Chapter Twenty One

Gibbs pulled into the twins' daycare shortly after 8:00 on Thursday morning. He wasn't sure who was more stressed about the situation, him or the kids. Bailey slipped his hand into Gibbs' and Josie wrapped her hand around Gibbs' wrist as they walked across the parking lot and into the building. As soon as they opened the door they were met with the sounds of children laughing and playing.

Faith saw the group coming down the hall and went to meet them. "Jethro!" she said with a bright smile. "And you brought Bailey and Josie! It's so nice to see you guys."

"Can you guys say hi?" Gibbs asked. Josie walked over to give her teacher a hug while Bailey hid behind Gibbs' legs, still holding tightly to Gibbs' hand.

"They look so good," Faith said bubbling with excitement. "Their bruises are fading, they're clean, they have warm clothes and full tummies." Faith helped Gibbs get the kids' winter clothes off and hung up then walked them into the play area. Josie spotted one of her friends and hurried off to play leaving Bailey clinging to Gibbs.

"Is there a set schedule or something you guys follow?" Gibbs asked.

"We have playtime until 9:00 when they start preschool. Preschool lasts until noon then they have lunch and naptime, snack time and then playtime again until they're picked up," Faith explained.

"I didn't pack them a lunch but I should be here to pick them up by noon," Gibbs said. "If Jen or I can't make it I'll send one of my agents. The kids know them and they'll have photo IDs and badges."

"If you have time I'm going to have you fill out a new emergency contact card," Faith said. "Then I'll know how to contact you if needed and you can write on there who has permission to pick the children up."

Gibbs sat down at one of the tables with Bailey at his side and filled out the small card Faith gave him. When he was finished he gave it back to Faith then knelt in front of Bailey. "Time for you to go play, Little Man," he said. "I'll be back in a little while to pick you up."

"No," Bailey whined. "I want to go with you. Please. Please, Papa!"

"I have to go work, Buddy," Gibbs said. "Ms. Faith and Josie and all your other friends want you to stay here and play."

"No," Bailey said, puffing his lower lip out. "I want you."

Gibbs wrapped his arm around Bailey and pulled him into a tight hug then kissed his forehead. He considered giving in to Bailey but knew he couldn't, especially knowing the little boy's father was going to be at NCIS. "You have to stay here and learn your ABCs and practice your counting—"

"I know how to count!" Bailey said. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 9, 12. See?"

"That's pretty good, Bailey," Faith said. "How'd you teach him to count so quickly?"

"He helps me make the coffee in the morning," Gibbs said. "We practice counting how many scoops to put in."

"Bailey, Miss Katie's going to color with you, then we're going to sing and have lesson time and playtime."

A young lady came over and pried Bailey away from Gibbs. Gibbs leaned in and kissed his cheek then found Josie in the middle of the play area, knelt down behind her and kissed her cheek. "I'm leaving now, Baby," he said. "I'll be back soon."

"Bye, Papa," Josie said standing to give him a hug.

Gibbs ruffled Bailey's hair on his way out of the room then walked with Faith down the hall, listening to Bailey scream his name the entire way.

"He'll be ok," Faith assured him.

"I hope so," Gibbs said. "If he's not, you'll call?"

"Of course," Faith said.

Gibbs took a deep breath and stopped by the front door. "We have their father in custody. They're not in any danger anymore. If they ask about him, I've been telling them their daddy is very sick and he has to live in the hospital for a little while."

"Ok," Faith said. "Is that situation taken care of now?"

"Working on it," Gibbs said, unwilling to give up too many details about an ongoing investigation. "Like I said, the kids aren't in any danger anymore." He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and took out one of his business cards, scribbled a phone number on the back then handed it to Faith. "Here are my work and cell numbers and I wrote the number to Jen's direct line on the back," Gibbs said. "Don't hesitate to call."

Gibbs headed out to his car and sank into the driver's seat. He scrubbed his hand over his face and took a deep breath. He knew the kids would be ok at daycare and he needed to refocus his thoughts on interrogating Kinsley. A quick glance at his watch told him he had just enough time to stop and grab a cup of coffee before heading to the Navy Yard.

Gibbs parked his car at NCIS and took the elevator to the top floor. He gave Cynthia a friendly nod before walking into Jenny's office.

"Hey," Jenny said, "how'd it go?"

