Sorry about the extended cliffhanger, but I threw in some Tate and McAbby friendship in this chapter to make up for it. Hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER 9

Abby and Ducky rush through the doors of the hospital and make a beeline for the desk. "I need to know which room Special Agent…..umm…wait…which Special Agent are we looking for Ducky?" Abby asks.

The nurse looks at her funny. "Well, by the looks of you, it'll be you admitted soon."

Abby glares as the nurse as Ducky leads her away. "Did you hear her Ducky? The nerve." Abby says as she shakes her head. "McGee!" She shouts as she spots him in the waiting area. She waddles towards him as fast as she can go and pulls him into a hug. "You're alright."

McGee smiles sadly, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"That means someone isn't alright. Who is it?" McGee sits down and motions for Abby to sit with him. "It is Gibbs, isn't it?" she implores. McGee looks down at the floor and Abby puts her hands on his cheeks and makes him look at her. "Tim?"

"Gibbs took a round in the leg. He's fine now, but I can't say the same for his doctor." They all chuckle at that thought.

"Timothy, what room is Jethro in? I want to check on his condition and have a word with him about harassing medical staff." Ducky says with a smile.

"Room 212." McGee supplies. Ducky walks away to find his friend.

"You should probably go check on him too Abby. I know he'd love to see you." McGee says.

"Not yet. There's something else, isn't there?" Abby looks around the waiting area. "Where are Kate and Tony?" McGee looks down at the floor again. "Not both of them?" Abby asks sadly. McGee looks up quickly and shakes his head no. "Well, then what happened?" she asks.

"Well, when we arrived at the house a shot rang out and Gibbs went down. We all pulled out our guns and a woman walked out of the rear yard towards us. She was yelling at Tony about him killing her brother and she raised her gun. Kate pushed Tony out of the way, but Kate took the bullet in the torso." Abby looks shocked and upset at the news. "She should be fine," McGee continues, "The doctor told me she's come out of surgery and she hasn't woken up from the anesthetic yet. Tony's in her room with her."

Abby looks relieved, but worried at the same time. A few moments later, she looks at McGee again and asks, "So what happened to Lilah Harris?"

"I shot her in the upper torso, closer to her shoulder. She's being taken care of here, but I don't know how she's doing yet. Wait, how did you know her name?"

"That's what I was calling Gibbs about when I heard a shot fired. Her DNA came back as a partial match to Jeffrey White."

"He had a sister? Well, I guess that explains why she was after Tony."

"Yeah it does. I'm glad you're okay McGee. Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, my girlfriend Michelle is on her way here and I know you want to be with Gibbs." They smile at each other and Abby gets up to go to Gibbs.

In Kate's hospital room, Tony sits next to the bed, holding her hand. "You know Kate, this wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to solve the case, without incident, and I was supposed to ask you to dinner. We'd go to a nice place, with food you like, and I'd tell you how I feel about you. But now, we're here in a hospital because some psycho with a gun thinks I killed her brother, and you pulled a secret service move. Why'd you do it Kate? Is it because of your training?" Tony sighs. "Katie, you have to wake up and be fine because I can't go on without you. Why did you risk your life for mine? Katie, please wake up. I love you."

There's a groan from the bed. "Stop calling me Katie."

"Kate!" Tony jumps up and hugs her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'd be a lot better if you would get off of me." Kate groans again.

"Oops, sorry." Tony sits back down and picks up her hand again. "Um, so how much did you hear."

"Most of the last few minutes. I just couldn't get my eyes to open."

"Oh Kate, I'm so glad you're awake."

"Did you mean what you said?" Kate says seriously.

"Yeah I did." Tony says honestly. "I've been trying to say it for a while."

"Well good because apparently I love you too."

"You do?" Tony says in shock. Kate nods and Tony jumps up to kiss her.