A/N â€" hey guys, there’s going to be some medical info in the next few chapters and just wanted to say that me and Alise are not doctor’s and have done our best to get the facts right (courtesy of the good old internet!) so don’t be offended or upset if there are any little inconsistencies.
I would also like to give my girl Alise a shout, she has been absolutely fantastic by helping me out with the plot for this one so if you review (please do peeps) then please make sure you give her half the credit because she has made a huge contribution to this fic. I’m going to be sharing any reviews with her so If you don’t want me to share your email address then let me know and I’ll let you know her replies.
Ok sorry for the long A/N and now to the bit you’ve all been waiting for..............
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Tim sat hunched over his typewriter in his office trying desperately to get the next chapter of his book started, the frustration got the better of him and he threw down his grandfather’s pipe that he had been fiddling with in his right hand. He slumped in his chair and absently rubbed his bump whilst staring and the stark white page in front of him.
Ordinarily, writing helped him escape the horrors at work and kept his mind focussed elsewhere, not this time though as the case they were working on was rampaged through his mind. He twirled the chair around and gazed out of the window, watching as the gentle breeze blew through the trees in the back yard. He thought back to the searches he had been doing and tried to figure out what they were missing seeing as none of them actually came back with any viable information that could be used.
He rubbed his hand through his hair in frustration, after two weeks working with the BAU they had got nowhere fast and Tim couldn’t shake the feeling that the case was going downhill with no hope getting anywhere before someone else got hurt.
He was pulled out his thoughts by something soft resting on his leg and looked down to see the doleful brown eyes of his faithful Alsatian looking up at him, Jethro had started to become slightly clingy in the past couple of weeks and seemed to follow Tim everywhere he went as if sensing something was bothering his master. Tim reached down and stroked the silky fur on his dogs head and sat in relative silence, the only sound that could be heard was the whirring of the fan that stood on the corner of his desk.
Jethro woke up with a feeling of unease and stretched his arm over to Tim’s side of the bed, it took him a moment of feeling around to realise the sheets were still folded neatly on that side of the bed and knew his lover hadn’t actually joined him. He sat up and wiped the last vestiges of sleep out of his eyes before getting up to find his wayward lover.
He didn’t have to look far and sighed when he saw the stream of light spilling out through the open door to Tim’s office. He crept over and leaned on the door jamb, his frown deepening when he spotted Tim sitting there gazing out of the window with one hand resting on the top of his growing abdomen and the other lazily scratching behind Jethro’s ear.
‘Timmy, its two thirty in the morning, what are you still doing up?’
He walked over to his lover and knelt down in front of him and both his strong hands resting on Tim’s thighs. He looked up at the tired face and watched as the green eyes sluggishly tried to track his movements.
‘Sorry J. I was trying to......er, I was.......Trying to write.....um....but I...erm...I can’t stop .....’
Jethro sighed and stood up taking both Tim’s hands in his before pulling his lover up and guiding him out of the office, reaching over to the light switch to turn the lights off as he left when he felt the trembling in the clammy hands. He turned to look closely at Tim and saw nothing but confusion and anxiety in the face of the man he loved, he thought that the stumbling confusion was down to sheer exhaustion at first, but when he looked closer he saw the fine sheen of sweat on Tim’s face and started to recognise the symptoms of hypoglycaemia that the doctor had warned them about. Cursing loudly, he reached up and placed two fingers on his partner’s smooth neck, the worry pooling in the pit of his stomach when he felt the irregular flutter of the carotid artery beating as Tim started to have palpitations.
‘Crap, Tim........Tim look at me. Did you eat the sandwich I bought up earlier?’
Tim was completely disorientated and Jethro stated to panic knowing exactly what the answer would be, he glanced behind Tim and saw the sandwich still sitting on his desk completely untouched.
