Lovers' Secrets
Chapter #3
Meanwhile, back in Washington DC…
Gibbs strode into the squad room. “Where the hell is Kate?” he demanded.
Tony looked up, pretty sure he knew what was happening, even if he didn’t know where his partner was. “Don’t know. She hasn’t come to work yet and she hasn’t called in. Do you want me to call her?”
“No, DiNozzo, I want you to go take an early lunch.” Gibbs replied sarcastically. “Of course I want you to call her.” He left again, still pissed off.
“Got it Boss.” Tony called after him. He dialed Kate’s home number but only got an answering machine. “Hey, Kate. Boss wants to know why you haven’t called in yet. He looks mad, better check in. I hope you took me advice a while ago, talk to you later.” He hung up.
McGee looked up curiously. “What advice?”
“Not to date Gibbs.” Tony replied, dialing Kate’s cell.
“Well, then she didn’t take it. They’ve been seeing each other for at least two months.”
Tony cursed. “I thought that was the problem. Great, this’ll be fun.” He paused as, after the first ring, an automated voice began to yell in his ear.
“The number you are trying to reach is invalid. Please hang up and try again.” Tony frowned.
“Probie? Have you got Kate’s cell number?”
McGee nodded. “673-555-1904, why?”
“I just called that number. It’s not working.”
“Let me try.” McGee dialed the number and got the same message as Tony had. “That’s weird. This number worked last week.”
“Maybe her phone broke.” Suggested Tony, beginning to wonder just how involved Kate had gotten. Suddenly Gibbs’ phone beeped loudly. Gibbs came down the steps from MTAC.
“What was that?” he asked.
“You’ve got a new text, Boss. Might be Kate.” Responded McGee, going back to his report.
Gibbs grabbed his phone and flipped it open, clicking the button to accept the text. He swore, furiously. “DiNOZZO! Get the truck. Goddanmit!” he stormed over to the elevator and slammed his fist into the down button. Tony and McGee glanced at each other.
“Well that was weird.” Commented Tony. “I wonder what it said.”
McGee peered at the elevator doors closing in front of Gibbs’ furious face.
“We could look.” He suggested.
“You’re learning Probie.” Said Tony, gleefully, hurrying over to the phone that Gibbs had left on his desk. His eyes ran over the screen and he too swore. McGee looked startled.
“What does it say?” he asked, reading over Ton’y shoulder. His eyes widened. “Shit.”
The two men turned to look at each other and then ran to get the truck, leaving the text message on the screen.
‘Dear NCIS: Special Agent Katelyn Todd is missing. Find her if you can.’
Tony and McGee stared at the kitchen in horror. Blood was everywhere, and it looked like a horror movie crime scene. The only thing missing was what worried them most. Kate.
For a second time, Tony found himself in Kate’s front hallway. He and McGee exchanged glances and stepped into the kitchen to take crime scene photos, but what they saw stopped them in their tracks. A pool of blood sat in the middle of the tiled kitchen with spatters heading into the nook and covering the cupboards and appliances. Gibbs was kneeling in front of the puddle, eyes closed. Tony and McGee started to back out.
“I know you’re there. Get in here and take pictures.” Said Gibbs quietly. Than he got up and walked out of the room. He headed through the rest of the house, hoping to find anything to tell him that Kate was alive. When he reached the bedroom, He saw an envelope on the bed. It said To: NCIS. He opened it and turned it upside down over his palm. A scrap of paper and a necklace fell out. Hanging from the necklace was engraved silver cross, and the paper read: I’ll miss you. He brought all three items out to McGee and Tony. “Bag and tag boys.”
Suddenly, his phone began to ring. He answered it. “Yeah, Gibbs.” On the other line Abby’s voice was yelling frantically. “Calm down Abbs. Now start over.”
‘A couple of months ago, I put a GPS chip on Kate’s phone, and I activated it when I found out she was missing.’
“Did you find her Abby?” snapped Gibbs.
‘That’s just it, I got all the way to the South border before the chip went offline.’
“But it’s separate from her phone’s GPS. Turning off the phone wouldn’t end the connection.”
‘No, it’s been destroyed, which means someone probably found it.’
