Friday

Three weeks after Carly broke the ice and invited Gibbs out to dinner, the entire team once again found themselves at Salvatore's Restaurant. The best place for pizza and pasta closest to the office and run by a true Italian that liked to see people eat.

"Can you believe that guy? He actually thought he could get a lie past Gibbs." Agent Lee was laughing so hard she could barely speak.

"No, what was funny was the look on his girlfriends face when Ziva warned her if she hit her one more time, she wouldn't be conscious for long." McGee added.

All but Gibbs were laughing at the foolish man that had tried to run a scam for "charity" to benefit the Marines. Sure, Gibbs was smiling about it but he still found it hard to believe the scam had been going on for five months and no one had thought to check who or what was cashing their checks. The only reason they caught on when they did was a family member of a fellow Marine wanted to know why they weren't asking for donations. The MP's were notified and for some reason called in NCIS to look into it. They had been slow so the Director agreed to let her best investigators do all the work. Within two hours Abby and Carly had managed to track the witless Marine to his girlfriend's apartment. In the end, the girlfriend had been the one to suggest the plan. Their only saving grace, if you wanted to look at it that way, was the Marine had kept all the money in a bank account, so every victim received full compensation for their aggravation.

Carly stretched and looked down at her watch. "Wow. 10:30 already? It's been fun, but I have to go." She told everyone and threw down her money on the table.

Abby stood as well. "We'll see you guys in the morning." When they started to walk off Tony asked, "You two are going somewhere without us?" All he got in response was an amused look. "You two aren't together, together, are you?" He tried again.

At that, Carly had to laugh, a low, sensuous sound that turned the heads of several men in the restaurant. Placing her arm around Abby she questioned him, "Wouldn't you love it if we were?"

Other men in the restaurant were nodding and Tony looked shocked. Gibbs smiled at that one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

What Tony didn't know that Gibbs did, was that Abby and Carly were going to a party. The two women didn't even know he knew. The signs were all there: Abby had her hair down, Carly's was pulled back at the nape of her neck, Abby had her hooded coat and Carly had her plain black leather jacket. There was only one worry that Gibbs had and that was how much damage and heartache those two ladies would cause on a night out.

He was in his basement working on his boat when his phone rang. He grew concerned when the caller ID showed Abby's number.

"Gibbs."

"Gibbs, it's Abby." She said sounding fuzzy. "Carly and I are at this party and we can't find our car. Hey, I can tell him…."

"Gibbs, it's Carly. Sorry to bother you at home…."

"What's going on, Carly?" "Well Abby decided to mix her Red Bulls with vodka, don't ask me why I think there's a guy involved."

"There is not." Abby shouted at the phone.

"She's cute when she's drunk and indignant, Gibbs. Anyway, we drove my car and now it's gone. I thought Abby was calling the police, but I should have known she's call you first."

"Where are you?" Gibbs asked, already walking out the front door towards his car.

"That's the funny part." Carly started.

"Carly." Gibbs growled in warning.

"We're like two streets over from your house. Abby just told me this. We could walk over…."

"No. I can hear the noise from here; I'll be there in a minute. Go ahead and call the local PD so they can put out a report for your car."

"Sure thing, boss." Carly said and then realized he had hung up on her.

"Someone's gotta teach that boy phone etiquette." Carly said and dialed 911.

By the time the cop's arrived, the party had died down. Gibbs arrival put a damper on everyone's party mood. Abby had sobered up as she hadn't been too terribly bad to start with and was vowing never to drink alcohol again. Carly gave her statement to the police and Gibbs drove them home.

"Thankfully, I had my purse with me so they didn't get any of my ID's or credit cards." Carly was babbling, trying to keep from being nervous. Abby was safe at home, but she still had another ten minutes in the car alone with Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Once she realized she was babbling, she pressed her lips together.

Gibbs turned right at the traffic light and bit back a smile. Carly was nervous to be alone with him. "A 1967 Shelby GT500. What made you buy it?" He had to ask.

Carly rolled her eyes. "It looked good in the movies Gibbs." When he didn't respond, she added, "You know the remake of the 1970's movie where they boost cars."

"I've seen it." Gibbs informed her.

In surprise, Carly said, "Maybe you get out more than everyone thinks."

At that, he laughed out loud and Carly looked at him, surprised even more. Before she could comment, they were at her apartment. "Thanks for the lift, bossman." She told him, picking up the nicknames Abby used for everyone.

