Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just had all four wisdom teeth out at the same time and with a combo of lack of solid food and heavy pain meds, I've been a little spacey. Here goes, though. I'm finally feeling better, so hopefully I'll be updating much more often.

The next night, when I got off of work, I went over to McGee's apartment to work on the novel, which was coming along rather well. Our plot had quickly come together and Tim had sweetly suggested that I dedicate the story to Will, which I was very happy to do. It had taken me lots of work, but I'd finally managed to write exactly what I wanted to say.

Dedication:

This novel was written in loving memory of Lt. William "Will" Rogers, who died on Feb 6, 2009. He will be missed for years to come and he will never be forgotten. Never.

I brought over a casserole I'd cooked early that morning while I was getting ready for work and McGee and I ate as we edited the sixth draft of the novel.

"This is good," Timmy managed to say around a mouthful of baked spaghetti.

I smiled and wiped some sauce off of his chin. "Thanks, baby. You like everything I cook." I sipped my Diet Dr. Pepper slowly and wrote something into one of the margins.

"Did you ever talk to Gibbs?" McGee wanted to know.

I nodded, chewing and then swallowing. "Yeah, I did. He said he'd do it and then we worked on his boat and had pizza and beer."

Tim almost choked on his spaghetti. "You had dinner with him and got to work on the boat? Wow. He must've been in a really good mood."

I nodded. "I'm as surprised as you are. Anyway, tomorrow night I'm meeting Ziva and Abby to discuss the wedding plans. They're all coming over to my place for a 'slumber party'."

"I'm glad I'm not included in any of this," McGee declared, finishing his dinner and taking his plate to the sink.

I jumped up quickly. "That's not fair!" I insisted, pretending to be put out. "You should want to be involved in every aspect of our wedding plans." I snatched at wooden spoon up off the counter and playfully swatted at him with it.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, flinching. "That hurt."

I giggled like a little girl and hit him again. "Guess you better make me behave," I told him, my blue eyes twinkling.

Suddenly, McGee was grinning too. He grabbed my hand and twisted it behind my back, gently though. "I'm a federal agent," he reminded me. "I could arrest you for domestic violence."

I laughed again as he backed me into the corner of his small kitchen. "I'd like to see you try, Timothy McGee," I whispered in a low, sultry tone.

His boyishly handsome face grew serious for a moment and then he wrapped both of his arms around me and lifted me up so that I was sitting on the counter and looking directly into his bright blue eyes.

"I love you," he told me honestly, pushing some blonde hair out of my eyes.

"Well, that's good to know," I replied. "Because I wouldn't want you to marry me if you didn't love me." I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his lightly. When I tried to pull away but McGee pulled me closer to him and pressed his mouth firmly against mine, knotting his hands in my long blonde hair.

The next evening at 5:30PM on the dot, I shut my computer down and grabbed my purse from underneath my desk and my coat from the closet behind the door.

"Have a nice evening, Ms. Collins," I called into my boss's office.

"Goodnight, Elle," she replied, never looking up from the papers she was working on.

I left work and drove to a nearby restaurant where I was meeting Abby and Ziva for dinner to discuss wedding plans. They arrived about five minutes after I was seated and we got right down to business.

"You have you dress, correct?" Ziva asked me, sipping the water the waiter brought her.

"Yes, I bought a cute white sundress at Gap yesterday. Oh, and they have the same dress in pink or black, so I was thinking maybe that's what you bride's maids would want to wear," I replied.

"Did you say...black?" Abby's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Can I really wear a black dress to your wedding?"

Ziva laughed pleasantly. "It wouldn't be a complete NCIS family wedding if you didn't wear black, Abby," she pointed out.

We surveyed the menu and all ordered as soon as the waiter returned, then quickly decided to purchase the dresses tomorrow morning in a group trip to the mall. By the time our meals were served, we had finished all our notes and made plenty of plans for the wedding, which was only four short weeks away.

That night, as I headed to my car, something felt wrong. I was positive that someone was lurking in the shadows, and that I heard footsteps behind me. I brushed it off as stupid paranoia—overreaction.

I set my purse on top of the Camry while I unlocked the door when, from behind, something hard and solid hit me on the base of my neck and I sagged to the ground.

Ziva knew it was her job to see the out-of-ordinary, but she was certain she was losing her mind as she walked down the street to where her car was parked. It was just habit that made her think someone was standing behind the corner of a nearby building or watching her from the car across the street. Still, a nervous feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and she couldn't get rid of it. As soon as she unlocked her car and opened the door, something solid hit her from behind and blackness closed in on her.

Abby walked happily back to her car, content that she could wear black in Elle and McGee's exotic wedding. Usually black was considered taboo at weddings, but not at this one. Everyone knew that Abby was incomplete without black.

When she got to her old, vintage car, she was so absorbed in throwing her bag in the passenger seat that she never saw the mysterious attacker approach from behind and knock her totally unconscious.

Oooo!! A cliffhanger! What's gonna happen to the three NCIS girl? Don't worry, no one will die, but this will bring them all closer together, trust me. I should have the next chapter posted later today, so keep an eye out! Review, please, and tell me what you'd like to see happen. I'll try to work it in.