Disclaimer on chapter one.

AN: Here you go the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and as always leave your comments behind. Thanks, dark rolling sea.

Chapter Twenty Five

McGee finally heard the sirens in the distance and started to calm his angry nerves. The first vehicle to pull up to the cabin was a First Responder from the local volunteer fire department. Two men piled out of the truck and sprinted to McGee on the porch.

"Who's hurt?" the first man yelled looking around. McGee shook his head and started down the stairs.

"Not here," he said pushing past the two surprised men. "Grab your gear and let's go."

"Where?" the second man asked.

McGee paused annoyed and glared at the man, "up the mountain, now let's move. At least one seriously hurt and I heard another round of gunfire while waiting for you."

The two men looked at each other as McGee started up the mountain again. The first one nodded, before they sprinted to the truck, grabbed two bags and trotted after McGee. It was taking longer than McGee remembered and his heart was starting to pound. All kinds of worse case scenarios were spinning wildly through his mind, as he felt the seconds slip by. He heard more vehicles pulling up but he didn't stop to direct them. He just hoped the emergency workers would see the three men running up the mountain and follow.

Grayson felt his leg giving way seconds before he crumpled to the ground. He felt Dusty's arms grasp him seconds before he was sure he would have slid down the rock face. His whole body was shaking, as he felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. Ducking his head between his knees, he fought the urge to black out or vomit.

Dusty's hands settled on Grayson's back, making a soothing gesture. Grayson drew in a couple slow deep breaths, trying to regain control over his body. He heard someone coming up the side of the mountain, but couldn't lift his head to see who it was.

"Everyone all right?" Agent DiNozzo's voice reached his ears. Grayson blew out one more deep breath and slowly lifted his head. He battled the tears in his eyes, as the pain in his body was increasing.

"I'll live. What about down there?" Grayson replied. Dusty just simply nodded and then stood and moved to Jonas' dead body. DiNozzo followed him with his eyes as he responded.

"I'll check on them now."

"How's Levi?" Grayson asked as DiNozzo turned to head down the mountain side. The agent paused and turned and Grayson knew the news would be bad.

"He was hurt pretty bad in the first encounter," DiNozzo said. Grayson bit at his lower lip and nodded as tears slipped down his cheeks. Dusty looked up from where he was squatting next to Jonas and Grayson glanced over at him.

He could see the pain in the older man's face, and he knew Dusty was worried. Dusty looked at him for a moment assessing him and Grayson knew what he wanted. Grayson nodded slowly as he leaned against the cave wall.

"Go," Grayson said softly as he fought another round of radiating pain. Dusty was half way down the side of the cliff before Grayson knew he had moved. He shifted his leg and the bolt of lightning that crackled from his knee made him grunt in pain. His shoulder throbbed as he reached down to inspect his leg further.

Ignoring the intense pain, Grayson pushed himself up the rock into a standing position. Once upright he had to pause and suck in oxygen to keep from passing out. His head rolled with dizziness as his stomach protested. After regaining his wayward balance, Grayson moved himself to the edge of the rock and looked down into the darkness. He couldn't see anything and it frustrated him.

His mind replayed the night scene by scene in his head and he realized that he needed to send emergency workers to the other cabin to check on Zack. Closing his eyes he shifted closer to the edge, his leg protesting the movement. Once he had steadied himself he opened his eyes and moved down the side of the cliff slowly, careful to retain his balance.

After what seemed to take forever, he came to a stop a few feet away from Dusty and Levi. The scene horrified him as he let out a startled groan. Dusty looked up briefly before returning his attention to Levi on the ground. Dusty was performing CPR on Levi and Grayson felt the weight of the day finally crash down on his shoulders.

Tumbling to the ground after his leg gave way, he landed on his injured shoulder. His head swam with uncertainty, as the dizziness and confusion overwhelmed him. Panic started to grip him as his breathing increased and his heart raced. He clamped his eyes tightly shut and tried to calm himself down but without luck.

Opening his eyes, he saw Dusty still breathing for Levi and he couldn't stop the tears from sliding down his face. He scooted slowly towards the two men and slumped heavily against the cave wall feeling his world quickly spinning out of control. He vaguely heard someone yelling for Agent DiNozzo, but his attention was quickly fading from reality.

Someone was beside him and he didn't remember how they got there. His eyes focused, blinkingly, on Dusty still breathing for Levi. Grayson tilted his head slightly in the opposite direction and saw the worried face of his aunt looking back at him. He tried to manage a smile but seemed unable to focus his brain. His leg was going numb now and his shoulder continued to hum with pain.

"Grady," Janie's voice reached to him through the fog. Blinking his eyes to try help lift the fog, he stared at her. She reached out and he felt her cup his face, making him look directly at her. She studied his eyes for a moment before she looked over at Dusty and Levi.

