(Middle of the Pacific just North of Hawaii – Aircraft Carrier Bataan)
It was a dreary day; Hurricane Maria had finished up and a tsunami was threatening to hit after a disruption from an underwater volcano twenty-two miles off the southeast coast of Island of Hawaii, but so far hadn't. The NCIS team had been working with FBI Special Agent Killian Gibson for over seven months; they were currently finishing work on a drug case on one of the aircraft carriers. They had found the dealer and he was under arrest. FBI Agent Gibson was going to be travelling with him back to the base, while the NCIS team worked on finishing up everything.
Jane's phone went off suddenly, a text, Jane pulled her phone out and didn't know the number. But it was a text that looked like it was from two months ago. Jane looked to Ernie and said, "Is it possible for a text to come through months later?"
"Yes, it depends on a lot of things though. Why?" Ernie said as he looked at the date for the text.
"I don't know who sent this or why it's taken this long to receive it. Can you look into it?"
"Sure. Let's open it." Ernie took the phone from Jane and opened the text; the group gathered around the phone to see what it said.
'33.542475463304825, 44.32332575281088 SOS KW' was all that the text said.
"Are those coordinates?" Jesse asked.
"There coordinates for somewhere in Taji, Iraq." Kai said. "Kate, she sent this SOS. Why did this text just come through? Ernie, I need answers. I am calling in what's left of Noah's unit. They all promised to keep Kate safe. We will find her and bring her home." Kai was texting while he was talking.
"You aren't doing this alone." Jane said as she grabbed Kai's arm as he tried to walk away. "I promised her that if she needed me, I would come. No matter where she was. No matter what. Ernie, why did it take so long for the text to come through?"
"I'm trying to find the phone now. And find out why it took so long for the text." Ernie stated as he typed away.
"Some of the guys are on this ship."
"Holman." Jack Hughes said as he approached Kai with Maeve Jones, both were in their Navy Seal gear and were from Noah's unit.
"Hughes, Jones." Kai said. "This is NCIS SAC of the Pacific Rim Jane Tennant and her team, Jesse Boone, Lucy Tara, and Ernie Malik. Wright, Jenkins, Spencer, and Campbell are on their way. Spencer made a call to Admiral Walsh, Admiral Walsh requested we investigate this immediately and find Kate. We are bringing her home. No one left behind."
"We will find her and bring her home." Jones stated.
The entire time that all of this was going on in the back of the NCIS team's mind they all thought of the last time that they saw Kate. Lucy was thinking about that, but she was also thinking about everything that had happened between them and how the last times she saw Kate had hurt her with her words and actions even when Kate tried to apologize and be there for her.
(Flashback)
It has been two and a half months since Lucy broke up with Kate; she's been rude and snapping at her every moment she can get it seems. Jane has made sure that when Kate works with them to not put them together. Kate has shown up at her house more just for drinks and to talk about things; Kate never mentions Lucy. It's clear, to her, that Kate loves Lucy and Lucy loves Kate, but it's also clear that Lucy isn't willing to hear Kate out. Kate has been trying to still be there for Lucy, but Lucy has been making it so hard on her that even Jesse, Kai, and Ernie tried to cheer Kate up and invite her to join them outside of work. Kate always declined knowing that Lucy didn't want her there even if it was the group going out, but Kate didn't want to bother and invade Lucy's space outside of work.
It was a quiet morning that the NCIS team were going through paperwork when Kate arrived with another FBI agent and headed to Tennant's office. Jesse, Kai, and Lucy watched as Kate introduced the agent to Jane and they began to talk. Ernie had arrived at this point with his files for the previous case and saw the new agent.
"What's going on in there?" Ernie asked.
"Not sure." Kai said.
"Whistler walked in with him and went straight to Tennant's office. It must be important." Jesse stated.
"I hope everything is okay." Ernie said as he saw Jane's reaction to whatever was being said and it was making him concerned.
"Why would you say that?" Lucy asked, finally adding to the conversation.
"It looks serious and if Whistler is introducing another agent, she must have been given a case that needs more attention. Plus, the look on Jane's face, she looks concerned."
That comment had them all looking into Tennant's office. Ernie was right, Jane looked concerned. They weren't in there long before the other agent got up, nodded to the group, and left, headed back to the FBI building, leaving Kate and Jane in the office.
(In Jane's office)
"Is everything okay, Kate?" Jane asked, as the new FBI agent left her office and the building.
"No. I've been assigned to an operation in the Middle East. Due to my clearance, they requested someone like me." Kate said.
"What? The Middle East? FBI don't work out of the states."
"No, the FBI doesn't. But this is a request from the CIA and the FBI have okayed it because the CIA are calling in the favor that the FBI owe them and the one that I owe them."
"You've never worked with the CIA, Kate. How do you owe them?"
"You remember the case with Myra." Jane nodded. "She was the CIA's prisoner, so when you wanted to use her for the case. I had to make a deal with them, that deal's come due."
"Will you be in danger? You know to reach out to me if you need help."
"They told me to get my affairs in order, just in case, but when we signed up for this work, we knew it was a possibility that we wouldn't make it home. And I know Jane, I know that I can call you if I need help. I made you my emergency contact and next of kin in my file. I don't want my parents to know anything."
"Kate..."
"Please Jane, just let me get this out." Jane nodded. "Please give this to Lucy if something happens." Kate reached into her bag and pulled out a letter, then handed Jane a letter. "And this box." Reached back into her bag and pulled out a box and handed it to Jane. "Tell the guys that I appreciate everything and that it's been a pleasure working with them. I can't say goodbye in person Jane." Jane's mouth closed as she had opened it to ask Kate why she didn't tell them. "I won't make it out of here if I do. I wish that it didn't have to be this way, I wish that I was brave enough, strong enough to tell them myself. But I'm not."
Jane walked around her desk and pulled Kate into a hug; she didn't know what to say. She was worried for Kate, and she didn't know if she or her team could survive something happening to Kate. Jane felt Kate hug her back and the way that she practically clung to her in the hug, Jane knew that Kate was scared and that she wanted to come back but wasn't sure that she would. Jane just held on and didn't let go.
"You are going to do amazing. You do everything you can to come home. If you need anything, anything at all, you call me or reach out somehow if you can't get to a phone. I am going to miss you. Take care of yourself, Kate."
"Thank you, Jane. Thank you for everything. I'll try my best to make it home. Please don't tell them until you are going home. I'll be on at least on an aircraft carrier by then in the Atlantic. And please don't tell my parents if anything happens to me. It's not like we talk anyway, I never really mattered to them after Noah was gone."
"I promise that I won't. I understand why you want to wait for them to know, but you know that they are going to ask."
"I do, but I... I can't Jane." Kate said as she finally pulled away. "I won't be able to make it out of here if I do." Jane pulled back and nodded in understanding. "You can tell them once I leave. I'm headed to the base's airfield now."
"Good luck, Kate. I miss you already. Stay as safe as you can."
"Bye, Jane. It's been a pleasure. I miss you already too. I'll do my best. Keep her... keep them safe."
"You know I will."
Jane opened her door and Kate headed straight for the elevator; Jane waited until Kate was on the elevator to look at the group who had been watching the entire thing from their desks or from a chair near Lucy's desk. Jane sighed, she knew and understood why Kate couldn't do this, but it didn't make it any easier for her to do it either.
"Boss?" Jesse said, pulling Jane's attention to the group, who were up and moved to group up in front of her.
