The First Redhead
Author's Note: Thank you all for your comments! I hope you all continue to read. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or Major Crimes or any of the ideas and characters associated with either show.
A Promise to Keep
Sharon was in her office trying hard not to think about the fact that she had let Stroh get away again. He was inches away from her and she had let him slip through her fingers. What would have happened if Rusty hadn't heard anything and called Gibbs? What would have happened if Stroh was hiding in Rusty's room? She shook her head and tried to get back to work, but a knock at her door made her forget about her work completely.
"Sharon," Andrea Hobbs came into her office, "word is you have a new hunk and he is in the station."
Sharon rolled her eyes before gesturing for Andrea to take a seat, "Is there really no such thing as privacy here?"
"Not when you locked yourself and this silver haired fox in your office and closed the blinds in front of Flynn and Provenza," she said dryly.
"Silver haired fox?" Sharon blushed.
"Morales' words," Andrea supplied, "not mine. Although, the way he described him, I am inclined to agree. Now, stop avoiding the question. Are you or are you not seeing him?"
"Andrea!" Sharon scoffed as the blonde simply shrugged and gestured for her to continue, "We are not officially seeing each other, no."
"Unofficially?" Andrea probed with a smile.
"We are just testing the waters," Sharon tried to play it down, "It's been over 30 years since we broke up-"
"So the rumors are true!" Andrea practically shrieked in excitement, "You two were an item!"
"What rumors?"
"Just that you two were together in high school and were even crowned Prom king and queen," she said gleefully.
"How did they find that out?" Sharon whispered to herself, but Andrea still heard her.
"Apparently, there was a photo of the two of you on Prom night that your teams found online," she smirked at the baffled expression on the Captain's face.
Sharon was about to respond when Agent McGee and Sykes came into her office, "We may have found something in your condo."
"What happened in your condo?" Andrea asked as she looked at her friend.
"Stroh was there when Rusty and I went to pack our things," Sharon explained quickly, "I'm surprised you didn't hear about it considering how fast other news has spread," she raised her eyebrow at her friend.
"Everyone is okay, right?" Andrea asked urgently.
"We are," Sharon reassured, "Jethro interrupted him before anything could happen."
"Jethro?" Andrea asked confused.
"Special Agent Gibbs," Sharon added quickly, hoping Andrea didn't read too much into her slip up.
"Um, Captain Raydor?" McGee prompted.
"Oh, I'm sorry Agent McGee," Sharon said, turning to the young man, "You were saying."
"That's alright, Captain. We found some dirt in your kitchen that we believe came from the bottom of Stroh's shoes. We sent it down to our lab and Abby was able to get a general location he might be hiding out."
"I'm sorry. Who is Abby?" Sharon tried to think if she had heard the name before.
"Abby is our Forensic Scientist," Gibbs' voice startled her.
Sharon turned to see him in the doorway on the opposite side of her office. He had a smirk on his face and was casually leaning against the door frame.
Andrea walked straight to him and held out her hand, "Andrea Hobbs, DDA…You must be Special Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs shook her hand and gave her a small smile, "That would be me."
"I have to say," Andrea smiled and tilted her head to the side, "I didn't think it was possible for you to look better than I was told, but you definitely put my imagination to shame."
Sharon cleared her throat and gave Hobbs a look that clearly told her to tone it down, "So we have a possible hide out for Stroh?"
"Yes, Captain," Amy cut in, handing her a file, "This is the lab's analysis of the dirt. We can go check it out right now."
"Alright," Sharon scanned the file, "There are four areas that we need to search, so we should split up into teams."
"I can cover one area," Gibbs offered, "That way we can keep Bishop and Dinozzo with Rusty."
"Okay," Sharon headed out the door that Gibbs was standing in and turned right towards the murder room, "We have four possible locations that we need to check out," she walked to the front of the room by the murder board, "Mike and Lieutenant Provenza, here is your area to scan," she handed Provenza a sheet of paper, "Amy and Julio," she handed Sykes another piece of paper.
