See? Told you I'd get this update out sooner! Ok, a few things that I have to share. The other day I got kidnapped by my goddaughter again (She dragged me into her room and refused to let me leave). So, I'm sitting there, plotting my escape when her mother came in and and said "I'm taking her." My goddaughter latched onto my sweatshirt and said "You can't!" And then really low and creepy, she added, "She's mine." Keep in mind, this little brat just turned four years old. Also, I have discovered that when it comes to alcohol, I am a lightweight (My birthday was last Saturday, I'm officially legal). Three vodka seven up's (in ten minutes) and I was being dragged home because I couldn't walk. But, I had an NCIS moment! I was sitting there in the car, waiting to go home, and my fingers were numb, so I said "My fingers are finging!" Sadly nobody I was with got the reference. They just thought I was hammered. It was very upsetting. Just had to tell you that.

Seventeen

Jethro couldn't believe it. After four months in a coma, Sergeant Taylor was finally awake. Now, of all times, when Jethro reopened the case.

He ignored any thoughts about coincidences.

He and Burley walked into the hospital room. The heart monitor was the only sound being made. At first glance, Jethro wouldn't have believed that the man on the bed was a Marine. His hair was long and shaggy, his face was scruffy, and he looked weak. And skinny. When he visited Sergeant Taylor when he was first attacked, he looked like a strong Marine fresh off a tour from Iraq. Now, Jethro could barely believe that this was the same man.

He cleared his throat. "Sergeant Taylor?"

Taylor twitched for a second before he slowly turned to the two agents. "Who," he paused. His voice was hoarse, but that was understandable. He hadn't used it in four months. Taylor swallowed before he tried again. "Who are you?"

The two agents pulled out their I.D. holders for him. "Special Agents Gibbs," he pointed at the blond, "Burley, NCIS. We need to talk to you about your assault."

Taylor sighed heavily. "I'm sorry." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I barely remember anything that happened last night."

Jethro felt a pang in his chest. How could he explain that this man didn't just lose a couple hours? He lost four months. His wife was dead and his son was missing.

When Jethro was a Marine, he nearly died from an explosion. When he woke up, he didn't remember the blast, all he remembered was his CO telling him that his family was dead. His wife and daughter were gone. He hated comparing the two situations, but he could feel Sergeant Taylor's pain. Even if Taylor couldn't yet.

"Sergeant Taylor, you haven't been out for a couple hours," he started. He waited until Taylor looked at him again before he continued. "You've been in a coma for four months."

He watched as Taylor absorbed that. First there was shock, then confusion. "Four months? That's impossible." He shook his head. "My wife, my son." He rubbed his head. Jethro watched as his heart monitor started racing.

Damn it, why was he here? He had a subordinate for a reason. So he wouldn't have to be the bearer of bad news. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he slowly moved closer to Taylor's bed. "Your wife was murdered the night you were attacked." He watched the look of horror fill the man's face. And now the kicker. "And your son was kidnapped."

Taylor sat and watched him for a good five minutes before he started talking. "Jamie? Karen?" His heart monitor started beeping faster again. "How could this happen? Who would do this?"

"We don't know."

The shock was immediately replaced by anger. "How could you not know? My son's missing and you have no idea why?"

"We know why," Jethro interrupted. He knew that Taylor needed to vent, but they still had to find his son. The longer Jamie was missing, the worse his chances got. "Your son witnessed the murder of a prostitute about four and a half months ago."

The color drained from Taylor's face and his heart monitor skipped a beat.

Burley stepped forward. "We believe whoever killed her kidnapped your son to keep his silence."

"What do you remember about the night you were attacked, Sergeant Taylor?" Jethro asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the heart monitor continue to go crazy. It was too fast. The sane part of Jethro told him that Taylor was just given on helluva shock, this was a natural reaction.

His gut was telling him something else entirely.

Taylor shook his head. "We fought."

"You wanted to send Jamie to military school." It wasn't a question. He already knew the answer.

"I'm always gone. I spend so much time in Iraq, and Karen couldn't handle Jamie by herself. I just thought, a year in military school might be able to straighten him up. But Jamie didn't want to go." Tears started falling from the Sergeant's eyes. "I was just trying to do right by my family."

The doors slid open just as Taylor choked out a sob. Jethro turned around to see DiNozzo and Morgan step into the room. DiNozzo's face looked worse today as his bruises were fully formed. He definitely took a beating yesterday. He also noticed a new bruise forming on his jaw. Morgan's lip was bloody and swollen.

He wasn't even gonna ask.

He climbed off Taylor's bed and approached the two cops. He could feel the tension between them. "DiNozzo," he kept his voice low so Taylor couldn't hear, "you remember that witness in Baltimore?"

DiNozzo stared back at him, utterly confused. "There were a lot of witnesses in Baltimore."

