Hi guys! What's up?

This story will be a little angsty but nothing our favorite team can't handle, right? :-)

This is a WIP, I intend to update this every three-four days.

Hope you like it!

CHAPTER 1

Gibbs sighed as he took in the scene of the crime.

The team had been called out for the murder on Anthony Harris, a young petty officer who'd been murdered on board of the USS Enterprise.

He carefully stepped around the body to take a closer look. Whoever did this, it sure as hell was personal. The lifeless body of the young man lay on a public spot on deck, where everyone could easily see him. His hands were tied together with a heavy chain. The skin under the chain was a deep shade of purple, a great contrast with his otherwise ashen color.

He was naked apart from his underwear, which had been torn to pieces and wasn't covering much anymore.

But the thing that probably stood out the most, was the word 'FAG' that had been scratched into the skin of the petty officer's chest. Gibbs could see that it was an angry message as the carving was deep and bloody.

He was interrupted from his observations by a hand on his shoulder. He already turned around to give instructions to DiNozzo when he saw who was standing next to him.

"Burley?"

Stan Burley laughed his boyish grin. "You seem surprised? Are you forgetting things, old man? I am the Agent Afloat?"

"You'll be surprised by what happens if you call me 'old man' again", the team leader grumbled. Where was DiNozzo, anyway? Burley went over his timeline with him, stating that the victim was well liked among the others. He'd been missing since the previous night, when he'd failed to show up for his checkup with the doctor on board.

"Doctor? Something wrong?"

"Nah", Burley waved him away. "Just the routine check, all personnel will be checked within the following days. For now, I can't really think of anything that would have called for… this." His breath hitched in his throat.

They watched for a moment as McGee took pictures of the scene around them. Ziva stood a few feet away, interviewing two petty officers whom had worked with Harris recently. DiNozzo was still nowhere to be seen. He'd probably already found a perky officer to flirt with. Gibbs swallowed past the familiar surge of jealousy that tended to close his throat when he thought about women throwing themselves at Tony's feet.

He forced himself to focus back on Stan. His former SIC looked tired but good nonetheless. Maybe he should ask for a transfer to an aircraft carrier, preferably some place without a hot Italian carrying a sidearm. Siberia could be nice, this time of the year?

Stop it! He scolded himself. Time to get past this. He had a job to do. As he divided the personnel between his team members and they set to questioning them, he felt himself calm down. This was what he was good at. He took in a deep breath and then set to work. DiNozzo would find him when he needed a new task.

Two hours later, Gibbs felt his newfound confidence slowly start to slip away. He still hadn't spotted DiNozzo. As McGee came around the corner, he stopped the younger Agent.

"McGee. Where's DiNozzo?"

Tim opened his mouth to say something when he frowned and closed it again.

"I don't know. Haven't seen him for a while. Want me to look for him, Boss?"

Gibbs waved him away with a curt shake of his head. It did little to comfort him. Usually Tony would tease Ziva and McGee about the structure of the ship, telling them that they were going the wrong way or jumping out from behind a corner to try to scare them. Maybe DiNozzo had just considered that the serious case didn't call for teasing and he'd been busy working?

Still, something didn't sit right with him. But maybe that was his tendency to overthink everything about Tony and there was nothing actually wrong with his Second in Command.

Gibbs shook his head as he walked in the doctor's office and showed the man his badge.

"Special Agent Gibbs. Got a moment?"

"Sure, come in. Doctor Reed." The doctor greeted him with his own title, a little smirk telling Gibbs that he found titles overrated. The man had to be around fifty, with dark, kind eyes and unruly half long grey hair. His handshake was strong and Gibbs could imagine how the personnel easily confided in him.

"I take it this is about Anthony?"

Gibbs nodded and waited to see what else the doctor would offer up.

The doctor sighed. "I don't get it. Anthony was just here for his checkup. He was perfectly healthy and didn't say anything about a fight or problem with anyone."

"Everyone comes to you with their problem?"

The doctor's smile grew with Gibbs' frown.

"He would have. Anthony was like an open book. He came to me a couple of times when he wanted to discuss something."

"Like what?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential." Doctor Reed must've noticed the twitch in Gibbs' jaw because he smiled again.

"It's nothing that would be useful for your investigation."

"Maybe you should stick to your profession and I'll do mine." Gibbs failed to keep the growl out of his voice as he answered slowly. He hated those psych-types, always being mysterious for the sake of being mysterious.

"No need to get defensive, Agent Gibbs." The doctor gazed calculatingly at him. Finally he let out a sigh and shrugged.

"I trust that you will handle this information appropriately." Doctor Reed waited and Gibbs nodded to keep the man talking.

"Anthony Harris was having a relationship."

"With?" God, this was like pulling teeth. Gibbs' fingers twitched, eager to shake the words out of the man before him.

"Agent Burley."

Gibbs felt his eyes grow wide for just a second and then bit his tongue to keep from laughing out loud. Burley? No way.

They shook hands as Gibbs thanked him for the intel and the team leader walked into the corridor. He thought about Stan Burley – he'd just seen the man a couple of hours ago. He hadn't looked like his boyfriend had just been murdered. Again, he felt the urge to laugh. Stan? Gay?

The janitor's closet was open and he absentmindedly peeked inside as he walked by. The smile on his face instantly died.

There, hidden in a corner, with his arms wrapped around his knees, slowly rocking back and forth, was Tony.

TBC!