A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, and all of the alerts (which there quite a lot after last chapter!). This chapter is a little better (there's a little comic relief-albeit dark comic relief- from the wonderful Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo), but still pretty dark.
Disclaimer: DPB owns the characters, I merely own the plot.
"I'm not a stranger, no I am yours, with crippled anger, and tears that still drip sore," –"Cut", Plumb
Tony and Tim walked together into the college dorm rooms, surrounded by students moving between the recreational rooms and bedrooms. For once, Tony was not looking at the teenaged, barely dressed college girls, instead focused on finding Rudi Haas. This meant something of significance to his boss, and he wouldn't screw it up. There was too much at stake this time.
Tim found the correct room number, nodding to Tony, who returned the nod, motioning for him to knock on the door. Tim turned the nod, his hand reaching up to rap on the door. There were a few moments of silence before it was opened by a shorter man with close-cropped brown hair and hard green eyes. He glared at them, questioning.
"Who're you?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Tony reached into his pocket, pulling out his badge, showing him.
"I'm Special Agent DiNozzo, this is Special Agent McGee. We're here to take you in for questioning," Tony said, watching as the man's eyes flashed. In that moment, Tony knew what was going to happen, and he internally sighed.
They never made it easy.
Haas slammed the door, but Tony jammed his foot in the door just in time, his shoe taking the brunt of the blow. Haas ran through the room, heading for the open window. Tim saw the intent and lunged, catching Haas' ankle and bringing him crashing down to the ground.
Tony placed a knee on his back, swiftly cuffing him and yanking him up, jerking his arm painfully. Haas winced, trying to struggle against the cuffs. Tony put a restraining hand on his shoulder, internally groaning as the pain in his side reacted to his movements.
He hated when they tried to run.
Tim read him his rights as they walked to the car, ignoring the stares of the student body. Haas kept his gaze on the ground, studiously ignoring the murmurings of his fellow classmates.
When they reached the car, Tony stuffed Haas in the back, tossing Tim the keys and climbing into the passenger side, buckling his seatbelt and gazing out the window as Tim sped towards the agency.
His thoughts turned to Maddie. She was pretty, and she seemed so innocent. He couldn't believe such a crime had been committed on her; rape was a touchy subject always, but to have been committed on the boss' daughter's best friend…it was too much.
And Director Shepard. She was another story entirely. He knew that she was still wary of his feelings towards her, on some level. Yes, Jeanne had hurt him, but it wasn't her fault. His thoughts had been clouded with Jeanne's distrust and uncertainty towards him, and he'd taken it out on her. But she'd been right; he'd gotten in too deep, and he'd suffered the consequences.
But he still cared about Jenny, and from what he'd gleaned from a quick phone call to Ziva, things were not all sunshine and daisies. Not that he'd expected them to be, but even Ziva hadn't been able to keep the tremor of concern out of her voice when she'd spoken of Jenny.
There was much more than just this case going on, and Tony could only pray that the shockwaves of this case wouldn't engulf them.
They'd already suffered too much.
Abby Sciuto looked up with a smile when Ducky walked into her lab, turning to face him.
"Hey Duckman what can I do for you?" she asked, her smile faltering at the serious look on his face. "Ducky? What's wrong?"
"Well, nothing is 'wrong' per say, but rather, something is not right," Ducky said, choosing his words carefully. Abby's brow furrowed in confusion, her pupils dilating as she looked up at him.
"Well then what isn't right?" she asked, folding her arms over her lab table as she waited for his answer. He sighed, dropping his hands onto the table across from her, leaning against them as they spoke.
"Have you heard about Maddie yet, my dear?"
"Maddie? Maddie who?" Abby asked, obviously confused.
"Madeline Tyler, Abigail," Ducky said, waiting. She shook her head, concern flushing through her.
"No, I haven't. What about her?" she asked, tilting her head in question.
"She was raped by a Marine a few months ago, and is now pregnant," Ducky said, watching as Abby's gaze filled with horror. "She was Kelly's best friend."
