Tony had lost count of the number of door bells he had rung. The number of people he had stopped to talk to and the number of 'jogger people' he had tried to catch up with. He walked up to the next house and rang the doorbell.

The door opened seconds later to reveal a man maybe a year or two younger than him, by the name of Terry Wallace. Tony extended his hand. "Hi, Hello My name is Anthony. I am looking around the neighborhood."

"Look, ah...." Terry started, cutting Tony off and appearing agitated.

"Anthony...Tony actually." Tony said. "I realize I may be catching you at a bad time. But please...it will only take a...."

Just then a loud thud resounded from inside the house. To Tony, in his experience, it sounded just like a body hitting the floor.

Terry turned back and looked behind him, an expression of fear on his face. Tony took this opportunity to whisper into his microphone his need for backup.

Tony stepped forward. His hand reached, automatically for his gun. But he withdrew his hand quickly. He didn't want to rattle Terry any further. "Look, I work in security. I would be glad to look around the place for you." Tony volunteered.

Terry shook his head vigorously. "That is not necessary." He cast another weary glance over his shoulder. "My daughter. She's home. She probably fell. She practices gymnastics in her room sometimes."

Tony nodded his head, but he wasn't buying it. He pushed his way into the house. Seconds later Tony was on the floor a knife was buried, to its hilt, in his chest.

Tony groaned and tried to move. "Ziva, Tim where the hell are you?" He then passed out.

"Who the hell is he talking too?" By this time, Terry had been joined by two other men, George and Chris, and a woman, Beverly. Beverly asked the question as she bent down and ripped Tony's shirt open, having seen his microphone.

"He's wired!" Chris said, mortified at the possible implications.

The last man, George, was older, gray-haired. He was the leader, it seemed, of this little faction of the larger group stated. "He's a fed."

The other three looked at him, shocked. "How do you...?"

At just that moment, Terry immediately bent down and ripped the device off Tony's body and threw it to the floor, stomping it into tiny pieces. He then found Tony's ID and handed it to George.

"NCIS." George stated, nodding.

"What is that?" Beverly asked.

"Navy Cops! Get him the hell out of here! Take him out the back gate. Take him into the woods. Take Ms. Fisher with you." George sighed. "I hadn't planned on having to get rid of two bodies today."

"He's still alive." Bevely said.

"Well, he won't be for long." George said looking down at Tony as he handed Terry a handkerchief. "Here, take and clean your fingerprints off the knife."

The jarring of the knife in his wound caused Tony to moan and groan and open his eyes. He grabbed Terry's arm, leaving his blood on Terry's jacket just as Terry was finishing cleaning the knife. Terry then used the handkerchief to pick up the pieces of the microphone. He folded the handkerchief and the pieces and put it in his pocket to dispose of later.

Tony spoke Ziva's and Tim's names again, not realizing the microphone had been ripped off his chest and destroyed.

Tony heard noise at his left and he looked over just in time to see Chris and Beverly carry out an odd shaped carpet. He was not conscious during their conversation and did not realize that this carpet, in fact, contained Ms. Fisher.

Tony was losing consciousness again, but he heard part of conversations. "She was too nosy for her own good, Bev.... Bring the rug back.... Don't want to clean up blood.... Put him deeper in the woods."


Tim looked at his watch. The hour had passed quickly. "Ziva!" Tim said, getting Ziva's attention. "Shouldn't Tony be back by now?"

Ziva then looked at her watch. She nodded. "Long ago."

Ziva and Tim realized at the same time, to their horror, something really could have happened to Tony. They checked the recording device they had previously turned off, rewinding it and then hitting play. They didn't have to listen long. They hear Tony's conversation with Terry. They heard his call for back up. They then heard the sickening sound of Tony being stabbed. They heard him fall to the ground and then his final plea for help to them before the device was destroyed.

Tim and Ziva stared at each other in horror. "Tony said Terry, McGee, see how many Terry's live in this housing development with at least one daughter."

Tim's hands flew over the keyboard and they had their answer seconds later. "There are two." tim said. "At 425 and 612 both on Howard Avenue."

