The Silent Season by Karie

[Karie]

LOL, next Episode starts tomorrow. Enjoy your Gibbs.

[LJG_NCIS]

I will.....

[Karie]

We interrupt this season to bring you a one shot! I noticed that this scene was missing when I wrote the next episode, so I'm putting it here in chronoligical order to keep you from having to wonder.
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Don’t call me, don’t get close.

Summary: A missing scene before Lab Rat. Maggie tells Tony to back off.

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He was following her to her car when she turned around quickly and glared at him. He stopped and smiled in an innocent gesture.

“Hey, Mags, I was just gonna ask if you wanted to go to dinner together.” He grinned his usual smile, the one that always would make a woman melt and say yes to anything he asked. Maggie wasn’t swayed in the least, in fact, she was down right angry. Stepping up close to him, she grabbed his jacket lapels in her hands and shoved him against her car, staring into his eyes with not a little bit of anger flickering across her dark orbs.

“Get this straight, DiNozzo, I am not your buddy. I work with you, I am your partner. I always have your back. But you do not have the right to become familiar with me.” She was hissing now as she laid it all out for him in clipped tones.

“I am not Maggie, Mags or Maggie Pie to you,” she began.

“How about Maggie Girl?” he interrupted cheekily.

“Not that either,” she growled. “You can call me Sauer or Agent Sauer, which ever makes you feel more comfortable. I don’t care which, but don’t call me Maggie again. Do you have that straight, DiNozzo?”

Tony was beginning to feel uncomfortable. There was a quiet fury in this woman now. She wasn’t the sweet innocent woman he had teased and tickled in the middle of the night to keep her from falling asleep during a cramming session at school. This was a stranger in the form of his old friend. In a way, he felt intimidated. But under that was a sense of pain for the memory of the friend he had lost.

She wanted to stay separate from him, and he didn’t wish to press the issue. So he slowly pushed her back, easing himself off of the car and coming around her to stand on his own feet. She glared at him, seething inside at something that she was unable to voice. She turned around and opened the car door, sat down in the driver’s seat and stuck the key in the ignition. But after the second time of twisting the lock and finding the car dead to her, she blew out a curse in frustration. All this time, Tony simply stood outside, watching her.

He leaned over to stare her in the eyes. “You want a ride home?”

She had no choice, her car was dead. She nodded mutely and grabbed her purse before climbing out of the car, shutting the door and setting the alarm. Turning, she followed Tony to his car, where he unlocked the passenger side door and allowed her to climb in by herself. He refused to touch her, feeling that he might have invaded something he had previously had no knowledge of.

As he drove, there was never a word spoken between them. She stared out of the window at the passing scenery as he kept his eyes on the road. It was only a 20 minute drive, but it seemed like a lifetime for the both of them. Finally, Tony stopped the car in front of her apartment building and she moved to get out. Her hands rubbed across the legs of her soft jeans as she glanced at him once more.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Any time, Sauer,” he replied, earning him a puzzled look upon her face, but it was only for a moment as she realized that he had listened to her. With that one statement, he had acknowledged that he had heard her concerns and her anger, and he wished only to be of help, not a hindrance. She nodded once before finally getting out of the car and walking up to the main door of her small brownstone apartment building. He watched her go inside and tried to watch her go upstairs to her door. Minutes later, he saw the light in her living room flicker on as she entered her home. He sighed inwardly as he shifted the vehicle into drive, beginning the journey home.

Upstairs, she watched him go before turning back to her door, shutting it and meticulously locking it. She started from the handle, then switched the three locks above it from bottom to top, and lastly, sliding the chain in the grooved holder, securing her safe haven. She had hurt him, she knew. She had gotten in his face, something she never thought she could do with any man. He had been so close, she had simply wanted to fall into his arms and weep. Yet she knew she couldn’t do that. She didn’t know if she could trust him enough for that. The Dinozzo she saw wasn’t the Tony she could feel close to. Sighing, she turned off the lights, went into her bedroom and climbed into bed without changing her clothes, and cried herself to sleep.

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We now return you to your regularly scheduled Season.

[Karie]

Guess what I forgot!

[Karie]

Lab Rat

Act 1

Abby pulled her car into the parking space in front of her apartment, and shut it off. She had been very busy today getting paperwork done for Gibbs and all she wanted was to soak in a hot tub of sudsy water and listen to her latest Sherwood CD. As she exited the SUV, she heard loud voices coming from across the parking lot. She glanced over, not wanting to seem nosy, and saw two men in each other’s faces, spewing out insults to each other. She pulled her backpack closer to herself as she moved around the vehicle to go into her apartment. Just then there was a scuffle behind her and she turned to see one of the men pull something from his pocket and jab towards the second man. The second man winced and fell to the ground.

Abby froze in place, the scene before her in vivid clarity. The man left standing looked at her with fear and horror in his eyes, and then he turned around and ran in the other direction. Abby stood silently for a second, the sounds of the dying man in her ears as she tried to decide what to do next. Her mind would not function as she attempted to put together two coherent thoughts. She finally began to move, walking quickly to the injured man and kneeling beside him. She opened her pack and pulled out a sweater she kept with her in case she got cold, it wasn’t the best for this, but it would have to do. She ripped open the shirt of the man, found the knife wound in the pale light from a street lamp that was too far away, and shoved the sweater onto it, attempting to staunch the flow of blood from the gaping hole.

With one hand, she held the sweater in place, with the other she grabbed her phone and flipped it open, hitting speed dial 1 on it and holding it to her ear. When the person on the other end answered, she didn’t hesitate to say the first thing in her head.

“Tim, I need you!”

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Ring

The lump on the bed didn’t move.

