Work Text:
Sensing movement out of the corner of his eye (usually he would ignore it but it’s a slow day), Tim glances up from his After-Action Reports and blinks at who has just strode unexpectedly into the squad room.
“Hey, look who it is,” he greets jovially, standing and offering his hand, “REACT Agent Lund!”
“Future Sebastian!” Sebastian grins and Tim chuckles, motioning at him.
“Are you kidding? Look at you, you’re future McGee!”
There’s a quiet confidence to him that certainly hadn’t been there when they’d first met, something he’d been vaguely aware of growing as he’d tried his best to answer any questions that had been thrown his way about being a new agent, but he hadn’t truly been able to see the results until this very moment.
He’s still the same Sebastian, waving slightly awkwardly at Nick as he wanders over from his desk, but he’s settled into himself and the way he shrugs casually only solidifies that thought. “Nah, we’ve got our own paths now, right?”
“Right,” Tim smiles, then his attention is caught by the unfamiliar woman hovering half a step behind him (and at least a foot shorter than him), staring around the squad room with wide-eyed wonder, “uh what, what’re you guys doing here?”
“Oh, debriefing with the Director,” Sebastian seems to remember himself then too and motions to the woman, “Amy, these are Special Agents-“
“Tim McGee and Nick Torres,” she finishes, tone light as she steps forward to enthusiastically shake their hands, “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Nick shoots him an amused look, “I didn’t know Sebastian knew so much about us.”
“Oh, it wasn’t from Sebastian, it was-“
“Who’re our visitors?” Parker unintentionally cuts her off as he strides into the room.
“Sebastian Lund from New Orleans field office,” Tim introduces proudly, “also REACT’s forensic extraordinaire.”
“Ah, New Orleans, by some strange coincidence, I have beignets!-” he gently shakes the box in his hands for emphasis- “though these are the traditional French recipe, baked by a friend of my dad’s.”
Sebastian’s face lights up as Parker offers the open box to him, then to the young woman, eyeing her curiously.
Taking the unspoken prompt, she introduces herself, “Amy Ono, REACT hostage negotiator.”
Parker falters slightly at the words and he hears Nick echo quietly, “Hostage negotiator?”
Tim knows they’re all thinking the same thing as they exchange glances – Jess.
Does she know? She has to, right, she has to know there would be someone taking her place, the team had to be completely reformed. But how is she going to react to being suddenly faced with this person? Is it going to bring everything back to the surface?
Before he can put any plan into motion to help the pair off to the Director’s office and away from where Jess might come across them, a voice sounds from behind him, “One of the best in the business!” and Jess herself strides into the room, wide smile on her face that throws Tim off – however he’d thought this interaction might go, it definitely wasn’t like this.
“Jess!” Amy exclaims, somehow appearing even younger as a smile lights up her face.
He exchanges a look with Parker, their team leader echoing his confusion as the pair embrace tightly.
“Wait, Knight, you know each other?” he hears Nick ask.
Jess breaks out of the hug, one arm staying looped around her shoulders as she smiles widely at them without giving him even a hint that she might be putting on a strong face. “Sure, I recommended her.”
Amy grins up at her and Tim knows this is more than a simple recommendation; there’s a history between these to.
“Recommended, trained, inspired,” Amy half shrugs, eyes full of the same life and laughter as always but completely genuine, and Jess squeezes her shoulder affectionately, not quite able to tear her eyes away even when she addresses the entire group.
“Imagine my surprise when my very first training class had Amy Ono in it.”
Well, perhaps surprise isn’t the right word, Amy had always shown a keen interest in everything REACT had entailed.
It had been more a gut-punch.
(And maybe a reminder of everything she’d been running away from.)
“Ono, like Diana Ono?”
It’s McGee who picks up on it, of course, he always has had the memory for details.
“My sister,” Amy tells him then tilts her head back up at Jess, “and you wouldn’t have been so shocked if you’d stayed in contact instead of pulling away out of some misplaced guilt over her death.”
