Author's Note: I know, I don't update for 9 months then push out 3 new chapters in less than a week. What can I say, Gibbs gave me a head slap and told me to get to work, LOL. Please review-let me know what you think should happen when Gibbs finds Jonathon, should Tony try to flirt with the boss's "daughter"? If nothing else-I'm off work today and writing away at Chapter 11-hope to throw you a few curve balls.

Difference between thought and action can at times be the hardest gap in life to close. Gibbs re-discovered this upon deciding to remove Marissa from the hospital and putting her in protective custody. It wasn't so much the doctors who had to be convinced—that took about 15 minutes since if he didn't take her into custody she would walk out and disappear. It was the multitude of the little things that began piling up. Both need clothes appropriate for a DC winter day, including coats and shoes. The little girl needed a car seat and Gibbs didn't know if she needed diapers or these Pull-ups things or what. Seconds away from getting ready to throw his phone, which was the closest thing he had at the moment, out of frustration, one of the nurses stepped up and offered her assistance. After telling her the problem, the nurse dropped into Marissa's room for a few moments. Upon returning, she smiled and waved him towards the lounge.

"Agent Gibbs, it just so happens I'm going off duty now. If you would like, I can help get what you need—there's a place just around the corner where we can help you get everything they need for a day or two," she offered.

Gibbs regarded the woman thoughtfully for a moment, and then gruffly admitted he needed the help. "That would be appreciated, ma'am. I could use the help."

The nurse chuckled and grabbed her coat and purse, "All of us need help from time to time, the trick is we have to know when to ask for it." She pulled her coat on, "Let's get these two some things so that they can get out of here."

Just over two hours later, Gibbs led Marissa and little Kelly to his car. He gently pushed Marissa into the passenger seat while he quickly scooped Kelly up and buckled her into the car seat. He moved fast enough that the child didn't have time to protest being picked up by a man, nor being restrained in the car seat. By the time the little girl finally processed what had just happened and started to cry, Gibbs had already slid into the driver's seat and backing the car out of the parking spot. Marissa started to turn and quiet her, but Gibbs stopped her. "Nah, let her realize that nothing is wrong. She'll stop in a few minutes."

Sure enough, within minutes the little girl quit crying and peered out from behind the faux fur lined hood of the coat the Gibbs and the nurse bought her. Her blue eyes opened wide and tried to watch everything that zoomed past them. Within minutes Gibbs pulled through the gate at the Navy Yard and into the parking lot designated for NCIS. Assisting both out of the car, he escorted them through security and up to the office. He pulled out the chair from the desk across from him and waved Marissa to sit down with Kelly. "Here, have a sit." Waving a hand towards the other two desks, "You may remember my agents, Catlin Todd and Tony DiNizzo."

Tony and Catlin both stood up and greeted her. Catlin extended her hand to Marissa, "Pleased to meet you, Lt Wayne."

Marissa visibly shuttered at the mention of her husband's last name, though she tried to cover it up, "Glad to formally meet you. And please, call me Rissa. Most of my close friends did."

Smiling warmly and shaking her hand, "Then call me Kate." She noticed the shutter, and wondered if it had to do with her last name or her Marine rank. Kate turned towards Gibbs, "Gibbs, the Director is looking for you."

Gibbs nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Make these two comfortable while I talk to the Director." And with that, he jogged up the staircase towards the Director's office.

As Marissa removed Kelly's coat, Kelly caught sight of Kate. "Pictur! Pictur! Take Pictur?" Confusion covered Marissa's face as she tried to determine what it was that 2 year wanted.

Kate beamed that the girl remembered her. "Yes, we took pictures the other day. Do you want me to take your picture again?"

Jumping up and down next to her mother, Kelly clapped and said, "Yes, Yes! Pictur, Mommy."

Marissa turned to Kate for an explanation. Kate grabbed her camera and kneeled down near the little girl and began to explain, "The other day when you first arrived here…."

"And proceeded to pass out and scare the crap out of everyone?" Marissa interrupted.

"Yeah. Gibbs asked me to accompany you and your daughter in the ambulance to Bethesda. I took some pictures of her there and well…." Kate broke off.

