Title: When I'm Gone
Author: Redwing/csiphile
All the boring stuff is on the first chapter.
AN: Thank you again for the lovely reviews, they make me giggly happy. People are starting to stare at the giggling, but I don't care. Much. Please continue, I love to hear what you think.
AN2: I must apologize for taking so long between posts, normally I dont do this, but I got that nasty cold/flu thing going around and havent had the energy to edit the sucker. But its better now...so please, review. Pretty please?
Chapter 3: Getting Away With Murder
The three of them stared at each other, in a daze.
"He's safer with me than child services." Kate started.
"I know…I know."
"They didn't say NCIS, the suspects might not know where to start looking."
Gibbs looked at her. "Unless they are military, too."
Kate looked at the clock and then returned her gaze to Gibbs. "Look, I'm going to grab Jake and head home. Maybe I can get something from him there."
Gibbs nodded and she quickly left, leaving the three men alone.
"Is it wise to let Caitlin take him, Gibbs?" Ducky asked. "What if they do find him?"
Gibbs merely stared at the coroner and picked up his phone, making a call.
Todd Apartment
8 PM
Kate had managed to feed and shower Jake and put him in a pair of his own PJs. Kate had a junior agent run to his house and pack a few items that would be needed while she spoke to Jake about his arrangements.
Jake had been more than happy to accompany Kate home and had slowly looked around for the first 30 minutes. As everyone did, he noticed the picture of Kate and the president and commented that it was cool.
She had managed to get a little more information about his family. Apparently the Carters lived in their own world, no real family or close friends. She had avoided the topic of the murders, but as they sat on her couch watching Finding Nemo, she tried once more, this time jumping right in.
"Jake, can you remember the faces of the men who came into your house last night?"
He didn't look from the TV, but nodded slowly.
"How many were there?"
"Two."
She sighed. "Did you see them come in or go out?" Kate framed her question to avoid the actual murders.
"Come in." Now he turned to her. "I heard noises on the porch and looked out the window."
"You could see them in the dark?"
"Dad put in one of those halogen lights. It was really bright."
Kate slowly nodded, debating her next move; she was sure if she brought up the actual murder he would shut down again.
"Remember earlier at my work when I drew your mom?" He nodded. "It would be a really big help if we could do that again, but this time I want you to remember the men's faces, right there on your porch. Can you do that?"
He seemed to contemplate that, looking at Kate intently. "It'll help find them, right?"
"Yes, it will."
Again he seemed to be thinking, then nodded slowly, fear slowly working its way across his face.
Kate was quick to reassure him. "I won't let them hurt you, Jake. You trust me, right?"
"Yeah."
"Good," she said and got up, grabbing her sketchbook.
This time, it was difficult; describing someone you only saw once was hard enough for an adult, much less a child. But at this point, a good approximation of a sketch was better than nothing. For now they focused on one of the men -- she didn't want to push him too hard.
For nearly an hour they went through the same process as before. If Jake got stuck on a feature, Kate would pull out a photo album and ask him to find something similar. She was careful to keep Jake focused on them on the porch, not in the house.
Finally Kate put the final touches on the sketch and turned the page around. She knew they had at least one of their men when Jake paled and shrunk away from her.
Quickly, she closed the book and pulled him into her lap, smoothing his hair down.
"Its ok, buddy. It's all right. My friends and I are going to get the bad guys, I promise."
He didn't acknowledge her, curling further against her chest, and wrapping his small arms around her. She looked at the clock; it was well past what she figured an appropriate bedtime for a seven year old was. Regardless, she leaned into the couch and let him hold onto her for another thirty minutes; by then it was getting close to her bedtime.
"Jake, it's bedtime…"
He didn't move.
"Jake, come on…remember we talked about this. You're going to come with me to work again tomorrow and stay with the other kids in the day care center for a few days. Since it's summer, there will be boys your age to play with."
"Can you come with me?"
