Hey Readers,

I've had so many people private message me and ask if I'd post an update...so here is a chapter...it's kind of short and a little rushed but it's here.

Life has been so busy...long story but we adopted!

So, forgive me for not updating in a while. My hands are full and so is my heart!

If I don't have time to update again before Christmas...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2020!

Makayla forced herself to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Riley looked a frightening mess and he wasn't making any sense at all. She was working really hard to not to burst into tears despite the fact he was scaring her silly. For all the time she'd known Riley, he'd never acted so unpredictable and he'd certainly never yelled at her. Her eyes fell to the floor as Riley reached under his foot to rescue what was left of her phone. He grimaced as he briefly looked at it and then cursed under his breath. He looked at her apologetically as he gingerly placed it in her outstretched hand. Tears blurred her vision when she realized that it had been pretty much rendered useless. Gibbs was going to kill her.

"I'll pay to have it replaced," muttered Riley running a shaky hand through his hair. "I'm sorry; I just don't want you to call Agent Gibbs. Can you understand that? I can handle this on my own."

Makayla nodded. "Riley, I don't care about the phone…" her voice trailed off. She really didn't, but a part of her did care about Gibbs' wrath coming down on her should he discover she was unreachable. She knew how much the older man hated it when anyone he cared about was unreachable. The newly forming bruises on Riley's face made Makayla wince and she couldn't stop the tears from escaping down her cheeks. Truth be known, she was feeling really fearful and hearing Gibbs' voice would have made her feel better. She reached out and gently touched Riley's bruised cheek. "Does it hurt?"

Riley grimaced and shied from her touch, answering her question. "I'm fine."

"Tell me what happened," she said softly, grabbing her backpack and unzipping it. She had water and tissues in it, so she'd be able to at least clean up his face and hands a little. She didn't know much about first aid but she was sure Riley did. She also had some ibuprofen. Maybe it would help alleviate some of the pain she could see radiating in Riley's eyes.

"Remember those two guys from the ice cream Shoppe?"

Makayla nodded as she poured some water on some clean tissue and reached out to dab at Riley's split lip. He winced but didn't pull away. "Sorry," she whispered. She made a face in sympathy but kept dabbing at his lip and the other cuts on his face. "I remember them. You wouldn't tell me who they were before…"

Riley took the tissue from her hand, holding it against his blackened eye. "It's a long story, Mak and I didn't want to drag you into my mess…"

"Ry…" she sighed. By the determined look in his eye, he wasn't going to listen to her scold him about sharing troubles. "You're a chauvinist," she said with a sour expression on her face. Her words had no heat behind them but she was frustrated. She shook her head, wiping a few tears away then she scoffed, "You're more like Gibbs than you realize..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Riley asked, confusion swimming in his eyes.

"You don't need to do everything by yourself, you big dummy! Why didn't you call Gibbs yourself?"

Riley pushed her hand away as she tried to dab at more cuts on his face. "Makayla, Trace is dangerous…" he seemed to stumble over his words before going on to say, "And I don't need Gibbs cleaning up my messes for me. I can do it myself."

"That's just stupid. Gibbs deals with criminals every day in his job. I'm sure they are far more dangerous than some old nemesis from your Marine days."

Riley punched the steering wheel in anger, making Makayla jump and Riley swore in pain.

"Good job, Einstein. Trying to break your hand too?"

"Just back off, Mak!" he snapped.

Makayla sighed, more tears blurring her vision. "Why did you pick me up if you didn't want my help? Huh?" she countered. "Did you really think I'd just pretend you were fine, and we'd go out for pizza or something? Are you that stupid?"

Riley ran a hand through his hair again. " Maybe. I dunno. God, I'm an idiot." He muttered looking defeated and like he really didn't know what his next move was.

Makayla could see that he was shaking all over. She closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing to calm down again. It wasn't helping anything to get mad and yell at Riley. When she opened her eyes, she looked down at her phone to see if she could get it to work long enough to send a text to Gibbs; he would know what to do. Riley obviously wasn't thinking straight. If Makayla hadn't learned anything else over the past few months, she'd learned to reach out for help when she needed it. She was tired of trying to handle the big things on her own. She always ended up epically failing anyway and usually landed in even more trouble to boot. When she saw the screen light up, she slid the phone off her lap and away from Riley's sight.

