"Have you seen the CIA agent assigned to NCIS?" Tony asked Tim." I wonder if she's hot?" "You don't even know if it's a woman", Tim retorted.
NCIS was working on the suspicious death of a former sailor who had been employed at the Four Seasons Downtown. Seaman Rogers was found with a bullet to the head in the laundry room of the hotel two days back and the clues were very sparse. There were indications that the Russian Mafia was somehow involved and this agent was the supposed to be an expert in this area.
"Of course it's a woman", Tony said with unreasonable certainty. "I bet she's blond, blue-eyed and has size….." his voice trailed off as he saw Tim's jaw drop. "She's right behind me, isn't she?" Tony asked.
Tim did not hear him. He was staring at the young woman who had just entered. It was not that she was exceptionally pretty. She was attractive, but not overly so. She was young, fairly petite, with a fit, lithe body, fair skin, and dark hair that she was unsuccessfully trying to keep in a French twist. What got Tim, were her eyes. They were big and brown and so full of intelligence and humor that he felt he could literally drown in them. He actually felt his breath catch in his throat. He administered a mental slap on the back of his head for even thinking in these terms, but this young woman was literally taking his breath away.
At that moment, Gibbs, Abby, and Ziva came in. "Team"; Gibbs called out, "meet Agent Lilia Tomoshenko, CIA. Agent Tomoshenko will be working with us until we get resolution on the Rogers case. "Call me Lily, it makes things so much easier", the young woman said.
Lily shook hands with Tim and Ziva. When she got to Abby, she looked her right in the eye and noticed a quick flicker of a look at Tim. She smiled, took Abby's hand and said, "Your boots rock. I adore Doc Martins". Abby smiled back. "There is the best vintage store three blocks from here…" her sentence was interrupted by what sounded like a choking sound from Tony.
Tony finally also managed to turn around to take a look at this new agent. The moment he did, he felt like he had been punched in the gut. "We can't work with her", he exclaimed, "That's my sister".
"Step sister, anyway," Lily responded. She gave Tony a quick, odd look and then turned back to the team. My mother was Tony DiNozzo Seniors 4th wife.
"Another Tony mystery", Ziva commented. "Welcome, Agent. I look forward to working with you."
Tony was having trouble forming a coherent sentence. "How…What..?" he stammered.
"The usual way, I suppose", replied Lily. "I went to school, got my Master's in Politics and Anthropology and was recruited by the CIA upon graduation. I am one of their experts on the Russian Mafia in the US seeing as I did my dissertation on this topic. I have spent a lot of time in Russia on cases, and I can assure you," she said, looking straight at Tony, "that I am very good at what I do".
Gibbs was running out of patience. "Alright, introductions are over. Agent, why don't you tell us what you know about this."
"Yes Sir", Lily said, walked over to the computer, put in a stick drive and called up the files on the central screen. "This is Peter Illych Gregoriev. His parents apparently had a love for the "bad old days". He is head of the Mafia for the entire Eastern Sea Board". She moved to the next picture." This is Frederick Gunderson, a Swiss National and a banker. He manages all the money. " Next slide. "These three illustrious gentlemen are Dr. Assar, a chemist, Fareed Ismail a known mercenary, and Hassan Abdullah a weapons dealer". We are not sure what exactly they are doing with Gregoriev, but whatever it is, I guarantee you, it is bad news". Gregoriev will traffic in anything, drugs, weapons, people..even his own grandmother if he thought it would make him money. And somehow all this appears to be related to your dead sailor".
"Here is what I think", Lily continued. Given the parties involved, there is clearly some type of terrorist act being planned. We just do not have enough information to determine what it is.
"So we are actually nowhere", Tony stated flatly. He was now mostly over his shock and, unaccountably, very pissed off.
"Not true", Lily countered. "Gregoriev is many things, but an ideologue he is not. He is a business man and if he is involved there is money to be made". He treats these types of things as business transactions, they will be all on his computer in his office in Georgetown".
"So how do we get access", Tim asked, recovering himself as well. Lily looked at Tim, and her heart skipped a beat. "Get a grip, girl", she thought to herself. "This is the big time. Do not act like some love sick teenager out of Twilight".
