a/n - One more chapter after this one, thanks for sticking around.
Rebecca pulled Sarah close again, stroking her hair as they both watched Abby shift nervously on the chair. Behind Abby, she could see her brother, his face haunted and pinched from hearing how the woman he'd spent years silently loving had been unable to see past their surfaces to admit her own feelings. Perhaps it was selfishness on her part, but Becky wanted her baby brother to find someone who wouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed about loving him. Sarah shifted before hugging her and pulling away.
"Abby..." Sarah straightened up and gave a sad smile. "I'm really glad you're seeing someone to help you with this, but..."
"It's too little, too late. I understand, Sarah." Abby started twisting her ring as she stared at her hand.
"I don't hate you, Abby, not any more. I did at first. I hated you for being part of this and I hated you for being Agent Gibbs' favorite." Behind them Tim looked up, startled, as Sarah continued. "Tim devoted himself to taking care of me after I was raped. I was such a mess, I even made him stand outside the bathroom with his gun when I took a shower. He'd sit up all night, telling me stories so I could sleep. I leaned on him so much, especially at first and he had no one to support him. He never came right out and said it, but he couldn't go to Agent Gibbs for help because he was afraid he'd take your side, that protecting you would be more important to Gibbs than helping Tim. He was so alone and I hated you for that."
Rebecca was silently crying as she heard more fragments of her family's torment, and Sarah reached over and wiped the tears from her mother's face before returning her attention to Abby, remembering what she had learned in her own therapy sessions. "I can forgive you because I've moved past the hate. What you did, you did because of your own insecurities, and that makes me sad. It makes me sad, because you and Tim could have had something really special. It makes me sad because when I thought about the two of you in the future, I saw you as the cool mom all the other kids are jealous of. Showing up at the soccer games in a hot rod with awesome snacks the kids really want, not some dorky vanilla cupcakes with candy sprinkles."
Sarah shifted her attention to Tim, still in the background, his own eyes bright with unshed tears. "Tim may be my uncle now, but in my heart he's always going to be my big brother. I want him to find someone who really understands what a wonderful person he is and isn't afraid of showing him that." She looked back at Abby and shook her head, her voice soft with sorrow. "You're not that person, Abby. I'm not sure that you ever can be. I believe you can work with Tim and maybe, in time, can become a friend to him again, but I hope that he finds someone that will cherish him because he deserves it."
Abby pursed her lips together and gave a jerky nod. Sensing it was the right time, Tim finally joined them, choosing to squat down next to Abby's chair rather than take his own seat. "This has changed us all, Abby. We were very lucky because some good managed to come out of the bad. We're moving forward because dwelling on the past will destroy us. Someday you and I will start over and be friends again, but Sarah is right. I deserve somebody that will cherish me, just the way I am and I'm going to find her. When that happens, I hope you'll be happy for me."
Her laughter was mixed with tears. "It sounds like Sarah and I weren't the only one seeing a therapist."
"Yeah." Tim gave that soft half-smile that had made Abby fall in love with him in the first place. "Well, let's just say that we got a family discount. Why don't I drive you home and we can talk some more on the way." He leaned over to whisper in her ear as he stood. "I know that was hard, thank you."
Abby stood, not quite knowing how to say goodbye. The wild hugs she was known for didn't quite seem appropriate any more. Sarah solved her dilemma by standing and grasping Abby's hands. "Someday, Abby, I hope you find what you're looking for and I hope you have the strength to hold onto it."
"Thank you." Abby gave a gentle squeeze in return. "Thank you for everything."
As they said their goodbyes, Tim slipped into his shoes and took his sidearm out of the lockbox on the shelf. Rebecca watched as her baby brother armed himself. "You're off duty, Tim. Is that really necessary?"
"I'm a federal agent, sis. We carry portal to portal at all times." He slipped his coat on and walked to the door, Abby a few steps behind him. Just as he turned the knob his phone rang, the ringtone lost in the sound of the door exploding inward. The edge of the metal security door hit Tim directly in the face, dropping him instantly. Before any of the three women could react, the uniformed man reached down and lifted Tim by the front of his shirt with one hand and punched him hard with the other. Now completely unconscious, his head bounced on the floor when he was dropped. Multiple voices cried out.
