AN: Oh what to say of this last week... I'm glad I had 2 days off. Friday was terrible. It started out good but terrible customers and a terrible mistake by one of my staff had me leaving work in tears. I love my job but some days are just... bad.

chapter 9

"So in theory it makes more sense just to fly to DC." Daniel was telling Harm over the phone. He paused for a long moment. "Well, we know who saw it happen but now we need proof they were both in that area at the same time." He sighed. "Okay, okay." He hit the speaker phone button.

"Sam, Jack dropped off some Trust guys but they are going after the ringleader of that faction who went on ahead to Orbistus."

"Let me guess…" Sam said with a sigh.

"Yah, they were tied up in the nonsense with the Lucian Alliance. Um… there was another thing."

"Oh?"

"Your dad was with them."

"Where did… oh no… How mad was he?"

"Pretty mad, Sam. I mean I don't know your dad, but he seemed PO'ed."

Sam sighed.

"You're screwed." Daniel said gleefully.

"Shut up, Daniel." She snapped at him but not angrily.

"So where's Gibbs?"

"Grabbing dinner. Lonnie has a migraine so Daniel and I were trying to fit more of the pieces together."

"All right. Let me know if any of you need anything on my end. I'm forwarding a private e-mail for you. I swear I didn't read it." Harm tells Sam which makes her smile.

"Thanks Harm. I'll keep you posted and let you know what we find out in DC." She hung up the phone.

"That's cute, you know."

Sam gave Daniel a bland look, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"He's kind of a mush ball under the military crap, you know." Daniel prompted.

"Daniel."

"Yah?"

"Shut up." Sam said with a smile.

Sam hung up the phone in frustration. "All flights to DC are fully booked."

Lonnie looked up from changing Gracie. "Why don't we just drive? It's only 5 hours, give or take, and between TSA and sitting on the tarmac it would take us that long anyway and we'd have to rent a new SUV when we got there." She threw it out, trying to sound innocently helpful. The last thing she wanted to have to do is have her handler retrieve her piece and bring it to her in DC. She didn't like being unarmed.

Sam looked at her thoughtfully.

"I'm for it." Gibbs said.

"Shotgun." Daniel said which made Sam chuckle.

"All right. Let's pack up and grab some snacks."

"This is the part where Jack calls us 'campers' and Teal'c says indeed." Daniel told Sam, making her laugh.

"Say indeed, Lonnie." Sam ordered her with a grin.

"Indeed." Lonnie said, trying to mimic Teal'c's deep baritone and failing with her normally high light voice.

Daniel chuckled. "Close enough. Let's go." He went over to his bag and started cramming things in it. "I hate checking baggage anyway."

Fifteen minutes into the car ride, Gracie was out cold and Daniel was bored. "Hey Gibbs, how did you meet Harm?" Hoping this conversation goes better than how did you meet Jack.

Or not. Gibbs sat comfortably in the driver's seat, ignoring the question. Daniel was sure that Gibbs and Jack must be distantly related. "So, did you and Harm meet on the job?" Daniel persisted.

Gibbs looked pointedly at Daniel and then back at the road.

"Harm and Jack both called you, so they must trust you." Daniel continued. When he didn't get a response he decided to change tacks. "You three must have met up somewhere."

"Nope," Gibbs said laconically.

Daniel perked up. Maybe he was onto something. "What does that mean?" He searched Gibbs' face for clues.

"Nope."

Daniel ground his back teeth. Getting information out of Gibbs was worse than tackling Jack for something on a bad day. He sighed, "So, the three of you didn't meet." He thought for a minute. He could play word games, too. "Does that mean you met Harm without Jack being there?"

One side of Gibbs' mouth lifted. He thought Daniel and DiNozzo would get along just fine. "Yep"

Daniel tried to turn in his seat, only to be jerked back by the seat belt. "Damn."

Gibbs grinned and decided to throw him a bone. "Georgetown."

Daniel almost glowed, and he motioned with a hand as he talked. "Harm got his degree at Georgetown. You must have met then," He conjectured, running his fingers through his hair, and sticking his head forward. "Wait. You were in the NIS then, right?" Daniel almost bounced with excitement. "Did you meet him on a case? Wait, he wasn't JAG then. Were you investigating him?" Both of Daniel's hands were waving excitedly and he nearly knocked over the coffee in the Styrofoam cup Gibbs had placed in the cup holder before they left.

"Nope." He relented a little when Daniel visibly deflated into his seat. Once again, he reminded himself this was Jack's team, not his, and Jack had warned him that "Danny-boy" was as tenacious as a Rottweiler. He decided to give him the part that would be in public records.

"He was at Georgetown finishing up his law degree. I was investigating a murder on the campus. He was one of several people there I interviewed." He decided to keep to himself that he also interviewed a leggy, blonde USAF Captain who was doing some research at the Lauinger Library at the time of the murder. She obviously didn't remember it or if she did she was playing that card very close to her chest, and there was no need to mention the brief interview he had with her then fiancé who had since kicked over on a mission. He'd dug a little about the people he'd be working with. It paid to be informed.

"That's it? You interview him about a murder ten years ago and he trusts you with this?" Daniel asked, disbelieving.

Gibbs glanced at him sideways, barely taking his eyes off the road. "No. We met again a few years ago when he was charged with a murder and I was the investigating officer."

"Oh! Harm didn't do it." Daniel stated, emphatically, jumping immediately to the other man's defense as Daniel's loyalties were simple. Harm had saved Jack and, as a result, vicariously helped Sam too, therefore Harm earned his regard.

"No, he didn't." Gibbs lifted the coffee cup from the cup holder and made a face after taking a sip. "Cold." He took another sip. It was caffeine. "We ran into each other several times over the years. He's a good man to have on your side."

Gibbs turned the radio on and found an Animals song he could stand to listen to as there didn't seem to be a ball game on. He was silent for a long time. Daniel figured he'd got all he was going to get so he relaxed in his seat and watched the scenery go by.

"There's just one thing," Gibbs intoned.

Daniel turned toward him. "What's that?"

"I made sure the backup ED pump is in your bag."

Daniel ignored Sam's snort from the back seat.

"Very funny." Daniel said with a pout. "You know… I don't miss Jack at all right now."

Sam held back another snort of mirth. Poor Daniel. If anything, Agent Gibbs was actually worse than Jack. That was saying something. At least House of the Rising Sun was a good pick if a little on the nose considering what they were hoping for Bauer and Kinsey.

The rest of the ride was fairly quiet. Sam worked on a budget report and Daniel was reading something in a language no one else in the van was even remotely familiar with.

They pulled into a low rent DC motel Gibbs had used in the past when he wanted to keep a low profile. "We need to break into Kinsey's office." he told them.

"I think I have that covered. I considered pretending to be a secretary requisitioning documents but his staff might recognize me." Sam said.

"What have you got in mind, Sam?" Daniel asked.

Sam grinned "How good of an actor are you, Agent Gibbs?"