NO ONE GETS THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT SCARS
CHAPTER 9
Later That Morning
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Black platform boots thudded along the floor, accompanying a litany of 'OhmyGod's coming down the hallway. Abby had arrived. "I can't believe you, McGee! OhmyGodohmyGod! How could you not tell me about this? OhmyGod!"
McGee rolled his eyes as he tried to keep up with her. "I said I was sorry, Abby!"
Abby allowed herself to pause for a moment on her quest to see her friend. " 'Sorry,' McGee? My best friend since kindergarten was attacked in her hospital room by the kidrapturer that tried to kill her once already, and nobody called me to tell me until this morning! 'Sorry' doesn't change the fact that you should have called me!"
" 'Kidrapturer?'"
With a huff, Abby explained. "He kidnapped, raped and tortured ten women, McGee. He's a kidrapturer." She poked him in the chest with a finger. Hard. "And don't think that I've forgotten for one second that you should have called me when it happened, not after I'd had a decent night's sleep." She turned and continued down the hall, boots thudding in time with her 'OhmyGod's. McGee took a moment to rub the sore spot in the middle of his chest where Abby'd poked him. That hurt! The he speed-walked to catch up to her.
Abby was so preoccupied that she bumped right into Gibbs. "Oh! Sorry, Gibbs." She let him hug her, plant a kiss on her cheek, but before he could speak, she poked him in the chest with that deadly pointer finger. "You shouldn't have kept this from me, Gibbs! She's my bestest friend ever, and I wasn't here for her! You had no right to not call me about this!"
Gibbs gently pulled her finger away from his chest and softly kissed it. "I'm sorry, Abbs. Things got a little crazy here for a while, didn't want you to have to wait around while Mandie was in surgery, figured I'd let you get some rest. You been putting in a lot of time on the Monster Marine case, you needed the rest so you can be there one hundred percent for her."
McGee looked on in shock as Abby forgave Gibbs, even though he, himself had said pretty much the same exact things to her the whole way here, and she didn't forgive him. He said as much to her, with a pout.
Abby looked at Tim like he was nuts. "He's Gibbs, McGee." Gibbs smiled a little and led Abby to Mandie's room. "I'm nervous, Gibbs. What if she doesn't want to see me…?"
Gibbs stopped Abby's rapidly moving, nervous hands. "Whether she likes it or not, she needs her family, Abbs. We're staying. Ok? Can you do that?"
Taking a deep breath, Abby nodded. "I can. I will. I can do this, Gibbs. She's family, and we don't turn our backs on family." She accepted Gibbs' kiss on her cheek, and after taking one more deep breath, she entered Mandie's room.
The white curtain was closed around Mandie, and Abby crept in quietly in case her friend was sleeping. Moving the curtain aside as quietly as she could, she jumped when Mandie gave a little squawk. "Sorry!" She apologized gently. "I didn't realize you were awake."
Mandie could feel her eyes tear up. "Abby," she whimpered. She shook as her friend leaned in and hugged her as hard as she dared. "I'm sorry, Abby," she rasped several times.
"It's ok, Mandie, it's ok. We're all here for you, ok? Just let us take care of you…."
"So scared, Abby…."
Abby held Mandie's hand. "I know, hon, I know. So was I."
Mandie was glad to see her friend, but at the same time, she didn't want to see her. Abby knew everything that monster had done to her - she'd seen what he'd done to the other girls. It bothered Mandie that everyone knew the most intimate details. Would they be able to even look at her without thinking about it? How could they? All the bandages were a constant reminder. She missed her 'framily' - people who were such good friends you consider them family. 'Framily.' But for their sakes, and her own, she had to do this. "Abby….you….you should leave…."
"Not happening, Mandie. We're all here for you…."
"But I don't want you here! You can't be! I'm not…..it isn't….. I'm….." how do you tell your best friend/sister that you don't want her to have to look at you because you're not pretty anymore? "I mean, I want you to stay, but…could you…..stand on the other side of the curtain?"
"What? Why? Why would I do that? That's crazy!"
"Well then, maybe I'm crazy! I was attacked by a guy you named the Monster Marine! Not once, but twice! All the other women he did this to are dead, yet I lived through it twice! So hell yeah, I'm crazy! I think I've earned the right to be crazy! So either do like I ask and shut the curtain, or just get out!"
