FREEZE FRAME 4: Dead Man Talking
SUMMARY: –A dead Marine, a burned out car, a poker chip, a trophy bullet, a cold case, a bunch of lies and a broken promise. What do these things have in common, and how will these threaten Marley's new life with Gibbs and Gill?
Fourth in the Freeze Frame series.
DISCLAIMERS: I do not own NCIS.
Previously:
Gibbs returned to head the investigation into Patrick Devlin's death. Tony interviewed the Semper Fi gang to discover they not only knew a lot of military terms, but had collected evidence from the crime scene over a year ago, including another bullet from the victim's gun. Marley had discovered a connection to Patrick Devlin and her Uncle Nic: the poker chips. She had one of the gang retrieve them and bring them to her. Meanwhile, Gibbs contacted Mike Franks, who had investigated the cold case over 13 years ago. He arranged a phone interview with the missing witness, Nic Hanson.
The evidence and clues so far…
Patrick Devlin did not commit suicide. He died from blunt force trauma to his skull.
Two bullets were missing from his gun, one retrieved from his post mortem head wound and the other found by the Semper Fi gang.
Poker chips, belonging to either Patrick or one of the poker team, were found at the crime scene. Nic Hanson was one of the team and one of the last to see Patrick alive.
Patrick Devlin worked in linguistics on classified cases involving pre 9/11 terrorist movements.
Patrick Devlin's DNA was cross referenced to an assault and suspected rape case that was dropped some 13 years before.
Patrick Devlin had a very sophisticated cell phone that was not available on the commercial market in 1998.
Patrick Devlin's missing person investigation was suspended and archived as classified by Military Intelligence.
Did I forget anything?
A.N. 1998 – 1999 NCIS Time lines suggests that Mike Franks retired somewhere in 1996 – 1998. ( for the purposes of this story I'm saying 1998)
Gibbs is working a variety of uncover operations, including one with Jenny Shepard in Paris. Gibbs gets married for the second time, and Ducky has just joined NCIS.
Chapter 5
Conduct Unbecoming
FREEZE FRAME: Cut to Extreme Close Up of Marley's face. She is asleep in the foetal position with her head resting on her folded arms. Convert Black and white. CUT.
Fade into Abby's Lab. Long shot of Gibbs and Ducky in profile standing in front of Abby's large screen. Nic Hanson can be seen on the screen. Ducky and Gibbs have turned to catch Marley eavesdropping at the door.
Marley jumped in fright as Gibbs bellowed. The box she was holding spilled its contents into the air. By the time Abby got to her and had her in a bear hug, the raining shrapnel of poker chips had settled at their feet. Marley wondered about Abby's clinginess to her. This was the second massive hug she'd received from her that day. Perhaps it was because she sensed the trouble she was going to be in with Gibbs. Withholding evidence and eavesdropping was a pretty dire crime. But until her uncle's face had appeared on the screen, she couldn't be sure he even knew Patrick Devlin or had anything to do with him. The fact that they had the same specialized poker chips could merely be a coincidence… No such luck, she had learned that rule early on… and of course this was Marley Rose Hanson, now Riggs, and nothing ever was simple in her universe.
"Marley, NOW!" Gibbs bellowed again. "Abby, let her go. Gather up those poker chips and log them in as evidence," he said, never taking his annoyed and firm gaze off Marley. Though, it was hard to be angry at her, especially when she had neared jumped out of her skin with such a humorous stunned look on her face. The kid just had her uncle's six, and that was always impressive in his book, even if she did break a few rules. The facts weren't clear yet, but Gibbs was pretty sure there were more shocks for the kid to come. He didn't know how he was going to handle that, so for now he did what he did best; investigate the case.
Marley swallowed the lump in her throat and moved to stand next to Gibbs in front of the computer screen. She avoided the computer screen and instead, red faced she looked up at Gibbs.
"You gonna say hi to your uncle?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face.
Marley appreciated the reprieve. She knew Gibbs wasn't going to let it go. But for now, she saw as she read his eyes, that he understood her motives and cared enough to let her into the loop. A lone tear stung her eye, and she quickly wiped it away. "Yes, please," she answered, before smiling and facing the screen. She gave a small wave. "Hey, Uncle Nic. You look good. I like the beard. Are you coming home soon?"
"Hey back, Marley moo. You look great, too. I'm going to try and get home in another couple of months, if everything goes to plan," said Nic.
"It could be sooner," said Gibbs, a knowing and uncomfortable resolve expressed in his demeanor.
Nic nodded. "I understand, Gibbs, and I'll do everything I can to assist you here. Franks has my statement. But, if I've missed anything or you come up with any evidence you need more details on, just let Mike know. We can make contact again."
"Uncle Nic, I found… "
Gibbs coughed.
"I mean, I took your poker chips. I had them here. I remembered seeing them when we packed up the apartment. I remember playing with them when I was little."
"Abby's logging them as evidence," said Gibbs.
"Evidence?"
"Yes, Patrick Devlin had one of the chips on him at the scene."