"I'm sorry, Mackie…" began Riley leaning his head back against the seat. He looked exhausted and defeated. "I never thought I'd see Trace again. It was a fluke really that he came across us that day at the ice cream Shoppe. I'd thought he'd been deployed."

"Just tell me what he wants. Why did he beat the crap outta of you?"

Riley took a deep breath and shuddered, clutching at his side.

Makayla reached out to touch Riley's forearm in concern. "Are you okay, Ry?"

He quickly shook his head. "I'm fine. It just hurts to take a deep breath, is all."

"But that's not normal, Ry…should I take you to the hospital?"

Riley reached out and patted her hand, "I'm okay, Mak. Besides, how would you get me there? You can't even drive."

Makayla jutted out her chin in defiance. "I can drive, Riley," she countered, daring him to prove otherwise. If Riley was seriously injured, she'd get him to the hospital. Somehow.

"NO, you can't. Don't even think of doing something so stupid." Riley winced again, his face growing pale. You'd get us both killed even trying."

Makayla worried her bottom lip. "I'm scared, Riley."

"I know and that's my fault. I shouldn't have taken us so far off the beaten path. I'm okay, Mackie so stop worrying about me."

"What does Trace want from you?"

Riley's rich chocolate brown eyes filled and swam in tears for a brief moment before he blinked them away. Makayla trembled at the vulnerability he'd briefly shown her. It made her realize he was just as much of a kid as she was. She glanced to her side watching her phone screen come up. She tapped at the text messages, hoping the touch screen still worked. Even a simple 911 message would let Gibbs know she needed him.

"Back…back…at Parris island," stuttered Riley, further grimacing and gritting his teeth, obviously in pain. "Trace…Trace kinda was known for targeting the weaker cadets," Riley scrubbed a hand over his face blinking his eyes several times. "At least, known by the other recruits. He was pretty damn good at hiding from the drill instructors."

"Riley, are you okay? You look awfully pale," said Makayla watching as the rest of the colour drained from Riley's face. She tapped on her phone screen and was relieved to see it go to her text messages. She carefully dragged her finger over the screen to pull up the last message from Gibbs but the screen was unresponsive. Scrolling wasn't going to work. She could see the last message from Gibbs at the bottom; she tapped on it but got no response from the damaged phone.

"I'm fine," Riley reassured her, inhaling a deep breath and releasing it slowly while gritting his teeth.

Makayla reached into her bag and pulled out the ibuprofen she carried with her. "Take a few of those," she offered, handing him her water bottle. Riley gratefully popped a few pills into his mouth, chasing them down with half the water in her bottle.

He wiped the back of his mouth and handed back the bottle. "Thanks."

"So, what did Trace do?"

Riley shrugged, "Nothing that bad at first. Life was already pretty damned awful with my D.I. riding my ass so hard; I hardly noticed anything else was up. Trace was no more than a pesky fly in the beginning, but over time, when I was less able to cope with things, Trace got riskier…always wanting a piece of me."

Makayla trembled at the ominous tone in Riley's words. She really didn't want to know what he meant. "So, uh, what does he want now?"

"He wants me to steal from Agent Gibbs…"

"Wait, What? Why? What would Gibbs have that's worth stealing?" said Makayla incredulously. The man had nothing of any value in his home, no paintings or sculptures and even all his electronics were outdated. Gibbs lived like a pauper. In fact, for several seconds, Makayla pondered what the man did with his money from NCIS. Gibbs was a high ranked agent. He would, in all likelihood, be very highly paid for his services.

"Anything…money, passwords, Intel, classified military information…anything useful that he can profit from…"

Makayla felt her mouth go dry. "Riley! You need to tell Agent Gibbs!" Her heartbeat quickened in her chest as she tapped on her phone screen continuously, hoping to get it to pull up Gibbs' last text.

Riley shook his head. "No!" He looked at Makayla with an imploring expression filling his eyes. All Makayla could see was his split lip, bruised face and darkening eyes. "Mak, Gibbs can't know about any of this. Promise me you won't tell him. Trace has connections that could seriously screw things up for Gibbs…maybe even get him killed."

