Chapter 13- Taken

Ziva blindly stumbled though the darkness. Her only lead was that this Daniela was underground. How specific, she thought with bitter sarcasm. This tunnel would be the last place she's look tonight. Suddenly, she felt a chill. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. She wasn't alone in here. Her fingers twitched, and she tried to see everything at once. That was when she remembered her flashlight. Ziva took it out and turned it on. Nothing out of the ordinary, just some abandoned mining tools and a cart half-filled with dirt. A few gems poked out, modestly gleaming in the weak light. She ignored it. Her interest at the moment wasn't lost treasure. A hand came down over her mouth so fast she didn't have time to react.

"One scream," Victoria threatened, "and you die," A gun was loaded and pointed at her temple. Victoria smashed the flashlight and tossed it aside.

"Start walking," she growled. Ziva calmly obeyed, a plan forming in her mind.

-Later-

Gibbs heard something smash, but for a while he thought nothing of it. When the first stars started to come out, he decided to investigate. Ziva was gone, but a broken flashlight remained. He cautiously opened it. A note fell out.

You have to find the Director before it's too late. Try a local search; she's closer than you think. McGee made a huge mistake in telling her to take some time off, because now she's being held hostage in the most unlikely of places.

Below was a scrambled code, along with the name of a street. He rubbed his eyes and climbed out of the abandoned mine in one swift movement. Time to go back and deliver this to Abby. The second he did so, he left without any explanation. She'd figure things out for herself.

Abby's lab

Abby wearily sat down to take a break. The second she relaxed, the sliding glass door flung open. She sighed.

"What do you want?" she said irritably. "I've got enough on my plate with this note to decode here…" Her voice trailed off when she saw who it was, Tony. He looked like he was in shock.

"F-Francine is innocent," he stuttered, in an attempt to make conversation. "I don't know where Ziva is. I haven't seen her for hours. The boss says she's gone missing. That note is our only clue. It doesn't look like finding her is our priority. She mentions the Director in the note…I think she gave us her address," Tony left, still shaking with disbelief. Abby picked up the unsigned note and examined it more closely. Now that she thought of it, he was right. She decided to take a coffee break. Up by the coffee machine, Kate was relaxing as well. She handed Abby a cup of coffee, but said nothing. She didn't seem in the mood for conversation. So Abby gave her a moment of privacy. She reflected on her time here in NCIS, and wondered what the future could hold for all of them. She knew they'd all known each other for some time. What would happen when her child joined this environment she was so familiar with? Would anything else change? As she began to leave, McGee showed up. She ducked into the stairwell to hide.

"Have you seen Abby?" she heard him ask. "I wanted to talk to her," She turned and sprinted down the stairs back to the lab, forgetting for a moment she had a cup of coffee in her hand. Luckily, there was a plastic lid protecting the hot liquid. She could still faintly hear Kate's reply.

"She should be down in her lab. Try the stairs, it's just one flight," McGee started down the stairs just as she reached the bottom and rounded the bend.

"Abby! I just want to talk!" he shouted after her. She shoved the door open and just managed to lock it behind her when he approached the entrance to the lab. She turned on her music to full blast and ignored his shouts. A/N I just realized I put the sliding glass door in the wrong spot. Whoops!

I'm bound helpless in my own home, how could McGee let this happen to me? Jenny thought, struggling against her bonds again and again to no avail. She felt weary with hunger and thirst that couldn't possibly be quenched in the wine cellar. Finally the ropes were starting to come lose just as the door banged open and Gibbs ran in, pointing his gin around the room.

"Have you seen Ziva?" he asked.

"I'm lucky enough to see you," was her response. "I was left here to die, and in my own home as well. How fitting since I have been considering retirement," Gibbs looked alarmed.

"You're still young, whatever do you need retirement for?" he exclaimed. She shook her head and held out her bonds as a signal for him to cut them off. He did so without question. The ropes fell away, and Gibbs studied Jenny closely. She didn't appear worse for wear, a little thinner and paler from lack of sunlight, but otherwise she looked strong. Her prominent cheekbones were lined with dust from the wine cellar, and her clothes were slightly torn in places. There was unidentified dried blood on her cheek. She had been through a fight.

"Fill on what I have missed in an effort for you to stop staring at me," she ordered coldly.

"Its business as usual," he replied, which was code for everything starting to get out of control.

"I trust everyone is alive and healthy?" she inquired.

"Abby told me the other day some interesting news, Ziva is missing, and McGee is hiding something," he said. They got into the car and drove off, heading back toward NCIS.

"Some time at the office, huh?" she said faintly. "What…news did Abby tell you that interested you so much?" He sighed, making a random turn on the road that took the long route to their destination

"She's pregnant with a girl she's naming after Kelly," he said after a long silence. He wondered if she had done that on purpose, giving him a constant reminder of the past he tried so hard to forget day after day.

"Jethro," she breathed. "You know as well as I why you made those rules…? Why don't you let your guard down, just for one night? I promise I'll be nice,"

"I-It would be un-unprofessional," he stuttered. NCIS was less than a mile away now, but he pulled to a stop anyway so he could clear his head. Gibbs hesitantly faced Jenny.

"Don't resist any longer, Jethro," she told him, her eyes levelly gazing through him. "We both know what will happen if you wait too long," He closed his eyes, picturing Shannon in front of him. It wasn't too hard, even though it had been nearly sixteen years. Finally, he shook his head and pulled away from her.

"I know what I want," he murmured, "it's just that you're not the right one," She quietly accepted this information.

"You said the same thing in Paris," Jenny whispered. Gibbs knew his mind hadn't changed since then, and neither had hers.

"I want something more definite," he hedged. "If you know what I mean," She sighed, and he started driving again. Time to get back to business.