Disclaimer : I own nothing but my typos...and the occasional OC.
Author's Note : Thanks to all the favoriters, followers and readers so far. I'd also like to extend an extra thanks to angelscatie, Megth, Clamanter, Maunzeli, jmsings, crocadile1986, Alsa Ravenwood and Guests - Cassiopeia and River.
Truly appreciate the thoughts and reviews. They're rewarding after all the hard work. So thank you so very much again.
To answer River's question : I never really liked the end of chapter previews, never can seem to be able to cut down my chapters into a few words. Summaries are hard enough. So I think I'll let the story unfold as we go.
If you're following Limbo too, new chapter will be up early this week. Inspiration always seems to hit when I'm supposed to be busy doing other things...
Hope you enjoy the Easter update.
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10:18pm – Bullpen – NCIS Headquarters, Washington, DC –
With a dejected sigh, McGee finally sent the e-mail that he'd written to notify his friends about his expected absence from their gaming session. He reached for the take-out, sighing again when he realized he'd missed their last three virtual get-togethers. Even though he still had enough time outside the office to enjoy the occasional video game, McGee felt disappointed to miss his first opportunity to catch up with his friends since he'd joined Gibbs' team. Half-heartedly impaling his ziti with a plastic fork, he tried to recall why he'd missed the past three sessions.
Always a case. Always work. Always Gibbs calling them in last minute. There was nothing in his life but work.
Almost instantaneously his inbox flashed with a response from his college roommate. As he skimmed the news about his friend's recent exotic vacation and that his wife had finally conceived their first child, McGee numbly chewed the cold mass of noodles. Not knowing how to respond, he minimized his e-mail and launched a search into their victim's military records instead.
Across the bullpen, Ziva and DiNozzo stared at their computer screens, deeply involved in their own reconnaissance. While McGee reviewed Fox's list of promotions and movements around the military, he sighed again. Seemingly concerned, DiNozzo glanced at the junior agent.
"McGee," Ziva called, looking up from her computer, "does something trouble you?"
Eyes still fixed on his monitor, Tim limply shrugged and continued to comb though the records.
"Yeah, Probie, why the long face?"
"Tony, McGee's face maintains its normal proportions," Ziva countered, raising her eyebrows at DiNozzo.
Still compiling his information, Tim smirked at her comment while Tony's brow crinkled in confusion. Before DiNozzo could respond to her comment, his phone interrupted them. When he checked the caller, he grimaced and shut the ringer off.
"Your weekend plans?" Ziva asked, watching Tony shrug indifferently. "You should just tell her."
"Yeah, but this is easier," DiNozzo shrugged, chucking his phone into his desk.
Dropping his fork into the takeout container, McGee shut out his e-mail when one from another friend appeared in his mailbox. Even though they didn't keep in touch often, Tim liked to think that he and his friends were still close. As he double checked his search parameters, McGee didn't have the time to realize that it'd been over a year since he'd spoken to any of his friends outside of NCIS.
"Better be, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled, storming into the bullpen. Omnipresent coffee cup in his hand, the team leader headed for his desk. He settled into his chair, glaring expectantly at his agents. Stepping into the hallway between the desks, DiNozzo clicked the remote at the plasma, bringing up a picture of young, dark haired main in dress whites.
"Abby's fingerprint analysis confirmed that our victim is Fire Controlman 2nd class, Levi Fox. Paygrade E-4. Twenty-seven, born and raised in Lewisburg, PA. Enlisted at age 22 after graduating from NYU with a degree in IT management. Completed Advanced Electronics Technical Core Course in Great Lakes, Illinois in 2001 before active duty. Coming up on the end of his first sea tour."
Seemingly out of information, DiNozzo tossed the remote to McGee.
"Fox was stationed out of Norfolk on the USS Gonzalez. On the destroyer, he worked as an SPY-1A, AEGIS Radar System Technician. He was responsible for the equipment testing to support the ship's combat system," Tim stated, bringing up a few documents. "His personnel reports are generally positive, but there isn't anything to really indicate that he stood out in any way, good or bad. Only thing on his civilian record are several speeding tickets through Metro."
"Just like speed gremlin." When Gibbs glared at DiNozzo, he nodded. "Shutting up, boss."
Ready for her turn, Ziva held her hand out to McGee. Throwing her the remote, Tim sank back into his desk chair. With a few clicks, she brought up a picture of a young dark-haired man that looked surprisingly like Fox as well as a rental agreement.
"According to personnel reports, Fox lived with a roommate in a rented house in Norfolk just a few miles from the Naval base. His parents moved here to DC approximately two years ago and his older brother, Simon, is currently deployed to Iraq."
"Army?" Gibbs asked, interest piqued.
"Marines," Ziva reported, placing the remote on her desk to signal the end to their information.
As Gibbs took a long sip of his coffee, he nodded slowly, mulling their progress.
"DiNozzo, McGee, go to Norfolk. Ziva, with me."
Gathering his gear, Gibbs marched towards the elevator with the Israeli close behind. Without needing to pack, Tony grabbed the weekend bag from under his desk and slung it over his shoulder. While DiNozzo lounged against his workspace, McGee rummaged through his drawers to pull out a small overnight bag. Even though Tony had nagged him for months about needing an extra set of clothes at the office, Tim had never listened until he'd been sent to run down a lead in a small town in West Virginia. With no clothes at the office nor Walmart on the outskirts of the town, McGee had suffered through a week of living in the same suit. Experience had certainly taught him to employ Tony's suggestion.
Grabbing his backpack and overnight bag, McGee headed past Tony towards the elevator. When he checked his watch, he pressed his lips together and shook his head. In just a few minutes, the server would be opening. While his friends explored a new digital world and caught up with their lives, he'd be sitting in a car with DiNozzo, headed for the Virginia coast.
