AN: Another short one - I've been so swamped with work that I got behind and Kyrie sent me back twice for a rewrite on a chunk of what was supposed to be this chapter last night. We still couldn't get it nailed down, so I settled on a shorter chapter rather than no chapter today. :) Thanks for all the wonderful reviews - 400 as of yesterday! And huge thanks to Kyrie for editing, especially when I'm writing last-minute the way I have been the past few weeks. Fortunately, my schedule gets much less crazy in two weeks!

Chapter 36

Friday, April 9, 2010

Tim worked steadily on digging into the two men's backgrounds until 0730 when he figured he could call his father without having to wake him up.

"Hey, Mom," he said when Eileen answered. "Is Dad there?"

"Right here." Sean's voice came over the line. "Eileen, I've got it."

"Tim, I'm headed out for a run," she said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Mom," he said, and waited for her to hang up.

"What's going on?" his dad asked. "You don't usually call during the week unless something's wrong, and certainly not before work."

"No, I'm at work," Tim said. "Been here since 0200. Gibbs and the rest of them are in Norfolk on a case, and I've been working from the office. Got a question for you about a former midshipman."

"Who?"

"Lt. Richard Sanderson," Tim said. "Academy grad. Did you have him in class?"

"I did," Sean said. "Good man. He wasn't a natural leader, but he worked hard at it, improved a lot by the time he graduated."

"He have a temper?" Tim asked.

"No, far from it," Sean said. "I had him as a plebe when a lot of them still are trying to rein in a temper or rebelling against all the restrictions. He was at the other end, quiet, maybe a little unsure."

"So you wouldn't expect him to beat up his rackmate?" Tim said.

"Sanderson?" Sean sounded shocked. "That doesn't sound like him. He didn't kill him, did he?"

"No, nothing like that." Tim hurried to reassure his dad. "It's a weird case, not something we would normally handle. But the captain of the Bainbridge asked SecNav to have NCIS investigate."

"The Bainbridge?" Sean's tone of voice changed.

"Yeah, why?"

Sean sighed. "Do you know who started the fight?"

Tim shook his head, then realized his dad couldn't see him. "I don't," he said. "The others probably do by now."

"Tim, I'm telling you this in confidence," he said. "If it doesn't turn out to have any bearing on the case, you shouldn't share it."

"OK, Dad." Tim wondered what was going on.

"This isn't something I know," Sean said. "But..."

"Dad, whatever it is, just say it."

"You spend enough years in the Navy, you start to pick out people who are a little too quiet about their private lives," he said. "Most Academy classes, there would be a half-dozen or more midshipmen who I expected to leave the Navy or Marines after a tour or two." He paused. "When they would decide Don't Ask, Don't Tell was too much to live with. Or somebody would find out, and they would be told to leave."

Tim realized what his dad was saying. "And Sanderson was one of those midshipmen."

"Yes."

But Tim knew that wasn't the whole story. "How does the Bainbridge factor into this?"

He heard his dad sigh again. "Five or six years ago, they called all the leadership faculty in for a meeting," he said. "An XO on a ship had been making videos to entertain the crew, but they crossed a line: dirty jokes, disrespectful comments about women, that sort of thing."

"And?"

"And homophobic comments," Sean said.

"Why were you told about this?" Tim asked.

"The captain of the ship didn't put anything in writing," he said. "The videos were popular with most of the crew, and at the time, the climate in the country was fairly hostile because the Massachusetts gay marriage law had stirred up a lot of anti-gay sentiment. The captain thought if he filed a formal reprimand, some of the crew members would take it public, make a stink."

Tim swallowed. "So how did you get involved?"

"The captain talked to the commandant, and he briefed us. We increased the amount of time we spent in training making sure the midshipmen knew the importance of quashing anything that might constitute a hostile environment, especially aboard ship in close quarters." Sean paused. "I didn't like the idea of letting the XO get away with it, but the commandant assured us that the videos had been stopped. So I focused on trying to teach every sailor in my classes the right way to lead and how to make the tough decisions."

Tim put his pen down and flexed his fingers, sore from taking notes throughout his dad's explanation. "Do you know who the XO was?"

"I don't," Sean said. "Even if it's not the same one, if the sailors think the top officers will look the other way, they might be more willing to say things they shouldn't." He paused. "Tim, if that's what's going on, you and Tony be careful."

