Back at NCIS Head Quarters, Gibbs makes his way down to Abby's lab. As he enters the lab he hears her loud music blaring. He walks up behind her and shadows her movement as she stares in the microscope that she has in front of her. As she moves back, Gibbs does the same. McGee looks up from his computer and watches Gibbs.
Gibbs leans close to Abby and whispers in her ear, "Do you have anything for me Abs?" Abby shrieks and spins around. "Gibbs you really need to stop doing that to me." Abby complains as Gibbs walks away and reduces the volume of the music.
"Abs, Anything?" Gibbs asks as he leans against the table.
"McGee, show him what we have so far." Abby says as both she and Gibbs look at him. McGee clicks away at his computer.
"Today McGee!" Gibbs says as he becomes impatient. Just then an image appears on the plasma screen. "This is a simulation of the attack that we have been able to put together. There must have been 2 perpetrators. She was hit across the temple by a right handed man, height between 1.65 and 1.72 meters. From the impression in the carpet, he weighed around 185 pounds. The second guy, who seemed to be behind her, was a bit shorter and lighter. Unfortunately the shoes they wore are common CAT boots and we were not able to find any trace evident on the carpet from them."
"Any DNA, prints, anything?" Gibbs asks as he looks at Abby.
"mmm, No Gibbs. No DNA evidence. The prints belong either to Sasha, Stacey or the child. On the robe I found traces of blood. But it was Sasha's blood. These guys left no trace."
"Check again. No one is so clean." Gibbs says as he walks out of the lab. As he enters the elevator his phone rings.
"Gibbs." He answers.
"Agent Gibbs, this is Dr Jackson. I just wanted to let you know that Lt Martins has left the hospital and she said that she was returning home."
"When was this and why didn't you keep her there?" Gibbs asks as he becomes annoyed.
"It was about 2 hours ago and we can not keep people here against their will." the Doctor says as Gibbs hangs up. As the elevator doors open Gibbs calls Tony and Kate and they make their way over to Sasha's apartment.
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Back at the apartment, Sasha receives a call from her Director. She assures him that she is fine and that she does not need any days off and then she tells him about the memo she had sent out. She informs him that she thinks it is very important to evaluate NCIS agents considering the type of crime scenes they encounter on a daily basis and she also convinces him that the field trips are required to enhance the team's ability to work together in stressful situations. The Director eventually gives in and agrees to let her proceed with her plan.
A few minutes later she receives another call.
"Hello Lt Martins, How are you feeling?" The man on the other side of the line smirks. Sasha freezes as she recognizes his voice and the events of the previous night flash through her mind.
"I want to speak to Stacey and Jason." Sasha demands, as she ignores his question.
"You don't give the orders here, I do and you better remember that!" The man replies in an angry voice.
"You will let me speak to them everyday otherwise I will call the whole thing damn thing off." Sasha threatens as she prays that he will not call her bluff.
"Oh really." he sneers.
"Yes, really. I have not put anything into place yet and if you do not get them on the line within the next 5 minutes I will assume that you have already killed them and then there will be no reason for me to go ahead with your plan. In fact it will force me tell Agent Gibbs everything. Think about that!" Sasha says in a deadly serious voice as she cuts the call. Then she collapses on the couch and prays that he will call.
The phone rings again within a minute and Sasha answers it calmly, "Hello."
"Sasha, what is going on? Why are they holding us?' Stacey asks in a strained voice.
"Stacey, are you and Jason okay? Have they hurt you?" Sasha asks as she sits on the edge of the couch with tears run down her face.
"We're okay, just locked up in a room. What is this about?" Stacey asks.
"Don't worry, Stacey. Just stay calm and take care of Jason. I'll get you guys out of there as soon as I can..." Sasha says as she closes her eyes and tries to get her tears under control.
"Satisfied?" the man asks a second later as Sasha hears the sound of a door closing in the background.
"You will let me speak to her everyday, even when we are at Herrington Manor." Sasha warns.
"We'll see. I will meet you at the park on the 25th. Make sure not to react hostilely because Gibbs will notice that. I will fill you in on the rest of my plan once the first day's hike is done. And remember, you better keep you trap shut about this or I will kill them in front of you and then I will kill you." he threatens her.
