The next time Tony woke, the sun fell through the window, warming him with its light. Ben stood next to his bed, staring at him solemnly. "Ben?"

The kid looked a lot worse for their midnight adventure; there was stitches on his forehead, taped with a butterfly bandage. His face was mottled with bruises, probably from where it impacted with the dashboard. His eyes were haunted as his gaze met Tony's.

"Hey, kid." Tony cleared his throat, wishing desperately for something to drink. "How are you doing?"

Ben shrugged. Tony shifted uncomfortably as Ben's eyes took in Tony's condition – the bandages, the myriad lines and the tubes connected with his body. When his eyes made it back to Tony, they were full of tears.

"What's up?" Tony could see that Ben was completely freaked out about what had happened. Couldn't blame the kid, he himself was freaked about what had happened to them.

Tony tried to move, to reach out to Ben, to reassure him; but he found that his body wouldn't move. He felt heavy and lethargic. With an effort, he was able to move his hand to cover Ben's.

"I'm sorry, Tony, I just…" Ben's voice trailed off uncertainly. He bit his lip as he tried to swallow back the tears.

Tony frowned, trying to figure out what to say to ease Ben's mind. His mind was as heavy as his body, his thoughts moving sluggishly. He suspected it was the result of really good drugs, the kind they only gave you in the case of serious injury. While he was glad the drugs were keeping the pain at bay, he wished he could think. He wanted to say something to ease Ben's obvious fear, he just couldn't think of any words that were more than one syllable.

Ben's fingers closed around his then, squeezing. Tony could feel his reassurance in the grip of his hand, the assurance that they were going to get through this together.

The room seemed to shake as an explosion could be heard from somewhere too close. The lights flickered and went out as the machinery around Tony paused a moment and silence surrounded them.

An alarm began to sound from somewhere and shouts could be heard from beyond their door. Then a back-up generator must have kicked in, because the machinery began to work again.

"What the hell…" Tony began to tear at the IV's and the lines that were tying him to the bed. Something had happened and he couldn't just lie in bed waiting for it to come to him.

The hospital cafeteria was busy. It was filled with the sound of people talking and the clink of silverware as breakfast was served. The floor-to-ceiling windows let the morning sunshine stream in, lending a false sense of cheer and brightness to the room.

While there was a number of hospital personnel there between shifts or stopping in for their daily intake of caffeine; many of the people at the tables were hushed, taking breaks from their vigils at loved ones sides in much the same way Gibbs himself was doing. The faces he saw were white, stretched thin with worry and too little sleep. Gibbs knew exactly how they felt.

He sat, sipping a steaming cup of coffee. It was the first time he'd left DiNozzo's bedside all night. Sitting in the uncomfortable chair hour after hour had left him stiff and achy. Needing to walk and stretch his legs, he decided to stop by the cafeteria and get fresh coffee. Sleeping soundly with a soft snore, Tony had looked to be out of it for some time.

He had been surprised when he opened the door to Tony's room to find the boy, Ben, outside, arguing with the guard posted at Tony's door. Gibbs nodded that it was alright and opened the door for the boy to enter. The boy hadn't seen Tony since they'd been separated the night before. He just needed see his friend, make sure that he was indeed all right. It was that same need that had kept Gibbs at Tony's bedside all night.

From his position in the corner Gibbs had a good view of all exits and entrances. He saw Ducky enter, his gaze sweeping the room. It didn't take him long to find Gibbs where he sat, brooding.

Nodding a good morning across the room, Ducky made his way to the counter where he bought himself some juice. Then he negotiated the tables of diners to sit with Gibbs. There was a moment of silence as they sat, each lost in their own thoughts.

"How is young Anthony?" Ducky asked finally, breaking the silence.

"Sleeping."

"He's young and strong, Jethro. He'll be fine." Somehow Ducky's soothing tones weren't working this time to calm his fears.

Gibbs sighed, "I know that, Ducky. I'm more worried about Leo, what his next move will be."

As if in answer to his unspoken question, the room rocked with an explosion. The windows blew out scattering glass everywhere, upending tables and diners, leaving the dining room looking like a scene from a war-zone.

Nancy Morgan awoke with a jerk, disoriented, unsure of where she was. Then the memories came flooding back – Leo showing up at her door, taking Ben, hitting her. She sat with her eyes closed, the memories washing over her.

What had happened to turn her loving husband into the monster she had seen last night? It wasn't just the physical scarring on his face that had been horrific. She hadn't even recognized her husband in the eyes of the man that she saw last night.

The fact that he took their son and could threaten the lives of other people proved to her that Leo was profoundly changed. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, trying to deny the tears that she could feel welling within her.