‘Damn it Tim, come on’
He put his arm round Tim’s waist and guided him downstairs to the kitchen, gently helping him sit in one of the kitchen chairs before turning to pull out a carton of the sweetened apple juice he had started to buy when Tim’s boarder line gestational diabetes had been diagnosed. Jethro handed a large glass of the juice over to Tim and hovered nervously until the glass had been completely drained, replenishing the sugary drink before making another sandwich.
‘Tim, you can’t do this damn it, you’re not the only one to worry about right now’
Tim looked down at the sandwich that Jethro had put down in front of him and slowly started to eat it, never looking his lover in the eye as the shame of letting himself get into that state filed through his entire body. Jethro watched as Tim’s shoulders slumped and knew his words had been too harsh and quietly counted to ten to try to get his anger in check before continuing. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed quietly knowing damn well Tim’s emotions were fragile at the best of times but now they’d shatter like fine crystal at the slightest blow.
‘Timmy, don’t...........talk to me, what’s bothering you’
Tim finished his sandwich and looked up at Jethro, he was a lot more alert as he faced his lover, his teeth worrying at the full bottom lip as if he was trying to figure out what to say, there was really no reason why this case was bothering him now, it just was.
‘I don’t know J, there’s no reason. We just don’t seem to be getting anywhere and in the meantime that son of a bitch is still out there carrying on as if he’s doing nothing wrong. Shit J, in the past week we’ve had three more victims to deal with and absolutely nothing to go on’
Jethro sat down and took Tim’s hands in his, silently pleased the tremors had abated and looked up into the trouble face.
‘Tim, I don’t want this eating at you, they’ll make a mistake and we’ll be there to get them. If you let it eat at you like this then we’re going to have a problem because I can’t have you endangering both your life and the life of our son’
Tim felt his eyes prickle and looked away, he had no idea how to reply and instead started to sob, his body convulsing as his hormones stampeded thorough his body allowing raw emotions to flood in. Jethro got out of his chair and moved to Tim’s side and pulled him into a strong embrace while waiting patiently for the harsh sobbing to subside. He felt the convulsions stop and sighed with relief as his lover melted into the hug.
‘J, do you remember the briefing at the beginning of the case’
Jethro nodded and thought back to the meeting, his head spinning as he tried to figure out what was bothering Tim.
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Two weeks ago...........
Tim walked into the conference room and sat down in one of the chairs that surrounded the large table. He looked around and was surprised to see a few new additions and guessed the room had been made available to the BAU to use as a base of operations.
He let his eyes roam around the room and gaped at the equipment that had been strategically placed around the normally bland room, maximising every square foot of the small space. He let his eyes fall on the large plasma TV and the numerous whiteboards before spotting the large pin board at the end of the room that was already covered with various photo’s and documents.
Jethro sat next to him and rested his folded his hands on the table and Tim noticed how his face was set in a neutral expression that even Tim struggled to read. The BAU team had already taken their seats and were waiting patiently for Tony, Ziva and the director to join them and were currently looking through the case files in front of them to try and mask the uncomfortable silence that fell in the room. Tim was relieved when the door opened five minutes later and the last members of the meeting trawled in with a harassed looking Ducky in tow.
‘Gentlemen, ladies, sorry for keeping you but I thought it would be prudent to ask our Chief Medical examiner to join us, may I introduce you to Dr Donald Mallard. I have been in discussions with your superior and she has kindly agreed to let Dr Mallard review all of the victims autopsy reports as well as do the autopsy on any new victims if needed’
Ducky nodded curtly to the group and sat down opposite Jethro; Tim noticed how pinched his features were and hazarded a guess that the ME had been brow beaten into increasing his workload to accommodate the new case.
‘Ok, I think introductions are in order. Firstly I’ll introduce my team and will then hand over to Agent Hotchner’
There was a murmured agreement that gave Vance the signal to continue.
