I'm still alive, I swear. And I did skip an episode or two here just because I couldn't find a good place for Morgan with all the drama around the director and Tony's little secret mission.

Things had, in fact, not gone back to normal at all. For one, the Director had found out about Morgan being at the NCIS building and her doctor and therapist not signing off on her return, so she was banned for at least the rest of the weekend. Knowing this was more than frustrating for her, Gibbs suggested going out for a bit but Morgan's stress relievers tended to involve more exercising so that was off the table. Before more plans could be made, she'd gotten a call from an old army commander though, and as displeased as she was to hear from him, what he said had her packing up for a drive to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

She hadn't told Gibbs what the call was about and as curious as he was, he didn't press her on it. He just helped her get packed and made sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Then, of course, things at work got worse. The Director returned only to panic and assume her deceased father might still be alive. This then led to them investigating the mandatory polygraph test that the CIA had set up to target her. Then, a day later, Tony called the Director under his alias and they watched as the car he was supposedly in exploded.

He'd been in an undercover operation to help the Director catch the notorious arms dealer known as the Frog, by dating his daughter. His cover had been blown and while some held doubts as to whether or not he was alive, others were having bigger concerns. The undercover operation had broken the trust the team had in each other. Gibbs was distrustful of Jenny and angry about her using one of his agents on such a risky mission. Ziva was distrustful of Gibbs, Tony, and her for knowing but saying nothing when she'd started to grow suspicious about his disappearances. So, tensions were running high and Gibbs's frustration grew when he couldn't get a hold of Morgan either.

While having her and Russell to help with this whole mess would've been appreciated, she was also a far more calm presence at work and would've helped him keep his cool in the chaos. Not being able to reach her was a bit odd as well, but he wouldn't put it past her to forget to charge her phone or leave it lying around while she was doing other things. He noticed she often did that while she was staying at his place; just leave her phone while she showered and forget where she put it when she needed it. It really wasn't the time though, and after attempting to call her for the fourth time after arguing with a CIA agent, Tony himself walked into the building.

Things got a little more complicated after that but Gibbs managed to handle it well enough and everything had finally settled down. Of course, that's when Morgan finally managed to get to her phone, claiming that she'd left it in the rental car by accident after getting to the hotel. Gibbs didn't believe that, knowing she would have been desperate to hear about what was happening back home and should've noticed the missing phone earlier. He'd spent a day and a half trying to get a hold of her and now that he had, there was something off in her tone. It was harder to tell over the phone but there was a tightness in how she spoke that had something in his gut twisting. It didn't feel like something they would be able to discuss then so he decided to avoid it for now and instead, explained what happened while she was gone.

Morgan was a bit frustrated that she'd missed out on what happened while she was away but was a little more distracted by her own issues. The reason she'd been called back to Fort Bragg, to begin with, was because her old commander had called with an update on the charges she'd filed against Levi Cornwall; the old army recruit who'd stalked and assaulted her. She'd not said a word to Gibbs other than her commander wanting to discuss something in person that she had to be there for and she'd been avoiding his call until she'd managed to get the courage to answer. She knew he was suspicious of something even though she'd tried to hide it but the whole situation had become a bit of a mess.

Corporal Levi Cornwall had been arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a military member, trespassing, and stalking. He'd been dishonorably discharged, fined, and sent to prison for 8 years but things had changed within the last month. According to Commander Shawn Goodwin, he'd been released early for good conduct and had almost immediately vanished from his probation officer's sight. No one knew where he'd gone or what he was up to, and while there was an alert put out in order to help police locate him, it was more than apparent to Morgan that the military had bigger things to worry about than some small-time criminal. It was frustrating and left her pacing in her hotel room with a fresh cigarette pack when Gibbs started calling.

She couldn't tell him. Not only had she seen his reaction to Abby's stalker but this was something personal to her and there was always the chance nothing could come of it. There was the chance he'd gone somewhere else and had gotten over whatever infatuation he'd had with her while imprisoned. There was also the possibility that the opposite had occurred and he'd grown more obsessed but she was trying not to think about that. Her prime focus had been calming herself down so that when she returned to NCIS, no one would know anything was on her mind; especially Gibbs. She'd managed to collect herself enough to respond to his call with only minor suspicion but she knew the second she got back and saw him, the interrogation would begin and she couldn't give anything away.

