The Days We Break: Chapter Six

[under_the_silk_tree]

 

Christmas

Gibbs rapped on Ducky’s door before turning the handle and pushing it open.  He ushered Tim and Jackson in then closed the door behind the three of them.  The smell of Christmas dinner was wafting from the kitchen.  After they divested themselves of their coats, they placed the brightly wrapped packages they had brought under the Christmas tree.  Ducky’s gift of a bookcase was in the back of the truck with a very thick moving blanket over it to protect it from the damp cold air.  Gibbs was waiting for Tony to arrive, and between the two of them, he figured they could bring it in and surprise their friend. 

They were a bit early, and they were the first ones there.  The three of them went on a search to find Ducky.  He was eventually found in the kitchen, where he was running from pillar to post as he checked on the various pots and pans that were simmering on the stove and the bird he had cooking in the oven.  Jackson placed their offering of a couple of pumpkin pies on the counter and already taking in the various half done culinary projects that needed finishing, he started rolling up his sleeves.  Soon Ducky and Jackson were cutting up vegetables for salad while they playfully argued about sweet potatoes versus yams and pecans versus marshmallows to top them. 

Gibbs and Tim were given the assignment of setting the table.  Glancing over at Tim as he studiously placed the knives and forks on their correct sides of the plates, Gibbs couldn’t help but smile.  It felt like a wall that had been standing between the two of them had fallen.  It had been two days since the evening that Gibbs had tried to talk to Tim about the street fair.  When Tim had completely broken down in his arms, Gibbs had just held him as he cried; and tried to be the rock that his son needed him to be.  Once Tim had cried himself out, Gibbs had been able to draw out the story of what had happened that afternoon.  Not only that, but Tim had opened up about what had happened in the days that lead up to him being left behind as well. There had been such heartache and pain in his voice when he had talked about his mom abandoning him.  Hearing what Cathy had put their son through for her own selfish wishes made Gibbs both heartbroken and angry.  But it was nothing compared to the out and out rage he had felt when Tim had told him in a shame-filled whisper how it was Liam’s wish to put him to “work” that had finally made Cathy send Tim to his father’s house.  How Cathy could stay with such a person Gibbs could not fathom.

Gibbs could hear the shame in Tim’s voice when he told that part of the story.  Gibbs made sure that Tim knew he bore no fault in Liam’s plan or Cathy abandoning him. He also knew one talk would not be enough and that he would need to be available for Tim to talk to when he needed to.  After that, any doubts he’d had about Tim seeing a counselor fell by the wayside; it made him realize that professional counseling would help Tim be able to process all that had happened to him.  Although Tim had insisted that his sighting of Liam was a figment of his overwrought imagination, Gibbs still had Tony put out an APB on Liam to the local L.E.O.’s to be out on the lookout for the man just in case Tim wasn’t imagining things.  He wasn’t taking any chances with his son’s life. 

~NCIS~

They had just finished their assigned task when Abby’s boisterous voice echoed through the hall, followed by Tony’s and Jimmy’s.  Tim and Gibbs went in the living room to greet them.  They were given a very enthusiastic hug by Abby, and Tim hurried over to help Tony with the armful of presents. 

“Thank you, Tim,” said Tony as they placed the gifts near the Christmas tree.

Tim ducked his head as Tony tried to good-naturedly ruffle his hair.  Turning around, he spotted the gifts that Gibbs had brought in.  The festively wrapped packages were brightly colored with bows and ribbons.  It was the first time Tim had helped wrap Christmas gifts and it had been a lot of fun.  Looking at the gifts, Tim became conscious of what was missing.

“No … no … no,” Tim breathed out as he realized the gift bag that held his father’s antique chisels was not among the festive boxes.

Coming over to stand next to him, Tony asked in concern, “What’s wrong buddy?”

Looking around and seeing Gibbs still talking to Abby and Jimmy, he whispered to Tony, “I forgot Gibbs’ gift at home.  God, I am so stupid.”

