A/N: All OC Names are fictional and bear no resemblance to real people incidentally bearing the same name.


1:30 PM: NCIS Squad Room

Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief as McGee left the squad room. Maybe now, they could get some work done. Their resident computer whiz and his terrible, no good, horrible bad day, was beginning to affect everyone and not in a good way. As the once popular description ran through Gibbs' mind of the kind of day, McGee was apparently having; a small smile crossed the older man's face for a minute. Kelly had had more than one of those days herself.

The squad room was now full of Tony and Ziva trading snipes and cracking jokes at McGee's expense even while reading over what they had on the case. And with McGee not here to have to hear it, Gibbs let Tony get it out of his system. Better he and Ziva hear it, then McGee. God only knows the way the day would go downhill once those two really got started in on each other!

Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian James Ward, had an exemplary service record, no family and no apparent enemies. The second victim, Navy Chief Petty Officer Steven Ryan Andrews, was almost identical in service record, family life and enemies. It was as if they'd lived mirrored lives. Why either one of them take their own life? Why were there absolutely no witnesses so far? And why the hell had anyone given McGee the runaround about talking? The case work was slow in building, as they had to wait on Abby and Ducky to present their findings before they had anything else to go on.

A short ten minutes later, the squad room had finally quieted down and Tony and Ziva had ironed out what little they knew about the two victims after making the necessary calls to set up interviews with the CO's of both victims. Soon, the squad room was absolutely quiet. Ziva and Tony had gone to chase down what they could of those interviews. Gibbs took the opportunity to go for fresh coffee and some lunch.


Tim was actually smiling. For the first time since he'd gotten out of bed that morning. Finally, he could breathe freely and think of something that made him smile. Of course, thinking about the date he had planned for tonight had put the smile in place, but thinking back over his now steadily growing relationship with a woman who this time around was genuine and patient; fun loving and honest; a secret he successfully kept from almost everyone on the team and someone he thoroughly enjoyed being with. It had taken six months of being more than careful. It had been a soul searching, sometimes painful, other times wonderful journey. Elizabeth.

This relationship had been a long time building. He'd taken it extremely slow and had already checked her background out, thoroughly. If she'd been another psycho, he would have found that out by now. That mistake would not happen to him again.

They'd met in the library. He'd gone there to see if his books were available there and to research how well they were going over with the library crowd. She'd been looking in the same section as his book but wasn't putting off any signs of recognizing him. Tim had taken that to be a good sign. When they'd bumped heads, things just seemed to spark between them and she'd invited him to lunch; had promised not to bite or even poison him; her laughter had proven she was joking. He had been hooked on the opportunity to enjoy someone else's company besides his own for a change.

Her classic beauty; black hair and above average height had taken his heart by storm. But, he'd held on tight to the control, this time. Every urge to kiss her or say endearing things to her, to sweet talk her; all of it was locked up tight. He had too much to lose and was not risking it again in any manner that resembled recklessness.

Elizabeth had been antsy at first; almost ready to give up after he had repeatedly refused to kiss her. But he'd begged her to hear him out; sat her down and explained things to her. Once she had heard everything he'd been through, heard about all the crappy ways the women in his life had treated him; listened to the heartbreak in his voice, seen the pain that still lived in his eyes, she had immediately gotten on board with taking things slow. The woman had not only sympathized; she hadd promised, with her heart shining in her eyes, that she would never hurt him.

Come to think about it, it had almost been like Elizabeth been desperate to make sure she didn't lose his interest. Tim had relished her attitude and her interest. It had been a great six months. They had dated regularly, spent time on the weekends together regularly, never spent the night together. Heck, they hadn't even kissed each other on the lips until they'd been dating for three months! The night before he'd taken that next step with Elizabeth: when they'd been dating for three months; Tim had confided in Gibbs, needing to know that this wouldn't turn into something that would hurt anyone on the team, needed someone to convince him he wouldn't get hurt.

Tim still remembered every bit of the night he'd had the conversation he'd had with Gibbs. It wasn't even something Tim had planned. He'd wanted to talk to the boss, but hadn't exactly known how to go about it. The opportunity had snuck up on him and it had been Gibbs who had opened the door; giving Tim the chance he needed.

