A/N: I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for months now. So, I'm finally putting it all down on the page. I'm almost sure you all will like it, but please; leave me a review even if you don't :) Oh, and this is set in season six; sometime between 'Capitol Offense' and 'Heartland'.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, or anything associated with it. And sadly, I never will.

Life was never simple at NCIS, it appeared.

In the past six months, the changes that had taken in place in both the agency and the agents within were vast. They'd had a change of Directors, they'd lost agents and brought them back, and one certain team would forever be changed. It was undeniable.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs looked up from his computer, glancing at the three agents sitting at the desks near his. While he was proud of the three for all the hard work they'd put in this past two days, it still wasn't enough.

In three days, three Marine wives had been killed. Their husbands were deployed, and they had no children. So far, they had no leads, and no suspects.

"Have we got anything?" he asked, looking at the three agents.

"Well, I'm still comparing their phone records boss." Agent Timothy McGee said, glancing up from his furious typing. Gibbs nodded, turning to his senior field agent.

"Looking into the yoga class they all went to. So far, I've got nothing." Agent Anthony DiNozzo said, looking up from the phone number he was dialing. Gibbs raised an eyebrow, letting Tony return to his phone call, before turning to the woman on his left.

"I am looking into their husbands, to see if they know each other and have had any contact." Ziva David said, raising her chocolate brown eyes to meet Gibbs' deep blue ones, her tan face tight with sleep deprivation and annoyance, a mirror of everyone else on the team. Gibbs nodded, knowing that they were still no closer to finding the murderer.

Suddenly, the phone on his desk began to ring. His stomach tightened with dread. He hoped that didn't mean what he thought it meant.

"Gibbs." he answered gruffly, holding the black plastic receiver to his ear.

"Got another body for ya Jethro, fits the description of the killer you're lookin' for. Marine wife, redhead." Frank Crawdly, the man working the hotline today said, his southern accented-voice not sounding too pleased with the latest development. "Body was found at her home about an hour ago, at Little Creek base."

"Thanks Frank." Gibbs said, placing the phone back in its cradle, internally cursing. Standing, he reached into his back drawer, pulling out his gun and badge. The rest of the team stared at him before moving into action.

"We got another body Boss?" Tony asked, slipping his gun into its holster and his badge into his pocket.

"Another redheaded Marine wife, found in her home at the Little Creek base." Gibbs answered, slipping his jacket onto his shoulders and putting his notepad into his jeans' pocket.

"Another one? That is four bodies in four days Gibbs. Are we considering him a serial killer?" Ziva asked, slinging her bag onto her right shoulder as she followed him into the elevator, Tony and McGee close behind.

"It's a possibility." Gibbs answered as the doors slid shut, closing the loft. At one point, he'd have said the deaths weren't connected. But four bodies in four days, once a day? That wasn't normal.

"Who's driving?" Tony asked, obviously trying to break the tense silence. It seemed DiNozzo no longer did well in silence; since Jenny had been killed under his watch, it seemed he couldn't handle silence or quiet- everything had to be loud and noisy for him to feel okay. Coming back from the being Agent Afloat two months ago, he hadn't been the same goofy guy that joked about everything. He was more serious, he only smiled every once in a while, and he always seemed to look for approval in all his team members. It appeared it had once again taken the death of a friend for Anthony DiNozzo to grow up.

"I am." Gibbs answered, the keys to the truck already in his hand. He heard Tony and McGee swallow heavily, and heard Ziva let out a short laugh. "That a problem DiNozzo?"

"No, no problem, not at all Boss." Tony answered quickly, his words flowing together slightly at the end in his haste.

"Good." Gibbs said, nodding, hiding an internal grin. It felt weird, to be able to smile and joke with his team again. The idiots Vance had gotten to replace them hadn't fit; there hadn't been the feeling of family Gibbs got around Tony, Ziva, and McGee. Not that he would ever admit it to them, of course.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the base, finding the house quickly.

"David witness statements, McGee photos, DiNozzo sketches." Gibbs barked, waiting for his team to nod and disperse before turning to the officer in charge. "Morning Tom."