"With this", she replied, pulling out a stick drive. "We arrested this man", she flipped on another picture, "This is Isaac Fyodorov, one of Gregoriev's enforcers last week and he provided this decoder. If we can get into the house, I can get into the computer".
"In two days, Gregoriev, who is a very dedicated poker player, will host a poker tournament. $250,000 buy- in. I am going to buy in. I will play well enough to get his attention and then I will get invited to his private poker game in his rooms. From there, I will get access to his office and his computer".
"Easy as that?", Tony snarked. "Simple, yes, but not easy", Lily replied either oblivious to or choosing to ignore Tony's obvious sarcasm. "Special Agent Gibbs, I hope that your team will provide back up and cover. We can get you in as the wait staff and security." Gibbs, responded with a curt nod.
"Tomorrow we will do some training, Agent Tomoshenko", Gibbs stated. "I want to see how well the folks at the CIA are trained now days and how well you work with my team". Lily nodded and turned to leave. She stepped into the elevator and just before the doors closed, Tim stepped in.
Lily smiled at Tim and he grinned at her. "How about a cup of coffee, Lily?" Tim asked. "Just let me wrap up and I'll meet you at the Starbuck's across the street in about an hour." Lily nodded and as she walked out of the elevator, Tim could not help noticing her walk – something between a swish of the hips and a very confident swagger of somebody who knows exactly what she is doing and exactly what she wants.
Tim and Lily ordered coffees and sat down in chairs in the corner. People came and went and they did not notice. Their coffees got cold and they did not notice. They ordered fresh ones and those got cold too and yet Tim and Lily talked. Tim loved the fact that she was so smart and had such a wide set of interests. He would never be bored talking to her and how her eyes lit up with animation when she talked. She was actually interested in him in what he had to say and there was something about her very presence that made him feel happy and relaxed. He did not remember a time when he was as attracted to a woman as he was to Lily and what was even better, she seemed to be attracted to him. This was a bit of a novelty to Tim who had always been a bit shy with woman, but he was still a man and there was no denying what his body was telling him.
Lily was entranced with Tim's humor and his humility. She knew he was brilliant based on the research she did on him while waiting at Starbuck's. This was no ordinary rookie agent. Federal Agent, Child Prodigy, and Author – not a bad package. She admitted, if only to herself, that she was attracted to Tim as she had never been to another man. Whatever this was, she felt it like electricity running through her whole body to the tips of her toes
"Can I ask you a personal question," asked Tim. "Sure. If I can ask you one", Lily replied. "Tony?" Tim said. It was one word.
"Like I said. My mom married Tony Senior. I was about 8 and Tony was about 15. For the five years of the marriage, Tony was like a brother and Tony Senior was actually not a bad dad. Then Tony went off to be a cop – you know his relationship with his dad is…complicated. That was the last I heard from him. My mom and Tony Sr., had an amicable split and stayed in touch until Mom passed away. I wish there was a tragic story here, but really its pretty standard."
"Did you know Tony was with NCIS?" Tim followed up. "I knew he worked for NCIS, but I had no idea when my boss assigned me to this unit that he would be here", Lily concluded.
"Ok. My turn. You and Abby. You were seeing each other and broke up?". Tim was surprised that she knew this after so short an acquaintance, but he nodded. His surprise must have been evident because Lily smiled, "It's pretty obvious from the look she gave you. Observing people and drawing conclusions is what I do for a living. Is it over?"
Tim looked at the woman in front of him and surprised himself with a very certain, "Yes. Yes. Its over". "Good", Lily said. "I would not want to get in the middle of anything".
At 10:00pm, they looked around. "Let me take you home", Tim said. "We have an early day". When they got to her apartment, Lily did not want the evening to end. She knew what she wanted and she was pretty sure that Tim wanted it too.
Lily unlocked the door on her apartment and turned to Tim. Tim surprised himself, by taking Lily in his arms and kissing her. It was meant to be a chaste good night kiss, but his desire was palpable and the kiss became much more passionate and insistent. It made Lily a little weak in the knees to realize that not only he wanted her that much, but that he was willing to do something about it. Abruptly, Tim pulled away. "I'm sorry", he stammered, his voice husky with desire, "I got carried away". "I'm not", Lily whispered and was a little surprised by the need in her own voice. She looked into Tim's eyes and saw her longing mirrored in his as she twined her fingers through his hair and returned the passionate kiss with interest.
