Disclaimer on chapter one.

AN: Here's a little bit more…enjoy and leave me your thoughts. dark rolling sea.

Chapter Thirty

Dusty stood in the cold dim room that Levi's body lay in. He was a few feet back, simply observing his friend in death. Levi's shirt had been cut and torn away, exposing his flesh to the doctors. A dark heavy trail of stitches showed where they had torn the dead man's chest open. The bullet holes looked large and raw. Levi's skin was a gray color, his eyes sunken behind the closed lids.

Dusty stepped forward and came to a stop at the side of the table. He reached out and took hold of his friend's hand, noticing it still held warmth. He waited a moment as he stilled his racing mind. There was so much he wanted to tell Levi, but now there was no time to do it in. He never expected to have to say goodbye so soon.

His hand tightened around Levi's cold limp one, and Dusty closed his eyes against the barrage of emotion. This was not supposed to happen. His mind drifted to Grayson once again and he knew that the boy would blame himself; it was something Dusty would help him deal with. He just hoped that the young man was strong enough to recover from the blow.

Sorrow ripped through his mind, as the reality of the situation reared its ugly head once again. His rock had rolled down the hill, and now he hoped he could replace it on the bottom. He knew he would have to become more active in Grayson's life, showing more emotion, letting the boy know how much he did care about him.

He fought the burning in his eyes, the lump in his throat, as he pushed his emotions down once again. Strength was what he needed now; strength would be what carries him through. He placed his free hand on Levi's forehead and leaned down close to his friend.

"This is the end, my friend, sleep well," he said softly. "I loved you as a brother."

With that said Dusty left the room, heading back towards Agent McGee. He needed to get to the other hospital; he needed to talk to Grayson. He found the agent sitting in a chair in the waiting room dozing. Coming up in front of the younger man, Dusty placed a hand on his shoulder. Agent McGee looked up slightly startled.

"I'm going back to St. Luke's. I have to tell Grayson. Send word on Agent Gibbs once you know."

"Ok," McGee replied with a nod of his head. Dusty then departed, making his way to his car. The ride back to St. Luke's was slow and somber. Driving the speed limit, it took him longer than the first trip. His mind flowed over his memories of Levi, traveling back more than twenty years. The first of many tears slid silently down his cheeks as he began mourning for his friend.

Grayson blinked a few times trying to clear the haze from his mind. Slowly his mind cleared enough for him to realize why he hurt so badly. He turned his head to the left and saw his aunt sleeping on a cot, and next to her Zack, in another hospital bed.

He stared at his brother, sound asleep, and wondered how it could all happen. This all started because of him, it all happened because of him. He felt terrible guilt explode in his chest as he averted his eyes to the ceiling. Everything that happened rested on his shoulders, even if it was unprovoked.

His eyes welled with tears as he fought to maintain control. They spilled over soaking his cheeks, his guilt overpowering his resolve. Trying hard to keep his release to a minimum he heard his aunt start to stir on the cot. He looked away, turning his head and closing his eyes. He hoped she would think him asleep, and lay back down.

No such luck. She rose from the cot after a minute and walked slowly over to Zack's bed first. Grayson tried to stop the tears, desperately wanting to hide his emotional cracking. She would ask why and he wasn't ready to defend his guilt.

Grayson felt a presence hovering over him and closed his eyes tighter, but the tears wouldn't stop. He felt a hand caress the side of his face and he took a deep shuddering breath. He waited for her to say something, anything, but the silence remained in the room. Slowly opening his eyes, he found compassionate ones staring back at him. She didn't say anything and Grayson found the silence crushing.

"It's all my fault," he quietly sobbed as the guilt washed over him. His eyes slammed shut again, as the tears burned trails down his face. Janie took his face gently in her hands and waited until he opened his eyes again.

"No, baby, it's not your fault. The man responsible is dead. You had…"

"It started because of me, I was the reason he hurt everyone."

"No, Grady, no. You're not responsible for any of this," she replied with a cracked voice, her own tears spilling from her eyes.

"He came for me and everyone tried to help me, they're hurt because of me."

"It will take time to heal all wounds, Grady, physical and psychological, but you'll realize that it's not your fault. You had no control over what happened."

"I'm the common link, I'M the reason…"

"Shh," she coed softly but Grayson couldn't stop the onslaught.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Grayson, it's ok, no one blames you."

"I blame me," he said with fire. Janie swallowed in a deep breath and pursed her lips.

"It's not your fault."

"It is," he yelped as he rolled onto his side and stared at the wall. There would be no convincing him otherwise, not now anyway. He heard his aunt slowly move back to the cot and lay down, still hearing her softly cry. He wished he could turn back time.

