McGee awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling, but familiar smell of a hospital room. Glancing down at himself, he realized there was an IV line in his arm. He reached up with the free one to confirm that they'd patched up the wound on his head, then glanced over at Tony, who was sleeping in a chair beside his bed. "Tony," he called.
Tony jolted awake, "Probie, you're up...finally," he said before going into an overly-exaggerated stretch/yawn.
"What time is it?"
"Almost three," he replied after glancing at his watch. "Docs said you had a mild concussion and some dehydration. Guess you should've started lunch without us."
"When can I get outta here?" he asked as a nurse walked in.
"We were just waiting for you to wake up," she said with a smile. "Seems both of you needed some sleep." She prepared to remove the IV.
"Gibbs and Ziva are waiting out there," Tony said as he stood. "They finished up with BPD, so we're just waiting on you to be ready to head back. I'll let 'em know you're up."
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The drive back to NCIS was uneventful; Gibbs drove as Tony and Ziva managed to nap against each window in the back seat. McGee was wide awake in the passenger seat. "Not afraid I'll wreck, are ya?" Gibbs smirked.
Tim furrowed a brow in his direction, then seeing the smirk, realized it was just a joke. "Just wondering if it's a good night to uh...carry through with plans," he said quietly before putting his eyes back on the road before them.
"Gettin' cold feet?" he asked.
"No," he immediately replied. "Not at all. I just...probably look like crap."
Gibbs cocked his head with a smirk, "When she says yes, you'll know she means it."
McGee smiled big and tried to hold in his laughter for the sake of the sleeping agents. "And if she says no?"
"She doesn't seem like a fool to me," he glanced at the younger agent. Tim blushed a bit and ducked his head with a small smile playing on his lips.
*~,~*
"Ziva, DiNozzo, don't worry about startin' that report today," Gibbs said as they entered the bullpen. "Been a long couple of days. Go check in with Abby then go home; I'll see ya first thing in the morning. McGee, I'll give you a lift."
"Uh...I'm actually going to Kendra's house, Boss," he said as he retrieved an item from his desk.
"Kinda figured," he replied.
"Okay...thanks," he slipped the box into his pocket and picked up his backpack, following Gibbs back toward the elevator.
Tony and Ziva decidedly took the back elevator. "McGee seems to be taking it well," Ziva said.
"What?" Tony inquired.
"His car being wrecked," she reminded him.
"Oh. Well, McGoo has other things on his mind, Zee-vah," he told her with a grin.
"Heading to Kendra's house for the evening," she smirked. "I am sure he does."
"Bigger than you think," he replied as the elevator doors opened and they made their way toward the lab. "He's gonna propose to her tonight."
Ziva's eyes widened, "Really?"
"Sshh..." he whispered, "Keep it down. Abby should hear it from him."
"Hear what?" Abby asked as they entered.
"Nothing," Tony said, just now realizing there was no music playing. "What's with the silence?"
"Silence? Oh...I've just been watching this news cast," she pointed to the big screen on the wall. "A medi-vac chopper crashed into a neighborhood downtown right around the same time you all left for Baltimore," she explained. "The explosion was so bad, it took almost three hours to get under control. They just now found the bodies of the people who were on-board the chopper."
"Was that a house it crashed into?" Ziva squinted at the screen.
"Two, actually," Abby told her. "They're still not sure if anyone was in either house at the time."
"Well," Ziva sighed, "Gibbs wanted us to check in with you before we went home. I, for one, am exhausted."
"Oh right," Tony snapped back to reality. "McGee's fine; mild concussion. His car wasn't so lucky, though."
"Back up!" Abby held her hands up in the air. "I heard there was an accident, but that's it..."
"We hit the suspect's car," Ziva explained. "McGee hit his head, but he is fine, like Tony just told you."
"Did he see a doctor or anything?" she asked, worriedly.
"Yes-"
"Hey, guys, hold on a sec," Tony said, hushing them so he could hear the news cast. "Turn it up a bit, Abs?"
They gathered in front of the screen as she turned the volume up a bit, "What is it?" she asked.
"A neighbor has confirmed that the home belongs to a local dance instructor named Kendra Belle. No one can confirm whether or not she was home at the time of the accident, but as we reported earlier, no bodies have been recovered yet from the scene."
