"Not as smart as she thinks she is." Fornell grinned as he watched Ziva remove a plastic bag from the trunk of Rebecca's car. The logo printed on the white plastic was for an upscale butcher shop that he recognized, one that he knew installed a camera system after being robbed. A quick call to Sacks got the security footage on its way to the Yard. A pair of mud covered suede shoes was the next discovery in the trunk, the expensive designer brand out of place in the discount shoe box.

-NCIS-

"Abs, we need to get back to the lab. Ziva found some evidence that should positively ID our suspect." Tony hated to interrupt her, but he wanted to nail Rebecca soon.

Abby was still at the window she'd been staring through for the last several hours. She nodded without turning away from the view. "Okay, but let's get them some decent coffee before we go." A quick trip across the street produced two large cups of Gibbs' favorite blend and Abby finally entered the treatment room to deliver the tray.

"Thanks, Abs." Gibbs took the offered cup with a grateful smile. "Wondered how long you were going to stand out there." The two men has shifted position over the last several hours and now Tim was leaning against Gibbs, dozing with a slightly pained expression on his face.

"I didn't want to intrude..." Her voice faded off, but she squared her shoulders and pressed on, not noticing the green eyes that opened to watch her. "I know apologies are a sign of weakness, but I was weak and childish and I'm sorry. I owe you both an apology. You guys are so amazing together and I was too jealous to see it."

Gibbs studied her closely. "And now?"

"Guess it's time to grow up." Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "Tony is right, you both bring out the best in each other. Can you ever forgive me?"

Tim spoke up for the first time as he pulled her close for a three-way hug. "Always, Abby, always."

-NCIS-

"You okay?" Gibbs watched as Tim was increasingly bothered by the bright lights in the treatment room.

The craving for sweets and general malaise he'd been feeling was giving way to increasing nausea, sensitivity to light and pain he could no longer ignore. "I've got a migraine starting."

Alarmed, Jethro cupped Tim's face and shifted to better shield the younger man from the fluorescence lights. "Do you have your meds?"

"Backpack... in the car." Bowing to the inevitable, Tim leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to ride it out. He was only vaguely aware as Gibbs dug through his pockets to find the keys.

-NCIS-

Rebecca glared at the stack of pages on her desk. She had every intention to stay in the office as long as possible to hear what was happening with that pitiful excuse for a man and his pathetic mutt, but being ordered to stay late and fix 'mistakes' in her paperwork irked her to no end. After all, it wasn't her fault no one had told her that the GB-413 form had been superseded by the GB-413-a. She was just finishing the last report when Mrs. Clark came into her cubicle.

"Oh, good, you're finally finished. Director Vance is waiting for those files in conference room three." Patricia Clark stepped to the side, allowing Rebecca to pass her. She waited until the younger woman was in the elevator to drop the plastic smile she'd forced on her face. When that lovely Israeli started asking about Rebecca Warren and her long lunch, she was horrified to learn about their suspicions. When they found the muddy shoes in the trunk of her car, it had taken all of Patty's resolve to stay quiet as the case was built. For now she stepped aside as the agency's top forensic scientist arrived to go through Rebecca's obsessively neat desk.

For her part, Rebecca was smiling as she waited for the elevator to deliver her to the correct floor. She'd never been asked to personally deliver a report to the Director and was totally unaware of the exotic, dark-haired beauty that was glaring daggers at her as she walked up to Vance. "The reports you requested, Sir, I'm sure you'll find them in perfect order."

"Sit down please." Vance pointed to a chair across from him at the table. "Unfortunately, that's the only thing you have in order, Miss Warren." Vance leaned forward, chin resting on his interlaced fingers. "Officer David was able to document your little trip out to Gibbs' place."

The flicker of panic in her eyes lasted only a second before the cold, calculating look returned. "I didn't realize it was a crime to be in the neighborhood." Rebecca carefully settled herself into the chair as she tried to determine just how much they knew.

"Driving through the neighborhood is one thing." Ziva joined them at the conference table, smiling to herself as Rebecca jumped slightly. "Trespassing into the backyard of a helpless old lady to throw poisoned meat into Gibbs' backyard is an entirely different matter." Before Rebecca could say anything, Ziva opened a folder and spread out the photos it contained.