"The art student."

That earned him DiNozzo's full smile. It looked a little strange with all of the bruises. The young man stepped around him and approached the Sergeant's bed. Jethro motioned the other two out of the room.

"What was that about?" Burley asked when they were far enough away.

Jethro shrugged. "I figured if anybody could jog Taylor's memory, it'd be DiNozzo."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Tony's perfect." Jethro cocked an eyebrow at Morgan's sarcastic tone. Whatever happened between the two of them must have been pretty damn bad.

But he still wasn't going to ask.

Burley was, though, apparently. "What happened between you two?"

Morgan shook his head. "Not important."

Jethro could tell that Burley wanted to push it further, but he didn't say a word when he saw his boss' glare.

DiNozzo stepped out of the room a few minutes later. Jethro wouldn't have believed that it was possible, but the cop actually looked worse than he did when he walked in.

"What did he say?" Jethro asked.

DiNozzo ran a hand over his face. "Jamie hit him." Jethro was stunned. He had actually started to believe that Jamie was innocent. Apparently he was wrong. DiNozzo looked him square in the eye. "It sounds like it was an accident, Gibbs. Sergeant Taylor was dragging him back into the house. Jamie picked up the picture to get him off."

Jethro nodded, and breathed a quick sigh of relief. Sure, it was stupid, but it all made sense. Jamie thought his life was in danger, he ran to protect himself. His father was in his way. "What about Karen Taylor?"

"Alive and hysterical." DiNozzo shook his head. "I don't think Jamie killed her."

"How did you get all that?" Burley asked, amazed and slightly jealous.

DiNozzo just grinned. "I'm a man of many talents."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "I'll bet."

DiNozzo's smile fell.

Jethro ignored it. "Taylor's hiding something."

"What are you thinking, boss?" Burley asked.

Jethro turned to his agent. "Did you see the way he reacted when we told him about the murder Jamie saw?"

The blonde man scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. "We just threw that man for a loop, I think his reaction was pretty normal."

Jethro shook his head. "He got scared."

Morgan nodded, a look of understanding on his face. "Every person with any connection to that murder is either dead or missing. Marcus Tatum, Julia Chike, Gloria Smith, Jamie."

DiNozzo stepped in, "You think Sergeant Taylor knows about the murder?"

Jethro nodded. "Maybe."

"If that's true," Burley started, "Then he's not gonna talk to us. If he does, he knows they'll kill him."

"Or his son," finished DiNozzo.

Jethro started walking away from Taylor's room. "Then we better find them before that happens," he said barely above a whisper.

The other three men followed. Jethro silent fumed. It could be the lack of sleep, or lack of caffeine, but his already fragile patience was completely gone. He was sick of this case, he was sick of people lying to him, sick of all the anger and jealousy. It was going to stop. Here and now.

"Burley, I want the entire case file from our dead hooker."

"No problem, I'll give 'em a call—"

Jethro cut him off. "You go yourself. I don't need any locals taking up space in my squadroom."

"Thanks a lot, Gibbs," DiNozzo spat.

"Morgan, you find your witness. Bring him to the Yard."

"He doesn't know anything—"

"Our killer doesn't know that. He knows enough."

"What about me?" DiNozzo asked.

Jethro whirled on him and stepped into his personal space, fury still blazing through his entire body. "You do what I tell you to yet?"

DiNozzo fidgeted where he stood, refusing to meet Jethro's eye. He didn't have to hear the young man say it, he already knew the answer. "Not yet." That was just confirmation.

The older man nodded. "Go with your partner."

DiNozzo looked like he just slapped him across the face. "Gibbs—"

Jethro finally lost it. "I don't care! I don't care what problem you two have. I don't care if he ran over your grandmother or if you fooled around with his kid sister." DiNozzo turned seven shades of red and Morgan's glare intensified. Ah. "I don't care. Do your damn job or go back to Baltimore and stay there!" He wheeled around and stalked away.

He heard DiNozzo bark out, "Stay!" He groaned. Next thing he knew, the young man was grabbing his shoulder and twisting him around.

"What?"

DiNozzo huffed. "You're mad. I get that. Trust me, you're not the only one who's getting pissed off about this case. But stop treating me like crap! I'm a damn good cop, and I know that you agree, or you wouldn't have offered me a job!" He looked over at the other two to make sure they weren't eavesdropping. He quieted down. "But don't give me attitude because I don't wanna talk about the butcher shop."

"You need to talk about it!"

"Have you?" That was shouted, but his next words were quiet again. "I wasn't alone that day. When was the last time you talked about it?" Jethro didn't answer. It made DiNozzo chuckle. "I'm not the only one who got hurt." He said before he walked away. He didn't stop by his partner, he just kept walking until he was out of sight.

