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The Respite

Chapter 2                        Not Letting Go

That noise that’s coming from Jethro’s truck has proven quite a distraction.  When we went to the cabin last weekend it sounded like it was on its death march.  Finally he will take it to the shop today. I’ll follow him in and then take him to work.  It’s my day to work from home so my schedule is a bit more flexible than his and plus he’s in the middle of reviews and has a deadline that he needs to meet.

We talked with my parents and the twins last night and they are now in London.  They finished their week in Paris with a dinner with Tony and Tali.  Everyone seemed to have had a grand time.  Jethro and I sent presents for Tali with my mom because we knew that they planned to meet up with Tony while they were there. The children loved the picnic in the park near the Eiffel Tower.  Dad sent us a video that he made.  Nancy took a video of mom, dad and twins with the Eiffel Tower in the background and its one of my favorites.

After dropping off the truck Jethro and I proceed to his job where I leave him after reminding him that I will pick him up here at 6:00 p.m. They should have his truck ready by then and we will pick it up and head home.  We both knew that we would not have our regular lunch date today so we lingered in our goodbye kiss.  We parted and I returned home.

At 4:30 I check with Jethro on his progress at work and he says that things have progressed better than he expected and he will meet me downstairs in front of the building at 6 p.m.  With that in mind I finish up with my conference call and pack up my things to leave home and meet Jethro.  It takes about an hour and I don’t want to arrive late.  I don’t plan to park so I pull up in front of the building but I don’t see Jethro.  They don’t allow parking in front of the building and I can’t idle there for more than five minutes.  Five minutes pass and I call Jethro’s phone but get no answer.  I find a parking space and go inside.  I make it through security and a staff person accompanies me to Jethro’s office.  I ask his secretary if he’s in his office and she said that he left about thirty minutes ago to meet me downstairs.

That’s odd.  How did I miss seeing him if he was already downstairs?  Maybe he stopped by to speak with his old team so I asked the staff person to go with me to his old office space.  I approach and see McGee at Jethro’s old desk.  He sees me and smiles and asks what brought me to the office today.  I tell him that I was meeting Jethro but can’t seem to find him.  McGee says that he has not seen Jethro today.  Just as I try to call Jethro’s phone again into the area walks Director Vance.  He has a frown on his face and his brow is wrinkled with concern.

“Hello Mrs. Gibbs. Agent McGee have you seen Jethro?”

“No Director I have not seen him today.  Is there a problem?”

“Yes, I believe that there is.  Will you and Mrs. Gibbs come to my office?”

Now I am worried.  Where is my husband?  I follow Director Vance and Agent McGee to the his office and he asks us to sit at the table.  We sit and he starts to tell us of his concern.

“I just received a call from the son of Dr. Samantha Ryan, the psychologist who worked with us on the Dearing case.  Her son is away at college and received a call from his mother saying that she’s going to get his father.  The young man’s father died five years ago so he was immediately concerned when he heard his mother say what she did.  He said that he reminded his mother that his father died years ago and she replied to him something that caused him to worry that his mother may have had a psychotic break.  His mother told him that she was going to get his father, Agent Gibbs.”

At those words I look at Leon like I could kill everyone in this room.  He saw my look and immediately said that they will find Jethro.  I tell Leon that I spoke with Jethro at 4:30 today and his secretary said that he left his office thirty minutes ago so she had to have been on campus for her to get to him within this past hour.  Just as I prepare to leave to search for my husband alone my phone buzzes and immediately I knew that it is Jethro.  This is my private phone only to be accessed in emergencies.  I tap the connect button and hear talking.  I signal for Leon and McGee to not talk.  I put the call on speaker.

“Dr. Ryan why do you have me here tied up and in this abandoned warehouse?  What do you want?”

At that moment I check the screen and see the coordinates for his location.  The phone displays the longitude and latitude for his location.  I place the screen so that both Leon and McGee can see and they quietly go to work sending authorities to that location.  The talking on Jethro’s end continues.

“I want you Jethro.  Why didn’t you marry me?  We were good together. I know that I had to leave because my ex-husband was released but you said that you would never marry again. Imagine my surprise when I return and you’re married.  Who is she anyway? She’s a nobody according to my research.  So what she works for the CIA.  She’s only an Analyst making less that $100,000 a year.  I’m a doctor.  I can offer you so much more.”

