A/N - Sorry for delay in my updates, I wish I could get a better job so I had more time to write! But - get ready for a bit of a ride in this chapter! Fasten your seatbelts - I hope you like it!

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Previously on: A Matter Of Life & Death –

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.

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A Matter Of Life Or Death

Part VIII

Bethesda Hospital . . .

Recovering fast enough to stop his forward momentum Gibbs pulled himself slightly back and almost upright as he allowed his eyes to move from the hand that now had a death grip on his wrist and quickly let his eyes move up the attached arm hoping to see who was halting his attempt to help Tony, his eyes widened in shock when he saw who owned the obtrusive hand.

"Why don't you just stop right there - Jeth-ro."

"ARI!"

Gibbs called the name out with obvious hatred but in a loud whisper so as not to disturb his resting agent. He quickly took in the attire that his most hated enemy was dressed in, Ari had donned a full set of scrubs in order to sneak around the large hospital unnoticed and unchecked.

Gibbs pulled his wrist free of Ari's loosened grasp, then hoisted himself back a few inches so he was in an upright position once again, he stood there glaring at the arrogant bastard in front of him. Too many thoughts were running through his mind as he thought of all the injuries and pain that this rogue Mossad operative had been personally responsible for. First his shooting of Ducky's assistant Gerald, then Gibbs' own bullet to the shoulder, and now Tony's life threatening wounds.

"How the hell did you get in here?"

"Ahhh patience Jethro, I didn't come here to discuss my talented abilities to gain access to – well pretty much wherever I want." he boasted.

Gibbs cast a quick glance at Tony, he was still unconscious but was showing signs that he was struggling to work his way through the tough hold of the heavy drugs still coursing through his veins. His eyes then darted back to Ari since he didn't trust taking his eyes off the unstable man for more than a couple of seconds.

"What-do-you-want Ari?"

"All in good time Agent Gibbs, all in good time. Right now I just wanted to make sure you understood my little uh . . . well, let's just say – warning - for lack of a more creative word. If you don't want any more of your team to get hurt, I suggest you stop trying to dig up dirt on me so you can arrest me. You are treading in dangerous waters my friend."

You are the farthest thing from 'my friend' as you will ever be. Your arrogance will be what ultimately brings you down Ari – mark my words!" Gibbs retorted with a threat of his own.

Jethro's mind had still been moving a mile a minute while he secretly surveyed their surroundings and tried to figure out a way to nab Ari – but without causing a ruckus and possibly re-injuring Tony. He had also scanned Ari's body looking for any signs of a weapon. Gibbs finally started to slowly make his way toward the end of Tony's bed – talking the whole time trying to stall until he could get them further away from Tony and close enough for Gibbs to lunge at the evil man. Gibbs set forth purposely trying to ruffle Ari's cocky feathers enough to cause him to make a mistake.

"Ari, do you really think that my team and I would allow a few injuries to scare us into backing down? Hell our lives are always at risk - even on a slow day! Your plan is weak Haswari - just as you are." Gibbs baited.

Ari was smart enough to see through all of it since he was as good at being a criminal as Gibbs was at being an investigator, the two were definitely well matched as far as their going up against each other. He too swaggered slowly towards the end of his side of Tony's bed until finally he and Gibbs were facing each other toe to toe, though still about 4 feet apart.

"Mmmnn-mm." came a barely detectable and muffled groan, Gibbs glanced over to his right and was shocked to find himself staring back into the barely open dark, pain filled and glassy green eyes of his Senior Field Agent who was obviously disoriented and not fully aware of what was going on around him. Tony's eyes were only open at half mast as he struggled to work his way back to full alertness. He couldn't quite make out the figures at the end of his bed - he assumed one of them was Gibbs, and that the other one was . . . his Doctor?

Gibbs knew he had to make a move – fast! The last thing he wanted was to have his critically injured agent to wake up in the middle of yet another traumatic scene. Just as Gibbs began to move – he was completely taken aback when he heard a spraying sound and felt a heavy wet mist hitting his entire face. The very next thing he felt was immediate dizziness as he felt his legs give way beneath him causing him to slump down into a boneless heap onto the hospital room floor. From his prone position he unsuccessfully tried to move, but before succumbing completely into darkness, the last thing he could make out was the blurry appearance of Ari's sneaker clad feet as he ran from the room making his escape.

Tony had only just regained his ability to see - at least a little more clearly - in time to witness the still shadowy figure of the man he had assumed was his Doctor, just as the man in blue suddenly reached forward and sprayed something directly into the other man's face. He suddenly felt extremely agitated and frustrated since his mind was still spinning from the heavy drugs in his system as well as the tremendous pain he was now feeling from seemingly everywhere on his body! He was in every sense still slightly out of it for the most part.

He could almost feel his adrenaline pumping as he groggily remembered that he had thought the other man may have been his boss. But it was at that moment, just as that memory kicked in, so did Tony's disheartening realization that he couldn't yell for help, or call out to his boss even if he wanted to, all because he had that hated ventilator tube stuck in his damn throat again!

'He had to get help! Why wasn't his mind cooperating with him?' Tony thought as he felt like his mind and body were moving through glue as he tried to think, and to move.

'The call button!' he remembered victoriously!

But his victory was short lived as pain lanced through his entire torso worse than ever before. He wasn't aware of how much his blood pressure had risen or how much, thanks to his frantic movements, his body was now writhing from the increasing pain until he heard alarms going off around him coming from some of the machines that surrounded his bed. Tony sagged back against the mattress in exhausted and pain filled relief once he heard people finally rushing into his room.

'Hell,' he thought, "Who needs a call button?" realizing that the alarms he had unknowingly set off, had worked even faster!

Tony's main physician had arrived only moments before, at the Nurses' station just outside Tony's room. She had been doing her rounds and had specifically allotted extra time on her busy rounds' schedule to check in on her most critical patients more frequently, one of them being one very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in recovery room B-3.

But the sound of the alarms that seemed to be coming from that very direction, but that were also blaring in an equally annoying squeal from behind the Nurses' station where they had their own group of monitors for each of the rooms, Dr. Bianchi yelled to two of the nurses closest to her, to grab a crash cart just in case as they raced towards Tony's room.

To Be Continued . . .

A/N- PLEASE – Let me know what you thought! I am done playing it safe with this story, even though I have obviously not played it safe when it comes to Tony's injuries, I wanted to push the envelope more and through Ari in faster than I originally planned to! I can't wait to see what you thought, I hope to update again by tomorrow since this chapter was shorter than my usual chappies. Maybe that's what I should do so you get updates MORE frequently – rather than one LONG one every month.