"Are you insane?"

"That seems to be the question," Harry replied dryly. Tony shrugged sheepishly, still not thrilled with Harry's idea.

"Harry," Kate spoke up with concern. "You could be killed."

Gibbs frowned at the care in her voice. "It's his choice to make."

"That's true," Kate conceded. "But I sure don't want to watch. Please, Harry, reconsider."

Harry smiled gratefully at Kate but was firm in his decision. "There's no other way."

"He'll be fine," Gibbs growled, ending the conversation.

----------

A flash of lightning illuminated the park bench for an instant before the scene was re-thrust into complete darkness. Thunder rolled soon after, filling the air with an incredible roar. The two men stood, dripping wet, considering the area.

"This is it, Ford," Gibbs commented grimly.

"Yeah," Harry sighed.

"Scared?"

"Wouldn't you be?"

Gibbs didn't answer, choosing instead to hand Harry the long metal shaft he was carrying. Harry looked at the rod in his hand and swallowed hard. True, there was no other way, but this was suddenly looking extremely dangerous. Was it worth the risk?

Harry thought of his sister, his brother, his parents. Here, he was all alone. Sure, Gibbs and his team were friendly, but they weren't family. He had made his decision.

Hefting the lightning rod, he walked slowly to the park bench. Sufficiently wet, he found a puddle to stand in and lifted the rod over his head. Realizing suddenly what he must look like, he was glad there was no one out on this lousy night to see him.

"Well, here's hoping." Harry tried to smile at Gibbs, but his muscles didn't seem to be working.

"Yeah. Good luck, Harry."

Harry was startled for a second by the use of his given name but didn't have time to dwell on it. A sudden flash lit up the sky and a bolt of lightning streaked downward. Seeking out the easiest route to the ground, it found Harry's lightning rod held high and eagerly pursued that path. Harry felt an intense pain throughout his body and would have screamed but his mouth was frozen shut. His mind briefly registered the look of horror on Gibbs' face before everything went black.

----------

Harry groaned and rolled over in bed. Or tried to. Something was pinning his arm to the bed. Come to think of it, this wasn't his bed. Sitting up, he realized he must have fallen asleep on the couch again. It wasn't unusual.

Searching for the source of the pressure on his arm, he turned. His eyes widened in shock as the reason became horribly, inescapably clear.

A head rose from beside Harry, the silver hair tousled. Deep, bright blue eyes opened, only slightly clouded by confusion. A gruff voice, thickened by sleep and uncertainty, spoke up.

"What's going on?"

"Uh-oh..."

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This is the end. I will leave it to your imagination what may or may not happen next. If any one wants to attack the sequel, you have my permission. (I do ask that you reference this story in some manner.) Thanks for reading and reviewing!