Jana

Written for the When the Past Returns and Family Crisis Challenges

Genre: Family/Tragedy/Angst/Friendship. Pre-NCIS and Season 9

Characters: Tim and the rest of the MCRT, Sarah McGee, OCs.

Rating: FR 15/T for subject matter.

Summary: An unpleasant discovery in a Virginia forest brings back unpleasant memories for a member of Gibbs' team.

This story is in the same 'verse as my fic Whirlwind. It's slightly AU, since here Tim's dad is dead in the show timeline. You don't really need to read Whirlwind to understand what's going on, though.

Disclaimer: Settings and unfamiliar characters are fictitious or used fictitiously. I don't own anything else. Pity.

Warning: The first scene might be disturbing to some readers. Read at your own risk.

This is a slightly different type of storytelling for me. I hope it works.

Chapter 1

*November 3rd, 2010, near Burnsville, Virginia, 6:00 AM*

The sky was still dark when Beth Porter reached her tree stand and climbed up to her perch above the forest floor. She settled back in her seat and took a deep breath, enjoying the silence of the pre-dawn woods. This was her favorite part of hunting season: the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and solitude that a morning in the woods brought. She often wished she was here with a camera to capture some of the beauty of her surroundings. Instead she carried the Winchester Featherweight that had served her well for nearly twenty years. A camera won't put meat in the freezer, she thought with a rueful smile.

Several minutes passed and she was able to see more of the forest around her as the sky began to lighten. Slowly surveying her surroundings, she kept her eyes peeled for the tell-tale signs of her quarry. A soft crunch of leaves in the undergrowth drew her attention and she raised her rifle, calmly waiting for the intruder to appear. Soon her patience was rewarded and the animal stepped out in the open. She sighted in and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she pulled the trigger. The roar of a gunshot shattered the silence of the woods and the deer turned to run, bounding away a few yards before staggering and then, to her dismay, disappearing into a ravine.

"Crap."

Beth slung her rifle over her shoulder and climbed down from the tree stand. She walked over to the spot where she had seen the deer and soon found the blood trail, which she followed to the edge of the ravine. She looked down and saw the deer lying at the bottom, about eight feet down.

"Double crap."

She pulled off her knapsack and searched inside for the length of cord she carried, just in case, and started searching for a safe way down into the ravine. Finally she spotted an area with a more gentle slope and carefully made her way down. She had almost reached the bottom when part of the bank gave way underneath and she fell, landing on her butt and sliding the rest of the way to the bottom. After giving herself a few moments to calm her pounding heart and to do a quick assessment of any possible injuries, she managed to get her feet under her and put a steadying hand towards the ground. As she tried to rise, her hand came in contact with something smooth and rounded. She looked down, expecting to see a rock, but when she realized what she was touching Beth Porter did something she didn't normally do.

She screamed.

*October 18th, 1991, Greenville Heights, VA , 7:30 AM*

"Come on, Tim, we're going to be late!"

"Jana, slow down! You know we're supposed to stick together."

"Well we could, if you two weren't such slowpokes."

Tim rolled his eyes and wondered why the elder of his two sisters couldn't be more like his youngest sibling, who was obediently trotting along next to him, her small hand gripped in his own.

"Jana, slow down, or I'll make you hold my hand all the way to school."

"I don't need to hold hands, I'm not a baby!"

"Then stop acting like it!"

Sarah giggled. "Jana's a baby…"

"Shut up, Sarah."

"Hey! You don't talk to her like that," Tim growled as he finally managed to catch up to his errant sibling and grabbed her hand.

"Let me go!"

"No. Mom said we have to stick together. Either you walk with us or I drag you."

"You're such a jerk."

"Don't call Timmy names!" Sarah yelled and stomped her foot. "Say you're sorry."

Jana sent her sister and her brother each a glare. "Fine. I'm sorry." She jerked her hand free from Tim's but didn't surge ahead and Tim let out a sign of relief. One battle won. He picked up his pace a little and both girls scrambled to keep up. After several minutes, Jana let out a heavy sigh.

"When's Dad going to be home?"

"He has two more months on this deployment. You know that."

"I wish he'd get back sooner. I hate it here."

You and me both, thought Tim, but he knew his reasons were quite different than his sister's.

"I like it," chirped Sarah. "I think the woods are pretty."

