Tim woke up with a harsh jolt to sudden icy coldness and overwhelming pain.

A moments' panicked instinct and the shock of the cold had him flailing and it was a moment before he figured out that he'd fallen into water and that that way was up and he found his feet. He got his head out of the chest high water, coughing and spluttering, and spitting out what tasted more like sewerage than water.

His head pounded with pain and his shoulder was pure agony. He leaned back panting and fighting back black spots in his vision that threatened to send him back into unconsciousness – something he realised, that could prove deadly. It took Tim a good ten seconds to remember what had happened. He'd been straightening up after bagging some evidence in the forest. Someone had pushed him and then hit him from behind. Tim lifted his good hand to feel at the back of his head. He had a good sized lump there which was bleeding profusely. Head wounds always tended to bleed more than they should. Tim winced and left the lump alone.

His shoulder was hurt too - definitely broken. The same collarbone that he'd busted when he'd gotten into a car accident as a teenager. He already knew the routine with that injury. He could use his forearm reasonably well but he wasn't going to be lifting his whole arm any time soon.

Tim scanned the area with vision that blurred and twisted in and out dizzyingly. Still, it didn't take him long to identify the place as a dilapidated old water well. Whom ever had hit him had tossed him down a dingy old well, and with one arm out of commission he wasn't going to be getting out of it on his own.

He felt hopefully at his pockets but he'd been stripped of anything useful. No phone, no weapon or knife. He only had a sodden wad of tissues left. There was nothing that he could do except yell: "HELP!"

Four hours later and Tim had yelled himself nearly hoarse and was starting to doubt that he was going to be found anytime soon – at least any time before he died of the cold. God he was cold! He already couldn't feel his hands and feet at all and he had to lean against the slimy well walls every now and then when his vision got too blurred by dizziness spots. So far he'd managed to keep his breakfast down but it had been touch and go there a couple of times.

He was beginning to get really scarred. Of all the places to die - being alone in a disgusting slimey hole in the ground was not up there with his favourite ways to go.

A sound.

Tim's head shot up despite the pain of the sudden movement. He'd heard something.

"Help!" yelled Tim. He could hear a distant voice from up above. He squinted through his double vision up to the circular glimpse of sunlight thirty feet above him. "Help! Gibbs? Tony? Someone? I'm stuck down here in a well!"

The voice was definitely getting closer and suddenly the silhouette of a head and shoulders appeared above him.

"Thank God! Tony, the … "

Tim blinked as the circle of light suddenly winked out and then a moment later a heavy weight slammed partly into him driving him under the water.

Tim came up spluttering and coughing out some of the water he had swallowed. Tony had a grip on his arm and for a second Tim didn't know if he was helping Tony up or Tony was helping him.

"Damn it," yelled Tony as he got his balance in the chest high water. "When I get out of here, Tucker I'm gonna punch your lights out buddy!"

"I think you'll be a little bit too dead by then, cop, you and your friend. You just sit tight while I go find you some more company," said Tucker. There was a distant and fading sound of laughter as the guy above left the scene.

Tim sighed and leaned back against the well wall fighting back the despair he was suddenly feeling. "Tucker's here. He got you too," he said softly.

"Why don't you state the obvious there, McGee!" spat Tony in frustration, he splashed passed Tim and started feeling at the well walls. "He's going after us one by one, and he's good; didn't even hear him until he was right on me. Damnit, I doubt even Gibbs will be able to stop him in time."

"We're going to die down here aren't we?" said Tim morosely. He squinted at Tony, barely able to make him out in the dimness of the old well. Having double vision from the blow to the head didn't help either.

"Gibb's and Ziva will be looking for us," said Tony, trudging around the boundaries of the stone lined well through the stagnant water. "This well is ancient and barely holding together further up. I'll bet I can cli …, " Tony stumbled in the water and grabbed at what had tripped him. He pulled up the sodden remains of a thigh bone. "Think we can confirm that Tucker was the murderer we were hunting for and as a bonus, we've just found his dumping ground."

Immediately Tim blanched. He couldn't see below the murky water but he had felt lots of debris under his shoes – when he'd still been able to feel anything with his feet. He hated to think that he was standing on about a decades' worth of a serial killers victims. "Gibbs and Ziva are probably miles away by now. There's over seventy acres of forest to hunt through and we're going to either be frozen or drowned in the next few hours." Tim shivered and wrapped his good soaked arm around himself.

