Trigger warning: nightmares, hinted assault, ptsd and panic attacks
Morgan was walking through the dark corridors, flashlight out, with her firearm in hand. Her breath came out short and quiet as her eyes scanned the metal walls of the ship. There was a clang behind her, and she whipped around, water splashing around her ankles, searching for shadows in the dark. She held her breath for a moment, slowly turning around when nothing happened, only to get tackled to the ground. She choked as the coppery tang of blood filled her mouth—it wasn't water—a hand jerking her up, disarming her and whipping her around before she was shoved back down.
She struggled, arms bound behind her before her hair was grabbed and she was yanked out of the water trough, sucking in a desperate gasp of air. The metal walls of the ship had changed to a dimly lit dirt cavern as the man behind her shouted questions in Dari at her. She could hardly breathe, let alone answer. Not that she would. She wouldn't betray her country and she didn't have anything they wanted anyway. She was hit hard, knocked to the ground and a sharp pain raced up her leg and side.
Calloused hands wrapped around her throat as teeth sank into the crook of her neck. Levi murmured in her ear as she tried to get out from under him. She saw a glint of silver in the dark and tried to reach for it as the mad laughter of an Afghani soldier joined in; more and more hands running over her skin. On her chest, digging into her side, running up the inside of her legs. She grabbed the letter opener and brought it down into the neck of her assaulter, blood soaking her hand as they choked but her eyes went wide at the sight of silver hair and surprised blue eyes.
"…Morgan."
"Morgan!"
She jerked upright with a gasp, covered in sweat and choking on air with Russell's barks in her ear and Gibbs kneeling by the side of her bed. She was panicking, unable to catch her breath, shaking violently, and riddled with bleeding scratches from pawing at herself while she slept. She couldn't think, mind still trapped in that nightmare, feeling hands all over her and pain rippling through her body. Gibbs was there talking to her, trying to lead her through her breathing exercises to help calm her down, holding only onto one of her hands and squeezing and releasing in time with his instructions. Morgan brought a hand to her mouth, feeling as though she would vomit with how panicked her breathing was, and he pulled over a small bin for her; helping her shift to the side of her bed to do so.
It helped a little, getting it out of her system and forcing her body to breathe a little better. She slowly began to calm down, her breaths relaxing to where she could hear again and actually listen to Gibbs's instructions. F-Five things I-I can see.
"B-Bed, blanket… R-Russell, nightstand, y-you."
"Four things you can feel," he murmured, one of her hands clasped in his.
"T-The floor, the blankets, Russell's fur, your hands," she breathed, shaking beginning to subside.
"Three things you can hear."
She closed her eyes and listened. "Russell's pants, the clock, my voice."
"Two things you can smell."
She inhaled deeply, squeezing his hand as she let it out. "Wood varnish and… coffee."
Gibbs cracked a small smile at that. "One thing you can taste."
Morgan winced, releasing a hand that had been tangled in Russell's fur and bringing it to her mouth. "Blood. I-I think I bit my cheek."
Gibbs sighed softly, patting her hand and letting her go as he got up. "I'll get you some water."
Morgan felt her throat go tight for a second and reached out, grabbing him to stop him from leaving. For a moment, all she saw was the nightmare of him with the letter opener in his neck staring back at her in shock, and she quickly let go. He'd stopped though, seeing her unease, and turned back around. He just stood there for a moment, uncertain of how to comfort her after whatever nightmare she'd had and the remnants of it lingering just below the surface. Cautiously, he reached out, brushing away some of the hair stuck to her forehead and leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
"In your own time," he murmured, moving back as she let out a heavy breath and rubbed at her eyes. "Go take a shower. I'll fix you something to eat with your medication."
She nodded. "Add a pain pill to it, please," she begrudgingly requested, and he hummed.
"Okay. Take care of yourself. I'll look at those scratches later."
She reached up and touched a tender spot on her neck where one such scratch was as he stepped out. She took a second to collect herself as Russell fussed beside her, giving him a pet before getting up. She wobbled immediately, grasping the nightstand as Russell hopped off the bed and moved between her and the nightstand should she fall. Once steady, she moved to the bathroom and started up the shower; stepping in when it was scaldingly hot. She ignored the burn from the water, hoping it would help with the lingering feeling of hands on her skin as she washed. The longer she was in there, the more uneasy she felt. Every scratch and scar and mark on her body burned and itched as though it were fresh. Her scrubbing grew more frantic with how dirty she felt and she'd started to spiral again only for a knock to startle her out of it.
