Chapter 21

Patsy hugged Rachel as she spoke with the man on the phone, telling him how they had seen the images on ZNN and recognized them as their husbands, how she had found a sock when unpacking her husband's bag, one that was not his, about the previous moments of uncertainty. The man was very professional and listened to everything she said. He had asked her permission to record the conversation and she had agreed. She told him about where Lane and Mitch should be at this time of the day. She told him about how she had a family, that Patsy had a family, that she didn't want this to become common knowledge. Was there any way to keep the identities a secret for a while? Would they be arrested? Would they come home? ...could they ever show their faces in public again? She cried and cried as she spoke to him, and to his credit, he didn't mince words, but he was very kind to her in her grief. As she wound down, he seemed able to tell.

"Ma'am, is there anything else you need to tell us?"

Rachel couldn't keep talking and handed the phone to Patsy who was slightly more composed.

"Hello, I'm Patsy, Patricia Richardson. My husband is Lane Richardson. Rachel is...she needs a minute."

"I understand, ma'am. Is there anything else that you can think of to tell us now?"

"I...I don't think so. I can't think of anything right now. It could be a mistake, couldn't it? It could be a mistake. The...whoever it was...he could have made a mistake about who he saw. That's possible, right?"

"It's always possible."

"But not likely?"

"Not in this case, ma'am. I'm sorry."

Patsy wiped away a tear. "What do we do now?"

"You'll need to remain available. Someone will call both of you in the next few days to get you to come in and make a statement."

"They're being arrested, aren't they."

"Yes. They may already be by now."

"What do we do?"

"They'll probably call you since they have that right. They'll have to appear for a bail hearing and they may or may not be held without bail. The charges come from the D.C. area; so they'll have to be transferred there. People will be in touch with you...more than you probably want."

"This is already more than I want. I don't want this to be real."

"People are innocent until proven guilty in this country, ma'am. Doesn't always seem that way, but it is that way in the courts. They'll get a trial, chance to prove their innocence."

"If they are innocent," Patsy said, hating that she could believe this of her husband.

"Yes, if they are innocent."

"This is horrible."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I really am sorry."

"Thank you. The numbers Rachel gave you are cell phones. We'll...probably go somewhere, our parents or something, but we'll be available if we're needed. Oh, I hope we aren't."

Rachel took a deep breath. "How do we tell the kids?"

"I don't know. What do we tell our families?" she asked.

"I wouldn't try to hide it from them, if you don't mind a stranger's advice. It's on the news and while we'll try to protect your privacy...we can't guarantee the media won't get a hold of it."

"What about our children?" Patsy asked, forgetting that this was a complete stranger who probably needed to be doing other things. He was so kind, seemed so understanding.

"How old are they, ma'am?"

"Four, five, ten and thirteen."

"The younger ones won't understand, just tell them that their dads are gone for a few days. When you know more, you can tell them more. The older ones, they need to know something of what's going on because they'll face worse at school as things get around. Explain that their dads have been accused of a crime and will be tried for it. It will be hard, but if you're clear and if you're honest with them, things will be easier for them to deal with."

"I thought the truth was supposed to make things better, not tear a family apart."

"The truth...Mrs. Richardson...the truth isn't good or bad. It just is. We can't change what is true. The effects of truth can be good and bad...and both at the same time. If your husbands are guilty, and for your sake, I hope they're not, but if they are, they have left many victims in pain and the truth will help their victims heal...and will help prevent other victims. ...but for you, it's going to be painful, I know, guilty or innocent. You're going to have to face all this, and you both have shown a lot of courage in calling in with what you know. There are support groups for families like yours. When you know what's going to happen, I recommend you find someplace where you can get support. You'll need it, no matter what."

"Thank you. Thanks for...for listening."

"No one should have to face what you have to. Like I said, guilty or innocent, this is going to be hard for you."

"I'm beginning to see that."

"Just hold on to what you know. You know that you love your family and you know that you want to do the right thing. You've proven that already. You can get through all the chaos that will come. You can."

"I hope so."

As she hung up the phone and hugged Rachel, Patsy wasn't so sure.

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

Tim went back to Gibbs' house after his session with Dr. Warren. He slept on the couch again, even though Gibbs had offered his bed. Tim just quietly shook his head and refused the offer. He didn't want to sleep in a bed. He still had Bert and kept him with him on the couch. As he lay there, he thought about what Dr. Warren and he had discussed. He didn't understand why she wanted to know about his choice to become an agent. Actually, she had seemed extremely interested in his desire to be in law enforcement at all.

It had made Tim himself think about it...and anything that distracted him from thinking about his recent past was a good thing.

The events which had led to his desire to become an NCIS agent weren't exactly happy ones but they had made him who he was...and that made them important. Going over those memories had been an interesting experience. ...but he didn't know why Dr. Warren kept asking him all these questions. He knew why he had to go to her. He knew why he needed to go to her. ...so what was with the twenty questions about unrelated things? It couldn't just be to make him feel comfortable because, well, he'd never really feel comfortable.

As he turned on his side to try and sleep, he felt himself tensing up because of his position on the couch. He grabbed Bert and squeezed him tightly. ...and then smiled a little at the sound he made. It helped. A little.