“Hey now, none of that,” Tony scolded gently, slinging an arm around Tim’s shoulders. “We can fix this.”

Walking Tim over to the group by the front door just as Abby and Jimmy went into kitchen to say hello Tony said to Gibbs, “If it’s okay with you, we need to make a quick run to your house.  Tim forgot something.”

Gibbs looked at them quizzically and Tim gave him a pleading smile.  “I’ll right. I can take him.”

Tim had kept the present secret because he wanted to surprise his dad.  If his dad took him it wouldn’t be a surprise any longer.

He must’ve looked a bit panicked because Tony jumped in giving Gibbs a big grin.  “No, that’s okay, we’ll go there and be back in about a half an hour.”

Just then, Gibbs’s name was called from the kitchen; looking behind him Gibbs relented.  “Okay, be careful the ice is slippery out there.”

Smiling in relief, Tim gave his father a brief hug before getting his coat back on and following Tony out the door.

Traffic was surprisingly light, but at this time of day, most people were probably already with family.  “Thank you so much for taking me back, Tony,” Tim said, glancing over at the agent.

Tony gave him a reassuring smile, “No problem, Tim.  How’s Jude doing?”

Tim quickly filled Tony in on his visit to Jude the previous day, how surprised the teen had been with his gift of a whole box full of Superman comics, and how Gibbs and him were going to see him this evening.  Tim didn’t want him to be alone for the entirety of Christmas day. 

They made good time across town and Tony had barely pulled into the driveway before Tim was opening his door and shouting over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back.”

Running up the front stairs, Tim dug his house key out of his pocket but was a bit surprised when the handle turned.  He didn’t give it much thought as he shut the door behind him.   Running up to his room, Tim flung open the door, one look around the room and he spied his father’s gift on his desk.   Grabbing it, he turned and ran full tilt down the hall then rapidly down the stairs.  He was almost at the bottom when a figure rounded the base of the stairs.  Startled, Tim skidded to a stop, causing him to fall backwards and hitting his back and head hard on the stairs. 

Liam.

His heart in his throat, Tim turned and tried to scramble back up the way he came, but Liam was on him too quickly.  He felt Liam grab his hair and pull him back sharply.  Tim cried out. 

Liam yanked him off the stairs and pushed him roughly into the living room.  Tim stumbled and fell to the floor.  “Liam, please …” Tim started to stammer out only to be brutally cut off as Liam backhanded him. 

Stunned into silence as pain exploded across his face, Tim tried to curl in on himself.   Liam grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up until they were face to face.  Liam was just as he remembered: skinny, pale, and his blue eyes were bloodshot, with dark shadows underneath.  He looked desperate and dangerous. 

He leaned in and his hands tightened painfully on Tim’s arms.  “Listen to me boy, I am going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer them fully and truthfully, and I will let you live.  Understood?”

Tim was having a hard time thinking.  His face hurt and there was blood dripping down his chin from his spilt lip.   But he did not want to get hit again, so he nodded.

~NCIS~

Tony tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in time to Bobby Helms’s version of Jingle Bell Rock as he waited for Tim to get back.  By the time the station had switched to Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt, Tony was starting to wonder what was keeping Tim.  Finally figuring the kid was having a hard time finding Gibbs’ gift Tony decided to go help.  Switching off the engine, Tony got out of the car and made his way up the walkway. 

The door was partially open so Tony pushed it the rest of the way and yelled, “Hey, Tim, you need some help?”  Tony closed the door behind him, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement in the living room. 

Turning, Tony expected to find Tim in the process of frantically searching.  Instead, to his shock, he saw a bruised and bloody Tim with a gun to his head.  The man behind Tim was tall, skinny, with drawn features.  One of his arms was around Tim’s throat and the other held a gun against the kid’s temple.  Tony automatically drew his service weapon.  “NCIS.  Drop your weapon!”

The man standing behind Tim didn’t even flinch.  Instead, his grip tightened around Tim’s neck which caused the teen to claw at the arm as it was threatening to cutting off his oxygen supply.  “You drop your gun or the kid dies.”

