Baby, It's Cold Out There 1/2 h/c Bingo Story 3
So, I've discovered that I can post on dreamwidth and not lose any formatting and it will auto-post to LJ. So much easier that adding in all the formatting by hand. Both parts are done and going up now, just didn't want to try and get it all into one posting.
Baby, It's Cold Outside
"Robbie!" Zablocki dropped to his knees, still clutching his throat and Robbie stared at him, not knowing what to do. Help Z-man and let the fed get away, or go after the fed? Now on the ground, Zablocki's hands fell away from his neck as the blood continued to pump, each spray a little less forceful than the one before.
"Z-man?" Moving closer, he nudged him with his foot but there was no response as the blood finally stopped. "Z-man?" Staring into the woods where McGee had disappeared, Robbie cursed and pulled out his gun. He stared at it in his hand before shoving it back into his belt and pulling out the larger handgun Zablocki had taken from the fed. It was time to go hunting.
---NCIS---
"There, that was the driveway." At Tony's yell, Ziva slammed on the brakes, struggling to keep the sedan on the slick, wet roadway The temperature was starting to drop and it was getting close to freezing. As soon as she could, she threw it into reverse and backed up the fifty feet needed to make the turn. The driveway was not what she was expecting, more of a beaten down path, but she put the headlights up on high and avoided the larger of the rocks.
Just because they were on the grandfather's property, they still didn't know exactly where the house was. With over twenty acres, most of it heavily wooded, they all just hoped the driveway would lead them there. They'd beat the locals here so at the moment they were on their own.
Finally, just when they were about to run out of driveway, a rundown cabin came into view, but it was what they saw off to the side that caught their attention, a body sprawled out on the ground, unmoving.
Gibbs had his door open before Ziva slowed. "No, God, no." He tumbled out, Tony just a few steps behind him, rushing to the body. "It's not him, it's not McGee."
"It's Zablocki." Tony looked carefully, wincing at the gaping slash that had severed his carotid artery, before he reached out to touch the body. "He's still warm. This was recent."
Ziva had brought the flashlights from the car and they quickly looked around, paying close attention to the now open cage.
"McGee was here, Boss."
"Yeah, but where is he now?" Showing a rare fit of anger, Gibbs shook Zablocki's body. "Where is he?"
Tony caught his arm. "Zablocki's dead, Boss, he can't tell us anything." He didn't know if he'd gotten through to the older man, but a gunshot in the distance halted the conversation.
---NCIS---
Tim knew without a doubt that Robbie was going to catch up to him. Maybe if he'd been uninjured, well-rested and fed, he might have managed it, but under the circumstances, it was a foregone conclusion. His one chance was to find someplace to hide. Then he might be able to double back and find help. Lungs burning and vision fading, he pressed on, flinching as a gunshot shattered a nearby branch. He stumbled and started sliding down a steep embankment.
---NCIS---
He killed Z-man. That fucking pig killed Z-man. The large weapon felt so good in his hand, so much better than the little peashooter he'd taken from his old man. Now he was going to use it to get his revenge. He spotted the fed running through the trees, stumbling like he was drunk or something. Grinning, Robbie drew down on his target. He really wasn't trying to hit him quite yet. No, he was going to have some fun first. He fired a shot, laughing at how the pig ducked, tripping over his own feet as chunks of the dead tree hit his side.
"Sooie, Sooie." Imitating a hog call he'd heard on television once, Robbie taunted the injured man, knowing that there was only one way out of the deep ravine he was sliding into. He'd circle around and be waiting for him on the other side. "There's no way out, piggy. Gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel."
Before he got too far, yelling could be heard and he realized their hiding spot had been discovered.
"Shit."
Looking around, Carpenter spotted a woman wearing a jacket like their hostage, running toward him, so he fired one more time before changing direction. This time he aimed.
