A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have so much work right now, but I want to maintain some momentum here. I hope to churn out another chapter before the end of the weekend. I worry that the story is getting too complex. Please let me know if there si too much to keep track of here. Otherwise, I would just really love to hear from you, Sheila.

Surviving Winter

Chapter 9

The four Marines hid close to the road, bedraggled and weak. They'd been waiting for a friendly vehicle for most of the last day. Twice, Marine vehicles had passed, but each time they hadn't recognized them as friendly until it was too late to get their attention. True to his word, Miller had assumed a leadership position. He left the other three in brush about 100 yards from the road. He positioned himself only ten yards from the road. He was determined that he could get the next vehicle's attention.

It was midnight the night before that all Afghani voices outside their room had ceased. Miller had spent that entire day with his gut twisted about the missing Tim McGee. He was sure that something violent had befallen the civilian with the special hacking skills.

An hour before the sun came up, Miller had started working on the door, sure that Taliban would be in his face within seconds. To his surprise, there was nothing but silence, and he found that the door was no longer locked. He worried that it was an ambush, and they would be gunned down in the act of running. So he proceeded alone. It quickly became apparent that the structure was abandoned. Outside in the early dawn, there was no sign of anyone. He spied something in the distance covered in a dark substance. He trotted over cautiously, and saw a flattened stone covered with a sticky liquid. He slid his finger in it and brought it up to his nose. He couldn't smell much and he wasn't about to put it into his mouth. He sat for a few minutes as the sun began peeking over the horizon. Slowly light crept across the sky. The sticky substance in his hand showed up as dark red. His stomach lurched at the confirmation of blood all over stone and the ground around it. He wiped his hand in the sand, and started running back to the building. It took only a couple of minutes to grab the Marines in his unit and start running.

Now he crouched behind a boulder, body tensed at the dust cloud moving toward them rapidly. The vehicle started to outrun the dust and Miller recognized the outline of a Humvee. He jumped out and ran out onto the road.

….

Tony knelt before Abby while she struggled to explain how McGee had been able to communicate through the video. Tony tried to turn off the streaming video, but Abby had started yelling at him. Ziva was in the kitchen getting water and calling Ducky.

In the first minutes, it felt like Abby was being Abby, but then he started to notice the trembling in her limbs and her bloodshot eyes. Her skin was almost translucent. When she grabbed his arm, he gasped at the desperation of her hold. Ziva handed him the water.

"Abby, we have to get a little liquid in you."

Her arm shot out and she sent the glass crashing to the floor. "You won't listen to me! I'm telling you something very deep, very profound. Tim found a way to communicate to me through the video. You have listen to me! He's disappointed in me, I can tell, but if I keep talking to him I can convince him that I have changed and he'll find a way to come back."

Tony looked at Ziva, his eyes red. "I don't know what to say."

Ziva knelt beside him and took her other arm. "Abby, tell us what happened."

Abby's wide green eyes turned to her as if discovering another believer and she seemed to relax. "I promised all of you that I wouldn't watch the video, but I knew I was strong enough, and I heard that MTAC was still having trouble identifying the man in the second part. Nobody is better at this than I am, and so I came here to see for myself. The grainier video is definitely another camera, but I knew that wasn't conclusive evidence that he lived so I focused on identifying McGee. It wasn't easy and I had trouble confirming it, but I kept playing it and playing it. And then I think I accessed a different level or dimension or something, and it was here that McGee started to talking to me. He saw me. It was really scary, and at first, I thought I was going crazy. Then I knew it was real, and so I've been talking to him, trying to convince him to come back."

Ziva closed her eyes. "Achot, you watched it too many times, and you're so very sad, because the video is evil. It was too much for you. Your mind can not handle it. Images have started to morph. This can happen when one is traumatized. You have lost perspective, Achot."

"No!" Abby shook her head emphatically.

"Listen to me! This is not the first friend I have lost in this way. It is…different than losing someone to an accident, perhaps. The images…never leave you. The injustice is…so profound. And these pictures, they bury deep in your heart and you pray that one day you'll be able to remember your friend without thinking about the way he was taken." Tears welled up in Ziva's eyes and her hands shook.

Abby reached over and wiped at them. "I think it's hard for you and Tony. You're both very bright, but Tim and I have a very deep connection, and we can talk about theories that the average person doesn't understand. I am accessing something at a deeper level than what you can understand."

