Kindred

A post finale, in D.C. tale

Contains a non-descriptive mention of a disturbing crime.

Duck – as always, thanks for beta-ing, for making fandom so much more fun by sharing my condition and for helping me catch a real-life criminal. - G.

Harm's POV:

I come home from work to a pitch-black house. Switching on the hall light, I drop my briefcase, cover and the take-out bags I'm carrying, and make my way upstairs. "Mac? Mac? Mac!"

No answer. Her car's in the driveway, so I know she's home. I go up to the bedroom. She's on the bed, curled up on her side, still in full uniform. I turn on the lamp and she doesn't even stir. That's not like her. Not wanting to startle her, I touch her cheek. I see she's rocking back and forth, which she sometimes does when she's having a nightmare.

"Mac? Wake up, you're dreaming." She turns toward my voice, not really awake, and I see tear marks. "Hon? Wake up for me."

"Harm?" she gasps my name on a sharp intake of breath. "Sorry. I… I didn't hear you."

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah. She looks at me. "How did you know? I wasn't screaming, or anything, was I?"

"No, you were rocking." I run my thumb across her cheek.

"Ah. I'm okay, now. Thanks for waking me."

I once asked Mac about her 'rocking' when she's having a nightmare. She explained that it's a self-soothing mechanism. Dr. McCool told her that many kids who have no adult comfort rock themselves to self-soothe. Children in orphanages do it a lot. It carries over into adulthood for some people. Mac said it only happens when she's having a really bad dream and she usually doesn't realize she's doing it. Then she actually asked if it bothered me. I could see that she was about to apologize for waking me up.

That, combined with the fact that she had no one to comfort her when she was a child, made me seethe to the point of wanting to beat the hell out of a dead man and throttle a woman I've never met. Instead, I hugged her and said of course I wasn't bothered. I just couldn't stand the thought of her feeling unsafe. I was rewarded with a dazzling smile -the kind I saw too few of for too many years and that now I strive to be the reason for on a daily basis.

I kiss her and push the hair back from her face. "Salty. You were crying in your sleep. What's up?" I indicate the legal pad filled with notes lying beside her on the bed. "That trigger the dream?"

"Guess so." She looks at the pad.

"Bad case?"

She nods.

"How bad?"

"Real bad. Ugly."

"Want to tell me?"

"Yeah." She sighs. "I do. Let me change first. I know it was my turn to do dinner, but would you mind just ordering some food?"

"I'll do you one better. I stopped and got take out. I'll go heat it up." I kiss her and stand up. "Come down when you're ready, unless you want to eat up here?"

"No. I'll come down. Give me ten."

Mac's POV

I change out of my uniform and notice the jacket sleeve has a huge mascara stain on it. Great. At least it's an old one because I don't think it's coming out. I'm glad Harm came home when he did. I may still have an occasional nightmare, but at least I no longer have to wake up from them alone in the dark. I smile to myself. What the hell I ever did to have Harm love me, I'll never know. Even if it took us forever to get here, I never forget how thankful I am that we've arrived.

I did scare him once when I woke up screaming. It happens rarely, but sometimes I have trouble ripping my way out of a nightmare. Harm's the only one who's ever seen me like that. I've never been completely relaxed, or slept deeply enough, around anyone else to really dream. As for the rocking, I do that unconsciously. Yet another throw-back to my delightful childhood. When I told him what Dr. McCool said about it, Harm looked horrified - like he wanted to drag my parents back from whatever respective parts of hell they were in and kill them. I shake my head to clear it and grab a change of clothes.

I shower quickly and put on sweats. I can smell Chinese take-out as I enter the kitchen.

Harm's at the counter, getting the food out, and I wrap my arms around him, resting my head against his back.

"Hey."

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Let's eat, you can tell me what you were working on."

We sit down to dinner and I explain. "It's a perv case, Harm." I see his grimace as he nods in understanding. "Human trafficking. One of the defendants, a Chief Petty Officer, is accused of being part of a ring that lured kids in an internet scam and sold them into prostitution."

