Disclaimer on chapter one.

Chapter Thirty Two

Grayson's head felt like it was about to explode. Dusty was now sitting on the bed with Grayson cuddled tightly to his chest. The feelings of guilt and despair were surging though him at rapid speed and he was having trouble keeping up. Starbursts were flashing endlessly behind his clamped eyelids, as his body shook with sorrow.

He felt Dusty's hands rhythmically moving around his upper body, trying to sooth the overwhelming sobs that racked his body. The internal battle raging in Grayson's mind was wreaking havoc on his metal well being. Blame, guilt, pain, and sorrow were saturating his mind and heart.

He had lost the one person in his life that cared enough to help. The one person he had met that took a chance to turn around a messed up teenager and give him a shot at life. Levi had taken Grayson under his wing and shaped him into the man he was today, and now that chisel was gone; and Grayson felt it was his own fault.

His stomach rolled and twisted with the emotional rollercoaster and he felt his head swimming uncontrollably. Things started to blur together, as his sinuses plugged with snot. Breathing became more difficult as everything started to mix together and he felt his stomach letting loose. He barely had time to pull slightly from Dusty before he vomited over the side of his bed. Dusty quickly pulled him back against him and cradled the younger man gently.

"It's going to be ok, Grady," Dusty said softly, his mouth close to Grayson's ear.

"What's wrong?" they both heard Zack ask from the other side of the room. Grayson looked over at his brother, through tear blurred eyes and shook his head unable to form words. Dusty picked his head up slowly.

"Levi didn't make it," Dusty said in a calm manner and Zack nodded in understanding, his own tears forming. Grayson felt Dusty's chin come back to the side of his head.

"You're not responsible for this, Grady. I know you think you are right now, and we'll get through this, but please listen when I tell you it's not your fault," Dusty whispered. Grayson shook his head as best he could, the starbursts setting off a whole new display.

"My fault," he choked out between sobs.

"None of this is or ever will be your fault, son. Cruel things happen in this world and you have no control."

"I'm bad luck, Dusty, you should leave," Grayson said between ragged breaths as he struggled to pull oxygen into his lungs. His mind was beginning to become fuzzy and he was having trouble concentrating.

"Nonsense," Dusty said sternly. "I'll be here through the end."

Tony stood signing paper after paper at the nurses' station. He had talked his way into a transport ambulance to get Kate to the other hospital and was now filling out the proper forms to do it against medical advice. Once he signed the last paper they told him it would be about fifteen to twenty minutes before the transport would be ready and reiterated the risk of moving her so soon after surgery. Tony just nodded politely before turning and heading for the elevator.

Instead of going back to Kate's room he decided to go outside and call McGee. As he walked down the hallway on the ground floor and turned his cell phone on. It beeped at him and he saw he had a voicemail from McGee. He listened to it and then hit the speed dial button to connect him to the junior agent. McGee picked up on the second ring.

"Better be good news, Probie," Tony said in a drained voice.

"Gibbs is alive," McGee said with a sigh. "He's in critical condition and the next forty-eight hours is very crucial to his recovery."

"That's good news," Tony said with a little more energy. McGee went on to tell Tony everything that Ducky had told him.

"And that's where we're at right now," McGee finished.

"Kate wants to be transported so we should be there in the next two hours."

"What? You think that's a good idea?"

"No, but that doesn't matter. If I don't get her there in a medical transport she'll get there on her own. So I had the hospital arrange a transport."

"Ok. Have you talked to Dusty?"

"He went to see you."

"Oh, he's back at that hospital. Levi Brown didn't make it."

"Shit."

"Dusty went back to tell Grayson."

"Ok. I'll check in on them before we leave. I got to get back and let Kate know its all set up. We'll be there shortly."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose trying to fight the oncoming headache he was feeling. He took a deep breath and then headed back into the hospital first searching for Kate's room, then Grayson's.

After telling Kate that they would be underway shortly, he left her room in search of Grayson's. He came to room 2054 and stood outside the door. He could hear sobs coming from inside and he closed his eyes, leaning his head against the tile wall. Part of him was happy it wasn't them going through that, and that made the other part of him guilty.

He pushed the door open slowly and peeked in. Dusty was holding Grayson in the bed, Zack was sitting in the other bed crying, and Janie was standing against the wall with her arms crossed. Tony stepped inside and drew stares from Zack and Janie. Janie motioned that he should move back into the hall and then she followed him closing the door behind them.

"He taking it hard?" Tony asked feeling stupid for asking.

"Yes. Levi was the closest thing he had to a father. He's devastated and feels it's all his fault."

"We can offer counseling services," Tony said softly. Janie nodded. "Grayson's a good kid. We'll help in anyway we can to get him and the rest of you through this."

"It's certainly appreciated. Thank you. How is Special Agent Todd?"

"She's agitated and wants to go to the other hospital," Tony said with a smile. "Her leg is stitched up and in a week she'll need a cast. She'll be on leave for a while."

