The Next Day

The next morning Jenny wakes up to the sun peeping through the curtains and creating strange patterns on her face, she slowly opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings, not remembering how she came to be in Gibbs bedroom.  She rolls over to find him wrapped around her still sound asleep.  She gently runs her hand from his cheek bone, and down his neck to rest comfortably on his chest.  Gibbs slowly awakens greeting her with a grumbled, “morning,” and a light kiss to the cheek.

Jenny carefully sits up, trying not to disturb the blankets too much, and kisses him back, replying in kind to his greeting.  A few minutes pass in comfortable silence before they manage to drag themselves out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen for coffee and breakfast.

After his first coffee of the morning, Gibbs begins to resemble his normal self and on noticing the time he hurries to get ready for work.  Jenny digs into the drawers in his bedroom in the hopes of finding a change of clothes that she left behind on one of her many previous visits to Gibbs house over the past 9 years or so.  She is successful in her efforts and makes her way to the bathroom to shower and change.

Both Jenny and Gibbs arrive at work 15 minutes later than they should, with a few questioning looks as they step from the elevator together.

“Thank you,” Jenny says to Gibbs as she steps out of the elevator and makes her way up the steps to her office.

Gibbs understands her silent meaning and nods his head in acknowledgement knowing they will talk later.

“Right, are there any new developments?” Gibbs asks his team as he sets foot in the bullpen.

Later on in the day Gibbs and his team are all busily typing away at the case reports at their desks when Gibbs attention is grabbed by the ding of the elevator.  Out steps the SecNav with the little girl he spoke to yesterday, who he now knows to be Jenny’s niece.  He watches their progress up the stairs and into the director’s office wondering why and how the SecNav knows the Director’s niece.

“Jenny,” SecNav says upon entering her office with Isabella in tow, “how’s everything going?”

“Edward,” Jenny greets before she is pounced upon by her daughter, “Long story,” Jenny sighs remembering the events of last night.

“Care to explain,” SecNav asks, taking a seat on the comfortable leather sofa across from the desk, watching Isabella run around the small office.

Jenny explains the events of last night leaving out the bits of her turning to Gibbs for comfort and reassurance, one of her best friends the SecNav may be, but he is still her boss, and she’s crossed enough boundaries in her time without blurring the lines anymore.

Upon hearing the story, and seeing the newly formed tears in Jenny’s eyes, SecNav get’s up from his seat and gives her a reassuring hug.  “Don’t worry,” he says, then upon seeing a good opportunity he adds, “Have you thought about getting some additional protection detail until all of this is cleared up?  I’m willing to authorize it if you want me to.  It may give you a bit more peace of mind, for yourself and Isabella,” and me, he adds silently.

“I’ve already got protection detail.”

“I know, but it never hurts to take extra precautions, especially when threats have been made against your life.  Technically I should enforce this, make it an order, but being your friend, I’m giving you the choice, and the option to pick yourself.”

Jenny takes a few minutes to mull over what’s been said before realizing that he’s right, and that she needs to do this for Izzy’s sake as well as her own.  “Ok,” she finally agrees, setting the wheels in motion, “Any recommendations?”

SecNav leaves the office, with Isabella in tow and Jenny following on his heels to break the news to Jenny’s best team.

“Gibbs, can you and your team make your way to MTAC as soon as possible please?  I need to speak to you all regarding some new information on your current case,” SecNav announces in the bullpen before making his way to MTAC with Jenny and Isabella.

Gibbs gets up from his seat and silently indicates for his team to follow, wondering what the SecNav wants to speak to them all about, it’s rare for him to make personal visits to Headquarters, and he usually communicates with them all through the MTAC video link.

Inside MTAC SecNav arranges for all the cameras and recording equipment to be turned off, whist Jenny settles Isabella down with a coloring book and some pens.

Gibbs and his team arrive shortly afterwards and settle into the seats provided Gibbs with his ever present cup of coffee in hand.

Once everyone is settled, SecNav recounts the conversation he had with Jenny in her office not so long ago, explaining that they both think extra protection would be a good idea and that it’s been left up to Gibbs team to organize.