He puts his fork down and looks at me.

"That's just the beginning. He sold some to overseas brothels. Three of the girls escaped. He caught then and before the police arrived tried to kill them all. One he cut up - bad. She's disfigured. She'll need multiple surgeries to look anywhere near normal. Another has severe injuries, she's in surgery at Bethesda, she passed out while NCIS was talking to her. She's the lucky one. The other one's dead. He dismembered her, Harm."

"Jesus."

"I was looking at my notes and copies of the crime scene photos. That's what made me have a nightmare."

Harm's POV

I feel my stomach clench as Mac describes the case. I remember poor Harriet freaking out when she saw photos of Annie Lewis all those years ago.

"This just came to you today?" She nods "Who's prosecuting?"

"Sturgis and Bud. The defense team is from Virginia. The piece of crap has civilian council."

"He can afford it?"

"They can. The co-defendants are related."

"Related? What the hell kind of family do they come from?"

"A sick one. They're brothers, 20 years apart in age."

"Really?"

"Really. And wait, it gets better. The older brother's a Navy Captain."

"Holy shit."

"Exactly. And there's at least six people involved that they know of." She rubs her hand over her face and looks down at her food. "Two of them are women."

"Women?"

"Women. They were two of the ringleaders. Held the girls captive and shipped them to the brothels. Beautiful, huh?"

"Damn, Mac. No wonder you were having a nightmare. How long do you think the trial will last?"

"Not sure. Actually, I'm not on the bench for this one, I'm TAD. The women are Russian. NCIS needed an attorney to sit in, translate the information they found on confiscated USBs, and since I was there and had the clearance, help debrief the witnesses as quickly as possible. Only one witness could actually speak, but the poor kid passed out before they got to talk to her. I'm involved because I'm fluent in Russian and the SecNav knows me."

"Lucky you."

"He asked about you, by the way." Hint of a smile.

"I'll bet he did."

"He did. Said to give you his best."

I roll my eyes. Sheffield has never been my biggest fan, but he's been okay with us being in the same building, so I try my best to see the man in a good light.

"How long do you think you'll be involved?"

"After tomorrow, I'm finished, but it's not soon enough. I kept picturing Mattie and Chloe at that age. God, poor Bud."

"This has got to be killing him."

"He looked like a train wreck when we left tonight. He said he was going to stop and light a candle for the victims on his way home." She sighs. "I should call him later."

"Good idea. How about I take my beautiful wife out for dessert? Some air might do you good. There's that new café in Georgetown that's got some death by chocolate thing I'm sure you'd love."

Mac's POV

I feel a little better, thanks to Harm, who's eyeing the chocolate creation I'm consuming. I feed him a spoonful. "Here. Taste." He does, and follows it with a sip of coffee. "Want half?"

He shakes his head. "Too much chocolate, Mac."

I shrug. "More for me. And for the record, Harmon Rabb, there is no such thing as too much chocolate."

He smiles at that, shaking his head. "After all these years, I still don't know where the hell you put it, MacKenzie."

After I finish the dessert, I turn to Harm.

"Would you mind if we stop by Bud and Harriet's on the way home?"

"Of course not."

"I just want to see how Bud's holding up after today and we can say hi to the kids. Jimmy and A.J. will still be up."

"Sure, let's go."

ROBERTS' RESIDENCE

A.J. answers the door. "Hey! Hi, Aunt Mac. Uncle Harm." His face splits into a huge grin and he grabs me in a bear hug. He's getting so tall.

"Hey A.J. are your folks busy?"

"Nah. Mom's in the den with Jimmy. We're watching TV. The twins are asleep and Dad's working on a big case. He got a call after dinner and went to go look at his notes." He backs away from the door to let us in. "Mom, Dad! Look who's here!" Harm tousles his hair and he grabs my hand, dragging me toward the den.

Bud reaches us first. "Ma'am! Sir! Come on in. Is anything wrong?"

