A/N: Since I'm all packed here's another chapter. Again, I love all the reviews. Thanks a bunch.

Long Enough Alone?

Chapter 20-Sophie Is Missing

Eventually Jethro fell asleep under the boat and at about 6:00 am he jolted upright and almost knocked himself out. He drug himself up the stairs to his bedroom. The bed looked very inviting but first he had to go to the bathroom. When he stopped to wash his hands on the way out he looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw looking back at him was a man in bad shape, a man who was sad and alone and who knew he had made the biggest mistake of his life just about eighteen hours before.

Jethro stared at himself in the mirror for a long time. Then he sat down on his bed and tried to figure out what Shannon would say to him. She always told him he was one of the smartest men she had ever known but that sometimes he was too pigheaded to admit he might be wrong. He remembered a conversation they had shortly after her sister had died. They were sitting in their porch swing talking about the people they had loved and lost. Shannon asked him if he would give up his memories of his lost loved ones if he could have all the pain of their deaths taken away. He had thought about that for a little while and then said no, he would rather remember his mom and his friends and deal with the pain than to have no memory of them. She had agreed with him. She told him she would rather have all the wonderful memories of her sister and her father because she knew those happy memories would help her deal with the pain of their loss. Many years later when all he had left of Shannon and Kelly were his happy memories he admitted he wouldn't give those up even to have the horrific pain he was suffering taken away.

Sitting on his bed now Jethro realized he had that choice again. He was trying to avoid the pain of losing Jen or Sophie but he was really just throwing away any happy memories they might create together. And, he wasn't avoiding the pain; he was feeling it. He was about as miserable at that moment as he ever remembered being. He had no desire to do anything but sit and stare into space. When he thought about the next few months and what it would cost him to give Jen up he felt sick to his stomach. On the other hand when he thought about how she made him laugh, how she smiled at him and how it felt just to be in the same room with her he thought he could do just about anything. And when he thought about Sophie and her funny questions and her little hand in his he knew it was much too late to worry about what would happen if he loved her. He already did love her and he already missed her.

Jethro sat with his head in his hands and cried bitter tears of regret. After a while he took a deep breath and stood up. There was only one way to fix the situation and that was to admit he made a mistake and ask Jen to give him another chance. He could almost hear Shannon telling him it was about time as he headed to the shower. Twenty minutes later he was dressed and on his way back to the mountains to try and fix what he had so superbly screwed up the day before.

Jen finally fell asleep on the couch and didn't wake up until almost 8:00. When she realized how late it was she couldn't believe Sophie hadn't come in to wake her up for breakfast and cartoons. Jen got up and went down the hall and seeing Sophie's door still closed she went to brush her teeth before awakening her daughter. She really hoped Sophie was over being mad about Jethro leaving. Ten minutes later she went into Sophie's room but the child was not there. She was confused but not immediately worried. She checked her own room in case Sophie had decided to sleep in her bed as she sometimes did. Not there. She went to the kitchen calling Sophie's name but there was no response and no child in the kitchen. Now she was becoming frantic. Jen went outside and looked around the house and called for her but Sophie did not answer and did not appear. She ran back into the house and scoured every room without finding her.

Panic was quickly setting in and Jen had to fight back tears of fear and frustration. She went back outside and looked all around calling continuously with no results. Only her own cries came back to her on the morning breeze.

Jen tried to calm herself and think. She went back into Sophie's room and tried to figure out what clothes were missing. The pajamas Sophie had worn to bed were on the floor. Her tennis shoes and the clothes she had worn the day before were gone and her favorite stuffed bear; the one she had recently renamed Gibbs, was also gone. Jen knew no one had been in her house and taken her child. At least she thought she knew that. She checked the window in the bedroom and found it locked. She couldn't imagine her little girl sneaking out of the house but it seemed that is what had happened. Where would she go?

