AUTHOR'S NOTES: I have decided that the person who discovers the cure for the common cold should be instantly declared a Saint.

Anyway, hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 16

Fallen Idols

The Thursday after the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, Tony DiNozzo again found himself at the townhouse of Fiona Brendon. But as opposed to before when he wished he could have asked anyone else for help, this time he was looking forward to getting Dean Winchester's help on his current case.

Finding Dean in the garage, Tony knocked on the doorframe, waiting until the hunter looked up from the engine before speaking. "So an interesting case landed on my desk and I thought you might be able to help me out with it."

"Yeah?" Dean asked, straightening up before wiping his hands on a towel nearby. "Why's that?"

Tony beamed as he handed the file over, waiting patiently as Dean read.

Dean looked up at the NCIS agent, looking like a kid at Christmas. "Serious?"

"Dead serious," Tony replied, still grinning. "How soon can you be ready?"

"Give me 15 minutes," Dean said, putting the hood of the Impala down and heading into the townhouse to grab a quick shower and a change of clothes.

xxxxx

40 minutes later, Dean and Tony were in a pole barn looking at a silver Porsche like it was the last remaining PlayBoy Bunny on the face of the earth.

"Damn," Dean said, walking around the car, almost afraid to touch it.

"Probie and Ziva are talking to the witness," Tony reported, his attention only on the car in front of him. "Gibbs is double-checking the VIN number, but…"

"Yeah, but anyone can change a VIN number," Dean said, suddenly looking a bit doubtful. "We gotta match the engine number." Looking at Tony, he asked, "So what did the others say when you gave them the history on the car?"

Tony gave Dean a 'you're not going to believe this one' look as he said, "Probie wanted to know why someone would spend half their life looking for a car."

"I don't know, man…" Dean laughed as he looked at Little Bastard. "You sure McGee's that smart?"

"Yeah, well," Tony went on. "Ziva asked who in their right mind names a car 'Little Bastard'."

In Ziva's defense, Dean shrugged. "Chicks don't always get cars, you know?"

Tony turned his attention to Dean, frowning. "Something you want to say?"

"No, man," Dean insisted, looking around for something to jack the car up on.

"Are you sleeping with Ziva?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Is it any of your business if I am?" Dean asked, defensively.

Tony considered that for a moment and finally said, "Ziva's been through a lot. And she hasn't had a lot of luck with guys. They usually end up dead."

Dean wasn't sure if the comment was meant as a threat. Looking at the car again, he said, "Rock, paper scissors for who goes under the car?"

Tony gave a look of surprise at that. "What?"

Dean shrugged. "It's how Sam and I settle who does the dirty work on a case."

"Alright," Tony agreed. "On three," he said, holding up a fist.

Dean did likewise and on three, he grinned when Tony went with paper instead of rock or scissors.

"Best two out of three," Tony argued.

"Hey, you're the fed," Dean argued. "I'm just a civilian."

"You're the expert on the supernatural," Tony countered. But Dean wasn't budging and once Tony was scooting underneath the Porsche, he paused. "If this falls on me, make sure my last words are something cool," he instructed.

While Tony and Dean worked the case, Sam and Fiona were in the downstairs bedroom of Fi's townhouse enjoying the late morning. As Fiona lay next to her boyfriend, she thought about the previous night.

The sex had been awkward, to say the least.

At first, anyway.

Fiona usually liked being on top because when Sam was on top of her, she felt like she was being crushed.

At first, after a while, Sam had suggested they were trying too hard, but Fiona—never one to give up—had suggested one more try.

It had turned into one of the most wonderful nights of Fiona's life. Suddenly, everything seemed to work the way it was supposed to and both Sam and Fi were left breathless and very satisfied.

Fiona swore to send that damn Trickster a gift basket.

Sam pulled Fiona closer as soon as he woke up but before he could even kiss her, the bedroom door opened and both hunters scrambled to cover themselves as Dean opened the door.

"Dude!" Sam said, giving his brother the mother of all glares. "Whatever happened to knocking?"

"Sorry, Sammy," Dean said, even though his voice and expression showed no remorse at all. Rather, there was a wide smile on his face. "Agent DiNozzo just found us a case. Thought you might want in on it." Noticing the slight tenting of the sheets just below Sam's waist, Dean smirked as he asked, "Need a minute there, Sammy?"

"Get out of here, Dean!" Sam shouted, throwing a pillow at Dean who caught it before throwing it back.

When the door closed, Fiona pressed her face against Sam's bare chest, her cheeks red with embarrassment. After a few moments, she looked at Sam. "I'm going to get dressed."

"Need any help?" Sam asked, propping himself up by one elbow.