"No, Bud, we were out and decided to stop by for a minute. If it's a bad time…"

"Don't be silly!" This from Harriet, who appears with Jimmy. "We're never too busy for family." She kisses us both and pulls us inside. "Did you eat? Would you like anything? Coffee? Tea?"

"Thank you, no, Harriet. We just had dessert. Well, I did, anyway. Hey, Jimmy, how's my sweetie?"

"I'm good Aunt Mac. We're watching TV. Wanna watch with us?" He hugs Harm. "Uncle Harm, know what? Porthos ate Nikki's dinner tonight! She wasn't lookin' and he grabbed her spaghetti!"

Harm bends down to Jimmy's level. "Really? Bet your Mom loved that, huh?"

"Nope, he made a mess. I helped clean it 'cause I'm a good kid!" He looks over at A.J.

"You're good because you want to download that new game, bro." A.J. rolls his eyes.

"Hey guys, how about you come and eat some of the cake we brought?" He holds up a bag from the café. "It's chocolate."

"Cool! Mom, they brought us cake! Can we have some, pleeeease?"

Harriet glances at me and she ushers the kids into the kitchen with Harm. "What do you say, boys?"

"Thanks, Aunt Mac. Thanks, Uncle Harm." They chorus together. "You guys having cake, too?"

"You know what? Uncle Harm skipped dessert. Why don't you all have a piece and I'll visit with your Dad for a few minutes. I want to talk to him about work. "

They walk away with A.J. carrying the cake box and Jimmy asking "You skipped dessert, Uncle Harm? On purpose?"

SAME TIME

Hospital room Bethesda Naval Hospital

"I want to talk to the Army lady. The nice one, who speaks Russian. What's her name?"

"You're awake? Are you in pain? Can I call the nurse?"

"Yes. No. I mean, it hurts but it's okay. Please, can you call the lady I saw this afternoon, before I passed out. I have to talk to her right away."

"Army lady? There's no… oh, you mean Colonel MacKenzie, she's a Marine, Lena."

"Marine. Okay, whatever. Can I talk to her?"

"She's not on this case except as a translator. I can get your caseworker from CPS…"

"No. Please. She gets it. I can tell. Call her, she'll come. It's important. Please?"

"Gets what?"

"That's just it. You don't or you wouldn't ask. No offense."

"Look, I'll make a call. I can't promise anything though, alright?"

"Okay." Watering brown eyes follow a young Navy Lieutenant's progress around the room as she paces and then finally heads for the door.

"Look, Lena, try to get a little rest. The guard's outside and I'll be back soon."

"Hey, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet."

ROBERTS' HOME

Bud's cell rings as we're walking into his office. "Excuse me, Ma'am."

"Uh, Ma'am? That was the General. He got a call from the Lieutenant who's been assigned as temporary legal guardian to one of the victims, the girl named Lena. She asked to speak to you."

"The Lieutenant?"

"No, Ma'am. Lena."

Considering I saw the girls for less than ten minutes, I'm surprised. "Did she say why, Bud?"

"No, Ma'am, but apparently the General and the SecNav think it's okay. SecNav wants it to be clear that, quote, 'we're providing the best possible outcome for the victims of this heinous crime.'" I can hear the catch in Bud's voice as he tries to be diplomatic.

"Where is she? Wasn't she in surgery earlier?"

"At Bethesda. She woke up a few minutes ago, said it's urgent that she speak to you. I'm going, too. I can drive, if you don't want to take two cars."

"Thanks, I'll need to change. I have a go bag in the trunk, let me put a uniform on. There won't be any traffic now. I'll change in 5 minutes. Give me the specifics."

I run to the car and then upstairs to the guest room to change. Harm comes up behind me as I'm putting on my uniform blouse. I relay my conversation with Bud.

"You said you only saw a few of the victims in passing, right? What could she want?"

"Not sure. She just woke up from the surgery she had this afternoon. Apparently, the first thing she did was ask to speak to me. I'm going to go see what I can make of it. Stay and visit with Harriet and the kids, I'll ride with Bud and meet you at home."

"Okay. Good luck. See you later." He kisses me and I grab my PDA and cover.

