T-minus eleven days until the finale!

If you are interested, the first promo is up on YouTube (gotta love Tony and McGee): Community (.) livejournal (.) com (/) spoilersforncis (/) 152699 (.) html

Mason motioned with his gun toward the standing NCIS agents.

"Take out your handcuffs and cuff yourselves together."

"You are kidding, right?" Tony asked incredulously, shooting the unconscious McGee a concerned look. The cut didn't look too bad, but Probie was going to have a helluva headache when he woke.

"I think she would rather find a new way to kill me then handcuff the two of us together. Remember how well that went last time, Zee-vah?" With each step, he was moving farther away from Gibbs, Franks and Kenzie and marginally closer to the perpetrators.

"It was your fault you didn't pinch in the code correctly!" she retorted fiercely as she realized Tony's plan.

"It's punch, Ziva. Would it kill you to get an idiom right? You think I enjoy spending my days correcting your English?"

"Then why do you?" Ziva fired back, raising her voice. "It drives me crazy! It doesn't matter what I say, you insist I say it wrong, even when I'm right! I hope you will desist before I decide to do something drastic."

"Like what?" Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Gibbs creep toward Franks and Kenzie and slip out his knife. Rule number nine was going to save the day again. "Beat me to death with a credit card? I'd love to see that," he scoffed.

"Oh, Tony, you have no idea. I have wonderfully painful ideas that I have yet to test on humans. You can be the first," Ziva stood right in Tony's personal space and poked his chest emphatically.

"Yeah, right. You're going to take me down? That I'd love to see."

Gibbs carefully slid the knife down his forearm, keeping it out of Mason's sight. With barely perceptible movements, he began sawing at the bonds around Franks' wrists.

"Keep going, DiNozzo, and you'll be lying on the ground, screaming 'uncle' before you know it."

"Glory be!" Tony raised his arms and looked heavenward. "You got an idiom right! Let me record the date and time cos I'm pretty sure it won't happen again. You object to my submitting this to the Guinness Book of World Records?"

With a final cut, Franks was free. He caught the ropes and slipped them into his back pocket before they could fall to the ground. Franks rubbed his hands together for a few seconds to return the circulation before Gibbs silently slipped his boss the knife, and shuffled over to his original position. Franks began slicing Kenzie's bonds when Ricky's attention shifted to Tony and Ziva's quarrel.

"You are such as pain in the ass! A constant thorn in my side!" Ziva continued as she and Tony crept closer and closer to the criminals.

"She's learning…Something's wrong! It's not the Apocalypse is it?" Tony turned questioningly to Mason. "I thought we had until 2012…John Cusak stared, Roland Emmerich directed. I think Danny Glover even had a cameo. Absolutely phenomenal film."

"Shut up!" Mason cried, fed up with the childish bickering. He knew DiNozzo was a loudmouth, but even this was a stretch for the supposedly competent cop turned fed. "I can't stand this anymore!"

"Try listening to it everyday," Gibbs remarked off-handedly as he came up behind Mason's third accomplice and grabbed his gun hand. The accomplice automatically tightened his finger on the trigger, discharging three successive rounds into the ceiling. Franks crossed the room in two large steps and drove his fist into the man's stomach. As he doubled over and released his grip on the gun, Franks released a haymaker that rendered the man senseless before he hit the floor.

When Mason and Ricky turned to see the source of the noise, Tony and Ziva attacked. Tony tackled Mason while Ziva executed a perfect roundhouse kick to Ricky's hand. The gun went flying from Ricky's senseless fingers, sliding toward Mason and Tony. In her peripheral vision, Ziva saw Franks grab the gun and train it on the unconscious criminal as she followed her kick with a solid punch to Ricky's face.

The man recovered faster than Ziva had though possible, catching her retreating fist between his forearms. He lifted his foot ready to deliver a vicious kick of his own, but Ziva twisted out of the way, her free leg sweeping Ricky's one planted leg out from under him and knocking him to the floor.

