Less than half an hour after the catalyst of Abby's waking nightmare, Jenny received a phone call from the front desk of NCIS, on the first floor that had her on her feet and out the door to the elevator the second she'd hung up.
When the elevator opened and Jenny disembarked, she didn't stray far from it.
"McGee! Ziva!" she called. "I'm borrowing both of you right now!"
Puzzled but compliant, they hurried towards her, not daring to say anything until they were all on the lift, and it was in motion again.
"What is happening?" Ziva asked.
"Rubyjane just turned up here, and she's currently wandering around in the lobby."
McGee immediately pummeled the down button on the button panel, wanting to make it go faster. "How the hell did she get here, director?"
"I don't know." Jenny confessed. "I didn't wait long enough to hear."
After what seemed like an eternity, although it was only forty-five seconds, the elevator finally stopped, and McGee, Ziva, and Jenny piled out.
They found Rubyjane almost immediately. She was wandering around by the benches in a very small circle, not saying very much of anything. She didn't even seem to notice that everybody in the lobby was watching her. She was also drenched, having been caught in the downpour of rain that had started outside.
Once Jenny got everyone else to go about their business, she, McGee, and Ziva quietly approached Rubyjane, still a safe distance away from her.
"Have either of you ever seen a kid in shock before?" McGee asked his companions.
"Yes, we have." Jenny said, flashing back to hers and Ziva's most traumatizing adventure.
"It was in Afghanistan, and the child had escaped had escaped his house being blown to pieces. His name was Aasif." explained Ziva. "He was dirty, lost, and very scared. We looked after him for two days before we were able to locate his mother and reunite them."
"How did you get the little guy's attention?"
"We called to him at first," Jenny recalled. "And then Ziva ended up bribing him with an apple she had in her big rucksack."
"Well, I don't have anything like an apple on me, so I'll just talk to her."
At that, the other two backed away, leaving McGee on his own.
"Rubyjane?" he called. "Can you look over here? Please, Rubyjane?"
That question brought her back to her senses because she turned at the sound of her name, and when she saw McGee, she burst into tears of joy and made a beeline straight for him.
"Hey, kid." McGee said as he picked her up. "You're all wet from the rain outside, but I'm so happy to see you!"
Rubyjane did her best to be cheerful. "Me, too! You!"
McGee smoothed Rubyjane's hair out of her face, where it had become plastered to it by the rain, and he even wiped her tears for her. "How did you get here tonight?"
"Daddy." she mumbled, wiping more tears.
"Any idea where he went?"
Rubyjane blew a raspberry, signifying that she neither knew nor cared—she was only a toddler, and she'd already completely given up on Onyx, ready to consider him a thing of the past. From this point on, the only man befitting the role of her father was the man whose arms she was in.
"Are you hungry?" McGee asked her.
"Ye—ACHOO!"
Rubyjane interrupted herself with a massive sneeze, and McGee immediately held her out at arm's length. The little girl thought it was hilarious and let out joy-filled giggles, but Ziva rolled her eyes and plucked Rubyjane out of McGee's hold and sat her on her own hip.
"Rubyjane is a child, Timothy, not a stick of dynamite." she chided. "It is not like a sneeze of hers will kill you."
"But—"
"Let the one of us three adults here who has actually been a parent do something parental."
Ziva reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a packet of travel-sized tissues. Extracting two from the pack, she put the pack back and held one tissue to the leaky end of Rubyjane's nose.
"Blow, my sweet." Ziva encouraged. "Come on."
Rubyjane fussed at her briefly, but still followed through, out of breath when she finished.
"Done?" she asked hopefully.
"Once more."
Making another fuss, Rubyjane blew her nose on the second tissue, again slightly out of breath at the end. Ziva cleaned up the remaining mucus before it could start crusting over and then disposed of the used tissues in a nearby trash bin.
"Good girl." Ziva praised her as they walked back to the others. "Good girl."
Rubyjane just nodded and then interlocked her arms around Ziva's neck, and her legs around Ziva's waist.
"What now?" Ziva asked Jenny. "She has just turned into a baby koala."
"We get new, dry clothes and shoes for her."
McGee said, "Okay, but where?"
Jenny looked from him to Ziva. "Did either of you know that NCIS has a daycare facility that includes an overnight service for the children of the employees that do the overnight shifts?"
"No." they said in unison.
"That's where Ziva and I are going to go help RJ feel more like a human, alright?"
