Event Three
Vance looked up, hiding his surprise at seeing Gibbs enter his office with Fornell and Sacks closely behind him.
"I was not aware there was an FBI connection with your latest case, Gibbs." Vance got to the point, knowing that pointing out closed doors usually meant one was supposed to knock before entering would fall on deaf ears.
"There isn't." Gibbs corrected in an odd tone which made Vance pause. In the entire time he has known the man, Vance had never heard Gibbs use that tone before. He was having trouble identifying just what type of tone it was. Fornell eyed Gibbs worriedly, making the unease in Vance's gut grow. Looking at Sacks' expression told him that whatever news these three men had was not good.
"What happened?" Came out of Vance's mouth before he realized he was saying it. Gibbs opened his mouth to say something, only to hesitate and close it. After a few seconds he opened it again.
"Metro fished McGee's car out of the Potomac just a little while ago." Gibbs' silence after that statement said more to Vance than what he actually said. McGee's car was fished out. Not McGee, himself. If they hadn't pulled out McGee already then they wouldn't be. Vance's eyes turned to Fornell to get more information before saying anything.
"The FBI was called in when the divers discovered a federal agent's badge and weapon, sir. We were selected to go when dispatch informed the Bureau of the name on the badge." Fornell reported succinctly. Vance nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to Gibbs.
"DiNozzo and David?"
"Should probably be sent home. Tony has taken over the responsibility of informing Tim's sister. Ziva will most likely go with him. Abby, Ducky, and Palmer still need to be told." Vance nodded, inhaling sharply as he forced himself to hold off his emotional reaction to the news. Out of everyone on Gibbs' team, McGee was the last one anyone would have expected to die. And to have him die from an accident, not in the line of duty...
"I will transfer your case over to Balboa's team. Consider your team on leave until further notice. Extend that to Miss Sciuto, Dr. Mallard, and Mr. Palmer. I will inform their substitutes that their services will be required for an undetermined amount of time." Gibbs gave a curt nod before turning and leading the two FBI agents out of the room. For the first time since he became Director, Vance was finally witnessing Gibbs be off kilter and he despised it.
"Perhaps we shall go and see how the others are doing before we leave, Mr. Palmer. They could always use a gentle reminder that they are human and need to eat." Jimmy let out a small snort of amusement as he shared a smile with Ducky.
"Yeah, if Tony's growling stomach doesn't tell them first." Both men laughed as they entered the elevator, Ducky pressing the button for the floor the Bull Pen was on. They chattered about different theories they had come up with while doing an autopsy earlier that day as the metal box lifted them to where they wanted to go. The doors opened just as Jimmy started to laugh at a small joke Ducky had made but he immediately stopped when loud sobs reached the two of them. Looking at each other with worry, Ducky hurriedly lead the way to the MCRT work area. They froze at the sight of Ziva on Tony's lap, both of them holding each other tightly as they sobbed on each other's shoulders. Jimmy looked around, wondering where McGee was, when he noticed the evidence bag that was set on McGee's desk. He picked it up with a frown while Ducky focused on Gibbs coming down the stairs with Fornell and Sacks. Jimmy's face went as pale as the woman he helped autopsy earlier when he read McGee's waterlogged ID. The fact that it was in an evidence bag was not lost on him.
"Jethro, what has happened?" Ducky asked as soon as Gibbs was in conversation's distance, oblivious to what his assistant had discovered behind him. Gibbs glanced at Tony and Ziva before answering, dreading it. The two of them would have a hard enough time informing Tim's family, though, so he needed to be the one to tell the others. Turning back to Ducky Gibbs saw that Jimmy had already realized what had happened despite not having the details.
"McGee was in an accident. Crashed into the Potomac. Metro was only able to recover his car and possessions." Ducky's hand flew to his chest in surprise, having expected something much different. And it certainly explained why both Tony and Ziva had reacted so emotionally, so quickly.
"My goodness, Jethro! Does...does young Abigail know yet?" Gibbs shook his head slowly.
"I'm gonna tell her in person. The case is being handed over to Balboa. Team's on leave until further notice. Vance has extended that to you, Abby, and Palmer as well, Duck."
"I'm sure...Young Abigail will be in dire need of your support, Jethro. I suggest you do not allow her to be alone for some time." Ducky fretted, not willing to focus on his own emotional needs at the moment. "And Sarah?"
"Tony and Ziva." Gibbs replied succinctly, his eyes wandering back to his agents. It appeared Tony had reached his emotional peak and was now just clinging to Ziva silently with his face buried in the crook of her neck. Ziva was still shuddering with sobs that were also beginning to quiet down as each passing sob pulled more and more energy from her reserves.
