Chapter Thirty Four: Rushing Against Time

The sirens were growing closer as the ambulances and police got nearer. Tony squatted next to Gibbs and pulled his own NCIS jacket from his shoulders. He wrapped it around Gibbs' shoulder and squeezed the front and back, applying as much pressure as he could. Ziva went out to the road to direct the paramedics as Nicole continued to lie on Gibbs' chest. Jen kneeled next to Gibbs, her good hand still gripping his. Her other arm lay cradled across her midsection as her shoulder ached and burned.

Tony looked at Director Shepard's shoulder and pursed his lips. He then looked down at Gibbs as the tears built. He glanced over at the dead man laying just mere inches from them, knife still protruding from his neck. His gaze then traveled to the dead man he had shot in the neck lying on the grass a hundred feet away.

Tony pressed with all he had on Gibbs' wound, holding the blood in the best he could. He was no doctor but from the look of the grass and Gibbs' clothing, he had lost a lot already. He knew that was bad. He swiped his shoulder across his eyes, catching the tears and smearing them across his face.

Looking up he saw Ziva standing in the road with hands on her hips watching the front entrance. Tony could see the revolving lights of red and blue coming towards them now as the first wave of cops were arriving. An ambulance pulled in behind the second cop car and then two more cops turned in. Ziva directed them where to go and worked with the cops to secure the area.

Tony was grateful for that. He couldn't bear to leave Gibbs at this moment to do something so mundane. Two paramedics rushed up beside him with stretcher and bags. The first one kneeled next to Tony, shouldering him gently, forcing him away from Gibbs. The man then reached down and tried to pry Nicole from her position. She screamed, some from agony, some from the terror and tension she had just endured.

Tony put a hand on the paramedic to stop him and then gently wrapped his hands around the child lying on his boss. He leaned in close to her ear, listening to her erratic breathing. He pulled her slightly up, placing his lips next to her skin.

"Honey, you have to get off him now, they need to help him," Tony said as gently as he could. He then felt another set of hands on his. He looked up to find Director Shepard helping him remove Nicole. She fought them for a moment before she just simply gave up. Tony lifted her to his shoulder and held her tightly as he walked away from his boss. The paramedics began their routine to save Gibbs, but Tony could no longer watch.

Director Shepard was behind him, walking close on his heels, as he carried the child towards the chaos of vehicles coming into the construction site. A second ambulance pulled in, lights flashing, and stopped. Tony made his way over towards it.

"These people need to take care of your injuries, Nicole," he said softly as the child clung to him, her eyes staring blankly at Director Shepard over his shoulder. Director Shepard reached out and stroked the child's hair trying to sooth her. Tony sat Nicole on the back of the ambulance as a female paramedic came around to her.

"Do you know what happened to her?" the woman asked Tony. He looked at Director Shepard.

"I don't," he replied. Jen simply shook her head, as her own eyes drifted back over her shoulder to Gibbs. The two paramedics were still tending to him on the grass.

"What's her name?" the paramedic prompted.

"Nicole," Jen said softly still drawn to Gibbs, unable to break her eyes from his body.

"Nicole, sweetie, my name is Janelle. I need you to tell me what hurts," the woman said softly. Nicole stared at her a moment, testing her body. She looked down at the blood stains and started to cry again.

"My leg, he cut my leg," she wailed before her hands came up to her neck. She didn't say anything but the paramedic noticed the cut in Nicole's throat as well.

"Anything else hurt?" Janelle asked calmly.

"He squeezed my shoulder really hard," Nicole sobbed as she struggled to see around the paramedic. She failed becoming more agitated and frightened. "Where's Gibbs?"

"Sweetie, I need you to focus on you right now," Janelle said as she pealed Nicole's pants back enough to look at the nasty gouge left by the knife.

"No," Nicole said as she started to struggle against the paramedic. Jen stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Nicole's shoulders pulling her tightly to her chest. The pain in her other shoulder made her wince but she held her ground with the child.

"Nicole, there's nothing we can do right now," Jen said with tears in her eyes. "Let this lady help you."

The child went slack in the Director's arms as Tony squeezed his eyes shut. This is NOT happening his brain screamed in torment. He then put a hand on the Director's arm as she still maintained contact with Nicole.

"You should be checked too," he said softly. Jen looked at him with defiance in her eyes for a moment before she realized he was right. She nodded and sat down next to Nicole on the back of the ambulance.

"She'll need stitches on that hip. Looks like her shoulder is pretty bruised up, we'll need to take x-rays of it to be certain it's not broken. I think the cut on her neck is superficial. Have her legal guardians been notified?"

Tony shook his head no. They had not informed social services or the Parks that they had found Nicole. There had been no time since everything had happened. Tony made a note to have the Metro PD radio back to the officers at the house. The paramedic looked at Tony and pursed her lips slightly before shifting in front of Director Shepard. Tony instinctively stepped in front of Nicole to block her view of Gibbs on the ground.

"I can't treat her without parental permission," Janelle said as she pulled the Director's shirt back.

"Her parents are dead," Tony said quietly looking over his shoulder at the man who killed her mother. Nicole stared at Tony's chest with tear filled eyes. Tony noticed that the two paramedics had Gibbs on a stretcher now and were rushing him towards the waiting ambulance. He turned back to this ambulance.

"Who is her official guardian, we need permission," Janelle continued.

"Take these two to the SAME hospital they just took that man too. I'll get everything you need," Tony said as they heard the doors slam on the first ambulance before it pulled away with the siren blaring, lights ablaze. Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a good sign, they had a pulse.

