Vengeance

Co-conspired with NikaDex~

Rated: T

Summary: The Winchester brothers are called in to assist the team in a ghostly case...

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or Supernatural, but I love love love playing with the characters!

A/N: Sam and Dean won't actually show up in this first chapter yet...

11 00 11 00 11

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs strode off of the elevator, coffee in hand as he made his way toward the bullpen. Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was on his phone, turned away from his desk and clearly annoyed. "Because I have to work..." he said into the phone. "I understand you wanna meet with me, but I can't just drop everything and-" his pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in frustration as he kept being spoken over. "No I can't. I won't! You're gonna have to settle for waiting!"

Gibbs looked at Agent Ziva David with a silent question as he sat down at his desk. "His father," she mouthed. Gibbs cocked his head and looked back over at his senior agent.

"Dad, I'm sorry...what can I tell you? I can't just leave..."

Gibbs desk phone rang before he could intervene, and he picked it up. "Yeah. Gibbs." He listened to the person on the other line for a moment. "Got it," he said before hanging up and standing. He opened his drawer to grab his gun and badge, securing them as he watched Ziva and Special Agent Timothy McGee take his lead. Tony was doing the same, but still had his cell wedged between his ear and shoulder.

"I really gotta go, Dad. Please! This isn't the time-"

Gibbs took the phone from him. "Agent DiNozzo is on my clock right now," he told Tony's father. "He'll call you back when he's off of it." With that, he ended the call.

"Thanks, boss," he said. "And sorry about that... He's a bit possessive at times." He picked up his back pack, slinging it over his shoulder as he followed the team to the elevator. But his cell began to ring again. Grimacing, he glanced down at it as they entered the elevator. He turned himself into the corner as he answered, doing his best to keep the conversation quiet.

"His dad is kinda going a bit overboard, don't you think?" McGee asked Ziva quietly.

"He is demanding that he meet him right away," she replied.

"Is there a reason?" Gibbs asked.

"No," she replied. "He simply wants to control Tony."

"Dad, seriously!" Tony grunted. "I have a job to do, and you're making me look like a complete idiot in front of my team!"

"Your team more important than your father? Those idiots have been trying to take my place as your family for long enough! Junior, I swear to God, if you don't do as I ask, I'll make your life hell!" his voice was loud enough that the rest of the team could hear it. Gibbs narrowed his eyes and felt anger rush through his blood.

"They're more of a family to me than you've ever even tried to be. And do you honestly think I'm afraid of you?" Tony spoke loudly now.

"Ya damn well better be you sonofa-" Senior's voice was cut off by a loud screeching sound and what was unmistakeably a crash. Then silence...

"Dad?" Tony straightened up, visibly paling as he turned around to face the team. "Dad, are you there?"

"What happened?" Gibbs asked.

Tony shook his head, "He was driving...I think he might've wrecked."

"You know where he was at?"

"In town...not sure where," he told him.

Sighing, Gibbs canceled the elevator's trip and hit the button to take them back upstairs. "Change of plans, then. I'll have Vance give our case to another team. McGee, see if you can trace Senior's phone."

"Boss, you don't have to do this...he's probably okay. He always rents cars with the OnStar system, so there's probably someone on their way to him, now," Tony insisted, but his shaky voice showed Gibbs that he was a bit more upset than he was letting on.

"There's no guarantee he got one this time," Gibbs said as the doors opened and they poured out and headed toward the bullpen again. "Try and call him back, Tony," he said as he passed the bullpen and rounded the stairs up toward Vance's office.

McGee went straight to his computer; Ziva at his heels before moving to stand behind his chair to watch him work. Tony was dialing his father's number. He listened to it ring until going to voice mail. "No answer," he told them as he ended the call and dialed again.

"Just keep trying," Tim told him. "His phone's still on, but I'm having trouble with the trace. I've got a generalized area..."

Tony paced back and forth in the bullpen as the other line kept ringing. He tried a third time, noticing Gibbs coming back down the stairs as it began to ring again. Then he paused in his steps when he heard a clicking sound on the other end. "Dad?" The team glanced at him for a moment. Tim resumed the trace, moving faster now that there was an open connection. "Dad, are you there?"