Her tone is light but the sentiment a bit too real and Jess has to break eye contact, wincing as she protests, “Woah, okay! You always were too perceptive for your own good.”
That had been a dark time, she’d pulled away from everyone because there didn’t feel like there was a single person she could turn to who would understand and she wouldn’t feel like she was burdening.
“I seem to remember that being why you thought I’d be a good hostage negotiator-“ Amy pulls a face, one that sends a stab of pain right to her heart because she’d seen it directed at Diana so many times- “I’m just tryna make you proud.”
The suddenly serious tone gives her pause and she tilts her head, replying softly, “I already am.”
Because she is. And it’s something she’s careful to say whenever she feels it because it’s everything she doesn’t hear, however much she desperately wants to (and wishes she didn’t) sometimes.
Whenever anyone says to her ‘your dad must be proud of you’ all she can do is smile and nod, hoping that they’re right because he doesn’t actually say it. But she refuses to leave anyone guessing.
Suddenly remembering they’re in the squad room with the entire team around them, Jess squeezes her shoulder once more then releases her. “Right, come on. The Director wanted me to come too, let’s go see why.”
That seems to kick Sebastian, who’s been hovering a little bewildered, a little curious in the background, into action. “Yeah, we’ll catch you guys later.”
As Jess leads the way, Torres jokes after them, “Oi, Sebastian! You tell Gregorio, I’m offended I didn’t get an invite to the wedding. It was an NCIS own wedding, I definitely should have been invited!”
Shooting Amy a ‘what is that all about?’ look, she receives only a ‘go with it’ shrug and grin in return.
Sebastian just sighs sadly. “I owe Tammy twenty bucks now.”
With the weird acoustics letting him hear them even halfway up the stairs, Nick calls back, “She can spend it on an apology card! I expect to be sent pictures of every single waterfall they see on the honeymoon!” Jess sends him a despairing what are you on about look but he just grins unapologetically, “What?! It’s Norway! It’s literally called ‘the land of waterfalls!’”
Rolling her eyes, she leads the pair past MTAC and out of Torres’ hearing range.
“What was that all about?” Amy asks, before she can, curious as ever.
“Two of my teammates back in New Orleans, Tammy and Hannah, they got married last month. It was a small thing, not many guests,” he shrugs though the affection is clear on him, even as he rolls his eyes back at Nick, “but those two, they met on a case eight years ago and they’ve been purposefully irritating each other ever since.”
“Sounds like Di and Benny,” Amy murmurs and Jess can’t help but swallow, nodding only one in agreement.
It’s true, those two would bicker like nobody else, always poking fun at each other despite their obviously close bond. She and Eddie would exchange looks and roll their eyes, commiserating the fact that they had to listen to it constantly.
And Amy, she would always join in if she was there for an ‘extended team’ night with Benny’s husband and Eddie’s children too, if any of them were in town.
Movie nights, bars when Amy got old enough, the occasional hike if she could cajole them into it – and that one very memorable time when they’d all gone paintballing, absolutely (and a little unfairly) trouncing the unsuspecting opposing team.
Amy had been her partner that day; the first day she’d gained a sense of what an incredible agent she was going to turn out to be.
Lost in her memories, she’s working purely on autopilot as they enter Vance’s office and he begins explaining the case.
“We needed someone testing the air levels as they went,” his voice suddenly brings her back to the present, “which is where Forensic Agent Lund came in.”
“Oh yeah they flew me out, only had twenty minutes to get to the airport. Life of a REACT agent, never dull,” he interjects cheerfully.
“Haha, it’s certainly not,” Jess can’t help but dryly agree.
She remembers those days, when they’d be flown all over the East Coast. How they never knew quite what they’d be walking into. The rush it had given her. And the adrenaline which had too often crossed the line into pure anxiety, when everything had started to become too much.
Involuntarily, her gaze finds Amy; she almost hadn’t wanted to recommend her, knowing all too well what that job can do to a person, but she’d known it was the right thing to do so instead she’d made it her mission to offer the support she would need, determined to never push her away again.
