Title: The Dragon Chronicles: New York/DC Community Tales
By: Tiffany F
Pairing: Gil/Nick, Jim/Warrick, Greg/Horatio, Danny/Mac, Speed/Eric, Don/OC
Rating: AO
Series: part of The Dragon Chronicles
Summary: The New York/DC community talks after Horatio leaves. This contiues The Dragon Chronicles and will run concurrantly with the Miami story.
“Is it just me or did Lieutenant Caine run out of here awfully fast?” Mandy asked. She put another plate in the draining board.
“I think something happened in Miami and he needed to be home for it,” Mac replied. “As you get to know him you’ll find that Horatio has a sixth sense about some things; one of them is if someone is lying to him and another is if Miami is in trouble. He loves that city.”
“Well I hope it’s not too bad,” Mandy sighed.
“Hey Mac,” Danny called from the living room. “You should see this!”
Mandy rinsed off her hands and followed Mac into the living room where the others were watching TV. She wasn’t surprised to find the news on, Mandy had wondered if the New York detectives watched anything else when they were home, but the story itself caught her eye.
“Well, now we know why Horatio went out of here like a bat out of hell,” Abby said. “How could anyone do something like that to a co-worker?”
“More easily than you can imagine, Abs,” Gibbs commented. “Seen it a lot and when I caught the bastards responsible they learned pretty quick that it’s not a good idea to beat up the person you could be depending on the next week.”
“Ouch, Gibbs,” Abby said. “Tell me you didn’t maim them for life.”
“Only mentally,” Tony commented, ducking automatically.
“Work, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “I want to find the dirt bag that is killing our service men before he has a chance to strike again.”
Abby bounced on the sofa next to Tony. “We could always send you in undercover, Tony,” she said. “I think you’d look good in a uniform.”
“Navy personnel do not have electric blue highlights in their hair,” Gibbs and DiNozzo chorused. “And I can’t exactly keep my hat on,” Tony continued.
“I wouldn’t mind visiting this bar Kate discovered,” Gibbs said. “Did the waitress have anything useful to say?”
Flack snorted. “She never showed up,” he said. “It’s possible because I was there but it ain’t like I got cop written on my jacket.”
“You do carry a gun, Don,” Danny pointed out. “And it’s visible under the suit.”
“Could just mean I’m mafia, Danny boy,” Flack said easily. “Cops ain’t the only ones in New York who carry guns.”
“Was there another address?” Mac asked.
“The one she gave on her job application was a store house,” Flack said. “We swept it but didn’t find anything useful. No one had been there in months. Found out a couple of officers is allergic to dust.”
Tony laughed. “Not good men to have along on stakeout in an abandoned warehouse,” he said. “Gibbs!”
“You will behave yourself, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “And quit making comments like that. It’s insulting.”
“So I guess Gibbs is going from head slaps to pinching,” Abby commented in an aside to Mandy. “Maybe he’s worried about brain damage.”
“You can’t damage what isn’t there, Abs.”
“Is he always like this?” Mandy asked while trying not to laugh.
“Nope, he’s usually ten times worse,” Abby replied. “But we love him anyway.”
“We do?” Tony asked.
Gibbs reached over, cupped the back of Tony’s head and pulled him in for a very possessive kiss. “Yes, you do,” he purred.
“Yes, boss.” It was obvious that Tony was pretty dazed at that point.
“Mac,” Mandy said. “If it was only the detective that scared the waitress off, maybe it would help if Abby and I were to go. We’re not cops so we don’t have the look.”
“I dunno, I’m pretty scary sometimes,” Abby said.
“And it could be dangerous,” Mac added. “No offense, Mandy, but you’re only sixteen. I had to pull some serious strings to get you the lab internship. I don’t want to think about what the bosses would say about you being out on the street.”
“Then simply don’t tell them,” Mandy said. “I imagine that Danny looks rough enough to take me on a mock date and we could gather information for the NCIS team. I dislike the thought of anyone else being killed if there is something I could do to help prevent it.”
Danny smiled. “Looks like we got us another tough one here, Mac,” he said. “I don’t mind dressing down and taking a pretty young woman out on the town.”
“Let me think about it,” Mac sighed. “There might be other options available that we haven’t explored yet.”
“Like what?” Danny asked.
“I don’t know but I’m determined to think of some before I send you out with Mandy,” Mac replied, trying to ignore the snickers from the others in the room. “I’ll go finish the dishes.”
Mac walked back into the kitchen, not surprised when he heard footsteps behind him. But he didn’t turn, just walked over to the sink and started to scrub a plate.
“You mad at me?” Danny asked quietly.
“No, Danny, I’m not,” Mac said. “I just don’t want Mandy getting the idea that she’s one of us until she graduates. It really is too dangerous to send a sixteen year old out undercover.”
“I just wanted to check because…”
“I know,” Mac interrupted. “I’m starting to get flashes of me standing in the hall at the lab lecturing you, loudly, and the look on your face is painful for me to see. Did I really do that or am I imagining things?”
Danny wrapped his arms around his dragon from behind. “You never did nothing I didn’t deserve,” he said. “I overstepped the bounds a few times and yeah, maybe calling me into your office would’ve been a good thing but we’re here and we’re working through it.”
“You might as well tell him the rest, Danny boy,” Flack commented. “Sorry, I just wanted to grab another beer. I’ll get outta your way.”
“What’s he talking about?” Mac asked.
“After the subway shooting right before you gave me my gun and badge back you told me that someone had recommended you don’t hire me,” Danny said. “You said that you ignored the recommendation and hired me anyway but that after the shooting was the first time you’d regretted it.”
“I didn’t.”
“Yeah, you did,” Danny sighed. “You never told me who it was and I really don’t care no more. I know I can do my job no matter what anyone else says. But if I do find out I ain’t promising I won’t smack ‘em someday.”
Mac dried off his hands and turned, pulling Danny into a tight hug. “I’m sorry for that, Danny,” he whispered against Danny’s smooth neck. “There was no reason for you to know that and, deep down; I think I might have been trying to drive you away.”
“Yeah, well, Stella and Aiden might still have a few things to say about it,” Danny muttered. “But as far as I’m concerned, it’s done. We can’t dwell on the past mistakes we’ve made, Mac, or it’s gonna tear us apart.”
“I love you, Danny,” Mac said. “I really do.”
“I know, Mac, I can feel it,” Danny replied. “And once everyone leaves for the night, I’ll let you show me too.”
“Taylor,” Mac barked into his cell phone after way too little sleep. He and Danny had gone to bed once their friends and fellow community members had left and spent hours learning each other’s bodies and making love. They had collapsed exhausted and fallen asleep where they landed.
“Mac?” Danny asked sleepily.
“Get dressed Danny,” Mac replied. “We’ve got another crime scene.”
Danny stretched and rolled out of bed. “I’m glad we’ve got this bond between us,” he said. “Otherwise I don’t think I’d be able to move.”
“We can slow down if it’s too much for you, Danny,” Mac smirked tossing his human a clean shirt. “We’ll have to bring some of your clothes over here.”
“Do you mean it?” Danny asked.
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t,” Mac replied. He grabbed Danny’s hand and pulled him into a hug. “I love you, Danny Messer and I want you to move in with me.”
Danny’s smile lit up the room. Mac grinned and leaned in to kiss him gently. “Come on, we’ve got a crime scene to process.”
********************
It was a large hotel but both Danny and Mac knew the rooms were cheep by New York City standards. This was the first time they’d been to one of the Navy crime scenes and neither was prepared for the brutality involved. “Stella,” Mac said, looking around, “you should have told me about this sooner.”
“This is the worst I’ve seen, Mac,” Stella replied. “I think they know we’re on to them and this is a statement to that.”
“Did someone call Agent Gibbs?” Mac asked.
“I did,” Danny said. “He and Tony will be here soon, Kate was going to the airport to get someone named Ducky and Abby went to the lab.”
The CSIs set to work processing the scene. When Gibbs arrived, coffee cup in hand, he put Tony to work as well and just stood off to the side. Eventually Mac joined him.
“Is there something wrong, Gibbs?” he asked.
“There’s a scent in here I can’t quite pick up on,” Gibbs replied. “How many of your people know the truth?”
“The girls don’t,” Mac said. “I don’t smell anything.”
“It’s not a physical scent,” Gibbs said. “I can smell when people are insane, lying, upset, hurt or any strong emotion really. It works better if I’m in my dragon form but I can get sniffs, if you will, while human-shaped.”
“So what are you smelling?”
“It’s almost like there was an insane man in here tonight,” Gibbs said. “And I don’t mean crazy, I mean full out send them to a rubber room and throw away the key. I think we’re looking in the wrong direction.” He raised his voice. “DiNozzo!”
“Yes boss?”
“Call the yard and get them to send you the records of all men discharged on mental issues over the past twenty years,” Gibbs said.
“Right away, boss.”
Mac smiled. “I think I see where you’re going with this,” he said. “But if our suspect is someone who lost a child to combat why would he be killing random men?”
“With insanity there is no firm why,” Gibbs sighed. “I want to see pictures of all the victims in a line-up. What physical characteristics do they have in common? That blasted bar can’t be our only connection. Today, DiNozzo.”
Stella looked over at the silver-haired NCIS agent in shock. “You just told him to make the call a minute ago,” she said.
“And?” Gibbs asked.
“It takes time,” Stella said patiently.
“Not on my cases it doesn’t,” Gibbs said.
“What a bastard,” Aiden muttered under her breath, not knowing that two men in the room had exceptional hearing.
Gibbs grinned. “Thanks,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.
********************
Dr. Sheldon Hawkes looked up from his latest “guest” when he heard voices in the hall, voices he didn’t know but were getting louder by the moment.
“I must say, Caitlin, I don’t know why Jethro felt it necessary to call me at one in the morning when he knows how hard it is for me to get away unexpectedly. Mother was most cross and her nurse wasn’t pleased either,” the male voice was saying, an accent shading most of the words but it wasn’t unpleasant to listen to. “Furthermore I know the medical staff in New York is some of the finest in the nation and I don’t see why Jethro needs me to fly here just to review their reports and make sure that everything is running smoothly. Is he in a bad mood again?”
“I really couldn’t say, Ducky.” That was a woman. “Gibbs has been acting strange since he and Tony took Abby to Vegas.”
“Oh my, an extended vacation with Abby to one of the wildest cities in the world? I simply must ask for pictures,” the man, Ducky chuckled.
Hawkes looked up as the door to the morgue opened and two people walked in. The dark haired woman stayed to the back but the older man walked right up to the table and took off his hat. “Hello, I’m Doctor Donald Mallard of Naval Criminal Investigative Services,” he said. “Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
“I’m Sheldon Hawkes, ME,” he replied. “What can I do for you, Doctor?”
“Oh I’m afraid my friend Jethro is in a fit about the naval men who have been killed in your fair city and while I’m sure you’ve done a fine job with their autopsies nothing will do for Jethro but to have me review them. I do hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Hawkes said, as easy going as ever. “I heard we had some feds in town but haven’t had a chance to meet them. The city has gone a little crazy these past couple of days and I’ve been sleeping here.”
Ducky chuckled as he took off his coat and hung it on one of the coat racks that were placed along the long room. “I know exactly what you mean,” he said. “I work out of the NCIS yard in Washington DC and sometimes I’ve only finished three bodies only to be called out to two more. Do you know we actually…”
“Ducky,” the female interrupted. “I think Gibbs really wants you to look at those reports.”
“Oh, of course, Kate,” Ducky said. “Of course. But Dr. Hawkes is a little busy at the moment and there can’t be any harm in trying to find a decent cup of tea is there? The airlines still haven’t managed to figure out that one simply must have milk in ones tea.”
Hawkes smiled, liking the older ME. “I have a hot plate in my room back there,” he said pointing. “And I’m sure someone could find you some milk. This won’t take me too much longer and then I’ll be able to find those files for you.”
“Much appreciated, thank you,” Ducky smiled. “Now Kate, don’t you worry about a thing. I will deal with Jethro as I always do when he comes in demanding answers from me. You just run along to the crime scene and see what trouble they’ve managed to unearth this time.”
“DUCKY!”
“Abby,” Ducky smiled, pulling the Goth into a hug. “How are you my dear girl? Vegas now, you’ll have to tell me everything.”
“Oh it was so awesome, Duck-man,” Abby said. “I’m here to see if Dr. Hawkes has anything for me on this dead seaman and then I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Nothing yet, Abby,” Hawkes said. “I’ll send it your way if I find anything.”
“Okay, thanks,” Abby smiled. “Now then Ducky, what do you want to know?”
Tony snickered as he worked to get the pictures of their victims hung up on the glass walls of Mac’s office. Stella and Aiden didn’t realize how good his hearing was and they were talking about Gibbs. “I can’t believe he treats his people like that,” Aiden was saying. “And they just seem to take it.” “He is a jerk but I did some checking,” Stella replied, “and his team has one of the highest solve rates at NCIS. I guess their team dynamic is just different than ours.” “Actually he prefers bastard to jerk,” Tony commented not turning around. “Or any other name you might be tempted to call him. Gibbs is like a fine wine, he’s improved with age and…ouch! Sorry boss.” “Wine is nothing but rotten grapes, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said sipping his coffee. “If you’re gonna be comparing me to alcohol at least have the decency to pick something good. What did they send you?” “These are our victims,” Tony replied. “First to last in order left to right. Each one was on leave but some were overnights, a couple were ten day and one was six months before going overseas. I don’t think that’s our connection.” Gibbs walked slowly along the line of pictures. “They all look alike,” he said. “Brown hair, brown eyes, same build. That say anything to you, DiNozzo.” “It didn’t at first but I looked into their files and they were all the same height and within five pounds of each other,” Tony reported. “Boss, I think we might be looking in the wrong direction with the insanity idea. I think we’ve got someone taking out revenge over and over again.” “But what wrong are they trying to fix?” Gibbs asked. “Kate what did you find?” “There’s nothing that links our victims together other than physical characteristics and the fact that they’re all in the Navy,” she replied. “I left Ducky in the morgue with a stack of folders and a pot of tea. He said he’ll call you when he has something.” “The hell he will,” Gibbs snarled storming out of the office. “You really do get used to him,” Tony grinned. “He used to be worse.” “How can anyone be worse than that?” Aiden asked. “He was married,” Kate and Tony chorused and went back to their folders. They knew better than anyone that they’d better have some answers for their boss when he got back if they wanted to keep him happy. ******************** “Ducky!” Gibbs yelled. “Oh for goodness sake Jethro,” Ducky replied from a desk off to the left of the door. “There’s no need to make so much noise. One would think you wish to raise the dead the way you’re always shouting so. And before you ask I do not have any information that you have not already reviewed. Dr. Hawkes here is a very good and thorough ME. Why you felt the need to pull me away as you did I don’t know.” “Because I know you, Duck, and you know how I work.” “Impatiently,” Ducky muttered. “No, Jethro, I fear the answers you seek are not to be found in the autopsy reports of these unfortunate gentlemen.” “Are you suggesting or stating?” Gibbs demanded. Ducky picked up his cup of tea. “At this point I’ve only had a chance to review half of the reports,” he said. “Give me time and I’ll know for a fact that there’s nothing here. Now please go and torment Abby for a while and leave me to read. You are dreadfully distracting.” Gibbs snorted and grinned. “That’s another reason I wanted you here, Duck.” “What was he talking about?” Hawkes asked when they were alone again, not counting the bodies awaiting his attention. “I’m the only one who will stand up to him and let him know he’s being a complete and total bastard,” Ducky chuckled. “Everyone else is too afraid of him to say anything and while it does tend to keep his team in line it also gets a little distracting.” “I heard that!” Gibbs’ voice echoed down the hall. ******************** A hand shot out of a closet and pulled Gibbs in. “You got a death wish, DiNozzo?” “I thought you needed something to help you relax, boss,” Tony said dropping to his knees. “And Mac told me about this handy room with no windows and a lock.” He undid Gibbs’ fly and reached inside for his growing erection. “I know we don’t have much time, Jethro, but will you let me taste you?” “Tony,” Gibbs moaned, leaning back against the door. He bit his lip as his cock was taken into Tony’s mouth and his human started sucking. Gibbs let himself go and just feel the various sensations that were rushing through his body, his hands resting on Tony’s hair. He distantly noted the change in texture where Abby’s dye had worked its magic. Gibbs didn’t really want to tell Tony the truth but he loved the highlights and wanted to try and find a way to let his young human keep them. “Damn Tony,” Gibbs panted coming down from the orgasmic high. “What about you?” “I’ll be fine, Jethro,” Tony replied. He stood and leaned in to kiss his dragon. “At least until we get back to the hotel for the night.” Gibbs straightened his clothes. “I hate to admit it, Tony, but I’m stuck,” he said. “Get your mind out of the gutter; I meant the case.” “Sorry boss,” Tony snickered. “Then it’s a good thing I came up with the solution then, isn’t it?” “Well?” “Danny’s the one who put me on the track,” Tony said. “There was a Navy seaman arrested here in New York about a year ago for several rape charges. Danny thought the victims of these murders looked familiar and went looking for the case.” “The murderer is one of the rape victims looking for a way to take back the power she lost,” Gibbs said. “Yes and no, boss,” Tony grinned. “One of the victims was the waitress from that bar Kate found but another one was her boyfriend.” “She’s the bait and he’s the killer,” Gibbs said. “Or they’re both the killers; but she’s the key. We’ve got to find her.” Tony leaned in and kissed Gibbs, his tongue pushing into his dragon’s mouth. “I fit the profile, Jethro,” he whispered, licking Gibbs’ lower lip. “I think we’ll have to send me in.” “I don’t like it, Tony,” Gibbs said. “I don’t either, boss, but do we really have a choice in the matter?” Tony asked. “I do make good bait after all.” “Sometimes I think you’re too good looking for your own good,” Gibbs snorted. “All right, find a uniform somewhere and get Abby to redye your hair. I’ll work with the CSIs to get everything else set up.” “And I’ll be careful, boss.” Gibbs pulled Tony back for one last kiss. “I know you will, DiNozzo,” he said. “Because you know if you die I’ll hunt your ass down and kill you.” “I’d never do anything to put you in danger, Jethro,” Tony said seriously. “I love you too much.”
