Ducky indeed had influence at the hospital. Not long after their talk, a lab tech had been around to draw more blood. When Kate got a glimpse of how many tubes the tech had taken from both her and Gibbs, her only thought was Vampire!' The prescriptions for the skin irritations and analgesics hadn't taken much time either. Kate's rash was now covered with a thick layer of salve; it had helped to ease the burning itch quite a bit. The analgesic, whatever it was, went straight into her IV. She dozed fitfully on the bed, lying on her back. As her sleep deepened, she instinctively curled on to her side. Suddenly she cried out in pain as the severely irritated skin was crushed on to itself.

A nurse came running, switching on a night light. Agent Todd? Ma'am, are you okay? What happened? She began to get Kate settled back in her bed.

I guess I just tried to roll over in my sleep. I'm tired and I'm sick of this stupid rash! Kate felt like she just might cry from the exhaustion of the day.

A loud bang from the other side of the curtain surprised them both. Kate? You okay? I've got you covered. Where is that damn DiNozzo? Gibbs slurred, and they heard a sickening thump.

Go help him!! Kate ordered the nurse as she struggled to get out of bed. Pulling her IV pole with her, she trailed after the nurse to see what happened.

Gibbs, for his part, was having a lousy night. Ducky's pain reliever had left him feeling no pain, but more than a little lightheaded. Every time he dozed off he would start to dream of yet another fugitive pulling a gun on him. As soon as they'd fire, Gibbs would be jolted awake again. Only to wait for the next. It was during one of these sleep cycles that Kate cried out. Somehow, it had penetrated his dream, and believing a team member in danger or possibly down, Gibbs lashed out in his sleep. First he knocked away the tray table, sending it into the wall. He called out to Kate and tried to get to her. But caught in the semi-dream state, he misjudged where he was and fell getting out of the bed. Contact with the floor brought him fully awake. It also brought back an assortment of pain.

I'm fine, I said. I can get myself back into bed. Just leave me alone. Gibbs growled at the hapless nurse. He didn't want any witnesses to his already rotten night. Bad enough he was stuck having nightmares, did the wretched things have to come with an audience?

Kate had walked up in time to witness this last bit of classic Gibbs grouchiness. Typical,' she thought. She was just about to intervene when Ducky stuck his head around the curtain.

Caitlin? Jethro? What on earth are the two of you doing out of bed? This is not the best thing for either of you at the moment. Now perhaps this lovely young lady can help Caitlin back to bed, and I'll get you settled, eh, Jethro?

Kate allowed the nurse to help her back to bed. She checked her IV and made sure Kate was as comfortable as possible. Then she turned off the night light and left. Kate closed her eyes and wished she could hear the whispered words on the other side of the curtain. She didn't remember if Ducky had told her all the side effects of the poison or not. Was Gibbs hallucinating? Was he getting worse? She'd had plenty of time to think about how close they all were, how much like a second family they'd become. Losing any one of the team would be like losing part of herself.

Now, Jethro, talk to me. You're pale as a ghost!

Gibbs sagged back on to the bed and allowed Ducky to help him get settled. Duck, whatever you gave me for pain really knocked me out. I started having nightmares. The next thing I knew, I heard Kate scream. I was still caught in the dream, I thought she'd been shot. So I tried to get to her and I wound up on the floor. Gibbs leaned his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Ducky looked at his friend with concerned eyes; nightmares were a less common symptom of pesticide poisoning. Anything else troubling you? Pain, cramps, anything along those lines?

Headache's back; I hit the floor pretty hard. Gibbs eyed the older man, then said quietly, Stomach hurts some. I'm not really comfortable unless I curl up.

The coroner tried not to frown at this news. to most people could mean just about anything. He gently prodded Gibbs upper abdominal area, and when he was reasonably satisfied he'd determined the source of the pain, he told Gibbs not to worry. I don't think it's serious. I'll probably send you for an CT scan tomorrow though, just to be sure. Now try to get some sleep, my friend. He wanted to check on Caitlin before going home for the night. He stepped quietly around the curtain to avoid disturbing her much needed rest.

Kate had been fighting a losing battle with her drooping eyelids, as she listened for Ducky's return. She needed to know what was happening with her boss. She was almost back asleep when the faint rustle of the curtain caused her to snap her head in the direction of the sound. Ducky? Is Gibbs...? He's okay, right? She hated the sound of weakness in her voice.

He's fine for now. He had a nightmare and said he thought you cried out. In his dream he thought that you'd been shot, so he was trying to get to you...

And wound up on the floor. Kate finished for him. That makes sense. I did yelp pretty loud. I was half asleep and rolled over without thinking. I crunched up my sore skin; bout sent me through the roof! The nurse came in to check on me and a few seconds later, we heard Gibbs. He sounded really out of it, wanted to know if I was okay and where Tony was.

Ducky nodded at her recollection, and was glad the two stories tallied, that was good. He chatted with Kate for a couple more minutes, checking her current pain levels. As he turned to go, she caught him with one last question.

Say, Ducky? Where's Tony? I haven't heard from him at all. Kate was curious about what happened to her teammate's plans to continue the search. She was reasonably sure that the mud was not poisoned; if it had been, he'd have joined her and Gibbs by now.

Anthony is still out at the house. He had another team sent out to help him retrieve Erickson's poison lab. I haven't talked to him for some time, I've been quite busy here. But there are others keeping track of his progress and monitoring your conditions for him. Ducky nodded towards Gibbs' side of the room as an inclusive gesture. I do know that he is quite determined to bring in everything that's there. Especially the evidence necessary to link Erickson to the poisoning of you two.