Eventually, Morgan followed.

Burley slowly approached him. He looked a little sheepish with his hands in his back pockets and his head down.

"Don't say it, Stan." Jethro walked away, still reeling. He refused to acknowledge that what DiNozzo said was true. Jethro survived far worse than the beating that Lance put him through. He was a Marine, he fought in a war. He buried his wife and daughter.

The butcher shop didn't bother him.

.

Tony was quite possibly angrier now than he was before. A feat in and of itself. His body hurt more today than it did yesterday, and while he actually got a decent night's sleep, he felt exhausted.

He slammed his body into the door and left the hospital. It wasn't until they were outside that Denny finally spoke. "What the hell was that about?"

Tony shook his head and kept walking. "Nothing."

"Well what did Gibbs mean, 'did you do what I told you'?"

"Nothing important."

Denny chuckled bitterly. "How cute, you and Gibbs have your own little secrets."

Tony clenched his fingers into tight fists. He stayed silent. He was too angry for words.

"Hey!" Denny shouted, mock cheerily as they neared the car. "I just got a great idea. Since you and Gibbs are so tight, why don't you take him up on that job offer? That way, I don't have to transfer again."

Tony groaned. He made it a whole month without once mentioning that damn offer and now in less than a day, everyone knew. "Who told you about that? Was it Gibbs? Jackson?"

"Carnec!"

Tony stopped and swiveled around to stare open mouthed at his partner. He wasn't even aware that Carnec knew about that.

"Jackson just confirmed."

Tony shook his head. "I never told Carnec."

"Yeah, you never told me either. Glad our friendship means so much to you."

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd overreact. Like you are now!"

"So if I hadn't come to get you today, you never would have told me about Lea either, huh?"

Tony rolled his eyes and started walked again. "You know, you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"You banged my sister, but I'm overreacting?"

Tony spun around again. They were standing in front of their car finally. "I wasn't the only person in that hotel room, Den. Or maybe that's the problem. You're pissed because even your sister wants me and you can't even get a girl to save your damn life!" He emphasized his last words by shoving Denny away from him.

Denny bent low and charged at Tony's gut. Tony was ready for him. Soon, both were on the ground wrestling. Denny was on top, straddling Tony's waist. The younger man fought with everything he had left, but he was at a disadvantage. He couldn't move as easily, and Denny was in perfect health. Tony had taken one hell of a beating only yesterday. His entire torso was screaming in agony and Denny wasn't exactly skin and bones.

Denny grabbed his shirt to pull his head off the ground. He wound back to deliver another punch.

Tony chose that moment to act.

He wound his tie around Denny's wrist and pulled as hard as he could.

Denny yelled out a string of profanities that would have made a sailor proud as he slammed onto his back. Tony moved so now he straddled his partner and pinned Denny's arms by his head.

The older man struggled against him. "Nice to know you still know how to defend yourself without Gibbs around to save your sorry ass!"

Tony leaned down so the two of them were almost nose to nose. "I was raped in that butcher shop!"

Denny finally stopped moving. His jaw dropped and the color disappeared from his face.

Tony got to his feet and climbed in the car behind the wheel. He sat there for a while, just breathing. He didn't know what else to do. Hell, he didn't even know what to feel. Relief that he finally said it? Anger? Shame? He didn't have a clue. So he just didn't feel anything.

After five minutes, Denny crawled into the passenger's side, keeping his eyes off his partner. Tony started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

They were already on the highway before Denny broke the deafening silence. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I couldn't." It was true. That was the first time he ever said the words. Hell, he never even thought the words before.

"Lance?"

Tony tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Kitty."

Silence followed.

He hated it. He hated that he let a woman take advantage of him. And at the end of the day, that's what happened. She needed his reaction. He wasn't strong enough to stop her. A part of him always wondered if he actually did want it. Kitty wasn't ugly by any stretch of the imagination. On a normal day, he would have gladly taken her to bed. What made the butcher shop so different?

Every time he started to think about it, he ended up getting drunk and picking up the first floozy who showed any interest.

"I turned down Gibbs' offer," he said after another twenty minutes passed. "I turn down every offer I get."

"Why?"

Tony sighed heavily. He was grateful that Denny dropped the subject of the butcher shop. "Because you stuck by me." And it was the truth. Tony left Philadelphia P.D. because he fooled around with his captain's daughter. Denny didn't have to come with him, but he still did. To this day, Tony had no idea what he did to earn that kind of loyalty.

And he royally fucked it all up.

The next time Denny spoke was to give him directions. Nothing else was said.

Ok, I'll admit, the thing with the tie was based loosely on a fight I witnessed my brother and cousin get into. My brother just has so many stories, I could write an entire novel based on them. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and hopefully, I'll get chapter 18 up before the end of the week.

Bob