"Tony, you need to stay back. I can't have you going in with your injury."

"Boss, I-"

"No, DiNozzo. As soon as we clear the building and find McGee, you can come in. We can't take the chance your injury will get in the way."

Tony glared at the building in frustration as he paced in from of the ambulance they had hiding down the street. He needed to find McGee; he was his partner! But if his injury hampered the search, he would never forgive himself. He watched Gibbs lead a group of agents move down the street, toward the building. They were going into the building blind, not sure how many guards there might be. Vance had promised to keep John Stanfield preoccupied at NCIS while this search went on. They were trying to keep this as close to the vest as possible, so they had not arrested Stanfield yet, had not done anything to raise his suspicions. The last thing they needed was John tipping off his uncle in some way. He saw Gibbs hold back the agents and move along the building by himself. He stepped out of sight and Tony squinted, waiting for Gibbs to reappear again. When he did, he was dragging someone he had handcuffed. There went the lookout, Tony thought. Gibbs sent one of the agents back with the guard and Tony watched as the rest of the team entered the building, silent. He clenched his fists in impatience, waiting for something to come over his earpiece. Hang on, Probie. We're on our way.

It was imperative that they enter the building silently and apprehend all of the gunmen without raising a warning. They did not want the precarious position they knew McGee was in to become an even more dangerous hostage position. Gibbs scanned the interior of the building, pointing out one guard that stood by an older man. Dylan Stanfield. Three agents moved to apprehend them, keeping to the shadows. The guard moved for his gun when he saw the agents, freezing when he saw he was outnumbered. Gibbs continued through the warehouse, Ziva right behind him. They paused before a door, the unmistakable sounds of a television sitcom coming from inside the room. He rushed the room, followed by Ziva and two other agents. There were two more guards in the room, one of them letting out a shout of surprise as the agents rushed in.

Still no sign of McGee.

His gut was warning him time was running out when a scream split the silence. Immediately, they were moving toward the noise, unwilling to dwell on the fact that they knew who it was that was creating such a gut-wrenching sound. They paused before a door, eyes meeting for a brief second before they rushed the room, just as another scream split the air, raising the hair on the back of their necks. Gibbs gaze swept across the room, and he fired off a shot in the next instant, destroying the device that was causing his agent so much agony. Gibbs ignored the man glaring at him, choosing to let the agents that followed them into the room to handcuff him. He and Ziva were too busy rushing to McGee's side, shock twisting their expressions.

The young agent's screams had faded, but he had yet to open his eyes. Gibbs and Ziva were talking to him, trying to encourage him to open his eyes, but Gibbs seriously doubted that McGee even knew they were there. His gaze swept across Tim, his gaze narrowing at each injury he saw, before reaching out a hand to his face. Tim flinched, and he pulled away immediately, setting his hand on McGee's shoulder instead.

"McGee? Son, can you hear me?"

It took a few moments for Tim to answer, but when he did, Gibbs let out the smallest sigh.

"Gibbs?"

The voice was weak, hoarse, but it was one of the best sounds that Gibbs had heard in a long while. "Yeah, Tim. It's me. Can you open your eyes?"

He watched the eyes slowly blink open, green eyes unfocused as they slid across the room before landing on him.

"Wh-why are you here?"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at the strange question. "Well, Tim, we thought you probably wanted to come home."

McGee shook his head, "No, that's not…not what I meant. I…It's all my fault. I'm so sorry. I should have told you…"

"Hey! Hey, it's okay," Gibbs kept his voice low, soothing and calm. "Don't worry about it right now. You were following orders…You don't have to apologize. I do. I never should have let them take you without a fight." His eyes tightened at the corners as he swept his gaze across McGee again, taking in the bruises, the knife wounds, and the way his whole body trembled. He wasn't sure he would ever be able to forget the haunted look in Tim's eyes.

"But Tony…I'm so sorry."

Gibbs was surprised at the tears he saw filling McGee's eyes, but he assumed it was just from the stress and exhaustion. "It's okay, Tim. Tony doesn't blame you for what happened."

He could hear Tony leading the paramedics into the building, could hear him over the earpiece, urging them to move faster. McGee's blinks got even slower, his eyes closing for longer periods of time. "You…you can't know that; it's my fault, all of it. If-if I had just told you, then Tony wouldn't have…wouldn't have died."

Gibbs caught the slumping figure, stunned by the young man's last comment. Speechless, he turned to look at the doorway, his gaze falling on Tony's stunned expression.

AN: This story has gotten a lot longer than I thought it would be. Hopefully you guys aren't getting tired of it yet!