BTW- I want to stress that Hayley and the kids are really the victims even though Jackson is dead!!!!! REMEMBER- Jackson is bad!!!!!!

Ps. Vance is in this chapter. I live in Au so I haven't seen knockout. Stupid cbs, 10 and youtube! Therefore I don't even know if vance is still on the show, let alone anything that has happened after knockout. It really sucks being down under sometimes.

The team had an hour left before they could go home when Gibbs's phone rang. He nodded and answered in short sentences before putting down the phone and looking up at his team.

"Gear up; dead marine." He told them before briskly walking to the elevator. Tony and Ziva followed, still laughing about the prank they had pulled on McGee. The poor Probie got to the elevator just as the door closed. He sighed and rolled his eyes. The doors opened suddenly to reveal Tony and Ziva rubbing the back of their heads and Gibbs smirking. He quickly jumped inside. This would defiantly be an all nighter.

Of course Gibbs was driving, McGee had called shotgun. Tony and Ziva sat in the back while Gibbs debriefed them.

"Jackson Cooper; 39. Was stabbed multiple times in his home; the neighbour came over to ask for help to move something. There was no reply, looked in the window, saw blood smear on the wall, went inside. He found Cooper laying face down on the bed, blood everywhere." The agents nodded in acknowledgment.

When they pulled up outside the Cooper house they were greeted with a crowd of spectators, even though was late at night. The team pushed through them and under the tape before being met by a Local LEO. He told them the same thing Gibbs had, but added that they didn't know where his two kids and wife where. They all went inside. When they got to the bedroom they choked on the strong smell of alcohol and, well… dead person.

"Whoa." Tony coughed as he waved the air in front of him with his gloved hand. They all took a deep breath before proceeding in. Ziva took pictures, Tony sketched and McGee set out markers. Ducky arrived a few minutes later. He looked at the body, shaking his head. He looked closely at Jackson's hands.

"He appears to have bruises on his knuckles, but I can't see any defensive wounds." He informed them. Ziva left the room to look at the rest of the house.

She opened the next door. It had a small rug with animals on it on the floor. There was a single bed with a starry cover that also had a railing, as well as, a dresser, change table, bedside table with lamp and a box marked Toys. The box was hanging open and mostly empty. The drawers on the dresser were also open and pretty empty. There was hardly anything left on the shelf under the change table. Someone had taken items for the kid. She guessed it was probably Denny's room. She also though it was probably Hayley that took the stuff, but she didn't know why. They next room was mostly pink and flowery. It was much the same as Denny's but instead of a change table there was a small table that had crayon graffiti on it. It must be Ava's room. She thought. Most of the stuff was gone. A few crayons were left on the table along with a piece of paper. Ziva walked closer to the table to have a look. It was a pretty good drawing for a five year old. She could make out two stick figures. Written in chicken scratch was -Mommy and Daddy. Daddy had an angry look on his face and was drawn in orange. Mommy looked sad and was in blue. There were red patches on Mommy. Ziva cocked her head in confusion. Why was there red on Mommy if Daddy was the one who was dead? A sad frown formed on her face when she figured it out. She snapped a few pictures of the room before picking up the paper. She took it to Gibbs.

"I think the wife was abused." Ziva told him, when she handed him the paper. Gibbs studied the drawing before nodding.

"You may be right." He commented before going to find Tony. Tony showed him the bathroom. There was blood on the handle of the tap.

"They must have washed their hands off." Tony commented. He took a swab for Abby after he snapped a few more pictures.

"Knife is from the kitchen, bloody fingerprints on it, so Abby should be able to get a match." Gibbs told Tony and Ziva. "We need to find his wife and kids. Go back to the Navy Yard and find them." Gibbs instructed.

"But we only brought one…" Ziva began but she was cut off by Gibbs's glare. She nodded and ran off to get her bag. She got to the car to find Tony in the driver's seat. "Why do you always get to drive?" she complained.

"Because I kinda like living." He told her like he had many times before.

