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Previous part of Behavioural Analysis.

***

Chapter 11

Tony walked towards the F.B.I building and smiled as soon as he spotted Spencer.

'We need to talk.' Both men said as soon as they reached each other.

'I guess things went well with you and Hotch last night?' Tony chuckled; he really hoped that this is what it meant.

'Well, enough that I think something may come of it. I guess the same thing could be said about you and Gibbs?''

'It's not exactly the same, but we did kiss a few times.' He would never lie to his friend when it came to this.

Spencer had watched Tony for a little longer before he smiled. 'I am guessing it wasn't on the cheek.' He waited for Tony to nod. 'That's just not fair, that was all I got.'

'Well, I think Gibbs and I are further along the road than you two are.'

'So/ both single again then Tony?'

'That we are, but hopefully not for long. We have sexy bosses that we need to catch.' The two men laughed as they made their way into the building and the BAU.

XXXXX

Vance just stared at Gibbs, Abby and Palmer. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to say that it was all lies, but it did sound like something that Ziva would do to get what she wanted. McGee seemed to think he was someone important and was willing, eager even to follow his teammate in her crazy schemes. They would both soon realise that they weren't irreplaceable. What they both forgot was that they worked in a team that investigated crimes. Tony was the only one that they would suffer from if he left. He was still one of the best, if not the best investigator they had. He had more experience in that area than anyone, which included Gibbs himself.

'What the hell are they thinking?' Vance growled, Shepperd bringing Ziva here had been a mistake. It was one that they had continued with willingly, which had been a mistake. Now it was going to bite them all in the ass if they didn't manage to stop this crazy plan. It would do a lot more harm to NCIS as a whole. Who would want to work somewhere in which you team-mates, those people who had your back made plans behind your back to get rid of you?

'At the moment it's only talk and thankfully DiNozzo's not working on the cases here.' Gibbs was suddenly glad that the BAU you have requested his SICs help.

'True,' Vance chewed a toothpick as he thought. 'Stay on cold cases for now. Pick ones that are DiNozzo's had no hand in. It's quiet, for us, at the moment. Hopefully, we can deal with this before any case comes up that you have to deal with.'

'I'll pick them out.' Gibbs agreed.

'Gibbs,' Vance suddenly called out. 'Thanks for coming straight here and not trying to deal with it yourself.'

'Thanks should go to Palmer. He obviously managed to make them still believe he would help. He's the one that gave us this little bit of space.'

Vance turned to look at the ME assistant. He knew how nervous Palmer was of him and Gibbs. It took a lot of courage for the young man to come forward. 'Good job Mr Palmer.'

Jimmy's face lit up as he smiled. 'Thank you director, Tony's my friend and I don't want anything bad to happen to him if I can help it.'

'We'll try and figure out what to do. At the moment, it's only talk, and we can't do anything to them. If we did bring them in now, they could you say it was a joke. Hopefully, we can sort it out soon.' Vance nodded and indicated that they could leave. Once his office door had closed, he opened a drawer; he then pulled out some painkillers. He had a headache brewing and a feeling that it was going to get worse, but it was also going to grow as this disaster loomed over them.

XXXXX

Tony sat at a desk on the second day still going through files of victims and information that was collected by the BAU. There are a few things that stood out, but he wasn't going to jump to any conclusions until he had gone through them all.

XXXXX

Hotch looked up and smiled as Spencer came in with a file to be signed off. There was never ending paperwork to do in this job.

'Thanks, Spencer. So how are things with you and Tony?' He tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice and failed.

'We're not seeing each other anymore.'

'It wasn't because of last night was it?' The last thing Hotch had wanted was to ruin anything for his friend. Tony was a good man.

Spencer took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge. 'Yes, but not in the way you think.'

Hotch try to stop the hope that has started to grow within him. 'If it's not the way I think, what way is it?'

'Tony and I were honest with each other from the very start. We wanted companionship, but we both had feelings for other people that we believed at the time to be unrequited. Since last night we both think that there could be a possibility of being with that person.' Spencer paused for a moment, 'is there a possibility that what I feel may not be unrequited?'

Hotch couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face. 'I think there's a very good possibility that your feelings are requited. How about we talk about it after work tonight? Jack's away at a play date, and he's spending the night. I'll cook?'

'Sounds great, I'll see you later.' Spencer turned away quickly and nearly walked into the door. The young genius suddenly whirled around and came back in the office to place a file on the desk.

Hotch chuckled as Spencer left his office. He wouldn't tell Spencer at how cute he thought that was. It seemed as if finally something was going his way in his personal life for once. He was very determined that this would work out for them.

XXXXX

Tony looked at Spencer when came in, and nodded. On the way up he had persuaded the young man to take a chance with Hotch. It looked like it had worked out. The two of them could actually end up with the men of the dreams.

XXXXX

McGee and Ziva walked out of the lift together laughing. They never noticed the look on Abby's and Gibbs' faces. Palmer had headed straight down to work. He didn't want to be caught up here when they arrived; he was afraid he would give something away.

'Good morning Gibbs, Abby.' Ziva smiled at them as she spoke.

'Morning.' Abby replied quickly. 'I'll talk to you later Gibbs.' She walked off to the lift her shoes clomped as she hurried away. Just like Palmer she was afraid that she would say something to them, to demand why they would treat Tony like this. She didn't want the do that until they had a plan to make sure that Tony and his job would be safe. Abby wouldn't put it past Ziva to do Tony from physical harm to get what she wanted.

'We're on cold cases for now. I've put some on your desks.' Gibbs watched as the two of them glanced through the files and then over at each other.

'Well, McGee and I thought it would be good training if we went through some of Tony's old cases.'

Gibbs stared at them. They definitely weren't wasting any time. They wanted DiNozzo out, and they wanted it now. He would have to let the others know that they had already begun to push 'Does it look like I'm taking suggestions on what cases you're doing?' He snarled his tempter had already started to rise.

'No Gibbs,' they answered together.

'If I find out you've only glanced through those cases to gets to some of DiNozzo's old ones you're going to wish you never heard my name.' He promised to himself by the end of this they were going to wish that anyway.

McGee and Ziva both gulped. They knew that wouldn't be able to start their plan now; it would have to wait. They would have things the way they wanted in the end anyway.

Ziva took a sip of her tea. Well, things would work out her. McGee was easily played. If Palmer didn't help them, then the computer tech would be the one that would take the fall. He was the one with the ability to make the changes on the system, not her. She did have some skills of her own in that area. If not she would call someone in.

McGee hummed softly as he started his computer up. It wouldn't be long before he was SFA. He would then show Gibbs how an agent who was second in command should act.

'I'm going for coffee.' Gibbs told them sharply and not waiting for an answer he stood and stalked to the elevator. He had to get so he could get his anger under control.

XXXXX

Tony was still at the BAU going through paperwork when everyone had started to leave. He smiled at Spencer when the younger man left. He couldn't wait to see him in the morning. Spencer has told him that he was meeting up with Hotch, and tomorrow is when Tony would get all the gossip.

'Hey, my hunky very special NCIS agent, are you ready for your first computer lesson?' Penelope walked over to him with a smile on her face.

'I am as ready as I'll ever be.' Tony wasn't a huge fan of computers, but he was willing to learn. He was thrilled that Penelope offered, and he wasn't stuck with McGee trying to teach him. He could imagine all the smarmy comments he would have received every time he'd made a mistake. He knew that would never have worked out.

'Don't worry I have set something up for you. I also have also designed something for you to take-home practice on.'

Tony closed the folder, and as he stood he frowned at her. 'Should I be worried?'

'Of course not, come on Padawan you have lots to learn.'

'I will bow to your wisdom, and await your first lesson Master Penelope, or would that be mistress?' Tony grinned and winked at her.

'Oh, mistress definitely.' Penelope grabbed his arm and pulled him into her office, her little domain from where she ruled the world.

XXXXX

Gibbs's front door opened, and Tony walked in with a laptop bag slung over a shoulder.

'What on earth are you doing that DiNozzo?' That was the last thing Gibbs thought that Tony would be carrying.

Tony chuckled. 'When Vance found out about my course, he suggested that the next one I take should be computers. I'm barely better than you are. There's a computer whiz at the BAU, Penelope. She's given me computer lessons. She's even created a movie trivia typing tutor to get my speed up. We also went through some basics, and she even gave me hand-outs.'

Gibbs stood and pulled into his arms. He held him tightly against his own body. 'I needed this.'

Tony wrapped his arms around Gibbs his waist. He loved to feel those hard muscles against his own. This was something he had dreamt about often. 'I guess McGee and Ziva started something? How did Vance take the news? I guess you'll be happy to know that I am now single again.'

Gibbs pulled back instead deeply into a pair of emerald eyes. Then he placed his mouth over the younger man's. He could now do this without guilt, well he hope he could. He didn't want to be the reason that Tony was no longer friends with the man that had given him so much support and encouragement.

Tony wanted to melt into the kiss, but something felt off. There was something still holding Gibbs back.

The silver-haired man could see that Tony had sensed something. The younger man always could read him. 'Are you in Spencer okay? I mean, this hasn't caused you any problems has it?'

'No Spencer and I are good. It seems as if he would be getting the man of his dreams as well.' Tony's cheeks glowed red with embarrassment as soon as he realised what he had said.

'I'm the man of your dreams huh?' Gibbs asked smugly.

'Shut up.' Tony walked away them from the door and then collapsed on the couch. 'So are you going to tell me now how today went?'

'Vance was not a happy man; he did believe us. We have to do something they're not wasting any time.'

'What do you mean?'

'They wanted some of your old cases, for so-called training purposes.' Gibbs explained.

'I never thought they would try anything so soon, unless,' his voice faded off.

'Unless what Tony?'

'Unless they wanted this as proof that I've done it before. They might not think the one case would be enough to condemn me. They would need evidence of my other so-called screw ups. This could be what they were planning. If anyone could do the computer parts its McGee. He could alter things on the system to make it look like I had made mistakes. I'm also sure our little Miss Mossad could deal with the paper copies. If McGee and Ziva hadn't gone to Palmer, they could have possibly pulled this off. Who would have believed me?'

'I would've, you're my senior field agent for a reason. I wanted you in NCIS and on my team for a reason. You have never, ever let me down.'

'You sure that the reason wasn't my cute ass?' Tony joked as he couldn't think anymore about the people who he had once considered family and now they were trying to ruin his career.

'Well, that might have been one of the reasons.' Gibbs smiled as he sat down next to Tony and then pulled the other man into his arms. They both needed this. They needed this comfort that only they could give each other. It hurt like hell being betrayed by people they trusted. In the future, he definitely wasn't going to pair Tony up with either of them. He didn't want to see the man he loved hurt or killed by a so-called accident.

'I guess you'd better tell Ducky. He'll also be able to tell if anything is tampered with, medically speaking.'

'I'll talk to him tomorrow.' Gibbs breathed in Tony's aftershave. 'I missed you today, saying that I'm also glad you away from them at the moment.'

The two of them leaned back, arms still around each other. Tony now rested his head against Gibbs's shoulder.

'I may not be away for a long as you think.' Tony's breath tickled the older man's neck as he quickly fell asleep.

It was clear that Tony hadn't slept the night before, and Gibbs hoped the being wrapped his arms made him feel safe enough to let go. He wanted to ask what Tony meant that he wasn't going to be away for long, but that could wait for now.

