Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or Supernatural. I'm just borrowing them. Also, I have no actual idea what the park around the Thomas Jefferson Memorial looks like. Any mistakes and inconsistencies are mine.

Things Not Said

Tony stumbled into the bull pen looking exhausted. He dropped his bag next to his desk and fell into his chair with a sigh. He rubbed his face with a hand and contemplated whether he had enough energy to go get coffee from the other room. He could make out his reflection in the dim glass of his computer screen, and he grimaced at the pronounced bags under his eyes. With one more swipe at his face, he pushed himself to his feet.

"Another late night, Tony?" Ziva asked. She stopped typing on her computer and looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Coffee first. Questions later," he clipped.

"Woah," McGee said, looking up from the file he was studying and staring at Tony with widened eyes.

"What is it, McGeek?" Tony's voice was sharper than he intended.

McGee unconsciously backed away with his hands up in gesture of surrender. "Nothing, man, I just… never mind."

Tony took a step toward McGee's desk. "McGee, if you don't finish that sentence, I swear I'm gonna—"

"Okay, okay," he said, taking a step back. "I was just gonna say that you sounded remarkably like Gibbs just then."

"Oh." Tony sighed and turned toward the break room. He trudged to the machine, grabbed a Styrofoam cup from the dwindling stack to the right, and filled it to the brim. He blew on the black liquid as he returned to his desk. He sat down and took a sip savoring the bitter taste as it slid down his throat. When he looked up from his cup, the two agents were staring at him. He barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at them.

"What?" he asked tiredly.

"How is your friend doing?" Ziva asked, looking at him with sympathy.

"How do you know this is about Sammy? I'm just tired," he answered.

Ziva put a hand on her hip and looked at him knowingly.

"Sam's fine." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "Or he will be… He's gotten out of his catatonic state, and they're sending him home tomorrow."

"That is good, is it not?" she asked.

"Yeah." He attempted a feeble smile and turned back to his coffee.

Tony didn't bother saying that Sam didn't have a home or any family left to take care of him. Tony didn't mention that Sam would be staying in his tiny apartment for the foreseeable future and that he was in way over his head. He didn't say that he had no idea what to do with a traumatized Winchester, or that it scared him that one of the strongest men he knew was reduced to a silent, haunted shell of a man. Tony would keep those thoughts to himself for now.

Across the room, Ziva and McGee held a silent conversation. After a minute, they shrugged and decided to leave it alone for the moment.

Gibbs listened in from a distance. He decided he would investigate it later. Right now, they had to focus on the dead Marine near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

"Grab your bags," he barked, turning the corner.

The three agents startled into action. Tony downed his remaining coffee, slung the bag over his shoulder and grabbed his sidearm. Ziva and McGee grabbed their bags and guns and entered the elevator behind Tony and Gibbs. Ziva won the battle for the car keys, and Tony couldn't help but think that, if the coffee didn't keep him awake, Ziva's driving surely would.

With Ziva at the wheel, the normally 25 minute drive took a measly ten, and Tony and McGee tumbled out of the car, grateful to be on solid ground. Ziva rolled her eyes at them and headed towards the small area surrounded by bright yellow crime scene tape. Gibbs followed close behind, making a beeline for the body while Ziva talked to the first responders and witnesses. McGee staggered after them, and Tony took his time. He retrieved the camera from the trunk of the car, and looked around the park. Trees sparsely populated the areas to the west and north and there was an abandoned swing set to the east. A more heavily wooded area stood to the south.

When he reached the yellow tape, he flashed his badge at an officer and ducked under it. He breathed sharply at the sight of the body. He'd seen a lot of similar tableaus in his career, but this guy was just a kid. Freshly enlisted, going by the markings on the uniform he wore and the extremely close- shaved head. A deep cut slashed across his stomach, and dried blood stained the surrounding area, contrasting with his pale skin. His eyes were open and empty, a sight which reminded Tony of the unceasing, blank stare of Sam Winchester. He shuddered.

"DiNozzo, you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna do your job?" Gibbs asked shortly.

"Sorry, Boss," he said quickly. He closed his eyes and composed himself. He began taking photos of the scene. He saw a partial shoeprint on the edge of the quartered off area. The toe of the shoe pointed to the south. He took a picture of the print, and ducked under the tape to see if he could make out a trail. He followed faint tracks to the edge of the wooded area, where they seemed to disappear. Scouring the ground around him, Tony picked up the trail further into the woods and followed it until the oak and ash trees surrounded him on all sides. He stopped to observe a broken twig more closely, when he heard a rustling sound. He put a hand on his gun.

"Show yourself!" he yelled, trigger finger twitching.

McGee tumbled out into the open, hands slightly raised. "It's just me."

Tony let his hand drop from his holster. "McGee, what are you doing here?"

"I saw you heading this way, and I wondered what you were doing."

"So you decided to sneak up on me and find out?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't exactly trying to keep my presence a secret," Tim replied, shrugging.

Tony huffed and turned back to the tracks. He finally headed south east, McGee trailing behind, and smiled when he heard a few cars whoosh past. He had hoped this park backed up to a street. A street meant traffic lights, and traffic lights meant traffic cameras. Maybe one of them caught a glimpse of the killer. Tony cleared the last of the brush and stepped out on the sidewalk. Perfect. A camera was mounted on a light pole about thirty feet to the left.

McGee was at his side a few seconds later. "How does this impromptu nature walk help with the case?"

"Someone who was around the body ran this way, McGee. Whoever it was passed the sight of this camera," he said, pointing. "We might be able to get a glimpse of him or her on the footage."

"Okay, that's great, but how do you know they went this way? I didn't see any tracks."

"Just because you didn't see them, doesn't mean they weren't there," Tony answered.

McGee felt a little defensive. He was an Eagle Scout and excelled in tracking when going through training to become a NCIS agent. He wasn't about to mention that to Tony, though. He'd probably be dubbed "McScout" for the rest of the month if he did. Shaking his head, he settled for a question. "How'd you get to be such a good tracker?"

Tony couldn't exactly tell McGee that he'd trained under a Marine since he was a kid. That he learned to track things that didn't even leave footprints. That a mere human, even a light-footed one, was nothing compared to the nightmares he was taught to look out for. A half- truth was better then nothing, he decided. "My uncle took me hunting a lot when I was a kid," he answered with a wry smile.

"I wasn't aware your father had a brother."

"DNA doesn't make a person family, McGee. The way they treat each other does." Tony turned back to the woods, suppressing a shudder at the chick- flick worthy moment. "We'd better get back and tell Gibbs what we found," he said, stepping into the trees.

"You found it. I just sorta stumbled onto it," McGee insisted, following after him.

"Who cares, McGee? Tell him whatever you want."

They reached the edge of the park when Tony's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. "The hospital," he said in response to McGee's questioning glance.

McGee nodded and jogged over to Gibbs.

Tony flipped his phone open, "DiNozzo here." He listened for a few seconds. "I'll be there in ten minutes," he said, hanging up before the nurse on the other end of the line could finish a sentence. He ran to Ziva and held out his hand. "Sam's in trouble."

Ziva handed him the keys wordlessly, and he sprinted to the car. He drove to the hospital so fast, it put Ziva's driving to shame.

Next time on Things Not Said: Semi-catatonic Sam adjusts to his new surroundings and the Team suspects something is going on.