[Escaped: 2]

...

Sorry about the late update. School has been insane so I do what I can. Hope ya'll like this one...I added some extra bits that I hope you enjoy ;)

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3rd Person POV:

The team minus Gibbs were all huddled around McGee's desk. Having heard something interesting on their tip hotline they collectively decided Gibbs should hear it.

"Uh huh" Gibbs answered. Claire and Tony shared a hesitant glance. It sounded like they had interrupted something but too late now.

"No word on the Russel Nash's BOLO but we got something off the tip hotline on Paulson." Tony answered looking down at the speakerphone.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Paulson." McGee answered, pulling up the recording on his computer.

"Hey Jethro. So, you've got a tip hotline to find me but nothing on my original case. Not cool, we're gonna have to do something about that. But for now, I was just calling to say, thanks for the car. I left you a token of my appreciation in return. I'm sure you'll find it soon. Oh…and again to the lady agent. Sorry about the eyes." Paulson's smug voice rang over the speakers. Tony glowered at the voice when mentioning the car and Claire. Meanwhile McGee was busy analyzing the background sounds in the message.

"He called his own tip hotline" Tony muttered sourly. Claire shot him a knowing grin.

"You're starting to like this guy aren't you?" she pointed out. Tony scoffed before looking down at the desk sheepishly.

"Yeah kinda." Tony reluctantly admitted.

"We're getting an address from the back trace now." Ziva informed, glancing at the screen just as a map popped up.

"We got it. It's in the city…4242.."

"Adams Boulevard?" Gibbs finished for him. All four of them stared down at the phone dubiously.

"You've been there before boss?" Tony asked in confusion.

"Yea, that's where Paulson killed his two accomplices." Gibbs told them before hanging up.

"Probably should have known that." Claire muttered after a beat of silence.

...

The team sped into the back alleys, scanning the buildings for the rundown apartment that the trace led them to. Gibbs hopped out of the second car, followed by McGee, Claire, and Michelle Lee.

"Is agent Gibbs aware that a warrant hasn't officially come through yet?" Lee muttered aloud as they rushed behind the team.

"Yea I think he got it about the fifth time you told him Lee." McGee snarked tiredly.

"Word of advice, if you want Gibbs to like you don't correct him." Claire told her pointedly. Fornell, Tony and Ziva joined them in front of the lead car as they gathered up.

"My team's out front, any idea what his game is this time?" Fornell inquired.

"No idea." Gibbs answered.

"Ok, McGee, Ziva take the fire escape. Lee…"

"Watch the cars." Gibbs finished for Tony as the group took off without her. Tony led the way through the rundown apartment building with Gibbs, Fornell, and Claire on his tail. A few times the residents popped out of their rooms and Tony quickly gestured for them to get back inside. Fornell and Gibbs hid up in the stairwell as they cornered the door. Claire and Tony each taking a side while Fornell and Gibbs watched the hall from where thy came.

"I bet you would like to be back having a nice drink at the cantina right about now." Fornell mused.

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Mine too." The men joked dryly. Tony nodded for Gibbs to slide past him and Fornell exited dashing after him. Claire reoriented herself backing up next to Tony as she watched the hall.

"Any guesses on what Paulson's token of appreciation might be?" Tony inquired.

"Let's hope it's not Russel Nash's head on a stick." She muttered. Tony quickly and silently maneuvered over to grab the door handle. On Gibb's nod he quickly opened it, just as Claire shouted in warning. They both aimed their guns inside, Tony kneeling while Claire stood. Inside was a mock crime scene from Paulson's case. Red string across the room, indicating bullet paths. Photos of the clutter around the room, placed in the exact spots they had been found. Even cutouts of the bodies taped in the spots form the photos. Sporadically they noticed sticky notes with either numbers or questions all about the room.

"Well at least it's not Nash." Claire muttered under her breath. Tony send her a deadpan stare.

...