On her way back home, however, she couldn't stop thinking about the whole thing. Her stalker, where he was, Gibbs finding out, and why she was so desperate he didn't find out. She had a meeting with Dr. McNeil when she got back but soon gave into the urge to just call the woman and speak to her about it on the ride home. She needed some sort of answer because otherwise, her mind would just keep spinning in circles around the same things.

"So, an old army recruit stalked you, assaulted you in your own home after chasing you across the country, was imprisoned, and then released on good behavior, only to vanish and your main concern is why you don't want Gibbs finding out?"

Morgan frowned, eyes firmly on the road as she drove through the mostly empty highway on the way back; window open with a cigarette hanging from her lips as Russell snoozed in the passenger seat.

"You say that like I should be worried about something else."

"Most people would be. They would be concerned about their stalker coming after them now that he's seemingly vanished."

"I can handle him if he does," Morgan grumbled, giving her phone a small glare. "I've also got a new place and am no longer in the army. It's harder to find me than just looking up my address in the army computers."

"That doesn't mean there is no concern there for you. If you're worried—"

"I'm not."

"If you are, then you should talk to Gibbs about it, even if it's just to have someone else aware of the situation."

"I don't want him to know," Morgan replied, inhaling deeply and letting out a huff of smoke that was instantly carried away out the window. "I called you because I can't figure out why. Isn't that the point of us being together? You said we were supposed to share things, problems, or whatever. So, why don't I want him to know about this?"

"You're a very private person. Gibbs is the same. Neither of you wants anyone to see your weaknesses, so you don't like sharing them. And yes, while a big part of a relationship is communication and sharing things with one another, you both are still very new to this relationship, so there's no harm in wanting to hold onto things a bit longer. You haven't shared anything about the time you spent in Afghanistan with Gibbs, have you?"

"No," Morgan muttered.

"And he's not shared anything about his previous wives with you, right?"

"...No."

"There's no shame in wanting more time, Morgan. You just need to understand that at some point you will both have the urge to share or might be forced to share things you don't really want to. Things you wouldn't tell anyone else but being in a relationship, opens up opportunities to get those things out. Sometimes all we need is the right person to be willing to share them with."

Morgan went quiet, thinking about what was being said, and Dr. McNeil chose to let her ponder that while also giving her a way to think about other things.

"When do you suspect you'll be back?"

"I've got two more hours of driving."

"You left rather late then. It'll be midnight by the time you're back."

"I was thinking," Morgan grumbled.

"Of course. Are you still staying with Gibbs?"

"No. I have my own apartment. Circumstances were… different before. I can deal with my own issues. There's nothing pressing going on and I finally have the all-clear to return to work."

"You certainly are a little more level-headed with him around."

Morgan huffed. "I feel I should be insulted by that."

"Good. You have to admit you handled your time off better than you would have without him."

Morgan grunted, not thrilled about admitting that she couldn't handle her downtime better but knowing that Dr. McNeil wasn't wrong.

"Let me know how things go when you're not attached to his hip, alright?"

"Again, insulting."

"I'll check in with you tomorrow. We'll keep it short since you called."

Morgan agreed and hung up with a heavy sigh, drawing Russell's gaze toward her, though he didn't lift his head from his paws. "What a pain."

Things were different after the team had joined up that morning. For one, Tony was already there and actively working and Morgan hadn't yet arrived. It was an odd picture and while Ziva understood that Tony probably had some… lingering issues given his cover had been blown and, therefore, the woman he loved had disappeared without a word, it was still odd. So, she went to go talk with him.

"I am here if you would like to talk."

Tony glanced up and raised a brow. "About what?"

"I know how much you cared about her."

"I'm fine, Ziva," he pressed, and she hummed.

"All right, but I thought maybe you need a little cheering up?" She offered and he scoffed.

"If I needed to be cheered up, I would've put super glue on McGee's keyboard."

McGee, who had just gone to his desk to start his own work whipped around to him and lifted his hands; keyboard and all. "You put super glue on my keyboard."

"Well, you got me," he chuckled, though it hardly had the usual energy he was known for. "I was sort of saving it for a rainy day."

"Did it help?" Ziva asked.

"Didn't hurt."

