The team tried not to stare at Rosa when she walked into the bullpen the next morning. Her only pair of black dress pants and heels made her legs look long. A dark red dress blouse made her look a few years older than she was. She looked like she belonged there.
She stopped at Ziva's desk and gave her the sweats and a smile. As she walked by his desk on the way to hers, Tony reached over and tugged the tight braid that hung between her shoulder blades. She let out a small shriek and smacked away his hand. She sent a glare his way, but went on almost like nothing happened. She nodded smiled at McGee as she breezed by. He blushed and smiled back.
"Dead marine in an abandoned house. Let's go! Rosa, you too." Gibbs swept through the bullpen from an undetermined direction towards the elevators. They quickly gathered their gear and followed the boss. While the rest packed guns (and Ziva's case as many weapons as she could carry), Rosa had no weapons at all. Because of this she knew she was a weak target, and she tensed up and continually scanned her surroundings when she got out of the elevator.
Ziva unexpectedly sat in the back seat with her when they all piled into a couple of company cars. She took a switchblade out of her boot and handed it to the surprised blond. "Gibbs Rule number nine: always carry a knife," she said by way of explanation.
"Oh," Rosa breathed, gingerly taking the knife.
Glancing uneasily back, Tony, who was driving, commented, "Aren't those things illegal in a few states?"
"Worried, Tony?" Rosa quipped. He just grumbled, focusing on keeping up with Gibbs' slightly erratic driving.
They finally pulled up in front of a dilapidated, old, three story house. It practically screamed "haunted house!" Rosa felt a chill run up her back. There was evil magick here.
The city cops in the front lawn spoke to Gibbs. "He was found by an officer on his rounds. He saw candle light and thought someone was squatting. He walked in and found a man in fatigues oozing blood everywhere. The lady may want to stay out here." He nodded towards Rosa, who raised her unfortunately low eyebrows at him. She was sure she had seen worse. She gave Gibbs a look that said as much, and he nodded and beckoned her and the rest of the team to follow him in.
There was no furniture, or anything other than cobwebs, in all the rooms except in the large living room. There was a round table in the far corner, and black pillar candles scattered throughout the room. What held all of their attentions, however, was the husky, dark haired marine lying face up in a puddle of crimson blood. It was also drizzled strangely over his chest. Chills were racing up and down Rosa's spine almost constantly now. What worried her most was the circle made of salt around the grisly scene. The blood pool almost seemed to recoil from it.
"Damn…" Tony whispered, "Some serious hocus pocus goin' on here." He and Gibbs crept forward, taking pictures as they went. Rosa realized what they were doing just as their feet crossed the salt line. She yanked them both back with as much force as she could by the back of their jackets. All three of them almost fell over. With an unearthly shriek, large kitchen knives fell point down from some sort of rig near the ceiling. They fell, buried several inches into the hardwood, an inch or so outside the circle.
"So, what have learned today?" Rosa growled at the two.
"Uh, look up?" Tony ventured.
"That too. But never, never enter a Circle uninvited." She glanced uneasily at the cold, bloodless body of the unfortunate marine. "Even if you are invited, reconsider." She turned a severe eye on the agents, completely pissed. Tony tried to shrink in on himself, but Gibbs just raised his eyebrows. In all honesty, he was impressed with her: her strength when she pulled two grown men a full five feet, her composure (She had been thrown in a cell to wait for death just yesterday), and her ability to even attempt to glare him down. But, she was holding out on him…
"What do you know? What is this about circles? How do you know this?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. She better not be involved in this or else…
Rosa sighed. She wished it didn't have to come out this way, but she was going to tell them anyway. "I'm what you call a Christian Wiccan. I believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, but I take a very Wiccan approach to my religion. I Practice Wicca, therefore I'm familiar with magick."
"But magic isn't real." Ducky and Palmer had arrived on the scene and it was the medical examiner's assistant that had made the insensitive comment. Rosa shot him a glare. Ducky shot him a glare. Ziva, who was sensitive about people dissing other people's religion, shot him a glare. He shut up.
"Rosalind, is there a sort of rite you can do that will make it safe for us to continue, without damaging the evidence?" Ducky was appropriately respectful.
She nodded, and then raised an eyebrow at Gibbs. He nodded. She darted out of the entry hall and up the stairs. There was a sort of balcony that gave one access to the knife rig. "Stand back!" she hollered and triggered the rest of the trap. She darted back down the stairs and stood in the doorway of the cursed room. She studied the room carefully, not wanting to be caught unawares. She crossed herself before entering. Muttering a prayer she went to the north side of the Circle. She pointed at the salt line and started chanting. It sounded, unless Gibbs needed a hearing aid on top of the indignity of glasses, like something out of the Book of Psalms. She walked counterclockwise around the edge of the circle, chanting all the while. The candles flickered to life, one by one, seemingly on their own. When she had gone around the Circle three times she stopped and made a loud, guttural sound. All the candles went out at the exact same time. The oppressive atmosphere even Palmer could feel was suddenly gone.
"All done!" Rosa chirped in an overly cheerful voice. The rest of her new team simply starred at her, gob smacked.