Chapter 5
Abby twirled around her lab laughing. McGee sat at her computer station a grin on his face.
"We have a lead, we have a lead!" Abby chanted as she twirled round and round. Sarah Jane Smithy had been missing now for 12 hours and so far the investigation had turned up nothing. And Gibbs was driving everyone hard.
Abby pirouetted around with her arms above her head, until she hit a wall with arms. She stopped abruptly, recognising the feel and smell of Gibbs instantly. She turned around in his arms until she faced him, stepping back at the cold look in his eyes. Her arms fell heavily to her sides, her large dark eyes widening in shock at what she had seen in her lover's eyes.
"We have a possible lead Gibbs" she said quietly, her tone unusually subdued.
"I want more than possibilities Abby" Gibbs ground out, his eyes flicking to a nervous McGee "I want answers" he added on, his tone dropping slightly, along with an infinitesimal drop of his shoulders, one that only Abby noticed.
Abby stepped closer to Gibbs, her hand touching his arm softly.
"We'll find her Gibbs, her Mommy and Daddy will have her home safe and sound soon" she told him with a confidence that came from her belief in the team she worked with, from her belief in Gibbs. She tried not to think about the variable of the kidnapper, which was beyond their control, and she would not think of the possibilities he or she represented.
Gibbs stared at her silently, hearing what she was trying to tell him, knowing that her belief in the team was right, but it didn't reduce his fear. A voice floated through his mind I love you Daddy. He closed his eyes briefly against the pain of the last words he had ever heard from his daughter, the daughter who had been kidnapped at the same age as Sarah Jane Smithy.
He opened his eyes, to see Abby staring at him in concern.
"What's the lead Abby?" he asked, his tone husky, unable to shake of the memories completely. Abby stared at him for a brief second before she spun round bouncing over to McGee, her normal bouncy self again. But inside she had filed away this moment to deal with later.
"One of her chat friends isn't who they said they are" she told Gibbs with a huge grin. "And he wants to meet me in an hour" she finished with a twirl of triumph, high fiving McGee as she turned.
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Tony walked out of the morgue at county hospital, hating his job sometimes. He was pleased that the child lying there wasn't Sarah Jane, but she was still someone's little girl, someone's lost child. They had had the report of the body whilst it was still being transported and Gibbs had ordered him and Ziva over to the hospital rather than wait for the fingerprints to come through.
He leant against the wall and took deep breaths. This case was really getting to them all he thought sadly.
"Are you ok Tony?" Ziva asked coming to stand in front of him, concern shadowing her eyes. Tony looked up at her, his eyes sad.
"I never get used to seeing dead kids" he said quietly, in a rare display of the inner Tony.
"No, I always find it hard, harder still when they blow themselves and others up" Ziva said watching Tony carefully. "Children are no longer innocent" she said as she turned and walked away. Tony stared after her, not sure if he wanted to hit her or not.
Tony jogged to catch up with her as walked down the corridor,
"I need to make a quick stop why we're here" he said as he pulled alongside her.
"Food again Tony? Your stomach is already getting floppy, more fatty food will only add to it" Ziva told him with disgust, continuing towards the exit.
"Floppy? You mean Flabby, and my stomach is not flabby" Tony declared indignantly, sucking his stomach in for good measure.
"Floppy, flabby, does it matter? It makes the same shape" Ziva queried with a pat to his stomach. Tony batted her hand away.
"It makes a difference and it isn't Flop… Flabby" he declared again "and I don't want food, I want to run upstairs and visit with someone" he said softly, looking away, not willing to let Ziva see the concern in his eyes.
"Ahhh the woman from the accident" Ziva responded finally stopping. "Gibbs wont like it on his time" she informed him, noting the way he wouldn't look at her.
"Gibbs doesn't need to know" Tony told her primly. Ziva snorted a laugh
"Gibbs always knows, I would not be surprised to find a tracking device implanted in us all" she told Tony with a grin as she headed for the stairwell.
"Elevators this way" Tony said, hitching his thumb in the other direction.
"You said you wanted to run up the stairs Tony, so lets run" she informed him sprinting up the stairs "Or are you too flabby to manage it?" she taunted over her shoulder, her voice not even slightly breathless.
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"No way, Ziva can do it" Gibbs declared for the second time. Abby had made contact with the possible kidnapper. Sarah Jane had been talking to what she thought was a young girl on an internet forum. They had started to PM each other and had arranged to meet in a park near Sarah Jane's house on the day she had disappeared. McGee had tracked down the IP address as that of a 35 year old male.
They had traced his favourite hang outs and Abby had pretended to be a 9 year old girl. It hadn't taken long for him to make contact. Abby had been surprised when he suddenly asked her to meet him, but knowing this could be the break they needed she had agreed, without Gibbs's approval.
"There is no way Ziva will look like a little kid" Abby threw back at Gibbs, eager to go out in the field, knowing that this might be her only chance ever. Gibbs raised an eyebrow, his gaze raking her in a very intimate way, his eyes telling her in no uncertain terms that neither did Abby.
"No" Gibbs declared flatly, "we can stake out the area, watch who comes" he told Abby and McGee, internally warring with himself, knowing that the idea had some merit.
"Gibbs…" Abby started her eyes serious and determined as she took a deep breath, in preparation of an argument, "There is a little girl out there, counting on us to get her home. We have a chance bossman; I won't get hurt because you won't let me." She told him, watching his eyes carefully, knowing her words were having an impact.
Gibbs stood there silently for a moment, knowing what she said was true, hating it, hating the feelings he was struggling to control. He wouldn't hesitate if it was anyone but Abby, and he knew it wasn't just because she wasn't a field agent, it was also because he loved her.
Gibbs turned to glare at McGee, making the younger agent tremble slightly under the intense gaze.
"Set it up" was all he said, as he turned and left the lab without looking at Abby, not trusting himself to.
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Tony stood looking at the woman in the bed. A nurse had been in here when he had arrived, it was the same one he had spoken too when Jane Doe had arrived. She had smiled with pleasure as Tony had walked in, not because she liked him but because as she had told him, everyone should have a visitor. The nurse had also informed him that the doctor was seeking a DNR order, and that they didn't feel she would pull through. She had had a number of instances where they had almost lost her, but each time she had fought back, but only just. It was only a matter of time the nurse said before the order came through.
Tony knew that there was no one to fight, no one to care what happened, and yet for some reason he did. He couldn't explain why he wanted her to live, why he wanted to see her eyes open, but there was something compelling about her, something very familiar about her. But he knew he had never met her, and yet there was definitely something about her that he knew. And he was determined to figure it out and to give her a name, hopefully one that she could live with and not die to.
"Push upwards, in a smooth motion" her father told her softly, his arms around her, his hands covering hers as they pushed the tool against the wood.
"Ok Daddy" she said softly, her soft brown curls brushing against her fathers chin, causing him to gently rub his chin on the top of her head, ruffling the dark curls.
"Why don't you use the 'lectric things Grandpa gave you?" she asked him, turning to look at her father's blue eyes. Her father smiled down at her, his eyes full of love.
"Because I prefer to use hand tools" he answered, his hands gently moving hers over the wood, a cloud of sawdust tickling her nose, causing her to sneeze which in turn made her Daddy laugh.
Tony turned at the door, as the monitor beeped alarmingly, before once more settling down. Tony knew he had to work fast, he had to find someone to care whether this woman lived or died, he just prayed that there was someone out there, somewhere.
