Part 4
Thursday
About a week later
It was eight days later and Harm received a phone call from NCIS. The blood samples had been analyzed and the results were known. After putting down the phone, he took a deep breath. The investigation was almost at an end. Next Monday they would know for sure. He took the phone again to notify the Yoder family.
Friday, late afternoon
To his surprise Friday morning Harm received a call from Nathan to request a meeting. Harm had suggested a drink in a small café that afternoon and it was there both men met.
Drinks ordered and on the table, the chitchat done, Nathan took a deep breath and came to the point. "Sir, I like Danica very much. I told her so in a letter. Would you allow me to continue writing with her?"
It was a question Harm had expected. "Son," he started, "you know she has been through a lot and I don't want her to get hurt any more."
The young man nodded "I know, and I don't want her to suffer any more either. That's why I ask your permission. I understand you are her sponsor?"
"Yes," Harm informed him. "Together with my wife. And not only her sponsor, since Danica still a minor, I'm her legal guardian as well. So I'm responsible for her."
"Sir, I don't want to hurt her in any way. We were raised differently. My parents raised us teaching us responsibility and compassion for others."
Harm made an effort not to snort but simply reacted "This made Levi a sort of Prodigal Son, I guess."
"Yes," Nathan bit his lips. "Except for he never made it home again. We always hoped he would turn around, come back home. I would have been happy to slaughter the fattened calf for him."
Harm stayed silent, not knowing what to say.
It took Nathan a few moments to compose himself. "I know maybe my background isn't the best witness for me but I can assure you I want the best for Danica. As I said, I like her very much."
He reached in his inner pocket and retrieved a piece of paper. "I wrote down the names and contact information of a few people who can testify for me, Sir." He handed over the paper. Hiding his smile Harm took it and looked at what was written on it. It held the names of a minister, a few teachers and two members of a church board. He nodded and tucked the paper away in his wallet. "Thanks. I will do that. I will also discuss it with my wife and with Danica. You have to realize, even if Mac and I would give you permission, it's still up to her."
He drained his glass. Making up his mind he said "Why don't you and your parents come over for a cup of tea Sunday afternoon?"
Nathan looked surprised but pleased. "I will ask them Sir, and let you know as soon as possible."
Sunday afternoon
At three o'clock a car stopped in front of the house and out came a woman, Anna, and two men, one being Nathan and the other his father Ben. Harm greeted them at the door and showed them into the living where Mac and Danica were waiting. Chairs and tea were offered and then there was silence. Then Ben started to speak "Even though we don't know for sure, yet, as I said before: we can not say how sorry we are about what happened. And how disappointed in the way our son behaved. And guilty."
Harm opened his mouth but Danica beat him to it "It's not your fault. It wasn't you that raped me." She was on the brink of tears. "I hate Levi, but not you to blame." She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from crying and also the other two women had difficulty to control themselves.
Mac stood up, walked over to the girl and hugged her.
Harm scraped his throat "I think that says it all." He took a large sip of his tea, and almost choked on it since it was still hot. That gave some distraction and after that a more normal conversation was possible. Mac asked Anna about the rest of the family. "They are fine. Still sad about the death of their brother of course but fine. Lisa en Debbie now know what happened, we had to explain why we went to Washington twice in a short period, and they are very sorry for Danica, too." The girl blushed and looked like she preferred to be somewhere else. "We didn't tell the three youngest. We saw no need for that, they wouldn't understand."
Harm nodded. "I agree with that."
Ben went on telling about the carpenter business he owned and where Nathan also was employed. He even produced a couple of pictures of pieces he had made. Slowly the discussion became more relaxed and amiable.
Mac stood up to bring the cups to the kitchen for a refill. Anna too rose to help. Mac wanted to indicate she didn't need help but then she realised it created the opportunity to talk in private, woman to woman. And indeed, as soon as they were in the kitchen Anna started to talk "You're really okay with having us here?" Mac nodded. "We invited you, remember." She put the kettle on the stove and motioned for Anna to sit at the kitchen table. "You know, we deal so much with victims and perpetrators," she saw Anna cringe but went on anyway "that's sometimes difficult to keep in mind the family of the perpetrator is a victim, too. Not always, but most of the time. You didn't ask for Levi to assault Diana. Or any other girl. You did the best you could to raise him and give him a strong set of values. I can see that in Nathan and the other children."
"You investigated us?" Anna wanted to know.
Mac nodded "Yes, but not more than necessary to find out about Levi. You have to understand, we have a job to do and that is to accomplish justice for victims, as much as possible. We are not after the innocent."
The other woman nodded, tears in her eyes. "I know but it hurts." Mac kept silent, she knew.
After a while Anna dried her tears and was ready to move on to the next subject. She tilted her head to the porch where Danica and Nathan now were sitting, Danica having challenged Nathan to a game of checkers.
"They seem to get along fine together." Mac smiled "yes."
"How do you feel about that?" Mac tilted her head from left to right, thinking what to say. "We want Danica to have a life as normal as possible. And that includes friends, maybe even a boyfriend."
"Nathan is very smitten with Danica."
