Chapter 9

Gibbs had been sitting in the parked car just watching her sleep. She looked like an angel and he hated to have to wake her up. He shook her lightly and whispered, "Katie, wake up. We're here."

Kate slowly opened her eyes and mumbled, 'Where are we?"

"We're in DC, parked at the hotel. We're meeting the team in your room, remember?"

"I must have fallen asleep, I'm sorry Gibbs."

"It's fine Kate. You haven't had time to adjust since you arrived. What's your room number so I can tell the team?"

"I'm on the 8th floor, my room number is, 840."

"Let me carry your stuff." Gibbs opened the door for Kate, who still looked a bit disoriented, and took her lap top bag from the back.

Gibbs followed Kate as he talked on the phone with Tony.

"Hey Tony, Kate is staying at the Hilton Washington and Towers, Her room number is 840. Go and relay the message to the rest, if you guys are all going in separate cars. Where are you at now?"

"Good, you are getting the food now. Don't forget to ask for extra soy sauce. Can you also get some bottled water and some sodas? Okay, I will see you soon."

"They are on their way, Kate. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm awake now. Thanks for driving today."

"Come on, you needed the nap. You can drive next time."

Kate takes the key from her purse and opens the door. Gibbs puts her laptop on the table and sits on the chair.

"You did great today, with the grandmother and the parents, Kate."

The grandmother really loves her grandson. I didn't want to sound harsh towards what Joshua had done. I believe that she wants to help him and doesn't want any harm to come to him. But his Mom, she's unbelievably cold. I mean how could she treat her own son like that? And to choose her no good husband of hers over her son like that, it's really mind boggling to me."

"Well, there are some parents who should not be parents and she's one of them. I'm really proud of how you held in your anger."

"Thanks, Gibbs. Just like the old days, right?"

"Yeah, and I miss those old days Kate."

The room all of a sudden became quiet and Kate didn't know how to respond to what Gibbs said. She could feel him staring at her and she could not bring herself to look at him. They have so much to sort out and she's confused. She let out a loud sigh of relief when she heard knocking on the door. Gibbs stood up to get the door.

"Hey boss, we are here just right on time. Have you guys been here long? Hey there partner, you look exhausted."

Tim followed Tony carrying the rest of the food and drinks.

"Hey Tim, let me help with you with those. I can't believe Tony that you are still making him carry all the stuff."

"And Tony, thanks for noticing how crappy I look."

"Hey, I didn't say crappy, sweet Kate, I said you look exhausted."

"Whatever Tony, where are Abby and Ducky?"

"They should be here any second."

"Thanks boss, for getting food on my plate." Tony was about to take the plate from Gibbs when Gibbs swatted his hand.

"Dinozzo, who do you think I am? And why would I serve you? Get you own plate and food. Here you go Kate? What kind of drink do you want?" Gibbs handed the plate full of food to Kate.

"Thanks, Gibbs you didn't have to get me my food. Can I get a bottle of water?"

Tim and Tony watch their boss as he continued to serve Kate. They looked at each other but didn't say anything.

Tim went to answer the door when they heard knocking.

"Hey you guys, sorry we are a little late. I wanted to get desert." Abby put the desert down on the table and walked over to Kate to give her a hug."

"Hey Abs, hey Ducky, go get a plate and let's eat first. Then we can go over what we have after."

"I got you your favorite Kate, cheesecake. You must be really hungry Kate?"

"Yeah, is it that obvious? We didn't get a chance to eat lunch today. We interviewed four people today in Alexandria."

"Were you hungry earlier Kate? You should have said something, we could of stopped by for a quick bite to eat." Gibbs said.

Again, Gibbs said something so unexpected that Abby, Tony, Tim and Ducky could only look at each other and not say anything.

"That's okay Gibbs, you let me take a nap on the way back, so that makes up for it."

"Caitlin, next time make sure you do say something because it looks like to me that you have lost some weight."

"Really, I have lost weight, Ducky? It's probably in the last two weeks since we got this case. I'm sure once this is solved, I'll be back to what I was before."

"Actually Kate, I'm surprised you've managed to not gain considering all the carbs and protein, in Italian food, amazing!" Tony said.

"You can really be so charming sometimes, Tony."

They continued to joke around for another hour and after eating, desert, Gibbs decided that it's time to get down to business. He also wanted to get Kate to rest soon.

"All right, it looks like we are done eating here, why don't you start Abby? What do you have so far?"

"Well, I checked the clothing boss, and I saw traces of sweat and maybe some tears too. But very little though and I don't know if it's enough to get DNA. I'm still working on it Gibbs."

"Thanks Abby." Kate said

"What, Gibbs you are not give me a deadline, like I want results in an hour? Abby said jokingly.

Gibbs glared at her and then smiled.

"What about you Tony, what do you have for us?"

"Boss, regarding what Abby said, have you gone soft on us?"

"Dinozzo!"

"Well, boss and Kate my dear, McGee and I spent the whole day interviewing his former CO and friends when he was stationed at Norfolk. His CO said that he was a good Marine. He followed every order that was given to him and he never once got in trouble. We talked to a couple of his buddies and they said that they went out with him and he seemed fine. They went to a bar and Joshua talked about what it was like being stationed in Italy. He said he liked it there and that he was really bummed out to have to leave because his grandmother was sick. Though they were really surprised when we told them that he went AWOL."

"Did they say anything else about that night at the bar?"

"Oh, yeah they said that girls were flirting with him and he seemed really uncomfortable. So they assumed that he might already have a lady."

"Did you ask them if he had a girlfriend before?"