Ring

Still no movement from the shape on the bed.

Ring

A hand shot out from under the covers and the phone was brought back underneath. A muffled reply could be heard.

“Yea, who is it?”

Words from the other end of the line brought the figure in the bed sharply into a sitting position. A hand reached over to flick on the table side lamp and Maggie Sauer’s features were cast in a soft glow as she held the phone to her right ear.

“Where is she now?” she waited for an answer from the person on the other end. “Does Gibbs know?”

She pulled herself out of bed quickly and grabbed her shoes from under it. Pinning the phone between her ear and shoulder, she used both hands to put on her shoes and then searched for her keys and gun. Once she was equipped with both of these, she headed for the door.

“Ok, Dinozzo, meet me downstairs and we can go see Abby together.”

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When Tony reached Maggie’s apartment, he was surprised to find her stretching as if she was going for a run. Her hair was brushed away from her face into a ponytail and she was wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she had worn earlier that day. Did she even change into Pajamas when she slept? He was certain she had been asleep when he had called her. He pulled up in front of her and she slipped into the car, buckling her seatbelt and glancing at Tony with a ‘go ahead’ look. He nodded and pulled away from the apartment complex, heading towards the hospital that Abby and Tim had called him from.

“So, Abby was at home when she saw this happen?” asked Maggie.

“Yea, she said she had just pulled into the parking lot when she saw the men fighting outside. She’s trying to remember what the suspect looked like, using McGee’s laptop to plot it out.”

“Good, the faster we get a lead on this guy the safer she will be.”

“I don’t think she has even realized how much danger she is in, right now.” Tony watched the lights turn as he reached them, giving them a smooth ride to the hospital.

“So she has gone on autopilot with the forensics side of it?” asked Maggie.

“Pretty much, I guess so. The locals are going to want this case, but I’m sure Gibbs will take it from them. He’ll do anything to protect Abby from danger, because she is a member of his team.”

“Well, that’s the way Gibbs is, always protecting his team.”

“That goes for you as well, Agent Sauer.” assured Tony as he pulled up to the hospital.

“I know, Agent DiNozzo. And I think it goes double for you.” She exited the car and headed into the emergency room of the hospital where she found Abby rocking back and forth in Tim’s arms, a look of fear on her face. Abby pulled away from him when she saw Tony and latched on to him like a little sister would her big brother.

Tim and Maggie moved away from the two, discussing the situation and the case that would result from it.

“Did you call Gibbs?” asked Maggie.

“He’s talking to the Director now, trying to get the case shifted over to NCIS, even though the victim isn’t military. He’s pleading that Abby being in danger as an eye witness puts it in our hands.”

“I think that’s a weak argument, but if anyone can make it work, it’s Gibbs.” She glanced over at Tony who motioned with his head for the other two to rejoin them. She nodded and led Tim back to the main area. Abby pulled away from Tony and wiped her eyes with a tissue, cleaning up her mascara and sitting back in one of the chairs, picking up Tim’s laptop and trying yet again to get the face right.

Maggie sat next to her and saw the progress she wasn’t making, and then glanced at Tony. “Shall we give it a try with the sketchpad?”

“I brought one just in case. I don’t think we need to go the full route, just some questions to assist me in the direction to go.”

“Right, then let’s get started.”

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After about an hour, Tony finally pulled the paper from the pad and gave it to Abby, who glared at it. He was a serious looking gentleman with sweeping brows and deep set eyes. His chin was squared with a cleft in the center and his jaw line was strong and looked perpetually clenched. His hair was dark to almost black and was slightly wavy. If he weren’t a murder suspect, a person would have found him a strong and handsome face. She nodded grimly as a Doctor in a white lab coat walked out of the swinging doors and approached them.

“Excuse me, are you Ms. Sciuto?” asked the man in the coat.

“Yes, is the man alright?” She stood next to Tim, a pale expression on her face.

“I’m afraid that we lost him. The knife reached too far in and managed to do damage to his heart. Nothing you did could have saved him. I’m sorry.” The man turned and left. Tony followed him, to get the body released to NCIS and Ducky as soon as possible. Maggie turned to go outside and phone Gibbs on her cell. Tim reached out and pulled Abby into his arms as she cried.

“It’s going to be all right, Abs. Gibbs and the others will find this guy.” Tim tried to comfort her as best he could. Abby looked up at him.

“He knows I live in the apartments. What if he comes after me?”

“We aren’t going to let that happen, Sweetheart. Tony, Maggie and I will take turns with watching out for you. Gibbs will see to it that your place is watched in case this guy tries to find you. We will have all the bases covered.”

She nodded slowly and turned when she saw Gibbs walk through the sliding doors into the hospital. Gibbs strode up to the couple, pulled her from Tim and hugged her close, whispering in her ear. “You are safe. No worries, ok?”

Hearing Gibbs say it after Tim simply cemented her resolve that she would be ok. Her team, her family, would make sure of it. While they stood together, Tony came up to report on the situation with the body.

“Hey, Boss, the body is being readied for transport, and Ducky is coming to claim it in ten minutes.”

“Good work, the sooner Ducky has that body, the sooner we can get all the information it can yield to us. Where’s Sauer?”

“Right here Gibbs,” answered the newest agent. “The forensics team you sent out just phoned to say that they have the area covered and have cleaned it of any evidence. They are returning to headquarters now with the stuff they collected.”

“Ok, McGee, you and I will take Abby back to headquarters to get started on the evidence. DiNozzo, you stay here and wait for Ducky, help him with the body and get it back home quickly,” he turned and headed for the doors. “Sauer, I want you to take McGee’s car and meet us at headquarters, but stop by and get us some coffee and do-nuts.”