As soon as the meeting is over and everyone dismissed, SecNav makes his excuses and leaves promising to call and check in later in the evening.  Gibbs stays behind to talk to Jenny about the situation.

“You probably shouldn’t stay at home Jen, encase this bastard really does no where you live.”

“Well where do you suggest we stay then?” Jenny asks, including Isabella in her statement.

“With me,” Gibbs answers simply, knowing his suggestion will be met with skepticism.

“Right, and that’s a good idea how exactly? We don’t even know who this man is, how do you know he’s not been following you and know where you live too, how is your house any safer than mine, you leave the front door unlocked for God’s sake.”

“I never said it was a good idea, I just made a suggestion.  Take it or leave it.”

Jenny takes a few minutes to weigh up the pros and cons of his idea before finally agreeing to it, knowing she’s always felt safe, comfortable and protected at his house.

Evening at Gibbs House

The rest of the day for Gibbs and his team, passes with little activity other than report writing and gathering together the information they have uncovered.  At around 7pm that evening Gibbs sends his team home, knowing there is not much else they can do until the morning.  At around 9pm Gibbs shuts down his own computer and heads home, content to work on his boat with a bottle of bourbon for company.

Gibbs is down in his basement, silently sanding his boat, the same place he’s been for the past two hours, when he hears heeled footsteps making their way slowly down the stairs.  He turns to look who the intruder is when he senses them reach the bottom step.  He is not surprised to find Director Jennifer Sheppard, his boss and former lover stood silently on the bottom step observing his every move.  What he is surprised by though is the red ringed, puffy eyes indicating she’s been crying and the dried tear tracks staining her face.

“Jen,” Gibbs greets trying to judge her mood and the best course of action.

“Jethro,” Jen replies, taking slow steady steps towards him.

When they are only a few centimeters apart, Gibbs holds out his arms to allow her to fall into them for a much needed hug.  “What happened Jen?” he asks running soothing circles on her back with his hands.

His words cause more tears to flow from her eyes the reality of the situation setting in.  When eventually she has calmed down enough to speak, she steps out of his comforting embrace but not far enough away that she can’t touch him.  “I was in my study doing paperwork and writing case reports when the phone rang.  I got up to answer it and for a short while all I could hear was static, then a muffled voice came through and said, ‘I know who you are, where you live and where you work Director, and I also know all your secrets.  If you want to live long enough to see that little girl grow up, you will stop the investigation into Mr Thompson immediately.”

“Oh Jen,” Gibbs says pulling her into another hug, “Wait a minute, what little girl, who’s the bastard on about Jen?”

Jen swallows deeply and then takes a deep breath to focus her thoughts, reluctant to tell him the truth just yet.

“Izzy,” she says simply giving him time to make the connection, “she’s my niece,” she adds carefully lying her way out of telling the full story just yet.

“You mean the little red-headed girl I spoke to at the school today?  She’s your niece?  I thought she looked familiar and I should have realized with the name, but how come you never said anything before?”

“I didn’t know how,” Jen replies, “I’m scared, I don’t know what I’d do if something ever happened to her but I can’t just stop the case.  What am I going to do?”

“Don’t panic Jen, we’ll think of something,” Gibbs says pulling her back to him and placing a light kiss to her forehead, “Where is she now, is she safe?”

“She’s staying over at her friend Tammy’s house tonight, she’s fine, and Tammy’s parents are both FBI agents.”

“Ok,” Gibbs says reluctant to let her move away from him, “What about you, have you got anyone to look after you?”

“Not really, when I got the call I panicked and just ran to the first person I could think of, I’m sorry to trouble you with all this Jethro, I should probably go,” Jen says making a move to step out of his arms.

Gibbs automatically tightens his hold on her to prevent her from going anywhere, “Don’t be,” he says, “I’m glad you came, and you really shouldn’t be on your own with that bastard out there, who knows what he might do, you’re welcome to stay if you want to.”

“Thank you,” Jen says returning his hug before taking a step back.

“Drink?” Gibbs asks picking up the bottle of bourbon sitting on the workbench.

