Killer
By that belle

Gibbs and Kate were two of the worlds nicest people. Why did they have to suffer such a horrible fate? ..Gibbs & Kate..

"Clear the area!"

"C'mon, get out of here now!"

"NCIS! Let us through."

Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee pushed through the crowd of people who were slowly gathering in the ballroom. They had been on-call, and had received notice saying that "two of their own" had been shot at a high school reunion.

All they were waiting on was Gibbs and Kate to arrive, then Ducky and Palmer.

Tony flashed his badge, and people shrank away. A man in a suit was standing at the centre of the dance floor, where the two bodies lay, covered.

"You from NCIS?" He asked them, and in return McGee and Tony showed him their badges. "Alright, just needed to check. Well, they appeared to be man and wife… wedding rings, both engraved… she's wearing a locket with his photo and…"

"Wait a sec." Tony interrupted. "You checked the bodies already?"

The man nodded. "Needed to see if they were dead."

McGee scratched his head. "Sir, we'll have to take your fingerprints. I'm sure you understand."

The man seemed put off by the idea, but he nodded. As Tony took him to the side to take the fingerprints, Ducky arrived, with Palmer dragging his feet behind him.

"Well Timothy, we sure had an interesting time getting here." Ducky said as Palmer walked past him, muttering slightly. If the Medical Examiner had heard anything he had said, he paid no attention to it. "But, that doesn't seem to matter. Where on earth are Jethro and Caitlin?"

"They're already here, Doctor."

"My dear boy, that cannot be so…" Ducky said, turning to Palmer, who had knelt down next to the bodies and taken the covers off their faces. "My goodness…" He breathed, his eyes tearing over.

He was looking down into the dead faces of his co-workers.

Kate sat at her desk, doodling mindlessly on a piece of paper. Tony and McGee had both gone out for lunch, leaving her and Gibbs alone in the bullpen. She snuck a look over the barrier between their desks, to see him watching her.

"Please, please, say yes Jethro." She whined, knowing her begging fell on deaf ears. It was the third time that morning she had asked him to go with her to her high school reunion in Indiana. The first time, he pretended not to hear her, but the second time, he had not been so lucky. She had cornered him in the lift and asked him again then.

He refused.

She just watched him now from her desk, and from his desk he watched her. She sighed miserably and turned away. Ever since she left high school, she had been looking forward to seeing all the people she knew in high school as a mature adult. Turning back to Gibbs, she said, "What kind of husband denies his wife the simple pleasure of going to her high school reunion?"

Gibbs' eyebrow rose, and he replied, "I didn't go to my high school reunion."

Kate rolled her eyes. "That's because they didn't exist back then." She got up, grabbed her handbag, and stomped off toward the elevator, her mind reeling.

But Gibbs was quick. A smirk on his face, he got up after her, and followed her to the lift. As she got in, he got in after her.

"I can't be that old," He said, gently pushing her against the back wall of the lift. "I caught up with you, didn't I?"

She smirked as he pressed feather light kisses on her neck. "I guess not."

He pulled back, and looked at her thoughtfully. "Do I need to wear a suit to your high school reunion?" He asked.

"Well, you should, since I'm wearing… hey!" She exclaimed, catching on. He smiled, and she playfully hit his arm. "That was mean!"

The crowd of people had been sent away; only the local police and the NCIS Agents remained. Ducky and Palmer had lifted Kate and Gibbs' bodies onto stretchers, while Tony and McGee looked on, hardly able to believe it.

"Why did this have to happen?" McGee asked quietly. Abby, who was back in her lab, had not been informed yet… and McGee did not want to be the person who told her. Gibbs was like a father to her, and Kate like a sister.

Tony's hands were balled into fists. He was shaking slightly. He had always looked up to Gibbs, and had always enjoyed teasing Kate, but seeing them… pale, cold, lifeless... it unnerved him.

"Did anyone who was here see what happened when they were shot?" He asked the police officer.

The man nodded. "They were dancing together on the dance floor... not many people were dancing, but these two were. As people were celebrating, two shots rang out from over by the balcony door." He pointed over by the door, where Tony saw the area had been taped off. "A witness reported she collapsed into his arms. A shot in the back; very precise." Tony flinched. He didn't need to know – didn't want to know – that their shooter had been precise. "The second shot came about three seconds later. He didn't have time to realise what had happened to her when he was shot."

