Hey folks! Sorry this is so late. Life and all that. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 17
Ziva walked into the bullpen, a smile on her face and a plot on her mind. She didn't want to tell the team she and Dion were engaged until Gibbs and Tony were home. She had an idea though, and she hoped that she could enlist Abby's help to put it into place.
She looked over at McGee as she said hello and sat behind her desk to boot up her computer. She was surprised to see him looking so tired.
"McGee? Did you not rest yesterday?"
Tim looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "I tried. Talked to the boss."
"Really? How are they enjoying their trip?"
"They're doing great. I guess I just needed the reassurance."
Ziva felt concern flood her. She got up and moved closer to his desk so they could talk a little more privately. "What did you need reassurance about?" She leaned casually against his desk.
Tim shrugged. "Just that I'd done the right thing the other day."
Ziva nodded her understanding. She knew that Tim never took taking a life well. "You did, McGee. And you have done well with leading the team. I have not wanted to strangle you once." She smiled down at him. He smiled a genuine smile back.
"Thanks, Ziva. I know in my head that it was the right thing, but I have a hard time reconciling it in here." He tapped his chest. Ziva knew that despite how much of a brainiac McGee could be, when it came to taking a life he was all heart. She tried to relate, but it was hard for her to do.
"All I can do is tell you that I believe you did the right thing. And I am pretty sure everyone else believes so as well. Only you can decide if you did though. Elly certainly believed it was the right thing to do. Maybe you should talk to him about it."
"Maybe," Tim agreed. "Boss was pretty good about it all though. And Abby has been really supportive. I'd hate to drag Elly into it if he's dealing with things himself."
Ziva glanced over her shoulder to where Elly was joking with Greg and Ned. "He seems to be doing pretty well with it."
"Yeah, but…"
Ziva nodded her understanding. "Just let me know if there is anything I can do for you."
"Thanks, Ziva," Tim said.
"I take it Abby is in?" she said, heading back towards her desk.
"Yeah, she's in her lab."
"I believe I will go pay her a visit."
"Okay," Tim said, setting himself back on the task of filling out all of the paperwork from the case that the team leads had to do.
Ziva bounced down the stairs to the lab with that smile on her face again. She tried to rein it in. She'd thought this through and was prepared to carefully proceed, though knew she might have to disclose her engagement as part of the conversation if backed into a corner. She didn't think she would though if she followed her plan.
"Hi Abby," she greeted as she made her way into the lab.
"Ziva!" Abby said, turning around to greet her. She turned back to her computer and tapped the keys to lock it down before coming over to the evidence table where Ziva was now standing. "To what do I owe the honor?"
"I had an idea, and I thought I would run it by you."
"Shoot," Abby said, smiling brightly.
"We have all had a hard week, and I know that there is still much to go. I thought it might be nice if we did another team dinner at the restaurant when Gibbs and Tony get back on Sunday."
"Oh! That sounds great! Tim is so depressed, and I think it would be so good for all of us to go hang out and relax for the evening."
"I thought so, too. We had such a great time last time and I wanted to invite everyone. I thought maybe we could welcome back Gibbs and Tony, and we could try to put this horrible week behind us."
"I am all about this! Want to send a message to the group text?"
"I was going to, but I wanted to make sure someone would be able to support it. I know everyone has a full plate right now."
"I'll totally be your hype-woman on this! The Gibbses are catching a 6:20AM flight out, and should be home by 5:30PM. I'm really hoping they'll be up for this after such a long flight."
"I hope so, too. I think McGee could use the time with them. He does not look too great this morning."
Abby frowned. "Yeah, he's really taking killing that kid pretty hard. I mean, he was totally in the right, but you know McGee. He's not going to be okay with that. He wouldn't be okay with it if he was 40 years old, but 18?" Abby chewed her lip and cocked her head to the side as she thought.
"We will just have to help him though it," Ziva said with a nod.
"I think dinner on Sunday will definitely do that!" Abby said, perking back up immediately. "I'm feeling much happier just thinking about it! And I definitely want another piece of Angel's chocolate mousse cake. That was amazing!"
Ziva smiled. Her plan had worked perfectly. "I shall send the text. We will see what happens."
"Great idea!"
"Thanks, Abby. I am going to head back upstairs. McGee looks like he is buried in paperwork and I am going to see if I can do anything to help him before we get into the gym."
"Oh yeah! Elly's going to kick Sommer's ass! I'm totally coming to watch that."
Ziva smirked. "See you there."
She headed back upstairs and found that Sommers had arrived, dressed to head to the gym, his duffel on the floor next to his desk. She pulled out her phone and texted the group chat.
Ziva: I would like to invite you all out for dinner at Dion's on Sunday to relax and welcome back the Gibbses.
Elly: I think we'd totally be down for that! A few adult beverages to put a shitty case behind us. I'm all about it.
Ned: I second that.
Tim: Third! That sounds perfect. Thanks Ziva.
Abby: I can't wait!
Jimmy: I'll let Dr. Palmer know :)
Greg: I might need to take a raincheck. Let me check in with Tiffany. Her being on bedrest and such…
Ziva: I would completely understand if you cannot come. How is Tiffany?
Greg: We went to the doctor yesterday and she's being put on a bunch of supplements and some light hormone therapy. They don't think it will hurt the baby, but we're watching for any complications. She's still on bedrest though and will be until she delivers. They're talking about possibly scheduling a C-section to prevent any complications during birth. We'll know in another month or so.
Abby: Well, I'm glad she's got you to help her through it all.
Greg: Yeah, I really need to be there more though. She's not doing so well emotionally with it all.
