Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters, settings, and dialogue, belong to Donald P. Bellasorio, not me. No copyright infringement intended.
Rating: T
Pairings: Kate + Gibbs = Kibbs (yes I know she's dead but I'm in twilight denial OK), Paula + Tony = ?????? ( I know she's dead but I decided to bring her back anyway ), McGee + Abby =McAbby
A/N: Hi! This is my first ever case file and I am having a little trouble creating/bringing up clues, finding chapter breaks, and so on… please bare with me during the duration of this story. I really am trying my hardest. Please, no flames…constructive criticism and encouraging reviews, however, are acceptable.
A/N 2: I have stayed almost perfectly realistic in scientific and profiling aspects, therefore you all can try to solve the case on your own if you want to…message me through my profile when you figure it out…
A/N 3: This chapter is a little long but it was very hard to find a place it could be split into pieces so I hope you enjoy regardless of the length. I had a lot of Kibbs fun with this one the romantic bits were just so easy to throw in. This chapter due to time is unbetaed so all mistakes are mine.
Now Enjoy!…And review.
Can it be Bliss?
By: Katie Todd
Chapter Five
STEVENSON HOME:KITCHEN
NCIS HEADQUATERS: BULLPEN
TWO DAYS LATER
"Hello?" Kate says as she presses the phone to her ear.
"lines secured." She hears mumbled behind the faint static on the phone.
"What's up Kate?"
"Tony?" Kate questions as she scoots through the kitchen to the coffee pot an antsy Belle on her hip.
"Yup." He says excitedly.
"You get a break?" Kate mirrors his excited tone.
"Yes, a big one, but it'd be easier to discuss it with you here. How do you and boss feel about a vacation."
"When?" Kate says without missing a beat.
"Next Monday. You'll need to fly back to Washington, pack a lot. Your cover story is that you're going to be in a best friends wedding in Seattle. We'll send someone to pick you up at the airport, under the name Stevenson, of course. You'll spend four days, pretty reasonable for a wedding and then head back home. Were faxing you the tickets from an untraceable network off a computer at a cyber café on States Street. Got it?"
"Yes." Kate breaths as she writes the last details down on a post it note. "That all?"
"Umm….yeah." Tony says as he clicks through pictures on the plasma. "We'll see you next week."
"See you then. Bye Tony."
"Bye Kate."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
NCIS HEADQUARTERS
2 DAYS LATER
The elevator doors pop open with a rattle and Kate emerges with Belle on her hip. The tiny tot has a look of devastation on her face and one small fist is bunched into Kate's white three-quarter length shirt. Kate's hair drips in long spun auburn curls to her shoulders, her bangs are pushed over to the side of her face and caped with a thin white band. She twirls in slow half circles and murmurs to Belle, her curls bounce as she does so. Her eyes are big and chocolate colored with no color contacts to distort the beauty.
"He'll be here in a minute sweetie." Kate coos as she spins.
"Kate!" Tony hollers enthusiastically as he rushes down blue carpeted stairs.
Kate smiles but immediately turns her attention back to the bundle in her arms. The elevator doors pop open again this time releasing a silver headed ex-marine who totes an industrial size white diaper bag. Tony chuckles as he notices the thick white quilted blanket that is slung over his boss' shoulder. Gibbs also clutches a friendly looking bunny rabbit in a big paw.
"Sooopie….sooopie…..sssssooooopppie…." Belle gurgles as Gibbs walks closer.
"Sophie, dear." Kate corrects but the tot is past noticing.
"SSSS OOOO PPP III EEEE." She shouts and flails her arms desperately wanting the bunny in her grasp.
Gibbs smiles and hands the bunny to her, she clasps a small hand on to its neck ribbon and returns his smile. The ex-marine carefully tucks the blanket around her noting that the temperature in the bull-pen is almost an icy cold. Tony's thick jacket makes sense now. The silver haired man drapes the diaper bag over Kate's arm so she can pull out Belle's sippy cup.
"Coffee?" McGee smiles as he comes down the stairs. A headset is still clipped on his head and its obvious he's helping with some of the computer work going on in MTAC.
He hands Gibbs the tall white cup and smiles at Kate as she shuffles Belle around to free an arm to accept the cup. Gibbs takes the cup for her and she smiles as she blows bangs out of her face.
"Thanks Tim."
Tim returns the red heads smile and begins to explain the situation.
"We're trying to get the navy to send us some documents, as well as their housing department. The computers are being difficult. Stan and I are up in MTAC trying to sort it all out. Paula is out getting lunch, if you call her I'm sure she can pick you up something. We are all supposed to meet up in the Directors office in an hour for a debriefing on the possible suspects Tony found." Tim explains.
