"Go get Ducky," Gibbs said as he took the flashlight from Tim's hand. But Tim acted as though he hadn't heard him; still staring, dumbfounded, into the opening. "McGee!" he shouted and Tim looked at him. "Get Ducky, now!" McGee scrambled to his feet and hurried down from the pile of rubble and sprinted toward the exit outside.

Gibbs turned his attention back to Tony's still form. "Tony..." he called out as he moved closer, trying to fit his arm through to touch him. He reached down and grabbed the only thing he could; Tony's calf, and was surprised when the agent flinched and gasped, opening his eyes wide and searching for whatever was touching him.

He saw the light coming from somewhere above his feet; saw a hand on his uninjured leg. He gripped the flashlight in his hands and turned it on, pointing it toward the person. "Boss?" he said, but his own voice sounded muted and hollow. He could see Gibbs' mouth moving; hear the same muffled sounds, but couldn't understand what was being said. "Can't hear, Boss..." He felt the hand squeeze on his calf a bit, a sign of comfort the only way he could convey in this position. "My leg's stuck. I can't get out."

Tony watched as Gibbs pointed the light at the steering wheel that was trapping him. He stuck the flashlight into his teeth and reached out to try and lift the offending object, but Tony yelled out from the sudden burning pain as it seemed to only twist against him. Gibbs released the wheel and pointed the light back at Tony. The agent was holding the sides of his head, grimacing at an unseen pain. His head hurt, and it only seemed to throb more now. But then he heard his boss speak; still muffled and slightly muted, but he could understand him.

"We're gonna get you outta here, DiNozzo," Gibbs told him.

Tony fixed his eyes on his boss again, "Okay... okay..."

"Can you hear me?" Gibbs' eyes narrowed.

"Little..."

"Good," Gibbs sighed in a bit of relief. "Hang on, Tony," he said as he pulled out of the opening.

"No, Boss! Don't...don't leave me here!" he panicked.

Gibbs looked back at him, "I'm not goin' anywhere. Just gotta figure out how to do this. McGee's here, and Ducky, too. We're gonna do everything we can to get you out soon, okay?" He could see the panic in Tony's eyes and the labored breath that confirmed it. "I'm not leaving you, Tony," he told him firmly. "I'll be right here." Once Tony nodded in confirmation, Gibbs' face disappeared from the opening and Tony let his head fall back onto the seat and closed his eyes.

*~.~*

"He's okay," Gibbs told Ducky as he and McGee approached the car. "But he's trapped under the steering wheel. Don't think we can get him outta the opening unless we can break it open a little more."

"The fireman said he's locating a concrete saw," McGee told him. "They've got one at the station and someone's bringing it by now."

"Okay, well that still leaves us with the problem of getting the wheel enough away from his leg to get him free," Gibbs said.

"They should have a hydraulic jack for that," McGee said.

"Yeah, but how are they gonna get it in there? It's a pretty tight fit, and there's not enough room for DiNozzo to even sit up to set it up, himself."

Tim thought for a moment, calculating the size of the opening. "I could do it," he said. "I can squeeze through there and set it up, then we'll cut through the concrete and pull him out."

Gibbs looked him up and down, realizing that the agent was, indeed, smaller around than the rest of them now. He nodded to him, "Go get it. And call Ziva while you're out there; see if she's found anything yet."

"On it," he said as he jogged off.

"How is he doing, Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"He couldn't hear for a while, but he's comin' around now. I didn't notice any injuries other than his leg being stuck."

"Give him this," he handed him a bottle of water. "And ask him if he's in any pain or if he lost consciousness after the blast."

Gibbs nodded and shimmied his arm and head into the opening of the wreckage, shining the light toward Tony again. "You feelin' okay?" he asked as Tony picked his head up slightly to look his way.

"Head hurts...and my leg. Think I'm okay though, Boss," he said, still breathing heavily.

"Duck wants to know if you lost consciousness after the blast."

"Think so, for a little bit...how long have I been in here?"

"Maybe forty minutes," he replied as he reached out as far as he could with the water bottle in hand. "Here, take this."

Tony reached and grabbed hold of it, "Thanks, Boss... How much longer?"

"McGee's getting a hydraulic jack and he's gonna try and squeeze in here and get your leg unstuck. The fire rescue is bringin' in a concrete saw so we can pull you outta here. Shouldn't be too much longer." Tony took a long drink from the bottle, choking a bit as he pulled it away. "Easy, DiNozzo. You gotta calm down. You're gonna be okay."

"I know. I'm tryin', Boss... This whole claustrophobia thing is fairly new to me, ya know. Not completely sure how to handle it gracefully..."

Gibbs smirked, "As long as you don't give up hope." Tony watched as Gibbs pulled out of the car and looked up, then turned back to look at him. "McGee's gonna try and get your leg free now," he told him. Tony nodded in acknowledgment and watched as Gibbs disappeared from his view and was replaced by Tim. "Hey, McGoo," Tony smirked as his probie placed the jack down onto the floor before pushing himself, unceremoniously, through the opening until half his body was inside.

"Hey, Tony," he said with a nervous smile as he looked up at him. "Can you shine the light over here?" Tony did as he was asked and realized that the agent was trying not to put any weight on him. Both hands held him up on either side of Tony's legs on the seat below them, and he was almost crushed up against the ceiling.

