Warnings: Slight spoilers for my stories "So I Will Run Through Fire" and "Slowly Fading Away"
A/N: Here is the next chapter. Feedback is always appreciated :) Just a friendly reminder that if you're going to flame me, especially on a "guest" account, I am going to delete the post or report it. This is a no hate zone, period.
"How are you feeling?" Delilah asked, when she noticed Leah enter the kitchen the following morning.
"Like the world is falling apart at the seams," Leah answered, honestly.
Delilah poured her some coffee and pat the chair next to her at the dining room table. "Come have some coffee and scones, and you'll feel better."
Leah had cut back on her coffee intake since she had found out she was pregnant but this morning she found that she needed it. "Sorry baby," she mumbled to her belly as she sat down and fixed her coffee. She took a freshly baked scone from the McGee's favorite bakery and took a bite.
"I wouldn't worry about this investigation. They'll ask questions, interview all of us, and visit your house and see that Tali and Jack are well taken care of," Delilah said, smiling at her gently.
"I know everything is going to be okay, there's just this… small chance that my kids could be taken away," Leah replied, her resolve slowly fading.
Delilah shook her head. "There is no way that is going to happen."
Leah finished her scone and sipped her coffee. "What if they think Tony's job is too dangerous?"
"What are you talking about?"
"What if she finds out about Tommy Merchant or Wayne Cooper?"
"Then she'd find out how Tony tricked Merchant and arrested him, how you shot Cooper to protect Jack," Delilah argued.
"And what if she tells us that those incidents could have been prevented by Tony resigning?" Leah asked.
Delilah softly glared at her. "Leah, enough. Tali and Jack are not going to be taken away from you, and in five months you'll be welcoming a new baby into the world."
Leah touched her stomach and grabbed another scone. At least her appetite had come back. Last night she had barely touched the dinner that Delilah had prepared. The more she thought about the social worker calling everyone that knew her under the sun, the more she ate. It somewhat relieved the stress of thinking about her mother finding out what she'd done. "Hopefully that social worker won't be there in the delivery room, ready to snatch my newborn from me."
Pouring herself some more coffee, Delilah stirred some cream and sugar in. "Let's talk about something happier regarding the baby. Do you have names picked out?"
"We can't agree on anything. I hate the ones Tony suggests, he hates the ones I suggest."
"Maybe it's something that you can't sit with a baby name book and go through all those names."
"He really thinks it's girl."
"You don't know yet?"
"Baby wasn't cooperating at my last appointment."
Delilah sighed and sipped her coffee. She had been to numerous appointments in the last few weeks to weigh her options for having her own baby. Her disability made pregnancy even more high risk than it normally would be. She did not want it to stop her and Tim from having a family someday…
Leah finished her last scone and her coffee. She offered to clean up, being one of the only people that never found it awkward to navigate the kitchen in the McGee's home which was in the process of being redesigned to make it even more accessible for Delilah. In a few short weeks Leah would be living in a reno-zone as well…
"So… what do you want to do today?" Delilah asked, casually.
"Tony requested that you baby-sit me, huh?" Leah guessed.
"He wants you to relax and maybe have a little time to yourself."
"I should go to the Palmers and check on Eric."
"Leah, I'm sure he's fine. You should focus on yourself."
"Delilah," Leah argued, "my son is still in the hospital after I put him there; I really do not want to focus on myself. I just want to make sure Eric is alright and then go see Jack."
"Do you honestly believe you put Jack in the hospital?" Delialh asked. "Did you put him outside in the cold yourself?"
Leah shook her head. "No, but if I had been paying attention then he wouldn't have snuck outside in the first place."
Delilah sighed. "I told you to stop blaming yourself. Now, why don't you go shower, get ready, and then we can plan a spa day. I'm sure by the time you're done getting ready, Tony will have called with the good news that Jack is coming home."
Tony wasn't surprised that Paulette Keye was waiting for him that morning. Once he had spoken to the doctor about Jack's condition, the social worker had requested to speak to him.
She led him down the hall and found a small lounge. She offered him coffee but he didn't want any. He just wanted to get this over with so Jack and Tali could go home with them.
"It looks like Jack is getting better," Paulette opened with a smile.
"He's been up since five," Tony answered. "He wants to go home, Ms. Keye."
