Chapter Thirteen

Chapter 13
Josh woke up to an intense pain in is back and someone hovering over his shoulder.
"Good morning, sunshine," Aimee's voice said. He picked his head off of his desk and opened his eyes, then closed them again.
"Too bright," he grumbled and rubbed his eyes.
"It's 4:30. Murray got the results of the tox screen two hours ago; Cal had a smorgasborg of steroids in his system at various rates of absorption."
"Why'd you wake me up then?"
"Director told me to. No specific reason."
"Evidence garage! We found Valanse's car!" Director Austin's voice shouted from the opposite end of the squad room.
"Guess that's why," Aimee mumbled as the Director practically sprinted past them.
"What was that, Special Agent Rousseau?"
"Nothing, ma'am."
Josh and Aimee followed Director Austin into the elevator and then the evidence garage.
"Murray, what've you got?" Josh asked, receiving a glare from the director.
"Well, not a whole lot, kept his car pretty clean." The director looked disappointed. "But I did find this;" he picked something off of the backseat with tweezers, "the missing tooth."
"In his car?" Guthren asked.
"Apparently so."
"How was it removed?" the director asked.
"Randy said it looked like it had been removed forcefully. I can scrape it for any particulates and try for a fingerprint, but the odds of that are astronomical."
"You do that! Aimee, Josh," Guthren beckoned towards the elevator, and Josh and Aimee obeyed.
Back in the squad room, Louis Jarod sat at his desk, waiting for the phone call he was promised he would get. He was supposed to get paid for this one, his first actual success, out on his own.
The phone finally rang as Guthren, Aimee, and Josh entered.
"Whoever's calling is gonna have to wait, Probie," Guthren said, but Louis chose to ignore him. He picked up the phone but Guthren was quicker.
"DO NOT IGNORE ME, JAROD!" Guthren shouted.
"Sorry, sir," he replied.
"And don't call me 'sir'." Guthren strode towards his ringing phone. "Yeah. On our way."
He paused to grab his gear and said, "Jody Mulani is dead."

Fa la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaa

I have come to a conclusion; I do not want a sweet sixteen party.
I know, shocking, seeing as I am such a party girl and all.
Not. I really did want a moon bounce though. Maybe my graduation party.
Would you like to know how I came to this conclusion?
Well, I was watching Bones (shocker) and it was a Christmas episode. And I realized, Hey, I never had a christmas party.
And I want to.
And, seeing as my birthday is close to Christmas, having a sweet sixteen would make no sense.
Plus, I really want a car. So I think that if I don't have a party I have a better chance of getting a car, even if it is a crappy one. I would just like a car.
Wouldn't any teenage girl?
So, I would prefer to have a Christmas party. I think it would be more fun than a sweet sixteen.

Just thought I should get that out of my system.

Cutest Couples on TV!

Cutest Couples on TV (yes, this is what my life is amounting to)

1. Corey and Topanga (Boy Meets World)

2. Rory and Dean (Gilmore Girls)

3. Steve and DJ (Full House)

4. Sabrina and Harvey (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)

5. Tony DiNozzo and Jeanne Benoit (NCIS)

6. Loralei and Luke (Gilmore Girls)

7. Angela and Jack (Bones)

Hope you enjoyed that.

BY THE WAY,

NCIS MARATHON TODAY AT ONE ON USA!

Watch it :]

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Camila sat on her beat up couch staring at her blank plasma-screen television. She wished she hadn't told Josh to leave, even though it was the right thing. Playing damsel in distress and clinging to him wasn't going to do any good.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing.
"'Milla! Hey!" her oldest and dearest friend from back home, Troian, said. Or more like shouted.
"How may times have I told you not to call me 'Milla?" Camila shouted back. "Where the hell are you?"
"A bar about twenty minutes from your house!"
"Why the hell are you in Spain?"
"Visiting you, duh! Why don't you come on down and live a little?"
"I feel more like staying in, Troian. Could you come over?"
"Sure. Is everything okay?"
"No. For once, it's not all gonna be okay, Troian. Please?" Camila snapped.
"Is it that playboy partner of yours? You said something stupid, didn't you?"
"No, Troian, it has nothing to do with him. Well, for the most part. Could you please just get your skinny little ass over here?" she raised her voice to a yell.
"Okay, okay," Troian surrendered, the background noise dying down. "I'm on my way."
"Thank you," Camila said, hanging up the phone.
About an hour later, after spilling her guts to Troian, Josh called.
"Hey!" he said enthusiastically. "What's goin' on?"
"My friend Troian stopped by. Even though she lives in Minnesota, she spontaneously bought a plane ticket to Spain. What about you? Did you find Cal Valanse?"
"Uh, yeah. Dismembered along the side of a road. Now we're waiting for the tox screen report to see if there were steroids in his system."
"So you're still at work? It's past one."
"Yeah, Guthren told us to do something productive until the tox report comes back. Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm better, but not fully okay. I talked to Troian, which helped."
"What, my shoulder isn't good enough to cry on?"
"Oh, it is, but it's not exactly easy to talk to you about...certain things."
"Like me?"
Camila, taken aback, said, "Wouldn't you love to know?"
"Yup. Look, Guthren's giving me that look that suggests he would kill me if it was legal. I'll talk to you later."
"Adios, amiga."
"Si, novio."
Camila was about to ask him what he meant by calling her sweetheart, but the line went dead.
"What's wrong?" Troian asked. "What'd he say?"
"He called me novio," Camila stated, staring blankly ahead.
"Which means...?"
"Sweetheart."

