Hi folks!

I don't think "sorry" is nearly enough to express how I feel about letting this story sit for so long but it's the only word I can think of so I guess I'll use it.

Sorry!

Very, very long story and I shall not bore anyone with details but suffice to say that ugly monster, the true enemy of all fanfic writers, known as "real life" reared its ugly head and kept me away. I've had a lot of stuff to deal with for the past couple months but I'm slowly getting back to normal and really wanted to get back to this story.

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who dropped me a line to check in and see when the next update was coming. Every time I got a message that people were really looking forward to reading more, it kept me motivated to get back to writing. Thanks to solstice, jdm and all the others who left me some unsigned reviews for a few of my stories. Had I been able to, I would have replied to each directly.

This next chapter isn't long but I just wanted to get something up so that I could get back into the swing of things, plus I didn't want to leave Gibbs and Tony aimlessly wandering forever. Next chapter will be up much sooner than the last, that much I can guarantee. :o)

-Moki

Chapter Twelve

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Gibbs really didn't want to think about that last one.

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Abby was pacing again. Ducky let her this time, knowing the poor girl needed to do something to ease the tension that was coursing through her body. If he'd had half her energy, the old ME might have been tempted to start walking the floors himself. As it was, he let her do it for him.

"I don't like this. I can't feel Gibbs. Usually I can feel him but this time I can't. I can't feel him on my Gibbs-dar," Abby paused in her walk to wave her hands over her head frantically.

"Gibbs-dar?" Palmer asked, looking at Ducky who shrugged in reply.

Yeah, you know, like a radar, but for Gibbs….Gibbs-dar. I mean Tony's get the best. McGee's is pretty good too, though. Mine is okay but it goes on the fritz sometimes. My gay-dar is much better. I have this friend Steve and he always wants me to be his wingwoman when we go out because I can spot….."

"Abby," Ducky said, tilting his head sideways and holding out his arms, knowing exactly what she needed right then. Abby stopped talking ran into straight them, sniffling into the older man's shoulder. "I'm babbling again aren't I? I always do that when I'm worried."

"Yes, I know my dear and frankly I find it quite endearing."

Abby giggled, wiping her eyes quickly on her sleeve and backing away to hold Ducky at arm's length. "You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?"

"Well that all depends, my dear."

"On what?"

"Did it work?"

Abby smiled and gave Ducky another squeeze. Over her shoulder, the ME smiled to himself, happy that he'd managed to distract her for a little while longer.

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"Are you sure this isn't the dumbest thing you've ever done?" Gibbs shook his head as he spoke to the man riding next to him, even though he was sure Tony wasn't listening.

Gibbs was fairly certain that if Tony weren't halfway unconscious he'd be remarking that this probably was in fact the stupidest thing that either of them had ever done. They were following a horse through terrain in complete darkness and a pouring rainstorm. Not wanting to waste their flashlights, he'd chosen to trust the animal's superior sight. Gibbs had no idea where she was leading them and for all he knew, the creature could well be taking them to its favorite grazing ground. Taking a chance that Comanche knew where she was going, Gibbs kept his and Tony's horses on her tail. The mare was moving at a pace that made it easy for him to keep up and Gibbs had to fight the thought that maybe she knew the predicament they were in and maybe even understood that a man's life was in her hands….hooves. He knew horses were smart, but were they that smart?

As he followed behind Comanche, Gibbs mind went back to when he and Tony had been in Arizona previously. At the time he'd only been concerned about keeping a woman safe, but he did recall Tony saying something that suddenly made a lot more sense.

"It's not that I'm afraid of getting it again…."

Gibbs heard the words ring in his head, their meaning suddenly clear. Why hadn't he listened? Ducky had told them that valley fever wasn't usually dangerous….except for people with weakened immune systems. Tony was strong as an ox but there was one part of his body that wasn't – lungs damaged by a plague that wasn't even supposed to exist anymore.

At the time, Gibbs had been so focused on getting to Dina and finding out what her connection was to their murdered NCIS agent, he hadn't been paying attention. Tony had rambled on and on about his previous run-in with the disease (back before he'd joined NCIS) while Gibbs and Boyd had all but ignored the man riding between them.

Before Gibbs could ruminate on why he hadn't been paying closer attention to his agent, he felt a change. Other than a few distant lightning flashes to go along with the torrential downpour, there had been no light for Gibbs to see where they were going. There had only been total blackness and while there was still blackness, he still sensed that something had changed. Gibbs looked up as he realized what it was - he wasn't getting wet.

