Chapter 7
"Cynthia, could you get my mom and dad for me please? Tell them I wish to see them."
"Sure thing Becky."
"Thank you Cynthia." A few minutes later, Cynthia beeped her.
"They're here Becky."
"Send them in."
Jenny and Jethro came in, and Becky smiled at them.
"You wished to speak with us?" Becky opened the middle drawer of her moms desk and grabbed Jenny's badge, ID and sig. Even Directors were issued sigs these days. Becky walked over to stand in front of her mom. She never dreamed she would ever have the opportunity to do this.
"Dad, I need you to be a witness if you don't mind."
"Sure thing Beck." Becky turned to face Jenny. "Jennifer Shepard, As Acting Director, I hereby re-instate you to your Position as Director of NCIS. If you accept the responsibilities, repeat after me. "I , Jennifer Shepard, do so solemnly swear to perform the duties of NCIS Director to the best of my ability,"
"I Jennifer Shepard, do so solemnly swear to perform the duties of NCIS Director to the best of my abilities.."
"Until which time I cannot uphold my duties, or choose to resign."
"Until which time I cannot uphold my duties, or choose to resign."
"So help you God?"
"So help me God."
"Congratulations." Becky handed her mom her things and gave her a hug.
"I now pronounce you Director of NCIS."
"Thank You. You can go now if you want to Jethro. I imagine you have some work you want to catch up on. Or a new case to investigate."
Jethro left and Becky sat down on the opposite side of the desk. "We forgot something mom."
"We did?"
"Yup."
"What?"
"Re instating me as a Special Agent in training."
"You're right, we did." Jenny walked over and pushed the 'page' button on her speaker phone to get Cynthia. 'Beep'
"Yes Director?"
"Cynthia, could you come in here please?"
"Sure Director."
"Its so good to here those words again. Where is you badge and sig?
"In the same drawer that I got yours out of." Jenny opened the drawer and retrieved Becky's ID, Badge, and sig. Cynthia came in and closed the door Jenny walked around, and stood in front of Becky.
"Cynthia, I need you to be a witness."
"Okay."
"Rebekah Shepard, as Director of NCIS, I hereby re-instate you as a Special Agent in training. If you accept the duties and responsibilities, say ' I do'."
"I do." Jenny handed Becky her ID and sig, and placed her badge around her neck.
"Congratulations Becky."
"Thank you Cynthia."
"Anything else Director?"
"No. Thank you Cynthia."
Jenny sat down in her chair. Behind the desk, happy to be back.
"So, do you return to school tomorrow?"
"Yep. I got all of my work for when I was acting Director for two weeks. All the school knows is that I was sick. They know you were married, but they don't know I was acting Director. They think I had strep throat."
"Good. Doctors excuse?"
"Ducky is preparing one as we speak."
"Works for me. Did your graduation invitations come in the mail yet?"
"Yep. I have them all done. They just have to be distributed."
"Any that go in the mail?"
"Nope all can be given in person."
"You really did get a lot done. Weren't you exhausted?"
"Oh yeah lots of times. But, I stayed strong and made it through."
"You are becoming a very well-rounded young women. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks mom." Becky felt a tear slide down her cheek.
"Aw, honey. Why are you crying?"
"I don't know. I guess reality is really hitting me. I am actually graduating High School in three weeks. I'm really grown up."
"Of course you are. But, you wont be leaving. You'll still be here, living with me and your dad till you get on your feet and stable, and you'll be studying at college and working part time as an agent."
"I know. I guess its just the thought of me being all grown up."
"I know the feeling. I remember when I was your age and graduating from high school. I was scared to death. But, your grandma told me , 'Jennifer, no matter how you get, you'll always be my little girl. And you'll will fall, but sometimes I'll be there to pick you up."
"Was she?"
"Yeah, but, I still went through things on my own. Its all part of the growing up process.
"Just like I'll have to do."
"You've already had to endure a lot of things, a lot of which you dealt with on your own. You only came to me when you knew you couldn't handle it, or needed advice. You always have been mature like that."
"I learned it from you."
"I know. And I'm proud of you." Jenny handed her some tissues to dry her eyes.
"Mom, I don't think I ever truly said Thank you." Jenny was caught by surprise.
"For what?"
"For helping me to become the strong, driven, level-headed young women who stands before you today." Becky began to cry harder.
"Oh, Honey. You have. You may not have come right out and say it, but you did."
Becky and Jenny stood embraced in each others arms for a few minutes. Becky's cell phone rang, so they let go of each other.
"Shepard……..Be right down." She closed the phone and turned to her mom. "Gonna go check on a lead that we just got on our most current case." As Becky left, Jenny watched her leave. She knew that her little girl had blossomed into an amazing young women.
Becky, Kate, Dinozzo and Gibbs arrived at the large, old building ready for anything. When you are dealing with a terrorist, you never know what's gonna happen. They swept the building and managed to get through two fire fights with no problem. They got onto the roof and scanned for any accomplices. Kate shot the guy controlling the missile, and Gibbs shot the controller, which meant that the missile wouldn't hit the ship carrying the president. Kate jumped in front of Gibbs, taking a bullet in the abdomen. Luckily, she was wearing her Kevlar vest. Gibbs shot the guy while Becky and Tony helped Kate up.
