Vance wasn't surprised when his assistant told him Agent Burley was waiting to see him. He checked his watch. Burley made good time from Norfolk to get here so soon after he'd received his new orders. Then again, man used to work for Gibbs.
Vance was standing when the agent came in. "Have a seat," he said.
"I'm not planning on staying that long," Burley replied.
Vance bit down hard on the toothpick in his mouth, just for a second, before forcing his voice to stay normal. "If you're here for the reason I think you are, then yes, you should have a seat."
Burley sat, but his lack of response said a lot from the normally polite agent.
"Burley, I know you like being afloat, and you don't like Washington," Vance said. "This is a temporary posting, until I can resolve some personnel issues aboard the Yard."
"What kind of issues?" Burley asked.
"You know I can't give you details," Vance said. He thought for a second about what he could give the man. "Gibbs' team is a man down, while an agent is on leave."
"Oh, no. You're not putting me on Gibbs' team. Five years was plenty."
"No, I'm not." Vance smiled at the look of relief on Burley's face. "I moved over an agent from Cold Cases, a young agent who's worked with the team before."
"Oh, Dwayne. Wilson, I think I heard his last name was," Burley said. "I met him when I was up before."
"Yes, Dwayne Wilson." Vance debated how much more to say. "Jarvis, head of Cold Cases, retires in January. Nobody on his squad is ready to move up to team leader, so I'm moving over an agent from another team. I already have one in mind."
Burley just looked at him. Good to see the man had picked up a few things from Gibbs, even if it included his second-most annoying habit.
"Because of what I have planned for January, I'm trying to minimize disruption now," Vance said. "I have a competition running among the Capitol Region agents, investigating cold cases. Individual work only, until they can find enough new evidence to justify bringing in a team."
"You're looking to see who has a knack for cold cases," Burley said.
"So you can see why I don't want to move somebody over now and give the appearance that any agent has an inside track on any future openings in Cold Cases." He waited while Burley appeared to be thinking.
"But anybody suitable to take over as team lead wouldn't be filling in for a young agent…" Burley's voice trailed off. "You're giving Tony the team lead, and moving Dwayne to Gibbs' team permanently, so you need somebody to take that slot, but you don't want anybody to know that." He paused. "Does Gibbs know that?"
"As I said, I can't comment on personnel matters," Vance said, but he smiled. Burley was good. "I left your orders open-ended, but I expect that you'll be reassigned after the first of the year. You're helping this agency out at a crucial point, so be thinking about your top choices for postings. I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do." He motioned so Burley would know he could leave.
"Yes, sir," Burley said, standing. "Which agent on Gibbs' team is out?"
"David," Vance said. "Undetermined amount of time."
Burley nodded and left, no doubt to see what Gibbs' team would tell him. Vance checked the time, but it was later than ideal for the next call he needed to make. He wasn't sorry to put it off until Monday. It was a complicated dance, a conversation with Eli. Had been ever since Ziva made her choice to join NCIS. Worth doing when needed to preserve relations with Mossad, but right now, also worth delaying. Ziva would not want Eli to know anything. Couldn't blame her one bit, not after what she'd been through.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
"Tell us about Petty Officer Dawes," Gibbs said once they were settled in the CO's office. Dwayne kept his mouth shut to see where Gibbs was going with this.
"Is he in trouble?" asked Lt. Commander Hal Wisnewski.
"His name's come up in connection with a case. Not sure he's involved," Gibbs said. "Don't want to pull him in if he's not."
The officer nodded. "Dawes is a good supply officer," he said. "Detailed, methodical. As far as that goes, one of my best sailors."
"You said, 'as far as that goes,'" Dwayne asked. "Are there ways he's not one of your best sailors?"
"Logistics specialists used to be called storekeepers," Wisnewski said. "Part of the rating requires you to be good at interacting with people."
"Dawes isn't?" Gibbs said.
"He's not bad at it," Wisnewski said.
"But?" Dwayne prodded.
"He's better suited for the portions of the job where he doesn't interact with others as much," Wisnewski said.
"Explain," Gibbs said.
"That's just it," Wisnewski replied. "I can't. No complaints, no concerns raised. And I asked around to be sure."
"But?" Dwayne said.
"But after about six months, I noticed that in-person interactions with the supply clerks had shifted. Very few happened when Dawes was on that watch, no matter when he was scheduled. I couldn't get any read on why, and nobody would say anything when I asked. I shifted things around so he did more of the work that doesn't interact with the rest of the base, and it seemed to resolve it."
"If you have any notes, observations about what you saw and did while investigating, they could help us with our investigation," Dwayne said.
"I never put them in his file," Wisnewski said. "With nothing concrete, there wasn't any point."
"You still have them?" Gibbs asked. When the lieutenant commander nodded, Gibbs said, "We need copies."
