Chapter 6 – Now We Are Three
"Ziva, what do you mean he's missing?"
Tim wasn't exactly unaccustomed to speaking in a confused tone, but he hadn't been doing it nearly as often as he used to, of late.
"He went into the men's room to look for Gibbs, and he didn't come out. Hang on, McGee, I'm going in…"
Tim rolled his eyes heavenward and glanced helplessly at Abby as he listened into the phone. As he would have expected, masculine-sounding background protests were soon heard as Ziva boldly went where no woman was meant to go.
"Damnit. Tim, he's not in here. Now what?"
"Do you want me to come down there?" Tim didn't relish the idea, but an Agent had to do what an Agent had to do, sometimes.
"No, thank you Tim. I'll look for him, try to find some clue as to his whereabouts. If I find out he went bootie shopping…"
Tim started a moment. "Booty shopping? OH, you mean, bootie shopping. Baby booties. No, he wouldn't do that on the job. Bring back what you've got and we'll see what we can do. Abby's trying to get a lock on his cellphone as we speak."
He looked over at his wife, whose green eyes were staring intently at the computer screen, as she concentrated on finding their friend and colleague.
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Tony stirred awake and brought his hand to his face, rubbing it and moaning with the headache that seemed to be threatening to split his skull in two.
"Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up," he heard a familiar voice say.
"Now, Jethro, the boy has obviously been through an ordeal," he heard another familiar voice scold gently.
Tony opened his eyes. Man, his head hurt so bad… Oh, God, he was gonna die… no wait… Oh, God, no, he was gonna live… and no, he wasn't dreaming. He really was in an enclosed, dark space, with Gibbs and Ducky.
"No more than we have, Duck," Gibbs pointed out. Tony blinked a few times. "Boss? Ducky?" he asked, confused, his tongue feeling like cotton, and his own voice seeming a million miles away.
"And now, we are three…" Ducky muttered, as he sat back, tired and resigned.
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Abby and Tim looked up as Ziva breezed back into the lab. "I have no idea where Tony got to, but I have this," she said, handing over the plastic bag in her hand. Abby took it with a look of curiosity, glancing briefly to Tim and Jimmy. "Gibbs' phone," Ziva said, flatly. Tim took the phone from Abby as she offered it up, and looked at it closely, squinting. "Is that what I think it is?" Jimmy walked over, still holding a contented and sleeping Caitlin against his shoulder. He took the bag from Tim with his free hand, and studied it. "Looks… bubbly?"
"Foam," Ziva said. "Foamed milk. It was a coffee shop… but Gibbs doesn't…"
"Drink fluffy coffee," Abby said. "And Ducky drinks…" she said, as Jimmy looked at her and continued, "Tea. You don't top tea with foamed milk. Is there a viable fingerprint in that?" he asked, squinting slightly, trying to get a better look at it.
Tim shrugged and took it from Jimmy's offering hand. "I think… maybe… we could try, anyway. Can't hurt. Worst case, the powder gets into the circuits and Gibbs requisitions a new phone. Which he was almost due for anyway, by the looks of this," he said, with a sigh. He just couldn't understand such utter disregard for technology.
"Abs?" he asked, handing the phone back to Abby.
She smiled at him. "Watch, and learn, Timmy," she said smugly, as she took it over to the table.