Warnings: Dark, angst, Tony whump.

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy :). Thankfully the changes that I have made doesn't change too much what I had in mind for the rest of the story. Thank you to everyone that has favorited, followed, and especially those of you that have left reviews.

Something startled Tony awake. He had dozed off after being stabbed. He had managed to use the sleeve of his suit coat to tie a tourniquet. But he had still lost a substantial amount of blood, which was causing him to struggle with consciousness. If he lost any more he would probably go into shock which would lead to eventual death. Dying was not an option. He had his family to think about... to fight for... and he was not going to go down not swinging.

He just had to figure out a way to either get out of this damn shed or stay alive long enough for his team to find him, rescue him, and bring him home.

Outside someone was playing the with the padlock, peaking his interest... getting his hopes up that maybe...somehow... Gibbs had found him and was going to get him out of this hell. Tony blinked rapidly, letting his eyes adjust to the dim lit in the room, and trying to ignore the pain. But as the door creaked open again and he peered at Wayne—there was no salvation coming to him. His fingers, still holding onto the picture of his family, tightened.

"Are you hungry?" Wayne asked, tossing something in Tony's lap.

"You want to kill me… yet you're going to feed me?" Tony questioned, eyeing the sandwich. "How do I know it's not poison?"

"Because… I don't want you to quietly slip away. There's no fun in that," Wayne said. "Eat."

Tony thought about his options here. He could refuse and probably get himself stabbed again… or worse yet... shot... and he was running out of material to use as bandages… or he could cooperate and buy the team more time to find him. Slowly he peeled back the wax paper and began to eat. Wayne silently watched him, holding the SIG casually at his side. Tony swallowed and felt a sharp pain in his chest from the bruises he'd sustained in his fall after having his head bashed. He grimaced.

Wayne didn't flinch. "Are you in pain?" When the federal agent didn't answer him, he stepped into the room and shut the door. "Things would go so much quicker if you just did as you were told."

"Give you the satisfaction of hearing my screams?" Tony snapped, "No thanks. I'll eat the sandwich because it keeps me alive but I'm not stooping that low."

"I'd bet you'd be more cooperative if your wife was here," Wayne stated, flatly. "Pity she isn't. I've never had the pleasure of a loved one watching."

Tony wished he had the strength to stand on his injured leg and sucker punch the kid right in the face. What kind of sick, twisted man was standing before him? "Well… lucky for me… and her... she isn't."

Wayne pondered for a moment. His finger pressed lightly against the trigger of the SIG. Tony had posed a challenge for him. Most of the time his victims didn't last very long and they would scream once the first act of violence was committed against them. After that he'd make the kill—just like the mice before he smashed their heads with rocks. But Tony was different. He was embracing the challenge of not screaming, of swallowing his pain. Perhaps he was going to have to take a different approach… but that was going to have to wait as the sun was setting and he'd have to man the front desk soon.

Making no eye contact with his prisoner Wayne left.

Tony slumped against the wall, exhausted and tried to think of something happy, safe. He saw Jack with his little blue eyes and brown hair, grinning at him. His little mini-me as Abby liked to call him. His heart ached for Jack… for Leah. How frightened was she right now? She had to know he was in trouble. It had been nearly a day since he'd last talked to her.

Closing his eyes to rest, Tony sighed. Leah… I'm fighting, I'm fighting as hard as can for you.

News of a missing federal agent was all over the town. By the time Deputy Sheriff Howard Marks made his way out to meet up with FBI Agent Tobias Fornell and NCIS Agent Jethro Gibbs… he stopped to grab a cold case file. Something told him this was related.

Marks arrived at an out of town coffee shop, next town over to keep the locals from talking. Fornell and Gibbs had already arrived and were seated at a table. Marks noticed that both liked to dark strong coffee and both looked like men he did not want to mess with. "Gentlemen, thanks for meeting with me. I know there's a lot going on right now and you want to find your missing agent, but I think I can help."

"Any help is appreciated right now," Fornell said, holding up his creds to identify himself. "What have you got for us?"

"Three weeks ago winter hikers found a body out on one of our trails. It was apparent he had been tortured before being killed. And he just kind of appeared out of nowhere," Marks replied, showing the agents his case file.

"Did anyone file a missing persons report?"

"Not with us. I don't have the resources to run checks anywhere else. Was going to hand it over to the FBI but then your agent went missing and you showed up."

"All this torture," Fornell mused. He glanced at his colleague. "Probably to get the guy to beg for his life."

"We both know Tony isn't going to do that," Gibbs said, softly. "What did he die from, Sheriff?"

"Shot in the chest, bleed out."

Gibbs closed his eyes tightly. After this man had endured torture and pain, his life had ended in a blink of an eye. If Tony was going through the same thing, he was probably already dead. There was no way that Tony would let this killer win and please him with groveling. If they were lucky they'd retrieve Tony with serious injuries... perhaps even preventing him from returning to the field...ever. "What else can you tell us? Do you think you have an idea who did this?"

Marks shrugged his shoulders. "Few guesses but I could never make them stick. There was no forensic evidence left behind. No finger prints, no body fluid or fibers… nothing… it truly is a cold case, Agent Gibbs."

Fornell frowned. "Who comes to mind, Sheriff?

"Wayne, Estelle Wilkerson's nephew. Boy as always creeped me out. Could see him doing something like this."

"Tobias…"

"Yeah, Jethro," Fornell said pulling out his cellphone, "I'm going to call the judge now and BS a search warrant."

"It's not Tony's blood," Abby reported, relief written in her features. "It's animal blood. White tail deer to be precise."

"Deer?" Tim questioned, looking at the computer screen. His head was throbbing from lack of food but they didn't have time to stop to eat. They had to gather all their evidence and find Tony. "So… the blood was put there to throw us off the trail, apparently."

