I got to the funeral home and saw that the parking lot was already crowded. I sat in my Camry for a few minutes, trying to find the nerve to go inside. Surely with all the people inside, I could manage to hide from Will's parents.

Finally, I got out of the car and started walking towards the funeral home. I got to the door and suddenly, McGee was standing beside me.

"McGee!" I exclaimed, surprised at seeing him there. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might not want to be alone for this," McGee told me, putting his hand lightly on my arm.

I smiled at him the best I could. "Thank you, McGee. You're right."

As we made our way inside, I slipped my hand into McGee's, wanting to feel the strength that he seemed to give me. He squeezed it gently and stayed very close to my side. The funeral house was crowded inside and I saw many people I recognized, but I kept my head down, hoping nobody would recognize me.

"Elle!" one of Will's buddies exclaimed loudly, seeing me next to him. "I'm so sorry about Will!" He pulled me into a tight hug and I winced, since my body was still sore from the beating I'd taken from Scott.

"Hey, easy," McGee cautioned him. "She's a little bruised already."

"Sorry, Elle," Matt apologized, letting go of me suddenly. "Boy, we were really sorry to hear about what happened. Heard you were there when it happened, too, and that it was that no good Scott Harper who pulled the trigger.

It occurred to McGee that this guy, Matt, was talking a little to loud about the tragic event that had taken place. Now was a time to mourn, not discuss Lt. Rogers' murder.

"Say, will you come with me for a minute?" Matt asked me. "Without your..."he gave McGee a once-over, "...friend."

I looked at McGee and he nodded that it was okay to go. "I guess so," I replied demurely, not wanting to attract anymore attention.

Matt pulled me out of the building and around the side of the funeral house. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by at least five or six Marines, all of whom I knew through my friendship with Will.

"What's going on?" I demanded to know, a little frightened for some reason.

"We want to know exactly how Will died and why you didn't do anything to help him," Matt growled. Suddenly, I realized that they were all angry. More than angry. They wanted revenge.

"I was knocked unconscious," I told them. "Now, I'm going back inside." I tried to break through, but one of them grabbed the sides of my arms and shoved me back into the middle.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer our questions," another guy almost shouted.

"Oh! Where was McGee when I needed him?" I wondered to myself. "Surely you don't blame me for what happened to Will!" I exclaimed.

"You were there and he's dead. Besides, we all know that he tried to warn you about Scott Harper!" Matt yelled. "It's your fault that Will's dead!" He reached out and backhanded me across the right cheek.

"Hit her again and I'll arrest every one of you," McGee said from behind all of the men. I looked and saw that he had his gun drawn and was bravely facing six tough, well-built Marines.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Matt demanded to know.

"Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS," McGee informed him.

"You're NCIS?" one of the other guys echoed nervously. "Damn! You didn't say she had a bodyguard with her, Matt! You'll get us all arrested!"

"Elle, c'mon. Let's get out of here." McGee held out a hand to me and I walked freely through the men and stood behind him.

"If any of you so much as tries to lay another finger on her, I'll have every one of you court-martialed," McGee vowed. "Elle Charlton is not to blame for Lt. Rogers' death. Now, leave her alone, or you'll have me and an entire team of NCIS agents to deal with."

I watched from behind McGee and saw genuine fear in the eyes of the six Marines. Being court-martialed was something that every Marine feared. I was still scared, though. Why did everyone insist on blaming me for Will's death? Didn't anyone worry about what Scott had done to me?

McGee finally holstered his weapon and then put his arm around me protectively. "C'mon, Elle." He started walking me away from them towards the cars.

When we got in my car, I let out a deep breath and ran my hands through my long hair. "I'm glad you came tonight, McGee," I told him shakily, glancing over at him sweetly.

"Me too!" McGee agreed, catching my eye and looking at me strangely. Suddenly, he leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips, taking my breath away.

"Not here, McGee," I whispered. " I have to honor Will's memory, so just not here, okay?"

"Okay," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry."

We decided to go back to my apartment for a couple of hours and then McGee would head back to the office to take care of some work. I called the nearby Chinese restaurant and ordered us some food to be delivered. McGee had gone home to change into some more comfortable clothes and while I waited on him to arrive, I pulled out some notebook paper and began to write about what had happened. The words came in a rush and in no time at all, I had the whole narrative down on paper, including the part where McGee kissed me and held me close.

When I was finished with that, I pulled out my favorite novel, Deep Six , and began thumbing through it, reading my favorite parts that I'd highlighted months ago. All of a sudden, something hit me with a hard force. The story was about L.J. Tibbs, Tommy ,Lisa, and McGregor... It sounded a lot like L.J. Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee. Surely not, though! That was crazy. I was just imagining things.

When the doorbell rang, I came out of my reverie with a start, gasping. "Coming," I called, hopping up out of my chair.

I opened the door and found McGee standing there in jeans and an NCIS tee shirt.

"You like that book?" he asked me, seeing the hardback novel in my hands.

I laughed. "Oh, yes! It's my favorite novel ever!"

McGee grinned. "Can I show you something?"

I nodded, inviting him in. "Go right ahead."

He walked to the kitchen counter where all my papers were stacked and my pencil was lying. He wrote his name out, "Timothy McGee" and then I watched in disbelief as he took the letters from his name and wrote "Thom E. Gemcity."

My mouth dropped open. "You wrote Deep Six?"

McGee grinned even wider. "Yeah, I did."