I don't own NCIS or any of the characters on the show. I do own the ones that I've created. Lot56, I appreciate what you said about Gibbs' interaction with Eve. I wondered how Gibbs would react to someone who was permanently a part of Tony's life, and I decided that he might be a wee bit jealous. He likes the hero-worship even if he won't admit it. I can't believe I blew everyone up in the first chapter. Hmmm, I should probably pace myself… Not! Here is the next chapter in our journey. Enjoy and let me hear from you.
Eight Times
Fall seven times, stand up eight. -- Japanese Proverb
Gibbs ran towards the explosion straight into the acrid smoke and flame that still burned the remains of the van. He turned desperate eyes in all directions, urgently searching for Tony. Within five minutes of the explosion emergency services had swarmed the scene, and quickly rushed past him as they began their search for victims.
Gibbs was stubborn, so when the firefighters and EMTs were through trying to push him back from the explosion, he continued into the smoke in an attempt to find Tony and Eve. He found Tony first. He was laying still, his eyes closed and blood coming from both nostrils and each ear. Gibbs yelled for the rescue workers to hurry over, dropping to his knees beside him. He put gentle fingers on his throat and sucked in a relieved breath when he felt the pulse, steady and strong. The EMTs pushed him aside and quickly and efficiently began to assess Tony's injuries and prepare him for transport.
Gibbs quickly placed a hand on the EMT's arm and insisted, "Transport him to Bethesda."
The man gave him a nod in acknowledgment and with some assistance got Tony on a backboard and immobilized his neck. They quickly had him out of the area and on the way to the hospital.
Gibbs resisted the urge to follow and, knowing that Tony would never forgive him if he didn't, kept looking for Eve. A couple of minutes later he found her, laying face down on the pavement under a large piece of debris. He pulled the metal off of her and found himself relieved when she slowly turned her head to meet his eyes. Her face was covered in blood which was still oozing from a scalp laceration.
She took a deep breath, "Where's Tony…Is he…" She stopped, unable to continue and waited for Gibbs to answer her unspoken question.
"He's alive, unconscious and on his way to Bethesda. I don't know any more than that."
She began to struggle to get up. "Help me up; we need to get to the hospital."
Gibbs placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and tried to keep her from moving. "You need to wait for the EMTs to check you out."
Eve practically snarled, "Help me up goddamn it! We need to get to the hospital. This was not a random act!"
Another pair of EMTs finally made their way over and interrupted the exchange. The young woman and her male partner helped Eve up and over to their vehicle sitting just away from the site of the explosion. They immediately began to assess her, shining a light in her eyes to check her pupils and cleaning up the worst of the blood.
Eve finally tired of their ministrations and snapped, "If you don't get that fucking light out of my eyes I'm going to make you eat it!"
Gibbs smothered a laugh at the shocked expression that crossed the young man's face at her blunt language. He quickly backed off. "Ma'am, you need to go to the hospital. You could have a concussion. At the bare minimum you've got some broken ribs, contusions, burns, and…" His voice trailed off when he realized he wasn't making any headway.
Gibbs watched Eve as she stiffened. He knew the signs because he had seen it in combat many times. She had slipped into survival mode, and was not going to listen to anything these people might say. He finally stepped in before someone got hurt. "I'll take her; her partner was just transported to Bethesda. Call ahead and let them know that NCIS is transporting one."
The pair looked relieved as the tall silver haired man led the woman away. They glanced at each other and shrugged as if to say, "It takes all kinds…"
Gibbs left Ziva and McGee behind to begin to process the scene along with the FBI and other NCIS teams that swarmed to the site. He was leading Eve to his car when he passed Ducky and Palmer making their way to assist with the fatalities.
"Jethro, where's Tony?" He stopped abruptly. "Oh my dear, have you been seen by the EMTs?"
"We're heading over to the hospital to check on Tony, Duck. As soon as I know something I'll call." Gibbs placed a hand on the small of Eve's back, noticing when she flinched in pain and gently pushed her towards the car.
