Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, or the characters, and probably never will.

AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.

Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and every one, please keep them coming. And as a reward for all the reviews, here's a super fast update!

Enjoy!

Time seems to go past in a blur for Ducky and Jimmy as they watch the rescue workers frantically trying to save their friends. Tim is rushed past them towards a waiting ambulance, on a gurney, intubated and connected to an impossible number of machines and pieces of medical equipment, but neither of them can bring themselves to go with him.

It isn't until they hear the screech of tires and the voice of an extremely irate, extremely concerned retired marine, that they are snapped back into reality. Ducky wearily pulls himself to his feet and makes his way to Gibbs as quickly as possible, while Gibbs is trying to get past several determined metro cops who are trying to keep bystanders away. "You have to stay back, mister. Just stay back."

"Jethro!" Ducky calls out to his dear friend, worried that otherwise Gibbs will soon resort to violence to get to his team. And above all else, he doesn't want Jethro to see the wreckage, to see his team bloodied and broken, quite possibly losing the fight to survive.

Gibbs stops struggling against and verbally abusing the police officers, and he turns towards Ducky, who by this point is only a couple of metres away. "What happened?! Where are Tony, Ziva, and McGee? Are they alright?! That's their van!"

Ducky pauses, taking a breath to steel himself against the emotions that threaten to overwhelm him, before he tells Gibbs. "Ziva ran the red light; they collided with a truck." He hesitates, trying to force back to mental image of that moment, one that he is sure will haunt him for the rest of his life. "We were a few cars back, stopped at the lights. Timothy has been taken to the hospital, we wasn't wearing a seatbelt from the look of things, and he went through the windshield. Anthony and Ziva are still trapped; I don't know their exact conditions, but I am aware that Anthony was still conscious, but he has a suspected spinal injury, and countless other injuries that they simply can't assess, and Ziva is quite severely pinned in the wreckage, they are working to extricate both of them so they can move them to the hospital."

Gibbs once again, not surprisingly makes a move towards the wreckage, but Ducky grabs hold of him, gently, but firmly saying. "Trust me, Jethro, you don't want to see it."

It takes nearly two more hours to extricate Tony and Ziva from the wreck, and as soon as they are free, they are rushed to waiting ambulances, which take off at top speed as soon as the doors are shut.

As soon as he sees this happening, Gibbs makes a dash for his car, only pausing long enough for Ducky to climb in before speeding after the ambulances; Palmer had driven the morgue van back to NCIS some time earlier.

Several tense hours later, as Gibbs and Ducky are waiting in the emergency department waiting area; all seats within ten metres of them are vacant, having been abandoned in favor of standing after Gibbs flew into a rage at a nurse when she couldn't give him any new information. When Gibbs phone rings, he strongly considers ignoring it, but then answers. "Yeah. What is it?"

As soon as he hears the voice on the other end Gibbs wished he hadn't. "Why was I just informed that an NCIS van was involved in a fatal pile up today, one that I know your team uses, by a metro police officer instead of you?! What's going on, Jethro?!"

Gibbs is silent for a moment before he explodes. "I'm waiting to find out if my team is alive! Sorry calling you wasn't at the top of my priorities!"

After a few seconds, Vance, more subdued asks. "Have you heard anything?"

"No." Gibbs sighs, his temper fading as fear for his team's wellbeing takes over. "They're critical, that's all the staff here will tell us."

"Is there anything I can do?" Vance asks, for once not sounding like the heartless bastard he is known to be.

There is one thing Gibbs has been holding off on, but he knows it must be done and he can't leave and he doesn't want to do it over the phone. "Can you speak to Abby? She doesn't know, she'd want to be here."

"No problem. Call me as soon as you know anything."

"Will do." Gibbs agrees, too tired to do anything else before he ends the call.

As soon as Vance has hung up his phone, he stands up and quickly makes his way down to Abby's lab. As he goes into the dimly lit room, Vance is greeted by the overly cheerful goth. "Director. What brings you down here today?"

"You'd better sit down, Abby." Vance urges her.

Abby visibly starts to shake as she sits down on the stool, she has heard that tone all too often. "What's happened?"

Vance places a steadying hand on her shoulder before he sadly informs her. "David, DiNozzo, and McGee were involved in a traffic accident earlier. I don't have details, but they have been taken to Bethesda Hospital in critical condition."

Before Vance has time to react, Abby slips out from under his hold and dashes towards the stairs at top speed.

About twenty minutes later, Abby comes running through the emergency department doors. Gibbs quickly goes to intercept her before she can scar the nurses, which at this moment she surely would. "Abby. Abs, breathe." Gibbs says as he guides her over to where Ducky is seated.

As they sit down, Gibbs just puts his arm around Abby, and he holds her close to him as they continue to wait in silence for news.

It is another three anxious hours before a doctor wearing blood covered scrubs walks wearily into operating rooms waiting area, which the small group had moved to not long before. There is no one else in the room, so the doctor walks straight over to them. "Are you here for Timothy McGee?"

"Yes, how is he?" Gibbs questions the man before him quickly as Abby buries herself further into his chest at the sight of the blood covering the man, Tim's blood.

The doctor sits down in front of them before he regretfully says. "Tim sustained severe injuries to his head and chest in the accident ...We did everything we could. I'm sorry."

"NOOO!!!" Abby screams as she jumps from her seat. "Tim! NO!!! TIMMY!!!"

Pushing aside the pain and grief that threatens to engulf him, Gibbs stands up and goes to Abby, wrapping his arms around her firmly, holding her until her screams fade away and heartbroken sobs replace them as she collapses, and it is only his hold that stops her from hitting the floor.

Gibbs gently guides Abby back over to their seats, and holds her comfortingly, while Gibbs and Ducky just sit in silence, mourning the loss of their friend.

After a minute, with eyes brimming with unshed tears, Gibbs looks at the doctor and asks quietly him. "What about the others? Do you know if they're alright?"

The doctor shakes his head, replying. "I haven't heard anything. Someone will come speak to you as soon as possible."

And so as the doctor leaves, Gibbs, Abby, and Ducky resume their wait, praying that they aren't going to lose any more friends today.

TBC...

Sorry to everyone who asked me not to kill anyone, the reason will be revealed in time.

Thanks for reading! Please review!

And if you've got any ideas of suggestions for this fic, feel free to put them in a review or PM.