Tony woke up and stretched languidly in his large bed. He smiled when he glanced down and saw Abby's black, raven hair splayed across his chest from where she had her head laid down on his chest, and wished it were Derek's head there instead. He felt her stir and rubbed at her back to wake the Goth up further.
"Good morning." She said huskily through a yawn. "What time is it?"
Tony glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and cringed. "Damn, it's 0530. We better get up, because I've a meeting with the BAU at 0800 and we gotta get McMutt fed, watered and walked before we leave."
Abby sat up and looked at Tony. "I'm going to take him to work. He's a good dog, so he won't be any trouble in the lab and that way he won't be here all on his own."
Tony shook his head and pushed the covers back so he could step out of bed. "No way Abbs, Gibbs will kill us if anything happens to Jet and you know as well as I do that the lab isn't safe for him."
"So you want to leave him here all on his own?" Abby protested, though the whine in her voice was laid on so thick, that even she cringed slightly. "Please, Tony. I'll take real good care of him and I promise not to let him near anything dangerous."
The hopeful look on Abby's face made Tony's resolve melt away, and he found himself listening to the little devil sitting on his left shoulder. "All right, BUT...and you gotta listen to me here Abbs...he's your responsibility and if anything happens to him, you are totally responsible. Take care of the Mutt!"
Abby grinned and nodded. "I will. I mean, of course I will!" Her giddy tone changed to a slightly disgusted one. Tony chuckled and shook his head before getting up to hit the head. Abby's phone rang just as he walked into the bathroom.
"It's Pen..." She shouted out before answering her phone. "Hi Pen."
"Abby! How's my favourite Gothgirl today?"
"I'm good. I stayed with Tony and Jethro last night after we took him for a run at the Navy yard." She heard Garcia chuckle on the other end.
"Who? Tony or the dog?"Abby giggled gleefully and shook her head. She had rang Garcia the night before to catch up on the plans for the babyshower, so the lovable BAU geek had pretty much caught up on all the gossip.
"Well that depends."
"I can imagine. So my dove, what time are you both due at NCIS?"Abby thought for a moment before answering.
"Tony's got a meeting with your team at 8, so we'll probably be there at around 7. I'm bringing Jethro with me so, he doesn't feel lonely while we're at work. Oh hey, what about you? We can grab breakfast on the way and eat it down in the lab."
"Sounds good. How about you two get your backsides here and I'll pick the breakfast up. I'm already ready to go and I know this little place that have amazing Danishes."
"Okay, we'll meet you in Chez Abby at what? Seven thirty?"
"Make it seven fifteen. We can talk a bit then as well. You and Tony bring the coffee."
Abby grinned at Tony as he walked in and waited for him to sit back down on the bed before leaning into him. "Sure thing. I'll need my cafpow anyway." She heard Garcia chuckle on the other end before saying her goodbyes and yawning loudly when she'd put the phone down on the nightstand.
"Tired?" Tony asked and shook his head. "Knew we shouldn't have watched that movie last night."
She shook her head and smiled at him. "Nah, you needed it. Oh hey, Garcia's going to meet us in the lab for breakfast. That okay?"
"Sure thing. You go and shower and I'll go make coffee" Tony replied and stopped to kiss her on the cheek. "Hurry up okay. If we're gonna make plenty of time for breakfast, then we're gonna have to hustle."
"Hustle?" Abby said as she walked into the bathroom. "Haven't heard that for a while."
Tony grinned and shook his head. "Just don't spend hours in there."
"Yeah, yeah." She replied making Tony chuckle. He walked over to his closet and looked at the clothes that hung there. It was normal looking in here now and seeing some of Derek's gear hanging languidly next to his own. He grinned at the maroon sweater that he loved seeing his partner wear and pulled it out so he could put it on. He decided on black, casual cargo pants to go with it and finished dressing. Once done, he slipped on his shoes and made his way down to make the coffee. While it was brewing, he decided to throw caution to the wind and ring Tim, hoping that it wasn't too early because he knew he'd be tied up in meetings all day.
"Yeah, Gibbs."Tony frowned when the boss answered his Probie's phone, but took in the sleepy quality to the gruff voice.
"Gibbs. Tim okay?" He heard some rustling and waited for Gibbs to answer.
"He's sleepin' DiNozzo. So was I,till Tim's phone started vibrating off the damn nightstand."
"Shit.... Sorry, boss. I've got meetings this morning, and just wanted to make sure he was really alright. I was a bit worried about those pains."
Jethro sighed softly before yawning. "I know, Tony. Me and dad have been on pins all night. I got up to get a drink and dad was stood in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil."