"Is everything okay?" Kai asked, he didn't know Kate well, but he knew that she didn't hug people out of nowhere. Kate was always professional even when they were rude and mean to her, but to see her and Jane hug was out of the normal.
"The agent who left here, I will introduce him later, he is Kate's replacement while she is out. Kate is on her way to the base's airfield now. The CIA has requested her to assist with an operation in the Middle East."
"What?" Were exclamations heard from all of them as they took in the information.
"How can they request her and just make her go?" Kai asked, that had Jesse, Ernie, Lucy, and Jane looking at him confusion, "Kate's brother, Noah, died there. There is no way that she would want to go there, to the place that she lost the only family she had."
"How do you know about Noah? Or that Kate hasn't talked to her parents in years?" Jane asked confused, but also concerned that Kai had that kind of information that she knew Kate wouldn't share.
"I knew Captain Whistler's and heard about his death when I was with the Marines. When I met Kate, I remembered the last name and she looks like him, the blonde hair, jaw clench in anger, but Noah was the opposite of her. He was outgoing, she was shy or at least that's what he used to say. And you can't call them parents, they haven't talked to her since he died. He was the only reason they paid any attention to Kate; Noah swore he would never talk to or see them again if they hurt her. And I've talked to Kate, found her rain soaked on the beach staring out at the water, it was the anniversary of his death a couple of weeks ago."
"I remember that day. She never looked as broken other than when she told me about the night after the Medina case."
"Is she even healed enough to go?" Jesse asked concerned about Kate's healing.
"Yes and no. The cuts are gone but her ribs are still bruised." Ernie answered. That had everyone turning to look at him. "Chase noticed that Kate was wincing the other day and requested that she check her ribs. I accidentally walked in when she was checking her. They look healed, but it's clear they still give her some trouble."
"You have to stop her from going." Lucy stated.
"I can't Lucy. Curtis couldn't even stop them from requesting her. And this is the deal that she made." Jane said even she wanted to keep Kate from going, but she knew that there was nothing that she could do.
"What deal?" Lucy asked at the same time Jesse and Kai said, "Deal?"
"Kate made a deal with the CIA, during everything that happened with Maggie, for us and Sola to use Myra to get information that led to Maggie's arrest. I didn't know that she did that until now. That deal has come due, and the CIA requested Kate. There is no way for her or anyone to break it. No matter how much any of us want to stop it." Jane answered. Lucy turned and started toward the elevators; Kate just couldn't leave. She could let her. "Lucy, stop."
"No, she can't just leave."
"Lucy, she doesn't and didn't have a choice." Off in the distance they could hear a (big air force plane) take off and they knew that Kate was on it.
(End flashback)
(Middle of the Pacific just North of Hawaii – Aircraft Carrier Bataan)
The NCIS team and the two Navy Seals were joined a couple of hours later by another Navy Seal, Henri Spencer, and three Marines, Matt Wright, Asher Jenkins, and Jemma Campbell. They were all gathered in a private secure computer room that they had requested from the Bataan's Commanding Officer; Ernie had been given more access to the satellites and other resources so that they could find Kate and bring her home.
"What were you able to find Ernie? Were you able to find out why I didn't get this text earlier?" Jane asked.
"I was able to find out that the text was only sent now because the phone had been turned off before it was able to send. It was caught trying to send from the phone."
"Were you able to find the phone?" Henri Spencer asked.
"Yes, it's near where the coordinates are and is still on." Ernie answered.
"A C-130 is going to take us to the Taji Airport and we will take one of our helos from there." Hughes explained. "I've gathered the gear for everyone. Malik, we want you to come too, but you must stay in the back. We know that you do not carry a weapon nor know how to use it."
"I understand and will do whatever is necessary to get Kate home."
"Commander Spencer." An ensign said, who had knocked on the door.
"Yes." Spencer said.
"There is an incoming call for you all, it is through the satellite video link."
"Malik, if you would pull it up." Spencer said as he motioned to Ernie.
"I've got it." Ernie said pulling the link up.
Several different boxes with screens popped up with President Natalie Bernard, FBI Director Helena Meyers, ASAC Michael Curtis, NCIS Director Leon Vance, DIA Director Martin Davis, and CIA Director Aaron Franklin. It was surprising to see the President was joining this call, two advisors and a bodyguard surrounded her.
"Madam President." Jane said, the surprise is clear in her voice as well as on the faces of the others around her.
"I want to know how this slipped through. I want to know how Special Agent Kate Whistler, Interpreter Roxy Wells, CIA Officer Kevin Preston, CIA Officer Louis Ryan, and DIA Officer Thomas Young. Who was supposed to check in with them? Who oversaw this operation?"
"The CIA oversaw this operation Madam President. We had Deputy Director George Voight, and the Operations Officer is Cara Mitchell." CIA Director Aaron Franklin said. Lucy suddenly sat up straight at Cara's name, which brought the rest of the NCIS team's attention to her, but they quickly turned their attention back to the conversation.
"I thought that Cara was told to stay away from Whistler." President Bernard said.
"She was Madam President. The FBI told Cara to stay away from her." FBI Director Helena Meyers said.
"She was also told by the DIA as well." DIA Director Davis stated.
"Why didn't Cara follow orders and stay away from Kate?" President Bernard demanded answers.
"Madam President, Special Agent Whistler had asked to use one of our prisoners for a case." CIA Director Franklin.
"And you told her she owed you for that?"
"Personally, I didn't, but the Case Officer who caught the prisoner, yes they told her they would owe them for it."
"They work under you."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"And yet you are not taking responsibility for your Officer." The CIA Director looked down at the reprimand. "Why isn't Deputy Director George Voight and Operations Officer Cara Mitchell here right now for this conversation when it is their operation we are talking about?"
"They gave me all the information that they had, and I have put them both on leave indefinitely. I was not aware that Officer Mitchell knew Whistler and had gone to Hawaii to request her help until Whistler had reached out and demanded that she was not allowed near her. Whistler also stated that she wouldn't be helping with the case. Mitchell was investigated previously for using Whistler for information and assistance when she was told to stay away from her. Whistler didn't want any communication with Mitchell." Lucy's eyes widened at that information and the NCIS team's eyes were on her again. They knew that Kate and Lucy broke up because of Cara; learning this information destroyed Lucy's reason for the breakup and that Kate had been in danger with Cara when she had dropped in suddenly on Kate. "I was told, when this operation was being set up, that Whistler wasn't going to be a part of it. But Deputy Director Voight and Operations Officer Mitchell had somehow convinced her to assist. I only found out that Whistler had requested a CIA prisoner and that opened the opportunity for them to request Whistler for the operation."
"I want to know why you never handled Cara and her insubordination; she was to stay away from Kate. It has been known by previous Presidents and I, that the CIA were to stay away and never use Kate for any missions or operations. Why were these orders ignored?" President Bernard said.
"Ma'am, I… was not…"
"You are the Director of the CIA. It is your job to know these things. I do not want excuses; I want answers."
"Yes, Ma'am. I found out this information when I was talking with Deputy Director Voight and Officer Mitchell. I will get all and any other information I can from them and will report to you."
"Remove CIA Director Franklin from this conversation, now."
"Yes, Ma'am." A female voice said from a behind the screen and the CIA Director disappeared from the screen.