---NCIS---
Unable to walk, Tim crawled and dragged himself further away from his surviving captor. He hadn't meant to end up trapped down in this deep crevasse, but he hadn't been able to stop the slide. Hearing Robbie call him like some damned pig pissed him off, but he didn't have the energy to respond, just try to crawl faster. Another shot, but this time a hot pain lanced through his leg and Tim tumbled further down, clear to the bottom where the brush was so thick that he couldn't see back up to the top.
He couldn't move any further and Tim let his head drop onto the ground as the rain started again. "I'm sorry, Boss, I tried." Giving in to his certain fate, Tim curled up as best he could and let the exhaustion take him away from the pain and the cold.
---NCIS---
"Spread out, find them." Gibbs paced along the flattened down path, looking at each clue. Someone had been along here, and recently. Another shot could be heard and they all picked up the pace, looking along the horizon for any sign of anyone. The rain increased and the wind picked up, but at least the lightening strikes were far enough away that they weren't in any immediate danger. The next flash of light showed the silhouette of someone running, gun in hand. They all started running, all three with guns drawn.
"Freeze!"
"NCIS, drop your weapon."
"Carpenter, don't make it any harder for yourself."
He seemed to look back at them before running even faster. Ziva drew down on him and Tony shoved her arm down. "We need him alive. He's the only one that knows where McGee is."
---NCIS---
The voices were familiar and pulled him back from the darkness. "Gibbs? Tony? Find me, Gibbs."
---NCIS---
The minute Tony's hand left her arm, Ziva aimed again and fired. Their suspect twisted, then went down, clutching his leg, so she turned to look Tony directly in the eye. "We do not have time to continue chasing him. McGee needs us now."
Tony didn't seem to have an answer for that and they ran, trying to catch up with Gibbs as he closed in on the suspect. He'd dropped his weapon to hold onto his leg and they all recognized that it was McGee's SIG that Tony kicked out of his reach.
Carpenter was crying, the blood welling up around his fingers. "It hurts."
That made Ziva smile just a bit but Gibbs grabbed his shirt and shook him hard. "Not as much as it's going to. Where's McGee?"
Carpenter just cried harder. "She shot me."
Ziva felt her eyes widen as Gibbs pulled his own weapon back out and pressed the barrel against Carpenter's forehead. "If you don't tell me right now, the next bullet will be mine." She'd seen Gibbs threaten a suspect before, she'd threatened suspects before, but the look in his eyes told her this was not a 'get the suspect to talk' threat. She glanced over at Tony, who looked up at her, apparently also worried.
"Gibbs?"
Instead of answering, Gibbs twisted his hand, grinding the barrel against Carpenter's skin. "Tell me."
"Don't shoot. Don't shoot. The gully - he fell down the gully. It's too steep to climb back up, not when it's wet like this."
Gibbs threw their suspect back down onto the ground and Ziva took over watching him while Gibbs and Tony eased to the edge where Carpenter had pointed. Their flashlights didn't show much, but the next flash of lightening showed the deep crevice in the ground. "McGee? McGee, can you hear me?"
Next to him, Tony was also looking, swinging his flashlight in a wide arc as he called in their approximate location. "Do you see him, Boss?"
"Not yet." Gibbs was moving along the edge, shining his light along the underbrush. After about twenty feet, he stopped and pointed out broken branches. "There, that's where he went over the edge." Instead of waiting for the rescue teams that were coming, Gibbs started a controlled slide down.
Cursing under his breath, Tony looked back at Ziva to make sure she had the suspect under control, then cursed again before following him down.
---NCIS---
"McGee? Tim, can you hear me?" Gibbs tried to both listen and watch for any sign of how far McGee had fallen. More broken branches, these with blood on them. That had to be recent, since the water had not totally washed it away and he listened closer.
Gibbs?
It was faint, faint enough that he wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him. "Tim? Where are you?"
Here.
With a direction, Gibbs pressed on, sliding another fifteen feet downwards to the very bottom. The brambles and saplings were so thick down here that it was hard to move and behind him he could hear Tony struggling to get through. Almost on his hands and knees, he searched and pushed, trying to hear anything else. "Tim? Tim?"
