Disclaimer: NCIS and all it' characters belong to CBS and Bellisarius Productions. Story written for entertainment and learning purposes only.

A/N: Huge thanks to aconline who was so kind to review the story. Your help was priceless dear.

Also my choice of time setting and pairing may appear strange, but probably not as much if you consider I got to watch NCIS only last year, and I admit I have a huge fondness for the early seasons.

HEARTKILL

Thursday, September 25th 2003

The tip of the pencil flew back and forth on the paper leaving behind graphite streaks that gradually formed the image of a man with a mischievous lopsided smile and a funny haircut. Eventually Caitlin Todd put her pencil down and stared at the sketchy face of the man she had met for the first time only a week before, but couldn't help thinking about.

NCIS Special Agent Gibbs was not a forgettable kind of person in the first place, but even if he were, she'd end up thinking about him anyway for one simple reason: right after she resigned from the Secret Service he had offered her a job. Unofficially, yes, but he still did. All she needed to do was file in the application that now sat in her bag and she knew he'd make sure she was accepted as part of his team.

It's been three days and she still couldn't make up her mind on what to do. She thought going to the park on a sunny afternoon and getting some fresh air would clear her mind, but it didn't seem to work. She was still as conflicted as before.

She needed a job and NCIS didn't seem so bad a workplace, but she wasn't so sure she could handle working so closely with Gibbs, not to mention being his subordinate.

She didn't worry that he'd be a bad boss, she had already followed his lead on the AFO case, but she was still a Secret Service Agent back then. They both had rights to the investigation which made them equals on some level and led to all the fighting that borderlined flirtatious bickering which, she had to admit, she greatly enjoyed. If she officially became a member of Gibbs's NCIS team, she could no longer afford such behavior, not if she wanted to keep her job.

She knew well enough from her own experience that sleeping or even flirting with coworkers was never a good idea. Hadn't it been for that, she wouldn't be unemployed right now, and she admitted Gibbs would've been right to kick her out of NCIS, if she tried anything funny.

She decided that, if she accepted Gibbs's offer, she'd do her best to behave, especially because she was aware that he was out of her league anyway. She realized that the moment she saw the classy redhead in the silver convertible pick him up at the airport and figured it must have been his girlfriend. On the other hand, she was aware of how hard it would've been for her to work closely with that man everyday, knowing he was out of her reach. If would be like having an alcohol addict work at a liquor store.

Kate took out the application out of her bag and stared at it. She'd better move fast, if she wanted that job. They wouldn't be waiting forever. She had to make her decision. If she only had a third option...

Suddenly a shadow came in front of her blocking the sunlight and a familiar scratchy voice asked:

"Thinking about applying to NCIS Agent Todd?"

"Agent Fornell!" gasped Kate surprised and quickly closed her sketchbook hiding the application form, and more importantly, Gibbs's portrait inside.

The FBI agent joined Kate on the bench and said:

"Rumor has it Gibbs literally snatched you from the Secret Service right after the Air Force Once landed in DC."

"And of what interest would that be to the FBI?"

"Let's say it's rather my own curiosity."

Kate laughed shortly and clarified:

"I quit the Secret Service for personal reasons, that I believe are none of your concern."

"And what about NCIS? Is it true you're on Gibbs's team now, Agent Todd?"

"Just Todd. Currently I'm not an agent, but it's true that Gibbs proposed I come work for him."

"And have you accepted?" Fornell wanted to know.

"I was on my way to file in my application."

"So you've decided already."

"I still could change my mind, if given a good reason." Kate tried to play it, suspecting Fornell didn't come to the park just to have a walk.

"How about I give you a counterproposal?" asked the FBI agent after a couple silent minutes.

"What kind of counterproposal?" Kate asked back.

Fornell just smiled and said:

"Have you ever considered working for the FBI, Miss Todd?"

§§§

Chapter 1

Sunday, February 8th 2004

Gibbs ran across the deserted airport trying to catch up to a small brunette who was walking away fast paced.

"Kate, wait!" he shouted, but the woman was already disappearing in the morning fog.

Before the milky substance engulfed her completely, she turned and spoke those exact same words she had said on the night they met aboard AF29000:

"I won't defy a direct order. I'm sorry Gibbs"

"What are you talking about? What order?"

"Your order" she said and a second later she was gone.

