*Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. If I did McGee and Abby would already have a house full of kids. LOL. Ok so this was an idea I had and I can't think of where I want to break it up into chapters so it's just a really long one-shot. Think of the ~*~*~ lines as the 'phoofs' from the show. Enjoy the fic, please read and review!*

Abby waked into her lab surprised that the door was unlocked and the lights were already on. This could only mean one thing. She scanned her lab for her favorite drink. She smiled slightly when she spotted it sitting on her desk in the inner lab. She dropped her purse and coat on her chair, and picked up the note that was next to her beloved Caf-Pow!. "Good morning, you know how much I like to be the first. –Timmy" Abby smiled to herself, he only signed Timmy when it was for her eyes only. She tucked the note into the pocket of her purse so she wouldn't forget to bring it home with her. Although she couldn't say it out loud, she did love him just as much as he loves her. She pushed play on her stereo. Now that her lab was blasting her favorite music she took a deep breath and began her normal routine of turning on machines and computers. She let her thoughts stray to the note in her purse. It would be one of the notes that made it to her box in the closet. The same box also contained other odds and ends that Tim had given her over the years. Most from when they were dating but some little trinkets have been saved from the last few years. Nothing spectacular just trinkets and notes that made her smile and think of him. Just like his MIT t-shirt that disappeared from his apartment while they were dating. Abby was so lost in thought she never saw the assailant slip out of the shadows and come up behind her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Good morning! Probie. Ziva." Tony said as he sat down behind his desk.

"Let me guess, you had a date last night?" Ziva said.

"Not just any date. I had a date with a cheerleader."

"Picking up women on collage campuses again?" McGee teased.

"This wasn't just any cheerleader. This was a Redskins cheerleader." Tony bragged.

"What is a Redskin?" Ziva asked.

"Football team." McGee explained.

"Ah." Ziva stood up from her desk and walked over to Tony's, "Is there ever a weekend in which you do not sleep with a random woman?"

"No, if there was I would be scared of turning into Probie."

Before McGee could make a comeback his phone rang, "McGee….We don't have an active case Abs….You ok?....Alright I'll be right there." McGee hung up his phone, and grabbed his Sig out of his desk drawer.

"How badly did you piss Abby off?" Tony asked when he saw McGee pull his Sig out.

"Huh? Oh, Abby sounds weird." McGee said nervously.

"Abby is always weird." Ziva chimed in.

"This is a not good weird. I can feel it." McGee started to walk out of the bullpen towards the back elevator.

"You feel what McPsycic?" Tony shouted as McGee walked away.

In Abby's Lab

"Type faster Miss Scuito." The assailant walked back and forth slowly behind Abby, keeping his gun pointed at her.

"I told you I can't get into it. I need help."

"Then you better hope your help gets here soon." The attacker whispered menacingly in her ear.

"Abby?" McGee called from the hall. The assailant pulled Abby off her chair, held her in front of him and held the gun to her head. McGee walked in and immediately drew his weapon. "Let her go. Drop your weapon!"

"No, I don't think I will." He gripped Abby tighter, "You drop yours and kick it over here or I put a bullet in her head." McGee's eyes shot from Abby's eyes to the attackers gun and back again. He could see the fear in her eyes as well as the hope that he would get her out of this situation safely.

"How do I know you won't shoot her if I give you my gun?" McGee asked, trying to buy some time so he could think about the situation.

"I need you and her alive to do me a favor." The assailant pushed the gun closer to Abby's temple, "Your weapon now!" Abby flinched as the cool metal of the gun was shoved against her head.

"Ok!" McGee placed his gun on the ground, "Just don't hurt her." He kicked the gun over to the assailant.

He bent down and picked up the gun. "Now help Miss Scuito." The attacker released Abby from his grip and gave her a slight shove towards her computer. McGee was at her side instantly.

"You ok?" McGee asked, concerned.

"I'm sorry. But I can't figure out….and he said he'd…he said he would…and I got scared and the only one I could think about was you…and I'm sorry I got you stuck down here too." Abby rambled.

"It's ok Abs." McGee softly rubbed her arm; he silently vowed to keep her safe even if it meant his own life was sacrificed. "What do we have to do?" He said focusing on the computer in front of him and Abby.

"He wants information on the Petty Officer Paxton murder case. But I keep getting kicked out of the system when I try to access his files." Abby dropped her voice to a low whisper, "Well, that's what I told him."

McGee slightly nodded his head to show he understood. Abby was purposely failing to get the information on the petty officer so she could keep the creep here instead of letting him loose. Only God knows what this psycho would do if he was released into the general public.