"Mandie…." Abby was stunned. Get behind the curtain? What the hell was that about?
Mandie turned her head and looked at the wall. "Please, Abby….I don't want to be alone, but…..please? Just…close the curtain?" When her friend didn't do anything, she sniffled. "If you can't do what I asked, just leave, Abby. This is hard enough without…..just leave, ok?"
Abby stood there for a minute, unsure what to do. She decided she needed to think, so with a huff she turned and walked out. She walked over to where Gibbs and McGee were sitting. "She kicked me out." When Gibbs would have said something, Abby kept going. " She actually wanted me to talk to her from behind the privacy curtain! I mean, that's just insane, right? Who talks through privacy curtains? Said if I couldn't do that for her, I should just leave. She doesn't want me to leave, but she doesn't want me to look at her! Am I wrong, Gibbs? I want to sit with my friend, not hide behind some curtain…Gibbs?" Abby and Gibbs watched as Gibbs confidently into Mandie's room. "She'll make him stand behind the curtain, too." McGee just shrugged.
Mandie was lying on her back staring at the ceiling when Gibbs all but barged in. She should have known he'd be right behind Abby. "I don't want to talk, Gibbs," she pleaded.
"Good," the older man said, pulling a chair over next to the head of her bed and sitting. "Then just listen." He saw her eyes go to the ceiling again - an avoidance technique. " 'ey," he said gruffly, taking her hand.
"I didn't kick Abby out," Mandie insisted. "She left on her own…."
"Yeah, because you got some harebrained idea into your head that you need to hide from us." When she would have objected, Gibbs gently put a finger over her lips. "Listening, remember?" He stroked her cheek with that same finger, thinking how close he'd come to losing another daughter. "You have no reason to hide from us, from your family, Mandie. None."
"But…."
"No buts," Gibbs said, shaking his head. "You're still the same, beautiful girl you were before this happened."
Mandie dry-sobbed, trying not to cry and wet the bandages on her face. "No I'm not, Gibbs! I'm ugly now! All swollen, purply-green…and this!" She motioned to the line of white gauze covering up most of the left side of her face, with just her eye peeking out. "Ducky told me a plastic surgeon did the stitches, but it doesn't matter. Everything else may heal, but I'll always have a stupid scar. On my face!"
Gibbs squeezed Mandie's hand tighter. "None of that matters to your family, Mandie, you know that. We love you no matter what you look like. I mean, hey, we all love DiNozzo, right?" He smiled when she chuckled.
"Owwwww! Ohhhh, don't make me laugh, Gibbs. Hurts."
"The point is, honey, your family, your friends….we don't love you because of what you look like on the outside…."
Mandie rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I know, I know, 'it's what's on the inside that counts.' What parents have been telling their kids for centuries." She scoffed. "That may be true for framily…. Friends that are like family," she clarified at Gibbs' raised eyebrow, "but what about everyone else? When people meet me, all they're going to see is this." She pointed angrily to her face. "What you look like on the inside doesn't matter when your outside scares everyone away."
"Anyone who'd let a little white line keep them from getting to know you isn't someone worth knowing, Mandie."
She continued on, like she hadn't heard him. "I mean, I won't even be able to meet a guy like this, let alone ever get married or have kids! What guy is going to want to be seen with the Bride of Frankenstein? Should've just let me die like the others…."
Gibbs saw red. "'Ey! I don't ever want to hear you talking like that again. There's a group of people out there that are very happy you're alive, me included. All they want is to take care of you, make sure you're ok."
Mandie looked at the ceiling again. While she was happy Gibbs was here, she was also embarrassed. "But….but you all know…"
"Know what, honey?"
She whimpered. "You know! You know what that….what…he did to me! You all know everything! Every detail, everything he did…..you know it all! You've seen pictures, you know what he….how he…." Mandie sobbed. "Bad enough the doctors and nurses here - strangers - know…..but you all? You know even more….stuff I wouldn't…..personal stuff! And when you see me, all I can think is that you know…."