"If you don't mind grabbing my bra and panties you threw across the room last night," Fiona replied, with a smile.

When the two were finally dressed, they grabbed their usual guns and headed back out to the Impala before Sam drove to NCIS Headquarters where they found visitors' passes waiting for them at security.

Heading up to the main squad room, Fiona and Sam couldn't help exchanging looks.

Dean glanced at both of them but he didn't say anything, even though he wished that the two would knock it off. But on the other hand, he was happy to see that some of the tension that had been present between Sam and Fi had lessoned.

As the trio exited the elevator, Dean put his trademark grin into place when he saw Ziva look his way and was delighted when Ziva gave him a return smile.

"Winchester!" Gibbs barked as he entered the squad room, a fresh cup of coffee in his hand.

"Yes, sir?" Sam and Dean replied in unison.

Gibbs somehow managed to hide his smile and quick checked his computer incase Abby had emailed him an update on the present case. "VIN number matched the one for James Dean's car," Gibbs said, straightening up.

"But the engine number didn't," Tony countered, looking distinctly disappointed. "Car's a fake."

"Blunt force trauma wasn't a fake," Gibbs said, sipping his coffee. "Ducky says the victim's injuries were consistent with an 80-mile-per-hour crash."

"I thought the car was parked when the Navy Lieutenant was killed?" Sam questioned.

"It was," McGee confirmed. "But somehow—" He was cut off when his phone rang and when he picked it up, he was surprised to hear Ducky's voice.

"McGee," Ducky said, briskly. "Could you send Jethro down here? I've got something he should see."

"You got it, Ducky," McGee replied before hanging up the phone. "Boss, Ducky wants you down in Autopsy."

Gibbs nodded once and pointed to Sam. "You—with me."

"So what do you want me to do?" Dean asked, feeling a awkward.

"You and Ziva track down how Lieutenant Fuller found that car," Gibbs ordered, heading for the elevator, Sam following him.

"You two need a chaperone?" Tony asked, noticing the looks going on between the two.

"Mind your own business, Tony," Ziva replied coolly as Dean joined her at her desk.

x

Down in Autopsy, Sam frowned as Ducky pulled two seeds from Kurt Fuller's stomach and dropped them into evidence jars. "What the hell are those?" Sam asked, pulling on gloves and picking up one of the jars.

"Some sort of seedpod would be my guess," Ducky replied with a shrug. "Though they are not anything I have ever seen before."

"Something you recognize?" Gibbs asked, watching the young hunter studying the seeds.

"No," Sam said, shaking his head.

x

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered, pulling up what he could find on Kurt Fuller.

"What's wrong?" Ziva asked, frowning slightly.

"Lieutenant Fuller was involved in a car accident when he was in college," Dean replied, frowning. "His girlfriend was killed and her parents blamed Fuller for the girl's death."

"What does this have to do with the car Fuller was killed in?" Ziva asked, confused.

Dean leaned back in his chair and explained. "Getting killed in a car crash sounds like just desserts for someone who supposedly killed their girlfriend in a car accident, wouldn't you say?"

Ziva caught on and she didn't like where this was heading. "The Trickster is behind this, then? Yes?"

"Sure looks that way," Dean muttered. Getting up from his chair, he headed for the elevator, and hid his smile when he noticed Ziva following him. As they stepped inside and headed down to Autopsy and Ducky's lab, Dean didn't bother hiding his smile when Ziva stopped the elevator between floors. "We haven't done it at NCIS yet."

"What's bothering you?" Ziva asked, studying Dean.

"Something just doesn't feel right," Dean replied, quickly. He went to flip the switch to get the elevator started again, but was stopped by Ziva. Sticking to the case, he said, "It's all a little too perfect," he said, explaining the feeling in his gut.

"You sound like Gibbs," Ziva observed, stepping closer to Dean.

"Is that a bad thing?" Dean asked, smiling as he saw the hungry look in Ziva's eyes.

"As long as you don't head-slap me," Ziva replied, pulling Dean in for a long kiss.

19 Years Ago

John Winchester slowly hung up the phone in his motel room, looking at his sons—Dean and little Sammy. The door to the motel room opened and one of John's best friends came in, a very pretty 16-year-old girl behind him.

"Jeez, John," James Brendon said, noticing the look on the other hunter's face. "Who ran over your dog?"

John looked at Dean and Fiona before pulling out his wallet and withdrawing the last few bills he had. Handing the money to Dean, he said, "Hey, buddy. Why don't you, Sammy and Fi go get a couple of pizzas for dinner?"

"Sure, Dad," Dean replied, nodding. As he took the money his father handed him, he wondered what was going on.

