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Title: Death Becomes Him
By: Wereleopard58
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzot
Fandom: NCIS/Highlander: The Series
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: All of NCIS and Highlander
Summary: Ziva and McGee turned off the radio (Dead Air) not expecting anything to happen. Tony ends up being stabbed and dies but it doesn't take and he comes back to life. He finds out he's not the only immortal at NCIS and how does his life change after this revelation.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with NCIS or Highlander. I am not making anything from this. I am just doing this for fun
Feedback is always welcome.
A/N I've been writing this on and off for a while. I just want to see if people like it and would like to read more. I've also changed the timeline a little.

***

Ziva turned to McGee and smiled. "It is quiet, is it not?"

"Yes, it's great." McGee looked up from his PDA. He'd used this time to catch up on emails he needed to reply to that concerned his current novel and quickly jotted down some notes on this situation. It would be about how annoying Tommy was and how the others could do the job better. It was much easier to do without Tony's voice as he yammered on. "Shouldn't we turn it back on now?" He indicated to the lifeless radio.

"No, not yet. I want to finish this crossword puzzle." With that, her attention was drawn to the paper that was on her lap.

XXXXX

Tony frowned as he heard a noise, it sounded like metal hitting metal. It was definitely out of place

"Ziva, McGee." He whispered as he headed towards where the sound came from and poked his head around the corner. Two people were fighting with swords. The man was a lot larger than the woman and had more power behind his strikes. "I need back up now. I'm on the corner of Housen and Monroe."

XXXXX

Amanda froze as the stranger seemed to come to her rescue, not that she needed it. Her opponent appeared to be all brawn and no brains. Power was the only thing he had in his arsenal; men like him were easy to take out. They had too much confidence in their strength and never even tried to learn any skills. Then the young man came was in front of her and everything happened so fast, she couldn't seem to be able to get to him in time as her opponent turned and stabbed this man with a saviour complex through the chest.

"This isn't over Amanda. I'll be back for your head, I promise you."

"Of course you will be darling." She muttered as he ran away. She reached the stranger's side and fell to her knees. There was a slightly familiar buzz from him, so she pulled his head into her lap and held on as he took his last shuddering breaths. The blood spread, his once white shirt covered in red blood. "I am so sorry for all of this." All she had to do was to wait for it to happen. His upper body suddenly shot up into a sitting position and took deep gulping breaths. His face was pale as he scrambled to his feet in shock. "Who are you?" Her voice was soft as not to scare him any more than he already was.

"Tony." He muttered and paled even more as he stared down at his shirt. He gripped hold of it and ripped it open. The button scattered all over. He ran a hand up and down his chest trying to find the wound. He ripped off the electronic device that had been strapped to his chest and stared at the, now broken device. "Oh God, McGee and Ziva, what way did he go."

"That way" she pointed, "now darling you have to calm down."

Tony felt he could breathe a little easier it was the opposite direction of his team, but if they weren't hurt where were they? "Why haven't they come to help?" He whispered, which was when the constant buzz in his head started to annoy him. "What the hell is that?" He hit his ear as he tried to stop it.

"Don't do that; it won't help. Hi, I'm Amanda." She took hold of his hand and shook it. "You'd better come with me; I have a lot to explain and that noise you hear, it's me. From now on you will be able to sense people like me, well, us now." She threaded her arm through his. "I have a friend who 'visits' me and one of his shirts should be able to fit you. Once you're cleaned up, I will explain the situation, and then you can ask me anything."

"What about my friends?"

"Tony, I am sure your, uh, friends would have been here by now if they'd heard anything."

"Not, if they didn't care." He muttered; he'd been feeling left out of the group more and more. Would they leave him to die? There had to be some explanation? Tony would deal with that later. Firstly had to find out why he was still alive; he'd died, there was no doubt in his mind about that. Tony glanced down at his ruined shirt. He would need a new one. He glanced over at the beautiful, tall blonde. Who was she? Why was she fighting with a sword, in the street? She seemed to be taking all of this in her stride, what was going on? What was he going to do if he found out he'd been left with no backup? There might have been a problem with the radio? Deep down he knew that Abby would not have let them go out with faulty equipment. If not, well, they apparently didn't care if he lived or died.

XXXXX

The buzz started, and Gibbs looked around the office there was another immortal nearby. Then he heard the laughter from McGee and Ziva. That was when his eyes fell on DiNozzo; there was something off. He noticed that his SFA was in a different shirt and that he kept wincing and placing his hands near to his ear as if trying to stop a sound, a buzzing sound. This was who he'd been sensing. What had the hell happened? DiNozzo hadn't been immortal when he left this morning. If he'd died why were his team-mates laughing?

"DiNozzo, with me, now." Gibbs stormed off to the elevator. He did not doubt that he would be followed. As soon as the doors closed and it started, the emergency button was thumped.

"What?" Tony was genuinely confused at why he was here. He'd just walked in; he couldn't have done anything wrong in that small amount of time. Had Ziva or McGee called and made a complaint about him?

"Do you mind telling me what happened today?"

"We were getting voice samples. Are you okay Gibbs?"

"Damn it, Tony." He pushed the younger man against the wall and leaned forward so he could whisper into the younger man's ear. "Who killed you?"

"Wait…what?" Tony's mouth fell open as soon as he realised what was going on. "You're a…that's you I can sense?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"You can't sneak up on me ever again I'll know when you're around, nice."

"DiNozzo, focus damn it, you didn't leave an immortal. At some point, you were killed. I want to know what happened and why the two people, who were your back up don't know. They don't right?"

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" He didn't want to discuss how people he cared for left him without back up for a joke. He hadn't planned on telling anyone at all. Who would've believed him anyway? Gibbs now knew that he been killed and the other two had no idea. There was no way out of this without telling the truth.

"Fine, my place after work, but you'll tell me everything."

DiNozzo sighed and nodded.

XXXXX

The rest of the day dragged on, and at the end of it Abby came up and joined them.

"Are you ready?" She asked Tim and Ziva.

"Yes, we are. We're going out for a drink; Gibbs would you like to join us?" Ziva asked as she ignored Tony.

"No." He replied as he watched the members of his team. Things were more out of sync than he thought.

"See you on Monday." Abby gave both Gibbs and Tony a kiss, and then she grabbed Tim and Ziva's arms and pulled them along.

Gibbs waited until they had vanished from sight when he turned and looked at the younger man. "Why didn't you go with them? We could've talked afterwards."

"They didn't ask me." He replied quietly.

Gibbs felt as if his team was starting to fall apart, or had it been for a while and he'd never noticed. "Come on let's go back to my place, and we'll get some food."

"Cowboy steaks?" Tony asked hopefully.

"Is that what you want?" He couldn't deny his SFA anything at the moment.

"Yep."

"Okay, I'll need to stop off and get some things." It was sad to see that something so simple, made him so happy.

"I'll go home, get changed and head to your place."

"I don't know how long this talk is going to take, so why don't you bring a change of clothes with you and spend the night?"

"If you sure?"

"DiNozzo, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean it."

"Okay, I'll see you soon." Tony smiled as he ducked his head shyly; something seemed to be different about tonight.

Gibbs watched as Tony left. Why had the others turned from him? He didn't like how they acted towards his second in command. The man he relied on most. You could see in his expressive hazel eyes how much it hurt him. First things first he needed to find out how McGee and Ziva never knew that Tony died? Had Abby heard the recording and ignored it? Was she involved in this little campaign? He hoped that she wasn't, Gibbs never thought that Abby would do something like that. These were questions that he needed the answers too.

