Sorry for the long wait loves! I sincerely appreciate your feedback to the last chapter. I feel good about this chapter. It has a lot more Tibbs in it :) I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 11
Ned and Hadley walked into the observation room. Everyone turned to look at them. Ned held up a finger, and then turned and immediately threw up in the trashcan next to the door. Elly was by his side instantly and held up his Mountain Dew for him.
"Sorry, it's all I got here."
Ned nodded and took a swallow to clear his pallet, then pulled Elly in for a tight hug and didn't let go for a long minute. The rest of the room stared at them as Ned tried not to break down. Elly held him tightly and stroked the back of his head, whispering soft words to him that things were going to be okay.
Hadley watched them in confusion, not knowing before that they were a couple, but definitely understanding it now. Vance thought to himself that he was really glad that he didn't end up sending them to Sudan together. Tim and Sommers both looked as pale as Ned and rather daunted. And Greg wasn't sure if he was going to be enough to get Ned through the recovery of this day.
"Where's Ellie?" Ned asked Elly.
His fiancé shook his head. "I don't know. She stormed out, and Ziva followed her. I think she went left down the hallway."
Ned nodded then turned around, not waiting for anyone's approval or giving them time to ask questions. He was followed by Elly and Greg, and together they headed for the stairwell at the end of the hallway. It took a few minutes of searching, but eventually they ended up in the parking garage where they found Ziva and Bishop sitting on a low wall close by. They made their way towards them quickly but cautiously.
They were silent as they approached. Ned sat next to Bishop and Elly next to him. Greg sat next to Ziva.
Bishop's eyes were glazed over with tears, but it wasn't until Ned put his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug that they fell. She wrapped her arms around him and he held her tightly. They all let her cry for a couple of minutes, but then Ned spoke softly.
"It got worse, Ellie. After you left… it got worse."
Bishop sat up and wiped her eyes. Greg handed her a clean handkerchief from his pocket and she took it with a nod of thanks and blew her nose. She shook her head. "What do you mean it got worse? How much worse could it get?"
Ned looked at Greg, who nodded and took over the conversation in a soothing tone.
"Jake took someone under his wing and together they killed what sounds like a lot of people together. There was a sexual relationship between them. They also killed Mark, Davis and Carmichael to find the location of the Iraqi women. It was while torturing Mark that Jake realized that you were his ultimate target." Ned put his arm around Bishop without even realizing it, holding her close to his side, while at the same time reaching his left hand out to grab Elly's. "The man that he was working with goes by X. He's still out there, and Jake is protecting him. We don't know what's going to happen, but there is something called the Bright Jihad in the works, and it's probably going to have to do with some serious weapons."
All of the color had drained from Bishop's face, but Parke continued, almost desperate to explain.
"Jake has developed a sadistic personality disorder. Some believe these are developed, some believe it's more like they are unlocked, or unleashed. He's fully devolved into his. He has come to enjoy both physical and psychological torture, and yet at the same time he knows that these things aren't moral. That actually seems to be feeding his pathology. He's not going to be able to plead insanity. I would very much bet that he's going to receive the death penalty for his actions."
"I don't know which I'm feeling more of right now- horrified or relieved. That's my husband. That's the man I pledged my life to. It's hard to reconcile that with the monster I saw in there. It's hard to-" A heartbreaking sob bubbled out of Bishop's chest and she swallowed hard. "That's not my Jake," she whispered.
Ziva and Elly exchanged looks for a moment. Both of them felt out of their leagues with this kind of thing.
"You need some place safe that you can go," Elly said.
"I know where you can go," Ziva said, finally feeling like she was able to contribute something. "My apartment is partially vacant right now. I have been slowly moving into Dion's. My bed is still there, there is still a fairly stocked pantry, and no one would think to look for you there. You are welcome to stay as long as you need. And if you do not want to be alone, I would be happy to stay with you."
Bishop looked at the woman next to her. She'd tried to offer comfort, explaining a little bit about her former CIA lover and the outcome of the relationship. She also had told her of her brother, Ari, and his betrayal. She knew that Ziva knew what it was like to have someone she loved turn out to be something they abhorred. She also knew that she was as independent and logic based as she was. That could be very beneficial. She would be comforted knowing that Ziva was there to support her while not suffocating her. She nodded. "I'd appreciate that," she said, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what to do next."
"Let Ziva take you home," Ned said. "We have a few things to figure out here, but then I'm sure McGee and the Director will let Ziva take you to get settled in. You need like a week's worth of sleep, a bottle of wine, and some serious Ben and Jerry's therapy."
"He suggests Half Baked," Elly said with a smile.
"Half cookie dough ice cream, half chocolate with brownie, and chocolate fudge! Can't go wrong!" Ned said with so much excitement that it startled a chuckle out of all of them. He smiled at Bishop endearingly as she chuckled even with tears running down her face against her will. They all calmed again to silence and then Ned squeezed her shoulder. "I hope that today is by far the worst day of your life. All other days from here on out will be cake compared to today. And I know everything is so super shitty, but you're not alone. We're here for you."
The rest of the group nodded at her as she looked around at them.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" she said with a deep breath.
"Hell yeah," Elly said.
"And I have a feeling you're going to find out that you're one strong mo-fo," Greg said with a nod and a cocked eyebrow.
Bishop chuckled sardonically. "What are you guys going to do next?"
"Go after X and the other members of The Children that tortured Mark, Davis, and Carmichael," Elly said. "And then we're probably going to turn it over to the FBI."
"Yeah, that's more their jurisdiction after your killers are caught," Bishop said thoughtfully.
"Nah. It's not about jurisdiction," Elly said with a shake of his head.
"It's about sleep," Ned said with a nod.
Bishop laughed. "I really need some sleep."
"Before you get some, I have a suggestion," Greg said gently. They all looked at him. "You should go have Abby and Ducky run an STD panel on you. We don't know if he was safe with these men, and considering the nature of what they were doing…"
Elly pointed at him with a nod. "That… is a very good idea." He looked at Bishop to find that she looked horrified at the prospect of having caught something from her soon to be ex-husband.
