NCIS

Chapter 4

My Girl

"I understand, yes. Thank you." She hung up the phone and tossed it gently back to Abby from where she was seated at the desk.

"What was all that about?" Abby wondered her eyebrows rising.

"That was Agent Fornell, in order for me to be completely and officially out of the program I have to identify the body in his presence."

Abby grumbled. "I think that's ridiculous, you saw this guy die."

"That makes two of us. I only hope that Fornell doesn't stop by to see anybody on his way down here." She shuddered at the thought of the agent revealing her secret before she had the chance to.

"I don't think he will until you identify this guy Fornell will be causing trouble for himself if he blabs to anyone."

The brunette relaxed at Abby's words. "Yeah I guess you're right, if there is one thing Fornell is good at it is saving his own ass from getting into trouble but I also have to admit that he has gone to extra lengths to make sure I'm safe."

Abby smiled. "That's because he knows how much you mean to Gibbs."

She half smiled and looked down at her hands. "How are they?" She asked looking back up.

"Do you want the truth or the sugar coating?" Abby asked.

The green eyed twenty eight year old knew her answer without having to think about it. She was strong enough to hear it. "I want the truth." She nodded.

Abby sighed she knew that it was going to hurt but her friend asked for the truth and she was not about to lie to her to make her feel better she was not that person.

"Gibbs still feels like he failed, he will never admit that but I can see it every time I look in his eyes or catch him looking at your picture. It's the same way he has always felt about your mom and Kelly. We all know it was not his fault and he knows it too but that doesn't mean the guilt ever goes away." Abby told her sadly.

"What about Tim?"

"McGee is lonely despite all of the company we offer him. There are times when I see him struggling to keep his sanity and I do my best to keep his mind from wandering off into the memories he has of you but sometimes it just isn't enough. He's always going to see you as his second sister." Abby sighed.

She nodded at the reply and took a deep breath. "How is Tony?"

"Tony's love for you hasn't altered in any way but he flirts but he is still broken and staggering. It does get better though. All three of them watch out for each other and they keep each other sane. They don't talk about it, they won't but they take care of themselves by focusing on each other."

By the end of Abby's explanation both women's eyes began swimming with tears. She found comfort in the fact that they were all being taken care of by Abby who she trusted more than anyone and that they were also taking care of each other.

"I hate that they are still heartbroken but I'm grateful that you're looking out for them, there is no one I trust more for that job than you and of course Ducky." She told Abby.

"Ducky and I are just doing what we do best." Abby said with a smile.

The young woman laughed and got to her feet. Abby knew it was coming and opened her arms.

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"DiNozzo, McGee see where Ducky is at with the autopsy." Gibbs ordered the two agents as he entered the conference room. Without question they left him to start speaking with the witness closing the door on their way out.

"If you don't mind gentlemen I am going to have to ask you to wait outside while I conduct this interview." Gibbs was actually calm and kind in his request but he did not look at either of the men sitting beside the witness when he made it. Instead he looked at her.

"How long is this going to take Special Agent Gibbs?" The younger of the two men wondered a slight detection of irritability in his tone.

"Longer than it needs to if you don't let me do my job." Gibbs answered sternly yet quietly.

The younger man was about to tell Gibbs off or at least it looked that way but the elder man stopped him.

"That's not a problem Agent Gibbs we'll leave you to do what you need to do." He looked at his son in law in a way that almost matched the one that Gibbs gave Tony on occasion and they both got to their feet and exited the room together.

"Can I get you anything, water, a cup of coffee?" He asked her gently.

She shook her head keeping her eyes on the table. "No thanks, I'm fine."

"What's your name?"

She looked up at him finally and relaxed in her seat. "Brooke." She smiled weakly and Gibbs followed the gesture.

"That's my daughter's name too." He told her to make her more comfortable. He didn't have the heart to utter the word 'was'.

"How old is she?" She asked casually.

Gibbs smiled. "She turns twenty eight today, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty six." She responded.

Gibbs gave a small grin. "I'd like for you to tell me what you saw out there today."

She knew he was going to ask. She sighed and folded her hands on the table.

"I was taking a hike in the woods not far from where I live, it's what I always do on my days off this time was different."

"How was it different?"

"I saw that guy on the trail. He had a gun and I think he was looking for someone, he had it raised like he was ready to shoot you know? I didn't want to startle him so I hid because I wanted to see what was going on. That's when I saw her."

"What did she look like, did you get her name?" Gibbs asked carefully.

The girl named Brooke shook her head. "I didn't see her face but she had brown hair and she was wearing a purple shirt and jeans and she had this incredible wedding ring. I didn't get her name."

"What else did you see?"

"I think the guy was looking for her. She was hiding from him so maybe he found her in the park but she managed to get away. I don't know what happened before I got there. Anyway he didn't get a chance to find her. He had a heart attack or something."

"Then what happened?"

"That's when it got weird, well weirder. She waited until he was down and went to check his pulse. She took the gun then left. I tried to see her face but she was gone before I had the chance."

Gibbs stood up and walked over to the door which he opened for her. "Thank you for your cooperation, you're free to go home now."

The girl got to her feet. "Don't you need my information in case you have any more questions?"

"I think I have what I need but thank you for asking."

The twenty six year old smiled at him innocently and she left the room Gibbs stayed behind and closed the door.

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"Brooke." He brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He took the black square frame glasses which had slid off her face and placed them on the nightstand along with a book that was lying open across her chest.

She was still wearing her clothes from the day before and he took that to mean that she never intended to fall asleep. Beside her she had a pen and a notebook that appeared to have a variety of quotes that were either crossed out or had a number of notes jotted down in the margins next to them.