Gibbs rounded the corner then, coffee in hand and glancing at McGee as he struggled to pry the keyboard off his hands.

"Boss, Tony—"

"I know," Gibbs said, going to his desk and bringing McGee a bottle of acetone. "Are you ever going to learn, McGee?" He turned to the others. "Grab your gear. We've got a petty officer in a hit-and-run."

The team started to do so and he frowned, seeing the familiar empty desk and checking his watch. She was late.

The elevator chimed and he turned to see Morgan hurrying out of it with Russell bounding along happily beside her with more energy than usual. Gibbs cracked a small smile and called out to her.

"Gear, Morgan. Hit-and-run."

She nodded, sending Russell to grab it as she dug through her desk for her service weapon and dragged a hand through her hair. The group headed for the elevator and split up to drive to the crime scene; leaving him, Morgan, and Russell driving together. Morgan herself sighed heavily and dropped her head back against the seat as Gibbs gave her a look.

"Rough trip?"

"Got home late and didn't sleep well," Morgan muttered. "Then, ran into McNeil in the hallway before the elevator."

"Ah," Gibbs hummed, forgetting that she needed to check in first. "Everything go well?"

Morgan grunted and went quiet, avoiding the obvious questions he wanted to ask, so he decided to press a little.

"Anything I need to know about?" He asked, keeping his gaze on the road but not missing her small frown from the corner of his eye. "You were a bit vague about what that trip was for other than a call from your old commander, and you sounded upset on the phone."

"I wasn't upset," Morgan snapped lightly.

"You were tense. Still are, in fact, and you're trying to hide it from me."

Morgan looked at him with a scowl, bitterness creeping up and making her tense. "I'm allowed to hide things just like you are. It wasn't important and I can deal with it if it comes up, which it won't. So why would it matter if I explained it to you or not?"

She was getting defensive which only made Gibbs more suspicious as to how important this situation was to her but he knew he would have to back down or she would cut him off completely. The last thing he needed was for the two of them to be butting heads when she'd just gotten back to work. So, he shrugged and tried to brush it off.

"Alright. Just thought I'd ask in case you wanted to share."

She eyed him for a while longer before huffing softly and turning her gaze out the window; ignoring the way Russell glanced between the two of them in confusion. Thankfully, with them headed to a case, they could hash things out later and use it as a distraction.

Once on the scene, Morgan took Russell to begin canvasing the area while Gibbs went over to the victim and searched his pockets.

"Hit-and-run. It's a felony now, but in DiNozzo's Guide to Women, a way of life."

"In this case, death," Gibbs replied to Tony's jab as they took photos of the victim's ID.

"How'd he end up over here?"

"Good question, DiNozzo."

"At least he went out looking sharp."

"But when he dressed this morning, I doubt he was aware that the end was nigh," Ducky commented as he set down his gear. "When people choose not to wear their seat belts, they rarely consider their own mortality. If they did, they would definitely wear their seatbelts." he glanced at the car perched right before a small lake. "You know, I would've thought with that kind of damage he would be all the way down there. Did you move my body, Jethro?"

"Someone did."

"Well, the state police said they didn't touch the body after they ID'd him. Report indicated he blew that stop sign over there," Tony explained as Gibbs cut in.

"Swerved to avoid another car."

"Then he went through the windshield when he hit the bridge?"

It wasn't adding up and when Ducky went to take a temperature, he found something even more confusing.

"Hello."

The victim was wearing easily removable clothes.

"This just keeps getting better. I'm going with stripper," Tony said, crouching down beside Ducky as he removed the velcro-covered tuxedo.

"This is not an uncommon way for young servicemen to… complement their incomes. In fact, when I was young, I used to…"

"Used to what?" Tony asked as the body was rolled over to reveal a large wound on the abdomen.

"Oh, my."

"Shotgun. Close range," Gibbs concluded as Ducky showed him a fragment of the slug from the wound. "Our hit-and-run just became a shoot-and-scoot."

"But there's no visible damage to the head," Ducky pointed out. "I do not believe that this gentleman made that hole."

"And if he didn't make it, who did?"

It wasn't a moment later that there was a round of barking and Morgan's voice came from over the edge of the bridge.

"Boss, you're gonna want to see this!"

The team gathered around and peered down to see her and Russell standing by a second body as Ducky hummed.