Ziva and Tim jumped out of the car. They found Howard Avenue quickly and easily. The development had its own street system. And thankfully, they had picked up a map at the information center when they had first entered the development.

Ziva and Tim moved quickly and quietly around one of the houses on the end of the street. They both knew the development was surrounded by woods. Ziva and Tim felt compelled to check there first before checking out either home. They found Tony laying 50 feet from the back of a neighboring yard. He was lying on his back. The knife had been removed and he was bleeding steadily. Blood pooling under his body. Ziva bent down beside him. She stroked his cheek, but got no response. She then pulled his shirt back off his wound. She took off her jacket and folded it. She still didn't get a response when she shifted her weight to press her jacket against the wound.

Tim called 9-1-1 and then called Gibbs and reported Tony's injury.

Gibbs was completely confused and started firing questions at Tim. How did Tony get stabbed? How did Tony end up in the woods? How had they escape uninjured?

Tim admitted his and Ziva's mistake and Gibbs told them he would deal with them at the hospital when he saw them. He told them that they had better pray that Tony survived this. Tim and Ziva sat in the waiting room outside surgery. They had seen nurses and doctors pass them. They had seen Gibbs pass by once and just glare at them. Neither had ever seen Gibbs so angry.

Gibbs returned to waiting room several minutes later. He was so mad he couldn't see straight and he had wanted to calm down, at least a little.

"I need to get this straight." Gibbs said, pacing the floor in front of where they were seated. "You turned the radio off, WHY?"

"Tired of listening to Tony talk." Tim answered just barely above a whisper and looking at the floor afraid he would see the murder in Gibbs's eyes that he very clearly heard in his voice.

Gibbs stopped pacing. He stood directly in front of McGee. "Speak up, I didn't hear you!"

"We got tired of listening to Tony." Ziva pitched in. She was louder, but her gaze also never left the floor.
Gibbs began to pace again. Anger coming off him in waves. "GET OUT!"

They both looked up shocked to see Gibbs pointing towards the door.

"And I don't mean just out of this room. I mean out of THIS hospital. You are not to see or speak to Tony until AFTER I have spoken to him! That is, if he survives this! The director is waiting for you at NCIS!" Gibbs said after he had stepped back and Ziva and Tim stood. "I told him I didn't give a damn what he did to you! GO!" Gibbs said, pointing again. "NOW! GET OUT!"

By this time Gibbs was visibly shaking with rage. He leaned back against one of the waiting room walls and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. He opened his eyes again when he felt someone near him. Abby and Ducky stood there looking at Gibbs. They both knew him well enough to know he was angry, but neither could ever remember having seen him this angry. They approached with caution.

"Duck...those two." Gibbs started, shaking his head.

Ducky nodded. "I know." Ducky had been floored when Gibbs had called and told him what had happened to Tony. He considered himself a good judge of character and was shocked he had had it so wrong.

"How is the lad?" Ducky asked.

"Still in surgery." Gibbs sighed. He sat down and Ducky and Abby joined him. "The knife penetrated his lung. They are not sure if this scaring will cause Tony more problems." Gibbs wiped his eyes. "They, too, said he had lost so much blood...."

Abby, who had been crying before, started crying harder. She put her arms around Gibbs and hugged him tightly. "How could they do that to him? How could they hurt Tony like that? They are supposed to be his friends."

"He will be OK, Abby." Gibbs said, comforting her.

"Our Anthony has nine lives, Jethro." Ducky stated.

"I know, Duck, but how many has he used up? I've lost count." Gibbs asked, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.



Vance paced the floor behind his desk. Gibbs' call had shocked him. He had had to time to take time to process what he had been told. And even now, with the two offenders in front of him, he was still stunned.

