It was nearly 9 p.m. when Callen, Sam, Kensie, and Deeks stepped off the elevator and into the bullpen. The flight had been uneventful, but Callen's mind had been plagued with thoughts of Beth the entire time. It didn't seem real that she was gone; it didn't seem fair. She'd been such a beautiful person, inside and out…

Then, there was this daughter of hers. The girl was an orphan now, technically. Callen had no doubt that Beth's family would step up and care for Evie – the few times she'd spoken of her parents, she'd sung their praises – that little girl's life would never be the same. Callen understood what it was like to grow up without parents.

The lights were dimmed, the large room nearly empty save a man with salt and pepper hair and a commanding presence. Fortunately for Callen, he was just the man they were looking for.

"Jethro!"

Callen strode forward, shaking the older man's hand. He enjoyed the rare opportunity to work with his old friend, though he had to admit the circumstances could have been a lot better. The Washington office was a stark contrast to the L.A. field office, with the striking orange walls and almost institutional feel, but Callen felt as at home there as he did back in L.A.

"Callen, good to see you," Gibbs replied with that half-smile/half-smirk of his before nodding to acknowledge the rest of Callen's team. "Wish the circumstances were different. You knew Agent Mitchell, didn't you?"

"It's been over a decade, but yeah," Callen confirmed.

Gibbs furrowed his brow at the admission. "Wait, I thought you knew her daughter too."

Callen shook his head. "Never met her. I didn't even know Beth had a daughter until today."

His previous assessment – because Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't one to simply assume anything – proven untrue, he wondered what was amiss. It made no sense to fly a team cross-country for a mission that any of the local teams were more than capable of working. Why else would Callen's team have been brought in? "I figured that was why they brought your team out here to look for Evie."

Callen had wondered why his team had been selected since the moment they'd received the assignment. He was more than willing to help find his old friend's child, determined even at this point, but with dozens of teams within 500 miles of D.C. Callen couldn't fathom why anyone thought his team was the answer. "I have no idea why they sent us. Hetty was tightlipped about the whole assignment, but knowing her, she has some ulterior motive. I doubt the order came from SecNav himself, not with the numerous teams here at the Navy Yard."

Gibbs' mouth turned up in a half grin. "Well, I'm not complaining. Let's head up to MTAC; we'll fill your team in on what we know so far. With any luck, it'll help you find Evie."

Evie was up and several miles away from Claire's house before sunrise the next morning. She was tired and cold, having been unable to sleep well in her fear, and her stomach cramped from the lack of food, but she couldn't be at her friend's house when the sky grew light once more. It was too much of a risk. She'd have to keep going. Evie had no idea what she was going to do or where she'd go. She could find a way to go to Fredericksburg to find her grandparents, but that would require money, and what if the men who'd hurt her mom found her at her grandparents' house? She didn't want them to get hurt because of her. She didn't trust going to the police, not that she could verbalize her reasons for the distrust.

Her mom had wanted her to find an NCIS agent and ask for a particular agent. Evie had no idea where the NCIS agents worked, but there had to be a base around there somewhere. She trusted military personnel more than she did the local law enforcement officers. She'd have to get a map, and probably take several buses, to get to whichever one was closest.

Whatever she did, though, Evie knew she needed money, and she had to find something to eat. Without any experience in pickpocketing – not that Evie had any desire to steal, no matter the circumstances – the only place she could possibly find the funds she needed was back at home. Of course there was no guarantee she'd be able to get into her house. She'd have to find a way to sneak in without being seen, and that was assuming that no one was lingering.

She kept her hoodie pulled over her head, hands in her pockets, as she walked, choosing the least visible routes. Having lived in Annandale most of her life, she knew her way around well enough. She could keep to wooded areas and secluded paths. The seclusion made her journey all the more terrifying, not knowing whether someone might jump out at her at any given moment, but she still had the gun in her pocket. It was her only line of defense between her and anyone intent on hurting her.

Evie reached the edge of the woods behind her house just after 9 a.m. There was no sign of anyone milling about in the yard, nor could she see any lights coming from inside the house. Yellow crime scene tape stretched across the exterior of the house, so Evie knew the cops had already been there. Hopefully, they weren't still there. Moving as silently as possible, she crept across the yard, her eyes constantly darting back and forth, watching for any hidden dangers.

The inside looked, for the most part, just as it had that morning. Her mother was no longer lying near the base of the stairs, of course, but the blood stains were there, reminding Evie of the horrors she'd seen that morning. The house was eerily silent.

It took all of her strength not to curl up there in the middle of the floor and cry. Instead, Evie carefully climbed the stairs, heading straight for the master bedroom. There was a box there where her mom had kept a small stash of cash. She'd called it her 'rainy day fund.' Evie wasn't sure why her mom had kept so much cash in the house when she had a bank account and several credit cards, but at that moment she was glad for it.

The ten-year-old had just removed the lid from the box when she heard something coming up the stairs. Realizing there wasn't enough time to hide, nor was there any space where she could lock someone out indefinitely, she pulled the small, shiny gun from her pocket and slowly backed up until her back was pressed against the far wall, her eyes and gun trained on the closed bedroom door. The seconds seemed to stretch on forever as the footsteps grew louder. As the doorknob clicked, she took a deep breath, readying herself as much as she could for whatever was on the other side of the door.