"Wait." McGee said as he worked out the director's words. "Where does that put me, m'am?"
Jenny pulled a black platinum charge card from her jacket pocket and handed it to him. "You, my friend, are going down to the cafeteria to get the most kid-friendly thing for RJ, but also make sure it isn't steeped in sugar."
Ziva nodded in agreement. "The last thing we need is for her to be up all night."
"Most kid-friendly thing, but not a sugar overload." McGee echoed. "Got it."
"Good man." Jenny told him. "When you're done, just meet us upstairs, okay? We'll probably be awhile."
"Understood."
As McGee went back to the elevator so he could take it to the cafeteria level, Jenny motioned for Ziva and Rubyjane to follow her down a hallway past the main reception desk.
"If someone ever asks you where the daycare facility is," Jenny said as they passed through a set of double doors. "Or I finally end up getting another niece or even a nephew from you to spoil, you can tell them it's back here."
Ziva's tone was almost a whine of protest. "What was that part about 'finally,' Jen?"
Jenny smirked. "Exactly what it sounds like… plus, I see how you look at Tony."
Ziva groaned.
Rubyjane yawned and rested her head on Ziva's shoulder.
"Stay awake, my sweet." Ziva gave Rubyjane's cheek a kiss. "You can do it."
Rubyjane scowled. "How much longer?"
"Just a little bit."
The little girl made a harumphing noise, but said nothing, so Ziva looked around. They were in one long hallway with many doors on either side, each one marked with different age groups. The corridor was also brightly decorated with posters and other things that would be appealing to kids. It was hard to remember that they were still on NCIS property.
"Where exactly are we going?" Ziva asked Jenny.
"Here." Jenny held open the door that led to the three-year-olds hallway. "We're going to visit Lauren McGarry—she's the nighttime director for the three-year-olds program. Her office is at the end of the hallway, just ahead."
"How do you know this much?"
"I bump into her in the cafeteria when I stretch my legs at night."
Lauren McGarry was a young woman around Ziva's age, and when they found her, she was just closing a file cabinet where she'd put some papers away.
"Director Shepard! Officer David!" she said in surprise. "What brings you back here?"
"Director McGarry," Jenny said to the younger woman. "Officer David and I would like to introduce you to Miss Rubyjane Lily Clarkson. She's three, and she's been abandoned for the second time in one day by her father, who is currently in a lot of trouble and we don't know where he is."
McGarry cast a look at Rubyjane before asking, "Where is her mom? She looks like she could be Abby Sciuto's kid."
"Funny that you should mention her." Ziva remarked. "Abby is her adoptive mother, but she has been abducted, and we are looking for her. We suspect that Rubyjane could give us a clue about things, but first, we would like to get her clean things to wear, and perhaps a cot, blanket, and pillow, as well, since it is presently pouring kittens and puppies outside."
McGarry stared.
"She means 'raining cats and dogs.' English isn't her first language." Jenny said quickly. "Do you have supplies we can take upstairs? We're looking after Rubyjane tonight."
Recovering, McGarry beckoned for the party to follow her. "I'll put everything together and get someone to bring everything upstairs, but come this way, please."
They followed her to what looked like a huge walk-in closet because everywhere they looked, they saw containers of all kinds clothing articles in toddler sizes. Everything was divided by gender, and there were even tables and changing stalls provided, too.
"Take whatever you need." McGarry told Ziva. "Director Shepard and I will go get the rest of the things that Rubyjane will require."
"Thank you."
When they left, Ziva closed the door behind them and set Rubyjane on the table closest to the little girl clothes.
"Rubyjane," Ziva said as she checked her clothing size. "Do you like dresses or pants?"
Rubyjane thought for a minute. "Dresses!"
"What is your favorite color?"
"Purple!"
Ziva winked at her. "Mine, too. Let me find a dress for you."
"Wait!"
Curious about the command, Ziva moved closer to Rubyjane. "Yes, little friend?"
"I'm itchy 'cause daddy did something."
Wondering if she should be worried, Ziva asked, "What was it?"
Rubyjane lifted her dress and pointed to a piece of paper stuck halfway down her leggings.
"That."
Carefully, Ziva extracted the paper and gave Rubyjane's hip a maternal caress.
"Does that feel better now?"
Rubyjane gave a nod and breathed a sigh of relief. "What's it say?"
"Never you mind, my sweet—we grown-ups will sort it out." Ziva told her. "Now how about you talk to me about something fun while I find you something to wear?"
