Burning Questions

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Gibbs had been in his truck about two point five seconds after Shannon had said that her vehicle was on fire. He had no clue at that point where he was going but he knew he was going somewhere and fast.  Looking at his watch and seeing that it was her lunch break, he cranked the truck and headed towards her favorite deli. He confirmed with her that she was indeed at Elizabeth's Diner, and increased his speed.  When Shannon had asked him to drive like a normal person he had  told her he'd be there in five minutes; totally ignoring her request, just asking her to make sure that nobody touched anything before he got there.  If there was some clue as to who or what had caused this fire he was certainly going to find it.

In the back of his mind he already knew that this was no random car fire caused by faulty equipment.  He had just checked the vehicle over a couple weeks before and his gut was telling him that someone had set this fire deliberately and he'd be damned if he was going to let anyone threaten Shannon and get away with it.  There was nothing on earth that he took more seriously than protecting his family and eliminating any threat that was directed at them.  He was no fool he'd made his share of enemies during his time at NCIS, though he wasn't quite sure that was the cause of the fire today he would leave no stone unturned until he found out.

Everything Shannon had been through, that he'd been through to get back to where they were today... there was no way he was going to let anything happen to her now.  As he sped through the streets of Chicago he thanked his lucky stars that Elizabeth's was some little hole in the wall Deli that they had discovered a few months ago.  He hardly ran into any traffic at all and made it there in record time.  As he pulled up he saw Shannon's SUV, or better yet what was left of Shannon's SUV and cringed.  He slammed his truck into park cut it off and jumped out, calling her name as he headed straight for Shannon.  When he found her he pulled her into a tight hug.  He held her as he watched the vehicle burn, his only thought that she could have been inside.

@shannon

(used some details from a previous Skype conversation)

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@jethro, Shannon had been walking out of the deli. Her usual stop taking much longer than usual. Something about not enough employees on the clock. She was a bit irritated with the customer service. It was lacking this afternoon. That had been when her car had burst into flames. She had called her husband terrified, hardly able to get the words out. Shannon wasn’t thinking well enough to call her colleagues at the police department, though the fire department was already on the way. She was sitting on the curb when Gibbs pulled up just after the fire trucks. When Gibbs wrapped his arms around her, at first she didn’t register he was there. It took a few inhales of the familiar scent of sawdust til she realized he was there. She had been focused on keeping herself from the verge of a panic attack. Suddenly, she tightened her hug. What was going on? She’d come out of witness protection against the advice of the marshalls. Honestly, she hoped this wasn’t anything to do with that. The people responsible for the car wreck and Kelly’s death were dead. Shannon buried her head in Gibbs’ shirt as the silence filled the air. It took her a minute to gather words. “I’m right here,” Shannon knew where his mind was, not that she could blame him. However, her reason was telling her that she had been able to make the phone call, so she hadn’t been trapped inside and yet he was acting like this was much more than just her car going up in flames. Though Shannon had learned not to question things, questioning Jethro was just not something that was done. Same reason she didn’t apologize for calling him up and scaring him. Seek forgiveness not permission but never apologize. No, this wasn’t even her fault. notes

MADE BY LILAC☆BUNNY OF GANGNAM STYLE

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Gibbs knew the exact moment that it registered to Shannon that he was there, when she tightened her hug he just held her. He hated this for her, heck for them. He knew that she had come out of witness protection under protest from the Marshalls, maybe he shouldn’t have been so selfish in wanting her back. His selfishness could cost him more than he was willing to pay, No… he was not going to lose Shannon again.

He nodded when Shannon reassured him that she was right there, he should be the one comforting her… not the other way around. “Shhhh I know… and I’m right here.” He held her close gently rubbing her back, knowing that there wasn’t much he could do until the fire was out. He simply held Shannon and watched the fire department work. Kissing the side of her head, “You called the police? If not I should call now. Before you protest, I agree that this most likely has nothing to do with the past… but I need to be absolutely sure.”

Once the fire was out and the Police Department had arrived, he left Shannon to give her report to an officer and walked over to the vehicle with the other officers. Keeping a close eye on his wife in case she needed him he conversed with the officers often pointing things out and asking several relevant questions. “Something tells me this wasn’t an accident, and if you need assistance in proving that and finding who did it… I have some contacts that I can call and have a highly trained team here almost immediately.” The officers assured him that it wouldn’t be necessary to call in his old team and continued searching for evidence.

Gibbs strolled back over to Shannon and stood next to her catching the tail end of her statement. “Assuming you’ve already answered these questions, but humor me and answer them again. Did you notice anything strange this morning, anyone acting strangely or watching you?”

@shannon

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@jethro, Shannon was trying to put two and two together. She’d been afraid for years to come out of witness protection because the cartel had such a strong reach; but they were dead now. She would be kidding herself if she wasn’t glad for such a thing. Though she was naive to the whole story but once she had her hand on the information it had taken a few years to show her face. Mostly, she had wanted to be absolutely certain. Being shushed was not something she was used to and she quirked a brow at him but didn’t argue. When he asked if she called the police she shook her head no. When he said he agreed with her, she wasn’t so sure this wasn’t them. The fear was there either way. Shannon just nodded when he said he needed to be sure. Sitting here arguing the point was pointless. Shannon was asked question after question after question and they seemed like they were straight out of some training manual. When Gibbs came over and sounded like another cop she bit her bottom lip. Simply shaking her head no, she knew he would get the idea. Shannon’s head had been in the clouds that day though, if she was fair about it. notes

MADE BY LILAC☆BUNNY OF GANGNAM STYLE