Tony stepped into Autopsy, but he only saw Ducky sitting at the single desk. Wondering if he was making a mistake looking for an irate Gibbs, Tony took a deep breath and called out to the ME.

"Ah, Anthony. I was wondering how long it would be before I saw you in here this morning," said Ducky. "Jethro's just in the bathroom. He should be out soon. Would you like a cup of tea while you wait?"

"No, thank you, Ducky. Maybe next time. I need to speak with Gibbs about something important."

"I understand. Please, dear boy, remember that Jethro is not upset with you, and he feels sorry for the way he spoke to you this morning."

"I know, but he needs to stop. I haven't healed completely yet, and I really don't feel up to fighting Gibbs."

Ducky nodded. "It's good to hear you admit that you're not one hundred percent," he said with a smile before being cut off by an opening door.

"Did you find something, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked gruffly as he closed the bathroom door behind him. He hesitated for a second. "Sorry, Tony. I'm not angry with you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Why are you treating us like crap?" Tony demanded. "McGee and I haven't done anything wrong; we've followed every order you've been giving us. What has Ziva done that's made you this grumpy?"

"She's done enough... I know I need to give an explanation, and I will, but not right now. Tony, I'm sorry that I bit your head off when you said good morning."

Tony shook his head. "I don't care about that, Gibbs. I just want to know what's going on. I don't have the strength to argue with you."

Gibbs nodded. "I will tell you everything, but I need to make sure you understand something first. I've been a jerk since Kate's death, especially to you. I remember you once said to me that you felt responsible for her death, and I never really discouraged that notion. In a way, I guess maybe I blamed myself too, so I couldn't bring myself to comfort you. That was wrong of me. I grieved and made peace with it, but you didn't. It was obvious that you were still in pain, yet I did nothing. I still haven't done anything, Tony. I'm sorry for that."

Tony shook his head. "You've already apologised for that, Gibbs. I'm over it, but I'll never stop missing Kate. What I need from you is an explanation for what's going on around here."

Gibbs hesitated. The previous night, he had made it clear to Jenny that he didn't want to drag Tony and McGee into such a dangerous mission after just losing Kate and with still not at his full capacity. And, while she had then made it clear that the entire team was to work on Ziva's information, Gibbs still felt uneasy about it. He didn't want to tell Tony and McGee what he now knew- he didn't want to put them in danger again...

"I'm waiting, Gibbs. Unless you forgot, there's work to be done upstairs, so please stop stalling and speak," demanded Tony in frustration.

"I found Ziva last night... She was wandering around the Lincoln Memorial."

"And?"

"I brought her back here, to see Jen. We argued with her because she was refusing to tell us where she had been, then when she finally told us, she also mentioned that the two people she had been running from were linked to the case we have. The sketches are of the man following her and supposedly a woman also following Ziva."

"The pictures both look like men, Gibbs. Are you sure Ziva saw them properly?"

"Not really, but it's all I have."

"Why didn't you call us in during the night?"

"I don't even want the two of you working on this. I want you safe, and from what we've been told, this case is far from being safe."

"What have you been told?"