“Alright Abbs. Give me the coordinates, and we’ll get over there as soon as we can.’
‘The last spot I had was a set of train tracks heading South, and guess what? Those same tracks start only a few blocks from Kate’s house!’
“Good job Abby. Get yourself a CafPow. On me.”
Thanks Gibbs.
Gibbs snapped the phone closed. “McGee!”
“Yeah Boss?”
“Stay here and help Ducky, than go back and help Abby run tests. Dinozzo, you’re with me.”
Tony and Gibbs got into Gibbs’ sedan and raced off to the train station. When they got there, Gibbs grabbed a photo from Kate’s file and got out of the car. The two of them walked up to the ticket taking station and showed the photo. When the man couldn’t help them, they showed the photo to people on the tracks. They got nothing, and went back to the car.
“What’s your plan now boss?” asked Tony, struggling to buckle his seatbelt as Gibbs sped over the road.
“We’re going to do what we just did at every train station, bus stop, and taxi within twenty miles of Kate’s house.” Replied Gibbs grimly.
Gibbs sat next to the boat in his basement, unable to think about anything other than the woman who had left him here. The woman who may or may not be dead, the woman who loved him. His mind went back to the text message. Catch her if you can. The memory rushed back.
Kate ran up the stairs, laughing. “Catch me if you can!” she yelled over her shoulder. Gibbs chased after her, following her all through the house before he managed to catch her. He kissed her, and she kissed him back. Long and slow, fast and careless, whatever they managed before she took advantage of a loss in concentration and started the game over. When she finally decided to be done, she slip back into his arms and cuddle. She was very much a cuddler. It seemed to Gibbs that she liked the sanctuary provided to her by being held. She would occasionally wake up screaming in the middle of the night, relieving the car crash, Mike’s death, and being held hostage in autopsy. He would hold her until she stopped shaking, and they would fall asleep that way. He should’ve known then that he was in love with her. It shouldn’t have taken this trauma to make him understand.
He and Tony hadn’t been able to find anyone who had seen her, no matter how far they searched. When his cell phone rang, he checked the caller ID before answering. “Yeah Abby?”
‘I found something Gibbs.’
“What?”
Well, first of all, the blood you found? It’s all Kate’s.
Gibbs heard her sniff on the other end of the line, and he sighed. “That’s not exactly helpful Abby.”
‘I know, but from the photos, the only explanation I can think of for the way the blood landed is that it basically spewed from wherever it came, but there was no one in front of it to block the spray.’
Gibbs knew where she was going. “So there was no way someone came behind her and caused that kind of blood spatter.”
‘Or in front of her.’
“So there couldn’t have been anyone there.”
‘Absolutely not. Also, I tested the blood from the house, it has peanut butter in it.’
“What the hell is peanut butter doing in her blood?” asked Gibbs incredulously.
‘Well, she came and talked to me earlier about a nausea problem. She said it was food poisoning. I told her to eat peanut butter to settle her stomach.’
“So, then she threw up blood?”
‘It’s the only option. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?’
“Good news, I’ve gotten plenty of bad news today.” He put a hand to his forehead.
‘Well, I’ve narrowed down the places where she could be just a little.”
Gibbs perked up. “How, Abbs?”
‘That’s the bad news.’
Gibbs sighed. “Of course it is. Tell me.”
‘If she’s throwing up blood at that rate, the first thing she’ll do is go to a hospital, and it’s not likely to be an easy problem to fix, so she’ll probably end up at a hospital with high end equipment, and she’ll probably be there a while.’
“How is that bad? I mean, it’s unfortunate, but if she’s at a hospital, they can take care of her.”
‘That’s just it Gibbs. Most things that would cause a woman to throw up that much blood, is going to be potentially fatal. Even with immediate treatment.’
Gibbs was silent for a moment. “Thanks Abbs. Back to work.” He hung up. This was great. What the hell was he supposed to do? Their relationship would come out, and he’d become a suspect in her disappearance. That would mean being taken off the case, which, in turn, would mean not being able to help find her. Why the hell had he let her get away from him? It’s not like what she’d said was so…Damnit, he couldn’t lie to himself. It’d scared him half to death when he’d heard her say she was in love with him. He sighed and turned on his TV. Maybe there would be something helpful on the news, some miracle doctor who had saved a dying woman’s life. A woman who happened to be Kate. No. Such. Luck.
