Chapter 8 FBI and NCIS
It was one of those days that everything good and bad comes together within 24hours. Gibbs is worn out, apart from his family and his department that he cares for, everything else is not right. He despises the feeling he has every single day that Haswari is on the run, he can not bear remembering how he almost killed Kate.
He thought his son went missing a few hours ago - nothing serious, but enough to make his hands shake. With Haswari roaming free on American soil, every little thing that happens, becomes big and serious. What could he do if the bastard kidnapped his son? How can he go on living if the bastard takes Robert or Kate's life?
He is NOT afraid for his own life, because he knows that Haswari will take him last…after he has suffered and lost everything he loves and will die from grief.
He received information from Fornell that the Al-Qaeda is behind Haswari, the institution supports the man financially and morally. He knows that with the right cheque book anything is possible.
The FBI believes that Haswari is on his family and people; even Abby is on the list, they believe he has a strange fascination with females, and he enjoys killing them, somehow. Gibbs wonders what has happened to him to make him such a monster.
FBI profiler conforms that the vermin is obsessed with Special Agent Caitlin Todd. Haswari talked about her to his control officer, apparently Caitlin is the only woman that managed to touch his soulless heart, it's her eyes and fierceness, he said. The Agent who retold the story is already dead at Haswari's hand, there is no way Gibbs can question him.
What's worse, the FBI just conformed his theory that Haswari has made Gibbs his personal problem, he is out to make him suffer, connecting him and Todd.
"It is even worse, Gibbs: you married his woman and you fathered her child" he recalled Fornell's comment.
"What the fuck are you talking about Fornell?" Gibbs couldn't believe his ears. "She is NOT his woman and YES! I am the father of her children! Not child!" he shouts at the exhausted FBI agent. That was before he called Kate and Robert picked up the phone and fell from the chair, creating mayhem in the HQ.
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Director Gibbs slowly sheds his coat, feeling depressed.
Half an hour ago, he stepped away from the FBI HQ with no results to belay their impending doom. By the time he reaches home, it is past one in the morning; he is dead tired and he needs COFFEE.
"Jethro…" he hears his wife calls for him and looks up.
"You are not asleep yet Kate?" he remembers that she slept a lot during her first pregnancy, he recalled the time she stepped into their house, dashed towards their bed and slept - before anything else.
Kate just shakes her head, offering no explanation. Instead, "Have you had you dinner?" as she descends from the second floor.
"Yeah I did" he lies to her, "Go back to bed Kate" he doesn't want her to fuss over him.
Kate is used to his brusque method by now, "your coffee" she changes the subject and it works.
He nods with a sigh, "thanks..." and he goes to the kitchen's island, where the coffee pot is…and he sees food! His dinner on the counter awaits him.
Right after he poured his coffee, he placed himself on the chair, put down his coffee and ate his dinner, hungrily.
His lunch was a stolen pizza from his agent and he hasn't has his dinner yet. Gibbs is as hungry as a wolf; he is so used to having proper meals that missing meals has started affecting his body.
"How was the meeting?" Kate places her hand on his shoulder and kisses his head lightly, looking at her hungry man, "do you want more?"
He nods as he still chewing his dinner and she reheats another portion for him.
Gibbs swallows his food and shares the latest news: "We came up with another plan! Only the FBI Director, me, O'Brien, DiNozzo, Fornell and now, you, know about it! Its ‘need to know only' Kate, to avoid possible leaks, we don't know how far up the food chain it goes… " he excitedly explains.
Kate looks at his wrinkled eyes and tired face: "Eat your food first Jethro, you'll tell me when you are all done OK" she urges him.
Kate just feels sorry for him, he is worn out and deeply involved in the case, not even Morrow did that. Last night he told her that "over his dead body" will that Haswari hurt any of his people.
"I'm good Kate" he says indifferently, as he lets go of his knife and pulls her closer to his side and kisses her tummy.
"How's Robert?" he was rather worried about the boy with a new bump on his head - his son.
Kate laughs, "Well, his bump has darkened…he said it's ‘blue' "she points to her forehead, mimicking her son. He laughs, his boy is unbelievable!
"He packed his bag for tomorrow," she continues.
"Bag? What bag? For what?" he continues eating.
"Oh…his stuff, his guns, his toys…his necessities" she explains and Gibbs almost chokes on his coffee.
"Is that his bag by the door???" he saw a small backpack by the door as he entered his house.
