As soon as they arrive at the Naval Base, they are directed straight to base security. Naval security has already been briefed by Sec Nav and is already on high alert.

"The base is on lock down," the Base Commander informs them.

"It's not the base I'm worried about. If my suspicions are correct, the threat will come from the open sea," Gibbs explains. "How accessible is the harbour to civilian vessels?" Gibbs asks.

"The harbour is constantly patrolled. No unauthorised craft will get by, Sir," the Commander replies.

"Let's hope not," Gibbs responds. "Do you mind if we stick around? We've met these guys before, we might be of some help."

"Sure. Any help from NCIS is always appreciated," the Commander replies, smiling. "If you want I can take you to dock DC8. There's a patrol due out at 10am," the Commander suggests.

"Sounds good," Gibb agrees, looking over at Ziva to gauge her reaction. She nods in agreement.

Fifteen minutes later they are boarding a steel grey navy patrol boat. They are greeted by the skipper, fitted with life jackets, handed binoculars and told to sit back and enjoy the ride. The vessel cruises leisurely from the dock and out into the harbour where the helmsman opens her up. Her bow rises from the water and as she begins to speed up she bounces through the rougher seas. It is at this stage that Gibbs begins to regret accepting the Commander's offer as the motion of the craft starts to jar his back. He does his best to prevent himself from being bounced around too much but still experiences some discomfort. Ziva too is doing her best to keep herself from falling off the seat and embarrassing herself in front of all the male sailors.

There are several smaller craft on the water, the majority of them wearing naval marking. On the horizon, Gibbs can just make out the carrier as she thunders towards them. Crowds of family and friends being to gather on the main dock, waiting to greet their loved ones. The patrol boat reaches the mouth of the harbour and steadies her speed and maintains a position in and around that area. Gibbs and Ziva are feeling more comfortable once the boat has slowed and they venture to their feet. Using the binoculars that were provided, they survey the other vessels on the water, watching for anything suspicious or any familiar faces. They watch for over thirty minutes and nothing even remotely suspicious catches their attention. Gibbs begins to doubt his initial theory. What if he is wrong? What if the real target is back in DC? What if he's screwed up?

As the massive carrier approaches, Gibbs and Ziva cannot help but feel insignificant in comparison to the maritime monster that was looming over them. Ziva had often wondered at how such a massive steel structure could stay afloat. Surely by sheer weight alone, it should sink.

As she and Gibbs stand on the deck and wonder at the engineering marvel approaching, something catches Gibbs attention from the corner of his eye. There's a speed boat, chopping through the waves at high speed. From the direction it is travelling, Gibbs reckons that he is on a collision course with the carrier. He raises his binoculars and tries to make out the driver. He notices that he is wearing some kind of scarf or head band on his head, not your usual boating attire, he notes. Gibbs alerts the skipper's attention and they all train their eyes in the direction of the pleasure craft. The skipper immediately shouts an order to steer an intercept course. Another crewman is ordered to man the 16mm cannon that is mounted on the bow.

The Captain hails the craft and orders it to divert is course. The driver does not respond. Again the Captain calls the boat and warns it that they will open fire if he does not change his course immediately. Ha waits a few seconds and hopes that the craft will slow or change course but it fails to do so. Realising that he has little choice, he orders the gunner to shoot. Gibbs watches through his field glasses as 16mm rounds riddle the boat. He sees the driver get hit and slump over the steering wheel. However, even without a driver the boat continues on it's deadly course.

"Pull alongside if you can," Gibbs shouts to the Captain. They both know that someone will have to get on board and regain control of the boat. Travelling at full throttle, the patrol boat struggles to keep up with the more powerful boat. Gibbs clambers onto the port side and holds on tightly until they get close enough. As soon as they get up alongside, he jumps. He lands heavily on the deck, instantly feeling the pain of his recent injury. He can feel moisture on his back and he knows that he has opened up the wound. At this moment in time, his back is the least of his worries. He gets to his feet and shoves the slumped body off the seat and grabs the steering wheel. Straight away he changes course and steers out to sea. He decides it's best to put a fair distance between the speed boat and the harbour, especially when he doesn't know what the boat contains. The patrol boat is following at a safe distance.

Ziva is relieved that the disaster has been averted. She sits back and begins to relax when suddenly she hears a massive explosion. She jumps to her feet and is sickened when she sees that speed boat has been turned into a floating inferno with debris littering the water.

"No!" she yells, putting her two hands to her head. "Gibbs!?" she shouts distraught, realising that there is little hope of survivors.

"I'm so sorry," the Captain says, putting his hand on her shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort her.

Ziva just stands, staring through tear-filled eyes at the smoking wreckage. This can't be happening, she thinks. He can't be gone. The patrol boat inches closer to the wreckage, crewmen checking the water for bodies. Ziva scans the water, preparing for the worst.

"Starboard side, 9 o'clock, Sir!" a crewman shouts. Ziva looks out into the water and sees the bright orange of a life jacket bobbong up and down. The patrol boat pulls alongside and one of the crew hooks the body. As he hauls him onto the deck, he shouts,

"I think he's alive, Sir."

Ziva rushes over and kneels beside the body. It's Gibbs. He barely has a mark on him, she notes. She feels for a pulse and finds a faint one. He isn't breathing though so she immediately open his airway, pinches his nose and breathes life giving oxygen into his lungs.

"C'mon Gibbs," she urges as the patrol boats crew look on helplessly. Just as she is about to give further resuscitation, Gibbs begins to coughs up water and gasps for air. Amazingly, he opens his eyes and looks up at her.

"Gibbs, don't you ever do that to me again," she scolds, pulling him towards her and holding him tightly. Gibbs is too weak to resist.

As Gibbs recovers, a crew member gives him a blanket and the Captain places an oxygen mask over his face to help him with is breathing. Ziva sees the blood on the deck and realises that it's coming from Gibbs' surgical wound. The Captain hands her the medical kit and she uses it to patch up the wound until they get back to land. In between gulps of oxygen, Gibbs begins to explain how he survived the blast.

He was steering the boat out to sea when Zamir, whom he had presumed was dead, grabbed his legs and knocked him to the ground. Gibbs and Zamir struggled for a bit and then Gibbs was momentarily stunned by a blow to the face. As he was regaining his senses, he saw Zamir reach for what looked like a detonator. Without hesitation, Gibbs said that he jumped over the side moments before the boat went up. He said that he remembered hitting the water but not much after that. The concussion from the blast must have knocked him out.

Pretty soon, they are back on land and Gibbs is once again on his way to hospital, this time in the comfort of a naval ambulance. Ziva rides along with him, grateful that he's alive. Actually, she's more than grateful she realises. She sits there quietly struggling to understand feelings that had been brought to the surface by his near death experience. She has always admired him, professionally, she considers. Maybe she is just kidding herself. Maybe it is more than just professional? Maybe it is more than is healthy? He is her boss after all. It could never happen, even if he did feel the same way.

Ah well, best leave well enough alone, she thinks, smiling meekly at him.

THE END.

Well, all finished, even if I did rush it a bit. Couldn't kill our hero though. Hope you enjoyed.