"Lieutenant Flynn," Gibbs handed him his sheet, "I will have McGee go with you."
"And Agent Gibbs and I will cover the final area," Sharon said as she folded up the sheet and handed it to him, "We know what Stroh is capable of, so vests are a must. I want everyone to be careful and no risky moves, understood?"
The whole room echoed with the response "Yes Captain," then she nodded and head for her office. She grabbed her gun, badge, and keys and turned to see Gibbs looking down at the address they were given.
"This is pretty far out of town," he said, "Maybe I should drive."
Sharon laughed before putting her keys back on her desk, "Jethro, you can drive but only under one condition."
"And what would that be?" he chuckled.
"You are not allowed to break any laws," she said seriously.
"You always a stickler for the rules," he stepped closer to her, "At least when it counted."
"I had to choose my moments," she smiled up at him, "There were times when I couldn't possibly break the rules…but I will always wonder what would have happened had I gone against my father's wishes."
"We will never know," he said softly before he tilted his head towards the door, "If you don't want me exceeding the speed limit by too much, we should really get going."
She nodded and grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the murder room and down to the parking garage. He opened the door for her and helped her in, giving her a small smile as he noticed her hands shaking.
"Do you want your vest now? Or do you want to wait until we get to this place?" he asked, reaching in the back for the vests.
"I'll put it on now," she said, "by the time we get there, I might be able to get it on," she nervously chuckled.
Gibbs pulled her out of the car and helped her stand. He grabbed her vest and slipped it over her head, quickly fastening the Velcro straps around her slim waist.
"Hey," he looked down at her, waiting for her eyes to meet his, "We are going to get him."
Sharon smile, although forced, made Gibbs feel a bit better. She didn't quite know how he always knew what she was thinking, but it was comforting to know they could be on the same page after all these years. She stood on her tippy toes and captured his lips in a quick kiss, hoping he understood that was her way of saying 'thank you' when words failed her.
"Now let's go catch this son of a bitch," he smiled.
"Yes sir," she said mockingly as she turned back towards the car.
Gibbs only shook his head before he made his way to his side of the car and got in. He noticed that she seemed a bit more relaxed now, and he hands were not shaking as bad as before. Starting the car and pulling out of the parking garage, he felt her hand grab his. Her fingers intertwined with his and their hands came to rest on the center console.
"Do you think we are going to find him, Jethro?" she said quietly as she stared out the window.
"I promised you I would get him in four days," he replied.
"No," she turned to him, "you promised me that if you didn't find him in four days, you would let Rusty and I go back to the condo."
"Which means that I will get him by the time those four days are up," he chuckled, but noticing her serious manner, he stopped.
"If we get the chance to kill him," she said in a dangerously low tone, "I want to take the shot."
Gibbs nodded, "Of course."
"I need to be the one that does this, Jethro," she continues, "The first time I slept through a whole night was when I was with you on the couch. I almost always wake up from a nightmare about him killing Rusty or me…This is something I have to do."
"I understand, Sharon. I have had a few of my own Philip Stroh's," he said simply, squeezing her hand.
"Thank you," she looked at him softy, before turning back to the road in front of them.
40 minutes late, they had arrived at a small two story house on the outskirts of town. It was a fairly isolated area and the last time Mike checked in, his signal was barely coming in. Gibbs parked the car at the base of the driveway to make sure that if anyone tried to pull out, they would be blocked in. Sharon quickly got out and double checked her weapon to be sure it was loaded and ready and she heard Gibbs so the same thing. They both walked up to the car near the house, and found it empty.
"The engine is still warm," Gibbs said as he pulled his hand away from the hood, "Somebody just got home."
"Let's go knock on the door then," she gestured to the porch.
They both climbed the stairs of the porch and approached the front door. Gibbs knocked and bellowed, "NCIS," and they waited for a response. Sharon was about to knock again when the coking of a shotgun from behind the door caught their attention. Before she could move, Gibbs tackled her to the porch and rolled them away from the blast that soon followed. The door was blown to pieces as the two of them rolled off the porch and took cover against the side of the house.
