A/N: Hello all. This is my first NCIS fanfic, and I'll be honest, I haven't read any yet…So please RR and I'll return the favor! Thanks! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the characters. I do, however, own all of the characters that I make up =)
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"Male, looks to be around late twenties," Dr. Mallard declared as he looked over the body of a young man. NCIS had received a call about the murder of a young naval officer and had rushed to his home.
"How long, Duck?" asked Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he glanced around the floor, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I'd say he's been deceased for about two hours, maybe a little longer," Ducky replied. Gibbs nodded and walked to the other side of the body. He squatted down next to the young man and looked closely at the wounds. It appeared to Gibbs that this man had been shot multiple times and, from the way his body was laying on the floor, he had been unprepared for the attack.
"Dinozzo!" Gibbs hollered.
"Yes, boss?" Anthony Dinozzo called back as he came around the corner from the kitchen where he had been looking for clues.
"Check the bedrooms," Gibbs ordered. "Ziva, stay close to him." Ziva David nodded obediently and followed Dinozzo who offered her a quirky smile. She almost felt the urge to smile, but instead rolled her eyes and let him lead down the hallway.
"I'll check this one, you take the one at the end of the hall," Ziva said, sounding as though she were the one with authority.
"Yes, boss," Dinozzo muttered sarcastically, to which he received a light smack on the shoulder from Ziva. He chuckled and went to investigate the bedroom at the end of the hallway. Gun at the ready, he opened the door, only to be shocked by what he saw.
"Ziva!" he called. She rushed to where Dinozzo was standing and saw, in horror, a little girl laying unconscious, covered in blood. Dinozzo rushed over to the girl, placing two fingers on her throat.
"She's got a pulse!" he exclaimed. "Get an ambulance here!" Ziva rushed out of the room, and within minutes, an ambulance arrived and paramedics were entering the bedroom to transfer the little girl. Ziva and Dinozzo reentered the living room where the rest of the team remained.
"Find anything?" Gibbs inquired.
"Just the little girl," Dinozzo replied.
"Anything else, Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked, sounding frustrated.
"Uh, no, boss," Dinozzo answered. Gibbs shook his head and turned toward Ziva, when all of a sudden the front door opened and a young woman rushed inside.
"Hold it!" Gibbs hollered, raising his gun, as did the rest of the team. The woman raised her hands up in a defensive stance before looking at the floor and dropping to her knees next to the body.
"Robbie!" she exclaimed frantically, tears beginning to roll down her face. "Oh my God, what happened? Robbie!" At that moment, the paramedics turned the corner from the hallway, carrying the little girl on a stretcher.
"Lexi!" cried the woman. "What happened to my baby?"
"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step outside," Gibbs said to the woman.
"But this is my husband and daughter!" the woman cried, wiping her tear-streamed face.
"I understand that, but I can't have you in here while we're investigating," Gibbs explained. "Go to the hospital, be with your daughter. I'll send two of my agents to meet you there." Reluctantly, the woman nodded and stood from her dead husband's side. Still, crying, she exited the house and left for the hospital in the ambulance with her daughter.
"Tony!" Gibbs turned back to Dinozzo. "You and Ziva go to the hospital. Question his wife. Find out any information on anyone who may have wanted to harm this man. Stay until the girl wakes up, and find out exactly what happened here a couple hours ago."
"You got it, boss," Dinozzo said and made an 'after you' gesture toward the front foor, smiling cockily at Ziva. She smirked at him and walked outside.
Inside the house, Gibbs and McGee continued the investigation. Timothy McGee had made his way into the kitchen to inspect it. He took pictures of a trail of bloody footprints leading from the carpet of the living room, across the kitchen tiles, and to the back door.
"Look at this, boss," he said, catching Gibbs' attention. Gibbs placed his coffee cup on the tv stand in the living room and joined McGee in the kitchen.
"Follow it, McGee," he ordered. McGee jumped slightly, and obeyed. Gun pointed in front of him, he led his boss through the kitchen and out the back door. The two men went down the stairs of the back porch, seeing no evidence on the porch itself. McGee caught a glimpse of a trashcan with a large amount of flies swarming above it. At a closer look, he observed a smear of blood on the lid.
