Happy Valentine's day to my readers.

I don't have much time to write these days, but here is an update for you.

I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to all my faithful reviewers. You inspire me to keep coming back to post more.

Many blessings.

Jenny :)

Riley tossed off the blankets roughly, grimacing and cursing under his breath. "Help me, Mak." Makayla frowned, not understanding what he was doing. "Get my clothes out the closet."

"What? Why?"

With pain rippling through him, Riley managed to sit up and swing his legs to the floor. "Because Gibbs is about to do something really stupid."

Makayla rushed closer to Riley grabbing his arm to steady him as he attempted to stand. She watched his face grow pale and stumble to hold his weight only to lose his footing forcing him to sit back down once more.

"What are you talking about?"

Riley puffed out his cheeks and looked up at Makayla, frustration on his face. "He's going after Trace, Mak. He has no idea what he's getting into. I need to find Trace and handle this myself."

Makayla shook her head. "That's ridiculous. Gibbs is an NCIS agent, Riley. You don't think he can handle himself?"

"He doesn't know the whole story!" Riley snapped. He rose to his feet more slowly this time and managed to stay standing. He shuffled across the room towards the small armoire that held his clothing.

Makayla followed him, opening the door and grabbing his dark, dirty jeans, torn shirt and sweater before he could. She held them behind her back and took a few steps away from him. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Give me my clothes!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

"Makayla," Riley said, seething in frustration. He tried to reach for his clothes again, but Makayla stepped back. The sudden movement made him wince.

"You can't even move without flinching. How do you expect to take on Trace again? Do you even know where he is? Come on; tell me what's really going on here!"

Riley glared at her and reached for his jeans, yanking them free from her hands. Makayla scowled at him while Riley gingerly worked to get them on. Despite Makayla not agreeing with what he was doing, she moved forward to help him stay steady on his feet. Riley gave her a weak smile of appreciation. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Makayla was right. The pain was hardly bearable now and he was heavily drugged. What was he going to do when the pain meds wore off? He leaned against the wall huffing from the exertion. He looked into Makayla's pleading eyes and sighed. "I don't remember what I said to him."

Makayla furrowed her brows. "What?"

"Trace—I don't remember what I said to him."

"What difference does it make?"

"Makayla." His dark eyes were pleading with her to understand. "The guy was giving me a beat down and I panicked. Suddenly, I was back at Parris Island and all I could do then…" His voice trailed off, not wanting to admit how he survived. "I blacked out. I could've said anything to him. I could've told him where Gibbs lives. Don't you get how serious that is?"

Makayla's eyes widened.

"I need to know—"

"We have to tell Gibbs." Makayla took a few steps towards the door but Riley grabbed her by the arm, a pleading look on his face.

"Please, Mak, don't. I can handle it."

Makayla shook her head, tears shimmering in her emerald green eyes. "No, Riley, you can't. If you won't tell Gibbs then I will. He needs to know the truth so he can help you."

Riley held her arm tightly. "Mackie, no, listen to me. Trace isn't just some run of the mill Marine. He's…well, let's just say he's well connected. Gibbs thinks he can make him go away but he can't. I can't tell you any more than that. You just have to trust me on this. Gibbs needs to keep his nose out of it for his own sake and for that of his girls. He's not a free agent anymore. He's got kids."

Makayla hit Riley with an imploring look. "I do trust you, Riley. I think you're an amazing guy, but I also think you underestimate Agent Gibbs. Listen, I didn't think he could help me with my situation at school but he did. Did you know he knows my headmaster at Xavier?"

Riley lifted a brow in disbelief. "What?"

"Yah, I know. Weird, right? Apparently, they served together in the Marines or something." She waved her hand to dismiss the topic further. "But that's a story for another time. The point I'm trying to make is that Gibbs has connections too, probably more than either one of us could even speculate. Please, Riley, just tell Gibbs the truth. Let him help you. I know he can help."

"Mak, this is different—"

"How?"

Riley closed his eyes for a minute, willing himself to sort out his jumbled thoughts. Makayla didn't know the whole story and she never would. No one would if he could help it. It was bad enough she knew what she did about him. Riley had to handle Trace on his own.

