Finally! I am so sorry that this took so long. I won't bore you with life details; I just want everybody to know that moving sucks, hard-like a Dirt Devil! Anyways, lemme know what you think!!!!

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He worked on her for almost two hours. He'd been at an extremely stressful angle because she was flat on the ground in front of him and Ducky's back tired quickly with the strain. Infection had inevitably set in more than she'd expected and he'd had to push the infection out before he could really get to stitching. More than twice he'd had to stop working in order to calm her screams. Every time he saw her face scrunched in anguish and her raspy voice cut off to retain some dignity, he cursed his lack of speed in replacing his bottle of local anesthetic. He had so rarely needed it at work, and his personal supply had been depleted over time. It had been horrifying to watch her wake in agony like that, but Ducky knew that if he didn't work fast and hard, the wounds would be even more of a burden. He did not have the heart to not comfort her, hold her hand, and brush her bangs away from her sweat soaked brow.

Sarah looked properly haunted as she sat beside Abby's bedside and stroked the back of the pale hand in hers. She was careful to not touch the IV line that hung from the makeshift stand of a wire hanger and the bed frame. Ducky shook his head from the chair where he rested his aching back.

"Do you have any idea what happened to Abigail?" Sarah glanced at his face but turned her attention back to the IV drip.

"This is important Sarah. I need to know if we should be testing her blood for anything dangerous. Was this a malicious attack? Have the police been informed? The trajectory of the wound suggests that this was not self-inflicted and the depth suggests foul play as opposed to an accidental injury. The…"

"What if it was an accident?" Sarah's voice was so low and quiet that Ducky wasn't sure if she'd spoken at all. His mind quickly started putting two and two together and he was at once furious, but his curiosity tempered his need for revenge.

"Was it someone she knows?"

"No. It was an accident that she got stabbed. I was his target. I should be lying in the hospital right now." Ducky nodded in understanding and remorse for the pressure and pain the girl was going through. He'd sadly been in the same exact position not once in his long, exotic life.

"My dear girl, tell me everything."

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McGee was starting to think that his days of all-nighters were swiftly coming to a close. He was more lethargic than he'd even been after a night of no sleep and he was paying for it, literally. He'd overpaid at the convenience store and the clerk hadn't been as honest as he should have been. His route back to the Navy yard was somehow blurred in his mind and he went a block out of his way to rectify the situation. All he'd wanted was some air and caffeine. Caffeine; manna from heaven with a straw today. Abby. The name pounded in his head and he fought the urge to call Ducky for the seventieth time during his outing. He knew she was in the best hands and he trusted him to make the right decisions for her, Ducky could even tell her no, a feat the whole team had trouble doing. Giving in to his need to know, he pressed 7 on his phone and waited for Ducky to answer.

"Timothy, you have excellent timing," Tim let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Ducky, how is she? What happened? Is she…"The onslaught of questions tumbled out of his mouth before he could temper them with any patience.

"Wait, wait! One at a time. Abigail is going to be just fine, with some time. She had a nasty stab wound." McGee blanched.

"I tried to take her to the hospital but she refused. I was afraid she would further injure herself with her protesting so I just let her be. She needed a hospital though, didn't she?" The last statement was presented as a self-defeating statement instead of a question. Ducky sighed.

"You did what you thought was best Timothy. Now, young Sarah has provided some insight into the matter of the stabbing. Basically, Abby saved your sister by taking out some punk in a bar last night." McGee stilled. A thousand thoughts flitted through his head and each one made him a little angrier than the last. Whoever it was, they were now dead.

"Is she awake?"

"Not yet. I gave her a powerful painkiller after I finished the procedure."

"She mentioned something about not being allowed to have pain killers this morning; do you know anything about that?" McGee was suddenly worried again. What if Abby had a medical reason for refusing painkillers?

"Don't worry, Abby and I have discussed this matter before. I was wondering if we may have a word face to face soon." Ducky glanced wearily at Sarah from his position in the doorway to Abby's room. She didn't look up from her and Abby's conjoined hands neatly folded on the bed.

"I'm on my way there now."

"Why don't I meet you at work? It is late enough in the day that Gibbs will have some reasons to visit the lower corridors of the building. We need to get everything straight before we get Gibbs in on this."

"There's no way he won't get involved?" Tim knew it was a shot in the dark but it never hurt to try. Ducky smiled wryly while he gathered his things.

"I would say not. I'll meet you in autopsy."

"Ok. Thank you Ducky for taking care of our girl."

"None are more welcome than you dear boy. Autopsy in thirty. " Ducky finished the conversation and killed the connection.

