Vance followed McGee into the observation room, where Gibbs, DiNozzo and David were already waiting. Having been called by Gibbs, Ducky arrived a few moments later with his medical bag . He was already shaking an instant cold pack for the rapidly forming bruise on the side of McGee's face. After a few words whispered to him by Vance, Tim let Ducky examine him. He turned down the suggested x-rays, but did accept the ice pack, all the while never taking his eyes off the woman in the interrogation room. Abby, for her part, was refusing to acknowledge her questioners, instead staring at the table, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest.
Once Ducky moved away, Gibbs moved back next to McGee, a look of sorrow on his face as he reached out for the younger man's shoulder. "Tim..."
"Don't, just don't." His arms were wrapped around himself, but unlike Abby's defiance, it was an obvious attempt to hold himself together as even the most casual of observers could see the fine tremors that wracked his body.
Gibbs let his hand drop, but didn't totally back down. "The only thing that could make you this mad at Abby is if she did something to hurt Sarah." Seeing Tim's reaction, Gibbs knew he'd hit the jackpot. Also realizing it, Tony and Ziva moved closer and listened. "What was it? What did Abby do to Sarah?"
Before he answered Gibbs, Tim took his phone out and dialed. In the interrogation room Jeffries' cell phone rang and he answered it. Tim's voice was flat. "The people in here with me need to see the photos of Sarah." Once he closed his phone, he continued in the same monotone voice. "Sarah didn't want to go to the club, but Abby talked her into it. Promised to take her and bring her home, stay close to her the whole time. She told Sarah that she needed to experience things out of her comfort zone if she was going to be a writer."
By now Karen Thompson was at the mirrored window with the photo of Sarah's battered, bloodied face, holding it up. After a moment she exchanged it for a close up photo of the hand shaped bruises on her throat. Eventually she cycled through all the pictures and closed the file, returning to the table.
Gibbs closed his eyes for a minute before he asked McGee anything else. "How did they get separated?"
"They didn't." Tim looked at Gibbs for a moment before returning his attention on what was happening in the next room. "Abby handed Sarah over to him and then left her there. A janitor found Sarah semi-conscious in the alley behind the club. She wasn't the only victim, Gibbs." Tim finally turned to face the senior agent. "The other victims remember Abby being there right before they were attacked. I don't want to believe Abby did this, but it's my baby sister, Boss, my baby sister and now Abby is refusing to talk." McGee was too angry and hurt to pull any punches. "What if it had been Kelly she'd taken to that club?"
The one most striking similarity between the two men was their fierce devotion to family. Gibbs had lost his in what he had thought was the worst way possible. He couldn't imagine if a friend had been involved. "She'll talk to me." Gibbs had the look in his eye of a hunter on the prowl as he left the room.
Even the detectives jumped when Gibbs entered the room, the door banging against the wall. Abby recovered quickly and tried to convince him she was right. "Gibbs, they're saying terrible things about my friend. It's all a mistake, somebody is trying to frame him. Make them give me the evidence and I'll prove it."
Gibbs had recognized the mood. Before, he'd been amused by her absolute certainly in the face of overwhelming odds. Today as he remembered Sarah's devastated expression in the photos, it just angered him. He looked over at the rest of the file Thompson was holding. A police sketch was visible, though they hadn't shown it to Abby yet. He pointed to it and she handed it over. Without a word, he slid it across the table, watching Abby's reaction. Her eyes widened, but she kept silent.
Jeffries also watched her reaction. "This is the suspect that raped Sarah McGee. We have images from the club's security cameras that showed you with him several times that night. We can also place you and him in the vicinity of a series of rapes over the last few weeks. Every victim has identified him as their attacker."
"No." Abby shook her head, but she didn't look as confident as she had a few minutes earlier. "It's a mistake, he wouldn't hurt anyone."
Thompson started laying out the pictures of the victims, starting with the first one. Each picture told a story of increasing violence, ending with the image of Sarah's face. Silently crying now, Abby trailed her finger around the bruise that covered one side of her face. "Roger has been my friend since grade school. How could he do something like this? I can't believe he'd do this."
