To Perish Twice

NFA White Elephant Exchange (WEE) fic for iheartGibbs

Characters: Gibbs, McGee, Tony, Abby, OCs

Genre: AU/Fantasy/Mystery/Suspense

Warnings: None. Not a death fic, I promise ;)

Prompt: Perfect Strangers – Sometimes you don't know someone as well as you think. Share a scenario in which two characters find themselves in a situation that reveals something the other was unaware of.

Summary: Gibbs thought he knew the members of his team, but a near tragedy reveals something he never expected. Same 'verse as Fire and Ice, but it's not necessary to read that first.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement intended. The original characters and places mentioned are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to those living, dead, or undead is completely coincidental.

Special thanks to thecookiemomma for the beta.

Chapter 1

Gibbs stood just out of sight of the bullpen, silently watching his team. It was something he had done quite often over the years, as people who didn't know they were being watched tended to be more relaxed, more open, and more themselves. It had allowed Gibbs to learn many things about the men and women who worked for him, things they didn't know he knew, things they probably didn't know about each other or even themselves. It was one of Gibbs' trade secrets, and it allowed him to manage his people much more effectively than waiting for them to tell him what he wanted or needed to know. There was only so much that intimidation would get him, although that was another secret he wasn't about to share with anyone.

Tony was leaning back in his chair, feet up on his desk and hands behind his head, giving the impression that he was asleep. Gibbs knew that was an illusion , and that this was one of Tony's methods for processing information. Most people thought he had to work things through verbally, the 'yabba yabba' for which Gibbs had given him grief over the years, but within the garrulous clown there was a sharp-minded investigator who used his own well honed façade to put others off their guard. Gibbs suspected it was why the two of them had worked so well together for so many years.

Ellie was sitting cross-legged in her chair, earbuds dangling from her ears and her attention fixed on her computer. With one hand she was scrolling through the data on the screen, and the other held her current junk food item of choice. Gibbs smirked as he briefly wondered what bit of information she was associating with wasabi-ginger potato chips, and if it was as eye-opening as the chips had been when he had decided to try them for himself. He knew that many assumed, due to her stature and quirkiness, that she was nothing more than a wide-eyed kid who needed constant petting and protection. He had almost fallen into that trap himself, but after a year on the team she had called him on it, and he had re-evaluated his own assumptions. Now he knew that while she did not have the same tough exterior as the two women who had sat in that chair before her she did have the same sense of justice and power of her convictions. He imagined she'd be quite a handful once she got over her own insecurities, and he looked forward to seeing that in the future.

Tim was working on his own computer, his forehead crinkled in concentration as he fingers flew over the keyboard, performing whatever magic it was he did to pull the necessary facts seemingly from the ether. Tim had actually been the hardest for Gibbs to figure out. When he had first met the very green young agent all those years ago at Norfolk, Gibbs had never expected him to become the agent he was today. He had gotten his first glimpse of Tim's strength when Gibbs had confronted him over a seemingly harmless comment, and much to his surprise the man had not been immediately cowed by the older man's glare. Tim had gone on to prove himself to be useful, and Gibbs had appreciated the young man's enthusiasm for working to meet Gibbs' nearly impossible standards. Still, he had never really expected him to be where he was today, someone Gibbs would trust to have his six just as much as Tony.

Unlike Tony, Tim had a strong family connection. He hadn't needed the 'parenting' that the older man had needed, but Gibbs had learned over the years that Tim had needed a male role model that would actually respect him. Gibbs knew the son of a Navy officer, particularly an admiral, wouldn't need the discipline. He had shown that almost immediately. Approval, however, was something he craved. Gibbs did make him earn it, of course, but he was also willing to show Tim that his demands could be met. He suspected that was what had earned him Tim's seemingly unending loyalty.

Another difference between his two senior agents was how they dealt with trauma. Tony put on a show, his 'I'm fine, nothing here to see' all too obvious, while Tim tended to internalize. Gibbs had seen immediately that both of them needed each other more than they would ever admit, and each balanced the other. They were the core of his team, and he suspected that he was not the only reason why one of them hadn't already decided to move on. They were, as Abby had once said, a strange, dysfunctional little family. Gibbs would never admit it, but he was glad he had that family, with all their idiosyncrasies.