XXXXX

Spencer sat on the sofa as Hotch cleared away the remnants of their meal. It had been wonderful. They had talked a little about the case that Tony had been brought in on. They bounced ideas around and then moved onto other topics. It was also a lot easier to be with someone when you knew that they wouldn't be intimidated by your intellect. Spencer was also glad that Hotch was no slouch in the brain's department either, not that that would have made a difference in how he felt about him.

Hotch came through and handed him a cup of coffee.

'So, what exactly do you want from this?' Hotch wanted to know, he knew Spencer was an all in type of guy, but he had to ask. This is something he needed to confirm before they went any further.

'I want a relationship with you. I know it won't be easy as we're both men. On top of that, not only do we work with each other, but you're also my boss. I still think that you're, we're worth the risk.'

'I'm glad to hear you say that. I feel exactly the same way. Life's too short not to take a chance on being happy. I learned that after Hayley was murdered. We'll still take things slowly though. It won't be long before the others know. I expect we'll get lots of jokes and innuendos from them, but I still know that they'll support us.'

'I agree they are a group of good people. Derek is never going to leave this alone.' Spencer laughed at the thought of the man who he considered an older brother.

'We do have an amazing team, a family.'

'Yes we do.' Spencer was so glad that he had listened to Tony. If it hadn't been for his encouragement, he would never have gone and spoken to Hotch. He owed Tony so very much.

XXXXX

Hazel eyes watched her she said goodbye to her friends who were also on shore leave. She was absolutely perfect for what was needed.

***

Chapter 12

'Sir, can I talk to you for a moment.' Sacks asked as he rushed over to Hotch. If only he could get his point across to the other man.

Hotch managed to stop himself from wincing as soon as he heard that recognisable voice, one that seemed to be everywhere. 'What can I do for you today Agent Sacks?'

'There are a couple of things that I need to discuss with you. Firstly I do honestly think that I would work well within the BAU. I have many skills that would be an asset. I just need a chance to prove it to you.'

'And the second thing is?' He already knew what it was going to be about, or who it was going to be about. Whatever Sacks had to say it wasn't going to make a difference.

'It's about the NCIS agent, Agent DiNozzo. He's a sorry an excuse of a federal agent, everyone knows it. He's not someone you want to work for you. He'll joke around and mess up any headway you've made. DiNozzo will also make the BAU a laughing stock, no one will trust in your opinion if you let that clown work with you.'

'Look Agent Sacks, I'm sorry to repeat this, but as Tony said yesterday your personality is all wrong for a profiler. You also don't have the education we require, or the work experience.'

'I don't have the correct education, yet you'll hire someone like Morgan, an ex-cop of all things.' Sacks spat out and then suddenly froze he knew that it had been a mistake to bring up that profiler. A man who had been with the BAU for years. It was something that Sacks couldn't understand, he had been just a cop like DiNozzo, and he, himself was worth so much more than them.

'This discussion is over and please do not bring it up again. I will pass on my recommendations to Chief Strauss that you should not work with the BAU.' Hotch leaned in closer to him. 'For your information on the matter of the two ex-cops you've mentioned. I've looked into Agent DiNozzo. He has excellent recommendations and many awards. There have been other agencies including the F.B.I that have tried to bring him over to them. From the F.B.I, they have offered him a team lead, which hasn't happened to you yet. Derek Morgan is an outstanding profiler and did an amazing job as a team leader in the BAU. These opinions that you've made on both of these men aren't based on anything, but your biased point of view. That proves the point of why you are not the right fit. Goodbye, Agent Sacks.' Hotch turned and walked away. He would talk to Strauss straight away, there needed to be no error or loophole that Sacks could use in his favour.

Sacks glared as the SSA walked away from him. He had hoped that this time he would be given a chance. It looked like his plan B had to be put into action. Things had been going so well for him before that frat boy arrived. Now he wouldn't have the man he loved, or the job he wanted because of him. He had a few doubts about his plan, but now Sacks knew it was the way to go.

XXXXX

McGee and Ziva were thrilled that they had another day without Tony. Autopsy had been busy, so as of yet they hadn't managed to talk to Palmer. Not only did they want him involved, they needed him. If anything went wrong, he was the person that they would make sure was blamed.

'Grab you gear, we've got a body here in Washington.' Gibbs called out.

Ziva and McGee scrabbled around to get their things together and chase after their boss. They both had their thoughts on being able to take control and show Gibbs that they would be great senior field agents, better than their current one.

XXXXX

'Tony.' Hotch called out, and he waited for the young man to look up from the folder. 'We've got another body in Washington. There's a problem though.'

Tony frowned as Hotch hesitated. 'What's the problem?'

'The next victim was in the Navy, it looks like your worlds are about to crash together.'

DiNozzo took a deep breath. He knew there were a couple of reasons he was going. Yes, he was an investigator, a very good one. The other reasons were because Gibbs had a reputation, and it may help things if here were there. With everything that was going on with his team, it might be helpful with the BAU being a part of things. McGee and Ziva wouldn't mess up a case, which had the best profilers working on it, would they? That was when he groaned. He needed to talk to Gibbs and Vance, were they going to say anything to the BAU. It was going to be as if there were neon signs above their heads that there were problems within the team. It wouldn't take them long to figure out him and Gibbs, had a more personal relationship than was truly allowed. There weren't any regulations on fraternisation; it was more an unwritten rule, which people followed.

'Gibbs is going to kill them.' Tony muttered and then smiled to himself when he realised that Gibbs would stand by him and not them. It had finally sunk in that he wasn't alone in the world. He had people that cared and wanted to protect him. It was something he had always dreamt of having and now he did, and on top of that he had the man that he loved. He didn't care if or when the other shoe dropped things were going well for him now.

XXXXX

Gibbs was just about to yell at the Captain when he found he called someone else in. The victim was a member of the Navy and that made it his case. He was about to open his mouth when he heard a voice, and a smile came to his face as he turned and looked into a very handsome face.

'Are you sure you can't share?' DiNozzo asked cheekily.

Gibbs shook his head and then waved the file he was holding. 'This links into why you were over at the BAU?'

'Yes it does, I'm SSA Hotchner, please call me Hotch.' He held out his hand.

Gibbs reached out and shook it. 'Gibbs.' He replied succinctly.

'You've got a great agent in Tony.'

Gibbs smirked and noticed how pale McGee and Ziva went. 'I know I was lucky I had found him in Baltimore before anyone else did.'

'Aww boss really.' Tony cooed at him and laughed when Gibbs swatted the back of his head.

It didn't take a profiler to realise that these two men were close, but what a profiler could see that there was an attraction there as well. Spencer was the only one that knew there wasn't just an attraction, but also a relationship. So this was the man who Tony was in love with. He could see the attraction. There was something about Gibbs beyond the attractive looks, and gorgeous blue eyes. It was the same thing he felt Hotch had as well. That male aura, the animal magnetism that just pulled people in. The two team leads had it in spades.

Tony glanced over at Spencer and blushed. It was obvious that the young genius knew who Gibbs was.

Gibbs felt jealous as he watched the two young men look at each other. As he glanced over he noticed Hotch doing the same thing, and then their eyes met and they grinned. It seemed as if they were both in the same situation with the younger men in their team.

'Are you okay with sharing the case?' Hotch wanted to know.

He could see McGee and Ziva smirk as he had never shared a case willingly before, but this team had been good to Tony. He'd like to see their interaction, and would also like to get to know Hotch and the younger man on the other team. This must have been the Spencer that Tony had been dating.

'I'm okay with sharing the case.'

Hotch and the others had noticed Tony's tone when he talked about the two other team members. They could sense that there was a problem there. This was something they wanted to see and maybe stop, they had all grown to like the NCIS agent, and he'd been good for Spencer.

'How about we work over at NCIS?' Hotch could feel the others agree.

'Sounds good, DiNozzo can bring you over with your other files once we've been over the scene, and questioned the witnesses.'

'Let's split up, some of mine with some of yours?' He waited for Gibbs to nod. 'Okay, you and I, Tony and Morgan, Ziva, Prentiss and JJ, and that leaves Rossi, Reid and McGee.'

'Let's get going.' Gibbs agreed all the jobs were handed out. When the two of them were fairly alone, he turned to look at the BAU profiler. 'You and Spencer? He had worked it out from things that Tony had said and the way the two men had looked at each other.

'You and Tony?' He waited for Gibbs to nod, and they both laughed.

XXXXX

Ziva turned and looked at the two women she was partnered with. She preferred working with men because they either underestimated her or she could use her feminine attributes to get what she wanted. If in the unlikely hood that failed, attacking their ego also did the job. She hated the fact that none of these worked with Tony. She could never figure him out when she thought she finally had he would do something to change that perception of him.

'I'm sorry you got stuck with DiNozzo. I know how difficult it can be to work with him.' Ziva laughed. 'Work with him what a joke. He doesn't know anything; he just rides along on other's jacket-tails. As profilers, I'm sure you've worked out what a waste of space he is.'

Emily turned and looked at JJ. That wasn't the Tony DiNozzo they had witnessed, considering this woman's attitude no wonder he played up to this stereotyped point of view.

'You mean coat-tails and no, Agent DiNozzo has been very respectful and has been an asset to us already.' Emily replied she forced back the chuckle at the look Ziva threw her. Tony had already mentioned things that they had missed. He also said that the killer was going to start on real Naval personnel, and, unfortunately, his was right.

'Any you agree with your…' Ziva looked at Prentiss disdainfully after her disagreeing view of DiNozzo, 'colleague?'

JJ's eyes widened, was this what Tony had to work with for years. He deserved a medal, and they had just met the woman. 'Yes, I do. Agent DiNozzo's insights have been very helpful.'

Ziva eyed both women coolly, turned and walked away.

'Wow, would you talk about a colleague that way with another agency?' Prentiss asked.

'No, I wouldn't. It looks like she expects people to agree with her.' JJ replied. 'This should be interesting. Why do I want to insist that Tony stay and work with us, and leave NCIS?'

'I do too; no one should be treated like that. I also have a feeling it's going to get worse. If we don't see it being dealt with the Director of NCIS is definitely going to get some complaints.'

Prentiss looked around after they had made their way outside to see if they were alone when she realised they were she started to talk. 'Did you see the look that passed between Tony and Gibbs?' She fanned herself.

'Oh yeah, they'd be hot to watch together.' JJ laughed with her friend as they made their way over to the vehicle that Ziva was waiting impatiently at for them. The ex-Mossad stood there and tapped her foot at the same time she glared the two women she was forced to work with.

XXXX

'Dr Reid, I've read some of your papers. They were amazing. I'm sorry that Agent DiNozzo was sent across. I would've been a better fit for you after all I went to John Hopkins and MIT.'

Rossi looked over at his young friend; he knew that there had been something between him and DiNozzo. He could see the anger flash in the usually calm eyes.

'Agent DiNozzo has skills that can't be taught, and those are the ones that we were interested in. His instincts and his investigative ability were what we needed. We have all the brains we need in Reid here.'

Spencer turned and grinned. 'Tony has been invaluable to us. He's helped us so much already.' He didn't want to mention how much help the other man had helped personally as well. All of his team knew about him and Hotch. It hadn't taken them more than five minutes to notice how the two men had looked at each other. It wouldn't take them long to figure out Tony and Gibbs if they hadn't already.

'But he's a cop and had a degree in physical education.' Tim spluttered.