"His last attack was so brutal, the condom he was using tore. We have DNA, Miss Sciuto, will that be enough evidence for you?"
"If you continue to impeded this investigation, you will be charged as an accessory after the fact."
Abby was listening to the detectives, but watching Gibbs. His expression was angry, hard. Even when she stared to cry it hadn't softened. "Gibbs, please?"
He stood and leaned across the table towards her. "You give them every scrap of information you have on this bastard or I'll put the handcuffs on you myself." There was a notepad on the corner of the table and he tossed it in front of her as he leaned over to whisper in her ear, too soft for anyone else to hear. "If you helped him rape Sarah, you'll find out you're not the only one who can kill and leave no forensic evidence." He slammed his hand down on the empty papers, turned and walked out the door.
Gibbs couldn't hide his anger when he returned to the observation room, but he toned it down as much as he could for Tim's sake, deliberately keeping his voice soft as he came up behind him. "You did the right thing, Tim. You let Metro handle the investigation and you concentrated on Sarah." When McGee didn't move away from Gibbs he gently rested his hands on the younger man's shoulders. There was a slight flinch, but Tim didn't step away from him. "How is Sarah doing?"
"Not good, she was staying at my apartment since the attack, but..."
Tony finally spoke up, for the first time since they had entered the observation room. "I was there, McGee, she wasn't there."
"Yeah, she was, Tony. When you broke into my apartment, she hid."
"Shit, man, I'm sorry. I was pretty angry that you weren't confiding in us when I found the test box. I must have scared the hell out of her."
Ziva had enough of her own nightmares to know how the traumatized young woman would react. "She thought it was her attacker, returning for her."
"Yeah." Tim dropped his head down, letting his chin rest on his chest. "She hid in the back corner of my bedroom closet. All she had to defend herself with was the bottle of sleeping pills they gave her."
Ziva immediately knew what had happened, Gibbs made the connection only seconds later, tightening his grasp on Tim's shoulders "Oh, God." Tony was the only one who didn't understand.
"How could she defend herself with a bottle of sleeping pills?
Ziva answered so McGee didn't have to say the words. "She didn't want to live through another encounter with her rapist, Tony."
"What do you mean, she didn't want to live through... are you saying that she... that she tried..." Tony stumbled backwards and fell into the nearest chair. "You got to her in time, right? She's going to be okay?" The silence from McGee was disturbing.
"Tim?" Gibbs had never seen him like this. "Tim, is Sarah..."
"It took them a couple of hours to stabilize her, and she probably won't be awake until tonight, but, yeah, I found her in time."
"Thank God." Gibbs leaned slightly forward and rested his forehead against the back of McGee's head, while Tony slumped down in the chair, his face buried in his hands and his shoulders shaking.
Tim accepted the comfort from Gibbs for just a moment before he stiffened and moved forward. Gibbs didn't force the issue, dropping his hands as soon as McGee started to pull away. "I need to get back to the hospital."
"Of course. Is there anything we do to help you? Do you need someone to pick your parents up at the airport?" Gibbs hoped that even the smallest effort McGee would accept would be the first step in rebuilding the trust.
"Sarah doesn't want them to know. I... I understand her reasons." By now, McGee was facing Gibbs and the older man could see something worrisome in his eyes, but felt like he hadn't the right to question him.
"Were the paramedics at your apartment with Sarah?" When Tim nodded, Ziva continued. "Why don't Tony and I go take care of the mess they left behind." A second nod from McGee and Ziva knew she was on the right track. "What about Jethro, should we take him for a walk?"
"He's at the groomers." Tim looked down at his watch and groaned. "I'm supposed to be picking him up right now.
"Why don't I do that? In fact, he can stay at my place for a few days so you can focus on Sarah."
"Thanks, Boss." The smile was weak, but it gave the rest of the team hope that they might get through this. He looked across the room to Director Vance, who had been quietly observing. "Director, could I speak to you in private before I leave?"
"Of course, Agent McGee." Vance held the door open for him, not giving any of the team members time to question McGee.
Author's Chapter Notes:
When McGee finds it necessary to protect his sister from people he though were his friends, the consequences are far reaching.