"Food's done," Gibbs's voice called from the other side, and Morgan let out a shaky breath.
She forced herself to step out of the shower, dry, and pull on clothes that gave her some semblance of control once she'd checked out the red marks she'd added to her body. They weren't bad and had stopped bleeding a while ago, but the healed injury on her side had quite a few that she knew Gibbs would want a look at. She dragged a hand through her hair and left her room with Russell sticking close to her side, knowing it was a bad day for her. He only pulled away when Gibbs offered him food and placed a plate before Morgan. As expected, he reached out and brushed a finger over the scratches on her neck.
"How are the rest?" He asked, making her sigh as she begrudgingly lifted the side of her sweater to show the others.
"These are the worst of them. They're not bad, though."
Gibbs frowned lightly but nodded. "Okay. You should still speak to McNeil about it. The nightmares have gotten worse since the Chimera."
Morgan knew why. The confines of the ship had just dredged up memories of where she was kept in Afghanistan, which combined with her issues with Levi. Never mind the betrayal that came from Skinner reminding her of her own commander's uncaring attitude toward her kidnapping and torture. It wasn't those that she minded, though, as much as the recent addition of Gibbs. She'd told McNeil that her relationship with Gibbs wouldn't be affected by what happened with Levi, but her nightmares were telling her otherwise. She didn't like it one bit and wasn't eager to speak with McNeil about it, but she would, if only to try and get it to stop.
She hummed and sat down to eat, picking at her food a bit more than usual. Gibbs couldn't offer her more comfort than that, unsure himself how to help other than how he had been. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well and was doing his best to help her with her nightmares. Keeping her busy was all he could do, and he could see her getting worn down. He wanted her to talk, to get some of it out, but he didn't feel right bringing it up. He would just have to wait, even if it had already been months since the accident with Levi.
Hopefully, work would get her mind off of it. The two stopped for a coffee, and she begrudgingly took a hot chocolate instead since her medication wouldn't go well with her usual energy drinks. Upon getting to NCIS, though, they were immediately accosted by Abby, who was quick to snap a photo of Russell with her phone.
"Nice, Russell!" She turned to Morgan and Gibbs, the former shaking her head.
"Not gonna happen."
"Oh, come on, Morgan! It's just so when you call me, your photo pops up!"
"I don't call people unless I have to," Morgan argued as they stepped into the elevator, and Abby turned to Gibbs, who was also quick to deny her.
"No."
"Please, please, please, Gibbs!"
"No," he repeated as they moved out into the bullpen.
"Okay, I'll never ask you for anything again, ever."
"Abby."
"I promise."
"Come on, ever?" He questioned as Morgan rolled her eyes and set her things down by her desk.
"Well, okay, maybe not ever, but I won't ask for anything else for at least like… a week."
That was enough for him. "Sure. Where and when?"
"Here an now," Abby said with a grin and Gibbs stopped moving for her to take the picture only for McGee to call out; making him move and ruin the shot.
"Boss. There's a young woman here waiting to see you. I sent her to the lounge."
Morgan eyed them in question but didn't ask as she spotted McNeil waiting by her office door for her. They had a meeting today.
"Name?" Gibbs asked.
"Maddie Tyler?"
"About?"
"Twenty-two, twenty-three," McGee guessed before realizing that her age wasn't what Gibbs asked about. "Sorry. Personal. She wouldn't say."
Gibbs nodded and turned to go, slowing enough for Abby to get her picture and pausing to give Morgan's elbow a comforting squeeze. "Let me know how it goes."
She hummed, agreeing, watching him head to the lounge for a moment before heading to McNeil's office. Whoever the girl was Gibbs was meeting wasn't her business unless it became a case for them, which was possible given Maddie Tyler came to NCIS to speak with Gibbs. So, she brushed it off as McNeil gave her a look and closed the door.
"Are you the jealous type, Morgan?"
Morgan immediately shot her an annoyed look. "No."
"It's fine if you are," McNeil offered, moving behind her desk and glancing at Morgan's coffee cup.
"It's hot chocolate," she muttered.
"You had to take your anxiety meds then?"