It was clear that he didn't know that Tony was studying now, and neither man was going to break his trust.

Dave nodded over towards Tony and Derek. 'You see that profiler with Tony?' He waited for McGee to nod. 'He was just a cop, and he is a brilliant profiler. Cops have to learn to read people, every day out on the job they have to figure out if someone is going to do something dangerous. Unlike us, NCIS and the BAU, cop's never know what they're going to get when the get called out. Any one of those calls could mean their death. Tony has proven to us, that his instincts and profiling abilities are excellent.'

McGee slammed his mouth shut, and he sulked not knowing what to say. He knew that he could've done better than his joke of a senior field agent.

XXXXX

Hotch looked down at his cell, as it beeped again his frown growing.

'Is something wrong?' Gibbs asked he could see there was a problem, and with the hesitation he guessed it had to be with his team. 'What have they done? McGee and Ziva, I assume the texts are about them.'

Hotch laughed. 'You should be a profiler. It seems that they don't think much of Agent DiNozzo, they have said a few things to my colleagues.'

'Son-of-a-bitch, I'm going to head-slap them so hard.' Gibbs took a deep breath. 'It has come to my attention that there are problems, and they are being dealt with.'

'I don't like the thought of Tony being around that kind of atmosphere.' Hotch had become to care for the younger man, and if it hadn't been for him he and Spencer wouldn't be together. He owed Tony so much.

Gibbs growled no one was taking DiNozzo away from him. 'He won't be I know I've made mistakes, a lot of them. I won't let Tony be treated like that anymore. He's had done more than enough to earn their respect. I don't where this attitude of theirs has come from, but they better get rid of it.' He would have to talk to Vance about letting the BAU in on the dangerous plan tweedledum, and tweedledumber came up with. If they didn't and this case fell through because of them, it would damage the reputation of NCIS.

'I'll be watching to make sure. I like Tony, and I owe him.' Hotch added; he stared at Gibbs a little longer there was also something else going on. He didn't know what it was, but if it involved Tony he would find out. His cell rang, and broke the staring competition that had started to happen. 'Yeah Garcia, okay thanks. We'll be working at NCIS; yes we'll meet you there.'

XXXXX

The profiler's glanced at each other with confusion.

'Tony, can we ask something?' Derek asked.

'Sure, what is it?' Tony sat on his the edge of his desk.

'Whenever we go to other agencies, as much as we love her and are used to her Penelope usually gets a couple of odd stares, but not here why?'

Penelope nodded in agreement; she had wondered that a well.

'Ahhh you see you have a Penelope, we here at the Navy Yard have an Abby.' Tony grinned at them.

'What's an Abby?' Dave couldn't help but ask.

'TONNNYYY!' A feminine voice screamed.

'That's an Abby.'

***

Chapter 13

Tony would have staggered back and fallen onto the floor if his desk hadn't been behind him. He sat back onto the hard surface with Abby's arms and legs wrapped around him.

Hotch eyed the newcomer carefully. From what he could see of her she had her own style. In that way, she was very much like Penelope. He wasn't able to form any more conclusions as she hadn't said anything apart from screaming Tony's name. He glanced over at Penelope and smiled. He remembered when he hired her. People had warned him that he would regret it and one day it would come back and bite him on the ass. So far that day hadn't come. She was one hire that he never regretted. Her searches had helped them out so often, finding leads that they needed to move forward with cases. Penelope Garcia had never let them down.

Tony slowly managed to untangle himself from his happy goth. A smile graced his face as he introduced old friends to new ones. He hoped that they got on, especially Gibbs, Reid and Hotch. He would like the four of them to spend time together outside of work.

'Abs, I'd like you to meet the BAU, they are Spencer Reid.' His smile brightened as he looked at the younger man. 'Aaron Hotchner, known as Hotch, Jennifer Jareau, everyone calls her JJ, Emily Prentiss, David Rossi, Derek Morgan and the wonderful ray of sunshine Penelope Garcia.'

The smile left Abby's face briefly at the introduction the last woman received, what was so special about her? Tony hadn't known her that long. She put the grin back on and waved at them all. 'Hi.'

'You're pretty wonderful yourself Tony.' Penelope walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. 'You're the best student a girl could ask for.

'Student? I though Tony was….' She suddenly stopped talking when Ziva and McGee appeared in her eye line. They still had no idea that he was now studying to improve himself.

'Penelope is helping me. She is teaching me the fine art of computers.' Tony turned to explain to Abby, one of his arms wrapped around the brightly dressed member of the BAU. 'She's designed an amazing movie trivia game that is a typing tutor, just for me.'

'You're learning how to use a computer?' Tim couldn't help but laugh, he then suddenly stopped when the other only person that is laughing was Ziva. The newcomers just glared at him. The look that scared him the most was the one he'd received from Gibbs.

' Tony's doing very well; it's a joy to teach him. It helps that we've also gone out to see a movie afterwards, so he is not overloaded with geek speak. I am hoping that we can make it a regular thing, even when this case is solved. I'd like to keep in touch. I don't want you to forget about me.' Penelope rested her head against Tony's shoulder.

'How could I ever forget about my computer Goddess? I love to go to movies with people who love them as much as I do. I think a regular movie date night sounds like a great idea.'

Abby didn't like how close Tony was with them especially with all the problems he was having with the troublesome twins. Would this make him want to leave NCIS? She took hold of her friends hand and tugged at it. 'If you asked me, I would've taught you about computers.' She pouted.

'Well, I didn't actually ask her. She overheard that I needed to take some courses, and she offered her wonderful services and I accepted. As amazing as It seems I am learning.'

'Did Vance threaten to fire you if you didn't improve your ability on computers?' Ziva tried to make it sound like a joke but failed.

'No, Agent David I didn't.' Vance suddenly spoke up, Ziva and McGee jumped as they hadn't seen him arrive. 'Agent DiNozzo is an excellent investigator. This agency needs people like him. What he is doing is working on an one of his weakest areas. You both should follow his example.' The director glared at them both.

'I have no weak areas.' Ziva cockily replied.

'Everyone has them Ziva; only arrogance makes you think you don't.' Gibbs added. 'I would definitely take a look at yourself again, and I am sure you will see areas that you need to improve in.'

The ex-Mossad turned and sent a nasty glare over to Tony. This was his fault. He was still trying to make himself look better, by making them look bad.

'Let's get back to the investigation.' Tony wanted to get them out of this situation that could easily deteriorate and back onto their joint case.

Hotch moved over and started to explain where they had got up to. Tony pulled out his notepad and skimmed through the notes he had made on those files. He hoped that Gibbs or the others could come up with some helpful suggestions.

XXXXX

It was lunch time when Ziva and Tim went looking for Palmer. They needed to get away from Tony and his ever-growing fan club. They did need to talk to the assistant ME anyway. They hadn't seen him since the last time they had been in autopsy discussing their plan.

'There you are Palmer.' McGee called out as they walked in.

Palmer was glad that he had his back to them. It gave him a few extra seconds to get himself together. He only hoped he could carry on with this charade and collect more information so they could finally stop this idiotic plan the two of them had cooked up.

'What can I do for you both?' Palmer smiled at them.

'Have you thought more about what we discussed?' Ziva demanded she wasn't there to sugar coat things.

'Sorry, I haven't. I have some exams coming up, and I've needed to study. Don't you think that it would be best to hold off while you're working with those profilers?'

'No, it's perfect. If they see how incompetent Tony is, and if all the lies happen around them it will make our case all the stronger.' McGee added excitedly.

'I agree with McGee.' Ziva jumped in.

'Did you see how embarrassed Gibbs and the Director were when they talked about Tony studying something as simple as computers. They had to turn it around on us because we're so much more advanced than Tony. We're much better agents.' Tim turned to look at Ziva. 'You overheard Vance say that he wanted more agents like me and less like Tony. I have the complete skills that NCIS look for in their best agents.'

'When did he say that?' Palmer couldn't see the Director blurting that out where anyone could over him.

'He was near his office.' Ziva answered evasively, a quick glare at Tim meant that it wasn't something he should have told anyone.

Palmer guessed that meant she was spying on the Director.

'Mr Palmer where are…' Ducky's voice faded off as he walked into autopsy and noticed that his assistant wasn't alone. 'Ahhh Timothy, Ziva I didn't know you were here. I thought you would have been at lunch with the others.

'Uh we were just leaving, we had other plans so we couldn't join them.' Tim smiled as he pulled Ziva from the room.

Ducky turned to Jimmy. 'Would you mind telling me what is going on?'

'I think talking to Agent Gibbs would be the best thing to do.' Palmer stuttered.

'Very well, I will do so immediately, and he'd better have some answers. There is something strange going on around here.'

XXXXX

As soon as Palmer could he'd let Tony know that they needed to see Director Vance. It was obvious that Ziva was keeping her hand in with her former Mossad skills, spying. There was no way that Vance would have said that in public so that she couldn't have overheard him. She and Tim seemed to have so much confidence in believing that they were irreplaceable. He was amazed at their arrogance. Whenever something negative about them was pointed out, it was all done to make Tony look better. That it was not actually about their skills. They totally ignored how the BAU respected Tony, and didn't play along with when McGee and Ziva tried to put their team-mate down.

XXXXX

Hotch watched as Agents McGee and David carefully. He couldn't believe how they acted towards Tony especially in front of another agency. Did they do this all the time? Did the other agencies join in? From what he had seen from DiNozzo was that he had been friendly, apart from after the attack by Slack's. Hotch shook his head and kept the smile from his face, ever since he heard Tony call him that it had been stuck in his head. Tony had also shown a lot of insights, and it was clear by his assignments that he understood the behavioural aspects of their jobs. It seemed as if his teammates, and he uses that term lightly, that they had no idea what he was capable of. He was not happy at leaving Tony with these people. He was very concerned about the younger man's safety, especially for Reid. The man he loved didn't have many friends outside the BAU. So Tony's well-being was very important to him.

There were no problems with anyone else, and it was clear that the Director could see that there was a situation with two members of the MCRT. He hoped that it would be taken further and that if it carried on correct punishment would be handed out, like a dismissal. His mind wandered back to Tony's teammates, at the moment he couldn't see what skills they had to make them as important as they thought they were. It would be interesting to watch them as they investigated together.

XXXXX

Spencer pulled Tony aside. He cared for the other man and needed to voice his concerns.

'Tony, I'm worried about you?'

'Me, why?' Tony gave Spencer his full attention. He didn't know why his friend would be concerned over him.

'Agent's David and McGee, and your safety. We're worried that they won't have your back.'

Tony knew that he needed to talk to Gibbs and the others. It wouldn't be long before they spotted that more was going on. He didn't want this to be the case they tried to sabotage. They couldn't be that stupid, could they?

'Spence everything is fine.' Tony smiled brightly at him.

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. No matter what his friend said, he and the others at the BAU weren't going to leave Tony alone with his so called team-mates. They would talk to Gibbs and Director Vance if they had to. This wasn't something they were going to leave alone, especially him.

XXXXX

Gibbs was on his was to Leon's office, it sounded as DiNozzo and Palmer both had things to say. As he walked into the lift, Ducky joined him. As soon as it started the ME leaned over and stopped it and then turned to glare at his friend.

'Is there something you want to talk about Ducky?' Gibbs smirked.

'What is going on with you all? Why is my assistant involved?' Ducky demanded. He hated that it seemed that everyone else but him was trusted to be a part of whatever was going on.

