Falling

Chapter 1:
Anthony DiNozzo came rushing out of the elevators and into the bullpen. He was late. Again.
"Late again, Tony?" Kate snickered as he rushed by her and to his own desk, crashing down into his chair.
"Only with twenty minutes. Is he here yet?" Tony asked as he looked around nervously.

"You are late, DiNozzo! Again." Gibbs said appearing from nowhere and walked over to his own desk. He sat down staring at Tony with hard eyes.
"I'm really sorry boss..." Tony tried but he knew that he was in big trouble, Gibbs was pissed.
The last three weeks they had been working on a case that involved a series of break-ins at a Naval living compound, the two last had ended with two murders. So you could say that Gibbs was really pissed or that he is really pissed.
"I don't want to hear it, Tony!" Gibbs almost yelled as he slammed his hand on the desk making both Kate and Tony jump. Gibbs took a deep breath trying to calm himself down, but his frustration and anger about the case couldn't be kept down any longer. And Tony's late arrival only made it worse.
Gibbs looked at the younger agent, who looked at him with fear in his eyes. "If you keep this up I don't know what to do."
"It won't happen again, boss." Tony stuttered.
"I hope not." Gibbs couldn't keep his frustration and disappointment out of his voice as he spoke to Tony. "You are not welcome back, if you start slipping."
Tony dropped his head, but Gibbs saw the hurt and utterly sad look that crossed the younger man's face. He felt a wave of guilt for a second but then he got mad at himself for thinking that and at Tony for putting him in this situation.

The rest of the day was filled of with phone calls, clue hunting and paperwork. They couldn't find anything to help them finding the burglar and that made Gibbs even angrier. He felt Tony's eyes on him several times and the younger agent even brought him coffee, but Gibbs completely ignored him, not saying a word.
When the day ended, Tony quickly gathered up his things and walked out of the office, keeping his head down not looking or talking to anyone.
Kate cast a long glance after him before she gathered her things. She was just about to leaven when she turned to Gibbs with cold eyes and said:
"Sometimes I think that both your "B"s stands for bastard." And with that she left.
Gibbs felt the guilt washing thru him. She was right, he had taken it to far today. He had to talk to Tony tomorrow.

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The next morning Tony was on time, also bringing coffee to Kate, Gibbs and McGee. He hadn't got much sleep, his thoughts swirling around his head. The most about what Gibbs had said and how angry he had been at Tony.
He left Gibbs' coffee on the boss' desk and then sat down at his own making small talk with Kate and McGee.
When Gibbs came walking thru the bullpen Tony turned his eyes towards his computer, not looking up at his boss.
Gibbs walked over to his desk, smiled inwards when he saw the coffee and he turned to Tony, who still kept his eyes down and Gibbs was just about to walk over so they could talk, when his phone rang. He hauled it up, his eyes still on Tony.
"Gibbs. Aha. Alright. We'll be there." He closed his phone and looked at his team. "We have another break in. Grab your gear."

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They had to park the truck on the street a couple of meters from the house, the driveway were full of MP jeeps.
"Special Agent Gibbs." Gibbs said holding up his badge to an MP who walked up to them. "What happened?"
The MP introduced himself and started to fill them in on what had happened. The family was out of town and the maid had been out shopping, when she came back she had seen an unknown man walk into the house.
She had heard about the break-ins so she called the MP:s which phone NCIS on their way over there. It had taken the MP:s five minutes to get to the house, fifteen for Gibbs and his team because it was high priority case. The MP:s had searched the house, finding nothing but a broken front door and a trashed bedroom.
"DiNozzo, you start in the house! Kate, talk to the witness! McGee, outside with me!" Gibbs barked out orders to his team before turning to the MP and started to push for more information.

Tony sighed as he grabbed his gear and walked towards the house. It was a two storie building with a pretty big lawn and white picket fence. He flashed his badge to the two MP:s standing outside the house and then walked up the little outside stair before entering the house.
He watched his steps carefully, so he wouldn't destroy any evidence. He looked around, it was a nice house with a homey feeling and the walls had pictures of the family and kids. "Thank God, that no one was home." he thought as he walked upstairs.
Tony walked into the master bedroom and started to take pictures of the thrashed room. He thought he heard a noise from one of the children's room, so he walked across the hall into the room. He was just about to open the closet door when his cell started to ring, scaring him half to death. Tony turned around and walked slowly out of the room as he fished up his cell. He was just about to answer it when something hit him in the back.