"I'll take front," Gibbs motioned, "You go around back."
"Jethro-" she tried to get him to go around back with her, but he cut her off and pushed her towards the rear of the house.
Without another glance, Gibbs turned and took aim as he tried to return fire through the now destroyed door. Sharon crouched down and made sure to stay clear of the windows as she rounded the house and approached the back door. Finding it open, she went in quietly and was led into a sparse kitchen with a small table in the center. She could no longer hear any shot being fired, and as she cleared the hallway leading into the living room, she could see Gibbs making his way through the front door. He pointed in the direction of the stairs and she nodded, following him up to the second floor.
When they made it to the second floor, there were rooms to the left and right, and after making sure that nobody was in the hallway, they each took a side. Gibbs had 4 rooms to clear on the left, and Sharon had 2 on the right. She watched as Gibbs cleared his first room and she entered the first on her side. As she cleared the first room, she walked out and headed to the next, but she didn't know if Gibbs had come out of his room. As she cleared her last room, Gibbs was frozen in the center of his first room with a gun to the back of his head.
"You really should have cleared the second room first," Stroh said from behind him.
"I always liked doing things my own way," Gibbs replied causally as he discreetly reached for his phone to call McGee.
"You and the Captain seem pretty close," Stroh changed the subject as he circled Gibbs, "You were the one at her condo, and now you are here with her instead of one of her teammates."
"I figured they could use a little help in finding you," Gibbs shrugged as he took a seat on the bed.
"Stand up," Stroh said, "I don't want you pulling anything funny."
"I'm an old man," Gibbs just sat there, "I've been walking and running around chasing your ass for the past 24 hours, so excuse me if my knees need a little break."
Stroh seemed to think it over and seeing no danger in it, he let Gibbs sit there. He turned to face the doorway and kept his gun trained on Gibbs' head.
"How much longer do you think she is going to be?" Stroh asked without looking away from the door.
"I told her to clear downstairs again," Gibbs lied, "so probably a while Philip."
Gibbs was hoping that by this point, McGee had caught on to what was happening to them and who they were with. Sharon was probably right outside the door, listening to them talk, but he needed to make sure that she could hear them before she came in here without being on high alert. He figured the best thing to do would be to make Stroh talk about why he was so fixated on Rusty and Sharon.
"You really think that you are going to be able to kill Rusty?" Gibbs prodded.
"I've got you at gun point, don't I?" Stroh smirked.
Gibbs returned his smirk and tilted his head to the side, shrugging, "You're not the first one to point a gun at me."
"I can tell," he said, "You are a lot calmer than my other victims."
Gibbs just sat there and waited for the killer to do something. He had been in this situation before, and the best thing he could do was remain calm and let them screw up. He saw Sharon's shadow earlier as Stroh passed in front of him, and he was sure that she was just waiting for a chance to catch Stroh off guard, and he needed to give that to her.
"How long is it going to take you to realize that the Captain has realized something is up and isn't going to walk in here?" Gibbs said sarcastically.
"I've already figured that out," Stroh gritted out, a bit annoyed, "But I have also figured out that you and the Captain are a little closer than you are letting on."
Gibbs chuckled, "She would probably thank you for shooting me."
Stroh spun around to face him, "I don't understand what part of this is funny!" he yelled at Gibbs.
"None of it," called a voice for the door way before a shot rang out.
Sharon lowered her weapon slightly and walked into the room towards Stroh's limp body. Gibbs joined her and kicked his gun away.
"You got him right between the eyes, Sharon," Gibbs said, "Remind me not to piss you off."
Sharon holstered her gun before looking down at the dead body in front of her, "Trust me, Jethro, I don't need a gun to hurt you."
Gibbs smiled and pulled her to him, "I will keep that in mind…How are you feeling?"
"A bit shaken up," she buried her head in his shoulder, "but I'm glad it's all finally over."
They both heard footsteps coming up the stairs followed by the voices of McGee and her team calling out to them.