Maggie stopped short, turned to look at Tony and frowned. Tony motioned for her to go, knowing she was rankled at the low priority job she had been given. “He’ll give you more when you get there, go!”

She growled low in her throat and headed for the parking lot. Tony shook his head, knowing that Maggie was upset. Coffee was usually a job for a Probie, but McGee was technically the youngest and he had the job of keeping Abby together. He shrugged before turning back to the task he had been dealt, and sat in the chairs, waiting for Ducky and the van to arrive.

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Maggie arrived at the bullpen with the coffee and do-nuts that had been assigned to her, and placed them on Gibbs’ desk. He arrived soon after, pointed to her computer and ordered “I want to see the video surveillance around Abby’s apartment complex. We need to know if this guy was on the tape.”

“Right on it, Gibbs.” Tony had been right, at the moment she didn’t really have anything else that could be done, but once she was where she could do real work, that’s what she got, real work. She really shouldn’t have been upset, so why was she in the first place?

“And Abby is staying with you tonight, so I hope you have room at your place.”

“I have a couch, will that do?”

“I’m sure it will.” Gibbs turned away and went back to the lab, a do-nut in one hand, coffee in the other. Not even a thank you passed his lips. So typical Gibbs.

[LJG_NCIS]

That's just like Gibbs! It's great as usual Karie. Can't wait for Lab Rat Act 2!

[LJG_NCIS]

BTW, is Sauer pronounced like sour?

[Karie]

Like Sawyer...

[Karie]

Act 2

After a few minutes, she had the programs running on her computer and decided to see if Ducky was back with the body. She found him in the autopsy room with a drowsy Jimmy Palmer, examining the body on his table. She reached over and pushed Jimmy to a chair, pulled on a surgery gown and some gloves, and began to assist Ducky.

“Ah, thank you Maggie. I am afraid Jimmy is still half asleep,” said the old man with a light lilt to his voice.

“Yeah, well I want to be sure that nothing gets messed up here, after all, this is about a team mate.” She handed him the instrument that he pointed to and helped hold back the skin from the incision that he made.

“This man has some interesting bruising to his skin, and many very old wounds. Too bad this last wound was the most fatal.” He reached over and picked up a camera that he used for close ups of entrance wounds, flashing a few pictures. They worked together for some time, finding trace evidence that had been ignored by the doctors trying to save the man’s life. Finally, Ducky handed some things to Maggie.

“Here, these need to go to the Lab, and I will send over samples for the blood tox screens in just a short time.”

She nodded and took the evidence bags away. When she stepped into the lab, it was to find Gibbs sitting in a chair next to Abby while Tim was asleep on the floor. Maggie attempted to move quietly so as not to disturb the young man. Gibbs looked up, motioned her over to the evidence table and helped her unload the bags.

“These are from Ducky, and there will be more on the way. Where’s DiNozzo at?”

“He’s upstairs working on finding the identity of the body.” Gibbs answered before looking over at Tim. “McGee fell asleep about five minutes ago.”

“Why don’t we get out of here and get some sleep? We can tackle more of this in the morning.” Maggie moved out of the lab and headed for the bullpen with Gibbs beside her.

“Too much evidence is right here, and I don’t know that the suspect hasn’t seen Abby from before. I’m going to send DiNozzo over for some of her things before I let you two go home for the night.”

Maggie nodded as she reached her desk to check on the search. It had just finished as she sat down, and she pulled out the clips she needed from the cameras that faced the parking lot around Abby’s vehicle. She sent the clips down to Abby’s computer in the lab; with a note asking the lab rat to try and clean it up. That job finished, she looked up to find Tony watching her. She frowned at him and he smiled, then she heard a bleep from her computer and found a note from him.

“Help with the background check on the apartment management.”

She read the note, then clicked it off and began the requested background checks. While her search engines were working, she glanced at Tony again. Another smile and another bleep from the computer caused her to read another note from him.

“We also need a background check on the tenants whose vehicles are in the parking lot. I have half of it; you want to help with the other half?”

She read the note and once again began clicking keys to pull info from its hiding places on the net. It was while she was doing this that she received yet another note. This one was from Abby.

“Do you like Tofu burgers?”

She read the note twice, and then giggled before typing an answer.

“Not really, I’m more of a red meat person.”

There was a pause, and then…

“No wonder Tony likes you.”

Maggie stopped. Where did that come from? She stared at the note before sending a reply.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She sat back and waited for the next note from Abby. It came after a lengthy pause in which Maggie was beginning to think that Abby wouldn’t explain her statement.

“You aren’t going to try and make him healthy, or try to change his dating habits. You have your own vices that you indulge in.”

Before Maggie could respond to this, another note came in.

“I like that in a person.”

Maggie smiled discreetly as she shifted her eyes to another part of the screen, checking her searches for information. Tony looked up and caught her smirk. He deftly typed a few lines and sent it over to Maggie’s inbox. Maggie looked up when she heard another ping in her inbox.

“You’re not going to tell her any of our deep dark secrets, are you?”

Maggie snarled at him over her screen, and then typed back a clipped response.

“You wish!”

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After several hours of running down several trails through the computer, the team finally came up with a name for the victim, David Sloan, and an address to go along with it. Gibbs sat with Tony and Maggie in the bullpen and made their plans.

“All right, it’s nearly 2am so later on this morning, Sauer I want you to drop Abby off here at the lab where McGee can keep an eye on her. DiNozzo and I will pay a visit to the address of the deceased while you make a list of all his contacts in and around town. I want to know the last people to see him, before Abby did last night.”

Maggie nodded as Tony held a hand over his mouth to stifle yet another yawn. Gibbs ignored the younger man as he continued with the plans.