Tony sat with Kate as she slept. He could tell she has having a very fitful rest but there was nothing he could do about it. She tossed and turned, as her eyes rolled around wildly in the sockets. Tony continually placed a calming hand on her shoulder, settling her for a while, but never completely stopping whatever was playing behind her eyelids.

His mind drifted to Gibbs and his heart filled with pain and worry once again. He wished McGee would call, telling them it was all ok, Gibbs had pulled through, but no word came. Although no news was better than bad news, Tony told himself. Forcing his mind to retreat from the images of life without Gibbs, Tony rubbed a hand over his face.

Waiting was horrible, he needed to do something. He hated to leave Kate, not wanting her to wake up alone in the strange hospital setting, but his legs needed stretching, and his mind needed coffee. Making his way to the cafeteria, Tony picked up a cup of coffee and made his way slowly back to Kate's room.

As he walked through the door, sipping his coffee, Kate began to stir. He placed the cup down on the table and walked to the side of the bed. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. Glancing down he gave her a reassuring smile before he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly. She looked around the room with cloudy eyes, the pain medication fogging her ability to function properly. He saw the recognition slowly return, searching the room for anyone else.

"Where?" she croaked before swallowing and closing her eyes. Tony grabbed the cup of water and put the straw in her mouth. She sipped slowly and once she was done Tony answered her.

"No news on Gibbs yet. McGee is still with him," Tony replied.

"How bad is it, Tony?"

"I can't lie to you, Kate, its bad. McGee said his heart stopped more than once before they took him into surgery."

"God, Tony, he has to survive," she said as tears came down her face. Tony leaned in closer.

"It's ok, Kate, Gibbs is tough. He'll make it," Tony reassured her, but he wasn't entirely convinced himself and he thought that Kate sensed that.

"How about Grayson?" Kate asked wanting to change the subject.

"He's regained consciousness and they are waiting for more tests before they take him into surgery for his leg. They want to be absolutely sure his head injury won't affect him being put under."

"And everyone else?"

"Dusty went to check on Levi, and Zack is out of surgery and expected to make a full recovery."

"My leg…it feels weird," Kate said as her eyes drooped again. She looked down and frowned at the contraption holding it in place.

"You broke it, Kate; they repaired your muscles and set the bone. Once the stitches come out they'll cast your leg."

"Cast it?"

"To keep the bones from slipping before they heal properly."

She nodded slowly, still frowning, her thoughts flowing unconnected and disjointed. "Gibbs better make it."

"I know, Kate, I know," Tony replied.

"No you don't, Tony," she said holding back a sob. "He can't leave me now, not now, not after, not after everything."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked slightly confused. Kate looked up at him and he understood from the look in her eyes. He nodded slowly. "On the mountain something happened?"

"Yes. He didn't want to tell everyone, I didn't want to tell everyone…we were going to try to make a go, we were going to see where it led."

"You love him," Tony stated with a smile. Kate looked at him with tears in her eyes and could only nod.

McGee's knee bounced in rapid succession as he sat in the hard plastic chair. It had felt like days since he rode the helicopter in even though it had only been hours. His heart was beating at a quick pace, as his nerves jangled with anticipation of news. His stomach had finally settled after the news of Levi Brown, and he thought maybe he could eat something. But he stayed put, afraid he would miss word on Gibbs.

Someone approached the closed door and McGee slowly rose to his feet. His heart sped up even more and he sucked in deeper breaths to compensate. The door opened slowly and McGee moved to greet the person. He felt a small amount of relief when he saw Ducky standing there.

"Ducky," McGee said as he sat back down in the chair.

"Timothy. How is Jethro?"

"No word yet," McGee said with a shrug. "He's still in surgery."

"At least its not terrible news."

"Yet," McGee mumbled as he replied the earlier conversation about Levi Brown in his mind.

"What's happened?" Ducky asked noticing the change.

"Levi Brown didn't make it," McGee said with a sigh. "Ducky, can you find out something, anything on Gibbs?"

"I came to help him, Timothy, and that is what I intend to do," Ducky said with a stern finger point. McGee nodded with a small smile. It was nice having someone else to wait with. "How is Kate doing?"

"She's at another hospital, and last I talked to Tony she was in surgery to repair damage done to her leg."

"My dear, half the team is torn to pieces."

"It was rough," McGee said swallowing hard, his eyes down cast.

"All will work out, Timothy, we must have faith."

"Yes, Ducky."

They remained in silence for a few more moments before Ducky retreated from the room. McGee watched the older man go down the hallway, before he slumped back into the uncomfortable plastic chair. His stomach was rolling again as the stress grew in his chest once more. The waiting for news was worse than staring down a gun.

AN: I promise I won't drag this out too much longer…yeah.