---NCIS---
"Shit, shit, shit." Tony found the only way down was to sit on his butt and slide as he felt his pants rip and the mud made him slimy. Gibbs was too intense to leave to do this alone, he wasn't sure how the older man would react if McGee were badly hurt or - God forbid - didn't survive. Gibbs was calling out and acted like he'd heard something, but Tony didn't hear it. Further down they went and Tony struggled with the backpack getting snagged. It was tempting to slip out of it, but he had some basic first aid supplies in there and with any luck they'd need them. If not, the space blanket would have a second usage. Slapping his own head, he forced that thought away.
"Tim? Tim?"
"Did you find him?"
"Not yet."
Gibbs was on his hand and knees, feeling around as if their missing man would be hiding under a few leafs. He'd slowed down enough that Tony finally caught up with him and for that he was grateful. "Boss?"
"He's here, someplace, Tony. We'll find him."
Tony wasn't so sure but he had faith, both in his boss and in the man they were searching for. Finally, Gibbs apparently grabbed a hold of something he liked.
"McGee! Tony, I've got him. Get the medics."
Swinging his flashlight around, Tony saw Gibbs pulling McGee out from under a large bush. He was white with almost a blueish tint to his skin and Tony cursed as he tried to pull out his phone again with nearly numb fingers. He made the call by rote as he watched Gibbs pull McGee close, giving him a hard sternum rub, looking for some kind of response.
---NCIS---
"McGee? Damn it, McGee, don't give up on me." Gibbs tried a second time, rubbing hard enough on Tim's chest that even his own knuckles hurt from the pressure. A slight groan was his reward. "Thank God. Stay with me, Tim. You're safe now, we've got you."
Tony was on the phone with someone, trying to explain the path they'd taken from the run down house, so Gibbs concentrated on McGee. He was beyond pale, a blue tint around his lips, and cold to the touch. At the moment he looked like one of the bodies on Ducky's table and the thought made Gibbs shudder. Tim wasn't dead and he wasn't going to be any time soon, not if he had anything to say about it. What he was, was cold - hypothermia, probably, and Gibbs knew they had to start getting him warmed up.
Shifting around in the cold, slimy mud that seemed to try to suck him down, Gibbs sat next to Tim and pulled him up onto his lap. With one hand holding McGee upright it was a little awkward but he got his coat unzipped and managed to get Tim close enough to hopefully share some of his body heat. Tony was moving closer, fumbling with his backpack and then Gibbs saw a flash as Tony started unfolding a silver Mylar blanket. As Tony held it out, Gibbs pulled it around them, wrapping it as tightly as he could.
"Thanks."
"Storm's got all the choppers grounded, but Sheriff and State Police are almost here. Ambulance is right behind them." Tony tugged his stocking cap off and put it on McGee's head. "How bad?"
Gibbs shifted them around enough that he could feel the very faint puffs of air that meant Tim was still breathing. "He's alive."
Yelling could be heard up above and a few seconds later a beam of light fluttered around them. Tony backed up enough to stand and get help down to them while Gibbs held Tim, murmuring nonsense just to give Tim something to grasp a hold of. Out of the corner of his eye he caught something being thrown down and then Tony returned opening a bag of first aid supplies.
---NCIS---
Tony had never been so grateful in his life as when he caught the tossed first aid kit. He had a Mylar emergency blanket with him and some bandages and ointments, but one look at McGee's injuries had told him that wasn't going to do much good beyond the blanket. Ripping the pack open as he moved back to Gibbs and McGee, he dug out the pressure bandages.
The fresh blood was coming from McGee's leg, so that was what he wrapped up first, not liking at all how cold the skin was to the touch. Gibbs wasn't reacting normally either, which didn't help Tony's nerves. Carefully pulling the blanket back enough to see, he found the second, older bullet wound. Back to front, right under his shoulder, it looked like it had missed most of everything vital.
"Can you lift him up a bit, Boss?"
"Yeah."