"How are you going to get to work on Monday?" Gibbs asked before she could jump out the car.

"Abby will pick me up."

"Good enough. Good night, Carly."

He waited till she was safely inside before leaving. And once more, he laughed at her reaction to his knowing about a "recent" movie.

His phone was ringing. Some part of his mind registered that and he groped around on the bedside table to find it. Without checking the caller ID he flipped his phone open, "DiNozzo."

"I know it's late, but I didn't know who else to call…." she said.

Fully alert, Tony sat up in bed, the sheet falling to his waist. "Abby, what's wrong?"

"I feel awful, Tony. Carly and I were at a party tonight. That's where we were going when we left Salvatore's. While we were there, her car was stolen. Now I can't sleep because I want to help find it and I was wondering if you would work with me on it."

Tony slumped back against the pillows and looked at his clock. "It's 3 AM, Abby. Couldn't this wait until in the morning?"

Abby sighed. "You're right. I'll leave you alone. Sorry to bother you Tony. Go back to sleep." Then she hung up on him.

Tony stared at his ceiling for a full minute before throwing the covers off and getting up to get dressed. Abby upset over something was an Abby that needed to do something. He would bet good money that she would already be in her lab when he got there. He stopped by the store to pick up a Caff-Pow and a coffee, and then drove to the office.

He was right. Abby was at her computer, typing away. She took the Caff-Pow from him and sent him a smile of gratitude. "I've already looked into it. There have been eight other cars stolen in the past week. All classic, in great condition and not a lot out there for sale."

"Good work. Do the police have any leads?" Tony asked drinking from his cup.

"Not really. There are two possible situations if her car was stolen for this same reason."

"What kind of car is it?" Tony asked just realizing he had never seen Carly come or go from work, she was here before and after he was.

"A '67 Shelby GT500." Abby replied leaving Tony speechless. "Yeah, I know, everyone sees it and thinks it's a guy car, but she fell in love with it like two years ago and badgered the owner until he was ready to sell. It was funny really. You should ask her about the previous owner sometime. I can't do the impersonation as well as she does."

"Abby, I'll be upstairs looking to see what I can find. Call me if you get anything else, ok?"

He walked out leaving Abby to ask out loud, "Am I really starting to get like Ducky, or is it just too early for Tony?" Shrugging, she turned back to her computer to delve into the police files on the eight other stolen cars.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gibbs walked in at 7 AM to find DiNozzo at his desk. "What are you doing here, DiNozzo?"

"Paperwork, Gibbs. I have some reports the Director wants and need to get them completed. What are you doing here?"

"Carly's car was stolen last night. I am going to track it down and turn the thieves over to the police."

"You're here because of a stolen car?" Tony asked, pretending he didn't know the situation.

"Carly's one of ours DiNozzo. We help our own." Gibbs replied with the last of his patience.

"Is that a rule?" Tony wanted to know, being a smart aleck as always.

Sitting at his desk, Gibbs told Tony, "Why don't you report to me what you and Abby found already and we'll go from there?"

Amazed again, Tony answered, "You have to tell me how you do that Gibbs. It would help so much in keeping my agents on their toes." Gibbs stared at his from across the bullpen. "Right, so Abby found out there have been a string of car thefts, nine total to date with Carly's, that target classic hard-to-find autos. Our theory is, either someone at the party last night was involved or Carly had been followed."

"They weren't followed, DiNozzo." Gibbs stated with certainty.

"Want to tell me how you know that, boss?" Tony's slip of the tongue made Gibbs smile. "Gibbs?"

"One of the two would have noticed. Especially Abby; she's been aware of everything since last year."

Nodding, DiNozzo stood and handed Gibbs a list of names of the party goers. "I've called half the list already to see what they remember. They only promising lead we have is one guy remembers seeing the car being driven off."

Abby came running up. "Tony, I …" she trailed off seeing Gibbs as his desk.

"He's here to work on this too, Abs." Tony informed her.