"Just gimme my shirt." He reached for his shirt and Makayla handed it to him, a look of uncertainty on her face. Warily putting his arms through the sleeves, he summoned up the energy to fasten then grabbed his shoes from the cabinet. The pain he felt was only going to get a lot worse once the pain meds wore off; he needed to find a way to cope with it now. He'd done it before and he'd do it again. It was all about mind over matter. It was about separating his mind from his body. He could do this.

"I need you to stall Gibbs for me."

"Riley—"

He put a finger on her lips. "Listen, I'm going to slip out and down the stairs." He explained a bit of his plan to Makayla as he felt around his pockets for his phone. He was hoping that he could give her just enough details so she wouldn't worry but not enough for her to be a hindrance to him should she decide to tell Gibbs. He had a few ideas of who he could contact. He'd kept in touch with a few of his buddies from Marine boot camp. They'd remained faithful to him throughout the whole ordeal with Adams. Some of them had even had the guts to testify against the drill instructor. "You see my cell?"

"I gave it to Gibbs."

Riley groaned. "Why?"

Makayla's face paled and tears filled her eyes once again. "I thought you were gonna die, Riley. I looked everywhere in the truck for your cell but I couldn't find it." This time a strangled sob choked off her words and Riley's heart broke when he saw how upset Makayla was. He inwardly kicked himself for hurting her. Gibbs was right. He shouldn't have gone to pick her up. He'd dragged her into his problems and put her in a situation she never should have had to handle on her own. "It fell out of your pocket when they loaded you into the ambulance…it was my fault."

Riley's eyes widened. "What? No. Stop thinking that. None of this is your fault."

Riley walked towards Makayla but she held up her hands to keep him away from her.

"I'm not going to lie to Gibbs for you. If you leave, I'm calling him and telling him everything you've told me."

Riley felt his temper bubble up within him. Makayla was forcing his hand and he didn't like it one bit. He didn't want to hurt her or anyone else but he also knew he would do what he had to do to keep everyone safe. If she wasn't going to help him, he'd take her with him.

Riley walked over to the window, resting his hands on the sill, and looking out into the sunshine of the day. His room overlooked the parking lot. He was quiet for a moment, scanning the lot carefully as he finalized his plans.

Makayla came up behind him and touched his arm. Her eyes were shimmering in unshed tears; the light seemed to capture the emerald colour making her eyes appear to sparkle like jewels. Something about her eyes captivated him, making it difficult to speak or keep his thoughts straight. "I like you, Riley," she said in a whisper. "I care what happens to you. I don't know why I feel so connected to you, but I do and I'm scared to death you're in over your head with all this. What aren't you telling me?"

Riley turned to Makayla, his dark brown eyes broody and sorrowful. He clenched his jaw as he stared deeply into her mesmerizing eyes. Her sudden confession caught him by surprise but a part of him understood. He felt drawn to her too. For a long time. He just hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. She's a kid. Just a kid. He shook his head as he drew in a long breath. Who was he kidding? God, what was she doing to him? His mixed-up emotions weren't helping him think clearly at all; they were clouding his judgement. On impulse, he leaned in and kissed her, his heart beating so fast in his chest that he felt light-headed.

Makayla gasped and pulled away slightly, her eyes startled and wide.

Riley wrapped one arm around her back and drew her in closer to him, forgetting about everything but Makayla. His heart pounded against his ribcage as he chewed on his bottom lip a moment before leaning in and even more gently pressing his lips against hers. This time he felt her respond and kiss him back. The kiss seemed to bring out a deep hunger within him as he pulled her closer and pressed himself harder against her. He felt her arms go around his neck, both of them lost in the moment until they were forced to pull away breathless. When Riley finally opened his eyes and gained his wits about him, he saw tears cascading down Makayla's cheeks. She stepped away from him, placing her fingers against her lips and wrapping her arm around her middle. Her face was flushed and her eyes were wide.

"Mak…" he whispered, reaching out to stroke her cheek gently.

