Chapter Three

Tony waited until he and Paula were in his car (the one that had been blown up during the whole La Grenouille debacle) and well on their way home (their home?) before he spoke. "Something weird happened today."

Paula glanced at him before turning her attention back to the road. "Yeah? Weird like alien weird or weird like Abby weird?"

He laughed at that, but it was short-lived as he remembered how very wrong this whole thing was. He'd give anything to have Paula back in his life, but not like this. This was just . . . weird. That was the only word that seemed to really describe it.

"Little bit of both?" he finally said, shrugging. "Maybe we'd be better off waiting until we're somewhere where I can look you in the eye while I'm talking."

"You're scaring me, Tony," Paula said, giving him another glance, this one concerned.

"Don't worry," he said, plastering a smile on his face. "We'll be fine. Just drive."

Paula frowned, but did as ordered, and Tony couldn't help but notice the needle on the speedometer creep steadily higher as they went.

Gibbs closed the distance between himself and McGee, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder as he reached him. "She call you?"

McGee shook his head. "Text. From Abby. She'd called work and we weren't there, so she called Abby and Abby called Jimmy, who called Breena, who was going to pick Ziva up and take her to the hospital."

"Whoa, breathe, Tim," Gibbs said, his tone gentle. "She'll be fine."

"I know, Boss, I just. . ." He looked up, his expression worried. "What if I miss it? I can't miss it. It's my first child."

Gibbs patted his shoulder again, understanding all too well what McGee was feeling, but knowing Tony's life was in danger, and that was what was most important here. "The sooner we find Tony, the sooner you can get to Ziva," was what he settled for, knowing it would make McGee work faster and more efficiently – not that he needed to worry about that in the first place.

McGee nodded, then lifted his head as headlights came into view. Gibbs turned around and greeted Fornell as he stepped out of his car. "Tobias. How many men you got?"

"As many as you need, Gibbs." Fornell slammed his door shut and joined them. "Already got about 20 guys scouring the city, looking for any sign of Santos, his crew or DiNozzo. You know he's not bound to stick around for long, though."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Gibbs muttered. "Well, come on. You're with us now."

They piled into Gibbs' car, McGee making a mental note that Gibbs hadn't mentioned Ziva to Fornell. He had to remind himself that finding Tony was more important right now, because it was a matter of life and death, but all he wanted was to be with his wife.

"Where do we start?" McGee asked, taking a spot in the backseat and getting his laptop ready.

Gibbs didn't turn around as he spoke. "At the beginning."

Tony stood on the sidewalk as he and Paula got out of his car, and he stared up at the apartment building. It was his building, that much hadn't changed, but the idea that he didn't live here alone was something he was having trouble wrapping his head around.

"Tony," Paula called, and he looked over to find her at the door to the building, waiting for him.

He jogged over to join her and followed her up the stairs, waiting as she unlocked the door to his apartment and led them inside. They both dropped their gear next to the door and he looked around for signs of a woman living there. It wasn't a dramatic change from what he already had – a few flowers arranged in a vase on the coffee table, a soft green fleece blanket over the back of the couch. It surprised him for a moment that there weren't more obvious feminine touches, but Paula wasn't overly girly in nature, and he wasn't sure how long they'd been living together, or if they were just casually dating, or what the situation was.

He heard the refrigerator close and looked into the kitchen to see Paula walking back to the living room with two bottles of beer. She set one on a coaster on the coffee table and kept the other for herself, twisting off the cap and taking a long gulp before sitting on the couch, folding a leg under herself. "Gonna join me?" she asked, giving him a lazy smile.

He couldn't resist the opportunity to return the grin and toed off his shoes before walking over and collapsing next to her, his actions exaggerated and earning him a laugh.

"Long day, huh?" Paula said, reaching over and running a hand through his hair. "So what's going on that you couldn't tell me about while we were on the road?"

Tony let out a sigh, leaning back against the back of the couch. "I don't really know how to explain it. None of it makes sense to me."

"Try," Paula urged, her voice soft. She sat up straighter then. "If this is about us. . ."

"No." Tony was quick to assure her of that, reaching over to take her hand. "This is something I've wanted pretty much since the first moment I met you. I wouldn't do anything to mess that up."

Paula waited for him to continue and when he didn't, said, "But? Something's holding you back."

He chuckled. "You're not going to believe me even if I can explain it to you."

Paula was silent for a moment, then said, "This has something to do with earlier, when you thought I should be dead, doesn't it?"

He glanced over at her. "Yeah. I don't know what happened, but. . ."

She put her other hand over the one Tony was holding. "You might not think I'll believe you, but I'm willing to listen. We're in this together, Tony."

He looked up and into her eyes and could see she was telling the truth. He swallowed and started to speak. . .

Gibbs heard his phone ring and put it on speaker, saying, "Gibbs."

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" The three men in the car could almost see Abby bouncing around in her lab. "Where are you guys? McGee needs to be at the hospital pronto! I told Ziva you were out on a case, but I don't even know where you are or what you're doing, just that you're . . . not here! And if this isn't important, Ziva is going to be soooo. . ."

"Abbs." Gibbs' voice shut her up and he rolled his eyes slightly as he explained what was going on. "You remember the case Tony was working undercover?"

"Santos, of course," she said, sounding more sober. "He's been in Maryland the past few days trying to infiltrate their organization." She paused and when she spoke again, her voice sounded worried. "What happened? Is he okay?"

