Hello, everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful...however many days it was since I last updated! This story is almost finished...only two more chapters and then the alternate ending. And nobody guessed my quote from last chapter...It was said by Red Forman on the show That 70s Show. I've never really watched that show, I just got the quote from somebody (thank you again for that...you know who you are)

Ummm...I still don't own NCIS.

Gibbs blinked his eyes, trying to rid them of a fuzzy film that had settled over them. His legs felt like jelly, each step sent flares of pain to his infection. Gibbs was shaking badly. He was hot and cold at the same time, hot from his fever and cold from the crisp winter air. All in all, he knew he couldn't go much farther.

Tony couldn't stand watching his boss stumble through the snow. But he didn't say anything or try to help because he knew it would anger him. Gibbs was pale and sweaty, his pupils were dilated. Tony was scared for him. He knew Gibbs didn't have much time.

The dreaded time came sooner than anyone thought. Gibbs leaned against a tree and slid to the ground, holding his side. This action went unnoticed by the group. Gibbs's lungs rapidly pumped air, it seemed they couldn't get enough.

Tony noticed Gibbs's absence and wandered through the group, looking for his boss. Tony spotted him propped up against a tree. He was at his side in a second, checking over him.

"Come on, Boss, we're almost there," Tony begged. "I can feel it in my gut, can't you?"

"My gut's numb," Gibbs said, barely above a whisper.

Tony's stomach did backflips. This was it and he knew it. Tony wanted to make Gibbs get up and keep moving, he wanted to call Rod over and ask him to help carry Gibbs the rest of the way. But Tony knew his boss's body wasn't capable of moving on, so he plopped down in the snow beside him.

"What are you doing, Tony?" Gibbs growled.

"Staying with you," Tony replied simply.

"Go with them and get help," Gibbs ordered.

"Marines don't leave men behind."

"You're not a Marine, DiNozzo," Gibbs stated. "Now get out of here, I'll be here when you get back."

"Promise?" Tony whimpered, sounding like Abby.

"Yes."

Tony stood up and spared Gibbs one last glance, then continued down the road. Gibbs let out a shuddering breath as he watched his agent go. He knew it killed Tony to leave him behind, but it had to be done. Gibbs couldn't stand the thought of weighing them down anymore than he already had.

"Good job, Tony," Gibbs said when he was out of ear shot.

Gibbs knew he would never see Tony again. Death couldn't be cheated, it could only be postponed. Death always collected one way or another, this time infection and sickness was chosen. Death was coming for Gibbs, but he held on as best he could for Tony and his team.

Gibbs laid down in the soft fluffy snow. It felt like a cloud and almost took his mind off the pain. Gibbs opened his eyes, he didn't know how long he had laying there or if he had fallen asleep or if he was even dead. No, he couldn't be dead, because the pain was still there. Gibbs wrote a message in the snow and closed his eyes again, and he lay still as the black blanket of Death settled over him.

Ziva made an irritated noise at how slow McGee was driving. Bree shifted uneasily in the backseat. They were in Pennsylvania, on the way to a witness's house. William Moore claimed that he had seen Tony and Gibbs being taken.

William or Bill Moore lived in a pretty remote area. His house was a small trailer that didn't have much of a lawn and was surrounded by woods. The three stepped out of the car and knocked of Bill's front door and were greeted with the sound of a small dog barking.

"Down, Skipper." They heard someone say.

The front door opened to reveal Bill Moore. Bill had long straggly gray hair, he walked with a hunch and had a terrible case of lazy eye. A small Pomeranian yipped at his heels. Bill ushered the agents in to reveal that he was a hoarder. There was nowhere to sit, so they stood.

"Um," Bree started. "We are here to-"

"Ah, yes," Bill said. "I was driving by when I saw them get taken."

Ziva and McGee looked at each other uneasily. "Could you tell us what happened?"

Bill nodded. "Everything was quiet, too quiet."

McGee rolled his eyes. This was going to be good.

"Then there was this big dark shape in the sky. Then I saw yer agents floatin' through the air, all limp like. There was a bright flash and BOOM! They were gone! But don't worry, the aliens will bring them back, they brought me back."

No wonder, Ziva thought. Out loud, she said, "I'm almost positive they were not abducted by aliens."

"Almost," Bill echoed.

Bill's face went blank and he stared forward. McGee waved his hands in front of Bill's face, but he gave no indication of seeing it. The three agents exited, wanting to get away from the weirdo. Even Ziva was a little scared, though she would never admit it.

The all climbed into the car with a sigh. The trip had been a total waste. Out of the corner of her eye, Bree saw people walk out of the woods.

Tony almost dropped to his knees when he caught sight of pavement, beautiful, gray, cracked pavement. Better yet, he saw a house and people getting into a car. It was like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter all wrapped in one! Tony sprinted for the car, not caring who was in it. It could have been an axe murderer for all he cared. The car stopped and three people stepped out. Tony threw himself at the nearest one and held on for dear life.

"Oh my God, McGeek, I've never been so happy to see you," Tony said, nearly weeping with joy.

Tony let go of McGee and moved to Ziva. Ziva had tears in her eyes. She brushed her hand along his cheek to let herself know he was there. Tony held onto her hand and pulled her into a tight hug. When he let go, he looked at Bree for a moment and then just for the heck of it, he hugged her too.

"Where's the other one?" Bree asked. "Gibbs?"

Tony's eyes grew as big as melons and he took off for the woods. The others followed, growing scared. Tony slowed down to a jog and let Ziva, McGee, and Bree catch up. Tony should have told them to bring blankets or something, but the only thing on his mind was to save Gibbs.

"Tony, what has happened?" Ziva asked.

"Gibbs is dying."

Tony slowed to a stop when he saw Gibbs lying on the ground, not moving. So many thoughts rushed through his head at that moment. Tony's world did somersaults. McGee and Ziva caught him before he hit the ground. Tony choked on a sob and turned his face away. Then something caught his eye.

Written in the snow were two words:

Semper Fi

Charlie wanted me to stress that the story is not over yet...and this is NOT a deathfic. Thats not really a spoiler since Charlie would never kill an NCIS character...probably cuz she knows I would kill her if she did. And did any of you see NCIS on Tuesday? I realized that when any random redhead comes on the show, I think Gibbs is gonna get together with her...I have major issues. And I realized that I hate episodes with two parts...bad stuff always happens in those episodes. And I might update again this weekend, because I don't have school tomorrow! Yay! Anyways, onto my quote:

"If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now."