Elly: I think that's the fucking understatement of the year, Greg.
Ned: Two words: Alarm Clock
Greg: It should get better now that she's on these meds. We'll see what happens. I'm hopeful!
Ziva: Then we will be hopeful with you.
Greg: Thanks, Ziva.
Ned: Can we talk for a minute about how excited I am that Elly's about to kick Sommers' ass?
There were soft chuckles all around the bullpen.
Tim: On that note…
Tim stood up. "We all ready to head downstairs?"
"Oh yeah," Sommers said, standing up and stretching. "I could definitely use a good workout."
Tim and Ziva exchanged smiles as they tried to repress their laughter.
The group all grabbed their duffels and headed for the stairs. It seemed counterproductive to take the elevator to the gym. They disappeared into their respective locker rooms and changed. Ziva texted Abby to let her know that they were all getting ready, and then tucked her phone into her locker.
She headed out into the gym to find Sommers and Elly both stretching. Ned, Greg and Tim came out to join them, and they all started their stretching routines. By time they were all limber Ziva noticed that Abby had come into the room with three other women, Cara, Seline, and Heather, all of whom had previous beefs with Sommers. The message had gotten out, and Ziva was surprised that Abby would have done something like that, but at the same time was trying to suppress a bright smile and losing. She went over to Elly and nudged him to look towards the bench along the wall by the entrance.
"No pressure or anything!" Elly said with a wink.
"I don't think you'll have anything to worry about." She raised an eyebrow at him and moved over to where Greg was waiting for her on a mat nearby.
Ned and Tim had already started some blocking exercises together, taking them rather seriously for the situation they were in. Ziva went over to Greg and nodded at him.
"So, what are we doing today?" he asked.
"I think it is a day to release some tension," she said.
"I full heartedly agree. What do you want to do?"
"Freestyle, but I'll hold back on the more technical martial arts."
"Sounds good. Set?"
"Go," she said. She started with a low kick that he jumped and he lunged to wrap an arm around her shoulders to pull her down. She spun and ducked, elbowing Greg in the stomach, pulling some of the intensity. Greg was distracted then because Elly and Sommers had taken their mat and begun. Both men looked smug, ready to take the other down, and Ziva stopped to watch them as well. So had Tim and Ned.
"Show me whatcha got," Elly said, using his fingers to gesture that Sommers should start. Sommers came at him to punch, Elly blocked, dropped and spun to kick Sommers out from below, but his kick was high, swiping him behind the thighs rather than his knees causing Sommers to land on his back rather than his ass when he fell, surprising him. Sommers rolled to the side as Elly moved as if to come down on him, but it was a feint. Elly spun sideways and kicked Sommers hard in the jaw as he got up.
The smug light left Sommers' eyes as he reached up to crack his jaw. Before he could move forward again though, Elly was moving at him. Sommers crossed his arms at the wrists to block the next move, which succeeded, but Elly was fast and kicked him in the side.
Sommers was getting angry. He came at Elly with a flurry of punches and Elly ducked and blocked each one. Elly let a couple of punches out that caused Sommers to back up. Elly had to admit that he was light on his feet. He knew how to use that to his advantage though. He got him to the edge of the mat and then turned his back, feigning to be giving him a second to catch his breath, but he knew people like Sommers wouldn't give up the opportunity to attack from behind and turned to elbow him in his face as he did so. He was pretty sure he broke Sommers' nose, but the bloodshed did nothing to stop them.
"Son of a bitch!" Sommers shouted. Elly wasn't smiling any more. He was thinking about Sommers' comments over the past week. He thought about his general unhelpful attitude and his comment in the meeting the other day about the GIbbses. He was angry now. There was a lot more to be angry about, but he held that back in a safe place in his mind to channel later. This man didn't deserve that wrath, but he did deserve what Elly had in store for him.
Sommers dove for Elly who moved out of the way and tripped Sommers who went for a dive across the mat.
"Get up!" he said coldly. Sommers glared up at him with defiance. He suddenly sprung to his feet and came at Elly with his fists ready to wail on him. His temper was flaring and his arms were flailing as Elly ducked and blocked each punch expertly.
The entire gym had stopped to watch what was happening on the mat. Elly suddenly jumped on him, tucking his leg behind Sommers' and locking Sommers' head in the crook of his armpit as he rolled them in a somersault and pinned him to the mat. It appeared that he had Sommers down for the count, but then he got up again.
"Again! This time don't let me pin you," Elly directed as if he were simply trying to teach him the move, not a lesson. Sommers' eyes were alight when he got up. They were burning with rage, which is what Elly wanted to see. He had his own to let out, but unless his opponent was at his level, it wouldn't be a fair fight. Let his anger make him reckless while I use mine to channel my energy, he thought as he stood with his arms out. "Haven't landed one yet. What do they even teach at FLETC these days?" he baited.
Sommers was on his feet again, fists up, but he wasn't coming at Elly this time. He was waiting for Elly to come at him, which made Elly smirk and nod once slowly. He's scared. Good.
Elly jumped forward with the intent to kick, but Sommers caught his leg. It didn't do him much good though because Elly had hoped he had the sense to do that. He half-cartwheeled out of his grasp as he used his other foot to kick him in the back of his head.
"Goddamn!" Sommers swore softly. He turned to grab Elly's arm as he found himself back in the upright position. Elly took that moment to clock him hard in the other jaw, making him stumble. Sommers stumbled backwards but stayed upright. He was furious at this point though. He yelled as he came at Elly with the intentions to tackle him, which being a slightly bulkier man, might have worked on anyone else. Elly turned though as Sommers came at him. He grabbed the hunched over man by the back, one arm around each side and kneed him hard in the abdomen. He felt his knees connect with his ribs as much as it did stomach, then pushed him aside so that he landed on the ground groaning.