"I'll do what you want just so long as I get to speak to Stacey everyday and you take good care of her and Jason." Sasha says, keeping her voice as steady as possible before she hangs up.
She is just relieved that Stacey and Jason are okay for the time being. She takes a deep breath as she restrains her tears knowing that crying will get her nowhere. She decides that the activity of cleaning and neatening up the apartment will help her to calm down. Once she's done with that she acknowledges that her headache has become progressively worse and she decides to take a bath so that she can relax and clear her mind in order formulate a plan. She adds extra Lavender to the bath and fills the tub to the brim. As she lies back in the tub, covered in bubbles she thinks, The Director has given his blessings and I know that the team consists of Gibbs, DiNozzo, Todd and McGee. I will do the evaluations on Monday afternoon and we can leave for the trip on Thursday and be at the cabins by Thursday evening. Then he said that he would contact me by Friday night and tell me the next move.
As Sasha relaxes in the bath, Gibbs and his team make their way into her apartment. They notice that it has been neatened up and that there is a laptop on the dinning room table. Gibbs indicates that he wants Kate to go through the computer and he indicates that DiNozzo should check the bedrooms on the right as he makes his way to the bedroom on the left. As he enters the room he hears the sound of water running out through a drain followed by Sasha walking out of the bathroom with a red towel wrapped around her torso. The towel is short and Gibbs notices her creamy shoulders and long sexy legs. Her red hair is wet and draped over one of her shoulders. She looks like a nymph and Gibbs is surprised by the jolt of arousal he feels.
Sasha feels calmer now that she has formulated some sort of plan to deal with this situation. As she walks out into her bedroom, she is startled to see Agent Gibbs standing next to her bed. She notices his stare and feels an unexpected jolt as she acknowledges that it is anything but professional. Gibbs is speechless for the first time in his life and he is unable to pull his eyes away from the sexy and seductive vision Sasha makes.
"Agent Gibbs, what are you doing here?" Sasha finally asks as she decides to behave as if it is normal to have a stranger staring at her almost naked body. She walks casually over to the cupboard and pulls out a sweat-shirt and a track pants. Gibbs watches her every move as he takes a deep breath. Then she makes her way back to the steamed up bathroom and what surprises Gibbs is that she does not close the bathroom door. Gibbs is able to see a partial reflection of her back and hips in the bathroom mirror as she removes her towel and starts dressing and he decides I am a bastard for staring at her like this but I just can't look away. Tony pops his head into the room and says, "Boss the other rooms are clear…." just as Sasha walks out of the bathroom again, swinging her wet hair out of the neckline of her sweat shirt. Tony raises his eyebrows as he realizes that Gibbs has been watching Sasha while she has been dressing in the bathroom. Way to go Boss. I'm glad to see that some of my traits are rubbing off on you. Tony thinks as he grins at Gibbs.
"Lt Martins, this is Special Agent DiNozzo." Gibbs says a second later as he gets his emotions under control.
"Agent DiNozzo, Agent Gibbs we can sit in the lounge and talk." Sasha says as she walks past them. Gibbs sees the grin on Tony's face and head-smacks him as he follows Sasha out of the room. Sasha notices another agent at her dining room table going through her laptop.
"Excuse me, but what are you doing Agent…" Sasha asks.
"Todd." Kate says as she guiltily backs away from the laptop.
"Coffee fine for everyone," Sasha asks as she puts the coffee machine on. She then turns to a cupboard and removed a medication bottle. She drops a Myprodol in her mouth and downs it with a glass of water hoping that the headache will subside soon.
Once the coffee is made, all of them sit down in the lounge. As they sip their coffee Gibbs asks, "Do you remember what happened?" Sasha stares as him for a second and then says, "I was asleep on the couch when I heard a noise. Everything was dark and as I stood up someone grabbed me from behind and tied my wrists as another man approached me from the front. I remember struggling and trying to get away and I must have shouted at him because he slapped me. That's when I must have hit my head and blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital." Sasha says as she rubs her tender wrists.
"Do you remember if there were more than 2 attackers?" Kate asks.
"I don't remember if there was anyone else as I was busy trying to get away from the two that were crowding me." Sasha replies.
