"Hello?" I answered the phone, hoping that my voice wouldn't betray my emotions at the moment.

"Elle? It's McGee. You okay? You sound upset," he told me. Damn! All my efforts to sound normal had failed.

"No, I'm not okay," I whispered. "I just went to see Will's parents and they…they blame me for his murder because I didn't listen when he told me that Scott was bad news." Rain began pouring down on my windshield and I leaned my head into the palm of my hand.

"It wasn't your fault, Elle," McGee assured me. "We all do things we wish we could take back, but we can't."

I sobbed quietly. " I'm not sure how to go on with my life, McGee," I declared. "I spent so much time with him. He was my best friend."

"Where are you, Elle? Are you at your apartment? I hear the rain in the background."

"I'm in a neighborhood in Alexandria. I went to see Will's parents, but I pulled over because I…I am too upset to drive right now."

"Tell me where you are. I'll come pick you up," McGee offered.

I shook my head. "No, you don't need to do that."

"It's okay. I don't mind."

I gave McGee the address of the house I was parked in front of and he promised to be there shortly. I hung up and tossed the phone back in my purse, then slowly pulled it out again. The last text message I had received had been from Will.

Will: I got the movie Movie Gallery. Going home now. See you at 6. Did

You get the candy?

I choked on a sob. What was my life supposed to be without Will? Our lives had revolved around each other so much. Who was I supposed to watch movies with now? Who would come over to my house on Monday nights to watch "24", the show that Will and I loved? My entire weekly schedule was screwed up now.

It occurred it me that I should have seen that Will was in love with me. Sure, I had always thought he was really attractive, but we had grown up together. He was too much like my brother for me to date.

A Porsche Boxter pulled up behind me and my mouth dropped open. It had never occurred to me that McGee drove such a nice car. I grabbed my bag and my jacket, then hopped out into the rain and ran towards his car.

When I got in, I felt like I was leaving a watermark on his nice leather interior. "Hey," I said quietly.

"Hey," McGee replied. There was a awkward moment of silence, but then the NCIS agent spoke again. "I'm going to take you to get some dinner, unless you've eaten already."

I shook my head, my wet hair plastering to my face a little. "I haven't eaten, no."

McGee moved to put the car into gear, but suddenly I caught his arm.

"I can't let you do this, McGee," I declared. "I know I'm being a wimp, but I just can't help it…" I broke down again, but was able to recover quickly. " I just don't know how to deal with this. I'm sorry."

"You're not being a wimp," he assured me. "I've lost someone close to me before too. It's not easy to deal with."

I shook my head, making the hair stick to my cheeks again. "I just hate being all alone."

McGee smiled comfortingly. "I'm right here, Elle. And I'm taking you to dinner, whether you like it or not."

McGee drove to a nice little Italian restaurant in D.C. and asked for a table for two. Elle went into the bathroom and ran a brush through her hair, put on some lip gloss, and wiped off some of her smudged eyeliner. She looked like crud, but she wasn't sure how to make any difference. All her makeup was at her house and, honestly, she didn't really care.

"You look a little better," McGee told her when she came back to the table.

Elle tried to smile a little. "Thanks. This is really sweet of you, bringing me here and all. I really needed a friend tonight."

McGee felt good, even though he could see how upset Elle was. She looked rough, especially with the gash on her forehead still stitched up. All around the wound was somewhat bruised. Despite all of that, she was still beautiful.

"I'm just glad I called when I did.," McGee told her. "You shouldn't drive when you're so upset."

After we ordered, McGee asked if I wanted to talk about what had happened.

I sighed. "I don't know what to say, McGee. I never thought that Will's family would actually blame me for what happened. I thought that we…we would be able to mourn together."

"Why did they blame you? You were tied up in the—well, you know. You didn't do anything wrong."

I shook my head, rubbing my eyes wearily. " See, Will warned me about Scott. He had some buddies who knew him—knew his reputation. He was a bit of a player, I guess, but I fell for him. Fell for his lies." My face fell. I was ashamed to admit that I'd actually loved that murderer for a little while.

"Everybody makes mistakes sometimes," McGee told me. I saw him almost reach across the table for my hand, then catch himself. Right now, even though I liked McGee a lot, I didn't need to be thinking about a new relationship. I was, though.

"But I made the mistake of a lifetime." I let my shoulders sink again. "I got my best friend killed."