"Oh? Hmm, none of us took our chips home that night, Gibbs. We all had our own set. They have stamp marks on the rims. My set had stars, and Patrick's had stripes."
"Can you remember what stamps the others had?"
"Think so. Riker had squares, Phelan had dots, Monahan had pyramids, Ramirez had… crosses or did Fitzpatrick… I can't remember them all Gibbs, sorry. Good thinking, handing mine in like that Marls. You'll make an investigator yet".
"She hadn't," stated Gibbs.
Marley mumbled into her chin, "I hadn't handed them." She sprang to her feet, and quickly turned back and forth between her uncle's face on the large screen and Gibbs, who was standing next to her."But I was gonna, honest…"
"Marley! You shouldn't have touched them, then. You should have told Gibbs about them. I trust Gibbs, Marley; otherwise I wouldn't have named him your guardian. Sorry, Gibbs, I hope…"
"Hey, she had your six, Nic, that's all. But we will address it later tonight. I'd like to keep going with the statement for now."
"I was going to give them to you, Gibbs, honest. I guess I just wanted to make sure they were the same, you know get Abby to do some tests. I wasn't sure Uncle Nic even knew this Patrick guy." She turned to the screen. "How come you never talked about this guy, Uncle Nic? You talked about other friends, but not Patrick."
"Marley, that wasn't my decision. There is a lot I have to tell you." Nic looked at Gibbs as he continued to talk to Marley. "But not right now. I've got tell Gibbs everything about Patrick and the fellas first, so… Is there somewhere she can go while we talk, Gibbs?"
"Abby," called Gibbs.
Abby looked up from her magnifying screens. "Yeah, Gibbs?"
"Take Marley into your office, close the doors."
"Marley, go and wait there. I will talk with you again at the end of this interview with Gibbs," promised Nic.
"But what if your time runs out?" frowned Marley.
Nic leaned close to the screen, giving the illusion of reducing the distance, and getting as close as he could to the small trusting face that looked into his soul. "I'll tell you everything I know, Marley. I don't care how long it takes. Okay now, get going."
Gibbs turned Marley around and sent her into Abby's out stretched hand with a half-hearted smack to her backside. "And no eavesdropping," he mocked scolded.
Once in Abby's office Marley plopped down on the desk chair and swivelled nervously as the large class doors closed and her world went silent.
" Abby has discovered Patrick's DNA is connected to an suspected assault case over thirteen years ago…" started Gibbs.
"We also have Marley's DNA in our records from Rose's case files. The pointers indicate a 99% probability that Patrick Devlin was Marley's biological father," explained Ducky.
"What's the story?" Gibbs simply asked.
Nic continued as soon as Gibbs gave him the nod. "Early January 1998 I got a call from MedStar emergency. Rose had been found disorientated and wandering in Georgetown. They medical staff knew us there. Mum was two months into her chemo treatment. They were concerned Rose had been attacked, but they were having trouble treating her. They finally got a rape kit done, took some DNA, but that was about it. No charges were ever brought, and no official report was ever made to the police, because Rose couldn't recall much of what had happened that night. Rose had been diagnosed with Bi Polar six months before, and we had tried several different medications to control the varying episodes. Two months after that she found out she was pregnant. The doctors believed the array of drugs they were medicating Rose for her Bi Polar negated the contraception pill they had given her the night of the attack. Rose wasn't going to have any part of a termination, and mom was a devout catholic. How could we watch someone like her grasp every essence of the life she had and then so frivolously discard a new life now. Those were Rose's words. That's how it was for all us, anyway. Fact was, it was Rose's decision, and she wanted the baby. When mom found out, she was elated. It gave her a goal; to see the birth of her first grandchild. None of us were going to deny her that."
"Nobody's judging, Nic," said Ducky.
"Well, I was. I needed to find out who the father was. I was going to confront the bastard who took advantage of Rose. For all I knew, she was raped. I didn't want her dealing with that. I got a nurse to let me have a look at her medical records. Long story, short; Patrick was named the father. Just because there were no charges brought, that didn't mean I was just going to let it blow over. I was determined to find out the truth. If he had done anything I was going to bring charges, or at least report him to his superiors and the ethics division for conduct unbecoming. It may seem old fashioned, but that expectation is still part of the code of conduct."
"How did Rose take that news? Did it jog her memory of the night of the attack?" Ducky asked.
Gibbs demeanour remained stoic. He had suspected the scenario, and while he could sympathize with the family's plight, his gut told him one thing: he needed facts. As usual, this case was anything but simple.
Abby listened intently, quiet- except for the murmurs and sighs of her emersion in the story and her empathic nature.