"Shut up, all of you." As soon as he let go of Tim, he pulled a gun and had it pointed at Rebecca and Sarah. Abby landed on her knees next to Tim before looking up at their attacker.
"Roger?"
"Well, Abby-girl, I wasn't expecting to find you here, too. That just makes it better, after all you told me that Sarah was the perfect woman."
"You're not going to hurt her again."
He laughed at Abby. "Who's going to stop me? You? I don't think so."
Standing near the sofa, Rebecca held onto Sarah and watched Tim's still form. The blows to his face had caused significant bleeding, but he was flat on his back and she could tell by the changes in his breathing that the blood was pooling in his throat. "Abby, roll Tim onto his side. He's going to drown in his own blood."
Abby looked up and into the barrel of the gun now pointed at her, but didn't say a word as she rolled Tim onto his side, biting back a sob at the amount of blood that came out of his mouth and nose. Rebecca gave her further instructions and she tilted his head further and adjusted his jaw to aid his breathing. She flinched when Roger cocked the gun, but continued to care for Tim.
"What do you know, my little Abby-girl is trying to grow a backbone." Roger saw Rebecca move and swung the gun back over to point it at her and Sarah. "Don't tell me, let me guess. This is Mom?"
"You're not touching my daughter again. You'll have to get through me first." Rebecca pulled Sarah in back of her, lifting her chin defiantly at the man holding a gun on her.
"With pleasure, Mama. I've always wanted to do a mother daughter combo." Laughing again, he palmed his groin. "Gonna show what a real man's like, ladies."
"Why?" Abby was more mad than scared. "You could have any woman you wanted, why do you hurt them? Why did you use me to get to them?" Down the hallway, Jethro could be heard whining and scratching at the door.
"It's not the sex that drives a rapist, Abby, it's the control. He controls the women he rapes, he controlled you by tricking you into choosing his victims." Rebecca saw the bulge of Tim's weapon under his coat and saw Abby's hand creeping closer to it. She moved closer to Roger, keeping his attention on herself. "Do you really think you're man enough to control all three of us at the same time?"
"Abby-girl won't stop me. I control her most of all. I'll make her watch while I do you and then your little girl."
"No, I'm not going to let that happen." Abby stood with Tim's gun held tightly in both hands. "I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else, Roger."
He smiled at her. "You're not going to shoot me, you don't have it in you. Mama's right, I control you little girl." Still smiling, he reached for Rebecca, who was still keeping herself physically between him and Sarah.
"Not any more, you don't."
---NCIS---
The agency sedan jumped the curb as it came to a screeching halt, tearing up the grass as it did so. Gibbs was out the door, barely taking time to throw it into park. The second sedan was in a similar position less than ten feet away. The three agents ran to the apartment stairs, guns drawn as the civilian with them stayed close behind. The sirens on the Metro cars could be heard, but they were blocks behind.
With Gibbs in the lead, they took the stairs two at a time, increasing their speed as they heard one gunshot, then two more. Training overtook instinct as they approached the broken door. Gun first, Gibbs eased through the door, identifying himself as he did. Inside, McGee was on his side, a pool of blood surrounding his head. Abby was standing next to him, a SIG Sauer still in her hands. The uniformed body of Roger Harris was sprawled between them and the other two occupants of the room. His eyes were wide open, and two gunshot wounds were visible on his chest. The guard's stolen Beretta was still in his hand.
As Ziva and Richard tended to Tim, Tony bent down to check Roger. "He's dead, Boss."
Jeffries and Thompson came through the door while Gibbs gave Tony the barest of acknowledgments before he eased the gun out of Abby's hand. Her eyes never left the body. "He was going to hurt them Gibbs. He was laughing that I was just going to stand here and watch him rape both of them. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't. I shot his leg, but it didn't stop him. He turned towards me with the gun, and then he pointed it at Timmy. I had to shoot him, Gibbs, I had to."
"I know, Abby."
Behind Gibbs, Richard monitored Tim's breathing as he watched his wife and daughter come closer. The two women stopped in front of Abby and engulfed her in their arms.
