A/N: I have a lot of writing to get to right now, but the finale is stuck in my head. I finally had to get it out in my own vision for the season 10 premiere. Hopefully, the rest of my writing goes this well. It will be in two parts. Let me know what you think. Sheila

Vita Perserverat

Part I of II

Vance stood in front of his destroyed agency as fire and rescue people around him shouted orders; people ran in all directions as trapped personnel were identified in the wreckage. It was a proud building that had long housed men and women dedicated seeking justice for Navy crimes. Now, it was filled with smoke and debris, and the dead remains of some of those honorable men and women. He knew that there were living ones still inside, and at this moment, he was dedicated only to their safe retrieval.

There were shouts to his left, and a firefighter in full gear was leading a grime covered Tony DiNozzo from the building. They were followed by another firefighter holding up a limping Ziva David. Vance closed his eyes and allowed himself a choked sigh. Blinking wildly, he looked away. There were so many others including a young agent from Gibbs' team whom he had high regard.

A Marine captain in firefighting gear approached and Vance steeled himself. "Sir, our current total is 34 injured and 9 dead."

"Have your people been able to get to the upper floors of the building?"

The Captain shook his head. "The integrity of the structure is in question. The Army Corps of Engineers is on its way. For right now, none of my people are allowed past the first floor."

"I still have people up there, Captain. I saw them as I was evacuating. There's a young man who was downloading vital…I have…there were several people up there doing what was necessary to protect the ongoing operation of this agency."

The Captain nodded. "I can appreciate that, and I know they deserve the best we have to offer, but my people are important too, Sir."

Vance nodded. "Please let me know when the Army Corps of Engineers has gotten here. We can't waste a single minute."

The Captain planted a phone on his face and began barking orders as he moved off to his command post.

Vance returned to staring at his building. Only moments had passed when he felt another presence at his side. He turned his head to find Special Agent Tony DiNozzo looking at him, eyes blazing. "Reporting for duty, Sir."

Vance looked him over. Through the grime and torn clothing, he could see that DiNozzo was holding one arm closely to his side. "DiNozzo, the first order of business is for you to locate your team. It's the best way we have of identifying those still missing."

"Agent David is getting first aid care at that station over there. I haven't located anyone else. McGee's gotta' be somewhere around here helping. We sent him out ahead while we searched the 3rd floor. I'm concerned about Gibbs. He was with Cole and they were trying to diffuse the bomb. I'm also worried that Abby Scuito was still in her lab. Do you have news on anyone?"

Suddenly, Vance remembered the phone Pamela had handed him 20 minutes ago, and the sense of tragedy in him deepened. "Agent DiNozzo, there are efforts being made to extricate people from the area of the lab. I would suggest you look there."

Tony nodded and started to move off, but Vance grabbed his shoulder. "I have bad news for you, son. I received a call from Jimmy Palmer a little while ago. Upon being informed of our…tragedy, Dr. Mallard suffered a coronary event. Mr. Palmer called me from the emergency room. They were working to revive him. I don't know the outcome."

DiNozzo stared at him for a long moment and then shook his head sharply. "I have to find my team."

Vance started to tell him about McGee, but the man was already heading toward the lab. The bad news was coming in such bursts that it felt important to parcel it out. He made no effort to call him back.

….

Tony's arm had a strange numbing that mingled with the sharp pain that erupted when he moved it. He knew enough about broken bones to know that his forearm needed to be set again. Yet, he didn't his forearm to move or to think, and so it took a backseat to everything else.

The news about Ducky throbbed in his gut. It was surreal to be in the middle of this terrible devastation, and to think one of the few people he loved who was safe from it was in the fighting for his life. The irony was cruel. He'd glanced over to where Ziva was getting a dislocated shoulder immobilized. The one he loved the most deeply had been spared, and he'd felt such a profound relief when she opened her eyes to him in that damaged elevator that he'd almost burst into tears. He had to keep save now. No news for her until he knew more. She would ignore her injuries for the people she loved and he desperately needed her to be okay.

Firefighters and other rescue personnel were crowded around the broken windows to Abby's basement lab. There were shouts from inside the broken building. He climbed over debris and tried to get close, but someone grabbed him by his bad arm and pulled. He howled in pain and jerked. "Leave me alone!"

A young Marine in firefighting gear was there. "I'm sorry, man, but you gotta' get out of the way."

"I have a friend in there. I need to know if she's okay."

"She got black ponytails?"

"Yeah."

"Her leg is trapped under a beam, but she's stable. The building isn't though so we have to be careful about shifting it too much."

"I should be in there. She'll be scared."

"She's not alone. There's a man in there helping to keep her calm."

Tony felt relief flood through him. Of course, McGee would be where Abby was. He probably headed straight for the lab after the explosion or more likely, he'd headed for the basement to get her out of there before the explosion even happened. He looked at the Marine. "A guy named McGee?"

The Marine shrugged. "I don't know. We aren't exactly exchanging pleasantries in there."

There was a shout and then a flurry of activity. The Marine looked at Tony before running away. "I think they got her loose. Wait here."

