Disclaimer: Don´t own them.

Spoilers: NONE and I swear I won't write any comments about S7 episodes in my author notes. (grins)

Summary: When 'old friends' resurface, new terror will arise.

Note: The following events take place 3 weeks after 'Changing Worlds' ended. If you haven't read it, please do so now. Otherwise things may confuse you.

Dear Producers, please be so kind and stay out of my head next time, 'my' Ziva was NCIS first (laughs). Thank you^^

(Crime scene)

Once the team, minus Ziva, reached the scene of crime, they were greeted by a young police officer.

"Finally!" the officer exclaimed.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "We don't drive with sirens, Officer," he sharply said before continuing, "What happened?"

"Runner over there," he pointed to a middle aged man standing a few meters near a police car, "found the victim around 7 am."

"When we got here, we noticed that the palm of her hand showed a mark of a navy insignia. That's when we called you."

"Alright, we'll take over from here," Gibbs dismissed the police officer.

"Yes, sir."

Gibbs then turned around towards his two agents, "Both sketch."

"DiNozzo, photos. McGee, bag and tag."

"Yes, Boss." They answered simultaneous.

Shortly afterward the M.E. Van arrived. Gibbs, who had taken the statement from the runner, went to greet his old friend.

"Oh my, the poor dear," stated Ducky as he saw the newest victim and soon to be guest in his morgue.

"Runner found her around 7 am. He called the police, who called us," Gibbs informed his friend, as Ducky took the victim's liver temperature.

"Giving the low temperatures last night, I can't determine an explicit time of death yet..."

"Duck."

"However, I can narrow it down to 6-10 hours."

"Death by strangulation?" probed the gray-haired agent as he pointed to the woman's neck.

"Most likely, also the purple marks on her abdomen show that an internal bleeding might play a role too."

"Won't be sure before you haven't checked that out," concluded Gibbs, which earned him a smile from Ducky.

"I see you are not too old to finally learn to be patient, Jethro."

"Duck," warned the team leader.

"Very well," smiled the M.E. before his expression became serious again. "Her state of undress..." he began to say but was interrupted by Gibbs, "I know."

(Early midday - Bullpen)

As Gibbs, Tony and McGee where visiting the scene of their new case, Ziva was left alone, sitting on her desk. While her cast had been taken off the day before, she still had to pass the firearm evaluation in order to be allowed to go back into field.

The stack of cold cases which Gibbs had left on her desk this morning didn't helped against the rising boredom.

After some time she noticed that someone was observing her. She lifted her head fractionally so that she could see her surroundings better and saw Director Vance leaning on the railing of the catwalk.

Not wanting to make him aware of her knowing that he was watching her, she resisted the urge to furrow her eyebrows and continued to work instead.

(Meanwhile Crime Scene)

"It's time for the ninja to join us, Boss," complained Tony as he took another set of photos.

"We would be a lot faster," mumbled McGee next to him.

"If you two are done with throwing tantrums, go back to work," growled Gibbs after he slapped them both upside the head.

(Bullpen)

When Gibbs returned a while later to the Bullpen he found his desk-bound agent hunched over another report.

"Watcha doin?" he asked over the room divider beside her desk, from where he observed her.

"Reading," was her short answer.

"Cold case?" probed the agent further, also he had a suspicion what the file held within.

"If you want to call the file, which Mossad gave me."

"You think something is amiss?"

"I do not know..." she growled frustrated, "It is just a gut feeling, yes?" she said, turning her chair a bit to the right so that she was facing him.

"You got this report for 5 weeks," trailed Gibbs off.

"But I did not had an observer breathing down my back then," Ziva replied agitated.

"Neck, breathing down your neck," corrected Gibbs her gently, "Who?"

"Vance," sighed Ziva as she pointed with her head upstairs, "When you were out he watched me for 56 minutes from the catwalk."

"Which made you suspicious of the past events," concluded Gibbs quietly as he made his way to his desk, looking at the catwalk while doing so.

"Yes."

"Maybe I'm wrong," she said after a while, looking directly at her boss.

"Always trust your instincts," advised Gibbs before he walked out of his team area, in search of new coffee.

Ziva knew that Gibbs was right. After all he had told her almost the same words after she nearly got killed by Hoffmann. "You got to trust your judgment Ziva. The moment you don't, it won't be almost..." those word still rung in her ears.

(Crime Scene)

"McGoo!"

"What?" An annoyed McGee replied.

"You finished?" teased Tony.

"If you would help me carry the equipment and evidence back to the van, then yes."

Grinning at his colleague, Tony picked up the evidence and loaded it into the truck.

"Why don't you say so, McProbie."

They had just shut the door of the van when a shot rung out...

TBC...