As soon as Thorn shut the door, Gibbs turned to Tony and asked,
"You okay?"
"Oh just dandy. My knee gets stabbed all the time."
"Don't be a smart ass DiNozzo." Gibbs said. He moved his fingers under his belt where he kept his knife. Tony saw Gibbs take the knife out of his belt.
"I'm assuming you have a plan?" Tony asked.
"Yup." Gibbs said as he tried to cut his hands free. It only took him a few seconds before he cut his hands free from the rope. He grabbed Tony's arm and adjusted him so Tony's back was facing him.
"You wanna share?" Tony asked while Gibbs cut the rope off his hands.
"We're gonna tell him what happened."
"Why?" Tony asked as Gibbs finally cut his hands free. Gibbs stared at him until Tony said,
"Okay we'll tell him what happened."
"Keep your hands behind your back." Gibbs whispered as he put his knife back in his belt. Thorn slammed the door open. He walked over and knelt down next to Tony and placed the gun and knife back on his knee. Thorn looked at Gibbs and asked,
"Who are you?"
"I'm Special Agent Gibbs and this is my partner, Special Agent DiNozzo."
"What agency?"
"NCIS" Tony said. Thorn stabbed Tony's knee even harder this time.
"If I were you I'd let Agent Gibbs answer the questions."
"I'd vouch for that." Tony said with pain in his voice.
"Whose murder are you investigating?"
"Corporal Bradley Kennard."
"Kennard huh? You're not going anywhere so I guess I'll just say it. I killed him."
"Why?" Gibbs asked.
"I was engaged to his wife Chelsea. Five months into our engagement she broke it off. She told me she met someone who she thought was her soul mate. Chelsea came to me a month ago and said she was having problems with Brad. She got me some drugs and syringes from work so I could kill him."
"She helped you?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes she did."
"Were you planning on marrying her again?" Tony asked.
"That's none of your damn business." Thorn said. Gibbs pulled his knife out of his belt when he saw Thorn put his finger on the trigger. Before Thorn was able to do anything, Gibbs threw his knife at Thorn. The knife hit him directly in the chest which caused him to fall. Gibbs reached over and felt Thorn's neck trying to find a pulse. When he couldn't find a pulse, he turned his attention over to Tony who was bleeding heavily from his knees. Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder and asked nervously,
"You okay?"
"No not really." Tony said with pain in his voice.
"Stay here."
"Where else would I go?" Tony asked as Gibbs ran out of the room. When Gibbs opened the door he realized that they weren't at Thorn's house anymore. They were now in a small cabin. Gibbs looked around and quickly found the kitchen. He ran into the kitchen and searched for something that could help him take care of Tony's wounds. He found a dish towel and grabbed a few other things then ran back to the room. Gibbs knelt down to Tony and cut the part of his pants off that was covering his knee with scissors he got from the kitchen. He cleaned most of the blood off of Tony's knees then put large band aids on them before any more blood could escape. Gibbs also wrapped an ace bandage on each of Tony's knees so he could walk.
"Thanks boss." Tony said with relief. Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder and asked,
"Can you walk?"
"Let's see." Tony tried to get up but his knees were too weak so he fell back down. Gibbs grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him up then helped him out of the room. Gibbs lowered Tony down on to a couch that was in the living room of the house they were in. Then he searched the house for a phone so he could get a hold of Ducky, Ziva, Abby, or McGee. Gibbs was looking through a kitchen drawer when he heard Tony yell,
"Gibbs, get in here!" Gibbs shut the drawer and ran into the living room where he saw Tony lying face down on the floor, rubbing his head. Standing next to Tony was a tall man with brown hair, brown eyes, and a mustache holding a gun.
"What the hell are you people doing in my house?" He asked. Gibbs put his hands up and said,
"We were abducted and taken here."
"Abducted by whom?" He asked. Gibbs nodded his head towards the room and said,
"The guy in there."
"Stay here." The guy said. When the guy walked into the hallway Gibbs bent over to Tony and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Tony, are you okay?"
"I've been better." Tony said as he grabbed Gibbs' hand. Gibbs pulled Tony up to his feet but Tony's knees weren't stable so he fell on the couch. Gibbs was getting worried about Tony's condition. Not only was Tony injured, but Gibbs noticed he was also looking pale and getting weak. Gibbs looked at Tony then at the hallway and said,
"Let's go." Tony didn't argue he just let Gibbs help him up and get to the door. Gibbs opened the door but turned around when he heard the man yell,
"Freeze! You killed him! You killed my brother and I wanna know why." He demanded. Gibbs lowered Tony down against the door and knelt down next to him.