Kate smiles, this position has made him more confident and even if it's a confidence that will only last until this computer problem is solved. It looks good on him. A buzz over his head set sends him jogging back up stairs.
"Do you want me to call Paula? Ask her to pick you up something?" Tony offers.
Gibbs glances at Kate.
"I'll run out and pick us up something, I don't think Katie's in the mood for something greasy." He rubs her shoulder as he finishes.
He sets her coffee down on her desk and heads toward the elevator. He turns soon after he presses the button.
"I'll bring up the stroller before I leave."
Kate nods, used to having him take control, and dances into the bull pen. Neither notice Tony's intense look of surprise.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
ABBY'S LAB:NCIS HEADQUARTERSHALF AN HOUR LATER
"He called her Katie Abby." Tony gossips, " and rubbed her shoulder as he left."
"Was it a pat on the shoulder," Abby demonstrates, "or was it a rub. Like this."
"Definitely the second option." Tony concurs.
"What are we discussing?" Paula asks as she trots into the room a thick greasy sack in her hand.
"Gibbs and Kate" Tony says as he munches on a French fry.
"If I would've known they were here I would've picked them up something. I saw Kate upstairs walking Belle around. But no Gibbs." Paula rambles.
"Gibbs," Tony emphasizes "wanted to pick up their lunch. Katie apparently wanted something un-greasy."
Paula raises an eye brow.
"He called her that before he rubbed her shoulder, promised to bring up the stroller and left."
"Looks like boss man's getting domesticated." Abby squeals.
"hmm" Paula agrees.
Paula smiles. Abby bounces. Tony eats.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Another nope" Kate sighs.
Since their debriefing two hours ago they had been going through files of all females that had lived on any one of the three navy bases murders had been committed at. They were trying to find a possible match to Tony's possible murderer. The whole process was very draining.
Gibbs leans over to rub Kate's shoulder as she drops another packet of information into the 'out' crate. Kate gives him a smile despite the quiet look of surprise that holds the room captive and sucks at her dry coffee cup. With another restless sigh she tosses it into the waste basket. Gibbs pushes his cup over to her and she sips at it, sending him a grateful smile as she does so.
"Something wrong, Dinozzo?" Gibbs barks.
"N-no boss." He uncharacteristically stammers still looking at the pair oddly, "I was just thinking, we have a mandatory eight miles we have to run and time tomorrow. We should probably be turning in boss, this will all be here tomorrow."
Gibbs nods. Tony rises and gathers Paula's things.
"See you tomorrow." Kate smiles as she stands.
Gibbs pushes the stroller to the elevator and guides Kate with a calloused hand on her back.
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1.7 MILES NORTHWEST OF WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON COURT HOTEL
SAME NIGHT
"One deluxe king for Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson." Gibbs asks the receptionist kindly.
The red head clicks the computer mouse and throws him a wink as she hands him the room key. Gibbs turns and wraps his arm around Kate's shoulder as he leads her to the elevator.
"Wow." Kate smiles as she looks out their room window at the view of the bustling city.
Gibbs spins her around with a hand on her shoulder and pulls her in for a toe popping kiss.
"I'm the only one allowed to make you say wow. No views just me." Gibbs growls.
Kate smiles.
NCIS HEADQUARTERS:BULL PENNEXT DAY
"Tony this search seems pointless," Kate complains, "We don't even know what we are looking for."
She throws a folder in their 'out' basket and groans as she picks up the next.
"I mean she could have had plastic surgery, any name, any hair color and eye color, are we even sure she's still a she, I mean come on." She continues.
A groan escapes her lips as she tosses another folder in the 'out' crate, she glances at the small girl in the play pen that is currently stationed on the floor a few feet away from her. Tony knows instantly where her mind is, the little girl. Belle, could get hurt if they didn't find the killer, luring him or her out was getting to risky he knew that, they all did.
"We'll find her, him, it." Abby consoles as she rubs her friends shoulders.
Abby had been ecstatic when Kate had dropped by the lab the day before. She had been thrilled to have her friend here to talk to in person. Kate's visit to the lab had seemed to be the only high point of her visit. The stress radiating off of her was intense.
Tony's now red headed team mate grunts as she flips another folder in their almost filled blue crate. She sucks dry at her coffee cup and tosses it in the trash as she pulls Gibbs' toward her, and while very carefully leaving a cherry lip gloss mark takes a long sip.
Tony is as shocked as he was the night before when Gibbs' had handed her his coffee cup. For one she didn't grimace at the taste like she used too. Neither of them seemed to have their don't touch my coffee problems any longer, they seemed comfortable with each other, almost too comfortable.