"I will deal with him and that department later." President Bernard said, her voice was quick and there was a bit to it, and it was clear she was angry. "I want to know when they were heard from last, where they were last, about the text, and what you all are going to do to bring them home."
"The CIA Director said that the last point of contact was over two months ago. Kate and the team checked in once a week, they missed their check in four days later. The CIA sent a team a week later and couldn't find any information. Their last location for the CIA was their safe house – coordinates 33.43271511181518, 44.151138728174715. Malik, if you would please explain the text." Commander Spencer said.
"Yes, Sir. Ma'am. The reason that the text only came through now is because someone has turned it on. I have the location; it is close to where the text pinged off the towers when it was sent." Ernie stated. "I am keeping an eye on if that phone moves. It could be one of them, but we won't know until we get there. Commander." Ernie looked to the Commander for him to take over on what the plan was to get them all home.
"Thank you. We are taking a C-130 to Taji, taking a helo to the phone location. We will look around and see what we can find out. From there, depending on what we find, we will then go to the safe house location. No matter what we aren't giving up. We will bring them home."
"I want updates as often as possible. I want everyone to work on this. Let me know if there is anything you need. Does everyone understand?" President Bernard said. 'Yes, Ma'am.' Was heard from everyone including the directors. "Good. Commander, SAC Tennant, you are good to leave. I want the rest of you to stay so we can discuss in case we need to send information or assistance." More 'Yes, Ma'am's were heard from everyone; the room dropped off from the meeting to get set up and take off.
(Flashback)
The NCIS team had finally finished a case, it had been a week since Kate had left and Agent Gibson had taken her liaison position. Jane was in her office going over the latest case files trying to finish the last of the week's paperwork; Jane could see Lucy sitting at her desk, she looked like she wanted to talk but she hadn't moved from her desk, so Jane continued to work on paperwork. She knew that eventually Lucy would make her way into her office.
Jesse, Kai, and Ernie had left an hour earlier; they had tried to be there for Lucy and could see that there was something that she wanted to talk about but knew she would reach out when she was ready. A day or two after Kate had left, the guys had all approached Jane separately to check on Lucy, but also to see if Jane had heard from Kate and if she was okay. They were concerned with Kate just leaving and interestingly Kai was more concerned than the others. Jane was the only one who knew the reason for it; she knew his military background and that he knew Noah.
Jane had wondered if anyone else on the team knew anything about Kate's family or about Noah other than the obvious Kai, Lucy, and herself. Jane had assumed Ernie did because he had researched everyone who joined the team or helped them. She assumed that Jesse was the only one who didn't know. Jane knew though that Lucy didn't know about Kai knowing Noah and that Lucy also didn't know that Ernie knew anything about Kate's past or that he had dug a little into it. Jane had made Ernie swear that he wouldn't do that again unless it was requested and for work.
It didn't take much more waiting on Jane's part until Lucy knocked on her office door gently, Jane just looked up and motioned Lucy to enter.
"Hey Lucy, you're here late. Something I can help you with?" Jane asked, though she knew that she was here to talk about Kate.
"Hey Tennant. Yeah, I'm here late. "Umm..." Jane watched Lucy as she struggled with what to say next.
"Come on in and have a seat, Lucy." Lucy moved to sit in front of Tennant's desk, while Jane pulled two glasses and a bottle of whiskey from her desk. "Here." Jane poured Lucy a glass and handed it to her.
"Thanks." Lucy took the glass and took a bit of a gulp from it.
"So..." Jane said softly after she took a drink of her Whiskey. "Can I help you anything Lucy?"
"I know that you don't know much about what happened between Whistler and I." Lucy said, she paused after and Jane waited, it was clear Lucy was trying to find the words. "Do you have any idea how she's doing? If she's, okay?"
"Unfortunately, I have no information. I don't know how she is doing or if she is okay. And I honestly hate that. I want to know that too Lucy. I tried asking the CIA for more information or at least a way to contact Kate to check on her, but they won't give me anything. I don't think that they trust me since Maggie. I know that I questioned myself after Maggie; Kate was really the only person who could put it in to perspective for me. She helped me through that, and I wish that I could help her. It was my fault that they had the opportunity to use Kate for this operation. I wish that I had treated her better when she was here, that she knew that she could trust us. I should have invited her to dinner or group activities. I shouldn't have made her feel like the bad guy or like she didn't belong."
"You aren't alone in that. She wanted to keep us a secret and we were on again off again, which I still don't fully understand why we had to be."
"I can answer that one." Jane commented, but Lucy continued.
"But you weren't the only one that made her feel like the bad guy or that she didn't belong. When she would stop, or well try to stop, whatever we were doing I used the team going out to get back at her by not inviting her. I know that I was hard on her, and I know how hard she was trying to be open and to communicate things with me. I didn't let her explain. I didn't stop snapping at her. I told her that she wasn't a bet worth taking. That I loved her, past tense and that she ruined us."
"Lucy."
"I told her that after the Medina case. After she nearly died. After I learned from Curtis that she stayed in Hawaii instead of taking a promotion in DC. I shouldn't have left her alone and gone out on a date. I just wanted to forget, but even during the date she was on my mind. Do you know how she got home?"
"I took Kate home with me. She shouldn't have been alone. And I wanted her to know that I was there for her like she was for me." Jane paused for a moment before continuing, "About Kate wanting you to be a secret." Lucy's eyes flew up to meet Jane's, she didn't think that Kate would talk to Jane about it. "Kate didn't tell me anything. I am your boss, and she didn't want to discuss it for several reasons, but the biggest was that she loves you. But I think she also didn't talk about it because she was afraid that I wouldn't be her friend anymore, and she is her hardest critic. You know how Kate must be seen as professional." Lucy nodded. "She was disrespected a lot when she was with the DIA and by the DIA because she is a she and because of how much she compartmentalizes. She's learned to compartmentalize, and I don't think that she had anyone who cared even if she was open to sharing." Lucy knew that too and nodded in understanding. "She kept you two dating a secret for a lot of reasons but work wise it was because it would have been a conflict of interest…"
Jane was going to continue but Lucy interrupted her, "But it wasn't I looked at the rules."
"Lucy, every case she worked with us would have been looked over. All the information she gave us, every interaction would have been looked at over again. But those aren't the only reasons to keep your relationship a secret. You would have needed to have a deeper background check than you get with NCIS, and the boys club as most people know the government would have judged her and in turn judged you. Her being a lesbian would have caused so many of them to ridicule the two of you. Not to mention the comments behind her and your backs. If they found anything…. anything at all, they would have shipped her back to the mainland or worse, she could have been imprisoned and thought of as a spy or a traitor, even if she didn't do anything."
"I didn't know any of that."
"She didn't know how to explain any of it."
"How do you know that?"
"When I took Kate home after the Medina case, she was crying in the bullpen. She told me what you had said and admitted she loved you, present tense, and then went on a tangent of well everything. I didn't catch a lot of what she was saying, but it was clear that she was devastated and heartbroken. I took her home, got her to eat something, and then she cried herself to sleep on my couch."
"Oh."
"Lucy, I know that Kate seems like she doesn't feel things as deeply as you do, but she does. She's just learned to shove it in a box until she can go through it and fully feel it. I also think that she shut herself off from people after Noah died to keep herself from ever feeling the pain she did when she lost him. I think he was her everything. He was her best friend who got her out of her shell. He was her brother who protected her from others including their parents. He was the parent who told her that she was good enough and worth it. I don't think Kate's ever received that from her parents."
