Archive of Our Own

Tony was annoyed. Not like that was hard nowadays. What with Todd’s constant snide comments about Tony of not only his supposed ‘personality’ but also about his eating habits, then there was the fact that she constantly second guessed him while out on the field. It definitely didn’t help that while arresting their guy she kept making those little snide comments that had alerted the man making them chase after him.

Which then resulted in him being shoved down a hill.

But he fucking caught the guy in the end.

All at the expanse of his back, shoulder, and ankle that had rolled when he tried standing up originally but slipped against a tree root into a small ditch. That hike up had not been fun, whatsoever. Though he wasn’t sure what it meant that their man had looked at him sympathetically when Todd greeted them with a scoff.

Honestly, she was part of the reason, he’s certain, why people don’t take feminists seriously. Or why people think that their demands are outrageous. Case in point, she keeps crying misogyny whenever she gets assigned to do probie work…ie such as collecting samples and evidence or looking through the dumpster. And then he has to do it even though he’s the SFA all because Gibbs either has a hero complex for women or wants to maybe get into her pants. He’s not entirely sure what’s going on there but he is confident that occasionally the two send each other looks screaming for more.

But also for the fact that Gibbs hadn’t given into the wiles of a woman’s demand before. Even Blackadder had done the dirty probie work. The first and only time she had asked why her and not Tony, Gibbs had explained that it was a probie’s work and that Tony was not the probie there. If that wasn’t favoritism then Tony didn’t know what was.

If ever there was a silver lining, it was his darling wife Jhae.

She always knows just what to say.

Though it probably helped that the other agents within earshot of the bullpen promised they were noting down everything they heard and passing it along to Deloris down in HR…though if that is true it’s shocking that Todd still had a job.

Honestly with everything she’s done and set she would have been booted within the first month under any other SAC.

If Todd had been under literally anyone else, or even the same team as his wife, he was sure they would have either straightened her out right away or booted her. He had tried. God had he tried. But Gibbs just constantly undermined him to the point it was getting ridiculous. Especially since it seemed that Gibbs had something on Director Morrow since the man hadn’t even tried doing lip service of getting Todd straightened out to NCIS policy.

Tony wished he knew what happened to his old partner.

The Gibbs from before had his back.

Now he doesn’t.

Instead he was catering to every wiling whim of probie Todd. It was a miracle that Tony managed to keep their cases from being thrown out. Though he had to give it to Tim, the greenest of probies, the younger man did tend to listen to Tony. But he did have his moments when Todd pushed.

Needless to say, he was pissed as he limped into the Godawful orange room that held their bullpen. At his face several agents diverted their paths with barely a mumble while those sitting at desks quickly hunched over to hide behind their screens, only to glance quickly when he passed. Tossing his pack onto the ground, he quickly pulled his badge and gun off to put them away before sitting down.

Pulling up the reports, he began the tedious task of filling them out. Fingers slamming down into the keys harshly, the clicks seemingly clanging throughout the silent room until others got back to work. But Tony was sure out of the corner of his eye he saw Balboa pull his phone out and knew that Jhae was going to be called in again. Whenever they somehow managed to have opposite shifts and he was pissed, someone always ended up calling her to calm him down.

He wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or not that they called Jhae in to handle him when he was in one of his moods.

Maybe both.

Yeah.

Because while slightly insulting it did mean that Jhae would come. And with her usually came one of his favorite comfort foods. He was thankfully left alone until he was over halfway done with their after action report when Todd appeared with Tim while Gibbs went up to talk with the Director.

Seeing the two, Tony couldn’t help but sigh, wishing they would have left him alone until either he finished his reports or Jhae appeared. If they had managed to wait for either, he wouldn’t risk biting their heads off over something minor. He couldn’t quite hide his scowl as he glanced at the two, but seeing Tim flinch, Tony sighed.

There was no need to scare the probie, he hadn’t done anything.

No.

That was all Todd.

Todd, who seemed to realize it, as she held a small bag and moved over to his desk and dropped it onto his desk. “Here. A muffin,” she said with a grimace as she then came around his desk and began leaning forward, one hand raised as if to cup his cheek.

“What are you doing, Agent Todd?” Tony barked out, leaning back away from Todd who had the gall to look offended that he wasn’t letting her do whatever.

“What! Your the one that needs this stupid coddling, DiNozzo! I’m just trying to get you out of your hissy fit,” Todd snapped, straightening up and crossing her arms.

“I don’t know what got into you, but I don’t appreciate your tone, Todd. I don’t need coddling, and I’m certainly not having a ‘hissy fit.’ What I am is frustrated with your attitude and actions today. And this just takes the cake!” Tony snapped, watching with satisfaction as Todd just gaped in response as she stared at him.

“Tony…what’s going on here?” a deceptively soft, soothing voice asked. Turning, Tony couldn’t help but smile softly as he gazed lovingly at his wife. Jhae stood near the elevator in a wrap dress in pastel floral with a thin belt around her waist. Her badge was clipped to her belt with a pastel blue purse hanging from her elbow with gladiator heels that became visible when she walked over to the entrance of the bullpen.

The clicks of her heels sounded like gunshots with how quiet it was.

Her chocolate hair curled gently around her face while the rest was twisted into some updo that had the end dangling down artfully. The snowflake necklace he gave on their one month anniversary glimmered in the light while her bracelets tinkled together as she carefully set the to-go containers down on his desk.

Todd couldn’t help but step back when those emerald blue eyes cut scathingly toward her. Any warmth that had been in them vanished as her lips thinned as she stared Todd down. “Gioia mia,” Tony whispered, reaching out to grab Jhae’s hand, turning her attention to Tony.

“Passerotto,” she countered, earning a sigh from Tony who simply leaned back in his chair. Looking away from Tony, Jhae glanced over the room. Most agents were hiding behind screens at their desk with few being blatant in staring at them. Balboa notably being one along with the agent from his team that had rushed down to explain the situation as they headed in.