“When you get that done, Sauer I want you to meet us back at the apartments with the list and we can split it up, questioning each person in turn until we come up with something. I want to know everything about this guy, including where he eats and works.”

Gibbs stood fully and headed out of the bullpen. Tony nodded to him as he passed, and then turned to Maggie.

“See you later, Sauer.”

“Yeah, DiNozzo, go get some sleep. You look like you could use some.”

“You know, I could come with you girls and help keep watch.”

“Not in this life-time, Dinozzo. I can handle anyone all by myself. Remember, I was trained for this sort of thing.”

“So was I!”

“If only you were as serious about it,” Maggie snarked as she picked up her gun and keys and headed towards the lab. Tony followed her, continuing their conversation.

“You still need me to drop you two off.” He figured that Maggie had forgotten that he had picked her up from her apartment earlier in the evening.

“We’ll just take Abby’s.”

“It’s at the apartments still.”

“Then Tim can give us a ride. I’m sure he won’t want to let Abby out of his sight until she is somewhere safe.” Maggie walked into the lab, Tony still hot on her heels.

“Well, if you want a less seasoned agent to watch your six, that’s your right, Sauer. But I think I would rather be there to check things out. It would make me sleep better this morning.”

Something about the way Tony said this made Maggie stop and realize that he wasn’t being fresh about the entire deal. He was genuinely concerned for Abby and, in turn, for Maggie herself. She stopped and turned to him, sighing quietly.

“All right, DiNozzo. You can come as well. But you are only coming to the door; you don’t get to come inside. And I don’t want to hear any crude remarks about anything.”

“That suits me just fine. I won’t even get out of the car.”

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In fact, Tony did exactly what he promised he would do; he never once left the car, only smiled at Abby and leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek through the window. Tim smiled as well as he exited the vehicle and walked the women upstairs to Maggie’s apartment. Once they had reached her floor, Maggie pulled her keys out and unlocked the door, pulling her weapon from the back holster she had clipped to her jeans. She led the two inside and told them to make themselves at home.

“It’s not much, but its home,” she quipped shyly. Abby began to investigate the rooms with keen interest. Tim gave them a cursory glance before heading back for the door.

“Well, I’ll see you two later this morning,” he said with a sigh and a yawn. Abby gave him a kiss on the cheek before he left, and then she walked over to the sofa and sat down heavily on it.

Maggie walked over to the door and promptly locked it. There were three deadbolts and a chair lock in addition to the lock on the knob.

“Paranoid much, Maggie?” quipped Abby as Maggie moved into the kitchen.

“Long story,” was the only reply she got. “You want some coffee?”

“Does it come with the story?”

“Not today.”

“Then I’ll pass on the coffee. I think I’ll just get some sleep instead.” Abby took the sheets and pillows that Maggie offered her, made a nice comfortable bed on the sofa and drifted off to sleep. Maggie watched her for a moment before turning off all the lights and slipping over to the front window. From this vantage point, you could see the street below and the cars in front of the small apartment building.

Abby was asleep while Maggie watched the street. After a few moments, she caught movement from a car a few spaces down from the front door. She squinted in the dark and caught sight of Tony sitting in the driver seat of a black sedan with government plates. Tim sat in the passenger seat and appeared to be dozing. Maggie smiled. Trust Tony to talk Tim into standing guard over Abby against orders to get some much needed sleep. They would certainly pay for that in the morning.

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Tony shifted once again in the driver seat, his eyes hardly ever leaving the window that he knew was Maggie’s. He and McGee had both decided that it would be best to wait and watch to see if anyone had followed them from headquarters. McGee had insisted on calling Gibbs about it, and Tony hadn’t argued with him. Gibbs had readily agreed, even going so far as to sending them back-up so they could go get some sleep. This was the only reason they were waiting in the car. As soon as the boys arrived to take over, Tony was going to take McGee to his place and they were going to catch a few hours of rest before going back in for more digging. They would keep digging until they found out who the victim was working with and who would have wanted to kill him.

And hopefully the killer wouldn’t be able to find Abby in the time it took them to find him.

[LJG_NCIS]

Duhn duhn duhn... C'mon boys, protect our Lab Rat! Thanks Karie, now I know how to say it. That had been bothering me. Another chapter tomorrow right? Of course if you posted beofre that i wouldn't complain! ;D

[Karie]

Not making promises here, mind is split with the TATE I am working on. If I get online tomorrow, you will get two chapters, one for Sunday as well.

[Karie]

The bad news, Hubby is home this weekend so no getting online again until Monday except to check e-mail... The good news? I have time and I am putting up the next two Acts tonight to get you through the weekend!

[Karie]

Act 3

Maggie woke up to hear music and conversation in her kitchen. When she stumbled out to see who was there, she found Abby by herself tripping out to Maroon 5 on the stereo and washing dishes. Maggie glanced around a moment.

“Who were you talking to?” she asked.

“No one in particular, just Tony and Tim.”

“They were here?”

“No, actually, they are downstairs in their car. I was just talking more to myself, imagining what they were thinking about. I often do that when Gibbs cuts a phone conversation off early.”

Maggie smiled briefly as she glanced out the front window to see the same car that Tony and McGee had driven them home in, in the same slot across the street. Peering closer, she saw that McGee was now in the driver seat, while Tony was in the passenger.

“I wonder if they sat there all night,” she mused aloud.

“Nope, they got there about six minutes ago. But someone else was there before that.” Abby handed Maggie a cup of coffee.

“Gibbs must have sent guards to make sure we weren’t followed last night.” Maggie took a sip of coffee before handing it back to Abby. “We better get dressed and head into work. I’m sure there are leads waiting for us to follow up on.”