"For a little while, but then I have to work. To find those bad guys." Again, he nodded. "Good, go brush your teeth, get in bed, and I'll be right in."
Slowly he got off her lap and walked into the bathroom. Kate heard the water turn on and grabbed her cell phone, pressing speed 1.
"Gibbs." The gruff voice came across the line.
"Hey, I got a sketch of one of them. I'll bring it into Abby in the morning."
"Good, how's he doing?"
Kate turned her head and looked down the hall; she couldn't hear water anymore. "I'm really not sure. He still doesn't really want to talk about it, I'm lucky I got what I did."
"Nice job, Kate. Tomorrow we'll have to…."
Gibbs voice tuned out as she heard a car door close on the street. She'd heard it a million times before, but for some reason this time it sent the hackles up on the back of her neck. In one fluid, and practiced, motion, she grabbed her gun from the end table and moved toward the window, standing to the side to avoid being seen.
Slowly she peaked out the drapes and saw a non-descript SUV parked across the street from her apartment. Pulling back, she waited a few seconds, and then moved the drapes once more with the business end of her gun, keeping it pointed in the car's direction.
She watched carefully and noticed two men sitting in the car; it only took her a second to recognize one of them.
By now, Gibbs had stopped talking, noticing that Kate was no longer listening, and was calling her name in a strained tone.
"Kate? Kate…"
"Gibbs! God dammit!"
"What?"
"Did you put Munson and that idiot partner of his on me?"
"Yup."
Kate pulled away from the window and gave an exasperated face at the man who couldn't see her. "Did it occur to you to tell me that? I could have shot them!"
"I'm assuming you didn't." His voice was calm.
"Of course not."
"Then there's not a problem."
For a second Kate wondered if it was possible for her boss to be that dense, but then the reasoning behind his actions hit her. "Do you seriously think the killers will find him?"
It seemed to take Gibbs an eternity to answer. "I didn't want to take that chance. With either of you."
That gave her pause and she finally lowered her gun. "Next time…just warn me."
He said nothing.
"Look, I'll see you in the morning, ok?"
"Yeah, you are bringing him in?"
"I don't have a choice. I can't sit home all day and baby-sit. He's staying with Charlene in the daycare. He seemed wary about it, but agreed after we talked about it. He wants us to find them, Gibbs."
"We will." His tone was soft. "You're doing a good thing, Kate. Just be careful."
With that he hung up the phone, leaving Kate surprised. Putting the gun on her hip, she closed the phone and headed toward her extra bedroom. Opening the door, she found Jake fast asleep, curled into a small ball near the edge of the bed. This didn't surprise her; the boy probably hadn't slept in nearly 24 hours.
She left the door cracked open just a little and crossed to her room, quickly changing. She placed her gun and cell on the night table. As she crawled into bed, she stared at the phone.
"I didn't want to take that chance. With either of you."
It hadn't even really been the words; it was Gibbs' tone. It was something she was hearing more frequently from him lately. That added to that the increasing frequency they worked together, and the other small comments and touches, and Kate was beginning to wonder about her boss' feelings toward her. It had all started nine months ago – after the incident at the farm with Ari.
There had been something in Gibbs' eyes when he arrived and saw her safe and alive. Relief for sure, but mixed with something else she couldn't identify. He had walked over to her as Ari was taken by the FBI, and with one look at her split lip she saw fury in his eyes.
"He didn't do it, Gibbs."
"He brought you here, it's the same thing."
Kate had managed to talk him down, though apparently not enough, and she had heard through the grapevine that he had shot the Israeli in autopsy that night. A not small portion of Kate wondered if the shooting was for her; if Gibbs was getting vengeance for her kidnapping.
Since then Gibbs had been…odd around her. Not in a bad way, not by any stretch. He had always been willing to listen to her theories, but now he seemed to take more of a stake in them, encouraging her to use her profiling training more. And it wasn't just the work behavior. She noticed he stood closer to her now (something she was getting very used to), and sometimes when he stared at her, Kate could have sworn he was looking at her soul. Now she knew why Gibbs could stare a suspect into confession; she would do anything when he focused that intense gaze on her.
