Family is more than DNA

Part 23

Jack yawned and stretched her arms as she sat at the desk, suddenly her door opened as someone held a cup of coffee though it at eye level.

She smiled as Gibbs walked in holding the coffee.

"It's not the hair of the dog that bit, but it helps." He says, walking to her desk and putting the coffee in front of her.

"Oh I think it will do the trick." Jack said before taking a sip.

Gibbs sat on the edge of the desk taking a drink from his cup.

"Did you know that your couch is kinda lumpy?" Jack asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah I know." He said, walking behind Jack's chair and started massaging Jack's shoulders and neck. "I'm surprised you noticed though."

"And why's that Cowboy?" She asked, leaning into his hands.

"Because you were laying on me most of the night."

Jack smiled. "Did you mind?"

"Nope." He whispered in her ear, before kissing her cheek.

She smiled.

THE NEXT DAY:

Gibbs watched as Bishop, Torres, and McGee worked the crime scene. He smiled at his team, not that he would tell them, but he was proud of all of them.

Then his phone rang.

"I'm gonna take this." Gibbs said, turning and ducking under the yellow crime scene tape, walking away from everyone then he answered, turning on speaker phone.

"Hiay Cowboy!"

Gibbs smiled. "Hey Jack, you get in okay?"

"Sure did." Jack answered, happily. "Oh Gibbs! The salt air here is the best smell in the world.. well except for Cowboy style steak in the fireplace."

"Did ya meet up with Fisher yet?" He asked.

"No not yet, my plane just landed, I'm still at the L.A.X. waiting for my taxi."

"Okay."

McGee walked up to Gibbs. "Uh hey boss, we're done here so..."

"Hi Tim." Jack said over the phone.

"Uh hey Jack." McGee awkwardly rubbed his gloved  hands together.

"Okay Mcgee." Gibbs nodded. "Bye Jack."

"Bye, love you Cowboy."

"Love ya too." He said, ending the call. Gibbs turned his attention back to McGee, saying. "Yeah McGee?"

"Jimmy is taking the Corporal back. Nick, Ellie and I have everything for Kaise so we're heading that way too."

"Okay." Gibbs opens the driver's door and goes inside. "See ya there."

IN TORRES, BISHOP AND MCGEE'S CAR:

"So Gibbs is in a good mood, kinda weird given what happened Tuesday night." Ellie said, breaking the silence in the vehicle.

"Yeah I mean I thought the dude was gonna punch a hole in the wall." Nick chimed in. "What do ya think changed?"

"Uh how should I know?" McGee said defensively. "I mean I called Fornell, maybe he talked to Gibbs, I wouldn't know. Sure I was there yesterday but he was doing fine well more than fine I thin-

Nick interrupted. "Tim, chill."

"Yeah McGee, you're acting weird." Ellie laughed.

"Right," McGee agreed. "Anyways the last person to see Corporal Harland was Rachel Davidson, his next door neighbor."

LATTER ON THAT NIGHT:

Gibbs, Fornell, Grace, and Vance all sat around Gibbs kitchen table playing their weekly poker game when all of a sudden a grayish mass came down stairs and jumped on table with ease.

"Oh I didn't think you liked cats." Grace said, petting Cowboy.

Gibbs shrugged. "I'm watching him, for Jack."

"That's very nice of you." She teases.

Fornell deals more cards as Gibbs takes a sip of his beer, rolling his eyes.

MEANWHILE IN CALIFORNIA:

Jack's cab stops in front of Joe Fisher's house just as the last bit of sunlight was gone.

"Thanks." Jack says, handing her credit card to the taxi driver.

He nodded and scanned the card. "No problem, have a nice stay in sunny California." He said rather dead-pan, giving her back the card.

"Thanks." Jack smiled, got out and started walking up the driveway. She got to the front door and tried to knock but the gentle push of her knock opened the door.

"Joe?" Jack walked through the door into the void of the unlit house. "Your front door was open, Joe?"

There was no response.

Jack pulled her SIG out of her purse and threw the purse on a chair then began to sweep the house.

Suddenly someone came running down the stairs past Jack.

"Hey! NCIS freeze!" She yelled pointing her gun in the direction of the dark figure.

"No, you freeze!" The shadowy figure yelled back, firing a gun at Jack.

She quickly ducked behind the sofa in the living room and shot at where she thought the figure went.

The front door slammed, the mystery figure had left.

Jack stood up and navigated the pitch black living room by feel, she held the back of the sofa to an armchair, she felt the floor beneath her shoes change to a rug, that must have been bunched up. Then Jack tripped, falling forwards on the floor, luckily she had caught herself with her hands.

She felt something wet on her hands and white blouse, she grabbed her purse off the chair nearby and turned on her phone's flashlight.

She gasped.

Her hands and the front of her blouse were soaked in blood.

She shined the light on the floor, she had fallen in a pool of blood, her heart started to race, then she checked behind her.

"Joe!" She screamed.

Joe Fisher's body was what she tripped on, her old partner, her friend's dead body.

She knelt down next to his still warm body. "Joe, can you hear me?" Then she checked his wrist for a pulse, there wasn't one.

Jack pushed 9-1-1 into her phone.

"Hello, this is San Diego County emergency department, how can I-

"This is NCIS agent Jacqueline Sloane, there's been a home invasion at 1736 Blishton Street, and agent Joseph Fisher has been shot in the chest."

"Thank you Agent Sloane, I sent out a couple of officers and an ambulance to you, does he have a pulse?" The operator asked.

"No. He doesn't."

The End?