A/N: In my opinion, "Borderland" was really a hold-your-breath episode, especially toward the end. The following is a brief little scene that came to me after I watched it, as a possible snippet of what it would be like if the finale went the worst way possible and NCIS ended. I do not think this will happen...but it's not impossible.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.

When Everything Went South

"Abby, can't we talk about this?" McGee asked, his tone bordering on hysteria as he watched his friend throw her personal items into cardboard boxes.

"No." Her reply was hard. "I made a promise to myself a long time ago, Timmy. I'm sick of watching the people I care about get hurt and die. I swore I would leave the next time it happened, so I'm leaving." Tears splashed down her cheeks, though whether angry or sad Tim couldn't tell.

"So...that's it? You're just quitting?"

"It's not quitting!" Abby choked, using her lab coat to blow her nose. "It's called moving on." Her shoulders slumped and she collapsed against the table. "I just can't do it anymore," she told the blank monitor. "I want to work with life, not death."

The doors hissed open and Gibbs stepped inside. McGee was relieved--his boss always knew what to do.

"Abs-" he began, but he got no further.

"No, Gibbs," Abby said straightening and stuffing Bert into a box. He farted in protest, but no one smiled. "Don't try to make this better. You can't. They're dead, and..."

She didn't finish the sentence, but all three knew the unspoken words:

And it's your fault.

Technically, Gibbs had not asked for Tony and Ziva to follow him to Mexico. He had left his team behind on purpose, but his agents went after him anyway, with McGee staying behind for intel.

And now they were dead and Gibbs was alive, and it was his fault.

McGee felt out-of-place in the middle of the unspoken conversation between his colleagues. He cleared his throat.

"I'm-"

"-going to help me carry this stuff to my car?" Abby said abruptly. "Good."

She grabbed a box and pushed McGee toward another, and they left Gibbs alone in the lab.

~line~

Later that night, McGee sat alone in the bull-pen, carefully ignoring the empty desks around him. He wondered when exactly things had gone so wrong.

It was that first trip to Mexico. It was the lies and cover-ups that began to dissolve the team soon after.

Abby was right--it was time to move on. McGee powered up his computer, pulled up a blank document, and began to draft his resignation.