Makayla shook her head. She knew that Gibbs had influences that Riley couldn't even imagine. Riley wasn't thinking straight at all. Gibbs was an NCIS agent, military trained and definitely well connected. "Riley, that's just plain dumb. Gibbs works for NCIS for Pete's sake…you don't think he has connections?" If it were possible, Riley's face paled more and Makayla could see perspiration forming on his brow. "Riley, you don't look good. Where does it hurt?"

Riley grimaced and groaned as he clutched his side. "I think I mighta broken a couple of ribs…" he muttered.

Makayla reached out and carefully lifted Riley's jacket up to get a better look. "Lift up your shirt so we can take a look," she ordered, shifting herself sideways more to help Riley. She chanced a glance at her phone but still had no luck getting the screen to cooperate with her. Perhaps she should just try to place a call on it? Riley moaned as Makayla lifted his sweater and t-shirt up to get a better look at his injuries. Tears burned in her eyes when she saw all the bruising across his abdomen.

"Geez, Riley, what did Trace do to you?" she gasped.

Riley shook his head as he attempted to survey the damage himself. Cursing, he yanked his shirt down. "It's nothing!" he growled, his voice sounding weak and raspy this time.

"Riley Janssen, that's not nothing! You could have internal bleeding for all you know. Is it supposed to get all black and purple that fast? I mean, doesn't it take a while for bruises to form?" asked Makayla, wishing she'd paid more attention in health and first aid class at school. But Riley would know. He would have taken medical training of some kind in his Marine training.

Riley laid his head back but remained quiet, his face white as a ghost now.

"Oh no, you don't," cried Makayla, noticing that Riley was looking faint now. "Don't you lose consciousness on me, Riley!" Riley's eyes fluttered a few times as he struggled to remain awake.

Makayla felt tears burn in her eyes. "C'mon, Riley, you have to tell me what to do! Where's your phone?" She starting feeling around his pockets but came up empty-handed. She picked up her phone again, tapping frantically at her screen. She didn't care if Riley got mad at her anymore. She was going to call Gibbs. Her phone was unresponsive as she tried to bring up the number pad to dial out. There had to be a way to get it to work.

She looked to see that Riley had shut his eyes and she reached out to gently shake him awake. "Riley, c'mon, stay with me," she said, her lower lip quivering. Riley losing consciousness meant something had to be seriously wrong with him. He must be more hurt than even he realized. Riley moaned but didn't open his eyes again. "What am I going to do?" Makayla muttered as she choked back a sob. Think Makayla, she told herself. She opened the glove compartment and began pulling out random items hoping to find Riley's phone. She quickly glanced around the truck before getting out and running around to Riley's side, checking the inside of the door to see if the phone was in the door pockets. Nothing. What was she going to do?

She gently shook Riley again. "Where is your phone, Riley?"

Riley didn't stir this time.

Makayla wiped tears from her face as she choked back sobs. She'd been joking when she'd said she could drive. She could start the car and probably manage to steer it okay but in traffic? She shivered at the thought. Riley was right; she'd probably end up killing them both.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she ran back around the truck and worked at pulling Riley's unconscious body over into the passenger side. She grunted from the exertion. Riley wasn't a lightweight by any means. He easily outweighed her by fifty pounds or more. Her heart raced in her chest as she did her best to prop him up against the door of the vehicle so she could have space to drive if need be. She then grabbed her phone again and began to frantically poke at the screen.

"Come on," she muttered. "Work!"

The cell phone flashed random screens and then suddenly a keypad appeared. Makayla choked back a sob as she dialled the first number that came to her head, chewing her lip as she heard the phone ring and ring before finally, someone picked up.

"What do you want, Kayla? I'm really busy…"

"Missy!" Makayla's heartbeat frantically in her chest when she heard her sister's familiar voice and she had to swallow her emotions enough so that she could speak. "P-please, I need your help." Her voice quivered as she choked back another sob. Her sister wasn't her favourite person but she was the only family she had close by. Melissa was two years her senior; surely, she'd know what to do.

