This is my first attempt at a fanfiction so please let me know what you think :)
Haunted
Chapter 1
It had happened again. For the third time in a space of 5 hours she had awoken to a racing heart and a damp hairline. Why? Why wouldn't it just leave her alone? Why was it so hard to fall asleep without being awoken by that same dream? Dream? Who was she kidding, this was far from a dream, it was more like an ever evolving nightmare.
She turned to check the time, 3:47am, 'Great' she thought to herself, 'What are the chances of falling asleep again before the 6am alarm? Slim to none I'd say'. Still, she figured she may as well try, who knows, maybe she would be able to move past the nightmare, clear her mind and allow her body the rest it so desperately needed.
Turns out today just wasn't that day; an hour later she was still staring up at the ceiling, reliving that nightmare over and over and over again. 'This is ridiculous' she thought to herself; it was time to surrender to the war against her haunted memories, she was never going to win. Instead she decided to get changed and head out for her morning run earlier than usual; hoping that the early morning chill and gentle rain fall may wash away the images currently consuming her.
It had simply become routine, Callen would always be the first to arrive, followed by Sam and Kensi. Deeks, well he was always the last to arrive; 'saving the best for last' was his favourite excuse, that or just that he was simply 'fashionably late'. Whatever his excuse for the day, it always landed him three sets of rolling eyes and slight nods of the head. It was this routine that caused such a reaction between the three men when Deeks arrived before Kensi.
"Uhh where's Kens?" he asked, Sam and Callen simply looked at each other and shrugged.
"I haven't seen her, and she hasn't called to say she wouldn't be coming in today", slight concern showing in Callen's voice.
Just as Deeks was about to call he heard footsteps headed his way "Well, well, well, look who finally decided to join… whoa..." He was stunned mid-sentence by his partner's face, aside from her pale complexion the circles beneath her tired eyes were like nothing he had ever seen before.
"Geez Kens, you look like you've been hit by a bus!" Given the look that came across her face he was instantly regretting his overly exaggerated response.
"Wow, you sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself, don't you Deeks?" she responded in a far from humoured tone.
"No wait, Kens, you know I didn't..."
"Yeah I know, you didn't mean it like that".
Before the conversation could go on any longer a familiar whistle filled bull pen; Eric had called them all upstairs to begin yet another new case and Kensi was more than happy to take the opportunity to get away from the curious but concerned looks her three male colleagues were sending her way.
As soon as the doors slid open she instantly felt their eyes turn to her, Nell and Eric exchanged a quick glance before returning their attention back to Kensi. Nell opened her mouth, about to express her concern, but before she had the chance Kensi had swiftly turned her head, giving Nell a clear message that she was not in the mood for any questions.
She took her usual place behind the center counter awaiting the arrival of the team. The sooner they arrived, the sooner the introduction of the new case could begin and the sooner the attention could be averted from her and her current physical state.
As Deeks entered he made his way over to his partner, slightly nudging her with his arm and a sorry smile. He leant over to whisper, not wanting to make a big fuss in front of the entire team,"Hey, I'm really sorry about before…"
Without a second thought she instantly stepped away and let out a small sigh, causing a confused expression to spread across his face. What was wrong with her? What had happened over the past weekend that had left her acting so short tempered, so distant, so un-Kensi like?'
The sound of the door sliding open turned all attention to the petite woman as she entered the room. Hetty may be short in stature but she had a presence that filled an entire room and an authority that could only be respected. Signalling for Eric and Nell to begin, they both turned to their tablets and started clicking away, bringing up images to the large screen before them.
"This is Supervisory Special Agent Peter Thompson; he is man in charge of another team here within NCIS. For the past 6 months he and his team have been investigating leads surrounding a newly formed drug cartel running out of Mexico. It was found that this cartel was being run by a known terrorist, Mr Gregor Mostiff. The team were successful with their case, Mr Gregor Mostiff and the other cartel members were captured and the cartel was destroyed. One month after their capture the cartel members were each sentenced to life imprisonment at a maximum security prison."
"Ok? So if their investigation was a success why are we becoming involved?"
"Mr Hanna if you would let Miss Jones finish…"
"Sorry, continue"
"One week after the sentencing SSA Thompson disappeared with no warning. He has currently been missing for 72 hours with no mention of ransom or demands from anyone."
"Isn't it possible that he perhaps just wanted to get away for a few days? I mean it must have been a tough case, I can understand wanting to escape from it all"
"Mr Callen, although that is always a possibility it seems highly unlikely. SSA Thompson has a wife and young daughter and his wife was adamant that he wouldn't just take off without notice. The case called for several long nights and out of town visits and that because of this he was cherishing the time he could now spend with his daughter."
Sam let out a quiet sigh, he understood Thompson's feelings completely. Sam knew how it felt after a big case, one that keeps you away from your family and just how important the time you spend with your kids becomes. As his wife had said, it is those times that are truly cherished.
