NCIS: A Secret To Discover (ON HOLD)

Chapter 7: Catch The Bastard! Part-3

Isabella jumped slightly, was this a dream or was this real? She began to ask herself, she couldn't tell anymore, she was in such an unfamiliar place that she had no idea where to go if it wasn't Gibbs or Ziva. Isabella looked around but she didn't see anyone, maybe she was imaging the footsteps and someone or something touching her. "Gibbs?!" She tried again but a bit louder. She was quiet so she could hear if he said anything that's when the footsteps started again, this time they were much louder than before but she still couldn't tell where they were coming from.

Isabella fixed the positions of her hands on her crutches dropping one of them. "Seriously!" She slowly reached down for it being careful of her leg. When she finally grabbed it she walked down the slightly lite hallway and came to a stop at a open door with a staircase, she heard two gruff voices and a few footsteps. She carefully sat down on the top step listening to the conversation, her crutches laying next to her. She couldn't make out what they were saying, she recognized one voice out of the two, and it was Gibbs. She relaxed now she knew she was safe as long as Gibbs was here she was fine.

Gibbs was working on his boat, when he thought he heard Isabella but he wasn't sure. He walked to the staircase but he didn't hear anything so he went back to his boat. Fornell was leaning against one of the shelfs, he had been there since 2400. "Jethro, she can't stay here forever. When the case is over you do know where you're going to send her---" Agent Gibbs cut him off, "She can stay here as long as she likes Tobias! She's m---" Gibbs paused for a minute then walked closer to the stairs, "Isabella? What are you doing?" He asked looking at Fornell the whole time. Isabella swallowed the lump in her throat, "Um...How did...I just woke up and heard talking. I-I didn't...I-I wasn't..." She said her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes.

Gibbs quickly went to the stairs and he pulled Isabella close to him stroking her hair softly as he shushed her gently. "Happy birthday, kiddo." He whispered slightly rocking her. Isabella looked at him confused, "It's March 18th already?" She asked in disbelief. Gibbs nodded, "We started our case on the 15th, the first day you were in the hospital, then you were there for 2 days the 16th and the 17th, and you got to come to NCIS around 1600 and right now it's 0001 so the 18th." Isabella looked down sadly, "Oh...I'm surprised you remember not many people usually remember my birthday but thank you." She mumbled into his chest.

Gibbs carefully stood up and he picked up Isabella gently being extremely careful of her leg as he started to go down the stairs of the basement. "Um...you know I could just carefully slide down the stairs." She mumbled a bit embarrassed that he was carrying her, only her uncle would carry her around sometimes but this is different she wasn't related to this man. "I don't think so kiddo." Was all he said as he set her down on one of the work tables that didn't have anything on it. Isabella's eyes landed on a start of what looked like a boat, "Is that a boat? That's so cool!" She said not caring how he would get it out or why he would want to build a boat in his basement. Fornell chuckled a bit, "That, I do believe, is the first person that has not been the slightest bit curious of how you plan on getting it out or why you want to build a boat in your basement." He whispered to Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded at Fornell's comment as he studied Isabella carefully, he noticed a very distant look in her turquoise aqua teal tinted blue eyes that he has seen a few times before. "Izz something on your mind?" He asked taking a step towards her. Isabella looked away from the boat to Gibbs then Fornell and back to Gibbs as she shrugged slightly. "Would you give us a minute?" He whispered looking at Fornell, who nodded and went upstairs to get some coffee.

Isabella heard Fornell leave, she started talking but more to herself than to Gibbs, "That night, I was walking from the neighbors house back home to get something I left behind, some people where there to fix our electricity, two guys, no, yeah two guys, I heard something like a gunshot from upstairs but I just figured it was the breaker box."

"When I got what I need, I had made it to the top of the stairs, I heard one of them saying, 'Get the girl. Get the girl.' But one of them didn't want to, I guess they where talking about me. I heard the sound of two people struggling and a man groaning in pain, my aunt and uncle I assume. I want to make a run for it, but I slipped and fell breaking my leg. I got pretty banged up and I think I hit my head."

"The last thing I heard was, Lee, no, Leon, no no, Leo, his name was Leo. 'Leo, get the girl now. We don't have time to question our orders. We need to get out of here, so get the damn girl!' But the guy still refused, I heard another gunshot from a distance and the two guys immediately left after what sounded like a walkie talkie, a another guy told them something that caused them to leave out the front door without noticing me."

"Everything after they left is kind of a blur, I then noticed flames everywhere, I tried calling out for my uncle but I didn't hear anything, trying to move off the staircase but I couldn't, I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything, I remember being carried out and that's it."

Gibbs walked over to Isabella pulling her into his chest as he rubbed her back, he heard everything she said and it was painful to hear everything that his daughter had to go through and that she remembered it all. "Shhh, it's okay. It's okay. What you just told me, helps us to catch them, but I don't ever want to hear you cuss again."

Isabella nodded as a few tears streamed down her face, "Sorry it just slipped while I was remembering everything." She relaxed in Gibbs' embrace, feeling safe but this was not how she wanted to spend her birthday. She wanted to spend time with her family but she can't do that, why would someone murder her family.

They were soon interrupted by Gibbs' cell phone ringing, he sighed and pulled out his phone putting it to his ear, "Yeah Gibbs" his gruff voice filled the room as he slowly pulled away from Isabella walking to the stairs so she couldn't hear what they were saying.

Fornell then appeared in the doorway of the basement with three cups in his hands while Gibbs was on the phone, he hung up and picked Isabella up walking up the basement stairs. "Can you grab her crutches, we have to go to NCIS." He said to Fornell who nodded grabbing the crutches and he followed Gibbs out of the house.