Gibbs stormed out of the elevator and into Abby's lab, and the Goth forensicist felt the tension in the room rise abruptly as she absorbed his expression. Her favourite silver fox was more than angry â€" he was livid with rage and someone would pay for it.
Tony followed him into the lab, closing the door behind him. Spotting the remote, he muted the music, and then looked warily at Gibbs.
'Bossman?' Abby's voice was hesitant and her usual cheery disposition had temporarily vanished.
'Abs, I need to know who just called Vendazzo's phone, and I need everything you can tell me about her family and personal history, and I need it yesterday.' Gibbs' voice was icy, but his expression softened a little looking at Abby's confusion. 'Abby! Trust me, you don't want to know why until you have to, okay?'
'Okay, Gibbs. I'm on it!' With that, she whirled, restarted the music, and a flying cloud of pigtails and labcoat headed for her computers.
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In the morgue, Dazzle was waking up. Under Ducky's careful scrutiny for the last half hour, she'd slept away the effects of the sedative and was waking far sooner than expected.
'Adrenaline will do that, I suppose...' the M.E. mused, before moving to her side and speaking to her.
'Angelina, my girl, it's time to wake up. How are you feeling?'
Hearing his voice, her eyes snapped open and showed a momentary disorientation before she sat up and stretched. 'Hey, Ducky, what am I doing down here?'
'Ah,' said Ducky, momentarily at a loss. He was saved by Gibbs' entrance into the morgue, and an impatient cry of 'Duck?!'.
'I will be back momentarily, my dear. Just stay here and take your time waking up.' With that, he vanished from his office into Autopsy.
'She's just now waking, Jethro,' he told the former Marine as he entered the morgue to find Gibbs pacing impatiently. 'Unfortunately, she does not appear to recollect the incident that occurred earlier and led to her presence here. However, as I was called to treat her when she became distressed, I feel I am entitled to the whole story.'
Gibbs glanced at Tony, before sighing and pushing himself up to sit on an autopsy table. He explained the incident in the bullpen â€" the phone call, Dazzle's extreme reaction to it, and the hysterical outburst in her native tongue. 'DiNozzo tells me that what he gathered from that is that it was her father on the phone and there's ... a history of abuse there.'
'What exactly did she say, Anthony?' asked the doctor.
Tony shifted uncomfortably, and then seated himself on the other end of the table Gibbs was currently occupying. 'It's not exactly palatable, Duck,' he warned.
'I understand, Anthony. This isn't prurient curiosity, but a desire to assist with Angelina's well being, both mental and physical.'
'Okay, then...' Tony sighed. 'She was kind of hard to make out â€" she started sobbing when Gibbs called her name â€" and my Italian isn't what it used to be, but... she was saying, 'daddy, don't, it hurts, don't touch me, I don't like it' and then something I didn't quite catch, and then she started saying...' Tony took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the table so hard his knuckles went white. 'She said, 'daddy, don't put it in me, it hurts so much, please don't...' and then she was just sobbing her heart out until you got there, Ducky. I tried talking to her, English and Italian, but it was like she didn't even hear me.'
Ducky's face had gone white, and a whispered, 'Dear God...' fell from his lips. Collecting himself somewhat, he locked eyes with Gibbs and said softly, 'Jethro...'.
Gibbs' reply was equally soft. 'He'll pay, Ducky. Oh, will he pay'.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The investigation begins, and Gibbs makes a promise.
Chapter End Notes:
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