"And my little wide-eyed wonder was entranced." She softly rubbed the back of the child's head, "The past few days have been really eye opening."

Kelly jumped up again and asked, "Pictur?"

"Of course, I'll take your picture. And you are so cute in your sweater!" Kate told the little girl as she snapped a few photos of her. Kate tickled the girl's tummy to get a bigger smile and laugh. She snapped a few more photos then held out her hand. "What to see them?" Nodding, she glanced at her mother seeking permission. Marissa waved her hands towards Kate as shifted position in the chair, trying to avoid leaning on the back. The car ride from Bethesda to here aggravated her back, and she tried to ignore the pain she felt.

Kate led her over to her desk, where she quickly plugged the camera into the cable connected to her computer. A few clicks with her mouse and then she grabbed the remote and turned on the plasma. The picture of the smiling child popped on the screen. Kelly's new outfit, the first true new outfit she ever worn, entailed a blue sweater with lots of small white cats dotting it. It was then paired with matching blue pants, white socks with blue hearts and sturdy black shoes. Her light sandy blonde hair hadn't been brushed and stuck out all over, but from the appearance on Marissa's face, it was a perfect photo of her daughter.

# # #

Gibbs entered the Director's office with a cursory knock on the door. Shutting the door firmly behind him, he approached the Director, "You asked to see me sir."

Tom Morrow had not risen to his position as NCIS Director without learning how to read people and situations. It made him good at his job and allowed the agency to operate efficiently. Most people had a hard time reading the agent in front of him—however he had known Jethro for years now. He was a good agent, and an even better man. He gestured for him to have a seat across from him. "Gibbs, I 'm getting ten kinds of hell from this General Gambill wanting to know is going on. He's threatening to bring Sec Nav into this. What's your status?"

Gibbs frowned at hearing Gambill's threat. "Well, we've got JAG wanting the Lieutenant for going AWOL, she claims that her husband—along with others, kidnapped, imprisoned and raped her for the past two years and I'm trying to find evidence to see what I can back up." Leaning forward where he's elbows rested on his upper thighs, he continued, "My gut says the Lieutenant is telling the truth. Her injuries are severe—not something that could be self-inflicted. The child exhibits extreme fear of any man that touches her or comes too near her."

Morrow grunted in response, "Why not tell Gambill that you have found the Lieutenant alive then?"

"She claims that her husband, Jonathan Wayne, has been bribing or blackmailing Marine Corp officers into doing what he wants. He could be one of them—Director we've only scratched the surface of this investigation."

"Where are Lt Wayne and the child now?" Morrow inquired.

Gibbs leaned back into the chair, "Downstairs with Todd and DiNizzo."

Morrow sat silently for a few moments, "What's JAG's connection into this?"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows and blow out a small breath, puffing his cheeks slightly. "Your guess is as good as mine, sir. They just appeared he this morning asking to take her into custody and turn the child over the father's family."

"Any reason not to?"

"My gut." Gibbs flatly stated. "JAG shouldn't have even known that she appeared here, and now there are all over pulling her in for going AWOL. The NCIS report, what there was of it, left her status as missing, probably deceased. Nothing to indicate she was going AWOL."

Morrow reclined back in his chair slightly, "Hmm. Let me guess, you don't want to cooperate with JAG for the same reason you don't want to talk to General Gambill?"

"Yep"

Rising from his desk, Morrow waved for Gibbs to follow him as they headed down towards the main office. "Gibbs, I don't have to tell you to walk softly here. Torture and bribes could be a political scandal that would hurt both the Marines and NCIS. I don't want to deal with the potential fallout from that." He stood at the rail overlooking the office. Kate still had the camera out trying to get Kelly to make silly faces for her to put up on the plasma.

"Don't worry, Director. I carry a big stick." Gibb stated.

Morrow grunted, "That's what worries me, Jethro. Watch who you swing that stick at." Gibbs shrugged his shoulders in an 'who me' expression and descended the staircase towards his team stopping at Tony's desk. He smiled watching Kate play with the little girl, then hiding the smile he continued towards his desk.

