Disclaimer: I'm taking serious creative license to spin a story I've wanted to do for a long time. It takes place in my TMW-verse (read some of those stories or the relationships might not make sense to you), but will incorporate characters from CSI-NY(in their own topsy-turvy PH2W type relationships).
Mac Taylor calls on his "brother" Jethro to help with a case involving a Marine he believes is innocent & getting railroaded into a conviction. Danny (23) & Kate (21) have conspired so she gets to tag along. Hijinks and crime solving ensue.
NCIS/CSI-NY is the sole property of the creators, studio, writers, producers, directors, etc. Lucky them….
I consider myself lucky to be able to take them out to play for a while.
Read & Review… Suspend belief and enjoy it as the fan-fic it is meant to be….
Caitlyn Nicole Gibbs was about to get in the shower to start her day. She'd already hit the snooze on her phone alarm three times. Ugh, these early morning classes killed her. Attempting to remember why she had signed up for them was part of her ritual. Surrendering to her own folly her feet finally hit the floor. Her next thought was a hope that her dancer roommate was long since gone. Their quarters were too close for early morning exchanges between two people that behaved less than stellar in the morning.
Showers did make her feel better. Her sour morning mood could be transformed by the scent of blackberry-vanilla shower gel, hot water running over her head, and a pipping hot cup of coffee. She was definitely her father's child. The single cup brewer her brother and sister chipped in and got her for Christmas was a blessing for sure. Sitting in her robe and sipping contentedly Kate started a bit at the ring from her phone.
"Hello... Who ever this is let me just say it's too early for bad news or drama." Kate figured it to be one of her siblings with a MUST-FIX-IT-NOW issue. When it came to Abby and Tony she learned to never be surprised.
"Hey, what's up Katy-Dids!"
The heavy accent on the other side of the call belonged to her favorite cousin. Technically, Danny Messer was her only cousin and even they didn't share a bloodline. He was family in every sense of the word though.
"I can't think of anything good that would have you calling me this early. What's going on Messer?"
"So, suspicious. You take this profiling thing too serious. I'm sure you're not supposed to use it on family."
"Please, I started studying it just to understand this family." They both laughed. There were years of getting in and out of trouble and knowing one another that fueled the camaraderie they enjoyed. How they ended up family was roundabout to most, but simply family lore to them.
"Talk to me Messer I'm gonna be late." Kate put him on speaker since she was alone and moved around pulling out clothes, putting on make-up, and brushing her hair.
"It's about me missing you kid. I want you out here for a visit and I know just how to make that happen."
"With my class schedule and trying to find an internship. I don't see vacation time coming up for me anytime soon."
"What if I told you I could get you those internship hours?" Danny allowed that information to settle on her brain.
"I'd say I needed the details. What are you scheming at Danny? It better not be having one of your techs hack my school and magically drop in my internship credits. Graduate school or not my dad would have my ass and yours!"
"That's what makes it priceless. Your dad will be here with you."
Kate stopped what she was doing and sat back on her bed. "You now have my full attention. Make it quick and make it good."
"Alright, Mac has really been struggling with a case and I heard him telling Stella that he'd like a set of fresh eyes separate from the feds already involved. His problem is the sloppy 'cowboy' working the case now is pushing for a conviction. The case involves a Marine. He needs someone he knows and trust to dig into the military aspect."
"Still listening." Kate didn't have time for dramatic pregnant pauses.
"So much like your dad. He's gonna make the call to bring in Uncle Jethro soon, I'm sure of it. I'm sort of making a preemptive call to get you on board."
"Uncle Jethro? You say it to make me nuts. You could call the man anything else, but you always go for the obvious hillbilly humor."
"Um, could you focus. You interested?
"Tell me about the case. I have to see if it's worth the wrath that'll come down on both of us when we propose the idea. Let's see the fine list we've started off with includes eavesdropping, conspiring, and I'm guessing here but I bet lying is involved. The internship has to be real too. I can't mess around with that part. Does the lab even have legit intern positions?"
"The internship is real. You work it out on your end and get the paperwork in order. I'll e-mail you the different types here from the website. Put down Stella as the reference. By the time Mac finds out he won't stand in the way, trust me. Look you won't have classes, so it'll be like working full time and you'll have your hours done in no time. Now, the case. A Marine allegedly premeditated to kill his wife. He managed to take out two civilians instead. The problem is a lack of evidence and his insistence that he's innocent. Mac wants fresh eyes and someone who isn't ready to condemn him. I think he's starting to believe that maybe he didn't do it."