“Mac, can we talk?” “Tell me again why I have to do this,” Tony said. He was sitting on the floor of his hotel room, towels around him and Abby kneeling next to him with a pair of scissors. The pub was dimly lit and about half full when the sailor walked in. He looked around as if expecting to see someone but sighed and made his way to the bar instead. Ordering a root beer as if it was the most natural thing in the world he moved to a booth against the far wall and looked around again. His hazel eyes never lit on one person but kept moving. Finally the waitress went over and asked him if everything was okay. “Before you go home do you think you could tell us about your first Change?” Danny asked as he put the plates down in front of the DC members of their community. “So you guys had no idea what was going on?” Danny asked. He took another bite of his toast. “Don told me if a dragon and his human don’t complete the bond in a day then they both get sick and die.” “Hey Stella, wait up,” Danny called. He knew better than to run in the lab but quickened his steps so he caught up with the older woman. “Mac says you wanted to talk to me?” Mac was stunned as what he thought was a hurricane hit his office around four that afternoon.
Mac was back at his desk making an attempt on some of the more administrative paperwork that landed on his desk and trying to ignore the emotions he could feel from Danny. They’d established that no matter how far apart they were Mac could always feel Danny but as close as they were it was distracting. His human was in the trace lab working with every piece of evidence from their missing body homicide and was focused on his task. But he was also happy and content and Mac didn’t want to think about how close he’d come to losing Danny; to chasing him away from a job he loved and was good at. “Abby, until I can get someone there I need you in charge,” Mac said. He still wasn’t up to speed on all the various dragon politics but figured if Gibbs was down then he was in command of their community. “And I need you to tell me what happened.” When Grissom arrived in New York he caught a taxi from the airport to the crime lab. He wasn’t too worried as Mandy said she’d meet him there in the morning and take him to school but he didn’t know anyone at the lab in New York and he didn’t know what his reception would be. And it was an unusual feeling for Grissom to be so unsure of himself, normally he walked into a place and managed to find a place he could fit in in a matter of minutes but now he knew he was walking on to another dragon’s turf and if he wasn’t careful he and Gibbs would get into it again. When Gil and Mandy left the classroom after an hour of questions and discussion they found the headmaster and Mandy’s teacher waiting for them in the hall. Mandy moved behind Gil a little to shield herself from the glares from the two men. Grissom had been to Washington DC a few times for various conventions and to, of course, see the sights and culture their capital had to offer. But it was the first time he’d been picked up by a Goth who stood taller than him and flung herself into his arms the moment he was through security. Mac, Danny, Don and Mandy all went back to Mac’s apartment for supper when they were off-shift that evening. Mac wanted a chance to compare notes on their most recent case where they couldn’t be overheard by anyone else and also to get Mandy’s perspective on the case. He almost wished he was sixteen and had such an unbiased view of the world. Mac looked up from the folder in front of him when he heard a commotion in the lab. He grinned and shook his head; Adam had just noticed Abby and had called to her and the two were talking in the hall with Mandy. Then Gibbs stalked past the three young kids and up into Mac’s office, not even bothering to knock on the door. “You’re doing what?” Mac exclaimed staring at his human in shock.
Danny hadn’t even finished pulling the keys from his pocket when the door flew open and he was pulled inside. He heard the door slam shut and the lock click but Mac’s mouth on his neck was distracting him from thinking clearly. “Your DNA techs called last night and said the rape kit from that dancer in the park came back a match to your chief of detectives,” Gibbs said. “With the knife found under her it gives me probable cause to talk to him.’
“Sure, Stella,” Mac replied. He put his pen down and leaned back in his desk chair. “Good work with the co-ordination between our lab and NCIS by the way.”
“They’re easy to work with, except Gibbs,” Stella said. She sank into one of the chairs in Mac’s office. “I’ve never seen such a demanding and impatient man in charge of a team before and they just take it. DiNozzo actually defended his boss earlier!”
“Tell me something, Stella,” Mac said. “If you overheard someone criticizing me wouldn’t you jump in and tell them off?”
She smiled. “Sure, Mac, but you’re actually human,” Stella said. She frowned when he started laughing. “What?”
“There are those that would disagree,” he said. “My point is that Gibbs has his own style of leadership and it works for him. I know you did some checking and know what their solve rate is. If the team members weren’t happy then it wouldn’t be that high.”
“Fine, I’ll let it go but if you ever start hitting any of us then I will hurt you,” Stella said. “I was wondering how you and Danny are doing.”
“The head slap is a good wake-up call,” Mac said. “And I told you; Danny and I have some issues but they will remain between us and we’re working through them. He’s not going to leave the lab if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Then why did he leave his gun and phone here?”
“He didn’t say,” Mac said. “When I found him in the park we went out to dinner with some friends who happened to be there and then talked about things. Danny will be fine, he’s a strong man Stella, and he knows what he’s doing.”
Stella narrowed her eyes at him. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” she said. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mac said. “I’ll admit to not telling you about Danny because, frankly, it’s none of your business but otherwise it’s just business as usual.”
Abby burst into the room. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said. “But you have to see this and Gibbs is gone with Tony to find a uniform and other stuff for tonight.”
“Its okay, Abby,” Mac smiled. “What did you find and would you consider a transfer?”
“Oh, no way could I ever leave NCIS,” Abby said grinning. “Gibbs and Tony understand me and that means more than anything to me. But I’ll definitely be up to visit Mandy so you’re not totally getting rid of me. Now I thought I’d double check the findings on the sheets from the hotels and I found this.” She handed Mac a folder. “It’s a semen sample. I’ve sent it over to DNA and they’re running it right now.”
“Good work, Abby,” Mac said. “I wonder why this wasn’t found the first time around.”
“That’s easy,” Abby said. “It was down under the corners of the fitted sheet and I only saw it because I’m like super careful when going over things. Gibbs hasn’t slapped me, yet, but I know if I mess up on something simple like this he will.”
Stella looked up from the report. “Abby, how can you respect someone who you’re afraid is going to hit you?” she asked.
“Simple,” Abby said. “Gibbs rocks.”
Mac glanced at his watch. “Didn’t Gibbs want you at the hotel at five?” he asked.
“I didn’t know it was so late,” Abby exclaimed. “I’ve got to run but he’ll forgive me because I was actually doing something to help the case.”
********************
“What did Stella want?” Danny asked as he let the glass door swing shut behind him.
“Just being a mother hen again,” Mac replied. “She wanted to know why you left your gun and phone in my office like you did and what’s going on between us.”
“That was the only way I could think of to get a message to you that you’d understand,” Danny said. “I snuck back in while you were on the phone. What else did you tell her?”
“I didn’t know you could move so quietly, Danny,” Mac said. “I’m impressed. And I didn’t tell her anything else. My memories still aren’t that great but I do remember telling Stella that anything between you and me would remain that way. She’s a wonderful woman but this isn’t something she can fix.”
Danny sighed and looked at the glass walls. “If I could right now I’d hold your hand,” he said. “I keep telling you, Mac; I messed up and you reacted, maybe harder than you needed to but I don’t fault you for it. It just all got to be too much there at the end and that’s why I left my gun. I dunno, maybe I was trying to get fired so I wouldn’t have to see the look in your eyes.”
“What look was that, Danny?”
“You were disappointed in me,” Danny whispered. “I never want to see that look in your eyes again, Mac.”
“You won’t because we’re not going to let anything get that bad again between us,” Mac said firmly. “Now, are we backing up Tony tonight?”
“Donnie and I are gonna be outside,” Danny said. “I think Gibbs muttered something about you and Stella in the car with them. I don’t know about the others.”
“They’ll probably want us to meet them at the hotel and if they don’t want us around we’ll leave,” Mac said. “But Abby just ran out of here so we should probably go too. I don’t know their timeline.”
********************
“Because you need to look like you’re just off a ship, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “And that means a hair cut not just dying it back to the normal brown.”
Abby grinned. “You can trust me, Tony,” she said. “And it’ll grow back in no time. Besides I think it’ll look really hot.”
“You think so?” Tony asked.
“Absolutely, the women will be going crazy over you,” Abby replied. “You’ll have to beat them off with a stick to get the time to actually work tonight.”
Kate shook her head. “Do we really think this will work?” she asked.
“No loss if it doesn’t,” Gibbs commented.
“Gibbs!” Tony and Abby exclaimed.
“Get to work, Abby,” Gibbs sighed. “There are days I feel like a preschool teacher instead of a federal agent.”
Tony wished at that moment that he and Gibbs had the silent communication talent rather than Gibbs’ ability to smell out problems because there were a lot of things he wanted to tell his dragon that he couldn’t with Kate and Ducky in the room. The ME had finished his reading and decided that he wanted to see the case to a close as there really wasn’t anything for him to do in DC. The rest of the team knew he was enjoying the time away from his mother.
The dragon looked over at his human with a small smile. He knew that Tony was biting back some sharp and pointed words and figured he’d hear all about it once Kate and Abby were gone. Gibbs figured that he could head Tony off by grabbing him and tossing him on the bed and make him forget everything but them and their bond. It had to be worth a try.
“Yeah, some buds of mine wrote and told me about this place. They said it was the place to come while on shore leave because of all the beautiful women around,” the sailor said. “But I think they were pulling my leg because the only beautiful woman in here is you.”
“Well thank you,” she said obviously flattered. “I’m Tessa, what’s your name?”
“Tony,” the sailor said. He sipped his pop. “I’m only in town for a couple of days and this is the first place I hit. I think I’m gonna move on though, see if my memory is serving me right about a couple of other places.”
Tessa smiled. “If you can wait an hour I’m off shift and I’ll show you some fun places.”
He looked her up and down slowly. “I think I’d like that.”
********************
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Mac asked. He and Gibbs were in an unmarked van parked down the street from the bar where they could monitor Tony without being obvious. Danny and Flack were parked in a car half a block in the other direction while Kate and Stella were behind the building in an alley.
“What’s that?” Gibbs asked as he sipped his coffee.
“Hearing your human flirt with a woman like that.”
“Nope.”
“Why not?” Mac asked.
“Because Tony and I have been together for so long,” Gibbs replied. “I know and he knows who he belongs to. If he has to flirt a little, take a woman out on a date to get the job done then that’s what he has to do. Doesn’t bother me a bit ‘less he kisses them.”
Mac grinned. “I imagine he got more than a head slap while he was learning that particular rule.”
“Oh yeah,” Gibbs said. “And I’ve got plans for him once we’re done here and these dirt bags are in jail.”
“So you’ll be heading back to DC then?” Mac asked.
“Yep; you may not feel ready for it but when I leave you’re gonna have to take over the beta duties for the city,” Gibbs said. “I have a feeling you’re not the only dragon up here and if another one shows up then he’ll be your direct responsibility unless something major happens and you need me to come up.”
“I don’t know how this is going to work out,” Mac said. “I know next to nothing about this world and you guys are telling me I’m basically SIC to you. We’re going to be in two different cities trying to co-ordinate everything between us and I can just see so many problems popping up.”
Gibbs snorted. “I never thought I’d hear myself say this but that’s what cell phones and email are for,” he said. “If we didn’t have a way to keep in touch all the time I wouldn’t even be agreeing to this plan. But you know how to command, you’re able to watch out for the people you care about and I think as long as we talk every night we should be able to head off most problems at the pass.”
“I think Tony and Danny are going to talk constantly anyway,” Mac said. “Which is good because Danny can learn from Tony the same way I’m learning from you.”
“Don’t forget about Flack and Mandy,” Gibbs said. “Those two will be able to help you guys out a lot; if you can keep Mandy out of trouble. She reminds me a lot of Abby.”
“I know and I think it’s going to be a long two years until she’s legal,” Mac groaned. “What was that?”
“I think they’re getting ready to leave,” Gibbs said. “I thought the bitch said an hour.”
“Maybe she made a phone call and her boyfriend is ready now,” Mac said. “Did everyone copy that? They’re getting ready to move.”
********************
It was only because Tony was paying attention to his surroundings that he wasn’t taken by surprise when Tessa led him up a fire escape. He spared a thought that her other victims must have been drunk or drugged to follow her up the rusty metal structure to the roof of a building.
“I thought you said you were going to show me a good time,” he said as he looked around, his keen eyes searching the shadows for forms that shouldn’t be there. “I thought maybe another bar or maybe even a hotel.”
“I’ve got a friend who lives in this building and she’s going to meet us up here,” Tessa replied. “Then we can go back to her apartment and have some fun.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tony said and ducked as he heard the air behind him move.
He came up with his gun drawn and leveled at the man who had tried to hit him on the head with a piece of metal pipe. “Federal agent, drop your weapon,” he said slowly and clearly. “Don’t make me shoot you.”
“DiNozzo drop!” Mac’s voice echoed through the night.
Tony reacted to the command and dropped flat to the roof top. He saw ice blue as Gibbs’ front foot descended to pin the woman who had been trying to sneak around behind him. The dragon leaned in and hissed at her before picking up the man in his teeth.
“Now Gibbs, if you drop him we’ll lose our case,” Tony said. He stood up and holstered his gun. “Just put him down over there next to Mac and the others and let them deal with these dirt bags.”
By that time Mac’s team had both suspects surrounded as well as they could with the dragon on the roof with them. Tony grinned. “Jethro, you’ll need to Change back quickly before Kate and Stella get here.”
Gibbs Changed back to human form just as the women in question came out the door. “Uniforms have her friend in custody,” Stella reported. “How’d it go up here?”
“We got ‘em,” Danny said. “Although Gibbs and DiNozzo did all the work; Mac, Flack and I just watched.”
********************
Tony was surprised when strong arms wrapped around him as he was fixing the chain on the hotel door. Gibbs took advantage of his surprise and picked his human up and threw him on the bed where Tony landed, laughing. “What’s got in to you, boss?”
“Nothing yet, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “I’ve been thinking about you and a bed since Abs was cutting your hair.”
“You liked it, didn’t you, Jethro?”
“I’m going to miss the long hair,” Gibbs admitted as he stripped off his clothes. “But the blue highlights would have caused us some issues.”
Tony toed off his shoes and reached for his belt. “I talked with Abby,” he said. “We’re going to do the highlights again, but in a way that the director won’t object to.”
“Speed it up there, Tony,” Gibbs said.
“Why not take it slow for once?”
“Not in a hotel,” Gibbs said. He stretched out over his human and took Tony’s mouth in a soft but heated kiss. Tony opened to him immediately and Gibbs’ tongue snuck in to play. He rolled them so both dragon and human were lying on their sides, legs twined together as Gibbs let his hands caress and rub Tony’s back and slowly teased around until he could pinch the nipples that had hardened for him.
“Love you, Jethro,” Tony whispered. He slowly untangled their legs and shifted around until he could feel his dragon’s erection pressing up against him. “Need you.”
Gibbs growled low in his throat and pressed home, the growl turning to a choked off moan as Tony’s heat surrounded him. He stilled for a moment to enjoy the feelings that were running through his body before pulling back and thrusting forward sharply setting the rhythm between them.
********************
“That was a little too close,” Danny commented as he curled up against Mac on the sofa. “I thought for sure Stella was gonna see Gibbs like that and then everything’d change.”
“Everything is changing, Danny,” Mac replied. “Me included; but you’re right. I think when Mandy comes home again I should ask her how I can avoid doing just that. The last thing we need right now is for anyone else at the lab to know what’s going on.”
