Chapter 10

Three days later...

"Nothing yet?" Gibbs asked.

Tony shook his head. "No. Not a thing, Boss. ...but there's got to be something."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because...we all feel it," Ziva said. "Something is wrong about that place. Someone went through the trouble of killing, moving and hiding PFC Fogel's body. The drugs in his system match the depleted supply at the Sunrise Rehab Center...although it is the right time for the resupply; many of their drugs would have been at lower levels."

"...and even if we haven't found anything concrete, it's hard to discount what Dr. Ryan had to say. She knows the place even if she is a newcomer. If she wasn't serious, she wouldn't have risked revealing their relationship."

"Perhaps we are not focused on the right people. Is it possible for McGee to get more information on the people in the Center?"

"Probably. He's sure that it couldn't have been a patient."

"I don't think it was a patient either," Tony said. "It just doesn't work. ...but what if we went through these patients again? Not looking at their deaths...but at what kinds of situations they were in when they went to Sunrise."

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked.

"I mean...what Dr. Ryan told us about that other lady who died of an overdose. That was, what, her third time trying to get clean? She'd had a hard time in the week before she died. PFC Fogel was on his last chance."

"Everyone at Sunrise is supposed to be on their last chance," Gibbs pointed out.

"Yeah, but not all of them have been to rehab before, have they?"

"That is true," Ziva said. "For some of the patients there, it is simply that they had to choose between rehabilitation and prison. A last chance of a different kind."

"All right. I'll see what McGee can tell me. You start looking into the other patients who died." Gibbs paused and considered. "...and bring Ducky into it. See what he can see. If all these patients were killed by the same person, then we have a serial killer on our hands."

The implications of that suddenly hit home.

Tim was trying to find a serial killer.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim was fretting a little bit. He only had about two weeks until he would leave Sunrise. There was no delaying because of the story they'd created about why he was there in the first place. He had to find something before that time. He was in the library, which was his preferred place. Not a lot of the patients wanted to hang out there on nice days. Because of what he was doing, Tim simply craved solitude whenever he could get it.

...but right now, he just didn't know what else to do. He'd made some notes on other people at Sunrise, but because of his role as a patient, it wasn't as though he could really wander around and start asking the staff questions. He'd made tentative friends with the librarian, but she was a relatively new hire, having worked there for the last five years only.

Maybe there wasn't anything to find, but he had a hard time believing that. Something wasn't right here, but he couldn't figure out what it was. There was something that put him on edge, even more than the fact that he was undercover. At this point, he couldn't even figure out what it was that was bugging him. He was trying to work through every moment that he'd been here to decide when he was most bothered.

"Tim?"

Tim jumped, more startled than he should have been. He looked up and saw Kate standing in front of him. He needed to learn to pay more attention to his surroundings. If things went sour, that could be a fatal mistake.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you. You looked pretty lost in thought."

"Just woolgathering," Tim said with a smile.

"Do you mind the interruption?"

Tim did want to think more, but he still felt that small connection to her. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nope. I'm just thinking. ...actually, would you mind my asking you some questions?"

"About what?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Well...I...I'd heard about...the reason there was space for me to come here, that a couple of patients died...and I was just wondering about what happened."

"He'hea and Eric."

"They're the ones who died?"

"Yeah. It was a real shock to everyone here. He'hea, especially. She was the strong one of the current group. She'd hit a...a low point, but...she was getting out of it."

"Was she in your group?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. You took her spot."

"Oh." Tim looked around for a moment. "What about the other guy?"

"Oh...well...Eric was...kind of different from the others here. He was in Dr. Patterson's group, but he met with Dr. Ryan a lot. He said once that this was his last chance to get his life on track. If he didn't make it here, his whole life was ruined. I think he was really determined. We don't even know exactly what happened to him. He left in the middle of the night and...and then, we were finding out that he was dead. I don't even know who found out first. It wasn't announced by the doctors. The patients here started whispering about it."

