A/N: Okay, so a little explanation for anyone who's feeling a little deja vu at this story title and summary. I hit a little snafu with my account (OptimisticalCynic) and basically I got logged out and, and after about 2 hours of trying, I've come to the conclusion that I won't be able get back in :( So I will be attempting to repost this story on this account if I can as well as the remaining chapters. I know this is inconvenient, annoying, and frustrating for everyone who was following the story on that account and I am sorry, but I wasn't sure what else to do and I really wanted to finish this story for you guys. So please bear with me in this frustrating time.

A/N: I tried to keep it as IC as possible, but there are some OOC moments, so read it with a grain of salt.

Chapter Six

"Are you wearing the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?" Kate wondered as Tony trudged into the office, almost an hour late, causing Gibbs and McGee to glance over at him.

In response, Tony lazily looked down and then shrugged apathetically as if he didn't notice nor care.

Choosing to ignore this for now since they were running out of time to close this case, now knowing either Bill or Andrea killed Josh, but still needing to narrow down who the actual killer was, Gibbs ordered, "Kate, I want you to talk to the wife. DiNozzo," after Tony finally looked up, he continued, "the neighbor. And one of you better get me a confession. We have less than two hours now." He turned to Tony and said, "I know I don't have to remind you that if the clock runs out, we have to release them. And, if that happens, DiNozzo, whose head is it on?"

"Mine, boss," Tony answered quietly. Then, he looked up at Gibbs and promised, "We'll get a confession, boss."

"I know," Gibbs told him. Then, after the two were out of earshot, he muttered, "I just hope we get it before the clock runs out."

"Can I leave?" Andrea asked as Kate entered.

"Not quite," Kate answered, noticing Andrea's lawyer now joined them.

"You've kept Mrs. Porter here for 46 hours, and you have nothing but a hunch. And in two hours, you're gonna have a lawsuit on your hands," the lawyer threatened.

Ignoring him, Kate asked, "How long had you been having an affair before your husband's murder?"

"What?" Andrea asked, seemingly shocked.

"Don't say anything," her lawyer advised. Then, he turned to Kate, "Mrs. Porter's personal life is irrelevant, Agent..?"

"Todd," Kate supplied. Then, she added, "And it's very relevant if it gives her a motive to kill her husband."

"Why would I kill Josh? I loved him," Andrea said.

"So you keep saying," Kate told her.

"Because it's true," Andrea snapped back.

Kate raised an eyebrow before saying, "Really? Because I don't consider having an affair with your neighbor a sign of love."

"I wasn't having an affair!" Andrea said, despite her lawyer trying to silence her. "Did Bill tell you that?" Kate remained silent, not showing her hand. "Because he came onto me, not the other way around!"

"You must've had feelings for him too," Kate noted, " considering I hear you're engaged now."

After a brief moment of silence, Andrea explained, "I had to."

"Mrs. Porter—" the lawyer tried to cut in and stop her.

But Andrea kept talking, now nearly sobbing. "Bill threatened me. He told me he killed Josh and I would be next if I didn't agree to marry him. He was unhinged! I didn't know what to do. If I said no, he'd have killed me!"

"What d'you think?" Gibbs asked as he, Tony, and Kate huddled outside interrogation.

"Honestly? I think it's a cop-out," Kate admitted. "She knows that we know the murderer is either her or Bill, and when I mentioned the affair, she knew we had her, so she threw Bill under the bus. I've seen a lot of crying, grieving women, Gibbs. Those are crocodile tears."
Gibbs nodded. "DiNozzo? Thoughts?"

"I agree with Kate," Tony said. "I was watching her from the observation room. As soon as Kate mentioned the affair being motive, she panicked. You could practically see the gears turning when she was deciding to frame Bill. It was a tactic to get the attention off of her. Unfortunately for her, she's a terrible actor and it was obvious, and the exaggerated fake crying was just the icing on the cake."

"Well, fortunately, Bill wasn't watching her," Gibbs noted. He turned to Tony and simply said, "Use it."

"I got bad news for you, Bill," Tony announced as he closed the door. "You're under arrest."

"What? Why? You don't have anything! I didn't do anything!" Bill screamed.

"See, the thing is I do have something. I have a witness who says you confessed to her," Tony said as he stood behind Bill, acting like he was going to handcuff him.

"What witness? Who?" Bill exclaimed. "They're lying!"

