Close to You

Chapter 2.

As the next few weeks progressed they started to build toward Tony beginning on his way into Laura's life by organising his false ID's as well as his back cover story. In between time Tony also started to get his own research done so that he could gauge how to make his approach to her. Through doing this he soon found out that she was single and guessed that he most probably was going to be ending up getting into trouble with her, but he truly hoped that he wouldn't. Then one night totally by accident while he was out for a drink with a couple of friends, he found that she was also there. He didn't go anywhere near her but did end up watching her from afar especially as he didn't want to blow the op from the very start. But as they left the bar and got back home once again, as he sat thinking about things, yes he did find that in a way she was very attractive, somehow he was thinking that perhaps the friendship route would be the way to go and then he would see how things went from there.

Once they had got everything ready and in place like before he was to continue in his job as usual and meet up with Laura for the first time and whatever happened in the weeks to come that was to continue. For their first meeting they met at a coffee shop near to Georgetown University where she worked as a lecturer, and it was just a quick meeting because of it being just before she was due to start at work. He was also quite surprised when she actually made the first move with a stunning smile before she said a quiet "Hi." Because of the way that she was so at ease with him from straight off he knew that he was right and that friendship was the best route to go and his original feeling from the night he saw her had been right. They then introduced themselves to one another, before they took an empty table and had a talk as they got to know each other. when it came time for her to leave it was then her suggestion that perhaps they might do this and get together once again for breakfast or coffee one morning, as she then handed him a piece of paper with her number of it. As he took it he flashed her a gorgeous smile and said "That would be good." She then returned a gorgeous smile back and replied "Yes it would." Before she then took her leave, leaving Tony in his seat, as he then shook himself out of the reverie he had fallen into he said to himself "Come on Anthony don't go there!" Before he then took his leave and walked out heading to work.

After that in the next couple of weeks or so she and Tony just limited things to just having breakfast and coffee dates before she went to work, and in that time he was finding that he did just love the friendship that they were building together. As she told him about her life and also because of the way she mostly had a British accent as she spoke, with just a slight American lilt to it. She explained that she thought it may be just down to her having spent four/five years in the UK when she was doing her degree, because with being bought up here in DC she spoke with mostly an American accent, but with being half British as well it had gone with the time she had spent over there. As he came away from one of their dates he did start to wonder what had happened while she had been in the UK and what had happened on her return, because as she talked about her time in Oxford with her mom and how much she had really fallen in love with the history of Oxford, as well as how she loved living so close to the city of London too, and the way in which the time with her mom had been so good and had made them close with their relationship once again. Her face had really lit up and he could really see that love in her face, but then as she said about her return and that she did really love the job she doing and that was really the only thing, she just mentioned her father in passing but he very soon saw her shut down in an instant and that love she had in her face soon disappeared and he then really struggled to read what her face and eyes were telling him. This time as he returned to the Navy Yard again he started to ponder things and even though part of him didn't want to do it when Vance had told him about the social services reports they'd been able to get hold of on what had happened to her mom and herself during the marriage to her father, he wondered if he should look at it. Not only that he was also starting to wonder what her father had possibly done to her and if she had somehow not admitted to it at whatever age it was because he had threatened to do more harm to her mom or something.

In the end though he couldn't really find anything out, that was until he found out via one of his old frat brothers who worked in the UK and had got a British wife, who at the time of the case with Laura's mom was just doing her training to be a social worker and had shadowed the social worker that actually worked the case. She explained that they hadn't been able to get anything out of Laura as social workers or through the counselling she was receiving as to how much she saw of that night when he beat her mom so badly and raped her, and then of course they also didn't know if her father had then got her any continuing help following him kidnapping her, which they doubted that he ever did. So it could mean that the way she was could be down to finally breaking free of him so to speak when she was back in the UK again, then seeing him once again on her return could have bought all those bad memories back again and it was just too much for her and her system was just overwhelmed. She advised him to take everything carefully with her, even if it was very important for them to get the information they needed because he could either be lucky and get what they needed out of her or it could go the other way and she would help them but end up completely clamming up on them and he would then end up loosing whatever kind of relationship he'd got with her.

A few weeks later though he got a little bit of an insight into things and also somehow knew that perhaps she would end up helping them get her father. They were in the middle of a weekend duty and had been called out, but he knew that it was going to be ok because she was going to be seeing her father albeit reluctantly and even when she'd said about going to see him she had said that she had got to the point where she really didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, but really didn't have a clue where to go. As he'd said to her that he would be there for her at anytime she needed to talk about it, so she'd said that she will most probably explain things to him one day. They'd just got back from the crime scene when she'd called him quite upset and he just knew that he had to get to her, they were just talking with him under the stairs and Gibbs had gone to check that he was ok. As Tony ended the call Gibbs couldn't help but smirk at Tony's jump when he said "Is everything Ok DiNozzo?"

Tony just scrubbed his hands over his face and said "I don't have a clue what has happened, but her father has upset her somehow, I think I need to go to her boss."

Gibbs replied "If you think that it will help her on the road to helping us then go and see her, we can excuse you for a while, go."

"Thanks boss." And with that he ran off to be with her.

When he arrived at her apartment, which was also his first visit there seeing as she had told him where she lived a couple of weeks before that. As she answered the door to him he could already see that she had been crying because of the way her eyes were red and she had streaks down her face, so the instant that she let him in and closed the door he took her into a hug and once she'd settled down he went and got her a drink. As she drunk it while he cuddled her into him on the sofa he said "So what did he do, tell me?"

