Author's Note: Am I crazy? Starting another story? Probably! Oh well, here we go!
Disclaimer: NCIS and all of its recognizable nouns are property of CBS & Bellisario Productions. I only own the idea.

Special thanks to my wonderful friend and beta, Gotgoats. You are absolutely priceless to me. Rock on!

Warning: Angst!
SPOILER ALERT: Episode 9.24 Till Death Do Us Part and Episode 10.1 Extreme Prejudice

Blank Slate
Chapter 1
By Headbanger_Rockstar

Things were rumbling at NCIS. Several calls had come in over the past few days, each of them reporting bomb threats that were false. Everyone's anxiety ramped up a notch when the Director disappeared. Gibbs and his team searched frantically for him, and everyone was shocked and amazed when all of a sudden the Director showed back up at NCIS. He was a little ruffled around the edges, but not really worse for wear. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief then, convinced that the storm had blown over—that the threat was passed.

And then…then the last call came in.

Abby's fingers flew furiously over the keyboard, the audio recording of the phone call echoing eerily throughout her lab. Tony stood at her shoulder, his eyes scanning the screen of the voice recording's vibrations. Tony was furiously taking notes, when all of a sudden he stopped.

Realization dawned on his face that was quickly overwrought by panic. "Oh shit," he breathed.

"Ohmygod," Abby's voice breathed at the same moment.

The two stopped and stared at each other for a long moment before they each grabbed a phone and started dialing. It was understood that Tony would phone Gibbs and Abby was dialing Director Vance's direct line.

Tony got through first. "Boss—it's—oh my God Gibbs the threat we received is real. We've traced the location of the caller…"

"And? Where is he DiNozzo?!"

"We have to evacuate the building," Tony said softly, his voice filled with more fear than Gibbs or Abby had ever heard. "We have to get everyone out."

"DINOZZO. WHERE IS THE CALLER?"

"Director Vance it's Abby you've got to evacuate the building! There's a bomb in the parking garage!" Abby screeched into the phone.

"Did she just say the bomb is in the parking garage?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Tony whispered. "Get everybody out. We're going to collect the evidence we have and—"

"GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!" Tony heard Gibbs yell to whoever was standing around him. "You too Tony," Gibbs' voice gentled slightly. "You and Abby need to get out too. You're closer to the parking garage than I am. I'm in the bullpen. I'll meet you out front near the flagpole."

"On it Boss," Tony said softly.

"And Tony—"

"I know Jethro," Tony said softly. "Me too." He snapped the phone shut and turned to Abby who was getting off the phone too. "We have to get the evidence and get out of here."

The two quickly went to work gathering the tape and the laptop Abby copied everything onto and the stack of files they'd been using as research references. The sound of the evacuation alarm pierced loudly through the lab and the halls as Tony and Abby scooped up the evidence and raced for the exit. They realized just outside the door to the parking garage that using the exit closest to Abby's lab was quite possibly the worst idea they could have.

"Shit! Go back!" Tony exclaimed. He and Abby quickly changed direction and headed back for the stairs. They had to go out the front door of NCIS. It was the next closest door—only a floor above them…not far…

Tony and Abby hurried into the traffic jam of agents trying to get out of the building—trying to get to safety before the building exploded. And the building would explode. That much was obvious to the forensic specialist and the special agent. As the two hurried into the crowd of frantic agents, Tony and Abby got separated. Tony glanced over his shoulder, just as he reached the door. The fresh air filled his lungs, but the ground rumbled ominously beneath his feet.

He glanced back again, just in time to see Abby stumble.

"ABBY!" Tony exclaimed. He turned around, without considering the danger he was putting himself in, and charged back through the crowd to help his favorite goth.

Abby was struggling to her feet, papers scattered around her and the case of the laptop cracked where it hit the ground when she fell.

Just as Tony reached the door to NCIS, his eyes widened for a split second as the whole world exploded around him. The ground shook and fiery hot air that smelled of fuel, ozone and death slapped him hard and the force of the blast sent Tony flying backwards.