Something about the tenderness hit Tony in the gut, but he focused on what he was doing and got the second pressure bandage in place before wrapping the emergency blanket back around the two men. McGee stirred without opening his eyes.
"You're safe, Tim. I've got you."
"B'ss?"
"Yeah, Buddy, I'm right here." Gibbs pulled him close and Tony felt like he was watching their relationship changing somehow.
"You found me."
"Always." Gibbs wrapped himself more around McGee to almost whisper in his ear. "I'll always find you."
More voices could be heard up above, so Tony shifted his attention to the new arrivals. "We need to get him out of here, now."
"Chopper's still grounded, ambulance is almost here. Is there room down there for rescue, or do you want us to just send the backboard down there?"
There was room, maybe, but to be honest Tony didn't want strangers around Gibbs and McGee right now. "Send it down. We'll get him on it."
"Okay. Here, head's up."
Tony looked up in time to catch another bag, this one smaller than the first aid kit. Opening it, he found a pile of emergency heat packs. "Thanks." Moving back to Gibbs and McGee, he started opening and shaking them.
Once he had the first three getting warm, he started tucking them under the blanket, up against McGee. "You're going to be okay, Tim."
McGee's teeth were starting to chatter as his body became more responsive and aware of the cold. "Where's... where's..."
Gibbs wrapped his arms even tighter against him. "He's in custody, Tim. They're never coming near you again."
McGee didn't say anything, but he started moving, twisting around as if he was trying to reach for something.
"Easy, easy, don't move around. What are you trying to get?"
"Pocket."
The two men were too wrapped together for Tony to help so he had to wait while Gibbs reached down to the apparent pocket. It took him a minute, but he smiled as he apparently found what Tim needed. Tony's curiosity won out. "Boss?"
Gibbs' hand came up, holding a set of handcuffs. "You make sure Ziva gets those on McGee's prisoner?"
Tony felt his face crease into a matching smile. "You bet." He had to move back about ten feet to get to where the shrubbery was thin enough to make the toss before yelling out to the deputy up there. "Hey, tell Agent David to use these on the prisoner, okay?"
He had to be careful, because if the toss wasn't successful they probably wouldn't find the cuffs until spring, but it worked and the deputy stared at the handcuffs he was now holding, probably wondering what was so different about this pair as opposed to every other pair in the forest at the moment. Tony watched him shrug and move away toward where Ziva was waiting with Carpenter.
---NCIS---
Ziva was getting more and more annoyed with her prisoner and if he didn't stop whining pretty soon, she's claim he'd tried to escape so she could shoot him again. "Shut up, you are not dying."
"But it hurts. I'm still bleeding."
"Perhaps you will remember this the next time you hurt someone else." They watched as more law enforcement officers arrived and a bag with a large red cross was tossed down to her teammates. She breathed a sigh of relief. If they needed first aid supplies, then McGee was still alive.
"Hey, what about me. Aren't they going to treat my wound?"
She just tightened her grasp on the twisted arm. Sure, she could put cuffs on him, but personally pinning him was so much more satisfying. Carpenter whimpered again and she smiled.
It was a surprise when one of the deputies came up to her. Up until this point, they had not interfered with her handling of the prisoner. The deputy smiled and handed over a pair of handcuffs. One glance and she could tell they were federal issue, not from the locals and she wondered what Gibbs or Tony meant by them.
"Here, your injured guy wanted you to have these. I don't know why."
Now it made sense and she gave Carpenter a feral grin. "These are Agent McGee's handcuffs. After everything you did to him, you will still leave here as his prisoner." Just to make sure, she put them on extra tight, both she and the deputy smiling at the whimper.
She could have waited for a stretcher, but instead she pulled him to his feet, the deputy grabbing his other arm when Carpenter almost went back down. "Come, we will get started. It is a long walk back."
"But my leg?"
"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you shot and kidnapped a federal agent, yes?"
"It was Z-man's idea to take him with us." Carpenter was sobbing now and Ziva had no sympathy for him.
