Title: When I'm Gone

Author: Redwing/CSIphile

Summary/Disclaimer/Ect: Its all the same, check the first chapter.

AN: Thank ye for all the lovely reviews for chapter one! As far as readers go, you guys are THE BEST. Please, keep it up…reviews keep me writing…and happy. And happy is very, very good.

AN2: Call it creative license if the psychology is a little off. I'm not exactly a professional here.


Chapter 2: Making a Target

Gibbs and Tony exited autopsy after getting Ducky's preliminary report-they would get more in a few hours. The Carters' time of death was between midnight and 2 am, the cause appeared to be exsanguinations in both cases due to the slits in their throats. The wife had been beaten repeatedly before death, while the husband was untouched, and the implication of that left both men with a sick feeling.

Tony spoke as they waited for the elevator. "The kid saw the whole thing?"

"Yup, looks that way."

The younger agent seemed to contemplate that. "Kate talking to him?"

"Yup."

"You concerned?"

"Kate's got him under control."

Tony looked at his boss oddly; he had watched that morning as Gibbs kept a close eye on Kate's interactions with their only witness. The look on his face had been one of concern. "I meant…concerned about Kate."

Gibbs' head snapped toward Tony and the elevator dinged, the doors opening. "I want you doing background on the Carters. I want to find that boy's relatives. Everything. Got it?"

He hadn't answered the question, but Tony knew better than to dig. Instead he nodded, sensing this was the end of the conversation, and stepped onto the elevator for a more tense than usual ride.

Now Gibbs checked in with Abby; the lab tech was studying something carefully on the computer when he walked in.

"Anything, Abs?"

"I just started, Gibbs!"

"And…?" he drew out the word.

"And…I've got nothing. A few white cotton fibers, but that's not exactly helpful. No foreign hair or DNA yet. I'm running finger and boot prints Tony collected for exclusion."

He started for the door. "Thanks, Abs."

"No problem, I'll call you," she yelled to his retreating back.

He waved at her and got on the elevator.

After a quick stop at his desk, Gibbs headed to interrogation, walking into the observation room. He wanted to watch Kate for a minute before interrupting them.

She was sitting next to Jake, a colored pencil in one hand, smiling and pointing at something on one of the pieces of paper in front of them. It looked like Kate had torn some sheets out of her sketch book and found Jake some pencils to draw with. The boy seemed relaxed in her presence; though there was still darkness in his eyes that Gibbs noticed when Jake looked up at her.

He watched for several more minutes as Kate put pencil to paper and drew something that got an even bigger smile out of the boy and in turn caused her to smile, too. Gibbs sighed out loud at her actions; he could sense she was getting attached to Jake, moreso than she probably should. He couldn't watch her go through this again, not after the Suzanne McNeill incident, then Ari. Kate's trust in people had taken a serious blow after all that. For a while she seemed to be on uneven ground and it had nearly killed him to see it. He couldn't bear the thought of her being upended by a little boy.

Running a hand over his face, Gibbs headed toward the door - time to check on her progress and worry about it later.

Opening the door into interrogation, he watched with a practiced eye as Jake slid closer to Kate until he recognized it was Gibbs -- at which point he offered the agent a small smile.

"Gibbs," Kate greeted and turned back to Jake. "I'll be right back, ok?"

He nodded and went back to drawing on the paper as Kate got up and walked with Gibbs into the far corner where they spoke – voices low.

"Get anything from him?" Gibbs asked.

"No, every time I mention it he clams up, won't respond to anything for a while. Eventually he comes back, but…it's weird, Gibbs. I don't know what to do here; I think we need a psychiatrist, someone who knows what they are doing."

He nodded in agreement, "I'll find someone." He lowered his voice further. "Does he know they are dead?"

"Yeah, he knows, Gibbs. He just doesn't want to talk about it." Her voice was tight.

"He's all we have, Kate -- see what you can do until I get someone from Quantico."

"Ok," she said and turned back, but was stopped by Gibbs gently grabbing her upper arm.

She looked at him confused. "What?"

He was poised to say it, to admit he was worried about her, but something stopped him. "Do your best."

She looked at him strangely. "Yeah, I will."

Releasing her, she walked back to Jake, making oohing and aaahing noises about something he had drawn. Gibbs walked past, keeping an eye on them. She looked up at him as he neared the door and gave him a grim look. He nodded and went in search of a qualified professional for the job at hand.