She answered "It just felt like for the whole visit he wasn't really with me and after kicking up such a fuss about me going over there, when all I really wanted to do was pop into work this morning and just catch up on marking some papers. So when I get there he's giving me this lecture about how I should always be there to go to his at his beck and call, then threatening me by saying that he would do exactly the same to me as he did with mom all those years ago or he would do just as used to do to me if I didn't do as he said. Then the next second he's telling me that he's got someone to see here in DC this afternoon so he'd got to cut the visit short. I know I've been told over the years that I shouldn't say it, but you know I really hate that man, he destroyed the relationship I had with my mom and turned me into a scared timid little thing and I just hate it so much. Especially as I have seen so many things in my life that I now know a child just should not have seen, you know Tony he just isn't a very good man. And I hate to say it, but I have some suspicions that he's the man that NCIS are looking for in these murders."

Tony then asked with some concern "What makes you say that?"

"It's just that I can't say what I've actually seen in my life, but let's just say that it's enough to know that he's not straight and I suspect that he's bisexual. Not only that I know that I don't know everything about the victims that have been found and have just read about it in the paper, but things with the bodies are exactly the same as what he did to my mom when he nearly killed her. I'm just hoping to god that another victim won't turn up later today or tomorrow, not only that because of the way that we're supposed to be spending the day together I'm scared that if he did get bought in to answer questions that he will attempt to try and use me somehow for an alibi and try to threaten me into doing it. Even though I know that if I did commit perjury to do it, then I would loose my job and everything else if I have a conviction."

He then says to her as he cups her chin to make her look at him "If I can and I will have to look into a couple of things first I will help you with everything, but let me ask you something first, if need be would you go to NCIS and tell them what you know?"

She answers "Yes I would do Tony because if it is him then I want him to be bought to justice the only thing that I would be scared of is him attempting to come after me to make me not give evidence against him. Look I don't know if it would be allowed or not, but if I could I would really like to be able to help them out."

"How do you mean?"

She answers "Well even though I do teach psychology I do also have my doctorate in forensic psychology, I've never really used it because I couldn't find the right job, but lets just say that if it was possible and he did go and do another murder today and from what I've read in the papers, after each one he seems to disappear before he then does another one. I don't really like the idea of doing it because he is my father, but if I can get a look at the case papers I may be able to get into his head and possibly be able to tell them where he's headed to next and then perhaps be able to save the next victim from being killed."

Tony asks "It could, but do you really feel like you would be able to do it?"

She answers "I think that I probably could, but I also have it in my mind that I should also do this because I do also have it in the back of my mind that eventually I could also end up being a victim myself and I don't want to end up becoming that either."

He says "And I wouldn't want that for you either. Ok let me have a little think about things and I promise that I will get back to you, just let me have a look into things, but don't hesitate to call me if you get worried about anything, and unless you do really have to do it try not to have any contact with him or if the worst comes to the worst just talk to him on the phone and don't let him into your apartment, and from now on I will always call you in advance when I'm going to be coming here. I don't really know if it will help or not, but do you think that you might be able to build something of a profile from what you can get from the papers and things?"

She answers "I might be able to, there might also be a chance that I could talk to my friend Louise as well and she may be able to give me a little bit more than what the actual papers say because she's a journalist and she may be able to give me some extra notes or something like that."

He says "Ok... so you go and have a freshen up and I'll go and sort out another drink for you, then I'll go and see what I can do to make a start with things." She then gets up and just before she heads to the bathroom she bends to give him a light kiss on his cheek as she says with a weak smile "Thanks Tony."

While she's then in the bathroom Tony goes into the kitchen again to sort out the drink and he then takes a chance to quietly call Gibbs he gives him just a quick summary without going into the details of what he and Laura discussed about her building the profile, then at the end of it he says that it might be an idea to talk to Vance about things as well, Gibbs agrees and they end the call saying that he should get back as soon as he can. He then gets on with the drink and by the time he does that it's in time for Laura to walk out of the bathroom looking a lot better than she had done just before she went in there. As they stand looking at one another he says "Are you sure that you'll be ok on your own?"

She answers "I'll be fine and I promise I will call you if anything comes up." And with that he kisses her on the top of her head, then as he walks out the door, he holds it open and peers back round it at her as he says "As soon as I'm gone lock and chain it." "I will do I promise."

Back at the Navy Yard he virtually steps straight into Gibbs who is waiting there for him and says that the director wants to see them both as soon as he gets there, so the two of them head straight to his office. As Tony explains to them what has happened and that if it is possible she is willing to help them by using her forensic psychology to try and profile her father to see if they can track him and see if they can profile his next victim to make an attempt at stopping him. So with that Vance tells him that if he wants to break cover and that he does really think that she would help them, then he would clear it with the university to let her go and he would give her the clearance she would need to be able to work with the team as a psychologist only, not only that he would also give clearance so that Ducky could work alongside her if that is what she wished. So with that just as Tony is about to open his mouth and to say that he would be willing to break his cover as long as it would be possible for him to be able to talk to her first and alone, they get interrupted by his cell ringing. As he sees Laura's name on the display he says "Excuse me I'd better take this." He then disappears out into the outer office to be able to answer the call, as he does so he can hear the panic in Laura's voice as well as the banging and shouting in the background, so he tells her to keep herself safe and he will be right there with her. He then heads back into the office and says "I don't think there's going to be any choice I'm going to have to blow my cover now... that was her and her father is trying to get into her apartment right now."

Vance says "I will come with you, just grab McGee and I will be right behind you."

A/N: This story ended up taking a different turn to what I expected, but even so it is still going to end up staying reasonably the same as I had got it planned out! I know I'm also rotten because I've left you on a cliff hanger as well, but I should update soon! xxx. D. :0D