Once the kids were out of the room, James frowned as John sank down onto one of the beds. "John, what is it?"

"Shannon and Kelly Gibbs are dead," John replied, sadly.

"What?" James said, shocked. "What happened?"

John shook his head as he stood and paced the room. "Car accident. NIS is doing a full investigation. Apparently Shannon was a witness in a drug killing and… Jethro is a mess."

James ran a hand through his messy hair and sighed before starting to pack up his things. "Soon as the kids get back we'll head to Bobby Singer's place."

John didn't even argue as he started packing his things up as well.

The drive to South Dakota was long and Sam and Dean seemed surprised that their father was silent for almost the whole trip.

Behind the Chevy Impala, in an old Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Fiona looked at her father who was almost as quiet as John Winchester.

"Dad, please tell me what's going on," Fiona begged, not liking how dour the mood was.

For a moment, James was quiet, but finally he said, "Fiona, I know… I know how much you liked Shannon Gibbs. And I know how close you and Kelly were."

"Dad, you're scaring me," Fiona said, fixing her father with a look. But the longer her father was quiet, the more the pit in her stomach grew. She didn't want to believe it but she also knew that her dad wouldn't be telling her this if it wasn't the truth. Reading into what wasn't being said, she finally said, "They're dead, aren't they?"

"I'm so sorry, baby," James said, looking over at his daughter.

"What about Gibbs?" Fiona wondered, thinking about her godfather.

"That's why John and I are taking you kids to stay with Bobby for a while," James explained. After a while, he added, "Fiona… we may be gone for a while."

"I understand, Dad," Fiona assured him as she put a hand on her father's arm. "Tell Gibbs we're thinking of him."

Present Day

At NCIS, Gibbs could tell that something was bothering Fiona and he was sure it had nothing to do with the current case. Fi had been doing background on the victim but she seemed to be at the task only halfheartedly.

"Fiona? Got a minute?" he said, looking at his goddaughter.

Fiona nodded and followed Gibbs to the conference room and waited until he closed the door behind her before asking, "Something wrong?"

Sitting down so he was level with Fi, Gibbs said, "You tell me."

"It's nothing," Fiona insisted, making her face impassive. "I'm fine, really."

Gibbs knew better, but he said nothing. Looking up when the conference room door opened, he saw McGee standing in the doorway. "What, McGee?"

"We've got another victim, boss," McGee reported, succinctly. "And Sam and Abby have something."

"Okay, we'll be right there," Gibbs said, before giving Fiona a look that said that they weren't done talking.

In the squad room, there was a picture of a woman in her 30's on the plasma screen.

"Katie Cassidy," Tony reported. "She's a civilian, but the MO matches Captain Fuller's." Bringing up the crime scene photos, he went on. "Metro PD found her stuffed in a dryer in a local laundromat." Bringing up the stats on the vic, he added, "Her great-grandfather built the largest laundromat chain in the country. According to a speech she gave at the latest location opening—"G-Pop was my idol"."

"So we've got two victims that have been killed by someone or something they idolized in manners that could be considered ironic," Fiona said, thoughtfully. "Sounds like the Trickster to me."

"Except Tricksters don't leave seeds in their victims' bellies," Sam said when Fiona, Tony, McGee and Gibbs gathered in Abby's lab.

"So what's with the seeds?" Tony asked, looking at one of the evidence jars.

"They're a trademark of a forest god named Leshi," Abby explained.

"Pagan gods teaming up," Tony said, a slight sinking feeling in his stomach. "Wonderful."

"Good news," Abby said, helpfully. "We can kill Leshi by chopping his head off with an iron ax."

"Remember when we used to just catch bad guys, sweat 'em in interrogation and bust them?" Tony mused out loud. "I miss those days."

McGee nodded, but stopped when he looked at the others. "Guys? Where's Ziva and Dean?"

"You know," Leshi said as he walked through Shenandoah State Park with Loki. "We make one hell of a team."

Loki shrugged at that as he looked around the park. As he passed a 6-year-old girl crying over her dropped ice cream cone, he snapped his fingers, restoring the girl's frozen treat. "Yeah, but don't you ever get tired of it all I mean the world's gonna end. Wouldn't you rather do something good with your existence?"

"This is about that hunter, isn't it?" Leshi said with a grin. As the two gods continued their walk, he mused, "Fiona Brendon. Never thought you'd be interested in a paralyzed mortal." He stopped and looked at his companion, puzzled. "What exactly do you see in her?"

Loki shrugged. "You know, most humans are flawed creatures. When walls are put in their paths, they try to find ways around them. Fiona knows she may never be able to climb her walls, but she does it anyway. Going around is easier, but she won't do it. You have to admire that kind of stubbornness."