Tony stood like a statue while numerous bodies blocked the entrance to the lab. Then he caught sight of a backboard being threaded through the broken windows. He saw thick-soled black boots with studs on the backboard and he gave a shout of satisfaction. The rest of her appeared and he pushed toward her. With his good arm, he muscled past one of the rescue workers and caught her free hand. "Abs!"

Wet, frightened eyes found him. "Tony!"

"Hey, it's okay. You look good."

She clutched his hand tightly. "Is everyone okay?"

He gave a weird nod of the head. "Ziva's got a banged up shoulder, but she's going to be fine. I just gotta' figure where the Boss is."

"He's with me, Tony. He's been with me the whole time."

Tony groaned a sigh. "Thank God. I was worr—I just didn't know where he went to."

Abby's eyes darted around. "Where's Timmy?"

Tony gave her a crooked smile. "We sent him out ahead. He's undoubtedly running around here somewhere getting in people's way. I'm gonna' let go of you now and check on the boss. Okay?"

She nodded but he still had to peel her fingers off his. He watched as they slid the backboard on a gurney and headed toward the aid station. He yelled after her. "Ziva will be glad to see you!"

He turned just as they pulled Leroy Jethro Gibbs through the broken windows. The boss was disheveled and covered in dust. Tony moved toward him. "Boss!"

Gibbs blinked through the dust. "Tony!"

"I'm okay. Ziva's okay."

Gibbs seemed unsteady on his feet, and Tony put his good arm around his waist. "It's good to see you, Boss. I was worried that you and Cole—it's really good to see you."

"Where's McGee?"

For the first time, Tony hesitated as he scanned the scene. "Ziva and I sent him out ahead of us while we evacuated the 3rd floor. All he had to do was download Dearing's file. We weren't going to let that bastard destroy our evidence."

Gibbs nodded. "Good."

"I'm going to walk you over to the Aid station."

"Where's Vance?"

"He's standing over there imagining ways to disembowel Dearing with a butter knife."

"I better check in."

"He can wait a minute. You're not so steady on your feet. Plus, I have news."

Gibbs looked at him sharply.

Tony kept his eyes on the Aid station they were approaching. "Jimmy Palmer called Vance. He probably tried us, but our phones are dead. Ducky heard about the explosion. He had a heart attack. Jimmy called from the Emergency room. It wasn't good. I don't know the outcome."

Gibbs stopped in his tracks and looked at DiNozzo. "Get Palmer on the phone, Tony. Do it now!"

Tony gently eased him onto a bench and signaled to a medic. Then he took off. Vance's assistant, Pamela, had taken the initial call and she would undoubtedly know how to reach Jimmy.

He found her working her laptop on the hood of a rescue vehicle. Three cell phones were lying beside her. "Pamela, I need to reach Jimmy."

She gave him a quick look and picked up the middle phone. "You have ten minutes with the phone. I'm using this one to call family members of injured personnel. You get it back to me, you hear?"

He nodded.

She looked at her list and scribbled the number on a post it. "This is the number he called me from."

Tony took it and sprinted back to the Aid station. He found Gibbs next to Ziva, toweling dust off his face. Tony punched numbers and handed the phone to Gibbs. Ziva looked up at Tony. "What's going on?"

He couldn't meet her eyes. "Where's Abs?"

"The medics are evaluating her leg. What's going on?"

"Jimmy, talk to me," Gibbs said perfunctorily into the phone. He stood up and walked away.

"Tony?"

He looked into her deep brown eyes. "Ducky had a heart attack. He heard about the explosion and he had a heart attack."

"No!"

Tony sat beside her. Her bad shoulder was on the right and so was his bad arm. There wasn't a way to safely hug her. He reached as closely as he could and whispered into her thick hair. "He'll be okay. I promise you. He'll be okay."

Her eyes were wet and her mouth trembled. She nodded slowly. Metal wheels on pavement sounded, and they looked up to see Abby's gurney coming toward them. She was sitting up holding Bert and smiling. "My leg's not broken. Just badly bruised."

Tony helped Ziva stand and she leaned her good side into Abby's arms. Abby felt Ziva's tears on her cheeks and she pulled back looking into Ziva's face. "What happened?"

"Ducky had a heart attack, Abby."

"But he's safe. He's at Jimmy's wedding."

"It happened when he heard the news about the explosion."

Tears flooded her eyes and Abby moaned. Ziva stroked her face with her good hand. "Think good thoughts, Abby. Gibbs is on the phone with Jimmy right now."

Tony saw Gibbs coming toward them again with the phone at his side. He stiffened. "Boss?"

Gibbs took in the faces of his team. "Ducky is in critical condition right now, but he's breathing on his own."

Abby nodded, trying her best not to dissolve into sobs. Ziva laid her head on Abby's shoulder.

"Is Jimmy going to stay with him?"

Gibbs sighed. "We need him back here. It looks like we have some bodies."

Tony shook his head. "We can't leave Ducky by himself."