“Agent Lund, Miss Hines mentioned she found some discrepancies in the data you collected.”
“Discrepancies?” Sebastian’s face scrunches in alarm, “what kind of discrepancies?”
“Well,” Vance tucks his hands behind his back, “she would know better than I.”
Jess bites back a smile – that’s Director for ‘I don’t have the first idea what she was talking about.’
“I think it best if you discuss them with her, I believe you know where her office is.”
“Of course, Director,” he nods formally, face relaxing into a smile at Amy, then turning to Jess, “nice to meet you again Agent Knight.”
“Call me, Jess,” she offers, “I know you’ve been looking out for Amy here.”
Amy looks wryly at her but she just quirks an eyebrow back; she’s protective and she knows it – but she’s also not sure anyone can blame her.
Sebastian just glances between them, clearly still curious, but doesn’t ask, instead nodding with a not-quite smile, “Jess,” and walking in long strides from the room.
Only the three of them left, Vance turns to her. “Agent Knight, I asked you here because this case is related to one you worked on, eight years ago.”
Accepting the file he offers, she flips it open and scans the contents, frowning at the vague familiarity. “I remember the case but I wasn’t too heavily involved. It was mostly Eddie and, Dalton,” she does her best not to stumble over either name and ignore Amy’s tensing beside her, “it was a joint case though, wasn’t it?
“Yes, it was,” Vance agrees, pausing just long enough to make her feel like she’s forgetting something important, “with MI6.”
It takes a moment for the significance to hit her, then she utters, “Clayton Reeves.”
“Exactly.” The Director’s voice is even but she can see the hint of sadness around his eyes.
She’d not known the man particularly well but she knows his death had been a loss felt throughout the office, probably more than he’d ever thought it would when he’d been alive.
“So, Dalton is the only one left who was actually involved?”
It’s taken so many years just to be able to say his name without tensing, without going back to the last time she’d seen him on that rooftop, or every day she’d spent any meaningful time with him before – every time she’d considered him her mentor.
“It would seem so. I’ll send Agent Lund to-”
“Sir, if I may,” Amy interjects and Jess knows what she’s going to say before she says it, something in her tensing painfully, “I’d like to go.”
Jess doesn’t bother to ask if she’s sure, there’s that determined look in her eye – the same one that Diana used to get before they started a new assignment.
Vance hesitates, then asserts firmly, “You are aware that this would be a professional visit, Agent Ono, not a personal one?”
“Yes, sir,” she agrees, voice hard, “I can interview him as well as I can interview any other criminal.”
Except there’s more than pure determination in her expression, there’s something else there too – a desire to meet the man who caused her sister’s death and show him that he hasn’t broken anything.
Jess understands that feeling well enough to recognise it in Amy, she just isn’t sure that it will prove anything; Dalton was never aiming to break things, so she doesn’t see what satisfaction there can be from it.
To her, the height of what she can do to the man, is never see him again.
“I’d still like you to take Agent Lund, I’m not happy about you going alone.”
But still, the urge to protect is too strong and, even though she’d sworn she would never give him the time of day, she hears herself offering, “I’ll go.”
She’d been determined to wait outside, to just be there as support.
But as soon as Amy freezes outside the door, some tiny part of her knows that she’s going to end up in that room herself.
Falling back on her training, she leads the practically unresponsive agent to a nearby bench, the slats of it cold and unforgiving as she pulls her carefully down at her side.
"Amy,” she calls softly, but she just stares back, eyes lifeless and unseeing, so again she tries, “Amy.”
Still nothing. She thinks quickly, sighing under her breath when she resigns to trying something she’d always promised herself she wouldn’t.
"Mimi."
Amy blinks at the nickname – one only Diana had ever used with her – the focus rushing instantly back into her eyes, accompanied by a pure panic and hurt. Hurt as if the loss were still new.
And Jess understands, sometimes it hits her like that too, like no time at all as passed and she's finding out for the very first time.
