Tony watched in horror as the bodies parted and he saw the figure lying on the middle of the floor. The crisp dinner jacket the man was wearing was now wide open, revealing a dark red stain colouring the front of the shirt underneath. Tony stood frozen with terror as the man writhed in agony. A woman was bent over him, her hands desperately trying to stem the flow of blood seeping from the bullet wound. Her face was white, but she held a determined expression. The roar from the surrounding crowd was silenced from Tony, as the sound of his own heartbeat deafened him. Staring at the scene before him, he was rooted to the spot, unable to move. The world spinning past him in one big blur, except for the picture of his boss lying on the floor in front of him. He was suddenly jolted as a man pushed to get past him on his way towards the exit, and Tony was brought back to reality. He shot into action, running forwards and putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"What happened?" he said quietly, his voice barely making it past his lips.
"He was…he jumped in front of me and…," she replied, her own voice quiet and close to breaking. Tony tightened his grip and the woman swallowed hard, taking strength from the man supporting her. "Special Agent Gibbs has received a bullet to the chest. I've tried to stop the bleeding but…," this time her voice gave way and she swayed a little under Tony's hold. He bent down and gently but quickly removed her hands from Gibbs torso, replacing them with his own.
"Let me try," he said and Director Jennifer Shepard obeyed his order, moving backwards out of the way. She sat down on the floor, slowly rocking herself backwards and forwards.
Tony turned his attention to his wounded superior. "Boss?" Tony said firmly, "Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of here. You'll be fine."
Gibbs groaned and Tony couldn't stifle the smile that came from the words that exited Gibbs mouth. "You're not getting rid of me that easily DiNozzo."
Tony looked up and saw a team of paramedics rushing towards them. "Don't worry Boss, the cavalry's on its way," said Tony smiling, but as he looked down the smile faded. As he stared into his boss's eyes, the usual intense stare that greeted him had gone. Instead he was confronted by a sort of helplessness; similar to that of a small child, and that unsettled him.
Tony's stomach tightened horribly as he saw the pain in the eyes of the man who lay at the end of his hands. He pushed his hands further into Gibbs's chest in an effort to stem the flow of blood, but the red liquid flowed over his hands effortlessly. The paramedics arrived and dropped to the floor, pushing Tony aside.
Tony sat overwhelmed on the floor next to his Boss and stared forcefully into his eyes, willing him not to give up. Gibbs stared back, unable to voice his thoughts; but a thankful warmness showed somewhere in the depths of his startling blue eyes. Tony's eyes glazed over slightly with tears, but he furiously blinked them away, frantic not to lose the gaze of his Boss.
As the paramedics worked on his body, Gibbs eyelids slowly started to droop and Tony did the one thing he could think of to keep the light from going out in the man's eyes. He reached forwards grabbing his outlaid hand with his own, clenching it tightly within his grasp. The man looked back, appreciation streaming from his eyes at the gesture. He gripped Tony's hand hard as pain struck his face. He closed his eyes and his mouth grimaced as he gave in to the unspeakable pain flooding his body, and his body fell limp. Tony refused to let go as he felt Gibbs's hand go loose in his own.
"No!" he cried out, but nobody heard him, busy with their own jobs of sustaining the life of the man before them. Tony now let the tears that he had previously tried so hard to hold back fall thick and fast. The room swam out of focus as grief took hold of him, and his body shook uncontrollably.
"No…no…NOOOOOOOO!"
***
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony is overcomb as he remembers finding out just how much that night had cost him.