"Junior," came a weak voice on the other line, following by a gurgling cough.

"Are you okay?" Tony felt a twinge in his chest at the sound of his father's struggle.

"Your fault...stubborn bastard..." he coughed.

"There are other ways to get in touch with me other than wreckin' your car, Dad," he said, attempting to defuse the anger and fear.

"Every...one y-you l-love...then y-you..." his breath came in quick, struggled bursts.

"Just calm down. Be pissed later...we're gonna get you some help," Tony told him.

"I've got him!" McGee said. "He's two miles from here. I'll call an ambulance."

"Dad, I'll be there soon," Tony said as he headed toward the elevator with Gibbs. "Dad?...Dad, you there?" As the elevator doors closed behind them, Tony felt a sense of dread come over him...

11 00 11 00 11

As Gibbs pulled up to the accident, Tony in the passenger seat, an ambulance was parked in front of the wrecked car; a police car behind it. It wasn't until after they got out of the car that they noticed the medics had Senior on the ground, administering CPR. "Dad..." Tony scrambled toward him, stopped short by Gibbs.

"Let 'em do their job, Tony," he told him.

"W-what happened? How did he crash?" Tony asked.

"Looks like he blew a tire going pretty fast," an officer told them. "Lost control and hit the pole head-on. Who are you?"

"I'm his son...He's my father," Tony told him.

"Oh...I'm sorry," the officer's face showed sympathy. "They've been working on him for ten minutes now."

"Call it," they heard one of the medics say, and Tony turned around in horror as they pulled away from their administrations. "Time; 9:37am."

"Wait..." Tony approached where his father lay. "What? What are you...he's..."

"I'm sorry, Sir," one of the medics told him. "We did all we could. He wasn't breathing when we got here and his heart gave out soon after. We haven't been able to get it back."

Gibbs watched as a myriad of emotions played across Tony's face; anger, confusion, guilt... Guilt was actually a shared feeling at that point; Gibbs was feeling it. He'd been the one to cause Senior's sudden anger... "Tony," Gibbs reached out to put a hand on his agent's arm, but Tony flinched away. This flared the feeling of guilt in Gibbs even stronger. "Tony, I'm sorry..."

Tony looked at him and shook his head; his eyes brimming with tears. "Not your fault," he told him. "It's his fault...he's gotta be so damned demanding... Can't handle when someone won't bend to his will," he clenched his jaw and swallowed down the painful lump in his throat. Then he turned to his father's wrecked rental. Sudden anger boiled over in him. How dare his father do this! How dare he show up unannounced and demand his immediate presence, then when he can't get it, do something as stupid as recklessly speed through the city like some child... "You sonofabitch!" he yelled and put his fist through the only remaining intact window which was on the back driver side door.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs pulled his senior agent away from the car before he could injure himself further.

"How dare you do this to me!" he yelled at his father's body on the ground. "You selfish sonofabitch!"

"DiNozzo, calm down," he turned Tony around to face him, holding onto the agent's arm firmly with one hand, and his other at the back of his neck. "Tony..." he looked him in the eyes, and Tony seemed to be pulled back from his own anger. What was left, changed his face into an expression of sadness and disappointment and he ducked his head to hide it from his boss before the tears could spill over. Gibbs didn't hesitate to pull the agent into a comforting embrace, allowing Tony's face to hide against his shoulder...

11 00 11 00 11

Tony didn't recall the trip to Gibbs' house. Only that he was now on the couch, sitting with his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around his torso. He was vaguely aware when his boss sat beside him, setting two mugs of coffee down on the table in front of them. Gibbs appraised him, taking note of how small he looked in that position. "Doin' okay?" Gibbs asked.

Tony turned his head to look at him, "Fine. Head hurts," he replied as he leaned over to take one of the mugs. "Thanks for the coffee, boss."

Gibbs nodded, watching the agent as he slowly drank from the mug. He wasn't sure what to say to him; wasn't sure what he was even feeling. But he knew he wanted to help him through whatever that might be. "You know you can stay here if you want," he told him.