Jen nods her head in silent agreement and Gibbs pours the amber liquid into two mugs, before handing one to her.  He takes a big sip of his own before resting it on the worktop and returning to sanding his boat.

Jen settles into the overused sofa in the corner and watches him meticulously sand the boat, sipping at her mug of bourbon.  She slowly drifts off to sleep with the comforting sounds of the sander scraping rhythmatically across the wood.  An hour or so later, Gibbs decides he’s tired and so after replacing his tools and drinking the last few swigs of his bourbon, he removes the mug from Jenny’s hands, places it on the worktop, before carefully scooping her up into his arms and carrying her up to his barely used bedroom.

He removes her shoes and jacket, before tucking her in, and then he strips to his underwear before crawling in next to her and wrapping his arm around her waist.  Within minutes he is fast asleep.

That’s all for now, more updates and news when I get back off my extended trip.

Lieutenant Adams

Gibbs and McGee, pull up in the blue sedan outside of a house with white picket fencing in a desirable neighborhood.  They pull in and both get out of the car.  Gibbs leads the way down the path to the front door where he knocks loudly on the door.  They wait silently for someone to answer them.

A man who looks to be round about 20 years old opens the door in boxers and a navy blue t-shirt.  “How can I help you,” he greets the Agents standing outside his front door.

“Are you Lieutenant Adams,” Gibbs demands calmly.

“Who wants’ to know?” the man asks

Gibbs and McGee retrieve their badges and show them to man, “Special Agent Gibbs, and Special Agent McGee, NCIS,” Gibbs introduces them.

“NCIS, what’s happened?  Am I meant to have done something wrong?”

“You tell us,” Gibbs says, “We are investigating the murder of one of your colleagues, Sergeant Thompson and wondered if we could have a word.”

“Now?” the man asks dumbly.

“Well we can either have a chat here now or down the station, whichever you prefer.”

“Come on in,” the man says reluctantly loosing the Agents into his house.

Gibbs follows the man through the house into the kitchen, McGee following behind them silently.

“Lieutenant Adams,” Gibbs starts, “What was your relationship with Sergeant Thompson like?”

“Call me Ben, please,” Lieutenant Adams states, “He’s my senior officer and was also training me to be a sniper, why?”

“Did you get along well with Thompson?”

“We have our minor differences, but doesn’t everyone.  What are you implying?”

“Right now nothing,” Gibbs states, “we’re just trying to get a feel for Sergeant Thompson’s life, who he worked with, what he did in his spare time, that sort of thing.”

“Well I can’t tell you much about his personal life, we weren’t close.  I know he had a son, Joseph but that’s about it.  He kept himself to himself at work, and I’ve never really spent any time with him in a personal setting.  I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.  What happened exactly?”

“Right now, because this is an ongoing investigation all I can tell you is that him and his son we’re each shot twice, at the boy’s school.  If you think of anything else please get in touch.” Gibbs says handing him his card, “I’m sure we will need to speak to you again sometime.”

With that Gibbs and McGee leave the house and head back to NCIS headquarters.

Directors Office

While Gibbs and his team were out investigating the case, I got straight back on the phone to the SecNav to find out what he’s up to contacting Gibbs behind my back.

“Jenny listen to me,” says the SecNav, “I only got in touch with Gibbs myself because I know he is the best Agent for this case. I may not always like his methods, but he knows what he’s doing, and with a case like this we need someone who’s experienced in these situations. I was afraid that when you read the full details of the case, you would let your personal connections override your better judgment, and I wasn’t about to let that happen. I’m trying to protect everyone’s involvement here.”

“And what’s he going to think if he happens to run into Izzy, hey, how am I going to explain that one. Oh yeah, I can just imagine that, what we’re you thinking?”

“I take it you’ve yet to tell him that little secret then? I’m surprised at you Jenny, I thought you’d have said something before now; he has got a right to know after all. She is his daughter, or is there something else you’re not telling me? What else are you hiding?”

“Nothing Edward, look I’m just worried ok, I didn’t think anything like this would happen and if Jethro’s got to find out about this I would prefer it to be under different circumstances.”

