The camera snaps another picture. Jeanne laughs as Tony kisses her and reminds her he's keeping her from work.

"Tonyyyyyyy," she moans out, "I really have to go"

"Come on, you haven't measured yet," Tony chuckled.

Jeanne laughs and smiles at him.

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Jeanne Benoit," Tony blurts out without thinking.

"What did you say?" Jeanne says with a puzzled look on her face.

"I love you, Jeanne Benoit and I'm not afraid to say it. Ok, maybe a little." as Tony kisses her once more and she kisses him back.

"Hey, now where's that tape measure?" Tony joked, then they both laugh.

Another picture snaps and the sound of a recorder rewinding then playing back, "I love you, Jeanne Benoit." plays.

5 days earlier

Gibbs walks into Director Shepard's office with a bag of food.

He starts to set out the food

"Uh oh, what's wrong now, Jethro?"

"Why do you always say that when I bring in food?"

"I know you."

"Yeah, well...what kind of missions is Tony doing for you?"

"You know I can't tell you that, Gibbs. You really need to give him more credit. He's a very capable agent."

"I know that, I trained him"

"Well, you should let him know that more often."

"If he's sick, you need to tell me."

"Sick? What gave you that idea?"…Thinking for a second... "Oh, no, you misunderstand. Tony isn't sick, Tony's in..."

"What?"

"Lets see, he came to me, instead of you."

"What, Tony's in love? Did he buy a new mirror or something?"

"I guess the second b does stand for bastard."

The next day…

Ziva walks out of the elevator.

"Hey, McGee, did you have a good weekend?"

"Not really, I think I'm catching a cold"

"Ewww, stay away from me."

Ziva notices a white box with a pink bow on Tony's desk.

"Is Tony in yet, McGee. Sorry, stupid question. I wonder what's in the box."

"He'll kill you, you know that."

She lets out an evil grin. "Yeah, I know, but it'll be fun. What you say, we take a look?"

"I dunno, Ziva. Remember the last time someone touched something on his desk."...rubbing his left eyebrow…"It took 6 weeks for it to grow back."

Ziva walks over and inspects it a little closer. Lifting up the bow, reading the tag…"Jeanne Benoit. Who's that?"

"No idea."

Ziva lifts the box…."It's pretty heavy"…shaking it a bit.

"I'm gonna take a look."

The elevator beeps and the doors open.

Ziva quickly puts the box down and turns and walks to her desk.

Tony walks in whistling, wearing his shades, carrying his backpack over his right shoulder.

Ziva takes a step forward; "Who's Jeanne Benoit?"

"Uh, what?" Tony said softly, stopping in his tracks.

"Well?" Ziva waiting for an answer.

"She's...She's my typing teacher. Yeah, that's it."

"She's not a very good one then, Tony" McGee joked.

"Zip it, Probie."

Ziva and McGee both come over to Tony's desk.

Tony looks up…"What?"

"What's inside?" Ziva wondered

Gibbs walks into the bullpen area.

"Pink's not your color, DiNozzo"

"Right, Boss. Getting rid of it, Boss."

"Come on, open it, Tony"…Ziva urges him.

"Tony, I think your box is leaking."…as McGee points at a liquid forming around the bottom of the box.

"What are you talking about, McGee?" as Tony picks up the box and notices the small puddle that's recently started to develop

"Tony, do NOT open that box" Gibbs raised his voice.

Tony quickly grabs his cell phone and hits speed dial, first calling Jeanne's cell...it rings 4 times, then goes to voice mail. Tony then calls UNI-hospital, a nurse picks it up..."Is Dr. Jeanne Benoit there?"…Tony says quickly.

"One second, sir." ………."Sir, she called in sick." Tony's hands fall to his side, his cell phone dropping to the floor

"Gibbs..."

Gibbs rushes over…"Tony, don't open it"

Gibbs picks up the phone..."We…"

Just then Tony starts to open up the box...and Gibbs places his hands on top of his, stopping him.

"Tony, if what I think is in there is, you do not want to see it."

"But, I have to know, Gibbs" ...a single tear escapes his left eye.

"Let me do it, Tony"

Ziva moves behind Tony…"Sit, Tony"…as she realizes what Tony has been hiding from not only her, but everyone. Tony sits…"Tony, listen to me, let Gibbs do this"…she placing her arms around his neck, hugging him softly.

Gibbs slowly takes off the top; an envelope lies on top of what seems to be bloody tissue paper.

It has 1 word on it..."se7en."

The area now surrounded and taped off.

"McGee, get me those security tapes, I wanna know who put this here. Now." Gibbs snarled..."and tell Abby to get ready to pull DNA from this envelope."

