Au/N- Hey everyone! I only got 2 or 3 reviews on my other chapter =( But for the people who reviewed, here is the second chapter in 'THe Secrets Within'. Well, This is teh longest chapter I've written for any story but I hope you like it and I'm sorry that Jenny is a little OOC.
Disclaimer- In no way shape or form do I own NCIS or these charactors. I'm just borrowing them to get through another summer with out NICS.
I yawned and stretched my arms over my head while Paris looked up from her coloring book. "Are we going home now mommy?" I smiled at my precious little girl. She had red hair that fell to the center of her back and she had bright teal blue eyes. Childhood innocence played around the corner of her eyes and she had her heart on her sleeve. That will change when she gets older but I'd do anything to make sure that happiness never leaves. She was the happiest person I've ever met.
"Yes baby. We're going to the store than we're going home." I smiled as she eagerly started stuffing her giant stack of coloring books in her bag. I'm sure she had more than 50. She had all of the Disney princesses, a couple Scooby Doo, one or two Sponge bob, and a couple Kung Fu Panda. I turned towards Leon with a smirk. "Hey, anytime you want to come over for dinner, my door is open." He smiled and took Paris's hand as he walked us to the stairs.
"Alright Stell. I'll take you up on your offer tomorrow. Just remember, I will not eat your pork anymore." I laughed as I remembered the pork incident. Apparently, it wasn't fully cooked through so we ended up getting food poisoning and stayed in the bathroom all night. It was excruciating.
Me and Paris, slowly, descended the stairs smiling. "So, what do you want for dinner?" I knew what she was going to say, Chinese. She was like her father it that way. She waned coffee and Chinese.
"Chinese and coffee!" I smiled at her and laughed as I jabbed the elevator button.
"We had Chinese yesterday and like I said yesterday, you're to young for coffee. How about hot chocolate?" She smiled and just then the elevator opened up. "See you tomorrow Leon!" We stepped into the elevator and it slowly sped downwards.
I walked to the kitchen rinsing my plate off and putting it in the dishwasher. "I just don't know Kate." I sighed in exasperation and leaned against the counter. "I mean, I was the one to tell him no." She smiled that kind smile only two people could ever pull out of her.
"Yes, but he also told you no." I shot her a confused look and she smirked. Her hazel eyes fluttered shut as she laughed. "Jenny, I might have been a navy brat but I paid attention! I saw what was happening between the two of you and I was dead! I do have my connections." I sighed.
"Yes but eventually he said yes and I ran again! It isn't the same anymore!" Kate looked at me like she was finally seeing the real me.
"You're still in love with him." She didn't say it as a question and that frustrated me. I yanked my hands through my tangly red hair. She seemed surprised but not overly surprised. She knew I was in love with him 5 years ago but lately I hadn't been showing signs of even missing him, yet alone loving him.
"Yes." There wasn't more I really needed to say. "Yes, I'm still in love with Leroy Jethro Gibbs and I want to kill myself for it!" Kate gave me a disbelieving look. I sighed again. I've been doing that a lot since I've been dead. "Fine, but I hate him for it."
"Hey, you don't think I don't hate Ari's for making me fall in love with him?" I looked Kate square in the eye and saw the same look I had when talking about Gibbs. She really was in love with the guy that 'killed' her.
"So, we're both having boy trouble." We sighed and I sat on the counter while she sat on the counter opposite of me. "What have our lives come to? Sneaking in and out of NCIS, playing dead, and trying to raise a normal child."
Just then my mother walked in and saw what lousy states we were in. "Oh cheer up kido. It's not going to be like this forever. We are going to catch the men who put you in hiding." That's when it hit me. The men that wanted me dead were Russian. If they saw Vance alive and happy, it meant that I still wasn't dead which would make them angry. They would be angry at NCIS for protecting me.
"Mother, you're a genius!" I grabbed my phone, kissed her cheek, and ran outside. When I was underneath the giant willow tree in our back yard I dialed Vance's number. The willow tree gave me protection from the outside since the branches were thick and hung to the ground. I heard the familiar click of him answering and almost jumped for joy. "Leon! The Russian mob isn't after you! The Russian family that is after me is after you!"
Leon sat silent on the other line. I almost thought he hung up until he let out a puff of air. "Uh, how do you know this Agent Montgomery?" I sighed and almost growled at him. How could he be so calm, even if there were other people in the room. If I was right, and we get these creeps, then I can come out of hiding!
"Leon Vance! You aren't listening to me! If I'm right, which I know I am, then if we capture these creeps, I can come out of hiding! I can finally be me!" I heard him chuckle softly and wondered if Gibbs or Cynthia were in the room.
