Tony coughed deeply. The smoke and fumes in the small contained space of the elevator were making breathing more difficult. He silently cursed. What had he been thinking? Getting into an elevator when the whole damn building was about to blow up? Even a five year old knew you didn't get into an elevator in an emergency. God, he was an idiot. Granted, under the circumstances, he hadn't been thinking as clearly as normal. The mob of people trying to swarm down the narrow stairwells had caused him to rethink their escape route. He knew the bomb was at the front of the building. The elevator was toward the back. Surely, that would be okay. Well, he was willing to take the chance. Made more sense than dying in a stairwell with a hundred other people.
He shifted his position from where he was sitting on the debris strewn floor of the elevator. He glanced at Ziva. She leaned against him, cradling her arm, her eyes were closed. The odd angle of her arm left no question as to what was wrong with it. His own head throbbed, the side of his face stiff with caked blood. Still, they were alive. Trapped, but alive.
He thought back to those last moments. When he and Ziva had realized there was no way they were getting down those stairs, they had darted to the back elevators, praying they would reach the ground floor before the bomb went off. Too bad their luck ran out. The bomb detonated. Tony was sure they'd had it when he felt the elevator car lurch and then drop. When the emergency brake grabbed on, both he and Ziva had been tossed around some more. That certainly hadn't helped the situation. Well, he took that back. It did mean they avoided being smashed into the bottom of the elevator shaft. What were some broken bones compared to that?
He sighed and coughed again. He winced at the sharp pain in his head.
"Are you all right, Tony?"
Ziva was looking at him, her eyes dark with concern. She grimaced slightly as she adjusted her position.
"Yeah," replied Tony, his voice hoarse. "Just this damn smoke. Next time, Ziva, make me take the stairs."
Ziva gave him a weary smile. "Well, things could be worse. I could be stuck in the elevator with McGee again. At least you do not get claustrophobic."
Tony grinned back, then frowned. Where was McGee? Had he made it out in time? What about Gibbs and Abby? He and Ziva had been working so hard at getting everyone out of the building, he hadn't even thought to look for the rest of the team. He knew Gibbs could take care of himself, and surely McGee would have been smart enough to get himself out. But what about Abby? Was she okay or was she trapped in her basement lab?
"You are also worried about the others, are you not?"
Tony tried to erase the anxiety from his face, but he couldn't do it. "Yeah, I am. I keep wondering if they all got out. I mean, Gibbs must be fine, but what about Abby and McGee? Where were they? Did they get out?" He glanced around their small prison and cursed softly. "If only we could get out of here. We could go look. I hate this not knowing."
Ziva nodded. "I agree." She looked at the emergency phone. They had tried using it, but to no avail. They had also pushed the emergency alarm, but so far there had been no response. Were they the only ones still alive in the building? Would anyone find them? Tony had attempted to climb up onto the roof of the car, but without Ziva's help, he couldn't quite reach it. Besides, every time he tried standing, he was nearly bowled over by dizziness and nausea. Not a good sign.
"Do you think they will find us?" Ziva's voice sounded strained. She must be in a lot of pain.
"Gibbs will find us." It was funny, but Tony fully believed that. He had no doubt that his boss had survived and was looking for his team. He wouldn't even entertain the thought that Gibbs might have been blown up by that damn bomb. However, he was concerned about the integrity of the building. They had no way of knowing how much damage it had sustained. Was the whole thing about to come down? Granted, they were toward the back of the building, but that didn't mean they were safe. Tony coughed again. The smoke could just as easily kill them as falling in an elevator.
Tony glanced at his watch. The emergency lights in the elevator cast a dim light, but it was enough. They'd only been here an hour. It felt like a lifetime. He reached up and pushed the alarm again. They could hear its shrill ring echoing somewhere in the distance. He pulled out his cell phone again. Dammit. Still no signal.
"I think I'm going to complain to my cell phone provider," grumbled Tony thrusting the phone back into his pocket. "They claim they get coverage everywhere. Obviously they lied."
He heard Ziva chuckle weakly. "Maybe you can get a refund."
Tony grunted then clenched his teeth as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was take a nap. He closed his eyes.
"Tony? Tony!" His eyes snapped open. Ziva was sitting up staring at him intently. "You cannot go to sleep. You have suffered a head injury. You must stay awake. Besides, I am not sitting here by myself."
Tony detected the slightest tremor of fear in her voice. His eyes widened. The intrepid Ms. David was scared? He wanted to laugh but the truth of the matter was he was terrified. He was afraid no one would find them, that the building would come down around them. What if that sonofabitch Dearing had planted a second bomb? What if the rest of the team was dead? He thrust those fears behind him. It didn't matter. Even if Dearing had planted ten bombs in the building, there wasn't a damn thing Tony could do about it.
He gently placed his arm around her shoulders, careful not to jostle her arm. She moved closer. Her presence was comforting. He looked down at her and a warmth flooded through his body. He looked down at her and suddenly he knew.
"You know," Tony began trying to ignore the pounding in his head, " there was this movie about a WWII RAF pilot. It was called Stairway to Heaven. Anyway, he gets shot down and should have died, but the guy that was supposed to take him to heaven missed him the fog, so David Niven, he was the pilot, makes it back to England. Before his crash, he's talking to this American woman on his radio and falls in love with her voice. After the crash, he manages to find her, and really falls in love. When the angel finally finds him, David Niven says that he shouldn't have to go because things have changed. He was ready to die before, but now he's in love. In the end, he has to go to this big celestial court and defend his right to stay alive. Turns out, Niven actually had some kind of brain injury from the crash and the doctor thought he had imagined the whole thing." Tony paused as if in thought. "Maybe that's what this is. Maybe Raymond Massey is gonna show up and make me defend my right not to die in this elevator today.
Ziva turned to frown at him. "But what would you say had changed from before the bomb blast? You said the pilot was ready to die before the plane went down, but not later because he had fallen in love. What has changed for you?"
Tony was silent for a very long time. Finally, he answered, his voice low. "I have discovered that I love you, Ziva David."