Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs arrived at his desk at 0630 ready to finish the paperwork for the case that his team had just wrapped up. The office was still quiet and empty, and he could work as quickly and quietly as possible. He needed to take care of the final details so that they could just put it behind them. The physical and emotional toll he and his team had endured for the last six weeks had left them all exhausted. It wasn't very often that he wished for a slow workweek, but they all needed one desperately. He sent off the final documents when his cell phone rang.

He sighed as he reached for his phone, knowing that getting a call before 0700 that something would destroy his wish. "Gibbs."

"Good morning Leroy. How are you today?"

Something in between a wince and a smile broke out on his face when he heard the familiar voice. "Hetty Lange, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need a favor, one that will leave me owing you quite a large debt."

"I'm listening."

"Jenny trusted you more than any other person on this Earth. I need someone I can trust to escort a very important person from London, to our office here."

He still felt the air rush out of him when somebody mentioned Jenny. He felt a faint ache in his gut, but he pushed it down. His dry throat dry making his voice rougher. "Why not send G. or one of the others on your own team?"

"Because I haven't told them this person is arriving. The mission is sensitive and I'm not authorized to read them in until you get here."

"Am I allowed to know who this person is?"

"I will send you the information you need when you've arrived in London."

Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. "What do I tell Vance?"

"I've already taken care of that, and you have use of the Gulf Stream Jet."

"If it was anyone else but you Hetty..."

"I know. I thank you for this, and you just call me whenever you need to cash in. No questions asked."

"Deal. When do I leave?"

"Tonight, 2330."

"Okay then, let me square away my team and I'll see you soon."

"Thank you again Leroy."

"Hetty isn't it about time for you to be in bed? It's 0330 there."

"Indeed. It's fortunate that at this time in my life sleep is not as big of a necessity."

"Sweet dreams, Hetty."

"Have a good day Leroy."

The click and dial tone ended the conversation just as his team began to file in. As usual, Tony broke quiet of the morning. "Hey Boss, phone calls already? Did you leave a date wanting more?"

In a way, Gibbs welcomed the younger man's often inappropriate and juvenile sense of humor. It meant that things would get back to normal, even after the particularly horrific case they had just solved. Still, he made sure that his hand had the same force of impact as usual when it made contact.

"Got it Boss!" Tony yelped.

Later that night, Gibbs packed a small bag of essentials together for his trip. He still couldn't quite work out why Hetty had chosen him for this escort duty. The truth was he had only met her, a handful of times. Jenny had known Hetty all of her life, and had dragged him to one of Hetty's houses shortly after they first became partners, before Paris and the start of their relationship as lovers. Only in his deepest thoughts would he ever admit that it had been almost as nerve-wracking as meeting Shannon's parents for the first time.

If Hetty needed his help, he was very glad to give it. He just hated being in the dark about things. Suddenly, his cell buzzed with a text message. He reached across to the table next to his bed and picked it up. "Leroy, I forgot to ask you, how is your Russian?"

He couldn't help but chuckle. Even in a text Hetty, had to go straight for a man's pride. "Herosho." He replied, knowing she would understand that he wasn't too rusty.

"Good. You'll need it. Your flight leaves in an hour. Do svidaniya."

The drive was mercifully quick, and traveling by a private jet eliminated airport hassle. When he boarded the plane he saw one other armed agent, but his gut screamed that this was something huge. He was glad he had taken two extra knives and another backup gun. One could never be too prepared in an unknown situation. For the moment, he sat back to get some sleep. It was a long flight.

His eyes snapped open when his phone started buzzing and vibrating, jerking him out of a rare dreamless sleep. Although he desperately needed some coffee, he knew better than to keep Hetty waiting. "Good Morning Leroy. A nice lady is going to come and give you a cup of strong coffee, and a clean and secure cell phone. Turn yours off and thank Louise kindly."

A moment later, a pretty blond appeared at his side. "Good morning agent Gibbs. We'll be landing in five minutes. Here is your new phone, which you will need to use until you've arrived safely, and your morning coffee. Would you like something to eat, a bagel, or a muffin, perhaps?"

"Nope, this is good. Thanks Louise." he replied with a wry smile.

A bright smile lit up the young woman's face. "You're welcome agent Gibbs, and I'll be sure to let Hetty know you are a perfect gentleman."

Something about the young woman was infectious; an all-too-rare, full-blown smile appeared on his face. "You do that, I need all the favor I can get."

"You can count on me," she replied and quietly walked away.

Gibbs turned on his phone and immediately a message popped up. "It's a good thing you don't smile like that too often Leroy. If you did, every woman you met would be blushing and flustered. I don't think poor Louise will be able to focus the rest of the day."

Gibbs scoffed, but he did have a small measure of pride that he wasn't too old to still be slightly attractive to pretty girls. Despite what most people (including his own team) thought, he had the same desires and vanities as ordinary men. Before he could reply, another message popped up.

"Don't scoff Leroy. Jenny was quite correct when she said your charm, (when you choose to use it) is quite over powering; but let's get back to the matter at hand. The plane should be landing right at this very minute..."

Sure enough, he felt a slight bump as the plane touched down. "Okay Hetty, enough stalling. How will I know who I'm babysitting?"

"She will find you. She will be wearing a gray dress, a red hat, and she will call you Misha. Please Leroy, nothing about this assignment is comparable to babysitting. Mind your manners."

"I'll do my best Hetty. What else do I need to know?"

"She will take care of that."

He exited the plane and began to look around for a red hat. He hated London in winter; cold and foggy, its grayness oppressed him. As he approached the private lounge, he caught a quick glimpse of a pair of red high heels. Four wives had taught him that women usually coordinated their footwear with their hats, so he found a spot to get a better view of the woman.

He finally spotted a young woman in a gray dress and a red hat, probably about Abby's age. Even though she sat at a table with a cup of tea, he could see her very long legs under the table, hinting that she was tall. She had her hair pulled up under her wide brim hat but the few visible strands were an extremely dark red. Her head was down, so he could not get a good look at her face yet, but the one feature that jumped out at him was her skin.

She was extremely fair, even more so than Abby, yet she did not look sickly. From what little he could see, she had no freckles, nor marks of any kind, something very rare for redheads. He kept out of her line of sight for about ten minutes, and then decided that he needed another cup of coffee. Getting a good cup of coffee in London was nearly impossible but he was desperate.

Before he could place his order, a soft, delicate Russian voice filled his ears. "Misha! Oh Misha, how I've missed you."

He turned around and it took every ounce of his training and control not to show his ire at this girl for sneaking up on him, especially in those shoes! She stepped forward, kissing him on the cheeks. He knew she was expecting him to do the same, and he didn't disappoint her. When he stepped back, he replied in fluent Russian, "I'm here now. I've missed you too."

"When are we going to go home?"

"We can leave now, if you want."

"Yes, it will be so good to see mama again."

"Let's get you home little one."

He wrapped his arm around her and they turned toward the plane. She leaned into his side as closely as possible, and turned her face to whisper into his ear. "Thank you so much for coming for me."

"Of course little one." He replied in English for the benefit of the people passing by, lest they thought he was an old man with a Russian prostitute.