Chapter Onze (eleven) :]

Chapter 11

Aimee stood alongside the road, knee deep in mud. Petty Officer Cal Valanse lay a few feet from her, completely dismembered. The poor girl that called the police sat in her car, door open, talking to the probie. She was instructed by the Director to secure the scene until Guthren and Randy arrived.
"How ya doin' there, Aimee?" she heard a famliar voice say behind her.
"Josh?"
"Yup. Having fun?" he asked, looking down at the Petty Officer with disgust.
"Yeah, because I want to spend all of my Friday nights staring at dismembered corpses. How's Camila?" she asked curiously.
"Okay, I guess. Coping. She literally made me leave. She told me to 'go find Cal Valanse'. You guys took care of that, I see."
Aimee nodded, and he continued, "Aren't you supposed to bag and tag or something...?"
"The director instructed me to only secure the scene until Guthren and Randy arrive. And to tell the probie to take her statement," she nodded towards the girl who called 911.
"I'll go introduce myself to the probie," Josh said, then trudged through the mud.
She finally saw the NCIS truck and the Medical Examiner's truck pull alongside the police cars.
"Aimee, bag and tag. Josh,"Guthren said, throwing the camera at him," how's Camila?"
"Coping. She forced me to leave," Josh replied, photographing the dismembered corpse.
"Sounds a lot like your last girlfriend, Anita, yes?" Guthren asked with a chuckle.
Josh grunted and continued photographing Cal Valanse.
For the next half hour Aimee put every single piece of anything within ten feet of Petty Officer Valanse's body in evidence bags. Finally, Guthren ordered them all back to the squad room to get the evidence to Murray.

_____________________________________________

Standing at the ladies' room sink trying to scrub the mud out of her pants, Aimee was nearly falling asleep. It was almost midnight and Randy still hadn't finished Cal Valanse's autopsy.
The door burst open and Murray's voice said, "Randy wants to see you."
"This is the ladies' room, Murray," she retorted.
"Yeah, and I've been looking all over for you, get down to autopsy," he said angrily, then left.
She dried off her pants, slipped back into her shoes and marched to the elevator.
When she got to the basement and slipped "booties" over her shoes, everyone else had already arrived.
"Nice of you to join us, Aimee," Josh said with a smile.
"Shut up," she snapped, then nodded at Randy.
"Time of death was about nineteen hundred hours, cause of death was a single gunshot through the chest. The body was cut at each joint; ankle, shoulder, knee, wrist, et cetera. Also, you might want to see this," Randy explained, opening Valanse's mouth. "One of his canine teeth has been removed."
"Removed? Surgically?" Guthren asked.
"Nope. Yanked out, post-mortum."
"Any steroids??"
"I'll have to wait for the toxicology screen from Murray, but I wouldn't doubt that there was some in his system."
"Excellent. Can we leave now?" Aimee asked.
"Nope. We're waiting for the tox report," Guthren said.
"The results won't be in for a few hours, Troy," Randy said.
"I know. Do something productive," he said to Josh and Aimee and left autopsy.
"I'm assuming I'm not the only one who can't wait for the director to leave?" Randy asked, and was answered with identical 'duh' looks from both Aimee and Josh.

Wow, I am way behind. Chapter Ten :]

So, I've actually written up to Chapter 15. I'm just not always in the mood to type.

Chapter Ten

Director Bridget Austin sat in MTAC, still awaiting the Secretary of the Navy's call.

"Ma'am, Special Agent Guthren is attempting to access MTAC," her assistant, Lisa, said.

"Allow," Bridget answered.

"Goooooooooooood evening, Miss Austin," he said, sitting next to her.

"Troy, make this quick, I'm waiting for a call from the SecNav," she snapped, staring straight ahead.

"Camila went to Rota Naval Hospital for tests and was diagnosed with Acute Lymphosomething Leukemia," he said simply.

"Lymphocytic?" she gasped.

"Yeah, that. Her doctors supposed to call tomorrow to talk about treatment, there's a few kinds. She didn't take the news all that well, which is strange. Enjoy your chat with the SecNav." He got up and left, and at that point her phone rang.

"Good evening, DIrector Austin. What have you got for me?"
"Not a whole lot, Ma'am. Our missing Petty Officer is still missing. But there was a blood type on Jody Mulani's jacket that does not match her or Petty Officer Valanse."

"So there is a third person involved?"

"It appears that way."
The SecNav sighed deeply, then said, "All right, Director, that doesn't help me much. That's all, then?"
"No, ma'am. Well, on the case, yes. One of my agents here in Rota has just been diagnosed with Leukemia."
"When?"
"Today, ma'am. Treatment has not been discussed yet, due to her reaction to the diagnosis."
"Her reaction, Director?"
"Special Agent Jomalerta does not normally lose control of her emotions, ma'am. But, being presented with her unfortunate diagnosis, she basically lost it."
"And you are telling me this because...?"
"I am not sure whether she would still be able to be capable of performing her required job duties, ma'am."
"Call me back when you know what treatment she will be undergoing, Director. Good day."