I better get home", Tim said some time later. They were lying in bed and Tim's arms were around Lily's waist. "No, please don't. We can just get up early tomorrow and you can drop me at the train by your house and we'll get to the office separately", Lily said. This felt too good and too right to let it end so abruptly. Tim gave it a minutes thought, and returned to the bed.
However, they did not sleep. They held hands, talked about their friends, their hopes and dreams and anything else that came to mind. They made love again and then , toward morning, finally fell asleep.
Gibbs' idea of training was at the shooting range. The team and Lily ran through several drills both as individuals and as teams. Hostage scenarios, room to room combat scenarios, search and destroy. He had Lily and his team uses various weapons from their standard side arms to the more advanced automatic assault weapons. He nodded with satisfaction to note that Lily not only held her own in terms of accuracy, but merged seamlessly with the team taking cues and orders as if she has worked with them for years. He had to admit, the kid was good. They knew what they were doing over at the CIA.
Lily just finished her shower and changed out of the jeans and tee shirt she was wearing at the range. When she stepped out of the locker room, Tony was waiting for her. He really looked like he was working up the courage to say something.
"I am not sure how the time went so long. I never meant for that to happen", he said
Lily stopped, turned and looked Tony in the face. "It was always Mom and me. Then you and Tony Senior came into the picture. I had a "real" family for the first time. I had a big brother that I adored and needed. Then you went away. No note, no call, nothing. I tried calling you. I left a ton of messages. I even drove to your police station when I got old enough to drive, but chickened out. I figured that if you did not want to see me, that was OK. " Lily took a deep breath that was only a little shaky. "But that's all in the past. I'm over it all. It's all fine. It's all good. I grew up and I don't need you anymore".
She walked away, leaving Tony staring at her retreating back. He probably missed the fact that her shoulders were shaking just a bit.
Gibbs found Tony still standing there. "I screwed up, Boss", Tony said, "I screwed up big". "Yes, yes you did", Gibbs said. "But that does not mean you can't fix it. It took you 15 years to make this mess, it'll probably take you at least that long to fix it." Gibbs clapped Tony on the shoulder and walked away too. "Damn it," Tony swore, and went back to his desk.
Lily stepped out of the locker room and Tony drew his breath in. The sapphire blue dress she chose could not have been any tighter and he had no idea how she could walk on those heels. Her makeup was artfully applied and she looked amazing. Lily pretended that she did not see Tony and started to walk past him, but he stepped forward, caught her arm and forced her to turn around to face him.
"I don't think that this is a good idea. It's too dangerous", he said. "There has to be a better way. At least please wear a wire. If things go bad, I…., " he paused to correct himself, "I mean we can be there much more quickly to help".
Lily blew out a breath in exasperation and said harshly. "You, of all people have no right to worry about me. They will find a wire and blow the whole thing before it had started. I do not need your help. Not now, not ever. Just do your job and cover my ass. Just be there for a ch…..", Lily took a deep breath and cut off mid-sentence. She picked up her pace and walked away.
She walked toward Tim and Ziva both dressed as waiters and ever so slightly brushed up against Tim's hand.
"I still think you need to wear a wire", Gibbs said. "I can't," Lily responded, "they will find it. When the poker game breaks up, Gregoriev will leave by the side door and he and his posse will head off for a late dinner. I will be with them and beg off to go home at that point." "I don't like it", said Gibbs. Lily looked him in the eyes and he returned her glance unflinchingly and after a few seconds nodded. She was right. It was the only way.
Counting cards, was apparently another one of Lily's skills. She played just well enough to win, but not so much as to win every game. However, her winnings kept piling up. Eventually, a man in a dark suit and an ear bug game to her elbow and escorted her away. Tim and Ziva watcher her goes and reported to Gibbs who was outside in the van. Tony was at the front door and he started slowly moving toward the back of the house where Lily was headed. He had a really bad feeling about this whole thing and wanted to be as close as possible when things went South.
