Gibbs spoke first. "What happened?"
Tony flashed a glance at Abby, then back to Gibbs.
"Kate and I were arguing on the stairs. We told Prob…McGee," he corrected quickly, "to go on ahead and wait for us."
"You sent him up alone?" Tony had never seen Abby so angry.
Kate tried to help. "We didn't think…we didn't expect…We didn't mean for this to happen."
Gibbs interrupted grimly. "Go on."
"We heard two shots, seconds apart. By the time we got there," bad choice of words, he thought, watching Gibbs expression grow harder, "McGee was lying in the hall, Mrs. Andrews was at his feet. She was obviously dead. I checked the apartment, it was empty. McGee said something to Kate about the fire escape, he must have got out that way."
"He was talking? He's okay?" Abby looked hopeful.
"He said a few words." Kate took over. "He was having trouble breathing, though. He said…" She trailed off. Should she tell her? Would it do anything but make her feel worse?
"He said what?" Abby demanded.
Kate had already said too much to stop there. "Just before he…lost consciousness," her voice faltered, "he said your name."
Abby bit her lip and turned away from the others. They knew to leave her alone. She moved to a chair and sat down. "Go on." Her voice was hard.
They moved to sit beside her.
"We left a couple of cops watching the crime scene and came on to the hospital. They were taking him to surgery when we arrived."
"How badly was he hurt?"
Gibbs asked the question, but Tony looked at Abby as he answered.
"He was shot in the chest. Pretty close range. He lost a lot of blood."
"What have they told you so far?"
This time Kate answered. "Nothing. They told us to wait here until they had something to tell us."
Gibbs stood up and walked over to the nurses station. They watched him speak to a nurse and looked at him questioningly as he returned.
"Nothing yet." He looked at his team. It was time for action. "Dinozzo, Kate, go back to the crime scene," he spoke louder as they started to protest, "go back to the crime scene. Get every scrap of evidence you can find. We need to catch this scumbag now." Then, in a gentler tone, "We'll call you if there's any news."
With a final regretful look at Abby, they left.
He waited until they were out of sight, then got on his knees beside Abby. He reached out and grasped her hands in his own. They were ice cold.
"Abby…"
"No, Gibbs!"
"Abby…we need you."
"Tim needs me."
Gibbs took a breath. This wasn't going to be easy. "Yes, he does. He needs you in the lab to track this dirtbag down."
"No! He needs me here.' She pulled her hands away and banged her palms against the vinyl of the chair. "Here," she repeated firmly. "He should have someone here waiting for him."
Once again, Gibbs was faced with telling her something she wouldn't want to hear.
"You're right, he should heave someone waiting for him. And that someone should be a friend. Abby…this guy shot our witness. He found out where she lived and went to her home to kill her. Then McGee came along and witnessed the whole thing, and he shot him too. He probably waited around and listened for an ambulance. He must know McGee is still alive." He saw her eyes widen in realisation and saw the horror on her face, but he had to continue. She had to understand the urgency. "He will come back for him. We need to find him first. We need to be ready for him."
For the second time that day tears appeared in her eyes, but this time she brushed them away impatiently.
"Alright." She stood up purposefully. "What about Ti.." Not Tim. She had to be professional now. "What about McGee?"
"They'll call us as soon as they know anything, and I'll have officers here protecting him." He offered her a smile. "Lets make sure they don't have to."