I thought I would try an NCIS story- I may stop writing once the real season starts! Unless someone wants me to continue... I don't want to clash with the real season once it starts, but this is supposed be happening after the last episode up to date! Thanks!

Tony pointed his gun at a shadow at the wall. He heard a call of 'Clear!' coming from somewhere in the distance. His heart rapidly raising his blood pressure, he yelled out to whoever was lurking in the corner.

"Come out or I'll shoot!" his voice echoed around the empty space.

Whoever was there got the message, and stepped out from the concealing shadows.

"It's just me," the woman said plainly.

Tony sighed, seeing who it was, and put safety back on his weapon. But then he remembered. He saw Kate walking towards him as he stared in disbelief. Tony stood paralyzed, his body flooded with an un-earthly cold.

"But…" he protested. "Your dead."

Kate's shoulder length hair waved in the breeze as a bloody red bullet hole began to solidify on her forehead. She opened her mouth and spoke; the voice Tony had head so often before it was instantly recognizable.

"I know."

Tony awoke violently, and if he were any less a man that he was he would have screamed. His body was covered in a cold sweat, but he felt his hair standing on end. He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. He blinked a few times, and then closed his eyes, helping himself to calm down.

Kate was dead. He knew that, yes, but even after all this time it hadn't faded how gruesome it was to see his friend die right in front of his eyes. Although it might have seemed to others around them that they didn't like each other, or that love was what kept them together, it wasn't true. They were only friends, but to see her die still haunted his nights. She was dead. Nothing could change it.

He opened his eyes slowly and felt calm again. He laid down on his old and dusty mattress, having no money left to buy a new one after spending it all on a new car. It was stupid, in some people's minds, to spend all your money on a car. Tony knew they were wrong, though, because cars are not just transportation. No, they were a reflection of your very soul.

He felt himself drifting his thoughts away from Kate, to work and other happier things. For example, hot girls. Through these subjects, a consent thought kept popping up. Ziva.

It was stupid, he knew, to even think about her. But those undercover missions and the strange cases where they ended up together, like the time they got locked in a shipping crate where a group of terrorists were storing millions of dollars worth in counterfeit money. Of course, she was gone now, but he could never quite get her black hair and tan skin out of his mind in times like these. Then as he started to drift his mind to the more, well, explicit things about Ziva, Gibbs paid his thoughts a surprise visit.

Whenever he began to think romantically about Ziva, he found that Gibbs popped into his mind. He could imagine Gibb's annoyance if he ever found out, well, what Tony thought about at night. He could already feel the slap to the head he would have been given. Gibbs never failed to ruin moments like these. Rule number twelve- never date a coworker. Of course, she wasn't really he coworker now. The Mossad took her away from NCIS, but if she knew the truth… would it even had mattered?

Tony sighed and rolled onto his side. Ziva was complicated, and he would never figure her out. Why even try? He needed to get some sleep, he knew that, but thinking about it just made it worse. Who knew what work could bring tomorrow? On the other hand, he didn't really want to think about it.

After spending about thirty minutes staring at his shadow-engulfed ceiling, Tony finally fell asleep. Not that it was a deep sleep, not by a long shot. He tossed and turned, but no more dreams tormented his sleeping mind. But after all he'd been through; sleeping was the least of his problems.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ziva squatted down behind a wooden crate, pulling an illegal gun out of her coat pocket. The crate she hid behind wouldn't provide much protection in a firefight, she knew that, but it was her only option. She gulped down breaths of air, her body starved of oxygen. It felt like she had been running for years- but tired and in pain was better then dead.

She was silent, waiting to see if they would search the buildings. If it was her, she would have the building searched. It's not like she had anywhere else to run. In the last month she had been captured, escaped, and then betrayed by Mossad. In other words, it hadn't been her best time in Iraq.

A group of footsteps echoed in the storage building. The boxes were stacked high to the ceiling and provided enough hiding places for more then her one person. It was a maze for anyone who had never been there before, but she had been to the building many times beforehand.

The footsteps got louder, a sign that they were coming. Ziva held her gun tight in her right hand, ready to shoot. She heard them start to speak, their voices echoing in the concrete and metal box.

