Contains a few little spoilers.
Chapter 6- Safe?
Both Ziva and McGee couldn't help but shed a tear at the scene play out in front of them. Tony looked so scared, so defenceless, his many masks stripped away until all that was left was fear. They had never seen Tony look so lost when they had seen his eyes, it broke their hearts that one of their own could be hurting so badly and, it didn't even look like they could help him. When Tony had gone limp, they had worried that they had come in just enough time to watch him die, in their boss's arms. They turned away, not wanting to see the pained look Gibbs had on his face. McGee finally got up the courage to ask.
"Is he-" he couldn't bring himself to finish the question. Gibbs replied, his voice so soft it barely registered with the younger agent.
"It's ok Tim, he's just exhausted, we need an ambulance, tell ducky to go to the hospital, we'll go once we're finished here." The care in Gibbs tone wasn't unnoticed by the two agents, they chose not to comment. The last time they had seen Gibbs this scared; sad even was when they had thought Tony was dead, after his car had exploded on the screen in front of them. They hadn't wanted to believe it then and they wouldn't believe now, not when this time they knew Tony was alive. Although, the question lingered, would this be the end of the Tony DiNozzo that they had come to care for like family.
McGee watched for a moment longer as Tony slept in Gibbs's arms, he looked so young, but also troubled, as if he was trapped within his mind. McGee then called Ducky and Abby to let them know that they had found Tony, she had wanted to know more about his condition but, in all honesty they didn't know what it was themselves. All they wanted was to get Tony out of this dirty hell hole. The paramedics were heard before they were seen; they rushed in wanting to know everything about their patient. Then the two remaining agents watched as their friend was taken away. Gibbs going along just in case Tony woke up in the ambulance…
x-X-x
Swain watched as Tony was taken away in the ambulance, hoping the agents wouldn't know that this wasn't all of her plan, it hadn't been all along. Originally she had thought that she had gotten her revenge but now, she wanted to hurt Tony's friends as well. To do this, she needed Tony be believe that he was safe, and then she would strike again. She would disappear just long enough for him to be on the road to recovery, then destroy him again. His friends watching as he slipped from them, in front of their eyes. It wouldn't take as long this time, but it would truly break him, that is what she believed anyway. That is what she wanted.
The people that she had hired to help her hadn't been happy about just letting him go, this is when she had told them the rest of the plan. They could now, do what they wanted to hurt Tony, when the time was right of course. She had seen the urgency in the other agents' movements, it had made her jealous, nobody had done that for her, she hadn't been found for months. Tony would pay for the fact that he had people that cared about him, she knew that these people cared about him, she had been observing them for a while, she had been very happy when some information had come to her about where a certain agent lived, from this she was able to watch him for a few days, before, she had taken him to his own personal hell. She would see to it, it wasn't over yet…
x-X-x
Gibbs had watched as his best agent remained unresponsive to any kind of touch, it worried him. What had happened to Tony to make him like this? What had been said to him to trap him in his own mind? Gibbs was in a state of shock himself, he was watching everything in slow motion. Tony being unresponsive, rushed to the hospital, rushed in to the ER to asses his injuries. The white walls of the hospital were a stark contrast to the grimy grey wall of the room Tony had been held in. the main thought in his mind was why, why hadn't they been able to find Tony sooner, find a lead, anything that would of brought him help sooner than a week after being taken. He couldn't forgive himself for just sitting there for a week, not doing anything. Gibbs only stopped and snapped out of his daze when he saw the worried faces of Abby and Ducky.
Abby had been almost inconsolable the past few days. They hadn't seen the place he had been held in, or the state he had been in when he had been found. All Gibbs could hear and see in his mind was Tony rocking, and muttering what had been said to him. It scared Gibbs that all he could hear in the voice, was utter defeat, nothing the voice usually held. Gibbs's strong marine bravado felt like it had been stripped away when looking upon his agent. He couldn't help but show the emotion, this was something in its self, Gibbs only showed emotion when things were really bad. Abby noticed his grim face, and how Tony looked when being rushed past them on the gurney, she cried out to Gibbs.