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Kate walked up to Gibbs with her notebook in her hands.
"The witness only saw the burglar from a distance, so she couldn't id him." Kate said. "She could only verify that the guy was pretty big. Did the MP:s find anything?"
"No, nothing." Gibbs said. "Five minutes and they didn't see the guy at all."
"That's strange, five minutes isn't a long time." Kate said frowning. "The witness didn't see him leave the house and the MP:s didn't see anything. Something is wrong."
McGee walked up to them before Gibbs could say anything, he had his cell to his ear and he was talking to Abby. He hung up with a puzzled look.
"That was Abby, she tried to call Tony just now. Something about a perfume and underwear..."
"McGee..." Gibbs growled.
"Oh, ahm. He didn't answer."
Gibbs and Kate looked at each other, Tony always had his cell with him and he always answered, even if his was in the bathroom.
McGee watched as they both looked at each other for like two seconds before something sparkeld in both Kate and Gibbs eyes. Then they broke into a run towards the house, Kate yelling Tony's name. McGee followed them.

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Tony felt something connect with his back then pain lashed thru his whole body and the impact made him stumbled forward into a wall. He lost the grip on his cell and it flew down the hallway.
He heard someone walking up behind him, he turned around and was faced with a man all dressed in black. "Ah, great." Tony thought as the man walked towards him, the man was taller than and almost twice as wide as Tony and he carried a bat in his hands.
The man smiled before he swung the bat towards Tony, hitting the wall where Tony's head should have been. Tony ducked and pushed himself forward towards the man. He rushed the man backwards with all his strength so the man hit the wall and the impact made him drop the bat.
They looked at each other for a second before the real fight begun, the man's fist connected with Tony's cheekbone, making his head snap back. Tony fought back, his fists hitting the man's face and hard body.
They hammered each other with kicks and blows, unconsciously moving down the hallway and towards the stairs.

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Gibbs and Kate ran towards the house, up the small steps and into the house. It only took them a minute or so to get there but it felt like an hour for both of them.
They paused before walking into the hallway, they heard sounds from a fight inside the house. Gibbs nodded to Kate before they slowly made their way into the house with guns in their hands.
Both looked around and as they reached the stairs inside, time stopped and everything happened both fast and in slow motion.
As Kate looked up, she saw Tony's back moving towards the stairs and she heard her own voice yelling: "Tony". She saw as in slow motion how Tony stumbled and then tumbled down the stairs. The thoughts in her head race in 80 miles per hour, but her feet was glued to the floor and she thought that she heard bones breaking every time a body hit the steps and then suddenly it was over.
Gibbs looked up the stairs, he saw Tony's back and then he heard Kate yelling something. Before he could react, he saw Tony's foot stepping out into thin air not finding something solid and then they tumbled down the stairs.
It all happened very fast, but in Gibbs head only one word formed: NO!
Chapter 2
Tony was fighting for his life and he was starting to get tired, he had tried every trick in the book but it was not easy to fight man twice as wide as yourself. But the man had at least stopped smiling and that had to count for something.
A hard punch hitting his ribs, making him to lose his breath but at the same time it tells him that he need to focus if he would want to make it alive from this house.
Another hard punch sends him into the wall, next to a picture of two kids: a boy with blue eyes and a girl with long dark hair. The picture makes him to think about Gibbs and Kate.
What if Gibbs send Kate into the house to help him and this big guy jumps her? Tony knows that Kate is a tough lady, beautiful, but this man is probably too much even for her. Gibbs is already thinking of fire him, so if he makes it alive but the guy gets away and hurts Kate, Tony knows that he would be fired and probably he would never see the sun again.
With these thoughts in his head, Tony takes a deep breath and fights back with a little more strength. The burguler pushes him backwards and suddenly they both tumbles down the stair.