A light went on in Gibbs' head. "So…you think that when we're here with you….all we see are the things that monster did to you." He turned her head so that she had to look at him. Seeing one of his kids so sad was killing him. "You couldn't be further from the truth, Mandie. Do we know what happened to you? Yes. But you're not a case to us, honey. All we see when we look at you is a sister, a daughter…who's been hurt like no one ever should be." He brushed the hair away from her forehead. "And honestly - knowing what that son of a bitch did to you? Only makes me want to nail his ass to the wall more than ever." Leaning in, Gibbs gently kissed Mandie's forehead. "So when Abby comes in, she's coming to see her best friend - her sister. All she's thinking about is getting you well and getting you out of here. The last thing she's thinking of is whatever hocus pocus forensics she should be doing on you."
"But…..you don't understand! You know! And knowing that you all know…..it's embarrassing, Gibbs! You all know things about me now that….."
Gibbs placed a gentle finger against her lips again. "I told you. None of that matters to us, to your family. Now, Abby and McGee are waiting outside to see you. They need to see with their own eyes that you're ok."
"But…." Mandie sighed. He just didn't get it, and she was too tired to keep fighting it. "Ok."
Standing, Gibbs placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Good. I'm going to send them in. They'll keep you company for a while. Tony and Ziva will be up later. And I'll see you later, too." He waited until Mandie nodded before he turned to go. "Remember - they just want to take care of you."
Eyes down, Mandie nodded again. "I know," she muttered sadly. Why didn't anyone understand?
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Six Months Later
Office of the District Attorney
Washington, D.C.
"Miss Sewell, do you need a break?"
Mandie fidgeted in her seat. "No. I'm sorry, Mr. Lane." She shredded the tissue in her hand. "It's just….h-h-hard. Thinking about all….this again."
The tall, good-looking older man sitting across the table from her - Sam Lane, District Attorney - took off his glasses. "How about a drink? Coffee? Water?"
Shaking her head, Mandie sniffled, wiped her nose with the shreds of tissue. "If it's all the same, I'd rather just get this over with."
"We've been at this for a couple of hours now. Are you sure we can't get you anything?"
With a sigh, she started to tuck her long hair behind her ear, but remembered her scar at the last minute. "Um….maybe a diet soda?"
Ann Morse, Lane's ADA, walked out to retrieve the soda. "Just remember, keep your answers as brief as possible," Sam said. "If I think the jury needs to hear more, I'll ask you to explain, or tell us about it. Even then, just stick to the facts. We'll save the emotional stuff for the last few questions. Don't be afraid to pour it on then, cry, if you need to. We want the jury to see how it's affected you and your life."
Mandie just nodded, and quietly thanked Ms. Morse when she placed a dies soda in front of her. "H-how long," she cleared her throat before starting again. "How long do you think it will take?"
Lane and Morse shared a look. "It could be a while, Mandie," Ms. Morse stated. "It could last anywhere from an hour to two or three….it could even last several hours. It all depends on the evidence, the opposing lawyers…."
Mandie just nodded and took a sip of the cool drink. Hopefully the sugar and caffeine would help the headache that was building.
The DA folded his hands on the table and relaxed his shoulders. This was going to be the hardest part. The last time they'd tried this, he'd ended up having to practically forcibly remove Agent Gibbs. "Now, I know this isn't your favorite part of the rehearsal, but we need to get you prepared for the cross-examination."
She was shaking so much, she almost tipped over her soda. "I know." She took a deep breath. "I'll do my best, Mr. Lane."
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Tony sat outside the dark wooden doors of the DA's office, waiting for Mandie's testimony rehearsal to finish. He'd played several games on his phone, but had gotten bored. He worried how Mandie was doing. The last time he'd peeked in the window at them, he'd noticed she was getting a headache. She'd also need to stand up and walk a bit or her leg - specifically her quads - would tighten up and she'd have even more trouble walking. The team was pretty upset with the DA - nice as he was to Mandie - for telling her to forego any pain killers during both the rehearsal and the trial. The man didn't want the opposing council to be able to try and get Mandie's testimony thrown out, saying she was on narcotics (legal though they may be), how can they believe anything she says. Mandie hated taking the pain meds, hated being dependent on them, but there were times she genuinely needed them, and she should be able to have them.
Sighing in boredom, he stood and paced the hall. His phone rang when he was at the far end of the corridor. "Hey, boss…..no, she's still in with Lane. Ok, I guess, but she's getting a headache. I know. Do you think I should go in and make them take a break?" He had been pacing that end of the hall, talking to Gibbs for several minutes, when he heard a heavy, wooden door slam. "Hang on a second, boss. I've got a bad feeling about that door slam…." Tony looked down the hall and saw Mandie awkwardly running toward the elevator. "Call ya' back, boss - Mandie's making a break for it!" He slammed his phone shut as he ran down the hall after the runaway witness. "Mandie!"
