Chapter 39
AN: I don’t know the distance between Maryland and NCIS. I just said it was an hour to add to the angst and suspense. Enjoy!
Tony opened his eyes. He had no idea how much time had passed. He sensed movement in the shadows around him. He had a flashlight, but he didn’t dare shine it. He moved his hand to his holster and unstrapped the gun. He was ready.
“Tony.” Kate called in a whisper. She could tell by the faint sounds she heard he was awake and moving.
Tony heard her and moved his hand. “Damnit, Kate.” He whispered back. “You nearly got yourself killed.”
Kate ignored his comment and continued. “The floor is pretty solid, down here, surprisingly. I didn’t go upstairs though. We do have some company. I found some blankets and some whiskey.” She held up a bottle. “I took this one, doesn’t look like it’s even been opened. I thought it would help with the pain.” She opened the bottle and handed it to him.
Tony nodded, his leg hurt like hell and it was beginning to burn. He knew infection was starting to set in. Tony took the bottle and took a swig. He grimaced as it burned going down.
“Need you to do something, Kate.” Tony undid his belt and produced his hidden knife. He handed it to Kate. “I need you to cut my pants leg. Just cut up to front of the leg. Cut as straight a line as possible.”
Kate looked at him in terror. She could ready, easily between the lines. She stared at him a moment before she took the knife. “Tony….I can’t….”
“You have to, Kate.” Tony replied. He could feel himself getting weaker. He had lost a lot of blood. And he knew if he didn’t act fast he would pass out. And the massive infection that was already occurring would cause him even more problems. “You have to take out the bullet.”
“Tony…I….”
“I’ll walk you through it, Kate.” Tony said. He closed his eyes for just a second as the weakness suddenly stuck him.
“Tony!” Kate called to him. His head had fallen back and she thought he had passed out.
“Yeah, Kate….” Tony said, opening his eyes and looking at her.
“You’re in no shape to walk anybody through anything.”
Tony nodded. “Just…let’s get started. Cut the pants leg.” He instructed Kate.
Kate knelt down beside him and began to cut. The knife was sharp, so it was done in no time.
“Now, just move the jean material out of the way.” Tony instructed.
Kate did what she was told.
“Hold out both hands and the knife.”
Kate did it.
Tony poured whiskey her hands and made sure he got the knife. He then helped himself, again to a little.
“Now….” Tony took a deep breath. “I need you to make the wound larger.” He took out his flash light and held it up. “I’ll hold the light for you.”
Kate just stared at him.
“I can’t see where the bullet is, Kate.” Tony explained. “And I don’t want you to have to dig around in there.”
Kate thought she must have turned a lovely shade of green when Tony said that. She was sure she was about to lose her lunch. She didn’t want to have to dig around in there either.
“Can’t we wait…?” Kate said.
“It’s an hour’s drive from NCIS, though Gibbs could get here in 30 minutes. He still has to find us. Tim’s already traced the car GPS, Kate. But we are nowhere near the car, and we’ve lost our cellphones who knows where….”
Kate nodded looking around here. “And there’s a lot of buildings to search, could take hours.”
“Exactly.” Tony replied. He smiled at Kate. “You can do this.”
Kate sighed. “Okay, what do I do? What’s next?”
Ten minutes later Kate was tearing the linen tablecloth into strips, per Tony’s instructions. She had made the wound bigger by about an inch. Tony had taken a little more of the whiskey internally. But he had instructed her to pour the majority of it over the wound after she had gotten the bullet out. She used part of the remaining whiskey to wash her hands, wiping them on one of the table clothes. She then wrapped the tablecloth around Tony’s leg to hold the wound closed, and to help stop the bleeding, per his instructions. She felt like she had earned it, and took a swallow from the bottle. She made an awful face as it burned going down.
Kate took the remaining tablecloth and used it to cover her partner. It was, indeed, getting colder outside. Tony appeared to be shivering. Kate was not sure if it was due to shock, or if he was actually just cold. She got as close to him as she could. She wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head on his shoulder, hoping to provide him with some extra added warmth.
Tony opened his eyes. “I told you, Kate, not tonight.”
“Shut up, DiNozzo.”
There was silence for a few moments, then…. “Kate….”
“What is it, Tony?”
“Thank you.”
Kate smiled but didn’t respond.
TBC
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