Disclaimer: Um…can I just set this for every chapter when I say I DO NOT OWN A THING EXCEPT MELANIE AND ANY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN HERE. THANK YOUUU (:
Spoiler: Well….more like a piece of Requiem (Spelling...? hehe) It's one of Gibbs' memories scenes where he's leaving to be deployed or whatever and Kelly is crying for him to stay. While the whole scene itself wasn't fully acted out, I tried to paraphrase it how I thought it would be.
Saving Melanie
A Hippo Named Bert
The elevator no sooner closed when all three members began chatting excitedly.
"Did you hear that? Gibbs' already become attached to the kid. He even gave her a bedroom!" exclaimed Tony.
"I don't know, Tony….I know Gibbs is…good with kids, but a bedroom already? Tony, we don't even know who her parents are. For all we know, he could have been hiding her all along," theorized Kate.
"All I know, is that we need to get to work before we're unable to have kids ourselves, if you catch my drift," announced McGee, while Tony just flinched uncomfortably at the thought of being kicked "there". They all rolled their chairs back to their desks and began digging for information.
"Hey McStud, I hate to break it to ya, but I think you're gonna have to cancel that date tonight," announced Tony, smirking cheekily.
In The Elevator
"You'll love Abby, Melanie. She's very..." he stopped, searching for the correct word that would do their quirky but loveable friend justice.
"Very what, sir?" Melanie asked politely.
"Very...different, but don't worry, she's as nice as can be. But you might want to cover your ears. She tends to like her music loud." he reassured her as they waited for the elevator to take them to their designated floor.
"I like loud music, though. Mommy used to dance with me to loud music," she stated sadly.
Abby's Lab
Forensic scientist Abby Schuito was dashing about in her lab from machine to machine. Since there hadn't been any fresh cases, MTAC had her re-analyzing previous evidence from former cold cases. Suddenly, she straightened up and turned around, looking expectantly towards the elevator. Three seconds later, Gibbs exited just as her senses expected. What she wasn't expecting was the small child holding his hand in a death-grip, her frame trembling slightly at the goth's odd and semi-frightening appearance.
"Aww Gibbs, who's this? "she asked, crouching down to Melanie's level, who slouched back slightly away from Abby.
"This is Melanie. Abs...we think..." he trailed off before signing to her "murdered mother". Abby gasped and ran straight to Melanie, enveloping her in a HUGE Abby-style bear hug.
"Abs! Stop! She can't breathe! Let her go!" Gibbs instructed, trying to free Melanie from her insane bear hug. Melanie just stared confused before speaking again.
"Gibby you were wight. Abby funny." she said, shrinking back toward his leg again. Abby pulled a hurt face.
"You told her bad things about me? How could you Gibbs!" she shouted, heavily offended.
"Relax, I said no such thing," he reassured her. Abby reluctantly nodded in agreement before bending to Melanie's level once more.
"Hi, I'm Abby. I'm sorry I frightened you. May I have permission to hug?" she asked, a glint in her eye. Melanie looked to Gibbs for approval, who nodded his head. She stretched her slim arms to Abby who gladly (and much more gently) returned the favor. Abby made a dash over to a shelf in the lab, before coming back with something hidden behind her back.
"What's that?" asked Melanie, peering around Abby trying to see what the mysterious object was. Abby just smiled warmly at her.
"Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you," she instructed, as Melanie obediently did so. A loud farting noise ripped through the room, causing Melanie's eyes to snap wide open, as she tried to find the source. She came face to face with a stuffed...
"Pig?" she asked, confused by the strange stuffed creature Abby was holding in front of her.
"No silly. He's a hippo. His name is Bert. Here, squeeze him," she smiled, giving Bert to Melanie, who hesitantly squeezed him, producing another fart similar to the previous one. Melanie giggled happily, squeezing Bert multiple times now.
"Melanie, I want you to stay with Abby for a little bit, ok?" informed Gibbs, as he began walking towards the elevator.
"Don't go, Gibby. Please?" came the small plea.
FLASHBACK
"Daddy don't go. Stay with me and mommy," sobbed a six-year old Kelly. Shannon looked sadly back to her husband, who looked like he was fighting back tears of his own. He crouched down and embraced the small child.
"Shhhhh. don't you worry, daddy will be back soon, I promise," he said kissing her head, humming her favorite lullaby.
"Hush little baby, don't you cry, daddy's gonna sing you a lullaby," he kissed the top of her head once more, kissed Shannon goodbye, and stepped into his truck, waving to the sad pair as he pulled out of the driveway.
END FLASHBACK
"Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby was madly waving her hand in front of his face. He snapped back into reality, seeing an equally confused Melanie.
"Gibby, why are you crying? Don't cry Gibby," she begged, pouting.
"Kid, I don't know what you're talking about," he grumbled. Abby just stood, her mouth agape. Melanie was right. There was a single tear still trailing down his face. Melanie reached toward him, wanting to be picked up. He did so and looked at her expectantly, as if asking "Why?"
She gently traced her finger across the wet path and showed him the single tear drop on her finger. He just grumbled to himself, before putting her back down, patting her head, and entering the elevator. Melanie stared after him, before turning to Abby.
