Summary: This is a crossover fanfiction between NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. There is a series of murders in Los Angeles, causing the regular team to investigate, including Ducky and Abby. The suspects will have you saying "WHAT?!?!?!?"
Categories: Abby/McGee,
Other Het Pairings Characters: Abby Sciuto, Anthony DiNozzo, Donald Mallard, Jeanne Benoit, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Other, Timothy McGee, Ziva David
Genre: Action, Crossover, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Pairing: DiNozzo/McGee, Abby/McGee, DiNozzo/Ziva
Warnings: Dark story
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 10
Completed: No
Word count: 15120
Read: 11084
Published: 02/25/2010
Updated: 04/05/2010
1. Mutual Jealousy by stamper55555
2. First Impressions by stamper55555
3. Abby's Job by stamper55555
4. Nervous on Both Sides of the Glass by stamper55555
5. Ziva's a Fighter by stamper55555
6. Got Your Six by stamper55555
7. The Gut by stamper55555
8. Campfire by stamper55555
9. Back in DC... by stamper55555
10. Crash and Burn by stamper55555
Mutual Jealousy by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
this chapter is basically just an intro to the characters and what's going on. nothing important, mainly banter like in the shows.
Washington DC•NCIS
Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stared at the empty desk beside his. He was trying so hard not to go over there and look through it. It was almost guaranteed that if he did, his boss, Special Agent Gibbs, would catch him.
“What do you think, Ziva?” he asked the probationary agent across the bullpen.
“I think you should mind your own business, Tony,” she warned.
“Cover me. I’m going in,” he said, ignoring her. With that, he went over to Agent McGee’s desk and started opening drawers.
“Computer stuff… More computer stuff… Aha! What do we have here?” Ziva looked up, interested. He had stumbled across a locked drawer. “Ziva, toss me a paperclip!”
“Gladly,” she said slyly.
A look of alarm spread over his face. “On second thought, I’ll get it myself.” She had once told him that she could kill him 18 different ways with a paperclip. With her training at Mossad, he didn’t doubt it.
Ziva laughed and gently tossed him the paperclip. He then twisted and bent it into the shape he needed, and then picked the lock. Inside he found something that, while he wasn’t expecting it, didn’t surprise him. It was a framed picture of McGee with Abby, the forensics specialist, confirming some suspicions he and Ziva had had about the two of them breaking Gibbs’ rule number 12: Never date a co-worker.
Holding up the picture, he said, “Hey, Ziva, look at this!”
Just then, McGee stepped out of the elevator. He saw Tony at his desk, and ran over to the bullpen.
“Tony! What are you doing? That drawer was locked for a reason!”
“Good morning, McTardy. To answer your question, I was using my superior investigative skills to try to figure out where you were. How could I have known there wouldn’t be any evidence leading to your location in there? We were worried about you, McGoo!”
McGee rolled his eyes and strode angrily to his desk, but Tony wasn’t finished yet. In the back of the drawer, he found a crumpled photograph. It was of a young man with blond hair and glasses, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, and flip-flops, sitting at a computer.
“Wait a second. I’ve seen this picture before. Doesn’t Abby have one in her lab? Who is this guy, Probie?”
“Drop it, Tony. Leave me alone.”
“It’s early. Do you think Gibbs has gotten to Abby with a Caff-Pow yet?” he asked Ziva, completely ignoring McGee.
“Even if he has, she will not decline another,” noted Ziva.
“Very true. If Gibbs needs me, I’m in the lab.” McGee glared at him as he walked away.
Washington DC•NCIS Lab
“Good morning, Abs,” Tony said, holding out the Caff-Pow.
“Aww, thanks, Tony! What can I do for you?” she asked.
He was already looking around the lab. Finally, he found the picture. “Abby, who is this guy?”
“Oh, that’s Eric Beal from LA. He’s pretty cool. He took me to this awesome club I’d always wanted to go to, and he helped save me from the Phantom killer.”
“Would McGee have met him when he and Gibbs went out there last year?”
“I think so, but why are you-?”
“Come on, Abby. Just one more question. Please?”
“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Do you think they became buddies?”
Now Abby looked extremely confused. “No, I don’t think so. At least, Eric’s not a big fan of Tim. When I was out there, I mentioned how much Tim liked their giant touch-screen thing, and Eric • well, the only way I could describe it would be to say that he scowled. But every other time I saw him, he was smiling!”
“Thanks, Abs,” Tony said, turning to leave. “You’ve been a great help.”
Los Angeles, CA•Office of Special Projects
Eric Beal of the Undercover Operations Unit of NCIS was reading his e-mail.
“Good morning, Eric. Sorry I haven’t emailed you in a while. How’s your team? Mine won’t let me out of their sight, after what happened out there. Every time I turn around in my lab, someone’s standing there with a Caff-Pow. Not that I am complaining about that part… I have to go. Tony’s here. See what I mean? Say hi to the team for me! Abby.”
Eric grinned, remembering how strong her caffeine addiction was. He typed a quick reply, and then clicked send, still smiling at the computer screen.
“You e-mailing your girlfriend at work again, Eric?” G Callen joked.
“Not quite,” Eric sighed, looking at the picture of Abby he kept on his desk.
“Not quite? Or not yet?” Sam Hanna teased. He had seen where Eric was looking.
“Oh, have you two started e-mailing again?” Callen asked. He wasn’t oblivious either.
“Yeah, she e-mailed me this morning.”
“How’s she doing?” Callen asked.
“She’s fine.” Eric grinned. “She says Agent Gibbs and his team won’t leave her alone.”
Callen laughed. “That sounds like Gibbs.”
Sam grinned. “Is there anything about your friend Tim in that one?”
Eric glared at them both as they laughed. It was common knowledge that he didn’t like McGee, and that Abby always had something to say about him in her e-mails.
“Speaking of which…” Callen started. He and Sam exchanged a grin. “When you read Deep Six, did you notice anything interesting?” Eric shook his head, confused. “We did. The names sounded familiar to us. LJ Tibbs kind of sounds like Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Tommy sort of sounds like Tony, and Lisa almost sounds like Ziva.” Eric’s face fell. Now that he thought about it, he had noticed something vaguely familiar, but he hadn’t been able to figure it out. Callen continued, “Sam and I took a closer look, and we realized that the name Tom E. Gemcity could be an anagram for Timothy McGee.”
Eric whipped around in his chair to check for himself. They were right.
Washington DC
“Where ya been, DiNozzo?” Gibbs demanded as Tony walked into the bullpen.
“I was downstairs with Abby, Boss.”
“Did you find out anything interesting while you were down there?”
Tony glanced at McGee. “No, Boss. I was just delivering a Caff-Pow, and making sure there hadn’t been any attempts on her life recently,” he joked.
“That’s not funny, DiNozzo.”
Tony looked up, surprised. He had been expecting that response. The “’Course not, Boss” had already been forming on his lips. But Gibbs hadn’t yelled it; McGee had almost whispered it.
Ziva and Tony were still staring at him when Gibbs’ phone rang. “Yeah, Gibbs. Sure, Leon, I’ll be right up.” Then, addressing the team: “Vance wants me in MTAC.” Then, passing Tony, he reached across the desk, smacked his head, and said gruffly, “He’s right, Tony, it’s not funny.”
“’Course not, Boss,” Tony said, aloud now, though still stunned. Then he remembered what he had found out in the lab.
As they watched the door to MTAC closed behind Gibbs, Tony turned on McGee.
“So, what’s wrong with that Eric guy? The way Abby tells it, he’s pretty cool. He even helped to save her life. Sounds to me like you owe him one.”
“Ah, Tony, but what if he had several reasons for saving her?” Ziva suggested.
Tony understood exactly what she was thinking. “Is that true, McJealous?”
“Judging by the look on his face, Tony, I would say we have hit the nail on the head.”
Tony gave an overly exasperated sigh. “It’s nail on the • Wait a second. You got one right! McGee, did you hear that?”
“Yes, Tony, I heard it. Congratulations, Ziva,” he said dryly.
“McGee, stop pretending you’re mad at us. We’re friends; you like us. That’s why you put us in your book. Hang on. I just thought of something. Is that why you and Abby have been hanging out so much lately? I didn’t think it was just what Gibbs had said about making sure she was all right!”
It was true. Every day that McGee wasn’t in the field, he and Abby went out to lunch together. All of his free time was spent in the lab, for the same reason Tony had joked about. He was worried about her. This time was the last straw. Her assistant attacking her, her ex stalking her, and her almost being killed by an insane fan of Deep Six had been bad enough, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her ever needing help and he wouldn’t be there for her. When he’d heard she was kidnapped in Los Angeles, he was the first one packed and ready to go, and the second (after Gibbs, of course) to hug her when she got back. Tony was right•he did owe Eric, and he was jealous.
But he refused to let Tony know. Instead, he ignored the question and got back to work. Gibbs would be expecting something when he got back.
Los Angeles, CA
Eric was still staring, disbelieving, at McGee’s picture in the back of Deep Six when the Operations Manager, Hetty, walked in.
“Ah, I see Eric has found out Mr. Gemcity’s true identity,” she remarked.
“You knew, Hetty?” Eric knew he shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was nonetheless.
“Of course I knew. I’ve watched that book change hands in this office many times, and I thought I should get to know it better. It was quite an interesting read.”
Sam and Callen grinned, but Eric couldn’t quite manage it. An unsettling idea had just come to him. “If he wrote the book, then it would make sense that his character would be McGregor, right? And Abby would be Amy…”
He became more upset as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. In the book, Amy had been McGregor’s romantic interest. He didn’t even want to think any farther than that. Judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, he didn’t have to. They looked at him sympathetically, and Hetty said, “Oh, Eric. I’m so sorry.” He just nodded, withdrawn.
“Now, I am sorry if I seem insensitive, but Director Vance should be calling any minute, and we need to appear focused,” Hetty said as Kensi Blye and Dominic Vaile walked in.
“Why would she seem insensitive?” Kensi asked Callen quietly.
“Eric just found out that McGee wrote Deep Six,” he murmured back.
“Ouch,” Dom whispered, tactless as always.
Then Director Vance appeared on the screen. “It seems that there has been an escalation in navy murders out there. There were six last week, and another two yesterday, all with the same MO. I’m sending my best team from Washington out there, including our medical examiner Dr. Mallard, and Abby Sciuto.”
“Whose team would that be, Director?” Callen asked. He had a feeling he already knew the answer, but he hoped, for Eric’s sake, that he was wrong.
“Special Agent Gibbs’.”
Washington DC
“We’re all going to LA, Boss?” Tony asked, both confused and surprised.