"I didn't tell her right away. I wanted to know more from Pat. He had been my friend, we were all friends. They all knew Rosie. Their families were my family, my family theirs. I arranged to meet him at the game. To talk in private, but like I said, the guys were in the next room. I couldn't count on my temper getting to me. It was hard. I nearly punched him when he first got there. The guys didn't know what was going on, but they figured it was pretty big. I told Pat about Rose's condition and about the results. He honestly looked surprised, but he never denied it. He swore it was consensual. I'd known he'd had a bit of a crush on Rose in the early days of boot camp, but I never took it seriously. He hadn't either in the end; said Rose was a little hot and cold with him. That was her Bi Polar, but he didn't know about that. She was just newly diagnosed, and we kept in the family. Pat said they had met one night at the 'Island', and one thing lead to another. He swore he dropped her off at home at around one a.m. Rose must have had some kind of episode and then gone off somewhere again and ended up in the emergency room. I believed him, Gibbs. I still wanted to punch him out, but in truth, I believed him."
"So you didn't hit him?" asked Gibbs.
"Not then. Pat said he would stand by her. He didn't want to marry her. He said while he had once thought he loved her, he was pretty sure Rose didn't really love him. He'd moved on and was engaged to Arielle. Even though it was almost an arranged marriage with Patrick's father's business partner, he'd actually grown to love her. He was going to have to sort things out there, as he didn't want to start of a marriage with deceit. Bottom line was, he would support Rose in whatever she wanted to do. If she wanted him to pay for a termination, then he would. That's when I punched him in the jaw."
"He get up?" Gibbs spat.
"Yeah, with a little help from the guys. They came running in and held me back. We moved into the other room. I tossed the guys off and grabbed Pat again, this time by the collar, and slammed him back against the card table. Cards, poker chips, and drinks flew everywhere. The guys pulled me off again. He was asking me to let him explain while the guys were trying to calm me down."
Pan into Close–up of Nic's face and angry expression, then cross fade diffused black and white image of a younger Nic. Pan out to into mid shot of an apartment living room; Flashback
"She doesn't want an abortion you insensitive moron," screamed Nic.
"That's fine, Nic. I don't want her to have one. It's not that I want to forget it happened, but if that what Rose wants, then I won't stop her. I'm trying to say I believe it's her decision, and I will be there for her whatever that decision is."
"But you won't marry her? You did wrong by Arielle and Rose, Pat," growled Nic jabbing his finger towards Patrick Devlin's chest, while the boys held him back.
"Let him talk Nic," snapped Riker.
"You're right; I should have been more responsible. But, Nic, I was having second thoughts about Arielle at that time, and Rose was there. We have always had a bond. We shared a couple of drinks, and well, it happened. I'm sorry, and I'm not proud of it. But more to the point, Rose doesn't love me. If she did, she would know that I'm the father of the child… there would have been no one else or was…"
"Don't say it, Pat, don't say it. I'll wring your scrawny neck if you say it or even think it. There's been nobody else."
"What do you want me to do, Nic? More importantly, what does Rose want me to do? I'll do it."
"You need to see Rosie, you need to tell her that. But if you're not going to be around for her, don't tell her anything. It's your call. Once you make it, stick by it, and if you choose not to be around then let it be forever. If I see your face, I'm telling you I'll…"
"I'll meet up with her, Nic. I promise. I've got to tell Arielle first… it's only fair. That should tell you I'm sincere. There'll be no lies to Arielle or Rose. I promise. Tomorrow, before my engagement party on the weekend, please let me try to make it right."
"You've got 48 hours, Pat," threatened Nic.
End flashback XCU of Nic's face burn in into color morph features to aged XCU of Nic face
"He never showed," stated Nic.
"Did you two leave together?" asked Gibbs.
"No, Pat left first. The guys gave me a quick shot of booze to calm my nerves. I was due back at the hospital, Gibbs, so I took off. Mom was in a sterile room. We had to gown up, sign in and sign out. Franks has the sign out and sign in sheets from the hospital for that night. I don't know what sort of time frame you have."
"A pretty tight one." Gibbs glared back at the screen. "The poker chips . . . so you think Patrick ended up with the poker chip from the scuffle that night?"
"Seems the only answer," mused Nic. "We didn't split the chips up until month or so later. The team broke up about six months after that; we were all too busy. We claimed our chips and went. Two of mine were missing, and one of Fitzgerald's, but everybody else's was there. I think Monahan sent Pat's to his parents, with some photographs and a couple of the trophies we'd won."
Gibbs nodded, making a mental note to re-interview everyone. He was interested why they chose to cover up Nic's presence that night. But then, things didn't look good for Nic. He definitely had motive. "Abby, what markings does the poker chip you found on Devlin have?"
Abby chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm not a hundred present sure, Gibbs. I mean, I need to do some overlays, make sure the marks were made by the same machine. Somebody could have altered any one of those markings. It shouldn't take long, maybe in a couple of hours I could have a definite …"
"Abby?"
Abby pouted… "Stars, Gibbs."
"Well, that doesn't look good for me," said Nic.
"Nope. The time frames are going to be important. We'll interview the others there that night. Is there anyone else you believe had motive to kill Patrick Devlin?"
Nic rubbed the side of his temples. "No, not really, not in that circle anyway. I don't know if Pat ever told Arielle, but I hardly thing she was capable of killing him. She was pretty smitten, and only weighed about ninety pounds."
