He was watching the four women have lunch. They had caught his eye the first time two weeks ago. Four women so different and so beautiful. He had taken a table close to theirs pretending to be absorbed in the book he was holding. Listening to their conversation, he found they came to this bistro weekly and they'd be back the following week.

His observations of them during that time had caused him to reject the curly-haired woman as a candidate. He liked a challenge, but she would no doubt prove too much for him.

This week, he was once again sitting close enough to hear them talking.

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

"Palmer?" Ziva asked, trying to see what the young agent saw in him.

"Yes." Michelle said, motioning for them to keep their voices down.

"Really?" Abby asked, intrigued. She had never pictured Jimmy in that light.

"Yes!" Michelle exclaimed, utterly embarrassed.

"Way to go, Michelle!" Carly told her.

The young woman flashed her a relieved smiled and Abby followed suit with, "It's about time."

Michelle blushed at all the attention. Ziva was amused at her new friends discomfort when all at once her senses went on alert. Someone was paying too much attention to them. She started gathering her trash.

"Come on, we have to get back to work." She said.

Abby looked up from talking with Michelle ready to object, knowing they were for once without an active case to work. She caught the look on Ziva's face and picked up her drink.

"You're right. Carly and I have to run those samples Ducky sent us."

Carly and Michelle picked up their trash and grabbed their bags. Within a minute they were out the door, walking back to headquarters.

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

Watching the women walking away, he made his choice. He smiled. She was in for a big surprise.

Ducky had decided that morning to take Palmer out to lunch with him. They needed to talk about all these visits Special Agent Lee was making to Autopsy. When they arrived at the restaurant, Jimmy's gaze was drawn to the group of women in a corner table. Ducky noticed and sighed. It was as he thought. Young Palmer was infatuated with the Special Agent and she seemed to return the feelings.

He led the young man to a table nearby and the women said in unison, "Hi Ducky. Hi Jimmy."

Michelle quickly looked away.

Carly and Abby, never shy, asked the men, "Would you like to join us? We've just placed our orders."

Jimmy stuttered trying to answer and Ducky stepped in, "We'd love to. Wouldn't we, Mr. Palmer?"

"Yes, that would be nice." Jimmy finally said.

The women smiled as they sat down and Ducky studied their faces. They had a secret.

"We were just telling Michelle that her flowers were gorgeous." Carly began.

"You got flowers?" Jimmy asked her. "Who were they from?"

"The card was signed 'An Admirer'." Michelle told him, unable to understand why he was looking angry.

"An admirer?" Jimmy questioned again.

Michelle leaned close to him to whisper, "Why are you getting angry? No one knows you sent them."

"But I didn't send them." Jimmy denied in a loud voice.

"It's ok Jimmy, we're not going to tell Gibbs." Abby tried to assure him.

"I didn't send Michelle flowers." Jimmy protested. "They aren't from me. I would have written…" he trailed off as he was about to reveal the pet name Michelle had started calling him.

Intrigued, Carly started to ask him to continue. Abby stopped her from it though.

"If you didn't send them, who did?" Abby asked as a chill ran down her back. She looked at Ziva, "You said last week you felt someone was scrutinizing us and now Michelle has received flowers from some stranger."

"We don't know they are connected Abby." Ziva and Ducky said at the same time.

Abby had an uneasy feeling but she stayed quiet about it. She was worried that the two were indeed connected, but she didn't want to upset Michelle and Jimmy if they weren't. She smiled and agreed the flowers must have come from someone who appreciated Michelle's work on a case. Inside though, in her gut, she knew something was wrong with this picture.

Michelle left Jimmy's apartment late that night. She arrived at her building and groaned at the time. It was 0130 and she had to be at work at 0630 to get caught up on paperwork. Shutting the engine off, she got out of her car smiling. She never made it to her front door.

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

Carly lost a bet to Ziva and her punishment was to bring coffee to everyone every day for a week. As far as she was concerned, she was grateful it wasn't worse and she also got her morning coffee in the bargain. Setting the cups on Tim's desk she didn't get a chance to hand the cups out before Gibbs grabbed one and took a gulp.

A look of distaste came across his face as he spit the coffee into the wastebasket.

