Heya guys! Here's another oneshot for you guys! Thought I'd be better off updating this than writing for Scorpia's Return, since this is filling in that timeframe and the next oneshot helps with filling in some background details. Plus, this was a cute idea. Like "An Escape", this is very different to the original, because of changes in characterisation. Hope y'all still love it!

This is set after the events of Rider's Return, so this is in the gap between the two main stories - a filler of sorts. Mainly to build on character backgrounds and such.

Anyway, thank you so much to DS2010 and Doby and Padfoot for your reviews on the previous oneshot! Don't forget, you can still shoot me ideas on what you guys want to see, so don't be afraid to submit one by PM or via review!

Enjoy!

Subject: Parkson, Jessica

Date: September/October 2012

Location: Virginia, U.S.

Jessica didn't often spend time down in the lab. More often than not, right after school she was up in the bullpen, sitting at either Gibbs' or Ziva's desk as she got work done. But since the bombing earlier that year, Gibbs had been reluctant to let Jessica anywhere near the bullpen when he knew he wouldn't be there. Andrew said he was worried about an event like that occurring when they were there, but Jessica didn't think that could happen. Not when it had already happened once, because then they'd know how to catch the next one.

So she was sat in the office at the back of Abby's lab, whilst the woman did some work for one of the other NCIS teams.

"Hey, Jessie?"

The girl looked up. Only Abby called her that, and whilst it didn't bother her that much, it was weird to hear someone call her that way. It kind of reminded her of the doll from Toy Story, to be honest, and that was her favourite character in the franchise.

Abby gave her a wide smile. "What'cha doing?"

Jessica had to give a smile at that. Only Abby would be just as childish towards her as she was supposed to be to everyone else. "Homework," she responded, simply and quietly.

Abby had to smile softly at that. Ever since the new school year started, Jessica had been getting more and more comfortable in her own skin. She spoke out more, both in class and with the team, and was far less shy towards people she had met in passing but didn't know properly.

The fact that she held a conversation with Vance about her art was more than enough to say she was improving. (At least, it was in Tony's opinion.)

Shifting closer to the girl, Abby decided to take a peek over her shoulder at the piece of homework she was doing, and nearly squealed with excitement.

It was science homework.

Jessica's eyes shifted so that she glanced up at the woman. She didn't need to speak – the questioning expression on her face was enough to let Abby know that she had a question about exactly what she was doing.

"Can I help you with your science homework?"

Jessica blinked a few times. Abby was well-versed in Jessica expressions – she knew what she was really saying.

"But it's just a bit paperwork! It's not even for Gibbs! I can get it done later! This looks fun!"

Another blink.

Abby pouted. "Please, Jessie? It'll be fun!"

The little girl paused for a few moments, before giving a sigh; and that was all Abby needed to grab a chair and sit down beside the third grader, getting a better look at what the homework was about. The words organism and environment popped out at her, and she quickly deduced that the homework was Biology-based – not totally her area of expertise, but she loved science regardless, and Jessica was technically at the fun science learning age. Once she got to high school, it was all about learning for your future, and that wasn't always fun.

Jessica looked up after a few moments of drawing lines and matching up diagrams. "I thought you said you were going to help me?" she asked, sounding (in that moment) very much like her older brother on one of his more sarcastic days.

Abby just smiled at her. "You don't look like you need help, so I'm content to just watch."

Jessica frowned. "You're using me."

"I'm bored! And what you're doing is interesting! So I'm staying."

The little girl huffed, but Abby didn't miss the brief smile that appeared on her face before she wiped it clear of any positive emotion in response to Abby's behaviour. She knew that half the time, Jessica behaved like an adult. Probably because of everything she'd been through, but acting like an adult had to make her feel in control of a situation. Abby believed it was about time people convinced her to act like the child she was.

Which gave her another idea.

"What are you doing for your birthday?" she asked, trying not to seem sudden but clearly failing from the look of surprise that appeared on Jessica's face. The look of surprise that quickly gave way to an expression of indifference as she turned back to her work.

"Why do you ask?"

Abby tried not to look surprised at the rapid change in emotions on Jessica's face. She knew that this wasn't the girl's first birthday without her parents (that had been last year, whilst she was still in the foster system), but celebrating a birthday without your parents at such a young age still had to be hard for her.

Still, it wasn't as if she was without a parent.

"Hasn't Gibbs asked you yet?" Abby asked, a single eyebrow raised. She knew the man was busy – he was almost always busy – but he always had time for the kids. He always made time for the kids. He was so incredibly soft when it came to the kids, that—

"No." Jessica continued to scribble away, oblivious to the internal monologue Abby had going.

