Note: Anything that seems familiar isn't mine; only Dani and a couple other characters...I researched what I could about the technical stuff so if I got something wrong, don't shoot me over it...think of it as creative liberties...Enjoy!
I was in a hospital bed when I awoke. Uncle Jethro was sitting in a chair beside me asleep. My shoulder was throbbing but I knew that I couldn't take anything stronger than Tylenol because of the baby. My arm was strapped to my chest with a sling and when I shifted, Uncle Jethro woke up.
"Dani, what happened? You come to my work shot and bleeding. Not to mention you're 23 and pregnant."
"I'm not that little girl who used to follow you around every where. I haven't seen you since Mom's funeral but I knew you'd be able to help me. It is your job to look into crimes within the Navy."
"And what crime would that be?" Uncle Jethro asked.
"Where should I start? Rape, assault, maybe even some drug trafficking?"
"Tell me from the beginning, Dani," he said wearily.
"I'm a Petty Officer on a destroyer. About eight months ago, I had just gotten off duty and was nearing my quarters when I was hit over the head. I woke up to one guy beating me while the other was raping me. I blacked out again and when I woke up, I was in the infirmary. The friend who I was supposed to meet found me unconscious and bleeding in the shower.
"I was a wreck. I wouldn't let any guy near me and you know that there aren't many females on the ships. My C.O. gave me some time off but when I went back to duty, if a guy was within a foot of me, I freaked out. After a week, I had to put in for a transfer. Then I found out I was pregnant."
"Dani, do you know who did this to you?"
"I believe it's the guys who I caught smuggling drugs about a month before my attack. I didn't think they had seen me but I had watched a civilian hand them a white brick and they handed him money."
"OK. Give me their names and the team will look into them."
"Uncle Jethro, I've already given their names to my old C.O. and the guys who interviewed me. Nothing's become of it. Last I heard they were still on active duty and then when I told my C.O. that I was coming to see you, I get shot. It's not a coincidence. He has to be in on it."
Uncle Jethro sighed and stood. He did two paces of the little room before pulling out his phone. He barked several orders into his phone before looking at me. He left the room and came back with a doctor.
"I want her ready to go in half an hour. She's leaving."
Uncle Jethro took me back to NCIS and sat me down at his desk. Only one of the others was there in the bullpen. My hair kept falling into my eyes and pushing it out of my face wasn't working. I knew I had hair elastics in my bag but since blacking out, I didn't know where it had gotten to.
"Um, Uncle Jethro, do you know where my bag is?"
McGee brought it over and I dug into it for an elastic. Trying to put my hair into a ponytail with one hand is nearly impossible. He took pity on me and helped me. I thanked him and waited for my uncle to say or do something.
"McGee, take Dani somewhere safe. She can't go back to her place until this is straightened out. Clearly they know where she is. Don't let her leave your sight."
"I'm not a child. I don't need 24 hour surveillance," I fumed.
"Ah, boss. Where should I take her?"
"I don't care, McGee. You will stay with him until I come and get you. I'm going to look into this."
"I can take care of myself," I said, standing up and putting my hand on my hip like my mother had when she was making a point.
"Obviously you can't since you were shot. I won't allow what happened to Kelly happen to you. If they are coming after you because of what you saw, then I'll make sure I get to them first," he said before stalking off.
I looked around Uncle Jethro's desk and noticed a photo of a headstone. I looked closer and noticed that it was my cousin's. When we had been notified, we were devastated at their deaths but my mother was more worried about her brother. She knew he wouldn't take it well. He completely changed. Uncle Jethro once had a softer side but now the only emotion he really showed was seriousness. I had loved the jokes he used to play but that was in the past.
"We should go. Gibbs will be furious if we're still here when he gets back."
I waited while McGee grabbed his backpack and followed him out to his car. I got myself situated in the front seat, buckled my seatbelt, and waited for him to start the drive to wherever he was going to hide me away. We were still sitting there a minute later so I snapped my fingers in front of his face to wake him up.
"I don't want to be in protective custody as much as you want to babysit me but shouldn't we be leaving?" I asked.
He blinked and looked over at me. I tucked a loose strand of my black hair behind my ear and stared into his eyes. I could tell he was nervous ever since being left alone with me. I shifted in my seat and gave him one of my famous smiles.
"He told you to take me somewhere safe. I can't go home and I don't think my uncle would appreciate me staying at his house so that leaves your place."
McGee could see that I was right. No one would think to look for me there. He started the car and drove. I tried to keep up with the sights that were flying by as we went but the silence was killing me. Normally when I'm in a vehicle, the radio is on and blaring some great music.
"So, do you prefer Probie, McGee or Timothy?" I asked.
"Tim's fine. Only Tony calls me Probie. And you're Dani."
"Sorry. I probably should have introduced myself since you will be my protector until Uncle Jethro gets off his high horse. I'm Petty Officer Danielle Quartermaine. My mom was Uncle Jethro's sister. She died a couple years ago from cancer. My dad was shot in the line of duty as a Metro detective when I was 7."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I should warn you that I wasn't expecting guests so my apartment is in a bit of chaos right now and I don't have much in non-frozen food. Working in NCIS can mean a lot of different hours so frozen is the best way to go."
