A/N: Thank-you to everyone who is reading, following and reviewing. Enjoyed hearing about people's memories of presents of the breathing variety. I gave my Mum a beautiful little sheltie for Christmas one year and it wonderful to see her face when she realised that I had bought her for her and not me. :D

I've been waiting for a while now (well since I began the story lol) to reveal the reason for Tia's kidnap and I'm so glad that you weren't let down. This story is dear to my heart. I get to write Tony with some family who have his back and I got to write a whodunit to see if I could keep readers guessing. I also wrote a confrontation scene in the hospital I was rather proud of but the icing on the cake was that I got to challenge myself by attempting to write from the POV of a ten year old. This chapter is Tia's point of view and I had a lot of fun writing it. I don't know how successful I was - I'll leave that for you guys to judge but I am pretty excited to bring it to you finally. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Big thanks to Faldo for beta'ing this chapter and being patient with my punctuation. You all know the score that all remaining mistakes are my bad but in this chapter there are some intentional errors in it because... well ten year old's, even literate ones like Tia are not perfect.

Rising to the Bait

Chapter 29

Tia couldn't keep her eyes off the bright red box that sat at the feet of her friend Mr Jensen who had helped rescue her and her daddy when the horrible men kidnapped them at the park. It had always seemed so exciting to read about evil people trying to hurt Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger but she didn't like it when it really happened to her. It sucked! Seeing real people getting hurt was scary and it had given her horrible nightmares and made her feel really, really afraid, all the time.

The only time she truly felt safe now was when her Daddy was with her because he was her Knight who would slay all the dragons and make them go away. She looked at the silver charm bracelet on her wrist that he had made especially for her birthday. It had a little silver horse charm, a knight in armour and a princess and he told her that it would help her to remember that he would keep her safe. He made her promise to wear it everywhere and he said he would always know where she was.

He also promised that one day when they could get away, he would take her to England where she could meet her English cousins and they would visit all the castles together where knights protected fair maidens. When she wanted to know if they would see where the dragons had been slain he smiled and said maybe. Tia knew that when some parents said maybe it was their way of saying no but she knew that her dad said maybe when he was really thinking about something or he wasn't sure about something. She also knew that when she pulled her 'pleeease Daddy pleeease' face he mostly said yes. Unless it was dangerous, wrong or might hurt someone. So Tia figured that if it was at all possible he would take her to see where the dragons used to live.

That made her feel excited, especially when he promised they could also see all the places that Harry Potter had been filmed too. Until she woke up again dreaming about that horrible man who said he was her daddy's father and he tried to take her away from him and Jess, and he had hurt her Nanny, Megan too. When she'd asked her father if that horrible man was really his daddy, his face got all scrunched up and he'd looked like he was pulling faces, although his eyes got really mad and really sad at the same time.

He said that he used to be once, a long time ago but he'd told him when he was a little boy that he didn't want to be his father anymore and sent him away. But when she asked him why he tried to steal her away if he didn't want any kids, Daddy just hugged her real tight and said that she was such a wonderful little girl that he wanted her to belong to him. He also said that the man he called Senior was never going to hurt her again because he would make sure Senior was locked up in prison with the other bad guys.

Although that made her feel a little bit better and she was able to go back to sleep again, snuggled up in between her daddy and Jessie, she was still worried. What if he escaped from prison like the Death Eaters in Harry Potter? What if he had friends who would try to steal her away or hurt her father? So mostly she tried not to think about those things. But it sure was hard!

But now, as she handed around pieces of chocolate cake to everyone who had come for her birthday party, she couldn't take her eyes off the present. It was just sitting there, inviting her to open it. She knew that it was only polite to wait until Mr Jensen gave it to her but sometimes it was really hard being polite.

Finally chuckling, he called her over. "Hey there Miss Tia, Happy Birthday. I hope you like it. Better open it on the floor," he advised, mysteriously.

Tearing off the pretty wrapping paper Tia found a large box that she opened and inside that was a pretty pink and purple pet carrier. Jimmy came forward and lifted it carefully out of the box for her so she could peek inside. Two eyes were looking back at her, except they were different colours. How strange! One was a blue eye and the other one was a yellowy-orange eye and they belonged to a kitten with short white fur and long gangly legs. Tia looked into the little pointy face and fell in love.

"Is she really mine?" she squealed.

"Yep, she sure is, Little Missy. Your Daddy and Jess said you could have a kitten for your birthday seeing you made such good friends with Mac. I got her from the same animal shelter where I found my Mac. She didn't have a home and I figured you'd take good care of her," he explained. "But there's just one problem," he confided with a frown.

"What?" She whispered.

"Well at the shelter she didn't have a proper name. They called her K0108 and I don't think she likes her name very much. D'you think you could come up with a better one?"

Tia felt pleased because she had been worried about what he might tell her but she was good at finding names. She looked at the little cat who she thought looked lost and a little bit sad too. "Why is she sad, Mr Jensen? Where's her family?"

"I don't know where her family is and I think she is sad because she has no one to love her and look after her, Little One. D'you think you can help her?" the crusty Vietnam veteran asked, laying his hand on her head.

