Chapter 24:
The hike through the woods had taken longer than McGee, Ziva or Fornell would have liked but eventually they were able to see signs of the camp in the distance. Relief came over all of them, knowing that now they would finally find out what had happened. As they entered the camp, the three agents were shocked by what they found. They had expected that things were bad, but nothing could have prepared any of them for the reality of the situation.
The other father-son pairs sat in an almost protective circle around Gibbs, who sat at Tony's right side, supporting him as he slept. They had tensed when McGee, Ziva and Fornell had first entered the camp but Gibbs quietly said something to them and they all relaxed. Walking closer to the group, Erikson's body came into view at the same time they noticed Myers tied to a tree. But all these things were pushed to the side as they each took in Gibbs and Tony's appearance.
Gibbs' nose was obviously broken. There was swelling around his eyes and black and blue bruises made him look like a raccoon. His wrists had been rubbed raw from being restrained. Tony on the other hand looked like he had been used as a human punching bag. As one of the men, Gary, moved the blanket out of the way to check on him, they saw an assortment of colorful bruises covering his body. The long gash on his left side was blistering as if it were a burn.
"How far behind is the ambulance?" Gibbs asked quietly as they approached.
"A good 15 minutes at least," Fornell answered. "What the hell happened?" Fornell had been just as shocked as McGee and Ziva when he saw Dinozzo. Something had to have gone very wrong; Gibbs would never have let Dinozzo take a beating like that if he could help it.
"I got to see what the river is like as a water slide," Tony muttered as he woke up.
"But you never left the camp," McGee said. "Abby and I have been monitoring you the entire time."
"Erikson took my watch before he threw me in," answered Tony as he moved to sit up on his own, but after a stab of pain decided against it and let Gibbs continue to support him.
"And was this before or after you were stabbed?" asked Ziva.
"What?" Tony looked at her questioningly, wondering if he was really that far out of it that he had forgotten that wound.
Ziva pointed to his left side. "I know rocks can be sharp, but there's no way that they would cause that kind of damage."
"Oh," Tony said, suddenly understanding. "He tried to shoot me, before taking the watch and throwing me into the river."
"I'd say he did more than try, Tony," Gibbs said.
"Jus' a scratch," Tony slurred as he started struggling to stay awake again.
"Sure it is," Gibbs said as he readjusted the blanket around Tony as he slipped into unconsciousness.
"How bad is he?" asked McGee.
"He's got a fever and his ribs are probably cracked," Gary said. "I can't believe he lasted as long as he did."
"What do you mean?" Ziva questioned.
"He was thrown into the river, Ziva," Gibbs said softly. "And now he's back here. You do the math."
"Not to mention he took care of Myers before releasing you so you both could deal with Erikson," Ray put in before Ziva could respond.
"Then he fixed the radio so we could contact you," Gibbs added.
"Tony fixed the radio?" McGee asked surprised.
"Is there anything that Dinozzo didn't do?" Fornell asked.
"I'll tell you what I won't do," Tony mumbled as he woke up.
"Yeah, what's that?" Gibbs asked.
"Paperwork. We did the leg work," Tony said.
Gibbs smirked at Fornell as he said, "Sounds fair to me. I haven't even told them what happened to the drugs yet."
"You mean to tell me that after everything that happened you still managed to find out what they did with the drugs?" Ziva wondered in disbelief.
Tony started to laugh, but was cut off as he started to cough. Gary quickly moved to help Gibbs sit Tony in a more upright position as he caught his breath. Once he caught his breath he slumped back into Gibbs, exhausted from the amount of effort it took to get his breathing under control again. Gary helped Tony take a drink from a bottle of water before reapplying ointment and a fresh cloth to his side again.
"Tony followed Myers to the drop site before he took him out," Gibbs said, picking up the conversation again.
"And?" Fornell asked, relieved to know that they had at least gotten the information that they needed.
Gibbs glared at Fornell. "And I think you and your people should have been a little more thorough. Myers made the drop by train tracks."
Fornell looked stunned. "Train tracks? You can't be serious."
"Old, not in use anymore," Tony gasped.
"Relax, Tony. Fornell's doing the paperwork, remember?" Gibbs ordered. Tony was having enough trouble breathing already; he didn't need to make things worse by talking.
Tony sighed, and Gibbs took that as a sign that he understood. Putting a hand to Tony's forehead, Gibbs muttered a curse. Tony seemed to be getting worse by the minute.
"I think you should radio that chopper, let them know that they aren't on stand-by anymore," McGee told Fornell as he handed him the radio.
Seeing Gibbs' questioning glance, Fornell explained, "I called ahead before we hiked down here, just in case. There's no way the ambulance crew will be able to maneuver a gurney on that trail."
"I'll head back," Ziva said quickly. "Tell them what I can about Tony's condition so they will have an idea of what they are dealing with when they get here." At Gibbs' nod she was off at a run, wasting no time.
