Disclaimer: I only own the storyline!

Well thank you everyone who voted! These are the results from my profile poll, PM's and reviews.

Gibbs= 3 Tony= 7 Ziva= 6 Jimmy= 3 Ducky= 0 Abby= 1

I decided that Ducky would also not remember, mostly because I didn't want him to have to go through his mother's dementia and eventual death again, and partly so that Gibbs couldn't just sort Jenny and Mike's health problems out immediately. Thank you to alix33, TheBreakfastGenie, MissOrlane, DD Agent, Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, Kalyra-Anne and JiBbS-tIvA4eVs for reviewing!


Tim awoke suddenly, a sense of urgency gripping him and pushing him to consciousness. He opened his eyes and looked around, frowning at his surroundings. He was in autopsy, when did he get here? What happened? He grumbled unhappily as he raised a hand to his throbbing head. You're an idiot McGee; he internally reprimanded himself, wondering what he had done now. Had he head butted a wall? Fallen down some stairs?

His head throbbed again and he realised it was bandaged. He gently ran his fingers along the dressing, his eyes widening as he followed it from above his right ear to the edge of his forehead. The bullet had been so close to killing him. He then groaned softly in embarrassment as he recalled that after his heroic feat of throwing himself into harm's way, he had fainted at the sight of his own blood. That was incredibly humiliating, and Tony would never let him forget it, but it was worth it. Kate was alive.

He looked around again, this time noticing that he wasn't alone. Gibbs was standing by the sinks, talking into his phone quietly. Tony was sitting at Ducky's desk with the old ME, the two of them talking and occasionally chuckling. Gibbs snapped his phone closed, and started walking over to Tim once he noticed he was awake. McGee looked around for Kate, but he couldn't see her. Just then the doors opened and Tim held his breath, waiting to see if she would come in, but instead of Kate it was Jimmy.

The assistant Medical Examiner walked over to some evidence in bottles and picked up the tray, nodding to Ducky to let him know he was taking it up to Abby. He did it with a practiced ease that came from years of experience and Tim's heart dropped. He really had dreamed it all. He had known of course, time travel was impossible, but it had been so vivid, so real… Gibbs stopped by Tim's bedside and the youngest Agent looked up at him sadly.

"Boss? I had the weirdest dream." Tim mumbled, watching as Gibbs' expression suddenly became more interested and, sympathetic? Tim felt compelled to tell him, but he decided to keep it short, not wanting to cause him any more pain with specifics. "I went back in time and saved Kate… it was so real." he said in disbelief. How could anything so fake feel so genuine? Gibbs nodded understandingly, but how could he understand, really?

"You've been watching too much Star Trek, probie." Tony teased from his other side of the room and Tim grinned in response. He had to get over this. Kate's death was in the past, he would have to accept it and move-

"I hope I kicked your ass in your dream, McGee," Kate's voice interrupted his thoughts and he felt his face go slack in shock. He noticed Gibbs' knowing expression and resolved to speak to him when they were alone. Kate walked towards him, her playful voice originating from somewhere behind his head, which explained why he hadn't seen her, and she looked down at him fondly, "because that's what I'm going to do now." She gently but firmly slapped the uninjured side of his head and he grinned stupidly back at her. He really had saved her. "Thank you for… you know, but if you ever do something that reckless again, I will kill you."

"I think you're in with a shot there, probie." Tony stage whispered and Kate rolled her eyes dramatically, turning to Tony's smirking face.

"I should have known a blow to the head was a prerequisite to romance in your eyes, Tony."

"I'm always open to new experiences, Katie."

"Oh I'm sure. It probably helps your success rate if your dates have a concussion and wonky vision." she fired back, grinning at him, sure that she was winning.

Tim watched them banter back and forth in amazement. This was what he had been missing for the last few years. Ziva and Tony bantered too, but their banter always had an undercurrent of UST, whereas this was sibling rivalry at its best and most humorous. This thought made him pause. Ziva. She had taken over from Kate as Tony's partner, what would happen to that now? Would Kate remain with Tony? Would Ziva even become a member of the team?

Tim concentrated for a moment, trying to recall exactly when Ziva had arrived. He had spent most of his time under orders to watch Abby, so when he had first met her she was already familiar with Tony and Gibbs. Yeah… so she arrived sometime during his vigil of Abby, after Ari's attempt on her life…

"Abby!" he said suddenly, sitting up and then jumping off of the table. His vision swam for a moment and he had to close his eyes and lean back against the table, holding on to it for support. Everyone reached out to steady him, but he waved them off.

"Be careful Timothy, you lost a lot of blood." Ducky advised and Tim opened his eyes to smile at the over cautious ME.

"It's just a scratch, Ducky." he said dismissively, reaching up to lightly touch the bandaged wound on his head.

