Camping Chapter 2

A/N - Here is the next chapter in this tale. I don't own NCIS. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

NCIS Headquarters DC

Jimmy and Jess arrived at work after dropping Victoria off at school. McGee looked up from his computer screen as Jess arrived at her desk after giving Jimmy a kiss at the elevator before he headed down to autopsy. She took a sip of her coffee as she noticed McGee staring at her. "What is it Tim?"

"Nothing. I got a flash alert about a meeting with Parker. Did you get one?"

Jess looked at her screen and nodded. "Yes. I wonder what that's about."

Just then, Parker walked in. Tim and Jess looked up at him with a questioning look. Parker said "Torres is down in Norfolk on a case. He'll be back this afternoon. We're supposed to hear from him shortly as to what it is about."

Tim and Jess nodded.

Jess sat down at her desk with a large envelope from HR on it addressed to Jessica Knight. Jess opened it up and started reading the cover letter. When finished she set it down and looked through the stacks of forms inside. "What is with all these forms?" she asked to no one in particular.

Tim looked up at her. "HR forms Jess?"

She nodded.

"I remember having to fill out new forms when Delilah and I got married. I'm sure Jimmy got some too."

"I probably should discuss these forms with him. I'm sure it will make filling them out easier."

Tim nodded. "You're right about that."

"And I thought I was done with HR forms until next year." Jess added with a grimace.

The phone rang. Parker answered it and put it on speaker. "You're on speaker Torres. What's up?"

"A missing sailor last seen heading north toward Washington DC. He's been AWOL for two days.

"Anything important about this particular sailor?"

"He's an explosives expert."

Do they think he's been kidnapped?"

"Don't know yet."

OK. Find everything you can about him and come back here. McGee will see what he can find and Knight, I mean Palmer, will put a BOLO out on him and touch base with other agencies. He disconnected the call.

Parker looked over at Jess. "It's going to take me a little time to get used to your new last name."

Jess said "Don't worry about it. I'll answer to it anyway and you can always call me Jess or Jessica. I'll start making those calls."

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Jimmy received a strange phone call from a hospital in Maryland. "Dr. Palmer, do I know a Gunny Officer named Paul Thomas? This is Dr. Phillips at Sunset Hospital."

"Not that I know of," Jimmy replied. "Why do you ask?"

"He says he knows your girlfriend, Jessica Knight."

Jimmy's alarm bells went off. "How does he know Jessica? Just so you know Jessica is now my wife."

"He says he needs to see her and that it is a matter of life and death."

"Why call me instead of Jess directly?"

"That was my call. I know I wouldn't want a stranger calling my girlfriend or wife out of the blue like this."

"Thank you. Why is he in the hospital?"

"He was in a car accident and was unconscious until a few hours ago. His ship just came into port in Norfolk a few days ago."

"I better get in touch with the special agents upstairs. Our agent Torres is down in Norfolk investigating a missing sailor. I wonder if your Gunny is the missing sailor."

"He could be. Here is my number."

"Thanks. I'm sure we will be sending our team over to your hospital shortly."

Jimmy headed upstairs with the news. Parker was surprised and decided to send Jess and Tim to the hospital since Torres wasn't back yet.

"I hope this is our missing sailor. Torres didn't identify him. I wonder why." Parker observed.

"We'll find out soon, I hope." Jimmy said.

Tim and Jess grabbed their bags to head out the door. Jess handed Jimmy her envelope full of HR forms. "Did you get a packet with all these forms?"

"I did. Something fun to work on at home tonight."

Jess chuckled. "Victoria won't be the only one with homework."

"Do you remember a Paul Thomas?"

Jess shook her head. "Not at all. We'll find out who he is."

Parker nodded and said "Move out. Find out who this guy is. I'll have Torres meet you there."

Jess squeezed Jimmy's hand before she headed out.

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Tim and Jess arrived at the hospital nurses station. "Is Dr. Phillips available?"

A man in a white coat looked up from a table where he was looking over some charts. "I'm Dr. Phillips. Are you from NCIS?"

"Yes." Tim and Jess showed him their badges. "I'm Special Agent McGee and this is Special Agent Palmer."

"Ah, Special Agent Palmer. You must be Dr. Palmer's wife who I talked to earlier."

"That I am, Dr. Phillips," Jess responded with a smile. "You said your accident victim asked for me. Did he say why?"

"No. He just asked for you and said it was a matter of life and death."

Jess looked at McGee. "We better go talk to him."

McGee said to the nurses. "Another one of our agents is on his way here, Special Agent Torres. Please have him meet up with us when he arrives."

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Gunny Thomas was hooked up to several monitors and an IV drip. He appeared to be conscious when they walked into his room. Dr. Phillips walked up to his bedside. "NCIS special agents are here to talk to you. Do you feel up to it?"

Gunny slowly nodded his head. "Is Jessica Knight here?"

"Yes," answered the doctor. He waived Jess and Tim forward to the bed. Jess did not recognize him.

"You asked for me?" Jess asked the Gunny. "Why may I ask?"

