I don't own NCIS or any of the characters on the show. I do own the ones that I've created. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for these two. Ah, I just can't seem to help myself. I have to give credit to Michael Westen and his Burn Notice crew for the ricocheting bullets gag. I loved that, and couldn't resist using it. Hehehe. Thanks again for all of the positive reviews and your comments. I hope you enjoy the next chapter in the story. Let me hear from you, good or bad...
Never Good
Bad is never good until worse happens. – Danish Proverb
Tony kept one eye on the vehicles looming in his rear view mirror. He felt the tension rising up his spine to settle in the back of his head as he tried his best to keep his car on the increasingly slippery road. The weather was continuing to deteriorate, and sleet had begun to fall making the snow that much more treacherous. He took a deep breath and gripped the wheel tighter; he was fairly certain that he and Eve could handle the idiots trailing them, but Gibbs was right that they needed them alive to interrogate. She wanted them all dead; he could see it in her eyes, the one place she could never hide anything from him.
"These guys aren't pros." Her voice was cool and collected as she spoke. It was the first thing she had said since they had spoken to Gibbs.
"Why do you say that?"
"They're too obvious about what they're doing. They're making no effort to stay hidden. You won't see a professional until they have you right where they want you. Gibbs should have no trouble at all stopping these idiots." She gave Tony a speculative look that had him almost groaning.
"What is going through that mind of yours?"
"You wanna have some fun with these guys?"
"What do you have in mind?" Now he was curious
"Slow down." She gave him a mischievous smile as she spoke which set his teeth on edge.
"What! Evie, are you crazy?"
She picked up the gun from her lap and opened the window. "Seriously, slow down, when they get close I'm going to use to this to give them a heart attack." She motioned to the 357 Magnum in her hand.
Tony knew that she was perfectly serious, and also knew that her aim was steady enough to do it. "How are you doing to do that?"
"I'm going to make the bullets ricochet off the pavement into the floorboard of the car. I might even be able to crack the radiator if I'm lucky enough with a shot. You know that at 357 will do it, if I can make the shot."
Tony began to enjoy the idea of scaring the hell out of their pursuers until the cavalry arrived, so he slowed the Mustang down just enough to ensure that the two cars ended up right behind him without the other drivers even realizing exactly what he was doing. Eve grinned in appreciation of his driving skills.
"These idiots didn't even realize what you're up to; they're clueless. They fell right in line behind us. Now, watch this…"
He watched her from the corner of his eye as she leaned out the window and carefully aimed the powerful handgun and pulled the trigger. The loud BOOM reverberated through the car, and, as he watched through the rear view mirror, he could see the first car begin to swerve as the driver panicked. She pulled the trigger twice more and the second car lost control and ran headlong into a tree lining the roadside.
The first car had regained control and was directly behind them, so Tony sped up enough to give her room to aim and laughed as she pulled the trigger three more times. The second car finally lost control and flipped over as she blew out the right front tire.
Tony stopped his Mustang with a skid and jumped out with his Sig drawn and Eve directly behind him with her own firearm up. He quickly checked the men in the second car. They were both unconscious and unable to go anywhere.
They cautiously approached the second car. It was still, and there was no movement from within. Tony finally yelled, "NCIS. Throw out your weapons and put your hands where I can see them!"
A pistol was thrown from each front window and the two men put their hands out the windows. Tony looked at Eve with a rueful expression on his face as he said, "I only have one set of handcuffs."
"Don't worry; I've got a set here in my bag. You never know when you might need handcuffs."
When Gibbs and Ziva pulled up a couple of minutes later they found Tony and Eve standing guard over two conscious men and two unconscious ones. The two cars were totaled, and Gibbs called for wreckers to take both to the NCIS evidence garage for Abby to process. Once that was done he turned and looked at the four suspects that were cuffed and waiting for rescue to come and assess their various injuries.
He turned a laser like glare to where Tony stood with his arm around Agent Dupree. She was leaning on his shoulder and was watching the proceedings with interest. Tony looked tired, the lines around his eyes were more pronounced, and, if he hadn't had them covered with sunglasses, Gibbs knew that Tony's eyes would be rimmed with red and bloodshot. Fatigue seemed to have become a perpetual state of affairs with him ever since he'd gotten involved with her.
Gibbs didn't begrudge Tony a secure relationship. He knew more than anyone else that DiNozzo needed someone to love him without question. From everything he had observed he was certain that Eve Dupree felt something for Tony that went deeper than just simple physical attraction. He didn't know what it was since he had never heard her tell Tony that she loved him, so he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Regardless, the whole debate was moot since Tony had made it clear in no uncertain terms that she was in his life to stay as long as she would.
Gibbs did know that Tony loved Eve; he'd never heard him say the words to her, but he knew. There was really no other word for it, except maybe obsession, since he had done such a spectacular job of falling apart when she had disappeared in Afghanistan. Love like that was scary and it made you vulnerable and mortal. He should know he'd gone through worse when Shannon and Kelly had died. It was something that Gibbs both craved to have but was terrified of. For the life of him, he couldn't understand how Tony, a man who had run from all commitment, would allow someone that close to his once broken heart.