"Oh the poor little thing. I'm going to take such good care of you and love you forever and ever," she promised before growing quiet. Everyone studied her worriedly, hoping she wasn't having a flashback. Smiling brilliantly at the young cat she announced, "And I've thought of the awesomest possible name for you that's heaps better than K0108. That sucks!" she told the little cat who was watching her out of the plastic grille on the door. "I think you look like a Luna Lovegood to me."

She looked at her dad and Jimmy. "Can I let Luna out of her carrier?"

Jimmy extracted a cat harness out of his pocket. "Yeah Tia, but she has to wear this outside so she doesn't run away. She's probably feeling scared with all these strange people and a place she doesn't know. And most kitties don't like going on journeys in the car so if she is very scared she might try to run away and hide," he explained as he expertly extracted the juvenile cat and snapped on a cat harness.

Tia saw that the harness went around Luna's neck like a dog collar but a second purple strap was fastened around her chest behind her front legs and she could see it was attached to a leash so the little cat couldn't run away. She edged close to the Luna, talking softly. "Oh you are a pretty thing, and I'm going to be your BFF Luna Lovegood." Tia reached out her hand slowly and let the cat rub her chin on her skin. She knew that was a kitty-cat's way to say hello so then she rubbed behind her pointy ears and Luna began to purr before Tia stroked her gently along her back as the cat arched and stretched.

She heard Jimmy tell her daddy and Mr Jensen that Luna was a calm kitty that was really well socialised. She thought that meant she was friendly and she thought Jimmy was right, she was very friendly.

As she stroked her beautiful little kitty, her Daddy's cell phone rang and he answered. "Yeah, okay Abs. That's great, she'll be really happy to see you after all. Yeah she was sad that you couldn't come. See ya soon." He hung up and smiled at her.

"Hey there Sweetie, that was Abby. She finished doing all her work sooner than she thought, so she's going to stop by for some cake," he told her. "She's going to be here in a few minutes."

Tia smiled, happy that Abby was going to be there after all. She had called to say that another team at her daddy's work needed her to come in and help them catch the bad guys. She was sad because she hadn't seen Abby for several weeks and she had promised to watch a marathon of Harry Potter movies with her. She had also hinted that she had a super cool present for her and Tia couldn't wait to find out what it was. Now she might.

Kissing her, Daddy said he was going down to the gate to let Abbs in and she tugged on Jimmy's shirt to get his attention. "Hey Jimmy, do you think that we should put Luna Lovegood back into her carrier now before Abby gets here?" When she saw he looked confused Tia explained. "She is very bouncy and she squeals a lot. I think she might scare my kitty-cat when she is just starting to get used to me and her new home. Daddy says Abby drinks too much Caff-Pows and that's why I can't have too many sodas." She observed.

Jarrett Jensen patted her head. "You'll make a real good momma for Luna. That's real smart thinking, aint it Jim?" He praised her.

"Yep, sure is, Sweet Cheeks." He picked up Luna because Daddy said he used to work at a vet clinic and knew all about looking after animals and put her new kitty back in the cat carrier. He told her that in a while he would help her introduce her kitty to her new home but for now he would put Luna inside where she would feel safe. Her god mother came along and told her to wash her hands and she ran off to the inside bathroom, telling herself that it was safe because with all these people here - they would hear her if a bad guy tried to take her away. Wouldn't they?

Tia heard Abby squealing and she started smiling. The little girl had found Abby confused her a heap when she first met her. She liked her and had fun with her but she sure didn't act like any grown-up that Tia had known before. She bounced around a lot and squealed and sometimes she dressed up like a little girl, wearing pigtails and long socks and short little skirts. Sometimes she dressed up wearing strange things like dog collars and Tia knew that Abby really liked dogs. Maybe she was trying to pretend she was one, especially a pit bull terrier like her friend's brother used to have in Arizona because his dog wore those spikey leather collars. Maybe she was hoping the dogs would think she was a dog too and like her back.

When she asked Jess if that was why Abby wore so many dog collars and metal chains, she'd suddenly got really red in the face and started coughing and then Tia was scared that she was sick and forgot about her question. But she finally understood why Abby was a grownup working at her Daddy's work and acted like such a little girl. Abby had a really cool secret!

The other night, Daddy and Jessie had watched a movie with her about a boy who wished he was grown up and then his wish came true. It was called Big and the kid woke up and he was suddenly all grown up except he was still a little kid inside. The same thing must have happened to Abby because although she looked grown up on the outside she was a little girl inside. If Tia needed any more proof to convince her that Abby was just like that kid Josh Baskins in the movie, then the fact that Abby had Bert was confirmation that she wasn't really a grown-up at all. Adults didn't have plush hippos that farted when you squeezed them or at least they don't take them to work with them.

Rushing out to see her, Tia gave Abby a tentative hug and whispered that she knew her secret but wouldn't tell anyone.

"Tell them what Mini-Toni?" Abby wanted to know.