XXXXX

Tony put the plate down on the table and then leaned back. "So what happened to you?"

Gibbs looked up; the pain could be seen clearly in his blue eyes. "Well…"

"You don't have to tell me."

"You know about my wife and daughter." He waited until Tony nodded. "I was with them when they died. I came back, and they didn't."

"That's why you've always felt so guilty; I'm so sorry Gibbs."

"A couple of people who knew about Immortals got me out of the country and back to my unit. They were all told I was on a classified mission."

"I…I don't know what to say."

"What you can do DiNozzo is to tell me how you managed to die and the two people who were your back up didn't know anything about it?"

"I was getting voice prints, and I heard some sound, it was like metal on metal. I told McGee and Ziva what I heard and that I was going to investigate. I saw a man and woman sword fighting. I whispered I needed back up and went to help."

Gibbs slapped the back of his head. "Why did you do something so stupid? You should have waited for back up."

"I didn't think I had time; I did get my gun out. I was afraid I would hit the woman if I pulled the trigger."

"So you just headed into a dangerous situation."

"Yes and then he stabbed me in the chest, straight through the microphone. As soon as I, uh, woke up, came back to life? Whatever happened I had my head in Amanda's lap. She reassured me that the guy went off in the other direction so he wouldn't have run into McGee or Ziva. When I got back to the car, I barely said anything when they told me that they hadn't heard anything." Tony took a deep breath.

"What did they do?" Gibbs growled.

"They turned off the radio because they were tired of listening to me talk."

"What!" Gibbs shouted.

"They didn't know anything that happened they didn't even notice that I wore a different shirt. Amanda explained all about being immortal; we exchanged numbers so she could help me."

"Have you finished your report yet?"

"Yes, but I left out the dying and coming back thing."

"Talk to this Amanda, see if she will bend the truth slightly. I mean as immortals there are certain things we have to lie about."

"What do you want me to ask her to say?" Tony watched his boss doubtfully.

"That she was being attacked, you helped, and you were hit in the chest. The recordings will verify you heard something and went to help. You also called for back-up. McGee and Ziva cannot get away with this if they do what's to say that it won't happen again. The next person may not be immortal."

"Okay, I'll ask." He didn't like doing this, but he could see what Gibbs meant.

XXXXX

McGee looked up as a tall, beautiful blonde walked over to them and looked around.

"Hello, I'm looking for Tony, is he around?"

They had seen his gear, so they knew he was in the building.

"I'm sure he won't be long, but I'm confident that we can help you." Tim indicated himself and Ziva.

"I don't think so; I'll wait for Tony." She stared at them and then smiled. "Oh, you're Mc uh."

"McGee, Tim McGee." He snapped.

"Yes, that was it, and you're…" Her voice faded off. "I'm sorry I don't even remember any of it."

"Ziva David, so Tony talked about us."

"Yes, he mentioned you, briefly."

"Why didn't you remember it then, we are very important in his life. He needs our help all the time." Ziva grinned and could see Tim do the same.

"Darlings, I don't remember anything that isn't important," Amanda replied snidely.

"And NCIS isn't important to him?" McGee looked disbelievingly

"Oh, NCIS is essential to him, you two aren't."

XXXXX

Gibbs grabbed DiNozzo as soon as he had arrived and took him down to the lab.

"Abby, I need you to check something for me."

***

"Hi, boss man, Tony." She chirped happily. "What do you need me to do?"

"Abs, I need to make something clear. You cannot tell anyone about what we are about to talk about. If anyone finds out, who I haven't told you will be reprimanded."

"I wouldn't tell anyone." She sulked.

"We need the voice recordings from the terrorist case between the times of–?" He glanced over at his SFA.

"Two and three."

"What do you need me to listen for?" Abby eyed Tony suspiciously.

"DiNozzo asking for backup."

She placed her hand on her hips and glared at the younger man. "What did you do?"

"Abby!" Gibbs warned.

"No, he's out trying to cause problems for Timmy and Ziva. He's become so standoffish and never wanting to be around us."

"Stop now. Are you okay Tony?"

"I don't understand. Abby, I don't know what they've told you, but all the times you went out I was never asked. I didn't refuse to go. I thought we were friends, you've known me longer than both of them. Here you are not even giving me the change say anything. They lied to you." He turned to Gibbs. "I think it's best if we get someone else to help us. She's obviously biased, and I don't trust her to keep quiet."

"How dare you?" She screeched and moved to hit him on the shoulder.

Gibbs took hold of her wrist to stop it from landing. "I agree I'll call someone in. Remember Abby you cannot tell or even imply anything to them. If they find out, we know where it has come from. I'll make sure Vance knows, and I'll never forgive or trust you again." He stopped for a moment and then leaned closer to her. "If you raise your hand to ever hit anyone here in NCIS you'll be in more trouble than you can take. It's not a habit I want you to get into and think it's okay. Before you start again DiNozzo is not the villain here; he's the victim. I never want to see you treat one as an enemy again. I don't know where these things are coming from Abby, but I don't like it."

"Fine." She pouted; Abby would just wait because nothing would come of this. Gibbs would have to apologise and eventually she would accept that after a certain amount of begging. He would never forgive Tony.

"I know the perfect person; she's an exceptional tech. I told you about the Balboa case."

"Yes you did, give her a call."

"I bet it's because you slept with her," Abby muttered and flushed with embarrassment as she realised she spoke aloud.

"Really Abby." Gibbs shook his head in disgust.

XXXXX

Samantha walked in and smiled. "Hello Agent Gibbs, Agent DiNozzo, what do you need me to do?" She glanced briefly over at Abby who was sat down and seemingly sulking. She ignored her and waited for someone to explain. It was unusual for Gibbs to request someone else if Sciuto was available.

"Thanks for coming Sam. I told the boss man about the exceptional work you did on the poisoning case for Balboa."

"Thanks, Tony, but you were the one that had us looking in the right direction."

"Go team." DiNozzo held up his hand so Sam could high-five it.

"What do you need me to do?"

"DiNozzo took some voice prints during our last case. We need to listen to them from all devices connected his, the one Ziva and McGee had and the one from the vehicle that picked up anyone coming to the car and all from a particular time 1400 hrs."

"Sure I can do that."

They all watched as Sam collected all the recording together. The first one they played was Tony's, and he could be heard asking for backup, a noise of a fight and then nothing. As much as he loved Abby, Gibbs watched as she paled and then glance at Tony with concern. It was too late for that, and it wasn't something you could ever forget.

Next, it was McGee and Ziva's device, the one that they handled, as they listened there was nothing.

"I don't understand?" Abby whined.

"I'm going to rewind it." She took it back until they heard Tony's voice and then forwarded until he was heard again.

"Two hours of silence," Gibbs growled. "Let's check that last recording, and we can find out what happened in that car."

"It could've been a technical problem or an accident," Abby mentioned hopefully.

"Sam, let's listen," Tony whispered, he didn't want to, but he had to know.

"Of course." She placed a hand on his arm briefly before she played the last one.

Tim and McGee's voices came over clearly. They talked about how annoying Tony was, how Gibbs must pity him to keep such an agent as an SFA and that once the right moment arrived, he would promote McGee.

"Not likely," Gibbs muttered as he shook his head in disgust.

Then they got bored of hearing Tony talk, so they turned off the radio for the peace and quiet they felt they deserved.

"I…." Tony didn't know what to say. Abby moved to him and tried to give a hug. It was the last thing he wanted and moved away.

"Sam, go to when Tony gets to the car at 4ish," Gibbs ordered.

Once found they all listened to how Tony had annoyed them and they turned off the radio as a joke.

