Hey, guys! So, I'm nearly done with this fic! What I've got planned is one chapter after this, and then the epilogue, and then I should be done! So, technically, two more chapters! (So close...)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! This is shorter than usual, but I had to shorten it otherwise two chapters would be put into one and would be too long. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

It took a long time. Gibbs knew that it would take a long time, but even in his opinion it took a long time. Case upon case upon case passed every week, and every week Gibbs realised it was taking longer and longer for the files to be processed, for his application to go through, for him to actually become qualified as a foster carer.

And the longer it took, the more he felt like he was going to lose the children.

Granted, it wasn't as if there was actually a time limit on when he could actually begin to foster the children. He knew they would end up being fostered no matter what, and that was what he wanted. But a part of him wanted to take care of them himself, make sure that they were being cared for properly, in a way that he approved of. He wanted to make sure they stayed near and weren't shipped off to some other state.

He didn't want to lose them.

The rest of the team had tacked on to the fact that it was about more than just the kids going into the system. They hadn't quite figured out what the extra problem was, but they knew it was there. The thing was, any time someone tried to ask about it, the conversation was either switched very quickly to something else, or something came up on a case they were investigating. There was never a proper conversation about it – not even with Abby or Ducky.

That was, until there was a visitor in the office.

It wasn't often that strangers, random people, came to the office. A while back, it had been Bloomfield visiting regularly to not only check up on the kids, but on the agents as well (who counted as kids in her opinion, so she didn't really mind). Somehow she'd managed to get close to McGee, though whatever relationship was blooming died down in a week. Next it had been the kids' social worker, Jerome, visiting Gibbs about moving the kids' stuff out and getting them ready to move into the system.

But this new woman? The agents were damn sure they'd never met her properly before – at least, the males hadn't – and in Tony's opinion she wasn't enough of a redhead to count as one of Gibbs' many ladies over the years. Yet, she still asked for the Senior Supervisory Agent, who had gone on a coffee run (an actual coffee run, for himself – McGee would go later for the others), and allowed Ziva to show her to one of the conference rooms so that she could wait for him.

As soon as Ziva left, McGee and Tony sent each other confused looks.

"What do you think that's all about?" Tony asked as he turned back to the paperwork on his desk (or at least, pretended to – none of the others knew what he was really doing anyway).

McGee shrugged as he went back to typing away at his computer. "I don't know," he muttered, focusing on the screen.

"Who was that woman?"

"I, again, do not know, Tony."

"She can't be one of Gibbs' lady friends." By now, McGee realised Tony was voicing his thoughts aloud. "Too much blonde, not enough strawberry."

"Why does everything have to be about 'lady friends' with you?"

"She's gotta be a friend from somewhere else," Tony continued, not answering McGee. "Maybe from those long coffee runs he takes."

McGee raised an eyebrow at him. "Coffee runs?"

"Yeah!" Tony smirked as he stood, moving around his desk to head towards McGee's. "Just imagine – taking time out of work to have a little secret rendezvous, finding a little lady in a coffee shop to have some fun with—"

"I thought you just said she was too blonde?"

Tony leaned on McGee's desk. "Doesn't mean he can't have some fun with her."

The younger agent looked up at him with a single raised eyebrow before rolling his eyes at Tony. "You and I both know that Gibbs has way more tact than you're giving him credit for. Definitely more than you."

"Is that so, McGoo?" Tony leaned down. "And how much tact do I have?"

Before McGee could answer, swift footsteps entered the bullpen. "You done with your paperwork, DiNozzo?"

Tony immediately straightened up. "Just taking a bit of a break, boss."

Gibbs turned his head and gave Tony a single raised eyebrow.

"Getting back to my paperwork now, boss."

As Tony turned to head back to his desk and continue with his paperwork, McGee looked up over his computer at Gibbs. "Uh, boss, there's someone waiting for you in one of the conference rooms."

That caused Gibbs to pause, about to set his coffee down on his desk. "Who?"

"Uh, we don't know, but Ziva took her down."

Gibbs nodded, taking his coffee and heading out of the bullpen towards the conference rooms. As he headed down the corridor approaching the rooms, he spotted Ziva walking out of one of the rooms. Her eyes widened when she spotted him, and she shut the door gently behind her before approaching him.

"Gibbs, it is the woman from the other day," she informed him, clasping her hands in front of her. "She informs me that you are to have an interview."

Gibbs nodded and moved to move past her, raising an eyebrow when she moved to stand in his way. A bold move on her part, honestly.

"Gibbs," she started, glancing around nervously before continuing, "if you are in any sort of trouble… any at all… you will come to us about it? Or, at least, to me?"

Gibbs just continued to stare at Ziva, waiting for her to let him pass so that he could head into the conference room. When she didn't move, he sighed.