Ricky released Ziva's arm, his arms flailing wildly in an attempt to catch his balance. Ziva pivoted, and launched one final kick that landed with enough force to send Ricky crashing into the wall, his head smacking against the safety deposit boxes. Ziva remained slightly crouched with her fists raised, ready to deliver another crushing blow, but Ricky remained motionless on the floor.

Meanwhile, Tony's tackle had sent him and Mason out of the vault and into the small hallway. Tony grabbed Mason's gun hand, struggling to keep it pointed away from himself. With a snarl, Mason kneed Tony viciously in the stomach. Somehow, Tony managed to maintain his grip on the gun as the air was cruelly forced from his lungs. Seeing his opening, Mason released the gun with left hand, driving his elbow into Tony's jaw.

Stars danced in front of his face as Tony lost control of his body, releasing his tenuous grip on the gun. Mason pulled himself into a standing position, using his foot to roll Tony onto his back. Planting his foot firmly on Tony's chest, he trained his gun on the fed.

Through the impressive Technicolor display that clouded his vision, Tony saw a steel barrel being pointed at him. He grabbed Mason's foot with both hands, attempting to throw it off of him, but from his current position on the ground, he didn't have the leverage.

"I should have done this long ago," Mason hissed, increasing the pressure on Tony's ribcage. Tony began to panic as Mason cocked the weapon. He thrashed wildly, trying to extricate himself from the psycho. Mason only cackled loudly as he closed one eye and took aim at the area between Tony's eyes.

Tony met Mason's gaze, trying to keep his fear out of his expression. He had never thought he'd go out like this! Not that he had thought about it, but he was hoping for something on par with Kevin Costner's dramatic exit in The Guardian, or Will Smith's demise in I Am Legend, not lying on the ground gasping like an asthmatic.

Mason's grin widened as his finger tightened around the trigger. Suddenly, he lurched backward as a large crashing noise was heard. Tony summoned his remaining energy to roll out of the way, but with a final sway Mason collapsed on top on him, a large knife sticking out of his back.

Kenzie quickly rolled his captor off his former partner, unnecessarily checking for the carotid pulse. He stood again, once again standing over his injured partner, looking down at Tony with a concerned expression.

"Don't you get…tireduv…lookin' at me…like that?" Tony wheezed as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"You should just be glad I came along when I did, or there'd be little pieces of Tony DiNozzo scattered into the next county."

"What's it now…56-55?" Tony attempted to quip breezily as he drew fresh air into his aching lungs.

"I think it's 56-56. Remember in '02 when you took a swan dive off the pier to recover the murder weapon?"

"You're counting that?" Tony asked incredulously. "The current may've been…a little stronger than I had expected…but that didn't warrant—"

"You're forgetting how I had to jump in and drag your skinny ass to safety. It counts," Kenzie declared while grinning at his friend who was at a loss for words.

They sat in silence for a moment until Tony was able to breathe normally. As his vision cleared, Tony looked over at Mason's prone form, glad the bastard had finally gotten what he'd deserved.

"You look terrible, man," Tony remarked as he hauled himself to his feet, reaching out for the nearest wall when his legs threatened to give out. He shook off Kenzie's outstretched hand and walked back into the vault of his own accord.

"You're no Al Pacino yourself," Kenzie shot back as he inspected the damage. Ricky was still unconscious but was lying on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back. Ziva was standing not far away, her eyes never leaving Ricky's person. The other man had regained consciousness as was lying in the same position as Ricky, shooting daggers at Gibbs and Franks who stood over him with their guns pointed at his head.

"Check on McGee," Gibbs ordered as he saw his Senior Field Agent walk into the vault.

Gibbs gave Tony a questioning look, silently asking about Mason; Tony's only response was a curt nod. Guess the boss was right about one thing, Gibbs thought, the no paperwork method sure was a lot easier.

It did not escape his notice how slowly and stiffly Tony moved as he gingerly lowered himself to the ground next to McGee.