“Yes, Tony. The four of us, Ducky, and Abby. They need as much help as they can get. There’ve been eight deaths in the past seven days, and he’s escalating. Get packed. The plane leaves at 5:30 tomorrow morning.”
The flight was a long one, but it wasn’t as bad as some had been in the past. Tony distinctly remembered the one coming home from Israel last year. It was in a cramped navy plane with no bathrooms, and Ziva had stayed behind. He squeezed his eyes shut to try to rid the memory from his head. On this flight, however, because there were so many people, they were flying commercial. Ducky and Gibbs sat together between Tony and Ziva, and Abby and Tim.
Tony and Ziva were discussing predictions for McGee’s behavior when they arrived. Ziva thought he would remain professional, on the outside. She also thought that the two of them, looking for reactions, would spot them easily. Tony, always the dramatic, thought that McGee would punch Eric in the face if he did anything to even slightly get on his nerves.
“Tony, this is McGee we are talking about. I do not believe that he would hurt a flea.”
Tony groaned. “It’s fly, Ziva! He wouldn’t hurt a fly!”
“So you agree with me, then,” she said deviously.
“No way. That Eric guy is gonna get it from McGee out there; I guarantee it.”
Meanwhile, Abby was telling McGee about the new headquarters.
“It’s so cool, Tim! You totally can’t tell that it’s an NCIS building from the outside, but their technology is awesome!”
McGee nodded, not really caring about what the building looked like, inside or out (although, he knew from experience that the giant touch screen was cool). He just enjoyed listening to Abby talk. He knew that once they got to LA, they wouldn’t get much time to themselves. He hoped they would wrap this case up quickly.
First Impressions by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
The teams meet and get to work, coming across a huge surprise!
Los Angeles, CA"NCIS OSP Headquarters
When they reached headquarters, most of the team was confused.
“Um, Boss?” Tony was puzzled. “You sure this is the right place?”
“The sign on the door says ‘condemned’, Gibbs,” Ziva added, as confused as Tony.
Abby laughed and led the way in.
As they entered the tech room, they heard Director Vance saying, “They should be there any minute. Ah, there they are. You’ve all been briefed on what’s going on. I believe introductions are in order. After that, get to work. I want this case solved as fast as possible. Hetty, Gibbs, you are equally sharing the authority on this case. We are one agency; you are one team on this one.”
The screen went blank.
“I’ll start, then. I am Henrietta Lange, the operations manager.”
Tony started laughing at the four-foot tall woman. “You’re in charge?”
Gibbs smacked his head.
“Thank you, Boss,” he muttered, ashamed.
“Yes, I am in charge. You may call me Hetty. Then we have Callen, Sam Hanna, Kensi Blye, Dominic Vaile, Eric Beal, and Nate Getz, our psychologist.”
“All right. I’m Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and this is"”
“Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo,” Tony interrupted, holding his hand out to Kensi.
Gibbs smacked him again, and amended, “This is soon-to-be-unemployed Special Agent DiNozzo.” Tony rubbed the back of his head. “This is Agent Timothy McGee, our probationary agent Ziva David, Dr. Mallard"”
“Please, Jethro,” Ducky interjected. To everyone else, he said, “Please call me Ducky.”
Gibbs opened his mouth to speak, but now it was Abby’s turn to beat him to it. “And you all know me!”
Gibbs and Hetty went to discuss the case in her office, and Ducky went down to get acquainted with the medical examiner.
Abby ran over to Eric and gave him a hug. “I missed you, Eric!”
Tony looked over at McGee, and then nudged Ziva. He was scowling at the two of them. Then his expression changed into one of surprise.
“Who’s reading Deep Six?” he asked, spotting a copy.
“We all have. You’re a pretty good writer, Mr. Gemcity,” Callen said.
Tim blushed, and Tony laughed. “They’re onto you, Probie!”
“Tony…” McGee didn’t like it when Tony picked on him on a regular day, but he was doing it here, of all places. He liked it better when he’d gone out to LA and it was just him and Gibbs. In fact, he would have preferred being alone with Eric over Tony’s teasing.
“Both of you, knock it off! We’ve got a case,” Gibbs ordered, smacking them both.
“On it, Boss!”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Okay, Eric. Hetty told me you’re good at debriefing, so get to it!”
“Um, okay,” he said, retrieving his handheld. Sam and Callen walked over to the touch screen. They brought up the pictures of the eight sailors. “These six were all killed last week, between Sunday and Saturday,” he said, pointing. “Then these two were both killed yesterday within two hours of each other.”
Gibbs broke in. “Eric, Dom, and Kensi, I want the three of you to look at phone records, credit card records, anything you can find that could link them to each other! McGee, I want you and Abby looking over the evidence we already have. The rest of us will go out to the crime scenes and take another look around. Got it?” Everyone nodded. “Good!”
Tony stole another glance at McGee. Just as he’d expected, he was grinning triumphantly from ear to ear. Ziva, however, wanted to see Eric’s reaction. He was glowering at McGee. Tony and Ziva elbowed each other to silently share their findings.
“Those of you going out into the field, I don’t know how long we’re going to be here, so we might as well make friends. Callen, I want you to take Tony to the first crime scene, and move your way forward. I’ll take Sam and Ziva to the last one and we’ll work our way back. If anything looks similar, make note of it,” Gibbs instructed.
Everyone stood there staring at him, waiting for more directions.
“Move it!”
Los Angeles, CA"One of the OSP Cars
In the car on the way to the crime scene, Tony was attempting to break the ice.
“So, do you think Gibbs was expecting trouble?” he joked.
“Why do you say that?” Callen asked, confused.
“Well, he took a very well trained ex-Mossad officer, as well as the most intimidating guy on your team.”
“Wow! She was Mossad?”
“Yeah, so be careful,” Tony warned. “Trust me on this one: she can really pack a punch.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. By the way, does Gibbs always hit you like that?”
“Yup. It keeps us focused. We’re less likely to goof off if we know a smack is coming. Well, everyone else is. It might be a good idea to warn your team. Now that we’re all united under him, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you got smacked,” Tony said, thinking of the consequences that might be in store for McGee and Eric if they couldn’t control themselves.
“Thanks for the warning,” Callen said, thinking along the same lines as Tony. “Come on, we’re here.”
Los Angeles"Crime Scene #8
Meanwhile, Gibbs, Sam, and Ziva had arrived at their crime scene. As they entered the petty officer’s home, they were bombarded by pictures everywhere. Ziva took out her camera. Maybe the killer was in one of those photographs. When she reached a photo of the petty officer and her friends, she gasped.
“Gibbs!” she called. “I believe we have a problem!”
Gibbs and Sam came running, guns drawn. She shook her head at them and held the picture out to Gibbs. He took it and cursed.
“Do you two recognize someone in that picture?” Sam asked, confused.
Gibbs nodded. “Ziva, call Tony. Tell him and Callen to finish up there and go back to headquarters as fast as they can. We’ll do the same. He needs to know.”
Los Angeles"OSP lab
Abby and McGee were making little progress in the lab. They were basically waiting for the machines to process samples.
“Tim, what happened between you and Eric last time you were out here?” she blurted. “And don’t say nothing, because I can tell when you’re lying!”
“Abby, nothing did happen!” She crossed her arms. “I’m not lying! We just…didn’t get along.” He narrowed his eyes at her thoughtful expression. “Don’t try to fix it, Abby. It won’t work!”
“We’ll see,” she answered, turning to attend to a ping. She gasped. “Tim, look whose prints were found at the crime scene!”
He looked. The screen said “MATCH: JEANNE BENOIT.”
“I’ll call Gibbs,” he said.
End Notes:
This chapter is where it starts getting fun! if you haven't seen the 4th season of NCIS, dont worry, i'll clear everything up next chapter!
Abby's Job by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
Well, I dont want to give anything away. i think it's a good chapter, and that you need to find out what goes on for yourselves! if i tell you everything here, you will expect what is coming!
Los Angeles"OSP Headquarters
When Tony and Callen arrived at headquarters, they were greeted by sympathetic faces, all directed at Tony.
“What’s going on?” he asked, anxious. “Is everything okay?”
“Come on, Tony. I need to tell you something,” Gibbs said. He led him out of the crowded room and down to the empty bullpen.
“What is it, Boss?”
“Tony, we found a picture at our crime scene…and Abby and McGee got a hit off of some prints…”
Tony laughed. “I’m not being framed again, am I, Boss? Because I’ve got a pretty good alibi…”
“No Tony.” He took a deep breath. “It’s Jeanne.”
Tony gripped a corner of the desk in front of him to support his weight. “Are you"are you sure, Boss?”
“Yes. Ziva and I both recognized her in the picture, and I even had Abby rerun the prints. It’s her.”
“But, Gibbs, I know Jeanne. You don’t honestly think she’s the one behind this, do you? She’s not a killer. As a matter of fact, she was shocked"in a bad way"that I knew how to shoot. She couldn’t have done this.”
“Tony, you knew her. She accused you of murder! She could have changed"”
“People don’t change that much, Gibbs!” Tony snapped.
“You don’t know that, Tony,” Gibbs said calmly. “Now, calm down and think for a second. Do you want off this case? And remember, if you do stay on it, I can and I will remove you from it if you can’t do your job.”
“No, Boss. I don’t want off this case, but maybe I could use some time out of the field, maybe in the lab helping Abby, at least until I can straighten out my thoughts.”
Gibbs nodded. “Okay. I’ll send McGee out with Callen. I really am sorry, DiNozzo.”
Tony slid down to the floor, putting his face in his hands. He’d thought he was over Jeanne, but apparently he was wrong.
Gibbs shook his head sympathetically, then went back upstairs.
“We need to keep looking. Sam, Ziva, let’s go to crime scene #7. Callen, you’re taking McGee with you. Tony’s staying here.”
“Gibbs, is he okay?” Abby asked, anxious.
“He will be. Keep an eye on him, Abs.”
She nodded and went downstairs. He was still in the position Gibbs had left him in. She sat down next to him and hugged him.
“Tony, you know the only way to prove she’s innocent is to get back to work,” she said gently.
He nodded. “I know, Abby, but I can’t help thinking ‘What if she did do it?’ Abs, what am I going to do?”
“Well,” she said, “first we’re going to take a break.” He looked up at her. “You’ll feel better after you eat something, trust me. There’s a place just a few blocks away. They make the best chocolate chip cookies.” Tony grinned at the mention of his favorite dessert. “Plus, they’re as big as my head!”
“Is that with or without the pigtails?” he teased, giving one a tug.