"Yes, that is more like it."

He carefully navigated his easy down the slope with McGee behind him to where a young woman was lying in the brush.

"She has a smashed cranium, lacerations, and possible multiple fractures. I think we've found our human cannonball."

"I think the state police definitely had it wrong, boss. Petty Officer Munoz didn't blow off that stop sign," Tony commented to Gibbs as Morgan climbed back up the slope with Russell.

"Nah, he was in the other car. He got run off the road by the guy who did."

"Then, got shot for his trouble."

"No footprints," Ziva said as she joined the group at the bottom of the bridge. "Anything from Russell?"

"I can try but the water makes it difficult," Morgan gestured further up the way. "And there's evidence of a homeless individual or camp further up that I noticed earlier. Muddies the scent. Even if they left on foot they would've gotten into another car and we couldn't trail that."

"Her companion took off in Munoz's vehicle and left her here to die then."

"Who does that?" McGee muttered.

"Clearly, someone in a terrible rush," Ducky mused as McGee sighed.

"Rush to where?"

"Go find out," Gibbs told Tony, gesturing to Ziva. "Take Ziva with you."

"On it, boss."

The team was quick to get a possible lead, tracking the car back to the original owner—Nicholas Barnes—who was situated in a garage in the nearby town.

"Nicky! Get your ass out here!" The shop owner—Nicholas's father—shouted as Gibbs, Tony, Morgan, and Russell stood inside waiting for their possible suspect. "Ran in the bathroom like a little girl when he saw you guys pull up. This is about Tiffany, right?"

"Tiffany?" Tony questioned as the man nodded.

"Yeah, his girl. Nicky!"

"Name's not Tiffany," Gibbs informed him calmly as Morgan gave the shop a glance and kept an eye on Russell as he sniffed about nearby.

"Oh, really. You don't say," the man said sarcastically, obviously not having liked the girl. "I told him that girl was no good. He didn't listen to me."

The toilet in the restroom flushed and the gruff-looking Nicholas stepped out, not pleased with the group that had shown up.

"Well, there's some Navy cops here want to ask you a few questions," his father informed him, giving him a stern look. "Now, you remember what I told you about telling lies."

The father stepped away and went back to work and Nicholas moved around Gibbs to do the same, giving Russell a glance when the dog rounded the nearby vehicle and saddled up next to Morgan.

"Something wrong?" Gibbs asked, moving to Nicholas's other side with Morgan.

"Nope."

"Just had to pee all of a sudden?" Tony questioned him as well.

"Figured you want to ask me about Tiff, didn't really want to talk about her. Is that a crime?"

"No, but murder is," Gibbs said as the man's father called out from where he was working under a car nearby.

"Oh, murder! Perfect!"

He went ignored but there was a brief look shared between Morgan and Gibbs, and she gave a small nod and began to wander the shop with Russell. Everything would be overheard here. One wouldn't be able to make a plan without the other knowing or having a clue about it. So, there was a chance there might be something one of them forgot.

"You know this guy?" Tony asked, showing him a picture of the victim.

"Nope."

"He was shot and killed today. Your car was found at the scene wrapped around a bridge."

"Not my car… I gave it to Tiff. She said hers was stolen."

"Oh, tell 'em what else you gave her! A thousand bucks!" His father hollered as Morgan glanced back at the group and gave Gibbs a small shake of her head.

Nothing yet.

"Tell 'em why. Oh, for an operation. What kind? He didn't even ask."

"You also didn't ask how she was," Gibbs pointed out.

"Car wrapped around a tree and all," Tony added.

"I hope she's dead," Nicholas spat.

"She is," Gibbs said simply.

"If you'd like us to arrest you now, Nicky, that can be arranged," Tony lightly threatened and Nicholas's father hastily moved in.

"Hey, now, wait a second. Just hold on right there. My boy ain't guilty of anything except for being an idiot."

There was a low growl of warning that stopped him in his tracks as his gaze shifted to Russell. Said dog had quickly moved between him and Gibbs with a warning not to get closer as Morgan calmly walked over as well and shot the father a look.

"Idiot or not, he just admitted he wanted her dead. I don't think it's up to you on whether or not he gets brought in for a few more questions without you interrupting every few seconds to admonish him for a stupid mistake."

