They walked for what seemed like forever and as far as Tony could tell they were no closer to finding the main road. He knew McGee thought he was crazy for insisting that they were being followed, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something behind them in the darkness gaining ground.

Tony found himself shivering, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. The night was becoming downright cold. And if thatwasn't enough, each step was a new adventure in pain. It cut through Tony like a knife, stealing his breath away and making the world whirl around him.

McGee was his touch point; his arm around Tony's waist kept him grounded and in the here and now. It would be oh so easy to let everything go and drift away to where the pain couldn't touch him. But he couldn't do that. McGee didn't stand a chance against whoever was following them and McGee didn't deserve to die tonight.

Hell, neither one of them did. And they weren't going to, if Anthony DiNozzo had anything to say about it. He was determined that they were both going to get out of the night alive.

Gibbs wouldn't accept anything less from him.

He ground his teeth against the pain and the cold and decided that he needed something to think about besides how bad he felt.

He needed a distraction, "Hey, McGee, tell me about your book."

There was silence as McGee tried to process his strange request, "Book?"

Tony almost had to smile at the confusion in the other man's tone, "Yeah, you know, you said you wrote."

"Oh. You really want to know?"

"Sure, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

"Okay, I write mysteries."

Even as he talked, Tony kept his senses alert for subtle changes in the night, different noises, things that moved that shouldn't, "Yeah, I know that, McGee. Tell me about the characters in your stories. Are there any hot babes?"

"Well, no. My main character is a detective. He's kind of a geek, you know, he likes computers…"

Tony stumbled and they had to pause while he regained his breath, "Kind of like you?"

McGee chose to ignore the jibe, "You're supposed to write about what you know. I know about computers and technology."

"Nobody's going to read that," he didn't know how much longer he could keep going. Grey was beginning to creep in at the edges of his vision and McGee's voice sometimes sounded far away, and then it was startling close.

Just one step at a time, he could keep going one more step. Tony began to count his steps. One…

McGee didn't seem to be aware of his distress, he just kept talking, which wasa good think, it kept them moving forward, "At the moment it's not for anyone to read. It's just for me. Besides Abby likes it."

"You let Abby read your stories?" Five, six, seven…

"Sure."

"You know what you need in your stories?" He just needed to keepMcGee talking and they'd make it. Ten, eleven…

"I'm sure you're going to tell me," McGee muttered under his breath.

Tony grinned despite the pain, he didn't think he was supposed to have heard that, "What?" he asked innocently. Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…

"Uh.. nothing, tell me what I need," Tony could feel McGee's blush.

"Your geeky guy needs to have a partner." Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four… he was on a roll now. If he could just keep breathing he would make it, "A handsome guy, kind of street wise, who knows all the bad guys and gets your guy out of scrapes."

Their steps had slowed, "And I wonder who that is?" Tony had a feeling McGee was on to his tactic.

"Hey, write what you know," Tony reminded him. Twenty-six….

"Okay, a handsome street-wise guy. What's his part in the story?"

"He has to teach the geeky guy everything he knows before the other guy gets himself killed." Thirty, he'd made it to thirty. That was a good thing, right?

"You think I'm going to get myself killed?" McGee sounded surprised at the mere concept.

"In the book, McGee," Tony reminded him.

"Oh, okay."

"And yeah, I'm sure this geekie detective of yours is just gonna trust the wrong person and get himself killed. Now that'll make a good story." Thirty-five…

"That happened to you, didn't it, Tony?" McGee's voice was so low, Tony could barely here it.

Tony paused startled. McGee really was learning, "What are you talking about, Probie? I'm here, aren't I?"

McGee pushed, "Or someone close to you. A partner maybe."

There was silence and they just walked. Finally Tony said, "Sometimes trusting the wrong person doesn't get you killed, it gets other people killed." He didn't want to think about it, he was supposed to be counting. Forty… Or was it Fifty. He'd lost count now, and had to start over. One…

McGee didn't know what to say, "I'm… uh… sorry."

"What? We're talking about your story detective here, remember?" Tony's voice was rough, and he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He didn't need those memories now. He'd lost count again, and didn't know if he could start again.

"Oh, right, sure we were."

They walked along in silence, Tony trying to remember where he was in the count when some change in the night alerted him.

He stopped, listening intently, "Did you hear that?"

Tony could practically see McGee's ears stretch as his head swiveled taking in the night around them, "No, I'm sorry, I don't hear anything."

There was no time for Tony to explain what had alerted him, he wasn't even certain himself. He just knew they had to do something. Fast. The pain was pushed aside as he formulated a plan, "Listen, McGee, this is what we're going to do…"

Tony outlined his plan quickly and succinctly, keeping his attention focused on every sound and whisper from around them.

"Do you see anything?" Gibbs asked.

Kate strained to see something, anything, out the window that might tell them what had happened to Tony and McGee. But try as she might, she didn't see anything. Just darkness. "No, sorry, Gibbs."

"Well this is the position where Abby tracked them first, there's got to be…" he slowed the car even more as he saw something in the headlights.

Kate held her breath as she peered out into the murky darkness trying to figure out what he saw; then she saw it, too, skid marks across the road. Gibbs braked to a halt, and they both ran to track the marks.

They stood on the side of the road, their flashlights marking the path the SUV had taken as it disappeared down the ravine. Without a word, they took off down the hill, slipping and sliding down to the scene of the accident.

Kate couldn't believe that anyone had gotten out of the vehicle alive. It was obvious it had rolled several times as it came down the hill, it was crushed and misshapen. The acrid stink of gasoline and burning tires filled the air. It was with trepidation that she checked the inside of the vehicle. Nothing.

"Gibbs." Shining in the beam of her flashlight was blood, lots of blood. "Where's our guys?"

"Now that's the question, isn't it?" Gibbs asked. He played the beam around the site, trying to see if he could spot anything to give him a clue. He quickly found the track where a body had been pulled from the SUV.

"Kate." He followed the track, until he found where the body had lain. He saw the footprints that indicated one of his men was upright and ambulatory. He saw where both of them had eventually walked away, or one walked and the other lurched. He also saw where another set of prints followed behind. "Kate call an ambulance and get them here."

He took off into the darkness, leaving her to pull out her cell phone and rush after him. No way was she leaving him alone out here without backup.

To be continued

You guys do know it's the holidays, right? I'll try to keep updating, but things are getting a little hectic. I might not be able to update as often or as quickly, but I'll do my best. Just wanted you to know that if I don't update as quickly as I have, I haven't abandoned the story or our guys.

I mean, I can't keep them out in the woods running for their lives indefinitely, can I? vbeg>