A Few More Details: Elizabeth Gibbs is three years old. She was three months old when Shannon was killed. Kelly is eight, as previously stated. She was six when Shannon was killed. Gibbs retired from the Marine corp shortly after and has been working at NCIS for just over a year. Jenny is about twenty-five or twenty-six.
Friday December 3rd 1993. Bethesda Naval Hospital. 11:09 pm.
Jennifer Shepard listened to the attending nurse's monologue of findings with the cool, professional composure of any good sex crimes detective; she had been doing this far too long to break down in hysterics or have her stomach turned by the details of a rape.
Experience did not mean, however, that she was not disgusted and saddened by the occurrence, and it certainly did not mean she was numb to heartache for little Kelly Gibbs in the hospital room just behind the nurse's back.
"Bruises on the inner thighs, knees, and ribcage but no fractured bones; pronounced handprint on the left buttock and coiled around the back of the neck. Superficial lacerations on the knees and thighs with gravel and asphalt in the wounds," the nurse explained quietly, giving a quick glance to where Kelly was. "Severe vaginal trauma—"
"Anything from the rape kit?" asked Jenny dutifully.
With a sigh, the nurse nodded.
"Fluids, a couple of hairs. Blood on her clothes from a freshly perforated hymen. The vaginal canal is red an inflamed, as well as the inner and outer labia. She's running a high fever, but I'm not sure if that's related or not. We've taken swabs to test for STDs and administered a weak sedative in case she falls asleep."
"No nightmares," murmured Jenny, looking over the nurse's shoulder. She sighed and flipped the notebook in her hands shut, tucking her ink pen behind her ear distractedly. "Thank you. I need the DNA and other findings from the rape kit sent to our lab ASAP," Jenny paused and looked into the room again. She lowered her voice. "Will she be able to go home tonight?"
The nurse nodded hesitantly.
"I don't see why not. If she wants to, it might be best. Thank you for distracting her while I did the exam, it made things go much smoother."
Jenny nodded absently and the nurse, hearkening to the sound of her beeper, inclined her head and bowed out, disappearing purposefully down the hall. Jenny moved closer to the clear glass viewing window so she could see Kelly.
The doctor was looking at her chart and seemed to be talking to her. Kelly had stopped crying a few minutes after arriving at the hospital, but she hadn't wanted Jenny to leave her. Jenny bit her lip and opened the door to Kelly's room, coming in with a smile on her face.
"Hi, Kelly," she greeted gently.
Kelly struggled up, her cheeks pale, except for the colouring of an ugly black and blue bruise blossoming over one cheek. The doctor glanced at his patient and Jenny approached the bed, dragging up a chair.
"What does Dr. Gelfand have to say?" Jenny asked, glancing at the man. He smiled at her.
"He says I'm brave," Kelly answered. Jenny nodded. The little girl's voice was still softly hoarse from screaming or crying—or both—and her beautiful blue eyes, which Jenny was willing to bet where bright and gorgeous under other circumstances, were lackluster and dull.
Dr. Gelfand laid Kelly's clipboard on the edge of her bed and beckoned subtly to Jenny. Jenny nodded and then gave Kelly a secretive look.
"I think Dr. Gelfand is too shy to admit it," she said, keeping her voice hushed. "He has to tell me where you can't hear him. Give me a minute, okay?"
Kelly nodded slowly, watching Jenny get up and move away with her big blue eyes. Dr. Gelfand turned his back to Kelly and kept his voice low as he spoke.
"She's pre-pubescent, so clearly there's no risk of pregnancy. Paramedics said when the SS found her at the scene she was unconscious and bleeding from the head and genitals, but there was no substantial blood loss. I'm concerned about the head injury even though she seems to be functioning; if she presents with any nausea or dizziness, it may mean she has a concussion. Keep an eye on that," he informed practically.
Jenny nodded and Dr. Gelfand shook his head, removing his glasses and tucking them into his pocket.
"I wish you'd stop bringing me children, Jenny," he said forlornly.
Jenny smiled bitterly.
"Not as much as I do, Todd," she responded. He left the room, and she returned to Kelly, this time perching on the edge of the little girl's bed. Kelly's clothes had been removed as evidence and she'd been placed in a hospital gown with flowers on it. She still had Jenny's coat.
