Chapter Three

The squad room was silent. There wasn't a soul moving around anywhere; even the cleaning crew had finished their work. Gibbs glanced down at his watch. It was already half past three in the morning. When he rounded the corner into the bullpen, he couldn't help but smile. Tim was reclined in his chair, sleeping peacefully with a folder across his chest while his computer filtered through databases, searching for results for something Tim was working on. Jenny was stretched out behind his desk, near where Kellie was curled up sleeping. She didn't look comfortable in the least but she had managed to fall asleep, which was a first. Gibbs never found her asleep in the bullpen. He rarely found her asleep in her office. Her pursuit to be more like him often kept her up on the nights she remained at NCIS. And on the other side of Kellie, also sound asleep, was Abby, using Bert as a pillow.

Gibbs rarely allowed anyone to come behind his desk, with the exception of Abby on certain occasions, but in the early morning hours he found three people back there. There was no way he could sit down at his desk and get any work done. He glanced around the bullpen, taking stock of his options. Tim was sleeping at his desk and his computer was running while he slept. There was no way he was going to use Tony's computer. He feared of what he might find on the promiscuous agent's computer. He decided Ziva's computer was his best bet.

He turned her computer on to start up while he headed into the break room to make a pot of coffee. When his coffee was done, he poured himself a large cup then settled in at Ziva's desk and got to work checking into a few things that had been on his mind since he'd started his current case.

Gibbs woke the next morning, stiff and sore from sleeping in a chair. He realized Kellie had gotten up sometime after he'd fallen asleep and moved over next to him before going back to sleep. He sat there and watched her sleep, remembering going into his own Kelly's room on nights that he had to work late and watching her sleep. He reached down and readjusted his jacket over her so that it covered her shoulders, unintentionally waking her.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," he said quietly as she sat up and yawned. "How'd you sleep?" Kellie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes then stared, silently, at Gibbs.

"Are you hungry?" Gibbs asked. "I was thinking about heading out to get some coffee. We could pick up some breakfast while we're out."

Kellie stared blankly at Gibbs then glanced over towards where the others were sleeping. Gibbs also looked over towards the group and got an idea when he saw one of Abby's pigtails sticking out from under his desk. He squatted down on the floor in front of Kellie, frightening her at his sudden close proximity.

"I have an idea, Kiddo," he said. "Have you ever heard of sign language?" He watched as Kellie continued to stare blankly at him. "I'm going to show some sign language so we can talk. It'll be our own special language where we talk with our hands instead of our voices. Will you give that a try with me?"

He showed Kellie how to sign the alphabet then slowly spelled out his name and her name. The little girl watched curiously but remained quiet and still. Gibbs taught her how to sign 'yes' and 'no' then asked her a few simple questions, hoping she would answer but Kellie continued to sit perfectly still and just stare at him.

"What's going on?" Abby asked groggily as she lifted herself from the floor and looked over at them.

"I'm teaching Kellie some sign language so she has a way to communicate with us until she feels like talking," Gibbs explained. "Do you want to sign with me so she can see how it's done?"

"Sure!" Abby said excitedly, quickly hurrying over to where Gibbs and Kellie were sitting. The two started signing back and forth, helping Kellie understand their conversation. Kellie watched intently as they talked using only their hands. A trace of a smile appeared as she looked down at her own hands.

"Try it with us," Gibbs encouraged. Kellie started copying the signs Gibbs and Abby showed her, spelling out her name, practicing signing yes and no and learning how to sign dog and cat and other simple words. "I'm so proud of you," Gibbs said once the lesson was over. He pulled the little girl into a hug without even thinking. This time Kellie's body remained stiff at the physical contact but she didn't try to push him away like she'd done on previous occasions. Baby steps, Gibbs thought. They were making progress.

The day progressed with the team searching for more evidence of First Lieutenant Ethan Morrison's murder. There was no way Gibbs was going to let his wife get away with it. Tony and Ziva had returned from California, jetlagged but ready to jump back into the grind. The two were sent off the interview some of Ethan's friends while Tim and Abby stayed behind in the lab, pouring over any electronic evidence they could get their hands on. Ducky painstakingly went over every detail of the autopsy report, searching for any inconsistencies, studying photographs, listening to the notes the doctor had recorded during the autopsy, searching for anything of value with Jimmy right by his side, offering an extra set of eyes and ears.

After breakfast, Jenny was reluctant to return to her office, wishing instead that she could spend time with Kellie but there was work to be done and she couldn't blow it off. When Gibbs arrived in her office with Kellie not quite an hour later, Jenny couldn't hide her excitement.

"The squad room is starting to get busy," Gibbs explained. "I think being around so many people is making Kellie a little nervous."

"You guys can stay as long as you'd like," Jenny said with a bright smile. "I have to work but there are board games and coloring books and story books so make yourselves at home."

While the rest of his team was hard at work, Gibbs spent the morning entertaining Kellie. They sat down at the conference table in Jenny's office and decided to play a game of Trouble. Gibbs showed Kellie how to sign each of the colors then helped her do it with her own hands. He repeated the process with each number the dice rolled. He patiently worked with her on her numbers, counting and colors while they played, hoping the repetition would help her pick up on what he was showing her.