He stopped and tugged at his hair in frustration. He felt exactly like when his exes were getting pissed off with him, and he couldn't figure out what the hell was their problem.

All of a sudden a loud strident sound cut the air and his surroundings began to fade before his eyes. A moment later Gibbs woke up in his basement under the ribs of his unfinished boat and realized the annoying noise was nothing else but the ringing of his cell phone.

"Yeah, it's Gibbs." he mumbled sleepily into the speaker. "Uh-huh. Got it. Be right there."

It was the office. A dead marine had been found crashed in his car on an interstate to Richmond. It appeared to be a drink and drive accident, but unless proven otherwise every death was investigated as murder.

Reluctantly Gibbs got up and sipping the cold remains of his coffee called DiNozzo.

"Hello?" he heard Tony's voice over the phone.

"Baby, who is it at this hour?" a female voice spoke up in the background.

"Am I interrupting something DiNozzo?"

"It's Sunday morning boss. What do you think?

"You'll have to skip the second round Tony. Gear up! We've got a case."

"On a Sunday?!" whined Tony.

"This week it's our turn to work the weekend. I'll see you at NCIS in half an hour."

"Yes boss! Be right there boss! And by the way, that would be more like the fifth round."

Gibbs just hung up on him and called McGee, who was a fairly new asset to his team. He was still green in field work, but a very valuable resource where technology was concerned and that alone was for Gibbs, who was a technological dinosaur, good enough a reason to keep him close.

Unlike Tony, McGee didn't dare to complain about being called to work at 0700 hours on a Sunday. He didn't even sound like someone who was just woken up and for a moment Gibbs wondered what was he up to so early. He shrugged the thought off though, figuring it was none of his business, and once McGee assured him he'd be there asap, he hung up and ran upstairs for a quick shower.

Standing under a jet of cold water Gibbs remembered his dream.

Kate Todd had been on his mind quite often since that night when he left her at the airport after the AFO case. He expected to see her at NCIS within a couple of days but she never showed up. He tried to figure out why she ignored his offer and the thought's been nagging him to the point of making him dream of her every other night.

The dreams were always in the same fashion. They'd meet on a case, just any case, sometimes the one he was working at the time. Afterwards he'd ask her to stay with him at NCIS, but she'd walk away without giving him any sort of explanation. He'd chase after her but she'd always vanish before he could catch her.

§§§

Gibbs parked the NCIS truck on the side of the road and jumped out followed by the two younger agents.

"McGee, photos! Tony, check the car! Don't touch the body before Ducky has a look at it," he ordered and scanned the surroundings in search of the ME. "Where is he anyway?!"

"I bet Gerald got them lost again!" shouted Tony from under the crashed car.

Gibbs just rolled his eyes annoyed and went to talk to the police officer and the woman who had reported the crush. She was on her way back to Richmond after spending a few days with her sister in DC when she spotted a car smashed into a tree by the road. She immediately called 911, didn't touch or move anything and didn't notice anyone around or anything unusual in general. When the police arrived and found out the victim was Navy, they decided to pass the case, which in their opinion was nothing but another drunk driving accident, to NCIS.

While Gibbs was talking to the police and Tony and McGee were processing the scene, Ducky finally arrived and rushed to examine the body of the dead marine.

"Time and cause of death Duck?" Gibbs asked the ME impatiently.

"Good God Jethro! I've barely arrived," groaned the doctor.

"The police says it was a drink and drive," said Gibbs matter of factly.

"His bruises appear to be consistent with a car crash," confirmed Ducky pointing to the cadaver, "and our dead fellow reeks of alcohol and vomit which would support that case scenario. I will not, however, express my full opinion on his cause of death until after the autopsy."

"What about the time?"

"I'd say he died sometime around 2 a.m this morning."

"Thanks Duck," said Gibbs and walked away to check the perimeter.

There were some skid marks on the road. Gibbs waved his hand at McGee to come and take a picture.

"Single trace in the direction of the crash point," observed McGee and seeing a hint of an approving smile on Gibbs face he continued: "The prints seem to match the tires of the crashed car, but we'll need Abby to confirm that."

Gibbs just nodded in agreement and called his other agent still hanging around the crashed vehicle.

"DiNozzo! You done with that car?!"

"Yes boss! Coming!" Tony shouted back and run to join them.

Gibbs gave him a questioning look.