She laughed and jumped up. “Without. Come on, I’ll buy you a cookie if you buy me a Caff-Pow!” she said, pulling him to his feet.
“It’s a deal. Thanks, Abs,” he said sincerely.
“It’s no problem. I love you, Tony! And I hate it when you guys get assigned to personal cases. I can’t stand it when you’re upset. That’s why I make it my job to cheer you up.”
“Well, you’re good at it. Let’s go.”
Los Angeles"Crime Scene #2
“I’m lost, Agent McGee.”
“Well, I don’t know where we are! You live here, not me!”
Callen laughed. “No, I know where we are. I meant, what’s the story behind Tony and Jeanne Benoit?”
“Oh, he went undercover as her boyfriend a few years ago, to get to her dad. Tony was a film professor named Tony DiNardo. Her dad was an arms dealer, and Director Sheppard wanted him taken down. Tony ended up really liking her, and he was pretty messed up when it ended.”
Callen nodded. “I know what that’s like. It’s tough.”
“That’s not even the worst part. Well, maybe it is, but I’m not done yet. She came back about a year later, when her dad died, to accuse Tony of killing him. He hasn’t been the same since. We’re all worried about him,” Tim admitted. “Wait! Don’t tell him I said that! I’ll never live it down!”
Callen grinned. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Thanks. Anyway, we all tried to cheer Tony up, but it’s only been in the past year that he’s started acting like Tony again. Which, in my case, isn’t so great.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He’s constantly picking on me! Just listen to his nicknames for me. And yesterday I walked into work and he was going through my desk!”
“Did he find anything?” When McGee blushed, he said, “I’ll take that as a yes. So, you said you’re all worried about him, doing everything you could to cheer him up. I’m assuming putting him with Abby falls under ‘everything’?”
“Definitely. If anyone can do it, it’s Abby.”
“I hope so. He seemed like a good agent when I was working with him earlier.”
“He usually is, but on this one…” he trailed off.
“On this one, he’ll be off his game. He’ll either be in too deep to do his job right, or too withdrawn to do it at all.”
McGee nodded. “Well, as much as I’ll pay for it later, I have to admit I want the old Tony back. Let’s get to work.”
Los Angeles"OSP Headquarters
“I found her!” Eric had been running facial recognition on every camera he could get to all afternoon, and it had finally paid off.
Hetty nodded in approval. “I’ll go inform Special Agent Gibbs.”
“You’re only excited because now you have time and an excuse to see Abby in the lab,” Kensi noted.
“That is not true!”
“Sure, it is. The only one who doesn’t see right through you is Abby.”
“You want to go down just as bad to see Agent DiNozzo,” Eric pointed out.
“I do not!” she argued.
“You guys!” Dom had decided it was time to intervene. “Do you want me to go down there?”
“No!” they both snapped.
“Then why don’t you both go down together?”
“Fine!”
Los Angeles"OSP Lab
Abby was sipping her Caff-Pow as Tony worked on his cookie.
“You were right, Abs. This is the best cookie I’ve ever had!”
“Careful, Tony! Don’t talk with your mouth full! You’re going to get cookie crumbs all over the evidence!”
“Sorry, Abs.”
Abby walked over to him and smacked the back of his head, softly. Doing her best Gibbs impression, she said, “DiNozzo! Never apologize! It’s a sign of weakness!”
Instead of laughing, as she had intended him to, he admitted, “I feel weak, Abs.”
“No you don’t! You’re Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo! You can do anything! You can survive the plague, and laugh about your car blowing up! You can lead your own team when you have to! You’ve endured seven years working for Gibbs!”
He grinned at that last sentence. “Thanks for the pep talk, Abs.”
She hugged him. “I told you; it’s my job.”
He hugged her back. “Well, thanks anyway.”
“Eric,” Kensi said, walking in, “What is going on in our lab?”
The two of them stepped apart.
“Hi, guys,” Abby said, brushing cookie crumbs off of her lab coat.
“What was that all about?” Eric asked, clearly not pleased.
“I thought you already met Abby,” Tony joked. “Don’t you know she’s a hugger?”
Tony watched the anger slowly leave Eric’s face. How were they going to solve the case if Eric is so easily distracted?
“Abby, why don’t you tell Agent Blye what we’ve found out? I need to talk to Eric for a minute.”
Abby looked confused, but she nodded and did as she was told. She didn’t want to do anything to upset him. Eric followed Tony out of the lab.
“So, what was really going on in there?” Eric demanded.
“Exactly what I told you. Look, there’s something you need to know. To Abby and I, this team is our family. We look out for each other. And seeing as how I am all but off this case, I’ve got the time to keep an eye on her, and you can get back to work.” It was worded like a suggestion, but it sounded like an order.
“I’m guessing you’re the overbearing big brother in this ‘family’?”
“Yup, that’d be me. No one is going to hurt Abby,” he warned. “That’s why I am making such an effort not to seem too upset around her. If she knew just how bad I am, it would kill her.”
Eric nodded. He knew how much she loved that team. “When you said that Abby treats the team as her family,” Eric said slowly, “did you mean the whole team?”
“Whoa,” Tony said, holding up both hands. “I’m not talking to you about that. Tim is my friend, and Abby’s like my sister. All I can tell you is she loves us all in our own way.”
Eric nodded. They walked back into the lab.
“Tony,” Abby said carefully, “they found her. Gibbs is picking her up now and taking her to the safe house for questioning. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Tony, you know that if you get too involved, Gibbs will send you home! Think about this!”
“Abs, I know, but I have to. I need to see her again.”
End Notes:
PLEASE DONT EMAIL ME! i DO NOT want to have to go through all that. i dont have the time, or the patience. im sorry.
Nervous on Both Sides of the Glass by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
Jeanne in interrogation; Tony watching. Some threats from Abby. A new McNickname of my own creation (i think). Is that enough to grasp your attention?
Los Angeles"OSP Safe House
Jeanne sat in the interrogation room alone, feeling sick. That man had said he was an NCIS agent. Those four letters were enough to bring back memories that she had never wanted to resurface.
Gibbs, Callen, Sam, Tony, McGee, Ziva, and Nate all stood in the room next door, watching her on a monitor. The plan was for Gibbs to go in and shock her into answering questions. He had told Sam to bring her in so that she wouldn’t recognize anyone from his team, so that the effect would be greater during the questioning.
As Gibbs entered the interrogation room, Jeanne leapt up, surprised. “Special Agent Gibbs!” she cried. “Is he"does he know"?”
Gibbs nodded. “He’s in the other room.”
She now looked even more nervous than she had upon his entrance. “Can I see him?”
“I have a few questions for you first.”
Usually, during an interrogation, Tony, Ziva, and McGee would place bets on techniques Gibbs might use to wring answers out of a suspect, but not this time. Tim and Ziva didn’t want to do anything to upset Tony any more than he already was. Even Gibbs was visibly holding back to spare Tony. The observation room was silent except for Gibbs and Jeanne’s voices.
Nate was having difficulty trying to do his job. He was supposed to be making sure that Jeanne was telling the truth, but Gibbs had pulled him aside before walking into the safe house.
“Nate,” he’d said. “I know you get paid to read the people being interrogated, but I’m worried about DiNozzo. Could you keep an eye on him while I’m questioning Jeanne? I need a professional opinion. This case hits too close to home; I’m thinking about taking him off of it.”
As far as he could tell from her body language, Jeanne was telling the truth. She had heard about her friends’ deaths, but was obviously shocked and upset upon hearing they had been murdered.
Tony, on the other hand, was hard to figure out. He was very tense, but every now and then he’d sigh with relief, either because he could tell she was telling the truth or because he knew Gibbs was going easy on her. He was definitely attached to this case, but from what Nate had gathered from the rest of Gibbs’ team, he was a good enough agent to stick with it, especially now that she was all but proved innocent.
When Gibbs was finished, he went back into the observation room. Tony looked up at his boss questioningly, but Gibbs shook his head.
“Not yet, DiNozzo. Nate,” he said, gesturing that the psychologist should go into the hall with him.
“It was pretty obvious to my that she’s telling the truth,” Nate began as the door closed.
“Ya think?”
“Uh…okay… I think Agent DiNozzo should be able to handle the case, now that we know she’s innocent.”
“But if she wasn’t…” Gibbs prompted.
“If she wasn’t, I would either need to speak with your team’s psychologist or talk to him myself.”
“Well, we don’t know how this thing is going to play out. You can talk to our psychologist, if you want.”
“Sure. How can I reach him?”
“You know how to get to autopsy, right?”
Nate blinked. “Is Dr. Mallard your psychologist?”
“Yep. We don’t have the need for one that you guys do, but whenever we do need one, to profile a suspect or for things like this, we go to Ducky.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to him when we get back.”
Gibbs nodded his thanks and walked into the observation room. He nodded to Callen, who turned the monitor off.
“All right, DiNozzo. Go on.”
Tony took a deep breath as he left the room, feeling six stares on his back. He was grateful that they were giving him some privacy, but was he ready to do this? Abby’s pep talk from earlier flooded back into his head. He grinned, reassured, and stepped into the interrogation room.
He closed the door behind him and the two of them stared at each other in silence.
Finally, Tony couldn’t take it anymore. “Jeanne, I’m so sorry,” he blurted. Then, trying to add some typical DiNozzo humor, he added, “Don’t tell my boss I said that. He thinks it’s a sign of weakness.” He paused. What was he thinking? This wasn’t the time for jokes! “I had to say it, though. I am sorry. The director of the agency put me on assignment, and I had no choice. I hope you understand that.”
He had told her all of this before, but she had been upset over her father’s death. It needed to be said again. She just sat there, still staring at him, as he went on, “I have a confession to make. When I said that everything was fake, I lied. I hadn’t expected to actually have feelings for you. I’d never felt that way before, and I"”
“Tony!” Jeanne interrupted. “I understand, I do. But I still need some time to think about this"”
“You’ve had two and a half years, Jeanne!” Now it was Tony’s turn to interrupt, and he did so loudly and angrily. “How much longer do you need?”
“I don’t know, Tony. I came out here so I wouldn’t have to think about it.”
“So, are you trying to tell me that you didn’t think about me once in all that time?” he asked, softly now.
She winced at the hurt that was portrayed in every word. “I didn’t say that, Tony,” she whispered.
Tony sighed. He needed to calm down. “Look, Jeanne, I’m sorry I yelled. But… it’s been really bad for me since you left, and bad for my team as well. Actually, I think the worst part for me was seeing them trying so hard to cheer me up. It physically hurt me, Jeanne.” He grinned then. “By the way, if you see a Goth girl with pigtails heading toward you, run the other way.”