Gibbs hesitated, then said, "He's missing."

"What? Oh my God, Gibbs, you have to find him!" A faint farting noise sounded over the line and Fornell made a face, which Gibbs waved away.

"We're working on it, Abbs. In the meantime, if there's anything you can do from back at NCIS. . ."

"I'll take advantage of all my resources, Gibbs," she said, then, sensing he was going to hang up, added, "Gibbs, wait. What do I tell Ziva?"

Gibbs sighed and flicked his gaze up to the rearview mirror, where he met McGee's eyes. "Just tell her McGee'll be there as soon as possible."

"Okay," Abby said, but didn't sound happy about it. "I'll call you if I find anything useful, Gibbs."

Gibbs ended the call and avoided looking back at McGee, knowing the younger agent was likely trying to hide how upset he was. Instead he looked to Fornell, who looked curious.

"What's going on with Ziva?" he asked, and Gibbs sighed, knowing Fornell would have picked up on that.

"She's in labor," he said simply, and Fornell's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't comment on it, realizing when Gibbs wanted to drop a subject.

"We better find DiNozzo pretty damn quick then," was all he said, and buckled his seatbelt.

That was a good enough sign as any to Gibbs, who turned the key in the ignition and asked over his shoulder, "Got any clues, McGee?"

"I think we should start at the Naval Academy," he said without looking up from his laptop. He was focused on his research, any hint of anger from earlier gone from his expression. "Santos was enrolled at the academy from 2008 to 2010, so he likely knows the area well. If he's looking for a place to hide – whether himself or a body – that seems a good bet."

Gibbs nodded and stepped on the gas. There was no way in hell he was letting Santos get away with this – and if Tony was dead, there was no way Santos was getting out alive.

"I didn't get coffee," Tony started. "I actually don't know what happened, but right before you got there, all I remember is opening my eyes and being on the ground. It was like someone pistol whipped me on the back of the head. It really hurt. I sat up and felt like I was going to be sick, and then when I stood up. . . That was a big mistake, let me tell you. But somehow I managed to make it over to the bench. I was trying to make sense of what happened when I heard you."

Paula tightened her grip on his hand. "You didn't tell me you got hurt! You seemed fine, aside from asking me if I was dead, which was weird, even for you."

"That's the thing, though," Tony continued, turning a little so he was facing her. "None of what happened today seemed right." He froze then, seeming to realize something, then stood from the couch and turned in a circle, looking for something.

"Tony? What is going on?" Paula demanded.

He sat back down, unable to find what he was looking for, and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What year is it?"

She looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "It's 2004. Tony. . ."

He shook his head, laughing, but it wasn't an amused laugh, it was the kind of laugh where something's so unbelievable it must be real. "No. It's 2013." He ran his hands over his hair, holding the back of his head as he attempted to make sense of everything, then looked back up at Paula, who looked almost scared. He closed his eyes for a minute, willing himself to calm down, and took a couple of deep breaths, then opened his eyes again. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to figure out what's happened to me."

It was Paula's turn to shake her head. "None of what you're saying makes sense to me, either. Can you tell me more about what happened between now and then, though?"

He nodded and began to recount history as he remembered it. "First off, you were never even a member of the team. Do you know who Kate is?" Paula shook her head, so Tony continued. "She was on the team for two years, until she was killed by a terrorist. Ari. Gibbs was determined to kill the bastard. That's when Ziva came into town. She's from Mossad. She's been working with us ever since, and she and McGee are married. They're even expecting a baby." He frowned at the thought, because no matter what effect this had on his life, he didn't want it to affect the other people on the team, too.

Paula was silent for a few moments, then said, "So where do I fit into all this?"

Tony's expression grew bittersweet. "You still worked for NCIS, but you just weren't on Gibbs' team, and you certainly didn't give me the time of day." He laughed at that. "I tried so hard to get your attention. At least I know I succeeded in this reality."

"Tony. . ." Paula prodded him, and he shook his head, cutting her off.

"No, it's okay. I realized there were things I should have said and didn't, and I lost my chance. Maybe this is the universe's way of giving me another shot."

Paula grabbed his hand again. "What happened to me, Tony? You . . . you thought I was dead."

He nodded, his eyes unfocused. "Yeah. 2006. You had your own team, couple young guys. McGee knew one of them. Uh, they were on assignment, there was an explosion. . ." He shrugged. "Actually, we – as in Team Gibbs – were supposed to be on duty that weekend. That was hard to accept. Seems like I've escaped death more times than any normal person should."

"Maybe that's because you're not normal," Paula said, and Tony smiled at that, but still didn't really look at her.

"We investigated with you," he continued, "and in the end, you sacrificed yourself to save us." He shook his head. "I never was able to accept that. It didn't feel right." He finally focused on Paula again and saw she had tears in her eyes. "I realized after you were gone that I should've told you how I felt when I had the chance."

"How do you feel?" Paula whispered.

Tony took a deep breath, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, winced and held a hand up to his head.

Paula noticed and tightened her grip on his hand. "Tony? What's wrong?"

He looked at her and found her face was blurry, so he blinked his eyes a few times, but that didn't help and only seemed to make things worse. He shook his head. "I don't know, but. . ." he tried to focus on her face again, and a light bulb went off in his head, "I think I'm going back to my reality."