"Yep! He packed and placed it himself" Kate says proudly.
For a few moments, the couple talks about their joy, about their son. She retells the incidents when he tried to call his mobile from the speed dial on the phone, but she managed to stop him.
For a few moments they are lost in their dreams, away from the harsh reality that there is a mad terrorist on the run, hunting them. Gibbs decides to omit the profiler's report on the Mossad Agent's fascination with Kate.
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The next day, by seven in the morning the three of them leave the house for the HQ much earlier than his usual nine o'clock schedule, there is still much to do with the impending case. Gibbs is very involved with his agents' cases, especially this one.
When he wakes up, Kate's side of the bed is empty; he only sees Robert sprawled beside him, one of his fists is grabbing his shirt, and his tubby leg is on his thigh; after kissing him repeatedly he goes down and finds Kate in the kitchen, doing chores and getting Robert's food ready for the day, junk food is not an option for the two year old.
Robert is still asleep when Gibbs carries him to the car, still in his baby blue pajamas. After strapping their boy to his baby chair, they are all set.
Gibbs expresses his concern to the woman who is still sleepy, sitting quietly besides him. "Kate! I wish…I wish you were not involved in this matter! I wish you were not back at the HQ with Haswari on our tail, especially with your condition" he glances at her tummy that has slightly enlarged.
Kate laughs, trying to ease his mind, but she says the wrong thing, "I am not sick, I am not dying Jethro…I am pregnant!"
"Kate! Please" he sounds upset.
"Sorry" she forgets how sensitive he is talking about death! And the man was a Marine.
After a long uncomfortable silence that makes Kate want to slap her own head, he continues: "You should be at home, resting…not chasing a lunatic" he pauses for a while before he starts. "Do you remember your condition when you had Robert?" he angrily recalled.
She quickly interrupts him, "I'll do that when Haswari is in your hands, baby."
As he is still driving, he steals a glance at her, "you think we'll be able to nail the son of a bitch?" he sound so unsure, full of self-doubt.
"With the plan you are concocting with Fornell, the FBI and our guys - one hundred percent GIBBS," she is so sure that he'll take care of it, just like he always does.
She adds, "And with me…in the office! DiNozzo and others in the field, the bastard has no chance Jethro"
Gibbs smiles, a new surge of confidence in his heart.
"Mommy" they hear him call for Kate.
"Hi baby" Kate turns, looking at her precious boy.
"Hi son!" Gibbs greets him cheerfully.
"Daddy" he yawns and rubs his eyes, then he looks to his right and left, checking his surroundings. The last time he remembers, he was asleep in the big warm bed with his mom.
Then he scratches his head - just like his dad, still confused.
"We are going to the office Bobby," Kate explains, smiling at him.
He yawns and "N-C-I-S" he spells it out
Gibbs is surprised: "You know NCIS Robert?"
Hearing the tinge of surprise from his dad, the kid nods proudly.
"Ducky taught him." Kate says to her husband.
Then, "Bobby's bag!!!" the kid cries out, he remember his bag of goodies.
"It's here Bobby, mommy remembered" she points out the bag to him.
The boy with a bluish green bump on his forehead nods and falls right back asleep again, rocked by the car's movement, the two year old thinks his dad is an avid driver, the best driver in the world; little does he know that his dad drives like a mad man when he is NOT around.
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Gibbs drops his wife and boy by the entrance. "Go on Kate, I'll park the car and take care of our stuff," and he drives off to his parking space.
A set of green eyes are watching the woman, the woman and a boy, with hate and disappointment in his cold eyes; he has been waiting for hours, just to make sure that he caught up with her; but when he sees an older man dropping her by the office's entrance, he assumed that he is her husband.
Bloody bitch, he murmurs in hatred. He had his chances, her husband left her in the deserted entrance; he throws his cigarettes away and is about to stride to her when he stops and changes his move. He sees security personnel approaching Kate and the little boy who couldn't be more than two.
What an irony: his life, his future has just ended, hers is just starting.
He has to wait, he has to be patient, he will get to her when she is alone.
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Gibbs grabs his suit and Kate's bag, his tie is loose on his neck; Kate takes care of his dislike of ties by already tying the tie into a perfect triangle knot and all he has to do is slip them on and tighten the tie.
He strides to the entrance after he parked his car…his beloved car, he didn't even change his car when he got the Director position.