The door opened and a man stepped in. Evie recognized his face at once; he had been one of the men with guns that morning. He had a gun even now, but it wasn't yet aimed at her. Without hesitating, she aimed and shot him in the shoulder, hoping to injure him enough to get away without having to kill him.

Cursing, the man stumbled, falling to his knees. He held a hand over his shoulder for a moment before lifting his gaze toward Evie, leveling her with a look of pure hatred.

Evie's legs wobbled and she slid down the wall until she was seated, her eyes never leaving his.

Callen and Sam stepped out of the car, staring at the attractive suburban house before them. Despite the fact that they had been through every inch of the house the previous night, and Gibbs' team had done so earlier that day, Hetty had insisted they return. Even from 3,000 miles away, the petite woman wasn't someone anyone in their right mind said 'no' to.

"What does she expect us to find?" Sam wondered aloud. "I can't see her returning to the scene of her mom's murder."

Callen glanced around, his gaze settling on a black SUV not far from the driveway. He nodded toward the vehicle and shared a look with his partner. "Seems we have company," he said, reaching for his weapon.

Just then, the unmistakable pop of a gunshot rang through the air. The two agents pulled their guns and dashed to the front door. Callen opened the door and crept in, Sam protecting his back. They heard heavily accented cursing coming from the second floor. Another shot and Callen and Sam found themselves moving as quickly as they could without making a sound.

In the master bedroom, they found a girl seated on the floor against the far wall. She matched the photo he'd seen of Evie back in Ops. A man was crouched down on carpet not five feet from her. Blood stained his shirt; a few drops had made their way into the carpet. The girl had a gun in her hands, pointed squarely at the man.

"Stupid girl," the man muttered, slowly rising to his feet. "Your aim is off. I will enjoy killing you."

Evie cocked the gun, aiming it at the man's head. Callen could see the fear in her eyes plain as day, but there was also a fire burning beyond that fear. He had the distinct feeling she could take the man out in one shot if she wanted to.

"Federal agents!" Sam said loudly, announcing their presence. "Put your hands where we can see them!"

The injured man turned to stare at Callen and Sam as if contemplating an escape attempt. The pair were no strangers to suspects fleeing, but to their relief he instead groaned, kneeling on the carpet and slowly putting his hands on his head.

Sam stepped forward to handcuff the man, but the girl kept the gun trained on her target.

"Evie?" Callen asked in a low voice, approaching her cautiously. He needed to disarm her before she accidentally shot one of them, but he knew if he moved too quickly, it could spook her.

She turned her head to see Callen, the rest of her body frozen. "Who are you?"

"I'm Agent Callen, NCIS. This is my partner, Agent Hanna." He nodded toward Sam, who had the man cuffed and was now calling for an ambulance and backup on his cell phone. Callen was surprised to see recognition in her eyes.

"G. Callen?" Evie asked, unable to believe he was actually the G. Callen her mom had spoken of.

The special agent nodded, still wondering how she knew his name. "Can I have the gun?" He waited patiently, but didn't reach for the gun, not yet.

"I want to see your ID."

Evie expected him to just flash a badge, but Callen crouched down, offering her his photo ID. She studied the ID, unable to mask her own surprise. She was supposed to find him, and here he'd found her. She couldn't figure out what he was doing in Virginia, though. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near Virginia, not according to her mom. Still, she was satisfied that he was who he said and that he wasn't a threat. Cautiously Evie lowered the gun and allowed Callen to take it gently from her hand.

With the gun safely in his possession, Callen took a closer look at Evie. She was petite, with golden brown hair that was pulled into two messy braids and pretty blue eyes. Her skin was like porcelain apart from a splattering of freckles on her cheeks. Callen could see a great deal of Beth in her; there was no doubt they were mother and daughter. Her eyes, though – those weren't Beth's, as the former NCIS agent had had hazel eyes. There was something about Evie's eyes…

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over for any signs that she'd been hurt. He didn't see any blood on her, but that didn't mean she couldn't have been injured in some other way. A surge of relief flowed through him when she nodded. "You're sure? You're not hurt anywhere?"

Evie shook her head, not sure she trusted her voice just yet, and moved to push herself up, but Callen surprised her when he gently grasped her arms to help pull her up. "Thanks," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "What… what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in California?"

Callen froze, his eyes studying her in shock. "Who told you I'm from California?"

"Mom."

Whatever Callen had been expecting, it hadn't been that. He was actually speechless for several long moments. Callen cleared his throat, finally finding his voice. "Beth told you about me?"

"She said if anything ever happened to her to ask the first NCIS agent I saw to find you," Evie admitted. "She said you'd be able to help. Is that why you're here, to catch the people who killed her?"

He didn't miss the way she'd said 'people' instead of 'person' when referring to her mother's murder. He filed away that mental note for future reference. "Actually, Evie, I came here to find you. We need to get you out of here."

She allowed Callen to guide her out of the room. Evie noticed that the other agent – Agent Hanna, Callen had called him – had taken the gunman somewhere else. She wasn't worried, though. She knew that wherever he was, he wouldn't be able to hurt her at the moment, and she trusted Callen would keep her safe. After all, her mom had trusted Callen. "Where are we going?" she asked as they descended the stairs.

"NCIS Headquarters at the Navy Yard."