"I will take you," Ziva said, getting to her feet and holding out a hand to help Bishop down from the wall. She got it and pulled slightly as the smaller woman jumped down. The guys all stood around her.
"You guys are reminding me of my family right now," she said quietly. "I have three brothers, and I'm close with my cousin Casey. It's great, because I have no idea how I'm going to tell them about what has happened."
"You mentioned your mom the other day," Ned said as they started a slow procession towards the elevator. "I would start with her."
Bishop nodded. "I think I'll call her tomorrow. I have too much too process tonight."
"Of course," Greg said as they all loaded into the lift. "A lot is about to happen. You need to be prepared for that. And if I were you, I'd contact a damn good lawyer."
Bishop thought about that with a sigh and nodded. "Between figuring out what I need to do with our marriage and my testimony in this case, I will definitely need one."
"I think we may be able to get you the name of a ruthless divorce attorney," Greg said as he thought about what Tony told him one time about one of Gibbs' ex-wives' divorce lawyer.
"Diane's?" Ziva asked with an eyebrow raised at Greg. Greg nodded. "But does she practice criminal law?"
"This may take two attorney's," Elly said as the elevator opened outside of the lab.
Ziva and Bishop got off the lift, leaving Elly, Greg and Ned on it in silence. When it started going up again Greg reached over and pushed the emergency stop. The guys looked at him, and then Ned slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Elly sat next to him on one side, and Greg sat next to him on the other.
"That was bullshit," Ned said.
"No, that was totally badass," Elly said, taking his hand. "You held it together through that whole disgusting confession. We didn't even stay that calm. I thought Vance was going to punch his way through the glass and kill him with his bare hands."
"Heh," Greg said which a chuff. "I thought Hadley was going to pass right out a few times. Or puke all over the place. And I don't think Sommers knows what to do with himself. He was just watching with his mouth hanging open the whole time. I could see his reflection in the glass as he sat behind me."
"Dude, Tim's reaction was the best though. He kept getting to his feet like he was going to bust in there and pull you guys out, and then sitting back down when he knew that he couldn't." Elly looked from Greg to Ned.
"I feel like I was breaking the biggest role of interrogation," Ned said, looking from one to the other. "Stay in control."
Greg shook his head. "You did stay in control. If at any point you spoke, he listened. The thing with sadists is that if you give them just enough rope, they'll hang themselves. They love to re-live their sadistic acts. You saw how much he gave up when you just let him talk. And as soon as you started asking the hard questions he shut down. If you would've pushed from the beginning he would've shut down and we wouldn't have gotten 90% of that."
"I'm surprised he didn't ask for a lawyer," Elly said, trailing his thumb over the back of Ned's hand as they stayed folded together.
"He was ready to come clean," Greg said. "You heard him at the beginning- it was a relief."
"Which probably set the tone for the whole thing," Ned said. "If he hadn't of said that at the beginning, if he hadn't of shown his humanity like that, that there was still a person in there somewhere, I'm pretty sure he'd be dead and I'd be the one in handcuffs right now."
"I could kick Vance's ass for making you go in there," Greg said with the shake of his head. "Thing was, he was right. If things hadn't have gone the way they did, then we would've needed your intel on it. As is, we may need you to go back in and talk to him a second time to get access to the deep web sites he referred to."
"No," Ned said firmly. "I'm not going back in there." He shook his head, and by the look on his face both men knew that was the truth. Ned would not be seeing Jake again until court. He was done.
"What can we do for you, Ned?" Greg asked.
"Just be ready," Ned said with a shrug. "We don't know what's going to happen. Could be nightmares, could be nothing. Just keep an eye on me, call me out if I'm being weird, and take care of Ellie."
"You two have gotten really close," Elly said, squeezing Ned's hand.
"Yeah, and you know, I don't know what it is. She feels like family, you know? Like a little sister or something," Ned said, analyzing it. "I feel like as soon as we started hanging out and looking over the information, I knew that she was going to be important."
"Yeah, she fits in pretty well," Greg said.
"We told her she should apply for Sommers' position when he gets canned," Elly said with a smirk.
"No, you didn't!" Ned said with a look of happy surprise.
"Yeah, we did," Elly replied.
"We insinuated it," Greg said. "Pretty blatantly."
"I'd much rather have her around than Sommers," Ned said, setting his head back against the wall of the elevator with a sigh. They sat in the quiet darkness of the elevator for a long minute together.
"We're going to have to go catch these bastards now, aren't we?" Greg asked.
"Yup," Elly said with a sigh.
"Damn," Ned whispered. "Can we just hide in here? Take a long nap together?"
Greg chuckled. "My idea of a break isn't taking a nap in an elevator with you two."
"Yeah, I mean, if we woke up and Ned was snuggling you by mistake I'd be so fucking jealous," Elly said with a chuckle.
"Okay, let's do this," Ned said, struggling to his feet. The others followed, and Elly pushed the button to start the elevator. "I really wish the boss was here," Ned said quietly.
"Me too," Greg said.
"Me three," Elly said.
"He'd be damn proud of you," Greg said, looking Ned in the eye.
The door opened on their floor and there was a collective sigh amongst them before they trailed out and into the bullpen.
********WDYG?********
Vance looked at Hadley as his agents left to find Bishop. "You should sit down. You look like you're going to fall over."
Hadley nodded and slowly sat down in one of the folding chairs vacated by the team.
"Sommers, can you go get everyone some coffee?" Tim asked. "I have a feeling that we're going to need it. Once this monster is done writing up his list we'll be targeting those responsible for Davis and Carmichael's murders."
Sommers was more than willing to escape for a while. "Any preferences?"
"Go down to Bill's," Tim said. "Tell him you need Gibbs' usual order, and that should be everyone's preference other than yours."
"Can do," he said, leaving the room to Vance, Tim and Hadley. The sound tech took the hint and got up to leave.
"I've left that recording," he said quietly as he left.
