Thanks to my beta Kristen! Just a little bit of fluff to end this. Another story coming soon - To Kill A Man.

Chapter 21: Epilogue

Tony DiNozzo wondered exactly how much time they had spent in the hospital in the last month.

First there had been that hostage crisis, and Gibbs had needed emergency surgery. Then they had all been trapped in a flooding cave, necessitating another trip. Now he was stuck in the ER, listening to a commotion further down the hall.

Someone had given Lily painkillers. It was long overdue. And she had taken that to mean that she could waltz out the door and go straight back to work. The doctors sounded as though they wanted to admit her, Gibbs had managed to join in the shouting for her to stay 'or else', and even Jenny was yelling. Tony was extremely thankful that he was sitting in the ER with Ziva and McGee. At least they were safe.

He wasn't sure who would kill Lily first; he could only hope someone would think to sedate her. Otherwise there would be blood on the floor.

He felt the presence of someone else, and turned to see Arbourne approaching, looking furious. Instinctively, he wanted to hide under a chair, and he could see Ziva and McGee shifting slightly to be less of a target as the older man walked past. The yelling got louder until Lily stormed through the doors up ahead, rapidly followed by what looked like half the hospital.

Lily's boss slowed down enough to catch her arm, and immediately dragged her back through the doors. The whole room could hear what he was yelling at her.

"How dare you fake your death without my permission! I do not care how much pain you are in; you will take some pain meds, suck it up, and explain yourself to your Director as soon as I can drag you there! I have never, in all my life, been so humiliated to learn that an agent of mine has been so reckless! As soon as you are cleared for work again, you will be on Archives duty for the next month! If I hear one complaint, one muttered objection to this, I will hand you over to the Director and I can guarantee he's found some incredibly boring missions for you to oversee!"

Tony felt very glad he was not in Lily's shoes at that moment. She hated Archives duty with a passion, and this would be torture for her. At least until she found something to blackmail her way out of it again.

He risked a grin as Gibbs and Jenny came over. The boss had been very insistent on his boss being checked out, which meant he might win some money out of this. After all, a happy Gibbs was easier to work with.

Ziva David sat at her desk, happy to have finished her report.

It had been a few days since Jenny had killed Higgs, and the inevitable paperwork had needed to be dealt with. Naturally, McGee had completed his first, and now she had finished too. Tony was still struggling to focus on it, while it was impossible to know whether Gibbs had finished or not.

Much to her amusement, Gibbs and Jenny had been spending more time together. She had been bringing him coffee every few hours, and they had both been leaving at a reasonable hour for once. They were actually talking to each other again, something everyone was glad for. Abby had resorted to calling them Mommy and Daddy in front of them, and they had merely shared a grin.

Ziva was happy for them. They were perfect for each other, and although they still had a few kinks to work out, she had faith that they would patch everything back up.

Or was it 'batch'?

Abby whirled into the squad room, her infectious enthusiasm warming Ziva's heart. The Goth stopped by McGee's desk first, dropping something small on top of it, before bouncing over the Tony's desk. Without saying a word, Ziva rose and went over, while McGee copied. They gathered around, all co-conspirators.

"So?" Tony asked.

"They took separate cars last night, but they definitely ended up together," Abby confirmed.

"Where?" Tony checked.

"Probably Lily's place," Abby answered.

"Probably?" Ziva joined in.

"Well, we can't just ring her up and ask for her address, can we?" Abby objected. "She'll say something about national security and hang up."

McGee nudged them, and everyone followed his line of sight. Gibbs and Jenny had just emerged on the catwalk, standing just that little bit too close. Oblivious to their audience, they shared a gentle kiss.

Tony held out his hand. "Pay up," he ordered.

THE END