Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and a very special thank you to all of you who've taken the time to review my story. It means so much to me.
Chapter Three
Gibbs helped Jenny and Abby get the twins in the car then scraped the snow and ice off the windshield for them. After they left on their shopping trip he headed back to the squad room and found Tony and Tim just arriving back.
"Staff Sergeant Kinsley is in the wind Boss," Tony said. "He took an early lunch and never returned."
"His phone is turned off right now but if he turns it back on we should be able to trace it," Tim said as he typed on his keyboard. "I'm tracking his credit cards right now."
"Ziva, BOLO," Gibbs instructed as he sat down at his desk.
"On it," Ziva said.
Gibbs immediately called Jenny and updated her on the situation then sent Tony and Ziva to catch up with them. He didn't think they were in any danger but he wasn't going to take any chances. After everyone was where they were supposed to be he sat back in his chair and drank his coffee while Tim briefed him on what they'd found out about Staff Sergeant Kinsley so far. The only thing of interest seemed to be that the police suspected foul play in the car accident that took the life of the twin's mother but were never able to prove anything. As Tim was briefing Gibbs the elevator dinged and Fornell stepped off.
"Tobias, long time no see," Gibbs said. "What can I do for you?"
"Abby ran a DNA sample this morning," Fornell said, "got my attention."
"McGee?" Gibbs asked.
"The only case Abby is working on right now is the Kinsley case," Tim answered. "We brought her the DNA samples we gathered when we searched the house. She was going to run them to see if anything came up."
Fornell pulled out a police sketch and showed it to Gibbs and Tim. Tim identified the man in the sketch as Aaron Kinsley.
"Kinsley is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, Tobias," Gibbs said. "He's not in the FBI's jurisdiction."
"About a year ago Metro called in the FBI to assist in a string of sexual assaults taking place in DC and the surrounding areas," Fornell started. He pulled a chair over to Gibbs' desk and sat down. "We were able to connect the cases using DNA evidence and eyewitness statements. We IDed one partner as Jon Ryker, a civilian who escaped from prison three years ago. No one's seen him since. We haven't been able to ID the second DNA sample until today."
"Kinsley," Gibbs concluded. "What kind of sexual assaults?"
"They started out flashing people but quickly graduated to fondling, forced oral sex and now rape," Fornell said, "and they're brutal Jethro. Sadism. Torture. One of the women they raped a couple months ago committed suicide shortly after."
"Do they have a preference?" Gibbs asked.
"It's always college aged, Caucasian women," Fornell said, "young and pretty. In all the time I've been chasing them, they've never changed that part of their MO."
"Well, looks like we're working together now Tobias," Gibbs said.
Fornell handed Gibbs a couple thick file folders with everything he'd gathered on the case over the past year. Gibbs brought Fornell up to speed on the twins and what little information they had so far. Just as Fornell was getting ready to leave and Gibbs was getting ready to start going over the files from the FBI, everybody returned from the shopping trip.
Jenny barely got off the elevator when she spotted their guest from the FBI. "Fornell," she said with a formal nod. She carried Josie over to Gibbs' desk with everyone else trailing behind her. "Are you here to try to take over our case or are you angling for a joint op?"
"Director," Fornell greeted smiling, "it seems our cases have merged."
"Did you and Gibbs get everything worked out already?" she asked knowingly as she put Josie down. She was well aware that their private conferences in the elevator were to work out all the details of their cases. They had the luxury of putting politics aside and simply getting the job done and she was always impressed with their ability to do it in such a way that both agencies came out looking good.
"Did you guys get everything the kids needed?" Gibbs asked ignoring Jenny's question and changing the subject. He scooted his chair away from his desk and called the twins over. "Come here guys, let me look at you. I want to see your new clothes."
Josie hurried over in front of Gibbs and proudly modeled her new blue jeans, long sleeve striped pink top and white tennis shoes with silver charms on the laces. Bailey hid behind the corner of Gibbs' desk peeking over at him while he looked at Josie's new outfit.
Gibbs scooted close enough he could reach Bailey then gently pulled him around so he could look at him. The little boy had on new navy blue cargo pants, a short sleeve, light blue polo that was almost identical to the one Gibbs was wearing and light brown converse tennis shoes with white trim.
"He chose that shirt himself," Jenny said. "I think he was trying to imitate someone," she added with a wink.