The trip to the hospital took half the time it normally would. Gibbs drove with even less regard for the law than he did on a normal day. Eve took no notice of his driving, laying her head back against the seat cushion. A headache had started at the back of her head, and she was fighting to control the nausea that threatened to rise. She had one thought in mind, and that was to collect Tony and get the hell out of town before Davis could come after them again. She had to make sure that he could travel. She also had to contact Jean-Paul and make sure they headed to the safe-house.
Once they arrived at the hospital she wasted no time in entering the doors to the emergency room. She was immediately grabbed by an intern who whisked her into a cubicle and began to assess her. Gibbs accosted the first doctor he saw and was astonished when it was Dr. Pitt.
"Brad! Have you seen Tony?"
The tall doctor nodded his head and motioned to a nearby exam room. "He's got a severe concussion. He's been in and out since he arrived here. The only thing he wants to know is where Eve is. I'd really like to find her to see if that will calm him down. I also need to find Eve Dupree. Is this person one and the same? She's listed on his paperwork as his next of kin."
Gibbs stopped in his tracks, shocked and a little hurt by that announcement. "She's what?"
"Listed as his next of kin. I need to speak to her."
"One of your interns took her into that room." Gibbs pointed to a small cubicle with the curtains drawn and watched at Dr. Pitt entered the room. He walked into Tony's cubicle and sat on the stool by the bed. He looked at his Senior Field Agent who was oblivious to his scrutiny. "Ah, DiNozzo…you've really gotten in deep with her. I guess I'm going to have to learn to deal with it. Obviously she's not going anywhere." He placed a gentle hand on Tony's arm and thought about all of the years they had worked together. He had been Tony's next of kin from almost his first day at NICS. It was hard to admit, but he didn't like the feeling of being usurped even though he knew that it was the most natural thing in the world.
The curtains were pulled back, and Gibbs stepped away from the bed as Dr. Pitt helped Eve into the small room. She immediately sat down by the bed and entwined her fingers with Tony's. She leaned forward and began to whisper to him. Gibbs could only make out snatches of what she said, but could tell that she was asking him to wake up for her.
Tony could hear her soft voice by his ear, and he began to struggle against the darkness. His eyes fluttered and finally opened. He squeezed her hand and lay there, trying hard to keep his head still so the nausea would stay away. "Evie, are you okay?" His voice was barely a whisper and she had to lean forward to catch what he said.
"I'm fine. I was lucky, I have a couple of broken ribs and some second degree burns on my back. I got some sutures in my scalp. I'm worried about you. You have a bad concussion, but we're lucky that you're not bleeding into your brain. You took a bad knock to that hard head of yours."
Brad and Gibbs stood in the background watching the two as they discussed their various injuries. The doctor turned to the former marine and motioned him into the hallway. "I seem to remember her from last year when Tony was in here with the gunshot wound to the chest."
Gibbs nodded and was distracted by the appearance of a tall distinguished man dressed in a beautifully cut three piece Italian suit. He was followed by a four man security team, and wasted no time going up to the reception desk to ask for the condition of Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Gibbs studied the man for a minute. He could clearly see the resemblance between the two men with the only difference being that Tony's eyes were green and not the dark brown possessed by this man.
The nurse pointed in their direction and the entourage made their way over. Mr. DiNozzo held out his hand to Dr. Pitt and gave him a firm handshake. He repeated that same action with Gibbs, all the while introducing himself to both men. Gibbs was at a loss for what to say, and was saved from making small talk by Eve.
Mr. DiNozzo walked over to her and drew her into a brief embrace. He looked at her injuries and gave her a small smile then asked, "Where is my son?"
She nodded towards the cubicle and gave the bigger man a gentle push. "Don't excite him. He's got a hell of a headache." She watched as Mr. DiNozzo was reunited with his son then turned her attention to the security detail. She narrowed her eyes and got right into the center of the group, confronting all four men. She was easily a half a foot shorter than the smallest of them, but wasn't intimidated as she began to argue with them in a mixture of Spanish, Creole and French.
"What the fuck were you thinking to bring him here? Tony and I both have targets on our backs and you just put one on his as well."
Jean-Paul was unapologetic. "He insisted on seeing his son. We can protect him."
She paused and counted to ten before replying. "I want you to take him to the safe-house on Key West. Get the plane ready, I'll meet you at the airport as soon as I can sneak Tony out of here. We need a safe place to regroup and heal, and no one, not even John, knows about the Key West property."