"Good, I just got the name of the person seen stealing the car last night. Dwayne Hooper. He lives at 2334 Whiteside Drive. I am willing to bet between the two of you, he'll break and give up the location of the cars." Gibbs and DiNozzo were already on there way out. Abby stood watching them and finished the conversation. "Would you like to ride with us Abby? - No, I'll let you two handle it. - That's great work Abby, let me pat you on the back." Shaking her head, she went back to her lab to grab her Caff-Pow and coat and go home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dwayne Hooper was small-time, working for big-time and was terrified at the thought of what his prison sentence would be if he didn't cooperate. Gibbs called the police in to make sure all the evidence collected would be admissible in court. Hooper gave up the location of the cars and the names of the men he reported to. Within the hour, cops were swarming the docks and confiscating the stolen cars. They vehicles were impounded and it took Gibbs the rest of the day to convince the authorities to release Carly's Shelby. They had the other eight stolen cars and Carly would testify if needed he promised them. After signing the paperwork showing he received the car, he pulled out the keys he had swiped from Carly the night before and got behind the wheel. He had a delivery to make.

Saturday evening

Eight o'clock on a Saturday and Carly was home, dressed for bed and contemplating dinner. Looking into her cabinets and fridge she had almost decided not to cook when her doorbell rang. She walked over to the door and looked through the peephole to find Gibbs on the other side. Wondering why he was here, she quickly opened the door.

"Gibbs is everything ok?" she asked. Gibbs couldn't help but stare. Carly was wearing a fitted ribbed tank top and a pair of brief boxers. Waving her hand in front of his face, she repeated, "Gibbs is everything ok?"

He looked into her eyes, "Yes, everything's good. We found your car." He told her and stepped back so she could see it.

"My car!" She ran out to the parking lot in her pajamas and looked all around it checking for damage. Gibbs stayed at the door watching her make sure all was as it should be. Once she was satisfied all was well and no damage had been done, she walked back up to the apartment with a smile on her face. "You found my car!" She was so happy. "Wait, how'd you drive it here?"

Gibbs looked almost guilty as he handed her keys over. "I came across your keys last night and help onto them for safekeeping."

Narrowing her eyes, she took her car keys from him. "I guess it's a good thing they're on a different key chain otherwise I would have been locked out of my house last night." She couldn't pretend to be upset with him, not when he had saved her car. "Have you had dinner yet?" She asked him and pulled him into her apartment by his arm. "I was just about to cook dinner. I can make enough for two and then I can run you home."

She led him into the kitchen and started taking steaks out of the fridge. He didn't object so she took out some potatoes as well. She was startled when he moved to help her. "I'll do the steaks and you do the potatoes." He told her.

"Oh really? And what if I want to cook the steaks?"

"Then I'll do the potatoes."

He was so agreeable that she laughed and handed over the steaks.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tony was standing in his kitchen staring at the woman joining him for dinner. He just finished ordering Chinese when she walked in the room to get a soda. Her hair was down, which meant she was ready to relax. She was wearing a black t-shirt with black pants and boots. He smiled when she caught him looking.

"Food will be here in about twenty minutes." He told her.

"Great, I'm starving." She replied. "Got any good movies we could watch?" She asked, knowing full well Tony's movie collection was well stocked and varied.

Tony smiled at her. This was the first time she had agreed to have dinner with him on a date and she insisted it be at one of their places. He walked with her back into his living room. She put in "Donnie Darko" and they settled in to watch while waiting for their food to arrive.

Monday morning

McGee was on the phone when Ziva, Tony and Michelle walked in. He quietly ended his conversation and hung up the phone. Tony noticed but was in too good a mood to pester him about it.

They were putting there stuff away when Gibbs came in with his coffee. "Grab your gear. We're going to need both teams on this one Tony."

"What have we got Gibbs?" Tony asked while everyone picked up what they just put down.

"Three female Marines have gone missing from Mickey's pub. They were all contestants in the weekly competitions. Each one showed up to prepare, but never made it to the stage."

McGee and Ziva were prepared for Tony to make a remark and were almost disappointed when he said nothing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Carly walked into the lab to find Abby building a replica of some obscure battlefield. "Not a lot to do this morning, Abby?"

"Nope, we're all caught up. But, Gibbs and Tony have a missing persons case they are working on. Ziva called it in when they were under way. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more boxes of evidence this afternoon."

"So you want to talk about Friday night?"

"About your car being stolen? You got it back in one piece right?"

"Yes, I did, thanks to you, Tony and Gibbs. That's not what I want to talk about. Why were you so bent on getting plastered?"

"I wasn't bent on getting plastered. I was just a little upset."

"Because Tony had three dates last week that weren't with you?" Carly asked and knew she hit the nail on the head. "Why don't you just go out with him? I know Gibbs has a rule and all, but we're talking about you here. You, he would let get away with murder."

