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I am so sorry. One of my co-workers had a baby and I have been so busy knitting that I forgot this was sitting in my notebook.

Chapter Eleven

Tony let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief as they stepped out of the darkness. He had never been so happy to see the sun in his life, and from the looks on his teammates' faces, he was far from the only one. It may have been a dirty alleyway covered in graffiti, but to them, it was beautiful.

Upon reaching a less sketchy area of Chicago, Harry quickly took his leave. Sending a jaunty wave over his shoulder as he commented he'd send Tony the bill. The wizard had every reason to be chipper. For a trip into Undertown, things had gone remarkably smoothly. Not even a surprise encounter with Marcone would be enough to ruin his mood. Nicodemus maybe, but not Marcone.

The muscles in Gibbs' jaw clenched as he watched the tall figure stride away. The urge to grab the other and demand answers was still strong. However, considering he had seen the man literally throw fire that probably was not the wisest idea. His arms tightened protectively around Ziva's unconscious form. Especially with a member of his team already down; and speaking of his team . . .

A frown crossed Gibbs' face as he discretely examined DiNozzo. His senior agent was being unusually quiet. On a normal day he would have expected a couple movie references at the very least.

Almost in response to his thoughts, Tony turned to face them. "We need to figure out what we're putting in the report," he said abruptly.

McGee sputtered. "What do you mean what are we putting in the report? We'll just say . . ." His voice trailed off as he struggled to put the day's events into words.

"Say what Tim?" Tony's eyes were hard as he interrupted. "That the murders were committed by an evil sorcerer who was killed when I turned into a leopard and ripped out his throat?" And that wasn't even taking the wizard into account. Forget losing his job, he'd be lucky to avoid a straightjacket.

"Speaking of," Gibbs interrupted the conversation. "How long have you been able to do that?" His data was clearly incomplete, and that was just unacceptable where his team was concerned.

Tony was silent for a long moment. Then, he held a single hand up in front of himself, the nails briefly shimmering into claws before reverting. The change had never come so easily. "I thought I couldn't," he murmured eyes distant. "That's why the clan exiled me."

If Tony heard his boss's sharp inhale he gave no sign, long forgotten insults echoing through his mind. His lips twisted bitterly. "Barely more than human they said." Abruptly the brunette blinked, coming back to the present. "Not that there is anything wrong with being human boss." He did not need another head slap today.

That was it, Tim thought in disbelief. He had known Tony and his family were estranged, but seriously. A ball of rage coiled in his stomach on his teammate's behalf as he searched for something to say to lighten the mood. "Abby," the hacker said at last. "Is going to flip."

"Bite your tongue McGeek," Tony snapped, a bit of his usual self shining through. "No way are we telling Abby about this."

Huh? Tim was confused. Didn't Tony trust her?

"Vampires are in no way tragic, misunderstood figures." Most of them were killers, plain and simple.

Ah, Tim thought to himself, that made more sense. Tony was trying to protect her. Then, his brain turned back on. "Wait!" he sputtered. "Vampires are real?"

"Of course they are," Tony answered rolling his eyes. "Fortunately," he continued. "The vampiric population of Norfolk is pretty much non-existent." Along with that of fae, spirits, and practitioners of all flavors. He gave his boss his best puppy, or would that be kitten look. "Can we go home now; please?"

Gibbs considered a moment before nodding sharply. It went against all his instincts as an investigator, but in this one case, ignorance really was bliss.

Finis

Thus ends the NCIS teams' one supernatural adventure, not counting when they metaphorically kick the DiNozzo Clan's butts when they show up with the 'All is forgiven Anthony, come home' line. Maybe a fan of this story will write that scene someday. It will not be me though. I am moving on to other things.

I think I am going to write a couple short stories to get my groove back and then stick my poll back up. Though keep in mind this is just a tentative plan, subject to veto by the hordes of plot bunnies under my bed. In the meantime though, hope you enjoyed Hidden Claws and please review.