"Is he going to get checked out? Better be safe than sorry, right?"
"He hasn't got a choice in the matter. Me and dad decided to take him first thing before we start working on the store. I'd be happier knowing he's not in slow labour or anything. There's still a couple of months to go yet and it hasn't been easy on him."
"Sorry." Tony replied automatically. Truth be told, he'd started feeling guilty over the whole thing and knew that while in the throes of his small bout of depression, He'd pretty much made Tim's life miserable.
"Sign of weakness and what the hell are you feeling guilty for?"
"I dunno. Just feel like I was partly to blame. You know how it goes." Tony admitted ruefully.
"Jesus, you two are too much alike sometimes. Just get over it. Pain made him a bastard, and there's a few little details that he forgot to mention at the time. It's over between you two now and it's all business as normal."
Tony knew what the boss meant and nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. I just worry...wait! what few little details?"
"Don't worry about it. I've got it in hand and we'l...Morning." Tony grinned when he heard Tim's sleepy greeting. "Sorry, Tim woke up grumbling about a bowling ball on his bladder kicking the crap out of his ribs. Sounds like fun."
"It'll be worth it in the end." Tony replied. "Can I talk to him now he's awake?"
"Yeah. Give him a minute to finish up in the bathroom though."
"Hey boss? Is this situation something I need to be worried about. I just want to know, if I can do anything."
"You just concentrate on keeping things going with the BAU. Concentrate on the case and I'll fill you in tomorrow. Okay, Tim's here. I'll passyou over."
"What?...oh...Hi Tony."Tony frowned at how tired Tim sounded, and hoped that it was just a case of him struggling to shirk sleep off.
"McGoo, you sound tired."
"Thanks." Tim responded drily before yawning. "Kept waking up. If I don't need to pee, then i've got Braxton hicks kicking in. It's not as if I've got anything else to do today but rest, so I'll catch up. You okay?"
Tony laughed softly. "I'm fine. Me, McMutt and Abbs watched a movie last night and went to bed right afterwards. I think Jethro was too tired to do anything when we got back."
"He always crashes after a good run. It does him good though,because no doubt he'll need to lose weight after being fed by Abby."
"She means well." Tony replied. "But yeah, I know what you mean. So, Probie. You're gonna get these pains seen to right?"
"Huh? No. Why would I do that?"
"Because McGoo. You're having them too frequently and we're worried. Just humor us okay?" He heard a sigh on the other end of the phone. "Come on. What harm can it do?"
"I don't have much of a choice. Gibbs is glaring at me,so no doubt the Gibbs men will drag me off."
"Good. Hey, I've gotta go, but let me know how it goes." He said his goodbyes with Tim and hung up the phone so he could prepare the coffee. He decided to put them in the travel mugs that he kept in the house for when they left on the hop, and handed Abby's over to her when she clomped into the kitchen in her platforms.
"Thanks. You ready to go?"
"I'm ready. Let me just grab my keys and we'll be on our way." He moved to the sideboard and grabbed what he needed before they both set out.
***NCIS***
"Mother hens! That's what you all are, mother hens." Tim grumbled as he fumbled with the pregnancy girdle that helped support his back. "I swear, Junior. You're gonna be watched like a hawk when you're here so you better be prepared."
"Hey, sunshine. Got up on the wrong side of the bed?" Jethro replied with a short, huffed laugh and handed Tim his t-shirt before leaning in to kiss his lover. "And technically, you're the mother so that's a moot point."
"Whatever. Do I really need to go to the hospital?" Tim replied with a slight petulant tone. He hadn't slept well at all the night before and wanted nothing more than for Jethro and Jack to leave him alone to nap. He loved them both dearly, but the fact that his lover had pretty much woken up everytime he did, meant the older man was more worried than he needed to be.
Jethro sighed heavily and rubbed his hand over his face wearily, because this was an argument that they'd had before going to sleep and in the hours that followed. "Yeah, you do. Come on, Timmy. I know you're tired, fed up and hurting, but you've gotta give us some leeway. Don't think I don't know how many times you woke up last night. You look like death warmed over. Oh yeah, that and I could feel your abdomen tightening for most of the night."
Tim grimaced and waddled out off the bedroom, so that he could at least get a cup of tea before they left. Jethro followed him out and sighed with relief when his very pregnant partner greeted Jack with a kiss to the forehead and a smile.
"Good morning, Tim. How're you doing today?" Jack asked merrily. "Jethro told me we're taking a trip to the hospital. What's the matter?"