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Gibbs and Kate could only stand and watch as the two men falls down the stairs, it is over in a couple of seconds.
Somehow the big man hits the floor first, his back smashing into the floor, with Tony on top of him, almost face to face. But then he slides down on to the floor left side first.
At first Gibbs and Kate stands frozen in their spots, then they hears McGee's low voice: "Oh, my God." And that seems to awaken them. Kate runs over to the unconscious Tony checking for a pulse.
"McGee, call the ambulance!" Gibbs yells moving towards Kate and Tony, McGee nods and makes the call.
"He's alive." Kate says with relief, she looks at Gibbs tears in her eyes. "Shall we flip him to his back?"
"No, we have to wait for the medics." Gibbs answers her with a calm voice, on the outside he seems calm almost emotionless. But inside, he is still yelling no.
Kate nods sits down on the floor next to Tony, grabs one of Tony's hands in hers and start to caress it as she watches his face.
Gibbs kneels beside Tony, he needs to check his pulse for himself so he knows that he is really alive. Tony is so still and he is never this still. When Gibbs feels the pulse, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He brushes some few stray hairs from Tony's face and feels an invisible hand taking hold of his heart almost crushing it.
"Don't you dare die on me, Anthony." He says in a low voice, Kate looks up at him and their eyes meets. Something passes between them and McGee stands watching feeling that he missed something important. But before he could say anything, two MP:s came into the house stopping abruptly when they see the two men on the floor.
"You told me you searched the house!" Gibbs stood up, walked over to the two MP:s with a murderous face expression.
"We did..." one of them stutters.
"Not good enough! If you two knuckleheads had worked for me, you two would never work or walk straight again!" Gibbs stood in front of them, yelling. He was so angry that he could kill somebody. "Check the burguler and if he is alive, I want someone watching him 24 hours!"
"Yes, Sir!" The two MP:s saluted Gibbs and went over to check on the man lying on the floor. "He's alive, Sir."
"A 24/7 watch." Gibbs said with a blank expression, dismissing them. He turns back to the still form of Tony, he tries not to look at the MP:s and the burguler afraid that his anger will overpower him. If it did that, he would probably shoot all three of them and when he looks at Kate, he sees that she shares his feelings.
Two medic teams comes bursting thru the front door, one team walks over to Tony and the other team to the other man on the floor.
"What happened?" One of them asks.
Gibbs was the one who answered and told them about the fight and the fall while the medics starts to work. They put a stiff neck collar on Tony, then they carefully flips him on to his back, making Tony groan a little but not waking up.
Kate and Gibbs back away a little, McGee walks up behind them as the medics continues their exam and soon they lifts Tony onto a stretcher, carrying him out to the ambulance.
"I'm sorry, but only one of you can ride in the ambulance with him." The medic says when the rest of the NCIS team follows them out.
Kate and Gibbs looked at each other, then Kate made a small nod and Gibbs climbs into the ambulance. Kate and McGee walk over to the truck and drives away.

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The drive to the hospital takes about twenty minutes, Tony's eyelids flutters and he makes a little groan as the medic examine his left hand but then falls into unconsciousness again. As they pull up to the emergency entrance, hospital staffs rushes out to meet them and wheels Tony in.
Gibbs follows, intending not to leave the injured agents side but he is asked nicely to wait outside the trauma room. He was just about to start to argue, when the doctor says to him that he would only be in the way.
Gibbs nods and accepts it, he starts to pace outside in the waiting room until Kate and McGee arrives with coffee. Then they sit down and start to the only thing they could do: wait.

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Kate sat sipping her coffee, her thoughts were on Tony. She was really scared when she watched him fall down the stairs, what would she do without Tony? The relief she felt as she saw him breathing and felt his pulse was so strong that she had to sit down next to him.
Kate was not a mushy feeling human, but this was almost too much for even her and when she takes his hands, looks over to Gibbs she knows she isn't the only one worried. Gibbs kneels beside Tony, brushes a few hairs from his forehead and she hears him say: "Don't you dare die on me, Anthony." She agrees with him and the words echoes in her mind and when her eyes meets Gibbs she sees the same love for Tony in his eyes that she knows is in hers. And she accepts it, she has come to the conclusion that Tony is undeniable.
Back at the waiting room, she looks up when she sees the doors open and the doctor walks out.,

