Frankly, he was pissed his team was being excluded, but the reality of it all was that he and McGee constituted their particular "Team" at the moment. He accepted their limitations, and did as told. He looked at McGee.

"Mrs. Vance was somehow able to turn her cell phone on, so they are tracking her signal, hoping she will be there wherever it leads them to."

McGee nodded. "We've been told to sit on the sideline?"

Gibbs didn't say anything. "Talk to Finance again. At least we can find out if Vance asked for her by name."

"On it, Boss." McGee took off again.

Gibbs looked at his phone again and flipped it open. He needed to call Vance and update him on what had transpired. But first he needed to call Tony and warn him he may get a call from Eli David.

Vignette Nine- "Hello, Goodbye"- Part Eight

Maryland Shock Trauma

Tony was dozing in the chair when his phone went off. He looked quickly over at Ziva.

She had just fallen back to sleep and didn't want to disturb her. He walked over to the window. "DiNozzo."

"Why are you whispering?" Gibbs asked.

"Ziva just fell back asleep and I don't want to wake her up." Tony answered, looking over his shoulder at her, still shaken by how pale she looked.

"Well, can you tear yourself away from her side for a few minutes so I can talk to you and actually be able to hear you?"

Tony hesitated. "Ok, give me a few minutes to get to the waiting room; there's a big window there so we should get good reception. Don't hang up."

"Oh, I'm staying on the line, DiNozzo." Gibbs assured him.

Tony stole a look back at Ziva, then left her room and the SICU. He walked quickly to the waiting area and to the big picture window.

"Ok, Boss. What's up?"

"Well, first of all, how is Ziva doing?" Gibbs asked softly.

"Actually, she's doing better, although I still think she looks too pale. They took that oxygen mask thingy off of her; now she has that nose prong thingy in."

Gibbs just smiled and shook his head. "Well, that's good news, I guess. Listen Tony, I also called to give you a heads up."

"Boss?" Tony frowned.

"I received a call from Eli David this morning, Tony."

Tony sat down in a chair, hard. "Boss, you didn't tell him…"

"I'm going to forget you asked me that, DiNozzo!"

Tony visibly relaxed. "So what did the Great Eli David have to say?"

Gibbs growled. "Nothing worth repeating, DiNozzo. He finally only asked about Ziva after I started a countdown and threatened to hang up if he didn't ask about her by the time I got to one."

"Wow, Boss. Wish I could have been there. You didn't happen to tape it did you? Never mind, Boss. Mental head slap."

Gibbs smiled at that. "I got to 'two' when he finally made a big show of my being overwrought over his daughter. So I gave him the update from when I saw her this morning."

He hesitated. "Tony, I told him if he wanted to speak to Ziva, which he asked about surprisingly; I said he would have to go through you."

"You…what?" Tony stared out the window in shock. "Why would you do that to me, Boss?"

"Tony, please. It wasn't a punishment. I'm not going to let him call Ziva repeatedly on her cell phone, which I am sure she doesn't have in her possession anyway."

"Frankly, I was hoping knowing he had to go through you would stop him from calling."

"But just in case he does decide to call you, do not let him get you all worked up and start arguing with him or worse start telling him what a son of a bitch he is."

"He will bait you, Tony. That's all he's done every time he has called me. I have the luxury as Interim Director to tell him to shove it. You do not."

"So keep your temper under control, be polite, give him the minimum info on Ziva and say nothing on this case."

"What if he demands to speak to Ziva?" Tony was not pleased to be in this position, but he guessed he deserved it, considering they were in a relationship, which he had no doubt Eli David was fully aware.

Gibbs sighed. "Well, if she's asleep, you tell him that and you are not waking her up; if she is awake, you ask her if she would like to talk to her father."

"You make sure your phone is right by her mouth so he can hear her answer; especially if she says no."

Tony groaned. "Got it, Boss. Thanks for the warning." He hung up. He wasn't interested in what was happening with the case, his only concern was Ziva.