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Ziva returned with the paramedic's ten minutes later, but it was ten minutes too long in Gibbs' opinion. Not long after Ziva had taken off Tony had fallen into a restless sleep, the fever no doubt causing him to have unpleasant dreams. Gibbs thought back to the nightmare that Tony had had back at the cabins and hated that there was nothing more he could do for him at the moment.
As the paramedic's started to work on Tony, Gibbs told McGee, Ziva and Fornell that they should get started on processing the scene. There was still a drug running operation to shut down and Gibbs would be damned if he and Tony had gone through hell for nothing. Gibbs also had McGee use the radio to send a message to NCIS, asking Ducky to head to the hospital to be there when Tony arrived. Gibbs didn't want Tony there alone, knowing how much the younger man hated hospitals.
The paramedic's, who introduced themselves as Zack and Scott, wasted no time in examining Tony. Gary offered his evaluation as they worked and they all readily agreed that Tony's ribs were cracked, but probably not broken. It was more than obvious that he had developed an infection and Zack inserted an IV while Scott placed an oxygen mask over Tony's face and started examining his side.
Meanwhile Tony stayed leaning against Gibbs, unaware of what was going on around him. This had Gibbs concerned, he knew Tony would have to be taken out by chopper, but he didn't want Tony waking up at the wrong time wondering what was going on.
"We can give him a small sedative so he won't wake up until after he arrives at the hospital," Zack assured him after listening to Gibbs voice his concerns. "With him being so exhausted as it is, it won't take much anyway."
It was another ten minutes later that the chopper arrived and Tony was carefully retrieved and started heading towards the hospital. Once it had left Scott had been insistent on checking on Gibbs' injuries while Zack made sure Gary, Jim, Ray and Jason were all right. Apart from rope burns on their wrists they were ok. He had been torn between wanting to oversee the scene and heading towards the hospital to see how Tony was doing.
"You're bleeding all over the crime scene," Ziva told him. "Go to the hospital. Unless you like hearing Ducky lecture about proper care of your own injuries."
"He can't be mad if you voluntarily go to the hospital," agreed McGee.
Gibbs saw what they were doing. They were eager to hear how Tony was doing as well. With him going to the hospital he could relieve Ducky who could in turn update them once he arrived to gather Erikson's body.
"Do not let Fornell take any of the evidence. I want all of it to go to Abby," Gibbs instructed. "And be sure he keeps you in the loop about the rest of the drug operation. We didn't do all the leg work to be brushed aside."
"I think Fornell knows better than to try something like that at this point," Ziva said.
"Just don't let him forget that you are still here," Gibbs said as he turned toward the paramedics who were waiting to examine him.
"You can examine me on the way to the hospital," he told them.
"Gibbs!" Gary called out to him as he made to leave the camp.
"Let us know how Tony's doing, ok?" Gary asked as the rest of the group stood back.
"I will. Thanks for everything, all of you," Gibbs said as he moved towards them and shook everyone's hand.
"When this is all over, we can all get together and you can tell us how things turned out," Jim said.
"Sounds like a plan," Gibbs said with a smile. He gave the group a final nod before turning back towards where Zack and Scott were waiting to take him to the hospital.
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Ducky had arrived at the hospital a few minutes after Tony had, but due to exhaustion and the small sedative he had received he was still unconscious, much to the doctor's relief. It would not do for Tony to wake up at the hospital alone with no one to fill him in on what was going on.
After a thorough examination Ducky was informed that there was no internal bleeding, his ribs were indeed cracked and while the infection was serious, it was treatable. Unfortunately, that meant that Tony would have to stay in the hospital until the infection was completely gone.
Ducky sighed to himself as he sat next to Tony and studied the younger man. His face held a few bruises and he was a bit paler than usual. The ER doctor had set him up with some oxygen by use of a nasal conduit to make it easier for Tony to breathe. Between the cracked ribs and the infection that his body was now fighting off, the doctor didn't want him exhausting himself even more to struggle to breathe while recovering.
"Excuse me, Doctor Mallard?" one of the nurses spoke quietly as she entered Tony's room.
"Yes?"
"I received a call from the ER. A Special Agent Gibbs was just brought in and he's asking about Agent Dinozzo's condition," she informed him.
"Asking or demanding?" Ducky replied with a chuckle as he rose from his chair.
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It had taken Gibbs almost two hours to get to the hospital. Zack, who was driving, was not inclined to turn on the siren and speed down the road just because he was impatient. He was also informed that he would just be waiting in the hospital even if they did get there fast, so what was the point? Then, of course, they had gotten stuck in traffic and by this time Gibbs had gone several hours without any coffee.
By the time they had reached the hospital, Gibbs was in no mood to wait. He had marched right up to the nurse's station and immediately requested the status of his agent. Instead the nurse had tried to persuade him to be seen by a doctor and Gibbs did not handle that too well. He knew his nose was broken and that he had plenty of bruises. He didn't care.
