Tony awoke the next morning, feeling happier than he had in the last week. He knew that by this trial ending so quickly, the next one would be moved up, but at that moment, all he could think about was how glad he was that Zoe would be in jail.

"Hey, ready to go?" Emma asked from the doorway.

"Yes!" Tony scrambled out of the bed, had a quick shower, got dressed and was out the door before Emma, who was laughing as she followed him.

The court room was almost full when they arrived, but Emma spotted two spots in the front row of the gallery. She led Tony over, glad when she saw Gibbs sitting there too.

"Hey guys," said Gibbs happily as Tony slid in next to him. "Harm called last night with the good news."

"Tony's been so happy since we found out yesterday," said Emma. "He managed to actually get some sleep last night, which must have done him some good, because he's woken up happy."

"I'm really glad she's doing this. I know it means having to hear what she did, but at least she'll be going to jail at the end," said Tony just as the judge entered the room.

Everyone fell silent, and the judge cleared her throat before saying, "Ms Keates, I believe you wish to make a statement and change your plea?"

"I do," said Zoe.

"Very well, go ahead."

"I want to plead guilty, your honour. I have done something I shouldn't have, to someone who truly did not deserve it." Zoe turned to face the room, and her eyes landed on Tony. "I cheated on Tony because I wanted to get back at him for not meeting my parents. He had explained several times to me why he felt uncomfortable meeting my parents, but I never cared enough to acknowledge it. So, when I didn't feel better even though I was cheating, I decided to take it a step further. I really liked the guy that I was using, and he was happy to meet anyone I wanted him to meet. He was Tony's neighbour and friend, so, naturally, he wanted to go and tell Tony about his new girlfriend. Of course, he didn't know that I hadn't broken up with Tony like I said I did, so I couldn't let him say anything. I figured that if something happened to Tony, then the guy couldn't say anything. I knew I was going to be working with NCIS, so I organised with a friend of mine to have Tony get shot. My friend ended up getting cold feet at the last minute and decided that he didn't want to shoot a federal agent, so he chose to shoot and make sure the bullet would hit Tony's vest. I was pissed, but I couldn't help the feeling of satisfaction I got when Tony looked at me with hurt written all over his face. I ran off before Agent Gibbs could get to us, because I knew that he would figure out who the true culprit was as soon as he knew Tony was okay. I wasn't expecting anyone to find me so quickly, so I had to improvise. I had heard that Tony was fine and would be back at work in no time, so I wanted to fix it. I waited until Agents McGee and Bishop were driving along a quiet street, then I caused them to crash so I could escape. It didn't take me long to find out that Tony was staying with Agent Gibbs, so I went straight there. I was intending to kill Tony this time, but I hadn't expected him to still be quick. He figured out that it was me and not his friend coming in, and when I saw him, he had a gun in his hand. Mine was already raised, so I went to shoot him, but I got distracted when he asked why I had cheated on him. I gave him an answer that I thought would be enough, but he wasn't fooled. He knew I was going to shoot, and he got in first. I dropped when the bullet hit my leg, but I knew that I would be fine, whereas Tony looked like he was almost dead. I actually felt bad when I saw him on the floor, but I refused to let myself care. That was when Abby Sciuto came in, and she was carrying a gun. She ignored me and went to Tony as soon as she saw him on the floor, so I went to shoot her and Tony. But Tony was still conscious, and he saw what I was attempting to do. He warned Abby, so she shot my hand and I dropped the gun."

Tony glared at Zoe, anger filling him at how she had tried to hurt Abby.

"Then, while I was in jail, I spoke to my sister, who lives in LA. I told her why I was in jail, and conveniently left out the part that Tony really was innocent. I didn't want to be stuck in prison, so I had asked her to help me. I wasn't expecting her to break me out of jail, but I went along with it anyway. I pointed her to an old safe house I had used a long time ago for work, and we hid out there until her partner came in with Tony. That was when I realised that Tony was really hurt. I hadn't agreed to that. I yelled at the both of them, asked why they had done what they did to Tony, and they laughed. My sister told me he'd be fine and to get over it, but even from a distance, I could tell that the back of Tony's head was broken. It just looked odd and out of shape. I tried to tell my sister that I wanted out of her plan, but she didn't listen. She told her partner to put Tony in the trunk and then she pulled out to the car they had at the back of the house. I knew we were going to LA, and I highly doubted that Tony would survive a thirty eight hour drive, so when we made a bathroom stop, I went inside the gas station and called Agent Gibbs. I told him everything I could in the few minutes I had, then went back to the car, hoping that they wouldn't realise what I had done. But, they did, and they changed their plans. They dragged Tony and I onto the tarmac at Dulles Airport, and we stowed away inside the luggage compartment of a plane heading to LA. The five hour flight was hard, and when we finally landed, Tony rolled out of the compartment. That was how we got caught."

"Very well. You have given us a statement, and I believe that a deal has been made. So, I am sentencing you to fifteen years in prison, plus the five years you already have. Bailiff, take her to her cell to await transport." The judge shook her head as she adjourned the trial, feeling very bad for Tony.