Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and Ducky investigate the death of a petty officer aboard a Naval vessel; later Tony and McGee screen potential replacements for Ziva; nobody in the gang has heard from Ziva, so Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and Abby all start sniffing and digging around; they trace her to a Jordanian cargo ship, which sank in a storm off the coast of Somalia, reportedly with no survivor. Tony urges Gibbs to stop Saleem, then the team makes a case to Gibbs and Vance, who reluctantly approves an investigative mission to Somalia, where (as a part of a plan) Saleem captures Tony and McGee, to whom Saleem administers a truth serum. Saleem also reunites Tony and McGee with Ziva, whom Saleem has tortured. Gibbs reverts to his sniper mode and gets out the three musketeers, then they all return to Washington, DC, where they, emotionally drained and thoroughly exhausted, receive a rousing welcome. Written by DocRushing

Ziva visits Gibbs in his basement; she hands him a gift and asks to rejoin the team; he tells her to see Vance. Three young men die under bizarre ritualistic circumstances during what they called a bachelor party; one was a Marine staff sergeant; Gibbs and company investigate. Ducky says that all three victims, when they died, were semiconscious, drugged by spiked champagne; Tony learns that the party was not a bachelor party at all. Abby gives a private lecture and welcome to Ziva, who passes her first psych screening. Gibbs and McGee separately find a connection and more between the victims and a Baltimore cop, who arranges to meet Tony, but the cop dies first. Ziva passes her second psych evaluation. The gang find the rest of the pieces and put them together, and they bust the bad person. Ziva approaches Gibbs again in his basement, and she says that they need to talk. Later Tony and McGee find Ziva at her desk, setting a plant in place. Written by DocRushing

A critic of the NCIS has published (on his own website) many negative comments about the NCIS, complaining about an alleged cover-up of the death of a Naval officer; he falls to his death; Gibbs and company investigate concurrently with the Metro PD; friction promptly heats up between the gang and the Metro detective in charge. Gibbs gets an exhumation; when Ducky and Abby open the casket, they find no body but steel weights. Tony and McGee check out a car, but they run into trouble. Ziva suggests a theory, McGee finds evidence, then he and Tony find the body. McGee experiences a moment of illumination, then he and Tony finish finding the pieces and putting them together. Ziva asks Gibbs to sign a form so that she can become a special agent of the NCIS; he tells her that she'll need to resign from the Mossad; she says that she's already done so, in an e-mail note to her father; Gibbs picks up a pen and then pauses. Written by DocRushing

In the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania, a shrimping boat catches the body, mostly skeletal, of a Marine, SSgt. Daniel Cryer, who deserted in Kandahar six months before; he was last seen while boarding Damocles, the Jordanian freighter, supposedly lost at sea in a storm, which Ziva also rode en route to Somalia. Vance suspends Ziva's application while he questions her. Abby provides the position of the missing ship; a salvage crew finds the wreckage plus 18 more bodies, apparently executed before the sinking; all 18 wind up in Ducky's workshop. A Mossad officer, Malachi Ben-Gidon, shows up to rescue Ziva from the NCIS; he offers to tell Vance what happened aboard the ship. Mal says that Ziva shot Cryer; Ziva says that Mal did so; Abby and the evidence also say that Mal did so. Gibbs throws out Mal; as Gibbs asks, Ziva tells the rest of the story. Vance deals with a phone call, then Gibbs gives Ziva a paper, calls her a name, and tells her to get to work. Written by DocRushing

Teenage neighbors find the body of a Marine, LCpl. Korby, who apparently committed suicide by carbon monoxide; Gibbs and company investigate; Ducky promptly says that the death was not by suicide, and he soon sees irregularities. Ducky elaborates on his hypothesis against suicide, and Abby adds details. Korby was a practical joker whose pranks often displeased others; some of his tricks had caused problems within his outfit, and his fellow Marines had taken action. Tony consistently believes that Korby's wife killed him; he eventually starts to arrest her, but Gibbs stops him. Gibbs, Tony, and McGee put the right pieces together, and they bust the person responsible. Finally, Tony experiences a dental problem. Written by DocRushing