They sat silently for a minute, and then Hadley spoke, looking only at Jake. "It would've been so much easier if he was a normal terrorist or a traitor. But this?" He shook his head and then looked at Vance and McGee. "This is something different. Jake was one of us, and none of us saw it. Ellie didn't even see it. How did this happen?" He looked at Vance. "How could he have been doing this the entire time and never once set off our radar?"
Vance's voice was strong but sympathetic. "It's not something you deal with. You're programmed to look for terroristic traits. What this bastard is… is something else completely. Sadists are usually charismatic until they're not. They like to lure people in, and then hurt them. And he's done just that."
Vance's words sent chills down Tim's back. "Poor Bishop," he said softly. "I can't imagine…"
"That's the worst part of all of this," Hadley said. "I mean, losing Mark, and your Marines… that's horrible. What was done to them was reprehensible. But they're gone. Ellie has to live with this now. She's lost her mentor, her husband, her sense of safety and if I have to guess, her sense of self. If she's feeling anything like I'm feeling right now, she's never going to trust anyone we work with ever again."
"You're analysts. You're supposed to analyze and see through all of the façades," Vance said. "And you didn't this time. He was good. Better than you at your own game, but it was also his job to know the game so well that he could maneuver through it when he needed to.
"What I need to know is what we do from here. We have the infamous Crow, but this X punk is still out there, doing god knows what, and he's got ties to a weapons dealer, a bunch of angry post-adolescent wannabe terrorists, and ISIS. Your director is hauled up in Spain somewhere. An FBI agent was shot and is in critical condition in Los Angeles. We need to shake this off and act."
Hadley nodded. He stared at Jake and watched as he sat a paper aside and pulled the papers to write down his confession in front of him. "Looks like he's finished with the list Agent Dorneget set him on. I'll be back." He stood up and headed for the interrogation room.
"We need rest," Tim said quietly to Vance.
"I know. Depending on what's on that sheet of paper, we may be able to go home tonight and get it and start back at it tomorrow. I have a feeling it's going to take extra effort to get our hands on this X kid."
Tim stood up suddenly, watching Hadley interact with Jake. The older man was leaning down on the table, his face right up next to Jake's who was smirking. Tim made a dash for the next room while Vance turned up the sound on the speaker for the room.
"You sick prick," Hadley was saying. "I can't wait to see you fry- you and that little boy toy of yours. Maybe we'll make you watch him go first. See how much you enjoy that!"
Tim burst into the room. "Hadley. Come on," he said. The older man stood up, snatched the paper from the table, and then followed McGee from the room.
They made their way back into interrogation. "What did you say to him?" Vance asked as a perturbed Tim snatched the paper from Hadley's hand.
"That he's a heartless demon spawn that needed to give up his little friend."
"And then that he was going to have to watch this X die. Look at him now, Hadley," Vance said, an edge to his voice. They all turned to look at Jake who was looking angry, his pen on the table and his arms crossed. "You'd better hope to God that he starts writing again. I'd rather not submit a jury to the entirety of that interrogation video."
"Director," Tim said. "This list is pretty comprehensive. It gives us names, some usernames, some websites, and a couple of locations. One of which is here in DC, the others are in New York and L.A."
"Where in D.C?" he asked.
"An address on 30th Southeast. I think it's over by Garfield Heights. Maybe Buena Vista." Tim pulled his phone out and started typing some information into the search. "Looks like an abandoned apartment building."
"Does it say which were specifically involved with kidnapping our guys?" Vance said, moving to look over Tim's shoulder at the list.
"Yeah. There's five names listed."
"Go. Research them, get BOLOs out, and gather the team to go raid that address. Use caution. It could be a trap."
"Yes, sir," Tim said, turning to leave the room. He glanced at Hadley on his way out. He wasn't sure how he felt with leaving the two men alone. He almost wondered if Hadley would make it out intact.
********WDYG?********
Sierra was texting with Quinton. Amira would be getting her call from her dads soon, and they were all ready for bed. The two sat on the couch together, Lilo and Stitch playing on the TV. Amira had had questions about why Lilo's sister was raising her, and where Lilo's parents were, but honest answers thankfully didn't cause any reaction other than an understanding nod. Sierra was somewhat surprised by that. She half-expected to need to make a call to Tony and Jethro to calm Amira's nerves, but it wasn't necessary. Amira just rolled with it, and Sierra was grateful.
She knew taking this job would mean the occasional weekend, and she loved Amira, but this was the first test of just how taxing this job could be. She'd had to be there to take care of Amira from the moment she woke up to the time she went to bed all weekend long. And a quick text from Tim let her know that she would probably be on duty all day on Monday as well.
Normally it wouldn't be so bad, but she'd started seeing Quinton, and as all new relationships went, there was a lot to discover about each other that was being thwarted by the little girl next to her. She tried not to be bummed out by it, but she was starting to feel that way as Quinton started telling her how much he wished that he was holding her at that moment.
The movie ended a few minutes before 8:00 and Sierra told Amira to go use the bathroom one more time before bed. While Amira was in there the tablet began ringing on the end table. Sierra smiled as she slid the indicator to accept the call.
Tony and Jethro both looked surprised to see her.
"Hey!" Tony greeted. "You still have Amira?"
Sierra nodded. "Yeah. This case seems to be really bad. Tim said they may have to go to New York this week."
The two older men looked at each other with confused and concerned glances. "Did he tell you why?" Jethro asked.
Sierra shook her head. "I have no details. Zero on the details. All I know is that everyone is involved, so I still have Amira."
"Damn," Tony said. "I'm so sorry, but I am so, so, so grateful for you!"
"We'll make it up to you," Jethro said.
"You don't have to do that," Sierra said, blushing. "I knew what I was signing on for."
"That doesn't mean you don't deserve to be appreciated," Tony said.
Sierra was saved from responding by squeals of "Daddies!" coming from Amira as she ran across the room and jumped up on the couch and then down into Sierra's lap. Her hands reached out and took the tablet and then hugged it to her chest. "I'm hugging you!" she said.
"Aw!" Tony said. He made a noise and wrapped his arms around himself. "I'm hugging you, too, Munchkin!"