"Nightmare," she begrudgingly explained. "It's because of the last case a few weeks ago."
"The ship?"
Morgan nodded. "I don't like confined spaces."
McNeil hummed, making a note. "Claustrophobia. Is that a recent development?"
"Since Afghanistan."
"Ah, I understand. For you to take your medication though, it must have been a rather bad one."
Morgan went quiet, turning away and setting her hot chocolate down. McNeil immediately saw her hesitation and waited patiently in the hopes she would talk and not shut her out.
"I… I can deal with most of them."
McNeil nodded, resisting a sigh of relief that she was talking. "As you've told me. You said Russell can usually pull you out of them, and medication isn't typically necessary afterward. You've moved past the nightmares from Afghanistan with time… Was this one about Levi?"
Morgan frowned lightly but nodded. "I was… in the Chimera, the ship. It was dark, and I was grabbed from behind. At first, it was just… waterboarding. They were asking me questions in Dari."
"Remnants of Afghanistan brought up because of your claustrophobia in the ship," McNeil explained.
"Yes, but… I was knocked down. It was Levi. Then, it was… was all of them."
McNeil watched her silently as she reached over and rubbed at her arm. It was a nervous action, one that made her appear more closed off as though protecting herself, and McNeil spotted the scratches on her neck as well, making a note.
"I… grabbed a letter opener. It was just like before except…" Morgan grit her teeth with a small wince, expecting pain despite having had her jaw healed for a while now. "I-I stabbed Gibbs."
McNeil stopped, staring at Morgan for a moment at that revelation. It was a change from the usual and would easily explain her having to take medication afterward. Morgan only took them for her panic attacks, and the sudden addition to her nightmares of her killing someone she cared about would have easily been a trigger for one.
"Okay. I'm sure that was very upsetting and startling for you. Do you… Do you understand why Gibbs was brought in?" McNeil asked, being cautious with her wording in order to keep Morgan talking.
"I don't want it to happen again," Morgan stated defiantly.
"I understand that, but in order for you to prevent further occurrences, you need to work out why it happened in the first place. You can't just force your subconscious to not do something."
"It's not because of Levi."
McNeil had her doubts about that but nodded. "Okay. If you don't think the instance with Levi was the trigger, then what was? You've already learned that your claustrophobia on the ship caused the nightmare to change to your time in Afghanistan, which then morphed into your situation with Levi because of similar circumstances. So, why was Gibbs involved?"
"I… don't know."
McNeil had a feeling she did know or at least had a clue but decided to cater to her a bit and walk her through admitting it step by step. "Well, at the very least, he must be on your mind. Has there been a recent upset to your relationship?"
"No," Morgan said very bluntly.
"Have you spoken to him about Levi yet?"
"...No."
"Could that be a part of it?"
Morgan looked away, not appearing entirely convinced of that and McNeil decided to push back a little.
"Or is there something else on your mind that you just don't want to discuss?"
"I don't—" Morgan stopped, realizing she'd given herself up and groaned as she dropped her head in her hands. "It's stupid."
McNeil raised a brow with a small, amused smile. "There is nothing stupid discussed in this room. Perhaps some things we don't understand or are embarrassed by, but nothing stupid or wrong… This has to do with your relationship with Gibbs, doesn't it?"
"I don't know what to do."
"We've gone over this," McNeil reminded her.
"Doesn't mean I know what to do or how to do it. I can't even talk to him about Levi!"
"And I think that is the first big step you need to take," McNeil suggested. "The way I see it, you're conflicted about taking that next step in your relationship with Gibbs. That next step may be sleeping with him, and with your own reservations taking place, your subconscious has twisted that and added to it. It's made you fear hurting Gibbs because of what has happened before."
"I wouldn't—"
"You may not know until the situation arises, Morgan," McNeil pressed. "No one can predict how the mind will react in any given situation, experienced in these matters or not. All we can do is prepare you for it and make sure your partner is aware that you may need to take extra precautions in the event something does happen. This doesn't make you a weak person, Morgan."
Morgan frowned lightly, dragging a hand through her hair.
"I mean that," McNeil pressed. "I understand you want to have control over things like this, but you are allowed to let those emotions out. We have made this a safe space for you to do so, but being able to do the same with Gibbs is important too."
An alarm went off on McNeil's phone, and she sighed as she silenced it.