"Tony…" The Goth had no idea what actually to say.

"Sam, get your report done and copies of these recordings." He was livid that any agent would act like this, especially his.

"Yes, straight away. I've also noted down the times of specific things like turning off the radio. I can put them all on a separate device. So, all the uh issues can be heard without having to go through the three complete recordings. They will all be with my report."

"Thanks, Sam, great job as always." Tony hugged and felt her arms tighten around him in support.

"Not a problem, is there anything else I can do?"

"Not at the moment, just that report." Gibbs smiled at her and ignored the look of jealousy on Abby's face. "We'll tell Vance what's going on."

"Is that necessary, it was only a joke after all. Tony plays them all the time." She didn't want Timmy or Ziva to get into trouble. As Abby glanced at Gibbs ready to play on being the favourite, she had to step back at the furious look he sent her way.

"She is kidding right?" Sam asked. "Playing jokes in the office and playing them while out searching for a terrorist are two different things."

"No, unfortunately, she isn't. It seems a friendship is more important than someone's life, even if that person was supposedly a friend as well." Gibbs really couldn't believe she was arguing.

"Abby, don't you get it. I could've died; I had no backup. I don't care if it hurts your feelings. It is nice to know how far down your list my safety is."

"But…" Abby stuttered.

"Just stop Abs." Gibbs rubbed the bridge of his nose. "If they get off with this, what's to stop them doing it again? What if someone dies next time? If your friendship with Ziva or whatever relationship you have with McGee is more important, then I don't know you. I don't want to know someone like that. Let's go DiNozzo."

Tony kissed Sam on the cheek as he walked past and Gibbs smiled.

"Are you sleeping with him?" Abby accused once they were alone.

"Tony's just a friend; he helped my girlfriend and me one night. There were a couple of guys who kept telling us that we were only lesbian's because we hadn't met the 'right' man. Their friends joined in they cheered, shouted abuse and the got a little physical. Tony and I were friendly at work, and he stepped in as soon as he saw what was happening. His badge and gun helped." Sam laughed sadly at the memory. It wasn't the first time that happened, and it wouldn't be the last.

"So how long have you and your–."

"Ms Sciuto I told you about our history, purely to stop you making more excuses for your friends. The rest of my personal life is not up for discussion. I only do that with friends." Sam turned and started her report.

XXXXX

Tony and Gibbs both winced at the buzzing noise.

"Amanda, how are you doing?" Tony smiled at her.

"Tony, darling there you are, I'm much better thanks to you."

"Amanda Darieux, I'd like you to meet Agent Gibbs."

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am; you're here to give your statement, correct?"

"Of course I am."

Gibbs knew he couldn't do it and that is when he saw Sam Jackson, an agent he didn't know that well. In this case that was what was needed.

"Agent Jackson, can I talk to you privately?"

"Of course Agent Gibbs." They both headed off to one of the offices.

"Can you take a statement for me?"

"Why, you have a team." Sam looked confused at the request.

"I can't go into details, but it would help me."

"Sure, I can do that and at some point would like to find out why."

"You will Agent Jackson, you will."

XXXXX

Vance looked up as Gibbs and DiNozzo walked in neither looked very happy.

"There's a problem Leon, a big one."

"And that would be what exactly?" He leaned back in his seat and gave both men his full attention.

"McGee and David turned off the radio while they were supposed to be DiNozzo's backup while he got voice prints."

"They did what?" Leon couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Here's Tony's report from the case. I just have to complete mine with what happened today; I thought you would want to know first. Sam Hemsworth is doing hers; she has all the recordings. It has him asking for backup, there's a two-hour gap on the one McGee, and David dealt with. The other one in the car had them talking crap about DiNozzo and deciding to turn off the radio for some quiet time. Agent Jackson is interviewing the woman he went to help and why he called for backup."

"Damn it how could they do something like that? There's backup for a reason; we're lucky at agent isn't dead." Leon didn't see the look Gibbs and DiNozzo throw each other. As soon as all the reports are back in, I'll look at it. I assume there's a problem with Ms Sciuto since she isn't doing the forensic work?"

"She accused Tony of lying and then after hearing the recordings said 'it was only a joke' and wanted them to be let off." Gibbs loved Abby, but this was something he couldn't forgive.

"I'll talk to her and remind her that we don't let things like this go. Would she say the same thing if he'd been hurt? They were searching for a terrorist, what if they found him and any detonation devices? How many others might have died if they had a chance to activate one?"

"I don't think it's going to be a good idea to have DiNozzo around when they're called in about this." Gibbs knew there would be a chance that Ziva would become violent.

"I agree, take a few days off and no talking to them inside or outside of the agency," Vance ordered he knew that as soon as Ziva heard, it wouldn't be long before Eli called. "I am not sure it will be safe for him to be alone."

"He can stay with me." Gibbs immediately answered.

"After your report is done, take time off to. You'll have no team anyway."

Gibbs nodded grudgingly he hated to take time off work, but he wanted to make sure Tony stayed safe and to help him in being immortal.

XXXXX

"Where are you Amanda?" Methos smiled as he looked around.

***

"Tony, I want you to escort Miss Darieux home. Do your best to avoid McGee and Ziva."

"I'll do my best; there is someone Amanda wants me to meet. She said with everything going on; she can't help me personally but knows the perfect person. A meeting is going to be arranged, and she did mutter something about getting a sword."

"When you go back to your apartment pack up some clothes, casual and work. Bring your portable TV/DVD thingy and some films. I don't know how long you'll be staying at my place."

"I'm sorry about all of this." Tony waved his arm around, which Gibbs grabbed.

"What are you sorry for?"

"If I hadn't been the clown maybe they would've respected me more?"

"This is not your fault; it doesn't matter what you did or didn't do. You could be the greenest or laziest agent. It doesn't matter they were your back up, that was their job, and they failed at doing that. In the future whatever form this team takes the SFA will be treated with more respect." Gibbs paused. "I'm sorry Tony; I should've made sure they were written up as soon as they'd started playing up."

"Well, we both learned something from this experience."

"Yes, we have." There were so many things that he would make sure happened in the future.

XXXXX

Tony sat back down at his desk. He'd finished off some old paperwork while he waited for Amanda to finish her interview. He could feel McGee and Ziva glance over. It was a damn shame that he hadn't managed to leave without seeing them. It was clear that they were confused; nothing had been said since he arrived back. To be honest he had nothing to say anyway. It was a good thing that Gibbs had decided to take this further, there was no way he could trust them. Tony maybe immortal, but they don't know that. If it had been any other agent, they would all be mourning the death of a colleague. This situation had to be dealt with and to make sure everyone knew that this kind of action was not allowed with NCIS. No matter your personal feelings you always had your teammates back.

"Thank you for coming to see us Ms…" He smiled at her glared. "I'm sorry Amanda."

"It was my pleasure; I'm glad I could help."

Gibbs walked over to them. "Agent DiNozzo if you're ready."

"Of course, Amanda if you ready to leave?" He grabbed his gun, coat, and rucksack. "See you soon boss."

Gibbs nodded, and the walked over to his desk to get his report together.

Ziva waited until Tony had left before she started to talk. "Where did Tony go?"

"He's doing his job."

"What exactly does that mean?" She snapped being out of the loop was something that she hated. Something was off, and Ziva had no idea what that was, and she hated that feeling.

Gibbs turned and stared at her coldly. "When did you become an NCIS agent and promoted to my boss? At what point did I start having to run things past you?"

"You don't," she stuttered, "I was just concerned."

He couldn't reply to that not without losing his temper. "Are your reports completed?"

