It didn't take long for Gibbs to go stir crazy in the hospital. He wanted to be out there looking for Jenny, but he could barely move. He knew he wouldn't even make it to the door of his hospital room. Besides the last thing his team needed, the last thing Tim needed, was to have to worry about him again too. Gibbs didn't want to put anymore stress on him. It didn't mean he liked being trapped in this bed though.
Soon, the door opened, and Ducky stepped through. "Jethro."
"Hey, Duck."
"I'm glad to see you're awake. I came by yesterday, but you were asleep, and I must admit I was rather tired myself, so I had to go home," Ducky said.
"Yeah, I imagine none of you have slept recently," Gibbs said.
"No. Yesterday was the first day we've taken off, and only because Timothy insisted on it. I assume he's explained everything to you by now," Ducky said.
"Yep. I pride myself on being hard to surprise, but I didn't see that coming," Gibbs said.
"None of us did. Timothy is better at hiding things than he lets on. I suppose he has to be," Ducky said.
"You know, if you'd asked me a few weeks ago which of my agents was most like me, my answer would not have been Timothy McGee, and I wish that was still true," Gibbs said. He wished Tim wasn't like him because he was like him in all the ways he never wanted anyone to be like him. Just like Gibbs, Tim had lost everything and had to pick himself back up afterwards, only he'd had to do it as a young boy. Gibbs didn't know how he did it. Gibbs was a grown man when he lost his wife and child, and it had taken everything he had not to break.
"I know," Ducky said. He knew exactly what his friend meant when he said that. Timothy felt the same sorrow and pain that Jethro did, only worse.
"Ducky, I need a favor," Gibbs said.
"Of course, so long as it's not breaking you out of this hospital," Ducky said while giving his friend a knowing look.
"If I thought you'd do it, I probably would ask," Gibbs joked. "I need you to look out for Tim. He's holding it together pretty well now, but it will overwhelm him eventually." It would overwhelm anyone. In fact, it was proof of Tim's strength that he hadn't broken down yet. Most people would've broken long before now.
Ducky nodded. "Yes, I've been worried about the same thing. The poor lad has been through a lot. He was the first one on the scene at Jennifer's home."
"Oh, hell. He walked in on a scene he had to live through," Gibbs knew exactly what Tim saw when he entered that house, and he was sure it was very similar to what his own home looked like after those bastards had invaded it. If Tim didn't have flashbacks, Gibbs would be shocked. It was probably made even worse by the fact that it was once again someone Tim loved that was the victim. "Then he gets put in charge of the whole damned agency. He hasn't even had time to digest it all."
"Well, that may be a blessing in disguise. I think it's the only thing keeping him sane. But I agree, it will hit him hard soon. I am doing my best to keep an eye out for that. However, in reference to Timothy and what he's going though, you may want to speak with Abigail once you're up to it," Ducky said.
"Yeah, I got a glimpse of that. I don't know what's going on with her, but she knows better than to treat a director with that level of disrespect," Gibbs said.
"Part of the problem is that she doesn't respect his authority. She's said more than once that he's not the real director," Ducky said.
"Until Jenny walks back through the door, that's exactly what he is," Gibbs said.
"She also seems to be angry with him for hiding his true identity from everyone," Ducky said.
"It was none of her damned business," Gibbs said. He was usually the first person to defend Abby, but not in this case. He understood why Tim kept his past hidden, and not just because of the danger it put him in. He understood not wanting anyone to know painful secrets from your past. If it hadn't come out on its own, he never would've told anyone on the team about Shannon and Kelly. He was not going to let Abby vilify Tim. He had enough to deal with right now. "I'll talk to her when I get a chance."
"Is there anything else you need, Jethro. I'm afraid I have to head to NCIS soon," Ducky said. He'd come in to see Gibbs on his way to work.
"No, go ahead, Duck. I'm good," Gibbs said.
Ducky nodded and headed for the door.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Jenny tugged at the handcuffs binding her to the bed for what had to be the thousandth time. It never did any good. She wasn't sure how long she'd been there, but she'd guess it was at least a couple of weeks. In that time, the only people she'd seen were a doctor, who came in several times a day to make sure her leg was healing correctly, and someone who gave her food and water. They both barely spoke to her and ignored all her questions.