"My investigation just started, Agent DiNozzo."
"I think we can both agree on that my kids need stability."
Paulette fixed her wire rim glasses. "Yes, of course they do. So it is in my best interest to wrap this up quickly for them so there isn't too much disruption."
Tony flexed his fingers underneath the table. "So then it's in your best interest to send my kids home, today. I know what you want to do, you want to make an example out of my wife. That even pretty, well-off, suburban women can be abusive—you've picked the wrong woman to prove that point."
She opened her file and glanced down at it. "There were no obvious signs of physical abuse on either your daughter or your son, which is good news, the State will probably not rule that the children are in imminent danger and need to be removed from the home."
He felt his jaw tighten. This had to have been how Eric's parents felt when the police turned their suspicions on them. "Of course there were no signs of physical abuse, my wife and I don't hit our kids."
"Both of them attend daycare regularly," she stated, eyes glancing at him.
"Yes. My wife and I both work," he answered.
"Do you think your wife's long hours some days at the University contribute to her exhaustion?"
"What kind of question is that? She works extremely hard, so yeah, I would think it would."
"And what about the hours you put in? Do you think your job adds to her stress level?"
Now that question stung. Tony knew that his job added to Leah's stress level. She was constantly worried about his safety. "Yes, my job adds to her stress. She doesn't know if I'm going to come home at night; that kind of uncertainty would make anyone crazy."
Paulette sighed. She knew she wasn't going to convince Tony that she was not the enemy here. "Leah adopted your daughter; where is Tali's biological mother?"
Tony felt a stab at his heart. "She died in a fire last spring."
"Does Tali have any family on her mother's side?"
"No. It was just her and her mother."
"Besides Miss Dawson, is there anyone else that can take the children until my investigation is over?"
"Why? Can't they just come home with us?"
Paulette shook her head. "I'd really prefer that they stayed elsewhere until this is all settled."
Tony sighed. Sure there were others that could take Tali and Jack—Gibbs, Tim, Abby—but he knew none of them were going to be good enough for Leah. His wife just wanted her children home with her. "They've stayed with my boss, Agent Gibbs, a few times. They're comfortable there."
She nodded. "Will Agent Gibbs be alright taking them for a couple of days?"
He sighed, "Yes. I'm sure it will not be a problem."
"I'm going to go fill out the paperwork, thank you, Agent DiNozzo, for speaking to me."
"Are we going to be allowed to at least see our kids?"
"Normally, I would say now, but since Doctor Green found no signs of physical abuse on the children… yes, you and your wife will be able to visit with your kids as long as Agent Gibbs is present."
Supervised visits, how lovely, Tony thought angrily, and he was going to have the joy of informing Leah that the state of Virginia didn't think they were competent enough to spend time alone with their children.
Tim was surprised to see Tony step off the elevator. "Did they release Jack from the hospital?"
Tony threw his bag near his desk. "They did; but not to me. Gibbs has him. The social worker will not let Tali and Jack come home until she has conducted her home visit."
"When is that going to be?" Ellie inquired.
"In the morning. Ms. Keye wanted to chat with a few more of our family and friends first," Tony sighed.
His team watched as he dropped down into his chair and buried his face in his hands. At least the social worker had agreed to let them see their kids; Gibbs was going to keep them for the night and offered to cook dinner for the family. Tony had accepted just wanting this crazy ordeal to be over. He was still struggling to wrap his brain around the fact that his wife was being investigated. Leah was the most loving person he knew.
She, of course, had been devastated when he called her to let her know that Jack and Tali would be staying with Gibbs. After calming her down, and insisting that she spend the day at the spa with Delilah, Tony had come into work. There was something the doctor had said the day before that was nagging at him—I know you're under pressure from the state…
Tony started his computer up. His gut was telling him that there was more to Paulette Keye that met the eye. He was pouring over cases and files when his desk phone rang, "Yeah, DiNozzo," he answered, expecting it to be an in-house call.
"Oh thank God you're there," Breena's voice said, "I tried to get in touch with Jimmy but you know him… sometimes he forgets to take his phone off silent…"
"Breena, is something wrong?" Tony questioned, wondering why she had called him to get in touch with her husband.
"Yes, something is wrong," the young woman breathed with some panic in her voice, "Eric is gone."
