As Tony regained consciousness, all he could think was "Alex was going to be pissed". He looked around his cell as his vision cleared, he was tied to a chair and Tim was on the ground. "McGee," Tony whispered. "McGee, Tim, are you awake?" Tim didn't move. Tony focused on Tim's chest to see if it was rising and he saw movement. Tony took a breath and tried to relax and think. This wasn't exactly the plan they had worked out back at NCIS. He thought they would know where they were and with whom they had been captured. All Tony could do was hope they were in the right place. He closed his eyes and thought back.

Tony was going through the manifests again. Nothing jumped out as difficult to get and track. Music, porn, booze. Nothing. All three of them had seen the lists and tried to track down how Saleem was getting his supplies. They couldn't track him without figuring out where he was. Tony leaned back in his chair, rubbed his eyes and then looked over at Abby and Tim. "Go home," he said. "Get some sleep, we can start again Monday. We need a break."

Tim and Abby looked at Tony. Abby glanced at Tim and then spoke. "Are you sure? We can still work." Tony smiled at Abby.

"No Abs, take a day off from this. Maybe if we come back it will be fresh and we will actually see something." Abby nodded, took Tim by the hand and dragged him up from his chair.

"Tony, go home too." Tim said. Tony nodded, leaned back again in the chair and waved them off.

Tony looked down at the table with all of the work they had been doing. Maps, manifests, intelligence reports. Not one thing had jumped out at him. If he couldn't track Saleem, he couldn't avenge his partner. Tony was concentrating so hard he didn't hear the door open.

"Tony," his name was whispered. Tony jumped and turned almost falling out of the chair. A soft laugh could be heard. "Tony, come home." Tony smiled at the soft voice.

"Alex." Tony said. "You're home." He got up from his chair, walked over to Alex and hugged and kissed her. "You are home," he repeated.

Alex had been away for two weeks on TDA in San Diego. They had both laughed at this one, at least it wasn't Italy. "Come on, lets go home. We can get something to eat and you can update on how it's going. You sent your team home to take a break, you need one too."

Tony took Alex by the hand and walked out to his desk, retrieved his gun and badge, put on his jacket, took her hand again and walked to the elevator. Once the door opened they walked in and Tony gathered Alex to him again. "I am really glad your home."

They spent the weekend together talking, laughing, cooking and just enjoying themselves. Tony played the piano, fed Kate, cooked for Alex and just remembered how great his life had become because of the woman beside him. They were not on duty or call this weekend and for the first time since he decided to go after Saleem he relaxed. He knew when he went back on Monday they would find something. He knew this because Alex believed in him. He knew this because he believed in himself. And when they went back to work on Monday, after a day in the office, and worked around the table that night he saw it. He finally found the connection to Saleem.

Abby and McGee had downloaded all the documents about Saleem that Mossad had accumulated. Tony was going through them when something caught his eye. Caf-Pow. "Holy crap," he whispered. He looked up from the report and asked, "Where is the list, the manifest from the boat, that list and the list from the overland caravan?" Tim and Abby looked at Tony.

"You found something?"

"Yeah, where are the lists? I can't believe we didn't see this before."

"What?" Abby asked. Tony looked at Abby and then at her Caf-Pow.

"Caf-Pow, Abs, Caf-Pow. That's the link. Look at the documentation. Follow the trail. This is his drink. Mossad said he had these addictions. One was Caf-Pow. He drank it all through college while he was at Yale. This is so different. How did we miss this?"

Abby and Tim looked at Tony and then went back through the documentation. It hadn't been in the papers they where looking at. Tony had found it in an old Mossad briefing. They all looked at each other and grinned. They had found their one thing. Their link to Saleem. Tony looked at Tim and Abby. "Let's put a plan together."

Two days later, Tony laid out his plan to Vance. Abby and Tim had tracked the Caf-Pow from Maryland to the Horn of Africa. They had confirmed that Saleem was in Somalia. They had tracked his Caf-Pow. They knew where he was.

"You don't have enough. You don't have enough to send in a SEAL team or anyone else. We need confirmation that he is there. We don't have it." Tony was appalled. He couldn't believe it. They had tracked Saleem, laid it all out. They had a clear objective and target. Tony walked out of the meeting pissed. Gibbs stopped him as he began to turn the corner out of the office.

"That it?" Gibbs asked.

"What else is there?"

"Well, maybe we send a couple of agents to the region, gather some intel. Put eyes on the target."

"You can sell that to Vance?"

"Oh yeah."

"Then I volunteer me and McGee for the fact finding mission. What are you going to do?" Gibbs laughed as he walked away.

"You don't want to know."

Tony finished telling Saleem his story. Saleem looked at Tony and threw his canteen against the wall. His addiction had doomed him and he was just realizing it. He left the cell. "You ok McGee, you awake?"