"Can you remember anything about how they were dressed, what they smelt like, the way they spoke, anything?" Tony asks.
"All I remember is that the one in front of me was a bit taller than you Agent DiNozzo and heavier. They spoke in English and had regular accents. I think that they were white. They wore dark clothes and ski masks." Sasha says as she drops her head forward, rubbing it and squeezes her eyes shut. Her head in pounding incessantly and the coffee is making her nauseous. Kate looks at Gibbs indicating that maybe they should leave. Gibbs just glares back at her.
"Is anything missing?" Gibbs asks. Sasha keeps her hand on her brow and takes a deep breath as she thinks, Yes my previous baby and friend are missing.
"Lt." Gibbs prompts a few seconds later as he becomes impatient and more annoyed with himself for his earlier reaction to Sasha. Kate looks at him as it to say, Gibbs give the lady a break.
"Mmm, Sorry Agent Gibbs." Sasha says as she takes another deep breathe and opens her eyes. "Some jewellery and cash was taken. I'm not sure if anything else was. I haven't looked through everything yet." Sasha says as she leans back against the couch, drapes an arm across her forehead and closes her eyes again. "Agent Gibbs, if that's all, I think that I need to lie down now." Sasha says as she suddenly feels weak and drained.
"Go ahead Lt. We just have a few more questions." Gibbs says as he stands up making room on the couch for her to lie down. Sasha opens her eyes and narrows them on Gibbs. Just what the hell is your problem? Sasha wonders.
"What else do you want to know?" Sasha asks irritably, as her head continues to thump mercilessly and the nausea persists.
"Do you know who attacked you and why? Do you remember having an anxiety attack in the hospital this morning? What triggered it? Tell me!" Gibbs demands as he watches Sasha closely.
"What! Don't you think that if I knew who they were I would have told you! And as far as the anxiety attack is concerned it was probably triggered by you and that Doctor when you held me down and smothered me." Sasha shouts back angrily.
"There must be something that you remember. Think Lt." Gibbs shouts back.
"Gibbs," Kate says trying to get him to calm down and wondering what happened at the hospital and why is he reacting so aggressively towards Sasha.
"Boss, Maybe…." Tony starts but the glare Gibbs sends him makes his words falter.
"Don't you two find it strange that we don't have any forensic evidence and we don't have a motive for the attack!" Gibbs asks as he looks sharply between his two agents thinking that they should have picked up on this without his having to point it out to them.
"Boss, it could have just been a random burglary." Tony says trying to defuse the situation.
"Yeah DiNozzo, then there would have been some evidence. The fact that there is no evidence means that this is something else." Gibbs says as he slams his hand on the coffee table and stares at Sasha.
Sasha starts to feel like she is loosing control. The pain in her head is ten times worse and she feels a desperate need to get away from Gibbs. An intense wave of nausea washes over her and she knows that she is going to be sick. Kate notices the change in Sasha's pallor as she covers her mouth and runs from the room, into her bedroom and then into her bathroom. Kate follows her and witnesses her throwing up in the basin. When she is done, she takes a wet towel and holds it to her face as she takes a few deep breaths.
Kate helps her back into her room and into bed. Once Sasha is settled, Kate gives her two more painkillers and leaves the room. Gibbs and Tony watch Kate and look behind her for Sasha. Gibbs feels like a cad for being so harsh on Sasha but damn it I need answers, he thinks.
"She's in bed. I think that she's had enough for today." Kate says as she stares at Gibbs. Gibbs just throws his hands in the air and says, "She knows more than she is letting on."
"That may be so. But she's been through so much and she does have a severe concussion. Gibbs, let her rest a while and we can question her again later." Kate says.
"Fine, you two can baby sit her until she wakes up. Call me the minute you have anything." Gibbs retorts as he walks out of the apartment, slamming thefront door. Sasha hears him and thinks that it's going to be really hard to trick him.
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The weekend passes without any new information coming to light and Gibbs is forced to leave the case as unresolved. He hates doing that because he knows that there is more to this than meets the eye. As he works on his boat on Sunday evening, he relives the moment when he saw Sasha walking out of the bathroom. He squeezes his eyes shut as he imagines what she would taste like.
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