Tim himself was staring, his gaze flicking between the three in growing alarm as he noticed how cold Jhae looked at Todd while Todd just stared back with a growing sneer. “What did she try doing?” Jhae asked once more, voice still soft, yet with an undercurrent to it that nobody but Tony could identify easily.

Todd sputtered, as if to gloss over what had just happened, but she simply ticked an eyebrow up in response.

She really is her fathers daughter, Tony thought, thinking of the intimidating man. The very man that Jhae was embodying right then. Their eyes looked nearly the same right then.

“Passerotto? Is the stronza going to answer or is she going to continue imitating a pesci rossi?” Jhae asked, sneering out the insult but at the end, her tone shifted to something lighter yet no less mocking.

“Hey! What did you just call me?” Todd demanded, foot stamping onto the ground like a toddler. She didn’t like not knowing what someone was saying and she had never found an interest to learn…whatever it was that Jhae—Todd finally recognized her as the woman assigned to Pacci’s team—and Tony spoke occasionally. While she loved to be able to listen in and learn whatever secrets they shared, she figured her time was better spent learning a language that would come in handy. Like one from a country in the Middle East, not that she’s set on which one yet.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, stronza,” she spat once more, eyes ice cold, as if she could freeze whoever was in her gaze. Several agents swallowed audibly at that while Tim all but fell into his chair and hid behind his monitor, risking a glance around it every now and again.

“Oh listen here, if you didn’t coddle him like you do, this wouldn’t be happening!” Todd began, stepping closer as if to shove a pointed finger into Jhae’s shoulder.

But Jhae simply swayed away from Todd’s hand, her own hand swatting Todd’s aside. “No, listen here, stronza, what I do isn’t coddling. No, what it is, is a proven redirection method to help Tony calm down and think logically once more. Wait, no, not think logically, more like soothe the homicidal devil shouting for him to shoot you down. When he’s angry, he’s thorough, but he’s also on a hair trigger ready to shoot anyone that looks at him wrong. And the thing that’s missing when you tried to copy me, is trust, Todd. He doesn’t trust you, nor do I. You are the reason he gets like this because of your toxic misogynistic ideology that you spew toward anyone. Not only that, but you think your better than him when he’s been on this job longer than you and not only that, but you would have been fired from your last job due to inappropriate sexual relations with a coworker. Tony hasn’t. In fact, most of his ‘dates’ that he tells you about are the exact same person, but he likes changing the name and sometimes age just to rile you up. Hoping that maybe that will be the straw that breaks your pedestal that Gibbs put you on,” Jhae said, side stepping the desk to stand in front of Todd once more and poking her shoulder hard enough to cause the younger woman to take a step back.

“Hey!”

“No, ‘hey’ for you,” Jhae sneered out, leaning in close enough that Todd almost went cross-eyed. “You are a subpar investigator who might as well be sleeping her way to the top as you jumped past over several qualified agents for this position and not only that, skipped most of the Flet-C classes every other agent attends. If it wasn’t for Tony, all of your cases would have been laughed out of court. So much so, that I and several others have often helped him out when we could. Such as making sure he has food for the long nights and checking over the reports he did to make sure he didn’t make any mistake because he was so Goddamn tired. Think about that, huh? If you were at all called for any of those trials, you wouldn’t even be able to tell what you had written, and newsflash, they don’t take opinions into factor. Just facts of which, your reports were sorely lacking, Todd,” Jhae finished, having taken several steps to force Todd back toward her desk, each step punctuated with a tap to Todd’s shoulder.

“Well, w-what do you know of trust? Tony trusts me,” Todd blundered.

Jhae didn’t bother trying to stop the laugh that burst out at Todd’s words. “Oh, do go on, Todd. I need a good laugh,” Jhae finally managed to gasp out between laughs, turning to lean against Tony’s desk with how her shoulders were shaking.

“Oh laugh it up. I’m right. We trust each other,” Todd boasted.
“Yeah, right,” Jhae snorted, shaking her head in response. “The only thing Tony can trust you on, is berating him, Todd. I know he trusts me, we’re partners,” Jhae continued, the ‘unlike you’ went unsaid, but it was heard by everyone. Todd snarled in response and Jhae just rolled her eyes as she rounded the desk and let Tony pull her down onto the chair with him. Picking up the bag holding Todd’s offering, Jhae tossed it back over to Todd. “Here, he won’t be needing whatever kind of muffin you thought he should have. I brought him his favorite.”

She then reached over to pull the to-go containers closer and popped one open before grabbing a fork and handing it over to Tony who looked at her with that familiar lovesick expression he wore often. “You got me Osso Buco from that Italian cafe across town?” he asked, breath catching as he inhaled the familiar smell.

“Of course. Anything for you, passerotto. And it has the saffron risotto alla milanese you like as well,” Jhae answered happily, opening up her own container that had carbonara and opening one of the smaller containers that revealed garlic bread. “And I got us dessert, mascarpone cannoli,” she revealed with a smile, humming in delight when Tony wrapped an arm around her waist to give it a squeeze while pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek before digging into his food.

“Have I told you how much I love you, gioia mia?” Tony asked as he reached for his water and Jhae just giggled in response.

“Not yet, but I’m sure you will,” she whispered into his ear, feeling more than hearing the mock growl Tony let out.

“You’ll be the death of me,” Tony groaned, head falling forward onto her shoulder in response while she laughed.

“You love me too much to do that,” she countered easily, punctuating it with a bit of her pasta before reaching over to grab a slice of garlic bread. The crunch as she took a bite seemed to echo through the bullpen as soft murmuring started springing up throughout the room.

“What are you doing? You only got food for him?” Todd demanded, moving closer to the desk before stopping at the glare Jhae sent her.