"I cannot even begin to tell you what a HUGE procedure violation you two have committed. Such a grievous violation should result in immediate dismissal. Not to mention the disrespect to your Senior Field Agent. I may not approve of Agent DiNozzo's methods, but I do approve of his results. He is a great agent. He must be for Gibbs to have kept him around for so long. At any rate, Gibbs has given me sole discretion in this matter. He has just asked to be informed of my decision." Vance stopped pacing and stood still. "Perhaps to your advantage, you two have skills much needed in NCIS. Agent McGee, your computer skills are invaluable and second to none. Agent David, your knowledge of Mossad gives our agency an important, distinct advantage in terms of our relationship with Middle Eastern countries." Vance paused again, crossing his arms behind his back. "I, however, need to decide if your skills are enough to keep you around. While I am deciding that, however, you two are on suspension, effective immediately. You will hand in your gun, your badge and your security pass. I ask you now to clear your desks in case your employment is eventually terminated."

Ziva and Tim followed Vance down stairs in a daze. A box had been placed on each of their desks and they slowly began to clean out their possessions. "The guards will escort you out of the building." Vance pointed to the two uniformed guards standing by the elevator as he turned and headed back upstairs to his office.

They both surrendered their weapons, their badges and their passes to these men. They were escorted to the parking garage and then to their cars.


Nearly two months later Ziva and Tim walked out of the elevator to be greeted by a huge surprise. Tony was there, seated at his desk. Much to Tim's and Ziva's surprise, they had not been fired. Vance and Gibbs had both discussed the matter in depth with Tony. Tony, too, had realized the value of Tim's and Ziva's individual skills to NCIS. Gibbs had then conceded the point. During the two months Tony had been gone Gibbs', Tim's, and Ziva relationships had been tenuous at best.

In the first few days after Tony had been hurt, Gibbs had been a bear to deal with. Tony was not awake yet. Gibbs left the hospital only rarely to give Vance updates and to check in with Ducky and Abby. He warned Ziva and Tim NOT to come to the hospital. Other than that he had not really spoken to either of them at great length. Days progressed and Tony woke up, Gibbs relaxed. He still had little to say to Ziva and Tim, giving them only basic information when they inquired about Tony's condition. But his mood was much improved.

Now Tony was back and still things were not quite right. Ziva and Tim entered the bullpen and immediately felt the tension. They had not addressed the issue of turning off the radio with Tony. They knew he would be angry. They knew he could be a little hurt by their reasons.

"Tony." Ziva and Tim said in unison, happy to see their friend.

"Agent David. Agent McGee." Tony said. The response was not icy. But it was certainly cool.

"We didn't mean...." McGee started.

"You didn't mean what?" Tony demanded. He had been waiting a long time to have this particular conversation. "You didn't mean for this to happen, or you didn't mean to turn the radio off. What! Did it turn itself off?"

"It was supposed to be a joke." Ziva said quietly.

"A joke, huh. Well, Agent David tell me this!" Tony demanded, rather loudly. "Which was funnier? The part where I got stabbed!" Tony said, standing up. "Or the part where I got dumped in the woods to die!" Tony made no effort to control his anger. "Because I think they're both freakin' hilarious." Tony said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, Tony." McGee said. "I truly am."

"I am sorry also, Tony." Ziva echoed.

"Yeah, well. I'm sorry, too." Tony said stepping out from behind his desk. He walked over to Gibbs's desk. He took out his gun and laid it on Gibb's desk, followed by his badge. "I'm sorry I put my trust two people who were obviously so unworthy of it." Tony said, turning around to face them. "I guess you'll both get your wish. You will never had to listen to my voice again."

Tony left the bullpen and started towards the elevator.

"DiNozzo!?" Gibbs said in shock. He had not expected this. He got up and followed Tony to the elevator and managed to slip in just as the doors closed.

Ziva and Tim just stood, looking at each other.

THE END


What happens next?
I will leave that up to the reader's imagination.

Gibbs slid in between the two doors just as they closed. He flipped the switch. The elevator stopped and the emergency lights came on.

Tony just looked at him for a second before he turned to the wall behind him and slammed both his fists against it as hard as he could. The walls of the elevator shook.

“WHERE? On WHAT planet would that be considered a joke?” Tony asked, turning to Gibbs the hurt and anger evident in his voice.

