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Recap: I jump into my car and head off to work. Well, here goes nothing. I cannot love Tony; it must be a figure of my imagination. It must be. It has to be. I cannot deal with another betrayal. I have already had too many of those.
It was 0730, and everyone in the office was settling in for the day. McGee and Tony were glued to their screens, but Ziva wasn't. She kept getting distracted and looking up at Tony. She couldn't get that dream out of her head today. She has had it before, and she usually just casts it aside and writes it off - but not today. Today, something was different. Today, she realized that she could have feelings – strong ones – for DiNozzo. And that scared her. She has been hurt by men before. She has trusted them, and they constantly let her down, time and time again - her father, her brother, Michael, Ray. They all let her down. Each and every one of them had. She cannot take it anymore. She can't risk her heart again. Especially because she did not think he felt the same. If he did, she thought, then maybe…No. A person can only be broken so many times before they cannot be glued back together. And she feared that she was almost at that point, at the edge of a cliff. He does not have feelings for me…or maybe he does, she thought. No, that is just wishful thinking. He treats me like a sister. It is just that, once in a while, there is a glimmer of something more in his eyes, or that is at least what she tells herself. I am acting like a teenage girl with a crush on her lab partner. I just-…"
"Gear up. Dead Naval Officer" Gibbs said, interrupting Ziva's thoughts.
"Where are we going boss? Quantico?" asked McGee.
"Nope. The community pool" answered Gibbs, much to the team's shock. They have not had any cases there before. They quickly recovered though, and David and McGee headed towards the elevator.
"Oh, that's great boss! I mean, it's not great the guy's dead, but it's just so hot in here and…" DiNozzo jumped up as he felt a hard slap on his head. "Never mind boss" he said quickly and grabbed his stuff, reaching the elevator just as it was about to close.
"Nice of you to join us, Tony" Ziva smirked as Tony stuck his hand in the crack to stop the elevator doors from closing.
"Yeah, well…" he trailed off as he lightly glared at Ziva. "Thanks. It's great to be here", he replied, sarcasm very evident in his voice.
Gibbs took out the keys for the car and gave them to Ziva, much to the mens' horror. "Meet ya there, guys" Gibbs smirked. Ziva smiled eagerly, and Tony and McGee glanced at each other with dread in their eyes.
"Oh boy" McGee uttered, and DiNozzo just nodded at him.
"You can say that again."
Ziva grinned and, as soon as the elevator stopped, strode out of the elevator to the car.
"Here goes nothing" DiNozzo said, and McGee just nodded in agreement.
They all arrived in record time – thanks to Ziva's driving, of course. The ME van pulled up shortly after, and everyone got out.
"David, see if you can identify the victim. DiNozzo, photos. McGee witness statements" Gibbs instructed.
"What witness, Gibbs" Ziva asked, not seeing anyone near the victim, who was currently being attended to at the side of the pool by Ducky and Palmer.
"She is in the food area; she found him and called it in."
McGee nodded and walked off to where the woman was standing. "Hello, I understand you found the body." The short, pretty woman of 5 foot 3 nodded, looking in the distance. "What is your name?"
"Mindy Fadge" the woman answered, finally meeting McGee's kind, but suspicious eyes.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
She nodded. "Yes, sorry. I'm kind of distracted, you know…"
"I understand. It is difficult. Did you know him?
"Yes. He is my ex-boyfriend. …Or was, I guess I should say. We dated for about a year. We broke up 4 years ago. It was mutual; I know what you are thinking. We both needed a break. The spark was gone. We both agreed it was time to move on."
"Okay. So what exactly happened here today?"
"I'm a lifeguard here to make some extra money in the summer. It's hard to have a job once I go to college. This is a good time to make money. Anyway, I came into work around 0700 and I got settled. I went to go check the levels of the pool when I found him. It was around 0730 when I saw him."
McGee nodded, writing some things down on his pad. "Can you tell me whether he has any enemies – old friends with a grudge, family?"
She shook her head. 'No, I'm sorry. After the breakup we lost touch. I do think he has a girlfriend though - or, had."
"Do you know her name?"
She thought for a minute. "Patty Herfek. Actually, she could be his wife. I'm not sure."
"Thank you, and remember, please don't leave town. We might have more questions." He pulled out his card. "If you remember anything, give me a call." She nodded.
"Will do" and she walked away.
MEANWHILE….
"Time of death, Ducky?" Gibbs asked.
"Well, given the fact that he was submerged in the water, it is more complicated. I would estimate about 7-10 hours ago."
"That would be about 9-midnight last night" Gibbs calculated. "Cause of death?"
"Without bringing him down to autopsy, it appears he was killed by a stab in the back with a kitchen knife." Palmer explained.
"Oh, that reminds me of a time when I was…" Ducky trailed off down memory lane to Palmer, as Gibbs met up with Ziva.
"I found a name, Gibbs." Looking at her AFUS fingerprinting device, she read off. Naval Officer Darren Herfek, 38, has a wife, a Patty Herfek, and 2 children – a 4 year old Nicole and a 12 year old William."
Gibbs nodded as DiNozzo and McGee came up to them. "Alright, let's go back to base" he said as he walked off. Then he remembered something and turned around. "Oh, and Ziva's driving again."
The boys groaned, while Ziva smirked. "Boss! Why?" DiNozzo whimpered.
"We have a case to solve, DiNozzo. Time is valuable," he smirked.
"Tim, if we don't get out alive, I'm sorry for picking on you."
"Thanks Tony. And I'm sorry for thinking you're immature."
"Oh, if I wanted to kill you two, it would not be by a car." Ziva said.
Tony and Tim just looked at each other before following Ziva to their fate.