Abby blinked. Gibbs hadn't even asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday? That was… strange…

Resisting the urge to get up and storm straight up to the bullpen and get in Gibbs' face, Abby put on a smile. "Let's get back to work, then."

She was definitely going to talk to Gibbs about this.

"You forgot?"

Andrew looked up from where he was reading through a history book from his school's library, making notes for his essay. He hadn't really wanted to study in the bullpen, but Alice had had to go home early, Peter had robotics club, and Derek had wrestling. Morgan (thank goodness she'd finally decided on a name) and Kate were generally glued at the hip and spent most of the time studying in the food court at the nearby mall, which was far too distracting for the teen, leaving the twins.

He never got anything productive done around the twins.

Which was why he was left with the bullpen – without Tony and Ziva around, it was a lot quieter and easier to study, and McGee generally provided peaceful, helpful conversation. Plus, with Jessica down in Abby's lab for the afternoon, it meant that he didn't have to worry about her.

Or so he thought.

The teen watched Gibbs (who had literally just walked in from a meeting with Vance and had to get at least some paperwork done before the end of the day) sigh and take off his glasses, pushing his paperwork to the side before focusing on Abby. "I forgot what?"

Abby huffed. "Jessie's birthday!" As Gibbs continued to stare, she elaborated. "It's in two weeks!"

"I know," Gibbs responded simply. The answer didn't seem to placate Abby, so he sighed. "She's having a birthday party that weekend."

Abby's irritation immediately dissipated. "What?"

"A birthday party. Doris is throwing her one."

"Wait, wait, what? Doris is throwing her one?"

Now Gibbs was confused. Abby looked incredulous – or, almost angry. He thought she'd wanted Jessica to have a birthday party? "Is something wrong, Abby?"

Abby spluttered, seemingly unable to form words, before she screeched, "Yes!" The screech got the attention of not only McGee, but the rest of the bullpen floor, causing multiple heads to turn in their direction. Abby ignored these in favour of focusing intently on Gibbs, glaring at him.

"You can't let someone else's mom throw your own child a birthday party!" she exclaimed, almost angrily. "If Vance told you that was acceptable, he's wrong!"

"Doris is just organising the thing—"

"Where are you even having the party? At a house?"

"At home."

Abby's face screwed up. "That tiny little place? Filled with screaming girls? I don't think that's a good idea."

Gibbs sent her a glare – not as harsh as one he'd send a member of the team, but enough to tell her that she had just leaped into insult territory, and he would shoot her down if she made any more mistakes. "Any better ideas, then? Since you seem to have a huge problem with what I'm doing for my child for her birthday?"

Before Abby could say anything else or dig herself into a deeper hole than she was already in, Andrew decided to step in. "Jessie's always had normal birthday parties," he pointed out. "And she's only ever had them when mom was around. If she was away, dad took us out to dinner. And if they were both away… we did nothing. So a birthday party is the norm."

"Does she like the norm?" Abby challenged, turning to face Andrew.

"Well, she is pretty normal…"

McGee snorted. "A kid as smart as her? Andrew, she's not normal. Not at all. She may enjoy the norm—"

"Doesn't she want something more than a simple birthday party?" Abby butted in, frowning and ignoring McGee's irritated glare as she turned to face Andrew fully. "She's got to want something more than just a birthday party!"

Andrew had to think hard about that one. From what he could remember, Jessica had never really asked for much. She always seemed happy with what she was given… and she never complained. She'd been the 'easy' child, from what he remembered their parents saying. There had to be something in particular the girl had liked…

"Theme parks," Andrew muttered suddenly, looking over at Gibbs and Abby. "Jessie's always liked theme parks. We went to Disney World once when we were really young, and she had a blast." He smiled slightly. "Maybe we could do something with that?"

Abby stared for a few moments, before a huge grin slowly spread on her face, and she began to bounce in excitement. "That's it! That's perfect!" She span mid-bounce to face Gibbs, who was watching her with amusement. "Let's do it! Let's do that! Let's throw her a theme park birthday party!" She slammed her hands down on Gibbs' desk, leaning forward to look him in the eye. "Call Doris! We have an epic party to throw!"

Gibbs blinked, before letting out a breathy laugh. "Sometimes I wonder if it's really the kids who are more of a handful…"

It was the light filtering through the window that woke Jessica up on that cool fall morning, rousing her from a dull dream involving her friend Shelly and her brand new Barbie dolls (Jessica herself had never had any fascination for those horrid things – the last time she'd got one as a gift, she'd ripped the head off and chased Andrew around the house with it; her mother had used the excuse of "oh, she's only young, she won't understand", but she really hated that thing). The girl had been more than glad to wake up.

