Meeting Samantha

Three days later, Saturday morning found Tony standing at the front door of a small house, having rung the bell but gotten no answer. He was debating his next move when someone spoke to him from the street.

"Looking for Sammie?"

Tony turned to see a young woman with a baby in a stroller, holding a small boy's hand.

"Uh, yeah, any idea if she'll be back soon?"

"She just took Jack to the park." She turned and pointed back the way she'd come. "About a block and a half that way."

"Thanks." Tony set off down the street.

The park wasn't very crowded. He wandered for a while, until the sound of laughter caused him to turn. He saw Samantha Hawthorne hanging on to a rope toy, Jack pulling on the other end. He headed in their direction, noticing that her hair was longer than in the picture from Abby's screen. She wore jeans and a t-shirt, and as he got closer he could tell she wore minimal if any makeup.

The dog dropped the toy, turned to face him, and barked.

Tony stopped. "Samantha Hawthorne?"

She was crouched next to the dog, putting her hand on his shoulder to quiet him. Jack stopped barking, but watched him. Samantha looked up at Tony, her expression curious but a bit wary.

"Yes?"

Tony held up his badge and ID and introduced himself. She looked at it, then at him, said, "Hold on" and jogged a few steps away calling Jack. She picked a leash up off the ground, attached it to his collar, then came back, stopping a few feet away. "How can I help you?"

Tony smiled, keeping it professional. "You applied to volunteer at a nursing home recently, right?"

She reached up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "Yes, I did… is there a problem?"

Tony was paying attention to her body language and tone of voice. She's either a master criminal or completely innocent, he thought. "Not a problem, exactly, but your fingerprints match someone else's, so I have some questions."

Samantha stared at him. "That's weird. Could it just be some sort of computer glitch?"

"I guess, but the computer isn't fessing up, so I figured I'd come talk to you."

Samantha responded to Tony's grin with one of her own, and Tony felt as if the ground had suddenly shifted out from under his feet… her smile was Gibbs' smile.

"Okay… still weird." She looked around. "There's a bench over there."

Tony realized he was staring at her while she walked toward the bench, so he gave himself a mental head slap and moved to follow her. Good move, keeping it public, he thought. This girl's smart… maybe she is a criminal mastermind. With Gibbs' smile. Holy crap, she has Gibbs' smile. For the first time, Tony let himself really believe that maybe, just maybe… the hinky wasn't evil at all.

Samantha sat on one end of the bench; Jack lay down in front of her, facing Tony, who sat on the other end. She gave him another, smaller smile. "Call me Sammie. So, how can I have someone else's fingerprints?"

"That's what I'm wondering about. I know this is awkward and strange… but could you tell me what you remember about your life before the car accident that killed your biological parents?"

Sammie stared at him. "Wow… you're not kidding about awkward." Her brow furrowed. "How do you know about that? And what is NCIS, anyway?"

"NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We're a civilian agency that works with the Navy and Marine Corps." Tony made sure his body language was open and relaxed. "When discrepancies like this come up, first thing we do is a background check on everyone involved. We have pretty high-level clearance, so we easily get details that would be kept private in most situations."

She maintained eye contact for a moment, then looked away across the park, taking a deep breath. Jack raised his head to look at her, then turned back to Tony and growled softly. Sammie looked back at Tony and held out her hand. "Can I see your badge again, please?"

Tony pulled it out of his pocket and violated regulations by handing it to her, thinking it might help her trust him. She looked at both the badge and the ID carefully, then handed it back to him. "Give me a sec." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and focused on it. Tony assumed she was Googling NCIS and probably himself as well. She glanced at him and placed a call, putting the phone on speaker. He heard someone at the front desk answer, "NCIS, how may I direct your call?"

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, please."

"One moment." There was a pause, then he heard his own voice introducing himself and inviting her to leave a message.

Sammie ended the call, pocketed her phone, and looked at him thoughtfully while she reached down to scratch Jack behind the ears. "I guess you're legit."

Tony didn't say anything. Several of Gibbs' rules were jumping around in his head, and he could imagine a younger version of his boss explaining to a young girl how to trust, but verify.

Sammie smiled slightly. "Special Agent DiNozzo –"

"You can call me Tony."

She inclined her head. "Okay. Tony… you know this makes no sense, right? I did take a forensics course in college, and we worked on fingerprints. Everyone's is unique. And now you tell me mine match someone else? Whose?"

Tony grimaced. He'd been hoping she wouldn't ask that question. "Someone who died a long time ago."

"Before I was born? I assume you know my age and all that, right?"

Tony smiled at her. "Yeah, we do. And no, the match is with someone who would be your age now."

Some of Sammie's facial muscles twitched, and she lost a little color from her face. Tony noticed, but didn't say anything. "I think I need some time. Do I have to answer your questions right now?"

Tony shook his head. "No, this can wait… but not for too long." He reached into his pocket for his wallet and gave her his card. "Please, call me when you're ready. But let me ask you something else… have you noticed anything strange recently?"

She looked at the card for a moment, then put it in her pocket. "Strange how?"

Tony shrugged, as if what he was asking wasn't all that important. "Strange people, calls, emails, anything out of the ordinary. Anything that might indicate identify theft."

She thought about it, reaching down to pet Jack. "No… I can't think of anything." She looked back up at him. "I understand that you have questions, and I will explain, but… I need some time. Can I call you next week?"

"Are you okay?"

Sammie nodded. "Yeah. Just… asking about the accident brings back a lot of memories I kinda prefer not to look into too closely. Do you mind?"