Danny sighed and closed his eyes. “You’re the boss,” he said softly.
“I’ll admit to a certain curiosity about that, myself,” Mac added. “Are all first Changes the same?”
Abby grinned. “Nope and Gibbs is so damn stubborn he almost ruined it.” She laughed and moved away. “I’m too quick for you, Gibbs; you’ll never be able to hit me.”
Flack looked up from the TV. “It might make a good teaching tool and you guys promised to answer their questions while Mandy was gone,” he said. “And then I’d be able to hear the sports report.”
“This is more important than sports,” Mac said turning off the TV.
“Nothing is more important than hockey right now,” Don argued. He grabbed for the remote and missed. “I’ll just have to look it up when I get to work then.”
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee. “You’ll have to help me with parts of this, Tony, because I don’t remember a lot of what happened in the park.”
“Sweet, story time,” Abby said.
********************
Tony DiNozzo was anxious. He knew he’d impressed NCIS Special Agent Gibbs because the man had recruited him for his team. But by the time Tony arrived at the NCIS building, finished all his employment paperwork, got his badge and gun and made his way to the bullpen area he realized there was no team. It was just Gibbs.
And the man was a mystery. He’d ignored all of Tony’s attempts at conversation and just kept snapping at him to get back to work. After a month Tony realized that his boss really was a bastard and, in a strange way, Tony kinda liked it. He liked the work too; for all that Gibbs was a bastard he seemed to care about the victims and their families. Tony liked to watch Gibbs work a crime scene, to see him so focused on what he was doing made Tony believe he’d made the right choice.
From the ever talkative Dr. Ducky Mallard Tony learned Gibbs had been married three times and was divorced. Tony was also warned not to mention any of the ex’s unless he wanted to find out exactly how much of a bastard Gibbs could be. Then there was Abby, a young woman Tony fell in love with the moment he saw her and instantly adopted her as a sister. They fell into an easy sibling relationship and had fun on their lunch hours talking about everything and anything.
When the case of a young two-year-old and her mother vanishing from a local part came to them both Gibbs and Tony forgot about everything else, including sleep, to do what they could to locate the victims. The father, a sergeant overseas, was frantic when no ransom was received. Gibbs finally asked to bring the man home.
********************
“Whatcha got, Abs?” Gibbs asked as he put the large caff-pow down next to the Goth tech.
“It’s more what I’m not getting that interests me,” Abby replied. “Okay this is what’s bugging me. On your computer Gibbs you have all your…sorry; Tony on your computer you have letters, emails, pictures and stuff like that. But I’m not finding anything on here or the victim’s laptop.”
“She had a toddler, Abby,” Gibbs said. “Maybe she just didn’t have the time to do stuff on the computer.”
Abby sighed. “Her husband is out of the country, Gibbs,” she said. “Don’t you think they’d be keeping in touch via email and IM as well as the phone? I mean, come on, this isn’t like the Stone Age or something.”
“That’s a good point, Abby,” Tony said. “Were the files just erased?”
“If they were then it was by a pro,” Abby said looking back at the monitor. “I’m not even finding email of pictures of the daughter on here. Nothing; it’s like this is a brand new lap top and computer. Oh.”
“So why would someone buy a new computer?” Gibbs asked.
“Gibbs, you really need to get out more,” Abby exclaimed. “There are tons of reasons to buy new computers.”
“Tons huh?” Gibbs snorted. “I bet you can’t give me five.”
Abby looked at him for a minute, eyes narrowed. “How much, Gibbs?”
“Ten.”
“You’re on!” Abby said. “The most popular reason is because of new features or hardware; more memory, more speed, change in brand name because of problems or dissatisfaction or its old and breaks. Hah, pay up Gibbs.”
“DiNozzo, check their bank and credit card accounts,” Gibbs said.
“On it, boss,” Tony replied. He left the lab and tried not to laugh; he could hear Abby demanding her ten dollars loudly.
********************
“I think we’ve got a problem, boss,” Tony reported a few hours later. “The bank accounts have been drained and closed. The credit card is showing the purchase of two airline tickets. I was just about to call the airline and find out the destination.”
“What’s going on, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked. “Why would a woman suddenly pack up and leave making it look like a kidnapping and leave everything behind?”
“That’s easy, boss; she’s scared,” Tony said.
“Afraid of what?” Gibbs asked. “Her husband is gone for another six months and hasn’t been home. Everything we’ve found shows no contact with other men and limited contact with the other wives on base.”
Tony shrugged. “She was scared enough to buy a new computer and laptop before she went,” he said. “Whatever it was, it was big.”
“Do you think they’re still alive, Tony?”
Relishing the first time his boss had ever used his first name Tony tried not to smile. “They were an hour ago, boss; they’re on a plane to Ireland.”
********************
With their non-victim in another country Gibbs ordered Tony to start digging deeper to try and figure out exactly what happened to send the woman running. Gibbs decided while his young agent was working he’d go and conduct some interviews around base and see if there wasn’t an answer they were missing.
As he drove Gibbs reflected yet again on Tony DiNozzo. He didn’t regret hiring him for a moment, once again his gut had been right and he was please at how well he worked with Tony. The younger man didn’t seem to mind that his boss was a complete bastard most of the time. Gibbs knew that Tony had spent a lot of time with Ducky and Abby and had most likely been told to either agree with whatever Gibbs said when he was upset or to keep quiet and out of he way. He couldn’t stop the smile that formed when the thought popped into his mind that Tony was a Golden Retriever puppy, all big eyes and ready to please.
********************
“Gibbs!”
“Boss, it’s Tony,” the young man said choosing to ignore the bark in Gibbs’ tone. “I just received a phone call from an unidentified man stating that we’d get all the answers we wanted if we went to the park where our victims vanished tonight at midnight.”
“Did you agree, DiNozzo?”
“They didn’t give me a chance to, boss; he hung up before I could say anything or try and trace the call.”
“And doesn’t that strike you as the least bit suspicious, Tony?”
“Yes boss, it does,” Tony said. “It feels like a trap.”
“Then its one we’re going to spring,” Gibbs grinned. “Meet me out front; I’ll pick you up.”
********************
The park was dark lit only occasionally by lamps or the headlights of cars driving past. Tony wondered what the young mother had been doing there with her daughter at night, if they’d been in the park at all. “Hey boss, I just thought of something.”
“You waiting for an invitation, DiNozzo?”
“I think we were the ones who were set up, not the victim,” Tony said. “We never found any evidence at the crime scene to suggest a struggle or an abduction. What if there never was one? What if they never were in the park?”
“Then someone has a lot to answer for,” Gibbs said. “This is the place, Tony; keep your eyes open.”
“You got it, boss.”
The NCIS agents made their way out of the car and into the shelter of some trees. Tony had filled in the conversation a little more saying that the mystery caller had told him to go back to the crime scene and they would find all the answers they needed. Gibbs had decided that their crime scene was too remote to just walk into without looking around first and they’d start in the trees that had been nearby. He didn’t plan to get himself or his agent killed just because it looked like a chance to find some easy answers.
Gibbs wasn’t sure what caught his attention. It might have been a shadow that moved wrong or the dull gleam of light off a pipe but he knew that he and Tony were not alone.
********************
Tony was looking around to make sure that he and his boss were alone in the trees when something slammed into him from behind and knocked him through the air to land a few feet away from the trees. Groggy, he sat up and shook his head, turning to look back for his boss.
In the trees was a large ice blue…..lizard. Tony’s mind whispered dragon but he knew that such a creature wasn’t real and he refused to be teased for believing otherwise. He stood up and slowly made his way towards the creature and froze when its head turned and looked at him with very familiar blue eyes.
“Boss?” Tony whispered. “I must have a concussion or something because there’s no way that’s Gibbs.”
The dragon, Tony groaned as his mind supplied the word again and he finally decided to give in; it wasn’t like he was going to be telling anyone else about this any time soon, looked at him and Tony would swear it winked. He grinned, all his nerves gone, and made his way over to the dragon and reached out to touch it. The ice blue scales were glowing in the moon light and Tony was enchanted by the sparkle.
He jumped back, tripping over a tree root when the dragon started to shimmer like a heat mirage and morphed back into his boss.
“What the hell is going on, DiNozzo?”
“I don’t know, boss; but I think I hit my head,” Tony replied. He blinked a few times before standing up and getting in close to Gibbs, staring into his eyes. “I know what I saw but I can’t possibly have seen it.”
“You are going to tell me everything, DiNozzo,” Gibbs snapped. “And then we’re going to get that hard head of yours checked out.”
“That’s true,” Tony agreed. “But we got lucky.”
“I ran into hurricane Abby,” Gibbs said.
********************
“Oh my god, Gibbs!” Abby exclaimed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her desk. “When did it happen? Who was it? Where were you?”
“What are you talking about, Abs?” Gibbs asked.
“You Changed,” Abby replied. “I didn’t realize you were a dragon. This is so cool!”
He glared at her. “What are you talking about, Abby?” Gibbs demanded.
“You have no idea?” Abby’s eyes went wide. “Gibbs, what did you do last night?”
“DiNozzo and I went to the park to try and find a suspect,” Gibbs said. “He tripped over a tree root and hit his head so I took him home and told him to come in at noon. He was talking nonsense.”
“What, Gibbs?”
“The same crap you’re talking about,” Gibbs said. “He told me some fantasy story about dragons and how he saw me shift back from one.”
“It’s not a shift, Gibbs, it’s a Change,” Abby said. “Come on, we have to go see Tony. You need to talk with him right now because he’s going to think he was seeing things when he wasn’t.” She paused at the door. “Gibbs, come on!”
“And if I refuse?”
Abby grabbed his arm and pulled him out. “You can’t, Gibbs, because this is too important.”
********************
Tony rolled over onto his back and sighed again. He hadn’t wanted to tell his boss what he’d seen in the park but there was something about Gibbs’ piercing blue eyes that made him want to be honest. So he’d told his boss everything and just as he finished Tony could see that Gibbs didn’t believe a word he was saying. But Tony knew he’d seen the ice blue dragon with his boss’ eyes and he’d watched that dragon shift back into his boss.
He wondered if he’d screwed everything up, if his boss even wanted Tony to come back to work. Tony groaned and covered his eyes with his left arm. He didn’t want to lose his job at NCIS but Tony didn’t really see how he could keep working with Gibbs if the older man thought he was seeing things or lying about what he saw at scenes.
“Get dressed, DiNozzo.”
“Boss, what are you doing here?” Tony asked. He sat up and let the covers pool in his lap. “How did you get in?”
“Spare key,” Gibbs replied. “Abby wants to talk with us about last night.” He tore his eyes away from his agent’s bare chest. “You got any coffee around here, DiNozzo?”
Tony grinned. “You’re in my bedroom, boss,” he said. “Don’t you think you could call me Tony?”
Gibbs stalked over to the bed and leaned down. His hand shot out and wrapped around the back of Tony’s head. “Don’t tempt me, Tony,” he whispered. “Don’t force my hand and make me do something we’ll both regret.”
“I won’t regret it,” Tony said softly. He leaned in a little, “Jethro.” He grabbed his boss’ jacket and pulled the older man onto the bed.
Rather than answering, Gibbs pulled Tony in against him and took his mouth in a claiming kiss, moaning softly when Tony’s mouth opened to his tongue. As Gibbs mapped his partner’s mouth the younger man’s hands worked to push the light gray jacket off.
A squeak from the door broke the men apart. Abby was standing there, her eyes wide and hands over her mouth. Gibbs turned and glared at her. “Would you shut the door, Abs?” he asked calmly, hand carding through Tony’s hair.
“I’ll turn up the TV too,” Abby said and made a fast exit slamming the door behind her.
“You sure about this, Tony?” Gibbs asked. “I’m not letting you go any time soon.”
“I’m sure,” Tony replied. He ran his hands up under Gibbs’ black polo and white undershirt. “I want you so bad it hurts.”
“You got supplies?”
“We just had our blood work done, Jethro,” Tony replied. “We’re both clean and I’m not worried but there’s lube in the drawer there.”
Gibbs frowned. “Are you always this relaxed?”
“Of course not, Gibbs,” Ton said. He started working at his partner’s belt and black slacks. “I haven’t had a partner in months and I’m not stupid.”
“Still,” Gibbs said. He moaned as Tony’s cool fingers wrapped around his erection. “Are you telling me you never use condoms?”
“I’m not stupid, Jethro,” Tony said. “I’ve never slept with a woman without protection.”
The older man shifted around so his weight was pushing Tony into the mattress. “What about men, Tony?” Gibbs was almost dreading the answer.
“You’re the first,” Tony admitted. “But I want you, Jethro. Please don’t leave me like this; I need you in my body, to feel you moving inside me.”
Gibbs groaned and leaned down to kiss Tony, their tongues tangling as Gibbs rubbed Tony’s smooth skin. He broke the kiss and as Tony lay gasping Gibbs started kissing down his partner’s neck to his chest. His tongue flicked through Tony’s chest hair to tease a nipple until he was able to bite down on the hardened nub. Tony moaned as his back arched, his hands grabbing onto Gibbs’ strong shoulders.
“Don’t tease me, Jethro, please.”
“You need to be relaxed,” Gibbs replied. “I don’t want to hurt you, Tony.” But he took pity on the younger man and kissed down to take Tony’s leaking erection into his mouth. He worked Tony slowly, hoping to distract him as Gibbs slicked a finger and slowly worked it into Tony’s body.
“What’s wrong?” Tony asked as his lover went still.
“Your body opened for me,” Gibbs said. “Does this hurt?”
Tony focused on the finger he could feel in his body. “No, should it?”
“It’s your first time, you should feel something,” Gibbs said. He pulled his finger out carefully, slicked two fingers and eased them back. He’d never felt anything like it before; Tony’s body just opened for his fingers. “Tony, I’m going to try something. Tell me if this hurts.”
“I trust you, boss,” Tony said. He pulled the older man up for a searing kiss.
Gibbs groaned into the kiss and broke away reluctantly to slick the lube over his now throbbing cock. He shifted Tony around and pushed forward carefully, ready to pull back if the younger man showed a hint of pain.
Both men gasped as Gibbs’ erection slid into Tony’s body as if the younger man had been stretched by fingers and a dildo. “Jethro,” Tony moaned, his legs coming up to wrap around Gibbs’ hips. Gibbs stilled for a moment, enjoying the feel and heat of Tony’s body wrapped around him. He pulled back slowly and shifted his angle as he thrust forward again. The cry Tony gave told Gibbs he’d hit his mark and he grinned as he started a harder rhythm that would bring them both to the edge and over it.
********************
“So you two completed your bond without knowing what was going on?” Mac asked.
“With Abby in the other room,” Tony replied laughing. “When we finally came out of my bedroom she sat us down and tried to explain everything to us.”
Gibbs snorted. “I’m a stubborn bastard,” he said. “I didn’t believe it until I finished reading all the books. And even then it wasn’t until I got in close to blending that I really believed them.”
“What happens now?” Danny asked.
“Mac is the beta dragon for our community,” Gibbs said. “That’s like the second in command and he’ll handle everything here.”
“Can two dragons make a community?” Flack asked.
“We consider Abby part of our community so you and Mandy are too, even if you’re all humans,” Gibbs said. “Well, at least until you find your human, Flack.”
“You really think I’m going to Change?” Don asked.
“Considering your family history I’d say you’ve got a pretty fair chance.” Tony drained his coffee. “We just have to find your human for you.”
Gibbs swatted Tony gently. “Don’t tease, DiNozzo.”
“Sorry boss.”
********************
Mac wasn’t too surprised to find Stella waiting in his office when he arrived at the lab. He ignored the weight of her stare while he hung up his coat. When he didn’t have anything else to do he sank into his desk chair with a small sigh. “What can I do for you, Stella?”
“What’s going on, Mac?” Stella asked.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Mac replied. “Was there a case I missed something on?”
“Like that ever happens,” Stella snorted. “I’m talking about all these undercurrents in the lab. You and Danny were at each others throats for weeks, he left his gun in your office and now you’re suddenly the best of friends. Then those feds come in and you treat them like family, except for Agent Todd.”
“Gibbs is a Marine, Stella. There’s nothing going on,” Mac said. “I’ll admit that Danny and I hit a rough patch but we’ve talked and worked through it. I’m not going to talk about personal matters with anyone and I would hope you’ll show the same respect to your coworkers in that regard.”
“I’m just worried, Mac,” Stella insisted. “I know there’s something going on with you and Danny and want to know what it is.”
Mac stood up and leaned forward over his desk. “I won’t tell you again, Stella,” he said coldly. “This is a personal matter that has no bearing on anything that happens in this lab. Drop it right now; I don’t want to hear that you’ve been asking questions. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal, Mac,” Stella snapped. “But you don’t have to be such a bastard about it.”