"Yes, boss." McGee stood up and walked over to hand it to him. Ziva was right behind him.

Gibbs glanced over at the clock. "Grab some lunch, when you get back if nothing has come in, start working on cold cases." He watched them get their gear and leave. He knew they would go and see Abby first. He hoped that she kept her mouth shut; it still shocked him at what they had done. As he flicked through the files, he noticed that they had been creative enough to cover the time gap. Gibbs added Tony's and his report to the pile and then headed up to see Vance. This was not going to go down well.

XXXXX

The Director looked up as Gibbs walked in.

"I've listened to the recordings and read Ms Hemsworth's report. I've also seen the interview with Ms Darieux. There is never any reason to leave an agent without back-up. I'm going to suspend them without pay while I talk to SecNav and get in touch with IA. With all the evidence it shouldn't take long for a decision, but it is protocol and with Ziva connection to Mossad and who McGee's father is, we need to follow every step precisely. You and DiNozzo are going to get at least a week off. Firstly you've all been working hard on high priority cases. Secondly, you need both need to get your hand around what happened and lastly I don't trust Ziva."

"As much as I want to work I agree with you, especially about her." Gibbs never thought that there ever would be a point that he would never trust her. She did save his life after all, or did she?

XXXXX

Abby just sat in her lab and stared at the pattern her screensaver created. It was hard to believe that Gibbs had turned on her. She hated change, if only they could forgive and forget. If Ziva and Timmy were told, she was sure they wouldn't do it again.

This was something she'd tried to explain to Sam, but the other woman didn't agree. Sam told her if they didn't deal with it now and someone died in the future because of no backup that person's blood would be on their hands.

"Abby." McGee smiled as he walked in followed by Ziva. "We're off to lunch; do you want to come with us?"

"No thanks Timmy, I have urgent results coming in." She knew that it would be hard to keep quiet for an extended period.

"I wonder what Tony's doing for Gibbs?" Ziva muttered she was not happy the way he'd spoken to her.

"Has he gone somewhere?" Abby asked.

"No idea, he left with a woman who'd given a statement. It's so peaceful when he's not around." McGee sighed.

"I agree McGee, if only we could come up with a permanent solution?"

Abby shivered at the coldness in Ziva's voice; it terrified her. Tim never noticed and seemed to agree about having no Tony.

XXXXX

Tony had dropped off Amanda and headed to the address that she had given to him. While Ziva and McGee were being looked into, the two of them couldn't be seen together as that could put some doubt on her report. The last thing they needed was it to be looked closer at and for the immortal secret to come up.

"Who are you?" A male voice called out, not long a man walked out from behind a shelving unit.

"My name's Tony DiNozzo, Amanda sent me." He hoped that this was the person he was looking for. This man was handsome and seemed to have a commanding presence.

"Oh, so you're the newbie. I'm Adam, Adam Pierson." He loved this persona; it had been years to create it. Hiding amongst the Watcher's was a stroke of genius. They had no idea that he was the oldest immortal alive, the mythical Methos. It amused him playing an expert, on well, himself. If anyone got too close, he would send them out on a wild goose chase. Creating false sightings was one of the things that worked so well.

Amanda had called him for help. Duncan was unreachable. He needed to get away, so he agreed to come and train up a baby immortal. Things looked up when his new charge turned out to be a handsome man.

"Thank you for agreeing to help me."

"It's my pleasure, the first thing we need to do is get you a sword."

"Okay." It was still weird to hear that he would need to be able to fight with such an ancient type of weapon. He tried to avoid thinking about people wanting his head, literally. Tony rather liked it where it was, attached to his shoulders.

"It will take a little time we need to find something that fits you perfectly. You can't just pick up any sword." Adam wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders and walked him deeper into the store. Many immortals had used this place, and the owner was in the know. He had large room where they could practice to get the feel of the weapon.

XXXXX

Gibbs, McGee, and Ziva all sat in Vance's office. As soon as they came back from lunch, they were told the Director wanted to see them.

"I just wanted to clarify something about the last case. Did anything out of the ordinary happen?" Vance observed them both as he spoke.

"No sir." McGee looked a little lost as he answered.

Ziva just shook her head.

"Could that be because you turned off the radio?"

Ziva jumped to her feet. "That's a lie; Tony is trying to cause problems and break up the team because of his jealousy."

"Sit down," Vance spoke slowly and coldly. "Everything was being recorded. Tony called for back-up, the empty taped hours when you turned it off and lastly the conversation you had in the vehicle. The one where you discussed turning it off and then did so, now what do you have to say?"

McGee crossed his arms over his chest and sulked. Nothing he could say would change the evidence, but if he listened, he might be able to turn things his way. If only Abby had warned him, he could've done something.

"He was talking non-stop, we needed a break." She wasn't sorry, and there was nothing anyone could do to her. All she had to do was call her father.

"You're both suspended, at the moment it is one week without pay while IA looks into things. We'll call you about the outcome. Please leave your guns and badges with me. Security will walk you out."

"This is a joke, is it not? Is this a hazing, that is what it is called?" Ziva stared not completely understanding what was going on.

"No Ziva, we take what you did very seriously," Gibbs answered.

"But it was just Tony." She couldn't understand why they were making so much fuss over a nobody.

"Would you do something like that while for Mossad?" Vance asked.

"Of course not." She replied instantly.

"Then why do you think it's acceptable to do that here?"

"This is not Mossad, and it was just Tony."

Vance looked over at Gibbs and shook his head. "You're dismissed." He could see that she was about to argue. "I said you're dismissed Officer David unless you would like me to end your liaison position now?"

Her mouth snapped shut; she stood up and stomped out. McGee followed quietly behind her; he needed to think and to talk to Abby.

XXXXX

As soon as Ziva got back to home, she fired up her laptop and contacted her father. She smiled as soon as he appeared on the screen.

"Ziva, it is unusual for you to contact me at this time. What is wrong?"

"There is a problem at NCIS father."

"And what would problem is that?"

"Tony went to Vance with a lie. He wants to get rid of me. He told them that McGee and I left him without backup, which would never happen due to the training I received at your skilled hands. I believe McGee helped him and then was betrayed. We have been suspended from NCIS until they decide what to do."

Eli just stared at her. It didn't sound like the agent he had read up on. It must be true though; his Ziva would never lie, she would to others, but not to him. She knew better than that.

"I will send Michael, and I will talk to Leon."

"No father, don't speak to the Director." She begged.

"Do not worry child; I will not make things worse for you." Eli smiled and then disappeared from the screen.

Ziva closed her laptop and rested her head on it. What was Vance going to say to her father?

XXXXX

Michael looked down at the knife with which he'd been stabbed. His white shirt was covered in blood; this had been one of his favourites. Damn Eli and that phone call, it had distracted him enough that someone managed to attack him. It was a good thing he was immortal.

***

Michael had done some recon as soon as he reached Washington, DC. His job was to find out how much Agent DiNozzo knew and then eliminate him. Just like Eli, he had doubts about how factual the information had been. If DiNozzo had found out about the files that meant Ziva had been careless. Unlike the Director, he believed Ziva would lie to further her own agenda, in so many ways she was a David at heart. This was a woman who looked after what was most important, herself

He heard a noise so he quickly moved into the darkness and around a corner to make sure he couldn't be seen. Intel was the most important thing. Michael had over the years kept immortals alive, the weakest ones, the cowards; they were also the ones that managed to collect information. It was the way they survived. He had one such informant here. He always liked to find out what was going on and to see what they knew about others in the area. A power boost was always a good thing.

"Henderson."

The large man paled. "What do you want Rivkin?" He stuttered.