“I can understand that, but maybe it’s time you think about telling him the truth. I can only cover for you so much. Isabella is an amazing little girl and I love spending time with her, but don’t you think she needs to know who her real father is?”

I let out a sigh in contemplation, “I know your right, but this is so hard. She’s eight now, nearly nine and has just lost one of her best friends to a mad man murderer, do you really think she needs anymore disruption in her life right now?”

“I know all that Jenny and I can understand where you’re coming from, but I still stand by my word; she needs to know her father. Anyway I’ve got to get back to work, this paperwork isn’t going to complete itself, and I’m sure you’ve got lots to do too. Stop worrying about the what if’s and let things play out as they should, if you need to talk anytime you know where to find me.”

“Thank you Edward,” I say before ending the call.

I lean back in my chair inhaling a deep breath of air to calm my nerves and focus my thoughts, I then return to my normal position to get on with the piles of paperwork that are littering my desk.

Abby’s Lab & Autopsy

Upon their arrival back at NCIS Headquarters, Gibbs and his team head straight down to Abby’s lab to hand over the evidence they have collected to be processed. “Hey Abb’s” Gibbs greats his favorite scientist thrusting a caf-pow under her nose.

“Gibbs,” Abby says in her usual enthusiastic way, before leaping into his arms to give him a hug.

Abby is like a daughter to him and she is one of the only people who can get away with a lot of the things she does. She is around the same age Kelly would be if she was still alive and Gibbs is sure the two of them would have gotten along really well.

Gibbs hand’s over the evidence that has been collected from the crime scene before explaining the finer details of the case to Abby, and what she’s looking for. He then leaves the lab leaving her to get on with it, knowing she’ll call him if and when she finds something.

Abby gets to work straight away, watching Gibbs leave the lab, probably on his way down to autopsy to talk to Ducky.

“What have you got Duck?” Gibbs says on walking into the autopsy lab announcing his presence.

“Good afternoon Jethro, our friend here seems to have been murdered, but you already knew that. The cause of death is definitely the gun shots, but he seems to have some underlying bruising indicating he has been in a fight recently, probably within the past few days. His young son on the other hand only shows signs of the gunshot wounds, which are clean straight through. From the location of the wounds I can conclude that they we’re shot with a sniper rifle from somewhere on the other side of the street, although Abby should be able to give you more information on that once she has finished her experiments on the bullets. That’s all I’ve got for you though I’m afraid.”

“Thanks Duck, one of the witnesses I spoke to at the school said something about him getting into an argument with someone he works with so I’ll look into that deeper. If you find anything else let me know.”

“Will do,” Ducky says to Gibbs retreating back.

Gibbs heads back to the bull pen to collaborate with his team. “Whatcha got DiNozzo,” he demands on stepping out of the elevator.

“Boss,” Tony greets, “It looks like Sergeant Thompson was in a fight with his colleague Lieutenant Adams about a week ago. Thompson was teaching Adams on how to correctly use a sniper rifle and hit a moving target. Adams is a new member of the unit, recently transferred in from a private outpost down in New Jersey. From what we can gather he got along well with the team but had a few problems with authority and taking orders. He liked to think he didn’t need to be told what to do. Thompson himself was a real family man, looked out for his son and gave him the best in everything, even letting him have his friends stay over as often as he wanted to. His wife died in childbirth, so he raised his son himself, and they lived in a small 2 bed roomed house just on the outskirts of the city. The boy had no problems at school, has never been in any sort of serious trouble and is generally your typical 10 year old.”

“Ziva, McGee, anything to add to that?”

“Just that Adams has been seen recently spending time with a Japanese woman who is on the FBI watch list, it’s probably not related but it may be worth having a word with her.”

“Right, DiNozzo, David, you go interview the Japanese woman, McGee your with me, I think it’s time we had a chat with Lieutenant Adams.”

Crime Scene

Gibbs and his team arrive at the school within about 15 minutes of leaving NCIS headquarters. They make their way directly to the place the bodies of the marine and his son are laying on the grass in front of the school.