At the Naval Station, San Diego, California, Gibbs's sailboat, which he gave to Franks, drifts in, unmanned but laden with two bodies; Vance, Gibbs, Ducky, and a local agent investigate; they check out Franks's home (in Mexico) but find nobody. The boat and the bodies arrive in Washington, DC. The gang identify the dead -- enlisted men, one Army, one Navy, both dishonorably discharged, more recently working as functionaries of a large private military contractor. Franks shows up at Gibbs's house with Franks's daughter-in-law and granddaughter (Gibbs's goddaughter). Gibbs and Franks get a bad surprise; Gibbs thinks and reminisces, then he and Franks have a chat. The daughter-in-law's mother arrives in Washington from Iraq; McGee meets her and takes her to the NCIS headquarters. After a rumble in the dark inside Gibbs's house, Gibbs arrests a bad guy, and Franks, along with his relatives and the grandmother, go to his house, on the beach in Mexico. Written by DocRushing

On the grounds of the US Naval Academy, an Army cadet and a Navy midshipman find an unattended car and the body of a civilian physician, shot to death in an execution style; Gibbs and company investigate. Vance recognizes the MO; he says that someone from his past (17 years before), a North Korean woman assassin, Kai, has come into his jurisdiction and back into his life. Ducky finds a message, and Abby interprets it. Kai calls Vance and teases him. Vance and Gibbs make plans; McGee finds the ride for Kai from Los Angeles. A young lady, Amanda, puts a spring into McGee's step. Someone shoots but does not kill a North Korean official near the Capitol; he later dies. Vance receives a question. Abby says that the same person shot both the physician and the official, and that the shooter added a twist. McGee meets Amanda for coffee, but a question and someone else interfere. Vance goes home and finds a curious triangle, which plays out in a strange way. Written by DocRushing

An internet service provider (ISP) in or near Washington, DC, goes down, and a gunfight breaks out at the ISP facility, then electric power goes down in a cascade manner throughout the entire metro area; a woman Navy lieutenant dies, so Gibbs and company investigate, using old-fashioned methods. The victim was a proud third-generation member of the Navy. Abby provides a lead to a car, which leads to an ocean shipping container, which yields clues; Abby also makes a manual hard-copy fingerprint match, which leads to two more bodies and another string of surprises. With the help of another woman Naval officer, the gang fit the pieces together and grab the real bad guy behind everything, then the juice comes back on, and life goes on. Written by DocRushing

Two young boys find the body of Marine LCpl. Lozada, without one hand; Gibbs and company investigate. Ducky says that the victim died elsewhere, and that the traumatic amputation took place postmortem. Lozada served on the guard detail for a high-level think tank, the Sattler Institute, which uses gifted, precocious kids to suggest solutions for military problems, using simpler, cleaner, purer, less linear, less bureaucratic ways of approaching problems. One student, Angela, had a close friendship with Lozada, who was a former member of a gang; a security tape at the institute reveals a clue. Tony and McGee find another connection, but they run into trouble. A maintenance worker at the institute finds the body of a woman. Ziva and Angela go to Ducky's house, but Angela disappears. Angela and the bad guy show up at Angela's house, as do Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva; right and justice trump. Then the gang gather at Ducky's house for a toast and a turkey dinner. Written by DocRushing

