Over the next month the two men went about their daily lives ignoring what had happened in the kitchen that morning, neither willing to bring up the large white elephant in their relationship again. The hurt and fear slowly receded out of their eyes but it never completely left. The ghost of that discussions remained with them and haunted them daily. Finally the day arrived and Tim was headed to down to Autopsy to have Ducky remove the cast from his leg, with many days of physical therapy behind him and the stitches from the bullet wounds long removed the cast was the last visible reminder of the events of the fateful day. Tim was excited to finally be able to walk on his own two feet again because that made him one step closer to being back in the field, ever since the discussion, as he had come to think of it in his mind, he felt an overwhelming urge to prove to Jethro that he belonged in the field like the rest of the MCRT.

"Timothy, are you ready to get the cast off?", Ducky asked as soon as the doors to Autopsy opened.

"More than ready Ducky. After I finish here Gibbs is going to take me down to the firing range to work on getting recertified with my weapon."

"Well just remember after six weeks in a cast your leg will take some time to strengthen back up."

"I know the mantra, 'Don't over do it.', been hearing it for a while now."
Ducky could hear the resentment in the younger man's voice, and wondered what was going on in his mind. Before he could ask him about it the doors to Autopsy opened again, and the man that was on both of their minds walked through the door.

"Jethro, what do I owe the privilege?"

"Just came down to let you know we got a body."

While he was talking he handed Ducky a piece of paper with the address, he then turned to Tim sitting on one of the tables waiting to have the case cut off, "I'm going to need you to run the computer searches once we get the details."
"On it, Boss." was the reply but once again Ducky heard resentment resonating in his voice, and he filed it away to talk about later as he watched Jethro leave.

"Let's hurry up and get the cast off so we can get back to work, shall we?"
Tim's head was downcast he he simply nodded consent.

The case was pretty cut and dry as the dead Petty Officer turned out to be a known alcoholic that was prone to taking out his frustrations on his wife with his fist. When they got to the scene she was still there holding the weapon and crying over the dead body. It was the type of case that sicken every member of the MCRT and they were happy to hand it over to JAG and wash their hands of the entire sordid affair.

As soon as they returned to the office Gibbs decided that he was going to call it an early day, so he dismiss the other two members of the team and took Tim to the firing range.

Tim stood in front of his target at the range and took a deep breathe, it was the first time since the day he was shot that he held a weapon and some uneasy images from that day assaulted his mind. He shook his head to clear his mind and took two more deep breathes before raising his weapon and aiming at the target.

Gibbs stood right behind him ready to critic his performance and offer any advice or support the younger man may need. When Gibbs noticed the tension in the younger man facing the target he reached out to grab him on the shoulder to physically ground him to the here and now.

It was at that exact moment that Tim fired his first shot, after over a month of inaction and the lost of strength in his arm from the injury he wasn't expecting to be knocked back by the shot, when the kick back came he also loss balance on his weaken leg.

Gibbs heard the shot from the gun and saw his partner start to collapse and it was like reliving his worst nightmare, his mind quickly transported him back to the dock. His instincts kicked in and he quickly grabbed the younger man and brought him down hard while blanketing his body over him for another layer of protection. His eyes darting around looking for the threat to the man who held his heart.

When he came to the realization of where they were and what happen, he look down at Tim with a hint of embarrassment on his face which immediately turned to one of horror. Tim had an ugly gash on his forehead and was unconscious. Gibbs grabbed his cell and dialed the second number on his speed dial.

"Duck, I need you at the firing range now!", he hung up before the other man could say a word.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

In a dark sedan outside the front entrance of the Navy Yard a phone rings.

"His computer searches are getting to close to the family business."
"Have our orders changed."
"At the first opportunity take him down. Make sure he is alone."
"What about the searches?"

"We have infiltrated and his computers will be hit with a very ugly virus."
"Long live the Queen."

AN: DS2010- no the queen is not Jenny Shepard.

Please continue with the reviews they are always welcomed and appreciated. Next chapter will continue the Watson story arc and contain a heart to heart between Ducky and Gibbs. Review, review, review I really need to know if you want this to continue.