At that moment, Kate dropped the remote she had been using to toggle between the different pictures she had been taking. In the tumble, a button was pushed changing the display to show Major Jonathon Wayne. Kelly saw the changed photo and the smile disappeared from her face. She began screaming in fear. Marissa rushed from where she had been sitting to kneel next to her, holding her where she couldn't see the screen. Though the muffled sobs, she continued to cry, "Bad man, Mommy. Bad man. Gotta hide, Mommy."

Gibbs turned his head up towards the top of the staircase where Morrow stood, observing the scene below. The two men locked eyes, then Morrow's mouth thinned to a fine line and he gave Gibbs a sharp nod. They had worked together long enough that one nod is all Gibb's need.

Grabbing coats, he motioned for Marissa to take the still sobbing girl to the elevator. He fished the SD card that the doctor gave him earlier out of his pocket. "Kate, get this down to Abby and see if she can figure out what was used to cause these."

Kate took the card, "Gibbs, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ."

Gibbs cut her off, "Tony, did McGee get the phone records yesterday?"

"Yeah, boss. We haven't had time to cross reference them yet." He admitted.

"Get on it. Also, get his current phone records and cross reference those." Gibbs paused and he pulled on his own coat, while holding Marissa's and Kelly's. "And while you are at it, see if you can pull the financial records and see if anything stands out. I'm going to get these two someplace safe." He stepped into the elevator and yelled at both of his agents, "And I want those reports on my desk in the morning."

# # #

After stopping at a pharmacy to get Marissa's prescriptions filled and grab kid friendly food for breakfast and a second stop at Beltway Burgers for dinner, they arrived at Gibbs's house. He held the car door open for Marissa, but allowed her to get Kelly out of the car seat and inside. Despite what Marissa claimed after leaving the office, she was quickly running out of steam.

Once everyone had entered the house, he set the bags from the pharmacy and Beltway on the counter in his kitchen. Shrugging off his coat, he hung it up next to the door, and gestured for Marissa to do the same. "Welcome home."

Marissa paused for a moment to survey their surroundings. It wasn't the same as the home she remembered as a child, but then again, that was in California not here in DC. The home seemed darker, than what she remembered from her childhood, but then again it didn't surprise her. It seemed to fit her best friend's father.

After getting Kelly's coat off of her and hung up by the door, she followed the smell of food into the kitchen. Gibbs gestured towards the table for them to sit down. She eased into a chair and picked Kelly up to sit in her lap since the girl would be able to sit in a chair and eat off the table easily.

Gibbs noticed the problem and picked up some thick books from his living room and stacked them in the chair next to Marissa, "Make shift high chair. You can't hold her and eat, and right now both of you need the food." And after reviewing the spines, he quipped, "Those are some old NIS field manuals, best use of them since they were printed."

Kelly's eye grew wide at being able to sit and put her hands on the table. She then clapped her hands first on the table, then together in delight. Marissa smiled at the child's delight. "I think she likes it."

"Well, let's see if she likes dinner as well. Not exactly healthy, but it'll do for tonight." He told her and set the two bags from Beltway Burger on the table.

The one bag was clearly a kid's meal, so Marissa began to pull the food out and setting the chicken nuggets and French fries in front of the girl. Gibbs produced a sippy cup from somewhere and filled it with some of the milk he had bought at the pharmacy. She set it just outside the girl's reach—clearly wanting her to eat her food before filling up on the milk.

Marissa gestured to the chair next to her, "They want her to interact with different people to try and overcome her fear. Food has always been a distraction; maybe it will distract her from being afraid."

Gibbs dipped his head in agreement and sat down to Marissa. "Kelly," Marissa began and then pointed to Gibbs, "This is Mr. Gibbs. He is a Nice man and is going to help us."

Kelly turned her head sideways and shook her head, "Bad man."

Marissa corrected her, "No. Nice man. Good man."

Kelly's face twisted slightly as she tried to understand what her mother was telling her. "Nice man?"

Marissa nodded, smiling at her. "Yes. Nice man." Picking up one of the chicken nuggets, she held up to her, "The Nice man got you these yummy chicken nuggets."

The little hand grabbed the nugget, holding up to her face. "Yummies?"

Gibbs answered, speaking very quietly and softly, "Yes, Yummies." Marissa nodded her head in agreement and indicated the girl could eat it.