"McGee," Tony called softly, gently shaking the younger man's shoulder as Kenzie went over to introduce himself to Ziva. McGee woke with a start, throwing a punch in response to what was likely an unpleasant dream. Tony threw himself backwards in the nick of time, feeling McGee's fist whistle past his ear.

"What gives, Muhammed Ali? I know I can be annoying—sometimes—but I don't think I deserve that," Tony said as he leaned back on his hands and caught his breath for the second time in three minutes.

McGee's eyes flew open. They looked around blankly for a moment until his memory returned. He looked at his outstretched fist and his gaze flew to his partner.

"Oh, god, Tony! I'm so sorry!"

"Gibbs would head-slap you if he heard you say that," Tony replied with a quick glance toward his boss. Gibbs returned the glance, acknowledging that he had heard the infraction of rule six. The Lead Agent decided to let that one slide: besides the fact that McGee was out of head-slapping range, it had been a very unusual case for his team and it was a well known fact that the rules didn't necessarily apply in the field.

"Yeah, but Tony! You're my partner," McGee continued.

"It's okay, Tim," Tony replied honestly, seeing McGee relax slightly. "This time."

McGee froze, afraid to hear what was coming next.

"If you ever do that while you're fully conscious, I will strap you to a chair and make you watch every aired episode of The Jerry Springer Show. Comprende?"

"Got it," McGee gulped audibly bringing a wide grin to Tony's face.

"Ah, come on, Probie. It couldn't be that bad…" Tony straightened up and offered a hand to McGee who gratefully accepted.

"McGee," Gibbs called. "Call prison transport for two. Give Ducky and Palmer a call as well. They've got a new body to dissect."

"Yes, boss," McGee pulled his iPhone from his pocket and left the vault in search of better reception.

Kenzie walked over to Tony.

"You wouldn't really make him watch all those episodes, would you?"

"Kenzie, I don't even know where to look to buy a season of that terrible show. But if you tell McGee that, I'll tell everyone in the squad room who superglued Franco's door closed."

Kenzie's eyes narrowed. "You have no proof!"

"Well, it sure wasn't me, though I probably would have eventually if you hadn't beaten me to it."

"And you wonder why the Cap'n let you transfer to NCIS…"

"TOONNNYYY!" Abby dashed through the door and smothered Tony in a tight vice.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried about you. And Gibbs. And Ziva. And McGee too. I couldn't wait any longer. After McGee and Ziva left, I clocked out and drove up here as fast as I could. Not Gibbs- or Ziva-fast, but still pretty fast. I'm a whiz with the double clutch and people tend to pull over when they see a hearse barreling down the highway at eighty miles an hour," the Goth cried. Over Abby's shoulder, Tony saw Kenzie raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

"I think you'd better let him go before you give him an aneurysm," the Baltimore cop suggested as he saw Tony's face began to turn tomato red.

"Oh." Abby released Tony and hopped backwards while continuing to examine her friend for obvious signs of injury. Deciding he relatively uninjured, she socked him in the arm.

"What was that for?" Tony cried, rubbing his now throbbing upper arm.

"For checking yourself out of the hospital AMA. Of course, I know why you did it, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. Your health is much too important to take lightly."

"Did Ducky tell you to say that?"

"Yeah, but I was feeling the same way," she conceded. Her mission done, she turned to Kenzie and mentally appraised him.

"And who are you?" she asked, fixing Kenzie with her most charismatic smile.

"Mike Kenzie, ma'am…What?" Kenzie asked, seeing both Tony and Abby cringe.

"Don't call her ma'am," Tony advised his friend. "It's safer that way."

"Abigail Scuito, forensics extraordinaire at your service." Abby announced as she held out her hand to Kenzie, who laid a gentle kiss on it. Grinning wildly, she looked back at Tony in astonishment.

"You never told me your old partner was such a gentleman."

Kenzie gently turned Abby around before Tony could respond. "Are you the same Abigail Scuito that cracked the Mason case?" Abby nodded enthusiastically in response, completely taken by the charming gentleman in front of her.