When they were done playing the game, he got out the crayons and a couple coloring books. Kellie chose the coloring book with pictures of animals and flipped it open to a picture of a horse. Gibbs found a picture of Mickey Mouse in one of the other coloring books and started on that, working once again with Kellie on her colors.

"Have you started school yet?" Gibbs asked while they colored.

"No," Kellie signed.

"Never?" Gibbs asked, wanting to be sure.

"No," Kellie signed again.

Gibbs gave her a comforting smile and glanced over at her picture. It looked more like the work of a two year old rather than an eight year old. He showed Kellie how to hold her crayon so she would have better control of it and watched as she concentrated on trying to be neat for a moment before going back to scribbling. He was getting ready to show her how to sign 'black' when his cell phone rang. "Gibbs," he answered. "We'll be right there," he said after a moment. He flipped his phone closed and glanced up at Jenny as he reattached it to his belt. "D'Arcy found a foster home for Kellie," he said. "It's time to say goodbye."

"What?" Jenny asked, caught completely off guard.

"She can't live at NCIS," Gibbs said.

Jenny looked from Gibbs to Kellie who had stopped coloring her picture. "I know," she finally said, "I guess I just thought that… well, never mind. I don't know what I thought."

Gibbs knelt next to Kellie and looked into her piercing green eyes. "I'm going to take you to meet your new family now. I hear they're very nice people."

Panic washed over Kellie. She didn't want to be taken to another new place with more new people. She was finally starting to get used to being where she was. She was learning her colors and numbers and ABCs and she was allowed to play and have fun. For the first time since her daddy died she felt safe and happy.

Kellie spent the entire trip over to her new house trying to figure out what to do and how she could stop what was happening. She considered getting out at a stop light and running but she didn't think she would get very far. She considered just biding her time until night fell and running away then but where would she go? She felt like crying but her tears had dried up long ago. She felt both helpless and hopeless as Gibbs parked the sedan behind another car on the street lined with several houses.

"Kellie, I want you to meet D'Arcy," Gibbs said helping her out of the car.

Kellie peeked around Gibbs at the woman standing in front of them. She was smiling and she looked nice enough but the little girl knew looks could be deceiving.

"Is she still not speaking?" D'Arcy asked.

"Not yet," Gibbs said, "but I did teach her a little sign language." He looked at Kellie and smiled. "Come on, Kiddo," he encouraged, "everything's going to be just fine. You'll see."

As Kellie walked next to Gibbs and D'Arcy towards the house she reached up and grabbed onto Gibbs' hand. Her little body shook with fear. She wanted to turn around and run as far and as fast as she could but her feet felt like concrete. She was having a difficult time taking the small steps towards the house. There was no way she would be able to run.

Gibbs, surprised at her gesture, squeezed her hand reassuringly as they all stepped onto the porch. D'Arcy rang the doorbell and they were greeted by a young couple who was all smiles and invited everyone into their home. D'Arcy entered but when Gibbs tried to enter Kellie held his hand firmly, not budging from her spot on the porch.

Gibbs looked up at D'Arcy and the young couple then knelt down in front of Kellie. "What's the matter, Sweetheart?" he asked quietly.

Kellie didn't know much but she hoped Gibbs would understand. "No," she signed.

"No?" Gibbs asked. "No, what? No you don't want to go in?" Kellie nodded her head adamantly, grateful that Gibbs understood. "This is your new home, Kiddo. Don't you want to see your new room? You have a bed and a dresser and you're going to have some clothes and toys and lots of nice things."

"No," Kelly signed over and over again.

"Sweetheart, if you don't live here, where are you going to live?" Gibbs asked patiently. Kellie poked her finger into Gibbs' chest, surprising the agent once again. "With me? You want to live with me?" Kellie breathed a sigh of relief as she both nodded her head and signed 'yes.' Before Gibbs knew what to say the little girl was plastered against his chest with her little arms wrapped around his neck.

Gibbs' thoughts raced through his head much faster than he could process them. He thought about the vision he'd had of Shannon in his basement. He remembered asking her for the sign then finding an eight year old named Kellie, he remembered vowing to himself to do everything possible to protect this little girl. He looked helplessly up at D'Arcy who was smiling down at the scene.

"Can you set it up so I can take her?" he asked.

D'Arcy nodded her head, still smiling. "That shouldn't be a problem," she said. She turned to the young couple and shook their hands. "Thank you for your willingness to take Kellie but it looks like she won't need placement here after all." The couple appeared to have some understanding of the situation and said their goodbyes.

Once Kellie latched onto Gibbs she didn't want to let him go. Gibbs lifted her up as he stood and carried her back to the sedan. "Bring me whatever papers need to be signed," he told D'Arcy when they'd reached their cars, "and thank you."

"Anything for you, Agent Gibbs," D'Arcy said with a warm smile. "I'll get the paperwork together and maybe stop by your house tonight?"

"That'd be fine," Gibbs said. "My door is always open."

D'Arcy got in her car and headed out while Gibbs got Kellie in his car and made sure she got buckled. The little girl couldn't believe she was back in the car and leaving with Gibbs. She knew she'd be punished later for her defiant behavior but if she got to stay with Gibbs then it would be worth it. Something about him reminded her of her father and made her feel safe.