The autopsy doors swished loudly open, but Jimmy didn't even hear them. His talk with Agent Gibbs had helped him a little, but he still couldn't shake the feelings of helplessness and self-doubt. He should have done something that day, anything to stop that guy getting away. He was lost in the memories of the day – Doctor Mallard calling out to him, the rustling of the plastic sheets as he tried to see if there was anyone else there, the passport – that damn passport!

SLAM. Jimmy jumped as a case file folder was slammed down onto the autopsy table in front of him, jolting him out of his memories.

"Jeez Palmer!" exclaimed Kelly Gibbs, with an expression of fond exasperation on her face. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes!" She was leaning up against the autopsy bench, staring down at him, her chocolate brown hair pulled back neatly into a ponytail, and her blue eyes looking keenly at him.

Jimmy looked up at her, and genuinely smiled for the first time in a while. He hadn't seen much of her lately, and she never failed to distract him from whatever was bothering him. Of course, some of that distraction came from the cargo-pants and tight fitting top that she was wearing. The rest of it came from her personality - and his good-natured irritation at her constant exaggerations.

"Five minutes! You haven't been here for five minutes!"

Kelly Gibbs rolled her eyes and smiled slightly as she pushed herself up onto the autopsy table, swinging her legs like a child.

"Okay, maybe not five minutes, but I called your name at least five times," She grinned, but then she looked more closely at him, and the smile slipped off her face. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," He said shortly, his mood abruptly thudding back to the ground at her words. He stared down at the smooth, silver bench as he desperately cast around for another subject. But he couldn't think when he could feel her eyes staring a hole into the back of his head. Her stares were just like her fathers – but much worse, because she was a woman – and a very attractive one at that. When she was staring at him like that – which didn't happen very often – it was very hard to think.

He forced himself to look up at her and spoke again, firmly this time.

"I'm fine Kelly, really." Or, he tried to speak firmly. Kelly might have been his best friend at NCIS, but he knew that she could see right through him, and she could make him quite uncomfortable when she tried. She raised her eyebrows slightly and was about to speak, but Jimmy's eyes had fallen on the folder on the bench beside her. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and spoke quickly, before she could say anything.

"What's that?" he asked, looking at the case file folder that she had brought down.

"Oh! They're nothing important. Just an old autopsy report from a cold case I thought you could take a look at".

"Something related to the case?" Jimmy asked, trying to sound casual.

"What? Oh, no," Kelly replied, shaking her head. "I've just been reviewing it in my spare time. Like I said, it's nothing important. I just…thought that you could use the distraction?" Her statement finished as a question.

"I – what? Dist –I don't need a distraction," Jimmy stuttered quickly.

Kelly nodded slowly. "Okay…sure. Don't hurry, take your time". But Jimmy was already opening the case folder and looking at the first page. He didn't look up at her, just looked at the page without really seeing it. Struggling with an internal debate, talk to her or not? She wouldn't laugh at him, and talking about it might help – after all, Agent Gibbs had made him feel better – maybe it ran in the family. But… maybe she wouldn't understand. She was the most confident and brave person he knew. Nothing like this would have ever happened to her before.

"Thanks Jimmy," Kelly spoke again, but he didn't look up. If he had of, he would have seen her blue eyes filled with compassion, and a desire to help and to understand written all over her face. Her voice softened. "I'm here if you need me". She slid down off the bench and walked through the autopsy doors, and into the elevator. He looked up and stared after her, when he made a split second decision, and ran after her, slipping through the elevator doors just before they closed.

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When Jimmy ran through the elevator door, it took all of her self-control not to stare at him.

'He'll talk when he's ready' Kelly thought. 'He certainly won't open up with you staring at him and making him feel uncomfortable'.

He went and stood behind her as the elevator started moving, and the suspense was thick in the air as she waited for him to speak.

"What was it like?" His voice cut through the silence, and as Kelly turned around, she saw Jimmy looking up at her, the desperation of needing someone to talk to finally showing in his eyes. "The first time it happened to you, I mean. How did you deal with it?". She looked at him silently, then turned around and flicked the emergency stop switch on the elevator. They were plunged into darkness as she turned back around and sat down on the floor.

"Are you going to join me?" She asked, a half smile on her face as she looked up at him, his face half hidden by shadows.

"Right." He nodded quickly and sat down on the other side of the elevator. Kelly leaned back against the wall, crossing her legs in front of her.

"So, are you talking about the first time someone held a gun at me, or the first time someone actually fired at me?" she asked in a light tone of voice. 'Because the first time someone held a gun at me, I was thirteen. I was bike riding, and I stopped for a drink. Next thing I know, there was an undercover CIA agent jamming a gun in my back, and telling me to tell my dad to stop questioning a suspect and jeopardising a CIA undercover op, or he'd hurt me really bad. Then he destroyed my mobile, and shot my tires, and drove off"

Jimmy blinked in surprise. "W-What did you do?" he asked.

Kelly shrugged nonchalantly. "Went home, told my dad what happened. He finished the investigation by going down...other avenues… and then when I met the sucker years later, I broke his nose for breaking my favourite mobile phone". She grinned, chuckling as Jimmy laughed. That sounded just like the Kelly he knew.

But the light-hearted moment passed, and the smile slid off Kelly's face as she became serious, and she stared at her watch, taking it off and fiddling with it. "But the first time I was shot at, I wasn't nearly as brave as you were." Her eyes flicked up to glance at Jimmy's incredulous face.

"No way," he said firmly. "You're the most courageous person I know!

"It's true," She replied. "Th- the first time I was shot at – I froze". Her face was open and insecure, she knew, and she felt like a high school girl again, admitting that she had a crush on a boy. It was a secret that she kept inside of her, trying never to remember the way she had felt that night, trying never to remember the feeling of helplessness that Jimmy almost certainly had and was feeling.

"Will you…" His voice was hesitant, uncertain. "Will you tell me?". He looked at her hopefully, and the look in his green eyes, a mixture of curiosity, uncertainty, a need for empathy and hope made her smile in spite of herself. She nodded slowly, and shifted to a more comfortable position on the elevator floor.

"I was sixteen years old…"

AN: Hi everyone! This is my first NCIS fan-fic - I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, and thought I'd give it a shot! Please, Please, Please review! I would really appreciate feedback! Thanks,

Optigirl101