Here's the 20th story in my series. If you haven't read the other stories, then I advise you to not proceed until you do. This is a series. It runs in sequence. To understand certain things (especially where Jamie came from), it's best to just start at the beginning. This series is kind of like my very own NCIS season 4. As of this point, the series consists of: story 1 A Link to the Past (comes in 3 parts)… story 2 Wrong Place, Wrong Time… story 3 Second Job… story 4 Daughters… story 5 A Personal Vendetta… story 6 Bless the Children… story 7 Eyes of the Condemned… story 8 Disturbing Affection… story 9 No Man Left Behind (story that introduces Chioke; aka Kid)… story 10 Finger Swap… story 11 Imperfect Heist… story 12 The Color of Skin… story 13 Death to the Jedi… story 14 Brotherly Love… story 15 For the Love of a Child… story 16 Devil's Playground… story 17 Forced Alliance… story 18 Firing up the Screws… story 19 Close to Home… story 20 Last Place on Earth (current story). Hope you enjoy it.

Author's Note: The following story is its own case file story, as every story in this series is, but will continue storylines from the previous story "Close to Home". You don't have to read the previous story if you don't want to. But don't be confused by certain things, especially in regards to Julianna. To understand Gibbs' decision in regards to Julianna, you'd really have to read "Close to Home'.

Monday

Chapter 1

Tony arrives at NCIS Headquarters after dropping Chioke off at school. He exits onto the third floor and walks into the bullpen. A slight sadness sets upon him as he thinks about Chioke's doctor appointment which is set for later in the week. The doctor's appointment is the one which may determine whether or not Chioke's voice can be fixed. Tony is tossed on the matter. He's always wanted to hear Chioke's voice. But he thinks Chioke's decision in wanting a doctor to fix him isn't for the right reasons; being made fun of by children who don't understand his situation. Tony loves him just the way he is right now. Tony's biggest concern, his worry, is that if Chioke's voice is restored, how it will affect their relationship. Change is what Tony fears the most when it comes to the thoughts of the father/son best friend relationship.

A crumbled-up piece of paper hits Tony on the head. He snaps out of his little trance, looks up and across the bullpen at Ziva.

"What?" He wondered.

"I've said good morning several times already." Ziva said. There's a brief moment of silence. "McGee is scared."

"Oh really?!" Tony's attention draws to the side; toward McGee.

"It's not that I'm scared." McGee said.

"It's understandable. The tooth fairy can be very scary." Tony stated. "Whatever you do, don't peek at her as she's taking the teeth from under your pillow. If you do, she'll be very vengeful against you."

"I have all my adult teeth, Tony." McGee said as he rolls his eyes slightly. "And let me guess, you're talking about a movie."

"Darkness Falls…" Tony takes a second to recall the movie. "Emma Caulfield, who has very sexy legs and is kind of cute, plays Caitlyn Greene…"

"Ahem!" Jamie tries to grab her husband's attention.

"Umm… I mean…" Tony tries to think of what to say as Jamie walks into view. "Not that I actually think she's cute, or that I even noticed. Not that I even really looked at her before… Or her legs… Never actually noticed those either… I just don't bother looking at any other woman other than…"

"You enjoy digging holes, don't you?" Jamie asked as she gives Tony a quick kiss on the lips. After kissing her husband, she looks in McGee's direction. "McGee's worried because…"

"It's already been determined he's scared." Tony commented. He receives a smack on the back of the head from Jamie.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by this man now grabbing my ass…" She turns around and glares at Tony. He looks the other way and pretends to be innocent as if he didn't do it. Jamie backs away out of Tony's reach. She approaches McGee's desk. "You're going to do fine with the interview, Tim. Just be yourself."

"He's scared of a social worker?!" Tony starts laughing.

"The social worker is the one who will be determining who gets to adopt Julianna." Gibbs stated as he enters into the bullpen. He approaches McGee's desk where his daughter is sitting on the edge. He kisses Jamie on the forehead and walks across the bullpen to his own desk. "Your interview is tomorrow, DiNozzo."

"Wait…" Tony said as he was unaware of having to be interviewed by the social worker. Though, he should've realized it since both Ziva and McGee have interviews setup. "Why do I have to be interviewed? I'm not trying to adopt her."

"But I am." Gibbs said. He walks out of the bullpen and up the back stairs; he's heading to the Director's office.

"Oh no…" Tony said in a slightly scared, yet concerned tone.