Lily was escorted into a large room lit with crystal chandeliers. There was a full bar and 5 other people around a poker table. She ordered a glass of red wine and sat down to play.
Gibbs was monitoring the people coming and going via the cameras in the van. All of a sudden, he saw somebody he thought he recognized. He had the camera focus in and swore under his breath. "How the hell, did this guy get out? He was supposed to be in CIA custody." He immediately radioed the team. "Extract her now. Fyodorov is out. He can identify her. The mission is blown. Extract Tomoshenko immediately! Damn it all to hell, " he swore as he jumped out of the van and ran to join his team hoping that they would get there in time.
Lily was playing her third hand. She looked around and accidentally knocked over her red wine onto her dress. The other players all jumped up and Gregoriev himself walked over to make sure she was alright. "I am terribly sorry", Lily said. "That had to be one of the stupidest things I have ever done. I am so sorry. Will you please excuse me while I go the ladies room and clean up. "Of course. Please do not concern yourself over much", he said and pointed her down the hall.
Lily walked quickly. She only had a few minutes. She knew the bathroom was right next to the office and quickly ducked in there. She took out the stick drive, plugged it into the lap top and opened up the files.
"My God", she breathed. "My God". She quickly downloaded the files, hid the stick drive, turned off the computer, and ran to the restroom to splash water on her dress. She walked out into the room with the poker players and her heart sank. Standing next to Gregoriev was Fyodorov and they were both looking right at her.
Fyodorov grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her into one of the bedrooms. "What did you do?" he inquired. "I have no idea what you mean", Lily responded, her voice quavering. Lily was not acting. She was scared. Fyodorov struck her across the face so hard he split her lip and she fell on the bed. He hit her again and again in an effort to get her to tell him what she had been doing. By then she was crying and still protesting her innocence, but she was damned if she would reveal anything . Finally the beating stopped and Fyodorov dropped her to the floor, administered a few kicks and made for the door. Lily managed to stand up holding what she was pretty sure were a couple of broken ribs, when Fyodorov turned around. The last thing that Lily saw was a large caliber semi-automatic revolver with the distinctive cylinder of a silencer attached. Fyodorov fired twice and Lily collapsed into a heap with barely a sound.
Just at that moment, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva and Tim, burst through the door. Right behind them was a full Swat Team armed for full combat. They quickly and professionally cleared the main area rooms and began a systematic check of the rooms. Tony and Gibbs on the right. Tim and Ziva on the left. Tony was running the pattern like he did so many times before. Check each room, go in gun first, sweep it, exit backwards and move to the next room. Just like the drills.
"Tony, I found her. She's in the second bedroom on the left." There was something in Tim's voice that had Tony in a cold sweat and running before he even realized he was doing it.
He entered the bedroom and it took him a moment to realize that Lily was the crumpled body lying face down in a pool of blood. For a moment he thought he was going to pass out as his vision tunneled in on her body. "Please God, no". He was never sure afterwards if he spoke out loud or just thought it.
Tim was on his knees by Lily as he gently turned her over and gasped at the blood still pumping out of the two wounds around her chest and mid-section. He checked Lily's pulse and found that he could breathe again as he felt one although it was weak and thready. He grabbed the comforter and started trying to stem the flow of blood as Gibbs called 911, announced , "Agent down" and provided the address.
Tony had dropped to his knees by Lily's side opposite McGee feeling like the whole scene could not be real and feeling as helpless as he had ever felt. Lily's eyes fluttered open and she took a shuddering breath and tried to speak. "Shh, shh", Tony tried to soothe her, brushing back her hair, "don't try to talk. Just save your strength". But Lily cleared her throat again and whispered. "I know the plan. They plan to use a virus to cause an epidemic ," she took a painful breath. "Then they will use that as a distraction to crash the economy. ". She fell back completely exhausted. When did speaking become so difficult? Hell, when did breathing become so difficult? She mustered the strength one more time. "My shoe". Tony and Tim looked confused, but when she repeated it, they took her shoes off and the stick drive fell out. "Bank Codes. Plans", Lily whispered.
"Where is that damn ambulance", Tony raged. Realistically, it had been less than a minute, but it felt like hours. He was here on the floor watching a woman, who he still thought of as a sister, bleed to death and there was nothing he could do about it. Never mind, that some part of him still felt that he needed to protect her, that he should have gotten there in time to prevent this.
