CJ and Gibbs spent the evening laying on the couch watching tv together. Gibbs rubbing CJ's hair as she lay in his lap falling asleep as the night got later. He hated having to have to punish his niece but felt a sense of duty to perform his role as guardian while her parents were out of town. And because they traveled regularly this duty fell to him quite often.

CJ was a good kid; she had a lovely mix of book smarts, street smarts and common sense. All three in one person was a rarity… but it lead to her finding herself in trouble more often than the average little girl. The book smarts led to boredom at school and therefore more time to think up pranks and mischief. The street smarts allowed her to pull off many of the pranks without being caught and helping with ideas. The common sense only seemed to come into play when she did get caught; she would be able to read the situation well to figure out how she should behave to minimize the punishment meted out by the adult standing in front of her.

Until this evening he had never had to do more than land a few hard swats on her backside; why was he the one around when she screwed up big time. Hopefully after tonight CJ will think before she acts and make sure she stays honest.

At 10 pm Gibbs carried her up to the guestroom and tucked her in before heading down to his basement to have a drink of bourbon while he worked on his boat.

CJ woke at 7 am not having had a very restful night's sleep owing to the fact she was very sore. Not only did her ass still hurt but every muscle in her body ached from being so tense and gritting her teeth. She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower in hopes of facing the day feeling a little better than she did right now.

When she arrived in the kitchen Gibbs was already there drinking a coffee. She went about her morning routine of squeezing orange juice and making oatmeal. She may have only been 11 but with parents away a lot and Gibbs responsible for her, she learned early how to make many different meals and look after most of her needs. She ate standing up leaning forward on the counter across from where her Uncle was leaning watching her every move. She only looked at him from the top of her eyes as her head was tipped forward to eat. She knew he wasn't angry anymore, and she had stayed out of trouble all night, but yet he seemed to be watching her. She finished eating her breakfast and smiled sweetly as she cleaned up her dishes. Gibbs swatted her gently as she walked past him, and she winced as it landed squarely on her backside. "Can you stay out of trouble today Caitlyn Jennifer?" Hearing her full name she mockingly stood at attention and saluted answering "Of course I can Gibbs, can you?"

CJ generally walked to school with Steven when she was at home but from this location she had to take the city bus or get a ride. She decided the bus would allow her to stand for the entire trip, if Gibbs drove she'd have an extra 20 minutes of sitting and she was already looking forward to 6 hours in a school desk.

She arrived to the school yard to find Steven pacing by the swings. "Why are you late?"

"I wanted to take the bus this morning, what's up with you?"

"I couldn't get a hold of you last night… I was worried that maybe your uncle did ACTUALLY kill you" he laughed calming down in moments right front of her eyes.

Steven and CJ hung around the school yard recalling all the events of the previous evening until the bell rang.

As the students filed into the class CJ hung back so that she was the last one in. The longer she didn't have to sit in her desk the better off her ass would be. As things came to order CJ took her seat within the first 30 seconds it was evident that sitting for 6 hours was not going to even be a possibility. She shifted uncomfortably for several minutes before she knocked her chair over. The loud clatter startled the entire class including CJ herself. Mr. Richardson simply looked over his glasses and continued working at his desk.

Lessons continued and the day progressed pretty much as a day normally would. The only difference was the clatter of CJ's chair, which fell for the third time just before lunch. Mr. Richardson approached CJ and asked if she could stay back for a few minutes. A look of panic crossed her face until she noticed the sympathetic look on his face.

For the third time in as many days CJ stayed in her seat as the room emptied, but for the first time she wasn't worried about the outcome.

"CJ you seem to be …. uncomfortable in your desk …. "

Embarrassed as she understood he knew what happened at home the night before she looked at the floor "Un uh"

"You are welcome to use the table at the back of the classroom for the rest of the day if you think that will be easier to concentrate on your school work rather than your chair."

Looking up quickly with a smile she nodded yes.

"Go catch up with Steven for lunch"

"Thanks Mr. Richardson, I really appreciate it" she yelled over her shoulder as ran out of the classroom with her lunch.

The afternoon went by much faster than the morning and there was no clanging of chairs falling over. CJ enjoyed being at the back table as she could stand to do her work and it allowed for more freedom of movement while she worked. Maybe she could use this as her permanent place in the classroom. At the end of the day, CJ hung back until once again she was alone with Mr. Richardson. She wanted to thank him again for letting her use the table instead of her desk, not only because she really did appreciate it but she really did want to make this her permanent location.

"CJ, would you mind if I gave you a bit of advice?"

"Nope"

"Nope you don't want the advice, or Nope you don't mind?"

"Nope I don't mind"

"You know that you wouldn't get into so much trouble if you just didn't talk back, teachers and staff don't have patience for that sort of thing."

"I see" CJ huffed.

"You don't seem to agree with me"

"Nope… although I agree to you that there are a few instances that I do talk back… most of the time I feel that teachers and staff misconstrue the conversations…

"Really"

"I blame it on the fact that I'm an only child and spend all my time not at school alone or with adults … no one in my family thinks I talk back… "she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Other than Steven I really don't like being around kids… they don't get me… and I don't get them… I feel better in a group of adults… I understand them better… even if they don't understand me… "

Smiling and nodding Mr. Richardson continued " Well CJ you aren't a stupid kid and I think you can tell the difference between what is acceptable here at school and what you can get away with at home. And might I suggest that your family dynamics are a little different. "

"Ya think"

"Well … I've never see an uncle so involved with one of my student's …. care"

"Then you'll really think things are different when I tell you he isn't even my uncle… he isn't really related at all… he's my parent's old boss… when you say that out loud it sounds stranger than it actually feels"

"How so"

"Uncle Gibbs became my parent's surrogate father from years and years of working with them because their families are …. sucky…. And Gibbs kinda looked after them… they were adults but … without families… I don't know it's hard for an outsider to get it… "

"You're ok with 'your family'?"

"Looking around the table at Thanksgiving might be a little different than most families but generally it's pretty good… conversation tends to be about the latest body, how it got whacked and who whacked it… which probably doesn't happen in many homes…. but realistically my only problem is I have too many people making sure I don't get into trouble… and those people all have interrogation or forensic experience so… it really does put a damper on the fun"

Even though her explanation was lighthearted and she continued to smile through the entire conversation William Richardson felt she wasn't telling the whole story.