Thank you for all of your reviews. I have been working on this story for a few months. I'm glad to see you are enjoying this adventure.
This chapter will contain descriptions of child abuse injuries.
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Jen had spent the evening doctoring the closed case for Ziva. As far as she was concerned this was Ziva's last chance. If she could not feel anything for the child in this file, she could never be taught compassion.
Child Abuse Case 0089725
Exhibit 1 - Doctor Hearland Notes
At 1900 on May 15, 1985 a patient was brought to the ER via ambulance. The patient was back boarded and c-collared. Splints were noted to the left arm and leg. Patient was unresponsive to painful stimuli upon arrival of EMS and has remained so. EMS initiated IV and O2 in the field.
Initial exam noted the following:
Pt is a 10 year old white male with obvious deformity to the distal left radius/ulna and left tib/fib. Airway remains patent with no assistance needed with spontaneous respirations at a rate of 16 per minute. Significant bruising was noted to the upper torso. Abdomen was soft and non-tender on palpation. The patient has a laceration with a hematoma to the right frontal lobe.
The following labs were ordered:
CBC and chem panel
Urinalysis
X-rays were ordered for extremities, torso and head/c-spine.
20 minutes after arrival at the ER the patient was beginning to respond. The patient became alert but refused to speak. Patient appears to be apprehensive. Repeated attempts to get a response from the patient were unsuccessful.
Lab results:
CBC and chem panel were within normal range
Urinalysis : positive for Hematuria
X-rays : distal fracture of the left radius and ulna, midline fracture of the left tib/fib
Thorax - incomplete fracture of ribs 5 & 6 on the right side, bruising on the left. Bruising to the crest of Ilium on the right. C-spine and cranium are negative.
NOTE : X-rays show a history of fractures. Fractures of Right humerus, multiple old rib fractures, a greenstick fracture of the left arm, and left ankle fracture.
Diagnosis:
This child presented with injuries consistent with a fall, upon further examination bruising in the shapes of hands and feet were noted to the child's torso. The child has not spoken and the father is becoming insistent the child be released to his personal physician.
Final note: The child has been discharged as a result of a court order from the father. The care of the child has been remanded to Dr. Charles Recker.
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Ziva had been studying the file for almost an hour by Jen's estimation. Her demeanor had not changed immediately but it was evident when it occurred. Jen knew she had not figured out who the file belonged to but she would by the end of the day.
The morning was spent reviewing the doctor's notes, observations and list of previous admittances. This innocent child had suffered a great deal. She did not believe children should be abused and this was clearly abuse. It was one thing to discipline a child for misbehaving but this was beyond even the punishments she had received.
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EXHIBIT 15
Child Abuse Case 0167549
Exhibit 1 - Doctor Sound's Notes
July 17, 1987 - A 12 year old white male presented this evening with significant injuries. The father states the child fell from his horse. The patient is responsive upon arrival. Patient is highly agitated. The father was asked to provide information concerning child's history. He refused to answer questions. The father became increasingly aggressive towards the staff and the child. He was removed from the ER by security.
Valium was administered to the child to calm him down. The child became compliant with answering questions. His since of inhibition is gone as a result of the medication.
I know this is not the place for this but I must make a personal note here for future reference. The tale this child told of his injuries this evening and in the past are consistent with long term abuse like none I have ever heard before. Today's beating was the result of a "B" on his report card.
The police have been notified but upon hearing who the child is they refuse to press charges. Shortly thereafter a court order was received and the child was released to the care of Dr. C. Recker.
Injuries noted on physical exam are as follows:
A sprained wrist, elbow and shoulder on the right side. Bruising noted to the thorax, anterior and posterior.
Old bruising and scars noted to the posterior legs - consistent with a belt.
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EXHIBIT 16
Child Abuse Case - 016784
Notes: Dr. Samuels
Aug. 1, 1987 - A 12 year old white male presented to the ER with multiple traumatic injuries. The child was back boarded, c-collared and IV established by EMS personnel. The patient has no family present. Police have placed child under protective custody and have authorized treatment.
Primary examination noted obvious deformity to bilateral lower extremities, right shoulder dislocation, contusion to left occipital lobe, superficial lacerations to the face and torso, and hematoma to the right orbit. Abdomen is rigid. Patient was diagnosed with a minor concussion.