"That wasn't coffee." He stated gruffly.

"Oh course not, it's flavored water with a caffeine kick." Carly smarted off. "That's why there's a giant T on that one, it was for Tony."

Tony walked up and took the cup from Gibbs. "Excuse me for not destroying my taste buds with that mud you two drink."

"Mud?!" Gibbs and Carly said.

"Yes, mud. It's plain coffee with nothing added and it's so strong it could toss Ziva around."

Carly laughed and passed out the other cups of coffee. She looked around and asked, "Where's Michelle?"

Tim shrugged, "Haven't seen her this morning."

"But it's 0800. She was supposed to be here an hour and a half ago." Carly was getting concerned, wondering if Abby's feeling the previous day was right.

"Why don't you ask Palmer when she left his place last night?" Gibbs asked, drinking his coffee.

Everyone froze. Ziva and Carly stared at each other as if asking how he knew. Tony's jaw dropped and all he could get out was, "Palmer?!"

Tim was in shock, just looking at Gibbs wondering how he always managed to know things. That was the exact state that Ducky and Jimmy walked in on just a few seconds later.

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

Once it had been established that Michelle had been at Jimmy's but left to get some rest at home before work, Gibbs notified the security at her apartment complex. Sure enough her car was in it's spot. Knowing in his gut he wasn't going to like what he'd find, he had ordered the security guard to stay with the car until he arrived. The team had left a distraught Jimmy in Ducky, Carly and Abby's capable hands and gone to look into Agent Lee's disappearance.

As usual, Tony was talking away. "I'm surprised Gibbs didn't give him Rule # 12 and then a Marine boot up his…" he stopped talking when Gibbs looked at him.

"DiNozzo, obviously they were discreet or you would have known about it." Gibbs told him.

Tony perked up. "So if we are discreet about it, we can break Rule #12?"

"DiNozzo, you can't discreetly do anything. The day you successfully and quietly break Rule #12 hell will freeze over."

Tony looked away, remembering the night before last when Abby was at his place and how they almost set the sheets on fire with their passion for each other. He bit back a smile. They must be shivering in hell right now.

The team searched Lee's car, apartment and the surrounding grounds. At first, the only visible evidence of a struggle was a patch of grass that had been kicked up. Ziva shot pictures and Tony noticed a dark object while the camera flashed.

"Think I've got something here, boss." He told Gibbs, stooping down to pick it up.

Ziva looked at the object. "It's Michelle's barrette. She was wearing them in her hair yesterday."

"Bag it." Gibbs told him as Tony pulled the evidence bag out of his kit.

"Boss, over here." Tim said pointing to a spot on the pavement.

Gibbs walked over as Tim was snapping a picture of the object he had found. "It looks like the other barrette. And over this way, tire marks. They aren't dark but the look fresh and they are leading away from the apartment complex."

"Did you…" Gibbs started.

"Already shot it, boss." Tim told him.

"Good work, Tim." Gibbs told him and looked around trying to put together what happened. Not satisfied with what he saw, but knowing they had all the evidence they would get from this scene, he called for them to head back to NCIS.

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

Abby and Carly were already working on the flowers Michelle had received, analyzing the card and every petal of every rose and carnation to see if there was any trace evidence. Abby growled as Gibbs and Tony filed into the lab with the new, miniscule pieces of evidence.

"I hate criminals who watch crime shows and take forensics courses!" Abby exclaimed and turned with a scowl at her two favorite men. "Tell me you brought me something to catch this creep and get Michelle back."

"We have photos and her hair barrettes." Gibbs told her.

Carly grabbed the photos to analyze while Abby took the barrettes and Jimmy made a sound of despair from the corner of the room.

Only just realizing he was in the room, Tony looked uncomfortable while Gibbs walked over to the miserable young man.

"Palmer!" Gibbs barked to get his attention. When the man looked up and met his eyes, Gibbs continued, "we'll get her back, unharmed, you got that?"

Jimmy stared into the blue eyes of a man he normally feared and saw the understanding and certainty shining from them. He stood up straight and nodded. "I've got it Gibbs."

