[Shalom: 2]

...

Claire's POV:

After a whole night of not finding anything on Ziva or Gibbs and the FBI poking its nose into our business, Tony dismissed the team early so we could get a head start in the morning. Like I had dreaded Tony insisted that he stay at my house to keep watch over me. I mean I guess it wasn't totally unreasonable as Ducky confirmed I did have a slight concussion. But that didn't mean I was happy about it. He promptly opened the door for me, letting me head in first.

"Alright, nothing but relaxing in the dark for you. No phone no, TV." Tony ordered sternly, following Ducky's recommendations. I frowned at him but didn't protest as I was gaining a small headache.

"Alright go ahead and get into your bed while I order pizza." He rattled on, already heading to my landline in the kitchen.

"What if I don't want pizza?" Tony stared at me like I had grown a second head.

"You sure it's just a minor concussion?" he asked, looking at me in mock concern. I stuck my tongue out at him and make my way into my bedroom. Tony came into the room after I had just gotten out of the bathroom, having done my nightly ritual. I went to crawl under my covers but my movement pulled on one of my stitches in my side, causing me to gasp in pain. Apparently, Tony interpreted it as I was dying and he flew to my side, hovering his hands over me as he tried to fix it.

"Just a tug at my stitches caught me off guard. Back off a moment." I snapped. Tony eyed me but complied. Once I was settled I rubbed the bridge of my nose as the headache grew.

"Sorry, my head is making me cranky." I apologized. Tony chuckled, sitting down next to my leg.

"No, the fact that you're hurt makes you cranky. You are literally the worst sick person on earth." He pointed out knowingly. I glared at him but I couldn't really refute that cause I knew it was true. Tony grinned at my put out expression and leaned in to press a kiss to my lips. I still refused to smile for him so he went in for another, then a few more until I finally caved.

"I don't mind you being so cranky. I like taking care of you." He confessed in a whisper. Dang it, why did he have to be sweet when I'm trying to be in a foul mood.

"I guess it could be worse." I chuckled, earning an eye roll. The doorbell rang, getting his attention and he stood to go get the pizza that had arrived. After a minute Tony came bounding into the room, noticeably happier now that he was about to be fed. As he set the box of pizza in the center of the bed he pulled out the bottle of advil and water that he had grabbed while he was gone. I took it from him gratefully and downed the meds before reaching over for the pizza. Tony made his way over to the other side of the bed and picked up his own slice. The two of us continued like that, just eating pizza and talking for a few hours until it was ok for me to sleep. Tony remained by my side the whole night making sure to get me up a couple times just in case. Despite how much I disliked being babied, I could secretly admit that I liked when he took care of me too.

...

3rd Person POV:

"Two days, how long are these guys going to be here." Tony grouched, watching from the side as the FBI combed over all their desks for evidence. He glared across the room at Claire who was chatting up Sacks by his desk. Tony silently fumed as Sacks was seemingly charmed by his girl, answering everything she asked and allowing her to assist them when she could. He didn't like it one bit, and Claire knew how much she despised the FBI agent. Why was she over there anyway?

"Officer David has been here for a year, who knows how badly she compromised our security." Lee commented, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"What did you just say Probie?" McGee asked incredulously, staring down at her in a warning manor.

"Oh come on McGee, you think we don't spy on our allies too? It happens all the time." She explained.

"Agent Lee." Tony growled, his irritation redirected. Michelle jumped and spun to face him.

"Shut up and keep and eye on the feds. McGee you're with me, we got places to be." Tony ordered.

"Claire with us." Tony barked, surprising her a bit. She politely excused herself and Sacks grinned deviously at Tony, enjoying the subdued rage on his features. Claire bent under the caution tape surrounding the bullpen before trailing after Tony.

"We should be done here DiNozzo in another 5…6 more hours." Sacks gloated with a grin as he watched the agents stalk off. As the three turned the corner Tony stopped and whipped around to face Claire and McGee.

"McGee, grab Abby and meet us in autopsy. Claire, a word please." Tony suggested, staring at Claire accusingly while she stared back at him in mild amusement. McGee eyed them curiously before disappearing in the elevator. Tony led Claire into a separate elevator silently. Once a few seconds had gone by he reached over and flicked the switch, stopping the elevator and dimming the lights.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he blurted sourly.