Claire's POV:

Due to Paulson forcing up to reopen his case with the stunt back at the apartment, we were all pulling out old files to get read up on the details. Director Shepherd strode into the middle of the bullpen, all of us looking over at her.

"The public defender who represented Paulson is out on maternity leave." She informed Tony.

"The Prosecutor?" he inquired.

"Naval Reservist. Deployed to Iraq 3 years ago." Ziva explained, making her way over to his desk along with the rest of us.

"Killed by an IED last month." McGee tagged on.

"Unless we can find someone familiar with the Paulson case, it will take us days just to catch up to speed. Much less anticipate Paulson's next move." Lee commented. Well thank you for pointing out the obvious.

"She's right, its gonna take way too much time just to catch up." I reluctantly agreed. The elevator dinged, getting Jenny's attention.

"Relax, Gibbs brought in Mickey Stokes. No one knows Paulson better than him." she pointed out. We watched silently as the two older man whisked right past the bullpen towards the back elevators.

"Is he even a lawyer?" Lee scrutinized looking over at Mickey. The man had been fighting for Paulson he knew the case inside and out, he didn't have to be a lawyer.

"Well we can't all be lawyers agent Lee." Tony quipped. Once Gibbs was out of sight Tony sighed, running a hand down his face tiredly. With all the power conflict between him and Gibbs on top of the actual case, I knew he was getting frustrated.

"Lee go get a white board so we can brainstorm. Everyone else, campfire. Director feel free to join if you'd like." Tony announced. Like usual we all went for our chairs, rolling them up around Tony's desk. Director Shepherd made herself comfortable at Lee's desk, kicking her feet up on it. Tony set up his recorder on the desk before starting the session.

"So, for sake of argument let's just say that Paulson was framed." he began, suggesting the angle we were working with.

"That makes Russel Nash your prime suspect." Director Shepherd cut in from behind us.

"Exactly Director." Tony nodded, he paused and looked over behind us. Glancing over I spotted Gibbs standing behind the cubicle wall, staring at us warily.

"Hey Gibbs." I greeted, shooting the others a curious glance.

"Why don't you come over and uh, join us for a little campfire." Tony invited. Gibbs glanced over at us warily, shuffling out of the way when Lee pulled the board towards the desk. He stood and walked right past our group, heading to the elevators on the other end of the room. So much for joining.

"Where's he going?" Lee inquired.

"Basement."

"Fornell"

"Whiskey."

"Boat" The four of us listed off without missing a beat. Wow scary how we knew where Gibbs would hide away to.

"Not tonight, his real-estate agent is fumigating his house. Apparently, Gibbs got termites." Jenny countered with a grin.

...

3rd Person POV:

The next morning the team had found a possible connection to Nash through his old roommate Gary Silverman. He just so happened to also work at a tat shop, that may or may not explain the fake tattoo Nash could have used to impersonate Paulson in the robbery. As Gibbs would say, there is no such thing as coincidences.

Claire bit her lip to bite back a grin as she as Tony found himself trying to communicate with a street flipper. And Gary was very into his job. She stood nearby but let him take the lead on actually getting close to the man. Tony dodged the giant spinning arrow sign that Gary was flailing around as he tried to get a step closer to have an actual conversation.

"No, no, no, no. Be careful Gary." Tony scolded, ducking out of the way.

"I told you, you've got to stand 5 steps back for insurance reasons." Gary told him, still flipping the sign and dancing around in a ridiculous cell phone onesie.

"You can get insurance to be a flipper?" Claire asked in confusion from the sidelines.

"Human Directional." Gary countered sternly, pointing with his arrow for emphasis.

"Cause that's so much better." she told him with a sarcastic grin.

"You're a sign Gary." Tony deadpanned.

"Yea, I'm the future. You know what man I brought in an extra 10 grand last year. And in a few years, this could be an Olympic sport right?" Gary countered, showing off his 'moves' while Tony and Claire watched blankly.

