Underlying Secrets (NCIS Fanfiction)

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[A/N]-
I don't actually know what year the setting of Season 5 takes place in so I'm going to base the timeline off of what year season 5 started. Just letting you know in case there was any confusion. Also, from here forwards the book will continue to be in third person. I am trying to write in the style for a long period of time for the first time, so if you notice that it's gone out of context with third person please comment where down in the comments and I'll fix it right away.

Commands

Gah Rein= Get in

Bleiben= Stay

Chapter 1: New  COMRADES!!?!?!

        Two years had passed since that cold night in that small desert village of Afghanistan. Since then, Jack, the human soldier that had taken her in, had named her Dawn. When the soldiers returned to America from Afghanistan, Jack had taken Dawn with her and had had her evaluated by dog experts. It turned out that Dawn was a pure bred German Shepherd and was able to be trained for the military. Dawn learned her socialization skills at seven weeks old and then at eight month's old she was taken into observation for the military.

        After passing the observation, Dawn was put into training. She had to adapt to certain environments, have a strong drive, and understand the reward-for-work motivation. Through all of these trials and tests, Dawn was ready for actual military training. It was long and hard, but finally when Dawn reached the age of one year, she was deployed to Afghanistan with a new partner, Genevieve. (pic of Genevieve and Dawn above. Pretend the dog is the one on the cover) It wasn't until her partner was killed in action that she was sent back to America.

        Dawn was sent to live with Genevieve's family at first, but she was too much trained as a military dog to be fit for the role of a family pet. She was accustomed to being in service, so that's how she was going to live. The government took Dawn to a housing shelter for Military dogs who lost their partners and she was put into a cage without knowledge of where she was going. Dawn whined a bit and tried to be get free from the harness, but the muzzle and the five trainers who held her leashes prevented her from doing so.

        She was led down a few hallways to where the military dogs with PTSD were held and was shoved into an empty cage that was next to a angry and confused male German Shepherd. The handler that was in the cage with Dawn looked into the strong female dog's brown eyes and gave her a sympathetic look. Dawn looked up at the handler's name badge that read, Vikki. You might be wondering, how is Dawn able to read? Well, Dawn has always self-aware as most dogs are, but she's more self-aware than that of a normal dog. It was almost as if she was as self-aware as a human. Dawn didn't know why she was different than the other dogs, but alas she couldn't remember anything before the night where she awoke next to a mother dog.

//0.0\\

        It had been a few weeks since Dawn had ben brought the shelter, and with Dawn's keen hearing as a dog, she was able to discover that she was about to be put onto duty again. Dawn didn't know exactly with whom she'd be working with or where for that matter, but she was glad she would be out of the cage that she had been held in for so long. It was a matter of time until she was going to be released from this shelter she liked to call a prison.

//0.0\\

Dawn lay on the floor of her cage thinking about all of what had happened since she had been brought to this shelter. Since Dawn was not diagnosed with PTSD, she was still classified as a workable service K-9 and had to keep in shape for future jobs. Therefore, the handler's who worked at the shelter were helping her keep in order. Vikki, the handler who had been the kindest and most understanding of all the trainers had quickly become Dawn's favorite among the human workers at the shelter, despite the trust issues Dawn still had after losing Genevieve. Other than that all Dawn did was help keep watch over the shelter, sleep, eat, and stay in her cage. But unbeknownst to Dawn, this was the day that she would be freed from this infernal place that she had come to somewhat tolerate in the past month.

Dawn's attention was brought from her thoughts as the owner of the shelter and Vikki walked into the room with a African American male wearing a suit. Now alert, Dawn obeyed Vikki's command to sit.

"Mr. Vance, I think that you'll find that Dawn here will suffice for the job role you were talking about. She specializes in locating bombs, narcotics, bodies, and weapons." the owner stated.

Vance took a look at Dawn, assessing the quality of her as a service dog. "You said she works well with everyone?"

The owner gave a single, sharp nod in Vance's direction. "Very well, then I'll take her for the job."

The owner and "Mr. Vance" shook hands and Vance signed some sort of form before Vikki grabbed the muzzle and leash and went to open the Dawn's cage. Still sitting from Vikki's command, Dawn did not move as Vikki wrapped the muzzle over her snout and clipped the leash to the collar and muzzle. Vikki then commanded Dawn to stand and then proceeded to lead her out of the cage and over to where Vance and the owner were standing.

"Good, now that you've signed everything and everything's good to go sir." the owner concluded.

Mr. Vance nodded and he took my leash from Vikki and led me from the building. In the parking area, Vance led me to a black Dodge Charger. He opened the door and then looked down at me.

"Gah Rein" Vance stated.

"Get in." Dawn translated in her mind and then proceeded to jump into the backseat of the car. 

The car ride from then on was silent, as Dawn was a dog and couldn't speak and Vance was a human who thought it awkward to have a conversation with a canine. Although, Vance was kind enough to open the window to allow Dawn to stick her head out in order to feel the cool breeze of wind as the car travelled down the road to their destination.

Vamce stopped the car in an intersection and when a car pulled up opposite them in the next lane with another canine in the backseat, his human right next to him, Vance nearly thought that Dawn was going to growl at them or at least do something in reaction to the other dog. In precaution, Vance rolled up the window next to Dawn. But instead of Dawn reacting the way that Vance had thought, when the dog in the car opposite them barked, yowled, and howled from the recognition of another dog just four feet away from them, Dawn only stared out the window with a look on her face that said: "Really?"

"Please, if you're gonna go acting like that, at least make sure that the other dog isn't separated from you buy four feet and a sheet of bulletproof glass." Dawn thought to herself.

Then the light turned green and Vance pulled away from the intersection and the car with the excited schnauzer inside.

//0.0\\

Dawn was excited to be meeting her new comrades, but her training as a military K-9 kicked in and made her body stay as still as a statue. The muzzle on Dawn's snout was removed as Vance opened her door for her to get out of the car. As soon as Dawn's paws touched the ground, the door was shut and Vance issued a command.

"Bleiben" he ordered.

"Stay." Dawn translated in her mind.

Her body became still and rigid as she stood there. Vance walked to the other side of the car and opened up the front passenger's door and grabbed something. Shutting the door, Bance walked back around the car to where Dawn was and kneeled down to her level. He slipped Dawn's paws through the holes in the vest and then zipped up the back. On the side of the vest the letters, N.C. I.S, proudly stood out in the morning sunlight. Vance then unclipped the collar that was currently around Dawn's neck and grabbed something from his back pocket. Turns out, it was a new collar with a silver N.C.I.S badge on the side that gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

Vance clipped the collar around Dawn's neck and then stood back and admired the dog in front of him. "Well, would you look at that! I'd say that you look like a perfect example of what the first N.C.I.S K-9 would be."

Dawn's chest puffed out a bit in pride and she looked down at her new collar, wagging her tail. She was the first N.C.I.S K-9! She had read the sign when Vance had pulled into the parking lot, N.C.I.S stood for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It was an agency where they solved military criminal cases, be it murder, fraud, or even a issue with national security.

Vance patted Dawn's head lightly. "Come on, let's go introduce you to your new comrades."

Dawn barked excitedly, but then stopped short. Comrades? She was going to be working with more than one human?