Author's Note: This is set around early season 6 of NCIS, with Vance as Director but before the drama with Ziva & Rivkin unfolded. It's also set around season 4 of Bones before Booth's feelings towards Brennan became apparent.

The Navy in the Woods

CHAPTER 1

"Doctor Brennan, as much as I respect you and your work, I thought I made myself clear when I told you that I'm more suited to the lab. I just don't think that I would be of as much use as you-"

"Man up, Clarke," Special Agent Seeley Booth interrupted the intern as they made their way through the dense woods to where state police had found a body. "We're in the great outdoors. Enjoy it! Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Clarke asked.

"It's the smell of decomposing flesh," Doctor Temperance Brennan said, matter of factly. "We must be close to the body."

"I was talking about the smell of fresh air," Booth said, disheartened. "You don't get that in your squint lab."

"Over there," Brennan said, pointing to a patch of long grass where the flies had gathered. "Decomposing flesh. I told you." Booth shook his head as he followed Brennan, leaving a stumbling Clarke in his wake.

"I'd estimate that the body has been here for approximately two weeks," Brennan said, giving the body a cursory examination. "Male, mid thirties. However it's impossible to be precise about the exact time of death out here due to the fact that much of the flesh has been removed from the body by animals. I can't determine cause of death just yet either. I'll need to take a closer look."

"We'll take him back to the squint lab," Booth said.

"Not so fast," a cocky voice spoke up. Booth, Brennan and Clarke looked up to see four people emerging from deep within the woods.

"NCIS," Tony Dinozzo said, holding up his badge.

"FBI," Booth said, also holding up his badge. "Special Agent Seeley Booth."

"Very Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo," Tony said smugly. "And I'm sorry to say but NCIS trumps FBI."

"What?" Booth asked, gobsmacked. "Since when?"

"Since always-" Tony started, before he was interrupted by a slap to the back of his head from his boss, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Tony grimaced and shut his mouth. Special Agent Tim McGee and Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David stood back amused, watching the scene unfold before them.

"Gibbs," Gibbs said, stepping forth and introducing himself. "State police called in NCIS because the victim was found wearing a navy uniform. It's the third such body found in this general area this week. You were given the last two. It's time that NCIS got involved."

"But," Booth said, "There were no matches on military databases to indicate that the previous two victims were actually in the navy. Despite wearing uniforms they appear to be civilians. Plus, the remains were mostly bones and are difficult to identify, which is why we were called in."

"Oh my God," McGee whispered, grabbing Ziva by the arm.

"What?" Ziva whispered back.

"Don't look now but that woman examining the body is Doctor Temperance Brennan," McGee said, completely star struck.

"Who?" Ziva asked, confused.

"The Forensic Anthropologist and best selling writer. I was just talking to you about her latest book the other day," McGee said, excited. "The woman's a genius."

"Oh… right," Ziva said, vaguely.

"Uh… guys," Clarke said from further back in the woods.

"What've you got there, Probie?" Tony asked him.

"What did you just call me?" Clarke asked, insulted.

"Probie," Tony said, louder. "What've you got?" Clarke shook his head at Tony and turned his attention to Brennan.

"Doctor Brennan, I just found some war medals."

"War medals?" Brennan asked, surprised. "Perhaps he was marching in some kind of military parade?"

"Or receiving an award," Gibbs suggested, making his way over to Clarke to examine the medals. "Silver star and purple heart," he said, identifying them.

"Just like you, boss," Tony spoke up. Gibbs glared at him.

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"Finally, we're here, Mister Palmer," Ducky said as he and his assistant caught up with the others. "I'm not as fit as I used to be back when- oh dear, it seems as though we have quite the crowd here. What's going on?"

"Jurisdictional issues, Ducky," Tony replied. "NCIS trumps FBI though so-"

"NCIS does not trump FBI!" Booth replied, annoyed. "That's it. I'm getting the Director on the phone."

"I'll call Vance," Gibbs said, dialling his cell phone.

"My, my, my," Ducky said suddenly, a smile spreading across his face as he looked around. "Look who it is." Brennan's attention was drawn away from the body when she heard a familiar voice.

"Doctor Mallard!" She said, smiling.

"Please, Temperance, how many times have I told you to call me Ducky?" Brennan took her gloves off and carefully made her way over to Ducky who greeted her warmly with a hug. "How are you, my dear?"

