Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2014. - Licia

"Did you touch anything or move anything after you found the body?" One of the girls shook her head; Tim and Ziva had managed to track the teens down at a local diner, and had taken them to a back corner of the eatery to get their statements.

"No."

Ziva glanced at Tim, who had returned to his writing. "Look, we know you're big city federal Navy cops, and we're small-town kids, but just because we grew up here all our lives doesn't mean we don't watch TV. We know not to touch a body or move anything."

"That's good." Tim replied, as Ziva got another kid's information. "Your parents in law enforcement?" One boy shook his head.

"Nope. Learned it from watching CSI and Rizzoli and Isles." Ziva's head snapped up.

"What is... Rizzoli Isles?" Tim rolled his eyes.

"Seriously?" One of the boys glanced at Ziva, raising an eyebrow. "What, have you lived under a rock for the last few years?" Ziva narrowed her eyes.

"Why would I live under a rock?" Tim had the good sense to interject before Ziva hurt their witnesses.

"She's Israeli, and she's not that familiar with America or American TV shows, plus she doesn't watch that much TV." He cleared his throat. "Now, you said you found her sprawled out over the grave, with the side of her head bashed in?" One of the boys nodded.

"Yeah. She... we thought she'd gotten drunk and passed out at first. It... it was only when we got closer that... that we realized she... she was dead. Her lips were blue." Tim and Ziva shared a glance.

"Did you touch the body?" Ziva asked, studying each of the kids. They all shook their heads- except for one. "You touched the body?"

"I saw the side of her head, and then quickly checked her pulse. I thought..." The boy swallowed, grimacing. The agents shared another look, before Tim knelt down to meet the boy's gaze.

"What's your name?"

"T... Trevor."

"Trevor?" He nodded. "Can you tell us anything else?" A shake of the head. "I think we've got everything for now." Tim pulled a card out of his pocket, holding it out to the boy. "If you or any of your friends can think of anything else that would be useful, don't hesitate to call us."

The cat looked up, its yellow eyes scanning the street for them to return. There was no sight of the team, or the agent it waited patiently for. A moment passed before it stretched, yawning. It had waited here all day, and yet there was no sight-

The sight of two humans returning- neither the human it was waiting for- caused him to stand.

"Well, if it isn't the-" The younger agent reached out to pet it, and the cat hissed, swatting at him. He pulled back, clearly frightened.

"What is the matter, Tony? I thought you would get over your little fear of pussy-" The two older agents turned as the younger man and the woman joined them not five minutes later. The woman glanced at her partner as the cat leapt off the porch, heading towards the couple. "Cat." She looked down as it began to rub against her legs, and after a moment, knelt down and scooped it up. Her partner instantly sneezed. "What is your name, huh? Do you belong to someone?"

"Clearly it's a stray, Ziva." The older of the three men replied. "Now come on, we've got evidence to go over." And without another word, the man turned, heading into the building; the younger man followed. The cat looked up at the woman, and she smiled softly.

"I'm sure they will not mind if I bring you in for a night." The cat nuzzled against her, purring softly.

"You hag! There are not enough children in the world to keep thee young and beautiful!"

He shifted, lost in the nightmare, the tightness in his chest taking hold, and he whimpered. Ziva snuggled closer, whispering softly to him in her half-sleep, and the cat looked up from its place curled up on Ziva's backpack- where the Israeli had set it down after sneaking it inside that afternoon. Nimbly, the feline slipped off the backpack and across the floor, leaping onto the bed and slowly making its way towards the couple.

The man shifted again, his whimpering getting louder; his mate- for clearly, that's what the woman was- snuggled closer, sliding her arms around him and nuzzling into his side. On softly padded feet, the cat walked towards the woman, before quietly leaping over her and going to the man. It then began kneading his chest before settling down, a contented hum escaping its throat.

"Hast thou seen my sister Emily?"

He continued to thrash within the sheets, even as Ziva nuzzled as close as she possibly could, by now though completely out and snoring. The cat returned to kneading his chest, the purring getting louder, and for a moment, it seemed to calm him. But only for a moment.

"No! Emily!"

McGee bolted upright, covered in sweating and shaking; Ziva turned, burrowing into her pillow and returning to her snoring. He looked around, before his gaze finally landed on the cat now sitting in his lap. Green eyes met yellow, and after a moment, the cat leaned up, nudging its head against his, before hopping off the bed and going to the door. Still shaking, Tim glanced at his girlfriend, before getting up. How the hell had Ziva managed to sneak the cat into the building anyway?

He pushed the blankets aside, reaching down to grab his shoes as he shifted to the edge of the bed, but the cat's scratching at the door forced him to pause, and he sighed, getting up and going to the door. Kneeling down, he scooped up the cat, holding it as far away as his arms would allow; he then made his way down the stairs to the back door, opening it and gently setting the cat down outside. "Go on. Shoo!" But the cat just stared at him, and he sighed. It seemed to study him for a moment, refusing to budge. Groaning softly, Tim returned inside, only to feel something dart past him, and he looked down to see the cat sitting before him. "No, you go outside. I don't know how..." He sniffled, struggling not to sneeze- it had been a hassle to keep from sneezing on the way down to the back door- as he reached down for the cat, but it darted around him and out into the night. Tim turned back, watching as it disappeared, and relaxed. "Happy hunting."

He turned, heading back towards the stairs to join Ziva, only to stop as something caught his gaze. What appeared to be a shadow of a man- who promptly fled past him outside. Tim chased after him, completely unsure of why he was chasing after a cat as opposed to going back to bed and curling up with Ziva; he guessed that a part of him wanted to make sure the cat was okay. Besides, it didn't look like he'd be getting much sleep anyway, with the way his nights had been going lately.

Eventually, he stumbled into the cemetery. The cat was waiting for him, settled at the grave of Emily Binx. Tim sighed, making his way towards the cat. "Well, as long as you can find a place to sleep toni-" He turned to go, only to find himself face to face with what appeared to be a young man. "Who-" As the man reached out towards him, McGee stumbled back, striking his head on the edge of the worn stone. The last image was of the man kneeling over him, and for a moment, he swore he was looking at his long-lost twin. However, before he blacked out, he heard a voice- of, surprisingly, the cat,

"It's 'bout time you've returned to Salem, do you know how long I've been waiting for you, Thackery?"