Welcome to my first NCIS fanfic, inspired by the last few minutes of the season 9 finale! I hope you enjoy (longer author note below).

To my regular readers: Note that my pen name will soon be changing to "If Dreams Were Wishes." Keep an eye out!

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS and any of the characters, plot, etc. associated with it. I'm totally not that awesome!

Heroism

"Evacuate. Get everybody out of here. Clear the building. Call the bomb squad."

McGee automatically reaches for his phone before Gibbs' words even sink in. It's not until he relays the message to the security personnel desk that it hits him. Evacuation order. Clear the building.

Then he's on autopilot again, fingers dialling the number to the lab.

"Abby? You have to get out. Now."

"McGee? Why? What's going on?"

"Dearing. There's a bomb."

"What! But I can't just leave! What about all the evidence? And my computers! And Major Mass Spec—"

"McGee!" He looks up at Ziva's call to see her following Tony out of the bullpen. "Hurry up and get out. We'll be right behind you after we sweep the third floor."

"—And Bert! Wait. Where's Bert?"

"Abby! Listen to me." This silences her so effectively, McGee wonders how much fear she can hear in his voice. "There's not a lot of time. If you need to grab something, do it quick. I'll see you in a minute. Got that? You got sixty seconds and you better be outside."

"Ok. But you better be out there too, or I'm coming back in to find you!"

"Deal."

"And Tim . . . just . . . just stay safe."

"You too, Abby. See you soon. Bye."

McGee fights with his shaking hand as he replaces the receiver. Taking a steadying breath, he steels himself. He knows what he wants to do, but he also knows what he has to do, and he's not sure he has time for either.

He wants to rush downstairs and drag Abby out of the building. He wants to help Tony and Ziva guide all their friends and coworkers to safety. He wants to leave now and save himself, if only to keep his family from a tragic loss and to continue to rekindle his relationship with his father.

But this is not a time for selfish thoughts. McGee pushes them all away as he plugs a flash drive into his computer and starts the download.

He hears Director Vance call from above as the head of NCIS strides towards the exit, briefcase in hand. "McGee! Get out! Now!" His tone leaves no room from argument, but for once McGee ignores authority, giving the man an even briefer glance than he did his departing coworkers just a minute before.

"Just one second, Director."

Fingers flying across the keyboard, McGee is set in his task. He has a job to do, and a duty to protect. Dearing must be caught, and without the case files and digitally stored evidence, that would be nearly impossible. There's no telling what Dearing will do next, or how far his vendetta will go. This is not about here and now—not about himself or his friends or his family—but all the innocent Navy and civilian lives that could be at risk later, if Dearing is not brought to justice. It is this thought that keeps McGee staring at his screen, waiting for the files to transfer, even when every fibre in his body was screaming at him to do otherwise.

Transfer complete.

McGee rips the drive from its slot, wraps it in a shirt and throws it in his bag—he doesn't know where he'll be when all hell breaks loose, but if he's not making it, McGee's determined the drive will survive and his sacrifice won't be in vain.

Shouldering his bag, McGee takes comfort in the near emptiness of the room. The others—Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Abby—should be out by now, safe and waiting for him. There's still a part of him that wants to run down to the lab and double check on Abby, but he reminds himself that it's not about his needs anymore, but all the lives that need to be saved from Dearing's wrath.

He sees the explosion before he hears it. And as a wave of glass and fire roars towards him, Timothy McGee has time for one final thought that shocks even himself.

Abby.

A few notes:

(1) I believe what McGee did at the end of the episode was truly heroic. What he did was not to benefit of or to save his loved ones (not to downplay Gibbs going to get Abby, because amyone who has lost as many loved ones as him needs no defense for that choice) or friends/coworkers (again, not to saw what Tony and Ziva did wasn't awesome) but the hundreds who may be in danger if Dearing isn't caught. It was truly a selfless act.

(2) I struggled with how to refer to Tim/McGee, but decided on McGee because that is what I generally refer to him as and as the narrator, I would not call him "Tim" as I am not a close friend or anything (wish I could be though... I love McGee, he's my favourite :D)

(3) Tell me what you think! I've been a major NCIS fan for at least 6 years, but never thought of writing a fanfic for the show, as I generally write fanfics when I feel there are good characters in a show/book/etc. that are interesting but I want to give more depth. NCIS has no need for this, as I see the characters as having a lot of depth and background, as well as I've generally enjoyed the various ways the show has gone. Yesterday's finale just left so many questions that my head wanted to explode! Anyway, it's fun to use the massive cliffhanger the episode left to my own enjoyment! Go McAbby!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at NCIS and who knows, maybe I'll take a break from my other fandoms again someday to tackle another NCIS fic.