With a quick look at Abby, he started for the door. The four of them watched in compassion as he left, but as soon as the doors slid shut behind him, Carly noticed something in the photos that puzzled her.

"Abby, take a look at this. Is that?" Carly asked.

"What did we miss?" Tony asked as he and Gibbs looked over the women's shoulders.

"I don't know that you missed anything since we haven't pulled any evidence of the flowers she received. But that looks exactly like one of the small petals from the carnations in the arrangement. See?" Carly told them and pulled out the photo of the arrangement from before they set about taking it apart.

Gibbs eyes narrowed. "Son of a … He's leaving us a calling card?"

Tony looks up in disgust. "Looks like it."

When Michelle woke up for the second time, she was tied to a chair. Looking around, she couldn't tell how big the room was as all the lights were off and there were no windows that she could see. She rolled her head from side to side trying to work out the kinks from being unconscious in a straight back chair.

She winced when a voice boomed through the room. "Don't worry pet. It's not you I'm after."

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

The team was exhausted. It was going on 0200 and they had nothing. The only prints on the barrettes were Michelle's and there was no evidence on any of the flowers. Tim had gone back to the apartment complex and found the flower petal. It was a definite match to the red carnation in the arrangement.

Gibbs told his agents to get some rest. He took the elevator down to the lab and found Abby and Carly nearly asleep at their computers. They jumped as the doors slid almost noiselessly open and their fingers automatically found their keyboards.

"Go home you two. There's nothing new here and I'll call you if something comes in." He told them.

"But Gibbs…" Abby started to protest.

"No buts, Abs. Go home. Get here first thing and we'll start all over." He gave her a look and she decided to listen.

Carly was almost too sleepy to stand, but she turned off her computer and drank the last of her coffee. As she and Abby walked out to their cars, their last sips of caffeine kicked in.

"See you in a few hours, Abby." Carly told her and unlocked her door.

"Will do, ma'am." Abby responded with a jaunty wave.

Carly just smiled, started her car and drove away. Neither woman noticed the red petal on the ground near the classic car.

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

Ziva's head snapped up off her desk and she stretched her arms over her head. It was 0730 and Gibbs was walking into the bullpen with coffee for everyone. She blinked and took her cup gratefully.

Just as he was about to sit down, Abby rushed into the room.

"Carly isn't here. She isn't at home, her car is there, but she's not. I found this in the parking lot and this at her apartment." Abby said before taking a breath and holding up evidence bags with carnation petals in them.

Gibbs didn't have to say a word. The entire team gathered their gear and headed out. Two of their own taken without a shred of evidence other than damn flower petals. Gibbs was going to nail this SOB himself.

Carly groaned and came to tied to a chair opposite Michelle. Her mouth was hurting and she looked at the agent and whispered, "Michelle?"

"Uh, uh, uh." Came a voice from over their heads. "No talking."

Michelle shook her head and Carly stayed quiet. Her questions had already been answered any way. Her friend wasn't really hurt, she had no idea who their captor was and she didn't recognize the voice. Funny how all that could be conveyed with one short, negative motion of the head.

The voice came back on, "As long as you behave, I will let your friend go free."

Carly rolled her eyes. This guy sounded like a bad B movie abduction scene.

The speakers shut off and they could hear footsteps coming closer.

"You see, pet, I've changed. But you, you my dear, have stayed the same." He ran his hand down Carly's cheek and she stared in horror at the man in front of her. No one called her pet, no one except for Cole Jackson. He couldn't be…

"I am." He said simply. "Oh, look, we've gone and revealed to your little friend that you know me. I can't have her running back to your boss with that information, now can I?"

"You leave her alone!" Carly ordered but her voice shook as she said it.

"Well, of course, pet." Cole smiled a cruel smile, "at least for now."

Carly shivered and watched him walk away. Before a distant door shut, he called out, "Wait for me."

When the door banged closed, Carly started working frantically with her ropes. One thing Cole was good at was binding someone down. Michelle looked on and asked quietly, "What happened to your lip?"

Carly stilled. "He grabbed me and I fought back. My lip must have been busted in the process. Can you loosen your ropes?"

Nodding Michelle wriggled and freed herself. Carly just stared in disbelief. "Let me guess, the rule about the knife?"