"I think we're finished here," Elly said, his voice icy. "What do you think?"
Sommers nodded as he clutched his ribs. His nose was bleeding profusely onto the mat. Elly grabbed his towel and water bottle. He went over to Sommers and crouched down, handing him the towel to hold to his nose. "Come on. Let's get you up to Ducky to set that nose." He reached out his hand to pull Sommers up who was baffled by the sudden calm that had come over Elly. He couldn't imagine that gentle tone coming from the man who'd just flattened him.
Elly didn't look at any of the spectators as he gave Sommers a couple of slaps on the back and then led him to the hallway.
Greg turned to Ziva and they nodded at each other. At the same time Ned turned to smile at Tim who smirked and nodded, then they all resumed their training with enthusiasm.
Elly led Sommers to the morgue in silence. They walked in to find Ducky and Palmer laughing, but they stopped immediately at the sight of them.
"Oh, my," Ducky said, putting down the file folders he had in his hand and moving towards them.
"You really should be more cautious training with young Elijah here," he said as he snapped on some gloves then reached to take the bloody towel. "From what I heard he has more martial arts experience than any other agent other than our Ziva."
Sommers gave Elly a look between slit eyes. "Yeah. I figured that out," he said deathly quiet.
"Yes, well, we'll do a quick x-ray and then check to see how easily we can set this break. And my, it looks like your jaw took a hit as well. We'll get scans of that just to be sure. Alright, up you go!" He indicated for Sommers to jump up on the steel table and lay back. Palmer was already wheeling the portable x-ray over to them. It only took a couple of minutes with a couple of directions to turn this way and that for Ducky to get what he needed.
"These will only take about ten minutes to process and we can take a look. You two sit right here." He gave Elly a pointed look and a raised eyebrow, then gestured for Jimmy to join him on the other side of the room while they waited for the results.
The blood was still flowing freely from Sommers' nose, so Elly went to grab some paper towels, then returned to Sommers who had tilted his head back.
"Here, and you want to bend forward with your head between your knees, not tilt it back. You could choke on your own blood otherwise. It's also not good for your stomach. You don't need to puke on top of everything else." He kept his voice gentle and held the towels up to Sommers who glanced at him as he bent forward reluctantly.
After a minute of silence Sommers finally spoke. "Why do I get a feeling that was revenge?"
Elly shook his head, though Sommers couldn't see. "Not revenge, Kyle. A lesson."
Sommers looked up at him. "Surprised you know my name," he said quietly through the hand pinching his bloody nose full of towels.
"Other than you being a first-class douchebag, that's pretty much all I know about you." Elly said calmly, giving him a patient look.
Sommers shook his head slightly and bent again so his head was between his knees, but it was more to hide the shame coloring his face.
"So, what's the lesson?" he asked.
"That you have a lot to learn. But the thing is, you're in the best position anyone could ask for to learn so much. You're working with some of the greatest minds NCIS has ever had come through. Gibbs may be a hard ass, but he's brilliant, and there's a reason everyone is loyal to him. And Ziva is a martial arts expert. If you need to learn to fight, you want her to teach you. And McGee… damn. That man has more talent in his fingers than I can ever hope to have behind a keyboard. Tech might not be your thing, but damn I'm learning so much from him. You're working with goddamn NCIS royalty, but you treat them like third-class citizens. I just don't understand why you're so unhappy and bitter when you should be jumping in jubilation!" Elly's voice was quiet but full of emotion. He was taken by surprise when Sommers jumped up off the table and started yelling, his face bright red.
"Because I don't want to be here! Okay!? Is that what you want to hear?! I. DON'T. WANT. TO. BE HERE!" His chest was heaving and Elly took him in with wide eyes, his arms coming uncrossed as he saw Sommers sway. "I don't want to be a damn agent! I just! I just!" And then Elly was lunging forward to catch him as he passed out.
"Ducky!" he hollered. Palmer rushed over to help lift Sommers back up onto the table.
"Oh, dear," Ducky said, coming over to check his pulse. "He's lost a bit of blood. I think he's just overexerted himself."
"Salts?" Palmer asked.
"I believe so, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said. "Quite a revelation," he murmured as he glanced up at Elly. "Be careful how you handle it, Elijah."
Elly nodded as Palmer placed the smelling salts under Sommers' nose. He gasped and started sitting up. Palmer was quick to stick a rolled-up towel under his head as Ducky lowered him back down.
"Give it a minute, dear boy. You don't need to do that again." Sommers looked around, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
"Did I…?"
"You passed out, but I think you'll be okay. Now, hold still." Ducky reached up and twerked Sommers' nose until there was a loud crack.
"Ow! Fuck!" Sommers swore.
"There you go," Ducky said with a small smile. "You'll stop bleeding shortly. Clean break. Mr. Palmer, I believe some ice will help." He turned to cross the room and wash his hands.
"Yes, Doctor. I'll be back," he said with a smile for Sommers, and then the two men were alone again.
Elly jumped up to sit on the metal table across from Sommers. He waited until Jimmy had given Sommers the icepack and then retreated before he started talking. "So… you don't want to be an agent. Then why become one?" His voice was calm, but he held back the sympathy and confusion.
Sommers sighed heavily. "My dad."
Elly nodded. "I can get that. My dad and brother are both Navy. They totally thought I would follow in their ranks, but I became a cop. NCIS was kind of a compromise, but luckily, I love it here. Great people."