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Gibbs sat staring at his hands lost in his own thoughts. As he closes his eyes, he sees Tony tumbling down the stairs. How could he let this happen? He asks himself. He felt the invisible hand squeezing his heart again, he send Tony alone into that house so it was his fault.
After he told Tony not to die, he looked at Kate who was looking with him and he saw the love in her eyes for Tony. He knew that she saw the same thing in his eyes and that she accepted this.
Gibbs shook his head, how could he have been so reckless? He looks up as he hears the doors open and the doctor walks out
Chapter 3
The doctor walked out to them, Gibbs, Kate and McGee stood up anxious to hear some news about Tony.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Frank Anderson. You are here for Anthony DiNozzo?"
"Yes, I'm Jethro Gibbs and this is Kate and Tim. We all work closely with Tony. How is he?" Gibbs tried to be calm and not to lash out at the doctor.
"Well, let’s sit down and talk. I can start of telling you that Mr DiNozzo is a very lucky man, his injuries are bad but could be so much worse." He paused and looked at the team. "He woke up under the exam, we asked him the usual question like name, today’s date year of birth and he could the right answerers. We didn't find any bleeding or much swelling of his brain but he have to stay so nothing comes up."
"Is he awake now?" Kate asked, feeling a bit relief that Tony had woke up but she really needed to see him.
"No, he isn't. His other injuries were giving him some real pain so we gave him some painkillers, he would probably sleep until morning."
"How serious is his other injuries?" Gibbs asked, still trying to stay calm.
"As I said it could have been a lot worse. Mr DiNozzo has broken his left arm in two places, no difficult breaks so we have laid it in a cast, then he has two broken ribs on his right side. We have wrapped them, but can't do much else with them. His left knee is swollen but it is nothing serious and his whole upper body, front and back, has many bruises some deep but nothing really serious. So you can see that he needed the painkillers."
"Can we see him?" Kate asked, she wanted to see Tony with her own eyes and then maybe yell at him for getting hurt.
"Yes, of course. We have put him in a one bedroom, so you can have your privacy. Nurse Ann will show you the way. I will be on call all night so have them page me if you have anymore questions."
Gibbs, Kate and McGee shook his hand and said their thanks the doctor before he walked away and a nurse came up to them.

