A/N: Happy 2017 to all! Hope it's better than the last has been. I go back to work next week, so I'll be shooting for updates every weekend, although I can't promise to be consistent.

Revelations

Gibbs sat on the bottom of the basement steps, trying to wrap his head around what Abby had told him.

"Gibbs! I have to talk to you!" She pulled him into the kitchen, away from the others.

"What is it, Abs? You're not plannin' on runnin' off with that werewolf, are ya?"

She rolled her eyes as she turned to face him, then hesitated, looking down and biting her lower lip. Her gaze met his and the words came out in a rush. "After what Daniel said about ghosts, I got to thinking, so I figured what the heck, and I asked him if werewolves can sense the presence of ghosts. He said yes, so I told him about Shannon and Kelly, and how they died a long time ago, and I asked him if they were here. He said no, there was no sign of any ghosts here at all. He said they probably went on to one of those other dimensions. He said werewolves believe we all reunite in one of those dimensions… I thought you'd want to know." She kissed his cheek, squeezed his hand, and left the room.

Gibbs absently reached up to rub the lipstick off his cheek. He was floored by the fact that Abby had thought of him and his girls in the middle of all the craziness. He wasn't surprised that the idea his girls might be ghosts had never occurred to him; he was glad it hadn't, because he might have been wondering and hoping…

"Jethro? You okay?"

Gibbs looked up to see Tony at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah. Duck and Abs get off alright?"

"Sure. They left half an hour ago."

Gibbs blinked. "That long?"

"Yup." Tony came down the stairs; Gibbs shifted over to make room for him, and Tony sat with his back to the wall. "Kinda why I asked if you were alright."

Gibbs reached out and took Tony's hand in his. "I'm good. Something Abby said."

"Figured… she told me to give you some space." Tony's eyes widened. "She's not running off with Patryk, is she?"

Gibbs snorted. "Doubt it." He took a moment to organize his thoughts. "She asked Daniel if Shannon and Kelly were here… as ghosts. He said no, that they probably moved on to one of the other dimensions." Gibbs took a deep breath. "Also said they believe we all reunite in one of those dimensions."

Tony was silent for a while, rubbing his thumb over the back of Gibbs' hand. Gibbs glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, taking in Tony's worried expression.

"Hey, Tone."

Tony looked at him.

"I'm not in a rush. I like this dimension, here with you."

Tony eyes searched his, then he smiled softly. "That's good to hear, Jethro."

Gibbs returned the smile and leaned into Tony, closing his eyes and listening to his heartbeat.

It was late the next afternoon when Gibbs declared the case a bust. "Write it up, I'll sign off. This one's gone cold."

Ziva threw her hands up in the air. "How can we have not one lead? It is impossible!"

"Obviously not," Tony replied, "'cause hey, look Mom, no leads!"

Ziva stared at him, bewildered. McGee smirked and shook his head. "There's no reason for Lieutenant Conrad to be dead. But he is."

"Chalk it up to experience, McGoo." Tony grabbed some paper from his printer, stapled it, and got up to give it to Gibbs.

"What is that?" McGee asked, suspiciously.

"Uh… my report?"

Ziva stood suddenly, sending her chair backwards into the dividing wall. "How can you be done already? Gibbs only just told us it is over."

Tony grinned at her as he handed the papers to Gibbs. "That's why they pay me the big bucks, boys and girls. I knew it was going this way."

McGee sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You couldn't possibly have known."

"Sure, he could," Gibbs commented mildly as he glanced over Tony's work. "And if the two of you come over to my place after work, we'll explain how."

Deep silence fell over the bullpen. Gibbs looked up, glancing between the two junior agents. "What?"

"You never invite us all over," Ziva said quietly.

"She's right, Boss," McGee said. "Are you okay?"

Gibbs snorted. "I'm fine, Tim."

McGee stood. "You almost never call me Tim."

Ziva approached his desk. "Are you retiring?"

