A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to write the next chapter – my work and social life appear to be getting out of hand again, but the story's nearly-ish finished, so hopefully I won't leave you hanging again. Thanks again for all the reviews. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy…
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Gibbs had known even before he started that further exertion would be a bad idea. His heart was pounding in a desperate attempt to pump what was left of his blood around his damaged body and he was verging on unconsciousness. Nonetheless, Tony had needed him to loosen the boards, and if the junior agent was giving his all, then Gibbs would give no less than his best. His left arm was virtually useless, and every tiny movement was agony, but somehow he succeeded, and moved to help DiNozzo, knowing as he did so that he would never have the strength to escape. He would slow down their assailants as much as possible to give the younger man a chance, he decided. He should have known better – DiNozzo exhibited none of the personality traits of a man who would sacrifice another to save himself, and sure enough, when the time came, Gibbs found himself being dragged out through the back of the barn. The smoke was thick around them and he could feel his body, which had already been struggling to take in enough oxygen, begin to give up. The world went black, and the persistent pounding stopped. He was faintly aware of DiNozzo's voice insisting, demanding, that he do something, but it was beyond his ability to comply. The last thing he heard was DiNozzo's frantic shouting.
'Boss, don't make me have to kiss you. Please boss, one little breath. You can do it.'
But he couldn't, and soon, he was aware of nothing.
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When he began to reawaken, it was to the sensation of fire coursing through his body. Was he dead? Was this what hell felt like? No, that couldn't be it. He was hot – unbelievably so, but he was no longer in agony. There was a noise – an insistent, infuriating beeping, and his left arm felt like it had been restrained. He reached for it with his right hand, but he was prevented from doing so.
'Gibbs, no. That's there to help you.'
Was that Abby? Abby had tied him up? No, that couldn't be right. Everything was hazy. He couldn't think straight – it was too damned hot. He needed to get out of here; find Tony. Tony! Damn – the bad guys had DiNozzo. If Abby was here, maybe the bad guys had Abby too. He had to do something. He struggled to get up. This time a cool hand came to rest on his cheek.
'Gibbs, calm down. It's okay, you're safe.'
Didn't she get it? He didn't care about that. His first responsibility was his team, and he had let Tony down. They had been surrounded by armed men and he had – what? Passed out? It hadn't felt like that. Died? If this wasn't hell, then evidently not. Either way, he had abandoned DiNozzo to his fate, and that was unacceptable. He had to go back. He had to make Abby understand.
'Tony…' he managed to murmur. Finally, Abby seemed to understand.
'Tony's safe too. Ducky's with him.' Gibbs allowed himself to relax. He knew there was something else he needed to say, but it didn't seem important any more. His team was safe. He allowed himself to drift.
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He was sure it was many hours later when a familiar voice cut through the fog floating around where he was convinced his mind had once been. It seemed hesitant.
'Hey Boss, I don't know whether you can hear me – Abby says you've been pretty much out of it since you got here. I can't stay long – Abby sprung me from my room downstairs, but they're bound to notice I'm gone sooner or later. I just wanted to…uh, see how you were doin. Thought you might want to know what's going on, too.'
Gibbs couldn't help smiling to himself. It seemed the younger man had instinctively grasped Gibbs' need for information and had come to brief him. Despite this, and despite being barely conscious, he could also sense that something was off. Something was really bothering the younger agent, and he had every intention of finding out what. It didn't take as much effort as he might have thought.
'You actually died. Did you know that? When we finally go out of that shed I was so relieved, and when I realised those sirens weren't a figment of my imagination, I was ecstatic. I was so busy laughing that I didn't even notice your heart had stopped. What kind of crappy partner does that make me? You were dead and I was laughing! Then when I did notice, I freaked. I shouted at you when I should have started CPR. By the time I finally did, well, it could have been too late.'
If he had been able, Gibbs would have reached up and gently slapped his hand across the back of DiNozzo's head. He couldn't have faulted the younger man's behaviour if he'd tried, which was more than he could say for his own. Despite this, now it was all over, the junior agent seemed insistent on taking the blame. Well, better a man who second-guessed himself after the fact than one who didn't dare make a move for fear of making a wrong one. A few lessons from Gibbs would soon provide DiNozzo with a cure of sorts, or at least the sense to know when he had made the right call. The young man was already shaping up to be the best Gibbs had ever worked with, and the sooner he learned to trust his gut when his life didn't depend on it, the better he would be.
'The paramedics told me that it wouldn't have mattered anyway if they hadn't shown up when they did. They said you'd lost so much blood that you should have been dead hours before. They didn't believe me when I told them about that Rambo stunt you pulled – said it should have been impossible. Guess you really are a hard-ass, huh? Even then, if Abby hadn't told them you'd been shot and made sure they had blood in the ambulance, you wouldn't have reached the hospital alive. Anyway, you don't want to hear all the details. The point is, they patched you up, and they think they've got the infection from your bullet wound under control – you should have told me about that, by the way. You're going to need physio on that shoulder, and you'll be on desk duty for a while, but you're going to be okay. I know Abby probably told you all this already, but I wanted to…' he tailed off, before continuing along a completely different thread. 'They've postponed Kevin O'Connell's trial until you can testify, and they caught all the guys who were shooting at us, but the old woman's nowhere to be found. Their best guess is that she used a false passport and caught a plane back to Ireland.'
Gibbs hadn't failed to notice that DiNozzo hadn't so much as attempted to discuss his own condition. Evidently he thought that coming to visit while Gibbs was unconscious would allow him to avoid awkward questions. Well, he was about to find out he was wrong. Gibbs allowed himself to take one last breath before forcing his eyes open. He didn't like what he saw. The young agent looked tired and gaunt, and his forehead was wrinkled with worry. His gaze was the same blank one that Gibbs had seen back in the barn, and his pupils were unresponsive. Tony's eyesight had clearly not returned while Gibbs had been unconscious. Gibbs reached out and laid his good hand on DiNozzo's arm, holding firm as the junior agent flinched.
'You did good, DiNozzo,' he assured the worried young man.
'You heard all that?'
'I heard.' He decided it was time to push for the answers DiNozzo was more reluctant to give him. 'What did they say about your head injury?' The younger man sighed.
'Depressed skull fracture,' he admitted. 'They can't see any obvious signs of brain injury, but there's a lot of swelling. They think that's what's causing the blindness – increased pressure on the optic nerve. They won't know if there's been any permanent damage until the swelling goes down.'
'And if there has?' Gibbs asked, dreading the answer.
'Then my sight might not come back,' DiNozzo confirmed. Gibbs tightened his grip on Tony's arm. He couldn't help but pick up on the carefully hidden hint of panic in the junior agent's voice. He felt he had to offer some kind of reassurance.
'You'll be okay, DiNozzo.'
'You can't know that, Boss.' Gibbs sighed.
'Do you trust me, DiNozzo?'
'Yeah, Boss. I trust you.'
'Then listen to me. You're one of the toughest people I know, and I've known a lot of tough people. You are going to be fine. Do you hear me?'
'I hear ya, Boss.' Gibbs gave the young man's arm one last squeeze before he let go, hoping that DiNozzo would not end up making a liar of him.