“Feeding my partner, Todd. Of course I only got food for the two of us. You’ve been nothing but disrespectful to him all day to the point that he looked ready to shoot you. Your many coworkers actually texted me begging me to come before they had to arrest Tony for killing your sorry ass. Because of that, I’m not treating you or Tim to anything. So what you’re gonna do is move your butt to your desk and actually work on your Goddamn reports. Tony is taking a well needed break before he finishes his reports,” Jhae said, using her fork to point at Todd’s desk.

For once, Todd didn’t argue.

Instead she followed Jhae’s orders and sat down with an audible thump and began working. Though, when Tony glanced over, Todd kept looking at them with a furious expression. Her gaze flicked between the two of them and the food, as if she could make them give it to her instead. Which was just laughable to Tony.

Like Hell he was giving over his food. God he wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow.

XXX

“-you’ve never had a nightmare?” Tony asked in disbelief, staring at Todd as Jhae pulled him along, one brow raised in response.

“Uh-uh,” Todd said smugly, side-eyeing the two as they moved toward Tony’s desk.

“Not even as a kid?” Tony asked, his bag sliding down his arm as they got closer to sling it behind the desk.

“Nope. No fear of the dark, or a bogeyman in my closet,” Todd boasted, that sharp smirk growing on her lips as if she was just handed the ammunition she was waiting for.

“Well I find that hard to believe,” Jhae scoffed with a shake of her head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Todd demanded.

“Exactly as I said it, Todd,” Jhae said, squeezing Tony’s hand as she made her way to where Pacci’s team sat, right beside the MCRT. Tossing her own pack onto her seat, Jhae leaned on the partition between the two. “Nightmares weren’t just made because of being afraid of something like the dark or a monster. They’re also caused by stress and tensions, literally anything big that happens in someone’s life can cause a nightmare. Even just the fear of failing a test. So that’s what I find hard to believe, Todd. That there wasn’t a single moment in your life that caused a nightmare? Now I’d believe not telling or going to parents or siblings about it. I know for a fact that I didn’t go to my parents about every nightmare I had.”

“That’s cause I’m just better than you,” Todd retorted, earning another scoff from Jhae.

“Being better doesn’t have anything to do with that and you know it. I’m fairly confident that you had several minor nightmares related to school when you were younger,” Jhae said, tilting her head slightly as she stared at Todd before shaking her head.

“Oh yeah. The vampire canopy on my bed freaked me out,” Tony agreed with a nod.

“So your mom just…put a vampire on your canopy bed? Or do you mean just the style of canopy?” Jhae asked, tilting her head to rest against her hand while her other dangled down, brushing the papers Todd had pinned up.

“Well…yeah. She was really into Louis XV. I mean…yes to the canopy style. Though I’m not sure how the vampire came into play,” Tony said thoughtfully and Jhae just laughed softly in response.

“Maybe she wanted to make sure you were prepared for vampires,” Jhae teased, hands raised as she said vampire with a fake accent, hands curling like they were claws. Tony couldn’t help but laugh in response. His smile was fond though as he looked over at his wife, missing how Todd’s lips were curling up in distaste.

“Hiding something from me then, Jhae?” he asked teasingly, a smirk growing while Jhae laughed.

“Oh, you would know,” Jhae teased, playfully pawing one hand toward Tony just to get him to laugh.

“She still frighten you?” Todd snarked, interrupted their moment.

“My mother?” Tony asked, confused.

“How’d you even think that,” Jhae asked, nose scrunching in confusion.

“Ha. The vampire,” Todd clarified, and Tony couldn’t help but share a look with Jhae at that presumption.

“What makes you think it was a she?”

“Vampires are seducers—” Todd began, getting a snort from Jhae.

“Okay, so? You do realize the seducer vampire is only one view right? Most early iterations of vampires weren’t pretty, they were monsters or demons considering the culture. The most famous being Dracula who no one would call seducing. No, at most, charming but that’s pushing it seeing as he attacks and forcibly turns his victims, primarily women, into vampires. I’m not sure when or how they became seducers or sexy honestly…nor do I really understand it myself,” Jhae said with a shrug.

“And even if we were going off the seducer again, why does it have to be a woman?” Tony asked, not letting Todd have a moment to answer. But her face screwed up at that.

“It’s you,” Todd sneered.

“So? Vampires are a mythical being and in different iterations they have some form of thrall that allows them to make their victims do whatever they want. So if the vampire digged their own gender what’s stopping them?” Tony asked, head tilted as he stared Todd down.

“Also your very certain that there was actually a vampire picture somewhere on his bed when he didn’t give a clear answer. Some canopy beds are called vampire beds,” Jhae added and Todd just scoffed in response.

However, before anything else could be said, Pacci was calling them away to do some training spars. When she moved to follow her team, Jhae turned back to look at Tony, blowing a kiss his way before waving as she slipped onto the elevator.

Right before the doors closed, Jhae got to see Tony smile softly.

XXX

Jhae couldn’t help but groan as she left the elevator, one hand rubbing her neck while the other rested on her hip. “Did good, Jhae. Who did you say you were sparring with at home?” Pacci asked, patting her shoulder as they headed back to their desks.

“A few people,” Jhae said with a chuckle. “My cousin’s fiancé when he’s back from his tours and then my other cousin. She runs a security firm,” she explained, snatching up the water bottle she had left on her desk.

“I see. Based on how you killed it in the spar, I’d say your cousin is good at her job,” Pacci agreed, earning a snort from Jhae.

“I’ll say.”

“—How? Group therapy. Ugh. How many people have a fear of autopsy? You're gonna be a group of one! Lots of people wouldn't be caught dead in an autopsy room...very funny. Maybe...hypnotism. Oooh. Remember Dr. Worcher’s class? You still don't know what he made you do when you were under hypnosis. Whatever it was, I woke up feeling refreshed…in his office…a day later…” Abby muttered, pacing back and forth in the MCRT’s bullpen.

“Hey, Abby…everythin’ okay?” Jhae asked carefully, making her way around the desk and partition to be near the woman.

“Yes…no,” Abby answered after a moment.

