Thanks for all the reviews guys, they're what keep me going!

I know I'm torturing u a little bit but this story will be shorter than most of my previous ones so I wanted you to enjoy the suspense for a little while. It'll be over before u know it!

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NCIS HEADQUARTERS

"Good morning, Mr. Palmer," Ducky announced cheerfully upon his arrival into the autopsy lab. "I'm sorry I'm so late. Mirabel, mother's corgi managed to get loose and was hit by a car this morning and I ended up having to drive through slush and ice to take the bitch to the vet," Ducky explained. "The dog, Mr. Palmer, not mother!" Ducky proclaimed seeing the shocked expression on Jimmy's face. "It's alright, Mr. Palmer, she is going to make a full recovery."

"Dr. Mallard. What are you doing here?" Palmer asked, amazed to see the medical examiner at work after what had happened to Gibbs.

"Well, she is going to be fine, Jimmy. The vets keeping her for the night and I will pick her up tomorrow," Ducky continued on obliviously.

"You haven't heard, have you?" Palmer asked, still looking stunned.

"Heard what, Mr. Palmer? Do spit it out," Ducky said getting irritated by his young charge's ambiguity.

"Agent Gibbs," Palmer said.

"Jethro? What about him? Was he looking for me? Well it's not very often that I'm late so he can wait a few minutes," Ducky said crossly as he removed his overcoat and reached to put on his lab coat.

"He was shot this morning, just outside this building. He's undergoing emergency surgery as we speak," Jimmy explained as calmly as he could.

"What? Oh my goodness!" Ducky stammered in disbelief and growing noticeably paler. "I need to ….. I should be there," he said understandably shocked.

"I'll get my coat, Doctor. I can drive you," Jimmy volunteered understanding his bosses wishes.

"Good boy, Jimmy," Ducky replied quietly as he put back on his overcoat and prepared to go out once again.

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Jimmy Palmer dropped Dr. Mallard at the door of the Emergency Room. They both agreed that Jimmy should return to the lab as they still had outstanding autopsy reports to be completed.

Ducky raced to the reception and enquired about his friend. He was immediately directed to the elevator and the fourth floor. His stomach felt queasy as he rode the elevator dreading what news he was going to hear on the fourth floor. As the elevator doors opened he saw the rest of Gibbs team seated along the corridor. Abby rested her head on McGee's shoulder. Her mascara was streaked and she looked exhausted. Tony paced the corridor unable to relax. Ziva sat rigidly and stared at the wall opposite. They looked lost. He walked to them and made his presence known.

"Ducky, you're here!" Abby said jumping up and hugging him tightly. "It's just terrible," she sobbed as she withdrew from his arms.

"Have you heard anything further?" Ducky enquired.

"No. They've been in there for ever," Tony replied sounding tense. "What does it mean?" he asked Ducky with concern.

"It can mean a lot of things Tony. The best I can take from it is that Jethro is alive and they're still working on him. We will just have to be patient," he advised even though he had no sense of the severity of Gibbs' injury.

He sat down and waited with the team. When Abby and Ziva went for coffee, he decided to find out what the boys knew.

"I didn't like to enquire in case I upset Abby but do either of you know what type of injury Jethro has sustained?" Ducky asked in a whisper.

"The E.R. doctor said that he had been shot in the chest. They were having trouble controlling the bleeding, that's all I know," McGee told him.

"Oh no, that can't be good," Ducky commented. "Do you know who did this?" he asked.

"I've no idea. I haven't any information. I came straight here as soon as I heard," Tony replied.

"Well you have to find who did this, Anthony, for Jethro," Ducky insisted.

"Don't worry, Ducky. I'll find him and when I do he'll wish he had never been born," Tony replied incensed.

"We'll find him," McGee reminded him emphasising the "we". Tony nodded in understanding to his partner. He knew he could count on McGee. Abby and Ziva arrived back with coffee for everyone from the dispensing machine. They all sat back and sipped their coffee and waited. And waited.

Finally at 11.35am, over five hours since Gibbs had first been brought in a drained looking surgeon came through the doors of the operating theatre and approached them. He removed his surgical cap as he walked. Tony was the first to spot him and immediately jumped to his feet. This sudden action alerted the rest of the group that something was happening. They all stood and watched trying to read the expression on the approaching surgeons face.

"Agent Gibbs' family?" he asked as he neared them.

"Yes," they all replied in unison.