"Why is it so hard to find his information?" The assailant demanded.

"The files are buried in the NCIS database. It will take a while to get them unless we have an order from our boss. We have to basically hack into our own system." McGee lied. The attacker was getting impatient and McGee didn't want him to harm Abby to get what he wanted. "I found something. I'm printing it now." McGee said.

The assailant stomped over to the printer and grabbed the paper out of it. It contained the petty officers military status and general information but no personal information such as an address. The attacker walked back over behind Abby. "I need better information that this." He put a hand on Abby's shoulder, "Quickly!"

Abby looked nervously at McGee, who began rapidly typing at the computer.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked as he sat down behind his desk.

"Abby called him. Something about a case she needed help with." DiNozzo explained.

"We don't have any cases."

"That's what McGeek told her but she insisted." DiNozzo said.

"McGee did say Abby sounded weird." Ziva said.

"Weird how?" Gibbs asked growing concerned for his forensic scientist.

"Weird enough to make McGee take his sig with him." Tony replied.

"Pull up the video feed from Abby's lab." Gibbs ordered.

Ziva joined Gibbs and DiNozzo in front of the plasma to see what was happening in Abby's lab only to find that it was just snow. Gibbs went back to his desk and picked up his phone.

"Abby, I need you and McGee up here." Gibbs put his phone on speaker.

"McGee is helping me with the case right now. We'll be done in a little bit." She said.

"What case?" Gibbs hoped McGee could hear him and would think of someway to let him know what was going on in the lab.

"The PO's case. McGee said it's the one Tony got an email about earlier. McGee came down to help me out." Abby said.

Gibbs looked at Tony who silently went to his computer to check for an email, in hopes that Abby was giving them a clue.

"Abby, I really need you two up here. I have some things about the case that I need to discuss with the whole team. It might make your part easier."

"No can do boss-man. Really busy." Abby hated lying to Gibbs but as the assailant pushed the gun closer to McGee's head she knew she had no choice.

"What if we come down there?"

"Um…" Abby stammered not knowing what to say, "Negative, it would mess up my flow."

"Ok. Anything you need our help with?"

"Nope just your normal ADW case. McGee and I can handle it." She said.

"Ok let me know if you need anything." Gibbs hung up his end of the phone. "He's got a weapon."

"How do you know that?" Ziva asked.

"ADW means Assault with deadly weapon." Gibbs explained.

"Boss I got an email from McGee." Tony put the email on the plasma. " It says '1 attacker, has my sig and his glock. No one hurt. Wants info for PO K. Paxton.' "

"Why would someone want information on a petty officer? And why would they want to hold Abby as a hostage?" Ziva asked.

"Well, Abby is one of the only people who could probably find the information this person needs." DiNozzo said.

"Ziva find out anything you can on Petty Officer K. Paxton. DiNozzo see if you can find out when Abby's security cameras went offline. See if you can figure out who is keeping McGee and Abby down there." Gibbs ordered. He picked up his phone and dialed the director, "We have a security breach."

"Boss meet Petty Officer Kyle Paxton." DiNozzo put the petty officers military ID on the plasma.

"Where is he?" Gibbs barked.

"Dead." DiNozzo pulled up his death certificate.

"He was murdered two years ago. We investigated his murder." Ziva pulled up another military ID, "This is Petty Officer John Mikals. He is currently serving a ten-year sentence in prison for the murder of Petty Officer Paxton."

"So who is the psycho in Abby's lab and why does he want information on the Paxton case?" DiNozzo wondered out loud.

"Ziva keep digging, DiNozzo with me." Gibbs grabbed his sig and badge. He walked towards the back elevators.

"On your six, Boss!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"How much longer is this going to take?" The assailant was growing more and more impatient. Abby and McGee had been trying to stall until they could figure out why this man wanted the information.

"It would help if we knew exactly what we were looking for." Abby said, impolitely.

"All evidence that pertains to the murder investigation. Your agency put the wrong man in prison and I intend to fix it." He walked over to where Abby and McGee sat. Instinctively McGee rolled Abby's chair closer to his. "I will need the physical evidence as well."

"That's not here. It's downstairs in Evidence Lockup." McGee hoped that this would be the way he could get Abby out. At least she would be safe. "Abby can go get it."

"How about you go get it?" The attacker grabbed Abby's forearms and pulled her to her feet. "I keep her here and you get me the physical evidence." The thug put his gun to Abby's head once again. McGee saw Abby flinch.