“I hope so.” Abby grinned as she headed for the shower.

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An hour later Maggie had pulled into her parking spot in the garage at headquarters. Abby exited the vehicle and headed for the elevator with Maggie right behind her. When they reached the lab, it was to find the computer blinking furiously for attention.

“Looks like we found something!” cried Abby excitedly as she raced to her terminal to see what it showed. “Hey, we got an ID on the guy in the sketch! Looks like his name’s Mark Dunlay and I have an address to go with the name!”

“Good job, Abby. I’ll tell Gibbs right away, and then we can go after him instead of wasting time with the Sloan’s place.” Maggie headed for the stairs to reach the bullpen. When she arrived, she noticed that Tony was sitting at his desk and appeared to be fresh as a daisy. She wondered how he did it all the time.

“Hello, DiNozzo, find anything interesting?”

“Always, Sauer. For instance, I found out that our Sloan had no relatives in the area and he didn’t live in the apartment complex with Abby. I also know that he didn’t have a job that didn’t involve something illegal. He’s dealt in weapons and drugs as well as been a driver for several jobs in and around D.C.”

“So, he wasn’t worth the investigation, but he was still a human being that Abby felt was worth trying to save. And because she tried to save him, now she could be in trouble. The only thing I am worried about now is if the killer, a one Mark Dunlay, got a look at her face and figured out that she got a look at him as well.”

“Well, why don’t we go get him now, after all we have an eye witness and that’s enough for a warrant and an arrest.”

“We should tell Gibbs about it first.”

“Aww, come on, Maggie! Let’s go get him now! We can let Gibbs question him first to make it up to him.”

“DiNozzo, we can’t leave him out of the loop like that.” Maggie failed to notice that he had let the nickname slip into the conversation.

“He won’t care once we have this guy in the interrogation room!”

“Right after he fires us both for insubordination!”

“I think that’s worth the risk if we can catch this guy before he disappears!”

“DiNozzo and Sauer get the car and get after Mark Dunlay! I want him in my interrogation room by dinner.” Gibbs rushed past the two arguing agents, glaring at them both before heading up to MTAC to discuss the case with the Director.

Tony smiled his smug grin at Maggie, who reached into her desk and drew out her weapon before taking the keys from Tony’s hand and heading for the elevator.

“I told you he would want this guy.”

“No one asked you, DiNozzo, let’s go get him.” Secretly, Maggie was impressed with how well Tony knew Gibbs and knew that the older agent would want results fast. But there wasn’t a chance in hell of her ever telling him that to his face. She didn’t want to inflate his ego any more than it already was.

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When they reached the address for Mark Dunlay, Tony took the lead up to the front door, with Maggie covering him. They had no information to tell them if he had a room mate or a girlfriend in the house, so they felt caution was in order. Tony knocked on the door first, waited three seconds, and then knocked again. When they got no answer, Tony called out loudly.

“NCIS, open the door!” There was still no answer, so Tony checked the door. It was locked. He grimaced and glanced over at Maggie, who nodded and pulled her gun from behind her back, ready to shoot the first person who rushed out at them.

They took up positions on either side of the door, waited ten seconds, and then Tony kicked the door open. As he moved back, Maggie ducked down and moved in, putting her back to the wall and holding her gun in front, ready to fire. Tony followed her in and they covered each other as they searched the house. It was when Tony entered the bedroom that things began to heat up.

“He’s out the window!” yelled Tony as he took off after their suspect, he could see a tall man with dark hair running down the alleyway and headed for the street. Tony yelled at him to stop, but when he got no answer, he broke into a sprint and attempted to close the distance between them. He hadn’t noticed that Maggie wasn’t behind him as he pushed himself for all he was worth, attempting to stop the man from getting to the street and possibly disappearing altogether. He was almost on top of him, but he couldn’t get a hand on him, when suddenly out of nowhere, a car stopped in front of them, causing the man to tumble over the hood and hit the ground.

Maggie threw the car in park, stepped out and held her weapon on him. “Hold it right there. Put your hands above your head, Dunlay.”

The man turned over slightly so she could get a look at his face and she stared at him, stealing in a sharp breath. It wasn’t Mark Dunlay they had been chasing, but another man entirely. But if this wasn’t Mark Dunlay, who was he? And where was Dunlay?

Tony had slammed into the side of the car when it had arrived and then he was using it to hold himself up as he caught his breath. Now he came to stand beside Maggie and to look down at the man he had been chasing. When he had gotten a good look at the guy, he voiced both his and Maggie’s thoughts on the matter.

“sweets!”

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Gibbs was ticked. It was evidenced by the fact that he was drinking coffee at an alarming rate and sending McGee out for more every five minutes. The problem wasn’t the fact that Tony and Maggie had come back virtually empty handed. The problem wasn’t that the evidence was so tainted being that it was from an open parking lot. The problem wasn’t that they couldn’t find anything to pin Mark Dunlay to the wall for murder. The problem was… The case was being taken out of their hands.

The Director had explained it to him while Tony and Maggie were chasing their mystery man down the alley behind Dunlay’s house. The Offices and Agents of NCIS could not be used in civil cases. They had other cases that were military and thus sanctioned by the government for them to work on. And while it was certain that Ms. Sciuto was an eye-witness to the stabbing death of David Sloan, there were local civilian agencies that could handle the job just as well. And it was what they were paid to do.

And despite Gibbs’ argument that this was a member of his team, the Director assured him that she felt Ms Sciuto would be safe as long as she stayed away from her apartment for a while to give the local forces time to do their job. Gibbs didn’t want to accept that, but when he was threatened with insubordination, he relented. His final request was granted though, and he was able to requisition back-up to watch Ms. Sciuto until the crisis was over. It wasn’t enough to make him feel better, but it was all he was going to get at the moment.