"I never really thought about it or asked her. How did you find out about Noah?"
"She told me. After Maggie, she came around a lot more. We would drink and talk. She told me about Noah and about her parents. How she tried to live up to Noah when he was alive and almost giving up entirely when he died. She knew that she'd never live up to him in her parents' eyes. They haven't really spoken since Noah died." Jane turned to Lucy and asked, "How did you find out about Noah."
"Well... umm... about that."
"Lucy."
"She said I didn't know anything about her because I don't ask."
"And? Did you ask her anything?"
"I did after, but it was during the case with Ito and I wanted to focus. I googled her and brought it up during that case."
"LUCY! That is not what she meant."
"I know. I know. I knew it then too, but she was so closed off I didn't think she would answer me." Jane kept glaring at her and Lucy continued, "But she did after, I think she took it as a sign that I was trying too. I know how hard she was trying, the entire time we were together, to be open, to be out."
"Kate ever told you what her parent's said when she told them and Noah that she liked girls?"
"No. I never asked either. I didn't really think about it. I knew how my parents reacted and I didn't want to bring that up."
"Did you ever trust her?"
"What? Of course... "
"Lucy, when you trust someone, you open yourself up to them, yes, but you also want to know them. You both never did communicate well, and it seems like you never communicated." Jane sighed before continuing, she could see how Lucy was rethinking things. "Kate has always been overly critical of herself, but it was because of her parents. They wanted perfection. They wanted another Noah." Lucy looked like she was going to interrupt but stopped. "They always compared her to Noah. She knew that she was never going to be him. When she came out, they wanted to disown her, but Noah stopped them."
"What?!" Lucy was surprised. "How did Noah stop them?"
"He took Kate from the house to live with him. And he swore to his parents that if they did that, he would never talk to them again. Like I said he was more of a parent to Kate than her parents ever were. He loved her when they didn't. He protected her when they didn't. He never judged her, and he helped her be open. So, when he died, she lost everything Lucy. After he died, Kate's parents did disown her. It's why they haven't talked since he died."
"I never knew any of this. But it's my own fault I never asked."
"Kate's parents were judgmental and hyper-critical of her. It's why she is her worst enemy. It's why being judged even if the person doing the judging doesn't really matter, will matter to her."
"Is there any why we can find out anything about how she's doing?"
"Unfortunately, no Lucy. I wish I could get that information. I am worried about her. When she left here, she seemed like she knew how dangerous this operation was and that she didn't know if she was going to make it back. I know she'll try like hell, but I am worried."
"I wish that I would have listened to what she had to say when she tried to explain. I wish that I had stopped punishing her. I wish that I could take back what I said to her last."
"What did you say?"
"Things that I knew would hurt her, but she was already hurt so I piled it on. It was after the Medina case before I went on my date. I learned that Kate stayed in Hawaii after getting a big job in DC for me and because she liked it here. I told her that she ruined everything, broke my heart, and that I loved her past tense."
"Lucy."
"I know."
"When I found her, she was just as heartbroken, Lucy. She asked me, 'how do you fall out of love when it's all your fault that the person you love doesn't love you anymore.' I didn't have an answer. I just hugged her and then took her home."
"Was she okay before she left?"
"Physically, yes. But emotionally, no. I asked her if she wanted to say goodbye to you guys and she kept saying that she couldn't. That it would break her if she had to. Lucy, she didn't want to go. But the CIA didn't give her much of choice."
Jane and Lucy took sips of their drinks, thinking about all that was said and talked about.
After a few minutes of silence, Lucy asked, "Is there a way for me to fix between Kate and I?"
"I'm sure there is Lucy," Jane said then paused before adding, "But with her overseas right now, I'm not sure you trying to fix it right now is a good idea. She needs to be focused on the operation."
"I agree. I just... I miss her."
"I miss her too. But when she's back you can work on it. You want to come over for dinner? Julie will be home from her friend's house shortly. And Alex will be home from work."
"Yeah, I'd like that."
Jane and Lucy finished their drinks and went to Jane's house to cook and have dinner.
(End flashback)
(Taji, Iraq – unknown location – several hours earlier)
The three men tossed Kate into the corner of hot, dark basement room: a least a couple of months... a couple of months they tortured her, wanting information. But she refused to give them the information she and the others had gathered. She didn't know if the others were even still alive. She knew that she had to stay alive. She had to get to the phone she was able to bring with her. Her brain though just felt so muddled, she couldn't fully remember where she put it. She knew that the text she had wanted to send hadn't gone through because they had grabbed her and the others before it went through, she had to turn it off before they found it.
'Come on. You need to remember.' Kate thought. 'Wait...this is the room I was first in.' Kate looked around to try and find the part of the wall where there was a small hole. 'There. I need to turn the phone on, so the message goes out. Jane will come.' Kate crawled painfully to the small hole and stuck her hand in. 'Come on.' Felt around a little. 'Gotcha.' Kate pulled the phone out and turned it on. It had a full battery, so she decided to leave it on. 'Please Jane. I need you.' Kate went to put the phone back in and barely remembered to make sure that the volume and vibration was off, but she made sure before shoving the phone back into the wall. 'Please come.'
Kate isn't sure how long she passed out for, but she woke suddenly; thankfully, no one was coming in to take her for more torture. She'd just awoken by something internal. Contacting Jane means that she and the team are going to come, and the team means Lucy. 'Lucy.' Kate thought. God, she missed her. She knew that she had no right to as they were no longer together and the last time that they had talked to each other Lucy had told her that she loved her past tense and walked away.
Kate started to wonder what the NCIS team were up to and if they were doing okay if they were safe. She wished that the CIA would have let her contact them just to connect to someone familiar, but they refused. Kate knew that they weren't looking out for her or the team; they just wanted answers to who had leaked the intel and caused twenty-five ambushes resulting in the deaths of military personal and civilian casualties. Kate hoped that the CIA had notified Jane of her being missing, which after a certain amount of time, would have been changed to assumed dead. But then again, the CIA didn't really care as long as they got answers. Kate knew that she and the team weren't cared about, they were disposable to the CIA.
Kate hoped that Jane got the message and that she would come, that the team would come. But it had been five months when she was taken, and she had no idea how much time had passed. Would they care? Would they come? Jane treated her team like family, but Kate wasn't family. Would Jane keep her word? Would she come? Kate tried to get more comfortable or as comfortable as she could get with her injuries. She just needed to hold on. She needed to trust that Jane meant what she had said and that she was coming.
(Taji, Iraq – Helo headed to the phone location)
The Seals, the Marines, and the NCIS team were all geared up on the helo, they all knew that they were headed into dangerous territory and to be on the lookout. It was the goal to get to the phone's location, find Kate and the others, and bring them home, if they were there and if they weren't head to the safe house to determine what they could. Everyone was discussing strategy, but Ernie could see that Lucy was having a challenging time paying attention, her mind was on what they might find when they got there.
(Flashback)
Lucy was out having a few drinks with the guys after a tough case; Jane couldn't go out with them as Julie had asked for her help with a project. Kate had been gone for a month at this point and the guys could see that Lucy was still thinking about her.
"Are you doing okay, Lucy?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy said quickly, but the guys didn't believe her.
"Are you sure? You've been thinking a lot." Ernie said. "Are you thinking about Whistler?"
"Yes."
"What about her are you thinking about?"
"How I didn't let her explain. How I hurt her the last time we talked."