Kate screamed, wishing she’d accepted the drugs when she still could. Now it was too late, and the baby was coming. Her body was racked with the pain of childbirth. Not something she wanted to experience ever again, she thought ironically. Her body shuddered and contracted again, this time bringing with it a decrease in pain and a loud crying.
The nurses surrounded her for a few minutes, and then one of them handed her a little bundle. “Congratulations, Ms. Harris. It’s a girl.”
Kate looked at the tiny baby in her arms and nearly cried out. She closed her eyes. Was it possible for a child to look so much like her father the minute she was born? She looked again, and this time, two huge bluish grey eyes were looking back at her. She just stared, It was like a photo. The nurse was still standing next to her, looking like there was something else she wanted to say. Kate looked at her questioningly.
“Ms. Harris,” she started gently. “Your baby is blind.”
Kate stepped off the train in DC, dressed all in black, a long skirt, wrap top, and thick veil. She saw an old faded poster with her face on it. ‘Have you seen this woman?’ it asked in huge letters. She smiled sadly. ‘So close, Jethro, so close.’ She thought to herself. She hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the address she’d looked up before she left Oceana. She looked at the baby girl in her arms, trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do. They arrived at the orphanage and Kate asked the driver to wait for a moment before stepping out. She walked up to the front desk and the receptionist glanced up, not surprised to see a single woman with a child in her office. “Excuse me, I called earlier, my name’s Katelyn.” She said quietly. Now the woman was interested. On the phone, Kate had asked if the orphanage would ensure that a specific man took possession of her child.
“Of course. How can I help?”
“I was hoping that you’d call someone for me and give him my baby and this.” She handed the woman a sealed envelope. “Is that possible?”
“Of course. Do you have the phone number?”
Kate scribbled it down on a scrap of paper and handed the baby to the other woman over the desk. “Her name’s Elizabeth.”
The receptionist nodded. “I’ll call right now. Would you like me to tell him anything in particular?”
“That Katelyn Todd left the baby. That’s all.” Kate replied softly. “Thank you.” She turned and strode back out the door. She got back in the cab and left. The woman, cradling a sleeping Elizabeth in her arms, picked up the phone and dialed the number.
“NCIS headquarters, Special Agent Gibbs speaking. How can I help you?”
“Hello, I was calling to ask that you stop by the orphanage on Broadway Street, I have…”
“Who is this?” asked Gibbs peevishly.
“My name is Grace, I work at the orphanage on Broadway Street, and a woman asked me to call you and ask you to stop by.”
The other end was quiet for a moment. “Did you get her name?”
“Katelyn Todd.” Replied the receptionist.
“I’ll be right there.” He said quietly, and hung up. Elizabeth cooed a little, and Grace looked down to make sure she was still asleep. About twenty minutes later, A black sedan parked in front of the orphanage, exactly where the taxi had been earlier. A man stepped out and walked through the doors. He approached the desk and flashed his badge. “I’m looking for Grace.” He said, nodding to a woman in the room who was rocking a bundle of pink blankets.
“That’s me. You’re Mr. Leroy Gibbs?”
“Yes.”
Grace nodded. “Ms. Todd wanted you to pick up her daughter.” She gestured towards the other woman in the room. “And she asked me to give you this.” She handed Gibbs the envelope and the other woman handed him the baby. Gibbs pocketed the card and walked back to his car, in shock. As soon as he was in the car, he called Tony’s cell. He picked up on the first ring.
“Was she there, Boss?” asked Tony urgently.
“No. Start looking for information. Try the taxi companies first. I’m not going to be coming back until tomorrow. You’d better have something for me then.” He said, trying to speak with his usual gruffness. He closed his phone and looked down at the baby in his arms. He swallowed and pulled the envelope out of his pocket.