"Jenny? I don't like hospitals," Kelly said softly. Jenny smiled sadly.
"Me neither. They're too cold, don't you think?"
Kelly snuggled under Jenny's coat in response. She shook her head.
"Mommy died in a hospital," she said instead. Jenny's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't fair at all. She leaned forward and took Kelly's hand, tracing a flower pattern on her palm softly.
"Is Daddy here yet?" Kelly asked, her voice trembling.
"We called him, sweetheart. He said he'd be here as fast as he could."
"That's really fast," Kelly informed Jenny solemnly. Jenny smiled in amusement.
"Is that because your Dad is a marine?" she inquired.
"Umm, huh-uh," Kelly murmured, furrowing her brow. "No, he stopped being a marine so he wouldn't have to leave us anymore. He works at the NCIS now," she said. She got quiet. "He always is fast when I want him," she said.
Jenny smiled.
"That's good," she said thickly, very pleased to hear that this kid had someone who really loved her to get her through this. Not everyone was that lucky. Jenny hadn't been that lucky. She squeezed Kelly's hand comfortingly.
"He's going to be mad," Kelly said softly, her mouth shaking a little. "He's protective," she murmured. Jenny stroked the little girl's hand gently, giving her a soft smile. It was perceptive of Kelly to think of that, but then, she knew her own father better than Jenny (who didn't know him at all). Jenny simply knew the fathers were always raging mad. Who could blame them?
"Hey, Kelly? Is it okay if we talk about what happened to you?" she asked very gently.
Kelly closed her mouth and leaned back, rolling on her side to look at Jenny from the pillows. She swallowed and nodded her head uncertainly. Jenny gave her a faltering, encouraging smile and pulled her small hand into both of hers.
"The doctor said you were unconscious when the police helped you. Can you tell me what you remember before you met me?"
Kelly reached behind her neck and touched her skin.
"A man pushed me and dragged me with him, and he broke smashed my tiara…and he hurt me," she murmured uncertainly. Jenny squeezed her hand again, just to let Kelly know it was okay.
"I know it was scary, Kelly," Jenny said sympathetically. Kelly nodded. Jenny hesitated briefly and then pushed on. "You know he hurt you, Kelly. Do you understand—"
"I know what he did," Kelly interrupted, looking at Jenny. She swallowed hard and then her eyes filled with tears again and she squeezed Jenny's hand this time and reached for her arm with her other. "But I don't understand," she whimpered, and Jenny leaned down closer.
Kelly touched her hair and then her eyes fell to the small silver pendant on Jenny's necklace and she touched it gently.
"You don't understand what, Kelly?" Jenny asked softly, letting Kelly hold onto the charm she always wore at her throat.
"Why," Kelly answered hoarsely. "Daddy said you were supposed to love each other and I could say no if I didn't—" Kelly's words caught in her throat and she pulled her hands back, putting her fingers against her mouth. "I told him to stop. I screamed at him. And he didn't."
Jenny pressed her fingers to the Kelly's forehead soothingly.
"I know," she murmured. "Shhh. Its okay, honey. It's okay to cry," she said.
There was a sharp rap on the window behind her and Jenny turned. Munch beckoned to her and she turned back to Kelly, biting her lip. She pulled her hand back slowly.
"Kelly, can you give me another minute? If I promise I'll come right back?"
Kelly nodded slowly but she opened her eyes and clenched her fist.
"I want you to stay, Jenny," she mumbled.
"I'll come right back," she repeated sincerely, standing up slowly. Kelly didn't take her eyes off of her and Jenny smiled reassuringly before she turned and swiftly exited, shutting the door tightly before she let Munch begin speaking.
"She's responding to you really well," he remarked, surprised by it.
"I've got a more shocking turn of events," muttered Jenny, walking away from Kelly's line of sight to speak with John. "She says she understands she was raped."
Munch lifted his brows.
"Fully understands?"
Jenny nodded. She was generally accustomed to two groups of rape victims: young children who were none the wiser to what had happened until it wreaked havoc on them years later and older teens and adults who were acutely aware of it.
Kelly seemed precocious at least.
Munch shook his head.