“Maybe Gibbs has the right idea,” Mac muttered as Stella stormed out. “Maybe I should start using head smacks.”
********************
Don, Danny, and Mac went to lunch together, getting hot dogs and sandwiches so they could walk while they ate and talked. “Stella’s suspicious,” Mac said.
“I saw her leave your office and she wasn’t happy,” Danny commented. “What’s going on?”
“She’s still curious about us,” Mac sighed.
“So have Danny talk to her,” Don said, licking some mustard off his left hand. “Just tell her the same thing Mac did and then Stella will drop it.”
Mac sighed again. “I haven’t told her anything at all,” he said. “Just that it’s personal and we’re not talking about it because it has no bearing on the lab.”
“Then I’ll make something up,” Danny said. “It can’t hurt, Mac.”
“Okay, Danny,” Mac said. “Just let me know what you do say so I can back you up.”
“He did?” Stella asked.
“Yeah, said you were worried ‘bout me or something,” Danny replied, his accent thickening a little. “You don’t gotta be, Stella, ‘cause I’m fine.”
“Danny, what else did Mac say to you?” Stella asked.
“Whoa, hold on there a minute; what exactly are you implying here, Stella? That Mac’s holding something over me or something?” Danny said. “Do you really think so little of him that you’d be willing to even suggest something so stupid and crazy about our boss? Mac Taylor is one of the most honorable men I’ve ever met and I’m not going to sit here and listen to you talk shit about him.”
Stella held up both hands. “No, Danny, I didn’t mean that,” she said. “It’s just that Aiden and I watched you basically shut down after the whole mess with that mob jerk and then the shooting. You and Mac seemed to be having problems and I was just concerned that you’ve bounced back too quickly and I just wondered what he said to make you back to normal.”
“He told me the truth,” Danny said. “I was the one who overreacted and now that we’ve talked it over we’re cool. He found me in the park the other night and we spent a few hours talking over each point to make sure we was on the same page. That’s all, nothing he wouldn’t do for any of us if and when we need him.”
“I’m still not buying it, Danny,” Stella said. “There’s something different about the both of you that I can’t put my finger on.”
“We’re more relaxed,” Danny said. He ran his hand through his hair and pushed up his glasses. “I know that I can do my job without worrying about things and he knows I will so the tension’s gone. That’s all, the end.”
“If you say so,” Stella said. “But remember you can come talk to me any time you want, Danny. You don’t always have to talk with Mac about everything.”
Danny bit his tongue to stop himself from saying the first thing that came to mind because he knew that Stella wouldn’t believe him if he said that he and Mac had basically gotten married and were sharing everything. He smiled, “thanks, Stella, I’ll remember that.”
“Yo Messer!” Flack called. “Get your kit; Mac just called and wants me to bring you out to a crime scene he’s working.”
“So why ain’t you there?” Danny called back.
“Patrol called it in and I was here,” Don said. “Come on, we ain’t got all day you know.”
“Sure you do,” Danny said. He walked past the tall detective. “The body ain’t going nowhere, is it?”
********************
“Uh Mac, I thought this was a homicide,” Danny said as he looked around the crime scene.
“It is, or at least that’s what the blood pool is telling me,” Mac replied.
“So where’s the body?”
“I don’t know, the victim was missing when I arrived,” Mac said. He looked behind him at the now laughing detective. “Something amuses you, Flack?”
Don was leaning against the hallway wall to stay upright he was laughing so hard. “It’s just something Danny said when he was picking up his kit,” he gasped, trying as hard as he could to calm down. “I’m sorry, Mac, I’ll just go and try to get some statements from the witnesses.”
“Would you like to fill me in on the joke?” Mac asked. He could hear Don’s laughter echoing down the hall.
“It’s kinda embarrassing,” Danny said. “But I was talking with Stella when Don yelled at me and I commented that the body wasn’t going anywhere.”
Mac grinned. “And you managed to put your foot in your mouth, didn’t you,” he said. “It happens, Danny. And that includes the bodies vanishing from the scene. We both know that.”
“Yeah, it’s just too bad that Donnie had to hear me say it,” Danny sighed. “I ain’t living this one down any time soon. So where do you want me to start?”
“Take the kitchen,” Mac said. “We might as well see who our victim is before we try to find them.”
********************
“Okay so the neighbors say this place was rented but no one ever really stayed here,” Flack reported an hour or so later. “It seems like the guy who signed the lease was in and out at odd times and didn’t have anything to do with the other people in the building.”
“That could be any of us, Flack,” Danny said from the corner of the room. He was working to lift a shoe print.
“True but they also say he was a flashy dresser, always had a girl on his arm and drove an expensive car,” Don continued. “No one knows his name but I’ve got a description and a copy of the lease.”
Mac leaned in from the bedroom. “We’ve got enough samples of body fluid to keep us going for the next week,” he said. “Not to mention fingerprints and shoe prints. I think this place was leased to be a rent-by-the-hour room.”
“So you’re thinking a tie-in to prostitution,” Don said. “I’ll talk to the guys and see what they know. You about done?”
“You know how it is, Donnie,” Danny said. “Mac’s a slave driver and won’t want to leave until every piece of evidence is collected and ready to show us the puzzle.”
“Danny, don’t make me smack you,” Mac said. He had ducked back into the bedroom so the others couldn’t see his smile.
“I can feel that, Mac,” Danny called.
Don looked up from his notebook. “Feel what?”
“He’s happy,” Danny said. “I can feel it radiating off of him. Am I not supposed to?”
“With the newer bonds you usually have to be in the same room if not touching to be able to tell what your dragon is feeling,” Don said. “The dragon, on the other hand, can usually tell their human’s emotions from across town.”
“Even the size of this city?” Danny asked.
“We could try it but then everyone would wonder why we weren’t at the lab working all this evidence,” Mac said. “Come on, Danny, let’s get back to the lab and get to work. Time and trouble wait for no man.”
********************
Mac was in the lab working with the various fibers he’d pulled from the bed when he heard a door open behind him. “What do you need, Stella?” he asked.
“How do you do that?”
“It’s a gift,” Mac said. “What’s up?”
“Have you seen Danny anywhere?” she asked. “He jumped to the wrong conclusion this morning while we were talking and I just wanted to make sure he knew that everything is okay.”
“He should be in the fingerprint lab,” Mac said. He didn’t want to tell her that his human had gone to see Don and was actually out of the lab because it would screw with their experiment. The men really wanted to see how far away they could get Danny before Mac couldn’t sense his emotions.
“I checked and didn’t see him,” Stella said. “But I’m not going to run around trying to hunt him down, if he’s moving we’ll just keep missing each other. Would you let him know I wanted to talk with him?”
“Sure.”
Now Mac was curious. He wondered exactly what Stella had said to rile his human up so much. He knew it had to be something to do with their recent change in attitude because Danny had said he was going to talk with Stella about it. Mac sighed and went back to the fibers. He’d ask Danny when they got home that evening.
“I can’t believe he said that to me. He accused me of cheating, me! I got a scholarship to that bloody school, I could have gone anywhere in the world and I chose them and he has the unmitigated gall to tell me that I’m cheating in his class and if I don’t stop he’s going to give me the boot. The man is a moron who couldn’t find the classroom door if it wasn’t directly across from his podium and shouldn’t be teaching such an advanced course as this and he just wants to prove that he’s better than everyone. A “D” on my paper and that was after Gil examined it and helped with corrections. If Gil Grissom doesn’t know entomology then who in this bloody nation does?”
The ranting went on for several more minutes and Mac was honestly enjoying the soft Scottish accent but he knew he had to get Mandy calmed down before Danny or Don figured out she was upset and tried to blame him. “Amanda,” he said firmly. “Sit!”
She turned and glared at him. “Thank you! I’m not a dog, Mac.”
“At least I got your attention,” he replied. “Please sit down and tell me, calmly, what’s wrong. Please.”
“My so-called entomology professor informed me today that he is aware I am cheating in his class and threatened to have me expelled if I do not terminate my activities immediately,” she said. “Gil Grissom called me the other night with a community question and offered to help me with this class. Having a study partner is not against school rules by any stretch of the imagination.”
“Have you spoken with Dr. Grissom?” Mac asked.
“Not yet, I had to come directly here after school,” Mandy replied. “I am sorry for storming in on you like that, Mac, but I needed someone to vent to who would understand what I was saying.”
He grinned. “I didn’t understand much of it but I’m fairly sure you shouldn’t know some of those words.”
“Which ones?”
“He’s only teaching the class because he’s buggering the college president stood out most clearly in my mind,” Mac said trying not to let his grin turn into a full smile.
“Oh but Mac, most Americans don’t know exactly what that means so I never fear of using it,” she said, grinning wickedly.
“Trust me, used in that context it’s a little hard to miss,” Mac said. “I have you helping Adam today. Are you calm enough?”
“Of course,” she smiled. “Thanks again, Mac; I really appreciate the ear.”
“You’re welcome, don’t ever be afraid to come and talk with me,” he said. “I mean that.”
“I know you do and I thank you,” she said. Mandy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s rather like finally having a father.”
********************
“So I hear you got problems.”
Mandy looked up from the test she was running on a soil sample. “Now that you’re here, Donnie-boy, I seem to have no end of problems,” she smiled. “What’s up?”
“How do you do that?” he asked.
“What?”
“Go from teenage girl to adult and back again so fast,” Don said. “I ain’t complaining or nothing but it’s just kinda cool.”
“You forget that I’m technically an adult,” Mandy pointed out. “My own apartment in the city, going to university, an internship with Mac, consulting on the side for both communities and paying all my own bills. Why wouldn’t I try to be as grown-up as I possibly can?”
“Because you shouldn’t waste your childhood,” Danny said from the door. “Ain’t that right, Flack?”
“Right,” Don said. “I think we need to take Mandy here out for a night.”
“I’ll go on one condition,” she said trying not to grin and let the men know that Mac was behind them, glaring. “You’ll have to do all my homework, finish up my projects here at the lab and make sure I’m able to make it to my six thirty class the next morning.”
Danny and Don stared at her. “What kinda class starts at that time of the morning?” Danny finally managed to ask.
“Martial arts,” Mandy replied. “I’m continuing what William and the others taught me while I was growing up. Next term, if I’m lucky, I shall be able to take fencing as well.”
“I can teach you how to build a fence,” Don said playing dumb. “Hell, I can even put up chain-link, it ain’t hard. But we ain’t doing it at that time of the morning.”
“Don, your shift starts at eight so you have to be up at six thirty,” Danny said looking at his friend.
“Yeah, and in the shower with no coffee,” Don shuddered. “I sure as hell ain’t gonna be doing anything physical at that hour.”
The blond CSI blushed and Mandy covered for her friend. “You should come along some morning, Donnie, you’d be a big hit with the women,” she said. “Between your black hair, those amazing blue eyes and your shoulders.”
“My shoulders,” Don frowned.
“Certainly,” Mandy continued. She could tell by Danny’s expression that he knew his dragon was around. “Don’t you think he has lovely shoulders Mac?”
“I’m not answering that one,” Mac said. “On the grounds that Danny would probably hit me.”
“How long have you been there, Mac?” Don asked.
“Long enough to tell you both that you are not to take Mandy out clubbing until she is eighteen years old,” Mac replied. “I think I have a lead on our case if you two are done flirting for the day.”
“Nah, but work comes first,” Danny grinned. “See ya later, Mandy.”
Don paused in the door and looked back at Mandy. “Shoulders?” he asked frowning.
“Just go away, Donnie, there’s a good chap,” she replied not looking up.
********************
Mac had been looking over the papers that had been scattered around the apartment and had come up with some prints that he’d started on a run through AFIS and some of the other databases. He’d gotten a match; the problem was who the print belonged to.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Danny said when he saw the paperwork in the folder Mac had been carrying. The three men had retreated to Mac’s office where they knew they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I wish I was, Danny,” Mac replied with a sigh. “Don, what do you think?”
“I know you like to follow the evidence and believe everything is connected, Mac, but I think we gotta have a lot more evidence before we even attempt an interrogation on this one,” Don said. “Because I don’t know ‘bout you guys but I like it here, I like my job and I don’t want to lose it any time soon.”
“How’s DNA coming along?” Danny asked. “That would be harder to explain away than fingerprints on a piece of paper.”
“They’re going to be a while,” Mac said. “There were a lot of donors on those sheets and they’re having to separate them out before running them. Right now, if we are going to hold back on this, I’d like to figure out who our victim was and what happened to them.”
“You don’t think the vic was the one who rented the place do you, Mac?” Danny asked. He pushed his glasses up and looked at his dragon. “You’re thinking it was one of those women he always had with him.”
Mac nodded. “It’s logical although until we find a body or bodies we can tie directly back to the apartment I don’t want to make any assumptions.”
“Probably smart,” Danny said. “I’ll start going over the hairs and fibers we got from the sheets. There may be some that we can get DNA from and working girls would be in the system.”
“Thanks Danny,” Mac said. “Although Jane and the others in DNA will hate us both by the time this case is done.”
“I’ll go back and check with the neighbors again,” Don said. “Flash a few pictures around; see if it jars any memories.”
The three men left the office to their assigned tasks all determined not to look at the folder that held the paperwork showing the chief of detectives as a prime suspect in their homicide investigation.
“Detective Taylor,” he said, answering his desk phone, glad of the distraction it brought.
“Hey Mac, its Abby,” came a much too cheerful voice and Mac was able to pick up on the undertones.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t suppose you or Danny can come to DC can you?” Abby asked in reply.
“Not in the near future,” Mac sighed. “We’re working a messy political homicide but if you need help Miami can probably spare someone. Now tell me what happened.”
She sighed and Mac picked up on a definite waver in the breath. “Gibbs got shot today and is in the hospital,” Abby finally said. “And Tony’s freaking out.”
“This wicked scary guy showed up in a body bag and took Ducky hostage,” Abby said. “He shot Gibbs to get away and we lost him while Tony was taking care of his dragon. They’re at the hospital now with Ducky. I told Tony I would call you before I joined them.”
Mac thought as fast as he could. “I’ll send Mandy down now,” he said. “And then call Miami and see if they can help us out here. Do you know if there’s any risk of Gibbs being exposed while he’s in the hospital?”
“I don’t think so,” Abby said. “It’s not like your bodies rearrange everything when you Change. We should be okay but it is something I’d have to double check.”
“I can see where this could be a bigger problem than we thought,” Mac sighed. “Okay, Abby, I’ll talk with you in a bit. You drive safe; the last thing Gibbs wants is for you to end up in the hospital.”
“That Abby?” Danny asked as he leaned in the door.
“Yeah, Gibbs is in the hospital and they need help,” Mac said. “I need to make some phone calls, Danny, what’s up?”
“I got a hit on the fingerprint I lifted from the kitchen,” Danny said. “It belongs to a banker in Manhattan. I thought we might go check it out but I can take Don.”
“Danny, I can’t leave right now,” Mac said. “This case could go to hell at any time and you and Don both need me here to help buffer with the brass.”
Danny grinned. “So take Mandy down to DC and hang until another dragon gets there,” he said. “Then come back and help with the case. We’re still running evidence; shit, we ain’t even got a body yet and can last for a few hours without you.”
“I could always ask Flack to go and, no, he needs to stay here to help you,” Mac sighed. “All right, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
********************
In DC Ari parked his bike in a hidden garage and locked the door behind him. He was a terrorist deep in his bones, trained to fear nothing and no one, not even death but when he had looked into the eyes of Leroy Jethro Gibbs he’d seen something that had frightened him enough to get him to consider leaving the country for the near future. He’d seen his own death in a manner so painful and exacting that he hoped it would be a long time coming.
********************
“Sir, you can’t go in there,” a non-descript nurse called as Tony strode down the hall towards his dragon’s room.
“Check your paperwork, I’m his next of kin,” Tony snapped not breaking stride. He could feel Jethro’s pain and it was making him irritable. He knew his dragon had done what needed to be done but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Tony eased into the room, not wanting to wake Jethro if the dragon was asleep, and walked silently towards the bed. He took Gibbs’ hand in both his and let out a shaky breath. “You had to do it the hard way, didn’t you boss,” he whispered. “You couldn’t have fried the bastard.”
“Hey, I’m the bastard,” Gibbs croaked. “Now you want to tell me what the hell happened?”
“You went into the morgue to speak with an armed terrorist,” Tony said. “Without a vest on I might add. You scared me, Jethro; I could feel your emotions while you were in there and I felt you get shot. When I found you on the floor bleeding I knew you were going to be okay but it still scared me.”
Gibbs motioned for Tony to lean over and smacked him weakly on the back of the head. Tony grinned. “Thanks, boss,” he said. “The creep got away and we still don’t know who he is or what he was ultimately doing in our morgue. There was some deeper meaning to his stunt.”