Lily's eyes flew open one more time and she reached for Tony. "Tony", her whisper was barely audible and Tony needed to lean close to hear her even as he reached for her hand. "I lied. I lied, Tony. I do need your help. Please help me." She was trembling from the pain and the shock. Tony thought his heart would shatter. Lily started to cough and a pink froth came to her lips. She was struggling to take a breath. Tony gently picked her up, cradling her so as to not cause her more pain, and ran to find the paramedics. Tim was on his heels and together they loaded Lily into the ambulance that had just pulled in. Tony jumped in with her. He was not going to let her out of his sight again. As the ambulance raced out into the night, Tony clung to Lily's hand and prayed that it was not too late.
Tim had the car pulled around and waiting by the time Gibbs and Ziva ran out of the building. "Let me drive," said Ziva. They arrived to the hospital right behind the ambulance.
The ride to the hospital was a nightmare. Lily was bleeding out and her pulse was fading. Tony kept up a stream of talk trying to get Lily to focus on him. By then, Lily was choking on her own blood and needed to be intubated. By the time she got to the hospital she was in cardiac arrest.
The paramedics wheeled her in and Tony ran with her, only to be stopped at the Emergency Room doors. And this is where Gibbs and the rest of the team found him just standing there, dazed, covered in Lily's blood. This could not be happening. What would he do it if she did not make it?
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only 10 minutes a doctor in a blood soaked smock came out. Are you Miss Tomoshenko's family. Tony jumped up. "Yes, I'm her brother. Please tell me what's going on". The doctor sighed. "She is in surgery now and will be there for a while. Agent Tomoshenko has lost a lot of blood and has already coded twice. I am not sure where she has found this much will to live, but she will need every bit of it to get through this, she is a fighter, though and that should give you hope. We will know more when we go in, but it will be a while. "
Tony was sitting in a chair his head in his hands. He had not moved even to wash the blood off his hands. Tim came in in clean sweats and tossed Tony a set of clean scrubs. Tony barely noticed. "Go, change", said Gibbs. Tony looked at him uncomprehendingly and then shook his head. "Fyodorov and Gregoriev got away. We need to go after them." Gibbs put his hand on the younger man's shoulder, "We will, but you need to stay here with Lily". Tony took a deep, shuddering breath and shook his head, "No. She does not need me". Gibbs kept his hand on Tony's shoulder making him look up into his eyes, "Yes," he said," She does".
The team was on their sixth cup of bad hospital coffee when the doctor came out. Tony stood up, took a deep breath and walked forward. "How is she, doctor". The doctor looked Tony straight in the eye, and Tony felt the pit of his stomach drop out. "I am amazed by her strength. She took two bullets one to the chest which grazed her heart and one to the stomach. She has four crushed ribs from the beating, two cracked ribs where the bullets bounced around, and a perforated intestine. One of the bullets also grazed her liver and damaged her appendix and spleen. One of her lungs is fully collapsed and one is partially collapsed. Because of the loss of blood her organs are beginning to shut down even as we are pumping blood in as fast as we can." Tony was looking at the doctor, just trying to take in the extent of the damage, even as the doctor continued.
"Unfortunately one of the bullets is lodged near her heart so we will be a while extracting it and my worry is that she is so weak that she will not survive this procedure. Then again, I would not have expected her to come this far either and there are no other alternatives. We will be several more hours".
As the doctor listed each of Lily's injuries, it seemed to Tony that he felt each one as a punch somewhere right around the Solar Plexus, each one making it harder and harder to breathe. When the list was finished, he only nodded and went to sit down again. Ziva tried to put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he shook it off. Now was not the time.
Gibbs, Tim and Ziva rose to leave. There was a crime scene to process and bad guys to chase – Gregoriev and Fyodorov were not with the people rounded up and were still at large. Tim faced Tony. "Please call when you hear anything….anything". He opened his mouth as if he would say more, but snapped it shut and shook his head. There was something in Tim's voice and if Tony had not been so lost in his own fugue of fear, grief and rage, he would have noticed the catch in it. As it was, he nodded listlessly and sat back down.