"That you're just like Josh Baskins. Do you need help to find the Zoltan Speaks fortune telling machine? My Daddy and Jessie could help you to find it again." She promised, wondering why Abby got such a funny look on her face. Maybe she didn't want anyone to know. Since Abby was her friend she wanted to help her, she didn't want to scare her. "Don't worry Abbs, I can tell you when you act like a kid and help you to act more like a grown-up so no one ever guesses your secret." She gave her a hug, feeling her friend shaking.

Her voice sounding really strange, Abby wished her a Happy Birthday even though she knew it wasn't her birthday anymore and then she squealed in her ear making her jump. "I've got your present here Antonia Jessica Mae… well actually if we are being really truly, super-duper accurate that should be Gibbs' and my present, it's a combined one, see? Of course you do cuz we made it for you and you're gonna love it, Tiny Toni."

Leaping up and fetching another big box, she plonked it onto the table and gesturing for her to open the present, Tia looked across at her daddy's boss, Gibbs, who was also watching her. He didn't like her for some reason. When she first came to D.C. he was mad at her and she didn't know what she had done to make him mad. Jess had explained that he was jealous of her because her daddy loved her so much and wanted to spend so much time with her that he felt left out.

They tried to make him feel like he was one of their family so he wouldn't be lonely but he still hated her and Jessie. Then when the bad men killed her friend Karen, shot her Daddy and took them away he helped to find them and keep them safe. He helped them move into this new house and would stand guard when they came home after her bad grandfather tried to steal her away. She also knew that Gibbs had done something really, really bad that had made her father and Jessie so mad that she thought they might explode. And he had gotten into big, big trouble.

Jessie said that he had been suspended for a month (and that was like being sent to his room) without pay (which was like having no pocket money) and an official caution on his file (which was like when the teacher wrote really bad things on your report card – in red pen) so whatever he did must have been really naughty. Tim had gotten into big trouble too but he was sent away to a school to remind him of what he was supposed to already know. And he got no pocket money either and when he came back home he wasn't allowed to be on Daddy's team for six whole months. That was half a year! Boy was that a very long time-out.

She knew that even though Gibbs had helped them after both times that the bad men came to hurt her, Jess and her dad were still very angry with him. She knew that her Dad was so angry that he was thinking about leaving the team but had decided to stay for the time being, although she wasn't sure why. At first he didn't even want to talk to Gibbs but Abby came and saw her Daddy and she cried and begged him to give Gibbs a second chance to make it up to him. Whatever that meant! She said that he had apologised and that was like such a huge deal for Gibbs.

Tia didn't see why saying you're sorry was such a big deal though, she said it all the time when she did something wrong or bad. Everybody knew that it was the right thing to do. So did her Daddy… even when it wasn't even his fault. He'd cried and told her he was sorry when his wicked used- to- be daddy tried to take her away from Dr Prue BB's office, so why did Gibbs saying he was sorry mean so much? Grown-ups made no sense sometimes.

And although she got that Abby loved Gibbs like from here to the moon and back again, he had never been mad at her or maybe she mightn't like him as much, cuz he could be really, really mean sometimes. But since he got into big trouble for doing something bad, he had been trying to make her like him. The problem was the little girl didn't know if he was only being nice to her because her daddy was angry with him and he was trying to make friends with him again so he wasn't mad with him anymore.

Why would he help Abby make a present for her? Even though her daddy wasn't as angry as he used to be, he still wasn't Gibbs BFF like they used to be and she didn't think that Gibbs liked that much – he was real grumpy. But Abby was shrieking and making such a noise, begging her to open it that she shrugged and tore open the present. Gibbs and Abby had made a beautiful miniature version of a princess bed with a canopy and with a soft furry pink blanket and lilac sheets and pillow. Tia looked at it, wondering if they thought she still played with dolls, as Abby announced loudly, "It's for your kitty! So she has somewhere of her own to sleep. But there's another one that we couldn't wrap up cuz it's too difficult,"

She pointed to a big lumpy shape that was sitting near the fence with a sheet over the top of it. Pulling Tia over, she bounced up and down squealing "Look, look, look!" So she did, pulling the sheet off to find a magnificent fairy tale castle."

"It's a Kitty-Condo with hidey holes and a climbing frame, and look down there, Abby pointed, "That's a scratching post to keep her claws sharpened and away from the furniture. Do you like your presents Tiny Toni?"

Tia gave her a hug. "I love them. Thank-you Abby they're wonderful." Abby beamed at her happily. I've never seen anything like them and I bet Luna Lovegood loves them too."

Realising that she had forgotten to thank Mr Jensen properly she went over and hugged him too. "Thank you for giving me my Luna kitty. It's a terrific present, and I'll love her so much."

"You're very welcome Little Missy, and one day soon you can come out to my place for lunch and visit Mac and Deefa," he said, his voice sounding funny and sort of quivery. Tia hoped he was feeling okay.

Tia went over to Gibbs who was watching her with those unblinking blue eyes that reminded her of Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig - man were they creepy!"Thank you for making the kitty-bed and kitty castle for Luna. I really love them," she thanked him politely, looking at him and wondering if he really wanted her to give him a hug. Did he even want to be her friend or was he just tricking her? Deciding that it was the polite thing to do even if he wasn't really her friend, she threw her arms around him and hugged him briefly, surprised when she felt something wet fall onto her cheek.