"Got it. We'll meet you there."
"Jean-Paul, if you even suspect a threat, then you shoot first and ask questions later. Davis is a serious player and I want him on my turf playing by my rules."
The big man nodded in agreement and they hustled their charge out of the hospital as soon as he left his son's cubicle.
Gibbs grabbed her arm in a not so gentle grip. "What the hell is going on here and don't tell me nothing or that you've got it all under control, because my agent is lying on a hospital bed and could have been killed."
Eve gave the former marine a look that clearly showed her frustration. "First of all, Jethro, don't shout at me. I was there and know exactly how this could have gone down. Now you want to know what's going on? What the hell do you think is going on? Davis escapes and suddenly a van explodes right as Tony and I are passing it. You'd have to be stupid not to make the connection, and you're not stupid. Now, let go of my arm, it hurts from being thrown to the pavement, and I don't want to make it worse by having to put you down."
Gibbs let go of her abruptly, for the first time noticing that he had been squeezing. His fingers left red marks on her skin. "I didn't realize I was holding on to you that tight."
She nodded, "Apology accepted. Now I'm going back in to sit with Tony. Why don't you go and get a cup of coffee. Hopefully they'll either release him or give him a more comfortable place to rest."
Gibbs decided that he really could use some caffeine and turned to head to a nearby coffee shop. He stopped long enough to ask, "You want anything?"
"No, thanks. I'm wired from all of the adrenaline; the last thing I need is caffeine. See you in a bit." She went back into the curtained room leaving him alone in the hallway with Brad.
The doctor turned to Gibbs and flashed a rueful smile. "I think I understand what Tony sees in her. She's got some kind of spirit."
Gibbs turned to walk away mumbling under his breath, "You have no idea."
Once Eve was sure she was alone with no doctors or nurses around she went into action. She found her bag and was relieved to find her encrypted phone. She made three phone calls then left the cubicle to scavenge some scrubs for Tony to wear. As soon as she had found them she went back to the small space and woke him up.
"Get up, Tony. We've got to get out of this hospital and to a safe place." He opened his eyes and slowly sat up.
"Jesus, my head hurts and I really feel like I need to puke."
"Puke later. We've got to leave." She helped him dress and with him leaning heavily on her small frame they left the hospital unobserved.
The cab that she had called was waiting and she directed the driver to a bank in Georgetown. Twenty minutes later she entered the bank. Tony sat with his head reclined against the seat cushions, dozing slightly as he waited. She returned from the bank with a bag in hand and then directed the driver to Dulles Airport.
Gibbs walked back down the hall feeling slightly better after half a cup of coffee. He had contacted the rest of the team to inform them that DiNozzo and Dupree would be okay, and that he would call if the hospital decided to keep one or both of them. He entered the small cubicle expecting to see Tony sleeping and Eve sitting by his side and was mystified to find the room completely empty.
He grabbed Brad from the hallway and asked in a demanding tone, "Where the hell is DiNozzo?"
The doctor looked confused and responded, "He's in his room, isn't he?"
Gibbs exploded. "Hell no he's not." He was furious. That damned little bitch had tricked him into leaving so she could abscond with Tony. Where the hell would she hide, that was the million dollar question. He knew that he would need help, so Gibbs snatched his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed. "Ziva, DiNozzo and Dupree have gone missing. We need to start looking. Go check his apartment and send McGee to her parents."
"Of course. We will take care of it."
He closed the phone without saying goodbye and left the hospital without another word.
With the assistance of Jean-Paul and his crew, Eve was able to get Tony up the stairs and onto the small gulfstream. She got him settled on a couch with his head in her lap and waited for the jet to taxi down the runway towards take-off.
Eve sighed and carefully ran her fingers through Tony's hair as she pondered their situation. Gibbs was going to kill her, but at this point she didn't really care. She wanted Tony somewhere safe so he could recover, and somewhere she would see Davis coming if he figured out where they were. Weighing those needs against Gibbs' anger had left her with no other choice to make. Tony's safety came first, and she would deal with the fallout when and if it came. She closed her eyes, swallowing hard against her own pain and tried to doze as the plane took to the sky towards Miami and safety.