"Makayla? What's wrong?" Compassion flooded Melissa's voice making Makayla break down into sobs. "Hey, Kayley, it's gonna be okay. Talk to me."

Makayla only sobbed harder when she heard the concern in her sister's voice. Her big sister would help her. Melissa would save them. Makayla began to talk rapidly through her sobs and choked on her words trying to explain what she knew about what happened to Riley and his injuries. Riley had driven very erratically and had taken them off the beaten path. Makayla had been so upset that she hadn't exactly paid very close attention to where he'd taken them.

"Slow down, Kayla, I can't understand you."

Makayla forced herself to take deep breaths and calm down. She'd never be able to help Riley if she lost her head. She needed to stay calm and focus.

"I think Riley is really h-hurt," she hiccupped, as she attempted to explain what she knew. "I-I dunno what to do. Riley wrecked my phone and it might cut me off…please…call Aunt Jenny or Agent Gibbs!"

"Riley? Why'd he wreck your phone?"

Makayla didn't have the energy to explain anything to her sister so her only answer was another strangled sob. Melissa and her hardly ever talked anymore and barely even acknowledged that they knew each other at school. Sharing anything about her personal life felt like a wasted effort. Makayla couldn't make out the other voices in the background as she heard her sister muffle the phone for a few moments and then return to speak to her, "Hey, Kayla, listen to me, okay? Are you listening?"

"Y-yah, I am."

"Okay, now, can you check Riley's pulse? Count how many beats you get in 30 seconds for me…"

"W-why?" asked Makayla, reaching for Riley's wrist.

"Just do it. I'm calling Aunt Jenny on another line, okay?"

Makayla nodded without thinking and tried to find Riley's pulse but couldn't feel anything. "I can't find it! Oh, my God, Melissa! What if he's…?"

"Stop it, Makayla! Try on his neck…right beside his Adam's apple. Tell me when you find it," her sister ordered.

Makayla pulled Riley's jacket away from his throat and tried to find Riley's pulse. She heaved a sigh of relief when she felt a faint pulse in his neck. "O-okay, I've got it."

"Okay, good; now hold your fingers there and count every beat for 30 seconds until I say stop. Begin now."

Makayla focussed on counting until she heard her sister say stop. "Twenty-three," she blurted out.

"Okay, good. His pulse is slow but not terrible. Would you say he's fairly physically fit?"

"Yah, he runs a lot and lifts weights and stuff."

"Okay, good. My health teacher said that lots of athletes have pulse rates under 40. Riley's is just above that so that's a good thing. He's probably in shock. Can you cover him up with anything? Or run the heat to the car…try and keep him warm."

Makayla turned on the truck and flipped the heater onto high. She was shivering as well, but she knew it was more from fear.

"Kayla…there's a lot of static…how many bars do you have?"

Makayla looked at her phone but couldn't see anything. The screen was black, and she was afraid to touch anything for fear of losing the connection. It felt like a lifeline to her. Her entire screen was shattered from Riley stepping on it.

"The screen is broken," she managed to choke out. "Missy! What am I supposed to do?"

"Do you know if your GPS is activated?"

"Isn't it always?"

"I dunno. Dad set up our phones. Look, Kayla, I can't get through to Aunt Jenny. What's Agent Gibbs' number?"

Makayla trembled. "I- I can't remember." If she could have recalled it in her panic, she would have dialled it instead of Makayla.

Makayla could hear some muffled talking in the background once again and then a lot of static. Her phone crackled and popped making her pull it away from her ear.

"I…stay…worry…" came some garbled words from Melissa's end.

"Melissa, I can't hear you!" Makayla shouted into the phone. Makayla put her ear to the phone once more but all she heard was dead air. She tapped at the screen only to see it flash on and off a few times before going black altogether.

Riley groaned and rolled his head to the side.

"Riley?" she said, her lips trembling but Riley didn't open his eyes. "I don't know what to do!"

She looked at her phone again, tapping on it in vain before finally dropping it onto the seat beside her. Would Melissa be able to contact Agent Gibbs? She knew her sister wouldn't just forget about her but Makayla didn't know how long it would take for someone to find her. She looked out the windshield and only saw blackness surrounding her. Riley had done a good job of driving them off the beaten path. Makayla covered her face in despair and dissolved into sobs.

