Several days later, Gibbs received a troubling phone call informing him that Andrew had been killed in the line of duty during a gang-related burglary. MS-13 was suspected to be involved but there were no solid leads. Andrew left behind a wife, two grown children, and a broken little girl that Gibb didn't know how to piece back together. Gibbs was left with more questions than answers, and he didn't have the heart to tell Aimee; the little girl seemed to have shut down. Her spirit vanished, replaced by an angry shadow of rage. Gibbs had hoped Andrew pulling away would force Aimee to place her trust in another, possibly even him, but she retreated into herself and became more like a cornered injured animal acting on instinct. As each day crept into another, Gibbs felt more disheartened.

—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—NCIS—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—

Gibbs ran his sawdust covered hand along the smooth grain of the wood. He smiled with pride at how well the seasoned wood had accepted the weathering. He wanted to make sure that the object would withstand plenty of use and possible abuse. He reached up and scratched an itch on his nose only to hear a giddy giggle from below him. Gibbs quirked a brow and peeked his head under the workbench to see a blonde head scurry further into the shadows. He reached down quickly and scooped a squealing little girl into his arms.

"Hey, Snoopy, I thought I told you to stay upstairs with Abby."

Janessa giggled and poked him in the nose with her tiny finger. "Whaddya making, Mr. Gibby?"

Gibbs pursed his lips trying not to break out into a laugh as he hoisted the squirming, giggling girl onto his hip. Unable to keep a good grip on her, he placed a foot on the ledge under his bench and managed to settle her on his knee.

"It's a surprise for you and Aimee, so," He poked her nose in return. "I can't tell you."

Janessa tried to bite his finger with her teeth and Gibbs pulled his hand away quickly.

"You don't want to bite my hand, Little Miss." He held up a dirty hand so she could see them. "They're all covered in sawdust and paint."

Janessa growled at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I'm a hungry lion and I'm gonna eat you."

This time Gibbs broke out laughing. He had a very hard time keeping up with Janessa's wild imagination.

"Oh, yeah?" He held up his fingers in the air and wiggled them. "I'm the big, bad tickle monster, and I'm going to tickle you until you pee your pants."

Janessa shrieked and dissolved into giggles as Gibbs gently tickled her ribs.

"Ahem," came a soft voice from the bottom of the stairs.

Gibbs looked up to see Abby staring at him with a large grin on her face. His heart still ached when he saw her bandaged fingers still in splints, but he was glad to see some light behind her eyes again.

"Abby," squealed Janessa. "H-help me!"

Gibbs stopped his onslaught for a few moments while Janessa gasped for breath. Abby lingered on the stairs giving Gibbs the impression she had something on her mind. He looked down at Janessa as an idea came to him.

"Let's tickle Abby!"

Janessa nodded and squirmed out of Gibbs grasp, running across the room to tackle Abby. Abby shrieked and scurried towards Gibbs. Gibbs smirked as he reached out and pulled Abby into his arms. Janessa soon joined them and he proceeded to attack both of them. The laughter that resonated in the room filled his heart with joy. Things felt overwhelming and there seemed to be no immediate solutions, but Gibbs was content in the moment to be thankful. It was the little things that healed his heart and he hoped it mended Abby's too. She'd been so quiet ever since she'd been kidnapped and injured. Gibbs was worried about her. He wasn't a person of many words, but he knew that keeping things buried inside had a way of eating you up alive, and he didn't want to see that happen to Abby.

"Gibbs!" pleaded Abby, out of breath. "Please stop!"

Gibbs chuckled and took a step back. Both Abby and Janessa sunk to the floor trying to gain their composure. Abby's hair had pulled out of one of her pigtails, her face pink from exertion. Janessa's dress had slipped up to her chest, exposing her pink underwear and one of her socks had been kicked off. She stood up, straightening her dress looking partly indignant.

"You don't play fair, Mr. Gibbs. You can't tickle a hungry lion; he'd eat you."

Gibbs shrugged. "Next time, don't try to eat the Tickle Monster."

Janessa held her foot up with a pout. "You made my sock fall off."

