Chapter 14 - Never Left
Back in the bullpen, no one was having any luck finding Trisha. Ducky and Tony literally ran out of police stations to call. McGee and Abby didn't know what to do with themselves, either; Trisha had no cell phone to trace a GPS, she was too young to have a credit card, and no one had any idea which way she had gone to be able to take a look at any video surveillance.
McGee sighed. "I hoped it wouldn't come down to this, but I'm calling Rochelle to see if Trisha made it to her house." He opened up his cell phone and dialed Chelle's cell number.
On the fifth ring a sleepy voice came on the line. "McGee, why in the world are you calling me at four in the morning?" Rochelle snapped.
"I'm sorry I woke you up, but this won't take long. Is Trisha there with you?" McGee asked hopefully.
There was a pause on the line while she comprehended what McGee asked her. "Wait… what? No she's not here with me, if you want her call Gibbs' place!" Rochelle answered. There was another pause. "Did something happen, McGee?"
"Yea," he answered softly, "Gibbs and Trisha had a fight last night. She ran away and we don't know where she is. Are you sure she's not there, Chelle?"
"Hey, I'd know if Trisha was here, McGee. We'd be partying right now instead of sleeping. I swear to you, she's not here." Rochelle sighed. "Look, I gotta get back to sleep, I have school tomorrow. If Trisha does come here, I'll call you as soon as I can. Keep me posted, ok McGee?"
He sighed in disappointment. "Will do, Chelle. Talk to you later." McGee disconnected the call and put his cell back in his pocket. "Trisha's not at Chelle's place, guys," he stated, turning back to the rest of the team.
Kate and Gibbs came back into the bullpen and sat next to each other on Gibbs' desk. "Anything yet?" he asked.
Tony was about to answer when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open quickly and put it to his ear. "DiNozzo," he answered. Tony listened carefully for a few minutes before his eyes grew wide and he turned pale. "Yea, NCIS. Sicard Street. We'll be waiting." With that he hung up and dropped his cell phone on his desk. Tony looked at Gibbs and Kate, shaking his head.
"Tony, who was that and why are they coming here?" Abby asked. She grabbed McGee's arm and held onto him. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"
Tony nodded. "That was Washington PD, they think they found Trisha." He paused and stared at a spot on his desk. "They're bringing her here because…" his voice faltered. Tony looked at Gibbs and Kate. "I'm sorry, Boss. They need someone to make an identification on the body…"
Gibbs hung his head and stood up. He began to walk out of the bullpen, but he only made it as far as Kate's desk. Grief overtook him as he sank to the floor. "It's my fault," he said, his voice gravelly.
No one moved or said anything. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, but it didn't look like anyone got out. Kate finally slid off Gibbs' desk and went to him. "We don't even know if it's her for sure yet, Jethro. Don't jump to conclusions," she said quietly.
Gibbs shook his head, trying to block tears that threatened to spill for the second time in the past hour. "She's gone, Kate. I drove her away, and…" his voice diminished to a whisper. Gibbs couldn't hold back any longer. "Oh God," he sobbed, "Trisha's dead, and it's all my fault!"
"I'm not dead," came a small, tiredvoice from the other side of the cubicle. Trisha stepped into view, very much alive. She stared at the carpet in front of her. "I made it as far as the bus station. I thought I'd get a ticket to go home, but then I realized something." She looked from face to face of the team assembled before her. "My home's here with you guys. If you still want me around, I mean. I can understand if you don't…"
Abby let go of McGee and ran to Trisha. She grabbed her and hugged her. "I'm glad you're ok Trisha! Of course we still want you around!"
Trisha let go of Abby and knelt down in front of Gibbs. She stared at her hands and felt tears forming in her eyes. "I… I'm sorry, Gibbs. I just thought that, you know… I thought that you were the one who deserved better. I thought that maybe if I left, I wouldn't have to worry about you not wanting me or something like that. I even bought a ticket," she said, tears streaming down her face as she held up a piece of paper. "But I sat on a bench and watched the bus come and go. I couldn't bring myself to get on it. You know why?" She finally worked up enough courage to look at Gibbs' face. When she saw tears streaming down his face as well, she began to cry harder. "Because I… I love you too much to walk away, Gibbs. That's why!" Trisha bowed her head and expected Gibbs to yell at her.
Instead Gibbs grabbed her and pulled her into a strong hug, holding her tightly like there was no tomorrow. "I thought I lost you," he whispered into her hair. "I thought you were gone for good, Trisha." Gibbs pulled back a little and looked her in the face. "Don't you ever, ever, do something like that again, understand?"
Trisha nodded and sniffled. "I won't."
"Ever," Gibbs repeated.
"Never again, I promise." She let Gibbs pull her back into him and she wrapped her arms around him in return. She had never felt so safe with one person before. Trisha felt Kate put an arm around her.
Gibbs wrapped one of his arms around Kate and the three of them sat there on the floor, holding each other. "You both mean the world to me," Gibbs said quietly. When he realized that Kate had started crying as well, he nuzzled his chin against the top of her head. "What do you say we get out of here and go home, hmm?"
Trisha nodded against his chest. "I'd like that very much, Gibbs."