A/N Thanks again to my wonderful beta. This story has been entirely handwritten, and I am just typing it up. If it still works out there are 9 chapters in total.

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Tony sat going through the numbers from the marine's cell numbers. Trying to find a connection, then he stopped and stared at one. It seemed very familiar; he just couldn't figure out from where. Just then his cell pinged, he checked it, and there was an email from Metro PD thanking him for his help.

"Fuck." Tony knew where he'd seen the number and dove for his bag and pulled out the file that he was going to send back to Metro.

"What is it, Tony?" Gibbs just watched him; it was something obviously important.

"Let me just check something first." He pulled out the piece of paper he was looking for, and there was the number. "It's a burner phone. It's been logged in as evidence. How the hell did they get it?"

"Let's see if we can find a link between the PD, or the original case and the marines."

"Yes, boss." Alex, Ziva, and McGee called out.

Tony just nodded and started to read through the file again.

The others began to check through the movements and see if there is anyway their suspects had any connection to the Police Department itself or someone who worked there.

Gibbs turned to look at Tony. It was good to have him here; he'd missed the other man so very much. There was no way he'd come back to NCIS, but hopefully, they could be at least friends or maybe something more outside of their careers. There were a lot of things that the two of them needed to talk about.

Tony's gut screamed at him. It was sending out danger signs, but he didn't know why.

XXXXX

Balboa walked over to Gibbs with a piece of paper. "Anonymous tip for your case.

"Thanks. McGee get any information on this address."

"Yes, boss." He took the paper and went back to his desk. "It's just a warehouse, on the water's edge. There's a dock nearby and some other abandoned buildings." McGee called out.

"Webster, take McGee and Ziva to check it out."

"I'd like to go as well."

"Are you sure?" Gibbs didn't want anything to happen.

Tony smiled at the concern in his voice. "It's okay Jethro; I am armed."

"Okay, go with them."

"Thanks." Tony brushed his hand over Gibbs' shoulder and felt the slight shudder under his fingers. This was something they needed to look deeper into, later on, and in a more private location.

XXXXX

As soon as Tony got out of the car, he looked around. He could see the warehouse, and it just sat away from the other buildings and right on the water's edge. His gut may not be Gibbs', but something wasn't right. It was overgrown and had barely been used.

"Alex," Tony called out and waited for the other man to join him. "You're in charge, but I need to tell you that something doesn't feel right."

"What feels off to you?"

"Things don't match up. We have marines with no link to the weapons. They're shot, but the murder weapon isn't there. We have a burner phone from a Metro case and, once again, no link to the marines. Look around this place hasn't been used in a long time. The dock is in such bad repair so boats won't be able to use it, the grass is overgrown if any kind of vehicle had been parked here, and there would be evidence."

Alex turned and looked around. "I agree, let's get satellite footage going back and see if there are any movement human or mechanical."

"Good idea." Tony smiled, it was nice that he listened to other opinions and didn't always have to be right. The safety of his team was obviously important.

"I'll call in some guys to keep watch over the warehouse while we research. It will be a good experience for probies. I'll make sure they understand not to go near the buildings."

"Why, because Tony said so?" Ziva sneered.

He glared at her. "No, because I said so. I'm going to call Gibbs to update him. McGee, Ziva take some photos, but stay away from the buildings."

Tony followed him because he knew Jethro would want to talk to him as well and ask his opinion.

Ziva leaned closer to McGee. "He's become a coward; there's no danger here." She whispered.

"He is right about things not adding up."

"Of course they don't, we're still investigating. That building could be all the evidence we need. I'm going in."

"Ziva." McGee placed a hand on her arm.

She pulled away sharply and glared at him. "I'm better at everything than he is. I know what I'm doing." With a quick look around she ran towards the warehouse.

Tony turned, his mouth falling open as he watches Ziva running towards the building. "Damn," he says, taking off after her, Webster following close on his heels.

McGee stood frozen not knowing what to do.

Ziva turned as she reached her destination and sent a nasty smirk Tony's way. She moved past the boarded-up door when her foot knocked against something.

Tony suddenly experiences heat that brushes against the front of him, before he is thrown back landing heavily on his back. He lays there for a moment, his ears ringing before he sits up cataloguing his body making sure nothing is broken.

"McGee," Alex called out as he rushed over to his agent.

Tony glances briefly back at McGee and Webster making sure they are not too injured before he looks back towards the warehouse that was on fire, smoke curling up towards the sky. He catches the sight of Ziva's unconscious body disappearing quickly under the water as the dock collapses.

Quickly standing up, ignoring the pain he is in, he sheds off his jacket and runs towards the shoreline finding a good spot mostly clear of debris; he dives in cutting cleanly through the small waves.

