Chapter 21 - Rescued Son

31 hours missing…

"I've got a location!" Timothy exclaimed, rushing into the bullpen with Abby right behind him. She wasn't watching and crashed into Tim, knocking him down in her hurry.

Had the situation not been so tense, Ziva might have smiled, but instead she jumped to her feet. Gibbs stood up and looked down at them as Fornell did the same. McGee and Abby quickly untangled themselves as Ziva pulled out her weapon, hooking it to her belt in preparation. The young man got to his feet, helping Abby stand up before taking a deep breath before continuing.

"I have a location of the video feed." He hurried behind his desk, bringing up an image on the plasma of a map. "It's coming from a farm house thirty minutes outside the city."

"Gear up!"

McGee grabbed his bag as he scribbled the address down on a post-it note and handed it to Gibbs. Abby kissed his cheek for good luck and let him rush after the others. Ziva arrived at the elevator first, quickly punching the button. Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but he was just as anxious as her. Fornell followed them into the elevator, planning on going with them to get DiNozzo. Gibbs quickly got into the front seat of the car with Ziva beside him. McGee sat in the back, programming the address into the GPS and handed it to Ziva. The woman took it from him and suddenly paused. Gibbs watched as she opened the door and threw up onto the ground of the parking lot. She wiped her mouth, closed the door, and buckled her seat belt. Gibbs and McGee didn't move.

"You okay Ziver?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, I am fine."

"Ziva."

"We do not have time! I am nervous. We need to get to Tony!" Ziva shouted.

He didn't press the issue and threw the car into gear, squealing out of the parking lot. Fornell was right behind them, driving at the same break neck speeds. Several long minutes passed as they drove out of the city and in the direction of the farm house. Gibbs glanced at the little blip on the map screen that had to be where Tony was being kept and it made his stomach churn.

"Tim, take out your phone and get Tony on that thing. I wanna see him. You watch and keep me updated on his condition."

"Yes, Boss."

McGee watched as Tony sat in the chair, shivering and breathing in short gasps. He just had to hold on a little longer. They were coming for him.

Tony couldn't stop shivering, but sweat was dripping down his forehead. He was exhausted, but the extreme pain was keeping him awake, along with the cold air on his damp skin. He wished that he could at least see what was happening. There was a loud thump upstairs, causing him to jump. He could hear Harold coming down the stairs and it caused his weak heart to race and contract painfully. His captor was on the phone again, and this time he was yelling at someone about a broken code, but he couldn't concentrate on the bits of conversation that he could hear. It was difficult to breathe. Where was Gibbs? The lock clicked in the door and he heard Harold enter the room.

"What do you want with me?" Tony muttered.

"I already told you Anthony. You're my bait. And it appears that my fish is coming. Your agents broke through my code concealing my video feed. I knew I should have just sent body parts in little boxes to Agent Gibbs."

"Please, just let me go."

"It doesn't work like that. You're gonna die here."

"What's your plan?" Tony asked, trying to distract him and give Gibbs a little more time to get to him. "Gibbs won't stop until he kills you. Ziva, she may look pretty, but I would never get in a knife fight with her. McGee, he'll track you with his computer stuff."

The room filled with silence and Tony turned his heard, trying to hear where his captor was. He immediately felt the pain on his upper arm as Harold cut his skin, ruining the fabric of his t-shirt. Tony yelled, unable to stay quiet anymore.

"Stop," he begged.

"Gibbs can't save you, Tony. You can't replace your father with a man that won't take care of you when you need him."

Tony didn't suspect the punch coming, causing him to gasp and move his injured shoulder. Harold was up against him in the next moment, pushing down on the injury and causing Tony to bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain. Harold backed up a second later and cut Tony's other arm. Warm blood dripped down his arms, falling to the dirty floor and disappearing in the scuffle.

"Ugh!" Tony shouted in pain.

"Are you ready to die Tony?" Harold hissed in his ear, pulling on his hair to keep him from moving his head as he pressed the cold knife to his throat.

"No, don't please."

"Gibbs will never forgive himself, not that he will live long enough."

Tony gasped, needing to give Gibbs more time and not knowing how to get it. "Is there something you want? Money, women; anything we can give you instead of my death?"

"I don't like women," Harold stated.

"Lieutenant Morris… I forgot. You killed your boyfriend," Tony chuckled.

"He was trying to leave me. No one leaves me."

He pressed the knife against Tony's neck, causing his breath to catch in his throat.

"Please just stop. You don't have to kill me," he pleaded.

"Too. Late."