"Andrea," Tony told him.

"Andi..?" Bill said, barely above a whisper. "She told you I murdered Josh?"

"Yeah. And she was pretty broken up about it too, as you can imagine. She also told us how you threatened her," Tony told him.

"Threaten her? I did no such thing!" Bill gasped.

Tony sighed sympathetically, slowly walking around to the front of the table and sitting on the opposite side of Bill. "See, the thing is, Bill, she says you told her you'd kill her too unless she agreed to marry you. It's a pity too, seeing how much she loved Josh. Is that why you killed Josh? So you could be with his wife?"

"I did not kill Josh! I just—" Bill cut himself off abruptly.

"You just what?" Tony asked. Bill shook his head and Tony told him, "Look, man, I can only help you if you talk to me."

Bill seemed to be considering something before he admitted, "I just got rid of the body, but she's the one that killed Josh."

"Go on," Tony told him.

"We started having an affair two years ago. I was unhappy in my marriage and she was lonely in hers with Josh always being away — I'm not saying it was right, but we can't change that now. Then, one night, I came over to her house. She was distraught. I asked her what was wrong. She just told me to come upstairs with her, that she did something bad. When we got to the bedroom, I saw him. She'd shot him. She told me it was self-defense, that he accused her of cheating on him and then just attacked her. I didn't know what to do. He was already dead. So I told her I'd take care of it.
"I immediately pulled off his street clothes and dressed him in his uniform, thinking maybe, when he was found, if ever, police would think it was career related. Then, I went downstairs and grabbed a knife and just started stabbing him, thinking police would think that someone tried to rough him up and it escalated or at least be confused about what killed him and why long enough to give us some time to run. I don't know. I wasn't thinking clearly. I was just trying to make it confusing enough for us to avoid becoming primary suspects — clearly, that didn't work out too well. But to be fair, I'm not used to covering up murder.

"I just threw him over my shoulder and carried him to my truck. And I drove and drove and just wanted to get rid of the body and be done with the whole thing. So I arrived at Lafayette River and just threw him in." Bill looked Tony in the eye and told him, "I got rid of the body, but I didn't kill him. You have to believe me. I love her. I couldn't just turn her in. Besides, she didn't have a choice. Josh would've killed her if she hadn't shot him."

"Where's your lawyer?" Gibbs asked, entering Andrea's interrogation room.

"He was useless, so I told him to leave," Andrea explained. "Can I leave now?"

Gibbs almost smiled at her determination. "No, not quite yet. According to Bill, you were the mastermind behind the whole thing,"

"Bill didn't say that," Andrea told him. "He loves me."

"He says Josh accused you of cheating on him and then attacked you," Gibbs told her.

"He did," Andrea told him.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow and cocked his head before asking, "But I thought you said Bill killed him, that you were afraid Bill would kill you too."

"I…What did Bill say?" Andrea asked, confused by the web she'd woven, clearly not remembering what her story was supposed to be.

"Bill claims he just hid the body, that you did the killing all on your own," Gibbs told her.

Suddenly, as if switching from Jekyll to Hyde, Andrea got an angry, vengeful look in her eye. "Only because he was useless and couldn't pull the trigger. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself."

"So you killed Petty Officer Porter?" Gibbs clarified.

"Yes," Andrea finally admitted coldly. "And I'd do it again."

"And how long were you conspiring to kill him?" Gibbs asked.

Andrea stared at Gibbs coldly for a minute, completely void of emotion, before answering, "15 months. I came up with the plan on Bill's and my 9-month anniversary. Of course Bill wasn't on board with it at first — no surprise there. He's the biggest coward I've ever met. I just had to wait until Josh came home again and I could do it."

"Only he saw it coming," Gibbs guessed, remembering Ducky's discovery of defensive wounds.

"Not until he had a gun in his face. He tried to fight me, to get control of the gun, and I shot him. Then, I called Bill to take care of the rest. But he couldn't even do that right, could he? He let the body be found," Andrea said through gritted teeth.
"So why confess now?" Gibbs wondered, as her sudden change in resolve made little sense, and he was certain it wasn't due to a guilty conscience.