"I do recommend that you open up with Gibbs about the Levi situation if that is what's holding you back from taking the next step with him, as you obviously want to do," she said, scribbling on a note and tearing it out as she passed it to Morgan, who got up. "This is a prescription for stronger sleep medication. It is only a temporary measure that may help prevent you from physically reacting to your nightmares while you sleep. I wrote enough for a couple of weeks in case it takes you a while to get things off your chest. I suggest you take them while not on cases since they are quite potent. Read the instructions for them carefully."
Morgan nodded, pocketing the perscription and heading toward the door.
"Be sure to let Gibbs know if you are the jealous type, though. Some appreciate knowing beforehand," McNeil teased, earning a glare from her before she stepped out to find Abby taking more pictures of the team.
"Cute," she chimed at McGee's photo, taking one of Ziva next. "Pretty."
She went to take one of Tony, who screeched and made a face, earning an unimpressed look as Abby showed him.
"Tony."
"That's the best yet," Tony chimed with a grin before spotting me. "You get Morgan's yet?"
"No," Morgan grumbled, making Tony wince.
"Ah, not a great session then?"
She shot him a glare before McGee spotted Gibbs and quickly warned the group to disperse.
"Boss."
They scattered as Morgan rolled her eyes, but Abby was keen to get her photo with Gibbs and snapped one before noticing he was walking with someone.
"Oh, I didn't know you were… Sorry, Gibbs," she apologized, and Gibbs bumped then into the Director in the elevator before he was gone.
"Know her?" Ziva asked the team, making Tony glance over at where Gibbs had left with the mysterious young woman.
"Wish I could say I did."
"Maddie Tyler," Abby chirped, having remembered what McGee said when he'd first pulled Gibbs away.
"Who is?"
"Ask McGee."
"Said it was personal," McGee offered with a shrug.
Ziva glanced over at Morgan, who was pointedly not joining the conversation as she typed. "New girlfriend?"
The typing faltered for a moment, and Morgan frowned as she repeatedly hit the backspace key in annoyance; something the rest of the team didn't miss.
"Too young," Abby said. "And he's got Morgan!"
Morgan did look up at that. "Leave me out of this."
"Not the least bit jealous?" Tony teased, holding up his hands in surrender when Morgan glared.
"Niece?" Ziva asked instead as Tony went over to McGee's desk.
"Nice. McGeek, McGoogle, her name."
"I can do you one better. MySpace," he said, bringing up the girl's social media as they all gathered around.
"Well, she has an eclectic taste in music. Everything from Yo-Yo Ma to Metallica," Abby noted.
"Lots of friends, college kids mainly," McGee said as he went through her friend's list.
"And one from her childhood," Ziva pointed out. " 'My first and still my best friend, Kelly. Forever in my memory.'"
Morgan stopped typing completely at that, and she wasn't the only one.
"Gibbs' daughter was named Kelly," Abby breathed.
"One and the same," McGee agreed as Tony hummed, their enthusiasm for digging into Gibbs' business now gone.
"Mystery solved."
Morgan got up then, drawing their attention as she trashed her empty coffee cup and Russell moved to her side.
"Going somewhere?" Ziva asked as Tony nodded.
"I thought you'd be all over this sort of thing."
Morgan scowled at him as she clipped Russell to his leash. "Then, you don't know me very well, do you? I stay out of other people's business so they stay out of mine."
"Yeah, but this is Gibbs," Abby pointed out, shrinking away a little when Morgan turned her disapproving frown onto her. "What if it's important?"
"Then, we'll discuss it, not sneak into files and social accounts behind people's backs," she spat, heading out and McGee winced.
"I, uh… suppose she is right."
"Yeah, but we do know one other thing," Tony pointed out. "Her therapy session really didn't go well."
Gibbs returned without Maddie at his side and raised a brow when he spotted Morgan outside with Russell. When he headed over, he was more surprised to see she had a cigarette in her mouth, though it wasn't yet lit. It wasn't good, though, given she'd quit since Sharif and her last one had been when his ex-wife showed up. He knew the team were coming up with their own conclusions about Maddie, and if they were worth their weight, then they would have found the connection between her and his daughter by now. So, this wasn't jealousy, but she'd already had a bad morning and he couldn't help but be curious about what had caused this.