"CSU has set up where they found her to canvass the area. I contacted Fin and Benson to supervise the findings and got Cabot's voicemail when I tried to reach her. I figure she'll want to talk to the girl as soon as possible."
"That might be best, if we want to catch the bastard," Jenny agreed.
"Sir, you can't just go back there!" a patronized nurse warned loudly.
Jenny looked past Munch as the doors behind him flew open. One of the nurses rolled her eyes, unconcerned, and allowed the man hassling her to pass.
He was a rather impressive figure to try and stand up to. Tall and muscular, he had a clean-shaven face and a short-cropped crew cut. He wore a navy pea coat over jeans and a wrinkled polo, looked tired and worried and pissed all at the same time, and was holding a groggy toddler against his shoulder.
Munch and Jenny both turned to look as he caught the nearest nurse's attention.
"Who the hell is running this place?" he growled impatiently.
Munch gave Jenny a look and she nodded, stepping away from him and walking over.
"I'll handle this," she said to the nurse, who scampered away thankfully.
The man turned piercing blue eyes on her and she recognized them instantly as the mirrors of the little girl's in the room she'd left minutes ago. She didn't want to assume, but she knew that this had to be Kelly's father and she was relieved to see him.
The toddler he was holding, another little girl with her hair tied up in short pigtails, shifted and looked at Jenny through her fingers, smiling widely and sleepily. Jenny smiled at her distractedly and drew herself up.
"Maybe I can help you, sir," she said confidently, meeting his eyes levelly.
"Don't call me sir, I work for a living," he retorted, and she lifted her eyebrows. "Kelly. The police—a woman, called about my daughter. I'm Jethro Gi—"
"You are Kelly's father," Jenny said quickly, wanting to cut down on idle chit chat. She held out her hand. "I'm Detective Jennifer Shepard, I'm the woman who you spoke to," she said. He took her hand firmly and shook it.
"Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs," he said shortly. He plowed right along, looking at her with those sharp, sure eyes intensely. "My daughter?"
"Sissy," the toddler said promptly, sitting up and blinking sleepily. She wrapped her arms around Agent Gibbs' neck and turned her head to look at Jenny with another cute smile. "Kelly is at ballet," she said in the slurred, innocent speech of a very young child.
Distractedly, he placed his hand on the kid's head and pressed her against his shoulder.
"Agent Gibbs," Jenny said. "Your daughter is hurt, but she's fine. She is in the room just around that corner," he began to move past her, but Jenny took his arm unthreateningly and stopped him, looking at him pointedly. "You need to let me finish, Agent Gibbs. You have to know what happened before you see her."
He paused, seemed to struggle internally for a moment, and then grudgingly turned his attention to her, his jaw set. She jerked her head towards a bench near the wall and he followed her, sitting down next to her.
Before she could say anything, his little girl twisted away from him and grabbed Jenny's hand, squirming out of Agent Gibbs' grip.
"Name?" she asked sweetly. "I Uh-lizza-beth," she said.
"Elizabeth," grunted Agent Gibbs, trying to keep a hold on her. Jenny reached out and took her arms to steady her. Elizabeth tried to crawl into her lap. "Liz!" he growled.
"It's fine," murmured Jenny, allowing the toddler to tumble into her lap and sit there, reaching to play with her previously stored ink pen contentedly.
He sat tensely, his hands in his lap, watching her with a sharp eye like he didn't trust her. Jenny lowered her voice so she wouldn't attract the attention of the child who'd taken up residence in her lap.
"Secret service police found Kelly in an alley on M street and called us in. I'm with DC Special Victims Unit," she paused to see if he would recognize the implications and he did, but the facial expression change was subtle; very subtle. His jaw tightened imperceptibly more.
"What happened, Detective?" he asked sharply, and she could tell she needn't spend any time softening the blow or beating around the bush on this one.
"She's been raped, Agent Gibbs."
As conditioned as she was to this work, Jenny wasn't prepared for the look that crossed his eyes when she said it. Pure and unrestrained agony is what it looked like, coupled with distress, and then the same white-hot, burning anger she always felt.
Elizabeth was touching her necklace now, and Jenny couldn't bring herself to look away from Agent Gibbs. He leaned forward, put his hand over his mouth tensely, and then closed his eyes briefly, everything in him seeming to harden coldly.
