"Rude"
Chapter One: The Apple Of My Eye
16x02:Love Thy Neighbor

*Trigger warning*

It took Isana exactly an entire month to get herself together, not to mention all the things that took place Vance got kidnapped, Abby's new replacement she hated her existence. But loved the thrill of the ride. She was doing better, for once in her life she was perfectly normal. She was taking on lots of challenges and dating outside of her comfort zone.

Isana missed Clayton and Abby but she had to move on for the better of herself. She was closer to Gibbs than ever and had been talking with Jack for a few therapy sessions. Jack and she were closer as well. Things seemed different this time around she explained everything that happened to her and the reason why she was the way she was. How M16 trained her to be a killer an emotionless robot.

She also explained why she may never be able to bear children and how she had accepted that a long time ago. How she was worried about settling down what if they couldnt accept the fact that she wasnt able to give them a family? She also got a new dog, a bull mastiff by the name of Minty. He was used as a service dog at one point and now he was her new companion.

She was talking with Dean, and although nothing would probably come of it she was still just talking with him. She admitted in her therapy sessions that she didn't think she could love anyone for a while, that yes she felt her heart flutter around a certain Latino man but maybe it was just for the fact that they had been through some tough stuff together. Maybe she was just jaded by his ember colored eyes and his sass but for now, that's where things were. She entered the bullpen a little late than usual, her car was having problems and she didn't have any other means of transportation so she took the subway.

"Oh, man." Torres groans. "How could I be so stupid?"

" You're not stupid. Accidents happen. They're just sunglasses." Bishop says as Isana just furrows her brows watching Torres trying to piece together what was left of his crushed sunglasses.

"They're not just sunglasses." He grumbles as Isana places her bag down in her chair.

"Well, I'm sure you can fix 'em. Or, you know, buy another pair."

"There is no other pair, McGee. They're just so cool, you know? They-they fit my perfectly symmetrical face so right." Torres says as Isana snorts and rolls her eyes.

" Okay, then."

"Okay, nothing. Got a dead body in Springfield." Gibbs walks over to his desk pulls out his sig and attaches it to his hip, while everyone else is grabbing their gear.

"Stupid boots."

"You gonna be okay?" Isana asks.

" Perfect," Torres replies as Isana rolls her eyes, she heads up behind Gibbs as Torres walks right next to her.

"Why were you late this morning?"

"Because my car wouldn't start and I didn't have another way to get here so I had to take the subway," she shrugs as Nick nods.

"I mean I could've given you a ride," He scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, but you were already at work, and besides Dean said he would make up for not giving me a ride by giving me a ride home. So it's really no big deal." she smiles as he nods, it makes his head swirling with so many thoughts and ideas.

//

"Couple of teens from the next cul-de-sac over found the body just after midnight.

No ID yet, but the house is being rented to Navy Lieutenant Davis Mooney. And, um, apparently it's pretty ugly in there."

"Like we haven't seen ugly." Torres and Gibbs lift back the cover to the hot tub.

Bishop groans. " No, ugly never smelled like that. Mm-mm." Bishop covers her nose as Isana just shakes her head at the stench, everyone was not happy with the smell.

Gibbs takes the camera from Mcgee and snaps a few photos.

"Hey, didn't we have another hot tub call about ten years ago?" Palmer asks he stops in his tracks from the smell. "Gah. Mm-mm. Forget that gurney. I am gonna need buckets."

"Torres, Isana check the house. Bishop, McGee, see who knows what."

"Ugh, okay." Bishop shakes her head.

In the house, Isana and Nick are looking around.

"Hey, so I was thinking."

Isana snorts. "Oh no that isn't good." she teases as he kisses his teeth.

"I was thinking why dont you let me give you a ride home and then I can take a look at your car and see what's wrong with it."

Isana nods for a second still looking around the house. "What's the catch?"

Nick chuckles. "There isn't a catch, a woman needs to have a vehicle the subway is dangerous and gross."

Isana laughs and looks over at Torres who was still inspecting the house. "Sure, Yeah okay."

They both smile at each other leaving the house and of course not finding anything. They meet back with Palmer outside.

" Agent Gibbs, I'm gonna need some help back here," Palmer yells for Gibbs in the front while Isana takes a pair of Yellow rubber gloves from his hands, he then extends his gloved hand out to Torres.

"Why are you giving me gloves?" Nick shrugs. " What? Are you out of your damn mind? This is too disgusting to be doing in broad daylight."

"I'm not even sure it's gonna work, anyway." Palmer shrugs.

"Palmer, how long has he been in there?"

" Hard to say, Agent Gibbs. I mean, a submerged body is one thing, but, uh, the-the timer came on each night and turned on the Jacuzzi and the heater, which only accelerated the decomp." Palmer explains.

"Yeah, that's what it smells like."

"Check this out." he holds up the dead guy's arm. "This is a Navy ring. Has the initials D.M."

" As in Davis Mooney."

"Well, that's a tentative ID until I get him back to the autopsy," Palmer says as Isana just sighs.

"I wonder what else is down there."

"There are a lot of chunks floating around down there, I can tell you that," Palmer responds with his usual grin.

"Did you have to tell me that?"

"Yeah, that's way more than I needed," Bishop says.

"Yeah, me, too."

" Me, three," Nick responds as everyone turns to leave.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where's everybody going?"

" Well, it was definitely a robbery, so, uh, I was gonna keep searching the house."

"Uh, and I was gonna go help him." Isana puts her hand up in the air like a child.

"And I was gonna go maybe throw up a little bit," Mcgee replies simply.

"Torres, Isana go finish up inside. McGee, you got to throw up, go throw up. Bishop, call the evidence garage Get a flatbed down here."

//

Everyone was back in the bullpen.

" Hey, uh, Nick, do you know if we?"

" Don't touch me."

Isana opens her mouth tilting her head and squinting her eyes at the man. " I'm not touching, I'm talking."

"Don't talk. Don't even breathe. I think this might actually work." He was referring to him using super glue on the sunglasses he stepped on earlier.

"Give me an update," Gibbs enters the bullpen.

" Can I breathe now?" Isana sasses as the glasses fall apart.

"Superglue, my ass."

"Please don't." Isana grimaces.

"ID is still preliminary, but we believe the victim is Lieutenant Davis Mooney. 35 years old. Recently divorced. No kids."

"Active duty since '09 and now a public affairs officer and part-time writer for the Navy Herald," Bishop explains.

"Motive?"

" A robbery went wrong. His place was tossed. The power cords left behind indicate that" He groans. Trying to get his fingers unstuck from each other. Because of the super glue

"Indicate what, Torres?"

Torres clears his throat. "That Mooney's, uh, the laptop was taken."

"As well as a home surveillance DVR. Same with the previous break-in at the Reynolds' Their nanny cam was stolen, as well." Isana explains.

"- Yeah. Whoever robbed these houses, is definitely a pro." Torres says.

"And now a murderer."

" Find the ex-wife. Talk to the Navy Herald." Gibbs starts walking away. " Glue boy, try turpentine."

"Oh, great. Who's got turpentine?" Nick chuckles.

" I've got nail polish remover."

"Ooh, I do, too. Would that work?" He walks over to his desk opening a drawer.

"Hey. So, the editor at the Navy Herald was lovely but not much help. Mooney was a good guy and a great writer, but she hadn't seen him since he took leave last month to focus on his book."

" What book?" Mcgee ask Isana was listening from her desk.

" Again, no details."

"And there are no files for us to check?" Isana asks.

"No, not at their office. Apparently, he worked strictly from his laptop."

"The laptop we don't have," Isana says as Bishop nods.

"But the killer now does."

Mcgee's phone rings and he answers it as Bishop walks over to Torres's desk. Who was hanging up the phone.

"All right, thank you. Thank you very much." He puts the phone on the receiver. "I've tracked down Mooney's ex-wife through her church. They said she was in Puerto Rico. And who said that tape would work?" He holds up his sunglasses.

"- They're sunglasses."

"Yeah, Why are you still beating yourself up?" Isana asks.

" Do you have anyone else I could beat up?"

" Okay. So, Mooney's ex-wife. Puerto Rico?" Bishop asks.

" She's on a relief mission, but she's in an area that still has no electricity. But the church is gonna get the message to her now."

"Well, that was interesting." Mcgee hangs up his phone walking over to the group. "So, one of the neighbors, Loni, suddenly has a theory about the murder."

" I had a feeling about those neighbors."

" Well, so does Loni, apparently. She insisted I not let the others know she called." Mcgee continues Bishop was reading a text on her phone.

"Don't tell the other neighbors."

"That's what she said." Mcgee nods.

