Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply, NCIS is owned by other people, no copyright infringement is intended, no money is being made.

A/N: Many thanks go to my beta Rinne, for her patience; ZivaFan and ResearchGeek for their suggestions

Chapter Seven

The next morning the entire team was reassembled and plowing ahead with the two cases that had now become one. McGee and Abby were running checks against various police databases trying to find a face that resembled the mock-up the software program had produced from the profile of the suspected killer, looking for any ex-cop with the first name of William.

McGee, Ziva and Tony were in the squad room talking while Gibbs was in MTAC giving the Director a report.

"So Tony," Ziva said, "did Gibbs sleep with you last night?"

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Why do you ask, Zeeva. Jealous?"

"Me? No," she laughed, "I just wanted to know if he tucked you in."

"I've been tucking myself in since I was little," Tony replied. "Gibbs just woke me up every hour."

McGee looked over at Tony. "He was pretty worried about you, Tony."

"It's just the case," explained Tony. "There are aspects to it that hit close to home."

"Why did the killer come to your apartment?" McGee asked.

"I attract many types, Probie," Tony waved him off, "I can't keep them away from me."

Ziva snorted as Tony gave her a cheesy grin.

Gibbs came down the stairs quickly. "Abby has something for us," he said as he breezed through the squad room. The others scrambled to follow him down to the lab.

"What do you have, Abs," Gibbs said.

"I believe I have a match, Gibbs," Abby said excitedly. She turned and typed quickly, bringing up an ID photo. "Meet William Crawford, former Chicago cop, a detective in the homicide division. He left the force three years ago, no unusual circumstances given, he just up and quit."

The man in the photo fit the description, a man in his thirties, dark-haired, with handsome, chiseled features. Tony stared at the photo, his heart beating rapidly. William Crawford did look amazingly like him. It was like looking in a mirror, one of those funhouse mirrors that makes you look older and just a little off-center.

"Crawford is from a very wealthy family living in Bannockburn," continued Abby, "the suburb of Chicago, not the city in Scotland. His parents are both dead, their money went to various charitable organizations with a small amount going to their only son."

"When did they die?" Gibbs asked.

Abby turned to him. "Three years ago, in a car accident."

"The final rejection," murmured Tony.

"What?" Gibbs looked at him curiously.

"They never gave him any love or support growing up. Treated him like a trained show dog in front of their rich friends. When they died, they showed him just how little he meant to them. They probably made sure their pets were provided for, rather than their son." Tony's gaze was thoughtful, staring off into space.

Ziva and McGee looked at Tony curiously.

"Tony?" McGee's voice was tentative. "You okay?"

Tony blinked, then focused on McGee. He gave him a lopsided smile. "Yeah, Probie, I'm fine."

Gibbs spoke up, "We need to find this guy before he kills someone else. Tony," he turned to the senior field agent, "I want you wearing a wire at all times, in case he tries to make contact again."

Tony nodded.

"McGee, see if you can find some sort of electronic trail: bank records, travel records, anything. Ziva, see if your contacts can help us in any way. Let's get this guy."

He started to leave the lab, when Abby called out to him expectantly. "What do you want me to do, Gibbs?" she asked.

"Wire Tony up, then help McGee," he called back over his shoulder.

Abby directed a sharp salute toward Gibbs' retreating back and said, "Yes, sir," sharply.

"Don't call me sir," drifted in faintly from the corridor.

Ducky had just finished up a report in Autopsy when Gibbs walked in.

"Jethro, I understand our two cases have melded into one."

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, the perp confessed to both murders to Tony."

"And how is young Anthony?" the ME inquired.

"That's what I came to talk to you about, Ducky," replied Gibbs. "How did he seem to you when you examined him?"

Ducky looked thoughtful. "Well, he seems a little under the weather, but nothing that some rest won't cure." He cocked his head. "But I suspect you're concerned about his state of mind, yes?"

"This guy's gotten into Tony's head, Duck," confirmed Gibbs, "has him wondering if there's a killer hiding inside him."

"Yes," agreed Ducky. "I spoke to Abby, she's very worried about our young friend. Jethro, you don't think Tony is anything like this killer, do you?"

"Hell no," Gibbs said vehemently, "but it's not what I think, it's what Tony thinks. He sees the similarities in their childhood, bringing up bad memories and all the emotions that go with them, and he's starting to doubt himself. It makes me want to confront his parents and ask them what the hell they were thinking when they raised him."

Ducky nodded sagely. "Yes, it makes you wonder why some people bother to have children. Anyone can procreate, but not everyone is suited for parenthood. Lucky for us Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo had Anthony, or we would never had had the pleasure of knowing him."

"I don't understand why they would have treated their child so badly," Ducky continued, "From the little that Anthony has said, he'd been neglected from early childhood. It's amazing that he's grown into the exceptional young man that he is."

"Try telling him that," Gibbs replied wryly.