Michelle shook her head, "Nope, just the ability to untie almost every knot known to man."

With a small sound of disbelief, Carly told her as Michelle worked to get the ropes loosened. "I'll be sure not to mention that to Palmer, in case you want to surprise him."

Michelle paused after undoing the last rope and blushed. "Come on, we don't have time for you to be shy now, Michelle, we have to get out of here."

Gibbs and company were at Carly's apartment trying to construct when she was taken. Except for the flower petals they had no idea what sort of timeline they were looking at here. Five and a half hours was enough time for whomever this person was to have taken her out of state. And it was now two hours later than that. There was no way to tell where either of the women were.

Gibbs phone rang. "Gibbs."

"Jethro, you need to get back here right now." Ducky told him urgently.

"Ducky, we're still in the middle of looking around Carly's place." Gibbs was saying as he heard the phone being moved.

"Tell Tony to leave my lingerie alone and get back here, Jethro." The voice ordered.

"Carly?" Gibbs said in disbelief. The whole team looked up from what they were doing.

"Yes, it's me. Michelle and I are here at NCIS and we're fine, but we need to talk."

"On our way." Gibbs told her and hung up the phone.

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

Carly was sitting on the corner of Gibbs desk and Ducky was attending her lip when they walked in. Jimmy had his arms around Michelle and hugged her tight when she moved to step away. She looked from Gibbs to Jimmy and settled back close to him. Gibbs took Carly's chin in his hand, eyes narrowing as he looked at her lip.

"I thought you said you were fine." He asked softly.

"A busted lip is nothing compared to what Cole Jackson could have done." Carly told him.

Abby had been bouncing around, happy her friends were safe, but that name made her stop dead still. "Cole Jackson?"

Carly looked at her and nodded. She had been compiling the information Gibbs would need without Abby's help, knowing her friend would react this way. She took the remote and brought up his picture.

"He was dead. At least that's what we all thought." She began.

"All who?" Tim asked.

"LAPD, his family, myself. He ran his car into a cement overpass and he was burned badly. For two days, all his family could do was watch him die. Apparently, the man they watched die wasn't Cole Jackson."

She pulled up the rough draft rendition of what he had looked like last night. "The voice was the same. His face was the only difference." She looked at Abby and took a deep breath. "Ready for a history lesson?"

Flashback

End Flashback

Carly was quiet now that her story was told. Everyone it seemed had fixated on a different spot to avoid looking at her she thought. She didn't realize they were ready to take this man apart just like they had wanted to do with Abby's stalker.

Gibbs brought her chin up and looked her in the eye. "We're going to get him this time, Carly."

With a humorless smile she replied, "I know and I know exactly how to catch him."

Abby was the first to protest before Carly even started to spell out her plan. Stepping up to look her friend in the face, she said, "No way. They wouldn't let me be bait and we're not letting you be bait."

Carly pulled Abby closer and hugged her dearest friend. She let her go to look in her eyes and say, "Nothing's going to happen. Besides, I'm not going to be alone."

Abby stared at her in concern as she laid out her plan.

"Look, the one thing that drove Cole crazier than me breaking up with him was me seeing other men. Every time I was out with someone, he'd show up mad as hell. If we want to catch him, we have to piss him off so he'll mess up."

Ziva looks around the room. "So who's going to pose as your boyfriend?"

Michelle looked up at the question and tightened her hold on Jimmy. Carly noticed and shook her head at Michelle. Carly looked at the remaining men in the room: Ducky, Gibbs, Tony and Tim. She was about to suggest Tim when Abby spoke up again.

"Tony should do it."

Carly and Tony both stared at her like she had grown an extra head. Gibbs eyes narrowed at the suggestion and Abby just looked innocent.

"Why not McGee?" Ziva asked.

Abby answered for her, "Well it's not that Carly wouldn't date someone like McGee, but in order for Cole to think his place is threatened it has to be Tony. Cole was…"

"A ladies man who had them lined up for blocks until we met. So it would need to be someone he could see as a true rival in all departments." Carly finished, finally understanding.

Tim just looked a little baffled by the explanation. Carly walked over and put her arm around him. "Don't worry Tim, we can go out for real after Cole is caught."

