Chapter 4
Any thought of sleep was gone. Tim's heart was in his throat.
"Lost? What do you mean? You're supposed to be with..."
"I know. I snuck out. I was going to...to find you."
"Aimee...where are you?"
"I don't know!" Aimee started to cry on the other end. "I was going to go back home because I knew you must live close by, but...but I got lost and...and I don't know where I am! ...and I'm scared, Tim."
"Okay. Okay, I want you to look around and tell me what you see."
"Cars...people...and it's cloudy and hot and..."
"Aimee, I need you to stay calm. Did you walk by anything you recognized?"
"Yes. I was...on the Mall."
"The National Mall? Where the monuments are?"
"Yes."
"When was that?"
"A while ago. I don't know."
"Okay. Now, look around where you are. Are you on a corner?"
"There's a corner...down the block a bit."
"Okay. Can you read the street sign?"
"I don't see a street sign." Aimee started crying again. "I don't know where I am!"
"It's all right. Are you on a pay phone?"
"Uh...no...I...took a cell phone."
"You took one? From whom?"
"I...I don't know. It was sitting on the counter. I took it."
"Okay." Tim strove to keep his voice calm. He needed to figure out where she was. He could lecture her on stealing later. She had walked north of the Mall. That was something. "Do you know what the phone number is?"
"No."
"Do you know how to look for it?"
"Yeah. My mom...she has...had a...a cell phone."
"All right. What I need you to do is hang up, look at the number and then call me back. Can you do that?"
"Yeah...but what if–?"
"Just do what I told you and it'll be okay."
"Okay."
There was a click and Tim tried not to freak out while he waited for her to call him back. Was this the best way to find her? He wasn't sure. It was late enough that he'd have to get someone into NCIS to do a regular trace. If the phone had any kind of GPS chip in it, he had written an app for his own phone that would trace the signal and locate it within a few hundred feet. He just needed the number. He was almost ready to do a *69. The number hadn't come up on his own phone, but he could call her back.
Then, his phone rang.
"Aimee?" he asked.
"Yeah. I got it."
"Good. What's the number?"
"555-2859. Tim, are you mad at me for...for taking it?"
"We'll talk about that later. For now, let's just get you off the street." He grabbed his keys and left his apartment, wishing that he was going to bed. He was tired. "What monuments did you walk by when you were at the Mall?"
"I saw the White House."
"When you walked by it, was it on your right or your left?"
"Right."
"Okay." Tim pulled his phone down from his ear for a moment and started the tracing app running. Then, he went back. "I've got a trace going on your phone. I should be able to find you soon."
"I'm sorry, Tim."
"Me, too, Aimee." He drove and then his phone beeped at him. He saw a location marked on a map and he began to head toward it. "Why did you leave?"
"I didn't like it there. I didn't know anyone."
"You don't really know me very well."
"But you saved me! ...and you're like my dad. You help people."
Tim tried not to get sucked in again because the way she talked just made him melt into a puddle. He was way too easily affected by this little girl.
"Tim...will I have to leave here?"
"I don't know, Aimee."
"I don't want to leave. My friends are here."
"I'm sure Social Services will figure all that out...after we get the man who killed your parents."
He turned onto K Street and drove for a little while...and then stopped when he saw a little girl standing under an awning, looking rather aimless...and wet. He sighed with relief.
"I can see you, Aimee," he said with a smile.
"Where are you?"
She started looking around.
"I'm just pulling up to the curb. Look to your left."
He was rewarded with a big smile on her face and she ran to the car and got in...and hugged him tightly.
"Tim! I'm so sorry!"
"Aimee, you can't do stuff like this. You can't just run away because you don't like it."
"But...what if that man comes again? I don't think they're...they can...really help me like you did."
Tim privately agreed, but he didn't say that.
"What are we going to do about this, Aimee?"
"Can't I stay with you?"
Tim groaned inwardly...but at the same time, his job was to keep her safe.
"All right...here's what we're going to do. We'll go back to my apartment and I'll call Social Services and see what they say about you staying there. If they don't approve it, you'll have to go back to them...and I want you to promise me that you won't run off again."
Aimee looked at her lap. "I promise."
"Good."
Tim drove to his apartment and led Aimee up the stairs and let her in.
"Your apartment is really small," she said.
"I'm the only one who lives here."
"Why? Don't you have a family?"
He could hear the sadness in her question. She didn't have a family anymore.
"I do, but I'm not married. So my family is just my parents and my younger sister. I live by myself...with my dog."
She perked up. "You have a dog?"
"Yeah, but he's been sick; so he's asleep right now. Just have a seat over there," Tim gestured vaguely toward his chairs and pulled out his phone.
"Can I look at your weird machine over here?" she asked.
"It's a typewriter...and yes, if you're careful. I don't want it to get broken," Tim said...and then, dialed the Social Services representative. "Hello, this is NCIS Agent Timothy McGee. I'm sorry to bother you so late, but..."
"Agent McGee. I'm sorry, but I don't have good news. Aimee Hanson..."
"...snuck away and took someone's cell phone?"
"You found her?"
"Yeah. She called me. I have her at my apartment. She really wants to stay with me."
"You're the agent who found her?"
"Yeah. What do you think?"
"It can't be permanent."
"Of course not," Tim said and then lowered his voice, "but until we find out whether or not she's still in danger...we can't afford to have her running around DC."
"True enough. Well, under the circumstances, for tonight, we'll allow it. Tomorrow, I'll come over to NCIS and we'll talk about making other arrangements."
"Okay." Tim wasn't sure if he was happy about this development...especially since it would mean he was giving up his bed...and he was going to have to tell Gibbs about this...which scared him more than the guy they were trying to find. "If you need to check on her at all, I'll give you my phone number and address."