Patient was intubated, catheter placed and labs drawn. Patient was taken to surgery immediately to stop internal bleeding.
Surgical notes: The child had a laceration to the liver. Lac was sutured, peritoneal lavage performed to prevent peritonitis. No other bleeding noted.
Post Op Notes: The patient had difficulty following surgery. Patient had an allergic reaction to sedation. Dehydration ensued as a result of vomiting.
5 days post op the child has been upgraded and moved to a private room. The child has been alert and oriented and able to provide personal information. A review of the child's records denotes long term abuse.
The police have notified the father. He was unable to breakaway from his schedule and has sent his assistant to collect his son. A court order was received but an injunction was permitted. The injunction is in place until such time as Dr. Bernard releases the patient from his care. The child should not be moved for a minimum of 5 days.
10 days post op. The patient will be released to the care of Dr. C. Recker. The father has not been present and no further contact has been made by the assistant.
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Ziva was very concerned about this child. She had not understood why she was forced to deal with a cold case of child abuse but hoped to find the answers to this latest exercise of the Director's. She had only one exhibit remaining. This was the summary page from the original investigator.
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EXHIBIT 17
Summary
The child in question was disowned by his father upon his return home in August of 1987. He was sent off to boarding school and has had no contact with his father since that time. There are no other living relatives.
The child remained at military academy until he entered Senior High. He remained in good health. His mental development has been normal. He has had no difficulties in school and has maintained exceptional scores in all classes.
His college career was exemplary. Though his major was physical education his minor was in criminal psychology. His 3.9 GPA maintained his scholarships and kept him on the Dean's / President's list throughout his 4 years. His senior year he was injured during a football game. He was unable to participate in football thereafter.
After his injury he concentrated more on his academics and went on to get a second degree in criminology. He entered the police academy 2 months after his graduation. His first six years were spent with three different police agencies. He excelled at each agency and was requested to join NCIS after a joint operation with NCIS and Baltimore PD.
During the course of his career with NCIS he has received 3 Medals of Valor, 2 Meritorious Awards and multiple Citizen Citations. His accomplishments have included being number 1 consistently on the shooting range and during rapid fire testing. His evaluation scores have ranked in the top 1% of the agency.
His exceptional skills as an investigator were the basis upon which he was offered his own team in Rotta, Spain. The return of Special Agent Gibbs was the cause for his turning down the position. His reasoning was to give Agent Gibbs time to settle back into his team. He stated he was happy at this time "watching his six."
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Ziva called to the Director's office to check out for the day. It was now 30 minutes pass her check out time. She had been so lost in the "case" that the time had gotten away from her.
The Director agreed and bid her a goodnight. Ziva wasn't sure what kind of night it was going to be but good wasn't it.
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Sitting in her apartment Ziva looked back on her day. Ziva could not believe what she had read. The longer she considered the file and facts concerning Tony the more horrible she felt about her treatment of him. To think he had grown up in such… She didn't even want to think about it. As she had read and re-read the file she felt a great deal of shame wash over her.
Her father had trained her to strive to be the best. She had taken that attitude into everything she had done. Her first meeting with her new teammates did not go well by her estimation. They did not seem very intelligent. They were standoffish and refused to let her sit at a desk because it had been Kate's. She didn't understand that at all. At home death was not something you were allowed to morn. Someone died…you moved on…you moved up.
Now as she looked back on Tony's behavior she could see the many times she had wronged him. His reaction to not being invited to dinner…to his interest in Jean. He looked upon NCIS as his family. His file explained why he felt so close to these people, why he considered them his family. She had tried to destroy that with her every move. Intentional or not she now realized how wrong she had been.
Her decision was made. She would work hard to do what needed to be done. She wanted to make it up to Tony. She now knew how wrong she had been. She realized she had not given him or Tim a chance. She had made presumptions and never looked beyond that to see what was really there. Some investigator she was… Tony had played the ultimate game of undercover and she had never realized it. Instead of being proud of his accomplishment she had been angry.
Looking back it wasn't anger she had felt. She had been jealous. She had thought she was better trained than them. But after Tony's undercover op she realized he was better. He had fooled them all for 5 months.
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