Two Hours Later

Observation Room

Gibbs watched as Kate slowly chewed on one end of her left index fingernail, her eyes straight ahead, watching as the Quantico-provided psychiatrist spoke to Jake, trying to get him to talk.

They had just started and from minute one, it hadn't gone well. Jake had protested Kate's leaving the room, but the doctor had insisted - she wanted to gauge his behavior without Kate around. The woman had been trying her hardest for the better part of 15 minutes to even get the most mundane information out of Jake; she hadn't even gotten to anything about last night's events. In the meantime, Gibbs was watching as Kate's agitation level increased as the boy retreated farther into himself; she now had her hands folded across her chest, one hand at her mouth. Mimicking her actions in his own way, Jake had gone from short sentence answers, to one-word answers to not even speaking.

As if sensing her own behavior, Kate suddenly uncrossed her arms and shook them out, walking away from the window then back in a small circle, repeating the motion.

"Kate, stop," he said as she completed her 11th circle. Even out of the corner of his eye she was making him nauseous.

"I can't help it. He's…."

"He's with a professional, Kate. One you asked for," he pointed out and she responded with a nasty look.

"I know -- I just didn't expect him to do that. He was fine with me….sorta. He at least talked!"

"Kate, you can't always be with him." He was gentle with his tone, trying to ease her into the idea. Her attachment to Jake had progressed further than he expected in a short time. He was hesitant to categorize it as maternal instinct -- it was so easy an answer -- but this sure as hell looked like it.

"I know….I know." She paused in front of the window and stared intently. He knew that stare; she had used it on him more than once. "It's just…I don't think she's helping, Gibbs. I don't."

Gibbs turned from looking at her and looked at the boy with a similar scrutiny. He was sitting in the chair, arms crossed over his chest, staring at the two-way mirror with hollow eyes. He had to agree with her: Dr Barren was trying, but with little success. As if sensing their eyes on her, the doctor looked up and shrugged. She told Jake she would be back, and left the room, appearing a moment later in the observation area.

She walked to the window and stood next to the two agents, who were looking at her.

"He's very closed off. Not surprising given the events of last night. He won't communicate at all with me, which I think is his way of not dealing with it; if he isn't forced to talk about it, it didn't happen. Since he won't even speak to me, I can't even attempt to get anything from him." Now the woman turned and looked at Kate. "He seems to have made a connection with you though, if earlier was any indication. I would like you to go back into the room so I can observe him with you. Try and ease him into remembering the night before."

Kate nodded and left the room, and in short order, she reappeared.

Gibbs watched with interest as the boy lit up as she walked in and ran over to her, wrapping his small arms around her waist and saying her name. Gibbs turned up the volume slightly on the intercom.

"Kate! Kate!" he cried and buried his face into her stomach. "Don't leave again, ok?"

"I won't…I won't," she soothed and guided him back to the table.

Gibbs looked at Dr Barren. "Is that normal? He was near catatonic when you were around."

She sighed and nodded. "It can happen, Jake has decided he can trust Kate, and based on what you told me about her going into the attic, I can see why. She was the first kind person he saw after a traumatic event, and has emotionally latched onto her. She may be the only way to get what you need out of that boy's head."

Gibbs nodded, somewhat disturbed by this. He really didn't want a reason to keep Kate and the boy together; it would only make things worse for his agent.

"Ok, Jake," he heard her say through the speaker. "Want me to show you something fun? I can draw people."

"Cool!" he exclaimed and watched as she carefully plotted out a face, the grin on his face getting bigger as he realized she was drawing him. A mighty good replica at that.

A few minutes later, Kate handed him the drawing, it was rough, but still very good. Jake seemed thrilled to find out this new fact about his friend.

"What else can you draw?"

"Anything you want."

"How about my Mom?" he asked quietly, his change in demeanor swift and so unexpected Kate didn't answer for a moment. Then she saw an opportunity.

"Sure, but I'll need you to help me."

"Help?"

"Yeah, I don't know what your Mom looked like, so you need to describe her for me." Again she plotted out the x and y axis on the paper.

In the observation room, Gibbs whispered "good girl", which earned him a look from Barren. He felt no need to explain himself; he was sure the psychiatrist had clued into what Kate was doing, giving the boy a lesson in remembering faces using his mother's so when they needed a sketch of the suspect it would be a familiar process.

He turned back to see Kate sketching lightly and Jake pointing. "Her nose was smaller…sorta shaped like that dog you know."

"A pug nose?" she asked.