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I…I'm talking about the laughing and the smiling and the whole flirty persona you got going on with Slacks." Tony sputtered, crossing his arms defensively.

"Just thought I would keep my friends close but my enemies closer." She explained, looking up at him seriously. Tony frowned at her in thought.

"…..that's actually a good idea…. but that doesn't mean I have to like it." He pouted looking away from her. Claire giggled, she kinda liked him being the jealous one for once. She leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of his lips. Tony slowly let a grin slip onto his face and pulled her towards him by the waist.

"I know you won't, but on the bright side it keeps him off your back." She gently told him, running her fingers across his chest and shoulders. Tony smiled at her affection before it abruptly turned into a frown.

"Yea but that also means he'll have his beady eyes on yours the whole time." He growled.

"Well at least it gets its use. Now someone can openly stare at it in the office." Claire grinned deviously at the way he bristled.

"That's not funny."

"It's kinda funny."

"Alright then, walk ahead of me so I can get my fill before Slacks tries to stake his claim." He told her, leaning in towards her with a grin. Claire bit her lip and reached over to turn the elevator back on. As the door opened, Tony gestured for her to go first.

...

Down in autopsy the doors had been sealed and the hazard lights flashing so the team could conduct their secret meeting in peace. The group surrounded a small table in the corner of the dark room, with a small bulb light overtop to give them light.

"First off, this is a strictly voluntary thing. Ok, Ziva's a fugitive. Anyone caught helping or assisting her in any way will be in serious trouble." Tony began, looking at everyone who had gathered with a pointed stare. Palmer shot his hand up.

"Question, Palmer?" Tony looked over at the man beside him.

"Um by serious you mean…we could like…get fired?" he inquired nervously.

"He means Mr. Palmer, that instead of attending medical school next month, you will most likely be in prison." Ducky elaborated for him.

"Oh.." Jimmy muttered in alarm. Abby quickly thrust her hand onto the table.

"I'm in." she announced.

"Danger, intrigue, a damsel in distress. I'm actually looking forward to it." Ducky added, sliding his hand atop of hers.

"Me too." McGee agreed, putting in his hand. Everyone turned to Palmer who was the next in the circle.

"Um….I'm….I'm not exactly the type that would do well in prison, guys." He stuttered.

"No one is going to think less of you if you want out Palmer." Tony assured.

"Really?" Jimmy perked up in relief.

"Well no. We probably would, at least I would." Tony glared at the man threateningly. Jimmy sighed.

"Alright then I want a code name, something cool sounding." He finally agreed, adding his hand to the pileup.

"I for one think I would thrive in jail. Just stick with me Palmer." Claire joked semi seriously as she put her own hand in. Everyone stared at her with variation of emotions ranging from incredulous and amused. She just shrugged and turned to Tony who was grinning at her.

"Alright." Tony nodded, topping the pile off with his own hand.

"No one can know about this, especially the Director. We all good with that?" Tony inquired, looking around. Everyone nodded.

"Alright then let's figure out how to find her." he began.

"McGee, I want you on her electronic track. Cellphone, computer, toaster oven if you have to. Ducky I need you to talk to your friends at the FBI. I want to know everything about that Georgetown crime scene. Palmer, how does Black Lung sound?" Palmer's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Like a horrible and painful way to die." He commented, eyeing Tony incredulously.

"I mean as your codename." Tony corrected. Jimmy's face lit up in delight.

"Oh, I like it."

"Alright then you're in charge of supplies, Black Lung." Tony told him, dropping his voice to sound like James bond.

"Which means lunch and at this point probably dinner." Claire elaborated.

"Alright Undercover Lover, you keep working with the FBI, keep me in the loop." Tony continued looking to Claire who frowned in distaste at her nickname.

"That's so immature." She scowled. Abby grinned behind her hand while McGee stared at them in confusion. It was obvious that he was still bitter about her fraternizing with Sacks. Tony shrugged the comment off before continuing.

"Abs… I need you to go…"

"I talked to Ziva yesterday." She blurted out. Everyone looked to her in surprise, except for Claire who winced.

"You don't bowl with nuns…I should have seen that coming." Tony huffed in annoyance that he had bought the story she fed them.

"But I do. Ziva made us promise not to tell." Abby clarified.

"Wait us?" McGee asked. Abby froze and shot a look over at Claire. Everyone followed her gaze and stared at the other culprit curiously.

