Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I'm so glad I haven't lost all my readers. Gibbs is falling apart and still, more is being heaped upon his shoulders. Things are very serious for little Aimee. Enjoy!

Gibbs rounded the corner lost in his thoughts and was nearly knocked off his feet by Abby when she saw him coming down the corridor. He felt her warm arms embrace him tightly and he stopped his worrying long enough to drink her in. Abby always felt so good in his arms. She was like some kind of healing balm, his safety net and a whisper of an echo of what he thought his Kelly might have been to him had she lived. Abby's usual exuberance was dialled back though, and she was uncharacteristically quiet. Abby was not a stupid person by any stretch of the imagination. He knew Abby knew the situation was grave.

Gibbs pulled away and brushed hair out of Abby's eyes. Her usual pigtails were askew, and she looked bedraggled. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, to assure her that all would be set to right but he couldn't muster the strength to do that. Instead, he planted a tender kiss on her forehead.

"How's she doing?" he managed.

Abby nervously banged her knuckles together and shrugged. "She's awake."

"Said much?"

Abby shook her head. "Not really. She thinks you're mad at her."

Gibbs sighed, his face expressionless. Under normal circumstances, where Aimee wasn't going to die on the operating table, he would have been angry with her. She ran away for stupid reasons! She endangered her life and almost was killed. What had she been thinking?

"How…" his voice wavered and he forced himself to maintain his composure. He refused to let Abby see him crumble. She needed him to be strong. Hell, he needed him to be strong. "I can't be mad at her."

Abby nodded, tears glistening on her cheeks. "I know."

Gibbs sighed and looked towards the room. He didn't hear any voices coming from the room.

"Who's with her?"

"Tony is…and Riley. Tony can't get him to leave Aimee's side. He's afraid to force the issue." Abby's voice sounded thick. "I need to get back to NCIS. I left Makayla with Director Shephard and things aren't going so good…"

Gibbs frowned. In all the chaos, he'd forgotten about Makayla. "What do you mean?"

Abby reached into her purse and pulled out her cell. She poked around on it and brought up a screen, showing it to Gibbs. Gibbs puffed out his cheeks as he read the text messages from Makayla.

"Damn," he muttered. Makayla was threatening to take off again, and apparently, Jenny was only exacerbating the situation with her threats. Gibbs' heart skipped a beat in his chest when he read Makayla's pleading text to Abby telling her she was leaving. Gibbs inwardly sighed. Why was it that Jenn could take down the worse criminals yet she couldn't handle a teenage girl?

"I'm afraid she'll take off and we won't find her this time."

Gibbs handled Abby back her phone. "She won't take off, Abbs."

Abby lifted a brow. "But…"

"Mak promised me she wouldn't take off again, Abbs. I trust her word."

Abby didn't look convinced.

"Mak has a lot on her mind. She's strong-willed but she's not malicious. She knows we all have a lot on our plates. She's not going to do anything to worsen things."

Abby heaved an uncertain sigh but nodded her head. "Riley is pretty freaked out too, Gibbs."

"Yah, I know."

"Are you angry with me for letting him go?"

Gibbs reached out and squeezed Abby's hand tenderly. "Abbs, right now, I'm not sure I can label any feelings I have but don't worry, I'm not mad at you. I'm just relieved things went down how they did. It could have been much worse for all of us."

Abby nodded. "Director Shephard wanted Tony to bring Riley in straight away, but Riley refused. The doctor told Tony to back off. Riley's D.O. is raising hell for everyone and SecNav is coming down on her."

Gibbs raised his hand to silence her. He didn't want to hear about NCIS business right now. He had enough to contend with. As far as he was concerned, Riley was a hero and the teen's D.O. could go straight to hell.

"Jenny can handle it." Of that much Gibbs was certain. Jenny might be out of her element with her niece but she wasn't when it came to dealing with whatever was thrown at her at NCIS. The SecNav was not a big deal to Jenn Shephard.

Abby chewed her lip but nodded solemnly. She had learned a long ago how to read Gibbs' body language and it was clear to her that now was not a time to challenge him. Abby blinked back some tears and then threw herself into Gibbs' arms once again. Gibbs drew her in close to comfort her and himself. The elephant in the room hadn't been addressed and he knew he needed to say something for Abby's sake.

"They're gonna operate. I told them too. Aimee might die."

Abby stiffened at his words then sobbed. Gibbs raked a hand through her tousled hair but didn't shush her cries. How he longed to do the exact same thing, to just let go but he couldn't. His throat burned from holding back the emotion. The pressure was reaching the point of past bearable. He felt like he might combust.