"Thanks. Take my go bag home with you, it's on the bed. Don't wait up, I may be late."

"Call me."

"Will do."

BETHESDA

Patient Room, 30 minutes later

I approach the room with Bud at my heels, spotting a Marine guard who is easily young enough to be my son. "When did they get so young?" I whisper to Bud, who smiles at me but doesn't answer. Sometimes I look at Jimmy and see a glimpse of the young Bud I met all those years ago. He's mostly gray now and I'm sure I'd be close behind him if I ever missed an appointment or two at the salon.

"Ma'am! Sir!" The Marine Corporal snaps to.

"As you were. Is Lieutenant Keyes in with the patient?"

"Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am. She said I should send you right in, Ma'am."

He pushes open the door and Bud and I enter. A young Lieutenant is sitting a few feet from the bed in which a dark haired teenager seems to be asleep. She jumps to attention.

"Ma'am. Sir. Thank you for coming. Nice to see you again, Commander. Lena was so insistent on speaking to you, Ma'am, but she wouldn't tell me why. I'm her appointed legal guardian until she gets a permanent one. Lena's technically a Navy dependent, and she has a caseworker as well, but she said she saw you this morning and asked for you. I know I shouldn't get emotionally involved, but I just felt so bad for her so I stayed after I secured for the day. She's been through so much. She never met her father, mom left her with her grandmother when she was two and never came home. She didn't even know her mom had been in the Navy, she actually asked for the 'Nice lady in the Army uniform' when she described you. I had to tell her you were a Marine, ma'am."

"Well okay, then, let's see what this is about." I approach the bed and find the girl asleep. I gently touch her hand, trying not to startle her.

"Lena?" Her eyes snap open, terrified and unfocused at first and then they take in Keyes, Bud and myself. "I'm Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, I understand you asked for me?"

Nervous, darting eyes. "Yeah, uh, yes. Thank you. Thanks a lot. I need to tell you something really important, can I?"

"Sure, can I ask why you wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, but, umm…" Her eyes shift between Keyes and Bud.

"Lieutenant Keyes, may I see you outside for a moment?" Bud asks, picking up on Lena's discomfort.

"Sir. Yes, Sir." With a glance in my direction, she follows him out.

I turn back to Lena. "Okay, what did you want to say, Lena?"

"You speak Russian." Statement. Not a question.

"Yes."

"You helped get those bastards, right?"

"NCIS captured them. My translation skills will hopefully help put them away."

"Good." An angry swipe at her eyes with the back of her hand wipes away a tear. "We really thought it was a kid, ya know? That we were meeting. Al and I. Stupid, right? All those PSAs are true. I thought I was so smart. He seemed okay online, and I just wanted Allie to have a boyfriend, too. She was so shy." Mocking tone, mimicking herself, "'I'll come with you, Al, keep you safe. Two against one if he's a freak.' I was a Jackass."

"Lena, what happened is not your fault."

"Allie's dead. My best friend since second grade. Dead. He CUT her UP. Her dad didn't even identify her. The guy in charge from NCIS, Agent Gibbs? He held him back, told him he shouldn't look. Then later I heard Agent David tell Commander Roberts they would check DNA or call her dentist. My GOD," Shaky breath. "And poor Lucy, he cut her face. Bad. She needs plastic surgery. She just turned fifteen. She thought she was meeting another girl, to buy some CDs, when they got her. She was so afraid her mom would be mad at her."

"They caught me last, you know? When we got out and started running, that's the only reason I'm…" deep breath "alive. They didn't have enough time to kill me. A guy called 911 because the three of us were running down the street in our underwear screaming for help. They caught us already and had stabbed that poor guy in the arm and were kicking me when the cops came."

"I'm so sorry." I reach toward her hand, and pull back, not sure if she'd welcome the contact or mind it. She surprises me, turning her hand over and grabbing mine before I pull away.

"Yeah. Well, two girls sticking together doesn't mean crap when it turns out to be a 30 year old guy with gun who shows up, now does it?"