A look flashed across Abby's face and Carly knew in that moment the two finally had a date. "When was it? Where did you go? You have to tell me all about it." Carly demanded.

Abby turned to her with a stubborn look on her face. Finally she said, "On one condition."

"Anything, spill already." Carly agreed not know what she was getting herself into.

"We had dinner and watched a movie at his place Saturday night. It was great how comfortable we were with each other…"

Flashback

"Mmm. This is delicious." Abby said, feeding Tony some of her lo mein for him to taste.

"That is good. Here, try this." Tony offered her his Kung Pao Chicken. They had been sharing their food with one another throughout the movie. When the movie ended, Tony had to know, "What made you finally agree to go out with me."

"Well, technically, we aren't out anywhere Tony."

"Abs." "I've wanted to say yes for weeks now, but …."

With a serious look Tony asked, "But what, Abby?"

"I didn't want to mess up and then have our friendship go down with it. I know that didn't happen with McGee, but we were never serious about it. It was just for fun." Abby said in earnest. "I don't want to lose you and if staying friends could guarantee that, then I would gladly be just friends."

Tony smiled at the woman beside him. "So why did you finally say yes?" he prompted again.

"I was tired of seeing all those women coming on and off the elevator to see you. Really, I was being to think you had a revolving door here."

Tony wrapped his arms around Abby and squeezed gently. "I am going to tell you something that you can't tell McGee. They were all for show. I never went out with any of them; they just wanted to see what the inner workings of NCIS was like."

Abby tried to pull away, but Tony held on to her. She pulled her head back and narrowed her eyes at him. "They were there to make me jealous?"

Tony grinned down at her and admitted, "Yep."

Abby slowly smiled and acknowledged, "It worked." She put her hands on his face and kissed him slowly. When they came up for air, Tony blinked, "Wow, am I glad it worked."

End Flashback

"Abby, yoo-hoo, Abby!" Carly said, waving her hand in front of her face. "Want to tell me what happened Saturday to put that look on your face?"

Abby snapped out of the memory of Saturday night and said, "Nothing. We just had dinner and watched a movie."

"Yeah, sure, I'm convinced." Carly said skeptically. "Ok, I know you'll tell me when you're good and ready."

Carly turned to start up her computer and Abby said, "Not so fast. Now for my condition."

"What do you want?" Carly asked, realizing just now what she had gotten herself into.

With a wicked grin Abby asked, "What happened Saturday night when Gibbs delivered your car?"

Monday At Mickey's Pub, the team walks in and heads straight for the stairs to the manager's office. Two security guards step in the way and Gibbs flashes his badge. "Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS."

"NCI who?" The big, bald one asked.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Services." McGee explained.

"So? What do you want?" The second, bigger security guard asked.

"We're going to talk to the manager. Step aside." Gibbs told them.

"No one sees the Mr. Delacroix without an appointment." The first guard informed them.

Ziva had slipped around behind the guards and was already up the stairs to the office. "That's ok, Gibbs. I'll just see if he can come down to us."

As the two guards moved to retrieve Ziva, Tony told them, "Lay a hand on her and you both will be brought in for obstructing an investigation. After Ziva finished with you that is." Ziva was dragging Mickey Delacroix out of his office. "Tell the guards to let my friends up." She said and put a little pressure on his arm.

"Let them up. They are federal agents. They can come in anytime." Mickey told his men and Ziva turned his arm loose.

Gibbs walked by the guards without glancing in their direction. Tony and McGee couldn't help but smirk as they walked by and Agent Lee marched on as if they didn't exist.

Mickey showed them into his office and asked, "What can I do for NCIS?" "You can tell us what you know about these three women." Agent Lee said and placed the photos of the three missing Marines on his desk.

"They've been weekly contenders in my competition. That's all I know."

"That's all you know?" McGee asked. "Are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure. They come in, they change into their swim suits and parade around on stage for cash prizes. I didn't even know they were military until I saw one of them had left their purse. I took it they decided not to compete last night and left. Then I got a call from your office about them missing."

Tony and Gibbs exchanged a look, knowing this was all they were going to get out of the man for now. "If you think of anything, call us." Tony told him and handed the card over. As they left the bar, every employee in the place was looking them over.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You told me that you would do anything if I told you about my date with Tony." Abby reminded Carly.

"Yes, but you obviously are holding back, so how does that make me have to comply with my end of that deal?"