"I can continue going through the system while Abby gets the evidence from downstairs. It will look suspicious if I go get it. Abby can't do what I can on the computer." McGee said quickly, hoping to get Abby out of the lab somehow.

The attacker seemed to be contemplating this, "You have fifteen minutes Miss Scuito, or Agent McGee gets a bullet between his eyes."

"Tim." Abby whispered fear evident in her voice.

"Go. I will be fine." McGee assured her.

"Ok. Stay safe." Abby nodded her head slowly and walked out of her lab leaving McGee alone with the gunman.

Abby was surprised when the elevator doors opened and Gibbs and DiNozzo. They quickly pulled her into the elevator with them.

"Gibbs!" She squealed pulling him into a bone-crushing hug the moment the doors closed. "I have to go get the physical evidence for the Paxton case from downstairs and if I'm not back in my lab in fifteen minus, this guy will shoot Tim."

Gibbs noted the fear in her voice. "If he wants the evidence then he will get it." The elevator doors dinged open, "DiNozzo sign out the evidence. Abby, this guy tell you his name?"

"No, just that he needed the evidence to prove that Paxton's killer isn't the person who we put in jail."

"What does he look like?" Gibbs asked pulling a small note pad out of his jacket pocket.

"Brown eyes, brown hair, Caucasian, mid-30s to early-40s, about Tim's height, at least 185lbs, he's got Tim's sig and a glock. He came up behind me this morning. I walked into the lab dropped my stuff and was turning on my machines when he put his hand over my mouth and stuck his gun to my head. I called Tim down because I didn't know what else to do. He wanted the information on the Paxton case. I kept pretending to get booted out of the system. I figured if I could get Timmy down there with me, he could help me figure out how to take this guy down. And if he hurts Tim…It will be my fault." Abby drew in a shaky breath. DiNozzo came back into the elevator with the box of evidence.

"Take this. Give it to McGee." Gibbs gave Abby his secondary gun and a pocket knife. She tucked the knife in her boots and the gun in the waistband of her pants. Luckily she was wearing her lab coat so it covered the gun. "Tony, stay outside the lab. Make sure this guy can't see you but keep your ears open." DiNozzo nodded his head. "Abby your surveillance camera is snowing; we need to be able to see in there. Can you do that?"

"Yea, web cams and the video phone between my lab and Autopsy might work." She said. The elevator doors dinged open once again. Stealthy Tony slid out and took position across the hall. Abby took one last look at Gibbs, her surrogate father, and slowly walked back to her lab with the evidence box in her hands.

"This is all the physical evidence from the case." Abby said as she pulled everything out of the box. The attacker walked over, pushed Abby away from the table and started sorting the evidence himself. McGee jumped up from his seat and pulled Abby to him. He felt something hard against Abby's back.

"Present for you." She whispered. Tim carefully extracted the gun from the waistband of her pants and put it in his. Coincidentally his suit jacket was just long enough to cover the waistband of his jeans. "Knife in my boot." With his hand still on her back he steered her back to the computers. She sat on the stool and McGee gave her a small hug while the assailants back was still turned. Tim sat next to her and started typing again. Abby reached over and grabbed his hand, needing the comfort. Tim gave her hand a small squeeze. Abby silently turned on the web cam and turned it towards the perp. Hopefully the team upstairs could catch a picture of his face and run it though facial recognition.

"I want all of this tested again." The assailant demanded, "Start with this." He held up a bag bloody clothes that were found at the scene. He walked into Abby's ballistics lab and pulled out a cell phone. While he was distracted Abby and McGee took a moment to talk and formulate a plan.

"Timmy."

"Abs, it's ok. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He said, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"I saw Gibbs and Tony in the elevator. I turned the web cam on so Gibbs can see in here and Tony is in the hallway." She told McGee about her conversation with Gibbs in the elevator, "What are we going to do? How are we going to get out of here?"

"You are going to get down and take cover when I tell you to." Seriousness filled McGee voice.

"Tim, don't do anything that's going to get you hurt. I'm sure if we just wait it out Gibbs will have us out of here in no time." Abby said concerned for McGee's safety. Before McGee could tell her that his safety wasn't nearly as important as hers, the attacker came back into the main lab.

"How much longer?" He snapped.

"I've printed some information. It's still on the printer." McGee said.

"I am re-running the chemical tests on the bloody clothes." Abby explained as she quickly got to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few hours later

"Any movement yet DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked over the walkie talkie.

"Negative boss." DiNozzo shifted position to get a better view of the lab door, "I can't hear anything. They've all stopped talking."