A few weeks after Jeanne had left, he had overheard Abby talking to McGee and Ziva in her lab.
“If I ever see her,” she vowed solemnly, “I’ll show her the physical equivalent of the emotional pain she caused Tony.”
He had known Abby too long by that point to doubt that promise.
“I have some apologies to make myself,” Jeanne admitted, bringing him back to the present. “I didn’t realize what I was doing when I forced you to choose between me and your job. I know now that they have become your family. Then I was wrong again when I accused you of killing my father. And I didn’t mean it when I said I wished I’d never met you.”
Tony smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear you say that, Jeanne.”
“Boss,” McGee began quietly.
“Ya got something on your mind, McGee?” Gibbs asked loudly, attracting everyone’s attention.
McGee cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, Boss. Uh, do you think they’ll…uh, be…together again?”
“Well, I don’t know, McGee. Do I look like DiNozzo?”
“Uh, no, Boss, but"”
“Besides, I don’t think it’s any of your business, is it?”
“Well no, Boss, but… somebody should warn Abby.”
Understanding shone in Gibbs’ eyes. He had heard about that comment down in the lab, and many more. He nodded, and was just opening his mouth to tell McGee to get on it, when he was interrupted.
“I will do it, Gibbs,” Ziva volunteered. She hadn’t wanted to be here in the first place, and she didn’t want to be here when Tony and Jeanne left, presumably together. She knew that McGee would want to be checking in on Eric and Abby, but she had to leave. Nate offered to drive her back to headquarters, and they left.
Los Angeles"OSP Lab
“I can’t believe it!”
“I know, Abby.”
Ziva had just informed Abby of the situation with Tony and Jeanne.
“Am I being a bad friend to Tony by wishing that she had been guilty so we could put her away forever and she can’t hurt him anymore?” she asked.
Ziva grinned. “Unfortunately, yes. You know that would be much worse.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t believe she managed to weasel herself back into his life after last time! I can’t believe Gibbs allowed this to happen! What happened to him having Tony’s six? And now I have to break a promise, too!”
She was furious. She wished McGee had told her instead of Ziva. She needed to hit someone, and she could get away with hitting McGee without him taking her down without even thinking about it, the way Ziva would.
“Well, Ziva, I’ll just have to try and talk some sense into him the next time I see him. But he’s going to be back out in the field, so I need you to keep an eye on him. Tell Gibbs, Callen, and Sam, too.”
“What are we telling Gibbs, Callen, and Sam?” Callen asked, walking into the lab.
“To watch Tony’s six, and report to me if he seems even the slightest bit out of character. If she hurts him anymore, she’s going to be answering to me,” Abby vowed, determined.
Callen’s eyes widened. He had not been expecting this. “I’ll pass on the message.”
“Thanks, G Callen.”
“You’re quite welcome, Abby Sciuto. By the way, Ziva, Gibbs wants us back in the field. I guess he wants to keep an eye on Tony, too, because you’re with me this time.” Then, turning back to Abby, he added, “Agent McGee will be right down here to help you.”
A few minutes later, he was standing in the doorway with a Caff-Pow.
“McGee!” Abby cried, holding out her arms for a hug.
Happy to oblige, he set her Caff-Pow down and walked over to her. He had just put his arms around her when she punched one of them. He jumped back.
“Ow! Abby! What was that for?”
“Sorry, Timmy! I’m just so mad about Jeanne making Tony take her back, and I couldn’t hit Ziva because she’d kill me in about two seconds, and I know if I hit you, you won’t take it personally. But go ahead. Hit me back. I shouldn’t have punched you.”
She closed her eyes, bracing herself, but nothing happened. She opened them again and crossed her arms.
“McGee! Didn’t you hear me? I told you to hit me back!”
“I’m not going to hit you, Abs.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I do, Gibbs will come down just in time to see it, and then he’d smack my head all the way to D.C.!” he pointed out.
“McChicken,” Abby taunted.
After checking to make sure no one was there, he punched her on the arm.
“There,” she said. “Now don’t you feel better?”
“No,” he said stubbornly. “And don’t you dare give Tony that ‘McChicken’ idea.”
“Why not? It might come in handy if…” she trailed off.
McGee had been glaring at her, but now he walked over to her. Her worried expression had him concerned.
“Tim, what if she breaks his heart again?” she whispered.
He hugged her. “Then we’ll just have to be there to pick up the pieces.”
Los Angeles"OSP Autopsy
“And that, my dear boy, is why I never"”
“Dr. Mallard?” Nate said, walking into autopsy. “Who were you talking to?”
“Please, call me Ducky! I was talking to this poor boy right here.” He gestured to the dead sailor on the table.
Nate was now concerned. This was their psychologist? He hardly seemed sane himself! But Nate could tell that Gibbs wasn’t the kind of man to be questioned. “All right, Ducky. Can I talk to you about Agent DiNozzo?”
“Ah, yes. I am sure that Jethro is the one sending you. Is this about Dr. Benoit?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And you want to discuss with me whether or not he should stay on this case?”
“Well, I think he’s fine to stay on it. She has nothing to do with these murders. Gibbs, however, told me we don’t know where things are going to go, so here I am.”
“Don’t take it personally, my boy. He just wants to make sure he’s doing the right thing for Anthony. But if you’re sure she’s innocent…”
“Well, her body language left me with the impression that she answered all of Agent Gibbs’ questions truthfully, if kind of anxious. So unless she’s an expert liar…”
“Don’t doubt yourself. As I said, Jethro just wants what’s best"”
Nate’s phone rang; Eric was calling him. “Excuse me, Ducky.”
“Of course, of course.”
“Eric, we’re in the middle of something"”
“Are you in autopsy?” Eric interrupted.
“Yeah, I’m talking to Ducky.”
“Well, the director wants you both up here now.”
Los Angeles"OSP Headquarters
Everyone had just come in from their last crime scene when Eric came to the top of the steps and whistled at them.
“Well, that’s effective, isn’t it?” Tony said to Ziva as everyone rushed up the stairs. “We either get a phone call or a glare from the Tooth Pick.”
Callen turned to look at him, shocked. “Is that what you call the director?”
Tony shrugged nonchalantly. “Not to his face.”
Gibbs couldn’t help grinning, but he smacked Tony anyway. “Keep your comments to yourself, DiNozzo.”
“You siding with him now, Boss? Don’t you remember"”
“’Course I’m not, DiNozzo. I was there. But he’s the director; try to be professional.”
“Yes, Boss.”
They walked into the room to see Director Vance’s face on the screen.
Getting straight to the point, Gibbs asked, “What do you want, Leon?”
“Well, Agent Gibbs, I have a new crime scene for you to investigate.”
“Where?” Callen asked.
“Right here in DC. Same MO, but this one came with a note.”
“What kind of a note, Leon?” Gibbs wanted to know.
“I sent it to Eric. Go ahead and pull it up.”
He did. Now on the screen was a picture of a piece of paper with Arabic writing on it.
“Well, what does it say?” Gibbs asked, growing impatient.
“It says, ‘Tell Agent Gibbs to give me my daughter back.’”
“Someone’s accusing Gibbs of kidnapping?” Tony was confused.
“I do not think he is being of kidnapping, Tony,” Ziva answered. Everyone turned to look at her. “I believe that is my father’s handwriting.”
Ziva's a Fighter by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
Ziva's understandably upset about the new development in this case, and as we all know, Abby's in charge of making her feel better.
Los Angeles: OSP Bullpen
After she voiced her idea aloud, Ziva excused herself. She was most likely in the lab, the only place with insured privacy, but no one checked to make sure; she obviously wanted her privacy.
Gibbs, Hetty, Callen, Sam, and Eric were still talking to the director, discussing flight plans and the next step.
Ducky, now short on time, was in autopsy setting up a video chat. Because the bodies couldn’t fly commercial with the rest of them, the Los Angeles medical examiner would need to finish with the bodies there, and Ducky wanted to see the autopsies, to supervise and give feedback.
The remaining four agents, the forensic scientist, and the psychologist were discussing the latest development in the bullpen.
“Well, this sucks!” Abby declared.
“Which part?” Tony asked. Not only was there another body, but he could read Ziva now, after more than four years. She was thinking about going back to Israel. She would think that she was saving lives, when all she would be doing is killing herself. Tony wouldn’t let her go.
“The rest of you are so easy to cheer up!” Abby interrupted his thoughts. “With Gibbs, it’s a hug, then he’ll go home and work on his boat. With you, it’s a hug, a cookie, and a few movies. With McGee, it’s a hug and some geek-speak"”
“Hey!” McGee broke in, embarrassed.
Ignoring him, she continued her rant. “But with Ziva…Well, the only thing I know she likes to do is fight!”
“And shoot,” McGee added.
“And mess up English expressions,” Tony tried to lighten Abby’s mood, but ended up earning himself a punch in the gut from the usually-happy Goth.
“This isn’t funny, Tony! I’m completely at a loss here!”
“Well, you guys have a gym, right?” Dom asked, trying to help.
“Yeah. So?” Tony didn’t see what that had to do with anything.
“If she likes to fight, why don’t you just box with her, or something?”
Tony laughed bitterly. “I don’t think a murder charge will make her feel any better.”
Kensi, Dom, and Nate exchanged confused glances.
“We don’t follow,” Kensi finally admitted.
“She’s Mossad,” McGee said.
“Well, she used to be. Obviously, she’s NCIS now. But the training is still there,” Abby elaborated.
“Sam could probably take her,” Nate said.
“I’d give it about five minutes,” Tony scoffed.
“He’s a SEAL,” Kensi said.
“In that case, Tony, it’d take longer than five minutes,” McGee pointed out.
“So just how long would it take, McCalculator?” Tony asked. “Come on, make a guess.”
“I don’t know…It might take about twenty, twenty-five minutes. It’d probably be pretty close, but"”
“You guys, stop!” Abby was done with this conversation. “Ziva can’t wait until we get back to DC! We need to figure something out for right now!”
“Well, if you’re interested, we’ve got a punching bag upstairs,” Nate said.
“Go, Tony. Tell Ziva about that. It’s the only thing we can do for now,” Abby ordered.
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the closest one to Ziva, after Gibbs.”
“But I need to tell Jeanne"”
“Shut up about Jeanne!” Abby snapped. “You can live without her, if it comes to that! You’ve done it before! But if Ziva goes back to Israel… none of us will see her again. You and Jeanne could probably work something out. But if Ziva leaves…Even if she survives disobeying her father…” her voice trailed off. She knew she hit him below the belt with the last part, and she felt bad, but it had worked. She could see the pain and understanding in his eyes.