Sommers chuckled sardonically. "Yeah, everyone here is so great. Gag me."
"I think I've done enough to you. Gagging is off the table. But you see? That's just it. They really are great. And what makes that okay is that every single one of them has a story to tell. And every single one of them has earned their happiness. You don't know any of their stories though because you've been too much of a dick for them to trust you with them."
"There's that word again," Sommers said with another chuff of a dark chuckle.
"What word?"
"Dick. Ziva called me that the other night." He shook his head, then hesitantly continued. "Then she told me a little of her story. I had no idea her dad was the head of Mossad."
"Did she tell you that he had her kill her own brother when he went rogue?"
"Holy shit! Are you serious?!" Sommers sat up with a jolt, his face contorted in a horrible expression as the bruises were starting to make themselves apparent and the swelling was distorting his… everything.
Elly nodded. "Let me give you my story. The least I could do after pummeling you." That earned a small eyeroll, but Elly was surprised to see Sommers was paying attention.
"When I was three years old, my mother was slaughtered in our home while I was alone with her. I came downstairs from my nap and found her dead body, which I was left alone with for hours until my older brother came home from school. Until recently, I saw her dead body every time I closed my eyes. Every single fucking time. I dream about her constantly, and she's always sliced up like she was then. The smell of blood makes me have nightmares, like I'll probably have tonight from smelling your blood. Like I do every night after a bloody crime scene. Only now it's not just my mom I see, but the members of this team. The people that mean something to me. That mean everything.
"My dad was on a ship more than he was home, so my dear stepmother had to raise a traumatized child on her own. She was great, but I'm only just now, this summer, able to tell her I love her. And that was only after my dad disowned me after finding out I'm in love with a man. She's divorcing him because of how he treated me." Elly was satisfied to see the drawn and pale expression on Sommers' face.
"So yeah, we all have our stories. We all have our shit. There is nothing in this world stopping you from doing what you actually want to be doing other than some idea in your head that daddy dearest wants you to be a cop. So, tell me this- are you going to give this team, my fucking family, a chance? Are you going to defend us in the field, learn as much as you can from us as we learn from each other, or are you going to keep being a miserable know-it-all narcissist? Or maybe, just maybe, are you going to grow a pair of balls, grow the hell up, and go after what you really want to be doing?"
"Damn." Sommers gulped.
"You know, Elly, when I said to be careful with how you proceeded, I didn't quite expect it to go like that," Ducky said, coming over to stand between the two tables the men were now sitting upright on.
"No, Dr. Mallard. It's okay," Sommers said, grimacing. "I, um. I deserved that." He looked up at Elly. "I'm sorry about your mom. Mine walked out, but I can't imagine… that. That really blows."
Elly nodded solemnly. "And the thing is, we all have our stories. We've all got them. Everyone does. Our teams especially do. That's why we hold on so tightly to each other. We've earned each other's respect and trust, and it's invaluable. What we found though was that more than all of that, we came to love each other. We're a family because none of us have healthy families to be a part of. So yeah, sometimes we're so sappy that others want to gag themselves, but fuck 'em, because we've earned our happiness. Are you going to earn it?"
Sommers looked shell shocked.
"I…" He swallowed and looked at Jimmy and Ducky. "I think it might be too late for that," he said quietly.
"That depends on what you want. You tell me right now that you want to try to find a family here, that you want to learn from the best, that you want to earn that trust and respect that we all have for each other, and I can guarantee you a clean slate. I can make that happen. But you have to really want it. It's going to take sacrifice of pride, of ego, of your attitude."
Sommers stared down at the floor. He didn't know what to say to that.
"I tell you what. You think about it today. You mull it over. You make a decision. Either you want to be a real part of this team, and you start over, or you leave. Tomorrow morning. If you're not all in, then your resignation is on Vance's desk by 0800."
Sommers nodded.
"Good. Then I'm glad we've had this little talk." Elly jumped down from the table and turned for the door.
There was a long silence as Elly disappeared, then Sommers spoke. "I guess now I know how he got to be SFA so young."
Ducky and Palmer both stared at him.
"Kinda' intimidating when he needs to be. I… I never would've expected that from him. Wouldn't have taken him for having the balls."
Ducky shook his head. "Let me ask you something Agent Sommers. What is it that you really want to do? Obviously, you don't want to be an agent. What else would you do?"
Sommers looked a little embarrassed. "I wanted to go into forensics."
"Ahhh… I see. I can imagine how that was twisted into this predicament. Have you thought about seeing if you could study under Abigail between cases? She's not one to take an assistant, but occasionally taking a student might be okay."
"Do you think she would?" Sommers asked, a glimmer of hope coloring his voice.
"Not a chance," Jimmy said. "Not right now. Abby is the type to hold grudges. You'd have to earn it."
Ducky nodded his agreement. "Indeed. You've affronted the most important people in her life. As Elijah pointed out so… delicately… everyone has a story. That includes Abigail. Her position in this family is coveted. Loved by one and all, and fiercely gives love in return. Which means it will take quite a long time to forgive the comments made in that meeting on Friday."
Sommers winced painfully. "Yeah… I was missing my filter."
"A filter won't fix things," Jimmy said, his arms crossed as he stared at Sommers. "The fact that you even thought something like that is enough to get you kicked out of the family. Try again."
"As you can see, even Mr. Palmer and myself are included in this little community we have. It's the nature of the work. You've made quite the wrong first impression. The defenses are up. What are you going to do to bring them back down?"
"I have no idea," Sommers said with a sullen shrug and hopped down from the table. "I need some time to think."