"Morning Jethro. It's a tragedy. Emily Turner." Officer Tom Hamm said, looking back at the house behind him. "Such a beautiful young woman. She and her husband, Christopher Turner, moved here about two years ago. He deployed about three months after they arrived, and he's supposed to come home next month."

"When was the last time anyone saw her?" Gibbs asked, shaking his head slightly, letting out a sigh.

"Neighbors said that the last time anyone saw her was last night, about nine o'clock. Said that an unfamiliar car was parked in the driveway until about ten thirty." Tom replied, checking over his notes.

"You get a make and model?" Gibbs asked, jotting everything down.

"All they could tell me was that it was a red SUV. Couldn't see that plate clearly, all they got was the first three letters. A-S-T. Sorry I can't give you more Jethro. Everyone wants this killer off the streets. Did you hear the media is already coming up with names for him, saying he's a serial killer?" Tom said, outrage filling his age-lined face. He'd been on the police force for twice as long as Gibbs had been at NCIS, and he'd seen more serial killers and mass murderers then Gibbs hoped to in a lifetime. He knew what a pain the media could be, although he did handle it better than Gibbs did. "They're actually getting a kick out of this. I hope you find this one soon. We've seen too much death this month."

"We're all thinking the same thing over at NCIS Tom. Thanks for all the help. Tell Helen I said hi." Gibbs said, allowing a small smile to cross his face as he shook the older man's hand.

"I'll tell her. Don't breath in too much sawdust over this, ya hear?" Tom said, letting a grin of his own free for a moment.

"Oh you know me. It'll only be for a few hours." Gibbs said, nodding.

"Take care now Jethro." Tom said, nodding as well before turning back towards his car, taking the two other officers on the scene with him.

Gibbs walked into the house, where he encountered an exuberant Ducky.

"Good morning Jethro. Well, this morning isn't necessarily good, as the world has lost this beautiful young woman, but you understand the sentiment, I'm sure." the elderly ME said, a twinkle in his knowing eyes.

"Yeah, I got it Duck. What can you tell me?" Gibbs said, shaking his head slightly at his old friend.

"Well, from rigor, I would say that she couldn't have been dead more than eighteen to twenty hours, liver probe confirmed. This rather nasty gash to the head appears to have occurred close to the time of death…yes, and there seems to be some skin under the fingernails. Mr. Palmer, a specimen jar, if you please." Ducky said, lifting the woman's hand up, peering at her nails through his spectacles.

"She fought off her attacker." Gibbs said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, and it looks like she got a few good scratches on him as well. Yes, I would expect that whoever was the demise of this young woman bears a few of her marks, either on his face or his arms." Ducky said, setting the woman's hand back down gently. "I would tentatively say cause of death was blunt force trauma to the cranium."

"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said, nodding.

"I'll be able to tell you more when I get her on the table, of course." Ducky said, raising his gaze to meet Gibbs'.

"Don't you always?" Gibbs said, a wry smile on his face. Ducky let out a chuckle, nodding.

"I do, don't I? Ah…what do we have here?" Ducky said, looking down at the body once more. "Tweezers, if you would Mr. Palmer."

Jimmy passed the metal tweezers to Ducky, and he in turned pulled a short brunette hair off of the woman's slender, blood-splattered neck. Gibbs called McGee over, and the younger man snapped a picture of it before having Ducky drop it into an evidence bag.

"He is getting sloppy." Ziva commented, taking in the destroyed room. "None of the other crime scenes were this messy."

"Could be it's a copycat. Completely unrelated." Gibbs said, but he didn't truly believe that. Ziva's raised eyebrow told him that his sentiments were mirrored.

"Gibbs, I highly doubt that. This body is from last night. He is escalating."

"Let's not jump to conclusions Ziva." Tony said, looking up from his sketching. "We still haven't found a connection between the victims."

"What more of a connection do you need? They all have red hair, they are all marine wives, and all of their husbands are deployed!" Ziva said incredulously.

"So far, they have nothing else in common. Different banks, bases, churches. The only other connection is the yoga center, and even then, there are hundreds of different classes and instructors. The chances of them all going to the same class is astronomical." McGee said, holding the camera.