Kate nodded her thanks and sighed as she leaned her head back on the pillow. She felt much better knowing Tony was out there leading the search team. She only wished she could help, instead of lay here. But no matter what happened with her and Gibbs though, Tony would make sure that squirrelly little poisoner would pay. That comforting thought lulled her into healing sleep.

Tony stood at the rear of the house and contemplated his original search area. He was sure he had searched under the porch and stairs thoroughly. Its structure was sound and he had seen no other traps beneath it. He sighed and looked skyward. Dusk was fast approaching, it would be full dark before long. Agents Owens and Harrison were setting up two generator-powered halogen lights that they had brought with them. Tony took a few steps away, staying well clear of the deadly hot tub, before sitting down on the grass. The day had passed more quickly than he would have thought possible. In a way he felt nature was mocking him; while Ducky cared for Kate and Gibbs, he sat here, impotent in his quest to bring their poisoner to justice. The cold knot of fury lodged in his gut had a partner in the tendrils of fear curling around his heart. Fear that he might be unable to do this. That he might fail Gibbs.

Enough!' he told himself. This is what that pig wants from you. He wants you to doubt yourself, so you will make a mistake. Don't give him the satisfaction.' Tony stood up and stretched as much as the haz-mat suit would let him. He wanted to know how Christie was doing inside the house, but he didn't want to break her concentration.

he ventured very softly into the comm. unit.

Uhnn... Just a sec. Her voice sounded preoccupied. After a lengthy pause she replied.

Just wondering where you were.

About halfway through the kitchen. This is like trying to follow a drunk while blindfolded! You wouldn't believe the stuff this guy's rigged up.

Tony smiled, surprised at the energy and wonder in her voice. Oh, to be that innocent again... Yeah, unfortunately I would. Listen, I've got a very strange vibe about our whack job. We're getting closer to our goal and things should start getting nastier, don't you think?

I'd call some of this crap pretty nasty.

It's not nasty enough; so far this has been pretty easy. He cut off her protest mid-squawk, I know you don't think it's been easy, but there's been a logical path. This guy's too freakin' insane to let us live. It's gonna get deadly soon, I can feel it. And I don't want to lose anyone else, Shales.

Fine. I'm about three, maybe three and a half feet from the door now. What do you want me to do? Christie thought Tony was overreacting, but it was his show. If he wanted her to stand here, that was fine with her.

What's around you right now? Anything?

Nothing. No objects, and scanner says no traps. Can I head for the door now?

Tony let out a frustrated sigh. Something about all this felt very wrong, but... Yeah, I guess, just go slow, traps or not.

Christie heard the tension in his voice. Okay, DiNozzo, I'm going slow. But I'm telling you this is all cle... OH MY GOD!

Tony heard several gasps and then a decisive grunt, as if she'd hit something hard. Shales, dammit, answer me!! Tony took off on a dead run to the small wooden porch outside the back door. In his haste he paid no attention to the stairs he assumed were safe.

Once they'd finished setting up the lights, Dave Owens headed back to the truck, bristling at the unfairness of it all. This was the kind of case that could make a guy's name at the agency, and it had fallen into the lap of the office ladies' man. He'd assumed when his team had been dispatched that he would be taking the lead, only to find himself relegated to monitoring communications. Not that he wanted to be the one poking around what should have been a simple search and was now a crime scene that had claimed nearly half a dozen casualties. But it rankled that DiNozzo had snatched the choice away from him.

Harrison was surprised that he hadn't been told to get into a haz-mat suit and follow Christie and Tony into the house. He didn't know how Tony had kept it all together, watching one teammate after another fall victim to Erickson's madness. To DiNozzo's credit, there had been no more injuries since he had taken charge, but that could change in a heartbeat.

Once he had stowed the light boxes back in their place -- never leave crap lying around, Dave always said -- and made sure the latest of Shales' captures were coming through cleanly on the laptop, Harrison headed toward the rear of the house. Owens, who had just finished with the generator, brushed past him. He looked after his unhappy boss, then went in search of Agent DiNozzo. He found him sitting on the lawn, glaring at the house as if he were facing an adversary. Unwilling to disrupt his concentration, Harrison turned and contemplated the structure before him briefly. The porch was a small square, maybe eight foot on a side. The stairs were on the side, seven in all, along the back wall, to the right of where he stood now. He moved toward them, thinking to sit and wait until he was needed. Just as he lowered himself toward a step, his instincts kicked in, opting instead to drop to one knee beside the short flight of stairs. He spotted the tiny cylinder on the far right of the second step; at first, he thought it was a camera. Then he found the twin on the far left. Infrared sensors?' he thought. He quickly scanned the rest of the stairs and found another set three steps up. Harrison stood and walked back towards DiNozzo who was now standing and having a conversation with Shales. Harrison didn't want to interrupt, but this was important. Just as he reached the other agent's side, Christie's outburst came through the headset and DiNozzo took off for the stairs, yelling her name

Harrison watched it all as if he were a fly trapped in amber. DiNozzo's foot hit the second stair, and a low level hum began. Harrison opened his mouth to speak, but Tony's feet moved faster. The second switch set off a faint hiss and the cold dampness he suddenly felt jolted him finally back to reality. DiNozzo, stop!!