I'm so sorry this took so long loves. I have to fight for my muse to cooperate with me, but I hope this chapter will satisfy the long wait. It's smutfree (unfortunately) but the next one isn't ;) I'm eager for our guys to get home, but I promise we'll have some more honeymoon time before it happens. I am very grateful for the reviews! I struggle to find time to reply to them, but I read every one and get all giddy when I do! (Just a reminder that I can't reply to guest reviews.)
Chapter 14
Jethro looked at his husband from across the table. His dark green eyes shone in the flickering candlelight. The content smile on his face made the entire trip worth it.
"What?" Tony asked, picking up his wine glass with that rare shyness and self-consciousness that Tony only showed around him.
"You just look really happy," Jethro said.
"I am." Tony took a sip and then sat his glass down. "And it's not just this trip. It's amazing, but…" He sighed happily. "It's beyond that. I'm happy with my life. My family, my career, my friends." He looked down and took Jethro's hand, then looked back up into Jethro's eyes. "I'm happy with me, and I wouldn't be without you."
Jethro shook his head the slightest. "Tony, you're an incredible man. You don't need me to be the man you are. You're smart, loyal, brave, funny." He chuckled quietly as he thought of a hundred different moments that Tony had made him smile or outright laugh. Tony smiled broadly and shook his head. Jethro continued. "And you have a huge heart. I love that about you. I love it all."
Tony squeezed Jethro's hand and stared back at him with a dazed expression. "There are some days where I wake up and you're there, and I just can't believe it. I think about how this happened, and about how lucky I am, and how amazingly twisted life can be sometimes, and I just think about all that I've got- I've got you, and Amira, and my guys, and Tim, Abby, Ziva, Dion, Ducky, Palmer… I've got a loving home and a career that allows me to make a difference. I've got more than most people could ever dream of having, and it leaves me with this insane amount of gratitude. It's beautiful, and I never would've had any of it if you hadn't brought me on. I'm grateful for you, and to you."
"Hell, I'm grateful you said yes!" Jethro said with a small chuckle. "Anyone else probably would've went running for the hills."
"All the more proof that this is right where I belong," Tony said, stroking the back of Jethro's hand with his thumb.
The waiter came by and smiled at them, asking if they would like anything for dessert. Tony asked for suggestions and the waiter bragged about the tiramisu being the best in Italy, and Tony told him they'd share some of that. He knew Jethro wasn't a big dessert fan, but he'd probably take a bite or two of whatever Tony ordered. He also ordered some coffee for them to accompany it and turned back to Jethro once the waiter walked away.
"Tiramisu?" Jethro asked.
"Yeah. I'm going to have to go ten rounds with Ziva when I get home just to burn off all the calories," Tony said as he sat back and patted his belly.
Jethro laughed. "You've lost a lot of weight in the past few months. I think you'll be fine."
"Yeah, but I need to do something so I don't end up with dad-bod." Tony scrunched his mouth up and his expression made Jethro laugh.
"Will you still love me if I get chunky?" Tony asked with a pout at Jethro's laughter, which only made him laugh harder.
"Tony, I can't imagine you ever getting fat, but I'd love you no matter what."
"Good," Tony said. They got quiet for a moment. "I'm still going to have Ziva work me over in the gym when I get home."
Jethro laughed quietly. "I'd offer to help, but I don't think we're going to be able to get Sierra to do a date night for a while."
Tony sighed and nodded. "Yeah. We need to find some way to thank her for taking on Amira like this. It wasn't part of the plan."
"I know."
"I was thinking about taking a couple of vacation days when I get back and letting her have some time off," Tony said. "I still have plenty of time. I mean, they couldn't be immediately. I could ask her what days would be best for her. Plus, I'd get some Amira-time. I could take her to the movies and make a day out of it."
"Sounds good. I was also thinking we should bring her a bottle or two of nice wine after her comment when you said you'd had that bottle the other night."
"Good idea. We just have to remember that whatever we bring back with us has to go through Customs."
Jethro nodded. The waiter brought over a tray with a large piece of tiramisu and two cups of café. Tony thanked him and they each took a fork and tried the dessert. Tony closed his eyes and hummed at its richness. Even Jethro was impressed with it and took a second bite.
"It's nice and creamy," Tony said, then put a bite in his mouth and slowly drew the fork out, sucking it clean in an almost seductive manner.
Jethro raised his eyebrow at that. "You know I love it creamy," he said back with a smirk. Tony smirked back.
"Yeah, I do."
"Don't get too far ahead of yourself," Jethro cautioned with a smile. "You've still got to put on a slide show for Amira tonight."
"True," Tony said with a small sigh, but he was smiling. "We did get some good shots today. I bet she'll like them."
"She loves pictures," Jethro said, taking another forkful of the dessert.
"Yeah. I was thinking about getting her a camera. Maybe trying first with a disposable camera. Do they still have those?" Tony asked, his eyebrows scrunching up in thought as he forked more tiramisu.
"I think so," Jethro said.
They finished eating their tiramisu and talked about getting a cheap digital camera for Amira. Eventually, Jethro looked at his watch. "We should probably go," he said. "You still have to put the photos on the tablet."
"True," Tony said. He flagged the waiter for their check, and soon they were walking back to the hotel, both eager to see their little girl.
********WDYG?********
Tim and Vance were sitting at Vance's conference table. Tim had just finished telling Vance about how the morning had unfolded. Vance had listened attentively and asked questions. Tim had answered them stoically. He felt exhausted inside and out. He hated taking lives and he'd now taken two that summer alone. Elly had taken one as well, and Ned had one from the month before. It was turning out to be an ugly summer for their teams.
