Chapter Six: One Piece of the Puzzle
Gregory Pruitt couldn't believe his luck. In the last week he'd seen his picture on the 5:00 news reporting he was wanted for child abandonment, lost over $2,800 gambling online, lost his home and his girlfriend, been picked up for buying pot from an undercover Metro cop and now he was sitting in the dimly lit interrogation room of some government agency he'd never heard of before.
He had no idea what time it was or how long he'd been in the small room. He'd spent a few hours at DC Metro after they'd arrested him shortly before 2:00 in the morning then he was shuttled over to NCIS. He'd been offered breakfast so he was assuming it was after 6:00 but he couldn't be sure. He wondered how long he'd be kept waiting. Surely they couldn't hold him for trying to buy a small amount of pot and Lisa had been the one who'd chosen to abandon her kids. He hadn't had any part in that decision.
Gregory bounced his leg and tapped his fingers on the table before standing and walking over to the mirror. He peered through the glass, trying to see through to the other side even though he knew he'd never be able to.
Tony stared their suspect right in the eye from the other side of the glass, knowing the guy couldn't see him. He didn't look like a bad guy, per say. His beard was a little overgrown. A shave probably would've made him look several years younger but he didn't look or act scary. He wasn't overweight and had the classic blonde hair, blue eyes combination that a lot of ladies seemed to go for.
The door to the observation room opened behind him and Tony didn't need to turn around to know Gibbs was standing behind him.
"He declined breakfast," Tony said softly. "He's starting to get antsy but he seems more annoyed or maybe frustrated than worried. I'm not sure how much he's gonna be able to tell us."
"I'd be happy if he could just tell us where Lisa is," Gibbs said. He didn't have much leverage to use to get the man to talk. Pruitt was only looking at a fine and up to twelve months in jail for the child abandonment charges but it'd be difficult to get it to stick. He wasn't related to the children and technically Lisa was the one who'd dropped LJ off at the main gate, Mason off at daycare and left Sadie in the hospital. When all was said and done he'd probably just end up with a fine for the small amount of pot he'd purchased.
Gibbs made his way to the room on the other side of the glass while Tony continued watching.
"Finally," Pruitt said. He sounded more relieved than disrespectful which caught Gibbs' attention.
"Do you know why you're here?" Gibbs asked as he sat down.
"Yeah, I tried to buy pot from an undercover cop," Pruitt grumbled. "I'm a dumbass. Gimme a ticket, I'll pay the fine and we can all go home."
Gibbs pulled Lisa's DMV photo out of the folder he'd brought in with him and laid it on the table in front of Gregory.
"That's Lisa… Lisa Keenan," Pruitt said. "She was my girlfriend."
"Was?" Gibbs asked.
"We parted ways yesterday," Pruitt explained. He didn't sound at all happy about what had happened. "After we dropped the kids off, we sold our car to a dealership. The plan was to use the money we got from the car to go to Vegas but Lisa decided she didn't want to go."
"Where is Lisa?" Gibbs asked.
"Dunno," Pruitt answered. "We went our separate ways yesterday morning after she told me she wasn't leaving town and I haven't seen her since."
"Where'd you see her last?"
"At the soup kitchen on Oak and 18th Avenue. We had breakfast."
"Why leave town?" Gibbs asked.
Pruitt shrugged. "We knew we couldn't go home after we left the kids and we knew the cops would be looking for our car. We just decided to start over and since gambling's kind of a hobby of mine and Vegas is known for its casinos we decided to head west."
"Why did you guys abandon the kids?" Gibbs asked with narrowed eyes.
"That was all Lisa's idea, man. I had nothing to do with it. Look, I know I shouldn'ta gone along with it but she left them somewhere safe so I didn't say anything. I mean, what was I gonna do, call one police station and say she left her kid at some military police station?"
Gibbs had no idea how Pruitt could mistake a tiny guard shack for a police station but he decided not to argue with the guy. He knew he wasn't going to get any useful information out of him and he had other things he needed to do. He tucked the papers back into the folder then stood and left without another word.
Tony stepped out into the hall to talk to him. "You believe his story?"
"Mm-hmm," Gibbs grunted.
"I do too," Tony said. "Want me to get Ziva and go check out the soup kitchen?"
"Have Ziva get Dorneget and take Pruitt back over to Metro," Gibbs said. "You and I will check out the soup kitchen."