Ziva nodded slowly. "Okay. I don't want us to be in any sort of disagreement with one another."

Abby searched her eyes. "You'll stay open to this?"

Ziva stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry about the depth of your pain, Achot. It must be hard to breathe sometimes."

"Not since I talked to Tim. I breathe just fine now."

Ziva looked up at Tony. "This helps her feel better, Tony."

Tony drew a ragged breath. "Well, it's not helping me."

The door to McGee's apartment opened and Gibbs and Ducky came in. Gibbs saw the tape streaming on the screen and he ran over, pulled the monitor off the wall, and slammed it to the floor as hard as he could.

Tony closed his eyes. "We have to teach him how to shut off a computer like a person."

Abby screamed and then stared at the shattered screen for a moment. She started hyperventilating. Ducky pulled Ziva away and yelled for Tony to find a paper bag. By the time, Tony got back, Ziva had explained Abby's delusion. Ducky helped her breathe and turned to Gibbs. "Call an ambulance, Jethro."

Gibbs frowned but grabbed his cell phone and made the call. Then he knelt beside Ducky. "It doesn't look so bad, Duck. All we gotta' do is calm her breathing."

Ducky looked at him and shook his head. "Jethro, she's disassociating. Feel how cold and clammy her hands are; she's going into shock. It's what you might call a nervous breakdown. She needs a hospital."

Gibbs stroked her face. "Abby, tell me you're okay. Tell me, please."

She pushed the crumbled paper bag away from her face. "Timmy was in that video. He and I were talking. Why did you take that from me? What if I can't find him again, Gibbs?"

He could see the terror in her eyes. "You shouldn't be watching that, Abs. It's too much."

"But we were talking. I know it sounds strange but it happened."

He saw the depth of her certainty and it frightened him. "Duck and I are going to take you to the hospital for a little bit."

Tears rolled down her face. "You don't believe me."

Gibbs looked to Ducky for help. Ducky shook his head lightly and stroked her back. "My dear Abby, you're going to the hospital for a bit of a rest. We'll not argue about what you know to be true. We just need to handle your stress right now."

"I could go back to your house."

"Afraid not, my dear. You need more attention than I can give you."

"I'm scared."

The sounds of sirens grew in the distance. Ducky squeezed her shoulders. "One of us will be with you at all times."

"I need to bring the video."

Ducky sighed deeply. "You made us a promise, and I'm afraid you'll need to stick to it. No video."

Abby looked like she was going to hyperventilate again, but he patted her back softly. "There, there, my dear. "We'll talk no more of that disgusting video."

Gibbs took her hands. "Can you walk, Abs?"

She got to her feet but her legs trembled. He put his arm around her. "I'll walk you downstairs, and ride with you in the ambulance. Sound like a deal?"

She nodded. Gibbs took one last look at the team around him, and slowly guided her to the door.

…..

Colonel Winter came in, smiling brightly. "McGee! So glad to have you back!"

"I don't understand this." He tried to rise up on his elbows, but his ribs screamed. He caught his breath and lowered himself again. "I remember that I was being executed. What happened! Where..when…I am very confused."

Winter sat down in a chair and nodded. "I imagine you had some rough moments there."

A memory of the panic grew in his gut and he closed his eyes.

"They staged the execution. The intention was to soften you up. I believe you were hit in the head with something at the last minute. As they were moving you to another location, a group of Army Rangers spotted them. There was a firefight, and the Rangers found you in the backseat of their jeep. Sorry it couldn't have been Marines, but we'll take what we can get."

"What about the other Marines? There was Finch, Miller, Reiser, and Thompson. We were kept in a room with one window at the top. There were mountains to the West and I could hear distant sounds of engines to the North."

"They have not been recovered, McGee. We are doing the best we can to find them."

McGee felt emotion rising up his throat and he bit his lip.

"These groups can be rogue. They don't operate with any sense of discipline. There's no telling if they will abide by Rules of Engagement."

"They're so young," he whispered.

Winter nodded. "You never get used to the young faces."

"I wish there was some way I could help."

"I feel the same way, but when Gibbs heard that you'd been taken, he was very specific. He insisted that you be shipped home immediately no matter what your own feelings were about it. He gave me quite a spanking over MTAC. I'm sure he's a good guy, but it seems to me that he treats you no different that he would a teen-ager. It should take us a couple of days, but we'll put you on a plane as soon as possible."