"Oh….That really hurts."
"I'd say. Taking a bullet to the abdomen at point blank range."
"Ya think, Dinozzo?"
"Well, I don't have to. I've been through it."
"Wow, I thought I'd never hear Tony admit th--" Kate fell back, with a big hole in her forehead. As Tony and Gibbs pulled their weapons, Becky jumped in front of Tony, taking a bullet to the arm. But, at the moment, that was the least of her worries.
They all arrived back at the office, and Becky headed up to her moms office with her arm in a sling.
"Director, Becky is here to see you."
"Send her in." Becky opened the door, and as soon as Jenny seen her arm in a sling, she became worried.
"Oh my goodness…What happened?
"We got into a fire fight. Kate jumped in front of dad, taking a bullet to the abdomen. She had her vest on though.. Me and Tony helped her up, then she took another bullet to the head. Dead instantly. I jumped in front of Tony. Took a bullet to the arm…." Becky began to cry.
"Kate's gone mom." Jenny hugged Becky and began to cry.
"She's in a better place, Hun. She didn't suffer. I just know she didn't."
"I'm really gonna miss her."
"I know you will. You two were really close."
"Director, Dr. Mallard is here for Becky."
"I'll be out Cynthia. Thank you."
"Your welcome."
"I better go see him,. He'd probably would kick my butt if I didn't."
"Yeah, he probably would.: Becky went out and Ducky almost began to cry.
"Lets take a look at that arm my dear." Ducky helped her take her arm out of the sling, and she flinched in pain. Ducky cut her shirt away from the wound carefully.
"Well, I see the bullet, but to extract it, we need to go down to autopsy. Less chance of an infection."
"I think Id rather have an infection rather than a bullet in my arm."
"So would I. Lets get you downstairs and fix you up." Ducky and Becky arrived outside of
autopsy. Becky couldn't bring herself to go in. She finally took a deep breath and followed Ducky in. A black body bag was lying on one of the tables. Becky knew that it was Kate's body. She held back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She wanted to stay strong. For Kate.
Ducky extracted the bullet and put it in an evidence jar. Since it was the same kind or bullet that killed Kate, Abby needed to analyze it to get closer to the shooter. As Ducky put a sterile dressing on her arm, Becky looked over to the table beside her. Knowing that the body bag was holding Kate's still, lifeless body, Becky began to cry. She quickly turned her attention back to Ducky as he finished wrapping her arm and put it back into the sling.
"Thanks Duck….OW. It really hurts."
"It will for a few days my dear. Keep it wrapped, and in the sling. Make sure you clean it everyday."
"I will. I promise." Becky wiped her tears away, and Ducky helped her down off of the examining table.
"Duck, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, My dear. What is it?"
"Kate… did she suffer?"
"No. She passed instantly. The only pain she felt was when she was hit in the abdomen."
"I'm gonna miss her Duck. I'm really, really gonna miss her."
"We all will my dear. We all will." Ducky took Becky into his arms. He knew how close Kate and Becky were.
"How are you feeling honey?" Jenny came into Becky's room with a tray that had a mug of hot tea and a bowl of soup. She sat the tray down on the night stand and sat down on the bed facing Becky. She gently moved some hair off of Becky's forehead.
"I hurt. My arm mainly. Small headache. But I'll be okay. I need to be strong. For the team."
"I know you and Kate were close. That makes the grieving process harder to deal with. Its okay to cry. We all are holding each other up."
"I know. But, I want to be strong…for Kate."
"I don't think she'd mind if you cried. She'd understand." Jenny grabbed the box of tissues from the top drawer of the nightstand and took a few out. She and Becky were both starting to cry. Becky sat up and wiped her eyes, which were sore. She had cried a lot since yesterday afternoon. She began crying harder.
"Mom…" Jenny scooted closer and held Becky, rocking back in forth. She knew this was gonna be hard on her. As a Probie, the first time you shoot someone is hard on you, but loosing a partner, seeing it with her own eyes, and taking a bullet to the arm? That was more than any Probie should ever have to go through. What made it harder, was Kate and Becky were like sisters. As Jenny and Becky sat there, thinking of Kate, the sky let go with a cold slow rain. Becky let go of her mom and wiped her eyes. She let out a little giggle.
"Ha. I know Kate's watching over us. The rain. Its her tears. I just know it."
"She is. If she was here right now, I think she would be proud. She would know how much we all truly loved her."
"She does. I truly believe that she knew how much. She kept us together. Especially on cases. She and Tony….they were great together. Especially on cases. They could always find the person who did it. "
"She was good at profiling. Knew when someone wasn't acting normal."
"She could…Sort or reminded me of dad in that sense. You know with the 'gut feelings'."
"Yeah…weird……Well, I brought you some soup and some hot tea if you're hungry."