Tim and Jimmy stared at the little ones gathered around the dining room table eating dry cheerios and cut up bananas. Gibbs had called them early that morning and asked them to babysit while he dealt with Pruitt and they'd jumped at the chance. When they'd arrived that morning, the kids were sitting on the couch, staring at the cartoons on TV like little zombies but it wasn't long before the zombies woke up and not only were they quick on their feet, they each had their own agenda. Between changing dirty diapers, running up and down the stairs multiple times to fill requests for books and toys and trying to keep all the kids corralled in the same room, Tim and Jimmy were ready for a nap and it wasn't even 9:00 yet.
"There's only three of them," Jimmy said. "It's three against two."
"Technically it's four against two if you count Dash," Tim said.
"Mmm, I'm pretty sure Dash is on our side."
The dog pranced into the dining room with his bowl in his mouth, sat down in front of the two men and started whining. Tim took the dog's bowl and headed into the kitchen to fill it. Not long after he returned, LJ decided he was finished eating and started banging his bowl against the table.
"Uh-oh," he said as he watched the cheerios scatter everywhere.
Mason giggled at the mess while Sadie did her best to keep the cheerios from rolling onto the floor. Dash took a break from his breakfast to clean up the cheerios on the floor while Tim and Jimmy got the table cleaned up.
"Told you Dash was on our side," Jimmy said.
"So it's three against three," Tim said. "We might have a chance."
"As long as we have them fed and dressed by the time Agent Gibbs gets home, I'll be happy," Jimmy said. "I don't wanna look like a complete idiot. Did he say when he'd be back?"
"He said he had an errand to run after he interrogated Pruitt," Tim said. "He'll be home sometime after that."
Once LJ's mess had been cleaned up, Jimmy took him upstairs to get him dressed while Tim stayed downstairs with Mason and Sadie so they could finish eating. The longer Jimmy and LJ were gone, the more worried Tim was getting. How long did it take to change a little kid? When Mason and Sadie were finished eating, Tim took them upstairs to get them changed and to check on Jimmy and LJ.
"Everything okay up here, Palmer?"
"Yeah, sorry, I didn't abandon you!" Jimmy said. He was sloppily folding shirts and shoving them into the bookcase by LJ's bed that was acting as a makeshift dresser. "I made the mistake of telling LJ to pick out a shirt and he had to look at all of them before he could choose."
"Well now I know what not to do," Tim said with a laugh.
They worked together to get Mason and Sadie dressed and finish cleaning up LJ's clothes. The kids scattered out and grabbed what few toys were left in their room while Tim and Jimmy took a moment to catch their breath. However, their break didn't last long before the boys started jumping on their beds.
"Aren't you guys ready for a nap?" Tim asked.
After shaking hands with the slightly older, redheaded lawyer, Gibbs sat down in the fancy chair in front of her ridiculously large desk. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice," he said as he smoothed out his sport jacket.
"Any friend of D'Arcy's is a friend of mine," Audrey Lake said. "You came highly recommended."
"So did you," Gibbs said with a friendly smile.
Audrey's services were in such high demand that she could no longer take on everyone as a client but D'Arcy had set up a meeting between the very successful lawyer and Gibbs. Audrey was the best lawyer in the DC area and Gibbs insisted on having the best.
"I've looked over the files D'Arcy sent me and the police reports your office sent over," Audrey said. "Your case is a slam dunk, Agent Gibbs. We'll write up a custody plan and file for temporary custody first thing tomorrow morning. You will need to be present but it'll take less than a half an hour."
"Do I need to bring the kids?"
"No."
"Alright, what's next?"
"Once we have the temporary custody order in place we'll work on getting you permanent custody," Audrey answered. "With their mother's pending charges, she really has no leverage to fight us."
Gibbs liked the lawyer's confidence but he really hoped she could deliver. It may be just another case to her but everything was on the line for him. These were his kids they were talking about and he would do anything necessary to keep them with him. "What do you need from me?"
"We need to write up a custody plan and prep you for tomorrow. Let's get started."
After spending the morning interrogating Pruitt, making what turned out to be a pointless trip to the soup kitchen (the volunteers there saw so many people on a daily basis, they didn't even remember the couple), and talking to his lawyer, Gibbs was looking forward to being home. There was a lot that needed to be done: clear out the third bedroom upstairs so he could get the kids into separate rooms, figure out if he wanted to hire a nanny or put the kids in daycare while he was at work, install cupboard and drawer locks, dig some of Kelly's books and toys out of the attic so the kids would have more to play with, figure out something for dinner and, most importantly, hug and kiss his kids.