"It's none of your concern. What I do want from you is information, who's around?"

"That bitch Amanda, I was about to take her head when some idiot stumbled in and wanted to be a hero. I left but stayed close enough to hear what was going on. It turns out he's one of us."

"Did you get anything more?" A new immortal would be easy prey.

"Heard him say, Tony, I think he's a cop or something, he mentioned back up."

Michael just stared; it couldn't be, could it?

Henderson started to fidget, was this it? Was his head finally going to be taken? He'd fought against this immortal before, and it hadn't been a fair fight. The other man's skill was so far beyond his. Just then a cell phone was shoved in front of his face.

"Is this him?"

"Uh yeah, that's him."

With that Michael turned and left. Tony DiNozzo was immortal. The information Vance had was in fact correct. Ziva obviously had left him without back up otherwise she would've known that something had happened. Her father had never told her about immortals; it was a secret that Eli liked to hold close to his chest. He was going to have to tell Eli about this. What were they going to do with Ziva and DiNozzo?

There was also this Amanda person; he was going to need more information on her.

XXXXX

Eli was livid with his daughter. How dare she lie to him? He would wait and see how far this lie would play out. On top of that Ziva had embarrassed Mossad by ignoring her training. Their reputation was at stake, which meant she would've had to be punished.

"What to do about Agent DiNozzo?" Eli muttered to himself, taking his head would be a last resort. If only there were some way to encourage him to work for them, it wouldn't be the first time that he had 'persuaded' someone to join their cause. An immortal American agent would be perfect. DiNozzo was also a great investigator, which is a skill a lot of his operatives never had. This could end up working out well for him.

They would definitely look into Ziva now. He needed to end this quickly, maybe some information could be leaked, and they would pick up his beloved daughter. She, of course, would do anything for her father. This would also teach her a lesson, once he knew that Ziva had understood the mistake she made he would help her escape.

XXXXX

Amanda glanced into the window of a clothing store and stared at a beautiful full-length dress. It was very much her style.

"Choices." She whispered to herself buy it or steal it. As she turned away from the window a flash of blonde hair caught her attention. She pulled out her cell phone and pretended to use it and managed to catch a photo of the person following. Gibbs or Tony might be able to find out who this person was. It was essential to find out why Amanda was being followed. Was it her life as a thief or because of the immortality thing? If it was the latter that could cause some problems, there was no extra sense, so this person was just a human.

Joe was also someone else she could contact and find out if they had anyone following her at the moment. You never know what the Watchers were up to.

XXXXX

Joe put down his phone and stared out of his window. He wanted to go and help Amanda, but that would only draw more attention, and that was the last thing that was needed. All he could do was pass over the information he had found. What she did with it was up to her, but he hoped that she would take his suggestion.

XXXXX

Adam laughed as he ended up straddled Tony's waist.

"I'm definitely going to lose my head." He muttered.

"You're getting better, don't lose hope. Sword fighting is a new skill. I can promise you that you're not useless at it. With more training, you will become quite skilled. He shook his head in amusement at the look of doubt that was aimed at him.

"I'm not sure about that, but I'm willing to give you the benefit. Again?"

"Very well, but I should warn you that you're going to hurt tomorrow. You're using muscles you generally don't use, and they are going to complain, loudly."

"It's a good thing I have some time off then." Tony grabbed the hand that Adam held out and was pulled to his feet. He liked the immortal; there was something that drew you in. He was also lying about something, no idea about what though. Even with this lie Tony still trusted him. Amanda and Adam had become good friends. He hated the fact he was unable to see her much but did understand. This immortal thing was too important and had to be kept secret.

Ziva and McGee had to be punished for not following procedure, as pointed out if he hadn't been immortal he would've been dead. As an ex-cop, the idea of not being there for his partner horrified him. You needed to be able to trust those with you in the field. With everything that had happened, he was glad that Gibbs was on his side. I also helped that he was an immortal as well.

"Concentrate." Adam snapped and hit him on the arm, hard.

"Sorry, ready and concentrating, oh my great Yoda."

Yes, Adam liked the other man, but at times wanted to strangle the smart ass, but people said that about him at times. He raised his sword and got ready to fight.

XXXXX

Amanda snuck around a corner and waited. Whoever this person was they were amateurs. As soon as the blonde headed woman walked past, she reached out and pulled the very shocked woman into the dark alleyway.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about?"

"I have photos of you following me; I could give them to the police or my new friends in NCIS?"

"I work for the NSA."

"Really and what does the NSA want with me?" Amanda knew there was more to this story.

"Nothing." She sighed. "My name is Ellie Bishop, I'm a Watcher," Joe told her that she should've come clean as soon as it was clear she had been spotted. Her mentor believed in Amanda so she would have to as well.

***

"Oh sweetheart, you're just a baby. Joe should've told me. Come on, we have people we need to talk to." Amanda took Ellie's arm and then grabbed his cell with the other so she could talk to Tony.

XXXXX

Gibbs stood next to Tony as the younger man looked out of his back door.

"How are things going? I mean with the training."

"I hurt, but Adam's a great teacher. It helps that we get on so well." Tony turned and stared into those crystal blue ones he loved so much.

The two men leaned towards each other, Gibbs' eyes dropped to that mouth he'd had so many fantasies about. Just as their lips were about to touch Tony's cell came to life, and made the two men jump apart.

"Great," Gibbs muttered.

"Yes." Tony snapped as soon as he answered, why hadn't he turned it off, or put it on silent. They weren't at work, so never be unreachable didn't count. "Sorry Amanda, wait, who is following you? Gibbs is with me, we'll come to your hotel room, and you can call Adam. We'll see you soon." He put the cell in his pocket and felt the urge to talk about what nearly happened. "Gibbs–."

"We'd better go."

"Yeah." Did Gibbs actually want him or just something that happened at that moment in time? Had things changed because he was now immortal and was less likely to be killed? He couldn't just ask Gibbs about these things. How the hell did he bring it up, it's not exactly a casual topic of conversation.

XXXXX

Tony and Gibbs walked into the very opulent hotel room.

"I like my luxuries," Amanda smirked knowing exactly what they were thinking, by the looks on their faces. "This young lady is Eleanor Bishop, also known as Ellie. Would you please explain who you work for and why you were following moi?"

"I work for the NSA…"

"Why–." Gibbs started to ask.

"And?" Amanda prompted.

"I'm also a Watcher."

"Okay, I understand why a Watcher would follow Amanda, but I am guessing there is more to it, right?" Tony was still a newbie, but he told about those who chronical the lives of immortals, but never get involved.

"I'm not officially a proper Watcher yes. I'm still training, but my intelligence and the way my mind works the NSA wanted me. I was being set up there to help Watchers in the future."

"A baby watcher trying to follow me."

"It would've been more embarrassing if you hadn't noticed her."

"Adam." She warned that man was so quiet, at times she forgot he was there.

"Let's focus shall we." Gibbs sighed, how come the people he worked with tended to act like children.

"I was looking into Mossad links. I was studying Michael Rivkin. There were a few phone calls between him and his director. He isn't just an assassin for Director David; he's also an immortal who has just arrived in town."

"Do you think this has anything to do with Ziva? Does she know about immortals as well?" Tony queried.

"I don't know, Ellie, is it alright if I call you that?" Gibbs waited for her to nod. "You keep an eye on Rivkin. We need to know why he's here. If, and I mean if you have to follow him keep a distance and call us. We'll get there ASAP and take over. I'll give you some pointers before you head out."

Ellie's eyes lit up, she opened up her bag and pulled out a notebook, pen and some snacks. Tony smiled and then walked over to Adam.