"Ok guys, so what's the plan?" the shaggy haired detective questioned
"Mr Callen, Mr Hanna I want you to speak with SSA Thompson's wife, we need to know exactly what happened leading up to her husband's disappearance. Miss Blye, Mr Deeks I want you to…"
"GUYS!" The agents all turned to Eric, a highly surprised look planted across all of their faces
"Uh Eric did you just cut off Hetty mid-sentence?"
"No, wait sorry. Yes, I did. Sorry Hetty but this has just come in; LAPD have just found SSA Thompson in Barrington Park. He's apparently in a bad way, looks like a pretty brutal attack and is currently being taken to Saint Claire's Hospital as we speak. That's all I've got."
"Alright then, change of plans. Mr Callen, Mr Hanna I want you both waiting at the hospital; we need as much information from him as soon as we can get it. If you get a chance, speak with his wife, Julie, if she is any state to talk she may still be able to provide us with some viable information. Miss Blye, Mr Deeks I want you to head down to Barrington Park and speak with the LAPD, find out exactly how this all played out. Miss Jones, Mr Beale we need security footage of that park and the surrounding areas over the past few hours. Hopefully someone has slipped up and left us a clue somewhere. Alright then team, get to it!"
"Hey G, you got any idea what's up with Kensi? I don't think I've ever seen her like that".
"I was just about to ask you the same thing. I know she and Deeks are always straight into their bickering routine when they arrive but something was definitely off this morning. Aside from that, she looks like she hasn't slept at all in days!"Both men fell silent, worried about the woman they've always seen as a little sister.
"Let's just hope that Deeks is able to get through to her, we both know she can't help but crumble when it comes to that man." Both men laughed knowing just how true it was. How much longer would it be before they finally acknowledged the 'thing' that everyone else saw so clearly.
Hospitals were never a nice place to be, whether you were there to visit someone you knew or to simply speak with an individual involved in a case it always had an unsettling effect on the two men.
"Man I hate hospitals. For a place built mostly in white they are dark places G. Dark places."
"Do I need to hold your hand in there, Sam?"
Sam took a step back and looked at Callen with a serious stare "If your hand comes anywhere near my hand G you'll find yourself in one of these beds. Got it?"
Callen simply laughed while shaking his head and heading for the entrance "Yep, I got it."
Walking towards the hospital front desk the two men were welcomed by a young blonde receptionist, eager to assist in any way she could.
"Special Agent Callen and Hanna, we are here in relation to Supervisory Special Agent Peter Thompson"
The young woman nodded her head, a gleaming smile on her face.
"Won't be one moment, I'll just check the records now for you. It appears that Mr Thompson is up on level 4, room 7. I'm not sure of his current condition so you will have to discuss anything further with the doctor in charge."
"Thanks for your help."
"You're more than welcome."
Making their way towards the lift Callen couldn't help but comment, "Wow, she was pretty bright for someone working in a dark place, wouldn't you say Sam?"
"I really don't know why I talk to you G"
"Me either big guy. Me either."
Arriving at level 4 the two men went in search of room 7 only to find his wife sitting outside of his room with her elbows at her knees, crying into her palms.
"This can't be a good sign Sam, if his wife isn't even allowed to be with him, we haven't got a chance."
"I guess that means we should start with Julie then."
As the two men walked towards the distraught woman she looked up from her quiet sobs, giving them a small smile as Callen made introductions."Mrs Thompson, I'm Special Agent Callen and this is Special Agent Hanna, we're with NCIS."
"We're terribly sorry for your current situation Mrs Thompson but we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about your husband and the time surrounding his disappearance."The woman gently nodded as she wiped away the tears from her eyes, preparing herself for what was to come.
"Ok, now Mrs Thompson…"
"Please, call me Julie"
"Alright then, Julie do you remember the week prior to your husband's disappearance? Did you receive any strange phone calls or suspicious mail? Possibly even a new employee at the local coffee shop who was suddenly asking a lot of questions about you or your husband?"
"Uhh no, no I can't think of any of that happening. Everything just seemed normal, in a way that it hadn't been for months. We were finally functioning like an average family again."
Julie's emotions suddenly began to grow as the tears returned to her eyes "Peter was finally home to read Annabelle a bedtime story every night. While he was still on the case she would ask me every night if he would be home in time to say goodnight and every night I had to tell her that he was working. She's 8 years old! She doesn't understand the excessively long hours he works, one night she even asked me if the reason he didn't come home was because he didn't want to read her a bedtime story!"
As her tears began to fall she continued "My family was finally back together and then some bastards had to go and pull it apart! My husband doesn't deserve this! I don't deserve this! My daughter doesn't deserve this!"
Both men knew that the woman was in a far from stable state and that bombarding her with more questions would do them no good.
As Sam placed a gentle hand to Julie's shoulder he continued "We know none of you deserve what has happened to you; nobody deserves it. I think it's best if we leave the questions for now so you can just focus on your husband. If we find anything we'll be sure to contact you and keep you updated, ok?"
