Hey folks!
I know it's been a while since I've posted but once you see what I have been up to recently, I have a feeling you may forgive me…..maybe. As I posted a few months ago, I've been working really hard getting my freelance writing career off the ground (again, a big thanks to all my fanfiction fans for all the support that helped me to get to this point).
Last month I experienced something, well, rather surreal. Writing as I do for Daemon's TV, I've gotten somewhat used to getting to be a part of all of my favorite television shows. But when I went to Comic Con in San Diego a few weeks ago, I got to experience it on a whole new level. As a full-fledged member of the press, I visited many press rooms at the convention. The highlight of the week being when I got the chance to interview the casts of both Supernatural and NCIS: Los Angeles.
To see videos of the interviews, check out my profile page. I've put a link there to my blog post all about my adventures at Comic Con, which includes the videos from my NCIS:LA and Supernatural interviews. To see the rest, feel free to follow the other link on my profile to my author's page at Daemon's TV. At the con, I also did interviews with people from Burn Notice, Covert Affairs, Psych, Being Human, Falling Skies and many more shows.
And now back to my current adventure with Tony and Gibbs. Looks like we probably have only one more chapter to go. Thanks to everyone for sticking it out with me! Y'all rock!
Chapter Seventeen
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"I can do it."
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Gibbs woke suddenly with an involuntary gasp, momentarily disoriented, not sure why his adrenaline was pumping so fast. With a rush, he remembered why he was on edge and practically vaulted off the ground where he'd laid down across from DiNozzo.
Why had he fallen asleep? He hadn't meant to, he had meant to keep an eye on Tony the entire night. What the hell was wrong with him? How long had he been out?
Those questions ran through his mind as he got up and looked at the man lying nearby. Tony's skin was pale and a light sheen reflected off the light coming from the embers still burning in the fire.
Gibbs reached out to feel for a pulse on Tony's neck. He saw a tremble in his hand and yanked it back, shaking it out for a few seconds until the fingers were loose. He told himself logically that he did it so that there would be no motion to mask a feeble heartbeat. Deep down he knew that it was because he couldn't stand to see fear manifesting itself physically in his body like that. To see it was to admit that there was a reason to fear – to admit that he had wondered if there was going to be a heartbeat at all.
After discovering the reassuring beat, Gibbs noticed something else. Something was different about Tony. It wasn't that the younger man looked better; he just didn't look quite as sick as he had before. Like a cold winter day that somehow bespoke of spring just by being not as cold – Gibbs could see the signs of life stirring in Tony again.
"Attaboy Tony," Gibbs said approvingly, letting his hand slide down from Tony's neck to the man's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Suddenly there was a new noise in the cave, something that Gibbs hadn't heard in so long that he wasn't sure at first if he was imagining it.
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"Yes!" McGee cried suddenly in triumph, causing Ziva to start and open her eyes suddenly, wakening from a doze.
"What is it McGee?" She asked, rising from her chair in the corner and quickly heading to where he sat.
"I knew if I tweaked the range and made adjustments to the…."
"McGee," Ziva prodded gently and he looked up sheepishly.
"Sorry, talking to myself. I made some adjustments and was able to strengthen my signal."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I think I just got a ping off of the boss' phone and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get a call into him."
McGee was already pulling out the sat phone and punching in numbers. He held the device to his ear, his face as hopeful as a little boy running downstairs on Christmas morning, hoping to find the firetruck he asked for under the tree.
For a few agonizing seconds, the phone simply rang and McGee's face began to fall ever so subtly. Then suddenly he grinned and Ziva sighed in relief as she listened to his end of the conversation.
"Boss? …..yes, I managed to get a signal from the phone and….no…yes, Boss….Ziva is here, we're in town at the…sure, Boss…..is Tony?..."
At that, Ziva looked at McGee more intently, eager to hear news about their ailing team mate. McGee quickly smiled reassuringly and she relaxed again.
"That's great news Boss…..yeah I have a fix on your location now and I'll call in your coordinates to the nearest rescue chopper. You and Tony just sit tight for a little longer and we'll have you out of there as soon as the sun comes up…got it, Boss."
McGee hung up the phone, barely putting the device down before his hands were already tapping out instructions on the laptop as he worked on getting his team mates to safety.
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A while later and many miles away, Gibbs felt his gut twinge. Something was up. He looked to Tony and saw that he was still peacefully sleeping after the fever had finally broken, giving the younger man some respite. Not that he was out of the woods, but at least there wasn't an immediate danger of losing him.
