I do not own NCIS or any of the characters on the show. I really wish I did, because then I could hang out with Gibbs and the Gang on a regular basis. I also want to give another warning. This chapter will contain violence and have allusions to some disturbing things. If you're offended, please don't continue, but if you like it then read on. Here is the next chapter in this journey…
Precious Things
Pain pays the income of each precious thing. -- William Shakespeare
Jeff Davis knew that his time was running out. He had entered the room raging about the lost cell phone and had ultimately found himself squeezing the neck of one of his captives. His rage at the pair was overwhelming and violent as he realized that this whole thing was over. He was never going to see his money, and unless he was very fortunate, he would be back trapped inside that cell. She had fought like a demon, but the repeated beatings had sapped most of her strength. His face felt wet and sticky, but he couldn't remember what… oh, she had clawed at his eyes in an attempt to free herself, and he tasted the salty metallic flavor of his blood as it dripped into his open mouth. She had begun to weaken, her strength slowly leaving her. He stared into the green eyes of the woman lying below him, and watched the light in hers dim as he slowly choked the life out of her body. He was prepared to end her life and grab the other one when the first explosion happened. He heard a distant yell of "FEDERAL AGENTS!" and knew that he had only minutes to make his escape. Quickly he released her throat and raced out of the room as though the hounds of hell were on his heels. He made a rapid decision to leave his associates behind to fend for themselves. It was time that they learned that there was really no honor amongst thieves.
Gibbs moved quickly into the warehouse with Tony nipping at his heels. The old warehouse consisted of a huge front room with multiple offices to the side. His gut was telling him that they needed to check all of the offices, so once they cleared the front room and rendezvoused with their other teammates the four quickly begin clearing the offices. They had already found Davis' four associates and had them in handcuffs.
Tony was slowly and methodically making his way through the building when he found what had to have been used an interrogation room. The chair was stained with blood, and the room appeared to have been rudimentary soundproofed. He got a sick feeling when he realized that the rag lying in the corner was the remains of the blouse that Eve had been wearing the previous day. The delicate white silk was shredded and stained crimson with what he only could assume was blood.
He left that room, now on a mission to find her when a dark blur went racing past him. He recognized Davis and roared, "Oh no you fucking don't!" He holstered his weapon and began to give chase. He passed by Gibbs and followed the old spy out onto the wharf area. He was struggling to pull oxygen into his lungs, and the blood was pounding in his head as he raced after the suspect. Tony made a final sprint and finally caught up to him just as Davis got to the water. Tony made a conscious decision to not let him escape and caught him in a flying tackle that would have made his college football coach proud.
The collision knocked the breath right out of his lungs and pushed both men off the dock and into the murky water below. Tony tightened his grip and held on like a pit bull as Davis struggled to escape. He felt an elbow jar his ribs and almost lost his grip, but he gasped for air then settled back in. He thought that he would have Davis under control and in custody but saw a flash of sliver in the other man's hand.
Tony felt a sudden sharp pain in his right thigh and realized that the bastard had stabbed him. He grabbed for the knife, and he and Davis began to jockey for position over the blade. He felt it slice his arm once more before he was able to get a good grip on Davis' arm. He locked eyes with the former spy and was shocked when the man finally spoke to him.
"Did you find your whore, DiNozzo? The last time I saw her she was pretty much dead." He sneered the insult even as he fought for an advantage against the bigger man. "I know why you keep her around. We enjoyed spending time with her." He gave a leering smile and was amused to watch the reaction that he had provoked.
Tony felt like someone had punched him in the stomach as he listened to the garbage coming from Davis' mouth. He tightened his grip on his captive's hand and slowly pushed the knife down until it was pointed directly at the other man's stomach.
Davis realized his mistake too late when he saw the emotion drain out of Tony's eyes and felt him squeeze until his grip became painful. He suddenly felt liquid fire enter his stomach and he lost his will to do anything accept try and breathe. He went limp and almost went under the water, the blood pouring from his wound turning the murky water almost black. Tony grabbed him and wearily pulled his bleeding body up to the bank where he dropped it like a bag of garbage.
McGee had been looking for Tony, and found him when he heard the splash. He raced to the dock just in time to see Tony drag the other man's body up to the bank. He cuffed the half conscious suspect and called for an ambulance.
Tony left the water and hurriedly limped back towards the warehouse, blood streaming from his various stab wounds. His only thought was to find her.
Gibbs watched Tony race after Davis and began a frantic search for Abby and Eve. He finally heard Abby calling her name and burst through the door in the office furthest from the main room. He raced over and stood over the pair, shock making him momentarily speechless as he took in the scene before him. Abby showed no signs of moving from her side, so he grabbed the forensic tech and pulled her aside and turned to the other woman lying motionless on the floor. She was fighting for air, and her struggle to breathe through the swollen membranes in her throat was making the problem worse. Gibbs knew if he didn't calm her down so she could get some air in she'd suffocate before they could get her to a hospital.