"What about Rose, did Patrick Devlin contact her?"
"She never mentioned it, Gibbs. We talked about it, much later, just before Marley was born. I tried to tell her what I knew; that Pat hadn't attacked her. She really didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. I think she was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't push it. Patrick hadn't shown up. We knew he was reported missing, but there hadn't been any news. Rose said she'd tell Marley when the time came, but…"
"So you can't say whether Rose actually met up with him. Did you tell anybody else?"
Nic hesitated.
"Who else knew, Nic? You've protected Rose all these years, who else, Nic?"
"Dad… Dad knew. He was as angry as me at first. I explained the situation when I got back to the hospital, but he stormed off. He came back two hours later, a little calmer"
Nic dry scrubbed his face again. "I'm supposed to be a dead man, Gibbs. This is a real mess I know, but I can't believe either one had anything to do with Pat's disappearance."
Gibbs stared hard at the man in front of him. "Patrick's dead too, and was killed most likely within twenty four hours of your meeting."
"A hairline fracture to Patricks jaw was evident. It was minor, but the fact that it was still there indicates that he was most likely killed within twenty four hours of you altercation with the boy," articulated Ducky.
Gibbs held up his hand, not wanting Ducky to give out any more information, before he got answers. " So why keep it quiet at the time?"
"Yes, I know that now. It looks bad. I kept it quiet because it looked just as bad then, because Rose was sick, because mom was dying and dad was a mess trying to hold us all together. My gut told me something different. Franks caught up with me after the case was classified and archived. I told him everything then. Pat was also involved in some really heavy shit with the linguistics team. I know because that's when I had my first covert in the Philippines: Operation Bojinka plotter and the "second wave." Pat had translated a lot of the files that had come through Singapore. The case ended up classified. Franks believes it might have been a hit from a terrorist cell. We thought he may have been put into witness protection or worse, a sanctioned hit one from one of our agencies. We were sure there were leaks everywhere. That's why those guys got away with so much in 2001, and we kept getting false Intel. I'd hate to think Pat had anything to do with those leaks. Franks has some more on that in his report."
Franks appeared on the screen. "I've sent them to Abby, Probie, that's all I have. You know me. I was supposed to have retired, but then when you took off to Paris that year with Jenny, I kept a few private files on my own. You know where I keep those. I was sure there was a cover up. They were too quick to classify it and lock us out. I kept Nic's identity to myself. I was happy with all the alibis, including Nic's. Then all hell broke loose in 2001 and..."
Gibbs cut him off, "There supporting information in those files, other leads, Mike?"
"Yep."
"So you knew Nicolas Hanson all this time?" asked Ducky.
"Yep, though more of him; I hadn't seen him since 1999, but followed his career. When Gibbs contacted me, I remembered. I remembered the family. They were a good family. You know that, Gibbs."
Gibbs nodded to Franks. "I'll find out who killed him, Mike."
"I have no doubt, Probie, you'll finish something I couldn't. Now we better let the man here speak with the little bit of a thing. We've gone over time, as it is. I'm gonna take a look see, then cut the interview off."
Nic returned to the screen, while Gibbs went to get Marley.
Marley had been watching the body language of the figures that stood in front of the image of her Uncle Nic. She could see Abby chewing on her bottom lip, throwing glances of sympathy her direction every now and again. Ducky seemed to watch the faces of both Nic and Gibbs, like he was reading between the lines, looking for lies or conclusions. He didn't seem perturbed, but elegant, his demeanour exuding professionalism. Gibbs's back was to Marley most of the time, but she could tell he had his bull dog interrogation face on. He was listening more than talking, listening to every word, every inflection and running the images and scenarios in his head, making summations and creating questions ready to be asked. It was Uncle Nic who was doing all the talking. At times he looked angry. At others he looked sad or hesitant and worried. All Marley cared about, though, was that Gibbs believed her uncle was innocent and not responsible for the death of his friend. Her heart held hope when she saw Gibbs coming towards her with a small smile, but big caring eyes.
Gibbs hit the security button on the office door, and crooked his finger calling Marley to him. "Your turn," he smirked.
Marley jumped up and ran towards him. "Uncle Nic didn't do anything, Gibbs, right? I can ask him. Uncle Nic's never lied to me, you'll see. You can believe him, Gibbs."
"Hey! Let me do the investigating here," said Gibbs as he ruffled her hair.
"But you…" frowned Marley.
"I believe him, Marley, but there is still a lot of work to do. You just let me worry about all that. Got it?"
"But, I . . . ."
"Marley, you're wasting valuable time with your uncle."
"Oh, right." Marley's eyes lit up, and she took off to the screen. "Uncle Nic, I'm back."
'Marley, get a chair, baby. I've some real important stuff to tell you."