"In the head, right?" Tony asked, remembering the bullet wound in Gibbs' head. The sight would haunt his dreams for months to come.

The officer nodded. "Not a nice thing to come back to, is it?" Tony looked at him, his eyes narrowed. "I- uh, meant, this was her high school reunion, right? Imagine being killed at your high school reunion." Tony didn't bother to hide his resentment for the officer, and turned around and walked over to McGee, who was looking at his cell phone. "McGee… can you take notes on what the dumbass officer over there has to say? I can't take his crap."

McGee paled. "I- I have to call Abby."

Tony reached over slowly, and took the phone from his hands. "I'll ring Abby."

McGee looked at him for a moment, and then walked over to the officer. When he heard McGee's voice in the background, he dialled Abby's number.

She picked up straight away. "Tim! Where on earth are you? What happened?"

"Calm down, Abby. It's Tony." He replied grimly.

"Tony?" Abby asked. "What happened? Where's Tim?"

"Tim's with me. Listen, there's been... there's been a…" Tony didn't know what to say next, his throat seemed to be closing up.

"Tony?" Abby's voice sounded shrill. "Tony, what happened?"

"There's been an accident." Tony said slowly. He heard Abby's gasp, but continued. "Kate… and Gibbs… they were… shot."

Abby let out a wail, and Tony held the phone away from him. McGee, who was standing a few metres away, turned around and looked at Tony questioningly. When he saw the phone, he seemed to understand.

When the wail stopped, Tony put the phone back to his ear. "Abby…"

"Would you stop fidgeting?" Kate asked him, smirking. "Honestly. You're acting like a man I paid to bring me along, not like my husband."

Gibbs snorted. "I told you these things aren't my style."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Too modern for you?"

Gibbs grinned as he led her on to the dance floor. He placed one hand on her back, and held her hand with his other one.

"Why did you wear those dorky glasses, anyway?" Kate asked, relaxing in her husband's arms and resting her head against his chest. She was referring to the glasses Gibbs was wearing, that had a camera installed in them. They moved slowly in time to the music, unaware that they were almost the only ones on the dance floor. She heard him chuckle.

"No real reason." Gibbs replied, twirling her slowly. He looked over his wife's shoulder at the people who were gathered in the hall. His eyes narrowed when he saw a man dressed in a suit standing over by the balcony doors. "That man…"

"Which man?" Kate asked, as Gibbs twirled her again.

"Standing over by the balcony doors." Gibbs replied, holding Kate close to him. "He's had his eye on you for a while…"

Kate laughed, and leaned up to kiss Gibbs. "Honestly, can't you try to enjoy yourself?"

He looked down at her, and smiled. "I am. I am in the company of my gorgeous wife. How could I not be having fun?"

Kate smiled, and kissed him again. "I love you, Jethro."

"I love you too, Katie." He replied, smiling.

She rested her head against his chest again, and they stayed like that for a while. Gibbs looked up in the direction of the suspicious man, but he had disappeared. He frowned.

That was when the first shot rang out. Gibbs knew something was wrong when Kate tensed in his arms, her hands grabbing for him as she collapsed into his arms.

"Kate-"

Moments later, the second shot rang out. The last thing Jethro Gibbs heard were the screams of people around him. There was a sharp pain… and then there was nothing.

Tony and McGee returned to NCIS first. Ducky and Palmer would be flying down with Kate and Gibbs the following morning. The second Tony stepped into Abby's lab, the Goth had thrown her arms around him.

Tony noted that, while she had stopped crying, she still looked awful.

"Kate… Kate was my sister." Abby said, looking at Tony with wide eyes. "She was like a sister to me, and Gibbs… Gibbs was my second father."

"I know, Abs." Tony replied, pulling her into a hug.

"How could such a thing happen to them?" She asked. "How, Tony? They were good people… they didn't deserve death. Not like that."

Tony didn't know how to answer, so he just held her. They were only interrupted when McGee came into the lab, a bag in his hand. Inside, Tony could see a gun.

"Is that it?" He asked McGee, who just nodded.

"The guy we spoke to in Indiana said it was found by the balcony. Abby… would you be able to run it for prints?"

Abby pulled herself away from Tony and went over to McGee. She took the bag from him, noticing how… distant he seemed. "Tim, are you okay?" She asked, putting on a pair of gloves.

"Uh… yeah." He said, snapping out of his daydream. "I will be."