She shook her head to stop him from saying anything else. Words didn't seem to be enough to explain his emotions at that moment anyway. They stood looking into each other's eyes. Riley cupped her cheek and she leaned her face into his hand as he thumbed away her tears. Things just got increasingly too complicated way too fast. What was he thinking?

Riley took a few steps away from Makayla, "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that."

Makayla put her hands to her face, wiping away the tears and nodded. She licked her lips and chewed on her bottom lip, remaining uncharacteristically silent. Riley didn't know how to read her silence. Was she upset with him? God, he was such an idiot. He dropped his chin to the floor, noticing the dust bunnies peeking out from under the cupboard in the room. Leave it to him to make an already complicated situation more difficult. He cleared his throat and reached carefully to grab his sweater from Makayla's hands. Makayla released her grip on the article of clothing and shivered.

"Please, Riley…let Gibbs handle this."

Riley shook his head, leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss onto her forehead. "Just give me a few hours head start. I'm not asking you to lie, Mak; I'm just asking you to not say anything unless he asks, okay?"

Makayla dropped her hands to her side and nodded.

Riley took one last long look at Makayla and fled the room.

XxXxNCISxXxX

Gibbs turned the corner towards Riley's room, running his hands through his salt and pepper hair as he puffed out his cheeks. He hadn't even needed to leave the comfort of his car to successfully accomplish what he'd set out to do. As painfully easy as it had been, calling in favours wasn't something he enjoyed doing but he'd done it. It hadn't even been hard to find out who Trace was. Michael Trace had a reputation that preceded him in the Marines. The man's character was far from exemplary. It was a wonder the man was still active in the Marines for how shady he was. The thing that seemed to keep the guy just under the radar was his connections. Turned out the guy was related to some big wig higher up, someone who was plenty happy to sweep things under the rug and clean up after the guy. Gibbs wasn't going to have it. No one messed with people Gibbs cared about and got away with it. A few runarounds and a few favours and even a threat or two later, Gibbs made sure Michael Trace was going to be spending a very long tour overseas with the man being none the wiser. There wasn't any need for revenge or picking at old wounds; this was cleaner and simpler for everyone concerned. In time, Gibbs would get Riley to talk to him about Trace but for now, he was content to get rid of the problem.

Once Gibbs reached Riley's room, he leaned his ear against the door wanting to be sure he wouldn't be interrupting the teens in a private conversation. When he didn't hear anything, he knocked and decided to wait outside until he was given permission to enter. He waited a minute or two and then knocked again. Not receiving any acknowledgment, he peeked into the window hoping to catch a glimpse but the layout of the room didn't allow him anything. He could only see the bathroom door. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room to see Makayla staring out the window with no sign of Riley.

"Hey, Mackie. Where's Riley? Did they take him to do some tests or something?"

Makayla didn't turn around but remained staring out the window. Gibbs approached her and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. He slowly turned her around to face him and the look on her face immediately made his heart jump into his throat.

"Mak?"

She swallowed hard, fresh tears chasing old ones down her cheeks. Her face looked flush and she was trembling. "He's gone."

Gibbs did his best to hide his astonishment. He hadn't expected this turn of events. Riley was injured and looked unsteady on his feet the last time he'd seen him. He certainly had no idea how brazen the kid really could be. After a few moments, the shock faded and he heaved a loud sigh.

"Where?"

Makayla shrugged. "I dunno…to find Trace…"

"Of all the stupid things," Gibbs muttered under his breath. He never expected Riley to be this stupid. The kid was heavily medicated and should have been dozing in his bed, recovering from broken ribs. What the hell was he thinking? "When?"

"I dunno…"

Gibbs did his best to stay tolerant of the girl before him. He knew she was stalling him further and it was making him lose his patience and it wasn't going to end well. "Makayla," he growled.

She covered her face and began to sob but Gibbs wasn't in the mood for drama. It was going to take a day or two for his people to track Trace down. When Marines were on leave, they didn't have to report in anywhere for their entire time off. They could come and go as they please. Trace had a 48-hour leave. It wouldn't be easy to find him.

Gibbs caught Makayla's chin in his hands and forced her to make eye contact with him. "Tell me what happened."