"How's the princess doing?" Jethro asked. "Are you being good for Sierra?"
Amira held the tablet back up and nodded. "I helped her clean up after dinner today! She made me mac n cheeses with the hot dogs in it!"
"Oh?" Tony asked. "That's one of your favorites!"
"Yeah!" Amira said. "And then we watched Lilo! She has an alien friend named Stitch, and her sister is her mommy now."
"Okay then," Jethro said with a nod. Tony looked a little confused. Sierra chuckled at their expressions.
"In Lilo and Stitch Lilo's sister Nani has custody of her after their parents die."
The two men nodded, raising an eyebrow at each other.
"Lilo thinks Stitch is an angel, but he's a bad boy, and then he's a good boy!" Amira explained.
"Oh! Okay then," Tony said, as if though that made all the sense in the world.
"How's Napoli?" Sierra asked with a smile. "Tell us what you did today. Let me live vicariously through you!"
The guys chuckled. "It's magical," Tony said with a sigh. "The historical architecture and the food and the market…"
"And the coffee," Jethro said with an approving nod that made all of them chuckle.
"You- you always drink the coffee!" Amira exclaimed.
"But they have extra special coffee here," Jethro explained.
"Yeah," Tony said quietly. "With cognac in it."
Sierra barked out a laugh, but Amira didn't understand. Jethro smacked Tony upside the back of the head.
"Daddy!" Amira squealed with a giggle like she was prone to do when Jethro headslapped Tony. Tony just stuck his tongue out at Jethro.
"We also found some really good wine tonight," Tony said.
"Now I'm really jealous," Sierra said.
"Sorry, it's gone, or I'd share," Tony said as he looked around the room and shrugged innocently. Sierra snickered.
"Daddy, I miss you," Amira said, suddenly looking sad.
"Oh, Munchkin, we miss you too!" Jethro said. "We miss you so much."
"I miss you more," Tony said playfully.
"No, I miss you more," Jethro said back, surprising Tony with his playfulness.
"Wanna bet?" Tony said. "I'll wrestle you for it."
"Try it!" Jethro said with a raised eyebrow. Suddenly Tony lunged and Jethro was topped over on the bed with a yell.
Amira and Sierra were both laughing. "Daddy!" Amira squealed. "Be nice!"
"What was that?" Tony shouted. "I couldn't hear you. I was too busy missing you more!" Suddenly Jethro had Tony pinned on the bed, then his arms were raised in the air.
"I win!" He climbed off Tony and plopped back down on the side of the bed. "See? I told you I missed you more." Tony climbed up behind Jethro and rested his head on his shoulder as they looked into the tablet together.
"Not true," Tony said. "I definitely miss you more."
"You guys are silly!" Amira exclaimed.
"Why thank you," Tony said with a smile, kissing Jethro's cheek quickly before moving to sit next to him again.
"How many more days?" Amira asked.
"You tell me. Today is Sunday," Jethro said.
"Let's say it together," Sierra said. "Got your fingers ready?"
Amira nodded.
"Okay, since today is Sunday, we don't count today. Start with tomorrow," Sierra instructed.
Amira started counting off the days with her fingers. "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday."
"Good job!" Tony exclaimed. "You remembered all of them!"
"Now how many fingers?" Jethro asked.
"Seven!" Amira shouted. "Seven more days!"
"And you'll see us on the seventh, so it's more like you're only going to have to wait six more days." Tony explained.
"Okay," Amira said.
"We took some pictures today. We'll take more tomorrow and tomorrow night we'll call you earlier so that way we can show you all of them," Tony said.
"Yay! Pictures! Are they pretty?"
"Of course, they're pretty!" Tony said. "Do I ever take ugly pictures?"
Amira chuckled but shook her head no.
They talked for a few more minutes and then said their goodbyes. Tony turned the tablet off and sighed, falling back on the bed they were sitting on. "I think it's harder on me than it is on her," he said with a glance at Jethro. Jethro moved so that he was leaning over Tony. He traced his face with his fingers.
"We'll be home soon enough," Jethro said softly. "She'll be okay, and so will we."
"And the case! Jethro I am dying to know what they've gotten into that's so bad that Sierra still has Amira. Not to mention it might be taking them to New York? I mean, what the hell?!"
"Let it go. If it gets bad enough Vance will recall us."
"I'm worrying about Elly and Tim!"
"It's a good test to see what they're ready to handle. It may have some growing pains, but I trust they'll come through with flying colors."
Tony sighed and settled back into the mattress. "You're right."
"Of course, I am," Jethro said with a smug smile that made Tony laugh.
"That bottle of wine is going straight to my head," Tony said.
"Mmmmm…" Jethro hummed, slowly unbuttoning Tony's shirt. "I'd better take this shirt off then. Can't have you overheating."
Tony nodded. "I think that's a very good idea," he said as he reached for Jethro's arms and shoulders, running his hands along them before grasping Jethro's shirt and pulling so that it came over his head. Jethro shucked it over the side of the bed as he finished unbuttoning Tony's shirt. He then resumed his ministrations, bending to kiss his way down Tony's chest and abs.
He wasted no time when he got to Tony's pants, and unbuttoned them, sliding down the zipper. There was no doubt about what he wanted, and with how hard Tony was becoming already there was no doubt that Tony wanted it too. Jethro laid down on the bed between Tony's legs and took his cock in his hand as he looked up into his eyes. He gave it a couple of strokes, loving how the skin was so soft and ridged with veins. They ran under his callused fingers and he turned his wrist slightly to put a twist on things as his stroke reached Tony's head. He watched Tony's expression, his eyes falling into a half-slit that watched him, his mouth slightly open as he took shuddering inhales.
There wasn't anything that needed to be said. As they had been since they stepped foot into their hotel room, their feelings were in the very air they were breathing. It was a knowledge that was absorbed with every glance, every slight touch, every breath and heartbeat. So, when Jethro moved to tease Tony's slit with his tongue, Tony simply fell back to sink into the mattress and let his lover take care of him.
