Warnings: Mentions of drugs and sexual assault.

A/N: Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I have conversed with a few of you about what happened. It is never easy when you have a rough day and come home to be told that what you're writing is disgusting. I understand that not everyone's reviews are going to be heaping praise, and I'm okay with people leaving reviews that leave thoughtful remarks, but to first admit you are a fan of Ziva and then bash me as a writer, that's just not cool and I'm pretty much done with these types of people and their drama all over the internet. Personal vow to myself that I am not going to search the tags and such on social media.

Milkywaysupernova, I tried to PM you but, it wouldn't work. Thank you for your thoughts. I did not think I was bashing any character in any way. I have seen stories that are clearly in favor of one character making the others look horrendous. I thought in my first two chapters I had written the characters showing their flaws. If people perceive that as character bashing they are living in fantasy land because we all have flaws. Even their beloved Ziva. And you're right it is cyber bullying, and it's not just Ziva fans. There are fans of other characters out there that tend to leave nasty reviews as well. But this one was the first one that actually said my writing was disgusting because I "chose" to bash Ziva. And I'm going to keep deleting those anon reviews there's no place for cyber bullies. If they really want to have a constructive conversation with me on my perceptions or writings then they can sign in and leave a name.

Natalie was on her fourth cup of coffee and Tony was getting jittery just watching her drink it. She had spread out her file on the empty desk making herself at home there and he was startled with how comfortable he was that there was someone at that desk. All three of them had been protective of that desk after Kate died.

Well, its not like Ziva died, now is it? Tony told himself. He watched as the Boston detective went over every last detail of the case, trying to make a connection. She had been at it for the last hour or so and Tony decided that he didn't really want to sit there and watch her anymore. He had gone over all the details of their case himself and his brain was fried, but perhaps they could help each other.

Standing up he slipped out of his suit coat and moved towards Natalie, gently nudging her so he could get access to the file. "Find anything yet?"

"Besides their physical appearance, I can't figure out how he chooses his victims," Natalie said, frustrated. She sucked down the rest of her coffee and shook the empty cup. "Do you think we could get a refill?"

"Yeah. I think you've had enough of that stuff for now," Tony said, taking the cardboard cup out of her hand and throwing it in the trash. He leaned over her and moved some files out of the way to get a look at some of the crime scene photos. "Here, maybe a pair of fresh eyes will help."

Natalie watched, cautiously as his arms came around her and he began to go through her work. "You guys don't have a lot of personal boundaries here do you?"

Tony chuckled while he looked at the photographs. "You work with us you'll realize that personal boundaries go out the window the moment you sign on the dotted line."

"I don't think my partner has even hugged me," Natalie said.

"Really? Not even when you've had a bad day?"

"Listen, I know I'm a girl but I don't need to be coddled."

He smiled. "Don't worry. Gibbs doesn't coddle."

She frowned slightly. "Yeah I got that impression when he slapped you on the back of the head earlier today."

"That doesn't happen very often," Tony snapped.

"Sure," Natalie said teasingly.

"Here's your connection," Tony said, ignoring her. "All victims liked to drink martinis."

Natalie scrunched her nose up and looked at an affidavit from a witness. Victim was seen drinking martinis before leaving bar with a tall man with a ball cap on. "So that's it? They look alike and like martinis?"

Tony laughed. "Well…sometimes that's all you need. Ducky was going to get that original file from San Diego. Maybe we'll find out if our first victim enjoyed a good drink every now and then."

"Amber said she was doing shots."

"Probably getting less picky. Listen, serial killers can change things up to throw us off the beaten path."

"I just feel like we're so…close."

Tony quirked an eyebrow and said, teasingly, "We'll we're very close, Detective."

McGee chose that moment to come back with a fresh batch of coffees. "You know this is why we have to do those sexual harassment trainings, right Tony?" He put the coffees down onto the desk and eyed his partner, cautiously.

"Stop being so serious, McPrude," Tony snarked, grabbing his coffee and making his way back to his own desk.

"We don't want to chase away any help we're getting right now," McGee argued.

Natalie smiled and grabbed her coffee, taking a large gulp. "It takes more than standing too close to chase me away, Agent McGee. I'm not going to leave just because Agent DiNozzo doesn't have any personal boundaries."

Gibbs chose that moment to return to the squad room. "Good to know, Detective. What you've all got for me?"

"Martinis," Tony answered. He looked between McGee and Natalie before he continued, but not after Gibbs threw him a glare. "Well, not an actual martini for you, boss, just that it appears our victims all liked to hit the hard stuff after a long day."

"We're still waiting on a hit from the DNA or prints," McGee reported.

"Ms. Callahan?" Gibbs inquired. "Possible that our guy could strike again in this area?"

Natalie shrugged. "Sure. He didn't finish the last time. Going back to kill Amber would be too risky. And I'm sure that he's seen the news to know that NCIS doesn't have any leads in this case."

Gibbs walked over and grabbed at her ponytail and let her hair loose. He fluffed it slightly and stepped back, grinning. "Tony."

"Yeah boss?"

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Uh…I'm guessing working?"

