Disclaimer: Rise of the Guardians, NCIS, and all their characters belong to their respective owners
Chapter 6: The Eyes of a Child
The first thing Gibbs noticed when he got off the elevator was that it was damn cold in here! He quickly spotted the old janitor nearby.
"Hey, do you know what's up with the heat in here?"
"Mornin' Agent Gibbs. Yeah, we've got maintenance downstairs tryin' to fix it right now. They've been at it for the last forty minutes and still can't find the source of the problem. Strange thing is... this floor seems to be the only one affected. Don' make a lick of sense to me, but I just do the cleanin', not the fixin'. Maybe the floor's thermostat was hacked or sumthin', who knows? I recommend keepin' yer coat on today," the older man waved goodbye and wheeled his supply cart away.
Gibbs headed over to the cluster of desks where his team worked. Ziva, DiNozzo, and McGee all looked up at him and exchanged glances, silently looking between their boss, Bennett, and each other, while their newest member was actively avoiding their eye contact. The anticipation was obviously driving them mad. He had told them yesterday that he was going to have a talk with Bennett first thing in the morning and find out what the hell was going on. The young agent's obvious distress over the fate of their John Doe was suspiciously personal, and he intended to find out why. He had even gone as far as to pull a few favors and rule out the possibility of them being distant relatives. Based on what he found, it was extremely unlikely. But still, Jamie Bennett knew something about this mysterious body that they didn't, and in their line of work, that warranted enough concern to investigate. While the seasoned agent didn't believe his subordinate had any malicious intent, Gibbs wanted to resolve this personally before the higher-ups got wind of it and put him and his team in a bad position. Despite his usually serious demeanor, Gibbs truly cared about each and every member of his team, including the newest one. He did not want to lose the talented young man over rumors, suspicions, and legal technicalities.
"Bennett," Gibbs said, causing the brunette to jump in surprise, eyes wide in barely concealed panic as he looked up at his boss. "With me," Gibbs gestured for the boy to follow. As they walked away, he glanced back at the rest of his team with a glare that clearly said, "Stay."
It didn't escape his notice that Bennett kept glancing to the side as they walked down the hallways. He was visibly anxious, remaining silent as he absentmindedly chewed on his lip and tugged the hems of his sleeves over his palms.
When they arrived at their destination, Gibbs opened the door and motioned Bennett inside. They were in the conference room. As he shut the door behind him, he heard a huff of relief. Bennett had his eyes closed, breathing slowly as if he was trying to calm his racing heart. When he opened them after a few seconds, he was met with Gibbs' raised eyebrow.
"I'm gonna be honest, I thought you were taking me to interrogation," Jamie admitted.
"Should I have?" Gibbs retorted, leaving the young man to gape like a fish caught in a cookie jar. "This is off the books," was his explanation as he gestured for Bennett to sit down. Bennett's shoulders were hunched and tense. He looked less like the confident young agent he hired only three months ago and more like a nervous kid in the principal's office. Another quick glance, this time to Gibbs' side, where there was absolutely nothing. And damn is it cold in here!
Gibbs stood on the other side of the table, opposite from Jamie, leaning forward with his hands supported on the back of a chair.
"You know why I brought you here," Gibbs stated, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Jamie hesitated, eyes fixated on the polished surface of the table, seemingly weighing his options. He glanced once again at the empty room before looking back at Gibbs, his jaw set firm. He remained silent, an unreadable look in his eyes. Alright, I'll try a different approach then.
"The unidentified remains are being transferred to the state coroner tomorrow. They have a mass cremation on the schedule for Wednesday," he was bluffing, but the results were instantaneous.
"No! They can't do that!" Bennett burst out in a panic. Quickly realizing his mistake, he audibly snapped his mouth shut with a wince.
"And why not? Why is this so important to you?!" Gibbs yelled, a little louder than he intended.
"He... uh- he's a distant relative! I gotta make sure he doesn't end up in an unmarked grave!" was the stumbled, hasty reply. Gibbs rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and let out a longsuffering sigh.
"Rule number seven, Bennett," he shook his head, then looked Jamie straight in the eyes. "Always be specific when you lie."