"Tony's told me so much about you! I was dying to go to D.C. for the Mason case—wanted to see if NCIS was really all that great—but Franco got it in his thick head that I should stay in Baltimore to handle the ongoing investigation. Don't worry though! I got my revenge…" he trailed off, sharing a conspiratorial grin with Tony.

"It was pretty sweet," Tony recalled as Gibbs and Ziva walked over, leaving Franks to guard the two accomplices.

"What're you doing here Abs?"

"Gibbs! Ziva!" Abby enclosed first Gibbs then Ziva in abbreviated versions of Tony's hug. "I was so worried about you guys! I heard you had to rob a bank and was concerned for a minute, but then I remembered Tony's probably seen about a hundred heist movies, so I was pretty sure you were set…And then Ducky told me that Mason was behind all this and I immediately called Sister Rosita. She and her sisters have been saying the rosary for the last few hours on your guys' behalf."

"How'd you know where we were?" McGee asked. He had been wandering the hallway looking for a decent cell phone signal but had returned after hearing the loud shouting emitting from the vault.

"Tony's tracker, of course," Abby answered.

"Speaking of the tracker, where is it exactly?" Tony asked cautiously.

"I'm not telling you, DiNozzo, or you'll have it removed. Just know it's somewhere safe and secure."

"That's what I'm afraid of. My own personal Big Brother," Tony grumbled as he turned out his pants pockets before examined the insides of his shoes.

"You'll never find it, Tony. Just give up. It's a lost clause," Ziva interjected, an amused expression on her face.

"Cause. It's a lost cause," Tony stopped searching his clothes and turned to face Ziva. "I meant what I said about the Guinness Book of World Records. They have to have a category for most idioms missed in a five year period—"

Tony yelped as Gibbs' hand connected with the back of his head.

"What was that for?"

"We have a crime scene to process," Gibbs stated firmly.

"Yes, boss." Tony walked halfway across the room before turning back to face Gibbs. "Um…what exactly am I supposed to use to take pictures?"

Abby removed the duffel she had slung over one shoulder and handed it to him. "Clearly you were never a Boy Scout, Tony."

"Wow, Abby. You too? First, Mason poisoned me and Gibbs fixed me with the Death Glare multiple times before Ducky yelled at me for leaving the hospital and Ziva invented a new way to kill me, then McZombie almost socked me in the jaw, and now you are going to make jokes about my childhood?" He turned around to face Kenzie. "My old job in Baltimore still available?"

"Yeah," Kenzie said without taking his eyes off of Abby and Ziva. "We could trade places. I could use the change of scenery…"

"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned.

"On it, boss." Sighing heavily, Tony grabbed the camera from the makeshift forensics kit and went out in the hallway to photograph Mason's corpse. Abby followed him, continuing to babble about how Sister Rosita remembered when Tony had procured the ankle brace for her and was saying every prayer she possible knew to ensure his safety.

The next hour was a whirl of activity as prison transport arrived and took Ricky and his partner Joshua into custody. Ducky and Palmer arrived not long after Abby, performing the preliminary examination of Mason before lifting him onto the gurney and locking him into the back of the van.

Despite their attempts to dissuade medical attention, Kenzie, Franks and Tony were examined by the EMTs. Given only a suggestion for a few days of light duty, Tony had jumped out of the ambulance as soon as the doctor gave him the all-clear, leaving Kenzie and Franks in the mini-examining room. Gibbs was standing outside the vehicle since there had not been room in the ambulance for the four of them plus the EMT.

Franks looked up from the pretty trainee who was examining him to met Gibbs' stare. In that instant, a wealth of information was shared: thanks were conveyed and welcomes received.

"You did good, Probie," Franks replied honestly after a long while. Another moment of silence passed between the two again before Franks spoke up again.

"Layla was wondering what you were doing for Christmas. Amira's almost five now and she taken to telling us daily how much she misses her godfather…"

"I tell you what, boss. You stop answering calls from raving lunatics who say I'm gravely injured or dead and we'll see about my visiting for the holidays."