And so Ziva was treated to another lecture/rambling on bumblebees.
After a few minutes, she found a purple dress in the right size, and in Rubyjane's range of satisfaction. Still wet from the rain, Rubyjane cooperated with Ziva when she dried her off with a towel and put her in a purple dress, a fresh pull-up, green tights, and yellow rain boots. Rubyjane was very thankful for the new things, and she even stayed still when Ziva styled her hair into a messy top-knot bun and even tied in a headband in a 1950s housewife style to keep the stray hair out of her eyes.
"No jammies?" Rubyjane asked as she admired her reflection.
Ziva shook her head. "Not right now, because you are going to eat soon."
Rubyjane looked over at the closet and then at her caretaker.
"Okay." Rubyjane clicked her heels in perfect imitation of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard Of Oz. "I like jammies with feet."
"Good to know. I will see what I can find."
Before long, Ziva had packed Rubyjane an overnight bag and was getting ready to go find Jenny and Director McGarry again.
"Ziva?" Rubyjane said suddenly.
Ziva crouched down in front of her. "Yes, my sweet?"
Rubyjane held Ziva's hand in hers. "Do you have kids?"
"Not anymore. I had a little girl once."
"What was her name?"
"Sarai. She would have really loved you."
Rubyjane tilted her head to the side, curious. "What happened?"
"Sarai went to heaven too soon."
Rubyjane looked sad for Ziva and patted her face gently. "I'm sorry she's gone."
"Thank you, Rubyjane."
The little girl hugged her friend. "I'll be your baby here."
Ziva wanted to cry, but she also didn't want to spook Rubyjane, so she kept it together.
"Thank you, Rubyjane. That means a lot, and I would love it."
Rubyjane turned bashful. "Want another hug?"
"Yes, please."
Rubyjane hugged Ziva. "I love you."
Ziva hugged her in return. "I love you, too."
Eventually, enough supplies had been acquired for Rubyjane, and she, Ziva, and Jenny were back in the squad room.
Rubyjane wouldn't let McGee out of her sight, so it was from the security of his lap that she ate chicken nuggets and apple slices at her friend's desk.
That left Ziva, Jenny, Tony, Ducky, McGee, and Palmer powwowing around his desk.
"Did anybody learn anything new?" McGee asked.
"I found this in Rubyjane's leggings when I was changing her."
Ziva showed them the note they'd found, now in an evidence bag.
"It is a note from Onyx Clarkson, complete with two addresses and a confession."
"You found this tucked into her leggings, though?" Gibbs asked as he took the note to read for himself.
"Daddy didn't want to get in trouble." Rubyjane piped up.
"Oh, really?" Gibbs asked interestedly. "Anything else?"
Rubyjane giggled, nervous to have his attention. "Uh-uh."
"Okay, RJ. Go back to your dinner now."
Rubyjane saluted him and occupied herself with her food again.
Gibbs read the note and passed it to Jenny.
"Read this, Jen." he told her.
She donned her glasses, took the note, and began to read aloud.
To whom it may concern,
Abby is at 61178 Seminole Road as I write this, but by the time you get here, she could have been moved to 62708 Piscataway Street. I did not mean for her or Rubyjane to get taken, but I am responsible for the death of Lieutenant Silas Dancy. I am also sorry for abandoning Abby, and both of my children, too.
Sincerely,
Lieutenant Onyx Courtland Clarkson
"What do we do?" Tony asked. "I heard through the grapevine that the FBI is already sniffing around."
"Go these places and look for Abby!" barked Jenny. "Put out a BOLO for Clarkson, too!"
McGee spoke up. "Uh, director?"
She turned to him. "Yes, McGee?"
"What do I do about RJ?"
"I'm so not taking a toddler into MTAC while I watch you all in the field, so I'll get help to move all of her things into my office. I'll also ask one of the MTAC techs make sure I'm completely patched in on my computer so I can keep track from there."
A plan fell into place after that, and the next thing Jenny knew, her office was being inhabited by a toddler and her belongs, while one of the MTAC techs was tinkering away on her desktop computer, getting it ready for her to monitor Gibbs and the others as they headed out into the field.
When Jenny looked over at Rubyjane, she saw that she was on her cot and munching away on her food, staring into space as she did and humming to herself. Thirty minutes ago, she'd been soaking wet, scared, worried, and stressed out. Now, she seemed for the moment, totally unconcerned.
What I wouldn't give to be that carefree right now, Jenny thought. I hope we find Abby soon.
