Chapter Thirteen: A Faceless Man

Gibbs sat down on the couch in the middle section with Nicole to his left. He placed the pizza box on the coffee table and spread the plates out along the edge. Jen sat down a little too heavily on the couch and a cloud of dust escaped, engulfing the area. Gibbs decided to wait a moment before opening the pizza box.

"You kinda gotta be a little careful when you sit down," Nicole said as she leaned forward to see Jen around Gibbs. "He doesn't clean down here all that much."

Gibbs flashed a glare at Nicole who smiled at him in return, sitting back into the couch. He shook his head and then opened the pizza box and pulled a slice out, plopping it down on Nicole's plate. He then pulled a piece out for himself, before grabbing a third slice and setting it on the plate he brought down for Jen.

"She's right, Jethro," Jen said with a smile before picking up the piece of pizza. Nicole giggled before shoving more pizza in her mouth, then her attention was directed to the television which was still playing Meet the Parents. Gibbs ignored the comment and took another bite of pizza.

Jen looked at him and studied his face for a moment. Gibbs cocked his head to the side and waited. He could tell she was thinking about something. She then pointed to his eye.

"What did you do to your eye, you didn't have that yesterday," she said. Gibbs turned his attention back to the television.

"Kid did it to me," Gibbs said using his head to point to Nicole. Her head snapped towards him with her mouth hanging open. Gibbs tried to hold his face blank, but the corners of his mouth twisted up at her reaction.

"I did not!" Nicole bellowed in defense.

"Did too," Gibbs said calmly looking at her.

"Did not! You did it on your own! It's not my fault you sleep under that thing," Nicole said pointing a finger at the boat. Jen was smiling now at their banter.

"It's still your fault. You woke me up," Gibbs said matter-of-factly.

"Like I did that on purpose, besides you're the one that sat up really fast and smacked your head on the board," Nicole said looking back at the television.

"Jethro?" Jen asked. He simply turned his head to look at her. "You hit your head on the boat while sleeping under it?"

Gibbs considered what she said for a moment and then looked over at Nicole, contemplating how he should answer her question. Nicole looked up at him and glared.

"Don't even think about it. I have pop this time," Nicole said pointing to the can of grape soda on the table. Gibbs could not help it anymore and he laughed aloud.

"Yeah, Jen, I smacked my head off the rib on the boat last night," he replied nodding. Nothing more was said. The three of them turned their attention back to the movie. Before long his cell phone began to ring and he got up from the couch pulling it from his pocket. He checked the screen and saw DiNozzo's number.

"I'm going to take this upstairs," he said looking at Jen. She nodded as Gibbs looked over at Nicole. She did not seem to notice as she was wrapped up in the movie. Gibbs flipped the phone open and as he took the steps two at a time.

"Gibbs."

"Boss, update time," Tony said still sitting at the table in the house they were using.

"What do you got?"

"Not much."

"Not good, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled.

"We got a name, possibly the guy Commander Conrad was seeing."

"Who?" Gibbs barked.

"His name is Captain Jacob Lariman. Admiral Morse said he thought she was seeing a guy named Jacob, and his line comes up on her home phone records. None of the neighbors knew the name though."

"It's a start."

"That's what we thought. McGee went through Commander Conrad's phone records number by number and ID'ed them all."

"Anything of interest?"

"Yeah, Probie traced one number to an off base payphone. We're not sure why she would be calling a payphone."

"See what you can find."

"Will do, Boss. Oh, there were also two numbers that McGee could not track down. He thinks one is an off base number and the other he thinks might be a cell number."

"Have him send it to Abby in the morning, see if she can't find there origins."

"I'll tell him. Otherwise, it seemed like everyday stuff. Delivery numbers, car repair, calls on base that seem to have to do with her job. We'll run them down anyway while we're here, find out for sure."

"Ok. Anything more from the neighbors?"

"Just got that it was a black sedan from Captain Harper, he didn't know make, model, or license number. He didn't remember seeing it around anywhere else either. But we'll run it against Captain Lariman and see what we come up with."

"Anything else?"

"No, Boss, this case is weird. You'd think there was something that stuck out, as personal as the attack was."

"It's there, DiNozzo, you just have to find it," Gibbs said. He wished he could be out there interviewing people himself, but he knew that right now his place was here with Nicole.

"We're looking, Boss, be sure of that. We're being thorough on this one. How's the kid?"

"Keep at it. She's doing fine. Call me tomorrow."

"Cell or office?"

"Cell," Gibbs said as he looked back at the basement door. He flipped the phone closed before Tony could reply and pocketed it. He then returned to the basement, taking his seat between Jen and Nicole. They had done a good number on the pizza and he shoveled the rest of the piece he had started into his mouth, grabbing a second piece. They sat and watched the rest of the movie, before Gibbs looked over and saw Nicole asleep. Her legs had again made their way into his lap as she used the arm of the couch as a pillow.

Gibbs scooped her up gently and carried her to the stairs. Jen watched him and rose to follow him once he was halfway up. She paused and grabbed the remote, turning the television off, before climbing the stairs. Gibbs was already out of sight and she waited in his living room.

Gibbs laid Nicole on the bed in the guest room and covered her with the blankets. He then stood and stared at her a moment before reaching down and gently moving her bangs from her face. He felt the pain in his heart again as images of Kelly floated through his mind. He then turned and left the room, turning the overhead light off as he went.