"If you insist," Wisnewski said.
Once they were out of the CO's office, Dwayne remembered his past experience on Team Gibbs. "Once we get back to the office, I'll check with his earlier COs, see if they had the same experience and if that's why he moved so much."
Gibbs nodded, but didn't add anything. Dwayne tried not to smile. Good, he was doing something right.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
When he left Vance's office, Burley stopped by the bullpen. Only Tony and McGee were there.
"Hey, Stan," McGee said. "What brings you back to the Navy Yard?"
"New assignment," he said, sitting on the edge of Gibbs' desk facing the other agents. "Vance assigned me here short-term."
"I thought you liked agent afloating," Tony said.
"I do, but when you get orders…" He held up his hands. "Vance promised me it was temporary, though, and he's asked for my top choices for my next assignment, so it's not so bad."
"Cold cases?" Tony asked.
"How'd you-?"
"Because we're borrowing Dwayne from them for a while," McGee said.
"I heard that," Burley said. "Vance mentioned you were short-handed."
He watched the men look at each other, then turn back to face him.
"Ziva's taking some leave," Tony said. "Dwayne's filling in because, well, he's the only other agent here that Gibbs won't chew up and spit out."
"Better him than me," Stan said. "I prefer my stomach ulcer-free."
"Since you're going to be around, we'll let you know if we have a game night coming up," McGee said. "Gibbs and Ducky won't be there, but pretty much everybody else usually comes."
"I've heard about those insanity-fests," Stan said.
"Whatever you heard, it's worse." An auburn-haired teen stuck his head around the partition between his desk and McGee's.
"Stan, did you meet Josh Cooper last time?" McGee asked. "He's an intern assigned to our team this summer."
"Interns? Vance let Gibbs have an intern? Gibbs actually has an intern and hasn't run him off?" Stan asked.
"It's a long story," Tony said.
"With you guys, it always is," Stan replied. He thought for a minute. "Did I see you at the coffee shop one time during our stakeout?"
"Probably," Josh said. "I live near there."
"And he likes McSis," Tony said in a stage whisper, which turned Josh's face the color of his hair and had McGee rolling his eyes.
"Hey, I'm not the only one who still goes there," Josh said. "Ducky stops in a couple of times a week, I've seen Brad there on Tuesdays and Sarah said Damon comes in a few times a week, too."
"We met Jimmy and Abby there last week after Abby and Tony's yoga class," McGee said. "He's right, Tony, we really can't bust him for that."
"I thought the evil ex was gone for the summer," Stan said.
"He is," McGee said.
"Summer's almost over," Josh said. "Next week's my last week here, remember? I don't know when Waverley starts back, but I have my first law school class a week from Monday."
"Great," Tony said. "Just what we didn't need. Evil Josh back in town."
"I'll check Waverley's schedule," McGee said, already tapping away at his computer. "Looks like classes start end of next week. I'll figure out how to tell Sarah."
"We might need a game night this weekend to figure things out," Tony said. "Maybe we should host, though?"
"Add that to the list for tonight," McGee said. "Thanks for the reminder, Stan. We definitely don't want that problem returning."
"Glad I could help." He checked his watch. "I still have a long drive back to Norfolk, so I'm going to head out. Let me know if you organize something this weekend. I don't know how crazy my schedule will be once I start Monday, but if I can help, I'd like to."
The guys thanked him and Stan headed out. One thing was sure: This assignment wasn't going to be boring.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
When Ziva left Dr. Rojas' office, she felt the same way she had after the run in Rock Creek Park the day before: shaky, but lighter, somehow. She walked the streets around the office, turning whichever way felt right, and focused on her breath. On missions, it had been her way to find her center, her steadiness before taking the shot. In Somalia, it was her clock, a way to measure time. Now, she allowed the heavy, damp air, so different from the desert, to ground her in Washington. She was not in Somalia. She was not in Tel Aviv. She was in Washington, the home she had chosen. The family she had chosen.
That family included her little sister, Sarah. She had told Damon, and he had understood. He had promised her support, and love. Now she must tell Sarah, and hope she, too, could understand. That she, too, could allow Ziva the space to find peace with the ghosts of her past.
She stopped at a corner store for juice, sweet and sticky, but easing the shakiness in her body. She drank it as she found her way back to her car, the buzz of cicadas sharp in the air around her.
When she arrived at the house, she found Jethro waiting eagerly at the back door to come in and Sarah asleep on the couch. The dog slurped down most of his water bowl before settling on the tiled floor of the kitchen, so Ziva refilled it. Then she put the tea kettle on and found the box of Abby's favorite herbal tea they kept around for game nights and a glass pitcher. Iced tea would be refreshing, and it was something she could do while she waited for Sarah to wake.