"I'd rather be near the ocean," Jana muttered. "Why couldn't we stay near Norfolk?"

"Because Mom wanted to be closer to Nana. You know that, too."

They walked I silence for several minutes before Jana spoke again. "Where do you think we'll go next?"

"Probably back to Alameda," Tim replied. "I heard Mom and Dad talking about it."

"I wish we could stay in one place for more than a year. I hate moving around so much."

"I think that's one thing we can all agree on."

"It's a pain. A new school every year, and I have to make new friends all over again. Guess that doesn't bother you though, since you don't have any friends."

"Jana! That wasn't nice!" Sarah yelled and smacked her sister on the arm.

"Sarah, don't hit your sister," Tim instructed, even though for a brief moment he had wanted to do the same.

"Why are you so mean to Timmy?"

"'Cause he's bossy."

"So? He's the big brother, that's his job."

And the pay stinks…

"I'm not bossy. You just never listen."

"Why should I?"

"Because…I'm trying to keep you safe, OK?" Tim had heard a couple of the teachers talking about a girl who had gone missing, and despite the grief they gave him, he didn't want either of his sisters to disappear like that.

After a few more moments of silence, Jana cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, Tim."

He glanced down and saw from her expression that she was sincere. He reached out and ruffled her hair, causing her to duck away.

"Hey!"

"Apology accepted," he said with a grin. Finally her mulish expression faded and she grinned in return as they continued on the path to the school.

Soon the familiar buildings came into view and Jana separated herself from her siblings, but still stayed close enough to keep Tim from worrying. When they reached the gate of the elementary school, Jana was surrounded by a group of her friends and they skipped off, leaving Tim alone with Sarah. He gently squeezed her hand and they made their way to the Kindergarten classroom, where he left her with the slightly harried-looking teacher. Finally, he squared his shoulders and headed across the street to the high school, mentally preparing himself for another day of hell.

*November 4th, 200, near Burnsville, Virginia, 9:30 AM*

Sheriff Bud Clark popped another antacid in his mouth as he watched the activity in the ravine below him. His deputy Billy Kirwin was-perhaps too enthusiastically for Bud's tastes—photographing the collection of bones scattered along the eroding side of the former creek bed, and the younger man had already prepared a container to transport the bones after they were collected. The discovery of these bones the previous day had prompted a frantic call to the sheriff's office, and when he had gone to talk to the caller, Mrs. Porter had calmed considerably. She had led him out to the sight and after he had been convinced that what she found was, in fact of police interest, he had called Billy out to help with the scene.

"How long do you think these have been here?" Billy asked as he finished the last set of pictures.

"No idea. Looks like they eroded out of the bank," Bud replied, and Billy turned to look where Bud had pointed. He immediately went over and started photographing the exposed earth and Bud sighed. One of these days…

After he finished, Billy began to collect the bones, placing them gently in the container. He frowned as he picked up the bone that had started the whole thing. "Looks kinda small. Think it's a kid? Or maybe a midget?" he asked, his smile fading as it became quite apparent his boss didn't appreciate the joke.

"Do I look like one of those bone docs to you? Just make sure you don't miss any, and I'll see if I can find someone to take a look at them. They might even be too old to worry about."

"OK, Sheriff. I was just wondering where we should start looking, trying to figure out who it is."

"Don't think it's going to be that easy, Billy."

Once Billy had retrieved all the bones he could find, Bud tossed down a rope and Billy tied it around the box so Bud could haul it up to the top of the ravine. Billy himself found a longer route out, and soon they were on their way back to the truck.

After they had reached their truck and were on their way back to the office, Bud listened with half an ear and Billy rambled on about their new "case". Bud did not share his deputy's enthusiasm, as he was well aware of how many of these types of cases went unsolved, especially considering the apparent age of the remains. Bud wondered if there was anyone who even still remembered the person, or still thought about what had happened to them.

*October 18th, 1991, Greenville Heights, VA 12:33 PM*

Charlotte McGee glanced at the clock and groaned as she frantically searched for her keys. She was already going to be late picking Sarah up from Kindergarten, which also meant she was going to be late for work. I really don't need this today.

The ringing of the phone startled her and she grabbed it, thankful they had invested in a cordless. She continued her search as she answered.

"Hello?"