"On it, boss."…McGee leaves quickly

Tony sat on the stairs; Director Shepard was keeping him at a distance, holding his hand.

Se7en? With a #7? Why?" Ziva stood puzzled

"I have no idea"...Gibbs put on his latex gloves.

Gibbs picks up the envelope and turns it over, opening it carefully. A mini cassette recorder is inside, it has a post-it note that reads "play me" and a folded letter.

"Gibbs, please, let me help, I'm begging you." Tony pleaded from across the room.

Gibbs puts his head down and sighs "Ok, Tony"

Tony walks over as Gibbs asks..."Are you sure?"

Tony nods as Gibbs clicks play on the recorder..."I love you, Jeanne Benoit"...followed by silence...then suddenly, screams, unrelenting...the scream stop..

Jeanne shaken voice speaks, "Tony, I lo..."...then dead silence

Tony's head drops, his whole body shakes. Ziva reaches out to grab him, to do anything; she's in tears….she whispers…"Tony?"

"I got 'em, boss and Ab..." McGee returns then stops mid sentence, looking at Ziva crying, trying to console Tony."

Gibbs looks at McGee…."Well?".

"I've never seen her cry before."…McGee said with a surprise look on her face.

"McGee!"…Gibbs raised his voice.

"Right, Boss, it was delivered by a delivery man, I'm heading over there to check them out."

"Good, take Ziva with you."

Ziva looks at Gibbs…"No, I want to stay with Tony."

"No, go. I need you out in the field."

McGee and Ziva head out...Ziva's eyes never off of Tony, as she backs her way into the elevator and the door closes.

Ziva wipes the tears from her eyes. "Where are we going, McGee."

"12th and Fairfax. Speed Delivery Service"

Gibbs opens up the letter...Jeanne Benoit's Medical ID falls out, the letter reads:..."Next time, it's the whole head."…Gibbs puts down the letter and splits the tissue paper apart, revealing a dismembered ear.

Gibbs takes off his gloves and picks up the phone…"Ducky, I need you upstairs."

Abby steps off the elevator…"Tony."…as she walks over and hugs him.

"Abby, I was about to call you, take these downstairs and see what you can get from them." Gibbs said softly

She pulls away from Tony, but Tony holds on. "It alright I go down with her, boss?"

"Sure go ahead, DiNozzo."

McGee and Ziva now by the car.

"You drive, McGee"…as Ziva gets in the passenger side door

McGee starts up the car.

Ziva runs her fingers through her hair, then holds her hand in front of her face.

Ziva breaks back into tears.

"I love him."…Ziva said between the tears

"I know"…McGee hands her a tissue

"You knew what, McGee?" trying to dry her eyes with a tissue

"That you loved him."

"How's that?"

"Oh, the way you've been acting around him, you've been so worried about him and you've started laughing at most of his jokes."

"I have?"

"Yep...and it's not like I can blame you, Tony is cool."

"Oh, Tim, isn't this the same guy who's super glued your face to your desk…twice?"

"Oh, he can be a complete bastard, that's for sure, but...remember, when I thought I killed that undercover cop?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Remember how Tony came over and stayed up with me, trying to cheer me up? Those are the kind of things Tony does that go unmentioned...hey, you wanna know a secret?"

"About Tony? Sure."

"Ok, don't tell him I told you, but...he told me the first time he fired his weapon in the field, he wet his pants."

Ziva laughs and blows her nose. "Thanks, Tim"

They arrive at the delivery store and go inside

Ducky arrives with Jimmy Palmer and they start to inspect the ear.

"What can you tell me, when was it severed, Ducky?"

"Oh, it's definitely fresh, Jethro...I would say within the hour. Let me see." ...Ducky takes a closer look..."Hmm, looks like it was burned off, see these burn marks?"

"You mean, with a blowtorch?"

"Indeed, whoever did this, has done it before...quite brutal."

"Anything else?"

"There's a few strands of hair, I'll send them down to Abby for testing...How's Tony holding' up?"

"Not good"

"I figured as much. Poor lad...Mr. Palmer, takes these to Abby, please."

"Yes, doctor"

"Ducky, if the ear was burned off, would there be this much blood?" Gibbs asked while rubbing the top of his head

"Hardly, no. I hate to say this, but the owner of this ear is most likely already dead or bleeding to death as we speak."

Back at NCIS, the deliveryman is in interrogation.

McGee and Director Shepard watch through observation.