"But there is still a chance, McGee." Gibbs reminded him, looking around the room once more.

Tony looked up from his sketching, watching Gibbs.

Everyone had noticed how similar all the women looked. Everyone had noticed that all of them resembled Jenny in some way. Everyone, it appeared, except Gibbs.

Tony still felt that hollow spot in his chest when he looked at his boss; he still felt that resounding guilt when he met those steely blue eyes. He knew no one blamed him. That didn't stop him from blaming himself.

After all, it had been his decision to stay out of the Director's personal life. It had been his decision to relax in LA, even though he had been there to protect Jenny with his life. It had been his decision not to listen to Ziva.

And his decision had cost Jenny her life.

He was waiting for the explosion from Gibbs. He was waiting for the emotions to overwhelm the former Marine, and he was waiting to be the target. He knew he deserved it, on some level.

"Wrap it up here, then we'll head back to the agency. We need to find the connection between these four women." Gibbs said, and Tony let out a sigh internally. It appeared the former gunnery sergeant was in tight control of his emotions, just like always.

"Got it boss." Tony said, and his reply was echoed by the other members of the team. Gibbs nodded before striding out of the house, not taking a backward glance at the body on the ground. Once he had left the vicinity of the room, Tony blew out the breath he'd been holding.

"He has not even shown a crack." Ziva said, eyes wide with amazement.

"Did you honestly expect him to, my dear?" Ducky said, shaking his head. "No, Jethro will not be showing any cracks on this one. My predication is that after you four have caught this murderer, he will spend the evening drowning himself in a bourbon river, with his boat as his only company."

Tony knew that the good doctor hadn't meant for his words to hurt, but there was an unexpected pain anyway. Because if it hadn't been for Tony's inaction, then there wouldn't be a need for Gibbs to go drown himself in alcohol. There was a possibility that he'd have gone home to that same woman he was drinking himself into oblivion over.

"I'll check on him, after we close the case. Make sure he doesn't drink too much." Tony said, swallowing hard around the lump in his throat.

"That is a good plan, Anthony. You may want to take Abigail with you. She is always good for Jethro." Ducky said, raising his eyes to the younger man's.

"Good idea Ducky. I'll do that." Tony said, nodding.

"Before any of this can happen, we need to catch the killer, Tony." McGee said, and Tony grimaced.

"Good point Probilicious. Let's finish here so we can get back."

Gibbs stood in front of the plasma, watching the program McGee had created compare all four of the women. As he was watching, it began to beep, and he turned expectantly to the younger agent. McGee typed furiously, smacking his desk when he read the screen.

"Problem McGee?"

"No, I just hadn't seen this before now. All three women got an outside cell call about forty-five minutes before their murders." McGee said, typing more.

"Who's the cell registered too?" Gibbs asked, looking at him.

"Carter Thomas." McGee said, jotting down the address.

"Hey, he's one of the instructors at the yoga center all the women went to!" Tony said, his eyes widening. Gibbs grabbed his badge and gun before slipping into his jacket, motioning for his team to follow.

"This guy has already killed four times, and we still don't know if he has more victims. We take him alive." Gibbs said, turning to glare to Ziva. She threw her hands up, feigning innocence.

"I'll be good, I promise!" she exclaimed, causing the other three to roll their eyes.

"I didn't say you couldn't hurt him. You just can't kill him, Officer David."

They pulled up outside of the house, quickly getting out of the car. In the driveway sat a red SUV, license plate A-S-T-6-7-8-4. They were in the right place, then. Drawing their weapons, they split, Tony and Ziva taking the back, Gibbs and McGee going to the front door.

Gibbs peeked his head at the window, peering through the curtains. Seeing no one, he nodded to McGee, who picked the lock quickly. Nodding to him once again, McGee slowly turned the knob, both their weapons drawn.

Entering the empty living room, they scanned the room, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Clear." Gibbs said, moving into the kitchen.

"Clear." McGee said, coming in from upstairs.

"Where are David and DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, looking around with a frown.