Tony and Maggie heard all of this from Tim when they returned with their capture. Tony spit out a curse or two directed solely at the new Director. He had never liked her and this was a prime example of her undermining the work that the team tried their best to do. Maggie grimaced visibly as she pulled her weapon from its holster and returned it to her top desk drawer. She glanced at the clock and turned to walk downstairs to the lab. Tim called out to her.

“Abby is kind of busy right now. I was going to go get her some lunch, want me to get you anything too?”

“Yeah, get me something hot and greasy, with fries and a coke,” she replied before she left the floor.

When she got down to the lab, it was to find a very distracted Abby running through evidence reports, copying everything she had and hiding it away in her computer. Maggie sat on a stool close to her and waited quietly.

“You know,” started Abby as she scanned more evidence into the computer, “most people don’t like it when you sneak up on them without a word.”

“I wasn’t sneaking. I purposefully tapped my shoes as I walked in so that you knew I was here,” replied Maggie smugly. She reached over and handed another bag to Abby for her to scan.

“Right and you know how to hide your footsteps how?”

“It comes from months of sneaking into the Alpha Chi Delta house every night after curfew.”

“What were you doing in the Alpha Chi Delta…? Wait, that’s Tony’s frat!”

“Yes it was,” Maggie looked pointedly at the young Goth as if challenging her to say something about it.

Abby closed her mouth, but the twinkle in her eyes told Maggie that one day she would definitely have to explain it to her. At that moment, Tim walked in with their lunch, which Abby dug into with gusto.

“Hey, what’s this Abby?” he asked out of thin air as he studied the screen in front of her.

“What’s what, Tim?” She looked up to see him pointing to a matchbook on the table that she had scanned in an hour ago. She narrowed her eyes as she snarled lightly.

“Why didn’t I see that before?” she asked herself. Maggie stood up to watch from behind her and caught the same thing the other two had. There on the matchbook was a phone number, written with a ball point pen. Maggie caught her breath as she reached for her cell phone. A sudden thought came to her and she went with it, dialing the number before she had a chance to talk herself out of it.

The phone rang, and then was picked up and a smooth voice asked, “Yeah, what’s up?”

Maggie answered as smoothly as possible, “Hey, this is Maggie. I got your number from a friend and I need some help.”

“What kind of help?” he sounded so sure of himself. This was not unusual to him in the least.

“Well, I heard that you could deliver any goods that I may need,” she was reaching, not sure what she should say.

“Drugs and guns are my specialty, but I can have someone deliver anything you want. Who gave you my number?”

“I need some drugs delivered. If I tell you when and where, could you do it?”

“If the price is met. Who did you say...?”

She cut him off again. “What price?”

“$2 million for the first shipment to the delivery point of your choice. If the money is good, I could drop the price for secondary deliveries.” She could hear someone in the background and thought that ending the call now was a good idea.

“I’ll call you later with the details on when and where you can drop the shipment and pick up your money.” She hung up. Abby and Tim stared at her, disbelief showing on both their faces.

“Wow, Maggie that was smooth!” exclaimed Abby. Tim swallowed visibly. His gaze flicked to the door behind them and Maggie turned to stare into the eyes of Gibbs. Tony was right behind him and giving her that mega-watt smile of his.

Gibbs stared hard at her, and then stepped up to glare down at her. She didn’t flinch. “Good work, Agent Sauer. Now we need to find a good place to set our trap.”

[Karie]

Act 4

“So why did you do it, Maggie?” Abby was all bubbly as she and Maggie sat eating their lunch in the lab. Gibbs and Tony had returned to the bullpen to plan out what they would ask for and how they would explain to the Director that they had a new lead on the case, and would need just a little more time to develop it before they turned the case over. Tim was scoping out places to have the meeting through his computer and making notes as to which angle would be the best in each place for either a sniper rifle, or just going in to capture the suspect.

Maggie had just taken a bite out of the bacon cheese burger that Tim had bought for her when Abby asked her the question. She sat back in thought as she chewed and tried to sort out what exactly she had been thinking and why she had, indeed, made the call. She had to suppose it was to fix a mistake she had made earlier, or perhaps it was to prove to the team that she could think fast on her feet. But neither of these explanations was good enough.

“It was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed, so I went for it. I’m just glad that Gibbs wasn’t ticked that I had gone ahead without his orders.”

Abby nodded wisely. “Gibbs likes when people think on their feet and act smartly.”

Maggie nodded as she took a sip of her cola.

“Of course, if it hadn’t worked, then all your plans would have fallen flat on your face like so much egg,” Abby snarked.

Maggie choked on her soda and Abby came around quickly to pound on her back until she was breathing regularly again. Maggie sat back and took a deep breath.

“Sorry Maggie, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Abby gazed into Maggie’s face with concern, but the other woman simply waved her off.

“I’m ok, really. The soda just went down the wrong way.” Maggie looked at her watch, lunch had actually been quite late and it was now nearing 3pm. “I wonder if Gibbs is going to send us home early. We still need to figure out where you are sleeping tonight.”

“Well, I thought I would sleep at your place again, if that’s all right with you?” The young Goth looked hopefully at the Agent. Maggie smiled and stood up for a moment.

“It’s fine with me, as long as you don’t mind someone tossing and turning loudly in the next room.”

Abby thought back to the night before when she had heard some really loud sounds coming from Maggie’s bedroom. She had wanted to ask her about it this morning, but she was unsure of how to do just that. She eventually let it alone and decided that she would ask Tony at a much later date what he thought of it.