I shake my head, not breaking eye contact.

"Anyway, when I saw you, what day is it, by the way? Still Friday?"

"It's Friday."

"The hospital screws me up, can't tell if it's day or night here." I nod, and pretend not to see the white board on the wall across from the bed with 'Today is Friday, your nurse is Tammy and your aide is Joan' written on it.

"I got a feeling when I saw you, I get those sometimes. Gram says I'm part medium, and I can always spot a 'kindred spirit'." Her laugh is brittle, like breaking glass. "Look, Colonel MacKenzie ..."

"It's Mac. My friends call me Mac."

"Really? You've got a guy's nickname, like Al. I like that. Okay, Mac. I need to tell you some stuff."

"Okay, go ahead, I'm listening."

"You saw what happened, to me, to Allie and those other girls, right?" She waits for my nod and takes a shaky breath. "You saw the photos NCIS took of Lucy and me, in the emergency room. They tried to be nice, sent a lady in to do it. Agent David, her name was. 'cause we had to strip, … like that mattered..." She trails off then brings herself back. "I know stuff. Bad stuff. More than I told Agents McGee and Gibbs because I passed out, then when I woke up I was in the emergency room and they were taking me to surgery. I had to have an operation." Her hand tightens in mine and she waves the other vaguely over her abdomen. Barely audible whisper, "I can't have any babies now."

Dark eyes stare into mine, gauging my reaction. I feel like someone kicked me in the stomach. I swallow the wave of nausea that's threatening to overwhelm me. "Lena, I'm so very sorry."

"Don't tell nobody? Okay?"

I nod. I don't trust myself to speak.

"Now, I gotta tell you what I heard."

"Why me, Lena?'

"When I saw you, the way you looked at those two bitches who were in charge, I can tell, you feel like we do, want to kill them, but you still did your job. You'll help, and you'll get it and you speak Russian.

"Get what?"

"I can't go home, Colonel, um, Mac. I have nowhere to go. I don't want to end up in foster care and my Gram lives in a senior building now. We took care of each other. When the investigators came in to talk to her they decided she shouldn't live alone. She's with it," Lena taps her head "but a little frail, and I'm gonna be in here for a few weeks."

"I see."

"I wanna trade."

"Trade? Trade what, exactly, Lena.?"

She crooks her finger at me, and I move closer.

"Information. It's actually Jalina, Colonel. Lena's an Americanization. I speak Russian. Fluently. Gram is from Smolensk. She taught me from when I was little. I heard their plans when we were in that house. I memorized locations, whatever else I could. Look, they have other girls, I can tell you cities, street names, people's names. They talked in front of us, didn't know I understood. That's gotta be worth something to somebody, right? Now, I'm going to tell anyway, I tried to before I blacked out, but maybe you can help me? Please? Don't let me end up in the system. Tell them I wouldn't talk until you promised."

"Lena, I have to take notes. Let me get my PDA, okay? You can help save other girls and I will work something out for you, I promise. But we need to get the information to NCIS right now. How old are you Lena?"

"Just turned seventeen. I knew you'd get it. Not bullshit me about how there are some lovely foster families, yadda, yadda. I'm gonna take a shot and trust you, so go get the Lieutenant and the Commander. I'll give the information to NCIS and then can we talk again in private?"

"Yes. Yes. You've got it." I turn toward the door "Bud!" I raise my voce, not wanting to leave her in case she panics and changes her mind.

"Ma'am?" Bud rushes in, Keyes at his heels. "Everything all right?" He looks worriedly at Lena.

"It's fine. Lena is going to share some very important information with us. Keyes, I need you to call NCIS 'A-SAP' get an agent here now. Her info may help us locate the missing victims." Keyes backs away, dialing her cell and I turn my attention back to Lena.

Keyes comes forward. "All set, Ma'am. Lena, the NCIS agents are on the way. You remember agents Gibbs and McGee?"