Marley looked worried as Gibbs grabbed one of Abby's high stools and lifted her up onto it. He then turned to Abby. "Abbs, go work with Tim on Devlin's phone records. Ducky…"
"I'll wait just over here, Jethro," said Ducky as he moved to the door way but kept his eyes on Marley. Gibbs nodded and went to leave Marley and give her a little privacy with her Uncle, but before he could move away Marley grabbed his hand.
"Please… Dad?" she asked wanting him to stay.
Gibbs squeezed back and stood quietly beside her as Nic told Marley that Patrick Devlin was her father.
Marley stayed quiet, barely reacting to the news other than an occasional tug at Gibbs hand and a slight twitch in her eyes as she held back tears. Tears threatened to spill at the news that the man her mother had alternately believed had abandoned them or would return one day and try to take her away, were now unfounded. While Nic did not go into any great details, he explained his reasoning for not telling Marley and defended Rose's right to make that call. There would come a time, when she was older, for all the intricate reasons and details. But what was important now was that Marley believe that her father wanted to be part of her life. That he would have been proud of his child.
Marley nodded, but still did not speak. Ducky watched her closely from the door, concerned at the façade of neutrality she was projecting. Gibbs and Nic were also very conscious of it.
Nic finished with his explanation of things and waited for Marley to say something. When no questions came, he frowned and asked, "What's going on in that head of yours, kid."
"Nothing," said Marley.
"I don't believe that," said Nic.
Gibbs squeezed her hand and gave her a poignant glare, trying to encourage her to at least speak her mind. "I'm sad, okay. Sad for Rosie, but not for me…m…Makes no difference to me."
"It should," said Gibbs.
"Well, it doesn't, okay." she snapped.
"Hey!" said Nic, "Explain, Marley, you must have some questions."
"It doesn't make any difference now, does it? I mean, it might have. It might have made a big difference to Rose and even to that Devlin guy… And it's sad that he was killed. It's not fair, not fair to either of them. But… he wasn't my dad. Mom told me lots of different stories when I was little. She never said a name, but she told me something different every time. Every time he was a different guy with a different job. I figured mom just made them up, made him up. I think she didn't want me to know. She told me once that she was glad he never knew about me. He might take me away, and that would kill her. So she never told me the truth…" Marley tried to stay calm as she explained her reasoning. But the subtle signs of worry could be heard, a little croak and a cough, with no eye contact until she looked backwards and forwards from Gibbs to Nic. "So, I don't really want to know now. Rose didn't want me to know. It's just like another story, maybe a true story and a sad story, but…No one else knows, and they don't have to. Things can just stay the same. Things can just stay the same, can't they? … Please, Gibbs?" She whispered desperately.
Gibbs pulled in and kissed the top of her head. "Yep, for now it stays the same."
"For now?"
"I'm coming home," said Nic, suddenly determined and worried.
"No…No, you can't," said Marley. "I'll be alright, honest. If you have to come home to prove you didn't hurt your friend, then come home. I know you didn't. You didn't do anything wrong, but…but…they might…"
"Marley, we aren't just going to pin this on Nic," said Gibbs.
"Marley, I can't help being the major suspect here, but something will turn up. Gibbs has got to do his job," Nic repeated.
"She'll be fine, Nic. Contact Franks in three days. We'll know more by then."
"Okay, Gibbs," said Nic and looked down into the camera at Marley. "Just say the word, Marley, and I'm there. Do what Gibbs says. Next time I'll tell you lots about Patrick. You have his spunk, you know. This will probably sound strange, but I'm glad he didn't run away. I'm glad my friend intended to make it right, Marley. I'm not glad that he died, but I'm happy to know he was the man I wanted to believe he was."
"That kinda makes sense, Uncle Nic, and yeah maybe I will want to know more later. But, it's more important that we clear you and find out who really killed him."
"Yeah, we can do that if you keep your hands off the evidence, little girl," laughed Gibbs.
"I'll try, but you know I can probably help," she quipped.
"I better go, Marley. Three days, Gibbs, I'll be back here," assured Nic.
Gibbs nodded as Marley blew a kiss, "Love you, Uncle Nic, thanks for telling me… sort of," she scowled.
Nic's head was still shaking when the buzz and the fuzz of white noise hit the large screen. Gibbs shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out some money. He handed it to Marley. "Go get yourself a soda. Then we'll get some lunch."
"I wanna go home, Dad. When can we go home?"
"We'll head off early, around five. But the team have some more work to do first."
"And you want to talk to Ducky, now don't ya? About me?"
"Yup."
"I'm okay, Dad."
Gibbs tussled her short brown hair, "You sure are, now get going."
Ducky waited until Marley rushed pass him before moving into the lab.
"Duck? " Gibbs asked, expecting an assessment of Marley's emotional state and her rather clinical reaction to some pretty big news.
"She's in survival mode, Jethro. She's scared and wants things going along the way they have been."
"Doesn't matter, things could get nasty. I can't guarantee how this is gonna turn out. We've got two dead men talking here. One deserves justice and one protection, and not just for his sake."
"What does your gut tell you?"
"My guts telling me that Nic didn't kill Patrick Devlin. But I don't know about Jonathan Hanson or Rose."