"The son of a bitch who did it?" he asked tersely, in a voice so raw and brittle she feared for anyone who crossed him.
"Gone," she said stiffly. "We have substantial evidence, though," she said, and realized it might have been the wrong thing to say when he visibly flinched. He knew, no doubt, what it meant to have evidence in a rape case.
He remained silent for a moment.
"I want to see her," he said with a glare.
Jenny nodded, standing up. She almost forgot she had his other little girl in her lap until the extra weight reminded her, and she raised her eyebrows at Elizabeth. Agent Gibbs seemed to wake up and notice, reaching out and taking her by the waist.
"C'mere, Lizzy," he said gently.
"Kelly?" she asked perkily, cocking her head. Agent Gibbs hugged her and nodded, looking at Jenny impatiently. She turned and he fell into step beside her, going with her in the direction of Kelly's room.
Elizabeth was still looking at Jenny from his shoulder, smiling in a very friendly way, her eyes bright and just the same colour as Kelly's.
"Is Kelly," Agent Gibbs asked tightly, faltering. "Okay?" he finished for lack of anything better to say.
Jenny nodded curtly.
"She is," she said gently. "She's talking, and she…she responded to me very well, it was rather surprising. She talked to me and let me touch her," she said, trying to reassure this man as best she could.
She stopped near the door and Jethro turned to her, looking in the window, distracted.
"Yeah, well, you look like her mother," he muttered, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Kelly. Jenny looked too; Kelly was playing with the buttons on Jenny's coat, curled up on her side again. Jenny knew it was because lying on her back was uncomfortable.
"She says she understands what happened to her," Jenny ventured, reaching out and putting her hand on the door knob slowly.
He looked at her sharply.
"Kelly knows what sex is," he said bluntly.
Jenny nodded. She lifted a shoulder.
"I know you may think I'm crazy for saying this," she said in a low voice, "but believe me, that will make this easier."
He turned his head away and Jenny opened the door, letting him walk through. She slipped in after him, pulling the door shut quietly. Kelly looked up at the small commotion and sat up like a rocket. Jenny knew it probably broke her father's heart to see a smile break through that bruise on her face.
"Daddy!" she cried.
He let Elizabeth out of his grip onto the bed with Kelly and sat down next to her, immediately leaning forward and wrapping her tightly in his arms. Jenny smiled sadly as she watched Kelly hug him and bury her head in his shoulder, her small form enveloped by him.
"Kelly," the little one said, grabbing Agent Gibbs' shoulder and peering into Kelly's face with wide eyes.
"Hi, Lizzy. Feel all better?" Kelly asked.
"Kelly sick?" Elizabeth asked.
Kelly made a face and shook her head. She pulled back and looked at her father; he placed his hand on the back of her head and squeezed her shoulder.
Jenny leaned back against the door and watched carefully. There was nothing she could do at the moment. CSU was taking care of the crime scene, Fin and Benson would be canvassing the area, and Munch was taking care of opening the case. She was left to deal with the victim. She always was, because she was good with them.
Agent Gibbs had tilted Kelly's head up and was looking at the bruise on her face. Kelly had averted her eyes from him and was tugging her sister into her lap, messing with her pigtails. Elizabeth smiled in her cute way and collapsed back into Kelly, squirming and snuggling up. Agent Gibbs pressed his hand against his daughter's cheek and stroked her hair gently, hugging her again and resting his chin on her head. Elizabeth cuddled contently with her sister.
"Name," she said, pointing at Jenny again. Jenny smiled; Kelly looked up.
"Je-nee," she pronounced clearly.
"Je-nee," repeated Elizabeth.
Agent Gibbs looked around and straightened up a little. Kelly looked at him.
"She's a detective, Daddy. She stayed with me when they did the exam," she said.
Agent Gibbs leaned forward and kissed the top of Kelly's head, patting her shoulder gently. He got up, making sure Elizabeth was safe from falling off the bed, and came over to Jenny. She stepped away from the door to meet him.
"They did a rape kit?" he asked gruffly to corroborate Kelly's statement.
Jenny nodded affirmatively. He looked at her, waiting for her to tell him.
