Chapter 2

Tony decided to pick Tim up on his way to NCIS, even if it wasn't on his way, really. It let him check on Tim without seeming too caring. He knocked on Tim's door.

Then, he knocked again.

"McGee!" he called.

Finally, there was movement inside and Tim opened the door. His hair was mussed and he was clearly only just awake.

"What are you doing here? What time is it?" he asked.

"Time for work, Probie."

Tim furrowed his brow and looked around.

"Oh."

"You all right?" Tony was a little worried about Tim's seeming confusion.

"Yeah. I must have overslept." He stepped back and let Tony in. "Why are you here?"

"I was going to give you a ride."

"Oh." Tim rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. I feel fine. I had a dream, though. Weird dream."

"About what?"

"Music...and dancing..." Tim's voice sounded strange, almost distant. "Lots of dancing..." Then, he shook his head and smiled. "The girl was gorgeous."

Tony grinned. "Must have been a dream, then. You dancing with a gorgeous girl."

"Ha ha. I don't need a ride. I can drive."

"I'll give you a ride anyway. I'm already here."

"Okay, okay. Just let me get my stuff."

Tim hurried back and Tony felt a kind of vague disquiet. He wasn't sure what it was. Then, his phone rang.

"DiNozzo," he said.

"Get back to the cemetery," Gibbs said. "The caretaker was found dead this morning."

"What?"

"Same place as Schmidt. Call McGee."

"I'm already at his place. We'll go right over."

"Good. He all right?"

"Seems fine to me."

"Okay."

Gibbs hung up.

"Hurry up, McGee. The caretaker of the cemetery was found dead this morning."

Tim came out of his room.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Okay. Almost ready."

Tim ran back into his bedroom and was out with all his stuff in under a minute. They drove quickly to the cemetery.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ducky had beat them there, and he was already kneeling over the body of Matthew Chocton.

"Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Same as the petty officer. No apparent cause of death, no rigor. Time of death...about midnight." Ducky looked up at Gibbs. "I'm stumped, Jethro. I'm not sure what this is. The police said that they called us simply because of our current case. If this is the same as the petty officer, Abigail will find nothing, as she already has once before. We can hope for better, but..." He spread his hands helplessly.

Tony looked at Tim who seemed back to normal.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim heard them talking but he felt a little strange, not bad, just not quite right. He wasn't going to admit to that, not after yesterday, but there was just something...something not right going on.

Still, he did his part, documented everything that needed documenting...until he found himself near the angel statues again. He looked up into the face of the statue.

It drew him in as it had before. It just amazed him how well it was carved. As if the sculptor had somehow managed to create a real person with a thin veneer of stone over the top of skin.

As he stared, he heard something.

Music.

An unearthly music.

It called him.

It asked him to dance.

...

There were sharp slaps on his face.

Tim blinked. He was lying on his back again. Just like the day before.

"Oh, no. Again?" he asked.

Ducky's face loomed over him. He was all concern.

"Timothy, you seem to be having a very bad couple of days. Are you sure feel all right? It's not a problem if you're not feeling well."

Tim sat up, ignoring the hands trying to hold him back.

"I feel completely fine! I don't know why I keep...doing this. I really don't!"

"What was the last thing you remember before waking up?" Ducky asked.

"Music? I think...maybe I heard some music?" Tim looked around, wondering if there was someone playing tricks on him or something.

"No music here, McGee," Tony said. "We're the only ones in the cemetery right now...at least the only live ones."

Tim couldn't figure out what had happened...again. He got to his feet, trying to pretend that he wasn't at all worried about apparent blackouts that he didn't have any connection to at all.

"You're sure that you feel all right?"

"Yes!" Tim said. "I didn't feel dizzy at all. I just ...maybe I could have heard some music, but...but I doubt I did. That doesn't make any sense."

"Did you have an MRI yesterday?" Ducky asked.

"No."

"Then, I suggest that you schedule one as soon as possible. This can't be normal, Timothy."

"Are you going to stop me from working again, Boss?"

"You shouldn't need to ask that, McGee," Gibbs said.

Tim nodded and sighed. "Wait in the truck?"