"I know. Breena will stay with him through the next 24 hours. We'll take it hour by hour. Tony, walk with me for a minute."

Tony got up, his arm erupting in pain, and followed Gibbs. "Where's McGee?"

"Ziva and I told him to leave before we went up to the 3rd floor."

Gibbs shook his head. "Then where is he? If McGee was out here helping, why haven't we seen him? He would've been at this Aid station looking for us by now."

"Maybe, Vance has him doing something."

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't like it."

Tony felt it in his gut now. It had been flooded with emotions for the last couple of hours that he hadn't really understood it, but now he clearly felt the wrongness of McGee's absence. "Let me go talk to Vance."

Gibbs looked off into the distance. "I gotta' call Jimmy again. He's looking for a Navy transport."

Tony brought the phone back to Pamela with a nod, and then headed toward Vance. The man was still fixated on the wreck of the building he'd been responsible the last five years. It was as if he hadn't moved a muscle since Tony last talked to him. "Director?"

Vance turned his head. "Did you talk to Mr. Palmer?"

"Ducky is in critical condition, but he's holding his own."

"I don't know where they are. Are there Navy resources nearby? Is it a good hospital? We can send a specialist."

"I get all the particulars to Pamela."

"Good."

"Sir, have you seen McGee?"

"I have."

"We've been a bit worried."

Vance sighed. "I saw him as I was leaving my office. He was downloading files. I'm sure it was Dearing's file. McGee's meticulous about those things, isn't he?"

Tony frowned. "I thought it would only take a few minutes."

"I'm sure some of those files were quite large. I told him to leave, and he said he would. He said, "Just a second, Director", but he was still at his desk when I went down the stairs. I got out and waited. He wasn't the only one in there scrambling to save evidence or photos or…I don't know. Two people came down those stairs after me, and then everything exploded."

As if in slow motion, Tony looked back at Gibbs who was watching him steadily. He said nothing but the expression on his face must've been clear because Gibbs closed his eyes and shook his head.

Tony turned back to Vance. "Are you sure he didn't get out?"

Vance's eyes never left the building. "He's still in there, DiNozzo."

Tony looked at the mess that was their building. Fire hoses were pointed at small conflagrations at various windows. Bricks and mortar lay everywhere, and dust hung in the air everywhere. "They're searching for him?"

Vance rubbed his mustache absently. "Hopefully, he never got to the stairwell. It collapsed five minutes ago. It's all just a pile of concrete now. If he didn't, then we have to wait. The building isn't structurally sound enough for a floor to floor search."

Tony looked around. There was help everywhere he looked. Emergency personnel outnumbered victims two to one at this point. He just needed to get to the second floor. There had to be a ladder truck.

Vance shook his head. "I can see the wheels turning in your head. I wish it were as simple as running up a flight of stairs or getting a ladder, but the building's foundation is unstable. We could end up doing more harm than good. It's not our operation anymore. The folks that do this are in charge."

"He's my partner."

"And one of the best agents I've ever known. I liked that kid from the day I met him, but we're out of our depth here. We got the best search and rescue people in the world on their way, and I'm going to stand right here until they get here so I can point at the place I last saw my agents alive."

Tony stared at the windows he, McGee, and Ziva looked out of everyday. The kid was up there lying on the floor. Maybe he wasn't dead. Maybe he was breathing. Maybe he was calling for help, but they couldn't hear in the tremendous cacophony that accompanied the fire engines. Maybe he was praying that someone would remember where he was when the explosion hit.

"DiNozzo!"

Vance had a feverish look in his eyes. "Don't get lost! There's a cranky, bald son of a bitch out there who just tried to destroy our agency! Get Gibbs! Do something with that arm! I'm going to watch him for you while you and that old jarhead of a boss get out there and find that asshole! Call Fornell! He'll give you resources. I want Dearing now!"

Tony looked up at their windows once more. "Take care of him for us, Sir."

Vance nodded sharply and turned back to his vigil.

Tony turned and walked back toward the Aid station. Gibbs was alone now, waiting for him. EMT's had undoubtedly loaded Ziva and Abby into an ambulance. He tried to reach for his phone, but he grimaced loudly as he remembered his injury and then the phone that lie in pieces on the elevator floor.

His mouth twitched as he thought about how to explain things, but Gibbs didn't seem to have many questions. He launched in as soon as Tony was close. "I have a phone now. Pamela's handing them out. Fornell is on his way. You need a cast before you can be of any use."

Tony nodded, suddenly of how exhausted he felt.

Gibbs slowed. "He's still up there?"

"He was still uploading Dearing's file when Vance hit the stairs. The building is too unstable right now. We don't know…he's up there."

"Are you trained in search and rescue?"

Tony shook his head.

"But you're a trained investigator, Tony."

"Boss…"

"We're not walking away from him. We're doing what we know to do. The alternative is for us to stand around like statues waiting for McGee to get rescued while Dearing plans his next attack."

Tony looked back once more.

Gibbs put a hand on his neck. "We're going to get him back, Tony."

Tony closed his eyes and prayed.

…..

TBC