Andrea smiled innocently. "Because you weren't going to give up until I did." Her smile grew wider. "Besides, I'm just a small, harmless woman. How could I possibly hurt Josh, a military trained man with a foot and a hundred pounds on me?" Her smile grew even wider as she stared Gibbs right in the eye. "I think I'll take my chances in court. After all, juries love a doe-eyed damsel in distress, especially if the big bad wolf wears a badge."

Gibbs, ignoring her last sentence, stood up and walked around the table, pulling her up and placing handcuffs on her wrists as she smiled hauntingly at her reflection in the one-way mirror.

"I take it back," Tony said as they returned to their desks after Andrea and Bill had been arrested and processed. "She's a great actress."

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "Unfortunately that means the jury might believe her self-defense story."

They quickly fell into silence as they worked on their reports, hoping to finish them before Gibbs returned from yet another coffee run.

When Gibbs returned around 12:15, only Tony remained in the office. Once again, Tony neglected to acknowledge Gibbs' presence, which now, Gibbs' decided, seemed to be on purpose.

"Where's Kate and McGee?" Gibbs asked, softly.

"Abby," Tony replied quietly without looking up.

"Yeah? Doing what?" Gibbs asked as he sat at his desk.

Tony shrugged and then apathetically mumbled, "Socializing, I guess," still without looking up from what he was working on.

"And why aren't you down there?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep Tony talking, even though it was clear Tony wanted to sit in silence.

Tony just replied, "Busy."

"Doing what?" Gibbs asked.

"Report," Tony answered, seemingly too depleted of energy to form complete sentences.

Gibbs paused then, letting silence take over the bullpen, as he just watched and observed Tony for a few minutes. Tony didn't seem to notice as he continued to stare intently at his work.

"What's going on, Tony?" Gibbs finally asked.

"Nothing," Tony meekly responded.

Gibbs sighed, a little frustrated now at Tony's lackadaisical responses. "You are not acting like yourself."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Tony softly quipped with a half-hearted laugh, but it didn't seem like he was joking.

Either way, Gibbs didn't find it funny. "Why would that be a good thing?"

Tony finally looked over at Gibbs as he told him point-blank, "I think you know why," before he stood up and mumbled something about getting some air.

Not wanting to meddle or overstep, which would likely just scare a clearly already skittish Tony off, Gibbs remained seated and let him go. But he couldn't help but think about Tony's behavior this week and the concerning conversation he'd just had with him, all ending with the disturbing remark "I think you know why." Had he said something to cause Tony's ever fluctuating self-esteem to plummet? He couldn't remember anything specific, but why else would Tony hit him with the seemingly pointed, "I think you know why." Was it because he'd told him the entire case rested on his shoulders, that if they couldn't get a confession, Tony would be to blame? Normally, that wouldn't bother Tony, only motivate him, light a fire under him, but perhaps this time, it didn't. Maybe this time, it just struck a nerve.

Gibbs didn't entirely believe that could be the reason, at least not that alone, but that's all he could think of. And just then Kate and McGee returned, interrupting his thoughts and theories, and plunged him back into reality.

"Where's Tony?" McGee asked as he and Kate sat down at their desks simultaneously.

"Don't worry about it," was all Gibbs said.

The rest of the day, Tony was quiet and despondent, barely saying two words to anyone, and appeared to be stuck in his own head.

When 19:00 rolled around, with their current case having been closed that morning and no new case having been assigned to them, Gibbs sent everyone home with the instruction to get some rest, which was particularly directed at Tony, though he didn't even seem to hear anything past "Go home". While Gibbs wanted to confront Tony immediately and force him to tell him what was going on, he knew that would most likely result in the opposite effect. For him to be as bullheaded as he was, Tony spooked surprisingly easy. No, Tony had to be the one to make the decision, frustrating as it was. Gibbs just hoped he made it sooner rather than later.

Tony arrived at his apartment building and was about to park when he saw a familiar black van parked in front of the building. 'Where have I seen that van before?' he wondered. He was about to put the car in park when it hit him: it was just like the van from two days earlier when he'd received an unsolicited visit from the organization. He pulled out the envelope he'd been given that afternoon and compared the license plate on the van to the license plate number he'd jotted down that day. BSR-4795. It was the same van.

