AN – I can't always promise such speedy updates – but the nature of the last cliff hanger, coupled with your enthusiastic responses, and the happy coincidence that I had a day off today meant I can put you all out of your misery. For now. Grins.

The first sign of trouble was when Abby flew into the bullpen, pale and scared and shouting at the top of her voice, with Mallard looking grave and concerned, hurrying in her wake.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, you have to turn to the local news channel. I need to see if I'm right. I mean, I hope I'm wrong. And I'm not an investigator so I might be wrong. I really, really, hope I am. Wrong I mean. But then I am a Forensic Scientist and I'm pretty sure that I can recognise evidence when I see it so I most likely did see what I saw. But I really want you to tell me I didn't."

"Abs," Gibbs commanded, even as he rose to his feet and moved to the front of the plasma, flicking through until he found the local news channel. "Calm down. Tell me what you thought you saw."

In answer, she looked up as the screen now showing a live news report of a shooting at a car showroom across town. Moving right up close to the screen, she ducked and bobbed as if trying to physically look past the figures moving in front of the cameras as cops, paramedics and news crews filled their view. Then one of the paramedics moved revealing a dark-haired figure lying motionless on the ground.

"There!" Abby stabbed her figure at the screen, before turning around, wide eyed and biting her lip anxiously. "Tell me, Gibbs. Tell me it isn't Tony."

He took a step closer to the screen. But really there was no need. Even at this distance and with the poor resolution of the moving camera operating at maximum zoom, he could see the familiar dark hair and the same green shirt he had been wearing when he stepped on the elevator now stained crimson as he lay in a large pool of blood.

"Wish I could, Abs." He managed.

"Oh my," Mallard sighed, even as he moved towards DiNozzo's desk and picked up his phone. "I'll try and find out which Hospital they are taking him to. See if I can get an update on his condition."

"That's Stuart Sullivan's place," Roberts realised, as she came to stand beside Gibbs. "What was DiNozzo doing in a place like that? The guy's a crook."

"No-one has ever been able to prove anything," Gibbs spoke almost as an aside, as his eyes remained locked on the screen where the Paramedics were still tending to his Agent. They were trying to stem the bleeding, before moving him for transport he realised, as a gurney was wheeled on stage left. "Not even Fornell."

"That's only because Sullivan is smart and not too greedy," Roberts retorted. "What was Tony thinking?"

"He went to sell his car," Abby said in a small voice. "This is all my fault."

"All the wounded are being taken to Washington General." Mallard put the phone down.

Gibbs watched silent and unmoving until his Agent was carefully loaded onto the waiting gurney and stowed in the nearby Ambulance. The second DiNozzo' feet disappeared inside he turned to his team.

"Dawn, get onto Metro and find out what the hell happened. Ducky, see if you can get an idea of his condition. Abby, you're with me."

The thing Gibbs hated most about Hospitals was the waiting and the not knowing. He was the kind of man who liked to be in control and these situations always made him feel so dammed helpless. Usually, he would harness his fear and anger by using it to track down who ever the hell had done this to his Agent and make them pay. But right now, he didn't have the first clue what was going on.

Settling himself back into the hard, plastic, chair, he took a sip of the brown liquid which passed for coffee with a grimace, before he passed the Caff-Pow in his other hand to the pale faced Goth, who was still staring fixedly at the door, as if willing Tony's doctor to appear, her face etched with misery. He hands closed reflexively around the Styrofoam cup, but she made no move to drink.

"Talk to me, Abby." He said softly.

"Tony loves that car. He bought it when he was in College. He worked two jobs to make the payments." Abby sniffed.

"I know, Abs."

"He didn't want to sell her. He really didn't. But he's been really worried 'cause he said he couldn't stay at your place forever, not that he doesn't think you've been good to him, because he does. He really, really, does. I don't think he's ever had anyone looking out for him .."

"Abby." Gibbs stopped her. "The car?"

"Right, focus, the car," Abby took a breath. "So, after he viewed the apartment he called me and said he thought he'd finally found a place that would pass muster with you. Except now he had to find the bond and the first and last month's rent not to mention another huge honking sum up front for weeding the flowerbeds and putting light bulbs in the communal areas."

"Service charge." Gibbs murmured.

"Yeah, that. So, I offered to lend him the money, but he wouldn't take it. And then I got mad, because what kind of friend doesn't let another friend help them out when they need it? So, he told me how much he actually needed and it was a whole lot and I don't have that kind of money."

