I apologize for my very, very overdue update. Real life certainly became an adventure of its own and this story was put on the backburner. Thanks to anyone who thinks about giving this story a try again. I completely understand if I get the cold shoulder here.

Chapter Four-Caught off Guard

Tim and Tony found the campsite quiet and empty when they arrived. The sun was still low enough that not much sunlight was coming through the thick boughs of the pine trees that filled the area. It was definitely colder in these hills than it was in the city. It had snowed just a little over night, so there was about an inch of snow on the ground. The fresh precipitation crunched underneath their feet and that was the only sound in the area. There was an old Chevrolet parked right on the bank of a frozen lake. About twenty yards away, under the cover of pine trees, was a tent and fire pit that was currently cold. Tony and Tim looked around the area, but there was no one there.

"I don't understand camping to begin with," grumbled Tony as he peeked into the tent. "But I really don't understand it in the winter time. It's freezing!"

"Well, Tony," said Tim. "If you have the right clothing and equipment, you're just as warm as you are at home. As long as nothing goes wrong. Not to mention, winter in the woods can be just as beautiful as spring time."

"Lemme guess," said Tony, looking over at him. "You went on a lot of winter wonderland excursions during your Lost Boys Scout days."

Tim shrugged in response. "Wouldn't be much of an Eagle Scout if I couldn't manage all conditions, now would I?"

"Whatever." Tony wandered around the truck, peering through the windows.

"Are we going to follow them," asked Tim. "They probably just went on a morning hike."

"Nah," said Tony, making his way back to the car. "We can just wait here for them. No need in missing them in the woods. No offense to you, McTracker. But we're waiting in the car this time."

"It'll be warmer if we're moving," prompted Tim.

"We'll be fine in the car."

"Wuss," muttered Tim as he sauntered by Tony and threw open the car door.

"I heard that, McMutter," snapped Tony. In the car, he started rummaging in his pockets. "And for that, you're not getting any of this." He whipped out a Nutter Butter like it was a light saber.

Tim just laughed. "You know what another part of being an Eagle Scout is?"

Tony frowned.

Tim pulled out his own Nutter Butter. "Being prepared."

()()()()()()()

"No service," snapped Ziva for the fifth time. She gripped the door handle as Gibbs made a sharp turn onto the interstate. She looked at him with determination. "We know that they are in a remote area. No service can be expected. That does not mean anything happened to them."

"That's not what my gut's telling me," replied Gibbs tersely. "We should have gotten more information on the parents before we sent them all the way out there."

"Gibbs," said Ziva. "It was routine. We thought that we were only sending them to give bad news to the parents. Not that the parents were actually involved. It is no one's fault."

Gibbs was silent for a moment, probably not really listening to Ziva's words of reason.

"Call Abby," he finally said. "Get her to check their location."

Ziva quickly did as she was ordered. Abby picked up on the first ring.

"I know! I know," was the greeting. "I'm putting a trace on both their cellphones right now. Just give me about thirty seconds." Ziva heard the sound of Abby slurping the last of her Caf Pow! up. "How far are you guys?"

"We only left the Yard five minutes ago, Abby," answered Ziva more calmly than she felt. "It'll still be another hour and a half before we get out there." She stole a glance to her boss. "Even with Gibbs driving."

"I know," wailed Abby. "I'm just so worried." Ziva heard a beep from Abby's computer. "Okay, they're right where they said they were headed. At least, their phones are. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know if anything changes."

"Thanks, Abby," replied Ziva before hanging up. She looked at Gibbs. "They are at the camp site where they said they were headed."

Gibbs gave a sharp nod. He flipped on the siren and lights that sat on the dashboard. "Make that an hour. Now we don't have to worry about traffic."

()()()()()()()

Tim was enjoying a game of Temple Run on his iPhone in the car as he and Tony waited for the return of the Hughes couple. Tony was actually soundly asleep by now. It was a half hour after they had finished up their Nutter Butters. Tony had put his seat back, insisting that he was only "resting his eyes". He was out like a lamp within a minute. Not that Tim blamed him. It was the only the cold that was keeping him up at the moment. Even though they were in the car with the engine running and heat on, the chill still permeated into him. He was wishing that they had gone to track down the couple instead of just waiting for them.

His peripheral vision caught some motion in the woods and he looked over. He saw a lone man walking back into the camp site. He turned off his game and smacked Tony on the arm. Tony sat up with a gasp.

"Someone's here," said Tim.

Tony nodded as he rubbed his eyes. They exited the car and the man stopped just beside the tent, looking at them warily.

"Antennas up, Tim," murmured Tony. "Something isn't right."

Tim just nodded. The DiNozzo gut might not be as world famous as the Gibbs gut, but to those who knew him, it was trustworthy enough. As they got closer, they pulled out their ids.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," introduced Tony. "This is my partner, Special Agent McGee. We're with NCIS. Are you Robert Hughes?"

"Yes, sir," replied the man, taking a few cautious steps forward. "How can I help you?"

Tony lowered his badge. "I have some bad news, sir. Your son, he's dead."

The man's jaw lowered and he looked like he was trying to say something. But no sound escaped him. Shock and grief washed over his face quickly as he tried to compose himself. "How?" His voice was husky with emotion. "He just got home."

Tony swallowed. "He was murdered."

Now anger came over Hughes' expression, but he still didn't speak.

"Mr. Hughes," began Tim. "Your neighbor told us where we could find you and your wife. Where is she?"