"How did you hurt her?" Kai asked.
"It was after the Medina case. I told her that she ruined everything. That she broke my heart. And that I loved her past tense. Then left her in the middle of the bullpen."
"Lucy." Jesse said a bit of disappointment in his voice.
"I know. And then I avoided her until she left." Lucy added. "I avoided her for two weeks. Never talking to her and completely ignoring her."
Jesse, Ernie, and Kai all looked at Lucy with a bit of sadness that she felt that she had to do that, but also a little disappointment that Lucy had left Kate hurt.
"Did you know that Kate's brother, Noah, was part of a unit that I worked with?" Kai said softly.
"No." Ernie and Jesse said.
"Wait you knew Noah?" Lucy said.
"Captain Noah Whistler. He was in Iraq. His unit was ambushed. He and a few others died that day. I wasn't with him during that transfer. He was killed due to leaked intel from an NCIS team investigating in an area nearby."
"NCIS leaked the intel?" Jesse asked confused.
"Yeah. It was accidental. But there were questions on if it wasn't just that information leaked. I wonder if that is what they sent Kate to Iraq for." Kai answered.
"She's in Iraq." Ernie said, surprised.
"Yeah, I know. It's the worst place for her since she would stick out compared to others, but she would be the most invested if that is what they have her there for." Kai said. "And it is where Noah died, just a reason for her to push herself. A constant reminder that she is near where her brother died."
"Would they do that to her? Hurt her like that?" Lucy asked.
"Well, this operation is most likely a CIA/NSA/DIA operation and they aren't exactly known for caring about those they are in charge of or of those they send." Kai explained. That had Lucy, Jesse, and Ernie rethinking things and how they had treated the Officers that came from those departments. They all knew that they weren't the nicest to Kate at those times. "If you are thinking about how, you treated Kate, she used to push back. You must be when you work for those departments. People always think you're the bad guy."
"She told me that once. Said she was used to being the bad guy and that I was lucky I have you guys. People who I liked and wanted to get a beer with at the end of the day." Lucy said.
"I am going to apologize to her, when she comes back, I owe her an apology." Jesse said.
"We all do." Ernie said.
"But I do the most. I should have listened to her. I didn't even listen when we were dating. She said that I didn't get to know her and she was right. I googled her. I didn't ask her, like she wanted me to. I should have tried like I knew that she was."
(End flashback)
"Lucy, you with us?" Ernie asked softly.
"Yeah. Yes, I'm here." Lucy said.
"I know that things between you and Kate weren't great before she left, but she needs you to focus."
"I know. I'm here." Lucy refocused herself and paid closer attention to what was going on and what they were discussing.
"There are going to be hostiles in the area. When we land, we make sure that we stick together. Tennant, you know your team best." Spencer stated.
"Kai you're with me. Lucy, Ernie, stay with Jesse." Tennant said.
"Boone, Tara, Malik, you stick with me, Jones, and Jenkins. Wright, Hughes, and Campbell you are with Tennant, Holman. Malik, always stay behind us until it is determined safe." Ernie nodded in understanding."
"We're about to land." The pilot said over the coms.
"Everyone ready?" Spencer asked.
'Yes.' and 'Yes, Sir.' were heard from everyone.
"All right. Let's go." Spencer said as the helo landed.
Spencer led his group to the right side of the building where the phone was showing up on Ernie's GPS and heat signature signals from an overhead satellite and two US drones. Jane and her team went to the left of the building. They were quickly making their way through the building, taking out several hostiles on their way through. They had found several bodies on their way through several in bare rooms clearly cells, four of the five from Kate's team along with several others who were clearly locals, but none of them were Kate.
Spencer and his team were headed toward the last of the rooms when Jane and her team joined them, but they soon came upon a man, who was clearly in charge, he had three men who were his main guards; they all fired on the team as they approached. The man in charge yelled in Kurdish and Jones immediately started to yell back at him.
"Jones?" Spencer said as he knew that she knew something he didn't. Jones continued to yell back at the man until they had taken out his men and he was down with gunshot wounds of his own. "Jones, what is going on? What did he say?"
"You speak whatever that was?" Jesse said.
"Kurdish." Lucy said. "I didn't understand any of it, but it sounded familiar."
"I need medics and the helo here now." Maeve said as she kicked the gun away from the man and grabbed the keys off his belt.
"She's alive." Spencer said understanding immediately. He quickly grabbed his radio to request the medics and helo as he rushed forward to join her at the last door.
"Ernie, the phone is in this room." Jane said as she understood what was going on.
"Yes. It's in there." Ernie stated just as Jane decided 'fuck finding the key' and kicked the door in.
There on the floor near the farthest wall was Kate, it was clear she needed medical attention. Jane, Maeve, and Jemma rushed to help Kate and do what they could with their limited medical training and the medical bag they had brought. Spencer and the rest of the guys stayed out of the room as they heard Kate scream when Jane, Maeve, and Jemma approached her. Lucy was frozen in the doorway with Ernie as she watched Jane, Maeve, and Jemma try to calm Kate down and explain that it was them, that she was safe.
"No! Stop! No!" Kate screamed as Jane, Jemma, and Maeve tried to assess Kate's injuries; Kate struggled against them trying to keep them away from her.
"Kate. It's okay. You're safe. We've got you. I came just like I promised." Jane said as she gently held Kate's face in her hands. "Look at me, Kate. Look, it's me. It's Jane."
"Jane?" Kate whimpered. "You're here? You came?" Kate's voice was rough the lack of water but sounded surprised that Jane came. "You came. You kept your promise."
"Of course, I did. You are family Kate. I promised you if you reached out for help and I would come. No matter where or what."
"I know. I was afraid that it had been too long. That I wasn't worth it."
Tears filled Lucy's eyes as she listened to the conversation going on between Kate and Jane; she had known that Kate had self-esteem issues but to think that she didn't think Jane and the team would come. Ernie stood near Lucy, by the door, to support her but also in case they needed him to relay any information.
"You are worth it Kate. You are always worth it. Medics are on the way okay." Jane said softly as she brushed the few tears that fell from Kate's eyes off.
"Hey Katie. Can you tell me what hurts the most?" Maeve asked softly.
"Maeve?" Kate whispered.
"Yeah, it's me. Jemma's here too. We all promised Noah we'd keep an eye on you." Kate looked like she was about to interrupt, but Maeve didn't let her, "Don't. You are worth it. You will always be worth it. I know that your parents didn't think you were and that when Noah died you lost anyone who ever cared, but you have people now. You will always have us. Now tell me what is bothering you the most."
The NCIS team heard Maeve's comment about Kate's parents and about how when she lost Noah, she lost everything. They had no clue that Kate's parents were like that. Hearing it had made them wish that they had been more open to her and not so rude and mean, when she came in with the DIA.
"Ribs, my ribs. The last beating, they used a pipe and the iron." Kate said.
"Iron?" Jemma said wanting confirmation and confused on why an iron.
"They liked to heat it up and then press it in after hitting me with the pipe."
"Okay. Can I take a look?" Maeve asked. Kate nodded but it looked like even nodding hurt.
"Try not to move, Katie." Jemma said softly as she helped Maeve check Kate's injuries.
"Where are the others? Where is Roxy? Or Kevin? Thomas? Louis?" Kate asked.
"They didn't make it, Kate." Wright said from the doorway.
