A/N: I wrote this primarily to amuse myself. What happened next is always intriguing and this season's cliffhanger finale was more inspiring than most. So, I wrote this. I wasn't going to post it, after all, I'm hardly the only one to write about this (I'm sure we all had to scratch that particular itch), but then I figured, why not? No one has to read it, but it made me feel better especially since it's another four months until we find out what really happened!

There are two endings to this. The alternate ending includes character death so I opted to put it second so those who wish to avoid that can read without accidently coming upon it. It's not a long story (by my standards anyway) so I will be posting it all at one time.

As always, I own nothing associated with NCIS. I just like to borrow them for awhile.

CHAPTER ONE

The blast was over. For several long moments nothing more happened. Gibbs slowly lifted his head. The world was eerily silent. He glanced around at the ruins of the forensics lab. The damage wasn't as bad it might have been, given the fact that half of the lab was underground, but it was bad enough. Smoke filled the space. The ceiling was on fire. He suddenly became of a movement beneath him. With a jolt of fear, he remembered Abby.

Sitting upright, his head swam from the concussive effects of the explosion. He steadied himself and looked down, almost afraid of what he might see. Abby stared up at him, Bert the stuffed hippo still firmly clutched in her hand. Her cup of Caf Pow lay beside her, the red liquid pooling like blood near her head. Gibbs tried to speak. He knew he said something, but he couldn't hear. The explosion had at least temporarily deafened him. Abby blinked up at him, her face white with fear. Gibbs took a deep breath then quickly signed.

Are you all right?

Abby blinked some more as if it took her mind a few moments to process what his fingers so desperately demanded to know. Then she nodded. Slowly, she pushed herself up to sit beside him. She began to cough. Gibbs looked behind him, back towards the shattered windows. The fire was quickly spreading. They had to get out. Now. The entire building could come down on them. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed Abby's shaking hand and pulled her up beside him. She looked dazed but quickly followed him out of the lab to the emergency stairwell. Gibbs' only thought was to get her out and to safety.

The scene outside in the Navy Yard was chaos. A crowd of people milled around. Injured and dead lay scattered across the yard. Emergency vehicles were streaming in. Gibbs stared, trying to make sense of it all. He glanced over to the front of the building. It was gone. A large black crater gave testimony to the power of the bomb that had nearly destroyed the building. Cole. He never had a chance. As Gibbs stared dumfounded at the destruction, he gradually became aware of the muffled sound of sirens. His hearing was returning. He felt numb. He turned at the pull on his arm. Abby was moving him further from the building.

Suddenly, Gibbs froze and turned back. Where was the rest of his team? Where were Tony and Ziva? Had McGee made it out? What about Vance? At least he didn't have to worry about Ducky and Jimmy. They were safe in Florida at Jimmy's wedding. He quickly surveyed the crowd looking for any sign of his team. He felt his stomach clench. They had to have gotten out. They'd had plenty of warning. Surely they were out here somewhere. Hopefully looking for him.

The sound of the crowd was becoming increasingly audible. He heard Abby softly sobbing beside him. He could hear the moans of the victims, the cries of those that had cared for them. The dead were silent.

"Gibbs!"

Gibbs turned to see a relieved looking Leon hurrying towards him.

"Thank God, you're alive!" Vance turned to study Abby then back to Gibbs. "Are you both all right? Are you hurt?"

"We're okay, Leon," said Gibbs, but his attention was still focused on the crowd. "Have you seen my team?"

Vance shook his head. "Last time I saw McGee was in the squadroom. He was downloading something off his computer. I told him to get the hell out of there. I haven't seen Ziva or DiNozzo. Hell, I have no idea where anyone is." He gazed at the hellish scene spread out before him, his expression bleak. "My God," he muttered running his hand across his face.

More emergency vehicles were arriving. Firemen were hurrying forward with their hoses in tow, fighting to extinguish the fires. Others were cautiously entering the building in a desperate attempt to locate survivors.

What about my team?

Gibbs eyes continued to scan the crowd, as his gut grew increasingly uneasy.

"Gibbs?" Abby still firmly clutched Bert to her chest as if he might protect from the horror around them. "Where are they?" Her voice held a note of panic. "They have to be okay, right?"

Gibbs turned to her. What could he say? Should he tell her that the growing feeling in his gut was telling him that his team was not okay? That they were somewhere inside that blazing ruin? He worked his jaw.

Tears now pooled in Abby's eyes. "They're not okay, are they?" She could read him like a book.

"I dunno, Abs. I just don't know."

Vance had moved on. He was now on his cell phone, a crowd of people hovered around him, waiting for direction, guidance, reassurance. He was the Director and now he was taking charge.

"Gibbs, we have to find them!" pleaded Abby, the tears streaming freely down her white face. "We can't leave them in there!" Gibbs turned and put his arms around her. The shock was finally setting in. He had to keep her calm. But, he also had to find the others. His feeling of desperation continued to grow ever more powerful. His team was in trouble. They needed him, but how was he going to find them? He thought back to what Leon had said. He'd said the last place he'd seen McGee was in the squad room.

Gibbs looked over Abby's head and the charred remains of the front of the NCIS building. It reminded him of those photos from the Oklahoma City bombing. Could anyone in the squad room have survived that? And where would Tony and Ziva be? He believed they were together. He didn't know why, he just did. Probably because they had been the last time he'd seen them. That's how he pictured them now.

The time had come. He couldn't just stand there and watch. He had to go look for them. It was a Marine thing. Leave no man behind. Three of his team members were in there somewhere, and he had to find them, bring them all out safely. He turned back to Abby.

"Abs," he said softly, looking into her eyes, making sure he had her full attention. "I'm going to take you over to one of the EMT people to have them check you out." She started to protest. He believed she was fine, but he wasn't about to leave her alone. "Then, I'm going to go look for Tony, Ziva, and McGee. Do you understand me? I need to know you're safe before I can go find them."

Abby engulfed him in a desperate bear hug. "I don't want you to leave me, Gibbs," she sobbed burying her face in his shoulder. "But you've got to go find them. You've got to save them, Gibbs."

"I will, Abby. I won't stop until I find all of them."

Sniffling, Abby stepped back and gave him a small smile. "I know you will Gibbs."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ten minutes later, after Gibbs had safely deposited Abby in the capable hands of a nearby paramedic, he found himself standing outside the backdoor to the building. The front had sustained all of the damage. From his current position, you would never know that half the building had been destroyed. Between the firemen and the internal fire control systems, the fires were quickly being contained, but Gibbs refused to wait any longer. He had to look for himself.

Gibbs slipped inside the building, closing off the noise of the outside as the door shut firmly behind him. There was smoke in the stairwell, but he had appropriated a gas mask from one of the fire engines before entering in case the fumes became too much. Now, where to start? The squad room would make the most sense. Clenching his jaw, Gibbs began to climb the stairs. He knew where he was going. The question was, what would he find when he got there?