"Yeah! That's it."

She laughed lightly, but erased whatever she had done and put pencil to paper again. This time, the nose must have come out perfectly because the boy nodded.

Gibbs watched for thirty minutes as Kate guided Jake through the process; it was pretty easy since he was remembering his Mom. Later it would be much harder to recall a murderer. Finally satisfied, Kate pulled the paper off the tablet, allowing Gibbs and Barren a look at her work.

"She's very good," the woman commented.

"Yes, she is," he said without taking his eyes off the woman in question.

"Have you found family?"

"Not yet. We are working on it." The last time Gibbs checked with DiNozzo he had found no family members for the slain parents. Her parents were dead along with his father. Lt Carter's mother was in a nursing home, unable to care for herself. Neither had siblings, which was making the search nearly impossible. Lt Carter had never filed a will with the military so his and his wife's wishes were unknown to this point. Gibbs hoped Tony found something and quick -- they couldn't keep him at NCIS forever. And he didn't think that foster care would help any.

"Can I keep it?" he asked quietly.

"Sure," Kate responded and handed him the paper with his mother's face on it. "Now I need you to help me, Jake."

He merely looked at her and Kate's heart broke. He knew what she wanted.

"Jake, I need you to tell me what happened. I want to find the people who killed your parents, and you are the only person who can help."

As before, he immediately clammed up, shaking his head.

Kate was frustrated a moment, unsure if she should press the issue or let it go. She figured she couldn't make him less talkative and elected for the former.

"Jake…" She paused. "Ok, let's start with something easy. Why didn't you go to your sleepover?"

He turned and looked at her, and she could see him contemplating answering her. "I did go. For a little, but…" he stopped and looked at her guiltily.

"But what? It's ok."

"I wanted to come home…I missed my Mom."

She placed one hand on his back and rubbed lightly. "That's ok, Jake. I don't think I made it through my first sleepover either. So who came and got you?"

"My Dad."

"Good, you're doing fine. Do you remember what time it was when you got home?"

He thought a moment. "The news was on, the one my Mom liked. With the funny weather guy."

Kate made a note on a piece of scratch paper -- channel six had a weather guy that some would consider amusing and they ran their newscasts at 11 pm. The weather usually came on around 15 minutes after they started.

"Did you go straight to bed?"

"Yeah, Dad made me."

"You're doing so well, Jake. I'm very proud of you." Kate gave him a genuine smile. "It's going to get a little harder though, are you ok with that?"

Through the glass, the doctor smiled slightly. "She's good at this…better than she thought."

"She was a trained profiler," he answered absently, staring at Kate and Jake.

"Really? Well, I think Agent Todd is really your best option."

Gibbs turned to her and pursed his lips, voicing the question that plagued him. "If we can't find anyone to take him….he's got to go into the system. Can he handle that?"

"Professional opinion is that he needs to be in a stable environment with someone he knows or else there is risk of damaging him emotionally. And losing whatever information he has if you can't get it now. But I don't see how you have a choice."

"Oh, there's a choice," he said and stared at Kate through the glass, knowing what her reaction would be. She would offer to take him. "And that's what I was afraid of."

The doctor looked at him steadily now. "She would be a logical choice to watch him, and I suspect she would do it in a second. It would be good for your case, but I'm not sure the damage it would do to Jake. He's fragile; getting attached to Kate and then removed down the line might be detrimental. At the same time, kids are resilient -- they bounce back sometimes better than adults. It's hard to judge with the limited time I spent with him." She paused. "Your other problem is Agent Todd. I don't know her well enough, but based on her actions here, she is already getting attached. I think you know that as well." He nodded. "Then you need to decide, if it comes down to it, if she can handle it."

Again, he nodded. Gibbs was sure he knew how this was going to end and hoped like hell Tony was able to find someone to take Jake.

Jake looked at her, terrified, and shook his head no. Kate sighed but nodded; she had broken in at least a little bit. She would have to try again later.

"I need to go for a few minutes, ok? I'll be back."

He nodded and picked up a pencil, drawing random shapes on the paper as she left.

"Nothing? You still can't find anyone?" she asked after Gibbs briefed her on Tony's lack of findings.

"Nope. Both parents were only children and there's no will. No friends have come forward either. Apparently the Carters mostly kept to themselves, they were pretty new on base. Still checking."

She looked through the window. "How could they not have a will?"

He shrugged. "There isn't one we can find. Tony went back to the house and looked through papers and service jackets. Nothing."

