Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS...its too hot outside to come up with anything witty.


Author's Note: I know, I'm taking a risk with this one because there are a lot of people who really don't like this character. I'll admit, I'm still figuring him out and not entirely sure about him, but I've certainly warmed up to him more than I thought I would. However, this chapter is incredibly short. Seriously, its a tiny little chapter, so surely you can suffer through that much Vance.


Main Character: Leon Vance


As much as he loved his new job, there were times when Leon Vance hated it twice as much. This was one of those times. He and his kids had been planning their Fathers' Day outing all month. He was going to take them to the air and space museum to see a movie in the IMAX theater and generally play tourist in their new hometown.

Then his job came up, like these things tend to do, and he had no choice but to rush to pack and board a flight to Los Angeles. He had tried to convince them to go without him, but they pointed out that it was pointless to try and celebrate Fathers' Day when their father was on the other side of the continent. He had smiled and promised to make it up to them when he returned. He told them to be good for their mother and hugged them both goodbye. He kissed his wife and hurried away; it wouldn't look good if the director of NCIS was late on his own plane.

He didn't even have time to unpack his suitcase before he got wrapped up in the trouble-of-the-day at the ever-busy L.A. field office. He ended up, much to his displeasure, working through the night and, when everything finally calmed down at 6 a.m., he got to go to his hotel room.

He threw his suitcase down on the bead and opened it, ready to finally get some sleep, but there was something sitting on top of his belongings. On top of his clothes sat a folded sheet of white paper. He picked it up and opened it.

'Happy Fathers' Day, Dad. I love you, Lily.'

'Happy Fathers' Day. Stay safe, Dad. Love, Jared.'

He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the sheet of paper with a smile, then pulled out his cell phone and made a call, "Hey, Jackie, are the kids awake yet?"


A.N.: My brother's letting his cheerleader show as he tries to strike sexy poses to Hungry Like The Wolf...gosh, its awful.

You know what, Tuesdays must be good TV magnets or something, because I watched Memphis Beat last night and loved it...part of that love is because they're one episode in and they've already acknowledged Arkansas three times as much as The Weather Channel when they're showing radar images of the southeast. Which is sad, because all Memphis Beat did is show the 'Welcome to Arkansas' sign from three different angles as Dwight and the police crossed the DeSoto bridge chasing the bad guy. Southern Missouri and Northern Texas? Really, Weather Channel? Can't see that funny shaped state and its 2 million people in between Missouri and Texas? Lamesauce.