AN: Once again, thanks so much to those of you who have left reviews. Your comments are very encouraging and definitely help keep me motivated. Also, there is a nightmare scene in this chapter that could possibly be considered disturbing to some readers. I think its just kind of warped but wanted to give fair warning just in case :)

Thanks for reading!

*****

Tony walked into the formal dining room and looked in wonder at the countless candles which bathed the room in a shimmering glow. Unsure of what this place was or why he was here, he breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized Gibbs and his team seated at the rear end of the table.

"Hey guys," Tony greeted. He took the empty chair next to Gibbs who proceeded to give him an icy glare. "What'd I do now, boss?" Tony cast a confused look at Gibbs. "Am I late or something?" His only answer was dead silence.

"What's wrong?" Tony started to feel a little bit anxious. "Abbs?" Surely she wouldn't ignore him, would she? Yes, apparently she would. She didn't even give him the faintest hint of a smile, refusing to meet his eyes or even acknowledge his presence.

"Ducky? McGee?" He suddenly realized that Ziva was not in attendance and from what he could see, she had the right idea. "Hey, where's Ziva?" he asked.

"She has nothing to do with this, Anthony," Ducky responded grimly.

Well, at least Ducky was speaking to him though he wasn't sounding all that friendly, very un-Ducky-like. But,at least he was talking. Tony had started to think the members of his team had been replaced by some kind of alien life form. A few minutes went by. Ducky was once again quiet and a heavy silence hung over the room. Tony started to fidget and finally decided he had had enough. "I think I'm going to leave," he said as he rose from his chair.

"SIT!" Gibbs bellowed as he slapped Tony's head so hard his ears started to ring.

"Geeze, boss, are you trying to take my head off or something?" Tony rubbed the back of his head gingerly as Gibbs laughed.

Just then, two waiters entered the room, each carring a dome-covered silver serving tray. Gibbs got to his feet as the first tray was placed on the table in front of him. Without a word, he proceeded to lift the cover from the tray. Tony's eyes widened in horror when he saw what was underneath. It was Kate...or rather Kate's head, looking just as she had right after Ari had murdered her.

"Oh my God," Tony tried to fight back nausea as he stood in order to escape from the room, but was grabbed by Gibbs before he could do so.

"You're not going anywhere, Dinozzo. It's time for Kate to choose."

"It's time for Kate to choose," the others at the table echoed eerily.

Everyone looked at Kate's head expectantly as she smiled and started to speak. "Eenie meenie minie moe, catch an agent by the toe. I choose...Tony!" She looked up at Tony and winked mischievously.

"Yay for Tony! Tony, Tony, Tony!" Abby chanted, clapping each time she said his name.

"A very fine choice, indeed, Caitlin," Ducky said, smiling.

"Best choice ever." McGee nodded his approval, a huge grin on his face. "About time he gets what he deserves."

"And you're going to get what's coming to you too, McGee," Gibbs said with a sparkle in his eye. "How would you like to be my new senior field agent?"

"Really, boss? I'd be honored."

"Wait a minute, what's going on here? What about me, boss?" Tony didn't like the way any of this was going.

"Oh don't you worry, Dinozzo," Gibbs said soothingly. "I am going to take very special care of you. Special care for a very special agent." He reached for the other serving tray and with a grand flourish removed the cover, revealing what was underneath...a very shiny and sharp-looking ax. "Lie down on the table, Dinozzo."

Tony shook his head as the realization of what was about to happen dawned on him. "Boss?" His voice cracked as he gave Gibbs an appealing look.

"McGee, get him on the table," Gibbs ordered impatiently. "I'm starving and I'm sure dinner must be ready by now. Its going to get cold."

"Come on, Tony...don't make this difficult." With a little help from Ducky, McGee forced Tony to lie on the table.

"Don't worry, Dinozzo...it will only hurt for an instant." His eyes gleaming demonically, Gibbs raised the ax high in the air and Tony screamed as he aimed it towards his unprotected neck.

*****

Gibbs was pacing back and forth across the small room when Tony started to scream. He immediately rushed to the younger man's side. He was thrashing about frantically, his face covered with sweat, obviously in the midst of some horrific nightmare. "Tony?" Gibbs placed his hand on Dinozzo's shoulder and patted it gently. "Come on, Tony...wake up."

Tony slowly opened his eyes and he focused on Gibbs. "Get away from me!" he yelled, giving Gibbs a panic-stricken look. He tried to stand up, but was too weak and dizzy and he stumbled, ending up back on the floor.

"Dinozzo...its me, Gibbs." Gibbs deliberately kept his voice low and calm, trying to reassure his agent who was obviously still caught up in the nightmare.

"I said get away!" The terror on Tony's face was all too real and Gibbs backed off, not wanting to appear any more threatening than he already was. "Come on, Tony...its me...I'm not going to hurt you."

"You...you want to...to kill me..." Tony stammered. "You...you're going to chop my head off and give McGee my job."

Gibbs gave Tony an incredulous look. The absurdity of what Dinozzo was saying would have been funny if the situation wasn't so damn serious. "Come on, Dinozzo...I would never do that...I would never try to kill you..." He couldn't help wonder about the potency of the drug Bellingam had used on Dinozzo and what other effects it might have.