"Nothing of value seems to be missing, " DiNozzo informed him. "Documents, cash, credit cards, mobile were all in place so we can rule out robbery."

"I didn't really suspect it," confessed Gibbs. "Did you check the car for signs of tampering?"

"Yes boss! Besides being smashed against the tree it seems to be in perfect working order."

"Physical evidence?"

"All bagged and tagged," announced Tony.

"Anything interesting?"

"Mostly vomit. Also found a pack of matches with a logo of a bar in Arlington. It would confirm he was driving back from a bender."

Gibbs just nodded and went to their truck and Tony and McGee followed. Ducky and Gerald were already gone with the body and the team who'd take care of getting the wreck to NCIS for further inspection has already arrived and gotten to work.

Gibbs hit the gas and the NCIS truck sped back to DC. With a little luck, Gibbs thought, they'd file this case by the end of the day.

§§§

Back in the HQ Gibbs ordered Tony and McGee to do a background check on the dead PFC and went for a coffee refill.

As his caffeine dealer busied himself preparing him a fresh dose of his drug of choice, Gibbs thought about the case at hand. All the evidence they gathered so far confirmed the drink and drive accident theory but he had a gut feeling that something was off, he just wasn't sure what it was yet.

A quarter later he entered the bullpen, a cup of steaming coffee in hand, hoping to get some answers.

"Talk to me!" he addressed his agents, dropping his coat on his desk and looking at the plasma.

"Our dead guy is PFC James Kattrall, age 27, born in Bethesda," Tony informed him putting up the man's driving license scan on the screen. "Joined the Marine Corps right after graduation and has been stationed at Norfolk Naval Base ever since. Never been deployed, he worked as a paper pusher."

"Criminal records?"

"None," McGee cut in. "Not even a parking ticket. He was a model citizen. I also pulled out his financial records but found nothing out of the ordinary. The last time he used his credit card was yesterday at a bar in Arlington."

"It looks like it really was a bender gone wrong boss," commented Tony.

"You think DiNozzo?"

"You don't boss?"

"He stayed in Norfolk so why would he go as far as Arlington just to get drunk?"

"I don't know boss."

"Well, find out!" barked Gibbs and went downstairs to check in with Ducky.

"What have you got Duck?" he asked entering the autopsy.

"Good to see you Jethro, I was just about to call you," said the ME. "It appears that this was no ordinary accident after all."

"He didn't die in the crash?"

"He most certainly did. The trauma he suffered on impact caused severe internal damage which resulted in his immediate death, but even if the crash never happened, this man would have died anyway within a day or two at most."

"How so?"

"My further examination of the cadaver revealed that PFC Kattrall had been poisoned. This reminds me of a very peculiar case I have heard of, when I was back in Scotland. A local farmer got accidentally poisoned with..."

"Duckyyyyy..." Gibbs rolled his eyes. "What was THIS guy poisoned with?"

"Well, that is for Abby to determine. I already sent her the samples for analysis."

"Thanks Duck!" Gibbs headed for the door. "Call me, if you find anything else."

"Of course Jethro!" called Ducky and turned back to the dead body of PFC Kattrall. "I'm sure you, my poor fellow, will find the story of the Scottish farmer interesting. The man had ingested poisonous seeds without knowing they were toxic. He kept on his usual daily activities for several hours before the poison started taking effect..."

As Ducky recounted his tale to his dead companion Gibbs got back upstairs.

"PFC Kattral was murdered. Poison," he announced.

"Poison is the murder method of choice for women," Tony observed.

"It would fit with what I found," said McGee and put up some images on the plasma. "PFC Kattrall had been dating a certain Amanda Johnson, age 25, lives and works at a flower shop in Arlington. According to Kattrall's roommate he went to see her this weekend."

"I called Norfolk and it turns out Kattrall was generally liked but recently was in conflict with a colleague, PFC Patrick Hues. According to rumors on base it was about a girl, and guess what, before transferring to Norfolk, Hues used to live in Arlington."

"Bring them both in for questioning," ordered Gibbs and went to the cafeteria to get a Caf-Pow! for Abby.

A few minutes later he entered the lab, drink in hand and was greeted by a deafening noise the goth called music and a chirpy 'Hey Gibbs!'.

"What have you got Abs?" he asked and before Abby could reply there was a triple beep.