"I'm okay, really. It was just...a surprise, ya know?" he looked over at him again. "I didn't expect it to happen. I wouldn't have...I mean I would've..."

"I know," he told him as he picked up his own mug.

"You might think you know a lot about my father," Tony started. "A lot about me... Truth is, everything I've ever said about the man was an understatement," he took a long drink from his mug.

Gibbs noted the shiver that ran through Tony's body. "What do you mean?"

"All the passive things I've ever said about him in passing..." he shook his head and took a long breath. "He was always a...really angry person," he began. "Always scared the crap outta me when I was a kid...thought he might kill me one day," he swallowed. "If he'd lost any more control, slipped up just once..."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes; his gut churning at what the agent might be implying. "What are ya tellin' me, Tony?"

Tony's hand wrung around the mug as he closed his eyes for a moment. "My mom never knew... Pretty sure everyone else did, though. Just never did anything about it," he smirked, but didn't look away from the dark liquid in his mug. "He drank a lot; used to come home pissed about...losing money or a deal or whatever..." his voice tapered off.

"He hit you?" Gibbs asked quietly. After a moment, Tony nodded, sheepishly. Gibbs' heart sank in his chest. "Damnit..." he cursed under his breath and placed a hand on the back of the agent's head, petting his hair, gently. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay...in the past."

"Never okay," Gibbs told him.

"It's the only time he really paid me any mind," Tony revealed. "Never wanted much of anything to do with me, otherwise. Unless it mattered for public appearances. He'd always make sure to make birthday parties pretty unbelievable; invite all his business acquaintances and show off what he could do. Once my mom died, he just sent me away... Got me outta his hair. I'm glad I didn't have any siblings, 'cause I'd hate to think what they would've had to endure once his number one punching bag was outta reach," he let out a small laugh and looked over at his boss, surprised to see the older man's eyes reddened as he looked at him. "Geez, boss, don't look at me like that..."

Gibbs shook his head slightly. "Shouldn't have done that to you, Tony," he said in barely a whisper.

"I know that," Tony told him before looking back at his coffee. "I forgave him...even if I never told him as much. And I thank God he never had kids with any of his other wives. Other than that, I just never wanted to get in his way again. But sometimes he just...showed up; maybe to remind me he still had some kinda power over me."

"Well, he didn't," Gibbs reminded him.

"He seemed to still think so, on some level. Maybe he was right. I bailed him out last time he was here...ya know, with the hotel and all. And the way he talked to me today," he shuddered again. "Like I was that defenseless little kid again..."

"But you didn't let him."

"I answered the damn phone," he looked at him again. "Twice. And I let him get to me."

"And I pissed him off when I ended the call, DiNozzo. He was pissed because of that. If you're lookin' for someone to blame-"

"Hell no, boss," he interrupted before he could continue. "There's no one to blame but him." He looked back down at his mug, "I just wish...that our last conversation didn't have to be what it was..."

11 00 11 00 11

2030 hours...

Abigail Sciuto pulled up in front of her apartment and quickly made her way up to her door with her cell phone wedged between her shoulder and her ear as she listened to all the voice mail from the day. She'd been at a convention in D.C, then out for drinks with friends and had left her phone in the car. Thankfully, there'd been no missed calls from Gibbs. He was never fond of anyone being unreachable.

As she reached into her purse to look for her keys, she listened to McGee's message. "Abby, it's me. I know you're out for the day, but I wanted to let you know...something happened." Abby paused in her search as her chest tightened, expecting the worst. "Tony's father was killed in an accident today while he was on the phone with him. He's at Gibbs' house, so don't worry. Just wanted to let you know before you heard it through the grapevine. Call me later."

"Poor Tony," she said to herself as she pulled out her keys. They fumbled from her fingers and dropped to the mat in front of the door. The porch-light above her flickered as she crouched down to pick them up. A shiver ran down her spine as it seemed to get cold, suddenly. She could see her breath as she exhaled.