"I regret that I had to be so involved with your case, especially with it being one of the first cases you've had to take on without either of the Gibbses. The politics of a mole in any organization are tricky. Crossing organizations like this one did required more involvement. You did well. I appreciate your leadership on this."
Tim was a little surprised at that. He hadn't felt very confident through the whole experience, and he was wondering if he was actually holding his own, or if the teams were just doing their own thing.
Vance continued, making Tim curious if he was reading his mind. "One of the things that Gibbs does well is let each of his agents follow their strengths when the big stuff hits. He stretches you as needed, but when the push comes to shove he allows each of you to follow your strongest skills. Your strengths are why you're here. Allowing everyone to do what they're good at on this, and to do what they felt comfortable with doing, was the right call. This was not the time to push anyone to try to be anything they weren't. There's time for that. Time to stretch and grow a person. This was going to stretch you all whether or not you tried for it. It called up talents each of you have and exhibit, but on a level you may not have used them before.
"You were coolheaded through this entire case. Critten played the friendly agent that kept communications open. Dorneget was an information scrounge. You all leaned in and I appreciate that."
"Thank you, sir," Tim said, trying not to sigh.
"The FBI is taking care of the bodies of The Children. The NSA is tracking down the arms dealer in California with the ATF. We just need to get the reports put together, and then your teams should take tomorrow off. I'll let Balboa know. Keep your phones on though. If we get backed up, you'll get called."
Tim nodded. "Sounds great. I'll be happy to tell that to the teams."
He stood up, got the nod from Vance that they were finished talking, and headed for the door. He was glad to bound into the bullpen and see everyone working on their reports. He stood in the center of the room and announced that once their reports were finished they were free to go with the following day on-call, but otherwise, off.
"Thank the gods!" Elly said with a groan.
"I second that," Greg said.
They all worked diligently for the next three hours to put together the reports and help each other finish theirs as well. Ziva asked Sommers to see his before he turned it in, and then sent him back to his desk to redo a section. Elly, Greg and Ned all passed theirs to each other to review before making edits and finally gathered up their stuff. The three dropped their folders off on Tim's desk, making the man look up with tired pale green eyes.
"All done?" he asked.
"Yes," Elly said. "We took turns going through each other's to make sure we didn't miss anything. If you feel there's anything that needs updated, let us know. We're all bringing our laptops home with us to work from home on it just in case."
"Good," Tim said with a nod. "And thank you all for putting so much in on this,"
They all gave him a tired smile. "Just wish it had turned out differently," Greg said.
"You heading home?" Tim asked.
Elly and Ned shook their head and Greg nodded.
"We're going to go check on Ellie down in the lab, and then we're going to go see Amira and Sierra," Elly explained.
"Yeah," Ned said with a sigh. "We can't take her tonight yet. We need some sleep first. But we're going to have her tomorrow."
Tim grimaced. "I'd almost forgotten about Amira," he said.
"We didn't," Ned said. "I've felt so guilty."
"Yeah," Elly said. "But it is what it is."
Ziva brought her and Sommers' reports to Tim. "I am going home, showering, and going to go have dinner at the restaurant with Dion."
"Nice!" Elly said with a smile. "Tell him we said hi."
"I will do that," she said with a smile.
Sommers' voice surprised all of them because it was cautious and friendly and didn't sound like him at all. "I'm looking forward to sleeping, but first I'm going to get a drink. This case was insane."
"I do not blame you," Ziva said, giving him a small smile.
"Oh, by the way," Tim said. "I moved our time in the gym to Wednesday morning. It was the next slot available. First thing."
Elly gave Ned a smirk. "Sounds good, Boss," he said with a chuckle.
"Oh, don't call me that!" Tim said with a groan as his head fell back and his eyes rolled. They all laughed. "You all go ahead. I've got to review these. Tell Abby I'm going to be a while."
"Sure," Ned said.
The five of them headed for the elevator. Once loaded in, buttons were pushed for the garage and the lab, and silence swallowed them. Ned leaned his head on Elly's shoulder for a second and a long sigh, and Elly kissed the top of his head, then Ned stood straight again as the doors opened to the lab.
The two got off the lift and Ziva casually looked at Sommers to see his reaction. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. She squinted hers at him and reached up and slapped him in the back of the head.
"Hey!" he hissed.
"Do not insult something good just because you don't have it," she said back quietly.
"Yeah, I mean, I know they're sappy, but we should all be so lucky," Greg added bitterly. The doors opened in the garage and Ziva and Greg got out, letting the doors close on Sommers who leaned against the wall taking in the chastisement.
"Another strike against me," he said to himself quietly. "I just can't get it right." He reached forward and pushed the button to open the doors again and got out, trudging slowly to his car as he wondered what it was going to take to make these people happy.
********WDYG?********
Ned and Elly headed into the lab with their bags over their shoulders.
"Hey Abby," Ned said quietly.
"Hey!" she said softly as she turned towards them. "Does this mean you're finally done?"
"Yeah," Elly said. "But Tim has to review all the reports so he's going to be a while."
Abby nodded. "I'm excited he has the opportunity to take on this role, but I'm also glad it's not a fulltime gig."
"Understandable!" Elly replied.
"How's Ellie?" Ned asked.
"She's… you know. She's sleeping, I think," Abby said, chewing on her lip and twirling a pigtail, her head cocked to the side.