Go to sleep, Tim. You're safe here. You know you are.

He didn't really listen to himself for a few hours.

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

"Yes, thank you," Tony said and hung up the phone. He stared straight ahead without speaking.

"What is it?" Ziva asked. "What is wrong, Tony?"

"That was Agent Manning Fields out at the Northwest field office in Washington."

"Is he an acquaintance of yours?" Ziva asked.

"Never met him."

"Then, why was he calling you?"

"He wasn't. He was calling for Gibbs."

"Tony! You are not making any sense! Explain or I will kill you!"

"They caught the guys."

"Who caught what guys?"

"Lane Richardson and Mitchell Graham, suspected rapists. They were arrested last night at their place of employment...and were reported by their wives who saw the sketches on ZNN."

Ziva stared at him.

"What? They have been found? Arrested?"

"They're in holding in Washington until they can be extradited out here."

"So quickly?"

"I guess."

"Wow." Ziva sat back. "What do you think McGee will say? This is much faster than I had expected. He is...not..."

"Stable?" Tony suggested.

"Not enough to face them."

"He's...better...isn't he?"

"Is he? Do you think he could tolerate questioning?"

"We're way off from that, Ziva."

"Perhaps."

"At least they're caught. If Abby finds other cases similar to ours, maybe they'll have a lot more people to draw on in prosecution...and then it won't all be on McGee."

"I can only hope."

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

Gibbs was in the kitchen. He was getting ready to leave later than usual, but Tim had actually been asleep when he came down that morning. He tried to stay as quiet as possible to let Tim sleep a little longer. He heard movement behind him, but he decided not to turn. ...to let Tim have whatever security he could gain while in the same room as another male.

"Boss?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that I've wanted to be at NCIS since I was about ten years old? I know it wasn't NCIS then. It was NIS, but I wanted to be a part of it even then."

Gibbs was glad he was facing away from Tim. He didn't know how to react to the random statement.

"Really?"

"Yeah. ...because of my dad. ...and I haven't told them about what happened."

"Your parents?"

"Yeah. I don't want to...but if we ever find...them...I...I'll have to...but I don't know how. I can't even handle seeing...myself." Tim's voice became tight.

"You know what, McGee? I can barely handle seeing what happened to you. There's nothing wrong with that."

"You don't show it, though."

"That's because it didn't happen to me, McGee. It happened to you. You have complete license to be upset about it."

"I'm way past upset, Boss...and everyone knows it. Even now, when I've promised to help you...I'm not doing it because I care about other people. I'm doing it because I want revenge...but part of me knows that it won't help...but most of me doesn't care. ...and I know that I shouldn't feel that way...but I still don't care."

Gibbs turned around and saw Tim tense up for flight. It was instant and involuntary. Then, a few seconds later, he took a deep breath and tried to relax. Gibbs could see it all happen, but he didn't react, nor did he show the relief he felt at seeing Tim making an effort to control his reactions.

"You can feel that way right now, McGee. That's all right. There's a point when it might be a problem, but it's not right now."

"When is that? ...because I can't imagine letting this go."

"I don't know...but I think you'll know."

"Just like I'll be satisfied with the end of a case?"

Gibbs smiled. "Not like that, but you'll know when holding onto what you feel right now is a problem. The fact that you have to ask tells me that you're not ready. You will be. Eventually."

"I almost didn't dream of them last night."

"Almost?"

"Yeah. Almost. Not quite." He turned away, obviously not willing to say what had happened when the dream shifted.

"You ready to go?"

"How much do I have to tell you today, Boss?"

"How much can you tell?" Gibbs asked. "You got us to the hotel yesterday."

"I don't know, Boss. I really don't."

"Would it help if it was Ziva questioning you without Tony or me there?"

"It might."

"We'll try it, but let's have you tell how they restrained you. Okay?"

Tim's fists clenched. "Okay."

"Just that, McGee. No details about what they did. Just the method of restraint."

"Okay."

"You ready to go?"

"Okay."

"McGee?"

"Yeah?"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not."

"Yeah, it is." Gibbs watched him stand there with his clenched fists and wanted nothing more than to beat the men who had done this to his agent to a bloody pulp...and then turn them over to Ziva and Abby. "Let's go."

"Okay."

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

Tony watched Gibbs step off the elevator...alone...and then Tim join him a bit later, having taken the stairs. He looked at Ziva.

"Boss?"

"What, Tony?"

"I got a phone call from Washington about an hour ago."

"And?"

"And..." Tony looked at Tim. "And we need to talk."

"About what?"

Ziva stood up and walked over to Tim. She looked at him, put a gentle hand on his arm.

"They have been arrested."

Tim looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

"The men who...attacked you. They have been arrested."

Tim's eyes opened wide. His mouth also opened, but he made no sound. He just stared at her, mouth working furiously as he tried to say something...but failed miserably.

"...take your time," he whispered.

"What, McGee?"

"They told me to take my time because I had...done so much for them..."

"They can no longer hurt you or anyone else, McGee," Ziva said earnestly. "They are in prison."

"Just like me..." Tim said.