There was only one place Jen could think of that Sophie would go and that was Jethro's house. Suddenly she was enraged at him all over again. This was his fault! If she ever saw him again she was going to kill him. First she had to find Sophie. Jen didn't have any idea how long Sophie had been gone but since she normally woke up about 7:00 she could have been gone for over an hour by now. Jen ran to the car and drove the short distance to Jethro's cabin.

When she arrived at the cabin she ran all around calling for Sophie with no success. With her fears mounting she ran down to the lake but Sophie was not there. She called and called and finally sat down on the dock and cried. She knew she needed to get some help but at the moment all she could do was cry and curse Jethro. Irrational or not, she blamed him for whatever Sophie had done and she vowed to make him pay for it.

Jen quickly gathered herself and ran back to her vehicle and drove to Martha's store. She needed to get help to look for Sophie and the store was the best place to get started. Ten minutes later she burst through the door calling for Martha.

"Jenny, what's wrong?"

"Sophie is gone. I can't find her anywhere."

"Whoa, what do you mean she's gone? Start at the beginning."

"When I woke up at 8:00 this morning she was gone. She's not in the house or around our house anywhere. I've checked at Jethro's house and the lake and she's not there either. We have to find her. This is his fault and I'm going to kill him right after I find my child."

"Jen, listen to me. Calm down. Go home and I will call the sheriff and get some people over there. That is where we need to start. She's probably just out exploring and might even be home now wondering where you are. Go home and I'll be there after I make some calls. Don't worry. We'll find her."

"I can't lose her Martha. We have to find her." Jen was in tears and trying hard to maintain control.

"We will. Now go home in case she's there and scared because you're gone."

Jen ran out of the store and headed home. All manner of terrible things were flooding her mind and she fought to hold onto what Martha had said. Maybe Sophie was just out exploring and wandered too far. She would find her. Everything would be fine.

While Jen was frantically searching for Sophie, Jethro was breaking the speed limit trying to get back to her and convince her he was an idiot who deserved a second chance. He was about an hour from her house when his cell phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Jethro, it's Martha. Where are you?"

Jethro was surprised to have a call from Martha and the tone of her voice had him instantly on alert. "About an hour away from you. Heading that way. What's wrong."

"Sophie's missing."

There was probably nothing Martha could have said that would have had any worse affect on Jethro than those two words. His stomach dropped and the image of little Beth Cooper flashed in his mind. No, no, no he screamed silently to himself.

"What do you mean she's missing? How long?"

"Jen found her gone this morning about 8:00. She doesn't know how long she was gone before that. Jen has already checked around her house and yours and the lake. I sent her home to wait for the sheriff and some people to help her look. You need to get here Jethro."

"I'm coming. I'll be at her house in less than an hour."

Jethro normally drove too fast but today he couldn't seem to drive fast enough. He agonized over calling Jen but decided to just concentrate on getting to her as quickly as possible. Forty-five minutes later he pulled into her driveway. He noted the sheriff's car was there along with several private cars and trucks; friends and neighbors called in to help look for Sophie.

Jen was on the front porch talking to the sheriff. They had organized people to fan out around her property and were actively looking for Sophie in the surrounding area. When she saw Jethro's truck stop in her driveway she was furious all over again. She assumed Martha had called him but she wondered how he got there so quickly even if Martha had called him as soon as she left the store. She didn't wait for him to get two feet from his truck before she was in his face.

"What the hell are you doing here? This is all your fault and I don't want you here. Go away!" As soon as he was in her range she was hitting him with her fists, punching him as hard as she could in the chest as she yelled at him.

Jethro just stood there and let her go at him. He motioned over her shoulder for the sheriff to stay away. Eventually he wrapped his arms around her and held onto her while she screamed at him and cried.

"Jenny, listen to me. You can hate me later but let me help you find Sophie. Please. Tell me what happened."

"You left that's what happened. She was heartbroken and for some reason just couldn't let it go. She kept saying she had to talk to you. I don't want you here."

"Let me help you, Jen. Tell me what she said. What did she want to talk about?"

"What difference does it make? What makes you think you can find her?"

Jethro placed his hands on either side of her face and looked deep into her eyes. He saw her fear and her pain and he wanted to take it away.