Shoving his phone in his pocket, he headed back to her room. Tim had arranged to bring him some clothes from home to change into. The scrubs were comfortable, but he didn't like wearing them.

He was much more comfortable now. When he got back to the room, he could see that Ziva was still asleep. Smiling, he settled back into his chair and kept up his watch.

NCIS

Gibbs sighed. Now, for his second call…

Vance answered on the first ring. "The teams just left, so I know you're not calling to tell me they have Jackie already."

Gibbs shook his head. "No, Leon I'm not. I'm calling to tell you what we have on Agent Patrick."

"I'm listening."

"Cynthia Collier. Ring a bell?"

Vance frowned. "Cynthia Collier?" He thought for a moment. "Finance, killed in the bullpen by the window being blown out. Is that what this is about?"

"Leon, she went upstairs to give you a report, otherwise she never would have been in the bullpen; otherwise she never would have been killed."

Vance digested that. "So it's more than my car, it's that she came up my office, to a place she shouldn't have been."

"That's how we're seeing it. Leon, I know this happened a long time ago, but do you remember if you asked for her specifically?"

Vance bit back the first answer he came up with. "I don't know Gibbs, but I usually only ask by name when I need the Finance Director."

"I may have seen her around the Yard, but that was the first time I actually met Cynthia Collier."

"So I want to say that 'no,' I did not ask for her by name. Right now, I can't even tell you what report she brought up."

"What was her relationship to Agent Patrick?" Vance rubbed his eyes.

"Well, that's just it Leon. They didn't have one, at least as far as she was concerned. Apparently, she rebuffed his interest, but he kept up the pursuit."

"According to her fellow co-workers, she was this close to reporting him and pressing stalking charges." Gibbs filled him in on the final details that he knew.

"Why didn't she? We don't tolerate that kind of behavior at NCIS. Why didn't anyone report him?" Vance was livid.

"Well, Patrick's Boss said he knew he had a girlfriend in Finance named Cindy. So he never heard about anything out of the ordinary."

"I can only assume Cynthia didn't say anything to her co-workers until it got really bad, and then…"

"And then the explosion. She didn't get the chance to report him." Vance sounded defeated.

"It wouldn't have saved her life, Leon, and it still may not have made a difference in what has happened with your family; unless he was incarcerated." Gibbs responded.

"He still could've found a way to get to your family, even if he wasn't working for NCIS."

Vance was quiet. Taking a deep breath, he spoke softly. "Fornell told me that Agent David identified Jackie as her shooter and that there was no one else present."

"That's correct, Leon. I wish it was otherwise, but that's the truth. But first we need to get your wife back, alive. Don't think about the future just yet."

"How can you have any compassion for my wife when she almost killed one of your best Agents, Gibbs?" Vance truly wanted an answer.

"We always take care of our own, Leon; even when things can't look any worse and maybe can still get worse."

"And what about Agents David and DiNozzo?"

"I can't speak for them, Leon."

"That's bull and you know it, Gibbs. Even if David makes a full recovery, they will never forgive Jackie, will they? Will they!"

Gibbs looked uncomfortable. "Please don't make me speak for them, Leon. Neither of you are on their 'Favorite Persons' list right now; but that could change, with time."

"Me too, huh? Well, I guess that makes sense, since I'm the reason for Agent Patrick's actions."

"Leon, as I said: let's focus on getting your wife back safely. Then you can work on the collateral damage."

"Oh, and Leon? None of this gets said to Eli David should he get it in his mind to call you again. I just spoke with him, but that doesn't mean he won't still try to get more information out of you. Got it?"

"Understood. Thanks for the update, Gibbs." Gibbs hung up.

Fauquier County, Virginia

Jackie Vance kept her eyes on Agent Patrick, as he sat on the floor bent over; scribbling like a mad man on those little sticky notes she gave him.

