Warnings: Dark, lots of angst, Tony whump.
A/N: Hello everyone, told you I wouldn't keep you waiting too long. I was busy on working on a one-shot for last nights episode but nothing fits into this universe because Tony has already moved on from Ziva lol. So there probably will not be an update to "Job and Family" for a few weeks. Not sure when the next update on this story will be, hopefully this weekend. Until then, enjoy!
Everything happened all at once.
Gibbs had felt them closing in on Tony when the first shot shattered the still and silence of the forest. His heart rate went through the roof, praying that the shot had not found Tony. Or perhaps, miraculously it had been Tony that had fired.
Fornell pointed in the direction that shot had come from and the two agents took off through the snow, running as fast as they could.
It had been a long and cold ninety minutes searching for Tony. Gibbs had informed the team that they believed Tony had made a run for it and he'd also called Sheriff Marks to let him know that Tony was out there. His hope had been high at the start of their search—now it was weaning. Especially as sirens could be heard getting louder in the distance… followed by multiple gunshots.
The pair of federal agents came crashing onto the scene just moments before the arrival of the first squad car.
A surreal sight greeted them. Marks lay in the middle of the road, eyes frozen open in death and blood was forming a frozen red pool beneath him. Gibbs holstered his weapon, knowing full well that whoever had done this had taken off. His heart grew cold, furious, but then completely stopped when he saw his senior field agent in the snow, his own frozen pool of blood forming underneath him. "TONY!"
In a flash Gibbs was by his second in command's side, pressing down as hard as he could to stop the blood flow. "Tony? I'm here, son, I've got your six. You're going to be ok."
"Officer says the ambulance is on the way," Fornell responded. "Good lord," he whispered taking in the scene of Gibbs' senior agent.
"Here that, Tony? Help is on the way," Gibbs told the younger man. He saw the senior field agent's eyes open lazily. "You're going to be fine."
"B-boss," his voice was so faint, weak, it didn't sound like Tony at all.
Gibbs nodded his head and grasped Tony's chin between his fingers. "Yes, Tony, I'm here. Help is coming. Hang in there."
Tony struggled to stay awake. "T-tired, boss."
"Don't go to sleep on me! Come on, Tony! Fight!"
"C-can't, boss, tired."
Tony struggled to breathe, to keep his eyes open. He began to drift out of consciousness again, loosing the battle he was trying to fight.
Gibbs shook his chin and forced the young man to look at him. "Come on, Tony, keep fighting! Help is coming I can hear it! Do you hear it? It's so close now! But you have to keep fighting!"
"C-can't… boss… just... t-too... tired," Tony whispered.
"Yes! Yes you can!" Gibbs gasped, desperately. "Leah! Picture her! Hold onto to her!"
Tony swallowed, trying to comply with his wishes but he was just too tired. He slipped away with Leah's face dancing in his vision.
Gibbs felt absolute desperation taking hold of him. "Tony! Tony, stay with me!"
But Tony didn't react, didn't move. Gibbs continued to press down on the wound. He was not letting Tony die after getting free and trying to save himself. There was too much at stake and truthfully he could not go through losing another agent like he had lost Kate.
And what about Leah? Jack? He did not want to get on that phone and have inform her that her husband was gone, that her five month old son was never going to know his father.
"Sir? I need you to step back. We'll take care of him now," a voice coaxed him away.
"He's bleeding pretty bad. I've tried to stop it," Gibbs said realizing how small he sounded.
The EMT smiled at him as he took over. "You did good, sir."
Gibbs numbly nodded his head and stood but he refused to walk away. Tony wouldn't leave him if the situation was reversed. The least he could do was return the favor.
"Do you know who his next of kin is, sir?" the EMT asked.
"His wife... she's in D.C," Gibbs replied. "I have their permission to be Tony's medical proxy if she isn't available. Why?"
"The bullet has fractured a rib. It's possible that it could have punctured the lung or collapsed it. He's having trouble getting air."
"He has a history of lung issues."
"Good to know. We might need to get your permission to operate."
He felt cold and not because of the weather. Gibbs clutched his fists at his sides. "You have my permission to do whatever you have to do to save him."
