Four-leaved clover

Chapter 9 - Moving on

They approached the abandoned building with caution, utterly prepared for any sign of an ambush, however, none of that occurred when Gibbs signaled for Tony to kick in the door and they now inspected the inside of the gas station.

Olivia had managed to drag her weakened body across the room and over to the phone that was placed on top of the counter. With the last ounce of strength that she could muster up, she had pushed herself up and got a hold of the phone, having dialed his number before her legs had given in and she had sank to the floor, completely out of breath. That was where she still was when Ziva found her.

"Gibbs!" Ziva called and rushed to Olivia's side.

Tony and McGee still having their guns pointed wherever they would look, double checking that this was truly not a trap while Gibbs ran over to Ziva.

"You guys came," Olivia exhaled relieved, her eyelids getting heavier by the second accompanied by her body slowly shutting down.

"Gray!" Gibbs kneeled in front of her, hands on each side of her face but he couldn't get in contact with her anymore. He checked for a pulse while his blue eyes scanned her injured frame.

"Quick, call for an ambulance! Her pulse is barely there!"

Ziva nodded and promptly had her phone by her ear.

"Don't you dare do this, Gray," Gibbs whispered, trying to get some response from her.

Tony and McGee emerged and looked deeply concerned. "Is she going to be ok?" Tony asked, his eyes tracing over the bruises on her face. He could only imagine what kind of torture she would have been through due to it being the Mafia having had their hands on her. He was surprised that she had survived it.

Gibbs looked up at his senior Agent and for once, had no answer to that question. She was in a bad condition, and he had no idea how bad it was internally with her either.

~ ~ ~

The stench of bleach was overwhelming and the faint beeping sound was having Olivia scrunch her eyes at the bright light that was sipping through her closed eyelids. She felt powerless and heavy. She could not move - not her hand, her head or even her body.

Slowly did she blink, desperately tring to open her eyes, wanting nothing more to see where she was and what the hell was around her. Where was she?

Finally when the blinding light subsided and her eyes having adjusted, she could take a proper look around her surroundings. She was in the hospital which had her frown deeply.

The room was pristine clean and gloomy. Typical hospital bed, IV and monitors beeping. The walls were a sickly white color and the linens were blue/grayish. The place looked nothing like a room where a patient should be motivated to get better. If anything the murky room was making her even more nauseous.

Olivia could not remember how she got here nor the reason as to why she was here to begin with but she sure as hell knew that she was getting out as soon as possible. Preferably right now. She hated hospitals! She started to pull on the IV line and felt a sharp pain, making her groan in pain but stubborn like she was, she tried again. However, this time a strong set of hands grabbed hold of her.

"Hey, stop. Lay down and rest, Gray."

His voice had her blink and she finally looked up, seeing him at the side of her hospital bed. His hand clutching hers gently.

"Gibbs?"

He nodded, his eyes holding so much concern it almost broke her heart. Was she the cause of this?

"Do you remember anything?" he then questioned, giving her hand a soft squeeze, his thumb caressing the back of her hand where the IV drop was placed.

Olivia tried to remember but her mind was blank - or maybe just overwhelmed with everything alongside the pain medicine.

He could see it in her eyes, and so he took a seat close to her, not letting go of her hand while he filled her in on everything, hoping that it wouldn't be too much for her to handle.

~ ~ ~

Her body shot up, eyes wide and breathing hard while she was covered in sweat. Had she screamed? No. Yes? Maybe. Her legs shuffled under the blanket until she felt her knees pressed against her chest and her back resting against the headboard of her bed while she glanced into the dark room of her bedroom.

It had been some weeks since she had been released from the hospital and she was now all healed up. Physically at least. The nightmares were what kept eating at her, making it difficult for her to properly sleep, even eat. Her clothes had started to become looser here and there, and she found it harder each day to disguise the dark circles under her eyes but what could she really do? No way was she going to a damn shrink. She would get over this eventually. Right? She was a damn agent afterall.

Pushing the blanket off of her, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed while she grabbed her phone, she rose to her feet and trudged down to her kitchen. There she tossed the device onto the counter and went to the fridge, grabbing some milk. Finding a glass in the cupboard, she filled it and hopped onto the counter, snatching her phone from the surface while drinking.

"Gibbs." His voice sounded groggy and she felt bad for calling now.

"Did I wake you?"

"It's 3.27AM, Gray. What's up?"

"Sorry."

"Ru-"

"Rule 6. I know, L.J."

Gibbs smiled and shuffled to sit up on the couch, running a hand over his tired face.

"Nightmares again?" he then asked.

"Yeah."

He exhaled, knowing that the discussion about the shrink wouldn't bring much. However, he also knew that she couldn't continue like she did. He had noticed her weight loss and how bad she started to look each day that passed. And he wasn't the only one that noticed. The others where just as worried as he was, especially since she persisted on being fine. He had spoken to DiNozzo about it but not because he needed advice on how to handle her and this situation, it was reversed. DiNozzo hated how much she suffered and needed his boss to help out here.

"Wanna join me in the basement?"

She started to laugh. "That sounded cheesy even for you."

Gibbs joined her and soon they both laughed heartily, which felt good not only for Olivia but also for him.

It took them several minutes to stop again but finally when they did, Olivia felt more relaxed.

"Maybe next time, Gibbs. But thanks for making me relax."

"Anytime, Liv. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Night, L.J."

"Night."

||A/N: I know it's quite short but I find myself in a writers block but I figured if I just type something, I will soon be out of it again. :) I hope, nonetheless, that you guys liked this tiny chapter!