“He’s not insane,” Gibbs said. He sipped the water Tony offered him. “He’s cold and calculating but he’s sane and I don’t wonder if that’s not worse.”
They looked over at a tap on the door. “Mac?” Tony asked.
“Hey, they didn’t want to let me in,” Mac replied. “How are you, Jethro?”
“Who called you?” Gibbs demanded. “I’m fine.”
Mac snorted. “Live with it, Gibbs; you’ve got an SIC now and I’m going to take that seriously. We can talk about it more when you’re out of here but you are not to take this out on Abby. She was worried about you.”
“Abby calling I can live with,” Gibbs snorted. “Now if it had been Tony or Ducky….”
“Gibbs, I can’t stay long,” Mac said. “I brought Mandy down, she’s out in the hall with Abby, I have a major headache at home that I have to deal with but we’re behind you to catch this bastard. No one hurts one of my friends and gets away with it.”
“I keep telling everyone, I’m the bastard,” Gibbs sighed. “Not the dirt bag that shot me. He’s a dead man walking and that’s final. Now get me out of here, DiNozzo.”
“Not going to happen, boss,” Tony said. “Ducky’s already talked with the doctors and they’re keeping you for a couple of days. They want to make sure your shoulder heals up okay.”
“They hell they are,” Gibbs said. He started to sit up only to fall back. “DiNozzo.”
“Gibbs, I’m scared of Ducky,” Tony said. “He threatened me when I said I was going to check you out and take care of you at home.”
“Indeed I did, Jethro,” Ducky’s voice said from the door. “You are to remain here for the next two days and allow the doctors to ensure that you are recovering. You took a nasty wound to the shoulder and it needs time to rest before you start running all over the world looking for the bastard that did this to you and Gerald.”
Gibbs growled, the dragon coming out. “For the last time….”
“He’s a dirt bag,” Tony said quickly, hoping that Ducky hadn’t noticed the faint glow in Gibbs’ eyes. “Got it boss, I’ll be sure everyone knows that by the time you’re back at work. Kate’s going over the video now and I’m going to head back to the yard and see what else needs to be done.”
“Tony, your manners are becoming as bad as Jethro’s,” Ducky scolded. “You didn’t introduce me to your friend.”
“Detective Mac Taylor, NYPD,” Mac said.
“Oh yes, of course, I didn’t get away from the morgue when I was in your fair city so we wouldn’t have met. I’m Donald Mallard, Ducky for short. What are you doing here?”
“Amanda wanted to come down and make sure her friends were okay and I offered to bring her,” Mac said. “I do need to get back to New York and my lab though. Tony, will you make sure Mandy and Abby don’t get into too much trouble while she’s here?”
“I’ll try,” Tony said. “Thanks for bringing her down.”
“You’re welcome. Tell her I’ll call her friend down in Miami and let him know that their plans have changed,” Mac said. He wasn’t sure if the NCIS ME knew about dragons but he wasn’t about to let that particular cat out of the bag.
Tony nodded to show he understood. “Well, maybe he’ll come here to visit,” he said. “I’d be happy to show them both around the city.”
“Thanks. Dr. Mallard, it was a pleasure to meet you,” Mac said. “Gibbs, you focus on getting better so you can catch the….dirt bag.”
Gibbs laughed. “I’ll talk to you later, Mac,” he said.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I think Ducky is getting suspicious,” Tony replied. “I think he saw Gibbs’ eyes flash and I was just wondering if we can tell him about you and Danny too.”
Mac grinned. “If you absolutely have to,” he said. “You know more about all of this than I do so I’m trying to follow your lead.”
“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that,” Tony said. “You’ve got so much confidence and an aura of command that it’s too easy to forget that you only just Changed. Do you know who’s coming up from Miami?”
“Horatio or Dr. Grissom,” Mac said. “Or both of them, I’m not sure. I know that Grissom wants to come up and talk with one of Mandy’s teachers.”
Tony frowned. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Not with this one,” Mac said. “Her entomology teacher is giving her grief and Gil is going to sit through a class.”
“I’ll definitely send Mandy home in time for that class then,” Tony grinned. “Thanks for coming down like this, Mac. I know how busy you must be.”
“You’re welcome, Tony,” Mac replied. “Keep me updated on how Gibbs is doing would you?”
“You got it.”
********************
Ducky looked up when the door to Gibbs’ hospital room opened. He was surprised to see a young woman who could have been Abby’s younger sister. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“I’m Amanda,” she replied. “I’m a friend from New York and wanted to see how Jethro was doing but had to wait until the nurse left her station.”
“Where are you from?” Ducky asked.
“Indiana but Scotland originally,” Mandy said with a small smile. “I imagine it was my accent that gave me away wasn’t it?”
“Indeed,” Ducky smiled. “Jethro will be asleep for a time yet so would you like to join me for tea? I know a delightful restaurant just around the corner from here.”
Mandy walked over to the bed and looked down at the ice blue dragon. “You can stop pretending, Gibbs,” she said. “I did come all this way just to see you after all.”
He opened an eye and looked at her. “How’d you know I was awake?” Gibbs asked. “Duck, I don’t suppose you’ll let me out of here now will you?”
“Not until tomorrow afternoon, Jethro, so you can stop asking,” Ducky replied. “I’ve left firm instructions with the staff to ignore any requests of this type.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow,” Gibbs snarled turning back to Mandy. “So are you planning to answer my question or not?”
“Not until you’re in a better mood,” Mandy said calmly. “So tell me the truth, Gibbs, why do you hate hospitals so much?”
“Oh dear,” Ducky muttered. “Is that the time, I simply must dash. Jethro, I’ll see you tomorrow. Behave yourself. Amanda, it was a delight to meet you.”
Mandy watched the older ME all but flee the room. “Do you want to explain that?”
“I’m a bastard,” Gibbs smirked. “So everyone knows that I’m grumpy and irritable when I’m hurt. It usually gets me what I want.”
“And no one bothers you,” Mandy finished with a grin. “So why not act like that around me?”
“Because you remind me of my own daughter,” Gibbs said. “You have the Gibbs spirit and I admire that. So I don’t suppose you’d be willing to break me out of here would you?”
“Not a chance, Gibbs,” Mandy said. “I know you heal faster than a human but humor us. The rest will do you some good and it’ll give your human a chance to take care of you for a while.”
“I just want to dirt bag that did this,” Gibbs said. “And I can’t do that from here.”
“Let your team do what they do best,” Mandy said. “And I’ll sit here and keep you company until you really fall asleep.”
********************
Danny felt eyes on him and looked up from the microscope. “Can I help you, Flack?” he asked as he settled his glasses back in place.
“We just got a phone call,” Don replied. “A body was found in the park and it might tie in with our empty apartment.”
“Let me grab my kit,” Danny said. “What can you tell me?”
“Not much, young woman, mid 20s, dressed for a night out,” Don said. “They’ve got it all roped off and waiting for us.”
The pair made their way out to Don’s car and he pulled out into traffic. “Dan, I suppose I should tell you this too,” he said softly. “The chief told my captain that this scene didn’t need to be investigated.”
“I wish you was kidding,” Danny sighed. “I’m gonna call Mac and let him know what’s going on. This girl needs us to speak for her and I ain’t taking that away. I just don’t want him to come home and walk blindly into this.”
“You know we could lose our jobs over this, right?” Don asked.
“Let ‘em try,” Danny said. “We got a dirty cop and I’m going to find the evidence to prove it. He ain’t gonna be able to tarnish the badge no more.”
Don grinned. “I’m right behind you, Danny,” he said. “Tell Mac we need him home as soon as he can get here.”
Danny pulled out his cell phone and dialed his boss’ number. “Hey Mac, we gots a body and a problem.”
“What’s wrong, Danny?”
“The chief of detectives sent word down the chain of command that no one was to investigate this body found in Central Park,” Danny said. “Don came to me and we’re on our way now. It’s gonna get messy and I wanted you to know.”
“I’m on my way to the airport now,” Mac said. “Tony’s lending us some books on dragons and communities. I know I don’t have to tell you this but be extra thorough at the scene and get all the evidence you can. If this is going to play out the way I think it is then we’ll need the science to back us up.”
“You got it, Mac,” Danny said. “I’ll meet up with you back at the lab. Love you.”
“I love you too, Danny,” Mac said, the smile evident in his tone. “Be careful out there and I’ll see you soon.”
Don looked over at his friend. “You ready?”
“Lead the way,” Danny replied. “Let’s get this creep.”
********************
Mac wasn’t too surprised to find the chief of detectives sitting in his office when he got back to the lab. “Can I help you?” he asked as he hung up his coat.
“You can tell me why Daniel Messer is working a crime scene that I ordered left alone,” Ron Spaniel said.
“Which scene is that?” Mac asked. “I had to hop down to the capital for a couple of hours and Stella was in charge of handing out scene assignments.”
“There was a body found in Central Park,” Spaniel spat. “I left orders that it was not to be investigated by the crime lab.”
“May I ask why?” Mac asked. “You know that all suspicious deaths are investigated as homicides until the evidence proves otherwise. I wouldn’t like to think that anyone is compromising the integrity of this department or this lab.”
“Of course not,” Spaniel said. “However the fact remains that Messer disobeyed a direct order.”
Mac tried not to grin. “Considering that he disobeyed a direct order that otherwise would have compromised everything we stand for,” he said, “he in fact followed the rules to the letter. I’ll let you know the results of our investigation.”
“You’re walking a thin line, Taylor.”
“I do every day,” Mac said calmly. “And I will continue to do so until the day I die.”
********************
When Danny got back to the lab he was so paranoid that he logged all the evidence personally and took it to the trace lab for Aiden to start processing. Then he went to the morgue to check in with Hawkes. He couldn’t believe that the brass would go so far as trying to hinder their investigation and it made Danny wonder exactly who was involved for this big a risk to be taken.
A hand shot out and pulled him into a storage closet. “Mac!” Danny gasped. “You’re back!”
“And already met with Spaniel,” Mac said. “He’s out to get us on this one, Danny. He doesn’t want this case solved.”
“I’ll follow your lead in this, Mac,” Danny said. He leaned against his dragon and just absorbed the calm energy he could feel radiating from him. “But I want to know who’s doing this.”
“We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” Mac said firmly. He wrapped his arms around Danny and pulled him in close. “I want to know what’s going on, Dan.”
Danny moved his head and kissed Mac softly. He gasped as his back hit the wall and his mouth was plundered by his suddenly possessive dragon. “Take me, Mac,” he moaned. “I want you so bad.”
Mac undid Danny’s jeans and pushed them down before freeing his own cock. His eyes started glowing as he spun Danny around and took him in one firm thrust. Danny bit his lip to keep from crying out as Mac reached around and started to stroke in time to his thrusts.
“Come for me, Danny,” Mac whispered in his human’s ear. “Take me over the edge with you. Come on, Danny, I want to feel you ass clamp down on my cock and take me with you.”
“So close, Mac,” Danny moaned. He twisted his head around searching for his dragon’s mouth.
Mac leaned in and claimed Danny’s mouth in an awkward kiss and groaned as Danny came. The clenching of the muscles around his aching cock pulled him over the edge into his own climax. “I love you, Danny,” Mac whispered. “I love you so much.”
Danny pushed back against Mac. “I love you too,” he said. “I want more, please.”
“You need to let me rest,” Mac laughed. “I’m not as young as I used to be, Danny.”
“Let me try something.” Danny braced his weight against the wall and started moving against Mac and grinned as he felt the cock inside him hardening again. “Take me, Mac,” he moaned. “I want to feel you explode in me again.”
“And again and again for the rest of our lives,” Mac said as he started thrusting.
The receptionist was nice, signed him in and gave him a visitor’s pass along with directions to Mac Taylor’s office. She had checked the clip board and said that the detective was in the lab.
As he walked through the halls he was amazed at the differences between Miami, Vegas and New York. The police department had taken old buildings and retrofitted them to make a lab. The clash of old against new was astonishing and Gil really wanted to take the time to look around. But he knew that he had to keep his promise to Mandy and he couldn’t stay long after her class because of the problems that were shaping up in his community. Gil also wanted to check in with Gibbs before heading home and knew that the NYDC alpha was probably in a bad mood.
“Can I help you?” a dry voice asked.
“I’m Dr. Gil Grissom; I’m looking for Mac Taylor.”
“You found him,” Mac smiled. “Welcome to our lab, Dr. Grissom. The NCIS team told me a lot about you and so did Horatio. Come on, I think Mandy is bugging Danny in the trace lab.”
“Did she tell you about the problems she’s having at school?” Gil asked as he followed the other dragon down the halls.
“Some of them, Mandy’s been using me as a sounding board because I can understand what she’s going through,” Mac said. “I am glad that you were willing to come up and deal with this professor though because he sounds like a real piece of work.”
“I’ll try not to create unnecessary work for you,” Gil commented dryly. He liked Mac and was at ease with him. “But there’s something about Mandy that makes you want to be extra possessive and protect her.”
Mac nodded. “I know what you mean,” he said. “She’s been unofficially adopted by not only my team but all the lab techs and a couple of detectives. I know Horatio is watching out for her as well and don’t even get me started on what Gibbs told her while she was down in New York.”
“I’ll have to talk with her,” Gil said. “Is she on shift tonight or could I steal her? I’ve got questions that I’d like to leave with her for a while. We’ve had some strange things going on down in Miami.”
“I’d be interested to know what you find out,” Mac said. “Here we are and there’s Mandy.”
Danny looked up when his dragon walked into the room. He grinned and went back to the shirt he was working on. “Hey Mac,” he said. “I think I got something that might help our case but I ain’t sure. Could you take a look at it for me?”
“Sure Danny,” Mac said. “This is Dr. Grissom from Miami.”
“Hey, welcome to New York,” Danny grinned. “I guess you’re here for my assistant, yeah?”
“Danny, I told you I have classes today,” Mandy commented. She was looking over a pair of sneakers. “I won’t be back at the lab until tomorrow.”
“Leaving me with everything,” Danny said, pretending to sniff like he was sad. “Seriously, you’re good, Mandy. You help out a lot.”
“Thanks,” Mandy said. “Gil, are you ready to return to school?”
“Lead the way, Mandy,” Gil said.
Mac looked up after the door had shut. “He says there’s stuff going on down in Miami,” he said. “I think I’m going to call Horatio and see what’s going on. This looks like sap to me, what did the mass-spec say?”
“Sap,” Danny replied.
“Hey, is that any way to talk to your boss?” Don asked as the door closed behind him.
“You know what, Flack, that’s so funny I forgot to laugh,” Danny replied. “And you don’t need to know nothing about my personal life.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” Don said. “But you need to know that our banker suspect was just found dead in his apartment. Single bullet to the head.”
“Let’s go,” Mac said. “We’re going to catch the creep doing this and make sure he goes away for a long time.”
Flack looked around to make sure they were alone. “Here’s the catch, Mac; Spaniel was in a meeting when this got called in,” he said. “I don’t think he did this.”
“We’ll see what Sid has to say about it,” Mac said. “But in the end everything is connected so I want to see where the new evidence leads us.”
********************
The classroom wasn’t large so when the teacher walked in to begin that day’s lecture he immediately noticed the strange older man sitting next to Amanda in the third row. “Miss Bonnibel, class policy states no visitors at any time.”
“He’s not a guest,” Amanda replied.
“If he’s not on the class list then he is and I insist he leave immediately.”
Gil looked up from the text book with a small smile on his face. “I’d double check your roll sheet before you say another word,” he said.
“There is no way you could have been added this late in the term,” the teacher said. “You would have no chance of catching up or understanding the material we’re covering.”
“Why should I be any different from the rest of your class then?” Gil asked. “I’ve been looking through your text book and this is for third year forensic entomologists. I understood that this was a beginning class to give them the basics. There’s no way any of them will be able to pass with this text.”
“That’s why the class average is a “D” then?” Mandy asked. “The only reason I’ve been able to understand any of this is because my study partner.”
“I don’t know who you are, sir, but I must insist you leave my classroom immediately,” the teacher insisted.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Gil said innocently. “I don’t know where my manners could have gone. My name is Dr. Gilbert Grissom, formerly of the Las Vegas Crime Lab and one of fifteen certified forensic entomologists in the United States. Would you like a list of my qualifications?”
Mandy was amused by the pale look and how fast the color drained out of her teacher’s face. She looked over at Grissom. “You could probably do a better job teaching this class than he is,” she said. “I know he’s going to run and complain to the headmaster so I know I’d enjoy hearing you guest lecture for the day.”
“If the class doesn’t mind hearing me drone on about bugs,” Gil said.
“Could we just ask you questions?” a student asked.