Jamie looked positively stressed out, like a mouse with its tail caught in a spring-loaded trap. For some reason, if felt like the room was getting colder. Gibbs involuntarily shivered, but did not waver his steely gaze.
"Tell me the truth, Bennett! I can't help you if you don't trust me!" Gibbs yelled and slammed his hands on the table, his patience decreasing with the air temperature.
Jamie sat in shock at the outburst. Had it really not occurred to him that his boss was legitimately concerned? He bowed his head so that his eyes were hidden behind a fringe of chestnut hair. After a few agonizingly long seconds, the younger man spoke.
"You wouldn't even believe me if I told you," he mumbled. "You'd think I was crazy."
"Try me."
After much hesitation and another glance at the corner of the room, Jamie let out a defeated sigh.
"His name's Jack. He fell through the ice and drowned," he chanced a quick glance up at Gibbs before looking back down at his hands on the table. Jack? Wasn't that the name of the friend his sister mentioned the other day?
"So what are you saying? That Ducky and Abby dated the remains wrong? That you knew there was a body in that pond and you didn't tell anyone?"
"No."
"Then what?!" Gibbs raised his voice slightly, getting annoyed. Bennett was being frustratingly vague yet somehow revealed extremely specific details, if that were at all possible. "How could you possibly know information like that? And why would you want to hide it? What benefit does that have for anyone? Or are you just making this all up?"
"No! I'm not—"
"Then tell me the truth!"
"I KNOW BECAUSE JACK TOLD ME!"
Silence fell on the room. That was not the answer he had been expecting. The dead person was the one who told him how said dead person died? Bennett was right; Gibbs would think he was crazy. What was he suggesting? That some psychic kid knew how he was going to meet his own tragic demise and divulged the information to Bennett? Or that he talks to ghosts? He's seen some unusual shit in his lifetime, but this was a level of weird that he actively tried to avoid; especially after he himself had experienced some very realistic hallucinations of his own lost loved ones. Gibbs let out a sigh of disappointment and turned his back to the kid.
"Look, I know how this sounds and how this looks, but I swear, I'm telling you the truth. Jack really did tell me how he died in that pond three-hundred years ago. But... he's not a ghost. More like... a spirit. It's hard to explain," Jamie hesitated, "Sometimes you just have to believe in something in order to see it."
The silence was deafening, both agents lost in their own thoughts. It was a quiet crackling noise that brought them back to attention. Gibbs glanced around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. He furrowed his brow in confusion when he saw Jamie, who had an equally confused expression but was looking towards the large panel window and leaning slightly to the side as if something was blocking his view. Gibbs followed his gaze, not quite believing his eyes.
Upon the window, a fern-like pattern of frost was steadily forming. It wasn't that odd to see layers of frost on the windows in the wintertime, especially on the building's older, less insulated windows, but the ice was growing at an impossibly fast rate. What threw Gibbs off even more, however, was the sound of squeaking against wet glass and the two words that were currently being written in the frost with an invisible finger.
'Kelly believed'.
Memories from long ago flooded Gibbs' mind like a tidal wave.
Kelly reluctantly trudges inside after a long afternoon of playing in the snow. She turns around in the doorway and waves to the sky.
"Bye!"
"Who were you talking to?"
Kelly turns to her dad with the happiest grin on her rosy face, snowflakes still clinging to her eyelashes.
"Jack Frost!"
Gibbs watched from the window as his daughter played outside in the snow alone, yet still having the time of her life. None of her friends had been able to come out and play, but that didn't stop her. She still managed to have a full-blown snowball fight, even if it was just by herself... or so Gibbs assumed. One-sided conversations and joyous laughter made Gibbs proud of his daughter's imagination. She was so carefree and innocent. Gibbs hoped that even when she grew up, she would hold on to childhood in her heart.
"Daddy! Daddy! I want you to meet my friend!" Kelly ran up to him excitedly. No one was with her. "His name is Jack Frost!"
Gibbs gently ruffled her hair with his hand.
"Is he your imaginary friend?"
Something about the question made Kelly develop a hurt expression. She looked to the side, seemingly staring at nothing, but a contemplative look on her face as if someone was explaining something confusing to her. She looked back at her father, her eyes a mixture of sadness and hope.
"You can't see him unless you believe in him," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So you gotta believe in him, ok, Daddy?"