Jethro's tongue swirled around the head as his lips opened wide to take Tony's warm shaft deep into his mouth. He felt it hit the back of his throat and pulled back once with a hard suction making Tony moan. This continued for a few long minutes, his mouth tightening around Tony as hard as he could using just his lips and cheeks, and the pressure was driving Tony mad. Jethro refused to speed up though. Tony tried at one point to thrust up into Jethro's mouth, but Jethro quickly pinned Tony to the bed with his elbows on his thighs. It wasn't until Tony begged in that high pitch whine Jethro loved to extract from him that Jethro smirked and stopped completely. Tony groaned and whined again, looking at Jethro with desperate and frantic eyes, wondering why the pleasure had stopped.
Jethro stood up on the side of the bed and slipped his pants and boxers off. He kicked them to the side and grabbed the lube they'd put in the nightstand. Tony was ready to move into whatever position Jethro decided for him but was taken aback when he straddled Tony's hips. He knelt high, squirting lube into his palm to stroke Tony with, and Tony thought he was going to pass out as he collapsed back on the pillows. Jethro only smirked at him, not saying a word.
Once Tony was generously lubed, Jethro crouched over him, Tony's cock in hand as he gently guided him to his entrance. They both held their breath for a moment as Jethro started pushing downwards on it, and then Jethro relaxed with a sigh as he opened up to Tony. It burned to be stretched this way, but he loved it. The slow descent, taking Tony into him, merging with him like this was a heady exhilaration. His eyes were shut and his head thrown back as he slid down his husband's dick, centimeter by centimeter until finally he was nestled against his balls. He let his entire weight rest on Tony's pelvis and sighed in relief as he looked down to see Tony's glazed eyes looking back up at him.
"So fucking perfect," Jethro whispered, then bent to kiss Tony slowly so that he didn't come dislodged. The movement did raise him a little though so that he wasn't as full, and mid-kiss he rocked his hips to start an in and out motion that caused him to moan into Tony's mouth.
As he sat back up he ran his hands down Tony's pecs and let his fingertips grace his abs before his palms rested on his own thighs to stabilize him during his ride.
The bed provided just the right amount of spring for the rocking to turn into a bounce and soon he'd found his rhythm and was riding Tony hard. The sweat ran down Jethro's body as he felt Tony inside him, going deeper, then not, deeper then not. He shifted so that he was over Tony, a hand on each side of his chest, and the move allowed Tony to hit his prostate with each bounce.
"Fuuuuuucccckkkk..." he whispered.
Both of their breathing was becoming more and more ragged. Tony tried to thrust up as Jethro thrust down, and somewhat succeeded. His hands went to Jethro's shoulders, and his nails dug in without thought.
"Yes, Jethro! God… yes! Don't stop! Please don't stop!"
Jethro didn't stop but did kneel upright again so he could grasp his own cock. He started stroking himself hard and fast, and the sight made Tony's orgasm start to run down the base of his spine.
"Shit Jethro! I'm gonna come!"
"Yes!" Jethro hissed. "Come! Cum in me!"
Tony arched his back as the orgasm ripped through him and he felt his moan caught in his throat as the breath was torn from his body with the sensation. His mind was lost in an electric haze as he felt Jethro's warm cum land on his chest and chin. His head swam through the orgasm and the wine as Jethro collapsed onto the bed next to him. He felt the room spinning a little around him in a dreamy sort of way, and his body turned to wrap around his lover. With his eyes closed his lips found Jethro's and slowly kissed and suckled on them.
They came down slowly together, enjoying their tingles and waiting for the blood flow to regulate in their bodies again. When Tony finally opened his eyes he found Jethro staring at him. He waited, expecting Jethro to say something, but instead the older man took his finger and wiped a glob of his cum off of Tony's jaw, then brought it to Tony's lips. Tony eagerly sucked it off, taking the entire thumb in his mouth and licking it clean.
"Damn. I love when you do that," Jethro whispered.
"I love that you love it. My own personal freak," he said with a smirk. Jethro chuckled quietly, then reached forward and kissed him deeply, exploring his mouth for the taste of himself left behind.
"I need to go clean up. I'm starting to leak on the sheets," Jethro said, untangling himself from Tony to roll over. Tony got out of bed to join him and Jethro merely smirked and reached for Tony's hand as they headed for their oversized bathroom.
"And you think I'm the freaky one," he said with a smile and a shake of his head.
"Takes one to know one," Tony said with a raised eyebrow, and closed the bathroom door behind them.
********WDYG?********
Tim brought a box of evidence to Abby. She looked up from her work on the boiled laptop and cell phone and cringed. Tim's expression was haggard and worried.
"That's not the face of good news," she said.
"It's not," Tim said with a sigh. "We raided the apartment building. No one was there anymore. We gathered what we could find and we're back to square one."
Abby had never seen Tim look so fragile as he did when his expression fell at that admission. She took off her magnifying glass helmet and sat it on the metal table, then came around and opened her arms for a hug. Tim gladly fell into her embrace. They were quiet for a long moment, just enjoying being together for a minute of mutual comfort.
"I know that it doesn't seem like it, because, well, these guys are slippery bastards, but you're doing a great job. I mean, you're doing everything you possibly can do. You just need a new angle," she consoled.
"Thanks, Abs. I have no idea what that angle is though. What am I missing?"
"Try looking at things through someone else's eyes. From the outside maybe? What are you seeing when you look at this through someone else's point of view?"
Tim thought about that for a moment. "I don't know. I can't get out of my own head. I'm so tired."
"Have you asked the NSA guy what his take is on all of this?" she asked.
"He was there in the interrogation and he's pretty much in the same boat as us. He has no idea where to go next."
"But he hasn't been looking at the same pieces of the puzzle that you have. And if that's the case, I bet there are pieces he has that you haven't seen either."
Tim thought about that. "That's true. Maybe what I need is a change of scenery. It doesn't help that Vance has been there every time I turn around on this thing. Not that I'm not grateful for the support, but it just adds to the pressure. I'm supposed to be leading this, and I can't while he's trying not to. I'd rather him take over than do this half in-half out thing he's doing."