"What? Uh, no. That's what Kenna Reynolds just texted me. The soccer mom. She wants to talk."

"Oh, this is getting good. Two new witnesses, just like that"

Isana's phone rings. "Make that three?" Bishop says.

"I didn't give out any of my cards."

"Oh, I did. Sorry. Ran out of mine."

Isana sighs picking up the phone. "Special Agent Pacheleki"

//

The group arrives at the cul da sec and piles out of the car.

"Well, so much for us not telling the neighbors," Mcgee says getting out of the driver's seat.

"All right, how are we gonna do this thing again?"

"Well, I guess let's divide and conquer and compare notes after,"  Bishop explains as Isana sighs,

They watch as another car pulls up, and Gibbs and Jack hop out. " Ooh Oh, yeah. Now it's a block party."

"Which one called you, Gibbs?" Isana asks.

"Not one. Three."

"Suddenly, the whole neighborhood's got a story to tell," Mcgee says.

"A dynamic I just couldn't resist."

"And what dynamic is that?"

" Cul-de-sacs are a psychological gold mine-- test labs for tribal behaviors, complete with alliances, betrayals, and intrigue," Jack explains with a big shit-eating grin.

"Sounds more like one of those survival shows."

"Uh" Torres clears his  throat. " guys." he nods towards the houses and they watch as everyone is casually leaving their houses standing outside. "I think this show already started."

"Nothing creepy about this at all," Mcgee says.

Nick and Isana took Edgar the guy in his underwear and bathrobe outside. He was creeping Isana out from the way he was staring at her.

"You said you had new information, Edgar. That doesn't sound like new information." Nick says.

"You want a new, agent? I think Mooney was up to something."

"Really? Why is that?" Nick asks.

" The way he'd always be looking around and real sneaky-like. Like when he'd take out his garbage or mow his lawn."

"Oh, is those two activities you have no concept of?" Nick sasses.

" Why you got to be so rude?"

" Rude?!"  You know what's rude? Your car, your garage, this lawn. The way you're staring at my partner. That's rude. Your neighbors keep their lawns nice and clean. So should you." Nick yells.

"Nicky?" Isana warns seeing all eyes on them. Nick was practically yelling.

"Torres?" Gibbs calls as the two looks in his direction.

" The social contract-- they clean, you clean." Nick continues.

"Torres, now," Gibbs says.

"Put some clothes on. Nobody wants to see that. And stop staring at my partner it's creepy." Nick sasses as Isana pulls him towards the car.

//

"Seems all they want to do is point fingers."  Jack leans back against Nick's desk along with Isana.

"Yeah, Kenna Reynolds wasn't kidding. That is one wacky cul-de-sac."

"Oh, wacky or increasingly common?" Mcgee asks.

" I wouldn't go that far, but" Nick's phone was ringing on his desk.

"Uh, should I get it? Where is Nick?"

"He's in the doghouse with Ducky," Gibbs explains as Isana reaches over and grabs his phone.

"So, anyway, neighbors acting less than neighborly end up with no shortage of false assumptions about each another."

"Uh, it's Mooney's ex-wife. Flying back from Puerto Rico, changing planes in Miami now." Isana explains

"I can patch her through to MTAC."

"Okay. Let's go." Gibbs says walking off.

After Gibbs and Mcgee get done talking  with his wife, they find out that Mooney was writing about a string of Unsolved murders. By a killer, they called the dentist. Apparently, his own cousin was one of the victims.

"He claimed nine victims throughout the Northeast over a six-year span. The last murder was seven years ago." Mcgee explains. Everyone was gathered around a plasma

"And I didn't realize they never caught the guy."

"Lieutenant Mooney's cousin Pamela was victim number five. She was found stabbed to death in a quarry in Erie, Pennsylvania, 2009." Mcgee pulls up images.

"Which would make his book very personal."

Nick walks in "They found a possible murder weapon-- a tip of a box cutter. Kasie's processing it now."

"Dentist use a box cutter?"

" His M. O. ran the gamut. Stabbing, shooting, strangulation." Mcgee explains.

" Did you say "Dentist"?"

"- Yup. Named by authorities due to his signature move-- taking a tooth from each of his victims as a trophy." Jack says as Nick furrows his brows.

"Yeah, I'll catch you up, Nicky." Isana smiles at him.

"By tomorrow morning, we're all gonna catch up. Every clue, every suspect, every detail."