Gibbs is lost. In his mind, he is already planning his day ahead; full of questions, plans to be executed, possible answers and making sure that…
Suddenly, he stops in his tracks, like a tiger being hunted by another animal, higher in the food chain. His decades of experience told him that something is amiss. ‘Haswari' he murmurs to himself.
He checks his surroundings, as best as he could: empty, deserted, only a few cars scattered around the premises. He feels uneasy, his gut is telling him that something is not right, he feels like he is being watched.
"Morning Boss!" McGee's light greeting wakes him from his sudden watch
"McGee" he acknowledges his agent, it is only seven in the morning, and the boy has arrived.
McGee sees his Director glancing at the time and he explains his early arrival. "I came early for paperwork and some identity search boss…the case is going nowhere, something is hinky." He sounds disappointed with himself.
Gibbs nods at him: "Let DiNozzo knows if you need help, O'Brien has more experience with your type of case, you can ask him" he encourages him, he is rather fond of the geek who he knows that Abby is smitten with.
"Yes Boss" McGee answers him, and asks: "Is Kate here Boss?"
"Yes! She is already inside" He looks at the computer geek.
"Great! I need her help, she dated the man and she…" he shuts his mouth the moment he sees Gibbs's face - it is NOT good!
‘I mean…I mean…well…I mean…I don't know what I mean Boss" he stutters.
"Speak up!" Gibbs stops and looks at him, right in front of the HQ's entrance.
"I mean, I need help to profile Boss! And…and in the office boss, just to profile, I am not taking Kate anywhere else boss. I know she is office bound, and I have no intention…" McGee long winded explanation is cut short by Gibbs.
"Brief me" he barks as they enter the Security check - since he is the only Director who brings his loaded gun with him.
With confidence McGee briefs the NCIS Director. Gibbs is pleased with his preliminary details, within five minutes, he got the core of the case and he is not happy with Lt.Cobalt.
He gives McGee some direction in the elevator, the Agent listens to his Director, nodding, why the hell hasn't he thought about it yet.
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Bullpen - the elevator doors open.
Director Gibbs and Special Agent McGee enter the carpeted empty bullpen, greeted by a boy's voice, chattering away with his mother. For a few seconds Gibbs's face change - he smiles as he listens to the voice, McGee notices, there is a certain peace and bliss in his usually fierce eyes.
Robert Jethro Gibbs is sitting on the carpeted floor, at the corner of his mother's cubicle, behind his mom's chair, just about to start pulling out ALL his toys and guns from his backpack, he is still in his pajamas.
"Kate! I need to talk to you" he goes to her directly and grabs her elbow to pull her aside, he needs to discuss Lt.Cobalt's case with her and to warns her on her ex.
"Good morning Robert" McGee greets the cheerful little boy who has emptied half of his bag on the floor, he bends to Robert's level, patting the chubby boy's head and he witnesses a noticeable bluish bump on his forehead.
"Robert! What happened to your head?" McGee exclaims and sits beside the boy in Kate's cubicle.
"Bobby hurt! There!" he answers as he points angrily at Kate's table, where he fell yesterday.
"Oh, I am so sorry Robert…did you cry? Does it hurt?"
"No" he lies as he shakes his head purposefully, somehow he knows that crying is embarrassing.
"Good boy!" McGee praises him, he doubts that the boy didn't bawl his lungs out, judging by the size and color of the bump, it must be quite bad. And "Here, for the bravest boy in NCIS!!!" as McGee hands the boy a chocolate bar, his only breakfast.
Robert accepts the chocolate bar gleefully and grins at McGee. "Thank you, open please" he remembers his manners.
McGee smiles at his Director's son, unwraps the chocolate bar and places it back in the kid's hand and the kid enjoys the agent's breakfast.
Minutes later, he takes the chocolate from his mouth and waves it in front of his friend's face, wanting to share the yummy, and McGee accepts the offer and takes a bite from it - little Gibbs is friendly and not greedy.
"Bobby has gun!!!" the kid says to him, after he eyes McGee's real gun with great interest.
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Gibbs and Kate return to the desk, only to find a boy eating chocolate in his pajamas and a thirty year old Special Agent playing with toy guns and a ‘teddy bear in Marine Uniform'.
"Sorry Boss" McGee rises from the floor and excuses himself.
"OH Robert! Chocolate? McGee, this is your breakfast, isn't it?" Kate looks at her son, her hands on her hip.
