a/n - Yep, I'm back. Things aren't great, but they are better. Thanks for all your worry and well wishes. Now, onto the story. Remember, this is set at the end of season 5, right before Judgement Day. Yes, that was a hint, no there will not be a test g Umm, tissues might be nice.

Petrovic didn't wait very long. At the first sign of trouble and Baxter's attention was diverted to the hostage situation, he rushed for the side door in the study, its frame hidden in the dark wooden paneling. He, himself would not have noticed the door if he hadn't already known about it. With DiNozzo and Baxter shooting it out with Johnny in the study, only Kort went after him.

-NCIS-

"Jeanne? Jeanne?" Tony holstered his weapon as he rushed closer to the fallen figures. Duplantis was still, his chest covered with blood, while McGee was struggling to sit up. Between the two, Jeanne was on the floor, Johnny's body weighing her down. Gibbs had arrived and was rushing to McGee's side so Tony concentrated on Jeanne.

Tony's shot had been true, as the hole in Johnny's forehead showed. He barely gave the body a second thought as he rolled it away to check on the woman underneath. Blood was splattered across her face, but she gasped and sat up the second she was free. Batting Tony's hands away, she crawled to her uncle's side. "Uncle Max, Uncle Max, can you hear me?" Moaning at the amount of blood covering him, she checked his pulse and started CPR. Knowing it was already too late, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Jeanne, it's too late."

"No, he's not gone, he's not." she turned to him and shoved. "Why do you hate me, Tony? Why do you people keep killing the ones I love?"

Tony tried to reason with her while out of the corner of his eye he watched Gibbs struggling with McGee. "Jeanne, it wasn't us that shot him, it was his own bodyguard. I'm sorry your uncle is dead, but there's others that need your help." She shook her head and resumed her attempts at resuscitation.

-NCIS-

As soon as Fornell and Sacks had the last suspect under control, Gibbs left them to move into the next room. A quick sweep told him that the room was secure. Tony was dealing with Duplantis and Jeanne and Baxter had a gun on the bodyguard, so Gibbs went straight to McGee. The younger man struggled to sit up before his arms buckled and he collapsed back to the floor.

"McGee? Tim?" Gibbs carefully rolled him onto his back as he checked his breathing. "Come on, son, don't give up on me now."

"Boss?" Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief when the young man recognized him, but it was short lived. "Is it time? I found the file, she said I could go with you when I found it."

"Tim?" He seemed to collapse into himself even as Gibbs checked him. "Stay with me. Tim?" He gently slapped at the pale face, momentarily relieved when the green eyes opened back up.

"Why'd you leave me behind, Boss? I found the files, now I can go with you, right? I don't want to be alone."

"You're not alone, Tim. Never again, I promise." Gibbs lifted him enough to pull him closer, cradling his head and turning it so he could look into the closing green eyes. "We need you to stay with us, McGee."

-NCIS-

Kevin Baxter forced himself to calm down after surviving his first major raid and realized that he was holding a gun on an obviously dead man. Hoping to cover his slip he turned to cuff Petrovic and discovered that he was no longer there. Cursing to himself, he looked around to see that the CIA operative was also missing. There was no way that they could have gotten past him and the agents in the hall, so he looked around closely for another exit from the room. Stepping around the large desk, he noticed a strip of the wood paneling that didn't line up with the rest of the wall. He pushed at it and it swung open. Gun at the ready, he eased through the narrow opening and crept down the passage.

-NCIS-

"Jeanne, he needs your help." Tony forced her to turn away from her uncle's body and look at the young man in Gibbs' arms. She shook her head and pulled away from him.

"He was trying to destroy what's left of my family."

Tony shifted so that he was facing her again. "No, Jeanne. He was told that your uncle had all of us killed. He was trying to get justice for us."

"What?" She kept looking between Tony and McGee, shaking her head. "Who would make up a story like that?"

"Director Shepard." The bitterness in his voice was something she'd never heard before, and it made her listen. "His name is Timothy McGee and he's my best friend, Jeanne. He had a car wreck on his vacation. He almost died and instead of telling us what happened to Tim, she used his amnesia against him."

"His head injury?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded, his voice breaking. "That bi... woman used her authority to remove him from the hospital before he was even stable and tricked him into believing that we were all dead, that your uncle had all of us murdered somehow."

Each glance at the injured man was longer as her anger visibly deflated. "Why would Director Shepard do that? What did my father do to make her hate all of us so much?"

"I don't know, Jeanne. All I know is that Tim's the innocent one here. Be angry at her, be angry at me, but please, don't take it out on him." Tony held his breath as he watched Jeanne edge closer to Gibbs and McGee.

-NCIS-

Petrovic stumbled in the dark, groaning in frustration when he appeared to hit a dead end. Behind him, he could hear someone coming closer, having found his escape route. He frantically felt along the walls of the passageway, looking for a way to defend himself, or even better, a way out.