Flashbacks flew behind his eyes. There were the many times his father had disciplined him after he had disobeyed him as a child…and then the memory of leaving Ziva in Israel the last time…coming at a close with the time spent with Saleem in the Sahara. He wouldn’t, couldn’t let it happen again. He nodded. “Okay, Abs. I’m going.”
Los Angeles"OSP Lab
“Ziva?” Tony called, walking into the lab tentatively. He was more than a little uncomfortable with the task ahead of him, especially considering what Ziva could do to him if he said the wrong thing.
“What do you want, Tony?” she asked, tired.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he answered. He noticed that her eyes were slightly puffy, but decided that it would be best to pretend he didn’t.
“Oh. I was expecting Abby.”
“So was I, but she said I should do it.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? It’s Abby. She thinks differently from the rest of us. She might think that I can relate to you best, because we both have fathers who could play any and every villain from any Disney movie.”
“All right. But what could you possibly have to say that would make me feel better?”
“For starters, we don’t know for sure that your father is the killer.”
“It most likely was not him. He knows many people who would gladly kill for him. I know he is behind it, though, Tony. Like Gibbs would say, I can feel it in my butt.”
Ordinarily, Tony would have laughed at this mistake, and she never would have lived it down. This time, however, there was nothing amusing at all. Still, he couldn’t help but correct her. “It’s gut, Ziva. You’ve got a gut feeling.”
“Ah, yes. I apologize, Tony.” Her voice held as much emotion as one of Ducky’s corpses.
“Rule number six,” he said reflexively. Again, he couldn’t help it; it was a habit. “Anyway, you didn’t let me finish. I know you like to let off steam by fighting, so"”
“I’m not going to hit you, Tony.”
“Good, because the offer doesn’t stand. It’d be hard to have your six from a hospital bed. Actually, as upset as you are, maybe even one of Ducky’s tables. Anyway, as I was saying, there’s a punching bag upstairs, completely at your mercy.”
“I do not find that amusing, Tony. I will not hit McGee, either.”
“It’s kind of funny that you thought I meant him,” Tony said, grinning in spite of himself. “Seriously. There is a punching bag upstairs. Apparently, Sam uses it when he gets upset. He used to be a SEAL. I recommend you use it,” he finished authoritatively.
“Why should I listen to you?”
“Because I can tell you’re thinking about going back to Israel to please your father!” he shouted, his temper getting the better of him. “If you can listen to him, why not someone who actually cares about you? I’m not letting you go back to Israel alone again! Even with everyone in this building on your six, I still wouldn’t like it! I will not have a repeat of this summer! So you’d better get that thought out of your head, Agent David!”
She blinked, surprised at his outburst. “And if I say I want to go back?”
“I’d say you know how to lie better than that, Ziva. If you wanted to go back, you wouldn’t be working your butt off trying to become a citizen here. Don’t try to play hero and go back to Israel to save lives; you can do that from here, and actually live long enough to enjoy it. Besides,” he added, calming down, “I’m your Senior Field Agent. You have to listen to me.”
As they started toward the stairs, she said sincerely, “Thank you, Tony.”
Got Your Six by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
Tony has McGee's six, and they've all got Ziva's. If you don't know what I mean, read the chapter for yourself!
Los Angeles"OSP Headquarters
“She’s not going anywhere, Leon!” Gibbs growled at the director.
“I’m afraid that’s not your decision to make, Agent Gibbs.”
The Los Angeles team were all growing uncomfortable. This argument had been going on for almost ten minutes, and it wasn’t going anywhere. Even Hetty was at a loss for words.
“Now, can we please just try to calm down?” she asked again.
“Hetty, it’s not working. I’ve got this,” Callen said, deciding to intervene. “Hey! In case you forgot, we’re still working on a case. Gibbs, I’m sorry, but it is Agent David’s decision. But that doesn’t mean we can’t influence it, Director. Maybe her father isn’t behind it. We just need to get back to work so we can figure things out.”
“G’s right,” Sam said, having his partner’s back. “We just need to take this thing one step at a time. Right now, we need to support our people, which we can’t do when we’re in here arguing.”
At that, Gibbs turned to leave. “Come on, then. We’ve got work to do.”
Sam and Callen hesitated for a second, shocked at his leaving before the director had dismissed him.
“Excuse us, Director,” Callen said, following Gibbs. Sam nodded to Vance and left also.
“Humph!” the director huffed. He was not pleased about the way Gibbs had ended their conversation. “I guess we’ll have to talk about this more when he gets here. Don’t forget, Hetty"”
“I never forget, Leon. We will all be ready for our flight tomorrow morning.”
“All right then. See you tomorrow.”
“Goodbye, Director Vance.”
Eric closed the communication and let out a long sigh.
“Is everything all right, Mr. Beal?”
“Yeah… That was pretty different.”
“I believe, Mr. Beal, that Gibbs himself is ‘different.’ But if that’s what solves cases, I suppose we cant complain. Eric…”
“Yeah, Hetty?”
“Could you try to find something more… professional to wear in Washington? There will be people there to impress.”
“Oh. Uh, yeah, Hetty. I’ll see what I can do.” He was embarrassed. She had just insulted his choice in clothes"again. Luckily, no one else had been there to hear it. If Abby or McGee had been there…
“Hmm,” she said, most likely doubting that he had anything nicer than khaki shorts and flip-flops to wear. “Well, do try, Mr. Beal. With Agent McGee around, you’re going to have to try much harder.”
She left, leaving Eric gaping after her.
Los Angeles"OSP Bullpen
“Thanks, Tony!” Abby exclaimed as soon as Ziva was out of earshot.
He exhaled dramatically and sank into a chair. “I think you owe me another cookie, Abs! I barely made it out of there alive!” As usual, he was using humor to downplay the situation.
“Did she hit you?” McGee asked.
Tony was up like a shot. He strode over to McGee and smacked his head, hard. “No, Tim, she didn’t. But she could have. I would have, if I was her. Could you imagine the choice she’s forced to make? She can stay here, safe, and have the blood of these vics on her hands. Or, she can go back to Israel, pleasing her father and maybe saving some lives, while facing whatever punishment he’s got in store for her. And with her daddy-dearest, that could be torture; even death. And the worst part is, she’s dead set on choosing option number two. And after what happened last time, we won’t"can’t"let that happen again. Where’s Gibbs? I need to talk to him.”
“Right here, DiNozzo.”
Turning around to face the former marine, he asked, “Can we go down to the lab, Boss?” It was the one place he knew would be deserted.
“Let’s go.”
Los Angeles"OSP Lab
“Boss, we cant let her go back to Israel,” Tony began.
“Ya think, DiNozzo?”
“Well, Boss, when I was talking to her, she seemed like she was determined to go back. We have to figure out a way to keep her here.”
Gibbs’ face and voice softened at the worried tone of his senior field agent. “Tony, I know.”
“And if they’re already killing, what’s stopping them from kidnapping her?”
“We are,” Gibbs said forcefully.
Tony nodded blankly. “Okay… But we’re not doing enough.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
“You really want my opinion, Boss?”
The question was meant to be rhetorical, but with an agent’s life at stake, he was more open-minded than he would normally be. “Why not? I want her here just as much as you do.”
I doubt that, Tony thought. “All right, Boss. I think she should be with at least two agents at any given time, and, when we get back to the city, she should sleep at a different pace every night until we catch this dirtbag. But there’s a flaw in my plan.”
Gibbs didn’t think so. In fact, he was thinking along the same lines. “What would that be, DiNozzo?”
“She’ll never go for it. Boss, she’ll never admit she’s scared, let alone ask for help. We need a different plan.”
“Let me worry about that. Don’t you have something you need to do?”
“I don’t think so…” Tony thought hard.
“Maybe a phone call or a meeting that needs to be made before we go back to DC?” Gibbs prompted.
“Oh, right. Jeanne. I forgot about that. On it, Boss.”
Los Angeles"OSP Bullpen
“Where’d Gibbs go?” Callen asked as he walked into the bullpen.
“Agent DiNozzo took him to the lab to talk,” Kensi answered.
“What about?” Sam inquired.
“Probably about how and where to keep Ziva so she doesn’t go back to Israel,” Abby chimed in matter-of-factly.
At the stares from the Los Angeles team, McGee jumped to her rescue with a nervous laugh. “She doesn’t mean they’ll tie her up.”
“If that’s what it takes!”
“Abby…”
“Okay, arguing will get us nowhere. We need a subject change,” Kensi began, turning to her senior field agents. “Callen, who do you think would win in a fight between Sam and Agent David?”
“Ziva,” he said without hesitation.
Abby and McGee grinned triumphantly.
“G! I’m your partner! Have some faith!”
Callen sighed. “All right. With or without weapons?”
“Without,” Abby answered.
“Don’t worry, buddy, you’d put up a pretty good fight.”
“What are you talking about, G? You don’t think I could beat her in hand to hand combat? I’m twice her size!”
Callen turned to look at his partner. “Sam, she’s Mossad.”
“And I’m a SEAL,” Sam shot back. Callen shrugged. “What if we had weapons?”
“Depends on the weapon.”
“Guns?”
Callen laughed. “You’d be dead in two seconds.”
“All right, all right. Knives?”
“I’d give it about a minute.”
Abby laughed. “That long?” McGee grinned. They both stopped smiling, however, when Sam turned to glare at them.
“Wow,” McGee muttered to Abby. “You’d think he learned that from Gibbs.” This earned him a smack in the head as his boss passed behind him.
“What was that, Elf Lord?”
“Nothing, Boss.”
Tony walked in as the LA team started laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“Elf Lord?” Dom asked.
Ordinarily, Tony would have joined the fun, teasing McGee to no end. Instead, after a look at Tim’s miserable face, and seeing Hetty walking out of the communications room upstairs, meaning that Eric would soon follow, he strode forward and gave Dom a Gibbs-smack.
“You think that’s funny?” he asked. “Nice doll.” He flicked the alien bobble head Dom kept on his desk.
Kensi and Abby gasped, and everyone else with the exception of Dom gaped. Dom started babbling, “It"It’s not a doll; it’s a bobble head…”
Tony turned to gauge Gibbs’ reaction. He didn’t feel bad; he hadn’t hit him that hard, and he did it for his friend. Surely Gibbs would understand that. Besides, Vance had said they were all one team now. That’s how probies got treated on his team. But even with all of those excuses and explanations in his arsenal, Tony did not want to disappoint Gibbs.
He had nothing to worry about, however. Gibbs smiled and nodded his approval. Tony was ecstatic, though he covered it up quickly with years of undercover training. He was so happy he almost forgot about Ziva.