“Jess… I-“ her breath catches in her throat.
“It’s okay,” reaching out, Jess gently guides her chin up until their eyes meet, combining kind words with the physical reassurance she’s always been the most comforted by, “it’s okay. You don’t have to try and force yourself.”
Amy nods slowly and Jess allows her hand to fall away, taking a breath as she stands.
“Stay here, okay?”
Instantly, she protests, “Wait, no, but-“
“Ono,” Jess cuts her off, “be real with yourself right now, you can’t walk through that door. This is not worth tearing yourself apart over, trust me,” she hisses, voice low because if she puts any less conviction in it she might be begging and dammit she doesn’t want to go into that room, she doesn’t want to see him again, “don’t let him be something bigger than he is. He’s just a man, one you don’t have to face, now or ever if you don’t want to.”
Amy searches for something in her eyes and Jess lets her, hoping she’s good enough at hiding her emotions to stop her own anger from showing.
And she must be (she has had many years to practice) because Amy nods slowly, trustingly, and it feels like she’s at least won a battle, even if it doesn’t seem like it has much hope for the outcome of the war.
“Take a breath, take a minute. I’ll be back,” she commands, softening it with a reassuring smile which Amy shakily returns.
Turning towards the door, she wonders not for the first time that day, why she does this to herself.
With Amy sat right there watching her, she can’t pause for more than a moment to gather herself and before she’s ready, she’s pushing the door open.
She’s not ready for the sight of him there in an orange jumpsuit, she’s not ready for the smell of cigarettes that had always lingered around him to be gone and she’s not ready for the hopeful surprise that lights up his eyes as he sees her.
“Jess-“
“Don’t,” she snaps, feeling wrong-footed and overwhelmed, “I’m here for a case.”
Practically throwing the file down in front of him, she stands there, not able to bring herself to sit.
He sighs but takes the file without complaint, flicking through it and frowning, “But this was just a run of the mil case, why do you need my help?”
“Because I was barely involved. And everyone else who was-“ she barely stops herself from choking on the words- “is dead.”
Immediately, his face closes off. He feels guilty and some tiny part of her almost feels sorry for him.
But then she remembers everything he did and everything he caused and the anger is back, drowning everything else out. The anger she’s been trying not to let get the better of her these past few years.
This is why she hadn’t wanted to come, this is doing nothing for her.
“My case notes are on my PC, which is currently stored in my sister’s attic. Everything you need should be on there,” he offers up.
Nodding stiffly, she grabs the file and turns to leave. Because she needs to take a breath, she needs to get out of there.
“Jess… is there nothing I can say?”
His question stops her and she wishes it wouldn’t, she wishes she could just walk away and never give him another thought.
Instead, she takes a breath, keeping her eyes on the top of the head she can just about see through the little window in the door, never giving him the satisfaction (or perhaps just hope) of looking at him as she replies clearly, “Nothing you could say or do would ever make anything right. Just be glad there are people here still to keep their memories alive.”
And with that, she walks out of the door.
He doesn’t try to stop her again. She doesn’t know if that makes it better or worse.
Forcing it all down with the deep clang of the metal door slamming shut behind her, she wraps her arm around Amy’s shoulders once more and begins to lead her out of that place.
“Diana would be proud of you, you know,” she tells her quietly.
“Why?” Amy scoffs, “I didn’t even go in.”
“Meeting him won’t make it any easier. It’s just a way to keep being angry, trust me,” gently, she squeezes her shoulders, wondering if there will ever be a day that something like this doesn’t leave her feeling so off-kilter, “Diana would be proud of you for doing what’s right. Never let anyone stop you from doing what’s right.”
Amy smiles at her, that tiny bit of life and laughter back in her eyes, “’Sometimes you can do everything right and things still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right,’ isn’t that what you taught us, Chief?”
It’s something she’d made a point to tell all her classes, hoping that if just one remembered it, it would make a difference.
Only she’d never expected to see that difference right in front of her.
Despite everything, Jess smiles as she holds Amy close. “Right.”