Ned turned and headed towards the back room cautiously. Elly and Abby followed. "Ellie?" he croaked out, trying not to startle her. She sighed and rolled over towards him. When she saw everyone standing there she sat up. Ned sat next to her. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked.
Ellie shrugged. "I did for a couple of hours, then woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep."
"What are you going to do?" Elly asked, his voice full of concern.
"I've decided to go home to Oklahoma for a while. I need to see my mom and brothers. I need them right now. I can't explain all of this to them over the phone. I have to do it in person. And I can't sleep here in Abby's lab forever, but I need to be someplace I feel safe, and I know I will there."
Ned nodded. "I completely understand," he said. "When you're ready to come back, I hope you'll let us know. And keep in touch?" he asked.
"You've kinda grown on us," Elly said with a crooked smile.
Ellie gave him a small smile back. "You guys have grown on me, too." She looked from Elly, to Abby, then to Ned. "I'll let you know what's going on."
"Do you want us to drive you to your apartment to pick up some things?" Ned asked.
Ellie shook her head. "I think I need to do that one alone. I'm not going to be there long. I should be okay. My truck is still here since Ziva drove me to her apartment the other day, and she brought me my stuff from her place. I'm going to head home, pack a bag, and then drive. Probably get a hotel somewhere in Virginia, sleep through the night, get up and keep driving in the morning. The long drive will do me some good. Clear my head."
Ned nodded. "Okay. If you need to talk…" He shrugged sheepishly.
"You'll definitely be the one I call," she reassured. Ned nodded.
"We're going to go stop in and talk to Sierra about having Amira tomorrow," Elly said more to Abby than Ellie.
"Good!" she said. "That will be a big weight off everyone's shoulders. I feel so bad leaving her like that with Amira."
"We do, too," Elly said.
Ned stood up and Ellie stood up with him. She'd been given an NCIS shirt to wear and Ned noticed. "Maybe one day you'll have a whole wardrobe of those," he said with a raised eyebrow.
Ellie sighed. "I wish," she said.
"Doesn't hurt to try," Ned said.
"I should meet your bosses first," she replied. "Ziva told me to."
"That's true," Elly said. "They're two totally different people, but so similar. It's weird."
"Gibbs is awesome," Abby said. "But he's known for being a total hard ass. Just wait until you meet him before you make any judgements about anything."
Ellie nodded. "Thank you all for everything you've done for me through all of this. And thank you for believing in me. I don't think I would've gotten this kind of support from my coworkers at the NSA. I mean, you saw how things went with Hadley, and he's probably the person I would've trusted the most other than Mark. And Mark… I know the grief is coming, but I haven't had time to really process that."
"You will on this road trip," Elly said. "Don't hesitate to pull over and have a good cry. Try not to drive like that."
Ellie nodded. "Yeah. I should get going. Home is calling."
Ned reached out for a hug and Ellie gladly obliged. They hugged each other tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Any time," Ned said. They finally separated and Ellie gathered her things.
They all turned to head for the door together. The two men walked her to her truck in the garage. "Text me when you stop for the night," Ned asked. "I'm not going to be able to rest well until I know you're safely out of the area."
"I will," she said with a smile. She hugged Ned one more time quickly, then gave Elly one as well.
The two men watched her drive off before getting in their car.
"You okay?" Elly asked Ned now that they were alone.
"Yeah," he answered. "I feel much better about everything. Like it's all over. She just needs to get somewhere safe with people she trusts and I understand that completely."
"Good," Elly said. "Now let's go see the Munchkin and then we'll go home and rest."
"Sounds great," Ned said as he sat back in his seat, his hands wrapped around the seatbelt across his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then suddenly he felt Elly's lips on his. It was a short kiss, but comforting. Ned opened his eyes as Elly pulled away with a smile. "I didn't realize how much I needed that."
"I did." Elly smirked.
"I'm glad."
********WDYG?********
Sierra was sitting on the couch with Amira, the tablet propped up in front of them on the coffee table. The Gibbses would be calling any minute now, and she was looking forward to it. She and Amira had been promised photos of the trip thus far, and Amira had been so excited about it that it was infectious.
The ringing started and Amira squealed, jumping up to slide her fingers across the screen and answer the call. The screen blipped a couple of times, and then Amira squealed. "Daddies!"
"Hi Princess!" Jethro said cheerfully.
"Hey Munchkin!" Tony said with a smile.
"I miss yous!" Amira said, sitting back on the couch.
"We miss you, too! Are you being good for Sierra?" Tony asked.
"She's been pretty good," Sierra said. "Got a little grouchy this morning, but I get grouchy in the mornings, too."
Amira looked shamefaced. "I told her I was sorry. I was a meanie."
"You!? A meanie?! In the morning?!" Tony said with a shocked expression. "Never!"
Amira smiled shyly and buried her head in Sierra's side, which made Sierra chuckle.
"Are you guys still having an amazing trip?" Sierra asked as she stroked Amira's hair and changed the subject.
Tony sighed happily. "Yes. Amazing. Had the best tiramisu of my life tonight."
"Oh," Sierra said with the tilt of her head. "I love tiramisu."
"Yeah, I do too," Tony said. "Even Jethro liked it."
"I did," Jethro confirmed.
"I hope you didn't take a picture of that," Sierra said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I might be tempted to lick the tablet."
"Ew!" Amira said with a smile and scrunched up nose, finally looking back up at her and then the screen.
"No, no photos of the food," Jethro said with a chuckle.
"If you want, I can start taking them," Tony said with a raised eyebrow.
