Author's note: I do not own NCISLA or its characters
Speculation fic for 14.02
"What do you mean you don't know where they are?! You were supposed to be watching their backs!" Deeks yelled.
"I was, man, I just, I don't know what happened. I'm sorry," Rountree whispered, scared out of his mind. He didn't know where his partner was.
Fatima groaned and kicked as she was thrown into a small, dark room. There was a small cot in the corner and a leak in the middle of the room, She crawled over to the cot and wrapped the small, thin, scratchy blanket around her. A man opened the door and pinned her against the bed, then forcibly jabbed her with a needle. She whimpered and a tear fell as she kicked and screamed.
"Where's my friend?!" she screamed, fighting as the men tried to restrain her. She wouldn't dare give away Kensi's name.
"She's going to hell. Don't worry, beautiful, you are too. You'll see her there," the man snarled. "Now, because I'm nice, I'm gonna give you a chance. Change into these, and leave anything on you in the bin. Samara is gonna do a strip search when we get to where we're going," he said, placing a small basket on the ground. Fatima nodded. The man walked out and closed the door. Fatima weighed her options. She could be defiant and risk who knows what, or she could cooperate and stay some level of safe. She groaned and pulled off her shirt and jeans. She changed into the sweatpants, which were about five sizes too big, and tied them as best she could. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head and closed her eyes. She tossed her clothes into the bin and sat on the bed.
"I tracked their comms to this warehouse. They're both offline now," Shyla said, pulling up an address.
"Let's go," Deeks said. Rountree was right behind him. They got their tactical gear and vests, then went out to the black SUV. Rountree made sure that there was an extra change of clothes in his bag for Fatima, just in case hers were torn, bloody, or God forbid missing. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for the first time in years as the SUV pulled onto the street.
Fatima was shoved into the back of the van. She whimpered as her head hit the wall hard. She shuddered as Kensi was thrown in next to her. She faded in and out of consciousness for several hours, and at the peak of her energy, she was able to move a towel to support her head. The van came to a stop and the door slid open.
"Come on," a female voice said. Fatima felt her shirt being lifted and soft hands wandering over her body.
"No," she whimpered desperately. Her pants were lowered and she kicked weakly. "Please, no," she whimpered. Her undies were slowly lowered and she started to genuinely panic. "No!" she cried out, kicking harder. The set of soft hands cupped her face.
"Assan warned you it would be a strip search," the female voice murmured. Just then, Kensi leapt into action. She hit the woman's head as hard as she could, and grabbed the phone from her pocket.
"Come on, we gotta go now. The guys are inside, we have to run for security," Kensi said softly, dragging Fatima's pants and undies back up.
"I can't," Fatima said quietly. "I'm sorry, you run," she mumbled. Kensi scooped Fatima up.
"I am not leaving you here," she said firmly. She carried Fatima into the security office and sighed a breath of relief that it was empty. She set her on the couch. "Stay low," she whispered, locking the door. She picked up the phone and dialed the number for ops, then tossed the cell phone to Fatima. "Call 911," she said softly.
Shyla picked up the phone and answered, "This is the NCIS Office of Special Projects." She exhaled when she heard Kensi's voice. "Okay, okay, stay calm. I'm redirecting the guys to get you. Are you safe where you are?" she asked.
"Not for long," Kensi replied. Shyla nodded. "Fatima is on the phone with 911, so we should have the local police here soon. God, I don't even know where we are. Fatima was drugged bad. I think they were gonna try to rape her." Kensi whispered the last part.
"Fatima. Fatima, don't pass out on me," Kensi whispered. She grabbed a bottle of water and put it to the younger agent's lips. "Drink," she whispered.
"I'm scared," Fatima whispered.
"I know. Me too. Our boys are coming to save us," Kensi reassured her.
The team arrived at the helipad just as the helicopter landed. The admiral had arranged for one, knowing that it would take over an hour to catch up and Kensi and Fatima likely had minutes. The team piled in and they were off.