Their suspect recognized the bag from the meat market, the box from the cheap shoes currently on her feet, and the muddy elegant shoes she'd hoped to salvage that night. "You went through my car? You had no right to do that without my permission."

"We did not need your permission, we had a warrant." The predatory smile on Ziva's face should have been a warning to the arrogant woman.

"All NCIS warrants go though our legal office."

Fornell stepped out of the corner where he'd stood, unnoticed until now. "It's a good thing it was an FBI warrant, then, isn't it?"

Even if Rebecca wanted to answer, a knock on the door before Abby came in, stopped her. The angry goth stared at her while reporting to Vance. "Fine paint chips proved it was her key that damaged McGee's car. There were small particles still in the grooves of her car key and more in her desk drawer." Report complete, the anger bubbled over. "What kind of monster attacks an innocent dog? McGee wasn't interested in you, he was just being nice. Why couldn't you just accept that? But you know what?" Abby's face lit up as she remembered the way the two men took care of Jett and each other. "Jett is going to be all right, I just know he will be, and Timmy and Gibbs are closer together than ever. They're going to have a wonderful life and you're going to go to prison."

Finally losing her composure, Rebecca snorted at the suggestion. "For some vandalism and poisoning a dog? I don't think so. Those are both misdemeanors, the worst I'll get is probation and that's assuming you can even get the charges to stick. If that's all you've got, then I'm going home."

"Not quite so fast." Vance gave a slight nod to Ziva who happily pulled out her handcuffs. "Taken individually, they might be misdemeanors, but together it's a pattern of harassment, stalking and intimidation based on the sexual orientation of your victim. That makes them hate crimes. Hell, depending on what else we find, your actions could be considered domestic terrorism."

"You can't be serious." Rebecca stood, making it easier to snap the cuffs on her, but she was so angry she didn't notice Ziva's actions at first. "You can't do this to me. I was the one that was wronged and you're choosing that pervert over me? Why aren't you going after Gibbs? He's the one that corrupted Tim and turned him against women."

Ziva enjoyed feeling the other woman squirm as she tightened the handcuffs much more than was necessary. "Gibbs? You obviously have never spent time with the man. When it comes to romance, he was hopeless until McGee came into his life. If anything, it was the other way around." She leaned closer to Rebecca to speak directly into her ear. "Gibbs may be the boss on the job, but I guarantee you, McGee is the boss at home. Now, I believe there is a cell with your name on it downstairs."

Stunned by Ziva's pronouncement, Rebecca didn't say a word as she was lead out, past Tony, and down the stairs. Fornell used the elevator as he left to meet up with his own team.

Vance walked to the door, watching as Ziva deliberately paraded her prisoner past as many people as possible, Abby trailing behind them. Once they were finally out of sight, he turned to DiNozzo. "Expected you to barge in on us."

Tony gave a slight shrug. "Thought about it. Planned on it, actually, but..." He turned and looked Vance straight in the eye. "You ever hate someone so much that you couldn't trust yourself?"

"On occasion."

"Ever since they got outed, every day, Gibbs has been more and more open with his happiness... and there's nobody that deserves a second chance at love more than the Boss. You saw them together on Saturday, and Sunday was even better. To see him today at the vet's office, sitting on the floor, holding that dog and blaming himself. I just knew that if she gave me that smug little smile, I'd have to wipe it right off of her." Tony's eyes dropped to the floor and he gave another shrug. "I wouldn't have been very professional in there. I'm sorry, Director Vance."

Vance squeezed one of the slumped shoulders. "No need to apologize. Sometimes being family is more important than being an agent. Now, tell me about Jett, was it just wishful thinking on Abby's part, or is he going to be all right?"

Tony was obviously more comfortable and back on solid ground. "The vet seemed encouraged so far. They're treating him very aggressively, he was hooked up to a dialysis machine when we were there, but it was still too soon to know for sure. I'm going to call again and get another update when I go back to my desk."

"Keep me posted."

