A/N: Thank you to everyone who set themselves up with a story alert! Also, thank you to my anonymous reviewers, since I have no way of responding to you all individually. :-(
Enjoy! :-)
By the time the sun came up the next morning, the Major Case Response Team was waist-deep in old case files. With nothing much to go on by way of evidence yet, the team had plunged into the list of potential suspects with a hope that was fading fast, its last threads sustained only by their sense of desperation. They had split the list into three categories - people with grudges against Tony, people with grudges against Ziva, and people with grudges against them both. Since they were lacking any files on Ziva's years with Mossad, most of her stack was from cases she had worked since leaving the MCRT and taking on her role as leader of a team specializing in counter-terrorism. Tony had gratefully passed that section of the list onto Ziva's two junior agents - both of whom had been with her for over three years - and they too had been working through the night.
Each of the agents, with the notable exception of Tony, had taken at least an hour to catch a little sleep, but as morning began to wither towards afternoon, they had all been working steadily for several hours. Lena glanced over at DiNozzo carefully. She wasn't blind to the exhaustion written in the lines his face, and she was starting to worry about him. She wanted to suggest that he take a break, but was wary of his reaction to such a comment, rightfully fearing that it would only anger him. Her lips tightened, and she forgot to look away fast enough. When Tony turned her direction and caught her staring, she didn't bother to pretend that she hadn't been - Tony wouldn't have bought it anyway.
She held his eyes for a long, pointed moment before turning back to her work, and, to her surprise, Tony seemed to get her message to some degree. With a sigh, he pushed himself out of his chair and headed for the elevator.
"I'll be in the lab," he called back over his shoulder as he left.
Lena couldn't bring herself to smile, but she did feel a small twinge of satisfaction - whether or not Abby had something yet, she and Tony had a relationship that predated even Tony and Ziva's. If anyone could comfort Tony or convince him to take a half hour to rest, it was the energetic forensic scientist.
* * *
"This is hopeless!" Fifteen minutes later, Agent Canton's sudden comment interrupted Lena in the middle of skimming the file of a Marine who had been arrested by the MCRT for killing his wife. Her gaze shifted to the younger agent, who looked just as exhausted as Tony had.
"Right now, Canton, it's all we have," Lena said quietly.
"Then we have nothing!" Canton replied. "As much as we hate to admit it. We've been looking through these files for more than twelve hours, and we've found nothing!"
Lena stood up, which caused Rob to drop all pretenses and watch openly as Lena crossed the bullpen and leaned against Heather's desk.
"If you have a better idea, Agent Canton, we'd be happy to hear it," Lena hissed. "Or would you like to just call it quits. I mean, its only the Boss's wife and daughter we're talking about here...no big deal."
Canton swallowed hard, her mouth opening as if she was about to speak, and then shutting quickly. Lena just glared at her, and the tension might have dragged on for several moments had they not been interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat. Lena spun around abruptly, irritation welling helplessly in her chest and a few biting words at the tip of her tongue. When her eyes caught the figure of the silver-haired, blue-eyed former Special Agent Gibbs, however, her annoyance dissolved rapidly in a wave of shock.
"Gibbs," she managed to say, not noticing the looks of surprise and curiosity that flashed across Heather and Rob's faces.
"Sanders," Gibbs replied.
"Tony didn't mention that you were coming," Lena offered awkwardly, pushing her hands into the pockets of her pants.
"Where is Tony?" Gibbs asked, not bothering to respond to Lena's comment.
"Abby's lab," Lena replied.
Gibbs nodded, and without another word he brushed past her and left the bull pen. Lena, Canton, and Sanders silently watched him disappear behind the stairs, remaining quiet for a few moments after he had gone.
"The legendary Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs," Rob murmured, once he was sure that Gibbs was out of earshot.
"In the flesh," Lena replied, crossing her arms across her chest as she returned to her desk. "I should have known Tony would call him."
"He doesn't trust us?" Canton asked, all thought of the tension between them erased by Gibbs' arrival.
"He doesn't trust himself," Lena answered.
"The Boss always trusts his gut," Canton argued. Lena's eyes fixed on Heather's face, but her expression was soft now, and thoughtful.
"Heather, you've got a lot to learn." Lena brushed her fingers across her keyboard to re-awaken her computer screen. After a few moments silence, she noticed that Rob and Heather hadn't returned to work yet. "Those two are going to be storming up here within the next thirty minutes," she said, not looking up from her screen, "and if you think the Boss is intense, this is going to be like Boss times ten. I'd get back into those case files, if I was you."
Rob fell back to his computer without hesitation, but Lena could feel Heather looking at her still.
"Problem, Canton?" Lena asked mildly.
"Just...Lena, you know I'd never give up on this..." Heather replied.
"I know," Lena answered quickly. She looked up to catch Heather's eye. "I know."
Heather nodded once, and then they both turned back to their screens with renewed determination.
* * *
The first thing Gibbs noticed when he stepped out of the elevator was quiet. Even after all the years he'd spent away, the lack of pounding music emanating from Abby's lab still seemed to set his hair a little on edge. He hurried the short, still familiar distance, and was surprised to find himself confronted with a shut door and a sign hand-written on a sheet of printer paper. The word 'QUIET' had been hastily written in spiky capital letters that could only have been Abby's, so Gibbs opened the door very slowly and slipped inside without making a sound.