XXXXX

Once Alex and Tim reached the water's edge, Alex looked around for any sign of disturbance so he could go in and help. He, however, did not witness where Tony and Ziva went under at while he was checking on McGee.

A few panicked moments went by before they spotted Tony breaking the surface, taking few deep gasping breaths while Ziva was still unconscious and cold in his arms.

Alex dived in and swam over to help. He took Ziva and started to swim back. He wasted no time diving in and swimming over to help, taking Ziva out of Tony's arms he began swimming back towards the shoreline.

McGee turned when he heard the sirens; in the background, Gibbs must have called them when he heard the commotion over the phone. His cell began to ring; there was only one person it could be.

XXXXX

"What the hell happened? Are they both okay? McGee make sure DiNozzo gets looked at and tell them him about his lungs. If you don't my boot is going to be so far up your…good. I'll meet you at the hospital. You know where they need to take him." Gibbs slammed his cell shut and grabbed his gear. What was going on? He needed to know if it had been planned then whoever did it would pay.

XXXXX

Tony sighed as he relaxed on his couch. They had checked him out but found nothing wrong. They'd given him a course of antibiotics, and if he were to start coughing or his chest started to hurt, he was to see someone straight away.

Just to take his mind off things he looked at Balboa's case and found a few things they could follow up on. He immediately glanced over at the monitor as soon as he heard the knock on the door. It was Gibbs. Tony smiled; he should've known that he would get a visit. It was also the first time the older man had ever been to his new home. A groan escaped him as he stood, walked to the front door and opened it.

"Jethro, is everything okay?"

"I just wanted to see how you were."

"I'm fine. No matter what happened in the past between Ziva and me, there's no way I would've let her die."

"I know, she would've. You've always been a better person."

As they walked back to the lounge, Tony indicated for the other man to sit. The couch was left free so that he could stretch out.

"This is a beautiful place, definitely more you." Gibbs smiled as he looked at the shelves of DVDs and books. The framed classic movie posters screamed out who this place belonged to. "I see there are still things that need to be done."

"I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. I had enough done so that I could move in. I wanted it to be comfortable. I made sure I put in the best security system I could find." Tony watched as Gibbs frowned. It was clear that there was more to the story. "I found out things about Ziva and Eli. Before he died, they both wanted me dead."

"Why? What did you find out?"

He reached out and picked up a file from the table and handed it to Gibbs. "Here."

"Where did you get this?"

"A friend, he wanted me to know. It was so I know who and why I could potentially be in danger. Ziva's alive; Eli and Rivkin could have people that could still come after me. You'd better read it all."

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Gibbs placed the folder onto his lap. He read through it all, and there was a lot to take in, but there was something that truly surprised him. "Eli and Rivkin?"

"It shocked the hell out of me too."

"Ziva obviously doesn't know. This is something she couldn't hide; she isn't that good an actress. It's always about how she and Rivkin were meant to be together, the love of her life. She thought that she was the love of his as well."

"We know it wasn't true in his case. It seemed the person he loved was her father and that still makes me shudder. If Ziva ever found out how many people could've died for her revenge. This was one family squabble I never wanted to get involved in." Tony sighed.

"It wasn't your fault."

"If only I waited until the next day. He might still be dead, but by her hand. What other things might have changed?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Rivkin was drunk; it was one of the things that confused me. He had people after him if someone turned up; running would've been his only option. What if he needed a little alcoholic help to tell Ziva that he was leaving her? No idea if he was going to admit the part about her father?"

"Ziva would've killed him. I definitely can't trust her now. She'd been sending files to her father, knew about their murders. The one thing I can never forgive is her trying to get Rivkin to kill you. What about this seduction thing?"

Tony shuddered. "I try not to think about that; it makes me feel sick." He saw the way Gibbs looked at him. "It was while you were in LA. I was getting too close. To keep me occupied or, to be honest, I have no idea what her thought process was. She came to my flat and tried to seduce me. Ziva obviously thinks highly of her skills in the bedroom, which I am glad to say I have no experience of. It was the most unsexy, uncomfortable thing I had ever witnessed. She then became angry when I had no interest in 'sampling her delights,' her words not mine. I insisted she gets dressed and leave immediately. It still gives me nightmares; everything about her was and still is such a turn-off."

"I'm glad you no longer work at NCIS. I hate to think how bad it could've become."

"It's been a difficult journey, but I believe we're all in a better place. Well, those of us who wanted to change."

"I don't know where I would've been if you hadn't been brave enough to stand up to it all. I still find it hard to trust myself when I let so many things slide. I kept thinking that the end justified the means. It didn't though, how you get there is important."