"Charlotte McGee?"

The tone of the voice stopped her in her tracks and she took a deep breath to calm her suddenly racing heart.

"Yes?"

"This is Jennifer Martin calling from Roanoke Community Hospital. We have you listed as an emergency contact for Alice Gordon."

"What happened?"

"I'm afraid she was in an automobile accident and was brought in to our ER."

"Oh my God…is she going to be OK?"

"I believe so. The doctors need to talk to you before she's released. She's going to need someone to watch over her for a few days."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." She punched the button to end the call and immediately dialed a number.

"Becky? It's Charlotte. My mother was in an accident and—"

"Is she OK?"

"I'm going over to find out. Can you-?"

"I'll cover your shift. Just take care of your mother and let me know what's going on when you find out."

"Thanks, Becky, I owe you." She hung up and then dialed a final number. "Cindy? It's Charlotte. Can you pick up Sarah from Kindergarten?"

"Sure. What's going on?"

"My mother was in an accident and I'm going to Roanoke to check on her. Can you tell Tim and Jana when they come to pick up Sarah and keep them there until I get back?"

"No problem. Is Alice going to be OK?"

"I hope so. Thanks, Cindy."

She dropped the phone back on its charger and finally spotted her keys. She grabbed them and ran out the door, relieved that at least she wouldn't have to worry about her kids.

*November 8th, 2010, Bath County Sheriff's Office, 1:00 PM*

"Any luck?"

Bud glanced up at his deputy and sighed. "I found someone to look at the bones, but it will be a few days before they can get up here to get them. You?"

"I've got a few possibles, but we'll need more info before I can go any further." Billy paused, an uncomfortable expression on his face. "I never realized how many people go missing around here."

"Yeah, well, most of the time it's because they want to, I reckon."

"Even the kids?"

"The runaways, maybe, but the rest…no, I don't think they do."

That's gotta be awful for the parents…"

"Yeah."

"Sheriff…do you think we'll ever figure out who this is?"

Bud sighed. He knew the chances were slim, but he also knew things in that area were getting better.

"Hope so, Billy."

"Yeah…me, too."

*October 18th, 1991, Greenville Heights, VA 3:40 PM*

"Hey, Geek!"

Tim cringed and automatically hunched his shoulders when that hateful voice rang through the mostly empty hallway. He had been trying to avoid Barry Watkins for the last week, but the boy had an almost uncanny ability to find the object of his daily torments. Tim tried to ignore the taunt and kept walking, but the sound of quickly approaching footsteps told him he wouldn't be getting off so easy.

"I'm talking to you, Geek!" Barry snarled and grabbed Tim's shoulder, spinning the younger and smaller boy around to face him.

"What is it now, Barry?" Tim asked softly, although he knew he wasn't likely to get a coherent answer.

Barry looked at Tim with contempt. "You think you're so much better than me, don't you? Mr. Smarty Pants Teacher's Pet."

Tim sighed. "No. Just because I actually do my homework, doesn't mean I think I'm better. And I'm not a teacher's pet."

"Yeah, right. Perfect scores on every test. You make the rest of us look bad."

"Well maybe if you would actually study-."

"Shut up! You messed up the curve. Again."

"Mrs. Patterson doesn't curve—"

"Well she would if you didn't get perfect scores all the time."

"Look, just because you failed doesn't mean—"

"Your fault, Geek. So I tell you what you're going to do to make up for it," Barry said in a low voice as he loomed over Tim. "You're going to do my homework, and you're going to bomb the next few tests. Even things out, it's only fair."

"No. I won't do that. I won't do either of those things."

"You will if you know what's good for you."

"No, I won't. Now leave me alone, or—"

"Or what? You'll whine to the principle? He won't care. Nobody cares about you, Geek."

Tim just shook his head and tried to walk away but Barry grabbed his arm. He tried to pull free but suddenly he felt himself being lifted off his feet.

"What are you doing? Stop!"

He caught sight of the Barry's face, twisted with fury, just before the other boy threw him against the wall. His head connected with the cinderblock and felt a blinding flash of pain before the blackness engulfed him.

*October 18th, 1991, Greenville Heights, VA 3:50 PM*

Jana watched building across the street, waiting for her brother to emerge. She tapped her foot impatiently, but it didn't help: Tim was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, Jana, let's go."