The EMT nodded and instructed his partner that he was ready to move Tony. Soon the pair was lifting the gurney into the bus.
Gibbs shouldered his way into the ambulance. He was not about to let Tony be driven away to the ER without him. The paramedics didn't stop him or they didn't know how to stop him, either way, the door was slamming shut and they were on their way, rushing through the back roads.
Tony was strapped to the gurney, his skin ghastly in the bright light. He had yet to wake up again and the only thing telling the former marine that his agent was still alive was the heart monitor that the EMT's had hooked Tony up too. They were concerned about his low temperature and the rapid blood loss, but some how Tony was still fighting.
"Agent Gibbs," one of the EMT's caught his attention, "you said that he was married? What's his wife's name?"
"Yes," the lead agent replied, gripping onto Tony's cold hand. "Her name… her name is Leah."
The EMT grinned and leaned down close to Tony's ear. "I hear your wife, Leah, is beautiful, Tony. I'd hate for you to leave her now. Besides you've come this far it would be rather ridiculous if you didn't make it now."
Gibbs watched for any sign or form of reaction from Tony, but there was nothing. Come on, Tony. Don't leave her. Don't leave Jack. Fight! Fight for them! "Tony… Leah isn't giving up on you… she's spent the last twenty-four hours believing in you, Tony. You don't have her permission to die!"
"We're losing him," the EMT snapped as the heart monitor began to flatline. "Agent Gibbs I need you to stand clear!"
He slid back helplessly, letting go of Tony's hand while the EMT pulled Tony's shirt off and charged the paddles. Gibbs could only sit there and watch helplessly as Tony's body jumped with the jolt but the monitor stayed flat.
The EMT charged the paddles again, yelling at Tony, "Don't do this to me man!" Again the senior field agent's body jolted with the charge and nothing changed on the monitor. Gibbs was beginning to feel his hope weaning when the EMT charged the paddles again, this time higher, and shocked Tony's heart one more time. Suddenly the monitor began to beep, signaling they had gotten Tony's heart beating again. "Okay man, don't do that again," the EMT admonished Tony.
Gibbs sighed in relief and was allowed to go back to holding Tony's hand. He watched as the EMT intubated his agent, hooking him up to an oxygen bag to allow Tony to breathe easier. He wished that it helped him breathe easier, but the truth was until he heard the words he's going to be fine Gibbs wasn't going to be breathing easy.
Leah awoke to the sound of someone knocking at her door.
It was well past two o'clock in the morning. She could still see the snow flying outside and Tony's glaring absence was felt even more.
Terrible thoughts of her Tony out in that weather, possibly fighting for his life, sent a strong fear surging through her. She threw the blankets off as the person knocked again, rubbing the sleep from her eyes Leah carefully proceeded through the apartment to answer.
"Tim? It's after two," Leah said, noticing that Tim looked almost sick to his stomach.
"Gibbs found Tony," Tim whispered.
For a second a rush of relief went through her but then she caught on to the look in his eyes. "Tim... what's going on? Has something... has something happened to Tony?"
Tim took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, Leah... he's been shot... and it's... it's pretty bad."
Leah felt as if the world had stopped. She willed herself not to cry but was finding it difficult to hold herself together. "How bad is it?"
" Possible punctured lung, severe blood loss...," Tim reported, monotone, disconnected to everything around him. "Gibbs said they were working on him but he isn't breathing on his own... he's on a vent... its precautionary... because of his previous health issues of course. He needs an operation to repair the lung and to prevent it from collapsing."
"Tim... I need you to drive me to the hospital...now," Leah demanded.
His eyes widened. "What? It's after two."
She set her jaw. "If you didn't want to drive me to West Virginia tonight you shouldn't have come over here, woken me up, and told me that my husband has been seriously injured."
Tim knew that she had a point. He nodded. "Ok, I'll take you to the hospital."
Leah grabbed her coat and pulled on a pair of UGGs . Pausing she turned towards the nursery. "Wait... I can't leave Jack."
"I've got Jack," Delilah said from the living room. "You go! And call once you get there."
"Are you sure?"
"Leah... you need to go. Lauren and I have Jack."
She nodded and followed Tim out of the apartment. Hang on Tony. I'm coming.