"Just tired, but I'm good apart from being used as a football and regretting drinking so much before bed." Tim sighed. "Sorry, I'm grouchy and really don't need to go the hospital. J thinks I do, but seriously, there's nothing wrong. Just because..."
"Just because what?" Jack cut in and watched the wince on Tim's face as he reached for the tea bags.
"J felt my bump tightening a bit last night and he's getting worried. It feels like it always does and the Doctor said it was normal to have Braxton's so much. Apparently it's something that happens with men because for what it's worth, our bodies are still evolving. I'm okay dad. Just fed up, sore and want Junior out."
Jackson winced in sympathy and pushed a chair out from the table with his foot. "Sit. You should be taking it easy. What're you drinking?"
"Dad, I can make a cup of tea. Come on, I'm not an invalid." Tim whined, earning him a head slap from the older Gibbs man. "And hey! Now I know where Jethro gets it from." He turned at the laughing from Jethro and scowled. "You can quit it as well."
"What do you expect. You're whining like a damn child." Jack jumped in.
"Aww come on, Dad." Tim sighed heavily and chuckled. "Okay, guess I am. I'm being pissy, that's all. J is hellbent on taking me to the hospital,when I don't need to go. I'm gonna be getting fingers shoved there enough as it is and would like to keep that pleasure to the bare minimum if I can help it."
"Don't complain when I do it." Jethro said briefly, as he kissed his dad on the cheek and moved to pour himself a coffee. He heard his father choke slightly and shook his head. "Sorry, Dad."
"So you should be, Leroy. I don't care who you fall in love with, but I'll be damned if I wanna hear about your sex life." He finished preparing Tim's tea and set it down in front of him. "Raspberry leaf. You didn't tell me what you wanted, so I went with the one I thought you liked."
"Perfect. Dad..." Tim paused momentarily and reached round to grasp the old man's hand. "I'm sorry. I'm being a grouch and you don't deserve that."
"Don't worry about it, son. Just let me and Leroy take you to get checked out and I'll let you tell us that you told us so when it's all clear." Jack squeezed Tim's hand and sat back down to finish drinking his own drink. "So, what's the plan of action? We all head down...and yes I'm coming. If you think you're leaving me here you've got another thing coming."
"We'll go together if that's what you want, Dad. Just don't expect to be in the room." Jethro said and sat down. "Sports?" Jack handed it over and shook his head. Between Tim and his son, he was surprised he had a paper left. Tim grinned when Jack separated the paper for him to share and sat back to read his half. "How about I take you both for breakfast before we hop over to the hospital?" He asked from behind the tabloid.
"If you're thinking breakfast before hospital, then you can't be that worried." Tim muttered to himself. He felt two pairs of eyes glaring at him and looked up from the article he was reading with an innocent blink. "What?"
"I'm plenty worried. Don't let the fact that we're stopping off first fool ya. You said you're fine, so I'm taking your word for it there. If it's not, then i'm gonna head slap you into next year. It's called trust, so deal with it." Jethro huffed out and went back to reading the latest sports news. Tim scowled slightly but thought better than to argue with his lover, because once he'd dug his heels in, there was no way of changing his mind.
"So..." Jack cut through the light tension that had descended there and shook the paper out before folding it up again. "What time do you boys want to leave? I know a great little place for breakfast that is pretty quiet this early."
Jethro nodded his head. "Martha's?"
"Best bacon and eggs around." Jack said with dreamy look on his face. "Coffee's good as well. If we leave soon, then the ER will be pretty quiet as well."
Tim's scowl grew slightly and he almost choked on his tea when he felt Jethro kick him under the table. When he looked up, he saw his lover glaring at him. "What? I'm just reading the paper."
"Yeah? Because from where I'm sitting it looks like you're gonna turn that milk sour with the look on your face." Jack shushed his son and turned to Tim. With a gentle smile he reached over and put his hand on Tim's arm.
"Son, I know you're uncomfortable and I remember Leroy's momma getting royally pissed off with me fussing when she got to your stage, but you've got to let us worry. It's all we've got because we can't stop you being in pain and feeling uncomfortable. Its part and parcel of what we do and all I ask is that you humor us. Please, Tim. We just want to make sure that you're alright because we're worried."
Tim's face softened slightly. "About the baby." He said knowingly and was surprised when Jack shook his head.
"About both of you. We love you too much and male pregnancies carry a higher risk than female ones. You've had a tough time of it, and right now you're suffering. You know as well as I do, that statistics have shown a higher chance of premature births." Jack stood up and put his mug in the sink.
"You've been reading up." Tim replied with a soft smile. "Okay, I'll go but I'm reserving that right to say 'I told you so' when I get the all clear."
