Title: Choices

Author: PunkyRabbit

Spoilers: Anything through season 2. Set after SWAK, but Twilight never happened.

Warnings: very mild cursing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to NCIS…not the basic premise, or any recognizable characters. I just like to take them out for a spin from time to time.

Author's notes: This story is complete, but will be posted regularly in parts. Special Thanks to my beta, BrynnH.

Feedback: ALWAYS welcome!

Choices

By PunkyRabbit

Part 1:

The day for NCIS had been pretty routine. The team was at the crime scene, in the backwoods areas of Maryland, which, of course, Tony didn't like. He checked his cell phone, and when he found that there was no cell service, or at least very little service, he commented, "Have you ever noticed how, in just about any movie, when the main characters, or really anyone for that matter, are out in the middle of nowhere, with little or no cell phone service…" he held up his phone, then, continuing, put it back in his pocket, "…and absolutely no one around for at least fifty miles…"

McGee cut him off, "We're not that far from civilization, Tony."

"Whatever. I'm just saying that whenever anyone is cut off from civilization, something bad always happens."

Kate and McGee both wrote their colleague off as paranoid, rolled their eyes, and continued doing the usual, taking photos, measurements, etc. They hadn't encountered anything unusual, which, for this particular NCIS team, was itself unusual. Ducky and Palmer arrived, arguing about which of the two of them was responsible for getting them lost, again. Even that had almost become a sort of routine for them, and thus still did not classify the day as unusual. Ducky estimated the time of death on the victim, and loaded him into the van.

When they were ready to return to NCIS Headquarters, Palmer tried to start the vehicle. He tried several times without success, so got out to check the engine. After what seemed like forever, Ducky became impatient and walked over to Gibbs and the rest of the team, who had bagged and tagged everything, and were also ready to leave. It had become obvious that a mechanic would have to be called to fix the van, so Ducky called over his shoulder, "You stay with the van, and call a mechanic, Mr. Palmer. I'm riding with Jethro."

Gibbs hopped into the driver's seat, as usual. Tony and Kate both ran toward the passenger side of the car, but Kate jumped in front of Tony and slid into the coveted seat first. She received a swat to the back of the head for her efforts. Still, she got the shot-gun position, so she felt it was worth it. McGee had gotten used to sitting in the back, so walked around the vehicle to get in the seat behind Kate. Tony had been trying to avoid sitting in the middle, but he knew it was inevitable, as he wasn't about to fight Ducky to avoid it, so slid into the middle seat. Ducky got into the seat behind Gibbs. So, the team and Ducky left, while Jimmy remained, trying to get the van to work, and waiting for the cavalry to arrive in the form of the office mechanic.

Several minutes later, the team drove across a long, wooden, two-lane, rickety looking bridge that crossed a good sized river that was a tributary to the Potomac. "Gibbs, why must you always take these short cuts?" Kate inquired.

"Because they're shorter."

"Well, you're gonna get us killed, one of these times." Kate retorted, mostly kidding.

McGee looked out his open window, enjoying the nice day. Tony looked out McGee's window at the water that lay below, and said, "You know, when I was younger, everybody had a hard time trying to keep me out of the water. All my friends used to tease me, and say that I was a fish."

"Fascinating" Kate sarcastically stated from the front seat.

It didn't seem to bother Tony. As he continued, Gibbs smiled at how Tony was simply rambling on and on about nothing in particular, McGee looked surprised at how Tony didn't miss a beat, even with Kate's comment, and Ducky was actually listening intently. "Yeah, I used to love the water, still do, but, since the plague, I can't hold my breath as long."

"Yes, the plague would have a major affect on your endurance, my boy." Ducky interjected.

"Yeah, but you know, Tony, the fact that your stamina isn't as good as it used to be, could be due to the fact that you aren't as 'in shape' as you think you are." Kate retorted, not being able to resist the urge to pick on Tony.

Tony leaned forward, and slapped Kate on the back on her head, as punishment for picking on him about his health. She turned around, as much as she could, and slapped Tony's knee, as that was the only thing she could reach. Gibbs rolled his eyes and smirked at the playful banter. Sometimes he felt like the father of two bratty children, and once again had to resist the urge to say 'don't make me pull this car over.'

Once off the bridge, the road continued to follow the river, and the team could see that it doubled back across it again just up ahead. The river was getting ever wider and deeper, as it neared the Potomac. Still focused on the water, Tony continued, "I used to be able to hold my breath underwater for almost three minutes…" Tony continued, seemingly un-phased.

"Wow," McGee deadpanned. It was the younger agent's turn to shoot Tony a sarcastic remark.

At the same time as McGee's comment, Kate, too, let out a derisive remark, "Amazing."

"…but now I can barely hold my breath for even one minute."

"That would be due to the severe scarring of your lungs, Tony… You know, that reminds me of a young lady I once knew. She could hold her breath for an average of three minutes. Imagine my surprise when she finally showed up on my table, and I had to rule the cause of death as an accidental drowning." It was, apparently, Ducky's turn to go on and on about nothing in particular.

As they approached the next bridge (which was in no better repair than the last), Tony noticed a rather large, dark-green truck behind them that had seemingly come from nowhere. The team noticed that the driver of the other vehicle was accelerating rapidly to close the gap between his automobile and theirs. Once he was immediately behind them, and both vehicles were on the rickety bridge, the driver of the truck whipped over into the other lane, which was, in fact, illegal, since the lines on the road dividing the two lanes of traffic, were double, solid, yellow lines. "What is this idiot doing?" Tony genuinely wanted to know. "You're not supposed to pass on the bridge."

As, Tony's remarks got the team to wondering, the truck swerved into their lane, colliding with Ducky's door, causing the car to run through the simple wooden railing on the side of the bridge, and crash into the water below.