"Oh Tony!... Gibbs, tell me he'll be ok please…he has to be ok, please" she struggled to get the words out between sobs. She had wanted to hug him when he'd been rushed past, being stopped by the nurses; he needed them why couldn't they see that, it broke her heart that she couldn't help him. She hadn't seen his eyes yet, she wanted to, to see if the look of defeat had gone, now that he had been rescued. His eyes were closed at the moment, but you could see the haunted look in his face, he was hurting and they couldn't help.
"Ssssh Abby, its ok, he'll be okay" he embraced his young lab tech, not trusting he voice any longer to speak with out it wavering. He would be okay, wouldn't he?
Upon looking at his friend's face Ducky, knew that he blamed himself for not finding Anthony sooner.
"Jethro, you mustn't blame your self, there was nothing you could have done to help him"
"I'm not so sure about that Duck" Gibbs sighed. He knew that Ducky was right.
"I will go check on his condition; I will let you know as soon as I know anything" Ducky replied grimly, not really wanting to know the multitude of things that might be wrong with young Anthony…
x-X-x
The journey to the hospital seemed to last a lifetime. They had sat in silence not knowing what to say to each other. They had been worried to Tony before, but not like this. This was something they couldn't see anyway to help with; they weren't good with feelings and things, just like Gibbs. Abby would be able to help Tony wouldn't she? This is the question they asked themselves. McGee had seen the lost and scared look in Tony's eyes when he had realised that it was his team that had rescued, Tim and wanted to look away. Tony never looked like that, not ever, not that scared. They were a team after all weren't they? Tim had to admit though, things had been different since they had been brought back together, it wasn't the same. Maybe, it was the fact that one of their own had betrayed them, and they didn't know who to trust anymore. Where once there had been an undeniable bond within the team, there was now a vague sense of friendship. Tim knew that Ziva sensed too.
He looked towards Ziva, she was quietly sitting in the passenger seat, staring out into nowhere. He wondered what she was thinking about, her and Tony had become close partners and now, there was something missing, the banter they shared, to cheeky looks they gave, event the slight flirting. Tim himself had found that Tony had been calling him less names when he had returned from agent afloat. It was like Tony had grown up; he didn't like this new Tony, as he had once said to Kate, the DiNozzo movie reference and charm is what they liked and wouldn't have it any other way. This thought set his new plan in action; they would get the old Tony back, no matter what.
Ziva stared at the scenery flying past, not really seeing the grey skies, or the rain lightly drizzling down the window of the car. All she could see was a Tony that was broken, lost, not the Tony she had seen when they were undercover. He had only cared about her safety, nothing else. At first she couldn't believe that Tony was an agent in a federal agency. That undercover mission had changed her opinion, as had the several other times that Tony had found leads that broke cases wide open, or watched his heroics. She was glad to have him as a partner, she always knew that he would look out for her, she missed the old Tony. She would also strive to get him back. As they pulled into the hospital car park, the rain stopped and the sun peaked out of the clouds, as if to signify a new hope for the team. They just hoped that Tony would still be part of that team.
They walked the corridors of the hospital, at a loss for what to say to each other. They had been directed to a waiting area, the doors creaked as they entered. Abby was dozing in a chair, Gibbs was silently pacing, Ducky was no where in sight.
"Any news yet boss?" Tim asked timidly, not wanting to anger Gibbs. Gibbs himself, threw him a look as if to say 'ya think we'd be standing here if there was'. Tim could see the same fear that enveloped him in Gibbs' eyes and it scared him.
All heads turned towards the room that held Tony as the doors opened, out stepped a doctor and ducky, their faces gloomy…
TBC
Sorry for ending it there but it seemed like a good place. Back to Tony mainly in the next chapter and how he deals with what has happened. This chapter was everyone else's reactions to finding him. Hope ya'll liked it. Please read and review.