“What’s going on?” Jhae asked, carefully leading Abby to sit down on Tony’s chair.

“I’m having an internal debate…it’s not going well,” Abby explained.

“Sounded like it. But what caused this debate to start?”

“I, uh I had this dream about autopsy and I just…haven’t been able to go down since,” Abby admitted.

“Oh, Abby, I can’t imagine how terrifying that must have been,” Jhae said.

“Yeah?” she whispered softly.

“Yeah. Nightmares…they’re intense. I once had a nightmare about my childhood home. Couldn’t go near it for months. But what prompted this debate of yours?” Jhae asked, watching as a weak smile grew on Abby’s lips at that.

“Well…Ducky asked for everything back before I could test it,” she answered finally, and Jhae could only stare in shock.

“What?” Gibbs demanded, appearing behind them.

“Don’t look at me! He wouldn’t say why, he just wanted everything back, including the blood,” Abby defended, hands raised while Gibbs stared at her.

“Including the blood?” Gibbs repeated.

“Yea, that’s a bit weird. There’s no way to do a blood test in autopsy,” Abby muttered.

“Did Gerald come pick it up? Or were you supposed to take it down?” Jhae asked, watching as Abby looked over at Todd’s desk.

“Gerald was busy and Ducky wanted it down there stat. I couldn’t get myself to go down, so Kate took it down,” Abby explained and Jhae couldn’t help but make a face.

“She’s a probie still, she’s supposed to have a supervisor for this kind of stuff,” Jhae said.

“Yeah…she even grabbed her badge and gun,” Abby added, finding that weird as well, earning a look from Jhae.

“What?” Tony asked, coming in then and sharing a look with Jhae.

“Yeah. She grabbed her badge and gun, signed the paperwork and took it down for me….but something’s….” Abby trailed off, trying to think of the right word.

“Hinky?” Tony guessed, getting a nod from Abby.

“Knowing what Todd did, I don’t think hinky works anymore,” Jhae said.

“Tony. Get autopsy on the plasma?” Gibbs asked.

“Huh?”

“Autopsy. TV. Now! Why would Ducky say stat?” Gibbs asked while Tony sprang into action, gently moving the chair Abby sat in to access his computer.

“Because he’s a doctor, and because stat means fast and…” Abby trailed off once more, realizing what Ducky meant.

“Medical emergency,” Gibbs said with her. “But what is a medical emergency in autopsy?” he continued, looking at the screen that just showed static.

“All I’m getting is snow,” Tony reported, listening to Gibbs stomp over to his desk, hand slamming onto the phone receiver to pick it up.

“Punch up autopsy receiving and stairwell cameras, then the building floor plans,” Gibbs ordered, and at that, Jhae nodded to Tony and ran to her own desk to help get those items.

“On it, boss,” Tony said.

“I’ll see about getting the recordings,” Pacci offered, getting a grateful nod from Gibbs who pulled his phone out and began dialing.

“Gibbs to director. Abby—Ducky sound funny?”

“Kinda tense, like when a test result isn’t what he expected,” Abby reported dutifully.

“Director, we may have intruders in autopsy. Possible hostage situation,” Gibbs reported, watching over the group.

“Ah, we got an ambulance outside of autopsy receiving, boss,” Tony said, pulling up the camera before Jhae got the schematics pulled up herself and sent them to the plasma next to Gibb’s desk.

“Yes, sir. I think we should alert HRT and open a command center in MTAC. Aye aye, sir,” Gibbs agreed.

“Oh God. I should be down there,” Abby muttered, gaze stuck on the camera feeds before turning to follow Gibbs.

“Two agents in receiving,” Gibbs began, pointing to the areas, “two in the elevator here. Go to TAC-One.”

“TAC-One,” Tony repeated, grabbed his radio while Jhae and Pacci did the same thing.

“Abs, how do I rotate this thing?” Gibbs asked, glancing over at Abby while the sound of agents putting on headsets filled the air.

“Just tell me what you need,” Abby said with a nod, already heading off.

“Your lab and autopsy. All entrances and exits. Give me a 360…keep going,” Gibbs barked, eyes never leaving the screen as Abby moved it. “Keep going, keep going. Go, go, go. Stop. Right there,” Gibbs said suddenly as the model rotated slowly. Finger snapping onto the screen to point at an intersection of walls. Abby took a moment to stare at it, mentally going over the layout of her lab.

“My gas chromatograph,” she answered at last.

“Can it be moved?”

“Yeah.”

“Do it. Abby, I need a drill and a flexible video probe,” Gibbs ordered, barely glancing her way as he picked up his own headset and settled it onto his head.

“Got it,” Abby replied, heading out to her lab.

“Agents on their way. We taking the basement stairwell?” Tony reported.

“Yeah,” Gibbs agreed with a nod.

“We’ll go through the emergency stairwell with another drill and camera,” Jhae said with a nod, barely even glancing at Pacci who stared at her intently before nodding with a smile.

“What are you planning on doing?” Gibbs asked.

“The Director can turn off the alarm for the emergency stairwell allowing us to go through. But I also figure that we should get a second angle if possible. We don’t know if he’ll notice yours, but I am hoping if we go from the far side on the floor, we should be able to keep it hidden longer,” Jhae said, and Gibbs took a moment to think it over before nodding.

“Do it,” Gibbs ordered, getting a nod from Jhae as they split up.

Stopping in the lab, Jhae picked up a small handheld drill bit, screwdriver and flexible video probe before hitting the emergency stairwell once more. She nodded to Pacci who had waited for her before he split off to continue to receiving.

“Pacci, Gibbs. You in place?” Gibbs called softly over the radio as she reached autopsy herself and carefully eased her way out.

“Affirmative. Ambulance is empty, elevator door closed. You want us to enter?” Pacci asked.

“Negative. Hold your position. Balboa?”

“Standing by. Personnel elevator locked down,” Balboa reported.

“Disable the bell. Go down to autopsy. Do not open the doors,” Gibbs explained next.

