<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ff99">Tony rubbed his forehead and reached into his desk drawer for the bottle of Excedrin that had become his new best friend.  He popped two dry and grimaced at Fornell.  "No change in Kate's condition.  The doctors still don't know when she'll wake up--" and, dear God, let it be 'when' and not 'if', Tony prayed, "--and until we've caught or verified dead the last of Haswari's cell, we aren't lifting the guard on her, either."  Tony frowned at Fornell.  "You aren't seeing the whole picture there, Tobias," Tony said -- and his jester's mask was gone completely.  "If Kate dies, and Gibbs goes on the warpath -- it won't be alone."  He said it simply, but there was not a fiber of doubt in his being.  "McGee and I will be on his six, and Abby and Ducky will be right behind them."<br/>
<br/>
He ran his hand over his eyes.  "As for Ziva -- she's earned her right to be here, Fornell."  He wasn't sure it was public knowledge that Ziva had killed Haswari or not, and it seemed safer not to mention the specifics.  "Gibbs trusts her... and I've bet a hell of a lot more than my life on Gibbs's gut before.  Not gonna start doubting it now."<br/>
<br/>
But what Fornell said about Abby and court made a lot of sense.  "How on earth could they be offended by her clothes?" Tony protested.  "She looked perfectly ordinary when she blew through here!  Geez, it's no wonder she's mad enough to spit nails... maybe I should go down and rescue Probie."<br/>
<br/>
* ~ *<br/>
<br/>
Tim leaned up against the wall and watched her take out some of her anger.  Through his own ear protectors he couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, but he could guess it wasn't nice.  He'd rarely seen her so upset, and wondered how much of it was the added strain of Gibbs's frequent absences and Kate's condition.<br/>
<br/>
And though it was really, really inappropriate... damn, but she was hot when she was this angry.  She was always sexy -- but this was... <i>damn</i>.<br/>
<br/>
When she repeated what the defense attorney had said, though, Tim blinked.  "Don't go for the tie -- kick him in the balls.  If he has any.  He might not, to suggest such a thing to a forensic scientist who can murder him and leave no forensic evidence."</span></span>