"No! That's okay!" Sierra reassured quickly, making the two men chuckle.
"Do you want to see these photos?" Tony asked.
"Yeah!" Amira said excitedly.
"She's been looking forward to this all day," Sierra said.
There was a sudden knock at the door. Sierra's expression went to one of confusion.
"What?" Jethro asked.
"Someone is knocking at the door," she said. "Hold on. Stay right here, Amira," she instructed, then got to her feet and headed for her front door. She looked through the peephole and her face lit up in a bright smile. "Yay! We have visitors!" she announced, opening the door to a tired looking Ned and Elly.
"Sorry to barge in," Elly said with a smile. "We can't stay too long, but we wanted to come by and talk about tomorrow and see the Munchkin."
"Come on in! It's great to see you! You two look exhausted!" she said. "Come sit with us. We're about to go through photos with Tony and Jethro."
"The boss is on the line?" Ned asked.
As they rounded the corner Amira squealed at the top of her lungs. "BOYFRIENDS!" she exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and running to Ned and Elly. Ned swooped her up in a hug, and she hugged his neck back tightly.
"Munchkin!" Ned exclaimed back.
"There's the princess!" Elly said, rubbing Amira's back until she let Ned go and reached out for Elly to take her. He hugged her tightly and moved towards the couch with Ned and Sierra following him. He sat down with Ned sitting next to him, looking into the screen like the answers to the universe laid there.
"Boss?" Ned said, looking like he was going to reach through the tablet and hug Tony.
"Ned! Elly! How are you guys? Is the case over?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, it's over," Ned said. He leaned forward over the coffee table to be closer to the tablet and Amira climbed out of Elly's lap and onto Ned's back, wrapping her arms around him like a monkey. He held her arms there and felt her press her head against his as her chin rested on his shoulder.
"Finally," Elly added. "Boss, this case was a friggin' mess. And I'd say much worse, but the baby girl is right here."
"Understood," Tony said, the concern for his guys written all over his face. "You two look exhausted. Are you taking Amira with you tonight?"
"We can't yet," Elly said, shaking his head.
"Not tonight. We need some serious sleep, but we're thinking we can get her tomorrow at noon. We're off, and we figured Sierra could use a little time to herself."
"If you guys need to rest tomorrow, I completely understand," Sierra said. "You look like you've been run over by tanks. Why don't we meet at their house at 5? You two need some time to sleep in, probably do some laundry, get a real meal or two under you… You need to recover."
"You're an angel," Elly answered before Ned could decline. He wanted to take Amira, and he knew that Ned really wanted to, but Ned needed to absorb everything from this case and Elly had the good sense to know that there was a bumpy road ahead of them.
"You two really do look like hell," Jethro said. "You'll have to call us tomorrow and let us know what happened."
"Yeah," Tony said. "We're going to see Mount Vesuvius in the morning, but we should be back in our hotel room at about 10AM your time."
"We can probably give you a call then," Elly said.
Ned turned and kissed Amira's cheek, then pulled her around so she was sitting in his lap as he sat back on the couch.
"Can we look at pictures now?" she asked.
"Yes! You guys want to go through our photos with us?" Tony asked.
"Sure!" Elly said, sitting back on the couch.
They sat through ten minutes of photos and short stories associated with them and laughed and joked. The conversation turned to the nightly video call the next day being early and a list of things to remember about staying at the house. Elly took over the conversation through that part, and when he looked back at Ned, he found him asleep with Amira in his arms asleep as well.
"Wow," he said, looking from Sierra to Tony and Gibbs. "That was fast."
"Well Amira and I have spent most of the day at the pool, and she's made some friends here, so she's been running around super crazy with them. I'm not surprised she crashed." Sierra smiled at the sleeping girl then looked at the tablet.
"And I'm not surprised Ned crashed either," Elly said, looking at the tablet. He could hear Ned's light snoring that happened when he fell asleep sitting up, which was much quieter than the snoring he had when laying down. It made him want to smile, but his concern prevented that. "We definitely need to talk to you guys tomorrow. This case… I can't even begin to tell you."
"Greg gave us the run down," Tony said. "Including the part where Ned had to interview a sadist."
"He hasn't really talked about it yet," Elly said. "He's going to need to."
Tony nodded. "How are you?"
Elly sighed. "I'm tired, but good. The Director had me acting as a liaison between the NSA and NCIS. That was cool. It was more on the agent level. He and Ned handled their director when they finally got ahold of him." Elly could tell that Tony's eyes were back on Ned for a moment.
"And you've been watching over Ned and everyone else," Tony said. "I know you. I know all of you, and I know that you're all going to feel the impacts of this case."
"Yeah, but Ned and Greg have it much worse than I do on this one, Boss. I mean… "
"Don't let him fool you, Boss," Ned croaked, cracking an eyebrow as he woke up from his dozing and heard the conversation. "He killed one of the bastards today. He's going to feel it, too."
Tony gave Elly a look that was both a reprove and a question of concern. Elly sighed.
"It was fine. The world is a better place."
"Kid was 18," Ned said, looking at Elly. "No one is impervious to that." Elly shrugged, then looked at Tony.
"We'll talk tomorrow. Go home, get some rest, and eat well. Take care of each other, and we'll hear from you at 10."
Both men nodded.
"We love you guys," Tony said with a grim look on his face.
"We love you, too," Elly said. "Enjoy your trip! Mount Vesuvius tomorrow, huh?"
"Yeah!" Tony said, his eyes lighting up. "Gotta see the sights while we have the chance."