“Roger.”

“Jhae?” Gibbs called out and she barely breathed as she slowly lowered herself onto the floor.

“Making my way to the far corner of autopsy now,” Jhae whispered, mentally counting how far she needed to go before she was clear of the body cooler.

“I’m going to MTAC. Let me know when your in,” Gibbs ordered, Jhae nodded instinctively even though the man couldn’t see her. Instead of replying, she eased across the floor, unsure if this potential hostile was watching the hall. She was just grateful it was dark in the hallway to make it harder to be seen. Once she reached the spot, she pulled out the screwdriver and drill. With narrowed eyes, she stared at the wall harshly, wishing she knew what was between the two walls before sighing and pressing the end of the screwdriver into it.

Pushing it as hard as she dared, she began twisting back and forth to get the hole started. Then she grabbed the handheld drill and began twisting it by hand.

“Gibbs, Dinozzo. Kate just ran past the doors inside autopsy. She just ran back again,” Tony reported and Jhae felt her breath catch, as if expecting the figure to appear outside autopsy and see her.

“I read you, Tony, stand by,” Gibbs said right as Jhae started back up. Occasionally pausing, Jhae looked around before pulling the drill bit out to look down the hole. With one last go, she felt the difference immediately and barely breathed as she pulled the bit out and looked down the hole once more. Through it, she could just barely make out the far wall in the limited lighting inside.

“Unknown male in autopsy wearing greens. Medium build and height,” Tony reported.

“Copy,” Gibbs said.

Hearing a gunshot, Jhae couldn’t help but flinch, biting down on her lips hard enough to draw blood, she looked up toward the doors. Never before had the red flashing light looked so ominous. She wanted nothing more than to rush toward those locked doors and see what happened, but knew she couldn’t. The intruder had to have a gun on them and would have taken Todd’s as well. If someone had gotten shot, or if there was another gun shot wound, her running forward would do nothing to help.

No…it would just cause more issues.

Instead, she let out a shaking breath as she carefully switched the probe on and began carefully pushing it through until there was a clear view. Stepping back, she made her way toward the stairwell she came from. “Gibbs, Rossi, the video probe is in,” she whispered.

“Copy. Receiving video now,” Gibbs said.

With no other response, she crept forward once more and looked at the screen attached at the end. The intruder was facing the table, gun held lazily in one hand, watching as Ducky and Todd did as they were told. Not seeing Gerald, it felt like her breath was caught in her throat, threatening to choke her. But then, on the far table a lump moved a bit and Jhae couldn’t help but sigh in relief. At the very least, Gerald was alive at the moment.

She didn’t know how long they had, but she was hopeful.

“Balboa, bring the elevator to level three for HRT. Pacci, Dinozzo, replacements are on the way,” Gibbs said and Jhae just took a deep breath before inching backward once more. She was going to hide out in the stairwell until it was go time.

As soon as she settled into the stairwell, the alarm began blaring for everyone to evacuate. Well, if he hadn’t known yet, the intruder definitely knew they were on to him now. On one hand, she understood why it was done. On the other, it also gave away any advantage they may have been scrapping by.

It was like they were trying to force something without having all of the details.

Truly…she understood why.

But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

They weren’t getting anything and the longer it went on, the longer he had to injure their people further. They didn’t know how he snuck in nor did they why. While they may find the why, they were still at the disadvantage. What with him holding three of their own hostage with one injured based on what she saw briefly. She had no doubt that Gerald had been shot somewhere for some reason to control the three.

While he was in an enclosed space, the man had to have an escape plan. It’s obvious he came to retrieve something…for she’s never heard of anyone breaking into a secure Federal building outside of retrieving or destroying something. Those were the only two reasons why someone would do this.

Hell, some do both.

For all Jhae knew, he could be doing both, which could be just as dangerous.

All she could do at that moment was watch and wait.

Always watching and waiting it seemed. Those were the most important steps in an investigation. Each had a purpose and reason. They always lead them to the right path.

It was reliable.

But also annoying.

As evident by the way Jhae’s fingers tapped a nervous rhythm against her leg. Though finally, there was movement. Gibbs came out of the elevator, his gaze barely hitting each stairwell before he was moving on toward autopsy holding the evidence box full of the items pulled from Qasam’s place.

The elevator doors were stopped by a block but stayed closed.

Gibbs stood outside autopsy for a moment before the doors finally hissed open, the red flashing light having been turned off at some point leaving the hall to be hidden in shadows. Irritatingly, nothing was said while Gibbs stepped inside autopsy.

She couldn’t help but glance over toward the elevator with the block keeping the doors open. She barely caught sight of the armed men hidden inside, barely a flash of a gun before they were hidden from sight once more. It felt like time had slowed down as they waited for the signal. The FBI’s chatter over TAC-1 barely even registered to her.

While she wished they would take the risk, she knew why they couldn’t.

Too much risk with too little reward. The glass in autopsy doors were specially made which meant that it wouldn’t be easy for a bullet to get through, but if it did, Gibbs would potentially be in the line of fire. Not only that, by the time they knew it would get through, the intruder would have moved to safety.

By God she wished they had a guaranteed hit, but there was nothing they could do about it now. No, instead they had to wait for an opening.

An opening that Gibbs was to make.

But there was no knowing what they would entail.

After all…they couldn’t read minds. But even if they could, Jhae just knew Gibbs’s mind would be like a steel trap. Keeping everything—intel and secrets alike—locked up behind thick walls that no one could penetrate.

Shots rang out.

Jhae sucked in a harsh breath, eyes stuck on the doors as shouting filled her ear. A person wearing gear left autopsy and headed toward her. Her mind raced as she thought about it. Yes, they were wearing tactical gear like the FBI’s agents, but there was no reason for them to go to the emergency stairwell.

Not if they thought the man was still contained in autopsy.

No.