Dear Jethro, please take care of my daughter for me, you were always good with kids, and I trust you more than Tony or McGee. Her name is Elizabeth Kelly. Her surname is up to you, I suppose. She’s blind, just so you know, but the nurses tell me that shouldn’t be a problem in the long run. She was born May 19. Don’t bother trying to track me, the most you’ll get is a cab driver who remembers driving an Arab woman to the orphanage and a pay phone number within a few miles of said orphanage. I wish you luck being a father. Say hi to Ducky, Tony, McGee, and Abby for me. Tell Abby to stop worrying, I’m fine, and she was right about the peanut butter. Thanks so much.
Katelyn Todd
Gibbs sighed and glanced at the tiny face peeking out of the blankets. The mouth was all Kate, but other than that, the little girl was practically a carbon copy of himself. He cradled her in one arm and put his other on the steering wheel. He hit the gas and headed for home, but at the last moment, he changed his mind, and turned around. He drove back to NCIS headquarters and parked his car. He got out and walked to the elevator. He got in and rode it to the top floor. He got out and walked to the Director’s office. The sign had recently been changed, and now read Director Shepard. He walked past Cynthia and knocked, which he hardly ever did. When the voice inside called for him to come in, he pushed the door open, walked through and closed it again, he went right up to Jenny Shepard’s desk and sat down across from her. Jenny stared at the blankets in his arms.
“Jethro, is that what I think it is?”
“Not an it, Jenny, a she.” He replied, settling the girl against his shoulder.
“Well what is she doing with you?” asked Jenny incredulously. Gibbs’ face was completely blank as he passed the baby over to Jenny. She pulled the blankets back and her eyes widened. “She…she looks just like you.” She whispered. Her eyes snapped back up to Gibbs’ face. “Is she…?”
“Yeah.”
“Then who’s her mother?” Jenny’s voice was colored with disbelief.
“Special Agent Katelyn Todd.” Replied Gibbs matter-of-factly.
Jenny gaped at him. “What…I don’t…why the hell wasn’t I told about this?! You would have been taken off that case ages ago!”
“Well, that would be why I didn’t tell you about our relationship. But I didn’t even know about Elizabeth until today.”
“You already named her?” asked Jenny, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
“No, Kate did. Her name is Elizabeth Kelly, surname undecided.”
Jenny gazed at the little girl in her arms. She sighed. “She’s beautiful, Jethro, but why did you bring her to me? I assume there are lots of people to show her of to.”
“Sure, but I need help right now. I haven’t got a single woman on my team, I can’t just take a few years off until she can be sent to daycare while I’m at work, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let McGee or DiNozzo watch her, and I can’t bring her out on the field.”
Jenny glared at him. “You want me to baby sit?” she asked acidly. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’d love to take care of her, but there are more suitable choices.”
“Who?” demanded Gibbs. “There are only a few people in this agency that I trust enough to watch her, and you’re the only one of them who doesn’t go out on the field.”
“Ducky.”
“Sharp objects in the autopsy room.”
“Lee”
“I hardly know her.”
“Nikki?”
“She would never be able to look after a baby, not with her germ issues.”
“Abby?”
Gibbs just stared at her.
“Okay, I sort of understand that one, but I still think that Abby or Ducky would be the best choice. Regardless of sharp objects or personality.”
“I trust you, Jen. And Kate would, too.”
Jenny passed Elizabeth back to her father. “Considering Paris, I think that Kate would rather you have Abby and Ducky help with the baby. I don’t think she’d like me that much.”
“She left Jen. She ran away, and she’s not planning on coming back. If she even wanted to come back, she would be holding Elizabeth right now, not me.” Replied Gibbs, pain in his eyes. “I somehow don’t think she minds who I ask to help.”
Jen frowned. “Regardless, I can’t consent to being responsible for her, Jethro. Talk to Ducky, together he and Abby can take care of her.”
Gibbs stood up, recognizing the dismissal, and left the room, heading down to the parking lot and his car. Jenny stared after him, still a little surprised by this turn of events. It was unfortunate. She would’ve liked to have met Special Agent Todd, and perhaps the two of them could have been friends, if, perhaps, Kate could forgive Jenny her previous relationship with Gibbs. She sighed and went back to her report.
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