Not yet ready to deal with them, he quickly drove away before they recognized him. He just started driving, not sure where he could go. He could go to a motel, but now really wasn't the time to be spending money; he'd need every last cent he had, and even then, it probably wouldn't be enough. He could go to either Kate's or McGee's place, but didn't want to intrude, especially with not knowing what they would be up to tonight or if they'd even be home, and besides, if by chance they were home, they'd definitely want some answers as to why he couldn't go home before they let him spend the night, which he sure as hell did not want to divulge as the less they knew, the better — the organization was watching him after all and must know who his co-workers are as well. The last thing he wanted was to drag them into his mess. He could pull over and sleep in his car, but that seemed a little too risky, given his current situation. He didn't know where he was going until he put his car in park in front of a house he knew all too well by this point. Gibbs' house. At least he knew Gibbs would be home. Unfortunately, he'd probably expect some answers, which, again, Tony really didn't want to give. But he was absolutely exhausted and he didn't know where else he could go where he'd be safe enough to sleep. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

As he closed his car door, he glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. He hadn't realized he'd been driving that long. It had seened like a split second decision in his head. Everything seemed to be going so much faster than it felt, and not to mention that also meant the sand was falling faster than he thought in his hourglass, losing hours just driving around thinking, and when it all ran out — well, he couldn't think about that right now. He was going to be useless until he got some good, sound sleep. And he needed to be at the very top of his game for the next few days if he was going to survive this nightmare.

It was three in the morning when Tony anxiously walked up to the door and knocked twice. Normally, he would've just walked inside — the door, afterall, was always unlocked — but his current level of insecurity made him feel like Gibbs wouldn't want him there at all, especially if he just barged in, even if that's what he always did. After a minute passed with no answer, he assumed no one was going to come to the door. Then, right when he was about to turn around and leave, the door swung open, revealing a confused looking Gibbs.

"DiNozzo," was all he said. He was wondering why Tony hadn't just walked inside and came down the stairs to the basement where Gibbs had been working on his boat like he always did, but, upon seeing the uncharacteristically unconcealed anxiety that he had never seen on Tony's face before, decided not to ask him about that, thinking it was better to let Tony explain his motives at his own pace.

Tony, now feeling pressure to state his case for earning his way into Gibbs' house, even though this was not the first time he'd been here — hell, he'd stayed the night on several occasions — struggled to find words to explain himself, but for some reason, for the first time in his life, he couldn't find any. "Uh…I…um…It…I…You see…uh…" he mumbled as his eyes moved to his feet uncomfortably, trying to explain why he was there at this time of night, but ultimately failing. He didn't know why he was having so much trouble. He never had trouble with speaking or finding the right words — improvisation was perhaps the most natural thing to him — nor hiding his emotions from his face. But that night, he couldn't do either. And it frustrated the hell out of him. Then, suddenly, as he glanced up and saw Gibbs standing there waiting patiently (well, patient for Gibbs), panic built up inside him and, his fight-or-flight instincts — more accurately flight — kicked in and he quickly shook his head as he said, "...I'm sorry," then he turned on his heel and tried to jog back to his car to go somewhere else, though he had no idea where that would be.

But he didn't even make it down the porch steps before Gibbs called to him, "Rule 6, Tony." Tony paused on the steps, but didn't turn around. "Get your butt in here."

Tony stayed paused for half a second before relenting and slowly turning around and walking back up the steps and passing Gibbs on his way inside as the other man closed the door behind him. Tony began to pace nervously back and forth in front of the couch as he started unconsciously zipping his jacket up and down, up and down, up and down…

…until Gibbs finally ordered, "Sit down, DiNozzo." Tony did as he was told, but he still looked rather shaky as he silently stared at the floor. Clearly, for once in his life, Tony was not going to be leading the conversation, so Gibbs decided to start it. "What's on your mind, DiNozzo?"

Tony didn't respond for a minute. His thoughts racing now, he hadn't heard what Gibbs had said. He glanced over and saw Gibbs was waiting expectantly. He asked quietly, "I'm sorry, what?"

Deciding to ignore the fact that Tony had now broken Rule 6 twice within ten minutes, Gibbs asked again, "What's wrong?"

"That's a…That's a great question, boss," Tony said, buying himself some time to form an answer. "Nothing," he finally said. "I just…needed a place to sleep. I know I shouldn't have come here, but…I didn't have anywhere else to go."

Gibbs, putting a pin in the fact that Tony seemed to think he wasn't welcome at Gibbs' house for whatever reason and choosing to come back to that later, asked the other question he was wondering, "What's wrong with your apartment?"