"Yes you would...you did...and...and you all thought it was funny. You and Ducky and McGee and Abby and Kate's head..."

Gibbs decided not to ask about Kate's head. He had a feeling he really didn't want to know.

"Its just you and me here, Dinozzo. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

Tony looked back at Gibbs apprehensively. "You just...you just stay away from me," he ordered. Exhaustion was beginning to overcome him again. His eyelids began to droop, but he quickly popped them open again, staring at Gibbs distrustfully.

Gibbs nodded. "I'm not going to go near you, Tony," he said softly. He could see Tony was beginning to lose his battle to stay awake and he decided to just wait him out, sensing it wouldn't be long before he succumbed. After only a few more minutes, Gibbs was proven right and Dinozzo drifted off to sleep. Gibbs prayed that this time it would be a dreamless slumber.

*****

Bellingham chuckled to himself as he watched the scene unfolding between the two NCIS agents. This was even better than he could have imagined. Watching Gibbs' tortured expression as Dinozzo deteriorated was entertainment at its best. He only wished his wife was still alive so she could have watched this with him, though there was a slight part of him that wondered if she would have approved of what he was doing to Gibbs' young agent. Perhaps not, but he would have made her understand. This was the only way he would be able to move past what had happened to Lizzie. Once Gibbs had paid, he could try to move on with his life.

*****

"We've got nothing, absolutely nothing." McGee said, his tone and demeanor making his discouragement obvious. "Its like they just vanished into thin air." He, Ziva and Ducky had gathered in Abby's lab to discuss their missing colleagues.

"None of Gibbs' neighbors saw anything?" Abby questioned.

Ziva shook her head. "Nothing of any helpfulness. A couple of people reported seeing a white van, but they couldn't recall any details Its not enough to go on."

"Surely someone must know something about Jethro's and Anthony's whereabouts." Ducky was finding this latest turn of events to be quite distressing.

"That may be true, Ducky but they're definitely not telling," McGee stated.

"Well, we can't give up!" Abby was trying her best to get some optimism into the room. The mood was much too dismal. "Tony and Gibbs would never give up if it was one of us."

"No one is giving up," stated Tim. "We just need to come up with a new strategy."

"McGee is right," said Ziva. "Let us go back to the beginning. Perhaps we can discover something we overlooked before."

*****

Sheldon smiled in satisfaction. His idea was beginning to shape up. He had decided to let two of Bellingham's men in on his plan. Like Sheldon, both were here for a one-time payout and neither had any loyalty to Bellingham. They were both in it for the money and if Sheldon's plan worked, the possible reward was far greater than anything they could have ever gotten from Bellingham. They had agreed that 15 million dollars was a reasonable request and would set them up very nicely. Dinozzo Sr. should be more than willing to pay that amount to get his obnoxious kid back. Now, he just needed to contact Dinozzo Sr. and take Bellingam out of the picture.

*****.

Gibbs kept watch as Tony rested fitfully. The younger man had been drifting in and out of an uneasy sleep for the last hour or so. Gibbs just hoped he wouldn't have any more nightmares. That last one had really been a doozy ."Go way," Tony mumbled as Gibbs went to feel his forehead. He was distressed to feel how much warmer Tony felt than he had just a short time ago. He was really burning up.

"Damn it..." Gibbs felt completely helpless and it was a feeling he despised. Tony needed medical attention badly and he was powerless to get it for him. "What can I do for him, Ducky?" he asked softly, wishing like crazy that his good friend and medical examiner could hear him.

"Cold," Tony said incoherently and Gibbs noted that he was starting to shiver.

"Come on, Dinozzo." Gibbs put his arms around his agent and began to assist him up off the floor.

"Wh...what are you doing, boss?" Tony asked as he opened his eyes halfway and gazed up at his superior.

"Getting you up off this floor," Gibbs replied as he guided Dinozzo towards the mattress. He was relieved to find that Tony no longer appeared to be afraid of him.

"NO!" Tony unsuccessfully tried to squirm out of Gibbs' grasp. "That thing's gross, boss. Don't wanna.."

"I don't care what you want, Dinozzo." Gibbs' tone left no room for argument as he deposited Tony onto the mattress. "This floor is freezing." The worn mattress was old and thin, but it would still provide a layer of protection between Dinozzo and the ice cold concrete floor. Gibbs then proceeded to remove his jacket before he pulled Dinozzo into his arms so that he was resting against Gibbs' chest. He then gently placed his jacket over Dinozzo.

"Wh...what the heck are you doing?" Tony asked, more than a little bit uncomfortable to find himself in Gibbs' arms.

"Keeping you warm, Dinozzo," Gibbs answered gruffly. "Don't make a mountain out of a molehill."

"Right, boss..." Tony suddenly realized that Gibbs' jacket was covering him. "Don't need that." He weakly tried to remove the garment but Gibbs firmly held it in place.

"Leave it alone, Dinozzo. God, you're stubborn."

"Pot, kettle, boss...guess I learned from the best," Tony murmured sleepily, as he allowed his eyes to close once again.

"Yeah, I guess you did," Gibbs said as a faint smile touched his lips. His eyes wandered around the room searchingly. Surely, there was a way out of this mess...there had to be. He just needed to figure out what it was...