Before she could even respond, the line went dead.

"Lisa!" she shouted. "Could you please call Murray up here?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lisa replied.

Bridget stared straight ahead, concerned about their lack of Petty Officer Valanse. The SecNav was not at all pleased with that fact, or one of her best agents being diagnosed with cancer. Without Camila, it was guaranteed that Guthren's team would fall apart.

"Yes, Director?" Murray asked, now appearing in her peripheral vision.

"Any updates on the Valanse case?" she asked sternly.

"Um, no, ma'am."
"Well, what am I paying you for? I have seen you solve more complex cases."
"I'm sorry, Director, but there is nothing I can do. There aren't any leads on where Petty Officer Valanse could have disappeared to."
"Relatives?"
"Few distsnts in Virginia. He hasn't caught a plane, so he's not there."

"So he just disappeared off the face of the earth?"
"It has happened before, Director."
She stread at him coldly, breaking eye contact only when her phone rang.

"Director Austin."
"We've got Petty Officer Valanse. Just not how you wanted him."

Summahhhhh

I love summer. And it just started.
Seriously, the warm weather, the freedom of being out of school, the sun staying out until nine, crickets chirping, campouts, swimming, vacations, popsicles, FLIP FLOPS!, flowers, the beach, sun, parties, picnics, i loveeeeeeee it :]

Minus the summer reading, of course.
Just in case you cared.
I haven't been camping in forever, I wanna have a campout.
Once again, in case you cared.
Okay, bye!

Chapter Nine!

Chapter 9

Josh watched Camila as he drove them home from the hospital. She was staring out the window, tears and snot still streaming down her face, but no longer sobbing. He had held her at the hospital for a good five minutes until she stopped that. it was awful seeing her lose it like that, she normally kept her emotions under control.

"Will you watch the road?" she snapped, turning her head for the first time sice they got in the car. He took a good look at her before she turned her head again.

Her eyes and nose were bright red and puffy and the pathetic look in her eyes made him want to hold her again. She turned back and gazed out the window and he turned his attention back to the road.

After a few minutes, he heard a loud sniffling sound and the sound of her blowing her nose. Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached over and put his hand on her knee. She stiffened, then relaxed, and put her hand on his.

"Would you mind calling Guthren when we get home, to tell him?" she whispered, still staring out the window.

He nodded and said, "of course," as they pulled into Cammila's driveway. She got out of the car and went into the house, he stayed behind and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, calling Guthren.

"Yeah," Guthren answered.

"It's me, Boss."
"What's wrong with her? Because this new probie taking her place is really annoying me."
"Get used to the probie, then. She's got Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia."
There was a long, awkward silence, then Guthren yelled, "WHAT?"

"Yeah. I don't know all the technical stuff about it, but there is treatment. Google it."

"Oh my God, that's...just great. When is she starting treatment?"
"I don't know yet. Her doctor's gonna call tomorrow to discuss it;there are three different types. She didn't exactly take the news very well, I've never seen her lose control of herself like she did."
"I'll tell Director Austin. Bye."
The line went dead before Josh could even respond.

"How'd he take it?" Camila asked Josh as he entered the house.

"Angrily, as he takes everything. He'll be fine, though. Hey, not to bring up a sore subject, but....do you know anything about what you're gonna do for treatment?"
"Well, there are three types; chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and bone marrow tranplant. I don't know anything about them, though. I'd have to see...God, I don't even know who I'd have to see," she said, starting to panic.

"Relax, Marie said she'd call some time tomorrow to discuss it." He could feel his phone vibrating in his back pocket. "Be right back," he said and Camila nodded, heading towards the fridge.

The caller ID said it was Randy.

"Oh my gosh, Guthren told me about Camila and that...that is just...horrible!" she exclaimed before he could even get a word in. "Could I talk to her?"
"Look, I don't really know if she's up to it. I mean, we've both been through emotional turmoil and..."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on. 'We've both'? What exactly happened? Every detail."
"You didn't see how she took the news. She...lost control. She was shocked, then she cried. A lot. She's still a little...upset."
"Did you hug her?"

"...What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'd just like to know."
"Will you stop overanalyzing everything?"

"Will you stop avoiding the question? Did you?"

"Now is not the time, Randy. Would you like to talk to Camila, or not?"

"Yes."

"Camila, Randy would like to talk to you," Josh said and threw the phone at where she was sitting on the couch eating tacos.

"Hi...yeah...I don't know yet...yeah, tomorrow....chemo, radiation, and bone marrow transplant...yeah, very...yes," sje said, followed by a giggle. "Okay. I love you, too...I'm not sure...of course, I'll let you know....bye."

"Quite a talker, huh?" he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Look, I appreciate what you've done--seriously, I do-- but," she said, getting off the couch and walking towards him, "go home, get a shower, go back to work. I'll call one of my friends if I need anything. I have some of those, y'know. Go find Cal Valanse." She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "Thank you. So, so much," in his ear.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered, "Anytime," in her ear, and let go. He grabbed his keys and windbreaker and walked towards the door.

"Hey," Camila said, and he stopped. "Sorry I barfed in your Camaro."