"I thought you got rid of all your cigarettes," he muttered, warning her as he came up behind her and she glared at him with a huff; tucking it back into a fresh pack.
"There's always places to get more," she grumbled. "It's why it's so hard to quit."
"You didn't light it," he pointed out, making her scoff.
"Day hasn't gone to complete shit yet." She glanced over at him as he stood beside her and bent to give Russell a pat as he came bounding over to check on them. "Are you going to talk or just let the team come up with their own thoughts?"
"They haven't worked it out yet?" He asked, ignoring her probing and making her frown as she stood so they could head back inside.
"She's your daughter's best friend," she muttered as she hooked Russell back up and walked him inside and to the elevator with Gibbs. "They won't pry any further."
"Good," Gibbs responded, hitting the button for the elevator as Morgan waited to see if he'd say anything more.
He didn't and she pursed her lips, feeling the uneasy swirl of inadequacy twist in her gut as the elevator opened and she stepped out before Gibbs with a mutter under her breath.
"Should've lit it."
Gibbs didn't hear but eyed her a little at how quickly she'd left the elevator, until his gaze caught on the rest of the team watching him as he moved into the bullpen.
"McGee," he called out, making the man jump.
"Y-Yes, boss."
"Marine. Rudi Haas."
McGee blinked, confused and gesturing to his computer. "Do you want me to…"
"Yes, McGee. Look him up."
He nodded and hastily began to do so, bringing up the information on the screen as Ziva and Tony exchanged uncertain looks. Whatever was going on wasn't boding well. Morgan looked angry still and Gibbs was either oblivious to it or ignoring it, and here he was asking about a marine they didn't know after speaking with his dead daughter's best friend.
"Marine Sergeant Rudi M. Haas," McGee said, bringing up the man's records. "Works in logistics, currently on a 30-day leave after returning from Iraq eight days ago."
"Service record?" Gibbs asked.
"Clean."
"Eight years in."
"Prior to that, grew up in Chicago."
"State and local police. See if he's got a record," Gibbs demanded just as the Director walked in.
"Why do we need to know?" She asked. "Are we opening an investigation into Sergeant Haas?"
"Background check," Gibbs said simply.
"On what grounds?"
Gibbs didn't even glancing at her. "Stalking."
"The young woman that was in this afternoon? Did she file a complaint?" Jenny pried, subtly warning Gibbs that what he was doing should go through the proper channels.
"No."
She leaned toward him a little, lowering her voice. "Is this personal, Jethro?"
He finally turned toward her. "If you're asking 'do I know her,' the answer is yes. Is it personal? No."
Gibbs walked off and Jenny took a steadying breath before giving McGee the go-ahead, leaving as well.
"She knew," Ziva mused as McGee hummed.
"Read him like a book."
"Short read, not a lot of dialogue," Tony pointed out.
"Your kind of book," Ziva quipped.
"You suggesting I don't read?"
"I think she's suggesting you only look at pictures, Tony," McGee corrected.
"A picture paints a thousand words, McGee."
"And in your case, most are the names of female body parts," Ziva chimed as Morgan snapped.
"Are we actually looking into him or just making fun of Tony's porn addiction?"
"You're not going to ask about all this?" Tony questioned her as her frown deepened. "If it weren't for you storming from the elevator, I would've thought you'd talk to him on the way in."
"He doesn't want to talk," Morgan bit out, earning a concerned look from Ziva.
"So… you just don't ask?"
"I know what it's like to have your whole background on paper for everyone to read. To have everyone making up rumors about the shit you're dealing with and been though," she ground out. "I don't ask because he's not asking."
The team knew what she was referring to, given how recent the Levi incident was, and begrudgingly backed off.
"So… how did the Director know?" McGee asked, trying to turn the conversation away from Morgan.
"Woman's intuition," Ziva mused.
"Do you have that?" Tony quipped as she rolled her eyes and explained.
"The Director could see Gibbs was preoccupied with something, and she saw him with the girl."
"Sounds more like male logic than woman's intuition," McGee said as Tony eyed him.
"Either way, I think she's worried about him."
"Question is, should we be?"
"Thoughts, Morgan?" Ziva asked as the woman dragged a hand through her hair, trying to cool her temper.
"It's personal. He's not going to talk about it," she grumbled.
