Abby and Ziva were trying to keep busy by helping Jack in his store. The Goth was wielding the pricing gun, while Ziva was counting inventory. Both women found themselves distracted, wondering what was happening between Vance, Gibbs, and Tony. Judging by the shouting going on, things were not going well. Now, all they could hear was silence and that worried them even more.
“What do you think is going on?” Abby asked.
Ziva shrugged. “I do not know. I wish that I could be a mosquito on the wall.”
“A fly,” Abby corrected. “It’s a fly on the wall.”
“Whatever. I just wish I knew what was going on. The silence is unnerving.”
“Yeah.”
Abby finished pricing the last of the cans, her concern for Tony steadily increasing. Even after she had fixed him some soup, DiNozzo had refused to eat. He had attributed his queasy stomach to nerves, but she had a feeling that something else was wrong. Tony was still very sick and had no business being out of the hospital, but he had insisted on leaving against medical advice. She just hoped that the agent knew what he was doing.
“Maybe we should go and make sure that they haven’t…you know, killed each other or something,” Abby suggested.
“I am sure that Gibbs will let us know if he needs us,” Ziva tried to assure her. “I think that if we were to barge in there, that it would simply make things worse, especially for Tony.”
“I know. I just need to do something.”
“I understand, Abby, but Gibbs told us to say put and we need to trust him on this,” the Mossad officer reasoned.
“I do trust Gibbs and Tony; I just don’t trust Director Vance.”
“Neither do I.”
The front door opened and Jackson Gibbs came hurrying in, concern etched in his distinguished features. Abby started to ask him what was wrong, but was cut off by the older man as he began to make a call. She didn’t have to wait long to learn the identity of the person Jack was calling. Clutching his arm, Abby listened as he was forced to leave a message for Dr. Katherine Marshall.
“Katherine, it’s Jack Gibbs. Tony just collapsed out behind my store; Leroy has called an ambulance and he wanted me to try and get in touch with you. We’ll be taking him back to the hospital as soon as possible.”
Abby and Ziva didn’t need to hear anymore. They made their way through the back room and out the back door, purposefully ignoring the Director who was smugly sitting in a chair, apparently clueless as to what had just happened.
The two women found Tony lying on the ground, his head on Gibbs’ lap. The stillness of their friend was disturbing. Abby looked at Ziva, whose gaze was still fixated on the ailing man. “What happened?” the Goth nervously inquired.
“I don’t know,” Gibbs replied. “I’ve called an ambulance and I sent my dad to call Katherine.”
“What can we do?”
“Find me a couple of blankets,” he instructed them. “Then you can bring the car and meet us at the hospital.”
“What about the Director?” Ziva finally managed to ask.
“Bring him with you,” the former Marine tersely ordered. “If something happens to DiNozzo, I want him where I can find him.”
Abby nervously licked her lips. She had to believe that Tony was going to be all right, because any other alternative was unacceptable. DiNozzo had been close to dying before, but this time it was different. This time Abby wasn’t convinced that Tony wanted to live and that thought scared her more than anything.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
McGee was waiting outside the door of the office of the Secretary of the Navy. He forced himself to breathe deeply in an effort to calm his frazzled nerves. The past week had been filled with the revelation of what appeared to be several well kept secrets involving Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. It was hard to believe that the senior field agent was entangled in such a web of deceit and lies, but then again, he had learned long ago, that he should expect the unexpected.
Tony was his friend and although DiNozzo could be rather irritating at times with his constant teasing, McGee knew that there was no one that he’d rather have watching his back. The senior agent had helped the junior agent overcome his naivety and had made him a better investigator. It had taken McGee a while to recognize the fact that Tony constantly took the brunt of Gibbs’ wrath, deflecting it away from him and Ziva. Now, he was going to get the chance to repay the favor; he was going to get to deflect the SecNav’s anger away from his friend.
The door opened and he was ordered to enter the SecNav’s office. He tried not to let the massive size of the room overwhelm him as he approached the desk with an outward confidence that he didn’t feel on the inside. He stood before the Secretary’s desk and waited to be acknowledged.
“Agent McGee, it’s good to see you again,” the older man greeted.
McGee nodded. “Mr. Secretary.”
“Well, now that we have the formalities over with, let’s get down to business.”
“I have no problems with that,” the young agent agreed.
“Good.” The SecNav opened a box and offered McGee a cigar.
“No thank you. I don’t smoke.”
“I don’t either, just on special occasions.”
“And this is a special occasion?” McGee inquired.
“Of course it is,” Davenport conceded. “It’s not everyday that someone is able to hack into my personal files on my computer. I went to a lot of trouble to make sure that they were protected, but yet, you managed to open them. Congratulations.”
That was the last thing that McGee had expected to hear. He wasn’t sure if he should say ‘thank you’ or if the SecNav was just building him up in order to deliver the fatal blow. “I…uh…well, you see…”
“No wonder Gibbs wanted you for his team,” the SecNav continued. “You’re good. Actually, you’re better than good; you’re one of the best that I’ve seen.”
“Thank you, Mr. Secretary.”
“You’re welcome, Agent McGee.” The SecNav leaned back in his chair. “However, you’ve seen some things that are a matter of national security and now you’ve become a risk.”
“I was only searching for anything that might pertain to Agent DiNozzo, nothing else,” McGee informed him.
“Agent DiNozzo, huh? Well, right now, Agent DiNozzo is wanted by the FBI and NCIS for questioning. It seems to me that you would want to distance yourself as far as possible from him; he seems to have a penchant for attracting trouble.”
“He would be doing the same for me if our situations were reversed.”
“He wouldn’t be able to hack into my computer. DiNozzo’s not that smart.”