**FLASHBACK***

Seven O'clock at night and the squad room was empty, as Tim packed it in and headed to the elevator. It had been a rough week; very late nights and extreme stress levels causing the team to be at each other's throats more than usual. Gibbs had sent them home an hour ago, with the case finally solved and put to bed. Tim had had a lot on his mind and was lost in his thoughts while the Tony and Ziva left to go home. Gibbs headed out too, leaving the young man alone.

Suddenly, as he turned toward the elevator, the view from the window beckoned to him. Turning away from the way home, Tim instead, took himself over to the window, leaning against it and getting lost in the view as his thoughts ran through his mind.

He needed to talk to Gibbs. How could he make that happen without raising the man's ire? Gibbs always seemed easily angered when it came to Tim, so the younger man didn't approach him with anything that didn't pertain to work. But, this was different. In a roundabout way it was about the team, so it needed to be talked about. There could never be another 'Amanda' incident on Tim's conscience..

"McGee?" the man in question called to him in surprise, interrupting Tim's train of thought.

Turning, he faced his boss and answered him. "Boss?"

"What are you still doing here?" Gibbs asked.

"Wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere, just yet." Tim explained.

"Okay. Don't stay all night, McGee." Gibbs replied as he headed back to his own desk.

"Nite, Boss." Tim had answered, sorrow filling his voice as he realized he would never have the easy time talking to this man that Tony did. The connection just wasn't' there.

"Tim." Gibbs had surprisingly returned to the window to look his agent square in the eye.

"Boss?" Tim had asked in confusion.

"Talk to me. What's going on with you?"

"I think I found someone." Tim admitted, not wanting to waste this chance with small talk.

"Someone?"

"Yeah. A woman. A really sweet and wonderful woman. We've been dating for three months now."

"And this has you staying late and looking like the world's on your shoulders?"

"I can't handle another 'Amanda', Boss." Tim's tone had said it all about how affected he still felt about that horrible mess.

"You think every woman you meet now is another bad apple?" Gibbs asked with understanding. "That what this is about?"

"Not quite, If I did, I wouldn't have taken the chance dating Elizabeth." Tim answered with a small smile.

"Good for you, McGee" Gibbs congratulated him.

"Thanks, Boss."

"Checked into her?"

"Yeah. She's clean."

"Obviously, or you wouldn't still be dating her. You damn sure wouldn't be standing here talking to me about it.

"I know."

"Good for you, McGee."

"Thanks, Boss. I almost couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Start dating her or run a check on her?"

"Both."

"McGee, it's been six months. You still letting it rule your life?" Gibbs had quietly admonished.

"It's hard for me to get past people dying because of me; among other things."

"McGee, she didn't die because of you. She died because of who she was; what she chose to be. You told me you understood that. We talked about that already; talked about those 'other things', too."

"I know, Boss. It's just…."

"You finally took the chance and now you afraid of making a mistake again."

"Yeah. I also don't want to have this relationship under the team's microscope." Tim admitted.

"Cant' say that I blame you." Gibbs allowed. "Who says you have to tell them?"

"How am I supposed to keep everyone out of the loop without being seen as being deceptive or a liar?. Tried it before, with my book, Boss. We both know how well that turned out! I can't go through that again. It almost did me in the first time." Tim wasn't ashamed to admit. He needed Gibbs to understand exactly how important this was to him.

"Don't worry bout the team's need to know. They don't. You're entitled to your private life."

"Thanks. It'll be easier knowing that you know about it."

"Won't feel like you're hiding."

"Yeah."

"Trust your instincts, McGee."

"I'm not sure my instincts are trustworthy anymore in my personal life, Boss."

"You haven't had a repeat occurrence have you?"

"No."

"Then your instincts are working just fine. Maybe even better than you think."

"Thanks, Boss."

"Just remember one thing, McGee. If you're not ready to do something, don't do it. The rest will fall into place, if it's meant to be."

"Thanks, Boss. Reallly."

"You're welcome, McGee."