"You've got to stop doing that. Stop it." Tony growled in annoyance as he tried to talk to the man but the sign was becoming a hazard.

"Am I under arrest?"

"No." Tony grunted.

"Unfortunately." Claire muttered under her breath.

"Then no man, I work by the hour." Gary countered. Tony looked back at Claire with wide eyes as the man continued to flip. She threw her hands up and shrugged, so he knew what he had to do. Fed up, Tony reached out and grabed the sign, smiling tightly at the man.

"Gary, I can think of a lot of ways to arrest you. A lot of them." he threatened irritably.

"Alright well what else is there to say? Yea I worked at the tat shop. Yes, I lived with Nash. No, I don't know where he is. And I don't know nothing about no bank robbery. That all went down after he moved out. Alright?" Gary spat out quickly, tugging his arrow away from Tony who pursed his lips.

"Good luck in Beijing in '08 Gary." Tony told him sarcastically as he lead Claire back to the car where Ziva and Gibbs were waiting.

"You think he took the bait?" Tony asked. Claire subtly turned her head to look over his shoulder. She smiled, spotting Gary pull out his cell.

"Well he had his phone out now. So, I guess we will see won't we?" she hummed. Tony opened the door for her and she slid in, Tony following after.

"So? How'd it go?" Ziva inquired once they hopped into the backseat.

"I'll tell you in 20 seconds." Tony sighed, quickly dialing Abby.

"He's already making a call." Abby told him, not even waiting for the request.

"Putting it on speaker." McGee added from back at the lab.

"Hey you got Nash just leave a message after the beep." The message system recited.

"I'd say that went well." Claire pointed out with a grin as they drove off.

"Hey Nash, its Gary S. I know you told me to call you there never man but I had some feds here and they were asking questions about that job. At least I think they were feds, I never heard of no NC..CSI." Gary rattled on.

"Got it 82 west prat street. Apartment 12" Abby told the team as they narrowed down the call.

"I know it, 40 miles north of here." Tony cut in, spurring Gibbs to speed onward.

...

Arriving at the apartment complex the four of them made their way towards the particular building at the end of the quad.

"Not bad for rush hour." Ziva mused.

"Only you could make it 40 miles in 20 minutes boss." Tony added with a chuckle. As they made their way over, a crowd of people had gathered which was never a good sign.

"Somethings wrong." Tony muttered.

"Maybe Paulson beat us here and found out the hard way that Nash wasn't willing to change his testimony." Claire imputed. The four of them pushed their way to the front, flashing their badges at the cops who let them by. A mangled man was lying on his stomach with bullet holes in his back and blood around his head. Tony knelt down and compared the face with a photo of Nash.

"It's Nash." He told them, looking up towards the balcony where he must have fallen from.

...

Claire's POV:

Down in autopsy, Tony was taking notes while Ducky was setting Nash's body back into the proper position on the table. Apparently, the man was much more mangled than I originally thought. It was a bit unnerving to listen to and see.

"The end is never pleasant. And this man doubly so." Ducky mused as he grunted in effort, pushing the man's shoulder back down with a series of cracks. Tony winced and rolled his shoulders and shuddered while I suppressed a disgusted shiver. This is why I don't work down here. I'd rather be shooting bad guys than listening to them get snapped and cracked back in place.

"At least he had a great deal on the way down." I muttered, glancing away from the body. Ducky righted the man's head and neck, Tony rolling his jaw reflexively.

"Well I seriously doubt it seeing as his jaw was broken, along with 6 of his fingers, as well as his knee." Ducky listed off as he and Palmer continued to prod for shattered bones.

"He had all this before he fell." Ducky informed. Gibbs was pacing around the table in a wide circle as they worked. He was still acting all pent up, and now that I thought about it he had been on edge ever since he was added on to this case. Returning to work did not suit him well.