Though, she was very surprised to find that there wasn't the smell of pancakes wafting under her door and into her room.

Ever since the new school year had started, Gibbs had made it a point to make pancakes every Saturday morning, whilst Abby turned up with whatever toppings she deemed suitable that day. Sometimes the other members of the team turned up and joined them in their Saturday morning meal, which made for more interesting conversations at the breakfast table (or rather, in the lounge, because when there were that many people there generally wasn't enough space at the table for them all). Saturday mornings were always entertaining.

This morning seemed silent.

Pushing herself out of bed, the girl padded to her bedroom door before pushing it open, peeking out into the corridor. It was still quiet – not even Andrew's bedroom door was open, which was really weird. He was usually up before her, and he always left his bedroom door open when he was up.

What was going on?

Stepping out into the corridor more fully, Jessica looked around more fully before heading towards the stairs, descending them with confusion clear on her features. Her confusion reached its peak when she reached the downstairs corridor and she still couldn't hear anyone milling about the house.

"Hello?" she called out, and nearly screamed at the response she got.

Abby leapt out into the lounge doorway, a huge smile on her face. "You're up! Perfect!" Her smile fell a little. "But… you're not ready."

Jessica gave herself a few moments to calm down, before she frowned. "Ready for… what?"

"For breakfast!" Abby gestured to the little girl's clothing. "You can't go out to breakfast dressed in… that! Get some real clothes on! We're waiting!"

"What?" Before Jessica could ask who exactly Abby meant by 'we', the woman was shooing her upstairs to get changed.

"Make sure it's something cute! Like that outfit we made Gibbs buy for you! Wear that one!"

Jessica only ascended the stairs obediently, a frown still on her face. She didn't have a clue what Abby was up to… but she supposed she could go along with it.

What confused Jessica the most wasn't the fact that she was being made to dress up and leave the house on a Saturday morning – heck, when she used to go for swimming lessons, this used to be the norm – but more the fact that she had no idea why they were going out at that time on a Saturday morning. Abby said they were going out for breakfast, but Jessica felt it was more than that.

Especially when she found out that neither Andrew nor Gibbs was in the house, but Ziva had been keeping Abby company in the lounge and was now sat in the front passenger seat as Abby drove them to whatever destination she'd intended for them.

"Can't you just tell me where we're going?" the little girl demanded after what had been at least a good half an hour of driving in silence. Neither woman seemed intent on telling her where they were going of their own free will, so she decided pushing them was the next course of action.

The two women sent each other a glance, small smirks appearing on their faces, before they both faced forwards.

"Nope," they answered simultaneously, causing Jessica to grit her teeth in irritation.

"And why the hell not?" she snapped, causing Ziva to turn to look at her over her shoulder with a single raised eyebrow.

"First of all, language," Abby pointed out, unable to turn and glare at Jessica because she was driving. "Your brother is the worst influence ever and you shouldn't be following in his footsteps. And second of all, because it's a surprise. We can't tell you about the surprise until it's time for you to see it."

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, well, it's happening." Abby paused for a moment to smile. "And you'll love it."

At Jessica's huff in response, Ziva spoke up, "Your temper is worse than Andrew's. Amusing, considering you are the one people believe to be the nicer of the two of you." The Israeli could only smile at Jessica's indignant response.

At least she was opening up.

It was about another three quarters of an hour before any semblance of them nearing their destination was felt in the car, and Jessica opened her eyes when she felt the vehicle turning and slowing down. Like they were entering a parking lot. The little girl frowned and leaned to look out of the window, getting a better look at where they were.

Rip's Country Inn.

The girl's eyes widened at the sight of the building, the sign clear above the entrance to the building. Had it been any other restaurant, Jessica probably wouldn't have been fussed. They could go anywhere for breakfast nowadays.

But this place…

"Did Andy tell you about this place…?" He had to have. It was the only way they'd know about this place.

The place their dad used to take them for meals on their birthdays.

It was nowhere near home – in fact, it was at least an hour away – but there was something about the place that meant they'd always want to come back. It had always felt homely, with food that had Jessica begging for more, and the staff were always extra friendly whenever they saw their dad or found out it was one of their birthdays. The place felt like home in a restaurant.

Feeling the tears well up in her eyes, the girl rushed to scrub them away as Abby pulled into a parking spot.

"Are you alright, Jessica?" Ziva asked softly. The little girl only managed a nod, sniffling a little. The woman smiled. "Then shall we go? We do not want to keep the others waiting."

