Gibbs knew something was wrong as soon as Ducky pulled into the park. The sedan was there but he did not see his team. He spotted one still form in the headlights but the light of the beams were too strong for him to make out if it was the dead body they were assigned to process or someone entirely different. He jumped from the moving van just before Ducky came to a complete stop.

"Jethro, must you always be in such a blasted hurry?! I am developing an ulcer just by witnessing your continuous frantic behavior on a daily basis-"

Gibbs ignored his annoyance as he practically ran to the figure on the cold ground recognizing his field agent. "Tony? What the hell? Tony! Talk to me." Gibbs directed his voice towards the medical van. "Duck! We need your medical bag!"

"Oh, my, goodness gracious, this is disconcerting, to say the least." Ducky quickened his actions, climbing out of the van with the medical bag in hand.

"Where's McGee and Bishop, Tony? Dammit. You can't hear me, can you? What's wrong, speak to me,Tony." He knew Tim and Ellie would not leave Tony like this, thinking they must have been abducted, also for the car to still be here. Gibbs wanted to ignore Tony's pallor complexion but couldn't as he pressed a shaky finger to his stone-cold neck, feeling for a pulse. He sighed a breathe of relief when he felt his pulse rate strong but, erratic. He ran his hands over Tony's torso unable to detect any signs of blood. "Come on,Tony, give me a clue. I don't know what I can do to help you." His breathing was heavy, his eyes were opened but unfocused and directed towards the sky; blankly searching. He seemed agitated as if stuck in a nightmare. Gibbs patted his face as Ducky joined him on the ground, awkwardly managing to kneel beside him.

"Was he shot Jethro?"
"Not from what I can see Duck. His pulse is all wacky, but I can't for the life of me, figure out the problem-"
"Well, hello,hello, what do we have here? I believe I have found the culprit." Ducky picked up a small dart that was resting in the palm of Tony's hand. "It would seem that he was shot with a tranquilizer gun, most likely filled with a paralytic agent causing paralysis of the effected skeletal muscles. What he needs, right now is a quick trip to the ER and to be quickly administered with a counteractive drug-"
"But...Duck," Tony seemed to slowly relax,his breathing regulating; slow and even. Gibbs and Ducky held their breathes, letting Tony settle, as he seemed determined to speak, "Duck, I'm...okay, I'm starting...to feel..better...I think. I can...move my hands." He lifted them to look at them, gaining confidence with the vast improvement of his physical mobility.

Gibbs sighed, falling back on his haunches with a sigh of relief as he cracked a smile."Like hell, you are. You look like shit. What the hell happened?"

Tony turned to face him, the color returning to his complexion. They shared a smile, both grateful for the imparting outlook of his prognosis.
"We were processing the scene...I heard a shot..it was weird sounding, like a sharp crack of... air. Then I felt a quick, sharp jab in my side, so I swiped at it and...I pulled it out, but my body seemed to freeze. I fell back. That's where it gets ...foggy. I couldn't move...everything was going all hinky and my body felt like it was going... haywire, Tim was bending over me...he was...really upset. I wanted to reassure him ...calm him down but I couldn't move. I was afraid he was going to get shot, too. My chest felt really tight-"

"He was more than likely overdosed with the drug, Jethro or the area the dart entered may have developed complications, but I am using pure speculation. We will learn more once he is examined by the doctors."

"We were in the open, so he dragged me to safety-" Gibbs glanced to his left, making out some drag marks, close by in the grass, "Tim started CPR and I started feeling like I was returning to normal, but then a group of men, big...men, I don't know how many...they... hit Tim over the head, really hard and he fell but I couldn't see how bad he was. They zip tied his wrists then took him away. I couldn't see what happened to Bishop."

Tony made eye contact with Gibbs and the senior agent couldn't deny the anguish he saw in Tony's eyes. He leaned over to rub his shoulder, "It's okay, Tony. We'll get them back. Did you find anything pertinent to the case that may explain the reason for their abduction and shooting you?"

"Uh, maybe, I... bagged a key the officer was holding." Tony sluggishly moved his head, as he fumbled in his side pockets searching, but moving with difficulty. Gibbs could tell he was still very weak. He searched Tony's pockets revealing an evidence bag.

"It's all right. All I want from you right now is to let Ducky take charge and get you right to the hospital-"
"But-"
Gibbs gave him a glare that stopped any further negotiations. They both knew he was in no way, shape or form to protest. "I know what you're thinking, and I got this right now. Don't worry about anything, but taking care of yourself."

