Chapter 27

The gunshot was audible in the room. Even if she hadn't heard the first one, the second which took out a car window was plainly audible. Ziva turned to direct Tim to secure himself, but she didn't get the chance.

Tim fairly flew out of his room and out of the apartment.

"McGee! No!" she shouted and ran after him.

His speed took her completely by surprise. Tim hadn't shown any real energy in all the time they'd been with him. He hadn't done anything beyond walk around slowly. Even when he'd shouted at them, he'd seemed so...so slow. There was nothing slow about him now. Ziva was hard-pressed to catch up with him. It was only at the door to the street that she was able to grab him by the arm.

"Stop, McGee!" she said loudly.

Tim pulled away and got the door open.

A bullet flew through it and Ziva decided that this was not the time to be understanding and kind. She holstered her gun, grabbed Tim and pulled him forcefully back into the protection of the foyer. Then, she shoved him against the wall.

"Are you out of your mind, McGee? Do you not see that this is what he wants?"

"Ducky!" Tim said. That was all. Just the name.

Ziva looked out the window and saw Tony crouched down beside Ducky on the ground. She then turned back to Tim who was still struggling slightly to get free.

"If you stay out of sight, he will have no reason to shoot again, McGee," Ziva said. "You know these kinds of tactics. You were an agent! You know these things! Stop being afraid and think!"

To her surprise, Tim stopped fighting her arm.

"Help him," he said.

"You must stay inside, McGee," she ordered.

Tim nodded.

"Stay out of sight," she said.

"Go, Ziva."

Ziva drew her gun again and opened the door.

"Tony, can you see where?"

"Roof, I think." Tony said. "Called for an ambulance, but..."

"Where is he hit?"

"It looks bad. I think it got his collarbone."

Ziva watched as Ducky suddenly returned to consciousness and gasped in pain.

"Stay down, Ducky."

Ducky's hand reached out and grabbed Tony's arm. He spoke in a low voice and Ziva saw Tony look slightly exasperated.

"Tell McGee it's not his fault."

"What?"

"Ducky wants you to tell McGee it's not his fault!"

Ziva heard a groan and a thump. She spun quickly back, but Tim had simply slid down to the floor and was hiding his face in his hands.

"I do not think he feels any better, Tony."

"Yeah, big surprise."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

He cursed to himself.

Too soon! Too soon!

He knew he'd fired too soon. He'd known it as soon as he'd squeezed the trigger. He hadn't waited for his target's face to come into view. Assuming that it would, he had aimed and fired as soon as the door opened, but there was obviously someone keeping his target back. With a sigh, he began to pack up to leave. He had to get out before backup arrived. Clearly, he wasn't going to get his shot, not this time.

...but he'd left an impression at least. Maybe that would help, make him more careless.

If not, he'd have to show his face sometime. No one could hide forever.

He took one last look through his scope, surveyed his handiwork, smiled coldly and called it a day. It took him less than a minute to dismantle his rifle and get off the roof.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ziva risked stepping out to the street...but there were no more bullets flying. She sighed in relief and hurried to Ducky and Tony.

"He's still bleeding," Tony said in a low voice. "McGee?"

"I got him to promise to stay inside...but he is not happy."

"Yeah, go figure," he muttered and worked at stopping the bleeding.

He and Ziva worked quietly until they heard the ambulance coming. Ducky opened his eyes only once and then passed out again without speaking.

"He will be all right," Ziva said. "This is not a fatal wound."

"Ducky's no spring chicken," Tony said and then grimaced at the inadvertent pun. "Any wound could be fatal."

"He will live," she said.

"Yeah...when did you become Miss Optimism?"

Ziva only shrugged and then stood, eyes searching the buildings around them to find any remaining threat. It was entirely possible that she would miss something, but she was certain that Collier (if indeed it had been him firing at them) was gone, his opportunity to kill Tim lost.

The EMTs paused before getting out the ambulance but at Ziva's gesture they hurried over to Ducky. Tony quickly told them what had happened. The time spent out in the open air was brief, but Ziva looked back toward the building and then at Tony.

"Go with Ducky," she said. "I will stay with McGee until we decide what to do."

Tony nodded in agreement and headed off with the EMTs and Ducky while Ziva returned to the building. Ducky, as the one in immediate danger, was who she wanted to be with, but Tim still needed protecting...and if he would allow it, likely some comforting as well. With a deep breath, she stepped back inside.

Tim was still sitting on the floor, eyes haunted, staring at nothing.

"McGee?"

Nothing.

"McGee, you should go back to the apartment until we can make arrangements to move you elsewhere."

Tim lifted his eyes to Ziva's and then stood up, saying nothing. He trudged up the stairs, three flights without pause. When he returned the apartment, he didn't go into the bedroom as Ziva had suspected, but into the bathroom. He closed the door, locked it and then Ziva heard the shower turn on.

She knocked on the door.

"McGee?"

No response. For the moment, Ziva decided not to try and force him to talk to her. She stayed in the apartment, on the alert, until she heard people coming up the stairs. She hurried to the door and got ready to fire if necessary.

"Ziva!"

"Gibbs?"

He and Jamie came into view.

"Is he all right?"

