Disclaimers: I do not own NCIS or its characters. They belong to CBS and the creators of the show. The only thing I can lay claim to in this story is the plot and the OC of Leah Dawson. I'm just playing in the sandbox :)

Warnings: Spoilers for Season 11, specifically "Bulletproof", spoilers for "Truth or Consequences."

A/N: Here is the first chapter of the sequel to "Unconditionally". You might want to read that first before reading this, though, it might not be entirely necessary. I apologize for giving you such a dark beginning, but it can't be all sunshine and rainbows all the time, can it? I am eagerly awaiting the 250th episode. I just love Robert Wagner as Tony's dad! And I'm sure it is going to spark some kind of inspiration for Senior making his way into this story ;) For now enjoy! Happy Friday!

Sinners and Saints

It was hot. Unbearable in some regards. His mouth was as dry as the desert he was surrounded by. But he didn't expect to get any water from his captors.

God, it was so hot. He hadn't had a shower in days. Smelled like he hadn't taken one in weeks. He felt dirty and grimy, and just what the hell was he thinking when he came up with this ridiculous idea? Who in their right mind would willingly get themselves captured by terrorists? Allow them to starve and dehydrate him, drugging him up with truth serum, and then end it with his death?

The answer to that was simple—no one in their right mind would do this. Which, drove the point home that he was not in his right mind. Hadn't been for a couple of months now. Sitting in that chair, faced with the possibility of his own death, she told him she was ready to die. That was never part of the plan. Of course, her being alive had never been apart of the plan, but it was a happy deviation from it and he would take it. But, he could see the fight was gone in her eyes. And he knew—she had died in this camp, somewhere along the way the woman he'd known had died and been replaced with this one.

She wanted him to tell Saleem everything. So he could live. She was willing to sacrifice herself for him—them. And as Saleem held that knife to her throat and she shouted their "plan" to him, he knew how much time the terrorist had to live.

He wasn't taking them with him. He wasn't taken her. They were going to walk out of there as a team. But that sniper shot didn't come, the knife slid along her throat and her face morphed and she was no longer Ziva David but a blue-eyed, light browned haired woman that should not have been there now lay dead in her place, covered with her blood.

"NO!" Tony DiNozzo shouted, waking up in a cold sweat. He was twisted in the sheets, fistfuls of the cotton in his hands. His heart was pounding and for the fourth time that week he had to take deep breaths to calm himself and remind himself that this was just a dream. A horrible dream, but a dream never the less.

Rolling over onto his side he looked at the clock. It was a little after four in the morning. What time would it be in Egypt right now? Since Leah had left to meet with the university she would be working with that summer on the expedition he'd been having this nightmare. Instead of rescuing Ziva from that terrorist camp, Leah had her throat slit by Saleem. Tony never got further in the dream to find out what exactly happened next, but considering how it ended with him waking up screaming, it probably wasn't good.

Not even the case of faulty bulletproof vests had distracted him from how much he missed her. What was he going to do when she was away for the summer? The university had liked her presentation so much they had offered to fund a two-month dig, with potential to fund more. Tony wasn't sure he could survive having this nightmare all summer and he knew why he was having it. She was far away and he couldn't protect her. So very far away and so very close to a part of the world were terrorist camped, terrorists that despised Americans. She had assured him that both George Washington University and the Egyptian university she was working for was going to make sure the party was safe but, he knew, things happen and you couldn't plan for every situation.

Tony briefly wondered if it was possible to assign a Navy Seal team to them. As he entertained this thought his cell phone buzzed on the nightstand. He grabbed it hoping it would be a text from Leah but instead it was from McGee. Dead marine dependent at a battered woman's shelter.

"Gear up," Tony mumbled underneath his breath as he crawled out of bed. "No time to get weak on us now, DiNozzo."

Timothy McGee yawned and stretched as he got of the Dodge Charger. Safe Haven House was a quaint, cozy, yellow Victorian in the rural woods of Virginia. There were flowerbeds that were brown and dry during these winter months, but he imagined in the spring they were beautiful and full of life. Probably planted to remind the women that came here that one could start their life over.

He sighed and glanced at Tony. The pair had driven out to the shelter together and his partner had been silent. McGee figured it had something to do with the time, after all it wasn't even six yet. But now, seeing the tight lines in Tony's face, he wondered if something else was bothering him. And then it hit him. "Leah still overseas?"

"Until tomorrow," Tony muttered. "She was only going over for a week."

"You look a bit lonely without her, Tony," McGee teased. "You must really like her."

