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 as well as one 'Bones' fic. This chapter wrote itself in a sense so I just went with it! THANKS FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEWS

IMPORTANT PLS READ: Some of the information in this chapter regarding the medications and medical procedures are factual and some are NOT. Just go with it and don't correct me since I think it's real enough to believe for the sake of fan fic and that's all I care about.

2nd IMPORTANT NOTE: In this story I am going to have PALMER in it even though he wasn't on the show around the episode "Twilight". I am also NOT killing Kate although I can't say whether she will or won't be injured. I still plan on having ZIVA join the team but with Kate alive it will be a whole new dynamic. I don't plan to have the two women get along so it should be fun to watch as they both try to catch Tony's eye! Dr. Abriana Biachi will also be secretly crushing on Tony so that will make for triple the fun! The story will take some more turns in the upcoming chapters beginning with the next one. Enjoy :-D

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

Previously on: A Matter Of Life & Death –

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

Now it was Gibbs turn to panic.

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

A Matter Of Life Or Death

Part VII

Bethesda Hospital . . .

Gibbs was leaning down so his ear was as near to Tony's mouth as he could get.

"Can't *gasp* breeatthhe!" he mumbled while scrunching his eyes shut as if in tremendous pain. Then Gibbs heard wet gurgling sound that had come from deep from within Tony's throat as though it were literally choking him. Dr. Bianchi reacted instantly, pressing the call button above Tony's bed and then yelled into the intercom demanding help in cubicle 7 stating that the patient was in full respiratory distress.

Gibbs kept whispering reassuring words to his agent while pulling from all of the strength he had in a valiant effort to quell his own panic that was threatening to overwhelm him. "Okay Tony, I heard you - now please just try to stay calm, just listen to my voice alright? You will be able to breath better in just a minute. The Doctor's here, she's going to help you – you can do this Tony!" then he reached down and grabbed onto of Tony's hand, grasping it firmly within his own, hoping to somehow pass some of his own strength to his struggling agent and also make sure Tony knew that he was right there beside him and watching his six.

Within seconds there were three additional staff members rushing into the room with a cart and trays that contained everything necessary to first clear out the fluids that still seemed to be literally choking Tony from the inside out, and than get him hooked up to a respirator. As one of them moved towards the side of the bed where Gibbs was positioned looking as though she was about to push him aside - or out. Gibbs merely moved up towards the wall where the head of the bed was positioned and then widened his stance to alert her that he would not be going anywhere.

The nervous nurse immediately looked towards the lead Doctor with uncertainty only to see Dr. Bianchi nodding her approval that Gibbs had her permission to remain in the room.

The intuitive Dr. Bianchi had decided to allow him to stay from the very second she saw the calming influence he had on her patient. 'Seems Dr. Pitt wasn't exaggerating at all.' she thought.

Tony had been physically struggling to try to sit up in order to find some way to get the air that he needed into his lungs – but after just seconds of listening to his Bosses' soft words, he ceased his fight and seemed to focus only on the feeling of his bosses' reassuring hand squeeze and words of soft support. She then took advantage of Tony's new focus on his boss.

"Anna - administer the Lidocaine and Fentanyl." she instructed in a whispered tone of voice. The young nurse quickly injected enough of the sedating pain meds drugs into Tony's IV port to not only relieve the man's excruciating pain but to also knock him out completely since they needed him to be absolutely still for intubation. It was necessary at least until his lungs became strong enough to do the job themselves. Once Tony's eyes had drifted shut and his body became completely lax the Doctor started doling out instructions.

"Okay now listen! This man is going into full respiratory failure we need to move quickly! We need to get this man some air NOW! I need suction and please prepare for intubation!" the Doctor demanded as she continued giving instructions to each and every one of them while she continued with her own tasks with amazing speed. She started with the only male nurse in the room.

"Jake - I need you to to inspect all of chest tubes! Make sure they are still draining properly and check for any blockage! I want a full status report when you are done."

Gibbs watched as the efficient younger man had pulled down the blanket and top sheet that had kept Tony's torso covered and warm. He then quickly untied the strings that held Tony's hospital gown closed from the front, mainly for easier access, Gibbs had not been prepared for the sight before him as he now had a full view of the heavy bandaging that completely covered Tony's chest and abdomen, not to mention all of the different sized tubes that were protruding from various places. Gibbs had to swallow down the ball of emotion that had suddenly climbed up and tried to settle in his throat.

