"You're accusing my boyfriends best friend with his murder?" Sarah Sommers asked incredulously from her seat in interrogation room one.
"We have evidence that proves that only the three of you were in the house when the fight started," Tony stated, looking down at the file laid out in front of him.
"Or maybe NCIS just does terrible forensics," Sarah suggested rudely.
"What happened to you? When my boss talked to you, you were more... Even tempered," Tony asked.
"I guess you could say I was in shock." Was all she would reply.
"And if Jason's the one being accused then why am I here?" Sarah asked confused.
"Well you said you were there. We want to know why you did not do more to even attempt to stop it," Tony stated.
"I got hit in the head," Sarah reminded.
"Yes, we spoke to the paramedics; Your weren't hit in the head hard enough to knock you out. Now if you loved this man as much as you say you did, why didn't you try to find a way to help, instead of waiting until he was dead?" Tony asked closing her in.
Sarah looked momentarily shocked by this statement before saying, "I think I need a lawyer."
Tony sighed heavily as he approached the bullpen. Lawyers tended to complicate things... and they made Gibbs exceptionally grumpy.
He looked up to see Ziva talking angrily to two large men, with Mcgee standing awkwardly off to the side, obviously watching to see if he would need to jump in if Ziva were to start tearing heads off the men.
"What's all the ruckus?" Tony asked in a western accent.
"These are the SAS soldiers here to take Alex," Ziva said glaring at the two men.
"And we need to know what hospital he's at." The taller of the two said with an English, Liverpool accent, "My name is Ben Daniels, I'm....a friend of Alex's."
The NCIS agents all shared a look.
"And you?" Ziva asked the other man who had yet to introduce himself.
"My name is Scott Marciel, but uh, Cub would probably know me more as Wolf," He said.
"Cub? Wolf? What, did you both have pet names for each other?" Tony asked confused.
"He means Alex," Ben corrected giving his friend a warning glare.
"Right, well I'll call my Boss," Tony said picking up his cell phone and moving to the stairs so he would not be overheard, while leaving the two men at the mercy of Ziva.
The phone rang twice before, "Gibbs."
"Hey, Boss. Those SAS men are here. And they seem to know Alex. You want me to send them on to the hospital? Or should I stall them?" Tony asked, making eye contact with Daniels before turning away.
"No, send them on. The quicker they get here the quicker they can leave." Came his Boss' smooth reply. But Tony could tell Gibbs just wanted them there so he could yell at someone in person.
"Got it, Boss. I'll send Ziva to escort them. They're both shaking in there combat boots over her," Tony said with a smile as he thought of his little ninja.
"Good." Was the last thing Tony heard before the line went dead.
Tony shook his head and couldn't help but feel a bit bad for these soldiers, for they were about to witness the wrath that was Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Gibbs was still sitting in the same seat as before except now he was holding a coffee in one hand. His thoughts drifted to Shannon and Kelly. His first love and their beautiful daughter.
Gibbs always wanted a son. When Shannon was pregnant he secretly hoped it would be a boy. But when Kelly did come she immediately had him wrapped around her little finger, all yearning for a boy lost and forgotten.
There was a sudden knock at the door and Ziva appeared in the doorway.
"They are here. I made them wait in the hall, I was not sure if Alex was ready to face them just yet," Ziva said looking at the boy in the bed who was sleeping, sweating slightly from his fever.
"Well if I can help it I don't want them to even have to see Alex," Gibbs said getting up and walking out of the room.
"Stay with Alex." he said lightly as he noticed Ziva had moved to leave the room also.
She looked a bit down that she was not going to be able to see the upcoming conversation but she sat down anyways in Gibbs vacant seat.
Gibbs walked into the hall to see the two men a couple paces away from Alex's room huddled together talking quietly.
"Are you Special Agent Gibbs?" The taller man asked.
"Yep," Gibbs confirmed simply.
"Well then you know why we're here. I'm Ben Daniels, and this is Scott Marciel." the man said.
"You know Alex," Gibbs stated.
"Our path's have crossed on occasion," Ben said clearly avoiding the question.
"Well I think it's a bit more than that. Care to explain?" Gibbs ordered more than asked.
"We've both worked with Alex on separate occasions," Daniels explained.
"You worked with a teenager on something that was more than likely going to get him killed, is that it?" Gibbs accused.
Daniels looked a bit guilty while the other man looked fed up.
"Look, I didn't want to work with the kid in the first place, but we didn't have a choice. And I told the kid to stay where I left him but he ran off and nearly got himself killed. Then I ended up taking a bullet for the kid! So I don't want to hear about how we weren't looking after him. If it had been my choice I would've sent him home after he got hit by that train," Scott said angrily, ranting even though Gibbs had no idea what he was talking about.
Ben rolled his eyes and punched the man in the arm.
"You see? This is why you didn't get assigned to MI6. You can't keep your mouth shut when you get angry." He accused.
"Hit by a train?" Gibbs asked shocked though his features schooled otherwise.
"It's classified," Daniels relented.
"Look, we don't have time for this. Now is Alex awake or not?" Scott asked.