"Abby and McGee have been in her lab for over five hours Gibbs. We have got to get them out of there." Ziva said still running the attackers face through facial recognition.

"We've got the lab surrounded. We've got agents outside the building and DiNozzo has two men with him outside the door." Gibbs said gruffly. "You been able to find this creep?"

"He's not wanted for any crimes by us, FBI, CIA, or any other government agency. I'm now running it through the local police departments." Ziva said.

"Any suspects from the case file?"

"Mikals has no brothers, his parents are deceased. No one in his life seems to cross into Petty Officer Paxton's life. I haven't found a connection yet. But I will." Ziva declared. A few moments passed as Gibbs stared at the plasma running the assailants face through the recognition software. In the corner of the screen he watched the live web cam feed. He broke into a run when he saw the assailant pull his gun out. Ziva grabbed her sig and ran downstairs with Gibbs.

"Shots fired! Repeat, shots fired! I'm going in!" DiNozzo shouted over the walkie talkie. DiNozzo walked in with his gun raised. "Abby?! McGee?!"

"Tony! Over here! Tim's been shot!" Abby shouted, "Timmy, I can't believe you did that. Please be ok." Abby put pressure on his gunshot wound. After clearing the lab, Tony knelt down beside Abby and McGee. The bullet tore a hole in McGee's shoulder and he was loosing blood quickly.

"Abby are you alright? What happened?" Tony asked.

"I'm fine. Timmy and I re-teased everything and went through the case file but came up with the same results. When it made the creep angry Tim told him to let me go and he would go over everything again. But it just made him angry and before I even knew what was happening I heard two shots and Tim threw me on the ground and took the bullet. He got off one round before getting hit." Abby cried, "It was meant for me." A pair of arms wrapped protectively around Abby's shoulders.

"Come on Abs." Gibbs said, "You need to be checked out by the EMTS." He gently pulled her off McGee.

"No! Gibbs. I'm not leaving him." She said, pulling out of his embrace to stay at Tim's side.

The paramedics carefully wheeled Tim out of the lab on a stretcher. He had lost consciousness due to the blood loss. Gibbs, DiNozzo, and Ziva closely followed behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm here to see Special Agent Timothy McGee." Sarah McGee pulled out her driver's license.

"Are you family?" The nurse asked.

"I'm his little sister. Is he ok?" Sarah said rapidly, "I mean he was shot so I know he's not ok ok but is he ok-ish?"

"Sarah." Gibbs called her over to where the team sat in the waiting room.

"Is Tim alright? What happened? How did he get shot at NCIS?" Gibbs gently pushed her into a waiting chair.

"The bullet went all the way through, which is good. It means the bullet didn't get lodged into his body." Gibbs knelt down in front of Sarah; he explained what he knew so far and what happened. Tony and Ziva sat next to each other talking quietly. Ducky had his arm around Abby while she worried about McGee. Palmer had just left to get everyone something to eat.

"Oh Abby." Sarah went over and pulled Abby into a hug. Ducky stood up allowing Sarah to take his place.

"Do you see what I see, Jethro?" Ducky asked, cryptically.

"What, Duck?" He said, sipping his coffee. Ducky just looked at him, "I see two crying women."

"One of them we should be particularly worried about." Ducky took a deep breath, "Abigail has not stopped crying since Timothy was shot. From the doctors reports Timothy has been asking for our Abigail, to make sure she is safe." Gibbs grunted while Ducky continued to talk, "I do believe Abigail and Timothy are enamored with each other."

"Duck they broke rule twelve a long time ago."

"Quite right Jethro. They remind me of two NCIS agents. Who also broke the twelfth rule." Ducky said hinting toward Gibbs' previous relationship with Jenny. Gibbs nodded his head and kept sipping his coffee.

"Anyone for Mr. Timothy McGee?" The doctor asked the group.

"Special Agent." Gibbs said.

"Excuse me?"

"Special Agent Timothy McGee." Tony said, accentuating each word.

"Right, Special Agent Timothy McGee." The doctor quickly corrected herself.

"We are all here for him." Gibbs said as everyone gathered around the doctor.

"Um…I can only discuss a patient's status with their family members."

"I'm his sister. They are all family members." Sarah stated, "Whatever you need to say to me can be said around all of them too."

"Ok. Mr. McGee, sorry. Special Agent McGee has been stitched up and given medicine for the pain. He will need to stay the night for observation." The doctor explained the extent of Tim's wound and spoke briefly about how long it would be for him to recover.

"Can I see him?" Abby asked.

