Author's note: I do not own NCIS: LA or its characters
"Fatima, right? Been a while, haven't seen you since we saved you from Egypt," Sabatino said. Rountree turned his head immediately.
"Um, I don't want to talk about it," Fatima whispered. Then Kensi stepped in like a big sister.
"Okay, it's fine. He won't make you," Kensi said, narrowing her eyes at Sabatino.
"I was just trying to be polite," Sabatino whined.
Once they were sitting in the car, Rountree looked over.
"What happened in Egypt?" he blurted out. Fatima narrowed her eyes, trying to hide the trauma.
"Nothing," she lied.
"Your reaction didn't say nothing," he offered softly.
"Can we please not talk about this right now?" she asked quietly.
"Okay. Fine, I can't make you talk about it. Movie night tonight?" he asked gently. Fatima nodded and closed her eyes.
When they got to his place, Rountree pulled a bunch of blankets and pillows out.
"We are making a fort to sleep in," he said as she looked the piles up and down.
"Um, okay...Any particular reason why?" she asked.
"Nope. Start building," he said. He draped one blanket over the couch, and Fatima did the same. Pretty soon, they had a decent-sized fort to snuggle in. Fatima looked up at Rountree and smiled shyly. She moved closer to him and shyly rested her head on his chest. Rountree smiled and wrapped his arm around her. They shared a slow, meaningful kiss as he wrapped his other arm around her.
"Um, is the invitation still open for me to talk about what happened?" she asked quietly.
"Oh, of course. Always. As much as you can, okay?" he murmured.
"Um, I was sent there, but they moved me around a lot. I was there for maybe four months? They sent me around a lot, I was in Syria, Isreal, Lebanon, um, oh, Turkey too. Never more than two weeks, tjen I got sent somewhere else. Mostly tech stuff, but I was involved in two major breaches, both successful. Then, um, I was outside for the last one. I didn't go in," she began. She was gripping his arm, her nails digging into him as she tried to keep her emotions steady.
"It's okay, as much as you can," he murmured, stroking her back. She sniffled and started crying a little. Rountree wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. "It's okay, you're safe," he whispered.
"Um, there was a really big explosion, they had it wired when they went in. There was a lot of stuff happening, they, I, they left me behind," She was nearly hyperventilating at the thought of it.
"Okay, okay, okay. Come here, it's over, you're safe. I'm never gonna leave you, it's okay.
"I, um, I had to get out, I just started running as fast as I could, I was so scared. I hid pretty far away until it was lighter outside, then I looked at my map, I couldn't figure out where to go! Everything looked the same!" she cried. Rountree stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "Um, I was running and some guys saw me, they chased me and I was trying to get away, they must have called for backup! So the other guys shot me, the vest took it but it hurt so bad". She was talking about a mile an hour, trying to get it all out before she had a panic attack. "They-they-they-" she suddenly couldn't speak anymore and it was getting harder to breathe.Rountree wrapped his arms around her.
"You're okay, you're safe here, I promise you. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," he murmured. Fatima cried into his chest for what felt like hours. She felt her throat closing up, her chest tightening as she grabbed onto him for support. She felt like she wasn't even experiencing anything anymore, only watching through someone else's eyes. She felt herself trying to fight it, trying to run away and hide in the bathroom, to convince Devin that she was okay, that she wasn't having the worst panic attack she'd ever had. She realized there was nothing she could do to hide it, all she could do was allow Rountree to comfort her and fix it for her. So that's what she did. She stopped fighting it, she let the tears and the gasps and the sobs and everything else take over her body, she allowed herself to be held and kissed and convinced that everything would be okay.
Rountree watched in horror as she put her arms out for a hug. He knew Fatima wasn't the type to admit she needed help, so she must have been feeling a thousand times worse than it seemed. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple and reassuring her.
"It's okay, I'm gonna protect you. I promise you," he murmured as she cried against him. She sniffled and allowed him to cuddle her.
Once she had calmed down, Rountree looked over.
"You okay now?" he asked gently. Fatima nodded. "Are you sure?" he asked. Fatima nodded again and pulled the blanket over her.
"Um, I really don't remember how they got me to the cave. I think they put a hood on me? I think I was unconscious a little," she whispered.
"It's okay, you don't have to talk about this right now," he whispered.
"Um, they took the hood of and kicked my stomach, it was like the worst pain ever, I had my hands tied behind my back, I was so scared," she squeaked. He puleld her close and let her relax into him. "They kept me tied up the entire time, they used this whip on me a few times," she whispered. She sat up and turned around so her back was to him. She took a deep breath and pulled her shirt over her head. Rountree reached out and delicately traced one of the scars.
"How could anyone do this?" he whispered. Fatima sniffled and pulled her hoodie back on, then turned around to face him.
"There's scars, um, other places too," she whispered.
"No. I don't need to see that," he whispered, pulling her close. Fatima nodded and closed her eyes.
"They tugged my pants down and started touching me down there, he shoved his thing inside me, he wouldn't stop, it hurt so bad," she sobbed. Rountree was disgusted.
"Sweetheart," he whispered, seeing the pain and fear in her eyes.
"He was grabbing at my chest and kissing me and I felt so disgusted and he wouldn't stop," she sobbed. Rountree stared at her, his eyes wide with sympathy. Fatima crossed her legs, pulling away from him.
"No! No, no no, sweetheart, please don't be scared of me, I'm not gonna hurt you," he pleaded with her. She sniffled and wrapped a blanket around herself. She grabbed her stuffed cat and smiled.
"Sam got this for me before we flew back. He said I would want a snuggle buddy. Her name is Kiki and she makes me feel safe," she explained, snuggling into him with the pink cat between them. Rountree smiled and hugged her gently. "They got me dressed again and kept me tied up, they hit me a few times, then they got me on my knees and made a video," she whispered. "I can probably find it, do you want to watch it?" she asked quietly.
"Is it going to make you feel better if I do?" he asked gently. Fatima shrugged. "Okay, go ahead. If you want me to watch it, I will," he said softly. Fatima nodded and pulled up the video.
Within 30 seconds of the video starting, Rountree had pulled Fatima into his arms and cried into her hijab.
"Sweetheart," he squeaked. Fatima was trembling as she heard the words engraved in her brain, the words that woke her up at night. She cried into his chest a little, not enough for him to notice. His eyes were glued to the screen in horror.
"After the video, they just kept me tied up, they threatened me a lot, hit me a little. Callen and some guy I didn't recognize got there and got me out, Sam and Sabatino were outside waiting," she sniffled. Rountree had tears in his eyes as he pulled her close.
"I wish you hadn't kept that from me," he whispered.
"I couldn't figure out how to tell you," she admitted.
"It's okay, it's all going to be okay," he whispered.