"It's standard protocol for all rescued service people to be immediately evacuated to the states, isn't it?"

"Ah, usually it is. There are some exceptions though. If you had bonded with these Marines, if you felt like you owed them something, then I would see that you'd get a chance to help in the search. You still have a skill set that no one else in country can match."

"Can I call my family first? Can I speak to Gibbs?"

"Well, son, I wish that were possible, but it's not. We don't have secured communications out here. The Taliban could intercept it, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have quite a price on your head right now. In fact, if we were to keep you in country, we're going to have to give you an alias. Not even the troops can know who you are."

McGee frowned. "How do I get a message back to NCIS? What about my family? I can't have everyone worried about me."

"I'll be back in Kabul by tomorrow evening. Write down what you need to, and I'll read it word for word over MTAC."

McGee's head started to pound. "I'm still not certain about anything."

Winter stood. "I'll be here another 12 hours. You'll have to make your decision by then. I have to talk to the parents of these young service people tomorrow, and I'd like to tell them that we are doing everything possible to retrieve their sons and daughter. I sure hope you give me the opportunity to say that to them without lying. We need you now more than we ever did."

McGee watched Winter's retreating back. He'd been battered and traumatized. He'd served as much as anyone could expect from a civilian, but somehow he felt like disappointing everyone. He remembered how devoted those kids had been back in that room. They would have done anything for him. Didn't he owe them the same?

…

When they arrived in Kabul, Miller expected days of debriefing. After all, they had to account for the missing civilian expert. To his surprise, they were checked over by doctors, fed a meal, and directed toward a transport back to the states. They tried to ask for more time. Their belongings were back with their units. They needed to say good-bye to buddies, but most of all, they wanted to tell the transition officers everything they remembered about the place they'd been held. They wanted to be a part of finding the Taliban who'd executed McGee.

Their discomfort was noted, and they were put on speaker with Marine Colonel Winter. It was a thrill. None of them had ever seen him. His reputation made him larger than life. They expressed their need to stay and help with the search for McGee's killers. Winter let them know how proud he was, the excellent service they'd given their country, and how important it was to return them to their families.

Miller tried again. He wasn't ready to leave, but it was as if the Colonel couldn't hear him. He continued to respond like a recruiting poster. Finally, he thanked them for their courageous service and wished them a safe journey. The rescued Marines were left standing there, not sure that he'd even heard a word they said.

…

For the most part, DiNozzo ignored the report Fornell's agents gave them about Gul Baden Hussain's connections in the D.C. area. It was perfunctory. The agents had done little more than follow these men and women to cafes. There'd been no sightings of Hussain himself.

He paid more attention to Gibbs sitting near the back of the room, arms folded and silent. It was weird to see him not at the front with Fornell. For the first time, Gibbs looked like an older man to him. His eyes were bloodshot and the pallor on his face had lost much of its vitality. He'd told Ziva earlier that he'd spent the night at the hospital with Abby and Ducky. They'd sedated her, and doctors in the mental health unit had urged them to stay away for a few days while she stabilized. Gibbs loved Abby as a daughter, and Tony could hardly imagine how he was dealing with this on top of the loss of McGee.

In a surprise move, Fornell stood up in the meeting and suggested that DiNozzo lead the team tracking Hussain's people. If it was anyone but Fornell, Tony would have jumped up and kissed him on the mouth, but it wouldn't do to treat Fornell in any sort of civilized manner. The man had left him in too many tight spots. So he merely acknowledged him with a nod.

It gift that would give Tony and Ziva some direction. They now had the resources needed to really track Gul Baden Hussain. Where exactly Fornell got the intelligence that said that Hussain was their guy was still a question, but Tony had resigned himself to the mystery that persisted.

After the meeting, Fornell took Tony into the hall. "Sorry to surprise you with all that. Wasn't going to give you this whole thing, but Jethro looks like a ghost."

"There are things you're still not telling me and Ziva."

Fornell nodded. "Gibbs and I are going to concentrate on what's happening in Afghanistan. Winter has had Dunham jailed. We want to get to the bottom of that, and we need to get this mission set so we can go over and look for McGee's…"

Tony pointed a finger. "I'm on that team. No question, Fornell."