"Split up," a man ordered in Ziva's native language. She felt puzzled, for the voice seemed familiar to her. It was likely she knew the man; he was probably working for Mossad.

His order was obeyed, and the other two people with the man walked into different directions. They walked into directions that they wouldn't discover her hiding spot. It was just her and their leader.

It seemed he already knew where she was hiding. He walked straight to her spot in a way he couldn't be wandering blind. She took a long breath, simultaneously aiming her gun on the mans chest. She knew she should give his chest a solid three rounds, but she needed to know who the man was. All of her assassin instincts went against this- but her time at NCIS taught her to keep those instincts at bay. As she had once said, she was now an investigator, not just a killer.

"Ziva," the man said, his face finally in view. Ziva almost gasped- but she didn't let it show on her face. "Nice to see you," the man said. "Too bad you won't live to tell anyone about it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"TONY!" McGee's voice rang violently through the bullpen. "NOT AGAIN!"

Tony snickered to himself, but knowing he would be punished in a few seconds put a damper on his mood. It had been done many times before- but super gluing McGee's fingers to his keyboard always cheered him up. Then again, sometimes he did it just too release some steam. Since Ziva had gone, none of the team was really the same.

Tony felt Gibb's hand connect sharply with the back of his head. He grimaced, rubbing he neck after Gibbs walked away.

"Tony!" Gibbs said sharply. "This again?"

Gibbs acted like he didn't know, but he was aware that this was Tony's way of trying to get past Ziva leaving. They were close, and Tony felt that her leaving was his entire fault. Which it was, but Tony was just trying to protect her. If only she knew Tony the way he did… maybe she would still be here. Gibbs walked to his desk, grabbing his gun from the drawer and loading it.

"Suit up!" he informed his agents. "Dead marine!"

Tony grabbed his gun and shoved his NCIS hat on his head as McGee glared at him.

"Tony," McGee said exasperated. "This is going to take forever to get my hands off of!" Tony grinned to himself at McGee's annoyed tone.

"Go get Abby to help you!" Tony yelled back to McGee. "I got to drive the Probie!"

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and Gibbs stepped inside.

"You coming, Tony?" Gibbs asked. "Or are you going to stay here and play doctor with Elf King?"

"Coming right away, Boss," Tony yelled, running to the elevator and stepping in. "Bye, McGee!" he then said mockingly as the silver doors closed, waving until he was out of sight.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, and smacked Tony on the back of the head for the second time in the last three minutes. It was going to be a long day- and they hadn't even picked up the Probie yet.

"Where's the Probie?" Tony asked as the elevator dropped to the second floor.

"He's down by the van," Gibbs told him unhappily, "I haven't met him yet."

"Sounds like a load of fun," Tony said more to himself than to Gibbs. They stood in silence for a few seconds, then stepped out of the elevator as it's doors opened with a ding.

Ducky was waiting for them as they stepped out of the elevator, his white hair and scrubs making him instantly recognizable. Gibbs walked to him, glancing around to spot the new member of his team.

"Have you seen Mr. Palmer?" Duck asked Gibbs in an annoyed tone. "He has seemed to have disappeared."

The sound of someone tripping over the concrete floor graced the air, and Ducky didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"Decided to join us, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked to the man standing behind him.

"Yes, Dr. Mallard," Jimmy said quickly, trying to make up for his absence. "I'm sorry, I was just talking to Adien, and-"

"Adien, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky questioned.

"Oh," Jimmy realized his mistake. "The new guy."

Tony grinned in an almost pained way. Slapping Jimmy on the back, Tony took a breath to prepare him. He'd met a few Probies over the years, but none of them had really left him wishing for more Probie encounters.

"Making friends already, Jimmy?" He mocked. So where is," Tony paused. "Adien?"

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders before telling Tony what he knew.

"He said he was going to be here," he paused, looking at man coming in through the doors on the other side of the room. "Soon," he finished.

Tony followed Jimmy's stare, and couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was strange to seem anyone like this in law enforcement, but then again, he'd seen worse.

Thanks for reading!!! You're the best!!! Review if you want more, please! Thanks again!