"Damn." She looked down a moment, before turning her attention back to him. "We can't put him in foster care, we'd never get anything after that."

"The doctor here agrees," he said and motioned toward Barren who had been quiet up to that point.

"He needs to be with someone he trusts, and in foster care that won't happen," Barren said.

Kate spun to look at Gibbs, who spoke before she could, but he was prepared for this. "Kate, I know what you are going to say. And let me say right now that while I think it's best for Jake and getting a statement, I'm hesitant about you taking him home."

"Why?" Her tone was sharp.

Gibbs looked at the psychiatrist. "Could you give us a moment?"

"Of course."

The two agents were silent while she left but as soon as the door closed, Kate exploded.

"Do you think I am incapable of handling a seven year old?"

"Relax. No, that's not it at all, Kate. You are probably the only person who can help him remember."

"Then what's the problem here, Gibbs?" She stood with her arms crossed across her chest in a defensive gesture.

He paused a moment, unsure how to handle this. He and Kate had grown a lot closer in the last year; slowly she had worked her way into his existence, carving out a little section of his life all for herself. He never doubted her instincts for a second, and they trusted either other with their physical lives, but this was something different. This was admitting he was worried for her on an emotional level. That was a line that had not been crossed aloud before.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. "Look, Kate. You know I trust you, but I'm just concerned that you are getting…attached to him"

She blinked several times. "Of course I'm getting attached, Gibbs. How could you not? He's got no one left in this world, but I would never let that cloud my judgment."

"I'm not worried about your judgment." And he wasn't, Gibbs had faith she could do what was best.

"Ok, what then?"

She wasn't just going to let it go, and he wasn't surprised. "I don't want to see you hurt by this."

She smiled at him, finally understanding, and put one hand on his forearm. "I won't be, I promise."

"I'm concerned it's already too late, Kate."

"It's not. You say you trust my judgment, then trust me to know when…I'm close to too late."

Damn her, using his own words against him. "Fine, but if I think you're getting too invested…"

She waved her hands in surrender. "Then you can place him with family services."

"Deal." Gibbs looked back through the window. "I sure hope you can get something. This was professional Kate -- I can feel it. And professional means little evidence."

She nodded. "I'm going to stick with him the rest of the day, see what I can do. Maybe see if he can remember a family member. Something."

Just then Gibbs' phone rang; he picked it up and had a brief conversation with Ducky.

"Autopsies are completed; I'm going to head down with Tony. You want to stay here?"

Kate looked torn for a moment, then suddenly her face looked steely. "I want to find out what those bastards did to them. Hang on."

With a determined air about her, Kate went back into the interview room and spoke in low tones to Jake, smiling as she finished.

Gibbs walked into the hall and met her as she closed the door. She spoke before he could even ask. "He's fine alone for a while, but I'm going to have a agent stand outside the door until I get back."

Gibbs nodded and they headed downstairs.

Autopsy

"It was as I expected: the slash in the throat is left to right on both victims. You're looking for a right handed person."

"Only 80 of the population, Duck. What else?"

The coroner didn't even looked disturbed at Gibbs' tone. "The bruising on Mrs. Carter is significantly worse than I originally thought." He walked to the light screens. "She has two broken ribs on the left side and one fractured collarbone. They really beat her badly, Jethro. Other than that I've got nothing else. No fibers, no trace. Nothing, I'm sorry."

"Ok, thanks, Ducky," Gibbs said. This was old news to him, but Kate stood silent, her face a slightly whiter shade than it was before.

"They beat her to make him do something, or say something," Kate said quietly.

"That's what it looks like. What a horrible way to die…" Ducky commented.

"They wanted something…." Gibbs murmured as Tony came bursting through the door; he immediately looked up and fixed a stare at the younger man. "Where have you been, DiNozzo?"

"You have to see this, boss," Tony said, slightly out of breath and he raced to the recently installed small TV Ducky had in the corner of the room, quickly switching channels to a local newscast.

"Reports on the murders are the couple's 7 year old son, whose name has not been released, was in the home at the time of the attack. He was taken by federal agents to an undisclosed location…"

"Ohhh, shit."

"Who leaked that! I want their ass on a platter!" Kate and Gibbs yelled simultaneously.

Tony just shrugged. "There were reporters at the scene, boss -- they might have seen him. Or talked to neighbors. Might not have been a leak."

"Goddamn media. They just made that boy a target."

tbc…………………….