hand and spill onto the extremely modest carpet that covered the floor. Gibbs had tried to pry it away only to be slurred at by a very drunk and worn out Franks, so he had left the bottle in Franks' loose embrace. When Gibbs had walked in at 06:00 hours that morning, Franks hadn't moved but the brown liquid had pooled and sunk into the carpet, escaping into the weaves of a night wasted.
"What the hell?"
Gibbs strode to the kitchenette to grab a seemingly clean glass from the cupboard. He wiped the innards of the tumbler with his shirt, ignoring the fact that it had been the same shirt that he had been wearing the previous day. Gibbs blew the imaginary dust that had remained in the bottom of the glass and having grabbed a handful of ice, placed it in the glass and quickly covered the ice with the straight scotch, half melting the ice before he had finished pouring his share. His mouth caressed the side of the glass as the liquid, smooth and delicate in taste, played with the sides of his mouth and then left its familiar heart-warming burn as it trickled down his throat. Gibbs didn't care what time it was. The scotch was already loosening his grip on the world due to the lack of food and sleep that he had experienced in the last week. With every mouthful of scotch, came another heart-felt pain of the sight of Tony's eyes, hating him for what he had done.
Ziva, after getting a call from Tim had rushed to the sight of the hotel that Mike Franks had organised a room. Gibbs had not left the country but instead, Mike Franks had come to the States, probably at the request of his former partner and friend. Ziva knew that she had to keep busy because keeping busy meant that she wouldn't have to think about Tony, about the way his smile could brighten up the dullest of days, the way his incessant movie quotes drove her ball-y. Ball-y? Maybe batty is the word, stupid English idioms. She frowned at how Tony was never there when she really needed him, not that a trained assassin needed anyone, but she needed him. She needed him to cheer her up, to back her up, to bring her back to reality, to laugh at her jokes. In all honesty, she missed him. Missed seeing his face in the office all the time, missed the quick glances that he thought she didn't see. She smiled as she thought about all the time he tousled her hair. No, she had to disagree with herself. Tony may not have been there physically, but in spirit he had still managed to cheer her up. Maybe she would call past to see him on her way home. First, though, she had some questions to ask of one Mike Franks.
Ducky walked into the now familiar hospital room, having taken note of the black roses that were cradled in a white vase that displayed to the world that Abigail had been to see him that day. Abigail was now asleep with her head resting next to Tony's, her hand interlaced loosely with his. She was obviously exhausted with all the worry that she had experienced over the last week but especially over the last few days with half of the strong men in her life out for the count; one lying still in a hospital bed, the other Missing In Action. Ducky smiled at the sight of the two of the dearest people in his life showing so much honesty and vulnerability towards each other without even being conscious to examine it. Ducky had left Jimmy back at autopsy to finish up all the reporting and the tidying up so that he could escape the clutches of the tumultuous pile of work he had to deal with. Ducky was tired. Abigail was tired. They were all tired, all of them except for young Anthony. You would think that he would have the courtesy to wake up, especially now that the tube had been removed from his throat and he was breathing on his own. Tony was breathing by himself. A smile lit up the features of the elder man's features, showing a feint taste of what he had looked like in his younger years. He had been told that he did hold a striking resemblance to Illya Kuryakin but had never had the chance to see if it were really true. Ducky left the room in a haze to quickly find Dr. Turner or to at least get an update from one of the nurses. As the sun was starting to set on the sixth day after all this commotion had started, they finally had some good news. Tony was not out of the woods yet but he was getting a lot closer to finding his way back to his family.
I hope you all liked. Please be honest in what you think - I've found that I've been a little too honest with some of the ppl I've been reviewing so I've decided that we need a review of our reviews lol - sorry am tired. Should have been in bed about an hour and a half ago. Love to you all :)