Tony, who'd been trying to keep a straight face, broke into giggles. Gibbs looked up at him and had trouble suppressing his own smile.

Ziva stared at them both, then looked at McGee, who stared back at her with wide eyes. "Are… are you going back to Mexico?"

Tony's giggles became outright laughter. McGee and Ziva both approached him, but he waved them off and headed toward the men's room. Gibbs watched him go, openly smiling. He turned to the rest of his team. "It's been a strange few days. We need to bring you both up to speed, but this isn't the time or the place. Abby and Ducky will be there too."

Ziva's mouth opened, but no sound came out. McGee just managed to avoid stammering and asked, "Should we bring anything?"

Gibbs signed off on Tony's report and shook his head. "Tony's bringing pizza." He looked up at them. "Reports, people!"

McGee and Ziva were already at Gibbs' house before Tony walked into the kitchen with the pizza. "Hey eager beavers!" He set the boxes on the table and went to the refrigerator to grab a beer. Gibbs came in from the basement and smiled at Tony, who returned the smile and handed him a beer. They silently toasted each other and drank in unison, turning to see McGee and Ziva staring at them. Both men said, "What?!" simultaneously, in the same tone. The two junior agents continued to stare; McGee backed up a step.

"Ah, Timothy, Ziva, how are you?" Ducky walked into the kitchen, followed by Jimmy Palmer. Gibbs glared at Ducky, who simply raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Palmer is in the field with us every day, Jethro. He needs to know."

Gibbs stared a moment longer, then nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, Duck. Beer, Palmer?"

Jimmy nodded, eyes wide, watching while Gibbs went back to the fridge and grabbed another beer.

Abby arrived, distributing hugs, and Tony stacked plates next to the pizza boxes. Everyone ate and talked about everything but the case and the reason they were all there.

Finally, Ducky suggested moving into the living room. Gibbs and Tony sat on the couch, with Abby between them. Ducky and Ziva took the two arm chairs; McGee brought a chair in from the kitchen. Once everyone was seated, Abby leaned forward. "You guys are gonna love this!"

"Do you have the book?" Ziva asked her.

"Whaddya mean, book?" Tony exclaimed, trading glances with Gibbs, who sat up straight.

"We need to make sure the payoffs are accurate," Ziva stated calmly. "This has been running a long time."

"Ziva, my dear," Ducky began, but Gibbs cut him off.

"What are you talking about?"

Abby broke in hurriedly. "This is something else, Ziva… it's not what you think."

"No," Gibbs said, "I want to know what you two think this is about."

"Uh, three, Agent Gibbs… I mean Gibbs." Jimmy gave him that eager smile. "I can collect for Breena, you guys."

"What's going on?" Tony asked, confused.

McGee shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, apparently calling on some higher being for patience. "It's kind of obvious, guys. We appreciate you wanting to make this big gesture, letting us in on the 'secret,'" using air quotes, "but we've known about it for a long time."

"How is that even possible?" Tony demanded.

"Oh, come on, Tony," Ziva laughed. "It must be the worst-kept secret at NCIS."

Tony's mouth dropped open, and he leaned back on the couch, staring past Abby, who had her head in her hands. "Gibbs…"

Ziva smiled at Gibbs. "We are all very happy for you both."

Gibbs blinked at her.

She turned toward Abby. "If I remember correctly, I am down for when Gibbs came back from Mexico."

"No way," McGee snorted. "Since way before I came on board." He looked at Tony. "When you guys met in Baltimore, right?"

Gibbs turned to look at Tony. He shrugged, a slight smile showing up on his lips. "Might as well tell 'em, DiNozzo."

Tony's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really."

He grinned, reaching behind Abby to take Gibbs' hand. "Actually, only since last September. Although, if you want to be technical about it, it's more like October – "

"DiNozzo!"

Abby grabbed her bag and rummaged through it, extracting a small wire-bound notebook. She flipped through the pages. "Vance," she said, in a dramatic yet disappointed tone.