"No. I'm driving you to the hospital right now."

"But that'll leave Tony here alone!"

Gibbs looked at Tony and raised an eyebrow.

"Gotcha. Local LEOs, here I come," Tony said. "Don't worry, McGee. I'll be fine. Just me and my shadow."

"Yeah, fine."

Tim followed Gibbs to the car. They got in and started back to DC.

"What's going on, McGee?"

Tim shook his head. "Nothing from my perspective. I really don't know." He thought about the statue again and could see her eyes, those deep blue eyes that seemed to suck him in...

Suddenly, there was a squealing of brakes and Tim opened his eyes (when had they closed?). Someone was shaking his shoulder.

"What?" he asked.

"You all right?" Gibbs asked.

Tim could actually see concern on Gibbs' face.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You just passed out again."

"I did?"

"Yeah."

"Boss, I–"

"Don't know what's going on, yeah. You sure about that?"

"Positive."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony was looking through his notes, not that there was much to see. It was a repeat of yesterday. The police had asked around and no one knew anything. No one was on the street by the cemetery last night. No one was ever on the street by the cemetery. Matthew was single; so no one had missed him. The petty officer had been single as well.

So was the old caretaker, actually. A widower but still...

He felt like there was something wrong. He just didn't know what it was. He was pretty sure that it had everything to do with the town rule that no one go into the cemetery after dark. He looked at Gibbs' notes from the old lady in the café. Then, he pulled out his phone and called Gibbs.

"What's up?"

"Boss, I want to stay here tonight and see if anything happens in the cemetery after dark."

"Not alone."

"You want to let McGee come?"

"No. He's been admitted."

"Admitted? Why?"

"Because he passed out again on the way to the hospital."

"Oh. He okay?"

"Says he is."

Tony chuckled.

"Okay, so what do you think? I don't know what to expect, but I don't think it's a coincidence that both of these guys died in the same place. Ducky get anything?"

"Nope. He's frustrated. No cause of death, nothing to explain what's going on. I'll be there."

"You sure? That's another trip for you."

"Yeah. Don't go over there until I get there. If something is going on, we're not going to ask for trouble."

"Right...we'll just ask for trouble in small groups. See you."

Tony hung up and then told the police what they'd decided. They said it was a bad idea, but if the Navy cops wanted to risk it, fine. He waited for Gibbs to get there and then, they parked the car on the street outside the cemetery, giving them a clear view of the place were two men had lost their lives.

"You think you'll see anything?" Gibbs asked.

"Don't know, but we've got to at least eliminate the location as a cause of death...and after what the locals have been saying, I'm glad I'm not here by myself."

Gibbs grinned and sipped at his coffee.

It would probably be a long night.

Tony hoped it would be a long night. Short nights often meant something went wrong.

...or someone died.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Wake up...can't you hear the music?"

Tim tossed and turned in the hospital bed. The EEG sensors on his head didn't help.

"Come dance with me."

The EEG readings started going crazy. All parts of Tim's brain started becoming extremely active, as if they'd been overstimulated.

"The music is starting."

Tim's eyes opened wide.

"Can you hear it?"

"Yes."

Tim stood up, pulled off the EEG, put on his clothes and left the room.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

It was after eleven. Tony had been trying to read the history of the cemetery they'd compiled. They'd seen nothing, but it was so oppressively silent in that part of the town that Tony really want to turn on the radio, just to get rid of the ominous feeling.

Gibbs seemed unaffected.

Of course.

Then, there was something.

"Hey...Boss... someone's coming."

Gibbs leaned forward, trying to see through the dark.

Sure enough. Someone was walking down the street.

No. Not walking.

"Is he dancing?" Tony asked.

"Looks like it."

"Want to see who it is?"

Gibbs shook his head.

"Let's see what he does first."

The person came closer and closer.

Suddenly, the gates of the cemetery opened. They weren't automatic...and there was no one there to open them...but they opened anyway. Tony's eyes widened and he looked at Gibbs...who was no longer unaffected.

Then, there was a flash of light as the man got closer.

The light illuminated the man's face.

"McGee!"