"I know. He and Harm had a conversation the day before yesterday. In fact, Nathan asked Harm's permission to keep in touch with Danica." She chuckled. "He came prepared, I have to say. Harm told me he had a list of references with him, character witnesses. Couple of teachers, the minister, two members of the church board. So Harm could investigate him, if he wanted."
"And?"
"I think Harm is going to do that, check him out. He is very protective towards the ones he cares for. Danica is like a daughter to him and he is not prepared to let her be hurt again. And then it's up to Danica." She gave Anna a reassuring smile. "I don't think we should think ahead. For now, she seems to like him. And don't forget, she is raised in a strict environment. Her father didn't allow any contact with boys whatsoever. She will have to get used to interacting with boys. And I don't think Nathan is a bad choice."
"I understand. In fact, that is one of the things Nathan likes in her. We have strong family values, too. I was raised Amish, we don't like our girls to interact with outsiders either. Between ourselves, well, you could say contact is regulated."
The tea ready Mac stood up to pour the cups.
"Will Danica keep the baby?" This was the million dollar question.
Mac turned around and pondered for a moment how much to tell. Then she answered "She wanted to give it up for adoption, but since two weeks she tends more to keeping it. She had an echo and seeing the baby, seeing it move…. But whatever she decides, we will support her."
Anna took a deep breath; it clearly was hard for her to continue. "We talked about it, Ben and I. We already told you and Danica we will never file for custody. But we decided that if Danica wants to give up the baby, we like to adopt it. It's our grandchild, too."
Mac blew out a breath. She hadn't seen this coming. She dropped back on her chair.
"I have to say you took me by surprise and I'm not able to give you an answer to that."
"You don't have to, not now. But we wanted you to know, just in case …"
Mac nodded thoughtfully. "All right, I will share this with Harm. Not with Danica, not yet. We want her to make her decision without any influencing or pushing. But if she decides to give up the baby, we will tell her. And then she has to decide whether she wants the baby to go to you or place him or her somewhere else."
"Fair enough," Anna agreed. "We won't say anything to her, either. And the children, including Nathan, don't know we would make this proposal." She let out a chuckle, a bit wryly. "I can't prevent them coming up with the same idea, though."
Mac stood up again "Let's see how the men are doing."
From the porch came the sound of laughter. Then Nathan and Danica entered the living as well. "She defeated me big time," Nathan announced and flopped down on the couch next to his mother. Danica just showed him her tongue.
"Nathan, can you get me the package from the car's back seats?" Anna suddenly asked. Nathan rose and did as she requested. Coming back he handed over the fairly large package to his mother. Anna turned to Danica. "I was raised Amish. Amish women are well known for their quilts they make." The girl looked confused and Mac immediately realised the problem "The Amish are a religious group, they're orthodox Christians and a quilt is kind of stitched blanket, made of lots of small pieces of material, like the one we have on our bed" she explained. Danica nodded her understanding.
Anna went on, now realising she had to use simple phrases. "When a baby is born, we make him or her a special quilt. I made one for you." She handed over the package. Danica looked a bit shy, not knowing what to do. "Open it," Mac encouraged her.
Slowly the girl removed the layers of paper, to reveal a beautiful small baby quilt. It didn't have the traditional Amish colours, in stead it was made of brightly coloured pieces. It was perfect to lay in a crib or wrap a baby in.
Danica didn't say much, except for a whispered "Thank you," but her eyes spoke volumes about how much she liked the present.
Shortly after the Yoder family rose to leave. Saying their goodbyes, Harm caught the pleading look of Nathan. "I'll let you know, son," he promised.
Monday morning 9.00
NCIS
Danica was so nervous she hardly had eaten any breakfast. Harm and Mac were nervous as well. Would the tests have turned out well and if the baby was Levi's, how would Danica take the news? And if not, the whole investigation had to start over again. They would have to check the whereabouts of the four other men Bud thought the most likely suspects, track them down and retrieve DNA. They might even have to investigate two third of the squadron, leaving only the coloured men out since Danica was very sure it had been a white man who had raped her.
Danica clung to Mac's arm when the entered the building and Harm had his arm around her shoulders.
In a side room the Yoder family was already waiting. It didn't take long before NCIS technician Abby Scutio walked into the room, a file in her hand.
Danica grabbed Harm's and Mac's hands in a vicelike grip. Ben held his wife's hand; Nathan bit his lip. Abby sat next to them and started to explain. "As you know I've taken a blood sample from Danica and from Ben, Anna and Nathan Yoder. Danica's blood has been sent to Bethesda to be filtered. I don't have the equipment to do that here. Then it was sent back and I made a DNA profile from both Danica's and the baby. As well as from Ben, Anna and Nathan. Next I compared Nathan's DNA with that of his parents, just to be sure. He is with a statistic change of 99.8% a biological son of Ben and Anna. Then I compared the baby's DNA with that of Ben, Anna and Nathan." She took a breath. "Because of I had only the blood of relatives to work with the percentage will be a bit lower. But I can tell you the baby is with a certainty of 96,4% a relative of the Yoder family."
Even though they had seen this coming gasps were heard. Abby handed the file over to Harm, nodded and walked out of the room.