He watched in silent shock as the man produced small sterile scissors and proceeded to cut away small portions of gauze in order to check each tube to not only make sure that none of the tubes had become dislodged when Tony had been struggling, but to also inspect them for any clots that may have become lodged inside and hence preventing the dangerous amount of fluids to properly drain.

Gibbs found he could not force his eyes to look away, but since he had promised Tony that he would his six, he figured two sets of eyes inspecting the tubes could only be helpful. His eyes grew wide as he noticed something at the exact same moment the nurse also spotted it.

"Doctor, I found the problem! There is indeed blockage in the tube exiting the pleural space!" he needed no further instructions from her as he immediately reached out grabbing one of the pre-filled hypodermics on one of the trays and injected the liquid directly into the tubing where an obvious blood clot was lodged. Gibbs watched with fascination as the clot practically disintegrated right in front of his eyes and the offending fluids immediately began flowing freely again down to the bag at the end that collected the fluids.

Typically the bag was drained at regular intervals by the nursing staff for days following a major injury or surgery like the one Tony had. Clot blockage was not a common occurrence the Doctor quickly explained. But she also had never treated a patient whom had just gone through a bout with an ancient disease like the plague so there was a part of her that couldn't help but wonder if this

"Good job Jake! Leta, prepare a hypo of 2.5 milligrams of Warfarin and get it ready to inject into his left pectoral muscle when I tell you to! "

Gibbs watched anxiously as the Doctor turned to read some of the machines monitoring his agent's vital signs, she shook her head in frustration over the readings while continuing to focus on the readouts.

"Okay, Leta proceed with the injection." the nurse immediately did as she was told, plunging the medication directly into Tony's chest, it was a medication that would further thin his blood and hence remove the risk of any more clots, Gibbs held off asking what they were doing, he knew the Doctor would fill him in once Tony was stable again.

Finally turning back towards Tony and her team the Doctor announced, "Okay let's move, we're still going to have to intubate. His carbon dioxide levels are still rising and his oxygen levels still dropping – he is starting to show signs of respiratory acidosis. Anna, I need you to administer 2 cc's of Succinylcholine and 1 cc of Anectine into his bicep muscle A.S.A.P.!"

"What's going on? Why is he still getting worse when the problem was clearly the blockage?" came Jake's shocked question.

"The only thing I can ascertain is that it's because this man has not fully recovered from a recent illness that damaged his lungs, I'm afraid his system is still just too weak to support breathing on his own on top of all the recent trauma – so let's help him out!"

"Jake hand me the blade."

She quickly explained to Gibbs what she was doing while she continued focusing on the task at hand. She gently pulled the now unconscious Tony's head back and using a long tube attached to something that acted like a vacuum – she proceeded to suction fluids from as far down in Tony's airway as the tube would allow.

"First we need to numb the airway before inserting the laryngoscopic blade that we use to open and light the airway, it better enables us to slide the breathing tube in."

Then she skillfully inserted the short metal blade, it wasn't a sharp blade like that of a sword, but rather it had smooth rounded edges that allowed it to slide with ease deep into the esophagus so the ridged endotracheal tubing would have an easier path to follow as it was inserted next.

Once she had successfully completed the intubation the motor inside the respirator began purring quietly as it pumped clean and pure oxygen into Tony's starved lungs. The next step was to insert a nasogastric tube for feeding since he wouldn't be able to eat through his mouth for at least a couple of days.

Moments later the entire room had been cleared of all evidence that there had even been a crisis in this very room. The only conscious people left there were the Doctor and Gibbs as they stood across from each other and relished in the fact that Tony was finally stable. Dr. Bianchi had filled Gibbs in on exactly what had happened and what they had done. She said she felt that as soon as Tony's O2 and Co2 levels were back where they needed to be, that he could finally be transferred from recovery to a room in ICU. She had high hopes that with Tony's younger age and strong and fit body, in spite of still being weak from the plague, that he would be fine and that she would probably be able to remove the ventilator in a day or two tops.