Kate's eyes filled with tears and fell to the dirt beneath her; the teams knew that the loss of the others was hard, they had relied on each other and kept each other safe. And now Kate was the only survivor of this operation.
"We can't leave them here." Kate said.
"We won't. We'll get them home. We promise." Spencer said.
"He killed Noah. Tarik Kader. He's the leader. I hid the information on the phone's memory card." Kate said as she pointed to the small hole in the bottom of the wall.
"We'll get it. Ernie." Jane said. Ernie moved closer and got down, put his hand in the wall, and grabbed the phone. He plugged it into his tablet and pulled up the information. Ernie's eyes widened at the information that Kate and the team had been able to gather in the brief time that they had. "Ernie?"
"It's here. It's all here Kate. We've got it. You did it." Ernie said.
"Voight and Cara. They said that they'd keep track of us. Where are they? Why didn't they keep their word?" Kate asked.
"We don't know Katie. But President Bernard was going to handle it with the other Directors." Spencer said from the doorway. Lucy tensed at hearing Cara's name, but when she heard the rest of Kate's question, she felt herself burning with anger.
"President Bernard knew about this?"
"No. She didn't and everyone is well aware that this operation was not setup and run properly." Maeve said.
"She has bigger things to worry about." Kate said.
"Don't do that Katie. She was incredibly angry and wanted answers. She cares about you. And you kept her safe when you were in DC. She was glad that you transferred out of DC, she knew how hard it was for you there. And she was proud to hear when you transferred from DIA to FBI." Spencer said.
Kate whimpered when Maeve and Jemma touched her sides trying to see if there was anything broken. Jane held tight to Kate's hand and brushed the tears that fell; seeing the injuries that they could it looked extremely bad. They could hear the two helos that were coming, one with medics as well as another to pick up the rest of them.
"Kate, I'm going to bandage these cuts and they'll take a closer look at them when we get you to the hospital." Maeve said.
"Hughes and I will go guide the medics in." Jenkins said as he and Hughes headed to where the helos were landing.
"I'm tired." Kate whimpered as she closed her eyes.
"Katie, no, you need to stay awake." Jemma said as she gently shook Kate.
"I don't want to fight anymore."
"I know, Katie. You have been through so much, but we need you to stay with us."
"Everyone's gone."
"Kate." Lucy said as she finally moved from her spot by the door.
"Luce?" The nickname passed Kate lips easily as she whispered it with slight surprise at hearing her voice.
"Hey. It's me. I'm here. I need you to stay awake. Just stay with us." Lucy knelt next to Kate and took her hands in hers.
"Luce. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"Shh… Kate, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Please just stay awake. I know you're tired, but we need you to stay awake."
"Okay."
Kate eyes never left Lucy's face; Jane and the others watched until the medics came in. They all could see just how much Kate loved Lucy and that Lucy still loved Kate. Seeing the two of them had Jane thinking about the last time that she and Kate talked about their past.
(Flashback)
Jane had helped Kate into the passenger seat of her car and then got in the driver's seat, she was going to take Kate back to her apartment but decided against it as she had watched Kate just stare out the passenger window. Kate didn't even notice when Jane had turned the opposite direction of her apartment when they pulled off the base. The tears that Kate had cried in the bullpen hadn't stopped since they left, and it concerned Jane; Kate wasn't one to share how she was feeling about things and to see her cry was hard. When Jane and Kate finally arrived at Jane's house, Jane was about to get out of the car, but noticed that Kate was still crying as she stared out the window. Jane touched Kate's shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Hey Kate." Jane said.
"Hmm..." Kate sighed as she tried to wipe all the tears off her face.
"I brought you to my place. You really shouldn't be alone right now. We can go in and get some food."
"Sure."
Jane got out of the car and grabbed her stuff along with Kate's go bag they had grabbed from Kate's car; Kate though slowly got out of the car, looking like she didn't know what to do and based on her injuries probably hurt and was hard to move, Jane had wanted to try to help, but she also had her hands full with their bags. Kate hadn't even noticed Jane was trying to help her, it was clear that her mind was still somewhere else, and she was barely registering anything that was going on around her.
Jane got increasingly concerned as she helped Kate into the house, put down the bags and turned to find Kate taking her shoes off, she remembered to even after only being at the house once, but then Jane realized that Lucy had snapped her about it. That memory had Jane wondering if that was why Kate remembered and if she thought that she would yell at her if she didn't take them off.
Kate stood in the middle of Jane's kitchen, looking unsure if she was supposed to sit at the counter or if she should enter the living room and sit on the couch. Jane watched her for a moment more before she moved to grab some food to heat up that she had left over from yesterday's dinner. Jane motioned for Kate to have a seat at the kitchen counter, while she heated up the food. Jane started the oven and turned back to check on Kate, to find tears still slowly making their way down her cheeks; it broke Jane's heart to see Kate so distraught and unlike herself.
"Kate, I know that you don't talk about what happened between you and Lucy, but if you ever did want to talk, I'm here to listen as a friend. No judgement from me." Jane said softly.
Kate sat there for a moment, her mouth opening and closing, before the floodgates opened and Kate laid out everything that happened between her and Lucy from the very beginning to that very moment. Jane just listened and held on to Kate as she cried and explained.
(End flashback)
(Med bay - Middle of the Pacific just North of Hawaii – Aircraft Carrier Bataan)
Kate was rushed into the med bay, the Marines and Seals with the assistance of those on the carrier slowly and respectfully brought the bodies of the Agents off the C-130. They were all placed respectfully and gently on the floor of the carrier's largest room. Jane was able to stay with Kate as her emergency contact, but the rest of the NCIS team, who had followed them to the door, stood outside waiting for an update.
Jane had watched as the doctors looked Kate over, she had passed out during the flight back to the carrier and the medics had said that there was no point in trying to force her to stay awake. She would need a CAT scan, MRI, and a lot of other tests when she was looked over by the doctors. Jane saw the scars, cuts, bruises, burns, and other marks that the men had left when they had tortured Kate; it made her sick to think that the CIA had left her and the other agents without trying to find them and that they hadn't even notified anyone or thought to notify people. A part of her was glad that she hadn't really looked at the bodies of the other agents that they had found. She couldn't imagine what they and Kate had been through and none of them had given up any information that they had tried to force out of them. Jane was extremely proud of Kate for being able to hold out as well as hold on; she didn't know what she would have done if they had found all of them dead.
Jane knew that her team wanted to be there for Kate and to apologize for everything that happened between them at work and a bit outside of work. They had never realized how little Ohana Kate had and wanted to make sure that from now on she knew that she had Ohana with them. Lucy...Jane thought, she knew that Lucy wanted to apologize but it was more than that, Lucy wanted Kate back. They had talked when Kate was gone not only about what happened between them but also about why Lucy reacted the way that she did and refused to let Kate talk. Jane learned that Lucy's first girlfriend had broken her heart by cheating and that Lucy was afraid that Kate would prove that it happened again, but when Lucy, talked things through with Jane, she realized that she assumed a lot but didn't truly know the truth. And ever since they had that talk Lucy wanted to talk to Kate and learn her side of the story.
The doctors were trying to help Kate, by stitching up her wounds, cleaning them, and going through what all was damaged, when she regained consciousness; she struggled against them, trying to get away. They realized that she was panicking because she thought that she was back in Iraq being held hostage; Jane rushed forward and helped hold Kate down and tried to explain that it was okay and that she was safe, that they got her out and that she was with them on Bataan. It took several minutes of Jane talking to Kate that was able to calm her down enough to explain what was going on and to get her to let the doctors get back to work.
