A/n - for the guest reviewer who was wondering what I meant using "ye", I was just trying to write the conversation as it would be spoken. I guess in the US you guys would probably shorten "you" to "ya" and not "ye" as us Irish would. Thank you for taking the time to read and review. Hope you like this next scenario.

Scenario 3

Zahko, Iraq.

"Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs turned to see young Luke Harris looking up at him. In that instant, the bustling market place melted away and it was just him and Luke. For an instant they locked eyes. Gibbs saw something had changed in the boy's eyes and sensed the kid was about to do something unimaginable.

Luke slowly and calmly raised his arm. Gibbs reached for the weapon secreted in the waistband at the back of his pants, but he was a fraction too slow. Luke had his weapon aimed at him and the first shot rang out. The impact of the first bullet took his left leg from under him as it struck below his knee. He cried out in pain as he fell face first to the ground.

In survival mode, despite his pain, he managed to get to his knees and was attempting to stand. Shocked, he looked Luke in the eyes once more and could see that the child was intent on his mission. Gibbs was thrown backwards as the second bullet struck him high in his chest. He landed on his back and lay winded and wounded on the sandy ground, unable to believe that the young lad he had tried to help had shot him.

The noise of the market place faded as shock set in and a ringing began in his ears as his body tried to cope with the initial trauma. The pain was excruciating and Gibbs knew he would pass out soon. He gasped for breath and tried to stay conscious. He forced his eyes open and stared up at the sky. It was beautiful, he noted, just a wispy white cloud breaking the azure blue of the Iraqi sky. It was the last thing he saw as his eyes drifted shut.

Tony raced to where his boss had fallen. He had reacted to the first shot and was running to his boss' aid, when he was forced to watch in horror as the second bullet sent Gibbs flailing to the ground and the teen gunman melded into the fleeing crowd. DiNozzo had to decide whether to give chase and apprehend Luke or help his fallen boss. It was an easy decision. He dropped to his knees beside Gibbs.

Gibbs eyes were already closed.

"I got ya, Boss. You're going to be okay," he said, not whole-heartedly believing it himself. "Just hold on," he said as he visually assessed Gibbs injuries.

He eyes were drawn to the blood pouring from the wound in Gibbs' leg. However, when he saw the hole in Gibbs' shirt he feared the worst. But surprisingly, there was no blood. He ripped open Gibbs' shirt and was much relieved as it revealed a perspiration stained t-shirt and over that a ballistic vest.

"You wore your vest!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "You son of a gun, you wore your vest."

Gibbs eyes fluttered open once more as he coughed and gasped for oxygen. The impact of the bullet on his rib cage had severely winded him.

"Easy, Boss," Tony said as Gibbs tried to sit up. "You've been shot."

"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs retorted through gritted teeth. "Where is he? Did you get him?"

"No, Boss. I thought you were….."

Tony turned his attention to the wound on Gibbs' leg, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"You're losing a lot of blood, Boss. We need to get you to a hospital."

"Uh huh," Gibbs managed to say and flopped back down on the sandy ground. The pain shooting up from his knee was intense.

When he looked up at the group of people who had surrounded him, he recognised CIA Agent Joanna Teague.

"Agent Gibbs, are you okay?" she asked, leaning over him while handing DiNozzo her hijab.

"Hardly," Gibbs replied. "It was him. Luke."

"Luke shot you?"

"Aargh!" Gibbs cried aloud as Tony used the hijab to press on the bullet wound on his leg and stem the blood flow. His peripheral vision started to close in. "I'm going to pass out. Find him, Tony."

With that, Gibbs eyes rolled back in their sockets and he lost consciousness.

When he woke again he was in the trauma room in a local hospital with doctor's around him, speaking a language he didn't understand. Arabic, he assumed. He felt light-headed, from the blood loss and pain meds no doubt. There was no sign of Tony. Hopefully he was out looking for Luke Harris. He raised his head and saw the medics working on the wound in his leg. It looked bad and he felt nauseous at the sight of it.