Tony and Abby exchanged glances as McGee turned around and walked out of the lab. Abby could only offer Tony a confused look before returning to the evidence. She pulled the gun out of the bag and looked at it. It looked… familiar.

"Tony… let me see your gun." Abby said.

Tony's eyebrow rose. He pulled his gun out of its holster, and handed it to her. She looked at the murder weapon, then at Tony's gun. Her mouth fell open.

"They're exactly the same!" She said, turning to Tony.

Tony came to her side, and examined the two weapons. "What does it mean?" He asked her gravely.

Abby shook her head quickly. "I don't know." She said. "This is a government issue weapon. So agencies other than NCIS use these."

"So what you're saying…"

Abby looked at him, her eyes shining with tears. "Someone who works for the government is the one we're looking for."

Tony looked at his feet. "Well… in the morning I'll go and talk to some of the witnesses. You should go home and sleep too, Abs."

"I can't." She replied, shaking her head. "I need to find out who did this, and why."

Tony embraced her again. "You won't be able to do anything when you're tired and distressed."

In the early hours of the following morning, Abby lay on a futon under her desk, unable to sleep. Unable to think. Every time she closed her eyes she saw either Kate's or Gibbs' cold, pale faces; their dead, lifeless eyes looking at her, haunting her.

She couldn't help it. The pair had meant the world to her, and they were gone. They were never coming back. Sighing to herself, and deciding she wasn't going to get any sleep that way, she got up and rolled her futon up. She was about to head back into the lab when she heard a sound.

The doors were opening, which meant that someone else was still there. She hid in the shadows, to see who it was. When he entered the lab, looking around nervously, her mouth fell open. She watched him go through the evidence that had been collected from the crime scene… the wedding rings, Kate's locket, and finally the gun. He took the gun out of the plastic bag, and put it into his empty holster. It was then that she caught a flash of something on the bottom of the gun.

An engraving.

She rushed in, just as he was putting the locket into his coat pocket. "Timothy McGee!" She exclaimed loudly. "Where are you going with that evidence?"

McGee turned around, and looked at Abby. "Just retrieving my gun, and the locket I gave Kate for her birthday."

Abby's mouth fell open. The pieces were fitting together. "Your gun? That's the murder weapon, McGee." She gasped. "Your gun? McGee, did you… did you kill Gibbs and Kate?"

McGee smiled at her, but it was not the smile she was accustomed to. It was a sinister smile. "Caught on, did you? To think, if you hadn't camped out in your lab last night… I would have gotten away with murder." He pulled the gun out of its holster, and aimed it at her.

She screamed. "Tim, no!"

"I'm sorry, Abs." He said, and for a short, fleeting moment, he almost looked sincere. "But you can't live now that you know."

Abby backed away. The door behind her slid open, and she ducked through it, just as McGee took his first shot. It hit the door, activating the emergency release. It closed on her, just as she was rummaging through her desk for the special gun Gibbs had given her. To protect herself, if it was ever needed. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of Gibbs, and she thought of McGee, the person she now had to protect herself against. She walked back over to the door, only to find that it wouldn't open. McGee was having no success with the other door, either. Abby had no idea where the first shot went, but she figured that seems the doors were locked, it must have been somewhere near the doors.

McGee stalked across the lab, and looked at Abby through the glass. "What did you do?"

"What did you do?" She asked, hiding her gun. "Did you shoot the door, McGee?"

"I was aiming for you."

Abby sank to her knees. "Why did you kill them, Tim?" She asked quietly. "They were the nicest people in the world."

"Because…" He replied, looking down at her. "She chose him over me. I couldn't live with it."

"So you killed them?" She yelled.

"I only meant to shoot him!" McGee defended. Abby looked at him in horror.

When Kate arrived in the morning, Gibbs was already there. When she came in, he smiled at her. It was a morning ritual. No-one else in the agency knew about their marriage, and they hoped that it would remain that way. So they left home in the morning at separate times, in separate cars. Gibbs usually left first, and came home last.

When she got to her desk, she slipped her ring off and attached it to her locket. As was part of the morning ritual. Neither she nor Gibbs particularly liked taking off their rings, but it was the way it had to be - especially in the workplace.

She was taking off her coat when McGee came up to her. Gibbs had just gone off to get coffee.

"Hey, Kate." He said.

