Note: Brace yourselves, Friends...

(For all of you who felt I was a little rough on Ellie out in the woods, I hope this makes up for it, just a teensy little bit...?)


When Gibbs and Mac arrived at the office, the bullpen was empty. Mac once again claimed Bishop's chair and leaned back with a tired sigh. "Did we beat the kids in this morning?" he asked, watching his old friend lean over his own desk and bang on the keyboard.

Gibbs shook his head. "I think they're on a coffee run; I've got emails timestamped just a few minutes ago."

Mac reached for his laptop and pried it open. Keying in the dizzying array of passwords necessary to bring it to life, he checked his own email. "Yeah, they copied me in on everything." He read through a few messages from his own office, and wasn't quite sure what to think at the lack of 'Ceiling Tiles' messages from Sam; had DiNozzo given up that easily, or was he rethinking his bait?

DiNozzo returned at that moment, bearing a cardboard tray loaded with coffee cups. "Good morning," he greeted pleasantly, putting one of the cups on McGee's desk, then swiveling to put another next to Gibbs' computer. Acknowledging the nod of thanks from his Boss, DiNozzo dropped another cup on the corner of the desk before MacGyver before handing him a different one that sported a string and paper tab dangling from beneath the plastic lid. The last cup was for Tony himself, which he blew on to cool the temperature as he sent the empty tray tumbling into the garbage can.

MacGyver inhaled the earthy scent of the tea he'd been given, but cast a curious look at the other cup on the desk before him. "Did I look thirsty?" he queried.

DiNozzo chuckled once. "That one's not yours."

MacGyver was about to ask for clarification when his attention was caught by McGee's return to the bullpen. He was balancing two laptops in his hands, and Mac moved the coffee cup for him when one of the laptops ended up on the desk before him. "Good morning," Mac greeted the younger man.

"Good morning," someone else replied from behind him. Mac turned in surprise when he recognized Ellie's voice. "You're in my chair," she teased him before he could speak.

"What're you doin' here?" Gibbs demanded, striding forward while motioning for Mac to stay seated. "Go home! Rest up!"

Raising her hand, which sported a thin splint on her injured wrist, Ellie showed off a rumpled piece of paper. "I was cleared to return to work this morning," she announced as Gibbs read the doctor's note and fixed her with a withering glare.

"Ellie, I don't think this is a good idea," MacGyver couldn't help saying as he helped her into her chair.

"You did such a good job fixing my cut that it's already closed and healing," she said, tilting her head to show him. "And my wrist is sore, but since there's no real damage done to it, I just need to keep the splint on it and I'm fine." She gave everyone a convincing smile, her gaze ending on MacGyver as her cheeks colored slightly with embarrassment. "Look, this guy's crew led us on a wild goose chase into the woods, and I feel like I let you guys down." She waved off Mac's instant protest. "No, even though we got our information too late to catch the guy we were chasing, I still slowed you down. I didn't know what to look for, and I ended up getting us in trouble. I'm back in an environment I understand, so I'm going to do my job and find this guy!"

The corners of Mac's eyes crinkled adorably with his proud smile. "Awww, we threw you in the deep end out there, but you held up better than most would have. Right, Gibbs?"

McGee interrupted before Gibbs could answer. "Boss, Salazar just made a call! I've been tracking his cell phone; he's had it off for the last fifteen hours, but he just turned it on."

"Location?" Gibbs barked.

"Right where we figured he'd be," McGee said, pointing to the screen beside him.

"Grab your gear!"

The team had parked the cars out of sight and hustled into position. A handful of guys were moving heavy pallets around, two of which were loaded with metal barrels. As the fork truck swiveled to pick up another load, its operator noticed the approaching Federal Agents and raised the alarm. Abandoning the equipment, the whole group fled.

"Gibbs, I saw Salazar! He ran into that warehouse over there," MacGyver pointed out, panting a little from the run. "What's the plan?"

"We go in and get him," Gibbs retorted, signaling his team. "Stay out here!"

"Not happening," Mac informed him.

Gibbs glared at him, but gave in. "You're not armed… stay behind me." He ignored Mac's 'yeah, we'll see' grin as he directed Bishop and McGee to take the left entrance and Tony to watch the middle. Returning his attention to his old friend, Gibbs shot him a look that demanded compliance before he led Mac towards the right entrance. Everyone took their positions, and at Gibbs' next signal, the doors were kicked in and the agents swarmed.

"Federal Agents; Freeze!" DiNozzo bellowed, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. Their suspect had buddies inside with him, and they were starting to scatter like the cockroaches they were. Tony cornered two of them, herding them back towards the main group. He heard gunshots, and his focus tightened as he realized they weren't from his team's Sig's.

MacGyver ducked as a piece of machinery in front of him exploded into a hail of sparks. His foot slipped on some spilled motor oil, and he allowed gravity to pull him out of the way of the next hail of bullets that rained down on him. He felt something hot next to his head, and the stink of various chemicals stung his nose. A fire had started in one of the plastic recycling bins that he and Gibbs were hiding behind. Fifty years of experience diffusing bombs around the world and a whole afternoon spent in Abby's lab told him that he was in the worst possible place to be hiding and that he had to move fast. He risked a look over the top, got a read on where the gunmen were hiding, then caught Gibbs in a flying tackle that propelled him a good ten feet out of the way.