The only reason someone had to go to the emergency stairwell was if they were a part of the group and needed to make a quick getaway before anyone realized. She barely breathed as she realized that. That was the only viable reason for someone to make their way over to her. No one had any reason to believe that she was in there to tell her it was over. No, the only people who would know she was there still would be Pacci and the Director. Gibbs might assume but he wouldn’t tell anyone that she had stayed.

After all, they didn’t know anything about the intruders’ plans. That meant they didn’t know who could be trusted with the information. So it had to mean that they were involved and were trying to sneak away.

Like Hell was she letting them get out.

Slinking back, Jhae rose up the steps to have the upper hand. The click of the safety seemed to echo around her as she waited. With so few knowing she was there, she knew she had the element of surprise on her side. But once she took her shot, it was over.

The door creaked open, its own alarm lost in the chaos.

The man moved to go up the stairs.

Jhae lined up her shot, breath caught in her throat finally releasing.

His gaze landed on her.

Cracks filled the air as her finger hit the trigger. Her ears were ringing as the man grunted and yelled, firing off his own shots.

Jhae couldn’t help but scream out in pain, her shoulder and stomach feeling like fire. There was a weird sensation building. An itching, burning in her throat. Even though her arm screamed, she fired off a few more shots, vision blurring. The man fell down while the metallic scent of blood filled the air.

She gagged and coughed.

Collapsing onto the stairwell, she felt something warm dribble down her lips and chin, dripping onto her chest.

There was shouting.

Why was there shouting?

Tony.

His face was blurred above her, his hands—warm, warm, warm—hands ran over her, his lips were moving while tears ran down his cheeks. “—ae! Gioia mia, hold on. C’mon, hold on. Don’t do this to me,” Tony said, pressing a hand against her shoulder. Jhae couldn’t help the scream that left her. While he never eased up on the pressure, her voice cracked into a whimper.

She tried.

Oh, how she tried to stay awake. But the pain kept mounting and she was losing blood. Another heaving, hacking, cough left her as her vision finally went dark.

She so hated worrying Tony.

XXX

Hearing the gunshots from elsewhere on the floor, Tony knew.

He knew that his wife was at the center of it stopping an accomplice because that was simply who she was. They had barely gotten to seeing to Gibbs when they rang out. The cracks sounded like accusations being thrown at them. “Jhae!” the shout was torn from his throat and he barely registered Gibbs shoving him away. All he knew was that his gun was in his hand as he rushed with several FBI agents to the emergency stairwell.

The door was open, a body laying through the threshold still.

He let the FBI agent beside him see to making sure the man was down while he rushed in. There, on the landing above the door lay Jhae. 

Looking like she came straight out of a horror movie.

There was a streak of blood on the wall behind her and as they went up the steps, there was already a pool of it forming under her. The stench of blood threatened to gag him and the other agents. There was a steady stream falling from her lips, pooling on her chest as it soaked into her shirt while two blooming pools formed on her shoulder—just like Gerald, his mind supplied—and two in her abdomen. Her gaze was glassy, like she barely knew there were people with her. Most terrifying was how pale her skin already was.

The shuddering breath that jerked her chest was the only indication they had she was alive still. He cupped her face with one hand. “Jhae! Baby, please. Keep those eyes open, baby. C’mon. Eyes on me. Please, please, please. Jhae! Gioia mia, hold on. C’mon, hold on. Don’t do this to me,” Tony begged, pressing his hand onto Jhae’s shoulder while another agent pressed against the gunshot wounds on her abdomen. The scream that Jhae let out was going to haunt Tony for the rest of his life. Despite his pleading, her eyes slowly slid shut as another whimper left her lips.

He loved staring into her eyes, they reminded him of the ocean, what with their sea green color. They were the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen…and now…the last time he might ever see them and they were that glassy, hazy look they got. That couldn’t be the last time he got to look at them.

He’d never forgive himself if this was how it ended.

They still had so much they wanted to do…Visit Jhae’s family in LA and Italy, get that house with a picket fence and have kids. But this might be it. The end of the line for their future.

It felt like his veins were lava.

They were burning with a rage as he was pushed back by the paramedics. He let Abby—when did she appear?—lead him down the stairs to watch blankly as the paramedics worked. But then his gaze flicked down to the man on the ground, unmoving. His face being revealed confirming it was indeed the man that had shot Gerald. That begged the question then of how he managed to do the switch since he knew there was a body laying on the ground opposite of Gibbs in autopsy. But that would be figured out later on.

Right then, his focus was on Jhae.

And how this happened.

The man was lucky.

A bullet to the head ended him quickly. If it was up to Tony, he’d make the man suffer painfully and slowly. And he had no doubt that Jhae’s family would help. There was something about her extended family that was hidden from him. But he knew that it was something he didn’t need to know. Something illegal no doubt, but as they say…ignorance is bliss. Without knowing the details he and Jhae could claim plausible deniability. They can’t give away answers they don’t know.

Which was for the best.

But even so, he knew they wouldn’t take this standing down.

No, while they couldn’t take down the intruder, they would search for the person that led it and everyone involved in Jhae getting shot…including Todd. For Todd had to have done something leading to this. She was an agent damnit. While Ducky couldn’t do anything, Todd had choices. And she made the wrong ones.

He could feel it.

Why else would she grab her badge and gun? She had to either be in on it or just plain stupid. You don’t grab your gun if your just moving items.

He barely even realized Abby had led him to the others. His gaze fell on Gerald as he was wheeled out on a gurney with a second one appearing seemingly like magic—really it had to just be through receiving.

But then he turned to the others.

Gibbs sitting on one of the tables, a paramedic scolding him. Todd and Ducky next to the coolers, their own paramedics checking them over while helping them get the duct tape off.

“Anthony, is everything okay?” Ducky asked, turning everyone’s attention to him.

That familiar ball of rage grew, but with it, was despair. It wrapped itself around him like a blanket. Only, instead of soothing, it weighed him down. His eyes burned as tears grew and his lips trembled. His hands started shaking and when he heard the soft gasps he looked down and realized he was covered in Jhae’s blood.