"Thank you, and if I think of anything else I'll be sure to do the same."
As the men turned to leave a tall man in a white coat appeared from inside Thompson's room " Mrs Thompson…"
"Yes, that's me."
"I'm Dr Trago and I'll be attending to your husband during his stay…"
As they walked towards the lifts Sam sighed as he spoke "Well that was a bust, and I'm not sure if we just made things better or worse for Julie"
"What do you mean?"
"Well she obviously isn't in a good place at the moment we probably shouldn't have been stressing her out with more questions"
"Sam, you know that's our job and more so we're doing it to help her and her husband. The sooner we find some clues to sooner we can hopefully catch these guys. Let's hope Kensi and Deeks can get something from the LAPD or that the wonder twins can work on some security footage. She'll be ok Sam."
The second he had slammed his car door shut she broke the instant moment of silence; "I'm fine."
Despite speaking in an aggravated tone she knew it wouldn't be enough to get Deeks off her back.
"You know you really have to learn to say anything but that because that one word alone is the exact definition of not fine, just for future reference."
"Well there isn't going to be a future reference because you aren't going to ask me again"
"You seem awfully sure of that, Fern."
"That's because I am."
She turned and gave him a serious glare, one that almost scared him. If the glare itself weren't enough, those dark circles beneath her eyes worried him even more.
Walking towards the LAPD officers at Barrington Park Deeks suddenly realised just how different his time in NCIS had become. He was a part of this team, of this family but when he looked back to his time at LAPD all he remembered was the isolation and constant belittlement he was put through each and every day.
"Deeks!"
"Wha? Oh. Sorry."
She looked at his with a confused face before continuing "I was getting worried for a second there but then I just figured you must have been fighting back your urge to run and hop on the swings"
"Oh very funny Fern".
Arriving at the scene Deeks came face to face with just one of the men who had made his time at LAPD a living hell. "Fantastic" he muttered under his breath as the pair approached the officer.
"Hi, I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye and this is Det…"
"Detective Marty Deeks"
"The one and only"
"Still think you're funny, don't you Deeks? Tell me, where'd you snag this one from? A woman like that, there's no way she'd be hanging around on her own accord."
Kensi could feel the tension growing and so she looked for a quick way to divert it
"I'm sorry and you would be?"
"Oh sorry sweetheart, I'm officer James Roads"
"It's Agent Blye and for the record Deeks is my partner, he did not 'snag' me from anyone. He was assigned as my partner and I wouldn't want anyone else by my side, he is an amazing cop with respect and dignity both of which you clearly don't possess." The officer's face was taken over by an instant state of shock as the smile on Deeks's face simply grew.
"Now what can you tell us about this morning's events? Who found him? Where was he? Were there any witnesses? Have forensics found anything yet?"
Kensi knew instantly that she didn't like this man, not only for his obvious view of her partner but simply for his lack of professionalism. She had seen this plenty of times before, people that spend more time big noting themselves tend to crumble when the heat is on; a plan that had worked perfectly on the officer, the firing of several questions at once had left him in a complete blank, one that was written all over his now far from confident face.
"Well?"
"Uhh, I'm not sure…"
"You're not sure? Why are you even here if you don't know what's going on?"
Deeks was now fighting back the laugh that was so close to erupting; his partner was drilling officer Roads to the ground without even trying and it was simply making his day.
"This is ridiculous. I'll be putting this in my report and will be sure to notify your boss of our conversation today in all of its detail."
As she went to turn and head back to the car she stopped, with one final thing needing to be said
"Oh and Officer Roads, it's times like this where I hope you're able to learn from Marty. He spent his time at LAPD office doing his job and doing it well, not spending the day big noting himself and putting down others to boost his own ego. Now look at where you both are, Deeks is working with NCIS with a promising future as an agent and you, well here you are at a major crime scene with not a clue in the world as to what is going on around you. Now when it's put down like that, I'd say it's time to get down off your high horse and actually attempt to do your job."
As Kensi turned around she came face to face with her partner, her smile almost matching his. "Shall we go?"
"Lead the way 'sweetheart'"
Kensi sent a dark glare his way at use of that word
"Mmm yeah, that felt weird. Let's stick with Fern, shall we?"
"Yeah, yeah Shaggy, let's go."
For a day that had started out in a nightmare it seemed to have taken a turn for the better. She should have known that if there's one thing her partner was always good at, it was his ability to bring back the sunshine on a dark and rainy day.
With a large grin on his face he dials the number and awaits the familiar voice on the other end of the line. "Just checking in. She just left and you're in luck, Kensi Blye is indeed working this case. No, she just spoke with Officer Roads and they discussed having no leads on the abduction. She wasn't alone though she has a partner, Detective Marty Deeks, but I wouldn't worry too much about him I doubt he could find his way out of a paper bag. Ha! My thoughts exactly! Well what do you say we get this show on the road? I'll meet you at 18:00 at location no. 3. Ok then, see you soon. Ciao."