Author's note: Ok, this is a lot sooner than I was intending to write this as I only finished the original story this morning. But the writing bug bit badly while I was at work, and I wrote most of this in my head during a slow shift. F.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, etc etc. They all belong to Belisarius Productions.

It was quiet in the bullpen. McGee had come in early to finish off some paperwork and the rest of the team hadn't arrived yet. It hadn't taken as long as he'd expected, so now he was sitting at his desk reflecting on the last few weeks.

It had taken a house fire, but Abby and Tim were finally together. That first week had been the happiest and most confusing of his life. He knew he'd remember it forever. And now it was three months later and their relationship just kept getting stronger. He put a hand to his pocket, just making sure that the small black velvet box was still there. He'd taken to carrying it on him since he got it back from the jewellers a week ago. He didn't want to risk Abby finding it. Tomorrow was their 3 month anniversary and he had his proposal all planned out.

Checking to make sure that no one was watching, he pulled the box out of his pocket. The ring inside had taken him weeks of searching to find. His beautiful Goth girlfriend was not your typical woman, so he'd wanted something unique. The ring was ornate but delicate, with a rose shaped setting that held a single diamond. The band was made of braided strands of rose and yellow gold. The ding of the elevator arriving made him look up. Hastily, he closed the box and swept it into his desk drawer. It was safe there for now, as long as he was at his desk. He was being paranoid, he knew, but as long as the box was on him or within his reach, he knew Abby wouldn't find it.

...

The arrival of the rest of the team made him realise it was time to get to work. They'd been working on a counter-terrorism op for the past week under the supervision of the Director, and today they were supposed to raid the premises of a suspected bomb factory. It was going to be a dangerous op, he knew that. He would have almost preferred to be up in MTAC coordinating feeds, but when the team went into the field, he had to be there. He had to have his partners' six.

They assembled in the squad room to hear the final briefing. This was a home grown terrorist group, and they were planning something. They went over the plans one more time, committing them to memory once more. This was to be a fairly silent raid, they were only expecting a maximum of two suspects in the house on the outskirts of Bethesda, and so only their team was involved. They detoured back to their desks to grab their badges and weapons. Hoping that no one else saw, McGee also scooped up the velvet box, tucking it in his pocket once more.

...

They made a textbook entry, Gibbs kicking in the front door with McGee right behind him, with Tony and Ziva coming through the back. Clearing each room as they moved through the house, they surprised their suspect in the back bedroom.

They had him cornered, guns trained on him. Slowly McGee advanced, knowing that Gibbs and Tony had him covered. He was closest; it would be easier for him to get the cuffs on this guy. He was almost within touching distance now. Slowly he holstered his SIG, reaching for handcuffs instead . Suddenly the suspect smirked. McGee's eyes widened in horror as he saw the black barrel of the gun. He dove to the side, knowing even as he did that it was too late, he was going to get hit. He felt the burn in his right shoulder as he crashed to the ground. Tony was quick, but Gibbs was quicker. He heard, dimly, the sound of the double taps echoing through the room, and struggled to sit up.

Gibbs looked over at his youngest agent and felt a stab of relief. 'Shoulder wound, painful but not lethal' he thought to himself. At point blank range, it could have been so much worse. McGee's sudden move had saved his life. Then he saw the trickle of blood become a torrent and rushed to his side. Shrugging quickly out of his windbreaker, he balled it up. Looking down at the stricken agent, he said "Sorry, McGee. This is going to hurt like hell". Swiftly, he bent and pressed it to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding

The burning in his shoulder became agony. As he lost consciousness, he heard Tony's voice on the radio "Agent down, I repeat agent down!"

...

Trying to keep enough pressure on the wound, Gibbs signalled to Tony to radio for help. McGee had passed out from the pain. He was losing a lot of blood, too much. Gibbs knew the bullet must have nicked an artery. The damn jacket wasn't helping; he couldn't get pressure in the right spot. Cursing, he threw it away. Watching where the blood welled from, in order to judge the correct place, he used the heel of his hand. That worked better, the blood stopped gushing and slowed to a steady flow. He might actually manage to keep him alive until the ambulance got here now.

Turning his head, he looked at Tony

"Got an ETA on that ambulance, DiNozzo?"

"They said 10 minutes, Boss. Coming straight from Bethesda"

He nodded, concentrating on keeping the bleeding to a minimum

"Damn it, McGee, don't you quit on me now" he demanded of his youngest agent. It seemed like an eternity, but finally he could hear the discordant noise of the sirens. He let the EMTS take over, watching as they quickly loaded him into the ambulance. He looked down, realising for the first time that his hands and shirt were covered in McGee's blood. He rinsed his hands under the kitchen tap. There wasn't much he could do for his shirt. He turned to find Tony and Ziva watching him, waiting for orders

"Tony, you're with me. Ziva, I need you to stay here and coordinate with the local LEOs, at least til Palmer gets here"

He didn't wait for their response, but headed straight to the car, Tony jogging along side him. He started the car and floored it away from the kerb, following the road the ambulance had taken. Pulling out his cell, he hit one of the speed dial buttons

"Autopsy"

"Ducky, is Abby there with you?"

"No, Jethro, I haven't seen her yet this morning" the elderly ME replied

"Need a favour, Duck. McGee's been shot and we're on our way to Bethesda. I need you to tell Abby and bring her to the hospital. Send Palmer to collect the body, Ziva is still there" he gave Ducky the address

"Right, we'll be there shortly. How bad is he, Jethro?"

"'It's only his shoulder, but he's lost a lot of blood Duck"

He broke the connection and sped up, weaving through traffic as fast as he could