"What do you know about a white box with a pink bow?" Ziva asked

"I already told you lady, a guy paid me 500 bucks to delivery it...it was 500 bucks, I didn't ask any question, that's a lot of money."

"You're lying!"

"Why would I lie about that?"

"What did he look like? Tell me. Now!"

"I dunno, 5'11-6', muscular, he had a weird accent"

"Like mine?"

"No, I think he was European."

"Anything else?"

"He was bald"

"...and?"

"That's it, I swear."

In Abby's Lab

Tony sits on the floor, leaning against the cold storage in Abby's lab. Abby, just finishing up the evidence Jimmy brought down walks towards Tony.

"You want to hold, Bert?"

Tony looks up at Abby..."No, that's ok, Abs."

"He always helps me when I'm down"

Tony reaches for Bert and squeezes him. "I usually love fart noises...but not today."

"Aww, Tony" as she sits next to him. "Everything is gonna be ok, Tony. Gibbs will catch these guys."

Tony sighs

Abby leans over and touches her head to Tony's head "Tell me about Jeanne"

"What do you want to know?"

"How did you meet her?"

"I can't say"

"Why? Because of some secret mission?"

"No, I just don't want to hurt anymore people I care about."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when we talked about MOAS's?"

"Yeah, was Jeanne it?"

"She was one of them. I have several."

"Tony, look at me, you can tell me anything. I love you dearly and I would do anything to help you."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."…Abby holds his hand

Tony swallows hard and places his other hand on top of Abby's hands…"Abby...it's just that whenever I get close to someone, something bad happens to them. Especially to those I fall in love with. First Kate, not Jeanne."

"We all loved Kate."

"Yes...but, not in the same way."

"Are you telling me, you and Kate? ...Kate?"

"Yes."

"Oh My God...I knew it!"

"You knew?"

"No, not really, but I always wanted it to happen."

"Well, it did...and I hate myself for it."

"You can't mean that!"

"But, I do."

"Stop that!"

"I can't...every woman I've ever gotten close to, as either left me, gotten hurt or I've pushed them away."..."My mother...Kate...Jeanne."

"I care about you...have you pushed me away?"

"No, but you're different, Abs."

"No, I'm not...and Ziva and the director care about you. Hell, Ziva loves you, anyone can realize that."

"Ziva? Loves me? Fat chance."

"She does. She's been really worried about you. Thinking you're having complications from when you had the Plague."

"I am. That's why I was at the hospital. That's how I met Jeanne."

"Are you ok? You're not going to die are you!?"

"No, but I'm gonna be on medication for the rest of my life."

Abby slaps Tony Gibbs-style

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Don't scare me like that!"

"See...I hurt the people I care about."

Abby slaps him again "Snap out of it, buttwad!"

"Buttwad?"

"Don't make me slap you again, DiNozzo!"…as Abby stands up

"Lets go find your girl." reaches out her hand to Tony

Tony holds out his hand and she helps him up.

Abby now working at her computer. Tony is looking at all the evidence on the table.

"se7en, with a #7? Isn't that a movie, Tony?"

"Yeah, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman searching down a serial killer who killed using the seven deadly sins."

"Hmmm, but what does it have to do with this."

Tony sighs, "In the end of the movie, Brad Pitt's character gets a box that has his wife's head in it."

"Oh, I remember that now...wait, wasn't she pregnant?"

Tony goes silent.

"Was Jeanne pregnant, Tony?"

...silence...

"Tony?"

Abby turns around and realizes Tony is gone.

Gibbs arrives at the lab

"What you got, Abby?" handing her a caf-pow

"The DNA does match Jeanne Benoit, I got it off the hospitals records."

"Anything else?" Gibbs looking around…"Hey, where's Tony?"

"What, he's not up there? He left here maybe 10 minutes ago"

Gibbs picks up his phone and calls Tony...it rings 4 times before Gibbs hangs up.

"Great, now I have to find him, too."

"Oh, Gibbs, I got a partial from the mini-cassette itself and I'm running it, nothing back yet."

"Keep me informed, Abby."

McGee's phone rings

"The description of the delivery man was average height and bald, right?"

"Yeah, Tony. How did you know?"

click

"Tony?"

McGee picks up the phone and calls Gibbs

"Boss, I just got a weird call from Tony."

"What did he say?"

Gibbs walks off the elevator hanging up his phone

"Boss?"

"I'm behind you, McGee."

"Oh, nothing, he just gave me the description of the man that paid the delivery guy and I told him that it matched and he hung up."

"He knows who it is. Quick, track his phone."

Gibbs runs upstairs going right into the Director's office.

"Damn it, Jen, what was DiNozzo doing for you? He's gonna get himself killed!"