"Yes," Ducky nodded, "his insecurities seem to be coming out full force. Is it affecting his work? Could he be putting himself or the team in danger?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, he seems to be on his game. He's just quieter, more introspective and serious."

"Ah, the carefree womanizer mask is off. He seems particularly vulnerable to me, in need of reassurance. You should talk to him, Jethro," urged Ducky.

"I have talked to him, Ducky," Gibbs' frustration was evident. "I can tell he wants to believe me, but he can't quite bring himself to do it."

"Years of being beaten down by those that are supposed to support and love you can do so much damage," Ducky said sadly. "He may never see himself as the good man that he is, but we can keep letting him know that we think he is, and show him our support and love. He has great inner strength, Jethro. I've seen people who have been neglected and emotionally abused as children who have turned into the most despicable or pitiful adults. Anthony has a sensitive, loving inner being that peeks out. His choice of career shows that he cares about people."

"The more I think about this, the angrier I get at his parents. They threw away a perfectly wonderful human being, for whatever reason." Ducky shook his head. "Well, their loss is our gain. Instead of a cold-hearted businessman, the world has an excellent law enforcement officer who cares about people."

Gibbs sighed and started to leave Autopsy. "Thanks Duck, I just needed to talk this out."

"Any time, old friend," replied Ducky. "You know I'm here for you and Anthony, and all the others."

"I know." Gibbs smiled and left the room.

Tony was sitting at his desk, lost in thought. William Crawford's words kept repeating in his head. Tony thought back to his own childhood and its cold existence. Would his parents even care if he got killed in the line of duty? He didn't think so. Oh, they would put on the appropriate display of grief to keep up appearances, but they would shed crocodile tears.

"DiNozzo." The younger agent jumped at the sound of his boss' voice. He looked up to see Gibbs standing in front of his desk.

"Yes, Boss?"

"Don't dwell, Tony. You're going to start second guessing yourself and that could get you or someone else killed."

"I know, Boss," Tony said apologetically. "I'm trying to see the differences instead of the similarities, but it's hard, you know?"

"I know," Gibbs nodded. "Look, I know I don't give a lot of praise, but you wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were a good agent. You know that, right?"

Tony smiled weakly. "I know that, I really do. It's just that, sometimes I wonder…" His voice trailed off.

"Wonder what?"

"I wonder what would have happened to me if I hadn't joined your team. Would I still be in Baltimore, or would I just be quitting my job at my fourth police department? You've taught me, supported and encouraged me more in these past few years than my parents did my entire life. If I hadn't had that support, I could have turned into what Crawford is."

Gibbs shook his head.

"What do you think might have happened, Boss?"

"Honestly?" Gibbs asked. Tony nodded.

"You would have burned out. You were on your way, in Baltimore. You would have become disillusioned and bitter, but you would have turned that against yourself. You probably would have ended up eating your gun but you would never kill innocent people."

"You know that?" asked Tony.

"I do," Gibbs stated firmly. "It's not in your nature to purposely hurt anyone but yourself. You can be annoying and bug the hell out of McGee, but you'd never seriously say anything to hurt him, or Ziva, or Kate. And you'd never physically harm anyone."

Tony smiled faintly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Boss. It means a lot to me."

Gibbs smacked Tony on the head, and said, "Get back to work," and headed back to his desk.

McGee and Abby rushed into the squad room excitedly.

"Boss…"

"Gibbs…"

"We have something," They both said simultaneously.

McGee picked up the remote and pulled up an image on the plasma screen. It was from a video camera at an ATM. The man getting cash from the machine was definitely William Crawford.

"We found out where Crawford banks and what alias he's using," McGee declared proudly.

"Good work, Probie." Tony slapped the young man on the back. "How'd you manage that?"

Abby said, "I was bored, McGee was so involved in tracking Crawford's movements that I felt like I wasn't doing anything. So I thought I'd play around with the different databases out there, and I remembered how you got a glimpse of the car, with that Lieutenant that got kidnapped, on a video from an ATM, so I thought I'd take a look at a bunch of different tapes." Abby paused to take a breath.

McGee picked up the story, "So she was fast forwarding through hours and hours of tapes and was lucky enough to spot the perp."

Abby nodded. "Damn lucky, but I'll take it."

Gibbs kissed her on the forehead. "So will I, Abs."

Tony leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Abby looked at McGee expectantly, who sighed and kissed her on the other cheek. "I already kissed you," he grumbled good naturedly.

"He's using the name Howard Freeman, Boss," McGee said. "I've checked his banking history and he gets cash from a different ATM every day, but it's always one of his bank's ATMs, and always in the city proper."

"He doesn't want to pay the service fees," Tony commented.

"Who does?" Abby said.

"How many ATMs does the bank have in the city?" Gibbs asked.

"Twelve," McGee replied.

"I want surveillance on all of them," Gibbs ordered.

"On it, Boss."

To be continued…