"Ok, I believe in him," Gibbs smiled down at her and gave her a hug.
"No you don't," Kelly said sadly, squirming away from her father's embrace.
"You don't believe me?"
"No, 'cause if you believed, you would actually see him," Kelly, disappointed, stomped into the house, discarding her boots and coat and gloves on the way to her room. She slams her bedroom door shut.
Gibbs stands there in the kitchen and sighs. A gust of icy wind blows through the unlatched door, slamming the knob against the wall, bringing flakes of snow into the house and sending paper and crayons flying off the kitchen table. He shuts the door, effectively keeping out the cold. As he picks up the fallen papers, he admires Kelly's colorful drawings. One in particular drew his attention. It was of two people, a boy and a girl, building a snowman. Above the girl was written "ME", in sloppy writing. Above the boy, who was mostly drawn in blue and brown crayons, was the name "JACK FROST".
"Jack Frost," Gibbs muttered so quietly, it was a wonder anyone heard him. He furrowed his brow in thought, then, as if he suddenly had a new perspective on the world, looked to the space in front of the window.
"Jack Frost," he repeated in disbelief, barely concealed surprise in his wide eyes. Standing before him was an unbelievable sight. A pale, skinny teenager, with messy, snow white hair, a blue hooded sweatshirt covered in ice crystals, ragged brown pants, and bare feet, was balancing on top of a gnarled wooden shepherd's staff, crouching on the balls of his feet as if he wasn't completely defying the natural laws of physics.
Their eyes locked, sky blue meeting icy blue.
"Can you... can you see me?" the boy asked with hopeful hesitation.
Gibbs' eyes widened slightly. Jamie's eyes, however, widened significantly as he looked back and forth between the two.
"You can see him?!" He exclaimed.
Gibbs gave Jamie a bewildered look, as if he didn't quite believe his own eyes. "Oh, I can see him, alright."
Jamie let out a short huff of amazed laughter. It took all three of them a minute to break from their stupor.
"So you're Jack Frost," Gibbs said, a slight twitch of a smile at the corner of his lips. "Kelly used to talk about you a lot."
Gibbs tiredly sat down in the upholstered chair in front of him, rubbing his hand down his face. Jack looked somber as he gracefully jumped from his perch to stand awkwardly against the window, clutching his staff to his chest like a lifeline.
Jamie was confused, and though he had a nudging suspicion, he asked anyways.
"Who is Kelly?" He glanced from Gibbs to Jack when he didn't receive an answer.
"She was his daughter," Jack said quietly. Was. An 'O' formed on Jamie's lips as he immediately regretted asking, his mind starting to fill in the blanks.
"She died a long time ago," Gibbs said, staring off into the distance beyond the window.
"I'm sorry," Jamie said quietly, looking down at his hands.
"Don't be. You'd have found out about it sooner or later. I just could never have imagined it to be like," he gestured to the room, referring to the situation as a whole, "...this."
This interrogation had taken a very unexpected turn and Gibbs was not sure what to think of it. On the one hand, he felt like he was going crazy, seeing a strange-looking kid just appear out of thin air. And that kid just happened to be the fabled spirit of winter. What was next, Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny? It made his head hurt. Maybe he should cut back on the coffee.
Gibbs knew without a doubt that he had made the right decision in keeping this meeting off the records and away from inquisitive eyes and ears. Some things, no matter how strange, or unbelievable, or magical, were better off left a secret; left to the imaginations of the dreamers, filled with hope and wonder and childish fun. While he could not afford such naivety and innocence for himself in this line of work, he still remembered it, in the memories of his daughter, so carefree and full of laughter and love. Her childhood had been cut short, but that did not mean it had been wasted. If there was one thing he could still do for Kelly, it was making sure her 'imaginary friend' could go home.
Without any word or explanation, Gibbs walked out of the room. Holding the door open, he looked back at the two boys, both of whom hesitated to move.
"You coming?" He said, eyebrows raised with mild exasperation. Bennett and Jack exchanged puzzled looks before hastily following the silver-haired agent, who had already started walking away.
A/N: There will be one more chapter after this, and then some extra scenes / short one-shots that take place afterwards. Also, I've started outlining a sequel, but at the moment I can't make any promises.
Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated :)