"You and Ms. Callahan have a date."

"Boss?" Tony and McGee asked at the same time.

Gibbs continued grinning. "We're going to go bring the guy to us."

Tony suddenly saw where the team leader was going with this and he wasn't sure he liked it. Not that he didn't think Natalie would be good undercover, but he wasn't sure he could trust her to have his back. He barely knew her. "We don't even know what bar he'll be at," the SFA pointed out.

"Several ships on liberty tonight. Bars in downtown Baltimore will be crawling with potential targets. He'll be there," Gibbs said, firmly. "And Ms. Callahan is close enough in physical appearance to those victims that we might be able to use her."

"I hate martinis," Natalie said, scrunching her nose up.

Tony chuckled. "Well, I can't pass McGee off as a my date."

Natalie tossed him a coy look. "Why not? You two look great together."

It was almost hard to believe that underneath that leather jacket and boot-cut jeans, Natalie had a cute little body. Of course, Tony was very much aware how attractive she was from the moment she stepped off the elevator, it just seemed that she wasn't aware of it.

Abby adjusted the detective's earwig and went to put it in her ear but Natalie was squirming, trying to get comfortable in the strapless black dress she had on. "I really need you to sit still for one second," Abby said, slightly annoyed.

"Sorry," Natalie mumbled. "It's just…I'm not used to you know…showing this much…cleavage."

"Why not?" Abby asked, slipping the earwig into Natalie's ear. "You look hot in that dress."

Tony had to hide a chuckle at the slight, horrified look that passed Natalie's face. Oh she was getting the full out Abby experience today that was for sure. "See, told you I couldn't pass that dress off on McGee."

Natalie rolled her eyes at him while Gibbs strode into the room, fresh cup of coffee in his hand. "Ready to go?" the team leader asked.

"Almost finished," Abby said, gesturing towards the equipment. "Just have to put this clip in Detective Callahan's hair. It has a camera in it that will be directly wired to the truck so you and McGee can watch."

"Have a hit for me so I know who to watch for?"

Abby twirled around on her combat boots and reached for a printout. "Meet Lieutenant Martin Westfled. I managed to get a seventy percent facial match on the video that Tony and Detective Callahan brought back. I know it's not enough to hold up in court but if we catch the guy tonight I have Amber's rape kit to run DNA."

Gibbs snatched the picture from her and tipped his head at Tony and Natalie. "Let's go," he said, before placing a soft kiss on Abby's cheek. "Nice work Abs."

Tony could see that Natalie was surprised by Gibbs' actions and reached out to grab a hold of her arm and pulled her along to follow behind the team leader. He heard her mumble something else about personal boundaries under her breath and he laughed, for real, for the first time in weeks. It made Gibbs turn and look at him funny. Tony quickly wiped the smirk on his face and whispered, "Sorry, boss."

Natalie was still squirming in the dress. Gibbs shot her a look and she immediately stopped. "Sorry…I'm not used to having a gun strapped to my leg this…high."

"Really?" Tony quipped right before Gibbs' hand made contact with the back of his head. The SFA looked incredulously at the SSA, who had a slight smirk on his face. "It's nearly ten o'clock. I've been working all day. Can't I have a little fun?"

"Oh yeah," Gibbs said, grinning, "When you get to the bar."

"Huh?"

"Well, this is supposed to be a date," Gibbs drawled, a little too happy before getting off the elevator.

Tony briefly wondered if perhaps the SSA was toying with him…or setting up Natalie on an impromptu job interview. Either way, Tony straightened his blazer and followed suit, because the night was still young and they had a killer to catch.

"Remember, DiNozzo, this is supposed to look like a date," Gibbs snapped in his earwig, "Don't start fearing touching a woman on me now."

Tony shifted his position at the bar to get closer to Natalie and get a better visual on the patrons. So far they had been at this for about an hour and nothing had caught either of their interest yet. He reached over and brushed his fingers along the bare skin of Natalie's shoulders. "Boss," he whispered, as he let his hand drift lower, "I don't think our guy is here."

Gibbs was silent for a second. "He's here. Keep looking."

The SFA sighed, now, as his hand rested on Natalie's waist. She had been incredibly uncomfortable the first fifteen minutes, but she had eased in eventually and didn't seem to flinch at his touch anymore. He let his eyes leave the busy nightclub for a moment and glanced down at her. She had a glass in front of her, sipping a fake martini. From the way she was sitting and the way he was standing he had a full view of her. Because he couldn't help himself he let his eyes wander down, and she noticed. She twisted slightly on her stool and stood up, denying him access to the view. It was such a stark contrast to Ziva, who would have played with him, hung her body out there like a carrot just to see him squirm.

Natalie grabbed her drink and downed the rest of the olive infused water before Tony could get a word out. But she did toss him a coy little smile.

"Need a refill, sweetheart?"

"Please."

Tony chuckled and then he gently let his arm hook around her waist while he flagged the bartender down. It wasn't long before two more disguised drinks were put in front of them. Another hour passed and Tony was certain that their guy wasn't at this bar, which meant they had wasted time. There was no way to peg where he was going to strike next. McGee had suggested this bar because they had the best martinis in the city and it made sense that their suspect would find his next victim here.

