Stuck

Timothy McGee stepped out of the standard issue 4x4 and closed the heavy door behind him, stepping out into the sunlight. He walked to the back of the vehicle and took out his kit as Ziva, Gibbs and Tony followed him. It had been a very quiet trip out to the crime scene which lasted around thirty minutes. The only conversation they had had was Ziva occasionally trying to break the silence by asking how good each agent's coffee was, and each time they would reply with 'pretty good'.

After receiving their kits Gibbs slammed the boot shut and walked up the footpath leading up to the front of the house and his agents followed closely in single file. Gibbs was reluctant to speak about what had happened and every time one of them brought it up he would shrug it off and tell them it didn't matter. He didn't speak a word of protocol and didn't remind them of rule #12, 'Don't date a co-worker'.

Tony was first behind Gibbs as usual. McGee expected more of him than his 'usual' behavior considering the events that had occurred that morning, but he was still striving for Gibbs' approval in his annoyingly needy manner. He wasn't exactly ignoring Tim, but he hadn't attempted to make conversation with him since they had left the elevator, and there were none of his regular put downs on the way to the scene.

Ziva was between Tony and McGee. She held her coffee in her left hand, kit in her right, and walked with her head down. Tim could tell she was sympathizing with him and Tony as she hadn't tried to speak to either of them yet, instead opting to keep out of their business, which wasn't very Ziva like at all.

Tim was last in the line, shuffling towards the one leveled house with his head fixed permanently on the coffee cup he held in his hand. Ever since he and DiNozzo had stepped out of the elevator together that morning he had been in an unusual mood bordering on depressed. They had braced themselves for the entire staff of NCIS to have been working as usual, but occasionally staring and snickering, whereas Gibbs, Ziva and an overprotective Abby would have been waiting for them as they stepped off, laughing and joking and poking fun. In realty what had happened had been very different.

With their fingers laced together, Tim and Tony had stepped out into the office space to face a crowd of 10-13 people, all gathered around awaiting their arrival. Abby, Gibbs and Ziva they had expected, but Ducky, Vance and Palmer were there too, standing with two large coffees in hand and gawping at the pair. A small group of people wearing blue overalls stood wielding spanners and screwdrivers, which they figured must have been the men that freed them, looked hopefully at them as if they were dubious that they'd made it out alive. McGee believed that this was down to Gibbs forcing the team to work faster, probably making up a story about shortage of air and claustrophobia and turning the operation into a life of death situation.

Instead of the reaction they had expected; laughing, pointing, wise cracks and jokes, the crowd of people stood wide eyed and speechless, staring at the men in front of them; or probably more obviously, their hands. They quickly let go of one another's hands and began making excuses, when they realized that it was in fact only Gibbs that was aware of what the boys got up to during their time alone.

After an awkward physical examination that Ducky forced on them, they took a shower and returned to their desks, not bothering to leave NCIS to return home, despite their lack of sleep. Now at the scene at least they had something to focus on other than the silence, and for that the entire team were thankful, even if McGee was longing to speak to Tony about the encounter.

Gibbs pushed open the wooden door with his latex covered hands and looked around the room before entering. When he had gotten inside he was greeted by a police officer who informed him that their victim was a 25 year old Caucasian male, and that he was laying on the kitchen floor. Gibbs followed the young officer until he arrived in a room decorated with oranges and blues, and it smelled of freshly baked bread. Such a picturesque scene to contrast the badly beaten corpse laying on the floor.

DiNozzo followed suit, walking into the kitchen and over to the table looking through a stack of letters as Ziva checked the back door for a sign of entry. McGee stood staring over Gibbs' shoulder blankly and silently, until the arrival of Doctor Mallard startled him.

"Hello again, agents." the older man mumbled as he walked into the room behind McGee and crouched on his knees besides the victim. "It appears this man was beaten with a blunt object" he announced after a few minutes of surveying the body.

"Y'think, Ducky?" Gibbs mocked. That was the first thing he had said since back at HQ when he had told them to gather their weapons, and surprisingly he sounded calmer than anticipated.