"Do you think he'd tag along if you go over the NSA?"
"I don't think so. He's waiting in MTAC with Ned to get a call from their director in Spain once he's sure everyone important is in lockdown."
"Then maybe now's your chance to escape," she said.
"Not until I get some rest first. And Parke really needs to go home and check on his wife, and Ned should go home and get some rest with Elly and recharge. Ziva is with Bishop. Who knows about Sommers. Something is different about him since he went home earlier. I don't know what happened but he's suddenly Mr. Helpful. It's got me more irritated than when he was an asshole."
"Really? That's weird."
"Yeah. I think Ziva may have talked with him or something, but I need to pass out for at least a couple of hours."
"I have taken a couple of cat naps, but could I interest you in two hours on the futon with me?"
"That sounds amazing. Let me go clear it with Vance and send the team home. I think I could get away with a skeleton crew for going to the NSA. Let me get his input and then I'll be back."
"Great!" Abby said, reaching forward to give him a quick peck on the lips. "In the meantime, back to work!" She turned around and went back to the table to put her helmet on, and Tim headed upstairs.
He found Vance and Ned in MTAC finishing a conversation with a stern looking woman. As she blipped off the screen, he walked down to meet them. "Good news?"
"We've just been told that we'll have an audience with his majesty of the NSA at 0600 our time," Ned said with a snarky positive sarcasm. Vance raised an eyebrow at him, then turned back to Tim.
"Tell me you have good news," he said with a sigh.
"Not a drop," Tim said with a defeated shake to his head. "The place was cleared out. Nothing of substance was left behind. We picked up a sweatshirt with some blood on it, but who knows whose blood it was and how it got there. No tech, no messages, nothing but the sweatshirt, some half-eaten pizza, and a slew of fingerprints that may or may not belong to our terrorists."
Vance looked around the room for a moment in exasperation.
"Abby and I had an idea," Tim continued. "We need a different angle. We thought if maybe we went over to the NSA and see what they're doing to track these kids we might get some ideas or insight."
"You want to take everyone to the NSA with you?" Vance asked with a raised eyebrow.
Tim shook his head no. "Just a few of us. Critten would be good with the tech and liaising. Parke would be good with picking up patterns, and Ziva would be good with any translations if we can get her away from Bishop. That will leave Ned time to rest before the briefing with the NSA director, and Sommers would be out of my hair."
"Is he still bothering you?"
Tim cringed. "It's like he's done a complete 180 suddenly and I'm so tired that it's irritating in a whole new way."
Vance nodded understandingly. "It's 2245. If you're going to the NSA I want you there and briefed by time we're on conference with their director. I want you in place before he has a chance to block you. Let Hadley know you're coming. Their idiot caused this mess. They can handle a little inconvenience."
"Thank you, sir," Tim said, nodding at Ned and turning to leave the room to share the good news that they were all going to take a brief rest.
********WDYG?********
Greg got in the car shaking. His nerves were rattled. He was angry and he wanted to cry. He'd gone home and found Tiffany asleep. He crawled into bed with her and held her gingerly, trying not to wake her. Thankfully she just curled into him and he had gotten a little over three hours of sleep. Until she woke him up. And then that was that.
He'd tried to talk to her about how he was going to have to go back to work soon and asked if there was anything he could do for her while he was there for the short time he had left. She became agitated and started yelling at him, saying things his Tiffany would never say. The Prego Monster was in full effect. He tried to calm her down, tried to explain what she was doing to him, and it didn't help. He locked himself in the bathroom to get away from her and jumped in the shower. He desperately needed one, and her yelling at him from the other side of the door ensured it was going to be a quick and efficient cleaning, rather than the long hot shower he longed for.
He came out within minutes, a towel wrapped around him and another drying his hair. Tiffany was sitting on the bed, and the barrage continued. He tried to tune her out as he got dressed, and finally he turned to her in exasperation, unable to hold it back any longer and yelled, "One of us is going to have to work! I know you want to, but you can't! So, it's going to have to be me! Now, I have to go. We'll talk when this case is over." Her sudden silence unnerved him, but he turned to head for the living room, picking up his gun, badge and wallet off the dresser by the bedroom door first.
Suddenly there was something flying right past his head and slamming into the wall, barely missing him. He jumped back and turned to Tiffany. He was shocked, to say the least. "You need help," he said. "After this case is over, we're getting you help." He turned to leave, stepping in pieces of the alarm clock that was broken all over the floor.
Now he was sitting in his car shaking and wondering what the hell he was going to do.
********WDYG?********
Tony was awakened by the sound of the Skype ringtone going off on the side of the bed. He woke up confused. Jethro's head was buried in his chest, and he tried to reach for the tablet without waking him, but as soon as he stirred Jethro was sitting up. Tony gave him a half smile but was worried because a call like this was either Amira having a bad time or them being recalled. He looked at the clock showing that it was a few minutes after 9:00 AM then fumbled with sliding the Skype icon in order to answer the call.
"Hello?" he said blearily, rubbing the grit out of his eyes in the morning light filtering into the room through the window.
"Hi," Greg said nervously.
"Greg?" Tony asked, unsure if he was really recognizing his agent's voice as it would be the middle of the night where he was and they were in the middle of their case.
"I'm sorry to call you, Boss. It's just…" Greg let out a wavery sigh and Tony was suddenly wide awake and on high alert.
"What's wrong, Greg?" he asked. "Is everyone okay?"
Greg cleared his throat. "For now," he answered slowly. "I'm sorry to interrupt your honeymoon. I can tell you were asleep. I wish I was."
"Why aren't you? Is it about the crazy case we heard you're working?" Tony asked, looking at Jethro who was looking back confused.
"This case is a clusterfuck. Everything is a clusterfuck. I… I don't know. I just needed to talk to you."
"Okay, well start from the beginning. What do you need to talk about?" Tony asked, worried about his agent on the other end of the line.
"Well, Friday night I got home and Tiffany had been to the doctor. Things aren't so great."
