A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone! I got the nasty stomach flu and it's taken a bit for my muses to come back online - but here I am! Tissue warning for Abby's dream. Icky warning for a glimpse inside Mawher's head.

"Be with me

stay with me

just for now let the time

decide when I won't need you"
-Need

Grayed out scene: Abby in hospital bed with Gibbs sitting in chair drawn up close

Tuesday afternoon, 2:30pm

"Hi, this is Cassie. I'm either out of the office or with a client. But if you leave a message after the beep, I'll-"

Gibbs slammed the phone down with a muttered curse. "DiNozzo! Do you have that background yet? Why the hell didn't we know sooner about Cassie being Mawher's sister?"

Across the bullpen, Tony held up his free hand signaling for patience as he answered the person on the other end of the phone, and made some more notes on the pad in front of him. "Okay, thank you very much, Mrs. Patterson, you've been very helpful," Tony hung up and tried not to jump as he saw Gibbs hovering over him. "Ah, boss, that was a Mrs. Patterson. She lived next door to Cassie and her mother-" Tony cleared his throat and broke off at the glare in Gibbs' eye. "And you don't really care about that part-"

Gibbs shook his head.

"Right. Cassie's mom, Eleanor Hunt, was the personal secretary to one Alexander Mawher, Mikel's father. Now, Alex was married to Mikel's mom but that didn't stop him from having an affair with his very attractive, and much younger, secretary. Eleanor got pregnant with Cassie and left the firm to find another job. When Cassie was two years old, Eleanor was killed in a hit and run on the way home from work."

"So that's when Cassie went to live with her dad and brother Mikel?"

Tony nodded. "According to this Mrs. Patterson, Alex showed up at Eleanor's funeral, said he was her dad and took her home to live with him."

Gibbs snorted. "What about his wife?"

"Apparently they were in the midst of getting a divorce at the time-"

"Why does my gut tell me that Alex's wife ran down Eleanor?"

Tony grinned. "Because it's always the wife?"

Gibbs stared at the plasma where the grainy image of the Fed ex employee was posted next to a mug shot of Mikel Mawher. "Still doesn't explain why that nutjob would target Tim."

"Uh – how about because he IS a nutjob, boss?"

Gibbs flashed a brief smile. "But in Mawher's twisted mind Tim still must be a threat, Tony. And that just doesn't make sense since McGee had started to date Cassie."

Tony's eyebrows rose. "You think Mawher set up their meeting somehow?"

"You know how I feel about coincidences."

Tony nodded.

"So if Mawher had eliminated the competition he imagined Tim represented by setting up his sister with McGee – what happened? What went wrong?" Gibbs strode across the bullpen. "I've got to talk to Abby."

"She's sleeping, boss. Agent Watkins reported in thirty minutes ago and said the doctor administered something that would help her sleep."

Gibbs threw his cell back in his drawer. "That's lousy timing."

The elevator dinged and Tony rose from his chair in surprise as an old friend got off.

"Hey, Tony! What's shaking?"

"Brad! What brings you to NCIS? Bodies not piling up fast enough for you in homicide?" Tony laughed as he shook the man's hand before turning to his boss. "Gibbs, do you remember Brad? He worked with me up in Baltimore and just transferred down here a couple of months ago-"

Gibbs nodded as he tried to ignore the clenching of his gut. "Yeah, nice to see you again, Brad, what brings you by?"

Brad sighed. "I wish I could say it was just to shoot the breeze but – I found something of yours at a crime scene today and I'm hoping you can clear it up for me without things having to get nasty."

"Something of ours?" Tony laughed. "You've got to be kidding."

Brad shook his head. "Nope – it's your boss' business card."

"Boss, you don't think-" Tony began before one look from Gibbs silenced him.

"Who's your victim, Brad?" Gibbs asked, though he already feared he knew the answer.

Brad flipped open his notebook. "Female, name of Cassie Reynolds – did you know her?"

"Yes, we brought her in for questioning and then she left a message on my cell that was interrupted early this morning."

"Really? Can I hear it?"