NCIS Headquarters
"My God", Tim and Abby said together as they were reviewing the information on the stick drive. "They are planning to bring down the entire English banking system. This would have a catastrophic domino effect across the financial world", said Tim. "Lily said something about a virus", Ziva reminded them. How does this tie to the dead sailor and the banks". Abby was madly typing away. "Oh, no". There is a large contingent of British citizens at the Four Seasons right now – what if the idea is to expose them to something very virulent while they are at the hotel?" "Something that maybe passes through the laundry room", added Tim, "The citizens would carry it on planes and back home and expose many people. This would spread exponentially. The terrorists could then use this as the distraction to crash the banks. Somehow Rogers found out about it and was killed to keep him quiet."
"McGee", Gibbs barked, "cross-reference businesses owned by Gregoriev with those that work with the Four Seasons". Tim's fingers flew on the keyboard. "Imperial Laundry Services. That has to be it", he exclaimed. "Saddle up, people", Gibbs ordered. "Full Tactical Gear. Let's get these bastards".
Hospital
Tony must have drifted off, but he jolted awake up when he heard the doors leading to the operating rooms swing open. The doctor walked in. He looked exhausted and Tony braced himself. He did not even have the energy to ask, but looked at the doctor with eyes that spoke volumes. "Miss Tomoshenko is out of surgery, but the damage was substantial. She is in critical condition in the ICU. We have her in a medically induced coma to help manage her pain and prevent any more damage and she is on a ventilator to help her breathe. The next few days will be crucial as she could still develop an infection or pneumonia or a hemorrhage. However, she is doing as well as can be expected at this time and, for now, I'll take it.
Tony took a deep breath. "Can I go see her? Stay with her?" The doctor nodded and a nurse came out to lead him to the ICU. Lily was in the bed, dwarfed by all the machines and tubes needed to keep her alive. She looked small and young and vulnerable. "Oh God, Lily", Tony whispered. "I am so sorry. I was supposed to protect you. Some big brother I am". He pulled up a chair, found a still cold hand, and settled in for a long wait.
Imperial Laundry
The NCIS Team with a full SWAT Team back up, busted down the doors. Tim was shooting video of the bottles and chemicals that had no business in a laundry. Back at Headquarters, Abby was watching from the NTAC. She gasped when Tim panned over a particular set of bottles. "Go back, McGee, she directed". After a minute, she took a deep breath. "Gibbs, they made airborne Pneumonic Plague. It takes a while to fully develop and is contagious before symptoms show. It can pass through the air and is at least 50% fatal under the best circumstances. This would be a disaster like the 1918 Flu Epidemic." Gibbs, nodded, his lips compressed. "We alerted the hotel and the CDC is scanning the entire property, but we still need to find Fyodorov and Gregoriev – we missed them here".
The team gathered back at the hospital the next day to update Tony. Tim noticed that he looked awful. He clearly had not slept or eaten and his eyes had a haunted look that Tim prayed to never see again on another human being. He also saw Lily lying pale and still in the bed surrounded by tubes and machines and his heart clenched so hard, he found it difficult to breathe.
Tim walked over to Tony, "Let me take the next watch. Go home take a shower and grab a few hours of sleep. You'll do her no good, if you fall apart".
Tony shook his head. "Nah. I need to stay here. I need to be with her. She needs me." Tim took a deep breath and tried again, "You have not slept, or eaten or showered. Pace yourself - this is going to be a long haul". Tim's reasonable voice enraged Tony. He did not remember doing it, but he grabbed Tim by his shirt front, lifted him off his feet and practically pinned him against the wall. "I said, no. You just don't get it. I need to this. I won't abandon her again."
Tim was taken aback, but very quickly that shock was overcome by his own blinding rage fueled by his fear for Lily. He broke Tony's grasp on his shirt, and shovedTony so hard the older agent staggered back a few feet. "Don't you get it?" Tim hissed between his teeth." I need to be here too. I love her. I don't know what I would do if something happens to her." Tim's words acted as a slap to jar Tony out of his daze. "Please," Tim added in barely a whisper. Tony realized what he was doing and immediately dropped his hands. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I am not thinking straight. I think you are right. I need to get a few hours of sleep. I'll get Ziva to drive me home and I'll come back in a few hours". Tim nodded, clapped Tony on the shoulder and took over the seat to keep watch.