"What the…?" Gibbs grunted in fury as they crashed into the far wall amidst another flurry of gunshots.

Mac was still pushing to get him behind an abandoned truck in the corner. "Figured out what Abs and I were missing, and it's bad! Didn't want us getting caught in the…"

BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!

The plastic bins exploded, spewing molten liquids around the immediate vicinity. Two of the gunmen went down screaming, while the rest scurried further away. McGee was able to knock one of the gunmen down and cuff him.

One foolhardy soul tried to race through the opening where Gibbs had been, and the Special Agent scrambled back to his feet and gave chase. Another waited until Gibbs' back was turned to come out of hiding and aim his gun, but Mac bounced to his feet and grabbed a coil of extension cord that hung from a nearby pole. Swinging the loop like a rodeo star, Mac dropped it right over the guy's head. Using the gunman's momentary pause to advantage, Mac looped the other coils around him and pulled tight, sweeping the guy's legs out from underneath of him and quickly dallying his feet up behind his back.

Another round of gunfire had Mac diving back behind the truck. A shaft of sunlight streamed through the broken skylight above him, and Mac darted a glance around to see what was available for him to use. The review mirror caught his attention, and he grinned as he ripped it loose. Angling the mirror so it caught sun's rays, he found one of the suspects crouching in a puddle of liquid and danced the beam across the man's eyes to blind him. As the gunman yelled and clawed at his eyes, his shot went wide and missed DiNozzo by a mile. Mac turned the beam on the puddle, hoping the sunlight was focused enough to ignite it.

It was only seconds later before the blinded gunman was screaming and thrashing on the floor, his pants ablaze. Bishop was close by with a blanket she'd found, and she threw it over the suspect to extinguish the fire before planting her knees into the man's shoulder blades and reaching for his hands to cuff him.

"Clear on this side!" DiNozzo yelled from the front of the building.

"Clear on this side!" McGee reported from the left entrance.

"I hear something!" Bishop hollered, leaving her cuffed suspect on the floor as she scrambled back behind cover.

The Cougar himself launched into a run, aiming for the sliver of open space between Gibbs and the right entrance. Gibbs was already moving to intercept, but he was too far away.

MacGyver knew if they were going to stop him, he'd have to do something. He wrenched the steering wheel loose and threw it like a Frisbee, catching the Cougar across the back of his knees and making him stumble. Fresh out of ammunition, MacGyver gave chase, leaping lightly out of his hiding spot and landing in a run. He shoulder-checked their suspect, spinning him off balance, but Mac miscalculated his angle and sent himself hurtling towards the post nearby. He recovered and spun, just in time to catch the Cougar's right fist in his stomach. The force of the punch not only doubled him over, but sent him flying backwards a few feet to land on a pile of loose tools.

Tony and Gibbs reached the Cougar at the same moment, and Tony's left hook brought their suspect to the ground in a heap. Gibbs had the handcuffs on in seconds, and the team allowed themselves a moment to breathe.

"Good move with the mirror, there, MacGyver!" McGee commended, looking around for him.

"I've never seen anything like that done with an extension cord either!" Bishop praised, joining the search.

"Where is he?" Tony demanded.

Gibbs pointed to the pile where Mac had ended up, breaking into a jog to get there.

Mac had one elbow braced on the floor and his other arm wrapped across his belly as he alternately retched, gasped for air, and groaned. Agony had flooded him, graying out his skin and bringing a thick sheen of moisture to his face. His forehead was bruised and bleeding, rubbing against the debris on the floor as he brought his knees up underneath him into a fetal position.

"Mac!" Gibbs shouted, reaching him and throwing out a hand to keep him from crashing to his side. "McGee, call an ambulance!"

"I've gotten punched in the gut before, but this is something else," Tony exclaimed, sympathy pains cramping his own gut as he helped Gibbs pull MacGyver free of the sharp tools.

"They're on their way, Boss!" McGee reported, and in seconds they could hear the sirens. He darted outside to flag down the EMT's and lead them to their patient.

Even after they'd loaded him on the stretcher, MacGyver was still trying to curl into a ball around his injured midsection. He looked like he was about to pass out, except he hurt to much to do so. He had the strength to attempt to bat away the oxygen mask one of the EMT's tried to put over his nose and mouth, but Gibbs caught his hand and held it. "Easy, buddy; they're just trying to help," Gibbs said, hurrying alongside the stretcher as it was pushed towards the ambulance. "Tony, take charge here; call for back up and get these dirt bags to Interrogation!" he called over his shoulder. "Call Ducky; have him meet us at the hospital!"

Mac heard all the shouting through the haze of red-hot pain engulfing him. "The… chemicals… Gibbs…" he tried to gasp.

"Shaddup, Mac; you're pretty messed up," Gibbs ordered, worry creasing his forehead.

"Gibbs… the b…bins… Get the team… outta there…" He broke off as Gibbs shouted another order to his team. He tried to pull in another breath, but the muscles of his abdomen weren't behaving properly, and darkness washed over him.

Gibbs turned back in time to see MacGyver go limp, and concern flared though him. "Is he…?"

The EMT dove to check his vitals. "Sir... I think he..."

At the seriousness in the young tech's gaze, Gibbs gripped the stretcher hard enough to crimp the metal.