'We were going to tell you. We do need your help, but everything has happened so quickly.'

'You can tell me now then.'

'McGee and Ziva want to get rid of DiNozzo.' Gibbs replied simply.

'Why on earth would they want to do that?' Ducky thought that they were a family, what had happened to change that.

'It seems as if they don't like how Tony has changed. It has meant that he isn't joking around and is getting more respect.'

'But Anthony has always been respected, after all he is a skilled investigator.'

'I agree with you Duck, but it has recently come to light that they have never thought of him as an equal.'

'Jethro, he isn't an equal, he is there superior. He is you senior field agent. Where has all this come from?'

'They tried to get info from Abby when that didn't work they went to Palmer. I can't tell you all the specifics, as some of it is up to Tony to tell.' Gibbs waited for Ducky to nod. 'They assumed that Palmer felt the way they did because of the moniker that Tony had given him.'

'Mr Palmer loves that Anthony calls him that.'

'I know that.' Gibbs took a deep breath. 'This part is going to be hard to hear.'

'Very well Jethro I have prepared myself, please carry on.'

'They've come up with a plan to sabotage a case and put the blame on DiNozzo.'

'What are you saying exactly?' Ducky asked not liking where it was going.

'They're want to make him look incompetent and a liar. They've already asked to be given some of his old files for training purposes. Palmer went to Abby; they came to us, and we all went to Vance. We did hope to have more time with Tony working with the BAU, but now the cases have crossed they could start their plan anytime now.'

Ducky saw the look in Jethro's face as he talked about his 2IC. 'Has something happened between the two of you, something of a personal nature?'

'Yeah, uh,' Gibbs rubbed the back of his head. 'We talked and we're going to try a relationship.'

'Well, that is good to hear. Now I am willing to help in any way I can to stop this hair brained scheme those to idiots have come up with. They haven't even thought about the victims of the case they are going to ruin. So, we are going to the director's office now then?'

'Yes Ducky, we are.' Gibbs chuckled.

XXXXX

'Ducky knows everything apart from your studying.' Gibbs whispered to Tony as they stood in Vance's office.

'Dr Mallard have you been brought up to speed? Vance asked him.

'If you mean about those miscreant's idiotic plan, then yes I have.'

'Very well, I believe Agent DiNozzo and Mr Palmer both have things to say.' Vance glanced at both men.

'You first Jimmy.' Tony indicated to his friend.

Palmer smiled quickly at him. 'This is something you need to know Director.'

'Please continue.'

'Ziva and Tim came to see me. It seems that Ziva overheard you talking to an unknown person, and you said that you wanted more people like McGee than you did Tony.'

Vance caught the look on Tony's face and knew that he needed to explain that comment. He turned to Gibbs. 'That comment was completely taken out of context. I have no idea how she accidently overheard that as it was here in this office with Gibbs. I'll make sure to get this office checked for bugs.'

Gibbs turned to Tony. 'It was taken out of context. Leon was saying that he would rather have an office full of him and McGee's, than you or me.'

Tony stopped to think. 'Yeah, an office full of us'es might be a bit of a nightmare.' He agreed.

'I may not want an office full of you Agent DiNozzo, but I would want you or Gibbs to lead the investigative teams. Admittedly now I wouldn't want any McGee's in this office, not only because of his attitude. I can't believe he thinks that he is so good that gives him reason to ruin someone else's life, or destroy a case. We're here to help.'

'Thank you Director.' Tony was glad that he had all this support. He just wished it hadn't been necessary.

'Now you have something to say?' Vance asked.

'Spencer came and saw me. He and the other members of the BAU are worried for my safety. They could see that McGee and Ziva had a problem with me because of the way they talked. It wasn't subtle. I don't think they are going to leave me alone. They are the best at what they do; it won't take them long until they figure that more is going on.'

'So, suggestions anyone?' The Director looked around.

***

Chapter 14

'I think we should tell the BAU, they'll work with us. They already know something is going on. This is their case as well remember. If we can stop them here, we won't have to worry about any others. Penelope can set something up that alerts us if there are any changes on the files. She's not NCIS, nor has she been trained in the traditional way. I'm positive she could come up with something that McGee wouldn't find.' Tony explained briefly.

'Tony's right, we can't do this alone. We're going to need outside help to stop them.' Gibbs added, if they didn't get things sorted then he would deal with it, personally.

Vance stared at the two men, and finally nodded. 'Okay, talk to the team leader first and see what he says. He may not want them involved.'

'I'll invite Hotch over and we can discuss it with him.' Tony had no doubt that the other man would agree. There was no way Spencer would want to stay out of this, and Hotch would want to keep an eye the man he loved.

'Okay, we'll leave things there until we find out if the BAU want to help. If they do we'll have to meet somewhere else and make plans.'

'We'll call you as soon as we know anything Leon.' Gibbs spoke as they walked out of his office.

Vance lowered his head as soon as the door closed. He couldn't believe what two members of his agency were planning to do. They were all supposed to work together, and put criminals away, not become criminals themselves. Once this was dealt with he had to make sure that this kind of thing would not be allowed at NCIS. So many people had got away with too much when Jenny was in charge. She'd been too busy with her own vendetta, and trying to make herself look good. The agency had been in the process of being run into the ground under her leadership. He had made mistakes, but he wasn't perfect. He'd be the first one to hold up his hand and say I've fucked up. McGee and Ziva would be made an example and it would be what not to do in NCIS. They'd get all the attention, but it wouldn't be the type they wanted.

XXXXX

'We'd better go and update Abby.'

'You do that Tony, and I'll make sure that Ziva and McGee stay up with me.'

'Gibbs, we also need to talk to Hotch sometime today.'

'That one we'll play by ear.' Gibbs smiled as he watched Tony walk away from him. He was amazed how much had happened good and bad, in such a short period of time. Having Tony was worth any pain and he would make sure that the younger man knew that.

XXXXX

Abby just stared at her monitor and sulked. Why hadn't Tony come to her; she would have helped him improve his computer skills. She had already helped him understand some of his studies.

'Hey Abs.' Tony looked around to make sure that she was alone. 'We've just had a meeting with Vance. Ducky now knows all about it. He's going to help keep an eye on the medical side of things. We're also going to talk to Hotch and the other to see if they're willing to help. I'm hoping Penelope can tag the files so we get alerted if anyone changes anything.' He frowned as Abby's body stiffened as soon as he mentioned the BAU. 'Is anything wrong?'

She turned and glared at him. 'Why do we need THEIR help, we're a family.'

'Abby…'

'You went to HER for help; I would have helped you with your computer skills.' She pouted.

'Abby, now listen to me carefully I love you, you are family to be, but you don't own me. I have other people in my life, people that are important to me like Spencer and Penelope. We're not your private property or your toys. You don't get to have a temper tantrum when people want to spend time with us. It's time you grew up. You get away with so much that you now act as if you're entitled to dictate our lives.'

'Gibbs.' Abby called out, she gave Tony a smirk.

Tony's head dropped, Gibbs let her get away with so much, and this probably wasn't going to be any different. 'Where are McGee and Ziva?'

'They're getting coffee with Spencer and Hotch. We'll be getting some as well.' Gibbs took a deep breath. 'Tony's right Abby.' Two heads swung to him in shock.

'What, Gibbs you always….I'm like your daughter.' She stuttered.

'I only had one daughter and she died, but you are family to me Abby. You have your own friends, we don't tell you who you can and cannot spend time with. What gives you the right to tell us? I'm not sure you are really aware of what's going on Abby?'

'Of course I am Gibbs, McGee and Ziva are trying to set Tony up.'

'When this is all over they won't be in my team.'

'They won't?' Tony had always forgiven them before, why couldn't he know.

'They're trying to ruin my life. You expect me to forgive them and forget? You want me to trust them to watch my back when I know they have a knife waiting to stab me as soon as I turn? If nothing happens I wouldn't stay anyway.'

'Neither would I.' Gibbs added, he reached out and squeezed Tony's hand.

Abby watched the two of them. She was no longer first in Gibbs life. He would put Tony before her. She wanted them to be happy, but there was too much going on. 'I don't like change.'

'I know, but you going to have to accept it. Don't we deserve to feel safe and be happy?'

'Of course you do, but…..' Her voice faded away.

'There isn't a but in this situation. You either do or don't. Why don't you talk to the nuns later?' Tony smiled sadly at her.

'I will. If you hear anything more, you'll keep me updated. I still want them stopped.' Abby added.

'We know that, and yes we will.' Gibbs pulled her into a hug and kissed her head.

XXXXX

Tony stretched his arms above his head. It had been a long day, lucky enough it had just going through the files and then bouncing ideas off each other. McGee and Ziva had been fairly well behaved, for them anyway. As soon as they started to say something nasty Gibbs had just glared. He did need to work off some energy. He was going to head off and play some basketball with Derek, but first he needed to talk to Hotch alone.

'Hotch,' Tony called him over.

'What is it?'

'I need to tell you something, but it needs to be just us. How about we take a walk over to the court where I'm going to be meeting Derek?'

Hotch eyed him carefully. It was something important that much was obvious. 'Okay, let me just go and tell my team.'

Gibbs looked over and Tony nodded at him. Soon they would find out if the BAU would help him. He had no doubt that they would, they were protective over one very special agent.

XXXXX

'So, are you going to tell me what is going on, or do I have to start profiling you and filling in the blanks?'

Tony laughed bitterly. 'Some of this I doubt you would guess. You've noticed how McGee and Ziva are with me?'

'Yes we have, how did it get that way?' Hotch was still very angry about that.

'To be honest it built up so slowly. They little snarky comments were part of our routine. Kate and I use to do it all the time. It then became crueller; Gibbs had a huge amount on his plate. I never said anything. As I said it built up. It was one the reasons I wanted to do a course, between the two of them my education and my history as a cop was to be laughed at.'

'What? From what I can gather you were an exceptional athlete and could have gone pro if your leg hadn't been broken.'

'They don't see it that way. In their eyes I didn't make it as a pro, no matter the reason. It makes me a failure.'

'Being a cop is a hell of a job. You never know what's going to happen when you get that call out. You have to deal with all kinds of people and situations.'

'Once again not impressive enough McGee has the brains, so he keeps telling us, and Ziva has her Mossad training.' Tony help up his hand to stop Hotch from answering. 'It doesn't matter what you, I or anyone else thinks they are not going to change their minds. Now, back to why I need to talk to you. We recently, and when I mean recently it only happened when I went over to help you guys found out that my lovely team-mates have a plan.'

Hotch didn't like the sound of this. 'What kind of plan?'

'Well, they don't like the fact that I am no longer acting like the clown and getting into trouble. Instead they are, and I'm getting praised. McGee and Ziva, and I am leaning towards it being her idea and not his, want to get me out of the way.'

'How do they plan on doing that?' He was ready to grab Tony and hide him away until those two idiots had been dealt with.

'They want to take a case, destroy it and to make it look like I did it. Then when I denied it, I'd look like I was lying. Vance, Gibbs, Palmer, Ducky and Abby are the ones who know about it. They tried to recruit Palmer, but my little autopsy gremlin came straight to Gibbs and I.'

'They're going to ruin a case?'

'They wanted to start with some of my older ones, so it looks like I've done it before. Gibbs refused and gave them cold cases that had nothing to do with me. We're concerned that they may try it with the one we're working on together. If the BAU agree with them I wouldn't have had a chance.'

