Disclaimer on chapter one.

Chapter Twenty Eight

The helicopter landed with a thud and a shake and McGee watched as John started to undo the straps that held Gibbs in place. Three people rushed up to the side of the helicopter and tore the doors open. John told them everything that had happened and they hurried Gibbs onto a gurney and towards a door.

"Better go if you want to stay with him," John yelled over the roar of the engine. McGee nodded, quickly shook John's hand, and then sprinted after Gibbs and the medical team.

The helicopter immediately lifted off and McGee could hear the second chopper coming in for a landing. Another team of doctors and nurses were rushing out the door as they wheeled Gibbs inside. McGee slipped in behind them and listened to the doctors' chatter as they rushed Gibbs into the elevator. McGee squeezed in just as the doors were shutting and no one seemed to realize he was tagging along.

The elevator doors opened and the team of medical personnel rushed Gibbs down the corridor towards a room. McGee jogged along behind them with his heart in his throat. He didn't like the way the doctors were yelling and rushing around.

"What's wrong?" McGee asked no one in particular. One of the doctors seemed to notice him for the first time.

"You need to wait in the waiting room," he said quickly before returning his attention to Gibbs.

McGee stood helpless in the hallway watching them wheel Gibbs away. He felt someone grip his elbow and he turned to see a nurse pointing the way to the waiting room. McGee nodded slowly and turned to follow her direction. He stopped and spun hard when he heard yelling coming from down the hall.

"He's crashing!" McGee heard screamed and he froze in place. The nurse tugged on his arm and slowly got him to move behind the doors and into the room.

He stood with his eyes closed, clamping his hands into fists, as he prayed that they would be able to save Gibbs. He felt his energy draining from his body as he battled not to break down. Gibbs had to pull through, McGee forced his mind to think; otherwise it would just be too unbearable to think about.

Dusty quickly made his way into Denver, ignoring the posted speed limits. He wasn't going to slow down until he knew one way or another the fate of his friend. Twenty minutes after he left St. Luke's he pulled into the emergency parking for St. Anthony Central.

Leaving the car behind hastily, he jogged through the sliding bay doors and came to a stop in front of a nurse that gave him a cautious once over. She hesitantly set aside what she was working on and addressed Dusty.

"Can I help you?"

"Looking for two friends, Levi Brown and Special Agent Gibbs," Dusty replied in a low emotionless voice. His eyes locked onto the nurses and followed her every move. She nodded slowly, feeling slightly uncomfortable and typed the names into the computer.

"They're not in the computer," she said with an apologetic smile. "Are you sure they came…"

"Airlifted here," Dusty replied in the same voice. She pursed her lips and nodded once and checked the computer again.

"Sorry I don't…"

"If they had been brought in by helicopter in critical condition where would the patient be taken?" Dusty asked beginning to get impatient.

"Depends on what care they would need."

"Gun shots."

"Let me call the charge nurse," she replied and picked up the phone. After a brief conversation she glanced at Dusty. "Someone is coming down to get you."

Dusty nodded slowly, but never relented his emotionless stare. He could tell the nurse was squirming and wishing he was gone, but he wouldn't budge until someone took him where he wanted to go.

He didn't have to wait long before Agent McGee walked towards him. Dusty pushed from the counter, leaving the nurse to take a breath of fresh air, and moved swiftly in front of McGee.

"They're upstairs," McGee said without prompting. Dusty nodded slowly.

"How are they?"

"Gibbs' heart keeps stopping. They were taking him into surgery when I got kicked out. I don't know about Levi. He came in after and I was pushed aside."

"Call DiNozzo," Dusty said closing his eyes briefly. "Where can I wait?"

McGee led Dusty to the waiting room and then left him there as he made his way outside. After gulping down a few deep breaths to steady himself, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Once he had it on, it started to beep with missed calls and messages. Without bothering to check them, he dialed Tony's cell phone and waited.

"Better be good news, McGee," Tony's strained voice came over the line. McGee winced and swallowed.

"Uh, not really," McGee replied softly.

"McGee?"

"His heart keeps stopping and they rushed him into surgery."

"He's still alive though…right?"

"Last I knew he was," McGee said as his voice cracked. Both men were quiet a moment. "How's Kate?"

"Still in surgery to repair her leg."

"And the others?"

"Grayson is still unconscious. His CT scan showed swelling and they are giving him drugs to try to control it. Zack is still in surgery as well."

"I'll call again once I know more, but it didn't look good going in, Tony."

"Gibbs is tough, Probie, he'll pull through."

"Yeah."

They disconnected and McGee made his way upstairs once again. He found Dusty leaning against the wall, arms across his chest, staring at the floor. McGee flopped into a chair, more exhausted than he had ever been in his life before. The two men sat in silence for a while, both lost in the thoughts of losing someone close to them.

