Somalia:

McGee was chained up by his wrists and hanging from the ceiling. Tony and Ziva were sitting handcuffed nearby. Saleem had just left them alone after beating on McGee all while Ziva and Tony watched. Ziva snarled as she looked back at the door. "I swear, if he lays one more finger on you, Tim, I'll rip his guts out," she vowed before looking at McGee. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking worried.

"Just happy you're alive Ziva" McGee groaned. Ziva could not tear her eyes off McGee; the computer nerd was surprisingly well built. She had never seen it until now, but McGee had 6-pack abs and muscles. How was it that she had never seen this before, and from the look on Tony's face, neither had he.

"Damn McBeefcake, how are you so ripped?" Tony asked, clearly shocked by the fact that McGee was so muscled. But what really drew Ziva's attention was the amount of old scars that littered Tim's torso.

"I don't feel the need to show off my muscles, Tony," McGee replied as he pulled on his chains. Or at least he acted like it. The truth is, he could have torn through the chains like butter. Saleem stormed back in, knife in hand, "We're moving out, and we're not taking prisoners," Saleem announced as he looked outside.

Tony went to speak, but McGee beat him to it. "Well, that's too bad, I was having fun… how about you, Tony?" McGee grinned.

"Oh definitely, I was thinking about a return visit. Maybe bring some Pizza next time" Tony replied as Saleem walked towards Ziva.

The chains around McGee's wrists suddenly snapped, and McGee pounced on Saleem. The two men or Saleem struggled, and McGee acted like it. He did not want his secret to be revealed, not like this. Twisting Saleem's wrist, McGee managed to snatch the knife off him before stabbing their torturer two times in the chest before thrusting the blade up through Saleem's throat.

Saleem's body fell to the floor dead. Tim stood over his body before he grabbed the gun from Saleem's back. Checking the gun, he ripped the knife from Saleem's throat and stood up. The door flew open, but McGee was faster, incredibly fast, as he raised the gun and fired two shots into the terrorist. Ziva could not tear her eyes off McGee; she saw those chains, and they were too solid for a normal person to break out of.

"How did you do that, Tim?" Tony asked, stunned by McGee's escape from the chains.

"The chain was rusted pretty badly," McGee replied, but it was evident that Ziva did not believe him. They soon escaped from Saleem's compound and headed home after being saved by Gibbs and his skills as a marine sniper.

But Ziva was determined to figure out Tim's secret.

Present Day:

The murder investigation into the former subjects of Project Ares had stalled. The rogue CIA operative who continued the project was still unknown, as was the man who fronted the money to continue the experiments. A new issue emerged, one that was tied to Ziva. The Damocles was found, and Ziva was currently sitting in interrogation, having just been grilled by Vance and Gibbs.

McGee was standing in the observation, watching her. McGee wanted to go in there and talk to her, try to get her to open up. He was also struggling to figure out how Tony got rid of that damn virus. Tony cheated; he must have cheated, but McGee could not figure out how he cheated. Soon, Malachi was escorted into the room with Gibbs and sat down. Gibbs set the intact bullet down and ran through what he knew had happened on board the Damocles.

Malachi left interrogation once Gibbs finished, with a message that Ziva was off limits. McGee had a message of his own to deliver, and he left observation and followed Malachi down to the parking garage. Malachi was almost at his car when he was lifted off the floor and slammed down hard onto the hood of his car. His bodyguard was unconscious before either of them knew what was going on.

Pinned face first onto the car, Malachi struggled but whoever had him pinned was impossibly strong "This is a message for Eli, if he sends anyone else after Ziva or if he dares come near her… I will find him and rip him limb from limb!" the attacker growled before letting Malachi go. When Malachi looked around, but there was nobody there, leaving Malachi wondering who his attacker was because it did not sound like Dinozzo.

McGee returned to the squad room; Ziva was already there sitting at her desk. McGee offered her a smile before sitting at his desk. Finally, everything could get back to normal around the bullpen. Now to find out how Tony got that damn virus into his computer.

That night:

Everyone was going home, leaving McGee and Ziva behind. Ziva was still working on the reports Tim and Tony dumped on her desk. But once Tony had left, McGee took his half of the reports back and sat down. Ziva smiled, appreciating that McGee was helping her so they could get through the reports faster. Today had been stressful, and now all she wanted to do was to get home.

It was an evening of pleasant conversation, and Ziva always did prefer talking to McGee instead of Tony. And after Ziva's day, she needed McGee to talk to. Even after Gibbs comforted her, Ziva still felt like the monster her father turned her into. Unthinking, unfeeling, killing without remorse. McGee understood what it was like to feel like a monster. After the experiments, he could crush a man's skull with one hand or rip a man in half.

McGee looked at Ziva, took her hand and gently squeezed it. Ziva smiled in appreciation, but she withdrew her hand. "I am nothing but a monster," she whispered.

"No, you're not Ziva," McGee said as he leaned back. Both he and Ziva were sitting on the floor. "Eli didn't give you a choice."

"When I went after Saleem, I didn't think I would survive," Ziva admitted, "A part of me hoped I wouldn't."

"But you did." McGee wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side.

Ziva rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I missed you when I was in Israel," she admitted with a smile.

McGee smiled, "I missed you too." he closed his eyes. This was the first time he had been happy in so long.

Somehow, they ended up falling asleep right there on the floor.

Morning:

Gibbs was staring down at Ziva and McGee; he could not help but be reminded of himself and Shannon before Kelly was born. Ziva was curled into McGee's side, her arms wrapped tight around him with her head resting on his chest. McGee's arms were securely around Ziva, both looking more peaceful than Gibb's had seen before. Gibbs just stood there before turning and walking to his desk as Tony stared in shock. "Uh, boss… Rule 12," he reminded.

Instead of responding, Gibbs smirked and entered the elevator before pressing the button. Hearing the elevator ding, Ziva woke up with a yawn and a quick stretch before nudging McGee awake. Instead, McGee just whined, "5 more minutes" before pulling Ziva back in, causing her to laugh. Tony had never seen her laugh before, but she was laughing now with McGee.

McGee woke eventually, and Ziva and McGee were sent home to change into fresh clothes. McGee had decided to stop off and get some coffees for the team but as he stood in line, he spotted something in the corner of his eyes. When he looked, he spotted a familiar figure crossing the street. At first he thought he was seeing things, but he decided to go and check it out so leaving the coffee shop, he observed the figure walking into an alley.

Jogging across the street, McGee flashed his bag to the cars as his other hand moved to his holster. Entering the alley, McGee drew his gun and walked deeper into the alley with his gun at the ready. Suddenly, he heard a glass bottle smashing behind him and he turned with his gun raised, but there was nothing there. McGee looked suspicious before realization dawned on him.

Spinning back around, he stepped back and dodged the blade aimed at his neck. His attacker swung three more times before McGee slammed the palm of his hand against his attacker's chest. His attacker was knocked back, slamming hard into the dumpster behind him, causing it to cave inwards. McGee raised his gun, aiming his weapon at his downed attacker. His face concealed by long, greying hair and a greying beard.

Slowly, the attacker looked up, and McGee's eyes widened. "Jack?" he whispered, unable to believe his eyes.

Jack was another test subject who McGee believed to have died during the experiments as a child.

But he was alive.

And he was killing the others.