Woo-hoo, some really good decongestants later, and suddenly I can think and write without my head all clouded up. Enjoy, faithful readers! Your comments encourage me. And the plot begins to take off…

Jenny knew her Hebrew was rusty, but she was surprised at exactly how rusty it had become. She always struggled with the grammar, but she was missing entire phrases at a time. Silently, she blamed lack of use and the rapid, not to mention very heated, flow of words between Ziva and the Mossad leader.

"Hashem Yikom Damo.I expect a conclusive answer, Agent David," the elder David finally exclaimed. "By the time the sun sets in Tel-Aviv.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. "You will have your answers." The connection ended abruptly, the Israeli turning on her heel and muttering, "But they may not be the answers you desire."

For several moments, Jenny watched Ziva pace, experience having taught her that sometimes the younger woman needed her space. She was certainly much easier to work with than the elder David. Even when Ziva could not give her the information she needed, Ziva always admitted I cannot tell you what you wish to know.

The dark haired woman finally turned back toward the director and closed the distance between them, stepped to the other side of the room and out of ear-shot of those monitoring screens and electronics. She sighed and looked like she wanted to spend a good hour at a firing range. "Years without so much as touching Torah, and suddenly he acts as though he is Ba'alTeshuvah."

Jenny shrugged, shifting awkwardly. "You know his reasons." It wouldn't have been the first time that a crisis, particularly loss of a child, brought a parent closer to faith. Sometimes Jenny remembered the occasional Shepard family excursions to church. It had been her mother's thing more than her father's. She still believed distantly in God, no doubt that was ingrained in her on some nurture-level. "Does he doubt your investigation?"

She gave a slight shift of her head that was neither a nod nor a shake. "My father trusts his own self. Much like your Agent Gibbs and his ability to… know things. To believe things to be true or not to be true."

"My Agent Gibbs?" Jenny answered, skeptical.

Dark eyes stared into hers for a piercing moment. "There is history. No need to deny it. We are adults, and things do happen."

Ziva had always been very good at reading people. Jenny gave the slightest nod to acknowledge the reply. "So what does David believe about all of this?"

"He is still unconvinced that Ari went rogue. I am sure, I need no more proof. In time, I believe he will understand and will come to the same conclusions. But what will happen in the meantime… That I do not know."

The quiet of the room settled between them, only a distant hum of electronics and muted clacking of keys interrupted it until Ziva added, her voice more hushed than ever. "Ari had many connections, and his cover with Al-Qaeda held to the end. He has powerful people that will not like the connection to NCIS. I believe some may have made the connection particularly to Agent Todd, and like Agent Gibbs, I do not think the hospital mix up was purely accidental. She is not safe here, and you know she may not be safe anywhere."

Jenny shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eyes studying maps behind them currently monitoring suspicious movement in the Khyber Mountains. "Thank you, Ziva." She turned, escorting the woman from the room. Once Ziva was down the steps to the bullpen, Jenny's gaze raked over the people below.

DiNozzo and McGee were busy at work: the first in the middle of what looked like a very long and intense phone call, the latter clacking furiously at his computer. Below her, under the walkway, she could hear the ding of the elevator. The silver head appeared a moment later, and as though he could sense her watching, blue eyes lifted to hers.

The slightest nod was all she had to give. Go, she ordered silently, knowing Gibbs would go to any lengths to protect his team, particularly this woman that Jenny knew was more than just a prodigy to him. This morning when he had mentioned extraction, her answer had been simple: do what you have to. He would have done it anyway, and it was easier to give her blessing. She hadn't bothered to ask where he would take Agent Todd. The fewer people that knew, the better protected she would be.

NCIS ** NCIS ** NCIS ** NCIS ** NCIS.

"Cold?" he asked, rubbing a hand along her arm that was currently starting to sport goosebumps.

"Yeah," Kate sighed, reaching up and rubbing her face before settling back into a very cushy leather seat. Leather that was cold. She knew she should be extremely grateful that it wasn't a Navy transport. That he was here with her, at least for this part of the journey. Kate didn't dare ask if Gibbs would be staying with her or where they were going. Mexico, she assumed, was the answer. In time she would find out if it was true.

"Kate, ready to take a break?"

His words were a ray of hope, and she barely remembered her ribs in time, stopping herself from jumping up from the couch. "Yes! Just give me a minute, let me swing by the head first."

He had played cool and casual, strolling along beside her, leaning against the wall with his minimally patient expression plastered across his face. Gibbs merely sipped his coffee, waiting for her return before steering her towards the elevators and to evidence storage.

She hadn't really cared where they were going, so long as it got her out of the room she had been waiting in for almost ten hours now. Talking had never been his strong point, and she hadn't questioned it when he nodded toward a non-descript agency vehicle and told her to climb in. If she was lucky, she would get to go on a fieldtrip, and at worst it was to return her back to his place. Either way, it was away.

Away was certainly what she got. Kate knew something was up as soon as he turned north and began heading away from DC, away from his place, away from NCIS. Only when they pulled off onto a state highway that had turned into one lane in each direction and pastures lining the sides did she ask. "Gibbs, where are we going?"

Extraction, was the answer, and it was all he had needed to say.

"Kate?"

She blinked and turned her head, surprise by the deep blue eyes mere inches from hers. "Huh?" Her face colored slightly, and she hated the way she was shaking, partly from the cold and partly from tiredness and stress. Her cell phone was gone, no doubt he had slipped it from her pocket and left it behind. It was traceable, and extraction meant extraction. Few things came with you.

Only a lone duffle bag of her things, the one Abby had brought to Gibbs's place, was with her. And her Sig Sauer. At least some one comfort item remained, and she sincerely hoped her security team at wherever he was taking her would let her keep it. Or they had better be prepared for the first glints of hostility from their charge.

"You okay? You should take your meds—I know the altitude doesn't help."

"Thanks," she replied, not bothering to answer his first question. No, she definitely was not alright, but she took the pill and swallowed several big mouthfuls of water, letting him take the bottle and tuck the plush blanket around her as she stretched out on the sofa-like seat. Her head sank to the pillow near his thigh. "Rachel's going to be pissed."

Gibbs nodded, his fingers tugging the blanket around her shoulder before resting his hand there. "She'll understand."

Kate took a slow breath, her body relaxing. She might as well sleep—there was little else to do except try to keep up most of the conversation herself. "I wish I could have said goodbye to Abby." When he started to give her that look, Kate shrugged. "I know. I know. I know why I couldn't… I'm just saying it would have been nice. Give her a hug for me… if she doesn't kill you."

"I will," he promised. He leaned down intentionally, brushing a light kiss against her cheek.

Nope, I don't speak more than maybe three or four Hebrew words. I know maybe like three phrases, but that's what internet and research is all about… if you speak Hebrew and I'm totally off, please tell me! Here's what my researching found, translations for those who are curious…

Hashem Yikom Damo- means "Hashem will avenge his blood"

Ba'al Teshuvah- refers to a penitent Jew returning to traditional worship