"You know I can drive normally!" She told him making inverted commas with her fingers for normally.

"Yeah." He muttered as he pulled out of the driveway.

When they got to the bullpen they each went to their desks and started looking up credit cards and relatives. Tony found that she had stayed at a few cheap motels in the past 3 months. The last payment had been made last night at a local motel. They would need to go and talk to someone. Ziva found out Jackson was an only child, his mother had been dead for a few years and his father had died of cancer 3 months ago. Hayley had an older sister and her mother lived in L.A. Her dad had died a long time ago. They swapped info and decided to go to the hotel.

Ziva rushed to the car and pulled open the door, sliding in before Tony could. She laughed when she saw the look on his face. She obeyed all road rules and actually surprised him. When they got to the motel there was no one at the desk,

"Hello?" Tony called. A young man rubbed his eyes sleepily as he walked out of a room behind the counter.

"Can I help you Sir?" He asked politely even though he sounded annoyed.

"Yes. Have you seen this woman?" Tony asked, holding up a photo. "Her name's Hayley Cooper, she may have had two young children with her." He continued. The man had a questioning, slightly suspicious expression on so Tony pulled out his badge. The man behind the table typed something into the computer. He nodded and confirmed that she was here last night with two kids, but he hadn't seen her since. They thanked him and set off to find Hayley's sister.

"Melissa Graham, 38. Lives with her husband and has one child." Ziva read aloud from the file as they drove to Melissa's house. Tony nodded in response.

When they got there, a short lady with blonde hair answered the door.

"Melissa Graham?" Ziva asked. The lady nodded. They both pulled out their badges and introduced themselves. "Your sister is Hayley Cooper?" Ziva asked. Melissa nodded again. "Have you seen her?"

"Sorry, you missed her. She picked up the kids and hour ago. Said something about 'protecting them'. She seemed really stressed. Wasn't making much sense. Why, what happened?" Melissa asked in alarm.

"Her husband has been murdered, we nee to find her." Tony informed her. She breathed deeply before nodding. "If you see her please call us." Tony instructed. Melissa nodded… again, took the card, said goodbye and went inside.

Once again Ziva jumped in the driver's seat. Tony got in and called Gibbs. He told him what they had found out and let him figure out that they didn't have much. It was a quiet drive back to the Navy yard. When they parked Ziva gave Tony a look that said 'I told you so'. He rolled his eyes as he pressed the button for the elevator. As they stepped inside they both went to press the button at the same time. Tony dropped his hand and let Ziva press it. Somehow the atmosphere in the room went from normal to awkward overload. Whoa… Awkward… Tony thought. They were one more floor away from getting out when the doors opened to reveal Abby. Yay! As if this couldn't get any more awkward. Abby stood between Tony and Ziva.

"Did you two have a fight or something?" Abby asked breaking the silence.

"No." They both replied at the same time.

"Cus, you know, it feels a little awkward and stressed and weird and.... how long is this elevator taking?" The doors dinged and opened. They all got off and headed for the bullpen.

Abby stood in front of everyone, she looked at them, analysed them. Gibbs was out, probably filling Vance in on the case. Tony and Ziva were searching stuff. McGee was doing something on the computer. She knew the she had to update the team on what she had found, but she allowed herself a minute to look at McGee. She really liked him. She sighed before walking a bit closer to Gibbs's desk. Gibbs walked in and sat down.

"The blood on the sink is Jackson Cooper's. The fingerprints on the knife belong to Hayley Cooper, his wife. I didn't find any others, so it looks like she did it. The rest is for you." She finished with a smile before exiting.

"Hayley Cooper just used her credit card to pay for a motel room!" Tony exclaimed.

"Where?"

"International Motel on Lucan Ave." Tony answered. Gibbs thought for a moment.

"Take Ziva, if you need back up call us." Ziva and Tony nodded before gearing up and heading for the elevator.

TBC!!!!!

Please give me a review so I know what u guys want to happen and if u like it.

I really like suggestions on what should happen!!!

Love belle! 