"Let me leave you with this thought. Abigail is one of the top forensic scientists in the country. She's sought after. Constantly headhunted. You'd be so very lucky to get a chance to work with her, even if only occasionally. If you stay, don't expect a warm welcome from her for months, if not longer. But above all else, I suggest you talk to Jethro. Tell him your story. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to hear a part of his and truly understand the root of why this team works."
"Yeah… Gibbs doesn't seem like much of a talker," Sommers said skeptically.
Ducky shook his head. "It doesn't take a lot of words to understand why things are the way they are around here. Of all of our stories, I personally believe that his is the worst."
Sommers nodded. "Thanks for fixing my nose, Doc." He nodded to Palmer, then headed through the door. He had a lot to think about it.
********WDYG?********
Ellie pulled up in front of the old farmhouse. The dust from the dirt and gravel drive wafted around the truck and announced her arrival. She looked up at the large white house set on a backdrop of wheat and sky. Her eyes fell on the family vegetable garden to the left of the house. It was flourishing and she found herself aching for some fresh strawberries on French toast.
When her eyes moved back to her house she saw her oldest brother standing on the porch. He was leaning against the beam at the top of the stairs as he watched her. She decided to face the music and climbed out of the truck dragging her duffle bag and messenger bag with her.
"Need a hand, sis?" he asked.
"No, I got it. Thanks, George."
"Sure."
She got to the top of the stairs and he put his arm around her, stopping her before she got to the door.
"You okay? You look like hell."
She gave him a pointed look, but he gave her one back. She sighed.
"No, I'm not."
"That's what I thought. Come on, Mom's making your favorite."
"Her famous French toast?"
"With fresh strawberries from the garden. Probably the last good pick we'll get this year. The ultimate comfort food."
Ellie groaned in ecstasy when she opened the front door and the smell of the food hit her senses. She had a flip in her stomach that she didn't like when she saw her other brothers in the kitchen setting the table. She hadn't been expecting them all until later. The fact that they'd all put off working to be there was heartening, but she realized that she'd be telling her story a lot sooner than she expected. She thought she'd have the chance to tell her mom and dad before telling them. It didn't look like that was going to happen.
"Ellie!" Robbie said, coming in from the kitchen and wrapping her in a hug just a second after she managed to drop her things on the couch.
"Hey, Robbie," she greeted as she hugged him back.
"Dad! Ellie's here!" John called from the kitchen.
"Be there in a minute," her dad called back.
"Okay everyone. Give Ellie some space."
"Mom," Ellie said with a sigh as she headed for the kitchen. Her mom was a slim woman of about 5'5" with gracefully aging blonde hair. She sat a platter of French toast on the table and as she turned to Ellie found herself with arms full of her daughter. Ellie hugged her mom tightly and the embrace that was returned was full of the security that Ellie craved. Her mom was the strongest woman she knew. She kept the farm running when her dad battled cancer ten years earlier and nursed him back to health. She pushed her daughter to follow her dreams and not take second best for anything. She loved her more than life itself. As her mom held her tightly she felt the pain start to fade into the background and the fear dissipated completely. She was safe now. Her family would support her as she took on her healing and they would protect her as she faced the demons the past week had created.
Her mom pulled back and looked into Ellie's tired eyes. After a long searching look she nodded once. "Let's eat." She let Ellie go with a weary smile and Ellie took her traditional place at the table. Her dad came and joined them at the head of the table nearest to Ellie and stopped to kiss her on top of the head as was their custom. She smiled at him and then turned to the food.
They ate and talked about plans for the harvest which was looking to be very good that year. Ellie wasn't oblivious to the concerned looks she was getting from everyone. John's penetrative gaze made her nervous. He was probably the most playful of her brothers, but he was also able to read anyone like a book with that gaze. She knew that there was nothing hidden from him, especially when it came to her.
She was eating slowly, her stomach trying to settle as she did her best to enjoy her food. She finally couldn't eat another bite and sat her fork down. Everyone stopped and looked at her. It wasn't like her to not finish a meal, but especially not her favorite meal.
"It was delicious, Mom. Thank you," she said, trying to sound reassuring.
"Must be something pretty bad if you're not eating," her dad murmured.
Ellie nodded. "Yeah, it is. I'll wait until you all finish eating though. This doesn't need to be talked about while you're enjoying such a great meal."
Her dad nodded but her brothers all exchanged glances of concern. Everyone's food went down a little faster after that, despite Ellie getting up to get the coffee pot and pouring a large mug full.
Her brothers made quick work of taking everyone's dishes and washing them, and then everyone sat back at the table with coffee mugs. Ellie shook her head. She had thought about what she was going to tell them all day the day before as she drove, and all night last night in the hotel room as she fought with sleep. Now her mind couldn't decide on a method.
"Honey?" her mom asked gently. "Is it about Jake?"
Ellie nodded and looked at her mom, then her brothers, then her dad. He nodded encouragingly at her and reached out to take her hand that was fiddling with the edge of her placemat.
"What's wrong sweetheart? What happened?"
"It's a long story."
"Start from the beginning," her dad coaxed.
"Okay."
She began with telling them about the night that Mark died. There were winces of concern, but still nothing terrible.
"You talked about Mark sometimes," her mom said. "I'm sorry to hear that he's gone."
"Thanks, Mom. That's just the beginning I'm afraid."
She continued telling them about the weekend, and then when she told them about how she'd come home and she'd heard Jake on the phone, her voice broke. She took a drink of her coffee and finished her revelation.
"Oh my God," John said.
