After he put the backpack in the trunk Gibbs got in the car too.
"Buckle up", he advised her doing so himself.
He could see she was hurting from that cut on her arm as she did. That will have to be taken
care of also, he thought.
"Ok then, let's go leave your fingerprints"
He had sensed her being extremely uncomfortable as soon as he got in the car, and now she
seemed to tense even more.
"It wouldn't be necessary if you had some kind of ID."
No reaction.
"Can anyone be called to confirm who you are?"
He could barely hear her "No".
"Ok, don't worry, you'll be fine."
No further word was spoken until they arrived at the police station some fifteen minutes later.
The procedure went fast and since she had felt that she wouldn't be able to deal with much
more, she had fled into a state where she would function automatically, but nothing from the
outside world could really get through to her. She had done this many times before; it had
kept her from going insane.
In less then twenty minutes they where out of the office and back in the car. When Gibbs was
back in the afternoon traffic he announced that he would take her to the doctors now.
That DID get through to her.
She sat up straight. It definitely did get worse.
"I'm all right. Just need a shower and I'll be fine."
Gibbs took a left turn.
"You got a bad cut on your upper arm and burns and smaller cuts all over. And since I'm
responsible for you I'll have you see a doctor."
He looked at her. She was so tense now he felt her tremble. He knew she was on the edge; he
wanted to make this easier for her.
"We're going to my ex-wife's sister, she's a nice lady, you'll see."
He had called Susan from the police station, to make sure she had time for them.
"I don't want to…"
She sounded almost desperate. Gibbs felt sorry for her, but he knew there was nothing he
could do about it right now.
"I got that. But this is not your decision!"
"Yeah, great", Erin thought, "It's my live but not my decision".
She concentrated on breathing, afraid to pass out. When they reached the doctors place she
had managed to get back to her "nothing-can-touch-me" mood.
After they got off the car, he led her in and was greeted by a white coated woman in her fifties
in the doorway.
"Jethro, good to see you, come in."
"Susan."
They hugged hello.
"And you must be Erin then", she put a hand on Erin's shoulder and led her to the attendance
room." Jethro told me you did great out there."
She turned to Gibbs
"You know where the kitchen is. Go get yourself some coffee."
Gibbs more than gladly did so and sat in the living room, flipping through a newspaper, when
Susan came in. He looked up at her and instantly knew something was seriously wrong.
He put the paper down.
"What?"
"Jeth, who is she?"
"I don't know anything more than you do. She's got no ID. Only gave us her Christian name.
I don't even know if she made that one up. Police wanted to put her in jail until they found out
about her. I thought that would be unfair to do to someone who just put his health and life at
risk helping other people. She's under my supervision until we know who she is. What do you
think how old she is?"
"In her mid thirties, I'd say….."
Her voice trailed of.
"Sue, what did you find? That cut seemed to be pretty deep but it would never bring that look
to your face."
"You know that I'm breaking the rules by telling you, do you?"
He nodded.
"She's been to hell and back Jeth, over and over again. Her back looks like a battleground.
There's all kinds of scars – some seem to come from being bullwhipped, some look like
someone extinct cigarettes on her skin. There's burns like they would be caused by electrodes
used with too high voltage and she has been brand marked with a large capital "G" on her
right shoulder."
Gibbs's eyes narrowed. He could feel anger boiling up in him. But Susan was not finished yet.
"Some of these scars seem to be rather old, more than ten years I'd say, after that it's hard to
tell. Some are pretty new, maybe six month or a little more. Judging from the scars inside her
thighs she's also been raped more than once, not in the last few years though."
She paused and looked at Gibbs who was close to exploding. He wanted to hit something, and
hit it hard. And then he realized that part of her being so tense was because of him.
He exhaled and the aggressions that had built up in him while listening to Susan's report was
substituted by a sad calmness.
"She's scared of me…"
Susan nodded.
"Sure she is. She doesn't know you."
"Maybe someone else should be in charge…."
"I don't think so. I know you, Jeth, and I know that she's perfectly safe with you. And she'll
find out, given enough time."
Gibbs didn't answer, thinking about Susan's words.
"How long is she going to stay with you?" she asked.
"At least until someone found out who she is. But if it was my decision – forever!"
Nobody could be more surprised about what he said, than himself. And thinking about it
again, he knew it was the truth. Not that he could explain it, but he felt like he had just found
a long missing last piece of his lives puzzle.
Susan chose not to comment on that.
"She'll need treatment every day at first. Cleaning and fresh dressing the cut and burn on her
left arm, and I have something to make her back feel a little better. Do you want to bring her
in everyday or would you rather do that yourself – might be a way to get her used to you
being around."
"Yeah, I guess it would. Just doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"Live is not always fair Jethro, and you know that damn well. Of course it will scare her, but
you scare her for the right reason. And if she's going to stay with you for a while, things will
be a lot easier for her once she found out she can trust you."
"I guess you're right. Ok then, I'll do it."
"I'll call you in and show you, what needs to be done."
"I'll wait."
Susan went back to Erin who was sitting on the stretcher just like she was when Susan had
left her. Erin had felt paralyzed from the moment Susan first looked at her back. She had
always been careful not to let anybody know. She didn't want to have to explain, she didn't
want to show how easily she could be made a victim and most of all she didn't want to think
about it. Not until it was time to go again. But of course she did, every day, every night.
Susan walked up to her and sat on the stretcher beside her.
"It's a good thing you'll be staying with Jethro. As long as you're with him, nobody will have
the slightest chance to hurt you."
No reaction on Erin's side.
"I had to tell him."
She had thought that Erin would get upset, disapproving of her telling her secret, but it was
worse. She didn't seem to mind at all.
"Hey, don't give up now. You've survived so much. I suppose you didn't want anybody to
find out for good reason, but I assure you that neither one of us will take advantage of what
we know. It would have been pretty hard to keep your secret living on that boat, and Jeth will
have to tend your wounds."
When she realized that she wouldn't get a reaction, she got up.
"Put on your t-shirt. I'll call Jethro in to show him what he has to do."
Erin put on her t-shirt. She was absolutely quiet now. She had turned off her feelings
completely. She watched the scenery like she was no part of it. She wouldn't let anybody
come close other than physical, she would see how it was to stay on that boat with Gibbs –
not that she had a choice. And if he'd make only one false move, she'd feel free to break her
promise and get away.
She didn't look up when Gibbs entered the room. Susan had put all kinds of bottles and
bandages on the stretcher beside her.
She sat on a chair right in front of her. Gibbs standing right behind her. Erin could feel him
look at her; he hadn't said a word so far.
Susan who had cleaned the burn on her left arm before sprayed something on it, covered it
and tied the cover with medical tape. Then she rinsed the cut, gently dried it and dressed it
too. It did hurt, not too much, not that Erin cared. She didn't feel anything – this was easy for
her. Susan explained what she did to Gibbs who stood and watched. This was no problem for
him.
"You with me so far?"
Susan asked.
"Sure. You have to supply me with all this stuff I need."
"I will. Now Erin, please lay down."
No! Erin screamed. Nobody heard it; nobody would see any reaction on her side. But the
scream inside her was so loud, so terrifying that she felt the urge to press her hands to her ears
to cut that sound off. Of course she didn't.
Susan gently put her hand on Erin's knee.
"You'll be ok. Just lay down, so we can have a look at your back."
As a reaction she and Gibbs noticed Erin starting to gently rock her upper body back and
forth. Gibbs had seen that before. This was not going well.