Surprise Visitor

They were all taking a mid-afternoon break. Jack was outside in the fenced yard, barking at something. Sammie was sitting at the end of the couch near the foyer, her head resting on the back, eyes closed. Tony was sprawled on the floor in front of the fireplace; Tim and Abby were seated on the couch next to the window, discussing the upcoming movie releases they wanted to see on opening night. Gibbs was standing, leaning on the bookcase, talking to Tony about getting his help with Sammie's old furniture sometime next week, and Ziva was in the kitchen, gathering plates and napkins for the pizza that should be delivered any moment.

The doorbell rang; Sammie's eyes opened and she said, "I'll get it… you already tipped the delivery guy when you called it in, right?" Tim nodded, and Sammie went to the door.

She could see through the glass that it wasn't the pizza delivery guy, and opened the door to see an older woman with dyed blond hair and heavy makeup standing there. "Hi… can I help you?"

The woman stared at her. "My God…" she said, one hand coming up to her mouth. "My baby…"

Sammie took a step back. "I'm sorry… who are you?"

Gibbs came up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Joann."

"Oh," Sammie said, looking at Joann with interest.

"Kelly?" Joann gazed at her, then swayed slightly.

Gibbs immediately moved forward. "You'd better come inside." He placed a hand on her elbow and gently prompted her to step into the house. Sammie followed suit on her other side; they helped her into the living room and got her settled on the couch, with Sammie sitting next to her, holding her hand.

The rest of the team were on their feet. Ziva walked in with the plates and stopped short, her eyes narrowing before her face turned expressionless.

At that moment, the delivery guy showed up with the pizza. "McGee," Gibbs said quietly, "take that out back, we'll be there after we make sure Joann's okay." Tim nodded, got the pizza boxes while Abby took the plates from Ziva, and they headed outside. Ziva remained where she was, waiting for guidance from Gibbs. Tony stood where he was near the fireplace, unwilling to leave Gibbs and Sammie with a woman capable of what he was sure she had done a little over a year ago.

Joann looked up, saw Ziva, and frowned, releasing Sammie's hand. "You lied to me," she accused.

Ziva's eyebrows lifted. "I most certainly did not."

"You came into my house under false pretenses!"

Ziva shook her head. "Nothing I said was untrue. There were certainly details about Gibbs' life before he joined the Marines that are not in his file, and Director Vance will always be concerned about security clearances. The Director assigned us to investigate Kelly's misidentification twenty years ago, and that is what I did." Ziva stared at Joann calmly until the woman looked away, then she looked at Gibbs, who nodded to her and indicated the back door with a tilt of his head. Ziva glanced at Sammie and Tony, then nodded to Gibbs and left to join Tim and Abby.

Joann gazed at Sammie with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe it. You look so much like my Shannon."

Sammie smiled at her, but had to stop herself from flinching when Joann reached out to lay her hand on Sammie's cheek. She had absolutely no memory of this woman. She looked at her father, whose face was grim, and then at Tony, who kept glancing between Joann and Gibbs. "Do you live near here?" she finally asked.

"No. I live in Philadelphia." Joann continued to gaze at her, lowering her hand to her lap.

Sammie glanced at Gibbs again, feeling uncomfortable. Her father seemed uncharacteristically uncertain, hesitant to say anything. Sammie looked at Tony; he was looking at Gibbs with concern, then glanced her way, met her eyes, and immediately responded to her silent plea for help.

Tony smiled broadly and moved forward to sit next to Joann on the couch. "Mrs. Fielding! It's nice to see you again. Did you make the trip from Philadelphia this morning? Where are you staying? Can I get you anything? Some water?"

Joann turned to him and couldn't help but smile at his eager expression. "You're Tony, aren't you?"

Tony's smile grew even wider. "You remember me! That's so kind. Really, is there anything I can get you?"

"I'm alright. Thank you. I took the train to DC, and I have a room at the Hampton Inn. I took a cab here." She turned to Sammie. "Kelly, darling, I want to hear all about you."