When the elevator was taking too long, Mandie turned frantically, looking through her tears for the nearest staircase. Spotting it a few doors away, she limped as quickly as possible and burst through the door. She got down only one level of stairs before her bad leg gave out and she started to fall. She let out a frightened scream as her leg collapsed and she felt herself about to pitch headfirst down the next flight of stairs.
Tony had never been so scared as when he heard that panicked scream. Rounding this level of stairs, he slid to a stop when he saw what had happened. Mandie was about half-way down the stairs, backward, head facing the bottom. Her bad leg was buckled underneath her, her good leg bracing her on the next step. Both hands were wrapped around the railing, keeping her from sliding any further. He couldn't miss the terror in her eyes. "Mandie!" Without thought, Tony jumped down the few stairs so he was on the step right beneath her. "It's ok, Mand, ok. I gotcha.'" He put one arm around her waist and the other slowly and gently began to untangle her bad leg. He stopped for a second at her squeal of pain as he straightened the limb, then continued. Once that leg was stable, he moved the bracing leg to a more comfortable position. "Ok, you're ok, I gotcha'. Let go of the railing…."
Mandie squealed in fright. "I can't! I'll fall!" She was hyperventilating, unable to catch her breath.
Keeping his voice calm and steady, Tony wrapped both arms tightly around Mandie's waist. "You won't fall, honey, I promise. I've got ya.'" He gave her a small squeeze. "See? I'm right here, honey, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. But you have to listen to me," he slid a knee up under her back to help support her while he used one hand to pry her fingers off the railing. "And let go of the railing." Fear was a powerful motivator, and Mandie had that railing in a death grip. "C'mon, baby, let it go. You know Big Brother Tony won't let you fall."
"T-Tony?" In her fear, it hadn't even registered that the person helping her was someone she knew, someone she trusted. "Tony? I'm gonna' fall!"
He pressed a small kiss to her temple. "No you're not, sweetheart. I'm not going to let you, ok? I've got you, you can't fall. You know I won't let you fall. Gibbs would give me more than a head slap if I let that happen. Besides, do you know how many women would love to be in your position right now, falling into the arms of Anthony DiNozzo, Jr.? A lot, let me tell ya'!"
She tried to laugh, but it came out like a maniacal cackle. "I'm sorry, Tony, I'm sorry!"
Tony sighed to himself. If there was one thing he hoped this trial would accomplish, it was getting Mandie to stop taking the blame for everything. Someone so sweet shouldn't be thinking everything and the weather was her fault. "Sssshhhhhhhhh, c'mon now. No being sorry about anything, ok? Let's get you up, and then we'll talk, ok? Ok?" He waited for her nod. "Ok. I'm right behind you, I've got you, and I won't let you fall. You trust me, right?"
Mandie began to cry. Tony was one of only three men that she trusted implicitly, the other two being McGee and Gibbs. She nodded. "I'm sorry! Sorry, Tony!"
"Sssshhhhhhh, it's ok, it's ok." He took a minute to just hold her, pressing another kiss to her hair. "I know, honey, I know." Feeling her body relax a bit, he tried again. "You ready to let go?"
"Y-you won't let me f-fall?"
"Never, baby. I'll always catch you," he murmured in her ear. Feeling her tense, he braced himself, and caught Mandie in an awkward, backward hug. She turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and crying. He held her to him, one hand on her back, the other on the back of her head, giving her a minute to get the adrenaline crash out. When it felt and sounded like she was starting to calm down, Tony prepared himself to stand, explaining to Mandie what he was going to do, so there'd be no shocks. "Ok, Mand, I'm going to stand up…..sssssshhhhh, I've got you, you won't fall. I'm going to get up and walk down to the landing, ok? And then we'll sit and I can take a look at your leg, ok?" He waited for her nod, feeble one though it was. "Ok. It's about five steps, and then we're down, alright?" He stood slowly. It was difficult maneuvering, when he was standing on a step and had no free hand to get his balance. Once he was up, he stood still for a few seconds to make sure he was steady. He could feel that Mandie was so paralyzed with fear, she was holding her breath. "Breathe, Mandie. Come on, nice deep breath for me…..good girl." He turned himself sideways - he didn't dare try and turn all the way around - and made his way slowly down the remaining stairs. Once at the bottom, he sat Mandie on the last step and knelt in front of her. "Let's take a look at this leg, huh?" He made sure, first, that nothing was broken, then concentrated on the quads. "All in here, right?" He winced when Mandie hissed in pain and tried to pull her leg away. "Ok, ok, your quads are tight. That's ok, we know how to fix that, right, Manda-Panda?"
