When Tony got into work the next day he found the desk across from him was empty. He looked at the clock on the wall and knew he shouldn't be worried, she was only five minutes late. Tony sighed and sat down at his desk flipping the on switch for his computer.

"Long day?" McGee asks when he sees Tony who looks like crap. He didn't look much better than when he came back to work after the plaque and he really didn't look good after that.

"The day just started," is Tony's dry response.

"Right, I know that but you look you didn't sleep at all last night."

"I slept fine," Tony says not even able to think straight. The elevator dings and he looks over hoping it's her but instead it's the lovely Amanda Castelletti. Great the last thing I need today. He thinks as she starts walking over to his desk.

"Hey Tony," she says in a blond girl flirty way. Tony just looks right through her when he sees Ziva walk out of the elevator. His eyes follow her as she walks over to her desk and sets her stuff down. Ziva's hair is unruly and she looks as tired as Tony does. "So are you?" Amanda asks and Tony is brought back to attention to the girl who has been talking for the last two minutes.

"Am I what?"

"Are you free Friday?" she asks apparently asking him out.

"Uh, no actually I'm going to a comic book convention with McGee." McGee looks at Tony as if he's crazy now seriously worried for the senior agent. He then promptly checks his planner making sure that there wasn't really a comic book convention he was supposed to go to with Tony.

"Oh, well what about Saturday?" Does this woman know how to take a clue or do I have to spell it out? Tony wonders very frustrated especially since he really needs to talk to Ziva before Gibbs comes in and gives them their jobs for the day.

"I don't think so. I'm booked solid for the next month or two. Who knows maybe even three," he says hoping that now she'll go away.

"Wow busy guy huh?" she asks sounding disappointed but then leans in close her shirt falling down a little to give Tony a rather nice view and whispers low, "Let me know if anything opens up though." Tony just nods a little still ignoring her for the most part. Finally she gives up and walks back to her department.

"Hey, Ziva," Tony says to her from across the room and gives her a smile.

"Good morning Tony," she says and begins to pull her curls into a ponytail to get them out of her face.

"We aren't really going to a comic book convention on Friday right, Tony?" McGee asks.

"Of course not McGeek."

"You do not like her?" Ziva asks having seen some of the exchange between Tony and Amanda. She was rather surprised when Tony didn't look down her shirt and then smile up at her before saying something like "why wait till then?"

"Who?" Tony asks thinking she was asking about McGee. Yeah he made fun of the Probie but he never called him a her, that's just cruel.

"Amanda."

"Oh, no she's a bit...Blonde," Ziva gives him a questioning look. After all she had seen some of his girlfriends and he never used to seem to have anything against the blonde girls. "So was everything okay? I mean after last-"

"When are those men supposed to get here?" Gibbs asks coming in, his usual accessory of coffee with him.

"Uh later today, boss," McGee says not knowing the exact time they were coming but since neither Tony nor Ziva was answering he figured he should.

"Later when, McGee?"

"I, uh I don't know."

"Tony when are they supposed to be getting here?" Gibbs asks wanting an answer from someone.

"We have men coming in all day. The first should be here around ten," Tony says not moving his eyes from Ziva the whole time. He could read her thoughts when he looked at her and right now what he saw scared him. A phone starts to ring and Ziva pulls out her cell phone to see if it was her's. Surprisingly, this time it wasn't.

"Yeah, Gibbs. I'll be right down, Ducky," Gibbs says hanging the phone up and starts his walk to the elevator. "Ducky's got something in case you couldn't figure that out."
"So last night?" Tony asks the two of them falling behind the others on their way to the elevator.

Ziva looks at him wanting to answer his question, although she was not quite sure what the question was. "I am fine, Tony."

"I have finished the autopsys," Ducky says as the team walks in.

"And?" Gibbs asks not having much patience today not that he ever really does.

"My hypothesis was correct. Every one of these women were a few months pregnant and they were all starved and tortured."

"So you called us down here to tell us your hypothesis was right?" Gibbs asks sounding rather annoyed.

"No I did discover something else," Ducky tells them and walks over to the x-ray display area. "After the first two autopsys I thought that our killers broke the clavical on each of the women during the torture process. However when I reached the third woman I saw that a few ribs were cracked and the same for the fourth. Once I reached the fifth I was expecting to find more cracked ribs but instead found several broken fingers, same for the sixth. Seventh and eighth had there right hip bone chipped and the first two victims had large puncture wounds in the womb." Ducky tells them pointing each injury out as he says them. "It seems Abby was in fact correct. Five different killers, five different torture markings."

"So there are five men all working together to torture, starve, and kill pregnant women?" Ziva asks finding disgust in these men's actions.

"Six," Tony corrects.

"What?"

"Well if each man takes two woman and we're on woman eleven then there is now six men doing this."

"The only question is why," McGee says.

"And who," Gibbs says as though McGee has just made a rather large error.

"Right, of course that's an important of the case," McGee stutters out. The ringing of a cell phone causes everyone to look at their phones checking to see who it was that was receiving a call. It's quickly silenced when Ziva hangs up on whoever it was that seemed to have gone cell phone happy.

"Now I am going home to get some rest," Ducky says taking off his white doctor's coat and hanging it on the hook. "Goodnight Jethro," Ducky says switching off all the lights momentarily forgetting that there was still a large group of people in the room.

A phone begins to ring again and this time it is Gibbs' who answers in his usual way and then hangs up without bothering to say goodbye. "Our first man is here McGee you escort him to interrogation while I look over the information we have on him."

"Got it, boss," McGee says, and he and Gibbs exit the dark room.

Ziva begins to walk towards the door but is stopped when a firm yet gentle grasp is felt on her arm. Had Tony of done this a year ago his shoulder would have been dislocated, but now she just turned and looked at him. She wanted to look annoyed and seem angry but she couldn't, not fully anyway. "What's going on?" Tony asks quietly, as if he would wake someone if he were to speak loudly.

"I told you, I am fine," she says as softly as he had spoken.

"I don't believe it."

"Well that is your problem, yes." Ziva tells him even though she knew he would figure it all out one way or another. Either sooner or later.

"I'm worried. You never get that many phone calls," Tony says, making a joke as he usually does.

"You have no need to worry," Ziva tells him and considers countering back with a joke but decides on a more serious response. "I can take care of myself."

"But why do you need to take care of yourself?" Tony asks. If there is one thing Anthony DiNozzo hates it is not knowing what is going on. That and not knowing a movie to reference something to but that's only happened once two years ago.

She considers telling him and then lectures herself to not be so weak and to never give away information that is meant to be kept to one's self. "I am fine."

"No you're not."

Ziva stares at him, her cold exterior coming back and her wall going back up. "You do not know that, Tony."

"Yeah I do," he tells her pausing for a moment and when she does not say anything he continues. "You're telling me right now." Although it is dark their eyes had adjusted enough so they could see one another.

Ziva pulls her arm away and walks to the doors and they slide open, "Please do not worry. I am fine." She tells him one more time as though it would convince him and perhaps even convince her. It does neither.

I really don't like this chapter but figured I'd post it anyway. Please let me know what you thought. Last chapter I got two votes on whether or not the case should be solved. Of course it was one for yes and one for no which means a tie breaker, so please someone break it. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed it makes my day when you review so thank you all :) Some questions should be answered next chapter so keep in mind that the more reviews I get the quicker I will update. Thanks again!