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Good afternoon, Miss Jomalerta," Camila's doctor, Dr. Mininguez, greeted her. "What seems to be the problem today?"

"She's been puking her guts out since last night," Josh answered for her.

"Um, yeah, and I've had an intense headache, spells of minor dizziness, and my eyes have been hurting," Camila added. Josh looked at her in somewhat shock; he had thought it was just the vomiting.

"Like they are being strained?" Dr. Mininguez inquired.

"Yes."
"Well, I would suggest a simple twenty-four hour virus, but they eye strain is peculiar. I'll be right back," he said, then rushed out of the room.

"It can't be that bad," Josh reassured, seeing the extremely panicked look on Camila's face.

She coughed, then said, "Not that bad? Did you see the look on his face?"

At that point Dr. Mininguez entered the room, and Camila coughed again, heavier this time.

"Have you had trouble breathing?" he asked.

"Since a few moments ago," she replied.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to go to the hospital to have a few tests done," the doctor said.

Camila coughed again and nodded as the doctor excused himself and left once again.

"That's not good," Camila said. scared out of her mind.

It probably showed too, considering Josh then said, "You look like you're gonna shit yourself. Calm down."
She gave him an unpleasant look then dashed off to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She lifted the toilet seat and vomited into it. She flushed, wiped off her mouth, and sat on the floor, leaning her head against the cold wall. What could possibly be wrong with me?

"Camila, you all right?" Josh asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, she coughed, then flushed and washed her hands. She opened the door and was nose to nose with Josh. Literally.

Her heart started racing at the little contact. "Excuse you," she snapped, and he stepped out of her way.

________________________________________

About three hours later they sat in the waiting room of Rota Naval Hospital, awaiting the first round of test results.

"You should call Aimme or Guthren," Josh suggested, flipping through a three month old issue of Sports Illustrated.

"Yeah, and maybe you should call Director Austin," she retaliated, coldly.

"Ouch, harsh," Josh said, smiling, as a nurse approached them.

Camila smiled back, then coughed. When she was finally finished with her coughing fit, the nurse asked, "Could I speak with you for a moment, Miss Jomalerta? Privately?"

Camila nodded and followed the nurse--whose name tag said her name was Marie--down the hall.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, Miss," she said, looking down at the clipboard in her right hand. She sighed deeply, and then said, "You have been diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. See, this type of leukemia affects the lymphocyte cells, which normally fights infection. The bone marrow then makes too many lymphocyte cells that don't mature correctly. The lymphocyte cells overproduce and crowd out other blood cells. So you just caught a minor infection that basically exploded. There are a few different treatments; chemotherapy, radiation, and bone marrow transplant. I am so, so sorry."

Camila stared ahead blankly in complete shock. Marie was saying something in a soothing voice to her, but she could no longer hear. Cancer? Of all people, me, she thought to herself, over and over.

Marie grabbed Camila's elbow and walked her back to the waiting room. After a few minutes, Camila snapped out of her trance and Josh's face was a few centimeters from her own.

"Camila, Marie said that you would probably prefer to tell me yourself. So tell me, what's..." he started to say, but stopped, and Camila knew why. Tears had started streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. Josh looked deep in her eyes, actually looked, and engulfed her in a hug. She buried her face in his jacket and inhaled his scent. God, he smelled so good.

"Camila, please tell me what's wrong."

"I...I have...Acute...Lymphocytic...Leukemia," she sobbed, then launched into another coughing fit. He held her close again and stroked her hair. This seemed to be the only good thing about this whole situation.

"Shhh...okay...calm down, it'll be all right," he soothed as she continued to sob like a baby. "Come on, let's go."

Chapter Seven!

Chapter Seven

Aimee stopped in her tracks at the sight of the empty squad room. When she got to her desk, she picked up the phone, calling Josh's cell phone.
After four rings, the voice mail picked up. "Chinora, you better have a really good reason as to why you're not here." She left him a quick message, then called Camila's cell phone. Also being answered by voicemail, she tried her home number. Nothing.
"Where are they?" Guthren asked, entering the squad room and pointing at Camila and Josh's desks.

"I was going to ask you the same question. No answer on any of their phones," she replied.

"Well, go get 'em!" he snapped, throwing the car keys at her.

"I have no idea where Camila lives. I mean, as far as work goes, we're friends, but outside of this office, forget it," she said.

"You're a smart girl, get her address and use the GPS system!" He slammed a desk drawer shut and stormed towards the elevator.

"But, Boss, you know that thing," she yelled after him, " never works," she mutterred to herself as the elevator doors closed. She sighed, then got Camila's address off of her records.

As she was riding down the elevator to the parking garage, her cell phone rang; Chinora, finally.

"Yes, Josh?"
"Um, Camila's still barking her guts up so I'm most likely not coming in today," he said, sounding stressed.

"You know you're suppossed to call before seven, which was half an hour ago," she scolded, going back up to the squad room.

"Yeah, well, I was up until three cleaning puke out of the inside of my car. Forgive me if I overslept a little bit," he snapped.

"She puked in your Camaro? Wow, she really must've been out of it," she laughed, reaching her desk in the squad room.

"Yeah. She keeps insisting that she see a doctor, but I said to wait and see if it's a twenty-four hour thing. So if she isn't better by tomorrow..."