"The others…?" Jessica should have known that it wasn't just Ziva and Abby taking her out for breakfast (well… more like brunch now…), especially since the restaurant was likely Andrew's idea. Either way, she unclipped her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, waiting for the two adults before following them into the restaurant.

"SURPRISE!"

Jessica jumped for what felt like the second time that day, her eyes wide as she took in the sight before her.

The entire rest of the team was in the restaurant, along with her brother, sat at a long table that ran down the middle of the room. But it wasn't just them. Friends and their parents were also seated at the table, huge smiles on their faces as her friends from school held up a banner that read, "Happy birthday, Jessie!" Granted, it wasn't her birthday for another two days, but the overwhelming sentiment behind the thing made tears well up in her eyes again.

This time, it was Andrew who rushed to her aide, kneeling before her with tissues in his hands, ready to catch the tears. "Hey, hey. It's all good, Jess. No need to get all sappy. It's your birthday, for crying out loud."

"Y-yeah, but…"

"We're all here to celebrate you. Don't give us tears for it."

Jessica let out a watery laugh at that, taking the tissues and wiping away the tears on her face. "That's something daddy would've said."

The girl didn't miss the sad smile her brother gave at that. "Yeah… yeah, it is…" Reaching over, he pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing her tightly for a few moments before letting go. "He would've done that too."

The little girl laughed. "Yeah…"

He smiled softly at her, before the smile morphed into a grin and he ruffled her hair playfully. "Alrighty, then. Let's go talk and eat. We've got a long day ahead of us, and I'm pretty sure that waitress remembers your usual order."

Jessica was about to ask what he meant by a long day ahead of them, when her eyes brightened at the words "usual order". "Blueberry pancakes?"

"Complete with bacon and syrup." Andrew laughed as his sister practically skipped past him to take her seat next to Gibbs, who hugged her tightly and planted a kiss atop her head. "As always, food's the fastest way to your heart."

A good conversation and a stack of blueberry pancakes later, Jessica felt satisfied. Maybe not complete, but satisfied. The meal had more than made up for everyone's absence in the house that morning, and she was about ready to call it a day if everyone was done.

Except, she kept remembering the little hint Andrew had given her earlier.

We've got a long day ahead of us.

What did he mean by that?

She realised her question was a good deal closer to being answered when everyone's plates were being cleared away, and she was midway through a conversation about the middle school boys next door to Mira (she wasn't interested in them – they were far too old and rowdy for her liking – but Mira and Kathy sure were) when Gibbs called everyone to attention.

"Hi, everyone." Those two words alone were enough to silence the crowd, and he sent everyone a quick smile before continuing. "Now, those of you who know me know I'm not the speech kind of guy," he paused to let the brief burst of laughter die down, "but I just want to thank you all for coming along to Jessica's birthday party. I know this is different to what she usually has, but we thought we'd treat her for her tenth birthday. So, happy early birthday to you, Jessie."

Jessica smiled brightly at that, a feeling of warmth bubbling up inside her at Gibbs' rare use of her nickname.

"This would also be a good time to tell you that the party isn't over." Gibbs sent a quick glance Abby's way at the murmurs, before continuing as all the excited children were shushed by their parents. "Because we're making today special, and because it's not even afternoon yet, we thought we'd treat you all to a little fun not too far from here."

Jessica frowned, very confused, until she realised Gibbs had pulled something out of his pocket – a set of tickets.

A set of tickets for Six Flags.

The little girl tried very hard to hold in her scream of excitement, practically buzzing in her seat. They were going to Six Flags. She'd always wanted to go to Six Flags. She'd been begging her parents for ages when they were around.

"We and your parents have made sure each one of you has a ticket to Six Flags." The man turned to Jessica with a smile on his face. "So you better enjoy your day."

The little girl grinned widely. "I sure will!" she exclaimed, her grin getting impossibly wider at the laughter that ensued.

As soon as all of their plates had been cleared away, and the bill had been paid for everyone's meal, the large group headed out of the family-themed restaurant to their cars, everyone getting ready to head to the theme park not too far from where they were. It was only when everyone was getting into their cars that Jessica realised just how packed the parking lot was. If she'd been focusing, she'd have been able to guess what was going on as soon as they'd turned in.

"Hey!"

The girl looked over to see Andrew grinning at her, giving her a wave as he got into a car with McGee, Gibbs and Tony.

"I'll see you there, alright?" he called over to her, giving her a thumbs up when she nodded in response.