He could still hear the rain and knew for certain that the storm was showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. Why then was there none falling on their heads? A few seconds later he got his answer when another bolt of energy lit up the night sky and he saw that Comanche had led them under a cliff. The rock cavity was almost too shallow to be called a cave though still plenty deep enough for three horses and two men to find shelter in a terrible storm.

"Not bad, Comanche. You're better at this than some of my agents." Gibbs mumbled as he rode up to where the mare had stopped, pausing to give her a grateful pat on the neck. The horse gave him a brief sniff, then turned her attention to Tony. Giving the man a nudge with her nose, she seemed to be trying to revive him.

Gibbs got her message and turned his attention back to the other man. When a horse told you that you were neglecting your junior agent, you better listen up, since she probably sensed a heck of a lot more than you could.

Sliding off his horse, Gibbs pulled Tony's mount closer until he was touching his knee.

"Tony? DiNozzo, you with me?"

Still pitch dark, Gibbs couldn't see the other man's face, then Tony's muscles twitched under his hand, and he heard a soft mutter in reply. Satisfied that Tony was still somewhat lucid, Gibbs left him where he was for the moment. No need to get the man down when he was bound to do nothing except fall when he got there. Gibbs needed a place to lay him down, but where?

Feeling his way to his saddle pack, Gibbs fumbled around in the dark until he found his flashlight, willing to use it briefly now that he had no other choice. Turning it on he found a place as far away from the opening as possible and decided to set their camp there. The spot would give Tony the most protection from the wind and rain. As he started pulling the gear off the horses, Gibbs frowned when he realized that all of their bedding was soaking wet. Not that he was surprised of course, but he didn't relish the idea of putting a sick man on wet blankets, or into the dirt for that matter.

Gibbs would have gladly given up his own clothing but unfortunately he was just as drenched as everything else. Pulling off his horse's saddle, he slid the saddle blanket off and was about to toss it aside when he stopped to run his hands over it. Other than the outer edge where it had peeked out under the leather of the saddle, the blanket was almost completely dry.

Happy to have caught a small break, Gibbs took the blanket and laid it out in the space he'd picked to put Tony. The blanket wasn't perfectly dry and it may not smell too good, but he doubted that Tony would mind. Going back to Tony's horse, he reached for the other man's leg again.

"Ride's over, DiNozzo. Time to get off."

Feeling familiar fingers squeezing his leg, Tony roused momentarily and gave a weary smile.

"Aw, already? Can't I have another turn on the pony, dad?"

Gibbs shook his head and chuckled slightly. Leave it to DiNozzo to joke around at a time like this. Reaching up as far as he could, Gibbs helped to guide the younger man down to the ground, throwing quick hands under his arms to catch him as he stumbled.

"Told ya to lay off the booze, DiNozzo," Gibbs made his own jibe as he led the stumbling agent over to the blanket. As Tony lay on the thing he gave a whiff and wrinkled his nose.

"I thought these things smelled bad on the outside," he mumbled, looking up in the light of the flashlight at Gibbs' confused expression.

"Sorry boss, Star Wars reference...actually to be technical….," he paused to cough briefly. "it was an Empire Strikes Back reference but I guess you wouldn't….."

"Saw the movie DiNozzo," Gibbs interrupted, tucking the blanket over Tony's shoulders. "But since I didn't cut open a beast's belly and stuff you inside, I didn't think it worked all that well."

Tony smiled before closing his eyes, shivering briefly as he coughed again. Gibbs frowned as he thought about how cold it was in there makeshift shelter. No doubt their situation was better now that they were out of the elements and in a dry cave, but a fire sure would have been helpful right about then. Thinking of the fireproof matches packed safely with his gear, Gibbs took his flashlight to see if he could find anything to use them with.

Two lucky breaks in less than five minutes seemed like a lot to ask. So when Gibbs spotted the pile of dry wood at the back of the cave, he thought he was seeing things at first. Over the years, high winds and occasional flood waters brought branches, sometimes even small trees, into the cave. It didn't happen often, just often enough to give Gibbs what he needed to build a fire and keep it going (hopefully) all night. Apparently someone was looking out for them.

Once the fire was crackling nicely and Gibbs had gotten some water into Tony, he sat down opposite his charge. Now that there was nothing else he could do, Gibbs started to feel the first tinges of worry. How long would it be until the storm let up? How long until a chopper came? How long did Tony have until none of that mattered because he was too far gone anyway?

Gibbs really didn't want to think about that last one.