Hi there all you awesome readers :-) Sorry for the delay in updating this fic – as some of you know I have been rather obsessed with another 'NCIS' fic I am wrting and I also have a fan fic for the show "Bones" that I also had to update. But the good news is that I think you will like this chapter and I vowed at the end that I will update this one again one more time before going to update my other stories. I hope that is okay with anyone who may be into one of my other fics more than this one.

Thanks for your reviews and I am sorry I haven't yet replied to all of you, I hope to this week. Enjoy!

~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis

Previously on: A Matter Of Life & Death –

The team would never be the same without him and his lengthy time off for the plague was all they needed to endure in order to finally realize just how much they ALL relied on and needed him. Tony was definitely irreplaceable just as Gibbs had told him once to his face after a close call, shocking both Tony and his partner Kate with the rare compliment in the process.

Yes, they all needed him so they all pulled together and waited to receive more news and hopefully visit him soon and show him how much he means to each and every one of them because if something should go wrong – they would never – get – another chance!

~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~ncis~

A Matter Of Life Or Death

Part VI

Bethesda Hospital . . .

The waiting room door swung open once again for the second time in 2 hours. This time however, the team watched someone other than the chief Surgeon walking towards them, this time it was a somewhat younger female Nurse or Physician that had arrived to give them all another update on their fallen comrade.

Gibbs was first to greet the young woman since he had been pacing the length of the room for an hour now while the others almost too worried to leave their seats, not having the energy to pace. In Gibbs' case, too much caffeine and an overabundance of anxiety caused by both concern for his senior agent and the case, made it impossible for him to sit still and wait like the others so he decided to pace the small room while beating himself up inside, mentally heads slapping himself for not forcing Tony to complete his entire recommended sick leave as prescribed by Dr. Pitt.

On one hand Gibbs knew he should also be focusing at least some of his energy on the their investigation into whomever seemed so intent upon either injuring or killing one or all of he and his team. But on the other hand, if something had gone wrong during Tony's surgery he would never have been able to forgive himself.

He reminded himself of a personal vow he had made years ago on behalf of his murdered Wife Shannon and Daughter Kelly after a military assignment in another Country had prevented him from being there to protect them from the murdering bastard responsible for their deaths, or being there to hold them when they died in the hospital – he made the vow when he first began to realize just how important his new NCIS team had become to him, including Ducky and eventually Palmer – he vowed to do whatever necessary to be there for each and every one of them should any of them ever be in danger or harmed in any way. His team was the only family he had now aside from his Father.

Gibbs met the rather exotic looking woman half way so they were standing a couple of feet apart in the middle of the waiting room. The rest of the team had risen from their seats and immediately gathered behind their leader. They were each silently impressed by the Italian woman's natural beauty, even Kate and Abby who were secure enough with their own looks to appreciate another beautiful female – complete with rich dark brown hair and olive toned complexion.

Without hesitation she extended her hand to introduce herself to the lead agent, "You must be Agent Gibbs." she stated, having been informed by the surgeon that she would be looking for a silver haired man in a black NCIS jacket with light blue eyes.

Gibbs quickly nodded his acknowledgment.

"I'm Dr. Abriana Bianchi – I will now be taking over as Anthony's primary post-surgical physician during the rest of his stay here. You may have thought the primary surgeon was going to have that honor but we do things differently in the trauma ward, we work on each patient together as a team so that we can combine the expertise of multiple Doctors and decide together on a very individualized treatment plan for each patient.

I can assure you that the two surgeon's who performed the surgery on Agent DiNozzo are the best we have, but their role is solely in the surgical arena and I then work alongside them to determine the appropriate post surgery treatment and recovery plan. I specialize in treating traumatic injuries such as the ones your agent received from the explosion. I read the brief report from the EMT's pertaining to the incident.

I don't want to prolong your suffering and worry so I will get right to the news you are all waiting on. Agent DiNozzo has made it through the surgery just fine and he is now being settled in the recovery ward where he will be monitored for any signs of post surgical bleeding, swelling or infection and then in 45 minutes to an hour, he will be transferred to our critical care unit since he will need constant monitoring of his injuries, concussion, vital signs, as well as his liver, lung and kidney function for the next 48 hours and then we will re-evaluate his condition again at that time. Once we get him settled there, you will finally be allowed to visit him – but just two at a time for now."