"And Special Agent Gibbs?"

"He's alive and out of surgery. Still in critical condition, his pulmonary artery was punctured with a bone fragment and he tore his knee up really bad."

"You should be there."

"That's why Agent Todd wants to get going. Quite frankly me too."

"Let us know," Janie said with a nod.

"I'll be checking in on Grayson as well, you can count on that."

"Thank you," Janie said holding back her tears. Tony simply nodded and headed back to Kate's room. He was there only a few minutes before they came with a gurney to transport Kate to the ambulance.

As Janie walked from the room Dusty glanced at Zack on the other side of the room and saw the distress on the other boy's face. He also noticed a toughness and determination on the young man's face and Dusty believed that he had an ally in all this. Zack would be sticking around once everything was cleared up.

Dusty's attention went back to Grayson, as the boy continued to shake and sob in his arms. Being tough was going to come in handy in this situation, and this was going to test everyone's limits. Dusty shifted slightly as he felt Grayson slowly slump in his arms. Quickly, his fingers darted to Grayson's neck, noticing his pulse was erratic and fast.

After gently lowering the boy to the bed, Dusty slid from the side and pushed the nurse call button. He breathed a deep breath and steadied his face before anyone arrived. He could hear the voices in the hall, and before the nurse arrived Janie walked back in the room. She looked at Grayson then at Dusty.

"What happened?"

"It was too much," Dusty said softly and ran his hand through Grayson's hair. "He passed out."

"Is he ok?"

"I called for the nurse. They can give him something to calm him," Dusty replied as the nurse came in looking concerned.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked lightly as her eyes drifted to Grayson.

"He's distraught and has passed out. We also need someone to clean up the vomit," Janie replied as she pointed to Grayson. The nurse nodded and walked over to the bed. The room was quiet while the nurse looked Grayson over, taking his vitals and checking his IV line.

"I'm going to give him something to calm him down, and help him stay asleep."

Both Dusty and Janie nodded as the nurse left. The silence remained as no one knew what to say. Things were still sinking in and everyone was worried about Grayson. The nurse came back in and gave Grayson something and still no one moved. An orderly came in while the nurse was there and cleaned up the vomit from the floor. Dusty saw that the nurse could sense the tension and sorrow in the room, but she didn't saw anything, just left without another word, as did the orderly. Zack finally broke the silence.

"You think he'll ever recover from this?"

"Yes, in time, with help," Dusty said looking over at Zack. "Help we'll have to give him." Zack nodded and Dusty was sure he was in for the long haul. Janie nodded as well when Dusty looked at her and he thought it just might work.

Kate's leg hurt like hell, but she wasn't going to admit it. The ambulance ride to Gibbs' hospital had made the pain tenfold worse, but that was also something she wouldn't admit. In her eyes, it was worth it. They tried to strap her to a gurney once there and she adamantly refused, ending up in a wheel chair with her leg supported instead.

Tony wheeled her down the hallway, looking for Gibbs' room. McGee and Ducky were standing in the hallway talking when they got there, and Kate felt the tears growing in her eyes. McGee looked and Kate and gave her a small smile, but it didn't last. After greetings all around, Kate asked Tony to wheel her into Gibbs' room.

As he pushed her through the door, Kate sucked in a sharp breath and the first of the tears slid down her cheeks. He didn't look like Gibbs at all. The tube coming out of his mouth scared her, as the machine measured his breaths. His upper body was exposed and covered in medical gauze, the blood soaking through in places. He had multiple IV lines flowing into his body as he lay unconscious on the bed.

"I'll be outside, Kate," Tony said softly as he turned and left her alone with him. She reached out and gently took hold of his hand and squeezed, the tears flowing freely now. She didn't care who saw her anymore, they could speculate all they wanted. Right now she just wanted Gibbs to wake up. He looked pale and frail in the bed.

"You gotta wake up, Gibbs," she pleaded in a whisper as she squeezed her hand on his again. "Please, you gotta fight this thing. You can't leave, not yet. I know what you meant now, when you said you can't love and loose. Don't do it to me, please. I'm sure of it now, I do love you, and I think you love me too. You wouldn't let me say it last night, but I think you do. Come back to me, please."

She heard someone coming in the room and pulled back enough to glance over her shoulder. Tony was standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes. Moving towards her she took a shaky breath as she tried to wheel herself back. Tony grabbed the chair and steadied her before squatting down in front of her.

"It's going to be ok, Kate. Gibbs is the toughest bastard I know," Tony said with a reassuring pat to Kate's good leg. She nodded and looked back at Gibbs, the fear of losing him whispering through her mind.

"I love him, Tony," Kate said in a whisper before he pulled her into a hug.

TBC…

AN: Ok everyone, getting close to the end now. Probably two to possibly three more chapters and we'll have a done deal! Hope you're still enjoying, dark rolling sea.