Doctor Mallard raised his eyebrows at Gibbs and returned back to his job, Rolling the body onto his side and checking his back for lividity. "Lividity suggests he has been dead between 6 and 8 hours, but I will know more when I return to the lab." He stood and left the room. It once again fell silent. After a few minutes of the independently searching small areas for any kind of indication, Gibbs turned to face his team who were arranged sparsely around the far end of the kitchen.

"Ziva" he shouted, snapping their attention from their own self pity and back to him. "You have the bedroom. Look for anything personal that might link him to his killer."

Ziva paused to protest about the job she had been assigned before turning to face McGee and DiNozzo, and leaving the room.

"McGee, DiNozzo." Gibbs continued. "Stay in here. Don't miss anything. Sort. It. Out." He raised his eyebrows at the pair and they understood the command, and he turned and slowly left the room, heading back in the direction of the front door.

Tony turned and faced McGee who was still standing in the door way and raised his head to one side, indicating McGee to come closer. The younger man accepted the invitation and approached DiNozzo, sitting next to him at the table. "You OK, Tim?"

McGee's pulse raced and his cheeks burned when Tony called him 'Tim', and he knew that he was safe, that Tony didn't blame him for what happened. He could hear it in his voice and in the calm way he spoke, and it made him feel protected. "I'm fine." he replied. "But we screwed up." He watched Tony's features turn into a grin and he couldn't help but smile himself.

"Yeah" DiNozzo chuckled "We did." The pair turned around when they heard the noise of Palmer and Ducky entering the room and nodded hello. They both felt pretty secure that the pair were out of ear shot. "And come to think about it, Ziva didn't even know we were 'homosapien'." They both laughed at the situation, even though they shouldn't, and DiNozzo turned his attention back to the letters he was reading. McGee carried on watching him, and Tony could feel his eyes on him. He quickly traced down the letter and placed it back on the table, looking back up to McGee. "Do you think we'll get fired?" He asked the question in a calm manner but there was panic in his eyes, and McGee could feel he was worried.

McGee watched Palmer and Ducky carry the DB out of the room and quietly replied "I don't know. But if push comes to shove, I'll be the one to leave. You were here first and I.. I came on to you."

"I didn't exactly object." Tony grinned. "Anyway, Robin, we have criminals to catch." Tony slapped his hand on the table top and they both stood up, leaving behind the dead end pile of letters and walking behind the worktop to study the blood left on the floor.

--

Ziva was on her hands and knees looking under the victim's bed with a torch. Through the dark silhouettes of boxes she saw Gibb's face appear at the other side of the bed. She hadn't heard him come in but that was part of Gibbs' cat like stealth. "Found anything?" he asked.

"No. But did you really expect me to?" She stood up, shortly followed by him and they stood opposite sides of the bed. Gibbs shook his head and Ziva sighed, looking quickly over the room one last time for something she could have missed. She had promised herself not to pry on Tony and Tim today, but that didn't mean she couldn't question her boss. She looked back at Gibbs who was pointing his torch at a bedside table and drew in a breath, holding it inside her chest before asking; "Did you know?"

Gibbs looked at her with a puzzled look on his face, raised his eyebrows and shook his head as if to encourage Ziva to elaborate.

"About Tony and McGee. Did you know, because you didn't look surprised."

"I knew about thirty minutes before the.. Public display of affection."

"That is why you wouldn't let me into the surveillance room."

"Uh huh" Gibbs confirmed before shining his torch into her eyes. "You finished in here?"

Ziva squinted and protected her eyes with her hand before nodding and following Gibbs out of the room.

They both returned to the kitchen where they found McGee photographing the horrendous pool of clotting blood on the floor and DiNozzo leaning into a cookie jar and examining the contents.

Gibbs walked in to join the pair. "If you eat any evidence, DiNozzo, I will lock you back up, y'hear me?"

Tony froze on the spot and turned to face his boss. His mouth was full and tiny crumbs lined his lips, and he just managed to mumble 'Goddit, boss.'

"Good." he replied. "Now how about this crime scene, McGee, wha'do we have?"