Ducky walked over to stand next to Gibbs, reaching out his hand to introduce himself to the striking physician. "Dr. Bianchi, pleasure to meet you. I am Dr. Mallard and I have been Tony's – well, ahh - surrogate physician if you will. I am the Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS but I also tend to any of the more minor mishaps these agents get into on occasion. As I am sure you were aware, Tony only very recently and barely recovered from a serious bout with Y-Pestis. I was worried about his weakened lungs handling the surgery – how did he fare in that regard if you do not mind my asking?"

"No, no of course I don't mind. In fact your concern is not unfounded and that is exactly what I was just about to tell all of you. About three quarters into the surgery, Agent DiNozzo did go into respiratory distress and you are indeed correct that his recent illness was to blame as it most assuredly was what caused his lungs to be compromised to the point that they just proved to be too weak to handle the heavy sedation and anesthesia, plus the added trauma to his body from the blast, certainly did him no favors.

But thankfully the doctors were able to quickly stabilize him which is good news. Now in doing so they also inserted a some small chest tubes - one of which will help with his breathing and ease the pressure induced pain that flail chest causes, the one used for the epidural infusion which is also referred to as a morphone pump that will allow us to pump paind meds directly where he will need it the most. Another tube is used to allow any fluids to drain that are going to continue to build and drain for at least a full week after surgery.

We may have to place him on a respirator for a while but we will wait to determine that after he wakes up. While we would prefer to see his lungs do the work themselves so they become stroner, but his lungs may just be too weak to handle all of this right now especially with the added obstacle of the pulmonary contusion he incurred when the bomb blast threw him against the hill. We are hopeful that the chest tubes will be enough to prevent the use of the respirator but we may have no choice, I don't know any Doctor or Surgeon in the entire State whom has ever had to operate on someone following a bout with Pneumonic Plague – it's certainly not a common illness these days, thank goodness. But that is why I have to inform you of all the possibilities since we just don't know enough about how someone with damage from an ancient illness is going to react to anesthesia and such. But even if we do have to resort to the respirator I do anticipate his being able to breath again just fine on his own in another day or two."

She paused to give them time to absorb what she had said thus far. She took in all of the worried faces staring back at her. This is one closely knit team she thought. Then he attention was temporarily distracted by a young woman with black pigtails who suddenly spoke up.

"Ohhh nooo, Tony's not gonna liiike thaat!" she blurted out, speaking of the respirator. "Gibbs you know how he hates those respirator thingies! Remember?! He only had one in for one whole day when his lungs became too weak from the plague - at one point I thought he was going to pull it out himself!" A half grin appeared on Gibbs' face as he addressed her concern. "I know Abs, I know. Remember? I was put on one damn things myself before – so I know how awful they feel. But if the Doctor says he needs the respirator, then he gets it – and Tony will answer to me if he even thinks about touching that Godforsaken tube!" Gibbs threatened.

"Well," Dr. Bianchi interjected, "Regardless of the concern over his lungs I must say that overall, we are very pleased with how well he has been doing up to this point - especially considering everything that poor young man has been through not only today but in the last month!"

"That is wonderful news indeed Doctor." Ducky exclaimed. "Oh – and I almost forgot, you may want to converse with a Dr. Brad Pitt on Agent DiNozzo as well since he was Anthony's doctor during that awful time." The doctor thanked him for the information and assured them all that she would do just that. She then left them alone to wait for the next announcement – informing them that they could finally visit their recovering teammate.

Recovery Ward . . .

His mind was whirling as he became caught up in a very realistic and vivid dream – or rather nightmare as some would call it.

**** Gurgling and gasping, coughing and spitting – everything done in an effort to free his lungs from the fluid and phlegm that trapped them from motion, kept them from expelling the exorbitant amount of liquid that his own betraying body was creating from somewhere deep within itself. He would give his right arm at this point just to breath normal again, to feel the silent rush of oxygen as it breezed into his starved lungs. To feel his chest rise and fall normally rather than seize up in fitful bouts of coughing and gagging. Blue lights were all he could see for seemingly miles around him. He felt like he was floating, completely submerged in some kind of blue gel-like substance. "I will not die." he barely murmured, repeating the words that Gibbs had whispered just inches from his ear every chance he got to visit him in the hospital. "I will not die." ****

One chilling nightmare seemed to seamlessly flow right into the next and he was powerless to stop it . . .

