It took two seconds for his instincts to kick in. He kicked the door in one, his hand hovering over his gun holster. Instantly, he realized that the door had been open and another alarm bell went off in his head. Nancy's tail had tucked under her legs at the loud bang of the door being ripped off its hinges. His eyes scanned the apartment feverishly.

Gibbs first took note of a single coffee mug sitting on the kitchen counter. Other than that, there was no sign of life in the area. It was a cozy space with a modern concrete ceiling. A leather sofa with spotless upholstery and an unfeeling coffee table. There were two skyscraper windows on either side of the far wall. Bright and blinking sunlight poured into the room. The walls were bare and a bright and eccentric yellow, something he would not expected Sophie. In a lower right corner, hand – painted blue flowers were lazily drawn. It had the look of a kindergarten's work but it had the steadiness of a grown artist. He squinted his eyes, the bright color burning his retina.

The apartment was pristine, almost as if it had been recently cleaned. Either no signs of a struggle or someone had cleaned it up very well. He felt a small tinge of anger at the thought. Aiming his gun with his motion, he turned left toward a short hallway. It was littered with photo frames – all of which had a smiling picture of Sophie in them. He scanned them briefly, seeing no signs of blood spatter. The first door to the left was a pint sized bathroom. The glass shower door was open and the floor mat askew. Gibbs narrowed in on the open toothpaste and the toothbrush lying in the sink. The faucet was still dripping.

Two feet away was a wide open door into what looked like the young woman's bedroom. Once again, no sign of life other than himself and the cautious dog that shadowed him as he went. The sheets had been left tossed open and there was an alarm clock lying on the ground. The twin bed took up most of the room's space. Gibbs was forced to climb over it to check the closet. Sophie's clothes hung neatly, color coordinated – shoes included. There was a guitar case resting the corner and a neat of notebooks next to it. No one hiding inside. The special agent frowned as he climbed over the bed once more. All of the evidence in the apartment seemed to say that Sophie had left the premise in a hurry. Yet if it was an emergency, he was certain she would have brought Nancy with her – of that he was sure. Different scenarios ran through his mind, none very pleasant. His eyes wandered to her nightstand. Other than a lamp and a spot where the alarm had obviously sat, there was a framed photo. In it, a younger looking Sophie and an older woman were laughing on a kitchen counter. Neither of them was looking towards the camera but it was still a beautiful picture.

"Nancy?"

The dog shot up in attention at Sophie's faint voice. Her nails scrapped noisily against the hardwood as she scurried off to meet her master. Gibbs felt a sudden wave of relief come over him. She was safe. His hands automatically put his gun away and he walked toward the hallway slowly.

Sophie squealed as the dog jumped on her chest. "Nancy, down…DOWN!" But her tone of voice did nothing to stop the greyhound from licking her face clean of makeup.

And that was how Gibbs found Sophie. Sprawling on the floor under several pounds of dog. He smiled briefly before leaning down to pry the overly – eager dog away. Sophie gasped at him. Her hands immediately rose up to her chest.

"Gibbs?! How did you – "

He couldn't help raising an eyebrow at her sudden posture. Not answering right away, he offered a hand to help her up. After an unhealthy pause, she took it and bounced right side up with a piercing clack. Surprised at the sound, Gibbs glanced downward at her feet. She wore open toed high heels that stressed her leg muscles. Her toes were painted a promiscuous red. Travelling upward, her hesitation made a bit more sense. Sophie was dressed very unlike anything he had seen her in before. Usually she wore (when not in her Starbucks uniform) jeans or pants and modest tops. And never heels – always flats or sneakers. However, today, she was dressed in an angular short white skirt that was very close to underwear height. On top, a slick black top with fishnet shoulders. Her black bra would have been very visible to him had Sophie not still been hugging herself, shielding her chest. Her hair was still tousled from her being of the floor. Had he not known her, he could see her easier passing for one of Holly Snow's girls.

"Nancy showed up at my house last night. Figured I'd return her before she chewed up my living room."

Sophie shifted her weight foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. She had smiled shortly at the comment but the smiled faded just as quickly as it came. Slowly, her eyes widened and her face turned red in realization.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" She exclaimed, eyes blinking rapidly in alarm. "I must have rushed out and left the door open or something. I was in such a hurry yesterday to make it to the gig." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes in frustration.

"She didn't really eat anything, did she?"

"No." Gibb's small amusement came out in his voice.

Her heels clicked as she headed over to the kitchen sink, eyes open and hands fumbling with the edge of her shirt. Her back was to Gibbs. He saw her shoulders relax at the new position.

"I thought someone had broken in, with the door off its hinges and all." She took a shaky breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I'm so sorry – I'm just not used to such frights." The coffee girl let out a laugh and turned to face him.

"You and your agents - this is probably a walk in the park for you. " She was hugging her sides again.

"The door was me," the older man looked a bit sheepish. He also had not moved from his spot in the room. Sophie could see sympathy in his eyes though. He seemed concerned for her.

"What 'gig' had you in such a hurry to leave?" His eyes were still concerned though now laced with wariness. The woman gulped at his sudden seriousness.

AN: Annnnnnd couple months later and one update – YAY! xD hope you guys like it – I plan to have the next chapter go back to Sophie's point of view. Left you guys a bit of a cliffy :3 I think you will be very surprised where this goes next. Muhahaha – misleading foreshadowing…or is it?

If you want to see her outfit, check out my profile – the link below "For links described in my stories, please visit this Tumblr post."