"This is still so surreal to me."

The older immortal leaned towards him, so their shoulders touched and he could whisper into the other man's ear. "You are getting a crash course aren't you?" If Tony had been single, or not involved emotionally with someone he would've made a play for him. The looks that Gibbs sent his way, well it was good he wasn't easy to kill.

"How long have you been alive? How do you deal with it?" Tony still found the fact of outliving people creepy and terribly lonely. The only thing that kept him going was that Gibbs could live as long, or longer than him.

"If you're a good boy maybe one day I'll tell you." He replied, winked and walked away.

Gibbs leaned back against the window frame, his fingers going while as he squeezed. His eyes never left the two men laughing and leaning in a little too close together, in his opinion.

Amanda watched, a smile on her face, even after all these years some things remained the same.

Tony glanced around and noticed the look that Gibbs threw their way. "Do we think Eli knows about immortals, or just that Rivkin is an exceptional assassin?"

"I've been following up on Mr Rivkin's assignments, with what he has been sent out to do; I believe that the director does know about immortals. I'm not sure about his daughter though." Ellie bit at her lip hoping that they trusted her judgement.

"We need to keep an eye on Rivkin and Ziva. I don't like that he is here after the problems she's had at NCIS. It also means we also have to be a little more careful." Gibbs main concern was keeping Tony safe.

XXXXX

Gibbs looked up from the newspaper he'd been reading as someone knocked his front door. While Tony had been murdered and currently stayed here he always locked the door. He stood, walked over and opened it.

"Why is your door locked?" Abby demanded, hands on her hips.

"What is it, Abby?"

"I thought that it was time you forgave me and we can go back to the way things were." She rocked on her heels and smiled hopefully at him.

"You're kidding, right? You think I'm going to ignore everything you've said and done?"

"But–."

"Just go, I wish you would take a good hard look at what's happened, maybe you should talk to the nun's."

"Gibbs." She stopped at the look he gave her. Abby turned and stomped towards the door, a key could be heard in the lock and Tony walked in. "It's all your fault." She snapped and then pushed past him.

"I guess I missed something."

Gibbs dropped down to the couch and sighed. "She wants me to forgive her." He noticed that Tony was about to talk. "No, I'm not going to. If Abby can't see why the way she's acted is wrong, that you could be dead and it doesn't seem to bother her."

"I know, but I'm alive." Tony moved and sat next to him.

"Yes, you are thankfully." Gibbs hated the fact that he could've lost this man, one that he cared for. There was this fear that he'd already lost to Adam. He reached out and wrapped a hand around the back of Tony's neck and pulled. Their lips touched, Tony moaned and urged forward, he had wanted this for so long. Gibbs couldn't believe this was happening he deepened the kiss; he never wanted this to end.

XXXXX

Michael had been following DiNozzo. He had to figure out who knew about him. The first place he started was with Gibbs, the two men always seemed to be together in and out of work. The familiar buzzing sound of another immortal in the area, it made him glance around, to ignore it was a sure way to lose his head. The door of the house opened, Michael expected to see DiNozzo. He wasn't a man who was surprised by much, but seeing Gibbs and knowing that the other man was also immortal did shock him. They were the only two that worked in NCIS, right?

XXXXX

Gibbs stood and just stared at the Mossad operative. Was he here for a head, but whose did he want?

XXXXX

Michael had to contact Eli, to let him know that there was another immortal that worked in NCIS and with one last glance he started his car and drove away.

XXXXX

Amanda walked over to her room door and looked through the peephole and smirked. She pulled it open. "What can I do for you…it is Ziva correct?"

"It's Officer David to you," Ziva muttered as she pushed her way in.

"Yes, why don't you come in." The immortal rolled her eyes at the display.

"You will tell them you lied in your statement."

"Why would I do that exactly?"

"Because I have told you to." Ziva snapped.

"I don't do orders, especially not from you."

"Then I will make you." Ziva pulled a knife out and smirked.

***

Amanda couldn't help herself she laughed at the little girl who believed she was the most dangerous woman to exist. "Aww, sweetheart, you are such a child."

Ziva frowned at this strange person; this was not the reaction she expected. She didn't like being talked to in this way and just as she was about to reply her cell went off. It was her father, after the last conversation it couldn't be anything but trouble.

It was just the distraction the immortal needed in an instant Amanda had the knife in her hand and had it against Ziva's throat.

"What-."

"You're a child and need to stop playing this game; your arrogance will get you killed. There will always be something more deadly than you and being able to adapt is key. You're not equipped for it, you are rigid in what how you think and what you do. Leave while you have the chance." Amanda wanted to warn her off Tony but knew that would cause more problems. The others would arrive soon, so she needed to get rid of her unwanted guest.

"Why should–." The cell went off again, "I'm only leaving because I have more important things to do." She held her head up high and her hand out, the weapon was a gift from her father.

"Oh, I don't think so. I'm keeping it as a souvenir."

Ziva glared at the other woman and as soon as Amanda moved out of the way the Mossad operative stormed out. Amanda's laughter followed until the door closed and blocked it from her.

XXXXX

Methos frowned as he heard the names Michael Rivkin and Eli David and that the former was confirmed as an immortal. It was something Gibbs couldn't be wrong about. He grabbed his cell and looked through his notes section. "Damn it."

"What's wrong?" Amanda glanced at her friend with worry.

"I believe Eli does know about immortals."

"How do you know?" Gibbs asked suspiciously.

"Tell them." She urged it was clear where this was going, Amanda had seen this look on his face before.

"No one else can know this."

"We promise," Tony answered immediately and turned to glare at Gibbs when there was no reply from him.

"Very well, I promise." He reluctantly agreed.

"Adam Pierson is one of the names I use. The watchers know me by it, as a co-worker."

Amanda laughed. "I can't believe you became a watcher."

Methos saw the look of confusion on both men. "My name is Methos. I'm the oldest immortal alive; I'm over 5,000 years old. I have contacts that let me know that Eli David and Michael Rivkin were asking about me. It didn't click until Just now; I received a message to let me know about them. I think David does know about us."

"Why you?' Tony asked.

"My knowledge or the power boost for killing me, either way, it has something to do with my head."

"He's confirmed that there is at least one immortal is here now, me. We have no idea who else he knows about? What's he going to do next?" Gibbs wanted to know.

XXXXX

Ziva slammed her fist down onto the table. Her father was not happy. He'd found out about her lies and told her to keep out of things: she'd only bring trouble to Michael. What was he doing here? Why hadn't she been informed? It made her think of what that Amanda told her. Did her father think she was not good enough? There was only one way to find out, and that was from Michael, it would be easy to seduce it out of him.

XXXXX

Michael laughed as he hung up. Ziva had thought she was irresistible and tried to get information from him. Her attempt had been heavy-handed; there was no sophistication to it. She was still an amateur and had never taken on-board any constructive comments. She believed that everything she did was already perfect. It was time to forget her; he had a job to do as he turned and stared out of the car window and waited for his target.

XXXXX

"Thank you, Joe, and you were right I should've been straight with them from the very start. I'll update you again soon," with that Ellie put down her cell. She'd noted anything that might be of help to the immortals. She shook her head. "I'm working with the people I should be watching." There wasn't time to worry about that now, she had an update to give, and Amanda was her first call.

XXXXX

They all left the hotel at different times. Metros stayed in the nearly empty bar and made a phone call. It was time to send 'his people' on another mythical Methos chase. He'd passed on information that he was in Egypt. It would keep them busy while he helped out here. It was handy being the watcher who's expertise was...well, himself. When they found out an immortal had pretended to be one of them, but not just anyone, but Methos. He hoped someone filmed it and sent a copy to him. He'd ask Joe and see if that could be arranged.