Gibbs reached out to tickle it and Janessa screeched again. "No! Bad Tickle Monster!"

Abby stood up and punched his arm. "Bad Monster."

"Ouch."

"I'm going to eat McGee instead. He doesn't tickle," said Janessa heading towards the stairs.

Gibbs ran towards her and scooped her up in his arms. Janessa let out another squeal as Gibbs planted a kiss on her blonde head.

"Next time, no snooping around down here when I tell you not too. Understand?"

Janessa's eyes widened as she realised he was being serious now. "Am I in big trouble?"

"Nope, but you will be if you disobey me again. Now shoo! Go eat McGee, little lioness."

Gibbs set her on her feet and gently propelled her towards the steps with a playful swat. Janessa turned and held up her hands, baring her teeth and growling like a lion before disappearing up the steps. Gibbs stared after her and shook his head with a chuckle. Janessa was a breath of fresh air in a very stifling place. Her unpredictable, sunny personality brought joy to everyone. Gibbs had to remind himself to remember that she needed guidance as well and not everything she did was cute and funny. Only, pretty much everything she did made him laugh.

"She has you wrapped around her cute little finger."

Gibbs walked towards Abby and wrapped her in a hug, planting a kiss on her brow.

"I know few other girls who have that power over me as well," he commented as he picked up his sanding block. He ran his hand across the grain once again, admiring his handiwork.

Abby smirked. She leaned against his work bench, chewing on her lip.

Gibbs continued working quietly knowing that Abby had something on her mind. He figured that she would talk when she was ready. She'd been avoiding him and changing the subject whenever he'd tried to talk with her. One thing he'd learned about Abby was that the more he pushed, the more she pushed him away.

"Gibbs."

He kept sanding without looking at her. "Abbs."

He saw Abby fidgeting with her hands. "How are your hands feeling?"

"Fine."

"I'm glad."

"Gibbs."

Gibbs looked up at her this time. He could see the pain resonating in her eyes.

"Do you hate me?"

Gibbs felt his heart skip a beat. Was that what she thought? How on earth had her mind traveled in that direction? He continued sanding waiting to see where she would take the conversation and not daring to say much.

"Nope."

"You mad at me?"

"Nope."

"You should be," she said, continuing to fidget nervously.

"Why?"

Abby shrugged her shoulders.

Gibbs stopped and leaned on the bench waiting for her answer. He had a lot of emotions coursing through him but anger wasn't one of them. Frustration possibly but not anger.

"Because it's all my fault."

BINGO. He'd suspected as much. Abby could easily take the weight of the world on her shoulders. Granted, she'd made some mistakes and learned some hard lessons as a result, but Abby's heart was always in the right place. It made her all the more endearing to him. Gibbs took a deep breath and steeled himself to be firm. His heart was demanding him to wrap her in his arms, but his head told him she needed some resolution first. He turned to look at her and placed his hands on his hips, looking every bit paternal.

"How is it your fault, Abbs?"

Abby swallowed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Nope, don't do that. You can't come down here and say that and not explain yourself." His voice held a warning in it. He wasn't going to let her walk away from this. "Why is it your fault?"

He gave her a steely glance which made her squirm.

"Because, Giiiibbbbs," her voice a loud whine, making her sound much younger than she was. "I ruined everything. I told Fagan things about NCIS I shouldn't have, and now I know that he's not who he pretended to be. You won't let me go back to work and Director Shepard said I'm on leave. All that means is that I'm going to be fired." A sob caught in her throat.

"Abby, you're injured. You're not physically able to work. And even if you were, I already told you that you're banned from your labs until I'm sure you're safe. What part of that don't you understand?"

Abby blinked back tears. "I'm not fired?"

"Nope."

"I should be."

Gibbs sighed and dropped his arms to his sides. He was trying to maintain a certain stern appearance but her demeanor was killing him. She was punishing herself enough for everyone.

"Abbs, listen to me. Yes, you shouldn't have been sharing classified information with Fagan, and I hope to God you've learned something from all this, but none of this is your fault. You had no idea that he was involved in human trafficking. You're damned lucky nothing worse happened to you when he had you snatched off the streets." Gibbs hesitated when he eyed her hands. She'd been through hell and back.