"Good night, Boss," Ned said, swallowing hard. He hadn't realized just how badly he'd wanted to talk to Tony until he'd seen him on the screen. He was glad they'd be talking in the morning.
"Good night everyone."
********WDYG?********
When Tim finally finished the report reviews and dropped them on Vance's desk he felt the true weight of the past few days hit him. More than anything he wanted to be at home with Abby in a deep sleep. He headed to the bullpen to gather his stuff, then made his way down to the lab.
"Timmy!" Abby greeted him. Even she sounded tired, her near impervious pep a little flat. "You ready to go home?"
"Definitely," he said with a sigh.
"I already got my stuff together. Just gotta shut down the Major." She went over to the machine and pushed a couple of buttons to stop the round of testing it was working through. "I'd just started it. It can wait until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Tim asked.
"Yeah. Balboa's team is having me retest some samples from a cold case they're looking through. It's an older case and there are new tests now."
"You're going to have to come in tomorrow?" he asked, sounding defeated.
"Not until the afternoon. I'll come in at some point, run the test, and then be done unless something happens that requires me and my babies."
Tim nodded his understanding.
"It's moments like this where I kinda wish my assistant hadn't turned out to be a genuine lunatic." Abby sighed and went to grab her things.
They were soon in Tim's car on the way home. Abby had offered to drive, but Tim thought the driving may help clear his head; a mechanical process that he didn't have to think too much about.
"You okay?" Abby asked after five minutes of silence.
Tim offered her a half smile. "I'm exhausted. Mentally and physically drained."
"I am too. I was thinking about putting that vegetable lasagna in the oven, and then realized that it takes an hour to cook and decided that wasn't happening."
"Yeah. I'm going to pass out as soon as I get home."
"I need to find something to eat first, even if it's just cereal. You should try to eat something, too. It's not good for you to skip so many meals."
"I can agree to cereal," Tim said with a nod.
"Good! Two bowls of cereal it is," Abby said, giving him a challenging eyebrow at the quantity. He didn't fight it though. He knew she'd get her way, if for no other reason than he was actually really hungry.
They got into the townhouse and dropped their bags by the front door as they locked it back behind them. Tim went to put his back up weapon and badge in the nightstand drawer. His primary weapon had to be confiscated for the time being since the shooting was fatal. He didn't mind. He didn't want to be anywhere near it right now. He came back and found Abby sitting at the table with two bowls, the carton of milk, and two boxes of cereal.
As Tim took the first crunch of his Honey Bunches of Oats Abby spoke. "I'm really, really glad this is temporary. You have looked really unhappy every time I saw you the past few days."
Tim nodded. "There are plenty of things I could see myself doing in the agency one day, but being a field team supervisor does not make the list. I've never felt so stressed in my life. I've never missed Gibbs so much in my life. I would've even taken Tony in a heartbeat over dealing with this. These guys were sick bastards, and that meant every one of us were in mortal danger every time we were in the field. It's bad enough Bishop was taken, but the idea that one of our people could've been kidnapped and tortured…" Tim sat his spoon down and sat back. He put his hand on his stomach.
"You okay, Tim?" Abby asked, full of concern.
He shook his head and swallowed. "Trying not to get sick," he finally answered. "I think I'd feel better about it all if it was just me and Ziva, because I know she can handle herself and we trust each other, know each other. But as much as I like Tony's team and we've gotten involved in each other's lives, the thought of everything between Bishop and her partner and her husband… it just goes to show that you may not always know the people you think you know. And it's not that I don't trust them, it just suddenly felt like I didn't know them as well as I would've liked to in order to lead them. Does that make any sense?"
"I think so. If you don't work with someone day in and day out like you have Ziva, then you don't know how they react under pressure. There's not enough there to create a pattern to follow with mental muscle memory."
"Exactly!" Tim sighed and smiled at Abby. "I knew you'd understand. You always understand me. I felt bad about it the entire time because I didn't want them to think I didn't trust them, I just…"
"Needed to get some experience."
"Yes. And I got that on this case. I feel like I could confidently work with them on anything now. Anything." He shook his head slightly. "Ned has the ability to bluff a truthsayer, Greg can crawl around anyone's mind and come out unscathed, not to mention isn't afraid to find the help he needs when he needs it, and Elly… He didn't hesitate a single moment in taking that bastard out today. Had my back completely out there."
"What happened? How did things go down?" Abby asked. She'd abandoned her Cheerios and reached out to take Tim's hand. She wasn't sure she was going to like what she was about to hear, but she knew that Tim needed to talk after he took a life, and as she had been in the past, she was his go-to for that now.
Tim's blue-green eyes found her green ones, the sadness obvious.
"Elly and I had been driving together, with Ziva and Sommers in the other car. We had tracked down where we thought Bishop had been taken, and we came in fast. We pulled down this alley between the buildings, not sure where to start looking, but we didn't have to. Bishop was running down the alley straight for us.
"Two men, boys really, were running down the alley after her. When they saw us, they turned around and started running the other way. Elly and I drove straight past Bishop to chase after the two. We had slowed down so that Bishop could get out of the way, and then we were slowed down a little more by the huge potholes in the unkept alley. It was a really wide alley. Two semis could've passed each other easily down it. We got to the end and the two guys had turned left go to towards a parked van.
"Elly stopped the car and we both jumped out, weapons drawn. We were both shouting for them to get down on the ground, but they looked at each other instead and then both turned, pulling their own guns, and before they could even get them properly aimed at us, both Elly and I had shouted 'Gun!', and then we were both firing. I took down the one we know as X, and Elly took out the one we found out was named Michael." He shook his head and looked at his hand in Abby's. "They were really young, Abs. I know they were demented, and screwed up beyond repair, but they were so young." He swallowed a couple of times.
