Chapter Two

McGee stared out at the softly falling snow, waiting for Gibbs to give the orders as to what to do next. He figured they'd wait for Fornell to show up with his team of back-up agents, since going after Santos on their own would likely land them in the same place as Tony.

But Gibbs, being Gibbs, had other plans.

"Come on, McGee," he said as he parked the car and turned off the engine. He opened his door and swung a foot out, but McGee just stared at him, not moving. Gibbs looked over his shoulder at him. "You coming?"

"Boss. . ." McGee started, swallowing hard before continuing. "Shouldn't we wait for Fornell? We don't know how many guys Santos has with him, and just the two of us. . . I mean, what if something happens? I don't just have myself to worry about anymore."

Gibbs just stared at him. He understood his worries, because he'd been married more than once, but given the circumstances. . . "You saying Tony's not worth risking your life for?"

McGee's eyes widened as he began to back-pedal. "No. No, that's not at all what I was saying. I just. . ."

Gibbs took a step toward him, his voice quiet. "You said your relationship with Ziva wasn't going to affect your job. So far you haven't let it. I don't want that to change."

McGee nodded. "Yes, Boss."

Gibbs echoed his nod. "I know you're anxious about everything that's going on, but DiNozzo needs us right now." He lifted Tony's ID, which he'd kept on him, needing the reminder that this was urgent. "If this is his blood. . ."

McGee's nodding became more vigorous. "You're right. He could be hurt." He swallowed the urge to say 'or worse,' knowing it was something of which Gibbs was already far too aware. "We have to find him." He turned back to the warehouse before them, ready to take off, then felt Gibbs' hand on his shoulder and turned back to face him.

"We'll be even more careful than usual," Gibbs said, and McGee couldn't find the words to respond, just nodded again, then they headed for the warehouse.

Their only goal now was to find Tony.

Tony forced himself to adjust to the reality in which he found himself, knowing he had no choice, at least for the moment. It was weird to be working with Paula, because she'd never truly been a part of their team. He briefly wondered where Kate was in this reality, but figured it was better that he not ask, lest he get a response like McGee's when he asked about Ziva.

"Tony." He looked up at the sound of Paula's voice and found her smiling at him. "You're awfully quiet today. What's going on in that big head of yours?"

He frowned at her insult and she laughed, which softened the blow a bit. She had a beautiful laugh. He'd always liked that about her. "Just thinking," he replied. That much was true. His mind was going a mile a minute trying to make sense of whatever had happened to him.

"Don't think too hard," Gibbs' voice joined in the conversation. "Might hurt yourself."

That drew laughter from not only Paula, but McGee, and Tony glared at the younger man. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Not all of us spend our lives connected to a desk chair."

McGee rolled his eyes and turned his computer off, reaching down to grab his backpack. "That was weak, even for you, Tony. Are you sure there wasn't anything strange in that coffee you had earlier?" Tony didn't respond, just continued to glare, so McGee decided to ignore him and stood up, looking to Gibbs. "Boss?"

"Go home," he said. "All of you."

Tony nodded, but moved slowly in getting his things together. What if he lived somewhere else? What if he was married? Did he even have a car here? How many other things were different from the reality he was used to?

"Hey." He looked up at Paula's voice, finding her standing by his desk, looking slightly concerned. "Are you okay? You've been off all day. What happened when you went out to get coffee?"

He hesitated, then said, "Can we talk about that alone?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Come on, grab your stuff. I'll drive. You have the keys?"

Tony searched his pockets until he found the set of keys for his car and apartment/house/whatever, trying not to act too surprised at Paula's words just then. The keys? Did that mean . . . they lived together?

She took the keys and waited for him as he grabbed his backpack and stood, following her to the elevator. He'd made a decision – he was going to tell her what happened when he'd woken up. Whether she believed him or not was another matter entirely.

Gibbs and McGee scaled the outside of the warehouse, listening for any signs of life within the building. When they were sure it was safe – or as safe as it could be, given the circumstances – they made a run for it, entering the warehouse and quickly scanning the area.

"I got nothing, Boss," McGee whispered.

Gibbs nodded, still keeping his gun trained in case there was someone hiding somewhere, though it seemed as though they were alone in the big space. They kept walking through the building, searching every place they could find in the hopes of finding Tony – or a clue of where he could be.

Gibbs felt a vibration in his pocket and took out his phone, signaling to McGee before scanning the area again and then running for the exit, his footsteps almost inaudible. Once he was outside, he answered the call. "Hey, Tobias." He listened for a few moments, then spoke again. "We haven't found anything yet. Looks like the place was abandoned. You close? Okay, we'll wait for you here." He hung up and was just about to go back inside the warehouse when McGee walked out, his eyes wide.

Gibbs met him halfway, sure he had found Tony. Whatever it was had him in shock. "McGee. You find something?"

McGee shook his head, then blinked, seeming to focus. "Boss, I gotta go."

Gibbs looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "McGee! What. . ."

"It's Ziva," he said, not even waiting for Gibbs to finish. "She's in labor."