"Thank you."
"You saved us."
Gibbs handed the gun off to Tony as he holstered his own weapon. Still clinging to each other, the three women moved to Tim's side. Rebecca leaned on her training as a nurse rather than let her panic take over. "Status?" Behind them, the rest of the team listened in as Richard listed off his brother-in-law's injuries as he hugged Sarah, then Rebecca.
"Probable concussion and some scalp lacerations that will need stitches. Pretty nasty split lip and broken nose. Luckily he was on his side, Becky and I had a patient last year that died of minor injuries because his throat filled with blood."
Sarah and Abby again clung to each other as Rebecca told her husband and the team how Tim had ended up on his side and the events leading up to Abby shooting Roger. Jeffries and Thompson stood quietly next to Tony as they all listened. When Rebecca was finished, Abby turned to Jeffries. "I guess this time you do get to arrest me."
Jeffries could see Gibbs gearing up for a fight, but beat him to the punch. "This is about as clear cut self-defense as I've ever seen. Metro will handle the case so there's no suggestion of impropriety, but I wouldn't worry. An armed, escaped felon, breaking in, attacking a federal agent, threatening hostages with a gun, there's not a DA in the world who would see it as anything other than justified."
As Jeffries eased Abby's worries, Sarah moved away from her and approached the body of Roger Harris. Tony was still close and she turned to him for confirmation. "He's dead, right? I mean, dead-dead."
"As dead as they come." He watched as she continued to stare at the man who had caused so much pain.
"Good." Without warning, she kicked the body hard. "That's for what you did to Tim."
Tony moved to grab her, but Gibbs shook his head. She kicked again. "That's for what you did to Abby, and this is for what you did to me." The third kick was hard enough that she lost her balance and would have fallen, but her father was there to catch her.
"I've got you sweetheart."
"Daddy..." Sarah clung to her father as she sobbed.
---NCIS---
For once NCIS was happy to eventually turn the crime scene over to Metro, allowing the team to decamp to the waiting room at Bethesda. Sarah had succumbed to exhaustion and was asleep, her head in her mother's lap. Abby was dozing against Tony while Ziva paced. Gibbs leaned against the wall, grateful to have found a cup of coffee as they all waited for Richard to come out. By the time the ambulance and two cars had arrived at the emergency entrance, Vance had smoothed the way for Dr. Harper to scrub in with the doctors on call.
When Richard finally emerged, he was immediately surrounded and held his hand up for quiet. "He's going to be fine. It looked a lot worse than it was because of the bleeding. A small artery was damaged when the cartilage in his nose broke. Between that, the gash on the inside of his mouth and the scalp wounds, he lost enough blood to need a transfusion, which he's having."
"Is he awake?"
"Not at the moment, Agent DiNozzo. He's been drifting in and out, but the painkillers should keep him under until morning. I think the best thing we can do is get some rest ourselves tonight." He had to raise his voice to be heard over the protests. "He won't know if anyone's here tonight, but he will appreciate visitors tomorrow."
Gibbs made the decision for the group. "Ziva, drive the Harper's to my place. Jethro's already there, and they can stay there tonight." Tony knew exactly what Gibbs' plans were and stepped in.
"Abby is coming home with me to have a movie night. Ziva, you bring the pizza after you drop them off and we'll bring you coffee in the morning, Boss."
The doctor in him knew that it was unnecessary for Gibbs to stay all night, but the father in him was glad the other man was being stubborn. That way he and Becky could focus on Sarah.
In spite of the plans, it was still another two hours before Gibbs was alone with his young agent. McGee was heavily sedated as Richard Harper had said, but even in his medicated slumber, Tim was tense and restless. A gentle hand on his arm seemed to settle him, but not relax him.
It was almost midnight when the nightmare started. Not fully able to break free of the drug induced sleep, Tim thrashed weakly as he whimpered. Gibbs leaned closer, struggling to make out the words.
"...sorry, Dad... don't... mad... try harder... better..."
"It's all right, son." Gibbs leaned even closer, bringing his mouth close to Tim's ear. "You did fine, you've always done fine."