Chapter Six: Dealing with the Monsters
Gibbs was enjoying the quiet in the bullpen. He glanced at Nicole sitting at McGee's desk and then looked at the clock. He should get her out of here. He gathered what he needed and slowly walked to her. She looked up at him with sad eyes when he came up beside her.
"Ready to get out of here?" Gibbs asked squatting down next to her. She nodded slowly, tears filling but not falling in her eyes. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and then slowly stood. She followed him, and as they got in the elevator Gibbs told her they needed to talk to a few people before they left. Nicole simply stared at the closed elevator doors.
First stop was Abby's lab. Nicole followed closely on Gibbs' heals as they passed through the doors and the loud music assaulted their ears. Gibbs came up behind Abby and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump. Nicole covered her ears with her hands.
"Your little friend doesn't like Plastic Death," Abby said with a smile as she reached over and killed the music. Nicole's hands dropped suddenly. Gibbs smiled. "What can I do for you, bossman?"
"I'm leaving for the day, Abbs, probably working from home tomorrow. You'll be able to reach me with the cell," Gibbs said. Abby nodded as her gaze landed on Nicole.
"Ok. I'll be sure to call if something comes up," Abby said with a smile. "Should be fun, day without the boss around."
"Well if you can have fun with Ducky, be my guest," Gibbs said. Abby gave him a confused look and Gibbs' shoulders rose and fell. "DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee are all in San Diego."
"San Diego? Since when?" Abby whined.
"I sent them there a couple hours ago. That's where the case is, Abby," Gibbs said as he looked over a Nicole. He noticed the girl's face fall at the mention of San Diego. "Abbs, can you hang with Nicole a minute? I need to talk to Ducky before I leave."
"Sure thing, Bossman," Abby said with a smile. Nicole eyed her suspiciously as Gibbs nodded. The girl looked at Gibbs with a strained look.
"I just need to talk to Ducky before we leave. But you have to stay here, I'll be right back I promise," Gibbs said gently. Nicole took a deep breath and looked at the ground. Gibbs turned slowly and left Nicole and Abby in the lab.
He walked to the morgue and found Ducky over a body, with Palmer assisting him. Gibbs walked up next to Ducky and looked over at what Ducky was doing. The M. E. was removing a liver.
"Ah, Jethro, what can I do for you?" Ducky asked as he plopped the chunk of meat on the scale. Gibbs looked over at the body of Commander Conrad before he answered Ducky.
"I'm taking off for the day. Nicole's staying with me so most likely I'll work from home tomorrow. I'll have the cell. Rest of the team is in San Diego," Gibbs said as Palmer continued to remove internal organs from the body. Ducky was turned facing Gibbs now.
"Nicole is the young one?" Ducky asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes," Gibbs said flatly.
"She's staying with you, not child services?" Ducky questioned.
"Long story, Duck. I'll be home tomorrow," Gibbs said turning briskly and heading toward the doors.
"I think we'll manage without you," Ducky said softly as the doors swished closed. Gibbs didn't hear him. Gibbs made his way back to the lab and was greeted by a relieved Nicole. Abby was a little disappointed that she couldn't connect with the girl but Gibbs simply shrugged. Nicole tightened her grip on Gibbs' arm.
They arrived at Gibbs' house a short time later. He led Nicole in through the front door and she stood quietly in the middle of the living room looking around. Gibbs went into the kitchen to check for food content and found he had some chicken and potatoes. He set everything out to cook.
He came back to the living room and was going to ask Nicole if she liked chicken when he noticed the strange look on her face. He watched as the girl scanned the room twice more and frowned. Gibbs leaned against the door jamb.
"What?" he asked. Nicole turned her head, looking over her shoulder back at him. She bit at her lip a minute then looked around the room again. When her gaze landed back on Gibbs she finally spoke.
"It doesn't look like anyone lives here," she said with a frown. Gibbs looked around at his home and nodded. "You don't even have a TV."
"Yeah, this part doesn't look like much. I…well I don't use this part that much," Gibbs said with a shrug.
"Don't use it much?"
"I really live in my basement. Just come up here to eat…and sleep…on occasion," Gibbs said with a smile on his face as he looked around. Nicole gave him a skeptical look.
"Why would you spend all your time in the basement?" she asked.
"That's where my boat is, and that is where you'll find the TV," Gibbs said with a wink.
"There's a boat in your basement?" Nicole asked with disbelief. Gibbs laughed.
"Yes, but first, how about chicken for dinner," Gibbs said crossing his arms over his chest. Nicole gave him a small smile and he felt like he had lifted a barrier. The girl slowly nodded.