As he stood there ruminating on his Senior Field Agent and the woman beside him he felt her eyes slide over him like a blast of cold air. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he turned his arctic blue gaze to meet her eyes fully. She was studying him with absolutely no expression on either her face or in her eyes. He knew that she was assessing him yet again, probably comparing him to Tony (physically he was never going to win that comparison, he knew), and he fought the urge to pull in his stomach and stand up even taller.
He finally satisfied himself with snapping, "I thought I said I wanted all of these men in one piece!"
Tony looked at Gibbs with a wide-eyed expression that held no guile and sputtered, "Wha… come on, Boss! They were after us…"
"DiNozzo!"
"Shutting up now, Boss." Tony snapped his mouth shut and contented himself with thinking the things Gibbs wouldn't let him say in response.
Gibbs centered his ire on the person to whom it was intended and said in a hard tone, "Well…" He drew out the word, making it a challenge.
He felt his skin crawl when she just stared back and smiled in that icy way of hers and said, "They're alive aren't they?"
Standing in the observation room, Tony decided that he knew exactly how a ping pong ball felt. He knew that because he often felt bounced between Eve and Gibbs as they faced off in yet another confrontation. He didn't understand why Gibbs was so confrontational with Eve. Normally he didn't act this way no matter how long Tony had been dating a woman. It was odd, but Tony appreciated the protective vibe that Gibbs was sending out. It was comforting but still a pain in the ass.
He understood why she felt the need to stand up to Gibbs; her training had ingrained in her a need to never show weakness. Gibbs was an alpha male, and she understood that trait. There was no way in hell that she would ever show anything but strength in front of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He grimaced as he recalled how she constantly baited the boss by calling him by his first name. Eve did love to play with fire. He just hoped she wouldn't end up getting burned.
Tony wasn't naive, but he did hope that eventually Gibbs and Eve would quit declaring war on each other every time they were in a room together. It gave him ulcers to imagine that his surrogate father and the woman he loved would never accept the other's place in his life. He sighed and prayed that they would eventually find some common ground.
His thoughts turned to Eve again and he gave a chuckle as he remembered the expression on her face when he had left her with Abby that morning. He had needed to help Gibbs interrogate the suspects and she wasn't really interested in why they were being followed; actually, she just wanted to know where Davis was so she could kill him. With that in mind he'd thought it best that she wasn't around when they interrogated the men. He would fill her in on the pertinent information later.
Their relationship worked because they had accepted the bad as well as the good in each other. She was able to let down her guard and be vulnerable around him just as he was with her. He had been able to show her sides of his personality that no one, not even Gibbs, knew about. She always made him feel like he was the most important person in the world, and it was a feeling he had quickly grown used to and now needed like an addict needed drugs.
He grinned to himself as he thought about the turns his life had taken in the past year. Actually life was pretty good once you got past the whole 'escaped felon wanting him and his lover dead' thing. He had a great job he loved, and he had a woman that made him feel complete for the first time in his life. He had no need to live a lie; there wasn't much that he could tell her that would shock since she had probably done worse.
Tony made a mental note to ask Ducky to check both of them over. He trusted Palmer, but he knew that he still wasn't a hundred percent, and he had heard Eve vomiting both last night and again today before they left for work. He was worried that she had made her condition worse by waiting on him hand and foot for three days. He had her, and he'd be damned if he was going to let anything happen to her.
Gibbs walked in the room and gave Tony a gentle slap to the back of his head to regain his attention and then said, "You're with me, DiNozzo."
He gave a cheerful smile and said, "On your six, Boss!" Tony turned smartly and followed Gibbs into the interrogation room to begin what promised to be a long process.
Eve liked Abby; she liked her a lot. She liked her cheerful attitude towards life and the fact that she never seemed to run out of hugs that she bestowed on those she felt needed them. She liked the loud pounding of her music and the fact that Abby had accepted her just because Tony did. Eve appreciated the sentiment, and the Goth scientist had become the closest thing she had to a girl friend. She enjoyed spending time in the lab when Tony was working elsewhere. The two women had been gossiping while Abby ran trace evidence collected from the two cars when Eve felt her stomach clinch with yet another round of nausea. She fought the urge to run to the restroom and instead put her head down on the counter and concentrated on taking deep breaths.
It only took Abby a couple of minutes to notice her friend had become distracted and had put her head down. "Hey, are you okay?"
Eve took a deep breath and tried to smile before replying. "I've been really nauseous since the explosion, and today I've got a killer headache to go with it. I think it must just be aftereffects of a concussion."
"What did the hospital say about it?"
Eve looked at Abby guiltily and shifted her eyes before finally replying, "I never got checked out for a possible concussion. My only priority was to get Tony out of that building before Davis could track us there."
