Chapter 5

After telling the team what the case they'll be working on and contacting the Chief of Police in Baltimore to request taking over the investigation, Gibbs and Tony go down to the Forensics Lab. Abby and her temp assistant Jamie are in the lab doing some work. Gibbs and Tony enter into the lab. Jamie immediately turns in her stool so she doesn't have to see Tony.

"What do you got for me Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"Besides a sleep disorder due to Tony bringing me in three hours earlier to work?" Abby asked.

"Yes, besides that."

Tony walks closer to Jamie and tries to put his hand on her arm to get her attention.

"Jamie, I…" Tony begins to say.

"Don't touch me!" Jamie immediately smacks Tony's hand.

"I'm…"

"You're sorry? Do I look like I'm gonna care about you being sorry? You did what did… So deal with it and leave me alone!"

Abby and Gibbs just look over with not knowing what to do or say. Tony steps away from Jamie and just looks down because he's sad. Jamie looks toward her father.

"You knew I was gonna be today, so why'd you bring his sorry ass down here?" Jamie asked.

"Uh… Actually… I told you to take today off and you said you would. So I wasn't expecting you to be…" Gibbs said.

"I wasn't gonna let…" Jamie begins to say before stopping herself because she knows Tony is in the room. "I'm completely fine. I don't need, nor do I want him in my life. I'm much better off and happier without him. Last night made me realize I never loved him in the first place. Tony's a jerk and always will be."

Tony feels like crying from these harsh words.

"I'm… Gonna go upstairs." Tony said.

As Tony walks away, Jamie can't help but turn and watch him as he walks out the door. After Tony leaving her sight, she turns to Abby and Gibbs.

"You shouldn't have done that." Gibbs stated.

"He deserved it." Jamie answered.

"But it made you feel crappy, didn't it?"

"Yeah…" Jamie said in a sad voice.

"You have a good heart, so you're not a mean person."

"Why did you have to bring him down here?" Jamie asked as she now looks sad.

"I should've realized you'd still come in today, so I'm sorry." Gibbs steps over and kisses her on the forehead.

They both look at Abby who is just standing there not knowing what to do or say.

"Talk about feeling like I don't exist in the room." Abby joked.

"Dad, did you hear something?" Jamie asked.

"I think it was just the wind." Gibbs replied.

"Don't you even dare suggest I'm just full of hot air!" Abby exclaimed.

"I swear it sounds like a female voice." Jamie stated. "Don't you hear it?"

"Is someone else in the room?" Gibbs asked. "Cuz I don't see anybody besides you and me."

"Argh! Why am I playing this game!" Abby exclaimed.

"Cuz it's a fun game." Jamie sticks her tongue out at Abby.

Ducky walks into the room.

"Jethro, I thought I'd find you here." Ducky said.

"What do you got Ducky?" Gibbs asked.

"The eyes that were sent to Tony…" Ducky begins to say.

"Wait… What do you mean eyes!" Jamie exclaimed.

"She doesn't know?" Ducky asked.

"Know what! What's going on here?" Jamie asked.

"The package that was sent to Tony contained a pair of human eyes…" Gibbs begins to say.

"The DNA test confirms the eyes belong to Danny. And the blood on the note is also Danny's." Abby added.

"Who's Danny?" Jamie asked.

"Danny used to be Tony's old partner when he worked in Baltimore." Gibbs stated.

"Should we continue this conversation with Jamie being here?" Ducky asked.

"She needs to hear about it sooner or later." Gibbs said.

Jamie just looks perplexed from where this conversation has gone.

"I carefully looked over all Autopsy notes of the eyes that were sent to Tony before…"

"Other eyes were sent to Tony!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Continue Ducky." Gibbs said.

"All of the victims were alive when their eyes were gouged out. The eyes were obviously not extracted by a surgeon. But the skill of the extraction appeared to get better as the victims became more and more. Practice makes perfect." Ducky said. "Once the eyes started to be sent to Tony, there were a lot less mistakes involved. Now… Only the eyes are always slightly enlarged due to being soaked in type of watery substance. All Autopsy notes suggest the eyes absorbed water with a high concentration of Zinc."

"And I confirmed that the watery substance in this recent pair of eyes is just fresh water that has a high concentration of Zinc in it." Abby added. "The Zinc appears to be in its purest form."

"Can someone tell me what's going on here!" Jamie exclaimed.

"When Tony worked in Baltimore, he was working a case where a pair of eyes was left for the families of the victims. Eventually, the serial killer wanted to play a game with Tony by sending him the eyes of girls he dated. And it became too much for him to handle…" Gibbs started explaining.

"Oh my God…" Jamie sighed in shock.

"The bodies were never found. The killer went to jail for drug and weapon possession, but the murders were never able to be pinned on him. So the murder charges were dismissed and never even presented in court due to lack of evidence to link him to any murder. The man's name is Larry and he was recently released from prison." Gibbs stated.

"And he wants to continue the game?" Jamie asked.

"Yes..." Gibbs answered.

"I need to talk to Tony." Jamie said.

Jamie stands up and tries to walk away. Gibbs grabs her by wrapping his arm around her. Jamie struggles to get away.

"Let go… I need to talk to Tony. I can't leave it like I did. I didn't mean it. I need to tell him I love him." Jamie said.

"Sweetie… Hold off on talking to him until I get the situation under control. Cuz right now he's too vulnerable and not in the right mental state for much of what's going on." Gibbs stated as she begins to calm down in his arm. "Tony had a complete breakdown a long time ago because of this case. In order for him to move forward, he needs to let go of the past. He needs to forgive himself for what happened. But the only way he can do that, is if you're safe and we find those bodies."

Jamie moves to look at her father. She looks him in the eyes. Gibbs places his hands on Jamie's cheeks and looks into her tear-filled eyes.

"I want him back… Please." Jamie said.

"The Tony you know… You'll have him back soon… I promise." Gibbs said. "But I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I need you to stay with Abby until we catch this guy. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes."

Gibbs leans forward and kisses Jamie on the forehead. He then walks away and out of the room.

"Your father will make everything better, my dear." Ducky said. "A father will do anything for the love of his daughter. Your happiness means the world to Jethro. He'll bring Tony back."

"I know." Jamie said as she looks toward the empty doorway.

Ducky leaves the Forensics Lab. Abby and Jamie go back to work on a couple other samples in the hopes of getting Jamie's mind off the whole thing.