Gibbs handed Jenny the coffee he'd gotten for her then sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "Josie did fine. She ran off to play as soon as we walked in the door almost. Bailey was a little clingy but I think he'll be ok. Faith said he'll be ok. She said she'd call if there were any problems."

Jenny moved from her chair over to Gibbs. She had suspected it would be difficult for him to leave the kids. "I'm sure they'll both be fine," she said straightening out Gibbs' collar for him. "Faith is very good at what she does." She smiled as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Gibbs'.

"Director," Cynthia said over the intercom, "Agent Fornell is here to see you."

Jenny gave Gibbs another quick kiss before telling Cynthia to send Fornell in.

"Jenny, Jethro," Fornell greeted.

"You ready?" Gibbs asked. He and Fornell headed down and checked in with Tony, Ziva and Tim who were waiting in observation then went into the interrogation room where Kinsley was waiting. They both noticed immediately that he was much calmer than he had been when they picked him up in California.

"How are you doing this morning, Marine?" Gibbs asked as offset the chair in front of Kinsley then sat down.

"Better, Sir," Kinsley answered. The Marine sat perfectly still, his back perfectly straight and his hands resting on the table in front of him.

Gibbs could see him growing nervous as he sat quietly and watched him. "Why'd you run?"

"I— I don't know, Sir," Kinsley said glancing nervously around the room.

"Look at me," Gibbs said. When Kinsley didn't make eye contact Gibbs repeated himself. He studied the Marine for a moment before opening his folder and pulling out pictures of the twins' beaten and bruised bodies.

"Your son was found with a broken arm," Gibbs said pulling out a copy of the x-ray clearly showing the break. "His butt—black and blue, literally," he pulled out a picture documenting the abuse and put in on the table in front of Kinsley. "The front and back of his torso was covered in bruises," he said laying out pictures of Bailey's torso. "His arms and legs, more of the same."

Gibbs flipped through a few papers and photographs in his folder until he came to the pictures documenting Josie's abuse. "Your daughter had a bump on the back of her head the size of a baseball," he said laying out a picture, "and her body was covered in the same bruises as her brother. Both kids were malnourished and neglected."

Kinsley's body started shaking as his eyes darted over the pictures Gibbs had laid in front of him. "I—I didn't mean to. It was—it was an accident," he stuttered.

Gibbs slammed his good hand on the table in front of him making both Kinsley and Fornell jump. "An accident?" he questioned angrily. "Look at these bruises, all different colors. Do you know what that means? That means they're all in different stages of healing. That's a whole lot of accidents over an extended period of time."

"I—I didn't… I couldn't… I—I just…" Kinsley struggled to put his thoughts into words. "I was never very good at being a dad," he finally managed to get out, his eyes still focused on the photographs. "When my wife died, I didn't know what to do."

"Your wife?" Gibbs licked his fingers and flipped through a few papers in his folder before pulling out the police report from the wife's car accident. "Your wife died in a fiery explosion on Interstate 395 when her car crashed into a tanker truck full of gasoline. What do you know about that?"

Kinsley looked at Fornell standing in the shadowy corner then briefly made eye contact with Gibbs. "It wasn't—it wasn't me. Jon. Jon tampered with her brakes."

"Why?" Gibbs asked pointedly.

"We needed the money— the money from her insurance policy, Sir," Kinsley answered nervously.

"We," Gibbs clarified, "as in you and Ryker?" Kinsley remained silent, glancing nervously around the small room. "Tell me, Marine," Gibbs continued, "what is so important that you had to kill your wife to make a quick buck? Look at me."

Kinsley glanced up, making eye contact with Gibbs then quickly diverted his eyes to his lap. "Drugs, Sir."

Gibbs anger was visibly growing as he learned more and more of the story. "You took a life so you could get your next fix?" he asked almost yelling. "Someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's friend — the mother of your children!"

Kinsley slammed his fists onto the table then rose from his chair. "Do you have any idea what it's like over there, Sir?" he yelled.

"Sit," Gibbs said sternly.

Kinsley sat in his chair and lowered his voice as he continued. "Insurgents strapping bombs to children and sending them over to the troops to ask for candy only to detonate the bomb and kill as many troops as they can. We had orders to shoot anybody who approached, kids included." Kinsley was visibly shaking as he spoke. "You have no idea what it's like to take the life of a child only to have to turn around and do it again an hour later in the next town over, Sir," Kinsley said.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and studied Kinsley. He knew as unbelievable as the story sounded that it was the truth. He could see from Kinsley's body language that it had had a devastating effect on the Marine.