Her blood.

He needed to get it off. No. What if this was all that he had left? What if she died and this was all he had left of her. The trembling got worse.

His stomach rolled.

“No,” his voice cracked, “nothing is okay,” he croaked. He felt like he was going to throw up…scratch that.

He was going to throw up.

Even as the tears fell down his cheeks, Tony rushed toward the trash can and hunched over it, throwing up what they had for lunch. Hands were on his back while his hands clutched onto the trashcan, leaving bloody hand prints. When all that was left was spit, he was pulled back and led to a chair next to the sink. Abby and Ducky were in front of him, cleaning his hand while he just sort of sat there in a trance.

Why did he react this way?

He’s seen gunshot wounds before. Hell, he’s seen worse injuries without throwing up. He’s seen Jhae hurt before, once she was even shot early in their relationship and he didn’t react like this. Why was today different?

“What happened, Anthony?” Ducky asked softly and Tony just turned his empty gaze toward the autopsy doors.

“It—it’s Jhae,” he croaked, watching as Ducky’s face fell at that.

“Oh, no. Did he kill Juliana?” Ducky barely breathed as he waited for the answer. At Tony’s shake of his head, Ducky sighed in relief. But even so, she was sure to be grievously hurt, otherwise Tony wouldn’t be acting this way. The last time Tony had seen or heard about his wife being hurt, he had been worried, maybe even a bit panicked, but he had kept his head. This…this was something else.

“I can tell him, Tony, if you want,” Abby offered, getting a slow but grateful nod from Tony. “It’s not good, Duck. She was shot three times, once in the shoulder and twice in the abdomen. She lost, like, a lot of blood, Ducky. It…it doesn’t look good,” Abby said, voice beginning to crack as she went, shaking her hands as if she could shake it all away from her.

“Oh, Anthony,” Ducky murmured, reaching forward hesitantly to hug Tony. At first, Tony didn’t respond, but then he seemed to register and clung onto Ducky with all his might. As he held Tony tight, he felt the man shaking under silent sobs, with Abby soon wrapping her own arms around him as well. “Have faith, Anthony. Juliana is a fighter. She would never give up easily on you and her family. She will fight to get back to you. Believe in that,” Ducky said, voice full of a conviction that Tony was having trouble feeling.

But he was grateful.

He needed to hear those words while he waited to hear what happened.

While it didn’t truly help, it gave him something to focus on. Because Ducky was right. Jhae was a fighter. She always had been and this was no different. She was going to fight her way back to him and the doctors were going to do everything they could to save her. He just…needed to know where they went.

He had no doubt they left at some point while he was in here since she would have no doubt been listed as critical. But he couldn’t go anywhere yet, he doubted the FBI and who knows who else involved would let him leave yet. Even if they were told his wife had been injured and he needed to be there. Hopefully in the meantime Director Morrow was calling her dad and getting him to her side while he was kept behind.

XXX

“—kind eyes?” Tony spat, a sneer on his lips as he stared Todd down. It had already been several hours since his wife had been shot and already his father-in-law and the hospital had called him twice to get his permission for something and to update him on what was happening.

And now he learned the truth.

Todd had the chance.

The opportunity.

To kill the intruder before he did more harm.

But she didn’t.

Because of kind fucking eyes.

“Now—” Todd began but froze when Tony glared at her something fierce, a fire that promised to turn her to ash.

“No. You don’t get to talk, Todd! You just admitted to having the chance, several chances in fact, to take down the intruder, but didn’t. You took your gun with you, pretended to be Abby when there was no reason to, got figured out, and let several opportunities to take the man down slid by. And for what? Because he had kind eyes? Really!? Do you not actually know how criminals work, Todd? Because the good ones know how to trick you. I’m sure you’ve heard of Ted Bundy. No one suspected him because of how charming he was. They know how to charm and trick people to get what they want. So congrats, you fell for a criminal’s lie even while he was in the midst of committing a crime, Todd. You claim to be a good profiler but fell for his lies! Because of you Gerald and Jhae were shot. Only, Jhae may not live! You’ve potentially just cost my wife her life!” Tony shouted, unable to keep it in.

Ever since they were married, they never advertised their marriage. Always letting people assume what they want. Their friends in the agency had figured it out, but they had only told a few people. The Director and HR of course were the first to be told then Pacci along with Abby and Ducky. Then they treated it like an open secret. They were affectionate, but never labeled their relationship besides being a partnership.

Until now.

Now everyone in the room knew and it was bound to spread by the more gossip focused agents who hadn’t figured it out. But he didn’t care anymore.

Because right then, he might lose his wife because of Todd’s actions.

“My wife is fighting for her life right now, and I’m stuck here, because you couldn’t do your Goddamn job and take down the intruder. I knew I should’ve pushed harder against you joining,” Tony spat, gripping onto Balboa’s arm as the man grabbed him before he could take another step forward. As Tony tried moving, Pacci soon joined, sharing a look with Balboa as they forced Tony back, a wordless yell leaving him as he threw a hand out toward Todd as if he could take her out with just one hand.

Not that anyone would blame him.

After all, Tony confirmed their fears. Because of Todd’s actions, Jhae may lose her life. They weren’t doctor’s, but everyone that saw that stairwell knew it wasn’t good. Even the FBI agents loitering in the building looked grim.

Jhae was a hero.

And it seemed like she might follow in the steps of every other hero they knew.

.

.

.

She might be walking where they can’t follow yet.

And they didn’t like it.

Pacci was hard pressed to believe that anyone would truly try stopping Tony, or side with Todd. No, after everything they learned, chances were several agents would happily help Tony take out Todd.

Director Morrow could only stare at Tony, and it felt like his heart was breaking. He didn’t think Tony even knew he was crying, tears fell down his cheeks while he raged in his friends arms, fear and anger were clear as day as he struggled in their arms. It was a devastating sight to Director Morrow and when he looked away, he saw several agents looking away with tears in their eyes while others were furiously wiping at their cheeks.

