In a rather blatant sense of déja vù, Bethel and Hennie found themselves at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital again. But at least it was to spring Zelda free. They were accompanied this time by Gibbs and Abigail, as everyone else was back at NCIS. But Bethel and Hennie didn't mind. Only good things could come from this visit.

They were even met by Doctor Turner again.

"Hi." she said in surprise. "Hollis just called me to say that you and Hennie were on your way back."

Bethel tried not to lose her cool. "Here we are. You already met my sister and Hennie, but our newcomer now is strictly NCIS."

"Oh, really?"

The man in question moved forward and shook the doctor's hand. "Yes, m'am. I'm Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Would Zelda Van Dekker be in Urgent Care now?"

"General care, actually."

"How did Zelda get here from wherever she was?"

"She was brought in by two metro officers." Turner told him. "They found her, or she found them—nobody has been entirely clear on that yet."

"Are those officers here?"

"Indeed, Special Agent Gibbs. One moment." Turner looked back to Bethel. "I'll be along in awhile, but your wife is one floor up in room 228."

"Got it! Thank you!"

With Abigail carrying Hennie, Bethel hurried towards the elevators.

Room 228 was very easy to find.

Zelda was upright in the bed, still dressed in her own clothes, but no longer on external oxygen.

Bethel ran to her side, embracing her. After tears were shed and kisses were had, the duo began signing to each other. Zelda even seemed to be signing faster than her wife. Abigail couldn't keep up with any of it, but Bethel was matching Zelda sign for sign. They were truly in sync.

At one point, Bethel signaled for Zelda to pause.

"What's wrong?" she wanted to know.

"Nothing." Bethel kissed her. "Look who's here."

She motioned back to the door. Abigail was there, smiling at her and most importantly, holding Hennie.

Zelda's heart promptly jumped for joy. She'd missed Hennie something fierce.

And Abigail. Zelda had many memories from her childhood of this woman. Bethel's cool older sister who had always treated her like family—who was now her family.

Meanwhile, Abigail had a start when she realized that she hadn't seen Zelda since before her enlistment. Zelda had been able to hear the last time they'd seen each other. That seemed another lifetime ago.

"Is it alright if we sit?" Abigail finally asked.

Like Bethel, Zelda spoke with a speech impediment, but her voice was very soft. "Of course it is. Come here."

Abigail sat with her and eased Hennie into her arms. The little girl didn't wake because of her exhaustion, but she snuggled closer to Zelda. A smile graced her face as she began to dream.

Zelda returned her attention to Abigail after a few moments.

"I haven't seen you since before Iraq." she stated.

Abigail's response was sheepish. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I understand why you had to stay away." Zelda touched a hand to Abigail's cheek. "I've just missed you."

"And I've missed you." they hugged. "How did you get away?"

"I walked out of the building."

Abigail stared. Bethel, too.

"It's what happened." Zelda said authoritatively. "Were the men caught?"

Abigail finally remembered how to talk. "We can discuss that at NCIS."

"Fine, but will sleeping be on the agenda? I'm really desperate."

Bethel kissed her wife. "Soon, my love. Should I send for the doctor now?"

Zelda tapped her nose with one forefinger.

Abigail got up at once to look for Doctor Turner again. She was just down the hallway, and very pleased that Zelda was asking for her. This meant that she was close to getting discharged already. Abigail also chose to leave the VanDekkers be so they could have some time together as a family.

Looking for Gibbs was next on her to-do list.

Upon being directed to a row of conference rooms just off the main lobby by a nurse, she knocked on the only one with closed doors. Gibbs bid her permission to enter. He was at a desk at the head of the room, with Zelda's rescuers on the other side. Abigail was reminded vividly of Gibbs' interrogation setup at NCIS.

While the atmosphere was not as heavy as it would be one of these occasions, a sense of relief was felt as Harmony and Sanchez both stood immediately to receive her. They respected Gibbs because he was from a prestigious agency, but his manner made them nervous. The CGIS official was a welcome diffusion.

Abigail was just happy that she'd already learned the officers' first names.

She approached them with one hand extended. "Lyra Sanchez and Harmony Zhou, I presume?"

The younger of the pair shook her hand first. "I'm Zhou, m'am."

Abigail wouldn't have put Zhou at much older than her youngest probie, so she had mercy on her. "How long have you have you been on the job?"

"This is my second week, m'am."

"I have enough probationary officers who call me that. Special Agent Borin will do."

Harmony bobbed her head. "Yes, m—Special Agent Borin."

"Harmony, did you find Zelda?"

"I did. I approached her and started a dialogue because she was just standing there in the middle of the sidewalk, looking confused."

"What happened when you realized that she is deaf?" Abigail continued.