‘The team I am going to introduce are the best team we have here at NCIS and is headed up by Special Agent Jethro Gibbs and supported by three other agent’s, Senior field Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Special Agent Timothy McGee and Probationary agent Ziva David. In addition to them you have the full use of our forensics lab and any work you need doing will be done by our forensics specialist Miss Abby Sciuto who is unable to join us at the moment. Agent Hotchner’
Vance had gestured to each agent in turn as he introduced them and kept his voice soft, portraying an air of confidence in his team that Tim knew wasn’t really there. He sat down and leaned back in the chair, his folded hands held across his stomach as Hotchner took the floor.
‘My name is Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner and I am the unit chief of the Behavioural Analysis Unit. My team works alongside various law enforcement agencies to profile and help apprehend unsubs. My team is highly skilled in this area and we appreciate your help with this case’
He paused and looked around the room and noticed how Jethro had tensed slightly. He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued.
‘I’d like to introduce you all to SSA’s David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Dr Spencer Reid, they all work as profilers on the team. SSA Jennifer Jareau works as our media Liason and the final member of our team.......’
He paused and nodded JJ who stood and turned on the large plasma before bending down to the laptop at the side which had been connected to the NCIS network, the face of a quirky woman appeared and smiled broadly at the people in the room.
‘I’m here sir’
Tim recognised her from his days at Norfolk and gave her a small nod before turning his attention back to Hotch.
‘This is Special Agent Penelope Garcia and she is our Technical analyst and will be completely at your disposal when needed’
Jethro moved slightly in his chair and crossed his arms firmly against his chest, Tim cringed knowing that his partner was uncomfortable and in any other meeting the gesture would be seen as being intimidating. He had no idea how it looked in a room full of profilers and worried about the reaction it would be getting. He was quickly pulled back to the matter at hand when Hotch walked slowly round to the NCIS team and handed them each a case file.
‘I understand you have no knowledge of this case but in order for us to work together to apprehend our Unsub you will need to know exactly what it is we are dealing with’
He gave Jethro and his team a moment to scan the contents of the file and took the opportunity to sit down with his own in front of him.
‘As you can see we have five victims to date, all of which have been kidnapped, drugged, tortured and asphyxiated. Their bodies are always left in remote places near some kind of water and are carefully dressed in a simple white robe. The reason we need your help is because of the badges that are found pinned to breast on the left hand side’
Jethro turned to the photographs and scrutinized the close up of the badge.
‘Navy insignia? Are the victims military?’
Hotch shook his head sadly.
‘No but we discovered they are all family member of Navy personnel and the insignia’s all pertain to the family members position and rank, the picture you are looking at is............’
‘NFO, or Naval Flight Officer. I’m guessing the family member works on an aircraft carrier’
Jethro was currently tracing every detail of the small gold badge and recognised the golden wings, shield and crossed anchors immediately, frowning at how much work the unsub had put into researching his victim’s families.
‘That specific family member yes but every victim is adorned with different insignia relating to a family members rank. That seems to be his signature if you like, the thing he uses to identify himself. The other thing you’ll notice are the victim’s sex and ages’
The room was filled with the sound of rustling pages as Jehtro’s team found the right page.
‘Sir, they are all 25 year old females who are currently at university’
Tim’s voice seemed to waver slightly as reality dawned on him, the victims were all students.
‘Yes Agent McGee, the one thing our unsub likes is consistency, even down to the hair colour, the colour of the eyes and the height and build. We have been trying to track them down for the better part of a month’
The room was silent as the harsh reality of the case hit home; there was a serial killer loose on the streets of Washington DC.
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Present day.........
‘J, the victims were all Sarah’s age and the descriptions fit her perfectly. You know my father was a captain of a wasp class amphibious assault craft right. Shit J, it was just too risky for her to be around so I sent her home because it was scaring the crap out of me’
Tim’s breathing hitched sharply and Jethro pulled him back to his chest again, mentally head slapping himself for being so blind.
‘Oh Timmy, I’m sorry I didn’t make the connection. Why didn’t you tell me?’