"Well, I'm sure all that will come to light. It also sheds some light on Rose's reactions the night she was killed. And if my memory serves me correctly, Rose had experienced several similar incidents where she blacked out or had a disengaged Bi Polar episode during those encounters."
"Maybe she was reliving her encounter with Patrick during one of them. Maybe she did see Patrick that night," suggested Gibbs.
"Either that or she was subconsciously searching for him. I will go over her files again, there may be something there. But it is also important that we remember that Marley was well aware of incidents like that, perhaps even witness to …" Ducky hesitated, not wanting to even think what else this child could have been witness to during those unstable episodes in her mother's life. "She was always Rose's protector when Nic wasn't around. I would say that's why she is still quite candid and somewhat confused about her feelings about her parentage. It is easier to deny the facts when the reality has never been part of your existence, except perhaps as a fantasy or a dream."
"Hmm, but the question is, can we keep the investigation and Marley's parentage a separate issue," pondered Gibbs.
"Well, it seems at this point the motive for Patrick's death could be due to that very fact, so that may be an impossibility. Right now, however Marley needs things to be normal, she needs the investigation to be just that; an investigation of the murder of one Patrick Devlin. She won't concede he was or could have been her father. She feels safe where she is. She has over the last months referred to you as either Gibbs or dad. But today, just now in particular, she has made it clear; she called you dad several times. She wants that. It is her dream, her childhood wish coming true. She feels that you are her father, and she is going to ignore everything or anyone else, for the time being anyway."
"Is that a good thing, Duck?"
"It works for now, for both of you."
Gibbs raised his eyebrows at Ducky's obvious insight.
"Just go on as you normally would, Jethro. Marley doesn't need to be that involved in this investigation. Come Monday she will be busy serving her community service at the national forest with her friends."
"Maybe we should stay the night again at your place. Gill doesn't get home until tomorrow night."
"You should fill Gill in on this as soon as possible. Perhaps she can get home earlier and you can spend your Sunday as a family; Marley's family. You had plans for a night in with just Marley and you, a takeout meal wasn't it? Though I would be happy to send you home with a beef stroganoff," feigned an annoyed Ducky. He smiled at Gibbs chewing in his lip. "Jethro, Marley needs the safety of you. You're the constant in her life now. But don't treat her with kid gloves. She hates that, she feels there are too many secrets."
Ducky waved his hands about, " No do not deviate too much from the relationship you have already developed. I think you should carry on with the plans you had for tonight."
"I'd plan to bust her ass for getting those kids to steal evidence."
"Well, I'd say follow through. The one thing she can expect from you are consequences and consistency, though please don't break her. I've grown rather fond of our Marley Rose, even if her loyalty gets her into a bit of strife. I think you Americans call it true grit."
"Ah, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon," shouted Tony as he came through the door.
"No, John Wayne and Glen Campbell," corrected Gibbs.
"Ohhh, Boss, really, you know that film…"
Gibbs cut him off before he ended up in a revolving door of film quotes and trivia. "Yeah, really. What've you got, DiNozzo?"
"Nothing, well except, the bullet found in the tree house was from Devlin's gun. And I've set up interviews for Monday with the Eight Bells poker gang, except for Fitzgerald he was killed in Afghanistan two years ago. Tim and Abby are working on the phone records, and Ziva has been collating information on Henry Lau Quing; the would have been father in Law. He's out of the country at the moment."
"Devlin's parents?"
"Angus and Lilith; they are flying in tomorrow. I can have them picked up at the motel around three. You want to interview them, tomorrow or Monday?"
"Tomorrow, set it up for around five, Gill may be home then and can stay at home with Marley. I don't really want her around here."
"One of us can head over to your place Boss, if Gill doesn't get back in time."
Gibbs appreciated the support. He smiled before continuing. "Anything on the Intel from the linguistic corps?"
Tony returned to all business. "Hard one, Boss, it's still pretty tight."
"Get Ziva on it. They shut down Frank's case fast. I want to know why," he said on the move towards the elevator.
Tony followed. "On it, Boss," ricocheted Tony as he came to stand beside Gibbs, then punched the elevator button. "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!" he quoted in his best John Wayne drawl before he yelped, "ow," when Gibbs slapped him up the back of the head as the doors closed.
Cut away to Gibbs kitchen. Marley and Gibbs are finishing up their meal of noodles, eaten from the cartons.
"Want me to do the dishes, Dad?" asked Marley.
"Good idea," said Gibbs.
Marley grabbed Gibbs's empty box and flimsy wooden chopsticks and dropped them in the garbage can. She then scaled the kitchen counter, trying to reach one of the coffee mugs from the shelf above the refrigerator. Gibbs jumped up and grabbed her around the waist. "Hey, get out of there," he growled and put her back down on the floor.
"Just getting you a cup of coffee, Gi… Dad."
"Oh, and what about the newspaper and my nightly pipe?" asked Gibbs sarcastically.
"Huh, you smoke?" Marley asked, surprised.