"Perfect timing as usual my Silver Fox, I mean, boss," said Abby as her fingers danced on the keyboard. "I just got results from the samples I got from Ducky. There's evident traces of alcohol in his blood but look at this," she pointed to the screen. "There's also traces of andromedotoxin, acetylandromedol and rhodotoxin."

"In english Abs?"

"These are toxic compounds present in Azaleas and Rhododendrons, common flowering plants. All parts of these plants, especially the leaves and nectar are poisonous if ingested."

"How long for the poison to take effect?"

"First symptoms begin about six hours from ingestion."

"What kind of symptoms?"

"Stomach pain, abnormal salivation,vomiting, diarrhea, tremors," listed Abby.

"More than enough for a man to lose control of his car," noted Gibbs.

"I also found traces of alcohol on Kattrall's clothes and on the inside of his car. I think someone wanted him to look much more drunk than he actually was."

"Good work Abs!" he kissed the girl's cheek tenderly, shoving the Caf-Pow! into her waiting hands and headed for the door.

"Wait! I've got more!" Abby stopped him mid step.

Gibbs turned and rose his brows in question.

"I got a partial print from the matches box Tony found in the car and it doesn't match Kattrall's. Whoever left it, has never been printed cause I didn't get any hits from AFIS, but-"

"If I have a suspect you can compare his print to it," Gibbs finished the sentence for her and finally left the lab.

§§§

Later in the afternoon Tony and McGee drove to Arlington to check out the bar PFC Kattrall had been to shortly before his death.

When asked about Kattrall, the bartender couldn't give them a straight answer.

"You know, it's pretty crowded here on Saturday nights," he said apologetically. "You wouldn't expect me to remember everyone's name and face."

"He paid with a credit card," Tony tried to help him out.

"Half of the customers pay with credit cards," retorted the man.

"He was here around 8 p.m. and probably not alone," said McGee

"He may have been with her," Tony showed the bartender a picture of Amanda Johnson.

"No way. I would've remembered a hot little thing like her, but now that I think about it, I may recall seeing your man here yesterday. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but it could've been him."

"Was he alone?"

"He came in alone, I think, but later I saw him talk to one dude."

"Who?"

"Like I would know! Some dude!"

"Could you describe him?" Tony was getting impatient.

"He was just like any other guy."

"Age? Height? Build? Hair color?" McGee suggested.

"I would have taken the time to notice, had he been a woman."

Tony just rolled his eyes. He began to understand how Gibbs felt, when people wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know.

"Look guys, I really don't know. He sat in a far corner and I didn't really pay much attention to him. Perhaps Pam can help you."

"Who's Pam?" asked Tony.

"She's one of the waitresses. She worked that part of the bar last night."

"Can we talk to her?"

"She's coming in at 9 p.m. tonight but I could give you her address."

"That would be great."

Twenty minutes later the two agents rang the bell to Pamela Brown's apartment.

"Just a moment!" came a sleepy voice.

The second the door opened Tony's jaw dropped. In the doorframe there stood a plastic goddess worthy of a GSM cover page. She was very busty, very blonde and wearing only a pink satin vest.

"Hi, I'm Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo from NCIS. Could I ask you a few questions?" he said never bothering to introduce McGee as well.

"Sure," she purred scanning Tony from head to toe. "Come right in."

Tony entered the apartment with McGee sneaking in behind his back.

"How can I help you, Anthony?" asked Pam sitting on the couch and motioning for them to do the same.

"You can just call me Tony," offered DiNozzo flashing her a hungry smile. "I wonder if you remember seeing this man at the bar last night?" He showed Pam a picture of PFC Kattrall.

"Yeah, I think I saw him. He was with this weird older guy."

"Weird how?" inquired McGee.

"He acted all shy and kinda grumpy, and he was all dressed up. It wasn't a normal suit though, more like a uniform."

"What kind of uniform?"

"I don't know. He just had this blazer with all those little thingies attached to it." Pamela motioned over her chest to illustrate the badges placement and Tony's eyes followed lingering a bit too long over all the wrong places.

"Did it look like this?" Tony showed Pam a picture of Hues in his marine attire.

"The outfit looks kinda alike. This isn't the guy though."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. That was an older guy with gray hair."

"Would you come with us to NCIS to help create a facial composite?"