“Right,” Gibbs barks to his team, “DiNozzo, bag and tag, David, photographs and McGee sketches.”

Ducky walks up behind his long time friend and places his hand on Gibbs shoulder before looking at the body for identification. Mr Palmer walking up behind them a few minutes later struggling under the weight of the equipment he’s carrying.

“What have we got Duck,” Gibbs asks.

“Well, it looks like this young gentleman, took a bullet to the left shoulder and a second bullet just a few inches short of the heart, almost the exact same spots as his son. From their liver temperatures, I can put their time of death at 12:15 this afternoon, which collaborates with the witness reports.”

“Thanks Duck,” Gibbs says before walking over to talk to one of the witnesses.

He introduces himself to the teacher who made the call, before questioning her on what she saw.

“Mr Thompson came in to collect his son Joseph from school for a doctor’s appointment. We normally take a dislike to parents taking their children to appointments during school hours, but we made an exception this time, because of Mr Thompson’s high ranking position within the school governors, and his job in the military. They left my office and walked across the grass to Mr Thompson’s car, the blue one parked over there,” Miss Scarlett supplies pointing out the car she’s talking about, “next thing I hear four gun shots and look out my office window to see both Mr Thompson and Joseph lying on the grass the way they are now.”

“Do you know if any threats had been made against Mr Thompson or his son, or anything else that may indicate a reason for someone wanting to kill them?”

“Not as far as I’m aware, Mr Thompson works in the marines, as a sniper trainer, he’s an outstanding person and has always had strong connections with this school, allot of his friends and colleagues children also come here thanks to his recommendations and Joseph is one of the best behaved pupils we have ever had here. Not a bad mark against him, and he’s always one of the first to offer his help. I can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to hurt either of them,” Miss Scarlett replies struggling to hide her tears.

Gibbs’s attention is momentarily distracted when a young red headed girl passes nearby, looking very similar to his late daughter Kelly. The glistening of red hair and sparkling blue-green eyes grabs his attention and it’s only when Miss Scarlett begins to talk some more that he turns his attention back to the case.

“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened here, we pride ourselves on being a safe haven for kids whose parents work in the military or armed forces. Most of the kids here are the sons and daughters of police officers, marines, FBI agents or from other similar backgrounds, safety is one of our biggest concerns and with this, well I don’t know what I can do to assure everyone that this isn’t going to happen to them and their kids. Most of the children who have been in today have been sent home early, there are only a few whose parents or other relative guardians haven’t been able to collect them yet.”

“Miss Scarlett, we will do everything we can to find out who’s responsible for murdering Mr Thompson and his son, and to ensure that the perpetrator gets locked up for a very long time. We appreciate your help in this matter and you seem to be doing an excellent job of keeping everybody calm. Can you tell me if any of the children may have been witness to this horrible crime?”

“As far as I’m aware, there are only the offices on this side of the building with windows that looks out over this field. So it’s unlikely that any of the children will have seen anything, although you may wish to speak with a young girl known as Isabella Sheppard, she was a close friend of Joseph and his father so may be able to tell you more.”

Gibbs silently ignored the memories the name bought to him, it’s just a coincidence right, he tells himself. “Would this Isabella still be on site, or have you got the contact details of her family,” Gibbs asks, pausing at the name to remember it.

“She’s just over there,” points out Miss Scarlett, pointing to the red-headed girl that Gibbs noticed earlier.

“Thank you,” Gibbs thanks the teacher before walking over in the direction of the young girl who had been pointed out to him.

The girl who looked to be about 8 or 9 had shiny, red hair that fell down her back in long waves, and bright blue-green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. She’s wearing a cream T-shirt and blue jeans, with an emerald green cardigan tied tightly around her petite waist.

“Excuse me,” Gibbs says approaching the girl carefully so as not to frighten her, “My name is Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS,” he states holding out his badge for the girl to see, “Your teacher over there said you we’re good friends with Joseph and his father Mr Thompson.”

“That’s right,” the girl says wiping the tears from her eyes, “are they, they dead?” she asks through her tears.

