A/N: ok, so last chapter a gunshot went off. Who was shot?

Disclaimer: don't own it. If my horse wins the Cox plate I can put the money towards it though!

I looked down. No blood, no entry wound, no dizzy feelings. Hold on, wasn't I just shot? My gaze traveled off to the doorway and my brother stood there, his still smoking gun held out in front of him. "Are you okay?" he asked and I nodded, still in a state of shock. Lance Corporal Armitage Shanks lay in front of me, sprawled out on the floor. I guess I must have closed my eyes when the shot went off.

I put my hand to my chest, my heart running a million miles an hour. The rest of the agents and the SWAT team filed in, inspecting the bodies of both the offender and the victim. I turned around and the daughter sat on the floor, sobbing into her knees. I had a sudden flashback to when one of my friends was shot in combat. I sat down next to her, "hey darling, what's your name?"

She looked up through bleary eyes, "Cecile" I took her hands and urged her to stand up, and then hugged her to my chest. "It's going to be okay. Do you have anyone we can call to come and stay with you while we ask you a few questions or do you want me to sit with you?" I tried pulling myself away from her but she clutched on tighter. "Okay, I'll stay with you"

Tony came over and crouched down so he was the same height as Cecile, "ok, we're going to take you back to NCIS. We have a powerful phone that can reach your mum in Iraq and we're going to call her for you. Does that sound good?" he asked and she nodded. I held out my hand and she took it, and then walked back to the car with me. I've never really been big on kids, but Cecile was a beautiful little girl.

"Would you like to sit in the front?" I asked and she slid in silently. Tony punched me lightly in the arm, "now I have to sit in the back!"

5 hours and several mounds of paperwork later, I was finally home. I threw my keys onto the dining room table and stripped off my jacket. Slipping on my USMC t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, I sat on my bed and put on my reading glasses. I was currently stuck on a particular chapter of a book and I wanted to finish it. Several minutes later, I was fast asleep.

I was sitting in a café in Pakistan, reading the Washington Post that someone had given to me. Georgia sat across from me. Next to me was Katie. Georgia, my best friend, was from Texas and we had met on the first day of boot camp. Katie was Australian, and part of the Australian Defense Force. I looked over Katie's shoulder, at a paper called "The Herald Sun". We looked at each other, then laughed and switched papers.

From what I could tell, nothing much happened in Australia. Not as much as America anyway. There was some controversy about some guy called Kim Beazley, a reality TV show being taken off-air and some cricket scores. I turned my head to look at Katie, "hey Katie, how do you play cricket?" I asked and she froze mid-way through reading a sentence, "what, you've never played cricket before?" she replied and I shook my head.

She gave a low whistle, "cricket's one of the biggest sports in Australia, Along with AFL and the NRL. Geez, we'll have to get the guys back at camp to teach you how to play. It's a great game, my dad and my brothers play all the time, and I learnt when I was just a little tacker" she said and I looked strangely at her, "tacker?" I asked and she laughed, "It means child. A little tacker is basically a little kid"

I nodded, "anyway, so how many countries play cricket?" I asked and she thought for a second, "heaps. Pakistani's love cricket, they're not very good though. England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and countries near Australia. We have an official team that represents the country and a team for each state. Then there are towns and suburbs that compete against each other in littler competitions"

She put the Washington Post down and stretched out her legs, "I bet the Aussie blokes back at camp would jump for a chance to play cricket. I'd love to play a game again, personally" we both looked at Georgia, who had her head buried in the San Antonio Express-News, "what do you say Gee? Are you up for learning how to play cricket?" I asked and Georgia looked up, "why not. It could be fun" she said and I smiled, "we better get back then!"

I woke up with a jolt, realizing where the dream was going. 5 minutes later on the way back to base, a car bomb went off. Georgia had gone over to a stand to buy a magazine before heading back; the car was parked on the street directly behind her. The doctor said her injuries were severe, and he didn't know if she was going to last the night. She lasted the night and 3 after that. Then she let go.

I started to cry as I thought about my best friend. Tears streamed down my cheeks and fell into the book perched on my lap. I quickly wiped them away, marines don't cry I thought to myself and picked up the phone. "This is an international call, will you accept charges?" the operator asked me and I collected all the courage I possessed to answer, "Yes, I will"

She asked me what country I would like to ring and I answered that too. "Ok, now if you just put the number into your phone I'll connect you to Australia" she said cheerfully and I took the phone away from my ear to look at the buttons. The phone rang several times and then someone answered it. "Hello?" they asked and I smiled weakly, "hey Katie, how are you?"

Katie noticed my tone straight away, "hey Essie, what's wrong?" I felt the tears coming on again and I sniffed loudly, "I had the dream again. This time it stopped before the accident but I remember it like it was yesterday. I just wish it would stop!" Katie made soothing sounds on the other end of the phone, "you know what? I still get them too. Listen, I can't really talk now. I'm coming to the states to see Mark's parents in a few weeks, how about we meet up then?" she asked and I sighed, "all right. As soon as you get here you call me, ok?" she laughed at me, "always the typical marine. I'll see you soon"

We both hung up and I reached over to the other side of the bed to get a tissue. I'd handle it tomorrow; all I needed now was sleep.

A/N: well, it's Saturday. So that means the weekend is officially just starting. And its daylight savings too, so in the mornings I can barely keep my eyes open. I'll be back soon with a new chapter. I have vowed to finish this story properly!