Kate woke up the next morning by eight. She was exhausted. Tim had woken up yelling for her three times during the night from nightmares. That was only partially why she couldn't sleep though. She too was uneasy due to her bastard ex-husband attempting to steal her child. Yes, Tony was there, but she didn't trust anyone, not even members of her own team with her son's safety. She was the only one she trusted to protect Tim.
As soon as Kate stepped out of her room, she smelt the aroma of coffee. "Oh, thank you, Tony," she said to herself before making a beeline to the kitchen. She found her partner there pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Tony turned as soon as he heard her. "Hey, Kate. I hope you don't mind, but this is the only thing that has kept me awake in the last few hours."
"I'm grateful. I need it too,' Kate said before grabbing a cup from one of the top cabinets and pouring herself a cup of coffee. She added some cream and sugar that Tony left on the counter and took a sip. "You really didn't have to stay up all night."
"I promised that I would," Tony said.
"Tim wouldn't have known any different and I was awake most of the night anyway," Kate said before taking another gulp of her coffee.
"If I had broken my promise, I prove that that little boy is right not to trust people," Tony said. He had a soft spot for that kid the moment he met him and wanted to be someone he could trust. Breaking a promise, whether the kid found out about it or not, would not accomplish that goal.
"I appreciate that, Tony, but it's not your job to prove to my son that good people exist," Kate said. She really did appreciate what Tony was trying to do. He wanted Tim to know that not everyone he met would harm him the way his father was. She was touched by it. She didn't want him to feel he had to do it though.
"I know. I just hate that a child has been so traumatized that he's afraid to even let someone near him. It's not right for a kid to be scared like that. I wanna help him. If I can help by missing one night's sleep, I'm okay with it." Tony said before taking a sip of his coffee. "Anyway, Gibbs expected me to be awake anyway. What good is a guard who sleeps on the job?"
"Thank you," Kate said with a smile.
Just then, young voice was heard. "Mom?"
Kate turned to him. "Hi, Sweetheart. I'm glad you're awake. I was going to come wake you soon."
"I don't wanna go to school," Tim said. He was really tired and really wanted to go back to sleep, plus he was scared that his dad would show up at school and make him go with him.
"You're not. We're going to my work to talk to one of my coworkers," Kate told him.
Tim groaned. "Do I have to see the doctor again?"
"No, we're going to talk to my boss, Gibbs. He's the guy that was fixing our door yesterday," Kate said. She then waited for the freakout she knew was coming.
Tim's eyes went wide. He knew the man his mom was talking about. It was the grey haired man. He scared Tim a lot. Most people scared him, but that guy looked really mean and angry all the time. It reminded him how his father always looked. "No, Mom, I don't want to."
"We have to, Tim. You need to tell him what happened in the park," Kate said.
"Why can't I tell you?" Tim asked.
"Because I'm your mom and the rules say it has to be someone other than me. I can stay with you though. I'll be with you while you talk to him," Kate promised.
"No, please, I don't want to," Tim said pleadingly.
Kate groaned. She wanted to give in. Her little boy was scared and she hated that. She wanted to tell him he didn't have to do it so that he'd feel safe, but she couldn't. "You have to, Baby."
"Hey, Tim, it's okay. I know Gibbs looks scary, but he's a nice guy. He just wants to help make sure you're safe," Tony said.
"You know I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, Tim. It will be quick and then we'll come home. Now I need you to get in the shower," Kate told him.
Tim sighed in defeat and left the room.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Gibbs walked towards the conference room where Kate and her son were waiting. He decided to do it there to make it easier for the kid. He knew that little boy was already nervous around people he didn't know. Putting him in an interrogation room would terrify him.
When Gibbs got to the conference room, Tony was waiting outside. "DiNozzo, I told you to get some sleep in Abby's lab."
"Boss, let me question him. He's scared," Tony said..
"You think I'm gonna scar a nine-year-old, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"No, of course not, but he's terrified of you. You must have seen the way he looked at you last night. I think you remind him of his father," Tony said.
"More reason for me to do it," Gibbs said. Tony was right, he did see the way that kid looked at him and it made him angry. Not at the boy, of course, but at the man who'd instilled that fear. A certain fear of strangers should exist in every child, but not to the extent that it existed in this little boy. When Kate brought the boy home and he'd seen Gibbs for the first time after having time to recover from the trauma of being in the woods, he was terrified, so much so that he was shaking. Kate had had to usher him inside where he was out of Gibbs' sight to calm him down. He hated that a child was that scared of him, especially a child of a one of his agents. He felt he had to find a way of taking that fear away where he was concerned. He didn't want this child so terrified of him. Having the kid talk to him might help with that. "Go down to the lab, Tony. Get some sleep.
Tony sighed and reluctantly walked away.
Gibbs walked into the conference room and found Kate and her son seated at the table. The boy immediately clung to his mother's side when he saw him and looked away.
"Kate," Gibbs said as he made his way over to them and sat down.
"Hey, Gibbs," Kate said as she tried unsuccessfully to comfort her son
Gibbs smiled slightly at the boy. "Hey, buddy. I'm Gibbs. You can call me Jethro too if you want. Just don't call me Leroy. That's technically my name, but only my dad calls me that."
Kate couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It was weird to hear Gibbs talk about his family. He'd never mentioned any family. Then again, Gibbs wasn't a big talker in general.
Tim was surprised by the gentle tone the man used, as he reminded him so much of his father. The look he had in his eyes was the same and Tim feared he would be just like him. He turned his head slightly to look at the man, but made no move at all to leave his mother's arms.