"You're right Montgomery. That plan of action is a lot better than mine. How do you expect us to pull it off though?" This time I did grr at him and that caught his attention. "Did you just growl at me?"
"Yes! Gosh, are you paying attention now?" I wanted so badly to scream at him but knew I couldn't. I was just so excited. I can finally raise Paris right.
"I'm listening. Please continue with your plan of action." I nodded and started thinking of one in my head. "Alright here's what we do-"
I stared my attacker in the eyes. "Well, what was your plan of action dear Jenny-fur?" I smiled up at him. The way his eyes lingered on my body was disgusting.
"Well, Dmitri, I can't tell you that." I said his name sarcastically. I had met Dmitri when I killed his sister. He growled at me and went to hit me but I dodged his attack easily.
"You bitch! You are my prisoner, and I can kill you if I wanted to." I smiled but this time he didn't like it and pulled his fist back and let it loose on my face. I spit blood out at his shoes and looked up at him.
"I will get out of here and I will kill you." He didn't like that to much but he smiled and started walking out of the room. It wasn't the fact that I said it, it was the fact I said it calmly and confidently. He was scared that I would get out and that gave me hope.
"You're right about one thing, Jen, you can't tell me what I want to know. Only someone on Agent Gibbs' team can. Maybe, Ziva David." I glared at the man and tried pulling at my restraints. I felt a sickening pain in my wrists but I continued yanking and pulling at the rope.
"Do not even THINK about touching her!" Ziva and I had become close friends when we traveled across Europe together. Considering we were held up together for about 6 months on a joint operation, close didn't begin to cover it. After the undercover case though, Ziva and I stayed in touch. For years, emails and texts were sent back and forth. Soon though, I got promoted and Ziva was sent into the field so our conversations became less and less. Finally I had found her when Ari's came to town and we caught up. So, Ziva became like a daughter or a sister to me. I was not going to let him touch her.
He smirked at me and pulled a knife out. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why do you insist on making me do this the hard way?" He placed the rough edge of the knife by my neck and for a moment I thought I wasn't going to see Paris again but then I thought about Leon and Gibbs and my hope was restored.
"You aren't going to kill me. Well, at least not until I finish my story." He growled at me, flicked the knife across my neck, enough to draw blood but not enough to make it a life threatening injury, and sat back in his wooden chair. Every time he sat on it, the chair squeaked in disapproval. It was almost like it was screaming under the pressure.
"Alright Jenny-fur. Please, enlighten me. Continue you're silly little story." His Russian accent was driving me wild. I wanted to kill him just because of his voice.
That night I walked into my daughters room and smiled down at her sleeping form. I gently pushed her hair back and kissed her forehead. "I love you my Paris. Never forget that mommy loves you." I smiled down and walked out, almost colliding with a very sleepy Kate.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "What's going on Jen?" She yawned again and looked up at me through thick, sleep filled eyes. She looked so innocent that I decided to spare her and not pull a prank on her.
"Nothing Kate. Come on lets get you back to sleep. You have a date tomorrow and you, my dear, need you're beauty rest." Groggy Kate laughed and leaned on me until we got to her room. "Good night Kate." Her sleepy eyes and tangly hair made her look almost child like again.
"Good night Jenny," she said through a yawn. She walked into her room and gently shut the door. I shook my head and continued down the hall until I reached my room.
Unlike the others, my room was done up. When you walked in, you walked through beads hanging from the ceiling then, the first thing you saw was my T.V and book shelf. My entire center wall was a book shelf with my T.V in the middle of it. My book shelves were filled to the brim with all of the classics and some of my favorite newer books. The rest of my room was painted in light hues of brown and cream. I walked over to my bed and collapsed on the soft pillows. Tonight, I didn't bother changing as I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.
The next morning I woke up to Paris screaming. I jumped up and ran into her room to see her thrashing around wildly and screaming. I put my hand on her forehead and knelt down next to her bed. "Paris, Paris, it's alright. I'm here baby. It's just a dream." I wrapped my arms around her and sat next to her as she started calming down. Her screams died down into whimpers and soon she was blinking her eyes awake. We sat there, me holding her and rocking back and forth, for a few minutes until she turned around to hug me.
"I had a dream and you were sick again mommy. Except there was a man standing over you laughing. He had a scar on his left eye, it looked as if someone sliced him with a knife. He was going to kill you mommy." She started crying again but this time she buried her head in my shoulder which muffled her sobs. I ran my fingers through her hair while whispering sweet nothings in her ear to get her to call down.