"Yes, he can have visitors. Visits are best kept to a brief ten to fifteen minutes and only one or two people at a time. We don't want to overwhelm him." The doctor turned and pointed down the hallway, "His is in room 428. If you need anything you can find me or the charge nurse at the front desk."

"You go first." Gibbs said to Sarah.

She shook her head, "Let Abby go first."

"Come with me. I don't want Timmy to worry when I walk in and he finds out you're stuck out here with Tony." Abby said with a small smile on her face.

In McGee's hospital room

Abby and Sarah entered the room as quietly as they could. Tim lay in the hospital bed with his eyes half-closed.

"I wish they didn't call you." He said quietly. Realizing he was awake Sarah flew into his arms. Tim groaned in pain.

"Sorry, are you ok?" She mumbled into his 'good' shoulder.

"I'm fine. I wish they didn't call you. You should be at school." McGee ruffled his sister's hair.

"Yea well I can miss a few classes to check on my big brother. The same big brother that took a bullet for someone else." Sarah tilted her head towards Abby who was still standing by the door. Sarah leaned in close to McGee's ear, "She loves you." She whispered. Tim nodded his head slightly.

"Sarah, can I talk to Abby for a few minutes?" McGee gave his sister a small smile knowing she was reluctant to leave. "I'm fine. I promise."

"Call me tomorrow?" She asked.

"I will."

"Ok I really should get back to school. I have a term paper due in a few days and I've only written out the first draft." Sarah hugged her brother once again, "Love you." She got up and hugged Abby, "He loves you." She whispered in her ear.

"I know." She whispered back while returning the hug. Abby closed the door after Sarah left and made her way over to the side of McGee's bed. He gently grabbed her hand and pulled her down to him. Abby automatically curled herself into his side. McGee wrapped his 'good' arm protectively around her, holding her close.

"Don't cry Abs." He kissed the top of her head, "Please don't cry Abby. It's ok." Abby sniffled and wiped furiously at her eyes. She never was a crier but she couldn't stop. Her Timmy was hurt, Her Timmy when had he become her Timmy? He hasn't been hers since she asked him what was wrong with living in the moment. He wanted to be hers but she told him that they were all wrong for each other. How stupid could she be to not see what was right in front of her eyes? Abby was brought out of her thoughts when Tim gently shook her. "You ok? Did you get checked out?" He asked concerned.

"What? Yea, I'm fine. I was just…thinking." She snuggled deeper into his arms.

"About what?"

Abby propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at McGee. "I'm sorry." She could see the confusion in McGee's eyes, "I should have seen what was right in front of me."

"Abby what?" Abby put a finger to his lips to stop him from continuing.

"Let me finish." She said trailing the finger alongside his face, "I should have seen it. And I shouldn't have strung you along the way I have for the last few years. I can't believe you took a bullet for me, well I believe it because I saw it but why would you do that?" She rambled.

"Because I care about you Abby." Tim knew he felt more for her than she felt for him but that would never stop him from choosing her life over his. "Abby I…"

"I love you Timmy." She blurted out. Tim was at a loss for words. He knew Abby knew he loves her but he never expected her to say she loved him.

"I know like you love puppies." He said remembering a conversation between the two of them a few months prior.

"No like I love you, love you. I'm just scared because I've never loved anyone like I love you and it's different but its good different. I'd even go as far as great different." Abby said, "I love you Tim. I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out but I did. And I…" Abby was cut off by McGee. He placed his hands on the side of her face and gently pulled her towards him. He gently kissed her lips.

"I love you too, Abs." He brushed his thumb under her eyes wiping away her tears. Abby settled herself back down, with her head on McGee's good shoulder. She tipped her head up to look at him while he spoke, "I don't care how long it took you to figure it out. You don't have to be scared, Abs. I'll never hurt you nor will I let anyone else hurt you."

"Yea I kind-of already figured out the last part." She smiled up at him.

"I'd take a bullet for you any day." He bent down and placed another kiss on her lips, "I love you."

"You said that already." She said coyly.

"Just making sure you know it." He tightened his grip on her waist.

"We in that case," Abby lay her head on his chest to hear his heart beating. "I should make sure you know I love you." McGee traced small circles around the small of her back. Abby closed her eyes content for the moment to lie in the arms of the man she loves. McGee laid his head back knowing that Abby was safe in his arms. He wasn't sure if it was the morphine or the fact that Abby had told him she loved him, but Timothy McGee slept with thoughts of his and Abby's future becoming reality, no nightmares just dreams.