"Perception is Everything"- An "NCIS" Fan-Fic

Summary: When the team is called in to investigate the murder of a sailor, they discover a lone witness- a young woman that claims to have seen the murder psychically. While they try to prove she's a fake, she attempts to prove that she is for real. Case- fic. Is a story within a story- takes place during Chapter 5 of "Inconceivable", another story of mine. (Which means it is MPREG.)

Rating: T (Violence, Supernatural and Fantasy elements)

Characters: Tony D. and Abby S. (but has all the team players!)

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of NCIS, but the quotes from "Inconceivable" are mine.

Chapter 1

NCIS Agent Ziva David sat at her desk, organizing paperwork. Her fellow team member, Timothy McGee, was checking his email, and drinking his coffee. Suddenly, they heard the sound of singing coming from the elevator.

"Do you hear that, McGee?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "Sounds like Michael Buble." They both listened as it got louder.

"And somehow I know that it'll all turn out, You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out…" The elevator doors opened, and Tony emerged, singing along to his iPod. "And I promise you kid, I give so much more than I get, I just have met you yet." He shut off his music, and pulled out the ear buds. "Good morning, my dear ninja," he greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning, Tony," Ziva replied.

Tony shrugged off his backpack, and it hit the floor with a thud. "Hey Tim, how are ya, man?"

"Um, good," McGee replied, slightly surprised by the Senior Field Agent's demeanor. "How are you, Tony? How are you feeling?"

"I feel awesome, McTim," Tony replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I believe McGee is rather taken aback by your mood," Ziva observed. "You've been miserable the last month, and you're… you're…"

"Radiant," Tim finished, then asked in a low voice, "You're in your second trimester, right?"

"Sixteen weeks today," Tony whispered.

"That explains it," Ziva said. "I did some research last night, and I remember reading that the sickness is pretty much over, and you should be feeling much better."

"Come to think it, Tony, you do have a certain glow about you," McGee added.

"I guess I do," Tony concluded. "You guys can make all the 'feminine glow' jokes you want, I can handle it."

"Oh, we will," Ziva said with a mischievous grin.

"I'm just glad you're not puking anymore," Tim said.

"That makes two of us, McGee," NCIS Lead Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs said as he walked towards his desk. "Morning, DiNozzo."

"Morning, Boss," Tony greeted his superior. "And that makes three of us."

"There's a dead sailor in Takoma Park," Gibbs ordered. "Gear up."

"My appointment's in an hour," Tony said. "I'll stay back, and work the desk when I get back here."

"Sounds good," Gibbs said. "McGee, David, let's roll."

~*NCIS*~

The team, minus Tony, parked in front of a small ranch- style house. Police cars were scattered along the street, but were concentrated in front of the house. A plain-clothes cop stood by the driveway, obviously waiting for NCIS to arrive.

"Agent Gibbs?" the dark- haired officer asked.

"Yes," Gibbs replied, walking up to him.

"Detective Chris Swan," he said, showing Gibbs his badge. "We spoke on the phone."

"What have you got, Detective?"

"We were called to this address shortly after six this morning, where we found a young man lying on the living room floor, with stab wounds," Detective Swan explained. "We ran his prints through our database to confirm his identity, and found out he was Navy. That's when we called you."

"Name?"

"Lieutenant Jason Wells, Agent Gibbs," Swan replied.

"Ziva, sketch and shoot," Gibbs ordered. "McGee, bag and tag. Let me know when Ducky gets here."

They nodded, and headed into the house. "Do you have any witnesses?" Gibbs asked.

At that moment, a young woman broke away from the cops that were questioning her, and made a beeline toward Gibbs. "I saw it," she exclaimed. "I saw the whole thing."

Gibbs looked to the woman, and then to the detective. The detective rolled his eyes.

"This is Savannah Packard," Swan said. "She's the…"

"I'm Lieutenant Wells' neighbor," she finished. "You must be from NCIS."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow toward her. She was petite, probably no more than five -foot, three -inches tall, with dark brown hair cut into a pixie style, much like Director Shepard had experimented with years ago. She was dressed in a red Ohio State t-shirt, black sweatpants, and her gray eyes were intensely focused on the Senior agent. "Good guess," he told her. "Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You saw what happened to your neighbor?"

"Well, sort of," she replied. "I was sleeping, and I had dreamt, for some reason, that Lieutenant Wells was being stabbed. I woke up, totally freaked out. I decided to take the spare key he gave me, and check on him. When I went in, I found him on the floor, dead. That's when I called the cops."

"Let me get this straight," Gibbs said. "You had a dream that Lieutenant Wells was being stabbed, and when you went into his house, you found him dead?"

"That is correct, Agent Gibbs," she replied. "I have, what you would call, psychic abilities. It's not the first time I've seen something happen in my mind, and then have it occur. But, it is the first murder I've seen psychically."

Gibbs let out an exasperated sigh. This is gonna be a weird one, he thought to himself. "Get yourself dressed, Ms. Packard. We need to take you back with us for more-"

"Questioning? Of course," she replied, heading toward her house. "Be ready in a few minutes."

Gibbs headed into Wells' home, to check on his agents. "What do you have?" he asked.

"We have a weapon," Agent David answered. "A Rachael Ray chef knife. Forced entry through the back door by the kitchen."

"Doesn't look like anything's been taken," McGee said. "No security system. This wasn't a burglary."

"The neighbor, a Miss Savannah Packard, said she had a key, and came in to check on him," Gibbs said. "Must've been for the front door."

"She checked on him?" Ziva asked. "Did she hear something from her house?"

Gibbs sighed, as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard and Jimmy Palmer, his assistant, entered the house. "Miss Packard said that… she dreamt that he was being stabbed. She woke up scared, and decided to check on him."

"And discovered this gruesome scene," Ducky finished. "Time of death, between five-thirty and six am…"

"Wait a second," McGee interrupted. "She said she dreamt he was stabbed, then come to find out he actually was?"

"The neighbor claims to be psychic," Gibbs told them.

"That's crazy," Palmer replied.

"Ridiculous," McGee stated.

"Weird," Ziva added.

"Very odd, indeed," Ducky concluded.

"McGee, check out her house- see if she has a security system," Gibbs ordered. "Ride back with Ducky and Palmer."

"On it, Boss." The younger man headed next door.

"Ziva, we're taking Miss Packard in for further questioning. Get the evidence ready to bring back with us," he said.

"Of course, Gibbs."

~*NCIS*~