"Very well. Mr. Palmer..." Ducky turned around to address Jimmy, finally seeing the evidence bag with McGee's things in it. Ducky paused, not entirely sure how to react to seeing what Metro had retrieved from McGee's car, and stumbled over his next words. "I'm...we...a task list should be done up for our substitutes so they know what we've yet to do for the open cases we're working on."
"Right away, Doctor." Jimmy replied quietly as he set the bag back onto McGee's desk. Opening his mouth to say something else, Jimmy thought over it again and quickly shut his mouth before heading back to the rear elevator.
"Jethro, Sacks and I should head back to the scene." Fornell butted in to give Gibbs something new to focus on. "They'll need to know where to take McGee's car. Would you like it brought here or should we send it to the Hoover Building?"
"Here." Gibbs swallowed hard. "Just...just to make sure someone didn't mess with his car and purposely caused the accident."
"Ok, Jethro. We'll do that." Fornell awkwardly patted Gibbs on the shoulder, not knowing what else to say, before turning away and herding Sacks to the elevator.
"I am going to go assist Mr. Palmer downstairs before I leave, Jethro. I will stop by your house later tonight, assuming that you will be bringing Abigail there." Gibbs nodded in confirmation at Ducky's assumption. Ducky gave Tony and Ziva one last worried glance before going off to help Jimmy.
Gibbs stood in the middle of the Bull Pen feeling numb. When Kate died he had something to do, something to focus on. He had someone to blame. That wasn't the case this time. Nothing to do except accept that the desk across from his would remain empty for the rest of the day, and tomorrow, and the next day. He always braced himself at the beginning of each case for the possibility that Tony or Ziva might get injured or even killed when he sent them out. Those two were always taking risks to take down a suspect. It never occurred to him to overly worry about McGee, who made safety instructors look like Evel Knievel. That the goddamn weather is what took his agent away...never in his wildest dreams would he have thought of that scenario.
The natural noise of the Bull Pen started to go back to its usual volume as Gibbs slowly made his way to his desk, the other agents forcing themselves to get back to work. Ziva's sobs could no longer be heard and she had gone still. Gibbs watched as Tony slowly detached himself from the Israeli woman in his lap and transferred her to his chair with great care while remaining silent. The usually gregarious man's face was completely blank of any emotion, which worried Gibbs, but the older man did nothing as his Senior Agent left the Bull Pen in the direction of the nearest men's room. Turning back to Ziva, Gibbs could barely believe that the woman who had curled herself into a ball on Tony's chair was the same one who normally threatened her teammates with office supplies and amused them with fuddled idioms. He was dreading informing Abby that she wasn't going to ever see her geek again. Deciding to grab the bull by the horns, Gibbs stood back up and collected his things. He walked over to Tony's desk just as the man was returning, himself, and looked back and forth between his two agents.
"My place, after you tell Sarah. It's not an option." They both nodded solemnly at the order. Confident that Tony and Ziva would make their way to Sarah at the quickest pace they could afford to make themselves to go, Gibbs headed to the main elevator.
"Gibbs!" Abby greeted happily in a nasally tone. She was in a simple, oversized black shirt and pink pajama pants patterned with bats. Her hair was down and her face was free of make-up, a tad pink with the slight fever she had from the flu. Except for the bats on her pants, not a thing about her visually alluded to the perky Goth she usually was. "What brings you here? Aren't you guys in the middle of a case?"
"We were." Gibbs answered as he stepped into Abby's apartment at her beckoning so she could close the door and stop the cold air from sneaking in.
"Oh, you finished already? Another win for Team Gibbs, then!" She exclaimed as she lead the way into her living room, collapsing back onto her couch while Gibbs remained standing. When Gibbs didn't say anything, Abby looked up at him and finally registered the look on his face. Her smile melted away to a frown as her brain tried to figure out what could possibly be wrong. "What happened?"
"There was an accident."
"What do you mean, accident? Who was hurt? Did Ducky make them go to Bethesda?" Abby asked rapidly.
"No one has gone to Bethesda."
"Then Ducky patched them up." Gibbs slowly shook his head, walking around the couch and clearing a patch on Abby's coffee table to take a seat.
"Ducky didn't patch anyone up." Abby looked at Gibbs in confusion. If no one went to Bethesda, and Ducky didn't patch anyone up, then why was Gibbs telling her there was an accident? The last time Gibbs looked at her like that was when...