"Look, I am Special Agent Dinozzo's emergency contact AND next of kin, so if you don't tell me how he's doing in the next five seconds…"
"Jethro!" Ducky interrupted before Gibbs had a chance to finish his threat.
Gibbs had immediately looked over at Ducky and walked towards the man. "Well, how is he?"
"Well, he was sleeping when I left, but now I'm not so sure you didn't wake him up with all the commotion your causing down here!" Ducky quietly scolded him as he took in his friend's condition. "And you can let him sleep while you get examined."
"Ducky, I'm fine…" Gibbs started to say before Ducky interrupted him again.
"Yes, yes of course you are," Ducky said sarcastically. "But I know that once you get into Tony's room you won't leave until he wakes up, and when he wakes up do you really want him to see you looking exactly the way he left you? Honestly, Gibbs. The least you can do is change clothes and clean up a bit."
It was then that Gibbs noticed that Ducky was carrying his overnight bag that he usually kept at his desk. Sighing, knowing that there was no winning with Ducky, he said, "Throw in some coffee and we have a deal."
Ducky smirked as he nodded, knowing that was as close as Gibbs was going to come to admitting that he was right. Passing over the bag, Ducky said, "I'll see what I can dig up, just be nice to the hospital staff, they're just doing their job."
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Ducky had disappeared in search of coffee before Gibbs had had a chance to ask him again about Tony. He had said that Tony was sleeping but nothing more. After allowing the ER doctor to tape up his nose, Gibbs had carefully washed his face and changed cloths before heading back out into the waiting room where Ducky was waiting with a fresh cup of coffee.
"It's not your usual good brand, but its fairly decent for being from a hospital cafeteria," Ducky told him as he handed over the cup.
Gibbs took a long drink before looking Ducky in the eye and asked, "Well?"
"His room is this way," Ducky said as he started walking. He updated Gibbs on his condition and reassured him that Tony would be fine.
When they reached his room Gibbs was relieved to see that Tony was still asleep, but was concerned at the presence of oxygen being fed through Tony's nose.
"It's nothing to worry about, Jethro," Ducky reassured him. "Once his doctor read his file and found out about his bout with the plague he didn't want to put any more strain on Tony's lungs while he fights off the infection in his side."
Gibbs sighed. "How long is he going to have to stay here?"
"At least until the infection clears up," Ducky answered. "Maybe a bit longer to be on the safe side, but I have a feeling Anthony won't agree to that."
"He won't," Gibbs agreed.
"Well, I had better get going. Bodies won't autopsy themselves," Ducky said.
"Be prepared to be interrogated by McGee and Ziva," Gibbs warned him.
"After what Abby put me through over the phone, I am sure I will be able to handle it," Ducky laughed.
"She's not happy about being stuck in her lab is she?" Gibbs asked.
"No, but she understands. Just be sure that you don't brush her off when she sees you," Ducky warned him. "Anthony knows better by now, but you on the other hand…"
"Tony warned me already," Gibbs said with a laugh. "Have McGee or Ziva call here with an update when they can."
"Will do." Ducky quickly gathered his things and left and Gibbs settled down into the seat Ducky had occupied earlier and sighed. There was still a lot of work to be done, but for the moment he took the opportunity to relax, knowing that Tony was going to be ok and that the drug runners were all but caught. Relaxing even further into the chair, Gibbs fell into a light sleep.
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When Ducky finally arrived at the crime scene, McGee, Ziva and Fornell were the only people left. All of the evidence had been gathered and sent to Abby for analysis. Erikson's body was all that was left.
Ducky had immediately started informing the small group on Tony's condition before they had even had a chance to speak. Relief had shown on their faces once they had heard that he would be ok.
"Perhaps we should stop by on the way back to the office to update Gibbs," Ziva had suggested as Ducky started his work.
"We could, but what about Abby?" McGee asked. At Ziva's curious glance, McGee explained, "She's stuck processing evidence. If she finds something and she finds out we are at the hospital visiting Tony…"
"Which is where she wants to be," Ziva finished as she saw McGee's point.
"At least you will have more to report to Gibbs if you stop and see what she found first," Fornell stated. "I can get my people started on figuring out if there is anyplace along the train tracks that our drug runners use on a regular basis."
"Let us know when you find something," Ziva said. "We want in on the bust."
"Please, I know better than to go behind Gibbs' back," Fornell told her.
"Took you long enough," Ziva replied.
"Ducky's all set," McGee said, interrupting anything more that either agent might have wanted to say.
"Pity," Ziva said.
"What is?" McGee asked.
"I wouldn't have minded seeing Erikson in interrogation with Gibbs," she replied back with a smirk.
Grinning, McGee said, "Well, we still have Myers."
Chapter End Notes:
Sorry for the delay. As I have said before, work and school leaves me little time for fun stuff. However, if you would all send me good luck charms in the coming weeks it would be greatly appreciated as I may be getting a new job, one that would let me have more time to write!!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for your patience and please review!!!