"It's OK Kate!" McGee quickly answers, he witnesses Robert gripping the bar tighter in his small fist, afraid that his mother would take it from him.
Gibbs smirks, he is looking at the tot still enjoying the chocolate, ignoring his mother, "I have got to go Katie, I'll be with Fornell for the entire day, and be back before six…call me, be good Robert! Don't wander off by yourself and don't get another bump, please" Gibbs says to the two year old.
"OK BOSS" Robert answers his dad, just like McGee.
Gibbs laughs and roughly kisses his cheeks which cause him to giggle. "I love you son" he whispers to him, and he left to go to the FBI and McGee left to find Lt. Cobalt.
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FBI HQ
"Boss, why are we here? Why are we in FBI HQ? I thought we hated those jackasses, it is their fault that Haswari is on the loose" DiNozzo is frustrated, the case is going nowhere, he has not slept a wink in over forty eight hours.
"We do hate them DiNozzo" the Director answers him, surprisingly calm, he understands his frustration.
"And?" DiNozzo sits next to O'Brien, who is glued to his laptop, communicating with Kate.
"And What?" Gibbs gives his senior agent, his "I am about to lose my patient" look.
O'Brien sighs, unglues his eyes from the screen, he sees Kate wincing as she manages to overhear Gibbs's tone to DiNozzo.
"Tony, we do hate them…but this time, we have no choice but to work with them" O'Brien talking to DiNozzo calms Gibbs - who is already on the edge - down.
"You trust them O'Brien? Boss?" DiNozzo remembers all the tricks and confrontations with the Female Body Inspector (FBI), that's what he calls them. DiNozzo is about to start another argument when Gibbs suddenly rises from his seat and leaves them, entering another room.
Three hours later, it is a deal! There is no turning back; for the first time in history, NCIS's senior agents are paired up with FBI Agents; Fornell chose his men, he has chosen three seasoned agents whose partners have been assassinated by Haswari.
"Boss, why are there three of them? There are only two of us?" asks Tony, dissatisfied with what he sees.
Before Gibbs can gather all his strength NOT to smack his own senior agent in front of the FBI agents, Tony is cut short by the sound of elevator doors opened:
"Director Gibbs" the person greets Gibbs.
"Special Agent Cassidy" he acknowledges the woman.
"Paula?" DiNozzo is dumbstruck.
"Tony" she greets him with a smile, the man is unbelievably childish but sweet in is own way.
"O'Brien" he introduces himself, shaking the woman's hand.
"That answers your question DiNozzo?" Gibbs glares at him.
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Kate hasn't had the chance to change her boy from his pajamas, she is already swamped with information requests from DiNozzo. He and O'Brien are going straight to the FBI while Balboa and James are in the field.
McGee called her half an hour ago, he couldn't find the Lt at the designated meeting place, Kate advices him to continue with the investigation and drop by his place at the end of the day to check on the man.
And Robert Jethro Gibbs is bored!
He has no one to play with, his usually jam packed bullpen is empty, his mother is on the phone, all…the…time!
The two year old strolls around the bullpen, investigating what his friends left on their desk - not much by the way, they are all used to locking their drawers since he started learning how to walk and open drawers…looking for guns.
Pretty soon, he starts calling for Abby and Ducky, peeking through the glass door, "Abby…Ducky…Abby…Ducky…play with Bobby, please" he begs as he presses his face against the glass door.
Kate stretches her neck and looks at her desperately bored son calling for his sitters; she laughs as she sees three of his guns are slipped inside his pajamas, she feels sorry for him that he is caged up in the bullpen, but she is really busy.
"Abby and Ducky are very busy Bobby, please don't roam around." Kate receives a phone call from Mossad. They are NOT happy with NCIS and the FBI, but they can go to hell, Kate thought.
Kate hears the elevator doors open, she catches a glimpse of the boy running madly towards the opened elevator, expecting to see someone he can play with, and then she hears a familiar voice, but can't quite place it.
A woman in a blue suit steps off the elevator, she is surprised to find a toddler in a Federal office, let alone in his pajamas, looking at her hopefully. His clear blue eyes are captivating, his button nose and reddish face are sweet.
"Hello" she greets him.
"Hello" the boy is not shy, he is used to meeting strangers on a daily basis.
The woman in a blue suit bends to his level, pats his head gently and asks, "What's your name little boy?"
"BOBBY" he answers proudly.
