Kiley's POV:

I briefly spared Peter a glance (Not being able to see the look on his face) as my knife plunged into his chest before dragging him down the stairs and stepping out of the way.

Once he fell, I jumped over his body and leapt at the terrified smaller man. I grabbed his shoulders and threw him headfirst into the wall with so much force, he crumpled to the ground afterwards.

As much as I would have loved to relax now that that was done, he could wake up and find the gun at any moment. I had to leave.

I barreled up the stairs, relying on adrenaline more than anything to get me up them, and into a hallway. There was a door at the end of it, that had a window in it, showing me the outside forest.

I rushed towards that door, and opened it quickly. The moment it was open, and fresh air seeped into my senses, I sprinted off into the trees. If I could get past the trees, which provided suitable cover, and find a highway, then I was home free. First I had to not bleed to death, or stumble and fall.

I leapt over twigs and ducked under branches, never slowing my pace or looking back.

It was only when I heard the bang of a gunshot did fear begin to race through my veins again.

Tony's POV:

We pulled up to the cabin with the BAU team not far behind. Gibbs jumped out of the driver's seat, already pulling his gun out.

But as soon as we were out, and the BAU team pulled in, I saw someone sprint from the house at an extremely fast pace. Moments later, someone else exited, and they had a gun in their hands.

They fired once at the running person before Gibbs pulled the trigger of his own gun. The man crumpled to the ground, then Gibbs was tearing off into the trees after whoever was running.

I signaled to Ziva to go check the house with McGee, then took off after Gibbs.

Ziva's POV:

I followed Tony's orders and ran into the house with McGee close behind me, and the BAU team not far off. A few of them changed directions and moved towards the man Gibbs had shot.

I slowed my steps as I neared the door and held up my gun.

I entered the cabin slowly, and looked around.

I saw the door directly ahead of us, and motioned to McGee. He nodded, and we crept towards the door as the BAU spread out to search the house.

I pushed the door open, and was greeted by the sharp smell of blood and death.

I felt my heart rate increasing, and hoped Kiley was not to blame for the smell.

I tread down the steps carefully, but stopped when I saw the sight greeting me.

The 'mountain' man, Peter Sanchez, was on his back, with his mouth and eyes open, and a knife that I recognized was buried in his chest, right above his heart.

The knife that I gave Kiley was sitting in a dead man. Apparently she paid attention to my lessons.

I walked down the rest of the steps, took a quick glance at the rest of the room, which had obviously been used for torture, and kneeled down next to Peter.

His eyes stared up at me lifelessly, and the expression on his face was pure shock.

I felt momentarily proud of my protégée, before looking up at McGee and shaking my head.

"Kiley is not here. But this is her knife." I informed him.

McGee nodded and replied, "She was probably the one Gibbs is chasing through the woods. We need to go help them."

I nodded and stood up, following him quickly up the stairs. Yelling at the BAU team that Kiley wasn't here, and was instead running through the woods.

Kiley's POV:

I did what I had always done best. I ran. I pushed my already battered body more, and ran faster when I heard the gunfire. I needed to get away.

I spared a look over my shoulder, and saw through blurry vision that someone was chasing me, and was gaining fast.

Damn it! If I wasn't so injured, then I'd be able to run faster, and whoever was following me wouldn't be gaining on me.

I attempted to go faster, but a tree had other ideas. My foot found a root, and I catapulted forward, flipped, and landed on my back.

I stared up at the early morning sky in somewhat of a daze. The sunlight was just beginning to filter through the trees, the birds were chirping merrily, and if I wasn't bleeding to death, it would be a gorgeous sight.

Oh, who was I kidding? It was a gorgeous sight. And, in all honesty, if I had to die, here wasn't the worst spot to welcome death. It was beautiful, and the air was clear, cold, and crisp. Even though I had trouble breathing, my lungs still savored the smell of the air.

The birds chirped happily, and I heard someone crash to the ground next to me.

A hand was on my face then, and I involuntarily flinched away, expecting pain.

But the hand was gently, and began to card through my hair softly. Someone was speaking, I could barely make out the words.

I forced myself out of the haze to finally hear,

"Come on kid, focus. It's ok. I got ya. Come on." The voice was soft, and gentle, and familiar.

Gibbs.

It was Gibbs' voice. He had found me.

I tried to say his name, but it came out as, "Gbs."

The blurry figure in front of me nodded. Then another one crashed down on my other side, and I grinned slightly, "Tny." I slurred ineffectively.

Tony nodded, then gentle hands were picking me up, forcing me into a sitting position. And the pain woke me up further.

I cried out, but they were relentless.

When I was sitting up straight again, I shook my head trying to get rid of the haze.

I succeeded partways, and was able to actually see the two people holding me up.

Tony's brow furrowed with worry, but I saw relief in his gaze. "You ok, Kiles? Sorry, stupid question."

I smirked at him despite the pain, and said quietly, "I'm glad you came."

They exchanged a look, and Gibbs smoothed my hair away from my face gently, "Never leave a man behind."

I nodded, "Noted. Thanks all the same. But guys? I'm ready to go home. Or, Gibb's home. Specifically, the wonderful bed in his guest room."

I vaguely wondered how I had come to think of Gibbs' house as home, but that thought left me quickly.

Gibbs smiled lightly, and his mask slipped for a fraction of a second, showing me pure relief. I smiled at him, and clumsily patted his hand where it rested on my uninjured shoulder.

"I'm fine, Gibbs. Or, will be. With sleep. And food. Coffee maybe. Sorry." I was getting hysterical. Shock probably. Or even the concussion.

Then I remembered and muttered, "Right. No sorry. Forget I said anything." That was going to take some getting used to.

I straightened suddenly, and gasped out, "Morgan. What about Morgan? I saw him fall. Is he okay?"

I began struggling to get my legs underneath me, but Gibbs steadying hand stopped me, "He's fine. In the hospital with a concussion. But he is fine."

I searched his face for any hint of a lie, then relaxed. If Gibbs said he was fine, he was fine. Gibbs wouldn't lie to me.

"Okay then, Kiles. Let's get you up so we can leave this little slice of hell." Tony chirped.

I nodded, and with his and Gibbs' help, I managed to stand shakily. I was leaning heavily against Gibbs' side, but I was up.

Tony carefully pulled my injured arm over his shoulder, and wrapped his other arm around my waist. Gibbs did the same thing on the other side and I fought back cries of pain. No sense in them feeling guiltier about helping me.

In between the two of them, I was able to stagger through the woods.

Soon, I heard shouts in front of us, and Tony shouted back, "We got her! She's over here!"

Then a figure came into view, and he was sprinting towards us quickly. I almost cried with the shear relief of seeing him. Spencer was running towards me, and he was still fast.

He was next to us quickly, and the moment he was in front of me, he started speaking.

"Kiley! Kiley, are you alright? What hurts? Is that blood in your mouth? If the two unsubs weren't already dead, I would go back and shoot them."

I smirked at him. Gibbs pushed Spencer to the side and we began walking again while I said, "Relax, Spen. I bit my cheek earlier. The blood is not from my lungs. I do have broken ribs, but they did not puncture a lung. I don't have too much irreversible damage, just my ear, so I'm fine. And talking waaaaaay too much."

I stumbled again, my brain finally calling it quits, and vaguely heard Gibbs say something. Tony let go of me slowly, then I felt weightless. I almost panicked, until I realized that I was being carried.

Gibbs was carrying me.

Whoa.

I vaguely recognized that I was safe. I was finally safe. I didn't have to worry anymore.

My brain had called it quits, and deemed that I could try again tomorrow. So, I closed my eyes, and relaxed.