Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters, plots ect… If I did, Twilight would never have happened. I am in Twilight Denial…. I do however, own Tiana, as well as anyone else you don't recognize….
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, the next one will be longer... keep the reviews coming, they are a great cure for writers block!
Chapter 24:
Tia could feel her butt going numb as she sat on the ledge waiting for Luke's wife to show up, and she was pretty sure she would physically die of boredom. Luke was sitting in the shadows of the building, reading parts of a spyware magazine through the headset to keep her occupied. Tia glanced down at the small screen of the heat sensor for what seemed like the hundredth time and slowly smiled. Finally, some action…
She focused her binoculars on the apartment and smirked as Michelle, Luke's soon-to-be-ex-wife, entered the apartment with her latest toyboy on her heels. She watched as Michelle checked the apartment with what looked like a very high tech remote control before she wrapped herself around her toyboy and led him towards the bedroom.
Luke had just received verbal confirmation from Tia and was just about to head into his apartment building when Gibbs and Tony arrived, amid screeching brakes and burnt rubber "Where's Tia?" Tony demanded and Luke grabbed his own binoculars and the rope, ripped the earpiece out of his ear and shoved the gear at Gibbs before he headed off to confront his wife.
Gibbs stared, stunned, at the items Luke had handed him for a few seconds before he handed the earpiece to Tony and looked up. And very nearly had a heart attack at the sight of his daughter precariously perched on a ledge nine floors up. Without a harness.
Tony handed the earpiece back to Gibbs who calmly inserted it into his ear, just in time to hear the tail-end of Tia's running commentary. He waited until she had stopped speaking and took a deep breath "Tiana Isabel Bradley, you get down here right now" he ordered in his best angry-parent voice. There was a moment of silence "Oh crap!" Tia muttered...
Tia gracefully repelled down the side of the building, and the part of Gibbs that wasn't furious was slightly impressed at the way she handled herself. She dropped to her feet grinned impishly at Gibbs before being engulfed by a very relieved Tony "Don't ever do that again, Tiana" Tony breathed into her ear. "Feel better, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked sarcastically and Tony reluctantly let go of his fiancé and eyed Gibbs warily "Much, thanks Boss" Tony replied sweetly and Tia began unsnapping herself from her harness "What exactly were you doing up there, Tiana?" Gibbs demanded as his daughter stepped gracefully out of her harness and began packing up her gear "I was working. You know, the thing I do for money. Luke needed my help to bust his skanky cheating wife in the act, and I was happy to help" Tia answered and turned towards Luke's car "How did you find me, anyway? Was there something else you wanted to accuse me of?" Tia asked over her shoulder as she packed gear into the trunk of Luke's car and Gibbs felt himself snap "You were spotted by the feds, who initially thought you were a terrorist but then they identified you and called us to gloat. YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Gibbs yelled the last part, and Tony could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. Tia turned around to face Gibbs and she pulled Luke's car keys out of her pocket "So you didn't need to use the GPS chip that you planted in my phone, Tony?" Tia asked and had the satisfaction of seeing him blush "Is that all you have to say for yourself, Tiana Isabel?" Gibbs demanded as he grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes "Are you on drugs?" he added and she laughed softly "Ooh he used my middle name, I'm in trouble. Going to ground me, daddy?" Tia teased and then held her hand over Gibbs' mouth to hold off the explosion "Listen very carefully because I am only going to say this once. You are my father whether you like it or not, and I love you. But I spent nearly eight years being trained by the government to pull stunts like the one you saw tonight, you know all this because Pierce would have told you when you interviewed him, and he does like to brag. Now I am going to keep doing my job, the same way I've been doing it for seven years, and you are just going to have to learn how to deal with it. Now I'm tired and I want to go home. I guess I'll see you the next time I embarrass you in front of your friends, or you want to accuse me of a crime" Tia handed Luke's keys to Tony who looked like he'd rather be facing off a gang of gun-toting maniacs than standing there, torn between his love for Tia and his loyalty to Gibbs. After a minute Gibbs nodded to Tony "I'll see you tomorrow, DiNozzo. Goodnight, Tiana" Gibbs said and walked back towards his car.
Just as he was about to unlock the door there was a loud smashing sound, glass shattering. Gibbs, Tia and Tony all looked up to see glass and women's clothes rain down into the street from the now broken window of Luke's apartment. Luke stuck his head out the window and looked down, and catching sight of them he waved happily. Gibbs smiled wistfully as he drove off.