"Now what?" she asked. Abby looked around, trying to find something to occupy the five year old. A smile crossed her face.
"Ever tried a Caf Pow! ?" she asked.
Bullpen
"What do we know?" asked Gibbs, as he stalked into the center of the bullpen. McGee pulled up an image of a beautiful red haired woman, somewhere in her late twenties, smiling back at them. Next to her was another photo, but of a man. He looked to be early thirties. Between their pictures was a picture of Melanie. Gibbs just felt his stomach churn again. Just like Melanie looked like Kelly, the mystery woman looked like Shannon. Did God really need to remind him of his troubled path? Re-awaken the demons that he'd tried to keep at bay? The answers would need to wait, because there was a little girl down in forensics whose mother could very well be dead.
"Boss, meet Lucy and Matthew Ross, Melanie's parents. Lucy Ross, born on July 26th of 1978. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Avery and Lynnette Cameron. Graduated from Bayside High in Malibu, California. Attended Ohio State for nursing school. Moved down here to Maryland to work at PRMC. Must be doing pretty good there, she's the head nurse. Usually works day shifts, but has occasionally worked night shifts. She met Matthew Ross in 1997, married him on May 3rd, in 2000. Didn't seem to go well, since they divorced in 2004," McGee informed. Gibbs just shook his head and chuckled at the word divorce, before McGee went on.
"Her criminal record's clean aside from a few speeding tickets. Other than that, she's just a normal citizen of Maryland. No known enemies or foes either," he finished.
"Matthew Ross on the other hand is Lucy's exact opposite. Born on December 7th of 1975. He's the son to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent and Angela Ross, attended Carson High in Carson City, Nevada, and barely made the qualifications for graduating. Joined the Navy in 1994, but was dishonorably discharged eight months later for possession of drugs," read Tony, as he studied the notes he'd taken from the information they'd managed to gather.
"What kind of drugs, DiNozzo?" questioned Gibbs.
"From the description, sounds like straight up crank,"
Gibbs just looked at him, not even bothering to figure out what "crank" was.
"English?"
"Meth, boss. And a lot of it. Looks like he'd managed to snag about 5 ounces of the stuff. Heaven knows how. Meth is very expensive these days. From that much, I'd say he had to come up with about $15,000 at the least, depending how high-quality it was. From his educational history, or lack thereof, I haven't a clue how he managed to pay for any of it," he explained.
"Think he could have stolen money as well? To pay for this, crank, or whatever it's called?" theorized Gibbs.
"It's possible," said Tony, as he continued going through the papers in his hand.
"Got an address for me, McGee?"
"As a matter of fact I do, Boss. The Ross' own a three bedroom house on Maplevine Boulevard. House number is 843," he read off his computer screen, before looking back at his boss, waiting for instructions.
"Kate, call Ducky, get him and his assistant on the scene,"
"I'll gas and GPS the truck," announced Tony as he gathered his stuff.
"That won't be necessary. I know where to go," announced Gibbs as he grabbed his gun, holstering it, before entering the elevator. The three just stared at each other once again, unable to say anything.
"You coming or what? I'm not holding this thing all day," Gibbs barked, as the three rushed over and got in.
Ross Home
The truck pulled up slowly into the Ross' driveway, as everyone assessed the damage. Windows were shattered, the front door was busted and hanging wide open, and the classic white picket fence was chipped. To be honest, it looked as if no one had been living there for years. The four got out of the truck, grabbed their gear and began searching the place. Tony went first, followed by Kate, both guns in position in case of any intruders. They split up, searching every room of the house. Tony searched every bedroom as Kate went through the living room and kitchen. She was almost finished with the sweep through the bathroom before a THUD was heard coming from the closet door. Gun in tow, she cautiously opened it. An elderly man around his late fifties or so, came flying out of the closet, knocking her in to the sink. She tried to fight him off, scream, but he covered her mouth with his hand, as she continued to fight against him. Suddenly he drew a gun and held it to her temple. She gulped, and gave up.
"Who the hell are you?" he growled, pressing the gun harder into the side of her hair.
"Kate, where are you?" called Tony as he entered the bathroom, eyes widening at the sight.
"Whoa man, put the gun down, and we can talk," said Tony as he tried to calm the agitated old man down. The elderly man just kept his gaze focused on Tony before making Kate sit on the floor, her hands behind her head.
"Look man, we're Feds. See?" Tony flashed him his badge trying to prove his point. The man snatched it from him, looking at it, trying to find any proof it may be fake.
"Where the hell were you-" Gibbs cut off as he took in the current scene. The elderly man seemed to buckling under the pressure so he ran. Of course, he didn't get far; Gibbs was standing smack dab in the middle of the door frame. Tony cuffed the man who'd attacked her previously, before making sure Kate was okay. Gibbs grumbled as he walked the man out and sat him in the back of the van.
"Jethro, we have a problem," announced Ducky from the dining room. All three agents went over to where he was standing. Instead of finding the body of Lucy Ross, they found a man's. He looked to be about late thirties, cropped black hair, and dark brown eyes.
"Who the hell is this?" grumbled Gibbs.
Things to look out for in Chapter Four:
Shopping with Abby
More insight on the case
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