Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.
Chapter 18
Taylor's hands were shaking as she scrolled through the long list of contacts on Vicky's phone. Not used to the different phone, DJ's name flew up the screen, then out of view. A few clicks brought it back and she nervously hit call. The phone seemed to ring forever, and she was just about to hang up, assuming that DJ didn't have his phone with him, when he picked up. Not wanting to waste any time Taylor didn't give him the chance to start talking.
"DJ, don't say anything, just shut up and listen! It's a trap, they know you're pickin' up today." There, she'd told him. Now it was up to him. They could lift his supplier but he'd be okay. She waited for him to respond, but he didn't. "DJ?" He'd better not of hung up, she thought. "You still there? You can talk now." Nothing. Something wasn't right.
"VICKY? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Taylor jumped, dropping the phone onto the bed. That was not DJ. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She stared at the phone in horror, brain frozen, listening to the barely audible tirade coming from the mobile. That had sounded way too much like her dad. Either she'd called him by mistake, or she was too late. Unfortunately both would have the same result if he figured out it was her and not Vicky who had tried to warn DJ. He would kill her, slowly and painfully.
o
The click of the lock on the bathroom door brought Taylor back to her senses. She lunged for the phone, hitting the red end call button, before quickly reconnecting it to the charger and pushing it under the bed with her foot. A few seconds later, when Vicky re-entered the bedroom Taylor was pacing up and down between the two beds, praying the phone wouldn't ring.
"What's wrong?" Vicky asked, voice full of concern.
"Nothin'." Taylor knew she hd to get both of them out of there before her dad called back. She grabbed a hold of Vicky's wrist and pulled her towards the stairs. "Come on, might as well find out if we're grounded. No point sittin' up here if we're not."
The two of them ran down the stairs together, picking up speed, very much like an avalanche. They found Patricia in the kitchen.
"Mom?"
She looked up from the magazine she was reading.
"Can we go for a walk?" Both girls held their breath as they waited for an answer.
"No more fighting?"
Both shook their heads.
"You'll stay out of trouble and be back by dinner?"
This time they nodded in unison.
Taylor wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could have sworn that she could hear Vicky's phone vibrating on the floor upstairs, so as soon as her mom said they could go, she was out of there, Vicky right beside her.
o
Once out of sight of the store Taylor slowed to a stop.
"What were you running for?" Vicky asked.
Taylor stared at her, not sure what to say. Vicky was completely oblivious to the trouble she was in now, considering her dad had thought it was her calling DJ. There was no way in hell Taylor was going to own up to that one, besides it was Vicky's fault in the first place for creating the whole situation. Her self- justification did not remove the giant knot in her stomach, and she couldn't look her cousin in the eye. "Don't you want to go and find Patrick?"
"You don't mind if I leave you on your own?"
The fact that Vicky sounded sincere didn't help.
"No. I'm gonna track down Lucas. I'll catch up with you later."
"You sure?"
The knot grew bigger and tighter. "Go on, you know you can't wait to see him."
With a hasty "See you later." Vicky was gone and Taylor was left with a rapidly growing sense of panic. Walking in the opposite direction she headed towards the lake, clinging to the smallest hope that she might just be able to come up with a brainwave.
o
Back in DC Gibbs was furious. He was finding it extremely difficult to process what had just happened. DJ and his supplier had been picked up earlier in the day, and both he and DiNozzo had called into the precinct to see how the arrests had gone. The officer in charge had been more than willing to talk them through everything that had happened and to show them the drugs that had been seized. They were just about to leave the evidence lock-up when DJ's phone had started to vibrate in the small plastic bag. Curiosity made Tony check out the caller ID on the display, and when he announced it was Vicky there was no way Gibbs was not going to take that call. He just couldn't figure out what had possessed the girl. She could have blown the whole investigation. The first thing he did after she'd hung up on him was to call her back, but there had been no answer. The confrontation would have to wait, he would be in Stillwater soon enough. Until then, his niece would have plenty of time to stew.
o
No matter how hard she thought, Taylor couldn't come up with a solution for her newly created mess. Eventually she gave up. She was going to have to go with the only positive she had. The fact that her dad thought he'd been talking to Vicky. Taylor pushed herself to her feet and the thought from her mind. It was about time to find Katie and Lucas. If everything was going to blow up in her face she might as well make the most of whatever freedom she had left.
o
True to form Taylor made it home for dinner with only a minute or so to spare. She always hated the idea of wasting time by going home early, so she had arriving as close as she could to her curfew time, down to a fine art. Vicky was already seated at the table as Taylor double timed it into the kitchen and headed straight for the sink to wash her hands. Her mom wasn't watching so Taylor quickly dried her hands on her jeans and sat down opposite her cousin. Vicky was looking happy for the first time that day. It was fairly obvious that she wasn't the least bit worried about what DJ could be going through. Taylor was aware of what she was doing. She was trying to justify making Vicky take the blame for the phone call. So far it was working. All she had to do now was stay mad at her cousin and not mess everything up by feeling guilty.
o
"Your dad called earlier." Patricia announced once they had started eating.