"They didn't come inside boss." McGee answered. Gibbs' frown deepened, and he turned to the back door, drawing his weapon again. Sliding open the glass door leading to the back yard, he walked outside cautiously, but stopped when he caught sight of Tony and Ziva cuffing a brunette, middle-aged man, who was lying with his face in the grass.

"He tried to run boss." Tony said, hauling the man upwards and starting towards the car.

"The hair color and length matches, Gibbs, and there are cuts on both his cheek and his neck. His description matches the one that the neighbor gave of the man that left Emily Turner's house last night." Ziva said, walking over to him.

"Well, then let's see what excuse he comes up with in interrogation, shall we?" Gibbs said, raising an eyebrow at her. She lifted up the corner of her mouth, her chocolate brown eyes glinting with mischief.

Gibbs stood in the interrogation room, silently watching Carter Thomas sweat.

The man's mud brown eyes darted around the room, and his hands were wringing themselves so tightly they were pure white. The beginning signs were all that he was guilty- and the DNA from the hair had come back, sealing the deal. Turns out that before he was a yoga instructor, Thomas had served fifteen years for vehicular manslaughter when he ran a man over.

They just couldn't understand why he had killed Emily Turner, Victoria Basset, Nicole Arnold, and Lisa Caswell. The only way they'd even been connected had been that they'd all taken his yoga class, but on different days. They'd never even met.

"Why'd you kill them Carter?" Gibbs asked, leaning forward so that his palms rested on the cool metal table. Carter swallowed heavily, a drop of sweat running down his temple.

"I didn't kill them, I swear." he said, voice shaking.

"Say I believe that." Gibbs said, sinking down into the chair across from him. "Why'd you call them forty five minutes before they died, and why was your SUV seen outside Emily Turner's house, the time coinciding with her time of death?"

"I…I saw her, that night." Carter said, his eyes beady and suddenly gleaming. "We were having an affair."

"Oh, really?" Gibbs said, leaning back.

"It started when she first took my yoga class. I have a thing for redheads." Carter said, and Gibbs let out a short, hollow sounding chuckle.

"I've been told the same thing. But I've never had four affairs at once." Gibbs said, resting his elbows on the table.

"Where's the fun in just one? The same woman over and over again. I need variety." Carter said, shrugging.

"So what, you killed them when you got bored?" Gibbs said, studying the man, taking in his relaxed demeanor. Suddenly, those boring brown eyes were lit up with malice, evil radiating from every pore.

"Did you know, she didn't even make a sound when she died?" Carter said, an evil smile on his face. "Her eyes got all wide when she fell, but as soon as her head hit the edge of the table, the light in them died. All of their eyes did that. Emily, Lisa, Victoria, Nicole. Slowly, slowly."

"So you did kill them?" Gibbs asked, remaining calm, even as he watched the man in front of him come apart.

"Yes. Oh yes, I killed all four of them. All those whores, cheating on their husbands while they were away. It was so simple. They were in my yoga class, all on different days. They never met, never knew there were three other women, besides them. Then, I killed them. They shouldn't have cheated on their husbands! No one should be cheated on!" Carter said, slamming his fist into the table, his brown eyes wild with fury. "They deserve to rot in hell!"

"Your wife cheated on you." Gibbs said, his voice quiet.

"Stupid bitch. I leave for a conference for a week, and she fucks my brother! My own brother!" Carter said, shouting. "I killed her too. Right there, in my living room. Stupid bitch deserved it. That stupid whore Amelia deserved it."

"Being cheated on is something no one should ever have to go through." Gibbs said, appearing to be sympathetic. "Happened to me too. But I didn't murder her. I divorced her, instead. Because then I couldn't be arrested."

Standing, Gibbs walked over to him, cuffing him. "Carter Thomas, you're under arrest for the murders of Emily Turner, Lisa Caswell, Victoria Basset, Nicole Arnold, and Amelia Thomas."

Gibbs sat at his desk, finishing his report. Carter Thomas was being booked; his trial to be scheduled. Glad the case was finally over, he was ready to go home and work on his boat. Saving the document after printing it, he placed the paper into a folder, putting it into the filing cabinet.