'And they think talking bullshit about you is going to help their case?' Hotch was a little confused by that.

'When it was just the three of us, the two of them would back each other up they're used to it. McGee thinks that NCIS won't run without him, and Ziva is used to having people suck up to her because her father is the director of Mossad. It never even occurred to them that people wouldn't join in. Gibbs telling them to stop it has them a little lost.'

'I'm not happy with Gibbs either.'

'He's made mistakes, and he knows it. The main thing is now he's stopped, and has changed how he acts.'

'And that has nothing to do with you and him?'

Tony gave him a huge smile. 'Things are going well with you and Spence?'

'Don't change the subject.' Hotch grumbled, and then chuckled.

'I'm happy for you both.'

'So I am I, even though I think you can do better. Gibbs still has to prove himself to me, especially after what you've just said. At the moment he's not good enough for you.'

'He is, but thank you for caring. Back to the situation at hand, as this case does involve you lot Vance wants to know if you would be willing to help us stop McGee and Ziva?'

'Of course, we have to make sure they're stopped, what do you need?'

'Well, you need to tell your team, and we're hoping that the lovely Penelope would somehow flag the files. We would get an alert if someone tried to alter them. We also need to make sure McGee won't spot it.'

'Okay, I'll talk to her and the others now. Can you tell Derek after your game with him?'

'Sure, thank you for helping us.' Tony hugged him quickly.

'We would've helped anyway, but now it's personal. We take care of our own, and you DiNozzo have become one of us.'

Tony bent his head and blushed. It had been a long time since anyone had truly cared about him. 'Yeah.' He turned and quickly jogged towards the court before he said something really embarrassing.

Hotch smiled, and shook his head. Tony DiNozzo was absolutely charming. His face became hard, his eyes cold. Ziva and McGee would pay not for only how they treated him, but also because of this idiotic plan they concocted. He grabbed his cell; it was time his team, minus Derek met up at the BAU. They had lots to discuss.

XXXXX

Sacks carefully read through the letters again. He was sure that this was the killer. He'd managed to get hold of them before they were sent to Hotch and his team. It seemed that they were getting angrier; they even left a way to contact them. Through a newspaper, not original, but Sacks wouldn't complain if it worked. If he played his card right he could get rid of DiNozzo and get into the BAU. In the end Fornell would be his as well. Things were going to go his way. To get the ball rolling he needed to let the killer know that it was all down to DiNozzo and that would get that pain in ass taken out of the equation.

***

Chapter 15

Gibbs sat in his car and watched as Tony and Derek played basketball. His chest tightened as he watched the two men laughing and teasing each other. He couldn't stop the feeling of jealousy. His eyes fell to his fidgeting hands. How did he think that they would work out?

Tony should be with someone younger and more charming. Why did anyone want to be with a miserable bastard like him? Just then, he looked up, and saw the very man he was thinking of staring back at him from across the court. His face lit up with happiness, it made him feel like he could do anything. Somehow, this amazing young man fell for him, even after knowing the good, the bad and the worst of him. Gibbs wanted to make sure that Tony would never regret that decision. There was no doubt that they would argue; they would fight, and then they would make up. He looked forward to spending the rest of his life with his soon-to-be lover. The world was already looking a brighter place.

XXXXX

Derek sat on the bench; he had seen Gibbs arrive to collect them. He'd assumed that was what it was and not that they were being spied on. The game had just finished and they were both thirsty. He passed a bottle of water across to Tony. Derek also knew that there was something else going on. He was hoping to find out what it was, he hated being in the dark about things.

"So are you going to tell me what's happened? I don't mean you getting jumped by blue eyes. I'm glad that you and Spencer decided to end things I would have hated to hurt you."

"Gee thanks for the pep talk." Tony ducked his head just before the profiler could hit him.

"So?" He wasn't going to be put off. Just like the others in his team, he was also concerned for Tony. He seemed to fit in with them straight away, and that he and Spencer just clicked helped things. Derek had to make sure that the other man was safe, as well as they could be. Tony's work colleagues would be the last people he trusted that too. Well, apart from Gibbs, but he really did have a personal reason. Their now, personal relationship would mean that the older man would go to more extreme means to protect Tony. Getting in help from outside was a perfect example. It was clear that Gibbs was a man who liked to keep things to himself, when he could. He wasn't going to let those personal hang-ups getting in the way of Tony's safety.

"There's no need to get violent. I've already talked to Hotch." Tony hated telling this story. The people he trusted to have his back were the ones waiting to put a knife in it.

"Hey man, take all the time you need."

"Thanks, well as you can guess it has to do with Ziva and McGee."

"I thought it might. I wasn't sure if Abby was a part of it. She definitely didn't like how close you and Penelope are. She'd better be careful; you know how I feel about my baby girl."

"I know and if I truly thought Lady Penelope was in any danger I would do something."

"Lady Penelope?" Derek asked, amused.

"We watched Thunderbirds, there's a character, blonde hair, wears pink, called Lady Penelope. I guess you could say she was an early Lara Croft."

"Okay, back to the story."

"First of all Gibbs and I talked to Abby. She's jealous of my new friendships. She now, I hope, understands I am not her toy. She definitely doesn't have anything to do with the problem at hand. As soon as she found out she came to Gibbs and me." Tony took a deep breath and started with the story.

XXXXX

Penelope's mouth fell open. "How can anyone you work with think of doing something like that? Especially to Tony, he's such a sweetie, a smoking hot sweetie, but one nonetheless."

"I don't know, but I've been told Gibbs will help."

"Of course I'll start working on an alert system straight away. I'll show Mr MIT, Johns Hopkins know it all. I'll show him what an uneducated mind can do. I'll run rings around him, nobody hurts my friend." Penelope started to type, her fingers dancing over the keys.

"It still amazes me how deluded people can be. How they think that they're so important things will stop without them. Those two really do live in their own bizarre little worlds." JJ sighed.

"The only actual opinions they care about are their own. They would listen or pretend to, at least, if it is someone of a higher position, but if that person disagreed with them, well they would rationalise it to jealousy of their skills. I did notice the looks they received from other agents; I can't see anyone else wanting to work with them." Hotch looked down at the files he had on the two agents.

Penelope glanced up from her laptop. "You think they'd still have a job after this?"

David placed a hand on her shoulder. "It depends on if they actually do anything, at the moment it's only talk." He hoped they did do something, and they'd be caught. Not only would they possibly get fired, but maybe arrested as well.

"I want them to pay for hurting Tony." The computer genius scowled.

XXXXX

Derek couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm glad that Hotch agreed. How did this get so far?"

"It wasn't just one thing. It was a lot of stuff happening. I guess I was a little too good at playing the joker."

"Stop right there. You've done nothing wrong. No one else sees you that way. Not the people that really know you. It's down to them and their arrogance. Gibbs seems like a tough boss. If you weren't the best at what you did, he would've kicked you to the curb by now. Would he have made you second in command?"

"No, but—."

"There are no buts here Tony." Derek held up his finger, he could see the bad joke coming. "There are a couple of assholes there though." He added with a chuckle.

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "'Come on, Gibbs will give you a lift. We can also tell him you're all in on it.''

"Don't forget he'd better treat you right, or the BAU will be after him."

''Okay, okay now you're scaring me."

XXXXX

Gibbs waited as the two men talked. He hoped that this meant Hotch and his team would help them. They could do with as much of it as they could get. He was never going to send Tony out alone with either Ziva or McGee any more. It still took a lot of energy to not reach out and kill them where they stood. He moved way past the time of caring why they were doing this. They deserved everything they got for hurting what was his.

Just then, two of the car doors opened and in climbed the sweaty men. Gibbs turned to Tony and gave him a questioning look. He wasn't going to say anything in case the answer had been no.

"Hotch agreed, he's gone to tell the others, and get Penelope started on the computer alert thingy. I've just told Derek."

"Yes he did, and I know the others will agree with me when I tell you that you're on probation."

Tony winced, bowed and shook his head. He had no idea how Gibbs was going to take that. He already felt bad for letting things with his teammates get this bad.

Gibbs opened his mouth to tell the profiler what he could go and do then it hit him. All Derek was trying to do was to protect Tony and he couldn't fault him for that. Gibbs wouldn't have wanted someone he cared about with a man who had hurt him so much. He guessed he was lucky to be on probation.

"Duly noted, just remember to tell me when I am off it." Gibbs managed to keep the smile off his face at Tony's incredulous look.

Derek chuckled. "It might take some time." It was a good thing the older man was aware that he'd made many, many mistakes. It was clear that he understood by accepting the probation comment...

"I thought it might be."

"And moving on." Tony jumped in before they could carry on with anything else about their new relationship.

XXXXX

It had been days and so far, Tony hadn't been alone long enough for them to set him up. If Ziva had thought them smart, enough she might have believed that they knew what was going on. That obviously couldn't be true. She had no idea how they became profilers in the first place. They actually liked Tony and thought he was a capable agent. She had tried to get to work with one of the men; Derek would have been her first choice. He was attractive, so it wouldn't have been a difficult thing for her to seduce him. He was also a former cop like Tony. Couldn't they find a better class of people? It was truly pathetic. Ziva was getting very tired of the two women that she kept being teamed with. They were clearly idiots; everything they said angered her, they just looked at each other and smiled. They must have come from the same place that trained her soon-to-be-former teammate. Once the plan actually started, it was not going to be hard to fool these amateurs. Once Tony was gone, and McGee moved on of his own volition, she would help pick the kind of team they should have. One that would get the job done no matter what.

XXXXX

Hotch stood with Gibbs as a laughing JJ and Emily came over to them.

"What are you up to?" Hotch sighed.

"Why would we be up to anything?" Emily's attempt at her innocence failed miserably

"Ziva now believes we're idiots. We can see her grind her teeth every time we talk. I don't understand how they think Tony is incompetent. He would've seen through this." JJ added.

"She definitely wants to be paired with one of the guys; her eyes always seem to be on Derek. I think seduction would be in the cards. She also has this very odd view of cops and finds them to be jokes. It's weird."

"Keep her off her game." Hotch added.

Gibbs nodded in agreement, Ziva was easily unfocused, especially by Tony. If the two profilers had played into that it would definitely put his team member off. "Remember to stay safe though; she is a killer." Before he would have tried to deny what she was, but not any longer.

"Thanks for caring." Emily smiled at him. "We're never alone with her. We're just driving her nuts."

"Thank you all for everything, I know you are all doing it for Tony. I don't deserve him, and I am the luckiest man alive that he is giving me a chance. Derek has already told me that I'm on probation."

"We'll be making sure that you are aware and react accordingly." Hotch warned him, if Gibbs kept making the same mistakes they would step in.

XXXXX

Abby sat and stared at her babies. She'd had a long talk with the nuns and they agreed with Gibbs and Tony. She was so used to everyone giving into her, and had never given it a second thought. It was weird to try to see herself in a different light. Abby had never thought of herself as selfish before. It had never even occurred to her. She'd always believed that she was an unselfish and caring person. Is this how McGee and Ziva think? Were they truly unaware of the people they had become? Would it change things if someone told them? Would they believe it or ignore it? It wasn't so much Ziva her concern was for Tim. They'd been very close once. She could try to tell him, and make him change his ways. He would listen to her; he did care about her after all.

"Hey Abby," Tim walked in. "I need someone to talk to."