Sammie smiled weakly. "That would take a while."

Joann patted Sammie's hand. "That's all right. We'll have plenty of time." She smiled at her granddaughter. "Tell me… are you in college?" She glanced in the direction Ziva had gone. "That woman didn't give me any details when she came to my house and told me you were alive."

Sammie smiled slightly. "I graduated college seven years ago with a degree in Animal Sciences, and I've been a veterinary technician since then. I specialize in cardiology, and I'm applying to veterinary school."

"That's wonderful." Joann reached out to take her hand. "Where do you live?"

"About an hour away, in Rosedale." Sammie relaxed a bit. "But I'm moving in with Dad soon, since my lease expires in a couple of months."

Joann blinked, and her mouth began to twist before stretching into a smile. "Your father must be very happy." She squeezed Sammie's hand. Sammie returned the smile, but she tensed a bit, having caught the fleeting expression.

Still holding Sammie's hand, Joann turned to look at Gibbs. "Jethro. Do you have somewhere I could lie down for a little while? This has been a difficult week, and I'm feeling a little tired."

"There's a guest room upstairs," Gibbs said. He and Sammie helped Joann to her feet, then upstairs to the guest room, while Tony hovered in the background.

"I just need a little time, no more than an hour. We have so much to talk about," Joann said to Sammie.

Sammie smiled at her. "Get some rest; we can talk more soon."

Gibbs closed the curtains, and they left the room, shutting the door behind them. They stared at each other for a moment, then Gibbs took Sammie's hand and they went downstairs, Tony following silently behind, joining the others outside.

Tony and Sammie made a beeline for the pizza, then sat with Abby and Tim, while Ziva approached Gibbs. "I am sorry, Gibbs. I should have been more clear about her staying away unless she was invited."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not your fault, Ziver. She wasn't going to stay away, not once she knew Kelly was alive." He sighed. "Hell, I'm surprised it took her this long." He looked at her. "Everything okay with you and Tony?"

Ziva smiled. "Everything is better than it has been in a very long time."

"Good. I'm glad." Gibbs shooed her back to the table, and stood for a minute, watching his daughter talking earnestly with Abby while Jack sat next to her, eyes fixated on the pizza. Tim and Ziva bickered when they tried to pick up the same slice of pizza, and Tony was watching Sammie, his expression a mix of puzzlement and worry tinged with sorrow.

Gibbs grabbed a slice, then stood off to one side, eating and thinking. Tony looked up, saw him there, said something to Abby, and got up, stepping away from the table and walking over to Gibbs.

"You okay, Boss?"

Gibbs kept his gaze on his daughter, tilting his head back and forth slightly, as if weighing his answer, before he replied, "Yeah. Just… anticipating some trouble." He looked at Tony. "After everyone's done eating, you can all take off, enjoy the rest of your weekend."

"No can do, Boss."

"Excuse me?"

Tony stood a little straighter. "The others are all free to leave, of course, but I'm staying."

"Tony, what –"

"Look, Boss… last time Joann was here, you told me to leave, and that was fine, I understood, and we all thought Joann was a victim." He looked pointedly into Gibbs' eyes. "But she wasn't, was she?"

Gibbs returned the stare, saying nothing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Tony broke the connection, looking over at Sammie, then back at Gibbs. "It never added up. Joann killed Captain Norton, didn't she?" Gibbs looked away, his jaw clenching. Tony nodded slowly. "Something to do with Shannon's death… and Kelly's, at the time." Gibbs glanced at Tony, then away again.

Tony sighed, watching the team for a moment. "I get it. I'm guessing you probably felt responsible for what she did, the decisions she made… if you'd told her about Hernandez years ago, she wouldn't have become obsessed with revenge, she'd have moved on."

Gibbs remained silent for a few seconds, then said quietly, "She's Shannon's mother."