Gibbs shook his head, unsure what to say. He was as shocked by Tim’s and Ziva’a statements as Tony was.

Tony stood with his arms crossed over his chest for a few moments trying to calm down before he finally spoke. “Just so you know if you keep Mr. Motherboard and Ms. Mossad out there, you will be looking for another Senior Field Agent.”

“What makes you think…?” Gibbs started.

“I know Vance asked you for your opinion, your input.” Tony explained.

“I only need one agent on my team, so your resignation is NOT accepted.”

“Morrow didn’t like having a two-man team, what makes you think Vance will.”

Gibbs smiled. “At this point Tony, I don’t give a damn what Vance wants. I am more concerned about keeping my team, you, intact.”

Tony returned the smile. “I see we’re Batman and Robin.” Tony paused. “You just want to wear a cape.” Tony paused again. “What is that, some sort of unfulfilled childhood-hero-worship thingie?”

That earned Tony a head slap.

“Shutting up, Boss. Tony said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Your resignation is NOT accepted and I am going up to see Vance.” Gibbs flipped the switch and started out the door. “Do not leave the building.” Gibbs ordered and then exited the elevator.

Tony and Gibbs parted ways. Tony went down to the gym. He was glad to have the place to himself. He went into the locker room and changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He took the time to tape his hands before starting his workout. He began working on the punching bag.

Tony had been working out for about 30 minutes when Tim showed up. He stood watching Tony for a few minutes before either spoke.

“What do you want, Tim?” Tony asked, still punching away at the bag.

Tim knew Tony was serious. He rarely ever called Tim. “I…I just…I’m sorry.” Tim said finally.

Tony turned and looked at him. “Sorry!” He paused, fuming. “I could have died! You could have been dressing all in black and going to my funeral right now! Would sorry be enough then?” Tony paused again. “Would Gibbs accept that from you? Would Abby?”

McGee shook his head and Tony went back to his workout. Nobody spoke again for a few minutes.

“I…”

“My friends wouldn’t treat me like that, Tim. Plus you have a professional obligation to me. What did I do to you to make you hate me so much?”

“I…I don’t hate you. I….” Tim started.

“You could just do my job better than me. You’re such as hell smarter, at least YOU think so.” Tony said, turning to look at him.

Tim stared at Tony, surprised.

“You think I don’t catch all the little slights you make about my education. You think I don’t catch all the references you make about your vastly superior education.” Tony said, emphasizing the last three words of the sentence. He then paused. “Just because I didn’t say anything doesn’t mean I didn’t catch it. I did. I caught them all.”

Tim still stared, processing what Tony was saying.

“Maybe you should take a little time, Timothy…” Tony said, snidely. “…and read the requirements for my position.” Tony said still hurt and angry. “Never mind that, I’ll tell you, Masters or equivalent. I have a masters degree.”

“A masters degree?” Tim was having trouble believing his ears. “I’ve seen the Ohio State Alumni….”

“It’s not from Ohio State.” Tony said. “And it’s not in Physical Education.” Tony added, just for clarity.

“Tony, I….”

“I called for backup three times, Tim, THREE TIMES! Your ‘little joke’ as you called it cost you a friendship, a job, and could have cost me my life. I hope it was worth it to you.” Tony paused. “There is nothing you can say that will help. We are no longer friends, if we ever were. And I don’t trust you.”

McGee attempted to speak, but nothing came out. He was devastated. He felt like the floor had dropped out from under him.

“Just so you know. I recommended you be terminated.” Tony admitted. “But, if you’re lucky, Director Vance will keep you and give you a one-way ticket to Cyberville.” Tony had written his recommendations that morning and had sent them up to the director. Vance hadn’t, as far as Tony knew, made an official decision yet.

Tim didn’t want to go to Cyber Crimes. He didn’t want to leave Team Gibbs. But, most of all, he hated what Tony had just said to him. Being told that they were no longer friends and that Tony no longer trusted him was just like a stab to the heart.

Tim stared at Tony’s back for a few moments after Tony turned his attention back to the punching bag. Tim then quietly left the room.