Once the tea was steeped as strong as she could make it, Ziva started dropping ice cubes in the pitcher, watching as the first few melted in moments, while later ones just lost their edges and started bumping into each other. By the time she had filled the pitcher, it was cool enough for droplets to form on the outside, and she could hear Sarah stirring in the other room. She took some peaches and cherries from the bowl on the counter, sliced the peaches, pitted the cherries and arranged both on a plate, then poured two glasses of iced tea before setting the pitcher in the refrigerator.
The early evening sun still was high in the sky as she carried everything into the living room and set it on the coffee table.
"Wow, thanks," Sarah said as she stretched and yawned. "What's the red drink?"
"Abby's tea, iced," Ziva said. "My Aunt Nettie would make us hibiscus tea as a special treat in the summer. It … has always been a favorite memory of mine."
Sarah sat up, her movements slow and awkward, then took a glass. "Then, to your Aunt Nettie." She held it up and they clinked glasses. "How was your appointment?"
"I learned, very early, that it was necessary to do difficult things, and to do them without complaining," Ziva said. "When you are knocked down, you get back up."
"And today was hard?" Sarah asked as she started eating cherries.
Ziva nodded. "Tony told me, yesterday, that the first time is the most difficult. The second becomes easier, and the third easier still." She made herself keep her eyes on Sarah. "I told Damon last night, and now I should tell you."
"If you don't want to, you don't have to," Sarah said.
"Please, listen first," Ziva said. "Then you, I think, will understand why I say I must tell you."
She began to speak, to tell the story of a warrior who had once been a child dancing, wishing her father was there and promising herself she would be there when her own daughter danced. Who now was no longer a warrior, but also would never be a mother, and no longer looked for her father to be there.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Tony hung up the phone. Yes, firmer than normal, but no, he didn't slam it down.
"Still nothing?" McGee asked.
"Nothing that's going to help," Tony said. He thought back through all the calls he'd made. "One of his friends died from suicide in high school, but nothing to link him to her death, and no question that it was a suicide."
"Same pattern," McGee replied.
"Knowing people who kill themselves isn't a crime," Tony retorted. "My gut might not be Gibbs-level, but it says something's hinky, but I have no idea how we prove it."
"He's had a lot of transfers given his time in service, but I'm not finding many similar cases that might link to him," McGee said. "The only thing I did find is that the cases we know about all happened near the bases he was at the longest. At least two years for each of them. Most of his other assignments were shorter."
Before Tony could reply, Gibbs and Dwayne walked in.
"Whatta we got?"
After Tony shared, he listened to McGee and Dwayne's reports.
"Maybe we're looking at this wrong," he said after Dwayne finished.
"What do you mean?" McGee asked.
"We've been looking at this case like it's a murder case that was classified as a bunch of suicides," he said. "Maybe it's not that simple."
Gibbs gave a short nod, so Tony continued. "I can think of two possibilities. One, he's got something in him that attracts him to people who are depressed and prone to suicide."
"And the other?" McGee asked.
"He's gaslighting them," Tony said. "He gets off on manipulating them until they're suicidal and then he gets to see them die without having to do it himself."
"That's sick," Dwayne said.
"Boss, this sounds like we need to get Ducky involved," McGee said. "If Tony's right, in option one, we have no case. Dawes might benefit from therapy, but it's not a crime to date people with suicidal ideation."
"And if he's gaslighting them, Ducky will have more luck figuring out how the dirtbag's brain works so we can stop him before it happens to somebody here," Tony said.
"I'll take the files down," Gibbs said. "Go home, all of you." He headed for the back elevator.
Tony checked his watch. "Come on, before he changes his mind."
As they left the Navy Yard, Tony was glad Tim had driven in today. Cold cases all day were enough to melt his brain.
"Damon's coming at 6:30?" he asked, eyes closed.
"With beer," Tim said.
"We need beer for this conversation?" Tony asked. He opened his eyes and looked at Tim's profile. "That doesn't sound good."
"Ziva wants him to tell us about what happened in Somalia so she doesn't have to do it again. You really think we can have that conversation without beer?"
"It's a good thing Eli normally just sends one of his Mossad flunkies over rather than coming himself, because if I see the man again, I might actually try and kill him."
"You, me, Ducky, Gibbs," McGee said. "And don't forget Abby, who-"
"Can kill him and leave no forensic evidence," Tony finished the sentence with him, unable to resist a smile at the familiar line from the scientist.
They got home about half an hour before Damon was set to arrive. Tony forced himself to keep busy the entire time so he wouldn't have to think about what Damon was going to tell them.
When the former Marine arrived, he passed out beer from the six-pack he'd brought before he said anything.
"That bad?" Tony said, forcing his voice to stay light.
"It's not good," Damon said. "I'm sure you can guess some of it."