Once her life had been idyllic with a loving husband and a child on the way. Then Leo died in Iraq and she'd been alone. She had been so lost without him. Many nights she cried herself to sleep, clutching his pillow. Finally she managed to get herself together, mostly for the sake of their unborn son.

Now, to have him return like this, to find out that he had been alive during all the intervening years. What horrors had he faced, what nightmares had he lived? Some part of her still loved Leo and always would. But the other part hoped that Special Agent Gibbs caught him soon, before he could hurt anyone else.

Rubbing her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears along with her fear, she stretched in the chair. She could feel the sunshine on her face and knew that morning must have come at last. Despite the fact that she started at every sound during the night, she must have slept, at least for a while. Cracking eyes caked with sleep, her heart began to thump in fear when she discovered that Ben's bed was empty.

All vestiges of sleep gone, she sat up, her body protesting the sudden move after hours spent curled in the chair next to Ben's bed. Across from her, she could see that Agent McGee still slept soundly. It reassured her a little. Surely if there had been an intruder, if Leo had returned to take Ben, it would have woken them both with the struggle? Besides the other woman, Abby, had been in the room with them most of the night and there was a guard outside the door. Leo couldn't have taken Ben again.

She stood, stretching, trying to calm her racing heart, when the concussion from an explosion knocked her from her feet. The lights flickered and dimmed around her, finally going out completely.

She heard an alarm begin to sound…

Kate's reflection in the mirror frowned back at her. A night spent sleeping on a couch too small for her body had left her cranky and out of sorts. She pulled a comb through her hair, but it didn't seem to be doing much good, her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her teeth felt like they were covered in little fuzzy slippers. She scrubbed at her teeth with a finger and splashed cool water on her face, but neither really helped to refresh her. She decided that what she really needed was coffee.

God, was Gibbs affecting her that much, that she had to have coffee first thing in the morning in order to feel human?

Abby entered the bathroom with a little bag in hand. She also had the look of someone who had spent the night in an uncomfortable chair. her hair was mussed and sticking out at odd angles. However, she looked way too perky for such an early hour of the morning.

"Hi, Kate."

While Kate's real inclination was to punch Abby for her sweet smile and bright tone, she settled for, "Hey, Abby."

Abby didn't seem to notice her mood. She turned on the water and put her bag down, pulling out a toothbrush and toothpaste.

"You carry a toothbrush with you?" Kate asked.

"Never know when you're going to need one," Abby teased, waving the toothbrush in Kate's face. "How's Tony? Ducky never came to tell me last night."

"Tony's…" It was hard to say how Tony was. The doctors tried to be positive every time they talked to them, but Kate could hear the guarded tone in their voice.

She profiled people for a living, she could see that while they were giving them the facts, they weren't telling them everything about Tony's condition. It was too early to burden Abby with it, so she settled for a neutral, "They tell us Tony's doing as well as can be expected. As for Ducky, I think he thought you were asleep. He didn't want to disturb you."

"What made him think that?"

"Oh, the sleeping and the snoring." Kate knew how the other woman would respond and she wasn't disappointed.

"Get out! I do not snore."

"Whatever," Kate gave in with a smile. "Gibbs wants to have a debrief in McGee's room this morning. He's hoping Tony wakes up later so he can get a report from him." She ran the comb through her hair one more time, and finally gave up, shoving it back in to her purse in exasperation. "We need to catch this Morgan guy and soon."

Abby seemed to understand that the real source of her anxiety wasn't her hair, but her worry for Tony. Her eyes met Kate's in the mirror. "He's going to be okay, you know."

Kate didn't even have to ask which 'he' Abby was referring to, "There was just so much blood, Abby, I've never seen so much blood." The smell of it was still on her, even though the nurses had found her a pair of scrubs to replace her own spattered, soiled clothes.

Abby's hand covered hers briefly before returning to her own morning rituals. "You know, Tony, anything to make you feel sorry for him. You wait, next week, he'll be using this to get you to do his work for him."

Kate met Abby's encouraging smile with a small smile of her own. "I know, but… we came so close to losing him, losing them both tonight. It just makes you think, you know…"

An explosion ripped through the bathroom, tumbling walls and porcelain fixtures like leaves in the wind. Both women were slammed against the walls, neither where aware when the lights went out plunging them into darkness

Outside an alarm began to echo through the halls…

To be continued...

I know I said I would answer all questions by the end of the story, but in response to those who have asked if this is going to turn into a Tony/Kate (Tate right?) romance -no, I'm sorry, it won't. I write strictly gen stories.I hope you'll stay with me, though ;-)

Thanks for the continuing support!