"Timmy, I need to tell you something…"

***

Chapter 16

Tim ignored Abby and started to complain. "It's not fair, everything keeps changing. Why is it only getting worse?" He paced her lab. "Dr Reid, he's the smartest man I've heard of in this kind of job. He should want to spend time with me. I've got multiple degrees, and other qualifications, not as many as him, of course. He doesn't want anything to do with me, but he'll spend ages talking to Tony. Agent Rossi keeps watching me. I feel like he can read my every thought. Why did DiNozzo have to mess everything up? He always does, he shouldn't try and be anything more than what he is, the comic relief. I wonder if his dad disciplined him enough as a kid?" McGee barely paused for breath before continuing his rant. 'How can a successful and charming man, like that, have a son like him? I bet it's such a disappointment. He turned to Abby. She must be able to see the truth now. He knew that she hated change and she was not disagreeing with him. "Abby?" He was sure she would be on his side, it was all so obvious.

"Go away, Agent McGee." Abby replied tiredly. She was glad that he hadn't stopped for a breath or she would have told him everything. She'd almost betrayed one of her closest and oldest friends here at NCIS. All because she was thinking about herself and how she felt about Tim. The others were right; how she could have even thought of doing that? Ziva and McGee were trying to ruin Tony's life. When all this was done maybe she could sit down and talk with Ducky. Abby had to make sure that she stayed on point. McGee and Ziva bad, Tony good.

"Abby." Tim whispered, the two of them had a connection, something special.

"Go away! I have work to do." She forced back her tears. Abby was going to call Tony and let him know that she'd almost betrayed him. That he was correct and she was self-involved.

Tim waited for a moment longer and then turned away. It must have been that time of the month; there was no other explanation for it.

XXXXX

Tony lay wrapped up in Gibbs arms; they hadn't done anything more than kiss. He didn't want to take things further while he had everything hanging over his head. Deep down, Tony was still afraid that Gibbs would turn and support the other two and that would destroy him.

XXXXX

Gibbs placed a kiss on Tony's forehead and held him tighter. He knew how the younger man felt. It came out in his nightmares. He was going to talk to Ducky, not telling any specifics, but to see if there was anything he could do. All Gibbs wanted was to make Tony happy; to show that the masks weren't needed any more.

"I love you Tony."

"I love you too, Jethro."

Gibbs could feel a smile shyly moving against his chest, a gentle kiss followed and then Tony's firm, younger body snuggle in tighter against his. This was what being in bed with the person you loved felt like. He'd been missing this for so long. It had only ever happened with one other person before, Shannon. He was glad that Tony was the one to bring it back to him.

XXXXX

Ziva and McGee stood off to one side and watched the two teams laugh with each other. They hated the fact that they hadn't been included. That was when they noticed Sacks. They'd heard he wanted to work with the BAU and he loathed Tony, so why was he smiling? He should have hated this situation even more than they did.

"Come on, Tim; let's find out why Sacks seems so happy. He might be able to help us."

McGee nodded, they hadn't had any help. They had mentioned it to Palmer, but since then they hadn't been able to get near him. He was always busy. But the young assistant was weak willed, and probably he wouldn't have been much help. Putting the blame on him would have been advantageous but they could come up with something else. He and Ziva were needed at NCIS. They were so essential at NCIS that they would be looked after.

XXXXX

The smile left Sacks' face as he watched two of DiNozzo's cohorts walk towards him. He had noticed that they weren't mixing with the others.

"We need to talk privately." Ziva whispered, as she discretely handed him her card, before they walked off to join the others. They didn't want to make it look too suspicious.

XXXXX

Hotch's eyes narrowed as the two agents stopped briefly to talk with Sacks. He knew how that particular agent felt about Tony. They would have to keep an eye out. They needed to know if they met up again. It would mean that they had another player in the game; one that they weren't able to keep an eye on. He would need to talk to Tony and Gibbs; they could probably bring in Fornell. That is if his feelings towards DiNozzo didn't get in the way.

XXXXX

Hotch waited around until McGee and Ziva left so he could talk to everyone freely.

"Gibbs, I saw the two of them talking to Sacks. Is that normal?" He didn't need to say who they were.

"No, before all of this I would have said they hated him. We know what his feelings towards DiNozzo are. It means that they may have found an ally. If any of us keep a noticeable eye on him it would look suspicious." Gibbs paused for a moment. "We could always talk to Fornell."

"Do you trust him?"

"He may be FBI," he threw a smirk in Hotch's direction, "but yes, I do."

"Okay, we'll have to arrange to meet him somehow." They all knew that this had to end soon. They couldn't keep an eye on Tony forever. Even though Hotch was sure Gibbs would be more than happy to do that.

XXXXX

Fornell headed over to Sacks’ desk and started to look around.  It was odd that he couldn’t find the other agent.  The last week or so he had been working late every night.  He moved over some papers, and that was when some handwritten notes attracted his attention.  Fornell’s face fell as he read over it.

“What the hell have you done Ron?”  He grabbed his cell, headed towards the exit and hoped that he would be able to stop this.

XXXXX

“Gibbs, what are you talking about Fornell?”  Blue eyes widened with shock, he turned and looked at Hotch.   “No, he’s not here. He was heading for coffee.  Fuck.” 

“What’s going on?”  Hotch followed the other man.

“We need to get to DiNozzo and now.”

XXXXX

Sacks had turned up at the coffee shop just for last minute checks.  He wanted to make sure that everything was going to run smoothly.  That was when he saw DiNozzo hand himself over to the serial killer, so the others could go free.  He knew who it was by the uniform the man was wearing.  Sacks had been the one to leave it for him.  DiNozzo had managed to fuck things up for him again.

Gibbs ran over to Sacks and slammed him against the wall.  “Where is DiNozzo?”

“He took him.”  The FBI agent choked out.

“Who took him?”  Gibbs demanded.

“The serial killer you were all looking for.  I had a plan, but it went wrong.  It’s all his fault.”

***

Chapter 17

Fornell just stared at Sacks in disbelief. "What the fuck were you thinking? Wait, you weren't obviously."

Ron hated to see the disappointed look on the face of his mentor, the man he loved. Once again, DiNozzo had messed things up for him. If he was going down he wasn't going down alone. He had made the NCIS agents carry out some recon and get footage of where the attempted kidnapping was going to take place. He had a recording of their conversation in the café and of them discussing the recon, and what they found. He also had the emails that they had sent him.

"Look, it was a great plan, even McGee and Ziva agreed." Sacks smirked at the look on Gibbs' face.

Gibbs knew that they would somehow be involved: their talking to Sacks had been weird. They had obviously felt Sacks' plan would benefit them, as their own had kept getting blocked. It hadn't taken them long to move from Tony being 'blamed' to him being kidnapped and possibly killed. If DiNozzo had died they would have been next and that was a promise he would've kept.

They had made sure that the two teammates had been kept away from this. They were back at NCIS doing research. The BAU, Fornell, Sacks, Vance and himself were the only ones that knew what had happened to Tony. Abby was going to be devastated; he'd better keep her away from them.

"Ron, please explain to me what your plan was? What you were thinking? I'm at a loss to understand this." Fornell had taken a deep breath and managed to calm down a little. He couldn't fathom how using another agent as bait for a serial killer was a good idea.

Sacks pointed to Reid, who was reading the letters they'd received. "It was a good plan. The profilers will tell you that, once they read those letters. We would've caught the killer if DiNozzo hadn't messed up by going in earlier than normal."

Derek shook his head in amazement, and held up his hand. "Wait a minute. Let's recap. Tony goes to a coffee shop, the same one every day, sure, but it was normally later on, as working for Gibbs you don't work average hours, and then the unsub was there a day early. Tony has no idea he has to watch his back, because you didn't tell him about this 'plan' and yet this is his fault?"

"Well…" Sacks' voice was uncertain. He'd been so concentrated on his hatred for DiNozzo that he hadn't looked at anything else, especially not the big picture. He still had those letters that would back him up and the show the BAU that he would make a perfect team member. Then he could show Fornell how good they would be together.

Reid looked over at Hotch, the pieces of paper crinkling under his fingers as his hand tightened around them. He was so furious he couldn't speak.

"I wish you'd have come straight to us Agent Sacks." Hotch replied coldly. His anger heightened at the smirk on the other agents face. "These letters aren't what you think. They were sent to you as a test. A test that you failed for us, and because of that failure, and if we can't find him in time, Agent DiNozzo will pay the price for that with his life."

Gibbs moved quickly towards Sacks, but Fornell managed to grab hold of his old friend and stop him. Sacks squeaked in fear as he jumped from his seat and scrambled as far away as he could get.

"You always think about yourself, Ron. Why did you become an agent? You aren't a team player." Fornell didn't think he would ever understand why this had happened.

"I would've been a team player for you." Sacks ducked his head shyly.

Fornell just stared at him in confusion. The BAU caught on quickly.

"He has feelings of a romantic nature for you.' JJ explained.

"Oh, I…." He didn't know what to say. It was something that he'd never considered. They weren't friends. He didn't even like the younger man that much.

"It would've worked out for us, if you hadn't wanted to fuck DiNozzo."

Gibbs suddenly turned and looked at the man still holding onto his bicep. Tobias looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I would never have said anything to anyone. Can you really blame me, Jethro? It's Tony."

"If I ever find out you've tried anything..." Gibbs threatened.

"I wouldn't, I know that the two of you are…"

"What is it about that idiot that you all fall for?" Sacks snapped.

"Tony is one of the warmest and most caring people you will ever meet. There is just something about him. He'll cheer you up when you are feeling down, he'll be a shoulder to lean on when you need it. He'll listen when you need to talk. You can call him night or day and he will drop everything to help you. Despite how he's been brought up, Anthony DiNozzo is a very special man. I need him as my friend." Reid knew that Sacks wouldn't understand, but he still needed to try and make him see who Tony was to other people.

"We'll find him Reid." Hotch squeezed Reid's neck gently.

"Is there anything you can think of that could help us?" Derek demanded. They had no time to keep letting Sacks have a selfish temper tantrum when Tony needed them.

"I think McGee and Ziva edited the footage they gave me. It jumped at certain spots, it didn't seem natural."

"They're going to deny it. It's their word against his." Gibbs glared at him.

"I recorded our conversations, and still have the email they sent." Sacks pulled out his cell and played the recordings he had.

XXXXX

"Garcia, get a copy of those conversations for Gibbs." Hotch ordered.

"On it!" She snatched the cell and ran as fast as her bright pink heels could let her and carried it to her lair.

"I'll call Vance and update him with what's going on. I'll also get him to put McGee and Ziva in the interrogation rooms with guards. We need to make sure they have no phones. We don't want them to talk to each other and try to get their stories straight. Hotch, would you and Fornell like to join me? We have to show them that this is serious and that they are in trouble."

Fornell and Hotch both nodded. It would make the two agents nervous with Vance making sure that they were in interrogation: with both agencies working together Ziva and McGee wouldn't stand a chance.

XXXXX

Vance still couldn't believe that two of his agents would go this far. They would pay for their arrogance and he only hoped that they found DiNozzo alive. He'd already called the guards and they should be waiting for him; he was going to take care of this personally. The agents of NCIS needed to know that things like this would not be accepted.

XXXXX

McGee and Ziva both looked up as shadows fell over their desk and they saw two security guards flanking the director.

"What can we do for you, Director Vance?" McGee asked, smarmily.