Jackson arrives at Leroy's house at Christmas with a triple-barrel surprise. Meanwhile in a park a young couple in freezing weather find the body of 1Lt. Tom Ellis, a third-generation Marine; Gibbs and company investigate. Tom's father, George, a retired colonel, is an ordained minister. The gang find Tom, barefoot and thinly clothed, with a compass, facing east, kneeling on an Islamic prayer rug; they learn that eight months ago he converted from the Christian faith to Islam. Ziva meets a bunch of what she calls redthroats; Jack runs into trouble at Leroy's house. Tony tracks down a payment by the colonel, and Ducky offers insight about Jack; a Navy Muslim chaplain receives a significant note; Abby and the others consider a distinct possibility, which leads to a confrontation, which produces a confession. Leroy finds out why Jack visits him, so they talk about it. Tony makes an old buzzard smile, and McSanta grants a special Christmas wish. Written by DocRushing

Two park rangers find the burned body of LCdr. Brad Sayers, a Navy test pilot on leave, on the site of a recent fire in a forest in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia; Gibbs and company investigate; McGee sees evidence that Brad tried to fly a jetpack, and that it exploded. Gibbs places McGeek in charge. Palmer finds clues inside a dead squirrel, and Abby confirms them. Tony and Ziva interview a builder of jetpacks, and Ziva snaps a portrait; McGee learns about the builder's ex-wife, who's also the builder's top competitor; McGee questions the builder, then the builder's high-power lawyer shows up, starts talking, and keeps on talking. Ducky suggests an interesting alternate explanation, then Gibbs shows a piece of paper. The gang put the pieces together, and Tony brings in the bad guy by remote control. Gibbs notices the left hand of the lady lawyer; he concludes that someone else sent her there. Written by DocRushing

A citizen of Saudi Arabia dies in an explosion of a car aboard the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, near Lexington Park, Maryland, between Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River; the victim was the driver of a limo serving a Saudi prince, who was at Pax River for an advanced USN-USMC training program for pilots. Gibbs and company investigate; Gibbs assumes that someone had intended the bomb for the prince, so Gibbs also provides protection to the reluctant prince. Tony's father, Senior, arrives at the office to visit Junior; he promptly shows himself to be a ladies' man; he reveals that he has done business with the father of the subject prince. The prince's brother and their father also show up. After McGee and Abby find a key piece, the gang figure out the puzzle; Tony learns about his father, his history, and his situation. Written by DocRushing

Tony and Ziva fly to Paris, pick up a witness (a whistle-blower) for a federal criminal trial, and escort her to Washington, DC. Meanwhile a maid finds the body of a Marine special-ops sergeant in the bathtub in his apartment in Washington; Gibbs and company investigate; McGee finds a safe, so he and Gibbs open it; they find a connection to the whistle-blower. Gibbs and McGee have an interesting chat with a madam, and they meet the fiancé of the witness. Tony and Ziva find a problem with the air marshal aboard their homebound flight, then the witness runs into trouble; Tony and Ziva encounter an uncooperative flight attendant, but they work things out, with the expert help of Gibbs, McGee, Ducky, and Abby. Gibbs gets a sore shoulder. Written by DocRushing

A car explodes during a chase; the registered owner is a Marine lance corporal; while Gibbs and company investigate, McGee finds radioactivity in the trunk. The gang catch a clue about the whereabouts of the brother of the owner, and they find him, then they run into MAllison Hart and two of Col. Bell's bodyguards. Tony and Ziva check out a vacant warehouse and find some radioactive evidence; Ducky concludes that the victim is not the owner of the car; McGee learns that the victim is a former sergeant who was dishonorably discharged. Tony and Ziva find the owner and deliver him to the chat room, where Gibbs questions him. McGee and Ziva talk with several dentists, one of whom takes a long lunch break. TV news speculates about dirty bombs, so the people of Washington shift into the panic mode; Gibbs and McGee seek a bomb, find it, and disarm it. Vance and the gang figure it out and wind it up. Gibbs receives a visitor at his home. Written by DocRushing

