Disclaimer: NCIS does not belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended.
The Lives We Touch
Anna had stashed the bracelet behind the counter, figuring Kate would be back for it eventually.
A week goes by, and Anna doesn't think much about it. After two weeks, she starts to get a little nervous. Maybe she should have done something differently? She'd told her manager about it, but he hadn't seemed particularly concerned. So why should she be?
By the time three weeks pass, Anna's imagination is taking over. Aside from the fact that she'd left what looked to be a fairly expensive bracelet, it's weird that Kate hasn't been back. She'd been at the shop at least once a week since Anna had started working this shift. What if something had happened?
Anna tries to tell herself that she is panicking for no reason. She doesn't even know this woman! For all she knows, she is on vacation, or has been transferred, or something. This bad feeling in her stomach is just her imagination. She's just being overly anxious, that's all.
By the end of the third week, Anna can't stand it anymore. After her shift is over, she slips the bracelet into her purse, and walks the few blocks to the Navy Yard. Judging the odd times when Kate would sometimes come in for coffee, Anna figures NCIS must open early.
She makes it through the front doors and, seeing the row of metal detectors and security guards, abruptly realizes that maybe this isn't the smartest idea she's ever had. Now that she thinks about it, what exactly had she been expecting to happen? To just waltz in and ask to see some agent named Kate who, Anna now realizes, doesn't even know her name?
She's just about to turn around and leave when a security guard approaches her. "Can I help you?"
Though some part of her still thinks it would be smarter to just turn around and leave, she convinces herself that now that she's here, she might as well try to return the bracelet. "Um, I need to see an agent that works here. Agent Kate…" Anna trails off, realizing that she doesn't have any idea what Kate's last name is. Why does she never think things through? That had been yet another resolution of hers, one she'd had about as much success with as her promise to stop procrastinating.
"Um," she stammers, searching her memory for anything that might help distinguish who she's looking for. Or at least, something that might show that she's not some head case that wandered in off the street. Then she remembers what Kate had said when she'd spilled the coffee, about her caffeine-deprived boss. Praying she's gotten the name right, Anna adds, "She works for Agent Gibbs."
Something in the guard's face changes, but all he says is, "Wait here." Anna watches as he goes over to a desk and picks up a phone. "Special Agent Gibbs? There's a young woman here asking about Agent Todd." He pauses. "She didn't say." He nods, and Anna has to grin. She always does that when she's on the phone, too, though of course she knows the other person can't see. "Yes, sir."
The security guard comes back over to her. "Miss…?"
"Roberts. Anna Roberts."
"Miss Roberts. I'll escort you up to Agent Gibbs's office."
"Thank you." Anna tries not to look as nervous as she feels. But she can't help wondering why, if they're not going to tell her to take a hike, they won't just take her to see Kate.
She follows the security guard, who looks like he could be an extra in Men in Black, into an elevator, and then out into a busy-looking bullpen, crowded with desks. A silver-haired man in a polo shirt looks up as they exit the elevator. "Thanks, Carter. I'll take it from here."
The security guard gives a brisk nod and gets back in the elevator. Anna has to repress the urge to go with him.
The man – Gibbs, apparently – comes around from behind his desk. It's the cup of coffee in his hand, of all things, that finally makes Anna relax a little. Weird how that suddenly makes him seem more…human. Or maybe it's more that it puts her on familiar ground.
"Special Agent Gibbs," he finally says, though it sounds more like a question. A "why are you here?" kind of question, with a hint of impatience. And something else. Caution, maybe.
"Anna Roberts." Anna takes his offered hand and shakes it, trying to ignore the way his piercing stare makes her feel. Damn, but those are blue eyes. And somehow, it feels like he's staring right through her. Snap out of it, Anna, she tells herself firmly. You're starting to sound like a cheesy novel.
"You were asking about Agent Todd?" he finally prompts, and Anna realizes suddenly that she hasn't let go of his hand. She drops it, trying to stop the blush that's spreading from the base of her neck, cursing her pale complexion as she does so.
That same look is back in his eyes, and Anna has a feeling something is off. Trying to tell herself that she's just being an alarmist, she takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Um, I'm sorry to just barge in here like this, but I didn't know how else to contact her. It's just…" Anna pulled the bracelet out of her purse. "She left this in the coffee shop where I work, a couple of weeks ago, and she hasn't been back since, so I couldn't return it to her. And I just thought…maybe I could find her here?"
Agent Gibbs's face closes off. Anna had never quite understood what that meant, until now. It's like…in the space of a few seconds, all expression vanishes. Like what was left was a blank template, a sketch, still waiting for the details to be filled in.
"Kate isn't here," he finally tells her, and his voice is calm. Casual, even. Like there really isn't anything to worry about. Anna wants desperately to believe that that's true.
But she can't help herself. She presses, "Has she been transferred, or something?"
He hesitates only for a fraction of a second – so short a time that afterward, Anna is almost convinced that she imagined it. "Yeah. She…she went home to Indiana." He pauses, glancing at her again, then adds, "If you give me the bracelet, I can make sure she gets it."
That's it, then, Anna thinks. Now she knows. And if something doesn't feel quite right…well, she'd learned her lesson once. The hard way. One morning in February. Sometimes…sometimes it's better not to know. Sometimes you just have to let things be.
So she passes him the bracelet. The delicate silver links look funny in his large, calloused, hand, and for a moment she considers telling him so. Then she realizes how completely ridiculous the thought had been. Definitely, she needs to get more sleep. Or maybe just to stop thinking about things that are better off left in the past. "Thank you," she says. "Sorry to bother you."
She turns back toward the elevator, intending to leave it at that. Her finger is poised over the button when she hesitates. Don't do it, Anna, she tells herself. Don't ask. Just let it go.
But even as she tries to convince herself to move on with her life, to not get caught up in the business of strangers, she finds herself turning back around. She has to know.
"Agent Gibbs?" He raises his eyebrows, but not in a way that discourages her from continuing. "She wasn't transferred, was she?"
He gives her a long look, and once again, she's struck by how piercing his gaze seems. Then he inclines his head, and Anna swears she sees something like respect in his eyes. His voice is quiet, almost gentle, when he finally answers.
"No."
To be continued...