Mandie nodded pathetically, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I'm sorry, Tony, that was stupid…."
"Sssshhhhh, we'll talk about that later, after we straighten out this muscle, ok?" Tony started out with a gentle massage to the front of her thigh, gradually increasing the pressure as Mandie could take it. He could tell it was hurting her, but knew when it was said and done that she'd feel better and be able to stand on it more easily. And here no one thought he'd ever use his Phys. Ed degree. It was about fifteen minutes of manual work before he felt both the muscle and Mandie relax. "You good?"
Mandie nodded and sniffled. "Uh huh. Thanks, Tone."
Tony stood and plopped down onto the stair next to her, pulling her into his side. "You're welcome. Want to tell me what this whole escape was about?"
She was silent for a minute or so, thinking, wondering what his reaction would be. "I….I don't think I can do it," she said in a quiet voice.
"Do what, babe?"
"Testify. I don't think I can do it." A tear slid down her cheek. "It's too…..they want too much, want me to talk about….what he did to me. And I…." Mandie buried her head in Tony's shoulder. "I can't, Tony! It hurts!"
He let her cry. They'd known going in that this would be difficult for Mandie. "I know it does, Mandie-Mine. I know."
"I didn't think it would be this hard! Dr. Cranston says I'm getting stronger, and I thought, thought maybe, if I testified, if I helped get him sent away, it would help. But the questions…..the defense will ask all kinds of personal stuff, and I don't think….I don't think I can do it, Tony!"
Tony just held her. "That's ok, Mandie-Mine. That's ok. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to, we all understand."
"But I have to! If I don't, he….he might go free! And…."
"No, you don't have to testify. Not if you don't want to. We know it's hard, going over what happened again and again. No one will blame you for not doing it."
"But…."
Tony pulled away so he could see her face. "No buts. Whatever you decide, Mandie…..whatever you want to do, I'm right behind you one hundred percent. No matter what. Whether or not you testify, I'll support you all the way. So will the rest of the team. It doesn't mean you're weak, it doesn't mean the other side wins…..you have to do what's right for you. The DA has plenty of evidence against Greene, your testimony was just icing on the cake."
Mandie absorbed all Tony had said. "You….it doesn't…..make me a bad person, not being able to do it?"
Tony chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Baby, you couldn't be a bad person if you tried! McGoodyTwoShoes is more likely to be a bad person way before you are!" He gave her a small squeeze. "No one is going to think the worst about you, I promise. They'll have to deal with Papa Gibbs if they do. Not to mention Abby boiling them from the inside out and leaving no evidence." He felt, rather than heard Mandie giggle. "Personally, I think Ziva scares me more than the both of them put together." He gave a dramatic shiver.
"You won't….h-hate me…..if I don't…do it?"
He wiped a tear from under her eye and gave her a small smile. "No one could ever hate you for anything, Mandie. There's nothing you could do - or not do - that would make me hate you. Whatever you want to do, I'll stand beside you the whole way. That's what family does."
Mandie searched his eyes, seeing the truth in them. She sighed and put her head back on his shoulder. "Thanks, big brother. I love you."
Tony smiled and hugged her. "Right back at ya', squirt." He'd forgotten that she may be little, but she packed a punch, as he rubbed his stomach where she'd driven her fist.
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Three Months Later
Room 221, Federal Court House
Washington, D.C.
The door behind the judge's chair opened to the tune of the court bailiff's "All Rise!" A gruff-looking (but very nice, it turned out) older man in a black judge's robe strode to his seat behind the opulent podium. "You may be seated." He rearranged some papers in front of him. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it's my understanding that you've reached a verdict in this case?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"Very well." He cleared his throat. "Would the defendant please rise…..ladies and gentlemen of the jury, on the first count of murder in the first degree, how do you find the defendant?"