"I'll take over babysitting duty." At this point Guthren had entered the squad room and gave her a questioning look. She smiled at him, then turned her back and whispered into the phone, "Thanks for leaving me all alone with cranky Guthren. Ever since Director Austin arrived he's been a real sneaky..."

"Bastard?" Guthren suggested, standing behind her and scaring her half to death.

"Yeah, that about covers it," she answered, trying to get her heart beat back to normal.

"Lemme talk to him," he demanded, outstretching his hand. Aimee handed the phone over unwillingly.

"Yeah, it's me...uh huh...you better be here tomorrow or you'll be typing up cold case files from every single NCIS field office, clear?" he said, then slammed the phone shut. "What have we got on our missing Petty Officer?" he asked.

"Um, considering I just got in ten minutes ago, so nothing new, as far as I know," Aimee said, plopping down at her desk and starting up her computer. Guthren threw her a look that suggested that if he could kill her, he would've at that point.

"Excuse me, Special Agent Guthren, this is Special Agent Louis Jarod, he will be filling in for Camila while she is out," Director Austin said, accompanied by a man in his early to mid-twenties with golden blonde hair and a very muscular, attractive figure which caused Aimee to forget her name for a moment.

"Who says she won't be back tomorrow morning?" Guthren snapped, not bothering to acknowledge the new agent.

"Just a precaution. You may take the desk over there," she said, gesturing to the extra desk next to Aimee's.

"Hi," Aimee exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and extending her hand, "I'm Aimee."
"Hola, Senorita," he said, grasping her hand firmly.

"In case you haven't noticed, Jarod, we speak English around here," Guthren snapped as his phone rang. "Guthren," he answered.

"Murray's got something big," Guthren said, walking towards the elevator and gesturing for them to follow.

Friday the 13th

Happy Friday!
Yeah, I'm in that good of a mood right now.
I'm super exhausted, but today was my last full day of school this year and it's Friday! Plus, I did really good on my finals today, my cousin's coming over and my dance recital is tomorrow!
So, sorry for those of you who were expecting Chapter Seven (yeah, sure) but Heather said that all I'm posting on here is that story so I decided to post something normal.
But I don't really have much to talk about.
I think I wanna play Scene It Harry Potter Edition.
Bye!

Chapter Six!

Chapter 6

Seeing Camila looking, for lack of a better word, dead, made Josh feel awful. So naturally, he volunteered to take her home and look after her for the night at Randy's insistence, and much to Guthren's displeasure.

Now, sitting in her driveway, he was scrubbing vomit out of every crevice of the leather interior of his 1982 Camaro. As much as he cared for Camila, he couldn't possibly care for anyone this much.

Pretty sure he got the rest out, he closed the passenger side door and grabbed the bucket of soapy water, pouring its contents on Camila's lawn.

He tiptoed inside her tiny house, drying out the bucket. On his way to return it to her bathroom, he poked his head into her bedroom.

She literally looked green in the face, like she might blow up at any moment. Duh, he thought, if she's gonna blow up, she isn't gonna make it to the bathroom. He sat the bucket on her bed, taking one last careful look at her.

She had sprawled herself on her twin bed as soon as she came in contact with it, so her head was at the opposite end of her pillows. Her legs were straddled in a very uncomfortable looking position, and her arms were hanging over the sides. She had gathered some blankets as a makeshift pillow, and still had her heels and work clothes on.

He went back out into the living room, turning on her very nice plasma screen television, which he knew was a graduation gift from her parents. He found a good movie on FX, and watched it from start to finish, along with two others.

Why had he volunteered to babysit her for the night, anyway? Yes, Randy had insisted someone stay with her at all times in case it turned into something else, and of course, she is a doctor, but why had he....

His thoughts were rudely interrupted his cell phone ringing; Guthren, according to the caller ID.

"Yeah," he answered in a whisper.

"That is not a very professional way to answer your phone, Special Agent Chinora," said the director's voice.

"Uh, sorry. I was expecting Guthren, that's all. How may I help you, Director?" he asked, a little bit above a whisper this time.

"I was wondering how Camila is doing," she answered.

He got up to go check on Camila again, but was surprised to see that she was standing outside her bedroom door, shoes off, a slight smile on her face, oddly enough. "She's still sleeping, but she looks pretty green," he lied.

"Okay, tell her to give me a call on Guthren's cell when she awakes," she ordered, then the line disconnected.

"Good morning," he greeted her, "do you remember what happened?"

Refresh my memory," she mutterred, shuffling to the living room, arms crossed tightly across her chest, and plopped on the couch.

"Well, you were sick and you looked completely out of it, and you still look sick, by the way. Randy insisted someone take you home and stay with you, so I said I would. You puked in my Camaro, but it's all right. You've been asleep since we got home around sevenish," he explained.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry about your car!" she exclaimed in a hoarse voice.

"It's not just a car, Camila, it's a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro. Do you want to go back to bed?"
"No. Yes. I don't know. What time is it?" she asked, laying down on the couch, yawning.

"Three AM," he answered, glancing at the digital clock on the DVD player and sitting beside her.

"You've been up all this time?" she asked, and when he nodded, she said," Go to sleep, I'll be fine."