Tim’s eyes were pleading with Tony to help him. Tony said calmly, “Listen, lower your weapon and we can talk…”

Hearing the floor creak behind him was the only warning Tony had that there was a second intruder.  Turning, Tony only had time to see that it was a man in a ski mask before he was hit on the side of his head.  Pain exploded and echoed through his skull as his whole body crumbled, hitting the floor hard.   He heard Tim yelling his name.  The sound seemed to be coming from a great distance. 

Tony tried to lift his head to reassure Tim but the words were jumbled in his head.  He managed to confusedly mumble, “Tim … okay.”  He tried to say more but couldn’t get the words to form right.  They kept slipping away the moment he tried to grasp them.   His tongue felt paralyzed and his vision faded out. 

~NCIS~

Tim saw the man in the ski mask a second before he raised a gun and hit Agent DiNozzo with the butt end of it.  Watching in horror as Tony fell to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Tim tried to move towards the agent, but Liam held him in an iron grip.  When the stranger pointed the gun at Tony’s head and cocked it, Tim started yelling, unsure of what he was saying; he only knew that he was begging for the older man’s life.  The man in the ski mask glanced over at him before picking up Tony’s gun and putting it in the waistband of his pants. 

“Shut up and stop sniveling!” Liam yelled in Tim’s ear.

Tim immediately stopped speaking, but he couldn’t control his breathing as he was on the verge of hyperventilating.  Abruptly letting go with a sound of disgust, Liam shoved him hard enough that Tim fell to the floor next to Tony.  Briefly looking over his shoulder at Liam who had started to pace, Tim inched forward.  The other man had taken a step back from Tony but continued to hold the gun at his side as he kept an eye on both Liam and on Tim and Tony.  Just by the way he was standing, Tim could tell the man was in a totally different league than Liam, and he wondered what his mom’s boyfriend had gotten involved in. 

Tim tentatively reached out to Tony and placed two fingers on the man’s neck, a relieved sob escaped him when he felt a pulse.  Tony opened his eyes and Tim heard him mumble something indiscernible.  Tim could tell his eyes weren’t tracking, so he wasn’t sure Tony even knew what was going on.  Scooting a bit closer, he tried to see if there was a head wound.  Reaching out, he brushed his fingers against the side of Tony’s head where he had been struck, and there Tim felt something sticky.  Withdrawing his hand, Tim saw that there was blood on his fingertips, and his worry increased exponentially.  Placing one hand on Tony’s shoulder, Tim tried to comfort the older man and ground himself at the same time so as to not panic, while he was praying Tony would be okay. Tim kept a vigilant eye on Liam.  The man was a loose cannon at the best of times, but when he panicked, he was truly dangerous in his incompetence. 

As Liam continued to pace and talk to himself, Tim tried to find something that would help them.  He knew Tony had a cell phone, but he doubted he could retrieve it from the agent’s pocket without it being noticed.  As if the thought brought reality, Tony’s phone started to ring. Tim couldn’t help the hope that rose in him at the sound.

~NCIS~

Avoiding the myriad of people bustling around the kitchen, Gibbs took the rolls out of the oven carefully.  After placing the baking sheet on the stove, he accepted the basket that Ducky held out to him.  He quickly transferred the hot rolls into the basket and covered them with a towel to keep them warm.  Gibbs then placed the basket on the dining room table and couldn’t help but smile as he took in the scene before him. 

Ducky, Jackson, and Vance were in the kitchen prepping the rest of the dishes.  They were chatting together amicably as they bustled about.  Turning slightly as Abby rushed past him with scissors and construction paper in her hands, he saw her give the paper to Vance’s children who were sitting around the coffee table in the living room.  From where he was standing, he could see several artistic turkeys made of construction paper, glue, and copious amounts of glitter in various stages of completion, including a goth turkey and one in medical scrubs that Jimmy had made. 

