Disclaimer on chapter one.
AN: Chapter eighteen! Woo! Hope you enjoy and Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate it :-D. dark rolling sea.
Chapter Eighteen
The air was getting colder and Gibbs felt the goose bumps grow on his skin. Kate was shivering against him and he tried to settle her body under him without putting any weight on her. Kate huddled closer against him, her body curling to maintain her warmth. Gibbs looked out from their makeshift shelter and tried to think of a way out of this.
He wasn't sure if Tony and the others would be able to find them down here. He was pretty sure no one would be able to find them before first light. His mind lost all focus when Kate started mumbling again, her head shifting up to his chin. He could feel her inhaling, before each exhale brushed across his neck.
He felt his body temperature rise considerably when her teeth nipped lightly at his jaw. He let out a small groan as he tried desperately to gain control of the situation. His eyes slammed shut as he fought the urge to shift his body and kiss her back. He opened an eye and looked down at her, and couldn't stop the smile. She was still unconscious. She murmured his name as her hand shifted down his chest.
He slowly lifted himself up off of her and sat back against the rock as she shuddered and curled into herself. Gibbs ran his right hand over his face and took a deep breath; he couldn't allow himself to get caught up in the emotions that she had stirred. He had to keep his mind clear.
Kate seemed to sense the loss of his body heat and reached out in her unconscious state. She managed to grab a hold of his right leg just below the knee. She pulled ever so slightly and Gibbs couldn't stop the pain induced cry. It seemed to bring Kate closer to consciousness, her eyes fluttering open a few times before staying closed.
"Come on, Kate, wake up," he said sternly. She rolled onto her back and her leg bounced off the side of the rock wall. Her eyes exploded open and she gasped, sitting up quickly. Gibbs immediately reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders catching her from falling back again.
He could see the grogginess in her eyes as she looked around. Her gaze fell to her leg and she gasped again and reached for the blood soaked coat wrapped around her leg. She suddenly realized that she wasn't alone and that someone had their arm around her.
Kate tried to scoot away quickly but her head started to spin and the arm gripped her tighter, drawing her in the opposite direction. She fought the fog of her brain and looked at whoever was holding her, but the face didn't focus. She suddenly felt disoriented and very frightened as she couldn't remember how she got where she was.
"Kate, its ok," Gibbs said softly as he saw Kate struggle to orient herself. Kate looked at him for a long moment before his face and voice registered and she nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Gibbs," Kate said uncertainly. She suddenly realized his injuries and reached out for his blood soaked cheek. "You're bleeding."
"I'll live," Gibbs said as her palm laid flat against his jaw. He swallowed to keep himself in check and Kate cocked her head to the side subtly, before her hand fell away, coming in contact with his knee. He jerked and winced, stifling the yelp wanting to escape. Kate's eyes dropped to his knee and then came back to his face.
"You're hurt bad," she said with concern.
"No," he lied. "You're not in the best shape either."
Kate looked at her body and noticed she had dried blood on her arms. She looked at the jacket on her leg and frowned. She fought to clear her mind and remember what happened. She finally looked up at Gibbs.
"Gun shots," she said uncertainly. Gibbs nodded. "I…I got hit right away. I remember falling over the cliff. That's it. I don't…" Kate stopped talking as a light flush highlighted her cheeks. She looked away from Gibbs as she remembered her dream.
"He ambushed us from the high ground. Levi took a couple rounds, one in the shoulder and one in the leg. I tried to stop the bleeding but…I…"
"What?" Kate asked as she reached a friendly hand out to his shoulder when didn't continue.
"I panicked," he admitted lowly his eyes downcast. He brought them up to meet hers and was astonished by what looked back at him.
"Why?" she asked giving his shoulder a slight squeeze. Gibbs looked down again and licked at his lips. His mind raged a battle of what to tell her.
"You disappeared in all the confusion and after the gun battle I couldn't find you," he said softly his head bowed.
Kate let go of his shoulder and put a single finger under his chin. She didn't need to apply pressure he looked up at her willingly. She studied his eyes and he let her, still guarding much of what he felt.
"Levi was on the rock ledge, I went to check him and tried to care for his wounds but someone, I'm assuming Jonas Bale, got me from behind. I was looking…for you. I should have secured the area, but I was so…consumed…with looking…for you," Gibbs finally continued. He shook his head and then dipped it back against the rock. He swallowed and recomposed his mind to resurrect the barriers.
"Where's Levi now?" Kate asked looking around.
"He was still there when I tumbled down the hillside."
"How bad are you hurt?" Kate asked. Gibbs gave her a grin.
"Not bad at all."
"I can't climb out on this leg on my own," she began and saw Gibbs face falter. Her features took on a curious look. "You'll have to help me climb…what?"
"I…I can't stand on this leg," Gibbs replied tapping his right leg. Kate frowned examining it. The pant leg was torn in three or four places, exposing pieces of rock torn flesh and dried blood. The knee of his pants was completely ripped away. It was then she noticed the intense swelling.
"I thought you said you weren't hurt bad," Kate said sounding a little defeated. Gibbs attempted to shrug his shoulders and was rewarded with a jolt of pain from the left side for his efforts. Kate caught it. "What's wrong with your shoulders?"
"I'm ok, Kate," Gibbs replied.
"But not ok enough to climb out of here," Kate said flatly. Gibbs nodded. "What's wrong with your shoulder?"
"I landed on it when I first nose dived off that damn cliff," Gibbs said a little aggravated.
Kate simply nodded and wrapped her arms a little tighter around her body trying to control the shivers that were starting to take over. Gibbs saw what was happening and swallowed again. He then draped his good arm out.
"Come here, we're going to have to share body heat to make it till morning."
"DiNozzo will find us," Kate stated as a half question half statement. Gibbs took a moment before he answered.
"As much faith as I have in DiNozzo, no one knows where we are, the two-way is up there, and the tracks will be near impossible to track in the dark."
Kate nodded her understanding and bit at her lower lip. Gibbs motioned with his hand for her to come next to him again and after a slight hesitation she slowly scooted into his side. Gibbs wrapped his arm around her and they sat in silence for a while. Eventually Kate drifted into a light sleep, the warmth from Gibbs keeping her from being completely frozen.
Gibbs sat for a while longer, watching Kate sleep in his arms, wondering if he could ever forget what he felt. Things had definitely changed for him, and after Kate's actions while unconscious he wondered if she could possibly return those same feelings. His mind wandered until drifting asleep.
Dusty pulled to the cabin and Tony and McGee were running towards the door. Tony took the porch steps in a single bound and half jumped over the crashed through door. His weapon was up and he scanned the room.
"Boss? Kate!" he yelled, but no one answered him. "Shit."
McGee came up behind him and Tony shook his head. McGee nodded and starting to clear the other rooms. Once they were satisfied there was no one there, they wandered outside. Tony took in the situation and wanted to scream. The light of the day was gone. They could go into the mountain but it would be almost impossible to find them in these conditions.
"They've gone up," Dusty said, slightly startling Tony. He looked to his right and saw Dusty squatting on the ground a few feet from the porch. McGee looked at Tony.
"How do you know that?" McGee asked.
"Tracks. Your two agents and Lee followed another two sets of prints up mountain."
"Can you track them?" Tony asked hopefully. He watched as Dusty peeled his sunglasses from his eyes and looked up at the wilderness. There was a long stretch and Tony felt his stomach tightening with every second.
"Maybe," Dusty mumbled before walking off into the darkness. McGee looked at Tony. Tony pulled the two-way radio from his pocket and tried to raise Gibbs on the other end. He had a connection for the first couple tries then only static returned. Tony frowned.
"Shit. McGee, we got to find them," Tony said in a low voice.
"It's pretty dark out there, Tony. Even if we can follow their tracks we'd be sitting ducks."
Tony shot him a look and then followed Dusty. McGee stood for a moment longer, looking around. The worry was starting to make his head hurt. They joined Dusty shortly up the trail. The man had stopped and was staring at the ground. He looked up at the two NCIS agents.
"What?" Tony asked. Dusty continued to stare at him and Tony didn't like what he saw in the other man's eyes. There was concern and worry.
"Whoever it is that's after Grady is very good. I wouldn't recommend going up in the dark."
"What do you mean very good?" McGee asked.
"At what he does," Dusty said shaking his head.
"Would you go if it was just you?" Tony asked watching the other man. Dusty looked at him and Tony could see the other man making a decision.
"No," Dusty said softly a certain sadness underlying his words. "You can't rescue people if you're dead."
With that he turned and walked back towards the cabin. McGee turned and followed him while Tony stood and stared into the darkness for a moment longer. He was torn between wanting to save his teammates and what Dusty had said. They knew Storm was dangerous and Dusty was right, it was suicide to walk into an ambush in the dark.
He finally gave in and joined the other two at the cabin. Tony and McGee decided to stay here in case someone returned to the cabin, while Dusty took the car back to Grayson and Zack. Tony could see that Dusty had a bad feeling and wanted to check on the brothers.
Storm walked deeper into the mountain, the chill in the air invigorating him. Nothing could shake the smile from his face as he started to plan his next move. He thought about getting to tell Grayson the agents he had sent were dead, his excitement growing. He knew his enemy would come out now.
He pulled the cell phone from his pocket and redialed the last number. He held the device to his ear and waited. It seemed like an eternity before he heard the line connect. Grayson sounded hollow on the other end.
"Why so defeated, Grayson, expecting someone else to call?" Jonas asked.
"I'm going to kill you," Grayson replied calmly. Jonas took a moment before he answered.
"We'll I hope you're better than your friend or those federal agents," Jonas said with a small laugh.
"Fuck you, Jonas," Grayson ground out.
"They're lying on the mountain side. Hopefully someone finds them before the critters make off with the bodies."
"I don't believe you."
"You want to kill me?" Jonas asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Grayson was a bit surprised by the question.
"I will kill you."
"You can find me at the Gladstone Cabin. You know where that is?"
"Of course I do."
"I'll be waiting."
When Grayson hung up the phone he was furious. Zack stood behind the couch looking at him. Grayson stood up and grabbed for his crutches but once he got them he felt like hurling them through the windows. He settled for throwing them to the ground. He tested his leg, gently applying more and more weight to it to see how much it could handle.
"What are you doing?" Zack asked coming up beside him.
"Going after Jonas."
"That's what the NCIS agents are doing."
"From what Jonas just said they're either dead or dying on the mountain side."
"Grady, you can't believe what he says."
"He wouldn't lie to me, Zack."
"Why? He'd probably say anything to get you out in the open to kill you."
"Then why not just come here?" Grayson roared at his little brother. Zack took a step back, a slight fear rippling his features. Grayson closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"What are you going to do?"
"He said he'd be at the Gladstone Cabin. It's just up the road about a mile."
"We can't walk. Well you can't walk that far."
"Dusty has a ATV in the back. I'll take that. You are staying here."
"No, I'm not," Zack said sternly. Grayson looked at him as he balanced his weight. He couldn't stop the wince as pain shot through his bad leg. "And that's why. You're in no condition…"
"Zack…"
"I'm not letting you go alone," Zack yelled at him. "I'm not losing you to a monster that's fixated on something that's not your fault."
Grayson stared at his younger brother, logging the fear and determination in his eyes. He finally nodded and the two of them walked out to the porch. Zack went around and brought the ATV and Grayson climbed on behind him.