Ellie put Jessica Newton in the backseat of the car, ordering her to stay down, stay quiet, and call 911. She locked the doors, then ran back down the street to the townhouse. The need for stealth was past. What Ellie needed now was to know the status of her boss.

She forced herself to slow as she reached the top of the stairs. Keeping her weapon at her side, she glanced around the corner.

Nothing.

She took a deep breath, then turned the corner with her weapon up. Knowing Gibbs would want her to be thorough, she checked the first bedroom, then the bathroom, before proceeding to the second bedroom. There she found two bodies.

Alexander Michaels was slumped face first on the bed, knife still in his hand. Three bullet holes riddled his back. Gibbs was on his side on the floor. She took the knife from Michaels' hand, just in case, then knelt next to her boss.

The stab wounds were there, just as she had feared. He must have managed to shoot Michaels before he succumbed to his injuries. She put a trembling finger to the veins in his neck, feeling for a pulse, hoping against hope to feel something.

Just as she felt a nudge on her finger, Gibbs groaned softly.

"Gibbs!" She tore at his shirt, finding his vest underneath. It had taken the majority of the hits, although she could see that the knife had gone through and penetrated about half an inch into his stomach. She went to take off her jacket and realized with some irritation that she hadn't put on a new one after Virginia Davidson was killed earlier that day. Growling with annoyance, she grabbed a blanket from the bed and pressed it to Gibbs' side to slow the bleeding.

"Newton," Gibbs gasped, rolling onto his back.

"Safe," she replied. Sirens blared outside at last. "An ambulance is on its way."

"Good." He pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring Ellie's protests. "Call the others."

"Yes, boss."

"And Bishop?" His eyes caught and held hers. "Good job."

Ellie knew she would remember that moment forever.

Tony and Tim arrived an hour later to find Gibbs sitting on the back of an ambulance, with Ellie and the EMTs trying to convince him to go to the hospital. "Will you tell him?" she asked without turning around.

"Eyes on the back of your head, eh? Useful skill," Tony commented, coming to stand next to her. "Hospital, boss. We're fine here."

Gibbs glared at him. "I'm hardly hurt–"

"Do you want an infection?" one of the EMTs asked, scowling at Gibbs. "Because if you do, we'll leave."

In the end, it was the threat to call Abby that made Gibbs go to the hospital. Once the ambulance pulled away, Tony and Tim turned to Ellie. "Tell us everything," they demanded in unison.

"It all started with Jessica Newton," she said, walking back towards the house. She really needed to sit down. "She said Michaels just started talking to her on the bus one day. He seemed nice, they started dating, he always treated her with the utmost respect."

"When was this?" Tim interrupted.

"Six months ago. Everything was normal until two nights ago, when he asked her to meet him by the river. She went, and discovered that he had also invited three other women. He insisted that they were just old friends of his, but she was suspicious." They entered the house and took seats around the kitchen island. "Well, maybe 'suspicious' isn't the right word," Ellie admitted. "'Confused' is probably more accurate.'"

"So what happened?" Tony asked.

"Michaels had brought beers for everyone, and they just hung out on the riverbank, watching the fireflies and drinking. Newton said it was actually kind of fun, in a strange way. Then Michaels abruptly said he had to leave. Once he left, the group broke up." Ellie paused. "It all sounds so strange, but I guess Newton was blinded by her feelings for Michaels. She thought everyone was fine until she heard on the news this morning that Megan Carter had been killed. She tried calling Michaels, but he didn't pick up. She thought she was maybe just being paranoid until Michaels showed up here two hours ago. He told her very clearly what he had done to Carter, Fields, and Davidson, and said that he wanted to have a little bit more fun with her. He was punching her around a little, using the hilt of the knife, when we showed up."

For a few minutes, no one spoke. Then Ellie yawned. Tony laughed. "Tired, Bish?"

"Shut up."

"Go home," he told her. "Both of you," he said, looking at Tim. "I'll finish up here and go to the hospital."

"You sure, Tony?" Tim asked.

"I'm sure, McJuniorFieldAgent. Get some rest."

Since Ellie hadn't driven to the townhouse, she hitched a ride with McGee. They were almost to her apartment when she said quietly, "Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"Would Delilah mind if I crashed on your couch?" She didn't want to be alone after such a long, draining, terrifying day.

He glanced at her and smiled. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all."

Just the epilogue left! Thanks to everyone for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing, especially DS2010 and smush68!