“I’m afraid so,” Gibbs says in a soothing tone that he reserves for talking to children who have been witness to horrible crimes such as this, “can you tell me anything about them?”

“Jose hangs around with me and my friends, Sam, Tammy, Ashley and Matt at school. He’s in most of my classes, and sometimes we would all go to each other’s houses of a night to work on our homework together or just have fun. His dad is really nice, he even taught me and Joseph how to shoot a moving target the once. I would often stay round his of a night if Mom’s working late or out of town for a few days.”

“Can you think of anyone who may want to hurt them?”

“No,” Isabella answers before covering her mouth with her hand, “Wait,” she say’s as Gibbs attempts to stand up to walk back over to his team, “I remember being at his house last week, when I heard his dad having an argument with someone on the door. Jose told me it was someone his dad worked with, Sergeant Adam’s I think he said. It was something to do with work.”

“Thank you Isabella, you’ve been very helpful” Gibbs says to her, still unable to shake the feeling that she seems somehow familiar.

“It’s Izzy,” she says to his retreating form, before going back to scribbling in her notepad, like she was before Gibbs approached her waiting for someone to arrive to collect her.

Gibbs returns to his team, to see what they had all found. With nothing conclusive to go on and all the evidence from the crime scene collected, they load everything into the truck and head back to the office to process it all and write up their reports.

The Case

I am sat at my desk reading through and signing off on case files when I am disturbed by my phone ringing insistently on the desk beside me. I reluctantly pick it up and answer it, the quickest way to deal with the intrusion.

“Director Shepherd,” the voice on the other end of the line says, “I’ve got a new case that I would like you to assign to one of your teams, I’ve just received a call from a very distraught teacher from a local middle school. She says that the father of one of her pupils came to the school to collect his son, but both the father and son we’re shot dead as they left the school to go to his car.”

“What connection has this got to NCIS sir, wouldn’t it fall under FBI jurisdiction?”

“Normally yes, but the man was a marine and the school is well known as a school for the children of local navy officers,” SecNav explains, “We want this matter handled as quickly and carefully as possible to avoid causing a mass panic, and at this point we are unclear of the full circumstances of the murder.”

“Very well sir, I’ll get one of my best teams on it immediately.”

“Thank you Jenny, I’ll forward all of the case details through to your sectary as soon as possible.”

The conversation draws to a close and I put the phone back in its cradle, mentally deciding who to send on this case. The decision comes to me as one of my best agents comes storming into my office, Cynthia apologizing profusely for not being able to stop him just barging in.

I reassure her not to worry; no one can stop Special Agent Gibbs when he’s in a mood, not even me.

“Jethro,” I greet as soon as Cynthia leaves, shutting the door behind her, “What can I do for you?”

“I just got a message from the SecNav that you’ve got a new case for me and my team, any reason why you couldn’t tell me this yourself?”

“I didn’t know he had already decided who he wants on this case, I was only told about it a few minutes ago myself,” I state shaking my head in silent thought.

Why would SecNav do something like that? What is he hoping to prove? I have to push the thoughts aside for now and concentrate on the matter at hand.

“Well, do you want me on this case or not?” Jethro asks getting impatient.

I suck in a calming breath before agreeing to let him handle the case and informing him of the information I’ve received and where to obtain the relevant files. He steps out of my office in a calmer manner than he entered and I listen as he makes his way down to the bullpen, calling out to his team that they’ve got a new case.

I return to my seat and ponder over my previous thoughts, why would the SecNav go behind my back and inform Jethro about the case without my knowledge?

There are some things in life that are better off kept hidden, not shared with your friends, family or anyone else you are connected to. These things are often secrets that you end up keeping for years on end, just because you are uncomfortable with telling the truth from the very beginning.

That’s what happened to me. Someone once told me, the best way to keep a secret is to tell no one, second best is to tell one other person if you must, but there is no third best. Maybe I should have took those words to heart more, and actually listened to them, or maybe I should have just told him everything from the very beginning and prevented all of this from happening.

I guess I’ll never know if I made the right decision 9 years ago, but either way I can’t stop what’s happening now and the truth will come out.