"Oh, shit. Is she and the baby okay?" Tony and Jethro exchanged panicked looks.
"Tiffany is going to be on bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. They're worried about her diabetes and blood pressure and the baby is turned a weird way. I mean, it's only a few months into this. We have plenty of time for her to turn, you know, but Tiff is strained, and we've been working this case, and she's mad at me. I tried to tell her that I'm not going to be able to be there by her side throughout the whole pregnancy. One of us has to work. That turned out… badly."
"Greg, we've talked about this. She can't keep treating you this way. I know you love her, and I understand that she's pregnant, but she needs to treat you with basic respect. She has no right to be cruel to you no matter what her past is or how much you love her."
"I know. And I'm terrified of confronting her right now because any additional stress can kill my daughter."
Tony sighed. "Damn, Greg. I'm so sorry. I don't know what I can do, but if you can think of any way that we can help, we will."
"I know, Boss. She just isn't the same right now. I'm sure once baby girl is born everything will be better, and she'll spend the rest of forever making it up to me, but it's just hard right now. And Ned… poor Ned. I need to have my head on straight because he's going to need me too, and it's just… not… right now."
"What's wrong with Ned?" Tony asked, his face contorting in an expression Jethro could only describe as the "What the fuck happened now?" look.
"I'll try to give you the abridged version of our case, but I need to warn you it's a lot to take in."
"Okay," Tony said.
"We got called out Saturday morning at god's hour, well before dawn. We get to the scene and a Marine and NSA analyst had both been tortured and killed. They had this Arabic symbol carved into their bodies that's the trademark of this homegrown terrorist organization called The Children of the Prophet. The NSA analyst's partner and protégé lets us know that no one knew that their guy was missing because he was supposed to be on some island vacation. So, we all realize there must be a mole in the NSA, because no one else knew he was going away except co-workers, and as we know, there's no such thing as coincidences. Kidnapped right before he was supposed to be on vacation so he wouldn't be missed? Nun-uh."
"Damn," Tony said. "Just what we need- a mole in the NSA. And just what you guys need as soon as we're not there with you."
"Yeah, I know. So, the NSA chick, her name is Ellie Bishop and you'd absolutely love her, comes to hang out with us at NCIS to work the case while the rest of the NSA goes insane trying to blame each other for being the mole. Bishop and Ned became friends minute one. I mean, all of us really like her, but he's found one of those lifelong friends with her. Ned and Bishop realized this Children of the Prophet group is made up of really young adults that are practically children themselves, like 18, 19, 20 years old, and that the NSA mole is the leader of the pack.
"Ned and Vance, who by the way is all up in this case, grills the NSA lead on this situation and he gives up that Piper, our NSA victim, was not on his way to the island of paradise for vacation, but for an information drop with Iraqi Intelligence on what they're going to do with 20 women that were being moved by the dead Marine's team in Iraq, who- get this- are now going to be Iraqi spies trained by the CIA. Apparently he's former CIA and moonlights with them still, with the NSA's blessing, as some kind of information conduit, and he was going to train Bishop to take over. She had no idea.
"Then Abby finds a clue and we're off to this warehouse where we find another Marine dead and tortured, and this young kid shot. He's like 18. And the bastards had carved a note into this Marine letting us know that they got the information they needed. So now the pressure is really on. But this whole time, almost 36 hours, we've gotten zilch but more questions and not a speck of a clue about anything."
"Have you-" Tony started, but Greg interrupted him.
"Just wait! There's more! We decided to rotate out to go home and get some sleep, but when Bishop goes home she overhears her NSA lawyer husband on the phone. Speaking in Arabic. To his handler. He's the damn mole and leader of the organization! Yeah. Let that sink in. She takes off, calls Ned, and the rest of us who were supposed to be sleeping get recalled.
"Elly runs a special search on this guy and comes up with all of his travel history for the past two years, and it overlays with a series of horrible, I mean, gruesome as fuck crime scenes, with all of these tortured and murdered people. As you can imagine, by now Bishop is shitting herself, and the rest of us are all sitting there like, what the fuck just happened?"
"Holy shit," Tony said. He and Jethro had exchanged looks throughout the story. The one they both wore now were bleakly shocked and incredibly worried.
"Yeah. It gets better. We go to arrest his ass, and he's boiling his tech. His phone and his laptop are obliterated. In pieces, and those pieces are boiled, smashed, crushed, chipped away… complete goner. I mean, Abby is going after it, and stayed in her lab tonight to attack it, but I doubt we're going to get anything."
"If anyone can get something from it, it's Abby and McGee," Jethro said.
"There's also an intact SD card, but none of us can bring ourselves to look at what's on it yet. Anyway. We bring this asshole in, and Vance has Ned go in with the guy from the NSA to interrogate him."
"Whoa, what?!" Tony asked rather loudly. "Why the hell did he choose Ned?!"
"Because he'd been following the guy's communications on those dark web message boards he's always trolling, and in Vance's words, he was close enough to Bishop that he believed he had the best chance of not killing her husband in front of her since she was watching the interrogation."
"Well, he was probably right there. You remember Brand." Tony sighed.
"Yeah, and it's the only thing that kept me from putting my foot down. I mean, after seeing what he'd done to all those people… I was pretty sure we were dealing with a sadist, and I hate that I was right. I knew if we simply gave him enough leeway he'd hang himself. And he did." Greg was silent for a long moment. When he started talking again, his voice was soft and slow in that way that rage makes some people.
"Ned. God. Boss, Ned sat two feet from a man that described for an hour how he'd devolved into a sadistic personality disorder. From his first discovery of his arousal at watching a man tortured in a video that was part of a deposition for a case he was working on, through his online experiences, to his transition into the actual partaking in torturing and killing another man, and then the sexual release that came with it. Followed up by his continual trail of killings, torturing each as he went, and even being given a protégé to assist him that he began a sexual relationship with, and all as a reward for running the terrorist organization.