"You did the right thing, Tim." Her voice was soft but reassuring.
Tim nodded. "Yeah, we did." He looked back up at her, tears in his eyes. "But it still sucks. There are two less people in the world tonight, and we did that. I don't regret it, but it's a fact we have to cope with. And why? There are so many reasons that these kids could've turned into what they are. I don't believe for a minute either of them would've turned out this way if it wasn't for Jake Bishop. That's who should be carrying the weight of their deaths, but even if he did, I'm sure he'd relish in it. Sicko."
"Maybe," Abby said. "Some people are sick beyond help. It's sad, but it's true."
They were both really quiet for a couple of minutes. The only thing they could hear if they tried were each other's breathing.
"I've had to kill two people this summer."
"Yeah," Abby said softly.
"And this week isn't even over yet."
Abby slowly shook her head. "No, it's not."
Tim sighed and sat back, letting go of Abby's hand to do so.
"But I believe in you. You've got this. And maybe nothing will happen between now and when Gibbs gets back. Maybe we'll have a dry spell."
"God, I hope so. I need some dead cold cases. Mindlessness. Boring bliss."
"Well, will you settle for some snuggles and sleep tonight?"
Tim smiled softly up at Abby. "Definitely."
Tim went to dump what was left of his cereal down the disposal and Abby took a couple more bites of her now soggy Cheerios before she gave up and did the same. They both made their way to their bedroom and were soon under the covers together.
Tim didn't hesitate to pull Abby close to him protectively. It was comforting to know she was safe with him and that nothing was going to happen to her tonight. They were safe, they were together, and that's all that mattered.
********WDYG?********
Greg dropped his go-bag down on the dresser in the motel room. He'd decided before he'd even left the building that he couldn't bring himself to go home to Tiffany yet. He texted her that he wouldn't be home that night, though didn't tell her why. He silenced her texts and hadn't looked at any of her replies. He needed time to sleep and time to think, and he couldn't do that with her screaming at him right now.
He'd found a decent cheap motel about an hour away and drove. He needed to clear his head and he thought a short drive would help. His mind was at war with itself, unsure of which of his big baddies he needed to tackle first. He tried to think about everything with Tiffany, only to have work pop into his head and this demented case. Then he switched gears and tried to focus on work, thinking he just needed to clear it out before he could focus on his personal life. However, every time he started getting somewhere with that train of thought it wrecked right into his personal life and the War of the Prego Monster.
He couldn't escape himself.
He got his laptop out of his bag and sat at the counter. He'd picked up a bottle of wine at the drive thru down the road and took the screw off lid off before looking around for a cup to pour it into. The cups were all the way across the room by the sink, so he shrugged and decided to drink directly from the bottle.
His computer whirred quietly to life and the screen lit up. He put in his password and then opened up a Word document. He thought back to his days when he started profiling inmates and how sometimes he'd need to do this to get his thoughts untangled. He created a two-column table and labeled one Prego Monster and the other Work. Then he started typing bullet points under each column, switching back and forth between them.
There were some overlap between the two of them. Group/Individual Therapy came under both headings. He and Tiffany both needed to talk to someone individually and together, and the same went for his coworkers and McGee after this case.
Get hormone levels checked came under Prego Monster.
He went back and forth and laid out everything going through his mind in the two columns, and all the while the bottle of wine kept disappearing. He ended the document with a few paragraphs about how he was feeling about each situation and what the plan was for each. Two hours after he'd begun, he had finished the bottle and was closing his laptop. He felt somewhat better, if not more clearheaded.
A shower was the first thing on his list of things to do, followed by a good night's sleep. He ordered a pizza so that it would get there about the time that he got out of the shower and redressed, then spent fifteen minutes luxuriating under the hot water as he stretched his muscles and worked out some tension.
Half an hour later he was finishing his third slice of pizza when his phone chimed with a text.
Tony: Talked to Ned and Elly for a couple of minutes tonight while they were at Sierra's. We'll be talking with them in the morning at 10 on video chat. You're welcome to join us then or we could call you after if you feel it would be helpful.
Greg smiled despite himself.
Greg: Talk to them and then call me. I got a hotel room tonight so I could get a good night's sleep in peace before going home to deal with Tiffany.
Tony: I'm glad you're taking care of yourself. We'll call you well, Greg.
Greg: You too.
Greg crammed what was left of the pizza in the mini fridge for breakfast, then snuggled up under the blankets and was out like a light without even remembering to set an alarm.
********WDYG?********
Ned and Elly had made it home and undressed. Elly announced that he was going to take a shower as Ned slipped on a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt he could sleep in.
"I'm going to order something for dinner," Ned said before Elly could make it into the bathroom. "What would you like?"
"Either some honey barbeque wings or bourbon chicken," he answered before the water turned on.
"Got it," Ned said. He went to sit on the couch and used his app to order them some wings and brownies from Pizza Hut.
He was looking through all of the messages he'd ignored over the past few days while working on the case, and came across the one from Andy he'd decided not to address until he had a minute. He decided now was as good a time as any.
He read over the last couple of messages from him.