Gibbs smiled and ruffled Bailey's hair then gently squeezed Josie's shoulder. "You guys look great." Josie squealed and climbed into Gibbs' lap, adoring all the attention he was giving her. Bailey stood back, cautiously watching everything that was happening.
"We got so much more Gibbs!" Abby said enthusiastically. She and Jenny took turns pulling clothes out of the shopping bags, covering Gibbs' desk with shirts, pants, socks, underwear and pajamas. Jenny pulled out snow pants, boots, gloves and winter hats that matched the coat each child had picked out. Abby grabbed another bag and pulled out hair brushes, hair ties, toothbrushes and children's tear free shampoo along with Bailey's prescription and a bag of chocolate chip cookies for the kids.
By the time they were done showing Gibbs everything they'd picked out he could no longer see his desk. Fornell sat back in his chair laughing while Gibbs stared speechless at the mountain of new clothes on his desk.
"What do you think?" Jenny asked.
"Wow," Gibbs said. "I uh— are you sure we need all this stuff?"
"They're kids Jethro," Jenny said. "They need things. Besides, they probably didn't have very much at their house."
"You're right about that. From the looks of it they each had about one outfit," Gibbs said. "Any sign of Kinsley?" he asked looking over at Tony and Ziva as he opened the bag of cookies.
"Nothing," Tony said as he and Ziva both shook their heads.
Gibbs pulled four cookies out and handed two to each child. He glanced down at his watch then looked at the winter storm raging outside the window. By the looks of things the weatherman's prediction was correct. They were in for an intense storm with heavy snow accumulations across DC. It was only the middle of the afternoon but Gibbs didn't want to be stranded at NCIS with two toddlers so he decided to send everyone home before the roads became impassible. They had BOLOs out on Kinsley and Ryker and would be notified immediately if anyone spotted them. Abby had DNA and fingerprints running in her lab and Tim was keeping tabs on both men's financial records. Everything else could wait until morning.
After everyone packed up their belongings they all headed out to the parking lot together. Gibbs and McGee helped Abby clear the snow off her car. Tony started out helping Ziva clear her car off but it quickly turned into a snowball fight between the two of them. When Abby's car was finished Gibbs headed over and finished Ziva's car. When everyone's car was cleaned off and his team was safely out of the parking lot, Gibbs got into his car with Jenny and the twins and headed for his house.
The drive home took twice as long as it normally did. After spinning out and fish tailing a couple times Gibbs finally parked the car in his driveway and he and Jenny got the kids into the house. While he was upstairs changing out of his work clothes both Tim and Abby called to let him know they'd made it home safely. He headed back downstairs and sent Jenny up to change then started a pot of coffee while he waited for Tony and Ziva to check-in.
After pouring himself a cup of coffee and hearing from Tony and Ziva, Gibbs headed out to the living room and sat down on the couch next to the twins. Josie immediately climbed into Gibbs' lap and peeked into his coffee cup.
"What do you guys usually do at home?" Gibbs asked.
"We do our chores," Josie answered lying back against Gibbs' chest.
"What kind of chores?" Gibbs asked as he wrapped his hand around the little girl's stomach.
Josie inspected each one of Gibbs' fingers, pressing down on his fingernails, tracing his knuckles and examining his calluses. "Um, we have to clean in the bathroom and the kitchen and in our bedrooms and then we clean in the—"
"Josie stop it!" Bailey said more scared than angry. "Dad will be mad at us if you tell and I don't want the belt."
"Me and Bailey is very bad kids," Josie said hiding her face in shame.
Gibbs patted Bailey's head then tickled Josie's neck with his finger making her squirm and giggle. "I don't think you guys are bad kids," he said as Jenny walked into the room and sat down on the couch with them. Gibbs smiled at the sight of her in one of his long sleeve t-shirts and the pair of jeans she kept in her go-bag. "In fact, I think you guys are great kids."
"But Daddy says when we be bad we have to get a spanking with his belt and we get lots of spankings 'cause we be very bad." Josie stopped talking then turned and looked suspiciously at Gibbs. "Are you going to spank us too?"
"No Sweetheart," Gibbs said smiling at her, "but I am going to give you a hug." He wrapped both arms around Josie and held her close to him while he placed a gentle kiss on top of her head. He looked over at Bailey sitting hunched over staring at his lap. He rested his hand on the little boy's back and rubbed slow soothing circles.