Either Abby's hearing or her sense of clairvoyance must have improved though, because the instant he turned away from the door he found himself enveloped in her arms. He returned the embrace without hesitation, relishing the feel of the woman he thought of as a daughter held close against his chest.
"Gibbs!" Abby somehow managed to convey all her exuberance and joy and underlying worry in a soft, but intense, whisper. "I'm so glad your here! Tony's freaking out, and driving himself insane trying to act tough in front of his team, and the evidence from Tony and Ziva's house just bites, and we haven't even IDd the dead guys yet..."
"Abbs," Gibbs cut her off, matching her soft voice. "Why are we whispering?"
In response, Abby pointed into the next room. Through the plate glass door, Gibbs could see Tony curled up on Abby's futon, sleeping fitfully with a blanket half-wrapped around his body.
"He needs at least a little sleep, Gibbs."
"Doesn't look very peaceful," Gibbs commented, as Tony's body twisted violently for a moment before becoming still again.
"It's better than nothing," Abby argued.
"Alright," Gibbs agreed. "Why don't you show me what you've got so far before I wake him up then?"
"I thought you'd never ask, oh Great One," Abby smiled, grabbing Gibbs' hand and dragging him towards her computers.
"We've got confirmation that Ziva did, in fact, kill the dead guys. The bullets matched a weapon recovered at the scene that, though it didn't belong to her, was covered in her fingerprints. Not that there was really much doubt of that, though - I mean, the shots were classic Ziva and why would the kidnappers have killed two of their own..."
"Abbs!" Gibbs did his best to growl in a whisper. Some things never changed.
"Sorry," Abby apologized quickly before going on. "We've got Ziva's knife, with only her prints on it and the blood of three different people on the blade - none of which match the blood of the dead guys."
"She went down fighting," Gibbs murmured, picking up the bag containing the knife and eyeing the weapon intently.
"You betcha," Abby replied. "Other than that, we've got signs of a struggle all over the kitchen. I've distinguished the blood of six different people at the scene."
"Two dead guys," Gibbs offered, "Three that were wounded with the knife..."
"And Ziva's" Abby finished, "but not a major amount. And there was no blood at the scene that matched Adi's."
"I guess that's one thing to be grateful for," Gibbs sighed, placing Ziva's knife back on the table.
"The glass door at the back of the house was broken from the outside, so we're guessing that was the point of entry for most of the kidnappers," Abby went on, "but there were also some signs of struggle on the front porch."
"A distraction," Gibbs said. "One person occupies Ziva at the front door while the others break in the back - and we know there were at least five men at the scene. Whoever did this knew enough to send a lot of muscle after a target like Ziva." He paused for a moment, then added. "What else, Abby?"
"Unfortunately, that's about it," Abby frowned. "These must have been pros, Gibbs. They didn't leave any prints anywhere. And DNA identification has come a long way since you retired, but it's still mostly useful for matching, not making IDs."
"They left two dead bodies, Abby," Gibbs reminded her.
"I know!" Abby replied, "And I'm running the prints now, but you know these things take time! I'm sure we'll get a match, soon," she added, when Gibbs glared at her. "Actually, I was hoping that we'd get the match right when you got here - you know how you used to have that effect on my machines - but no such luck, yet. You must be losing your touch."
"I'm not losing my touch," Gibbs said. "I can't afford to be right now."
Hearing the hint of doubt in Gibbs' voice, Abby took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "We'll find them, Gibbs," she promised. "This isn't going to be like Shannon and Kelly." The sad smile that crossed Gibbs' face told Abby that she had read him perfectly. He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, then released her hand and headed for her office.
* * *
Gibbs wasn't altogether surprised to see Tony's green eyes fixed on him from the moment he crossed through the door to Abby's office. He crossed to the futon, leaned against the wall beside it and eased himself down next to Tony's head. The younger man's eyes followed every move intently.
"Not sleeping, I take it," Gibbs murmured.
"Getting Abby off my back," Tony replied. "Hopefully Sanders, too." Gibbs reached out and brushed his hand through Tony's hair gently, letting the gesture say the things he still had trouble vocalizing. When Gibbs drew his hand away, Tony struggled upright, fighting off the twisted blanket that was wrapped around him. The sleep had been faked, but the restlessness was very real.
"Abby filled me in on what we've got so far," Gibbs said, unnecessarily. Tony nodded. "What's your team up to?"
"My team, myself, and Ziva's team have been trawling through old case files for the last 18 hours or so, trying to find a possible suspect that would have reason or opportunity to seek revenge now." He sighed. "It's a long list."
"I bet," Gibbs replied.
"Its all we've really got to go on right now...until we get the IDs on those bodies."
"We'll get them," Gibbs said.
"Boss?" Tony said quietly, glancing up at Gibbs' face.
"Yeah, DiNozzo?"
"Thanks for coming."
"Nothing could have kept me away, Tony," Gibbs said, laying a comforting hand on Tony's shoulder. "Nothing."
A/N: Yay for Gibbs!
Please take the time to drop a review in my box - it'll make my day! I'm curious to know what ya'll think of the Gibbs & Abby scene...on the one hand, I thought it was a little repetitive to have her tell him about what happened with Ziva (after all, I already showed you what happened). On the other hand, I couldn't bear to get rid of or shorten it because I love Abby too much to cut her off...