Going back over to his desk, he put his gun and badge away, slipping his jacket onto his shoulders. Turning to his team, he nodded, turning the light on his desk off.

"'Night everyone. Have a good weekend. I'll see you on Monday." he said, leaving the bullpen, heading into the elevator.

The team watched him with bated breath, sighing when the doors closed.

"Are you still going to see him tonight?" Ziva asked, looking up at Tony as she turned her computer off, standing up and taking her weapon out of the holder and placing it in her desk.

"Yeah, and I'm taking Abs with me." Tony said with a heavy sigh. "I just don't know what he's gonna be like when we get there."

"Guys, he might be okay. He seemed alright today." McGee said, standing as well.

"McGee, he is not alright. I can feel it." Tony said, shaking his head. Ziva murmured her agreement, sighing quietly.

"Well, it is a Friday night. McGee, would you like to get a drink with me?" Ziva asked, slipping into her coat, flipping her hair out of the collar.

"Sure, Ziva I'd like that. It's been a long week."

"You can say that again McGoogle." Tony said, snorting quietly.

"Why would he say it again? He has already said it once, Tony." Ziva said, obviously confused.

"Don't worry about it Ziva. Let's go get that drink." McGee said, taking her arm gently and guiding her towards the elevator, while Tony laughed for a moment before heading down towards Abby's lab.

Later that night, Tony pulled up to Gibbs' house, frowning when he saw the curtains drawn, but light emanating from underneath. He glanced at Abby, whose eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion.

"When does Gibbs ever have people over? I mean, other than the team and Ducky and I?" Abby asked, turning her hazel brown eyes towards him.

"Abby, there's a lot we don't know about Gibbs." Tony said gently, touching the back of her hand with his fingertips. She flipped her hand over, intertwining their fingers.

"I just want him to stop hurting so much." Abby said softly, sighing.

"Abs, it's only been six months. He hasn't gotten over his first wife, and it's been fifteen years." Tony reminded her gently, squeezing her fingers in his.

"I know. I miss Mommy too." Abby said, closing her eyes briefly. "But I can't think like that. Not tonight. We're here to make sure that Gibbs doesn't drink himself into the ground. We do not take no for an answer, alright?"

"I got it babe." Tony answered, giving her hand another squeeze.

"Alright." Abby said, kissing his cheek before opening her car door. Tony followed at a slower pace, shutting the car door lightly behind him. Following Abby up the front steps, they were both shocked when they discovered it was locked.

Exchanging another look, Tony rapped on the door, something that was foreign to him with Gibbs. Why the hell was the boss's door locked?

About five minutes and six knocks later, a harassed looking Gibbs opened the door, sighing when he caught sight of them.

"What do you want Tony, Abs?"

"To make sure you were doing okay." Abby answered, putting her hands on her hips. "We are not going to allow you to drink yourself into unconsciousness under your boat today."

"Abby, I'm not going to drink myself into unconsciousness under my boat." Gibbs said, rolling his eyes.

"Gibbs, every single one of those women looked like Mommy did. You are not going to pull it over on me that you were not affected. Because that is a lie, and everyone knows it." Abby said, glaring up at him. Gibbs scrubbed a hand down his face, suddenly looking exhausted.

"Abs, I'll be fine. Really. I'll see you both at work on Monday. Have a good weekend." Gibbs said, attempting to shut the door. Abby got her foot stuck in between the door and the frame, and shoved inside, pulling Tony in behind her. She shut the door with a slam and turned to Gibbs, a frightening glare on her face.

"You are not going to kill yourself over this, you hear me? Drinking that much alcohol is not good for you!" Abby said, her voice quiet but deadly. There was a moment of silence while the two glared at each other, then it was broken.

"Jethro who was at the…" a familiar feminine voice said, and both Tony and Abby's eyes widened as a figure walked into the room, stopping short when she caught sight of them.

Standing in front of them was a very pregnant Jenny Shepard.

A/N: Yes, this is another Jibbs story. :) I've decided the background pairings will be Tabby (established) and McGiva (eventually). I've never written either of them before, so I'm hoping I get them right! I hope you liked it, and there is a lot more coming on this one! Please tell me what you thought! :)