Brothers Forever

AN: I personally enjoyed writing Strong Ties so much that I decided to make it a series. I really thought Neal's and Tony's friendship worked and was believable. I decided to allow them to have another adventure or two…or three, depending on how you guys respond.

I know that the items listened below were turned over to the Russians by Keller. And for the sake of my story Keller still turned over a large part of the treasure. I am going to say two-thirds of it. So that means Neal and Mozzie have the other third. But I just thought it would be 'fun' if these particular items turned up in this story. They are just so recognizable because the shield and the cane are what Keller and Neal used to fight one another. And the Degas, I am not sure if it's turned up yet, so I just threw it in the mix too. Enjoy!

"You're gonna love her." Tony said as he and Neal got into the elevator to go down to the NCIS lab. They had left Gibbs and Agent Peter Burke upstairs, in the bullpen, discussing the fine points of the case.

Neal shook his head, a little scared that Tony had to 'prepare' him to meet someone.

"She's gonna love you, too." Tony said, noting Neal's discomfort. "Don't worry. She's a happy Goth."

Neal straightened his tie, still not convinced. "Isn't that a contradiction in terms?"

Tony just smiled as he led Neal towards the room with the music turned up full blast.

Abby started talking as soon as the door opened. "I'm good Gibbs, but not that good. My babies need time to work. Plus, Major MassSpec has been a little temperamental late…."

Abby turned and stopped when she realized that she was not talking to Agent Gibbs.

Neal took in the sight before him: A women, he guessed about his age, in a black studded dog collar. She had a short black and white cheerleader type skirt on and a black t-shirt. She wore black boots with 3 inch soles and a white lab coat. Neal was dumbfounded.

She hustled across the floor and threw herself into Tony's arms, giving him a huge hug, which he returned.

"Hey, Abs."

"Hey, Tony. I'm so glad to see you. I missed you while you were in New York. You guys have been so busy since.

It was only then that she noticed Neal. "Who's your handsome blue-eyed friend?" Abby asked.

"That's Neal, Neal Caffrey. He's the art expert who studied the painting you sent to the White Collar division for that case a few weeks ago."

Abby nodded. She remembered. Neal put out his hand, but she enveloped him in one of her big hugs.

"She's a hugger." Tony said, grinning as he watched Neal struggling, a little, to breathe.

"I…noticed." Neal managed to say.

Abby let go.

"Did Gibb send you down here?" Abby asked.

"No." Tony admitted. "I just wanted you to meet Neal. Plus, I thought he could help us identify the artifacts we recovered."

Abby nodded and led them both to the lab table that held the items.

"Like Gibbs was saying upstairs, we were alerted by the Coast Guard that a Marine had been killed aboard his own yacht. When they first located the vessel, it looked abandoned. They found our Marine first, and then called us. When we boarded we found these items. We…they looked like Egyptian artifacts to us. We heard something about a U-boat in the New York harbor and a page of a missing manifest and thought of you guys. Maybe this is part of that haul." Tony explained to Abby and Neal.

This stuff has been part of the haul, alright. Two of the items were not on the manifest page that had survived. But they were items he and Mozzie had had fenced. The Degas, which had been on the list, but Peter had not yet recovered, was now laying in front of him. And he recognized the warrior shield and the walking stick with the sphinx head on the end. Neal was suddenly feeling very, very ill.

Neal didn't look up at Tony and Abby. He just pulled on a pair of gloves. His mind was going a mile a minute. Peter had not seen the cane or the shield. And he, like the entire New York White Collar Division, believed that Keller had turned over the entire contents of the U-boat to the Russians. Nobody, except he and Mozzie knew Mozzie had saved aside part of the treasure.

Tony and Abby stood and watch and Neal examined the pieces.

"So, Sinatra…" Abby asked. "…what do you think?"

"Sinatra?" Neal asked looking up at her.

Abby smiled. "Oh, you know…'Old Blue Eyes.'" She looked at Tony, then back at Neal. They were both smiling.

Neal nodded. "I like it." He then looked at Tony. "You were right."

Abby looked at them both again. "Right…who was right? What were they right about?"

"I told Neal that he was gonna love you, and that you were gonna love him." Tony admitted, kissing her cheek.

