Berk left to pick up some dinner, after failing at convincing Tony to come along. It'd been about fifteen minutes, and Tony was feeling indescribably tired.

He decidedly pushed up from his desk and headed down to Abby's lab.

"Hey, Tony," Abby bounced as he entered. "I'm glad you're here! I've found something about Smith."

"And I believe it's cause for concern," Ducky's voice sounded from beside her.

"What is it?" Tony asked as he approached.

"Smith's medical file," Ducky replied.

"It was actually buried," Abby added. "It's old...like, before he joined the Navy. And he'd had it hidden."

"Why?"

"I believe, because if they'd seen these records, he'd not have been accepted," Ducky told him. "This man is psychologically unstable."

"And he's got a track-record with the Navy, already, to back that up," Abby said, pulling up the file on her screen. "There's been all kinds of incidents, eventually somehow dismissed, of assault, anger management issues, etc... I don't know how he's been getting away with this, honestly."

"Have you called Gibbs with this?" Tony asked.

"Well, I was just about to call you," Abby told him.

"Gibbs is headed up to this guy's cabin, right now," Tony told her, pulling out his phone. "Not that he can't handle Smith...but he should be warned." After dialing, the phone went straight to voice mail, without even ringing.

"Uh, Tony?" Abby said. "If they're already up there, there's a chance they don't have reception," she said, opening the map on her screen. "It's just out of range of any towers."

Tony felt his gut churn, uncontrollably. "I shouldn't worry... I shouldn't be worried, right?" he looked to his colleagues. "I'm a little worried, here..."

"Perhaps, you can call the Clarksburg police department and have them go up there, just to relay the message, and make sure that everything is, indeed, alright?" Ducky suggested.

"If it's not, their presence could make the situation worse," Tony replied. "And if it is okay, Gibbs will be pissed."

"Better safe, than sorry..."

Tony's cell rang in his hand, causing him to jump. He turned from his colleagues and answered, "DiNozzo."

"I need to speak with you," Vance's voice sounded on the other line.

"What a coincidence, Director," Tony replied, nodding to Abby and Ducky before heading out of the lab and to the stairwell. "I'm trying to get a hold of Gibbs-"

"That's actually what I was gonna speak to you about," he interjected. "I just got a call from Agent Berk. He's on his way to Clarksburg now. He seems to think your team is in danger."

"Why does he think that?" Tony asked.

"Something about Smith possibly being unstable."

"Oh...Abby must've called him..."

"He's calling Clarksburg PD to head up there, just in case. He told them to do it subtly, so as not to provoke him if he's right."

"He's going this alone? You think that's wise, Sir?"

"He wouldn't back down, Agent DiNozzo. And I can't say that I blame him. He's worried about the team, just as you'd be if you were in his position."

"Call me crazy, but I've got a feeling about this...I'll get back to you," he said, then ended the call. He exited the stairwell and quickly headed into the bullpen and to his desk. Then he glanced over to Tim's, and decidedly relocated there. He had a feeling...and he needed to follow it.

Pulling up Berk's phone records, he pulled out his own phone and dialed Abby. She picked up immediately. "Abs, why'd you call Berk before telling me?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I don't even like that guy..."

"You're telling me you didn't tell him about Smith's record?"

"No...Wait, does he know?" she asked, and Tony could hear her clicking away on her keyboard. "Oh my god, Tony! There's a tracer on Smith's info! You think he knew this already and withheld the information?"

"I think it's a little more than that..." he replied as he looked at all the calls in and out of Berk's line...from Smith.

*~.~*

"This is Director Leon Vance with NCIS," Vance spoke into his phone as he drove himself and Tony and two other agents in the back seat, onto the highway. "I need to know if you received a call from one of my agents in the past half hour."

Tony swallowed, awaiting some signal on Vance's face as to the answer.

"Damnit...We've got a problem..." Vance continued, giving the address to the dispatcher and telling them to proceed with caution; that they'd be there as soon as possible.

Time seemed to flash forward, and they were soon pulling onto a narrow dirt road. Tony's heart leaped in his chest when he saw smoke billowing from somewhere behind the trees...much more than would come from a chimney...

"No no no no no..." Tony panicked as they pulled up, seeing the cabin reduced to nothing but rubble. Fire trucks were still dowsing the structure; police cars scattered about as officers worked the scene. One of them approached their vehicle as they got out. But Tony ignored them and ran toward the wreckage.

He heard his name being shouted behind him, but he wouldn't look back. Gibbs' company vehicle sat in front of this wreck... His heart sank. Frantically, he looked around, finding an ambulance beside the building. He ran up to one of the paramedics.