"You lose a piece of your soul out there, Sir," Kinsley continued, his voice calm again. "You have to be able to disconnect to do something like that. When I got home my wife was helping me hold it together. The drugs were helping numb the emotion and escape the reality of what I'd done. I was barely hanging on and then I couldn't afford the drugs anymore. Jon came up with the plan to get my wife's life insurance money. After that nothing mattered anymore. I couldn't look at the kids without seeing their mother. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing the bodies of the children I'd killed in Iraq. I just— I want to love my kids, Agent Gibbs. I'm just trying to learn how again."

Gibbs studied the big tough Marine in front of him. His eyes glistening with unshed tears, his body physically strong and tough as are all Marines but his mind broken with traumas of war. He stood from his chair and left the interrogation room, Fornell following right behind him.

"You believe him?" Fornell asked.

Gibbs nodded as he leaned against the wall behind him. "You see unspeakable things over there, Tobias. You have to do unmentionable things and you try desperately to forget but the truth is, you never forget. It's basically culture shock when you get home."

"He'll never be a free man," Fornell said.

Gibbs shook his head in agreement. "Accessory in the death of his wife, the abuse on the kids, a crime spree that spreads from the east coast to the west coast."

"Psych ward?" Fornell asked.

"It'll be up to JAG to make the final deal but that's probably what I'll recommend pending further psychological evaluation. He'll get the help he needs and the public won't be in any danger."

"We got our guys," Fornell said, "just like you said we would." Gibbs only half smiled at Fornell, not in a celebratory mood. "I better get going," Fornell said. "I've got a mountain of paperwork on my desk and it's multiplying faster than rabbits."

Gibbs nodded and watched as Fornell disappeared down the hall. He headed to the break room and got himself a cup of coffee and one for Kinsley before returning to the interrogation room.

"I know I'm in a lot of trouble, Agent Gibbs," Kinsley said taking the coffee Gibbs put on the table in front of him, "but is there any way I can see my kids?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Marine," Gibbs said. "I've got to look out for the best interest of the kids and they don't understand the complexities of what's going on in your head."

Kinsley nodded his head in understanding then took a drink of the coffee Gibbs had brought him. "How are they doing?"

Gibbs looked at him, contemplating how much information he should give the man. "They're doing well."

"Agent Gibbs, I know you don't— you don't owe me any favors or anything but can you watch out for them? Make sure they go to a good home? They deserve better than me, than what I could give them."

"I'll make sure they're taken care of," Gibbs said as he stood from the chair and headed for the door. He paused before leaving the room and turned back to Kinsley. He took one last look at the broken spirited Marine then left him alone in the interrogation room and headed up to Jenny's office.

"You ok?" Jenny asked looking up from her e-mail as Gibbs sank into the chair in front of her desk.

"Mm-hmm," Gibbs said. He waited patiently while Jenny continued typing then after several clicks of her mouse she gave him her full attention.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked.

"It's a sad situation all around," Gibbs said. "Kinsley put it all on the line for his country and he came back so damaged he couldn't handle being a husband or a father anymore."

"Our priority is the kids, his victims and any possible future victims," Jenny said gently as she moved over in front of him.

Gibbs stood and wrapped his arm around Jenny, pulling her to him. "I know," he said.

"Do you identify with him?" Jenny asked.

"No," Gibbs said shaking his head, "but I do know how difficult it is to make the transition back to civilian."

Jenny rested her hands on Gibbs' chest as she smiled up at him. Gibbs leaned in and pressed his lips to hers then returned her smile.

"Want to go with me to pick up the kids?" he asked. "We can grab some lunch afterwards."

"I wish I could," Jenny said, "but I have a meeting at 12:30."

"That's too bad," Gibbs said with a smirk. He ran his thumb playfully over her cheek before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers again. "I better go. I didn't pack a lunch for the kids. I don't want to be late picking them up."

"I'll see you tonight when I get home," Jenny said helping Gibbs get his right arm in his coat then draping it gently over his left shoulder. "Give the kids a kiss for me."