Author's note. Sorry for the long delay. Hope this installment lives up to people's hopes and expectations.

In the Dark

Chapter Six

Part I

Tony DiNozzo clutched at his head. One minute he'd been involved in a high speed car chase with Ziva driving, and now he and Ziva were in some kind of dojo and Ziva was beating the crap out of somebody with a black belt.

"Oof," he thought, as the black belt went flying through the air. But he bounced up again with a grin on his face, and he and Ziva started circling each other again.

Tony grasped himself around his mid-section. His ribs were no longer hurting. The van had been side-swiped by a car, the airbag had gone off, and he could feel the pain… but now, he felt fine. He must have had a concussion or something, he thought. Temporary amnesia. He knew plenty of athletes who'd gone through something similar. They'd be concussed on the field, talk lucidly, finish playing the game and go through the rest of the day feeling fine, and the next day they'd wake up and not remember anything that had happened to them until a couple of hours before the game they'd played in the day before.

That must be what had happened to him. It must be a day or two later. He'd been operating on auto-pilot, and now he was himself again.

Ziva was certainly enjoying herself. The black belt had got in a couple of blows, but now she had him on the ground again. He tapped his hand to signal surrender, and she let him up. Once again they started to circle each other.

Tony looked around. There had to be a vending machine around here someplace. Ziva looked like she was going to be a while.

Part II

While Tony DiNozzo, whom Ziva David thought was Tony, but who had been brainwashed into thinking he was an actor named Michael Weatherly, munched on a bag of Cheetohs and drank Pepsi while enjoying his ringside seat of Ziva, whom he thought was ZIva, working over a black belt in Karate, Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly had problems of their own.

For one thing, Cote de Pablo, driving a car at high speed toward 345 Walden Road, thought that Michael Weatherly was in reality Tony DiNozzo, and Michael thought that she was really Ziva David. Meanwhile, Timothy McGee, eyes closed against the driving of the woman in the front seat, had no reason to suppose to that it was anyone other than Ziva and Tony in the front seats. As far as he was concerned, all was right with the world.

Belying the rapid speed that had got them there, Cote applied the brakes gently and the van slid to a halt in front of 345 Walden Road.

Once the van had come to a complete halt, she turned to look at Michael. "We're here," she said unnecessarily.

There was silence and no movement for what seemed like eternity for Michael and Cote, but was probably only a minute.

"Ducky and Palmer won't be too far behind," commented McGee. "What are you guys waiting for?" he opened up the sliding door of the van and got out."

Michael poked his head out of the window and gave the man a glare. "It was rather an eventful ride, Mc….Mc…," he couldn't think of a single nickname to call McGee…who looked so much like Sean Murray it was frightening. "I'm just catching my breath."

Cote was not one to not give her role it all either. "Mc….Mc…?" she began…then paused. She couldn't think of a clever retort to make to Tony, either. Where was a script writer when you needed one?

Michael had turned back to look at her, one eyebrow raised. "Yes, Ziva?" he queried.

Cote waved an airy hand. "McGee is right. We need to get to work."

She got out of the van, and along with Michael and McGee, walked up to the front door. A police officer, one of the Law Enforcement Officers, or LEOs, was standing guarding the door.

McGee walked in unhesitating. Both Cote and Michael paused on the threshold. Each one was thinking individually, I'm about to walk into to a room and see a dead body on the floor. A real dead body. With all that that implies.

The police officer glanced at them in puzzlement. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"I was just waiting for…" they both said simultaneously, and then glanced at each other.

"You first, Ziva," Michael said quickly.

Cote took a deep breath, and walked into the room.

Michael took a deep breath, and followed her.