**** Suddenly his view changed once again, now he was no longer surrounded by blue – but he was under water nonetheless and still struggling to breathe, drowning for what felt like hours as he still fought desperately to find a way to get some oxygen into his deprived lungs! Then he suddenly saw the shadowy shape of a car a few feet in front of him in the murky waters, kicking his way closer to it he was shocked at the sight now before him – the sight of his boss staring back at him with death in his open and lifeless eyes. "Bossss!" he unknowingly mumbled aloud. ****

Just as one ended, another began . . .

He was spiraling down a hillside then felt himself falling – coming to land with a large splash into a small stream where he was once again struggling to catch his breath after the frigid temperature of the ice cold water savagely took his breath away. Looking upwards as he struggled to rise up and out of the nearly hypothermic liquid and just as he started to rise, he spotted the creepy, sadistic smile of Jeffrey White as the man in the glasses reaching towards him, just then the sun reflected off the single silver handcuff on the man's wrist, dressed neck to ankle in ugly orange colored material – some kind of jumpsuit. 'Wait! What is he doing?!' Tony thought as he began to panic - 'Oh no he's going to push my head back under the water and hold it there until I drown! "Giibbbss!"

. . . and another . . .

**** Staggering forward, stumbling and tripping. His breathing was becoming slower and slower to the point that he felt as though it would soon stop completely! His legs felt like they were suddenly made of lead as he tried so hard to put on foot in front of the other with little success.

Looking around slowly he saw that he was in a dark alley behind what looked to be just a regular dive bar. What was wrong with him? Was he drunk? Had he ingested one too many beers? He then felt something in his hand and looked down to thankfully find his cell phone gripped weakly inside his closed fist, feeling as though he were moving through mud he slowly flipped open the phone and managed to hit speed dial number one just as his body started to drop downward, falling first to his knees and then the rest of the way until he was laying on the pavement next to his car, keys having fallen just inches from his side. Before losing consciousness completely he weakly called out to the invisible person whose voice he could hear calling frantically out to him from his still open cell phone as he lay there, he barely forced out his own plea before fading all the way into complete darkeness. "Boss-sss helll-p me." ****

Hospital Waiting room . . .

Gibbs and team had decided since they finally had the peace of mind of knowing that it looked like Tony was going to make it, they started to take advantage of their time together to discuss possible motives and potential perpetrators whom may have enough of a grudge for whatever reason or from a past arrest that this NCIS team had been involved with.

They each threw out names of possible suspects and associated reasons on why that person may have acted on their past threats to the team or an individual member. They did determine that it seemed as though someone were out to harm the entire team and not just one of them since the bomb in the car could never have been able to target just one agent. There is no way the suspect would have been able to predetermine who would open the trunk of the car. They just knew that someone eventually, would.

Their focus was interrupted when yet another member of the medical staff came directly towards them. This time it was a twenty five year old male nurse, sent by Dr. Bianchi with a message.

"I am looking for an Agent uh, Gibbs?" he rather bashfully inquired.

Once Gibbs moved forward towards him the nurse continued, "The Doctor would like you to come with me to meet her in recovery."

"Is there a problem? Is there something going on with my agent?" Gibbs demanded in his usual gruff tone.

"Uh, well yes and no." replied the now nervous staff member, intimidated already by the Marine's stern demeanor. "Uh Sir he is still doing well from a medical standpoint but he seems unnaturally agitated and distressed and randomly keeps calling out your name. The Doctor feels it may be invaluable to the patient's recovery if you can help calm him down. It's common for patients to experience some vivid dreams or nightmares after being given anesthesia - but she feels this is a lot more pronounced and worrisome than the usual post surgery reactions that we tend to see. Would you mind coming with me?"

But once they disappeared through the door and into the hallway, the nurse found that he was the one who had to run to keep up with the determined NCIS leader as Gibbs all but charged towards the recovery ward since he knew all to well where it was located – having already been there enough times with one teammate or another to be able to get there blindfolded!

Recovery Ward – Tony's Cubicle . . .

"Boss-sss helll-p me."

That was the first thing Gibbs heard, albeit barely as he rushed towards Tony's bed. His agent's voice was as weak as he had ever heard it, raspy from the tube that is used in nearly every surgery so the anesthesiologist can monitor the patient's breathing. Gibbs' eyes flashed worriedly back and forth between Tony and Dr. Bianchi who was standing to the left of Tony's bed checking his vitals, IV's, tubes and associated machinery so Gibbs quickly positioned himself on the right side of his agent's bed.