Tears fell down Abby's cheeks. "What's gonna happen, Gibbs?"

Gibbs walked towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I dunno, Abbs, but you're not alone, okay? Stop blaming yourself." He gave her a little shake. "You listening to me?" He felt her nod but she remained quiet. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—NCIS—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—ooOOoo—

Sawyer dusted his pants off as he stood to his feet. He'd spent the last several hours staking out Stratton's apartment. The guy's house was like a turnstile with different people coming and going, each individual looking as respectable as the next. No one could have guessed how dirty the guy truly was. He touched elbows with the best of the best. Sawyer's stomach churned. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and he flipped through the pictures he'd taken of Aimee. He'd recognised the tattoo the moment he set eyes on it. He'd seen the coding before and had recognised it. It made him feel sick that it was on a little girl. There was some kind of sick, sardonic irony in it. He felt worn. It was getting harder to keep up his cover, and he didn't like what he needed to do to put an end to everything. He might lack a conscience in some things, but he hadn't allowed himself to sink to scum level yet. Human trafficking was one thing. While he abhorred it, he could still sleep at night. But when it came to children, his heart berated him and the black circles under his eyes told a dark story.

He'd worked with NCIS as part of an undercover operation for the better part of two years. He always made it look like he was some kind of playboy who was playing a good game of scrambling his way to the top. He had to admit, he was impressed with his ability to fool everyone. He never thought he had any acting in his blood. His mother always said she could read him like a book. He had grown better at deceit over the years. He wasn't proud of it, but it certainly helped. It was the only thing that was keeping him under the radar and still alive. Just what was he anyway? Was he an agent? Was he a double agent? Was he a double-double agent? All he did know was he was tired of the charade. He was ready to give up, but too much was at stake. But, still, part of him wished he'd never agreed to be a part of it. And lately, the only thing that was keeping him focussed was the memories of his own daughter. Brooke.

Sawyer shook off the memories. He wasn't going to allow himself to travel down memory lane. Not now. Not ever. Brooke was dead and no amount of remembering was going to bring her back. He used the pain to keep him focussed. He couldn't afford to make a mistake. Stratton was going to pay for his crimes, and Sawyer was going to make sure of it. Death was too good for the man. Sawyer wanted him to suffer.

Sawyer bit down on his lip hard as he looked the picture of the code tattooed on Aimee's back. That code held enough evidence to bring down an entire crime ring. It held detailed transactions of money exchanged by countries all across the world. It held bank pins and accounts with billions of dollars. Sawyer had no idea why Percy would have done that to a small child. It must have some kind of sick joke to him or maybe it was his way to protect her? Had Percy had compassion for the child? Did he plan to sell her to the top bidder, make millions and still save her life? Sawyer figured the truth was Aimee didn't need to be alive to use that code. Dead or alive, it would work. His gut churned. He grimaced at the thoughts running through his head. He didn't want to even think the things he was thinking. But he had to.

His phone rang in his hand.

"Sawyer."

"Where are you?" shouted a voice, forcing him to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Outside Stratton's apartment."

"Where's the girl?"

"Safehouse."

"Damnit, Sawyer, you have a job to do. Why the hell are you stalling?"

Sawyer sighed loudly and he heard the voice on the other end soften in response.

"You don't have any choice, Kyle. I know it's hard, but there are millions of lives at stake here, not just one child. And, listen to me, man, that kid isn't Brooke."

Sawyer's temper rose. "I always have a choice, god damned it. You don't own me. This is a job, not my life."

"You keep telling yourself that."

Sawyer felt tears sting his eyes. Who was he trying to fool? He had promised himself that he wouldn't rest until he brought Stratton down. It had become more than just a personal vendetta, it had become his obsession.

"Bring the kid in, Sawyer."

Sawyer sighed painfully as he dropped the phone into his pocket. His job would have been a lot easier if he didn't have to face Gibbs and pull the carpet out from under the man. It was time he learned the truth, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Not for any of them.