Soul Survivor
Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Summary: She was the only one to survive on Flight 321, the plane that crashed in the Naval yard outside NCIS HQ. So when Gibbs and his team are forced to sift through the bodies and put the pieces together, Agent McGee finds himself drawn to, and falling for, the sole survivor of the doomed flight. McGiva. AU.
She leaned back, taking a deep breath. It had taken a lot for her to leave Tel Aviv and come to Washington, but she had done it. Stepped out of the death and destruction that had been her childhood, before it was too late, before it took her down with it. Sure, she hadn't been able to save Tali, but she had been able to save herself. She hadn't let her father get his clutches on her; she'd taken her mother's urgent warning and fled, leaving all she knew and loved for a life in America.
She leaned forward, looking through the window, seeing the Anacostia River stretching out before her. She hated to fly, though she had no reason to. She could see the Navy Yard, stretching out before her, and after a moment, settled back in her seat. Slowly, she reached up, grasping the Star of David she wore around her neck. Closing her eyes, she let the past carry her away.
Lighting the candles, singing the blessing, with her father by her side, as her mother, brother and sister sat across from them and watched. Racing Ari through the olive groves, pushing Tali on the swings, baking cookies with her mother, or dancing with her father to the records he used to play. Playing doctor or house with Deena, or going to the library.
All were memories of a time that was now forever left in Israel, for she had no intention to return. No, she was going to make a life here in America, make something of herself. She was going to be a force for good, not the evil her father was intent on turning her into. She wouldn't become a killer, not like Ari. Her half-brother's blood was the last she would shed.
She had only done what she thought was right. Deena was her best friend, no matter what, she had done it to protect her. And instead of gratitude, she had been shunned, turned away like a leper, accused of destroying both Deena's life and Ari's for her actions. Swallowing, she shook the thoughts away, turning instead, towards her bright, new future.
Here, she could be whatever and whoever she wanted to be. She could be free.
And she would be.
"Morning, McGee." He gave Kate Todd a small smile; the brunette was coming back from the break room, coffee in hand, as he stepped off the elevator and headed towards the bullpen.
"Morning, Kate, how was your weekend?" She shrugged, glancing at the desk directly across from where Gibbs sat. It had been two weeks since Agent Tony DiNozzo had taken a post in Rota, Spain, to head his own field team, leaving Agent McGee, a transfer from the L.A. office two years earlier, as Senior Field Agent. Kate Todd had just joined, the probie of the small team, former Secret Service, and the only female on Agent Gibbs' team. Agent Gibbs had yet to arrive, that Kate had seen. Either he wasn't here, or if he was, he was most likely skulking around the building somewhere.
"It was okay, quiet. Had lunch with my sister, caught up on my sleep. You, Tim?"
He shrugged. "Did a press release for my new book-"
"Oh, Deep Six? It finally came out in hardback?" Everyone at the Navy Yard knew that Tim was a best-selling author, and after a minor upset about him basing his characters off his coworkers, had come to enjoy the young agent on Gibbs' team. He nodded. "I've been waiting for it to come out in hardback for weeks! But when I went to the bookstore to pick up a copy-" She let out a very impish squeal of delight as Tim removed a copy from his bag and handed it to her.
"Being the author has its perks." He said, as she took the hardcover and opened it up, reading the autograph on the first page.
"'Thanks for being such a great partner, Agent Thompson.'- Thom. E. Gemcity"
He shrugged, going to the desk directly across from Kate. "Glad you like it, Kate."
"Oh, Tim! That's so sweet!" He looked up as Kate came over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I can't wait to start reading it."
She took a deep breath, eyes snapping open at the feel of turbulence shaking the plane, shaking her from the last minutes of good sleep she'd gotten since deciding to flee. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back to relax as the captain's voice came over the speakers. "We have hit some light turbulence, but it should be-"
Her gaze turned to the window, eyes widening in shock as the ground suddenly came up to meet her.
It was quiet in the bullpen, Gibbs had arrived and taken a seat at his desk, leaving his two remaining agents to work in silence. They were working cold cases for the day, and so relished the silence that had become so... commonplace with Tony's leaving. Eventually, Tim got up, heading towards the break room for a cup of coffee, but something outside caught his gaze. He went to the window, catching sight of a plane, moving diagonal towards the ground outside the Navy Yard.
In the next several minutes, time seemed to stand still, and then suddenly, the plane Tim had been watching, slammed into the ground, bursting into flames and breaking apart before his eyes.