Gibbs nodded at his senior field agent. "DiNozzo, cue it up."

Tony grimaced. "It'll take me a minute or two, Brad. McGee's much better at this and he's – not here right now."

"I heard about what happened – is he going to be all right?"

Tony's brow furrowed as he punched at his keyboard. "He'll be fine. Ah- I think I've almost – no, that's not right-"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and wished that Tim or Abby were here. He never realized how much he had taken them for granted. With all their techno babble and geek speak and rambling that was over his head, he never had to wait this long for either of them to cue up a simple audio feed.

"Just one more second, boss, and I think-"

"Tony, do you need some-" Brad offered.

"No, no, I got it!" Tony shrieked in triumph as Cassie's breathless voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Agent Gibbs, this is Cassie. Listen, I-"

The three men listened to the sounds of scuffling, muted screams, and faraway voices before the line was finally disconnected.

"Do you think your lab people can get anymore before the call was terminated?" Brad asked.

"I'm sure once Abby is awake and knows what's going on, she'll barricade herself in her lab and make this recording her first priority," Tony smiled.

"Why do I get the feeling that you two know more about my murder than I do?" Brad demanded.

Gibbs and Tony exchanged a long look. "Because we do. Cassie may have been a civilian but I'm afraid this is all part of our ongoing investigation into who shot my agent."

"You think it's the same person?" Brad asked incredulously.

Gibbs shook his head. "No, I know it's the same person."

He hadn't wanted to do it.

Despite the fact that she had broken up his parents' marriage, he had always loved her. He had never believed his mom when she had told him that she was evil, that she had to be punished for what she had done.

He had hidden a safe distance away and watched while the paramedics had tried to revive Cassie before calling for the medical examiner to come and take her. He continued to watch as they gently placed her in the black zippered bag and she was finally removed from his sight. Aside from his mother and Abby, Cassie was the only woman in his life who had loved him without limits. He could still remember the day that his father had brought her home to live with them. She had been just a little girl, barely two years old, and he was a big boy of eight. Dad said that her mother had just died and that she was all alone in the world. He had looked down into her tear streaked face and his heart had melted.

Kneeling down next to her, he gathered her into his arms. "You'll never be alone again, Cass. I'm your big brother and I'm always going to be here for you."

Growing up it had always been the two of them together, school and the difference in their ages being the only thing that could separate them. His mother tried to poison him against her – telling him that she was the reason his parents were no longer together and that she was an evil child that must be punished just as her mother had been punished.

When he found out that his own mother had been the one to dole out the punishment, he had taken matters into his own hands. He hadn't wanted to do it – but his mother was an evil woman and she had to be punished. She had had no right to cause such pain to an innocent little girl and leave her without a mother.

Mikel wiped the tears from his cheeks as he watched the ambulance take his beloved sister away and wondered where things had gone so wrong. The little girl that he had once killed for was now dead as well.

She didn't understand – I can't help what I feel for Abby. I can't fight it – I've tried. Just like it wasn't her fault that my father slept with her mother, it's also not my fault that I can't stay away from Abby. It's an unquenchable fire that burns inside of me, and the only thing that gives me relief is seeing her face, her smile, watching her black rimmed lips whisper my name.

Soon, my love. Soon we will be together and no one will be able to separate us ever again.

Wednesday morning, 6am

"I'm sorry it's been so long since I've been by to see you, Kate. Things have been crazy busy at work – I know that's not an excuse –but wait until I tell you what's been going on-"

"I thought we would find you here."

My head whipped around to see Tony and Ziva standing behind me, their expressions solemn. "Hi guys! Did you come to visit Kate, too?"

Ziva shook her head. "We are sorry to interrupt-"

I shrugged. "It's all right. Is something-"

Tony broke in. "We've just come from the hospital. Abs-"

I backed up a step. "What?"

"Tim's gone."

I blinked, the words not registering. "You mean, he's been discharged?"

