"W...what's going on" Charity asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing." Gibbs replied.
Tony was just speechless. He knew that Gibbs would find out, but he had wanted to tell him. He didn't want him to find out like this. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say.
Charity, however had collected her wits and was feeling a bit spunky apparently. "Well, Daddy, this would be the morning after."
Fornell let out a small chuckle. Gibbs shot him a look. "What? This is kinda entertaining."
"We do have a murder to investigate." Sacks added.
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious what Agent DiNozzo was doing last night...or rather who." Fornell replied.
"Don't make me hit you like I hit him." Gibbs threatened Fornell, gesturing to Tony.
"What's going on?" Tony asked.
"Why don't we come in and talk?" Fornell suggested.
Tony stepped aside and let the trio of men enter his apartment. "I'm guessing someone is framing me for murder...again?" Tony asked once they were all inside and the door was closed.
"Yes, FBI agent Sarah Jessup was murdered last night." Sacks said. "Your DNA and finger prints were all over her. She was murdered between nine pm and midnight last night."
"I was here." Tony answered.
"You were at work until seven. Then you left." Sacks said.
"Yes. And it took me a half hour to get to the hospital, where I picked up Charity." Tony replied.
"Is that true?" Sacks asked, looking at Charity.
"Yes and there are cameras all over the hospital. You'll be able to see it." Charity answered.
"And you were together after that?" Sacks asked.
"Yes. We came back here and we made dinner." Tony answered.
"I made dinner and you almost made me burn it." Charity corrected.
"Then what happened?" Sacks asked.
"We watched a movie...and went to bed." Tony answered.
"What time was that?"
"Ten." Tony answered.
"That's two hours that Charity was asleep. You could have snuck out without her knowing." Sacks countered.
"We didn't go to sleep till well after midnight, you moron." Charity answered. "And I spent the last two years learning how to sleep with my eyes open. He couldn't have left without me knowing...of course like he could hardly move afterwards let alone get up and murder someone." She kinda mumbled the last part, hoping to keep her dad from hearing it. It was bad enough when sex was implied rather than said straight out.
"DiNozzo has an alibi." Fornell said. "Let's get going Sacks."
Sacks stood up. "You think of a list of people who would want to frame you and get it to me, DiNozzo. One of these days, you will mess up and I will catch you."
"Instead of focusing on me, why don't you go look for the real killer?" Tony suggested. "Oh and if you want anyone that might be wanting to frame me, look into all the arrests I've made. That might give you a clue."
Fornell grabbed Sacks by the collar and practically dragged him out of the apartment. "It's time to go." He said. "Besides, DiNozzo might not be around long enough for you to keep trying to find him."
Once Fornell and Sacks were gone, Gibbs looked over at Tony and Charity. "We will deal with this, after we find out who framed you, DiNozzo."
They both nodded. "Okay, Boss." Tony replied.
"Now, go put some clothes on and then we'll go to NCIS." Gibbs ordered.
Tony and Charity got up and headed to the bedroom. Charity pulled on a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt she kept at Tony's place. Tony slid into a pair of his jeans and a button down blue shirt. They walked out of the room and then left the apartment with Gibbs. Charity rode in the back of the car, while Tony rode shotgun and Gibbs drove. The car ride was spent in silence. Charity pulled out her cell and texted Katie.
I'm not going to be able to make it to the club tonight.
Why?
Dad found out about me and Tony.
Oooh, how?
I'll tell you later.
You leave me in suspense. It had better be good…oh did he catch you two doing the horizontal tango?
No…he found me in Tony's apartment the morning after…in Tony's t-shirt.
Oh man! I bet he about died!
Talk later. Bye.
Oh, fine. You HAVE to tell me EVERYTHING later, though.
Charity didn't respond to that text. She sat in the car quietly, lost in her own thoughts. They arrived at NCIS and Gibbs parked the car. The group got out and headed inside. They rode the elevator up to the squad room in silence. They stepped off and McGee looked up and was confused. "Where's Fornell and Sacks?" He asked.