"Yeah, are we ready to move?"

"Not yet." Tony answered as Saleem walked in with a prisoner with a bag over their head. Saleem sat the prisoner down on the chair and pulled the bag off the head.

"Agents are in town asking questions about missing NCIS agents. One of you will tell me who the agents are in the area and the other will die. Decide which." Saleem pulled the bag off the prisoners head. Tony was shocked. It was Ziva.

"Well, how was your summer?"

"Out of everyone in the world who could have found me, it had to be you?"

"Your welcome. So you glad to see me?"

"You shouldn't have come."

"Well we would leave, but, oh yeah, tied to the chair."

"McGee, are you ok?"

"Yeah just happy to see you alive."

"You thought I was dead, then why are you here?" Ziva looked at Tony and asked again, "Why are you here?"

Tony under the truth serum told her the truth, but he knew she wouldn't understand. She would think it would be more and it wasn't. "I couldn't live without you."

"Now you will die with me."

"Nope that is not the plan."

"You have a plan?"

"Yes, we have a plan. We just have to keep talking and not get dead."

Ziva looked at Tony like he was crazy. She didn't understand what was going on. Saleem came in while and held a knife to Ziva's throat.

"Tell me what I want to know." Saleem demanded. Tony realized now was the time. He said the code phrase and McGee attacked. It failed, but before Saleem could pull the trigger, Tony started talking again.

"Wait, wait!" Tony shouted. "There is something I haven't told you yet. I have told you about the brains, the scientist, the leader, the guts and the politician, but I haven't told you about myself. I'm the wildcard. I see the reality in front of me, but I refuse to see it. You have 30 seconds to live."

"Your lying."

"I can't lie. Remember when I told you my boss was a sniper?"

The shot was heard through the window, a man burst into the cell and other shots were heard. The guard went down. Tony and McGee grabbed Ziva and walked down the hall. When they turned the corner Gibbs was waiting for them.

Several hours later they were boarding a plan to the US. They had eliminated a known terrorist and had rescued Ziva. What was going to happen when they got back to the US was unknown, but Tony was happy. His partner was safe, Tim and Gibbs were safe and he was going home to Alex.

They where in the elevator after arriving at NCIS headquarters. "Just another day at the office." Tony commented. They all exited the elevator with Abby and Ducky waiting for them. Vance started clapping and everyone joined in. Alex was up no the balcony watching them walk in. She saw Tony sit at his desk while Abby hugged Ziva.

Tony closed his eyes as he sat at his desk. He couldn't believe Ziva was alive. He couldn't believe his plan had worked. He opened his eyes and looked around for the one person that hadn't been downstairs. He raised his head and looked up and saw Alex on the balcony. Tony's eyes met Alex's and she smiled at him. Tony took a deep breath, got up from his chair, and started walking up the stairs to her.

"Not enough sunscreen." Alex said with a smile. Tony gave a small chuckle.

"We got him. Found someone as well."

"I see that. Congratulations. I have heard from the SEALs you guys did a great job."

Tony smiled at that. He knew a compliment when he heard one. "They saved our bacon at the end. I don't know what we would have done without them." Tony ran his hands down her arms took her hands and pulled her to him. "I am so glad to be home and back. God, Alex, I was so afraid I wasn't coming back."

Alex smiled at Tony. "You made it back and in one piece. Let's get you home." Tony smiled at Alex.

"How's Kate?" Tony asked, wanting something normal to latch onto. He took Alex by the hand to walk down the stairs. The SFAs watched Tony and Alex walk down the stairs together. They figured this was their coming out party. Tony was declaring Alex was his.

Gibbs stopped Tony before he could leave. "You going home?"

"Yeah, Boss, we are going home." Tony had Alex by the hand. Gibbs nodded and smiled.

"Have a good weekend. See you both on Monday." Tony nodded at Gibbs.

"Thanks Boss."

Ziva watched Tony and Alex get on the elevator. She didn't understand. She thought Tony had come for her. She had been wrong. As she watched everyone smiling at Tony and Alex she realized that Tony didn't love her, had not loved her, not like that. She was his partner. Everything that had happened crashed down on her, what she had done, how she had acted. Ziva watched the elevator close and saw part of her life end. Ducky was talking to her and she finally focused on him.

After a few more minutes the elevator dinged again. Fornel walked out with Harman Rabb. "Ziva David," Fornel started, "you are under arrest for espionage against the US."

Ok, I know that I have been really late on writing. I am so sorry. Real life took over and my muse took a holiday. I would like to promise that I won't be so delayed again, but I am afraid I can't. Don't like to make promises I can't keep.

Thank you all for the kind reviews, the favorites and the followings. I really appreciate it even if I haven't responded.

Thanks Bret.

All mistakes are mine. I don't own, only borrowing.