"I got something!" McGee exclaimed. Gibbs hurried over to the agent's side. After taking a deep breath, McGee removed the lid of the trashcan.
"Oh, God," Gibbs muttered, turning away from the trashcan. "This'll need to go to Abby." McGee could not look away. Inside the trashcan, he was staring at a bloody hammer wrapped up in a t-shirt.
"Well, at least we found the murder weapon," he finally said. Gibbs turned back to face him.
"Yeah, except one thing, McGee," he said irritably. "The man in there was shot."
"Well, maybe there was more than one murder weapon," McGee suggested, perplexed. Gibbs sighed and shook his head. He figured there was nothing more to discover at the time and was about ready to head back to headquarters when a man suddenly approached him.
"Police?" the man asked. He was middle aged, brown hair turning gray. He was wearing sweatpants and a white wife-beater tank top.
"NCIS," Gibbs responded, hand on his gun. "You are?"
"Name's Larry Hunter," the man replied. "I live next door. What's going on?" Gibbs removed his hand from his gun, feeling unthreatened by the man in front of him.
"Well, Larry, it seems a murder took place here a couple hours ago," Gibbs said and then took careful note of Larry's reaction. He was clearly shocked. His mouth dropped open, and he ran a hand quickly through his graying hair.
"A murder?" Larry repeated, not sure he had heard correctly. Gibbs nodded. "Wow. Who?"
"Not sure," Gibbs replied. "Hasn't been identified. Young man in his late twenties-"
"Rob?" Larry interrupted. "Someone killed Rob?"
"What can you tell me about your neighbor, Mr. Hunter?" Gibbs asked the man, not answering his question. Hunter, still in shock, shook his head and stammered for a moment before answering.
"Well, uh," he began, "I mean, the Marksons are great people."
"Markson?" Gibbs asked, taking out his notepad.
"Yeah," Hunter replied. "Robert Markson, Jr. and his wife Kristi live here. They have an eight year old daughter named Lexi too. Very nice people. They'd do anything for anybody. Wouldn't harm a fly. I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem with Rob."
"Well apparently someone did," Gibbs said. "You can't think of anyone?" Hunter shook his head.
"Nah, not a soul," he replied. Then, he cocked his head in remembrance. "But…"
"Yes, Mr. Hunter?" Gibbs pressed on.
"It was pretty strange," Hunter started. "Two days ago, I was out back trimming my hedges, and Rob was out back on his grill. We got to talking, and he said something that just seems strange to me."
"What was it, Mr. Hunter?" Gibbs asked, getting annoyed with the man.
"He thanked me for always being such a good neighbor and asked me to look after Kristi and Lexi if anything ever happened," Hunter explained. "It's just strange to me that two days later, he's killed."
"Yeah," Gibbs said, closing his notepad. "It's strange to me too."
Meanwhile, Tony and Ziva were walking across the parking lot at the hospital toward the entrance. She was a step ahead of him, and he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. Ziva had always amazed him. The way she walked, the way she fought, the way she spoke; it was all very interesting to Tony. The way that she didn't understand English idioms had always been very cute to him, although he commonly teased her about it. Tony was finding that, even though he tried hiding his feelings by teasing her, he was becoming more and more attracted to Ziva David. There was nothing he could do about it; he couldn't date a team member. He would never hear the end of it from McGee. What would Gibbs say? No, he couldn't risk it. But still, Tony was becoming entranced by Ziva's beauty. Her long dark hair seemed so soft, and he felt his fingers twitching, wanting to feel it. Her dark eyes were like deep pools, and he tried to avoid direct eye contact so he wouldn't become lost in them. Ziva was beautiful, but he couldn't have her.
"Tony?" she said. Dinozzo jumped.
"Yeah?" he asked, coming out of the trance she had him in.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Fine," he replied.
"Well, we are here to question the man's wife," Ziva reminded him.
"I know," Tony said before putting on a quirky smile. "Let's get on it, Toots." He winked and walked past her.