“I don’t have a problem at all.” She smiled warmly at her new friend. Maggie smiled back as Gibbs strolled into the lab.

“Ok, it’s late, so Maggie, you and Abby head home. You will have a shadow tonight and someone watching from outside the apartment. In the morning, we will make the call and set up the drop with Dunlay.” Gibbs finished speaking, and then turned smartly on his heel and walked back out. If he was upset that he was missing two nights without his dinner partner, he never showed it. Maggie, for her part, simply turned to Abby and gestured for the other woman to precede her out of the lab and to the garage.

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Maggie drove to her apartment in relative silence, Abby sitting next to her and bopping to the music on the radio. They had decided to get home as quickly as possible and sit watching movies until they got tired. Abby didn’t let Maggie in on the fact that she fully intended to grill the agent on everything she could find out about Tony. Maggie instinctively knew this was going to happen, and intended to ask a few pointed questions of her own.

When they reached the building and Maggie had parked, they both exited the car and made their way up to the apartment. Abby went in first and Maggie followed her, turning around and promptly locking all three bolts and the chain before pulling her weapon from its holster and setting it on the table next to the door.

“Do you do that every night?” asked Abby as she watched in fascination from the couch.

“Every night I lock the door the same way, and every morning I open it the same way,” answered Maggie quietly.

“Is there a particular reason for it?” Abby didn’t mean to pry, but there was so much about this woman that she knew nothing about and tonight was the perfect opportunity to do so. Maggie walked over to the couch, kicked off her shoes and sat next to the Goth.

“I have issues,” was all she could get out. It didn’t begin to explain the myriad of questions that ran through Abby’s mind.

“Don’t we all,” Abby smiled. Maggie smiled back before dropping her eyes and looking away. Abby decided to try again. “You want to tell me some of them? Like, you could tell me maybe just one for now?”

Maggie met Abby’s eyes again, and then she swallowed and tried to think of the first issue she could impart to the seemingly wise young woman. “I don’t normally have people over to my home.”

“So I see.” Abby had noticed that the furnishings in Maggie’s apartment were sparse, to say the least. “That’s ok; I normally don’t have many people over to my place either. I think only Tim and Tony have been there. Oh, and Kate, of course.”

“She was a good friend, wasn’t she?” the question came out in almost a whisper and Abby had to almost strain to hear it properly.

“She was a nice friend, but she still had problems with acceptance. That’s something that you have going for you, you accepted me instantly for who I was and what I stood for. You didn’t flinch at anything I wore or listened to. You and I have similar tastes in music and movies and you have issues. You are so cool!” Abby smiled again, hoping that it would make Maggie a little more comfortable. It seemed to, as Maggie looked up and joined her in the smile.

“Ok,” continued Abby, “so that’s one issue, but it’s nothing really, so let’s move on. What’s next on your list of issues?”

“I haven’t had a date in over 8 years.” Maggie cringed as Abby sucked in a breath.

“Ok, that’s not what I was expecting to hear.” Abby waited for the space of two heartbeats before making further comment. “I take it we don’t count the dinners with Gibbs?”

“That was weird, really. It was after the Malcolm case, and he asked if I had eaten. After that, it became normal that after work, we went to dinner somewhere. And then after that, he would drop me off here and Ducky would come around for drinks.”

“Wait, Ducky has drinks with you? Is this like, every night or something?” Abby was now in obvious shock. Gibbs took her to dinner, and Ducky came by for drinks afterwards…. What else was going on that Abby didn’t know about? “Do you have breakfast with Tim or something?”

Maggie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no Abby, I wouldn’t do that! I know how you and Tim are… well let’s just say that I have been told by Ducky that you two are involved. I wouldn’t want to come between you at all!”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking that, but it’s nice to know that you feel that way about relationships. Tim and I are… well, ours is a complicated relationship. He and I know that if we ever need the other, we are always there. You know what I mean?”

Maggie knew exactly what she meant, and secretly she wished for that same kind of relationship with someone. But first she had to have friends like that. But wait, isn’t that what is going on tonight? She is making a friend and the first real friend since… She interrupted her own thoughts to ask Abby a question.

“Is it true what I hear around the bullpen about DiNozzo?”

Abby sat back a moment before answering. “Is he a goofball? Does he go out with a different girl every week, sometimes two and three girls a week? Is he a sexist pig? Does he constantly disappoint Gibbs and is he always near to losing his job every day? Lot of stuff goes around the bullpen, Maggie.”

“Start with the first one, is he a goofball?” Maggie sat back comfortably.

“No, Tony is really smart. You were in college with him, right?”

“The last year, yes, and he was academically a genius on the subjects he studied in. He was planning to be a Phys Ed coach, but then he got this bug in the last year to go into law enforcement and he decided he was going to be a cop.”

“That fast, huh?” Abby had never heard this stuff about Tony before. He usually never spoke about being in college except to talk about times when he was on this varsity team or that one, and going to summer break with his frat every year.

“I guess it was my fault. I was studying criminal law as well as getting my own degree in Phys Ed. I guess his having to help me study every night got him hooked.” Maggie looked down sheepishly.

“He helped you study every night?” Abby was intrigued now and she sat forward, wanting to hear more.

“Yea, he was always over to my room the first month of the year. But then my room mate was such a slut that she brought all her dates over to the room each night, so DiNozzo said I should bring my stuff over to his room in the frat house.”

“And that’s when you took to sneaking into the house each night.” Abby watched as Maggie sat back on the couch cushions and smiled secretly.

“Every night, I would sneak in and we would do our homework together. He always did better when you left him alone, so he would normally have his done before I got there. I had a job after classes and would come in late to study, with him helping. Then I would end up falling asleep to one of his movies on VHS. Something with a lot of testosterone filled gun slinging, but I always ended up falling asleep on his bed, in his arms.”