Further back, Kort leaned against the wall, pressing his hand against the bleeding hole in his shoulder. He had a slight advantage because he'd been in the tunnel with Duplantis several times and knew the layout. With any luck, Petrovic would have trouble finding the release for the sliding door to the outside and he could take the man while he was distracted. He could hear a third person now in the secret hallway, but he wasn't close enough to do any good. Abandoning any attempt to stem the flow of blood, Kort wiped his hand on his pant leg before easing his gun out. If they lost Petrovic his agency would throw him to the wolves and he was determined to be free of the she-wolf that currently had control of his life.

-NCIS-

"So, your real name is Tim?" Jeanne crawled close and touched his cheek, finding it cold and clammy under her fingers. When he eyes opened again, she was shocked at how uneven his pupils had become in such a short time.

His voice was raspy and weak, forcing her to lean closer to hear him. "Sorry... sorry you got caught up in this again. Didn't know you... were going to be here." The green eyes slowly closed again.

"No, Tim, I need you to stay awake. Stay with us." Her hands fluttered over him as she tried to assess his condition with no medical equipment. Tim stopped her hand, his grasp surprisingly strong considering his condition.

"It's okay, I'm ready to go... Gibbs came back for me. I'm so tired of being alone."

"McGee, you need to hang on. You don't have permission to die." Gibbs struggled to find a way to convince him that they were still alive and not ghosts. He increased the pressure of his hands, tapping his face again. "Do you hear me? You do not have permission to die, McGee."

"Please, Boss, I did what she asked, she promised. It's the only way to keep Abby safe, please let me come with you this time."

"Tim..." Words failed him and he looked over to DiNozzo, seeing his devastated face. After all they had been through, Tim was slipping through their fingers. Behind them, Sacks appeared, slightly out of breath.

"Medevac chopper is fifteen minutes out."

At the FBI agent's words, Jeanne looked up at Gibbs and slightly shook her head. If her patient didn't start fighting to survive, fifteen minutes would be too long.

-NCIS-

The side of the main house was in sight, so Ziva, Wright and the other agents abandoned the ATV's to approach on foot. A large arbor, supporting heavy, dormant vines shadowed the wall and darkened the windows. Ziva's earpiece had been almost silent since the last calls for weapons to be lowered and the resulting gunfire. SIG at her side, she crept closer, hoping to use one of the windows to determine what was happening before she broke radio silence.

-NCIS-

Further down the road, past the notice of anyone from the estate, two men waited in a dark sedan. Unarmed, they were forced to stay behind until the scene was secured, but the call for a medical chopper was enough for them to abandon their orders.

"Drive, Mr. Palmer, drive."

-NCIS-

In the dark, Petrovic smiled when his fingers wrapped around a handle. Hanging on to the metal bar, his other hand patted above and then below it until he found the lock. The sound reverberated through the narrow corridor, but freedom was so close he could taste it. Once the door was open, he knew he'd be silhouetted so he turned and fired off several shots down the dark passage. He had no idea if he'd hit his pursuer, but he'd at least slow him down. As the last shot echoed he shoved the door open and found himself staring down the barrel of federally issued SIG Sauer. The woman behind the gun gave him a feral grin.

"Try me."

-NCIS-

Maria Corbin finally pushed her way past Fornell and dropped to her knees next to Jeanne, reaching out to McGee as she muttered under her breath. Jeanne recognized the Italian words of a heartfelt prayer before Maria turned to her. "Dr. Ballard wanted to drill a hole in his head, but Mr. Kort wouldn't let him."

Jeanne nodded, realizing just how trouble her new patient was in. "How was he stabilized before?"

"An ice bath." Maria smiled as she thought back. "He was as weak as a newborn, but Mr. Kort was so gentle with him, carried him back and forth to the bathroom, sat up with him all night when the fever made him delirious."

Gibbs exchanged a look with DiNozzo before turned back to Maria. "Trent Kort took care of him?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Kort was very careful with him. Even when Brad seemed uncaring about his own health, Mr. Kort made sure he didn't push himself too hard."

"Kort?" DiNozzo still wasn't believing.

Maria remembered an overheard conversation between her boss and Trent Kort. "Brad's father saved Mr. Kort before that awful she-devil had him killed. A mutual enemy, that's what Mr. Duplantis called her, he was going to take care of her after his business with Mr. Petrovic was finished." She reached out and brushed the dyed hair back from McGee's face. "Such a gentleman, and so smart, Mr. Duplantis wanted him to be part of the family."

Gibbs heard the familiar voice of the medical examiner speaking with Fornell as he rushed in, so he stood to make room, tugging Tony back with him. Palmer was just a few steps behind him, lugging the medical supplies. After a quick conversation using terms the rest did not understand, Ducky and Jeanne began working frantically on McGee, Palmer handing over the necessary drugs and supplies.

As they watched, Tony leaned over to whisper in Gibbs' ear. "Let me see if I've got this right, Duplantis was going to put a hit out on the Director to protect McGee from her? Talk about the ultimate irony."

"Makes you wonder exactly who's the bad guy here, doesn't it?"

Muffled gunfire interrupted any answer DiNozzo may have given as the teams called out to each other. Eventually, Ziva's voice came over the earpieces.