"Jethro, he was just doing some surveillance for me, nothing more."

"Well, then, you must know of the description the delivery man gave, don't you?"

"Yes, it was one of the targets I had DiNozzo working on."

"Who is it?"

Gibbs phone rings

"McGee, I told you to track DiNozzo's phone."

"Boss, you know I have to do this."

"Don't be stupid, Tony. You don't even know what you're up against."

"They're arms dealers, who bought illegal weapons using blood diamonds and I'm gonna kill every last one of them sons of bitches."

click

"Tony? DiNozzo? God damn it!"

Gibbs runs out of Shepard's office and yells "McGee, did you track it!?"

"Sorry, boss. His cell isn't on anymore."

Gibbs pounds on the railing

Gibbs cell rings.

Tony sits in his blue Mustang, he loads his gun and puts it on the passenger seat. He takes his badge out and looks at it. He breathes on it and rubs on it, cleaning a smudge.

"The only thing I ever wanted to be was a cop."

Tony tosses his badge into the glove compartment.

"I'm not a cop today"

Tony gets out of his car and opens the trunk. He takes off his leather jacket and puts on his NCIS bulletproof vest, he grabs his back-up gun and tucks it into the front of his pants. He puts his leather jacket back on and zips it up. He grabs the remaining 5 clips from his trunk, putting them in his left jacket pocket.

Tony gets back into the car and takes out his cell and hits Gibbs on speed dial and places it on the Mustang's dashboard. He starts the car and revs the engine.

"Here comes the pain."

Tony hits the gas...

Gibbs answers his cell

"Here comes the pain."

Gibbs starts to speak, but stops...the sound of a car accelerating and smashing into something is heard.

"Tony!?"

Muffled voices are heard and then a gunshot

"Boss, he left his cell phone on, we can track him."

"Good boy, DiNozzo...good boy. Do it, McGee."

Gibbs runs down the stairs "Got it yet, McGee?"

"One second, boss."

"Ziva, get ready!"

"Gibbs, what was that? Is Tony ok?"

Gibbs turns toward Ziva...

"Got it, boss, he's at an old warehouse 9 miles south of here."

The team rushes towards the elevator.

Tony lies silently on the hood of his car covered in blood, his head busted open, his jacket missing, his bullet-proof vest riddled with bullet holes, his right hand holding his bloody left shoulder.

Gibbs and company arrive on the scene and notice the back of Tony's car sticking out one of the warehouses.

"Tony?!"…Ziva pleads desperately

They quickly move up to the back of the car, a bald man is lying hog-tied 10 feet left of Tony's car inside the building, he has a gunshot wound to his lower leg that has a tourniquet made from a belt.

Ziva sees Tony on the hood…"Tony!"…She runs over to him. He doesn't respond. She checks for a pulse. "He's alive!"

"McGee, call for an ambulance!" Gibbs shouts as he checks on the bald man. The man is unconscious.

"Ziva, how is he?"

"He's lost a lot of blood...his pulse is weak."

"The ambulance is on its way, Boss."

"Damn it, DiNozzo! What the hell were you thinking?" Gibbs angrily said.

McGee walks over to Tony and sees that Tony has written something in blood on the hood of his car. "Gibbs, there's an A and an R written in blood next to Tony."

"Where the hell is that ambulance?!" Ziva places a handkerchief on the gunshot wound on Tony's shoulder and holds it tightly.

Gibbs moves towards the others when he hears something further back into the warehouse. He draws his weapon and moves back slowly, when out of nowhere, a man on a motorcycle speeds past Gibbs knocking him down. Gibbs flies into a crate shattering it. Gibbs jumps up and aims, but it's too late, the person is gone.

The ambulance arrives. The paramedics jump out and head towards a yelling Ziva.

"Who was the guy on the motorcycle? He almost ran into us!"

Gibbs walks back towards the others. "I'm officially pissed."

Tony leaves in an ambulance, Ziva accompanies him.

"Boss, Ducky is 2 miles out, he should be here any minute."

Gibbs walks over towards the bald man, who's now on a stretcher.

"He's got 2 gunshot wounds, both to the same knee, Boss"

"Stick with him, McGee...when their done with him, get his ass in interrogation."

"Got it, boss."

The second ambulance leaves with bald man and McGee.

Gibbs walks towards Tony's car...he grabs Tony's phone from the dashboard and places it in his coat pocket.

"Damn DiNozzo, I can't believe you did this."

Ducky and Palmer arrive on the scene.

"Ducky, we have 2 bodies further back, just follow the blood trail."

"How's Anthony?"

