AN: Sorry gang, I know I was cooking on this and dont worry I havent lost it...just no time to write at the moment. 14 hour work days are kicking my butt right now, but I will try to find time to plow through the next couple chapters. Still got the story in my head. Here's chapter 11...an early christmas present :-) Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. dark rolling sea.
Gibbs was furious. What was she doing here? Why had she followed him? They walked into the living room away from the others and he stood, hands at his sides, staring at her. His glare focused his anger and he could see in her face she was uneasy about her decision. There was something there though in her eyes, as she stared back at him. His jaw was clenched as he spoke to her in a harsh whisper.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you and…"
"How'd you find me?"
"Gibbs, I worked for you. Don't you think I'd be good enough at my job to track you down?"
His resolve and anger broke for a second as pride seeped through, but he pushed it back down and the anger resurfaced. He shook his head at her, trying to decide what to tell her.
"This isn't an affair of yours."
"I just thought you looked…"
"Looked what?" He gritted.
She paused, unsure why he was so angry at her, wondering if coming here had been a big mistake, maybe damaging to their friendship. But then she felt her courage surface. No matter how gruff and stern he was on the outside, she knew his bark was always nastier than his bite, at least with her. She stepped closer to him and laid her hand on his elbow.
"When you talked to me in the parking lot there was something in your eyes that made me worry about you. I know you keep yourself hidden. I know even after these last two years of our friendship growing, you still won't open up to me, but there was something there, and it made me chase you down. I don't know what you're doing here, or what your family emergency is, but there was something…something told me you didn't really want to be alone."
"I'm not alone," Gibbs sighed out as his anger began to subside. He was now upset that he hadn't been able to hide from her. Although he had known he couldn't, it still burned him that she could read him so well. There had been one other person that could read him so well, but he pushed that down as well.
"I didn't mean…I just thought if there was something wrong you would want…" Kate stumbled over her words and he could see in her eyes that she was aggravated with herself for not being able to communicate.
"No one is sick, or dying, or in danger of dying," Gibbs replied shaking his head. "So you can go home now."
"What's going on, Gibbs?"
He thought about her question, his gaze drifting towards the kitchen. Part of him wanted to tell her everything, but the stronger more dominate part wanted to keep hidden. The less he gave of himself, the further away he could keep people from his heart, the less they could hurt him when they left. Self preservation was his game, and he was good at it.
"Something that doesn't involve you," he replied quietly his face remaining stony. He could see the frustration and hurt growing in her eyes and it pained him. He had waged an internal battle for two years as he grew closer to Kate Todd, knowing that the day would come that either he would shatter her, or she would shatter him. Maybe it was better this way, to push her away and shatter the illusion now.
Movement in the doorway caught his attention and he glanced up to see Devin standing watching them. He shot a glare and motioned for her to leave them alone but she didn't move. Now he had two women who were defiant, great. He let out a frustrated sigh and sat down on the couch with a grumble. Kate looked over at Devin who was staring at him.
"What?" He barked harshly at Devin. She smiled and walked in the room a few steps.
"Doesn't work on me, Gunny," she replied softly. "I work with bastards all day long."
"I resent that," Eddie said from the doorway. Devin glanced over her shoulder and Gibbs shook his head.
"This isn't any of Agent Todd's business," Gibbs continued.
"Maybe she can help. She works for you right? She investigates crimes?" Devin continued.
"She doesn't work for me, not anymore."
"But she still investigates crimes. So she could be of help."
"Help in what?" Kate asked. Gibbs could see her confusion. He sighed and stared at Devin for a long moment. She returned his gaze with the same intensity and knew he was in a losing battle. When had he lost control over the situation? Had he ever had control in the first place? No, probably not. They had allowed him to believe so, but he knew now he never really had a choice when Kate showed up.
"Nothing," Gibbs threw out haphazardly. Devin smiled and looked at Kate.
"You have experience investigating murders?" Devin asked and ignored the warning look Gibbs gave her. He knew he was beaten, so he stood up and took control of the situation. He noticed that his father had joined them as well and he took in a deep breath through his nose before speaking.
"We're looking into the murder of Devin's family, twenty years ago," Gibbs replied. "New evidence came to light and she asked for my help."
"I didn't ask for your help," Devin replied defensively. "I just wanted the notebooks, you volunteered your help."
"I'd like to volunteer too," Kate replied looking from Devin to Gibbs. He could tell she was trying to make a connection between him and Devin. He would keep her in the dark for as long as possible, as long as Devin cooperated in that aspect. As Devin looked from him to Kate he noticed that there was something in her eye that made him nervous. He got the feeling there was something more than Devin simply wanting an extra pair or hands on the case.
He thought about it quickly, wondering why Devin hadn't protested another joining, when she had been adamant when Gibbs tried to step in. Of course he had history with Devin, and that caused a rift, but she simply accepted Kate being a part of this…yes there was definitely something else going on in his young niece's head.
"Let's finish dinner," Gibbs replied with a sigh, as he rubbed a hand to the back of his neck. They slowly filed back to the kitchen and sat down, Jackson finding another chair, and pulling another plate down for Kate.