"Tony's scared of a social worker." Jamie laughed.

"Now I know why McGeek is scared."

"You're going to have to watch what you say to the social worker, Tony." Ziva said.

"What about McGeek?!"

"Your track record of saying stupid things is rather long." Ziva stated. "McGee isn't the one to be worried about."

"Thank you." McGee thanked her because he doesn't feel as much pressure on him anymore.

"Are you worried about my interview?" Tony asked as he looks at his wife for support.

"Umm…" Jamie hesitates as she wasn't expecting to be put on the spot like this.

"Oh my God! You are."

"Maybe you can slip into a coma until the adoption process is over." Jamie said.

"Don't even think about laughing, Probie."

"I didn't." McGee turns his head away and tries to refrain from laughing.

With the knowledge of knowing that Gibbs is trying to adopt Julianna Sullivan, the team is a bit on edge with worrying about their interviews. Even Ziva is worried, though it doesn't show. The adoption process for Julianna is more stringent because it's going through the FBI. Fornell is personally overseeing Julianna's adoption process. But in the end, it's the social worker who decides which of the five candidates is best suited for the needs of the eight year old girl. So the team worries about the interviews because how they answer and everything they say will count.

Gibbs enters into MTAC.

"I've been waiting for the past ten minutes for you to arrive, Special Agent Gibbs." Lieutenant Commander Coleman stated in a slightly annoyed tone of voice from having to wait. "The SecNav doesn't appreciate waiting."

"I could've been on time, but I needed coffee." Gibbs said as he sips the coffee.

"You enjoy getting on my nerves, don't you?"

"It must be very easy to get on your nerves because I don't even try."

"Or maybe you just have that effect on people, Agent Gibbs."

"What's the urgent matter?"

"The SecNav has recently come across Intel of the utmost importance. The Intel is from a questionable source. It needs to be verified. You need to question a person to collaborate the Intel we have."

"The SecNav wouldn't be asking me to question a person if they knew where the person is located."

"We know where the person is located, Agent Gibbs."

"Then why don't you send one of your people to question the person."

"Are you familiar with the prison labeled as; The Last Place on Earth?"

"I've heard rumors."

"The government denies its existence. There's no real proof of the existence of the prison because the government protects it. But it's where the person needed for questioning is located. The prison is rumored to operate outside of legal and moral obligation, Agent Gibbs. The prison houses some of the most treacherous people to ever walk in this country. Convicts are sent there to forget about them. There's no taking a person out. No visitation. Not even a federal order will get you in to question a person because the prison doesn't exist."

"I get the point. No contact with the outside world." Gibbs said. "So how am I supposed to get the Intel you need?"

"You'll be undercover. The person we're looking to question is Lewis Matheson. He was a Navy SEAL. The man is known to love movies. Movies may be the way of getting him to talk. Obviously, it's Agent DiNozzo I'm speaking of as being the possible key to getting close to Lewis. Agent DiNozzo will be transferred into the prison as a convict. And you'll be transferred in as a guard. You won't have much time before the Warden figures out who both of you truly are. This device…" She holds up a very small, thin device for Gibbs to see. "…Will be implanted beneath your skin. By pressing on it, it sends a signal to your evac team. The evac team will be on twenty-four/seven wait on your signal. They'll arrive via two Blackhawk helicopters to evacuate you and DiNozzo from the prison at any given time. Before they arrive, they'll know the prison schematics like the back of their hands. Outside surveillance of the prison has already been established. You'll have three days before the evac team arrives without the signal. But we need Lewis' collaboration on the Intel."

"Wow… The SecNav is going through a lot of trouble for information. What does this pertain to? It's obviously very important to the SecNav. And don't give me any classified bullshit because it's my life and DiNozzo's which are on the line here."

"This pertains to Operation: Thunderbolt. Lewis Matheson is the only surviving member of an elite SEAL team which may have been compromised; given up to the enemy during their mission. The mission was to retrieve a valuable target. The team was slaughtered for what they or one of them may have possibly known; what they may have found out while in enemy territory. The thing is, we don't exactly know. Until the questionable Intel we received is collaborated, the SecNav will not continue to venture into an investigation."

"When the Navy won't venture into an official investigation with questionable Intel, that means the subject is high ranking."

"The person or persons the Intel pertains to is need-to-know. And right now, you don't need to know, Agent Gibbs. The SecNav needs one piece of solid evidence to proceed into an official investigation. And Lewis Matheson may be the only person who can provide it."

