AN: This is mainly Sophie centric chapter

The feeling in her belly reminded her very much of getting caught leaving the house without permission back in her teen years. Sophie used to have the nasty habit of climbing the fence of their gated community to attend local concerts with friends. Nowadays of course, she was an independent woman. Yet she could feel Gibbs' stare in her back just like her father used to. Her clothes certainly weren't helping the situation. Still hugging herself, she found herself shrugging and looking downward as she answered.

"One of the bars I was interested in performing for called me and begged for me to come and fill in for a cancellation – it's the first one I've had in months and to be honest I just scrambled and ran out the door. They called me an hour before the assigned time. Not exactly professional but…I was eager to please…" Suddenly embarrassed at her own admission, she clattered over to her cup shelf and began to needlessly rinse an old mug.

Gibbs tried his best to mask his surprise. "You never mentioned being a musician before." He had a vague idea that she was – if only from a few glances at a guitar case and her sometimes unconscious habit of tapping out song beats when the radio was on. It was clear to him now that she had a passion for it.

"It's not something I go around announcing. It's more like an unrealistic dream of mine." The sink ran over her bright red nails. After a pause, she turned off the water and turned to face him, glass still in hand.

"And the outfit?" Anyone who didn't know the agent well enough would call his expression unfathomable. However, the coffee girl could sense a bit of disapproval and she bristled a little.

Walking towards her bedroom with a stab in her step, Sophie threw her voice over her shoulder. "Well, I was going to a bar, wasn't I?" In reality, she had a feeling he wouldn't be caught dead in such a place. It had a youthful club atmosphere which she suspected DiNozzo would appreciate. And perhaps Ziva as well. The sort of bar she imagined the bar Gibbs would frequent involved old tavern swinging doors, old cowboy boots and shots of hard liquor. With each man in the room equipped with a holstered gun.

Meanwhile, Jethro had wisely chosen not to answer her snappy retort. He didn't need to be a genius to see that Sophie was a bit upset. She slammed her bedroom door rather than closed it and even Nancy jumped at the noise. He could hear the young woman opening and closing drawers in haste, probably looking for clothes to wear. With Nancy trotting behind him, he lowered himself into the leather sofa and then stifled a grunt. The piece of furniture was solid, stabbing his back like a piece of plywood.

A few minutes later, Sophie patted back to the living room. An oversized black sweatshirt reached below her knees and contrasted sharply to her white sweatpants and bare feet. Her finished toenails mismatched with her overall lounge look. As she lazily put her hair in a ponytail, she glanced at him with mild annoyance. Quite frankly, she wore the outfit to draw attention to herself. Being an unknown artist, performing in bars – while a good way to start – usually just meant singing to drunks. Unless you do something to make them listen – this was why there was a small section of her waredrobe that no one could pay her to wear during daylight. In addition, the scantily made clothing made her feel…empowered. Sexy.

Perhaps her rattled and angry response to the agent's very brief radiation of disapproval was due to that it hit too close to home. Her mother had been very heavily against her dream to create music as a career or even as a hobby. During her teenage years, there was one instance where her mother had literally thrown her guitar on the floor and broke it in frustration. Since then, their relationship crumbled and Sophie hadn't heard from her for several years. Her father, on the other hand, tended to support her in whatever she chose to do. While he was not fond of her clothing choices for her performances, he would always ask her how her latest gig went when she called. Blinkingly twice, she pulled herself out of her thoughts. She was being far too sensitive.

Gibbs tilted his head slightly, his eyes locked on the damaged door. Sophie followed his gaze and cracked a small smile. "I should probably get that fixed."

He chuckled before getting up from his rock like seat. "Leave it." As her face scrunched up in a confused frown, Gibbs gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before patting Nancy on the head. With a few strides, he was out of the door and down the hallway.

Unconsciously, she shook her head. She spent the next hour or so double - checking that none of her possessions were missing. The apartment complex was safe enough, single parent households mainly but she figured it better to be safe than sorry. She had been opening her nightstand drawer when Nancy blotted from her lazy bed spot and out of the room. Puzzled, Sophie followed the canine out to the main living area. The greyhound had rearranged herself on the floor next to the door where Gibbs was diligently attending to her front door. A new door was prompted against an interior wall.

"…you bought me a new door."

The silver head bobbed upward. "Yeah."

"Gibbs, you bought me a new door I can't –"

"Yes you can." Turning back to the nail he was unscrewing, his tone left no room for negotiation.

Sophie put her hands on her hips and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't you have some coffee to go make?" The jest in his voice was obvious and Sophie couldn't help but giggle.

"Yes and you're not getting any."

AN: I struggled with this argggggh sorry. But yay update! I'm determined to make next chapter based on a NCIS episode so we will see.