And I decided to continue to allow you, the readers, to paint your own pictures of Tony and Ziva together.

I do apologize if the points of the actual case that are brought up don't make a whole lot of sense. That's the part of the story really being done on the fly and it is becoming a bit of a struggle, as it was supposed to be just barely in the background, that is to say a lot more than it actually is.

When her sister Tali had died, Ziva thought she'd never have someone else who she could share her secrets with, those wishes, hopes and dreams that only they would know. There would never be one to confide in about crushes on boys, stolen kisses, or dream lovers. Tali had been taken so young, they had never even gotten the chance for any of that and Ziva thought the opportunity was lost forever.

In truth, she didn't think of Abby Sciuto as her sister and she knew the other woman well enough that Abby would not consider it either. But she was the best friend she had not had in a very long time. The relationship had not started that way, but that was who this woman had become all these years later.

Abby's question had not shocked her at all. It had seemed the forensic tech thought for a while there was more to Ziva's relationship with Tony than was true. Ziva knew Abby didn't believe her when she told them the latest twist with the NCIS agent was only within the last few months. Yes, she admitted the feelings had been there, on both their parts, for a while. But they had not acted on them until he had found her in Israel. Still, she indulged her friend with a few juicy tidbits.

"Aw, that is so cute! I wouldn't have thought about Tony as doing something like that!" the goth exclaimed. "He's always had this macho attitude about him, like the Italian Stallion."

"Well, there was a good deal of Italian spoken but in the end, it was indeed very...satisfying," Ziva said.

"Well, duh! I think the evidence is heavily favored on that." She gestured to her stomach, and Ziva laid her hand on it. "So this does mean I'll be Aunt Abby, right?"

"Oh, absolutely yes. And I do not think either of us will mind if you gift our daughter with...some," she held her finger up, "of your fashion sense."

"I know this shop in Falls Church that has kiddie clothes in black. It's actually really cute, if that's your thing."

Ziva laughed, imagining what those would look like. After a moment, though, Ziva stilled. She had been thinking of something for a long time and hadn't asked anyone about it, not Tony, not Gibbs. She thought it would be safest to talk to Abby, though. "Abby, what was this case that Tony was working on? I haven't really processed it until a little while ago, but I have to ask, what has been going on?"

Abby sat upright and got serious. "I don't have all the details, but I can tell you what I know, at least from the forensic angle," she began. "There was this sergeant in Quantico who they'd thought had been running drugs through the camp for a while and had a network of subordinates who worked for him. Lance Corporal Wren, the guy Gibbs and Tony chased up here to Baltimore, he was suspected as being one of them. Well, Sergeant Hawkes, the alleged drug runner, he turns up dead one morning and Wren is the prime suspect because a number of people saw them arguing the day before and there were bags of cocaine and heroin with Wren's fingerprints on them in the sergeant's quarters. By then, though, Wren had vanished and was only spotted by a cop here in Baltimore who knew Tony when he'd been here. So, from what McGee told me when we went back to DC yesterday, he called and asked specifically for Tony and Gibbs to investigate."

"Why Gibbs?" It seemed strange to Ziva to ask for anyone specific, let alone two.

"Well…" It seemed to have been hitting Abby as well that it was out of the ordinary. "I guess the only reason I can think is because when Tony arrested his former boss for his former partner's murder, Gibbs was...with...him…" There was a certain logic to that, but it was still strange to Ziva. Just then, before she could think it through any further, her phone rang. "It's my friend, Carol. She's at my lab, keeping an eye on the tests I left so I could come up here," she explained before she answered the cell. "Carol, have you got anything?"

Ziva could hear a voice at the end of the line, but couldn't make out what it was saying. From Abby's reactions, however, it was at least some good news. "And you're sure? Okay, give me the name again…" Abby looked up, as if trying to remember something. "You got anything else? Thanks a ton again Carol. Let me know if major mass spec comes up with anything else." She hung up and smiled at Ziva.

"Got a lead?" she asked.

"Yep," Abby answered. But before she went on, she grabbed Ziva's hand and they headed back to Tony's room. When the elevator opened for them, Delilah Fielding was sitting there, as if waiting for them.

"Abby! Ziva! I was just about to join you," she told them.

"No time to talk," Abby replied as the two of them joined the other woman. The button for the floor hit, they made their way to Tony's room and once the door opened, Abby made a beeline in that direction. Ziva hurried after her as fast as she could and Delilah followed, still surprised to have run into the two women. They all heard Tim say. "Abby's friend has it and-"

Without preamble, Abby headed into the room to make her announcement. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Carol! She got something! She got an ID of the scumbag who shot Tony!"

Ziva reached the room in time to see Tim sag a bit. She figured he wanted to reveal his findings to everyone else, but Abby had stolen his thunder. "And we should be able to get an ID," he concluded glumly.

"Not should! We did!" Abby was almost too excited to contain, but then Gibbs stared her down.

"Abs!" It was a short shout, but it did the trick. Abby stilled, as if waiting for something else to be said. Gibbs obliged, throwing her a look that often prompted her to explain further.

McGee stepped in again. "I was just explaining to everyone I figured out what the problem was with getting an ID off the images," he said again. "A filter of some kind was embedded into the file with the purpose of-"

"Tim, we've all worked with Gibbs long enough to remember he doesn't care for the how, just the what," Abby reminded him, as if to chastise him.

"Got a point, there, McHacker," Tony piped up, trying, in his usual charming way of being helpfully not helpful.

Gibbs wheeled back, shooting daggers at both Tony and McGee, before asking Abby, "And?"

"Juan Miguel de los Santos Hernandez," she chortled.

Ziva narrowed her eyes. "Hernandez? Can it be a connection to the Reynoso drug cartel?" she asked, her mind flashing back to Paloma Reynoso and her brother, the children of the man who killed Gibbs' wife and daughter.

"Carol's sure?" Tim asked, as if doing the same figuring in his head as Ziva had done. "That can't be a coincidence."

Tony voiced what Ziva, and probably everyone else was thinking. "Rule thirty-nine, no such thing."

"The only question is," Abby now asked, "why?"