"Someone beat him first." Gibbs suggested, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"More like he was interrogated. This damage is too methodical, too calculated to be a simple beating. Whoever did this was after information and when he got it he repaid our victim with these." Ducky turned and handed Gibbs the slugs from Nash's back.

"Guess we can rule out suicide." Tony pointed out. He turned slightly and grinned at how I still had yet to look over at the body. I glared but couldn't stop my lips from quirking just a little bit and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yes, unless Mr. Nash was able to shoot himself in the back three times in a row." Ducky grunted as he jerked the lower leg back around. Tony and I cringed at the noise. It just gets worse every time.

"Do we have to do this now?" I asked waving my hand in the general direction as another shudder shot through me.

"The slugs are Winchester hollow point! Winchester hollow point!" Abby chanted form the videophone in Ducky's lab. However, it was a doll version of Abby that was pressed up against the screen. Gibbs glanced over from where he was analyzing the slugs with his… glasses on. Gibbs started wearing glasses now?

"Hey Gibbs! Gibbs! Cool huh?" she asked excitedly, replacing the doll with herself. As Gibbs walked over closer to the small screen she continued her explanation.

"They were fired from the Colt that Baltimore PD found near the scene." She elaborated. Tony and I made our way over to join them, me dashing over in the lead. I glared at the soft chuckling behind me, throwing an elbow into Tony's gut.

"Abs did you run the serial number?" Gibbs asked.

"It's the same gun that Paulson took from Mickey Stokes' house. He tried to wipe it but I found a partial print." She informed us proudly.

"So, the gentleman that asked us to prove his innocence just killed the one man who could exonerate him." Ducky asked in confusion.

"Nash didn't frame Paulson, they were partners until Nash double crossed him." Tony suggested. The older men looked to him thoughtfully.

"Our ex-petty officer wasn't looking to clear himself, he was looking for the money." Ducky realized.

"And he used us to take him straight to the bank, smart kid." Abby added, swinging her doll around in emphasis.

"If your gut says Paulson is innocent then maybe were missing something." I told Gibbs.

"The only thing that I am missing right now is happy hour at Carlos's cantina." Gibbs quipped tiredly. The two watched him storm out in frustration. Something wasn't sitting right and I know that Gibbs had the answer. We just needed him to think of it. I quickly dashed after him, sliding into the elevator just before the doors closed. Gibbs glared at me in his typical silent manor.

"Ok I know it's been a while but we need you to figure this out. Something's wrong and I know you know what so just spit it out." I told him quickly. He said nothing but silently stewed, rubbing his face in frustration. Rolling my eyes, I reached over and turned the elevator off.

"Don't get me fired for this." I muttered under my breath. Swallowing my fear I reached up and slapped him on the back of the head. Gibbs whipped his head around to look at me and I swear my heart stopped. Oh god, oh god I'm so dead.

"You're gonna head slap me now, aren't you?" I winced, trying to hide in the corner. Gibbs glared and raised his hand but paused, his eyes widening.

"You knew. You knew what I would do before I did it." He muttered frantically.

"What?" Gibbs reached beside me and flicked the elevator back on before pounding on the button to take us to Abby's lab. Obviously, he wasn't about to answer so I just stood there quietly, hoping I might have helped at least a little bit. Once the doors opened Gibbs made his way to the lab, and I had nothing else to do but follow behind him.

...

"Don't let Gibbs leave the building. I already told you why Tom!" Abby ranted on the phone as she paced.

"Abby." Gibbs called, waking into the lab. Her eyes lit up.

"Never mind false alarm." She chirped hanging up the phone.

"Was that Tom from security?" I asked. Abby flailed her hands dismissively.

"Doesn't matter." She muttered rushing over to hug Gibbs, one of her hands fumbling for his. I watched, completely lost as she pretzeled her arms around him.

"Gibbs thank god. I was so sure you'd be halfway to Mexico right now." She sighed in relief. Pulling away from a confused Gibbs she held up their handcuffed hands. Ah….now that makes more sense.

