A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews and alerts. I totally love your comments and ideas.

I still don't own the characters (what a shame), just the idea.

Ch 10 – Invitation

Gibbs woke at 0500 as usual to find himself unable to move. He was momentarily disoriented before he realized that at some point during the night, Tony had practically rolled on top of him. Gibbs chuckled to himself and carefully tried to roll Tony off of him so he could get up. He needed the head in a major way, but he didn't want to wake Tony. He wanted to let him sleep as long as possible after the events of yesterday. He finally managed to extract himself with only some sleepy grumbling and murmuring from Tony. He watched in amazement as Tony immediately grabbed his pillow, sniffed it, and hugged it tightly to him. He may have heard Tony mutter his name, but he couldn't be sure. Gibbs just smiled at the sleeping man thinking that had to be the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

He headed for the bathroom to take care of business and to start getting ready for work. Once he had showered, shaved and brushed his teeth, he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped back into his bedroom in search of clothes. Tony was lying there awake watching him through sleepy eyes, still hugging Gibbs' pillow. He looked rested and a hell of a lot better than he had the day before. "Awww…you took a shower without me?" Tony whined and pouted as he rubbed his eyes. Gibbs walked over to the bed determined to kiss that pout right off his lips. He smiled down at Tony before leaning down and doing that very thing. Tony reached up to him, but Gibbs was able to step away before Tony could pull him down on the bed.

Tony frowned at Gibbs, then yawned and stretched before finally rolling out of bed. He stood in front of Gibbs and cupped his face for another good morning kiss. "Mmmm … good morning, Jethro," Tony purred.

Gibbs laughed and smacked him on the ass. "Get moving. It's gonna be a long day, and I want to get an early start."

Tony's shoulders slumped and he sighed, "Yeah, it's gonna suck. We need to stop by my place on the way to the office so I can change my clothes." Tony placed a little peck on Gibbs' lips, headed to the bathroom and shut the door.

"I'll fix some bacon and eggs," Gibbs called through the door. Hearing nothing he headed to the kitchen.

After a quick breakfast, a pit stop at Tony's apartment, and a Starbucks run, Gibbs pulled up to the security checkpoint at the Navy Yard at 0645, with Tony right behind him in his own car. Not knowing what they were in for that day, Gibbs thought it would be a good idea if they drove in separately.

They cleared security in the lobby and grabbed a Caf-Pow! for Abby. They met up at the elevator and Tony pushed the call button. The doors opened and both men stepped in. A few moments later the doors to the elevator opened and they stepped into the bullpen. Once they had their gear stored away, Gibbs and Tony headed for the lab.

Both men were surprised and stopped short when they got to the lab to find not only Abby, but McGee and Ziva as well. All three of them turned around as Gibbs and Tony stepped into the room.

"Gibbs! Tony!" Abby squealed as she ran to them and wrapped her arms around them in a three-way hug. "I am so glad to see you." She released Gibbs and looked at Tony with concern in her eyes. "Are you okay now, Tony? I heard what happened yesterday. I've been so worried."

Tony grinned at his defacto little sister. "Yeah Abs, I'm fine. I was just shocked, that's all. I kind of knew the victim, so ….," Tony trailed off with a shrug. "I don't want to get into details right now. I'll explain it all later."

Gibbs stepped forward to address McGee and Ziva. "Can both of you come to my house around 6:00? This case could get complicated. Tony and I both have some things we need to discuss with you, but we'd rather not do it here. We'll order dinner."

McGee and Ziva both nodded. "Of course we will be there, Gibbs," Ziva said as she smiled warmly at Gibbs and glanced over at Tony.

Gibbs turned to Abby, who stood there pouting. Gibbs rolled his eyes and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Of course, you're invited too, Abs. It wouldn't be much of a party without you."

Abby beamed at Gibbs and stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek leaving a perfect cupid's bow. She looked awfully proud of herself, and Tony laughed when he saw it. "Boss, I don't think you're gonna be able to wash that off. Might need to use sandpaper." McGee and Ziva couldn't hold back and joined in the laughter.

