AN: A while ago in the reviews, someone mentioned something that I actually had planned to happen to Lizzy and it is going to happen in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Chapter 50

Lizzy had been in L.A. for about a month now. She had been dividing her time between taking care of her mother and being shown around L.A. by Callen. They had become very close that she was one of the few people that called him by his first name. Callen introduced her to the agents that he and Hetty worked with. They could all tell that Callen felt something for Lizzy but none of them ever voiced it. None of them knew about Lizzy's past relationship with an NCIS agent, except Hetty, but they could tell that she was running from her past.

Callen drove Lizzy to the hospital so she can stay with her mother who was going to be released from the hospital the next day. Callen, being the gentleman that he was, walked Lizzy to her mother's room. Upon their arrival, they noticed more agents in front of the door than usual. Lizzy fearing the worst started running to the door. "What the hell is this? Let me in." But the agents wouldn't move.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't allow you to enter this room." One of the five agents said.

"What do you mean you can't let me in? Director Shepard is my mother. Let me in."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you can't come in. Please move away from the door before you are arrested."

"Hey. Guys, I'm Agent Callen. Lizzy, go sit down for a minute while I talk to them. This is Director Shepard's daughter. And if she wants to see her mother, let her into that hospital room. Move away from the door." Callen said showing the agents his badge. "Now, why are there so many agents guarding the Director? Was there another attempt on her life?"

"No, nothing like that, Agent Callen. The Secretary of the Navy is here and the extra agents are here for his protection as well as the Director's."

"Oh. Well can we go into the room or is it a private conversation between the two of them?"

"The Secretary has not asked to be disturbed. They've been in there for a while though. They should be finished soon. Once they are done with their conversation, she can go in."

"Alright. And from now on, if there is a meeting or something else that is going on with the Director, make sure to tell her daughter or any of her other family members what is happening. This family has been through a lot and they don't need the extra worry or fears like you just placed into the Director's daughter." Callen walked over to Lizzy and placed a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't crying but she was trembling. He could only imagine that it was due to her fear that something had happened to her mother. "Lizzy, it's o.k. You're mom is fine. She's just in a meeting with the SecNav."

"What, why would the SecNav want to meet with her now? Unless, oh God, you don't think he's going to fire her, do you?"

"I hope not. When I was working with your mom, she was one of the best agents I've ever seen and she deserved her position."

Just then the door opened and the SecNav walked out with a smile on his face. "Remember what we talked about, Jenny. Take things slow until you get back into the swing of things."

"I will. Thank you, again."

Once the Secretary left the room, Lizzy ran into the room and saw her mother smiling. "Lizzy, are you alright?"

Lizzy hugged her mother tightly, all of her old fears coming to the surface. It didn't matter how old she was, with her parents jobs, she was going to constantly worry about them. This was yet another reason for her not to regret ending her engagement. If she married Tony, she would jump every time the phone rang, thinking that it would be a member of his team telling her that Tony was hurt or worse.

"I'm fine, mom. I was just worried when I saw the extra agents and then they wouldn't let me in."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I was just having a very important conversation with the SecNav."

"Yeah, they mentioned that. What was it about?"

"Well, the SecNav reviewed my past three years as Director and my history as an agent and saw that ever since I became Director, employment at NCIS has increased and so has case closing rates of cases and an extensive increase in funding. Based on all of this, he believes that NCIS will suffer if I leave my post as Director."

"What does that mean? Are you going to perform the duties of Director from L.A.?"

"Not exactly. I'm going to start slow and take on the duties as Assistant Director until I am well enough to travel back to D.C. where I will take over as Director from Vance."

"Where are you going to do this from?"

"Apparently, the SecNav spoke to Hetty and she has agreed to allow me to work from the Special Operations office."

"That's great, mom."

"Yeah, Jenny, it will be good to work with you again." Callen said. He had silently been observing the two of them until then.

"Thank you, Callen. It will be good to back at work. I've been becoming restless just laying in this bed."

"Oh I know." Lizzy said with a laugh.

"I'll leave you two alone." Callen said with a small smile.

"Thanks for the ride, Callen."

"No problem."

Jenny was quiet for a moment before saying, "You know that Tony is now and Agent Afloat on board the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Have you spoken to him since you gave the ring back?"

"No and I'm not going to."

"Lizzy-"

"No, mom, I can't talk to him."

"Why?"

"Because I love him so much that if I talked to him that I would go back to him."

"And that would be the worst thing possible."

"Yes. I needed him the entire week when you were unconscious and he never once answered any of my calls, texts, emails, or even when I went to see him at his hotel room. How can I be with someone that runs the moment there is trouble?"

"Lizzy, just please be think about it. Love is so difficult to come by that when you do find it, you should never let it go."

"I'll keep that in mind."

A week later, Jenny was at the office of special projects taking care of some business in an office space that Hetty had set up for her. Lizzy refused to leave her mother's side that first week, came to the office with her. She instantly became close to Eric and Kensi but it took Sam, Macy, and Nate a bit longer to warm up to her.

She was sitting in the waiting the control room listening to Hetty talk about the latest case with her agents. A senator's daughter was found in her room with a deep gash on the top of her head "Her sister, Ashley, is missing. We need you to locate her. It is likely that she killed her sister and ran out of fear."

"What's the murder weapon?" Sam asked.

"There were pliers found near her body with Ashley's fingerprints all over them. We believe this is the murder weapon but the coroner will know more once the autopsy is finished."

"Umm, that's not a murder weapon." Lizzy said.

"Excuse me." Macy said.

"That's not a murder weapon."

"Care to share why you believe so?"

"When a girl is bloated, skinny jeans are very difficult to get into. It is even more difficult to zipper them up. One of the easiest ways to get into them, is to take a set of pliers and have someone drag the zipper up while you are lying on the bed. Usually, sisters do this for one another. I know my sisters and I have done it for one another. That's why Ashley's fingerprints are all over the the pliers not because she murdered her sister, but because she helped her get into her jeans. Plus, if she had used it as a weapon against her sister, she would have most likely chipped a nail. Since there is a lack of nail filaments there, she is most likely not your killer." When Lizzy saw that they were all looking at her like she had six heads she quickly added, "Of course I can be wrong. You are the experts. Forget I mentioned it."

"Now as I was saying..." Lizzy managed to slip out of the room and went to her mother's office.

"Hi, sweetheart. I just need to finish this report and we will go to lunch. What's the matter?" Jenny said with concern when looking at her daughter.

"I made a stupid mistake up in ops. I opened my mouth when I should have kept it shut."

"Oh. Don't worry about that. Everyone does that."

A few minutes later Hetty walked in. "Hetty, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anything in ops."

"On the contrary, miss Gibbs, your insight is very much welcomed. Also, the forensics team and coroner confirmed what you said. The gash was not due to the pliers, it was due to a metal bat."

"Oh."

"Miss Gibbs, you have good insights and instincts as well as intuition. Have you ever considered becoming an agent?"

"What? No. Not since I was very young."

"I think you would make an excellent one. How would you like to work for NCIS?"