"Gibbs…I…" she choked back a sob but Gibbs didn't soften. These teenagers were walking on thin ice with him. He'd had enough.

"Makayla, enough of the tears. Riley could be in a lot of trouble. I know he went after Trace, so cut the hysterics and tell me what happened." He gave her chin a little shake to make sure she knew he meant business.

"He left about an hour ago. He said he needed to handle it by himself and that you don't understand what's at stake…that Trace was dangerous…" she blinked back a fresh onslaught of tears.

Gibbs dropped his hand to his side and shook his head in disbelief. "Why didn't you call me as soon as he left?"

Makayla opened and closed her mouth but no words came out.

Gibbs scowled at her and fought the sudden urge to pull her across his knee and paddle her senseless. Why wouldn't she call him? What kind of spell had Riley cast on her to make her take leave of all her senses?

XxXxNCISxXxX

Makayla swallowed back more tears as she watched Gibbs pull out his cell phone. The man gave her an exasperated look before walking into the tiny adjoining bathroom and shutting the door. She shivered when she heard his curt voice barking orders to whomever he was talking to. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Gibbs was angry with her. Makayla sat on the edge of Riley's hospital bed and dissolved into tears once more. She was so frightened for Riley but more than that, she was confused. Navigating through first crushes was hard enough without adding life-threatening situations into the mix. She'd read enough teen romances to know that it wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be exciting. She was supposed to giggle with her friends about the first awkward kisses and spend her time daydreaming about the next time they could be together. She wasn't supposed to be worried about him getting himself killed. Suddenly she wished she had a better relationship with her big sister. If they were closer, Makayla could confide in her how confused she felt.

Makayla puffed out her cheeks, pulling herself back further onto Riley's bed. Now what? What was Gibbs going to say to her? Was he going to blame her for Riley leaving? It wasn't like she tried to stop him. But she had! She'd told him…warned him that she'd tell Gibbs. She swore she would, but why didn't she? Makayla leaned against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her thin arms around her legs tightly. She knew exactly why she didn't. She didn't tell because Riley asked her not to and about now, she'd do anything he asked her to do, even if that meant disobeying and defying Agent Gibbs. Resting her chin on her knees, she closed her eyes and remembered how Riley's lips felt pressed against hers. It was the most wonderful and terrifying moment of her life. She felt like her whole body was electric. Her stomach filled with butterflies as a weird sensation spread over her whole body, reaching her inner core. She had never felt that feeling before and was having a difficult time processing it. It was like she'd realized she had another type of hunger, another pulse and perhaps even another heartbeat but none of the sensations were coming from the right places.

"You and me need to get a few things straight," Gibbs said gruffly, appearing as if out of nowhere.

Makayla's head flew up. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him come back into the room. She swallowed hard when she saw the firm expression on his face. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd screwed up. Gibbs was not hiding how angry he was with her.

"Are you going to look for Riley?"

"DiNozzo's got a BOLO out. He'll turn up. Let's just hope it's before Trace and Riley meet up again. I'm not sure Riley will survive another beating in his condition."

Makayla felt her mouth go dry, "But, aren't you going to look for him yourself?"

"And do what exactly, Mak? Throw him over my shoulder and drag him back here? If he's so damned determined to get his ass kicked, then who am I to stop him? Obviously, you didn't care enough to stop him either or you would have called me!"

Makayla felt her temper flare. Gibbs had no idea how much she wanted to. He had no idea what had transpired between them and how confused she was. "Shut up! I care a lot…"

"Then why didn't you call me as soon as he left?"

"He asked me not to…"

Gibbs looked at her incredulously. "Mackie, he's injured and on really strong pain meds; he's not thinking straight." Gibbs heaved a loud sigh as he continued to stare at her. "You know, I'm getting fed up with you and Riley tag-teaming against me. I get you want to be a loyal friend, but Mak, you're both kids. You need to accept that you don't know how to handle these things on your own."

Makayla could see the pleading look in Gibbs' eye. "I know that," she whimpered. She'd already figured that out when things went south with her parents. She'd come to understand that there were so many things that she couldn't handle on her own.