"We knew she was beaten, and you said the other day there are scars in places we haven't seen," Tony said. "And we've all assumed she was raped." His hand tightened around the beer bottle. "There's more?"
Damon nodded, fingers picking at the label on his bottle. "There's more."
Tony couldn't bring himself to ask, and Damon didn't seem in a hurry to share. Finally, Tim spoke.
"What don't we know?" he asked. "What didn't she think she could tell us?"
A muscle in Damon's jaw twitched, and Tony suddenly had a very bad feeling in his gut.
"She was raped," Damon said. "Repeatedly." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "She became pregnant. When it became obvious, they beat her until she miscarried."
"Oh, shit," Tim said. "First Sarah, and then Abby with the miscarriage."
"Abby what?" Damon said.
"In the middle of the Mexico debacle," Tony said. "Not many people knew, and we only did because McBlabber put his foot in it and pissed off Jimmy and Gibbs, who did know. And we didn't tell you about it."
"Did Ziva know?" Damon asked.
Tony looked at Tim, who shrugged. "Not as far as I know, but it's possible," Tim said.
Tony thought about it for a minute. "If she did, and that was a trigger, wouldn't something have happened then?"
"Not necessarily," Damon said. "That was a crazy time, and you guys were worried about the Reynosa cartel gunning for Gibbs."
"He's got a point," McGee said. "You know how Ziva is."
"Yes, our scary assassin ninja chick was in her element while Paloma was on the loose," Tony said. He looked at Damon. "Tell me that's everything."
The former marine didn't say anything.
"Damon." Tony put as much "don't mess with me" Gibbsian tone into his voice as he could.
"She said to tell you everything?" he asked.
Tim nodded. "She said we'd know who needed to know what."
Damon was silent for another minute. Tony fought the urge to fill the time with chatter. Finally, Damon started talking.
"I don't know the details, but she said because of what happened, there was too much damage for the doctors to fix all of it," he said. "She's no longer able to have children."
Tony was talking before he even realized it. "Ziva was the one who realized Sarah was pregnant, and got her to take the test," he said. "She knew, because she recognized the symptoms. And now she's living in the same house as Sarah, who's McCrankily pregnant."
"Call her McCranky to her face and even Gibbs won't be able to save you," Tim retorted. "But…" His voice trailed off. "This is bad."
Damon was quick to agree. "Ziva wouldn't say it, but I think being around Sarah is reminding her of what she lost. Not so much the baby, but-"
"But the possibility," Tony said.
"She thought I wouldn't want her if I knew," Damon said. "She thinks, because she chose to go on that mission—"
"She didn't choose," Tony said, remembering the smug look on Ben-Gidon's face. "She did what her son-of-a-bitch of a father told her to do."
"That's not how she sees it," Damon said. "She blames herself. And, she wouldn't say it, but every time she sees Sarah—"
"She's reminded," Tim said. "No wonder she said she didn't want to tell us." He started ticking things off on his long fingers. "Evil Josh already screwed with Sarah enough that telling her will probably make things worse. Not telling her is hurting Ziva because they live together. Abby and Jimmy keep talking about bat-gremlins. And she thinks Damon won't want her."
"I've told her otherwise," Damon said. "It doesn't matter to me."
"You're sure?" Tony said. "Because if you say that now and change your mind and hurt Ziva, I still owe you a punch for that broken nose."
"And I'd let you take a clean shot," Damon said. "But all those steroids for all those years? Docs say I'm probably shooting blanks. I told Ziva that. She at least can blame her father. Mine's all on me."
Tony was momentarily lost for words.
"McGee, you're right about the rest of it, though," Damon said. "When Ziva first told me she'd been raped, I offered to move out. They don't need me there for protection anymore. That's when Ziva said I wasn't the problem."
"So we have to figure out how to have Ziva and Sarah not live together without Sarah thinking she's the problem," Tim said.
"We're screwed," Tony said. He started thinking. "McGee, didn't you say Maryland would let one of us adopt, but not both?"
"Yeah, I think that's what I found. Why?"
"We decided Sarah was going to put me down as the father, remember?" Tony said. "That way Evil Josh can't try and pull something."
"Which would mean Maryland would let me adopt since we're married," Tim said.
"So you two could move back into the house, and let Sarah stay there, and Ziva could move back here," Damon said.
"Wait, that leaves you without a place," Tim replied. "And we can't do that after everything you've done for us."
Tony thought for a minute. "Guys, we shouldn't be talking about this without Ziva. She'll break out her paperclips if she thinks we're making decisions for her."
Nobody could argue with him about that.
"We said we needed a game night this weekend anyway," Tim said. "Damon, I know we usually have them out at the house, but do you think…?"
"I'll talk to Ziva and see," Damon said. "I don't know if she wants group problem solving for this or not." He stood to leave. "I'll text you later tonight or tomorrow morning."