A/N: Hi guys! For those of you who wished me luck, thanks! The play went great! But now I am wearing SO much makeup - my hair is sprayed purple and green, I have blue and green eyeliner on my face, and I am completely COVERED in glitter. And I smell like cotton candy... The picture's somewhere on my tumblr...

Also, there's a poll on my profile asking which ship you'd like to see more of in this fic. For those of you who are wondering, there will be more NCIS: LA characters in later chapters, and more Densi/Neric. I've already got one vote! Thank you!

By the way, forgot to address this - the top three ship names for the Tali/Luca pairing: Tuca, Lali, and Taca. Vote in your comments (please).

Thanks, guys! You're awesome!


The flight home was spent in silence. Kate and Ari sat, cuddled up together in the back of the pane. Tali and Luca were sitting side-by-side, holding hands. Ziva was sleeping with her head in Tony's lap, and he was absentmindedly drawing shapes on her upper arm. Pacci was sitting by Nettie, whose head was in her hands. Chris's hand was rested comfortingly on her knee.

Upon landing at the airport, they were met by Gibbs, Kate's father, and Luca's dad.

"Don't bother with a taxi, either of you," Gibbs said to Tony and Pacci. "I'll give you both a ride."

"Thanks, Gibbs," Tony said quietly. "But it's fine."

"Don't worry, kid, your house is right down the street from mine."

Tony thanked him again, accepting the ride.

"Thanks, Jethro, but Char's picking me up. We got here a little earlier than I told her, so she ought to get here in a few minutes."

"Okay. Call me if you need a lift."

"I will. Thank you."

The trip was silent, and almost solemn, until they got onto their street.

"So..." Gibbs started. "How is Ziva?"

"I think she'll be fine. Eventually."

"Good. And the other two?"

"Kate and Luca are helping them out."

"That's good. Good..."

Gibbs pulled up to Tony's house.

"Is that Kelly?" Tony asked, spying a girl on his doorstep.

"Mmhmm..." Gibbs murmured, parking the car. They got out of the car, and Gibbs helped Tony with his bag as he opened his door.

"Did he tell you?" Kelly asked, ducking by Tony into his living room.

"Tell me what?"

Kelly grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

"In recent news," the ZNN reporter began, "five seniors at Jefferson High in DC were recently struck and killed in a car crash. Names are not yet being released—"

"Who?" Tony asked. "Please tell me Kyle, Abby, and Tim are okay."

"They're fine, Tony."

"What about Breena? Jimmy? Nell? Kensi?"

"Tony, it wasn't them."

"Who was it?" he asked, holding his breath.

"Dom Vail, Gayne Levin, Simon Cade, Paula Cassidy, and Michelle Lee," Gibbs answered.

Tony sighed heavily and sat on his couch.

"We can't deal with this much death," he murmured. "Ziva's mom, now this? Their poor families. Michelle had a little sister that she was practically raising. She's gonna be stuck in the foster system for years. And Jimmy… that was his girlfriend."

"I know. It's terrible."

"And Gayne and Simon were EJ's best friends. She has no one without them. Dom was close with Kensi… and Paula… Paula was my friend. We were close… Her two best friends had been killed in a car crash a couple years back, too. Oh, God…"

"I'm glad you're okay, though, Tony," Kelly whispered.

"Ditto, Kels." She hugged him tightly.

Tony and Kelly both glanced up tearfully.

"Bring it in, Daddy," Kelly whispered, opening one arm up to her father, allowing him to join the hug. Gibbs stepped toward them, wrapping an arm tightly around Kelly and kissing her forehead. He placed a fatherly arm on Tony's opposite shoulder. They had no idea how long they stood there.


The five funerals passed over the course of that month. The crash had been caused by what authorities had determined as drunk driving. They hadn't found the perpetrator, as the area was a blind spot for cameras and there were no witnesses. There were no tire marks that identified another vehicle. The other car's driver had allegedly pulled in front of them, causing them to swerve. The driver of the victims' car had lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The car ignited, killing all five of the teenagers. Emergency vehicles arrived on-scene in time to put out the fire before it completely consumed the car and the victims inside. The body of the car's teenage driver was too mangled to find the gun shot wound.


Sooo... what do you think? I know, it's short and OOC. But... you know... wanted to update... had English homework... Review, please?