Janelle examined Jen's shoulder by pushing and prying at the skin. Jen ignored her for the most part wincing involuntarily. Tony watched Ziva interacting with the cops as her vision trailed the ambulance that had just left. She turned and looked at Tony, but he could only shake his head. He walked towards Ziva and asked if she had everything under control. She nodded as another team from NCIS was getting out of their cars.

They both headed back towards the ambulance as Janelle was finishing up with the two patients. The paramedic was packing her supplies back into the bus as she explained to Director Shepard that both would need to go to the hospital. Tony stopped, leaning on the bay of the doors.

"I'll call Ducky and Abby at headquarters and let them know where he is. I'm sure they probably already heard," Tony said regretting that it wasn't him that had told either of them of the tragic news. "I'll also get a hold of McGee in California."

"Thank you, Agent DiNozzo," Jen said as the paramedic motioned for her and the child to climb into the bus for transport. Tony nodded and walked away from the ambulance towards the car with Ziva next to him. They both sat in the vehicle and waited as the ambulance pulled into the street, then they followed. Tony pulled his cell phone from his pocket as he drove.

"I can make the calls," Ziva said.

"No," Tony said as he punched the button for Abby's lab. Abby picked up almost immediately.

"Tell me this is some sick joke, Tony," she said in a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Abbs, I can't," he said his throat closing slightly on him making him sound slightly froggy.

"What happened?"

"Gibbs was shot, Abby, he took one round in the back, through his shoulder. He lost a lot of blood and was unconscious when they took him away in the ambulance," he replied. He told her where they were taking him as well as what had happened to Kirkpatrick and Mann. While telling the story he filled her in on Nicole and Director Shepard.

"Tony," Abby said through tears.

"Just meet us, Abby, and bring Ducky," Tony said as he closed his phone.

Jen sat next to the gurney as Nicole laid on it. Nicole had shut her eyes now as her face was stained with mud, blood, and sweat, the tears mixing it all together. She had her small fists clenched at her sides and Jen didn't know how to comfort her. She laid a gentle hand across the girl's shoulder and waited.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take for ever and it was rough going. Every bump they hit seemed like they had run over a small mountain as the vehicle shook and shuttered on its why to its destination. Jen finally saw the hospital come into view and felt her stomach constrict. She fought the urge to vomit as she thought about Gibbs being rushed into the emergency room before them.

The ambulance pulled to a stop and Tony found a parking place in the lot as he and Ziva hurried to catch up with Jen and Nicole. Justin Parks was just pulling up when they pulled Nicole from the back of the ambulance. He immediately gave consent to treat. Jen and Nicole were ushered in and taken to separate rooms much to the despair of Nicole. She whimpered and cried the entire time as the nurse stitched her leg shut and the tech x-rayed her shoulder. Justin Parks was allowed to go with her but the girl refused to have him by her side.

Nicole's x-rays came back negative for breaks and the girl was given a hospital gown to wear instead of the pants and shirt she came in with. She was taken out to the waiting room but refused to go her foster father and latched herself to a chair wailing. Tony stepped in front of the other man and asked him to step back. Justin put his hands up and went to the other side of the room.

"You can't make me go with him," Nicole said with venom.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Tony said softly.

"I want to stay with Gibbs," she said with fear in her voice.

"I know," Tony said nodding in agreement. "Tell you what, let's find the Director and then find Gibbs. What do you say? Just you and me?"

"Lead the way," Nicole said a ghost of a smile playing over her lips before quickly disappearing. Tony's head bobbed once quickly before he reached his arms out and Nicole let him scoop her up, careful of her stitches. He simply walked from the waiting area ignoring the shouts from behind him.

They found the Director and Tony set Nicole down next to her as they finished bandaging her shoulder. Jen looked at Tony with a confused look. Tony shrugged and patted the girl on the head before turning and walking to the door, peeking down the hall to make sure no one had followed them.

Instead he saw Ziva and he whistled low at her to get her attention then motioned for her to join them. Ziva came down and slowly entered the room seeing Jen sitting in the middle with Nicole next to her. The nurse finished with a smile and told Jen how to care for the stitches and when to come back to get them out. Finally it was just the four of them in the room.

"Have you seen Abby or Ducky yet?" Jen asked as she slid from the bed and stood. Tony shook his head and Ziva followed suit. Jen looked down at Nicole and then back at Tony.

"I think we should find the doctor," Tony said and turned sharply leaving the room. He was just entering the waiting room, Justin Parks approaching him, when Abby and Ducky came in the front doors for the emergency room. They were scanning frantically and Tony sidestepped the angry man in front of him, ignoring him, and came up to Abby and Ducky.

"I called Tim," Abby said softly. "He's coming back as soon as he can."

"Good," Tony said.

"How is he, Anthony?" Ducky asked his hands wringing slightly from his angst.

"We don't know yet, Ducky, he didn't look good when they loaded him at the scene," Tony said fighting to hold the tears back. "Director Shepard and Ziva are this way."

Tony led Abby and Ducky down the hallway and to the room where the others waited. They stood silently not sure how to proceed for a moment before Ducky seemed to snap out of what ever trance he was in.

"I'll find us a doctor and get an update on Jethro's condition," Ducky said quickly leaving the room. The rest remained silent as no one knew what to say to comfort the one next to them. They were together and that was what mattered. The rest of the team was in one piece, they just needed their leader to pull through to make it a successful closed case.

TBC…