Satisfied that his agent was okay, Gibbs looked over at the horses and found them gazing back at him. They had been going in and out of the cave to eat and drink, making quick trips and then stomping back in as a group, shaking the water from their coats and huddling together at the outer edge of the warmth generated by the fire. As he watched, Comanche's head rose with ears pricked as she looked towards the cave entrance.
Too used to the mare's innate instincts to ignore them, Gibbs followed her gaze and his brow furrowed as he struggled to make sense of what his eyes were seeing. It was then that he realized how quiet it had gotten outside.
Standing up, Gibbs walked to the mouth of their shelter and could not believe his eyes. The sun was rising over the hill on the other side of the river (the level of which had gone down significantly). There wasn't a cloud to be seen. It looked like they might actually be catching a break in this nightmare.
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"Eat this, Tony."
Tony turned away instinctively, the smell of the food making his stomach crawl. He had woken a couple of hours after dawn and ever since then, his boss had been trying alternately to get either food or water down his throat. He was starting to feel like a baby chick, being stuffed by its mother until its innards gorged with food.
"I can't," Tony turned his head away again and swallowed against the nausea that threatened. Gibbs was obviously trying to help him get his strength back, but Tony wasn't so sure this was the way to do it.
"Yes you can."
"I'm not hungry."
"I didn't ask."
"Boss, if I eat that I'm just gonna throw it back up, I swear."
"You wanna go home?"
"Yes."
"Then eat."
Tony eyed the spoonful of beans warily.
"You're not gonna start making airplane noises at me now, are you Boss?"
"No but I will shove it in your mouth if you don't shut up and eat it."
Before Tony could reply, Gibbs' phone rang, giving him a momentary respite from being force-fed. Giving Tony a glare that promised that they would be continuing this conversation as soon as he was done, Gibbs answered.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"Hey Boss," McGee's voice sounded hesitant over the line.
"McGee? What's happening? When's the rescue team getting here?"
"Sorry Boss, I just got off the phone with the rescue captain and apparently they've categorized Tony's condition as "stable"….. and the storm, well it was pretty big. There were a lot of people to be rescued and they had to put you two near the end of the list after….."
"McGee, what are you telling me?" Gibbs interrupted the younger man, wanting him to get to the point.
"The chopper won't be there for at least another 24 hours."
Gibbs wanted to scream. He wanted to throw things. He wanted to shoot off his gun. He wanted to do something to display the anger he felt just then. Instead, he slid his thumb across his brow, massaging the headache that was forming there.
"Boss?" McGee was worried the phone line had dropped off.
"Yeah, McGee, I'm here."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing, McGee."
Gibbs ended the call, fighting another urge to throw the damn thing against the nearest rock wall just so he could have the pleasure of seeing it shatter into a million pieces. He was fairly certain it might make him feel better. He was also fairly certain that it was a stupid thing to do.
He stood there for a few moments and tried to think. Tony was better, thank God, and truth be told he would probably survive another night out in the cave. But what if he was wrong? What if they were just in a lull before another wave of new symptoms hit? Tony had been going through a lot of ups and downs with this illness and Gibbs had no way of knowing whether this was an "up" that was about to be followed by another "down.". Also, no matter what, the man needed to be seen by a doctor.
Gibbs had a decision to make. Should they wait it out and risk Tony's condition getting worse again or risk the choppers getting called away to other more urgent cases, delaying them even further? It sounded like the entire region was in a state of emergency and there was no telling when Tony's name would come up on the roster of pickups.
The really annoying part of the whole thing was the fact that they weren't all that far away from the stable. Wandering out to answer nature's call while Tony slept, Gibbs had noticed where Comanche's Cave (which he'd now dubbed the place in his head) was in relation to their original trail. Though it had felt like hours and hours when they'd been riding in the rain and dark, they had only gone off course by maybe a mile or two.
A few hours of riding, tops, and they'd be back to civilization. But would Tony be able to make it? Was it worse for them to stay another night out, without any sort of medical care for a sick man, or to try and brave a physically demanding trip through the desert? The weather was fine for now, but would it hold? There were so many variables, too many, for a man like Gibbs.
"Boss, I can do it."
Gibbs looked across the fire at the man sitting in front of him. Tony had of course heard enough of the conversation with McGee to understand what was happening. He had also read his boss' body language and knew exactly what the older man was thinking.
"Look Gibbs, you've done nothing but coddle me for the past day or so. Now, I'm not saying I didn't need it at first but I'm better now. I can make a damn four hour ride."
"DiNozzo…," Gibbs began, but Tony was adamant.
"I can do it."