"What makes you think my dad will even come? My mom makes the final case distribution decisions."
"He'll be there. One because it's Mac and two because it's Sempre Fi."
"It's a Marine thing." She added. They'd heard it their whole lives.
"Work on your end Katie. The call is coming anytime now."
She had to think about what working on her end was going to mean. Dealing with school would be fairly easy. She needed the internship hours for any job post and wanted to experience some of the cities she had family in. It was just a formality of talking to her advisor. It was her parents she was more concerned about. They'd be suspicious for sure and anytime her father thought she was 'plotting' and 'scheming' he didn't take to kindly to it.
"Before I put myself in the line of fire you need to tell me what else is going on Messer. Don't try to deny it. I've known you too long to believe it."
"What, what? Okay, listen to me there is someone I want you to meet."
"Danny for the hundredth time I'm still in love with Ash and I'm not dating any of your friends because you lost a bet."
"Whatever! It's not that. Just... Look that's Mac I gotta go. I'll call you later."
The next sound she heard was a dial tone. Kate wasn't exactly sure what to make of her cousins early morning call, but now she had fifteen minutes to throw on clean (hopefully) matching clothes and get to class. Her professor was a tyrant about time and had no problem locking folks out even though they were paying to be there. She'd have to give Danny's call more thought around noon when she got a break in her day.
XO~NCIS/CSI-NY~XO
"Adam get back to work." Mac walked off back toward his office and in typical fashion was stopped along the way to sign various forms, answer questions, and stop what he was sure to be an inappropriate encounter between his son and their newest CSI. Lindsay Monroe had started about six months before and Mac was sure the friendship was slowly and subtly turning into more. Without saying a word Mac sent a look their way that his youngest recognized as the back to work glare.
Lindsay went to the locker room to pack it in for the day. Danny decided to ease the tension he knew would come after his little hallway chat.
"Hey, Mac anything new from Adam?" Mac flagged him in.
"Nothing, but I have him rerunning all the trace we found. I'm getting nowhere with the *NCISRA. I'm thinking about calling in a favor."
"Are you sure he's innocent because of the evidence or because he's a Marine?" The words were out of his mouth before the thought of regret registered. Once Mac looked up he realized the questioning his dad's judgement with the mood he was already in may have been less than a brilliant idea.
"Shut the door."
"Mac, I'm... Dad, I meant no disrespect. You taught me to ask."
"The evidence is inconclusive Danny and that's the only question I have. The fact that his own people are being so quick to convict does have my gut churning."
"You sound like him now you know."
"I'm thinking that maybe having one of their own in the mix, with an objective eye, might get us somewhere better."
"So, why not make the call?"
"I need to take a hard look at myself and deal with the fact that I'm making the call simply because I can."
"Who cares. If he can help we either get a killer off the street or free an innocent man. It's win-win."
"Everything is perception Danny. Perception is important whether we like it or not."
Danny shrugged his shoulders. His dad would make the call, which made him do a little internal dance that he'd made his earlier. Turning to open the door and leave Danny was stopped by his father's voice.
"Speaking of perception Daniel I want you and Lindsay to cool it in the office. Don't... As your father I'm thrilled for you. Lindsay is a nice girl, but as your boss I don't need either of you distracted on the job. Do I need to say anything else or am I clear?"
Danny ducked his head slightly with the same smirk Mac had loved from the moment he met him fourteen years ago. The older CSI knew that the kid had tremendous potential to be either a cop or a con. Pulling him out of that group home had been one of his best moves. It had changed the course of both their lives for the better. Even when he was trying to con his father into getting his own way, which happened more than Mac cared to think about, he loved this kid.
Looking up Danny answered, "Nah, you're clear. I have no desire to be transferred to an outpost on Staten Island."
"Get out of here and I'll see you at home." Mac looked back down at the files on his desk then snatched up his phone. This would become official soon enough, but the ground work laying was definitely personal, so he dialed the cell number.
"How's my favorite sister-in-law?"
"I'm your only sister-in-law Mac and I'm doing great. What's up?"
"Jenny, I need a favor..."
XO~NCIS/CSI-NY~XO
Jenny didn't mention the call to her husband at all. She wanted to gather all her facts, talk to the RA, and review the case file herself. Two days later she called her Gibbs into her office.
"Go right in Agent Gibbs." Cynthia had long ago stopped attempting to thwart his entrance into his wife's office. At least today he wasn't barreling or barging because Director Shepard had called for him.