"Sarah, please watch over Abby for me. She should be asleep for a few more hours. If she wakes after four more hours you should get her to drink something and try to persuade her with something soft to eat. Do not force the food, it will make her sick and we will be back where we started this morning. Try not to let her get up; she has a nasty gash on the bottom of her foot too. She may take another pain pill." Sarah nodded and made sure to keep her eyes focused on anything but Ducky's eyes.

"Everything is going to be fine. If you are strong, everyone will be strong." Ducky gently squeezed her shoulder and left for the office. Sarah watched him leave then turned her attentions back to Abby's sleeping form.

"I'll have the strength of Hercules if you need it."

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Tim had gotten back to the office with the fog of the morning burned off by his need to see justice. He actually went straight to his desk and looked up information for the case at hand, expecting to have to sneak down to autopsy at any minute. He hoped it was before the rest of the team got back. He just didn't want to jump into anything with them until he knew for sure what had happened first. When they went after this guy, he wanted to make sure they had everything right so he had no chance to walk, not that he would be walking much when they were through with him. The thought alone caused him some distress and he counted backwards from ten to keep himself calm and useful.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty!" DiNozzo's voice sliced into his consciousness. McGee's eyes shot open. So much for staying calm.

"Whadya got for me McGee?" Tim filled them in on the information he'd researched. They took the information and regrouped. The phone of Tim's desk rang and he answered it quickly. It was Ducky.

"I'm going down to autopsy for a second. Ducky wants me to look at something." Gibbs eyed him suspiciously but did not stop him.

"Take these to Abby on your way then." He pointed to the box of evidence DiNozzo had carried in and the Caf-Pow on his desk. Tim exited the bullpen without discussion.

"That was awkward even for McNerd."

"Yea, yea it was." Gibbs sat firmly in his chair and continued to stare at the closed elevator doors that McGee had hence escaped. Despite the familiar gnawing feeling of certain wrongness in his gut, he decided to wait for his youngest agent. If McGee hadn't spilled by the end of the day, then he would prompt action.

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"So she's really ok?" McGee barged into Autopsy without preamble. Startled, Ducky dropped his pen from his hand. He turned sharply to find McGee looking weary and worried; a full box of evidence in his arms. Ducky's face softened and he gently moved to take the box.

"She's going to be in pain for while but she will heal. I have some questions for you though." McGee was slightly surprised but he nodded in response.

"You know more than I do if Sarah told you what happened last night."

"Indeed she did. You can hear the full story when you get back to your girls." For some reason hearing Abby and Sarah referred to in that way made him feel much better; more responsible. "That story is not important at the moment, I..."

"Wait, that story isn't important? If I don't go and question Sarah now she could get her story all messed up. It's already been a long time since the crime happened. I want whoever did this." McGee leaned heavily on the vacant steel table behind him. Ducky's lip quirked upwards.

"I see Jethro has had a rather forceful effect on you Timothy. Do not fear, according to Sarah, the boy who did this will not be difficult to find. I have a more pressing matter on the forefront of my mind. How has Abby been?" The question caught him off-guard.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Mentally, how has Abby been? She's seemed a little off at work recently but it's such a strange time of year. The weather changes, the dynamic of people and schedules change and Abby is a sensitive person. Has she exhibited any signs of something a little darker?" McGee couldn't help but smirk.

"Dark for Abby?" Ducky shared the smirk with him but became much more serious in an instant. He stepped closer to Tim and placed a gentle palm on his forearm.

"Has Abby been depressed recently? Has she talked about being sad or upset about anything you can think of? Something at home or at work?" McGee looked at him sharply. Of course he would have seen those. He hung his head.

"I just found out about those recently. I should have seen it coming. She's been so tired; hasn't been herself for weeks. I was too frustrated to really notice, I didn't want anything to be wrong. Oh God, Ducky I made her do this to herself!" He wanted to cry but found himself to overwrought with pent up emotions that he was just too spent. He heaved a sigh that clung to every crevice of the room and hung heavily in the air. Ducky tightened his grip on McGee. He had hoped against hope there was another reason for those marks he'd found; had prayed and begged that this wasn't something deeper; more detrimental and sneaky. He searched his brain to find the right words to say, the professional thing with enough humanity and familiarity to get his point across. He was too upset to really think that way at the moment.

"Perhaps you could have seen it, but I would hope you wouldn't jump to such a conclusion about her. Did she tell you how she got them?"