"I agree, I've learned so much from you, but I also lost a lot of myself in the role I created. It got to a point when I looked in the mirror I saw the court jester, not a trained investigator. My new business, the contracts are flying in. It showed me that a lot of people still saw my skills. The only ones that didn't and still don't are Ziva, McGee, and Sacks." Tony laughed suddenly. "Did I tell you my lovely two former teammates sent me a commiseration card 'on the failure of my business?" I framed it to show why I left. I bet it's killing them that I'm succeeding."

"I can't believe them, but I had no doubt. Their egos are the real joke. I'm still surprised they listen to me and not think they could do it better themselves."

"I don't think that'll ever happen; they want to make you proud. You're a tough man to please; you expectations are very high, it's addicting getting a good word from you. They just don't get that they way they are acting now is one way 'not' to win your approval."

"I don't think when it comes to you, what I think matters to them. To McGee and Ziva the most important things to them are…themselves." Gibbs felt even guiltier and needed to move on from this conversation. He looked around again. "It really is a nice place. When this is all over, if you want, I could help with some of the home improvements and maybe a…date?" He looked everywhere but at Tony.

Tony smiled; he'd never seen Gibbs look so uncomfortable. He had kept those promises to change all those months ago. There was only one way to find out if there could be anything more between them and if they could treat each other as equals. "Okay, after this case is cleared up I would love to go on a date with you. You could even teach me about home improvements if you're interested."

Gibbs smiled at him looking years younger. "That's great; we'll talk about it in more details later."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Well, I'd uhh better go. If you need me for anything just give me a call." He was still concerned about the possible danger to Tony because of the situation with Ziva, Eli, and Rivkin.

"I will, I promise." He stood and walked towards the door.

Gibbs was right behind him, and before he left, he leaned forward and gave Tony a soft kiss on the cheek. He turned and walked away, a slight blush covered his cheeks.

Tony just stood with a stupid smile on his face. He reached up and touched the spot where he'd been kissed. It was so sweet and a promise of so much more.

XXXXX

Tony awoke from a dream and shot to a sitting position on the couch. He grabbed the paperwork and looked through it. He wanted to make sure it made sense. It was the only thing that did, as ridiculous as it sounded in his head. He needed to talk to Gibbs and Vance.

XXXXX

"I think I know what's going on," Tony told them as soon as he walked into the Director's office.

"You've worked out what's going on overnight?" Gibbs had a proud smile on his face.

"Well, the marines are innocent. The main crime was aimed at it being picked up by NCIS and the MCRT. I don't know if it's the agency or team specific. They wanted us, you there. The warehouse was meant to catch all of the team. Usually, everyone would surround the building. Ziva was alone because she was trying to prove something. We had nothing, but suddenly we get a tip? The trap naturally took time to set up and whoever arranged it needed to make sure it was someone from NCIS who would turn up. I spoke to Balboa who mentioned that this 'mysterious benefactor' said it had to come to the MCRT and he would call back with more info. It still could be about the agency, and they think taking out the team would cause problems."

"It seems to be a bit of a coincidence that it happens now after you received emails and transcripts. It still could've been a trap to draw you in. You have contracts with Metro and us."

Vance looked at the two men. "What emails and transcripts?" He was able to follow the rest, but this he needed more information on.

"I did think about that, and I was going to hand it over to NCIS anyway. I just had to confirm there wasn't any more to come. I think it's best if you read them, Leon." Tony pulled out a file and handed it over.

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Vance finally flipped over the last page and looked up. "Eli and Rivkin?"

"I had the same reaction when I read it. What are we going to do about Ziva? Do we think Tim has helped her in any way?"

"Let's do something about what we can prove, and that's her sending files from NCIS to Mossad. We obviously can't have McGee looking into this, but there is another one I use from Cyber Crimes. I'm also going to take a look at Tony's injuries after she joined."

"That's going to take some time; I've been injured a lot."

"I don't care, if she's a danger to one agent, it's one too many. I will make sure every case you worked on after she arrived is looked at if I have to. I'll deal with that; you need to find out if we're being targeted and by who."

Gibbs and Tony both nodded; there were a plethora of things going on.

"You're not to be alone with either of them. You and I are a team until this is solved."

XXXXX

Ziva lay in her hospital bed stewing. They were keeping her for observation and Gibbs insisted, with how he looked at her, she knew not to refuse. She was furious with what had happened. Out of everyone it had to be that joke that rescued her. This embarrassment was never going to be lived down. Just then the door opened, and she prayed it wasn't Tony.

It definitely wasn't him.

TBC