Sorry for the wait everyone but here is the next chapter, enjoy.

Chapter 8

Seconds seemed to slither slowly past as the team waited out the night; shoes and trolleys squeaked and clattered past. Nurses, doctors and other staff milled around, opening and closing heavy doors, moving equipment, and people off to different part of the hospital. Other people came and went in the blink of an eye, as if to spite the ones still waiting in limbo.

The florescent, artificial, lights bounced off the plainly decorated white walls, distorting the time outside, making it seem like the darkness never blacked the sky or the stars never twinkled. The only way to tell was to look out of a plain looking simple window and see the stars staring back at you.

The team waiting for news were still waiting to see if their friend would survive the night. They had been allowed to take turns in seeing him but each time they did they didn't want to come back to the waiting room, as if when they left then their friend would disappear or otherwise cease to live.

Each and every time they would return to the silence, the mechanical beep of the machine monitoring Tony's life would be buried deep within their mind, taunting them and disturbing their sleep, each time they closed their eyes.

The only upside they could see, was the longer they were coming in and out of that room the more of a chance Tony had. It was by no means their first time here nor would it be their last.

Abby's eyes followed the movements of the moon out of the window having taken the doctors words to heart maybe a little too much. McGee supported Abby's head on his shoulder offering the only comfort that Abby needed at that moment. Ziva had fallen asleep a while ago next to them, needing only to have seen that Tony was surrounding by people who could help him.

Ducky kept an eye on the door which held Anthony and Jethro behind it.

x-X-x

The wailing of an alarm got Gibbs' attention.

Seconds after, Tony's eyes were open and staring.

Staring wildly around, trying to make sense of the brightness of the room; the last time he remembered anything it was dark.

A few more seconds of searching and tortured green eyes landed on Gibbs, Gibbs smiled but Tony looked away from his would be saviour. Though, not before Gibbs had had the chance to see the look in the younger man's eyes.

Fear.

Gibbs took a slow step closer, hoping to be abler to calm his Agent like he usually would. Tony, with all the power he could muster in his condition, shrunk back, away from Gibbs.

It wasn't like it was the first time Tony had looked at him like that since they'd found him but this was different. This wasn't fear of what had happened or of the nightmares to come.

It was fear of him. As if he'd been the one that had tortured him.

Then, nurses and doctors were shooing Gibbs away and Gibbs was left standing out in the cold corridor, wondering what the younger man had seen. Now, standing in the silence, Gibbs realised with a disturbing clarity that the only thing in Tony's room that had made a sound was the alarm.

Ice laced itself around Gibbs' nerves, stomach rolling fiercely. They wouldn't have done to Tony what they had done to that poor women, would they?

The marine in him told him the notion was stupid, the doctors would have told him by now if that had happened. Yet, for some reason his fear weren't letting up, he needed to get back in there and see for himself.

As if to torment him the alarm screamed within his mind, increasing in speed the closer he got to the room. As he was about to step across the threshold of the room he was stopped by one of the doctors, glaring in impatience at the man for stopping him, he reluctantly heard him out.

"You should go back to the waiting room Agent Gibbs." The Doctor put as simply as possible knowing that Agent Gibbs hated chit-chat. Not waiting for the explanation, Gibbs cut the doctor off.

"Why the hell should I, it's my Agent in there." While Gibbs appreciated someone being forward, this he didn't have the time for; he needed to check, needed to see that his Agent could still speak.

"Well, it seems that your Agent is afraid of you and it would not be conducive to his recovery if he was constantly afraid that someone was going to hurt him."

It took a moment for the whole sentence to sink in and when it did Gibbs' blood boiled. Gibbs invaded the personal space of the tall doctor and glared dangerously at him and ignored the man, stepping around him and straight back into Tony's room.

"He's not afraid of me, I'm his boss." Though Gibbs didn't know who he was trying to convince as he said it and approached Tony for the second time in a matter of minutes.

And for the second time that day, as soon as Tony noticed who was in the room the alarms screeched again. And again he was pushed out of the room. His burning question not having been answered.

x-X-x

The light that infested his safety burned him, scorching his skin.

It had happened slowly at first, a single bright star shimmered in the pitch black he'd become comfortable within. It's cold grasps having saved him on many of occasions in the past.

The light was dangerous though. The strings were made of that fiery glare.

Thin strings of memories would entangle his limbs if he were to drop his guard. They would spread like wildfire, sparking his pain receptors and awaken him to a world only filled with horror and agony. And he'd he left exhausted and weak, clinging onto the darkness.

This had gone on for a while, it was almost cyclic in nature, the memories would come, he would fight them away, sometimes he'd win, and sometimes he wouldn't. The times he wouldn't had left him fighting that much harder to win the next time they would try.

The strings were course as if like rope binding him to life and if one won it would leave a mark behind, causing him to wince even in the safety of the night.

Looking around, the light seemed to have grown in strength and width, shadows moved behind the light and faint voices could be heard, the edges fraying and rolling as if burning like paper.

The colour white had become bad long ago, once meaning hope and safety to meaning clinical experiments, having been distracted by the new invasion of hell he moved just a little too slowly to avoid being engulfed by its brightness.

A memory destroyed the strength he had slowly gathered and he was thrust into reality.

The cleanliness of the room forced his pulse to rise while he became aware of his body and surroundings, all that he knew was bad was staring at him, and he longed for the dark again.

His eyes searched for the exit, within each memory was an exit, there always had been somewhere but this seemed different. Here there was warmth and sounds other than screams, taking his time he noticed he was being watched and tensed. Daring to look around he regretted it immediately.

That man was there again, the one who…

…the screams started again and he was thrown down to a table.

Blood thickened the air, fingers clawed inside his wound, stretching the skin around it, he felt it tear and forgot that he wasn't meant to make a sound.

His punishment, he felt like his insides were being dragged out….maybe they were….

But it didn't continue and he was again faced with pure walls, walls that screamed as they rippled.

Then everything stopped and he was left alone.

But only for a moment as raised voices moved closer to him; comforting hands of the deep dark started clawing at him again, dragging him to his safety.

But not before he saw that man's face again and disembodied screams tore through his mind, increasing his pulse in fear then forcing him into a submissive darkness that no started to choke every ebb of safety it used to hold.

Nowhere was safe now…

TBC

yay, I got the chapter finished, sorry for the wait, as for the constant screaming of the alarms, due to working on the wards that alarm of some of the machines keeps invading my head therefore they all had to suffer it too haha I'm so cruel to them and poor poor Tony whos mind is sooo messed up I was getting confused writing it….i suppose it is something I will get used to haha…thanks for reading and please review :D