McGee was escorting Scott Harper to the elevator. Scott, wrists cuffed in front, could see Elle at the end to the long hallway. She was talking to a young man, very handsome. It was one of the NCIS agents that he'd seen earlier. Elle was smiling and laughing a little while twirling a strand of her hair absently.

Scott was beginning to get a little riled up at the sight of Elle, his Elle, flirting with another man. What really pushed him over the edge was when she moved closer and put her hand on his arm, laughing flirtatiously.

Elle's POV

"He's coming down the hallway," I told Agent DiNozzo, smiling sweetly up at him.

He laughed as though what I'd said was the cutest thing he'd ever heard. "Good. Keep flirting with me. I mean, I know I'm very attractive, but frankly, this is a little awkward."

I twirled a strand of my hair nervously, and batted my eyelashes up at DiNozzo. "You give yourself far too much credit," I assured him. "Besides, I see you making eyes at Agent David ALL the time." I laughed again and put my hand on his arm, moving a little closer. I could see that jealous gleam in Scott's eyes already.

Elle was right. Harper was getting angry. He had to make her see just how much he loved her. Even getting her best friend out of the way hadn't been enough. She was right here, in front of him, flirting with this NCIS agent. What really pushed him over the edge, though, was when she stood on tip-toe and kissed the dark-haired young man on the cheek lightly. That's when he snapped.

He turned around and easily disarmed and knocked down the slightly out-of-shape Agent McGee, then ran towards Elle.

"Elle!" he yelled. "Get the hell away from that guy! Can't you see, baby? You're supposed to be with me!"

Elle's face froze and turned a deathly shade of white. She saw the gun in his hands and slowly raised hers into the air. The handsome young NCIS agent backed away slowly.

"Listen, Harper," DiNozzo began to talk calmly. "You don't want to do this. Right now all you're being charged with is assault and battery. You don't want to make this worse."

"SHUT UP!" Scott screamed. Elle was only a few feet from him and he could see her trembling. "Elle, you belong with me. What do I have to do to prove that to you?"

"Too many…" Elle swallowed hard. "Too many people stand between us," she told him.

"Nobody stands between us, baby," he assured her. "I got rid of Will. He was going to propose to you—he told me so."

"You…you murdered Will?" Elle whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "No. That's impossible." She started backing away from him.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Agents Gibbs and David appeared, their weapons drawn. Harper glanced behind him and saw Agent McGee had gotten back to his feet and had pulled out another gun.

"It's over, Harper," Gibbs said simply. "Put the gun down."

"You little bitch," Scott muttered. "You set me up—you knew I'd say I did it."

"Yeah, we did," Gibbs replied.

"How could you, Scott?" Elle whispered. "He was my best friend and you…you just murdered him." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Give it up, Harper," McGee called from behind him. He was fuming at having to play the role of the weak NCIS agent, even though he'd given up without a fight on purpose.

"She ruined my life!" Scott screamed, still aiming his gun at Elle. She was sobbing quietly and backed up against a wall, Gibbs and Ziva on one side of her and Tony on the other. She could see McGee behind Scott. He gave her an encouraging smile and mouthed "it'll be okay," to her. She nodded to him, feeling comforted by his strength.

"We need to end this, Boss," Tony said quietly.

"You want to end all of this?" Harper asked. "I'll end it here and now." He squeezed the trigger but nothing happened. Gibbs had emptied the gun. Elle flinched, thinking of the bullet that would have already ripped through her body by now, had the NCIS agents not planned ahead.

"Let's go, Harper," Tony growled, taking the gun away from him and tossing it to McGee. "I'd say now you're going to be charged with assault and battery, attempted, murder, and homicide. Good luck getting out of those charges." He and Ziva shoved Harper into the elevator and took him downstairs.

Elle's POV

I couldn't believe that Scott had actually tried to shoot me. If it hadn't been for Agent Gibbs, I would have been dead. If he hadn't planned the whole thing, we would never have gotten the confession either. Still, I was shaken and scared. Agent Gibbs headed back to the bullpen, not at all bothered by what had happened.

"You okay?" McGee asked me, holstering his weapons and walking over to me.

I shook my head. "I'm really not sure," I told him honestly.

McGee put a hand on my arm gently. "You did great. Flirting with Tony undercover is hard, I'm sure. I don't know personally, but I'm guessing that it wasn't easy."

I laughed a little and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Thank you, McGee," I whispered. "You've been really sweet to me. Sorry about being mad at you this morning."

McGee grinned. "It'll be out little secret," he assured me.

A little while later, Agent Gibbs came up to me. "Would you like to see Lt. Rogers' body before it's taken to the funeral home?" he asked.

I swallowed hard. "Yes, sir. I would."

He escorted me down to the morgue where I immediately saw Will's body lying on a metal table. My stomach turned at the sight, but I forced myself to walk forward. He looked so calm and peaceful, but it hit me very suddenly that he was dead. It hit me so hard that it felt as though someone had hit me with a baseball bat in the stomach. Gibbs stood back a little ways, letting me have some privacy.

"Oh, Will," I breathed. "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't dated that loser…" I took his cold, stiff hand in mine. "If I had just listened to you, then we would be having dinner together right about now." Tears rolled down my cheeks and my nose and eyes smarted painfully.

"There isn't anything you could have done," Gibbs said quietly from behind me. "It isn't your fault."

I turned around, wiping my eyes as I did so. "Really?" I whispered. "Do you think so?"

He nodded. "You've been really brave this whole time. Now c'mon. You don't need to stay down here anymore."

I nodded, then glanced back once more at Will's body. I loved him so much, but only like a sister. "I should have seen that he loved me, Agent Gibbs. I should have realized that he wanted to be closer." When I turned, I found him very close and suddenly, I was sobbing into his jacket and he had his arms around me protectively.