"You have to tell me something. I told you some things."

"Abby, are you not telling me things because you don't want me to know how much this means to you?" Carly asked out of the blue.

"No, I am not. And you are not getting out of this."

Sighing, Carly sat down on the stool in front of her computer. "All right. Gibbs brought my car back and I cooked him dinner, then I took him home."

"Yeah, sure, there is more to it than that. What did you eat? What did you talk about?"

Flashback

"You cook a mean steak Gibbs." Carly said after swallowing another juicy mouthful of perfect beef.

Gibbs sat watching her tear into her meal, realizing she always ate as though food was something to be savored not rushed. It had been a long time since food had been good enough for him to savor it. "The potatoes are good too."

With a smile, Carly took a drink from her soda. "Don't overwhelm me with praise Jethro I might faint." She laughed then realized she had called him by his first name. Her smile slipped from her face.

"You can call me Jethro, Carly; you wouldn't be the only one." He said.

"I've only heard Ducky and the Director call you that to your face." She admitted with a small smile looking at him across the table.

Nodding and cutting a piece of steak, he said "True, but Tony's wanted to call me that for years. He just hasn't gotten the nerve yet."

"No, I can't believe it would take nerve to call you by your name. You aren't the least bit scary." She twisted her mouth to keep from grinning at the blatant lie.

With a bark of laughter, Gibbs gave up and looked into her dark blue eyes. "You don't seem to be too scared."

"Well, that's because Abby tells me what a teddy bear you really are."

"A teddy bear?" Gibbs repeated, almost sounding horrified.

"Only with her of course. But still, you have to admit that your soft side shows when you're around Abby."

Denying it completely, Gibbs retort was, "I don't have a soft side."

"If you say so." Carly said and started eating her steak again.

After dinner was over, she changed her shorts for pants and threw on a long sleeve shirt over her tank top. Once they arrived in front of Gibbs house, she was reluctant to end the evening. Leaning over the gear shift, she meant to kiss his cheek in thanks for bringing her car back. At that same moment, Gibbs turned his head to tell her goodnight and her lips touched his. When Gibbs brought his hands up to capture her face she let out a small sound of pleasure. He deepened the kiss until she was breathless and she giggled. He raised a brow questioningly at her. "Your mustache tickles." She said and touched it with her fingertips. Gibbs took her hand in his and placed a chaste kiss in the palm.

"Have a goodnight Carly." He said and quickly got out of the car before he did anything foolish like inviting her in.

End Flashback

"Carly, are you still on earth? What happened after dinner?" Abby asked.

"I took Gibbs home then went back to my place to go to bed." Carly added leaving out the dreams she'd had after that kiss.

"Sure. I believe that." Abby said and they started laughing at each other, knowing they were both holding back something.

Tuesday

Abby and Carly worked overtime after the team arrived back at NCIS Monday afternoon. They ran every print brought in and none of the matches turned out to be leads. There were only two sets of prints found at all the homes, those of the women themselves and of the people that cleaned their apartments. All three women had a cleaning service that cleaned twice a week, but they each had a different cleaning service and no leads turned up with any of the staff.

Gibbs walked into the lab with a coffee and a Caff-Pow and handed them over. Carly turned to thank him and got a shock. "You shaved?"

Abby looked at Gibbs. "Wow. A smooth face, what a nice look for you Gibbs."

"I got tired of trimming it," he told them looking at the large screen on the wall. "Have you found anything that links our three Marines other than Mickey's pub?"

Abby put her head down on the desk. "I hate giving you bad news, Gibbs, but other than the Marin Corps and Mickey's Pub, our three ladies had nothing in common."

Pursing his lips, Gibbs thought for a moment. "Need you two to come upstairs with me." He turned to walk out. Carly and Abby looked at each other, puzzled.

"Now you two. We have to get moving on this."

The ride up in the elevator took less than a minute, but that was plenty of time for crazy scenarios to fly through Abby and Carly's heads. They followed him over the where Tony and Ziva were discussing the case with Agent Lee. McGee walked around the corner shutting his cell phone at the same time.

"Hi guys." Abby and Carly said. They looked at each other. "We've got to stop doing that." They said in unison. "Really, now would be good." "I agree." Gibbs said. The women took a moment to look chastised and then just grinned at him.

"What's going on, Gibbs? Did you two find anything?" Tony asked.