McGee drives Gibbs home (because of Gibbs's wounded shoulder), then inside his pad he finds an intruder, one whom he knows, Damon, who tells him about the death of a fellow Marine. Gibbs calls McGee, who returns and picks up Gibbs and Damon, then they find the body (with a slit throat), and McGee calls the Metro PD. Damon tells about the involvement of the victim with a suspicious trucking operation. They pick up Fornell and meet Tony, Ziva, and Ducky at the scene. Gibbs agrees for Damon to infiltrate the trucking firm; Damon and Ziva pose as truckers, and they start a trip; Gibbs and Fornell tail in Gibbs's car, and Tony and McGee try to do so in a van. Along the way the gang put the pieces together. Gibbs and Fornell meet a man who provides answers, then they rendezvous with not only Damon and Ziva but also two of the bad guys. Later, back in the evidence garage, Gibbs and Fornell pinch the third bad guy. Damon heads out to meet the widow. Written by DocRushing

A Navy captain, soon to retire from the Supply Corps, dies of three gunshots about 02:00 in a marina in Norfolk while wearing his blue monkey suit, including a gold cummerbund and white gloves; Gibbs and company investigate. The major witness is Joann Fielding, Gibbs's first mother-in-law (Shannon's mother and Kelly's maternal grandmother). The facial sketch produces an anomalous result, then Abby spots a significant discrepancy, and she finds a connection to a bridge coat and the shoulder boards. Gibbs tells Joann that her story does not add up. When Tony and Ziva check a lead in Nogales, Arizona, on the Mexican border, they get a rude surprise. Gibbs and Tony interview a Navy lieutenant involved with the victim. Ducky tells Gibbs quietly that he feels sure about a certain point. Gibbs puts all the pieces together, then he and MAllison work out the details. Palmer introduces an embalming assistant. Written by DocRushing

In Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, a ranger hears gunfire and sees an injured man, who, identified by a thumbprint, is a Marine first lieutenant who became MiA in Afghanistan while on a recon mission six years before; Gibbs and company investigate. The gang talk with the two other Marines on that mission, and McGee and Ziva notice something curious, then a second wife with a different surname shows up. McGee learns that a PI has checked out the victim, so Ziva meets the PI and finds out who hired him. The victim dies of heart failure while in the ICU. Ducky finds an inconsistency. The gang continue to dig, and they eventually find all the pieces and put them together, then they arrest the shooter. Abby becomes a mommy in charge of a special critter with a special future. Sophie dislikes bow ties. Written by DocRushing

On a beach a Marine spots a decomposing body; Gibbs and company investigate; at the scene Duckman spots a round penetration in the victim's wet suit. McGee identifies the diver as a Navy lieutenant on leave. While Gibbs and Tony check out the vic's home, they meet two agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS). Abigail, the CGIS agent in charge, and her probie present certain similarities to the gang. Gibbs and Abigail agree to work together; a CGIS lab tech suggests that they may have a double homicide. Gibbs and Abigail barge into a scrub room but fail to find the right surgeon, so Tony and Abigail talk with the wife of the missing physician. Ducky raises some medical questions about the identity of the dead diver, and Abby makes a revealing discovery, then Gibbs, Abigail, and Tony reach a conclusion and bust the bad guys. Tony meets Miss Biloxi, Ducky reverts to bow ties, and Tony and Ziva catch a pirate flick together. Written by DocRushing

A distracted teenage driver in Norfolk hits a stumbling Navy lieutenant just after someone stabbed him in the back; Gibbs and company investigate. Tony and McGee find the site of the knifing, at a nearby motel room, where local cops are already present. The wife of the victim say that he had met a prostitute in connection with his work as a Navy newspaper reporter. Abby determines whom he met, but the gang have trouble in finding her, so Gibbs seeks help from Holly Snow, a former madam in Washington, who puts them in touch, then Gibbs and McGee chat with her. Three previous murders in Norfolk fit the same pattern, then another pops up. One lead does not work out, but new action attracts attention, and Gibbs finds the bad guy. Gibbs and Holly share a steak dinner without expectations. Written by DocRushing

