It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs or any member of his team to be seated at their desks well after 2200, it was however rare for a member of the Major Crime Response team to be seated in the bullpen that late with Gibbs nowhere in sight.
Special Agent Caitlin Todd leaned over her sketch pad and tried to see through the tears clouding her vision, it had been a long few days and it would be an even longer night if it were to continue the way it had been. She had seen horrible things in her job from a woman committing suicide out of anger and vengeance to a man giving up his family for a measly two million dollars, but watching an elderly marine, the recipient of the Medal of Honour, be wracked with guilt over a crime he didn't necessarily commit had been her undoing. Seeing his confusion and desperation to find justice for his friend, even if it was at his own expense, had broken something inside of her.
She was so caught up in her sorrow that she didn't even hear the ding of the elevator, she didn't notice the shadow falling over her desk, it was a soft cough that finally drew her attention.
"What're you still doing here, Kate?" Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs asked.
She quickly swiped at her eyes and took a quick breath before looking up at the silver haired marine.
"I was just finishing up my report." She lied.
"Doesn't look like a report." Gibbs commented, raising his eyebrow and nodding down at her open sketch pad, "wanna tell me the truth?"
"I didn't feel like going home." She admitted quietly, "it's too quiet."
"Pretty quiet here." Gibbs reasoned.
With the exception a few lone Agents the bullpen was almost completely empty.
"It's a different kind of quiet." Kate replied with a shrug, "I'm not putting in for overtime, I'm just going to catch up on some paperwork and go home."
"That's a good drawing." Gibbs complemented quietly.
Kate looked down when he tapped the sketch in front of her and couldn't help but tear up again at the rough sketch of her and Corporal Ernest Yost dancing in the bullpen.
"It was one of the tougher ones." Gibbs muttered.
"Does it ever get easier?" Kate asked, not looking up from the picture.
"No." Gibbs replied bluntly, "but you learn to not get personally involved, makes it bit more bearable."
"You got personally involved on this one." She pointed out.
"Some cases hit closer to home than others." He replied with a shrug.
"Like the Watson case?"
"Yeah." Gibbs replied with a defeated sigh.
Kate nodded sadly, she had found out about Shannon and Kelly while vetting him for Air Force One and was the only person on the team who knew about them, they had an unspoken agreement to never mention it and Kate gladly respected Gibbs' privacy.
"Are you ever able to forget about the bad cases?" Kate asked, finally looking up at him.
"You don't forget, you learn to move on." Gibbs replied with a sad smile, "Don't stay here too late." He added.
Kate nodded and looked back down at the sketch. She knew he was right, she would never forget, she would never forget Sandy Watson, Susan McNeil, Ernest Yost or Commander William Ryan, all people she had watched suffer and had been completely powerless to help. She would never forget Chris Pacci or Shannon and Kelly Gibbs, people she had barely known or hadn't known at all who had been taken much too soon. She would see them in her nightmares and remember them in her waking hours, she would hear their voices, see their smiles, wipe their tears and cry along with them but she would not let them dominate her life, she would do as Gibbs said and learn to move on.
And I'm back! To give you guys a quick update the first five chapters of the next part of Tomorrow's Family are in the works and I will start to upload when I have the first ten finished, Pushing the Limit is still in the works but slightly on hold for at least another few weeks. I am currently working on rewatching the entire series and am on Season Two Episode Four. Now a few months ago I asked you guys for prompts for a one shot collection, unfortunately someone threatened to report it because of the way I requested the prompts (by posting it as an opening chapter). I will now be accepting prompts for a joint collection of Rizzoli and Isles and NCIS oneshots. For now I won't be doing episode specific requests, unless they are episodes that I have already rewatched, (I'll keep you guys posted about where I'm at) simply because I have a hard time remembering later episodes and don't really want to be skipping around. You guys can put your requests in the reviews or PM me, I love to hear from you guys!
~Katie
