Chapter Text
The tension in the war room could be cut with a knife as Lucy waited for an answer. For as composed as Kate usually is, even she would admit the scrapy little agents glare was intense. Honestly, Kate didn’t know what to say because she was certain the shock Lucy was feeling now was the exact feeling she had a few hours ago when she found out who made up the NCIS team she was assisting.
“You know I’m trying to hold myself up off the floor from the shock of seeing you walk into the bullpen earlier, yet you don’t seem so surprised to see me,” Lucy challenged.
Kate nodded.
“I do my research.”
“You do your research? What the hell does that even mean?”
“I got a call at 07:00 that I was going to assist NCIS with a joint case with the Marines. I knew that would mean Noah would be assigned but I didn’t know anything about the NCIS team. I like to be prepared and know who I’m working with.”
Kate tried to remain composed, like none of this was affecting her the way it clearly was Lucy. However, she was one southern draw from falling apart.
Lucy nodded and started pacing the small space still trying to wrap her head around everything. Just Kate from DC was actually Captain Katherine Whistler of the United States Army. As hot as Lucy found that…and the uniform was sooo hot…Lucy knew it would be hotter ripping it off Kate and leaving it in a ball on her bedroom floor. Because she had done it before, minus the uniform.
NO! Lucy couldn’t think like that…she needed to focus.
“Why didn’t you say anything at dinner? You’re a freaking Army Captain!”
“You never asked and technically I wasn’t at that point.”
“Technically,” Lucy questioned like it even mattered?
“I was in town for a meeting.”
“Yeah, I recall that part.”
“The meeting happened to be an interview about a promotion.”
A sarcastic chuckle escapes Lucy.
“Of course it was.”
“It’s not like you were interested in sharing much except bodily fluids anyway,” Kate shot back.
“Excuse me? You were flirting with me.”
“Of course I was, you’re hot.”
While Lucy was spiting mad, she couldn’t help the blush in her cheeks or the soft smile that crept on her lips.
“Guess you got over that pretty quickly,” Lucy shot back trying to fire up her anger again.
“What is that supposed to mean,” Kate huffed her hands on her hips?
“Captain Noah Whistler. That is a pretty quick 180 from testing the female waters to marriage to a man. Was it really that bad,” Lucy mumbled the last part a little self-conscious.
Kate thought she might be hallucinating or having an out of body experience.
Married? To Noah?
Suddenly Kate burst out laughing…like tears streaming down her face laughing. The normally composed Captain had completely lost it. Once again if Lucy wasn’t so mad she would have loved to see Whistler with her walls down.
“What is so funny,” Lucy’s anger flared?
However, Kate was laughing so hard so could hardly breath let alone answer Lucy.
“Oh my god, I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard,” Kate finally got out a few minutes later wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Care to share what is so damn funny?”
Kate tried to muffle another bout of laughter.
“Captain Noah Whistler…my older brother, NOT my husband.”
Lucy took a moment to process that information. Noah was a good-looking guy, the type that would land a beautiful, smart and charming woman…like Kate.
“Your brother,” Lucy questioned?
“My brother,” Kate confirmed.
Lucy took another moment before she started laughing.
“Yeah, ok I get why that is funny,” finally relenting some of her anger.
The tension in the room was brought down a notch but there were still so many questions.
“So, you’re like here now? Your promotion was to Pearl?”
“Yes, but at the time I didn’t know where they would station me. I have bounced all over the place…overseas, various bases state side. Nothing in my life is permanent.”
Lucy couldn’t imagine how hard that must be. Never having roots, never able to build your ohana.
“How long have you been here?”
“A couple months, but really only a few weeks.”
Lucy looked confused.
“Shortly after I arrived they sent me to Anchorage.”
“Alaska?”
“That is where it is located yes. Not ideal surfing weather.”
Lucy cringed.
Kate raised an eyebrow in question.
“Not a fan of the water,” Lucy admitted.
“Interesting career choice for that particular fear.”
Lucy just shrugged.
“So, you’re here now,” Lucy confirmed again?
“For the time being yes.”
“And Noah…”
“My brother.”
“Your brother. Are you two a packaged deal? Were you both promoted?”
“No, he has been here for a while. I mean he was deployed for some of that time but his base has been Pearl for a while. This is the first time we have been stationed in the same place.”
“That must be nice…having your brother around.”
“Has it pluses and minuses. We can be competitive and he likes holding it over my head he made Captain first.”
“Isn’t he older?”
“That doesn’t seem to matter,” Kate smirked.
Lucy nodded unsure what to do next.
“Did you think about…”
Before Lucy could get out the word me, Tennant and Noah walked back in the room.
“Captain Whistler we are headed over to Joint Command to get read in on this training operation. Lucy I want you down with Ernie who is trying to trace cell phones and filter through knew documents released to us. Help him sort through the files and when he gets a location call in to Jesse and Kai and check it out with them.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and headed for the door.
“For the record not bad…so, so amazing,” Kate whispered in Lucy’s ear, a smirk on her face as she followed Jane.
Lucy was frozen in place, her jaw literally hitting the floor.
Noah had held the door for Jane and his sister and witnessed this brief interaction. His Noah senses were tingling.
“Is there something you needed Captain Whi…Noah?”
“Who are you,” Noah wondered?