The first bite was all it took, Marissa noted. Turning to Gibbs she informed him, "For the record, you have gotten my child hooked on chicken nuggets."

He grinned as he pulled out two bacon cheeseburgers and fries. "Wait until she tries my Cowboy steaks."

Marissa's face lit up at the burgers and after the first bite, "Oh I missed this. This is food." Gibbs just grinned in agreement.

He let her get about halfway through the burger before he pushed the prescription bottles toward her. Seeing her grimace, he narrowed his eyes at her. "Only one is pain medicine—and I was assured it won't impair you, just knock the edge off the pain." Nodding at the other two bottles, "Those other two are antibiotics and vitamins. The last thing you need right now is an infection and you definitely haven't been getting the nutrition you need. Little Bit there has some chewable ones for in the morning."

Marissa briefly read the labels, and then opened the bottles one by one taking out the required pills. She tossed the pills into her mouth and quickly drank the glass of water Gibbs had placed on the table. After she swallowed the pills and water, she simply said, "Thanks."

A couple of hours later, Marissa wandered around the house. After eating, she gave Kelly a bath and put her in the pajamas that Gibbs had given her. For the first time in a long time, she put her little down to bed clean and with a full tummy. And though she felt bone tired, sleep seemed a long way off. So, she wandered around the house and followed the noises to the basement.

Gibbs raised a glance up when he heard someone coming down the steps. Confirming that it was only Marissa, he bent back down to the task he had at hand. Once she finished her descent into the basement, he spoke up, "Figured you would be asleep by now."

Marissa, still trying to look at everything, shook her head, "I'm tired, but not ready to sleep yet. What are you doing down here?"

"Building a boat."

Memory struck her, "That's right; you always had a project going on." Peering around the basement, she murmured, "A boat, huh." Speaking up, she continued,"So, how long have you been with NCIS? I have a hard time not seeing you as a Marine."

"Ah, 92-93 I left the Corp and joined NCIS. I worked out in California for a while before coming back here to DC area." A heavy pause, "it was the right move, especially at the time," he told her.

"And now you save everyone else."

"I try," he replied tilting his head. Gibbs finished placing the board into place, he nodded at her, "You know you are safe here, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It's tomorrow and the tomorrow after that keeping me awake." Marissa confessed. "I know he is still out there, walking free. That scares me."

Leaning against the boat, he studied her. She still wore the baggy cotton shirt that the nurse figured would be easier against her back and getting it on and off. The signs of worry still showed on her face, and he knew it would take more than a good meal and a good night's sleep to erase. "I can promise you, we will protect you and your daughter. No one is going to hurt her or you."

Tapping her temple she replied, "Knowing it here and" tapping her chest near her heart, "And knowing it here are two different things." Fighting back the tears that threatened to break free, "I still cannot imagine a day where he cannot get to us. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, my main goal has been to protect my baby. Right now, that hasn't changed. My number one priority is that little girl upstairs." Leaning her head back against the railing to the stairs, "She's all I got."

Shaking his head he corrected her, "Wrong. You both have me."

Without even realizing where her feet were taking her, she ended up in a bear hug with Gibbs, sobs racking her. He just let her cry, knowing that this was the first time in years she felt safe enough to face the terror of what happened—from the physical abuse her husband inflicted to the kidnapping and torture. Finally she pulled back, wiping her eyes with the end of her shirt. "I'm sorry, it just hit me…" she trailed off.

He gently placed his hands on each tear streaked cheek, lifting her head up to face him. "I promised you years ago, Rissy, that I would be your Dad. I won't break that promise now. You hear me?" When she nodded in agreement, he kissed the top of her forehead. "It's been a long day. Get upstairs and get some sleep."

"Aren't I a little old to be sent to bed?" she laughed, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

Grinning Gibbs tousled her hair slightly and pointed to the stairs, "Not in the least kiddo. Upstairs. Bed. Now." He ordered her.

Smiling she acquiesced and climbed the stairs. Once at the top she peered down at the boat in progress and shook her head. She muttered softly, "How does he get it out of the basement?" She decided to leave that question for another day and go to bed.