NCIS: Ellie & Nick - Their Story

Chapter 10

Four weeks later... (16 Weeks Pregnant)

Another case had come in early in the morning. Four military personnel murdered. Two petty officers, a Commander and Chaplain. All within hours of each other. The team had been running around Headquarters for hours trying to connect any dots. 

"Sitrep," Gibbs said as he walked into the cubicle. Ellie jumped to her feet, and walked over to the screen. 

"Our two dead petty officers, 1st Class Calvin Whitlock, 32 with a wife and teenage daughter, and 2nd Class Philip Hale, 28, whose wife is pregnant with a son."

"Who else?"

"Our Commander is Adelaide Madden, 33, single mother with an adult daughter and teenage son." Nick added. 

"And the Chaplain is Dorothea Remington, 37, divorced and one child who passed away from leukemia three years ago,"

"Tim and Nick, go talk to the parents and wives of the two petty officers. I'll send you the addresses," Gibbs said, then continued with, "Bishop, with me. Let's visit Commander and Chaplain's loved ones." As the team dispersed, Ellie and Nick kissed. 

"Bishop, let's go," Gibbs shot her a look which soon turned into a smirk. She laughed and nodded, heading towards the elevator. 

The two made it to the car, and continued on to talk to the Commander's loved ones. As they walked up to the Commander's house, Gibbs knocked on the door. A young boy answered, and a look of confusion plastered across his face. 

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"Hello, we're from NCIS. Agents Gibbs and Bishop. May we come in?" Gibbs answered, the two agents flashing their creds. 

"Of course. Hey, let me grab my sister, Aria. I'll be back in a second." Soon the younger boy came back, his sister following. 

"Sorry, you'll have to excuse Rhett."

"Oh, he was perfectly fine. Very polite." Ellie replied. Aria laughed a bit. 

"You should see him any other day." That earned her a slap from her brother. 

"So, what brings you by? Oh, I'm Aria by the way."

"Nice to meet both of you. We need to talk to you both about something important," Gibbs began, motioning for the two siblings to sit. 

"What's going on?" Rhett asked, getting nervous. 

"Something has happened to your mother," Ellie added. She could see tears well up in Rhett's eyes, but she saw fear in Aria's.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Aria asked in a low voice. Her eyes to her feet the entire time. 

"Yes. We're sorry for your loss,"

"Thank you. So what will happen to Rhett now?" Aria hoped that he wouldn't be forced to live with their father. 

"We will have to figure that out, but we need to ask a couple of questions." Gibbs said, trying not to upset them more. The last thing he wanted to do was bombard the siblings with questions that could set them off, or make them feel worse. 

"Yeah, whatever you need," Rhett said. 

Ellie began, "Did your mother say anything about someone following her, anything suspicious at work, or when she returned home?" She paused, and began again, "Did you ever spot a car outside the house, or parked by a neighbor's place facing the house?"

"I didn't see anything, and she never brings work home with her. When she is here with us, she puts us first, and work second. She always did that." Aria mentioned. Rhett also said the same thing. 

"Okay. Did she ever have any enemies that she mentioned, people that may have threatened her?" Gibbs asked. 

"No, she didn't talk much about work. It was mostly classified, and we don't have the security clearance ." Rhett said. 

"Okay. No more questions. As for Rhett, do you both know your father? We know your mother was single." Ellie asked. 

"Yes, we know him. I wish we didn't, but they were married when Rhett was born, and soon after he turned three, they divorced. He lived in Bethesda, but moved to D.C. a few years later. We see him once every month," Aria said. 

"Please don't send me to him!" Rhett began to freak out, and took a minute to calm down. 

"He's a drunk, and use to beat our mom. Then when he'd be finished with her, he'd come after me, then Rhett. He was only two years old when the man beat him the first time. I can take him, I'm a legal adult, and have the means to support him. I can't let you give him to that man." Aria was upset, and the two agents understood that. 

"I want you two to stay with me for a while. Can I do that Gibbs?" The man nodded and the siblings agreed. The two packed their bags, and closed the house, making sure it was completely locked.

After they were done, the four left, and stopped at the Chaplain's place to do the same ordeal. Once back at HQ, the team was complete, and the briefing began. 

"McGee, Torres, what do you have?" 

"No enemies for either victims, and their family members didn't notice anything suspicious," Nick answered. The boss nodded and barked more orders.

He and Bishop headed to the crime scene once again to cover more ground, but found nothing. After having no success, the two headed back to the car. They sat in silence for a long few moments, before the boss put the key in the ignition. 

"Gibbs, can I ask you something?" Ellie mentioned, breaking the grueling silence.

"Shoot."

"Were you ready to be a father? For Kelly?" The silver haired man looked at his 'daughter' and smiled.

"It's complicated. But, not really. I was nervous that I would drop her, or something would happen to her if I turned away for even a second." Ellie nodded. 

"What's the matter, Ellie?"

"I'm nervous for this baby. Even more so than I was when I was pregnant with the twins. What if it is another girl? What about a boy? I don't know how to raise a boy," Her voice was filled with worry.

"Bishop, you've done an amazing job raising Leighton  and Lia. You'll do right by this child, I promise. Don't keep worrying, okay?"

"Thank you, Gibbs,"

"No problem, Ellie." The two shared a look, and Gibbs began to drive. Back at headquarters, Abby finally found something useful. 

"What do you got, Abbs?" Gibbs walked into the lab wielding a giant helping of CafPow. 

"Well, I processed the evidence that you collected, but no dice. I did however find something interesting. A fragment from a bullet. I ran a couple tests, and it is a 9mm."

"The shooter clearly policed his brass, seeing how we didn't find anything." Gibbs answered. 

"Well, to figure this out, we need more evidence." Abby added, looking a bit hopeful.

"Yeah, we do."