"Hey, I have an idea!" Jenny said. "Why don't we all put our snow clothes on and go outside and play for a little while?"
"Will we get in trouble?" Bailey asked, almost excited about the idea.
"No Honey," Jenny assured him, "nobody's going to get in trouble."
When Bailey was sure he wasn't going to get in trouble he got really excited about being allowed to play in the snow. For the first time since Gibbs picked him up at the daycare that morning he saw the little boy smile. He and Jenny helped the kids put their new snow gear on then Gibbs dug around in his coat closet until he found two pairs of winter Carhartt overalls. He tossed one pair to Jenny and he put the other pair on then they all went out to the backyard.
Outside there was almost a foot of snow on the ground and it was still coming down hard. Jenny tried to teach the kids how to make snow angels but the snow was so deep it almost buried them when they laid back. Gibbs decided to build a snowman and let both kids help him push the snowballs around the yard. When they had their snowballs stacked Gibbs and Bailey found some sticks to use as arms while Jenny and Josie searched for something to use for its face. Gibbs helped Bailey put the snowman's arms in while Jenny lifted Josie up so she could put the two rocks in for its eyes and the pinecone in as a nose.
Gibbs and Jenny plopped down on the deck while the twins admired the snowman. After Gibbs caught his breath he made a snowball and tossed it at Bailey. Bailey quickly turned and looked towards the adults. When he saw the smile on Gibbs' face he raced over and tackled him. Gibbs dropped backwards onto the snow covered deck with Bailey lying on top of him laughing.
"Let's get your sister now," Gibbs said quietly. He packed a snowball and handed it to Bailey. The little boy threw it and missed his sister but Josie quickly realized the fun had moved to the deck. She raced over and jumped on top of Gibbs with her brother.
Jenny grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures of Gibbs rolling around in the snow with the kids then she had everyone pose in front of the snowman. She set the timer on the camera and hurried over with the group so they could all be in a picture with their creation.
When the sun started to disappear below the horizon and Bailey started coughing Gibbs and Jenny decided it was time to take the kids inside. Gibbs headed to the kitchen to get dinner started while Jenny took the kids upstairs to change them into some warmer, dryer clothes. Gibbs was slicing celery and carrots to make some homemade chicken noodle soup when he heard screaming upstairs. He turned the pot of chicken broth off and hurried up the stairs to find out what was going on.
"Bailey had a fit when I tried to help him change into his pajamas," Jenny explained standing in front of the little boy's closed bedroom door.
"Oh yah, I forgot," Gibbs laughed, "he doesn't want any girls to see his peepee. I'll take care of him, you do Josie."
"Ah, I see," Jenny said.
Gibbs went into Bailey's room and found him sitting on the bed with an angry scowl on his face. "All these girls want to see my peepee all the time," he said angrily.
"I know," Gibbs said sympathetically, "you've had a rough day." He looked around the room and found Jenny had stacked the pajamas on top of the dresser. "You know what Bailey?" he asked as he helped the boy get undressed. "Sometimes, we have to let some girls see our peepees, like doctors, and nurses—"
"And mommies?" Bailey asked.
"Uh-huh," Gibbs nodded as he held out a pair of flannel camouflage pajama pants. Bailey held onto Gibbs' shoulder with his good arm while he stepped into the pants.
"I miss my Mommy," Bailey said quietly.
"I know Buddy," Gibbs said. He pulled the gray, thermal, knit top over Bailey's head and helped him get his arms in the sleeves. He heard Bailey sniff his nose and looked over to see a tear trailing down the little boy's cheek. Gibbs wiped the tear away then pulled Bailey into a hug. "It's ok," he whispered into Bailey's hair before kissing the top of his head, "everything's going to be ok."
Gibbs grabbed the sling off the bed and positioned it around the cast. "Can I ask you a question Bailey?" Bailey looked up at Gibbs and nodded. "Who told you girls aren't allowed to look at your peepee?" Gibbs knew that even though the doctor didn't find any signs of sexual abuse there were things that could be done that wouldn't be detected. After learning about Kinsley's background Gibbs had to ask.
"Ms. Faith at my school," Bailey answered. "She tell the boys to don't let the girls see your peepee and she tell the girls to don't let the boys see your peepee. 'Cause that's bad! Right?" Bailey asked looking to Gibbs for approval.