"You're obviously barely a buck-twenty, Probie," he told him. "You're not gonna crush me. You can lean on me if you need to."

"I just didn't wanna hurt you. Wasn't sure if you had any injuries."

"Just the leg that you're about to free for me," he said. Tim nodded and turned a bit onto his side facing the wheel as he reached down to secure the jack in place. As he worked, he glanced at the positioning of Tony's leg where it was trapped.

"When the wheel starts moving off, your leg is probably gonna hurt like hell," he told him. "Mostly because the blood will be rushing back into it after it's been mostly clamped off this whole time."

"Awesome," Tony sighed. "Well...as long as it means I can get outta here, I think I'm cool with that."

"You ready?" Tim met his eyes.

"As I'll ever be," he replied.

Tim secured his right hand on the seat beside Tony as he readied to pump the jack. As the wheel began to move slightly, he heard Tony suck in a breath, and he turned to look at him. He continued his efforts, forcing the wheel to lift more, and he could tell that Tony was holding his breath; eyes clamping shut as he gripped the seat beside Tim's hand. The wheel lifted more and he couldn't hold back the throaty scream any longer.

McGee took Tony's hand in his as he continued, and Tony's hand flipped around to grip onto it for dear life as the wheel lifted enough that his leg slipped out. His eyes shot open once he felt it, and he looked to Tim for confirmation. "You okay?" McGee asked with concern on his face.

Tony took a few steadying breaths, "Yeah...thanks." Tim nodded as he let go of Tony's hand and began to push back out of the opening. "W- where are you going?"

"I've gotta move out of the way so they can cut through here and get you out," he told him.

"Oh...right..." he gave a smirk through the nervousness on his face.

"Don't worry, Tony," he assured him, "It won't be much longer. You'll be outta here in no time."

"I love ya, McGee," his voice cracked, and Tim could see his eyes brimming even in the dark.

Tim crawled back into the car a bit and put his hand over the one that was clenching the seat again. "You're getting out of here," he told him, meeting his eyes with absolution. "So don't give up hope and say your goodbyes."

Tony swallowed and furrowed his brow, "I just...have a really bad feeling..."

"Well, don't! We're gonna get you out, I promise you." Somewhere above them, they heard a loud creaking sound begin.

Tony gripped Tim's wrist, "Go, Tim! Get outta here!"

McGee stayed for a moment until the creaking stopped. Then he pushed back, "We'll get you out, Tony," he said as he pulled out of the wreckage. Turning toward Gibbs, he realized the fireman was standing by with the saw and he moved out of the way so he could begin. "What was that sound, Boss?"

"They think the ceiling's getting ready to cave more. You get his leg free?" he asked. McGee nodded and looked up at the ceiling with a furrowed brow. The sound of the saw powering on drew their attention back to the fireman. "You and Ducky need to get outta here," he said loud enough for him to hear.

McGee turned to face him and shook his head, "I promised him, Boss..."

"I'll get him out, McGee," he told him with narrowed eyes. "I don't wanna have to worry about you and Duck if that ceiling caves." Tim turned his head toward the wreckage with worry in his eyes. Then he felt Gibbs' hand on his shoulder and met a gaze that was a bit closer than he'd expected now. "I will get him out," he told him firmly. Then he shook his head as he said, "I'm not leavin' here without him."

"Come, Timothy," Ducky took hold of McGee's arm and pulled him as he began to walk. "We'll prepare for when they get Anthony out of there." McGee frowned as he backed away from his boss, mostly from the fear caused by what his boss had said. Staying in there was a risk. Gibbs intended to stay, regardless of what happened, which meant that if he didn't get Tony out in time, he would not leave...he would die with him...

Gibbs watched his friends make their way out of the garage before turning back toward the wreckage. The saw powered off and a large block of the concrete fell with a clang down onto the floor. "Think we're ready, Agent Gibbs," he said as he placed the tool down.

Gibbs knelt down in front of the opening, "DiNozzo, you ready?"

"Do ya really have to ask, Boss?"

Gibbs smirked as he grabbed hold of Tony's calves, "You gonna make me do all the work?"

"Tryin', Boss, but it's kinda hard to move in here..."

The loud creaking started again, dust showering down on top of them. Gibbs glanced at the fireman who grabbed one of Tony's legs, "When need to move, now!" he yelled.

*~.~*

Tim paced nervously back and forth in front of the garage. "I should've stayed," he said. "I shouldn't have listened...I should've stayed and helped."

"Jethro is very capable of doing this, Timothy," Ducky assured him. "He wouldn't have allowed you to stay."

McGee was about to respond, when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID before answering. "Hey, Ziva."

"We found him," she said on the other line. "Metro PD picked him up. He is being escorted here right now." Her voice was drowned out by the sudden loud creaking behind him, and he turned around to watch as the ceiling, above where the wreckage was, cave in, causing a large cloud of dust to flood the garage.

"No..."

"McGee? What is happening?"

Tim's arm dropped to his side and his phone crashed to the ground. He shook his head as tears began to sting his eyes. "No!" he took off running into the cloud...

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Tbc...