XXXXX

As soon as they walked into the house, Gibbs locked it behind them.

"Tony, I think you should go away. Somewhere you could be safe."

"I'm not going anywhere." He looked at Gibbs' face and could see the worry and something more. So much had happened, many things had changed. "Damn it." He took a few steps forward and pulled Gibbs into a kiss

Gibbs wrapped his arms around the man he loved and deepened it. They were meant to be together.

XXXXX

"Yes, sir... I'll do it straight away Director." Michael smiled as ended the call. It was time to find out what DiNozzo's genuinely made off.

XXXXX

Vance closed the file that was on his desk. The final decisions had been made, and he would let the people involved know. Gibbs would be the first one to be informed, but that could wait until tomorrow. He was going home to see his wife and kids.

XXXXX

Ellie Bishop struggled, but she couldn't free herself and because of the blindfold, had no idea where she'd been taken or who her abductor was.

XXXXX

Tony's face was pale. "You need to call Amanda and Adam." He still couldn't think of the other immortal as Methos.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked.

"Michael Rivkin has taken Ellie, and he wants to meet me. I think he plans on taking my head."

***

Amanda and Methos walked in.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Rivkin called, he has Ellie and wants to meet me."

"Did he challenge you?" Methos demanded.

"No, why?" Tony looked confused.

"If it's a challenge no one can interfere," Amanda explained.

"Why didn't he do that then?" Gibbs wasn't going to risk Tony.

"My guess, if he's working for Mossad, then he might want Tony to work for them. If he says no, then he'll take his head." Methos shook his head.

"I'm not going to agree to that. I guess I'm going to fight him."

"Tony–."

"Gibbs, I'm not going to let Ellie die."

"I don't want you to die." He shouted, it wasn't something he usually did, but this was too important.

Just then his cell went off again, Tony answered it. "Yes, hold on." He mimed that he needed pen and paper. He didn't want to give away any information on the people that were with him. Michael might already know, but he wasn't going to risk it. Amanda walked over and placed a notebook and pen on a table. He smiled and nodded his thanks. "I'm ready." Tony wrote down an address, but before he could confirm the details, Michael had hung up.

"Well?" Methos asked.

"It's the address of where he wants to meet me. As soon as I'm there and he sees me, he'll release Ellie."

"He's not going to do that," Gibbs argued.

"He still hasn't challenged you?" Methos just wanted to make sure.

"No, he hasn't."

"Let's split up I'll go with Tony, Amanda, it's you and Gibbs." He held up his hands to stop any argument. "Look Tony and Gibbs know the area better than we do they're also federal agents. Amanda and I are the older Immortals." He ignored the glare she sent his way. "It makes sense for us to split up."

"Fine," Gibbs answered finally, and the others nodded in agreement.

XXXXX

"It won't be long Ms Bishop, Mr DiNozzo will be ours, or he'll be dead."

"Look you don't need to do this, no one has to die."

"You are wrong about that, if he does not plan to work with me, well" he shrugged "one more immortal for me to come after later." Michael smiled at her, "a few more years of experience and you might have made a good watcher."

"You said you would let me go."

He laughed. "Did you really believe I would, such naivety, I will deal with you after DiNozzo is with me or dead. I still might need you."

"You seem very confident that you'll come out the winner?"

"Of course I will, my opponent has only just stared to train, he can't beat me." Michael laughed as he walked away.

"Please don't come." She begged and wished she could tell him that. Ellie didn't want anyone to die on her account. She shouldn't have been involved in the first place. All she could do now is to wait and see.

XXXXX

They had separated and came in from different sides of this large abandoned building. There was a conference room in the centre, which was where Tony and Michael would meet.

"Are you ready?"

"I guess so." Tony looked down at the sword in his hand. It still felt awkward, and all he had were doubts. He was going up against a man who'd been sword fighting for a long time and was also a trained killer.

"I'm sorry Tony."

Tony turned "sorry about–."

Methos raised his sword and with the hilt knocked the younger man out. "'I can't let you go out there, you'll die." He turned and headed towards the rendezvous point "It's all damn your fault Duncan." he mumbled. "You and your bloody boy scout tendencies."

XXXXX

Michael looked up and frowned, "who are you? Where's DiNozzo?"

"I'm afraid Tony isn't available, it seems like you are stuck will me."

"And you are? Wait, it doesn't matter it's all extra power to me."

"Well, this is disappointing. I thought you would be more excited to meet me."

"Why would I be excited to meet you?" Michael frowned he didn't understand what this man was talking about and it worried him.

The two men circled each other, swords in their hands.

"Oh, I thought you and Director David were looking for me?"

It didn't take Michael long to realise what he was talking about. "You're Methos."

"I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but..."

"I don't suppose you would just give up and come with me?"

"Sorry I can't do that."

"Why? Are you afraid to get your hands, dirty? You're not good enough or just don't dare to kill people."

Methos couldn't help but laugh. "I've killed more people than you ever will, I was once known as one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Do you want to guess who I was?"

"Death," Michael whispered.

"Yes, l was, and for some people I still am. You searched for me, and here I am. Now it's time to pay that price."

"You haven't fought for year's old man, you're rusty."

"Really, am I?" Methos smirked as Michael came forward to start the attack.

XXXXX

Gibbs and Amanda slowly pushed open an old creaking door. They could see Ellie alone and tied to a chair. They rushed to her side and released her.

"He wants Tony on his side if that doesn't work; he's going to kill him."

Just then the air crackled with electricity, and then a loud explosion sounded.

"Tony," Gibbs whispered panic on her face. He turned and ran out of the door.

"Gibbs!" Amanda yelled and chased after him, Ellie followed closely behind

"I can't lose him." He shouted back.

XXXXX

"Oww," Tony muttered as he slowly sat up and rubbed his head.

"Tony." Gibbs called out as he pushed the door open "Tony." He collapsed to his knees, ignoring the pain and pulled the younger man into his arms. "What happened?"

"Adam knocked me out." Tony was aware enough to see Ellie, and only a few knew who Methos truly was. He then looked and saw the lost look on Amanda's face. "What have I missed?"

''We felt the quickening Tony," Amanda replied softly. "An immortal lost his head."

Before Tony could say anything in walked Methos, he got to his feet and hugged the oldest immortal. "Why did you do that?"

"You wouldn't have beaten him, Tony. I had a much better chance."

"Wait, you're an immortal?" Ellie asked, and realised what they had done for her. "Sorry my mistake you're not one, he got away."

"You are learning my dear if you need to talk to someone who understands talk to Joe." Amanda smiled happily.

"Thank you, I couldn't lose someone else, not after I just found him." Gibbs knew that eventually, he would lose everyone he cared about, everyone but Tony. It was something that eased the ache in his chest. At some point, they would need to sit down and discuss when they would need to leave and create a new life. At least now there were people, friends they could turn too.

XXXXX

Ziva stood there and took a deep breath. There was one person that could help her. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"What do you…?" Abby's voiced faded after she opened the door and saw who it was. "Not you as well."

Ziva pushed past and walked into the apartment, and there was Tim.

"Abby, you have to help me," Tim begged.

"Help us," Ziva added and glared at him. It didn't matter she had initially come here only caring about her own interests.

"l don't think Gibbs will help. Tony was in trouble, he could've died."

"I do not understand why this bothers him so much, it is only Tony: I believe things would be better without him around." Ziva smiled as she spoke.