"Are you serious?" George asked. Ellie nodded, having a hard time meeting their eyes. She stared at the pattern on the table cloth as she continued, explaining her escape from the apartment. She talked about how she was working with NCIS and how everyone was really great, but then they found out the truth about what Jake had really been doing. As she told them that he was responsible for dozens of murders, torturing people on video for the pleasure of it, they were all stunned. The look on her mom's face was going to be permanently etched into her mind forever. Her dad's hand squeezed hers again and didn't let go.
"Sweetheart, are you sure it was Jake?" he asked. He'd always liked Jake, and Ellie was pained to nod her affirmation.
"No doubts. Whatsoever. He admitted to it all in interrogation, as well as admitting to the sexual relationship he had with his partner."
"He was doing all of this with another woman?" Robbie asked, jaw dropped.
"No," Ellie said, her eyebrows raising at him. "It was a man. Well, actually, it was a boy. He was 16 when they started two years ago."
"Oh, gross!" Robbie said, and the faces of her entire family mirrored the sentiment.
"Oh, God!" her mom gasped.
Ellie nodded. "Yeah. They killed 29 people together total. And his little boyfriend, his name was Christian, came after me after we arrested Jake. With his own protégé. They drugged me, kidnapped me, and took me to a warehouse where they made me watch video of Jake and Christian torturing people together before fornicating with each other and the body of their victim."
"I think I'm going to get sick," her dad said, squeezing her hand before he stood up and excused himself to the small bathroom off the kitchen. They all sat in silence as they listened to him retch for a couple of minutes, then the toilet flushed and the water in the sink ran. He came back out looking much paler than he had when he first sat down at the table.
"I'm sorry, honey. As you were saying," he said gently.
"I'd just gotten loose when NCIS came and saved me. They killed the two men that kidnapped me and took care of me. Jake is probably going to get the death penalty, and I can't sleep without having panicked dreams that people are kidnapping me. I didn't know what to do, so I came home."
"Jesus Christ," John whispered. "I'm so sorry, sis."
"I just… needed to be somewhere I felt safe."
"You're safe here, Ellie," George said, his voice hard. "Anyone tries to get at you here and they'll have to get past all of us."
"There's no one left to come after me. The entire group Jake was running with was killed by Christian, and as I said, Christian and his partner were killed by my friends at NCIS. And Jake is in custody. There's no one coming after me. I wouldn't have put you all in danger and come here if I thought there were."
Ellie realized her mom had tears running down her face. "Did they do anything to you?" she asked through broken voice.
"Not physically," Ellie said, shaking her head. "Just tied me up. It was more the mental… games." She was going to say mental torture, but decided not to associate that word with her for her parents' sakes, but she knew in her heart of hearts that was exactly what it was. "I escaped and was found before anything else could happen."
"What happens now?" her dad asked.
"I file for divorce from Jake, and I may be called to testify at his hearing."
"Would they really make you do that?" John asked.
"I know that they're going to try everything not to," she said. "The people I worked with on this case were really awesome. I think if any of them can take my place, they'd all volunteer to. The truth is, I want to. I want to do my part to put that asshole behind bars. To bring him to justice."
"Atta girl!" George said with a resolute nod.
"George!" her dad and John both exclaimed.
"What?" he asked. "We all know Ellie is one strong and stubborn woman. If she said anything different, I'd be worried about her. Wouldn't you?"
"Ellie," her mom said, and everyone silenced themselves. "What do you need from us?"
"Just to spend time here, doing normal things, I think. To get some sense of normalcy back while I try to digest all of this."
"Take as much time as you need, honey," her dad said.
"Thanks, Dad."
"What did the NSA say about all of this?" John asked.
Ellie had hoped not to address it. She gave a one shoulder shrug. "That they were sorry about everything that happened and to take the time off I need. That I'll need a psych eval when I come back to work. The usual."
"There's nothing usual about this," Robbie said, still in shock.
Ellie slowly turned her mug on the table, her eyes locked on the pattern of the glaze. It was one of her mom's creations. She'd always liked her mugs. She liked the way she let the glaze fade into different colors. She didn't make matching sets. Each one was an individual creation. This one had a shimmer to the glaze like an ultrafine glitter was mixed in, but it was hard to tell until the light hit it. She smiled faintly at it and ignored her family for a moment. She sighed, then looked around at all of them.
"So, what's on the agenda today?" she asked.
"Do you need to rest or be distracted?" John asked.
Ellie gave him a small smile. "Both."
"Then you can come help me in the garden," her mom said.
"Sure," Ellie said. "I'm just going to go put my stuff upstairs and change into something I can get dirty." She got up and headed for the living room to get her stuff, then escaped upstairs. They family was silent until she left, and she was sure that as soon as she was out of ears' reach they would start talking softly about how horrible her situation was. She was grateful they waited until she couldn't hear them. She put her bags down in the spare bedroom and started to get undressed. She pulled her phone from her back pocket and looked at it a moment.
Ellie: Hey Ned- just wanted to let you know that I made it to OK okay and that I'm with my family.
She started to change but there was a chime back right away.
Ned: Did you tell them everything? How did they take it? Are you okay?
Ellie smiled at the phone and replied.
Ellie: I told them everything after breakfast. It went about as well as could be expected. My dad threw up. And as for if I'm okay… I guess I'm as okay as can be expected as well.
Ned: I'm glad you're with them. Thanks for letting me know you're there safely. We're all thinking about you. You missed it- Elly kicked Sommers' ass in the gym this morning. Broke his nose and everything.
Ellie laughed out loud and smiled the first real smile she'd smiled in days.
Ellie: I bet that was a lesson well-learned!
Ned: Totally. And of course Elly was super hot doing it.