Pushing her away gently, he lifted her chin. His piercing blue eyes captured her watery gaze and with all the strength he could muster, he let her know that whatever happened was going to happen and she needed to accept that. Abby blinked back tears, reading his expression silently. Gibbs and Abby had always had a connection; they didn't need words to communicate.

"Gibbs," Abby whispered. "Are you okay?"

Gibbs looked at her, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. He bit down hard on his tongue. Hell, no, he wasn't okay! How could he be? His whole life was on instant replay and he was about to be shattered again. He clenched his jaw so hard he felt it crack.

He puffed out his cheeks. "I'm fine, Abbs, don't you worry about me," he signed, not being able to find the strength to utter the lie out loud.

Abby slipped her warm hand into his and kissed him gently on the cheek. She squeezed his hand firmly and took off down the hallway. Gibbs could hear her sobbing as she disappeared around the corner. He knew she was on her way to rescue Makayla from Jenny. If anyone could keep the peace, it was Abby. He just hoped Abby could hold down the fort long enough to keep hurricane Jenn and Tsunami Makayla from decimating one another.

Gibbs' eyes went to the door as he reached out to turn the handle. Slowly entering the room, Gibbs had no idea what to expect. The silence was deafening as he walked in and took in the scene. Riley was standing beside Aimee holding her hand. Aimee was staring off into space, seemingly unconnected to her visitors. Tony was pacing but stopped when Gibbs entered the room.

"Boss,"

"How're things with your father, DiNozzo?"

Tony looked taken aback by the question. It was not something expected at that moment.

Gibbs noticed Riley drop Aimee's hand and back away closer to the window. Aimee sat up in her bed and looked sheepishly at Gibbs which painfully pierced his heart. He hated it when the kids looked at him like he was their judge and jury. He just wanted to envelop her into an enormous hug, yet she looked at him with such expectancy and uncertainty.

"My father?" Tony sounded perplexed.

"Yah. Has Senior respected your stance?"

Tony frowned. "Boss, this isn't the time to…"

"Answer the question, DiNozzo."

Tony heaved a sigh. "It's not that simple."

Gibbs shook his head and chuckled. "Never is, is it?"

Tony stared at him, confusion on his face.

"I need a word with Riley and Aimee, Tony. Would you wait outside? When I'm finished here with Riley, Jenn wants him back at NCIS."

"I know. He won't listen to reason."

Gibbs turned to look at the teenage young man in the room. Gibbs had to keep reminding himself that Riley was a Marine or close to it. The lost look in the boy's eyes gutted him to the core. He'd seen a lot of young Marines in his time and some with just as wounded looks as Riley. Gibbs didn't know why Riley tore at his heart so much. What was it about this kid that ate at him? "That true, Riley?"

"I won't leave her, sir." Riley spun on his heel and looked Gibbs straight in the eye.

"Why?"

Riley narrowed an eye. "I don't trust you. Aimee has been hurt enough."

"Riley."

All eyes in the room turned to the small yet strong voice coming from the hospital bed. Gibbs saw Aimee push back the blanket and slip from the bed.

"Aimee," Gibbs scolded. "Get your butt back in that bed!" he snapped at her before he could stop himself. He watched her wince at his sharp tone and from the corner of his eye, he saw Riley outwardly cringe.

Before Gibbs could say another word, Riley flew to Aimee's side, rounded the bed and put himself in front of her. His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared. Tony made a move towards Riley but Gibbs raised his hand to stop him.

"DiNozzo, outside now."

"But, Boss…"

Gibbs gestured with his head and silenced Tony. Tony nodded, eyeing Riley with discomfort but obeyed and left the room, leaving the door purposely ajar.

Gibbs turned to Riley who was helping Aimee back into bed. Aimee protested but Riley scooped her up and placed her gently but firmly in the bed.

Aimee huffed indignantly. She pushed the younger man away with a groan. "Stop it! I can take care of myself!" She proceeded to slip off the bed again and glared at both of them.

"Aims, you need to rest…" began Gibbs, walking closer to her.

Riley's eyes widened and Gibbs could tell the young man was on high alert. Gibbs wasn't sure if he should speak with Riley first or with Aimee. Both of them had issues he needed to address but how he handled it would make all the difference to the other.

"Are you mad, Gibbs?" asked Aimee, padding in her bare feet past Riley and stopping in front of him.