“Oh umm Special Agent Lucy Tara,” she introduced herself again figuring the Captain had met so many people this morning he might have forgotten.
“No, I know that. Who are you to my sister?”
“I umm, I don’t know what you are talking about,” Lucy stammered slightly.
“Yeah, ok we will go with that for now. I will see you later, Special Agent Lucy Tara,” Noah smirked as he headed out to catch up with the ladies.
Lucy groaned. She might only be into one of the Whistler siblings but damn if they weren’t so alike.
Once the shock of the morning wore she headed down to the lair. Lucy needed to shake off Kate’s words but the more she tried the more the fire burned inside her. Kate thought about her and their limited time together. Not just that, Kate thought it was amazing. Lucy was not alone in that feeling. She tried to contain her smile before she walked into Ernie’s office.
“What is that,” Ernie asked?
“What is what,” Lucy looked around confused?
“That face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“You have a look.”
“What? No, I don’t.”
Lucy started to panic.
“Oh it’s a girl.”
“No.”
“Well, it certainly isn’t a guy.”
“It could be.”
“Since when?”
“Ok, its not a guy,” Lucy conceded.
She didn’t even know why she said that.
“So it’s a girl.”
“It’s nothing…have anything on these three?”
“Smooth change of subject.”
Lucy and Ernie spent the better part of a few hours combing through documents and cell phone data. When they finally got a cell phone hit Lucy called the guys and she headed out into the field.
Meanwhile the Whistler siblings and Jane had made it back to the office and were trying to figure out what drew these three men to the bar and how they just fell off the face of the earth.
“SAC Tennant,” Kate started.
“Jane please.”
Kate hated informalities but conceded.
“Jane, realistically are we looking at a recovery mission here?”
“I wish I could tell you one way or the other, but we don’t know the motive here. They could have been kidnapped for intel.”
“Oh which they would be killed when they got what they wanted or when our men refused to talk.”
“That is possible.”
“Or thy could be held for ransom,” Noah chimed in.”
“Also possible.”
“No, they are being held for ransom…check your phones.”
Jane and Kate quickly reached for their phone seeing the alerts from their respective agencies. The kidnappers wanted $5million for each person.
“Ok, this is good.”
“This is good,” Kate questioned?
“Yes, that means they are alive for now and we have time.”
“Yeah 12 hours.”
“My team is the best,” Jane said with confidence, “we will find our people and bring them home.”
“Your team might be the best, but they are looking a little beat up,” Noah said noticing the three agents stepping off the elevators.
Everyone headed into the bullpen to greet the agents. That is when Kate realized Lucy was injured.
“Oh my god what happened,” Kate tried keeping the panic from her voice.
She had started to step in Lucy’s direction but held herself back.
“We were a few minutes late to finding the kidnappers,” Kia started.
“But not in finding the clean up crew,” Lucy added temporarily removing the ice pack from her jaw revealing a cut lip and bright purplish bruise on her cheek.
Kate frowned seeing the injury but quickly steeled herself. She needed to keep it together, if for no other reason than to find these missing service members and bring them home.
“We have CSU on the scene now and we brought back a couple laptops for Ernie,” Jesse said holding up 4 laptops in various pieces.
“Those are laptops,” Kate questioned?
“Yes, and Ernie is the best…he will get us something,” Jesse confirmed.
“Jesse get them down to Ernie. Kia and Lucy go see medical.”
“But I’m…”
“Going to see medical,” Jane said cutting off her junior agent.
“Going to see medical,” Lucy confirmed defeated.
Lucy couldn’t help but lock eyes with Kate before she turned and headed back out of the bullpen.
Kate’s eyes followed the junior agent until she was totally out of sight. It was only then she could focus and turned back to the group.
“Wait, where did Jane go?”
“Her phone rang and she step into her office to take a call,” Noah said with a furrowed brow. “Which she just told us.”
“Right, yes, sorry.”
“Former girlfriend?”
“What,” Kate said now fully alert?
“The small one.”
“Her name is Lucy,” Kate nearly spit at her brother.
“I know,” Noah smirked, “I just have never seen you like this.”
“Like what? I haven’t done anything,” Kate protested.
“You definitely said something that had Lucy twisting earlier today and then she comes back banged up and the very professional and stoic Kate Whistler starts to crumble. She is someone.”
“Of course she is. She is a Special Agent and I don’t want to see anyone getting hurt.”
“Don’t think for a single second I am believing that Katie”
“Don’t call me Katie.”
“Ok, Katie.”
“God what are you five. This is exactly the down side of working with your brother I was telling Luc…,” Kate cut herself off when she realized what she was saying but it was too late.
“You were telling Lucy about me,” Noah’s smile was growing wider by the moment.
“She thought we were married,” Kate defending.
Noah couldn’t help but laugh.
“And you definitely couldn’t have her believing you were married.”
“Not to my brother.”
“Or just in general. Is she why you were so chilled when you visited a couple months ago.”
“Or I was happy to see my brother I hadn’t seen in almost a year and I was in literal paradise.”
“Lucy is so good you think she is paradise,” Noah teased.
“Oh my god,” Kate groaned walking away, “you know we have a case to work,” Kate yelled as she walked out of the bullpen.
“More than just one case,” Noah thought before he focused back in on more important matters.