"I don't think I would be of much help." Pam looked down, sincerely sorry. "He wouldn't look up even when placing an order, so I never really saw his face."

"Don't worry about it. You've been of great help already." Tony put a hand on Pam's shoulder.

"One more question Miss Brown," said McGee. "Did you notice when did PFC Kattrall and the other man leave?"

"It must have been around 10 p.m., perhaps a bit earlier."

"Thank you for your cooperation miss Brown." McGee got up and headed for the door.

"Would you mind giving us your number?" asked Tony all of a sudden. "You know, so we can contact you in case we had more questions."

Pamela provided Tony with her cell number without objection and the two agents left. Walking to their car Tony suddenly broke into a laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" McGee wondered.

"The mystery guy. An old, grumpy, gray-haired marine." Tony chuckled. "Does it remind you of anyone Probie?"

§§§

Back in the Navy Yard Gibbs let Amanda Johnson into the conference room.

"Would you like some coffee?" he offered.

She nodded and Gibbs poured her a cup and sat in front of her.

"I still can't believe Jamie's dead," muttered the young woman looking sincerely shaken. "It's all my fault."

"Why do you say so?"

"Hadn't it been for me, he wouldn't have gotten drunk and had that accident," she sobbed. "He came to see me yesterday and we had a huge fight."

"What about?"

"He accused me of cheating on him."

"Did you?"

Amanda flashed the Special Agent a deathly glare.

"I never cheated on Jamie. I loved him," she declared firmly, "and I never gave him a reason to think otherwise. Still, about a month ago he started acting strange and it was getting worse by the day. He called me at weird hours, wanted to know where I was at any given time, tried to check my phone and mail."

"He was being possessive," Gibbs observed and Amanda nodded in agreement.

Getting rid of a possessive boyfriend gone nuts was not so bad a murder motive, Gibbs thought.

"I didn't understand why he was acting like this and the more I would ask him about it, the angrier with me he would get," Amanda continued. "Last night he came by my apartment and said he knew for sure I was having an affair with another man. When I denied, he just called me a liar and... and a slut and just rushed out of my place."

"What time was it?"

"He came in around 11 p.m. and left about an hour later."

"Where were you around 8 p.m. last night?"

"I was at home. Why?"

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"Agent Gibbs, is there something you're not telling me?"

For a long silent moment the two of them just stared into each other's eyes until finally Gibbs spoke, "PFC Kattrall's death wasn't accidental. He had been poisoned, the car crash was just a cover up."

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Amanda and covered her mouth in apparent shock.

"If he didn't crash his car, he would have died anyway from Azalea poisoning. Funny thing is, you happen to work at a flower shop."

"Wait! You think I did it?!"

"I don't know. Did you?"

"No!" Amanda shouted.

"Can anyone confirm you were at your apartment between 7 and 9 p.m. last night?" Gibbs repeated his previous question.

"No. I was alone, but I swear to God that I did NOT kill my boyfriend! I didn't even know he was dead until you called me in."

Gibbs didn't reply. He just fixed his penetrating blue eyes on her, trying to decide whether she was telling the truth.

"If you don't have any more questions, I'd like to go home now," Amanda said shakily.

Gibbs nodded and called for Agent Axelrod to escort Amanda out of the building. At the door of the conference room Amanda turned around and hissed:

"By the way Agent Gibbs, we don't have Azaleas in our shop."

When they were gone, Gibbs pulled a latex glove and a plastic bag from the interior pocket of his jacket, spilt the remains of the coffee into a nearby vase and bagged and tagged the cup.

He was on his way to Abby's when he noticed PFC Patrick Hues entering the bullpen and coming face to face with Amanda being escorted out. To his surprise the two greeted each other quite intimately and Gibbs made a mental note to ask Hues about the nature of their relationship.

He found Abby in her office with her nose glued to her computer screen.

"Hey Gibbs! Whatcha got for me there?" she asked spinning on her chair.

"Prints," said Gibbs passing her the evidence bag. "I want you to match them to the partial you found on the matches."

"Whose prints are they?"

"A few are mine I'm afraid. You'll have to separate them. The other set belongs to Amanda Johnson, the girlfriend."

"You think she killed him?"

"I would have, if she suspected him of cheating on her, but she claims it was the other way around."

"Kattral thought she cheated on him? Well, that would make sense."

"About what?"

"These." Abby put up on the plasma a set of photos.