Tony finished his workout and quickly showered and dressed. Ziva was outside waiting for him.

“Agent David.” Tony replied, walking towards the elevator to go back to the bullpen.

“Tony, I….”

Tony turned to her. “Don’t tell me you’re sorry.”

Ziva opened her mouth to speak, and then she closed it.

“I know I’m a pain, sometimes. I know I can be hard to deal with, sometimes. I know I talk too much.” Tony said. “I know all that, but I didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

“I am truly sorry.”

“I don’t give a damn, Ziva. I just don’t care.” Tony turned and began to walk away..

Ziva reached out and touched his arm to stop him. “We were wrong. What we did was wrong.” Ziva admitted.

“They stabbed me as soon as I stepped foot in the house, Ziva. They found the microphone, ripped it off my chest and destroyed it. Luckily I was unconscious for that part. While that knife was still in my chest, one of the guys wiped it clean of his prints. That was when I came around again. They dumped me out like I was a piece of trash. They needed to dispose of the body. I was still alive, Ziva, and they knew it.” Tony stared at her. “I called for backup. I called three times.” Tony paused, his voice shaking. “I called you three times, Ziva. What you two did to me was absolutely inexcusable.”

Ziva could hear the pain and the hurt in Tony’s voice. She removed her hand from his arm. She wanted to say something, anything that would help. She wanted to put her arms around him, to comfort him. But she didn’t think he would allow her to do that. And she knew there was nothing she could say that would matter.

“I recommended to Vance that you be terminated. But I don’t think that will happen. I think you’ll be spared. Vance is not a stupid man. He’ll keep you and put you on an anti-terrorist- middle eastern-Mossad-Jihad thing. You’ll be fine.”

“I do not want to leave this team. I do not want to leave you.”

“The director makes the final decision.” Tony said, shaking his head.

“Tony….”

“I can’t trust you, Ziva. I just don’t trust you. I cannot work with people I don’t trust. This is not a job to take those kinds of risks in.”

“I would never….” Ziva started, a little surprised at how Tony’s words had wounded her.

“You turned off the radio.” Tony said. “I don’t know if you get what that means. You left me alone. I was a beat cop before this, Ziva. There is one simple rule in the cop word, ALWAYS have backup, always. You never know what you will encounter out there. You never know, for sure, how a situation will turn out. You ALWAYS have backup.”

Ziva didn’t know what to say.

“You or McGee might as well have taken the knife and stabbed me yourself.”

“That is not fair, Tony.” Ziva pleaded. “It was a quiet neighborhood. A quiet residential neighborhood, like something out of a Norman Rockefeller painting.

“It’s Normal Rockwell, and it doesn’t matter. You were my backup. You were supposed to be there. You weren’t. I called you three times. I could have died out there. I can’t forgive you for that. I don’t care how tired you were of hearing my voice, you don’t turn off the radio. That was my only communication with you.” Tony shook his head. “You don’t get it or you don’t care, maybe both. Just leave me alone.”

Tony turned to walk away again, and this time Ziva let him. She finally realized what he meant. She had not, in her Mossad training, learned to depend on others. It was a new concept to her. She had learned that working at NCIS meant depending on her fellow team mates. The concept of team mates was new to her also. On her Mossad missions, she was, of course, used to depending on herself. She had to. Most of the time she was the lone operative and the success of failure of said mission depended solely on her. She had had to have a chance of attitude and mindset when she joined NCIS. It took her a little time to realize and to believe people would be willing and would follow through with looking out for her. It was not that she didn’t think she was worthy, it was just that she was not used to operating in that fashion. She also found it surprising how quickly Tony had trusted her. He had, of course, waited for Gibbs, it had seemed to her, to give the ok. When Gibbs trusted her, Tony trusted her also.

Ziva had seen the pain in Tony’s eyes and realized, now, how deeply she had wounded him. She had never intended for that to happen. She wanted to go after him. To apologize, but she knew it wouldn’t help.



“Tony?” Tim said after running into Tony again, this time in the hallway on the 3rd floor.

Tony just shook his head and kept walking.

