Reference: Pictionary is a drawing game, where your opponents have to guess what you are drawing.

xxx

Tony leaned over his desk, vigorously rubbing his temples, his eyes closed to protect them from the bright lights of the bullpen. He blindly reached out, grabbing his medicine bottle, extracting two pills to dry-crunch with a moan as he talked to himself. "What I wouldn't give to get rid of this bejeebers of a headache-"
"Hi Tony!"

Tony finished his mumbled sentence with a whine, peering up at Abby standing in front of his desk, his eyes half-closed.

"Are you okay...Gibbs told me everything...So, those guys that took Tim and Ellie are big and burly? Would you be able to create facial composites of the suspects? How bad was Tim when they took him away? I already called Delilah and she's on her way-"
Tony held up a hand towards Abby, his eyes shut closed in pain, "Abs, Abs...Abs!" Her words seemed to run over each other and he didn't think his head could take it for much longer before it blew up, scattering brain matter all over the inside of the bullpen. Then again, the release of this incredible pressure behind his eyes just might feel good, and be worth the mess. The thought of his headache vanishing made him smile, calmly.

"I'm sorry Tony, I'm guessing your experiencing one whammer of a noggin-knockin' headache."
"I just downed four Tylenol, they should be kicking in soon. Just one of the great side affects from being shot with a dart gun." He scraped his tongue against his top teeth with a sickened frown. "That and this awful taste I have in my mouth. It feels like something died and crawled in." She handed him an unopened water bottle. He grabbed it and chugged, as it spilled from the corners of his mouth onto random papers on his desk.

Abby winced. "Something can't die... then crawl in."

Tony raised his eyebrows, "It's that talented." He offered her the water bottle back, but she declined.
"You'll have to give me your take on what that experience was like, you know. Some day when you're up to it."
"I'd rather not relive it and my advise, don't have it done. As to the answers to your questions...I've had better days, big, burly and stinky, no sketch, didn't see their faces, I think Tim was unconscious, and... Yeah. I'm really glad she's coming...it'd mean a lot to Tim. He really misses her." Tony's voice had become quiet; touched by the obvious concern Delilah had for Tim. He knew Tim missed her, deeply; the best girlfriend he had ever dated since he had known the guy.

"I ran the private's social through the banking system and he has a safety deposit box at the North Virginia Savings and Trust, the one on the north end. Apply for the warrant because after Gibbs comes back from getting himself and you some coffee you can anticipate his request to go and check it out. You can probably take Dornie with you."

"Dornie...porny, pudding and pie."
Abby gave him a confused snicker. "You sure you're good?"

"Wonderful." Tony stroked his forehead. "I'll make him drive so I can take a nap-Don't tell Gibbs I just said that!" Tony quickly glared at her.
"Mum's the word-."

"No, mum is not the word. That word translates to 'suspicious' to Gibbs...is he behind me?" Tony looked over his shoulder, frantically.

"Calm down."

Tony did with a sigh, studying a file on his desk. "I just hope it brings us closer to Tim and Ellie's whereabouts and isn't just a big waste of time."

"Tony? Do you think..."

He didn't look up, telling from the sudden dip in Abby's tone that she was scared for Tim and Ellie. "Abs, we'll get'm back. Count on it." When she didn't say anything else, he did the best he could to reassure her, with what little strength he had, "I'm not going to make eye contact with you right now, Abs, because I don't want to see your sad eyes, because then it'll just make me sad and I might even cry. And that would only make my headache worse and it's vital that I think straight in order to find them, 'kay?" He felt a gentle pat on his back just before she left him at his desk, frowning. He knew he was overwhelmed with emotion right now, and he'd have to quickly pull himself together so Gibbs wouldn't pull him from the case. "Come on,Tony. Buck up." He affirmed himself, gently.

xxxxx

A lonely lit bulb hung from the ceiling by a cord offering enough light for Ellie to visibly stare at the opposite wall from where she sat. Her legs were outstretched in front of her with Tim's head in her lap. She hated the thought of leaving him on the hard floor with his nasty head injury and no pillow. They had been there for about thirty minutes since their arrival when they guided her, blindfolded into this little room, that was most likely a small bedroom at one point, located in a vacant, rundown house. They had, had to drag Tim in, since he couldn't walk or stand for that matter, remaining in a safe, unconscious state. The window panes were painted black and the room was empty, dirty and dingy. The walls needed painting and there were huge holes in the sheetrock. It had been wallpapered at one time, one corner had a sheet of crumbly, faded paper peeling off, that hung like rotting bark from a dead tree.