"I think he's dying," Grayson replied in a whisper. Janie looked at him a moment before she went around and kneeled next to Dusty. Dusty never faltered in his rhythmic breathing for Levi, as Janie look Levi's limp hand. Grayson closed his eyes and hoped help arrived very soon.

Kate gripped Gibbs' hand in hers and prayed that everyone came out of this alive. She knew things were quickly spiraling downhill and she wished McGee would return. Gibbs being unconscious was not helping her battle to fight the panic. She looked over at Grayson's aunt and she saw that the woman was looking at her.

"It's going to be ok," Janie whispered with a nod and Kate took a deep breath. Janie then went about looking over Gibbs' wound and Kate couldn't help but feel useless. "He's losing a lot of blood. We need to stop the bleeding."

"How bad is it?" Kate asked with concern in her voice. Janie looked up at her, meeting her eyes.

"I'm not a doctor, but I can tell he's losing a lot of blood," she said apologetically. Kate only nodded. She shifted her body, ignoring the protests of her leg and moved to get Gibbs into her lap. Janie pulled her jacket off and gave it to Kate. "Use this."

"How is everyone else?" Kate asked trying to look out into the darkness.

"I don't know, but I think I heard Grayson say Jonas was dead," Janie replied. She helped Kate get the jacket around Gibbs' wound and then Kate pressed hard against Gibbs' shoulder. He let out a groan and Kate took a deep breath. "I'm going to go check on the others."

"We'll be right here," Kate said. She heard Janie yell for Tony as she left the shelter and Kate felt a little better. When Tony popped his head around the rock, Kate gave him a small smile.

"Boss," Tony said with alarm as he came quickly to Kate's side. Tony kneeled next to them and looked at Kate. She shook her head before answering his unspoken question.

"He got hit after the initial burst. I think the bullet went right through, but he's losing a lot of blood, Tony," Kate said with a quiver to her voice. Tony put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly before he nodded and looked at Gibbs. He went checking on the wound, pulling the jacket back slightly to inspect.

"We need to slow this bleeding. Dammit, where's McGee," Tony growled and he put his hands over Kate's causing twice as much pressure. Gibbs stirred slightly before becoming still again.

"Tony, he's going to be ok, right?" Kate asked with tears in her eyes. Tony looked at her a moment, slightly stunned by her emotional state. He looked at their boss and then back at Kate and started to realize that there was something more than just a professional relationship.

"Yeah, Kate, he's Gibbs. He's the toughest guy I know."

"I can't lose him, Tony."

"What's going on, Kate?" Tony asked as he tilted his head to the side. Kate stared at him for a long moment, knowing that he could most likely read everything on her face right now. Her barriers of stone had crumbled when she saw Gibbs shot.

She didn't answer him though, instead looking away, down at Gibbs. She pulled her hand on Gibbs' front out from under Tony's, causing Tony to instantly press harder, so she could softly stroke Gibbs' hair. Tony licked his lips and nodded.

"You tell him yet?" Tony asked. Kate looked up at him, the tears rolling down her face. She took a moment to compose her answer.

"Yes, in a way."

"And?"

"Things will probly change once we get off this damn mountain," Kate replied looking back at Gibbs. Tony nodded slightly as the two of them fell silent. They sat in the rock shelter, holding Gibbs' shoulder, waiting for someone to come. Tony was growing concerned that emergency workers had yet to arrive.

He looked from Kate, to Gibbs, then out over his shoulder in the direction of Levi and Grayson. So many wounded, but the job was done. They had managed to kill Jonas and hopefully no one else would die, but things were looking grim unless help arrived.

"Dammit!" Tony growled as more time ticked by. "Where are they!"

Zack hovered between darkness and the conscious world. His ribs on his left side felt like someone was twisting a knife in them. Unsure of where he was or what happened, his hand moved over his ailing side. He lifted his fingers in front of his face and the sticky blood that coated them jarred his memory.

He groaned and shifted as his mind focused for the moment and looked around the cabin. Left alone, he hoped that they had sent help for him. Carefully he applied more pressure to his dressing, tightening the cord wrapped around the sweatshirt on his side. As he tried to control his breathing he guessed that two or more ribs had been snapped by the bullet. Sure there were other internal problems, he felt the world slipping away again.

"Come get me, Grady, please hurry," he said as his eyes faded to black once again.

More EMS were pulling up to the cabin, jumping from their vehicles as they parked. They saw the three men sprinting up the mountain path in the dark and headed in that direction. Three more cop cars rolled in behind them as the mountain side was becoming a circus of lights and sounds.

Soon the whole cabin was crawling with emergency vehicles as the men occupying them charged up the hill. McGee led them to the site and prayed that everyone was still alive. The two men following him were huffing to keep up, as they carried their gear and McGee found himself having to slow to keep from losing them in the darkness.

His agitation grew but he managed to stifle it and continue their trek towards the injured. Finally he saw the clearing and started to shut to Tony and Gibbs. The two first responders quickened their pace sensing that they had finally reached their destination.

TBC…