~NCIS~

Sarah pulled into her brother's parking space and shut off his car. She glanced worriedly at her brother in the passenger seat. She had been at the dorm when she had received his call from Bethesda. She had hurriedly made her way to the hospital, something in her brother's hollow voice worrying her. That worry hadn't abated yet. She got out of the Porsche and went to her Tim's side. "We're here, Tim." She said, helping him out of his car, and grabbing their stuff. She kept an arm around her brother as they walked to his door.

Sarah gently maneuvered her brother into his apartment, locking the door behind them. "Come on, Tim." She said as she guided him toward his bedroom, being careful of his injuries. "Let's get you into bed." Sarah grabbed a pair of his pajamas pants and pushed him toward the bathroom. "Go get changed." As Tim went into the bathroom, Sarah moved to the bed, pulling down the comforter and top-sheet.

It was only a few moments before the bathroom door opened and Tim shuffled out quietly. Sarah was becoming increasingly concerned. Tim had said very little to her at the hospital and on the way home, just stared off into space with his arms wrapped around himself. It was like he was trying to hold himself together. He acted like any minute something was going to happen that would cause him to shatter in a million little pieces. Something had happened at work. Something more than what he had told her.

Tim got into his bed and Sarah pulled the comforter and sheet up around him, tucking him in like he was a little boy, much as he had done for her many times before. "Tim," She said, laying a pale, soft hand on his shoulder. She felt a flash of hurt when he stiffened and shrugged her hand off, all without opening his eyes or saying anything. "I'm—I'm going to make you a quick snack, Tim. You need to eat, especially with taking antibiotics. After I do that, I'm going to go pick up your prescription." Sarah stood there hesitantly for a minute but he didn't say anything. Tim didn't even acknowledge that she was there. Sarah walked on quiet feet to the kitchen, concern replacing the anger that had raged through her since she had received Tim's call from the hospital.

~NCIS~

"Why are we doing this now?" Harris moaned as they sat outside an apartment complex in Silver Springs. "Why can't we just wait until work tomorrow?" Harris shifted where he sat in the passenger seat. "Are you even sure this is where he lives?"

Donnelly turned a disgusted eye to his partner. "Yes, I'm sure." He pointed out the wind screen. "See, there's his car."

"But why are we doing this now?" Harris asked again. "Why not wait until work?"

Donnelly gave a long suffering sigh. "We're doing this now because of the surveillance cameras at work. You don't want to get caught, do you?" He asked patronizingly, as if he was talking to a child.

Harris shifted again, still uneasy with all this. "What about surveillance cameras out here?" He asked nervously. "Aren't you worried there may be cameras in the parking lot or that someone might see you putting it on McGee's car? What if someone sees us driving away?" He asked, being the voice of reason.

"That's why I brought this." Donnelly pulled a ski mask over his bright head and handsome features. "We don't have to worry about someone seeing the car. I changed the plates before we left. No one is going to connect this with either of us." Donnelly pulled a pair of black gloves on over his tanned hands. "When I get out, slide on over and be ready to pull away as soon I'm done." Donnelly said before picking up their little surprise and slipping out of the car. He paused before closing the door and leaned back in. "I just wish we could see the expression on McGeek's face when this little baby goes off." He gave a mean laugh. "It's going to be priceless!"

Harris immediately slid behind the wheel and watched as his partner made his way across the road to where McGee's car sat. Donnelly quickly placed the charge underneath the back bumper of Tim's car and was crossing the parking lot within a few minutes. Harris started the car and pulled away before Donnelly was even in the car good. They had made their getaway but Harris couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to come back to bite them on their backsides.

~NCIS~

Jethro Gibbs slowly sat down in his desk chair and blew out a weary sigh. It was after midnight and the day wasn't any closer to being over than it had been two hours ago. The information that had seemed so promising that morning had not lived up to its reputation. Without the FBI's top of the notch, without comparison, computer set-up, cyber-crimes hadn't been able to come up with anything new. Add that with what was going on with his junior agent and Gibbs was beyond frustrated.

He had thought long and hard about how to handle the situation he now found himself in with his youngest, and wasn't any closer to solving the problem. It seemed that he had made a mistake in everything he had done lately with Tim.

He had known for some time that something was wrong with his junior agent but Gibbs had ignored the oh, so obvious signs. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed them. He may not be exactly sure when everything had gotten so bad, but Gibbs had seen his youngest changed. As this case continued and Tim had been left more and more out of things, having to stay behind to work the computers he was so good at, Tim had become more and more withdrawn. Tim had isolated himself from all of them, even Abby. No, Gibbs thought shaking his head, that wasn't quite true. Something had happened to make Tim distance himself from her before things had gotten so out of whack with the rest of his kids. Gibbs thought back and realized that the harmony that usually existed between his team had been missing for a long time, a lot longer. A sense of foreboding came of Gibbs. He suddenly felt that time was running out. His gut was telling him that if he didn't fix what was wrong and soon, then he wouldn't be able to.

