Tony walked into the bullpen and headed for his desk. Like the last and a half though, he unconsciously looked towards the two recently vacant desks and he felt a pang. It wasn't getting any easier to have Gibbs and McGee gone. He knew why they were gone and how important it was that they stay gone, but that didn't make him wish they could come back any less.

Tony hadn't felt this sense of loss since Kate died. Gibbs and McGee might not be dead, but it was the same sudden loss. Kate had died unexpectedly, just as Gibbs and McGee had disappeared unexpectedly. Actually, the situation with Gibbs and McGee was almost worse because while they weren't dead, Tony worried about getting a phone call one day telling him that they were. It was hard, harder than he actually thought it would be when he agreed to abandon the search for them. Not that he regretted that decision. They'd made the right choice by letting Gibbs and McGee go. It was the only way to keep them as safe as possible.

Tony's thoughts were interrupted by Ziva's voice. "Good morning, Tony."

"Morning," Tony said as he continued to his desk and started settling in for the day.

Ziva sighed sadly. She couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she missed Tony's usual greetings when coming in. He used to come in with a smirk on his face and say some joke or talk about his date from the night before. She and McGee would bicker with him and eventually Gibbs would come in and catch Tony saying something stupid. Now Tony was quiet when he came in. They both were. They barely spoke now unless it was work related. Things just were not the same with Gibbs and McGee gone.

Tony powered up his computer and cleared his throat. "Any leads on Gibbs and McGee," he asked for the benefit of the rest of the office. They still had to go through the motions of looking for their missing coworkers. They had to do this until they were told to officially cut off the search.

"No," Ziva said like always. Tony asked that question every day to keep up appearances and she answered the same every day for the same purpose.

"Sarah McGee keeps calling me. I've been ignoring the calls," Tony said quietly. He simply couldn't bring himself to answer Sarah's calls. He couldn't tell her anything. The only thing he'd be able to tell her was that they were still looking, which was a lie and he didn't wanna do that. It didn't seem right.

"We will have to talk to her eventually," Ziva said. She too wasn't wild about the idea of lying to McGee's sister, but they couldn't ignore her forever. "I wonder why his parents have not called asking for information. Shouldn't they be wondering by now?"

Tony scowled, remembering Sarah's words on her parents. "Sarah says they never really expressed much interest in McGee. His father was always disappointed in him and even disowned him when he wouldn't join the Navy."

Ziva was outraged by this information. "That is unbelievable. McGee is an exceptional person. He has two degrees and he is a wonderful agent. They should be proud of him."

"Yeah, well, sometimes parents aren't what they should be," Tony said thinking of his own father.

Ziva nodded after a minute, understanding exactly what Tony meant.

"I'm actually more worried about Gibbs' father finding out. He's not gonna react too well," Tony said. So far they'd managed to keep Gibbs and McGee's disappearance under wraps, but it would eventually get out and word would get to Jackson Gibbs. He didn't look forward to that.

Ziva suddenly looked towards the elevator to see Sarah McGee being escorted by an agent. "Tony."

Tony followed his partner's gaze and sighed. It looked like he would no longer be able to ignore Sarah's demand for answers. He stood up and met her have way.

"Agent, DiNozzo, this young woman wished to see you," the agent escorting Sarah said.

"Yeah, I got it, Thompson," Tony said.

The agent nodded and left.

Sarah glared at Tony. "Why the hell haven't you been answering or returning my calls. I've left you several messages. What is going on with the search for my brother?"

"Come with me," Tony said before leading down the hall to the conference room. He held the door open and motioned for her to go in before stepping inside and closing the door. "Look, Sarah, I know you're worried about your brother, but there's nothing I can tell you."

"It has been nearly two weeks since my brother's disappearance," Sarah asked. She was really worried. She was terrified that the next time she saw him, he would be on a slab. Tim would never be gone this long unless someone had done it to him and after two weeks, it was getting hard to believe that he would be left alive.

"I know, Sarah. We're doing everything we can, but we don't know anything," Tony lied. He hated himself for lying to her, but he didn't have a choice. They had to keep the truth about Gibbs and McGee under wraps.

"You're lying. You know something or you suspect something. Tell me! I deserve to know what happened to my brother! Is he dead?" Sarah asked with fear and desperation in her voice.

The guilt in Tony's stomach got much worse. He felt like a cold bastard for doing this. It felt so wrong for him to stand there and not tell Sarah that her brother was alright. But if he didn't, McGee might not be alright in the end or she might not. Who know what the Reynosa Cartel might do if they even had the inkling that she knew something. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her because he spoke up. "I…I don't know. We don't have any new information. But you should stay hopeful. There's no reason to fear the worst right now."

Sarah shook her head. "You're telling me you know nothing. You've spent two weeks looking into this and you have no answers at all?"

"No, we don't. I'm sorry," Tony said quietly.

"You're supposed to be the best. That's what Tim told me when he first joined your team. He said that you were the best team in NCIS. Well, if you can't tell me a damn thing after two weeks then that's not true, is it?" Sarah asked angrily.

Tony didn't answer. He didn't have an answer for her and he knew she didn't really want one from him.

Sarah stood there in disgust for a couple of moments and then ran out, slamming the door behind her.

Tony kicked a nearby chair across the room. He hated this. McGee and Gibbs were gone, their families were going to spend the rest of their lives wondering if they were alive or dead, and worst of all, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.