A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! Sorry about the wait for this chapter, but the next one should be out way sooner, so no worries. A lot more action is coming up!

Abby was waiting for Tony just inside the front door, and when he came in, she threw her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Is someone after us?" she asked, and he patted her back gently, vaguely aware that the last time she had cried on him like this was after Kate had died.
"You were listening?" he asked, and took the barely perceptible move of her head against his shoulder as a yes. "Come on," he told her.

"You need to sleep." He led her gently down the hallway that he assumed led to the bedrooms. One hand still around her shoulder, he pushed the first door open. A glance told him instantly that this was Gibbs' room. It felt like a rather odd invasion of the other man's privacy to be in his bedroom, so he quickly pulled the door closed and moved on, half pulling, half carrying Abby with him.

The second door he opened revealed a neat, though sparse, guest bedroom. There was a bed, and a table, and a lamp, but other than that it was empty. Abby apparently wasn't too picky though, and leaving him, she kicked off her boots, and fell onto the bed on top of the sheets. Tony flicked off the light, and turned to leave.

"G'night Abby," he whispered into the darkness, and to his surprise, she replied.

"Don't leave. There's enough room for the both of us. Come lay down."

For a moment he didn't know what to say. He finally settled on, "Ok," and kicked off his shoes, re-entering the dark room. He sensed Abby scooting over on the bed, making room for him. Realizing how potentially awkward this could be, he lay down very cautiously, his arms by his sides, careful not to touch her.

"God, Tony, I thought you were better in bed than this," she joked, grabbing one of his hands and moving closer to him. It was then that a little voice in his head pointed out how odd it was that he was in bed with Abby, who was making sex jokes, while they were in Gibbs' house. Sighing, he told the voice to shut up, and put his arm around her. It was only minutes before Abby's breathing slowed and it was obvious that she was fast asleep. Once he was sure of this, Tony began to relax, too, welcoming the gentle reprieve of peaceful unconsciousness.

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Ziva awoke to the familiar sounds of her alarm clock beeping wildly at herto get up. She did so, slightly grudgingly, glancing at the clock, which flashed 5:30 in bright red numbers at her. She pulled on her runningclothes, not allowing the other day's case and the resulting lack of sleep sway her from routine. Throwing her hair into a ponytail, she grabbed her keys and headed for the door, before remembering her windbreaker, and doubling back.

As she donned the yellow windbreaker, she glanced out her window, which revealed a soft light beginning to fill the parking lot. A very familiar car caught her eye. It was McGee's. She frowned slightly; Tim was never on this side of town unless he was, well, unless he was with her. Right now, he obviously wasn't, and she couldn't think why he would be waiting for her in the car. Shrugging to herself, she started downstairs.

The moment she stepped into the parking lot, she could tell something was wrong. Her senses were on high alert as she scanned the area, taking McGee's now clearly empty car. Cursing herself mentally for not carrying her gun, she knelt quickly, pulling a concealed knife from around her ankle in one swift move.

She stood there for a moment, listening. She could tell there was someone else there, someone who didn't belong. Without warning, she was struck from behind by something hard and cold. She sank to the ground, fighting to remain conscious, but she was struck for a second time, and everything went black.