"All right." Tony subtly nodded. Ducky began to strap him to the gurney, preparing him for the trip. "Gees, Duck. I feel like one of your corpses...I'm afraid I'm not too entertaining this evening. No jokes come to mind at the moment-"
"Oh, my dear boy, any conversation you care to engage in, is one hundred percent more enlightening than the usual subject my regular guests suggest."
"Thanks, Ducky, I'll take that as a compliment."
Duck, stopped his actions to grin at him warmly."I assure you, Anthony, you'll be back to your ol' self in no time."
Tony closed his eyes, then breathed deeply, "I hope so Duck. Because there's a lot of work that needs to be done." Ducky frowned then continued with his care for the man.

Gibbs eyed the fingerprint scanning doo-hickey thingy on the ground, not too far away and his heart sank. McGee had always treated that gadget like gold; it would had never been left behind unless something dire had happened to his agent. He knew the odds of getting them back alive were slim; Tony relayed the fact that there were multiple men being significantly large in size, at that. These were professionals that worked with night vision goggles and tranquilizer guns. Not something they had usually come across before as far as he could remember. They took Tim and Ellie, but left Tony; alive ,unless they thought the drug would have killed him. This was strange, to say the least. He watched Ducky prepare Tony for the ride, "I'll call this into Abby, give her a heads up. I'll stay back until the backup team arrives and collect more evidence and process their abduction."

"Of course, Jehtro. I just hope you will be safe until help arrives."

"I'm willing to take my chances."
Ducky sighed,"That's what I was afraid of."

Once Tony was loaded Gibbs slammed the doors shut of the van, patting them with endearment, hoping that Tony would be okay. "Don't worry, Jethro. He is showing remarkable improvement since we initially found him. His pulse and heart rate are normal, I see no reason for concern. But, he will need rest."

Gibbs took one last look through the window of the back door noting that Tony had fallen asleep. "Thanks Duck. Take good care of him."
"And if I may be so bold, you, my dear friend, uncover the knowledge we need to come to a quick conclusion in recovering our dear Timothy and Eleanor."

"You got it Duck." Gibbs winked. He took a moment to watch them drive away then began processing and taking pictures. He recorded the evidence of the trampled grass and drag marks that must have been when McGee dragged Tony to safety to begin the CPR. Tim more than likely saved his life, but did he know he had helped him before he was abducted? Tony claimed they hit him over the head, harshly so he was more than likely unconscious when he was taken. And what of Ellie? Gibbs held up the evidence bag containing the key to get a better look at it. It looked like a locker key, or maybe even for a safe deposit box. For all he knew it was a bike lock key. What did he know? His team usually handled those things. It was time to pay a visit to Abby, once he gathered his findings.

xxxxx

Ellie wore a blindfold, but she knew Tim's head was leaning against her shoulder. They were both seated in the back of the van, their wrists bound, while sandwiched in-between two scary, burly men...as a matter of fact, all the men were scary and burly; was it possible they were all related? She could feel the warmth of Tim's blood soaking into her jacket, causing her to wonder the extent of his injury. Would he wake up soon or was he out for the duration? And how long would they be held? These men resembled robots; cold and relentless. The van was silent, void of any form of conversation between themselves, not so much as a callous grunt.

The stench of the dead petty officer filled the small confinement of the vehicle causing her to infrequently gag. She tried to distract herself, thinking of Jake or the dog they were considering adopting from the local rescue center. She thought of Jibbers' profile page and wanted to bawl. He had been neglected by two families and all she could remember was how sad his big, blue eyes looked, or how one white-colored ear flopped to the side with a personality all of its own. Anything to keep her mind off of what lay ahead. She would focus on Jibbers.

She hadn't been with NCIS long but this took the cake for the most bizarre. The sound of the gunshot that hit Tony wasn't your typical sounding gunshot. This one hadn't rung out, with a sharp crack, but then again, it had all happened so fast, was she even remembering everything that happened correctly? And why did they leave Tony but take her and Tim? Gibbs must have been moments away, she truly believed Tony was okay, he had to be. He was knee-deep in a serious relationship as was Tim. All three of them had their lives ahead of them, it simply couldn't end like this.

She rubbed the side of her face against the top of Tim's head, worried he was not going to be okay. He answered her unspoken question with a moan and was rewarded with a sharp, violent elbow to the gut by the man next to him. The weight of his head left her shoulder as she listened to him fight to catch his breath. Within the next moment she felt him return to the only comfort he could find; her shoulder.

She touched her lips to hair. "Shhh." Her blindfold was soon soaked with tears.