Leshi looked around at the humans milling about the park, finally looking at Loki with an expression of amazement. "One of these days, Loki, you have to tell me about this thing you have for humans."

"One of these days," Loki replied with a smirk, thinking that most likely the Winchesters would kill the forest god before that day ever arrived.

When Ziva finally turned up again, Gibbs pulled her aside and waited a moment before speaking—giving his agent a chance to start the conversation.

Ziva remained silent, but her eyes were filled with expectation and defiance.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do here, Ziva," Gibbs assured her. "I don't care who he is. I just care that he's going to be the man that you deserve. That he's someone who genuinely makes you happy."

"It's Dean Winchester," Ziva stated, studying Gibbs for a reaction.

"I'm happy for you, Ziva," Gibbs replied with a smile. Noticing that Ziva seemed a bit surprised, he said, "John Winchester was Kelly's godfather."

"So you are Fiona's godfather," Ziva recited, interested. "And John Winchester was Kelly's? What about James Brendon?"

"Sam and Dean's godfather," Gibbs replied, simply.

Ziva nodded, thoughtfully. "You do not have to worry about me, Gibbs. I can take care of myself."

But this was something Gibbs already knew. "I know," he assured her.

But before Ziva could ask what all this had been about, she understood. Gibbs was reassuring her that—like always—he had her back and if Dean turned out to be a dick, he would regret it. She also smiled inside as she realized that Dean would also find himself having a heart-to-heart with Gibbs.

Finding the forest god, Leshi, had proved to be difficult, and trying to find the Trickster was an even more daunting task.

So while Sam headed over to Gibbs' house late that night to fill him in on the search, Dean and Ziva decided to release their pent-up emotions, taking advantage of the fact that Fiona was still at NCIS.

Sam found the NCIS special agent in the basement of his house, working on a large partially finished boat.

"No luck finding our two pagan gods," Sam reported as he came down the stairs.

"So you and Fiona…" Gibbs said without looking up. "It's serious between you two?"

"Uh…yeah," Sam said, a bit confused by the change in conversation. "I mean it's been hard lately, but we're sticking it out."

"How touching," said Fiona—or rather something that looked like Fiona, since she, or likely it, was standing.

"What the hell are you?" Sam demanded, pulling his gun and aiming a shot.

"I'm hurt," the fake Fiona pouted. "And you've been looking so hard for me, too."

"You're Leshi?" Gibbs asked, casually.

"Guilty," Leshi said with a smile at Sam. "I have to say, I am very surprised at your choice for ultimate hero. I mean, it would just kill Dean if he knew the real reason, too." Walking around Sam, she added, "The fact that Fiona lasted so much longer away from the hunting business than you. And Fi has saved people without anyone having to bail her out. And the way she stood up to Ruby… It's just so impressive." Throwing Sam across the room, Leshi went on.

"Let's face it, Sammy… You're just sad."

"Maybe," Sam admitted, trying not to let his thoughts be transparent. "But I'm still smarter than you."

Leshi seemed surprised by that and narrowed her eyes at the young hunter. "Oh, is that so? And how are you going to st—"

But the god's words were cut off as Gibbs swung the old, rusted ax, slicing the forest deity's head off. Without saying a word, he looked at Sam, giving the younger man a nod.

Sam returned the look and just said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Gibbs replied before fetching two empty glasses and a bottle of bourbon.

"So how're things with Sam?" Loki asked as he popped in on Fiona who was sitting out on the porch with a well-worn copy of 'Watership Down'.

"We're having sex again, if that's what you mean," Fiona retorted, closing the book and tossing it onto the porch swing.

Loki sat down on the swing and after a moment, said, "Let me be forward here—I can't stop thinking about you. And I know that you're a hunter and killing me is high on your list, but we could have some fun first."

Fiona considered the Trickster for a moment before asking, "So… what? This is your way of confessing that you have a crush on me or something?"

"Guilty," Loki replied with a devilish grin and a shrug. "So what do you say?"

Fiona was quiet for a while before she finally asked, "Can you give me my legs back?"

Loki's smile faded, and he gave Fi a regretful look. "Not in my bag of tricks, I'm afraid." But the smile returned as an idea popped into his head. "At least… not in this universe."

Straightening up a bit, Fiona's eyes narrowed as she asked, "What the hell do you mean by that?"

But the Trickster said nothing. Instead, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

A/N: For the next chapter which will be covering 'Changing Channels' I reccommend familiarizing yourselves with the following shows-'Watership Down', 'Royal Pains', 'Burn Notice' and 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'.