He laughed and turned a light shade of red.

"I need to get my things from the lab. Abby, walk with?" Carly suggested and pulled her out the room by the arm.

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

When the two got into the elevator, Carly hit the stop button.

"Taking a page out of Gibbs' book I see." Abby said cheerfully.

"What are you thinking offering Tony up like that? Woman, if I had a man like him I wouldn't give him to one of my best friends."

"It will be fine." Abby assured her and then a thought occurred to her. "You're going to have to kiss him aren't you?"

"If I am going to make this work I will have to." Carly told her, exasperated. "That's why I didn't want to use Tony or Jimmy, I know they are taken."

Abby hit the button to start the elevator. "No one else knows about Tony being taken. That's why you have to use him. Gibbs didn't mind when I dated McGee because he knew it wasn't something that would last. With Tony, it's different. We're different together. I mean, we're the same people, but together we're…"

"Don't hurt yourself here, Abs, I know what you're talking about. I just wish you hadn't said anything. I was going to suggest Gibbs do it."

Abby's eyes widened, "I didn't think of that." She grabbed Carly's arm, "Come on, let's go suggest it."

"No, if we change our minds now, everyone will be suspicious."

Carly gathered her things and they returned to the bullpen. She was prepared to take Tony's arm and drag him out the door for their first potential show, when Gibbs stood from his desk. He took his gun from his drawer and shrugged into his jacket.

"Let's go Carly."

Nonplussed, Carly looked from Tony to Gibbs. "But Tony…"

"Tony isn't." Gibbs stated, and then added, "It's me or your plan is called off."

With a wide-eyed look and a satisfied mind, Carly walked over making a show of being reluctant. She looked back at Tony and said, "I'd have preferred DiNozzo."

The ride to Carly's house was silent except for the sounds of rain on the street. It was midday and Gibbs was taking an early day to masquerade as her lover. Carly watched his hands as he drove like a bat out of hell to get to her place. He had great hands. Strong. Mentally sighing, she turned to look out the window.

When they pulled into the parking lot in front of her apartment, Gibbs shut off the car but made no move to get out. "We didn't mess up anything when we were searching."

Carly smiled. "I didn't think you would. None of you are amateurs. Let's go in and get some coffee."

Gibbs shook his head, stepped out and came around to open her door. Surprised, she took his offered hand and stepped out onto the pavement. They walked hand in hand to her door, unaware of the eyes watching their every move.

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

Carly had thrown together some quick sandwiches, bread from a nearby bakery and thick sliced ham from a butcher's. They had eaten in companionable silence to the last bite. She knew she was in it deep when Gibbs put his coffee cup down and stared at her across the table.

"DiNozzo?" was all he had to say and she knew what he meant.

Shrugging, she answered, "DiNozzo."

He kept his stare and she rolled her eyes at him. "He was the logical choice. He's close to my age, he's handsome and he is a chick magnet."

She stopped when she noticed Jethro clench his jaw. She stood and walked to his side of the table. Taking his face in her hands, she whispered, "But he's not you, Jet."

Quicker than a blink, she found herself in his lap with his lips on hers. He kissed her deeply, with a pent up passion that left her breathless. By the tight way he held her arms, she knew he was fighting himself as much as he was fighting her. She kissed him back pouring all she felt and couldn't say into the kiss. It was too much and not enough. Jethro groaned and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her flush against his chest.

Carly whimpered and squirmed until his tight hold loosened and she turned to straddle his lap, hardly breaking their kiss. She reached between them and her fingers made short work of the buttons on his shirt. Pushing it off his shoulders, she ran her hands over his chest as his lips moved down the column of her throat. He paused at the base of her neck to kiss and lick the pulse beating rapidly there.

With her mouth freed, she gasped and bit his earlobe. She felt his hands run up under her t-shirt and she was thankful that her choice of clothing was so simple. Covering her breasts, he plumped and squeezed them gently before yanking her shirt off leaving her sitting on him in her jeans and bra. He pulled back to look at her and was captivated by the simplicity of her black cotton and lace bra. Pressing his lips to her collarbone, he pulled the straps from her shoulders and kissed his way down to the plump tip of one delectable breast. The jolt of desire that shot through her when he opened his mouth and took her inside made her cry out.