Hughes blinked, obviously finding the topic change unexpected. A new show of grief passed over his features. "Oh, Maggie. She'll be devastated. She's still hiking. My ole knee was giving me trouble so I turned back early." He looked around the campsite as if she would appear to them.

"I understand that this is difficult for you, Mr. Hughes," said Tim. "But were you aware of any trouble your son was in?"

Hughes ran a hand over his worn face. "I don't know." He gave a shrug.

"Anything," urged Tony. "Anything he spoke of in his letters from overseas or something he's spoken about since he got home."

Hughes swallowed looking guilty. "I feel terrible telling you this." He clamped his mouth shut determinedly.

"Any information you give us right now will help," explained Tim. "Even if it doesn't pan out, we can get through that lead and eliminate suspects. We can catch your son's killer faster."

Tony nodded. "That's right, sir. It mind seem like a bogus lead to you, but it's better that you come clean now with any information rather than it looking worse from our viewpoint later on."

Hughes nodded with conviction. "Yes, of course you're right. Well, I know that he and his friend were arguing lately. I don't even know what about."

Tony pulled out his notebook. "What's his friend's name?"

"Tyler Barden," replied Hughes worriedly. "But everybody argues. It was probably nothing."

Tony fought back the urge to say that he had seen murders over the tiniest things. He put his notebook away. "Thank you, Mr. Hughes. We'll be doing all that we can to find your son's killer."

"Would you like us to stay until your wife comes back," asked Tim. He could've sworn that Tony shot him a quick glare.

"No, no," said Hughes with a distracted wave of his hand. "No, I can tell her by myself. She would probably prefer it that way. She—she doesn't like to grieve with company around."

The two agents nodded empathetically.

"Here, I have a picture of William and Tyler together just last year," said Hughes, walking over to his truck.

Tony's eyes narrowed and he followed closely. "That's okay, Mr. Hughes. We can get our own photo of Barden."

"No, no," replied Hughes. "Please, take it." He made his way to the passenger side, placing himself between the truck and the lake.

Tim didn't like where this was going. Tony apparently didn't either. He was keenly watching Hughes' movements, making Tim believe that his partner's outward empathies weren't deep enough to ward away his gut feeling. Obviously, the older agent thought Hughes was up to something more than searching for a photograph.

Unfortunately, Tony was right.

Hughes opened up the passenger door just enough to lean inside the truck. Tony had his hand on his holster, prompting Tim to do the same. Then, before either of them could react, Hughes threw his weight behind the door and flung it open, slamming it into Tony. Tony had no time to react and his head smashed against the window, cracking it. He limply fell to the ground and lay there unmoving.

Tim pulled his weapon and dropped for cover on the opposite side of the truck, but not before catching sight of a gun Hughes had pulled from his jacket. Tim's heart plummeted with the image of a vulnerable Tony lying at Hughes' feet. He yanked open the driver's door and fired.

The only part of Hughes' body that wasn't hidden was his left side and Tim made sure that he hit it. A cry of pain was confirmation. Not wasting another second, Tim hurried around the front of the truck. He wasn't processing that he could be running right into a bullet. He was only processing that Tony needed him. He threw himself into the car door, giving Hughes a taste of his own medicine when the man got smashed by it. Unfortunately, it didn't go exactly as Tim had planned. Hughes fell backwards instead of into the car. Tim had hoped he would be able to trap the man between the door and the car. The door slammed shut, leaving Tim and Hughes with a clear view of each other.

Hughes' gun was lying just a foot away, but his hands were closed tightly around the bullet wound in his side. He glowered up at Tim.

Tim stood over Tony, gun drawn and aimed between Hughes' eyes.

"Don't even think about it," said Tim when Hughes stole a glance to his own weapon. "Just keep your hands over your wound and don't move." He only broke eye contact for a moment as he glanced down at Tony beneath him. He could see a small puddle of blood from his head wound and he swallowed down his worry for now. He carefully nudged Tony in the chest to see if he was close to rousing. The older agent remained still.

Tim glanced back up at Hughes and started walking over to him. The two men kept their eyes on each other as Tim pulled out his handcuffs.

"Turn onto your stomach," ordered Tim. "Now."

Hughes bit his lip and started to slowly turn over. Tim knew he shouldn't have been taken by surprise by anything, but he was. Hughes once more went from being as slow as a turtle to as quick as a snake as he spun one leg and caught Tim in the back of the knees. He started going down and Hughes sat up to meet him. Tim never saw the knife coming, but he certainly felt it when it plunged deep into his abdomen. He let out a cry when Hughes twisted it, and Tim struggled to pull away. He regained his senses enough to pull the trigger.

Hughes was dead before he hit the ground, with a bullet in the heart. Tim staggered up to his feet, dropping his weapon and groping at the knife in his gut. His vision was swimming and his eyes locked onto Tony. He thought he saw the other man move, but he couldn't be sure with his swimming vision. He felt the blood starting to ooze into the fabric of his shirt and jacket, finally giving warmth to his fingers on this freezing day. He took a step back, trying to keep his balance.

That was all it took to lose it though.

He slipped on the ice and was falling backwards before he could even understand what was happening. His world was already going dark when he hit the ice, his body effectively cracking it. Seconds later, he didn't even register that he was going under.

Thanks for reading. I've already got the next chapter writtenso after a good grammar check through it, I'll be posting.

Reviews are appreciated if y'all aren't still mad at me for leaving y'all hanging for so long.