Gibbs smiled more and looked at the boy kindly. It was a look he rarely gave to anyone besides children. "Hi. I know you're scared, pal, but I promise no one will hurt you. I asked your mom to bring you here so I can help. I wanna help make sure you're safe."
Tim felt a little better with the calm and kind way the man talked to him, but he was still very nervous and afraid. His dad could sound nice too when he wanted. He remembered before his mom found out that his dad would hit him. He was always nice when she was around and even once in a while when she wasn't. But he never knew when the man would turn on him. What if his mother's boss was the same way.
Gibbs sighed. The kid was obviously very frightened. He had to get him more relaxed before he questioned him. He wasn't sure how though. This kid was more traumatized than any other child he'd worked with before. Maybe he should've let Tony handle it. The kid might have been better with him. But the decision had already been made. He'd just have to figure this out. "You don't wanna be here. Can't blame you for that. This place isn't really fun. What do you like to do for fun? You play any sports?"
Tim shook his head. "I l...like s…soccer some, but n...not on teams. I'm not g...good."
"Eh, teams sometimes make it less fun anyway. What else do you like to do? Video games? I heard you playing one with Tony last night," Gibbs said.
Tim smiled slightly. "Y...yeah. I like v...video games and c...computer games."
"You beat Tony yesterday?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes. I don't th...think he plays much. I won by a lot," Tim said as began to ease out of his mother's arms.
Gibbs laughed. "He'll have to practice if he wants to beat you. What's your favorite game?"
"I l...like f...fighting games, role playing games, and sports games. I'm g...good at them if their v...virtual," Tim said.
Kate sighed in relief as she saw that her son was becoming more calm. He was no longer clinging to her in fear and he was stuttering less.
"Maybe I"ll have you show me one of your games sometime. Don't really play games. Maybe I'll try it," Gibbs said.
"Okay," Tim said.
"I gotta ask you some questions about yesterday. Is that okay?"
Tim nodded reluctantly. "Yes, sir."
"Can you tell me what happened when you got to the park? Was your father waiting for you?" Gibbs asked. He doubted that, as he would've had to know what those kids had been planning, but he had to know for sure.
Tim shook his head. "He showed up right after we got there."
"He must have followed him from school, Gibbs. He saw an opportunity when he realized they were skipping," Kate said through gritted teeth.
"A...am I in Tr...trouble for that?" Tim asked as fear began to overcome him once more. He was young, but he knew that it was illegal to skip school.
"Probably with your Mom, not with us," Gibbs assured him.
"We will be discussing it," Kate told her son sternly. Given the circumstances, she really didn't wanna punish him, as he already suffered for it, but she couldn't completely let it go. She needed to make sure her son wouldn't try something like this again. Not only was skipping school not okay, but he'd placed himself in danger by going off somewhere without telling her.
"Right now, your dad's in much more trouble than you. Can you tell what happened when he got to the park?" Gibbs asked.
Tim leaned back into his mother's arms, this time not out of fear, but need for comfort. "W...were were hanging out by the swings and he came over. H...He told me I had to go with him. H...he said I'd r...regret it if I didn't come i...immediately."
Kate held her son tightly. "It's okay, Baby. He will never touch you again."
"Th...then he t...told Alex and Paul to leave. A...Alex ran, but P...Paul wouldn't. H...he saw that I was scared and k...knew that Dad would hurt me, s...so he told me to run and he j...jumped on him. I...I was scared!" Tim cried. He knew he shouldn't have left Paul. It was all his fault that Paul got hurt and was in the hospital. His mom told him about that right before they left the house. He felt really bad about it. His friend was hurt because of him.
"No, sweetheart. This isn't your fault," Kate told her son.
"Tim, your dad is the bad guy. He's the one who hurt your friend. I promise he won't get away with it. We're gonna put him in jail," Gibbs promised.
Kate held her son for a few minutes until he calmed down some, then she pulled away. "Okay, I"m gonna go outside and talk with Gibbs for a minute. I"ll be right back."
Tim nodded.
Kate and Gibbs both got up and walked out of the room. "Kate, why isn't this SOB already in prison?" Gibbs asked.
Kate sighed. "I filed charges, but John was good at hiding what he did. Any bruise he left on my child could be explained in some other way. The only way I could get him put away was for Tim to testify. You witnessed for yourself the damage John did to my son."
"He couldn't have testified," Gibbs said. There was no question at all that that little boy could've told a bunch of strangers what his father did, especially while he was looking at the man.
"No, and I wasn't going to even try to force him. I made John a deal. I would drop the charges if he agreed not to contest the divorce and gave me full custody of Tim," Kate explained. She'd always hated that the bastard got off, but her son was more important. Besides, it wasn't as if John didn't pay. Everyone he worked for and with knew what he was and that was worse than prison for him.
Gibbs nodded understandingly. "We'll find him. I'm gonna assign a detail to the two of you until then. You should probably go to a safe house too."
Kate shook her head. "I'm not going to pull my son out of his home. John has already caused Tim enough damage. I'm not going to let him completely disrupt his life. I will accept the protection and keep Tim out of school, but I will let him run us out."
"Okay. Anyone McGee would go to for help?" Gibbs asked.
"He might go to a few Navy friends. I'll write down some names before we leave," Kate said.
Gibbs nodded. "Don't go anywhere until I can arrange for protection detail."
Kate nodded and walked back into the conference room.