The helicopter landed at an emergency landing a few miles away, and they were immediately greeted by several police cars. They each jumped into one and the cars sped off towards the rest stop.
As they pulled up, Rountree noticed the police cars swarming the place. He jumped out and was running in before the car had even stopped. He looked around for a minute, until Kensi saw him and opened the door.
"She's unconscious," she said quietly. Rountree ran in and got on his knees next to the couch.
"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," he said softly. She began to stir, and he immediately started rubbing her arm. "You're safe, you did good," he whispered. She opened her eyes and immediately pulled away. "Okay. Okay, shh. You're safe," he said softly. "Just sleep, okay? I won't leave without you," he promised her. He stepped out and found a paramedic. "Why haven't you assessed her yet?" he asked.
"We did, sir. They gave her a drug cocktail, the best thing she can do right now is drink water and sleep it off. We're keeping an eye on her, I promise," the paramedic responded. Rountree nodded.
"Any signs of sexual trauma?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"We haven't been given permission to perform that exam, sir. She has to sign off on it," he explained. Rountree nodded. He turned to see Fatima coming out, holding onto the wall.
"Woah. You need to be sitting down," he said, rushing to her side. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "Beautiful, sweetheart, can you answer some questions right now?" he asked, easing her to the bench. She nodded a little. "Did they touch you?" he asked softly. "You don't have to answer out loud. You don't even have to tell me where, if you don't want to," he murmured. She immediately looked away.
"Can we go home?" she asked quietly.
"I think so. Anyone says we can't, I'll kick their ass. 'Kay?" he asked. Fatima giggled a little and rested her head on his chest. He held her up as they walked to the car. "I'm gonna take this one home. Is Kens okay?" he asked.
"She's good. Insisting on helping us," Deeks said. Fatima smiled softly. Once they were in the car, she sniffled and looked over at him.
"Do you, um, do you have any mouthwash?" she asked quietly. Rountree's stomach dropped.
"I don't think so. Please, please tell me they didn't-" he said nervously. Fatima nodded a little.
"I'm so, so sorry, Fatima," he said quietly. "We can stop at the gas station and get some, if you want," he offered. She nodded a tiny bit. "Okay. I'm sorry you had to deal with that," he said softly. She sniffled and closed her eyes.
As they pulled into the gas station, Fatima woke up. She sat up immediately.
"I have a change of clothes for you. You want them?" he asked.
"Please," she said softly. Rountree grabbed his bag and walked next to her into the store. Her stomach dropped and she went to turn around.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I don't have any money," she said quietly.
"So? Fatima, I got you. Don't worry about it," he said softly. She nodded a little and grabbed a bottle of mouthwash from the shelf. "You want me in there, or you want to do it by yourself?" he asked.
"By myself. Can I have my clothes?" she asked.
"Take the bag," he said softly. He passed her the bag and she took it, then slipped into the bathroom. Rountree wandered around for a bit. When he saw a slushy machine, he grinned and grabbed two large cups. He filled one up with half cherry and half cola flavored, and the other one completely blue raspberry. He grinned, knowing Fatima would definitely smile. He grabbed a couple of her favorite candy bars. Fatima came out of the bathroom with the half empty bottle of Listerine and gym bag. He took the bottle and set it on the counter, along with the rest of the items he'd collected, and pulled out his card. Fatima blushed and smiled.
"You're sweet," she whispered. Rountree nodded a little.
"Don't mention it," he said softly. They walked back to the car together and settled in.
A little while later, Fatima was getting fidgety.
"Are you sure we don't need to be at the hospital?" she asked quietly.
"The paramedics said as long as you drink water and try to sleep it off, you should be okay. If you'd feel better, we can go," he offered.
"Uh-uh. No way," she said quietly.
"Okay. Your call. Tell me if you change your mind, okay? You don't have to be big and tough for me," he reassured her. She nodded a little and drank a little more water. She swished it around in her mouth a bit, then squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed it.