"Huh."

"Who told you?"

"Oh, when I was coming here. Dr. Ryan is...kind of a friend of the family...and she told me that the reason I could come...was because they'd had a couple of patients die rather suddenly." Tim hoped that would suffice as an explanation...and that Kate wouldn't talk about it to other patients.

"Oh." Kate sighed. "It's hard to see people like He'hea suddenly...lose the fight when they're so strong. Makes you wonder what chance you have. If she can't make it, why would I think that I can?"

Tim shook his head.

"No. You can't think like that, Kate," he said, earnestly. "You can't compare yourself to anyone else. It doesn't work like that. That was part of my problem...part of why I got hooked on drugs in the first place."

"What do you mean? You've never really said what got you started. You don't seem to like talking about yourself in group."

Tim shrugged awkwardly. "I don't like being the focus of attention...not even good attention. I'd rather...blend into the woodwork...be forgotten."

"But why? You're such a great example, Tim," Kate said. "You're fighting back and you're winning!"

"I'm not that great. Really. I had to be as good or better than my roommate...as good or better than everyone with me at school. If I wasn't, I was a failure. I spent years comparing myself...and that only made things worse for me. I know from personal experience that comparing doesn't help. ...and I'm just as prone to it as the next person...if not moreso...I'm really not that great."

Kate shook her head. "No. I see it differently. I don't know you or your past, but what I see here is someone fighting for more...fighting and winning...and doing it willingly."

"I wish I could see myself that way," Tim said, forgetting, for the moment, that he was supposed to be pretending, that he was pretending to be in a situation he was no longer in. He forgot that he was sitting in a rehabilitation clinic with a woman who had spent most of her life on the verge of killing herself with drugs.

They were just two people bonding over their personal struggles.

"I guess that's part of what makes us who we are. We can't see anything good about ourselves. My boyfriend told me that we couldn't really be happy together unless I was willing to share in what he did. I wanted to be with someone. No one ever wanted to be with me before...so I listened to him...and look where it got me." She gestured at herself. Whatever good looks she might have had were long gone, lost to the ravages of her former lifestyle. "Even if I make it to the point that I don't want the drugs all the time...what do I have? My boyfriend is long gone...probably dead or in prison. My family disowned me a long time ago. I don't even know if my parents are still alive. I never even went to college, barely finished high school. Any friends I had gave me up either when I started using drugs or when I decided to stop." She shook her head. "Makes me wonder why I bother."

Tim leaned forward and took Kate's hand.

"No. Don't think like that. Please, don't. I don't know if I would have ever stopped...or tried to stop if I hadn't been caught first. In the beginning, I didn't think I had any value except when I was using drugs...but it's not true. Maybe you'll have to find a new...a new life, but you can't give up without trying!"

Kate was looking at him with surprise.

"Why do you care, Tim? Why do you care about someone like me?"

Tim wasn't sure what to say. Because of his stated occupation, he could hardly say that Kate had been killed by a terrorist sniper...but he had to say something. Kate looked two steps away from from declaring him a psycho.

"Because...I had friend who...she died...really, really suddenly. It was like she was ripped away from us all so fast that...that we didn't even have time to register it. Her name was Kate. She was a really close friend...and maybe it's just silly of me, but...but I just don't want to see you lose it all...when you have a choice. Kate didn't get to choose."

"Tim?"

Tim looked beyond Kate and saw Dr. Bowers walking into the library.

"Yeah?"

"Your father is here to visit you."

"Oh. Thanks. I'll be right there." He looked back at Kate.

"I don't feel like I have a choice, Tim," Kate said softly.

"You do. You always have a choice. I have to go...but you can always talk to me...if you want to."

Kate smiled wistfully and didn't reply. She just got up and left the library. Tim slumped down in the chair for a moment.

"Trying to take my job, Tim?"

Tim looked up at Dr. Bowers who was still waiting for him.

