A/N: Very sorry for the long delay in getting back to this story. It's now flowing from my brain to my keyboard quite nicely and I hope to have timely updates. Thank you for your patience and for the prodding I got from some of you. :)

Shortly after midnight, Abby gave Gibbs his pain pills with a glass of water. As he settled under the covers to sleep, she went downstairs to make sure that Agent Moen was relieved of his duties. Standing in the dark kitchen, a few feet from the window, she was able to look into the backyard. Moen was off the deck, standing in the grass, smoking. She could see the red tip of his cigarette glow brighter each time he put it to his mouth. She watched for about five minutes before another man entered the backyard, spoke for a while with Moen, then Moen left. Quickly, she moved towards the side of the house, to peer out another window, so she could actually see Agent Moen get in his vehicle and drive off.

She let out a sigh of relief when she was certain that he was gone. The guy was not nice and she didn't like having him around.

Deciding to check in with Agent Reese, Abby stepped out the front door and was instead greeted by Tony. "Abby, you headed home?"

"Hey, Tony." She looked beyond him, searching for Clara. "No, I think I'll stay a little longer. Where's Agent Reese?"

"I sent her home. I'll be here until Ziva gets back." He stretched an arm above his head and gave a yawn.

"You need to rest too, Tony," she stated with concern. "You and McGee have been working non-stop. Wasn't there someone else that could relieve Agent Reese?"

Tony sat down on the low front step. "I wanted to be here. How's he doing?"

Sitting down and putting an arm around his shoulders, she spoke softly, "He's doing fine. He ate and we talked for almost two hours. You know how Gibbs can just go on and on… nearly talked my ear off."

Tony gave a chuckle and saw her teasing smile. His grin then slowly faded and he rubbed the palms of his hands over his knees. "We can't get a lead on Ripolla. No credible hits on the BOLO. His father is in Montana and says he knows nothing. We're still trying to track down his mother." With a groan of frustration, Tony ran a hand through his hair. "I can't get anything out of Andrews! I know Gibbs could break him!"

She tighten her arm around his shoulders. "You're doing everything you can to keep Gibbs safe. Did Andrews tell you anything at all?"

"McGee questioned him late this evening and found out that he was visited by Donna Packard at his hotel. She's Ripolla's half-sister."

"So she's been helping those two guys."

He nodded. "Looks like it."

"Now I have a name to go with the prints that were found. I wonder…" Abby said as thoughts zipped through her head. "What if she made a stop at…" suddenly she jumped to her feet. "I've gotta get back to the lab."

Tony stood up and watched her hurry towards the street. "Abby! What is it?"

"Just something I have to check on," she called over her shoulder. "I'll let you know what I find."

As Abby drove away from Gibbs' home, she decided to first head to her apartment to take a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes. She still needed to think about the evidence she had in the lab and what exactly she needed to retest in order to get some new answers. Knowing now that the prints were Packard's and that she was in contact with both Andrews and Ripolla was a huge break. Plus there was that video from the gas station that she wanted to watch again, this time focusing on the cars that stopped for gas.

As she ran up the stairs to her second floor apartment, she was so lost in thought, that she didn't notice the man lingering two doors down. If she had noticed, she would have known right away that it wasn't one of her neighbors, even though he appeared to be unlocking the door. But Abby was in a hurry and wanted to get on her way to the lab as soon as possible.

So when she unlocked her door and stepped inside, she swung it shut as she went towards her bedroom. The strange thing was, she didn't hear the door slam shut and when she turned, there was a stranger standing inside her entrance and he slowly and softly closed the door behind him. With a scream, she bolted for her bedroom, slammed the door, and twisted the lock then she dumped her bag and scrambled for her phone. The sound of one heavy thud and splintering wood filled her ears and the man was instantly grabbing at her, pulling her from the room.

It was early morning when Gibbs made his way slowly down to his kitchen. He had half expected Abby to still be around, fussing over him, but as far as he could tell, she hadn't spent the night. It had taken him nearly fifteen minutes to put his jeans on and get them zipped and buttoned. If she had been there to help him, he could have been fully dressed already. Or perhaps not… he thought as a small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. He could only imagine Abby's seductive playfulness if she were to help him dress. And if he was lucky, she would have insisted on helping him shower. But since she wasn't there, he had decided the shower could wait and the white t-shirt he had worn to bed was good enough for now.