Gibbs felt the colour drain from his face. He could see Riley's face pale as well. He knew the choice had been made for him. A lump formed in his throat and he shook his head. He couldn't be mad at her even if he wanted to.

"Nope."

Aimee's face looked unsure. She looked up at him with uncertainty shining in her dark eyes. She turned to Riley. "He won't hurt me, Riley. For real and for honest, he won't. Gibbs isn't a bad guy."

Riley didn't say anything in return and Aimee turned and faced Gibbs once again.

"You said lying is wrong, Gibbs. Why are ya lying to me?"

Gibbs choked back a laugh, not expecting her tenacity to shine quite so brightly yet.

Gibbs scooped her up in a tight embrace, keeping one careful eye on Riley's response, not wanting to move too fast in case those movements stirred the youth into some unwanted reaction. Gibbs held her close to his chest, close enough he could feel her rapid heartbeat. Aimee was frightened or fearful or something; she had to be for her heart to be racing that quickly. Did she really think he would be angry? Gibbs carried her to her bed, walking past Riley who looked so damned forlorn. Gibbs couldn't even get a clear read from the kid. So many emotions flashed over the kid's face as he walked towards him. Anger, jealousy, distrust, longing…it was almost painful to see.

"I'm not lying, kiddo. I'm not angry. At first, I was, but not anymore." He set her down on the bed and she shimmed up to the headboard and leaned against it, adjusting the pillow behind her back.

"It's cuz of this chip in my head, isn't it?" Gibbs flinched as he looked down at her.

"Aims, you running away makes me want to shake you and smack your little butt into the middle of next week. Having that damned chip in your head doesn't change that! Taking off is wrong, and I dunno what I have to do to make you see that."

Aimee gulped and from the corner of his eye, Gibbs saw Riley clench his jaw. He knew he needed to tread carefully with Riley listening.

"I wanted to protect you, Gibbs," Aimee's voice became a whine.

Gibbs sat on the bed beside her and Aimee pulled her legs up so that she could rest her chin on her knees. It was a self-defence reaction that Gibbs recognized. Aimee knew her reasoning was ridiculous now. She hadn't in the beginning, but with all that had happened, she'd figured it out the hard way.

"Protecting people is my job, not yours." His voice came across much sharper than he meant it to and he saw Aimee shiver.

"I won't run off again," she whispered.

Gibbs patted her knee gently. "Thank-you."

He looked at her, his steely grey eyes piercing her brown eyes. If he could have passed on some kind of energy wave that would transfix her into submission so he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would never run away again, he would have done it in a heartbeat. Instead, he just proceeded to look deep into her eyes eventually forcing her to look away.

She sucked on her bottom lip. "How's Ness?"

"Worried about you. She's with Papa Jack."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Aimee fidgeted and dared to look up at him again. "Can I go home now?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm afraid not tonight."

Aimee groaned.

"Aims, I don't know how well I can explain this to you. I know you've been through a lot and you have a lot of questions…"

"Gibbs," she whispered.

Gibbs eyed her tiny face closely. Her haunted little face told him a story that he didn't want to read. No kid should have it to tell. "You know, don't you?"

Tears flooded down her cheeks but she nodded. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he noticed that Riley had walked closer and sat down on the chair opposite the bed. His face was white as a sheet.

Gibbs cleared his throat. "I dunno, kiddo, but that chip's gotta come out if you want to have a fighting chance. If it stays, then we will never know. Do you understand that?"

Aimee licked her lips but remained thoughtfully quiet. Gibbs reached out and patted her knee comfortingly. It was a lot for a little kid to comprehend. Aimee and Janessa had been through more crap than any kids should have to deal with in an entire lifetime. Gibbs knew Aimee was just trying to navigate her way through life. All her actions and reactions, behaviours and misbehaviours were just a little kid struggling to gain some kind of control over her surroundings. Aimee had pulled the short stick and it wasn't fair.

"If you get the chip, will you put all the bad guys in jail, Gibbs?" Aimee looked up at him with her shimmering eyes imploring him.

Gibbs took a sharp intake of air and held it a moment before releasing it quickly and pulling Aimee into his arms. "That's a promise, Aimee," he whispered into her hair, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Aimee hugged him back oblivious to Gibbs' unravelling above her. His arms around her were giving her a warm sense of safety and comfort. Gibbs wasn't angry at her like she thought he would be. Her eyes fluttered as fatigue washed over her. She was tired of running, and she was tired of fighting.