Chapter 16 - Sleepless

For being so exhausted from the recent events, one would have thought that Gibbs and Trisha would have been out cold before their heads even touched a pillow. On the other hand, it was just the opposite. Trisha didn't want to sleep because she was afraid to dream, and Gibbs didn't want to sleep because he didn't want to let his little girl have another nightmare.

Every time Gibbs would begin to think that Trisha had finally fallen asleep, he would feel her body jolt to keep herself awake. He glanced down to study her face and watched as her eyelids would droop and her head would fall forward against his chest. Seconds later she would shoot her eyes open again. She repeated the process over and over.

Gibbs frowned. "Trisha," he said softly. He got no response. "I know you're still awake, Trisha."

She grunted and huddled as close to his body as humanly possible. Trisha was using Gibbs' bicep as a pillow. She rubbed her face against the fabric of his t-shirt and sighed. "Gibbs?"

"I'm still here," he answered, suppressing a yawn. "You know, you should really get some sleep. You're gonna get sick."

She was silent for a moment. "You don't have to stay awake if you don't want to. I won't get mad or anything like that. And I promise I'll still be here when you wake up, Gibbs."

"I know," he whispered. Gibbs lazily threw his free arm over Trisha's body and started rubbing her back again, hoping to get her to fall asleep. "Something's bothering you."

"Is that a question or a statement?" she asked with a yawn.

Gibbs smirked. "Both, I guess… So you wanna tell me about it?"

"Not really," Trisha answered truthfully.

"But you're going to," he stated.

She sighed impatiently. "You're really pressin' your luck, aren't you?"

Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her body. "Spill it, kiddo. You'll feel better afterwards, you know." He felt her body tense up, the same way she had when he asked her about her mother a few weeks ago. Gibbs fell silent and let her think for a few minutes. "Hey," he whispered. He put two of his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up towards him. He smiled warmly, his eyes holding love. "Talk to me." His smile faded as he saw tears forming in Trisha's eyes. "C'mere, baby," he said, pulling her head back to his chest. "I didn't mean to make you cry. You don't have to tell me, I understand."

Trisha sighed, "I want to tell you, Gibbs. I really do. This is just hard for me, you know?"

"Believe me kiddo, I know. But whenever you are ready to talk, I'll listen." He rested his chin on the top of her head.

A few minutes later, Trisha pulled back from Gibbs and out of his embrace. She sat up on the bed and looked at him. "When I was taken into protective custody," she began, "I had to leave behind everything I ever knew. Everything I had left, which really wasn't much. When the FBI moved me to New York, they wouldn't let me bring anything with me. All I had to remind me of my mom and dad was that photograph I showed you…" Her voice trailed off as she focused on the wall behind Gibbs.

He reached out and squeezed her small hand in support.

Trisha shook her head. "They said that they would store everything in one of those storage lots somewhere. Later on I found out that there was a fire and… it destroyed everything."

Gibbs sat up, his hand still grasping hers. "Oh, Trisha…"

"That's not the problem, Gibbs. I…" she stuttered. "I can't remember what my mom's voice sounds like anymore…" Her head bowed as she started to cry.

He reached out and captured her face in his hands. Trisha flung herself at him, and Gibbs caught her as she clung to his shirt and cried. His arms automatically went around her and he buried his face in her hair.

"Gibbs, I don't even know what happened to their bodies. I don't even know where they're buried… I've never been to their graves. I never got to say goodbye. It wasn't supposed to happen like that, they were supposed to die when they were old and I had a family of my own to be with! They left me… everyone lea---"

He cut her off. "You know I won't leave you, baby." He took her by her shoulders. "I can find out where they're buried, if you want me to. We can go visit them."

Trisha's eyes searched his face. "You can do that?"

"Of course I can," he answered with a smile. He reached up and wiped her tears away. "I'd do anything for you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "We can go to sleep now," she whispered as she laid down on his bed. "Is it ok if I stay here with you?"

"You bet," he said. Gibbs laid down next to her on his side, bringing the covers up with him. He tucked the blanket around Trisha's body. As soon as he settled down, Trisha moved over and snuggled into him. He started running his hand through her hair. "You're giving me a head rub tomorrow, Trisha. It's been too long since the last one."

She smiled against his chest. "Ok, Gibbs…" Trisha put her arm under his and rested it on his side. "Love you," she murmured as she drifted peacefully to sleep.

He kissed her head lightly. "Night, kiddo…"

A/N: This is definitely the shortest chapter I've written in a long time. Sorry, not feeling all that great at the moment... Bleh.