Kate could admit a healthy dose of attraction toward the older man. He wasn't exactly hard to look at by any means, and despite his gruff exterior, she could see the soft-hearted man underneath -- it was an alluring combination.
Curling onto one side, Kate tried to put the thoughts of Gibbs out of her head and sleep, and succeeded-far better than she had hoped.
She was trapped; the two men had chased her into the far corner of an unfamiliar house, and there was nowhere else to go. It was pitch black, she couldn't see much, but through the dark she heard their breathing. Two of them, close…way too close for comfort.
Suddenly, moonlight filtered into the room, and she looked around desperately for a way out. Nothing, there was nothing…the room appeared to be a large living room, with the only window behind the men now slowly walking to her. It was completely empty, not a weapon to be found.
Weapon.
Shit! She grabbed at her waist, looking for her ever-present gun, but finding nothing at all…again. Kate couldn't figure out why she was unarmed and true panic surged through her; she knew the men's intentions, she could sense them. They were here to kill her and take the boy. No, unacceptable. Kate looked at her pursuers -- they were impossibly close now and she could see their faces. One she knew from a drawing…the other was an old foe she had never hoped to see again.
"No!" she screamed as hands reached out and pulled her from the wall she had been pressed against. "Let me go!" Kate struggled mightily, putting all her effort into it, but they were bigger than her, and stronger. They easily pushed her to the ground, on her knees, in the middle of the room.
"God, no…" she whispered, and she thought of Jake, having no idea where he was or if he was safe.
Kate felt cold steel pressed against the base of her skull and she swallowed. In her dream, she was aware of Gibbs, like she should be concerned, or at least curious about his location. At the thought of him, though, intense sorrow permeated her soul; it felt like the death of a loved one. But she had no recollection of him being killed…still, somehow, on some level she knew, though…knew these men who had found her had done the same to him.
She heard the safety being removed and closed her eyes, whispering, "Gibbs…"
She sat up straight in bed and looked around wide-eyed a moment, her pupils needing several moments to adjust. Kate could feel the sweat on her back, sticking her tank top to her heated skin.
"Jesus," she muttered and looked at the clock: it was 3 am. Kate wiped some sweat from her forehead and got out of bed; she wasn't going back to sleep just yet after that dream.
As she stretched her tense muscles, a scream permeated the apartment, and Kate bolted from her room across the hall to find that Jake had apparently had his own nightmare. He hadn't woken up, though. As she stepped into the room, she could see from the nightlight that Jake was thrashing on the bed, his small body twisting the sheets violently.
Kate moved swiftly to the bed and sat on the edge, reaching one hand out to wake him.
"Jake…"
At her touch, he let out a gasp and opened his eyes.
"Mommy…" he initially called out before looking directly at her. Jake's face fell at the sight of her and Kate's heart nearly stopped at his pained expression. "Kate," he whispered.
She didn't say anything, just pulled him in close to her side, placing a light kiss on the top of his head, tears springing to her own eyes. She could only imagine what his nightmare had been.
NCIS HQ
Next Morning
"Kate," Tony said by way of greeting as she walked to her desk.
"Tony," she replied half-heartedly. She was exhausted; after Jake's nightmare Kate had spent the rest of the night sitting up on his bed, dozing in and out, never falling deep enough to dream.
Then this morning had been emotionally draining on her. Jake hadn't wanted her to leave and it had taken nearly an hour of talking to get him calm enough so she could. Kate had Charlene promise to call her at the smallest problem. It had concerned Kate to leave him a mere day after losing his parents but Charlene had spoken to her at length, saying the center was well equipped to deal with children who lost parents. It had happened before given the nature of their work.