Tony glanced his way, "Instead of griping, McGrim, why don't you help me find a foot hold or a loose stone or something."

Tim sighed, too tired to argue with Tony. He started running his good hand half heartedly over the slime covered rocks before Tony started complaining. He hated that the suspected cold case murdering bastard they had been putting together a case against, wasn't as out of the country as he was supposed to be and had gotten the drop on him, stripped him of his weapons and tossing him down an ancient well in the middle of nowhere. He hated that he was standing in someone's dumping ground for bodies. He hated it more that he was barely holding on to consciousness and was likely to pass out soon. But mostly he hated that Tony had gotten himself caught and was likely to die with him as well. Dying alone definitely beat dying and knowing that a friend was going to die right along with you. Yup, they were going to die down here together if Gibbs didn't manage to find them soon. The water was so cold.

Surprisingly, Tim did find a loose stone in the well wall and started working at it with frozen fingers. Just as he pulled it free, Tony 's shoulder bumped into his and Tim staggered splashing through the water and biting back a cry of pain.

"You all right there, McGee?" Tony's voice was suddenly filled with concern.

Tim knew he'd been busted. "Yeah. Only what you'd expect to have after being tossed down a well and then having your partner land on top of you. How about you?"

Tony grunted. "I'm fine, just a few scratches is all. Tucker must have had your weapon. He made me walk here and then pushed me in. I have to admit, you make for a nice landing platform, McGee."

'Yeah, thanks," said McGee. "I found a loose stone there and dug it out, but the gap will be too dangerous to use as a foot hold unless you find another decent sized one for balance."

"Thought of that already. If you're up to it, I'll balance one foot on your shoulder and the other in the gap while I work another couple of stones out above. Wish I had my knife though."

"I won't be too happy if you fall on top of me again, Tony."

"Got that, but it's better than doing nothing. I'm pretty good at rock climbing and I can see lots of spaces further up where I can get good toe and finger holds. It'll be just this bottom twelve feet that are gonna be hard, especially with all the slime everywhere."

Tim nodded in the dark, gathering his strength for what Tony needed. "How do you want to do this?"

"Well, I think the best bet is if you can hold your breath and bend over for a minute while I use your back for a footstool. Then if you can straighten up when I've got my foot in that space, I'll be able to balance between your shoulder and the toe hold while I work another couple of bricks out."

"Sounds like a plan," said Tim leaning against the wall as a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Now, what size shoes do you take McGee?"

"Huh? Oh, nine and a half. Why?"

"That'll do just fine. Tighter shoes make for better grip. They are standard issue lace ups aren't they?"

Tim nodded in the dark, and immediately regretted it as his dizziness levels increased.

Tony caught at Tim as he slowly tilted sideways. "Hey, hey! You alright there, McGee?"

Tim yelped and grabbed at his arm.

"What?" asked Tony instantly letting go.

"Broken collar bone – and it's not a might be - it's definately," said Tim through gritted teeth. At least the pain had managed to wake him up a bit.

"And you were gonna let me stand on it!"

"I was going to let you stand on my other shoulder, Tony."

Tony squinted carefully at Tim, taking in his exhausted and shivering state. "Exactly how long have you been down here, Tim?"

"Oh, about four hours. He knocked me out pretty much right after Gibb's sent me to go meet the rangers at the top of the trail."

"Four hours! So you're injured and probably hypothermic already."

"It's a good bet," said Tim unwillingly letting some of his exhaustion sound out in his voice.

"You think you'd be alright for half an hour? It'd take me that long to get the harness back here for you probie."

Tim sighed. "I'll be fine,"

"I need you to be honest here, Tim. I'm not leaving you if you're gonna pass out."

Tim frowned. "You'd end up hypothermic as well. What good would that do us?"

"At least I could hold your face out of the water while we wait for Gibbs to find us."

"I've already told you that any chance of Gibb's or Ziva finding us could take hours, Tony. Your best bet is to get out before you get too cold to feel your fingers and toes."

"You just about passed out at my feet there, Tim …"

"Yeah and that maniac is hunting Gibbs and Ziva. You said yourself that he's good. You've got to get out and help if you can, Tony. I'll wait right here."

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I hear you, Probie. You'd better be alive at the end of this or I'm gonna kill you."

Tim managed a half-hearted chuckle. Then he leaned against the wall with his good shoulder. "You're gonna have to pull off my shoes by yourself Tony, if you need them."

"Yeah," said Tony. "They'll help. I've only got loafers on today."

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