"I was eavesdropping, it wasn't intentional. Sorry." She admitted.

"Why would Ziva care if we knew that you bowled with nuns?" Ducky asked in confusion.

"I think they mean that Ziva didn't want us getting in trouble, Ducky." Tony deadpanned.

"Well it's a bit late for that. Where is she?" Ducky turned to Abby. She pursed her lips before pulling out a sticky note from her pocket.

"All I have is this number" Tony quickly yanked it from her hands, already pulling out his cell to dial. After a few dial tones Tony sighed.

"Well there's no answer…Abby are you sure that this…" he paused as the click sounded, signaling that someone had picked up.

"Ziva….we love you too." He shot back snarkily at her not so pleased response.

"No, you're not, you're going to tell us what the hell is going on here." he continued heatedly.

"Well then I'll come to you. I'm also trying to get ahold of Gibbs right now but I'm not having any luck." Tony's face dropped in shock as a new voice, Gibbs, came on the line.

...

Claire's POV:

Tony and I had made our way over to Gibb's house as Abby had put a GPS on the number. I should have guessed this in the first place. Like usual it wasn't even unlocked. Walking through the house we heard voices coming from the basement and made our way in.

"I don't believe in.." the door to the basement creaked open and Ziva whipped around pointing her gun in our direction.

"In coincidences? I know." She muttered watching the stairs. As she couldn't see us from the other side of the boat we continued down calmly.

"Lucky for you neither do I" Tony added, walking down the stairs, coffee in hand.

"According to the FBI I should be the one aiming my weapon at you." Tony mused, giving Ziva a pointed look. She pursed her lips and put away her weapon as we made our way over to them at the laptop.

"You were set up." Gibbs muttered. Ziva looked at him.

"The only Mossad liaison officer in DC.."

"Just happens to be present at an Al Qaida style hit?" I finished Gibb's train of thought. Of course, that made perfect sense. Ziva frowned thinking back to the whole situation of how she was lured into following the motorcycle past the café. She groaned, rubbing her temples roughly.

"Oh god I'm an idiot. He led me to the scene, Alil framed me." She realized irritably.

"Well don't feel too bad, I didn't pick up it either and it was kinda obvious." I chimed in with a shrug.

"Yea but the question is why." Gibbs prodded, looking to Ziva curiously.

"I figured you'd be needing this." Tony muttered holding up a cell for Gibbs. Instead Gibbs snatched Tony's coffee from the other hand.

"Um I meant the NCIS cellphone, that's my coffee." he pointed out. Gibbs frowned at the cup before turning to Tony.

"Do I still look like your boss?" Gibbs inquired sarcastically, holding his arms out. We glanced over the man who had shaggy grey hair and a scraggly beard, adorned with an old collared shirt that was untucked. So the answer would be a very run down version of him.

"Fooled me. I mean a shave and a haircut wouldn't hurt." I joked, grinning awkwardly. Gibbs laughed, unnerving us even more. I don't like this Gibbs, I'd rather have the stare at this point.

"That whole smile thing is throwing me off too." Tony pointed out, watching Gibbs cautiously.

"It's good to see you again McGee." Gibbs grinned, shaking Tony's hand. His grin dropped.

"DiNozzo." He corrected, frowning at the man. He would never admit it but Gibbs opinion was everything to him, if Gibbs really didn't remember then that would crush him.

"What did I say?" Gibbs asked, sipping on the coffee once more.

"You called him McGee." Ziva answered, just as lost as the rest of us. Gibbs hummed.

"Well that's probably because if I left him in charge you wouldn't be on the FBI's 10 most wanted list right now." Gibbs pointed out dryly. Tony and I shared a glance. That comment definitely didn't sit well with me.

"There's no way to tell that. I don't think warrants pointing fingers." I cut in pointedly. Gibbs eyed me with a subtle grin. If I was supposed to take care of Tony I wasn't afraid to defend him against the man with a steely gaze. Tony had been through enough already from the rest of the team, he didn't need it from Gibbs. Then again maybe that's what he was hoping I'd do, if the pleased look on his face was anything to go by.

"But…but you do remember…" Tony asked, trailing off as he looked between Gibbs and I worriedly.

"That I left you in charge, yea I remember that I left you in charge DiNozzo. What I forgot was your taste in coffee. It stinks." Gibbs grimaced, handing the cup back to Tony.