Abby sighed. "He's right, Neal. I am just a sucker for blue-eyed men." Abby slipped her arm around Tony's waist. "And there's one green-eyed Italian I can't live without either."

"Well, "Abby asked Neal. "…what do you think, Sinatra?"

Neal smiled at the use of his new nickname. "All three pieces are real. I'm not sure if they are part of the U-boat treasure, though. Like you said, Tony, only one page of the manifest was recovered." Neal replied.

"What about the painting…" Tony asked. "…the artist and the title?"

"It's a Degas." Neal said, pretending to examine the painting closely. He didn't have to look at it. He didn't want to look at it. But he continued to pretend, telling Tony and Abby the title.

"It's on there." Tony replied. He was very excited about the discovery.

"Really?" Neal asked, trying, hoping they were not seeing his face pale. "We requested a copy when I got the idea about the U-boat treasure."

Tony excused himself for just a moment and called up to Gibbs about Neal's findings.

Neal had to think. His and Mozzie's only hope was that Rusty would not crack. Peter had questioned him before and it had gone well. Neal could only hope that Rusty would be able to pull it off again. Meanwhile, Neal needed a moment away from Tony, and everybody else to call Mozzie.

Neal made an excuse to go to the bathroom. Tony showed him were it was. Neal checked all the stalls before pulling out his phone. He made his call to Mozzie and updated him on the D.C. situation. He then hung up. He flushed the toilet, washed his hands and threw some water on his face. He schooled his expression and his emotions before he left. He couldn't afford to let Tony or Peter know he had been rattled by seeing the painting or the other artifacts, but especially the painting.

Tony watched Neal carefully as he left the men's room. He had noticed a small change in expression when Neal had first seen the painting. It was almost as if he had recognized it, like you would an old friend. Tony made no attempt to confront Neal. Tony's cop instinct was screaming at him that something was going on. He also knew Neal well enough to know he would actively try to cover his tracks. Especially if Neal thought Tony had him in his crosshairs. For now Tony thought the best thing to do would be to just observe.

"Hey Neal, let's go say bye to Abby and head back up." Tony replied.

Neal nodded and soon they were on their way back to the bullpen.

"So, Ziva David is Mossad?" Neal asked, trying to calm his nerves. "She's beautiful."

Tony nodded. "She's as deadly as she is beautiful. She once killed a man with a credit card."

"NCIS doesn't condone…?" Neal started.

Tony shook his head. "No here, when she was back working for dear old dad."

Neal looked at Tony shocked. "You mean Eli David is…?"

Tony nodded. "How did you know about him?"

"Let's just call it research."

Tony nodded. He decided not to pursue that remark at this particular time. But he stashed it away for future reference.

"What about McGee?" Tony asked, purposefully changing the subject.

"He's…he's interesting. MIT, right?"

Tony nodded.

"He seems a little…I don't know. I can't get a bead on him." Neal admitted.

"Yeah, he's a good kid. He was so green when he first came here. Never shot a gun before, never been around a dead body. He had spent all his days staring at a computer screen." Tony replied.

"How does that transfer into field work?"

"It doesn't." Tony stated. "Gibbs fine-tuned his fire-arms skills after Tim went through training. Gibbs was a Marine sniper. I helped him with the CSI stuff."

By that time they were off the elevator and walking back to the bullpen.

"Well?" Tim asked, and Tony knew what he was talking about. They had all made bets as to what nickname Abby would give Neal. They had all seen Neal's picture had read his and Agent Burke's history. That was back when Tony and Gibbs had gone to New York a few weeks ago.

"Abby loved Sinatra here." Tony replied.

Ziva said a curse word in Hebrew and reached under her desk to get her purse.

Gibbs, Tony, and Tim each held out their hands to her, and she slapped a twenty dollar bill into each waiting hand. "Thank you, Ziva." They all said sweetly.

Ziva said nothing to any of them. She just glared at them all before returning her attention to her computer screen.

Tony stuffed his money into his wallet as he explained what was going on to Peter and Neal. "Abby kind of gives everybody little nicknames. We all bet she would call Neal 'Old Blue Eyes,' Sinatra. Ziva said, well I don't remember what she said. She lost, so it doesn't matter."

"So," Neal asked, knowing he was asking for trouble. "…what does she call you?"

Ziva's head popped up, and she grinned an evil grin at Tony.