Andy: That's not fair, Ned. That's not fair at all. I offered you forever, and you said no. First you wanted it, then you didn't take it when I offered it up to you on a fucking silver platter! I tried to be with other people after college, and it was impossible because I always compared them to you, and they fell entirely too short. I'd had the real thing, and I'd lost it. I tried to make up for it, tried to offer everything I was, my entire world to you, and you wouldn't take it. You turned your nose up at it. And I've stayed as connected as possible to you this entire time, hoping, praying that one day you'd change your mind and be willing to give us another shot, a shot that I promised myself I wouldn't screw up if it was given. I wanted to tell you that when I saw you, and then your boss was there. It was going to be my last grand attempt. I was going to ask you to run away with me. To leave it all behind. Start over somewhere, a new life, a peaceful life where there's not so much death and destruction. I knew if anyone would understand that this is too much for me it would be you, and you wouldn't judge me. I can't do it anymore, Ned! I can't keep watching people die around me. I can't keep killing people. I can't deal with this. I crave your gentle heart, and your beautiful mind, and your tender strength, and a life with you that I'll never have. I don't need you throwing it back in my face.
Andy: I've gone back to headquarters. They aren't really happy with me, but they also aren't really mad at me.
Andy: I heard about how things went down. Word is spreading fast through the grapevine. I guess with so many agencies involved, it makes sense. I'm not sorry I got involved, but only because of the answers it gave you. I am sorry for butting into your case. I see those as two different things. I just can't let you go.
He started his reply, thinking carefully about what he needed to convey.
Ned: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown that back in your face the other day, but obviously you had things you needed to say, and I'm glad that you have. I think it's best for both of us if we stop contacting one another. You need to move on. I have, and I'm sorry if that hurts you, but that's the way it is. Elly and NCIS are my life. You deserve to go find a life you want to live, with someone worth living it with. If you need to get out of the CIA, then get out. Do it now before you lose yourself completely. It's not failure, or weakness. It takes strength and courage to stand up for what you believe in. I hope you find it. I'm going to be blocking your phone number and email address. I think it's safest that we don't communicate at all anymore. I appreciate all of the help you've given me. I didn't mean to make you think that there was a chance that one day we could be more than what we'd become. If I did, I'm sorry. That was never my intentions. I wish for you peace and a love of your own. Take care of yourself. -Ned
"You're lost in thought," Elly said quietly when he stepped out of the bedroom with a towel around his shoulders.
Ned looked up at him with a sad smile. "I know he's a dumbass for getting involved in our case, but I never meant to hurt him."
Elly raised an eyebrow at him. "Andy?"
"Yeah. Just replied to his texts. Told him I was blocking him and to go find his own life."
Elly gave him a sad smile and sat next to him, putting a hand on his thigh. "Are you okay with that?" he asked.
"Oh yeah," Ned said. "I just hate hurting people, and I know this is going to hurt him."
Elly nodded and looked up at his fiancé's sad face. "Come here," he said, reaching to pull Ned to rest against him, his head on his shoulder. Ned put his arm around him. Elly kissed the top of his head. "It's for the best."
"I know," Ned said. "Love hurts sometimes."
"That it does," Elly said back, nuzzling Ned's head. "And then other times it feels fucking amazing."
Ned smiled and nuzzled into Elly. "Yeah, you do."
********WDYG?********
Bishop pulled into the Quality Inn parking lot and sighed. It was nice looking, which was a relief. She was exhausted and she couldn't go another mile. If she had to, she would've slept in her truck.
She got a room and locked herself in. After checking it for anything suspicious she took the chair from next to the table and wedged it under the door. Then she pushed the recliner against the window, even though it didn't open. She had gotten the gun she kept at home when she went for her belongings. It was safely under her pillow when she crawled into bed with her clothes still on.
She'd plugged her phone in next to her bed and reached for it to set the alarm and remembered that she promised Ned she'd text him when she stopped for the night.
Ellie: Just got into Pulaski, VA. I'm off 81 at the Quality Inn here.
She wasn't surprised that she got a text back immediately.
Ned: Thanks for letting me know. I was starting to worry. You hanging in?
Ellie smiled at that.
Ellie: I think so. Thank you for caring so much, Ned. It makes me feel better knowing that someone's watching out for me right now. I've fortified my apartment from intruders. I feel like I'm going to come unglued. I need to sleep.
Ned: I suggest some Benedryl to help you sleep. That's what I use when I can't, and it keeps you allergy-free in a dusty motel room.
Ellie: I don't have any, but I'll keep that in mind. Hope you guys are resting. I'm going to pass out.
Ned: Sleep well. Hit me up if you need me.
Ellie: Will do. Goodnight.
Ellie sat her phone down and turned off the light. She was numb. She knew that she wouldn't be for long, but for now, she was so incredibly numb. Enormously anxious, but she wasn't grieving yet, and hadn't directly thought about what she'd been through. She was avoiding it completely. She decided to ignore it for a little longer and rolled over and promptly fell asleep.
********WDYG?********
Sierra was laying in her bed texting with Quinton. They'd only been seeing each other for a few weeks, but for the most part she really liked him. He was acting weird tonight though. She'd told him that the guys had been over and that's why she'd gone radio silent for a while. He'd gotten really weird about it all. He wanted to know who the guys were, and why they were at her apartment.
She blew it off like they were just friends, not wanting to give too many details about how pretty much everyone in her life right now were in law enforcement, but she was starting to wonder about Quinton. He'd been a little crazy the week before when she went out with her friends and found out one of them was a guy. She'd put him in his place though, and he was profusely apologetic. She could almost feel him wanting to ask more questions tonight about the guys and was waiting for another tantrum, but luckily it never came.
