I got the job at Third Bank; it's a great job! I only have to work until three, and I get a really good pay. Ziva's annoyed that she has to stay home and can't work, but hopefully we'll be able to go back to D.C. soon. As nice as it is here, I really miss everything back home.

I got promoted the other day. I now lead a team, instead of being the newbie. I think Tony would be proud. He'd have a field day with the people down here in cyber-crimes, though. Margaret would be his first target, I think, and I know Abby would give him more ammunition than he needs. Even though I'm Margaret's team leader, she still flirts with me. And whenever Tony would want a break from making fun of Margaret, he would probably tease Cameron, the most inexperienced on the team. He started working at NCIS just after I was transferred to cyber-crimes, and still doesn't know the first thing about it.

As cool as it is to be leading a team, I would definitely give it up to go back to how it was before.

I hate this. I am used to getting up at five every morning, going for a run, then going to work. Now, if I wake up at five, I get back home by six and have nothing to do for the rest of the day. The day Tony started his job, one of our neighbors came over and introduced herself to me. She was a typical housewife, but she seemed a little…dim, is that the word? Like she had a nail loose. I believe that is the phrase. She invited me over for a 'luncheon' with some of the other housewives in the neighborhood, and it was probably the worst experience of my life. All they wanted to do was talk about shopping, their husbands, and 'cute' men that were not their husbands. Plus, all they had to eat was small 'finger sandwiches' and cheese. What I would not give for one of those cheese steaks from that one place in D.C.

My desk phone rang, and I picked it up to hear the voice of Marty from dispatch tell me about our new case. I hung up and told my team to gear up. It took them a few minutes, as always, and by time they finished, I was already in the elevator. They got to the garage a few minutes later after waiting for the elevator to come back up and get them, and we headed out to a crime scene in Norfolk, where a woman had been stabbed.

The probies were inefficient and missed a lot, as usual. The investigation was sloppy and we did not catch the killer. He killed again. Same circumstances: a woman around the age of thirty, stabbed in the neck with a knife that has just the victim's prints on it. Again, the victim was covered with dog hair.

I was getting frustrated with my incompetent team.

"What do you think, Tony?"

I was running a series of tests, trying to break a really difficult case, and thought maybe Tony could help me. I was wrong, so I decided to ask someone else.

"How about you, Ziva?"

She didn't respond either, so I took the final sip of my Caff-Pow and started re-explaining the facts to them.

"Okay, guys. We need to be on the ball here! We need to catch the killer! So here's what we have so far: a knife with just the victim's prints on it, lodged in the victim's neck in an angle that could not have been done by the victim. She had dog hair all over her, but she doesn't have a dog. Her boyfriend does, but he has two broken arms from falling at a skateboarding competition three weeks ago, and with two broken arms, there's no way he could have stabbed her at that angle. We also-"

"Abbs?"

I looked up and saw Tim walking toward me with a Caff-Pow. I grabbed it and took a sip, then looked up at Timmy, who was staring at me.

"What?"

"You really should stop talking to those mops, Abby."

I set down my Caff-Pow and hugged him. "I miss them, Timmy…"

Life here is so boring. No catching bad guys, no teasing Probie, no head-slaps. Yes, I even miss the head-slaps! We get someone trying to steal from the bank about once a month, and they're always pushovers. Nothing compared to the killers we'd catch at NCIS.

We bought another car so Ziva doesn't have to be stuck at the house while I'm at work. She really hates having to stay home and do nothing, so she goes to the gym a lot.

We've tried every pizza place in the phonebook, and none of them are as good as the place in D.C. that I would always order from.

It has been oddly quiet lately. With the absence of Anthony, Ziva, and Timothy's bickering and messing around, NCIS is far less interesting.

Gibbs' new team is made of fools. One of them poked the body with a stick! He left a mark that is now being questioned by the director, making him think I missed something!

I think even Mister Palmer greatly misses the team. They were great agents, and even better friends.

I keep expecting to see some sign of Mossad wherever I go. I know they will catch up to us soon. Perhaps they will do it the easy way: just snipe me while I am driving to the gym. But I fear they will try to cause me as much pain as possible for leaving them by doing something horrible to Tony.

I hate living in fear, but I suppose it is better than not living at all. There was a time when I would not have thought that.

This is a hard case to crack. Three murders now: one in Norfolk, one in Bedford, and one in Norton. The killer is moving farther west with each kill. I hate it when forensics leads to dead ends. It shows how brilliant our killer is, but it also makes me look bad.

Vance made me shut off my music and dress like career girl Barbie again. I hate it! But at least I still have my pigtails. You know, he even said I can't bring Bert to work! How mean is that?

I'm glad I have McGee to vent to. He listens to me complain and doesn't criticize me. That's one of the things I love about him.

I got another call. Another kill. This time in Columbus, Ohio. Vance ordered us to fly out and investigate, mainly for press purposes. We did, and after tireless investigating, we hit another dead end. I told Vance that a more competent and experienced team would help a lot. He just commented on how incompetent he thought Tony and Ziva had been. He made it sound like it was their fault Jenny was dead. But it wasn't. It was Jenny's fault. She wanted it to end that way.

I eat lunch with Abby almost every day, and she comes over every night. I love it, but I hate that it's because Tony, Ziva, and the Director are gone. Once Tony and Ziva come back, if they ever do, things between me and Abby will go back to how they were before the team was split up. I want them to come back, but I love Abby.

I just wish she loved me back.

It's strange. Not having them around anymore.

Instead of Tony demanding a warrant then forgetting what it was for, Ziva not-so-gently reminding him, and McGee kindly thanking me while the other two fought, I now have to get warrants for a man who doesn't even know what a warrant is for, a second man who, rumor has it, is afraid of coffee, and a woman who I saw flirting with my Jimmy!

Gibbs said he would get the team back somehow. I just home it happens soon. I can tell Jimmy misses them too.

So, this is pretty much a segway chapter into the future! Ooooh! No, the story just moves along about a few months starting next chapter. I've got big plans for the rest!