"Good Agent Gibbs, thank you for coming in so quickly. I just think he might respond better to your voice since we have been unsuccessful in calming him down. He seems to be caught in some pretty bad nightmares judging by his frantic movements and the way he keeps calling out. He mainly calls out your name – saying either 'Boss' or "Gibbs'. I am afraid he will cause himself further harm if we don't control his behavior and movements. I obtained a copy of his Y-Pestis file that Dr. Pitt sent to me electronically, and he had made some notes stating how much Agent DiNozzo always calmed down and improved whenever you came to see him. I am hoping you can work your magic again since I do not want to have to use restraints if we can avoid it."

Gibbs had to squelch the smile that he felt inside upon hearing how much his presence had helped Tony last time, he had no idea. The last time anyone had reacted that way to his presence had been when Shannon and Kelly were alive. It melted his heart to know that Tony trusted and valued his presence to almost that same extent.

"Well, I'll do what I can. Oh by the way, just call him Tony when he does wake up. Trust me, he would insist upon it if he could. Just don't call him Anthony or I can't be responsible for his reaction." Gibbs forewarned her.

Then his focus was brought back to his senior field agent when he felt the drugged man start to writhe around again and fight from his bed. Arms flailing as though he were trying to swim, grab or even hit something. "Boss-ss " he slurred, eyes tightly shut with absolutely no awareness of his surroundings whatsoever. He was clearly still caught up in the effects of the anesthesia and hadn't fully regained consciousness.

"What else has he been saying Dr. Bianchi?" he asked.

"Yes of course, oh and please call me Abriana. Let's see, he called out to you as both boss and as Gibbs, he kept repeating the phrase 'I - will - not - die" a few times, and hmmm . . . oh and he also called out the word 'help' periodically and even then I have the feeling he was calling that out to you, or at least in his subconscious mind he was."

Gibbs thought about the words 'I – will – not – die." and he was once again filled with a warmth he could not describe as he knew that Tony must have been dreaming of his worst time with the plague when Gibbs had ordered him by saying; "You – will – not – die." repeatedly until Tony acknowledged the order.

Then with reflexes like a cat Gibbs grabbed onto each of Tony's flailing arms and pressed them as gently as he could down to rest against each side of Tony's body, careful not to bump his bandaged chest or any of the protruding tubes.

"TONY! Tony listen to me – it's Gibbs! I am here DiNozzo - I've got your six now -ya got that?!!"

Then as he noticed that Tony had stilled a bit although still slightly tensed as though he was not sure if he could believe what he was hearing. Gibbs then leaned in closer to Tony's ear just like he did when he was close to death with the plague, and in his most gentle tone of voice possible he added further instructions.

"You can relax now Tony - I got ya! Just rest now, I am not gonna let anything happen to you okay?!" he just kept trying to drive that same point across in as many ways as possible in order to get through to the unconscious man who seemed on the verge of waking up.

But instead of seeing Tony give up his struggle and relax, Gibbs was frightened all over again when Tony began thrashing his head side to side and eventually started to lift his head up off the pillow as though trying to sit up. Since Gibbs had his arms pinned, his head was the only thing he still could attempt to move. Gibbs watched anxiously as Tony's eyes started to flutter, finally opening but instead of instantly calming down once he spotted his bosses' face – Tony's eyes grew even wider and he had a look of sheer panic etched in his pale face.

"Tony, what is it?! What's wrong?!" Gibbs knew him well enough to be able to decipher between panic and fear when it came to his senior field agent's facial expressions and noting that every muscle in Tony's face seemed to be bulging out and straining fiercely. Gibbs knew this to be a clearcut sign that he was struggling and suffering horrifically - but from what? He did know one thing - Tony was never afraid of anything, therefore that meant that the look in his eyes was clearly panic and pain driven causing Gibbs' famous gut to churn like never before, something was wrong!

He leaned forward as he heard Tony struggling to get a few words out while trying to force his glassy eyes to focus and look eye to eye with his boss. "Tony what is it?! I couldn't make out what you said. You have to try again, tell me what's wrong so I can help you!!"

Now it was Gibbs turn to panic.

To Be Continued . . .

Aaauugghhh- yikes that's one hell of a cliffie again – don't hate me too much! Haha This was my favorite chapter to write thus far in any of my stories. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I will make sure to update THIS story before any of my other's just cuz I HATE when I read a good cliffhanger and then have to wait for weeks to read the outcome!

Flail Chest Facts:

Flail chest is invariably accompanied by pulmonary contusion, a bruise of the lung tissue that can interfere with blood oxygenation. Often, it is the contusion, not the flail segment, that is the main cause of respiratory failure in patients with both injuries.