She took in the exhausted looking lead agent and agreed to allow him to stay with Tony until that time and agreed to allow the rest of the team in to visit their friend in ICU once he was settled in, although just two at a time. Before leaving she promised him that she would go directly to the waiting room to update the others. She could tell that this Agent Gibbs had a special relationship with the handsome man in the hospital bed, it was really almost Fatherly she thought, as far as how the older man looked as he watched, worried and pretty much stood guard over his younger friend.

Gibbs felt completely boneless as he dropped into the chair he had pulled back over towards his pale agent's bed. He ran one of his callused hands across his own tired face from top to bottom in an effort to get the blood recirculating in his face in an effore to hopefully help him refrain from falling asleep.

He felt completely drained after what he had just witnessed, not realizing that his adrenaline had spiked from the moment he first heard Tony gasping for breath - to seeing the dark red blood clot that he knew damn well could have gone straight to Tony's heart, brain or into one of his lungs instantly killing him. Feeling a strong sense of deja vu over the experience since the scene before him was all too similar to just a few weeks ago when he had to watch his agent's struggle to breathe from the damage he endured at the hands of a bio-terrorist who turned out to be an American Mother with a grudge.

He had to shake off the thought as he knew it always made his blood pressure rise. Thinking about how quickly Tony could have ended up on one of Ducky's tables had not only angered him, it frightened him to the core.

He leaned in closer to Tony, grabbed a tight hold of his IV free forearm and saying his first words to him since just before the breathing crisis.

"Tony you did good. You hear me? You are going to be fine and I won't have it any other way, ya got that?!" then he softened his voice, relaxed his tight grip on Tony's arm and leaned closer to his ear. "I am here with you and I'm not leaving. I know this ventilator is going to freak you out, I've been there! You won't be alone and I will explain what's going on the minute I see you open your nosy green eyes and start snooping around – okay?" with that he laughed at his own sarcastic humor, knowing how Tony enjoyed the very rare moments when his hardass boss relaxed enough to even make a joke.

He then sat back and lifted his feet so they were resting atop the shallow aluminum railing on the side of Tony's bed and started to allow his mind to focus on the case, he began to mentally formulate lists in his head of possible suspects to check out, Ari being at the top of the list. He decided on what tasks he would assign to Abby, Kate and McGee once they knew that Tony was stable enough to be left here for a while and after each of them had their initial visit. Gibbs also planned on telling the Director he wanted guards stationed outside Tony's door and that of every entrance and exit to the Hospital.

He decided to see if Ducky and Palmer could alternate staying inside Tony's room as an extra precaution but also to keep him constantly informed of his Senior Agent's condition. He hated not being able to stay there himself but he knew it was more important that he caught the bastard who started this whole nightmare in the first place!

Only an hour had passed when he thought he spotted movement in the hospital bed in front of him, dropping his feet back down he leaned forward so he now had a better view of Tony's face. His eyes remained closed as the purring ventilator continued making light clicking and pumping noises, a sound that had become almost comforting at this point. A low groan escaped from deep within Tony's throat as the lines on his forehead deepened into a frowning gesture while at the same time the fine lines surrounding his eyes scrunched tightly in unison with the frown – a clear sign that he was coming around but most likely because he was starting to feel severe pain once again.

Gibbs stood up and leaned even further over Tony's head, reaching for the call button just like before hoping to get someone in here to relieve his agent's pain. He then started to look around seeking any glimpse of a morphine pump since he knew that was something that seemed standard these days following a surgery.

He knew it was usually positioned somewhere within the patient's reach so they could press the button themselves whilst waiting for the nurses to arrive. Stretching his own body over across the top of Tony's prone form so he could check out the far side of the bed, his mind focusing on nothing else in the room other than helping out his suffering friend - Gibbs nearly lost his footing when he felt the unexpected pressure of someone else's fingers as they wrapped tightly around his wrist and squeezed.

To Be Continued . . .

See, I can end a chapter without leaving you with as bad of a cliffhanger as I usually leave you with! Please read and review and always and as always I thank you!!

Facts:

Warfarin: Used for certain types of blood clots such as those in the veins, in the lungs, and in people with atrial fibrillation or artificial heart valves, can be treated and prevented with Warfarin. The drug also can be administered after certain surgeries to reduce the risk of death, repeat heart attacks, blood clots, or strokes.