On their way out of the bullpen, McGee caught Tony swipe the garlic bread off his desk.
"Hey, McGee," Tony started, catching up as Tim punched the button for the elevator, "you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Who's driving?" Tim responded brusquely, while DiNozzo swept the breadcrumbs from his shirt.
"I am," Tony nodded. "I want to get there before daybreak."
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10:49pm – Residence of Fox's Parents – Chevy Chase, MD –
As Gibbs scraped the tires of the Dodge Charger against the curb, he exhaled slowly. Climbing out of the car, he glanced down the quiet residential street. At the end of a short driveway, an unassuming white-paneled rancher waited for their approach, its porch light burning like a beacon in the night. Heading up the lawn, the team leader unzipped his coat in the unseasonably warm air.
Beside him, Ziva moved so quietly that her footfalls barely sounded over the grass. While he stepped up to the porch, Gibbs braced himself for the impending conversation. He would have preferred to wait until the following morning to discuss the matter, but he knew firsthand the anguish of delayed news involving the death of a child. Even after all these years, he'd never forgiven his executive officer for withholding information about Shannon and Kelly. Originally told that he'd family had been involved in an accident, he'd packed his things in the desert and flown halfway around the world. It wasn't until he touched German soil that someone had the dignity to tell him that his girls were dead.
No parents should have to live a life of normalcy while their child grew cold in a morgue.
Ziva reached past him to knock, pulling him out of his memories back into the present. When a dog barked to alert its master to the midnight visitors, a light in the hall flicked on. The door opened, allowing a hound's head to poke out followed by an older woman's tense face. Stooping, Gibbs let the dog smell his hand and the animal instantly relaxed.
"Edith Fox?" Gibbs asked, drawing his ID. "Special Agent Gibbs and Officer David, NCIS."
Slowly stepping away from the door, she covered her mouth. Tears instantly ran down her face.
"Howie!" she screamed, bringing her hands to her face.
A loud crash echoed deeper in the house and an overweight, bald man rushed into the hallway. Red-faced and breathing hard, he shoved his glasses higher on his nose.
"It's Simon. Oh, Howie," Edith rasped, crumpling into her husband's arms, "they're here about Simon."
While she sobbed quietly into his chest, Howie Fox squared his shoulders, ready to accept the news. He tried to appear stalwart, but his own tears appeared at the corner of his eyes.
"We're not here about Simon," Gibbs explained. "It's about Levi."
"Levi?" Howie questioned, pulling his wife closer. "What happened to Levi?"
"Could we come in to discuss it?"
Gibbs looked over Howie's shoulder, focusing on a picture on the wall of two similar looking men in their respective military dress. Youthful and broad-smiled, they appeared to have their whole lives ahead of them.
"What happened to my son?"
"He was found dead this morning in Rock Creek Park."
"Dead? He's dead? How? It was a car accident, wasn't it?"
"Murdered," Gibbs stated, knowing there was no reason to spare details.
As Edith disappeared into the house, the team leader swallowed hard. No matter how difficult, Gibbs knew the family always deserved to know the truth. Gesturing for the agents to follow, Howie pulled them into the family's living room. Tightly packed with neat furniture, it had one too many couches to be called cozy. Scattered around the room were pictures of the two men at various points in their childhood.
"Tell me about your son," Gibbs stated, stepping towards a picture of Levi in his dress whites.
"Good kid. Had some trouble in high school with drugs, nothing major though, just pot and painkillers. You know how kids are. But after Simon enlisted in the corps, Levi decided to join the Navy." He smiled apologetically, the tears welling in his eyes again. "That's the way Levi was, always following in Simon's footsteps, always seeking his older brother's approval. Didn't matter what his mother and I thought, only Simon."
Howie paused, staring blankly at the picture of his two boys.
"Smart kid though, could run circles around me and his brother. Levi must have got that from his mother. Once he joined the Navy, he cleaned up his act. Only thing he did wrong now was drive that damn car too damn fast. He still owes me money for the traffic tickets I paid for him," Howie shook his head when he realized what he'd said. "He owed me."
Levi's life would be entirely told in past tense from this moment forward. Just like every moment Gibbs had ever shared with his girls.
"Has he visited you lately?" Ziva interjected, crossing her arms as she studied Howie.
"Yeah, he's been on leave for a few weeks. He's getting ready to ship out for another sea tour, so he came to visit us for a week like he always does. We were hoping Simon could get leave too. Just didn't work out."
"When did you last see him?"
"He headed back to Norfolk two days ago. Said he needed to organize a few things before he got underway."
Nodding slowly, Gibbs looked over the pictures on the fireplace's mantle. Before his eyes, the smiling baby morphed into a gap toothed child then passed into first a graduation robe and then a Navy uniform.
A whole life in snippets of life-changing moments. He wondered what Kelly would've become if given the chance.
"Did everything appear suitable?" Ziva spoke up when Gibbs didn't.
Unsure about the question, Howie glanced at Gibbs who shrugged.
"I think so? He seemed like himself, just getting tired of all the deployments. He was really looking forward to switching to shore duty for the shorter tours. He hasn't had a chance to see his brother for over a year," Howie said, frowning deeply.
Over the course of the conversation, Gibbs had watched the man age well beyond his years.
"Do you know who did it?"
"We do not," Ziva apologized, inspecting the carpet. "We are sorry for your loss. We will make contact when we have more news."
As the agents turned to leave, Howie plucked a picture of Levi and Simon as children out of its location in a frame. Touching Gibbs' shoulder, the father pushed his picture into the team leader's hand. Frozen in the image, two nearly identical dark-haired boys grinned wickedly back. Gibbs looked up, facing Howie.
"Please, Agent Gibbs, find who killed my boy."