Good morning, children!!! Ok, ok, afternoon... I got up late today lol
I have nothing important to say today so as usual, I don't own anything, I'm empty handed, CBS and Mr. Bellisario blah blah blah... whatever... _
So, enjoy, kids!!! ;)
CHAPTER 6
"What happened?" Ziva asked running towards them, her gun in her hands
"Smirnov killed himself" Liz replied
"Why?"
"I suppose because he preferred death over surrender" Liz said
"What happened to you?"
"He shot at her" Tony said
"It's just a scratch" Liz repeated
"I thought an agent of your level would be more careful" Ziva snapped narrowing her eyes
"What is that supposed to mean?" Liz asked
"I think you know what it means..."
Liz stood up and pressing the wound in her arm, she approached to Ziva "What are you trying to say, officer, David? That I am not qualified for the job?"
"Maybe you are, maybe you are not... what I'm questioning is your loyalty" Ziva responded
Before Liz could reply, Tony came between them as he heard Gibbs and other agents approaching.
"Stop it, Ziva" Tony warned his colleague
Ziva didn't say anything. She walked away passing by Gibbs who called her with no avail.
"Are you alright, Liz?" Gibbs asked frowning with concern
"Yeah, I'm fine..." She said without taking her eyes of Ziva who had practically disappeared from sight
"What was that?" Gibbs questioned not oblivious to the conflict between Liz and Ziva
"Nothing, it was nothing... right, Tony?"
Tony hesitated before nodding "Yeah, it was nothing, boss"
"We'll talk about that later... let's take you to the ambulance first" He said trying to help her walk
"I was shot in the arm, Gibbs, not the leg... I can walk on my own"
Gibbs chuckled slightly and let Tony give support to Liz
They walked out of the inactive platform towards the active one which was crowded and many people looked at them with curiosity.
The other team that Gibbs had called stayed at the scene recollecting all the evidence and Smirnov's body which was going straight to Ducky's table.
Once outside the subway station, Tony took Liz to the ambulance which was already waiting for them.
"I have no plans of going to the hospital, Tony" Liz said
"At least let the paramedics take a look at the wound" He insisted
"Alright, then..."
She sat on the edge of the ambulance and let one of the paramedics check her wound.
"It's quite deep" He said "Maybe we should take you to the ER"
"No, I said I'm not going and I'm not going!"
"Ok... well, you're gonna need at least 3 stitches, if not a couple more" The paramedic said
"Whatever it takes to free me from going to the hospital" Liz said and Tony laughed "What?"
"You're so stubborn... I think you beat Gibbs in that department" He said
"Probably" Gibbs said walking to them "How are you doing?"
"For the gazillienth time, Gibbs: I'm fine... where's Kirsty? Ouch!" She complained as the paramedic started stitching the wound
"She's in the office, with McGee, Abby and a security agent"
"We can't let her stay at any hotel without constant surveillance" Liz said
"What do you propose?" Tony asked
"Maybe she should spend the night at a safe house or at some agent's place, just to be safe" Liz suggested
"I'll take her with me" Gibbs hurried to reply
"What? To where?" She asked
"To my place, where else?"
"Are you sure? Because if not, I can get her a room in the same hotel I'm staying at" Liz said
"NO! I mean... no... you just got shot... it wouldn't be... ethical... from Gibbs..." Tony interfered
Liz bit her bottom lip trying not to laugh and Gibbs just raised an eyebrow.
"It's ok, Liz. I'll take her with me... I don't believe she'd be safer anywhere else..." Gibbs said
"Ok... go ahead... I'll just let this gentle..." Liz stopped at the word and glanced at the paramedic "...paramedic finish here and I'll head home, if you don't mind"
"Sure, Liz, get well. I'm gonna need you at your best tomorrow morning" Gibbs smiled and turned to Tony "Make sure she gets there safe and sound, DiNozzo"
"Yes, boss" Tony said and they watched Gibbs walk away "Uhmm... Liz, about our date..."
"Well, I'm not really in the mood for going out... but that doesn't mean we can't have our date"
"How about if we go to my place, have some take out 'alla Tony' and watch a movie? I'll drive you to your hotel later, what do you say?"