He sat at the edge of the bed with the Styrofoam cup in his hand. He placed his empty hand on the bed on the other side of her and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. When she didn't respond he tried something else.

"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside I've got the month of May. I guess you'd say what can make me feel this way, my girl, my girl, my girl, talking 'bout my girl." He sang to her softly to wake her, a trick he used when she often hit the snooze button on her alarm when she was a child which he later found out she did secretly so he would do the waking.

Her eyes fluttered open as the sound of his voice woke her.

"Dad," She sat up and flung her arms around his neck excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

Gibbs returned the hug then pulled back and kissed her cheek again. "Did you really think I was going to miss my little girl's graduation?" He smiled and handed her the coffee. She took it gratefully and sipped it.

"Oh no, what time is it, I have to shower and eat something, I still have to finish my speech, and pick up my dress from the store, and pick up Tim from his interview." She rambled off running a hand through her hair and looking around for her cell phone throwing back her sheets and searching under her pillows in the process.

"Hey take it easy." Gibbs stopped her by taking her by the shoulders. "I'll make you breakfast while you take a shower, your dress is already in the closet, and I arranged for your roommate to get picked up."

She sighed and took a deep breath. "Thank you, so I've been meaning to ask you, how is Jenny?" She asked with a wink.

Gibbs laughed. "Go take a shower Brooke, you're starting to smell." He got to his feet and headed for the door only to be clocked in the back of the head by a pillow.

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Ducky, what's the story with this guy?" Tony nodded at the table where the victim was, his chest cut open to reveal his organs.

"I've found nothing that suggests an unnatural cause of death here Tony, this man suffered from a heart attack." Ducky replied.

"There were no external injuries?" McGee wondered.

"None whatsoever which leads me to wonder what he was doing in the middle of the woods, I did however find traces of gunpowder on his right hand.

"Do you think he was hunting?" Tony asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's not likely Anthony, not in the clothes he was wearing anyway, no I'd venture a guess that he was after someone."

"We didn't find any bullets or a gun at the scene." Tony said moving closer to the body.

"Then I should say that this man was not alone." Ducky replied.

"Was there any gunpowder on the clothes?" McGee asked.

Ducky shrugged. "I suppose there was, I sent Mr. Palmer to bring it up to Abby."

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By the time they realized that someone was entering the lab it was too late but they relaxed when they saw that it was someone she never met before. He wore round glasses and medical scrubs and had the wide eyed innocence of a newbie. At the sight of him she leaned against the lab counter next to the computer.

"Palmer is that for me?" Abby asked excitedly about the box marked evidence in his hands.

He appeared not to have heard her having become captivated by the mysterious woman who was leaning provocatively on Abby's counter. She raised an eyebrow when the boy named Palmer didn't respond to Abby and instead continued to stare at her.

"Jimmy!"

He flinched and came back to reality and the pretty girl laughed.

"Uh Ducky wanted me to bring this to you." He said handing it to Abby. He then turned back to the woman who was in jeans and a dark purple blouse. "James Palmer, I'm Doctor Mallard's assistant, but you can call me Jimmy." He introduced himself and extended his right hand toward her.

"Hey Jimmy, I'm…Ziva. I'm Abby's new assistant." She replied with a smile hiding the lie from her eyes well.

"That's an unusual name."

The girl nodded. "I guess you could say that it is."

"Oh I'm sorry I uh, I didn't mean to imply that your name is weird I just never heard anything like it before, it's umm it's actually quite a nice, p-pretty name. I think that uh-"

"Palmer," Abby interrupted. "You can go now."

"Right of course I'll let you get back to work, n-nice meeting you Ziva."

"It was nice meeting you too Jimmy." She smiled and tried not to laugh when he almost ran into the wall on his way out. When he was gone she turned to Abby and giggled.

"Is he always like that?"

"You have no idea."

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"You think Gibbs is still interrogating the witness?" McGee asked as he and Tony entered the elevator together.

"Witnesses aren't interrogated Probie, they're questioned, interrogations are for suspects." Tony told him while he pushed the button to take them to Abby's lab.

"Actually Tony they are the same interrogation is questioning." McGee answered back.

"Not when you're Gibbs, Probie, not when you're Gibbs."

"What does that mean exactly?" McGee wondered his eyebrows drawing together.

Tony turned to him with a somewhat irritated look as though the answer to that should be obvious. "Have you seen Gibbs question a witness Probie?"

"Of course I have."

"Have you seen him interrogate a suspect?"

"Yes, last time he made the suspect wet his pants."

"I rest my case."

McGee paused to consider the facts and shrugged once he realized that Tony was making a valid point. In the world of Gibbs interrogations and questionings were two different things.

"Wow, take a look at that Probie." Tony was looking in the direction of the lab doors when McGee looked up after getting off the elevator he had to assume that Tony was of course referring to the figure of the woman who had her back to the door occupying the lab with Abby.

"Do you think she could be an assistant?"

Tony grinned. "I sure hope so I wouldn't mind seeing that every day."

"Could you be any more superficial Tony, you haven't even met her yet."

"You've both met her before." Gibbs' voice came from behind both of them and they both looked over their shoulders at him.

"I didn't hear you coming Boss." Tony smiled.

"I took the stairs."

Tony's forehead wrinkled but he shrugged it off and went back to noticing the possible assistant.

"What do you mean we met her before Boss?" McGee wondered.

Suddenly both of Gibbs' hands collided with the backs of the two agents' heads harder than ever before.

"Ouch what was that for Boss?" Tony asked rubbing the back of his head.

"That was for not recognizing your wife DiNozzo!"