Silver Springs, Maryland: Gibbs's old basement
Yesterday had been a long one for Gibbs. They had eventually tracked down Eschel and the person who had hired him to create an issue between MOSSAD and the Federal agencies in the US. In the end Ziva had done what she always does which was kick someone's ass into next week and eventually they got her name cleared.
After that was all done? Gibbs took off. No goodbyes. No reason to give them, as far as Gibbs was concerned. Hell, if they needed him he was just over the bridge and quite frankly he could do without working for the government these days.
He did however head back to his old house, which was still for sale. The realator had been bugging him for ages to remove some of the old boxes from the basement in order to make the house look more tidy. Quite frankly Gibbs thought the reason the house hadn't sold was because of the poor market, not because of some boxes. However if it meant less voicemails and annoying phone calls then a clean basement it was.
It was in the middle of cleaning up one of the boxes that he found it. He almost threw it away at first until he remembered seeing it not that long ago
It was a Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox. One that Kelly had called her "Time Capsule". He ran his hands over it a few times to clear off some of the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the years. Taking a deep breath he opened it up to find a small little doll, still wearing a hat with a strawberry on it. Beneath that were pictures. Pictures of Kelly. Pictures of Kelly and her mom...
And a picture of her standing next to an unfinished boat.
He took deep breath and stared at the picture for a long time. So long that he didn't even hear the realator chatting away upstairs or the person coming down the steps. Realizing someone was here with him, Gibbs quickly put the pictures back and turned around to apologize... only to find he really didn't have to.
Standing there with an amused expression on his was Special Agent Fornell. Who apparently had come to the house with the real estate agent.
"What?" Gibbs asked. "First my wife and now my house?"
"No!" Fornell said with a chuckle. "No, I learned my leson. I'm through with your leftovers. You're going to need a bigger box if you want to clean up this basement."
"Did you come all this way out here to give me packing tips, Tobias?" Gibbs asked sarcastically as he turned back to sorting through some of the junk.
Deep down in his gut, however, Gibbs knew this wasn't going to be a social call. It never was with Fornell.
"Actually," Fornell replied, "I came to tell you that Petty Officer Derrick Paulson escaped from prison yesterday."
Gibbs let out a long sigh and shook his head at Fornell. "No. Forget it."
"I haven't asked you anything yet. You caught him last time," Fornell said carefully. "Figured you might like to catch him again."
"You thought wrong," Gibbs said sharply.
"He came to see me, Jethro," Fornell said quietly. "When I was with Emily."
Damn it. "Is she okay?" Gibbs asked sincerely.
"For now," Fornell replied with worry creeping into his voice. "He just wanted to tell me that I got the wrong man, then strongly suggested that I repon his case to prove it."
"He's risking a lot for something he knows can't happen," Gibbs replied as he threw a couple more items into some boxes.
"Ya think?" Fornell replied, imitating Gibbs's trademark line. "I don't know what hsi game is but I'm not going to get a good night's sleep until that son of a bitch is behind bars."
Gibbs paused and shook his head. "You don't need me to find him."
"NEED?!" Fornell shouted. "A convicted killer was two inches away from my daughter! Hander her crayons! He touched her!"
Fornell stared at his old... acquaintance? Friend? "What the hell happened to you, Jethro?"
"I retired," Gibbs said quietly. "But... I might make an exception."
Fornell let out a snort of amusement. "See? I told DiNozzo you weren't completely crazy."
"Don't rule that out yet," Gibbs grumbled as he headed for the stairs. "To do this I'm going to have to talk to Jenny."
"Oh, I'm sure that won't be a problem," Fornell said with a small smirk. "I'm sure she'd love to hear about your new wife."
Gibbs groaned as he climbed the steps. Tony was going to pay for not keeping his mouth shut. Oh, how he was going to pay.
[Reference to character death behind the cut. NFI unless you have a reason for calling Gibbs. Dialogue taken from "Escaped".]
After that was all done? Gibbs took off. No goodbyes. No reason to give them, as far as Gibbs was concerned. Hell, if they needed him he was just over the bridge and quite frankly he could do without working for the government these days.
He did however head back to his old house, which was still for sale. The realator had been bugging him for ages to remove some of the old boxes from the basement in order to make the house look more tidy. Quite frankly Gibbs thought the reason the house hadn't sold was because of the poor market, not because of some boxes. However if it meant less voicemails and annoying phone calls then a clean basement it was.
It was in the middle of cleaning up one of the boxes that he found it. He almost threw it away at first until he remembered seeing it not that long ago
It was a Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox. One that Kelly had called her "Time Capsule". He ran his hands over it a few times to clear off some of the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the years. Taking a deep breath he opened it up to find a small little doll, still wearing a hat with a strawberry on it. Beneath that were pictures. Pictures of Kelly. Pictures of Kelly and her mom...
And a picture of her standing next to an unfinished boat.
He took deep breath and stared at the picture for a long time. So long that he didn't even hear the realator chatting away upstairs or the person coming down the steps. Realizing someone was here with him, Gibbs quickly put the pictures back and turned around to apologize... only to find he really didn't have to.
Standing there with an amused expression on his was Special Agent Fornell. Who apparently had come to the house with the real estate agent.
"What?" Gibbs asked. "First my wife and now my house?"
"No!" Fornell said with a chuckle. "No, I learned my leson. I'm through with your leftovers. You're going to need a bigger box if you want to clean up this basement."
"Did you come all this way out here to give me packing tips, Tobias?" Gibbs asked sarcastically as he turned back to sorting through some of the junk.
Deep down in his gut, however, Gibbs knew this wasn't going to be a social call. It never was with Fornell.
"Actually," Fornell replied, "I came to tell you that Petty Officer Derrick Paulson escaped from prison yesterday."
Gibbs let out a long sigh and shook his head at Fornell. "No. Forget it."
"I haven't asked you anything yet. You caught him last time," Fornell said carefully. "Figured you might like to catch him again."
"You thought wrong," Gibbs said sharply.
"He came to see me, Jethro," Fornell said quietly. "When I was with Emily."
Damn it. "Is she okay?" Gibbs asked sincerely.
"For now," Fornell replied with worry creeping into his voice. "He just wanted to tell me that I got the wrong man, then strongly suggested that I repon his case to prove it."
"He's risking a lot for something he knows can't happen," Gibbs replied as he threw a couple more items into some boxes.
"Ya think?" Fornell replied, imitating Gibbs's trademark line. "I don't know what hsi game is but I'm not going to get a good night's sleep until that son of a bitch is behind bars."
Gibbs paused and shook his head. "You don't need me to find him."
"NEED?!" Fornell shouted. "A convicted killer was two inches away from my daughter! Hander her crayons! He touched her!"
Fornell stared at his old... acquaintance? Friend? "What the hell happened to you, Jethro?"
"I retired," Gibbs said quietly. "But... I might make an exception."
Fornell let out a snort of amusement. "See? I told DiNozzo you weren't completely crazy."
"Don't rule that out yet," Gibbs grumbled as he headed for the stairs. "To do this I'm going to have to talk to Jenny."
"Oh, I'm sure that won't be a problem," Fornell said with a small smirk. "I'm sure she'd love to hear about your new wife."
Gibbs groaned as he climbed the steps. Tony was going to pay for not keeping his mouth shut. Oh, how he was going to pay.
[Reference to character death behind the cut. NFI unless you have a reason for calling Gibbs. Dialogue taken from "Escaped".]