"He is dead and you are the only one left to take the trip, no, fall." Pleased she'd gotten that one corrected herself, Ziva tugged on his arm, dragging him along.
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Baby, It's Cold Outside
"Robbie!" Zablocki dropped to his knees, still clutching his throat and Robbie stared at him, not knowing what to do. Help Z-man and let the fed get away, or go after the fed? Now on the ground, Zablocki's hands fell away from his neck as the blood continued to pump, each spray a little less forceful than the one before.
"Z-man?" Moving closer, he nudged him with his foot but there was no response as the blood finally stopped. "Z-man?" Staring into the woods where McGee had disappeared, Robbie cursed and pulled out his gun. He stared at it in his hand before shoving it back into his belt and pulling out the larger handgun Zablocki had taken from the fed. It was time to go hunting.
---NCIS---
"There, that was the driveway." At Tony's yell, Ziva slammed on the brakes, struggling to keep the sedan on the slick, wet roadway The temperature was starting to drop and it was getting close to freezing. As soon as she could, she threw it into reverse and backed up the fifty feet needed to make the turn. The driveway was not what she was expecting, more of a beaten down path, but she put the headlights up on high and avoided the larger of the rocks.
Just because they were on the grandfather's property, they still didn't know exactly where the house was. With over twenty acres, most of it heavily wooded, they all just hoped the driveway would lead them there. They'd beat the locals here so at the moment they were on their own.
Finally, just when they were about to run out of driveway, a rundown cabin came into view, but it was what they saw off to the side that caught their attention, a body sprawled out on the ground, unmoving.
Gibbs had his door open before Ziva slowed. "No, God, no." He tumbled out, Tony just a few steps behind him, rushing to the body. "It's not him, it's not McGee."
"It's Zablocki." Tony looked carefully, wincing at the gaping slash that had severed his carotid artery, before he reached out to touch the body. "He's still warm. This was recent."
Ziva had brought the flashlights from the car and they quickly looked around, paying close attention to the now open cage.
"McGee was here, Boss."
"Yeah, but where is he now?" Showing a rare fit of anger, Gibbs shook Zablocki's body. "Where is he?"
Tony caught his arm. "Zablocki's dead, Boss, he can't tell us anything." He didn't know if he'd gotten through to the older man, but a gunshot in the distance halted the conversation.
---NCIS---
Tim knew without a doubt that Robbie was going to catch up to him. Maybe if he'd been uninjured, well-rested and fed, he might have managed it, but under the circumstances, it was a foregone conclusion. His one chance was to find someplace to hide. Then he might be able to double back and find help. Lungs burning and vision fading, he pressed on, flinching as a gunshot shattered a nearby branch. He stumbled and started sliding down a steep embankment.
---NCIS---
He killed Z-man. That fucking pig killed Z-man. The large weapon felt so good in his hand, so much better than the little peashooter he'd taken from his old man. Now he was going to use it to get his revenge. He spotted the fed running through the trees, stumbling like he was drunk or something. Grinning, Robbie drew down on his target. He really wasn't trying to hit him quite yet. No, he was going to have some fun first. He fired a shot, laughing at how the pig ducked, tripping over his own feet as chunks of the dead tree hit his side.
"Sooie, Sooie." Imitating a hog call he'd heard on television once, Robbie taunted the injured man, knowing that there was only one way out of the deep ravine he was sliding into. He'd circle around and be waiting for him on the other side. "There's no way out, piggy. Gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel."
Before he got too far, yelling could be heard and he realized their hiding spot had been discovered.
"Shit."
Looking around, Carpenter spotted a woman wearing a jacket like their hostage, running toward him, so he fired one more time before changing direction. This time he aimed.
---NCIS---
Unable to walk, Tim crawled and dragged himself further away from his surviving captor. He hadn't meant to end up trapped down in this deep crevasse, but he hadn't been able to stop the slide. Hearing Robbie call him like some damned pig pissed him off, but he didn't have the energy to respond, just try to crawl faster. Another shot, but this time a hot pain lanced through his leg and Tim tumbled further down, clear to the bottom where the brush was so thick that he couldn't see back up to the top.
