After a long day at work where I ignored three texts and one phone call from McGee. Everyone seemed to tip-toe around me and when I snapped a customer's head off, my boss asked if I needed more time.

"More time for what?" I demanded to know.

"To get over...you know, what happened last week. You're loss," she said uneasily, scratching her head nervously.

"No, I don't need more time!" I insisted angrily. "I'm fine." Giving her a glacial glare, I stalked off to unload another shipment of Twilight books.

Two days later, McGee arrived at the office. His mind was far, far away, almost in another galaxy.

"Somethin' wrong, McGee?" Gibbs wanted to know, immediately noticing that Timothy had failed to greet everyone like he usually did.

"I'm not exactly sure," McGee replied, staring off into space absently.

"She told you she just wanted to be friends, didn't she?" Tony asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"No! She just hasn't answered my calls in a couple of days," McGee corrected, glaring angrily at DiNozzo.

"Ooo..." Ziva winced. "That does not sound good, I am afraid."

"Did you check on her, McGee?" Gibbs didn't even look up from his paperwork.

"Her boss said she'd been at work the past two days, but that she seemed upset and extremely distant," Timothy rattled off in one breath. "Her car was gone from her apartment this morning when I drove by."

Ziva's brown eyes got wide. "You went by her apartment?" Her tone was full of disbelief.

"I was concerned, okay?" McGee was obviously frustrated. "She seemed fine the other night when I left."

Gibbs looked up at McGee sharply and the younger man froze in an instant.

"We had dinner after visitation, Boss, and then I left," McGee explained.

"She'll come around, McGee," Gibbs told him, going back to his paperwork. "She's just having to think through some things right now."

A long ten days passed. I still wanted to see McGee, but I just refused to allow myself. Everywhere I went, something reminded me of Will, and I wondered how I'd ever be able to love someone while I thought of my best friend who had secretly been in love with me for years. My best friend had died because of my ex-boyfriend.

I was working one day when a familiar looking woman approached me.

"I just wanted to thank you for recommending Deep Six to me," she told me. "I absolutely loved it!"

I smiled, finally realizing where I knew her from. "I'm glad you did. Who was your favorite character?"

"Oh, MacGregor, without a doubt," she replied quickly. " I fell in love with him right away."

"Me too," I said softly in agreement. "Right away."

"I was wondering if you knew if this author had any other books in the works? He's a great writer," she commented.

"I did hear that he might be starting to work on something to follow up his last one with," I told her honestly, thinking of McGee's asking me if MacGregor had a new story at last.

Late that night, I lay in bed, thinking about everything that had happened to me in the last twenty days. Suddenly, a voice came to me out of nowhere.

"Wouldn't I want you to be happy, Elle?" Will's voice asked. "Didn't I always tell you that you I just wanted you to do what made you happy?"

"You told me to do what I thought would make me happiest," I whispered. "But how can I do this to you? I can't date someone else this soon after you died."

"You didn't love me the way I loved you and that's fine. I want you to be happy. Don't spend the rest of your life regretting what you didn't know. It's fine. I loved you, but you have to move on."

My apartment was totally dark but I felt a serene calm around me, as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I pulled the blankets up around my shoulders and rolled over, then went to sleep with happy tears on my cheeks.

The next morning, I got dressed and hurried to the NCIS building. Downstairs, in the lobby, the security guard told me I would need clearance to get upstairs.

"I really need to see Agent Timothy McGee," I insisted. "Can you call upstairs and get clearance. I'm pretty sure he'll want to see me."

"Don't worry, Brad, I'll vouch for her," a familiar voice said from behind me.

I looked around and saw Agent Gibbs standing behind me. He was holding a cup of coffee and looked like he was just coming into work.

"Good morning, Agent Gibbs," I greeted him, scratching the back of my neck nervously.

"You here to see McGee?" he asked me as the security guard handed me a badge.

I nodded sheepishly. "Yes, sir. He probably hates me by now."

"Why don't we talk for a few minutes," he suggested, gesturing to a bench beside the elevators.

"You were at the funeral?" I gasped, amazed at what Gibbs had just told me. "I didn't know—I didn't see you."

"Lt. Rogers was a Marine and I was too, so I decided to go," he explained, sipping his coffee calmly.

"So you saw everything that happened?" I ducked my head, embarrassed at knowing that the awkward scene was probably known to all of the NCIS agents.

"Yeah," Agent Gibbs replied shortly. "You doin' better now?"

I looked up at him, surprised that he actually cared how I was doing. And, from the look in his eyes, I could tell he really did care. "I'm hanging in there," I replied. "I'd really like to se McGee. I guess I treated him pretty badly, but I just wasn't sure what to do."

"He'll understand. He knew you were going through some hard times," Gibbs told me.

I stood up, but Agent Gibbs caught my arm. "McGee's a good guy. If you're just looking for someone to help ease the pain of your loss, you might as well walk away now."

I thought for a moment, processing his words. "I understand, Agent Gibbs. I promise you, I don't have plans to just use McGee and then dump him. You have my word."

"Okay. Well, lets go. He's been dying to see you."