"I like a lot of sugar, it's my weakness." he mumbled. Gibbs grunted.

"What's our plan?" Tony continued, drifting to the important topic.

"Things are bad enough for NCIS as it is Tony, you can't…."

"I don't remember asking your opinion officer David." Tony cut her off loudly and pointedly.

"You see he's been completely insufferable since you left." Ziva complained, shooting Tony a glare.

"Maybe he wouldn't have to be if you actually followed orders for once and stopped giving him all this crap." I shot back tightly. Ziva bristled, again not liking my calling her out.

"That true?" Gibbs inquired, looking to the man. Tony clenched his jaw and glared back at Ziva who refused to back down.

"When I need to be." He responded quietly. The three of us continued to glare at one another while Gibbs hummed thoughtfully.

"Maybe you were the right man for the job." He mused with a small grin. Tony's eyes lit up with pride.

"Our plan is to find this guy before he gets out of the country."

...

3rd Person POV:

Back in Abby's lab, McGee was staring at a photo of Alil Eschel, leaning back in the chair. Tony and Claire had returned with some new information about Ziva's frame up. Now they had to figure out what to do with it, all without tipping off the FBI and Director.

"How to put out a BOLO without the FBI finding out about it?" McGee mused aloud.

"I knew you'd ask me that McGee." Tony's voice rang on his little recorder he tended to carry around. Claire rolled her eyes. Glancing back at Abby she frowned, seeing her friend dipping her fingers into a hidden jar and eating. Knowing it was another type of candy Claire quickly rushed over and closed the lid, before taking it out of the room while Abby pouted.

"See I knew you'd ask me that McGee." Tony reiterated from beside him smugly.

"And?" Tim asked, blinking at him.

"And I…I don't know." Tony muttered.

"Any suggestions?" he asked, looking back over at Abby who was pacing rapidly by her evidence table.

"You could tell the FBI about Eschel and let them hunt him down?" she suggested, munching on the last of her stolen M&Ms. Claire had returned to the room by this time and frowned at her.

"And when they ask how we know about him?" she pointed out.

"We talked to Ziva.." Abby realized with a frown. She pumped her arms angrily, happening to squeeze Bert the hippo who let out a fart noise as she did. Claire held back a smirk.

"McGee?" Tony playfully scolded.

"Tony, what if we lied?" McGee suggested thoughtfully, ignoring Tony's antics.

"Sacks is an egotistical, self-centered, jack hole…..but he's not an idiot." Tony replied in distaste.

"No, I mean, lie on the BOLO. Instead of looking for a rogue Mossad spy wanted for murder, we put out a bolo for a wife beater." McGee elaborated as he typed up the fake BOLO on the screen.

"It's underhanded….devious…" Tony mused in approval.

"And its completely getting me hot." Abby added with a nod as she stared at the screen. They turned to stare at her curiously. Sugar put her in a funny mood.

"Well glad to see I'm finally rubbing off on him." Tony mused, ignoring the comment. He held up his recorder.

"Do it." The recorded version ordered. McGee nodded, still unsure of how to take any of those comments. But he just rolled with it anyway. Tony gestured for Claire to follow him to the elevators so she could take her post with Sacks.

"Why do you use that thing anyway? Is it really that hard to say two words instead of push a button?" she asked, staring at the tape recorder as they rode up. Tony frowned in offense.

"It's cool and I can record meetings of the team." He defended weakly. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Recording meetings is ok I guess, but recording little 'catch phrases?' that's stupid." She told him bluntly, putting air quotes around catch phrases.

"You're stupid."

"What?"

"Nothing." Tony quickly covered. Claire chuckled in amusement. It was times like this where Tony's childish charms helped to ease the tension of their job.

...

In the bullpen Claire was pointing out random files that 'might be helpful' as the FBI was looking over Tony's computer.

"Can't thank you enough for being helpful on this case. Doesn't seem like your coworkers are as cooperative." Sacks complimented once she had backed away. Claire shrugged coyly.

"Well not all of them can appreciate the work you're doing here." She crooned. The man grinned proudly; just the response she was looking for. His attention was redirected as he received a call.

"Sacks." He answered, the growing frown on his face caught her attention.