Ziva stepped towards me but I continued to back away until the backs of my thighs touched Kate's tombstone. "Abby-"

"No!" I screamed. "You said he was a fighter!" I turned on Tony. "You said it wasn't like the plague – he was just in isolation so that his body could fight the infection! I haven't seen him in weeks – I haven't been able to talk to him, haven't been able to tell him-" I sank to my knees, the damp grass soaking through my stockings.

Tony and Ziva surrounded me, their arms wrapping around my shoulders. "Abby, Tim was a fighter and you have to know that he lo-"

"NO!" the scream ripped from my throat. "I don't believe you. You're lying to me. I won't believe it until I see him for myself!"

Ziva looked at Tony, her heart in her eyes, as she whispered. "All right, Abby, we will take you to him."

The next thing I knew we were outside Ducky's autopsy. "What are we doing here? I don't want to be here. You said you'd take me to Tim!"

Tony laid a hand on my shoulder. "Tim is here, Abby. The hospital released Tim into Ducky's custody."

Just then the doors whooshed open and Sarah came out, sobbing in Gibbs' arms.

I shrank back. "No, no. This is another nightmare and I'm going to wake up any minute."

Ziva sighed. "I wish it was – but it is not."

The doors whooshed open again as Ducky came out. "Oh my dear, you should not be here, I'm just about to-"

Sobbing openly now, I threw myself past him and into autopsy. Jimmy looked up at my approach and fell back, stammering nonsensical words. I only had eyes for the still form under the sheet. With shaking hands I whipped it back.

Tim's still, pale, cold, lifeless body stared up at me.

"Oh, McGee," I whispered. "How could you? Don't you remember our last lunch date? You promised not to leave me – not after all the losses we've suffered over the years." I choked back the sobs. "I know very well it was a promise made out of your love for me because let's face it – here we are! But did you have to go and die on me before I could tell you – before I could say-"

With a sob, I threw my arms around his neck, trying not to flinch at how cold he was. "Please, Tim. Wake up!" I whispered in his ear. "I don't want to say this to you like this. Wake up! WAKE UP!"

"Miss Scuito."

Abby moaned. "Please, Tim. Wake up."

"Miss Scuito, it's just a nightmare. Wake up now."

Abby's eyes fluttered open to meet the concerned eyes of a nurse. "There we are – good morning."

Abby blinked the last remains of her nightmare and tears away. "My friend – Timothy McGee? Is he-" she swallowed, not able to say the rest of the sentence.

The nurse nodded. "He's still with us, Miss Scuito."

Abby closed her eyes as more tears coursed down her cheeks. "Thank you." She felt a tissue being pressed into her hand and she made a passing swipe at her cheeks. "What day is it?"

"It's Wednesday morning, about six o'clock."

She gasped. "Oh, I've got to get back to work." As she sat up, she noticed the agent posted by her door and her eyes narrowed. "Why do I have an agent outside my door?"

The nurse looked uncomfortable as she straightened the bed covers. "Why don't I see if I can find one of your friends and I'm sure they can answer your questions better than I can?"

"You do that," Abby growled.

"Abby, you are starting to worry me. Say something, please."

Ziva had arrived fifteen minutes ago and after giving Abby a hug, had filled her in on all the developments that had occurred while she had been sleeping. But instead of bursting into speech or bounding from her bed demanding her clothes, Abby was simply staring into space not saying a word. Ziva looked up in relief when Gibbs strode into the room.

"How is she?"

"I think she is in shock."

Gibbs walked to the other side of her bed and sat down. "Abby – you all right?"

Abby's head turned in the direction of Gibbs' voice and she shook her head slowly. "It's my fault, Gibbs. Tim getting shot and fighting off a life threatening infection – I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to speak to me ever again. That is, if he survives," Abby gave a dark chuckle.

Gibbs reached out and grasped her shoulders. "Listen to me – Tim is not going to blame you for some psycho shooting him."

Abby gave him a look of disbelief. "Gibbs, Mikel is obsessed with me-"

He gave her a little shake. "Abby, you worked through this last time, remember? Don't backtrack now! It's not your fault that some guy with a few screws loose has fixated on you AND McGee. It will be our fault if we don't catch the son of a bitch and put him away for the rest of his life this time."

