Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction, and I am a diehard Kibbs shipper. This is slightly AU, in the fact that Ziva did leave, but she didn't go under bad terms. Forget all of the stuff with Michael, she just simply went back to Israel because her father wanted her to.

Chapter One

"DiNozzo!"

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo's head snapped up at the gruff command.

"Yes, boss?"

NCIS team leader Jethro Gibbs came quickly around the entrance to the bullpen with coffee cup in hand. The fierce scowl that Gibbs sported sent warning bells off in Tony's head. Something was up, and by the looks of it, that something wasn't good.

Gibbs was known for his incredibly callous and gruff demeanor, which had steadily gotten worse since Director Shepherd's death and Ziva's absence. The bullpen was almost always eerily quiet, with Tony's obnoxious quips no longer there to fill the silence and McGee's normal stammering prattle receding back into his shy quietness. Even Abby, whenever Tony visited her down in her lab, seemed more subdued, like all of the bad fortune the team had endured had finally cracked her incredible spirit. Tony really didn't know what to make of the serious changes in all of their behaviors, but he really couldn't summon the energy to do much about it. It was times like these that his mind slowly drifted back to Kate. As much as he loved and missed Ziva, Kate had always been the team's glue. She could put a smile on Gibbs face, make McGee blush and Abby giggle with a snappy quip and a fiery glare. She could put him in his place with just a look. She had been his little sister, his sounding board, his best friend. God he missed her.

"DiNozzo! Have you heard what I've been saying for the past five minutes?" Gibbs shouted across the room, standing in front of the plasma with pictures of multiple dead bodies plastered on the screen.

Tony shook his head and cleared the unwanted memories from his mind. He had a job to do, and today really didn't seem like the day to push Gibbs.

"Sorry boss," Tony said, standing up and quickly making his way over to the screen.

McGee lifted his head from his paperwork to pay attention to the debrief in front of him. Even he noticed something up with Gibbs. Not so much what he was saying, because yelling at Tony was a common occurrence, but it was more the tone of his voice, the weight of sadness and pain in his eyes that caught his attention. The fact that the reprimands he flung at Tony didn't have the bite and sting they usually did. It had been a year since Jenny's death, and Gibbs had seemed to be making a recovery alright, but it felt like today Gibbs was starting right back at square one, looking even worse than he did the day he found out Director Shepherd had died. The quiet sullenness of his boss struck something familiar in the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite place it.

Gibbs stared at Tony for a moment, looking a bit tired and weary. "It's fine DiNozzo, but I need you 100 percent for this next case," Gibbs said, looking straight at Tony.

Tony was shocked. He took a step back from his boss. Something was definitely not right. Gibbs was being patient with him? He exchanged glances with McGee. The younger agent slightly shrugged his shoulders, indicating to Tony that he had no idea what was going on either.

That's when it hit. Even after Jenny had died, Gibbs' personality had shifted for less than a week, and then he was back, in full force, kicking ass and taking numbers as usual. He was a little more subdued, like he was too old to handle the weight of his job anymore, but he had never acted like this. Gibbs normally never turned to the soft, caring older boss, except for once on the same day every year. Never for more than a day, except for the time five years ago, when the 'nice Gibbs' attitude had started, scaring the shit out of Tony, Abby and McGee. But what didn't make any sense was that today wasn't that special day. Tony knew that day by heart, it even still haunted some of his nightmares, and today wasn't that day. He would need to go down to see Abby later to get more info. If anyone would know what was going on with their boss, she would. If that route failed, he'd go to Ducky.

"So what's up Boss?"

"There have been five successive murders of female naval officers," Gibbs said, squinting at the high-tech remote and trying to find the right button. He did, and pictures of the dead officers illuminated the bullpen. "Their bodies have been found in various places and states, ranging from back alleys of restraints in D.C. to a small park in Indiana."

Tony's eyes widened at the pictures of the mutilated bodies. From appearances alone, there was no way that you could tell who the women were. Just as Tony thought that, Gibbs pushed another button, and with a sharp intake of breath, pictures of the women, when they were alive and healthy, came up on the screen.

DiNozzo heard McGee gasp, and his chair violently squeaked when the younger agent rushed over to the screen.

"Boss…" McGee whispered, never taking his eyes off the screen.

Tony had difficulty swallowing, but he managed to. Gibbs spoke softly, almost imperceptibly quiet. "For reasons that I don't understand, the FBI is in on this case, too, and they specifically asked for our team's assistance. They are the ones that identified our victims."

Tony glanced at his boss, and noticed that Gibbs wasn't looking at the screen anymore, almost as if it hurt his eyes to see the faces of the dead women. If this had been any other case, Tony would have been alarmed at his boss's reaction. If these women had been different, Tony would have been confused. But it wasn't another case and these women weren't different, so he understood the reaction that Gibbs had had.

"Boss," Tony said, equally as soft. He finally tore his eyes away from the screen to look at Gibbs. He saw him shut his eyes tightly, as if to ward off the incoming onslaught of pain. Which in truth, wasn't too far off the mark. "Boss…these women…God…Gibbs…they look just like Kate."