"Then you're in luck. I do a mean impersonation of a maid and a cook. But we will need real food for that."
Tim and I did a quick stop in at a Whole Foods and picked up some necessities. Since I am eight months pregnant, I had to grab a carton of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, a jar of pickles, and some chocolate. Tim gave me weird looks and while I assured him that I didn't mix them together, I could tell that he didn't believe me.
His apartment was a mess but the layout and style was perfect. I love the bay window and the old movie posters on the brick wall. While Tim unpacked the groceries, I took a little tour. I checked out his computers, his book collection, and the stack of movies in a stand near the TV.
"Don't you find it hard to separate your sleeping space from your vegging out space?"
"Vegging out?"
"You know, where you relax. Your TV is in front of the bed, your computer desk is situated not even five feet from the bed and there is no couch. If you shifted the furniture around, you could make it seem like there's more than the main room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. But that would be my mom talking. She was an interior designer and she used to teach me all about it. But let's forget about that. What would you like to do first? Tidy or eat?"
There wasn't much to do with the tidying. It was more of picking stuff up and putting it where it belonged. I straightened out the kitchen, arranged his movies and vinyl records, and attempted to do the desk but he stopped me.
"The papers are in a precious way so they're easier to find when I need them," he explained.
"Sure, no problem. I just want to point out though that what you have written for that translation is wrong. You probably used a translation program but only an older adult would state it like that."
"You speak Russian?" he asked.
"Russian, French, Greek, a bit of Mandarin, and I was going to learn Italian."
"Why so many?" Tim asked as he came over to stand next to me.
"My grandmother knew French so I learned that from her. I learned I had a knack for learning languages so I randomly picked others to learn. You'll laugh but a Trekkie friend dared me to learn some Klingon. I won $200 from that bet," I laughed.
I moved into the kitchen and started on dinner. I boiled the water for spaghetti, cooked the hamburger, and started in on the sauce. I needed to chop some of the veggies so I slipped my arm out of the sling and picked up the knife.
"Gibbs would kill me if you hurt yourself even more. Just tell me what you need and I'll do it. It's not like I don't know how to cook."
"Can you make sauce from scratch?" I asked, looking over to him.
"I think I can handle it."
The sauce was spectacular. Grandma Quartermaine's recipe had been in the family for decades and I had been taught it at such a young age but this beat it out. After my first bite, I questioned him with a glance. His face lit up with a smile as he lifted another forkful to his mouth.
"I told you that I could cook. It's a McGee secret recipe. I take it you like it."
"Duh. It is to die for. My taste buds are on overload."
Tim ushered me out of the kitchen while he cleaned up. I took a closer look at his movies and selected one that I hadn't seen before. I settled on the bed, leaning against the headboard and started watching the movie. After half an hour, I couldn't sit still any longer. I am normally walking laps at the club at this time of the night. I peaked over to Tim working at his computer.
He had taken off his suit coat and tie, sleeves pushed up around his elbows. I watched him as he typed, stopped, flipped through his pile of papers, and begin typing again. Tim looked like he was in his element, like whatever he was doing was his passion. I was itching to go out and walk but didn't want to disturb him so I sat back and continued with the movie.
It was nearing 9pm when the movie ended. My shoulder was beginning to ache and I felt dirty so I decided to take a bath. I grabbed a book from the shelf and went to tell Tim what I was going to do. It wasn't until I was standing in front of him that a realization hit me.
"Dani, is everything alright?" he asked looking up at me.
"I was going to have a bath but I don't have anything to change into. We'll need to get me some clothes tomorrow."
"I have some sweatpants and a T-shirt that you could wear. Would that work?"
I nodded and he stood. I hadn't realized but he was only a couple inches taller than me. He put down the pen that was in his left hand and went to the bedroom to grab some clothes for me. He handed them to me and noticed the book in my hand.
"I hope you enjoy that book. I know the author and knows that he'll take any criticism that a reader can give."
It wasn't until I was in the warm water when I noticed the author picture on the back of the book. I smiled and started to read Deep Six. I was only half way through when I realized the water had gone cold and needed to be warmed up. Rather than turning into more of a prune than I already was, I heaved my pregnant body out of the bathtub and dried myself off.
Dressed in Tim's shirt and sweatpants, I took the book and moved out of the bathroom. Tim had taken the opportunity to change out of his suit but was back at the desk typing away. I settled onto the bed and continued reading. McGregor was just beginning to seduce Amy and I wanted to see if she went along with it.
"Ah, Dani, I just wanted to say goodnight," Tim said, standing there awkwardly.
"I'm warning you now that I might get up a few times during the night but other than that, I shouldn't disturb you."
"Why would you be disturbing me?"
"The bed movement. I know it's a queen but you'll still feel me getting out of bed."
"I'm not sleeping in the bed, Dani. I have an air mattress and a sleeping bag. I'll sleep there."
"I'm the one putting you out so technically it should be me but you'll tell me that you won't allow it. I won't allow you to hurt your back especially since we don't know how long this will be going on for. Which side do you prefer? Left or right?"
He motioned towards the left so I scooted over to the right side. He seemed nervous as he sat on the bed. He removed his watch and laid it on the nightstand. Tim pulled back the comforter and got into bed.
"Um, goodnight."
"Night, Thom E."