"Abby!" Gibbs shouted incredulously, being dragged over to the computers behind her.

"We're going to figure this out Gibbs we always do." She insisted. Turning towards him she smiled slightly at the familiar expression his face.

"You've already figured it out." she realized.

"Really?" I asked, looking to him hopefully.

"No but your going to." Gibbs informed Abby. She frowned in confusion, looking to me. I shrugged, just as lost as her.

"I wanna know how Paulson knows." Gibbs told her.

"Knows what?" I asked.

"Everything, everything that we seem to." Gibbs elaborated. Oh….wow why didn't I think of that before? Abby grinned and hugged him. However, when she wrapped her arms around his neck, Gibbs' own arm was bent up and backwards, causing him to yelp in discomfort.

...

3rd Person POV:

Up in the bullpen was another campfire. Now that Nash was gone, they had a whole new case to work with.

"Russel Nash is hiding the money from the bank job is somewhere." Tony began.

"Paulson gets to it before us" McGee continued.

"And he's gone for good." Ziva finished the thought.

"So, where is it?" Tony asked no one in particular.

"Nash was using an assumed name; all transactions were cash only." Ziva imputed.

"It's not in a bank, storage maybe." McGee suggested.

"A third party could be holding it." Ziva added.

"I'll look at properties under an alias, maybe he stashed it in a mattress somewhere. Campfire over." Tony finished recording the session. As everyone moved their seats back Ziva glanced around noticing some people absent.

"Where's Gibbs?" she asked.

"I don't know. Claire went after him but I haven't heard from either one." Tony whispered.

"Anything wrong?" she pursed her lips, whipping around on him. Tony frowned at her purposeful lack of tact when she asked loudly.

"Well actually yea, Ziva, there's quite a lot wrong. Aside from McGee's teeth." Tony pointed out. McGee grinned tightly at the remark.

"A dead man who shouldn't be dead, an innocent man who isn't really innocent and a trail that is running cold because our perp has managed to stay one step ahead of us since this whole thing started." Tony ranted.

"You just noticing that now DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, wallking right over to his desk. He snatched the recorder and brought Tony's desk lamp over the device.

"It's always kinda been a theme." Tony retorted with a shrug. Claire came over behind the desk and watched Gibbs turn the device over in his hand. Tony watched warily as Gibbs banged the recorder roughly on the desk before whipping out his knife.

"Careful that's kinda easy to.." he jumped in alarm when Gibbs roughly ripped into the device.

"..break…" he whispered, frowning at his wrecked toy. Claire patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Sorry but I promise it's for a good cause." She assured him.

...

In interrogation was the man who made the bug that was placed in Tony's recorder. When Paulson had stolen the car, the bug was placed in the device so he had been able to learn everything from Tony's campfires. Claire was currently sitting across from the man, wanting nothing than to be somewhere else. Ever since they had brought him in, he had been reciting laws to her whether they were relevant or not.

"It is a crime for anyone acting under any color of the law to deprive any citizen of their rights." He pointed out.

"Title 18 US code." He shrugged with a smug air. Claire sighed tiredly.

"No one is depriving you of your rights. We are simply asking for a copy of the cypher you made." she droned.

"No one shall be compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself. That would be the 5th amendment" He recited again.

"No one has accused you of a crime either." She deadpanned.

"Then why did your goons confiscate my files?" he asked sourly. Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Because you wouldn't tell us at the store. Which would have solved all of our problems hours ago." She answered, muttering under her breath on the last part.

...

In observation McGee scrunched his face up in offense.

"Goon?" he asked incredulously.

"I told you to stop hunching your shoulders" Tony pointed out, his phone pressed between his ear and shoulder as he wrote down notes.

"How do you know he wasn't talking about you?" McGee inquired.

"It's called a mirror, McGee." Tony deadpanned.

"No, I said every exit, not every other exit." Tony argued with the person on the other line. He paused listening to the other half of the conversation.