On the way out of the hospital Tony and Ziva passed the chapel and it caught Tony's eye. "Go ahead and go in. It may help," said Ziva. "Help her?" asked Tony. "Help you," replied Ziva. "I can stay here if you would prefer," she offered, but Tony said that he would prefer the company.
Tony was not a regular church goer, but he was brought up Catholic and although his father was an even more of a sporadic church goer, Tony was educated at a boarding school run by Franciscan brothers. The rituals and the sights and sounds of a church brought the comfort of familiarity. From the candles on the alter to the dust motes dancing in the light from the non-denominational stained glass window, Tony found himself slipping into the well-known ritual with ease. Without even thinking about it, Tony walked to the alter, lit a candle, knelt, and crossed himself. "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee…" Tony did not know how many Hail Mary's he said, but some time later he lifted his head and he had to admit that somehow he felt more calm and his head felt clearer. He was not a man used to prayer, so his petition was very simple, "Please let me have the time with Lily to make it right." Tony blew out the candle, crossed himself again, bowed and walked out with Ziva by his side
Tony and Tim took turns sitting with Lily. This was fine with Gibbs. Since Fyodorov and Gregoriev were still on the loose, Lily was not to be left alone ever. While one man set with her, the other one was at the office looking for them.
Tony was sitting with Lily, when the doctor came in and said it was time to remove her breathing tube. She was strong enough now to breathe on her own. The protocol was to have family leave the room, but the doctor agreed to let Tony stay and hold Lily's hand thinking that it would help her with the transition. Tony's heart was in his throat as he watched the doctor pull the tube out in one long motion. For a moment, there was not breath, and Tony felt his heart clench, then Lily took a deep shuddering breath and Tony felt that he could breathe again too. The doctor, looked at the chart at the base of Lily's bed and said, "Amazing. I would not have thought she would have survived. A few more days, and we will start bringing her out of her coma".
"I found the Sons of Bitches", Tim said with a cold satisfaction completely at odds with his normal demeanor. They are in the Ukraine, right outside of Lviv in a villa that belongs to Gregoriev. "Alright," said Gibbs, "Get your gear. We are wheels up in 3 hours". Gibbs passed by Director Vance. "I'll prepare the SecState for what may be an international incident", he said as he headed to his office to make the appropriate phone calls.
"Boss, I need to come with you too," Tony stated when the team met at the hospital on their way to Quantico to catch a helicopter and Gibbs informed him of the team's plans. "I wil stay with Lily," said Ziva. "Tony and Tim, need to do this", I can stay here and make sure Lily is safe". She did not miss the looks of relieved gratitude from both men. As Gibbs, Tim and Tony left, Ziva looked at Lily and whispered to her, "You are a very lucky woman to have two very good men care about you. Now you must do your part and get stronger for both of them."
The flight on a Marine helicopter was long, but neither Tim nor Tony noticed. They were both lost in their thoughts. Gibbs looked from one man to the other. He recognized the twin hardened, grim expressions that they shared and was worried. The cold rage and desire for revenge that both men nursed made them very dangerous, but it also made them unpredictable.
With their Marine escorts, Tony, Tim, and Gibbs set off for the villa outside of the city. They waited for night while observing all the goings on and plotting their approach. The decision was to go into all the entrances at the same time with Flash Bang grenades in order to stun. The goal was to take the two alive and bring them back.
At 2 in the morning, the villa was quite with most people asleep and guards relaxed or too tired to care. Gibbs signaled the attack to begin. The Marines launched the grenades through the windows and doors and once they went off, they went in an began their room to room sweeps to chase out the people that were caught by other Marines waiting outside. Gibbs, Tim and Tony, methodically swept the rooms. Toward the back of the villa they found Gregoriev. He went for his gun, and Gibbs put him down with one shot to the head. They continued the sweep with no luck finding Fyodorov,. Since they were certain that he had not escaped, they reversed their pattern of search. Almost immediately, they heard steps behind them and turned to see Fyodorov trying to run away.
