[Sarah]

“At remaking me? Not in the way they wanted. I know the circumstances of my escape are questionable. I know I was off the face of the Earth for two years. I am not myself as you knew me Jethro – Agent Gibbs,” you answered, “but I am still good.” You stood too, as you spoke, and walked to him. You snaked your arms under his suit jacket and hugged him tightly. He returned your embrace readily. You needed his nearness as you always had, and this place had you freezing.

[Sarah]

“I’m going to ask Vance to finish this,” Gibbs said into your hair.

“Okay,” you nodded against his chest. You wondered who Vance was. Someone Gibbs trusted to be with you while you retold your torture. That was enough for you. You hesitated, not letting him go. “I know its selfish, but can you stay in the room?” you asked.

It was Gibbs turn to hesitate. “I’ll be back,” he said before he extricated himself from your arms and left. The door shut with a soft click behind him and you stared at it. Leon nodded for you to continue. He must’ve also been Vance.

[Sarah]

“The first year was the worst. They did things to me… sometimes everything blends together, and the pain is indistinguishable. Sometimes I can remember each torture so acutely it’s like I’m there again,” you said.

“I thought you were captive for two years,” Leon said. Your eyes left the door and wandered the room. There were two cameras at least and you would bet they had audio enabled as well.

“The second year they trusted me. I ran black ops for them all over the desert. I had a crew and a budget, and I was damn good,” you said. Your secrets would get you killed, but you would not lie to Gibbs. He didn’t deserve it. “They cut lessons into me the first year and by the second I was their sharpened spear. The only luck I had was that they couldn’t send me someplace I’d be recognized. They beat me for that. They knew my loyalty was only won when my support system was utterly out of reach,” you said.

[Sarah]

“Purines?” Leon asked.

“Never, nor the Imperials. They didn’t want the attention and they learned I could create quite the stink,” you answered. Perhaps that would be your saving grace. The Purines couldn’t brand you an enemy when you had not spilled its blood.

“You never tried to contact your handler? Or Gibbs?” Leon asked.

“My handler? No. The thought didn’t even cross my mind. They were the reason why I was captured to begin with. Gibbs? Of course. There wasn’t a single day that I didn’t think about Gibbs. I dreamt about him even when I was awake. When the sun rose and when it set, and when I could see the moon, and every time I heard an Aldrect accent, and a million other times a day I thought of Gibbs. I couldn’t contact him. I couldn’t contact or signal or mark anything or anyone,” you explained and ignored how strained your voice felt as you forced it past the lump in your throat.

[Sarah]

“They knew everything about you,” Leon remembered.

“Bringing me to the brink of death never worked, but when they had live footage of Gibbs at a crime scene opposite a sniper and a spotter I was much more easily manipulated. You’re going to ask me how many I killed for them?” you asked, although it wasn’t much of a question. Leon nodded his affirmation anyway. “Over one hundred hit ops. I don’t know what the number is counting collateral. At least half were done with a sniper aimed at someone I love,” you said.

[Sarah]

“The ones,” you lost your voice for a moment and Leon let you breathe through it. “The ones against innocents. The people they made me kill… Gods. Why did they choose me?” you asked. You were weeping and probably had been for some time. You saw Leon shake his head at one of the cameras.

“That’s enough,” he soothed. “CIA’s already cleared you and decommissioned you. I’ll let you know if we need any more information, and I assure you we won’t,” he said. You nodded silently and heard the door open again.

[Sarah]

You turned and saw Trent was waiting for you. You frowned. The expression only flitted across your features for a heartbeat, but you knew Trent had caught it. He was dangerous and powerful. He was your favorite combination of things without the moral compass. You wondered what lies he’d told Gibbs – if any. The only thing that had stopped you from jumping him when he’d rescued you was your marriage. You were damn loyal, and you loved Gibbs more than you thought one person could love another.

[Sarah]

Had your marriage been so easily broken they wouldn’t have been able to use Gibbs against you. As you stood each other down Leon cleared his throat. You jumped a bit at the sound and your legs moved of their own accord as you brain was still lagging. You went to Trent and he linked his arm with yours much as Gibbs had that morning.

“I’m not a psychopath,” he assured your quietly as he led you downstairs.

[Wild Pet Found]