"Okay, but I'd like it if you fell asleep closer to the bathroom. And not where I'd planned on sleeping."

She nodded again, got up, and headed back to her bedroom. He watched her, then collapsed on the couch, exhausted.

chapter 5

Chapter 5

Camila sat at her desk, fighting exhaustion. Guthren had told her--more like ordered her--to find out everything possible about Petty Officer Valanse and Jody Mulani. She had been sitting at her desk for the past two hours, making phone call after phone call, growing extremely bored. After staring at the computer screen for the excessive amount of time, her eyes grew sore and tired. Rubbing her eyes and hanging up the phone, she noticed an intense throbbing in her temples. Glancing around, she noticed that she was the only one in the squad room, which meant no Guthren or director. She folded her arms on her desk, creating a pillow for her head. Intending to only rest her eyes for a few minutes, she fell fast asleep.

About an hour later she felt someone flicking her head.

"Unghugh," she groaned, swatting at whoever was doing this. Just five more minutes....

"Camila!" Josh shouted in her ear, causing her to smack her knee, hard, on her desk.

"Ow! Was that neccessary?" she asked, rubbing her sore knee.

"I hope you really enjoyed that nap, because the boss is not very happy with you. You don't look that great," he commented.

"Yeah, because that's what every woman wants to hear," she snapped, standing up.

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, you look sick," he said, concern actually crossing his face.

"Maybe that's why I was sleeping." She grabbed her purse and started to walk away, her mission being the women's restroom. Before she could make it there, however, she dropped her purse, its contents exploding all over the floor. Josh rushed to help her pick it all up.

"No, no, I've got it," she shooed him away.

She finished pcking up her things, walking as fast as she possibly could in high heels. She got to the bathroom just in time, dashing into the first stall, vomiting into the toilet before she could even hold her hair back. She grabbed some toilet paper, wiped off her mouth, and leaned her head against the wall.

Was it something I ate? she thought, trying to recall if she had eaten anything unusual.

Before she could complete that thought. she felt bile rise in her throat again. She leaned over the porcelain, making sure to hold her long, honey-colored hair back this time. As she was flushing the toilet, she heard the bathroom door open and the clicking of high heels on the tile floor.

"Camila?" Dr. Miranda Schiltz, more commonly known as Randy, the medical examiner asked. "Oh my God, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Camila answered, grabbing more toilet paper to wipe her mouth.

"Ew, you've got it in your hair. Are you good for now?" Randy asked.

"Yeah," Camila answered, struggling to stand due to shaky legs.

"Oh my God, you're all clammy and shaky! Here, let's wash this out." Randy led her to the sink, attempting to wash the puke out of her hair with hand soap. Camila slid out of her heels as Randy spoke to her comfortingly. Camila focused all of her attention and energy on standing, until Randy let go of the arm she had been gripping since she entered and grabbed Camila's purse and shoes. She then started steering Camila towards the bathroom door.

She let Randy take over as she let her thoughts wander. She only had a bagel for breakfast, which is what she has everyday, along with a salad and a Coke for lunch. At that point she was in the squad room, sitting at her desk, being told to put her head between her knees and breathe deeply. She obeyed, trying to listen to the conversation. When she managed to tune in, Josh said, "Come on, 'Milla, we're going home."

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Chapter 4

Okay, so I've been rereading the other chapters and I noticed about a million typos.

Sorry about that.

Chapter 4

Guthren strode down the catwalk towards the Multiple Threat Alert Center, more commly known as MTAC, where he assumed Director Austin was.

"Do you have something important to say or did you just feel like interrupting an extremely important video conference?" she asked sharply.

"I sent Chinora to the Naval Hospital two hours ago. And he's not back yet," Guthren stated simply.

Bridget gave him an are-you-seriously-doing-this-to-me look and said, "Call him."

"You think I haven't already tried that? No answer."
"Maybe he got a lead in the case and followed up on it. Trust me, he'll be back. Now leave," she demanded rudely.

He obeyed his orders, however, and decided to try calling Josh again. Finally, he answered.

"You better have a great explanation as to why your ass is not sitting at your desk finding out everything there is to know about Petty Officer Valanse and Jody Mulani!" he shouted, causing annoyed glances to be thrown his way.

"Uh, yeah. That'll be easier to explain when I get back in about five minutes," Josh answered, sounding distracted.

Deciding not to push the matter further, he hung up the phone and stomped miserably back to the squad room.

"Camila, you better have some damn good background info on Valanse!" he shouted, causing her to jump.

"Um, yeah. Full name, Calhoun James Valanse, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, parents divorced when he was seven, dad moved to Los Angeles, visited in the summer. He was on his high school wrestling team, was supposedly a star, was offerred a full athletic scholarship to Penn State University, turned it down and enlisted at eighteen. He was originally stationed in the Phillipines for a year, then Norfolk, Virginia for six months and now he's here.

"Jody Abigail Mulani was born and raised in Norfolk, which is where she met Cal. Her parents are teachers, three siblings. She went to the University of Virginia on a partial academic scholarship, majored in primary education, big surprise there, and she's currently a kindergarten teacher," Camila concluded, looking quite impressed with herself.

"That's it? I need more on Valanse! Where's Aimee?" he demanded.

"Murray's lab," she answered, returning to her desk.