Gunny Thomas blinked several times as if trying to focus. "I was told by a friend to ask for you if I ever needed help. I need help."

"Who is your friend?" Tim asked.

"Gage Winchester. We went to high school together. I know you broke up a long time ago, but I hope that won't keep you from helping me."

"Don't worry about that. I don't hold any animosity toward Gage. Besides, I am very happily married and my last name is now Palmer. How can we help you?"

Gunny looked at Jess and nodded. Lucky bastard. "I came in contact with one of the drug cartels by accident at our ship's last port in St. Thomas and overheard something about an upcoming drop in Maryland. When we docked in Norfolk I decided to come up here and investigate."

"All by yourself? Did you tell anyone?" Jess asked.

He shook his head. "I wasn't sure about what I heard so I didn't want to send people on a wild goose chase."

"Go on."

"When I arrived in Maryland someone started to follow me. After several miles he tapped my rear bumper on a curve in the road sending me into the river. I guess I'm lucky to be alive."

Dr. Phillips agreed. "He is lucky to be alive."

There was a tap on the door. Torres peaked in the room. "I see you made it Nick." Tim said.

"Did you solve the case yet?"

"No, we were waiting for you." Jess said.

Nick chuckled and came to the bedside. "Gunny Thomas?"

He nodded.

"Your ship's captain has been wondering where you are."

"I can imagine."

Dr. Phillips spoke up. "He's been in an accident and unconscious for two days. It's hard to check in when you're in his condition."

Torres spoke up. "We better call Parker."

"We need to tell him about the drug cartel." Jess added.

"We better call Parker from here." Nick dialed the number as the doctor left the room.

Nick put his phone on speaker.

"What did you find out Torres?"

"Gunny was in an accident and unconscious for two days. Jess says he may be hunted by a drug cartel."

Parker said "We better put a guard on his room until he can leave. Finish getting a statement from him and head back here. I'll call the Captain.

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When they arrived back at NCIS, Jess headed down to autopsy to see Jimmy. He was checking his supplies and talking to Kasie. "Hi Jimmy," Jess gave her husband a quick kiss. Jimmy smiled back at her. "Hi Jess. Glad you're back."

Kasie said "Hi Jess. Interesting case?"

Jess nodded. "Hi Kasie. Yes, this could get very interesting. It may involve the drug cartels. The missing sailor overheard something about a drug drop and was run off the road. Unfortunately his car ended up in the river. The Gunny didn't get a good look at the car only it was a big black SUV. Tomorrow we'll look for traffic cams that may have spotted something. When they finally pull his car out of the river you can have a look at it Kasie."

Jimmy looked at his wife. "Are you going to be ready to go home soon?"

Jess nodded. "Just going to finish up my report. 30 minutes?"

Jimmy nodded. "I'll be up to get you then." He gave her a quick kiss before she turned to go.

Kasie headed back to the lab.

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Jimmy and Jess picked up Victoria from grandma's house and drove home. Jess took their dinner out of the refrigerator and put in in the oven to warm up for 30 minutes. The Palmers try to plan their meals a week in advance so they would have something ready to heat up or cook on the stove when they got home. They usually ate out once or twice a week.

After they ate and cleaned up the kitchen, the entire family sat at the kitchen table to do their homework. Victoria was working on her math while Jimmy and Jess were filling out their new HR forms. They discussed their health insurance options, retirement, and all kinds of choices to make. Working together it took about an hour.

"Have you decided on a place to go camping mom?" Victoria asked.

Jess nodded. "It's about a two hour drive right on a lake. There are miles of trails and places to swim and fish at the lake. There are bathrooms at the campsite and even showers. We can use the BBQ grills to cook."

"Sounds great."

"We can pick up the rest of what we need this weekend." Jimmy added.

Jess looked at the clock. "Do you want to watch a show with us until bedtime Victoria?"

Victoria nodded in agreement. "I'll get my pajamas on and meet you in the family room."

"OK. See you shortly." Jimmy said.

Jess looked at her husband and gave him a kiss. "I'm going to get my PJ's on too. How about you?"

Jimmy grinned and grabbed his wife's hand heading back into their bedroom.

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A little while later, Jimmy, Jess and Victoria were situated on the couch covered by a blanket. Jimmy was wearing his silk pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. Jess was wearing the silk pajama top and some flannel bottoms to keep warm. Victoria wore her favorite Galadriel pajamas. All cuddled up on the couch they watched a comedy show that had them laughing throughout.

When it was over, Victoria was tucked into bed and kissed goodnight.

Jimmy and Jess went into their bathroom to brush their teeth and do their nightly routines. When finished Jimmy removed his T-shirt and Jess her flannel bottoms to crawl into bed. Jimmy lay on his back while Jess put her head on his shoulder and draped her long gorgeous leg across his body. "I love you my beautiful bride," Jimmy whispered into her ear. Jess kissed him tenderly on the lips and whispered back "I love you my handsome groom." The two lovebirds drifted off to sleep loving the closeness they shared.

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