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't," she urged. "If he's willing to tell anyone, it would be you."
Morgan let out a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, right. We may be dating, but in case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly talking."
She got up again as the team exchanged uneasy glances and Tony gestured for Ziva to do something, but she didn't know what to do.
"Where, uh… Where are you going?" Tony asked as Morgan made Russell stay where he was, despite his whines of protest.
"For a smoke."
He winced, knowing what that meant and once she was gone, he looked at Ziva. "Good going, Ziva."
"Am I wrong?" She argued. "They should be talking about this stuff, shouldn't they?"
McGee shrugged. "He was dating the Director for a while too, but she doesn't know anything either. Gibbs just doesn't talk about the personal stuff."
"Morgan doesn't either," Ziva pointed out. "How are they supposed to do anything if neither will discuss it?"
"Maybe they're not as close as we thought," Tony offered. "They could just be bed buddies."
Ziva opened her mouth to question him but shook her head. "I don't even want to know."
"Friends with benefits?" He tried. "No?"
McGee rolled his eyes. "Let's just try to get the information he wants and—"
He was cut off as Tony's phone rang.
"DiNozzo." Tony immediately became serious and nodded. "On it, boss."
He hung up and immediately began doing a search on his computer as he gestured to the rest of the team.
"Ziva, go get Morgan."
"What's happened?"
"Maddie was kidnapped."
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called out as he swept back into the bullpen.
"BOLO's out on Haas's car."
"His photograph and details are on the way to Metro Police," Ziva added.
"Need her photo too," Gibbs said as McGee spoke up.
"Abby's got one. From when she was trying to take yours earlier. Ziva, you want to call Abby?"
Ziva nodded and picked up the phone as Gibbs took off his coat.
"Haas's current address."
"Assigned to Quantico as an enlisted trainer, but he hasn't reported since he got back from Iraq," Morgan said as he passed her desk, catching a whiff of cigarette smoke.
He glanced at her but said nothing as she ignored his probing look.
"Got to be staying somewhere," Tony said, still on the phone trying to get information and deal with the BOLO.
"No known relatives in the DC area," she rattled off. "Current address would have to be Maddie Tyler's place."
"I want the address of every place he's ever lived," Gibbs said shortly. "He was driving, so he had to have somewhere else."
Morgan glared at him. "And I'm looking. It would help if we had a bit more of a clue as to why he took her in the first place."
Gibbs glared back as the team felt the tension rise, but he didn't press the issue with her and turned toward McGee. "Her cell phone?"
"Switched off," he informed quietly.
"His?"
"Also switched off. I'm trying to access his recent calls now."
"And?"
"And I've… Well, I've only just started."
The Director had walked in again, giving Gibbs a look. "You were going to brief me, weren't you?"
Gibbs gave her a glance and moved out from behind his desk. "She called me. I got there, place was trashed. Saw her being pushed into Haas's SUV."
"You identified him?"
"I identified his car."
"So, someone else took her," Morgan pointed out, earning an annoyed look from him.
"Well, it must have been Haas driving."
"Or he wasn't involved," Morgan argued. "Why trash the place before taking her? What were they looking for?"
"Who says they were looking for anything?" Gibbs snapped, annoyed with how she was ignoring the bigger issue here. "She fought back, made a mess."
"That's not how we do cases," Morgan fought back, tapping her pen harshly against her notepad as Russell whined by her side. "Finding out why her place was trashed, what they were looking for, why they took her in the first place is—"
"Our priority here is finding out where the hell she is, Agent Frost," Gibbs barked back before the Director cut in.
"Enough, the both of you," she ordered. "Morgan, my office, please. Take a minute."
Morgan scowled but got up, wincing slightly and heading toward the stairs to the Director's office with a small limp thanks to her psychosomatic injury acting up with the stress. Jenny shook her head and turned away from Gibbs to give him a moment to calm down as she addressed the rest of the team.
"What else do we know about him?"
"Haas turned down Uncle Sam's offer to reenlist last month. In 60 days, he's be a former marine."
"Last deployment?"
"Logistics, worked out of the Green Zone in Baghdad. Everything Marine going to or coming from Iraq channeled through his department."
"Desk jockey," Gibbs said, moving back behind his desk as McGee's computer chimed.
"Got his phone records. Moderate usage."
"Recurring numbers?" Jenny asked.
