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

Chapter 9

Taylor sat for a while listening to them laugh and joke in the next room. She was filling up with not quite, so righteous indignation. How could they think she would cut school, just because someone didn't remember her. That was just, just, for a moment she couldn't think of a word to describe it. She settled on one of her favourites. It was unfair! The longer Taylor listened to them having a good time the angrier she became, but there wasn't exactly anything she could do about it. She had not yet reached the point where she would be willing to move. That would only make her look guilty, so for now she was staying put.

Patricia appeared when Taylor had been sitting there for almost an hour, to put some more coffee on.

"Mom?"

Patricia finished scooping the coffee into the machine and turned to face her.

"Can I get up now?"

"That depends, are you ready to answer your dad's question?"

"I already said I shouldn't have to answer that."

Patricia shrugged. "Well then no, you're going to have to stay there."

"Can I at least go to the bathroom?" Taylor wanted to get her phone to warn Jason.

"Go on, but come straight back."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Her mom was gone by the time Taylor returned, but she took her seat again anyway. She had managed to phone Jason, so at least he wouldn't walk into anything blind. Now it was time to figure out how to save her own butt. Taylor had a nasty suspicion that once Angela and Michael left, her father wouldn't be anywhere near as tolerant of her refusal to answer him. She was running out of time and didn't know what to do. If she owned up she was gonna catch it, and if she lied it would be even worse. No matter how hard she tried, her dad always knew when she was lying, and then his belt would come off. Okay, that was second option scratched out, Taylor wasn't willing to risk that one. That only left her with telling the truth, and her backside wasn't too keen on that idea either. What Taylor needed was a third option. One she found as she scanned the kitchen for inspiration. It might even throw a little guilt her dad's way. Just what he deserved for jumping to conclusions and trying to back her into a corner. By now Taylor had actually convinced herself that she hadn't done anything wrong, and the laughter coming from the living room only made her madder. Why the hell should she have to sit on her own, when they were enjoying themselves. That was it, she was out of here. Grabbing the keys off the hook, Taylor hightailed it out the back door.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor made herself comfortable in Patricia's house. Stretched out on the couch, TV on, and a can of coke from the fridge, was way better than sitting in the kitchen with nothing to do except think. Unfortunately there was no food, she'd just have to get Jason to make a delivery later, then she could stay here as long as she wanted. Choosing a comedy, Taylor pushed any thoughts of being in trouble right to the back of her mind. It was her mom and dad's turn to worry about what they'd done now. See how they liked it!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Gibbs and Patricia waved goodbye to their guests, before going to deal with their daughter. Both had hoped Taylor would come clean, but the length of time she had spent sitting at the table made it fairly obvious that she wasn't going to admit to anything. It was time to bring out the big guns.

When Jethro reached the kitchen however, he discovered his target was missing. The back door was open, but there was no sign of Taylor. His daughter had a real talent for making a bad situation even worse. Instead of getting everything over and done with, now he had to figure out where the hell she was. It was time to pay a Jason a visit, even if he didn't know where Taylor was he might just have a few ideas.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It wasn't long before Taylor's mobile rang, she checked the display, it was her mom, so she let it ring, again, and again and again. Fed up with the continuous calls, she put the phone on silent. That was better, it was too early to start bargaining, she'd only been gone about an hour, her parents were probably in the furious stage, so they wouldn't listen to her anyway. In another few hours she would call Jason to see if he could get any supplies for her, and hopefully by tomorrow both her dad and mom should be able to see the error of their ways.

When it began to get dark, Taylor began to get hungry. Ignoring the number of missed calls displayed on the screen she called Jason. He picked up immediately.

"I've been trying to call you for almost half an hour now, why didn't you answer?"

"Sorry, it was on silent. I need you to do me a favour."

"Never mind that, I've had your dad over interrogating me, he thinks I know where you are."

"I'm.."

"Don't tell me, I don't want to know. You might not be afraid of your dad but he scares the crap out of me."

"Come on Jason, I'm starving, I just need you to bring me something to eat."

"There's no way I can get out of the house tonight, you're just gonna have to wait until tomorrow. If you've any sense, you'll just come on home now. Your dad's mad enough without you staying away all night."

That didn't sound good. "You sure no one knows where I am?"

"I don't even know where you are, although I could probably guess, I can hear the TV."

"Yeah, well don't tell."

"I won't. Your dad's gone anyway, about fifteen minutes ago. He was asking me a whole load of questions when your mom came running over, don't know why she pulled him out to the car, but I wasn't complaining."

"You won't forget to bring me something to eat in the morning, will you?"

"I won't. Still think you should come home."

"I'm not going home Jason, just because some guy doesn't remember me everyone assumes I cut school."

"But you did!"

"I know I did, but that's not the point!"

"Admit it, you're just pissed they found out, uh oh, gotta go, my mom's coming up."

As soon as Taylor ended the call, her phone vibrated.. Thinking it was Jason again she automatically answered it.

It was her father. "Where are you Taylor? And don't you dare hang up on me!"

Not sure what to say, that's exactly what she did, pressing the end call button.

The instant Taylor pressed the button, she found herself being hauled to her feet and on the receiving end of several hard swats.

"Do you ever do what you're told?"