Tim managed to get his tears under control and chuckled slightly at Jethro’s apology, the sound muffled by his lover’s firm chest. He pulled away again and took Jethro’s hand in his own.
‘I thought apologies were a sign of weakness J. I didn’t tell you because I thought I was being over protective and hormonal.....again. Seriously, you should have heard that conversation, she told me to stop being such a pain in the ass and that I was being overbearingly protective. It’s funny because she didn’t think twice about going back home to see the folks, I think she’s homesick’
Jethro laughed and stood up, making his way to one of the kitchen drawers to pull out the glucometer that was stored there.
‘It’s never a sign of weakness with you Timmy and Sarah’s wanted to go home for a while. Give me your finger’
Tim held out his hand and barely flinched as Jethro used the lancet to draw a small droplet of blood of the pin prick. Tim automatically put his finger against the test strip and waited for the meter to read his blood sugar levels. Tim saw Jethro’s face relax at the reading and knew they were back up thanks to his lover’s quick actions.
‘Ok good. Listen Tim, it’s nearly back to normal but I want you to get checked out by Duck first thing ok’
Tim nodded sheepishly and yawned loudly as exhaustion started to creep in. Jethro was busy packing away the equipment and joined in; damn those things really are infectious.
‘Come on, let’s go to bed, we’ve gotta be up in a few hours so we may as well make an attempt to sleep.’
Tim found himself being led into their newly air conditioned bedroom and was soon laying on his side, a pillow sitting in between his legs with his lover spooning behind him, feeling safe and comfortable as his eyes closed and sleep claimed him.
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Tim was sitting on the cold autopsy table waiting patiently for Ducky to look up from the glucometer. He knew there were no lingering effects from his episode last night but didn’t want to upset his lover anymore then he already was so agreed to the examination without a fuss. Ducky pulled his glasses down his nose as the meter beeped and nodded gently to himself as he placed the small machine down on the instrument table.
‘Timothy my dear boy, I’m not happy about last night, you really should be taking better care of yourself’
Timothy suddenly found his swinging feet of great interest, his head bowed low to his chest.
‘None of that Timothy. Have you felt the little one moving at all?’
Tim smiled at the gentle admonishment from his dear friend and raised his head. He knew Ducky only had their welfare at heart and nodded happily.
‘I swear he’s trying to kick his way out Ducky. He hasn’t stopped all morning; it’s kind of comforting though’
The last statement was said quietly and Ducky couldn’t help the pang of sympathy that shot through him, he knew Tim didn’t mean any harm last night; he was just worried about how much this case was taking its toll. He deflated the blood pressure cuff he had placed over Tim’s arm and smiled at the reading.
‘Good, good. Well Timothy, you’re in fine fettle and can go. If you start to feel ill then please come and see me as soon as possible’
Ducky helped Tim slide off the high table and turned to pack his medical equipment away, Tim grabbed his hand and placed it on his bump and watched as Ducky’s face melted into a look of pure wonder when he felt the baby kicking at his hand.
‘Oh my Timothy. It truly is a miracle. You know one of my fellow student’s was expecting twins. It’s a fascinating story and she ended up sitting her exams whilst in early labo........’
He was interrupted by Tim’s phone ringing loudly.
Sorry Ducky, maybe later ok?’
The ME nodded sadly as Tim left and made a mental note to finish that story later. He watched as Tim walked to the elevator and pushed the call button whilst talking animatedly to the person on the other end.
‘Ok boss..........everything’s fine J.......yeah he’s fine...........uh huh............On my way.......got it boss, see you soon’
Tim hung up and sighed heavily as his adrenaline started to pump thorough his body, Jethro had just told him they had finally caught a break and he needed Tim there ASAP.