"You have paperwork to do."

"I know about the papers."

That made Gibbs straighten up. Ziva pursed her lips, letting out a sigh through her nose.

"I asked the woman in there, who is very pleasant, by the way, why she had come to see you a second time," she explained. "After all, I was the one she spoke to the previous time. And she tells me you have an interview. An important one that relates to papers you have completed." When Gibbs didn't give an answer, she took a step closer. "Gibbs, please, do not hide things from us. We are your team—"

"I'm your boss."

"And a boss would tell if he was going to do something important." Her brows furrowed. "Why are you hiding this from us?"

Finally deciding it was about time to end the conversation, Gibbs twisted and slipped past her, coffee unspilled and still in his hand. As soon as he passed her, he spoke:

"Because I didn't need you to know yet, David."

"You mean you didn't want us to know?"

"Go back to your paperwork before I send you on a coffee run."

Even though Ziva still knew Gibbs was hiding something unnecessarily, her lip quirked up into somewhat of a smirk and she made her way back to the bullpen, rounding the corner just as she heard the door to the conference room shut.

Spotting Sadie sitting at the table, he took a deep breath before moving to sit across from her, returning her smile.

"Mr Gibbs," she greeted, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "It's so nice to see you again." Pulling a file in front of her, she took a deep breath before opening it. "Let's get down to business, then."

As soon as Ziva returned to the bullpen, the two males rounded on her.

"Who was that?" Tony demanded, not even giving her a chance to make it three steps into the bullpen, never mind get to her seat.

Ziva rolled her eyes at Tony's sudden demand for answers, slipping past him and heading straight over to her desk, sitting down gracefully and turning to her computer to continue with what she had been doing before escorting the woman to the conference room. She managed to go a good few seconds before giving in and huffing. "What?" she demanded, finally looking over at them.

"I asked you a question," Tony pointed out, giving her his usual sarcastic, raised eyebrows expression.

Ziva pursed her lips, before turning back to her computer and her work. "It is not mine to tell."

"Oh, come on…" Tony whined, totally disregarding the displeased look McGee gave him. "Spill, Ziva, spill!"

"As I have already said, it is not mine to tell," she repeated, continuing with her work.

"How can it not be yours to tell?"

She gave him a deadpan expression that answered his question quickly.

"Oh."

The team went practically silent, before Tony decided to open his mouth and speak. "What if we go and listen in?"

"Gibbs would kill us," McGee answered immediately.

"Only if he caught us."

The other two gave him a look.

"…Which he's bound to do anyway so it's better if we don't try," Tony answered himself, sighing.

Honestly, all three of the agents wanted to find out what was going on with Gibbs, but there was no way they'd be able to get any information out of the senior agent unless he was to tell them directly… and even then, he was often cryptid and they had to get Abby to translate for them.

Hearing Gibbs' phone suddenly ring was most definitely a surprise, though. Most people called the man's cell directly, especially if they had a case, but his desk phone was for non-emergencies and for other people in general.

The three agents looked at each other, wide-eyed expressions on their faces, wondering who would dare to head over to the desk first. None of the agents dared to move… until they all jumped up to answer it at once.

Ziva was the first to grab it, giving the men a triumphant smirk as she put the receiver to her ear. "Special Agent Gibbs' desk, Special Agent David speaking," she greeted professionally, keeping Tony away with her knee. The response spoken on the other line made her eyebrows rise. "What…?"

Gibbs gave Sadie a (small, but) pleasant smile (something that he rarely gave anyone, really) as they both stood from their seats, taking her hand as she reached out for him to shake it.

"Thank you for this meeting, Mr Gibbs," Sadie said pleasantly, releasing his hand and moving to tidy up her papers so that she could leave. "I know how busy your work days usually are, so to have you take time out and speak with me is very kind of you."

"Today's been a slow day," he responded with a small smirk, causing the woman to chuckle. "It was nice seeing you too."

"Hopefully when I see you again, it'll be at the final point before everything finally happens." She picked up all of her files and moves around the table to approach the door. Gibbs moved ahead of her, moving to open the door for her.

As soon as he opened the door, though, he was met with his three agents scrambling over themselves to get to the door, all three of them straightening up as soon as they realised Gibbs was watching them. And the woman in the room standing beside him, just about to exit through the doorway.

There were a few moments of silence as the agents tried to make themselves seem presentable in front of the visitor, and then Ziva spoke up.

"Gibbs, the children's home called," she started, looking confident but betraying her nerves in her eyes.

Gibbs' brows furrowed. "And…?" After all, there was no reason the home should be calling him at all.

"It's Andrew and Jessica… they've run away."

So... what do you guys think?