Ziva and Jackie were filling up glasses with water or sparkling apple juice in the dining room.  From the looks of things they were almost ready to serve dinner.  Withdrawing his phone from his pocket, Gibbs checked the time and wondered what was keeping Tony and Tim.  Stepping out onto the front porch and shutting the door behind him, Gibbs flipped open his phone, thumbing through his directory and hit the entry for Tony. 

Gibbs listened with a growing sense of dread as the phone continued to ring before it went to voice mail.  Hanging up without leaving a message, Gibbs waited thirty seconds as he paced the front porch.  Trying again, Gibbs felt the dread turn to fear as this time, the call went straight through to voice mail. 

He then called his home phone.  While listening to ring, he stepped back inside.  Gibbs grabbed his jacket and signaled to Ziva to get her attention as the phone continued to ring.  Gibbs hung up and pocketed his phone as Ziva saddled up beside him; he turned towards her and said curtly, “I need your car keys.”

At Ziva’s questioning look, he went on, “Tim and Tony should’ve been back by now.  He’s not answering, so I’m going to check it out.”

He saw the mirth and relaxed look in Ziva’s eyes disappear and in an instant she became Agent Ziva David. 

Dropping the keys into his outstretched hand, she said, “I will go with you.”

Jackson looked like he was going to want to come along, but Gibbs beat him to the punch “Stay here just in case they return.  It could be nothing, but if there is trouble, Ziva and I would be better off just the two of us.”

“And me,” came a voice from behind the group. 

Gibbs turned and saw Vance behind them, and he quickly nodded, heading towards the door.  Once in the car, he slammed it into reverse and sped out of the driveway. 

Ziva hung on as best she could in the passenger seat and Vance in the backseat braced himself while using his clout on the phone with dispatch to get the local L.E.O.s to send a car over.  Racing towards his home, Gibbs prayed that he was being paranoid, that they were on their way back, and that Tony had accidentally put his phone on silent, but the feeling in his gut was telling him differently. 

~NCIS~

Liam stopped pacing and stared at Tony as the agent’s phone continued to ring.  The man above them just grunted in annoyance before bending over and roughly rolling Tony over to checking his pockets until he found the phone.  He tossed it to Liam who actually managed to catch it.  Liam looked at the screen and then he started cursing.

“It’s the brat’s dad,” Liam spat out, “Damn it!” He dropped the phone, grinding it into the hard wood floor under his heel. Then he manically started pacing again.

What little hope the call had brought Tim died with the phone, not even the subsequent ringing of the house phone could raise them.  Liam stopped pacing and gave the phone on the wall a hard stare as it continued to ring.  Only when it stopped did he resume.  That’s when Tim spied Gibbs’ gift bag.  It had flown out of his hand when he had fallen against the steps, and now the contents were scattered across the bottom of the stairs.  Two of the chisels were on the last step, but the third one was lying at the bottom near were Tim was sitting with Tony.  If he could get a hold of it, at least he would have a weapon. 

He was just about to reach out for it when he saw Liam striding towards him.  Tim flinched away from him and stammered, “No, no, no …” but couldn’t escape the hands that reached for him.  As Liam pulled him off the floor Tim could feel Tony try to hold on to his shirt.  Then he heard DiNozzo as he said in a weak voice, “Stop …”

When the man in the ski mask kicked Tony hard in the back for his trouble, it caused the agent to let go and cry out in pain.

Tim tried to wrench himself away from Liam, but the older man drew him in closer.

“Now as I was saying before I was interrupted by your friend …” Liam slammed Tim against the wall and screamed in his face: “Where is your mother?”

“My… mom?” Tim asked, his voice bewildered.  He hadn’t seen her since she had left him in the motel room.  Liam was looking for her?  When had they split up?

Liam looked at him in disgust, “You are so stupid,” he ground out.  His hands tightened on Tim’s shirt. “Yes, your mother.” Reached into his pocket, and pulled out a crumpled up paper and waved it in his face. 