Standing, he kicked the chair out of his way and swept the plates and cups to one side of the table. Laying her back, he made sure to take his time and pay equal attention to the other breast so perfectly framed and offered up to him by the bra he had shoved down. His hands went to the waistband of her pants feeling for the button. She trembled as she told him, "Just pull them off, there aren't any buttons."

Taking her at her word and kissing down to her stomach, he pushed the pants over her hips and down her legs, taking her panties as he went. When she was bared before him, his eyes swept her body, noting a few more tattoos she had managed to keep hidden. Without saying a word, his eyes conveyed how pleased he was at the sight of her. She pushed back up into a sitting position and unfastened his pants. The zipper sounded loud in the room, the silence only broken by their breathing. She placed her hands inside the waist of his boxers and slid them down along with his pants. She pulled him closer until he was almost touching her where she needed him most.

At the last moment, he paused. "Do you?"

"It's ok." She told him and nearly screamed when he thrust inside her.

"Oh hell, Carly." Gibbs muttered.

He pulled back, almost completely out, and she let out a cry. He laid her back on the table and took her nipple in his mouth, sucking with vigor; he flexed his hips until he was so deep inside her he nearly lost it.

"JET!"

"Damn it, Carly!" He said as he felt her body clench around his. She was coming apart in his arms and he couldn't hold back. Unable to control himself, he thrust hard and fast driving towards his release. With a final thrust, he shouted her name and collapsed halfway on top of her.

She couldn't control her breathing or tell her heart to slow down. Her hands had taken on a life of their own and were continuously stroking Jet's back. His breathing was harsh and uneven in her ear. As he pushed himself up and over her, he smiled.

Carly couldn't help smiling back. She felt as if someone had just plugged her into a light socket. Every nerve in her body was sizzling and she ran her hands up his arms to his face.

"Wow!" was all she said but that was enough to get a laugh out of Jethro Gibbs.

He lifted her up off the table and still joined with her, made his way down the hall to the bedroom.

Cole was beyond angry. He still hadn't accounted for how the women had escaped. They hadn't had help from their co-workers, he knew because he had been watching them investigate the scene. He hadn't liked not knowing why they had rushed away from Carly's house as fast as they had so he returned to the abandoned store where he had the women tied up only to find them gone. Once he had realized they would run straight back to work, he quickly drove himself to a discreet distance from the parking area for the agents and watched as Carly had walked out, entirely too close to the lead agent at her side. Again, he realized he had been wrong about her. He thought she would have gone for the younger, more brash Federal Agent, but she chose the older, seasoned veteran to spend her time with. They weren't so caught up in conversation on the drive to Carly's that he could risk following closely. He stayed back and watched as they walked hand-in-hand into her apartment. Seething, Cole had watched her fix him lunch and then shamelessly let him take her on the table. He drove back to his place working through his plan to get Carly and make her pay for her deceit and her inability to be faithful to him.

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

Carly woke up early the next morning and stretched. She was still tired from the workout she and Jethro had been through since yesterday afternoon. Looking at the clock she noted the time. 0530. The shower turned on and she smiled. He had stayed the entire night. She wasn't going to fool herself into thinking it was because he couldn't help himself. He had stayed because of the case and because Cole was still out there. Smiling broader, she remembered giving him a few other reasons to stay as well.

Knowing the coffee would start automatically, she slid out of bed, not self-conscious about her naked form. Padding in bare feet to the bathroom, she saw Jet tense through the stall door right before she joined him.

"I'm almost finished." He told her as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hmmm," Carly murmured as she rubbed her cheek against his back. "Could I convince you to start again?"

Jethro turned in her arms and gave her a stern look. "We have to be at work soon and in case you didn't notice, I don't have a change of clothes here."

"We don't have to be there that soon." She told him and ran her nails up his thighs.

His eyes started a slow burn that she took as a good sign as she took him in her hands. He backed her against the wall of the shower and lifted her. Carly wrapped her legs around his waist as she took him inside. Now this was a great morning.