"So then you told him about Sullivan?"

It made sense. Stuart Sullivan didn't go around touting for business. He didn't need to. Gibbs didn't know how much of Sullivan's wealth came from the high end car showroom but he was well aware that the place was only a front for his well camouflaged criminal connections.

"He needed the money fast," Abby tried to defend her actions. "The realtor had a whole bunch of people waiting to view. She only promised to hold them off for now because her son-in-law is a cop. And the other couple of garages he'd tried had offered him a really, really, low price."

Gibbs scrubbed at his face. This wasn't the time or the place to explain to her that DiNozzo could be on thin ice just for dealing with Sullivan. And it wouldn't matter that he hadn't been in DC long enough to be aware of the guy's reputation. Ignorance was a thin defence when you investigated things for a living. And DiNozzo hadn't been in DC long enough to build up any connections with Metro that might smooth their path.

"Neither of you think he could come to me?" Gibbs asked quietly.

Anything else he might have said died in his throat as the Doctor who had greeted them on their arrival hurried forward.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm afraid the knife wound is as deep as we feared, we have stabilised him for now but we are about to start preparing Agent DiNozzo for emergency surgery to check out the extent of the internal bleeding and try to repair the damage, but we're having trouble contacting his next of kin," Dr Goddard frowned. "The number listed is no longer valid. Would you have any idea how we might reach a Michael Dyer?"

"Detective Michael Dyer was Special Agent's DiNozzo's partner in Baltimore, his family moved out of state after Detective Dyer was killed in the line of duty." Gibbs managed.

"I see," The Doctor looked gravely concerned. "Is there someone else we can contact, a family member, perhaps? I have to be honest with you Special Agent Gibbs, your man is loosing a lot of blood. There are no guarantees that he is going to make it through the surgery. I'd feel much better if we could obtain consent from a relative."

"His father lives in Long Island," Gibbs nodded tightly. "I'll make the call."

"I'd appreciate it." Goddard nodded.

"Can we see him?" Abby asked, her face pale and hopeful. "I mean I don't care if he's unconscious or stuck full of tubes, I just need to tell him that we love him and we need him to come back to us. Because for a really, really, smart guy, Tony can be really dumb about that kind of thing and he might just think it would save everyone a whole lot of bother if he just died. And it wouldn't. It really wouldn't and I need to tell him that."

Goddard looked like he was about to refuse, then he took in the tears in Abby's eyes and the grim set of Gibbs jaw and shook his head as he relented. He hated to admit it but the young Agent's chances were pretty slim. Even unconscious, hearing that these good people cared so much about him might just encourage him to fight. He had seen stranger things and the kid sure as hell needed all the help he could get. Goddard didn't think he could live with himself if he didn't do everything in his power to save him.

"Just for a moment," He agreed. "Just a few words and don't expect anything from him. He's pretty weak."

Goddard led them down the corridor to the room where DiNozzo lay. Gibbs pressed his lips together. The dark hair stood out starkly against the white sheets and the even whiter skin. He knew it was a dammed clique but lying so pale and still DiNozzo looked somehow smaller and more fragile than just a few hours ago.

"Oh Tony," Abby gasped softly, before rushing forward to hover by his bedside, hands fluttering as she struggled not to touch him, in case she dislodged something important. "You have to get well, you hear me? And then Gibbs will make everything alright."

Moving carefully she leant forward and dropped a soft kiss on his cheek before she melted back allowing Gibbs to step up to the bed. As he looked down at the stark features he was reminded of the moment he had pulled him from that car wreck in Baltimore. Leaning down, so he could speak directly into his ear, he murmured softly, letting his warn breathe ghost across the sallow cheek.

"Told you already," Gibbs managed. "You don't get to die until I say you can. You hear me?"

He cursed himself for a fool, when he realised he was holding his breathe, hoping against hope that Tony would give him some sort of sign. He had given the order that would have to do. DiNozzo would be just fine. He would make sure of it.

"Get started on whatever you need to do, Doc," He ordered gruffly. "You'll have your consent by the time he's ready to wheel up to the operating room."

Pulling out his cell, he moved swiftly towards the exit, Abby at his heels, waiting until he had stepped outside before hitting his speed dial.

"Dawn, I need you to locate a number for me."