She cocks her head, Bobby…OH…Gibbs's son.
"Bobby has gun!" he exclaims to her.
She pretends to look surprised and afraid of the gun, the boy pretends to shoot her, by that time someone rises from the seat and approaches them. "Robert! Don't!" It is Kate.
"Paula???" Kate is surprised to finally see her, Gibbs told her about his intention of having Paula to help them, and they are terribly understaffed.
"Kate! Nice to see you, Mrs. Gibbs!" Cassidy hugs her.
"Very funny Agent Cassidy!" Kate replies, she laughs as she remembers how Tony fell head over heels for the woman.
All this time Robert is fidgeting, looking back and forth from his mother to the pretty woman in blue.
"Robert, this is Aunt Paula" Kate says to her son.
"So, I get to meet the famous Robert Gibbs? He has his eyes you know, not his temper I hope "Paula looks at the kid and his mother.
She has been meaning to ask Kate, "What happened to his head, Kate?"
Before Kate can explain, Robert intervenes: "Bobby hurt! There! Come! Come to Bobby's bullpen" he tugs Cassidy; he wants to show her where he fell down. Not too shabby, Robert thought, a new friend to play with. And Special Agent Cassidy follows the boy, before she could tell Kate that she is supposed to meet Gibbs.
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"Boss, you should have told me that you transferred her all the way to DC boss to help us boss" DiNozzo is excited.
"Because I don't want you to start day dreaming about her DiNozzo…and who said anything about transferring Cassidy?" Gibbs exhales
"You should have paired her up with me, instead of Fornell's man" he tries his luck, one last time, but received a deathly glares from his director and___TWACK___ he shuts up, suddenly his day is not looking too bleak at all.
"Arrange accommodation for her DiNozzo…AND don't even think about it!!!" he barks.
"I wouldn't dare Boss!" He swallows his saliva.
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Gibbs returns to his HQ by six; his senior agents are all paired up with the FBI agents. He wonders how DiNozzo will arrange Cassidy's accommodation. He walks straight to Kate's desk; his wife is typing on her keyboard, at the same time talking on the phone, he assumes it must be to McGee.
His son is fast asleep, on a makeshift blanket on the carpeted floor, behind his mother's chair, "Kate why didn't you let him sleep in my office or the lab with Abby?" he bends his stiff knees, gently stroking Robert's hair and his thumb grazes his bump; looking at his ruddy fresh face, his breathing is even and peaceful.
Kate covers the phone, "No no no, I want to keep an eye on him, he broke Abby's futon, remember? And the Autopsy slab is NOT an option, he is not you Jethro!" and she returns to her conversation on the phone.
Gibbs stays with the boy for a minute before Kate hangs up, "He missed his afternoon nap, he made Palmer and Gerald chase him all over Autopsy and Lab"
"We should go, when you are done Kate, I am meeting Fornell in our place tonight, we don't have to stay" he sees Kate stretching her back and nodding. Gibbs is about to tell his wife that she doesn't have to be at the HQ tomorrow, before the elevator doors are opened and Cassidy enters the bullpen.
"Papa Gibbs" Cassidy teases him.
Gibbs just ignores her, arranging the sleeping boy more comfortably, and he remembers: "Has Special Agent DiNozzo arranged your accommodation Cassidy?"
"Hmm, yes he did! He placed me with Dr. Mallard" Cassidy answers the man, she is now leaning against Kate's desk, looking at the usually scary looking Gibbs making his boy comfortable, what a sight.
"He placed you with Ducky?" he is pleased with Tony's decision.
Cassidy is a Federal Agent with a gun, she can protect Ducky at the same time, she doesn't have to stay in a hotel which has inadequate security. Excellent job DiNozzo, he praises his agent in his heart.
"I have come here to get my stuff, got to go Gibbs, Kate, I'll see you tomorrow" she excuses herself, her FBI partner is waiting for her at the cafeteria.
"Be careful Paula, I am glad Tony placed you with Ducky" Kate expresses her concern.
Gibbs picks up his son along with his blanket from the floor and rests him on his chest as Kate gathers her stuff and Robert's bag, getting ready to go home.
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He has been waiting for hours; the woman doesn't step out from the blasted HQ. But he stays vigil and patient, waiting for his moment to settle his score. He has been waiting for her to pass by with no success, no sight of her, until now.
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Tbc-nova2007-Beta (MV)
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.