PAST TENSE

Chapter 3:

"You know when we get out of here we should…" Tony was feverishly chatting away as Ziva interrupted him.

"Shh. I hear something".

"Wha…?"

"Shh!" Ziva put a finger to her lips and motioned for Tony to be quiet and follow her. He couldn't hear a damn thing, his ears were obviously blocked - just another thing to add to the list, he thought. He hated being sick. It slowed him down in more ways than one. And he hated not being able to think quickly, it was like all his senses were acting in slow motion.

As they stepped out into the dark hallway, Tony began to feel incredibly dizzy, and everything around him began to spin. "Ah, Ziva – I, ah…," he swayed and lost his balance, landing against the wall with a loud thud before crashing down to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Tony, keep quiet for gods sake or else…" she then turned around to see Tony on the ground trying to prop himself up on his hands and knees. "Tony!" she moved to his side immediately, her eyes frantically scanning him for any visible injuries.

"Ziva, can't breathe… chest..tight", he barely muttered between clenched teeth. He slumped against the wall for support, coughing as blood ran from the side of his mouth. He wiped at it with his hand, looking up at Ziva with fear in his eyes. He swallowed, trying to keep from coughing any further as the memory of last years' fight to survive against the deadly Y-Pestis came back to him with a force so strong he visibly shuddered. "No, not again," he whispered.

"What Tony, what do you mean 'not again'?" Ziva had no idea about what had happened to him prior to her joining the team.

She was scared, truly scared. Tony was always there, never missing a beat even if it meant he was annoying her. Now he was sick, really sick. She missed the cocky, arrogant Anthony DiNozzo she had grown to like and eventually care about, and yes, fantasize about. She now believed he had something worse than the flu or a bad chest cold, and it made her lose track of why they were in the abandoned building. Her focus had shifted and all she wanted was to help Tony, ease his pain and make it all go away. She felt helpless, and it was not a feeling she was used to.

The man at the end of the hall crept out of hiding long enough to investigate the sound of the loud crash. He spied the exotic woman and the man on the ground, she appeared to be trying to talk to him, he appeared to be clutching his chest. 'A perfect opportunity' thought the man. He snuck up the hallway, clutching his syringe. It was almost too easy.

As the man came up behind Ziva, Tony's eyes were wide with fright. She turned around in time to have the needle jabbed into her neck, the sinister little man smiling with a manic excitement as he did so. Ziva collapsed into the arms of the predator, who slowly began to drag her down the hall. Tony tried to call out but he couldn't. He could barely even breathe. He couldn't move, or do a damn thing to help. His last thought before passing out was of Ziva and how he had let her down.

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Gibbs and McGee had passed by the first address given to Tony and Ziva, noting it was a vacant lot, so without stopping they headed for the next address. It was a small house, in a tree lined street complete with children playing in the yard next door and a small dog barking and jumping at them as they chased a ball. It was the perfect picture of suburban bliss. Gibbs exited the car and headed straight for the front door. A young man with a baby in his arms answered.

"Yes?" he looked at Gibbs and McGee.

"We're federal agents, and need your help". They flashed their NCIS badges. "You seen this man?" Gibbs held up a picture of Tony.

"Nope. Why, he do something wrong?" the young man asked, trying to comfort the baby as it started to cry.

"How long have you lived here?" McGee continued the line of questioning, partially standing behind Gibbs.

"Not long, about 4 months. My wife and I wanted a house as soon as we knew we were going to start a family, and this one came on the market for a good price, so we took it. What's this all about?" he was getting frustrated, the baby was crying solidly now.

"I'm sorry, we have the wrong address. Sorry to have troubled you". Gibbs instinctively knew this was not the house belonging to a serial killer, and this man was definitely not who they were looking for. His gut told him so without question.

They hurried back to the car and Gibbs only hoped that Tony and Ziva were still at the other address or better still, on their way back to the office. Driving up the street they noticed the company car parked out the front of a condemned high-rise, and Gibbs quickly pulled up, screeching to a halt right next to it. He called Ducky, putting in a call for back-up and an ambulance. They had to be in there, they just had to be, he thought.

Quietly stepping into the abandoned building they slowly moved up the hallway, using only their eyes as a guide in the near darkness. "Over there – I see something", McGee pointed in the direction of one of the apartment doorways. As they got closer, they could see it was Tony, slumped against the wall with his head hanging low.

"Tony, Tony!" Gibbs shook him, but he didn't stir. "Where's Ziva? Come on, you can hear me – don't give up now. Where is she?"

Tony stayed still. In the eerie glow of the hallway he looked almost ghost-like in appearance and it sent a chill up McGee's spine.

McGee abruptly raced outside, tripping on wreckage in the hallway as he heard the ambulance pull up outside, "In here!" he yelled while motioning in the direction of Tony.

The medics were quick to get to Tony, and get him outside and into the ambulance where he was promptly put on IV fluids. He was still alive, his breathing was light but he was hanging on. The ambulance doors closed as they sped off down the street, sirens blaring.

McGee took a deep breath before heading back inside to find Gibbs. Ziva was still missing so it was far from over.

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Ziva opened her eyes to see the small man from the grocery story leaning over her. She tried to move but was unable to. She could feel the sting on her neck where the needle had gone in, pumping her full of some sort of sedative that rendered her body useless. But she could still see and feel, she just couldn't move. Her thoughts were a jumble, 'Tony? Where was Tony!' Her eyes were frantic, 'Where was he? Was he alright? Had this monster drugged him too? Would he survive it if he had?' She couldn't think straight. The drugs were messing with her mind and her ability to think and reason.

The man began to touch her, and it made her skin crawl with disgust. She could feel everything. He began to caress her face and she wanted to be sick but held back as the need to gain control won over. As he moved in closer she closed her eyes.

A commotion could be heard from the outer room as Gibbs and McGee simultaneously burst onto the scene, pulling their guns on her assailant.

"NCIS! Get away from her – NOW!" Gibbs barked. The man shriveled into himself and cowered under his own hands making it easy for Gibbs to move forward and cuff him. Back-up had arrived and McGee directed them to the predator, who was promptly escorted out of the building. Gibbs turned to check on Ziva.

"Tony, where is Tony…" she mumbled. "He's really sick, Gibbs. He collapsed. I don't know if…" she was cut off by McGee, who told her they had already found Tony and he was most likely already at the hospital. With that she relaxed, allowing Gibbs to pick up her limp body and carry her outside to their vehicle.

A tear rolled down her cheek. She needed to see him. Something told her he needed to see her, too. Her thoughts were occupied by one Anthony DiNozzo as she lay motionless on the back seat of the car.

TBC…