"Nope, not a thing, but Gibbs wanted us to come up here." Abby answered. No one seemed to notice that Tony eyes kept going back to Abby.

"Something was happening at Mickey's Pub, we're all agreed on that." Gibbs stated to get everyone's attention back on the case at hand. "We don't know what that is and I don't like not knowing things. We are going to have to send someone in undercover to infiltrate the competition. They hold them every Tuesday and Sunday night. As far as we know, PFC's Green, Sheldon and Murphy only competed on Sunday's. They have all been missing since Sunday night. I don't have to tell you what that means for their chance of survival. We're going to have to go in tonight and see if we can find any information."

"Gibbs, I dressed up like a geek for you, I don't think it would be fair to make me dress in a bikini to be ogled by men also." Ziva told him.

"You're right. You won't be going undercover. I will let you have one guess who is." Gibbs told the team.

All at once Agent Lee and Abby were protesting. Agent Lee was appalled and told him, "I can't put on a swim suit and parade around in front of a bunch of men."

Abby's response was amused, "Gibbs, I'm not very tan. I don't think I'd get too far in the competition."

Carly stepped forward. "You're sending me in, aren't you?"

"Yes, Carly. You'll be undercover tonight." Gibbs confirmed.

At this announcement, everyone erupted in protest. Tony wanted to know why Ziva or Michelle couldn't do it.

"Because, DiNozzo, everyone at the Pub yesterday will recognize them tonight and know something is up."

"Gibbs, I was joking about not doing it, you know." Abby told him. "I don't mind, they'll just see the majority of my tats." Tony almost objected and caught himself in time.

"Carly, you did a few undercover assignments in LA?" Gibbs asked, knowing from her file she had.

"Yes, they were mainly to gather intel, but I still had to be in disguise." She acknowledged.

"Well, your disguise tonight would be a two piece." Agent Lee reminded her.

Carly looked at Michelle and asked, "How do you think I get my tan? Nude sunbathing?" She turned around to think.

"I can always get someone else." Gibbs offered.

"No, you won't have time. I just have to go home and raid my swimsuits. I'm presuming you mean to bug something on me?" Carly asked.

"Yes, we will. McGee and Abby will be working on that and your military ID."

Looking over her shoulder at Gibbs, she nodded. "So now I'm a Marine?"

"If you're a good Marine, it'll be a one night stint."

"I understand. I'll be back within the hour." Carly walked to the elevators and left the building.

Tuesday night

By the time McGee and Abby had the microphone and video bugs planted on Carly's things, the team was amazed at the transformation she underwent. She was wearing hip-hugging jeans with a purple t-shirt and her hair was up in a high pony tail. She told them she would fix her hair in the dressing room at the Pub. Her necklace was a silver chain with a black onyx stone hanging from it and was rigged to be both audio and visual windows into the bar. Once she put her swimsuit on, the bug would be in the clasp for her hair. She had a new purse with a fake driver's license and military ID. Everything was set.

Gibbs didn't want to send her in alone, but knew he didn't have any other choice. He kept watching her go over the notes about the women that were missing. He knew she realized she fit the profile, just as Ducky had pointed out to him before meeting with the team this morning. Her dark hair and body type eerily matched the three missing women. Even with the so-called normal clothes and hairstyle, the most noticeable change in her was her walk. Gone was the slow, loose-hipped walk that she didn't even seem to realize was a turn-on to most males. In its place was the straight-backed, stiff walk of a well-trained Marine. Seeing this made Gibbs realize why her former boss in LA allowed her to go undercover. She was almost chameleon-like, able to master the act without practice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The surveillance van was parked one street over from Mickey's Pub when Carly pushed open the door and walked up to the bar.

"What can I get you to drink?" The bartender asked, putting glasses back on the shelf.

Smiling at his like a new friend, Carly ordered a beer. After she paid for it, she looked around the pub. Noticing the sign for the contest, she motioned for the bartender.

"Yes?" He asked when he reached her place at the bar.

"The contest on the poster," Carly started, nodding at said poster, "does the winner really get $500 bucks tonight?"

"Yep, that's tonight's prize. Sunday's was $200. It all depends on the crowd."

"Is it too late to sign up?"

"No, ma'am. All you have to do is put your name on the list and put on your swimsuit."

"Swimsuit?" Carly echoed as though she hadn't been expecting that condition.

