Thanks to my beta Kristen! Falling asleep in an exam has not been my best move this week... I'm too ill!

Chapter 7: Stakeout

Tony DiNozzo withheld a smirk as he looked around the hangar. It had just hit midnight, and two people were already asleep.

Jasper had spent the first few hours charging around like a lunatic, annoying McGee who had been trying to set up his equipment. Lily and Jenny had taken turns to chase him around. It had taken Tony a while to realize they were trying to wear the boy out so he would fall asleep more easily. It had worked; Jasper was now fast asleep in someone's lap. He couldn't tell if it was Lily or Jenny because they were dressed identically as usual.

The sisters were sitting slight apart from everyone else, and were whispering to each other. Sometimes they shared a giggle, and other times they were more serious. At one point, one of them had become infuriated and everyone had turned to watch them. Great Aunt April had cleared her throat, causing them to fall silent for a few minutes. They had also glared at everyone for good measure.

Great Aunt April had settled down next to Ducky. The two elders had bought their own foldout chairs to sit on, and were happily conversing away. They were getting on like a house on fire. Tony privately thought that Ducky would have a new girlfriend at the end of the week, and rather liked the idea. Ducky needed to meet new people, other than dead bodies. The Great Aunt seemed nice enough, although he had spotted a little bit of Lily around her edges. It was easy to see where Lily had got her mischievous side from.

Abby was busy pestering McGee to run more tests. She was convinced that ghosts were involved somehow and she wanted lots of experiments run. She had waved a heat sensor around earlier, looking for any 'cold spots'. Abby claimed that a lot of ghost sightings were accompanied by part of the room turning cold. She had also set up some video cameras to capture any action.

Tony had not expected one of the sisters to talk quietly to McGee at the start of the stakeout. He suspected it was Lily as she had slipped him a small handheld device. She had seemed determined to hide it from the others, so Tony had not mentioned it. He was sure to find out what it was soon enough.

In the meantime, Tony had been pestering Ziva. He had sat with her and rifled through her bag until she threatened to kill him. He had stolen the chocolate she had bought along with her. He had tried to make off with her sleeping bag while she went outside to get some fresh air, but the sisters had spotted him and taken action. Being tackled to the floor by two redheads was surprisingly fun. Especially as one of them had then warned him to behave 'or else'. Only Lily would do that, and he had a few nice ideas of what the 'or else' might be.

Gibbs had started by talking to Alex. The two of them had been discussing weapons as far as Tony could tell. They had taken their handguns out and compared them, before moving on to talking about the best bullets to use in particular situations. Tony had found the conversation boring and went back to harassing Ziva.

After a while, Alex had moved over to where the sisters were sitting and had settled down. He was currently fast asleep, his gun clutched in his hand.

Gibbs had taken to surveying the room, watching the occupants. Tony had not failed to notice that his gaze lingered on one of the sisters for longer than anyone else. As Gibbs was one of the few who could tell the sisters apart, Tony suspected this was Jenny, although he supposed his boss could be keeping an eye on Lily.

He shook his head slightly and returned to watching the Great Aunt. She was in her eighties perhaps, but moved as though she was younger. She certainly acted like someone younger, and had no qualms in embarrassing Lily. Tony wanted to harass her for more information on the younger Jenny and Lily, but suspected she could dodge any questions he threw her way. She was an ex-CIA agent after all.

She also seemed fearlessly independent. She was looking after Jenny's twins – Tony had often wondered who was doing that as he had not seen them in the onsite daycare – and she seemed to look after Jasper sometimes as well. She had chosen to tag along with Lily, who she called by her real name. Very few people did that. Even Gibbs didn't call her Lilith. Tony chose to call her Lily because he felt it suited her often-hidden softer side.

He had watched her maternal side as she played with Jasper. Both sisters had shown it clearly. He wanted some easy way of telling them apart, but they had acted the same around Jasper. They cuddled him and laughed with him. They had even told him a bedtime story together as he was drifting off. It had involved 'The Continuing Terrors of Mara Davies'. Everyone had fallen silent during the story, and the Great Aunt had been struggling not to laugh.

Tony knew from Europe that Mara Davies was the sister's stepmother and they hated her. The stories always seemed to involve their stepmother in painful situations. Tonight's version had involved fire ants.

Abby had loved it, clapping her hands together quietly at the end so as not to wake Jasper. Gibbs had also grinned, having heard the stories before. Tony had thoroughly enjoyed an insight into the sister's minds.

He wondered how much they had tormented their stepmother. They clearly did not like her, as evidenced by the stories. A teenaged Lily would have been a handful, and he wanted to know more about what she had been like, and how alike the sisters had been then. He wanted to picture the Director as a rebel, but found it hard.

He didn't mind. He could always ask the Great Aunt for some interesting stories later.


Ducky shook his head as he looked around the room. Almost everyone was now asleep. They were supposed to be on stakeout!

Abby and McGee had drifted off in the last few hours, followed by Tony and Ziva. Jennifer had been the last to fall asleep, leaning on her sister's shoulder.

Ducky only knew it was Jennifer because April had told him. She seemed one of the few who could tell the sisters apart. She claimed it was a skill very few people had.

It was now 4 o'clock in the morning. It was still dark outside; dawn was a few hours off. Apart from him and April, only Lily and Jethro were still awake. Lily was alert as she looked around the hangar, while Jethro watched Jennifer sleep. He sighed inwardly. Those two needed to get their act together.

"Youngsters today," April snorted next to him. "Haven't got the discipline anymore. All asleep."

"I expected Ziva would stay awake," Ducky added. "And I thought Jethro would make sure his team stayed awake as well."

"I do like that young man," April grinned. "I can see what Jenny sees in him. Unfortunately he's a bit too young for me, and I could see it causing all kinds of problems if I ever snagged him."

"What would the twins call you? Great great aunt or stepmother?"

"Exactly. Still, at least Lilith is awake. She won't let the Shepard side down."

"I doubt she's ever failed anything in her life."

"They almost failed mathematics all the way back in first grade. Got exactly the same answers wrong too."

"I'm sure the teacher wasn't happy about that."

"They never were. They had to sit tests in separate rooms so no one could accuse them of cheating. They still gave exactly the same answers though."

Ducky shook his head again. "Twins."

"They insisted on going to the same college together as well. Shared a room on campus. It was the first time they acted differently."

"How so?"

"They majored and minored in the opposite subjects. I personally felt they were swapping classes over most of the time, but no one could ever prove it."

Ducky smiled softly. "Youngsters."


Gibbs watched Jenny as she slept. The tension seemed to drain away from her and she just looked beautiful. She slept on Lily's shoulder, while Lily stayed alert. Protecting her sister.

He wished Jenny would open up to him. If Lily fell asleep, he was going to ask the Great Aunt to tell him what was going on. She seemed knowledgeable about the sisters. He hoped she would also relate some stories of when they were children. He would love to have something to use against Lily.

His team were asleep, but he didn't care. There were no such things as ghosts anyway. They weren't going to see anything. If he wanted any work out of them tomorrow – today – they would need some sleep.

An unfamiliar voice broke the silence. It sounded broken, spooky. "Lilith."