"There's a few. 15 calls in the last eight days to a landline in the name of Maddie Tyler."
"Others?"
"Five incoming from a company here in DC. It's the first call he received when he got back from Iraq, and the last call he got before he switched off his phone," McGee said as Gibbs got up to look at the information on screen."
"Bordais Security Solutions," Jenny read.
"BSS, a small-sized security firm."
"With a contract in Iraq," Ziva pointed out, having the research up on her screen as well. "Marine today, mercenary tomorrow."
"Filthy rich the day after," Tony added. "Looks like Haas was being headhunted."
"I need a name, McGee."
"CEO is a retired Army Major, Max Bordais."
"Bring him in," Jenny said. "We can have a talk in my office after I talk with Agent Frost."
Gibbs frowned lightly but said nothing as she gave Tony a pointed look, and he nodded.
"On it."
She left the team to it and moved up to her office, getting a nod from her secretary and stepping in to find Morgan leaning out the window with a cigarette.
"That bad, huh?" Jenny commented as she huffed the smoke from her lungs and took it from her lips to tap the ash off outside.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I know. Apparently, neither of you do," Jenny reminded her, pouring herself a drink and offering Morgan some as the woman waved her off. "You'll smoke but not have a drink?"
"Drink can screw with my meds," she grumbled. "I took some this morning and will need another for this."
She tapped her thigh as she snuffed out her cigarette and limped across the room to sit on the sofa.
"Still gives you trouble then?"
"Psychosomatic. I get stressed out or anxious and it flares up." She gave her a frown. "It's fine."
"Never said it wasn't," Jenny replied, sitting beside her on the sofa and sinking into it with a heavy sigh. So, he's not telling you anything either?"
Morgan scowled, rubbing at her aching thigh. "Why would he? He'd be more likely to tell you than me."
Jenny sat up at that, giving her a look. "You really think that?"
Morgan shrugged. "He's had four wives. Why would he tell me over any of you?"
Jenny sighed, dragging a hand over her face and taking a healthy sip of her drink before pouring more and sliding the glass over to her. She frowned but huffed, taking the drink and knowing she wouldn't be taking any medication for a while because of it.
"Look, I'll be blunt, Morgan. Your relationship with Gibbs is different than mine, than any of his past wives or girlfriends or whatever, aside from his first wife. I had to find out from you about her and Kelly."
"I looked it up," Morgan grumbled. "He was pissed, if you remember."
"I do, but you know what? He got over it and started dating you. I'll bet he hasn't laid a hand on you either, has he?"
Morgan flushed, pointedly looking away and Jenny hummed, taking the drink back for herself.
"That is very different from the Gibbs I know. He's being patient for you and trust me when I say that's damn near a miracle."
Morgan scoffed, but said nothing more on that, changing the topic away from that one. "It's just frustrating that he's not talking and expecting us to find this girl when we don't even know what's happening."
"You know why he's doing it though," Jenny pointed out.
"He wants to do it himself," Morgan grumbled. "He says it's not personal but his daughter's best friend was just kidnapped. Never mind the familial connection, this is him doing something for his daughter because he couldn't help her."
Jenny's eyes softened, nodding slightly. "I assumed as much. He'll not say anything about it but… I'm worried."
Morgan scoffed, surprising her. "I'm annoyed and frustrated and pissed off. If he stopped fixating on her being missing, we could actually have a clue of what we're looking for."
"He won't," Jenny said as Morgan stood up, grimacing at the pain in her leg but far calmer than how she was a moment ago.
"He will. He just won't tell us when he figures it out, then run off on his own to deal with it poorly."
"So, what do you suggest?" Jenny asked, standing as well.
"I'll look into it. The right way and go from there," she said, heading for the door as Jenny sighed.
"You know, you're just as bad as he is when it comes to actually talking."
Morgan waved her off and left, her mind spinning as she headed back downstairs, stepping past Gibbs and a rather unhappy man in a suit. She glanced over them without a word, catching Gibbs's eyes for a moment, before continuing downstairs to join the team back in the bullpen.
"Catch me up," she demanded, and the team looked at one another before McGee cleared his throat.
"Sure. That, uh… That was Army Major Bordais."