That is, until Gibbs turned for the stairs, and said, “I’d better go try and talk some sense into Agent David,” leaving everyone still frozen in shock.
Los Angeles" Sam’s Punching Bag
BAM! BAM! BAM!
This is much better than crying in a lab, Ziva thought.
“Why, hello, Agent David.”
Ziva whipped around, fists raised. Hetty held her own hands up defensively.
“Oh! Sorry, Hetty!”
“It’s all right,” Hetty said, waving it off like her life was threatened by emotionally unstable former assassins every day. “…But are you?”
“I will be.”
“Well, I would like to tell you something I’ve noticed about your team, something that happens very rarely.” Ziva waited patiently. “It is like a family. You all have your own roles. They need you and love you very much. And though I would never tell Agent Gibbs,” she added lowering her voice slightly, “You are the toughest one on your team.”
“If you did ever tell me, I’d say, ‘Ya think?’” Gibbs said, grinning as he walked in.
“And I would have said that you know I hate that expression of yours.”
“Aw, come on, Hetty…”
Ziva blinked. Gibbs and Hetty had a past? He talked to her exactly the same way he talked to FBI Agent Tobias Fornell, like he was talking to an old friend. She supposed that she shouldn’t have been surprised, but she was nonetheless.
“Gibbs?” she asked. “Do you need something from me?”
His expression clouded, and some of his usual hardness crept back into his voice. “You bet I do. Hetty…?”
“Of course, Agent Gibbs,” she answered, leaving them alone.
“Gibbs,” Ziva began, “I need to"”
“You need to shut up and listen to me!” he exploded. “I know there was a time when I felt I owed you for killing Ari, especially after I found out he was your brother. But that debt has been repaid several times over, including sending my team to Africa risking their lives, to save you!”
Ziva started getting anger now, too. “I never asked"”
“I know you didn’t! But we came anyway. That’s what a good team does. And whether you want to be or not, you’re a part of that team. MY team. We’ve got your six, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
“I will do whatever I need to do.”
“No, you won’t You’ll do whatever I tell you to do. And the first thing is to get your head screwed on straight. You may not realize it, but the best thing for this team"you included"is that you stay at NCIS.”
“And if I do not think so?”
“Then you’re gonna be awfully unhappy until this all gets sorted out.”
“Why?” she asked suspiciously.
“Because until this thing is over, there’s going to be two agents with eyes on you around the clock, and another two staking out outside.”
She through a furious glare his way, but she knew better than to argue with him. She just whipped around and went back to annihilating Sam’s punching bag. Gibbs took that as a surrender and, with a satisfied expression on his face, left her to it.
Author's Notes:
kind of a non-important chapter. i would apologize, but i cant. there's something wrong with apologizing for and ncis fanfic. you understand, right?
Los Angeles"OSP Bullpen
Tony was waiting at the bottom of the stairs by the time Gibbs got there.
“Well?” he asked. He tried to sound professional, but concern strained his voice.
“I told you I’d handle it, didn’t I?”
The wall Tony always kept up so carefully to keep his emotions in check came crashing down. Relief radiated off of him. “Thank you, Boss.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know…but thanks.”
Gibbs leftover anger from talking to Ziva faded away. He put a reassuring hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Anytime, DiNozzo.”
As they reached the bullpen, Gibbs started barking out orders. “Kensi, Sam, I want the two of you upstairs with Ziva. I don’t care what she says to you, if she says anything at all. I want eyes on her every second!”
They nodded and started upstairs.
“You afraid she’s gonna run?” Callen asked Gibbs.
Tony smirked. “Gibbs doesn’t get ‘afraid.’ He gets gut feelings. And when his gut tells him he needs eyes on an agent, it gets done, no questions asked,” he shot at him loyally.
“DiNozzo!”
“Yeah, Boss?”
“Cool it, and go down to the lab with Abby. We’re running short on time here, so help her out wherever you can.”
“Me? What about the McGeek?”
“Yes, you. McGee will be upstairs helping Eric and Agent Vaile with the computer stuff.”
Tony watched McGee pale. It was only acceptable to him when he was the cause. Tony decided to step up for his friend. “Uh, Boss? Why don’t I"” His words changed direction when the Gibbs-glare was turned on him. “"Go help Abby in the lab while McGee works upstairs? On it, Boss.” He grabbed Abby’s arm and pulled her toward the lab.
Los Angeles"OSP Lab
“Tony, what is going on?”
“Well, Abs, a lot’s going on at the moment. You gotta be more specific.”
“With you and McGee.”
Tony laughed. “I promise you, NOTHING is going on there.”
Abby crossed her arms. “Tony, that’s not what I meant.”
He sighed. “Are you talking about what I did to Agent Vaile?”
She nodded. “And what you almost did before Gibbs glared at you just now.”
“Well,” Tony began matter-of-factly, “Agent Vaile was out of line.”
“Like you never are?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Abby grinned.
Tony continued, “He’s more of a probie than McGee. It was unnatural. I decided to put an end to it.”
“And just now…?” she prompted.
“I was thinking it would be fun to intimidate Agent Vaile some more.”
“Tony…”
“Fine! McGee’s better at helping you than I am.”
“And you’d be twice as bad trying to help Dom and Eric! Tell me what’s going on! You know my rule number 1: Never lie to Abby. Do I need to remind you that I can boil you from the inside out without leaving a trace of forensic evidence? Or that I’m Gibbs’ favorite, so even if I did, I’d get away with it anyway?”
“First of all, you forget that Gibbs likes me too, I think, and that I’ve been working with Ziva for about five years now. I’m used to threats. But fine. I’ll tell you that McGee and Eric don’t like each other too much.”
“Do you know why?”
“Yes…I think so. I haven’t asked McGee, but I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
“Can you tell me?”
“I don’t think so Abs.”
Abby scowled. “McGee wouldn’t tell me either.”
Tony couldn’t believe it. “You already talked to him?”
“Yeah, if you could call it that. He just told me what you did: They don’t get along. Then he told me not to try to fix it, that it wouldn’t work.” She frowned.
Tony laughed. “He’s right; it probably wouldn’t.”
Abby continued to glare at him, and he sighed.
“Abs, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. I’m sure McGee will tell you eventually.”
That was when she realized the enormity of the secret. If it had been something small and embarrassing, Tony would have told her in a heartbeat. She relaxed a bit. “Fine, but I’m not done being mad at you.”
“I’ll buy you a Caff-Pow when we get back. Now, focus, Abs; you’ve got something.”
“No, I don’t. Don’t change the sub"”
PING!
She turned around to gape at the machine, then back to Tony, incredulous.
He grinned at her expression. “I had to do something to get you off my back. Just because I’m not the boss now doesn’t mean I can’t use what I learned when I was.”
He sighed with relief when she smiled back and got to work. He knew from experience that when Abby got mad, it never ended well.
Los Angeles"Sam’s Punching Bag
Ziva noticed Sam and Kensi as they walked in"Sam was considerably heavier than Hetty"but she chose to ignore them. She knew they weren’t there to talk to her and make sure she was okay, but to make sure she didn’t run to Israel. They didn’t care how she was; they were following Gibbs’ orders. That just made her hit harder.
“I can see why G would think she might be able to beat me,” Sam said, his eyes widening.
“When we were talking before, I thought they meant you’d be beaten when you were down, but, Sam, I think she’d kill you with her bare hands!”
Ziva turned around. “You are aware that I can hear you?”
“Yeah, but it’s a compliment. I don’t know many people that could take me down.”
“Do not feel bad; I have had years of training.”
“So have I. I’m a SEAL.”
She shrugged, much like Callen had. She turned back around, ending the conversation. After a few punches, however, she turned to face them again.
“So this belongs to you, then?” she asked Sam.
“Yep.”
She looked him up and down, sizing him up. “I would stop before I kill you, you know,” she said finally. “I do have some self control, unlike Tony with an attractive witness…or suspect…or"Anyway, our building has a gym. If you would like to accept the challenge posed by our coworkers, I see no problem with it.”
“I have to accept, then. I have a reputation to uphold.”
Ziva smiled and turned back to the punching bag with less intensity than before. It was almost as if she had forgotten that her father was killing for her.
Almost.
Author's Notes:
The title speaks for itself. Gibbs puts Tony in charge of a campfire. There. Now you know.
Los Angeles��"OSP Lab
Tony and Abby were hard at work, processing evidence as fast as they could while still being effective.
“What d’you got for me?”
“Jeez, Boss!” Tony jumped a foot in the air.
“Oh, hi, Gibbs,” Abby said calmly. She was used to him sneaking into the lab. “We found a partial print on a doorknob that doesn’t belong to the victim. We’re running it through AFIS now.”
“Good work, Abs. Can I borrow your assistant for a minute?”
Tony looked up.
“I guess so, but I need him right back. I’m up to my pigtails in evidence!” she yelled after them as they walked out.
“What’s up, Boss?” Tony asked.
“No.”
“That’s not really a yes or no question, Boss.”
“I’m not your boss right now, Tony.”
“What?” Tony’s temper started to flare up. “Boss, you can’t quit again! We can’t get through this case without you! Gibbs��"”
“Relax, DiNozzo. I’m not quitting. And for the last time, I didn’t quit before! I retired!”
“Then why aren’t you my boss?” Tony was genuinely confused.
“Last year I got to see how well you can lead a team. I was surprised, and proud. I’ve got no idea where to start looking for Eli David, or his hit men. Here in LA, there’s no boat for me to work on to help me come up with an answer. Maybe a fresh set of eyes would help. If you were in charge of this case, what would you do?”
“Wow, Gibbs. This is the second time today you’ve asked for my opinion. You feeling okay?”
“Don’t get used to it. And no, I’m not. Making the decision between dead sailors and losing an agent does that to a person. Now answer the question!”
“Well…” There was no way Tony was going to tell Gibbs that when he got really stuck, he’d sneak down to the evidence garage to ask Palmer’s opinion. Absolutely no way. “I’d hold a campfire.” Before Gibbs could respond, however, he added, “I know you don’t like them, but they work.”
“I know; I’ve seen it. Help Abby finish up whatever she’s working on, then I want you both upstairs. I’ll get everyone ready.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes. Ziva has every right to know. She won’t pass the information on to her father; even if she wanted to we wouldn’t let her. Now move it!”
“I thought you weren’t my boss.”
“I changed my mind. You can be in charge of the campfire, but I’m in charge of you.”
“Got it, Boss.”