Mindful of her myriad injuries, He propped her up against his chest and began speaking to her in a soothing, calm voice, urging her to breathe slowly and just take in air. He gently brushed her hair back from her face and continued to murmur to her. She finally settled enough to quit fighting and had managed one deep breath just as Tony limped into the room.
He dropped to his knees beside her and his normally tan complexion immediately went pale once he saw the damage to her throat.
"Jesus Christ! What the hell did he do to you?"
Gibbs immediately turned to Tony and barked, "Sit rep!" As he waited to Tony to report he continued coaxing Eve to keep breathing slow and steady.
Tony inhaled deeply and centered himself before beginning. "McGee called for an ambulance and called Fornell and his boys to pick up the others." He saw Gibbs' unspoken question and said, "Ziva's watching them until reinforcements arrive."
Gibbs noticed for the first time that Tony was soaking wet and bleeding. "You need a band aid? Where's Davis?"
Tony kept his gaze locked with Eve's as he reached out to gently stroke her face. "Dead I hope. He came at me with a knife, and ended up getting stabbed by it."
"Good." Gibbs nodded his head, satisfied.
Abby had been silent since Gibbs arrival. The shock began to hit her, and she began to shake and finally started to cry softly.
Tony jerked his head in her direction and immediately pulled her into his embrace. "Aww, Abbs, please don't cry. It's gonna be alright; I promise."
Her shoulders were heaving from her sobbing, and tears were running down her cheeks in small rivers. "Tony, she saved me from them. I don't know what they did to her, but it was bad."
Abby ultimately threw her arms around his neck and he squeezed her tight, offering her as much comfort as he could while they waited for the paramedics to arrive.
The ride to the hospital was a blur for Tony. He had sat beside her in the bus and held her hand as they flew through the streets towards Bethesda. He asked the driver to make sure that Dr. Pitt would be in the Emergency Room when they arrived. He was exhausted, and his various wounds were throbbing in response to his exertions.
Once they arrived at the hospital, he was quickly separated from Eve when Brad whisked him into a curtained area for a thorough check up. He submitted to the examination, in an effort to return to her side as soon as possible. He was patient during the cleaning and suturing of his wounds and the chest x-rays that the doctor's insisted on.
He and Brad were discussing whether or not he needed antibiotics when another doctor pushed into the small curtained area. "I need to speak to Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."
Tony looked up and gave a weary smile. "That's me, what's up?"
"Evangeline Dupree has you listed as her next of kin on her records. We need to discuss her diagnosis and treatment."
Tony nodded his head and said in a serious tone, "Shoot."
"Agent DiNozzo, it's not good. Someone beat that woman to within an inch or her life. She's very lucky to be alive. She was manually strangled on several different occasions if her bruises are to be believed. She's lucky her hyoid bone wasn't fractured in this last episode. She does have a fractured cheekbone, four fractured ribs and her kidneys are bruised. We're watching for internal bleeding. Her spleen is a concern; we may have to remove it. Her sternum is bruised, her torso has several knife wounds, one pretty severe, and…"
Tony's face drained of color as he listened to the doctor list her injuries. "What."
"We think she may have been sexually assaulted. She won't tell us and she refuses to let us do a kit. Would you come and speak to her and convince her it's in her best interests?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to control the emotions that were rising up inside his chest. He had hoped that Davis' taunts had been the words of a desperate man; they appeared to have been more. He clinched his fists and hoped that he had managed to kill Davis with that knife. He took a deep breath knowing that irrational anger wasn't going to help her at all. "I'll try. I don't know if she'll do it. She knows her own mind and won't be pushed."
The doctor looked relieved. He still hadn't finished the list of injuries, but he thought that the last revelation could wait since it would add just insult to injury. "That's all we ask. Please just try."
Tony followed the doctor to Eve's cubicle. He stood outside out of sight and peered in at her. She was lying on the bed with the sheet pulled up to her chest. She had a nasal cannula to ensure that she was getting enough air, and was attached to several other monitors that were keeping track of her oxygen stats and her heart rate. Her eyes were dry and hollow as she stared at the ceiling. Ducky was sitting by her side, and he could hear the gentle Scotsman speaking in a soothing voice.
"What did they do to you, my dear? I know it was bad, I can see it in your eyes. Can you tell me anything?"
She refused to meet his eyes and finally tried to whisper, "What…did…test…?"