"These fucking sickos paid him not only in cash, because there's almost two mil of it, but in people. They paid him in victims that he could torture and kill for his sick demented pleasure. And Ned sat right there and listened to all of it as cool as a cucumber, Boss. He just sat there and took it. Even the NSA guy, who has like fifteen years on us, sat in that room with him looking like he was going to retch everywhere or kill the bastard, but Ned just sat there and took it."
"Should I call him?" Tony asked.
"Let him sleep. If he's sleeping at all. You know how he gets with his nightmares."
Tony and Jethro shared a look, and Tony nodded. "Yeah. If he can sleep after that, let him."
"He came back into observation with us and upchucked right into the trashcan. And then he and Elly just held each other for a long time right there in front of everyone, including Vance and the NSA guy and both teams… except for Ziva and Bishop. Bishop had left the room after finding out that the relationship between her husband and the other killer turned sexual. Ziva went with her. And after Ned let go of Elly, his first question was 'Where's Bishop?'. Like, fuck it all if he just took on the equivalent of mental rape for the case, and fuck whatever the Director may have wanted, or Tim, or anyone. He just wanted to get to Bishop and comfort her." Quiet descended again as Tony tried to think of something helpful to say, but Greg's tone had turned angry and protective and it surprised him into silence.
"Fuck it if he's going to have nightmares tonight, because he knew that someone was hurting worse than him. And fuck it if he just pulled that off, because even Tim and Vance were in observation struggling with it all. There was no need for accolades or feedback of any kind. It didn't matter to him, Boss. He just needed the comfort of his man, and to check on his friend. Nothing else mattered. And it's the people that matter to him. And it's the people that should matter to all of us. And I'm torn to fuck and back because I have people I care about that I need to help at both home and work and I can't be in two places at the same time, Boss! I can't-"
Tony heard Greg's voice crack and his heart broke. "Greg…"
"I mean! At least at work when I try to be there for someone I'm appreciated and valued and I can help! When I come home and I try to help I'm called worthless and get shit thrown at me!"
Both Tony and Jethro looked defeated. They didn't have solutions for him. He was in a hard position. Tony knew he had to say something though.
"I'm sorry, Greg. Would it be helpful if you filed for FMLA or something and were able to spend more time at home? What's it going to take to fix this for you?"
"I have no idea. I mean, I keep catching myself thinking that I wish she would've never gotten pregnant, and then I hate myself… I mean, loathe myself, because that's my daughter! That's my baby girl!"
"With what you've been going through, I don't blame you, Greg. And in a year, once the baby is born and hormones start stabilizing again, I don't think Tiff will blame you either."
"Yeah, but with all these new complications, it's a very real chance that we may-" Greg's voice cracked and a hiccup noise escaped that betrayed that Greg was fighting back tears. "We may lose her, Tony." They all got very quiet. "This all may be for nothing," he finally whispered.
"Parke," Jethro said finally, surprising Tony that his husband was going to share. "I know that things have been rough, rougher than they should be for any expecting father, but I can tell you that there is nothing in the world like holding your child for the first time. I expect that you and Tiffany will need to go through some counseling to get past all of this, but that moment… that perfect moment will make all of this worth it. My advice to you is fight, but don't fight alone. Get as much help as possible. Surround yourself with your people, surround her with her people, start counseling, get the best doctors possible, and you fight."
Tony took Jethro's hand and gave him a sad but grateful smile. "We're with you, Greg. Just tell us what you need us to do. Do you need time off? Do you need us to take turns coming over every night and bringing food and stuff to distract you guys? Do you need Ducky to come over and talk you all through this or find someone better suited maybe to do it? Do you need help getting Tiffany's friends into town to support her? Do you need Shane? What do you need?"
Greg felt the tears streaming down his face and wiped his nose. His boss always knew how to help, but Gibbs' words hit him hard like a shot of resolution to his soul. He could do this. He could make it, and he wouldn't have to do it alone. He thought through what he was being asked and a couple of things sounded like they fit.
"I think I'm going to need some time off now and then to go home and be with her," he started slowly. He took a deep breath, wiping at his eyes. "But at the same time my work is lifegiving. Actually, it's more like being with you guys is lifegiving. Being able to be there for my team is lifegiving. I need to know I'm making a difference, and I know that with you guys I do."
"You definitely do. We need you, but Greg your family may need you more, and that's okay. We can make it balance." Tony squeezed Jethro's hand, the memory of being with Jethro and Amira on the couch after Leyla died in his mind. He'd chosen to let their teams take on the case while they took care of each other as a family. Now Greg would have to do the same.
"But you guys are my family, too," he said. "And I need to find a way to balance that. I think there are a couple of people in Tiffany's life that we can bring in from out of town to help keep her head on straight. Whenever Breena is around Tiffany doesn't yell at me. She's a good influence, but Breena has a job and a new husband and can't be there to babysit Tiffany all the time. Thankfully she came by today for a while and that helped. I stopped getting angry texts for a few hours. I need to make a few calls to see who else in Tiff's life can come in to spend a week or so with her."
"Let us know what you need. We earned thousands of frequent flyer miles with this trip. We can get them here. You just say the word," Jethro said.
"You guys are so good to me," Greg said. "I hope you know how much you mean to me."
"You mean just as much to us," Tony said.
"I should go. Tim, Elly and I are heading out soon to go to the NSA. I just ran home for some sleep and to check on Tiffany, and after experiencing the alarm clock flying past my head decided to call you. I have been sitting in my car in the parking garage talking to you. I need to get back into the office."
"Alright," Tony said with a sigh. "Good luck with the case. You guys are amazing."
"Heh, sure we are. So far it's been pure luck. Let's see what happens in the next 24 hours, then we'll decide just how amazing we are."
"You proved it long before this case," Tony said. "And Greg?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you called."
Greg smiled on the other end of the phone. "Me, too. Thanks guys. Sorry to interrupt your honeymoon. Enjoy yourselves."
"You call whenever you damn well need to," Jethro said.
Greg smiled even wider. "Thanks guys." The line clicked and Tony sat the tablet on the nightstand before turning to look at Jethro.
"Okay. What the fuck?"