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"Here we are." The nurse said stopping at a door. "Don't hesitate to call us if you need something."
With that she left them and walked over to the nurse’s station.
Gibbs walked into the room first, Kate closely behind him and then McGee. They walked up to the bed were Tony lies and they are amazed how still and quiet he is.
Kate brushes a few hairs from his forehead, her fingers traces down his face, slides lightly over a bruise on his cheek. She sighed, kissed him on the forehead and walked over to a chair which she dragged over to the bedside. She sits down and grabbed his uninjured hand.
McGee then walks over to Tony, he doesn't really know what to do. He is glad Tony seems ok but he feels like he is unnecessary here. He looks at Gibbs, who nods and then McGee smiles a little before he walks out.
Gibbs sees McGee walk out, then he turn his eyes back to Tony. He walks over to him, needing to touch the younger agent so he can know for sure that he is still alive.
Kate is sitting in the chair starring at Tony, she doesn't say anything as Gibbs leans over and kisses Tony's forehead. She understands how he is feeling and she knows that nothing will ever be the same again.
Chapter 4
The two NCIS agents spent the night in those chairs beside Tony's bed. Gibbs was awake for most of the time, watching over Tony and Kate. He eyed the night nurse closely whenever she came in to do her check up on Tony, who was thankfully sleeping through the whole night.
When the morning sun began to shine through the big windows, Gibbs stood up and stretched his body, it was definitely time for a coffee, he thought and started to walk towards the door. He stopped and cast a glance at Tony before he stepped through the door and closed it carefully behind himself.
The smell of coffee woke Kate up, at first she thought she had spent the night at the office but then reality came rushing back to her. She straightened up in her chair and looked up to see Gibbs holding a cup of coffee towards her.
"Thanks." she said, accepting the cup, and glanced over to Tony.
"He hasn't woken up yet. Not even made a sound." Gibbs said, sitting down, his eyes firmly on Tony. "Did you sleep alright?"
"Good enough under the circumstances, and you?"
"Don't need much sleep."
There was a knock on the door and a nurse came in. She greeted them before she walked over to Tony to check his vitals.
"Everything's looking fine," she said with an encouraging smile before she walked out again.
Relieved, Gibbs and Kate nodded. Suddenly Gibbs' cell began to ring. He checked the caller ID, it was Abby who wanted an update on Tony's condition.
Tony heard voices. They sounded strange and far away but he thought he recognised them. He strained his ears to hear them and when they came closer they sounded like Gibbs and Kate.
Oh no, he thought. Must have fallen asleep again at the desk or in the car. He hoped he could shake off the cobwebs and look alert before Gibbs noticed and went ballistic on him.
Tony tried to open his eyes, but it took a few attempts until he finally got them open. He didn't recognise the room he was in but he saw Kate and Gibbs, sitting and talking quietly. He shifted a little and pain shot through his body, making him draw a deep, hissing breath that only brought more pain.
Gibbs looked up when he heard the sharp intake of air and saw that Tony was awake but in pain. He grabbed the younger man's uninjured hand and looked him in the eyes.
"Wow, take it easy there," Gibbs said. "Breathe slowly and the pain will pass."
Tony did as his boss told him and after a few minutes the pain subsided to a more tolerable level. He looked at Gibbs and Kate with big eyes.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Do you remember the call about the break-in and that we drove down to the house?" Kate asked him. Tony nodded and Gibbs continued, "I sent you in alone because the MP's said they had checked the house. Turned out the burglar was still inside."
"I was upstairs and my cell started to ring when he hit me from behind...," Tony said as memories slowly began to come back. "We fought; the guy was pretty big and strong. Then I take it we fell down the stairs?" Gibbs and Kate nodded. "What happened to him?"
"Well, you landed on him and the doctor thinks that's why you were so lucky, but the guy died on his way here." Gibbs said.
"Oh." Tony said, feeling anything but lucky. He had killed a man, not on purpose but still he had killed him.
"It wasn't your fault," Gibbs said, sensing Tony's thoughts. "It was an accident."
Tony nodded, but the thought kept lingering in his head.
"So, when can I get out of here?" he asked, changing the topic.
"As soon as the doctor's cleared you," Kate said and, as if on cue, Doctor Anderson walked in.
He examined Tony thoroughly, and then told them that he wanted to run an MIR scan just to be on the safe side. If everything turned out alright, Tony could be released later in the day. Gibbs and Kate decided to wait in the room while Tony was going through the tests.
After a few hours doctor Anderson brought Tony back with the news that everything seemed alright so far and Tony was free to leave but that he should come back at the slightest sign of problems. The doctor then left to prepare the papers for Tony's release.
Gibbs and Kate stayed behind with Tony, who slowly sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the side. Gibbs handed him a bag of clothes that Kate had bought in the hospital shop while Tony was being examined.
"Very nice, Kate." Tony said with a smile as he took out a pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt and a hooded jacket with zipper. "I'm flattered that you know my size."
Kate just laughed at him, happy to see that he seemed alright. Expectantly, Tony looked at Gibbs and Kate.
"Well, are you two going to leave so I can get dressed?" he asked.
"Nope." Gibbs said with the barest hint of a twinkle in his ice blue eyes.
"But, boss," Tony said. "I'm a big boy, ya know?"
"It's still no, DiNozzo."
Tony just looked at Gibbs and then at Kate, his forehead creased ever so slightly. He was confused. Gibbs had been unusually nice to him all morning and Kate had not teased him once. And now they insisted on staying with him. Something was definitely up. He put the thought aside and moved to stand up. A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him and he swayed slightly. Gibbs was at his side in a split-second, steadying him.
Tony momentarily felt embarrassed but at the same time relished the feeling of the strong arm holding him safely.
"Now you know why." Gibbs said in a slightly exasperated voice. "Someone has to make sure that you don't fall flat on your face."
Hearing Kate snicker from her side of the bed, Tony turned around and stuck out his tongue. She just smiled at him and something was different in her eyes. Tony inwardly shook his head, he must have hit it pretty hard because it almost seemed as if Kate was flirting with him...
He felt even more uneasy when Gibbs and Kate helped him get undressed and put him into in the new clothes. He tried to say something, but both Gibbs and Kate shot him a glare that made him close his mouth.
When he was fully dressed Gibbs carefully helped him sit down on the bed again to catch his breath. The door opened and a nurse appeared with his release papers and a wheelchair. Tony started to protest but Gibbs looked at him with his "don't mess with me" glare. Knowing better than to argue, Tony allowed Kate to help him into the wheelchair.
He was lost in thought as they wheeled him out of the hospital and bundled him into the car. Kate noticed the pensive look on his face and wondered if it had anything to do with Gibbs' and her own recent behaviour. It was not that they had treated Tony all that nicely of late. After all the criticism and standard "bastard" treatment from Gibbs and her own constant razzing, Tony had to be confused by their unusually friendly demeanour of the last few hours. They had to make sure that he knew this was they way it should be, that he was, after all, a loved and appreciated member of their little family.
She sighed when she realised how much explaining and maybe apologising lay ahead of them but for the time being she was just glad they had him back…
The End or...