A/N: the usual disclaimer, I own nothing, CBS has it all

Chapter 10

Tim was too exhausted to try to move out of the path of the rain dripping from the roof. He felt as though the heat and the sand had beaten the life out of him. He felt disoriented and his mind felt sluggish, was he sure of what he'd heard Wells say?, "He's not responded to my emails, I wonder why?"Tim started to laugh, not with humor but in disbelief. His laugh was unrecognizable, perhaps more of a bark, a howl, a cough; almost maniacal. The sound of his laughter infuriated Wells. The louder Tim laughed, the more incensed Wells became.

"SHUT UP!"..."I ..SAID...SHUT UP!" Wells screamed at Tim. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE OUT OF YOU." Wells grabbed a black jack from the table next to his laptop as he moved towards Tim, his face contorted in anger. "I'll shut you up," he hissed, as first he landed a kick to the ribs and then a blow to the head with the black jack. The gash along Tim's hair line above his left eye immediately began to flow into his eyes, but Tim didn't notice. The kick broke an already cracked rib and he was knocked unconscious. Wells loomed over Tim's unmoving body as he tried to calm himself. Speaking quietly as if Tim was just sleeping, Wells murmured, "I don't like it when people laugh at me."

NCIS~~

Gibbs had spent most of the day in his basement trying to sand away the guilt and anger. Ducky had left him with a lot to think about. He was coming to realize he had to find a way to reign in the guilt and grief he was feeling for not saving the little girl. Not every case can be solved the way they want or hope. He spent hours going through the mementos of Kelly's childhood that he kept in his basement. He needed to feel that closeness to his own little girl to move past this case that continued to haunt him. It took most of the afternoon, but Gibbs was finally able to put the case into perspective and think rationally. He finally admitted to himself that they had done everything possible. Rarely did he second guess his actions during a case, but now...going over everything that he'd done, everything Vance had said to him, everything that Ducky had said to him...God, how could he have been so self righteous about it all. And to Tim of all people? The man can barely tell a lie. He worked hard, Gibbs knew how hard McGee worked. Rarely did he tell the younger man, but he knew. How could he have let himself get that far out of control? He let his emotions overwhelm him and turn to anger. And Tim took the brunt of his outburst. How did he make this right?

Knowing that he wouldn't see McGee for a week, Gibbs tried calling him. He needed to speak with Tim, break the ice and let him know that things were said in the heat of the moment. But the call went straight to voice mail. He was a little surprised that McGee's phone was turned off. Gibbs called Tony knowing that he had ground to make up with his Senior Agent as well.

"Boss? Everything OK?" Surprise could be heard in Tony's voice as he answered the call.

"DiNozzo, I..."

"Boss, do you need help?...What's wrong?" Gibbs didn't call for no reason and Tony was starting to worry.

"Have you talked to McGee, Tony?" Gibbs didn't know how to start this conversation as he ran his hand through his silver hair in frustration.

Tony hesitated, not sure of where this phone call was headed, "Ziva and I have been trying to reach him since Wednesday, but we haven't spoken to him. Why do you ask, Boss?"

"Neither of you have talked to him?"

"It's not like we haven't been trying, Gibbs. We've left messages everyday, more than once a day. He's not returning our calls, Boss. We're both worried about him."

"I...I tried calling him today, it went straight to voice mail. If you talk to him, will you let him know I want to talk?" Gibbs was feeling guilty that his actions were causing such deep repercussions throughout his team.

"Sure, of course, Boss. If...if he asks why, what should I tell him?...You know where that brain of his is going to go...hell, Ziva and I both have wondered..."

Gibbs hung his head as he tried to come up with an answer. "I need to fix this Tony and I don't know how. I was wrong." Gibbs voice was soft and Tony almost didn't believe what he'd heard was really spoken.

"Wow...I mean...what made you change your mind...if I can ask"

"Duck gave me a long talking to, he finally got through my thick skull." Gibbs started up the stairs in need of a fresh cup of coffee.

Walking to a window to watch the rain, Tony had a small smile on his face. "Leave it to Ducky to set us all straight. You can start building bridges tomorrow Boss. Ziva and I will do anything to keep the team together, you know that Boss."

Stopping at the kitchen counter and looking out the window to the rain, Gibbs shook his head. "I won't be there tomorrow. Remember, I'm assigned to FLETC for the week."

"Oh, right. I guess I forgot about that. What are you going to do, Boss?"

"Not much I can do DiNozzo. Let him know I want to talk, will ya?" Gibbs was all talked out for now.

"Sure Boss..." but before he could finish his sentence, Tony heard the dial tone.