Despite that, Kate still had a knot in her stomach; she knew he would be safe there, but it didn't stop her from worrying.
As Kate sunk into her chair and started sorting messages, Gibbs appeared and silently dropped a cup of coffee on her desk on his way to his.
She looked up and smiled her thanks. "I have the sketch, but we need something to compare it to. The military database is too huge to search -- it would take weeks without narrowing the criteria."
"Sketch?" Tony asked from his desk and looked at them, confused.
"Kate managed to get a sketch of one of the men from our witness last night," Gibbs stated.
"Nice," the younger agent commented. "How is he doing?"
Tony seemed genuinely interested, even he had been affected by Jake's situation. "Ok I guess, for someone who watched his parents be killed."
Tony just nodded while Gibbs looked at her with a strange expression.
"Tony, relatives?"
"Nothing, boss. I have a call into his old base, but it's weird, no one will actually answer a question. I keep getting passed off."
"Anything in his jacket that would hint toward motive? Problems with discipline, didn't play nice with others? Financial motive?"
Tony got up and stood between the other agents' desks, twirling a pen.
Tony shook his head. "Upstanding officer, a couple commendations. Nothing stands out, he was never a discipline problem. Financials are also clear, no sudden expenditures or influx of cash to suggest something unsavory."
Now Gibbs looked annoyed. "So you are telling me that we have no motive?"
"Sorry, boss."
"Sorry doesn't cut it, DiNozzo…dig deeper, there has to be something."
Tony ventured a glance at Kate. "I'll keep digging."
Gibbs turned to her. "You start on the wife, maybe he wasn't the target. I'll have Abby run the sketch through Jackson's old units. If they knew the killers, that would explain no evidence of a break-in."
They both nodded and delved deeper into the Carters' lives, unaware that the answer would soon be coming to them.
An hour later, the phone on Gibbs' desk rang; he looked at it and swiftly picked up. Director Morrow was on the line. Kate immediately tuned into his conversation when she heard him say "Director".
"Yes, sir….no. I didn't realize. Yes, sir. Uh huh…."
He hung up and turned to Kate and Tony. "You can stop your digging. Apparently Tony's earlier search got the higher-ups' attention and the Navy is sending someone."
"They are coming to us?" Tony asked.
"Yup," Gibbs responded.
"That's interesting."
"Very. Seems that not everything was in the Commander's file."
"Even MORE interesting," Tony said and smirked.
"Oh, yeah."
Kate looked down at her phone as it chirped and muttered, "I know, I hear you." She had been in the day care checking on Jake when Gibbs had called her announcing the Navy's arrival. She had a short conversation with Charlene before practically running out the door and heading to Director Morrow's office.
She was three quarters of the way there when Gibbs had used the alert feature on the phone, letting her know they were waiting for her. Kate stepped up her pace slightly, getting more than one glance from people in the hall as she sped by.
Finally arriving at the bullpen, she climbed the stairs and took a moment at the door to collect herself before opening it.
Inside were Gibbs and Tony standing along one wall, and the two naval officers sitting in chairs across from the director, who was at his desk.
Kate slid in and stood by Gibbs who gave her an inscrutable expression and whispered in her ear, "Captains Beach and Keller." She nodded and Gibbs pulled away from her.
"Now that everyone is here, how about you guys explain why you are so interested in our investigation," Gibbs asked, his voice terse already. Kate didn't have much hope for this meeting going well.
The two Captains turned and looked at Gibbs, each with the same unreadable expression.
"Lt Commander Carter was scheduled to testify next month in a treason case against two former unit mates who were selling government technology to the highest bidder." Beach stated.
The three NCIS officers looked at each other in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, you had a major government witness at Norfolk and didn't bother to notify us?" Morrow questioned, a displeased expression on his face.
"We were keeping his presence here under tight wraps -- no one knew except our office," Keller said, his tone slightly defensive.
"And the killers," Gibbs said with annoyance.