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The bullpen was a hive of activity as both teams swarmed around getting ready to move out. They had received an anonymous tip from the local PD about a man dragging a woman into an abandoned building near the convention centre and the woman’s description fitted the other victim’s profiles perfectly. Timing was of the essence now in order to try to save the girl before she became another body on Ducky’s slab.
Tim walked in as Jethro was pulling his bullet proof vest on and walked over to his desk to see what he could do.
‘Boss, where do you want me?’
‘Tim, go to MTAC and co-ordinate from there. There’s already a bird in the sky and we’ve got our earwigs so you’ll be able to see and hear us’
Tim turned to make his way to MTAC and paused briefly as a nagging feeling made his stomach churn. He turned and leaned over Jethro’s desk, using his hands to support himself so he could get closer.
‘J, be careful out there ok, don’t do anything stupid’
Jethro paused briefly and gave Tim a reassuring smile. He was clipping his faithful sig to his belt and winked at his lover.
‘I will Tim, just keep your eyes open for us’
Tim nodded and watched mournfully as the BAU and his friends stepped into the elevator, he had a bad feeling about this but managed to push it back as he entered MTAC and grabbed the headset before sitting down in one of the chairs. There was nothing he could do now but wait.
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Tony and Ziva stayed close to the wall as they moved down the narrow passage way that led to one of the bedrooms. The house had been clear so far but they knew the unsub hadn’t been able to leave.
They had cleared all the other rooms upstairs which left one more door, Ziva reached out to grab the door handle and found it locked from the inside. Tony pushed her back and kicked hard just above the handle. The door gave and slammed against the wall drawing out a panicked shriek from the bound victim in the middle of the room.
‘NCIS, drop your weapons’
They were standing to the side of the open door and moved in slowly, their bodies set in a defensive pose as they swept the room. It was completely empty except for the young brunette woman bound to the chair, the blindfold making her flinch at every noise as the sensory deprivation intensified every sound.
Ziva glanced over to the open window and pointed at it, moving slowly towards it whilst staying close to the wall. She leaned forward slightly and watched as the rusted fire escape swayed menacingly at the added weight from the unsub.
‘Tony he’s climbed out of the window and is moving down the fire escape. It looks like it’s about to collapse so do not follow’
Ziva threw her hands up in frustration and talked into the mike that was concealed in her sleeve.
‘Harah, Gibbs he has used the fire escape to leave. It is not safe for us to follow. He is headed towards the front of the house’
Jethro was covering the front door and listened intently to Ziva over the radio; he tore down the old wooden steps and ran to the side of the building and Tim watched as his lover’s posture completely changed, his body slightly crouched as he silently crept round the side of the house holding his sig low. Tim gasped loudly when he saw the black hooded figure round the corner.
‘J he’s moving round towards you now’
The warning was too late and he watched with horror as Jethro swiftly aimed his gun at the approaching figure, the unsub reacted and raised his weapon haphazardly before he squeezed of a shot that ripped through Jethro’s vest like a hot knife through butter.
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Tony had been trying to calm the victim and when he heard the shots and Tim’s frantic calls. Emily and Morgan had joined them in the bedroom and were helping him calm the victim until the paramedics arrived; he sat stock still as the drama unfolded over their earwigs, his heart skipping a beat as he listened to Tim’s frantic calls over the radio.
Tony’s blood ran cold as he bolted out of the room towards the front door and raised his weapon when he saw the unsub escape through the hedges. He ran down the wooden steps to start the pursuit stopped dead when he spotted his boss lying on the ground, a small pool of blood forming underneath his prone form.
The last thing Tony remembered was the sound of Tim’s choked sobs over his earwig as he made his way over and dropped to his knees next to his boss.
‘Oh god boss..........WE NEED AN AMBULANCE NOW’
Tbc
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Oooooh evil cliffhanger, Alise, we are the queens of cruel!
Guys, I know there isn’t much of Tony in this chapter but don’t worry, all will be revealed.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and don’t forget to let us know what you all think!
Shelbylou
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.