"Tony," Kate jumps, "I think I found something."
"What?" He leans over the card table between them to read the folder in her hand.
"Abby." She orders, "Plasma, code: ARL-0801"
The plasma clicks to live and she hurries in front of the screen. A muddy drivers license photo fills the screen. It depicts a blonde woman with gray eyes.
"Everything but her nose is the same." Abby squeals from her place on Tim's empty desk, he and Stan were still busy with computer problems. The team had only received about half of the documents they needed.
She excitedly looks from the picture in her hand to the plasma in front of her.
"Give me a copy of the picture and I'll run it through facial recognition."
Kate nods and hands the 'Goth' the file. Abby accepts as she juggles her Caf Pow and gives her friend a big smile.
"See we'll solve this case yet."
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1.7 MILES NORTHWEST OF WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON COURT HOTEL
SAME NIGHT
The breathing Gibbs' notices, on Kate's side of the room is ragged. Her body is thoroughly twisted in the gold sheets. She moans softly and buries her head in one of the white feather pillows. Gibbs rises quietly from the sofa bed he'd been using and checks on Belle in her pop up crib. The small child gurgles, but otherwise makes no noise in her sleep. The agent turns when he hears a broken sob from the other side of the room. The brunette is literally sobbing as she thrashes in her covers.
"H-h-h-h help. N-n-n-n no d-d-d-don't. P-p-p-please."
The older agent kneels beside his former brunette partners bed, he reaches a hand up to her shoulder when she flies up in bed. Her small body racks with sobs. She barely notices the silver haired man's embrace as his arms settle around her.
"Katie." he murmurs, "its OK shhh."
"y- you were a-and then." Kate cries.
"shh." the silver haired agent pacifies.
He rubs her back with gentle pats and lays her back down as she falls asleep. She grips his arm as he goes to leave and he assures that he's on the sofa ten feet from her. He drops a kiss on her forehead and walks quietly back to the couch.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
NCIS HEADQUARTERS NEXT DAY
The elevators ding open and Kate jumps in her seat. Her eyes fly to Belle in the floor by her feet and she immediately picks the girl up and puts her in her lap. The aftereffects of her nightmare the night before painfully fresh in her mind. She turns when she hears thick boots stomp on the floor outside the elevator. Tony, Stan who is finally out of MTAC, and Gibbs who carries a brown paper sack and two cups of coffee, finish their seemingly heated conversation as they enter the bullpen. Kate rolls her eyes when she discovers Tony and Stan were discussing an Ohio football game and Gibbs' was ignoring their conversation.
"Here Hun," the silver haired man smiles.
Kate accepts the coffee and blueberry muffin he hands her. She laughs when she catches Abby's not so subtle wink and Paula's look of silent shock. Gibbs ignores both.
"Abby, what did your facial recognition scan come up with?" Stan asks.
"Well," Abby bounces, 'my facial recognition scan said…drum roll please…"
The lab tech laughs as Tony drums two pencils on his desk.
"That it is an almost perfect match to both of the other possible suspects. The nose is subtly different, and the cheek bones are more defined but that can simply be due to age or a new diet. Well the cheek bones not the nose. Your nose is made up of cartilage and therefore-"
"The point Abbs." Gibbs glares.
"She had plastic surgery or got hit in the face with a baseball bat, but regardless, it's the same girl from the other photos."
"Do we have a complete file on her yet?" Kate asks. "The folder I had yesterday had the single photo and a ticket for a traffic violation but nothing else."
"Its being assembled." Stan replies. "Sec Nav is sending us a few hundred pounds of documents that should arrive," he checks his watch, "in an hour."
"Its gonna be a long day." Gibbs grunts in Kate's ear.
Belle reaches for his collar and he lifts her up and onto his lap. He bounces his knees and her giggles fill the room.
"Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a donkey put a feather in his hat and called it macaroni." Gibbs sings as he jostles the small child.
The rest of the team stare at him in shock.
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"So she fit's the profile or lack their of." Kate supplies as she stands resting her weight against the side of Gibbs' chair a complaining Belle on her hip.
She had been whining to go see 'Mmm Duhuc' ever since they had taken her down to see the elderly doctor an hour ago. His sweet voice and cherry lollipop had easily won the child over.
"Her name is listed as Michelle Lynn Colbert, and unlike possible suspects one and two that Tony found, her name has no correlation to the other two women. Possible suspect number one's name is listed as Carrie Marie Rhodes and possible suspect number two's name is listed as Marie Isabella Hale. The facial features are almost identical to the first two possible suspects whose faces are identical, and also like the other possible suspects her death certificate which appears a year after her drivers license was issued has never been filed at the hospital it came from, nor does the doctor that filed it exist."
