A/N: Ok, this chapter isn't going to cover a long period of time, even though it's a fairly long chapter. This really focuses in on Kay and her feelings the morning after the events that occured in the last couple of chapters. Enjoy! And please read and review! I'm getting a little depressed at not getting a single review.

"Talking 'bout a bunch of shift work. A big ol' pile of shift work…"

Kay woke with a start to the sound of her phone ringing. That ring tone was for only one person: Gibbs.

She grabbed the phone and was answering before she was even fully awake.

"Gibbs?"

"Kay, I just got a call from the hospital. McGee is out of surgery."

Kay looked at the clock. It was just after two in the morning.

"What's the word? How is he?"

"He's in ICU." There was a long pause.

"What else? Come on, Gibbs, I know there's more."

"He's still in critical condition. He…" Gibbs paused again. Kay knew something bad had happened.

"What is it, Gibbs? What happened?" she demanded to know.

"He went into cardiac arrest while in surgery. They managed to bring him back, and the surgeons repaired the muscle as best they could, but his heart is still under a lot of strain. They're keeping him sedated, and he's on full life support. It's touch-and-go right now." Gibbs' voice conveyed his concern.

"Oh, God. Will they let anyone in to see him? Even though he is sedated?" Kay asked.

"I'm not sure. I know hospital visiting hours start at eight, but I don't know if that includes the ICU. They might be willing to let us in because we're NCIS. I plan on being there at eight, just in case."

"Okay, I'll be there, too. Does the rest of the team know yet?"

"Not yet. You're the first person I called. I still have to call the others, including Ducky. I have a feeling they'll be there at first opportunity, too." Gibbs sounded tired now.

"Okay, I'll see all of you at the hospital. 'Bye." Kay hung up the phone. She tried to picture Tim, lying in a hospital bed with tubes and monitors hooked up to him. She just couldn't imagine it.

Kay knew she should try to get some more sleep, but sleep didn't come as quickly as it had the night before. Images and words were running through her mind and wouldn't let her rest. She tossed and turned for a couple of hours, then gave up. Getting out of bed, she stripped Tim's shirt off and laid it back on the bed. Then, shedding the rest of her clothing, she went into the bathroom and started the shower.

Getting in, she let the hot water run down her face, mingling with the tears that had started to fall. Her Tim, all alone in the hospital, not even aware of what was going on around him. "It's touch-and-go right now." Gibbs had said. What exactly did that mean? Would Tim pull through?

Kay knew she had to be at the hospital as soon as they would let her in. She had to be there for him, even if he didn't know she was there. If she had to pull rank and flash her badge in order to get in, then so be it.

Kay smiled grimly. She had a feeling that Gibbs, and the rest of the team, too, would be doing the exact same thing, if it became necessary.

She turned in the shower, wetting and shampooing her long hair. As she scrubbed her body, she could almost feel Tim's touch. They'd enjoyed getting showers together, even if they didn't make love. Just touching and feeling each other, soaping each other down, had been an act of comfort and a way of connecting. Kay missed that dearly now. She swore to herself that if, no, when, Tim got out of the hospital, she'd make sure he knew how she felt. She'd never take touching him for granted again.

Finishing in the shower, Kay turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing her towel. Drying herself off, she looked at her reflection in the steamed mirror. Dark circles had formed under her eyes from the strain and sleepless night before. She sighed. She rarely ever bothered with makeup, but it looked like she might need some today. Then she decided, to hell with it. She wasn't trying to impress anybody, and the only people who would notice would be the ones who knew how rarely she wore makeup anyway.

Kay finished drying off and walked back into the bedroom. She tried to decide whether to wear work-type clothing, in case someone tried to block her access to Tim, or just wear normal weekend clothes. She decided on the latter. There was a good chance she'd be spending most, if not all, the day at the hospital, and she wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

She grabbed her jeans and a faded T-shirt that had "U.S.A." written across the front. Dressing quickly, she looked at the clock again. It was barely after five o'clock.

Walking out of the bedroom, she went to the kitchen and started looking in the fridge for something to fix for breakfast. She stood there for a full five minutes before really registering what she was looking at. Thoughts of Tim kept whirling in her head. She wasn't feeling very hungry, so she settled on some eggs and toast. She grabbed the eggs and butter from the fridge, then closed the door. Popping a couple of pieces of bread into the toaster, she started frying her eggs.

Kay wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing, just working on auto-pilot. She finished up breakfast and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Then she walked to the living room and turned on the TV. She flipped through a few infomercials before settling on the morning news. She wondered if news of the shooting the day before would come on. She tried to relax, knowing she had at least an hour before she should leave for the hospital. News of the weather bored her, but then she heard the words "NCIS agent" and turned her attention fully to the TV.

"Yesterday afternoon, a shoot-out occurred between a local former Navy officer and NCIS agents. The former officer, Jon Tomassen, was killed by one of the agents, while another agent was severely injured. That agent is currently in critical condition, and doctors are cautiously optimistic about his recovery."

"In other news…" Kay muted the TV. All the drama of the day before, and the story was only a couple of sentences long. She wondered if it would even be mentioned when Tim was out of the hospital. Somehow, unless something else on the case came up for the newshounds to follow, she doubted it. She guessed the shooting of the man she loved so dearly, the events that shook her to the core, just weren't as momentous to the rest of the world.

Kay started feeling depressed. She felt like the entire world should know about what happened. That everyone should feel the same pain and fear she felt at the moment. How could they not care? Why was everyone else just going about their lives as if nothing had happened when she could barely breathe when she remembered the shots ringing out, Tim crumpling to the ground?

She tried to get a grip on herself. So what if the majority of the world didn't care, didn't even give a second thought to the nameless, faceless agent fighting for his life? She knew. She cared. And she knew that when she got to the hospital, there would be others there, people she cared about, trusted, who would know and care about Tim just as she did.

The thought of the rest of the team being there, of not being alone, calmed her. She thought of Gibbs, the fatherly figure. DiNozzo, the cut-up, the one who could always manage a "probie" joke. Ziva, the silent, stoic one. Abby, who could lift people's spirits by just being there, with her pigtails and sheer exuberance. She also thought of Ducky, his comforting presence, who would likely have a story or two to share with them.

Kay hadn't really realized until now just how much she relied on them, just as much as she relied on Tim. They had become constant figures in her life, even though she'd only been with them seven months. She really couldn't imagine them out of her life.

She checked the clock yet again. Six-forty. It was way to early, but she decided to leave for the hospital anyway. Turning the TV off, she reached for her sneakers and slipped them on. She had to smile a little to herself as she thought about how Tim would tease her for never tying or untying her laces, preferring to leave them just loose enough to slip on and off.

Kay left the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. She knew she had a long day ahead of her.