"For the same reason you don't floss every other tooth." Tony added in a 'duh' tone.

"Where's that cypher?" Gibbs asked, walking into the room.

"We had a little snafu boss….Gibbs." he amended. Tony continued his call while they watched.

...

"The federal code also states…" Claire quietly groaned and rubbed her temples.

"….That not only do I have the right to remain silent but to withhold any information I see fit." He man shot back haughtily.

"Why don't we compromise? You just give me the harmless information we asked for and then after you are free to exercise your right to silence." She suggested tightly.

...

"If this keeps up we may be forced to unleash agent Lee." Tony muttered to Gibbs. Gibbs frowned and swiftly made his way over to interrogation. When the door opened Claire and Gibbs locked eyes. He gestured for her to leave which she was more than willing to comply.

"Well this should be quick." McGee pointed out.

"It had better be quick we've got a fugitive on the run with a pretty big lead." Tony muttered. Suddenly his eyes widened in realization and his phone dropped into his hand.

"The Fugitive.." he gasped. McGee's eyes widened in alarm at another movie reference.

"I've been here all this time how could I have missed it?" Tony mused, placing his phone back into place. He paused as Claire entered, coming to stand beside McGee.

"Missed what?" she asked curiously, looking between the two.

"See Gibbs is clearly Tom Lee Jones, right? There's not arguing there. Which makes me Joe Panteliano, initially I was a little you know.." as Tony continued Claire leaned in to whisper in McGee's ear.

"What happened? We've been avoiding the word fugitive for the last 3 days?" she asked in dismay.

"He made the connection himself." McGee muttered sourly in explanation.

"Great." She groaned, feeling another headache coming on. They all watched as the man continued to talk and refuse to answer questions while Gibbs just sat there staring at him. Finally, after about 30 seconds of silence Gibbs leant forward.

"I've got this little girl who wants to go home to her dad and that's not gonna happen without your help….so?...please?" Gibbs quietly asked. Instantly Tony dropped his phone in shock.

"Did Gibbs just say?" McGee hummed in confirmation as they stared in shock. Claire remained silent, still unsure if she heard correctly. After a few more seconds of silence the man loosened up.

"What did you uh…what did you wanna know again?" he asked quietly, willing to help now. Claire threw her hands up in frustration. If she had known to pull the kid card they would have been done hours ago.

...

Claire's POV:

Outside the house we all double checked our vests and guns.

"Alright signal is strong, he's still inside the house." McGee informed us.

"You got eyes on the target Ziva?" Gibbs asked over the ear radio.

"I did, the suspect is in the house and he's not alone." She answered jogging over from her previous spot.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Who could be visiting this time of night?

"I heard Paulson's voice." Ziva shrugged. With that we headed towards the house, Gibbs silently sending Tony and Ziva off to the back while he, McGee and I took the front. We made our way to the porch area and McGee crouched near the door, using his equipment to see inside and hear the conversation.

"Let me give you some more money in case you need it." Mickey's voice was heard over our devices.

"In position boss." Tony muttered.

"And here, take this." Mickey added handing Paulson a gun.

"Gun." McGee relayed as he watched the shadows move.

"Move. Move." Gibbs ordered, spurring the team into action. We burst through the doors, guns at the ready. Paulson quickly snatched the handgun from Mickey and frantically began flicking it back and forth between us. Paulson swallowed and gripped the gun tighter as he looked at all of us nervously.

"Don't do it Dereck. We will shoot you" Tony warned, watching him intently from the kitchen area. Paulson didn't move but glanced between us nervously.

"Tony, McGee, Claire put your weapons down." Gibbs ordered. We all did so while Ziva kept eyes on Paulson who stared at Gibbs warily.

"I was wrong. I know you're innocent Petty Officer." Gibbs told him seriously as he put his gun away. Paulson's shoulders visibly relaxed.