Tim reached out and grabbed his arm. “I am truly sorry for what I did to you. I realize I made a huge, horrible mistake.”

“I’m glad you realize your mistake, Timothy.” Tony turned to walk away shaking Tim’s hand off. “I truly am.”

McGee felt like he had been struck, the formality of it all. Tony never, ever called him Timothy. He rarely called him Tim. He watched Tony take a couple of steps before he spoke. “I didn’t realize you were so….”

“You didn’t realize I was so smart.” Tony said, finishing his sentence. “What? You would have not thrown your education up in my face every chance you got or you would have respected me?”

The words stung. But Tim recovered quickly. “I wanted to be YOUR Senior Field Agent, Tony, not Gibbs’, yours. I respect you, Tony. I…. ”

Tony shook his head. “No…no, you don’t.” Tony sighed. “I teased you, picked on you to try to toughen you up. To help you develop a thick skin to be able to do this job affectively.” Tony shook his head again. “I had no idea my method would have produced such resentment. That was truly an unwanted side-effect.”

Tim just stared for a moment, trying to process what Tony was saying. The pieces were starting to fall into place. He a smart guy, he was really pretty dense sometimes. “Tony, I…”

Tony turned and looked at him for a second before he spoke. “You don’t have to worry about Senior Field Agent. You will be Bossman in Cyberville. That’s a hell of a lot better than Senior Field Agent.”

McGee just stared at Tony, unable to speak.

“I cannot have people on my team who don’t respect me. I can’t make you respect me. There is no magic switch I can flip to make that happen.”

Tim stared to speak, but Tony stopped him. “I WON’T work with people I don’t trust, so if you were to become SFA. It would be of someone else’s team.”

“The Director’s made his decision?” Tim asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Later today, I have been invited to attend the meeting.” Tony said and then walked off.




Ziva met up again also with Tony. He started to walk away from her and she blocked his path.

“What can I do for you, Agent David?” Tony asked.

“Give me a chance to apologize.”

“I did.” Tony replied and tried to go around her again and again, she blocked his path. “Look, you make a lousy dance partner and I have better things to do.”

“Just listen to me, please.”

“I’ve made my recommendations….”

Ziva shook her head. “This is not about your recommendations. I will take whatever assignment/punishment I am given gladly.” Ziva said. “I just wanted to thank you.”

“OK.” Tony said. She had his attention.

“When you rescued me in the desert, I…I sounded ungrateful when we were first reunited. I was not. I was thrilled to see you and McGee. I just couldn’t see anyone risking their lives for me. It, as I have been taught, is better to think of the interests of the group, not the individual. The live of an individual is meaningless….”

“Not to that person. Not to his family, his friends.” Tony replied.

Ziva nodded. “Yes. I learned that from you. I had been told these things about Americans, about the value of the individual. I never really believed it. You risked your lives for me. I…I just could not understand. I…it took me time to sort it out, to come to terms with what it actually meant. I just…thank you.”




Tim and Ziva were called up to Director Vance’s office nearly an hour later.

The director invited Tim and Ziva to sit. He acknowledged Gibbs and Tony as they entered the room and took seats in the back.

“Agent Timothy McGee and Agent Ziva David…” The director said, addressing them both. “…I have read the incident report and I have read Agent DiNozzo’s recommendations and have heard Agent Gibbs’ input on the matter.” Vance paused. “This was not an easy decision to make, despite your grievous error in judgment and flagrant disregard of procedure and protocol. I have decided to reassign you both. Agent McGee, you will be in Cyber Crimes. Agent David, you are going to be part of a new anti-terrorist group here at NCIS. Assignment change effective immediately. You are also, however, on probation. You will be probationary agents for a period of one year, starting tomorrow. This will mean a cut in pay and a decrease in responsibility. You will be fired, effective immediately, if you receive a bad report of any kind during your probationary period. You will not be allowed to plead your case and you will never be employable by this agency again.” Vance paused again. “Do you understand?”

McGee and David nodded stiffly and were dismissed.

Tony and Gibbs smiled and left also.

THE END