Tony nodded. "Yeah. And you let her get away with it because it's what you thought Shannon would want. Something you needed to do to honor her memory."

Gibbs' jaw clenched again, but he stayed quiet.

"See, here's the thing, Boss… she's Shannon's mother, Sammie's grandmother, yeah. But she's also a woman who killed a man she pretended to love in cold blood. I'm not leaving you and Sammie alone with her."

Gibbs turned his head to look at Tony. "You can't possibly think she'd hurt us."

Tony returned his gaze evenly. "Sammie, no. You? Can't be certain of that. Ziva made it clear Joann still blames you for what happened to Shannon. Can you tell me with absolute certainty that you're in no danger from her?"

Gibbs thought back to their previous encounter, to Joann holding him in her arms in his basement, using her index finger to mime a gun as she described killing Norton. It had been creepy as hell, and he had never been able to shake the feeling that she'd wished she'd had that gun at the time. "No," he finally admitted to Tony.

"Didn't think so." Tony's tone of voice was almost cheerful. "Family's your kryptonite, Boss." He turned so he was facing Gibbs, sticking his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "I'm staying. You can put me to work, but any time you could be alone with her, I'm there too. I'll drive her back to her hotel later. And as long as she's in town, you're sleeping upstairs and I'm on the couch."

"DiNozzo..."

"Non-negotiable, Gibbs. The woman's a natural; look what she did with no training. I don't care that it took almost twenty years… she researched, infiltrated, scammed, and murdered for her daughter, and showed no remorse over it, even though her victim had no direct connection to Shannon's death. There's nothing to indicate she doesn't think she left the job unfinished since you're still breathing."

Gibbs snorted. "Killing me would hurt Kelly."

Tony widened his eyes and grinned. "You think she's gonna do it in front of her? She'd wait for her moment, do the deed, then play victim all over again. She got away with it once, why not a second time?" He cocked his head to one side while he thought for a moment. "Hey, Ziva!"

Ziva looked up, then got up from the table and came over to them. "Yes, Tony?"

"Put your sneak skills to work… check Joann's handbag, the couch, the front porch and surrounding area, and if the woman's asleep, check her clothes. I want to know if she has anything remotely resembling a weapon on her or hidden nearby, and that includes a paperclip."

Ziva looked quickly between him and Gibbs, then nodded. "On it," she said with a small smile.

Gibbs sighed quietly after she left. "She's just an old woman wanting time with her granddaughter."

"Maybe," Tony said. "But she's perceptive as hell, and she's a planner. Why else would she kill Norton in our jurisdiction? She made damn sure you were on the case, and she played on your emotions like a master. Not only that, it's clear she said something that upset Ziva when she interviewed her, and that's not easy to do."

Tony walked over to the pizza, grabbed two more slices, and brought them back to where Gibbs was standing. He handed one over, then took a big bite of his own. After he swallowed, he asked, "What are we telling Sammie about why I'm sleeping on the couch?"

Gibbs shot Tony a mild glare. "Could say there's no water at your place."

Tony took another bite as he considered that. "You really want to lie to her, Boss? I know I don't. And what if she wants to visit dear old Grandma sometime in the future… shouldn't she know what the woman is capable of?"

Gibbs was thoughtful as he chewed and swallowed. "Shannon would want them to have a relationship."

"Not saying they can't. And you can call this tough love if you want, but Shannon's not here, Gibbs. You are, you're her father, and she should know for her own protection."

Gibbs finished off his pizza, wiped his hands on the napkin he'd grabbed earlier, then took a deep breath. "You're right, Tony. I don't want you to be, but you are."

Ziva returned. "There are no weapons," she stated firmly, "not even a paperclip."

"Thanks, Zee." Tony smiled at her; she returned it, then joined Abby, Tim, and Sammie at the table.

Tony looked at Gibbs. "So, I'm right? You'll tell her?"