"We will, Dad." After assuring his dad they'd be fine and taking a moment to check in on how he was doing, Tim ended the call. When Gibbs walked in the squad room, Tim was still sitting at his desk, staring at his notes.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NICS-NCIS-

It was only a little after 0800 when Gibbs pulled the sedan into the NCIS parking garage. Justice was in the front seat next to him, while Ziva sat in the back with Sanderson. Neither man had spoken during the trip, and Gibbs was his usual silent self. Ziva did not know exactly what Tony and Gibbs had talked about before they left the ship, but something had obviously changed in the case; why else would they bring back both Justice and Sanderson?

"David, escort Sanderson to lockup," Gibbs said.

"Yes, Gibbs." She grabbed one arm of the handcuffed sailor to pull him out of the car, then toward the elevator. Gibbs, not surprisingly, was waiting for the next elevator.

Only when they were in the elevator did Sanderson speak. "What happens now?"

"Now you wait," Ziva said. "If we need more information from you, an agent will escort you to Interrogation, where one of us will question you."

"Great," Sanderson said. "Look, I did it. I hit Justice. Let the MPs do their thing, let Bradley have me up at captain's mast. There's no reason for NCIS to get involved."

Ziva considered what he said. She still was not sure what the hippopotamus in the room was, but there was something nobody was talking about. In the end, she fell back on the one thing she knew Sanderson would understand. "You take orders, yes? When Capt. Bradley or Commander Wallace tell you to do something, you obey."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"We, too, have our orders," she said. "You are right. This is not a typical NCIS case, but SecNav asked us to investigate at your captain's request. We are doing just that."

"Capt. Bradley asked you to investigate?" Sanderson frowned. "Did he say why?"

"If he had, I could not tell you," Ziva said. "Unless you already know?"

Sanderson shook his head. "He's pretty by-the-book," the sailor said. "I should be up on charges right now."

Ziva opened the door to the lockup. "Right now, you will wait here." She motioned to the agent standing guard. "Agent Patel, this is Lt. Sanderson."

"I'll book him, Agent David," the security guard said.

Ziva headed back to the squad room, where Gibbs was standing by McGee's desk. Justice was nowhere to be found.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-

"Report McGee," he said.

"The background information I pulled on Justice and Sanderson didn't reveal anything unexpected, but Dad had some scuttlebutt," he said. "But he asked that I only share it if it was relevant to the investigation, and I understand why."

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Gibbs said.

"Maybe it is relevant," McGee said. "What's going on?"

Gibbs outlined what they had, aided by the occasional comment from Ziva.

McGee started nodding. "It's relevant," he said. "My dad's pretty sure Sanderson is gay."

"So it sounds like he was angry at whatever Justice said." Ziva frowned. "Could it have been that bad?"

"How does the XO figure into this?" Gibbs said.

As McGee outlined what Sean knew about the videos, Gibbs frowned.

"Justice mentioned the videos," Ziva said. "He told Tony and myself that he had been in one of them, he and Andrews."

"He approved of them?" Gibbs said.

"He certainly seemed to," Ziva said. She crossed her arms. "For Sanderson to share quarters with those two must have been difficult."

McGee nodded. "Especially if Wallace was the XO who made the videos. My dad never had a name, didn't know if it was the same XO or not. But if it was, then even if the videos stopped, the attitude probably didn't."

"So after all this, maybe Sanderson finally snapped." Gibbs frowned. "We'd better brief Vance. Sounds like the captain wants us to take the heat for uncovering this. Director's better at handling the politics."

"Boss, since Abby's not here, I'll say it. Jethro is better at handling the politics than you are, and he's a dog." McGee didn't even try to duck the headslap, but at least Gibbs had a ghost of a smile on his face before he headed upstairs, motioning for them to follow.

Vance was pouring himself a glass of water when Gibbs barged in.

"You know, Gibbs, I'd say one of these days you'll learn to knock, but it'll probably be the day hell freezes over and you decide to retire." Vance walked to the conference room table and set his glass down. "Water?"

Gibbs shook his head, but Ziva nodded, then took the glass Vance poured for her and the seat he motioned her to. McGee leaned against the wall, watching.

"Wilson and DiNozzo?"

"Still aboard, interviewing crew," Gibbs said. He remained standing, as did Vance.

"And the suspect?"

"Suspect and victim are here. Sanderson's in lockup, Justice is in the conference room with an agent on guard."

"You figure out what's going on?"

"Some of it," Gibbs said.

"Want to enlighten me?" Vance pulled out a chair and motioned Gibbs to sit before seating himself at the head of the table.

Gibbs paused a moment, then sat. "I think Capt. Bradley requested our involvement in this case, because sometimes the rules and justice aren't the same thing."