A nurse had watched him come to and noticed him pale. She understood his gestures as he signaled for a bowl. She got it to him just in time before he threw up. The doctor ordered that he be given dopamine to counteract the nausea. Then she spoke to him in English with a noticeable American accent.

"Just relax Agent Gibbs," she said, taking his hand. "They're going to take you up for surgery in a few minutes. You'll be given a sedative before you go up to the OR."

Gibbs breathed heavily and nodded before speaking.

"You're American."

"Sure am," she said. "Louisiana born and raised."

"Where's Tony?" Gibbs asked. "My agent."

"The guy who brought you in?"

Gibbs nodded.

"He's waiting outside."

"I need to speak to him," Gibbs told her.

"They don't like it when non-medical staff are in the Trauma Room," she said, referring to the native doctors.

"Please. It's important," he told her.

She turned to the doctor who was treating Gibbs and spoke to him in Arabic briefly. He looked at Gibbs, rolled his eyes to heaven and then looked back to the nurse before agreeing.

"He said you got five minutes before they move you," she told him. "I'll go get him."

With that the nurse disappeared. The doctor finished at Gibbs' leg and covered it with a large dressing and left the room. Tony and the nurse soon returned.

"Hey, Boss," he said as soon as he saw Gibbs.

"I thought I told you to find Luke," Gibbs said crossly.

"Boss, you were shot. I wasn't going to leave you alone," Tony argued.

"I'm fine," Gibbs told him.

"I'm glad to hear it. Sandy here tells me you're on the way to surgery. Joanna has her people looking for Luke. I'll be here when you get out of surgery. If I left you I'd have to deal with Abby, and to be honest, Boss, I'm more afraid of her than I am of you."

"I'll be out of it for a while, Tony. Don't waste time here. He's in trouble. He needs our help," Gibbs told him, sounding desperate.

"Our help? The little shit shot you, Boss. He could have killed you," Tony replied, not at all sympathetic.

"He's not thinking straight, Tony. The Calling has their claws in him. He needs us to save him from them," Gibbs insisted.

"I don't know, Boss. He knew what he was doing," Tony reminded him.

"He's scared. He's just a kid," Gibbs told him.

Tony chuckled.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"That's what Budd said," Tony told him. "They're only children, that's what he said."

"You spoke to him?"

"He called my cell just before...all this," Tony told him.

Gibbs took a deep breath and rested his head back against the pillow. It was obvious to Tony that he was in significant pain.

"Find Luke," he said through gritted teeth.

No point arguing with him and adding to his woes, Tony realized.

"I'm on it, Boss."

Not long after, Gibbs was brought to surgery. Tony met with Joanna and they had a few sightings of the children suspected of involvement in Gibbs' shooting. Tony's gut was bothering him though. There was something niggling at him, something Budd said. He seemed focused on Gibbs. Tony wondered why. Then a thought struck him. What if killing Gibbs was one of their goals and they realise that they have failed? They'll try again.

"I've got to go," Tony told Joanna.

"What happened? Is it Gibbs?" she asked.

"I shouldn't have left him alone in that hospital. I think they might go after him again," he told her.

"Why?

"I don't know why, exactly, but I just…..I can't explain it."

"I'll try arrange for a detail to be put on his room," she told him.

"That would be good. Until then I'll stay with him," Tony told her.

Tony hurried back to the hospital. Several hours had passed since he left. He rushed to the nurse's station to find out where his boss was.

"I'm looking for Agent Gibbs. He was having surgery," he told the girl at the desk.

Her English was patchy but she knew who he was looking for. They didn't have many American patients.

"Come," she said, leading him to a room down the corridor that contained four beds, three of which were occupied.

"Mister Gibbs," she said, taking him to the space in the corner around where a curtain was pulled. "He sleeps now."

"Thanks," Tony said, breaking out the charm offensive. "His surgery went well?"

"Eh, yes, you talk to doctor," the young lady told him as she pulled back the curtain to reveal a sleeping Gibbs. She then nervously retreated from the attractive American.

Tony took a seat beside the bed and watched over his sleeping boss.

Meanwhile, Luke Harris was in hiding. His leader, Daniel Budd, had picked him up at a pre-arranged point in the town, far from where the drama was unfolding. He had taken his young followers to a remote property in the hills surrounding Zahko.