"I'm starving. All of this crying has made me hungry."
"Well, that and you haven't had anything to eat since….."
"Breakfast. Yesterday. 24 hours ago."
"That might be a good reason why you are hungry." Jenny put the tray over Becky's legs so she could reach it to eat.
"You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah. I think I can handle it. If I need help, Ill let you know."
"Okay…if you can, try to use the intercom."
"I will." Jenny closed the door as Jethro came up behind her.
"Hey."
"Hey." Jenny gave Jethro a peck on the cheek.
"How is she?"
"Awake. Eating. She looks like a mess."
"How's she holding up?"
"She's trying to stay strong, but this is tearing her to pieces. Her eyes are blood shot from all of the crying she's been doing. I think after Kate's memorial service, She'll be able to go back to her old self."
"And, It may take longer than that Jen. I know that when I lost Shannon and Kelly, It took me a year to finally accept it and move on with my life."
"It took me awhile when I lost my father. I didn't want to believe he was gone. Blamed myself for his death. Kept telling myself that if I had been there, maybe I could have prevented it, maybe I could have saved his life. But, I knew that there was nothing I could do. There is still times I don't want to believe that he was gone."
"Have you called Kate's next of kin?"
"I haven't yet. I will first thing tomorrow morning. This isn't going to be easy."
"Its never easy Jen, no matter how many times you do it."
"I know. I just cant imagine what its like, getting a call, and someone telling you your daughter had been fatally shot in the line of duty."
Jethro put his hand on the side of Jenny's face, rubbing his thumb along her cheek bone.
"When you call them tomorrow, Jen, try to stay strong. Sympathetic, but strong." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and walked down the hall to their room. He knew she'd get through it. She was a strong women…He'd be there to help her anyway he could. They would always be there for each other.
"Hey mom. How are you?"
"I'm fine Honey. How's your arm?"
"Better. I don't feel as bad as I did last night. I think the morphine Ducky gave me for the pain is finally kicking in."
"That's good. You'll be back to your old self in no time."
"I hope so."
"Well, Better make this call. I've put it off long enough."
"Calling Kate's parents?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to step out of the room?"
"No. I'm going to put it on speaker. That way, maybe talking to you, you may be able to give them some closure since you were there. If you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all."
"Thanks." Jenny picked up the receiver and dialed the number. When it began to ring, she put it on speaker and replaced the receiver. In the back of her mind, she was wishing that she didn't have to make the call. Becky gave her mom a reassuring smile. She knew this wasn't going to be easy.
Meanwhile, down in autopsy, Ducky prepped Kate's body to be autopsied. As he uncovered her head, he felt tears form in his eyes. He and Kate had always had a good relationship. She had even saved his life one day in that very room.
"I'm so very sorry Caitlyn. You were a beautiful women. Full of life. That man was a fool for taking you away from us." He uncovered Kate to the waist, and picked up his scalpel with shaky hands.
"Should've had another ME come do the autopsy Duck." Gibbs came in carrying two coffees. He had a solemn look on his face, Which was unusual. He handed one coffee to Ducky.
"No. We couldn't. Not for Caitlyn. She wouldn't have wanted it." Gibbs took a sip of coffee, looking at Kate's face at the same time. She looked peaceful.
"I don't have anything for you Jethro."
"I know. I just came down to see if you had started yet."
"Not yet. Actually, I was just getting ready to when you came in. But, I do have something for Abby." Ducky walked over to the surgical tool stand and picked up the two evidence jars, each containing a bullet.
"Could you run these up to Abby? One came from Becky's arm. The other, Kate's head. They are labeled."
"Sure Duck." Gibbs took the two evidence jars from Ducky. Seeing the bullets brought flashbacks to yesterday.
"Let me know when you find something Duck." Jethro began walking out when Ducky stopped him.
"Jethro."
"Yeah Duck?"
"You forgot these." Ducky picked up the blood samples for Abby to analyze.
"Need me to take those up too?"
Ducky shook his head yes. Gibbs took the two vials from Ducky and went up to Abby's lab. He arrived to hear her music playing. He was glad she was in a better.
"Hey Abbs."
"Gibbs!" Abby gave him a huge hug. When she let go of him, He handed her a caf-pow.
"Thank you."
"Here Abs. From Ducky." Gibbs handed her the two vials. Abby took them, and Gibbs could see tears forming in her eyes. Her and Kate had had some good times together. They especially loved playing tricks on Tony.
"You okay Abs?"
"I'm fine. Just grieving for Kate." Abby sat the jars and the vials down on the table and picked up a CD. As she walked toward her computer, She dropped the disk. She bent down to pick it up and began to sob uncontrollably. Gibbs picked up the disk for her and placed it near her computer. He helped Abby up, and then took her into his arms, soothing her.
"Its gonna be okay Abs."
"We all are."
"Thanks Gibbs." She let go of him and turned to her computer.
"I'd better get to work. Times running out." Gibbs gave her a peck on the forehead and left her lab. He would be glad to get revenge on Kate's shooter.