A very special thank you to my first reviewer! Sorry this took so long to update. Enjoy! I do not own NCIS.

Chapter 2: Memories

Captain Bertram did not give Gibbs and Tim any useful information. He told them that Lance Corporal Citrix was a bright young man, and a good Marine, but not much else. He told them that he, "didn't have the faintest idea of why Citrix would be meeting with terrorists." Gibbs' gut told him that Bertram was holding back information, but he decided not to push him hard. He knew that if Bertram was involved they would find out eventually, and Gibbs did not want to spook him.

Tony and Ziva were in the bullpen gathering information from the case, when Tim stepped off of the elevator.

"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva asked as Tim approached them.

"I think he went to get coffee." He replied and sat down at his desk.

"So did you guys get any useful information from your trip to Quantico?" Tony asked, and despite his best efforts to keep a straight face, Tim found himself smiling at the thought of the pretty, young Gunnery Sgt. Tony saw Tim's smile and his face lit up.

"Ah, did you meet someone there, Probilicious?"

Tim glared at Tony and said, "Yes, Tony. As a matter of fact I did. Seems like she's an old friend of Gibbs. She was so happy to see him that she started crying."

Tony grinned and said, "Alright, spill, McGee. I want details. What's her name?"

"Her name is Gunnery Sgt. Delaney Hanlon." Gibbs said walking into the bullpen.

"Oh, hey, Boss." Tony said, "Though you went to go get coffee."

"Maybe later," Gibbs said, "What do you got?"

Tony glared at McGee and mouthed "later" before taking the remote and standing in front of the plasma.

"Boss, our terrorists name is Haswari Singh. Started off small time, but based on the allegations surfacing against him in the last few months, I'd say that he was trying to move up in the ranks. Car bombings, assassinations, robbery... All linked to him. The FBI was following him but they lost track of him about two months ago."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Gibbs replied. "How about our Marine?"

McGee stood up this time, took the remote from Tony and brought a picture of the dead Marine up.

"Lance Corporal Philip Citrix, 23. Junior at Georgetown and majoring in computer science. Smart kid, too. I was talking to one of the administrators on the way back. He was going to finish the year with a 4.0. His record in the Corps is just as flawless."

Ziva stood up from her desk and said, "Tony and I searched his apartment, but we did not find anything unusual. But we did take his computers down to Abby."

Gibbs looked at his team and said, "McGee, keep digging. I want everything on these guys. Also, pull up whatever information you can on Captain Bertram. Tony, Ziva, go to Georgetown and talk to Citrix's friends and professors there."

"On it, Boss." They replied.

Gibbs got on the elevator and went down to see Ducky. "What do you got for me, Duck?" he asked the ME.

"Ah, Jethro, what we have is two men dead from two very different gunshot wounds. Our terrorist was shot at close range, with what I suspect is the gun found at the scene, but we'll need Abby to confirm that. The bullet penetrated at a very odd angle, which to me suggests that there was a struggle of sorts. Our Lance Corporals gunshot wound tells a very different story. It was a larger caliber bullet that killed him, going straight through his neck and severing his brain stem. The angle suggests that he was shot from slightly higher ground, and from a greater distance."

"Maybe a sniper?" Gibbs asked.

"Possibly" said Ducky, looking worried.

"Thanks, Duck. Keep me posted." Gibbs said as he left autopsy. He decided not to mention seeing Delaney to Ducky. He knew she would be at headquarters that day, and wanted her to surprise him. He took a walk to get a coffee for himself and a Caf-POW! for Abby. As he walked, he began to think about the sad events that brought Gunnery Sgt. Hanlon into his life over 20 years ago.

It was about a year after he lost Shannon and Kelly. He was still enlisted, but was serving his final year before retiring. He was driving, on his way home from the base, and it was raining hard. The car in front of him had been hydroplaning. They hit a bump, and Gibbs watched as the car spun out of control and slammed into a tree. Gibbs immediately pulled over and started running towards the now burning vehicle. He heard a child's cry and started running faster. When he got to the car, he saw a lifeless young couple in the front seats, and a little girl of no more than 5 years old strapped into the back seat, crying. The car was starting to burn badly, and Gibbs knew that the gasoline could ignite at any moment. He forced open the back door, and struggled to free the screaming child from the seatbelt.

"It's ok, pretty girl," he said softly, trying not to frighten her anymore than she already was. "I've got you. Let's get you out of here."

The seatbelt was stuck, so he pulled out his knife and cut it. He grabbed the terrified child, and started running away from the car. He felt the shockwave hit his back, and turned in enough time to see the car explode, and let the little girl land on him when they fell. Gibbs sat on the ground and cradled the little one in his arms, both of them getting soaked in the rain. He little fists gripped the front of his fatigues tightly. She looked up at him, tears streaking her face and with wide, terrified eyes. Others had pulled over after seeing the accident and several had called 911. There were people standing around them, shouting and asking if they were ok, but because of the hard rain and the adrenaline running through him, he hardly noticed. He only noticed the terrified and now orphaned little girl that he held in his arms.