“Or that could work too,” Gil replied. He looked up to the front of the room. “Are you still here? You probably should let the head of the college know that you have no idea what you’re doing and there’s a new teacher in town for the day.”
“You can’t just walk in here and take over my class.”
Gil stood and walked to the front of the room until he was almost nose to nose with the teacher. “Can’t I?” he asked softly. “I’d say popular opinion rules but if you want to teach your lesson for the day then please do so. I’m very interested to hear it.”
“Really?” the teacher asked coolly.
“No,” Gil replied. “Because I’ve seen the comments you’re leaving on Amanda’s homework after I’ve reviewed it. I’m not perfect but I do know bugs and you do not.”
Everyone watched as the teacher stood still for a couple of minutes before storming out of the classroom. Gil smiled and perched on the edge of the desk. “So, questions?”
********************
Mac, Danny and Don walked into their crime scene and paused in the door. “Well, I’d say he knew his attacker and didn’t go quietly,” Danny finally said looking at the mess around them.
“I’ll start questioning the neighbors,” Don said. “Holler if you need me for anything.”
“Where do you want me to start, Mac?” Danny asked.
“Body’s in the bedroom,” Mac replied. “Why don’t you start there and I’ll see what I can find out here.”
“You got it.”
The body of the late banker was face down on the bed, his hands tied to the legs of the bed frame. His back was bruised and Danny thought he saw a welt or two but the head wound caught his attention. He set his kit down in the doorway and swung his camera around. “Hey Mac, I think you need to see this,” he called starting to snap pictures.
“That’s not good,” Mac said. “Somehow I doubt this is kinky sex gone wrong.”
“Yeah, think he was tortured and then killed for something that he knows?” Danny asked.
“I don’t know, Danny,” Mac sighed. “This case has so many twists and turns in it that I’m not laughing. We need to figure out who is involved and how to stop them before anyone else dies.”
“I ain’t laughing neither, Mac,” Danny said. “This is definitely not funny.”
Gil’s eyebrow went up. “Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked calmly.
“Who are you?” the headmaster demanded.
“I introduced myself to this not-so-fine teacher; Dr. Gil Grissom,” Gil said. “I came up to make sure that my young friend here is obtaining the level of education she needs to succeed in her chosen field and I have to say that I’m sorely disappointed so far.”
“Am I supposed to know your name?”
“Probably not,” Gil said. “I’m one of fifteen forensic entomologists recognized as an expert in the field and able to testify in court here in the United States. That means that I am more than qualified to teach not only this class but every one you offer here and I am disturbed at what I’m finding out here.”
“Gil, it’s okay,” Mandy said quietly.
“No it’s not, Amanda,” Gil said. “You need to know that what you’re learning is going to enable you to get a job in your chosen field. And I’m telling you right now that this is not going to do it. I think if you don’t mind an upset in your life, we should talk with Mac about this.”
“Now wait a minute,” the teacher said.
Gil glared at him icily until the man backed down. “Good day, gentlemen,” Gil said. “Come on, Mandy; let’s go see Mac and the others. I have a few ideas that might just work out.”
********************
“So the neighbors heard the shot and one of them called us,” Flack said an hour later. “But none of them saw nothing unusual.”
“We’ve got plenty of evidence to go through,” Mac said. “And I’m going to see if I can find a way to prove Spaniel was or wasn’t in that meeting. People lie, the evidence doesn’t.”
“Hey Mac, I gotta gun,” Danny called from the bathroom. “It was under the sink with the plunger. Talk about playing dirty.”
Both Don and Mac winced. “Good work, Danny,” Mac said.
“Thanks,” Danny said with a small smile. “I’ll see if I can get prints or DNA off it. And the ballistics match up as well as long as you don’t need me in trace for a bit.”
“I think I can handle it,” Mac said. “Although DNA is going to really hate us by the time this is over.”
“How many new samples?” Don asked.
“Twenty,” Mac replied. “I don’t like the thought of anyone tarnishing the badge we wear and want to find out who it is.”
“But if we burn out the DNA techs then we do got problems,” Danny said. “I think I’m done, Mac; I didn’t check the kitchen sink though.”
“I did,” Mac said. “And if I thought it would help the case I’d bring it back to the lab for further tests.”
********************
When Gil and Mandy arrived back at the lab they found Mac in the trace lab working on what appeared to be hair and fiber samples. “Detective Taylor, we need to talk,” Gil said.
“About what?” Mac asked, puzzled. As far as he knew nothing really bad had been going on with Mandy at the school other than the few complaints she’d had.
“Amanda’s schooling,” Gil replied. “I took at look at all her text books and they are worthless. She’s not getting the education she needs to be able to work in a crime lab or as a CSI.”
Mac frowned. “I thought her school was a good one.”
“It was until last year when the principal was fired and this new jerk brought in,” Gil said. “I wanted you to know that she needs help either finding a new school or working as an intern on a full-time basis.”
“You mean the old mentoring program,” Mac said. “The only flaw there is her age; I can’t take her out in the field. No offense, Mandy.”
“None taken,” she commented. Mandy pulled on a pair of gloves. “Anything I can do to help?”
“You can track down Danny and see if he needs help with the fingerprints he was working on,” Mac said. “I’ve got everything under control here. Do you mind us rearranging your life like this?”
Mandy smirked. “I picked the school because they offered an internship with you guys third year,” she said. “I don’t mind in the least as long as you don’t send me away.”
“Never happen,” Mac said. “You’re part of our family now and that means forever. You got that?”
“Yes sir,” Mandy said. “I’m going to go and find Danny.”
Mac looked over at Grissom. “Was it really that bad?”
“She hid behind me when she saw the principal,” Gil replied. “She was scared of them and that’s only the tip of the ice berg; the text books they have them using are worthless and there’s no lab set-up.”
“I was told the city is sending them closed cases to review,” Mac said. “Do you think she was lying about that?”
“I doubt it but that might be one good class in a bad school,” Gil said. “I’m not comfortable sending her back there, not after seeing what’s going on.”
“You know as well as I do that she’s going to need a college degree to get a job in a lab,” Mac said. “We can’t encourage her to leave school even if it is to work with us full time. It’d be different if she was eighteen because I could take her out in the field with me but as it stands now the bosses really didn’t want to let me hire her for what she’s doing.”
“We need to find another program for her,” Gil agreed. “But do you think she could intern with one of our labs for a couple of years and then start school when she’s eighteen or nineteen? Yeah she has the confidence to be in school now but have you picked up on the hints she’s dropping? I don’t think Mandy’s had the best home life and it’s really affected her.”
“Do we want to pry?” Mac asked.
Gil sighed. “No, I may be no good with living people but she needs to tell us when she’s ready and not before,” he replied. “You know Mandy better than I do and I was hoping you might have some ideas about what we could do with her until we can get her into school again.”
“I’m sure we can find enough to keep her busy here,” Mac said. “And maybe she could take internet courses for a while just to do her core.”
“I suppose we should really see what she wants to do,” Gil grinned. “I know Horatio would be more than happy to have her in Miami and it seems like she gets along well with Gibbs too. It’d look great on a resume to have all our labs listed.”
“It would and if we can stand to let her go then I’m sure she’ll be there like a shot,” Mac said. “I’ll talk with her about this when I have a moment but I’m in the middle of a really messy homicide and need to get this done.”
“And I need to stop in to see Gibbs and Tony,” Gil said. “I just wanted to try and help Mandy out.”
“You did,” Mac said. “You got her out of a situation that isn’t doing her any good and now we’re aware of it and can help. It was nice to meet you, Dr. Grissom.”
“You too,” Gil said. “I hope you and your human come down to visit us soon. Our community is always open.”
“Gris, I’m so glad you’re here,” Abby said. “It’s been horrible with the boss man getting shot and snapping at everyone. That’s put Tony in a bad mood and now no one knows what’s going on other than Gibbs is back at work and Tony’s mad. We’re all walking on eggs around them and it sucks.”
“I’m not going to improve his temper any,” Gil said. “But Horatio asked me to stop in and see how you guys were doing while I was up this way.”
“How’s New York?” Abby asked.
“They’re all fine,” Gil replied. “Mac said he’s going to be calling tonight to talk with Gibbs about some issues that have come up but it’s nothing I can talk about.”
“Ohh, super-secret spy stuff,” Abby said. “Come on, let’s get your bag and head for Gibbs’ house. Tony dragged him out of work early today when Gibbs turned down a cup of coffee.”
“Why is that a bad thing?”
“Because Gibbs lives on coffee and never tells anyone he doesn’t want any,” Abby explained. “I think if he were to go and give blood they’d get coffee from his veins.”
Grissom’s eyebrow went up. “That can’t be healthy.”
“Yeah, but do you really want to be the one to tell him he can’t have any coffee?” Abby asked seriously.
********************
“For the last time, DiNozzo,” Gibbs growled pulling against the handcuff circling his right wrist, “I do not need a nurse maid. I do not need to stay in bed, and I sure as hell don’t need to be restrained here like some hard-head who doesn’t know what’s good for them.”
Tony leaned against the door frame and met his dragon’s angry glare head on. “Then tell me why the hell I found blood on your undershirt, boss,” he said. “Ducky’s on his way over to take a look at that shoulder and he’s not going to be happy you disobeyed orders and went back to work a week early.”
“The hell he will,” Gibbs snapped. “I’m a grown man, DiNozzo and I sure as hell don’t need someone to take care of me.”
“I’m ignoring that last statement, Jethro,” Tony said. “Because I know how cantankerous you get when you’re not feeling good. Ducky also told me you need to eat. I was going to let you go so you could hold your own fork but now I think I’ll just feed you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Now you sound like a pouting five year old,” Tony snorted. “I’ll send Ducky up when he gets here.”
“God damn it, DiNozzo, get back here!” Gibbs yelled as his human left.
“Jethro’s not happy I take it?” Ducky asked from the hall closet where he was hanging up his jacket.
“You have no idea,” Tony sighed. “I had to cuff him to the bed and that just raised his hackles even more but he wanted to work on the boat, Ducky. With a bullet hole through his shoulder he wanted to go down and sand that boat of his. I just couldn’t let him do it.”
Ducky patted him gently on the shoulder. “You did the right thing, Tony,” he said. “I’ll go up and take a look but I think as long as we can keep Jethro down for a week or so he’ll heal up with no problems at all. Are you planning on lunch soon?”
“Just on my way to make it now,” Tony grinned. “Abby and a friend from Miami are coming, would you like to stay?”
“I’d love to, my dear boy, but it’s mother’s day out and I promised the nurse I wouldn’t miss it this time,” Ducky said. “But do call me if anything unusual should pop up.”
Tony grinned and made his way to the kitchen. He had to try and think of something he could cook as well as be able to feed his dragon in the bed and he didn’t think chocolate and strawberries would be good with company coming.
Ten minutes later Tony heard footsteps on the stairs and moved to see Ducky walking down at a sedate pace. “What’s the verdict?”
“Oh he’ll live,” Ducky said with a smile. “Although he is going to try your patience over the next week or so. Do try and keep him in bed as much as possible as he needs his rest more than anything else.”
“I’ll do my best, Ducky, but you know how he is,” Tony said. “I’m just hoping to get out of here in one piece at the end of the week, let alone still have a job.”
Ducky chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about that, my dear boy, I suspect that once this is all over and Jethro is feeling more himself he’ll realize what a bastard he’s been and everything will go back to normal.”
“I’m not holding my breath for an apology,” Tony muttered. “But at least he can’t head slap me right now.”
“You see there is always a bright side,” Ducky said with a smile. “Keep him fed and watered and in bed as much as possible and he’ll be fine. I think his pride is hurt worse than his arm at this point. And now I really must dash so I’m not late to meet mother for lunch.”
“Thanks for coming by, Ducky,” Tony said. “You know how he is.”
“All too well, my dear boy, all too well,” Ducky said. “You take care of yourself as well; I know you’re running the investigation with Jethro out and doing that and taking care of such a bastard is a trial not many would face.”
“There weren’t any other volunteers, Ducky,” Tony said. “Although Kate is handling most of the work stuff right now. I think Gibbs turning down a cup of his favorite coffee scared her too.”
Ducky laughed and waved before leaving. Tony shut the door behind the ME with a small smile and made his way back to the kitchen to finish making the mac and cheese he thought he’d be able to convince his dragon to eat.
“DiNozzo, get up here!” Gibbs’ voice echoed through the house.
“He’s still upset?”
“Oh, hey Abs,” Tony replied. “Yeah; do you mind keeping an eye on this while I go see what he needs?”
“I brought Gris along, Tony; he said Horatio wanted him to stop in and see how we were,” Abby said. “So you might want to let Gibbs know he has company.”
“I don’t know that I want to let two alphas be in the same room right now, especially with Gibbs in such a foul mood,” Tony said. “But I’ll see what Gibbs says.”
“You think they’d fight?” Abby asked.
“I think Gibbs would try and it wouldn’t be pretty,” Tony said his foot already on the stairs. “Gris I’m not too worried about.”
He made his way up the stairs and down the hall to the master bedroom. “Did you need me for something, Jethro?” he asked.
“You will let me go this instant,” Gibbs snarled in reply. “You think I can’t just break out of here if I want to?”
“Go ahead if you want, boss,” Tony said. “Abby is downstairs along with Gil Grissom from Miami. They’ve been worried about you and this temper tantrum you’re throwing might just convince them they were right. As it stands I don’t want to let Grissom up here because you guys would probably kill each other.”
“Why the hell is he here?” Gibbs demanded. “Last I heard there were problems in Miami that he should be dealing with, not be flying around the country.”
Tony finally lost his temper and stalked across the room, straddled and pinned his dragon to the bed. “He’s here because they were concerned about a friend who was *shot* in the shoulder while confronting a terrorist, Gibbs,” Tony hissed. “Now you can act like a spoiled brat all you want, fuss and moan at me but you will not insult your *friends* and other dragons no matter what community they belong to. And I’m not about to alienate the Miami community by telling their alpha they can’t see you because you’re too ashamed of being shot. It happens, Gibbs. Get over it.”
Gibbs’ eyes glowed and he tore lose of the handcuff and suddenly Tony was on his back looking up into fierce amber tinted ice blue eyes. The dragon leaned down and claimed his human’s mouth in a possessive kiss while systematically stripping off all his clothes. “I heal faster than a human would, DiNozzo,” Gibbs hissed. “The only reason you found blood on my shirt is because the scab reopened when I moved. The bullet wound is gone. That’s why I didn’t want Ducky looking at me this afternoon. I had to explain everything to him; everything. He’s willing to maintain our cover but the next time I say I’m fine you listen to me.” He lubed his erection and thrust into Tony’s body; the young human arching up against him. Tony’s arms and legs wrapped around his dragon as he was mapped and reclaimed.
********************
Grissom looked towards the stairs when he heard wood snap. “Abby, do you think they’re okay?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sure they’re fine,” Abby replied. “Gibbs is just upset that Tony is trying to mother him when there’s no need. Even something as serious as a bullet wound is a scratch to one of you guys and I’m sure Gibbs is totally healed by now. The bandages would just be for show at this point.”
“But you introduced me to you medical examiner as we were coming in,” Gil said.
“Oh boy,” Abby said her eyes widening. “I’m not so sure that was a good thing. Maybe we do need to be a little worried about them.”
They both went quiet and listened for a few minutes before Abby started grinning. “I think they’ll be okay, Gris,” she said. “Do you want some lunch? We can eat outside and talk; I’d like to ask you a few questions about a case I worked a year or so back.”
“I guess we might as well,” Gil said. “And it’ll let them work through their problems without us hovering.”
********************
It was close to an hour later when Gibbs and Tony finally made their way down to the kitchen and then out into the back yard when they realized their company wasn’t in the house. Tony’s face was red as he sat down at the table.
“Grissom,” Gibbs growled.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Gil replied calmly. “Tony called us back to let us know you’d been shot. I’m glad it wasn’t anything serious and you’ll be able to get the suspect who hurt your people.”
“Why aren’t you dealing with problems in your own community?”
“Because I’ve been helping Mandy with her studies and she needed me to come up in person,” Gil said. “Horatio was going to come up and see you while I was in New York but we’ve had a couple of interesting developments that require us to keep three dragons in the community to protect our humans.”
“Are you planning to share this information?”
“Are you willing to listen?” Gil asked in reply. “Because from what I heard inside you’re not in the best mood.”
“God damn it, my mood is fine,” Gibbs snapped. “What’s going on, Grissom?”
Gil leaned back in his chair and focused on staying relaxed. “Jim Brass has started to develop his community talent,” he said. “He’s able to sense intent when it’s going to harm our community. If I didn’t know better I’d say he’s seeing the future.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I know but so far everything he’s said has happened and…” Gil broke off suddenly and leaned forward.