Gibbs glared at Abby as he reached into his jacket pocket for his handkerchief. She just smirked back at him as she clapped her hands together in glee. He wiped vigorously and got most of the lipstick off as his team got themselves back under control. He glared at each of them and headed for the door. "All right, enough. All of you get back to work!" he barked. "I'm gonna see if Ducky has anything useful." Gibbs turned back just in time to see Tony and Abby high-fiving. He smiled and chuckled all the way to Autopsy.

Gibbs walked into Autopsy to find Ducky and Jimmy preparing to examine Greg's body. "Morning Duck, Palmer."

"Ah, Jethro! You're here early." Ducky put down the scalpel he was about to use and walked over to Gibbs. "Have you seen Anthony today? I want to check and make sure he is fully recovered from his episode yesterday."

"He stayed at my place last night, Duck. He got a good night's sleep and seems fine." Gibbs led Ducky back over to the autopsy table and gave a nod to Palmer. "Duck, I need you and Palmer to come to my house tonight at 6:00. The rest of the team will be there. Tony and I have some things we need to talk to all of you about. Can you both make it?"

Palmer, surprised to be included in Gibbs' invitation, stammered, "Umm, sure Agent Gibbs. I hope nothing's wrong."

Gibbs knew that Jimmy Palmer was still nervous around him, so he clapped a hand firmly on Palmer's shoulder, "No, Palmer. Nothing's wrong. Just need to talk to all of you."

Ducky watched their exchange with narrowed eyes, but cheerfully replied, "Of course I would be delighted to join you. Mr. Palmer and I will be there promptly at 6:00."

"Okay. You have anything to tell me about this guy Duck?" Gibbs looked down at the body expressionless.

Ducky picked up a file and flipped through a few pages. "Well, Jethro. This is Commander Greg Adams, but I guess you already knew his name. He was an intelligence officer at the Pentagon. He never married and has no family in the immediate area. I was able to locate a sister in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is scheduled to arrive day after tomorrow to claim the body." Ducky removed the sheet which covered the man's lower extremities. "Mr. Palmer," he called to Jimmy who was preparing the x-ray machine, could you help me turn the Commander on his side please?" Palmer stepped up to help roll the body onto its side. "Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Now Jethro, as you can see, after we washed away all the blood his other injuries became more evident. In addition to the obvious stab wounds to his neck and torso, of which I count eight, it appears that our Commander here was beaten and, I'm afraid, savagely raped."

Gibbs looked into Ducky's forlorn eyes and sighed. "I was afraid of that Duck. We may have a suspect, but I'll explain that tonight at my house." Gibbs turned to leave and called back over his shoulder, "Let me know when you have more, Duck."

Back up in the bullpen, Gibbs found Tony and Ziva going through all of the records they could find on Commander Greg Adams. Tony picked up his phone about to call his supervisor at the Pentagon. "Oh, hey boss. Ziva and I have been going over Gre, um, I mean Commander Adams' records. I was about to call his CO."

"Good. See if he's available then you and Ziva head over to the Pentagon for a little chat with him." Gibbs sat at his desk and observed Tony as he made the call. A few moments later Tony was up out of his chair and holstering his Sig. "Let's go Ziva. I'm driving," he declared as Gibbs tossed the keys to the sedan to him and started powering up his computer. With a huff and a scowl, Ziva followed Tony to the elevator.

Gibbs looked up to find McGee standing in front of his desk. With raised eyebrows he asked, "You need something, McGee?"

McGee turned back to his desk and retrieved a file. "Here's all the stuff I could find so far on the bartender, Brian Schmidt. Mostly financials, phone records, and employment history," he said as he handed the file to Gibbs. "You think he killed the Commander?"

Gibbs put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "I don't know, but keep digging. This guy was a Marine; had a tattoo, so I want all of his military records. See if he has family in the area. Work with Abby to track down everything, McGee." Gibbs' phone rang and he picked up the receiver. "Yeah, Gibbs. I'll be right down, Abs. Gotta go see Abby. Get his military records and then come to the lab." Gibbs was up and out of his chair in a flash and headed to the lab.