Fornell snorted. "You're such a charmer, DiNozzo."

"I have big questions about why you're not telling us everything."

Fornell scratched his beard. "We need real information, Tony. Too much is at risk to allow speculation to take over."

Tony shook his head. "Whatever the hell that means."

….

Corporal Finch lay her head down on the stone, her body trembling and tears streaming down her young cheeks. She was only twenty years old. A large machete flew through the air and then there was blood everywhere. Tim sat up and screamed. His eyes flew open. He wasn't out in the desert, and there was no execution stone nor was there any Corporal Finch in his room. It was the same white sterile room he'd been in before. He groaned as his heavy breathing awoke pain in his ribs. He held his arms around his middle and started to swing his legs over the side of the bed. He was barefoot and wearing nothing but a thin gown, but he felt a tremendous need to leave. Before he got to the door, a nurse popped in. She was different from the first one.

"Lieutenant Thomas, you need to be back in bed."

"My name isn't Thomas."

She smiled patiently. "You've been through so much. It's time to rest."

"My name is McGee."

"That's fine. Let's get you comfortable."

"I need to talk to Winter!" McGee swallowed. "And I need pen and paper, Please!"

She nodded and hurried out of the room.

McGee was still settling his breathing when Winter walked in, carrying a notebook and a pen. He frowned at him. "I was getting ready to leave. I assume your decision is to just go home and forget this ever happened. Can't blame you, but I can't say I'm not disappointed as will be the families of these missing Marines. They've been praying for a miracle."

McGee shook his head. "I want to stay and help. Just until we find those Marines. Please, let me stay!"

Winter shrugged. "Are you're up to going back into the field?"

McGee nodded. "Give me another day in bed."

"I'll give you two and then you're back in the field. By the way, your name isn't McGee anymore. Taliban has been broadcasting about your escape all over the country. You're a wanted man. Not even safe for troops to know who you are. In fact, we have reason to believe that the attack on MRAP was focused on you."

"I'm responsible for their deaths," he whispered.

"Don't think like that. You had no idea you were bringing them into so much danger." Winter watched him closely.

"What is my new name?"

"We've drawn up papers to make you Lieutenant Scott Thomas. This time you are a bonafide Marine. I need you to respond to that name from now on."

"I want to talk to Gibbs."

"Not safe. If you try to contact them through the internet, you could compromise yourself and the Marines with you. You want that to happen again? You want to be responsible for more deaths? I'm trying to keep you alive, boy. Do you want to find those Marines or don't you?"

"I do."

Winter threw the notebook and pen on the bed. "You have twenty minutes to write messages. I'll read them over MTAC as soon as I get back. I told you I'd hold up my end of things and I keep my promises, Lieutenant."

…

Gibbs spent another frustrating afternoon trying to get Colonel Winter's staff to respond to his questions. They finally stopped opening his feeds. Gibbs looked at Brownie who shook his head in disgust. Fornell and his little sidekick, Agent Maggie, were pushing through the Homeland Security paperwork on a trip to Afghanistan. Gibbs could bring nothing to that situation. DiNozzo and Ziva were organizing the stakeout on Hussain, but he wanted them to have that especially Tony. He needed something challenging to feed him right now. Gibbs couldn't go back to the hospital. The doctors had asked for three days to stabilize Abby. Gibbs was currently a man without a mission. His cell rang and he picked it up. He listened, frowned, gave his assent, and then hung up.

He trotted down the stairs to the bullpen just as the elevator opened and two agents escorted a uniformed Marine in his direction. He was definitely young and noticeably thin. Gibbs noted the bruises on his face and neck. His eyes were dark and haunted. Gibbs nodded for the agents to leave the boy with him.

He stared at the boy for a moment and then extended his hand. "I'm Special Agent Gibbs."

The boy saluted stiffly. "I'm Marine Corporal Miller, sir. I was hoping I could talk to you about Special Agent McGee."

"Regarding?"

The boy swallowed. "I was captured with him almost a week and a half ago in Afghanistan."

Gibbs froze. "You're one of the four missing Marines with McGee."

"Yes, sir."

"I had no idea you'd been found."

Miller looked down at his watch. "It was exactly 51 hours ago that I and my fellow Marines hailed down a humvee on an Afghan road."

…

TBC

Achot is Hebrew for sister

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