A/N: Hello again, everyone! I know, it's been another year, but at least I'm consistent, right? Right? ^.^;

Okay, I'm gonna level with you guys; the first section of this chapter was supposed to be at the end of the previous one instead, but I procrastinated. Sorry!

As for the quiz, I apologize for not putting any answers in the A/Ns for last year's chapter; again, I procrastinated. (Anyone else see a theme here? Whoops...)

Thank you for your patience, and now, without further ado, I give you: Chapter 4.

TV show reality

636,000,000 RESULTS

• Reality TV World – News, information, episode summaries...

• Most popular TV Shows for reality – TV,com

McGee shook his head and scrolled down the page a little bit.

• List of reality television programs – Wikipedia, the free ...

• All Reality TV Shows Index Reality TV World – News...

McGee ran one hand through his hair in frustration as he scrolled further down the page with the other.

• Reality television – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• reality blurred 》reality TV shows, reality TV news and ...

"This is no good," he muttered as he scrolled back up to the top of the page to type in a new search criteria.

Travel to fictional worlds

430,000,000 RESULTS

• 14 Incredible Fictional Worlds You'd Most Want to Visit ...

• Travel Guide to 10 Fictional Worlds – Neatorama

• Gazetteer Writer's Manual: Creating Travel Guides to ...

• Fictional Universe – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hmm, McGee thought as he hesitated, reading the blurb under that last heading, this looks promising.

- A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional ...

"That's a bit more like it," he said to himself, right-clicking the title and opening the link in a new tab.

"More like what?" asked an analyst who happened by and overheard.

McGee looked up, guiltily minimizing the browser window before brushing him off with a short reply of, "Nothing." As the analyst turned to walk away however, McGee called him back. "Wait… maybe there is something you can do to help me, just don't ask why and don't tell anyone else."

The analyst appeared confused but nodded his agreement.

"Go into the archives and bring me back everything you can find that has to do with alternate dimensions."

If the analyst had been confused before, he now looked completely dumbfounded. He opened his mouth like he was about to ask why but then closed it as he remembered his promise not to, shaking his head but going to do what he was told anyway.

"Thank you," McGee offered belatedly, his eyes already back on his computer screen. He restored the browser window, clicked the search box, and typed "parallel universes" before hitting the enter key.

5,700,000 RESULTS

"Better," McGee mused, glancing at the top result and grimacing that it, like the only other page that he had deemed remotely applicable thus far, was from Wikipedia. Of all the unreliable sites to find source material on….

• Parallel universe (fiction) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- A parallel universe is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality co-existing with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse …

I wonder if that's what she was talking about? It doesn't seem exactly right, though…McGee thought it over for a moment before opening it in a new tab and skimming down the next few titles, feeling his jaw drop.

• A Physicist Explains Why Parallel Universes May Exist

• Do parallel universes really exist? – HowStuffWorks

• What Are Parallel Universes?

"Eureka," McGee enthused quietly, settling in to read up on the subject.

"Interesting research topic, Agent McGee," came a voice from behind him some time later, making him jump. Vance looked thoroughly unimpressed. "That looks like something you should be doing on your own time. Don't you have a case to work on?"

"Y-yes, Sir, I do. I mean, I am. That is, uh, this is related to the case, Sir," McGee stuttered.

Vance raised an eyebrow. "You believe the killer came from a parallel universe?"

"No, Sir, I believe the innocent woman in interrogation is from a parallel universe."

"And what gave you that idea, Agent McGee?"

"She did, Sir."

"I see," Vance responded, tight-lipped. "In that case I think I'd like to have a word with her myself about corrupting my agents' minds with ridiculous theories."

McGee watched him stalk away, debating whether or not he should follow, when he spotted the analyst he had sent on his errand coming down the stairs with an armful of documents and a scared look on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked the analyst as he reached his desk.

"I-I just saw Agent David... fighting with a suspect, in the doorway of interrogation room two."

"Oh," McGee released an exasperated breath. And now Vance is going up there. "So, what did you find?"

"Not much, but there were a few cases where things like that were claimed... and I grabbed anything that seemed as though it related to what you requested." He passed over the stack of papers, which seemed smaller now than when he had been carrying them as the pages were skewed slightly, but at least it was something.

"And I should have addressed you as "Agent" rather than "Ma'am"; I know you hate that honorific, but it's a force of habit for me," Danielle explained in lieu of apologizing for her slip-up a moment ago. Gibbs mentally filed that away as something only his team would usually do, observing her fully relaxed once more until her eyes slid past him and hardened, her body tensing and her hands clenching into fists again.

"Someone care to tell me why this door is open?" Vance's voice drifted in, and Gibbs mused that Danielle would rightfully have a great dislike for this man if she knew half of the things he'd done – and when exactly did he start believing her?

"Because it would be too rude to slam it in your face," Danielle told Vance, then muttered, "as much as I'd want to." The corner of Gibbs' lip twitched at that, while Ziva merely looked flabbergasted at the woman's blatant disrespect for this obvious figure of authority.

"Agents," Vance said simply, subtly indicating for them to come out into the hall with him.

As soon as the door was closed behind them and Danielle was alone in the room, she promptly turned to the two-way mirror where she knew Tony would be and mouthed the words, "I hate him."

While McGee found nothing of use in the actual physical files, he was heartened by the results of his internet search – particularly because he was able to find quite a few items of relevance that were not Wikipedia articles but rather were from valid sources; namely, reputable figures in the greater science community.

A/N: Apologies up and down as I admit to you that while I was writing this author's note I found myself unusually dissatisfied with some of what I wrote for this chapter. Thus, I am posting most of it and excluding the two small sections that would have ended the chapter; these will be reworked and/or improved upon before heading up the next chapter. I wish I could promise with absolute certainty that this fic will be updated again soon, but it might be a couple of months (yes, I am aiming for months this time too, so let's see if the second time's the charm).

And now for something completely different: a teaser! Feel free to skip it if you don't like spoilers, but for the benefit of the rest of you, allow me to present... an excerpt from the next chapter.

""Corrupting"?" Danielle interrupted Vance's tirade. "You're accusing me of corruption?You?" She leaned forward across the table to whisper for a few seconds before her voice rose in pitch to be clearly audible, "on the day of Jenny's funeral?!"

The agents gathered in observation were dumbstruck as they watched Vance rise and silently exit the room, leaving Danielle visibly shaking with rage and emotion.