"I like the sound of that..." Liz said and heard the paramedic giggling and she slapped him in the back of the head "Stop laughing and finish your job!" She said and Tony cracked up laughing
Meanwhile, at NCIS, Gibbs pulled over in front of the building, got out and walked into the Yard, where Kirsty was waiting for him flanked by McGee, Abby and the security agent.
"What happened, boss? Did they catch Smirnov?" McGee asked
"You could say that, although he's no longer useful to us..." Gibbs replied
"What do you mean?" Kirsty asked
"Smirnov killed himself before Liz and Tony could catch him" Gibbs explained
"What? And... they? How are they?" Abby questioned worried sick
"They are fine, Abs. Liz got shot in the arm but she's alright"
"Shot? How can she be alright if she got shot?!" Abby exclaimed
"The bullet just grazed her in the shoulder. She. Is. Fine" Gibbs repeated
"And what are we going to do about Smirnov, boss?" McGee asked
"There's nothing more we can do for him now, is there, McGee?" McGee shook his head "I'm gonna take Miss Randall to a safe place and I'll bring her back in the morning"
Abby, the security agent and McGee nodded in agreement.
"Come, Miss Randall" Gibbs said and Kirsty followed him
They walked to the car after making sure it was safe; got in and Gibbs drove away.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked
"To a safe place" Gibbs repeated without taking his eyes off the road
Once Kirsty looked away, Gibbs watched her from the corner of his eye. She seemed terribly nervous, fidgeting her hands which were shaking slightly.
His weakness for red heads seemed to be giving in. He felt strangely attracted to this woman. Maybe it was her frailty, maybe her vulnerability. Whatever it was, it was driving him crazy. He didn't feel in control of his emotions when he was around her; that was why he had let Liz interrogate her. He feared he wouldn't be objective and he certainly hadn't been objective by offering to take her to his own house.
They weren't even there yet and it was already a mistake.
"Idiot..." He mumbled
"I beg your pardon?" Kirsty asked not quite hearing what he had just said
"No, nothing..." He replied and then thought 'HUGE mistake'
20 minutes later, Gibbs parked in front of a 2 story house.
"Where are we?" She asked with curiosity
"Uhmm... at the safe place I mentioned..."
"I guessed that but... whose house is it?"
"Mine" Gibbs simply answered and was able to see, even in the dark of night how her cheeks turned a deep shade of red "It's the safest place we could think of" He rushed to say
"It must be the safest place in the world..." Kirsty said almost in a whisper and blushed even more
Gibbs couldn't think of anything else to say and got out of the car. He walked around it and opened the door for her.
They walked to the entrance and after Gibbs had unlocked the multiple locks, they entered.
He turned the lights on and Kirsty smiled at the sight of the house. It was homey and warm. She hadn't felt so well in a place in a very long time.
"Please, take a seat..." He said walking towards the kitchen "Can I get you anything? Water... Soda... Milk... Bourbon?"
"Bourbon would be nice, thank you" She said sitting on one of the living room couches "Your house... is very nice"
"Thank you..." He replied walking out of the kitchen with 2 glasses of liqueur in his hands
He handed one to her and kept the other one for himself. He then sat on the farthest chair he could find from her.
This was one of the moments in which Gibbs wanted to kick himself for letting his social skills untrained for so long.
"So… do you live here all by your self?" Kirsty asked trying to break the ice
Gibbs smiled with sadness "Yes…" And then he did the unexpected. He started talking about Shannon and Kelly "My wife decorated this house and my daughter, once she was old enough, helped her renovate it…"
"Oh… so… you're divorced?" Kirsty inquired
"No… my wife died… and so did my daughter…"
"I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
"You didn't know…" Gibbs said and then paused for a moment before continuing "They were killed because a drug dealer wanted to get back at me" Kirsty covered her mouth trying to hide the gasp she had taken "I was in Iraq… I couldn't protect them…"
"What happened to the men who… killed them?"
"A revenge thirsty marine killed them…" He replied and drank his whole drink in one gulp
Kirsty didn't know Gibbs had been a marine but it wasn't difficult for her to deduce who had been the revenge thirsty marine he had mentioned.
She then remembered what the wish for vengeance felt like. It was a feeling she had forgotten for almost 2 years but now, after talking with Gibbs, a man she could easily trust in, those feelings resurfaced.
"And you?" Gibbs asked interrupting her train of thoughts "What made you get involved with such man as Dmitri Vasiliev?"
