All day everyone was talking about the fishing line and who could have put it there. Kristen had been taken to the local hospital for x-rays as the nurse thought her wrist might have been broken. Steven was unable to breathe by lunch time and although CJ was panicking herself she had to take care of her friend. After all she was the one that had gotten them into this mess in the first place. Calmly and with conviction she explained that NO one knew who had tied the fishing line across the door. And she knew this because if they did know, a teacher or the principal would have approached them. She explained that he needed to stop looking guilty and keep his head down so that NO one would figure it out. Steven seemed in control of himself by the time classes resumed. He may not have looked like "himself" but at least he didn't have "GUILTY" written all over his face.

During the last period of the day the principal made an announcement and invited all the middle school classes to join him in the gym for an impromptu assembly. Déjà vu, CJ thought. I've been here before. And that didn't end well. CJ was not going to have a repeat performance, she convinced herself that this time was different, they needn't turn themselves in as no one would contact the authorities and there was absolutely no way they knew who was responsible or they wouldn't be calling this assembly.

CJ walked with Steven quietly as they entered the gym with their classmates. The principal made an impassioned speech about responsibility, care of fellow student, respect for the school and teachers. Then he asked for those responsible for the recent rash of pranks to come forward. He suggested that any further pranks would be dealt with severely. If CJ hadn't felt guilty before the assembly she definitely did afterwards.

The final bell rang as they were walking back to class and seeing as Steven wasn't going to be able to keep it together for much longer CJ sent him to wait in the school yard. CJ made sure to collect all of their belongings, grab their back packs and meet up with Steven. Once they were clear of the school and completely alone CJ forced Steven to stop so that they could talk.

"Look Steven, Kristen got hurt but everything is fine, we didn't mean for that to happen"

"We have to turn ourselves in" he whispered.

"OH NO we DON'T" she yelled back.

Confused Steven asked "why not?"

"No one knows it's us, there is no evidence to suggest it is us, and unlike the science lab incident this isn't big enough to contact outside authorities. So keep your mouth shut and no one will know."

"Are you sure?" he whimpered.

"Very. Now let's go home and do our homework because that we can get in trouble for." CJ said with a sly smile.

CJ being so calm and assured made Steven feel better and like CJ explained no one had any clue that they were involved. He just had to keep his head down and go about his daily business. Problem was he'd never felt guilt like this before, he wasn't sure how to make it go away.

Once CJ was sure Steven was going to keep this to themselves she started for home.

"CJ" Steven hesitantly started.

"Ya Steven"

"How do you get rid of the feeling of a rock in the pit of your stomach?"

"It will go away when you stop worrying" she chided and playfully punched him in the arm.

"Oh" was all he could get out.

CJ dropped Steven off at the end of his driveway and headed home. She quickly went to her room and finished her homework. She figured it best not to draw attention to herself with minor infractions incase the conversations wondered in the wrong direction. Having completed everything she grabbed a snack and sat listening to her ipod while she waited for her family to arrive home.

When CJ was younger Mrs. Sykes would come over after school to look after her until her parents arrived home. Since she turned 11 Mrs. Sykes only came over on nights her parents were out late with a case. On nights, such as this one, where Mrs. Sykes was not there CJ was supposed to start supper. Therefore Ziva was unimpressed to find CJ curled up on her bed listening to music rather than in the kitchen where she expected her to be. After a long day it was all that Ziva needed to lose her patience and she began scolding CJ as soon as she removed her ear buds. Due to her already heightened level of anxiety, CJ first response was to yell back and storm out of the room towards the kitchen. Ziva was left standing in her daughter's room mystified by what just happened. Taking a deep breath she turned on her heel and headed down to the kitchen to assist in the making of some sort of meal. She arrived in time to witness the clashing of pots and pans. Again Ziva took a deep breath to calm herself, she was often confused by her daughter's reactions but wanted to be there for her.

"What is bothering you?" Ziva asked hesitantly.

"NOTHING" CJ growled back.

"Ok… we will… discuss it later" Ziva responded under her breath.

Together they worked silently on supper. Ziva could be patient when she needed to be and ultimately she wanted to be there for her daughter when she was needed. Something was obviously bothering CJ and she just wasn't ready to share it yet. Tony arrived home to find his two women sitting at the table eating quietly neither acknowledging each other or that he had arrived home.

CJ cleared the table and dishes when everyone was finished without having to be reminded and headed to her room. She didn't trust herself to not explode again and she had no interest in sharing her thoughts and worries with her parents. They would not be so understanding if they knew what had been going on at school. There were a few fleeting moments during dinner where CJ thought coming clean and getting rid of this internal torment would be the best course of action but they were just that; fleeting.