His elbow felt much better so he decided to skip the pain pills and concentrated on preparing his early morning fix of caffeine. After much fumbling and awkward left-handed movements, he finally got the pot perking and he was just pouring his first cup of coffee when Ziva came through his front door.

She walked in as though it was something she did every day. "Good morning, Gibbs," she greeted brightly, placing his morning newspaper on the table where he had just settled. Next she turned and grabbed a mug for herself. "Did you sleep well?"

He felt like growling about the damn bandage on his damn arm and having agents posted outside his damn house! Ziva's chipper mood was too much for him to handle so early and before his first cup of coffee! So he didn't answer as she prepared her drink, instead he picked up his paper, opened it, and scanned the front page. He needed at least one cup flowing through his system before he could even consider having a conversation. Apparently Ziva sensed his early-morning mood, and she left without saying anything more.

Gibbs gave a heavy sigh and scrubbed a hand across his face then looked with disgust at the large bandage wrapped around his elbow. He couldn't stand how heavily it was wrapped and how completely immobile it was. It took him only a couple of minutes to unwrap the bandage and gauze and immediately he felt a sense of relief. There was a neat two inch row of small stitches that extended from the top of his elbow to the inside of the joint. As far as he could tell, the stitches were the only thing preventing him from extending his arm; they would pull and tear if he dared to flex his elbow. Grabbing the shortest piece of bandage, he wrapped it a couple times around the joint to keep the wound clean.

As he stood to refill his coffee cup, his cell phone rang and he struggled to pull it from his right pocket with his left hand. It rang several times before he finally answered with a growl, "Gibbs."

"Morning, Gibbs," Abby's perky voice responded. "Did I wake you?"

Smiling, he walked to the coffee pot, cradling the phone against his ear. "No, I'm just having my second cup of coffee. You in your lab?"

There was a pause and Gibbs thought he heard something in the background before she answered. "No… I'm at home." There was something different with her response; her tone had dropped and the perkiness had suddenly disappeared. Just as he was about to speak again, she continued, "I know we were going to the zoo today, but I can't. I've got more tests to run at work, which is a bummer since I was really looking forward to seeing the snakes."

Gibbs sat down and wondered what the hell she was talking about. "The zoo, Abbs?"

"Yeah, remember, we talked about it last night? But with those pain pills, maybe you don't remember. So if you don't remember, then it's no problem."

Gibbs stared at the table and tried to recall their conversation about the zoo, but for the life of him, he couldn't. Those pain pills must have really done a number on him. "Okay, Abbs. Will I see you later?"

"Uummmmm, depends on work. I didn't get much sleep last night. Gotta go. Bye, Gibbs." She hung up before he could say anything more.

Setting his phone on the table, a feeling of unease crept into his gut. That was an awful abrupt good-bye considering it was Abby. The zoo? He wondered why on earth they would have made plans for the zoo… today! Plus two times after he had asked her a question, there had been a lengthy pause before she responded, as though she were trying to come up with an answer, an excuse.

Shaking the newspaper open in his hands, he scanned the headings for anything of importance. But as he tried to read, he couldn't concentrate. Abby's voice kept rolling through his head and he tried to remember what else she had said. She was at home, yet she said she was swamped with work. He wondered why she was at home when the team was working on a case. It was obvious that Abby would have lab work with all the evidence. The zoo?

Slamming the paper and his hands onto the table, he winced as a jab of pain shot through his elbow, but ignored it as his gut clenched. Abby hadn't even asked how he was feeling or if he needed anything. He had expected her to call and be worried about him but to call about the zoo and missing out on seeing the snakes? Not a damn thing about her phone call made sense!

Gibbs stood with a fierce push out of his seat, causing the chair to crash over onto the floor. He knew something was wrong! He could feel it in his gut! Abby usually avoided the reptile house at the zoo.

Yanking open a kitchen cabinet drawer, he grabbed his gun and holster and ID then strode to the door. "Ziva!" he called at the same time he pulled it open and stepped out. "Ziva!"

"I'm here!" she responded, coming around the corner while reaching for her sidearm.

He descended the steps, heading towards the street. "Abby's in trouble. She's at her apartment."

Ziva rushed past him and down the street a block where she had parked. As Gibbs waited for her to pull up, he called DiNozzo, putting his team into action.

To be continued…