"Fluids, hairs. He didn't use a condom and he was sloppy. We've already sent the evidence and Kelly's clothing to forensics. My colleagues are canvassing the scene and surrounding areas and my partner has opened the case," Jenny explained.
He nodded curtly.
"I want it all sent to our forensic scientist," he said firmly. Jenny was taken aback, but then she shook her head.
"I can't do that," she said.
He glared at her.
"I work—"
"Kelly told me you're with the Navy cops," Jenny interrupted. "I understand you want to be in on this, clearly but—"
"In on it? Someone raped my daughter! You're damn right I want to be in on it," he interrupted fiercely, keeping his voice low even if it was strained. Kelly had been right; Jenny could feel the anger emenating from him. Kelly was looking at them over Elizabeth's head, her eyes alert and anxious at the change in volume.
"Please, Agent Gibbs," Jenny placated. "I know. I understand, and that's why I can't just hand over pertinent evidence! You don't have jurisdiction over civilian rape cases, and it creates a questionable investigation if I give you the lead. Attorneys could raise questions of bias and I highly doubt you want Kelly's case jeopardized by something as petty as that. When I catch the son of a bitch responsible, don't you want him locked away no questions asked?"
He looked at her harshly, considering her words. He swallowed and his eyes flashed like fire for a brief second before they hardened threateningly.
"If you catch him," he spat at her, as if he doubted her ability to do so, "I want him dead."
He turned away, but Jenny, gritting her teeth, grabbed his arm and snatched him back. She didn't miss the look of surprise on his face.
"It isn't a question of 'if', Agent Gibbs," she promised sharply. "It's 'when'. You can bet your life on it."
He clenched his jaw, torn between her and his little girls in the hospital bed. His shoulders seemed to slump after a moment and he drew his eyes away from Kelly and looked at her tiredly, imploringly.
"What happened?" he asked desperately. His gaze was intense and painful. "How could this happen?"
Jenny swallowed hard and set her own jaw.
"Do you think anything I say will answer that justifiably?" she asked.
He narrowed his eyes at her, studying her.
"Daddy," Kelly said softly. "Lizzy still has a fever."
Agent Gibbs pushed Jenny's hand off of him delicately and pulled away. Jenny retreated towards the hospital door, her last glimpse one of him picking up the toddler and pressing his hand to her forehead dejectedly.
Saturday December 4th 1993. Bethesda Naval Hospital. 12:05 am.
"Goddamnit," Jenny swore as she glared at the television set behind the nurse's station.
She turned away from the image of Detective Tutuola shoving a microphone out of his face and clenched her teeth, pressing her cell phone against her ear.
"It's barely been two hours and it's on the news?" she growled.
"Slow crime week in DC and the locusts see flashing lights, we tried to keep 'em back, Jenny," answered Olivia Benson distractedly through the phone line. She sounded as annoyed with the situation as Jenny was. "We won't release name or picture, don't worry. Just don't let the girl see it."
Jenny shook her head and rubbed her forehead, trying to ignore the murmur of perky news casters and their lust for breaking crime news. Parasites and pariahs, she hated them.
"….where just over an hour ago, Secret Service police stumbled upon the tail end of a violent sex crime involving a young girl…"
"Got anything at the scene?" she asked, glaring at the pert news reporter.
"Yeah, blood. Lots of it. CSU is taking swabs to see if any of it belongs to the perp, but they don't think it does. We found scuff marks from shoes, but the pattern is odd and smeared. Almost…too smooth for soles, if that makes sense. Forensics is gonna see what they can do with it—Fin's interviewing some of the people in the apartments around the area."
"Yeah, who called it in?" asked Jenny.
"Some jittery middle-aged woman on a third floor apartment, called 911, said she heard screaming. SS was closest to the scene, and they reckon they interrupted," Benson answered.
"Perp slammed her head to shut her up then," muttered Jenny. "He could have killed her."
"Be glad he didn't," Benson said grimly. "A dead little girl is bigger news than a hurt one. And they publish the name of homicide victims."
Jenny shrugged her shoulders. Benson was right; this was headline fodder for a day or so maybe, but the next homicide would suck the media's attention away instantly and at least Kelly Gibbs would have that respite.
"Anything else, Liv?"