Abby nodded her head. "It looks that way. I didn't find any other prints on the car. Just Tony's. The guy probably used gloves."

Tim swallowed and looked at the backpack in an evidence bag. "What about the blood we found on Tony's backpack?"

Her eyes glazed over and she bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying. "It's a positive match for Tony." She paused and watched, as Tim's face grew dark as the news set in. "Tim you don't think… you don't think Tony's dead do you?"

"I don't want to believe it, Abs, but… it's not looking good."

"I know."

Tim sighed and rubbed the back of his head. They still didn't have a body and until they did he could tell himself that Tony was alive. He looked at the framed photograph on the desk… little Jack smiling in his Ohio State sweatshirt... one of Abby's favorite photos of the little DiNozzo. "I had Balboa bring Leah home. Her sister was flying in to stay with her."

Abby nodded. "That's good. It's better for Jack to be at home than waiting around here for news. How… how is she?"

"Scared, Abby. If… if Tony's dead… it's all on her to raise Jack… not to mention how his death will kill her… metaphorically speaking of course."

"It's so unfair! They're a happy, little family! Why is the world so unjust, Timmy?"

Tim shook his head. He didn't have an answer for that. Tony had finally found an inner peace and happiness with Leah and Jack. And he was supposed to be Tim's best man at his wedding that spring. It hurt beyond belief at the simple thought that his friend wasn't going to be there, standing next to him as he pledged his love to Delilah. He wiped the tears that threatened to fall and mumbled he had to get back to work.

Before he left the lab, Abby pulled him into a tight hug. "He can't be dead, Tim! He just can't!"

"I wish I could say he wasn't, Abby," Tim mumbled before pulling away. She gave him one tearful look before declaring she had other evidence to process and Tim left.

Once he was in the elevator he pulled out his phone. Delilah answered after one ring. "Did you find him? Is he alright?"

Tim swallowed his sobs. "No," he choked out. "No we didn't find him. All we have is his backpack with his blood on it, and his car covered in deer blood."

"It doesn't mean he's dead, Tim," Delilah stated, firmly, "It still means he's missing and needs rescuing. You'll find him. Just like he found you."

"Why don't I feel that confidant, Delilah?" Tim questioned. "Crowley played with Gibbs and Tony, left them crumbs. There are no crumbs to follow this time."

"Because, Tim, I just… I don't want to think of what it means if Tony is dead. Not for you, or the team, or for Leah and Jack."

"Delilah, can you… can you go see her? Sit with her? I think… I think she'd like that."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come to the Navy Yard?" Delilah asked. "Maybe I can help."

Tim shook his head as the elevator dropped him off on the main floor. "No," he stated, gently, "Leah needs you more than I do right now. I'll call when I have more."

Ellie peeked her head up and around the cubicle when she heard Tim approach. He hung up his phone seeing the look in her eyes. "I was doing some background work on the Wilkersons' nephew. He has a license to hunt... and it seems that his favorite animal to kill are deer... Tim… I think he has Tony."

Leah gently laid a sleepy baby boy in his crib and wound up the mobile. Jack's blue eyes fixated on the jungle animals moving in a circle above his head as the mobile chimed out Rock-a-bye Baby. She stood there for the longest time, watching the baby as he drifted off to sleep.

He looked so much like Tony, the way he smiled, the way he laughed… sometimes she thought the only thing she had given her son had been her eyes. Leah felt her chest tighten with agony. Twenty-four hours and there still had been no word on where Tony was and she knew very little of what was going on. She suspected that was Gibbs' doing, that he was trying to protect her from the pain.

But it was too late for that. The moment she realized that Tony was in trouble was the moment she started to hurt.

Gently, Leah reached into the crib and stroked Jack's soft cheek. He sighed and dreamed, unaware that his mother's world was falling apart around her. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do this on her own. Tony was such an important part of both their lives and even if Jack didn't feel his father's absence now, surely years from now when he realized that other boys and girls had a daddy that lived at home…

She pushed back from the crib letting her tears fall and she turned away, heading out into the apartment. Lauren was sitting on the sofa watching Jeopardy! But when she saw her sister, she drew her attention to Leah. "Oh, Lee, come here," she said, patting the sofa.

Leah collapsed into a heap on the couch besides Lauren, a couch she had snuggled up to Tony countless nights, and cried. "What if he's gone, Lauren? What am I going to tell my son when he's old enough to realize that his father isn't around?"

"You tell him how much Tony loved you both," Lauren said, wiping at her little sister's tears. "You tell him all the good things, Leah. You don't focus on the bad."

"All I can focus on is the bad," Leah whimpered.

"Then let me help," Delilah's voice said, cheerfully from the kitchen. She wheeled herself into the living room. "How about some chocolate ice cream?"

Leah smiled, sadly. "Thanks… but I'm not… I'm not hungry."

Lauren rubbed her shoulders. "You have to eat, Leah. Or I'm going to call mom and have her join us down here."

Mentioning her mother got the desired effect and Leah grabbed the bowl from Delilah. She eagerly ate the chocolate ice cream and a small part of her would admit that it tasted good and eased her ever so slightly. When she was done she got up and went to put the bowl in the dishwasher, retreating to her bedroom to put on her pajamas. On the bed she found Tony's Ohio State hoodie, discarded there the morning before he'd left for West Virginia. She picked it up and held it to her nose, breathing in his scent and just wanting it to somehow materialize into him standing there.

Slowly she discarded her clothes, found a pair of leggings and then pulled the much too large hoodie on, drowning in it. Leah fell onto their bed, curled up on Tony's side and silently cried herself to sleep.