"No… Okay, Marley, we need to talk."
Marley got a little panicky. "Maybe in the morning, Gi..da… I'm kinda tired. I think I better go to bed."
"Marley, you can call me Dad. You can call me Gibbs. Either way, I'm going to be around just the same. So yeah, you go get ready for bed, shower, teeth, and I'll be up in twenty minutes for that talk."
"Okay, D…Dad?"
"Dad's good."
While Marley showered and changed, Gibbs poured himself a large cup of coffee. He flipped his phone open and hit speed dial.
"Gill?"
"Hey, Jethro, how's things so far?"
"Good, she's still calling me Dad every five seconds."
"You sure you don't want me home. I can leave a note for Alistair. Everything's pretty straight forward."
"No, let's stick with the plan. I think Ducky's right."
"So do I, but can I talk to her?"
"Sure thing…Mmmmom."
"You're cute. I feel like her mom."
"You feel good," flirted Gibbs.
"Gibbs, stay focused."
"Always. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
"Put her on," ordered Gill.
Gibbs laughed and swallowed the last of his coffee before heading up the stairs. "Hold on," he said into the earpiece.
Marley was towel drying her hair as she sat on the bed. She heard Gibbs coming up the stairs and warily watched the door, waiting for the knock.
"You done, Gi…your mom's on the phone," yelled Gibbs as he tapped the phone against Marley's door.
Marley giggled. "Sure Dad, come in."
Gibbs entered with a smile on his face and handed Marley his cell.
"Hey, Mom?"
"Hi, Marley, miss me?"
"Sure do Mom, when are you coming home?"
"I may be home by tomorrow afternoon. Gibbs has a couple of interviews late in the afternoon."
"That'd be cool."
"Good. So big day, hey!"
"Pretty big, but I've had bigger and worse."
"And scarier."
"I'm not scared, Gill."
"Gill? A second ago I was mom."
"Yeah, but now you're Gill, the counsellor."
"What about telling Gill the mom, are you worried about us as a family?"
"Are you?"
"Nope."
"So things won't change?"
"Yeah, they will Marley. They have changed and still will, but we will always be family."
"I just want it to be real…it's been the realest thing I've ever known, and I…like it. I love you and Gibbs."
"And we love you. That won't change… Ever."
"But I don't want anything to change now, either. I want it to keep getting better, it can change that way. But I don't even want to think of that man as my father, because he's not. Gibbs is my father; he's the closest thing I've got to real."
"Yeah, he is. So stop worrying about all that. We'll talk more tomorrow…"
"No, I …"
"Or wait until you're ready. But we will be there, okay. We're not going anywhere, Marley."
"Thanks, Mom. And, Gill, we'll talk when… I feel brave enough. Okay?"
Gill laughed. "Good girl, now put your dad back on."
Marley handed the phone back to Gibbs.
"Follow your instincts, Jethro Gibbs. See you tomorrow. You doing dinner?"
"Nope, your turn."
"Okay, risotto it is."
"Hmm, I might be late."
"Well, then you'll miss dessert."
"Apple pie?"
"You feel lucky punk?"
"Very lucky."
"Can't wait to see you, love you. Bye."
"Love youuuu," mimicked Marley.
"You have good ears, little girl," said Gibbs as he moved in and attacked the soles of her feet as they swung over the side of her bed.
Marley squealed and slapped his hands away before tucking her feet under her legs and out of his reach.
"Okay down to serious business now," said Gibbs. He put his phone on the desk next to Marley's bed.
"We don't have to talk about anything, Gibbs. I'm fine with all this, honest."
"We aren't going to talk about Patrick being your biological father until you want to. And I'm not going to talk about the investigation unless it directly involves you. But I do want to talk about the rules again."
"The rules, like letting you know where I am and not putting myself in danger and…"
"Not lying, or stealing evidence," interrupted Gibbs.
"I didn't steal…"
"Or getting your friends to steal evidence."
"They were trying to help, Gibbs."
"I know. And I understand you having Nic's back. But I was a little disappointed that you didn't trust me."
"I do trust you. I just wanted to make sure…"
Gibbs put his hand on her lips, "The truth!"
"I trust you, Gibbs. I trust you to do the best job you know how when it comes to finding killers and serving justice. I knew you would find out the truth. I just wanted to find out before you."
"So tell me, would you have handed in the evidence? Would you have told me that Nic's poker chip was the one found at the scene?"
"Maybe not, but Abby would have. I wouldn't have asked her to hide that from you. But I don't know if I could snitch on Uncle Nic. It's hard, Gibbs. I want you to be my dad, but I want you to want to be my dad. I know you're my legal guardian and all, but you can get out of that. Maybe if Nic had done something really bad, and after what Rose did…Well maybe, you'd think that I'm just a fistful of trouble."
"Well that you are, but that wouldn't stop me from wanting to be your guardian. Or knowing that you are worth every bit of the trouble it will take to make you believe that."
Marley looked confused.