He couldn't move any further and Tim let his head drop onto the ground as the rain started again. "I'm sorry, Boss, I tried." Giving in to his certain fate, Tim curled up as best he could and let the exhaustion take him away from the pain and the cold.
---NCIS---
"Spread out, find them." Gibbs paced along the flattened down path, looking at each clue. Someone had been along here, and recently. Another shot could be heard and they all picked up the pace, looking along the horizon for any sign of anyone. The rain increased and the wind picked up, but at least the lightening strikes were far enough away that they weren't in any immediate danger. The next flash of light showed the silhouette of someone running, gun in hand. They all started running, all three with guns drawn.
"Freeze!"
"NCIS, drop your weapon."
"Carpenter, don't make it any harder for yourself."
He seemed to look back at them before running even faster. Ziva drew down on him and Tony shoved her arm down. "We need him alive. He's the only one that knows where McGee is."
---NCIS---
The voices were familiar and pulled him back from the darkness. "Gibbs? Tony? Find me, Gibbs."
---NCIS---
The minute Tony's hand left her arm, Ziva aimed again and fired. Their suspect twisted, then went down, clutching his leg, so she turned to look Tony directly in the eye. "We do not have time to continue chasing him. McGee needs us now."
Tony didn't seem to have an answer for that and they ran, trying to catch up with Gibbs as he closed in on the suspect. He'd dropped his weapon to hold onto his leg and they all recognized that it was McGee's SIG that Tony kicked out of his reach.
Carpenter was crying, the blood welling up around his fingers. "It hurts."
That made Ziva smile just a bit but Gibbs grabbed his shirt and shook him hard. "Not as much as it's going to. Where's McGee?"
Carpenter just cried harder. "She shot me."
Ziva felt her eyes widen as Gibbs pulled his own weapon back out and pressed the barrel against Carpenter's forehead. "If you don't tell me right now, the next bullet will be mine." She'd seen Gibbs threaten a suspect before, she'd threatened suspects before, but the look in his eyes told her this was not a 'get the suspect to talk' threat. She glanced over at Tony, who looked up at her, apparently also worried.
"Gibbs?"
Instead of answering, Gibbs twisted his hand, grinding the barrel against Carpenter's skin. "Tell me."
"Don't shoot. Don't shoot. The gully - he fell down the gully. It's too steep to climb back up, not when it's wet like this."
Gibbs threw their suspect back down onto the ground and Ziva took over watching him while Gibbs and Tony eased to the edge where Carpenter had pointed. Their flashlights didn't show much, but the next flash of lightening showed the deep crevice in the ground. "McGee? McGee, can you hear me?"
Next to him, Tony was also looking, swinging his flashlight in a wide arc as he called in their approximate location. "Do you see him, Boss?"
"Not yet." Gibbs was moving along the edge, shining his light along the underbrush. After about twenty feet, he stopped and pointed out broken branches. "There, that's where he went over the edge." Instead of waiting for the rescue teams that were coming, Gibbs started a controlled slide down.
Cursing under his breath, Tony looked back at Ziva to make sure she had the suspect under control, then cursed again before following him down.
---NCIS---
"McGee? Tim, can you hear me?" Gibbs tried to both listen and watch for any sign of how far McGee had fallen. More broken branches, these with blood on them. That had to be recent, since the water had not totally washed it away and he listened closer.
Gibbs?
It was faint, faint enough that he wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him. "Tim? Where are you?"
Here.
With a direction, Gibbs pressed on, sliding another fifteen feet downwards to the very bottom. The brambles and saplings were so thick down here that it was hard to move and behind him he could hear Tony struggling to get through. Almost on his hands and knees, he searched and pushed, trying to hear anything else. "Tim? Tim?"