"Wait…" Abby whispered, her voice thick. "You mean…you mean Gibbs' Kelly?"
"That's exactly who I mean," Ducky replied, reaching over to slip his hand over hers on the table. Abby's eyes filled with tears, and she hastily wiped them away, smearing her thick mascara slightly.
"But…but how is Gibbs taking it?" she asked shakily, taking a deep breath to compose herself.
"According to the Director, he is keeping his emotions inside," Ducky said, a frown creasing his brow at the mention of Jenny.
"Ducky?" Abby asked, waiting for his gaze to return to her. "Ducky, why are you looking like that? What's wrong with Jenny?"
"To be honest, I do not know, Abigail," Ducky admitted, a heavy sigh bowing his shoulders. "But I know that there are things that are not being said by both the Director and Jethro."
"Are Mommy and Daddy fighting?" Abby asked, her adopted name of Jenny and Jethro causing the corner of Ducky's mouth to twitch up in amusement, before her question caused him to frown again.
"Well, I do not think that 'fighting' is the proper term for it," Ducky said, his forehead creasing in thought. "But they are certainly not getting along."
"What do you mean, Ducky?" Abby asked, leaning forward slightly. Ducky sighed, shaking his head.
"There are too many secrets coming forth because of this case, Abigail," Ducky merely said in reply.
"More secrets?" Abby asked, her eyes flashing. "I am sick and tired of secrets."
"We all are, Abs," Jethro said from behind them, walking into the lab. "Having fun, Dr. Mallard?"
"Merely informing Abigail of the case," Ducky said, shrugging before nodding once to the both of them and leaving the lab. Abby looked at Gibbs for a moment before launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Abs, I can't breathe," Jethro said after a few moments, still in her bone-crushing embrace. She let go, still looking at him with wide eyes. "What Abs?"
"Gibbs, you know what," Abby said, her voice suddenly inexplicably reminding him of Kelly. He swallowed hard, bringing himself back to the present.
"Abby, not now," he said, watching as her eyes flashed. "Please, Abs, I can't do this now."
"When, then, Gibbs?" Abby cried, throwing her hands up. "You never want to talk, ever! Why not right now? She's your daughter's best friend! Act like you feel something over this, for once!"
Jethro looked at Abby, unable to form a coherent thought for a moment. He was used to reactions like this from Ziva, or Ducky, and definitely Jenny. In fact, he was almost waiting for Jenny's reaction. Well, he was waiting for Jenny to start acting like Jenny again, and then he was waiting for Jenny's reaction.
He shook his head, pushing his worries of Jenny away. He couldn't worry about her right now. Later, there would be plenty of time to worry about Jenny, and analyze her actions.
"Abby…" he started, but she shook her head, standing.
"Gibbs, I'm done trying to get you to open up. I've tried, and I can't keep doing it," Abby sighed, scratching the back of her neck. "Go interrogate your suspect. Get it all out the way you need to. Just know that you have people that care, a lot."
And with that, Abby Sciuto walked into the back of her lab, leaving Leroy Jethro Gibbs speechless.
When Jenny Shepard left her office, she was calm and composed, all evidence of her almost-breakdown wiped away.
She strode purposefully towards the bullpen, thanking God that Jethro wasn't alone in the bullpen. Ziva raised her chocolate brown eyes to look at her, her forehead contracting as Jenny merely raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"DC police are faxing over Maddie's file from when she reported her rape," Jenny said, looking between Jethro and Ziva. "It has the pictures of the bruises and her statement."
"Why would those be necessary now, Director?" Ziva asked, walking over to the fax machine and finding the documents, pulling them out.
"They'll be useful for Rudi Haas' interrogation," Jenny explained, watching as Jethro's eye's flashed. "I'll be handling his interrogation."
"No you will not. You have no right, this is my-" Jethro started, but Jenny glared, cutting him off.
"I have every right, I am the Director of this agency. I can dig into any case I want to, and threats of getting behind my desk won't work this time, Agent Gibbs," she snapped, glaring at him forcefully. "So yes, I will be handling the interrogation. Feel free to watch."