"Guilty, Your Honor."
Mandie sat listening to every charge nervously. Abby had a death grip on one hand, Tony on the other, and Gibbs was behind her with his hands on her shoulders. McGee, Ziva, even Director Vance, sat around her, hoping to make her feel safe.
Nine Murder One charges, nine Guilty findings. "On the charge of kidnapping in the first degree, how do you find?"
"We find the defendant guilty, Your Honor." The guilty verdicts continued through all the charges for what was done to Mandie. "And on the final count, Attempted Murder in the First Degree, what say you?"
The jury forewoman, a beautiful, impeccably dressed black woman looked over to Mandie, as did the rest of the jury. "We find the defendant Guilty."
The courtroom became a mass of hoots and hollers as the NCIS team congratulated each other and hugged Mandie. It took several bangs of the judge's gavel to get them to sit down and shut up. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get this taken care of before lunchtime. I've got a two PM tee-time with Judge Randall that I want to make." He turned to the defendant, the sorriest excuse for a person he'd ever seen, Shane Greene. The Monster Marine. "Mr. Greene, a jury of your peers has found you guilty of all charges against you. I must say that it gives me great joy knowing that an unfeeling, uncaring bastard like yourself is going to be behind bars for a long, long time. Your crimes were heinous and cruel, meant to inflict pain and humiliation for your own gratification. This court will take its' own gratification in your sentencing, which will be one week from today. To the families of the victims, this court promises to mete out a sentence befitting the crimes committed against your loved ones, and you have the condolences of this court and the Justice Department. Miss Sewell…." He looked directly at Mandie. "I applaud your strength in appearing on the stand and telling your account of the crimes committed against you. I know it was extremely difficult for you, just as it was difficult for me, and I'm sure everyone else in this courtroom, to hear. You're a very brave woman, and I hope, after today's verdict, you can begin to put your life back together." Shuffling the papers on his desk some more, he continued, "and if anyone so chooses, the court will now hear victim impact statements."
Several parents of the Monster Marine's victims stood and praised the system for giving their daughters justice. It was surprising to Mandie to see that it was the fathers that were unable to finish speaking, and the mothers were the stronger of the two parents.
"Miss Sewell?" The judge asked if she wanted to give her victim statement. She wanted to, but her body wouldn't let her stand, and she found herself unable to speak. Tony leaned close and whispered in her ear, "You don't have to, baby, it's ok." She was saved having to make a decision when Abby jumped up.
"May I speak, Your Honor? I'm Miss Sewell's…Mandie's best friend. Well, more like her sister, really. We grew up together, and have been best friends forever, so we're really more like framily…."
The judge was confused. " 'Framily?'"
Abby nodded. "Yeah, framily - friend and family. Put 'em together, you get framily. Anyway, Mandie was always full of life, the first to try anything, the one you go to with a problem. She loves all kinds of music, loves to dance, loves to laugh…..well, she used to love those things. Until you happened, Shane Greene. Mandie was a bouncy, happy woman. Now she's afraid to be alone, especially at night. We have to practically drag her out of the house because she doesn't want anyone staring at her scars. She doesn't dance anymore, or have fun. She's still my framily, and I still love her, and always will. But I miss the way she used to be. And it makes me sad, seeing her so sad. I'm normally a very peace-loving person, and I'm not usually in favor of the death penalty. But I hope with every breath in me that they hook you up to Ol' Sparky and send thousands of volts through you 'til you're dead. And if that isn't enough to do the job, well, I'm a forensic scientist, and I know thousands of ways to…" She was cut off by Ziva and McGee, who covered her mouth and pushed her back into her seat. "Sorry, Your Honor, sir," McGee stuttered.
The judge just shook his head. "If there's no one else to speak?….Very well. This court is adjourned until sentencing, which will be one week from today. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the courts of the District of Columbia thank you for your service. You are hereby released from duty. Court officers, please escort the defendant out."
As the officers pulled Shane Greene out of his seat, he struggled and turned to find Mandie in the audience. "You bitch! I'll kill you! I'll get out, and I promise you, I'll kill you! You're gonna die, bitch! You're gonna die!" The officers finally got him out of the room.
Mandie felt Gibbs' arms wrap around her from behind. "Pay no attention to him, Mandie. He's going to spend the rest of his life in jail. He'll never hurt you again."