NCIS~~

While Tim lay unconscious on the floor, Well put together a box to send to Gibbs at the NCIS offices. If the man doesn't read email, he must open packages sent directly to him. He'd be too curious not to open it. Wells went through Tim's wallet trying to decide what to include in the package. Closing up the package that included Tim's jacket with blood spatters, his driver's license, shoes and socks and hair he'd just yanked out of Tim's head, Wells carefully addressed the package to Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs C/O NCIS

NCIS~~

"Julia, I'm worried about Tim. He hasn't returned our calls. That's just not like him." Olivia stroked Jethro's head as he rested near her feet.

"I'm worried too, Olivia. I think that we should go to NCIS headquarters in the morning if we don't hear from Tim tonight. It could be as simple as Tim's phone not working and he didn't get our messages. He would be worried sick about where Jethro is, they must have been out for a walk. Jethro still had his leash on his collar. There would be no reason for Tim to call us looking for Jethro. Who would have thought the dear dog would come to us? But I'm worried about Tim. Something just doesn't feel right."

Julia returned to her own chair next to her sister. Reaching down between their chairs, Julia started to stroke the German Shepard along with her sister. The normally happy canine looked at the ladies with a sorrowful expression as he lay missing his master's touch.

NCIS~~

"SHUT UP! I SAID SHUT UP, NOW GO TO YOUR ROOM! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING MORE FROM YOU!" Tim's expression changed to one of pain. He was back in his parents house the day Sarah had been taken right from their own yard. "I'm sorry Mom, really, I tried. Really I did. Please Mom." Wells could hear Tim talking, slurring his words. He heard Tim say "Mom". Shaking his head, Wells figured he must be calling for his mom to help him. He could see Tim was starting to come around. The first thing Tim saw when he opened his eyes was Wells face staring down at him.

"Well, well. I see you have decided to wake up. But you know, your mom can't help you now." Wells laughed as he walked towards the table. Tim blinked trying to clear his vision and gasped as he tried to roll. Sharp, stabbing pain from his ribs made it impossible to take a deep breath. He pushed through the pain and shakily rose to his feet. As he took his first wobbly step, he looked at his feet, wondering when he lost his shoes... Wells turned when he realized Tim was on his feet. "And just where do you think you're going?"

Tim could barely stay upright, but he didn't want to give Wells the satisfaction of watching him fall. Speaking in a raspy voice barely loud enough to be heard, Tim said to Wells, "I'm of no use to you. I told you Gibbs would not come for me. He doesn't read his email, you're waiting for nothing." Tim drew in a shaky breath and tried to stand up straight but his battered body wanted to curl into itself.

"Don't worry about that, I've corrected my mistake on that point. Gibbs will have all the information he needs soon enough. We still have some time together. There are still many things you and I can do today." Wells paused when he saw Tim shaking his head so violently that he almost fell over.

"You don't get it. You won't get Gibbs here because of me. Just give up this scheme of yours." Tim was barely able to whisper out the words.

"Once a Marine, always a Marine. Gibbs won't go against the code and leave a man behind. Unless you are admitting you really aren't a field agent. You're just a wannabe?" Trying to provoke Tim, Wells continued, "Now that is one thing we can't stand, I could understand why Gibbs would kick you off his team." Wells was pacing back and forth in front of Tim, gauging his reaction as he continued to provoke him. "You really are too slow, your work isn't ever good enough to be a real agent. You're one of those computer guys that only does the work behind the scenes, aren't you? I thought you were a bit soft to be on Gibbs team." He was watching Tim and could see the anger of his response building. "I will admit, you surprised a little but everybody gets lucky once in a while. I had wanted to see how well Gibbs trained his men now. I guess he didn't find you worthy of training."

It was the snide laughter that pushed Tim over the edge. With what little strength he had, Tim lunged at Wells striking him in the face. Wells had been watching for Tim to make a move but was still caught slightly off-guard. But Wells recovered quickly and caught Tim by the arm and spun him away. "It's nice to finally get some reaction out of you, McGee!" Tim lost his balance and tripped. He fell head first over the stool and landed on his neck and left shoulder with a sickening crack. Tim screamed in pain as his collarbone broke in such a way the bone had pierced the skin and was exposed. The pain was overwhelming and his left arm was now useless. Lightning cracked so loudly that it could be heard inside the abandaned warehouse. Fifteen seconds later the harsh thunder was accompanied by the sound of agony.

A/N—a collarbone can actually break this way, my daughter did it! Most collarbone breaks are not repaired by surgery and can't be set in a cast. However, a severe break where the bone will not mend on it's own does require surgery. My daughter has a 3inch titanium plate with 8 screws in her shoulder. The scar is quite a conversation starter!