It took a while before anyone spoke. Finally Ben said "Now we're sure. What's next?"
Harm nodded thoughtfully. "I know what your opinion is but legally I have to ask you whether you intend to challenge this result."
Ban shook his head sadly. "As you said, you know we won't. Our son raped Danica and made her pregnant. We accept that."
"Then I will start to wrap up the investigation. Since Levi is dead, no actions will be brought against him. However, I have to investigate how this affects the citizenship of the baby."
The other man nodded. "If we can be of any help, let us know."
Suddenly Danica spoke "You go home now?"
"Our plane is not before 9pm so we will spend the rest of the day with a bit of sightseeing I guess." He made a helpless gesture.
Danica was clearly struggling with her words. "Is not good. We are family now. We …," she felt silent and looked to Harm for help.
He nodded. "I agree. It doesn't feel good letting you go back without any further contact. I think we all need a bit of time to deal with the outcome but why don't we meet for an early dinner. As Danica said, you and she are connected now, willing or not." He noticed the expression of relief on Anna and Nathan's faces. Ben nodded slowly "Sounds like a plan."
Harm grabbed his cell and made reservations at a small family restaurant not far from the airport. "5.30pm suits you?" he asked Ben, who approved without reservation.
5.30pm
Restaurant
As agreed they met in the restaurant. Both families were on time, both nervous how to proceed. Although the food was good, little was eaten. Finally Harm bit the bullet. "Now we know for sure Danica's baby is Levi's too, we have to discuss how we proceed. Nathan asked us permission to write with Danica. Today I contacted the character witnesses he gave me and they were unanimous in their good opinion about you. I discussed it with Mac and Danica, too. We agree and Danica said she likes to write to you."
Despite the circumstances Nathan smiled from ear to ear. Ben and Anna produced a smile as well.
"Next to that I suggest we will contact you every week to inform you how Danica and the baby are. If she wants to call you, that's okay but that's up to her."
Ben uttered his gratitude and they decided Mac should call them the next Sunday evening. After that dinner seemed to taste a lot better.
In the next weeks several letters were exchanged between Nathan and Danica. However, something seemed to bother Danica and after a few careful questions which went unanswered Mac sat down to talk to her. "Sweetheart, I can see something is bothering you."
"Do you have a bible?"
Mac was surprised. "Yes, we have, but why do you want a bible?" After all, the girl was Muslim.
The girl blushed. "Because … Nathan writes about believe. I want to read what he says. And what Quran says."
"Why didn't you just ask me or Harm?"
"You do so much for me. You give me so much. I don't want to be …" she felt silent.
"Be a burden," Mac suggested. Danica nodded.
Mac took her hands. "You will never be a burden and you should not worry about the money. Never! We love to have you here. And remember, without you Harm might not have made it back home. That alone is worth more than anything." She jumped to her feet. "We will go shopping tomorrow. You need some nighties and we have to go over the list from the midwife as well, to see all she recommended is there, too." She pulled the girl to her feet as well. "Come, I'll make you some tea and show you were to find the bible on the bookshelves."
It was a few weeks later Danica came over to Mac again. "Can you buy a Quran for me?" Mac looked quizzed. "You have a Quran. Something happened to it?"
The girl shook her head. "No. Nathan will have his birthday in a few days. I want to give him a Quran.
Mac frowned. "I don't know whether Ben and Anna would like that. They might fear you want to convert him."
"I don't. But we talk about it. Believe, I mean. A lot. He shows me bible verses. But when I want to show him a Quran verse I have to copy it."
Mac understood. "You two are serious, aren't you?" Danica nodded.
"Okay," Mac agreed. "I have to go to the mall this afternoon. I can pick up one."
The next day it was in the mail, accompanied by a 'happy birthday'-card. Mac had thought it wise to include a note for Ben and Anna. And indeed, during their next call that Sunday they expressed their fear about Danica's motivation. Mac reassured them their children were only comparing religions. The conversation left her in a pensive mood; how serious was the relation between Nathan and Danica?
A few days later Harriet invited Mac and Danica, now almost nine months pregnant, over for dinner. Although Mac was a bit hesitant, not wanting to overexposure Danica, Harriet insisted and at 7pm Mac knocked on the Robert's door. The place seemed dark but as soon as they came in the lights flashed on and "surprise!" The room was filled with women. Harriet had organized a baby shower for Danica!
The girl was almost in tears. After a while she managed to bring out "And you don't know me at all."
Harriet came over to give her a hug. "No, but we know your story. And don't forget, you helped to bring Harm back alive and that alone is enough to warrant our everlasting gratitude. Now dry your tears, let's have something to eat and then it's time for you to unwrap your presents." She pointed at the buffet at the other side of the room. "To you the honour to pick the first bite." A bit shy Danica did as she was told, filling her plate with different dishes, quickly followed by the others.
In order not to embarrass her the women all bought smaller gifts for the baby, like onesies, bibs, little cloths and a large diaper cake. There were some things for Danica too, like t-shirts and lotion. When Danica admired them over and over, Harriet smiled, satisfied her surprise had worked out so well.
Now all they had to do was wait for the baby to arrive.