"No, and you're not going to wake him," Gibbs replied firmly.
"We're on a schedule. We're going to take care of Alex if that's what you're worried about. The rest of our team is waiting on us so we can go back to London," Daniels explained.
"Alex isn't going with you. He's far too hurt to be moved and on top of that he just really doesn't want to go," Gibbs said laying it all out.
Both men were momentarily stunned by this.
"He has to go. If he doesn't he'll be killed. He's a bloody idiot if he doesn't," Ben said slowly.
"My team is going to going to handle it," Gibbs assured.
"You're Navy cops! This is completely out of your jurisdiction," Scott exclaimed.
"I want to talk to Alex. He has no idea what he's doing," Ben said looking determinedly at Alex door.
"I'm not going to let you upset him. This kid obviously needs help and unlike you two; Me and my team are not going to look the other way as this happens to him," Gibbs replied accusingly.
Alex's door then opened and Ziva's head appeared in the doorway.
"Gibbs, Alex is awake. He overheard your conversation and wants to see them." She explained.
Gibbs considered this and it seemed that these men would not leave until they had talked to Alex and heard that he didn't want there help from his own mouth. And on top of that Gibbs wanted them to see just how bad Alex was injured. Maybe that would tell them just how wrong this was.
"Fine," Gibbs said motioning them to follow him into Alex's room.
They walked in the room and Gibbs saw Daniels and Marciel visibly stiffen as they took in the sight of the boy laying in the hospital bed.
"Hey there, Alex," Daniels said quietly.
"Ben," Alex greeted weakly.
"You look like hell, kid." Wolf blurted out.
"Thanks, Wolf," Alex said sarcastically.
"We uh, heard you weren't coming with us?" Ben asked lightly.
Alex looked over at Gibbs who watched him calmly, nodding encouragingly, letting him know silently that this was the best thing for him.
"No, I'm not," He confirmed quietly.
Ben gave a frustrated sigh, "Alex, you have to realize that going with us is the safest place for you."
"That's where you're wrong. If I go with you I'll wind up dead. I'm tired of letting MI6 use me. This is me taking control of my life again," Alex replied.
"Cub, you're being ridiculous. These Navy cops can't protect you. If SCORPIA comes back for you, and we all know they will, these people won't be able to stop it," Wolf said not caring that the people he was belittling were right in the room.
"I'll take my chances with them," Alex assured with a cough.
Now it was Wolf who let out a frustrated sigh, "We don't have time for this. If he wants to do something stupid, let him. But when he comes up dead because he decided to trust these cops I don't wanna hear anything about how it's our fault!" Wolf said moving over to the door.
"These cops have taken better care of me this week than MI6 or the SAS has all year. That's why I'm not going with you lot. And you can tell Blunt that I'm done. Jack's home and in a coma thanks to MI6's lack of security on a salad, so he can't wave her visa in my face anymore," Alex said, his voice becoming more ragged, along with his panting and obviously pained breathing.
"You are upsetting him. I think it is time you left," Ziva said, standing up.
"I think if Alex refuses to go with you, your presence is no longer needed," Gibbs said to Wolf.
"What? Has NCIS decided that they'd want to use him for their own gain so you've tricked the kid into thinking that you care?" Wolf accused.
Gibbs' anger flared up immediately, "NCIS does not exploit children for their own gain, and especially not in the condition Alex is in now. I'm getting Alex out of the life he's been thrown into." He bit out.
Ben ignored their fighting and tried one more time, "Alex, listen to me if you stay here MI6 will not be able to protect you anymore. You will be in a very dangerous spot."
"Ben, I've been in a dangerous spot since the day I met Alan Blunt. I'm staying here," Alex said more calmly.
Ben let out another sigh then nodded, "I hope you know what you're doing, Alex." He then walked to the door with Wolf and stopped and turned to Gibbs.
He pulled out a card and handed it to the older man, "This is my mobile number. If he needs help with anything give me a call."
Gibbs wavered a moment before pocketing the card gratefully.
Then Ben Daniels turned back to Alex one last time, "Alex, can I ask you a question?"
Alex looked at the man and nodded warily, unsure about what the man was about to ask him.
"On Dragon Nine, I shot a man that you seemed to know. And it's been bugging me for awhile. Who was he?" He asked.
Alex's face became guarded as he relived that day vividly in his head. He also noticed that everyone's eyes were locked on him. Ziva and Gibbs were a bit confused but they were listening intently anyways.
"His name was Ash. And, uh, he was my Godfather," Alex said quietly, trying to shrug it off.
Gibbs turned to Ben Daniels swiftly ready to give them man hell.
But Daniels' face was locked on Alex's his eyes wide with surprise.
"Oh, God. Alex, I had no idea...," He stuttered.
"What? No, Ben you don't understand. And I really don't feel like getting into it. Just know that you did me a huge favor in shooting Ash. Saved me from having to do it," Alex said, shrugging back down into his bed, preparing to sleep.
Ben looked perplexed as Wolf ushered him out of the room, leaving Gibbs and Ziva alone with the half- conscious boy.
"You had a godfather?" Ziva asked lightly.