She turned around and smiled at him. "Morning Tim." To Kate, he seemed more nervous than usual. She brushed it off, however.

"I was wondering if you… were busy tonight."

She looked at him, feeling her heart clench. She had been expecting that to happen. Tony had accidentally let it slip that McGee was interested in her, but she had laughed it off.

"Oh. I'm sorry Tim, but I don't think it's a good idea." She said slowly.

McGee looked crestfallen. He muttered something about going to talk to Abby, then rushed off quickly. She sighed, then looked up. Tony was looking at her, a grin on his face.

"See, didn't I tell you?" He said, taking his own coat off and throwing it on the floor.

"Tell her what, DiNozzo?"

The two looked at Gibbs, who had come back from his coffee run.

"I told Kate that McGee had the-" He shut up when he saw Kate's glare.

She sat down at her desk and turned her computer on, ignoring the two men in the room. She kept her head down for most of the day, but when no-one was looking, she pulled her locket out from under her blouse. She ran her thumb along the surface of her ring, and smiled. Her wedding, although small, had been the happiest day of her life.

She was interrupted by Tony. "Kate."

She looked up at him. "Yes, Tony?"

He smirked at her. "Your wedding ring is flashing light into my face. Do you mind?" She shook her head, and concealed her locket and ring under her blouse again. It took the two several minutes for the conversation to sink in, and it was Tony who clicked first. "Kate, you're married?"

Gibbs and McGee, who hadn't been listening until then, both looked up at the two. Kate's face turned a deep shade of red. "Actually, I am." She said. "But," She added, looking over at Gibbs. "It doesn't have anything to do with what you're supposed to be doing now, Tony, so get on with it."

Tony returned to what he was working on, muttering, "You have to tell me about it later, though.", and Kate shot Gibbs an apologetic glance. He smiled at her… two gestures that did not go unnoticed by Tim McGee.

McGee was walking around her lab, cursing. Abby was stuck in her office, also cursing. She looked over at the phone, and wondered if Tony would be able to help her out. She sat under her desk, out of McGee's view, and grabbed the phone. She dialled his number, and waited.

And waited.

There was no answer. She sighed, and cut the connection. She wondered how long the emergency locks lasted on the lab doors. They were good in the aspect that they had saved her life, and were currently holding McGee hostage in the lab, but she didn't know how long it would last. As soon as they opened again, he'd come in, kill her, and escape.

Abby decided to try Autopsy. Sometimes Ducky would come in early to perform particularly long autopsies… or doubles, like Kate and Gibbs' autopsy. She dialled the number, and waited.

"Autopsy."

"Oh, Ducky." Abby cried quietly. "I need some help. It's a matter of life or death… not to mention letting Gibbs' murderer getting away."

"What do you mean, Abigail? I'm afraid I don't-"

"It was McGee." She whispered into the phone. "I was lying on my futon before, trying to sleep, when he came in and grabbed the gun and the locket. I confronted him and he tried to kill me."

The Medical Examiner was outraged. "Stay where you are, Abby. Don't let him see you. Tony and I will be straight up."

The connection was cut, and Abby replaced the phone quietly. She peered around the corner, and McGee was still pacing. She wondered how on earth Ducky and Tony were going to get in when the doors were sealed.

The mystery was solved when Tony and Ducky came up from the other side, and deactivated the lock on the first door. "Freeze, McGee!" Tony yelled through the door. "You're busted, big time!" McGee stared at them, and went to raise his gun. "Don't do it; I'll shoot you!" Tony threatened.

"Timothy, how could you do this?" Ducky asked. "Gibbs and Caitlin didn't deserve death."

McGee looked at them, and shook his head slowly. "I don't care anymore." He said, not sounding defeated, but defiant. "She picked him over me. She deserved it." With that, he raised the gun to his head.

"Tim, no!" Abby screamed as he shot the gun. He hit the floor with a quiet thud.

The Goth watched on, her eyes filling quickly with tears as Tony and Ducky went to McGee's side. Since she had discovered what Tim had done, it had made her want revenge for Gibbs and Kate, but seeing him lying there, motionless on the floor, it was almost as bad as hearing about her 'sister's death.

Almost.

Ducky came in and embraced her, and she cried into his coat. "Ducky, why did this have to happen? How could McGee do this?"

Ducky sighed, and shook his head. "Jealousy, Abigail." He replied, stroking her hair. "Jealousy can be a killer."