Tony was silent for a few minutes before he finally uttered, "...Um…"

When that wasn't followed by any sort of answer, Gibbs, his curiousity and perchance his concern piqued, asked, "Tony..?"

Tony bit his lip before he explained, "Um…someone's there. And I don't particularly want to go back until they're gone."

After a few seconds, Gibbs, not liking the ominosity of that statement, finally asked him, "Who is there?"

"Um…just some…people," Tony finally mumbled, his eyes feeling very heavy now.

"Hey! DiNozzo! Look at me," Gibbs called out, while snapping his fingers, trying to get as much information as he could before Tony, by looking at the state he was in, inevitably crashed and became unresponsive for several hours at the least. "Did these people threaten you?"

Before Tony could think of an answer, his eyes drifted shut against his will and suddenly, he was in a deep, peaceful, dreamless sleep without even trying.

When Tony finally opened his eyes, sunlight was streaming in from the windows, the natural light illuminating the room. He was now lying down on the couch and someone had thrown a blanket over him. He looked around and, upon not seeing anyone, he swiftly threw the blanket off and darted for the door as quickly and quietly as he could. He thought he'd made it as he opened the door and was about to step outside and make his escape when a stern voice called out, "Now where do you think you're going?"

Tony immediately froze, not knowing how to respond. "Home..?" he finally answered the question.

"Well, it's nice to see you got your sense of humor back," Gibbs told him. "It's also good to see your instincts and reaction time are back up to speed. That being said, get back in here and close the door."

Tony didn't move and instead told Gibbs, "I have to go."

"Where's the fire?" Gibbs asked.

"I have a doctor's appointment," Tony immediately lied.

"Oh, wow, and your compulsive lying is back too," Gibbs quipped.

Tony finally unfroze and looked over at Gibbs, though decidedly still kept his distance. "I'm not a compulsive liar," Tony told him quietly, his delivery coming off as more insecure and whiny than assertive like he had intended.

"Overactive imagination then," Gibbs revised. When Tony didn't smile and just stared at him petulantly, a sulky expression on his face, Gibbs revised again, perhaps in an attempt to make Tony crack a smile, "Captivating storytelling?"

Ignoring him, Tony asked, "Can I leave now?"

"No," Gibbs told him.

Tony threw his head back in indignation. "Why not?"

"Because you need to eat breakfast," Gibbs told him. "Close the door and go sit at the table."

"I'm not hungry," Tony said.

Gibbs was silent for a second before asking, "When was the last time you ate?"

Tony paused, thinking. "Um…I…I don't know. Yesterday maybe?"

Gibbs' expression was unwavering. "You need to eat," he told Tony firmly, leaving no room for debate.

Tony groaned in protest, but nonetheless, shut the front door and made his way to the kitchen and sat down at the table, where a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast and a glass of orange juice were placed in front of him.

"What? No coffee?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"I think caffeine is probably the last thing you need right now," Gibbs replied. He nodded towards Tony's fingers, which were anxiously drumming the table, and his knee, which was anxiously bouncing up and down, and his eyes, which were darting around the room as if anticipating an attack.

"And you know what I need," Tony muttered to himself spitefully.

Gibbs heard him. "What I know is you showed up here last night in the wee hours of the morning because you were terrified to go to your apartment and you needed a safe place to sleep, which I happily provided for you. But you gotta give me something, Tony. The kid that I saw last week is not the same kid I recruited two years ago. You were not acting like yourself at all. Why?"

Tony just silently played with his food, occasionally taking a bite.

"Well?" Gibbs pushed.

"I don't know," Tony mumbled.

"Come on, DiNozzo! This is like pulling teeth!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"Why does it matter?" Tony asked, as he put the last bite of toast in his mouth.

Gibbs sighed. "Because I am concerned that you are in over your head with something serious. I just don't know what it is."

Tony stood up as he chugged what was left of the orange juice. "Look, I'm fine, boss. I swear." As he began to leave the kitchen, before Gibbs could protest, Tony gestured at the now empty plate, reminding Gibbs, "You said I had to eat; I ate. Now I have to go. I'll see you on Monday."

As Tony shut the door behind him, Gibbs slammed the dishes into the sink in frustration. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this lost and powerless and, dare he say it, scared.

'Goddamnit! If he goes and gets himself killed,' Gibbs thought, 'I'm going to kill him.'