"But you're not Mickey." I added turning to the man who was standing there quietly.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs called.

"Mickey Stokes you're under arrest for the murders of Russel Nash, his two accomplices in the Greater Virginia Bank robbery and last but not least….the Greater Virginia Bank robbery." Tony listed off, making his was over to cuff the man.

"Is your porch light on? First you wrongly accuse Dereck and now me?" Mickey asked Gibbs defensively. Paulson watched betrayal and confusion flitting across his face as he tried to decipher what we were talking about.

"We found the bug you planted in our forensic tech's lab." Tony elaborated. Dereck's eyes widened.

"We were almost as surprised as you look now when the man you bought the bug from pointed you out instead of Paulson." I chimed in. Tony showed him the picture we used with both men in it. Mickey Stokes was not who I expected.

"This is ridiculous. Do I look like I've got 5 million bucks laying around?" Mickey asked, gesturing to the run-down house we were all in.

"If he set me up, where's the money?" Paulson asked, glaring at Mickey.

"Yea, they don't know what they're talking about" the old man agreed.

"It's here." McGee answered from the other room. We turned to see him analyzing a couple pieces of furniture in the den.

"It's been here the while time." He told us, gently running his hand over the desk.

"This is a Rosewood Bureau flat desk. 19th century. That's $38,000." He pointed out turning to the cabinet beside it.

"First edition Huckleberry Fin, $20,000. And it looks like in the bedroom here you've got a Chip and Dale Mahogany case clock. That's six figures easy." McGee added, shooting Mickey a knowing look.

"Gibbs you don't collect this stuff on a navy pension." He added. Paulson's face screwed up in anger and he pointed the gun back at Mickey, instantly putting all of us back on alert.

"Whoa whoa!...Agent Gibbs?" Mickey asked, nervously looking at the gun barrel near his face.

"Don't talk to me I think he should shoot ya." Gibbs shrugged. Ziva was poised, still aiming at Paulson. Gibbs slowly walked over to look at Paulson as his eyes were trained on Mickey.

"Except he's never been a killer. And I don't think you're going to start now." Gibbs pointed out quietly. Paulson sighed and released his hold on the gun willingly as Gibbs gently took it out of his hands.

"And miss his trial? Not for the world." Dereck sneered at the man he had trusted.

"You're a real piece of work Mickey." Tony commented as he adjusted the cuffs on the man. As he was led out Ziva shot McGee a questioning look.

"Antiques roadshow." He answered he unspoken question. She nodded with a mildly impressed grin. I turned to Dereck who was still a bit thrown by the whole situation.

"Come on, you're gonna have to clear some stuff up." I informed, nudging him along. Dereck took notice of who I was and chuckled nervously.

"Sorry about the whole sand thing. You know you're eyes look really nice despite my antics." he apologized…I think.

"Yea you're still not off the hook." I pursed me lips. He nodded and headed out the door with the rest of us following behind.

...

3rd Person POV:

Once everything had been put to rest for the night Tony and Claire met up back at her place for some down time. After they had eaten she was in the kitchen cleaning up the last of the dishes they had used. She paused, thinking about Abby's trip to the tattoo parlor. She had gone with the woman and was now thinking it was time to have some fun with her new souvenir. Abby would die when she heard the story the next morning.

"Hey Tony?" she called, setting the now dry plate aside. Claire grinned, hearing the television click off.

"Yea?" he asked, head peeking in the kitchen doorway. A curious smile slipped onto his face at the devious glint in her eyes.

"What?" he hummed, his interest now piqued.

"I've got a surprise for you." She grinned, leaning against the counter. Tony glanced around.

"Where?"

"You've got to find it." Tony's grin widened.

"Do I at least get a hint?" he inquired with a pout. Claire giggled and shrugged. Seeing that she wasn't going to say anything else he slowly walked into the room.

"Colder." His head whipped around, lip quirking.

"Ah this game." He mused, liking it more by the second. Walking towards the fridge he looked to her curiously.