"Who is this?...How do I know this is legit?" he questioned the person on the other line. Sacks frowned as the person hung up and he received a picture message. One of Ziva David. Claire's eyes widend subtly as she saw the picture from over his shoulder.

"We got a tip guys, house in Fairfax." Sacks alerted his team, already heading towards the elevators. Claire watched them go before walking around the stairwell and pulling out her own phone to send a text. Get out now.

...

"We're still not sure what the hell happened DiNozzo, or even if she was in there when the house blew up." Sacks explained to Tony as the two walked the hallways of NCIS that night. Sacks had followed up on the tip they got and when they arrived at the house, it blew up. None of the NCIS team had heard from Gibbs or Ziva, so Tony sought out the only information he could get. Which just happened to be from Sacks.

"Bodies?" Tony asked quietly.

"It was incinerated we won't even be able to process the scene until at least tomorrow." Sack muttered sourly.

"What makes you think she was there?" Tony asked sharply as they rounded a corner.

"A tip."

"From who?" Sacks frowned.

"Anonymous. My guess is that it was someone from inside Mossad who was trying to make nice." Sacks told him, punching the elevator button.

"Or someone tying up loose ends." Tony countered.

"For all we know she blew up the building to cover her own tracks." Sacks shot back, stepping into the elevator cab.

"Maybe she was only looking for the guy who set her up." Tony pointed out sternly. Sacks stared at him in skeptically.

"You mind telling me how you know that?" he requested.

"This is what I do." Tony deadpanned as the doors closed, separating the two. Tony bit his lip and looked down at his phone worriedly. He looked up to see the medical examiner standing nearby, waiting for an update.

"Not good Ducky" Tony answered the unspoken question.

"You did manage to call them, didn't you?" Dr. Mallard asked.

"I got Gibb's voicemail. I don't think he ever learned how to use it." Tony explained, looking down at his phone again.

"And the number Abby has for Ziva?" Ducky continued.

"Not picking up." Tony muttered.

"Well then there's only one thing for you to do." Ducky mused.

"I know, inform Director Shepherd that they're probably both dead and resign for disobeying a direct order." Tony huffed in agitation.

"You will do nothing of the sort Anthony DiNozzo." Ducky told him sternly. Tony turned to face them at the sound of his full name.

"And why is that?" he asked lowly.

"Because the man who did that is still out there. And I'll be dammed if we let him get away with it." Ducky told him adamantly. Tony smiled tightly.

"What would Gibbs do, right?" Tony asked, nodding jerkily as he came to that question once again. Tony's face hardened.

"I got a bulletin for you Ducky, I am not Gibbs." He pointed out, restraining the bitterness about being compared to his former boss.

"No, you're not. Gibbs quit, you're still here." Ducky elaborated seriously, squaring up at Tony who had his arms crossed over his chest. Tony bit his cheek. Maybe Claire wasn't the only one who thought it was good to be different.

"Why wasn't I with Ziva? I turned over my responsibility to him without even thinking about it." Tony confessed, voicing the thoughts that had been troubling him for some time now. Ducky shrugged.

"Gibbs is one of the most capable agents…"

"WAS Ducky." Tony cut him off.

"I mean it didn't even look like Gibbs, I think he went native down there…" Ducky tried to interrupt but Tony was now gone on one of his tangents. So, the man tried in vain to get his attention.

"…I mean his hair was long and crazy looking. He's got this scraggly beard.." Ducky held his hands up in warning but again it went ignored.

"…he looks like a pirate or something. His eyes are all bloodshot, most likely from drinking hooch from morning to night with Franks…"

"It's called a red eye for a reason." A voice cut in coolly from behind him. Tony froze, his eyes locked at a spot on the wall while Ducky shot a grin over his shoulder. The older man looked at him as if to say, 'I tried to warn you', which he did. Tony whipped around to look at Gibbs as he was tapped on the shoulder. He stood there for a moment gaping at the man thought dead.

"The flight I was on all night to get here." Gibbs elaborated. Tony sighed in relief and quickly hugged the man.

"Oh, geeze you're alright." He smiled, pulling away and patting Gibbs on the shoulder.

"I'm good"

"Yea?"

"Yea thank Ziva. I've already been blown up twice Tony, don't think I got a third one in me." Gibbs told him. He held up a set of car keys.