"No. I don't want your job. I just don't want to see anyone die."

"Admirable, but be careful. Don't forget that you're here to recover, not to save the others around you. If you can help them, that's good, but getting off drugs requires an internal desire, not an external one."

Tim nodded and got up.

"Oh, I have a card for my family. Dad said he'd pass it on. It's in my room."

Dr. Bowers smiled. "You're not in elementary school, Tim. You don't have to ask permission to go to your room."

Tim flushed and nodded again. He hurried past Dr. Bowers and to his room. When he got the card, he hurriedly opened it and scribbled an extra message inside it and then went to the visiting room.

Gibbs was sitting there waiting for him.

"Hi, Dad. Sorry...there was a..." He hesitated. "...I have the card for the family. I wasn't sure what to say really."

Gibbs smiled and inclined his head in acknowledgment.

"How are they treating you?"

"Fine."

"All of them?"

Tim furrowed his brow for just a moment...and then, he got it. They wanted more information on the other people who work here.

"Yeah. The librarian has been here for about five years. She's a registered nurse, but she also is willing to get any book I ask for. I haven't really seen everyone who works here, though."

"Sure. Of course. ...how are you feeling?"

"Lucky."

"How?"

"Some of the people here..." Tim looked down. This wasn't an act. This was just reality...cold, stark reality. No one here at Sunrise could really understand how he felt at hearing Kate's feelings. "...they've lost everything. I was talking with one of the patients and she...feels like she has nothing to look forward to even if she beats it. ...I have a lot. I still have my job. You guys didn't reject me when you found out. My friends are sticking with me. I have a lot to be grateful for."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in surprise. Clearly, he could tell that Tim meant what he was saying...and Tim felt compelled to add one more detail, knowing Gibbs would understand.

"Her name is Kate."

A knowing look.

"Remember that you can't save everyone, son."

"I know. I can barely save myself, but I don't want to see her lose her fight."

"Just do what you can. That's all we can do for you."

"Yeah, I know...but I really appreciate what you've done for me." Tim didn't know why he was saying all this now, but he really meant it. He didn't know if he'd ever said it to everyone, but he should have.

"I'll make sure everyone gets to read your card, Tim," Gibbs said, patting his shoulder. "They're all getting excited for you to come home. You going to be ready?"

Tim looked around. "Yeah...I think so. I hope so."

"You will. Even if there's still more work to be done."

Tim got that message loud and clear. Gibbs stood up and Tim followed suit.

"Thanks for coming, Dad. It's nice to know that there are people out there waiting for me."

Gibbs smiled and hugged him briefly, and then he walked out of the room.

Tim took a breath, squared his shoulders and went back to his room to wait until dinner.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Gibbs drove only a couple of blocks before he stopped the car to open the card and read Tim's message.

I haven't really found anything new, but I'm getting more and more sure that there's something going on here. I can't pinpoint what feels wrong, but there's something off. I wish I could be sure that there really is something and I'm not just getting paranoid. One thing's certain, though: I can't get any real details alone. They run a really tight ship here. Any patient out of bed at night without a member of the staff accompanying them is instantly taken back to bed. The only exception is the bathrooms. I think you might need to ask Dr. Ryan to see if she can find anything...nothing to endanger herself of course, but there are limits to what I can do. I'm going to try talking with some of the other patients here and see if they can give me any more insights.

Gibbs nodded in acceptance of Tim's suggestion. They had wanted to keep Dr. Ryan out of it, but it might be necessary to get her help more actively. Then, he noticed another couple of lines, scribbled last minute.

If you guys have the time could you see about finding any information on the family of Kate Morrison? She hasn't been in contact with them in years and she says they disowned her and that she doesn't even know if they're still alive. If they still care about her, she deserves to have that.

"Oh, McGee," he said softly. He understood Tim wanting to help, but he was worried that he'd run into a major issue there.

Still, more things to think about, more plans to make. They only had a couple more weeks.