Gibbs blinked in surprise and then gave the goth a questioning look. All of the pictures portrayed Amanda Johnson either in a lingerie set or fully naked.

"These are scans of the pictures I found in the interior pocket of Kattrall's jacket," Abby explained.

"Someone could have used them to prove Kattrall Amanda was cheating on him."

"But she probably wasn't," Abby sounded excited. "I ran some tests and I can assure you these photos are photoshopped. They're fake Gibbs!"

"It looks like someone really wanted these two to break up," Gibbs muttered to himself. "Any prints on those photos?"

"Only Kattrall's. Whoever gave them to him must have been wearing gloves, or if he didn't, he could have brought them in an envelope that Kattrall must have tossed away."

"Thanks Abs. I'll see you later. Check those prints for me." Gibbs headed for the door.

"And you get me a drink!" called Abby to his back.

Gibbs returned to the conference room this time to talk to PFC Hues.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs." He extended his hand at the younger man who shook it eagerly.

"PFC Patrick Hues," he introduced himself. "How can I help you sir?"

"What can you tell me about your relationship with PFC James Kattrall?"

"We worked together at Norfolk. I suppose I could say we were friends."

"And what about Amanda Johnson? What is your relationship with her?"

"We too are friends," admitted Hues without a hint of hesitation. "We've known each other since we were kids. I grew up in Arlington and Amanda was the girl next door."

"Rumor has it you and PFC Kattrall had a conflict about a girl. About Amanda?"

"Yes, but it's not what you think sir," Hues replied. "Me and Amanda were like brother and sister. I was the one who introduced her to James and I was happy with them being together."

"So what was the conflict about?" inquired Gibbs.

"A month or so ago James started suspecting Amanda was cheating on him. He went crazy and Amanda would often just end up crying on my shoulder because of him. I couldn't stand seeing her suffer so I confronted James about it and it ended up in an open fight."

"Did Kattrall think Amanda was having an affair with you?"

"No sir. He knew well enough there never was anything but friendship between me and Amanda. He suspected somebody else."

"Who?"

"I don't know, and I don't think he did either."

"Would Amanda tell you, if there really was another man?"

Hues broke eye contact with Gibbs and stared at his hands. The Special Agent could tell he knew something and was considering whether to share the information or not.

"There was someone, wasn't there?"

"Not exactly sir," Hues said. "Amanda did not have an affair with anyone, but..."

"But what?"

"I think she may have been stalked. She told me she often felt watched and once she noticed someone hanging around her apartment, but he was gone before she could take a good look."

"We didn't find a stalking complaint," Gibbs pointed out.

"She never filed one," Hues replied. "In fact, she never told anyone but me about it, not even James."

"Why wouldn't she tell her boyfriend?"

"The stalking began pretty much the same time James started acting weird. At the beginning Amanda even though it could have been him following her, but I ruled out the possibility. Many of the stalking incidents happened when James was with me on base."

"Did she have any other suspects?"

"None that I would know of."

"One last question. Where were you last night around 0800 hours?"

"You think I poisoned James? For Amanda?" asked Hues incredulous and seeing Gibbs's questioning glance he added, "I met her at the elevator and she told me you found out James was murdered."

"Honestly, no, I don't suspect you, but it's a question I need to ask. It's part of the procedure," Gibbs replied.

"I went to a bar in Richmond. I met a girl. She can confirm my whereabouts around that time."

"Name and phone number, and also the name and address of the bar." Gibbs gave Hues pen and paper and the young marine wrote down the requested detail.

"That would be all for now PFC Hues. Thank you for your cooperation," said Gibbs and escorted the man out of the building.

§§§

Monday, February 9th 2004

The clacking sound of someone's fingers hitting the keyboard at incredible speed slowly woke Gibbs up. He popped his eyes open, straightened up in his chair and grabbed his coffee cup which, unfortunately for him, turned out to be empty.

Still half asleep he looked to his right. DiNozzo was gone but McGee was at his post, his eyes fixed on the computer screen. He was so absorbed in whatever he was doing that he didn't even notice his boss grabbing a clean shirt and an emergency toothbrush from his drawer and sneaking out to the men's room.

Splashing some cold water onto his face helped Gibbs wake up some more, but he wouldn't be at full charge until he had a dose of his 'medicine'. God, he needed coffee!

