A/N: Just saw the season premiere. Great ep, can't wait for more.
SPOILERS FOR SEASON 6 PREMIERE
It had been easy at first, throwing herself into the work.
So much time spent away, so much to catch up on.
No time to reflect.
It crept up slowly.
One of her first assignments had required mountains of computer work, and a back corner of her mind wished for McGee.
After a day of everything going spectacularly wrong in a way that cost good men their lives, she found herself wishing for one of Abby's hugs.
Gibbs she did not miss as much, not at first, but only because he was in the back of her mind all the time, telling her what she had done well, what she should do differently, better.
Her fellow officers worked efficiently, quietly. No chatter, no stories, and she found herself wishing for Ducky to fill the silence.
She tried not to think of Tony. It hurt.
She had once read that home was where your family was. Now, here with her father, she wondered. This was her homeland, the place of her birth, of her people. And she had never felt more alien.
When Gibbs called, it was all she could do not to jump for joy. The happiness was short lived, but it was more than she had had in weeks.
Her father told her of her change in assignment. She took it formally, then said goodbye to him as a daughter. They were always separate with him, work and family.
She got off the elevator, all but running into Abby's waiting arms. McGee stood back grinning. Gibbs hugged her as well. Gibbs, who was always Gibbs, not sometimes Director and other times Father.
This was her family. She was home at last