Bordais was hiding things, and while they didn't have the ability to pressure him just yet, Gibbs knew that it would only be a matter of time before they did. He'd tried strong-arming him, but it proved ineffective, so he settled for heading back to the bullpen to see if they found anything. His gaze paused on Morgan, back at her desk and with a furrow to her brows in frustration. He wasn't thrilled with how she'd reacted earlier but he had the time to cool down himself and knew that she wasn't wrong about how she wanted things to be done. He just didn't have the time and wanted Maddie found before something worse happened.
Morgan shifted with a wince, reaching down to massage her aching thigh, and Gibbs resisted a small sigh as he headed over. Abby cut him off, though, passing him a photo as she spoke.
"I emailed Maddie's photo to state and local police. I printed you one, too. Of course, I cropped you out of the one I emailed. I just thought that maybe you would want a copy of the original," she said quietly, voice soft as he eyed the photo fondly. "She was Kelly's friend, wasn't she? We're going to find her, Gibbs, I know it."
"Boss," Tony called out, drawing his attention to the screen in the bullpen as he stepped in. "You might want to see this. McGee found something."
"I plotted all the cell phone calls Haas received or made in the last eight days. Most were made from his car as he was driving. The signal passed from tower to tower, which doesn't help us but three of the calls were made from the same location, using the same tower each time," McGee explained, pointing out the tower on the map. "Now, given the range and signal strength, they could only have been made from this four-block radius."
"A lot of real estate until you add what I found," Tony said. "Only job Haas ever had in DC was in the sixth months before he joined the Marines. He worked as a night watchman at a clothing factory, lived on-site. The factory closed three years ago."
"Puts him right in the zone," McGee pointed out and Gibbs nodded, grabbing his gear as everyone else did the same.
They started to head out, but Gibbs stopped by Morgan's desk before she could.
"Take your meds if your leg is giving you trouble."
"Wonder who's fault that is," she grumbled, putting on her service arm and giving him an annoyed look. "I took a drink from the Director. Just have to deal with it."
The smell of smoke was more potent too, but he bit back a scathing comment on it and just continued to the elevator. They didn't take long to get to the factory and Morgan sent Russell a bit ahead to search as the team spread out, weapons drawn. Music was playing from somewhere but they found the car first and Ziva opened the trunk, finding it empty. They found the bunk that Haas had been using before there was a bark and the team stiffened. Morgan didn't though, lowering her weapon and pocketing it.
"It's not a person," she muttered, drawing their gazes to her as they began to lower their own weapons. "He would've done more than just a bark. Whatever he found is…"
They turned the corner and found him lying down in front of the elevator doors.
"Not good," Morgan murmured as Gibbs turned off the radio beside the bunk so they could hear the subtle buzz.
"Flies," Ziva said as Morgan hit the elevator button and it came down, opening up to reveal Haas, sprawled out over the bottom; dead.
"Guess we found Haas."
Morgan gave Russell a pat, ruffling his fur in praise as McGee went to call Ducky. "Explains the single bark. He found a corpse, not a threat."
"But if Haas is dead, who took Maddie?" Ziva asked, making Morgan look over at Gibbs.
"Gibbs never identified Haas as the one who took her," she pointed out, standing and facing Gibbs as he glared in annoyance at her for pointing out the obvious. "Are you going to talk and clue us in, or are we going to keep wasting time?"
"I already told you what happened," Gibbs said shortly.
"You told us that her place was trashed, indicating they were looking for something. You told us, Haas was involved but obviously, he's dead and tortured. So, whatever they were looking for, he either sent them to Maddie's place after being tortured, or they thought he betrayed them when they didn't find it and killed him for it. Now, we have someone who kidnapped her and no idea who they are or what they want because you had your head so far up your own ass that you couldn't look at this objectively."
"If you don't want to help—"
"I am helping by reminding you what your fucking place is in the team," Morgan argued. "Stop having us chase vague leads without any clue what we're getting into and fucking talk before someone gets hurt!"
"Right, like how you spoke to us about Levi?"
The room went dead quiet at that and Gibbs ignored the pang of guilt that rolled through him for saying what he did as Morgan's expression went cold.
"I at least tried to talk to you," she spat, turning away and storming out.
Gibbs turned to the team who were standing there, pretending to ignore the disaster that just happened.
"Well? Go get the gear," he snapped at them, sending them off before angrily kicking an old pallet nearby. "Goddammit!"