"Wouldn't dream of taking that away from you, son." Jack chuckled and turned to face his boys. "So. You two ready?"
Tim finished his tea and stood up before groaning and leaning forward to lean on the table as his back seized. "Damn it!"
"Tim!" Gibbs ran round and helped Tim lower himself down. "Jesus. This is more than just Braxton hick's contractions and you know it. We'll get breakfast later. Right now, I want to..."
"Back. J! It's my back. The muscles just seized."
"Completely?" Jethro asked with concern and stood directly behind his lover to massage out the knots. "Okay. Take it easy...Dad, can you go and get the bottle of pills from the nightstand. There's two there, just bring them both."
"What's going on, Leroy?" Gibbs frowned at the worried tone to his father's voice and shook his head.
"Just his back. The muscle relaxants should sort that out."
Jack walked out of the room to get the meds leaving his son to deal with Tim. This wasn't right and no matter what, he was determined to get that kid checked over because he didn't think any of them could handle losing either the baby, or Tim.
***NCIS***
Tony sat there listening to Penelope talking about her latest beau. Her bubbly personality was infectious to a fault and Tony couldn't help but relax as they ate their food and chatted about things that were of little consequence.
"So, he comes round with a bottle of wine, dinner and candles. It was so sweet! He's cute. I will admit I think I've landed on my feet with him." Tony could see the spark of attraction and happiness as it permeated through her. It was nice to see, and after the past few months, just being able to sit down like this and relax was nice.
Abby giggled with glee and clapped her hands. "Ooh everyone's settling down. I just need things to go alright with my first date and we can all double...triple date."
Tony grinned and looked at his watch. "Aw crap! I've gotta see Ducky before the meeting. It's 8 now so I've gotta be quick."
"Sure thing Tony boy. I'll see you upstairs soon enough. Hey, you spoken to Derek?" She asked and reached over to tug gently at the top that Tony had put on. "And that looks familiar. You missing your man, sweet cheeks?"
"What makes you say that?" Tony asked innocently.
"You're wearing his favourite shirt. That one makes him irresistibly sexy. I swear, if he wasn't gay..."
Tony flushed slightly and shook his head with a grin. "Lucky for me he is. I spoke to him last night and he's okay. If anything, he's working the case there as well. Okay ladies, I've gotta go so I'll love ya and leave ya. Speak to you two later. Stay out of trouble and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"And that would be?" Pen asked with a smirk and giggled when Abby shrugged.
"Pretty much nothing. Tony's up for anything."
Tony shook his head and made his way out grinning as he listened to the girls giggling fading into the background. His grin faltered slightly as he made his way down to autopsy so Ducky could have his wicked way with the medical equipment. He loved the old man sure, but he hated the fact that he was about to be pricked like a pincushion and checked over to make sure he was okay. Damn the first day back! Not only was he behind, but he had a fun meeting with Vance later on this afternoon and a few hundred emails to get through. Yeah, welcome back!
He walked into autopsy and grinned when he saw Ducky putting some kind of cream on Jimmy's back. "Don't tell me you've done a Probie and met with the demon poison ivy? Do I even want to know how you got it all over your back?"
"What?...Um no. Dr. Mallard was just..." Jimmy stammered and blushed furiously.
"Oh for heaven's sake, Mr. Palmer. Just tell him. This is nowhere near as embarrassing as what he's thinking at the moment." Ducky tutted at Jimmy's coyness and shook his head.
"It's a tattoo. I got a tattoo with Breena and Dr. Mallard is just rubbing some Vaseline on it for me to stop it from drying out." He admitted but frowned when Tony burst out laughing. "What?"
"You got a tat? Please don't tell me you've reacted the same way you did to the henna. That was just...urgh." Tony shuddered at the memory andmoved to stand beside Ducky. He gasped at the large tattoo that now adorned his friends entire upper back. It was impressive and Tony didn't even want to think about the pain involved in having that done. "Damn, gremlin, that's pretty damn nice!"
"You like it?"
"Yeah. Looks kinda familiar though." Tony scruitinized the ink and shook his head. "Where've I seen that before?"
"It's the same as that henna tat. Breena got one as well, but nothing as big." Jimmy's face lit up when he talked about his girlfriend. "We liked thehenna so decided to get them done permanently."
"Okay. Well you are done here, Mr. Palmer. Do you want a dressing on it to stop your scrubs rubbing?" Ducky capped the Vaseline and snapped off his gloves. Jimmy shook his head and started putting a t-shirt on before his scrub top. "Very well. Just let me know if it starts irritating. That's a big tattoo for a first time, young man and you don't want to ruin the design by scratching. I have some topical lotion that would help take the edge off the itch."