“Abs,” Tony said, more to himself than to her, “Gibbs just said something about Eli David using hit men. What if this is like the Rivkin thing last year? Wait… It can’t be, can it? She likes Werth. Stupid, steroid-popping, nose breaking…”
“Tony…” Abby said warningly.
“You’re right, Abs. I guess it’s better than a trained killer hired by your father to keep killing until you leave the people who care about you. Especially when the last time you tried staying with him he sent you on a suicide mission, where you almost died in the Sahara until the people you chose to leave came and rescued you��"”
“Tony! Stop ranting! You’ve had your share of messed up girlfriends, too. Remember the one that was actually a man? Not to mention this one,” she muttered under her breath.
Tony glared at her. “I heard that, Abs.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Come on, I’m done. Which means Gibbs knows I’m done. Which means that if we don’t get upstairs soon, he will personally come and get us.”
“You go ahead. I just remembered something Gibbs told me to do.”
“Okay…but don’t touch the evidence!”
“I won’t, Abs. I’ve seen what you do to people that do.”
When Abby was out of sight, he pulled out his phone.
“Hey, Jeanne.”
“Tony?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m going back to Washington.”
“Now?”
“No, first thing tomorrow.”
“Oh. Do you have time for coffee before you leave?”
Tony laughed sadly. “I don’t even have time for this phone call. I’m really��"”
“I’ll come with you,” she blurted.
“What?”
“Give me some time to pack, and I can buy a plane ticket and a hotel room.”
“Jeanne…I appreciate that, I really do. But I won’t have any free time for a while. It’d be a waste of your time, and your money.”
“Don’t worry about that. If Anthony DiNozzo is anything like Tony DiNardo, he’s worth it. Besides, I miss DC. I haven’t been able to fit in out here. Believe it or not, I was even starting to look for an apartment.”
“All right, but like I said, I’m going to be really busy. I have to go now. See ya, Jeanne.”
“Bye, Tony.”
Los Angeles��"OSP Headquarters
Ignoring the curious stares (except for Gibbs’, which was angry, as usual), Tony got straight to business.
“Campfire,” he said simply.
McGee, Gibbs, and Ziva immediately gathered around him, out of habit.
“Excuse me, what?” Kensi asked on behalf of the entire LA team.
“It’s a campfire. We gather around and throw out ideas. It’s how Tony solves cases,” McGee answered.
“Is he in charge now?” Callen asked Gibbs.
“Nah, but campfires are his thing; I don’t want to take away from that.” He then turned his Gibbs-glare on his team as they shared knowing chuckles and grins. Even Ziva’s mouth twitched upward.
“Right, Boss,” Tony said, grinning, fueled by the team’s smiles. “It has nothing to do with the fact that ordinarily you hate campfires…Actually, you just hate talking in general.”
Luckily for Tony, Gibbs had also seen Ziva’s flicker of a smile. Instead of smacking Tony, he just grinned along with everyone else.
Tony, not wanting anyone to think they could get off as easy if they were to pick on his boss, smacked himself in the head. “On it, Boss!”
Then his expression changed into a more serious one. “Okay, so what do we know?”
“We know that we won’t be able to access phone records for the leader of a foreign agency,” Eric grumbled.
Tony and Gibbs both turned to him, Tony doing his best impression of the Gibbs-glare, and Gibbs giving him the real thing.
“Let me rephrase the question: What do we got?” Tony growled.
“We’ve got a pretty good idea who did it,” McGee pointed out. Immediately he regretted it as every terrace of a smile was erased from Ziva’s face. “Never mind…” he muttered.
“Gibbs, why am I here?” Ziva asked sharply.
“Three reasons: You know the suspect and how he works; I need all of my agents here, not babysitting you; and,” he finished with one of his rare smiles, “because I said so.”
She sighed, not liking any of his reasons.
“Hey, Probie!” Tony exclaimed, suddenly excited.
“What, Tony?” McGee wasn’t sure whether to be curious or annoyed.
“Do you remember what you said before we went to rescue Ziva in Africa?”
“Tony, I told you, I was joking about the leather pants.”
Abby looked up. “Ooh, who’s wearing leather pants?”
“I was seeing if he was listening. He wasn’t.”
“What are you talking about?” Tony asked. “I was talking about when we were down in Abby’s lab, and you said something that made…What was her name...? Anyway, it made that new agent quit.”
“Becky?” Abby asked.
“Yes! It was Becky! Do you remember, McProbius?”
“…I think so…” McGee was starting to look excited. Abby was trying to remember exactly what was said, and everyone else was just confused.
McGee, Tony, and Abby were talking about the lack of information regarding Ziva’s disappearance.
“And no one’s telling us anything. So we have two options,” Abby said.
“And they’re both illegal,” Tony added.
“Hack into Mossad…” McGee began.
“Or hack into Vance,” Abby finished.
Tony grinned. “I know Option Two is out of the question, but what about Option Number One? Could you do it?”
“Definitely.”
Gibbs finally lost his patience. He smacked them simultaneously. “DiNozzo! McGee! Do I need to remind you that the rest of us have no idea what you’re talking about?”
“They’re going to hack Mossad,” Abby said admiringly.
“Forgetting about the legal issues, of course, are you sure you could do it?” Hetty asked.
“I believe in McGee,” Gibbs said simply, but forcefully. “Now what was that other option?”
“Uh, I’ll tell you when I don’t have the feeling that Big Brother is watching us,” Tony said, glancing suggestively at the screen behind him.
“Well, I for one am exhausted. It’s been a long day, and we have a plane to catch in the morning. I suggest we all try to get some sleep,” Hetty said.
“Hetty’s right. The hit man��"or men��"are in DC, waiting for Ziva. I think my team can keep things under control tonight at the hotel,” Gibbs addressed the LA team. To Tony and McGee, he said, “I’ll take the first shift. You two look like you could use a couple hours’ sleep.”
“And what about you, Boss?” Tony asked, concerned.
“I’ll get some coffee. Now let’s go.”
Los Angeles"Hotel
Ziva was sound asleep when Tony and McGee came to relieve Gibbs.
“If anything happens, call me,” he ordered.
“Will do. G’night Boss.”
McGee had brought his laptop, and Tony was playing solitaire with a deck of cards. After a few minutes, Ziva’s snoring broke the silence. Tony grinned. It brought back memories of their first undercover mission. They had been married assassins. One morning he’d suggested that she see a doctor. When she asked him why, he’d said, “Because you snore like a drunken sailor with emphysema!” He chuckled at the memory.
“God,” McGee said. “Should we wake her up?”
Tony chuckled again. “I wouldn’t. She sleeps with a gun under her pillow. But be my guest…”
McGee shook his head and went back to whatever he was doing on his computer. After a minute of looking like he was debating with himself, he stopped typing again. “Tony…Today, why did you"”
He groaned. “Does there have to be a reason?”
“With you, yes. Tony, you pick on me every day, but today you’re completely against it. I think ‘why’ is a reasonable question!”
“Tim, I’m your friend. It’s funny when I pick on you,” he began.
“Hilarious,” McGee muttered sarcastically.
Ignoring this, he continued, “But Beal is your enemy. He’s trying to make you look bad.”
“And just how is that different from what you do?”
“I make you look bad in front of everybody, as a joke. Beal makes you look bad in front of Abby, for a purpose. Ant it needs to stop,” he said, growing serious. “Right now, we need to focus all our resources on protecting Ziva. Sorry if I seem insensitive, but this is about her, not Abby. You and Beal need to get over your differences and help us stop this dirtbag before it’s too late.”
“What do you want me to do, Tony? Call a truce?”
“Whatever it takes.” Tony’s hard expression softened again, and he lowered his voice. “McGee, in Somalia"and you might have been asleep at this point"I told Ziva that I couldn’t live without her. That’s the truth. I don’t know what I’ll do if she goes back to Israel.”
“What about Jeanne?”
“It’s complicated,” he said, closing the conversation.
The rest of the shift was spent in silence.
Back in DC... by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
some more stuff about eric/abby/mcgee. lots of references to the past, including Kate. Read it, I promise it's good!
The flight to DC was uneventful. McGee won the seat next to Abby, but had the good sense not to gloat. He still had to endure Eric’s furious glares for the duration of the plane ride.
Washington DC"Bullpen
The two teams were only in the building long enough to throw their bags onto the desks before Gibbs yelled, “Gear up!”
“Um…Gibbs?” Ziva didn’t know where to go.
He turned to face her and sighed. “Callen! Hanna! You’re staying here,” he barked. “Everyone else, with me.”
Ziva sighed and sank into her chair. She had been so excited to become an agent and here she was, back on deskwork. She smiled weakly at Tony’s sympathetic grin and wink.
Tony, McGee, Kensi, Dom, and Nate had gone with Gibbs. Ziva hadn’t missed McGee’s disappointed expression when he realized he wouldn’t be around to keep an eye on Eric. Abby had taken him down to her lab to show it off. Ducky was downstairs getting Palmer so the two of them could collect the body. Left in the bullpen were Hetty, Ziva, Callen, and Sam.
After a few minutes of silence, aside from the typing from her computer and the surrounding bullpens, Ziva looked up, sure she was alone. She was shocked to find that all three were still in the bullpen, each working at a desk: Hetty at Gibbs’, Callen at Tony’s, and Sam at McGee’s.
Hetty looked up. “Is everything all right, Miss David?”
“Yes…no…it is very quiet.”
“Well, of course it’s quiet! There’s a lot of work to be done!”
Ziva noticed Callen and Sam’s exchanged smirks. “Really? That is not the case with our team, specifically Tony.”
“What do you mean?” Hetty asked.
“And what are these for?” Callen had found Tony’s stash of paper balls. He tossed one at Sam, hitting him in the head.
Ziva grinned. “That is what I am talking about, and that is what they are used for.”
“I see,” Hetty said, turning back to her work as if she didn’t see the full-blown war directly across the bullpen from her.
Ziva smiled. It was nice to have some normalcy in her life at the moment.
Washington, DC"Labby
“Babies, I’m home!” Abby exclaimed upon entering her lab. She ran around the lab, turning on her machines. Her last stop was her stereo, wher she blasted her favorite music.
“What do you think?” she asked Eric, gesturing to her lab.
“Uh…” he was overwhelmed. “It’s…loud,” he said finally. “And…is that a hippo?”
“Yeah. That’s Bert.”
“That’s Bert?” Bert had appeared in quite a few of Abby’s e-mails, but Eric had assumed that he was her lab assistant. So all those times he’d asked how Bert was… The expression about assuming was right. His face reddened.
“Well, of course, that’s Bert. Who else would he be?”
Eric made the decision not to answer that.
