Que Sera Sera.
21.00 New Years Eve.
Jethro Gibbs looked down at the child, sleeping contented in the cot. It so reminded him of his daughter. But that had been so long ago.
This, a situation, that could have been, quite easily have never been. But here was a meeting that had happened, it had changed everything.
Shellie Katie Haswari. His god-daughter. She was a dark haired, Mediterranean skinned child. She had her father's dark eyes and her mother's mischievous smile, and laugh. He remembered the girl's mother's laugh and smile, when she had been a raw Probie. How she had turned up on her first real assignment in heels. How Tony had laughed. Gibbs had always thought it would have been Tony and Kate. When Tony had caught the plague and Kate had offered to keep him company. Gibbs began to think back to how this pairing had come about.
Flash-back
He remembered to the day that Ari had taken Kate, Ducky and Gerald hostage in autopsy. He remembered how Kate said she could not stab Ari. "His eyes. I was looking into his eyes, and they looked kind." How he, Gibbs, had been shot in the shoulder. He could have killed Ari there and then. But it was only the start.
Shellie stirred, and turned over. Gibbs drew up the chair and sat looking at the girl. He so wanted to pick her up. To hug…. to hold. To tell her of her parents life, how he had helped.
Flash-back
Ari had called earlier that night.
"Gibbs, it's Caitlin," Ari had always called her that," I have rushed her to hospital, could you please…. go and watch Shellie. A neighbour at the moment is looking in on her."
Gibbs had looked at his watch 20.15, 31st December. Could Kate and Ari's second child be a New Year baby?
Jethro agreed, yes he would go, he called a cab.
Flashback
Gibbs had arrived at the house, and knocked on the door. A woman answered.
"Jethro Gibbs. I believe, Dr Haswari let you know I was arriving?" he said quietly.
The woman nodded and opened the door further, to allow Gibbs to enter. The lights dimmed, the house warm, against the cold winter air.
"Shellie is sleeping soundly. There are bottles made up if you need. Mrs Haswari said I probably wouldn't need to give Shellie one, but you would know what to do, as you have assisted before with children. The Doctor, he said Happy New Year and Slainte" as the woman took her coat from the rack and put over her shoulders, he smiled it had been this time last year another Doctor had said that to him. Duks, he could feel a tear form. No must be the cold.
"Happy New Year, when it comes." he had said, seeing the neighbour out. He took off his coat and quietly went upstairs.
21.30 Reminiscing.
Gibbs just sat and watched the sleeping child. His mind went back in time. He remembered the standoff in autopsy. How Ari had shot him. He remembered the café, the bomb. How Ari had taken Gerald and Dr Mallard hostage. How Duks had bonded with the young man. They had had mutual interests, the Morgan and Edinburgh. Yes, Edinburgh, The College of Medicine. Had Ari not studied and graduated at one of the world's greatest institutions.
But it was when NCIS received information of a terrorist plot, by Al Qaeda. The word on the street was Ari was out to foil. But they needed an insider. Fornell had told Gibbs, that the CIA and Kort, had given Ari a "get out of jail free card."
As Gibbs looked at the sleeping child, he sighed sat back thinking…
Ari and Gibbs, they had made contact. They had met at a café, but something wasn't right. A bomb had gone off. Ari denied all knowledge. He mentioned his sister Ziva. They made a pact. Ari could borrow Kate, on the understanding, that he didn't hurt her, and that she would never realise that he, Gibbs had volunteered her to him. Ari had smiled, "but I still need to let her think."
And so it was that fateful afternoon when Kate had been abducted by Ari, well not literally himself, but for him. Ari had killed Martha. Why to prove to Kate?
Gibbs remembered back to when he had met Ari in autopsy. He showed Ari, Martha's body. "Is this what you want Kate to look like? A bullet hole, in the skull." But the young man had insisted that he was not going to be the fall guy for his father or Ziva, he would protect Kate.
Ari continued to say, yes he was a mole, inside Hamas, and Ziva had never forgiven Hamas for their sister, Talia's death. Ari said it had been arranged by Eli David, head of Mossad. To get me. But Hamas needed someone inside Mossad, and they had found one, in the form of his daughter, Ziva.
Ari continued, he was a double agent, for Mossad and a series of terrorist groups including Al Qaeda and the CIA and MI6. But it was Ziva, they needed to watch. "I mean why do you think, she knows so much about you and your organization. Try speaking to an Agent by the name of Jennifer Shepard. And think Gibbs why does my half-sister speak so many languages. Not for Israel, but Hamas, Al Qaeda, and for the highest bidder.
Have you ever wondered why your old partner turned up in Cairo, while you were freezing in Moscow?"
Gibbs remembered how he shot Ari in the shoulder before leaving, saying, "Just wanted to help you convince Al Qaeda." It had made Ari escape more plausible.
22.00
Shellie woke, turned to look at Gibbs. Jethro say Kate's face, and her eyes, "Dada" raising her arms to be picked up. Gibbs smiled, rose and carefully drew the child to his chest. He felt the heart beat through his shirt. They moved to the window. Gibbs drew back the curtain to show the garden. A snow had fallen and it glistened in the moon light. Shellie giggled and pointed. He felt the little girls head begin to droop and fall onto his chest. He walked back over to the cot and laid her back down. He heard her sigh, but her eyes shut.
Jethro, pulled the blanket back over the child, returned to the seat thinking.
Reminiscing.
He thought back to when Fornell had said, Ari had returned to DC. He was helping the FBI uncover an Al Qaeda cell. Tobias had given him the whereabouts, the warehouses. Jethro remembered when he had fired a shot to get attention. They had fired back giving their position away.
Across the way on another roof, Ari had said to himself, "Sorry Caitlin." As he fired the weapon, he saw Kate fall. Gibbs ran to bend over her, "You're dead Kate." He had whispered in her ear.
"I'm not." She replied smiling.
But feeling Gibbs' hand, on her shoulder, he again whispered, "Move and you will be. Play very, very dead." As Ari saw Tony and Gibbs look round, Ari made his escape.
They had taken Kate's "Body" to autopsy.
"Keep her safe Dr Mallard," Director Morrow had said.
They had held her funeral. She was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom. In everyone's eyes she was dead.
Gibbs went home. There was still work to be done. Jethro remembered, how he had made his way to his basement. He knew Ari would he there.
"Everything went well Ari. We gave her a good send off. But what now?" Gibbs saw that Ari had his sniper rifle in his hands, and was wearing latex gloves.
"We wait, won't be long," as they heard a noise. Gibbs saw Ari raise the gun. A shot rang out and the body fell over the balustrade onto the floor below. Jethro remembered how he had turned and saw Ziva lying here, her eyes open.
Ari handed Gibbs the gun, his gun, "You killed the terrorist who was coming after you. I told you never to trust Ziva. Leave Agent Shepard to me. She will die like her father, but then you don't know that she is ill,very ill, do you?" Ari had questioned, "You forget I am a Doctor. My sister told me the medicines she takes."