“Gris?” Tony asked. He got up and moved around to the dragon.
“I’ve got to go,” Gil said.
Gibbs stood and blocked the black dragon’s path. “You are not leaving this house until you finish telling me what the hell is going on down in Miami.”
He was shocked when Grissom’s eyes flashed amber and the other dragon pushed him out of the way. “My human’s been injured,” Gil growled. “Do you really want to try and keep me here, Gibbs?”
“Nick!” Abby exclaimed. “Gil, you’ve got to go; come on, I’ll take you to the airport. He’s going to need you. Gibbs, I’m so talking to you about your attitude when I get back.”
Both Tony and Gibbs stood and watched them leave. “Have I really been that big a bastard, Tony?” Gibbs asked after a couple of minutes.
“No boss,” Tony replied. “You’ve been worse. Ow.”
“So I called a buddy of mine in vice and he said there ain’t been any problems at that first apartment,” Don said. He opened his meatball sandwich and leaned forward over the plate so he wouldn’t get crumbs or sauce on the easy chair he was sitting in.
“But if Spaniel is covering this up then who knows what might or might not have been put on paper?” Mac said. “Mandy, tomorrow I’d like you to spend some time on the computer. Check the 9-1-1 logs for at least the past month for anything that might tie into this case. I’d like to know how long this has been going on.”
“Not a problem,” Mandy said. “I’ll try and get there early and set to work.”
“I got a print and a match in AFIS as well as some fibers from the gun,” Danny commented. “It looks like our shooter is an artist named Kenny Davis from the Village.”
Don snorted. “I wonder how long it’ll be before we called out to his place.”
“What do you mean, Don?” Mac asked. He swatted Danny’s hand as his human tried to snag a piece of pizza. Danny pouted for a moment and then leaned over and kissed Mac softly. When he pulled back he was holding a slice of pizza in one hand.
“Brat,” Mac snorted.
“Your brat,” Danny smiled. He took a bite and slid his pasta towards Mac.
“If you two is acting like that in the lab its no wonder Stella’s getting suspicious,” Don said. “And what I meant, Mac, was that we found prints for the banker and he ended up dead. Now Danny got prints for this artist; I was just wondering how long it would be before he got killed.”
“Do you think there’s a leak in the labs?” Danny asked, his eyes wide.
“I don’t know,” Mac sighed. “But until we get this case solved I want you to run as much evidence yourself as you can, Danny, and make sure no one else sees any of your paperwork.”
“I’ll change the password on my computer,” Don added.
“Mac; Aiden, Hawkes and Sid have all been working with us, not to mention Jane in DNA,” Danny said. “You don’t think one of them…”
“No I don’t,” Mac said. “But there are a number of techs and other assistants around. I’ll talk with everyone involved tomorrow and let them know what’s going on. Mandy, can you keep your ears open too? You’re new enough that folks might not think twice about talking in front of you.”
“Sure, Mac,” Mandy said. She took another bite of her salad. “We could always fake a conversation and see what happens.”
“We’ll see,” Mac said. “I’d like to avoid falsehoods in the lab if we can because it might just confuse people in the long run. But I’ll keep it in mind for a last resort.”
Mandy snorted and let her head drop against the table. “Gibbs,” she said.
“What?” Don asked, confused.
“Gibbs can smell if someone is lying,” Mandy said her voice muted by the table. “Gil has me working on community talents because of Jim; I don’t know how that managed to escape me for so long.”
“It’s been a long couple of days,” Danny said. “Don’t go beating yourself up or nothing.”
“Danny’s right,” Mac added. “That’s an excellent idea, Mandy. Don, how’s your Captain taking all this?”
“Spaniel went to see him like he did you and the Captain told him I was doing my job,” Don replied. “Seems no one was told there was a body when Spaniel told ‘em to leave the scene alone. We’re homicide detectives; someone shoulda thought of that.”
“That really is cheap,” Danny said. “I wonder why Spaniel’s so big on us not working the case. The time lines have pretty much proved he ain’t our suspect.”
“Although we need to find out exactly how and why his prints were in that first apartment,” Mac said. “But again, I don’t want to ask him anything until we’ve got enough evidence to indicate a firm suspect.”
The men all jumped when Don’s phone rang; Mandy seemed to have fallen asleep.
“Flack. What? No, I’m with ‘em.” He hung up and looked at his friends. “I shoulda kept my mouth shut,” he said softly. “The artist was just found dead.”
********************
Mac took a moment to tuck Mandy into his bed so she could get some sleep and the detectives left for their crime scene; none of them talking. When they got to the small studio apartment all three men paused in the door for a moment. “Tell me some of that is paint,” Danny finally said looking around.
“It has to be,” Mac replied. “No one has that much blood in them.”
“Maybe our suspect got hurt,” Don said. “I’ll notify the hospitals and clinics and start talking with the neighbors.”
“Let’s start with the body, Danny,” Mac said. “I want to see what shape this guy is in.”
Danny made his way carefully across the red-streaked room. “Well, if our suspect is escalating his attacks it ain’t gonna be good,” he said. “But I’m puzzled about one thing, Mac.”
“What’s that, Danny?”
“Well, I didn’t find the match until the end of my shift,” he said. “It was running on its own for a while when I was in ballistics but didn’t actually match until I was back in front of the computer. So how would anyone else know about it? I printed it out and logged off the system.”
“I think the time line is off too,” Mac said. “I don’t think there’s a leak in our lab, Danny; I think we’re being played.”
“Your eyes are glowing,” Danny said softly as he started taking pictures. “So you think we got a mastermind behind all this leaving us one clue to lead us to the next scene?”
“Which could be how Spaniel fits in,” Mac said. “I know Gibbs is still on medical leave. I’ll take Mandy’s suggestion and give him a call. Maybe he can come up and sniff around the lab for a bit.”
Danny grinned. “Literally,” he said. “It might help take his mind off being on sick leave too; make him feel useful again.”
“How’d you know he’s feeling useless?” Mac asked.
“Mac, the man’s a Marine,” Danny replied. “I know how you’d feel being layed up a long time; it’s gotta be driving him crazy.”
“Or his human,” Mac added. “I’ll call when we get back to the lab.”
********************
“Gibbs! Talk!”
“Nice message, Gibbs,” Mac snickered. “Look, I know the doctors probably don’t want you traveling any time soon but if you could find a way to sneak up to New York I could use your help. We think there might be a leak in the lab that’s impacting a homicide investigation and Mandy thought you might be able to sniff around and see if anyone is talking out of turn and…”
“Didn’t your sergeant teach you to be concise, Taylor?” Gibbs asked picking up the phone.
Mac laughed. “My sergeant liked to know the details, Gibbs,” he said. “So how about it; you want to go back to work early?”
“If I can sneak away from my watch dogs,” Gibbs grumbled under his breath. “Even though I’ve totally healed up Tony is insisting I stay in bed. Normally I wouldn’t complain but he won’t stay with me.”
“So tell Tony I need your help, lie to the doctors and fly up here,” Mac said. “I know Tony won’t mind you coming up to help us out.”
“He won’t but Ducky will,” Gibbs said. He told Mac what had happened and how their community had gained another member. “And Ducky is a force to be reckoned with in his own right.”
“Would if help if I called Dr. Mallard and talked with him?” Mac asked.
Gibbs snorted. “It might but I think I can get outta here without too much trouble,” he said. “Can someone pick me up at the airport?”
“Well, we’re not letting Mandy drive in the city but she’ll probably insist on riding along,” Mac said. “I’ll send Flack; he’s the best driver out of all of us.”
“Then I’ll call when I have my flight information,” Gibbs said and hung up.
Mac put the phone down and just stared at it for a moment. “Hey Danny,” he finally said.
“Yeah Mac?” His human looked up from the computer he was working on over in a corner.
“If I ever reach over a five on the Gibbs’-bastard scale will you please smack me?” Mac asked.
“Sure Mac,” Danny replied with a smile. “But you’re not even a one most of the time so I wouldn’t worry ‘bout it too much.”
“That one you’ve got no issues with,” Gibbs said. “Abby’s a good judge of character and if she likes him then he’s not a mole. You got any more information for me?”
“It’s nice to see you too, Gibbs,” Mac grinned. “How was your flight? Did Tony give you a hard time about coming up to visit us and work?”
“I’ve never been one for small talk,” Gibbs said. He sat down and glared at the other dragon. “No, DiNozzo had no problems letting me up here. He’s running the team right now and is too damn busy to notice where I am.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that one,” Mac said. “I’ve noticed Danny always seems to know where I am, even if he’s not paying attention to what’s going on around him. But I do appreciate you coming up to help on this. And yes, I do have more information.”
Gibbs gave him a look so reminiscent of his drill instructor that Mac almost laughed. “I could make you ask nicely, Gibbs,” Mac said. He opened a folder and handed it across. “But I won’t because I know it wouldn’t do any good in the long run. That’s our most recent scene and I can almost guarantee you that if or when we find a link to another suspect they’ll be dead before we get to them for questioning.”
“You really think your chief of detectives is involved deeper than tumbling a prostitute?” Gibbs asked. “That could account for his prints at the first scene easy enough.”
“He ordered us not to investigate a scene where a young woman was found dead,” Mac said. “Hawkes finally managed to identify her and she wasn’t a prostitute; she was a dancer who went out for a few drinks with her girlfriends after a show and never made it home again. All the girls were plastered by the end of the night and can’t remember who our vic left with.”
“Then I’d say you got some real problems here,” Gibbs snorted. “I’ll be happy to nose around the lab and hang over Flack’s shoulder for a while to see if anything smells but I don’t think I can help you any with this brass problem you’ve got.”
Mac nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that and…Danny, what’s wrong?”
“Gibbs,” Danny said. “Mac, I’m sorry to interrupt but DNA just called. They’re starting to get some matched back and they’re coming up high ranking politicians and brass here in the department. I think we got problems.”
“Any military involvement?” Mac asked.
“Two Navy officers,” Danny replied. “I get it, that puts part of the case in Gibbs’ jurisdiction and you can ask for help. Here’s the paperwork; Mandy asked me to come and check on something on her computer.”
“All right, thanks Danny,” Mac said. “Well, Gibbs; think you’re up to another joint investigation?”
“Where was their DNA located?” Gibbs asked.
“On the knife Danny found under our dancer,” Mac replied skimming the reports his human handed him. “I think that puts that homicide in your field.”
Gibbs grinned looking absolutely feral. “Then I think I’m going to enjoy myself,” he said. “Just point me in the right direction.”
********************
Don stepped into the A/V lab and did a double take. There were two black-haired women dressed in solid black looking at something on one of the computers with Danny. He grinned; recalling that Mandy had mentioned Gibbs and Don figured the dragon wouldn’t be allowed to travel alone. “Why didn’t anyone call me to tell me our DC friends were here?”
“Hey Donnie,” Abby said with a grin. “We just got here and Mandy needed someone to double check some stuff. I’m not the hacker McGee is but I can still manage to crack some code.”
“I was thinking that these calls looked altered,” Mandy explained. “Here Don, take my chair and look at this. See, we’ve got the initial call in with basic info entered but then nothing else. No response is entered in, no call-back, nothing. So I was wondering if someone went in and altered the records. That’s why I needed someone with more and better computer skills than I possess.”
“We can teach you, kiddo,” Abby said. “Just hop on down to NCIS any time you want and I’ll get Gibbs to get you in. McGee and I’ll show you the ropes and let you play around with hacking.”
“Is that legal?” Danny asked.
“As long as she’s hacking my computer,” Abby said. “I’ll bring in my lap top which is like totally legal and I don’t have anything on there that I don’t want people to know.”
“That’s good to know, Abs,” Gibbs commented from the door. “What do you guys have for me?”
Abby stood up and faced her boss. “Records have definitely been altered,” she said talking with her hands as she paced back and forth. “If you give me some time I can trace it back but it’s not going to happen in an hour, Gibbs, so don’t even ask. I’ll do what I can while you’re out busting someone for something.”
“How’d you know I was going out?” Gibbs asked.
“Oh come on, Gibbs,” Abby said. “It’s like totally obvious; you’ve got that ‘I’m a bastard and you’d better not mess with me’ look in your eyes.”
Gibbs snorted and grinned. “Abs, I look like that all the time.”
“No you don’t,” Abby said as she turned back to the computer. “Sometimes you look like you want to beat someone to a bloody pulp and are only just holding yourself back because you don’t want to get in trouble.”
“When have I ever gotten in trouble for beating someone up?” Gibbs asked.
“Just don’t have too much fun, Gibbs,” Abby replied. “I don’t want to have to tell Tony that you’re over-doing it up here.”
********************
Mandy was smart; being in college at sixteen proved that, but she had to admit she was in over her head as Abby rambled on about what she was doing to get into the system undetected and then back trace the link to another computer; the one that would lead them to their suspect.
“Abby, have you ever thought that you might be a potential human bonded?” Mandy asked.
“Lots of times; I figure my dragon is out there, I just have to find him,” Abby said. “It’s not like I want to be in mortal danger or anything but it would be nice to feel that connection to someone. Why?”
“I guess I’m just feeling lonely,” Mandy said. “You know, in the city all alone and I’ve had to drop out of school; they were being idiots and Gil pointed out that a degree from them would be next to useless. I’ve been working here full time and researching for the Miami community in my free time but it still feels like something is missing.”
“Your family?”
“Nope,” Mandy said. “But I wouldn’t mind being allowed to go out to supper with you guys some night while you’re here. Mac’s pretty down on the idea of me clubbing though.”
Abby grinned. “Oh come on, there’s got to be tons of underage clubs in New York,” she said. “Tell you what, let’s finish up here and then we’ll hit the net, see what we can find. I bet Danny and Donnie would be more than happy to take us out for a few hours. And with that kind of protection I think even Mac would be hard-pressed to object.”
“He already did once,” Mandy smiled. “I think he thinks they’re going to get not only me but themselves in trouble. Plus with this case they’re working I don’t know that they’ll be able to get out of here tonight.”
“Working too hard every night is not good for them,” Abby said. “I’ll talk with Gibbs and get him to talk to Mac and we’ll definitely be able to go out tonight. Don’t underestimate the power of the Abby.”
“I’m afraid I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“You will,” Abby said firmly. “Now then, let’s get back to your hacking lessons.”
“Abby says Mandy’s feeling down and wants to take her out tonight,” Danny said. “Come on Mac, it ain’t like we’re taking her to a club or nothing; we’re going for supper, a movie and maybe a little sight-seeing. A totally safe yet adult evening for her.”
“You swear she’ll be safe,” Mac said. “I feel responsible for her now that she’s at the lab full time and no family in the city.”
Danny perched on the edge of Mac’s desk. “Has she told you anything about her parents?”
“No she hasn’t and quit trying to change the subject on me, Danny,” Mac replied. “I want you to promise me that Mandy will be safe tonight.”
“You know I can’t lie to you, Mac,” Danny said seriously. “Not anymore and I wouldn’t want to. You are my life now and I know you can feel how much I love you.”
“I can and it awes me,” Mac said. He smiled gently, “try to behave yourself tonight, Danny. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“You want to come?”
“The last thing you kids need is an old man tagging along,” Mac said. “Gibbs and I’ll work on the case for a while and see what we can come up with.”
“Okay but call if you change your mind; both Don and I’ll have our cell phones with us.”
********************
Mandy unlocked the door to her apartment and led the way inside. “Whoa, dragon heaven,” Abby exclaimed as she looked around the living room. Every flat surface was occupied by a dragon sculpture or figurine. “You must have been collecting like forever to have all of these.”
“I made some of them,” Mandy said. “William taught me years ago and it’s a hobby I didn’t give up. I’ve been thinking about making sculptures for all our dragons but I’m not sure how they’d like something like that.”
“Well if couldn’t be too obvious like a garden statue or anything,” Abby said. She picked up a palm-sized curled pearl dragon. “But something about this size should be okay.”
“You really think they’d like them?”
“Girl we so need to work on your self-esteem,” Abby replied. “I think they’d totally love them, not only because they’re a representation of their true form but because they came from you. Now come on, let’s get your outfit picked out.”
“I don’t think I have anything really suitable for tonight,” Mandy said. “I spent a lot of time shopping at Goodwill to save money for college.”
“We’ll make something work,” Abby said.
“Abs, how long did it take you to get so comfortable in your skin?” Mandy opened her closet and then flopped on the bed.
“Once I went away to college and realized that I was always going to be criticized no matter what I did I just decided it would be easier to do my own thing,” Abby replied. “So I set out to experience it all and just picked and chose my own style.”
“I like that philosophy,” Mandy said.
“Then we just need to get you a thick skin and teach you to not give a damn about what anyone else thinks.” Abby squealed and turned away from the closet holding some clothes. “These are perfect.”