"Head wounds bleed a lot, and it wasn't just a scratch." Ducky said quietly and Tim suddenly became uneasy.

"What? But I feel fine. It barely hit me." he insisted, pushing off from the table and moving closer to Ducky as he spoke.

"Timothy, sit down. Please." Ducky said firmly, pushing him back towards the table. Tim perched on the edge of it and watched Ducky intently, his unease giving way to panic. "The bullet missed your skull by millimetres, but it did still hit you. A bullet of that calibre is very destructive; you're very lucky, you know."

"I know." Tim confirmed softly, thinking of his visit to autopsy to see Kate's body. He hadn't looked at the back of her head; just seeing the entry wound had been final enough. Ducky nodded and then continued gently.

"It carved a furrow in your skin. You will be scarred, how badly depends upon you not aggravating it. I'm not going to tell you it won't be noticeable, it will be. However I've sterilised the wound, made the stitches as small as I can and bound it tightly. If you leave it alone, which means not attempting to look at it, it should heal smoothly." he informed him, batting Tim's hands away from the bandage. Tim knew his internal anguish was spread across his face for all to see, but the truth was upsetting. He hadn't given much thought to what would change, other than Kate being alive, just idle speculation really.

He was scarred. He had saved Kate, but the price was a scar that he hadn't had in the future that he could remember. It was sobering, and a little difficult to absorb, but he was unable to regret it. He looked up at Kate. If a scar was the price for her life then he paid it gladly. She gave him a small awkward smile before looking guiltily away.

"It was worth it, Kate. Besides, I hear the ladies love a scar." Tim said reassuring her that he didn't blame her. It wasn't her fault that she was the focus of an insane murderer. She nodded gratefully, but it was clear that she didn't feel absolved. She was senior to him, he was the probie; if anyone should have taken that bullet it was her. She didn't know that she already had. She cleared her throat softly, not wanting to damage her image, or her makeup, too much.

"What were you just saying about Abby?" she asked and McGee slid back off of the table, racking his brain. What could he say? That Ari was about to shoot at her? From their perspective how could he possibly know that? Would Ari follow that same pattern now that his attempt on Kate had been thwarted?

"She's not here. I need to… show her I'm alright." he said confidently, knowing that she took any threat against her family very seriously, and often poorly. She would be frantic.

"I'll take you to her McGee, I want you to watch over her for a while anyway." Gibbs said, turning to Kate and Tony. "You two; bullpen. No one leaves the building, which includes you, Ducky." he said, fixing the older man with a stare that brooked no opposition. Ducky nodded slightly, sighing at Jethro's excessive protectiveness.

McGee's brow furrowed in momentary confusion. Why did she need watching over already? He followed Gibbs out of autopsy and in to the elevator, thinking over everything he could remember from that day nearly six years ago. He was certain that he had only been asked to watch her after the attempt on her life. What was he missing? Gibbs reached out and flicked the emergency stop button.

"About half an hour ago Ari tried to kill Abby." Gibbs said, watching McGee carefully. Tim couldn't stop his eyes widening in horror. He had missed it. He had changed events and then fainted, consequently putting Abby at risk. He repeated the word 'tried' in his head like a mantra, assuring himself that events hadn't changed too much, but the risk was sobering.

"At least Tony was there." he mumbled in relief. Gibbs quirked a smile and flicked the button back on.

"He wasn't. Not this time." he revealed and Tim openly stared at his boss. Not this time?

"You remember?" he blurted out, hoping that he wasn't losing his mind, or if he was, that he wasn't the only one.

"Abby and Jimmy too. Tony, Kate and Ducky don't though. Not sure about Ziva, she should be arriving later on, after…" he stopped abruptly leaving the sentence hanging as the doors opened and he stepped out. Tim knew who he meant though. Jenny had been an unmentionable subject since her death, but in a few short hours Gibbs would be face to face with her once more. Could he handle that? How was he handling knowing that right now Mike Franks was alive and well, sunning himself on a beach in Mexico without a care in the world?

Tim followed him out of the lift and into the squad room, noticing how dim the lights were. Once Jenny had taken over as Director and Ari was dead it had been much brighter in the building. At least he thought it had.

As soon as he rounded the corner and walked into the bullpen he nearly collided with the back of Gibbs, who had an Abby limpet attached to him in a bone crushing hug. She looked over Gibbs' shoulder and locked eyes with Tim, releasing Gibbs slowly and walking around him to stand before McGee. After a few moments her wide, anguished green eyes strayed up to the bandage covering the side of his head and then back down. She flung herself into his arms without a word.


This is the last 'setting-the-scene' chapter. The next one will have the people who remember sorting out what exactly they are going to do with themselves and their knowledge.