When he got home, Tim and Jimmy had already fed the kids lunch and were just finishing getting them washed up.
"Look, guys, Daddy's home!" Jimmy said as all three kids charged Gibbs.
Tim shot a nervous glance at Jimmy before looking back at Gibbs but Gibbs seemed to be too busy passing out hugs and kisses to care about the 'daddy' remark.
"How were they?"
"Busy," Tim answered. "We got them nice and tired for their nap."
"Thank you," Gibbs said.
"No problem. Did you want us to stay and help you get them down for their naps?" Tim asked.
"I think I can handle it," Gibbs said.
He and the kids said goodbye to Tim and Jimmy then they headed upstairs. Gibbs tucked the kids into bed and gave them each a kiss. After kissing LJ, before he could leave, the little boy grabbed onto his finger and stopped him from going.
"What's up, kiddo?" Gibbs asked quietly as he knelt next to his son's bed.
"Daddy?" LJ asked. He'd heard Jimmy's 'daddy' comment earlier and he was curious.
Gibbs sat down on the floor and brushed his fingers through his son's hair. The kids were just starting to speak in decipherable sentences and Gibbs was still learning to decipher them. He was assuming LJ was asking him if he was daddy. He'd known the question was coming and was excited for the kids to start calling him daddy but he hadn't expected it so soon and didn't want to force them into anything. He knew why he hadn't been around for the first two years of their lives but they didn't know and there really wasn't an easy way to explain it to them. He also wasn't going to lie to them. "I'm daddy," he said, "and I'm so glad I found you guys."
LJ climbed out of his bed and crawled into his daddy's lap. He made himself comfortable then stared up at Gibbs for a moment before reaching out and touching his face. Gibbs smiled down at the boy and LJ smiled back. He wondered briefly if the kids could feel the same connection to him as he felt to them. He held his boy tightly against his chest and kissed his cheek.
"Close your eyes, little man," he whispered. He had things to do, some of which needed to be accomplished while his little ones slept, but his most pressing task at the moment was bonding with his son.
Jackson Gibbs watched out the window of the train as the vast countryside and beautiful landscapes turned into big buildings and familiar landmarks that told him he'd reached his destination. He'd enjoyed the time to gather his thoughts while he finished the crossword puzzle from the previous Sunday's newspaper. He was still in shock over the news his son had delivered and hoped his visit wouldn't be seen as an intrusion.
The train came to a stop and the conductor welcomed everyone to the nation's capitol. Jack retrieved his bags and waited his turn to get off the train. He was immediately greeted by an overly excited Goth welcoming him with a bone crushing hug.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Abby squealed.
"Any excuse to see you," Jack said.
"Charming, as always," Abby commented, "but you're here to see your grandkids, not me."
"I'm here to spend time with all of you," Jack said as they headed for the exit. Gibbs' team had become family to him after the case that had taken them to Stillwater. Jack loved them as much as Gibbs did but had a much different way of showing it. "How is he? How's my son handling all this?"
"He's a little frazzled which is weird because we never see him like that but he's Gibbs. He can handle anything that's thrown at him. He's like a superhero!"
Jack smiled at Abby's assessment. He loved the way her mind worked.
They spent the drive to Gibbs' house catching up on each other's lives and doing a little gossiping. The two spoke on the phone often but never ran out of things to talk about. Abby parked in Gibbs' driveway then helped Jack get his bags out of her trunk.
"Say hi to Gibbs for me," Abby said with a smile.
"You're not coming in?" Jack asked. "What did he do? I may be older but I can still take him down if I need to."
"He didn't do anything," Abby answered with a giggle. "We're trying to give him some time to bond with the kids. We don't want to get in the way of them getting to know their daddy." It was difficult to stay away, especially when she wasn't getting frequent visits all day long but they felt like they were doing the right thing.
"I'm sure Leroy appreciates that," Jack said, making a mental note to plan a get together. "Thanks for the ride, darlin'."
"Anything for you, Jack. You guys call if you need anything."
"We will."
Jack gave her a hug and kissed her cheek then Abby got back in her car and disappeared down the street while Jack headed into the house. He put his bags down in the entryway before stepping into the living room where Gibbs was sitting on the floor, surrounded by the kids.
"Hi Leroy."