Very slowly, hiding her hand behind her purse, she tried to untie her left hand. The knot wasn't complicated or too tight, but it was still difficult to undo while trying to hide what she was doing.

She wasn't sure about the binding around her ankles. She thought he would notice her bending over to reach for her feet.

She looked at the gun lying on the floor, trying to gauge if she could actually stand and hop over to the gun and kick it out of the way before he reacted and reached for it himself.

Of'course, she did have the gun in her waistband. She could just take it out and shoot him, like she did with Agent David.

But she didn't know if she could do that. She would have to make sure she didn't kill him; he needed to pay for his crimes, but she was not willing to be his judge, jury and executioner.

He needed help; serious psychiatric help. If she tried to shoot him in the hand, considering it was in his lap as he was writing, she could hit him somewhere else vital.

She could try to hit him in the arm, but then he could suddenly move like Agent David did. She knew she was being stupid and should take her chance while she had it. But she was too afraid.

Taking a quick look at Agent Patrick again, she tried to check the chamber of the gun. It would be stupid to try to shoot him if there were no more bullets.

From what she could tell, the chamber was only missing the two rounds she fired. So she had the gun and the ammo.

"Hey, Hey! Look at this!" Agent Patrick got up, his hands jammed with all of his notes. He walked over the Mrs. Vance, and handed them to her.

She smiled and took them with her right hand and put them into her lap. One by one, she began reading what he had written.

It was grandiose and absurd. He even tried to make drawings of how their 'Center" would look, including furnishings.

Jackie made a big show of each note, telling him how remarkable and astonished she was at his vision.

"This is…Agent Patrick I am really impressed. And you just did this off the top of your head! I think you missed your true calling."

He smiled broadly, pumping his fist. While he was dancing about, Jackie caught movement outside through one of the windows. She didn't want Agent Patrick to see anything, so she called him back to her.

"Agent Patrick! Can you talk to me a little bit more about this one?" She held up a sticky note. She laid it on her lap so he had to stand in front of her looking down to read it.

"Oh, I worked hard on that one. It is the outline of the goals and objectives for the Foundation, including the By-laws."

On the note were some half-sentences and disconnected words. "Cindy" was written in several places.

As he was explaining the note, the two teams from FBI and NCIS quietly entered the building. Coming from behind, he was so focused on his handiwork; he didn't hear them until the last second.

He looked up in alarm and swung around. He reached for his gun, and then realized it was on the floor. By the time he realized he had put it on the ground, Jackie Vance had drawn her gun and put it in the middle of his back.

Agent Patrick raised his hands at the multitude of weapons that were aimed at him. He looked over his shoulder at Jackie, tears in his eyes. "Will you see that the Foundation is set up? You are the only friend I have."

Jackie Vance had tears running down her face. He didn't even realize she had a gun jammed into his back. "I'll do my best." She whispered.

Agent Patrick was shoved to his knees, his hands pulled behind his back and cuffed. As he was led away, he looked back at Mrs. Vance.

Fornell had already reached her and had taken the gun from her hand. "Bag it for evidence."

"Mrs. Vance, are you injured?" She looked numbly at the FBI agent. She shook her head, not trusting her voice. Other agents came up and unbound her ankles.

"Can you stand?" Fornell asked kindly. Jackie looked at him. "I'm not sure." He helped her to a standing position. Her knees almost buckled, but she was able to hold up.

Satisfied, Fornell held out his hands. "Mrs. Vance, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of a Federal Agent. You have the right to remain silent; Aanything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law…"

Jackie listened uncomprehendingly as she was cuffed and read her Miranda Rights; the only thing that filtered through was that the charge was "attempted" murder. That meant Agent David was still alive.

"Leon." That was all she managed to get out.

"Director Vance will be returned to NCIS, where you will now be taken and questioned. Please come with us, Mrs. Vance." Quietly, she walked with the FBI agents.

After she was escorted from the building, Fornell called the Safe House. "Fornell. Please inform Director Vance that his wife and Agent Patrick have been found and are both being escorted separately to NCIS for questioning."

