Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

Chapter 2

Three pairs of eyes were locked on the body lying on the path. No one moved, in fact Taylor and Jason were too scared to even breathe until the cop turned around and began walking in the direction he had come from. As soon as he disappeared round the bend, both kids scrambled out of the tree. Taylor quickly grabbed her backpack and put it on, pulling out her cell phone as Jason struggled with the straps on his bag.

She whispered anxiously at him as she scrolled through the phone menu for her dad's number. "Will you hurry up!"

"Got it." Jason looked towards Taylor, then past her at the figure in the dark blue uniform that had just reappeared on the path again. When the guy reached for his ankle Jason knew they'd been spotted. "Run!" Grabbing Taylor's wrist he pulled her further into the trees. The sudden jolt sent her phone flying, but there was no way she was going back for it. Instead she focused on moving as fast as she could through the undergrowth. Another shot rang out and Taylor hit the ground. Jason realising she had fallen beside him, grabbed the handle on her backpack and hauled her back to her feet. They had just started running again when they heard a woman's scream from somewhere behind them. Ducking behind a fallen tree trunk, they risked a look to see what was going on.

The cop wasn't chasing them anymore. He was heading back towards the two women they could just make out through the trees. Both kids were breathing hard, hearts thumping with the adrenalin coursing through them.

"What's he gonna do?" Jason whispered.

Taylor didn't answer, the officer had reached the tree they had been hiding in. She watched him reach for something on the ground, then slip it into his pocket.

"Aw f***! He's found my phone." Taylor sat down, with her back leaning up against the trunk, and covered her face with her hands.

"Come on, you can always get another one."

Taylor looked up at him, he wasn't serious was he? He was. "Jason, he'll be able to use it to find out who I am, and where I live! And how are we supposed to call my dad for help, you didn't even bring your phone."

He hadn't thought of that. "Shit! What do we do now?"

She shook her head. "No idea, but I know we need to get out of here. In a few minutes this place is gonna be crawling with people, and if that cop finds us, no one is going to stop him taking us away. Then it's game over." The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance now. "Come on, move!" With that thought in their heads, Taylor and Jason headed deeper into the woods.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Not for the first time that morning Patricia stared at the empty desk in front of hers. It was almost nine thirty and still no sign of Taylor. She was going to have to call Jethro, and was not looking forward to it. If Taylor had cut school again, especially after the last time, he was going to be absolutely furious. Taking a deep breath Patricia made her way out of the classroom and along the hall to check on Jason. She was not surprised to find he wasn't there either. There was nothing else for it, pulling out her phone she hit speed dial.

"Jethro?"

"Uh huh, what's wrong?" Gibbs set down the cold case file he was reading.

"Taylor's missing, and so is Jason." She prepared herself for the explosion.

Silence.

"Jethro, you still there?" For a moment she thought she'd lost the signal.

"Yeah. She left early this morning didn't she? Did she say where she was going?"

"No. Do you think she's okay?"

He was already taking his badge and gun out of the drawer. "If she's cutting school again, she'll be okay, until I get a hold of her, that is." Gibbs pulled his coat on and lifted the car keys. "I'll check out their usual haunts, and ring you later."

Tony watched his boss curiously from his desk, wondering what was going on.

"Everything okay boss?"

"Taylor's gone AWOL again. Where's McGee?"

"With Abby. Do you need any help?" Tony would do anything to avoid reading cold case files.

Gibbs shook his head. "Need you to cover for me. Get a hold of McGee though, and see if he can trace her cell."

Tony sat back in his chair again, disappointed, and lifted the phone. "On it boss."

As Jethro stood in the elevator, trying to keep a hold on his temper, he tried to think of the places Taylor and Jason could be. His daughter better have a bloody good excuse for not being in school. After the last time he had been sure Taylor wouldn't do it again. The elevator doors opened cutting his thoughts short. He had decided though, it was cold out there, so the first place he was gonna check was Patricia's house.

Almost an hour later, Gibbs was running out of places to look for Taylor. Tim hadn't been able to get a location on her phone either, so now he was just driving around in the hope he could spot her. He was just about to give up and head back to NCIS, to plan his next move, when he noticed a number of squad cars parked up beside one of the entrances to the woods. He knew Taylor and Jason spent a lot of time there, but had ruled it out because it was too cold to spend any length of time there. Slamming on the brakes, he parked in behind them, and pulled out his badge. Climbing out of the car, he headed towards the officer who seemed to be in charge.

By the time the police officer had explained about the shooting, Jethro's anger had been eradicated. What replaced it was a combination of dread and panic. Realising he was going to need some help, Gibbs started the car up and sped back to NCIS.