"Oh god..." Tony's heart sank in his chest.
"Do you know her?" Abby asked.
Ziva looked at the stunned agent beside her and answered for him, "Kendra is McGee's girlfriend."
Abby covered her mouth in shock. Then pulled it away, "She probably wasn't home..."
"She was home," Tony said as his eyes darted around. "Her and Andy." He spun around, heading out of the lab as he pulled out his cell...
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"Just take a left here, Boss," McGee said. "Wonder what all this traffic and commotion is about." The street was lined with cars and people. Up ahead, the two agents saw fire trucks, ambulances and police cars. That's when Tim realized there was something wrong...
"This must be where the medi-vac chopper went down," Gibbs said as he recalled Abby's ramblings from earlier. "Is this her street?" he glanced at him as they came to a stop in the traffic. "Looks like this is as far as we're getting." McGee's face was a shade of pale Gibbs had never seen on him before. "McGee?"
"That...that's her house..." he shakily reached for the door handle to let himself out. Gibbs turned off the ignition and followed after him. They fought their way through the crowd, Gibbs flashing his badge to police officers so that they could pass.
His cell rang and he pulled it out to answer as they continued to walk, "Yeah. Gibbs."
"Boss...bad news," Tony's voice came across the other line.
"Worse than what I'm seein' right now?"
"You shouldn't let him up there."
"What're they sayin'?" he asked as he weaved through people to keep up with McGee.
"They haven't found the bodies, yet. But she was home, Boss."
Gibbs reached the clearing, revealing the wreckage surrounded by rescue workers. "I'm gonna have to call you back, DiNozzo," he ended the call and caught sight of McGee who was still heading toward the house.
Firemen stopped him, telling him it was too dangerous to enter the house, but he held up his badge, insisting he be allowed to assist. "Please! My girlfriend is in there. You have to let me help..."
"Sir, there's no one in the house," one of them said.
"I know for a fact that she was home," he told them. "Her and another girl named Andrea. They were both here!"
"If that's true, Sir, then we'll find them."
"McGee," Gibbs hand set firmly on his shoulder.
"Boss, they won't let me inside!" he turned to him.
"We've been searching both houses for nearly two hours, Sir," the fireman told him.
Suddenly, there was commotion coming from behind them and they turned to see. "We've got two!" they heard them shout. "One critical. The other didn't make it."
The fireman they'd been speaking to turned back to face the agents. "Can you identify?" he asked. McGee nodded and started to walk forward, but Gibbs held his shoulder.
"You want me to do this?" he asked. McGee's eyes searched his for a moment, then he shook his head. Gibbs let him go, but followed close behind. They followed the fireman to the ambulance where the rescue workers were taking the critical patient.
Time seemed to slow for McGee as they made their way toward the gurney. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until it literally hurt. When they reached through the medics, he realized the woman being cared for had blond hair... his heart sank and he felt his knees begin to shake.
Gibbs took hold of McGee's arm when he saw the agent begin to waver. "Tim..."
"That's Andrea," he said in a quiet voice. "That means...Kendra..." his eyes brimmed with tears as he looked back toward what used to be a house. He looked at Gibbs, then decidedly shook his head in denial, "No...it can't be. Maybe she wasn't there. Maybe there was someone else here," he wrung out of his boss's grasp and started back toward the rescuers who were rolling out a body bag.
Gibbs quickly went after him, "McGee!" he called, but Tim disregarded him as he approached the body that lay on the ground. He wasn't six feet away when he recognized her, though badly charred by the fire. Something shattered inside of him in that moment and he felt himself drop to his knees. All sound ceased except for the pounding of his heart in his ears.
He was only partially aware of the tears streaming his cheeks; the image of Kendra blurring around the edges. Tim closed his eyes, willing this to all be just a horrible nightmare. Hoping he would open them and everything would be back to normal...Kendra would be okay...
Gibbs knelt down beside his agent, facing him as he realized his eyes were closed tightly. He reached his hand out to Tim's back and watched as his eyes opened. In that moment, McGee dropped his head into his hands; shoulders shaking with silent sobs...
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tbc...
A/N: First off, thanks for reviewing!
Secondly, this chapter is a little shorter for obvious reasons. Too tired to proof-read. I apologize for any grave errors.