"They left. Tony has an alibi." Gibbs answered.
"And what are you doing here, Charity?" McGee asked.
"I'm the alibi." She answered.
"Wait, does this mean you won't be doing my paperwork anymore, Tony?" Ziva asked.
"That's exactly what it means." Tony answered.
"Wait…what's going on?" McGee asked.
"Tony and Charity are dating." Ziva answered.
McGee opened his mouth to say something, but Gibbs interrupted him. "That's enough. We have to figure out who framed DiNozzo."
"We've been going through possible suspects." Ziva answered. "McGee took half and I took half."
McGee picked up the clicker. "And these are our top three suspects." The three faces appeared on the screen. "Andrew Green, a drug dealer Tony put away while he worked in Baltimore. He was recently released on parole."
"Former Navy Lt. Jason Louis." Ziva said on the next picture. "When you had taken your break, Tony had led the case that ruined his career."
"And finally, Jackson Ford. He was a pharmacist that Tony caught filling out selling pills on the side. He just finished his sentence."
"Well look into them." Gibbs ordered.
"That won't be necessary." Abby said, entering the room.
"What do ya got Abs?" Gibbs inquired.
"Well, the DNA that the FBI had as Tony's was blood. The blood was old. It had to have been from when you were in the hospital after the cabin." Abby said.
"None of our suspects would have been able to access it." Ziva said.
"Not by their legal names." Abby replied. "But Landon Williams could. A lab tech at the hospital."
"Which one is he?" Ziva asked.
"Our former Lt." Abby answered. "I also happened to find where he slipped up."
"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked.
"The FBI agent fought him and she scratched him. His DNA is under her fingernails." Abby answered. "I already sent my results to Fornell."
"Good work, Abs." Gibbs said, walking over and kissing her cheek. He then headed for the elevator. "Charity, DiNozzo, come with me."
Tony and Charity followed Gibbs to the elevator. When the doors closed, Abby looked over at Ziva and McGee. "What's going on?" She asked.
"Tony had an alibi for last night." Ziva replied. "Charity was his alibi."
"Wait…what?" Abby replied, her eyes wide.
"Charity was with Tony…at his apartment…all night." Ziva answered.
"You don't mean…?" Abby asked, trailing off.
"Yup, Tony was that stupid." McGee replied.
"It is incredibly dumb, even for Tony." Ziva agreed.
"Stop it you guys." Abby protested. "They both deserve to be happy and of they make each other happy then that's all that matters."
"Yeah, but Charity is Gibbs' daughter." McGee countered.
"And you know Tony's reputation." Ziva added. "If I were Gibbs I wouldn't be happy about it."
"Gibbs will be fine as long as they are both happy." Abby replied. "And bite your tongue about Tony's reputation."
In the elevator…
Gibbs flipped the switch and stopped the elevator. This may as well be his office. Tony thought as Gibbs turned to face both him and Charity. "How serious is this?" He asked.
"Well, I have a drawer of things at her place and she has a drawer of things at my place." Tony answered.
"And…we've said I love you." Charity added.
"How long have you been seeing each other?" Gibbs inquired.
"Since Lisa's wedding." Charity answered.
"That was four months ago!"
"I know." Tony replied.
"If I hadn't of come over today, when would you two have told me?" Gibbs questioned.
"We don't really know." Charity answered.
"Were you even planning on telling me?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes…we just wanted to wait for the right time, Boss." Tony replied.
"And when would that have been?"
"Daddy…" Charity began. "We wanted to tell you, but it's hard to figure out when and how. I mean, if we had just casually said, "Oh hey, we're dating." I don't think it would have gone over very well."
"I just wish you would have told me sooner." Gibbs replied with a sigh. He then reached both of his hands up and slapped them both on the back of the head. "Never hide anything like that from me again. You got that?"
"Yes." They answered in unison.