"You ready to tear up the town, Nick?" Palmer enters the bullpen.

"Cannot wait."

"Hold on. What are you two gonna tear up?" Gibbs asks as Isana laughs.

" Agent Torres and I are just headed out to blow off a little steam, you know? Just us dudes."

"Ducky's orders, Gibbs. It's all good." Nick says collecting his coat.

"Yeah." Palmer pats Nick on the back and the two leave.

"I mean, how much trouble could they get into, right?"

//

It was three in the morning when Isana got a knock on her door. She opened it. Standing there in her robe.

"Nicky?" she blinks a bit getting the sleep from her eyes. Finally, she could see his face. "Nicky, what happened to your face?"

"It's nothing. I came here to fix your car."

"Nick it's..." she picks up a clock from the mantel. "3:30 in the morning you need to sleep."

Nick steps into the house. He sighs at the directions and the color. He then looks at her dog, he comes over to him tail wagging. Isana can tell something is wrong and that eventually, he will talk with her, Luckily she had a garage connected to her place.

"I'll get the coffee going." she closes the door and saunters over to the kitchen, Nick looks up from Minty and watches her, her robe unravels openly to reveal her caramel-colored leg he could tell she wasnt wearing any pants, she leans over the counter grabbing a jar for the coffee, and there it was confirmed, the lacey trim of her underwear peaks through its peach colored, she mindlessly starts the coffee, not noticing his lingering eyes. She walks over to the sink and he gets a better look seeing the robe was sloppily tied. Her top was lacey and matched her panties, it was basically a bra but longer a bit, she was cleaning the filter from her fancy machine out in the sink not even noticing she was being watched. The ends of her robe were fluffy in an elegant type of way.

She looked absolutely unbelievable, her hair was kinked and flowing down her back, and her freckles were more prominent under her glasses, which were thin lenses. He looks around at her house. It was neat, everything had a place, there was a fur rug on the floor, it was brown, and under a tan couch it was long and wrapped around the room, there was no tv, only a few remotes velcroed to a table. There was a tall lamp next to the table and a few feet away was a desk that was built into the wall, along with a few shelves which were built the wall, there was a white rolling chair and a comfy pillow sitting in it.

There was a mantel above a small fireplace it had a few photos sitting on it a candle was there as well to the left was the kitchen, she had a bar counter that wrapped around half the kitchen a few stools there and then behind the kitchen was a hallway with more rooms. It looked like her bedroom was next to the desk and from there you could see her small bathroom.

The house was dimly lit. seeing as it was late in the morning. 

She smiles at Nick. "My garage is down the hall the last door on the left, help yourself to anything, there are spare rooms and yeah I'll be out in a second." she walks to her room Minty following behind her. The door clicks closed softly and she scrambles around her room to get dressed. She couldnt believe he was here, and she couldnt believe she wasnt wearing clothes. Sure  a bralette and panties are clothes but she was thankful he didn't notice. She pulls on some leggings and a matching sports bra top before putting a crop top on over that and sliding on some slippers, she opens the door seeing that one of the mugs she sat out on the counter was taken. Assuming Nick must've filled his mug she fills her own putting a few creamers and sugars and Ice in her cup before closing it with a straw. Minty trails behind her as she walks to the garage seeing Nick looking under her hood she smiles opens the garage door and grabs Minty's leash.

"I have to walk this little dude, you wanna join me?"

Nick looks back at the car. Then her. "Yeah."

They start walking down the sidewalk and before long, they make it to the pier. The view was beautiful.

"There's something wrong and I am not going to pester you about it, But when you're ready I am here for you." She turns to look at him. The sun was hitting her face perfectly, She looked like she belonged. "I use to bottle everything up and not let anyone in and I had all this anger for the world and I didn't care about my life one bit. I figured I am not Married like Mcgee, I dont have someone to come home to Like Bishop or Palmer. It's just me and no one will miss me when I'm gone, but then I realized something, I have a team of people that love me very much and who would miss me...The point is Nicky, I will miss you if something were to happen so dont use yourself as a punching bag let some of us take care of those blows for you."

"Thanks, Ana."

"Your welcome Nicky now let's go clean up your face."

"You should see the other guy," Nick says as Isana laughs.

"Im sure you put a hurting on him."

Nick left to get ready for work an hour later and Isana went for her morning run and then took the train to work having found an early route, she arrives just as Palmer is and gasp at his face, those boys really did tear up the town, Bishop and Mcgee came by a little after that and palmer told them everything Isana didn't want to bother Nick plus if he wanted to talk about it he would.