"What do you got for me, Abs?"

"I got prints off of the stuff you gave me. They're only partials, but I got a couple of matches." Abby started hitting keys on her computer to call the results up on the plasma. "The print on the right matches Brian Schmidt. I took that off one of the cards. The one on the left matches a Brad Thorson. I got from the note left on Tony's car. You know who these guys are, bossman?" Abby watched as Gibbs stared at the plasma screen.

"I have no idea who this guy is", Gibbs said pointing to the print on the left. "I do know who Brian Schmidt is. He is the bartender from the crime scene. He was also involved with our victim." Gibbs stood silently for a few minutes before he turned to Abby. "We'll be talking about all of this later, but I can tell you he's been hitting on Tony for a while. Tony told me last night how he came to know this guy and Commander Adams. It's pretty complicated, but we'll try and explain it to all of you."

"Jeez, Gibbs! No wonder Tony freaked out!"

"Yeah, he did, but he's okay now." Gibbs smiled at Abby and placed a kiss on top of her head before turning to leave the lab and nearly colliding with McGee.

"Sorry, boss." McGee had stopped in the doorway and couldn't help but smile. Gibbs and Abby really did have a father-daughter relationship.

Abby looked over to McGee, "Hey Timmy!" McGee smiled at her and gave her a wink.

"Boss, I have more information on Schmidt." Gibbs followed McGee back into the lab. "He grew up in Bethesda. Parents are Eva and Thomas Schmidt. Mom is a librarian. His father was an Air Force Lieutenant. He was killed during a training exercise in 2002. Brian Schmidt joined the Corp. in 2003 but got a bad conduct discharge in 2007 after getting drunk and fighting with a superior officer. He served with a guy named Paul Morrison who is the owner of the bar."

"Good work McGee. Any idea if he knows this other guy, Brad Thorson?" Gibbs pointed to the two sets of prints on the plasma.

McGee flipped through the file in his hands and shook his head. "Nothing in here, boss. I'll see what I can find on him." McGee nodded at Gibbs.

"You do that, Tim. I'm gonna see about warrants for Schmidt." Gibbs hurried out of the lab. He got back to the bullpen and grabbed his Sig. He was about to pick up the phone to call legal about the warrants when Bobby from the mailroom appeared with a bouquet of daisies and carnations. Gibbs slammed down the receiver when they were placed on Tony's desk. Bobby saw the furious look on Gibbs face and ran for the elevator.

McGee came off the elevator and noticed Gibbs standing at Tony's desk staring at the flowers. McGee stepped up to Gibbs, and with concern in his voice asked, "Something wrong, boss?"

Gibbs sighed heavily and plucked the card from the flowers. It said simply, "Soon."

"Yeah, Tim. DiNozzo's got a stalker. Could be Schmidt or the other guy. Those prints Abby was running were from other cards and notes Tony got this week." Gibbs took a deep breath. "Take this card down to Abby and see if the prints match. Have her look for information on Thorson, and see if she can get a description on whoever delivered these damn flowers. I'm gonna get those warrants, then you and I are gonna pick up this asshole Schmidt for a little chat." Gibbs headed for the legal department taking the stairs two at a time.

Gibbs appeared with warrants for Schmidt's home and the bar fifteen minutes later. He and McGee were getting on the elevator as Tony and Ziva were getting off.

"Hey," Ziva exclaimed, "we have a lead?"

Gibbs looked at both agents. "McGee and I are picking up Schmidt, and we have search warrants for his apartment and the bar."

"Well then, Tony and I can..." Ziva's sentence was cut off by Gibbs.

"NO!" He stepped up to Ziva and shot a questioning look at Tony. "Look Ziva, we'll explain later. For now, I don't want this Schmidt asshole to get anywhere near Tony." Gibbs' eyes met Tony's. Tony grinned and nodded.

Tony put his arm around Ziva and led her out of the elevator. "Come on Ziva, let's go to the breakroom. I can fill you in." Tony placed a firm hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "Just go get that son of a bitch!"

With an exchanged wink and nod, Tony watched as the elevator doors closed on Gibbs and McGee.