"Colder. No pun intended." She grinned. Nodding thoughtfully, Tony turned back the other way.

"Warm….ish" Tony chuckled, speeding up a little at her encouragement. He made his way past her, scanning through the various cupboards. Claire tsked, getting his attention.

"You just got colder." She sighed sadly. Tony quirked his head curiously. He took a dramatic step closer towards her.

"Warmer." He grinned, having figured it out. Closing the distance between them he trapped her against the counter.

"Very hot." She hummed lowly. Tony leaned in to kiss her which she happily returned.

"You're close but there really is a surprise." She whispered as they pulled apart. His eyes lit up, now very intrigued.

"Show me." He demanded.

"What's the fun in that? You have to find it." Claire grinned. She leaned up and kissed him hard once more before dashing off when he was distracted. Tony blinked in surprise and chased after her into the bedroom. Tony slipped off his jacket, hoping this was going where he thought it was. He crawled up to lean over her, Claire lounging with her hands behind her head.

"Will I like this surprise?" he asked, trailing a finger up and down her arm.

"I hope so." She smiled, her eyes a bit tentative. Tony nodded, already knowing he would. He slowly slipped her shirt off, his eyes roaming over her skin.

"Nothing here." He hummed, kissing her gently along her collarbone.

"I think you still have some space unsearched." She whispered, enjoying the attention. Tony grinned wolfishly, sliding off her jeans. Instantly his eyes were drawn to the new ink.

"Is that a tattoo?" he asked, his fingers running gently over the small vine tattoo running along her hipbone.

"You like it?" she asked, leaning up on her elbows to look down at him. Tony grinned, pressing a kiss on the skin.

"Yea I really do. When did you get this?" he asked her with a grin.

"It's actually a henna. Abby was testing a theory and got some custom henna made. Thought I would try it before doing something permanent." she explained looking down at his hand still caressing her ink. Tony smiled, pulling himself back up to kiss her.

"I think you should. It's really hot." He told her. Claire rolled her eyes but smiled, pleased at his approval.

"Really?" she hummed.

"I like it very much. Why don't I show you how much I like it." He grinned, kissing her hard once more. Claire giggled, bringing her hand up into his hair.

"I think you're a bit overdressed for that." She teased. Tony smiled, settling in for a long night.

...

The next morning all four of the agents met at the elevator, talking about their weekends. Well at least parts of it as not everything was to be shared.

"You know you used to be a nice person McGee." Ziva quipped as the elevator opened and agents piled in and out. Tony greeted some others politely, grinning secretly as he was pushed against Claire in the tight space. Eventually they managed to squeeze out of the small cabin and headed towards the bullpen.

"I think being at Tony's desk is affecting your personality." She added as the four stepped out.

"For the better. McGee picks up a girl all by himself." Tony slapped the man proudly on the shoulder.

"Yea at a funeral." Ziva sneered.

"You didn't tell me that." Tony pursed his lips in surprise, dropping his hand.

"McGee." Claire gasped in surprise. The man shrugged with a sheepish grin.

"Well Tony was right. Because when women are vulnerable you get right in there." McGee recited while Tony beamed as he followed the hand motions that he always paired with it. They all froze, spotting Tony's junk was piled on his old desk. Slowly turning they looked to see Agent Lee gone and McGee's old desk in the same condition. Finally completing the circle, they spotted Lee holding her files awkwardly while Gibbs was casually sitting back in his old desk. He looked up at them revealing glasses and a mustache in place of the scraggly beard and shaggy hair. They all stared at in in variations of shock.

"What?" Gibbs asked looking at their gob smacked expressions. McGee grinned, his unnaturally white teeth shining. Ziva nodded, starting to come around to the idea of everything retiring back to what it was. Meanwhile Tony swallowed, looking over at Claire who smiled tightly. Things were going to get interesting and she didn't know if it would be for the better or for the worse.