~We have Petrovic in custody. Kort is injured and we are coming back through the escape tunnel into the study. Stand by.~

Looking rather sheepish, Baxter was the first one back through the hidden door, having never caught up with Kort, or been in on the capture of the suspect he'd lost in a sealed room. Ziva was next, dragging a cuffed Petrovic while Wright helped Kort to the nearest chair.

Palmer jumped to his feet, but Kort waved him away. "I'm all right, concentrate on McGee. How bad is it?"

Tony reached over Palmer to pluck out a pack of gauze and toss it to Wright who immediately tore it open and used it to apply pressure to the shoulder wound. "He's alive, but I don't think he wants to be. Did she really tell him we were all dead?"

"Killed in a bomb blast," Kort grimaced as he thought back to the horrible picture Shepard had painted in McGee's mind. "She told him that the only reason he survived was because Gibbs saw the bomb and threw himself over McGee to protect him. Then she told him that his family was killed in a car accident rushing to get to his side and that his other friends at the agency were in protective custody. She convinced him that the only way to keep them safe was to get to the computer files hidden by Le Grenouille. Then he could pass on and join his team and his family."

"And take the truth of what she'd done to his grave." Gibbs gave him a hard look. "Was she just going to let you walk away when it was done?"

"I guarantee you that she had some sort of plan for me. Whatever it was, all I could do was keep the kid alive and wait for you to find us. Your Gibblets all think you're magic and I just had to hope they were right."

Jeanne listened as Kort told his tale, her sympathy for her patient growing. Beneath her fingers, the thready pulse was becoming weaker, but now she knew what would keep him fighting long enough to make it to the hospital. "Agent McGee, Agent McGee!" She rubbed his chest hard and leaned close as he opened his eyes. "Have you turned the files over to Director Shepard?"

It was a struggle, that was obvious, but he forced out the negative response she knew he would. Putting as much force behind her words as she could, she gave him her orders. "Then the job's not done, mister. You can't go with them until you hand her those files. Do you understand me?"

Tim stared at her for a long time before he nodded. His eyes lost some of their focus before he turned to look at Gibbs. The child-like trust almost took the older man's breath away. "Will you wait for me, Boss?"

"Of course we will, McGee." Gibbs moved close again and cupped his cheek. "You keep fighting, son, and we'll wait for you."

When the crew from the medevac chopper arrived Gibbs had to release his hold on McGee and finally took a good look over at his other agents. Tony's face was twisted with the anguish of watching his best friend longing for death and Ziva was silently crying, her hands pressed hard against her mouth. Gibbs reached out and grasped them both by the neck, hoping to reassure them. "Hey, that determination to not let us down has kept him alive this far."

Ziva gave a small smile and wiped her eyes, the emotions quickly locked away, while Tony looked worried. "Boss, we need the files she was after if we're going to charge her." He jerked his chin towards the desk where McGee had been working. The older, large computer tower was riddled with bullet holes and still smoldering.

"Damn it." Gibbs closed his eyes for a minute as he shook his head before opening them again to stare at DiNozzo. "Get it to Abby... and pray."

-NCIS-

To his friends, it seemed to take forever before McGee was ready to be loaded onto the helicopter. They watched as Jeanne worked frantically, repeatedly injecting medications into his IV as Ducky checked and rechecked his responses. Once he was finally on the gurney and being moved to the door, Gibbs turned back to look at Kort. The second medical team had arrived and were wrapping a pressure bandage around his shoulder. Kort looked up and when the two made eye contact, Gibbs gave a grim smile and nodded. Thank you for taking care of my boy.

The sardonic smile on Kort's face didn't match up with the worry in his eyes. Now, it's your turn, don't let him go.

-NCIS-

Maria Corbin fulfilled her duties to the estate and watched as the bodies were carried away. She stared at the various agents and crime scene technicians as they touched and handled every inch of the once immaculate home. She comforted the maids and the other staff members as they were interviewed and then sent on their way, and when she was the last one left, she packed a bag under the watchful eye of an ATF agent and stiffly walked out the door.

It wasn't until she was safely alone in a hotel room that she let the tears come. Once the storm had passed, she dried her eyes and washed her face. She had one more duty to perform. The ATF agent hadn't batted an eye as she packed her belongings, hadn't even looked through her personal journal before Maria carefully placed it in her bag. If he had, he might have noticed the list of phone numbers that filled the last five pages, might have noticed how many of those numbers were international numbers, how one was from Moscow.

While the international call went through, Maria touched up her make-up and fixed her hair. To the world she was only the cook, but to Max she had been so much more. Jenny Shepard had taken that away from her, had tried to destroy the young man that her Max was already thinking of as family. Ten years ago, Maria had been a cook in Russia, before tragedy had struck there and Max had brought her to the States and Jenny Shepard had no idea how small of a world it truly was.

The switchboard operator answered the call, her voice muffled by the static, but Maria didn't need to hear much, she knew who to ask for. "Natasha Lenkov, please." There was a wait, then a familiar voice came on the line.

~This is Natasha.~

Maria smiled as her hand tightened around the receiver. "Svetlana, it is I, Maria." A pause.

~Maria, this is a surprise. What can I do for you, my dear?~

"It is what I can do for you, my old friend. We have a mutual enemy and I believe you have a score to settle..."