The body of a man, shot and drowned, washes up on a beach in Maryland; the victim was a Navy petty officer; while Gibbs and company investigate at the scene, another body, wrapped in anchor chain, turns up. Gibbs suggests that the PO stumbled onto a mob hit; Fornell tells Gibbs about the second victim; the two of them agree that the feds have a problem with a leak in their witness-protection program. The office of a private security firm explodes nearby while Gibbs and Fornell talk with a polygraph tech; Abby gets a new toy; the gang check out the explosion, and McGoo talks with the tech. Duckman and Palmer work on 10 more bodies; Abby, McGee, and the tech remotely watch the theft of the tech's home computer. Abby provides answers, which raise more questions. Gibbs and Fornell figure out the leak, confront that person, and deal with the problem. McGee asks for a dinner date but fails to get it. Written by DocRushing

A Navy lieutenant, otherwise in perfect health, dies in his car while madly trying to reach an emergency room at a hospital; Gibbs and company investigate; Tony gladly volunteers to interview the victim's sister, who's an attractive reporter on a cable news network; when he and Ziva arrive, they find that someone has tossed her pad. The sister has disappeared. The vic worked on a classified program at the Navy Info-ops Center (NIOC); Tony has a contact at the NIOC, so Gibbs asks him to use it. A long-time friend of the siblings recently died, supposedly by accident; Gibbs comments on the coincidences. Palmer finds a key piece of evidence with a sinister implication, and Ducky finds another one. Ziva says that Tony has become obsessed with the sister; he eventually finds her; with her help the gang put the puzzle together. Gibbs and Ziva bust the killer. Written by DocRushing

At an automotive recycling yard the body of a Marine corporal shows up in the trunk of a car; while at the scene Gibbs and the gang see that someone has amputated both feet. Ducky in his shop points out several troubling items, and Tony and Ziva find a troubling cargo inside a truck. Abby goes to Mexico to conduct a class, and McGoo goes to protect her; they take the students outside to do some field work, and several locals interfere; Abby makes several discoveries about an old cold case, and she takes action. Meanwhile Gibbs and the others have figured out who killed the previous victims, but not who killed the last one; then Gibbs finds out who killed the Marine. Abby goes to Gibbs's basement and talks with him from her heart. Written by DocRushing

A human body, almost completely consumed, turns up in a burned-out bonfire on a beach near the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, after celebrations just before graduation; Gibbs and company investigate; McGee's thumbprint scanner identifies the victim as Special Agent Lara Macy, on personal leave from her post in Marseille, France. Gibbs and McGee visit Lara's mother, who tells them that a man had already rifled through Lara's papers at the family house. Lara had begun to look into the rape of a woman petty officer from a visiting ship in Marseille; the gang continue to do so, and they find the rapists. Abby speaks with Gibbs frankly and empathetically. Gibbs and MAllison have an intense chat, Vance advises her to listen, and Gibbs goes to Mexico, where Franks has run into trouble. [To be continued.] Written by DocRushing

Gibbs has interesting chats with Paloma Reynosa, the head of the Reynosa drug cartel in Mexico, and with others; Tony and Ziva fly to Mexico to return the body of Hernandez and to pick up the bodies of Col. Bell and others and haul them back to Washington, DC; they also meet Gibbs and take him back home. Vance talks with Gibbs, Ducky talks with MAllison, and Gibbs talks with Abby; then Tony, McGee, and Ziva meet an aircraft and arrest a bad guy, who promptly dies in a gunfight. Vance and Gibbs talk in code. Ziva attends an important ceremony, along with the rest of the gang, all except Gibbs and Tony; instead MAllison delays Gibbs, and Tony, on the orders of Vance, goes back to observe and report in Mexico, where he runs into Franks, who says that he can pull a trigger with his right thumb. Gibbs experiences flashbacks and fantasies, and he drafts rule 51. Paloma meets Jackson Gibbs in Stillwater, Pennsylvania. [To be continued next season.] Written by DocRushing