Guthren got up from his own desk, storming to the elevator, where he literally ran into Josh.

"Get back in there," he scolded, joining Josh in the elevator and pressing the button for the floor of the forensics and ballistics lab. "You've got some explaining to do."

"Well, first of all, Jody Mulani is quite a talker. And a crier. She told me almost every detail about the, er, incident. Then when I asked about Cal's--did you know his real name is Calhoun?--past, she rambled and bawled and the whole nine yards. But then she told me about the bar Cal always went to and it wasn't that far away so I went and asked the bartender some questions. No one else was there, considering the hour. I think I was pretty successful." He puffed up his chest, but Guthren was not too impressed.

"Yeah?" he simply asked, as they reached the second floor.

"Bartender said he recognized him as a regular, always gets martinis or Jose Cuervo (spelling?), gave me names of people he hangs out with. I was just about to get addresses and go question..." Josh broke off as they entered the forensics and ballistics lab.

"Good job, Josh. Aimee, why are you down here?" he asked sharply.

"My fault!" Murray exclaimed from under his desk. "Ow! See, the way the blood is pooled, she was definitely thrown."

"We knew that already, thanks," Guthren mutterred, heading back out the door.

"But I have more! I found another set of fingerprints on the victim's clothes!" He strode over to the fingerprint scanner. "They're not in any database though. I've tried almost everything..."
"Well let me know when you've tried everything! Josh, Aimee, let's go!" he yelled, heading for the exit.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Or maybe he slept on the couch again," Murray mutterred, returning to the fingerprint scanner. Josh just nodded and rolled his eyes in response, following Aimee and Guthren.

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Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jody stared out her window, seeing only a parking lot. No wonder there are so many people in the psych ward, she thought, I'm gonna lose my mind here.

She closed her eyes, trying to make sense of the previous events. She heard motion by her bedside and, hoping to see a visitor, opened her eyes. Instead, she saw a nurse. She recognized as Karen.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" she asked in a bubbly voice.

"Other than mentally distressed? Peachy keen, Karen," she snapped, wanting Holly to visit more than anything. Bringing good news and her iPhone, of course.

"You could've just said 'fine'," Karen murmured, obviously intending for Jody not to hear.

She settled back into the sheets, somewhat painfully, and adjusted the bed. Finding a partially comfortable position, she shut her eyes again, trying to think about anything but Cal.

Just the name brought tears to her eyes. She remembered the contorted look of pain he wore the last time she saw him and flinched, hoping to never see that look again. The thought of seeing him at all made the tears spill over.

She let herself cry for a few minutes, not wanting to dwell so much on the bad. If Holly hadn't come over and called 911, she probably would have bled to death. For that, she was extremely thankful.

She had finally managed to get some sleep when she felt someone muss her hair and say, "Hey, Jody, it's Holly."

Excited for a visitor (he most awaited one, at that), Jody nearly bolted out of the bed. Or tried to, at least, considering all the tubes, wires, and machines she was hooked up to.

"Jeez, relax. This is NCIS Special Agent Josh Chinora," she said, gesturing towards the very attractive man also in Jody's room. "He's part of the team trying to find Cal, so he's got to question you a little bit, okay?" she asked soft and soothingly, her caring attitude reminding Jody of her mother.

Thinking of her mother automatically reminded her of home, back in her Virginia hometown. Boy, did she miss those days and that place.

"Hi, Jody," Josh said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm gonna go psycho trapped in this place. And yourself?" she asked, only out of politeness.

"Eh can't complain. Now, has Cal had any history of steroid use?" he asked, his tone going from light and conversational to all-out business. She was disappointed.

"No. I had no idea he was taking them at all," she answered.

"You didn't notice any significant behavior or physical changes?" he asked, not believing her.

"Not until last night when he came back from a weekend fishing trip," she answered. He jotted this down on a notepad.

"What exactly happened last night?" he asked, staring at her intently.

She took a deep breath and began, "I was in the kitchen, finishing his favorite meal; steak, rare and french fries. I poured two glasses of grape wine and set the table. I ehard him come in the door and went to go greet him, carrying the wine glasses in my hands. He seemed angry, so I naturally asked him what was wrong. He said he wasn't in the mood for wine, so I set the glasses on the coffee table. Then he started yelling about how I can't do anything right and I never satisfy him. He got closer and closer and backed me into the wall and then grabbed my shoulders, hard. He kept shouting about nonsense and the next thing I knew I was soaring through the air. I slammed into the wall at an awkward angle, then I blacked out."

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Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Unzipping his windbreaker, Josh took some more pictures of the unfortunate scene. The blood on the floor and wall, along with the broken glass. It looked like five-foot-tall, 105 pound Jody Mulani was picked up over the top of her boyfriend's head and thrown about twenty-two feet, colliding with a wall.

A neighbor had heard the racket and come over to see what was wrong, only to find Jody in a heap, bleeding profusely and unconcious, and Petty Officer Cal Valanse gone.

Josh looked over at Camila, who was carefully swabbing samples of the victim's blood. He smiled as she bent over again, showing off a very nice sight.

"Chinora, if you're done staring at Camila's ass, I'd like you to get the neighbor's statement," Guthren said, taking the camera out of his hand.

