Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS!

Author's Note: Hello again, everyone! And all of you faithful readers! I can't even begin to describe how thankful I am that you are sticking with me and this story! I sincerely apologize for not having updated this chapter sooner. Life has been really, REALLY busy over here. Last week I came back from a vacation with my family, and unfortunately they didn't have any WiFi at the campgrounds we were staying at. And then a massive storm hit us over here on the East Coast, which knocked out everyone's power for miles and for days! On top of that, my computer is glitching, which is REALLY driving me bonkers, but anyways, here I am! And again, I am really sorry!

And thank you again for your patience and for continuing to read and review this story! I practically live for reviews, because reading them makes my day! So thank you in advance for reviewing!

I'm just warning you, this chapter contains alot of McGee whump/angst (Is that what you call it?) but rest reassured, everything will turn out to be alright in the end. This story DOES have a HAPPY ENDING! (I can't write endings that make me sad!) I had alot of trouble writing this chapter, because I'm not very good at writing angst or whump, and I'm not the type of person who likes violence in general, so it took me several tries to write this chapter the best that I could!

I won't keep you waiting any longer. Without further ado, Here is Chapter 15!

Chapter 15

Cruel Realizations

"Christopher?"

There was an eerie silence that filled the room following Tim's question.

It can't be Chris… Christopher… or can it? I don't know. I don't want it to be Chris, but I swear that I can recognize that voice. It has to be him. But why? Why would he kidnap me? What does he want from me?

McGee's train of thought crashed at the station when his captor spoke once again.

"First of all," he snarled, "the name's Chris, not Christopher!" He yanked the mask off his face as soon as he finished saying his sentence, glaring at McGee.

"You've got it all wrong. It's Chris now. Try to ingrain that in your miniscule brain of yours if you can before I do something drastic, alright?" he paused, watching McGee tense in front of him when he spoke.

"Now, let me get one thing straight- I'm the one who's going to do the talking, here, not you. You're going to sit there like the good little agent you are and listen very closely, because I'm not going to repeat myself twice, alright? Good. Now as I was saying…"

"Why? Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" McGee interrupted, completely ignoring Christopher's threat and trying not to betray his thoughts of fear.

"You don't listen very well, do you?" Chris sent a fist flying towards McGee's face and smirked when he hit his target square on the jaw. He drew back and continued to speak as if nothing had ever happened.

"What I was saying, Tim, is that I'm the one who's in charge now. I've got the upper hand here; you don't. And secondly," Chris sneered and without warning, viciously punched McGee again hard in the ribs twice before he could react. "You don't. Speak. Back to me. Unless. I've. Given. You. Permission. Got it?"

"Did your mother ever teach you any manners?" Chris jibed, half-heartedly, not expecting a response.

There was a pause for a moment as McGee tried to think of a comeback.

"Yes, actually, she did. She told me that I should never associate with jerks like yourself, and she also mentioned that it was not nice to insult people, but in your case, I think I can make an exception…" Tim's voice trailed off as Christopher backhanded him on the left side of his face.

McGee jerked to the side after the blow made contact with his cheek. The left side of his face felt like it was on fire. His pain receptors were screaming at him, and although he was in more pain than he had been in before, he chose to ignore it and fought to stay conscious. His headache had intensified after the unexpected blow had landed on his face, but he tried to ignore it and focus on the situation he was facing at the moment.

Gibbs' Rule 16, "If someone has the upper hand…break it." McGee thought wryly. I don't exactly have the upper hand right now, and there's nothing I can do to break Christopher's hand…Wait, focus, Tim, Focus! The best thing to do right now is to watch and wait for the right opportunity to escape. Oh, and perhaps I can afford to antagonize Christopher a bit more. That should distract him momentarily.

What would the rest of the team do if they were in the situation that I'm in now? What would Tony do? He'd probably talk his head off and insult Christopher every time he could. I guess that's what I've been trying to do for the last… five minutes? Has it been five minutes already? It feels like I've been here for a decade. Anyways, I can't talk trash and throw insults like Tony does, but I'll give it a try. And what would Ziva do? She'd work on finding a way to escape, or she'd create her own means of escape. And Gibbs… Gibbs would somehow manage to remain calm in the face of danger, but he would stand up to his enemy as well, and prove that to his enemy that he wouldn't get the best of him. Gibbs would refuse to give away any information, and he'd take a beating without showing any signs of weakness. Gibbs would be silently defiant, while he thought of ways to escape. I think I'll try to do the same.