"Do not call me Toots," Ziva instructed sternly as she followed the senior field agent down the hallway toward Kristi Markson. When they approached her, she stood, tears still in her eyes.
"Police? Detectives?" she guessed.
"NCIS," Dinozzo replied. "I'm Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo, and this is Officer Ziva David."
"Kristi Markson," the widow said in a trembling voice. "Tell me what happened," she pleaded.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I wish I could," Tony told her. Kristi sniffled and wiped her face with a tissue she had clutched in her hand.
"You mean you don't know who did this to my family?" she asked. Tony shook his head.
"We're very sorry, ma'am," Ziva said. "But perhaps you could help us." Kristi looked back and forth between Tony and Ziva before nodding and sitting down on a chair in the hallway. Tony and Ziva sat as well.
"Where were you when the incident took place?" Ziva asked her. Kristi wiped her eyes again before answering.
"I, uh, was at the grocery store," she replied between sniffs. Ziva frowned, clearly confused. Tony picked up the questioning.
"Mrs. Markson, is there anybody you can think of who had a problem with your husband?" he asked. Kristi pondered his question for a moment and then shook her head.
"Only his brother Max," she replied.
"Max?" Tony repeated. Kristi nodded.
"Yes," she replied. "Rob and Max had been arguing about their father's death. That is all I can think of." Just as Tony was about to ask another question, the doctor came into the hallway to announce that Lexi had woken up.
"Can I see her?" Kristi instantly asked. The doctor nodded.
"Of course," he said.
"We'll need to go in, too," Tony said. The doctor looked at him for a moment, unsure of how to handle this.
"She's in critical condition and is very weak and tired," he explained. "It would really be best for only one visitor at a time. Sorry."
"I wasn't asking your permission, doc," Tony said, to which he received a shocked expression from the doctor and a pinch on the arm from Ziva.
"What he means," Ziva began, "is we need to ask Lexi a few questions. I'm Officer David and this is Special Agent Dinozzo from NCIS, and we need information on a murder case." Ziva showed her badge.
"Well," the doctor hesitated, "I guess, well, all right." He reluctantly allowed the two to enter. Dinozzo smirked as he walked past the doctor.
"I saw that," Ziva whispered. "Why are you always so cocky?"
"It's just who I am, sweets," he smirked. Again, Ziva felt the urge to smile, but instead she just walked past him.
Inside Lexi's hospital room, the young girl was hooked up to many tubes and monitors. She appeared even smaller than what she already was due to the amount of bandages and machinery around her. Kristi had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to her daughter, holding her hand very lovingly. Tony and Ziva looked at each other quickly before each taking a deep breath and stepping toward the pair of ladies.
"Lexi?" Ziva started gently. "My name is Ziva and this is Tony." Lexi just stared at her.
"Please, be easy," Kristi requested quietly.
"Of course," Ziva said. "Lexi, I know it is hard, but I need you to tell me everything that you remember from what happened today."
"I…" Lexi said, just loud enough to be more than a whisper. She closed her blue eyes, whether from physical or emotional pain, Ziva didn't know. Kristi ruffled her daughter's blonde hair and kissed her forehead lovingly. She whispered in her ear, encouraging her to cooperate. Lexi reopened her eyes, and Ziva and Tony could see they were brimmed with tears.
"I was at home…with Daddy," Lexi began again. "He was…on his computer. I was watching tv…There was a knock on the door…Daddy answered it and told me…to leave."
"Did you?" Ziva asked.
"I went…to my room," Lexi replied.
"What did you hear?" Ziva asked. Lexi took a couple deep breaths, and Kristi continued playing with her daughter's hair. Ziva could tell Lexi was very weak and needed her rest, but she also knew that the information this little girl had was vital to the investigation. "Lexi?"
"Give her time," Kristi snapped, swallowing down the lump in her throat.
"I heard…them yelling," Lexi continued. "He was yelling…about money…Daddy yelled back…Then…boom."
"The gunshots," Ziva noted. Lexi nodded.
"Lots of them," she whispered. Kristi leaned in and kissed her daughter on the forehead again.