“Oh! Excuse me,” Abby said as her phone began to ring. She walked into her office.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Abby.” McGee was relieved that she actually picked up her phone.
“Hi, Tim!”
“We should probably be done here by lunchtime,” he told her.
“Great! Then I’ll run some preliminary tests and we can go out!”
McGee sighed in relief. She was going to lunch with him, not Eric! “Sounds great, Abs. Oh, I have to go. Gibbs caught me.”
Abby laughed. “Bye, Timmy.”
“Bye, Abby.”
Walking back into her lab, she said nonchalantly, “Hey, Eric, what are you doing for lunch?”
Washington DC"Crime Scene #7
“Petty Officer Charles Castor, two shots to the chest,” Kensi concluded from her position kneeling beside the body.
“Yes, thank you, Agent Blye. I can take it from here,” Ducky said, somewhat shortly.
“Sorry, Doctor Mallard,” she mumbled, straightening up.
He sighed, both because she was doing his job and because of her refusal to call him Ducky. “Mr. Palmer, get the gurney. We haven’t got all day.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“What are you McGrinning about, Probie?” Tony asked. McGee had just walked back into the room after his phone call.
“I just got some good news,” McGee answered smugly.
“Let me guess: new McNovel news or Abby-lunch news?”
“Tony, I wish you’d stop calling it that!”
“So, does that mean that it is about the novel then, Mr. Gemcity?” Kensi asked as she walked into the room. Tony and McGee just stared at her. “What? None of us can wait for the sequel.”
Tony recovered quicker than McGee. “Okay. Probie, answer the question.”
When he looked pointedly at Kensi, she rolled her eyes. “You could be blind and still see what’s going on between you and Abby and Eric. But if you need me to leave the room and pretend I don’t know…”
McGee sighed. “ Fine.” His smug grin returned. “Abby and I are going out to lunch today.”
Tony shot a look at McGee. Had he already forgotten the conversation they’d had in the hotel room that night? He’d explicitly told him to cool it with Abby. “Are you getting a little forgetful, McMemory?”
“Tony, she asked me, I swear.”
“Either way, remember what I said.”
*Back in the room with the body*
Ducky was just concluding one of his infamous stories, and Dom was hanging on his every word.
“Yes, my boy, things certainly have changed since my first year as a medical examiner.”
“That’s so cool! I love history!” Then, realizing what he was implying, he hastened to say, “Wait, I didn’t mean"”
Ducky laughed. “That’s quite all right, Dominic.”
“You two done swapping stories? If you are, I want you to go back to base, Duck. Vaile, I need you bagging and tagging! I’ve got an agent in danger, and your BS isn’t going to help anything!” Gibbs turned and stormed out of the room.
Tony and McGee looked at each other as Gibbs slammed the door.
“It’s worse than Ari,” Tony stated.
“Who’s Ari?” Kensi asked.
Ignoring her, McGee pointed out, “He’s known Ziva longer than he knew Kate. You’re working harder than you did then, too.”
“Who’s Kate?” Kensi was beginning to get annoyed.
“She was"” McGee started to explain, but was cut off by Tony’s angry outburst.
“McGee! Are you saying I like Ziva more than Kate?”
“No! Tony, that’s not what I said.”
“Good! Because Kate was one of the best agents to ever come through NCIS! She might even have been better than me if she’d lived longer!”
“I know, Tony, I know. I was just saying"”
“What are you saying, Probie?”
“I think he’s trying to say that after what happened with your Kate"” Kensi decided to butt in. She was tired of being ignored.
“She wasn’t my Kate,” Tony said defensively. And a little too quickly, Kensi noticed.
It was her turn to pretend he hadn’t spoken. “"this time you’re expecting to lose another agent. To make sure this doesn’t happen, of course you’re working harder this time around.”
Dom walked in and smirked. “Someone’s been spending too much time with Nate.”
Kensi shot him a glare so fierce it wiped the smirk right off his face.
“There, Tony,” McGee teased. “You don’t really care about Ziva, just yourself, as usual. You’re just being selfish.”
Tony glared at him and stalked from the room.
McGee winced. He knew exactly what he’d said wrong, and he knew that it would take a lot of work on his part to get Tony to forgive him.
“I’m going back to base, Boss,” Tony informed Gibbs.
“You’re taking a detour.”
“Where am I going?”
“You and Agent Blye,” Gibbs corrected, “are going to check out a crash.”
“Why?” Tony was confused.
“Do you need a reason, DiNozzo?”
“No, Boss… It’s just that car accidents usually don’t warrant a call from NCIS.”
“Fatal hit and run. Witnesses say we’re looking for a dark car. And Eric caught him running the next red light.”
“That still doesn’t explain"”
Gibbs was growing impatient. “Male, middle-Eastern driver. Rental car.”
Tony quickly realized what Gibbs was implying. “So you’re saying that the guy who did this is a Middle-Eastern man with violent tendencies, from out of town, driving a dark car. Court’s going to say it’s ‘circumstantial,’ but I believe in your gut. I’m on it.”
Then he hollered, “Kensi!” When she appeared in the doorway a minute later, he simply said, “With me,” and turned around to walk out the door. She hurried to keep up with him.
End Notes:
You may notice that my sense of time is off. You know I can't apologize, but know that the thought is there. I just want to write a good story, which I can't do if I'm being realistic about things like time!
Crash and Burn by stamper55555
Author's Notes:
Crime Scene #8 has a twist... and for those of you who arent as obsessed as I am, Tony tells Kensi about important events the team has gone through. So, some spoilers, if you're not completely caught up.
Washington DC"Crime Scene #8?
Pulling up to the crash and seeing the flashing lights, Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. It would be hard to get them to turn anything over to them. They would claim"as he had suggested the courts would"that their reasons were circumstantial.
“What’s wrong?” Kensi asked.
“Metro PD,” Tony answered, as if that should have been enough explanation. It wasn’t.
“So?”
“They’re local LEO’s. They’ll say we’re just trying to steal their glory, and they won’t give us anything,” he said as they got out of the car.
Approaching the first officer he came to, Tony flashed his badge. “Special Agents DiNozzo and Blye, NCIS.” Seeing the fearful look in his eye, he sighed again. Probie, he thought. “Can I speak with the officer in charge?”
Another police officer walked over and cleared his throat. “That would be me. Officer Quinn Thornby. This is Simon Cory. My partner is over by the car. Randy!” he shouted. The police officer turned around and waved. “Why are you here?”
Tony blinked. This guy wasn’t one to mince words. “As I was telling Officer Cory, I’m Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and this is Special Agent Kensi Blye. My boss sent me here because we have reason to believe that a serial killer is behind this crash.”
“Do you have any proof?”
“He matches the description.”
“How do you know that? We’re not through with our witnesses yet!”
“One of our guys back at base caught him saying ‘cheese’ as he ran the next red
light.”
“And you’re sure he’s the guy from your sketch?” One of the worst things about being a cop in DC is there’s always a fed claiming they’ve got jurisdiction on the interesting cases. And how.
“Yes,” Tony said confidently, though they didn’t have a sketch to match. Which Kensi was all too eager to point out.
“Tony, we don’t have a sketch. He matches the profile.”
“Which is…?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” Tony said with his trademark anger-fueled sarcasm. “Israeli Mossad assassin trying to kidnap his director’s daughter on his director’s orders, because she made it clear that she wants nothing to do with him anymore"”
“Tony!” Kensi forcefully interrupted his rant. “Anyway, Officer Thornby, if we could just take a look around…”
Tony was taking pictures of the car when Kensi approached him.
“You know, Tony, it’s none of my business, but I don’t think it’s right, what you’re doing to Dr. Benoit.”
He turned to face her. “You’re right, it isn’t any of your business, but I’ll bite. What are you talking about?”
“Well, you can call it woman’s intuition, or blame it on my job as an investigator, but I think we both know how you feel about Agent David.” Ignoring his rapidly changing expressions, from surprise to embarrassment to anger, to a mix of all three, she continued, “Hear me out. I suspected before, but it really shows now that she’s in danger.” When the anger won out again, she said, “I’m sorry. I just felt bad for Dr. Benoit, and I know no one on your team has the courage to face you, even if they know, which the guys on my team definitely do not. And trust me on this one, you do not want a lecture from Hetty. So, now that that’s over with, I don’t understand any of the references your team is making. Who’s Kate, and what happened in Somalia?”
He looked at her for a moment, then sighed and said, “I’ll just tell you about the important stuff that’s happened to the team over the years, starting with Kate. We met about seven years ago, on Air Force One. She was Secret Service. A naval commander was poisoned during his lunch with the president, so we flew out to Wichita, Kansas to take care of the body. There was a huge jurisdiction battle between NCIS, Secret Service, and the FBI, but we won out; don’t ask how. But Kate refused to leave the plane.
“At the end of the case she was forced to resign, because she had been dating one of her co-workers. Gibbs told her there was a job for her at NCIS, and she took it.
“Two years later, she was shot in the head by Gibbs’ nemesis, Ari Haswari. Gibbs
thinks it’s his fault. He still hasn’t forgiven himself.
“Kate was a great agent, and when I got the black plague"again, don’t ask how"she stayed with me in quarantine even after she found out she didn’t have it.”
“Wow, she sounds like a great friend. I’m so sorry…”
“Yeah, it was tough. The director retired right after that. That’s when the real change came. Female director, new Mossad liaison officer position, new face in the bullpen.” He chuckled. “I dare you to ask Abby what she thought about Ziva’s replacing Kate.”
“A year or two after that, Gibbs was in an explosion and put into a coma. He retired to Mexico after he got his memory back. Ziva got into some trouble, and he came back to save her. I don’t think he’s taken a day off since.
“You may have noticed that we don’t like Director Vance. Let me help you to
understand. Director Sheppard died on Ziva’s and my watch. Then he comes in, and the first thing he does is separates us. McGee goes down to the basement to work in cyber crimes, Ziva goes back to Israel, and I’m sent onto a boat somewhere. Then he doesn’t want to waste the resources to rescue Ziva from being tortured in Somalia. That was all us. McGee and I were actually in the middle of it, being tortured with her, until Gibbs shot him and we got out.”
Before she could respond, he took a deep breath. “Let’s go take a look at the body.”
He pulled down the sheet, and suddenly his entire body tensed. He hurriedly covered the woman’s face again before Kensi could see anything more than she was a brunette.
She watched as he took out his cell phone and walked towards the car, running his hand through his hair over and over. No, she thought. She pulled down the sheet again, hoping she was wrong…
But she wasn’t. Lying there was Dr. Jeanne Benoit.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.