Chapter 12

Gibbs couldn't fault the kid's work ethic as they chopped their way through the roots of the rosebushes. Between the toughness of the root fibers and the thorns of the bushes, it had proven somewhat difficult, and Gibbs just hoped that they could get through before things got too bad back at Tony's place. He didn't really know what to expect when they reached the rotted remains of a box, barely held together by the strings Wheeler had used to tie it closed.

He reached down to drag it out of the hole, but Sam just sliced through the strings and flipped what was left of the box lid off. After shaking salt over the tattered remnants of Iris Gottlieb's life, he sprayed lighter fluid over the top of it all. Gibbs pulled his lighter out and threw it down onto the stuff. It caught fire and burned brightly.

"That's it?" Gibbs asked.

"That's it," Sam replied, and then after that, they watched the flames together without speaking.

Dean knew he was going to be too late. He grabbed one of the salt bombs, preparing to lob it through her. Somewhere behind him, Ziva let out a curse in a language Dean couldn't even guess at. He might not know the words, but the sentiment was clear enough. She was no more likely to stop Iris in time than Dean was.

Iris leaned over the sofa and reached out for Tony's chest, a mad glee in her eyes that was deeply alarming. Dean had no idea where Sam was in the quest to destroy the bitch's remains. They hadn't heard in hours, and he hadn't even considered calling. Joggling someone's elbow while they were hunting was a bad idea.

Staring up at his attacker, Tony spasmed, as if he was trying to move against the paralysis the ghost projected.

Just as the faintly glowing, somewhat translucent fingers touched Tony's chest, Iris's eyes widened. She stood up straight and screamed while brilliant flames started at her feet, then rushed upward to devour her. The blizzard that had blown up in the living room stopped abruptly, everything falling to the floor. Dean threw himself over the top of Tony to keep anything from landing on the stricken man.

Falling objects pelted his back and head, and he felt something slice through the skin of his neck. Tony began to cough violently, and Dean drew back, pulling the man up and helping him by thumping him on the back. Ectoplasm came out of his mouth and dissolved on contact with clear air. He just kept coughing, and Dean knew it had to hurt. "Get it up," he said. "Get it all out."

"Is she gone?" Ziva asked from behind him, her voice urgent. "Will she be back?"

"She's gone," Dean said. "I guess Gibbs and Sam were just in time."

"They could have been earlier," Tony said hoarsely. "That would have been fine with me."

Dean grinned at him sympathetically. Ziva seemed to agree that Tony's crack was a good sign. She squeezed his shoulder and went into the kitchen. Dean kept thumping Tony on the back. He didn't think it would be great for much of the ectoplasm to dissolve inside the guy's lungs.

"My phone has no power," Ziva announced suddenly.

"Probably none of them do," Dean replied. "Ghosts can do that."

"I wondered why we had not heard from Gibbs." She was silent for a moment. "I will borrow Tony's charger," she added, disappearing into the bedroom.

"You guys have the same phone?" Dean asked.

"Government issue," Tony managed to get out between coughs. The paroxysms had begun to ease. Tony's brows knit. "Hey, you're bleeding."

"No big deal," Dean said, reaching up briefly to the stinging spot on his neck. "Not sure what got me," he added, glancing around at the scattering of small objects.

Tony followed his gaze and then took in the total chaos of his living room. "Oh, shit. Now Janice really will kill me."

Gibbs' phone rang just as they reached the car, and he pulled it out. Sam went around to the driver's side and Gibbs settled into the passenger seat as he answered the call. "Gibbs."

Sam wondered who was calling. After a moment of silence, Gibbs said, "Yup. It's done. What happened there? How's DiNozzo?" Gibbs listened for a moment, and Sam reflected that it must be this Ziva person. He wouldn't refer to Tony in the third person when talking to the man himself, and Dean wouldn't have called Gibbs. "We'll be back as soon as we can." He paused briefly. "Oh, and Ziva, call Dr. Pitt. I want DiNozzo checked out thoroughly as soon as possible." He nodded sharply and cut off the phone before he could have gotten much of a response.

"You make Tony's doctor appointments for him?" Sam asked, giving Gibbs a quick glance.

"Only when I know he won't make them himself."

"He's an adult."

Gibbs was silent briefly, then he cleared his throat. "You don't know us," he said mildly.

"No, I don't, but ever since we met Tony, he's talked about you like you were some kind of ogre. 'Gibbs'll kill me.' 'Gibbs'll be pissed.' And you talk about him like he's some kid who doesn't know how to take care of himself."

Gibbs gave him a dubious look. "Sometimes you gotta look beneath the surface, kid," he said, his tone suggesting that Sam was missing the forest for the trees. "Especially if you're going to investigate things."

Sam bit down on his immediate angry reaction and didn't say anything for a long moment. Then he cleared his throat. "So, there's no one to catch, but I'm surprised you don't want to have Wheeler arrested."

"What for?"

"Murder," Sam said.

"No proof," Gibbs replied.

"You might be able to find some."

Gibbs shrugged. "It's not my jurisdiction," he said.

Sam wondered if that was the whole story, but he didn't figure he was getting anything else out of the man. "So, Tony's okay?"

"He'll live," Gibbs said.

"She mention how Dean is?"

"All she said was that Dean is cute." Gibbs shrugged again.

Sam rolled his eyes. "That's Dean." He started the engine and pulled away. Maybe he'd have Gibbs alternate driving with him so they'd get back quicker. Kind of stupid to let him stick a leather belt in the engine and then refuse to let him drive. Dean could kill him if he wanted to.

Gibbs hadn't made a bad partner on the hunt, but Sam didn't have to like him.