Apparently Gibbs was starting to feel the same way after two hours. "Pack up, DiNozzo. Let's head to the next bar."

Tony gently placed his hand underneath Natalie's elbow and was about to direct her towards the entrance when someone bumped into the two of them and he gripped the bar to keep his balance. "Hey!" he snapped at the drunk that had crashed into them and now spilled his drink all over Tony's suit.

"Oh…oh sorry," the drunk man stuttered. He grabbed a cocktail napkin the bar and begin to wipe at the beer stain on Tony's suit. "Here…let me…let me help."

"Forget it!" Tony snapped at him. He looked at Natalie. "I'm going to go to the restroom."

As he walked he could hear the drunk continuing a conversation with Natalie over his radio. "Your boyfriend is an ass."

Natalie chuckled. "He just doesn't like it when someone ruins his good suit. He spends half his paychecks on clothes. More than I do."

"Seems like a waste of money."

"But he looks pretty."

Tony rolled his eyes and stepped up to the sink. He wet a paper towel and began to wipe at the beer all over his chest. This was his favorite blazer too and he was dreading the dry cleaning bill. Natalie was still talking to the drunk guy but he had tuned out what they were saying exactly.

But he was started a little when his feed started to sound wonky. Natalie wasn't making much sense, slurring a little like she had too much to drink and the drunk guy…he almost sounded sober. Son of a bitch!

He sprung into action, crashing the door to the men's room open and nearly knocking over a young twenty-something as he did so. It wasn't far to get to where Natalie was at the bar, in fact Tony could see her and the "drunk" the moment he emerged from the hall where the rest room. "Boss!" he gasped into his radio. "Boss! We have a situation!"

"Copy that Tony, we're on our way."

"HEY!" Tony shouted, loudly to draw attention to himself as he got closer to Natalie. "What do you think you're doing!"

The guy's hand was around Natalie's arm and she was completely subdued, no thanks to the drug that had probably been slipped into her drink by the very man that had collided with Tony. He'd done it to get Tony out of the way, to take advantage of her., and slip the drug into her drink without either of them noticing. And boy had he pulled the wool over both their eyes.

Tony could see that her glass of water was practically gone, meaning she had ingested almost the entirety of the drug. It was time to blow his cover. If their suspect was here, he'd be gone in a heart beat. But Tony knew he had to do it. He reached into his pocket and found his badge. Holding it up, he shouted at the guy again, "NCIS! Let her go!"

Gibbs burst into the scene at that moment, slamming the guy out of the way and adding to Tony's shouts. "Down on the ground! Federal agents!"

Natalie blinked confused as Tony finally got to her and moved her to safety. "What…what's going on?"

"Tim," the SFA snapped, reaching for what was left of Natalie's drink. "Bag this."

"Got it," McGee said taking the glass while Gibbs cuffed the guy.

"What the hell, man!" their newly arrested perp snapped. "I was just trying to have fun!"

Gibbs yanked the jerk to his feet and searched him, finding a small bottle of GHB in his pant's pocket. "Yeah. Drugging a cop is fun. You've interfered with a federal investigation. Hope you have a good lawyer."

Natalie was less confused now. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she swayed slightly, using Tony's body to catch herself. He gripped her arm, tightly and steadily lead her through the startled on-lookers and out of the nightclub. "I don't understand…I didn't drink anything. Why do I feel like I did?"

Tony opened the passenger door on his car and helped her inside. "You were given GHB, Natalie."

"What? That drunk that split his beer all over you?"

"Yeah. Gibbs found the drugs in his pocket when he searched him."

Natalie collapsed against the seat. The drugs had taken a fast affect on her. Probably due to the fact that she downed the rest of her drugged water before they were set to leave. Tony wondered how much the bastard had given her. The best they could do at this moment was to let her sleep it off.

Tony cursed himself as he drove back to NCIS. He should have seen that one coming. He should haven't left her alone at the bar. And if he hadn't figured it out, thirty seconds more in that bathroom and who knows what would have happened. Would the scumbag have taken her out back and raped her in the alley?

"Can I…can we stop to get…something to eat?" Natalie asked, half-awake, half asleep.

"You want food?" Tony questioned.

"Uh-huh. I'm thinking a cheeseburger."

"Sure we can stop."

Natalie looked at him, confused. "Stop for what?"

Tony gripped the steering wheel, knowing that this was the drug messing with her system. "You said you wanted to stop for a cheeseburger."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you're hungry?"

"No! I'm not!"

"Ok…we'll just got back to NCIS."

Natalie shifted in her seat, slightly. "Tony."

Tony sighed. "Yeah?"

"I don't…something…isn't…right," she said, nearly hysterics.

"Just stay calm," he told her. "You're okay. You're with me." Don't worry, I've got your six, Callahan.

Natalie closed her eyes tightly to stop the car from spinning madly and then, felt her body become completely still, relaxed almost paralyzed before she finally slipped into a dark, unconscious state.