The elevator dings and Isana sent a text to Nick to beware that Bishop and McGee were on his tail. Nick steps out of the elevator.

"You got arrested for fighting?" Bishop starts off.

" At a painting workshop?"

" What? Did it make the morning news?" Nick sasses as he smiles at Isana who was the only one at her desk working and not pestering him.

" No, no. Palmer got here early to share the details. Look, he even brought doughnuts." Mcgee points to Nick's desk. Where there is a box of doughnuts with a note written on the front. 

" Oh, wow. I've created a monster." Nick sits his bag down.

"I don't know. Palmer said the guys you fought were the real monsters."

Nick chuckles. "More like dinosaurs, but still."

"Nick. Seriously, you okay?" Bishop asks as He sighs.

" I'm fine. This is nothing." He points to the bruise on his face. It was already healing thanks to Isana, he could smell her perfume while she was cleaning his face. It was an intoxicating scent and he didn't want to stop smelling it.

"Update." Gibbs enters.

"Look, uh, Gibbs, uh.."

" No. Not now. Update." Gibbs says again as everyone gathers around the plasma.

"So, I, uh, researched The Dentist's last victim. Murdered seven years ago in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware."

"Which led police to a suspect, Lewis Dacey, a childhood friend of the victim. Now, police worked to build a case against him, but no charges could ever be filed." Bishop explains

Isana takes the remote from her. "Now, the name sounded familiar to me, so I went through Mooney's phone records again. Turns out just two weeks ago, Mooney placed a call to an L. Dacey in Towson, Maryland."

"Well, no such thing as a coincidence."

"And what were you doing while they were figuring all this out?" Gibbs asks as Nick stays quiet.

" Okay, I got it. Get Dacey in here." He walks over to his desk.

"Look, uh, Gibbs, I sincerely apologize. So, uh, can we have the talk now?" Nick says as Gibbs sits down in his seat.

" No. We are not having a talk."

"We're not?" Nick furrows his brows.

" Uh, Agent Torres. Good morning. Come on up-- Ooh. Grab me a sprinkle doughnut if you don't mind." Jack calls him from the stairs.

//

Torres sits on the couch arms behind his head feet up on the table. He was laying in a relaxed position but his muscles were so tense and harsh.

"This is crazy. Sloane, I already said I'm sorry."

Jack sets her donut down on a napkin on the table. "Come on, Nick. We all saw you last night planning to tear up the town. Was it a fight you were looking for?"

" No, that fight found us."

"Of course. You found each other. And now you're just apologizing." Jack says as he sits up.

"Don't be passing judgment' over here.  I recall a little bar fight that you got into not too long ago."

"One, I'm not judging. Two, that was definitely apples and oranges. And three, it kind of makes me uniquely qualified to ask what's really bugging you." Jack explains as Nick sits forward in his chair. 

"Fine. You know what I'm really sick and tired of?"

" -Hmm?"

"Why are people so damn mean? Petty. From those neighbors in their cul-de-sac to those clowns last night, everyone just seems to be angrier. And saying terrible things that they've never said before."

"Fear and anxiety are at an all-time high. Between politics and social media."

"Why can't people just be nicer to each other?" Nick asks.

" Like you were last night"

"Oh, yeah, well, not to those idiots" He sighs.

"As much as we'd all like to, we can't just go around punching people into being nicer."

"Why not?" He sits back. " I can be like the kindness bully."

"But first maybe try to be a little kinder to yourself. Because, usually, underneath that sort of anger and rage, is a lot of pain. I know."

"Whatever." He says.

"Don't blow me off."

"I'm not blowing you off, but you're just getting all touchy-feely." He shrugs as Jack sighs.

"I know there's something deeper going on."

"No. There is not. I got into a fight, that is it. Stop trying to make it into something that it isn't. If you don't like it, just send me home." Nick says as she nods.

Jack stands up and walks towards her door. "Fine. Go home."

"You can't send me home."

"Oh, I believe I just did." she opens the door gesturing for him to leave. 

He leaves Jack's office approaching Gibbs. "Sloane cannot send me home."

"Oh, yeah. She can. So can I."

"Gibbs." He protests.

"You got arrested, Nick. It's nothing. You don't want to talk to Jack, fine. Go home." Nick says nothing walking away.

