He starred. He couldn't stop. Something had changed in her demeanor, her posture was more that of a tired, old dog then a trained assassin. Ziva had been quite distant since her last trip to Tel-Aviv. The whole team had noticed, especially Tony. He was really worried about Ziva. He wanted to ask what was up but knew better than to confront her about personal information. The last time he had tried to ask about her personal life, it had not gone to well. Tony decided to delegate the tough task to McGee instead of give Ziva a reason to target her anger towards him.
" I'm going down to see if Abby has the results of the tox screen" Tony told Ziva while getting up from his desk.
" Umh" was her response.
" I might as well be talking to a brick wall", mumbled Tony under his breath, something was obviously bothering her. He contemplated all the possibilities while taking the elevator to Abby's subterranean lab. When he got there, Tony saw Abby, Ducky and McGee huddled together deep in conversation. They stopped talking the moment he walked in.
" Oh its only Tony" said Abby in her usual exuberant manner
" Gee thanks Abbs, you make me feels real special! So what are we gossiping about? How McGeek still sleeps with a teddy bear?" He said in a mocking tone.
" Wow Tony, real mature" said McGee in a bored voice, he had heard the insult so to many times.
" Whatever Probie-One-Kenobi, so what are we talking about? Asked Tony
" Ziva" replied Abby and McGee simultaneously.
" She has been acting weird lately, you should ask her what's wrong probie" said Tony, a little too innocently
"Ya when pigs fly, I'm not stupid Tony. I graduated from MIT, I'm not going to cross her path purposely when she's angry!" exclaimed McGee
" A lot of crazy stuff is going to happen if pigs ever fl…" A sharp pain on the back of his head interrupted Tony.
"Hey boss", said Tony while rubbing the spot where Gibbs had slapped his for the past 7 years.
"Hey Gibbs" said Abby
"What have you got Abbs?" asked Gibbs
" Ok so the tox screen for Petty officer McNealy didn't show anything interesting, but Petty Officer Kenter is a different story," said Abby pausing trying to get Gibbs to guess.
"What Abby" asked Gibbs
"Guess Gibbs" the look that Gibbs gave her defiantly conveyed his reaction to Abby's suggestion
"Ok then don't…" said Abby trying to sound a little hurt, but knowing that Gibbs could tell she was faking it, continued on her summery of what she had found.
"Kenter was an unfortunate victim of Ethylene Glycol poisoning" concluded Abby
" Ethylene whatcol?" asked Tony confused
"Anti-freeze, Tony" replied McGee
"It's a very interesting substance, since it is odorless and sweet tasting it is easily masked by other tastes. Once digested it only becomes toxic after it has been metabolized, it will form calcium oxalate crysta"
"Ducky" interrupted Gibbs
" Yes, Jethro?" asked Ducky. Gibbs started to walk to the door, but Abby stopped him.
" Wait Gibbs there's more, I found Hairs on both of the bodies" Abby said
"That great Abby, can you get a match in the database?" asked McGee
" I haven't run them through any databases yet and I don't intend too" answered Abby
"Why not?" asked Tony
"Because unless they have a COTIS for oryctolagus cuniculus we aren't going to get a match" replied Abby
"What?" asked McGee
"Rabbit hair" answered Ducky wisely
" Correct as always Duckman!" smiled Abby
"Anything else Abbs?" asked Gibbs
"Nope that's all I got", said Abby
"Call me if you get anything" said Gibbs making his way to the door
"Will do Gibbs", said Abby
They had been working a case with two Petty Officers stationed at Norfolk, found in Rock Creek Park. Petty Officers McNealy and Kenter had been friends who shared a bachelor pad on base. Their last known whereabouts were outside a bar, they had been seen there getting a drink with some girls at about 11 o'clock 3 day earlier. The next morning their bodies had been found in a ravine in the park. Ducky had identified the cause of death for McNealy to be a gash on his leg that had severed the femoral artery. Petty Officer Kenter had showed no obvious external signs of trauma; on closer examination of kidneys it was apparent that calcium oxalate crystals had formed. Abby's conclusion that he had been poisoned with ethylene glycol meant that the Petty officer had most likely been poisoned over a period of time. Some of the symptoms would have included vomiting, headaches, diarrhea and later cardiovascular dysfunction, which matched the witness statements from colleges saying that the Petty officer had not been feeling well lately. The team had made no real progress on the case. Ziva's unwillingness to open up was really bothering everyone. A good portion of everyone's intellect was spent on contemplating what could be bothering Ziva and why she was keeping it quiet.