"I'm right here, Kate. It's okay. You're okay. We've got you. I told you I'd come to get you. No matter what. You're safe. I'm here." Jane said as she held Kate's hand and kept her attention on her. "Just keep your eyes on me; the doctors and nurses are going to keep working. They are working on cleaning your wounds and figuring out all the damage."
"He wanted the information I found." Kate whimpered as one of the doctors had tried to clean her wound. "He wanted to know if we were able to find out all the information that Ernie has.
"It's okay, Kate. We can talk about this later." Jane said softly.
"He… he did things, Jane."
"Shh…Kate…it's okay. We'll deal with it later. You are okay."
"No, Jane. I…I can't…I could be…I can't be…"
It was Kate's pleading that Jane realized what Kate was trying to tell her; Jane cupped Kate's cheek and said, "It's okay. I'll let them know. They'll check you. No matter what Kate. You will not be alone. Whatever the results, you will not be alone. It will be okay." Kate nodded, she heard her, but the tears that filled Kate's eyes showed Jane how scared and worried she was. Luckily the nurses and doctors were listening, and it didn't have to be explained, though as Kate had been held hostage by men it was going to be checked during checking everything. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."
Kate closed her eyes as the nurse gave her some more pain meds, they could see how much pain she was in and that she needed to be unconscious for them to be able to go through and check everything the way that they wanted. Jane stayed with Kate the entire time so that she was aware of what was going on and what all of the damage done to Kate was.
(Just outside of the med bay a few hours later – Aircraft Carrier Bataan)
Jane exited the med bay and found her team as well as the Seals and Marines that had joined them in getting Kate and the others back from Iraq. Jane took a deep breath and prepared herself for the questions that she knew the team and others would have.
Commander Spencer spoke first, "Let's take this to this room over here," he motioned to the room next to the med bay, "I requested that they give us this room to get comfortable that is close to Kate, and we can discuss what we need to here."
The group entered the room next to the med bay, while Jane let the team in the med bay know where she was in case Kate woke up or they needed her for anything. Then Jane joined the group, they were all sitting separated by the team they were with normally, and they waited for Jane to get comfortable near her team.
"How is she?" Kai asked.
"Kate is currently sedated; several bones have been reset so that they'll heal properly, two in her left arm, one in her right, and one in each of her legs. She has several broken ribs. They have stitched up all open cuts and wounds. When they get her to Tripler, they will want to perform some surgeries for internal damage done and to fully repair a few things, like her liver, spleen, and kidneys. She has some skull fractures, but they are all in the process of healing. She... she was also sexually assaulted, but they checked her over and there are no issues there. They aren't sure she'll ever be able to have children from the injuries, but she's not pregnant."
The room was completely quiet at Jane's last comments, being female and held by a group of radical men that was something that they didn't want to think could have happened, but it was something that most likely would have occurred. They all looked sick at the thought; Kai and Jack got physically angry, slamming a fist into the nearest wall. Henri had grabbed Jack to try and calm him down while Jesse grabbed Kai to do the same.
"I know that this is upsetting news, but Kate needs us to be there for her and to keep her safe. She is already scared and feeling vulnerable. We need to show her that she is cared about and loved. No matter what those men did to her while she was held."
Everyone nodded in understanding; they all vowed to prove to Kate that she was cared about and loved, that she was still her and that the men would never take that from her.
"When we get to Tripler with Kate and she is surgery; we are going to have a meeting with President and the Directors. They want to know everything as well as how Kate is doing." Spencer said.
Tennant nodded and knew that they would also want the information that Kate and her team were able to gather, but also, they would want to know if the people responsible for holding them, torturing them, and killing everyone but Kate was dealt with. The rest of the teams had decided to take some naps they had been up for over 36 hours, knowing that they had to find Kate and the others and bring them home.
Lucy, however, approached Jane and Henri who were going to go over what was found, "Tennant."
"Lucy, how are you doing?" Jane asked.
"I…can I see her?" Lucy asked softly and sounding uncertain.
"Sure, but they have her sedated, she won't know that you're there."
"I know…I…I just need to see her."
"Okay." Jane turned to Spencer, he nodded in understanding, Jane turned back to Lucy and motioned for her to go out the door. They entered the med bay, Jane and Lucy approached where Kate was, a nurse brought a stool over.
Lucy sat down and Jane went to leave, but Lucy grabbed her arm, "Please stay. It's okay if you hear this."
"Okay." Jane said as she grabbed another stool nearby and sat next to Lucy and Kate.
Lucy hesitated for a moment before slowly and gently taking one of Kate's hands in hers, giving it a soft kiss on the back of it. Jane sat next to Lucy watching her and listening.
"Hi Kate." Lucy said softly, so softly Jane almost didn't hear her. "I'm here. I…I'm not sure that you want to see me especially with how I left you. I am so sorry. I should have given you the opportunity to explain when you wanted to. It would have saved both of us the heartache. I promise when you are better and if you are willing to talk to me, that I will listen to whatever you want to say. If you want to yell at me. If you want to tell me that I broke your heart. I promise that I will listen to all of it. I love you, Kate. Present tense. And if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you." Lucy stood up, leaned over, and kissed Kate softly on the forehead. "I'm going to go and let you rest. I love you so much, Kate."
Lucy quickly left the room after that; Jane had barely even stood up to follow her when Kate had grabbed her hand, needing someone…something to ground her. Jane realized that Kate had tried to grab Lucy, but Lucy was quick and already gone.
"It's okay, Kate. Do you want me to go get her?" Jane asked.
Kate shook her head and said, "I'm not ready yet. I've wanted to hear her say that for so long Jane."
"I know. I remember."
"I don't know where to go from here."
"That's okay. You don't have to know anything. Just take it slow Kate. Like she said she'll wait and this time she'll listen." Jane could see a glimpse of hesitation in Kate's eyes. "It's not just because of you being taken, held, and tortured Kate. I was with her, working with her, spending time with her outside of work. She has regrets about before you left and she wished that she could take them back. We talked a lot about you, her, and you and her. She can talk to you about it more when you are ready. She'll wait for you. Just go back to sleep and get some rest. We can all talk later. I know you want to ask questions, but you need to rest." Kate nodded and her eyes closed again. Jane stayed until she fell back to sleep and then went to check on Lucy and the others.
(Tripler – Conference Room)
The Seals, Marines, NCIS team, and Kate had finally arrived at Tripler and Kate was taken into surgery; Jane had stayed with Kate for as long as possible before she was taken into the operating room and then joined everyone in the conference room closest to the OR waiting room. Jane didn't want to leave Kate alone for any reason because she wanted Kate to know that someone was there that cared about her. While Jane was with Kate, the Marines, the Seals, and the rest of the NCIS team were waiting in the conference room for Jane to join them before they meet with the President and the Directors.
Jane entered the conference a few minutes after they took Kate into the operating room to fix the internal damage as well as to do debridement of all her wounds to ensure that only healthy tissue left, Commander Spencer nodded before motioning to Ernie, who pulled up a secure video feed.
"How is she?" President Bernard asked, not letting anything else be talked about first.
"Kate has been through a lot. She had and still has several broken bones, burns, cuts. She was tortured the entire time that they had her and the others. She is the only survivor. They also sexually assaulted her. She is currently in surgery to make sure that the wounds are fully cleaned, to repair any internal damage done, and to fix anything else that they find." Jane answered.