Gibbs took a deep breath. "Only if I have to. If Joann plays nice, it can wait. Kelly can get to know her grandmother. I'll tell her what happened last year if Kelly decides to go visit Joann in Philadelphia, or if Joann forces my hand."

Tony shook his head. "I guess it's your call, but I don't like it, Boss."

"Joann won't hurt Kelly." Gibbs glanced at Tony. "You can be protection detail if you really think it's necessary."

Tony shot Gibbs an amused look. "It is."

Time Out

Tim, Abby, and Ziva left after lunch. Sammie didn't want to disturb Joann by continuing to clean out her room, and no one was interested in waking the older woman despite her having said she only wanted an hour's nap.

Gibbs, Tony, and Sammie sat at the picnic table. Sammie was throwing a ball that Jack kept retrieving, and Gibbs was telling Tony what he wanted to do to improve the yard. "Might as well put you to work if you're going to be staying this weekend."

Sammie looked at Tony, pausing in the act of throwing the ball. "You're staying here?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah… hope that's alright. Water main issue over by my place."

Sammie smiled at him. "Of course it's alright – ow!" Jack had pawed at her leg to remind her to throw the ball. "You need your nails clipped, mister." She threw it for him.

"Figure Kelly can pitch in too," Gibbs commented as he watched her throw. She must have played baseball or softball at some point. "She did a great job at her place."

Sammie let out a surprised laugh. "What are you talking about?"

Gibbs looked at her. "Landscaping at your place. You did a great job."

She shook her head, grinning. "Owner has a service. I'm great with animals, not so much plants. Best thing I can do for yard maintenance is pick up dog poop." She watched as Jack started sniffing and turning in circles. "Speaking of which…" Sammie got up, pulling a small bag out of her pocket, and setting off toward the dog.

Gibbs glanced at Tony. "Went with the water thing, huh?"

Tony sighed. "Don't like it, but I don't think she'd accept that your couch is more comfortable than my bed at home."

Gibbs snorted. "Unlikely."

"Jethro?"

Both men turned to see Joann standing in the open doorway. Tony jumped to his feet and hurried over. "How'd you sleep?"

Joann smiled at him. "Well, thank you. But you should have woken me earlier."

Tony gave her a charming smile. "You seemed to need the rest. What can I get you?" He walked Joann over to the table, where she sat and watched Sammie with Jack before looking up at him. "Water, please. And some crackers, if Jethro has any."

"Coming right up." Tony glanced between Gibbs and Joann, then shook his head, reminding himself that Ziva had already checked for weapons and Joann wasn't going to do anything in front of Sammie, then set off for the kitchen.

Jack came running over to Joann, with Sammie following, but before he reached her, he stopped and backed up a step, his body tensing and ears forward, growling softly.

"Jack," Sammie said, quietly but firmly. He stopped growling, but kept his eyes on Joann. Sammie looked at her apologetically. "He can be sensitive to certain smells… he doesn't much like perfumes."

Joann eyed the dog with distaste, but didn't say anything. Sammie sat at the table next to Gibbs, diagonally across from Joann. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes." Joann smiled at her. "You said earlier you're applying to school. Where?"

"University of Maryland; it's where I went to college."

Joann nodded. "There are excellent schools in Philadelphia; you can stay with me to save on room and board."

Gibbs tensed, and Sammie blinked. "Um… thanks?"

Tony returned with a glass of water and some assorted crackers on a plate. "You have crackers, Boss! Who knew?" He set them down in front of Joann, assessing the situation as he picked up on the low-level tension. "So," he said, "what do you want me to start with out here?" he asked Gibbs.

Gibbs was about to respond when Sammie spoke up. "Look, Joann… that's a very kind offer, but I'm going to continue with my tech job at the veterinary hospital while I'm in school. Not to mention I lost a lot of time with Dad, and I want to be here."

Joann's eyes narrowed momentarily. "I lost time with you too. Not just because of what happened to you and my Shannon. Your father took you away from me long before that."