"Yes. McGee got to me first. He's an okay guy. He carried me out. I had trouble walking. I kinda thought he was going to cry when he saw them bring out…" her voice breaks on the last word, "Allie. Gibbs was nice, like a real cool grandpa would be nice. He must have kids. He caught me when I passed out, I could hear him calling for help but I couldn't talk anymore."

Bud comes up tentatively, not too close to the teenager. "Lena. You're a brave young lady. I have a little girl, her name is Nikki. I hope she grows up to be as strong as you."

Lena regards Bud cautiously. "I was damn stupid, Commander Roberts. We all were. Too bad Allie and the other girl, Michelle, had to pay for it with their lives."

"I know you're angry, and you feel guilty, and I also know it's going to take you awhile to believe the people who tell you this was not your fault. Not any of it. And we appreciate your help. Very much. You have my card in the nightstand. If you need anything call me, anytime, okay?

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." Bud turns to leave the room. "Commander?"

"Yes, Lena?"

"Hug your little girl tonight, okay?"

"Definitely, Lena. Definitely."

Agent McGee arrives in record time with Gibbs and another NCIS agent, who I guess is the woman Lena mentioned. She's young, thirty maybe with an edge and demeanor of someone much older than her years. "Colonel?"

"Hello."

"Hello, Ma'am, I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee and this is Probationary Special Agent Ziva David and Special Agent ..."

"…Gibbs." I offer my hand.

"Colonel."

"You, uh know each other, how, uh, sorry I, uh, I'll just start the interview."

While Harm had no love for Jethro Gibbs during the Singer debacle years ago, once Gibbs believed Harm was innocent, he fought to find the real killer and put Lindsey away. I have no hard feelings for him, he reminds me of Harm in a way, though I'd never tell that to my husband.

Lena told them all she remembered. Names, locations, whatever she'd heard. Gibbs changed around Lena, his gruffness gone. She seemed to feel at ease with him and McGee. David is fluent in Russian so she and I worked at helping Lena remember phrases she's overheard. When Lena was finished, they ran out to initiate the search for the still missing girls, but not before Gibbs, like Bud, gave her his card and said "Call me, anytime. Day or night. Anything you need? Understand?"

Lena talked to me for a few minutes, asking if I could sit until she fell asleep.

"Mac?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Thank you, Lena. You did a great job." About a half hour later, my cell buzzes and I look at the display. It's Harm.

Leaving Lena asleep, I go into the hall and take the call. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. How's it going?"

"Okay, we're on our way home." I give Harm a rundown of the evening.

"Jesus, Mac. Poor kid. What can we do to help?"

THREE DAYS LATER

"Lena?" I approach the room, not sure if she's awake. I've visited twice since Friday.

"Mac. Hi. Did you bring him?"

"Sure did. Lena, this is Harm."

"Nice to meet you, Captain Rabb."

"It's Harm, please. It's so nice to meet you, Lena. Mac's told me a lot about you, how great you did in helping NCIS rescue the rest of the girls and for engineering an escape"

"Thanks." She blushes to the tips of her ears. "I just thought we had to try, you know? If we stayed, they were gonna sell us, like slaves. The only reason they didn't hurt us before was because they'd get more money if we looked ok. I figured I'd rather be dead than in some whorehouse so Al, Lucy and I took a shot and ran when they opened the door with the food trays. I didn't realize there were more of them in the car outside, or we might have made it."

"You did an incredible thing, don't every forget that. Most adults wouldn't have taken that chance."

"Well, I didn't get too far, but…" her voice trails off "I saw Lucy today. Her mom wheeled her down here to see me. She's all bandaged up but her first surgery went good and her eyes are okay, the bastard didn't blind her at least."

"That's good, I'm glad she's improving a bit."

I take her hand.

"Lena, we have something to tell you. If you're interested, we may have a solution for you."

Warily, "No foster care?"

"Nope."

Smile that almost reaches her eyes. "Lena, I spoke to Allie's parents. They are very grateful to you, for protecting her for as long as you did. For engineering the escape. They say Allie would have wanted it, so they've offered to have you live with them until you're eighteen or until you're ready to move on if you'd like. What do you think?"