"Has Ducky had a look at you?"
"No. I don't want Tony to worry; he's got enough on his plate. Please don't mention it to him, Abbs. He's got a job to do, and so do I. Neither of us will be effective if he's worrying about me."
Abby didn't like making blanket promises, so she finally said, "I won't tell Tony IF you come with me and let Ducky check you out. Let's just be sure that everything is okay."
Eve tried to glare but failed miserably, "That's blackmail, Abby."
The effervescent Goth gave a cheerful shake of her head, her pigtails bouncing, and smiled at her friend, "Whatever it takes. Tony'll go postal if anything happens to you."
Eve finally decided that she had no choice but to acquiesce to Abby's request, no she couldn't call it a request, her demands, and so she gave a careful nod. "You win."
"I know." Abby was supremely confident in herself and didn't mind showing it. "I always win."
The two women made their way to Ducky's domain and entered quietly. Ducky was sitting at his desk finishing the paperwork from his last post. He looked up at the pair and gave a bright smile. "What brings two such lovely ladies to autopsy this morning?"
Abby stepped in to take control of the situation. "Hey Duckman, could you give Eve a once over? She's been throwing up and having headaches since the explosion the other day."
Ducky was immediately concerned and reached for his medical bag. He put a sheet on the table and motioned for Eve to climb up. "Sit here, my dear and let me have a look."
Eve submitted herself to the exam. Answering only what she was asked and volunteering nothing. She had almost tuned Ducky out completely when he asked her a question that caught her attention immediately.
"Wha… what did you just ask me?"
Ducky gave a gentle smile and repeated his question "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"
Eve shook her head. "No, no of course not. We've always been careful…" Her voice trailed off then she exclaimed "Fuck!"
Abby was immediately intrigued by the look on her friend's face and asked, "What?"
Eve looked at Ducky with a panicked expression in her eyes and whispered, "We've always been careful except for the night I came home from Afghanistan." She paused for a second swallowing hard, and then continued, "I'd been gone so long I wasn't on the pill anymore, and well, I don't think we used anything else. I don't really remember."
"Ahhh…" Ducky got a speculative look on his face then reached for his tubes to draw blood. "Let me get a blood sample, and we'll put this question to rest soon enough."
Eve submitted her arm to the doctor and sat there stunned whist he and Abby started the test running. Panic was beginning to take over, and she decided that she had to get out of the building one way or another. Luckily Abby walked back into the room and grabbed her arm.
"Come on. Let's go get a Caf-Pow and I don't know, doughnuts or something. You look like you could use it."
Eve nodded her emerald green eyes bright in stark comparison to her pale face. How could she have gotten so careless? There was no way in hell she was going to be responsible for trapping Tony. They had never even discussed getting married much less having any children. She liked things the way they were. They were together because they wanted to be not because of any obligation. Christ! She gave herself a mental shake. Who the hell was she kidding? Was she maternal? This was a disaster in the making!
Abby pulled her friend along behind in her wake as they passed through the bullpen. She stopped at Gibbs desk to leave a note as to their whereabouts then exited the building headed for the nearest place that stocked Caf-Pow. Abby was too excited by the thought of a potential niece or nephew to notice the pair of men who fell in behind them as soon as they made it to the street. She bounced along happily, making plans.
Eve was too distracted by her thoughts to notice the pair who began following her and Abby. She couldn't even form a coherent thought as she followed Abby towards the store. They stopped at the crosswalk waiting for the walk signal when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She immediately began to struggle, but was stopped in her tracks by a hard right to her jaw. She fell only to be caught by her attacker. Abby saw her fall, but was quickly overpowered by the attacker's partner who quickly injected her with a fast acting sedative. The men quickly got the two women off the street and into a nearby van. A couple of minutes later they had disappeared.
Gibbs, Tony, Ziva and McGee finally made their way back to the bullpen after several fruitless hours in the interrogation rooms. The four knew nothing about Davis' operation. He had hired them for surveillance only and had told them as little as he could get away with. Gibbs was disgusted about the wasted time. He sat down at his desk intending to check messages and then make a coffee run. He found Abby's note and yelled the information to DiNozzo so he wouldn't start looking for Eve and would settle down into his paperwork.
Gibbs stood intending to grab a coffee when his phone rang. He snapped it open with a crisp motion. "Gibbs."
There was silence on the other end of the line until a tremulous voice finally spoke. "Gibbs."
The former marine felt a cold knife stab him in the gut when he recognized the voice. "Abby. What's wrong?"
Her voice disappeared and another one took over. This one deep and foreboding, "Hello Special Agent Gibbs. I just wanted you to know that I have your lovely forensic scientist and DiNozzo's whore. If you want to see Ms. Scuito alive you had better follow my instructions to the letter. I'll call back with details."
Gibbs gripped the phone and almost screamed into the receiver "DAVIS"
The voice laughed, low and dirty and responded, "Ta Ta!"
The line went dead leaving nothing but dead air for him to rail against.
