A/N: Thank you again, for the lovely comments and alerts. I promise, I'll continue to update as fast as I can. I think this chapter will answer some of the questions as far as the mystery is concerned.

Brody.

Pride moved slightly creating an opening for Chris to see through the space that separated him from the sleeping beauty. The bulk of her face was covered by the respirator, making it hard to see her gentle features. He wanted to see her sweet smile and the twinkle that lit up her eyes. He wanted to her to be alive and well.

Feeling his throat begin to constrict with emotion he closed his eyes and turned away from Pride. Everything that he had hoped was a dream had been real.

"She's tough," Pride said placing a mollifying hand on the younger agent's shoulder. "You're both going to get through this."

Abigail Borin walked into the ICU with LaSalle's camera in hand and evidence kit ready. Pride had asked her to see what trace evidence she might be able to gather from Brody. Though the thought was unnerving to say the least, she couldn't deny she felt a bit honored by Pride's request. He wanted someone who would be thorough in the collection but at the same time would treat his agent with dignity and not like a rotting soon to be corpse.

Pausing at the curtain, Borin glanced across the room at LaSalle. Abigail wasn't used to seeing the friendly and at times overly active agent so still. After only a few minutes of consciousness Chris had drifted off again. Not that unusual considering the trauma that he'd been through, but it was concerning.

Averting her attention, Abigail smiled softly at the woman in the bed before setting the kit on the over the bed table. "This is a hell of a way to start your week," she quipped drawing the camera to her eye level.

Abigail posed the camera and took a direct shot of Brody's face capturing the broken capillaries in her high cheekbones.

"How's LaSalle holding up?" She asked as Loretta entered the small space and drew the curtain.

"He's still pretty out of it. But the good news is his vitals have improved greatly over the last few hours." Chris wasn't out the woods by any means, but doctors were hopeful that he was on his way to making a full recovery.

"Has he said anything at all?"

"Not yet, but I suspect once the initial shock wears off he'll be able to give us something."

Abigail nodded before pulling the camera back to her face and captured a couple more shots, before moving to towards Brody's left arm. Several lacerations covered her forearms where the broken glass had sliced through her flesh.

Brody's right arm had been set in a cast due a fracture at the wrist. For the moment, they were assuming that it was the result of a defensive wound caused by the effort to protect her face from the crash.

"Where are her clothes?"

"They're in a bag on that chair over there," Loretta pointed before pulling back the blanket to inspect the bruising on Brody's neck and upper chest.

Abigail crossed to the bag, "yoga pants, a tank top, and tennis shoes," an interesting combination for someone who normally dressed in a professional manner when seen with her partner.

"What was Chris wearing?"

Loretta paused for a moment, "something similar; t-shirt, sweat pants, I believe."

It was a known fact that Chris ran most every night to relieve the stress from the horrific things that they encountered on the job and that Brody occasionally taught aikido and yoga classes at the Y when her schedule allowed.

"What about shoes?" Abigail asked, noting an absence footwear from Brody's bag; one shoe to be exact."

"That's where it gets interesting," Loretta said, explaining that Chris had been wearing a standard pair of running shoes, but that Brody had been found with only one. Pride had gone over to Brody's cottage to see if could find the missing shoe.

Abigail held up the shoe from the bag and looked straight at Brody, "Ok, Cinderella what aren't you telling us?"

Unknown to Abigail, Merri Brody could hear every word but was hopelessly trapped inside a broken body that desperately wanted to heal. Her heart started to accelerate as Abigail's voice brought on flashes of the truck tumbling over the side of an embankment. Unconsciously, her body began to twist and jerk in an effort to suppress the violent memory.

Merri Brody's eyes went wide with fear, as she felt the truck, slip from the road. There was nothing she could do. Even though her mind was as clear as a bell, her body wouldn't move. She was paralyzed, unable to move even a single muscle. Her partner was already unconscious at the wheel, from a head trauma. She wanted to scream out his name, but she couldn't. Her vocal cords were literally numb, deadened on purpose in an effort to keep her from fighting back.

She'd fought her attacker with everything she had and for a moment it looked like she was going be victorious, until she decided to take him down with a fierce kick. Her foot was ready to connect with his face when he suddenly caught her ankle, knocking her off balance. Her shoe sailed across the room, as she fell flat on her back. He was on her in a matter of seconds, straddling her. He followed up quickly with a jab straight to her throat, temporarily cutting off her airway. Struggling to catch her breath, she never felt the pin prick of the syringe that would send the paralyzing liquid into her veins. Every muscle was hopelessly dead, unable to obey her minds request continue the fight. Her eyes seemed to be the only the resolve, in what was happening to her as he hefted her over his shoulder and carried her like a sack of potatoes before throwing her into the back of the truck next to LaSalle.

Oh God, Chris! Was he dead? She was looking right at him but his eyes were closed. Desperately, she wanted to reach out and touch the side of his face, to see if he would respond but she couldn't, her muscles refusing to cooperate.

She was still wide awake when the monster who had stolen her ability to move secured her into the passenger's side of Chris' truck with the seatbelt. Glancing at Chris she was thankful he was unconscious as she realized what the monster was going to do to them. In fact, there was a small part of her that prayed he was already dead so that he would never know what they were about to go through.

Have a nice ride, Agent Brody.

"What's happening?" Abigail asked softly, her own heart pounding fear.

"She's having a seizure," Loretta pressed the call button on the wall and began to spout orders. "We need a doctor in here immediately! The patient is going into a Grand Mal seizure!"

Borin backed out from the small space, crossing back into Chris' side of the room as another doctor and a couple of nurses rushed in surrounding the fallen agent. The taller of the two nurses, released the latch to the collapsible wall pulling it almost all the way shut.

Abigail was so engrossed in what was happening with Brody that she almost didn't notice that Chris had been awakened by the sound of Loretta's voice. Briefly she averted her eyes until she saw Nurse Bethany enter the room to check his vitals.

"What's happenin'?" Chris asked in a weak version of his famous drawl. This time around he was alert enough to know that something was seriously wrong with his partner.

"Your partner seems to be having a bit of distress," Bethany replied as if she were talking to an idiot. I'm sure she'll be fine in a minute." Reaching over him, she wasn't prepared when Chris' hand shot up catching her wrist.

"What kind of distress, exactly?" Chris asked his dark blue eyes boring into hers. Granted, he didn't have much strength, but what little he had right now was all focused on the flippant woman before him. He hadn't really meant to hurt her, as much as he wanted an answer about Brody.

"Let go of me!" She seethed, yanking her wrist free. She was about to call for help when Abigail intervened. The female version of Gibbs, kicked herself for being drawn into the intense scene on the other side of the room. She should have been paying more attention to LaSalle. Of course, he was going to be over the top with fear over what was happening to Brody.

"She had seizure but it's over, now." Though it had seemed like hours, Brody's seizure had only lasted a couple of seconds. The doctor had ordered an injection of something and all but Loretta were now leaving the room, as Abigail eyed Bethany to do the same.

Borin watched as the tension and fear started to drain from LaSalle's body.

"Are ya sure?" Chris wouldn't put it past Borin to lie if she thought it was for his own good. He would apologize to the nurse later but for now, his only concern was Brody and her survival.

"Positive," Borin gave his forearm a squeeze as her phone started to buzz. It was one of her colleagues, "I've got to take this." she added stepping out into the hall.

"Please tell me you have something," she breathed pulling the phone to her ear.

"We got a hit on a partial print," the voice of a longtime associate relayed prompting, Abigail's mouth to twitch.

"I'll call Pride and let him know."