Gibbs turned and made his way back to the kitchen as Nicole continued to look around the upstairs. Gibbs quickly fixed up the chicken and stuck it in the oven. He then started on the potatoes. After forty five minutes the food was ready. He called Nicole into the kitchen, and she slid quietly into a chair at the table as he put a plate down in front of her. He then pulled out a glass.
"Sorry, Kido, but I wasn't expecting anyone. All I got is water," Gibbs said as he filled her cup from the tap. She just nodded and picked at the chicken with her fork. Gibbs fixed his own plate and sat down next to her. They ate in silence. Once they were both done Gibbs quickly rinsed the dishes off and placed them in the sink. He then turned and looked at Nicole sitting at the table watching him.
"Now what?" she asked sadly. Gibbs could tell she was trying hard not to think about what happened. Gibbs walked over to the table and sat down again. He knew he needed to ask her some questions he just hoped now was the right time.
"Nicole, we need to talk about what happened," Gibbs said gently. The girl stiffened and shifted away from him, trying to hold her tears in check. "I know you don't want to, and that this will be hard, but we have to."
"Ok," she said softly. Gibbs nodded.
"I need to know what you saw when you came out of your room," Gibbs continued. Nicole stared hard at the table and pulled at the hem of her left sleeve with her right fingers. "Did you see or hear anything?"
"Yes," Nicole said in a barely audible whisper.
"Did you see who hurt your mom?"
"No," she said as the tears started to run down her cheeks. "I was doing my homework. They were yelling but I don't know why. I went to see, I left my room and when I looked…he…he was…he was hurting her," she finished. Gibbs reached out and laid his arm along her shoulders.
"You didn't see the man's face?" Gibbs prodded.
"No, his back was too me," she said as her breathing became shaky from the tears. She fought hard to control them.
"You didn't recognize his voice? Maybe someone you knew from California, or somewhere else maybe?"
"No," she said roughly. Gibbs nodded. He pulled her close to him and she buried herself in his chest and cried. Her small body shook with her sobs as she grieved for her mother, letting the pain of what she saw out. Gibbs rubbed her back gently and held her close, letting her expel what she needed too.
Finally the tears slowed and she regained control over her breathing. She pulled back from him and looked around. Gibbs kept his arm around her shoulders. She got up then, and Gibbs arm dropped loosely to his side. She grabbed a napkin and blew her nose before she attempted a smile. Gibbs then stood.
"Want to go watch TV?" he asked. Nicole simply nodded. He smiled and led the way to the basement as the girl hung closely to him. She stood on the bottom step and stared at his boat for a full minute once they were down the stairs. Gibbs looked around for the remote and finally found it under a pile of papers. He handed it to her as she looked up at him.
"That's your boat?" she asked.
"Yep," Gibbs said as he ran his hand along one of the ribbings.
He thought she was going to say more, but she didn't. She simply took the remote and headed for the couch and plopped heavily onto the cushion, sending a volcano of dust cascading all around her. She waved her hand through the air rapidly trying to disperse what she could. She looked at Gibbs and he chuckled before picking up the plane sander and turning his attention to his boat.
He had been working on the boat for a few hours, and at the beginning the channels on the TV had been flipping constantly as she tried to find something to watch. Eventually the flipping slowed, and then stopped entirely. The channel had been constant for quite a while now and Gibbs glanced over his shoulder at Nicole. She was curled into a small ball at one end of the couch sleeping. He noticed then he was getting pretty tired himself and laid down under the ribbing of the boat after he clicked the television off.
Gibbs was dreaming. He knew he was but it didn't make it any less real. The pain felt real, the ache felt sincere. He dreamed of dead loved ones that night, much like most nights as of late. He dreamed of Kate, killed in the line of duty, protecting him, he dreamed of Shannon his first wife, and Kelly his daughter, both taken from him suddenly, he dreamed of fallen comrades, he dreamed of Commander Conrad. He saw their faces in his dream, haunting him, chasing him, guilting him. Then he heard the scream. It vibrated through his head, echoed in his ears, bounced around his brain.
It was loud enough to sit him straight up, bringing him out of the dead sleep. As his head came forward it met with the ribbing of the boat. Pain exploded over his right eye as the board stopped his movement, shoving his head backwards at the same speed it had come forward. He was too asleep to stop the movement and his head hit the plywood base with a smack. He winced.
His head spun and stung, and his eye ached. He slid himself slowly to the end of the plywood slat and got to his feet. His head throbbed but he didn't have much time to dwell on the issue. Another scream brought him the rest of the way out of slumber and crashed through the haze caused by hitting his head. He walked quickly to the couch, stumbling once around the coffee table, catching two toes on the leg. He swore under his breath, but his attention was on the small sleeping form on the couch.
