Chapter 22

Gibbs walked outside to find Tony leaning against one of the trees outside. His eyes and face showing clearly the anger and disgust he felt at Gibbs's earlier action. Gibbs steeled himself for the confrontation, knowing that what he had done had crossed a line, but also knowing that sometimes you had to cross it.

"You have a problem with what happened?" Gibbs asked as he came to stand in front of Tony, his eyes betraying nothing of his own emotions

"Yeah Boss, I have a problem with it" Tony sneered back at him "I have a problem with torturing people," he ground out, his fists clenching at his sides.

"You have a problem with dead friends too?" Gibbs replied, watching as Tony paused, his mind obviously picturing Kate "Because I do" Gibbs continued not giving Tony a chance to answer "And I will do whatever it takes to make sure Abby isn't buried next to Kate," Gibbs ground out, moving closer to Tony.

Gibbs felt his anger bubbling to the surface and struggled to hold it in check "We're at war DiNozzo, and that man in there is a soldier in this war, just as you are" he ground out. "And if what I did was torture, that's fine because sometimes you have to cross the line to save lives" Gibbs told Tony, his anger getting the best of him. "And it will be fine if I have to do it again, so that I can bring Abby home and stop men like that blowing up innocent bystanders." With that Gibbs turned on his heel and walked away, Tony watching silently as he went, mulling over what Gibbs had said.

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Abby didn't know how long she had been walking, but she knew she was cold and exhausted and couldn't go any further tonight. She slowly made her way over to a fallen tree trunk and sank down on to it, pulling her coat around her as she did so. Abby peered into the darkness, listening for any sounds that might indicate Ari was following her, but all she heard was the natural sounds of the woods.

"I hate camping out" Abby muttered to herself, wincing at the loudness of her voice in the night. Abby debated getting up and gathering some leaves and grasses to use as a bed, but decided she was just too tired. Instead she let her knees sag, allowing her to slide to the ground. Once there she pulled her coat tightly around herself, and used her good arm as a pillow before closing her eyes and drifting into an exhausted sleep.

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Abby woke up shivering and her body aching, she lay there for a while trying to find the strength to move but unable to. Slowly and painfully she forced herself to roll over, screaming out in agony as pain shot down her arm and radiated throughout her body. Sweat beaded on her brow and she whimpered, unable to move, unable to even think through the pain. After what felt like an eternity, the pain slowly began to recede but Abby dared not move in case it returned. She laid there, her breath coming in short choppy gasps, tears falling down her face and onto the damp ground. Abby closed her eyes and wished she had done tso many things differently.

"Last time I ever bring Gibbs coffee" she muttered through her pain clenched teeth. Abby heard a sound to the left of her and slowly turned her head, terrified that Ari would be standing there. What she saw took her breath away though; standing not more that a few yards awaywas a doe with her calf, both peering down at her. Their eyes seemed filled with concern and compassion, and Abby stared in silence at the scene and then smiled.

"Hey guys" she murmured, sure that they would vanish, and yet amazed to find that they didn't. "I'm snow white" she laughed, falling silent as the mother pricked her ears in alarm. "Sorry" Abby whispered lying there silently for a moment, before rising up slowly onto her good arm to get a better view of them. She paused for a moment as they skipped a few steps back at her movement, but then continued to a sitting position when they calmed. Suddenly the sound of a car broke the silence and the deer's ran off back into the woods. Abby sat frozen, her heart beating loudly in her chest, terrified that the car meant Ari had found her. Slowly though her heart slowed as she realised that it wasn't just one car, but was the sound of multiple cars on a road. Abby grinned, looking around for her visitors, knowing that they had gone.

"Thanks guys" she whispered to the deer's, realising at last that she had managed to sit up because of them.

Slowly Abby stood with a smile on her face, and she slowly and painfully made her way towards the early morning traffic.