"He is unharmed," Ziva said.

Gibbs nodded, understanding what she didn't say.

"Have you heard anything about Ducky?" she asked.

"He's in surgery," Jamie said. "It's serious, but Tony said that the doctors thought he'd make it."

"It was a sniper on the roof of the building across the street. I am not sure which one."

"Okay. We've got Metro on scene," Gibbs said. "Lovitz is still at Collier's place. FBI will probably show up."

"Fornell?"

"If we're lucky."

"McGee can't stay here anymore," Jamie said. "If Collier knows the building, he's in danger as long as he's here."

Gibbs nodded. "I know. Ziva, you all right to stay here for now?"

"Yes. I do not think Collier stayed here to be found."

"Probably not. No reason for him to stick around after he'd failed."

Ziva watched them go and then walked to the bathroom door again.

"McGee?"

The shower was still on. Could he really be showering for that long?

...and the thought triggered a memory. Tim had showered a lot during his time undercover...and often, he had stayed in the bathroom for ages with the water running. They hadn't thought to ask him about it at the time (one more slip-up), but now she wondered if he was really in the shower. For one thing, there was no reason for him to be showering now.

"McGee!" she called.

No response. She wanted to respect his privacy, but she was worried now, too. She picked the lock (easy to do...all she needed was a coat hanger) and opened the door.

Tim was not in the shower. He was fully-clothed and sitting on the toilet seat, head in his hands, shaking violently.

"Tim?"

She heard a deep shuddering breath, but no response otherwise.

"Gibbs said that Ducky will probably be all right."

A whimper escaped, but it was quickly repressed. Tim's hands clenched into fists around strands of hair. Ziva took a chance and touched his shoulder.

"Tim?"

Finally, he lifted his head. Tears streaked his face and his eyes were bloodshot. Then, suddenly, he laughed.

"P-Pretty pitiful sight...aren't I," he said.

"I was not happy about Ducky being shot either, McGee."

Tim shook his head. "But you didn't fall apart, stop thinking. You kept your head...like I used to be able to do."

Ziva looked over at the shower.

"Did you actually get in?"

"No."

She leaned over and turned it off.

"It was just to hide?"

"Yes."

"McGee...when you were undercover..."

"Yes," Tim said, not letting her finish.

"Every time?"

"At night...yes."

"You did not trust us?"

"You already thought I was destined to fail. Why let you see you might be right?" Tim said, but without rancor.

"You heard what Ducky said?"

Tim nodded and wiped at his eyes...as he must have done frequently already.

"Ducky's been...the only one who...who was there. He wouldn't leave me alone. He dealt with me when I would have sooner seen him dead, when I only wanted to destroy myself and everyone around me. He never walked away, not once..." Tim laughed. "...not even when I wanted him to. He wouldn't leave." More tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over onto his cheeks. "I don't...want...not now. I don't want him to die...because he wouldn't leave."

Ziva felt a sudden surge of regret at Tim's words. She had often wondered why it was Ducky Tim had clung to. Even though Abby wasn't among those receiving blame for what had happened, it was really only Ducky who had received Tim's trust. Now, she knew the reason...because Ducky had refused to give up on him, because Ducky hadn't walked away from someone who had felt utterly abandoned to the point that he had turned his back on everyone. At this point, did it matter whether or not Tim had been abandoned by them all? Not really. Even if he accepted that there had been instances when they had cared and he had pushed them away, they were all still paying the price for what had happened. They couldn't go back and change it now.

"He will not die, Tim."

"Well..." Another false smile. "...you've been right more than I have. I should probably believe you."

"What do you mean?"

"You and Tony...you didn't think I could handle being undercover. You were right. I couldn't. Isn't it obvious? People died. I killed someone. I broke the rules. I lost my mind...nearly killed myself. Lost my job. I'm still paying for it months later. Not what I'd call a raging success...would you?"

"Perhaps not, but you still saved us, and took down the drug ring."

"Not yet. There's still the trial...and my being the lead investigator has only made it harder."

"McGee..."

Tim stood up. "I guess I'll go sit in my room...and wait."

Ziva let him walk out of the bathroom, but when she heard the bedroom door close, she pulled out her phone.

"Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Could we take McGee to the hospital to see Ducky?"

"It's running a risk."

"More than keeping him here where his location is definitely known?"

"And the people at the hospital?"

"It does not need to be forever, but McGee needs to see that Ducky will recover."

There was a brief silence as Gibbs considered it.

"All right. Have him at the back entrance in five minutes."

"Yes, Gibbs." Ziva hung up and walked to the bedroom. She opened the door without knocking.

Tim jumped and turned to look at her.

"Come, McGee. We are moving you now."

Tim only nodded and began to follow without speaking. Ziva took it slowly, moving him down to the first floor without any rush.

Ziva pulled out her phone.

"Gibbs? We are in position."

"Thirty seconds."

Ziva hung up and waited the indicated time and then opened the door. Gibbs was just pulling up. Ziva opened the back door, nearly pushed Tim inside and then climbed in the front.

"Lay on the seat, McGee," Gibbs ordered.

Again, Tim docilely followed instructions without any comment. Gibbs looked at Ziva who simply shrugged. They drove away.