Ellie smiled harder and shook her head.
Ellie: Did you get video?
Ned: I didn't, but Abby did. She's holding it hostage though. We have to buy it off of her with CaffPow. I'm bringing her one later.
Ellie: Resourceful! I'm about to go work in the garden with my mom. I'll text you tonight.
Ned: Take care of you, Ellie.
Ellie: I will. Thanks, Ned.
She put her phone on top of the dresser and slipped her boots on. She thought about the NCIS team and how they made her feel. A resolve came over her. She was going to meet this Gibbs guy and take a look at applying for the agency again. She wanted to spend more time with these people. She felt somewhere deep inside that they'd be good for her, and she was going to need something to help her recover from this after she stopped hiding at the farm. Focusing on becoming an agent seemed like the right thing to do. She thought for a moment about telling her family about the idea, but decided to wait. She might hate this Gibbs and decide against it. Only time would tell.
She got up and headed for the door ready to get her hands dirty and her mind clear.
********WDYG?*******
Elly came back from the locker room to find everyone else but Sommers was already in the bullpen. He dropped his bag and went over to Tim.
"We need to talk."
Tim raised an eyebrow at him and got to his feet. He locked down the computer and headed for the stairs. He and Elly walked up them side by side and directly into the conference room. Elly closed the door behind him.
"I did something, and it wasn't my place to do it, and I'm sorry. Well… to be honest, I'm not sorry I did it, I'm just sorry that I crossed a line into what should've been your or Gibbs' territory."
Tim sat down in the chair at the head of the table, and Elly sat down next to him.
"What happened?" Tim asked calmly.
"We went to see Ducky to set his nose because I'd broken it, and we had a rather intense conversation. Sommers revealed that he doesn't actually want to be an agent at all. He feels like he was backed into the position by his father."
"Really?" Tim asked, his face contorted in confusion. "But he's so arrogant about it."
"I know. I'm pretty sure it's all for show. He's not happy. So, like I said, we talked. And I wasn't that compassionate, but I explained to him that we all have our stories and that we've earned our happiness and I told him that if he wants to stay and really fix things with us that I'd convince everyone to give him a clean slate, but he'd have to earn his place."
"Okay, that's not too bad. I think if he were to apologize to everyone and try to make things right everyone but probably Abby would be willing to work through it."
"Here's the thing," Elly said, turning pink and rubbing the back of his head. He looked around the room then looked back at Tim with a sigh. "I told him that if he wasn't willing to do that he needed to turn in his resignation to Vance in the morning."
"Oh." Tim looked thoughtful for a moment, his lips slightly parted as he considered that. He blinked and nodded his head. "Okay."
"I'm really sorry. I know that wasn't my place."
"No! It's okay," Tim said, shrugging a little. "We put you in that position by electing you to be the one to take him down in the gym. I hadn't thought it through like that. I think that's fair. Either he gets his shit together and tries, or he leaves. That's the best any of us could do, right?"
Elly nodded, relieved that Tim wasn't pissed.
"But I'm leaving it to you to convince Gibbs not to can him when he gets back if Sommers decides to stay."
Elly winced, then nodded. "Okay. Totally fair."
"Then we're good."
Elly nodded. "Thanks," he said with a relieved sigh.
"And if he chooses to stay, I'll do my best to help convince everyone to give him a second chance, but he has to apologize. He has to put himself out there. He's got to be genuine with us."
"I fully agree. That's the terms I'm thinking as well."
"Alright then." They were quiet a minute. "You broke his nose?" He smirked at Elly who smiled broadly and shook his head, looking around the room again.
"Clean break. Ducky reset it with a snap. I admit, it was satisfying."
"I'm glad you got the point across."
"I guess we'll see tomorrow morning."
"Yes, we will."
********WDYG?********
Jethro followed Tony into the shop. He wasn't used to following Tony as they walked, but he'd found himself doing so more often this trip since Tony was the one who spoke the language. He had to admit that he enjoyed the view it offered him. His eyes glanced over Tony's backside now, but only for a brief moment before he was introduced to the shopkeeper. He was surprised to see that he spoke English really well and talking to Tony in it. Both of them were smiling at each other as Tony complimented him on his English and the man responded with a compliment on Tony's Italian.
"You had something particular in mind, correct?" the man asked when he turned to lead Tony through the shop.
"Yes," Tony said, following him. Jethro trailed after, looking at the wares around him made of all sorts of shades of leather.
The man opened a door with a key and Tony and Jethro found themselves in a tiny hallway leading to a second door. When the first door was closed securely behind them, the man opened the second to reveal a room full of all sorts of leather kinkery.
"Whoa," Tony said with a chuckle. "Quite the collection!" he exclaimed, looking over at Jethro who was a little taken aback by all of the implements in the room. There were leather riding crops, cat-o-nine-tails, harnesses of all sorts of designs and more ways to restrain a person than either man had ever dreamed of.
"Thank you," the man said with a distinguished bow of his head. "It is a craft long in the making. Discretion is valued by my customers, but so is quality."
"I can tell," Tony said. Jethro was somewhat uncomfortable, which was a strange sensation for him that only served to make him even more uncomfortable. He didn't want to know what half of these things were, and he couldn't imagine using anything like the whips on the wall on Tony.
"You wanted some basic restraints if my memory serves me correctly," the man said.
"Yes," Jethro answered for them, regaining a bit of himself as he moved to stand next to Tony. Tony smirked at him and Jethro smirked back.