Gibbs and Lieutenant Commander Coleman continue to speak about the mission for a couple more minutes. Commander Coleman gives Gibbs as much detailed information as she's allowed. She gives him detailed information on a variety of things; evacuation plan and procedure, the two identities both him and DiNozzo will use, and other Intel which will help the mission succeed.

"I'll hand deliver files on Lewis Matheson, the prison Warden and Operation Thunderbolt later today." Lieutenant Commander Coleman stated as the conversation is winding down to a conclusion. "I'll also deliver detailed files on the undercover identities both you and Agent DiNozzo will use. Study the identities. Be the identities. And good luck, Agent Gibbs."

The transmission is terminated. Before leaving MTAC, Gibbs sits down on one of the chairs. He thinks about the undercover work and how dangerous is it. This undercover work has come about at the worst possible time, especially when he's trying to adopt Julianna. The concern about how his leaving will look to the social worker is what worries him. Gibbs wants nothing more in the world than to be awarded custody of Julianna, but this undercover work may severely hinder his chances. The thought of getting Lieutenant Commander Coleman back on the line and telling her to find a replacement for him crosses his mind. But leaving his son-in-law Tony in the care of a different agent, especially in The Last Place on Earth, isn't an option. For Jamie's sake, there's no way Gibbs cannot be with Tony on this one. The only way to protect Tony is to be there with him.

Gibbs takes a deep breath, stands up and leaves MTAC. He approaches the edge and looks down at Tony and Jamie who are at Tony's desk poking at each other. A smile stretches across his face as he watches the two of them act like children. The smile is quickly subsided by the thoughts of having even less of a chance at possibly being awarded custody of Julianna due to this undercover work. But there's no choice. Tony is the best person to get Lewis to talk.

While standing at the edge outside of MTAC, Gibbs looks down at his left hand. The wedding band Shannon gave him on their wedding day is still around his ring finger. He rotates the wedding band around his ring finger as he thinks of his one true love. Since the previous week of protecting Julianna from the people who wanted to kill her, he hasn't heard from Shannon again. Her spirit detached from the situation because Gibbs did what she wanted him to do; protect Julianna and to remember their lives together. Gibbs will never forget that week. And will never tell anyone about it; about what he felt, went through, remembered and how Shannon's spirit actually was there. In the same week, he finally put his five-year-old sister Kelly to rest as well. Since putting his sister Kelly to rest, the nightmares about her death have stopped completely. His guilt about not being able to save her from falling off that bridge has disappeared. Such an emotional week is something Gibbs will never forget; in regards to both Shannon and Kelly. But life must move on for him.

He finally walks down the stairs and eventually walks beside the windows.

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs tries to get Tony's attention. "Take your hands off my daughter and get over here."

Tony complies. Tony is made aware that the two of them have an undercover mission to prepare for. He's more than happy to do this undercover work because it's getting him out of the social worker interview.

Later in the day, Lieutenant Commander Coleman arrives with the files for Gibbs.

As Gibbs flips through the file for Operation Thunderbolt, the majority of it is blacked out, thus, making it practically useless. Whatever Operation Thunderbolt is, and whoever the target was, Lewis Matheson is the only link to finding out who compromised the mission.

He flips through Lewis Matheson's file. As he reads about Lewis Matheson and how, after the ordeal with what happened to his team, he was honorably discharged. Three weeks into civilian life, he was incarcerated to the worst prison ever. The crime seems unbelievable to Gibbs. A thought crosses his mind.

Lewis Matheson was famed in order to keep him silent. And what better way to get rid of a person without killing them, than to make sure they're incarcerated in The Last Place on Earth. A prison where the only way a convict ever returns is in a body bag. Lewis Matheson is there to be forgotten and never acquired again. Whatever Operation Thunderbolt was, someone went to great lengths to keep something under the radar from the Navy. An innocent man may be incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit. And before that, the SEAL team was setup to be taken care of; luckily leaving one survivor, Lewis Matheson.

The mission hinders on Gibbs and Tony's successful contact with Lewis Matheson. But mainly hinders on Tony's successful extraction of information to collaborate the recently acquired, yet, questionable Intel. The members of Lewis' SEAL team deserve justice for the treacherous act which took their lives six years ago.

Gibbs goes to the hospital to see Julianna and to let her know he'll be gone for a couple days on an important assignment.