Usual disclaimers.
Chase heaved a deep breath as she shifted the SUV into 'park.' The sweltering Miami sun was trying to work its charms on the investigator, but at the moment she merely felt like a lost child in an overheated funhouse. She stared out at the metal sided walls of the supply storage warehouse Kyle had managed to wrangle on short notice, realizing just how close they'd come to disaster.
They could've killed them, she reasoned. What's to say that they haven't? Lord knows death of a soul is far worse than death of a physical being…
Her mind flashed back to the glimpse she'd gotten of Reid, lying still as a stone underneath that corpse on the beach. Chase remembered in detail the image of Oliver lying chained to that four-poster, naked as the day he was born and looking like someone had tried to kill him but mercifully failed.
What's to say there isn't more we don't know about? More that happened that we couldn't see?
The memory of the video clip Garcia had analyzed and allowed her to see flooded Chase's mind. What other depravity did those sadists try?
Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes, and it was taking a lot to keep them from falling onto her face. If only I'd gotten there sooner…if only I'd known before it came to this…
A fist slammed down onto the steering wheel in frustration, the sharp sound of the horn blaring once. Chase jumped at the sound, and shrieked in surprise. Then she started to cry.
I know them, she reasoned sadly, her tears falling harder. Reid will bottle it up, never telling a soul. Ollie will try to brush it off as though it was nothing, even though he's most likely dying inside. How can I convince him that he needs to face it head on? That they both do?
The answer was not forthcoming. Chase heaved deep breaths, trying to compose herself. She wiped her face with a corner of her shirt, and struggled to look as though she'd come back from a routine meeting.
----
Kyle was the first to notice Reid and Oliver walk into the large, open end of the storage warehouse where everyone had subconsciously congregated. Watching them walk out the narrow mouth of the corridor, he stopped them by picking himself up and standing in front of them. The tech then did something unusual—he reached out and held both of them in a great hug. –I am so sorry,-- he said, working hard to not cry as he began to speak. –It took me too long to get back, and then…--
--"It's all right, Kyle,"— Oliver said, keeping his voice low. –"You found us. You didn't give up."—
The tech shook his head. He was so worked up he didn't dare to say any more. The look on Reid and Oliver's faces told him that the others were coming closer, so he dropped back to let them see for themselves that their 'lost boys' were all right—physically, anyway.
The individuals from the Navy Yard looked on at the little gathering with some interest. They noticed that their unlikely colleagues' voices were very soft, if in fact they spoke at all. There were a couple of hugs, but mostly pointed looks of understanding, and Gibbs noticed something else out of the corner of his eye—something he preferred to keep to himself.
"You think they will be all right, Gibbs?" Ziva asked, keeping her voice low. It almost seemed like an intrusion to be in the room, watching the scene.
"In time, my dear," Ducky said simply, cutting the former Marine off at the pass. "I believe they will, in time."
McGee watched silently, a flood of respect and awe welling inside him for these people and the lengths that they would go to in order to save each other—even from the depths of depravity that threatened the breaking point of human sanity. The thought of what had likely happened to Lawrence and the young doctor made the younger Naval agent shiver slightly, and he was glad that he had been able to help.
Just then a door fell shut, and the eyes in the room fell on the figure of Chase Davis trying to walk in unnoticed. –How'd it go?—Kyle managed to ask, his hands flying.
--"Everything's all right,"-- she replied. –"It's done. Now what say we head for home?"—
--"I'd like that,"— Oliver said.
--"Me too,"— said Reid, though much more softly. The two led the way out to the waiting vehicles, and Chase fell in step with her partners.
"You're on leave for a while, Ollie," she murmured. "And don't argue."
"Chase, I don't…"
--"You're not ready,"— she said simply, signing for Kyle's benefit. –"Believe me, you'll know when you are. Now is not that time."—
--"I can't just…"—
The look Chase gave him said it all. –"If you need a project, I'm sure there's a suitable one waiting at home. But you do need to work through everything that's happened, either by yourself or with somebody. There's a lot of ears willing to listen should you decide to talk."—
--"I know."—
--"I'm just sayin'."—
A few feet ahead, Reid was getting the same speech. "If you even think about coming to the office I'll just send you back home," Hotch said simply. "You need time, and you need to talk to someone."
"I took a card. I know who I'd like to see about this."
Hotch turned towards the younger man, who was doing his best to stay composed. "I don't want you falling into old habits, Reid. Even if it's three in the morning, you can call me, okay?"
"Morgan already told me he's staying at my place for a week, and reminded me he's on speed dial," Reid said, trying to crack a small smile. "I have a feeling everyone would move in if I'd let them."
"It's okay to fall back on that," Hotch said. "Plus there's someone else who might need your help too."
Reid glanced over at the trio of investigators that had become close friends. "I know," he said softly. "One step at a time, right?"
"Yeah," his superior said, his voice low. He then settled himself in one of the SUV's and closed his eyes as Morgan fired up the engine.
----
"Where the hell have you been?!" Tony cried as he saw Ziva and McGee walk into the bullpen. "The Director's been on my ass for days, threatening…well, you don't even wanna know. All I can say is, was it worth it?"
"Yeah, Tony," McGee said, settling into his chair and tapping into his keyboard. "It was."
"What were you doing, anyway? Playing hooky? Fact-finding for the next novel? Taking part in 'Probies Gone Wild'?"
"We were saving lives, Tony," Ziva said simply. "And making a few new friends."
"Friends? What kind of friends? Are any of them cute?"
"Well, there was this one woman…" Ziva said mischievously. "She was kind of cute…"
"Blonde, tall, blue eyes, hot-sex-on-legs, great conversationalist?"
"Tall, black hair, green eyes, rip-your-throat-out-and-watch-you-choke-on-your-own-bloody-tissue type," Gibbs said, tossing his bag next to his desk.
Tony gulped. "Uh…wow, Boss. Remind me not to look her up."
"Hey, guys," a familiar voice said as it rounded the corner. "Boy, is your Director crabby. You'd think he'd be all about fostering relations and whatnot…"
The look on Tony's face turned a sickly shade of green as he laid eyes on Chase, who stood in the middle of the small pathway as though she owned the Navy Yard. "Uh, excuse me," he said quickly, his eyes darting furiously towards the exit. "Forgot something…"
"What's with him?" Chase asked as Tony hastily ran for the exit.
"Oh, I think he finally saw something he didn't like," Gibbs said nonchalantly, his eyes floating down to the large Benchmade resting on her hip and her 'Hector' sitting snugly in its holster.
"Yeah, they let me in with 'em," the young woman said, acting as though the pair were having a conversation about the weather. "Permits are up to date for both, so…"
"So."
"Um, everything's square with your Director, by-the-way. Like I said, crabby, but he likes the fact that you all made friends with the FBI and, ah, 'valuable contractors'."
"Contractors?" Gibbs gave her the eye.
"What would you call it, Agent Gibbs?" Chase asked simply, turning on her heel. "Nice seeing you again. Tell Abby I'll be sending her a present shortly, and that Kyle says hello. If you need us, you've got our number."
"Will do." With that, the mysterious woman left, and Gibbs headed down to Abby's lab.
"I never thought I'd see the day," Ziva said, looking impressed.
"See what?" McGee asked.
"A woman that completely intimidated Tony," the Israeli woman replied, smiling like a Cheshire cat.
Across the room, the young forensic computer analyst returned the sentiment.