"Wow," Tony commented. "I guess there's a reason he's the director."

"You're not serious," McGee complained. "Tony, you've been in love with Gibbs since, like, the dawn of time."

"Doesn't mean I did anything about it, McPremature."

Ziva's eyes narrowed as she looked at Abby. "You do not seem very surprised."

Abby's fingers drummed on the cover of her notebook. "Well…"

Ducky cleared his throat. "While this is all very interesting, and I extend my congratulations to you both again," he was interrupted by an annoyed hiss coming from Ziva, "this is not the actual reason for this gathering."

Tony let go of Gibbs' hand and straightened up. "Wait, this is perfect. I wanna say it, can I say it, Jethro?"

Gibbs waved a hand at him.

Tony grinned. "I see dead people."

Abby giggled, but the rest of the room was silent.

"Come on guys, The Sixth Sense? 1999, starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment? Although I guess it's more accurate to say Gibbs and I see dead people. Dead dogs too. Oh, and kelpies. And vampires. And let's not forget the werewolves."

"Definitely not," Abby commented, with a dreamy look and a purr in her voice.

Jimmy Palmer burst out laughing. "That's great, you guys! But April Fool's day was over a month ago!"

Ducky sighed. "That may not be quite the way I would have approached it."

Ziva and McGee began talking at once, apparently about Abby's notes. Palmer was asking Tony where they got the idea for the prank. Tony picked up on something McGee said and started firing back.

Gibbs took a long swallow from his beer, and then sent a piercing whistle through the room, which feel silent. "Tony's telling the truth. Me and him, we've been dealing with ghosts and goblins on and off since last September."

Tony frowned. "I don't remember any goblins."

Ziva stared at Gibbs for a long time. "You are not joking."

He shook his head. "Tell 'em, Tony."

"Okay, so, remember last September, when you two went to the sexual harassment seminar and Gibbs and I were tracking down Petty Officer Riggs' last known whereabouts…"

"… and that sums it all up. Abby and Ducky can confirm the werewolf thing." Tony finished off his beer. He'd been talking for almost forty-five minutes with very few interruptions, and he was thirsty.

McGee shook his head. "You're saying Lieutenant Conrad was a werewolf killed by vampires, which explains why we have no leads. I… this is awfully hard to believe. But…" he turned to Gibbs, "neither you nor Ducky would tell stories like this and expect us to believe them."

Ziva's brow furrowed. "In Mossad, we learned to keep open minds. But this…"

"You were able to believe in what you couldn't see on the Chimera," Tony pointed out.

"That was different," she protested.

"Turned out different," Gibbs agreed. "But everything Tony said was true."

"I remember when we came back from that seminar," McGee said thoughtfully. "You both seemed a bit, I dunno, off."

"And I do remember that your arm was bitten," Ziva said to Gibbs.

"Vampires?" Jimmy protested weakly.

Tony looked at Gibbs and shrugged. "Can't make 'em believe, Jethro."

Gibbs sighed. "Look… you don't have to buy into everything we're telling you. But you needed to hear it. No reason why things won't start happening when we're all out in the field. You need to be ready."

"How do you get ready for vampires?" Jimmy muttered.

"If we really are ghost magnets, or whatever," Tony added, "weird stuff is bound to happen at a crime scene. We're all gonna have to accept it and deal with both realities at once."

"Don't want you so distracted by something strange that you stop paying attention to the guy aiming a gun at you," Gibbs pointed out.

Abby nodded, eyes wide. "I couldn't stand it if any of you got hurt."

Ziva shook her head. "I can promise to keep an open mind." She looked at McGee and shrugged helplessly.

Tony grinned at him. "C'mon, Elf Lord… you of all people."

McGee just rolled his eyes and then stared at Tony.

Gibbs' cell phone rang. He pulled if off his belt and squinted at it. "Dispatch," he said, then answered. "Yeah, Gibbs." He got up, grabbing Abby's notebook from her lap and a pen Tony held out to him, writing things down. "Dayton?" he asked, shooting Tony a look.