Gibbs was quiet through the rest of dinner, but the rest of them were not. Devin asked Kate all kinds of questions about herself, and Gibbs got the feeling there was more than just getting a sense of who she was working with. Kate was a good sport though, and seemed to enjoy answering the questions about herself. And if Gibbs was totally honest with himself…he enjoyed listening to Kate talk about herself.
Once dinner was done and Jackson assured everyone that it was not a big deal for him to clean up, they moved to the living room. Devin immediately picked up the final notebook and flopped heavily to the couch reading it again. Gibbs picked up one that he had been reading earlier and found his spot, looking up at Kate as he sat in the chair.
"These are Duncan Riley's case notebooks. We're looking for a connection to a case he was working on right before his death," Gibbs explained. "Help yourself to the stack if you want to get to know the victim."
"One of," Devin replied quietly as she read. Gibbs couldn't help but look up at her. He studied her face, seeing the weight this was putting on her. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop her; the best he could offer was to help her…to keep an eye on her. He made a promise to himself, he wouldn't let her get consumed, he wouldn't let this destroy her. And he wouldn't walk away from her ever again. Maybe this was what they both needed; maybe they would help heal each other.
The room lapsed into silence then and Kate picked up a notebook and started to leaf through it. Gibbs returned his attention to what he was reading and lost track of time. He didn't know how long had passed before he heard Devin break the silence once again.
"I think…I think I got something. This might be the notebook right before he died," she said looking up. The torment and pain in her eyes hit Gibbs hard and he put the notebook in his hands down. He got up and walked over to the couch, coming to a stop next to the arm. Devin looked up at him then handed him the pages.
Gibbs skimmed the page looking for what she had seen. It was towards the bottom of the page she was reading, a case that had taken a toll on Duncan according to the notes. He had been assigned a case where a mutilated body had been found, decapitated and dismembered. They had no identification on the body when the notes had been written and Duncan was having trouble with the nature of the crime.
"Eddie, the body was beheaded and dismembered. It was left in an ally. They couldn't ID it," Devin was saying. Gibbs looked down at her confused.
"This means something to you?" He asked.
"We handed off a case like that when we left. It's why Devin heard the tape, it's why she remembered, it's why we're here," Eddie replied scooting closer to Devin. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Too similar to be coincidence," Devin whispered.
Gibbs continued reading, flipping the pages as he went. Looking for a name, anything to tell him who Duncan was working with, or if anything ever came of the body. He came across a couple names in the book.
"Who was John?" Gibbs asked.
"Dad's partner was John Kaine," Devin replied with a sigh. Gibbs nodded.
"Says here John was suspicious of someone named Drogan."
"I don't know a Drogan," Devin replied looking up.
Gibbs nodded again and continued reading. "Doesn't seem like your dad suspected Drogan of anything though. Says here 'I don't fit Drogan like John does. I don't think he's capable of the degree of brutality that the victim experienced. Drogan is a small time killer, we've got him on three bodies, but this one doesn't quite fit for him. Having hard time convincing John.' Seems they were split."
"Does it say who he thought killed their victim?" Kate asked.
Gibbs skimmed more of the notes. "Ah, doesn't look like it, but they got help. Says, 'Jordan called in Feds today on the John Doe case. No ID has been tough. Who cuts off fingers and the head? Got saddled with a fucking a-hole named Jefferson. One of those long pedigreed FBI agents, three generations or some shit like that.' I don't think he liked Jefferson."
"That's kind of funny though," Devin replied with a small smile.
"What's funny about that?" Eddie asked.
"Duncan was fifth generation cop," Gibbs replied a smile on his lips again.
"I didn't know you were sixth generation," Eddie replied. Devin shrugged. "That's goes back a long way."
"Kinda like you and the Marines, Eddie," Devin replied with a smile. Gibbs looked at the younger man a moment before returning his attention to the book.
"So we need to track down this Drogan, a Jordan who I'm assuming was Captain of Homicide at the time, John Kaine, and Agent Jefferson."
"Kaine died six years ago, scratch him off the list," Devin replied. "I don't remember a Jordan, but Dad didn't talk much at home though."
"We can contact LAPD and find out who Jordan is," Eddie replied.
"Gibbs, you can call Fornell to look into Agent Jefferson," Kate answered. Gibbs nodded and continued to read.
"The notebook stops. They didn't solve the case. All it says is, 'Feds agree with John and are pinning this on Drogan. Doesn't fit, but I'm outnumbered. Something off about Jefferson lately, cant pin it down.' It stops there. Eddie, when you contact LAPD to ask about Jordon ask about Drogan and this case Duncan was working on. Find out who else was working Homicide then and see if anyone remembers," Gibbs stated. "We'll get to the bottom of this."
"You think one of those killed my family?"
"Hard to tell if it had anything to do with it at this point," Gibbs replied. "All we can do is check them out and see what was going on twenty years ago. It's going to be hard, all these years later."
"Time will tell," Devin replied dropping her head into her hands. Gibbs watched the two on the couch and wondered how close those two partners were. Eddie was holding her tightly to him, rubbing a hand down her back. Devin leaned over and settled her head against his shoulder. He couldn't help but notice the wedding ring on Eddie's hand, and wondered who he was more loyal to. He decided to keep his observations to himself for now.