Meanwhile, In one of the interrogation rooms Mcgee and Bishop brought in Dacey he talked about how he was interviewed by Mooney for his book, and he always made it seem like he did it. But on their most recent call Mooney apologized to him he explained how he just moved to a neighborhood where the real dentist lives, but he didn't give Dacey any more information. Isana heard about Nick being sent home and decided to visit him later for now they were in the bullpen.

"Either Dacey's one hell of a liar." Mcgee was staring at the screen,

" He couldn't be. What are the chances we all believed him?"

" Especially amongst this cast of oddballs. Not one of them looks like a serial killer." Mcgee says as Isana furrows her brows.

"What does a serial killer look like?"

" Excuse me, agents. I didn't know where else to go."

"Uh, Mrs. Mooney, we would have come to you," Isana says as they approach her

"This couldn't wait. When I got home, I started going through old mail and found this from Davis. Postmarked two weeks ago. He knew I'd been planning to fly home, so.." she pulls out a note from the packaging envelope.  "Welcome home. Please hold on to this for safekeeping. I'll explain when I see you."

" Hold on to what? What's in there?"

" I was hoping you could tell me. Can't quite describe it myself." Gibbs walks over with gloves.

"Okay. Small wooden box." Gibbs pulls it out of the envelope. " Kind of pretty." Gibbs opens the box and there are teeth on the inside. "Not so pretty."

They get the box to Kasie. Who says the teeth are from Nine different people, Gibbs thinks it was his soccer dad seeing as the last murder was seven years ago and his kid was seven.

"The soccer dad? Seriously?" Mcgee asks,

" I thought it was crazy, too, until we ran a background."

"Victim number two. Supermarket cashier in Cortland, New York." Bishop pulls up their photos.

"And guess who was a grad student at nearby Ithaca that same year."

"Victim number four, truck driver found dead in Killington, Vermont," Isana explains as Bishop pulls up the images.

"Where Reynolds was working as a ski instructor that very same winter." they of course bring Reynolds in and Isana and Gibbs are interrogating him.

//

"So, just a few things we want to clear up about the burglary at your home," Isana asks.

"You had to bring me in for this? It's in the police report."

"It's more about Lieutenant Mooney's murder. We narrowed down his time of death to the day after your place was robbed." Gibbs replies.

"Which, again, is why I'm glad we weren't home at the time. Obviously, Mooney wasn't so lucky."

"You were both at soccer practice?"

" Just Kenna. And it was a game. I was in New York on business." Reynolds rolls his eyes at Isana it was clear he didn't like her.

"That right?"

"Trade convention. I'm in sales. I was there the whole week." Gibbs places the box on the table it was in an evidence bag. "And what is that?"

" We think it was Mooney who broke into your house." Gibbs takes the box out of the bag and places it on the table. " It's what he came out with."

"What?"

" In order to prove that you were once known as The Dentist," Isana explains.

"Dentist? Okay, you lost me. I just said I was in sales."

"The Dentist pulled these teeth from nine victims over seven years ago," Isana says.

"May I have a glass of water?"

" These teeth they make you thirsty?"

" Sickened. By the sight of them and the idea that you somehow think I'm responsible." Reynolds snaps

"I think maybe you need a lawyer.

" Why? I've never seen these disgusting things." He seethes towards Isana. truth being all his victims mostly were women and she fit what his type would be.  Gibbs pulls out his knife." And is this the part where you stab me?" Gibbs slams the knife into the table. "You know, maybe I do need a lawyer."

Gibbs collects his files and the evidence and leaves.

"We'll need some DNA," Isana says.

"Get a court order."

" Oh, we intend to And we will be checking on your New York trip while you stay right here." With that, she collects her files and leaves opening the door to the viewing room.

"Hey. We throwing knives now.  You could have warned me."

"Eh," Gibbs replies as she rolls her eyes flipping him the bird and closing the door, drowning out Gibbs's chuckling.

//

Isana was coming back from taking a break.

"Okay, Nick. Message number three. Call me back. Let me know you're okay." She enters the bullpen heading for Mcgee's desk when she sees everyone already there. "Oh, hey."

"Reynolds's alibi?"

"Credit cards. Flight itinerary. Hotel receipts. They all put him in New York when Mooney was killed." Mcgee explains.

"Doesn't mean he's not The Dentist."

"New York's only a five-hour drive," Jack says.