**END FLASHBACK

Bolstered by Gibbs' pep talk, Tim had finally let his heart feel a little more secure in this relationship; step by cautious step. For him; that meant he could begin to show Elizabeth that he was getting serious. He even allowed himself to hope that she would return the feeling. The endearments had been a more recent development. His step of faith hadn't let him down. Her eyes had lit up the first time he'd called her sweetheart. They'd been using them more often as the weeks had gone by. With the smile still on his face, Tim brought his focus away from Elizabeth as he reached his destination. After all, he had a job to do.

Tim got out and went after the witness statements he hadn't been able to get earlier. After knocking on a dozen doors, and talking to just as many people, Tim finally had some statements to work with. Breathing a sigh of relief, Even though there wasn't a lot to go on, what he had was better than what he'd had earlier. Tim got back in the car and headed back feeling like he'd finally gotten something accomplished with the day.

With a glance at his phone, he realized he still hadn't stopped for a bite to eat. He'd gotten caught up in his thoughts and driven right on through. Frustrated and hungry, he tossed his phone down, only to watch as it bounced and landed on the floor. In exasperation, he left it there for the time being. Spying the gas station he wanted, before he reached the point of his trip that ran by the river, he pulled in and parked. Turning the car off, he quickly got out and headed into the store. As his thoughts returned to and focused on Elizabeth, he picked his quick lunch out and paid for it, almost on automatic pilot.

Getting back in the car and heading back out, he was no longer thinking about the case or even the drive he had still in front of him back to the Navy yard. He was too busy basking in the feelings he once believed he would never experience. 'Amanda' had almost ruined him; had damn near broken him. But Elizabeth had shown him the possibility was still out there

The ringing of his cell phone broke Tim from his happy thoughts and he could only groan. He'd forgotten to pick it up off the floor while he'd been stopped. Pulling over to the side of the road, he put the car in park and retrieved the phone off the floor. Looking at the missed call, his heart lifted. Elizabeth! She knew he was working and had promised to leave him alone until he picked her up for their date tonight. Was something wrong? Quickly, he called her back.

"Hey, honey, everything okay?" Tim had flipped his phone open and hit the speaker button, setting the phone on his leg so he could still safely drive.

"Yes, Tim. Everything's fine.I just wanted to tell you I'm out on assignment and may be too late for our date tonight. I'll call you later with a better idea of when I'll be done. You're not mad are you, sweetheart?" the voice on the other end explained.

"No, of course not! We both have jobs to do. You just be careful and call me when you're back, okay?" Tim offered.

"Okay, sweetheart. I'm glad you're so understanding. You never get upset with me." Elizabeth purred

"No reason to be. Listen, honey, I'm driving right now, so I need to hang up now. Call me later." Tim explained.

"Where are you, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked in concern. "Not somewhere dangerous?"

"Right now, I'm in nowhere land, out by Spring River. But, I'm headed back to the office." Tim kept his description of his job generalized. He never went into detail. Some lessons had been not only learned, but burned into his brain. Hell would freeze over before he allowed himself to get sucker punched again.

"Have you eaten lunch this time? You always skip lunch. You don't eat well enough!" Elizabeth worried.

"I just stopped and got a quick something at the Quickmart where I'm at. Thanks for worrying bout me, Liz." Tim replied with gratitude.

"Okay. I know you hate driving and talking on the phone at the same time. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Elizabeth hung up.

Tim noticed that he was now seeing the river coming up, along with the slightly dangerous curve that took the road close to it before winding back away from it. He quickly tossed his phone onto the seat. next to him, and watched in complete frustration as the offending piece of equipment once again bounced off the seat and hit the floor. Groaning in frustration; he pulled over to the side of the road; intent on getting his phone up off the floor.

As he moved, he heard a **Crack** Pain ripped through his shoulder, nearly toppling him on over to the floor. With surprising strength, Tim managed to right himself back up, only to hear another **crack** from somewhere close by. Again, pain ripped through him, this time, his chest felt like it had just been set on fire now; excruciating pain robbing him of his ability to think or even breathe evenly.

Suddenly, the car was airborne. Reacting in reflex to the pain, his body jerking, had attempted to stretch away from the pain now filling it; causing his weight to be pushed down to his feet, in turn mashing the gas pedal to the floor.

Almost immediately, as the air left his lungs in one last moment of lucidity surrounded by pain and fear; blackness sucked him under.