Climbing into Abby's car, Jessica was practically bouncing in her seat with anticipation, excited for the day they had ahead of them. Ziva chuckled and shook her head at the girl's excitement – seeing such as expression on the girl's face was a first for the whole team, and it was refreshing to see something other than concern or indifference expressed on her features.

Luckily, she knew to sit back and buckle her seatbelt as Abby started the car.

"You ready for a day full of fun?" Abby called out, grinning widely.

Jessica's hands shot up into the air as she cheered, bubbling with excitement.

Despite the drive to the place being an agonising ten minutes, and everyone taking painfully long to find parking, getting into the theme park itself had to be the most stressful thing Jessica had endured in her nine (nearly ten) years of life on the planet called earth. She spent most of her time trying to expel her excitement by bouncing on the balls of her feet, hoping that getting rid of that excess energy would do her some good.

It did not.

It wasn't until they reached the front of the queue that she finally calmed down, the huge grin on her face the only thing giving away just how excited she was about getting into the theme park. Andrew had a cheeky grin on his face as he placed his hand on the top of her head, trying to stop her from bouncing.

"Guys, she's literally vibrating," he laughed, looking over at Tony and McGee – the two in charge of their tickets. Whilst Gibbs was a good (and intimidating) father figure, it didn't take much to realise that the tickets would fare far better in the hands of McGee, a younger guy who was probably more seasoned with theme parks and such, and Tony, a guy who could smell a scam from a mile away. The two men laughed as they went about trying to sort out Jessica's ticket (and FLASH Pass – she had a FLASH Pass!), leaving Abby and Ziva to deal with the bundle of excitement that would be bouncing off the walls if she'd been in an enclosed space.

"Perhaps the pancakes were not a good idea," Ziva suggested, a smile on her face. "The sugar must be making her bugsy."

"Antsy," Andrew corrected, his hand still on top of the grinning Jessica's head. "And trust me – you'd know if it was sugar. This ain't it."

A few moments later, and the group were passing through the gates and into the theme park, Jessica's squeal of excitement announcing their arrival to the rest of the park. She looked up at Andrew with wide eyes, asking the question with words her mouth was too jittery to form.

The older brother laughed. "Alright, Jess, let's go wild!"

The excited whoop was the last thing the agents heard before the girl raced off, her older brother in tow. Tony chuckled as she watched the two, Ziva shaking her head slightly at the pair.

"You think we should follow them?" McGee asked, his expression betraying the lack of concern he felt at that moment in time.

Abby shrugged. "I think they'll be okay for now," she responded as they watched the rest of the kids in their party run off with their friends and parents, heading for whatever rides tickled their fancy. Looking down at the FLASH Pass in her hand, a grin grew on Abby's face.

"Race you to Batwing!" she exclaimed before running off in her platforms, leaving the others to race after her.

"Where even is that one?!"

Usually, Jessica wasn't a fan of Monday mornings. They were dreary and announced the start to another week of school. Not that she didn't like school, of course, but it was more of a hassle than she cared to admit.

Still, this Monday morning was a special one.

Because it was her birthday.

Bouncing down the stairs, she followed the scent of pancakes through the lounge into the kitchen, where she was greeted with stacks piled high on plates and Gibbs at the stove, cooking up more.

"Teeth before breakfast!" he chided before the girl could reach for one of the pancakes to snack on. "You know the rules."

She let out a long whine – something usually uncharacteristic of her at any time, let alone that time on a Monday – but she did as she was told, heading back out through the lounge to brush her teeth upstairs. As she passed through, she hesitated by the coffee table, a smile forming on her face at what she spotted there.

Amongst the various cards standing artistically on its surface (many from her friends and the team, one from that distant Aunt Eleanor, and one in cursive from Alex in San Francisco… Andrew must've told him), a single photo stood out, large and proud in its Gibbs-made frame.

The girl picked up the photo, taking a closer look.

It was a photo from the weekend, with all of her friends huddled around her and Andrew stood right behind her, a huge grin on his face. The team stood at the back of the photo with Gibbs, the group of them laughing at something Tony must've said. But the most precious part had to be Jessica, surrounded by people who cared about her, a huge grin on her face that hadn't been seen since her parents had passed.

Running her finger across the frame glass, the smile on her face widened. The party may have been temporary, but the memories would definitely last.

Setting the photo down, Jessica took a few steps back to get a full look at the display. She gave a happy sigh, before turning to head upstairs, her hands raised in victory. Her parents may not have been around, but there were definitely a lot of people who loved her who were. She didn't have to think hard before summing up her weekend in three words as she jumped up off the final step onto the landing:

"Best birthday ever!"

Hope you guys enjoyed! (Don't be afraid to tell me if anyone's OOC!)