"Freeze", both Tim and Tony yelled together and they both had their guns trained on Fyodorov's back as he stood there with his arms raised. Gibbs looked from one man to the other and saw the hatred on their faces. He knew that look – he had seen it in the mirror and he did not want either of them to fall prey to it. "Tony. Tim. Stand Down." He ordered. "I said, stand down". His order cut through the air and the younger men slightly lowered their weapons to permit him to come through cuff the now – cowering man. Tony and Tim drew almost identical breaths and followed their boss back to the helicopter to bring Fyodorov back to the United States and to justice.
Ziva ended her call and turned to Lily. "They did it and they are on their way back. It's your turn now. You need to continue to fight so that you can live."
Tim was sitting with Lily three days after he got back from the Ukraine. Lily was slowly improving . She was still extremely pale, but her breathing was stronger and the doctors were bringing her out of her coma. As Tim sat there, he saw no difference, but the doctors assured him that she was staring to wake up.
Between work and staying with Lily, neither Tim nor Tony were getting a lot of sleep and in the quiet of the ICU with the rhythmic sounds of the machines, Tim drifted off. His head was on the bed by Lily's arm and Lily's hand was firmly in his.
All of a sudden, Tim jolted awake. Did he hear something? Feel something. There, he heard it again. A very quiet, weak moan. He also felt the hand in his close a bit around his fingers. "Lily", Tim said quietly, brushing her hair back off her face. "It's OK, you are safe now, I promise," he continued in that same soft whisper. "I'm here and Tony will be here soon, and we will make sure that you will continue to get better and stronger." Lily opened her eyes and forced them to focus on Tim. It seemed to take all her energy to do that, but she needed to see his face. She tried to reach for him, but was too weak and was barely able to move her arm. Tim gently stroked her face and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Lily. Rest now and get stronger. Everything is alright." Lily seemed to relax and fall into a real dreamless sleep.
The next time, Lily woke up, Tony was there holding her hand. She felt a little stronger and tried to speak. "Tony", she hated how she croaked that out, but Tony looked at her and smiled – for the first time since she saw him at NCIS headquarters, he smiled a genuine smile of pure happiness. "Tony," she continued a bit stronger, "I am so sorry. I was cruel. I had no call to say those things to you the day of the mission. I did not mean it, I was hurt and angry. " Tony looked at her and there was suspicious moisture in his eyes, "Hey, none of that," he said gently. "I deserved that and more." I was an idiot for walking out of your life like that. My issues with my father should not have involved you, but I was stupid and cut you out too. You did not deserve it and I am sorry that I hurt you. You are my family and I am yours and I promise that from now on, I will be here for you". He held her hand gently and bent down to kiss her fingers, now comfortingly warm.
A few more days in the ICU and Lily was moved to a regular room. Her friends, Tim and Tony filled it with flowers and balloons. While she still had a long road ahead in terms of recovery and getting her strength back, she was out of immediate danger and everybody could draw a breath of relief. She also had a lot of time on her hands to think. She thought about Tim and Tony and how these new relationships were going to work out. She had no answers except that while her life just got a lot more complex, she was also much happier among her new found family. She did not know where the relationship with Tim would go, but she knew that she loved him like she had never loved another man and was happy to take it slow while they got to know each other to see how it would all develop. As for Tony, those years they were apart did not seem to matter anymore– they just melted away and it felt like they had always been together.
It was Saturday and everybody was going to come to visit and they would watch a football game. Lily was not a particular fan, but she loved having everybody there together. Tony and Tim walked in together carrying take out. Lily loved Chinese and she was pretty sure there were some pot stickers in those bags with her name on them. They set up the food and came over to her bed. Tim gave her a light kiss on the lips and Tony kissed her forehead. They found the game and were ready when Ziva, Abby, Ducky and Jimmy came in each carrying either some food or flowers or a balloon for her. She still hurt and she was still very weak, but she was so happy. Gibbs came in last, and looked around. He saw Tim sitting by Lily with his arm protectively around her and her head on his shoulder and he saw Tony chatting with Ziva, but continuously casting slightly concerned and mildly disapproving glances toward his "sister" and his partner. "How is this all going to work," Gibbs asked, smiling. Lily smiled back , one of her first true smiles since being shot, "Its complicated".