"Okay, well, as you know Agent Gibbs suffered a serious gunshot wound to the right side of his chest. The bullet shattered a rib as it entered and then tore through his liver and nicked his lung. It lodged close to his spine. He suffered massive internal bleeding as a result. We performed a liver resection which took care of the majority of the haemorrhaging. After consultation with a specialist we decided to risk the removal of the bullet. It remains to be seen if there is any lasting damage. The good news in that respect is that the bullet did not penetrate his spinal column. He gave us a few scares in there but he's made it through the surgery. Don't get me wrong, he's not out of the woods by a long way. His condition is critical. The next 48 hours should tell us more," he explained.

The team listened intently and tried to digest what they were being told. There was silence when the doctor finished. Then Abby piped up.

"I'll need that bullet," she said much to everyone's surprise. The doctor was a little taken aback by the request so Ducky endeavoured to explain.

"Abigail is our Forensics Specialist. She will need to examine the bullet as part of our investigation," he said by way of explanation.

"Oh, sure," he replied. "I'll arrange for you to get it."

"Can we see him?" Tony asked.

"Of course. He's been taken to the I.C.U. You'll need to prepare yourselves. He's surrounded by a lot of monitors and tubes. Some people find that distressing," he informed them.

They were led to another wing of the fourth floor to the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor showed them to a glass walled room through which they could see their boss. There was a nurse with him checking his stats. Abby was shocked to see Gibbs in such a condition. He was almost as white as the sheet that covered him. A ventilator was helping him breathe. To look at him you would think he was just sleeping. He hadn't a visible mark on him. She had known for hours that he had been seriously wounded but seeing him lying there made it all too real. She turned away and buried her head into Tony's chest. He put his arms around her. Truth be told he was glad to have someone to hold in that moment. Seeing his boss fighting for his life distressed him also. He had only ever witnessed Leroy Jethro Gibbs being strong, vibrant, intense and zealous. He had never seen him lose a fight but knew this one was going to take some beating. Tony looked at McGee who was staring through the glass at the motionless figure lying on the hospital bed. He turned and caught McGee's eye. They exchanged glances and knew each others feelings in that moment. Both men had rage in their eyes. This was all wrong. Gibbs should not be battling for life. Someone had deliberately done this to him and they were going to find out who one way or another.

Ziva was doing her best to staunch the tears that were forming in here eyes. Gibbs had always been good to her. It pained her to watch him laying there, a shell of his normal self. Ducky noticed that she was battling with her emotions and put his arm around her to console her. She tried to summon a smile to show her appreciation.

"Can we sit with him?" Ducky asked the doctor.

"Sure, only one or two at a time though," he replied before continuing on his way. Ducky thanked him and slid open the door. He looked back at the group. No one was following him. Abby looked so scared so he took her by the hand and tentatively led her in.

"Come on my dear. Jethro needs to know you're here. I need you to be strong," he said guiding her to a chair beside Gibbs' bedside.

"I don't know if I can, Ducky," she sobbed.

"You can, my dear. You have to, for him," Ducky insisted.

Abby turned and looked at Gibbs. His chest rose and fell as the ventilator kept rhythm. The white sheet that covered him was tucked around his chest and abdomen and both his hands lay outside the sheet. She picked up his right hand and held it in her own.

"Gibbs?" she said her voice breaking slightly. "It's me, Abby. We're all here. We need you to be strong, Gibbs. We need you to get better. Just …." She broke off as she began to cry softly. Unable to speak any further she raised his hand to her lips and kissed it softly. Her actions spoke volumes.

Ducky himself was doing his best to remain strong in the face of such anguish. His lips trembled as he watched Abby's uninhibited display of affection for her boss. He too loved Gibbs. There had always been an unspoken bond between the two men. They were best friends. They had been through so much together. Ducky had great admiration for his friend's strength. Having experienced such personal tragedy in his life he still managed to get up every morning and make a difference. It broke his heart to see him cut down in such an abrupt fashion. As he fought back his own emotions and tried to comfort Abby, Tony stuck his head in the door.

"Abby!" he called quietly. She turned towards him, wiping her eyes.

"The surgeon just brought me the bullet. We need you," Tony said looking her in the eye. She turned to look at Gibbs. She stood up, leaned over the bed and kissed him on the forehead.

"You better be here when I get back," she whispered into the unconscious man's ear.

"I'll stay with him, Abby. You go and get the bastard who did this," Ducky said vehemently. Abby was a little taken aback by the tone of his statement. She had never heard Ducky use crass language before but she knew that he meant it.

"We'll get him, Ducky, don't you worry. No one hurts Gibbs and gets away with it," she replied as a sense of duty and determination swamped her. She marched out the door and joined the rest of the team.

"Right guys, let's get to work," she said, rousing the team into action.

TBC