"Is she…"
"She is not pregnant, but she was at some point. She might not ever be able to."
"Let me know when I will be able to talk with her. I haven't been able to check in on her in a while and I miss her. And want to talk to her."
"I will, Madam President. I'm sure she'll be glad to talk to you."
President Bernard gave a small smile and then changed the topic, "Now, I want to know what Kate and the others were able to find. Do we know who leaked the intel that got all those soldiers killed as well as the civilians?"
"Kate and the other agents were able to find Tarik Kader and his men, about 15 of them. We took them all out when we went in to find Kate and the others. We found Kate, but they had killed all the others. They had civilians all along the routes and who were friends with the soldiers, they had also threatened them and hurt the civilians if they went against them."
"Do we have proof that he and all of his men are dead."
"Yes, Ma'am." Commander Spencer said and he handed a flash drive to Ernie, who put the flash drive in and pulled up the photographic evidence that the president was looking for. "This is Tarik Kader. The rest are his men."
"Thank you." President Bernard said. The Seals, the Marines, and the NCIS team nodded. They knew that this was very important to the President that they had found Kate, brought her home, and took out who had hurt her and the others. "You all did what was asked of you. I am grateful. I want Deputy Director Voight and Operations Officer Cara Mitchell to be reprimanded and they are no longer allowed to work for the government. I want to know why they had such free rein and able to set this operation in to play."
"Madam President. I was not aware of this operation. And I apologize for that. I will be meeting with all the other Deputy Directors and make sure that this doesn't happen again." CIA Director Aaron Franklin said.
"Good, but I am hesitant to trust you." President Bernard said. "I would like Director Meyers, Director Davis, and Director Vance to assist with this. I want to make sure that there are no other missions or operations in the works that are going to put other agents or officers in danger."
"Yes, Ma'am. I understand and I am looking forward to the assistance." Director Franklin said.
"Davis. Meyers, Vance."
"Whatever you need us to do Ma'am." Vance said with Meyers agreeing all the way.
"Like Vance said, 'Whatever you need us to do'. We want to ensure that this never happens again." Meyers added.
"We are all in agreement here Ma'am." Davis added.
"Good." President Bernard said with a sharp nod. "We will all meet again in a few days. I want to make sure everything is going well and that Kate is healing."
"Yes, Ma'am." Everyone answered.
"Until then. Directors start to go over things. The rest of you get some rest. If you need anything or if Kate needs anything, let me know." The video cut off for everyone leaving the Seals, Marines, and NCIS team to follow the presidents order and get some rest. They all headed over to the OR waiting room to wait for Kate to get out of surgery. Kai's father, Jane's kids and ex, Commander Chase, and Jesse's family brought dinner for everyone and they had wanted to check on everyone.
(Tripler – Kate's hospital room)
Three days after Kate came out of surgery and put into a private room, which they made sure was able to fit everyone, because they knew that none of them were going to leave while Kate was still there. Kate finally woke up, Kate had a weird anesthetic reaction and had remained unconscious a little longer than the doctors had wanted, but they assured everyone that it was only because of the weird reaction.
It was late in the day when Kate's eyes started flickering, which pulled Lucy's attention as she was just watching Kate sleep. Lucy hadn't left since they had gotten to Tripler and the few things, she would leave for was to shower and use the bathroom, food was brought to the room for them or someone would go and bring back food for everyone. They all had noticed that Lucy didn't want to leave and stayed close to Kate. They understood it and let Lucy do what she needed to do.
"Mmm…" Kate groaned a little as she came to and slowly looked around.
Jane, Lucy, and Kai were the three there as it was about eleven o'clock at night and they had sent everyone else home. Kai was asleep in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall with his feet up. Jane was asleep in one of the chairs on Kate left side closest to the door, her feet were up on the very end of Kate's bed. Lucy was on Kate's right side leaning against the bed on her elbows, her eyes were the first eyes that Kate saw.
"Hey." Lucy said softly as she stood up and leaned toward Kate brushing the little bit of hair near Kate's eyes.
"Luce." Kate whispered.
"Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling? I should go get a nurse." Lucy went to pull away, but Kate didn't let her. "Hey, what is it? Are you okay?"
"Lucy." Kate said as her eyes filled with tears.
"Kate, what's wrong? Is something hurting?" Lucy's eyes looked Kate up and down worried that something was wrong.
"No. I'm okay. I just…you're here."
"Yes. I'm here. It's okay. You're going to be okay. I was really worried about you."
"I'm sorry."
"No. No, you have nothing to be sorry for. I am so sorry Kate. I'm sorry that I didn't let you explain. I'm sorry that I assumed things and didn't ask. I'm sorry that I hurt you. Please forgive me. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
"It's okay, Lucy. I…"
"Don't you dare say you deserved it. You never deserved any of it. Your and Noah's Seal and Marine friends explain everything. You are worth it Kate. You are enough. I love you. Present tense. It was never past tense; I was just stubborn and hurt both of us."
"I understand. I talked with the other agents about you and Jane. I understand what it looked like and why you were so angry. I love you too. I've loved you before I knew that it was love."
Lucy gently kissed Kate and brushed the few tears away before she pulled back and hit the 'call nurse' button next to Kate's bed. Jane and Kai woke as a nurse came in worried about what was going on.
"Welcome back Special Agent Whistler. How are you feeling?" Nurse Megan Barrett asked.
"I'm tired and hurting." Kate answered. "What's the damage?"
"I'm going to go get Dr. Johnston and she'll answer that for you. And I'll bring some pain medication that Dr. Johnston approved in case you woke and said you were in pain."
Nurse Barrett checked Kate's stats before she went to go get Dr. Johnston, who came a short time later, with pain medication and a clip board with all the information on what they had to do during surgery and when Kate was on Bataan.
"Hello Special Agent Whistler. I'm Dr. Tally Johnston. I was your surgeon and I want to check how you are feeling and I'll go over everything that was done and all your injuries." Dr. Johnston said.
"I'm okay. Thank you. The pain medication is helping with that part." Kate answered.
"Good. We had to go in and fix your liver and your spleen. We removed your appendix. Several bones had to be rebroken and set so they healed properly. We thoroughly cleaned all open wounds and healed wounds to ensure that they are clean and healthy tissue was left. We did have to remove one of your fallopian tubes as there was so irreversible damage done. I know that this is a lot of information to handle at one time. If you have any questions, please let the nurse know and I will try to answer them. I'm sorry but I need to go handle another surgery."
"It's okay. Thank you, Doctor."
Dr. Johnston and Nurse Barrett left the room, leaving Kate, Lucy, Jane, and Kai alone. Kate sagged back to the bed, the news of everything had taken a lot out of her. Lucy and Jane stood on each side, one of Kate's hands in each of their hands.
"It's okay, Kate. It's going to be okay." Jane said.
"We'll get through this. Just like Jane said, 'it's going to be okay'. We'll be here. I'll be here. You are going to be okay." Lucy said as she kissed Kate's forehead. Kate's eyes started to close as the pain meds fully kicked in, making her tired again. "It's okay. Just rest. You don't have to force yourself to stay awake. We'll still be here when you wake up."
Kate fell back to sleep shortly after Lucy said they'd still be there when she woke up. They knew it was going to be a long road, but they were going to be there for her no matter what. She was family and they were going to prove it to her.