He, Tony and McGee stayed up until late last night trying to crack their case. When the two younger agents returned from Arlington, they all gathered up in the bullpen and shared all the information they had so far trying to make some sense out of it.

They had a dead marine who had recently been going crazy over the idea of his girlfriend cheating on him. The girlfriend, Amanda, had potential motive, no solid alibi and was a florist, which meant she could've known about Azalea plant toxic properties. Abby didn't match her print to the partial from the matches though, and according to eyewitnesses she never was at the bar where Kattrall must have been fed the poison. He had been seen there in the company of a man instead. It couldn't have been their other potential suspect, PFC Patrick Hues, because he didn't match the witnesses description and his alibi for the night checked out. So who was the mystery man from the bar? They needed to find that out as he was most likely their killer. The problem was, they hardly had anything on him, not a name, not a face, only a vague description that could fit just about anyone.

Gibbs returned to the bullpen and grabbed at his coat, intent on going for coffee when McGee's voice stopped him.

"Boss? I… I think I... I may have found something," the young agent stammered nervously.

"Yeah? What have you got?" asked Gibbs turning on his heel and coming over to McGee's desk.

"When I woke up this morning I got the idea to check if there have ever been any similar cases in the area," said McGee. "I cross-referenced drink and drive accidents with stalking complaints and ran it against the Maryland metro police database."

"Yeah. And?" rushed the boss, munching at some pizza leftovers from the previous night he spotted on DiNozzo's desk.

"Two years ago a man named Peter Walsh died in drunk driving accident on a road to Baltimore on February 8th," McGee stressed on the date. "In the month prior to that Baltimore PD received two stalking complaints. I made some calls and it turns out one of the women who filed a complaint, a certain Anna Stuart, was Walsh's fiancèe. It could be just a coincidence but-"

"I don't believe in coincidence," said Gibbs rubbing at his chin in thought. "Get me Anna Stuart's address McGee. I'll be right back."

"Um... boss?"

"What?!" Gibbs snapped. It was the second time this morning McGee was stopping him from getting his coffee.

"Anna Stuart was murdered one week after Walsh's death. Raped and strangled in her own apartment. The killer has never been found."

Gibbs squinted his yes in disbelief. The deeper they dug, the more complex their case was getting. It wasn't just a simple drink and drive accident anymore.

"Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs looked around for his senior agent.

"I don't know boss."

"Find him!" barked Gibbs. "He used to work at Baltimore PD. Have him contact his old buds and ask for all the relative case files. I need to get some coff-"

"But boss!"

"What now?!"

"T...The c... case..." stuttered McGee, literally melting under Gibbs's deadly stare. "B... Baltimore had passed it over to... to..."

"To whom McGee?" whispered Gibbs terrifying the poor probie even more. A whispering Gibbs was far worse than a yelling Gibbs, and a coffee craving, whispering Gibbs was the worst of them all.

"To us," spoke a familiar voice Gibbs hadn't heard since the 'Seadog' case.

He turned around and found himself face to face with FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell.

"What brings you to NCIS this time Tobias?" he said smirking.

"I'm here to take over your investigation," Fornell replied with calm and confidence.

"I see this time you brought backup too." Gibbs pointed to a couple Suits creeping at Fornell's back.

"I figured you wouldn't give up your case without a fight, so I thought I could use some," said the FBI agent with a hint of a smile and began to introduce his men.

"This is Agent Sachs," said Fornell as a tall, dark skinned man stepped up next to him and gave the NCIS agents a short nod. He then moved aside, letting up front a small brunette, so far unnoticed in the shadow of his massive figure.

"Gibbs," said Fornell with a malicious grin, "I believe you already know Agent Todd?"

"Hi Gibbs," said Kate simply and looked up to meet his eyes.

Gibbs didn't reply. He just stared at her in surprise and disbelief, watching a light blush creep up her cheeks as she held his gaze bravely.

From his post at his desk McGee followed the entire scene in confusion. His eyes darted from the equally lost Agent Sachs to Fornell, looking like a cat who just ate the canary. to the lovely Agent Todd, who blushed like a shy teenager, and finally to his boss, who just stood there like a statue apparently at a loss for words.

McGee thought of Tony not being there and grinned. He could just imagine his face, when he would tell him he missed a one-time opportunity to witness Gibbs going speechless.

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