"Good job, baby," she whispered. "You're doing great. You're being strong, baby girl."
"Lexi," Ziva began again. Suddenly, Lexi gasped for air. Alarmed, Kristi asked if she was okay.
"Lexi, I need to know if you remember who the man was that your dad was arguing with," Ziva said. Kristi ignored her and pushed Lexi's hair back as her daughter continued gasping for air.
"Doctor!" Kristi screamed. The doctor rushed into the room and shooed the three adults out just as Lexi's eyes closed. Kristi began sobbing hysterically and collapsed against the wall.
"Oh, God," she sobbed. "Please, don't take my baby! I already lost my husband today! Please, God, please, don't take my baby from me. I can't lose her!"
"Tony…" Ziva whispered and pointing toward Lexi's room. Tony looked to where Ziva pointed and felt his stomach drop. Through the window on the door, they watched as Lexi's heart monitor went to a flat line.
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Meanwhile, at headquarters, Abby had started running tests on the blood and fingerprints on the hammer found at the crime scene. While she was doing her forensics, Gibbs made a visit to Jenny's office. He closed the door behind him, and she looked up from her desk.
"Jethro," she greeted him, "what a pleasant surprise." She offered him a smile, but he didn't return it. He looked down at the floor and took a deep breath.
"A twenty-eight year old man was murdered," Gibbs told her. "His eight year old daughter was shot too." Jenny's mouth dropped, and she was speechless.
"Oh, my," she stammered, still in disbelief.
"I don't know how the girl is doing," Gibbs continued.
"That's, that's…horrible," Jenny said. Gibbs nodded. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Gibbs replied. He crossed the room to her desk and took a seat opposite her. She stared at him, mouth still wide open. He looked back at her, taking in the sight of her red hair shining from the light emitted from the window behind her.
"Are you sure?" she asked. She was beginning to come to terms with what Gibbs had just told her. Gibbs nodded. "Then what is your reason for coming here?" Gibbs chuckled lightly.
"Do I need an excuse to visit my own girlfriend?" he asked. Jenny offered him another small smile.
"So you're calling me your girlfriend now?" she asked. They had been together for two months and had kept it secret. Jenny had all but moved in with Gibbs, and they had agreed to hide their relationship from the rest of NCIS. That was more Gibbs' idea than Jenny's, but he was very persistent about it. He did not want the team to know. Jenny had been slightly offended at first; she didn't care if they knew. However, as the time passed, she grew to enjoy the secret love affair. She found it exciting.
"Well, Jen, you kind of are," Gibbs smiled. "You can cut the sarcasm."
"How much longer do you plan on hiding it from them, Jethro?" she asked. "They'll find out sooner or later."
"They'll find out when I'm ready for them to find out," Gibbs replied, and Jenny knew that was the truth. She smiled and changed the subject back to the case Gibbs was investigating.
"So, do you have any leads on your case?" she asked.
"A neighbor came over and said the victim had had a fight with his brother," Gibbs replied. "Other than that, no."
"Anything from the wife or daughter?" Jenny pressed on. Gibbs shook his head.
"The wife was in too much shock, and the daughter was unconscious," he replied. "Tony and Ziva are at the hospital and are going to find out from the girl what happened when she wakes up. Until then…" Gibbs was interrupted by his phone ringing.
"Dinozzo?" Jenny guessed. Gibbs nodded and answered his phone.
"Yeah, Gibbs," he said. Jenny watched Gibbs' facial expression as it changed from shock to pure anger. Gibbs did not speak another word, and by the time he closed his phone, he was furious. Jenny could see Gibbs' eyes flaring as he ran his hands through his gray hair. She was almost scared to speak.
"What is it?" she asked mildly. Gibbs stared at the floor for thirty seconds before looking Jenny straight in the eyes.
"Lexi's dead."
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A/N: Well, there's chapter one. It obviously takes place when Jenny is still director. I hope you liked it. There will be more excitement and (of course) romance to come…(I already have the whole story planned out and sitting beside me) Please RR and tell me what you think!