A lone tear tracked down her cheek, and she nodded. "I know."
The team walked as a mob outside the courthouse, Mandie in the middle of it. They walked down the stairs and stopped by a long, black limousine.
Abby hugged Mandie. "Are you sure we can't change your mind?" Her voice cracked as she tried to hold in her tears. Mandie hugged her best friend back tightly.
"I'm sorry, Abby. But I've got to go. I just can't….there's too many memories for me here. Bad memories. It's just too much."
"I know," Abby pouted. "Doesn't mean I have to like it." She let Mandie go so she could say good-bye to the rest of the team - her family.
Mandie turned and was enveloped in a hug from McGee. "Remember - we only as far away as a phone call, ok?" She nodded against his shoulder. "And I still expect to see you online in the game." McGee kissed her cheek, and she kissed his back.
"I'll make sure my magic potions are up to date, and my sword sharpened." Next in the line was Ziva. She hugged her surrogate sister. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for saving me the way you did in the hospital."
Ziva sniffled. "This is what family is all about, is it not? Taking care of each other? I would do it again in a heartbeat to save my sister."
Mandie turned to Tony, unable to hold back the tears, falling into his embrace. "Oh Scarecrow, I think I'll miss you most of all." Tony hugged her tight, ran his hands up and down her back. He couldn't believe she was really leaving.
"Now I know I've got heart, cuz it's breaking," he said, also quoting the Wizard of Oz. Setting her away from him, Tony kissed her forehead. "Here's lookin' at you, kid." He knew Casablanca was one of her favorite movies, so he just had to send her off with his Bogie impression. He wiped a tear from her cheek and let her go.
Wiping her eyes, she walked to Gibbs, who just opened his arms and enfolded her in them. He whispered softly in her ear, and she nodded. He held her head in his hands and pressed a soft, fatherly kiss to her forehead, then let her go. The only one left to say good-bye to was Abby.
The two women, sisters, held each other tight. "This isn't good-bye, Mandie-Lou. It's see you soon, ok?"
Mandie smiled through her tears. "Don't call me that! See you soon, it is." She looked at the limo as the chauffer stepped out and came back to open the door.
Abby wiped her eyes and sniffled loudly. "I wish you'd have let us take you to the airport." She walked over to the limo with Mandie.
Mandie chuckled. "We both know you'd probably drive me anywhere but the airport if I let you take me!" The two women laughed as only the best of friends can do. She stepped off the curb and stood in the open door of the limo, looking at the group of people that had been her family for so long. Too afraid to speak for fear of bursting into great sobs, she simply raised a hand in farewell and slid into the car, never looking back. The chauffer shut the door behind her and with a tip of his hat to the group walked around to the driver's door and got in. Seconds later, the limousine pulled away from the curb, leaving Abby, with Gibbs' arm across one shoulder and McGee's around the other, crying and waving 'til the car was out of sight.
NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS
A/N - WOW, THIS WAS A LONG ONE, EH? YOU CAN BLAME THE REAL MANDIE (MANDIELOULUVSEWE - GO READ HER STORIES! ESPECIALLY HER NEWIE, 'RULE 18'! LOVE IT!) FOR THAT. SHE WANTED THIS PART OVER WITH ASAP! AND SINCE IT IS ABOUT AND FOR HER, I WAS COMPELLED TO DO AS SHE WISHED.
A/N 2 - THIS IS PURELY A WORK OF FICTION. MY KNOWLEDGE OF TRIALS AND COURTROOM PROCEEDINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM YEARS OF LAW & ORDER. IF I EVER NEED TO GO TO COURT FOR ANYTHING, I WANT JACK McCOY TO REPRESENT ME - HE ROCKS!
DISCLAIMER - I OWN NO PART OF NCIS, EXCEPT THE DVDs. CBS AND D. BELLISARIO OWN NO PART OF THIS FANFIC (A FACT I'M SURE THEY'RE QUITE HAPPY ABOUT).
SHAMELESS BEGGING - PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! LET ME KNOW ALL MY HARD THINKING WASN'T IN VAIN! AND LET THE REAL MANDIE KNOW YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! (WELL, I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT, TOO, OF COURSE). PLEASE? MAKE MY SUMMER - REVIEW! ~~~MANY, MANY THANKS!