"Really? They don't hate me?"

"Hate you, Honey, why would you think that?"

"Because, I should have talked Al out of going in the first place. Because I'm alive and she's dead." Shrugs "Lots of reasons."

"Lena, listen to me." Harm pulls up a chair. "I survived an accident when I was an aviator. It killed my RIO, that's what we call a co-pilot, in the Navy. He was a friend, a wonderful guy. I was so ashamed I couldn't look his mom in the eyes. She explained to me that no matter what anyone else said or felt, she didn't blame me. If Allie's folks are willing to do this, they hold no ill feelings for you. Talk to them. They're outside."

"Really?" Lena straightens up in her bed. "They came here?"

Harm and I nod. "Honey, Harm and I both had a hand in raising two girls that aren't our biological children. They're in their twenties now. We love them very much. Give the Suttons a chance."

At Lena's nod of agreement, Harm steps into the hall and returns with two exhausted, drawn people behind him. The woman, Liz looks about my age and the husband, James, a bit older. She's clutching a photo of her daughter, he's holding tight to a pre-teen girl's hand.

"Colonel MacKenzie, thank you. We appreciate you and Agent Gibbs contacting us so much." They turn to Lena, and the woman embraces her and they both cry quietly while Allie's father rubs small circles on his wife's back.

"Lena, thank you. You tried to keep her safe. We love you for that."

"I missed the funeral. I didn't know how bad I was hurt. I needed an operation." Her eyes flick to mine and away. "Are you sure you're not mad? I'm so sorry. Sorry about everything."

"We're happy you're alive, and that you'll be okay, please, let us do this. We talked to your grandmother and she thinks it's a good idea. Her apartment is only a mile from our house, she can see you every day, spend holidays with us. You spent so much time at our house before"… her voice trails off, and her husband picks up.

"We feel like you're one of our kids anyway. You've been on vacation with our family, and Allie spent all those sleepovers at your apartment. Please, Lena, think about it."

Softly, "Okay."

"What?"

"Okay. I'd love to. Cindy, are you okay with this, kid?"

The younger child speaks for the first time since entering the room "Yeah. Please come. You can even have my room. I'm going to move into Allie's room. Mommy said I can. It makes me feel like I can be close to her."

"We'll go now and let you rest. It's going to work out, Lena. It will. For all of us." Liz hugs her and they leave. I follow them into the hall.

"This is wonderful. She's going to need a lot of support. She was so terrified of ending up in the system."

"She won't, Colonel. You have my word. I was in foster homes most of my childhood. I won't allow my daughter's best friend to be lost in the system. She'll get the help she needs, rehab for her injuries, as much counseling as she needs, forever. Lena's not some stranger, she spent a lot of time in our home, Allie loved her like a sister. And she was injured trying to save my daughter's life. I'll never lose sight of that, ever." He swipes at the tears pooling in his eyes. "Thank you again. Lena seems to have formed a friendship with you. Please, continue to be in contact after she leaves the hospital." James smiles a sad smile at me.

"I will. She's a good kid."

"Take care, Colonel, please extend our open invitation to visit to the Captain as well. See you soon."

"Thank you. Both of you. And you, too, Cindy."

Liz embraces me quickly and they leave. Back in Lena's room, Harm is discussing some exploit of Mattie's with her. "Mac! Can I talk to Mac privately, Captain, um, sorry, Harm?"

"Of course. It's been an honor, Lena. I'll see you again soon. And once you are out of the hospital, I owe you a ride in a Steerman."

"Thanks, I'll take you up on it. Promise. Ummm, Mac? You can tell him if you want."

Harm looks at me and I silently communicate we'll talk later.

HARM'S CAR - Later that evening en route to a restaurant

"Mac?"

"Hmmm?" I'm dozing and I rub my hand over my face.

"What was Lena talking about? When she said you can tell me if you want to?"

"She was talking about her surgery. When we met she asked me not to tell anyone about it."

"But she's okay right?"

