Chapter 29

"One eighty over sixty; we need to get this guy stable and to Bethesda stat!"

"Wait, I need to-"

"Sir, sit down, you have a major concussion, three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder!"

"That's great, but I need to see if my partner's okay." Tony broke from the EMT's hold and limped over, on his sore ankle, to where a number of different EMT's were working on McGee.

"Tim!" Tony breathed heavily, but he stopped short when he saw him.

"Severe concussion, five broken ribs and collarbone; metal penetrating the side, possibly the spleen, we need to stop the bleeding now!"

"Oh god," whispered Tony, his whole body going cold when he saw small pool of dark blood staining the pavement.

Tim's eyes were closed and his hair and colorless face were caked in fresh and dried blood.

"He's stable! Let's go!" The paramedics lifted Tim up onto the gurney and wheeled him into the ambulance. In seconds, the vehicle raced off and around the corner.

Suddenly, Tony felt someone touch his shoulder and it caused him to jump, the short movement making him nauseous and dizzy all of a sudden.

"Sir, you need to sit down before you injure yourself more!"

"I-I need to call my, Boss." Tony said numbly.

"That can w-"

"No, it can't! Let me call him…please."

The paramedic sighed in resignation. "Fine, but make it quick or I'm going to have to sedate you."

Tony rolled his eyes as he shakily took out his phone- which was, surprisingly, still working- and dialed Gibbs' number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NCIS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gibbs woke up groggily on the couch, blinking his eyes to adjust them to the darkness. The only light was coming from the street lamp outside, shining in through the blinds and the fluorescent light from his…phone? He had wondered what the hell that annoying ringing noise was. Whoever was calling at quarter to one better have a pretty damn good reason for doing so. That's when he noticed the caller I.D. Tony. Dammit. Dread instantly washed over him for a moment; something wasn't right. He picked it up shakily and answered.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Boss!" Tony sounded light he just finished running a marathon. Yep, something was definitely wrong. Tony would never run that long- at least at this time that is. But now wasn't the time to joke; this was something serious.

"Tony, what's wrong?" He asked, already pulling on his coat and running out the door to his truck.

"Boss it's- it's really bad, oh god."

"Tony calm down, tell me what happened."

"Tim's in real bad shape, Boss, really bad shape. We- we had taken a cab to get back to Tim's apartment- cause, you know, we were both kinda drunk-" Gibbs frowned, making a mental note to headslap Tony when he had the chance. "-this truck it- it just rammed us from out of nowhere!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Boss, though I don't know why; it hit my side first.

Gibbs sighed, and rubbed his temple. "Alright, where's the accident?"

"The intersection of East and Middle, not far from Sam's pub."

"Stay where you are and I'll be there in five minutes."

"Okay…and Boss?"
"Yeah, Tony?"

"I'm not so sure this was an accident. Tim had my gun in his hand and Metro found a guy- dead- right next to my door. He came up as Johansson Andrade; turns out, he's the guy who killed Harris when we matched the bullet to his gun. And even though he probably hit us on purpose, Metro's going to check the traffic tapes to confirm it."

Gibbs sighed and hung up, pressing hard on the accelerator. He was getting tired of this.

Gibbs pulled up to the "accident" scene and was immediately horrified. There was broken glass and metal all over the place and the taxi sat stationary in the center, crushed and smoldering. He hoped it was all just a dream, but he knew it wasn't. He looked around, seeing a disaster and worst of all, blood. Gibbs prayed that it wasn't from his agents, but he could only do just that…pray. After a few minutes, he finally located Tony sitting in the back of an ambulance with an icepack to his head. He briskly walked over and his senior agent immediately noticed him.

"Bos-Ah!" Tony winced when he moved his ribs.

"DiNozzo, sit before you pass out."

Tony obeyed, sitting back down as he grimaced and put the icepack back to his injury.

"You okay, Tony?"

"I- I think so. I mean, I'm doing better than, McGee," Tony laughed but sobered up quickly.

Gibbs pursed his lips and gently placed a hand on Tony's good shoulder.

"He'll be okay; he's made it this far."

"You're saying that like he's had a sickness," Tony growled, getting a bit angry. "It should have been me who got a severe concussion, or me who got stabbed in the spleen and bleed out a river all over the ground! Tim shouldn't have to go through this, Boss. He's been hunted, shot, poisoned, nightmare plagued, emotionally hurt, everything! He's been through way too much; it's my fault anyways."

"Why's that?"

"I was the one who suggested we go out to get a drink. He never really wanted to leave the apartment even if he didn't speak up. I could tell he didn't want to leave the safety of his apartment; he's afraid to…and I dragged him out here. None of this woulda happened if-" Tony jumped up in anger, but unexpectedly felt woozy and black spots were appearing in his vision.

"Tony? DiNozzo, what's wrong?"

Gibbs' voice sounded all echoey and so far away. "If…if I-" but Ton couldn't finish, because the next thing he knew, the darkness enclosed him in a thick, warm blanket. He could feel himself descending to the cold tar below and only hoped someone would be there to stop him before he hurt his, already pounding head onto the ground.

Ah! The wonderful smell of antiseptics and cheap plastic chairs. That's exactly what Tony smelled when he came to his senses.

"Oh my god, Tony! You guys, Tony's awake!"

Tony winced as the loud voice penetrating his throbbing head. Abby.

"Abigail, you mustn't yell, it's probably disturbing his headache."

Ducky.

"Right, sorry."

Tony opened his eyes, slowly, and took in his surroundings. Abby was bouncing near his head with an eager grin on her face, Ducky was next to her with a warm smile as was Ziva, and Gibbs was smirking, but he could see a little hint of concern on his face, and McGee was- wait where was McGee? Tony looked around worriedly and then he remembered the crash. Sonofabitch!

"Hey, Tony, how are you feeling?" Asked Abby eagerly.

"Where's Tim? Is he okay?" Tony breathes ignoring Abby's question. He tried to sit up, but with one arm restricted and three broken ribs, it didn't work out so well.

"Tony, lay down," Gibbs said sternly.

"I can't Boss, I need- I have to know."

"Timothy's okay, Anthony, now you need to-"

"I have to know for sure I have to see him…please."

Ducky and Gibbs looked at each other and both sighed.

"Okay, but after will you rest?

Tony nodded and grinned, but once Ziva brought in the wheelchair, the smile disappeared.

"Do I really-"

"Yep," chuckled Ziva evilly.

Tony groaned as he let Gibbs help him up and over to the chair. 681, 682, 683, 684…finally, 685.

"Now, Anthony, Timothy's resting, but the doctor said that his spleen is repaired, the concussion has decreased greatly and his bones are in the mend," said Ducky cheerfully but seriously.

Tony nodded and he was wheeled into McGee's room. He looked- well he actually looked great! He'd healed fast in just one day.

"Was I dreaming when Tim actually looked worse than me?"

"No you weren't," began Ziva, "it was touch and go for a few days, but-"

"A few days? H-How long was I out?"

"A week; turns out you had some intercraneal swelling, causing you to go into a light coma," said Abby. "Timmy only woke up yesterday, though."

"Oh…wow." Tony turned back to his partner who was breathing steady and slow.

"So he's okay?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo, he's going to be just fine," said Gibbs smiling.

"Good."

A couple more chapters left! :) Comments are great; let's hit 100!