Gibbs sighs…

They're both silent..."Ziva's with him, he didn't look too good, Duck."

Ducky lowers his head...

"Mr. Palmer, my bag."

"Coming, doctor."

Ducky and Palmer make their way to the back.

"So much blood."

"Indeed, Mr. Palmer. It's quite remarkable how much blood is in the human body"

The first body is of a gigantic man, he's been shot numerous times, amongst other things…

"He's been shot at least 10 times, Jethro. Maybe more. Did Tony do this?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Liver temp tells us he's been dead less than 20 minutes."

Ducky takes a couple more minutes looking over the body and then he moves further into the warehouse, Ducky finds a man duct taped to a wall.

"My lord, this man has been tortured. Some of his fingers have been shot off. I do hope Tony didn't do this Jethro."

"Cause of death?"

Ducky removes the duct tape from the man's head and places it in a bag.

"Gun shot wound to the head. Instant death."

A NCIS agent walks up to Gibbs

"We've collected all the blood samples and evidence, Agent Gibbs and here's the coffee you wanted."

Gibbs takes the coffee and takes a drink.

"Hopefully Abigail can give us more answers, Jethro."

Gibbs takes another drink of his coffee.

"Let me know if you find out anything else about the bodies, Ducky."

Ziva paces in the waiting room, tired of hearing you can't be in here.

"Damn it, I want news!" She pushes her way back into the ER area.

"Miss, please, let us work on him."…An older nurse grabbing her hand…"Come on, dear, I'll sit with you."

"I just want to know what's going on."

"I know you do, but you have to let the doctors do their job...so, is he your husband?"

"No."

"Well, you obviously care for him."

"He's my partner."

Ziva puts her face in her hands and starts to cry, the nurse hugs her tightly

"CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE! Bring in the crash cart!"

"TONYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"No pulse, doctor. He's in v-fib"

"Charge to 300. Clear!" The doctor places the paddles on Tony's chest and zaps him

beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

"Clear!" the doctor zaps Tony's chest again

bloop...bloop...bloop...beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

"Charge to 360."….the nurse charges it to 360…."Once again...Clear!" the doctor zaps his chest once again

"I got a pulse, doctor!"

"Whew, great job everyone."

The older nurse walks out into the waiting room and nods to Ziva and smiles. "He's gonna be fine, Hun."

Ziva hugs her "Thank you." ...wiping the tears from her eyes..."Now, I'm gonna kill him."

Ziva and a doctor stands outside Tony's recover room, he's still unconscious.

"How is he, doctor?"

"He's in critical condition, he suffered multiple gunshot wounds...and.."

"Multiple? I only saw one."

"One of the bullets that entered his vest was hit again and it pushed it through the vest and into his body, it punctured his lung, but we were able to repair the damage. He's gonna be in a lot of pain and out of action for quite awhile."

A frustrated Ziva…"Anything else?"

"He suffered head damage, 14 stitches to close the gash on his forehead, he also has a concussion, so we've placed him in a medically induced coma hoping the swelling goes down. The next 12 hours are critical"

"Can I see him?"

"Yes, for a little while."

Ziva walks in, Tony lies silent, his breathing is shallow, he's hooked up to numerous machines, they seem to beep in unison. Ziva grabs Tony's hand and holds it.

Ziva clears her throat…"Hey, Tony..."…She grips his hand tighter..."Can you hear me, Tony?"...she wipes tears from her eyes..."Don't die on me, Tony."

A nurse walks in. "Sorry, I thought no one was in here. I'll give you a couple more minutes."

"Tony...I have to tell you something."...She move her mouth to his ear and whispers in his ear...she then kisses him on the cheek. She leans back, wiping her tears away once more and leaves the room.

Gibbs walks into the elevator and his cell rings

"His name is Martin Bastion, Gibbs. He's a known arms dealer working out of S. Africa and Europe. Chatter about him seems to lead to a French group called, Le Grenouille."

"Good work, Abs."

"Do you know how Tony is doing?"

"Nope, Ziva went with him, but when you find out, let me know."

Click

Gibbs steps out of the elevator and walks towards his desk.

"Boss, he's in interrogation room 1." Gibbs changes directions as McGee quickly gets up from his desk and follows him.

Gibbs walks into the interrogation room, McGee goes into observation.

The bald man sits in interrogation #1, in noticeable pain.

"So, Martin Bastion is it?"

"You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Special Agent Gibbs."

"Nice to meet you, Special Agent Gibbs."

"Who do you work for?"

"No one, I was attack by some brute...and believe me, I'm going to sue."

"Who do you work for?"