---NCIS---
"Shit, shit, shit." Tony found the only way down was to sit on his butt and slide as he felt his pants rip and the mud made him slimy. Gibbs was too intense to leave to do this alone, he wasn't sure how the older man would react if McGee were badly hurt or - God forbid - didn't survive. Gibbs was calling out and acted like he'd heard something, but Tony didn't hear it. Further down they went and Tony struggled with the backpack getting snagged. It was tempting to slip out of it, but he had some basic first aid supplies in there and with any luck they'd need them. If not, the space blanket would have a second usage. Slapping his own head, he forced that thought away.
"Tim? Tim?"
"Did you find him?"
"Not yet."
Gibbs was on his hand and knees, feeling around as if their missing man would be hiding under a few leafs. He'd slowed down enough that Tony finally caught up with him and for that he was grateful. "Boss?"
"He's here, someplace, Tony. We'll find him."
Tony wasn't so sure but he had faith, both in his boss and in the man they were searching for. Finally, Gibbs apparently grabbed a hold of something he liked.
"McGee! Tony, I've got him. Get the medics."
Swinging his flashlight around, Tony saw Gibbs pulling McGee out from under a large bush. He was white with almost a blueish tint to his skin and Tony cursed as he tried to pull out his phone again with nearly numb fingers. He made the call by rote as he watched Gibbs pull McGee close, giving him a hard sternum rub, looking for some kind of response.
---NCIS---
"McGee? Damn it, McGee, don't give up on me." Gibbs tried a second time, rubbing hard enough on Tim's chest that even his own knuckles hurt from the pressure. A slight groan was his reward. "Thank God. Stay with me, Tim. You're safe now, we've got you."
Tony was on the phone with someone, trying to explain the path they'd taken from the run down house, so Gibbs concentrated on McGee. He was beyond pale, a blue tint around his lips, and cold to the touch. At the moment he looked like one of the bodies on Ducky's table and the thought made Gibbs shudder. Tim wasn't dead and he wasn't going to be any time soon, not if he had anything to say about it. What he was, was cold - hypothermia, probably, and Gibbs knew they had to start getting him warmed up.
Shifting around in the cold, slimy mud that seemed to try to suck him down, Gibbs sat next to Tim and pulled him up onto his lap. With one hand holding McGee upright it was a little awkward but he got his coat unzipped and managed to get Tim close enough to hopefully share some of his body heat. Tony was moving closer, fumbling with his backpack and then Gibbs saw a flash as Tony started unfolding a silver Mylar blanket. As Tony held it out, Gibbs pulled it around them, wrapping it as tightly as he could.
"Thanks."
"Storm's got all the choppers grounded, but Sheriff and State Police are almost here. Ambulance is right behind them." Tony tugged his stocking cap off and put it on McGee's head. "How bad?"
Gibbs shifted them around enough that he could feel the very faint puffs of air that meant Tim was still breathing. "He's alive."
Yelling could be heard up above and a few seconds later a beam of light fluttered around them. Tony backed up enough to stand and get help down to them while Gibbs held Tim, murmuring nonsense just to give Tim something to grasp a hold of. Out of the corner of his eye he caught something being thrown down and then Tony returned opening a bag of first aid supplies.
---NCIS---
Tony had never been so grateful in his life as when he caught the tossed first aid kit. He had a Mylar emergency blanket with him and some bandages and ointments, but one look at McGee's injuries had told him that wasn't going to do much good beyond the blanket. Ripping the pack open as he moved back to Gibbs and McGee, he dug out the pressure bandages.
The fresh blood was coming from McGee's leg, so that was what he wrapped up first, not liking at all how cold the skin was to the touch. Gibbs wasn't reacting normally either, which didn't help Tony's nerves. Carefully pulling the blanket back enough to see, he found the second, older bullet wound. Back to front, right under his shoulder, it looked like it had missed most of everything vital.
"Can you lift him up a bit, Boss?"
"Yeah."
Something about the tenderness hit Tony in the gut, but he focused on what he was doing and got the second pressure bandage in place before wrapping the emergency blanket back around the two men. McGee stirred without opening his eyes.