Tony looked at her carefully, cataloging her expression and body language. Everything about her told him she wasn't dissembling. "No, I don't mind. This can wait. But I do have to talk to you again next week."

Sammie gave him a genuine smile, which once again felt like a punch to the gut to Tony because it was such a Gibbs smile. "Thank you. I'll be in touch."

They both rose from the bench, and she put out her hand for him to shake. She then looked down at Jack, who had gotten up when she did, and spoke to him. "Let's go home, buddy."

Tony sat back down, watching her walk away. He needed to go in the same direction, and he didn't want her to be uncomfortable with him following her too closely. He wanted some time to think anyway… her reaction to the news that she matched someone her own age told him something about her past wasn't right, and on some level she already knew it.

Team Dinner

Tony walked into the restaurant, heading for their usual table, and saw Abby waving to him from the back corner of the restaurant, McGee sitting next to her. He caught the bartender's eye, gave her the signal for his favorite beer, and joined them, pulling out a chair.

"Where's Ziva?"

"She should be here any minute," McGee answered.

"What's the Hawthorne woman like?" Abby asked eagerly.

"Let's wait 'til Zee gets here." Tony thanked the server who brought him his beer. "Ducky coming?"

"Nope. Said he has a prior engagement, but wants us to update him tomorrow." Abby took a sip of her own drink and looked up. "Here she is!"

Ziva hurried to the table, sitting next to Tony. "Sorry I am late. My class ran overtime."

Abby tilted her head. "Class? What class?"

"Ballroom dancing." They all gaped at her, and she looked from one to the other in confusion. "What is wrong with ballroom dancing?"

"Nothing," McGee said slowly. "Just that you're already a great dancer."

Ziva sat up straighter, smiling. "Thank you, McGee!" She looked at Abby and Tony, and shrugged. "I was trained in ballet, not ballroom. It looked like fun, so one day when I had some free time I signed up for a lesson. Now my instructor wants us to compete."

Abby clapped her hands. "That's so cool! Tell us where and when, and we'll be there to cheer you on!"

Tony and McGee exchanged slightly panicked looks, and then Tony cleared his throat. "Let's get down to business, people!"

Abby wrinkled her nose at him. "Ballroom dancing is beautiful to watch, Tony! You must have seen it in some of your classic movies. But okay… so? What's up with the Hawthorne woman?"

Tony sighed and sent his beer bottle sliding on the table, back and forth between his hands. "Don't have too much to share. You'd love her dog, Abs. She's smart, careful… verified my ID by calling the Yard. Skeptical of matching someone else's prints… guarded about her past." He looked around the table. "She seemed okay until I told her the match was with someone her own age… that seemed to bother her, and she shut down. Said she'll be in touch next week."

Abby frowned. "Giving her the chance to speed up her timetable, now that she knows we know."

Ziva looked at Tony, concerned. "Do you agree with Abby? Should we be keeping her under surveillance?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't think so. Nothing set off any alarm bells… honestly, I liked her." Ziva punched him in the arm. "Hey! Not like that!" He scowled at her, rubbing his arm. "She was straightforward, seemed honest enough… didn't try to flirt with me or distract me in any way." He sighed and looked at them all. "She has Gibbs' smile, you guys."

McGee's eyes widened. "Seriously? Wow."

Abby's eyes were huge. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Tony," Ziva commented, "Have any of us seen Gibbs smile enough to be sure we can recognize it?"

"Ziva!" Abby threw a ball of paper that had covered her straw at her. "Gibbs smiles!" She looked at Tony. "You think she actually is Kelly?"

"That would be… crazy," Ziva stated, though she sounded uncertain.

They were interrupted by the server returning, asking if they wanted to order dinner. They all asked for their usual meals, and he left.

Tony picked up on Ziva's comment. "No kidding, it would be all kinds of crazy. Doesn't seem possible. Maybe I should have brought one of you with me, in case I'm imagining things." He shook his head. "You guys find out anything new?"

Abby shook her head. "My babies have been quiet… no pings."

McGee sighed. "I got nothing. I didn't find out anything new about her past. I checked both Kelly's and Hawthorne's fingerprint files… if anyone has tampered with them, they're better than I am."

Tony's eyebrows rose. "Unlikely, McGenius."

McGee smiled. "Thanks!" He sounded both pleased and surprised.

"I have found little to add on social media," Ziva put in. "None of her regular contacts are of a suspicious nature, she is not tagged in any concerning pictures. She has blocked one account on Facebook, but I have not been able to run that down yet."

"I guess we wait until she gets back in touch," Tony said.

"And if she doesn't?" Abby asked darkly.

"We must be extra vigilant," Ziva stated. "Keep an eye on Gibbs, make sure he does not run off the bars."

"Rails, Ziva," the other three chorused.

She looked at them all, and smiled. "Those, too," she said.

Abby grinned at her, and raised her drink. "Here's hoping for a quiet week ahead, with no evil plots."

They all raised and clinked their glasses and bottles. Tony sighed after setting his drink back down. "Let's just hope Sammie Hawthorne does call me back, so we don't have to hunt her down."

"Amen," McGee said fervently. "Imagine having to explain that one to Gibbs.

There was a moment of silence as they all looked around the interior of the restaurant, Tony and Ziva going so far as to turn around, making sure that Gibbs wasn't standing there, glaring at them and demanding an explanation. Their server gave them all strange looks as he brought their dinners.