"Please escort him to the Navy Yard. Tell him he may not see his wife until after we are through talking to her."

He then made his second call. "Gibbs. We got both of them; they're on their way to NCIS. FBI will handle the interrogation of both suspects. Yes, I have asked that Vance be notified and he be brought back to the Navy Yard."

"There is to be no interaction with Mrs. Vance by anyone from NCIS."

"Understood." Gibbs hung up. He called Tony.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Tony, I just wanted to let you know that both Mrs. Vance and Agent Patrick have been found and they are on their way to NCIS. No, I do not want you there for the interrogation of either suspect."

"I suspect the only one you are interested in is what Mrs. Vance has to say. I will bring a recording to the hospital for you to watch; and Ziva if she is up to it. It depends on what she has to say."

Tony nodded. He didn't really want to go down there and face either Vance at the moment. "Agreed, Boss. Just let us know when you will be coming."

Gibbs hesitated. "Any calls from you know who?"

Tony actually chuckled. "Not yet. Keeping my fingers crossed."

NCIS

Vance was pissed he was not allowed to see his wife. "Be reasonable, Leon. She shot a Federal Agent."

"I know she's your wife, but right now we have enough evidence to charge her with a major crime." Gibbs was toe to toe with the Director.

"Let her have her say, without seeing you first, so there is no question that you coached her." Gibbs almost had to hold Director Vance from bolting down the hall.

"May I at least view the interrogation?" He asked, defeated.

"That's Fornell's call. His team is handling everything. All any of us can do is observe."

Just then Fornell showed up. "Ok, here is the deal. I am sure you both want to view both interrogations."

"We will let Agent Patrick sit by himself for a while, and we'll talk to your wife first, Director."

"We will allow you and Agent Gibbs, and anyone else from you team, Jethro, to view the interrogation."

"Secretary of State Jarvis is not available to join us, but has asked to be kept apprised of the situation."

"You are not to interfere, interrupt, use the intercom, or make any attempt to enter the room or step out to see your wife when we are through." This was directed at Vance.

"When will I be able to see and talk to Jackie?" Vance asked, his pain apparent.

"That will depend on what she has to say for herself. I would prepare for the worse, and hope for the best. Ok, we are ready to begin."

Fornell turned to Gibbs. "Will DiNozzo be joining us?" Gibbs shook his head no. "But I will be taking a recording of the interrogation to the hospital for him to see; and Ziva if she wants to."

Fornell raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you will, will you?"

"Yes, Tobias. I will. They are owed an explanation." Fornell looked at his friend. "Ok, I'll see that you get a copy."

As they headed to interrogation, McGee and Abby came up, having received the notice that they had arrived.

The viewing room was crowded. Vance had to bite back a sob when he saw his wife, sitting in the suspect's chair.

At least they had the decency to remove the handcuffs they had placed earlier on her.

Agent Fornell took his seat on the opposite side of the table. "Mrs. Vance, you are here for questioning regarding the events that led up to the shooting of Agent David and you leaving with Agent Patrick."

"Agent David has identified you as her shooter and that you acted alone. Fortunately, Agent David survived her injuries, although she remains in the Intensive Care Unit."

"At this time, you are in custody for the attempted murder of a Federal Agent. There is no question that you pulled the trigger. The question is why."

"We are here to discuss what happened on that day, and what led to the shooting of Agent David."

"Depending upon your responses, your charges may or may not be reduced."

"Your husband will have no say regarding this discussion or its outcome. Do you understand what I have just told you?"

Jackie Vance had been glued to Fornell's face as he had been speaking to her. She said "yes."

"This interview will be recorded and may be used as evidence in a court of law. Now, Mrs. Vance; let's begin."

I can't believe the great reviews and support I have received for this story. I will be winding it up shortly, two or three more chapters. Thank you so much for giving me the confidence to write a procedural.