"It was positive." He watched her closely, and saw no real reaction. "Did you tell Tony?"
Eve finally looked at Ducky, her gaze empty as she whispered, "No…need...only…hurt…him."
The gentle Scotsman finally understood what she was saying. "I'm so sorry, Eve."
Tony felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Were they talking about…? He finally decided to slide into the cubicle.
Tony pulled the curtain back and entered the cubicle. Her eyes immediately brightened when he sat on the stool that Ducky quickly vacated. "Hey, you." He gently grazed her uninjured cheek with his knuckles and then leaned over to gently caress her brow with his lips. "I love you."
Eve grasped his hand and held it to her lips. "I…love…too."
"Eve, the doctors don't want you using your voice; please refrain." Ducky stood at the foot of the bed and watched the pair reunite. His heart was heavy for the ordeal that they were still to endure.
Tony laced their fingers together and leaned over, speaking softly to her. "Evie, the doctors want to do a rape kit. Will you let them do the exam?"
She averted her gaze from his and inhaled sharply. She finally whispered, "Tony…I'm…"
He interrupted her, his tone fierce as he protested, "Don't you even think about apologizing to me. What ever happened in that room was NOT your fault. Please just let the doctor do the exam." He paused and then pulled out the big gun, "…for me."
She narrowed her eyes and rubbed her face with her free hand before she would look at him again. Leave it to Tony to manipulate her that way. She knew what had and hadn't happened in that room. There was no need for him to know any of it. She wanted to refuse his request; after all, this was something she had been trained to deal with, she had just never imagined that it would happen to her when she was stateside. Eve knew Tony was waiting for an answer, but so far she had none for him. She turned her head to look at him, his green eyes were filled with concern and she cursed the doctors for going to him with this. There was no way in hell any doctor here was going to examine her. She noticed for the first time that he was wearing clothes that were damp and bloodstained. She became immediately concerned.
"What…happened…to…you." Her throat felt like a million wasps were stinging her every time she tried to speak.
"I took a swim with Davis, stabbed him too."
Her eyes became fierce when she asked, "Dead?"
"I don't know. I hope so."
"Good." She shifted slightly and moaned as her injuries reasserted themselves.
A nurse walked in the cubicle with a several syringes and shooed Tony right back out of the space while she worked. "Out. I need to check my patient. You can come back in once I'm done."
Tony tried to argue, but decided it would be better to let the nurse work alone. He paced in the hallway silently, stopping only when Gibbs caught up to him.
Gibbs saw Tony pacing from all the way down the hall. His Senior Field Agent was agitated if his pacing was any indication. He walked over and handed him a bag before sitting down on a vacant chair.
Tony looked at the bag. "What's this?"
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Dry clothes. I thought you might want to shower and change. I expect Brad will let you use the facilities here."
"Thanks, Boss." Tony continued to pace, emotions continuing to dance over his face. "Do you know what they did to her?"
Gibbs heard the anguish in his voice. "I can guess." He took a sip out of his ever present coffee cup and sighed.
Ducky joined both men and was quickly accosted by DiNozzo. "Ducky I want a straight answer. "What test did you do for Eve?"
The ME put a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder and gave a heartfelt sigh. "Ahh, Tony…I don't know if I should be the one to tell you…" He paused and finally seemed to come to some decision before continuing. "She came to me yesterday morning with nausea and headache. We did several tests, including a pregnancy test just to rule it out."
Tony stared at Ducky from where he had begun to lean against the wall. "What was the result?" His voice had left him, and it was all he could do to whisper his question. He was terrified of what the answer was going to be.
"The test was positive; however she suffered a miscarriage as a result of the beating she endured. I'm so sorry, Tony…So, so sorry."
Tony felt his legs give out from under him, and he slid to the floor. He cradled his head in his hands and wished he could scream in frustration. "If that bastard isn't dead…I'm gonna kill him. I swear to God. I'm gonna kill him."
The nurse hovered around checking all of her readings and making notes on her clipboard. "The doctor is working on getting you admitted. He has ordered several medications for you, including some Demerol for pain relief and Valium for anxiety. He wants you to rest." She continued to adjust the blankets and chatter as she circled her patient. "That man of yours is so handsome. If you ever decide to throw him over, half the nurses here will be waiting in line to snag him."
Eve gave her first smile since she was brought to the ER and whispered, "Mine."
The nurse smiled. "I don't blame you honey. I really don't..."
Eve lost track of the conversation as she watched the woman flit around her small room like a hummingbird on speed. She felt a flush of amusement at the comparison. She lay perfectly still as the nurse injected both medications and slowly felt the drugs begin to pull her under. She finally closed her emerald green eyes and gave in to the comforting pull of unconsciousness.