"Too afraid of walking in front of this crowd, little lady?" The bartender asked. With a cocky smile, she answered, "Not a bit. Lucky for me I went swimming earlier today." She signed her name on the form and he pointed to the dressing room in back. She walked in to change feeling at least one person watching her progress across the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Man, I am so glad those Marine b*tches aren't here tonight. What is it with the guys in the bar liking them ‘cause they're military?" One woman asked.

"I don't know. I heard they were missing though and the last place they were seen was here." another answered.

Looking in the mirror, they adjusted their tops and walked out to get ready to go onstage. Carly stepped out of the stall in the small room and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe she was wearing this suit. It was blood red and barely covered anything. It certainly didn't hide two of her favorite tattoos. Forgetting about the video feed in her hair clip, she turned around to view the back. Satisfied that everything was covered as much as it could be, she walked out the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gibbs almost dropped his coffee when he got a full view of the bikini Carly was wearing. She had assured him it was decent but would put her near the winner's circle if she didn't win. The top consisted of two triangles held up by impossibly small strings. The bottom, he wasn't sure what style it was supposed to be. Triangles were the theme it looked like. One in the front and one in back again held on and together with those tiny strings. One tug from an overzealous drunk and it would fall right off. But the swimsuit itself wasn't as shocking as the two tattoos she had revealed. One was a four leaf clover in green on her shoulder blade. It was hidden at work with the shirts she wore and even the night he delivered her car, it wasn't noticeable. Also not noticeable were the three fairies on the small of her back. They were laying side-by-side imitating the see/hear/speak no evil pose. This was no black and white tattoo. It was full color. The first fairy was a purple, the second was blue and the third was red.

"Wow. That's the one she tried to describe to me." Abby said staring at the screen. "It's beautiful work."

"Nice art." McGee chimed in.

Gibbs snapped out of his trance when the door closed behind Carly, cutting of the mirrored image of her tattoo.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As she walked through the crowd making her way to the stage, Carly felt several hands on her bottom. Gritting her teeth, she kept going. If she stopped and made a big deal out of it, she would get no where. Out the corner of her eye, she spotted Mickey Delacroix in a deep conversation with one of his security guards. He looked up when the red of her suit caught his eye. She watched covertly while he looked at the emcee for the competition and nodded in her direction. She wondered what they were up too as she took her place on the stage.

All the women walked around as their names were called and strutted their stuff for the crowd. Carly's suit and tats got a big pop from the crowd and at the end of the competition, she was named the winner and given the $500 in cash. Mickey walked up to her and invited her into his office for a celebratory drink. After a moment's hesitation, Carly smiled and agreed.

Closing the door behind them, Mickey motioned for Carly to sit down. He poured her a drink, which she accepted and sipped at it. She looked up in time to catch his smile as the world went black and she passed out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The video feed showed that Carly had collapsed. Gibbs and Tony were about to jump out the van when they heard Mickey talking to someone.

"This one was easy. We gotta get her out of here before anyone notices." The guard said as he came into view. It was one of the same guards that had blocked Gibbs and his team yesterday.

"She'll bring a fine price in." Mickey said and the sneer on his face was heard in his voice.

"I don't understand why those men want an independent woman." The guard said as he lifted Carly off the floor.

Mickey laughed. "Because it's fun to break them down."

Then made their way out the back of the building and got into the car waiting for them.

Late Tuesday night Carly woke up groggy. She was in a small room on a cot. Standing, she put her arms out to help her balance. Whatever Delacroix slipped her had been strong. She was still in her swimsuit but a blanket had been over her on the cot and her clothes were laid out on a chair.

Cold, she dressed as quickly as her fuzzy mind would allow and then assessed her situation. Without a watch, she couldn't tell what time it was but the small window told her it was night. Shaking her head, she walked slowly towards the door. Locked, of course. Her hair was down around her shoulders and a look around the dimly lit room showed that her hair clip was nowhere to be seen. Her purse was on the floor and she picked it up. Smiling at Abby's ingenuity, she took her necklace out.

"Can anyone hear me? I can't hear you guys, but I sure hope you are listening."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Gibbs!" Abby screamed running off the elevator. "She's on the mike. Listen."

Clicking the button for the listening device, they heard Carly talking. "Ok. I woke up a few minutes ago and it's dark wherever I am. I knew I shouldn't have had that drink." She whispered. "I can't hear anything outside this room, so I am trying to be quiet. I don't know how long I was out. Boy, I sure hope someone can hear this."