“Tony,” he called, somehow successfully stopping the tirade that left the man. Instead, Tony laid in their arms, panting furiously while staring at Director Morrow with cold eyes. “I understand. We’ve gotten everything we need from you, so go. Be by your wife’s side. She needs you more now than us,” Director Morrow said, earning the smallest of smiles from Tony.

“If it’s alright with you Director, I’ll drive Tony to the hospital. I don’t think he’s in the right state of mind to be driving,” Balboa said, getting a nod from Director Morrow.

“Indeed,” Director Morrow agreed, but then he was turning to Todd who stared at him warily. “As for you, Ms. Todd, you are to turn in your badge and gun. As of this moment, you are no longer an agent of NCIS. It was a mistake letting you join and this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the issues we’ve seen from you. You are under investigation and no matter what is decided, you will never work at NCIS or another government agency again. While going over everything that happened today, we’ll also be going over all of your past cases well,” Director Morrow said firmly, watching with some satisfaction as Todd sputtered, an indignant look growing on her face at his words.

“You can’t do that!” Todd shouted, stumbling back to avoid the hands reaching for her.

“Ms. Todd, you will find that it is well within my rights as Director. Now, take her to investigation and turn over every Goddamn rock there is to see if and how she was involved in this,” Director Morrow said, watching with narrowed eyes as FBI agents moved quickly to grab Todd’s arms while another agent pulled off her badge and gun, giving them a nod before they took her out of the room. “Now, Balboa, please get Tony to his wife…and update us if anything’s changed,” he directed, getting a nod from the man as he placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder and gently led him out of the room.

While he was grateful to know that Todd was out and couldn’t return, it didn’t bring him the comfort he wanted. No, nothing would really until he got news that Jhae made it through surgery.

Yeah…that would be the only thing to bring him comfort.

If he was being honest, the drive to the hospital was a blur.

Nothing really stood out or stuck with him from it. Hell, he barely even realized he was in the car until he was stepping out of it in front of the hospital.

Nothing truly made sense to him.

The halls blurred together as he followed the nurse with Balboa to the waiting room. But then they were there and then he was being hugged. Jhae’s father, Alonzo, was a big man, life as an ambassador was a tough one but the man managed. His hug was a comfort that Tony always enjoyed seeing as his own father wasn’t a hugger. He clutched onto the man just as tight, barely hearing the man’s rapid Italian words as he just held on, barely letting out a ragged breath. While he wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening around him, he felt it when Celeste, Jhae’s youngest sister latched onto his side in a hug while the middle child, her younger brother Antonio, hugged him from behind.

Reluctantly, Tony pulled back, causing the others to let go as well. Though Alonzo clasped his hands on Tony’s shoulders, giving him an assessing look. “How are you feeling, Tony?” he asked softly, accent still heavy despite being in Washington DC for a couple of decades now.

“Not well,” Tony whispered, watching as the man nodded like he knew that would be the answer.

“What happened?” he asked next, getting a heavy sigh from Tony.

“I got this,” Balboa said, patting Tony’s back once more. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I work with your daughter and son-in-law. Call me Balboa. Now, what happened was there was an intruder who took hostages. When they were making their escape, Jhae blocked them but while she managed to take them down, they shot her multiple times,” Balboa explained, getting a ragged breath from the man while the two siblings gasped.

“But the intruder’s dead?” Alonzo asked, voice dark while his eyes promised vengeance.

“Don’t worry, he’s been taken care of. Your daughter knows how to shoot and took him down,” Balboa said with a smile, getting a grim smile in return from the man.

“Good,” he said with a decisive nod.

Together, they moved toward the seats and waited. Right as they sat down, however, a doctor came into the room, eyes scanning over them before landing on their huddled group. “Family of Juliana Rossi-DiNozzo?” he called out.

“That’s us,” Tony said, standing up quickly while the doctor made his way over. “I’m her husband and this is her father, Alonzo,” he said, watching as the doctor nodded.

“I’m happy to say she made it through surgery. Based on the location of the three bullets, we’re thankful she got to us quickly. Now, her shoulder is a bit tricky as it did hit the joint, but as I said, it was a good thing she got to us quickly as that raised her chances of a full recovery significantly. As for her abdomen, the bullets did nick her intestine and kidney. We were able to get the bullets out along with any debris and sewed up all the damage. Now, these first 24 hours will be the most crucial, but I believe she will be just fine. Afterwards, we’ll keep her for another 24 hours to make sure nothing develops and then work out a care plan along with figuring out when she could be released. How does that sound?” the doctor explained, and Tony could only sigh in relief, shoulders dropping at the news.

“Thank God. Thank you,” Tony said, grabbing the doctor’s hand and shaking it.

“Of course. Now, she’s currently sedated still, but once she’s settled we can take you to her room,” he offered, watching the group nod.

“Yes, we would like that very much,” her dad said.

“Alright then. Sounds like a plan. Once she’s ready, I’ll have a nurse come get you,” the doctor promised, getting another nod from the group.

Tony though, barely even noticed him leaving nor the three hugging ecstatically. Prayers of thanks leaving their lips in rapid whispers. No, he felt dazed. It was like he had been hit with a wave from how the relief at hearing that Jhae was going to make it hit him. It dragged him down and it was all Tony could do to make it back into the seat before he collapsed. Suddenly, the exhaustion he had been keeping at bay from the day was hitting him. He could barely keep his eyes open as he sighed, a choked sobbing laugh leaving him.

The intruder had failed.

Jhae was alive yet he was dead.

“Congrats, Tony. I’ll let the Director know,” Balboa said, clapping Tony on the shoulder once more and Tony could only nod before he curled up over his lap, gripping his hair tightly as everything hit him. But even so, he focused on one thing only.

The only important thing at that moment.

Jhae.

She was going to live.

And that was the best thing he could ask for.