Both the Captains had the grace to look chagrined. "Agent DiNozzo's search alerted us that something had gone wrong. Director Morrow informed us of the deaths. It's a serious blow to our case, because without Carter, we've got nothing. They did everything by phone, no paper trail, nothing we can find anyway. Carter caught them one day and alerted the Navy. We shut down the operation, but what they were selling…it's classified and would mean a death sentence to the men in custody."
"There's your motive, boss," Tony commented.
"I'll say." He pinned the Captains with a glare. "You moved them to Norfolk and what? Hoped no one would notice?"
Captain Keller bristled slightly. "We wanted to put the Carters in protective custody, but he refused. The Lt Commander didn't want to be forced into hiding for doing the right thing."
Kate finally spoke. "Can't say I blame him."
"We received intelligence last night the Carters were in danger, but before we could confirm it, they were dead."
"How did they find them?"
"That we don't know," Morgan answered. " Lts Jacobs and Martin had to have arranged this from prison. We are working that now."
Director Morrow spoke next. "I think we need to co-operate here, since it's really in the best interest of finding our suspects and closing this case. Captains, your office can work the Jacobs and Martin angle, connect them to our hit men, which we'll work on finding . I'll speak with your director. All information is to be shared immediately."
The two men looked at each other and nodded. As they stood, Gibbs pulled out Kate's sketch.
"Before you run off, recognize this guy?"
They both looked and shared a glance, but Keller spoke. "Yes, we do. Name's James Mason. Former SEAL, he was an original suspect in the treason case, but we couldn't prove it. He disappeared after we let him go. Carter never witnessed him making a transaction, but we had our suspicions. Where did you get this? You have a witness?"
"We do…the Commander's son," Gibbs answered.
"He's alive?" Beach asked.
"Very much so," Kate stated. "Don't you watch the news? Half of DC and Virginia knows he's survived." Her voice was bitter now.
"It leaked to the media?" Keller didn't look pleased.
"Reporter saw him and broadcast before we realized they knew."
They looked at each other before turning to Director Morrow. "He's a target and should be in protective custody. We can take him."
For a second, Kate had a moment of panic, and stiffened her body, which Gibbs noticed.
"I don't think so. He's been traumatized, won't talk to anyone except Agent Todd." The men turned slowly in unison to look at her.
"He's watched the murder of a government witness, so he should be with us."
Kate spoke up now. "He's safe, has round-the-clock protection…"
"He's in danger."
"As much as his parents," Gibbs said, and the meaning was clear. They couldn't protect the Carters, so NCIS wasn't trusting them with their son. "He will stay with us, we'll share any information he might reveal."
"Which isn't much," Kate continued. "He won't speak about the attacks to anyone. Look, he's a traumatized little boy, do you really want to make it worse by putting him with strangers?"
"He's with people he doesn't know now, Agent."
The three agents looked at each other, each unsure how to explain the situation. Finally Gibbs took the lead. "Agent Todd may be a stranger, but he trusts her and has limited discussions with her. We aren't removing him from her custody."
Now they looked shocked. "You have an untrained NCIS agent watching him? Are you kidding?"
Kate opened her mouth to speak, but Gibbs beat her to it. "Agent Todd is a very capable agent who used to protect the President. I think she is uniquely qualified for this."
The Captains looked equally frustrated. "We have therapists who can help him remember and deal with the trauma," Keller finally said.
"We had a Quantico psychiatrist here…" Gibbs paused. "Look, bottom line is we have him and we are starting to get somewhere. You want to take him away, possibly set back any progress we may have made, and slow down the investigation? Be my guest."
He could sense Kate's eyes on him, wondering what the hell he was doing, but Gibbs kept his eyes straight on the Captains, daring them. He could see the instant they realized he was right.
Captain Beach looked at him, resigned. "Fine, fine. You keep him, but we get daily status updates."
"Fine."
"Can we at least see him?" Keller asked. "We failed his parents -- I'd like to make sure he's ok."