Gibbs crossed his arms across his chest. "Okay, tell me what happened, starting with when Riley picked you up at school."

Makayla shook her head. There was no point in sharing anything else. She'd told Gibbs all he needed to know and besides, she knew very little anyway. "There's nothing else to tell. He picked me up at school; I didn't notice he was hurt at first and when I did, he passed out on me. I tried to call but my phone wouldn't work and I couldn't find his…" It was the partial truth without the details she knew Gibbs was fishing for.

"Where's your phone?"

Makayla squirmed.

Gibbs held out his hand. "Let me see your phone."

Makayla shook her head. Her phone had been pretty much destroyed when Riley stomped on it. Gibbs wasn't going to happy to see that. Her plan was to email her dad to say she'd dropped it or something and then he'd replace it. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time she'd destroyed a phone. Her dad had long since acquired an insurance plan that replaced cell phones without too much drama or expense. Teenage girls and broken cell phones just seemed to come hand in hand, especially with her and Melissa's track record."My dad will replace it."

Gibbs shook his head. "No, he won't. Give me the phone."

Makayla felt the palms of her hands moisten under the older man's intense glare. The cell phone seemed to burn a hole into her back pocket. "I...I left it in your truck," she stammered, hoping to stall him off. Maybe she could hide it.

Gibbs frowned and grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her towards him. Before she knew it, Gibbs sat down and effortlessly hauled her across his lap. She reached back to grab the broken phone, but he captured her hand and pinned it to her upper back. Makayla felt him snatch the cell out of her pocket and gasped when he rewarded her with a sharp swat to her backside.

"Ow," she squealed, wiggling to free herself.

Gibbs held her firmly in place. "Don't lie to me."

Makayla felt him release her arm and she reached back to rub the sting out of her smarting backside. She craned her neck to see him examining the phone. She squirmed frantically so he would let her up but he kept one firm hand on her back. Her mouth felt like cotton as she tried desperately to summon up enough saliva to swallow. Things were going in a direction she hadn't expected. She'd been on the receiving end of Gibbs' frustration before and she didn't relish another demonstration now or ever. She dropped her forehead to the bed feeling the soft material encircle her face.

"How did your phone get crushed like this?"

"It was an accident," she mumbled, not daring to move. Please don't do this, she pleaded with him in her head. "It just happened. My dad will replace it. He always does."

"Yah, that's not going to happen, and if you can't tell me what happened, then you no longer own a phone."

Makayla's head flew up. "You have no right!" She started to fight harder to free herself but Gibbs wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her securely in place so she couldn't move. She felt his other warm hand resting on her back. Her heart fluttered in her chest. This wasn't happening again, was it? Her mouth got the best of her and she shouted, "Lemme go, damn it!" Makayla instantly regretted her words when she felt Gibbs' hand leave her back and a second later land a scorching swat to the middle of her defenceless backside. She whimpered. That had hurt. A lot.

"Wanna keep pissing me off?"

Makayla shivered and quickly shook her head. She snaked her hand back to rub out some of the sting. She was relieved when he didn't try to stop her. It amazed her how much two smacks could hurt so much. Her butt felt like it was on fire. Her dad got mad at her plenty of times but she always felt like she could read him when things were heading in a bad direction. Her dad was predictable. Gibbs was not. She never knew what he would do in any given situation. There seemed to be no figuring him out. Just when she thought she could make a call about how he'd react, he surprised her.

"No, I won't… please, Agent Gibbs, let me up."

"I'm finished playing games, Makayla. I will not tolerate lying. If you lie to me, you will end up right back here and I promise you won't like it one little bit. That goes for Riley too."

The next thing she knew, Makayla found herself pinned between Gibbs' legs staring into his stern grey-blue eyes. Her hands trembled as she grabbed Gibbs to steady herself and blinked back tears.

"Do we have an understanding?" She nodded but remained silent. Gibbs had gotten her attention and she wasn't going to press him further. Gibbs held up the shattered cell phone. "I already figured out Riley did this, but I want you to tell me why. There is more to this story than the two of you are letting on. Now talk."