"You are worth it, Marley. Start believing you are worth it. Today was just another example of proof that you are worth it. Nic went to a lot of trouble thirteen years ago to make sure you were safe. He supported Rose and stuck by her. She got to have the life she wanted for both of you. It was hard for you and Rose and your Uncle Nic."
"He should have been able to get married and have his own kids, you know. But I think he always felt he had to be around for us. That's why I always looked after mom when he was gone. So he could find someone and not worry about us. Rose and me we had a lot of good times, more good than bad. When I was old enough I reckon he would have believed that."
"You may be right."
"Well, he knows it now, and he knows I've got you."
"He's still got you too, Marley. He can't ever not. He hasn't palmed you off so he can go his own way."
"I know in here," she said tapping her chest. But technically Nic Hanson doesn't exist anymore. You do…But you might want to go your own way, Gibbs."
"I am, Marley. This is where I'm going at the moment with you and Gill."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I don't lie."
"I get it, and neither should I."
"Or get anybody else to lie or hide important information. It's the same as you telling the lie and will have the same consequences they have always had."
Gibbs didn't give Marley the chance to plead her case further. He pulled her over his knee, and landed five firm slaps to her pajama-clad backside.
"Ow wait, Dad… ow, Gibbs, no, ow, listen…"
Gibbs stopped. "What to, Marley? Promises that it won't happen again?"
"Honest, Gibbs, I won't lie… but.."
"No buts," said Gibbs as he applied another two sharp swats.
"Ow…Not fair, Dad."
Gibbs stopped again and spoke softly the child still laying over her lap. "Exactly, Marley, not fair to dad. This dad needs to know you can be safe, you can be trusted, and that you trust me. You keep breaking the rules, little girl, and this dad is going to dish out the consequences until you stop and think." He then lowered her pajama bottoms and made sure he hadn't added any serious damage on top of the spanking that Ducky had administered the night before. Satisfied, he bought his palm down once hard and fast on her bare behind.
Marley started kicking and wriggling dreading the next wallop. But it didn't come. Gibbs replaced her pajamas and flipped her back up and sat her on his thigh, not too concerned about the added discomfort.
"Stop fighting your old man."
"You are old…old fashioned," she groused.
"You knew this was on the table if you got caught. You didn't really expect me not to do anything about it."
"No, I kind of expected worse… only…" Marley suddenly burst into tears.
"Come on, you'll live," he said, feeling a little guilty now. He rubbed her back and kissed her head until she took breath and slowed her tears.
"I don't think… I can promise to stay out of trouble," cried Marley. She took another breath and rubbed her tears away. "I think if any of you guys was in trouble and a lie or keeping quiet about something helped, well I couldn't just sit back too afraid to risk, even one of your spankings. That would be the least of my worries, Gibbs."
"Okay," said Gibbs, "I got it."
"You understand, as a dad...But what about as Special Agent Jethro Gibbs?"
"Yep, both of us, just do your best, know that you can't do it all on your own. Trust us first; me, the team, your mom, and…your Uncle Nic."
Marley nodded. "Are the gang in trouble with you for helping me?" She sniffed the last of the tears away.
"Jarrod and Ben? Definitely."
'You knew it was those two?"
"Ah huh."
"I better warn them."
"You want to risk it," he dared aiming his famous interrogators glare.
"No, no, no."
"Good girl, that's what I mean. Pick your battles, Marley. Come on better get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow. Litter duty at 0900."
"No that's Monday morning, we've got all Sunday morning together," said Marley, we can sleep in, besides, I'm not tired yet Dad. Can't I help Gibbs with his boat?"
Gibbs laughed. "Hmm, can't have done a sound job with that spanking then if you're not tired. Kelly would be a sleep within minutes, after she got her bottom paddled."
"Gibbs, you spanked Kelly?"
"When she was naughty; yes, her daddy spanked her."
"You meanie!"
"Yep. Come on, you can sand for half an hour."
Both went hand in hand to the basement where Gibbs ripped off a new run of emery, wrapped it around a cork block, and handed it to Marley. "Here, start on the far side there."
Marley climbed thorough the skeleton of the upturned boat and sat back on her legs, cradling her still stinging backside, and started to polish the bottom joints on the laminated wooden arcs.
Gibbs went back to his bench and flicked his dad's old radio on, then rummaged for a small spade bit for his Yankee push hand drill. He turned around as he rotated the large chuck and locked the spade in firmly. He stopped then chuckled at the sight in front of him. In the warm amber glow that reflected off the wood from the overhead light, he watched the rise and fall of a peaceful purr coming from Marley. In the few minutes he had turned his back she had curled herself up and gone to sleep.
FREEZE FRAME: Cut to Extreme Close Up of Marley's face. She is asleep in the foetal position with her head resting on her folded arms. Convert Black and white. CUT.
TBC.
Chapter 6 : Got Your Six.
A.N. Okay add some clues to the list. Big shout out to Harliquinn for the beta and keeping the facts clear and concise, as well as some advice about how Marley's character may react to the situation. Kudos to caseym12, also.