Seven

Maybe she was getting attached, the thought crossed her mind as she watched the flames dance in the fire place. The silence surrounding her was almost deafening, it had been two days since Abby had gotten on a plane for England with no plans to return. Gibbs had been silent since he had signed his goodbye to the woman he had thought of as a daughter, she and Gibbs had been in the basement quietly discussing Rico's case when the doorbell had rang. She had been standing in the dining-room just out of sight as Gibbs had signed his goodbye. She had known by the look on his face as he'd turned around how hard he was taking the goth's departure.

The silence that had consumed the house since that moment had been almost crushing, he had put on a front when Elena was around but he didn't bother when it was just him and her. Although he normally wasn't overly talkative the lack of any communication at all was starting to concern her.

She pulled the blanket on her lap up further and took off her glasses, she ran her hand through her hair and sighed softly. She was getting attached and she hated herself for it, she knew that eventually Elena would either be returned to her father or deported to SanSalvador, and she wasn't looking forward to another goodbye. She wasn't sure Gibbs was ready to lose another person in his life either, not after losing Abby.

"You okay?"

His voice startled her out of her thoughts before her mind could move on to thinking about the other person she was starting to get attached to and she jumped at the sudden noise.

"I'm fine." She replied with a small sigh, "would be better if you hadn't just scared the crap out of me."

"Just got a call from Vance." Gibbs replied, raising his hand in an apologetic gesture, "they're announcing the ruling on Ruiz's case tomorrow morning."

"What does that mean for Elena?" Jack asked, sitting up straighter on the couch.

"It means that she'll either be back with her father or back with CPS and immigration by tomorrow night." Gibbs replied, rubbing his jaw roughly.

Jack felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, so much for having more time to prepare herself for another goodbye. She ran her hands over her face before dropping them into her lap.

"What do we tell Elena?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing until we know what's going on." Gibbs replied with a small shrug, "I don't want to upset her or get her hopes up before we know anything for sure."

"Are you sure that's the best idea?" She asked.

"I've got nothin' else right now, do you have any other ideas?"

"No." Jack replied pursing her lips, "I don't think there's a good way to do this."

Gibbs shrugged and leaned against the wall in defeat, Jack knew he was frustrated with everything and she could empathize with that but she was too tired and frustrated to support him.

"I guess I'll pack up her stuff tomorrow, and I'll get all of my stuff gathered up too."

"Your stuff?" Gibbs asked in confusion.

"Yes." Jack replied patiently, "I have no reason to stay if Elena's not here."

"Right, yeah." Gibbs agreed, shaking his head slightly, "I'm gonna head to bed."

"Goodnight."

"Night, Jack." Gibbs replied.

Jack watched him push himself off of the wall and walk across the room, he paused for a moment before reaching down to give her shoulder a squeeze. She reached up and patted his hand, she waited until she heard his bedroom door close before she got up. She folded the blanket she was using and made sure the front door was locked and made her way up to her room. She knew the minute her head hit the pillow that she wouldn't be sleeping that night.

N*C*I*S

She was in her office playing video games with Elena when she heard the knock on her door, she knew before he even stepped into the room what Gibbs was there to say.

"Elena honey, let's turn this off for a few minutes." Jack suggested gently, "Gibbs and I need to talk to you."

"Something happened." Elena stated slowly, "something with my father."

"Yeah." Gibbs replied.

Jack wanted to hit him and tell him to just get on with it, she knew just about as much as Elena at that point and felt the anxiety in the pit of her stomach weighing down on her.

"They've decided that you and your father are going to be put into witness protection." Gibbs stated, "do you know what that is?"

Jack didn't hear the rest of the conversation, she was shocked, overwhelmed and relieved all at the same time. She was shocked that Rico was going to be allowed to stay in the States, relieved that Elena was going to be able to have a normal and relatively safe life and overwhelmed by the sadness she felt at the thought of losing Elena.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur, they spent most of it explaining exactly what was going to happen to Elena and packing her belongings. By the time they returned to the Navy Yard to meet with the social worker and Vance, Jack felt ready to drop to the ground in utter exhaustion. She had had next to no time to herself or any time to talk to Gibbs about what was going on but she could tell he was having just as hard of a time as she was. She could tell Elena was torn between being excited to be with her father and scared of the unknown.

Watching Gibbs crouch down to give Elena a hug goodbye nearly broke her heart, she heard him whisper something in her ear and slip something in her hand but couldn't hear or see what it was. She stepped forward once Gibbs released his hold on the ten year old and crouched down in front of her.

"I am so proud of you." She whispered, "you have been so brave and strong, and I am just so proud of you."

She wanted to say so much more to the child but couldn't put it into words, she pulled the girl into her arms and held on tightly.

"You're going to do so well in school." She added quietly, "you be good for your dad and make sure to keep on drawing."

"I promise." Elena whispered back, "take care of Gibbs." She added, pulling back with a small smile on her face, "he needs someone."

Out of the mouths of babes, Jack thought to herself, she gave Elena's shoulders a gentle squeeze before standing up. She glanced over at Gibbs who only nodded and waited for her to join him.

"She's in good hands." The social worker promised, "I'll call your Director and let him know as soon as we hand her over to WitSec and her father."

Jack nodded and offered Elena a reassuring smile, she had to bite her lip and close her eyes to stop the tears from coming as the social worker led Elena away. As soon as the pair was out of sight Jack took in a deep breath and wiped her eyes before the tears could fall, she felt Gibbs reach out for her but she quickly turned away.

"I just-" She started with a sigh, "I need a minute."

"Why don't you both take tomorrow off." Leon suggested, "you're team has been through hell in the last few days, everyone needs a break."

"I don't need a break." Jack snapped.

She saw Gibbs turn in mild surprise but Leon simply raised his eyebrows at her and waited until she had taken a deep breath and a moment to control herself.

"I don't need a break." She restated in a calmer voice, "I need to keep busy."

"Be that as it may you know better than anyone else what'll happen if you all run yourselves to the ground, take a minute to process everything, if not for yourselves do it for Ellie, Torres and McGee, they need a break."

"We'll take the time off." Gibbs stated, giving Jack a mild glare.

She knew he was right and that she was being unreasonable, everyone was on edge and no one truly wanted to be at work while they worked through their grief at losing not one but two coworkers and now she and Gibbs both needed to find a way to deal with losing another person, another little girl.

And we're back y'all! I know this wasn't what anyone expected from this story but I promise there is a reason! I hope you guys enjoyed this and I just wanted to make note, for anyone asking for a sequel to The Night Before Christmas I probably will not be doing a complete sequel however if you guys would like to either PM or leave comments of what you'd like to see I'd be more than happy to do a few one-shots over on my one-shot collection Semper Fidelis! Please remember I don't own anything but I'd love to hear from you!

~Katie