"I can't, Bri, I have to wait for my brother."

"Why?"

"He doesn't want me to go anywhere alone."

"You won't be alone, you'll be with us. Besides, I'm sure he'll catch up."

"Yeah, probably…but I really should wait for him."

A couple of her friends snorted and she turned to them. "What?"

"Must be hard, being a baby sister."

"I'm not a baby," she replied with more than a touch of anger.

"Yeah, so show him that. You don't need a babysitter, do you?"

"No, of course not."

"Well then ditch him. Come on, Allie found this really cool cave back in the woods. We're going to go check it out."

"But—"

"We'll be home way before your mom. Don't worry."

Jana took one last glance at the high school. She didn't really need Tim to walk her home. She'd been telling him that ever since they started at this school. He could survive one day of not being the annoying big brother, right? Finally she turned to her friends with a grin.

"OK, let's go."

The girls linked arms and skipped off, disappearing into the woods. Five minutes later an ambulance screeched to a halt in front of the high school.

*November 15, 2010, Knoxville, TN 4:00 PM*

Dr. Aubrey Finnegan slipped on a pair of gloves and opened the container sitting on his lab table. He was a little annoyed that he or one of his colleagues hadn't been called in during the collection of these remains, but unfortunately it was an all too common occurrence. Rural cops weren't often up on the latest procedures and technologies, and would collect the bones as they would any other evidence, destroying a lot of the information that could only be obtained by a specialist examining the bones in situ. At least in this case there were good photographs of the site, but a lot of the details that would help in establishing time since death, or even whether or not the remains were recent, had been lost.

One by one, Dr. Finnegan laid the bones out on the table in anatomical position. The skeleton wasn't complete, either due to animal scavenging or, most likely, because the officer had missed a few, but he would work with what he had.

After examining the collection, he determined that he was dealing with a single individual, and it was a sub-adult. Many of the epiphyseal plates were unfused, and the presence of emerging teeth in the maxilla told him that this was a fairly young child, no more than twelve. He began the process of documentation, the first of many steps required to complete the biological profile of the remains and hopefully to determine to whom they belonged.

*October 18th, 1991, Greenville Heights, VA 4:50 PM*

"Wasn't that cool?" Allie asked and grinned at her companions. She was met with a chorus of "no" from the other three girls.

"It was a cave. There weren't even any formations in it," grumbled Jana.

"Yeah, but it's a place no one knows about. That makes it cool."

"Whatever."

They reached the driveway of Allie's house and stopped to check the area for signs of grown-ups.

"We should go back tomorrow. Maybe there's more to it."

"Let's not," said Bri.

"You all are no fun."

"We know," they replied with a grin. The remaining three girls said their goodbyes to Allie and headed off to the next house. After leaving Bri at her house, Jana and Maggie continued on until they reached Maggie's residence.

"You OK to walk home from here?" Maggie asked, and Jana shrugged.

"Why not, it's just two more blocks."

"Yeah, but it's starting to get dark."

"Not for another hour or two. I'll be fine. At least until I get home and face the wrath of Tim."

Maggie giggled. "He'll get over it."

"Yeah, I guess. See you later, Maggie."

"See ya."

Jana started walking toward her own house, imagining what her brother's reaction would be. It wasn't going to be fun, that was for sure.

She was only a few hundred yards from her front door when she heard a car pull up beside her and she turned to see a car that looked like an unmarked police car. The man inside rolled down the window.

"Jana?"

"Yes?" she asked, immediately wary of the stranger.

"Your mom sent me to pick you up. She's at the hospital."

Jana's eyes widened in alarm. "What happened?"

"Your brother got hurt. Your mom's with him."

Jana felt a rush of guilt. She had been off having fun with her friends while Tim…

"Is he going to be OK?"

"I don't know. Your mom can tell you when we get to the hospital. Get in."

He reached across and opened the door and Jana quickly climbed inside.

"Buckle up," he said, and she immediately complied. The last thing her mother needed was for her to get hurt, too. The man guided the car away from the curb and Jana leaned back in her seat, her thoughts on her brother and just how bad he could be hurt. She never noticed the satisfied smile that crossed the man's face as they drove off into the ascending night.

TBC…

This should be three chapters. Next will be posted tomorrow night (hopefully).