"Are you deaf, Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Who do you work for?"

"You must be"

"I'm only asking one more time"

"What, are you threatening me?"

Gibbs puts his hands on top of the table and stands up..."Do you want me to threaten you?"

"I want a lawyer."

"We're all out of lawyers"

"I have rights, ya know?"

"Dirtbags like you do have rights, the right to get your ass kicked."

Gibbs grabs the table and forces it left and looks down at his knee.."ooh, that must hurt...I've never been shot in the knee before."

"What are you doing?"

"McGee, bring me a phone book."

"You can't be serious!?"

"A thick one, McGee."

Gibbs walks back to his chair and sits.

"What are you doing?"

Gibbs just sits there staring at his knee.

"You're a psycho."

McGee opens the door and walks inside. "Here you go, boss." ..handing him the yellow pages.

"Nice choice, McGee."

"You can't, you're the law. You can't do this!"

Gibbs stands up, walks towards Martin Bastion, points at him, then the yellow pages.

"You won't do it."

Gibbs nails him in the knee as hard as he can swing.

He screams and falls off his chair.

"I really have to work on my follow through"…as he's about to hit him again

"Stop! I'll talk."

Gibbs stops..."Well?"

"I work for...the IRA"

Gibbs hits his knee again. "Wrong answer!"

He screams again.

"I can do this all day...McGee, get me some coffee."

"Stop! Stop! I...work for this French guy..."

"Go on"

"I...I...I've never even met him yet. He's in the market for something big."

"La Grenouille?"

Looking shocked..."How did you know that name!?"

Gibbs hits him again in the knee with the phone book "Want some more?"

Martin Bastion Screams…"What do want from me!?"

"Where's Jeanne Benoit?"

"The psycho American asked about her, too and like I told him, I don't know who she is."

Gibbs hits him in the knee once more

"I don't know who that is, damn it!"

"I don't think I believe you."

"It's the truth. Talk to the other guys."

"Can't, they're all dead."

Gibbs is about to hit him again when...Director Shepard walks in...

"Jethro, that's enough!"

"I need some coffee, anyway"

Gibbs walks out...

Gibbs answers his cell

"Gibbs, I need you down here. I have something to show you."

Gibbs arrives in Abby's Lab

"What do you have, Abby?

"Tony's DNA was on the bullet that Ducky pulled from the duct taped body, we still haven't identified him...so, whoever shot him, shot it right through Tony's shoulder."

"That's one helluva shot."

"And get this, I sent all the DNA samples through CODIS and one came back as being closed and the files have been erased."

"Odd...anything else?"

"Yes, the two bullets from Martin Bastion's knee were from Tony's weapon...so, its possible Tony may no more than we know."

"Good work, Abby."

"You think it would be alright to go visit Tony?"

"Yeah, go ahead, but take McGee with you."

Abby and McGee arrive at the hospital

"We're here to see Tony DiNozzo."…Abby says with a smile, McGee stands behind her with boutique of black roses.

The nurse types in his name on the computer. "Sorry, he's not in the computer...are you sure you have the right hospital?"

"McGee! Did you take me to the right place?"

"Yes, Abby, this is where Ziva told me where he was."

"Can you look again, Ma'am. Thanks."

She tries again. "I'm sorry, he was here, but he's been release from the hospital."

"What!?"

"Yes, he was signed out by his doctor."

"What is the name of his doctor? Can I speak to them?"

"Ummm, lets see, the doctors name was Caitlin Todd."

Tony is shown in a hospital bed in what seems to be in the back of a moving truck, he's still unconscious. A person in a hooded sweater sits beside him. His IV is still in, it's bouncing around. A hand goes to his forehead, holding a wash cloth, their fingernails are painted pink.

Gibbs answers his cell

"Boss, we have some bad news."

"What is it, McGee."

"I dunno how to say this, but Tony is gone."

"Tony's dead?" Gibbs lowers his head, his hand covering his face

"Dead?" McGee looking confused ...Abby quickly takes the phone..."Gibbs, he's missing, not dead, but he could be dead. Oh my god, Gibbs, he could be dead." Abby starts to panic.

"Abby, where are you?"

"Oh, please, don't let him be dead. Please, please, please."

"Abby!"

"Yeah, Gibbs?"

"Where are you?"

"We're at the hospital."

"Stay there, I'll be right there. Oh, is Ziva there with you?"

"Nope, I haven't seen her since this morning."..."Tim said he heard from her about an hour ago. She was gonna check on something, but she didn't mention what."

"All right, I'll be there soon. Stay calm, Abby."

