a/n - Glad you're having fun with me on this one. The site was acting wonky yesterday, so I hope everyone got to read chapter 2.

"How often do you get to go out into the field? I thought you were pretty confined to the lab."

Abby was much more interested in the trunks of clothing that Sarah was opening. "What? Oh, yeah, usually I don't get to go anywhere, but Gibbs is getting some portable lab equipment for me. He and Vance decided that having me on-site to do the preliminary testing would help maintain the chain of evidence better. Say, do you have one of those cool dresses with the big, stand up collar? Like the queen wore?"

Sarah had to smile at the enthusiasm of the older woman. "An Elizabethan gown with a standing ruff. They're beautiful, but only nobility wear dresses like that at the RenFaire. Besides, camping outside isn't really conducive to wearing silk and velvet all day."

"I suppose." Abby touched the spiderweb on the side of her neck. "Besides, these tattoos probably aren't really period, are they?"

"You'd probably get some odd looks dressed as a Royal, but some characters would work well with them." Sarah was looking for something specific as she went through the trunks. In the bottom of the third trunk she found her prize and stood with a grin. "How about a Gypsy?"

"A Gypsy?" Bright green eyes widened as a smile crossed Abby's face. "Really?"

Sarah returned the smile. "Sure. The Roma were known as Gypsies back then. They were exotic and different, in fact they wore big hoop earrings, which were unusual then. Since a lot of the Gypsies were fortune tellers, you would have a reason to be with any group at the Faire." Sarah held up a light weight woolen blanket. It was black with red edging, and several ribbons were sewn to one of the longer sides. Abby took the blanket as it was handed to her while Sarah returned to the trunk.

Ten minutes later, Abby was wearing a traditional long white chemise and saffron colored bodice. She was a little disappointed that it didn't accentuate her bust. "It's not very sexy."

"Only bar wenches can get away with BOP's"

"BOP's?" Waiting her turn, Ziva asked before Abby could.

Sarah held her hands in front of her, as if they were holding something up. "Boobs on a platter."

Ziva immediately understood. "That explains The Bawdy Bosom. Tony will be quite happy."

As the three women shared a laugh, Sarah pulled out two long skirts and handed them to Abby. "You wear them both, but tuck one side of the hem of the top one into the waistband, so part of the other one is visible." Abby quickly donned them, putting the blue skirt over the red one and loving how the fabric swirled around her ankles as she moved. Soft leather slippers felt very different than her usual platforms, but they were surprisingly comfortable. A turban was added, which Ziva helped her wrap around her head as Sarah explained the proper way to wear the blanket as an outer garment, using the ribbons to secure it over her right shoulder. Once she was wearing it, Abby realized how much she could carry hidden in the folds and the discrete pockets that had been sewn into the inside.

"This is perfect, Sarah. I could have dozens of samples hidden and no one would know." Abby held her arms out and hugged Sarah. "They didn't hug much back then, so I've got to get them in now."

Ziva was impressed with Abby's appearance, but had concerns for her own garments. "We are after murder suspects, and as beautiful as these dresses may be..."

"They're not exactly made to chase bad guys through the park." Sarah finished for her with a grin. "Don't worry, Tim warned me that your clothes had to be practical, and he also said you might be a squire."

"Yes, even though the case is our priority, I must admit the jousting and fighting sounds a little intriguing."

The way her eyes lit up told Sarah that Ziva was more than a little interested in the fighting aspect. "Well, when you're on the list, or battlefield, no one will question you wearing a doublet and hosen, otherwise..." Her voice faced off as her head was buried in one of the trunks. This time her search was quicker as she'd seen what she needed while she was gathering Abby's garments. Sarah turned and held out what looked like a full-length coat in a rich brown brocade with a gold colored lining.

"It's beautiful." Ziva couldn't help but brush her fingers across the fabric.

"And exotic, at least for this time period." Sarah handed her the garment before picking up the rest of the outfit. "This is what women in the Ottoman Empire would wear. The pants are called shalwar and the shirt is called a gomlek. You're holding the caftan. Since the caftan doesn't button all the way to the floor, it's pretty easy to move in. We add a simple cap and of course the veil to cover your hair, and you're set. I've also got the doublet and hosen for when you are Tim's squire." Ziva also took the green and blue outfit Sarah handed her next as she continued to talk. "Now we can start with names and details while Tim gets the guys set up with clothes."

-NCIS-

"So, what do we have on Ward? DiNozzo, anything stand out in his personal life? What about the gang troubles the recruiters were having? McGee, have you gotten any answers about his previous posting?" Gibbs leaned back and crossed his arms, while the two younger agents scrambled to answer.

DiNozzo was the first to the remote for the plasma, and pulled up a picture of a beautiful woman. "Not much on the personal front, Boss. This is his ex-girlfriend, Carla Hampton, who dumped him a few months ago for a movie producer. She's currently in the Bahamas, where he's filming his latest movie, and has been for the last three weeks." Tony gave one last, lingering look at the plasma before handing the remote to McGee. "As much as it pains me to say this, I can't even come up with anything to justify questioning her. Ward hadn't signed or really even talked to any gang members yet, so nothing on that front. It looks like the threat, was just that, a threat, and nothing more."

Now that he had the remote, McGee quickly loaded a series of photos. "Ward's previous assignment was as part of the security team at a research facility in California. It's a weapons development facility, Boss. They admitted that there was a security breech about six months ago that Ward investigated, but no arrests were made. According to his supervisor, Ward wanted the transfer to the East coast after his relationship with Miss Hampton ended, and he was sad to see him leave, but he seemed more nervous than upset to hear that Sergeant Ward was murdered."

"You think he's hiding something?"

"Yeah, Boss, I do. Ward spent the last ten years of duty handling high end military security. He had a lot of options open to him if he wanted to get away from California. It doesn't make sense that he'd end up as an extra recruiter in an already over staffed office."

Gibbs could tell that McGee was working up to something, and he was pretty sure he knew what it was. "You think his job as a recruiter was a front."

"He was still working on the security breech right up to the day he transferred, and the recruiter's job was a step backwards for him. Either it was a front, or he pissed off somebody that's higher up the food chain. I'd need to see how far he got tracking the breech, but they're not real receptive to letting us see the files on Ward's investigation."

"We'll let Vance handle that end of it." Gibbs looked upstairs to see the three ladies moving back to the other conference room. "Looks like it's time for our fitting, DiNozzo."

"Oh, Joy."

-NCIS-

The cocky man had a great deal more he would have liked to say, but the smirking face of Leon Vance watching from above silenced him as he and Gibbs followed McGee up the stairs. Ducky and Palmer arrived via the elevator just seconds behind them.

"I must say, Timothy, I am finding this to be quite exciting. The history of the time period portrayed is fascinating."

That was Ducky's catchphrase of the case it seemed, and Palmer gave an indulgent smile. "I'm looking forward to seeing my character. I've always wanted to go to a RenFaire." He struck a dramatic pose. "Od's bodikins, 'twixt yesternight and now, verily, my joy has been reached."

As Palmer and Ducky followed McGee into the room, Gibbs and DiNozzo were frantically flipping through the cheat sheets Sarah had made them.

"Did he just insult us, Boss?"

"Hell if I know, DiNozzo."