"Space 73, presents in the back for Abby and autopsy, don't be seen." Gibbs ordered. Tony nodded before dashing off, once again sinking back into his role as Gibb's right hand man.

...

Claire's POV:

In Abby's lab McGee was finishing up a scan of the fingerprints that we got off the body in autopsy. Apparently, this accomplice had been dead by the time Ziva and Gibbs made it to the house that was blown up. I stood beside Abby, staring at the two men before me who had identical stances. For as much as Tony tries to be 'un-Gibbs like' he's doing a horrible job at keeping it that way. It was kinda freaky.

"We got a match on the dead guy's prints. Alash Sasneed." McGee informed his 'bosses'. Tony and Gibbs watched on the plasma side by side as they sipped their coffee in unison. I hid a smile as they stared down at the cups in distaste. They glanced at one another before promptly switching the cups.

"Arrested 5 years ago for reckless driving. An illegal from Iran, his student visa expired last year, boss." Tim finished.

"Good job McGee." They both commented in unison. Tony glanced at Gibbs and hesitantly backed off. He turned slightly to look at me in question. I used my eyes to gesture towards Gibbs pointedly. If Tony wanted to get past this, he needed to start being assertive around Gibbs. Tony shook his head in mild alarm. 'Do it', I mouthed with a glare. Tony pouted before turning back around to stare at the screen.

"What about the cellphone Eschel called us on Abs?" Gibbs continued, not noticing what had just happened behind his back.

"I isolated the grid the call came from." Abby answered.

"Nice work Abs." Tony quickly blurted out, glancing away from Gibb's curious gaze. I rolled by eyes. That's not what I meant but its baby steps.

"Actually, no Tony. The grid includes the entire city of Woodbridge Virginia. He could be anywhere in there." She protested.

"Great we got nothing." Gibbs deadpanned.

"Well an ex-Mossad officer working with an Iranian student is something Gibbs." Tony strongly protested. I watched them with a small smile. That was much better. Gibbs shrugged.

"Not if it doesn't help us find Echel in time." He countered. Tony visibly deflated and started to follow Gibbs out the door. I glanced around, scrambling for something to salvage this whole case.

"McGee the bolo we put out yesterday?" I asked. McGee frowned at me in confusion.

"Any hits?" I asked pointedly. At this Gibbs paused by the door and Tony perked up. He strode over towards us and glowered at McGee's flushed expression.

"You completely forgot about that didn't you?" Tony growled.

"This ones on me boss." Tim apologized, reaching up to slap himself on the head. He quickly pulled the BOLO up.

"We have multiple hits." McGee told them. Tony shot Gibbs a pointed glance as he got the man's attention. As Gibbs made his way over, Tony turned and gave me a small, thankful smile. He just needed a little nudge to get going.

"Six men fitting his description. Three in Delaware, one in Pennsylvania. And one in Virginia. The closest match, a local cop spotted a man fitting his exact profile at a Freemont Inn." McGee read off.

"Where McGee?" Tony and Gibbs overlapped instantly.

"Woodbridge, Virginia." He answered, eyeing them. The two men nodded and made their way out the door together. As they passed, they both tossed out their coffee in the trash. Abby, McGee and I paused for a moment, staring at where they had left.

"I'm not the only one that finds that weird, am I?" I inquired.

"No"

"Right there with ya." The two agreed. I nodded.

"I thought so." I muttered, before heading towards the elevator. At least one of us should be up in the bullpen.

...

Tony's POV:

"I'm telling you Gibbs if you call her she won't wait for us." I sighed knowingly as Gibbs pulled out his cell up in the bullpen.

"She will if I tell her to." Gibbs countered. I shook his head, already knowing that wasn't going to be the case. Ziva didn't follow orders. I tuned out Gibb's conversation as I trailed after him. Once he had hung up in frustration I decided to comment.

"Let me guess she's going without us?" I mused, watching his expression. Nothing new.

"If she kills him there won't be any way to prove the Israelis are behind this." Gibbs muttered sourly.

"Yea I know. Let's roll." I scoffed as the elevator opened. Gibbs snatched me by the shirt as I began to enter the elevator. No, he was not making me take backseat again! Gathering up some gusto, I whipped around to face my old boss.