He congratulated the young zealot in front of several of his peers.

"You did well today young Luke," he said, placing a fatherly hand on the boy's shoulder. "You took down Agent Gibbs like a pro. Your future will be bright in The Calling. If you keep up such excellent work, you will earn great honours. The more significant missions will be yours," Budd said, preaching to his young audience.

Luke was trying to be unfazed by the attention but his hands were still trembling. The adrenaline had yet to wear off. It was his first time to kill anyone. He wasn't sure how he should feel. Budd wanted him to feel like he had achieved something great, yet for Harris he wasn't convinced. He had listened to the others prepare him for his mission and tell him how Gibbs and NCIS were enemies of their cause, yet only he had spent significant time with Agent Gibbs and all Gibbs had tried to do was help him. He was starting to doubt his involvement in the organisation but knew now that having killed Gibbs he could never go back to being a kid again.

That evening, Budd was listening to a local radio broadcast which reported on the shooting in the market place earlier that day. But much to his surprise, the report stated that there was a tourist injured and that he was in a stable condition in hospital. There were no fatalities.

Budd nearly blew a fuse. He cursed at the radio. The damned American agent had survived. He yelled for Luke to come to him.

"Yes," Luke said meekly as he entered the room.

"You failed!" Budd roared.

Luke didn't know what to say. He had no idea what had happened.

"Agent Gibbs is alive," Budd told him angrily.

"He can't be," Luke stammered. "I shot him in the chest. I know I hit him."

"Maybe, but he survived. That means your mission is incomplete," Budd said staring at him. "You must complete your mission to remain in this family."

Luke nodded his head.

"I will find out which hospital he is in then you will go and finish what you started," Budd ordered.

"Yes…..okay," Luke said, fearing what Budd might do to him.

During this time, Tony had managed to speak to Gibbs' doctor. He had been told that Gibbs injury to his knee was serious with bone involvement and muscle loss and that it would require further specialist surgery. He was also informed that the blow to Gibbs' chest had fractured two ribs on his left side and caused extensive bruising but no other complications.

Tony was with Gibbs when he came around from the surgery. Not surprisingly, Gibbs was in a foul mood. He was sore and nauseous and confined to bed which did not sit well with Gibbs.

"I can't just sit here while those kids are out there, Tony," he said, pleading his case.

"Boss, you've no choice. You need to stay off that leg and honestly, you're in no fit state to be up, not yet anyway," Tony reminded him.

Gibbs looked down at the heavy bandage that swathed his injured knee. He knew Tony as right. His leg was straight and it looked like it was going to stay that way for some time. The bandage extended from his thigh to his calf, with the majority of it concentrated around the surgical site. Gibbs wouldn't admit it but he was grateful for the pain meds that were dripping into his arm, which insured that he felt none of the discomfort which you would expect from such an injury.

He felt exhausted. He had lost quite a bit of blood from his injury and he was still suffering the after effects of the anaesthetic.

"Can I get you anything, Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs considered having coffee but his stomach still felt queasy and decided against it.

"I'm good," he replied, as he battled to fight off sleep.

"I'll leave you to get some rest," Tony said, noticing how drowsy he was.

He left but didn't go far. He stayed outside in the hall way where there were benches intermittently placed along the walls. He wanted to keep an eye on who came and went anywhere near his boss.

It was a busy little hospital and Gibbs was in quite a public area. Tony scrutinised every visitor that entered Room 15 where Gibbs lay. He was on edge and feared another attempt on Gibbs. He drank lots of coffee and tried to stay alert. As night fell, he grew tired but to his relief, visiting hours ended, so the amount of people in the hospital lessened significantly.

He was allowed stay because of the security issue surrounding Gibbs and the extra security had not been approved as yet. He was glad to stay and spent his time either sitting and talking to Gibbs when he was awake, talking to his NCIS colleagues back home on the phone or else strolling the corridors and doing a risk assessment. Eventually tiredness overcame him and he lay down on the unoccupied bed in the Room 15.