There was a loud slam as the door was kicked open and Tony felt the knife press down on his neck. A second later, three shots rang out and the blade dropped to the floor as Harold's body fell, dead. Gibbs had put three rounds directly in his heart, not missing or taking a second look. He put his gun away as Ziva checked the room for anyone else. Gibbs ran over to Tony, kicking Harold's body away from him and knelt before his agent. Fornell called for the paramedics to speed up, having phoned them on the way to the scene. Tony couldn't breathe and his heart was going much too fast. He felt like he was having a heart attack. Sweat dripped down his brow, despite the cold. Everything was spinning.

"Tony, it's okay," Gibbs comforted.

Tony didn't response and Gibbs swore under his breath. Fornell went upstairs to let McGee know that they killed him and change positions with him. Ziva looked around the room and saw a small key, most likely to the handcuffs. She pulled the cord on the camera, ending the feed and went to grab them as Gibbs placed his hands on Tony's face.

"Tony, I'm right here. You are gonna be okay."

"I can't… I can't breathe."

"Yes you can. Just listen to my breathing and breathe with me."

"I'm gonna die," he panicked.

"No," Gibbs reassured softly. "Harold won't hurt you again. He's dead. Just listen to my voice and it's gonna be okay."

After a few moments, Tony began to breathe a little easier, but his shivering continued. He became more aware and relaxed. Gibbs kept his hands on Tony's face until he was sure he was calm. The older man reached up and untied the blindfold, instructing Tony to keep his eyes closed so the light didn't hurt them. Tony jerked at his touch, but relaxed as Gibbs pulled the material from his eyes. He had to make sure that it was his boss. Tony opened his eyes, groaning at the pain from the bright light above his head.

"Boss," he moaned.

"I'm right here."

"Where's Ziva?"

"I am here," she answered. "Would you like your arms free?"

"My collar bone… it's broken."

Gibbs quickly distracted him as Ziva inserted the key. "We know. We saw Harold break it."

Tony seemed confused until he remembered the video camera.

"You saw everything?"

"Yeah, we saw everything."

Ziva gently removed the handcuffs, letting them fall to the floor and held his arms in the same position. Gibbs warned Tony before helping him move his arms forward, depositing them into his lap as he cried out in pain from the broken bone and lack of movement as the blood flow returned. McGee entered with the first aid kit from the car and pulled out some bandages to press against the wounds on Tony's arms. Tony smiled weakly at his friend, but kept his eyes closed. All of a sudden it seemed to connect in his mind that Harold was gone and he was free. Tony lifted his good arm and pulled Gibbs towards him, embracing his boss and not caring that he was crying on his shoulder. Gibbs returned the hug, whispering softly in his ear. Tony started to fall out of the chair, and Gibbs caught him, helping him onto the floor and keeping him in his arms. The younger man didn't speak; he was content to be in Gibbs' arms. Tony continued to shiver. Ziva stood up and brought over the blanket from the shelf, tucking it around her partner as McGee pressed the bandage against the wound again, gesturing for Ziva to do the same to the other cut. Tony slowly opened his eyes a little as the exhaustion caught up with him.

"You look terrible," he commented.

Ziva smiled. "Pot calling the kettle black."

Tony didn't answer, relaxing into Gibbs' arms, forgetting about the pain for a moment.

"You okay Probie?" Tony asked after a minute.

"I'm doing better, now that you're safe."

He was silent again, and his breathing changed.

"Get me out of here; I don't wanna be down here," Tony said, starting to panic again.

"Hey Tony, you stay with me. It's gonna be okay. The ambulance is on its way and we'll get you out of here."

Tony swallowed and nodded, trying to focus on his breathing and not the increasing pain. Ziva lifted the bandage on Tony's arm, checking the bleeding and looked away, pressing the cloth against it again. Seeing her expression, McGee did the same and quickly covered it back up again. The sirens of the ambulance could be heard in the distance. Tony's eyes felt heavy and it was warm in the room. He tried to stay awake, but it was getting difficult and hard to breathe again.

"Gibbs, the bleeding is not stopping," Ziva reported.

"Stay with me, Tony."

"Can't… sorry Boss."

Tony focused on Gibbs' concerned face as the world went dark and he lost consciousness.

Whew! I'm exhausted from writing such an intense scene. I'm almost all the way through finals week, I'm ready for summer and a nice sleep. Almost had myself crying at one point from Tony's emotions. Still another cliff-hanger, but at least Harold is dead and Tony is with his friends again.

And oh my goodness, I loved the new episode of NCIS last night! I loved getting to hear about Tony's past. "I'd rather have the plague than become a navy cop." I laughed so hard at that line! And Agent Pacci's line about "My stomach is gonna be the death of me", that was actually kinda funny and sad. So many great lines! "Freeze dirtbag! I'm wearing tube socks, you can't outrun me!" Definitely one of my favorites. :)

Please review and let me know what you thought!

Emma