His body ricocheted with the force of the explosion and his body was alight with pain from his head to his toes. Everything hurt. Tony saw the sky high over his head, debris flying everywhere around him. He wondered fleetingly if he was dead—and then his body hit the ground, bounced once, and everything went black.

xxx

Gibbs cursed as another bit of flaming debris fell on him. He quickly flicked the embers off of him and looked at the pile of bricks, glass, and steel that used to be the NCIS Headquarters building. He was standing near the flagpole, where he'd told the whole team to meet him. He was glad that Palmer and Ducky weren't in the building—coming up from the sub-basement would have been nearly impossible. They didn't have nearly enough warning that the building was actually going to blow up. He knew that Tony and Abby did the best they could, but…another couple of minutes would have been extremely helpful.

He felt a vague pain in his bum knee, but there wasn't any time to worry about that now. Gibbs had to stay alert and keep an eye out for his agents. His family. He looked around again, sniper eyes scanning the crowd. Where the hell was everyone?

After an explosion there's a general air of chaos as people stumble around in shock, trying to make sense of the situation. Gibbs knotted his hand into a fist and clutched at his cell phone with the other hand. He wanted to start making calls, but he knew it would be useless. There would be no cell signal. The signal jammers would be hard at work blocking any potential threat. He thought maybe it would just take a few minutes for Tony and Abby to make it out—they were coming all the way from the basement. And Ziva and Tim were near the Interrogation rooms when the alarm sounded. Gibbs wasn't sure how they'd moved through the building to get out, but he thought perhaps they were on the other side of the building—there were doors on that side that would have been closer exits.

He wanted to move—his gut was churning like wild—his protective nature was becoming almost a primal instinct. But the part of him that wanted to move was outweighed by the part of him that knew he should stick to the plan. Abby would freak out if she got to the flagpole and Gibbs wasn't where he said he'd be. Tony would be worried too. He glanced around again. The dust was beginning to clear and he squinted through the mess surrounding him.

Oh God…everywhere he looked…there was so much…damage.

He covered his brow with a hand to block out the afternoon sun and looked for his missing team. A growing sense of dread filled him. He pursed his lips and swallowed hard. His entire body was so tense—tight as a rubber band. He just needed to relax. He needed to breathe and he needed to think through the situation. He could handle this. He'd been in…explosions…before…

"GIIIIIIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBBBBBBSSSSS!" Gibbs turned his head toward the mourning shriek of his name.

Abby.

Gibbs looked around frantically, trying to place where the scream came from. He had to find her. She was with—with Tony. He had to find them.

"ABBY!" he called. "ABS WHERE ARE YOU!"

"GIIIBBSSS! WE'RE HERE!"

There she was. He could see her waving an arm at him. She was on the ground though—it looked like she was sitting…

Gibbs began pushing his way through the crowd of people. He shoved people out of his way, not letting anyone keep him from his family. As he drew nearer his breath caught in his throat. Abby was on the ground. Her hair, which had been in pigtails earlier, was in complete disarray, and it looked like one of the sleeves of her shirt had been nearly ripped off. She had a cut on her cheek and there was some blood on her bottom lip. Gibbs wondered if she'd just busted her lip or if she'd punctured a lung…he didn't know for sure, but he figured that she wouldn't have been able to yell like she did if she'd had hurt her lungs.

He stumbled over something and glanced back, his stomach flipping in horror when he recognized the person—Lorraine from Tech Support—but he kept running. He had to get to Abby. Gibbs looked back at Abby and drew up short, a shout of pain bursting from his lips.

"NO!" He shouted.

Tony was on the ground, sprawled listlessly, with his head in Abby's lap. Gibbs raced forward, sliding to a stop on his knees and ignoring the pain there, his attention focused solely on his injured partner.

"Tony?" Gibbs' voice was soft as he reached out with a shaking hand to touch the top of Tony's head.

Tony's eyes were closed, and Gibbs noticed that his lover's skin was peppered with burns, a deep laceration dug a trench through Tony's eyebrow and across his cheekbone. His left eye was nearly swollen shut. He was perfectly still.

Gibbs's hand trembled more as he carefully checked his partner for a pulse. "Is he…is he?"

It was his worst nightmare coming true—again.

"He's alive," Abby said. "But—But Gibbs! It's my fault! It's my fault he got hurt! Oh God Gibbs!"