And with that, Jenny strode purposefully towards Interrogation, leaving the sound of her heels clicking in her wake.
Ziva looked at her boss, taking in his slightly-stunned, obviously-confused face. She sighed, shaking her head.
At the rate Jenny was moving, Ziva doubted Rudi Haas would be able to stand by the time his interrogation was over.
Jenny Shepard's mask of calm didn't slip as she sat in the Interrogation chair, watching Rudi Haas sweat.
She could tell that a bruise was forming along his right cheekbone, most likely from the fall he'd taken trying to outrun Tony and Tim. He was still cuffed, his hands behind his back and his shoulders hunched in an attempt to relieve the stress on his muscles.
The similarities between Rudi and the man in her memory were eerie. She found herself lapsing in and out of his bedroom, the smell of musk and beer and smoke clogging her sense. She took a deep breath, remaining in the present.
"You know why you're here," she said, opening the case file. Rudi's jaw clenched, a muscles in his jaw jumping. "Don't you?"
"That arrogant Agent told me I raped Maddie," he answered, her voice hard. "I didn't lay a hand on her."
"That's not what she says," Jenny replied, slipping out one of the photos the police had faxed over. She slid it in front of him, watching his eyes tighten. "Those bruises, on her arms and torso, are from your fists, Rudi. Her bloody lip is from your knuckles smacking into her face. Look at your handiwork, Rudi."
"I didn't do that," Rudi snapped, glaring at her. "We had sex, yeah, but I didn't hurt her."
"I find that hard to believe," Jenny said, slipping out another picture of a battered Maddie. "She's already told us her side of the story. Why don't you tell us yours?"
"We went out to eat, and when I drove back to her place, she invited me inside," Rudi said, his eyes flashing and then dodging to the left corner of his eye. "We had sex, and then I left. End of story."
"Well according to Maddie, you shoved her inside and then raped her multiple times, staying with her for over twenty four hours and letting the evidence disappear," Jenny said, checking her notes. "Do you know what the punishment is for rape, Rudi? Especially for Marines?"
"No," Rudi replied, still glaring.
"Dishonorable discharge, twenty five to life in prison, sex offender registry, and no chance at a normal life ever again," Jenny said, reading off the list with cold, calculated accuracy, her voice hard flint.
"I didn't do a thing to her!" Rudi said, pushing himself into a standing position, flinging his chair back.
But Jenny didn't notice.
Suddenly, she was seventeen again, sitting in that courtroom, her best friend's big, storm-gray eyes wide with fear, boring into hers.
"I didn't do a thing to her!" Bobby said, standing up in the courtroom, his harsh brown eyes glinting with hatred. "She's lying, I never touched Lizzie!"
"Sit down, Mr. Austin, or I will find you in contempt," the judge said, turning back to Jenny, still sitting in the witness stand. "Please continue, Miss Shepard."
Jenny looked out into the courtroom, seeing Lizzie's parents sitting near her father, her support unit. Her dad nodded encouragingly, his green eyes giving her the strength she desperately needed.
"Lizzie came to my house a few hours after…she had a bloody lip and bruises on her cheeks, and she'd been crying," Jenny said, gripping the edges of the chair with her hands, the wooden edge digging into her palms. "She said that…that Bobby had shown up drunk, pushed into her house, and threw her onto her bed."
"Where were Miss Evans' parents at the time?" Bobby's defense lawyer asked, her brown locks cut into a short pixie style.
"They went with her older sister, Ashley, to look at a local college," Jenny answered, fingering one of her thick crimson curls nervously.
"What did Miss Evans say when she arrived?" the lawyer asked, looking at her intently.
Jenny took a deep breath, locking her gaze with Lizzie, that night coming back crystal clear. The admittance, the fear, the tears. Lizzie's gray eyes filled with tears, and Jenny knew that she was reliving that night too.
"She said that Bobby Austin raped her."