He found Jen standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. He walked up in front of her and stopped. They stood quietly, each studying the other's face. Jen noticed that the smile that had been on his face all evening was overshadowed by sadness in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Jen asked softly. Gibbs was a little taken aback by the question. He stood staring at the floor spinning her question over and over in his mind. On the outside he was fine, he was he old self, the bastard marine that never gives up, but on the inside he was in turmoil, and had been for quite some time. Nicole had been right the dead haunt him. The issue now was if he was ready to admit it to someone else.

"I'm fine," he said with a slight nod, his mind not ready to open. He could tell she didn't believe him but she was willing to accept his answer for now. She waited a moment before she continued.

"What did DiNozzo have to say?"

"They're still chasing down leads in California. I guess they found someone that might have motive. They think Commander Conrad was involved with a Marine captain named Lariman. Also chasing down some phone record questions. There was a stalker but all we have is a black sedan with tinted windows."

"Sounds like no one knew what was going on in this woman's life."

"They didn't," Gibbs said with a shrug. They stood in silence again, eyes locked on each other. Jen finally broke the contact by looking down for a moment.

"Jethro, you know you only have twenty-four more hours left in the deal," she said quietly. Gibbs looked back towards the guest bedroom. Jen followed his gaze. "CPS is already looking for a suitable family that can handle Nicole."

"Handle her? What's to handle?"

"Jethro, she's going to need support, she just saw her mother murdered," Jen said sternly. Gibbs closed his eyes. He didn't want to have this conversation. "I should go."

Gibbs only nodded, he didn't say anything. She stood for a moment longer before she lowered her eyes and walked around him, heading for the door. Gibbs followed her with his eyes. She stopped after she opened the door and looked back at him.

"It's good to see you laughing again," she said with a sad smile and then was out the door and gone. He stared at the closed door for a while as he contemplated what she had said to him. He then decided it was time to sleep. He was too tired to work on the boat tonight so he decided he could use a good night's rest in his own bed.

Gibbs changed into sweats and then climbed under his covers. His mind was restless, but exhaustion over took him and he slipped into a light sleep. The dead visited him again that night, standing in the shadows and calling to him to help them. He saw them reaching out to him, begging him not to fail them. He couldn't help them, reach them, or touch them. He failed, just like every night.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep before he felt a presence in the room and awoke to find Nicole standing next to him shaking his shoulder. He blinked the sleep from his eyes trying to clear his mind enough to function.

"What's wrong, Kelly?" he asked groggily. Nicole ignored the name slip.

"I had another bad dream," she whispered with tears running down her face. "Every time I close my eyes he tries to get me. He doesn't even have a face."

Gibbs sat up then and finally pulled himself from sleep. He patted the bed and Nicole climbed over him. She grabbed a pillow and was hugging it to herself when Gibbs lay back against his own pillow, wrapping an arm around her.

"Every thing is ok, you're safe here," he said soothingly. He felt her shift a little.

"But he comes in my sleep," she said with a shake to her voice.

"That's going to happen for a while," Gibbs said. "It's never easy."

"You never told me what you meant when you said you dream about the dead," she said her tears slowing. Gibbs was quiet. He didn't answer her. He didn't know how or what to say. Nicole looked up at him expectantly.

She didn't press him for an answer. She could tell it was something that he didn't like to talk about. She wondered if anyone else even knew how tormented he was by his dreams. Gibbs was almost asleep again when Nicole broke the silence.

"You called me Kelly again," she said softly. Gibbs opened his eyes and looked at her. She stared back at him with compassionate eyes as she read the pain coming from his. She cocked her head to the side. "Who was she?"

Gibbs felt his own tears forming as the memories of his daughter came back to him. She wasn't much older than Nicole when he had lost her. He was quiet for a long time and Nicole thought he wasn't going to answer him before he finally spoke.

"She was my daughter," Gibbs said softly, the first of the tears slowly sliding down his face.

"Where is she now?" Nicole asked as she watched the tear move down his cheek. She felt the sadness coming from him and wondered what had happened to cause this much pain.

"Gone…forever," Gibbs said taking a shaky breath. He looked away from Nicole then and bit his lower lip to stop the pain that had started. Nicole noticed the change and decided it wasn't a good time to push the subject.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. Gibbs finally looked back over at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't sweat it, Kido," he said tightening the arm around her. She nodded.

"How come the Director came to your house tonight," she said with a smile. Gibbs eyed her for a moment.

"What?" he asked confused.

"She likes you, Gibbs," Nicole said with a smile.

"No, she was making sure I could take care of you," Gibbs said turning his head so he could stare at the ceiling. Memories of his and Jen's past floating through his mind.

"You're not too bright when it comes to girls, are you," Nicole said with a giggle. Gibbs turned his head towards her and gave her a glare for a moment. It made her laugh a little harder and then he tickled her making her laugh ever more.

"Don't read into things you don't understand, Kido," Gibbs said when he was done tickling her.

"Who says I don't understand. You two have history," Nicole said confidently. Gibbs looked at her and shook his head.

"When did eleven year olds get so smart?"

"You like her too, Gibbs, admit it," Nicole said settling back into his arm, stifling a yawn.

"Get some sleep," he said staring at the ceiling again, his mind replaying the scene right before Jen left for the night. He wondered what she had meant by her last statement. Nicole was quiet for a while and Gibbs thought she had gone to sleep. Again he was almost out when she spoke.

"You should talk about the ones who haunt you, Gibbs. Someone once told me it's good to talk about your bad dreams," she said sleepily. Gibbs looked over at her and saw her eyes closed and her breathing evening out. She was almost asleep. He thought about what she had said to him and knew she was right. Soon he too was drifting back to sleep. This time it was dreamless.

TBC…