Coping in the Storm

Tony found Palmer first.

The young man was sitting up, moving carefully, testing his limbs and joints, trying to assess whatever damage his body might have sustained.

"Jimmy, you okay?" he asked, worried, as he approached him. Palmer looked up at him. "I think so." Tony grimaced slightly as he noticed a nasty bump beginning to form on the younger man's head, with a tiny rivulet of blood trickling down the side of his face from it.

"Have you seen Ziva?" Tony was looking around even as he said the words, trying to spot the missing woman.

"She was sitting next to me, but I haven't seen her since… I'm not sure when I saw her last. What the hell happened, Tony?"

Tony shrugged. "No idea. Doesn't matter now anyway." He turned as he heard footsteps behind him.

McGee's face was grim, and Tony almost knew without asking, what he'd found in the cockpit.

"Pilot?" Tony finally asked, whispering. McGee said nothing, simply shaking his head.

"Jimmy, you okay?" McGee asked, turning to him. "Yeah, I think so," came the reply. He rose to stand, and wobbled a bit, feeling his head suddenly spin.

Tony and McGee rushed to his side, to hold him up. Palmer closed his eyes for a moment, "That was one hell of a head rush," he said, trying to brush off their concerns. "I'm fine, really. We have to find Officer David," he said.

"You're the closest thing we've got to a doctor, Jimmy. Can you handle that?" Palmer looked at Tony. "No pressure there," he muttered. "Yeah, I think so. Your first aid is up to date, right?" McGee and Tony shared a brief look, as they both nodded. "Recertified last month," McGee confirmed.

"Any idea where she could have ended up? Obviously she was thrown," Tony asked. Palmer thought a moment, looking around at their surroundings.

"Well, judging by where she was, and where I was, and where I ended up, we should probably look over here, first,"he finally said, leading the way.

The three men had barely taken a dozen steps when they heard a low moan, and a slight rustling of leaves and other ground debris.

"Ziva," McGee said, relief flooding his voice, as they followed the sound, and rushed to her side.

They were met with silence, as the Mossad officer lapsed back into unconsciousness.

…………………………………………………………

"Abby, what's going on? Why did you have Gibbs drag me in here?" Jasmine wasn't annoyed at her brother's girlfriend, so much as worried about her reasons for having her summoned.

Abby looked up as Jasmine approached, still in her paramedic uniform. "Did I call you away from work?" Abby asked, suddenly.

Jasmine shook her head. "I was just coming off shift. Don't worry about it, Abs. What's going on?"

"I wish I knew. Something's wrong though. Gibbs called the airport. Our guys are on their way back… But… Jaz, they should have been here by now. It's only a 90 minute flight, and Tim called me right before they boarded the plane."

Jasmine nodded. "Tim. That's why you've got this hinky feeling. And it's the others too, right?"

Abby nodded. She had hoped that Jasmine's usual optimism and warm green eyes would offer reassurance that she was just being stupid. Instead, the young woman's reaction had only reinforced her fears.

Jasmine reached out for her friend, and she hoped, her eventual sister-in-law. "I'm sure they're fine," she soothed. Abby clung to her, closing her eyes, trying to summon some kind of feeling that would tell her that their people were okay.

But no such feeling was to be had.

…………………………………………………………

"Tim, immobilize her head please. She might react badly if she wakes up and finds Tony's knees wrapped around her head," Palmer said, grinning briefly. The two agents smiled at this. Who knew that Jimmy had a sense of humour?

"If she wakes up, tell her what I'm doing so she doesn't panic and try to move around," Palmer directed, as he donned gloves from the first aid kit.

Starting at her arms, he carefully worked his way over her entire body, checking for obvious injury and bleeding, that may have been concealed by her clothing and her position on the ground.

As he reached her legs, he looked up. "Damnit," he softly cursed. "Tony?" he asked, gesturing the older agent over with a shake of his head. McGee looked worried as Tony moved over to where Palmer was. "Hold her leg, right here," he directed. Tony looked at him. "She'd have to be unconscious for me to get away with this," he noted, with a humourless smile.

Tony grasped her thigh, roughly 12 inches above her knee, as Palmer gingerly felt the unnatural bump on her leg, and noted the strange position. "Her leg is definitely broken," he said, as McGee held her head steady. She moaned softly and opened her eyes as she felt the pain in her leg intensify momentarily. "It's out of place. It has to be reset before we can splint it." He noticed that she had woken up, and felt it unnecessary to point out to them that a fractured femur held it's own special potential for complication. They all had first-aid training. They didn't need to be told about the artery running along the bone.

McGee reached down and grasped her hands in his. "Sorry, Ziva," he whispered softly. "This has to be done. Squeeze my hands as hard as you have to," he said, trying to reassure her. He moved his hands, still grasping hers, down to her sides, and held them down firmly. He took a deep breath, readying himself for the inevitable reaction from Ziva.

Tony looked at Palmer, as he repositioned his hands on her leg. "On the count of five," he said. Jimmy nodded.

"One… two… three…"

Ziva screamed and her body tensed and recoiled as Palmer yanked her broken bone into place. McGee winced and could have sworn he felt a bone crack in one of his hands, as Ziva gave them a mighty squeeze.

"That wasn't five," she hissed, fighting back involuntary tears, and gasping for breath.

"The element of surprise is sometimes the best way to go," Palmer shrugged. He carefully examined the injured limb. "Good news. That seems to have worked the first time."

"Officer David," he started, before Ziva glared at him. "Mr. Palmer, what have I asked you many times?"

Palmer cleared his throat. "Sorry. Ziva."

Tony got up and gestured McGee to follow. "Guys, we're gonna try and track down that splint," he called behind him. "It wasn't with the first-aid kit, but it has to be around here somewhere."

Palmer nodded at them, then turned back to Ziva. "You don't seem to have any other injuries, at least not obvious ones. But we need to get you back to the fuselage, for when search and rescue comes looking. Don't worry, Ziva. We'll get you out of here. You'll be kicking Tony's butt again in no time at all."

Ziva nodded. She knew she'd have a few moments grace before Tony and Tim returned with the splint. "You have a nice bedside manner, Jimmy." He smiled. "Thanks. But I don't really need it where I work." He chuckled softly and shook his head slightly with irony, then sighed and looked around, listening for signs of rescue. When he heard none, he turned his attention back to Ziva.

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness again, was the concerned face of Jimmy Palmer, gazing down at her.