"They said they remember him seeing some girl before he took off for Italy and that he was really upset one night. They said that the girl dumped him for another guy."

"And before you ask, Boss, Kate, nope he did not leave his number with them."

"Very good Dinozzo but that wasn't what I was going to ask. I was going to ask you if you got a description of what the ex-girlfriend look like?" Gibbs said.

"They said she had brown hair, medium height, really pretty and her name was, Janice Davenport. He used to bring her along whenever they would go out."

"Thanks Tony. Tomorrow, I want you to check for all Janice Davenports in the DC and Virginia areas."

"Yes, boss. Probie, it's your turn!"

"Boss, Kate, I checked with all the cell phone companies and asked for their records. I have not heard back from them, yet but I will call them first thing tomorrow."

"Jethro, Caitlin, since I don't have the bodies yet, I don't have anything for you two."

"We know, Ducky and have you heard from Danny when the bodies will be here?"

"Your M.E. emailed me today and told me that the bodies will me here, at the earliest in three days but it may take a week."

"Why will it take that long for the bodies to get here?"

"The local police are giving them a hard time."

"Damn it! I swear the local police over there can be such a pain in the ass! And the chief of police, he's a chauvinistic pig!"

"I take it you don't like dealing with them?" Gibbs asked.

"Let's just say, I'd rather deal with Fornell and the FBI any day than deal with them."

"Okay, why don't we tell them what we got Kate?"

"Well, we talked to his grandmother and she wants us to catch him. She said he's troubled and she thinks he wants to stop. Joshua is a classic case of an abused child. He has abandonment issue and women who are dominant. She hasn't heard from him in three days. I'll have to call Danny tomorrow to check the phone records who called in the DC and Virginia areas. I'm sure he was warned and that's why he has not shown up to visit his grandmother. Then we talked to his friend at Virginia Tech and she also has not heard from him in days. She definitely doesn't know what Joshua did in Italy. We also talked to his Mom and his step-Dad. That was a waste of time but it did give Gibbs and I an idea of what environment he grew up in."

"Kate, Boss, I have a suggestion, if he calls, we can trace it?"

"McGee, remember, we don't have his cell number? You are working on that, just in case you have forgotten?"

"No, Boss, I meant, we can have calls for his grandmother forwarded to us. That way, when her phone rings, we are automatically connected to her phone."

"Great idea, Tim! I'll call the convalescent home tomorrow morning and I'll have the subpoena ready for the phone company too."

"Thanks Kate."

"Look, you guys it's getting late and Kate needs to rest."

Ducky, Abby, Tim and Tony all said their goodbyes to Kate and left quickly.

After the team left, the silence in the room was deafening and the tension, so thick in the air, Gibbs could swear that if he doesn't say anything soon, his heart will burst and he would die of a heart attack.

"Kate, let me say what I have to say first, please. I know that I already said sorry earlier but I really am so sorry for everything. I'm sorry for my behavior. I'm sorry for being such a bastard. I'm sorry for pushing you away. I'm sorry for causing you pain. And above all, I'm sorry for making you feel like that night meant nothing to me. That night Kate, it meant everything to me that it scared me. I wasn't ready to feel what I felt after that night. So I did what I was good at, I ran away and in the process, I pushed you away. I guess, I wanted to prove to myself that you were just like the rest, you would leave too. But Kate, you aren't like them. You're what I fear the most. With my ex-wives, I can always justify why they ended in divorces but with you, I could never find a fault in you leaving me. I never told anybody this, except Jen, but all my ex-wives and the other women, they were all replacements for my first wife."

"Your first wife?" Kate asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, my first wife Shannon, she was a red head, and my daughter Kelly, they were murdered, by a man, I put away. He came looking for me but I wasn't there, so he killed them. After they died, Kate I was a mess. When I lost them, I lost who I was. I lost what I had and I tried finding them in relationships that were meaningless. I could never move past what happened to them until you came into my life. When we made love that night, I felt like, I have finally let them go. And you were replacing the memories I had with them and I felt guilty."

Kate walked over to where Gibbs was sitting and knelt in front of him. She took his hand and lifted his chin up.

"Gibbs, you know that I would never want you to forget them. In fact, I want you to remember them. Gibbs, don't you know by now, that I am different from your ex-wives? I'm not going to come after with a 7-iron golf club. I would never try to get money off you. I would never cheat on you. I would just walk away quietly."

"I know and I also know that you are too good for me. And yet, you take me for who I am. Can you give this old, stubborn bastard another chance?"

"Let me think about it. You have to earn my trust again, Gibbs. You really hurt me and it took me awhile to recover."

"Kate, I promise that I will make it up to you. I love you, Kate."

"Wow, Gibbs, I wasn't expecting that. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. You're giving a second chance and that's enough for me. So how long are you staying here, in this fancy hotel, Agent Todd?"

"Well, I'm booked for a week. Then, if this case will go on longer, which looks like it will, I'll have to get a month to month apartment lease."

"Stay with me, Katie. I mean, after your stay in the hotel."

"I don't know, Gibbs. Let me think about it. By the way, shouldn't you be going home now?"

"Come on, Katie can I stay here please? I'm not expecting anything, I just want to stay with you."

"All right, get your ass in bed here with me. I have extra toothbrush in the bathroom."

"Why am I not surprised, Agent Todd. You are such a girl's scout. Let me brush my teeth. Go to sleep. Goodnight and sweet dreams, Kate."

"Goodnight Gibbs. Thank you for being honest with me."

"I love you Kate."

Kate smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek.