Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A.N.: Thanks to alix33, telainoflorien, black widow mistress, Mrs. Ellizabeth Gibbs, KSBP, HesMines, Twilight Trekky and MissJayne for reviewing. Also thanks to Huddly for sending me ideas; I might use the one I told you I liked next chapter!
Emily Fornell was lying in bed, her mother had just tucked her in after her bath and she was reading her a story. It was Beauty and the Beast, a Disney classic, and they were about halfway through. Belle had been imprisoned by the villagers and they were about to storm the castle. This was one of her favourite parts in the movie, where little Chip helped Belle to escape so they could ride to the castle just in time to live happily ever after… Her mother put the book down on the bed and reached out to her daughter, stroking her brown hair from her head.
"You're way ahead of me, aren't you, Em?" she said with a smile, and Emily giggled in response to getting caught daydreaming the end. She couldn't help it; it was her favourite Disney so her imagination ran away with her sometimes. Her mother kissed her forehead and then picked the book back up, to finish the story. When Emily found her eyelids drooping, her mother tucked her in.
"Goodnight Em, I love you." her mother said and then turned off her light, leaving the door ajar so she could see the night-light in the hall.
"Love you too mommy, 'night." Emily snuggled down in bed, drifting off and then a loud crash jolted her from her dozing, sending her sitting straight upright. She stayed completely still, her heart hammering in her chest as she heard footsteps on the stairs, getting louder and closer.
Suddenly she heard her mother's voice, shouting and screaming for whoever it was to leave the house, then for the person to not hurt her, and then she was just screaming. Emily huddled up closer, small terrified sounds escaping her lips as it became harder to breathe. Her mother became quiet, and the house was silent.
A shadow was cast on the wall by the night-light, a large figure, dragging another smaller one, which Emily knew instinctively, was her mother. Emily shakily got out of bed, and moved closer to the door, a powerful need to know what was going on, to know her mother was alright, driving her against her common sense. She looked around the door, pulling it further open so she could see around it and then her breath froze in her chest at the sight that met her.
A large man was pulling her mother over to the top of the stairs. She dangled uselessly from the man's grip, red liquid running from her back where a knife was protruding from her, and on to the carpet. The man pushed her body forwards down the stairs, carefully making sure she didn't turn on the way down and Emily found herself screaming. Tears streamed down her face and the man turned to her, his shadowed face looking right at her. He advanced on her and she screamed harder and louder, but to no avail. He gripped her shoulders and she twisted and turned, trying to escape, but his grip was too tight.
"Emily." he called and she recoiled from him. "Emily honey, it's ok." He said, his voice low and soothing, but she just tried harder to escape, struggling to free herself.
"Emily, wake up!" a female voice said close to her and Emily found herself opening her eyes and looking around an unfamiliar room. She was in bed and a woman was sat on the bed next to her. She turned to the woman, scared to see that this was a trick, that she was still in the clutches of that evil man, only to see a red haired woman, stroking her hair from her face and wiping her tears away.
"Mom? Mom!" Emily cried in relief, throwing her arms around her mother and burying her face in her neck. Her mother hugged her back, rocking her slowly. It was all a dream, none of it was real. Her mother was here, she was alive and well and no one was going to hurt her.
"Oh Emily…" she said softly, regretfully, and Emily froze again. That wasn't her mother's voice. Then she remembered, all of her memories hit her, of being rescued, finally being in her father's arms again and then seeing that same red liquid dripping down his leg. Then she was being taken away from him, sandwiched between two strange women in a car on a long journey, the both of them giving her awkward glances, unsure of how to act around her. Then she had been put in another car by the dark haired woman, the blonde staying a few steps behind, and she had never been so alone.
Then the red haired woman had hugged her, and she had stayed in her arms since then. She had said her name was Jenny, but Emily had been in a daze, just walking when she'd had to, not talking to anyone or thinking about anything that would remind her of the monster who 'd hurt Neil, taken her prisoner, shot her dad and… killed her mother.
Her mother… she was dead. She wasn't coming back to her; she would never read her a story or tuck her in. She would never again be waiting for her after school, hug her or tell her everything was fine. She was gone, that evil man had taken her away forever.
Jenny held Emily tightly, rocking her slightly until the tears stopped, and she hiccupped softly. Mom, she'd called her mom. Jenny squeezed her own eyes shut, attempting to stop any of her own tears from leaking out, her heart constricting painfully. She had always known she would feel strange at being called mom by a child that wasn't hers, but she was surprised by how painful it was. Her baby girl would have called her mom; if she hadn't… she took a shuddering breath and kissed Emily's hair. This was going to be a lot tougher than she originally thought. She probably wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon, so Jenny looked across to the alarm clock on the bedside cabinet. It was half past ten in the morning, so they had slept for a good six hours. Jenny pulled back from Emily and wiped her eyes.
"Emily would you like some breakfast?" she asked softly, but Emily said nothing. She was closing up again, and that worried her. Jenny pulled her back into her embrace and then picked her up, wrinkling her nose when she encountered wet clothes. She must have wet herself during her nightmare. Jenny hugged her regardless, her clothes were yesterday's anyway, and she took Emily to the bathroom. Emily started to cry again, probably realised what she had done when cold air hit her, and Jenny stood her in front of her.
"Emily, can you get a shower honey?" she asked and Emily nodded, her response time much faster than yesterday. Jenny nodded and gave Emily one last squeeze before turning the shower on, leaving a towel out and then leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
Jenny walked straight to her wardrobe and looked through it for some good comfort wear, for both her and Emily. She wasn't sure when she should expect Emily's things to arrive, but knowing Ziva it would be soon, if it wasn't here already. She pulled out a pair of black boot cut jeans and an emerald green tunic shirt, intent upon making Emily feel as unthreatened as possible. She knew her suits could give her a hard edge and that was something she didn't want today. She picked out her boots, unsure if she should bother wearing them since she would more than likely be staying home all day with Emily. Laying the outfit on the bed she picked up another pair of string pull pyjama bottoms and a sweat shirt for Emily, and then pulled out her phone and dialled a familiar number.
"Hello?" a voice said, the other end being picked up after only a few rings.
"Ducky? It's Jenny. I'm worried about Emily." She said, getting straight to the point.
"How so?" he asked, becoming all business in response to her words. Jenny walked out of her room and over to the top of the stairs. She looked down at the front door and saw a few bags in the hall, a small smile gracing her lips as her thoughts of Ziva's efficiency were justified. She walked back into her room and put the clothes for Emily back in her wardrobe while answering Ducky's question.
"She had a really bad nightmare, when she woke up she thought I was her mother. When she realised her mistake she stopped responding again. She wet the bed too, is that normal?" Jenny had never had a nightmare so bad that she had lost control of her body, never. It worried her that a girl as young as Emily had. Was what had happened to her something that she would never get over? She hoped not, Emily deserved better than to be scarred from this.
"Don't worry Jennifer, Emily is bound to have nightmares, and losing bladder control is a lot more common than you might think." Ducky said gently, allying her fears in the hopes it would make her calmer around Emily. Children could pick up on the feelings of the adults around them, so it was important that Jenny remain cool, calm and collected at most, if not all, times.
"Even so, I'd feel a lot better if you could come and see her. She only responds to me when I look her in the eye and ask her a question, the rest of the time she just stares at nothing, it's unnerving." She said, turning to look at the bathroom, trying to hear if Emily had stepped under the spray yet. She couldn't hear any difference, though that didn't mean she wasn't in the shower.
"I'll be over soon; I just need to give mother her dinner." He said and Jenny wrinkled her nose thinking of the mush that he gave his mother, her false teeth making it impossible for her to chew her food.
"Thank you Ducky, see you soon." she ended the call and put her phone in her pocket and then walked out, down the stairs and over to the bags.
"Those arrive this morning, Senora." Noemi said in her broken English as she came out of the kitchen. Jenny looked up and nodded.
"Hello Noemi. These are for my guest, I should have told you last night."
"The child Emily, si, Senora Ziva told me when she bring those this morning." She explained smiling. She looked pointedly at Jenny's wet shirt and Jenny looked down, remembering she had to change. She needed to shower really, but she was putting it off until she could introduce Emily to Noemi.
"She had an accident this morning, I forgot to change. Would you mind watching her a while?" she asked hopefully. Those clean clothes were shouting for her and the sooner she changed the happier she would be.
"Si Senora, I love children." She said enthusiastically, and Jenny gave momentary thanks for Noemi. She'd be lost without her, and quite possibly dead from starvation, or overweight from take away every night.
"Thank you Noemi." She said, turning and carrying some of the bags up the stairs and into the guest room, where she remembered she would need to strip the bed. She did so right then, she may as well while she was still in dirty clothes, and then she put a towel on the bed to soak up and draw out the wetness, stuffed the soiled bedding into a laundry basket and took it into her room, ready to add Emily's nightwear and her clothes to the load. She knocked on the door and called in to Emily, but there was no response. Instead of walking in Jenny decided to wait a few more minutes.
The door opened and Emily pocked her head out, looking up at Jenny and then muttering something to her. Luckily Jenny heard her and smiled. She didn't know what she was going to wear.
"Some of your things from home arrived; I put your bags in your room. Why don't we go choose something from them to wear?" she said softly and Emily nodded. Jenny escorted her to her room and they pulled her clothes out of her bags and Emily sorted through it all. Jenny turned around while Emily dressed and then she took her hand and brought her down the stairs to the kitchen, where Noemi walked over and smiled widely at the little girl. Emily smiled back a little, gripping Jenny's hand tighter.
"Emily, this is Noemi."
"I will make your breakfast for you. What do you like?" Noemi asked and Emily just stared. Jenny crouched down and looked Emily in the eye.
"Emily, I need to go get changed. Will you be ok with Noemi for a little while?" she asked her, and Emily nodded. Jenny smiled happily and then stood, walking straight to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Jenny stepped out of her room clad in the clothes she had laid out, minus boots, and she walked quickly to the door, picked up the rest of the bags and brought them up to Emily's room. She walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Emily was poking a spoon at a bowl of cereal, while Noemi looked worriedly on. Jenny approached Emily and stroked her hair gently, making Emily drop her spoon and hug her.
Someone knocked on the door and Noemi went to answer it. Jenny smiled, Ducky had been much faster than she'd thought he would be. She asked Emily to let go so she could see who was at the door, but the male voice that carried through the house made Emily's grip tighten and Jenny's stomach flip flop. Jethro. He walked in to the kitchen obviously having gotten Noemi to tell him where they were, and he started to walk closer to them. Emily screamed in terror and tightened her hold on Jenny, stopping Jethro in his tracks. He looked at Jenny pointedly and she nodded.
"The study, I'll be out in a minute." She said, rubbing soothing circles on Emily's back. Gibbs walked back out, passing Noemi as she came back in. "Emily, I need you to let go so I can speak with a visitor. Noemi will stay here with you while I speak with him, ok?" Jenny said softly and Emily reluctantly released her. Jenny pressed a kiss to Emily's hair and then walked quickly out of the kitchen and into her study. Gibbs stood in the middle of the room, waiting for her to join him. Jenny walked past him towards the drinks cabinet.
"Can I get you anything Jethro? Bourbon?" she asked, her hands pausing over a glass.
"No thanks. I came by to see how Emily was doing; I guess the answer is obviously 'not well'." He said, and Jenny turned around, leaving the glasses untouched.
"It's only been a few hours Jethro; you can't expect her to be back to normal so soon." she said softly.
"Any problems?" he asked, moving closer to her. She watched him carefully, keeping a certain distance between them. She could feel her body warming under his gaze and she turned away to hide her flush.
"She had a nightmare, but she's more aware today. I called Ducky, but seeing her reaction to you I'm not sure anymore if it would be a good idea for him to see her."
"I think it would be best if he did, Ducky is great with kids." He said, and Jenny turned around, hurt from his implication.
"I'm not doing too badly myself." She said evenly.
"I never said you were."
"No, it's what you implied." She narrowed her eyes slightly at him and he shrugged.
"Well you don't exactly have any experience in this area." He reminded her and she drew herself up angrily.
"You don't know what experience I have with children!" she hissed at him and he took a step forwards, annoyed at her behaviour. Perhaps Ducky was right, she did have a problem.
"I mean parenting, and that's something I know you never had."
"And I thought you knew everything about me." She replied, her voice low and his eyebrows drew together.
"What exactly does that mean?" he asked angrily. She opened her mouth to retort, but was stopped by another voice.
"I think it means I arrived just in time." Ducky spoke up from the doorway, and both Jenny and Jethro turned to him almost gratefully. He looked between the two of them, having heard more than they thought. He too wondered about Jenny's words, but he also knew the way to get information from her was to not have Jethro in the room.
"Emily was scared by the sight of Jethro, could you try and talk to her?" Jenny asked him, and he nodded.
"Of course my dear." He replied and then went straight towards the kitchen, leaving them both alone.
"Meaning what, Jenny?" Jethro asked, unwilling to let this go.
"Nothing." She said, trying to get a hold of her emotions, to stop herself from giving anything else away. This was something she needed to keep from him; especially since she found out he had lost a child.
"It obviously means something or you wouldn't have said it." he insisted but she wouldn't be swayed.
"Leave it, Jethro." she said, and he shook his head at her. He walked away, then stopped in the doorway and turned around.
"When the going gets tough, leave it. I guess some habits are hard to break." he said caustically. She bristled and lowered her voice dangerously.
"Get out." He did, slamming the door as he went through it. Jenny let out the breath she had been holding, all of the hurt his words had caused making tears prick her eyes. She took a deep breath, tried to hold it, failed and then let out a groan of frustration. She couldn't do this. She moved swiftly to the drinks cabinet and picked up a glass and a decanter. She poured herself a drink of Bourbon and then put the decanter away. She lifted the glass to her lips and then paused. A sound caught her ear and she put the glass full of untouched liquid down. Emily was calling for her.
Jenny apprehensively walked out of her study and in to the kitchen, worried that Emily was just too damaged by what that man had done to ever be comfortable around men. What if she started to get nervous around her own father, what would happen to her then? She looked up as she entered the kitchen, surprised to see Ducky offering Emily a cup of tea. Emily was near tears, but so far had not screamed, just called Jenny's name.
She saw Jenny and jumped down from her chair and then ran into her arms. Jenny lifted the girl and brought her back to Ducky, sitting on the chair she had just vacated with Emily on her lap. Emily seemed to respond well to her, maybe she could make her accept men being around if she stayed close to her. It seemed to work, the little girl just watched Ducky; not trying to get away from him or scream. Calmer now, Emily took the cup from Ducky and, with Jenny steadying her hands, drank it.
"I offered her some sugary tea, it helps with shock." Ducky explained to Jennifer and she nodded, watching Emily drain the cup quickly. He smiled at the sight; Jennifer was completely focussed on Emily, and the scared little girl he had met just moments ago had morphed before his eyes into the calm girl that now sat on Jennifer's lap, happily drinking the tea he had given her. Jennifer's maternal instincts were strong, much stronger than he had thought they would be and Emily obviously felt very safe with her. He stood, deciding to wait for Jenny in the study, and she caught his eye, and then nodded in understanding.
Ducky walked to the study and then looked around. It was a nice room, very tranquil, but not very Jenny. It was too masculine. He looked over to the desk and saw the drinks cabinet next to it, a glass of bourbon upon its surface. He approached it and sniffed it. It was fresh, she had just poured it. He sighed, this looked bad. He had thought she had a problem, but drinking first thing in the morning? He shook his head sadly. This had to stop, one way or another.