Hunting Season

HUNTING SEASON Chapter 4

As Gibbs and Callen exited the elevator with the rest of the L.A. team, they were greeted by a frantic Tom. "I can't find Mom anywhere."

"She was in the bathroom the last time I saw her," Callen told his son.

"Bronte's looked in there. We've looked everywhere." He was worried about her.

"I think I have an idea of where she may be," Gibbs told his grandson. "Wait upstairs with your sisters. I'll be back soon."

Sam, Kensi and Deeks were intrigued by Tom, a younger version of their team leader. They watched Callen interact with his son, and they were impressed by how well he handled him, who was clearly worried over his mother's disappearance. They followed Callen and Tom up the stairs and they were stopped in their tracks, when they saw Bronte. She was a beautiful blue eyed sixteen year old. They wondered if she looked anything like Amy, Callen's dead sister.

Morgue

Ducky and Palmer were chatting about their new victim, who had been shot in the chest multiple times. They heard the doors slide open, but didn't neither man lifted their heads up. "We're not ready for you yet, Gibbs." The older man commented.

There was no reply, Ducky looked up and he was surprised by the person who had entered. "Excuse me, maam, you shouldn't be here." He told her kindly. He could see the grief on the woman's face.

Ava Day stood still as she saw her husband's body on the bench with his chest cavity cut open. She shuddered at the image of her husband's autopsy, something she hadn't taken in at first. Tears then poured down her face.

The doors slid open again and in walked Jethro Gibbs. "Ava, you shouldn't be down here." He tried to move his grieving daughter out of autopsy, but Ava remained where she stood. "I'm sorr,y Ducky, we didn't realise she had come down here. Come on, Av, sweetheart." Ava finally turned to face her father. Her normally bright blue eyes were red and swollen from crying. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead. "Come on, your children have been worried about you."

Ducky and Palmer stood still, mouths agape, over Gibbs handling of the woman, they now knew to be Ava. Their current victim's wife. They heard him call her sweetheart, and they watched him pull her in for a hug and kiss, before leading her away. They were speechless, as they turned to face each other, puzzled over what they had just seen. Ducky, who had been friends with the seasoned agent for a long time and had known him the longest, frowned. He tried to think over the thoughts in his head, analysing his old friend's behaviour. "I have no idea who she is, Palmer. I've never seen her before." But there was something familiar about the woman, he just couldn't put his finger on. He needed to get to the bottom of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Abby's presence as she walked through the doors. But today she was not her usual bouncy self. "Is that Lieutenant Commander Matthew Day's body?"

"Ah yes," Ducky replied, still baring the frown. "We just had a visitor. A woman."

"We think the Lieutenant Commander's wife." Palmer added. "Gibbs led her away."

"Oh good, he found her. Her children have been searching everywhere for her. Gibbs thought he had an idea of where she had gone to." Abby sighed with relief. "I can't believe he kept them a secret from us."

"Who are you talking about, Abby?" Palmer asked.

"You haven't heard? Gibbs didn't tell you?" She asked surprised.

"No he didn't," Ducky replied. "Who is she?"

"She's Gibbs' daughter, which makes your victim here his son-in-law." Abby frowned as she noticed they were in the middle of his autopsy. "She saw you working on him, didn't she?"