"Plus, that thing with his teeth?"

"Yes. The teeth. Lieutenant Mooney's skull has a full complement. Therefore, his killer did not share The Dentist's penchant for extraction." Ducky explains.

"Then it wasn't The Dentist?"

" No other evidence in the tub?" Gibbs asks.

" Well, apart from the box cutter blade, there's a small accumulation of particles in the drain.

Dr. Palmer is assisting Kasie with them as we speak."

Kasie found a paint chip in the hot tub drain, it turns out it was nail polish and it was the exact nail polish that was the exact kind of a certain wife. Dan's wife Kenna. She was the true Dentist, the one person who killed all those people. Gibbs and Jack went to arrest her and that was the end of the shift another case was closed.

"You know, you never really hear about female serial killers," Bishop says as she packs up her bag to leave.

"Actually, I looked it up. Turns out that one in six is female."

"Really? - Huh. So it's not rare at all." Bishop zips her bag up. "What could have made her do it?"

" We'll have to read Mooney's book. Apparently, his ex-wife is finishing it."

"You know, I keep going back to soccer dad. How could he not have known?" Mcgee asks.

" We're all occasionally guilty of only seeing things we want to see," Jack says

".Love is blind," Gibbs mutters.

"Hmm. Indeed it is."

"Okay. On that note, I am out for a Scotch and a shower." Jack smiles waving and leaves.

"Ah, you're not kidding."

"Or we can do wine and some painting." Mcgee jokes.

" Ah," Bishop replies leaving along with Mcgee.

Isana closes her desk drawer and turns off her light. Going to leave. " Hey. You hear from Torres?"

" Uh, no. No, Bishop and McGee have been calling him, too."

" All right. I'll stop by his place on my way home." Gibbs looks up at her smiling.

"Thanks, Gibbs." He nods as she walks over to his desk and he gives her a kiss on the head. She smiles leaving,

Isana piled out of the Uber. She smiles at the driver.  "Thank you. Drive, safe."  she looks down at the ground walking towards her house, there on her porch is a figure.

"Nick?"

" You catch the bad guy?" He asks.

" What the hell are you doing here? You don't answer my calls?"

" You gonna answer my question?" He sasses.

"Yeah. We caught the bad guy." She answers.

"Am I still fired?"

" No. What? You were never fired. You were just sent home. Gibbs cares about you. You know that, right?" She says.

" I couldn't fix 'em." He sighs.

"Fix what?" he puts his broken sunglasses on his face, they were lopsided and one of the lenses was gone. Isana laughs. "Oh, my God. What is it with those things?" She takes a seat next to him.

" They were a gift."

"Oh." She nods.

"From Reeves. He was wearing them one day to the gym, and I was like, "Hey, cool shades," but I really didn't like 'em. I was just being sarcastic. The next morning they were on my desk."

"He bought you a pair?" Isana replies.

" He gave me his." Nick slurs it was evident he was drunk.

"Yeah, well, he was kind."

"The kindest." there's a short pause the two contemplating what to say. "Ana. I miss my buddy."

"Me, too. Come on, let's get inside." she stands placing her bag on her shoulder. "Come on. Here." she extends her hands out. "You good?"

" Yeah." Nick drunkenly balances on Isana as she walks him up to the door.

"Okay. Oh let's get you some coffee." she groans at his scent. "I mean, how many did you have?"

" How many do you want to have?"

" No, I won't-- okay, you just go in there." She says trying to close the door,

Minty runs over licking at Nick's hands he aggressively pets him mumbling incoherent words as Isana takes her shoes off at the door, she tosses her keys on the counter locks the door behind her and hangs up her bag. Nick falls back onto her couch and she starts up the coffee from earlier and lets Miny out in the backyard. While she changes into comfy clothes. By the time she gets back Nick is snuggling up with Minty on the couch. She snaps a photo and pours him some coffee.

"Hey, Nicky?" He sits up abruptly and she laughs. "Drink this you need to sober up."

"Hmm" he shakes his head.

Isana sighs, "Fine." she sits the mug down infront of him and walks over to the other side of the couch plopping down and grabbing the remote the projector turns on and she looks over at Nick. who was staring at the screen like it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. "New Girl or Pretty Little Liars?" Nick stares at her for a moment.

"New girl."

She nods playing the show, the two laying and watching the show before long the show was simply playing infront of them and they were sleeping their heads laying against one another.

Word count: 6200