Abby stared at her in horror; she'd believed it was an accident. They couldn't really want Tony dead, but now as Ziva spoke so coldly she felt sick to her stomach. She turned to Tim expecting him to argue at how Ziva was wrong, but instead, he nodded and looked thoughtful. How could she have been so wrong about them?

"Please leave."

"But Abby you have to–."

''McGee I asked you to leave and take Ziva with you. Even if Gibbs listened to me about this, I wouldn't ask him. The two of you didn't provide back up, and for that, you have to be punished." She felt like such an idiot and a truly horrible person. All she had cared about was how she didn't want things to change. It had been all about her. Abby would say sorry to them both, they may never forgive her; the relationship she has with them would never be the same. Why would they want her back, like that, her feelings had been more important than someone's life and not just anyone, a man she loved dearly.

Ziva and Tim glanced at each other once then back to Abby. It was clear she wasn't going to be any help. They both turned and left a little confused at why Abby was suddenly crying.

XXXXX

"Has a decision been made?" Gibbs asked as soon as he walked into the Director's office.

"Yes. McGee is going to be fired, and Ziva is being to be sent back to Israel. This is not the kind of thing that gets you a slap on the wrist."

"I'll let Tony know. I guess I'll be looking for new team members." Gibbs paused, "will there be any problems because of this?"

"I've already had their fathers on the phone before the final decision was made. When I explained what happened, they were embarrassed, apologised and hung up. It doesn't matter what they thought. This was not an acceptable way to act. Agents need to know that your team has your back, that if you're in danger, other NCIS agents will be there. If not then I, as the Director will make sure those responsible will be punished."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"You had doubts?" Vance asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time an agent was sacrificed for what someone else would consider the greater good."

"Very true, but that isn't me."

Gibbs nodded, turned and left. He didn't like leaving Tony alone at the moment, not after thinking he'd lost him

Vance smiled slightly he hoped that now Gibbs knew what kind of man and director he was things might be a little smoother. They would still argue and disagree, that's just who they were and how they both saw things. The most important thing now was they both knew that the agents of NCIS came first.

XXXXX

Tony looked up and smiled as Gibbs walked down the stairs. He was so glad to see his immortal because Abby had just turned up and he wasn't in the mood for her and the ', but we're family it doesn't matter if you nearly died' talk.

"Abby, what are you doing here?" Gibbs asked

"I, uh…" Her voice faded as she looked down at the floor.

The two men threw confused looks at each other.

"What is it, Abby?" Tony asked.

"I'm sorry." She blurted out.

"What exactly are you sorry about?" Gibbs wanted to make sure she truly understood.

"I'm sorry I was being so selfish and just thinking about my own feelings. I didn't believe Ziva and Tim could truly mean to hurt you because we're a family." She sniffed still not able to look at them.

"What brought this on Abs?" Tony asked softly.

'They both turned up at my place last night. They thought I could talk Gibbs into sorting things out so nothing would happen to them, at least I think that's what it was. It never got as far as them telling me exactly what they wanted me to say. Ziva went on about it shouldn't matter because it was just Tony and if he died it would be better. I felt so sick that I completely misread her. I turned to Tim thinking he would say it was horrible and tell her she was wrong."

"He didn't though, did he?" Gibbs sighed.

"No, he just nodded in agreement. I told them they had to leave. I knew I knew I needed to say sorry, I really am. I also get it may take time for you to trust me again or it may never happen. Even if our relationship is not going to be the same, I still need to prove I will have your back."

"I appreciate that, and at the moment I don't know where we go from here. I just need to deal with Ziva and Tim first. I need to get my head around that, accept it and move on afterwards who knows." Tony knew he wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"I understand," she smiled sadly and never attempted to try and hug them or push the relationship into what she wanted, "I'll be in my lab if you need me for a case or anything."

Gibbs watched her leave. He wanted to hug her, but just like Tony, there were things he needed to go through.

"At least she understands now Gibbs. Hopefully, Abby can move forward and be a better person for it."

"You don't have to worry about Ziva and McGee. Vance has said what they did was unacceptable and there was only one punishment that was going to happen."

"So they no longer work at NCIS."

"No, they don't, no one would ever trust them to watch anyone's back, once it got around and it would. Tony promise to come to me next time?"

"I promise. I can't let things go that far again. I think I'll cut down on the clown act too."

"You don't have too it wasn't a problem."

"I know Gibbs, I'll still use it so people will underestimate me, and to help relax people.

I am going to tone it down."

"Okay, if you're doing it for you. I have no problem."

"Thank you for believing in me."

"Thank you, Tony, for staying, when most people would have given up because I'm too difficult to work for. I'll think of a more personal thank you later."

Tony laughed "I look forward to it."

"This is your entire fault," Ziva shouted as she made her way over to Tony.

Gibbs stepped forward to stop her. "The only people to blame are yourselves. You and McGee didn't do your job. It's as simple as that." He leaned forward so he could whisper in her ear. "Your father is waiting for you, oh and let them know that some out of town friends dealt with Michael."

Before anything else could be said security took had her arms to escort her out. She knew that if she tried anything else, it would cause her a lot more trouble.

"I..." Tim shivered as he tried to explain.

"Stop Tim, there is no way out. The minute you decided my life was worth nothing is the day you should no longer work with teams in dangerous situations."

Tim's goes to leave, but here's a beep he has a message on his cell, he reads the text, his father has heard all about it and is livid. He's become an embarrassment to the family.

XXXXX

Eli couldn't believe that she'd been so stupid. When Ziva was back at Mossad, she would be sent for retraining, one day in the far future she may be given an important assignment, but that is only if she has learnt her lesson.

He was worried that he couldn't contact Michael. Had his immortal finally lost his head? If he did not hear soon, it would be noted down that Michael Rivkin is dead. It would be a shame he was an excellent resource.

XXXXX

Tony and Gibbs walked into Amanda's hotel room. She was still packing, and Methos was sat down on a couch, his case on the floor next to him.

"Tony, my darling. We have to go, a friend of ours is in trouble." She walked over and hugged him. "Do keep in touch."

"I will, I promise." Tony held her tightly. "I'm going to miss you."

Amanda pulled back and smiled. "Of course you will." She pulled away and moved to hug Gibbs. "You'd better take care of him."

"I will." Gibbs hugged her, "I'm sure you will check up on me?"

"You bet you pinchable behind I will."

"Tony, there is an expert swordsman here, he doesn't take students usually, but Trevor is an old friend. As a favour to me, he'll continue to train you and Gibbs." Methos pulled a card out of his pocket and held it out.

''Why me?"

"Gibbs you haven't been an immortal long. You both need to be trained; it's for your safety."

"Fine." He reached over and took the card. If it meant he could help protect Tony, then he would do it.

Methos finally got to his feet after Amanda threw a glare in his direction. He pulled Tony into a quick hug and then shook hands with Gibbs.

"If you need me, you have my number, but please–."

"Don't tell anyone who you really are, we got it." Tony smiled.

"If we can do anything to help with your friend, just call." Gibbs offered.

"You might regret that Duncan's a regular Boy Scout. He's always in trouble."

"Methos!" She warned, but there was a smile on her face.

"You know it's true."

"We'll let you carry on." Tony winked, and then as he and Gibbs left.

XXXXX

Tony cuddled onto Gibbs side as they sat on his couch.

"So we need to start looking for new team member's boss."

"Yeah, how do you think Ellie Bishop would fit in?"

"We'd have to look into her file and see if it would work. Having someone who knew about immortals would be a good thing."

"Exactly, but we'll deal with that tomorrow." Gibbs turned, leaned in and kissed him.

The End

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