Their wrists were still zip-tied, and she guessed it had to be predawn by the orange glow peeping through light streaks of thinly applied paint, barely covering the glass. She was cold and trembling, thankful for the little bit of warmth from Tim's upper body on her thighs.

Tim hadn't moved since their arrival to the hideout, his complexion dull and gray. She frequently talked to him, hoping to gently wake him and determine the extent of his injury. Was he supposed to stay awake with a head injury or sleep? She told him about Jibbers and the funny way Jake draws when they are playing Pictionary, creating stick figures then automatically adding a hat to the little, skinny person. She confessed that she was wearing a hat when they had first met; a huge sunhat she had bought more out of protection from the sun than for style reasons, sick of getting sunburn all summer. She concluded that her husband had a hat fetish but considering all the warped fetishes he could have she was okay with it, she would even offer to introduce...well, her rationality wasn't stretched quite that thin to discuss the subject any further with an unconscious McGee.

She silently hoped Tim wouldn't subconsciously remember the silly things she had talked about. She felt that if she stopped talking for even one second she would lose her sanity, believing the ridiculous babbling kept her distracted enough to withstand the dreaded wait. She never thought something as dangerous and scary as this would ever have happened to her but she realized that was just her well-practiced gullibility guiding her through life, keeping her presumably safe over the years.

Tim groaned then his eyes popped open as he sat up quickly, swaying as she prepared to catch him if he fell back. He hunched over, his tied hands in front of his mouth.

"Tim?"

He raised his pointer finger for her to see, "Just a minute...I got a...puke on...deck." She winced as he got himself under control. "I'm good." He pressed his hands to his forehead, "Uh...Ellie?"
She slid her back against the wall so she could look at his face. "Yeah, it's me. How ya' feelin'?"
"Like I've been hit by a mac truck."
"Well...You kinda were." She snorted. "Did you see the size of that guy-"
Tim had turned his head examining her from the corner of his eye.

"Sorry, trying to keep it light."

"No, I'm sorry. It seems I ruined your jacket." Referring to her red-stained shoulder.
Ellie shrugged blowing air through her lips, "Ah, I'll just request another when we get back to the navy yard." She answered nonchalantly.

Tim gave her a puzzled look, "You okay, Ellie? You seem a little...frazzled."
She bit her bottom lip as tears instantly filled her eyes.

"Hey, hey there, I'm sorry. Of course you're frazzled, this is scary. But I didn't mean to set you off." He patted her knee, "They're gonna find us, wait and see. Gibbs and... Tony!" The memory of what happened to his friend hit him like a ton of bricks. He futilely searched their confines from where he sat then brought his concerned gaze to Ellie. "Did you see? Is Tony okay?"
Ellie wiped her tears away, breathing deeply. "Uh, no...I don't know, but-"

Tim got quiet, bringing his gaze to the floor in front of him,sitting still. She didn't know what to do so placed her tied hands on his back. "Are you okay?"
Tim silently shrugged. He looked haggard and tired and his face was scruffy with a 5 o'clock shadow. His shirt was untucked and his clothes were muddy. Dried blood covered one side of his face and he must have been suffering from one enormous headache from the hit on the head.

"You know,for what it's worth, I don't believe Tony was hit with a bullet. The sound was ..off. You, yourself didn't see any blood-"

Tim enthusiastically looked at her, with hope developing behind his searching eyes fixed on Ellie's. An earnest look of contemplation impacted his expression, his wheels turning. Ellie thought she'd see smoke floating from his ears within the next few seconds.

"Hey...you're right! Maybe it was some kind of tranquilizer gun and that was why he was all...starey."

"Uh...starey?"

"Unblinking. Uh, paralyzed, you know?" Tim stood, swayed, then rested his hands against the wall so he wouldn't fall.

"Tim? What are you doing?"

He raised his bound hands over his head then brought them down quickly in front of himself, breaking the bond of the zip-ties. "This one is for Kippers. He needs a home."
Ellie reddened but a positive smile grew on her face as she scurried to stand next to him. "It's actually Jibbers but I'm willing to rename him. For...Kippers!" She copied his move but when her hands descended the plastic strips failed to break. "Ow! Hey. How'd you do that?"
"I learned it on YouTube. You gotta use your hips, not your stomach to drive your elbows into for leverage, that's where you get all the power to break them."
"Oh, like this?"
She tried again with success. Tim patted her back with a crooked smile, "There you go." He winked. "Oh...and Jake's in luck. They make a huge assortment of hats for dogs these days." He smiled mischievously. Ellie rolled her eyes as she punched him lightly on the shoulder, her smile filled with gratitude towards his acceptance.

He looked around the barren room with a sigh, "Now, we wait...Try to bring them down when their caught off guard."