Tony's jaw dropped.

"What is Dayton?" Ziva asked.

Ducky answered, "The werewolves' hometown."

Gibbs hung up and turned to face the group. "Dead Petty Officer in Dayton, Virginia. Name's Karen Haynes."

McGee's brow furrowed. "Haynes? Karen Haynes… isn't that the name of Lieutenant Conrad's niece?"

Gibbs' cell rang again. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Special Agent Gibbs… this is Daniel."

"Just got a call about a dead Petty Officer in your town." Gibbs watched Tony rise to his feet.

"Which is one reason why I am calling you… your team will investigate?"

"Dispatch just gave it to us."

"Karen was pack."

"Figured. Conrad was family."

"You work quickly."

"Already knew it from looking into his murder. Another arrow?" He glanced at his team; everyone was watching him alertly, ready to move.

"No. We aren't sure of cause of death. We are maintaining the scene for you."

"Local cops interfering?"

"Of course not. They are pack too."

"Whole town?"

"Yes."

"You said one reason."

Daniel's growl sounded harsh in Gibbs' ear. "She isn't the only one. Patryk is dead."

Gibbs paused. "I'm sorry, Daniel. That's a huge loss."

"Yes. He could have been my successor."

"You think his death is connected."

"In my experience, there are very few true coincidences."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Gibbs, this complicates things. Others will be competing to take his place."

"Not your call?"

"Not entirely, no. Things may get… violent. I assume you will inform your people?"

"Already have. Anything else we should know?"

"Not at this time. Investigate as you normally would, except that I ask you to keep our true nature secret."

"Of course."

"The pack upheaval will likely complicate your investigation. I will assign someone to explain our customs to your people."

"Thanks… we'll need it. Give us…" He paused, looking at McGee, who already had his phone out. He held up three fingers. "… three to four hours to arrive."

"We will have a place prepared for you. I assume you will need several days."

"Ducky and his assistant will take the bodies back to DC for autopsy tomorrow, but my people will stay as long as necessary. Myself, Tony, two other agents."

"I will have a doctor explain our physiology to Dr. Mallard."

"Thanks, Daniel." Gibbs heard the click of the pack leader hanging up; he did the same and looked at his team. "Two bodies, Haynes and one civilian." His eyes met Tony's. "Patryk," he added grimly.

Tony's eyes narrowed. Abby gasped, her hands going to her mouth. Ducky sighed and shook his head. "Oh, dear."

"Who?" Ziva asked.

"One of the werewolves," Tony said grimly. "My counterpart. Second in command."

McGee took a deep breath. "This is real. Werewolves. We're investigating werewolves."

"Guess Conrad's case stays open," Tony said.

Gibbs nodded, thinking. He looked at his team, especially Abby, who was staring at him hopefully. "Listen up, people. Daniel is the pack leader. Patryk's death means some of his people will be jockeying for position, and it could get ugly. Abby, you are staying in DC. I'm not bringing you into the middle of a riot."

Abby grimaced, but nodded. "You have to tell me everything."

"Gonna be late when we get there," Gibbs added. "Sounds like Daniel has his people under control, and he wants us to investigate, but keep your eyes open. Do not engage with any wolves unless you have no other choice." He looked at Ducky. "Duck, you okay to make the drive tonight?"

"Absolutely. Mr. Palmer and I can share driving duties if necessary."

Gibbs nodded. "You'll get a chance to rest before driving back home." He stretched and looked at his watch. "Get what you need, back at the office in thirty."

Everyone dispersed, leaving Tony and Gibbs alone in the house. "Hell of a thing," Gibbs said.

Tony nodded. "Daniel okay?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Can't tell based on a phone call. Only met the guy last night." Their eyes met. "If I'd lost my second, even before last September, I wouldn't have been okay." They gazed at each other until Tony visibly shook himself.

"We'd better get going."

Gibbs nodded, and they headed upstairs to grab their gear.