This is Home

Tony almost dies in a house fire and finds himself fighting a respiratory infection that his lungs aren't strong enough to take. He needs someone to take care of him while he's so very sick.

By Emiliana Keladry

Setting: During season six, but there won't be many spoilers - some references to SWAK (season 2 x 23)

Pairings: slight McAbby, some Tiva

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS, not me.

Author's note: I'm really excited about this story! It may not be a high action plot, but it's going to have lots of Gibbs and Tony father/son moments as he recovers. It starts out quite exciting. Hope you enjoy it and review!

"Attacking the second woman was like opening a can of snakes."

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo held back a laugh at Ziva David as the car stopped in front of the yellow suburban house with a small rock wall. There was a crooked mailbox at the end of the sidewalk that had been twisted by tree roots, destroying the concrete. Leroy Jethro Gibbs got out of the driver's seat, followed by Timothy McGee from the passenger side. Tony laughed as he got out. Ziva gave him a puzzled look as she exited the vehicle and followed him.

"It's worms."

"What?"

"It would be like opening a can of worms. No one keeps snakes in a can," Tony stated, grinning from ear to ear.

"Whatever Tony."

The group approached the home of the Marine Sergeant, George Harris. He was their main suspect and Abby had just discovered his blood and skin cells under the second victim's fingernails. Harris had killed two women in cold blood after taking them out to dinner under false pretenses. The team was going to arrest him and bring him in for questioning so Gibbs could break the man and get a confession. Tony shoved Ziva with his shoulder, almost causing her to fall off the sidewalk. She glared at him. Gibbs turned around and quickly gave Tony a head smack.

"Sorry Boss. It won't happen again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep DiNozzo."

McGee cracked a smile as Tony gave him a menacing look. He pushed around Probie and hurried to follow Gibbs to the door. Gibbs knocked once and glanced down at the welcome mat, smelling something that sent his adrenaline up. Smoke was coming from seeping out from underneath the door. Tony prepared to grab the door handle and see if it was unlocked. Gibbs smacked his hand before he could touch the silver knob. Ziva and McGee paused, watching as Gibbs touched the knob with the back of his hand, feeling the radiating heat. Tony would have burned his hand if he grabbed it. Ziva pulled out her cell phone, dialing 911 as Tony kicked the door open. Billows of smoke poured from the doorway. Gibbs and McGee pulled out their guns as they started into the house. Nothing was visible inside as the smoke swirled around. Tony followed them, trying to cover his mouth to prevent breathing in the smoke. There were flames emerging from the kitchen and spreading.

Tony's eyes were burning from the smoke. He turned around and almost ran into the body. Sergeant Harris was hanging by a rope from the ceiling fan in the dining room. His eyes were open.

"Boss!" Tony exclaimed, getting his attention.

There was little time to determine his cause of death, though it was pretty obvious. The flames were going up the wall and there was a loud crack as the walls started to give under the pressure and heat. McGee glanced at Gibbs with a look of horror on his face. It wasn't safe to be inside anymore.

"Everybody out!" Gibbs yelled.

Tony coughed as he made his way from the burning house. Gibbs and McGee followed him, taking in deep breaths of fresh air. Ziva was hanging up the phone as she walked over to them.

"The fire department is on the way," she announced.

"You might wanna call Ducky," Gibbs suggested.

"You found Sergeant Harris?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo saw him hanging from the ceiling fan. There was no time to get the body. We'll have to wait until the fire is out and it's safe."

Tony glanced back at the house as he breathed in deep. Something was nagging at him and he couldn't figure out what was bothering him; something about the case but more than that. The sound of sirens came in the distance as the fire department responded to Ziva's call. The next sound made his heart stop and he froze. Screaming coming from inside the house. A child was screaming. Memories flooded Tony's mind as he saw the image of Sergeant Harris's four-year-old daughter Kaylee smiling and holding a brown teddy bear. The picture had been on his hard drive. They hadn't checked the whole house, only saw the body and left. Kaylee was still in the house.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted as the agent ran towards the house.

Tony burst into the house, calling for the little girl. Her screaming was coming from upstairs. He tried to cover his mouth to prevent breathing in too much smoke, but it wasn't helping. He called her name again and she let out another loud shriek. Tony saw the flames heading towards the stairs, but didn't think about it. He ran up the stairs and quickly began to search the rooms. The first one was a bathroom; the next was apparently the Sergeant's bedroom and then a guest bedroom. Tony tried the last doorknob in the hallway, but it was locked. Listening, he could hear the little girl crying behind the door. She let out another blood chilling scream.

"Hold on!" Tony hollered. "Stay away from the door!"

He heard the child whimper and took that as a yes. Tony backed up and kicked the door as hard as he could. The wood splintered as the door opened, a piece cutting his cheek, and revealing a little brown haired girl, wrapped in a pink checkered blanket and clutching a teddy bear. Tears were running down her cheeks as she let out a little yell at the sight of him.

"It's okay, I'm here to help you," he comforted, removing his suit jacket. "My name is Tony, I won't hurt you."

Kaylee stood up and let Tony wrap his jacket around her as she coughed from the smoke. He pushed up his sleeves, as the sweat dripped from his brow. Tony barely heard the sirens over the roar of the fire taking everything in its path. He picked up the girl as she buried her face in his chest.

"Keep your eyes closed and breathe into my jacket," Tony ordered.

"Okay," her soft little voice whispered.

Tony heard the floor creaking as he hurried down the hallway, holding her tight to his chest. It was getting harder to breathe. He arrived at the top of the stairs and saw that the bottom stairs were burning. He had no choice, but to go through the flames. Tony grabbed the railing to steady himself as he started to feel dizzy and lightheaded. He could barely feel the pain in his hand. The little girl whimpered, reminding him what he was fighting for. Tony coughed. He went down the stairs as fast as he could, but stopped as a sudden explosion rocked the house and he fell to his knees, almost dropping the little girl. The flames were higher and engulfed almost the entire first floor. Tony knew that if he didn't move now, he wouldn't make it. With a yell, he ran through the flames and burst out the front door. The remainder of his strength disappeared as he fell to his knees.

"Tony!" Ziva exclaimed.

His team ran over to him with a firefighter running behind them. The man tossed a blanket onto DiNozzo, putting out the little flames on his clothing. A paramedic gently took the child from his arms and rushed her over to the ambulance. Gibbs and McGee pulled Tony further away from the burning house and let him roll onto his back, coughing and gasping for air. Another paramedic brought over an oxygen mask. Tony tried to speak, but he couldn't. All he could do was wheeze and cough.

"What the hell were you thinking DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped.

"Sorry… Boss." His voice was hoarse and raw.

The paramedic placed the mask on his face as Tony fought to remain conscious. Everything was spinning and he was feeling sick. He pushed himself up onto his arms, feeling the pain and removing the mask. Tony threw up into the grass.

"Tony," McGee murmured, helping him lay back down.

Ziva touched his shoulder to comfort him.

"Uh… can't… breathe."

Gibbs helped put the mask on his face and encouraged him to breathe as deeply as he could. Tony coughed, unable to draw in oxygen. His eyes closed and the last thing he remembered was his team looking down at him before the world went black.

What do you think? :) Please review!

Emma