Tony jumped up and started shaking his head. He went over to Ziva's desk, his wallet open. "I'll give you back your twenty." He offered.

Ziva shook her head and started to speak.

"I'll give it all back, all sixty." Tony offered, pulling the money out of his wallet.

"Karma is a witch, is it not?" Ziva asked, smiling.

"You know that's not how the saying goes. I'll give you a hundred." Tony pleaded.

"Abby calls him her "Italian Stallion." Ziva smiled. "That right, Tony, is it not?"

Tony just glared at her. He then shoved his money back into his wallet and went back to his desk.

Neal noted Tony's discomfort. But he couldn't stop himself. He began to laugh.

"Neal!" Tony warned, sulking just a little.

Neal was still laughing. "I can't help it. I just have a mental picture of Mr. Ed with your voice coming out."

They all burst into laughter at Neal's comment. It even got a grin out of Gibbs.

"Ziva,…." Gibbs started. He then looked at Tony. "Don't buy any on your way home."

Tony just looked at Gibbs and smiled, his green eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I mean it, DiNozzo." Gibbs warned.

Ziva nodded. "I will search after Tony leaves tonight. Tim will help me."

Tim nodded. He then picked up his phone. "I'll call Ducky and Abby and tell them not to give him any from his stash for a few days." Tim made the calls and then hung up.

"I like to play practical jokes. I use super glue. They…" Tony indicated Ziva and Tim. "…they periodically clear out my desk. It forces me to keep bottles with our forensic scientist and our M.E."

"Do we have any fingernail polish remover?" Ziva asked.

Tim answered. "Abby has a gallon bottle on hand. It's about half full."

"I have a bottle in my desk." Gibbs volunteered.

Tony looked at Peter and shrugged. "I get bored easily."

Neal shook his head. "Some things never change."

Tony looked at Neal. "Come on, that was years ago. The skin grew back, didn't it?"

"What, Neal?" Tim asked. "What did he do?"

"He put superglue on a toilet seat." Neal stated.

They all looked at Tony before they burst into laughter.

Tony shook his head. "Nobody came looking for Neal until after the first class was over." He managed to say through his laughter.

Neal glared at Tony as Tony spoke. "It took 20 minutes and a whole bottle of remover to get him up."

There were more chuckles.

"They gave me one of those inflatable donuts to sit on. The seats at school were hard, all made of wood." Neal explained. "I was embarrassed to carry the donut around so I carried it in a pillow case. Tony would sneak into my room and poke tiny holes in the donut. And when I went to sit on it in class it made…noises."

Everybody in the bullpen chuckled.

"I would patch those holes…" Neal continued. "…only to find he had made new ones. Then he decided to superglue the pillow case to the chairs I was sitting in. I had to take the donut out…in front of everybody. I only had one. I had to carry it with me." Neal glared at Tony. "And he knew it."

"Tony." Ziva chuckled.

Gibbs steered the conversation back to business. "So, Neal, what we have downstairs, is it real?"

Neal nodded. "You have a real Degas." He gave the title. "And the other two are artifacts from Ancient Egypt. I wouldn't be able to tell you which ruler without a picture, but the material and the aging are right."

Neal didn't miss the look that passed over Peter's face at the mention of the Degas. Neal knew he could have, and probably should have told them they had a fake. But he could not be sure they wouldn't call in another expert. If they had, that expert would have, of course, told them the items were real. Then Neal really would have looked like he was hiding something, which he was. He still had his hands, technically, on about a third of the U-boat treasure.

Peter found a moment away from the team. He pulled Neal aside.

"You painted that Degas." Peter asserted.

Neal shook his head. "The one down…."

"I don't mean the one downstairs, and you know it. I mean the one Kramer and I examined. The one…" Peter shook his head. "…I don't know how you did it. But you did it."

"You locked me in a room in the lobby, Peter. I couldn't get out. You know I couldn't get out. Plus, I was there when you opened the door. I would have had to have super powers to pull that off. Come on Peter!"

"You switched the paintings, Neal!" Peter insisted. "You switched them"

Neal shook his head. "You didn't see me up there. You didn't see me in the condo. I didn't have a painting on me when you and I entered the building. How…?"

"The Degas was on the manifest, and you knew it was. That's why you painted it. You could have painted any of his other works." Peter stated. "But you painted that one. You painted it because you knew."

