A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed this story! I was so surprised be the overwhelming response. I hope you enjoy the next installment!

It was long after the building ceased to shudder that Ziva regained consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open as she came around, opening to complete darkness. She squeezed her eyes shut quickly when she realized the predicament she was in. She paused for a moment to get her bearings. She could feel the beat of her heart, the breath moving in and out of her lungs. She was alive. She let out a small sigh of relief before forcing her eyes open to the blackness that surrounded her. Whether the pitch black was due to the security lights being out or the debris piled upon her she couldn't be sure. The air was thick with dust and dirt. She coughed harshly and winced at the pain in her ribs that had quickly come to the forefront.

Her only comfort was Tony. Their hands were intertwined and his breath was warm on her neck. It was slow, labored, but definitely there. He was alive, too. Another sigh of relief escaped her.

"Tony," she whispered, almost afraid to disturb the silence that had fallen upon them.

"Tony." she said louder. She shook their hands.

"Ziva." he groaned. "You're awake."

"Yes. As are you."

"I must have fallen asleep. I woke up and you were still out." he said, blinking several times to wake himself up.

"And you fell asleep waiting for me to wake up? How is that even possible/"

'Well I think I have a concussion, so that might have something to do with it."

"If you have a concussion you should not be sleeping."

"Well if my sleeping beauty didn't take so long to wake up, I wouldn't have fallen asleep."

"I was not asleep, I was unconscious." She sniped.

"Felt the same to me." Strange as it was to be arguing with her in a situation like theirs, he felt comforted as he snipped right back. It was normal. They could still be normal, even if they were trapped in an elevator in a building that had just been blown up.

"I am awake now." She said, last hints of snark fading from her voice. " Are you injured?" She asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Besides the concussion I think my wrist is broken, maybe a couple ribs. You?"

"I have been in worse pain."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"My head is...pulsing?" she said, not entirely sure of her wording.

"Throbbing." he corrected. Normalcy. He would revel in it while he could.

"Throbbing. Bruised ribs are likely, and my left leg hurts a good deal."

"Alright, well we have to check out your leg, we're gonna have to move some of this debris. You good to do that?"

"I suppose I will have to be. I do not know how much I can move. There is something pinning my leg down."

"Okay, how about I try to get out from under you and clear what I can and we'll go from there."

"Okay."

"You ready?"

"Just do it, Tony."

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that."

"Tony,"she said sharply.

"Ninjas in pain are no fun"

"No, I am not. Just find out what's crushing me and move it, please."

'Okay."

Tony carefully slid out from under Ziva, trying his best not to jostle her too much. He left her resting her head on her arms face down on the floor. His lack of warmth created a tightness in her chest she refused to acknowledge. She would not admit how much she missed the loss of contact. Keeping his broken wrist tucked close to him, Tony brushed away pieces of ceiling tile and plastic from the lights. Most of it was fairly light, save for the shell of the light fixture which he figured broke his wrist.

"Looking good so far." he said.

As he moved further down Ziva's body he exercised more caution, until he got to her calf.

"Oh shit."

Gibbs slammed the door behind him as he exited the lab. He sighed in relief to be away from the heat and fire. One obstacle down, at least. He turned to Abby, who was clearly distraught now that she had a moment to realize the gravity of the situation. She had tears forming in her eyes, her bottom lip was trembling with the strain of trying to keep the tears at bay.

"My babies, Gibbs. My babies are gone."

"I'm sorry, Abs. I wish I could tell you they'd be okay, but after they put out the fire..."

"They'll short circuit and I'll need to get new babies."

"Yeah."

She nodded solemnly, hugging Bert. The little fart did make her smile a little. Gibbs swung his good arm around her shoulders giving her a little side hug. She hissed slightly in pain despite her efforts to cover it up. Gibbs spun her around and discovered that she had a huge gash on her shoulder blade.

"I thought you said it was just a few cuts and bruises." he said, irritated.

"Technically that is a cut."

"Abby!"

"What? It is!"

"That's a gash."

"Semantics. Plus the blood has already clotted. It will be okay if I don't rip it open. It doesn't feel too deep."

"And if you do rip it open?

"Then I just bleed for a while. It's not like it hit my carotid or something."

"Fine. We have to figure a way out of here," he said, conceding to her argument. "I say we cut through evidence lock up and out the receiving doors."