Jenny still hadn't seen Acosta, but she was sure he was behind all of this. The only thing she didn't understand was why she was being treated so humane. The murders her brother and his family were proof he didn't even know what humane looked like. Hell, she wasn't even sure why she was still alive. Was it all some kind of game? It had to be, right?
Jenny also spent a great deal of time thinking about what had happened to Gibbs. She was trying to be optimistic, but these people were ruthless monsters. They wouldn't just let him go. It was possible Gibbs fought them and feed himself though. If anyone was capable of that, it was him. Still, she wished she hadn't gotten him involved. She did so because she knew he'd want to help if he knew, but she should've realized the danger she'd be putting him in.
Just then, the door to Jenny's room unlocked and opened. She watched as a man with Dark brown hair, tan skin, and brown eyes walked in. She recognized him as the man who brought her food. He was carrying a white envelope. "You seem a little early. Not that I can tell much how much time has passed. When's your boss gonna pop in? Does the murderous coward not wanna face me?
The man smirked as he approached and placed a white envelope on her leg. "A gift," was all he said before walking back out of the room.
Jenny reached down with her free hand and picked up the envelope. Written on the front was the name 'Jasper'. That could mean either her brother or her nephew, but it was more likely her brother. Her brother never went by Jasper. He was always JJ.
Jenny's stomach turned. She knew that whatever was in that envelope was meant to break her, and given that it was likely about her dead little nephew, it was likely that it would work. Still she couldn't not open it. She'd waited eighteen years to find out what happened to Jasper. No matter how horrible it was, she had to know.
Jenny opened the envelope and removed a bunch of photos. She immediately gasped in horror when she saw the first one. It was a picture of her twelve-year-old nephew with bruises and cuts all over his face. "Oh my God. Jasper!"
The next picture she saw was of her nephew chained to a wall. He was laying on the ground, barely conscious. He had injuries from head to toe. Both his knees had had huge gashes in them. One of his legs was at an angle, clearly broken. Several of his fingers were also broken.
Jenny fought against the restraints again and screamed. "You bastard! He was just a little boy!" She didn't know if Acosta could hear her, and it didn't really matter. She wanted to kill him. She already had, but she hated him now more than her before. He tortured her nephew to death. She feared that was Jasper's fate when she learned he'd lived past that night, but she'd prayed that she was wrong, that even this animal wasn't evil enough to torture a little boy.
Jenny spent a good five minutes just sitting there crying for the little boy she'd loved as much as if he was her own. It was like she was grieving him all over again. It killed her that he'd been in so much pain in his last days. She tried to believe all these years that he'd died quickly, like his sister had, but these pictures proved that wasn't true. He had been in hell.
Jenny's hands shook as she prepared to look at the final picture. She was terrified that she was about to see a photo of Jasper's dead body. That seemed like the likely outcome. Acosta clearly wanted to torture with seeing how her nephew's life ended. As much as she wanted to not look though, she couldn't she had to know.
The last picture, however, was not what Jenny was expecting. She did not see a photo of a dead child. In fact, she didn't see a child at all. Instead she found herself looking at what looked like a surveillance photo of Timothy McGee, which could not have been taken that long ago. Jenny was extremely confused. Why would these photos start off with her nephew and end with an agent under her command?
It took Jenny a few minutes to realize what Acosta was trying to imply. These pictures were all meant to be Acosta, including the one of McGee. Acosta was trying to say that McGee was Jasper, and that he was alive. "No, this is impossible! This has got to be a game. It's just a form of torture. It's not him."
As much as Jenny tried to say it wasn't true, in an effort to protect herself from the pain it would cause when she found out for sure that it wasn't, there was doubt in the back of her mind. There was doubt because Timothy McGee looked like Jasper. He looked like him so much that Jenny felt like she'd been gut punched the first time she'd laid eyes on him. She did her best not to look at him or interact with him if she didn't have to because the resemblance was so uncanny that it physically hurt to look at him.
McGee steered clear of her too when he could. He was always nervous around her. She always thought it was because she was the director, and he was just nervous around authority figures. She'd heard he was the same with Gibbs at first. But what if that wasn't it? What if he was nervous because he was afraid she'd recognize him?
"Stop it! It's not true. Jasper is dead. They wouldn't have let him live," Jenny told herself. Once again, however doubt of her own words filled her mind.