“Why are you doing this now Dr. Ryan?  The last time that we saw each other you told me that you were happy for me.”

“I said that because I thought that your marriage wouldn’t last just like the other ones. I could wait for you to divorce her and then we could be together but you haven’t divorced her and you have children with her.  I don’t care about her or the kids I just want you.  I can give you so much more than she can.  I can love you.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say Dr. Ryan.”

“Say that you will come away with me.  We can be a family, you, my son and me.  He liked you when were seeing each other.”

“I have a family Dr. Ryan.”

“Don’t say that. I don’t want to hear you talk about her or those children.  They don’t matter anymore.”

“You don’t need the gun Dr. Ryan.  Put it away before someone gets hurt.  You’re a doctor remember, DO NO HARM.”

“I won’t hurt you Jethro, I love you but I will use this gun if I have to.  If you don’t come with me I will use it.”

“But what good will I be to you if you shoot me?”

“I may not shoot you to kill you but I will hurt you if you don’t do what I tell you to. You belong to me now.  You are mine and no one else can have you. You will be my son’s father. I told him that I was going to get his father.  He told me that his father died five years ago but I told him that I was going to get you, his father.  You will be his new father.”

We make it to the warehouse and quietly approach the area where Dr. Ryan holds Jethro captive.  That’s my man.  He’s kept her talking allowing us time to reach him.  Oh how I love this man.  Although I refrain from taking the lead on the rescue I need to stay in the background because if I get anywhere near Dr. Ryan the end result will not be pretty.

The FBI sniper is in position and McGee and the FBI agent advance.  They give the signal for the sniper to shoot to disarm but not to kill Dr. Ryan.  The sniper takes aim and she falls to the ground and the gun scatters away from her body.  Officers rush in and subdue her and release Jethro from his bindings. They escort Dr. Ryan to a waiting ambulance where they treat her shoulder wound and then cart her away for arrest and a psychiatric exam.  She won’t see the light of day for a very long time.

McGee rushes to Jethro and checks if he’s all right.  Jethro starts to reply and then he sees me. I walk to him and envelope him in my arms.  I don’t say anything and he doesn’t say anything we simply just hold each other.  I break the silence and say,

“We need to get you checked out.  I know that she must have drugged you to get you here so we need to have you checked out at a hospital.  I could tell by your slow speech that something was off with you but I am so glad that you remembered the emergency switch on the phone.  We’ll talk after they clear you at the hospital.”

McGee and I walk with him to the waiting ambulance and I go in the ambulance with him to the hospital and McGee follows in this car.  They clear him at the hospital and McGee drives us back to NCIS so that I can pick up my car.  I thank McGee for all of this help and he says that he will always be there to help Gibbs whenever he can.

We make it home and I convince Jethro to just take a bath and go to bed.  We can talk later. He takes a shower but he will not go to bed until he talks to me.

“I know that you heard us talking.  I’m sorry that this happened.  I did not give her any reason to think that there was a future for her with me. Even when she and I were together she knew that I did not want to marry.  You are the only one who has made me what to marry again. You are it for me Margie.  I don’t want anyone else.”

“Jethro I believe that you did not encourage her and I am sorry that this happened to you. Do you remember when we met her at the seminar?  I told you that she would come after you.  I thought that it would have happened sooner than now but I was right that she felt entitled to be in your life.”

“I know and I do remember that you said that.  I know that it’s not my fault that she did this but I’m still sorry that this happened.”

“Ace, you’re the one who suffered the most from this.  I don’t blame you so don’t blame yourself.  I love you and nothing will change that.  Do you want something to eat or do you just want to go to sleep?”

“No, I’m not hungry but I’m not ready for sleep.  I just want you here with me.”

“Okay let me shower and then I’m all yours.”

I shower and put on my pajamas and all the while thanking God for rescuing Jethro.  I make it to the bed and Jethro is fast asleep.  I snuggle up behind him and fall fast asleep.  Another day in the life of Jethro and Margie. The twins return this weekend and we’ll be back to the craziness of having the two 'whirlwinds' back at home and we wouldn’t have it any other way.