Something had to be really wrong. Tony had used his full name. Tony never used his full name unless something was really, really wrong.

Of course, the pain shooting through his leg and the sick feeling in his stomach were pretty good indicators as well.

"Tony," McGee managed to moan through his clenched teeth. "Wh-what is it?"

"It's some kind of animal trap," Tony replied tensely.

"A b-b-bear trap?" McGee guessed.

"Maybe. Or one for large cats," Tony replied, though in truth, he didn't know much about animal traps. The one he was currently looking at had jagged stainless steel teeth, each over an inch long. They had snapped down on McGee's ankle with spring-loaded force and now remained rooted into the skin, while blood leaked out around each puncture wound. Tony shuddered as he imagined what kind of damage the trap had undoubtedly done to McGee's leg bone.

"G-g-get it…off…" McGee gasped.

Tony hesitated. Wasn't there some rule about not removing objects when someone has been stabbed, because the bleeding might get worse? McGee's leg looked pretty bloody, but maybe removing the trap would set off even more bleeding. What if one of the teeth had pierced the femoral artery?

On the other hand, that thing had to be crushing the bone and nerves, doing God-knows how much damage to them. And he was obviously in extreme pain. Tony looked down at his teammate. McGee's face was white and sweaty, his eyes wet with tears. His breath was coming in short gasps.

The usually confident agent felt fear. I don't know what to do.

"P-please…Tony…"

"Ok, McGee," Tony said gently. He couldn't let him stay in pain like that.

I hope I'm doing the right thing

He examined the trap, trying not to move it in the process. Two half-circle jaws of sharp teeth were clamped tightly together, with only McGee's leg keeping them slightly apart. The bottom of the trap had a small circle of metal that was apparently the mechanism that made it close. The trap was laid flat, then McGee came along and stepped in the middle of it, causing the teeth to slap shut. They had been running…McGee probably hadn't even seen it…

He could find no release mechanism anywhere on the trap. Apparently it had to be opened by prying the jaws apart. There was just enough room between the teeth to place his fingers. One of them brushed McGee's leg, and he moaned.

"Sorry," Tony mumbled. He pulled on the jaws. The trap separated a couple of inches, but he could feel it pulling back, trying to snap shut again. He pulled harder, but the spring-loaded trap was strong. His fingers were slipping… Self-preservation took over, and his hands jerked back, letting go of the jaws.

They snapped back onto McGee's already-damaged flesh. He shrieked in agony.

"I'm sorry! McGee, I'm sorry…" Tony stepped back and looked at his friend in concern. McGee took a few deep, shuddering breaths, then wretched, vomiting up the cheeseburger he had had for lunch a couple of hours earlier.

Tony walked up and knelt down by McGee's head. "Probie, I'm sorry… I need you to turn over on your side."

"Can't…" McGee wheezed. The smell and sight of his own vomit were making him want to wretch again. And fresh waves of pain were spreading from his ankle to his head, making him dizzy.

"You have to. The trap is too close to the ground this way. There's not enough room for me to pull it apart."

McGee shook his head stubbornly.

"Unless you want me to just leave it on there…"

McGee's eyes popped open wide.

"That's what I thought." Tony carefully slid his arms under McGee's chest. "I'm going to roll you over on your right side."

"No!' McGee gasped. "Left side. Can't…put weight on right…"

"You'll have to hold your leg up in the air while I pull the trap off. Either way, it's going to hurt."

McGee took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Just…hurry up."

Tony pulled carefully until McGee was mostly on his left side, albeit somewhat awkwardly. His damaged leg lay limp, but at least his foot was turned now.

Tony moved to the back and carefully removed McGee's shoe, to make it easier to slide the trap off. He gingerly took hold of the trap again. This time, he made sure his grip was tight and braced his feet. This time, he would not let go, even if it meant losing a finger.

"Ready, Probie?" McGee didn't answer, but Tony could see him tense. "One…two…"

He gripped hard and pulled. The trap slid open one inch, two, then three. He could feel it wanting to close again.

Painstakingly, Tony slid the trap down McGee's ankle and past his foot. He wanted to go faster, but knew that haste would make him more likely to bump McGee's foot and loose his grip on the trap. Slowly and carefully, the contraption made its way down, until at last, it was free.

Tony tossed the bloody trap away as he let go. It snapped shut loudly as it flew and landed a few feet away. He leaned back in relief.

"That better, Probie?" He helped McGee roll the rest of the way over onto his back, away from the vomit puddle.

McGee clenched his teeth. "Still hurts."

"I don't doubt it." Tony looked worriedly at McGee's injured leg. His fears had been correct. Removing the trap had started a wave of fresh bleeding, much worse than before. Blood was saturating the bottom of McGee's gray pants. A few stray drops dripped out onto the ground.

Tourniquet? Or not? Aren't tourniquets supposed to be bad? They could restrict the flow of blood too much, which kills tissue… Hell, why can't I think? Why are my hands shaking so much?

So much blood…

Tony quickly undid his belt and pulled it off. He carefully maneuvered it around McGee's leg.

"Now what…are you doing?"

"Tourniquet."

McGee winced. "It's…bleeding…bad…isn't it?"

"It won't be in a minute, Probie." I hope.

Tony pulled the belt snug, but not so tight that it cut into the flesh. Almost immediately, the flow of blood lessened. Tony allowed himself to relax slightly. He pulled off his jacket and covered McGee's legs with it. They were silent for a moment, as McGee focused on breathing and Tony looked around anxiously.

Now what?

"T? It's me. I, um, I have a problem. A big one. I really need your help… Can you come out here right now? It's really important…I…I screwed up. Big time."

END CHAPTER TWO