Gibbs looked at his daughter and winced. He recognized her expression; it was the same one Shannon had when she was angry. He heard Tony mutter "Uh oh" before Sammie spoke.

"Joann –"

"Call me Grandma, like you used to."

Sammie shook her head slowly. "Joann. Let's get a few things straight." She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "I'm twenty-eight. I have a life, one that I'm very happy with. A few weeks ago, I didn't know Kelly Gibbs existed, much less that I was her. I couldn't be happier to have Dad back in my life. I'm moving back here because I love my dad, and the place I'm renting is going on the market, so I have to move anyway." She held up her hand as Joann started to speak. "Let me finish, please. This is close to work and not too far from where I would be going to school, so it's a good choice, beyond it already being my home. I'm making new friends with Dad's team. I have no reason to give up a job I love and have had for a long time, to move to a city I don't know." She sat back, looking at Joann thoughtfully. "You know that I lost my memories in the crash, right?"

Joann nodded, her eyes wide as she stared at Sammie.

"I'm sorry," Sammie's tone was gentler than it had been. "but I don't remember you."

Joann frowned. "How can you not remember me?"

"I didn't even remember me! I didn't remember Dad or Mom either. I had dreams, and I knew certain things but couldn't put them in context, or make the right connections. Everyone at the hospital told me I was Samantha Kendall. I was eight years old and badly injured. I couldn't fight that." Sammie looked away, drawing in a deep breath, and was about to say more when Jack started rumbling deep in his throat, staring at Joann. "I'd better put him inside." She got up, walking toward the house and calling Jack, who stopped growling but continued staring at Joann until Sammie called him a second time.

Joann placed her own arms on the table, mimicking Sammie's posture from a few minutes ago, and stared at her hands.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked.

Joann's lips twisted into an angry grimace. "How can you ask that? Of course not."

"Joann…" Gibbs began.

"It's happening all over again," she said softly. When she looked up at Gibbs, there was clear hatred in her eyes. Tony instinctively moved closer to Gibbs.

"What is?" Gibbs asked, talking to her as if she were a distraught witness.

Joann stared into his eyes. "I'm losing her again. You're taking her away all over again. My granddaughter." Her hands were flat on the table, shaking slightly.

"No," Sammie stated from behind them. She came around the table, sitting next to Gibbs, resting a hand on his shoulder. "This is not Dad's fault. And I'm not an object for someone to own, or to fight over. My choices, Joann." Sammie looked at her, feeling a strange mix of anger and compassion. "You lost your daughter. I lost my mother. Dad lost his wife." Sammie took a deep breath. "You do realize if you hadn't thought Samantha Kendall was me, I would have grown up with my family, right? And you would have been a part of my life." She looked at Gibbs. "Tragedies can pull families apart… or bring them closer. I like to think it could have been the latter."

Gibbs reached up to take Sammie's hand. "Yeah. Me too." He looked at Joann. "Tell me you were sure."

"What?" Joann sat back slightly, glancing at Tony uncomfortably; he was standing near Gibbs, and in protective mode he was an imposing presence.

"When you went to identify the bodies at the hospital morgue," Gibbs said quietly. "Tell me you were sure that little girl was Kelly."

Joann blinked. "I…" She fell silent, looking down at her hands.

Sammie stared at her. "No…" she whispered.

Joann looked up at that. "I was as sure as I could be! I hadn't seen you in a long time; almost two years." She glared at Gibbs. "If you had brought them to see us, like we asked, instead of going on that camping trip…"

Gibbs put an arm around Sammie, who was shaking slightly. "We invited you to come along."

Joann shook her head, looking at Sammie, her expression pleading. "I admit, I wasn't entirely sure. But that girl was there, next to… next to my Shannon. What else was I supposed to think?" She wiped away a tear.

Tony looked around, spotted a pile of napkins near the empty pizza boxes, and walked over to pick one up, silently holding it out to her. Joann took it without acknowledging him, and blotted her face.