"Hey, no. this is my team now Gibbs, my rules. And DiNozzo's rule number one, I don't sit on the sidelines when my people are in trouble. If you've got a problem with that then let's remember who's got the badge and who's a civilian." I heatedly told Gibbs, staring the man down with a determined fire in his eyes. Gibbs listened and watched silently as I refused to shy away. This threw me off a little as he hadn't leveled me with one of his icy glares. After a beat of silence Gibbs reached up and slapped me on the back of the head. I instantly straightened up in offense. He just hit me.

"I was gonna say, get McGee and Conners. I'll meet you there." he explained evenly. I stopped him from getting in with a hand on his chest. Gibbs eyed me curiously.

"You know I could arrest you for striking a federal officer." I pointed out challengingly.

"I know that." Gibbs deadpanned, amusement in his eyes. I nodded as we switched places.

"Alright, just so ya know." I told him. I shot Gibbs a quick smirk before heading to grab the other two. Gibbs grinned.

...

3rd Person POV:

Pulling up in two cars, the team filed out and whipped out their weapon as the sounds of a fight could be heard from outside. Rushing up to the door the agents quickly barged in the room, Tony taking the lead as he scanned the room.

"Ziva you ok?" McGee asked glancing between her and the bodies in the room. Eschel was dead on the bed and another woman was out cold on the floor. Ziva panted, holding her midsection painfully.

"I'm ok McGee." She assured.

"You should have waited." Gibbs told her as the put their guns up. She sighed, leaning back against the dresser. Claire quickly holstered her gun and went over to Ziva, letting her swing an arm around her shoulders for support. Surprisingly Ziva didn't protest.

"Who's she?" Tony asked, looking at the woman on the floor.

"Iranian intelligence. They were behind it all." Ziva informed them.

"How do you plan on proving that?" Claire inquired.

"I've been with NCIS for a year. I'm not just a killer anymore." She answered. Ziva pulled up her shirt to reveal a tape recorder strapped to her chest. She took if off and tossed it to Tony.

"I'm an investigator." Ziva announced. They all stared at her appreciatively, as she had taken another step in the right direction.

"Now can I go home?" she asked tiredly.

...

In the Director's office Tony and Ziva sat at the table watching a news report on the case. Ziva sat stiffly with a bandage across her nose and two black eyes while Tony lounged back in his chair.

"The FBI report they apprehended the Iranian terrorist believed to be responsible for the death of two of their agents. Two other agents were also apprehended in a standoff with federal authorities in Woodbridge Virginia." Director Shepherd turned down the volume.

"Federal authorities." Tony scoffed.

"They mean us." He gestured at the television irritably.

"It's just four stinking letters. NCIS." Tony pouted.

"It's either that story, Tony or the FBI charges you with interfering with their investigation." Jenny deadpanned. Tony pursed his lips and swung back to the TV.

"I can live with federal authorities." He muttered. Director Shepherd turned off the feed.

"Welcome home Ziva." She greeted, heading towards the Israeli. Ziva grunted as she stood slowly.

"Well I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Gibbs." She smiled.

"And me." Tony added with a grin. The women glanced over at him.

"Sure but uh…mostly Gibbs." Ziva continued.

"Speaking of which?" the director looked over at Tony in question.

"He's in the squad room." Tony informed her and followed as the group headed down that direction.

...

Downstairs McGee had his feet up, glancing over some papers while Lee worked quietly at her own desk. Claire anxiously leaned on Tony's desk, waiting for them to walk back down. The three arrived and glanced around the room in confusion as someone was still missing.

"Where is he McGee, Abby's lab?" Jenny inquired. McGee sat up straight at their presence.

"Gibbs left, ma'am. He said he had a plane to catch." McGee informed her. Tony deflated and frowned.

"You sure about that, McGee?" he asked, staring at Tim incredulously.

"Yea Tony I'm sure." McGee nodded. Tony grinned humorlessly.

"Nah, cause he didn't even say goodbye to me." Tony scoffed in disbelief to cover up the hurt. He glanced over towards Claire who smiled sympathetically. Gibbs had left suddenly again, this time not even saying goodbye. McGee stared at him with a shrug.

"Director, he wanted me to give this to you." Tim piped up, handing Jenny a small blank envelope. Tony looked over her shoulder as she pulled out an old picture of her outside a worn-down hut.

"Oh nice snap. Where was that taken?" Tony asked curiously.

"Serbia." The director smiled.

"When?" Ziva asked.

"A lifetime ago."