"You're safe, Tim. I've got you."
"B'ss?"
"Yeah, Buddy, I'm right here." Gibbs pulled him close and Tony felt like he was watching their relationship changing somehow.
"You found me."
"Always." Gibbs wrapped himself more around McGee to almost whisper in his ear. "I'll always find you."
More voices could be heard up above, so Tony shifted his attention to the new arrivals. "We need to get him out of here, now."
"Chopper's still grounded, ambulance is almost here. Is there room down there for rescue, or do you want us to just send the backboard down there?"
There was room, maybe, but to be honest Tony didn't want strangers around Gibbs and McGee right now. "Send it down. We'll get him on it."
"Okay. Here, head's up."
Tony looked up in time to catch another bag, this one smaller than the first aid kit. Opening it, he found a pile of emergency heat packs. "Thanks." Moving back to Gibbs and McGee, he started opening and shaking them.
Once he had the first three getting warm, he started tucking them under the blanket, up against McGee. "You're going to be okay, Tim."
McGee's teeth were starting to chatter as his body became more responsive and aware of the cold. "Where's... where's..."
Gibbs wrapped his arms even tighter against him. "He's in custody, Tim. They're never coming near you again."
McGee didn't say anything, but he started moving, twisting around as if he was trying to reach for something.
"Easy, easy, don't move around. What are you trying to get?"
"Pocket."
The two men were too wrapped together for Tony to help so he had to wait while Gibbs reached down to the apparent pocket. It took him a minute, but he smiled as he apparently found what Tim needed. Tony's curiosity won out. "Boss?"
Gibbs' hand came up, holding a set of handcuffs. "You make sure Ziva gets those on McGee's prisoner?"
Tony felt his face crease into a matching smile. "You bet." He had to move back about ten feet to get to where the shrubbery was thin enough to make the toss before yelling out to the deputy up there. "Hey, tell Agent David to use these on the prisoner, okay?"
He had to be careful, because if the toss wasn't successful they probably wouldn't find the cuffs until spring, but it worked and the deputy stared at the handcuffs he was now holding, probably wondering what was so different about this pair as opposed to every other pair in the forest at the moment. Tony watched him shrug and move away toward where Ziva was waiting with Carpenter.
---NCIS---
Ziva was getting more and more annoyed with her prisoner and if he didn't stop whining pretty soon, she's claim he'd tried to escape so she could shoot him again. "Shut up, you are not dying."
"But it hurts. I'm still bleeding."
"Perhaps you will remember this the next time you hurt someone else." They watched as more law enforcement officers arrived and a bag with a large red cross was tossed down to her teammates. She breathed a sigh of relief. If they needed first aid supplies, then McGee was still alive.
"Hey, what about me. Aren't they going to treat my wound?"
She just tightened her grasp on the twisted arm. Sure, she could put cuffs on him, but personally pinning him was so much more satisfying. Carpenter whimpered again and she smiled.
It was a surprise when one of the deputies came up to her. Up until this point, they had not interfered with her handling of the prisoner. The deputy smiled and handed over a pair of handcuffs. One glance and she could tell they were federal issue, not from the locals and she wondered what Gibbs or Tony meant by them.
"Here, your injured guy wanted you to have these. I don't know why."
Now it made sense and she gave Carpenter a feral grin. "These are Agent McGee's handcuffs. After everything you did to him, you will still leave here as his prisoner." Just to make sure, she put them on extra tight, both she and the deputy smiling at the whimper.
She could have waited for a stretcher, but instead she pulled him to his feet, the deputy grabbing his other arm when Carpenter almost went back down. "Come, we will get started. It is a long walk back."
"But my leg?"
"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you shot and kidnapped a federal agent, yes?"
"It was Z-man's idea to take him with us." Carpenter was sobbing now and Ziva had no sympathy for him.
"He is dead and you are the only one left to take the trip, no, fall." Pleased she'd gotten that one corrected herself, Ziva tugged on his arm, dragging him along.
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