Abby hangs up..."Abby, you forgot to tell him about who signed him out."

Abby looks at McGee…"No, I didn't...that's not something I can tell him over the phone."

Ziva arrives at Tony's condo...she quickly picks the lock and goes inside, this is the first time she's ever been here without Tony.

She takes a few steps inside, checking his mail that's on a table by the front door, just bills and a letter from Paula Cassidy. She puts the letters down and walks into his living room.

For a bachelor, she was quite impressed with Tony, sure, he had the huge TV and the leather recliner, but it was very clean and sleek, something she found sexy. She sat in his chair, she could smell him on it, she felt at ease.

She rose and moved to the kitchen, she was shocked he actually had vegetables in his fridge and he even had those little wine coolers she always made him buy when she came over for movie night.

She wandered to his bedroom, the bed made perfectly, nothing out of place. She walked over to his dresser, she opened up his top drawer and saw a box of pictures, some of them when he was child, he didn't look happy at all, but some of him and Abby and of Kate.

"I would've liked to have known her."

Then there were some pictures of Ziva, zany-style pics of her sticking her tongue out at Tony or of her laughing.

"Tony, you made me laugh so hard my sides felt like they were gonna burst."

She puts the pictures back and sat on the end of his bed, then lied back.

"So, this is how it feels to be on the big D's bed, yes?" she chuckled

The look in her eyes screamed she wanted that more than anything.

Her phone rings.

Ziva answers her cell

"Ziva, get your ass over to the hospital, Tony is missing."

"What do you mean, Tony's missing, Gibbs? I just saw him 45 minutes ago."

"The hell I know, Abby and McGee are there now and he's gone."

"Alright, I'll meet you guys there."

click

"I cannot believe it, even when he's in a coma, he disappears….Zdayen

Harah!"

She leaves his condo.

Gibbs arrives at the hospital

"Gibbs, over hear!" Abby jumps up and down waving her hands.

Gibbs walks over to them .

"This is the doctor who was on call at the time, Gibbs."

"What happened doctor?"

"We're not sure, it seems he was released to his personal doctor."

"Personal doctor?"

"Gibbs, something screwy is going on."

"Why's that, Abby?"

"His personal doctor is...Caitlin Todd."

"What!? Doctor, do you have security tapes?"

"Of course, come this way."

They head into the security room

"Can you show me the footage from ICU from about 45 minutes ago?

The man rewinds the tape and it shows a woman in a doctor's scrubs.

"Anyone know who that is?"

"Nope." They all answer

"Can you zoom in on that ID tag?"

The man zooms in and it reads: "Caitlin Todd"

"That's definitely not Caitlin Todd."

"How do you know that?" the security man asked

"She's dead."

"Oh..."

"Can you make me a copy of this?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Abby, you and McGee take it back to lab and get to work on it. I want to know everything you can find out."

"On it, boss. Let's go, Abby."

They all start to walk out and they meet Ziva just coming in. "What's going on, guys...where's Tony?"

"No idea, some woman took him pretending to be Caitlin Todd." Gibbs quickly replied

"Tony's dead ex-partner?"

"Yes."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Find out."…Ziva just stands there…"Now!"

Tony is still in a hospital bed, the truck has stopped. Everything is still. The person in the hooded sweater is now injecting something into his IV.

The voice of a man is heard from behind..."What is that for?"

The person in the hooded sweater turns around, revealing herself to be Jeanne Benoit. "It's gonna bring him out of the coma."

"Is he secured?"

"Yes, but he's not going anywhere...he's badly hurt."

"Do not underestimate him...stick to the plan, my dear."

Gibbs and Ziva walk into Abby's lab

"What did you get off of that tape, Abby?"

"Not much, Gibbs. She basically just rolled out with him."

A very frustrated Ziva "Damn it, I should've stayed with him."

"Stop it, Ziva. It's no one fault, lets just find him...Abby, start going over everything again, maybe we missed something." Gibbs leaves.

Abby starts pulling out all evidence of the case onto the table. Ziva watches her like a hawk over her shoulder.

"A little room, please."

"Sorry, Abby...I just want to help."

"It's ok, I understand. Just stand over there."

Abby pulls out blood evidence and says, "Jeanne Benoit."

"What does she look like anyway, Abby?"

"Hmm, I don't know, let me pull it up through her hospital ID."

"That's her!"

"What? What's her?"

"The woman who rolled Tony out of the hospital."

"That's Jeanne Benoit? His so-called girlfriend kidnapped him?"

"Yeah, that's our Tony, always picking' the psychos."...Abby picks up the phone and calls Gibbs..."We got somethingGibbs."