Gibbs ran a hand over Abby's shoulder. He had to keep her calm. "It's not your fault Abby," Gibbs said softly. "It's going to be fine."

A medic rushed up. "Is he still alive?" he asked, somewhat impersonally.

Gibbs looked at the medic like he'd grown another head. "Yes he's alive! He's unconscious—Abby how long has he been unconscious?"

"Um…well I don't really know…I mean it was about 2:45 when we got the code cracked and–"

"Abby! Focus!"

"He was knocked unconscious in the explosion," Abby said. "Is he gonna wake up? Is Tony going to be ok?"

"We're going to get him taken care of," the medic said. He pulled out his radio. "I need a bed, a bus, and a backboard at the front entrance STAT," he barked.

The medic opened his bag and pulled out several packs of gauze. "He's got a pretty serious cut on the back of his head," he observed. "I'm going to get that wrapped up and start a line on him."

"A line?" Gibbs asked blankly. He selfishly wished for Ducky. The old ME always made things so much easier to understand.

"An IV," the medic told him.

"What are you going to put in it?" Abby asked.

"Well saline for now, but this way we'll have him all hooked up and ready if we need to give him something else."

"Can I ride with him?" Gibbs asked. His fingers blindly reached out and found Tony's cool fingers, but his eyes never left Tony's face. God the man was still. He was never still. He wasn't even still when he slept—seriously he was the squirmiest sleeper that Gibbs had ever seen or shared a bed with. But this…this wasn't Tony. It couldn't be. It wasn't natural.

This was one seriously fucked up day.

Another ambulance arrived and a team of paramedics rushed over to them. Gibbs and Abby were gently pushed back and they each watched silently and helplessly as a collar immobilized Tony's head. They carefully rolled him onto a backboard and strapped him to it so he wouldn't fall.

"On three," the lead EMT said. "One…two…three," the team lifted Tony's backboard and carefully sat him on the gurney. They pulled the straps over his shoulders, stomach, legs and ankles.

"Can I go with him?" Gibbs choked out.

"No," came a voice from behind them. Gibbs whipped around, anger washing over him. Director Leon Vance stood before him, toothpick in his mouth, looking decidedly ruffled. "I need you here."

"Leon!" Gibbs said. He wasn't normally the type to complain—was usually more blatantly outright insubordinate. "He's my partner—I need to be with him!" Gibbs said.

"You are the lead agent on my Major Crime Response Team," Leon said, chewing on his toothpick. "I need you here. We'll set up guards for Agent DiNozzo to keep him safe in your absence. I'm sure you understand," Vance said, his expression daring Gibbs to refuse.

Gibbs ran a hand over his face. He knew Vance was right—this investigation needed to be completed by him and his team, but…dammit! Tony needed him! He wasn't showing any signs of consciousness. Was he hurting? Was he frightened? Was he charging full tilt toward that big white light in the sky? Who would talk to him? Keep him calm? Help him relax and rest? Who knew how to deal with him on painkillers?

With a sigh, Gibbs turned to Abby. "Will you go with him?" he asked.

"No can do," Leon cut in again. "I'm sorry Jethro. But I need Abby here as well."

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LEON! Tony—Tony needs someone with him! And I'm his medical proxy! I need to be there!"

"We need to go," the medics said quietly. "He needs to be seen as quickly as possible."

"Can I just…give me one second?" Gibbs asked. The medics nodded and backed away from Tony's gurney. Gibbs stepped up close to the gurney, and combed his fingers lightly through Tony's hair. "Oh Tony," he whispered. "You've gotta hang on babe," he murmured. "I am going to get Dearing. I'm going to kill that sonofabitch with my bare hands for hurting you. And when I'm done I'll be there. I'm coming to you Sweetheart, but you've gotta hold on ok? You keep fighting. You do not die, hear me?" He pressed a firm kiss to Tony's pale, bloody forehead. He closed his eyes, his lips pressed against his partner's skin, not giving two shits what anyone standing around them thought. "I love you," he whispered in Tony's ear. "I love you so much. And I'll see you soon. You keep fighting." He tapped Tony very lightly on top of the head and stood back. "Ok," he said with a tight nod. He looked at Vance, his eyes glaring daggers at his boss. "Let's get this show on the road."

TBC…