"Ash was a bastard. That's all you need to know," He said angrily. He refused to go into this, he didn't care how safe he felt with these people he was not going to tell them about Ash. It was far too fresh in his mind to begin opening up about it. This was his problem, he was grateful enough that these people were going to try to help him with MI6, he didn't see any need to bother them with his messed up past.
Gibbs saw the anger radiating off the injured boy and immediately backed off... For now. He would drill questions out of Alex when he was better and a lot less angry.
"It's okay. We don't have to talk about it now. What I want to know is why you called that man Wolf and why he called you Cub?" Gibbs reasoned, letting the other matter drop.
Alex's anger subsided some as the subject shifted, but he hadn't missed Gibbs' use of the word 'now'. That told him they would obviously pick back up on this particular topic soon.
"Right before I was sent on my first mission, I was sent to Brecon Beacons to train with the SAS. Wolf was the leader," Alex explained.
"No offense, but he did not seem to like you all that much," Ziva observed.
Alex smirked a bit before his face faltered and winced in pain. Gibbs knew the boy would need sleep soon. The questions would have to wait for when he was able to stay awake without pain for more than ten minutes.
"He wasn't all that thrilled to have a child on his team at the time, but we ended on good terms, I helped him in a way and later down the road he helped me," Alex said.
"Hit by a train?" Gibbs asked, eyebrows raised with a somewhat incredulous smile.
Alex gave a small sigh, "Those two can't keep anything to themselves. I wasn't really hit I just...Sorta...grazed it in a way," Alex said trying to explain it the best he could through his sleepy haze.
Gibbs nodded, "Quite a year you've had going on, Alex."
Alex nodded, "you don't know the half of it." He muttered, half awake all the while trying to stay awake.
Gibbs noticed and patted his shoulder gently, "Go to sleep."
Soon the teen drifted off into his blissful sleep.
Ziva looked deep in thought, Gibbs soon took notice.
"What are you thinking?" He asked quietly.
"Gibbs, SCORPIA is a very...ruthless organization. How did MI6 manage to get Alex mixed up in this? There has to be a reason why they are after him so bad, it has to be more than him messing up one of their plans," Ziva said eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.
"It's obvious that there's more to Alex that he lets on. We'll get it out of him when he's feeling better, and when he trusts us a bit more," Gibbs reasoned.
Ziva nodded, "You know you're usually not a patient man Gibbs."
Gibbs smiled a bit then answered with a real far off look, "When you have kids Ziva you'll understand that you can't push kids the way you do adults. You push kids they're going to withdraw themselves from you. With kids you have to be patient."
The Israeli seemed to think this over before she nodded slowly in understanding.
Gibbs nodded, as he stood up, "I need coffee."
As they walked out of Alex's room Gibbs walked over to the nurses station
"Anyplace I can get a good cup of coffee?" He asked, smiling at the pretty red- headed nurse.
The nurse gave a flirtatious smile back at him.
"I'll go get you one from the Doctors personal batch. This stuff they serve out to the patients is terrible. You look tired."
"Thanks a lot...Nurse...?" Gibbs hinted.
"Nurse Taylor. But you can call me Cindy.," She replied sweetly.
Gibbs nodded and walked back into Alex's room to find Ziva talking softly to Alex in Hebrew as she ran a hand through his hair. Taken aback by the scene Gibbs bemusedly leaned against the wall as he watched.
Alex was having a nightmare. Ziva must have taken pity on the boy. Gibbs knew she was well out of her comfort zone as she comforted Alex. But Gibbs could see the maternal instincts kicking in. Gibbs could see that if Ziva ever was to get pregnant she would be a fantastic mother. Mossad assassin or not. As Alex began to relax Ziva withdrew her hand and sat back down in her chair, but drawing it closer to the bed, just in case.
"Not bad Miss. David," Gibbs complimented, making his presence known.
Ziva jumped, looking clearly embarrassed, "He, uh, began to have a nightmare and started moving. I didn't want him to bother any of his injuries, so....I..." She trailed off, at loss to say.
Gibbs smiled at his agent, "Good thinking, Ziva." Was all he said, knowing that she would not want a big fuss.
The Israeli nodded and stood up, "I should get back to NCIS. Mcgee and Tony have probably killed each other by now."
Gibbs nodded, "tell DiNozzo to call me later with an update."
She nodded and discreetly gave Alex's hand a squeeze as she walked away, if Gibbs' eye had not been trained by Marine's he would not have caught it.
Now as he was alone with the injured teenager Gibbs wondered just how he was going to get SCORPIA to leave Alex alone. For good.
A/N- Well to be honest it started off really good then it go a bit sucky at the end. Sorry.
And I know some people might be a little put off by Ziva being a little bit 'nice'? But I like to think that since Ziva's been at NCIS she's gotten a bit soft, and I think that Alex would remind her a bit of herself.
And I want to apoligize for the lack of 'goodness' of this chapter and the fact that it took so long but just consider this as kind of a filler. It should pick back up soon though.
Ideas and helpful suggestions are always welcome, and most of them are used at some point.
Let me know how you liked it!