"Really, I just saw them a few days ago. She didn't know that I had and I just…froze. I didn't know whether to approach her or not and finally last night I couldn't take it and I questioned her about it. I did it at the wrong time and she just got so upset, she ripped her stitches and she passed out and then…blood everywhere. It was like it was all over the house and…" Ducky saw what was happening too late. He swiftly grabbed onto Tim with both hands and dragged him into his office and sat him roughly in the chair. McGee didn't really react to the movement at all. He just kept confessing until the tears came. They rolled in swift succession down his cheek and seemed to flow harder the more he thought about how much his Abby had been suffering and how little he'd done for her. He felt selfish and cruel, but mostly confused.

Ducky was beside himself in sympathy and worry for the man hunched in front of him. He handed him his handkerchief and pulled the small blanket he kept in his cupboard around Tim's shaking shoulders. Swiftly, he put on the water for tea. He'd never been so thankful that Jimmy had volunteered to run the errands for him that day, Ducky wasn't ready for any questions just yet. Several minutes later he set a steaming mug of hot tea in front of his charge. He'd given McGee some time, a moment to breakdown and was now ready to help build him up again.

"Drink this. It will make you feel better." McGee took a timid sip and simply sat in the chair gripping the mug for warmth. Ducky opened his mouth to assure him that they didn't have to talk this out at the moment but Tim beat him to it.

"Last night, after I drove her home, I followed her into the apartment. I knew something was wrong; she never came back form any of her nights out quiet or subdued, or even that tired. She had sat in the passenger seat and simply rode, half-asleep back tot her place. I thought she had been drugged and I was about to take her to the hospital but she had woken up in the middle of the drive and made me promise to just take her home. I figured she was tired. We went upstairs and I knew something was really wrong by the way she moved. She was slow and careful getting out of the car, more so on the steps. I begged her to let me take her somewhere to get checked out. I begged her to let me see what was wrong but she just shook her head and argued with me all the way up the stairs. I knew something was wrong but I didn't do anything. When we were upstairs she moved to go to her room but I wouldn't let her out of my sight. She had her favorite, long black trench on and I removed it from her after she wouldn't take it off. She had so much blood on her. I instantly searched for her wound and found the bandages under her shirt. She fought me at first but after she saw that I wasn't going to quit, she stopped struggling and I knew she was really in pain. As she became more unresponsive I grew more worried and I had practically picked her up and was about to take her back to the car so we could go to the hospital but she just…turned on. She fought me; she actually got me real good in the shoulder. I caught her wrists and saw a scar when I looked at them. She pulled back but I had put her on the couch and she had no where to go. I pushed up her sleeves and I dropped her hands and almost cried. There were questions of her and all hell broke loose. She kicked the table, her stitches were loosed. She wanted to be so brave; she refused to cry in front of me, to cry at all. I think she tried to fix her stitches; I didn't want to fight anymore so I just let her do what she wanted. When she passed out I just, took her to bed and did what she'd told me earlier. I called my sister and here we are now." McGee had gone monotone he was so drained. He'd kept his speech simple but he wanted to make sure at least somebody knew what happened; had some sort of idea of how he'd messed up so much before the guilt he'd been feeling most of the day consumed him. He released the mug long enough to let a shaky hand rake through his close cropped hair.

"I'm just so sorry. She wouldn't let me say how sorry I was." Ducky's heart broke at the sight of Tim's shattered countenance. He gathered him into an unfamiliar hug but to his delight the agent latched onto him and took the comfort in chunks.

"It's all right. Nothing could have prepared you for that. You did what you thought was best. No one can fault you for that. Your heart was in the right place and Abby understands that. She wasn't mad at you, she was just scared of something completely different, you were just convenient…" he continued along that line of comfort for a few more minutes. Eventually they retreated into silence, the ME gently rocking McGee as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Tim broke the hug first and he leaned back into the doctor's chair.

"God, I'm sorry Ducky. I didn't mean for this to come down on you like this. It's my fault and…"

"What did I just finish telling you? I am here; your team is here to help you in times like this. I will not accept your apology." Tim smiled weakly.

"Thanks Ducky."

"That's much better. Now we need a plan of action."

"I need to see Abby. I can't believe I tried to work today with what just happened. I'm going home now." With new energy he placed the mug on the desk and gently placed the blanket in the recently vacated chair.

"You need to let Gibbs know you're leaving and dear God, man have some compassion. Don't leave here without telling him about Abby. You owe him that much. She's important to him, to her whole team and an omission of events that big is going to be rather unpleasant." McGee nodded, he'd known that the whole time.

"Let me take this box of evidence to the techs, you call Gibbs."

"Call Gibbs about what?" a new voice asked.

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…and done! Wow, sorry guys. I've completely moved away from my original story plan and this is a little more "think and write" then I like it to be. Oh well, enjoy! I'll try to have the next chapter out much sooner.