"Hand over your cell phones and any other electronic devices you may have on your persons," Vance growled. He finally snapped when they didn't move. "Now!"

"Why?" Tim asked. "Are you questioning me?"

Vance just shook his head. "Just don't say anything." He nodded at the guards who took the cell phones that were now in their hands. Their arms were grabbed and they were searched to make sure there were no other devices on them.

"How dare you treat me like this?" Ziva glared at Vance. "My father will hear of this!"

"Yes, he will." Vance agreed and watched as her face fell in confusion. "Take them."

Security pulled their captives along. They had been told what had happened and they added a little extra pressure that made McGee squeak in pain.

He would call Eli after he talked with Ziva; after this, no one would trust Mossad. The other agencies would hear and any other liaison positions would dry up quickly. They wouldn't trust someone who looked after themselves no matter if it hurt other people, or the agency that they were currently working for. Ziva had not just embarrassed herself and her father, but Mossad as well.

"Director?" Abby whispered, wondering why she had been called up here.

"Get on their computers and see if you can find any footage, anything to do with DiNozzo's kidnapping. " He noticed that Ducky and Palmer had walked in with her. When she had been told that her friend had been taken, Abby had burst into tears. It was a good thing that she had support now and he was hoping that there would be something they could use on the computers they had confiscated.

Agents heads popped up, faces full of anger. They had all heard, by now about what had happened and who was at fault: McGee and Ziva had something to do with Tony's kidnapping. Vance would deal with them later. His priority was finding and getting Tony back safely.

"Director Vance, if you need us for anything, extra eyes or bodies just let us know. We'll do anything we can to help get Tony back." Balboa offered.

The director glanced around and noticed all three nodding heads. He was glad to see how the rest of the agents were standing together. There was no doubt that numerous messages would be sent to Cynthia about offering help. He'd better warn her that there could be an influx of messages.

"Thank you, all of you, and if we need you for anything I will let you know." He watched as agents started to text. He knew that if they needed bodies for anything they would have more than needed. He'd pass it on to Gibbs so he knew as well.

XXXXX

Ziva looked up as the door opened and in walked three men.

"I demand to know why I've been treated like a criminal."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs replied succinctly.

"I cannot be blamed for whatever mistakes he made. You do all understand that he is a joke, correct?' Ziva smirked at them smugly.

Gibbs fought the urge to hit her. It hadn't occurred to her that something must have happened while they were in interrogation. It just showed how she lacked any investigative skills.

"DiNozzo hasn't done anything wrong. You, on the other hand... does the plan to discredit him ring any bells?" Gibbs watched as she twitched.

"How would we do that?"

"Get witnesses, if possible." Fornell quoted.

"If not, make sure he's alone. Alter the current case, and older ones. Make it look like it's not the first time." Hotch joined in, echoing the words they had heard.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Ziva's eyes became emotionless as she just stared at them.

"Gibbs, what if that didn't work?" Fornell enquired.

"You find an FBI agent who hates your co-worker." Hotch's face was cold, his gaze ripped through her.

"Sacks maybe an idiot, but he recorded all of your calls and, of course, the email you sent." Gibbs wanted to be glad that they had the evidence, but he'd rather have DiNozzo at his side.

"If I have to be punished, then so be it! I refuse to work with someone so beneath me." She sniffed disdainfully.

"Tony is far above you, skill wise. You're not even in his league. Where's your investigative skill? Do you honestly think that the three of us would be in here that Vance would make sure you were escorted here, if it was just a complaint Tony had made?"

Ziva frowned at them. "What is going on then?"

"Your brilliant little plan with Sacks. You read those letters and agreed with his views on them, correct?" Fornell asked. "Don't forget we have emails, and recordings of you and McGee. So please don't lie."

"Yes, we - I did. It was clear that we could catch a serial killer. I would then be promoted and rightly so."

Gibbs burst out laughing. "Ziva, I can promise you, even before all of this, you or McGee wouldn't have been promoted. You don't have the attitude, skill, or experience I need."

"Of course I –"

"QUIET!" Hotch wanted to keep her off her guard. It seemed Gibbs was the only one she allowed to reprimand her, if the look she shot at him was any indication. Well, Gibbs and her own father, at a guess. "Well, you were set up by the serial killer. He played you and tonight Tony was taken by him."

"Because of your amateur and bumbling efforts, DiNozzo is in the hands of a murderer." Gibbs hands clenched at his side as he tried to keep control.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like that, it's not my fault." Ziva cried out.

"It doesn't matter what was supposed to happen and yes, you are to blame. Vance is on the phone to your father now." Gibbs couldn't help but feel pleasure at the look on her face.

"My father will protect me." Her head lifted to stare at him in the eyes.

"Really? Even after he hears about this situation and how, now, no agency will want to deal with Mossad? You have to understand how they will wonder how they are trained, if the Director's own daughter acts like this? Like someone who will turn her back on a teammate, who will set them up to be bait, without warning them? No one would trust you with any agent, or with the reputation of their agency." Gibbs smirked.

"Really, after he hears about this, and how no agency will want to deal with Mossad? After all this must be how they are trained if the director's daughter acts like this. Someone who will turn their back on a teammate? Who will set them up to be bait without warning them? No one would trust you with any agent; you would also ruin the reputation of any agency. No one would trust Mossad." Gibbs smirked.

Ziva paled. All she had thought about was how proud her father would be when she was promoted and how dependent Gibbs would be on her. Failure had never even entered her mind. Her belief that everyone was below her kept that from being a consideration and now the thought of the image of her beloved Mossad being destroyed here in America, because of her...

"Please don't tell him. I will do whatever you ask," she begged. "I will help find Tony and make it up to him. I will do whatever you say."

The door opened and in walked Vance.

"It's too late, Ziva, I've already contacted him. He will be talking to you soon, but he wishes for you to co-operate with us. Would you like to confirm that?"

Ziva shook her head. It was something her father would do to save the face of Mossad.

"What do you require of me?"

Vance nodded at the three men and left. He did like Eli; he didn't trust him, but he genuinely liked him. It was a difficult call to make considering Ziva was Eli's only child. Hopefully, she would have some information that could help them.

XXXXX

Abby couldn't believe what she had been reading on the seized computers. She could see how much they had both hated Tony and felt as if they were better suited for SFA; how Ziva felt he was an embarrassment to the scientific field.

McGee had written that the two of them, he and Abby, would end up together but she would have to change her look, the way she spoke and acted, before he would introduce her to his family. She was disgusted and upset that the person he'd supposedly cared for wasn't good enough for him to introduce to people he really cared about. Abby would never change herself completely to be someone's ideal. She would rather be alone. McGee had wanted to change everything that made her who she was.

She was glad that she had read those notes now. Who knows what might have happened if she hadn't? At least she had found the footage that Sacks had mentioned. Abby was going to pass it over to Penelope: as much as she was jealous of that new friendship between Tony and the FBI computer whiz, the blonde's skill at the computers and the profiles could do more with the footage than she could.

***

Chapter 18

McGee stuttered as the evidence was laid out before him. "I was driven to it, ask Abby. She'll explain what it's been like. How it's all Tony's fault and the plan it was all Ziva, and Sacks." He pleaded, his fingers tapping on the desk in front of him. He knew that she was the one person that could get around Gibbs. He had to show that none of it was down to him.

"I wouldn't depend too much on Miss Sciuto's help." Fornell winced as he thought about the rant, the very descriptive and rant on things that she would do to him. It made the FBI agent just a little more nervous to be around Abby. He definitely wasn't going to get on her bad side. How the hell was it Tony's fault? Ziva, well that he could believe. He was disappointed in Sacks though.

"Why, what have you said to her?" McGee spat out, she would believe him, and they had something special.

Hotch shook his head. "She had to go onto your and Ziva's computer to get the original footage that you edited and passed to Sacks. Were you planning to do the rescuing on your own and leave him out in the cold? That is the only reason I can think why you would edit footage. But, back to Abby she'd read about what you both thought about her. She wasn't thrilled when she found out that you didn't think she was good enough. You wanted her to change everything about herself, until you deemed her good enough to meet you family."

"How dare you let her that was a private journal?" McGee shouted he didn't believe them. He would explain everything to her, she would understand.

"Actually, it's an NCIS computer. If you wanted it to be kept private you should have done it at home." Gibbs chuckled. "We have every right to search your work one."

McGee crossed his arms over his chest, his lip jutting out. "What do you want?"

XXXXX

Reid stared at the footage there had to be something here. They needed to find Tony in a hurry. It turned out that NCIS hadn't been the only danger for him, but so had the FBI. They had realised this too late to save his friend from this ordeal. "Stop, where is this footage from?"

Penelope looked down at the file. "It's one McGee found, a hidden camera."

"It's a shame that his arrogance got the better of him. It's a camera that the killer didn't see. He obviously checked the area out first, so he managed to avoid all the others." The screen froze on a man, the description matched what Sacks, and other witnesses had told them.

"Baby girl find out everything you can about him, like his name. Pass that image back to Abby and see if NCIS have anything." Derek just stared at the screen.

"Will do."

Gibbs stared at the other information that was found, that confirmed what Sacks had told them. Ziva had done a lot more than McGee. She had helped with the plan by leaving a sedative at an undisclosed place. She had also given the killer every piece of info she could about Tony, which included his address, what weapons he carried, his car, and what way he would walk to the café. They'd also found the plans to take out Palmer and McGee. There was a rough draft of taking out the BAU members and blaming the CIA, or NCIS at a pinch. The only person she hadn't wanted to kill was Gibbs. It made him sick, how could he have believed that she had changed. Deep down she would always be Mossad and they did things a certain way.

XXXXX

He reached out and gently stroked his captives face. Green drugged eyes forced themselves open, blinked as they tried to focus on the stranger, but finding it very hard to stay open.

"Don't worry it won't hurt. The FBI failed you, just as they did me. I won't make you suffer. They're the ones that I want to hurt. I'm sorry it had to come to this."

DiNozzo licked his dry and cracked lips. His eyes felt too heavy to keep open. They slowly fell closed.

XXXXX

It didn't take Fornell long to find out who this guy was. His wife had been killed by someone in a naval uniform. They'd never found the killer. The uniform had been fake, which is what they had told him. The FBI had nothing to work with. There hadn't been any clues that lead to anything. It could have been just a random killing which meant there was no connection to the victim. The killer may have not even been from that state. If it was just someone travelling through it was like looking for a certain needle in a haystack of needles. Marcus Lowright obviously blamed them. Fornell needed to get together with the others and update them. This man would kill Tony and they needed to get there first.

XXXXX

"He's still lost to grief with no one to blame." Hotch's mind went back to Hayley. Reid moved next to him and placed his hand on the older man's back. He was lending his support without saying a word.

Hotch turned and smiled at him even though it still hurt to think about her, it always would. He had moved on and found someone new to love, and he found that person in the most unexpected of places. Right by his side.

"I don't give a damn. I want Tony back." Gibbs growled.

"You don't know what it's like." Hotch argued and frowned when he saw Fornell wince. It was obvious something had happened to the other man.

"Don't presume to know anything about me. I do know what it's like. I lost my wife and daughter, but I didn't go on a murdering rampage. There is no excuse for that." Gibbs normally never spoke about his deceased family, but he refused to feel sorry for a man who had taken his second chance at love.

"I'm sorry Gibbs I didn't–"

Gibbs turned away so Hotch stopped what he was saying. He wouldn't have wanted to hear the platitude either. It also made it clearer why Gibbs was so upset. He was this close to losing love a second time.