The team mobilized as Gibbs started barking orders. "Tony, gas the van." Tony ran off without protest. "McGee can you triangulate the signal on that bug?"

"Yes, sir." McGee replied.

"Then do it and let's go." Gibbs said, grabbing his gun from his desk and running to the elevators.

Ziva and Michelle grabbed their gear and ran after him. The Director was calling other teams together as back-up. Gibbs was running in blind to save one of his own and she wanted him to have all the help he needed.

Abby climbed in the van knowing she had to be there when they got to Carly. No one protested her right to go. Gibbs jumped in the driver's seat and burned rubber out the parking lot while McGee was working on getting a location on his laptop.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"It really is boring not having someone to talk to." Carly was saying. She had put the necklace on and stopped asking if anyone was listening. Even if they were, they wouldn't be able to answer her and anyone on the other side of her door might realize she was bugged.

"At least my head's clearing up. I'm not quite as foggy as I was when I woke up. And my stomach is knocking on my spine wondering where dinner is. That's got to be a good sign. I wonder if they'd unlock the door if I started singing."

She was walking around the room, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. Frustrated that she couldn't find anything, she slumped onto the chair. "I hope those guys hate classic country."

She started singing Loretta Lynn's "Don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Abby was grinning at the sound of Carly's singing. Everyone else kept glancing at the speaker, unable to believe she could sing that well and know all the words to that song.

"Carly listens to country?" McGee asked.

"Uh-huh. She has since she was a child." Abby told them.

"But she likes your music." Ziva asked confused.

"I know. She doesn't discriminate against great music from any genre." Abby explained.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked. "Have you got an exact location yet?"

"Yeah, boss. Just now. She's in a building right here…." He trailed off and they looked around.

There were at least ten warehouses on each side of the street. Stopping the car, Gibbs slammed his hand against the steering wheel. Suddenly, a car horn blasted from the back side of a warehouse two down from there location.

Carly's song broke off and she asked, "What the ? That was right outside the window if anyone is hearing me."

Gibbs killed the lights, pulled over and shut off the engine. He radioed for the other teams to move in on foot to the warehouse where Carly was. Tony, Ziva, Michelle, Tim and Abby spilled out of the van.

"Abby, you aren't going with us." Tony told her.

"But.." she started to protest.

"No buts, Abs." Gibbs interrupted. "Get back in the van, lock the doors and stay out of sight."

Frustrated but unarmed, Abby did as she was told. The look she gave her two favorite men told them they would answer to her later.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was a scraping sound as the door was unlocked. A man Carly hadn't seen before walked in and stared at her. He held out his hand for her. She stepped back and shook her head.

"No way. I'm not going anywhere with you."

With heavily accented English, the man said, "Of course you are. I paid a good amount of money for you."

"Did you pay for my friends as well?" Carly asked, trying to stall and get information at the same time.

The man looked at her suspiciously, "How do you know about them?" "I'm investigating their disappearance. If you have them, I want them back." Carly said and stuck her chin out defiantly.

"You'll be in no position to demand anything, little lady." The man said and pulled out a gun. "Some problems just aren't worth the trouble." As he leveled the gun at her, Gibbs stuck the barrel of his own gun to the man's head. "Give me a reason." He coldly told the man.

Tony stepped around them and took the gun now hanging loosely from the man's hand.

Ziva was in the other room, explaining to Delacroix why it was in his best interest to give up the locations of the other women. It just so happened that she had him on the floor with her boot in his face. Michelle looked horrified over this and McGee told her, "At least she hasn't tied him to a chair and made us leave the room."

Hearing that, Delacroix told Ziva that the other three ladies were in separate rooms in the building. McGee radioed that information to the other teams. Ziva hauled him up roughly and cuffed his hands. They exited the building to find Gibbs and Carly with Abby.

"I am telling you, I'm fine. Whatever they slipped me is wearing off." Carly said. "If you want to know what it was, let Abby run the tests, but I want food. I haven't eaten since breakfast." She picked up Gibbs arm. "Breakfast was almost 18 hours ago. I need food."

Gibbs gave up. "We'll go back to the office and eat while Abby runs the tests."

"Great!" They climbed into the van. The other teams had taken the prisoners and left for headquarters already. When they were underway, Carly looked at Gibbs. "A big steak sounds great right now." She told him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. He glanced her way and caught that look. Smiling, he turned his attention to the road and replied, "It sure does."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The End