Tony threw him a tired glare as the pair approached the front door of the shelter.

Gibbs was standing there waiting for them. "About time you showed up, boys. Let's go."

McGee and Tony followed their boss inside. Timid women were peering at them from rooms as they made their way to the back of the house and the porch area. Some of them looked at them like they were posion. He couldn't possibly begin to understand what these women had all been through. He had been raised to be a gentleman. One never rose a hand to woman, unless of course she was about to kill him, but that was different. That was part of his job. The woman you loved didn't deserve that kind of treatment.

"Ms. Phillips. Agents DiNozzo and McGee," Gibbs introduced his team to the red haired woman standing against the wall of the kitchen. "They'll be processing the crime scene while Agent Bishop and myself interview witnesses."

"Fine. But can we make this quick, Agent Gibbs, this has unnerved my girls," Phillips said, eyes running up and down the agents.

"We'll make this as quick as we can," Gibbs promised. He gestured for Ellie to follow him.

Tony grabbed the younger agent's arm as she passed. "How bad?"

Bishop pursed her lips together. "Bad. He barely left her recognizable. It's disgusting."

McGee took a steadying breath while Tony let Bishop go. Stealing himself he followed the SFA onto the back porch where their victim, Kristine Webber laid twisted, bruised, and battered on the floor. Upon seeing her, McGee didn't need Ducky to tell him how she had died, because her face was swollen and bruised and Bishop was right-she was unrecognizable.

"Ah, gentlemen," Ducky greeted the two agents. "Meet Mrs. Webber."

"Wish we weren't, Ducky," Tony mumbled as he took his camera out and slapped on some gloves.

Ducky sighed and looked up at Tony. "Yes. It is rather tragic that she came to this place to be safe and she died here. And a horrible death too. Several broken bones from a struggle, her body was dragged back here, found by a mother and her young kids. It was the blunt force trauma to her head that killed her. With what I assume to be a rock or brick judging from the indentation on her skull. Abby should be able to match it."

McGee began to bag and tag the evidence around the body. "So, she wasn't murdered here?"

"No. Witnesses say she went out for a walk and five hours later her body was found on the porch. Gibbs has local police canvasing the area to find where she could have been murdered," Ducky replied.

Tony took some photos of Kristine and noted the sizes of the bruises on her arms, old and new. She couldn't have been at the shelter that long. "Any idea how the bastard even found her here? I thought these shelters were supposed to be safe and the location was only known to a few so abusive spouses cannot find them."

"Gibbs suspects that someone gave up her location," Ducky mused. "I guess that's what you'll be figuring out."

"Fantastic. Can't wait."

"Anthony. You seem rather cranky."

McGee piped up from across the room. "Leah's been gone for a week."

Ducky threw a cheeky grin at the SFA who glared at McGee. "Yes. I can imagine that this separation at the start of your relationship is...frustrating."

Tony blinked and turned his look onto the medical examiner. "Yes, I miss her, okay. But it's not for reasons that you think."

"And what reasons would those be, Tony?" McGee asked smiling as he bagged up evidence.

"Can we just do our jobs please?"

"DiNozzo's right," Gibbs snapped from the door. "You want to discuss his sex life, do it on your own time."

McGee nodded his head and went back to work. "Sorry, boss. Getting back to work."

Tony snatched up the evidence that McGee had already bagged and tagged. Yes, from the feral look in his eyes, Ducky's assessment that the SFA was cranky, was spot on. Snarling at his co-workers as he left, he snapped, "I'm going to go put this in the truck."

Quickly finishing up what he was doing, McGee followed suit. He found Tony outside, ball cap thrown on the ground next to him, sitting in the back of the truck with his feet dangling over the edge. "Come to gloat some more, McGee," Tony said in a dark voice that partially terrified McGee.

"No," the younger man said with a shake of his head. "Just...wanted to say sorry. Your sex life is none of my business."

"There's no need to say you're sorry. I get it. I have a reputation."

"Wait...are you saying..."

"Leah and I haven't gotten to that level yet."

McGee was floored. He just stood there staring at his partner unable to break the silence. It was Bishop, blissfully unaware of what was going on, that broke the silence when she came back to the truck.

She had a grimace on her face. "That was...that was awful. Does it get easier?"

Tony broke eye contact with McGee and transferred his gaze to her. "Nope. But you learn ways to cope with it."

"What are some ways that you guys cope?"

"Three words for you, Bishop," Tony said with a grin as he got up to retrieve his ball cap. "Bourbon. Boat. Basement."