"Are you ok, pretty girl?" he asked.

She nodded, "I'm ok, Gunny," she said and then laid her head on his chest.

"How did you know that I was a Gunny?" he asked her, softly stroking her hair. Without lifting her head, she tapped the rank patch on his arm.

"You know ranks?" he asked, surprised.

She said, "My daddy used to show me my pop pop's shirt. It had the same sign on it and Mommy called him Gunny before he died." She looked back at the car again, then buried her face in Gibbs' chest and sobbed.

Ambulances, firetrucks and police arrived at the scene fairly quickly.

A paramedic went rushing over to them and asked, "Were you two involved in the accident?"

Gibbs stood up, still holding the little girl and said, "I wasn't, but she was."

He followed the paramedic over to the ambulance and tried to lift her into it, but she clung to him tightly.

"Don't leave me, Gunny!" She looked distraught and panicked, and Gibbs' heart broke for her.

"It's ok, sweetie, I'm not going anywhere." he told her as he stepped up into the ambulance with her. He figured he could have his car towed to the hospital later. She had a bruise running across her chest and shoulder from the seatbelt, and cuts on her arms and face from the broken glass that flew into the back seat, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Gibbs held her in the back of the ambulance, and she rested her head on his shoulder, still crying.

"What's your name, pretty girl?" he asked, and she whispered "Laney Hanlon."

Gibbs had the ambulance take her to Bethesda, and they kept her in the hospital for four days. Little Delaney did not have any family in the area, and on day two Gibbs met the social worker that was assigned to her by the hospital. He was surprised to learn that it was the wife of one of the Marines in his unit. She told him that the only family that little Delaney had in the states was an aunt who lived in California; she was currently overseas and would not be back for two months.

"We're going to have to find a foster home for her until then," the social worker Lynda told him.

"A foster home?" Gibbs asked, disturbed at the thought. "No... No, there's got to be somewhere else... Her aunt said she could take her in two months?"

Lynda nodded and said, "Yes, I spoke to her this morning. What did you have in mind?"

"Could I just take her until then? I'd rather have her stay with me than in a foster home." Lynda smiled at his concern. She knew Gibbs was a good man. He had saved her husband's life in Desert Storm.

"If you don't mind it, Gunny, I can arrange it."

He walked back into Delaney's room and over to her bed. She was in a bit of pain, but becoming restless staying in bed.

"I just got done talking to Miss Lynda, your social worker. You're going to stay with me for a few months before you go to California to live with your Aunt Mary."

"Oh..." she said, her little mind processing the information. "Do you know how to take care of a girl?" she asked, and he smiled at her genuine concern and innocence.

He push a strand of hair out of her eyes and said, "I think I'll do ok."

She seemed satisfied with his answer and did not ask any more questions.

"Hey, kiddo, listen... I have to run out for a little bit." he said, and his heart broke a little when he saw her reaction to his statement.

"Where are you going, Gunny?" she asked, looking tired and worried."

Gibbs smiled reassuringly at her and said, "I just have to run home to shower and change. Then I have to run to the store to buy some stuff for you. I'll be back before you know it." Her bottom lips started to tremble and she held out her pinky.

"Do you pinky swear that you're coming back, Gunny?"

He linked his finger with hers and said, "I pinky swear."

After Gibbs left, Delaney started coloring in a book that one of the nurses bought her. Then she watched TV. After a little more than an hour, which seemed like two eternities to the little one, tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her Gunny wasn't back yet. She thought he forgot about her and was never coming back. She knew that her parents weren't coming back, either, but had heard two nurses talking and saying that her parents were, "downstairs in the morgue." She knew that they would be asleep forever, but if she could find the morgue then she could see them one last time, even if they were sleeping. When the nurse came into to take her vitals, she pretended to be asleep. After she heard the nurse leave, she quietly slipped out of bed and out into the hallway, where she made it to the stairwell without being seen. She went down the stairs until they ended and then pushed the door open. She was downstairs, now she just had to find the morgue, whatever that was. She walked to the end of a long hallway, and then turned to walk down another. It was quiet down there, and cold. She came to a big door at the end of the hall, pushed it open slowly and then stepped inside and looked around. All she saw was what looked like huge drawers lining the wall, and some empty metal tables. No Mommy or Daddy. She leaned against the wall, and then slid to the floor. She was still sore, and now she was lost and cold. Her Mommy and Daddy were gone forever and her Gunny had left her.

She began to cry, and suddenly she heard a voice say, "My, my what have we here?" He had a soft Scottish accent, and sounded very kind.

"What's your name, little angel?" the doctor asked as he kneeled beside her.

"Delaney," she replied, sniffling.

The doctor smiled at her and said, "Well, my name is Doctor Mallard, but you can call me Ducky. Let's get you off of this cold floor."

TBC... Reviews are always welcome!