Tim was confused at first but then he saw it was an envelope with his handwriting.  “My letter.”

“Yes, your letter.  I know you wrote to her.  I know Cathy saw the letter.  She must have contacted you,” Liam said angrily.

Tim sucked in a breath in shock.  His mother had seen his letter …

“She … she didn’t …” Tim sputtered out.

Liam smirked cruelly. “She never called you.  Did she?”  He let Tim go and took a step back.  “Once she had the money, she split.”  He looked Tim up and down in disgust before spitting out, “I always knew you were worthless, but I never thought Cathy would wise up and see that for herself.  Looks like she didn’t love you, either.  Looks like neither one of us meant a damn thing to her.”

Liam’s satisfied grin turned into a grimace as he turned away slowly  His gaze fell on Tony who still lay dazed on the floor, and he stepped over him and kicked him hard in the ribs.

“Stop it!”  Tim shouted as Liam drew back his leg to kick him again.  Grabbing Liam’s jacket, Tim yanked him backwards.  Liam shook him off before he balled up his fist and punched Tim in the stomach.

Tim dropped to his knees.  His eyes watered.  He tried to catch his breath but was unable to; instead, he gagged and threw up bile on the hardwood floor as pain radiated through him. 

“Liam.” The man in the ski mask speaking for the first time caused everyone to look at him.

“Look, I know.  I promise I have other places I can look for her,” Liam stuttered out, abject terror written across his face, hands out in front of him in a pleading gesture.

Tim watched as the man shook his head almost in a regretful fashion.

“I have my orders,” he stated flatly before raising his gun and firing. 

Tim felt a wet spray of blood hit the side of his face as the echo of the gunshot rung in his ears.  He looked on in shock as Liam’s body hit the ground behind him. 

Tim scrambled away from the grotesque sight.  His breath was coming in gasps.  Panicking, he reached out to Tony who grabbed him weakly. “Tim … run.”  There was terror and concern in Tony’s eyes as he gazed up at Tim.

Tim shook his head as he grasped Tony’s hand.  “I won’t leave you.” He gave the older man a sad smile.  Tony’s hand tightened in his. 

The man in the ski mask stepped over Tony and walked over to the man he had just shot.  As the red stain on Liam’s chest grew larger, Tim could see he was struggling for breath.  Then the man pointed his gun once again and shot Liam point blank in the head. 

Tim’s grip on Tony’s hand tightened as he turned away.  Spying one of the chisels and grabbing it, he put it behind his back.  It was a million to one shot, but he needed to try.  He didn’t want Tony to die because of him, and honestly, he didn’t want to die either. 

The man turned back towards them.  Tim met his gaze, and he saw there was no emotion in his brown eyes.  In that moment, Tim knew he was planning on killing them, and he also knew the man wouldn’t lose a minute of sleep over it.  It was just a job for him. 

Tim knew his father would be coming soon; that missed phone call would alert him to the fact that something was wrong.  After learning what happened to Kelly and Shannon, Tim couldn’t let his father come home and find him and Tony dead.  It would kill him. 

As the man walked towards him, Tim let go of Tony’s hand.  He kept his right hand behind his back, the chisel held in a tight grip.  Meeting Tony’s gaze briefly, he saw him nod slightly, and he knew the older man would help if he could. 

Tim allowed all the fear and terror that was coursing through him to show on his face.  He tried to make himself look as small and helpless as he could. 

As the man towered over Tim, who was kneeling on the floor, Tim grasped the man’s jacket in a desperate hold and said in a pleading voice, “Please, don’t hurt us …” He stopped, letting a sob escape.

The brown eyes remained expressionless and the man said coldly, “It’s not personal.”  Raising his gun, he placed the muzzle against Tim’s forehead. 

Tim could feel the coldness of the barrel against his skin; he took in a shuddering breath as the fear threatened to choke him. 

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Tim saw the man’s hand tighten on the gun.  Tony heaved up from the floor with a pained grunt and grabbed at the man’s leg.  The gun man staggered, swinging the gun from Tim to Tony. 