"Upstairs," Gibbs responded, waiting for them to make it to landing before addressing Detective Sykes, "You guys are going to need to call FID down here."
Provenza was the first to speak as he saw Stroh's dead form, "It's about damn time!"
"I'll call Staples, Captain," Flynn smiled at her and nodded lightly in her direction.
"We can take care of the scene, Ma'am," Julio said as he came closer to her, "You and Agent Gibbs can get some fresh air."
"Thank you, Julio," she smiled and took Gibbs' hand in hers and led him from the room.
They quickly made their way down stairs and waited for FID to show up. They were both leaning against the hood of his car when Gibbs reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number before handing it to her to answer.
She put the phone to her ear and heard it ring once before Rusty's voice came over the line, "Hello?"
"Rusty!" she gasped, turning to mouth 'thank you' to Gibbs.
"Sharon? Why are you using Gibbs' phone?" concern was evident in his voice, "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine, Rusty," she cut in before he could worry him too much, "In fact, you can tell Agents Bishop and Dinozzo that they can leave you be."
"You got Stroh?!" Rusty practically yelled, catching the attention of the two agents in question.
"I got him," she sighed, feeling tears behind her eyes, "He is dead…You're safe, Rusty."
She could hear him screaming and bouncing around through the line, and she couldn't help but join in on his laughter. Gibbs was smiling down at her, and she pulled him close to her. Stroh was gone. Rusty was safe.
"Rusty," she laughed, "I have to go. FID is about to ask me some questions and I think Jethro needs to talk to his team."
"Okay," Rusty said with excitement ruling his voice, "I will give the phone to Dinozzo right now…I love you, Sharon."
"I love you too, Rusty," she smiled before handing the phone over to Gibbs and walking over towards the FID officers that had just pulled up.
By the time she was done giving her statement and everyone was released, Sharon was exhausted but elated. Gibbs offered to drive her back to the station, but she decided to call it a day.
"Okay," Gibbs said as he drove back into town, "We can pick up Rusty and I can drop you off at your condo."
Sharon looked at him surprised, "You are taking us back to my condo?"
"I did promise you that once it was safe, or my time was up, I would take you back to your condo," he said simply.
Sharon looked down at her lap and thought it over. That was his promise and he did keep it, but at this moment she wished he wasn't so true to his word. His house was a lot more comfortable and she had to admit that seeing Rusty work on the boat with him made her feel like they had their own little family. Gibbs noticed her quiet contemplation and placed his hand on her knee to get her attention.
"If you would prefer to stay at my place, you know the door is always unlocked," he smiled.
Sharon's beaming smile practically lit up the car as she nodded, "I would love to stay another night if you don't mind having me."
"You are always welcome, Sharon," he smiled back.
Sharon leaned over the center console and laid her head on his shoulder as the passing trees turned into small buildings, which soon turned into skyscrapers. They were at Rusty's school in no time to pick him up and it was refreshing to not see a security detail following him at all.
"Hey Gibbs!" Rusty called as he got in the back seat.
"Hey kid," Gibbs said as he looked at him through the rear view mirror.
"Have you two already eaten? Cause I think we should go out to celebrate," Rusty buckled in and continued before they could answer, "We could do burgers…or pizza, or even something healthy as long as we get dessert. And Sharon? If it's okay with Gibbs, can we stay with him again tonight? I really want to work on the boat again."
Sharon giggled as Rusty continued to ask question after question, "Rusty, I am sure we can stay with Jethro because we were already planning on going to his place. As for dinner, I think you are going to have to ask our driver."
"Please Gibbs?" Rusty leaned over Gibbs' seat to look at him better.
"I know a diner close to my place that has good food and great apple pie," he nodded and headed for his usually spot.
Rusty continued to talk non-stop as Sharon and Gibbs shared occasional glances and took turns answering the flood of questions coming their way.
"Oh! I just realized that I never asked you two why you broke up?" Rusty said just as they pulled into the diner parking lot.
Gibbs looked at Sharon before helping them out of the car, "Let's order some food first, and then we can talk about it."
TBC…