"Right," Gibbs said, satisfied with Bailey's explanation for his modesty. He grabbed a pair of socks out of the dresser and sat Bailey on the bed.
"Papa Gibbs," Bailey said, "I don't want to go back with Dad."
Gibbs looked into Bailey's eyes and could see the fear building. He wanted nothing more than to be able to erase all of the little boy's pain and replace it with love and happiness. "You don't have to go back there Bailey. You're safe now. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Gibbs lifted him off the bed and stood him on the floor in front of him. "You need a hair cut Little Man," he said as he brushed Bailey's thick blonde hair away from his eyes.
"I want to get a haircut just like you, Papa Gibbs," Bailey said. Gibbs smiled as he lifted Bailey into his arms. He flipped the light off then carried him down to the living room to watch TV with Jenny and Josie while he finished making dinner.
When dinner was over Gibbs and Jenny took the kids to living room. Jenny flipped channels on the TV until she found the Disney version of Tarzan. Bailey situated himself between Gibbs and Jenny on the couch and did his best to imitate the exact way Gibbs was sitting. When Gibbs realized what he was doing he couldn't help but smile. Josie climbed back and forth between Gibbs' lap and Jenny's lap. Bailey quickly grew frustrated with being climbed on and started glaring at his sister.
Jenny reached across the back of the couch and poked Gibbs to get his attention then nodded towards Bailey. "He's just like you Jethro!" she said laughing.
Gibbs smiled and pulled Bailey into his lap so his sister couldn't climb over him anymore. Bailey cuddled into Gibbs and rested his head against Gibbs' chest. It wasn't long before he was sound asleep. With Josie still climbing all over the couch, Gibbs decided to go ahead and put the little boy in bed so his sister didn't wake him. He carried him up to his room, laid him down, removed the sling from his arm and pulled the blankets around him. Before turning off the lamp next to the bed he leaned down and kissed Bailey's forehead then headed back to the living room to finish the movie with the girls.
All throughout the rest of the movie Josie moved back and forth between Gibbs and Jenny, giggling when Gibbs would tickle her or when Jenny would pretend to steal her nose. When the movie ended the little girl was still showing no signs of being tired. Gibbs looked at his watch and saw it was long past a decent bedtime for her.
"Ok Little Lady, it's time for bed," he said.
"But I not tired," Josie yawned as Gibbs lifted her off the couch.
"We'll read for a little while," Gibbs said trying to avoid an argument. He suspected once he got Josie calmed down she would be asleep in no time. He carried the little girl up to her room and found an old story book that belonged to Kelly. He sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room and got Josie situated on his lap then started reading to her.
It wasn't long before the gentle rocking and the soothing sound of Gibbs' voice put the little girl to sleep. Gibbs laid her down in bed and pulled the blankets over her before sitting down next to her. He brushed her hair out of her face and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Good night sweet girl," he whispered before turning the lamp off. When he got up to leave he saw Jenny standing in the door watching him.
"They're so precious," she said.
"I'd forgotten what it's like to have kids running around here," Gibbs said flashing back to when Kelly was that age.
Jenny could hear the heartache in his voice. The combination of losing his own daughter and now caring for two abused children was already affecting him. She rested her head against his chest catching him slightly off guard. Assuming she just needed to be comforted Gibbs wrapped his arm around her and held her close to him.
"You ok?" he asked.
"I'm ok," she said, "this is just a lot to take in."
As Gibbs stood in the hall holding Jenny he thought back to Shannon and Kelly and the happiness he felt when they were around. Spending time with Bailey and Josie was starting to renew that happiness. The twins had reminded him of the simple joys of life—snowmen and chicken noodle soup, silly cartoons and storybooks, hugs and kisses. Gibbs carried around a lot of hurt with him but children never failed to remind him of all the love he had inside as well.
Jenny turned around to face Gibbs and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "Are you ok?" she asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
"Yah," he said, "I'm fine." He ran his hand over her back a few times before letting go. "Are you opposed to sharing a bed tonight?" he asked. "Or I can always just sleep under my boat. That's been known to happen around here on occasion."
Jenny laughed but didn't need any time to think about her answer. "I don't mind sleeping in the same bed," she said. "I trust you Jethro."
Gibbs looked into her eyes and smiled, already tempted to lean in and steal a kiss. "Go ahead and get ready for bed," he said, deciding to wait on the kiss. "I'll go lock up."