"Do you think that's the easiest way?"

"Nope, easiest way is out the front, but we can't do that."

"Because it's probably on fire."

"Yup."

'Okay. Evidence lock up it is."

"Drawback is that we can't get there from here. Have to go down and around the building."

"Well it's still better than walking towards the explosion."

"Alright, let's go then." They started to move carefully down the hall to the stairwell when Gibbs gently grabbed Abby's arm, halting them in their tracks.

"Abbs, you need to know that there may be dead people out there. People we know. You just have to keep moving," he said as gently as he could.

"But..but what if they're not dead? Are we supposed to just leave them?

"Of course not. But if we check them and they are..."

"I have to keep moving."

"Yeah. There will be time to fall apart later. Right now we have to get you out of here."

"Okay." she said, nodding.

"But what if we find injured people who are alive?"
"We'll deal with that when we get there."

She nodded, hoping that they wouldn't have to deal with anything at all. She hoped they were the only ones left in the building and that everyone made it out safe and sound. At least that's what she'd tell herself as they made their way through the building.

They set off towards the stairwell, tripping nearly constantly on pieces of lights, ceiling and drywall that had been shaken loose in the explosion. They were mostly silent, save for the fairly frequent exclamations of "shit", "ow", "goddamnit" followed by quiet, concerned mutterings of "are you okay?"

As they reached the stairwell they paused. It wasn't as dark as they'd anticipated. Not all the safety lights had been knocked out, but there were far too few for Gibbs' liking. Abby broke their silence.

"Is this seriously the one time you don't have a flashlight or something?"

"Guess so."

"But you're like a boyscout. Always prepared. Always anticipating the dirtbag's next move."

"Yeah, well the dark is not dirtbag I normally face."

"We still have to go down there though."

"Yep. I'll protect you, Abs. That I'm always prepared for."

"I know." she said. There was a slight pause before she asked "Can we hold hands?"

He smiled. Even in a disaster, she was still Abby. "Yeah." he said. Abby tucked Bert under her arm and reached her hand out for Gibbs'. He took her hand in his and started down the stairs.

It was easier than they'd anticipated. The stairs were further away from the blast epicenter than the lab. . Abby grasped the handrail tightly as they moved through the semi-darkness. They moved slowly, cautiously, but with an overt sense of purpose. The quicker they got out, the quicker they'd be reunited with Tim, Tony and Ziva. She steeled her nerves as they were overcome with a sense of dread. Her gut may not be as good as Gibbs', but she knew when something was hinky.

When they reached the door, Gibbs first felt relieved. There were no bodies in the stairwell. No one was looking for help or disoriented or lost. It was the best outcome he could think of in a situation like theirs, no matter how short lived he knew his solace would be.

Gibbs braced himself as he grasped the door handle. He fully expected it to be locked. He gave the handle a firm twist and tug, but nothing. He sighed agitatedly.

"Abs, I need you to go stand behind the stairs," he said, moving for his gun.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to shoot it."

"But the bullet could ricochet."

"Yep. So I need you to go stand behind the stairs."

"But what if you get hit?" she asked.

"Abby," he barked in a don't mess with me tone. She gave him sad eyes as she walked into the empty space behind the stairs.

After making sure she was in place, Gibbs shot the lock three times before it dislodged.

"Alright, c'mon." he said, waving her to him.

As they opened the door, they were bathed in light. The techs had left the receiving doors open as they left. They moved quickly as they made their way out of the building and into the chaos of the aftermath.

There was no pain, no heat, no screams, just darkness. It was as if his entire body was being weighed down, like when his brain wakes, but his body is still asleep. The mind is alert, but body unwilling to cooperate. He felt trapped. Like he was falling but there was nowhere to go. There was nothing to hear, nothing to see. All he could do was wait.

His body was tense. He felt his chest being compressed, the EMT counting with each forceful blow. The pain spread through his chest, his ribs bending as much as they could without breaking.

He could hear a familiar voice frantically calling in the distance.

"Doctor Mallard? Doctor Mallard, oh my god, what happened?" It was muddled, faint.

They forced air into his lungs, his own refusing to move on their own. His stubborn heart refused to beat while it was still seized with heartache and pain. Another breath forced into his unwilling body. Another jab of pain.

Panic.

Blackness.

Flatline.