The night passed without incident. Tony woke when the nursing staff was doing bed checks shortly after dawn. He jumped off the bed, annoyed at himself for being weak and falling asleep when he should have been protecting his boss. He quickly checked on Gibbs and was relieved to see that he was still sleeping soundly. He looked a little better he noted. The colour had returned to his cheeks.

Tony decided to go out to the nearby café and grab some take out breakfast. By the time he had returned, the hospital had come to life again. Tony came back and resumed his position beside Gibbs' bed, placing two coffees on the bedside locker. He opened up a paper bag and took out a flat bread known locally as samoon and some pungent cheese. He was starving and delved into his meagre feast. As he was chewing, Gibbs woke. He was a little disorientated at first, but quickly remembered where he was.

"Do I smell coffee?" he asked, turning to his senior agent.

"It's still hot," Tony said, placing the paper cup in his hand.

Gibbs inhaled the aroma appreciatively and took a tentative sip of the black liquid. He wasn't sure if his stomach could take it.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked by way of conversation.

"I'll live," Gibbs replied. "Any word on those kids?"

"Nada, Boss. He's good, Budd," Tony said, smiling at the alliteration. "He has to have help because there's no way he could vanish so easily in this country. Not with that bleached, surfer boy look."

"When can I get outta here?" Gibbs asked putting the coffee aside, hardly touched.

Tony shook his head.

"No idea, Boss. A couple of days, I imagine. Vance is arranging for you to be flown home for further treatment on your leg," Tony told him.

Gibbs was none too pleased to be told this. He knew it meant two things, one, the injury was serious and two, he was benched. His involvement in finding Harris and the other kids was over. He looked down at his injured leg and cursed his human weakness. Without a doubt, he would be out for several months. He looked seriously at his senior agent who was enjoying his samoon.

"I need you to finish this for me, DiNozzo," he said earnestly. "The Calling must be stopped. I won't be able to do it, so I'll be depending on you and the team."

"Don't worry, Boss," Tony replied. "I won't stop until I get Daniel Budd and close down this sick game he's playing."

"Just be careful, Tony. He's unpredictable and that means dangerous," Gibbs reminded him.

"I know. That's why I'm staying with you until you're on a plane home," Tony told him.

"You think he'll try again?"

Tony nodded.

"Probably. But don't worry, Boss. He won't get to you a second time."

Little did they know that some members of The Calling had already gathered a street away from the hospital. Luke Harris was among them. He was nervous. He felt the cold steel of the silenced gun he had hidden in the belt of his pants touch his skin. He remembered the look of disbelief and hurt on Agent Gibbs face when the bullets struck him. It would have been so much easier if he had died yesterday, he thought. He wasn't sure he had the stomach to do it again.

"You know what you must do, Luke," one of the older boys said.

Luke nodded, his stomach suddenly feeling sick. He swallowed down hard. The older boy tousled his hair and gave him a smile of encouragement. Another slightly more experienced teen was to accompany Luke as a back-up in case things went wrong. They set off and walked the short distance until they arrived at the hospital. They were met by a cleaner at the door of the hospital who told them what room the American was in.

As they entered, Luke hesitated. The older boy chastised him so he continued on.

Back in Room 15, the effects of the coffee was hitting DiNozzo.

"Gotta hit the head, boss," he said, excusing himself.

As he walked down the corridor to use the facilities, he met two teenagers walking the opposite direction with their heads down. He had walked by them before realisation struck him and he turned and called out to them.

"Hey, just a minute."

The boys turned. The older one had a weapon under his jacket and pulled it quickly. He fired one at DiNozzo. Tony reacted to dive out of the line of fire but his timing was off. The bullet hit him and spun him around and he sprawled on the ground. One of the nurses who witnessed what happened screamed.

The boys continued on towards Gibbs room as if nothing had happened. However, the scream had alerted Gibbs that something was wrong. He pulled the drip from his arm and struggled painfully out of the bed while keeping his weight off his injured leg. He held on to the bed and hopped towards the door. He grabbed a crutch that was leaning against the bed of a fellow patient and hid behind the door.