If I can distract Christopher by throwing around insults and talk nonsense like Tony does, then that will give me time to come up with an escape plan, or give me time to contact the rest of the team. I'd prefer to escape first, though. Maybe Christopher will make a mistake and give me a clue as to what the heck he wants, and why, or maybe he'll tell me where I am. Knowing that would be helpful.

"Do you understand?" Chris yelled, impatiently, waiting for a response from McGee.

When McGee ignored Chris's question, Chris proceeded to punch McGee again on his previously bruised ribs. McGee stifled a groan when another punch hit him on the right side of his ribcage but continued to ignore Chris's shouts as he thought about how to approach the situation he was currently in.

Dang, my ribs are gonna be so much more sore than when I originally left for work yesterday.

I can't let Christopher think that he's winning. I can't let him think that he's intimidating me. Come on, Tim! You're stronger than this! You can do this! You can survive a couple of hard punches to the gut. You have to stay awake if you want to find out what his plan of attack is. Just stay in there, don't let him overpower you. Don't let him think that you've been defeated. Stay strong. Gibbs will come for you soon.

Mustering up his courage, McGee spoke. "Okay, I get it loud and clear, Christopher. What exactly is it that you want me for anyways? You don't by any chance have a grudge against NCIS now, do you?" He put emphasis on the saying Christopher's name.

Another punch to his ribs and McGee knew that he had succeeded in putting up a brave front. He had managed to anger Chris, but he didn't know whether that was a good thing or not yet. McGee grimaced as he felt Chris hit him hard on the right side of his face.

That's going to form a nice bruise later, McGee thought. Don't I have enough bruises already?

He couldn't move to deflect any of Chris's blows because of the bonds that were restraining his movement, but he had some control over his head movement. He could turn around left and right, and nod his head up and down, but that was the extent to which he could move. McGee had to stifle another groan when Chris hit him hard in his side. The sides of his chest were already sore and had a fair share of bruises from his unfortunate journey down the cliff Tony had accidently pushed him down.

Wow, what a lovely way to start the day. If yesterday was bad, then what's today gonna be like?

When he had finished punishing McGee for his comeback, Chris stood up again and loomed over McGee again.

"The name's Chris, not Christopher! Do. You. Understand?"

"Oh, I understand perfectly well, Chris-to-pher. It's not a matter of understanding, it's a matter of choosing to annoy you on purpose. Why don't you tell me what you want from me already?"

McGee's last remark earned him a quick kick to his legs followed by a harsh shove to his shoulders, sending him and the chair he was tied to reeling backwards towards the hard stone floor. McGee's head collided with the ground before he could react, and suddenly multiple waves of pain were flying through his head. McGee squeezed his eyes shut hard as each wave of pain made its presence known in the back of his skull. His headache just became worse. Still, through the pain, he didn't give up.

That's gonna become a concussion soon. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a concussion already! How about that? Two concussions at once, if that's even possible. I doubt it is, scientifically and medically speaking, but if it is possible, then I'll be the first person to experience it firsthand. Ducky would know. Gosh, my head hurts like heck. When will this headache ever end? Wait a second! I'm losing track of time here. I need to get back on track. Let's see how I can annoy Chris this time. Hmm…

"Are you ready to release me and give up now, Christopher?" McGee asked in a muffled voice, from his current position on the floor.

Chris was furious. He was the one who was supposed to be asking the questions, not Tim! He was supposed to be the one who was in control of the situation, but he obviously was struggling with doing just that. Who knew that Tim would be such a sarcastic smart aleck? He thought that Special Agent Tony DiNozzo was supposed to be the talkative smart aleck on Team Gibbs, the man who always put up a brave front and knew how to annoy people like heck, not McGee! McGee wasn't DiNozzo, but he sure a heck was acting like him! And he was annoying the hell out of him. Would this man ever shut up? No, apparently not. What would it take to make him shut up?

Chris walked around Tim's current position on the stone cold floor. Quickly he bent down and raised McGee and the chair he was attached to in an upright position.

"Are you going to shut up now?"

"I don't know, are you? I'll stop talking once you stop talking and close that big mouth of yours." McGee countered. Boy, he sure was pissing off Chris.

Smack! Chris punched McGee in the jaw. Dang it, McGee was giving him such a hard time. He was being a pain in the rear end… Wasn't he supposed to be the one giving McGee the hard time? Chris was infuriated. He was furious beyond belief. No one insulted him, ever! He had had enough. He had had enough of Tim's insubordination, his back talk, the sarcastic remarks and smart alecky responses. The insult had been the last straw.