"Do we know where this Marcus Lowright is now?" Derek wanted to get back to the problem at hand, to save Tony. He smiled as he watched Abby and Penelope work side by side. It seemed that having a common cause, saving their friend had made the NCIS forensic tech put her feelings aside. He was sure that if the two women got to know each other they would be friends, or he could be wrong and they would clash too much. It was a difficult one to call.

"He still owns and, as far as we know, lives in the house he had with his wife." Penelope told them.

"Let's get everything set up and make sure it's by the book." Rossi ordered. They didn't want this to fall through the cracks. He also noticed that Hotch was still a little off and watching Gibbs with guilt. You could see him imagining losing his son as well as Hayley.

"Get Tony back safe and sound." Abby pleaded.

"We'll do everything we can Abs." He kissed her on the forehead, then turned and nodded at Ducky.

XXXXX

Marcus placed a kiss on the photo of his wife. "It's nearly done my dear. The first part of the plan worked perfectly. It was a shame that the FBI took so long to get to the letters. It does really show how incompetent they are. All those extra deaths are on their already blood stained hands. We need to show the whole world what they are really like. I never got to face the person who took you away from me. It will always be a regret that haunts me. It's time to start phase two." He turned and looked at the unconscious man tied to the bed. "I will–." Just then he heard the menagerie of animals that lived in his neighbours properties. As much as he hated those animals they were a very good alarm system. "Ahhh, they've managed to find their own way here. They didn't need my help after all. When it is one of their own, a federal agent, they can find out who was involved. You weren't special enough to them, my dear. I need to hurry and get ready. I can't keep my guests waiting can I; you would be horrified if I did that."

He smiled at the photo before he placed it back on the table, and moved to sit on the bed. He grabbed the gun from the drawer on the bedside table. Marcus then placed the front of the weapon on the forehead of his prisoner and waited. He really hoped they wouldn't be too long. He did so hate waiting.

XXXXX

Derek was the first one through the door. He saw their killer sitting next to an unconscious Tony. The smirk on his face, and the movement of his hand Derek knew he was going to pull the trigger. He reacted. The echo of a gun firing reverberated around the room as the others came rushing in. Panic on their faces, afraid of what they would find. All of them had lost too many people and they didn't want to lose another one. Not Tony.

Marcus Lowright was dead. His body collapsed over Tony's. Blood soaked into the shirt of the NCIS agent. Derek made his way closer, slowly, gun still in his hand just in case. He checked and nodded towards the others. The man they had been after was dead. On the floor lay the photo of the murdered woman. His wife.

"Death by cop." Hotch noted as soon as he saw the scene. It really was the only way for Marcus to go out.

"Looks like it, at least Tony's alive." Derek pulled away his hand from checking his friends pulse. He hated to kill anyone, but he didn't have a choice. There was no doubt that this man would have killed him. He wanted to join his wife, but make sure that people understood his pain.

Gibbs sighed with relief. He leaned against the wall, afraid that his legs would give way. He didn't think he could've survived the death of someone else he loved. It would've been too much for him to handle.

XXXXX

McGee looked up as the interrogation door opened and in walked Vance. A smile appeared on his face. He knew that the director would do everything he could to protect him. After his skills were needed much more than Tony's, maybe he could get DiNozzo transferred?

"I knew that you would help me. I made a mistake, but my skills–"

"Be quiet." Vance ordered and watched as the younger man paled quickly. "You honestly think that I would help you after everything you've done?"

"It was only Tony. He's replaceable, a joke." McGee snapped.

"Someone can be trained to use a computer; it's something that can be taught. There is no doubt that you have an amazing skill, that's not in question. Tony, his skill can't be. You either have it or you don't. He's an investigator, a brilliant one. What do you do in the MCRT? What do you think they did before you came aboard?"

"But sir…"

"More importantly you need to have teamwork, to watch each other's backs. Did you do that? No, and do you think anyone is going to want to work with you?"

"Of course they will work with me, why wouldn't they?" McGee stared at him confused. He'd only tried to get rid of Tony. He wouldn't do that with anyone else. Why would he?

"You turned your back, and tried to discredit a teammate. When that didn't work you sent information to Agent Sacks, and sent him to a serial killer?" Vance shouted, why did he seem to get what he did was wrong? "Tony was just about to be killed. If Agent Morgan's reaction had been a second slower, he would be dead right now!"

McGee paled, his body swayed on the chair. It had never really hit him that Tony could die. He'd always seemed indestructible and always survived no matter what was thrown at him. Tony could've died. He suddenly dived towards the metal bin. Tim just managed to stick his head in it as he emptied his stomach contents.

Vance stood up and left. All he could hear was McGee retching behind him. McGee would get told soon that he'd been fired. He had wanted to bring charges, but was told it wouldn't have gone anywhere. All he'd done was talk about what they were going to do, and sent over footage to Sacks. He hadn't been involved in anything else. McGee wouldn't get a job in law enforcement, but to Vance that didn't seem enough, not nearly enough for what he had helped to happen.

XXXXX

Vance had already spoken to Eli. Their unusual friendship looked like it might be over, but that didn't matter to him.

Ziva looked up as the door opened. "Have you come to let me go? I am sure you have spoken to my father by now." She sat up right, and her head held high. She stared at him in the eyes, her face full of arrogance.

He could see that Ziva truly believed she would get away with this. "You're not going anywhere. You will pay for your crimes. Sacks told us everything, and we have evidence of the physical help you did. We also know of you plans for McGee, Palmer and the BAU if needed. Did you honestly think you would get away with this?"

"If you do this your friendship with–."

"Stop Ziva, you've ruined any diplomatic relations that Mossad had with us or any other agency. I don't care about my friendship with your father. What I care about are the agents that work here at NCIS."

"But I-."

"You no longer have anything to do with this agency. There is something you should understand. Before this, if I had to pick between you and DiNozzo I would have picked him. I know where his loyalties lie. He's an honourable man and we are lucky to have him here with us."

"You can't mean that?" Her eyes were wide, and her mouth stayed open as she listened to what he had said.

"You, McGee and Sacks are an embarrassment to both agencies and we are better off without you in them. At least now we can sleep a little safer without you around plotting a mass murder. You will be arrested and charged, both you and Sacks. McGee got away because he only talked and you kept him out of the loop. If you hadn't he would be with the two of you."

Ziva watched as Vance turned and left her alone. She was sure that her father would pull some strings to get her out of here. All she had to do was to wait.

XXXXX

Eli stared down at the phone in his hand. It was not often someone hung up on him. At first he thought that it was a game that Vance wanted something from him, but he never asked for anything. His beloved daughter wouldn't have done this. She'd been trained better and knew how important her position at NCIS was. He had been in touch with other contacts within other agencies, they had refused to offer any help. Ziva had managed to ruin the reputation and skilled training of the Mossad. As he walked around the compound he started to notice the looks from his other new recruits. His daughter had turned her back on a teammate, would that happen to them? Eli would make sure they understood that this was not a regular occurrence. It would not be accepted, no matter who perpetrated it.

XXXXX

Sacks was alone. No one came to see him, or to help. He'd sent messages to Fornell trying to explain. To tell him everything including how much he loved him, but there had been no reply. His father had been a cop, and he'd always felt that he was better than that. His father had been a nasty piece of work. He'd wanted to prove that he was better so he joined the FBI. He was going to make it all the way to the top and show to his father who was the real success of the family, him. That wasn't going to happen now. DiNozzo managed to land on his feet once again. Here he was in a cell all by himself.

XXXXX

"Gibbs." Fornell knew that they were going to have to talk about his feelings for DiNozzo.

"Do we need to have this conversation?"

"God no, just treat him better than you have. I will be there if he never needs my help, remember that."

"Okay Tobias. Tony has a lot of people supporting him."

"You're a lucky son-of-a-bitch Gibbs. Never forget that."

"I won't, I do know how lucky I am. It hits me every time I look at him." Gibbs smiled to himself.

Fornell just stared at him carefully and then finally nods satisfied that it was the truth. Not that his old friend lied to him, but he had to make sure about this.

Gibbs planned to make sure that Tony never regretted his decision to be with him. He had the rest of their lives to show it.

XXXXX

Tony had been hugged by all of his friends, and there was only one person left, Spencer.

"Thank you Spencer, I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't met you." Tony held him tightly in his arms.

"You would have been fine." Spencer forced out a chuckle. He was terrified at the thought of what would have happened if his friend had no one to help him. His so called teammates might have actually succeeded in ruining his life, or Sacks could have caused his death.

"Not so sure about that, at least I did have you guys. The best thing about this whole situation, apart from Gibbs, is getting you as a best friend."

"I feel the same way and make sure that Gibbs takes could care of you."

"Hotch had better be good to you as well Spence. Stay in touch." Tony hugged him a little tighter before finally letting him go.

"I promise." This was one that Spencer was definitely going to keep.

XXXXX

Hotch and Derek watched from a distance as the two men hugged.

"So, you threatened Gibbs?" Derek asked.

"Of course." He replied matter-of-factly.

"It's good we let him know that Tony isn't alone anymore." Derek sighed for a moment. "Hotch, I like and respect you, just remember Spencer is like a brother to me."

"I know, I've also been threatened by many people. I love Spencer; I have no intention of doing anything to hurt him."

"Okay." Derek patted his boss on the shoulder.

XXXXX

"Tony, don't say anything. You did nothing to cause this. McGee, Ziva and Sacks' arrogance are what started this." Gibbs growled.

"I know but –."

"There are no buts here, well…" Gibbs tried to move his head so he could stare at Tony's ass.

"Gibbs," he chuckled.

"You speak to Abby yet?"

"Yeah, she's having a hard time of not noticing how bad things were becoming and guilty she nearly blabbed everything to McGee. She felt she had to tell me everything including pissed at how McGee and Ziva saw her. Good news it seems that her and Penelope are developing a kind of friendship, I think anyway."

"That could be a dangerous pair." Gibbs laughed.

"Oh so very true. So, uh, you start to pick a new team tomorrow."

"We pick a team. It's a partnership, you and I. Just remember, if you have a problem come to me."

"Got it the crime fighting duo is back in business."

"Tony…"

"Criminals ought to start quaking in their boots."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs growled and pulled him into a kiss, before dragging him upstairs to the bedroom.

"What does Vance say about us?" Tony asked as Gibbs started to strip him.

"There are no rules, if he sees that I am abusing you he will step in. Everyone is very protective of you now. He has no problem with us as long as we keep it out of work, and we are out of work so shut up about it."

Gibbs felt Tony needed to be naked and it to happen now. There was no sexy stripping of clothes. He did it efficiently and as quickly as possible. Once the man he loved was completely bare, he pushed him onto the bed.

Tony pushed himself up the bed so he was at the top. He laid his head down and watched as Gibbs removed his own clothing just as quickly. It was so typical of the older man that he had to laugh. It was perfect.

"What?" Gibbs looked down at his naked body. "Something funny?"

"No, you're just too far away. I can't get my hands on you."

"That is something I can rectify, immediately." Gibbs moved and lay down. "Better?" He whispered as his hand gentle stroked up and down one arm.

Tony shivered at that light touch, but he wanted so much more. He also had a lifetime to explore everything. He smiled as bent to kiss the man he had loved for so many years, and looked forward to their future together in and out of NCIS.

The End

***

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