Opening the door Gibbs took in the room. Noting that she was by herself he turned the lock on the door and moved to her desk with less than professional intent in his eyes. When she was released from his breathe taking kiss she smacked him lightly on the chest.
"Special Agent Gibbs I did not call you up here to play tonsil hockey in the 'principal's' office. I'm sending you out TOD to New York. You can take any or all of your team."
"What's this about Jen? Why isn't the NCISRA handling whatever this about?"
"Because Mac requested you. Before you get bent out of shape because he didn't call you first he wanted to make sure your saying yes was even possible. You'll get a first hand briefing from him in MTAC in about an hour."
Gibbs took a seat in the chair across from his wife's desk. This was definitely official. He was thrown a little since Mac placing this sort of call was so out of character. They'd operated like brothers since their paths crossed in the corp years ago. Things had gotten a little distant however after Claire's death and once the kids were grown. Obligatory family niceties got handled, but the ease of the relationship was gone. Jethro was understanding and didn't push knowing he would've handled Jenny's sudden death in a similar if not worse fashion. Gibbs did nothing by half measure including being a surrogate older brother, so now that the call had been made he knew he'd be on the first flight out to New York City.
XO~NCIS/CSI-NY~XO
When Gibbs and Jenny pulled up, in separate vehicles, to their circular driveway they saw their oldest daughter's car already parked. Each experienced a little bit of a start. Midweek pop-ins were not the norm. Actually with Kate's busy academic and social life it seemed they had to schedule time together the way one would coordinate a summit. Gibbs was out of his truck before his wife could get her seat belt off.
They found her sitting in the kitchen at the breakfast bar drinking a cup of tea, flipping through some paperwork and waiting on something in the microwave. She saw her dad first, but it was her mother's voice that got her up.
"Katie, what's wrong? What are doing home on a Wednesday night?"
Hugging the older woman and then her ever suspicious father Kate kept her response light.
"Mother why does something have to be wrong. You act like I'm Tony or something. I've been running around campus all day working on a project and since I got done early I thought I'd come by for dinner and a chat. I need your advice on a decision I have to make."
Gibbs relaxed only slightly. Kissing her on the forehead he shrugged out of his jacket saying, "If the advice has anything to do with Ashen the answer is still no. I'm not paying for a wedding until I'm done paying for your education. No graduation, no engagement."
"Really, and you say I have a one track mind. This has nothing to do with me and Ash. I have to complete my internship hours and I've been having a hard time figuring out where I want to do them. It has to be a law enforcement agency because I have zero interest in corporate employee profiling. It's just creepy. Plus, I want a different environment. I've stayed in this area to long and I'm just itching to explore."
"Where is this going honey," Jenny asked?
"Well, I initially talked to Tony about going out to Peoria, but once he applied to Baltimore PD I figured that was a case of poor timing. I, um, was thinking of maybe going to New York to work with Uncle Mac and Danny in the crime lab. I have plenty of skills I can put to great use, check out the city, and Stella has the type of position I'd love to shadow." Now she was speaking so fast most of her words came out as one big jumbled sentence.
"Sounds to me like you don't need help making the decision at all."
"Well, I need help with the execution. The New York City Crime Lab doesn't offer mid-term opportunities, even though I don't need a full term worth of hours. I thought maybe you guys could help me get Uncle Mac to agree. I mean I could crash with Danny at his place..."
"Well, it's great thinking along those lines Kate. I'm sure your uncle would love to have you and I for one will feel a thousand times better knowing you're somewhere with family. The timing couldn't be better either because your dad is going to head out that way to oversee an investigation involving a Marine." Jenny was getting as excited as her daughter. The timely coincidence was only on one person's mind, Jethro's.
"Oh my God this is perfect. When do you leave dad?" Kate tried to keep her voice even, but she could tell her performance might not be as good as she thought by the look on her father's face.
"I'm leaving first thing in the morning. My question is how long did you know about it?" He could see her defenses kicking in and brought it to a halt. "Don't even think about denying it. This has scheming written all over it. I'm going to take a shower, change and then come back to hear some truth. I suggest you make it good."
Jenny looked from one to the other in ping-pong match fashion as her husband left the room. She settled on Kate whose response was a shoulder shrug diversion to the other side of the room to retrieve her tea.
"Any truth to what he said Caitlin?"
Looking over her cup, "Maybe just a little..."
All Jenny could do was shake her head. Her kids could be considered some of the smartest people in the world... except when it came to their father. It seemed they would never learn.
*NCISRA (NCIS Resident Agent)
TBC