Harmony realized that this was one of her law enforcement seniors checking up on her, so she answered as professionally as she could. "I slowed down to make sure that she could at least read my lips—I must admit, Special Agent Borin, that I wouldn't have known how to sign because I never took any ASL classes when they were offered."

Abigail arched an eyebrow. "And now that you've encountered a deaf person while in the field...?"

"I am definitely going to look into those classes now."

Abigail handed her a card from a coat pocket. "Call me tomorrow if you get stuck, Harmony. We can come up with something."

Harmony tucked one of the pockets into her own jacket as she took a step back. "Thank you. This means a lot."

Abigail gave a nod of approval before moving on to Sanchez. She outranked Harmony enough to train her, but was also young yet. Probably barely thirty. However, she also recognized Abigail's authority and stood at attention for her.

The redhead spoke first. "Sanchez, did Special Agent Gibbs happen to mention which agency I work for?"

She nodded. "Yes. He said you're from GCIS—Coast Guard Investigative Services."

"Very good." Abigail praised. "Tell me something about yourself."

"I come from a long line of nurses, first aid responders, and firefighters. My dream is to join the Air Force."

"That's all incredibly impressive. I take it that you're padding your resumé first?"

"I am."

Abigail offered her a kind smile. "Keep at it, Lyra. The higher-ups in this town really pay attention to details like those."

"Thank you. I'll remember that."

"Good. And I presume that you were nearby when Zhou noticed my sister-in-law?"

Sanchez's tone took on a responsible air. "I was approximately fifteen feet away in our cruiser when I saw the BOLO matching Zelda's description. My partner appeared with her, moments later. We helped Zelda after that, and when we learned that she's a veteran with a Purple Heart to her name, we took extra measures to provide the best service we could."

"Thank you for looking after her." Abigail said sincerely. "Did Zelda request MedStar Hospital in particular?"

"She did."

"Okay, then. That rounds things out for me."

Abigail shook Sanchez's and Harmony's hands respectively before moving around the table to stand next to Gibbs.

"Anything else?" she asked him.

"You covered it, Borin." he answered. "Mostly."

Abigail just held back a sigh. "Meaning what?"

"That we were about to tackle one last subject before you walked in. Sanchez and Zhou are metro police, which means they see all kinds of things that we don't. It also means that they happen to know exactly who our mysterious 'K. Watson' is."

"Who?"

Gibbs gave a minute shrug. "That is as far as we got."

Abigail regarded the officers before her again. "Start talking."

"Watson is a smarmy woman-hating jackanape, Special Agent Borin, if you'll pardon my French. His ambition is to be a detective, but I've heard through the grapevine that he's close to washing out. I wish I could say I was surprised."

"And why's that?"

"Watson was my trainee before Harmony, and he did a lot of things that warranted complaints on his jacket. I would be here all day if I had to list them. He somehow always managed to just toe the line to keep from getting fired."

Abigail hated how curious she was about someone who had been bad to Zelda. "Why aren't you partners anymore?"

"Our six month training window had ended. I was introduced to Harmony the next week."

"I see. What became of Watson?"

Sanchez put her hands in her pockets as she sighed. "He's officially on his last strike and the consequence is that he was denoted to train security. That's his new beat."

Harmony chimed in, "Why do you need Watson?"

Abigail shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Did Zelda mention the name Bethel?"

"Her wife. Yep."

"Well, Watson is the first person whom Bethel asked for help when she realized that Zelda was missing. It didn't go well."

"Oh no. What did he do?"

Abigail wrinkled her nose. "Watson called Bethel a bad name because she forgot her words; she's also hearing impaired and that affects her speech. She was written off by him. He walked away after that."

"Wow," was all Harmony could think of to say because she was utterly gobsmacked.

Sanchez cleared her throat to remind Gibbs that she was there. "How can we help, sir?"

Gibbs answered her question with a question. "What's Watson's first name?"

"Knox."

"Do you know where he'd be right now, Sanchez?"

"I do."

"Then we'll head over to your HQ to talk to your foremost CO." decided Gibbs. "I'm going to need yours and Zhou's help to catch this Knox Watson."

"We are at your disposal. Green means go."

"Alright, then. Will you two give us the room?"

The officers left.

Gibbs turned to his companion. "Abigail, how are you doing? Your day has been totally nonstop."

Abigail exhaled noisily. "I'm still trying to catch my breath."

"What's the catch?"

"I'm really worried that my parents and any or all of my brothers could show up."

"Looking for Bethel."

"Mhm. It's a long story, but they're half the reason that Bethel and Zelda felt like they had to ditch Ohio with Hennie, anyway."

"How many brothers do you have?" Gibbs asked suddenly.

"Three. They're all older than me, too."

"Do you think that any of them could best DiNozzo in a fight?"

