a/n - Things are kicking into high gear and there's only two more chapters to go after this one. One of the requests that came with the prompts for this story was that it not be too long. That was the hardest part, cause I could have turned this into a 40 chapter epic. Well, rumor has it the Kingdom of Cia' may need help, requiring a return to the Faire. What do you think, Kort as a Viking or a Saxon?

Ever since mornings working in his father's store, Gibbs had been an early riser so it wasn't unusual for him to be awake at first light, even on a Saturday morning, but it was unusual to wake to the sounds of sizzling bacon. Still wearing the drawstring sleep pants McGee had provided all the men, Gibbs wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and wandered out of the tent to settle into one of the chairs near the campfire.

"Morning, Boss." Tim grinned and handed him a mug of coffee, which Gibbs gratefully took. "I assume Ducky and Tony are still sleeping?"

Gibbs returned the grin and happily took a sip. There was nothing quite like coffee made over an open campfire and he savored that first swallow. Ducky had been back at camp the previous night before he'd returned from the Bawdy Bosom, but DiNozzo had not returned until well after closing, escorted by two of the well-endowed bar wenches. "Ducky's starting to wake up, DiNozzo's still out. Did Palmer and Abby get out all right?"

"Yeah, the cover is that she had an allergic reaction and Jimmy took her to her doctor. That way he won't be questioned when he comes back in."

Gibbs nodded and they both fell silent. The tests Abby had run last night confirmed that there was blood on the spikes and it was human. Scoring from an electrical charge had also been found on the two spikes Jimmy was expecting. As an added bonus, enough blood had been soaked into one of the leather straps to run a DNA test, prompting Abby's return to the modern world.

They still didn't know exactly why Sergeant Ward had been tortured and murdered, but they did know that his murder weapon would be turned into a public display later that day. Beyond that, the fragments of conversation Ziva had heard told them that Anja Clark and her people were expecting company on Sunday.

Ziva joined them just as Tim was pouring the eggs into the skillet, Sarah only moments behind her, but carrying a coffee cake she had made earlier. Ducky's arrival was timed perfectly as the potatoes finished browning. DiNozzo was the last to arrive, and gratefully took the plate of food that was offered. It was a quiet meal, some soaking in the ambiance, some still too sleepy to carry on a conversation. Not surprisingly, it was Ducky that finally broke the silence.

"Despite the circumstances that brought us out here, this has been an amazing adventure, Timothy, thank you."

Tim smiled and saluted the older man with his coffee cup. "One of these days, you'll have to come back with me when we don't have to work a case."

"Could we?" Ziva looked rather excited at the prospect and even Gibbs gave a smile and a nod. DiNozzo had to think about it.

"Can I still be at the Bawdy Bosom?" Luckily, he was on the other side of the fire from Gibbs, but he could see the twitching hand and concentrated on eating. "Man, Probie, what did you put in these eggs? They're great."

McGee and Gibbs exchanged grins. Gibbs explained as McGee added more eggs to Tony's plate. "It's called cooking outdoors, the best part of camping."

The archery match was set to start at 0900, so after their hearty breakfast everyone got started on their day. Ducky was scheduled to man the first aide station that morning, and Sarah needed to get started on the lunch cart. Since she was without a helper until Jimmy returned from the Yard, Ziva offered her assistance. Tony didn't need to report to the tavern until the late shift, so he joined McGee to watch Gibbs at the archery match.

-NCIS-

Anja was waiting for him, much to the annoyance of her fighter who stood in the background.

"Lord Bedford."

Princess Guillette." Gibbs gave a sweeping bow. "Good morrow, your Highness, have you come to watch the games?"

"Mayhap I have a more cherished reasoning." She gave him a coy look from beneath her lashes. "Wouldst thou wear my token for luck?"

Gibbs stood still as she took a ribbon from her hair and tied it around his upper arm. "Grammercy, M'Lady." With a final kiss of her hand, he returned to McGee for his final preparations.

Tim couldn't help but grin. "You do remember the significance of that?"

Gibbs thought through the massive amount of information McGee had drilled into his head. "It's a favor, right? A token."

Not just any favor, it's a 'for the nonce' favor, you remember that one?"

"Oh, OH." Gibbs clapped him on the back and leaned closer to whisper in his ear, just loud enough for Tony to hear. "Guess your lessons on chivalrous courtship techniques worked." With one last slap on the other man's back, Gibbs took his place on the line, bow at the ready.

"You taught him. YOU taught him how to court women? DiNozzo stood right in back of McGee, hissing in his other ear. "What is wrong with this picture? Wait a minute, what's a 'for the nonce'?"

McGee didn't turn around, but leaned back slightly as he whispered his answer. "It's a romantic favor. She expects it returned later, personally... in private."

"Really? Way to go, Boss. Too bad we think she's a cold-blooded killer."

"Yeah, but she's a red-headed, cold-blooded killer."

"Okay, you got me there." He waited a moment. "So, can you teach me? Just... just don't tell anyone." The starting signal of the tournament saved Tim from answering.

A sniper was a sniper no matter the century or the weapon. Yesterday's lesson had been enough to learn the sighting and handling of the longbow and against the self-taught amateurs, Gibbs excelled. As the scores were being tallied, Tony had one more question for his friend.

"How come you didn't compete?" Counting heads and available target stands he came to his own conclusion. "You gave up your spot for him, didn't you?"

Tim shrugged and turned back to listen to the awards. Seeing that shy, happy smile they so rarely saw on their boss's face when he was named champion of the day more than made up for his own missed chance. Tony squeezed his shoulder.

"Thanks, Tim."

-NCIS-

Just before lunch the horses arrived. With Ziva at his side, Tim went out to meet the old family friend who loaned him a stallion trained for jousting. "Robert, it's good to see you again. How's Karen?"

"Wondering when you're going to start giving us honorary grandchildren to spoil." Robert laughed as he watched Tim turn a bright red and while the younger man was choking, he turned his attention to Ziva. "Hey, I'm Robert Parker, I've known this kid since he was knee high to a grasshopper. You his girl?"

Now even Ziva was blushing, albeit slightly. "No, I am his Squire."

"Eh, it's a start." While the two agents composed themselves, Robert moved to the back of the horse trailer and opened it up, leading the tall horse down the ramp. Coal black with a white blaze down the center of his face, the horse was powerful and strong.

Ziva didn't have a clue if he knew where he was, but the moment the horse caught the breeze, he straightened up and his trot became a prance. It took her breath away. "He's beautiful."

Tim came close and took the reins, nuzzling with the horse. "Hey, Zeus, did you miss me?" Apparently he did, judging for the snort and whinny that answered him. Ziva edged closer and closer until she felt Tim slip something into her hand. Square and grainy, she smiled her thanks and offered it to the horse, laughing at the tickling sensation when he took the cube of sugar from her palm.

By the time she looked up, Tim and Robert had the saddle and protective gear on Zeus and were tightening the straps. Robert was laughing at the horse. "Easy there, big fella. Yeah, you know what this padding means. If the two of you did this full time he'd be the happiest horse in the world."

Tim looked younger as he smiled at the horse and owner. "That would be fun, but the job comes first." He easily mounted the horse, but tossed the reins to Ziva. She knew this was coming, but it was still a thrill to walk the proud animal and his rider to the practice field where McGee put Zeus through his paces. Trotting, cantering, galloping, stops and starts, until horse and rider were one and ready for Sunday's jousting match.

-NCIS-

Vance walked into the lab to find Abby glaring at her machines. "Is there a problem, Miss Sciuto?"

"My babies have to work faster, Leon. I have to get back before the Siege fight this afternoon. It's bad enough that I had to miss Gibbs in the archery match, I can't miss Timmy fighting with a broadsword."

McGee with a broadsword? Sometimes being the one stuck behind the desk sucked. "All right, let's get Mr. Palmer in here and go over what we have so far."

Jimmy showed up almost seconds after she called him. On the plasma he showed a photo of Sergeant Ward's back, the wounds that involved the electrical charge clearly marked. A transparent image of the chair Anja Clark owned went up next, the spikes that had been used to conduct the electricity also clearly marked. When the two images were overlapped, they had a match. Jimmy turned to Vance. "Proof positive, that's the chair that killed Sergeant Ward."

Before Vance could say anything, Abby's computer chirped and she rushed for the results. She yanked the paper out of the printer and waved it at Vance. "DNA is a match. It's Sergeant Ward's blood on the chair. Now we can make an arrest?"

"But arrest who?" Jimmy's questions stopped Abby cold. "How do we know who put him in the chair, and who's just there to help set up the display?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Palmer is right, Abby. Unfortunately, to know who, we need to know why. We need a motive. We know from what Ziva overheard that someone important to their plan is arriving at the Faire Sunday. Ward's murder may just be the tip of the iceberg."

Vance's assistant arrived at that moment, shyly smiling at the gypsy and the pickle salesman. "They just finished running facial recognition on the pictures they took. Two men stood out, sir."

He took the offered folder and opened it to look at what the technicians in MTAC had discovered. The first match made him groan, the second one set off alarms in his head. He held out the first picture. Abby didn't recognize the man, but the clothing and the background told her that he was one of the fighters that had been at the pre-battle meeting on the List the day before. Anja Clark standing next to him told her the connection.

"He's one of the fighters. Ziva mentioned that Anja was sponsoring a fighter, so that must be him."

Vance was not happy to tell her. "His name is Sergey Kovalenko. He's Russian Special Forces, or at least he was before he was expelled for unnecessary brutality. Now he's a mercenary for hire."

"We can't let McGee fight that monster, he'll get slaughtered."

Jimmy tried to calm her down. "They have really strict rules about the fights, Abby. It's actually pretty safe."

"Yeah, safe as long as they all follow the rules, Do you think that guy is going to follow the rules? We have to solve this case. Who's the other guy?"

"Norbert Hampton, one of the suspects in the security breech Ward was investigating when he was still stationed in California."

Abby took the file and skimmed it quickly. "So why does a top secret weapons design engineer quit his job to help set up a RenFaire display on the other side of the country?"

"Ward left California three days after Hampton quit his job. Hampton and that security breech are the keys to this. Palmer, you go back to the Faire, but Miss Sciuto, I need you here. When we finally get our hands on the files from California, they're bound to be encrypted. If I don't have McGee here, then I need you.