"Did you find anyone? Any survivors?" he asked.

"Sir...we've found one body, so far," he told him. "She was outside the structure, just there," he pointed to a spot in the grass. "Looks like she was shot...twice."

"Did she had ID?" his voice wavered.

"Uh, yeah...I left it with the body," he walked to the ambulance where the body-bag was lying on a gurney. "I believe it said NCIS."

"No..." he shook his head, brushing past the man and pulling open the zipper. As he opened the flaps, he felt all the air leave his lungs. Ziva...a bullet wound to the forehead...and one in her chest.

"Sir, did you know this woman?"

"We've got more!" came a shout from somewhere in the house. "One in here!"

"Two in the sub-level!" another voice came, and Tony looked over to a hatch opening as someone came out, hauling one side of a gurney.

Tony was frozen in place, watching officers rush to assist in pulling the bodies from the hatch. One of them called for Director Vance to come over. That's when Tony moved; pushed his way through the crowd separating him from the two gurneys that the bodies were tethered to.

He overheard the paramedic as he spoke, "...too much shrapnel hit in too many vital places on the bodies. Probably died of smoke inhalation before the wounds could kill them, though..."

"No...nonono..." he was in tears now as he dropped between the two bodies that had been placed on the ground. Gibbs and McGee...blood and soot-covered faces, still recognizable to him. He couldn't breathe...

Yet, through the sorrow, rage burned in him. "Where's Berk?" he spoke loudly. When no one answered, he turned to Vance, who was now behind him, "Where's Berk!" he shouted as he stood.

"Not here," Vance told him. "We think the body in there is Micheals. Looks like Berk and Smith took off; the car is no longer here."

"I'll kill him...I'll KILL HIM!" he yelled, his chest constricting.

"Calm down, DiNozzo!" Vance grabbed his arms. Tony violently shrugged out of his grip.

"Tony!" another voice sounded behind him; one he recognized. He spun around. Gibbs' eyes were open, looking at him.

Tony dropped to his knees, "Boss?"

"Tony, you need to wake up," he told him. Tony furrowed his brow, shaking his head in confusion. "Wake up, Tony..." he repeated. "You're dreaming! Don't you see that?" his voice became louder, yet oddly disconnected from this reality...

"Come on, Tony, wake up," Tony felt strong arms on his shoulders, shaking him a little more than gently. "That's it, c'mon," Gibbs encouraged.

Tony opened his eyes, still feeling the burning ache, both physically and emotionally, from what he now realized was just a nightmare. "Boss?"

"Let me help you sit up," Gibbs told him, and Tony realized his awkward, twisted position, tangled in the covers. Gibbs helped him to sit up and back against the headboard, then handed him his inhaler.

Gibbs was half-tempted to hold the thing for him, as he felt the severe shaking in his senior field agent's body. Tony anxiously held the inhaler to his mouth, with both hands, taking two puffs.

"Whoa," Gibbs reached a hand out as the younger man began to slide to the side, and he moved to sit beside him against the headboard, and allowed him to slump against him, instead.

The device fell to the mattress as Tony released his medicine-laced breath; a shudder running through his body as he did so. Gibbs put an arm around his shoulders, and Tony curled himself into his side as he breathed through the remainder of the attack.

He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself; to breathe normally. He didn't dare move. Not until he felt Gibbs' hand on his face; his thumb wiping the tears from his cheek. That's when he pulled away, embarrassed, and finished the job drying them himself. "I'm sorry, Boss..."

"Just quit, already, Tony," he replied, sternly but softly.

Tony shook his head, "I can't do this..."

"It'll get easier-"

"The nightmares," he clarified, still not meeting his eyes. "They're too real. Doesn't seem to matter how obvious it should be that that's not how things happened...It's still real, in my head, when it's happening. I feel everything. Everything happens like an ordinary day; logistics and everything, playing out like some alternate form of reality. I can read, feel the wind on my face...I can smell smoke and death..." his voice cracked. "I can't do it... It's too much. Can't keep losing you all..."

"Listen to me," Gibbs turned a bit to face him. "We'll figure out a way to make it stop. Even if it means you see a head doc, ya got it?" Tony hung his head. But Gibbs took his chin in his hand, "Hey," and Tony turned to look at him. "I'll be with you, every step of the way, if that's what you want." Tony searched the older man's eyes for a moment, then blinked a few times to ebb away any further threatening tears. "Okay?" Gibbs asked. Tony nodded, finally. "C'mere," Gibbs wrapped an arm back around his shoulders and pulled him back to his chest.

Tony didn't fight him...

Tbc...

A/N: GAHHH! C'Mon! Let me uplooooad!