"It's what I do Jen. Just tell me what she said. I will find her, I promise you. And then if you still want to hurt me I'll let you have all the time you want. Let's find Sophie first."

"She was upset about you leaving and not taking her fishing. She kept saying she wanted to talk to you, to ask you something. I don't know what."

"Did she say anything else? Think, Jenny."

Jen looked at him and saw real concern on his face. She wanted this nightmare of a morning to be over.

"She said last night that she wanted to talk to her daddy. I thought she meant you because when I asked her about it she said she meant you. I thought she just got mixed up or something because she was so tired and upset."

A light came on in Jethro's mind and he knew where she was. "Come on. Get in the truck. I think I know where she is."

Jen didn't ask any questions she just got in the truck and prayed he knew what he was talking about. Jethro drove straight to his cabin.

"I've already been here and checked. She's not here, Jethro."

Jethro ignored her and got out. "Come on Jen." He started running toward the lake but when he got there he veered off onto a path Jen had never even noticed. Suddenly they were in a thick stand of trees, shaded and cool. Jethro slowed down and reached for Jen's hand. She let him take her and lead her to the clearing where he and Sophie had their talks.

As they came into the clearing Jethro saw Sophie curled up on their favorite boulder with her bear under her head and her thumb in her mouth. Jen stepped from behind Jethro and gasped. She gave him a quick glance then ran to Sophie and softly called her name. Sophie opened her eyes and immediately threw her arms around her mom's neck. They stayed in that embrace for a long few minutes.

"Oh Sophie you scared me so much. What are you doing here?"

"This is where I come to talk to daddy. I was going to go right home but I got sleepy. How did you find me?"

Jen turned around but Jethro was gone. "Gibbs showed me."

"He came back!"

"Yes, he did." At that moment Jen realized he must have been on his way back when Martha called him. She wondered why.

"But where is he?"

"He was just here. Maybe he went back to the cabin. Come on, let's go find him."

Jethro had stepped away to let Jen and Sophie have their reunion in private. He knew how relieved Jen must be and how terrified she had been just a few minutes before. He wanted to give her time to process all that emotion and to talk to Sophie by herself. On his way back to the cabin he called Martha and told her Sophie was safe. He thanked her for calling him and promised to come see her before he went home this time.

When Jen and Sophie arrived back at the cabin Jethro was sitting on the back porch steps. Sophie ran to him and threw herself into his arms. Jethro hugged her tightly and inhaled her sweet little girl scent. She had a strangle hold on his neck until she finally let go and kissed him on the cheek.

"You came back."

"Yes I did. Listen Sophie, I want you to promise me you won't ever run away or leave the house again without telling your mom. You scared her very much."

Sophie looked over at her mom. "I'm sorry mommy. I didn't mean to scare you. I won't ever do it again."

"Okay, Sophie. Shall we go home now?"

"Can we stay here with Gibbs? Please."

Jen looked at Jethro and he nodded his head. "I guess we can stay for a while. You need to tell Jethro thank you for showing mommy where you were."

"Thank you for helping my mommy. Can we go fishing and have a picnic today like we planned?"

"I think we can still do that. Sure. Why don't you and mom go in the house and I'll be in there in a few minutes."

Sophie was still standing in front of Jethro and he pulled her into his arms and hugged her again. He whispered in her ear, "I love you Sophie."

Sophie kissed him on the cheek and said "I love you back."

When Sophie stepped away and went to her mother Jen looked down at Jethro and saw him wiping tears from his eyes. She was struck by the emotion this episode had caused him. As she walked past him she reached her hand down and he grasped it briefly giving it a quick squeeze. He didn't get up and Jen took Sophie in the house. Fifteen minutes later she was back outside but Jethro was no longer on the porch. She looked out toward the woods and saw him sitting on the picnic table his feet on the seat. She went out and sat down next to him and leaned into his shoulder. Without looking at him too closely she knew he had been crying.

"Thank you Jethro."

"Jen, we need to talk."

TBC