A few minutes later Gibbs walks in

"What you got, Abby?"

"The woman who took Tony was his missing so-called girlfriend Jeanne Benoit."

"Again?"

"Oh my god, I totally forgot about that, Gibbs. That is so weird."

"Do I even want to know?" Ziva groaned

"No...what's her address, Abby."

"1920 S. Boulevard, apartment 202"

"Lets go, Ziva."

Tony starts to move, his mind is still not there, but slowly he's starting to come around.

Jeanne wipes his brow with a wash cloth..."You still have a fever, Tony."…in a worried voice.

"What are you doing?" the unknown man said..."Don't tell me you actually fell for him."

"No, he was my assignment...nothing more."

"Good." ...as he walks away...

She leans in..."That's not true...she sighs...I can't believe I fell in love with someone I'm suppose to kill."

Gibbs and Ziva arrive at the Jeanne Benoit's apartment...Gibbs kicks in the door...they walk inside to find nothing, the place is completely empty, it smells of new paint and bleach.

"What now, Gibbs?"

Gibbs shakes his head in disgust..."Tony is on his own..."

"You're just gonna give up!?"

Gibbs looks down at his cell phone, he hits it against his leg. "Damn thing won't stop making that damn noise." ...tossing it against the wall.

"Gibbs, I think you have a voicemail."

"A what?"

"Here, give me your phone."

Gibbs bends down, picking up his cell...then tosses it to Ziva.

"You do have a voicemail." ...she plays it: "Boss, he's not..."...a gunshot is heard and Tony moans, he's just been shot.

Tony's eyes flicker, trying to focus on anything, his hearing is distorted, he tries to make sounds, but nothing happens.

"Tony, can you hear me?"

The unknown man walks in, "It's time, Jeanne."

Jeanne takes out Tony's cell from her bag and speed dials Gibbs and places it on Tony's chest.

Gibbs cell rings...he looks at it and sees that it's from DiNozzo...he answers...light moaning is heard...

"Ziva, call McGee, tell him to track DiNozzo's phone"

Ziva calls…"McGee trace Tony's cell."

"He's got it, Gibbs...123 Cherrynut St."

"No, it can't be…"

"What, Gibbs?"

"No, God no."

Gibbs and Ziva are on their way to the location

"Are you going to tell me what's going on, Gibbs?"

"It can't be...it just can't be..."

"What the hell is it, Gibbs?"

"Now kill him, Jeanne."…the unknown man says..."And be quick about it."

Jeanne picks up a pillow smashes it down on Tony's face, busting his stitches open...she takes out her gun and fires 2 shots into the pillow...the pillow slowly soaks up the blood.

"Excellent, Jeanne...now, its time for you to die"

"What? I did what you said. Please, don't!"

The unknown man pulls out a gun and shoots Jeanne 3 times in the chest

She falls over Tony's body and lies there...laughter fills the truck, as the bed slowly becomes more and more blood soaked.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"…He stops, grabbing a rifle and loading it..."Gibbs, I hope you're harder to kill than Kate was."

Gibbs turns onto Cherrynut St.

Gibbs phone rings...

"It's DiNozzo, again."

"Hello, Special Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs slams on the breaks...

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What is it, Gibbs?" Ziva asks franticly

"It's ok, Special Agent Gibbs, put it on speaker phone...I'd love to talk to my so-called sister."

Gibbs puts it on speakerphone...

"How are you, Ziva? Have you missed me?"

"B...But, I killed you."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk...do you honestly think I would fall into that pathetic trap?"

"What do you want, Ari!?"

A sniper scope comes up..."All of you dead...first there was Kate, so sweet, so orgasmic...then DiNozzo, his death came too quickly...I wanted him to suffer more."

The scope's cross-hairs firmly on Gibbs' head...then he switches to Ziva..."So, who will be first, you decide."

"Shoot me first, Ari!"

"Awww, Gibbs, so brave, so tough...I think I'll shoot...Goodbye, Ziva."

He squeezes the trigger and the sound of a gunshot is heard.

The bullet passes though the brain, leaving a massive exit wound.

"When are you bad guys gonna learn, kill first, talk later...have you never seen a single episode of Batman?"

DiNozzo drops to his knees and grabs the bloody phone.

"Boss, I'm in a lot of pain and this bastard is bleeding on me...Can I go home?."

"Tony!" Gibbs and Ziva at same time

"Boss, this reminds me of the end of Lethal Weapon 2."

"DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Shut up."

"Shutting up, Boss."

"Oh, Ziva..."

"Yeah, Tony?"

"I love you, too."

Click