"I'm well, Ducky. Missing your stories," Brennan said with a smile. Tony turned to Ziva and McGee and raised his eyebrows.

"Well isn't that nice," Tony said, pulling the crime scene camera out of his bag and moving closer to the body. Booth, who was talking to the FBI Director on his cell phone, stepped in front of Tony. He put his hand up, signalling for Tony to stay away from the body.

"I think that you should just let me do my job," Tony said, cockily. "The man served his country. He deserves the best."

"Oh my God…" Ziva said under her breath, watching the confrontation between the men.

"And you would know what exactly about serving your country?" Booth asked Tony. He went back to his phone call. "Yes, Sir. If you think that's best Sir. I'll brief you later." He ended the call, looking unimpressed.

"Well?" Tony asked.

"We'll be working this case with the FBI," Gibbs spoke up from where he had ended his call with Vance. "Dinozzo, stop being a smart ass and take photographs, McGee, scan the area surrounding the body for anything that might assist us, Ziva-"

"I'll talk to those State Police Officers over there," she said, finishing his sentence. Gibbs nodded, approvingly. "That alright with you?" he asked Booth, who nodded.

"I'm gonna speak to the police as well. They have the guy who found the body," he said, jogging to catch up with Ziva who was making her way over to where the state police officers were laughing and drinking coffee from a flask.

"Hey there," Booth said with a smile. "I'm Seeley." He stuck his hand out and Ziva shook it.

"Ziva," she replied with a small smile. "I must apologise for my partner. He's… well there are no words in the English language to accurately describe Tony."

"I could think of a few," Booth laughed.

"He means well," Ziva said. "He's a very good agent. He just takes some getting used to. I don't think he realised that you're ex military."

"I never said I was ex military," Booth said, confused.

"You don't have to," Ziva said with a smile. "Army, yes?"

"Right," Booth said, impressed and a little unnerved. "How did you-"

"I am also ex army," Ziva explained. "IDF."

"Israel? Wow?!" Booth exclaimed, obviously impressed. "So you've seen quite a bit of action then?"

"You could say that," Ziva said with a mischievous smile. Before Booth could say anything else, they had reached the State Police officers who were standing with the hiker who had found the body.

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"You know Doctor Temperance Brennan?" Jimmy asked Ducky, impressed as they took a closer look at the body.

"Yes, Jimmy, a number of years ago I took some Anthropology classes here in Washington for a brief time. Temperance was one of my classmates. Unfortunately Mother became ill and I had to give it away."

"You would have made a wonderful, Anthropologist, Ducky," Brennan said warmly.

"Doctor Brennan, I just want to say what a privilege it is to be working with you on this case," Jimmy said, excitedly.

"Yes, I know," Brennan said, getting a closer look at the victim's femur. "I estimate that our victim was approximately one hundred and eighty centremetres tall."

"I just called Abby," Gibbs said, approaching the scientists. "We'll be working out of the Jeffersonian on this one."

"Ooh, how very exciting," Ducky said.

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Forty Minutes Later

"I'm sorry, Gibbs. I'm sorry, Gibbs," Abby said repeatedly as she ran through to the Jeffersonian's Forensics' Laboratory. "There was traffic and then I forgot my music and you know what I'm like without my music. I can't think. So I got going again but then I realised that I forgot Bert and Bert's solved every case with me so-" Abby looked up at the faces of strangers standing around the work station. "Uh… Gibbs isn't here yet?" she asked.

Doctor Camille Saroyan, Angela Montenegro and Doctor Jack Hodgins were staring at the unusual creature that had made her way into their lab. Abby Scuito was wearing shiny black platform boots, a red and black plaid mini-skirt and tight black t-shirt combined with her signature high pigtails. In her arms she wrestled with a laptop, discs, a lab coat, what looked like tiny voodoo dolls and a large stuffed hippopotamus toy.

"Miss Scuito, I'm guessing?" Cam asked, surprised that this was the face behind so many of the forensics journal articles that she had read.

"Call me, Abby," Abby said with a smile. She dropped the stuffed hippopotamus toy on the ground and then accidently stood on it while trying to pick it up.

"Did that toy just fart?" Hodgins asked.

"I think so," Cam replied, trying to keep her face neutral.

"Awesome," Hodgins said with a smile. "Here, let me help you," he said going over to Abby. "My name's Jack. I'll show you around the lab."