Taylor almost knocked her glass of water over at her mom's revelation.
"Yeah?" Think innocent, think innocent, she told herself.
"He should be here sometime tomorrow."
Taylor glanced at Vicky. She looked as if she wanted to throw up. That was good, it made her look guilty.
"Does that mean DJ got arrested?" She asked, dropping her fork onto the plate. Taylor was trying to deflect any future suspicion from herself, but she could also feel the anger building up again at the thought of DJ being locked up somewhere on his own.
"Taylor, he was dealing drugs to kids." Her mom said softly as she reached over and rested a calming hand on top of hers.
Taylor pulled her hand away. "So! He didn't make them buy anthing, did he?"
"Taylor!" Her grandpa warned.
She glared at him before pushing her plate away and turning back to Patricia. "You didn't answer my question. Did DJ get arrested?"
Her mom sighed. "Yes, he was arrested but ..."
"YA HAPPY NOW?" Taylor yelled across at Vicky who was now close to tears.
"I ..." Vicky wasn't sure how to answer that, but it didn't matter, Taylor was on her feet and out of the kitchen before she could say anything else.
As Taylor stormed up the stairs she could hear her mom following close behind, so this time she didn't even get the satisfaction of slamming the bedroom door.
"You were warned about your temper earlier."
From her seat on the bed Taylor glowered up at her, but said nothing.
"And you're not being fair to Vicky."
She couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Well Vicky wasn't fair to DJ!"
"Taylor he was going to end up hurting or killing someone, and Vicky didn't want it to be you."
"WHOOP DE FUCKIN' DO!" VICKY THE HERO! GIVE THE GIRL A MEDAL!" Taylor had no idea where that outburst came from, but the look of concern on her mom's face was instantly replaced by what could only be described as anger.
"That's it!" Where're your pyjamas?" Patricia demanded.
Realising she might have pushed her mom just a little too far, Taylor pointed at the top drawer.
Patricia didn't comment on the state of the clothes carelessly emptied into the drawer, she just handed the pyjamas to her daughter. "Go put them on, and brush your teeth too."
Even though it wasn't even seven thirty yet, the ominous glint in her mom's eyes stopped her arguing.
o
When a pyjama clad Taylor finally emerged from the bathroom her mom was waiting for her. "I know where my room is, you don't have to show me." She mumbled.
Patricia took a firm grip of Taylor's upper arm, but instead of being led back to her own room she found herself in her mom and dad's. Her mom started talking as she sat down on the double bed and pulled Taylor in front of her. "What did we talk about earlier?"
Taylor shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. She hated standing in this position. Not just because she usually ended up staring at the floor while someone heated up her backside, but it was also harder to avoid eye contact.
"My temper. But that's why I came up here. You're the one who followed me, remember!"
"I understand that you're worried about DJ, but you can't keep taking it out on Vicky. All she wanted to was to protect you."
That was something Taylor did not need to know. She pouted. "I don't want to talk about it anymore!"
"Well I want you to think about it. You need to think very carefully about where your loyalties lie. With DJ, who's nearly killed you on more than one occasion, or Vicky who only wanted to keep you safe.
Not gonna happen Taylor thought. "You done tryin' to make me feel guilty? Can I go now?" She tried to step away, but her mom wasn't going to let her get away that easily, and instead of storming off to her bedroom she found herself upside down.
"Not yet." Patricia replied as she held her struggling daughter firmly in place.
"What did I do?" Only Taylor could behave the way she had, and then ask that question.
"Well, there's your attitude for a start." She landed half a dozen smacks in quick succession.
Yelping, Taylor threw her hand back, in an attempt to stop any further swats making contact.
"Move your hand Taylor." Her mom warned.
Her pyjamas weren't exactly providing a lot in the way of protection, but she didn't want to lose them, so Taylor pulled her hand out of the way.
"There's also your language." Another six were delivered, just as fast as the first.
Then just as quickly Taylor was on her feet again. The swats had been hard enough to make her eyes water, but she wasn't crying.
"You can go to bed now."
Taylor turned to walk away, but her mom stopped her. "You can sleep in here tonight with me. I don't want to have to break up any fights in the middle of the night." She pulled back the quilt for her.
"Why do I have to ..." Noticing her mom's expression Taylor abandoned any thought of complaining. Her butt was already stinging, and from the looks of it her mom was prepared to add to it. "Fine." She climbed into bed. "I gotta warn you, sometimes I kick in my sleep."
Covering her up, Patricia leant down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, seemingly unconcerned by the thinly veiled threat. "I should warn you too then."
"About what?" Taylor asked curiously.
"Sometimes I spank in my sleep."