"That would be excellent...and you'll probably want her things."
"Oh, yeah. I didn't even think of that. I hope it's not an inconvenience."
"It is, but it'll be good for me to get a look at where she's staying in any case."
"Okay." Tim gave her the information and then hung up. He looked at Aimee who was pushing experimentally at the keys on his typewriter.
"How does this work?" she asked.
"I'll show you later. Right now, you need to go to bed. It's past my bedtime, let alone yours."
"I...don't want to go to bed," Aimee confessed and looked a little embarrassed. "I need my night light. I know...it's for babies, but..."
"No, it's not. I don't have a night light, but I can leave a light on in the bathroom and the door open a little bit. That way you'll still have light. Will that work?"
She nodded.
"Okay. We just need to wait for Ms. Needham to bring your suitcase over. You can put on your pajamas, brush your teeth and get into bed. I'll just grab my sleeping bag. And you'll have Jethro in the room with you. He'll help keep you safe."
"Your dog?"
"Yeah."
"I thought you said he was sick."
"He is, but if someone tried to come in who shouldn't be here, he'd be up in a moment."
Aimee looked worried. "Do you think that will happen?"
"No, I don't, but I always feel safer with Jethro around." Tim smiled as if he wasn't worried at all. "If you want, you can go in and pet him. Just don't wake him up."
Aimee nodded and went into the bedroom. Tim sighed and then dialed Gibbs' number.
"What is it, McGee?"
"Well...Boss..."
"What, McGee?"
"Aimee Hanson is in my apartment and is staying here for tonight."
"What?"
"She ran away, looking for me. Boss, I think that until we find out who this guy is, we'd better plan on my being with her...even if it's at a safe house or in a temporary residence or whatever else Social Services comes up with. If she's in danger, she can't go wandering around, and I know what you're going to say, but I think it's better to risk that than to risk her."
"You're on dangerous ground, Tim."
"I know. I think I'm already on the verge of sinking, but this is my job...and it's me she trusts. That's important."
"You cleared it with Social Services?"
"For tonight. Her advocate is coming over to check and bring her stuff. She'll be coming to NCIS tomorrow to talk about what will be best for Aimee."
"And you think it would be best for her to stay with you?"
"Yeah...probably not here but with me...and whoever else."
"I'll think about it. You watch yourself, McGee."
"I will."
"Right."
There was a click and Tim grimaced. He waited until Carla Needham showed up. She didn't appear especially impressed with his residence, but she found nothing wrong with it. She lectured Aimee on running away and on stealing. Aimee apologized and returned the phone, although Tim suspected she wasn't as sorry as she acted. He agreed to talk things over with Social Services in the morning. Then, he looked at Aimee.
"Bed," he said sternly. "I'm tired and so you're going to bed."
Aimee grinned but nodded. She went into the bathroom and got ready. Meanwhile, Tim pulled out a sleeping bag and set up his own bed on the floor. He wasn't excited about that, but he figured he was tired enough that he'd fall right to sleep.
Aimee got into his bed and showed that she was also tired. She was asleep before he turned out the light.
Tim stumbled out to his own makeshift bed, lay down and was almost asleep before his eyes closed.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"Help! Mommy! Daddy!"
Tim sat up in a blind panic and heard the frightened voice. It was echoing his own dreams and he scrambled out of the sleeping bag, still half asleep, afraid his dreams were real. He ran into the bedroom and found Aimee huddled in a ball in the corner, crying.
"Aimee."
"Daddy! Daddy!"
"I'm sorry, Aimee," Tim said. "It's me. Tim. Remember?"
Aimee blinked at him in the semi-darkness. Then, she burst into a bout of fresh tears and lurched forward, throwing her arms around him, whimpering incoherently. Tim hugged her and lifted her up off the floor. He carried her to the bed and set her down beside him. He didn't want to let her just go back to sleep. Her dream would probably recur. It might in any case, but it was much more likely if she didn't completely wake up. He looked at the clock and saw the time. Three-twelve a.m. He sighed to himself.
"Tell me your dream, Aimee," he said softly.
"They were dying...Mommy had holes in her and they kept growing bigger and bigger...and there was a huge gun! And...and they were dead! And...and then, the big gun was coming after me! You weren't there!"
"I'm here right now. It was just a dream. You're all right. You're safe." This reminded him of the times when he'd been left in charge of watching Sarah while his parents were gone overnight. It hadn't happened often, but she'd always had at least one bad dream. "It's all right. Are you awake?"
Aimee sniffed and nodded. She looked at him.
"Do you want me to sit by you until you fall asleep again?"
She nodded.
"Okay. I will." Tim pulled a chair beside the bed and sat down. "You lay down. I'm right here. No one will get to you. You're safe."
"But...Mom...and...and Daddy... They're still dead."
"Yeah...but you're safe and we're going to find out who did it and make sure he goes to prison."
"Okay." She still looked afraid.
Tim thought about what else he could do to help her go to sleep. Then, he remembered an embarrassing keepsake, one he'd never ever let Tony know about. It was the teddy bear he'd slept with when he was young. His grandma had knitted a Navy sweater for it. Tim had loved it and insisted on having it with him every night. Now, he got on his hands and knees and pulled it from its special place under the bed and handed it to Aimee.
"Here. If you need more comforting, Grizzly Adams will help."
Aimee laughed a little. "Grizzly Adams?"
"That's his name. I liked it."
"I like it, too. He's yours?"
"Yeah, but you can use him if you want."
Aimee held the bear tightly and lay down once more. Her eyes on Tim. He settled back in the chair and smiled at her. Her eyelids became heavy and eventually, they closed. Tim stayed where he was...until his own head drooped and then lolled onto the back of the chair. He slumped low in his seat and fell fast asleep.