She doubted. Kirsty had never told anyone how she had met Dmitri and why she had put up with the many turbulent elements of his life. The little voice in the back of her head urged her to tell him everything. To trust him the way she had wanted to trust in someone her entire life. The way she had trusted her brother before he…
"Are you alright?" He questioned noticing her distraction
"Yeah… yes, I'm fine… just a little tired" Which wasn't a complete lie. She was exhausted, to be honest
"Of course you are… I'm sorry. Come with me, please" He said standing up and leading Kirsty upstairs "You'll be staying here"
He opened the door to a nicely decorated room. 'Guest room' Kirsty thought.
Kirsty walked inside the room and once she got to the bed, she turned around.
"Uhmm… agent Gibbs…?"
"Yes…"
"I… I don't have… any clothes… you know… to sleep in…" She said awkwardly
"Oh… yeah… we seem to have forgotten that… let me see what I can find…" He walked out of the room
In his room, Gibbs went through his closet trying to find something appropriate to lend Kirsty but he couldn't find anything.
Then, an idea came to his mind.
He went to the attic and found a box that was labelled as 'Shannon's clothes'.
"I hope you don't mind" He said to the memory of his wife opening the box and taking out a gray tracksuit Shannon used to wear all the time
Gibbs returned to the guest room and handed Kirsty the clothes "I think this will do"
"Oh yes, it will… thanks… oh…" Kirsty stopped thinking about who the owner of the clothes could be "Agent Gibbs… these clothes… I can't…"
"No, please… I don't mind… and I don't think she would…" Gibbs reassured her and she nodded "Alright, then… I'll leave you to rest…"
"Yes"
"Good night"
"Agent Gibbs…" Kirsty paused for a moment "I… I just want to thank you… for everything you've done for me…"
"You don't have to. It's my job" He said
"Yes… yes, of course. It's you job. You don't actually have to do it" She said looking down
"No… I didn't mean it that way… it's just that…"
"No, please… forgive me… I have no right to speak to you like this. I'm sorry"
"Never apologize… it's a sign of weakness… and you're not weak, Kirsty" He said
"I'm not strong either… if I were… none of this would've happened…" She replied sitting on the bed
"What are you talking about?"
'Damn it! Shut up, Kirsty!' She reprimanded herself "I mean… if I hadn't met Dmitri back in England none of this would be happening…"
"There was no way you could know…" Gibbs comforted
'Yeah, right' She though and limited herself to shrug
"Well… good night, again"
"Good night, agent Gibbs"
He nodded and left the room closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Kirsty fell backwards to the bed and groaned in frustration.
"When is this gonna be over?!" She exclaimed covering her face with one of the pillows
At NCIS, Ziva had worked late to finish an investigation of her own.
"שלום, אמל. האם יש לך את המידע ביקשתי (Hello, Amal. Do you have the information I asked for?)" She asked to the man on the other side of the phone
"כן. סוכן האדלי היה במוסקבה לפני שלושה ימים, לפי המקור שלי, היא דיברה עם האיש NCIS חוקר (Yes. Agent Hadley was in Moscow three days ago and, according to my source, she was talking to the man NCIS is investigating)" Amal replied
"מה עוד (What else?)"
"היא ראתה גבר אחר מדבר רוסית. שמו Liev מאייר. הוא עובד עם דמיטרי Vasiliev (She was seen talking to another Russian man. His name is Liev Meier. He works with Dmitri Vasiliev)" He explained "אני אשלח לך את התמונות (I will send you the pictures)"
"תודה לך, אמל. אני חייב לך אחד (Thank you, Amal. I owe you one)" Ziva said and hung up
Less than a minute later, Ziva received an email containing over a dozen pictures of Elizabeth talking to Dmitri Vasiliev and the other man Amal had mentioned: Liev Meier.
"She's definitely not what she seems to be…" Ziva said to herself
Uuuu, new language... it's Hebrew and once again, sorry for not knowing what I'm writing or what is says or whatever... online translator, blah... but I love the sound of Hebrew, I wish I could speak it! (I'm getting a dregree in Foreign Languages, in case you're wondering)
Anywhoooooo.... Thanks again, keep reading, keep R&Ring and keep enjoying!
'Till next time, children!
Koo Koo Kah Choo! xoxo