"I will, Doctor Mallard. Thank you for helping me out with."
"You are quite welcome, young man. Now, would you mind taking those samples to Abigail? I'm interested in knowing whether the results are the same as the others."
Jimmy moved to the table and picked up the tub with several vials in it. With a sheepish grin, he walked out of autopsy leaving Tony in Ducky's capable hands. "When's the wedding?" Tony asked with an easy grin and shook his head. "Who ever thought our little Jimmy would settle down."
Ducky nodded and pulled on a pair of fresh gloves. "It's nice to see the boy happy. It's been a while and hmm... You know, I do believe he has bought her a ring and was planning to propose this weekend. He's flying her over to his parent's beach house, which is fairly secluded. It's perfect from what he says. I just hope he hasn't changed his mind because he hasn't mentioned it in a while."
Tony nodded and hopped up on the nearest table. "Romantic. So, what's the order of the day? You gonna stick me with needles and send me on my way?" He asked hopefully, knowing that he had a meeting with the BAU in less than half an hour, and didn't want to turn up late after what happened.
"Blood tests and then a general check-up. I want to make sure you're really alright, though you do appear to be outwardly back to your old self." Ducky frowned as he contemplated where to start before shrugging. "Bloods first I think."
"Why'd you want blood when I was having a...huh. What would you call it? Oh yeah, a nervous breakdown." The sarcasm that dripped from the last part of Tony's statement didn't go amiss with Ducky who just hmmm'd and put the tourniquet on.
"I'd personally call it stress and possibly a touch of depression. I just want to make sure you're physically healthy, because you know as well as I do what both conditions can do to the body. Arm out, Anthony...that's it. Make a fist." Ducky found the vein straight away and drew a couple of vials of blood. Tony cringed but took it on the chin.
"Depression? Ducky, come on. I'm not depressed."
"Now." Ducky replied succinctly. "But back then, I fear the stress got on top of you. Jethro is back now, so you have help, but to be in your situation must have taken its toll."
Tony nodded and let Ducky take his blood pressure and check his lungs. "Yeah, guess so. I've got a meeting in about ten that I can't miss. Is there much more to do?"
"All done. I have to say, you're in good health young man. Go on. I'll send your blood up to Abigail to test and shall let you know. In the meantime, would you mind taking this upstairs because it will help with your meeting?" Ducky handed Tony the latest autopsy report with a smile and took of his gloves. "So, things are going well with Derek, I take it. You seem settled."
Tony grinned and nodded his head. "More than you'll ever know. It's great." Ducky smiled back and Tony could see the approval deep in his eyes. He jumped down and with a quick thanks, made his way up to the meeting.
***NCIS***
"Go on. Say it." Jethro huffed out as they left the hospital. Tim was still frowning at having the internal exam and Jethro knew that it'd take a lot to make it up to him. "You know you wanna."
Tim sighed heavily. "Say what? Right now, I want coffee, breakfast and to sit in a chair so no one else can stick their damn fingers up my ass today."
"I don't envy you son." Jack added and shook his head. "Damn invasive if you ask me. They couldn't check any other way?"
Jethro shook his head and opened the car before helping Tim in. "Nope, but wait till you're pushing him out and remember that a couple of fingers was nothing." He placed his hand lovingly on Tim's shoulder and leaned in for a kiss. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. You're worried. I get that, I really do. I'm fine. Junior's fine and we're both having the time of our lives, so how about you hop in the car and take us for breakfast because your baby is hungry."
Jack chuckled and when Tim looked up, Jethro was smirking at him with a glint in his eye. "Which one?"
"The little one squirming about on my bladder ,because daddy had to drink stupid amounts of water for the ultrasound and will be peeing all day." Tim said sweetly and leaned up to kiss his lover. "Come on. You've got work to do and you're not doing it on an empty stomach. Dad, you hungry?"
Jack climbed in the car nodding his head. He pulled out his wallet and slipped another small photo in there.
"How many of them have you got?" Jethro asked as he peered round and saw the small pile of pictures there.
"Leroy, I have kept everyone you boys have sent me. They're the first pictures of my grandson and I plan to cherish them. Speaking of which, when am I going to get pictures of you two boys together?"
"We'll send you some. There's no way you're getting near me with a camera looking like this." Tim chuckled and made to do up his seatbelt, thankful that Jethro had bought him the seatbelt adjuster that made it sit over his bump comfortably. "Anyway, you'll be getting full family one's after he's born. With you in them, Dad."
