"Where'd it come from? Can you tell?"

"That way, I think. Maybe three buildings over?"

"Move it, move it, move it."

"Fornell, circle around, park in back of that building. We'll come in the front."

"Which unit?"

"Cover them all."

"Palmer, you're not armed. Stay back until we call you."

Tony heard it all, but it was muffled, the sound of the gravel crunching under his feet over-riding everything else now that the shooting had stopped. He found the building the shots had most likely come from and his practiced eye spotted that only one of the roll-up doors seemed to have been used recently.

Vance was yelling at him to wait for them to get into position, but Tony pulled his weapon as he approached the unit. A quick attempt to shove the door up proved futile so he tried the walk-in door as the others arrived. It, too, was locked but he shot twice at the lock before kicking it in.

The building was dim, the smell of cordite and blood heavy as they moved in. The white truck blocked their view at first. Vance checked the truck, gun drawn as he opened the cover on the bed. Balboa and his Probie went around the back of the truck while Jordan and Tony went to the front. Three unmoving forms were on the other side of the open warehouse.

"Shit." Tony didn't know who to go to first. Jordan went straight for Patterson, kicking his gun away before checking his pulse.

"He's alive."

Tony bit back another curse at that and headed toward Gibbs while Balboa went for McGee. The older man looked bad, worse than Tony had ever seen him, but he let out a moan when Tony touched him. "Boss? Hang on, you're going to be okay."

"...Tim...?"

It was just a whisper, but Tony heard it. "Balboa?"

"Alive."

"You hear that, Boss? Tim's alive. You're both going to be okay."

Instead of answering, Gibbs' eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp. Tony stopped examining the cuffs to pat his cheek, trying to bring him back around. "Oh, no, no, no, you don't get to do that. No sleeping on the job. Come on, Boss, stay with me." He looked around frantically. Vance had taken over with Patterson, rolling the man over and relieving him of several more weapons before cuffing him while Balboa was still bent over McGee. The new kid – and Tony couldn't remember his name – had moved to the back of the building and was letting Fornell and his men inside. As soon as the back door swung open, Tony yelled at him. "Get Palmer in here."

"I'm here."

The sudden appearance made Tony jump. "Remind me to yell at you later about following orders better."

"Yeah, yeah." Palmer fell silent as he ran his hands along Gibbs' body before checking his pupils. "Get the cuffs off of him, Tony. He's got a pretty bad shoulder injury."

Once that was done and they had Gibbs laying flat, Jimmy stood and patted Tony's shoulder. "Watch his breathing. If anything changes give a shout. I'm gonna check on Tim."

Tony nodded as he shifted closer to Gibbs' head. Between the dim light and the bodies between them he couldn't really see McGee, but there appeared to be a lot of blood. "Damn it, Boss, I'm sorry. This shouldn't have happened."

-NCIS-

When the call came, Abby was almost too scared to answer it. When she finally did, the words from Balboa were short and too the point.

They're alive. Meet us at Bethesda.

Shaking, she ran for her car, not even consciously realizing that she'd dialed her phone until it was answered.

Abby?

"Oh, Ducky. They're hurt. That awful man hurt them and..." Ducky cut her off before she could get too wound up.

Listen to me very carefully. Yes, they are injured, but they are both alive. Mr. Palmer is with them, making sure they are getting the proper care as they are being transported. I am at the hospital and I will be in the Emergency Department when they arrive. Abigail, I want you to stop running right now.

"Ducky!" She wailed even as her feet followed the command.

You will do them no good getting in an accident when you're this upset. You know that.

She did know that and she forced herself to channel calmness as she'd done when Ducky was injured.

"You're right, Ducky. I'm okay now. Well, not okay, but I'm all right to drive. I won't be really okay until Gibbs and McGee both tell me to stop fussing and... calm, I'm calm."

Good girl. I will see you here, but remember – I know how long the drive takes. Getting here earlier than that will not get you in to see them. Is that understood?

The implicit threat was there, lose control and she'd be seeing her two favorite men later rather than sooner. Abby took another, deep calming breath. "I understand, Ducky. Take care of them for me."

-NCIS-

"What have we got?"

Jimmy didn't even look up at the doctor that greeted the ambulance. "Two victims. Both were in a MVA, broadsided, then rolled. Both were kidnapped from the scene. This one may or may not have regained consciousness at all. He was handcuffed, and was hanging from his injured shoulder, then apparently kicked in the torso and the head by the kidnapper." The blood and silver hair on the toe of Patterson's shoe made him shudder, but he kept his focus and pointed out his next victim.

"This one regained consciousness long enough to get in a gun fight with the kidnapper. Bullet wounds, one to the upper arm plus a head wound. Hopefully grazing, not penetrating the skull."

Dr. Hill, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Bethesda Naval Hospital, looked down at his two new patients as they were rolled past him. "Boys have been busy. He'd been warned they were coming in, so the staff was ready when he started barking orders, pointing at Gibbs, then McGee. "Trauma one, trauma two. X-rays – head, spine, shoulder to start. Head, spine and arm on that one. Full blood draw on both, tell imaging to get ready for CAT scans for both." He looked back at Palmer. "Are we getting the kidnapper too?"

"Nah, he's been sent to County. If he lives long enough they've got a jail ward for him."

Hill gave a short nod before he started assigning doctors to each of the men. It took Jimmy a minute to remember the neurologist that treated Gibbs before, but Dr. Hill already knew his name. "Dr. Mallard is arranging a flight for him right now. Chopper is faster from Portsmouth this time of the day."

That was why Jimmy had called Ducky from the ambulance, but he still wanted Dr. Hill to understand the importance. "Agent Gibbs has a history of comas and amnesia after head trauma."

"Understood."

Ducky materialized at his shoulder and Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. "Dr. Mallard, I'm so glad you're here."

"As am I, Jimmy. You did a wonderful job getting them here alive, now let's let the staff here do their jobs. You wait for the rest of the team and I will be with both Jethro and Timothy. With any luck they won't be at opposite ends of the hospital, otherwise I will need my running shoes."

Jimmy wanted to laugh at the attempted joke but all he could manage was a smile.