A/N: I'm glad you're all liking this so far! Enjoy chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any original characters.

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Tony was driving to Davis' house with Ziva in the passenger seat. As they were driving down one of the main streets of the city that was lined with businesses, Tony couldn't help but notice Ziva paying extra attention out her window.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" he finally asked. Ziva turned toward him, smiling slightly.

"No," she replied initially. "However, we have passed two pre-schools that we should possibly consider checking out."

"Come on, Ziva," Tony sighed. "You want to discuss this now?"

"I do not mean to check them out now," Ziva said. "I just mean that the kids seemed excited about pre-school, and the sooner we find a good one for them, the better."

"We'll find them one, don't worry," Tony said. "But for now, let's just focus on the case."

Ziva nodded and turned her head to continue looking out the window. She knew that Tony was clearly still hesitant about enrolling Aiden and Aaliyah in pre-school, but Ziva was determined to give her children the best life they could have. Starting an education early would definitely put them on the right track. As Tony turned into a residential area of town, Ziva watched as the passed dozens of houses that lined the street. The houses looked very spacious and welcoming. It appeared that the families living in them had plenty of room to raise children. Certainly, the kids would have room to grow and play. Ziva turned her head from the window to look at Tony. She opened her mouth to talk, decided against it, and focused straight ahead on the road.

"Yes?" Tony asked after a moment.

"What?" Ziva asked.

"What's on your mind?" Tony asked. Ziva shrugged.

"It is not about the case," she replied. Tony nodded and was silent for a moment.

"Okay, then what is it?" he asked, curious about what his wife could want to talk about next.

"I was just thinking that maybe it isn't too soon to start thinking about moving into a house," Ziva replied. Tony was startled by her answer, and he didn't hide it well at all.

"A house?" he asked, looking back and forth between the road and his wife.

"Yes," Ziva replied.

"Why?" Tony asked. "And why right now?"

"The twins are already three years old," Ziva began. "A few years from now, they won't be able to share a bedroom anymore. And besides, living in an apartment doesn't give them room to play like if we had a house with a nice yard." Ziva looked over at Tony to try and see if she would receive his approval. He didn't look completely opposed to the idea.

"Do you really think that it's in our budget right now?" he asked. "We're already probably going to be paying for pre-school for them pretty soon." Ziva cocked her eyebrows at his poor excuse.

"We do not need anything too luxurious or anything," she reasoned. "I just want them to have room to play outside. Or even inside. Our apartment was fine for the two of us, and even when they were just babies, but they're growing up. It is going to become way too small very quickly. Don't you think it's time for these changes to happen?"

"I think you're getting excited about the future, and you're trying to make too many changes at once," Tony replied.

"Well I think that maybe you just don't want to accept the fact that change needs to happen," Ziva rebutted.

"Okay," Tony chuckled, shaking his head. "Again I say, let's just try to focus on the case. We'll make our life decisions at a later time." Ziva sighed, realizing her defeat for the time being.

"Here it is," Tony said minutes later as he pulled up to a nice Colonial-style house. Ziva admired the nice landscape and envisioned Aiden and Aaliyah running around the yard. She smiled and pushed the image from her mind as she and Tony walked up the pathway to the front door. A moment after knocking, the door opened, and they were face-to-face with a young, grieving woman.

"Mrs. Davis?" Tony asked. The woman nodded and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. He showed his badge and introduced himself and Ziva before the woman let them inside.

"We just have a few questions for you that may help us solve what happened to your husband," Ziva began gently. Mrs. Davis nodded and led them to the living room.

"Can I get you anything?" she offered through a strained voice. Tony and Ziva both declined and sat on the couch. Mrs. Davis took a seat in the chair opposite them.

"Mrs. Davis-"

"Marie, sorry," she finally introduced herself.

"Marie," Tony corrected himself. "We're really sorry for your loss and can't imagine what you must be going through."

"It's been hard," Marie sniffed. She dabbed her eyes, but Ziva noticed that no tears were present. She noted the suspicion in her head.

"I am sure it has been," Ziva said. "Can you think of anyone who disliked your husband?" Marie shook her head instantly.

"No ma'am," Marie replied in the same strained voice.

"He had no enemies? No one who would have wanted to see him hurt?" Ziva pressed the issue. Marie continued shaking her head.

"Not that I am aware of," she replied. Ziva nodded. "John was a well-liked man. He never hurt anyone, so I can't imagine why someone would want to hurt him."

"Mrs. Davis, we talked to one of your husband's fellow marines," Tony intervened. "Shawn Klein. Did your husband ever mention him to you?" A new emotion flashed in Marie's eyes for a split second, but it was gone before Ziva could place it.

"Never heard of him," Marie replied, shaking her head. Tony nodded and wrote his observations. Marie's eyes widened and she clenched her tissue in her hand. "Do you think he killed my husband?"

"He claims that his wife was having an affair with your husband," Tony replied.

"What?" Marie asked in a timid voice.

"Did you ever have any suspicions that your husband was having an affair?" Ziva asked. Marie shook her head.

"No," she replied. "That's not possible. He wouldn't. Clearly, that man is lying."

"Well he claims that he has seen his wife's car outside of your house numerous times," Ziva continued. Marie continued shaking her head.

"No. He's lying," Marie insisted. "And I think we're finished here." She rose from the chair.

"Mrs. Davis-" Marie raised her hand to interrupt Tony.

"I have heard enough for today," she said. "I would appreciate it if the two of you would leave now." Tony and Ziva nodded and stood to oblige.

"If you think of anything else," Ziva began. Marie nodded that she would call them and showed them to the door.

"Well that was strange," Tony observed after Marie had closed the door.

"Extremely," Ziva agreed.

"Think it all became too much for her?" Tony asked.

"That, or we came too close to finding something out that she doesn't want us to know," Ziva replied. "Something isn't right about her."

Tony shrugged and stepped off the porch onto the sidewalk. The two of them began down the path toward the car, when something caught Ziva's eye. She neared the edge of the sidewalk and squatted down to take a closer look.

"Tony, look at this," she said. Tony went over next to her and looked to where she was pointing. On the very edge of the sidewalk leading to the house, there was a small red spot. It was just barely on the sidewalk and was almost completely covered by the grass.

"It looks like blood," Tony observed.

"That is what I was thinking," Ziva agreed.

"Let's get it to Abby," Tony said. He stood and headed back to the car while Ziva took a swab of it. As she stood from the sidewalk, she turned back to face the house and saw a gap in the living room curtain quickly close and the curtains move slightly back and forth. Slowly, Ziva turned back toward the street to accompany Tony back to headquarters with the new evidence. Maybe this case wouldn't turn out to be so hard after all.

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A/N: There's chapter 3. I hope you liked it! Please remember to review!