"I still taste it," she whispered. Rountree sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked. She shook her head and leaned it against the window.
As they neared Fatima's apartment, her heart started to beat faster. She was terrified. She knew she didn't want to be home alone, but at the same time she didn't want to ask Rountree to stay the night with her. They made each other a promise that they would only spend three nights a week together, and they already spent their three nights together. Rountree pulled into a parking space and got out, then collected their bags. He followed her inside and immediately closed and locked the door. Fatima was much happier now, sucking down the last bit of her slushy.
"Hey," she said quietly.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Will you stay?" she asked quietly. "Please?"
"You're crazy if you thought I was gonna leave you here by yourself." He set his bag down on the floor and sat on the couch next to her.
Fatima smiled and went into her bedroom. She grabbed several blankets off the bed, including her purple comforter, and took them to the couch. Rountree was already pulling it out and setting it up as a bed. Fatima set the blankets on it, then went back to pick out some pillows. They each ended up with two pillows, and their own blanket, as per Fatima's request, but they laid the comforter over the both of them. Fatima wiggled over to Rountree and put her head on his chest.
"Where were they gonna take us?" she asked softly.
"Probably Mexico. I don't know, but if we get a confession do you want to know?" he asked. Fatima nodded.
"I feel like I need to," she whispered. Rountree nodded.
"Your call. What do you want to watch?" he asked.
"You pick," she said sleepily. "Me tired," she mumbled, burying her face in Rountree's pillow.
"Okay. Go to sleep," he murmured. Fatima nodded and kissed his neck.
A few hours later, Fatima started to wake up. She groaned and grabbed her water bottle.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Rountree said softly. Fatima smiled softly.
"Is it morning?" she asked.
"Eight in the evening. I figured I'd wait till you woke up, and see if you want to go for a run," he said softly.
"It's too dark," she replied, sitting up.
"I'd be with you. But we don't have to if you're too tired," he replied.
"Too tired," she mumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket over her head. Rountree laughed.
"Okay. Tell you what. I'm gonna take a shower, okay? You okay here by yourself?" he asked.
"Yeah. Tree, I really am okay. I promise," she said softly.
"Good. I'm still gonna stay with you, if that's okay," he said quietly. Fatima smiled.
"Okay," she whispered.
"I'll be back," he whispered. Fatima nodded.
"Wait," she mumbled. "Let me go first," she said, stumbling to the hallway. Rountree gently held on to her.
"Got it by yourself?" he asked once he got her into the bathroom.
"Yeah," she said, putting her hand on the wall.
"Leave it unlocked just in case," he whispered in her ear. She nodded, and he stepped out, closing the door behind him. He went back into the living room and grabbed his bag. He hoped he had soap, so he wouldn't have to use Fatima's cucumber melon body soap. He found a bottle mostly empty, but figured he could add some water and make it last a bit longer. He grabbed his shampoo bottle, then walked to the bathroom. Fatima came out of the bathroom and crawled back onto the couch. He laughed and gently tucked her in, then went into the bathroom.
Once he came out, he went into Fatima's room to change. He decided on a pair of sweatpants and no shirt, but he grabbed one in case Fatima wanted him to wear one. He went over and set it on the table, then crawled onto the couch. Fatima reached over and snatched it, then snuck a peek at him. She pulled her tee shirt off, leaving her in a long sleeved black shirt. She pulled Rountree's shirt on and smirked. Devin laughed.
"Thief," he teased. Fatima giggled.
"You love it," she murmured. She pulled the blankets over herself and closed her eyes.
"Finish your water," Rountree reminded her.
"I know," she groaned.
They ended the night cuddling together, watching Fatima's favorite movies and chatting during commercials. One of the channels was doing a marathon, so they put it on and turned off the lights.
A/N: I may do a part 2. Not sure yet. In the meantime, enjoy!