Abby stared hard at Gibbs for a moment before she nodded. "You're right. I'm so-"

Gibbs glared at her and she giggled.

"All right, now that you're awake, I have some questions for you."

She saluted. "Fire away, mon captaine."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Ziver, why don't you head back to NCIS and help Tony with tracking down Mikel? And see if you can take a nap sometime today as well."

Ziva smiled in acknowledgement as she slipped out the door.

Gibbs claimed Ziva's chair and Abby settled back against the bed pillows. "Ok, Abby. Question one: why would Mawher target McGee? You told me the two of you weren't dating – was that the truth?"

Abby's mouth fell open. "You thought I was lying to you? I would never lie to you, Gibbs! I could never get anything by you. Besides, Tim and I are like the two worst liars at NCIS – if we were in a relationship you'd be able to figure us out-"

"Abby-"

"Sorry. No, Gibbs, we're not dating. But we do go out to lunch every other Tuesday and once in a while we'll go out to dinner but it's not a 'date' – at least not in my eyes. Oh God, maybe I've been playing with Tim's emotions all these years and I never even-"

"Abby!"

She blushed. "Right, sorry. I'm having some trouble focusing, aren't I? Must be the meds they gave me."

He grunted. "So the last time you went to lunch or dinner was-?"

"The Tuesday before Tim was shot," Abby replied instantly, and then shuddered. "We went to a new Thai restaurant. Well, it was new to me. Tim said he had taken Cassie there over the weekend and she had raved about the tofu fresh rolls so he thought I might like them too. And I did."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "It was a restaurant he and Cassie had gone to?"

Abby bit her lip. "Yes- it sounds suspicious now, doesn't it? I mean, back then in the moment it was all so innocent. Cassie is, or was, vegetarian too and she had taken him to some new places. I was teasing him about dating someone who was vegetarian but he said she always found places that had meat options too." Abby shrugged. "We had a nice lunch."

"So nothing unusual happened?"

She blushed again. "No."

"Why are you blushing, Abs?"

"It's personal, Gibbs. Tim – he promised to never leave me."

"Abby-"

"I know, I know. That's an impossible promise to keep-"

"That's not what I was going to say."

"It wasn't?"

He shook his head.

"What were you going to say then?"

"I was going to say that that's a very serious promise to make to someone you're not in a committed relationship with-"

Abby shrugged. "Oh, but Tim and I have always been close and in light of what's happened this past year, he was just doing his best to comfort me and calm my fears."

Gibbs' gut was tingling. "Still, if Mawher had happened to overhear that promise, it would have been enough for him to view McGee as a threat."

"But that's ridiculous, Gibbs. That would mean he was-" Abby's voice trailed off as her eyes widened.

"What is it? You've just remembered something."

"I can't believe I forgot-"

"Abby!"

She swallowed. "Tim was acting a little strange throughout lunch, and when we left the restaurant to go back to NCIS, he insisted that I ride with him instead of driving back in my car, saying he would come back for my car later. I told him he was being silly, but he was really insistent. When I asked him what was up, he said to just humor him and he would explain later. But when we got back to NCIS, you all got called down to that crime scene and I forgot all about it. I wonder what it was all about."

Gibbs had a very good idea what it was all about. Tim had become a very good NCIS agent. Even if he hadn't spotted Mawher in the crowd, something had alerted him that afternoon that he and Abby were being followed and he had taken extra precautions.

"Abby, McGee keeps a journal, doesn't he?"

"Gibbs, how did you- forget it. You know everything. Yes, he does, it's on his home computer. But its password protected."

"You don't know his password?"

"Of course not – but I'm sure I can crack it," Abby smiled.

"All right – I want you to get out of here and go to McGee's apartment. Gain access to his computer and his journal."

"What am I looking for?"

"Any and all entries re Cassie Reynolds – and see if he made one on the day the two of you went to lunch."

"Why?"

"Because I think Mawher was following you two – and I think McGee knew it."

A/N: Our Timmy's a smart one! Whew - between that dream sequence and getting inside Mawher's head, this one was hard to write! How about some L-O-V-E in reviews?