"He was hurting my partner and almost killed him." Gibbs said sternly. Tony looked at Gibbs and thought to himself, 'He really cares a lot about me.' The guy pointed his gun at Gibbs' head and looked Gibbs in the eye and said,
"Well now I get to kill you." He put his finger on the trigger, but was stopped when all of a sudden a gunshot was fired at him. The bullet hit his neck and he fell to the floor on his back. Gibbs turned around to see who had fired their weapon and saw Ziva and McGee standing in front of the house with their weapons drawn. Both of them put their guns away and ran to Tony and Gibbs.
"Are you both alright?" Ziva asked.
"I'm fine, but Tony needs Ducky. Is he here?" Gibbs asked. Ziva opened her mouth to speak, but Ducky came around the corner of the van before she could say anything.
"Yes Jethro, I am here." Ducky said. Ducky walked up the small set of stairs and sat down in front of Tony.
"What happened Tony?" He asked. Gibbs smiled when he knew that Tony was in good hands and would be okay. He walked over to Ziva and McGee so he could learn how they found him and Tony.
"How'd you guys find us?"
"Abby and I tracked your cell phones."
"Thorn abducted us and took them."
"He probably had them in his pocket."
"Probably?"
"I'll go check. Where is Thorn boss?"
"In the guest bedroom."
"Perfect we can question him."
"The only one who's gonna get answers from him is Ducky."
"Why is that Gibbs?"
"He's dead. He was about to shoot Tony in the knee so I killed him with my knife."
"Where did you get a knife?"
"My belt."
"Rule number nine Ziva, never go anywhere without a knife." McGee said as he walked towards the house. Gibbs watched Ziva follow McGee into the house. He looked over at Ducky who was helping Tony get up and walked over to help. He grabbed Tony's other arm and pulled him up as Ducky said,
"Well Anthony thanks to Jethro's quick action to your wounds, you should be able to walk on your own in about a week." Tony looked at Gibbs and said,
"Thanks Gibbs." Gibbs patted Tony's back and said,
"Anytime kid." Tony smiled as Ducky and Gibbs helped him into the shotgun seat of the blue sedan. Once Tony was settled, Gibbs walked over to the driver's side. He got in the car and closed the door, but rolled down the window when Ducky walked up to his side of the car.
"I assume you will be taking care of Anthony in his time of need." Ducky said. Gibbs nodded his head and said,
"Yeah he can stay at my place."
"You know how stubborn he can be so please make sure he gets some rest."
"Will do Duck. Anything else?"
"Yes he'll need help walking for the next few days since his knees are not strong enough to support his body."
"Thanks Duck."
"Anytime. We'll finish up here. You just get Tony home."
"Thanks." Gibbs said. Ducky looked at Tony and said,
"Tony." Tony looked up at Ducky. "Get some rest." Ducky ordered while pointing his finger at him. Tony smiled at him and said,
"Yes sir." Gibbs found his way out of the wooded area and drove for thirty minutes before he reached his house. Gibbs got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side. He opened the door and pulled Tony out of the car then led him into his house. Gibbs opened his front door and walked over to the couch in the living room with Tony still hanging onto his shoulder. He lowered Tony down on the couch then went upstairs to get Tony some fresh clothes. He found some sweats and headed back downstairs. He threw the sweats to Tony then sat down next to him on the couch.
"It's been one hell of a day." Tony said sleepily as he changed into the sweats. Gibbs nodded his head and said,
"Sure has. I have a question."
"Mhm?" Tony said as he put the sweatpants on over his boxer shorts.
"Why'd you lie to me?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked up at him and asked,
"About what?"
"Earlier before we left I asked if you were okay cause you look more tired than usual."
"Oh that." Tony said as he pulled the blue sweatshirt over his head. "Well I wasn't feeling well earlier but I thought that I'd eventually feel better."
"How do you feel now?"
"Uh, I'm okay." Tony said. Gibbs put his hand on Tony's forehead; It was hot and sweaty. Gibbs removed his hand and asked,
"You wanna change your answer?" Tony looked at Gibbs with his tired eyes then allowed himself to fall back on the couch and said,
"Maybe." Gibbs looked at a half-asleep Tony and got up from the couch to help Tony get upstairs to the guest bedroom. He knelt down and put Tony's arm over his shoulder then pulled him up and started to make his way upstairs. Tony opened his eyes when he felt himself being sat down on a bed. He looked around the room and saw that he was at Gibbs' house in the guest room. Tony saw Gibbs standing next to the bed and pulling down the covers and propping up the pillow.
"Thanks for letting me stay here Gibbs." Tony said. Gibbs smiled as he watched Tony get under the covers and make himself comfortable.
"Anytime Tony." Gibbs said. He ruffled Tony's hair then walked towards the door. When Gibbs reached the door he turned around as he put his hand on the knob. He smiled when he saw Tony's eyes closed. Gibbs could tell that he was drifting off to sleep. Gibbs opened the door and walked to his room which was just across the hall so he could get some sleep himself. By the time Gibbs had changed and gotten into bed, Tony was fast asleep.