"Ssh, it's okay Paris. I'm here and alive. I'm not going anywhere." She smiled and sniffled one last time. "How about we go get you some breakfast?" She nodded and ran downstairs. Looking around her room I smiled. It was painted pink and purple, her favorite colors, and on one wall was painted a portrait of a castle. I remembered how hard that was to get perfect but Paris loved it. Her two favorite things in the world were princesses and Paris, the city of love. Her bed was actually a castle. The headboard was painted on stones and rocks while the bed had a canopy and a plastic dragon surrounding it. Looking back now, it was well worth all the money.
I walked into the kitchen to see Kate pouring two bowls of Froot Loops and laughing at something Paris did. I smiled at the sight. Kate was like a daughter or a close sister to me. "So, how are we doing this morning?" Kate smiled and yawned.
"I'm doing alright, and yourself?" I smirked at her while running a hand through a rats nest I called hair. Kate was wearing a simple black tank top with a brown blazer and a nice pair of jeans while I was still in my pajamas, a pair of sweatpants and a gray tank top.
"I'm doing fine. Why are you up so early?" I glanced at the clock that was blinking eight O'clock. Kate laughed at me and turned to put the cereal and milk back.
"Yeah, I know, normally I'm not up yet but I needed to talk to you before you left so I figured the only way to do that, was if I got up early." I stuck my tongue out at her and took a seat next to Paris at the island. I grabbed an apple and tossed it between my hands.
"Well you were right but you're going to have to talk while I change." She nodded and I got up kissing Paris on the head. "We'll be back down in a few minutes honey. After you eat I would like for you to go change."
Paris was wearing a night gown that was supposed to resemble a gown from the movie, The Princess and The Pauper. "Yes mommy." She smiled at me and I walked up stairs with Kate.
I walked into my closet trying to find something to wear while Kate sat on my bed. "So, what's up Kate?" I looked at her over my shoulder for a moment before I went back to searching my closet.
"Well, Ari's and I have been dating since, well, since I died. You know this but, but what if we wanted to move our relationship further." I thought about this for a moment. She was having the same dilemma I was having. Whether to or not to come out of hiding. "I just want me and Ari's to have a normal life. Ya know, I want that life. I want to have kids raise them with the man that I love in a normal house without people trying to kill us. Ari's is still worried Eli might come after us."
I nodded at all of this. "What if Ari's came out of hiding and showed Ziva that he wasn't the Ari's she killed. That he was the Ari's that she knew growing up, her big brother. Eli wouldn't be able to come after you guys, Ziva, everyone from NCIS, and me. Well, he could, but he couldn't win." I could hear the gears in Kate's head turning as I grabbed a pair of skinny jeans, and a loose purple top.
"Ooh, I like that top on you and yeah, you have a point. I'll talk to him later." She smiled gratefully at me as I grabbed the clothes and went to put them on. Today was going to be a busy day at NCIS. Vance and I had to tell Secnav the new plan that we had to finish putting the final touches on AND get him to sign off on it. I sighed, yes, this was going to be a long day.
The man yawned and stood up. "You're boring me. That's enough story time for right now." He sneered at me and turned the chair towards the corner of this cell I was in. "Now, stare at this corner and I'll be back in a few hours."
The man laughed as he heard my stomach growl. He wasn't giving me any food and barely any water. Though, even when he gave me water it tasted like he just strained it from the sewers. I actually wouldn't be too surprised if he had.
A door slamming shut behind me had me snapping out of my thoughts. My tongue and throat burned from needing water and food but I pushed the pain aside and turned my wrists around a little bit. I was constantly checking for some slack but so far, they were still way to tight. I knew that by now I would have blood dribbling from my wrists. I kicked my ankles around and found that I had some slack there but that would mean nothing if I couldn't use my arms. I sighed and leaned back in the wobbly chair. The chair was pretty sturdy except for one leg was shorter than the others. It annoyed me to no end that I got to wobble back and forth for entertainment.
Judging by the amount of light in the room, it was close to one in the morning when I heard angry footsteps reaching my room. The man ran into my room and jerked me, and my chair, straight into the air by my throat. It wouldn't have hurt as much if he didn't just, this afternoon, cut me there. "How the hell did you get contact with your people?" He screamed into my face but I just smirked and shook my head telling him I wasn't going to talk. He threw me across the room and I ended up hitting the wall and blacking out. The last image I saw was the man stomping over to me, ready to put me out of my misery.
Au/N- Dun, DUn, Dunnn! Sorry, I love cliffhangers so there you have it. Anyways please Review. I really do love hearing what you guys have to say. I love when people tell me what they liked adn what they didn't like so that I can fix my story to fit everyone's likenesses. Anyways, please review. IT'll only take like 5 minutes. Pleaseee? =D -S.R.H