The man scowled but shifted uneasily, gaze bouncing between her and Russell before he huffed.

"That girl Tiffany or whoever she was, she was playing him and a couple of other guys. He spoke up to her about it and she ran off. That was about a week ago."

"She said she loved me," Nicholas muttered. "You don't lie to somebody you love."

Morgan scoffed at that, walking away from the father as Russell followed with a small backward glance. She didn't like that reaction from him but Russell wasn't one to act that way without reason. The problem was, she couldn't be sure if it was a response due to the threat of the father in general or out of protection towards Gibbs. She eyed Gibbs's back as he tried to get Tony's attention. If it was Russell moving in to protect Gibbs, then it was the first time he's ever applied his training to someone else and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

"I ain't seen her since she left," Nicholas reinforced as Tony eyed the young man with a hint of suspicion.

"Anybody seen you this morning?"

"Oh, he was here with me all day," his father replied. "I got about a half a dozen customers who can vouch for that."

"Names," Gibbs ordered.

"Sure. Like I said, my boy's an idiot but he ain't a killer. Now, a girl like that, playing with people's hearts, you track down some of them jilted lovers. I guarantee you'll find out who done her in."

"I can't wait to make those calls," Tony drawled before the father showed him the list of customers they'd had that morning.

That was the only thing they could really get for now, and the group headed back to headquarters. Gibbs was quick to send Tony to check up on Nicholas's alibi but reached out across Morgan's chest to stop her from leaving as he hit the elevator button to go downstairs. She frowned over at him for the action but stopped back away from the doors as the elevator began to move.

"You found nothing at the shop?"

She shook her head. "Russell wasn't picking up on anything but when we don't know what we're looking for, it's tough. Not counting the other smells interfering like the oil and grease."

"What did you think about them?"

She hummed. "I don't like the father. He jumped on the alibi for Nicholas too quick and the way he talks down to him…" She shook her head for a moment. "I'm surprised Nicholas hadn't killed him if he is the killer. It's the kind of thing that grates on your nerves for years until you just snap. Nicholas is bitter, sure, but every time his father opened his mouth there was proper anger there."

"You sound familiar with that sort of thing," Gibbs noted with a hint of curiosity and Morgan shrugged.

"I've seen it a few times in the system. I got bounced around a lot but there were times when I'd see other kids—patient kids—just get pushed one step too far. I got lucky. I had more patience than most."

Gibbs went to prod a little further, knowing that it was rare for Morgan to mention her past before the army at all, but the second the elevator doors opened, the two were faced with Ducky.

"You're late."

"We have an appointment, Duck?" Gibbs questioned with a raised brow as he and Morgan stepped out of the elevator.

"No, we have a crisis," Ducky said. "I apologize for not seeing it sooner."

"You know how I feel about apologies," Gibbs reminded him, unsure what was going on.

"Yes, well, you may want to make an exception in this case. I now know why the driver of the Chevy didn't bother to check on his companion," Ducky explained, leading the two toward the woman's body on the table. "She was dead before she was put in the car. All her vehicular injuries are postmortem."

"What killed her then?" Morgan asked, drawing Ducky's worn face toward her.

"Extensive blunt force trauma. She had a subdermal hematoma that would almost certainly have proved fatal. Poor girl was beaten to death."

"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said, starting to walk off but Morgan spoke up.

"What's the catch?"

Gibbs stopped, turning back toward them as Morgan eyed Ducky.

"I might be newer to the team than others but a beaten woman isn't an uncommon occurrence. It pisses people off, sure, but unfortunately, they're a dime a dozen. You're proper angry though. There's something else, isn't there?"

Ducky offered a solemn smile. "Yes, well, I knew about her cause of death an hour ago. What I just learned was that she had been pregnant."

The added tension in the air felt ready to snap at the smallest disturbance.

"She gave birth?" Gibbs asked as Ducky nodded.

"Yeah. Right before she was murdered."

"Morgan."

"I'll let the team know," she said, heading for the stairs instead of the elevator to get there faster while Gibbs took the elevator to inform the Director of the latest update.

He wasn't in there long before he went downstairs after getting a call from Ducky that Abby found something. It was McGee though, who managed to catch a lucky break and he brought the team to another possible suspect: Adrian Nelson.