"And he has reason to believe NCIS can make the distinction?" Vance pointed his toothpick in Gibbs' direction.

"We had a case a few years back that involved a buddy of his."

Vance grimaced. "And this was a case where following the rules wouldn't lead to justice?"

Gibbs just looked at him.

"You going to at least tell me which rule?"

"Justice told Tony and Ziva that Sanderson walked in as he and Andrews, another rackmate, were discussing plans to go clubbing."

"I was confused at that part," Ziva said. "Justice said something about not going with the others because he didn't want to be disappointed."

One side of Gibbs' mouth quirked up. "The other sailors were going to Wave. DiNozzo recognized the name. It's a Hampton Roads dance club that's considered gay-friendly."

"That would explain why Justice did not want to be seen there," Ziva said. "Rumors might start." She paused. "But if that is the case, why would the others go?"

"Is it a gay bar?" Vance said.

"Not exactly," McGee said. "It's a dance club that bills itself as gay-friendly. Women like it because there are enough gay men there that they can get in some serious dancing without worrying about getting hit on." He shrugged. "Abby and I went there a few times while we were dating when I was still stationed there since there weren't any of her type of clubs down there. That's how she found out I was bi. She dragged Tony down there a few times, too."

"So if your father is right and Sanderson is gay, it is likely Justice said something to make him angry when he walked in," Ziva said.

"If the ship has a hostile climate, because everybody knew the XO wouldn't care if they harassed closeted sailors, he was probably pretty close to the edge anyway," McGee said. "Sharing a berth with at least one, possibly two, guys who are fine with Don't Ask, Don't Tell had to be pretty stressful."

"Now we know why SecNav got us involved," Vance said. "With all the discussion on Capitol Hill about repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, an incident like this could be a nightmare if the wrong person is charged."

Gibbs nodded. "You handle the politics, Leon. We'll get the evidence to back it up."

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-

Jimmy finally woke again to find Abby snuggled across his chest. He looked down at her face, relaxed in sleep, and ran his hand along the cross tattoo that covered her spine. He would have been happy to stay here all morning, but Abby's mother would be wondering where they were. He eased himself out from under her, sliding his pillow into her arms, and slid on his pajama pants before grabbing clothes and heading to the bathroom.

As the hot water beat down on his skin, he thought about Abby's proposal and was surprised at how right it felt. He'd heard her on the subject of tattoos related to people before and knew she wouldn't take this step unless she thought of them as being as permanent as the tattoo. Somehow, a wedding didn't seem as important any more. Yes, he still wanted one, though he was pretty sure Abby wasn't going to go for the traditional option in any way. But he felt a lot more secure about everything than he had two weeks ago.

As he was drying off, he started to think about the plans they had put on hold. They should probably still wait a bit on bat-gremlins, especially with everything so unsettled now. Not that he thought Josh was going to try anything or that Abby would get hurt. But it still made sense to wait. If Josh did try to hurt Sarah or the people around her, Abby would be one of the most vulnerable — she was Tim's best friend and ex-girlfriend, plus she wasn't a trained field agent. And if Josh knew she was pregnant, it could be as easy as "accidentally" knocking her over. Jimmy found himself clenching his fists at the idea that anybody might go after Abby and forced himself to relax. Josh wouldn't do that. He hadn't shown any signs of being physically dangerous. They just had to worry about keeping him away from Sarah.

He dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and headed back to their room. Abby's mother was in the hall and he signed "Good morning" to her. He had to ask her to repeat her next question and stand closer, since he had left his glasses on the nightstand, but finally understood. "Abby's asleep," he signed, using her name sign.

Mrs. Scuito nodded, and Jimmy went into their room to find Abby curled up in the middle of the bed, her arms still around his pillow.

Jimmy sat on the end of the bed to put his socks and sneakers on. Then he reached for his glasses. As the room came into focus, he found his cell phone and slipped it into his shorts pocket. He let Abby sleep and headed to the kitchen. As he was eating cereal and trying to carrying on a conversation with Abby's mother, he suddenly realized what had been lying on the nightstand next to his cell phone. He fumbled the next sign, but Mrs. Scuito must have put it down to his inexperience. Jimmy was glad; he really didn't want to explain what he was thinking to his fiancee's mother. Time enough to deal with that if it turned out forgetting the condom this one time actually had repercussions.

For the same reason, he decided not to say anything to Abby unless she brought it up. Why worry her about something that had such a tiny chance of happening?