Six hours later, Aaron and Jack were back home and even though Timothy still hadn't found Macsen, he did find someone else. He found Macsen's wife - Leigh Charlotte Hinsley. Jethro sent Anthony and Timothy to talk to her. They arrived at her house - a safe house of Macsen's that they'd found under the name of Thatcher Bramford.

Thatcher Bramford was the first husband of Leigh. He died almost five years ago.

Anthony knocked on the door, him and Timothy just standing waiting for the door to open.

A few moments later, it was answered by a small child.

Timothy smiled, "Hey kiddo, I'm Tim and this is my friend Tony. Can we talk to your mom?"

"I'm Joshua, but Mommy's not home."

"Are there any adults home?"

Joshua shook his head, "Is Mommy okay? She hasn't been home in a while."

"How long is awhile?" Tony wondered

The little boy counted on his fingers. One, two, three, four fingers.

He glanced up from his hand, holding it out to show the two agents, "Four sleeps."

"Five days?" Timothy inquired

Joshua nodded, "Yeah."

A voice was heard inside the house, "Joshie! Josh! Joshua!" The person called, each yell getting louder as the person got closer and closer.

"There you are." The person said, now standing behind Joshua, "What are you doing? Mom said not to answer the door."

Joshua hung his head, "Sorry. I forgot."

The person was older than Joshua, but not by much. They sent Joshua back inside the house.

Timothy and Anthony introduced themselves as NCIS agents.

"I'm Espen." The person said, "Joshua's my brother."

Tony gave a nod, "Okay. Do you know where your mother is?"

Espen shook his head, "No. She left us here five days ago. Said she had some business to take care of and that she'd be back soon."

"What can you tell us about your step-father?"

"He's strict and very religious, believes in the old Bible ways about girls marrying young, but other than that he's okay. He's never hurt me or my siblings, if that's what you want to know about." Espen explained

"Okay. Thank you." Timothy replied before he and Anthony left.

Meanwhile back at the Navy Yard, Liya turned up. She came out of the elevator to find no one on the floor but Jethro.

Liya cleared her throat as she walked over to his desk, "Where's my sister?"

"At home with your children." Jethro replied

Liya nodded, "Good. Good."

She paused, hesitating. She knew that it was time to tell the truth. It was time to come clean. She had been taught growing up not to trust, but she hadn't trusted her team when it came to Ian Doyle, and look where that had landed her. If Ziva could learn to trust. If she trusted Jethro, then so could Liya.

"Now about Shula. You probably talked to my father, but he wouldn't have told you everything. I lead Macsen to believe she's a ticking time bomb that could blow up at any time." Liya explained

She was leaving out what Macsen had said about the accident. She didn't believe it. He had just seemed too smug and happy about it, and her profile about him didn't point to him being a murderer. He may be a child abuser, but he would never kill a child. Especially a female child. They were too important to his religious beliefs and his worldview.

Jethro glanced up, "Well?"

"Shula…she's important because she's not just one child."

Jethro furrowed his eyebrows, "What?!"

"She's one child, but she's more than one child. It's built into her DNA. She's like a blueprint, Sir." Liya explained

"What's her purpose?"

"Purely educational."

Jethro hummed, "Where's Shula now?"

"She should be showing up at the Israeli embassy right about…" She trailed off at the sound of her phone ringing.

Liya put up a finger as she took her phone out of her pocket. The caller ID read 'Kiev'. She spoke in Hebrew, nodding her head at Jethro.

"Toda, Kiev." Liya said before hanging up the phone. She pocketed her phone, focusing on Jethro, "She's there. She just got there. My partner has her now."

"I just have one final question for you, Liya. Why did Ziva keep you a secret?"

Liya pursed her lips together, taking in a breath, "She did it to protect Declan. Not many people know about me being Eli's daughter. My mom named me Emily, but my father named me Liya. I faked Declan's death to protect him from being a pawn. Then before I joined the FBI, we spent six months in Israel. Ziva was just being a good aunt. Don't hold it against her."

"Okay. Thank you, Liya." Jethro replied, "Go home to your children."

Liya smiled, "No. Thank you, Gibbs. I tried my best to protect her, but I could never repay the debt that I owe to you. You gave my sister a true father."

Jethro and Liya gave each other a firm handshake and then Liya left the building, going out the same way she came.

Hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated. In fact, they keep me going.

What would you like to see happen next?