"Who?" Abby whispered. The names and faces of every agent they had lost over the years flashed through her mind in an instant, pausing at the end like a movie as it waited for more data to fill in the last slide. Gibbs let out a heavy breath and braced himself before answering.
"McGee's car went into the Potomac." Abject horror appeared on Abby's face, making Gibbs wish he could turn back time and make McGee come with him and the others instead of letting him stay back at the Yard.
"Mc...Tim? Timmy?" The Goth shrieked in disbelief, sitting up right. "No. No way. He drives more carefully than a driving instructor. There is absolutely no way he got into an accident!"
"Metro fished his badge, ID, cellphone, and gun out of the Potomac about an hour ago. Fornell and Sacks were called in. McGee's car was retrieved just as they arrived at the Yard to notify us." Gibbs continued, knowing trying anything else at the moment would prevent him from telling Abby everything. Abby shook her head rapidly in denial, grabbing her pillow from the end of the couch and clutching it in a death grip. "It is highly unlikely they will be able to retrieve his body before Spring. There is too much ice built up."
"If at all." Abby snapped in expected anger, her mind still unable to comprehend the idea of McGee being dead. "He could easily be carried out to the Atlantic. They'd never find him, then."
"I know, Abs." Gibbs replied softly.
"Which is just not fair! It's not fair having to bury an empty casket! And not being able to say good bye! Not being able to see...not being able to see..." Abby hiccuped loudly, signaling an oncoming breakdown. Gibbs quickly moved himself to sit next to Abby on the couch and pulled her into a side hug as she began to bawl into her pillow. Gibbs held her tighter as he pulled her partially onto his lap, setting his chin on the top of her head. With Abby's sub par health at the moment, she didn't have much energy to cry hard for long. Only a few minutes later she was gasping for air and reaching for her box of tissues to clear her sinuses. Gibbs pulled out a few extra to clean her face, his hand going through the motion automatically in muscle memory of him doing it for a girl much younger than the one currently in his lap. "God, Gibbs, why?"
"I don't know, Abs." Gibbs replied to the croaked out question. He kissed Abby's temple before pulling her close again. "I don't know."
"I was snippy with him. He called me this morning to check in on me, like he's been doing every morning and night since I got sick, and I got snippy with him." Abby sniffed.
"McGee knew you cared about him, Abs. He wouldn't have taken your attitude as well as he did if he didn't. He knew you were just acting in irritation at his mother henning." Gibbs assured Abby. Glancing at the clock on her wall, he could tell it was going to be a long night.
Tony sat in the driver's set of his Mustang, tapping his thumbs on the wheel in a show of excess energy. He and Ziva were just outside Sarah's dorm building, and it was about half an hour before she was expecting him and McGee to show up.
"I am surprised Sarah has not called you yet. Is she not like T...her brother?" Ziva wondered to Tony.
"Sarah is the exact opposite of Tim. It'd be a miracle if she was ever on time for anything outside of school and doctor's appointments." Tony quickly answered. He was going through his head how he was going to explain to Sarah why he brought Ziva and where Tim was. "She probably thinks it's still an hour or two until we were supposed to show up."
"Oh." Ziva said simply. She had spent some time with the young woman after the incident where she was framed for murder, but only by invitation from McGee. As far as Ziva could tell, Tony took Tim out of the equation and interacted with Sarah one-on-one on several occasions. Tony may not admit to it but he certainly took a liking to the members of the McGee family.
"Well, there's no use delaying the inevitable." Tony suddenly said, opening his door and getting out. Ziva hurriedly opened her own door to catch up with him.
"And what are you going to say to her?" Ziva glanced around at all the students they were passing, possible people who could over hear them, and lowered her voice to a hiss. "It is not hard for anyone to see that Tim and Sarah meant the world to each other."
"I honestly don't know, Zee-va, but Sarah would appreciate it if I didn't sound rehearsed." Tony guided Ziva through the main entrance of the building. He navigated the groups of students with ease, going deeper and deeper into the building until the two of them came to a stairwell somewhere near the middle of the building and started to go up. Sarah's floor was similarly crowded both of them noted with a frown, but noticeably quieter. They were a few doors down from Sarah's when they first heard her voice talking animatedly about something with someone. The door was open when they arrived and showed that her dorm had four other students in it.
"Oh, hey! You're early!" Sarah exclaimed when she noticed Tony. She got up from the box she was sitting on to walk over and hug him, pulling him into the room as Ziva followed. "Guys, this is Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. They're friends of Tim from work. Tony, Ziva, these are my friends Kendra, Jerry, Eric, and Lonna."
