A/N Only about 2 chapters left! I'm so excited!

For those of you who read Lies and Double Lives, a poll is up. Do you want Tony to have his chance with Jeanne, or are you Tiva all the way?

Washington DC—Storage Lockers

Tony was coughing up blood when the paramedics arrived.

"You're all right, Tony," Gibbs reassured the Senior Field Agent, stepping back to let the EMT's do their jobs.

After a deep inhale from his recently-received oxygen mask, he plucked it off again. "Boss." His voice was low and shaky, but Gibbs heard him.

He closed the space between them again, replacing the mask over Tony's nose and mouth. "Don't talk, Tony. Just breathe."

He took a deep, overdramatic breath, then reached up again. Gibbs realized that whatever Tony wanted to say, it must have been important.

"Plane." He replaced the mask quickly, inhaling again.

"What about a plane?" Gibbs asked, forgetting it was painful for Tony to speak. He was in full investigator mode at the mention of a possible clue to the whereabouts of his other agent. When Tony lifted his hand, however, Gibbs remembered, and shook his head. "Yes or no, DiNozzo. Is Ziva getting on a plane?"

Tony began to nod, but the motion caused him to cough again.

"Let's try sign language. Yes…" he demonstrated. "And no."

"So, Ziva's getting on a plane?"

Tony bobbed his fist enthusiastically up and down; a yes.

Before Gibbs could ask another question, however, a paramedic interrupted. "Sir, we need to get him to the hospital. Will you be riding along?"

Gibbs looked down at his agent. As much as he cared about Tony and wanted to be there to make sure he was okay, he still had another agent to find. His mind was made up when Tony put his pointer and middle fingers together and tapped them with his thumb: no. He then pointed to McGee.

Gibbs was so proud of his SFA at that moment that, had he not been a marine, he might have teared up. Though the two were constantly fighting, and Tony especially was quick to tease and reluctant to let up, Gibbs knew the two were like brothers. They looked out for each other whenever the situation called for it, and sometimes even when it didn't. Gibbs was pleased that Tony would rather have had Tim go than him.

McGee, who had been watching from a few feet away (as was earlier mentioned, they looked out for each other), came over when he saw Tony point to him.

"What's up, Boss?" He still felt guilty about what happened to Tony, though everyone (well, almost everyone) had tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault.

"You're riding with Tony to the hospital. He says—"

"Me? Why aren't you going, Boss?" McGee couldn't understand why Gibbs wasn't going. Surely Tony would rather have his father figure accompany him than the junior field agent.

Gibbs shrugged, trying to keep the grin off his face. "He wanted you. I don't know, you can ask him on the way. Anyway, he says that Ziva's on a plane. Find out anything you can, and use yes or no questions. This is yes, and this is no," he explained, demonstrating.

"Good luck, Tony," he added as he walked away.

"Boss," Tony said weakly, pausing to breathe from the mask again.

He turned expectantly.

"Find her."

Washington DC—En Route to Washington National Airport

Racing towards the airport, with the LA agents right on his bumper, Gibbs was feeling immense pride for both of his male agents. Not only had Tony allowed – no, ordered – Gibbs to leave him with McGee so he could find Ziva (it was moments like these that made Gibbs feel guilty about returning to NCIS, because he had stolen the team Tony so obviously deserved), but Tim had risen above his hatred of Eric to help his friends.

After finding out all that he could from Tony (which, unfortunately, hadn't been much) he had called Eric. After explaining what was going on – with an explicit order not to tell Abby – he told him to use Abby's comparison software to look for the captors en route to any airport or landing pad in the area.

That's how Gibbs and the others knew where to go: McGee had an idea, and Eric carried it out. Gibbs was going to have to address this teamwork when everything was over.

He just hoped they'd get there in time.

Washington DC—Bethesda Hospital

Tim was a wreck at the hospital. He was still wondering why Tony had wanted him, and not Gibbs, to accompany him in the ambulance. He would have asked, but he saw how difficult it was for Tony to breathe. He decided that it would be wiser to wait until Tony was feeling better. He wished it had been Gibbs. He hated – absolutely hated – sitting there in the waiting room with nothing to do but worry.

He put his head in his hands, impatiently waiting for news on Tony, or Ziva – or any news, really. He sighed, and stood up to pace – again. It was as he was pacing that he realized that he didn't have to do this alone. And Abby was going to find out soon enough anyway….

He'd never dialed that phone number faster.

Washington DC—Washington National Airport

The agents sprinted through the airport, flashing their badges at security and anybody else who got upset about their hurry. Kensi and Dom paused a few times to flash Ziva's picture to see if anyone had seen her, and all answers were points in the direction that Gibbs was already running.

Finally, they caught a glimpse of her curly dark hair in the crowd. Gibbs slowed and pulled his gun, signaling for the others to do so as well. If they called her name, the men she was with could have pulled out their own weapons. Luckily, it was two captors to five agents, six if Ziva was included in the number.

They probably would have succeeded in a quiet confrontation, if a middle-aged woman hadn't seen Gibbs taking out his weapon.

"Gun!" she screamed.

Gibbs cursed under his breath as the two men turned. Ziva did as well, and her expression lit up when she saw Gibbs had come to rescue her. Then the man next to her, in one fluid moment, snatched her by the hair and held a knife to her throat.

"I do not think this can end well for you, Agent Gibbs. If you move your hand an inch, Miss David is dead. Her father will understand."

Everyone in the vicinity was frozen in fear, the agents in fear that Ziva would be killed.

Dom and Kensi, however, had been behind the rest of the group. They walked slowly through the crowd. When they saw what was going on, they acted accordingly.

"We're going to miss our plane! Is that what you wanted? I told you we shouldn't have come this way!" Kensi shouted at Dom, shoving her way through the crowd.

"That was not my fault! Who had to take off her belt, and her necklace, and her rings…" Dom yelled back.

It worked. The men had turned to watch the scene unfolding in front of them, which gave Gibbs the distraction he needed to advance on them. Ziva threw her elbow into the man's gut, who then doubled over in pain. Gibbs was on top of him in a second, throwing cuffs on his wrists. His partner, obviously not the brains of the operation, looked for a place to run.

"Oh, no you don't," Sam blocked him off, and Callen came up behind him.

"You really should quit your job. If the boss would understand his daughter's murder, I don't think he's the kind of man you want to work for."

This comment was not much appreciated by the captors, but they said nothing.

Ziva ran to Gibbs, seeking comfort after such an emotionally draining few days. He wrapped his arms around her, and was surprised when she reciprocated. It was a hug that could rival Abby's. He was even more surprised when he heard her sobs.

"I am so sorry, Gibbs. I wish I had not come back. I will leave when I am done giving my statement."

He couldn't understand anything more, for she was now weeping. For the loss of her family, and the return of her father, and for Tony…

Tony!

"Gibbs… is Tony…?" She couldn't finish her thought.

"He's in the hospital now, where you should be, too. We need to get you checked out."

"No. I am fine. I should leave you alone. I will not have you do anything more for me. It is not fair—"

"Agent David!"

She looked up at him, shocked at the harshness in his voice.

"You are not going anywhere. You came back here to get away from your father. You rebuilt your life; you don't need him anymore. Don't give me any BS that staying here with us would be selfish. We're a mess without you. We need you, Ziva."

Tears welled in her eyes again. She walked back into his arms, and for the first time, felt a father's loving embrace.

A/N Awwww. I will admit it, i had tears in my eyes as i wrote this. I hope everyone forgives me for my cruelty to Tony and Ziva, because they're both under Gibbs' care again. he didnt give them permission to die!