XxXxNCISxXxx

Gibbs surveyed his brightly decorated living room and a smile spread across his face. His decorations were old and faded but somehow they still seemed to brighten up the space. He looked at his giggly girls, stringing the popcorn with some coloured O-shaped cereal that Tony must have sneaked into his cupboards without him or Abby noticing. His little girls' cheeks were flushed with excitement as they chattered and sang Christmas songs to one another. Gibbs had also grabbed some construction paper and glue, cutting strips of paper so they could make coloured chains to hang around the house. He'd strung some lights over the fireplace and was doing the same over the large picture window. He planned to purchase some newer decorations as soon as he could, but he was pleased to see how much Janessa and Aimee were enjoying their afternoon of decorating with his plain old, outdated junk. His father would approve. Jackson loved Christmas and planned to make sure he'd be back in Washington for the big day.

"Hey girls, watch," he said, as he stepped down from the ladder and plugged in the lights.

"Ohhh! Wow!" exclaimed both girls in unison as they turned to look at the lights twinkling on and off.

Janessa shot across the room flipping the lights off and stood with her mouth open in delight. "Theys so pretty, daddy," she said with a big grin on her face.

"I love Christmas!" shouted Aimee running up to Gibbs and wrapping her arms around him.

Gibbs smiled and lifted Aimee into his arms, wrapping her in a tight embrace. He loved seeing the joy radiating on her face. He wasn't sure about how much his girls remembered about previous Christmases, but he was glad to see such exuberance on their faces.

Janessa's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Will Santa finds us here, daddy?"

Gibbs pressed a kiss onto Aimee's brow before setting her feet back to the floor. "Of course he will, Sweetheart. Santa knows everything." Gibbs winked at Aimee who smirked back at him, her dark eyes twinkling. He could tell by the knowing sparkle Aimee's eyes that she was past believing in Santa herself but was happy to join in the adult game of make-believe.

"We can write him a letter, Nessie," suggested Aimee walking to the table to get some paper. "We can include our new address if you're worried, but Santa's always found us before. All those times we deployed to other places, he always knew just where we were."

Janessa wrinkled her nose. "Can we writes him a letter, daddy?"

Gibbs chuckled and walked over to sit in his chair. "Sure you can. You two write one, and we'll take it to the post office tomorrow. I heard the Santa parade is this weekend."

Janessa picked up a crayon and sank to her knees at the coffee table. "Can we goes see Santa?" Her little tongue poked out of her mouth as she tried to write some words. The littlest girl's childish script formed letters in several different directions and in a variety of sizes.

Gibbs smiled as he watched Aimee help Janessa spell words. "You bet we can. Maybe we can even convince the others to come too. I bet Abby will want to sit on Santa's knee too."

Janessa giggled. "Abby's too big. She might break his knees."

Gibbs chuckled, "Doesn't stop her from sitting on mine, does it?"

Aimee laughed. "Think Ziva will sit on his knee too?"

"Somehow, I don't see that happening," smirked Gibbs. The little girl had a mischievous look on her face, and Gibbs could almost guess what she was thinking. If Gibbs didn't know better, he'd swear she had a bit of DiNozzo blood in her. "And don't you go putting any ideas into Tony's head."

Aimee laughed harder but shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Who me?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes at her antics and leaned back in his chair as his eyes fell upon the grandfather clock on the mantel. He frowned when he realised it was well past the dinner hour. He needed to start supper or order something. He rose to his feet thinking that ordering in was his best bet since it was so late. He didn't feel like dragging out pots and pans and throwing a meal together.

"I'm going to order some pizza. Any particular kind you want?"

"Pineapple!" shouted Janessa, jumping to her feet but then being pulled back down by Aimee.

"Eww, fruit doesn't go on pizza, Ness," complained Aimee, meeting Gibbs' gaze with a smirk. It had become a running joke in the family now. Janessa loved Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple and cheese. No one else cared for pineapple except Gibbs but he kept it on the down-low. Gibbs knew that Aimee had figured it out as well, and he'd soon discovered the little girl didn't mind picking it off her slices. Janessa didn't mind gobbling up the extra pineapple, so things just seemed to work most of the time. He was glad for that because not everything was always so easy.