Each of Sarah's friends smiled and waved as she mentioned their names. Tony and Ziva politely nodded in return, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. The one Sarah said was Lonna leaned forward on her knees with her head cradled in her hands and a mischievous grin on her face.
"You know, when we met Tim he never mentioned working with anyone hot."
"Lonna!" Sarah gasped in a scandalized tone while the others crooned with laughter. Sarah couldn't help with letting out a few laughs herself as she turned to apologize to Tony but stopped short when she saw that neither of her brother's coworkers had outwardly reacted to Lonna's comment. "Hey, Tony, everything alright? Tim didn't outsmart you with a prank today, did he?"
"I haven't seen Tim in person since this morning, actually." Tony started. He was desperately trying to think of a way to get Sarah's friends out of the room before he told her.
"Wow, really? Gibbs working you guys that hard?" Sarah's friends were confused by Sarah's use of Gibbs' name, not knowing who he was, but she ignored their looks of expectation for an explanation.
"Sorta. Hey, since we're here now why don't your friends skedaddle so we can get things done and over with?" Not a lie, per se.
"You're not going to wait for Tim? Some brother he is to be late with helping his sister." The one named Jerry commented to Sarah. She merely rolled his eyes at her friend.
"If we're starting without him that means he got held up with something. He can make up for it by doing most of the unloading at the apartment. Now you all heard the man. Disperse!" Sarah shooed her friends out the door with a few last laughs before closing the door behind them. "Sorry about them. They all know that Tim is a law enforcement officer and take advantage of the ability to joke around. Will Tim be long?"
Tony and Ziva exchanged looks of hesitation. After a few seconds, Tony turned back to Sarah with a frown and jerked his head towards her bed.
"Sarah, why don't you sit down?" Sarah's smile went from genuine to unsure before morphing into a frown as she did as Tony asked.
"Tony, is Tim ok? Did something happen to send him to Bethesda?" Tony was suddenly happy he was emotionally drained because he was sure that if he wasn't he would start crying again. Sitting down next to Sarah, he motioned to the TV.
"Have you been watching the news at all in the last handful of hours?"
"No..." Sarah shook her head slowly, the frown growing deeper. She glanced at Ziva sitting on her room mates bed but the other woman remained silent. Any answers she wanted were going to have to come from Tony. "Why?"
"Sarah." Tony paused. "Tim's not coming."
"What do you mean, Tim's not coming? He hasn't tried to call me for anything, has he?" Sarah went to reach for her cell phone only to be stopped by Tony.
"No, he hasn't tried to call you."
"Then what are you talking about?" Sarah's eyes flashed with her usual hot temper. Tony looked at her for a few seconds and saw that Sarah would never consider everything those three simple words could mean.
"I mean...Tim's not coming. He was in a car accident around noon. His car and possessions were fished out of the Potomac by Metro."
"Oh, my god!" Sarah's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. The expression made the facial characteristics she shared with Tim stand out. "Why didn't you call me? Tim's been in Bethesda for several hours and now you're seeing fit to tell me that my brother's been in a car accident?"
"Sarah." Tony started again. The pause was heavier than before, made worse by him reaching out to put a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Tim's not in the hospital."
"What? Where else would he be, Tony? The Potomac ain't exactly warm this time of year. The doctors will be worried about hypothermia, at the very least." Tony sent a look Ziva's way, telling her he really didn't want to say what he was going to say next.
"As of this very moment, Tim's still in the Potomac." All color immediately drained from Sarah's face when she finally realized what Tony and Ziva were there for. And it wasn't to help with her move.
"So, when you say Tim isn't coming...you mean ever." Sarah said in a warbling voice as her bottom lip began to quiver. Tony nodded slowly in confirmation as he slowly inched himself closer to her. Sarah inhaled sharply in an attempt to keep herself level as her eyes started to shine. "You mean...you mean my big brother is dead."
"Yes." Ziva answered for Tony in a subdued voice, her own eyes watering again. Tony could sense that the McGee stubbornness in Sarah that told her to keep herself together was dissolving and quickly pulled her into a hug as the first sob escaped. Her cries were muffled into Tony's chest, occasionally punctuated with a few flails against his leather coat that echoed slightly in the small room. As Tony slowly rocked his best friend's little sister back and forth, the look he shared with his surviving partner showed they agreed one thing. They were taking Sarah with them to Gibbs'.
On Sarah's nightstand, her phone's sudden glow went ignored.