Chapter 12 - Personal Information

Trisha was the first one to wake up this time; Rochelle was still asleep on the couch and Gibbs slept while leaning against her. She sighed.

"Hey, you awake?" Gibbs asked her.

Trisha jumped, startled by Gibbs' voice. He sounded stronger. "Yea, I thought you were still asleep."

"Yea, well I did sleep for 15 hours straight." Both were silent again before Gibbs spoke. "Where did you say that song came from?"

Trisha was quiet before answering. "My mom, Gibbs. She used to sing it to me a long time ago whenever she tucked me in for bed."

"She sounds like a good person," Gibbs said to her.

Trisha nodded, "She was," she said softly.

Gibbs was a little confused at what Trisha had said, but he decided to not press the matter. He had felt the girl tense up when he asked her about the song. He made a mental note to ask Rochelle about it later. Maybe she knew something.

Rochelle had been awake long enough to hear Gibbs ask about Trisha's mom. She could feel the tension in the room. She thought she should break it, so she devised a smallplan. Suddenly she jumped off the couch. "Awww man, what's that smell?" she asked rather loudly, making Gibbs and Trisha jump a little. Rochelle smiled and began sniffing around the room. She stopped when she got near Gibbs and accusingly pointed a finger at the agent. "Ew," she said.

Gibbs looked at Rochelle with raised eyebrows. "Oh?" he asked.

Chelle nodded, "Ohhhh yea, Agent Gibbs. Trisha, how can you not smell that? I mean, the dude's on you!"

Trisha smiled and thought for a moment. She wiggled out from behind Gibbs and stood next to her friend. "Well, we could put him on the computer chair and wheel him into the bathroom. Yea Gibbs, that way you can get cleaned up."

Gibbs looked from one kid to the other. He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to tell me something here?" he asked the girls.

"Gibbs, well, not to be mean or anything, but you kind of, um… smell," Rochelle said sheepishly.

Gibbs started to defend himself. "Hey, I…"

"Wait," Rochelle cut him off, "there's more! You also-"

Trisha elbowed her in the ribs and glared at her. Rochelle turned around and started laughing, then left and came back with the computer chair.

"Well," Trisha said, "I'll go turn on the heater in the bathroom and get the bathtub filled up. Gimme a couple minutes."

Gibbs watched Trisha go, then turned his head to Rochelle. "So, what's her story? She seems so…"

"Strong? Grown up? Tough?" Rochelle finished his sentence.

Gibbs looked at her, "Yea, among other things," he said softly.

Rochelle sat down next to him. "Well Gibbs, it's really a long, complicated story, and I don't even know the half of it. She was born into a loving family; her dad was a contractor for the Navy and her mom was a banker. They lived in one of those nice neighborhoods; you know- white picket fence, plenty of neighborhood kids, everyone left their doors unlocked. Then when Trisha was 4, someone broke into her family's house and murdered her parents. She saw the whole thing. She was traumatized and she didn't say a word to anyone for 3 years. She didn't have any other relatives to go live with, so she was put into the system and foster care." Chelle sighed. "She went through 8 foster homes that I know of. Each time the families said that she was just too much to handle, I guess because she had these horrible nightmares. How can someone blame her? But the worst part is that the families would return her right before Christmas. Since I've known her, she's gone through 3 families alone. I don't know the last time she actually had a Christmas," Rochelle said through tears.

Gibbs put an arm around her. "But it looks like she's doing better now, hmmm?"

Rochelle sniffed, "Don't let her fool you, Gibbs. She's hurting inside. I was over the other night, and she got into a fight with the 'dad' she has now. I don't know what it was about, but he threatened to put her back up for adoption. I think he's gonna. She won't ever tell anyone how she feels; she hides her emotions. She doesn't trust anyone, either. Puts up a brick wall, I guess. Since I've known her, the only time I've seen her cry is when we had to get you on the sled in the woods. She cares about you, Gibbs. I've never seen her like this before," Chelle said as she stood up.

Gibbs thought intently for a moment. "Why do you think she likes me? Everyone that knows me thinks I'm a… bastard," he chuckled.

Rochelle smiled, "I really don't know. But I do know that for as long as I've known her, she's never told me about that song. And she actually sang it to you, Gibbs. She has some 'thing' for your hair, too," she giggled as she ruffled his hair.

Gibbs laughed, "Yea, so I've noticed. Whenever she rubs my head I feel so much… I don't know… better."

Rochelle nodded. She brought the chair closer to Gibbs. To her surprise, Gibbs got up slowly and sat in the chair.

"Feeling better, huh?" she asked him.

"Well right until I got up…" Gibbs moaned.

Rochelle spun the chair around and pushed Gibbs in the direction of the bathroom, wondering if she just told the agent too much about her friend.