"Well," Tony inputs, "outside of book or TV fiction. There was this show that came out in 1992 that had this really high pitched theme song, that was called X-Files that had this hot red head pathologist that was played by Gillian Anderson that was named Dana Scully and possible suspect number one's death certificate was signed by a doctor Dana Fox Anderson."
"So she might have watched the X-Files." Paula shortens.
"Even I watched the X-Files." Gibbs adds, "so I really don't think that helps us."
Abby bounces into the room ,McGee on her heels, carrying another stack of file folders. She lays the five folders on the card table and smiles.
"Stan sent these down from MTAC, he wants us to take a look, apparently they contain a possibility of being a possible" Abby bounces.
Paula cant help but smile as she takes a folder, Abby always seems to brighten everyone's day. Tony reaches over her gently brushing his hand against her shoulder to Grab a folder. McGee snatches a red tagged one and slouches in a desk chair, after he pulls one up for Abby. Gibbs grabs one and opens it after he sets Belle in her play pen. Kate scoops the last one up off the table and yanks it open as she settles back into her chair.
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"Any luck?" Stan asks as he comes down from MTAC three hours after having Abby deliver the folders.
"We have a possible suspect number four, and a possible suspect number five. Abby's running the pictures. It's odd though that all these pictures have been filed on parking tickets, and traffic violations, not possible kidnapping or suspected murder, whoever the real Carrie Marie Rhodes is she has a loose idea of what she's doing." Kate says.
"That she does." Tony agrees.
Gibbs nods as he rocks a sleeping Belle.
"Abby said those matches would take at least three hours to bring up and check all the facial points. Kate and I are going to head out we'll see you all tomorrow" Gibbs rises.
Kate gathers up Belle's things and follows him to the elevator.
"Is it just me," Stan asks, " or do those two seem to be a lot closer than I remember."
"There was always the hint of something there, but no it's not just you." Tony agrees.
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1.7 MILES NORTHWEST OF WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON COURT HOTEL
SAME NIGHT
"What'a watchin?" Kate pops as she scoots into the room.
" Dancing with the," Gibbs squints, "Stars."
"An ex-marine," Kate whispers as she notices Belle asleep a few feet away from her, "watching Dancing with the Stars. Something is wrong with that picture."
"Their doing the jitter bug wrong." Gibbs states as he points at the TV screen.
Kate raises and eyebrow.
"Four wives Katie. I had to learn at some point."
"I always wanted to take ballroom but karate always came first." Kate explains with a half laugh.
"Let me show you." Gibbs says as he rises from the bed and pulls her to the empty floor space by the window.
He loosely takes her hands.
"Take a step to your right with your right foot. It takes two beats." Gibbs instructs.
Kate follows and places a socked foot to her left.
"Now stomp your right foot in place. This takes two beats." Gibbs continues.
Kate follows and ducks her head to make sure she doesn't step on his foot. Gibbs raises her chin with two calloused fingers.
"Eyes on me" Gibbs orders.
"In one count put your right toe behind your left heel."
Kate follows a soft smile on her face.
"Step in place with your left foot."
"Than what?" Kate asks after he pauses for a second.
"We repeat." Gibbs instructs as he leads his pretend wife in the jitterbug across a crowded hotel room.
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NCIS HEADQUARTERS NEXT DAY
"Do you have to leave." Abby complains to her best friend.
Kate shifts Belle up on her hip.
"Not until one o'clock."
Abby pouts and Kate laughs.
"Come on we have news to spread." Kate says as she tugs on Abby's arm.
"What's the verdict?" Stan questions after Abby settles herself in front of the plasma screen and Kate drops into a chair by Gibbs.
"Only one of the two possibles you all came up with matched the other three possible suspects." Abby pouts.
"Which one?" Tony gripped.
"Tara Lee O'Malley" Kate answers for the lab tech.
"Where do we go from here?" Paula asks, "there aren't any more resident files to go through and we can't find anything else on these possible suspects."
"We keep a look out for all of the possible suspects, and keep digging we'll go through the files of employees of CDT and their families. McGee can you print out copies of the possible files for the Gibbs and Kate?" Stan asks
McGee nods and goes to his computer.
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"Bye." Kate waves as she climbs into the rental car.
She hugs Abby one last time before she settles herself in the car. Gibbs gives a small wave to the assembled team and pulls out of the car garage.
"Smile Abbs." McGee pleads.
Tony interlaces his fingers with Paula's and steps over to help.
"They'll really be married by the time this is over, Abby." He supplies.
Abby giggles and a 50 watt smile lights up her face.
A/N: Reviews are Bliss!