"You want me in them? Now why would you want an old man like me in those pictures?"
"Because you're family." Jethro said and set off. "What do you two say to grabbing breakfast to go and going back home to eat? It's pretty nice so we can sit out back."
Both his dad and his partner agreed and they soon set off to get the breakfast.
***NCIS***
Ziva parked up outside the house that she'd been too with her friend's months before and sighed. This was a bad idea, but she needed help and the only way in which she was going to get it, was by biting the bullet and going ahead with what she had planned. Luckily, she'd figured out that her father wasn't involved, but there was still a renegade group of ex Mossad vigilantes after her and that wasn't something she would be taking lightly anymore. With the help of her father and some trusted family friends, she'd managed to throw her vigilante's off the scent, and hoped and prayed that they hadn't followed her up here. She stepped out of the rental car and walked up to the house so that she could knock on the door to speak to Jethro and Tim about what had happened; she just hated the fact that she was ruining their break to do so. With a hesitant knock, she waited patiently and almost cried with frustration when there was no answer. This was it! This was her chance to make things right and finally put the situation to bed so that everyone could move forward. She leaned forward and rested her head on the door and let the tears roll down her face with frustration and grief. Shewas so lost in her own mind and the heaving of her body as the sobs overwhelmed her, that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her and started when a warm hand rested on her shoulder.
"Ziva? What're you doing here?" She whipped round at the sound of Tim's voice and chocked on a sob as she flung her arms around him.
"Tim. I am so sorry. I didn't want to come here but...but I need help."
Tim frowned and held her tight to him. "Help with what, Zee? What's going on?"
"That's something we'd all like to know." Ziva let go of Tim and looked over at Jethro with fear and worry in her eyes. She nodded her head and wiped at the tears in her eyes.
"I need to tell you. I need...Gibbs, things cannot continue this way. I cannot live the way I am because someone will either get hurt or..."
"Or?"
"Or I will end up being killed because if they can't have me, then no one can."
Jethro's eyes narrowed dangerously as he listened to Ziva and for the first time ever, he saw something in those dark brown eyes; something he never thought he'd see there...pure, unadulterated terror.
***NCIS***
"What we know about the suspect so far, is that he's not working alone and he seems to have a religious belief that is coming through in all of his killings. He slipped with his last victim though, and I think we were wrong in our original profile."
Tony frowned heavily and read through the report of the last crime scene. "In what way?"
"The victim was laid out identically to the others apart from one thing." Hotch answered. "Either he's getting sloppy, or he just doesn't care anymore. Either way, it makes him more dangerous. What we found, was this." He passed Tony a bag with a necklace in it and the senior NCIS agent felt the air whoosh out of his lungs with surprise.
"You're kidding, right? This was with the body?"
They all nodded and Spencer leaned forward so he could lean on the table. "It was found about a foot away from the body, but we believe that it came from the unsub. The fact that it's the Star of David, makes me believe that the unsub isn't trying to 'cleanse' the unpure, but is leaving a message. So far, all of the victims have been devout Christians, so we believe this is now more about purging people with Christian beliefs because he possibly thinks it conflicts with his own."
"How...?"
"We don't know. Not for sure." Hotch replied before Tony could answer. "We work on elimination and right now, this is a theory that we will be building on."
Tony didn't know what to say and felt is gut clench. The Star of David meant that the Israeli's were involved and his gut told him, that there was a distinct possibility that Ziva was too.
"Jesus. That means...damn it! I need to speak to the Director. Is there anything else that we need to know?" Tony asked feeling the urgency of the situation rise.
"Not at the moment. You've read through our reports and know where we are up to with it. So far there have been seven victims and all of them have been killed in the same way. There would have been eight, but as you know, we managed to stop him before getting as far as killing her." Hotch supplied. Tony's mind wandered to the day that his boss had been shot and frowned.
"Yeah. We all remember that."
"Tony, I have to ask. Is Ziva Da'vid involved in this?"
"I don't know, Spencer. That's something we need to find out. I don't think she'll be directly involved, but the fact that the Israeli's are back in town doesn't look good."
The BAU team went quiet as they processed the information. "Listen, even after what happened, I don't think she'll be involved in the way you are thinking. Knowing Mossad, it's possible that they're involved but how, I don't know. Vance has ties to Eli Da'vid, so i'll speak to him to see what we can find out."
Tony stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the FBI team to work their side of the investigation. He couldn't help but feel that a day that started off relatively well, was going downhill fast and right now he wished he had Derek there to support him.
***NCIS***
"Sit." Jethro ordered his agent and placed a mug of coffee down in front of her when she sat down slowly in a kitchen chair. They'd all eaten breakfast out on the patio and it had given the three men a good chance to look her over. Of course, they hadn't liked what they saw, and were shocked at the sight of her sitting there picking at her food, looking too thin and pale, with dark circles under her eyes. "Talk to me."
"I...Gibbs, I am sorry. This has all got out of hand now."
"What has?" Jethro sat down with his own coffee and sat there patiently waiting for her to find the words she needed.
"I have been followed for months now by two people who I hoped never to see again. They trained with me in Mossad and were good agent's until they turned and becamevigilante's. They have a small band of people who follow them, but...but this is not easy for me."
"Why?"
"Because..." A lone tear trailed down her pale face and she wiped it away with a tissue that was handed to her. "Because, Nafi...sorry, Naftali, is my younger brother who has never forgiven me for taking the life of our older brother. He does not wish to hear the details, he just knows what I did and doesn't believe that I deserve friends or happiness."
Jethro understood and hated where this was going. If vigilante's were after Ziva and were taking out everything that she was close too... "Were you followed?"
"No. My father made sure I have protection and help. But it is not enough. Nafi knows all of his ways though, as we all do. I have intel that has shown him following the decoy, but..."
"Intel? Damn it Ziva. You need to be more specific."
"My father had sub-cue transmitters injected into all of us when we were children. They are checked periodically to make sure they are still working, though they can be jammed as we all know by what happened in Somalia."
Jethro stood up and starting pacing. He didn't know she'd had a transmitter fitted and blocked or not, it would have been useful information to have. "I didn't know. So your father can keep tabs on you?"
"Yes. But my transmitter was removed last week." She rolled up her sleeve and held out her arm. Gibbs saw a small, healing scar there from where someone had performed minor surgery. "My father flew in when he found out what was happening and had it removed. It is safer this way. It has been injected into the decoy and she is currently being guarded by numerous agents."
"What if he kills her?" Jethro couldn't believe what he was hearing and hated the fact that someone might possibly be sacrificed.
"He won't. She is way above his level in Mossad and knows how to take care of herself. We have people on her all the time. He won't get close." She jumped when a hand slapped down in front of her and looked up to see Jethro's clear blue eyes glaring at her dangerously.
"He found you!"
"She will have the transmitter removed and it will be destroyed when he is far enough away. They have instructions that I know little pieces of. Gibbs, we must stop him. He will kill more and even though he was never any good at the espionage part of the job, he does have knowledge and skills that make him dangerous. He is trigger happy and won't think twice at shooting at anyone that gets in his way."
"You said he wasn't a threat!" Jethro yelled harshly.
"No. I said he wasn't any good. He is still very much a threat and the fact that he has evaded everyone up until now is worrysome. I asked my father to track Nafi's transmitter, but it appears it has been deactivated."
Jethro nodded and sat down. "Okay. First things first, we need to tell Vance and DiNozzo. They can pass the information down to the BAU." He sat down and thought back to the situation with his team. "Why did you do what you did?"
"Which part?" She asked sarcastically .
"With Tony. Why?"
Her eyes welled with tears once again at the mention of her lost friendship. "Because they threatened to kill him if I didn't cut all ties. It was the only way to stop him from coming after me and trying to get involved." Her body convulsed slightly as a sob escaped. "It is worth it to keep him alive, but I miss his friendship."
"So you did it to keep him safe? Jesus. Ziva, you should have come to me!" Jethro shouted and rubbed his hand over his face.
"I couldn't."
Jethro's eyes narrowed as he took in the short, succinct statement. He put his finger under her chin and turned her face towards his own. "Ziva! You should have come to me!"
Ziva nodded and broke down completely. Gibbs now understood the situation a bit better, but needed to know details of what was going on. That meant talking to Vance in the morning. Right now, he needed to speak to Tony and find out what it was he knew to see if the pieces linked. "Okay. I'm going to ring Tony ,and let him know what's going on. Tim's going to stay here while I help my dad out, but you're more than welcome to stay with him."
"What will happen?" Ziva asked softly and looked him directly in the eye.
"DiNozzo can fill Vance in, and we'll go in and see him tomorrow. I don't want you going in alone, and Tony'll be able to spend the day filling in the blanks with what you have told us. You said he's been pulled off track. We need to know where he is, and exactly where your decoy plans to end up."
"I will speak to my father."
"You do that. Get as much information as you can." Jethro stood up and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "WE'll sort it out."
Ziva nodded and sat there gazing at the table top. She was trying to compose herself and didn't hear her boss leave. It wasn't long, before she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind started before realizing Tim had come back in. He stood up and gently massaged her shoulders. "I am sorry, Tim."
"Don't be. It's alright."
"You heard?" She asked tentatively.
"Yeah. I heard. Tell you what, I know for a fact your father will have people guarding this house with their lives, so going out isn't an option. How about we try and do what we can this end while J sort's it out with NCIS."
Ziva nodded and let Tim help her up so that they could go and figure out what they needed to do.
***NCIS***
Vance stood by the window listening to Ducky give a slimmed down version of his findings. It was standard procedure for the teams physician to send a report, but Ducky felt the need to talk the Director though every time.
"All in all, young Anthony is more than ready to come back to work. All tests are fine, though I do advise keeping an eye on him for the next couple of days. It's hard coming back to work after time off."
"What about the bloodwork?" Vance asked. There was one thing that his M.E. had skirted around and that was the issue of the results for the senior agent.
"Ah, yes. I would like to speak to Anthony first if you will. There is nothing untoward in there, but still, there's something that I should discuss with my patient before it goes any further. It won't hinder his duties as an Agent, Leon, so there is no urgency in you knowing if you need to at all. That is up to Anthony, I'm afraid."
Vance frowned and scrutinized Ducky for a moment before speaking. "So, it's not going to hinder his performance?"
"It shouldn't. I have given you the report which signs Anthony back in for Duty. You will not need to know anything else but that."
With a nod, Vance finally sat down and leaned back in his chair. "Is there anything else on your mind about Agent DiNozzo?"
"Not on my mind per say, but I do however have a request that you don't hold what happened against him. Timothy's relationship with Anthony is back on track and he understands Timothy's actions and the reasons behind them. However, Ziva's actions forced his hand with the snap and I won't have you looking at him as weak."
"I don't." Vance said calmly. "Why would I? I'm not a monster, Dr. Mallard. He'll be treated the same way as he was before."
Ducky nodded and stood up to leave.
"One more thing. Do you want to explain why Agent Gibbs felt the need to take an impromptu long weekend this weekend? We're in the middle of a case."
Ducky sighed heavily. "And why on earth would you be asking me? That is a conversation that you will need to have with Jethro. I am not your spy, Director Vance. I am the Medical Examiner and personal NCIS physician for the MRCT team and my assistant. I will not be pulled into the politics that surround whatever you are planning. May I suggest, that if you have questions, then you ask the people that are involved rather than looking for an informer within the organisation."
At that point, Ducky's patience was thinned to the barest of threads and right now Vance was skating on thin ice. There was something in Vance's eyes that stopped him though; something that told him that the Director felt as though what he'd said had been wrong.
"Dr. Mallard, I'm not looking for an informer and I'm sorry for putting you in that position. I will speak to the relevant people."
Ducky was about to answer when the door opened and Tony walked in carrying a casefile. Instead of carrying on, he simply glared at Vance before bidding him good day and storming out of the office. Tony's eyes were wide with shock as he watched the scene and he couldn't help but wonder what had gone on between the two.
"Yes, Agent DiNozzo." The barked tone shocked Tony slightly, but he shook it off and dropped the file off on Vance's desk. "What's this?"
"More evidence from the case. We need you to talk to Eli Da'vid because we believe there are some renegade ex Mossad agents involved. We need as much intel as possible and we know you've got the means to directly contact them."
Vance's eyes narrowed slightly and he leaned forward to take the file. With a heavy heart, he opened it up and started to read the information contained within. "You sure?"
"Evidence links to it and Gibbs has spoken to Ziva. The boss is going to call me later to fill in the gaps his email left out, but going off the meeting I've just had with the BAU, it's an angle I think we should work."
"Alright then." The director said quietly. "I want you to keep digging to see what you can find. Gibbs is back tomorrow ,so we can talk to him then."
Tony nodded and walked out of the room wanting nothing more than to talk to Derek. The day was going steadily from bad to worse but there was something keeping him level headed through it all. He sighed when his phone rang shrilly and sighed heavily when he saw Abby's name come up on the screen.
"Hey, Abbs. I'm kinda busy right now. Is it important?" he asked knowing that she probably hadn't processed all the samples just yet.
"Tony! Get down here! Now!" He cringed at Abby's barked order.
"I'm in the middle of a case, Abbs. Seriously can it wai..."
"No! It can't. Tony, Ducky's down here and we need to talk to you. It's about your bloodwork."
Tony's heart dropped and he snapped his phone shut before turning and heading off to the elevator that would take him to meet his fate. His gut clenched at the thought of something being wrong and he just knew, that whatever it was, it had to be serious for her to get Ducky down there as well.
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