And when one member of the family was struggling, it was Gibbs' duty to help them, when the opportunity presented itself, or sooner if necessary. Gibbs' knew his agent was troubled by something. It was only a matter of time before he would step in to help.

Finally Gibbs decided to return to his desk, which caught the attention of the subject of his musings.

"Boss?"

"Yeah, McGee?"

Tim brought up the information he had collected on the plasma. "I've been cross-checking Lt. Bright's financial history, and it appears he inherited a piece of property in northwestern Virginia. It's still listed under his grandfather's name, which is why we missed it on the first search." He zoomed in on the map to show a heavily forested area. "It's pretty isolated. Could make a good place for a drug lab."

"And that would explain why we didn't find any traces of drugs in his home," Tony offered, and started to reach for his bag.

Gibbs would normally have taken his senior agent with him on this type of errand, but he needed to figure out what was bothering McGee lately and this was too good of an opportunity to miss.

"Let's go, McGee. DiNozzo, Bishop, keep working on identifying Bright's distributors. I need to know how deep this goes."

"Yes, Boss," Tony replied, disappointment coloring his tone as he dropped his bag and turned back to his computer. Ellie merely nodded and went back to work.

McGee silently grabbed his knapsack and followed Gibbs to the elevator. Other than calling to get started on a warrant for the property, he remained silent until they were in the car and headed out of the city. Gibbs noted that McGee looked like he wanted to say something, but every time Gibbs glanced his way he seemed to check himself and clam up again. Finally Gibbs decided to offer the younger man an opening.

"Something on your mind, McGee?"

McGee let out a soft, rueful laugh. "You could say that."

Gibbs waited, knowing that McGee would eventually need to explain himself. After a few more moments of silence, McGee sighed and turned to Gibbs.

"Boss, did you...I mean, everyone has something they keep to themselves, right?" Gibbs nodded. "But if someone means something to you, you should let them in on those secrets, right?"

Gibbs chuckled. "Rule number 4. Part of that is 'tell someone if you must'. Who you tell, well, that depends on the secret."

"When you… You were married. Did you…?"

"Tell them everything? No. Didn't see the need."

"Not even Shannon?" Gibbs glanced sharply at the younger man and McGee blushed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

Gibbs considered his response for several moments before replying.

"Shannon knew most of them before I married her. Small town, not too many secrets back then. Later… I protected her from what she didn't need to know."

McGee nodded. "I can understand that." He lapsed back into silence, although Gibbs could see he was still a little unsettled.

"Why are asking me this, Tim?"

"I was just wondering...I mean, if you're considering sharing your life with someone, they're going to expect to learn...a lot more about you than you'd expect otherwise."

"This about Delilah? You two getting that serious?"

McGee ducked his head in embarrassment. "Thinking about it. I mean, I asked her to move in, before she left for Dubai. We're working out the details, but…"

"More secrets now? After that op?"

"No. We cleared all of that up. This is...this is an old secret."

"Yours or hers?"

"Mine."

"Who else knows?"

McGee sighed. "My mother. My father knew. No one else knows. Not even the rest of my family."

"Must be a hell of a secret."

McGee chuckled wryly. "You could say that." He glanced at Gibbs, a flash of worry crossing his face. "Nothing that would affect my work, Boss, I swear."

"But it might affect Delilah?"

"I don't know. If we decide we want to have kids, then maybe-" He glanced at Gibbs, red creeping up his cheeks. "Sorry, Boss, that was probably too much information."

"Just a bit." He glanced at his agent. "It's OK to have a life outside of work, McGee. I know I'm not a good example, but having a family and a job at NCIS can work."

"I know. It's just...complicated."

"It always is." He returned his attention to the road, wondering if McGee would share anything else, but his passenger had lapsed back into silence. He was still admittedly curious as to what McGee's big secret could be, but he also knew that McGee had reached the end of his limit for sharing, at least for now. He believed that McGee was telling the truth that whatever it was would not affect his work but he would be keeping a closer eye on the agent for the foreseeable future, just to be safe. There'd been too many times he'd neglected to follow up on something like this and it had come back to bite him in the ass later.