"Yeah, boss," he answered, while Camila stared at him, openmouthed. He gave her a charming smile and zipped up his windbreaker, stepping outside.

He could tell which was the neighbor; a short woman with long, red, curly hair, mid-twenties, very cute. She was sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, looking extremely distressed. He put on his most comforting smile and sat down to join her.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Joshua Chinora, NCIS."
"Hi," she said softly in a very frightened voice. "Do you know how she is?"

"All I know is that she's still in the Intensive Care Unit at Rota Naval Hospital, Mrs...?"
"Spillane. Well, almost Miss. My husband and I...it's not working, him being away. Divorce is almost final," she said with an attempt at a weak smile. "I'm just worried about Jody. She was one of the few women I was able to befriend on the base."

"And why is that, do you think?" he asked curiously. Come on, who couldn't love this girl? he thought to himself.

"The majority of them are much older, with kids, happily married, not wanting to have anything to do with us 'young ones'."

"Shame. So, could you tell me what you heard and saw?"

"Well, I was in the house, in the living room, watching Fried Green Tomatoes, and I heard yelling coming from their house, which was unusual. They're usually so quiet. But by that point I had muted my tv and tried to listen. Then I got up and grabbed my coat when I heard an extremely loud thump. Sp I jogged over to their house, knocked on the front door, then when no one answered, I just went in. I called Jody's name but she didn't answer, so I went into the living room and she was...and there was so much blood!" At this she started to cry. She buried her face in her hands, her whole body shaking.

"Shhh, it's okay," he said, placing an arm on her shoulders. "She's going to be fine."
"She's not the one I'm worried about. If this is what he's capable of, who knows what else he'll do," she sobbed, wiping away tears.

"Well, I've got to go down to the hospital to see what I can get out of Jody. I'll take you down too, if you like," he offered, praying his boss would agree.

"Sure. Yeah, I'd like that," she smiled again, and meant it this time. Boy, did those perfect pearly whites knock the wind out of him. He told her he'd be right back and went to find Guthren.

"All right, Chinora, let's go," Guthren shouted against a sudden burst of wind.

"You need someone to take Jody's statement, yeah?" Josh asked, crossing his fingers behind his back.

"Yeah. Go do that. Take the car, we'll ride in the truck."

Josh let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. "Right on that."
"And Josh?" he asked, stopping Josh in his tracks. "Make sure you get her number!"

Josh chuckled to himself as he reached...he didn't even know her first name. He held out a hand, helped her up and walked toward the car.

"By the way, Josh, my name's Holly," she said fiercely, climbing into the passenger seat of the Charger, leaving him standing there, his hand outstretched, stunned.

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Chapter 1

I decided to post my newest short story on here, because this one I actually hope to complete.
It's about NCIS; the agency, not the TV show, and it takes place in Spain, not the D.C./Virginia/Maryland area.

Chapter 1

Camila Jomalerta proceeded towards her cubicle with caution.

Josh was already seated at behind his desk, no doubtedly typing up old cold case files, which she could tell by the sour expression on his face. She smiled smugly, very glad she was not the one being punished.

"Feelin' a little superior there, 'Milla?" her boss, Troy Guthren asked. "Next smirk I see on that pretty little face of yours and you're doing the same thing he is, clear?"
"Yes, boss," she replied, plopping her purse and a cup of Starbucks coffee on her desk.

"Thought you could use this, Josh," she said, placing a Frappuccino (spelling?) on his desk.

"Chick drink," he muttered, twisting off the cap.

"What was that, Joshua?" she asked slyly, removing her wool, dark brown, knee-length coat.

"Thanks, 'Milla," he snapped.

"For the last time, would you people stop calling me 'Milla!" she yelled, just as Aimee skipped into the squad room.

"Gooooooooood morning, wonderful co-workers!"she exclaimed in her heavy French accent.

"Bonjour, Mademoisselle. Comment la France etait-il?" Josh asked, in French.

"How was France?" Guthren muttered to Camila. He was previously stationed in France in an undercover mission for almost 2 years, so he learned to speak and translate French fluently.

"Ah, pratiquer votre Francais, je vois?" Aimee asked Joshua, still in French.

"Practicing your French, I see?" Guthren translated again.

"Heh?" Josh askedd, his eyebrows rising in confusion.

"Practicando su Frances, yo veo?" Camila translated, now in Spanish, a language she and almost all the other agents stationed in Rota were fluent in. Almost all the agents, except for Guthren.

"No, me tomo dos semanas para memorizar justo eso," Josh answered, still facing Aimee.

"It took him two weeks to memorize that phrase," Camila translated for Guthren. He nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Aimee and Josh.

"Pero he estado practicando mi Espanol," Aimee replied slyly with a smirk.

"But she's been practicing her Spanish," Camila opened her mouth to say, but the director translated for her.

"If everyone is done practicing foreign languages, we've got an issue at the Rota Naval Base," Bridget Austin snapped.

"And what do you mean by 'situation'?" Guthren asked.

"Missing Petty Officer who is said to be very violent."
"Okay...?" He walked back to his desk, opened his bottom left drawer and attached his holster and gun, and rejoined his team in the center of the room.

"He is probably on various steroids and before he ran off he got into a dispute with his girlfriend and picked her up and literally threw her across the room," Director Austin said in one breath.

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