Wrecked

Ziva and Tony are both stuck in a traffic back-up on the Beltway at the Wilson Bridge (I-95 across the Potomac) on their way home from work. September 2029. For "Hetwaszoietsals"

Chapter 1: Tony

Tony sighed as he crept forward another twenty feet or so in the backed up traffic on the ramp to the interstate. He could see the traffic crawling along ahead and groaned. As he inched his way onto the main highway, he pressed the power button for the satellite radio; may as well enjoy the ride with some music since he wasn't getting home any time in the near future.

He passed a traffic information sign and had time to read the entire message due to the slow moving traffic. 'Accident just on to bridge; three right lanes blocked. Merge left or use Express Lanes' He started trying to move left a lane so he could be in an unblocked lane when he got to the accident. As he neared the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, he wondered if Ziva had left NCIS yet. He pressed the phone button on his radio.

"Call Ziva," he spoke out loud. The speaker muted the radio and he heard the line connect. After several rings Ziva's voicemail connected.

"Hello, you have reached Ziva DiNozzo. Leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible."

"Hey, Sweetcheeks. Wondering if you are sitting in this miserable traffic or not. Call me when you get this message. Love you."

A gap opened in the lane to his left so Tony eased the truck into the new lane. He still had another lane to move over if he wanted to avoid being stuck in a blocked lane. He could now see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles up ahead. It looked as though the accident was in the second lane from the right and involved several vehicles. The rearmost was a delivery truck as best he could tell from this distance.

Traffic continued to inch along. Tony glanced at the vehicles entering from I-295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway.) He checked his phone for any messages from Ziva; none. She must be either still at work or driving since she hadn't returned his call.

He tried to move left another lane, but an eighteen wheeler quickly filled the gap that he had hoped to squeeze into. Damn! He was getting closer to the accident scene. He could see two fire trucks, a rescue vehicle, three Maryland State Patrol cars and at least two ambulances. The firefighters were carrying a 'jaws of life' device to the crash.

He glanced in his mirrors hoping to find a gap to slide into; no luck. He was almost up to the patrol car that was blocking the lane he in which he was currently. He was trying not to gawk at the accident when a fool in a sports car cut in front of him from the lane to his right. He slammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending the jerk.

He looked up to the accident scene and noticed there were two smaller vehicles between a pair of trucks. Everything was stopped so he picked up his phone.

He pressed the redial button and listened to the ringing for Ziva's line. Her voice mail message played again.

"Hey, Zi, this traffic is awful with an accident on the bridge; if you haven't left work yet, find another route home. There are two trucks, a sedan and a van that…" He dropped the phone and put the truck in Park.

"Oh, god, NO!"