McGee closed his eyes and tried to get some rest, but all that came was haunting images playing on the backs of his eyelids. He jerked awake three times in as many minutes and decided that it wasn't worth the effort.

He stood and walked around the room, stretching his legs and back, feeling the stress build in his chest. Nothing could be worse, he thought, than hours of waiting. But no news could be good news, since most likely Gibbs was still alive.

DiNozzo hung up with McGee and continued to pace in the room he was put in. Janie was dosing in the corner and he tried his best not to disturb her. Her arm was securely strapped to her body after the doctor had cared for her arm injury. They had given her pain meds that had helped knocked her out.

Tony on the other hand was wired. Waiting for word was ripping at his sanity. An hour ticked by before a doctor came in the room. Tony stopped at once and held his breath. The doctor looked from Janie to Tony before he smiled softly.

"I'm Dr. Jared Cowen; I was working on Mr. Quinn."

Tony let his eyes drop, happy to have news of someone, but disappointed it wasn't Kate. "Yes?"

"We've managed to repair his muscle and after a period of recovery he should regain full use."

"That's good news," Tony said with a nod. The doctor nodded again. "Do you know anything about Grayson Wilson or Kate Todd?"

"No I don't, but I can find someone who does for you."

Tony smiled his appreciation and the doctor left the room. Janie picked her head up and shook it slightly. Tony sat down in the chair for the first time since he arrived at the hospital.

"What did he say?" Janie asked.

Tony told her about Zack and she nodded. Tony could see the relief in her eyes as she nodded back to sleep. Tony decided sitting wasn't for him and he got up and headed for Grayson's room.

The boy was still unconscious, but Tony could see his eyes moving behind the closed lids. That was a good sign, Tony thought. He went over and gripped Grayson's hand and squeezed lightly. He watched as Grayson's head jerked from one side to the other as his eyes rolled even faster. The monitor on his heart started to speed up as the lights began flashing. A nurse came in a few seconds later and Tony took a step back.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked concerned. The nurse continued to check vitals as she watched the machine.

"I believe he's having a nightmare. He should wake up from the coma soon," she replied.

Tony watched as Grayson's body twitched and shuddered before the boy's eyes sprang open. Grayson looked around frantic for a moment and thrashed in the bed. Tony stepped forward and placed a hand down on the young man's shoulder.

"Relax," Tony said softly as he got Grayson to look at him. "You're in the hospital."

Grayson was stuck in hell. He was being chased by something in the dark, but he couldn't see it. He knew it was Jonas though, coming to kill him. Then there was a giant explosion of light and color and he felt his eyes jerk.

Once the images registered Grayson began to fight his surroundings. Everything was wrong, strange, and disorienting, but then a familiar voice broke the carnage. He settled against the bed he was in and blinked a few times.

"What happened?" Grayson croaked out of his dry throat.

"You've been unconscious for almost 3 hours," a female voice informed him. His face bore his confusion as he looked up at Tony.

"Head injury," Tony said with a smile. Grayson closed his eyes and battled the intense pain rocketing through his mind.

"Make the pain stop," he said as he felt his stomach clenching. Someone else was walking up to the bed, but Grayson didn't have the strength to open his eyes. He was too busy concentrating on not losing the contents of his stomach.

"Looks like he's regained consciousness," the newcomer said before pulling Grayson's eyelids up one at a time. He shined a light in each eye before letting the lid drop. Grayson groaned attempting to move his body away. His leg stretched and the intense liquid fire pain that raced from his knee in both directions made him cry out.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHH," he yelped as he curled his body.

"You're knee needs surgery to repair the damage. We've given you medication to slow the bleeding and swelling in your brain. The surgery will have to wait until you are in stable condition but waking up is a good sign."

"Can I have something for the pain?" Grayson whimpered as he felt his stomach roll again.

"Of course," the doctor replied before writing a script and handing it to the nurse. She nodded and quickly left the room only to return with a syringe. After receiving the medication Grayson relaxed slightly as his mind became even foggier.

He noticed that Tony had left his room and he didn't know when. He felt a surge of panic and abandonment wash over him before he remembered Levi, Gibbs, Kate, and Zack. He tried to sit up, and it was the worst mistake of his life. His head rocked as his knee scorched with pain and his stomach rolled. He flopped back against the pillows while his hands flew to his head.

"How is everyone else?" he gasped out as he struggled to breath evenly again, fighting the wave of blackness that was washing over him.

"Just relax everything will be fine," he heard a strange voice tell him. The panic continued in his mind as he fought the coming darkness. His head was on fire as his leg was becoming increasingly number.

"Just give in," a familiar voice rang in his ears and he struggled to open his eyes. Catching a glimpse of his Aunt Janie brought a smile to his face as he finally started to relax. He gave into the darkness and let the pain fade away.

TBC…