"Hey, Boss." Gibbs looked up, startled. He had been so deep in thought about his youngest boy he hadn't heard his oldest boy come into the bullpen. "Yeah?"

Tony shifted uneasily. He was not sure how to ask for what he wanted.

Gibbs sat up, concerned. "Tony?"

Tony's eyes roamed over the bullpen. They were the only ones there; the FBI, having called it a day long ago and Ziva somewhere else. He knew that Tim had left ages ago, having accomplished all that he could. Tim hadn't been far from his thoughts all day. He needed to set things straight with his friend and he needed to do it soon. Tony just couldn't shake the feeling that if he waited much longer it would be too late.

"Finish up anything that won't keep and then go home, Tony." Gibbs said in the silence of the bullpen. "See you in a few hours." He could see that his senior field agent was disturbed about something and had a feeling it was the same thing that he was concerned about himself.

Tony stood there for another moment, wondering how and really, if he should, bring up what was troubling him. Finally he decided that it wouldn't do any good to talk to Gibbs until after he had unearthed what the problem was. So Tony just nodded gratefully before making a bee-line for the elevator.

~NCIS~

Sarah let herself out of her brother's apartment and locked the door behind her. She was very worried about her brother. Something had happened today, something besides another prank from the FBI idiots. She hadn't seen Tim like this since…well, since they were kids. Since their father… Red-hot anger surged within her again. Sarah just knew that whatever had happened had something to do with one—or more—of his co-workers. Tim wouldn't be this hurt over just another prank. Sarah unlocked Tim's car and slid into the driver's seat. She would go pick up her brother's meds and take care of Tim tonight but tomorrow… Well, tomorrow, maybe it would be time for her and Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs to have a little talk. She knew, from things that her brother had told her, that Gibbs got tunnel vision on cases like the one they were currently working, but that was no excuse for deliberately ignoring Tim's welfare!

Sarah pushed her thoughts away, afraid to drive if she let her anger run rampant. She put the car in gear and started to carefully back out of her brother's parking space, before shifting gears once again and pointing the powerful vehicle toward the street.

There was no sign. No warning. She had no idea that anything was wrong or that she was in any danger. Sarah heard a loud noise, felt the car shake, saw the flames in the rear view mirror, pressed the brake, brown eyes widening in horror when nothing happened. Suddenly there a row of parked cars that belonged to the apartment residents loomed before her. Sarah tried to turn the wheel but, again, nothing happened. She felt the impact, heard the crash of metal on metal, and then she knew nothing else.

~NCIS~

Tony was beyond exhausted when he left the Navy Yard but that didn't stop him from immediately aiming his car in the direction of his Probies' apartment. He knew it was way too late to be paying a social call but something was telling him that he shouldn't wait, not even a few short hours. That feeling he'd had all day had intensified in the last little bit. He needed to right what was wrong between him and Tim now, not later. After Tony straightened things out with his friend, he was going to find out what was going on with Tim. Tony would get to the bottom of this. He would find out why his friend had drastically changed in the last few months.

As Tony pulled into the parking lot of Tim's apartment building, he could see his partner's car backing out of his space. Tony recognized Sarah behind the wheel and started to look for a parking space, glad that he would have the chance to talk to Tim alone, at least for a few minutes.

He didn't know what the noise was at first. Not until he saw the flames out of the corner of his eye and looked up in horror to see Tim's car on fire with Sarah still in it, the whole back end of the Porsche gone, the front twisted beyond recognition.

Later, when asked, Tony wouldn't be able to recall the exact details of what happened next. All he would remember was jumping out of his car and running to the burning wreck, yelling Sarah's name. He wouldn't remember how he got the bloodied and broken girl out of the Porsche before it exploded again. He wouldn't remember how hot the fire was, how he burned his hands on the sizzling door handle of the driver's side. He wouldn't remember screaming and kicking the door when it wouldn't open. He wouldn't remember exactly how he was able to get the door open only that he did. He wouldn't remember pulling Sarah free or cradling her to him so that he absorbed the brunt of the impact when they were thrown forward as the car exploded. He wouldn't remember feeling the skin scrape off his arms as they hit the blacktop or remember feeling the heat of the fire on his back. Tony wouldn't remember when the paramedics or fire department got there. He only knew that they were. He wouldn't remember how Tim got there, either, only that Tony looked up and he was just suddenly there. But what he would remember from this night, what he would never forget, is the anguished cry of a Sarah's name from Tim and the utter devastation on his face when he saw the damage that had been done to his beloved younger sister.