Then she was startled when she saw a pair of legs from the corner of her eye. With a gasp, she shot up to stand and look at the man who stood not a few feet from her door. There was a split second of relief at the familiar face, that quickly turned to complete fear.

She couldn't even speak and she fumbled with her keys to open the door. Once inside, she dropped her purse and keys, but clung to her phone as she hurriedly locked the door and raced to the kitchen. Abby speed-dialed Gibbs as she rifled through her cabinets. The lights in her kitchen began to flicker now... Pulling down a giant box of salt, she was once again startled by the unwelcome presence, now in her kitchen. She jumped and began to back away.

"Sorry to have to do this," the man told her. "I always did like you."

"Go away!" she yelled as she threw a handful of the salt at him and ran for her bedroom. Quick as she could, she began to dump the salt on the floor, making a circle around her coffin-bed. It took her a moment to realize Gibbs had answered on the other line.

"Abs, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Gibbs!" she yelled as she finished the circle and jumped into the coffin. "I'm in trouble..."

"Calm down, Abby, what's going on? Are you hurt?"

"No...not yet, anyway. There's someone in my apartment. Something..."

"I'm on my way. What do you mean? Did you see it?"

"Yeah, but I'm really confused," she said as she closed herself up in the coffin. "I know the man who's here..."

"Who is it?"

"It's DiNozzo Sr..."

There was silence on the other line for a long moment. "Abby...Tony's father is dead. Died this morning."

"Well it's either his ghost or his twin, Gibbs. Either way, I'm trapped here..."

"Whoever it is, is he threatening you?"

"I think he wants to kill me..."

"Abby..."

"I'm hiding...please hurry, Gibbs..."

8 minutes later...

Gibbs and McGee managed to ram Abby's door down, weapons drawn as they entered the apartment. The lights had been flickering until they entered. "Abby?" Gibbs yelled as they moved through the house.

"Abs, where are you?" McGee called out.

"What the hell..." Gibbs said as he saw the circle of salt around the closed coffin.

Tim knelt down to examine it, "Just salt, boss," he informed him. Gibbs holstered his weapon and moved to open the lid of the coffin.

"Gibbs!" Abby's voice cracked in relief when she met his eyes. She sat up and threw her arms around him.

"Abby, what the hell happened?" he asked as he returned the hug; relieved that she was okay. "Your door was locked and chained from the inside. There's no one else here."

"I'm telling you, Gibbs...he was here. He was covered in blood...wearing a gray suit with a blue shirt." Gibbs narrowed his eyes at the description... That's what Senior had been wearing when he saw him last... "I can't stay here," she said as she pulled away from him.

"You don't have to," Gibbs said as he helped her out.

"I need to get to my lab," she said as she hurried for the door.

"I can take you," McGee said. "And you can stay at my place if you want to..."

11 00 11 00 11

"What was with the circle of salt, Abby," McGee asked as he sat beside her in her lab.

"Keeps evil spirits away," she said matter-of-factly.

Tim arched a brow, "Evil spirits?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" she said as she glared at him.

"Abby, you listened to my message right before you saw him. Don't you think it could've been a figment of your imagination?"

"Please don't patronize me, Tim," she said with a furrowed brow and she typed at her computer. "I know you all don't believe in this kinda stuff, but it's absolutely real."

Tim sighed, knowing nothing he could say would change her feelings in the matter. "What are you doing?" he asked as he watched the monitor.

"Trying to find a number," she replied vaguely.

"To whose phone?"

"An expert," she told him. "Two of them, actually. They're a team."

"Who do they work for?"

"They don't work for anyone."

"Well, how do you know them, then?"

"I...don't, really," she glanced at him. "I have this...sorta friend. He knows them."

"What are their names? Have you run any kind of background search on them?"

"I can't do that, Timmy," she turned fully to him. "And you have to agree not to even so much as let anyone outside of the team know about this."

"What are you getting into, Abby?" he asked with concern. "Who are these people?"

"This is something not even Gibbs can take care of," she told him. "This is a completely different playing field, and these guys are the best in the game..."

11 00 11 00 11

tbc...