Neal shook his head, again. "You're reaching here, Peter."

"I'm right, Neal. As much as I hate to be, I'm right." Peter then turned and walked away.

Neal was rattled again. He needed time to think. He had, of course, considered stealing the painting from the lab. But it would be too obvious who had taken it. Plus there were security cameras everywhere. Mozzie had erased any information Rusty, their fence for the Degas, had in his phone. And Rusty had not talked. Since the real Degas showed up in D.C, hopefully there could be no trace back to him and Mozzie. Right now the only connection Neal could see was Rusty, if he talked. And Neal couldn't see that happening. He sighed and relaxed. He could let the painting go, and the artifacts. There was no concrete connection to him or to the U-boat.

But, then again, Tony had seen the look on Neal's face when he first saw the artifacts. That could be a problem. Tony had no proof, but he knew something was going on. And the thought of both Peter and Tony after him made Neal feel physically ill. Neal was fairly sure Peter had started sniffing around. He was probably on the phone to either Jones or Diana. And when the time came, he would let Gibbs and Tony in on what he suspected. If Tony started acting on his feelings, and he was too good of an investigator not to, Neal was in huge trouble…times two.

WC NCIS WC NCIS WC NCIS

"Neal?" Tony approached Neal, it was the first time they had truly been alone. "What's going on?"

Neal just looked at Tony.

"That look on your face when you first saw the Degas…" Tony explained. "…I saw it. You know I did."

Neal needed a moment to think. How was he going to spin this? What was he going to tell Tony to make him believe it and throw him off his track?

"I was just surprised to see it, Tony." Neal replied. "It is an amazing piece of art. I would guess, worth a few million."

Tony nodded. "Six million to be exact…when it was fenced in New York."

Neal sighed inwardly. Of course Tony would know that.

"I know you'll tell me when you're ready." Tony replied. "I just hope you don't wait too late for me to help you."

Neal nodded. It hadn't surprised Neal that Keller had kept a few of the items, not on the manifest, and had fenced them for a little cash. He would have been stupid not to have done it. The Russians were so happy to recover any part of the treasure. Besides, they had no idea what items Keller, or actually Adler, had in the first place. Maybe the buffer Keller had created by confessing would be enough. Maybe he and Mozzie were safe. Neal didn't think the Russians would look anymore into Keller's gift. They had no idea what had been put on that U-boat, and without the complete manifest, no one else did either. Neal breathed for the first time.

WC NCIS WC NCIS WC NCIS

Neal showed up at Tony's apartment that night. Neal had managed to talk Peter into letting him be entrusted into Tony's care for a few hours.

Tony was cleaning up their dishes when he started asking questions.

"What do you know about this Degas, and about the other items?" Tony asked.

Neal decided he should just tell Tony everything. Tony would not let go of this, Neal could tell. He needed Tony to know so he would not keep digging and then bust him for something he could find evidence for. "They may have been in my possession for a short time. That is after they could have been thought to have been burned in a rather large warehouse fire. Then they could have been taken by another con, who was holding Peter's wife, Elle, hostage. After that it's possible they, or at least part of them, were turned over to the Russian government in exchange for the price being taking off this other con's head." Neal replied. "That could have been what happened."

Tony had begun to pace as he heard Neal story. Tony was getting a migraine. "So, let me guess…there is no proof, no trail, of all this 'alleged' activity. And I'm guessing the place where you kept all your paintings is now just an empty storage room."

"Pretty much." Neal confessed.

Tony looked at Neal. "My life would be so much easier if I could just shoot you right now. Do you realize that?"

Neal smiled. "You'd miss me. I make things…interesting."

Tony shook his head. "You make things dangerous and otherwise criminal."

"…part of my charm." Neal grinned. "So…now what?" He asked, getting serious.

"There is no 'now what'. You confessed to a crime that I cannot prove was ever committed. True, I could follow the treasure. But I watched the news reports; Keller's name is all over that. The Russians believe him. And so does everybody else, I take it?"

Neal nodded. "…and the pieces you guys have?"

"After our investigation they will be turned over to the Russian government." Tony replied.

"…as they should be." Neal replied. "You mentioned desert?"

Tony nodded. "I made cannoli."

"Excellent." Neal replied.

THE END