"He's far from ok," Kate said and locked eyes with Keller.
Gibbs gave her a sharp glance then looked to the Director who nodded slightly. "Agreed. Can we contact someone in your office to get the file on James Mason?"
"Yes," Beach said and pulled out a card. "Call my secretary, Sharon. I'll let her know to release anything you need."
"Good. Could you please give us a minute and then Agent Todd and I will escort you."
They nodded and stepped into the hall. Gibbs instantly turned to Tony, handing over the card. "Get everything and start calling people. Find out where he hung out, who his friends were. I don't think he's leaving the area just yet, since James didn't finish the job. Find him."
"I'm all over it, boss," he said and left the room, quickly followed by Kate and Gibbs who picked up the Captains and indicated for them to follow.
Kate and Gibbs walked in front, the two men behind them. For a while they were all silent before Captain Beach spoke.
"Where did you find him? In the house, I mean."
Kate answered. "He was hiding in the attic, I found him on the walkthrough. He was traumatized, wouldn't come down without some sweet talking."
Beach seemed to consider that. "That's why he trusts you."
"Yeah, that's what the psychologist from Quantico said, too."
"So you've had someone talk to him."
"Talk might be overstating the matter…" Gibbs started.
"He wouldn't actually speak," Kate finished.
Keller looked at her. "Except to you."
"Yeah, except to me," she said as they approached the day care.
It was one large room covered in colorful paint and drawings with several smaller rooms with age-appropriate games and entertainment for the older kids who generally only stayed during the summer months when school was out. The wall that faced the hall was actually several large windows, and that's where the group stopped.
"You have him at daycare?" Keller asked.
"He's safer here than anywhere. No one gets into this facility without clearance and no one knows he is here except my team and the day care director. He is registered under a fake name as a precaution," Gibbs stated matter-of-factly, while Kate looked for Jake.
It didn't take her long to spot him in one of the smaller areas, playing a video game by himself, and she pointed him out to the Captains. She signed internally, Kate had hoped being with boys his own age – which there were plenty of – would help pull him out of his self-imposed exile. It didn't seem that was the case.
Without even looking at them, she stepped through the door and was greeted by Charlene. Gibbs watched the two of them converse for a moment before Kate strode across the room. Before she made it halfway though, Jake noticed her and got up, running over to her. Gibbs smiled inside at the sight of Kate bent at the knees, speaking to him, running her hands through his hair and smiling. She was good at this, and for one second, the image of Kate with her own child flit through his mind. It was a beautiful picture, and Gibbs knew she would make an excellent mother one day.
He could admit a little bit of jealousy thinking about another man fathering her children, but he filed it away in a box in his head where he put all his not-professional thoughts about her. The problem was that the contents of the box were threatening to overflow and force themselves out into his consciousness. And Gibbs knew if that happened, he would be done, unable to resist her in any sense.
Gibbs returned his focus back to Jake as the boy ran across the area to a locker and pulled several pieces of paper off the shelf, running back to her and handing them over. Kate took them, then said something that caused the boy's face to go from excited to heartbroken in an instant.
She nodded at him and smiled, which caused a ghost of one to appear on his, and she stood up, walking back to the door and appearing in the hall. She turned and they all watched as he went back to his own area, not speaking to any of the other children.
Kate sighed and continued to look through the glass. "Charlene said he's having a hard time. Won't play with or speak to the other kids unless he has to. He only talks to her if he needs something. But it's only been one day, maybe he'll warm up after a few more. I don't know."
Gibbs looked at her, his heart breaking. "Kate, you're doing your best."
"I want to do more, Gibbs," she muttered and turned to the pictures, flipping through them slowly. The three men watched as the pictures went from that of a happy family and moved somewhat darker as they went on.
Kate flipped to the last picture and nearly dropped the stack. On the bright orange paper, in vivid Crayola colors, was a drawing of the murder scene.
tbc…………….