"No, nothing. Except Fin found a little barrette on the sidewalk behind the alley, we think it's hers. We'll know more once we find out what happened before we were called in," Benson said.
"Right. Call if you find anything else," said Jenny, snapping her phone shut.
She fidgeted with the notepad in her hands and slid her phone into her pocket, looking up as Munch came around the corner, his big hands tucked into his coat pocket and his customary Indiana Jones-esque cap on his head.
It was after midnight now, time to either wake up and start a day or decided to push off until tomorrow. Jenny was hovering on the line of which was better right now.
"Fin and Benson getting anywhere?" Munch asked.
Jenny grunted in a non-committal way.
Munch shrugged.
"We won't have anything concrete from the lab until morning. I'm heading back to the station to file the pictures and initial statements, you stayin'?" he asked.
Jenny glanced toward the direction of Kelly's hospital room. A nurse was just walking in, putting her hand on Agent Gibbs' shoulder pleadingly and looking as if she was trying to calm him down. Distracted, Jenny nodded to Munch.
He looked in the same direction. Agent Gibbs had his toddler perched on his hip again and stormed out of the room.
"You think that kid can give us anything?" Munch asked doubtfully.
"She's the best witness we've got," Jenny responded confidently, filled with an inexplicable faith in the little girl. She gave Munch a warning look as Agent Gibbs approached them and Elizabeth immediately smiled at Jenny and peeked at her through little fingers again.
Jenny smiled and gave a small wave.
"Detective John Munch," Munch held out his hand and Agent Gibbs shook it firmly if awkwardly; his right hand was busy supporting the toddler.
"Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs," he said gruffly. "NCIS."
"This is one time I won't mind tangling with the feds," muttered Munch, and he nodded curtly to Agent Gibbs. "See ya, Jenny," he added, turning and briskly leaving.
Agent Gibbs turned to Jenny.
"When can I take Kelly home?" he asked shortly. "She's scared and she doesn't like hospitals."
"I was told she would be able to leave with you," Jenny hesitated as she looked towards the room. "Has something happened?" she asked.
"She's dizzy. Says her head hurts and she's going to throw up," he answered.
"Concussion," Jenny informed him. "The doctor warned she might have one. They'll give her something for it and release her to your care, I'm sure. You'll just have to keep her awake," Jenny explained.
"I know how to take care of her," he snapped at her. Jenny backed off. She reached for her notepad again and swept her pen out from behind her ear, flicking it open with her nail.
"Agent Gibbs," she said, pulling his attention back. "Can you tell me where Kelly was tonight?"
He looked at her blankly for a minute.
"Kelly's a ballet-reena!" said Elizabeth randomly.
"Swan Lake," muttered Agent Gibbs in return. "She was at the performance center for a ballet recital, a younger version of Swan Lake. She had a lead role, and I couldn't be there, I had to stay home and take care of Lizzy—"
"Sniffles," Elizabeth interrupted sweetly.
"Hush, Elizabeth," he ordered, and nodded distractedly. "Yeah, she came down with something this morning. Kelly was with her friend Maddie Tyler's parents. They were supposed to go out for a pizza party after the play," he said. He faltered, and shook his head. "I didn't notice how damn late it was…"
Jenny nodded, scratching the details down.
"What are Maddie Tyler's parents names?" she asked.
"Daphne and Jeff," answered Agent Gibbs. "They were supposed to watch her," he snarled. "She was supposed to be home at ten—if she went missing, why wouldn't they call me?"
Jenny looked up at him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Tyler will be the first people I talk to," she assured him.
He muttered something under his breath, and she was willing to bet he'd be the first one talking to the Tylers if he could help it. Elizabeth squirmed in his grip and put her thumb in her mouth, looking at Jenny brightly. She sniffled and wrinkled her nose. Agent Gibbs rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Were you aware Kelly was absent from the pizza party?"
"No," he snapped. "No, do you think I'd have been sitting at home if I knew she was missing?" he demanded fiercely. "Dammit, I should have been there," he swore, and Jenny recognized the guilt customary to the parents of these victims. She kept silent on the words of comfort though, because they always fell short of soothing.
"Agent Gibbs, can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Kelly?"