"Heidi Campisano. No, I'm sorry. I don't recognize the name," he said, glancing at McGee seated beside him and Gibbs standing nearby.

His gaze briefly went to Morgan and Russell who were waiting near the window listening in, nervous like so many were when there was a potential for them to sniff something out.

"Well, she's got a lot of them, Mr. Nelson," McGee said, showing him a picture of the woman.

He took one look and quickly tossed the picture on the coffee table. "Maybe. I travel a lot."

"Travel where?" Gibbs pressed.

"Trade shows," his wife answered with a small smile. "My husband's a computer programmer."

"Well, I work in domotics."

Gibbs turned to McGee for information on that, not up to date with technology lingo.

"It's home automation," McGee explained. "The application of—"

"Automated techniques for the comfort and security of the home resident," Adrian explained, picking up a tablet and turning various things on and off. "I can control the entire house. Lights, media, fireplace, even turn on the lawn sprinklers if someone isn't supposed to be here."

"Who is she?" The wife asked.

"Who was she," Gibbs corrected. "She's dead. Murdered and her newborn is missing."

"Why are you telling us this?"

"We've traced several recent deposits made to her account from your husband," McGee explained.

"From me? Well, there's… there's got to be some mistake. You said that she uses a lot of names, right? Maybe she's stolen my identity. Like I said, I travel a lot. It wouldn't be hard to do."

"I can settle this," his wife said, passing the photo back to Gibbs. "Feel free to look around but if my husband says he doesn't know her, he doesn't know her. Right?"

"That's right, honey."

"Morgan," Gibbs said and she nodded, moving to start searching when the lights went out.

"Well, that isn't supposed to happen," Adrian said, getting up. "I'm going to have to reset the breaker. Excuse me."

"Here. I'll give you some help," Gibbs said as he brought out a flashlight, shooting Morgan a look that she nodded to.

She slipped away with Russell to search in the dark while he went to press Adrian for more answers, the two of them ducking into a laundry room where the breaker was before Gibbs confronted him.

"How long you been seeing Heidi?"

"I told you, I don't know anything."

"No, you told your wife," Gibbs corrected. "And I let you but now I get the truth."

Adrian hesitated. "Just a few months. Till I found out she was stealing money from me. She was forging my signature on my checks. We barely saw each other and we never slept together."

"Baby's not yours."

"No, it's not."

"I'll need your DNA to verify that," Gibbs said, pushing a little more to see how nervous he really was.

"Forget it. I'm not going on record that I was ever involved with that woman. You need DNA, you're going to have to talk to my lawyer."

"Maybe I'll just talk to your wife," Gibbs threatened.

"Is your evidence that flimsy that you have to resort to threats? I had nothing to do with Heidi's murder, okay? But if you got something that says I did, you should go get a warrant. Fair enough?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess it'll have to be," Gibbs said, flipping the breaker as Adrian's wife called out.

"Adrian."

"Everything's fine, honey. They're going to show themselves out," Adrian declared as Morgan came back down the hall with Russell.

She had something to say but the dismissal from Adrian was telling. They were no longer welcome here and unless what she found was proof of their involvement, she was going to have to let it go for now.

Morgan joined McGee and Gibbs at the door as Adrian reassured his wife.

"Got it?" Gibbs asked quietly and McGee opened his coat to show the evidence bags he'd collected.

"Fingernail clippings, toothbrush swabs, and Q-tips."

"Morgan?"

She nodded. "There was a room locked in the hallway. Russell was interested in it but not in the more obvious ways. It wasn't criminal, whatever it was or he would have alerted. For all I know, they own a cat and shut it in the room while we were here."

Gibbs cracked a small smile at that but gestured for them to head out. It was late and they would need to get the DNA back to the lab to start testing it to be ready by morning. As they were heading out though, a phone went off and Morgan frowned as she pulled out her phone, lifting it to her ear.

"Hello?"

There was silence on the other end and a shiver of unease went up her spine.

"Hello?" She called again, pulling the phone away and checking for a caller ID, but there was none so she listened for a moment longer before hanging up.

Gibbs waited by the driver's side of the car as she headed over, giving her a look. "Everything alright?"

She nodded. "Wrong number or something."

He eyed her for a moment but she didn't seem bothered so he let it drop. They had more important things to worry about.