It was uncomfortable after she blew off the comments about the guys though. She was only getting one to three word answers about everything. That wasn't like them. They were both very verbose. They sent long messages most of the time and had constant conversations. She loved that he gave her so much attention and that he accepted it in return. It was great that way.
He had issues he had to tackle about getting past the fact that just because his ex cheated on him it didn't mean every woman was going to. She knew that's where his insecurities lay and she'd confronted that in him the week before. She was glad to see he was curbing it tonight, but the restraint seemed to be wearing on him. She decided to put them both out of their misery and call it a night. She needed to sleep if she was going to have to keep up with Amira the next day at the pool. She was ecstatic to finally be getting some time to herself back though, and decided that if Quinton was back to normal in the morning, she'd invite him over after she dropped Amira off with the guys. The thought made her smile and she fell asleep happy.
********WDYG?********
Ziva sat across the table from Dion. The staff had been instructed to leave them alone except for Lena who would be waiting on them. They had tucked themselves away into the furthest and darkest corner of the restaurant and both of them were grateful for the privacy.
"How can you look so beautiful after exhausting yourself like you have this weekend my dear?" Dion asked, a starry-eyed smile on his face as he stared over folded hands at Ziva. She smiled back at him and reached for her glass of wine.
"I have had much worse," she said before taking a drink.
"True, but this one seems to have been especially… volatile."
Ziva nodded. "It was."
"Care to talk about it?" Dion asked softly.
Ziva tried to decide if she should, and then realized that if she was going to share her life with the man across the table from her, she would have to learn how to talk about things, even if that meant she overshared now and then.
"Well, the woman that was staying at my apartment was an NSA analyst whose husband turned out to be a sadistic serial killer."
Dion's eyes widened, but other than blinking a few times, that was the only real reaction he gave. "That is most disturbing," he admitted.
"It was. She is a strong woman. Very bright. But… I have been where she is to some extent. Finding out that my brother was a traitor, and that Ray was a rogue agent…" She shook her head and cleared her throat. "It provided me with insight on what she needed, and I tried to give it. I feel ashamed though. I should not have left her alone. I should have stayed with her."
"What happened?" he asked, his full attention on his love.
"There was an accomplice in the murders. A partner to the husband. He got to her at the apartment and she was taken captive. She escaped. We got to her before they could recapture her. But she never should have been captured in the first place."
"Were you aware that this was a possibility?" Dion asked.
Ziva shook her head slowly, then sighed. "Yes, to an extent. And I had a bad feeling in my gut. I feel like I am responsible because I did not trust my instincts. I should have stayed with her."
"My dear, if you would have stayed with her you could have been captured with her. If she is as strong as you say she is…"
Ziva shook her head. "No. I could have protected her. The captors were kids. Two teenagers. Barely men. They would not have stood a chance."
Dion was quiet, unsure of what to say. But then Ziva looked up at him with a smile. "But I am very glad that I don't have to worry about having a partner that I can't trust. Throughout this entire experience I kept thinking that it was so nice to know that I could trust you completely. I have no fears that you are not completely genuine with me. That is a blessing that I sometimes feel I do not deserve."
"My love, you deserve the world."
"I feel like I have it. That's why I was wondering if you would be upset if I beat you to it and asked you to be in my life forever."
Dion's expression was stunned.
"I do not want to imagine a life without you in it. I have never felt so… complete. So content. And for someone like me who has lived a life that has been constantly unpredictable, your stability and the way you ground me, gives me something I never thought I would have. You are my home. Throughout this entire case I knew that I would have you to come home to. I knew that you would love me no matter what. I can be myself with you. I do not have to change. I do not have to pretend. I can be completely... me. And you love me for it. I do not need… fireworks. I need a constant burning flame to see through this world by, and you are my flame. You are my warmth. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Are you-" Dion stopped, blinking with his mouth hanging slightly open. "Are you asking me to marry you?"
Ziva smiled almost sheepishly at him. "If you would like to, I would very much like to."
Dion smiled from ear to ear suddenly, then got up from his seat and pulled Ziva to her feet and close to him, his arms going around her waist. He looked down into her eyes with so much joy and laughed. "Yes! Yes, my love! I would gladly give you my life." Ziva smiled back and Dion leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him back, a beautiful soft joy filling every inch of her body like the warmth he was for her.
They pulled back from the kiss and Dion looked like he was going to burst out of himself. The joy was shouting from his very eyes. He was shaking just the slightest, and he turned and faced the rest of the restaurant. Ziva laughed, knowing that Dion was about to do something very Greek and didn't mind at all because it was such a wonderful part of him that she couldn't bring herself to be embarrassed.
"Everyone!" he shouted joyfully. "This wonderful woman wants to be my wife!" Ziva laughed mirthfully, her arm going around Dion's waist as he pulled her to his side. "She wants to marry me!"
All of the waitresses cheered and so did many of the patrons. Many clapped and a couple sent up shouts of congratulations and "Opa!". He turned back to her, reaching to take her hands and hold them to his chest.
"Ziva, my love, you had already made my life so complete that I didn't think it could get better. You have helped make my dreams come true and given me someone to share them with. It will be my honor to cherish you for the rest of our lives. I am so glad to have you as my family." He leaned in and kissed her again and there was another round of celebration behind them as well as many people giving them "awwwws" and applause.
As Ziva kissed him back she realized that despite how horrible the case was it had given her a gift: clarity to understand just how lucky she was and what she wanted out of life. As she kissed Dion she knew that she had never been happier in her entire life than she was in that very moment, and she was overcome by gratitude, love, and hope for a great life.