It's coming down to nothing more than apathy
I'd rather run the other way than stay and see
the smoke and who's still standing when it clears…

The Fray – Over My Head (Cable Car)

Chapter XII – Demons of the Past?

"I think the dog was really cute but when he messed up the garage during the thunderstorm... I don´t know what I would have done to that dog." The redhead said and searched her purse for her keys. Jethro just nodded smiling and scooped the boy up. Brady fell asleep on their way back from the movie theatre where they watched `Marley & Me´. Finally the younger woman found her keys and wanted to unlock the door but it swung open before the key was in the keyhole. "Jonathan?"

"Get back into the car and lock the doors." The gray-haired man ordered and handed the sound asleep child over to the shorter woman. Caitlin just nodded and climbed back into the silver Volvo, she wasn´t sure if it was the right thing that Gibbs went into the house alone without any weapon, but she knew now wasn´t the time to argue.

"Mommy…?" The blond child mumbled after a while and blinked a few times before he looked around sleepily, recognizing that they were still sitting in the car. "Why are we here?"

"We have to wait here for a minute, just go back to sleep Emmett." The woman whispered and stared at the opened door which led into the kitchen of their current residence. The upcoming fear triggered a sickening feeling in her stomach and she glanced every now and then at the clock, only to see that a few seconds passed. The five-year-old in her lap on the other hand fell asleep again and just shifted into a more comfortable position. Five minutes -which felt like an eternity- later the gray-haired man walked towards the car.

"Nobody is inside, looks like it was just a normal housebreaking." Gibbs said in a hushed voice and just shrugged. Kate followed him back into the house and slowly the weird feeling in her gut disappeared. "I think we should report it, but it can wait until tomorrow. We close the garage door and lock the back door so nobody can get in."

"Yeah… We already eliminated some of the evidence which could be here and they have more important things to take car of on a Saturday night." The red-haired woman replied and watched the older man taking off Brady´s beanie, scarf, jacket and boots before they went upstairs. After the child was changed and sleeping blissfully in his bed the adults went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Jethro lit the fireplace and a moment later fire was slowly eating up the wood. When he was sitting next to the redhead she started speaking.

"Do you think this was Colonel Anderson or one of his myrmidons?" She asked and voiced what he had already considered.

"I don´t think so. This looks more like a dabbler." The gray-haired man answered and looked into her eyes, meeting a deeply concerned look. After all this housebreaking was what they were afraid of because it happened to the Carmichaels months ago and the two were killed. "A professional would have entered the house from the yard, he can´t be seen there. The garage was open it´s likely to get caught there."

"But what if it was Anderson or someone he hired and we don´t know it?" The redhead emphasized her question again and Gibbs waited a moment before he answered, contemplating if it was the right thing to say. Cooper told them to call when something happened, but it could as well bring the wrong results like being relocated again, just after they made a few friends and got used to living here in Vermont.

"You can always call James Cooper and ask for the status of their investigation, I think they kicked Tony and the others off." Gibbs replied and stared into the crackling fire. "Maybe they are already missing us."

"NCIS sure thing, I miss them too and I miss my family like hell, but the Marshals? I don´t think so, but I´m really looking forward to their call." Caitlin said and couldn´t help but smile at the thought of Cooper and Thomas missing them. "I´m wondering if they call us anytime soon that the case is closed and we can come back. We´re here for nine months now after all…"

"Yeah… But you know how it goes when someone submerges. I think Anderson is good, he had to find the right people who paid well and act like a loyal Marine at the same time." Gibbs explained and the brunette nodded. He was right if a man didn´t want to be found it was likely that they couldn´t find him.

"Maybe you are right and it was a dabbler. Tomorrow we call the police and see what they find we can always call Cooper later." The redhead said and snuggled closer to the silver-haired man. He laid his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Next month is Christmas…"

"Yup…" Gibbs said curtly and went on after a moment. "I think we should celebrate, try to have normal holidays for Brady… And ourselves."

"That would be the best I guess." Caitlin agreed and sighed. She didn´t even want to think about her family´s Christmas this year. Every year the Todd-clan gathered at their house in Indiana and it was always fun, she knew this year they would grieve though her `death´ was nine months ago but still. The former brunette was the youngest sibling and her parents were proud that they could tell all their neighbors that their little Lynn protected the president.

"What´s wrong Katie?"

"I don´t know… It will be the first year I´m not up in Indiana celebrating with my whole family. The last time I saw them was on the last holidays and I know they will be grieving on Christmas. I just don´t want them to have such a bad Christmas…" She explained and Jethro tightened his embrace. He couldn´t exactly understand what she was going through but he knew she had been always close to her parents and siblings. They obviously meant a lot to her and he could only guess how much it hurt her.

"I´m sure we´ll have a nice Christmas too and maybe you can go to Indiana next year." The silver haired man said, but didn´t really know if it helped her.

"Yeah I hope so… I´m tired, I´ll go upstairs." She said after a while of silence and the older man extinguished the fire before he went upstairs as well. His red-haired companion was already asleep and tried to lie down beside her without waking the sleeping woman up.

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