“I beg to differ, Mr. Secretary. Tony, I mean Agent DiNozzo is one of the best agents I’ve ever seen, next to Agent Gibbs, of course. He may not have the computer skills that I do, but he has his own way of finding out information.”
“You do realize that your loyalty to Agent DiNozzo has landed you in a lot of hot water.”
McGee stood tall. “Yes sir, I do.”
“And you’re willing to risk your career for DiNozzo.”
“Yes sir, I am. Like I said, he would do the same for me.”
The agent stood his ground as the SecNav rose from his seat and slowly approached him. Davenport squeezed his shoulder. “Well, Agent McGee, I’m impressed. You certainly have developed a backbone over the years. I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to offer you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” McGee wondered.
Davenport smiled. “The kind of deal that will benefit everybody involved, including Agent DiNozzo. And who knows, you may even get to keep your job.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Gibbs had just finished dialing 911 when his dad came out of the storage shed. He had instructed Jack to call Katherine and tell her what had happened. Within a few minutes, Abby and Ziva had come bursting through the back door, each one wanting to know what they could do to help their friend. Now, he was sitting on the ground, Tony’s head still cradled in his lap as he watched the paramedics feverishly work on the young man.
The two paramedics had introduced themselves as Greg and Randy and had only spoken to him since then if they had a question about Tony. He heard enough of their conversation to know that DiNozzo was more than likely bleeding internally. Guilt began to plague the former Marine, but he forced these thoughts to the deep recesses of his mind; he would have to deal with these feelings later. Right now, he had to stay focused on Tony.
He absently stroked Tony’s hair as Greg expertly started an IV in the agent’s arm. Gibbs could tell by the grim expressions on the paramedics’ faces that DiNozzo’s condition was deteriorating fast.
“You can ride with us if you want,” Randy informed him.
“Try and stop me,” Gibbs replied, moving aside so the two men could lift Tony onto the gurney.
“Just stay out of the way,” Greg said.
“You won’t even know I’m there.”
Tony was loaded into the ambulance and Gibbs quickly followed, making sure to stay out of Randy’s way. As they headed towards the hospital, Tony began to come around. The team leader placed his calloused hand on his forehead, hoping that the physical contact would keep his senior agent calm.
“Shh. It’s all right, Tony,” Gibbs whispered into his ear.
“What….wha…hap…pened?” Tony mumbled.
“You got sick, Tony. But Randy here is taking good care of you.”
“Hos…pital?”
“Yeah, you’re going to the hospital.”
“Hurts…belly…hurts.”
“I know, Tony. Just take it easy,” he gently urged. “Everything will be all right.”
Gibbs silently wished that he could take DiNozzo’s pain upon himself. It was a parent’s instinct when their child was hurting to want to take that hurt away, but he knew from experience that it didn’t work that way. Why didn’t he do more to stop Tony from leaving the hospital in the first place? Jack had told him to stay, but he had ignored his father’s warnings and went back to D.C., believing that he was helping Tony. All that he had managed to do was cause DiNozzo even more pain, both physically and emotionally.
“Vance?” Tony rasped, bringing Gibbs out of his private musings.
“Don’t worry about Vance. You just concentrate on getting better.”
“I’m…sor…ry. I screwed up.”
The team leader choked back his anger. His wrath at Vance didn’t need to be directed at Tony. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”
Tony didn’t answer. Gibbs leaned down closer to the ailing man. “I said that you have nothing to be sorry for. Do you understand me?”
Gibbs’ question was met with silence once again. Taking his hand that had been resting on Tony’s forehead; he gently tapped the top of his head, just as he did when DiNozzo had been dying from the plague. “Do you understand me?” he repeated.
Tony weakly smiled. “Got it, B…Boss.”
Satisfied, Gibbs sat back up in time to notice the concerned expression on the paramedic’s face. “What’s wrong?” he demanded to know.
“Pressure’s still dropping,” Randy explained as he started another IV. “Bleeding must be pretty bad.”
The ex-Marine clenched his jaw, mentally willing DiNozzo to fight for his life. He watched intently as Randy listened to Tony’s heart. The paramedic then radioed Greg who was driving wanting to know an ETA. Gibbs felt like he was going to be sick. The only person that he would ever call son was dying and he was helpless to stop it. He hadn’t been there for Shannon and Kelly and now there was nothing he could do for DiNozzo.
Within a couple of minutes, the ambulance pulled into the emergency entrance of the hospital where Dr. Katherine Marshall was waiting. As Tony was whisked away into one of the trauma room, Gibbs attempted to follow. The nurse stopped him with a stern shake of her head and he was forced to stand and watch their efforts to save Tony through the small window in the door.
He saw Katherine coming towards the door and he stepped aside to let her out, hoping that she would be able to tell him something about DiNozzo’s condition. “How is he?” he impatiently asked.
“He’s headed straight for surgery,” she snapped. “I don’t have time to go into details; we’ll have to talk later.”
Before he could reply, the nurse who had previously prevented him from entering the room came rushing towards them. “He’s crashing!” she cried out.
Katherine and the nurse ran back into the room and began working desperately to start Tony’s heart again. Gibbs stepped inside the door, knowing that his presence wouldn’t be noticed for the moment. Tears were welling up in his eyes and he did nothing to prevent them from running down his cheeks.
He wasn’t sure what the tears were for. Was he crying because Tony was dying? Was he crying because he had never taken the opportunity to tell Tony that the young man had managed to fill a void left by Kelly and Shannon? Or was he crying because he had failed Tony and was afraid he wouldn’t get a chance to set things right?
Gibbs would have to figure it out later. For right now, he would just have to cry and hope that his tears were enough to convince God to leave Anthony DiNozzo on this earth.
Chapter End Notes:
Lots of angst! Hope you enjoy it!