The man moved to a case on the left wall inside the door and the two joined him. He opened it to show a series of various cuffs and wrist and ankle restraints. There were cuffs that bound to one another, and cuffs with chains that could be attached to four poster beds or bed frames. There was one with two cuffs chained to a collar, and one contraption of four cuffs chained in a small X shape to link hands and feet together with very little room to move, effectively immobilizing the wearer.
Tony reached out to pick up a thick pair of cuffs with a simple belt-like clasp and notches. They were smooth inside but a pattern of crisscrossing lines were stamped along the outside in soft leather. "These are nice and soft," he said, handing it to Jethro to examine.
"Feels nice," he said. He saw a pair that had snaps and had a thought go through his mind. "We might want to think about something like this so that they're quick and easy to remove in case we get interrupted." He reached for the black pair with the bright silver snaps.
"Smart choice," the man said with a smile. "Children at home?" he asked.
"A daughter," Tony said with a smile. "She's going to be five."
"And she's obviously the light of your life," the man said with a warm smile. "Your expression says it all."
Jethro handed Tony the black cuffs to feel.
"Oooo," he said. "Those are even softer than the brown ones." He looked up at Jethro. They were two simple black cuffs, wide enough to be comfortable, with two sets of snaps on each cuff to ensure they stayed snapped and a sturdy steel chain of about 18 inches attaching them to one another.
"Try them on and see if they fit," the man suggested.
Jethro smirked and took them from Tony's hands and unsnapped one before wrapping it around Tony's wrist to snap them in place. He looked up into Tony's eyes and was surprised to see them dilating. He raised an eyebrow at him, knowing all the while that they were being watched critically. He pulled on the cuff once it was snapped around Tony's arm to see how sturdy it was. It held with surprising strength. "Do you like them?" he asked quietly, surprised to find his voice so gruff.
"They fit well," Tony said, his own voice low.
"They were made to handle the strength of a man. There's similar but different models for women, but these are specifically for a man," the shopkeeper said. "If you feel they're too loose or tight we take orders for specially made cuffs fit to measure."
Tony looked up at him with a polite smile. "I think these will work just fine," he said, then looked back at Jethro through hooded eyes.
"This larger link in the middle is meant for attachments if you're interested. You can link them to a bedframe or a set of ankle cuffs with a chain. Of course, you could also just feed them through a headboard if you have the type with rungs. If not, we offer discreet attachments you can install to hook them to."
"They'll go well through the slats in the headboard," Tony told him with a nod. "It doesn't take much to keep me controlled," he added as his eyes made contact with Jethro's, who raised an eyebrow at him. He realized that Tony was enjoying this much more than an average shopping trip.
"I think we'll take these," he said.
"Excellent choice. Now, are there other needs from this room?"
"I don't think so," Tony said, raising an eyebrow in question at Jethro. "Anything you're drawn to?"
"Just you," Jethro said with another smirk.
Tony chuckled and held up his wrist for Jethro to unsnap the cuff. Jethro did so with a smirk, but his hands moved as if handling something sacred. He handed the cuffs to the shopkeeper.
"I will have these wrapped for you and meet you at the front counter."
"Oh!" Tony exclaimed, snapping his fingers as he remembered something. "I wanted to get a collar for a friend of mine, but she wears them more as a fashion accessory. Something for day to day wear."
The man nodded. "I have a couple back here that could go either way, but there is a selection out front as well."
He led them over to another case and pointed out a few. Tony didn't like any of those options and decided to go look out front. The man nodded and instructed Tony and Jethro to go ahead on out to the main shop and have a look around for a few minutes.
They made their way out front and Tony was soon engrossed in looking through the wares. Jethro had made his way over to the belts and found one that he liked that was a simple black belt with small ribbing to it every few inches. He was joined by Tony who picked out a belt for him and one for McGee.
"Did you find Abby's collar?" Jethro asked him.
"Yeah, I think so, but it's in a glass case with some others. I'll have to have Geraldo get it for me. It's black with small silver rivets and roses etched into it."
Jethro nodded, an expression of approval on his face. His mind was on Tony's enjoyment of having Geraldo watch him get strapped into the cuff. He had been thinking about something outside of his comfort zone, and he decided to do it. They were far enough away from home to get away with it, and he didn't know when they'd have the chance again. He had to get in touch with someone to see if it was even possible, but if Tony enjoyed it, it would be worth it.
He moved with Tony to the counter with his belt draped casually over his shoulder. He saw Tony eyeing the shoes, but he looked quickly away when Geraldo came back. There was a bit more conversation as Tony checked over the collar he'd chosen for Abby, and soon they were leaving the shop with their goods.
Once back to the hotel Tony sighed with contentment. They dropped their bag on the table and Jethro turned to see Tony stretching.
"I think I want to jump in the shower," he said with a yawn. "You want to join me in a few minutes?" He eyed Jethro seductively.
"I can't turn that down," Jethro said, moving towards Tony to put his hands on his hips and kiss him deeply.
"Okay. Just give me a few minutes. Need to use the head first."
"Sounds good," he said, letting Tony go.
As soon as Tony was in the bathroom, Jethro grabbed his cell phone. He opened up the Skype program Tony had taught him to use and went through his address book. He found the name he was looking for and then struggled to type in a message explaining what he was looking for. He sat his phone down and started to undress to join Tony in the shower. Before he could get his pants off there was a reply. He grabbed the phone and read it.
Really, Jethro? I never knew that was your thing. I'll see what I can find for you.
Jethro smirked. If anyone could find it, it was her. He replied back a thank you, and finished stripping. He envisioned a naked, glistening Tony waiting for him in the shower and licked his lips as he headed for the bathroom door. He'd wanted to try the cuffs tonight, but they'd have to wait.