********************
“I’m not saying you don’t look good, Don, because you do,” Danny said. “I’m just a little shocked is all.”
“Abby and I are going clubbing after we take Mandy home,” Don replied. “So I wanted to make sure I don’t look like a detective.”
Danny paused and let his eyes roam over his friend. Don’s black hair was towel-dried and gelled to be sexily messy. He was wearing an ice blue silk shirt, black leather pants and lace-up black boots. “Donnie, it you were to go out and stand on a street corner you’d probably be arrested,” Danny finally said.
“Thanks Danny,” Don grinned. He knocked on the door in front of them. “Well hello ladies.”
Abby had styled Mandy’s black hair so it was pulled back from her face and secured in a fake-diamond clip. She was in a navy blue tank top, black lace shirt knotted at the waist, a knee length black skirt and black boots. The older woman was in solid black with her hair up in her normal pig tails.
“You both look beautiful,” Danny said. He held out his left arm to Mandy. “Shall we?”
********************
“This is Detective Taylor.”
“Mac, it’s Horatio; I have a question for you.”
“What’s up, Horatio?” Mac asked.
“I have a young, smart CSI in Miami who has been unfairly targeted because of his sexual orientation,” Horatio replied. “He’s talking about a transfer and I wondered if you might have a place for him on your team.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Horatio?”
“Ryan Wolfe saw Jim in true form but is in serious denial,” Horatio sighed. “I’d like to make sure that he’s near a community so he’ll be safe.”
Mac grinned. “Send him up, Horatio; I’m sure we can find a place for him,” he said. “Gibbs is up helping with a case so I’ll let him know what’s going on.”
“Thanks Mac,” Horatio said. “And we need to start planning a way to get you guys down here for a meeting. You wouldn’t believe some of the things Greg and I have discovered.”
“Do you know why all of our community members are gay?” Mac asked.
“Not a clue but I suspect it’s linked to the underlying reason there are so many of us around,” Horatio said. “How are you and Danny doing?”
“Good,” Mac said. “He and Don are out with Abby and Mandy.”
“How are your nerves holding up?” Horatio laughed.
“I’ll do better when I know she’s home safe,” Mac said. “Maybe it’s a good thing I won’t ever have children because I don’t think I could handle this for more than a couple years. But I do trust Danny and Don to keep the girls safe.”
“And you’ll know the instant anything happens,” Horatio pointed out.
“There’s that too,” Mac said. “I see Gibbs storming my way, Horatio; I’d better go. Let Ryan know that he has a place here in the lab as soon as he can get to the city.”
“I will; thanks Mac. One of us will talk with you soon.”
********************
Abby and Don watched as Danny and Mandy rode the Carousel. “For all that she wants to be an adult she’s still such a kid at heart,” Abby commented. “We need to keep an eye on her, Donnie; she’s trying too hard.”
“I’ve seen kids do this before,” Don said. “When they have a bad home or they need to escape something. We’ve been trying to figure her out but can’t find any clues nowhere. Whatever she’s hiding she’s good, my dad don’t even know nothing and I’ve asked.”
“What about this William she always talks about?” Abby asked.
“Not a clue,” Don replied. “We’ve checked and there’s nothing. It’s like he don’t exist. Which if she’s been abused he might not.”
“Ouch, I didn’t even think about that,” Abby said. “Do you think Mac would let NCIS have her for the summer? I’d like a chance to work with her in the lab for a while.”
Don grinned as Danny lifted Mandy down off her horse. “You’d have to ask but I don’t think he’s going to let her go any time soon,” he said. “Mac’s in full protective mode and there’s no arguing with him when he’s like that.”
“Can we go to the lake?” Mandy asked as she bounced up to the pair.
“Sure,” Don said. “Danny, do you want to get some nuts or something?”
“Donnie, I can barely move after all the junk we’ve had tonight,” Danny said. “How can you still be hungry?”
“Hey, I’m a growing boy Messer,” Don growled playfully. “I need to keep up my strength.”
“Keep eating like you do and you’ll be growing sideways instead of up,” Danny muttered. “Come on, Mandy, they can catch us up.”
The lake wass deserted and Mandy was half tempted to take off her boots and socks and let her feet dangle off the dock she saw sitting on the water. Danny saw her look and grinned. “Come on, kid, lets get wet,” he said.
“Where did Abby and Don vanish to?” Mandy asked. She sat down and started to unlace her boots. “Although I did kind of get the impression they wanted to be alone.”
“There’s a definite spark there,” Danny agreed. “But I dunno about the whole long distance thing.” He tucked his socks into his shoes and rolled up his jeans. “Besides, with those pants Donnie got on tonight I doubt he’d be out here with us, no way to roll ‘em up and he ain’t gonna want to get ‘em wet.”
“True,” Mandy laughed. “Thanks for taking me out tonight, Danny; Mac wasn’t too upset was he?”
“Nah, he knows he can’t keep you locked up forever,” Danny said. “And he knows he can trust you. Mac just wants to make sure you’re safe; you’re part of our family now and he takes that very seriously.”
Mandy grinned. “Him and Horatio both,” she said. “I’ve never felt so at home in my life and I’m loving every minute of it.” She paused and looked towards the trees. “Danny, correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t that a dragon?”
Danny froze and looked where Mandy was pointing. There was an emerald green dragon head looking towards them. “Shit, Mandy go see what happened; I’m gonna call Mac.”
“Right,” Mandy said. She paused to slip on her boots knowing that running barefoot in Central Park wasn’t smart and hurried towards the trees; stopping only when the dragon growled at her. “Abs, you in there?”
“Yeah, I’m trying to get him to calm down,” Abby said. “Just give me a minute and we’ll be cool.”
“I don’t know that we’ve got a minute,” Mandy said. “But I’ll back up.”
By the time Danny had joined the small group Don was back in human form, dazed, but awake enough to know what was going on once Abby filled in a few details. Danny told them that Mac wanted him to take Mandy home and they’d all meet up in the morning once the newest bond was finalized.
********************
Tony jumped when the phone rang. “DiNozzo.”
“You need to get up here now,” Gibbs stated firmly.
“Hi boss,” Tony said ignoring how Kate and McGee’s heads snapped towards his desk. “I’m glad you called, actually, our investigation is stalled and we could use your help with it.”
“I don’t give a damn about that right now, Tony,” Gibbs said. “Don Flack just Changed in Central Park and his human is Abby. Now get your ass on the next plane to New York or I’m going to put it in a sling.”
“Shit, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Tony said. He put the phone down. “There’s been a problem in New York and I have to go. Kate, I’ll call the director but he’ll probably put you on desk duty until Gibbs is back in town.”
“What’s wrong, Tony?” McGee asked.
“Nothing major, probie,” Tony said with a small smile. “Just Gibbs being Gibbs. I’ve got to go or I’ll be hurting. See you guys later; don’t have too much fun.”
“I should have been with you,” Mac growled as he pulled off Danny’s mesh shirt. “I should have been there to protect you.”
“We’re fine, Mac,” Danny gasped as his dragon cupped his ass and pulled their groins into contact.
“I wouldn’t argue with him,” Gibbs commented from the sofa. He didn’t even look up from the case file he was reviewing. “He’s been upset since your phone call and I think he needs to make sure you’re okay.”
“Hi Gibbs,” Danny managed as he was pulled past the living room towards the bedroom. Mac slammed the door shut behind them and pushed Danny down onto their bed.
Mac pulled off both his and Donny’s clothes in record time and moved to pin his human to the bed. “I know I can’t keep you with me all the time,” he growled. “And I know I can’t keep you locked up in the apartment but I’m driven to protect you and I’ll die if anything ever happens to you.”
“I love you, Mac,” Danny managed to say. “I don’t even know what happened but Mandy and I weren’t never in any danger.”
“What if Don hadn’t Changed?” Mac demanded as he started kissing down his human’s neck and chest. “What then? The suspect could’ve come down on the dock and attacked you and Mandy.”
“But it didn’t happen that way, Mac.” Danny shifted around trying for more contact. “Nothing bad happened; we’re fine and home safe. Now will you please lube up and get in me? I need to feel you.”
Mac’s eyes flashed amber for a moment. He reached for the lube they’d left out the night before and handed it to Danny. His human grinned and slowly slicked Mac’s erection. Mac had to bite his lip to keep from thrusting and coming from the simple touch of Danny’s warm hands.
He shifted Danny around and thrust home sharply, both men moaning as Danny’s body opened and welcomed him in. Mac paused for a moment to just enjoy the heat and feeling of his human around his cock.
“Mac, please,” Danny moaned, his head falling forward. He sounded so broken and so needy that something inside Mac snapped and he started thrusting hard into Danny, loving the sounds his human was making.
Danny pushed back against Mac, wanting to feel as much of the other man as he could. It wasn’t his favorite position because he couldn’t touch his dragon at all but as Mac leaned over, changing the angle and wrapped a hand around Danny’s cock all thoughts dissolved and he came with a cry of Mac’s name.
“Are you okay, Danny?” Mac asked as he carefully and gently cleaned his human up. “I didn’t mean to be quite so rough with you.”
“I’m fine, a little embarrassed but much more relaxed,” Danny replied. “I got pretty noisy and Gibbs is in the living room.”
“Gibbs will understand,” Mac said. “I’m sure he and Tony have had some pretty wild nights together after a tough case. He’s sleeping here for the next few nights or until Tony flies up to join him; whichever comes first.”
Danny lifted his head and kissed Mac gently. “I think I’m gonna be losing my best friend,” he whispered.
“Why do you say that?” Mac asked.
“Because there’s no way in hell Gibbs would ever let Abby leave NCIS and she and Don have got to be together,” Danny said. “The simplest and most logical solution is for Flack to transfer down to DC.”
“Let’s sleep tonight and worry about it tomorrow,” Mac said. “But Danny, even if Flack does leave the city it doesn’t mean he’ll stop being your friend. It just means a little extra travel for your basketball games.”
********************
When Mac made his way into the kitchen the next morning he found Gibbs sitting at the table with Tony looking over case files. “I want to talk with this Spaniel person,” Gibbs said.
“Why?” Mac asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“I guess it does,” Mac agreed. “All right, I’ll try to set it up because I seriously doubt we’ll be seeing Flack at work today.”
Danny wandered in and took Mac’s mug from his hand. “Ugh,” he muttered making a face. “How can you drink that stuff?”
“It keeps me sweet,” Mac replied. He kissed Danny and took his coffee back. “Gibbs and Tony are going to interview Spaniel today so I want you to go back over all our evidence in this case and see if you can find anything else that can link him to any of the crime scenes.”
“You got it Mac,” Danny said. “I’ll shower and hit the lab. Catch you guys later.”
********************
It didn’t take much to set up a video camera to Gibbs’ exact specifications in the interrogation room he’d claimed even though it wasn’t standard procedures for the NYPD. When Mac arrived with Ron Spaniel they found Tony at the table with a couple of file folders and a note pad in front of him.
“Agent DiNozzo,” Mac said.
“He’ll be right in, Detective Taylor,” Tony replied with a warm smile. “I think he’s tracking down one last thing.” The unspoken word coffee hung between them.
“This is a waste of my time, Taylor,” Spaniel said. “I have more important things to do than sit here and listen to some stupid Navy cop.”
Gibbs shut the door with a smile. “Well I can tell we’re going to get along just fine,” he said. “I want you to explain a couple of things to me, Spaniel.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“Considering that we have your DNA from the woman whose scene you tried to keep New York CSI from investigating and there are naval officers involved in her murder, you should want to explain everything to me,” Gibbs said. “Especially if you want to keep your job.” Gibbs flipped open the notebook and looked across the table at the other man.
“Is that a threat?” Spaniel asked.
“I have enough evidence to charge you with accessory to murder, trying to hinder a homicide investigation and being an all around dirt bag I don’t see how it could be,” Gibbs replied. “Do you want to start talking or do I have Detective Taylor here arrest you?”
“You don’t have anything on me,” Spaniel snapped.
Gibbs flipped around a printout. “DNA doesn’t lie,” he said softly. “You explain to me how your DNA ended up inside that dancer we found dead in the park.”
“I’ve never cheated on my wife and I’ve never seen that woman before in my life,” Spaniel said.
“Then explain the DNA,” Gibbs demanded. “And your fingerprints all over the room where the dancer was killed.”
“I can’t.”
“I can,” Danny said as he shut the door behind him. “Everything is starting to make sense now; take a look at this.”
Mac took the folder from his human and skimmed the top sheet before handing it over to Gibbs. With Tony reading over his shoulder they looked at the newspaper article Danny had uncovered and Gibbs snorted. “I knew you were lying to me, dirt bag,” he said. “So I’m going to give you one last chance to tell me the truth or you’re under arrest.”
Spaniel looked over at Gibbs, into cold ice blue eyes and swallowed. “He’s at my apartment,” he finally said. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“You should have made the arrest the minute you found out what was going on instead of covering it up,” Gibbs said. “Now innocent people have lost their lives because of you.”
“We’ll go pick him up,” Mac said. “Be back as soon as we can.”
“Take DiNozzo with you,” Gibbs said. “Spaniel and I are going to have a talk about who else is involved in this case.”
********************
“You know, Mac, they could point the finger at each other and we’ll never be able to prove which one of them actually raped and murdered our female victim.”
“Identical twins do make this more difficult but trust in the evidence, Danny,” Mac said. “But I think you hit something there with your finger statement; we’ve got unmatched prints from all the crime scenes. Let’s get prints from both of the brothers and see if we can show one of them was at every scene.”
“And it could show us who did the murders and who didn’t,” Danny said. “You think they’ll both be convicted, Mac?”
“Ron Spaniel has been a cop for a long time and he knows how to work the system,” Mac said. “Honestly Danny, I think its going to come down to a question of what’s held most important to them; family or jail time.”
“You’re right,” Danny sighed. “I’m just glad we were able to stop this before anyone else got killed.”
“I know and you did really good to find that article,” Mac said. He leaned in and whispered in his human’s ear. “Now, while the prints are running would like to take a few minutes in our favorite storage closet?”
“Sure,” Danny replied with a smile.
********************
When Tony rejoined his dragon in the interrogation room with Ray Spaniel he found that Gibbs had been busy and had at least three pages of notes and names in front of him.
“Here he is, boss,” Tony said. “Mac and Danny are running some final tests for us and they’ll bring in the results when they’re done.”
“Call Kate and get her to run these names,” Gibbs said. “I want service records, current addresses, finances and any other information she can find on them.”
“On it boss,” Tony said.
Gibbs looked at the identical twins. “All right,” he said. “This is your last chance to tell me the truth. Lie to me again and it’s all over for both of you.”
“We are telling you the truth,” Ron said.
Gibbs started laughing. “No you’re not,” he said. “Now it seems to me that I’ve been more than fair but a lot of people have died and it all ties back to you.” He slapped his folder closed. “I’m turning this part of the investigation back over to the NYPD; enjoy prison guys. Read ‘em their rights, Tony.”
********************
When Mac and the others got back to his apartment that evening they found Flack and Abby in the kitchen cooking supper. “Gibbs!” Abby exclaimed. She ran across the kitchen and wrapped the ice blue dragon in a hug.
“Hey Abs,” Gibbs said. “You have a good day.”
“Yeah but I’m not telling you about it,” Abby replied with a grin. “What about you? Did you manage to kick some major bad guy butt today?”
“We closed the puzzle case,” Mac commented. “Turns out that Spaniel has an identical twin brother and we’ve got them on fingerprint and DNA evidence.”
Don laughed. “My first day off in a year and you guys close the biggest case I’ve worked,” he said. “Good job.”
“It was all Danny,” Tony said. “He’s the one who found the information that broke the case open.”
“So Donnie, when you leaving us?” Danny asked mostly to get the attention off himself.
“I didn’t know I was,” Don replied.
Gibbs leaned back in his chair. “Now that you’ve bonded with Abby there are two choices; you move to DC and join my team at NCIS or Abby moves up here.”
“And you don’t want to lose Abby,” Mac said.
“Would you?” Gibbs asked.
“No I wouldn’t,” Mac replied. “But we really don’t want to lose Don either.”
“It’d be a good move for me,” Don commented. “If you want me around that is, Gibbs; I could always go for homicide in DC.”
“You’re too smart to work for the city,” Gibbs snorted. “And I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t serious. You’ll be a good fit, Flack.”
“In that case I’ll be there on Monday,” Don grinned. “Sorry Mac.”
Mac put an arm around Danny’s waist and pulled his human in for a hug. “You’ve got to be with your human, Don,” he said. “And your career is important too. It’s not like we won’t see you again. We’re still in the same community.”
“Well said, Mac,” Gibbs said. “Now, what’s for supper?”
“Learn to duck, Don,” Tony stage whispered. “Ow, boss!”
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