"I likes pineapple," complained Janessa with a pout. She crossed her arms and glared at her sister.

Thankfully for Gibbs, Aimee wasn't in the teasing spirit, so she relented quickly. Gibbs had learned from experience that if Aimee felt like it, she could wind Janessa up into a full-blown temper tantrum. He really didn't want to ruin the moment by needing to discipline anyone. "Oh, alright, we'll have pineapple," Aimee conceded. "Can we get extra bacon too?"

"You got it," Gibbs said rounding the corner and heading to the kitchen to grab the number from his drawer.

As Gibbs went to pick up his cell phone, it vibrated and rang in his hands. He lifted a brow with an amused smirk and glanced at the number, not recognizing it.

"Hello, Jethro Gibbs speaking," he replied, hoping it wasn't a telemarketer. He had to bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying Joe's Pizza Place. Yes, the girls had put him in a silly mood.

"Agent Gibbs?" said a very soft voice that reminded him of Makayla.

"Mackie?"

"No, it's Missy. Makayla's sister…I…uh…" she hesitated.

"Hi, Missy. Sorry, you and Makayla sound so much alike on the phone. What's up?" His heart rate increased a little thinking that maybe Makayla had taken off again or something, but he was sure Riley would have called him if that had been the case. Mackie and Riley should have been together by now. Gibbs glanced at the clock on the microwave to confirm the time. He knew one thing for sure; Melissa wouldn't have called him unless she was desperate. She didn't really even know him.

"Makayla called me, Agent Gibbs. She's in trouble," blurted the girl, her voice quaking and revealing her distress. Gibbs could hear a male voice in the background telling her to calm down and speak clearly. "I don't know where she is. Her phone cut us off, and when I tried to call back it went directly to her voice mail. Her friend, Riley, was in a fight or something and I think he's hurt badly. He lost consciousness and his pulse is very slow."

Gibbs frowned, trying to wrap his head around the information. Riley's phone call from earlier must have been about more than the youth let on. Gibbs clenched his jaw, silently berating himself for not pushing Riley further to talk with him. The kid was so damned stubborn and Gibbs was always trying to pacify him because of his propensity to fly off the handle.

"What's wrong with her phone?" Gibbs reached from his cordless kitchen phone. He needed to get Tim McGee tracking Makayla's phone. It seemed odd to him that Makayla's phone would have lost service. He was positive Mike Wallace would have good carriers and phone plans for his girls.

"I don't know exactly. She said Riley damaged it but she was really upset, so it was hard to make out what she was saying. Her phone kept cutting in and out."

"Hang on, Melissa. Don't hang up. I need to make another quick call."

"Okay." Melissa's voice was a little steadier now probably thanks to the male voice Gibbs heard soothing her in the background. The voice sounded young but was authoritative, soft-spoken and assuring.

Gibbs heard McGee pick up and started speaking before the younger man could even identify himself. "McGee, I need you to track Makayla's phone for me."

"Boss?" McGee's voice sounded bewildered.

"Just do it, McGee. I'll explain later. Is Tony around?"

"Yah, he's right here."

"Lemme speak to him."

Once Tony came on the line, Gibbs quickly explained what he knew. Tony said he would handle it making sure some agents followed the GPS tracking. Gibbs was grateful. He couldn't leave his girls alone and it didn't make sense to go off half-cocked when he didn't know for sure if he needed to panic yet.

Gibbs hung up and could hear quiet voices murmuring in the background. "Melissa, I have some agents tracking Makayla's phone. We'll find her. Does your Aunt know?"

"No, I can't get a hold of her. I didn't want to leave messages that would freak her out."

Gibbs had to admit that was probably a wise decision. Jenny Shephard wasn't normally fazed by much but lately, anything to do with her sister or her nieces seemed to make her lose her level-headedness.

"Where are you now?"

"On campus in the dorms…well, now I'm in the common room but I'm staying in my dorm."

"Okay, try not to worry. I'll call you when I know anything."

The young girl thanked him and hung up.