After two more hours and some really bad roads they arrived at the address McGee had found. The cabin was at the end of a narrow gravel driveway and the deep ruts along its length made Gibbs question his decision to try and navigate the path in the low-riding sedan. When the house finally came into view, Gibbs' gut started to churn. There were two vehicles parked near the treeline on the south side of the house, neither of which looked like they really belonged in the neighborhood. Gibbs stopped the car abruptly, earning him a worried look from McGee.

"Boss? Time to call for backup?"

Before he could respond the door of the cabin flew open and a group of men emerged, all carrying weapons. A split second later bullets slammed into the windshield and Gibbs jammed the car into reverse, backing out of the clearing as fast as he could. McGee started to return fire as the men ran for their cars.

"Guess we found the drug lab," McGee quipped as he pulled out his phone to call for backup.

"Good guess." After what seemed like eternity the tires of the sedan hit blacktop and Gibbs spun the car around to head back towards civilization. He had barely put a few hundred yards behind them when the SUV came barreling out of the driveway and started to follow, accompanied by rapid gunfire from at least two semi-automatic rifles. Gibbs floored the accelerator and managed to put some extra distance between them, enough to give McGee time to drop his phone and reload.

"The state highway patrol's on it's way!" he yelled as he snapped a new magazine in place. A split second later the rear windshield exploded and Gibbs felt a hot flash of pain as the bullet grazed his right shoulder. "Boss!"

"Just keep shooting!" He yelled as he struggled to keep the car on the twisting stretch of road. Another bullet embedded itself in the dash, barely missing both men. He started to swerve a little as he tried to make them a harder target, but the sharp curves in the road made it almost unnecessary.

Suddenly a loud BANG rocked the car and the steering wheel jerked in his hands. Gibbs fought to keep the car on the road but another BANG sent it careening towards the edge and soon they were crashing through thick underbrush as the sedan went off the road and down the steep embankment. The momentum caused the car to roll twice before it came to a jarring halt at the bottom of a ravine.

Dazed, it took Gibbs a moment to collect himself enough to try and deflate the airbag. His left arm and shoulder screamed in pain when he tried to move and blood dripped into his eyes, obscuring his vision.

"McGee?" he croaked. "You OK?"

He heard a groan before McGee softly replied. "Been better, Boss."

Before Gibbs could reply another bullet slammed into the car, dangerously close to Gibbs' head. Through his haze he saw McGee drag himself out of the passenger side window and drop to the ground, only to rise a moment later and return fire. Gibbs managed to free himself from his seat belt, only to find that his left foot was pinned in the wheel well. He swore, a sentiment echoed by McGee as he dropped the clip from his gun.

"I'm out. Give me your gun, Boss!" Gibbs pulled his weapon from his holster and tossed it across the seat, where it was quickly retrieved by McGee. More bullets slammed into the sedan, each entirely too close for comfort. Gibbs managed to flatten himself against the seat as he tried to reach his backup weapon, which he was finally able to manage and returned fire of his own. The eventual empty click of the chamber filled sent a chill into his heart and he prayed McGee still had ammo left. Soon another soft curse from the younger man told him their luck, and their ammo, had run out.

"I'm sorry," McGee muttered, and Gibbs heard the weapon fall. "I don't have a choice. I'm sorry."

"McGee? What-?"

Suddenly he felt a flash of intense heat pass over the sedan, followed by screams and a loud explosion. He felt a rush of heat from the other direction and held his breath, waiting for the end. A few moments later he heard a soft voice in his ear.

"Boss? Are you OK? Can you get out?"

"Foot's stuck," Gibbs ground out as the pain from his damaged arm caused his vision to grey. A few moments later he felt his foot release and he pulled back, sending another wave of pain through his body. He felt himself being moved, relatively gently, out of the car and soon he was laying on his back, looking up into a pair of worried green eyes.

"Help is on the way, Boss. Just hang on."

The last thing that passed through Gibbs' mind before the blackness rushed in was to wonder what in the hell had just happened, and how they had both managed to get out of that situation alive.

TBC…