Sammie sat quietly, watching her. Joann met her gaze, then shook her head. "The girl's face was damaged. And the agent with me, she'd said it was you, that the other agent had already identified you."

"I can accept that you made an honest mistake," Sammie said slowly. "But why did you bury Mom and Samantha before Dad could come home?"

Joann looked at Gibbs, her expression hostile; she didn't say anything.

"You did that to spite him," Sammie stated quietly. "You blamed him, didn't you? If he hadn't taken us away, if he hadn't been deployed, maybe we'd have lived… right?"

Joann sat up straighter. "Yes."

Tony's breath hissed out between clenched teeth. Gibbs didn't react; he'd known that already. Sammie nodded, looking at Joann thoughtfully. "I want to hate you for what you did to my Dad, to me."

Joann shook her head, moving to reach for her with one hand before stopping herself and sitting back, her lips trembling.

"You do realize that if Dad had been able to see Mom, to see Samantha, he'd have known she wasn't me. He'd have found me. He wouldn't have lost me, and neither would you." Sammie gazed at Joann seriously.

Joann opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"I can't hate you for my sake," Sammie continued. "I was adopted and grew up with the second-best parents I could possibly have had." She looked at Gibbs, then back at Joann. "But I can't forgive you for what you did to Dad."

Joann's expression shifted from despair to indignant. "What I did to him? What about what he did to me, taking you away in the first place?"

Sammie made an exasperated sound. "We were a family! Of course we were going with him!"

Joann shook her head angrily. "Him, him, him! It was always about Jethro." Her voice was full of resentment. "From the moment Shannon met him, there was nothing and no one else for her." Joann glared at him, then looked at Sammie accusingly. "And you were Daddy's little girl. It was disgusting, the way the two of you worshiped him." Something ugly flashed through her eyes. "You know what he did, don't you? Who he killed?"

Sammie laughed. "Dad was a Marine sniper, and now he's a federal agent. It's not like he sells Boy Scout cookies!"

Tony grinned. "Boy Scouts make cookies?"

"Hush," Sammie said, smiling at him. She looked back at Joann. "I'm sure Dad has killed lots of people."

"Yes," Joann said angrily, "but he's killed at least one that he had no right to."

"What are you talking about?" Sammie asked impatiently.

"Your precious father killed the man who killed your mother." Joann's voice was triumphant. "He tracked him down and killed him in cold blood. He's not such a saint. He's a murderer."

Tony stepped forward angrily, about to say something, but Gibbs looked up at him and said, "DiNozzo" softly, and Tony stayed quiet.

Sammie glanced at her father. Gibbs mer her eyes, his expression sad; he nodded. She looked back at Joann. "My first reaction is to say good."

Joann sat back as if she'd been slapped.

Sammie closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, looking at Joann. "This is getting us nowhere." She considered the woman sitting across the table. "I think you should go back to your hotel. Have dinner. Think about what you're hoping for from me." Sammie got to her feet. "Get some rest. Come back tomorrow morning, and we'll talk." She tucked some hair behind her ear. "You're still my grandmother. But if we're going to have any further interaction, we need some ground rules."

Joann stared at her, then nodded stiffly.

Sammie met her eyes a moment longer, then looked at Gibbs, who stood. "I'm going upstairs… I'll keep sorting through some stuff." She gave him a small smile. "I need a little time." She leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, then glanced at Tony before walking toward the house, ignoring Joann.

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other, and then Tony turned to Joann. "Come on Mrs. Fielding. I'll drive you back to your hotel."

Jack was nowhere to be seen when they all got back in the house, so they assumed Sammie had taken him upstairs. Tony waited while Joann used the bathroom and gathered her purse, then helped her outside and into his car.

Gibbs watched them leave. He wanted to go upstairs, talk to his daughter, make sure everything was alright between them, but she'd asked for time, and he was going to give it to her. He headed for the basement; Tony would come find him after dropping Joann off, and Kelly would know where he was if she needed him.