Surging up, Tim brought the chisel around. Using his upwards momentum, he plunged it into the man’s lower abdomen with a shout.  Tim felt the chisel sink in and blood ran down the handle over his hand. 

The man swung back around with a pained scream.  He hit Tim’s already bruised cheek hard with the gun before he staggered back, one hand clutching the tool sticking out of his stomach.  Tim fell back onto the floor next to Tony. He could see the hit man’s eyes behind the mask were wide with pain and shock.  As the man hit the back wall, he slowly pulled the chisel out of his stomach with a shout.  He dropped the tool and it clattered against the floor.  Blood poured from the wound as he sagged against the wall. 

When he looked up his gaze settled on Tim, and whereas before his eyes had been cold and emotionless, now there was pain and fury.  He lurched towards them.  Tim scooted in front of Tony in the attempt to shield him, although he knew in his heart it would do no good.  What could one kid do against a bullet?

Just as the man brought the gun up, blue and red lights flashed across the front windows.  Tim could hear a squeal of tires that was accompanied by the welcome sound of sirens.  The man in the ski mask briefly hesitated before he shakily running down the hall while holding his stomach as he headed towards the back door. 

Tim turned away from the retreating figure.  Worried about the agent, he said, “Tony, he’s gone.”   

Tony was holding his head; Tim could see there was blood seeping through his fingers.  His face was lined with pain.  Panic raced through Tim.  He didn’t know what to do, how to help him.

There was a loud banging on the door followed by a loud shout.

“Police! Open up!”

Before Tim could even get off the floor, the door burst inwards.  Two policemen with their guns drawn charged into house. 

Tim reflexively raised his hands in surrender.  His voice was shaking, “Please help him. He’s hurt.”

~NCIS~

Taking the final corner almost on two wheels, Gibbs pulled up to his house and slammed on the breaks just as two more police cars pulled up with full lights and sirens blaring.  There was already an ambulance at the curb, and he could see that his front door was wide open.  Flinging open the car door, he could feel his adrenaline spike as he went into a full sprint while pulling his badge and his gun. He waved his badge at the cop that tried to stop him at the front yard.  He could hear Vance behind him hastily explaining, but Gibbs didn’t stop.  Both Kelly and Shannon’s images flashed before his eyes and the crime scene photos he had seen replayed in his head.  He took the front steps in one leap.

Gibbs was forced to stop when he was met at the front door by a stretcher with two EMTs talking quickly to each other in medical jargon.  On the stretcher was Tony.  His senior agent was white as the sheet he was laying on, and his eyes were closed.  He appeared frighteningly lifeless. 

One of the EMTs looked up and said, “He has a bad head wound, and needs to get to the hospital right away,” as they swept past Gibbs.

He heard Ziva gasp out Tony’s name behind him.  She then said his name, and Gibbs could hear the question within it.  He nodded and said, “Go with him.  Keep me apprised.”

Moving through the front door, he saw two pools of blood that caused his already racing heart to skip a beat.  He knew one would be from Tony but did the other belong to Tim?

It was when he looked into the living room that he saw the body.  Liam Thomas.  He recognized the man from the mug shot photo that was attached to his file.  Only now, he had a large blood stain across his chest and a neat hole in the center of his head.  His wide-open eyes stared at the ceiling.  Gibbs twisted away from the sight. He desperately needed to see his son. 

Turning frantically towards the dining room, he finally saw a small figure wrapped in a blanket hunched over on themselves.  Tim. An officer was squatting next to him and talking in low tones. 

“Tim!”

Tim seemed to be in a daze but looked up at the sound of his name.  The left side of his face was bruised and he had blood splattered across the right side of his face.   His eyes widened and he shot up, running towards him.  “Dad,” he shouted. 

Meeting him halfway, Gibbs grabbed him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.  Tim was okay.  Gibbs felt relief course through him.  He had almost lost another child.  He kissed the top of Tim’s head and just held him and tried not to think about what might have been.