Cole watched Carly for nearly two weeks before seeing any laxness in the way her lover guarded her. Each day that passed by just fueled his fury. He had given up his life because of her. If she hadn't been so insistent on breaking things off, his actions never would have escalated with those other women.

He had ignored his urges until she left. He had known at first that they were wrong and he was able to stop himself from hurting other women, women who needed to be saved from their selves. Women who were just like Carly. Yes, he had known she wasn't an innocent and she had never settled on one man, but he believed he could save her from herself.

When she told him it was all in fun, that she hadn't been serious about him, he had realized the other women were as undeserving of his consideration as Carly was. They didn't deserve to live and trap men that way.

After that time, his entire focus was on delivering those women from their wayward paths. And Carly, well just to see her reaction to the evidence he left for her was more than enough at the time.

He was close to being caught and he knew he had to leave. Faking his death was the only way. He had continued his work, helping those women he met across the country, working his way back to Carly. Finding her in DC was unexpected. It also filled him with a surge of energy considering his work had been lacking of late. Finding that she hadn't changed had made up his mind. Until he had helped her realize she was wrong, he couldn't continue on. It was time and he now had the perfect opportunity.

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

Carly was getting tired of feeling confined all the time. Cole wouldn't act if he knew someone like Jethro was around. He wouldn't try anything knowing he wouldn't get past the Marine trained to do what it takes to complete his objective, and Jet's objective was protecting Carly. She had finally convinced Jet of this and had kissed him on his way out the door.

The panic button Abby had given her was at hand but out of sight and 30 minutes after watching Jet drive away, she had to activate it.

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

Gibbs had just sat down at his desk when the pager linked to Carly's panic button went off. He shot out of his chair running without explanation to the elevators. Tony and Ziva looked up and like a shot they were after him with Tim and Michelle bringing up the rear.

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

Cole was circling Carly, having tied her up again. He had found the device but Abby had worked wonders with it and he thought it was an ordinary pager. Her thoughts were racing, wondering if Jethro would get back before Cole could use the knife he held in his hand.

Cole was going on and on, explaining why he had done nothing but help those women. He had saved them from self-destructing any further.

Twenty minutes into his diatribe, Carly was furious enough with him she shouted, "You're an idiot, Cole. For centuries, men have been doing exactly what you have been ‘saving' these women from. You're a hypocrite as well. The very traits you hate in us women are the same traits you've displayed yourself. You were one of the biggest players in our precinct and you are just killing women," she scoffed at him.

"I changed when I started seeing you." He tried to explain.

Snorting in disgust, she said, "Sure, you did. Instead of sleeping with my best friend, you turned to strangers. Come on, you were never serious about me. You were never faithful to me. I've never been unfaithful. When I'm with someone, that person is the only one I'm with."

Angered into action, Cole pressed the knife to her neck at the base of her throat. "Listen you bitch." He stepped closer and the tip of the knife broke her skin. Smiling at her blood, the sight seemed to calm him. "You don't have to worry about double standards anymore."

He was about to cut her throat when shots were fired, three in quick succession, finding their targets without error. A look of surprise flitted across Cole's face as he realized he had been shot and couldn't finish his task. The knife dropped, cutting Carly's leg as it fell. In a daze, Carly saw Tony and Ziva still in their firing stance and Jet moving quickly across the room.

He had her untied and lifted away from Cole's dead body before it really registered that she was safe. Michelle had called for the paramedics and Ducky.

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

Carly was sitting at Jethro's desk, her neck and leg bandaged, giving her statement of what had happened. When the report was completed, she sat in silence, not knowing where she'd go. There was a crew hired to clean her apartment so she couldn't go there yet. She was about to ask Abby if she could stay with her when Jet walked over and took her hand.

"Let's go, Carly." At her puzzled look, he explained, "You're staying with me for now."

The entire team was in shock, staring at Gibbs blatantly breaking Rule #12. As they reached the elevator, he turned to Tony and said, "Don't keep Abby up so late this weekend. Twelve Caf-Pows and she was still dragging last Monday."

As the elevator doors slid shut, they could hear the explosion of voices questioning Tony. Jethro took Carly in his arms and smiled.