- Gibbs and Ziva fly to Afghanistan to seek 1Lt. Flores or her body; Abby learns where she might be; an extraction team finds and saves her. Back in the USA Gibbs and the gang anticipate what's next, find a bad guy, and prevent an explosion.
- Gibbs and Ziva fly to Afghanistan to seek 1Lt. Gabriela Flores or her body. Meanwhile in Washington, DC, Tony and McGee find the brother of a suspect in Afghanistan, and Tony chats with him. Gibbs and Ziva meet the two girls whom Gabby saved; the girls imply that Gabby may still be alive. Abby (by remote control) deduces where Gabby might be; Tony speaks to someone else; the Marines muster an extraction team, who take part in a firefight and find Gabby. One Marine, Gabby's CO, dies, and Gibbs, Ziva, and Gabby escort his remains back to the USA. Gibbs holds a family reunion in his chat room, and he catches a factoid; then he and Vance do a number on one of their guests. Gibbs and the gang figure out what's next, and they act to prevent it from happening; they find and bust a man said to have been dead two years. Gibbs tells Vance that he has fun, Tony makes a visit with the happy chappy, and Gibbs returns to a grave in Arlington.—DocRushing
- Navy Lieutenant Commander Melanie Burke, the chaplain, tries to comfort Joseph Flores, whose daughter Gabriela is missing in Afghanistan. She suggests maybe Gabriela was answering God's call when she didn't run for safety that night, instead rescuing two girls. They're joined by Tony, who looks like he has news. Cut to Gibbs riding on military transport with a flag-draped coffin.
In Helmand, Province, Afghanistan, 48 Hours earlier
Gibbs and Ziva are welcomed to the base by Marine Captain Quincy. The two girls Gabriela saved were just found. They'd been tortured, but they're alive. Gibbs talks to Marine Staff Sergeant Catherine Littleton, who was there the night of the attack. She's not very forthcoming. She evacuated before the attack and thought Gabriela was with her group. She feels guilty for leaving.
Gibbs shows Littleton the photo of the woman in a burka with a finger tattoo that indicates she's part of a terrorist group. Littleton knows her as Soraya. She was visiting her family out of town the day of the attack and hasn't been back since.
Back at NCIS, Duckie waxes on about the historical battles over what children should be taught. Tony is still distracted by his bucket list. He lets on that there's a fear he hasn't conquered yet.
Vance and Sec-Nav Jarvis talk to Gibbs in MTAC with the team. Soraya's parents were killed by Russians when she was a teenager. She had an older brother named Osman, who died in an IED explosion two years ago and a younger brother, Asa, who's going to law school in DC.
Tony and McGee go talk to him. They run into him on campus, but he runs as soon as they identify themselves. They tackle him and take him in.
Tony suggests he might end up in prison and Asa says his group is small but strong.
Gibbs remembers back to boot camp and his crush Marine Private Joan Matteson. She fixes a truck and earns his respect. He's shipping to Pendleton soon and she's off to Okinawa. She tells him to stay in touch. (Young Gibbs is played by Mark Harmon's son, Sean.)
Back in Afghanistan, Gibbs and Ziva see the girls Gabriela saved. One was blinded with hot grease. The other is covered in cigarette burns. They're 10 and 13. Ziva talks to Kinah and Lala. They tell them the kidnappers are "not done yet" with Gabriela.
They remember it smelled like cars where they were and there was oil on the ground. Gibbs suggests a sample.
Back in the lab, Abby runs a breakdown. The oil is from outside Kabul, from the Afghan pipeline.
Tony visits the chapel and talks to God, reminding Him of their bargain. He asks for a sign if He remembers it. When Burke arrives, Tony tells her to tells Joseph they think they might know where Gabriela is.
In MTAC they prepare to watch the operation to rescue Gabriela.
On the ground, Gibbs and Ziva are part of the mission to rescue her. The heat sensors show five people inside. As they're approaching, Quincy is hit in the neck. They shoot their way in and find Gabriela alive, but being held with a gun to her head by Soraya.
Gibbs asks her if she wants to spend the rest of her life in Guantanamo or just get shot right there. She lets Gabriela go.
Back outside, Ziva tries to comfort Quincy as he fights to live. He tells Ziva to tell his parents that he loves them. They watch as he takes his last breath.
Ziva promises to get him home. Back to the beginning. Tony gives Joseph Flores the news that his daughter is alive.
Gibbs talks to Gabriela, who is upset over Quincy's death. She says he disobeyed an order that night to save the girls. She wants Soraya held accountable for her crimes, but mostly she wants her to watch the two girls grow up and change the world. Punishment is knowing she could have done the same.
At NCIS in the elevator, Burke tells Tony she's intrigued by him. She offers him spiritual guidance when he's ready for it.
Gibbs, Gabriela, Ziva and others fly home with Quincy's body.
Gibbs remembers boot camp, learning the news that a helicopter went down in Okinawa. Matteson was on it.
Back on US soil, Quincy's casket is given a soldier's welcome.
At NCIS, Gibbs talks to Soraya and Asa in interrogation. They think Americans college kids are rich spoiled brats. The defend hurting children as a way to protect their way of life.
Soraya lets slip that their older brother is there. Asa tells Gibbs the fight has just begun.
Gibbs thinks Osman is in DC. They check Asa's cell records and alert local law enforcement. Gibbs searches his desk for a special knife.
He brings a rolls of torture tools to interrogation with just Asa and lays out the photos of the tortured girls. He turns off the cameras and offers Asa a cigarette. After he lights up, he mentions the burns on the girls. Then he grabs the cigarette out of his hands and holds Asa around the neck, threatening to burn him.
Vance busts in telling Gibbs not to bother. The FBI killed Osman 20 minutes ago and Soraya killed herself in her cell.
Asa says they had a bomb they planned to electronically detonate. He's about to tell them where when he realizes Vance was lying.
In the office, they find Osman was an automechanic. They look for local field trips. Ziva finds the National Consortium for Independent Girls Schools, a group that includes 300 girls at the science museum. They're there now.
They gear up and head out.
Osman hooks a bomb up under the bus as the girls board. He dials a cell phone to detonate it but is stopped by a gun in his face. Gibbs tells him to drop it. Ziva goes to unload the bus. Gibbs checks that McGee has things handled. Osman yells and pushes the last button.
Nothing happens. McGee reveals his signal jammer. Osman calls Gibbs weak for not killing him. Gibbs punches him in the face.
Back at NCIS, Vance takes a call from the commandant thanking Gibbs. Vance tries to get Gibbs to take some time off, but Gibbs asks why he'd take a vacation when he's having plenty of fun.
Burke tries to help Tony work through is fears. As she leads him somewhere, he develops a flop sweat and shakes. He says he doesn't get scared, noting he's had the plague, kissed a transvestite and been tortured by the best the Middle East has to offer. It's time for Tony to face his fears.
Burke opens the door and Tony walks into a preschool. He's immediately hugged by a cherub and sits down for snack time.
Gibbs visits the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington. He brings flowers to put on Matteson's grave.
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