"You drive a tough bargain, Probie. But I accept," Franks conceded as he gently lowered himself down from the ambulance.

"Oh, and my flight here was sort-of a one way deal, so…"

"You can stay at my house for a few days. Could use the help sanding the new slats."

"Another boat, Probie? Jeez. Didn't you learn your lesson after the last one?"

"Nope."

"Stubborn bastard."

"Learned from the best," Gibbs responded with a half-grin as Franks walked away to speak with Abby.

Gibbs was about to leave when he heard the sound of someone clearing his throat. Kenzie was still sitting in the back of the ambulance, waiting for a private moment to speak to Gibbs.

"Tony's got a good thing going here," Kenzie began, "I haven't seen him this happy in a long time and I know he owes that all to you. Tony's a great partner; it was hard to have someone else as a partner when he left. Under that goofy exterior, he's got a heart of gold and is fiercely loyal to his friends, sometimes to a fault."

"Ya think?" Gibbs said, remembering when Ziva had been framed for bombing a coffee shops, when McGee had accidentally shot a cop and when Ziva had been suspected of being in league with Rivkin. Each time, Tony had worked unceasingly, usually in violation of rule eleven, until the truth was revealed or his friends were cleared.

"He's one of the best," Kenzie continued.

"I know," Gibbs replied honestly.

"I know it's been ten years, but the same principle still applies. If I find out he got Marine-d to death or gets crushed by that boat you're supposed to be building, I will drive down here and make your life a living hell. And trust me, I learned from the best in that department."

Gibbs nodded affirmatively.

Kenzie hopped out of the ambulance and held out his hand to Gibbs.

"Thanks for all you've done for us. If you ever need anything…"

"I'll call," Gibbs replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Catherine's rhinestone encrusted cell phone.

"There something you wanna tell me, Agent Gibbs?" Kenzie asked, eyeing the sparkling device.

"We borrowed it from a girl on the subway. Her address is on the back. Think you can return it to her?"

"I'll see what I can do," Kenzie's face broke into a smile that rivaled Tony's own as he accepted the cell phone and headed off to help his former partner. As the prison transport pulled away followed by the coroner's van, Gibbs was struck with déjà vu.

It was the morning after Mason had been arrested. Gibbs and Backladder walked into BPD headquarters, maneuvering their way through the crowded squad room to Detective DiNozzo's desk.

Tony was reclining in his chair, his feet resting on the ledge of his desk and his hands clasped behind his head, eyes closed. He cracked open one eye as he heard Gibbs approaching.

"That your incident report?" he asked.

Gibbs nodded. Tony cocked his head slightly and squinted at Gibbs as if he was trying to understand what drove the older man to continue to do his job. Gibbs smiled internally, pleased he was puzzling the young detective.

Tony's mock examination was interrupted by Gibbs' ringing cell.

The Lead Agent walked briskly away from the squad room to an empty hallway.

"Director."

"Agent Gibbs. Were you able to make the charges stick against Mason?"

"He confessed to the entire robbery after his fiancé was killed, sir," Gibbs reported.

"Good. Good." Director Morrow stated before falling quiet.

"Sir? What's going on?"

"Burley was sent to do threat assessments with the crew of the Enterprise. The COB was so impressed with his investigative skills that he's personally requested Burley for his Agent Afloat. Burley had accepted and tendered his resignation from his team. You're going to need a new agent."

Gibbs looked through the glass door at DiNozzo who was now sitting upright, gesticulating wildly as he shared a Baltimore cop story with Backladder who looked absolutely appalled.

"I got just the one."

And so that's the end of Atonement! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

Thanks to everyone who read, alerted, favorited or reviewed! It was such a joy to hear your wonderful responses to this story. I have the best reviewers on the entire website, hands down! You guys are awesome! :)

Since this is an NCIS story, I'll leave you with a movie quote: "It's not goodbye—I hate goodbyes—it's just see ya later!"

Always,

usa123