He held his breath as the two boys entered the room and looked around. He recognised Luke but not the other boy. The older boy still held his weapon and made no effort to hide it. Gibbs moved slightly and as the boys turned he swung the crutch with all the strength he could muster and connected with the older boy's jaw. He dropped like a stone and his weapon slid across the floor.

Unfortunately for Gibbs, trying to balance on one leg and swinging the crutch set him off balance and he toppled to the floor. Having tried to save himself with his injured leg, he was writhing in agony. He had landed on his stomach and was near to passing out. He painfully rolled onto his back to face Luke, waiting for the bullet that would end his life.

Luke stood over him. He had drawn his weapon and held it aimed at Gibbs' head with a shaking hand.

"Don't do it, Luke," Gibbs said, pleading with the kid. "It's not too late."

"I'm sorry," Luke said, close to tears. With that the boy held the gun in both hands and placed the barrel under his chin.

"No!" Gibbs yelled.

With that, Gibbs saw movement from outside the door and before he knew it DiNozzo was tackling the boy to the ground. They landed with a thud close to where Gibbs lay. Tony restrained the boy easily despite his injury. He stood up slowly to restrain the unconscious older boy also and swayed as he straightened.

"Are you okay, Boss?" Tony asked. It was then that Gibbs noticed the blood on Tony's jacket.

"No," he answered. "You?"

Tony looked at the blood seeping through the shoulder of his cream jacket.

"Damn it, Boss, it's a Michael Bastian," Tony said, referring to the jacket's designer. "It's ruined."

Gibbs knew he was okay if he was more worried about his clothes than himself. Gibbs lay back onto the ground just as hospital security staff and medical staff began to swarm around them. As the security took the two boys away, two nurses helped Gibbs back to his bed and reconnected his IV's.

Another took Tony to the Emergency area to have his wound treated. He was gone a while and Gibbs began to worry. He called a nurse. sandy, the American nurse arrived.

"Tony, the one who was shot, is he okay?" he asked.

"Oh yes. He's fine. He's up in surgery to repair the wound, but it went straight through with no major damage.," she told him.

Gibbs couldn't help but worry though. He hated knowing any of his agents were injured. As he lay there, CIA Officer Joanna Teague arrived. Tony must have called her, he assumed.

"Do you have the boys in custody?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, we have both boys. The older one is a Californian boy who went missing from home 14 months ago. We'll be taking them home," she told him.

"Good," Gibbs replied. "Joanna, can you do one thing for me?" he asked.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Luke, put him on suicide watch. He wasn't going to shoot me today," he told her. "He had the gun under his own chin when Tony intervened. He needs help. See that he gets it."

Joanna agreed. She could see that despite all that had happened, Gibbs still wanted to help the boy.

That night, Gibbs kept a watch on his senior agent who was recovering from his surgery in the bed beside his in Room 15. By the next morning, Tony was in fine form, the pain meds keeping him on a high.

The following day, Agent McGee arrived in Zahko to accompany the wounded agents home. Accompanying him was another CIA Officer who was responsible for the repatriation of the two boys to face charges.

Tony recovered quickly from his injury. Gibbs recovery period was far greater and hit slumps of frustration and depression as he struggled with everything. He hated depending on others, hated being restricted in his movements. Needless to say his team were there with him through it all, usually on the receiving end of his wrath. Abby insisted on staying with him and looking after him. Ducky provided counselling in the guise of friendly discussions. With their help he got through it.

Testifying against Luke Harris was difficult for him. However, following reports from several psychiatrists and child psychologists, Luke was remanded to a treatment center until he was eighteen. The older boy was discovered to have been involved in the murder of a Muslim cleric in San Francisco before his disappearance. He was also charged with the attempted murder of two federal agents. Following cooperation with the investigation to capture Daniel Budd, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Joanna Teague remained in Iraq, following the trail of The Calling which would lead her into Eastern Europe. Eventually she would be involved in the capture and prosecution of Daniel Budd. However, it was impossible to know how many gullible teenagers his organisation had reached. She just hoped that without their leader, they would cease.

The End

A/N - thats it for this scenario. Probably only one more to go. Hope you liked it.