“But you never… you know.”

“No, we never did. We were more than something sexual, we were best friends.” Maggie glanced over at Abby and grinned. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I wanted to. There was many the night I thought about it. But DiNozzo was too much of a gentleman to take advantage of our friendship like that.”

“Not like now, eh?” Abby sat back as she began to understand something. “Is that why you refuse to call him Tony or anything like that?”

Maggie closed her eyes. “That guy we work with is not the Tony I knew in college. After graduation, something happened and, well, he wasn’t the same. I can’t feel comfortable around him, because I don’t know if he’s going to start hitting on me, like he does with every other beautiful woman around. I couldn’t look him in the face if he did that.”

“So you keep him at arms length to protect yourself from his advances and to protect him from your wrath, should he over step himself.” Abby nodded wisely again. “That answers so many questions I had about you and Tony.”

“Like what questions?” Maggie stood up and went into the kitchen, pulling out ingredients to cook dinner.

“Like…” Abby noticed what Maggie was doing and stood to join her near the kitchen. “Did you ever meet his parents?”

“Yes, I played his girlfriend when he was required to go make nice with the family at Christmas. His parents were in Chicago meeting more family and we went up to join them.”

“Then you met Pete?” Abby had remembered one time Tony talking about his cousin who collected buttons.

“Yeah I met him, and his dad, Uncle Vincent. Vinnie was so cool, I loved being up there. So did DiNozzo, until his parents showed up. I played the good Irish/Italian girl while we were there and then when we left; his mother said that he had finally picked a winner.”

“That’s so cool. And it was great of you to play the fake girlfriend for him.” Abby had done that once and it had gone so wrong.

“Well, he had come with me for thanksgiving at my parents’ house, so I figured it would even out that way. Although my parents adore him and wish I had married him a long time ago.”

“Have you explained why you haven’t?”

“No, and I don’t intend to. They wouldn’t understand that DiNozzo isn’t the man I knew all those years ago.”

“I think that you and I would be pleasantly surprised by the truth that is Tony DiNozzo.”

“You think there is something else under that thick, sexist exterior he puts out for everyone to see?”

“I think so. But at any rate, I didn’t know you could cook!”

Maggie had finished making risotto for the two of them and as they sat down to eat, Abby made a point to gush over the taste and compliment her new friend on her awesome culinary skills. Maggie took it all in stride as she ate. She was not happy about the circumstances for having Abby stuck in her apartment for two nights in a row, but she was certainly pleased with the outcome it had produced.

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The next morning, when Abby and Maggie came in to work, Tony noticed that Maggie was sporting a large grin on her face. And Abby had the same goofy smile on her own face as well. Well, at least now they each had a girlfriend they could confide in. With Abby as Maggie’s friend, Tony hoped that the agent would finally feel comfortable in her new job.

Gibbs looked up as well. “Sauer, get to work on the files that we have to give over to the local PD once we get this thing settled. We have to be ready to call this guy soon, our window of opportunity is slowly closing and the Director is looking the other way only for the rest of the day.”

Maggie nodded and got right to work, putting the notes and files in order, she was ready to go get this guy and end this case so that she could get back to normal. But what was normal now? She had three good friends in Gibbs, Ducky and Abby, and she knew that normal had flown out the window entirely. Shaking her head, she went back to work quickly.

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It was exactly three hours later when the team found themselves situated around the conference room, ready to make plans with who they were hoping was Mark Dunlay. Maggie held the cell phone in her left hand, listening to the soft ringing in her ear. Tony sat across from her with Gibbs beside him, and McGee sat at the end of the table. They had rehearsed what exactly it was that she would say to their suspect on the phone, so that she wouldn’t be nervous or make a mistake. When the phone was finally picked up, she recognized the firm tones of the man she had spoken with earlier.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me again. I have the details and the money. I need you to meet me at a warehouse for further instructions…” she followed with the address and directions on how to get there. He asked her a few questions and she answered each as smoothly as possible. When the call was completed and she had shut the phone off, she sagged into the seat behind her, breathing out a sigh of relief.

“You did good Maggie.” Tony smiled at her as he reached across the table and grasped her hand. McGee smiled as well, but Gibbs said nothing, simply sliding out of his seat and out the door.

“Well, you three, let’s go get this guy! What are you waiting for?”

All three jumped from their seats and raced out of the room after him.

“Time to go catch a bad guy,” Tony grinned as he pulled his Sig from its holster, checked the clip and shoved it back into place, grabbing his jacket from a hook as they passed to the elevator. McGee checked his weapon as well and Maggie simply grinned back at Tony, finding his smile to be infectious.

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The black sedan rolled onto the scene in front of an abandoned warehouse in a quiet part of the city. No one would have been caught out there unless they had plans, which was why it was so appealing. The driver door opened and a pair of feet slid out of the car, after a moment, the person that had been driving slid out of the car and closed the door.

Mark Dunlay watched the woman from a safe distance. He had already checked the place out and found it to be completely deserted, which made it perfect for this meeting. She wanted some high grade stuff, and he could get it to her. All he had to know was if she was trustworthy or not. The brunette threaded a hand through her hair and glanced to her left, and then to her right, before heading up to the door of the warehouse. She carried a duffle bag on her right shoulder and looked to be unarmed, as Dunlay had instructed her. He reached out and swung open the door for her to enter.

[LJG_NCIS]

Thanks for posting those two acts, hopefully that'll
keep me content over the weekend. I just noticed that Maggie's last nameis like the guns they carry. Sig Sauer, right?