This inquiry threw Abigail for such a loop that she grew confused. She also wasn't sure if she should laugh or not.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Could any of your brothers best DiNozzo in a fight?" Gibbs repeated. "Give me an honest answer."

"All of my brothers are farmers who think that 'lightheartedness' is beneath them, so no. Tony would easily beat any of them in a show of strength."

Gibbs gave Abigail a kind smile that only the people closest to him ever got to see. "I happen to know that no matter how much of a goofball Tony is, and for however much he puts your nerves through the paces, he does care about you. Say the word, Abigail, and we've all got your back. Always. Tony will be the one leading the charge."

Abigail grinned because she knew that every word was true. "Thanks. I feel a lot better now, Leroy."

He hugged her and then held her at arm's length. "Are you good now?"

"Yes. Thank you." Abigail freshened up her appearance. "Are you going to the station with Sanchez and Zhou now?"

"I am. I'll be back at NCIS in an hour."

Abigail wanted to ask how Gibbs could be so sure, but then remembered just who she was talking to. Gibbs was a legend, a former sniper, and a man who loved his loved ones fiercely. He'd escaped from death many time. He was indestructible.

So Abigail finally just said, "Okay, Gibbs. I'll see you back at ranch in an hour."

They parted ways.

When Abigail and the Van Dekkers relocated to NCIS again, they set up camp in the lounge. The plan was to stay put there for the time being. It was plain that the family was extremely tired. Even Bethel was beginning to struggle with staying awake.

But at least Zelda had digested the developments about Caplan and Forsythe without freaking out. That was good.

Gibbs had even returned with Watson in record timing. Watson was cooling his heels in interrogation. Sanchez and Harmony were out on patrol again. The rest of the MCRT was back in the main bullpen. Even most of Abigail's team were out in the field, hunting down clues to this mystery.

All should have been well and right. But it wasn't.

Gibbs and Abigail were arguing. Like siblings. He was all for talking to Bethel and Zelda to see what they knew, but she was all for letting them and Hennie catch some sleep without any interruptions. Their conversation was going nowhere.

Unnoticed, Hollis entered the room and knelt in front of Bethel where she was on the couch.

"How are you?" Hollis asked gently.

Bethel did her best not to whine from her tiredness. "I'm positively exhausted, Hollis, and I have to take care of my family. Therein lies the bone of contention between Abigail and Gibbs."

"Here." Hollis handed her friend a file folder. "This should help."

Bethel opened it to find that Hollis had followed though on her word of promise to get sleeping accommodations. She had even returned the charge card. Everything was all squared away.

"Thank you." Bethel put the card away and closed the file folder. "Thank you for everything. Help me up?"

Hollis did. "All you have to do is go to Abigail and Gibbs, tell them that you are thankful for them reuniting you with your family, and that you're willing to cooperate with answering questions after you've slept in beds from here. They'll understand."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes. I'm a war veteran and a mother to a small child, but your sister and Gibbs are veterans, too. They will understand. I promise."

Bethel signed her thanks. "I appreciate you. Your friendship, too."

Hollis hugged Bethel and then gave her a gentle push in the others' direction. It was time to be the biggest person.

Bethel reached them, but was immediately distracted.

Abby had caught her attention. She was a few feet away in the hall, and something was wrong. She also had an evidence bag in one hand. Bethel couldn't tell what was in it.

She called to Abby. "Come here."

This brought the goth somewhat out of her daze as headed into the lounge. It also stopped Gibbs' and Abigail's argument.

"Abs, what the matter?" Gibbs queried. "What's that?"

Abby still sounded stunned. "He's dead. Oliver decided to look for me after twenty years, and now he's dead. That's my fault."

"Don't think like that. None of this is on you."

Abigail joined the conversation, pointing to the evidence bag. It contained a hand-written letter.

"Is it alright if we read that?"

"Yeah. Ducky found it in Oliver's belongings, and sent me up here with it so I could bring it to you two."

She handed the letter over.

They began to read.

Abby suddenly started tapping her girlfriend almost frantically. "Abigail, I thought you said that your parents aren't Amish."

"They aren't." she answered. "They and my brothers are technically practicing Quakers."

Then reason caught up with Abigail.

"Why are we talking about this?"

Abby pointed to the hallway. A small number of people were approaching with Vance in the lead. In addition to the director, there were one woman and four more men, each with auburn or flaming red hair. Anyone would have noticed that alone. What really made these other people stand out was that they were dressed conservatively, and the men each had long beards. The woman wore a plain white bonnet on her head, and the men each had a straw hat tucked under one arm. All of them ignored the stared they were getting from the occupants in the bullpen as they passed by.

Abigail and Bethel both groaned.

"What?" questioned Gibbs. "Who are those people that the director is escorting?"

The sisters both spoke in unison. "Our family."