It was time to show McGee that he was the boss, and that he clearly held the upper hand. And that he was serious. He'd had enough of McGee's attitude, and now it was time to get down to business.

"Shut up, McGee! You will shut up, Tim, and listen to what I have to say, because I've had it! I've been gentle with you so far, but I'm not going to be Mr. Niceguy anymore! I don't want to use this, but I will if I absolutely have to."

Chris reached into his jacket pocket and slowly pulled out a hand gun, gently cradling it in his hands. After holding it for a moment, he raised the gun and pointed it at McGee's chest.

"I'm pretty certain that you know what this is, Tim. That's right; it's a gun, and it is fully loaded. I don't want to use it unless I have to, but don't get me wrong- I won't hesitate to shoot it if you don't cooperate and do exactly as I say. So cut the backtalk and stop the smart aleck remarks or else I will use it. Do I make myself clear?"

McGee realized that he had no other choice but to listen to Chris and do as he said if he wanted to live, so he chose to answer Chris without a sarcastic response this time.

"Yes, you do. I hear you loud and clear, Chris. Just tell me what you want so we can get this over with." McGee grumbled, trying not to let his irritation show.

"Good. You see? That wasn't so hard to do, now, was it? I'm in control now, so admit it!"

Seeing the gun was still aimed at his chest, McGee had no other choice but to do as Chris wanted him to do.

"Fine. You're in control now." But you won't be the one in control when Gibbs arrives, McGee thought to himself.

"Good, Tim! You finally understand the situation now! You should be so proud of yourself, having just figured that out! You know, for someone who's supposed to be a genius, you're pretty stupid. Did you know that? I bet you didn't. I mean, seriously! You walked into my trap at your apartment without a second care in the world! Talk about a lack of common sense! That was not your smartest move, McGee, walking into your household without calling anyone for backup first. I have to say that capturing you was easier than I originally thought it would be. Drugging your dog was the hard part, but knocking you out was easy. If I'd known earlier that you were going to be concerned more about your dog's safety than your own, then I would have killed your dog a long time ago. And actually, I still need to kill him, because there is the chance that he would be able to recognize my scent. But I'll worry about doing that later. And that's all in the past. You're stuck here with me now, and that's all that matters."

As he was occupying himself by boasting how easily he had captured McGee, Chris lowered his gun until it hung loosely in his grasp. The hand that was holding the gun was now resting against his side.

McGee couldn't hide his disgust when Chris talked about how he would have killed Jethro (McGee's dog) sooner if he had known how attached McGee was to him. McGee couldn't stop himself in time from expressing his frustration at Chris.

"You're so full of it, aren't you, Christopher? You'd go so far as to hurt, even to kill an innocent dog just so that you could kidnap me, beat me up, and then use me to do your dirty works? That's sick, just sick! Not even a psychopathic murderer would stoop down so low as to kill a dog just to get what he wanted!" McGee yelled.

"Shut up!" Chris shouted in response. McGee paid no attention to what he said, though. McGee continued to rant at Chris.

"That's just cruel! That's beyond cruel! Only the lowest scum of all the dirtbags on Earth would go so far as to kill a dog! You're insane!"

"SHUT UP!" Chris yelled again, furious beyond belief. Still, McGee continued.

"I can't believe that I wanted to help you on the side of the road yesterday. If you're planning on killing my dog, then you're going to have to go through me first! And the rest of my team! And you can go to hell, while you're at it!" McGee yelled, with venom and hate in his voice.

Chris wasn't expecting an outburst from Timothy McGee, but he couldn't make him shut up, nonetheless. Chris was beyond furious. He was in a blind rage. Before he knew what he was doing, he lashed out at McGee and pistol-whipped him with the butt of his gun hard on the head.

McGee winced and gasped in surprise, but slumped forward in his chair after the blow hit. He tried to stay awake and fight the oncoming blackness, but it was a losing battle. Wave after wave of pain coursed through his head, making it impossible for him to ignore. He was vaguely aware of his surroundings as he slumped further forward in his chair and gave in to the blackness. The blackness overwhelmed his vision; he welcomed it and closed his eyes, then fell into a deep unconsciousness.

"Damn it," Chris muttered underneath his breath. "I didn't mean to hit him that hard…"

Author's Note: So here is Chapter 15! I hope that you guys and gals enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think. I will try to update another chapter soon.