He sat down next to her and put his hand on Nicole's shoulder. The second his hand came in contact with the girl she sat bolt up right, her hands coming up in defense of her body. The crashed hard into Gibbs' chest, her breathing was fast and erratic. She was disoriented, having no clue to where she was. Gibbs could tell she was terrified.
"Shhh, Kelly, it's ok," Gibbs soothed as he pulled her to him. Finally her brain registered where she was, and why. She clung to Gibbs tightly and let out a sob. "I promise it's ok."
Nicole pulled back from him and took a deep breath. He released his grip a little and she looked up at him with a quizzical look. She was about to say something when her attention was drawn to open wound on his forehead. She reached up and brushed just over his right eye. Gibbs felt the sting as her fingers came in contact with the skin. He instinctively put his own hand up to stop her movements. He touched it gingerly and pulled his fingers back, they were red.
He shook his head slowly, but even that movement caused it to throb more. He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his mind then opened them again. Nicole was staring at him. He took a deep breath of his own.
"You ok?" Gibbs asked gently as he kept a hand on her shoulder.
"It was a bad dream," she whispered, as if raising her voice would make the demons come back and the dream would be a reality.
"Want to talk about it?" Gibbs asked. Nicole shook her head vehemently. "Sometimes it helps to talk about bad dreams."
"No," she said with a slightly shaky voice. Gibbs nodded and stroked her hair. Nicole pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Is your head ok?"
"I banged it pretty good," Gibbs said getting up from the couch. Nicole followed him with her eyes, continuing to clamp her knees to her chest. He got a wash cloth from the cabinet and dipped it in the water Nicole had brought downstairs with her. He dabbed at his head and winced.
He then felt the back of his head for damage. There was a pretty good bruise forming but no blood on the rear. He then glanced down at his toes; they were both still attached and to him looked like they were in the correct place.
"What did you do to it?" she asked quietly, still watching him as he cleaned up the blood on his forehead. Gibbs glanced over at the boat and smiled at the ribbing.
"Hit it on that when I sat up," Gibbs said pointing to the boat. Nicole followed his fingers.
"Why were you under there?"
"Sleeping," Gibbs said looking back at the girl. She scrunched her face in confusion. "I sleep under there a lot, it's not something new," Gibbs said with a shrug.
"So you live in your basement, building a boat, and that's all you do here?" Nicole asked stifling a yawn.
"Pretty much," Gibbs said with a smile. Nicole smiled back at him but it quickly vanished, before she yawned. Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her again. She stared at him and licked her lips. Her throat was a little dry from the sawdust in the air. She looked at the floor.
"You called me Kelly," she said softly. Her gaze slowly came up to meet Gibbs'. When she got there she was met with a distant stare. She saw the pain in his eyes and the fear there too, but then it was gone and he was looking at her again.
"I did?" Gibbs asked trying to hide his discomfort. Nicole let her knees go as she sat forward on the couch.
"When you woke me up."
Gibbs turned his eyes to the floor as he thought about the slip. He knew this could happen; it was part of the reason why he had wanted to keep her instead of sending her to child services earlier today. He looked back up at her.
"Why didn't you want to go with the child services lady today?" Gibbs asked. Nicole stared at him a moment slightly confused.
"I…she told me that I was going to go to a home for orphans. That I would be put with other kids like me. I…that I would live in a foster home," Nicole said with her voice full of sadness. "She didn't care that my mom had just died. She didn't care that I didn't have anyone left."
"I'm sure she did," Gibbs said coming closer and sitting on the other end of the couch. Nicole looked up at him.
"She wouldn't find my mom's killer, she probably wouldn't even tell me when he's caught," Nicole said a hint of anger coming through in her voice. Gibbs waited her out to see if she would continue. Finally she did. "I was just another number to her. But to you…you knew what I felt. You would help find who killed my mom. You…you understood the pain I was feeling."
She looked at him with sad eyes staring into the center of his soul. He felt the tears coming to his own eyes as her eyes welled up and spilled over. She wiped hurriedly as they rolled down her cheeks, but there were too many, and she wasn't quick enough. Eventually she gave up as the tears streaked down her face. Gibbs bit his lip to keep himself in check and simply nodded to the girl. She pulled her knees up, buried her face between them, and then covered it all with her arms. Gibbs scooted to her side of the couch and wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her tightly to his side. He stroked her hair gently and waited until she was done crying again. This time he couldn't hold his own tears and a few rolled down his cheeks in grievance for the child sitting next to him.
TBC…