"We had a long talk yesterday, after Gibbs stopped by to tell Lena that all the girls were recovered. Alive, thanks to her. He brought her a bracelet with a charm representing each life she saved and two angels for Michelle and Allie.

Friday night after she woke up and asked for me, she told me she passed out while she was being interviewed at the scene by Gibbs and McGee. She needed surgery."

Harm nods for me to continue.

"She asked me if I was married and had kids. I told her about you and Matte and Chloe, of course, and she asked me why not."

"Why we have no biological kids? How did that even come up?"

"Because of her surgery, Harm. She had a lot of abdominal injuries. She passed out because she was bleeding internally. They repaired her injuries, but she won't be able to have children.

She asked me if my husband knew I couldn't have children when we got married and if he loved me anyway. I showed her our picture from last Thanksgiving with Chloe and Mattie. Told her we were partners for nine years before we woke up and got married. She wanted to know if it took you so long to be sure because you wanted kids and I couldn't have them.

I explained we didn't know about my condition until a year before our marriage and that you never gave me reason to feel bad, not for a second, even after I had a hysterectomy." I feel myself tearing up as Harm pulls the car into the lot of our favorite Italian restaurant.

"You okay?" He takes my hand.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm not thinking about me, I'm sad for Lena. She said she thought I'd 'get it' as she put it, when she saw me. That I was a kindred spirit of sorts. I'm not sure what she meant exactly, but she asked me about my folks, Harm. She wanted to know if I was a foster kid, that I looked like I'd had it rough. I told her about my parents. As much as I thought she could handle, anyway. Do you know what she said?"

"What, Mac?"

"That she guessed she was lucky. That if she didn't have her grandmother she's have been doomed. She also said that she'd bet money that if my grandma had lived, I could have moved in with her and had a better life. I'd thought that, so many times when I was a kid."

"Really? You never mentioned it."

"Why bother? Water under the bridge. But if Uncle Matt were married and not stationed overseas so much or if mAdar jun had lived, I know they would have seen what was happening and stepped in.

But then I wouldn't have joined the corps, or met you, now would I?" I meet his eyes and see such sadness there. "Harm. Sweetheart. It's okay. Please don't look like that. I'm fine. I love you. I'm happy."

"Love you, too, Mac." His smile reaches his eyes, I know it's genuine. "And I'm always proud of you, but what you did for that kid was wonderful."

"Thanks. Now, let's get something to eat, okay?"

"You've got it. Whatever you want. Pasta with extra meatballs?"

"Extra meatballs. Then I need to go home. I want to sleep for two days."

MACKENZIE – RABB RESIDENCE

The phone rings as I unlock the door.

"Did you talk to Commander Turner, Ma'am?" Bud asks me as when I pick up.

"No, why?"

He called me about an hour ago. The investigation is over, pretty much."

"Over?"

"Yes. Well, we won't be going to a jury trial, anyway. Chief Petty Officer Baker confessed. He rolled on his brother, too. Then, the Captain was so angry he gave up all the other members of the ring. I guess he figured he wasn't going down alone.

"And the girls?"

"Since NCIS found them all, once they got their names from Lena, there's enough witnesses to put everyone away forever for human trafficking and murder. The girls will have a slow recovery. Three are in the hospital for observation, the rest are being reunited with their families. They even tracked down the girls who were already overseas. They'd been there for weeks, they have a very long road ahead of them, but at least they're home.

God, Ma'am, this was just so horrible. Those girls aren't much older than A.J." He takes a deep breath. "I was just working on my notes when the Commander called. I wanted to be ready. We had wanted to go for the death penalty, Ma'am."

"If you need my help, Bud, call me."

"I will, Ma'am. Get some rest..."

"You too. Good night Bud."

MacKenzie-Rabb Residence

MIDNIGHT/BEDROOM

"Hi, Chloe, it's me. I just wanted to say hi and I love you…"

SIMULTANEOUSLY/KITCHEN

"Hi, Mattie? I know it's late, nothing's wrong. Mac and I are fine, I just wanted to say hi and I love you…"

End. Thanks for reading ~ Mari