Chapter Five
Gibbs and his team were getting into position outside the house, moving quietly. Two other back-up teams were also getting into position. The house was dark, everyone appeared to be asleep. Giving the signal, they moved in.
There was very little resistance, having surprised the Mancusos while they were asleep. At least most of them. Gianni Mancuso had fought hard, killing an agent and wounding another before he ran into a bedroom. Gibbs followed him, breaking the door down and storming in, his gun ready. He found Mancuso on the bed, holding a woman in his arms. Gun aimed at the man and backed up by Ziva, Gibbs slowly advanced on the pair.
Gianni Mancuso held his sister tenderly in his arms. He looked up at Gibbs and whispered, "She can't go to prison. She's too good, she'd never survive." Looking closely, Gibbs could see the young woman's head was at a strange angle. Gianni Mancuso had broken his sister's neck, to spare her from being put away. The large man was crying as he rocked Alexandra's body. Two FBI agents came into the room, Gibbs walked out, leaving them to take the man into custody.
McGee joined Gibbs and Ziva when they came out of the bedroom. "No sign of Tony yet, Boss," he said grimly.
"Down here!" yelled someone from the cellar. Gibbs raced down the stairs where another agent was bending over a body lying on its side on the floor. Heart beating rapidly, he approached them, recognizing the swollen face of his missing agent.
Tony was unconscious, his face covered with a sheen of perspiration, his breathing rapid and shallow. He appeared to be in shock, shivering uncontrollably. He was covered with a blanket, duct tape over his mouth.
Kneeling quickly, Gibbs turned Tony's face toward him and gently removed the tape.
"Tony," he said softly, not wanting to startle the younger man. "DiNozzo, can you hear me?" McGee and Ziva had followed him and crouched down beside Tony.
"Is he alive?" McGee asked fearfully.
"He's breathing," replied Gibbs.
"There's blood on the blanket." Ziva pointed to a large stain. She carefully lifted the blanket, then cursed softly. Gibbs looked to see what she discovered and drew his breath in sharply. "Damn it. Where are the EMT's?"
"They're on their way," replied McGee.
"Gibbs." Gibbs looked over at Ziva, who indicated an object on the floor. His eyes followed her signal and he swore loudly. An empty beer bottle lay under the table, blood evident on the neck.
Turning back to Tony, Gibbs started stroking his hair, speaking softly to the unconscious agent. The three of them stayed like that, trying to comfort their teammate, until the medical team arrived to care for him and transport him to the hospital.
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Tony woke up in the hospital, 32 hours later. He knew something was different the minute he started regaining awareness. He was no longer cold and in pain. He felt pleasantly warm and comfortable, and he didn't want to wake up, but his body kept drawing him out of the welcome darkness.
Opening his eyes carefully, he blinked to focus. He looked around and spotted Gibbs, sitting in a chair next to him, dozing, with a cup of coffee in his hand tipping dangerously.
Clearing his throat, he tested his voice, "Boss?"
Gibbs started at the sound, his sharp gaze honing in on Tony, the cup of coffee never hitting the ground.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs was at the side of the bed swiftly, "how you feeling?"
Looking around, confused, Tony tried to be flip. "I've been better."
Unsmiling, Gibbs just looked at the young man. Squirming nervously, Tony said in a small voice, "Not too good, Boss. How'd you find me?"
"I got a phone call."
Tony looked surprised. "Alexandra?"
"Yes."
"Is she in custody?"
Gibbs paused, then decided to tell his agent the truth. "She's dead, Tony. Her brother killed her so she wouldn't have to go to prison." He was surprised at the tears in the younger man's eyes.
"Dead?" whispered Tony.
Gibbs nodded.
"She tried to help me."
"She did help you. She told us where you were."
Tony took a shaky breath. "She stopped them… from hurting me. But Gianni came down later, after she had gone to sleep…" his voice broke.
Gibbs took his hand and squeezed comfortingly. "You're going to be okay, DiNozzo. The doctor said there's no permanent damage, and we'll help you get through the rest."
Tony looked at him, his eyes haunted by memories. "I don't know if I can, Boss." Tears started to slip down his cheeks. "I don't think I can forget."
"You'll work through it, Tony. I know you'll be able to," assured Gibbs. "You'll have help, the doctors will help you, and we'll be there to help you. I'm not going to let you lose yourself to what happened. You're strong, and when you're not feeling strong, we'll be strong for you. I'll be strong for you."
Tony still looked uncertain. "It's too soon, too fresh for you to realize, but believe me, with help, you'll be able to put this behind you. You survived, Tony." Gibbs squeezed his hand. "You survived and you're alive. You won't be the same, but it's up to you if you'll be strong or you'll allow yourself to break."
"You'll help me?" Tony's voice was shaky.
Smiling, Gibbs ruffled the hair on Tony's head. "I'll help you. That's a promise."
TBC
Chapter End Notes:
Disclaimer I don't own the characters in this story, except for the original ones. I'm not making any money from this, no copyright infringement is intended.
Huge thanks to my beta, Rinne, for correcting my errant punctuation. She's a peach.
Huge thanks to my beta, Rinne, for correcting my errant punctuation. She's a peach.