"You tell me who wants to rape an eight-year-old," he fired back angrily.
Elizabeth flinched. She pulled her thumb out of her mouth.
"No yell, Daddy," she said quietly. He looked down at her and frowned, softening his look and patting her head gently. She cuddled back up to him and he sighed in frustration, lowering his voice with quiet restraint again.
"I can't answer that," Jenny said. "I ask myself that question every day," she added tersely, reminding him that she wasn't any more accustomed to this than he was despite her experience with it. "There is no one you've arrested or pissed off with a vendetta against you?"
"I keep my work and my personal life separate," he said roughly. "But I can get my partner to make a list of men I've arrested in my time at NCIS and let you run DNA matches. I don't have a history of arrestees involved in sex crimes."
Jenny nodded.
"Good. That's more than helpful," she said, running her thumb over the tip of her pen. Black ink smeared across her finger tip and she ignored it. It was her trademark; hands smeared with ink because she constantly wrote on her hands or messed with her pens.
Elizabeth yawned and sat up again, twisting and reaching for Jenny. She placed her small hands on Jenny's shoulder.
"Hug?" she asked.
"Lizzy," Agent Gibbs said warningly.
"She's okay," Jenny assured him, smiling at the little girl and taking her from Agent Gibbs' without a second thought. He looked at them warily and Jenny transferred Elizabeth to her hip, reaching out to twirl a finger around a pigtail playfully. "She's friendly," she remarked.
"She likes women," Agent Gibbs answered tiredly.
Jenny nodded, and looked up at him from Elizabeth. She lowered her voice.
"Kelly said her mother died?" she probed.
He looked at her dully and then nodded, almost reluctantly.
"Kelly was six. Elizabeth was barely three months."
"That's tough," Jenny muttered after a few moments. She turned as she saw the nurse coming out of Kelly's room again.
"Mr. Gibbs," she began. "Kelly's feeling better. She's still a little sick but she'll be okay. Dr. Gelfand feels comfortable letting her go home if Detective Shepard is finished speaking with her."
Agent Gibbs nodded to the nurse and turned on Jenny. She blinked unexpectedly as the nurse excused herself and hurried off. Elizabeth sniffled again and covered her mouth with her hand. She coughed and wrinkled her nose.
"Sick," she informed Jenny. "Did I make Kelly sick?"
"Detective?" Agent Gibbs asked curtly.
"I don't see the point in putting her through the wringer tonight," Jenny said neutrally. "I have to ask you to bring her by the station first thing in the morning, though. You know it's easier that way, we're more likely to solve—"
"In the first forty-eight hours," he finished in a mutter. "Yeah," he sounded like he didn't at all like the idea of making Kelly talk or even think about what had happened.
"How can I reach you if I need her before then?" asked Jenny.
He reached into his pocket and pulled a card with his numbers from his wallet.
"You'll be at work?" she asked.
"No. I'll be with her," he said, tapping the cell phone number instead. He hesitated. He seemed to be at a loss for what to do. He turned, starting towards Kelly's room. Jenny shifted her weight, watching him go. Until she realized he was forgetting something.
"Um," murmured Elizabeth. "Daddy go bye-bye?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"Oh," said Jenny softly. "Agent Gibbs!"
He turned around and spotted Elizabeth, hurrying forward to take her immediately. There was a wounded look in his eye as she reached for him, smiling sweetly. Jenny was careful to make sure he had her before she let go. She rested her hand on his shoulder firmly, forcing him to pause and look at her.
"She won't sleep tonight," she warned helpfully. "She'll cry. You have to be there for her, Agent Gibbs."
Jethro looked at her harshly, his eyes and muscle still rigid with that lost, pent up anger she knew very well.
"Jethro," he grunted, meeting her eyes with a nod.
She returned the offer of good will by reaching out and touching his shoulder comfortingly.
"Jenny," she said, even though her name was already known to him.
Elizabeth peeked at her over his shoulder and reached out, pointing her tiny hand at Jenny's necklace.
"Pretty!" she said. "Flower!"
Jenny absently reached up and touched the necklace she always wore as she watched him return to Kelly, running her thumb over the cool crystal-and-amethyst orchid pendant at her throat with the strong feeling of empathy tugging at her emotions.