-NCIS-

Concerned, Gibbs watched as McGee took a second dose of his migraine medication. "Shouldn't it be working by now?"

"Sometimes it takes a second dose. I've never needed to, but I can take up to three. It's my fault for waiting so long, but..." Tim's voice trailed off momentarily as he stroked the fur on Jett's head. "We knew the risks and made the right decisions, but I never dreamed somebody would hate me so much to go after Jett."

"Yeah."

Anything else Gibbs was going to say was interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Wright with a print-out from the lab. He did a quick exam to confirm what the blood and urine tests were telling him before smiling at the worried parents. "We'll continue to monitor him for a while, but it looks like he's going to come through this with little or no permanent damage." The vet quietly waited as the two men hugged in relief before giving them the rest of the news. "Agent DiNozzo has been calling in for regular updates, and he said that an arrest has been made."

Gibbs was immediately on his phone. Tim listened to the one side of the call, which told him little. Once the call ended he just had one question. "Who?"

Hating the woman more with every passing second, Gibbs pulled Tim closer. "It was Rebecca. They've tied her to Jett's poisoning and to your car being keyed. The team is still working to connect her to the explosion."

They were interrupted when several assistants came in to help remove most of the tubes and lines from the sedated dog. Jett would spend that night and the next day in the medical kennel as they continued to watch him. Making a decision as he painfully climbed to his feet, Gibbs wrapped an arm around McGee. "Vance is interviewing her right now. You probably shouldn't be driving, so I'll take you home before I go check in with him. Mrs. B can come stay with you until I get home."

"No, I'm going with you." Tim started to shake his head, but quickly changed his mind.

"Tim..."

"I've never had anyone hate me that much, I need to know why. We like the same coffee shop and I paid for her drink a couple of times. That doesn't make me some two-timing monster, Jethro."

Gibbs pulled him even closer as they watched Jett being wheeled out on a metal stretcher. "No it doesn't. Okay, I'll make you a deal. You take your last pill and lay down on the futon in Abby's office while I talk to Vance, then we'll face her together." Deep down Gibbs was much happier keeping Tim close until the migraine passed.

"Yeah, that works." Tucked against Gibbs, Tim let him lead them out to the damaged sedan, leaving the pristine car that Tim had been driving behind.

-NCIS-

Anxious to make up for her previous behavior, Abby gladly fussed over Tim when they arrived in her lab. She'd witnessed one migraine attack when she and Tim had dated and knew that his pills and a few hours rest would take care of the problem. Gibbs lingered for a moment before heading upstairs. Vance's door was open, a sure sign he knew Gibbs was on his way, but it was Tony that looked up first. "Hey, Boss."

"Tell me we've got enough to put that bitch away for a long time."

"Working on it."

Vance interrupted DiNozzo. "We can tie her to Jett's poisoning. Right now it's mostly circumstantial, but when the lab tests are finished, it will be a solid case. Abby's already proven that it was one of her keys that damaged McGee's car and Ziva found the remains of the cut tire stems in her pocket when she was taken into custody."

Gibbs took the empty chair next to Ziva. "She was carrying them around? Like some sort of trophy?"

"It appears so. She was smiling when I found them." Ziva hesitated for a moment before pushing on. "Rebecca acts as if this is all one big game for her, as if her legal expertise will give her a way to escape punishment."

Tony saw the expression on Gibbs' face. "But, we're smarter than she thinks we are and we're going to find some evidence to tie her into the exploding monitor. If we can prove that she basically set off a bomb in the squad room, there's no way that she can plead that out."

Ziva picked up exactly where he left off. "In fact, Tony and I will start on the surveillance tapes right now." Standing, she tugged at Tony's arm and he followed her out after squeezing Gibbs' shoulder.

Once they were alone and the door closed, Vance admitted his concerns to the other man. "She's right about one thing. Right now, all we've got her on are misdemeanors unless we can prove it was part of a hate crime, but as soon as the Sutton case breaks, she might walk."

Before Gibbs could tell the Director that he and McGee might not be going back onto the straight and narrow, his phone rang. Abby's voice was so loud Vance could hear it also.

~Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, come quick. It's Timmy, something happened.~