Gibbs slid his back down the wall until he was comfortably sitting beside Aimee. Her knees were drawn tightly up to her chest and her face was hidden as she sobbed. Gibbs placed a comforting hand on the back of her head. He gently stroked her head searching his mind for the right words to say. His mind was spinning in a hundred different directions and he didn't know if he was going to speak the right words. Looking down, he saw the phone lying on the floor beside Aimee.

"Who was it, kiddo?"

"No one! Go away!" she shouted, shuffling her body away from him.

Gibbs furrowed his brow in concern at her response. He hadn't expected anger.

"Something about that call upset you, Aims. Who is Davy?"

Aimee looked up at him, her face red from crying. "I don't know!"

"Aimee…"

She stood to her feet and came towards him with her fists swinging. Gibbs was taken aback. He never expected her to be so volatile.

"It's none of your damned business! Why can't you just leave me the hell alone?"

Gibbs covered his face and quickly pushed himself to his feet. Aimee managed to get in a few punches before he recovered enough to restrain her. He flipped her around so she was facing outward and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She'd had enough temper tantrums and out of control outbursts that he had become pretty seasoned at handling them. Her out-of-control emotions frightened her more than it did him. He could see the terror in her blue eyes. His strong, comforting arms were not unkind. He tried to radiate comfort and love as he held her. Aimee struggled in his arms, shouting and cussing at him. He held her patiently waiting for her to calm down.

Gibbs could feel her heart pounding in her chest as he held her. His mind whirled as he tried to speculate who could have called her and set her off like that. As if on cue, the phone rang again. He glanced at it considering his options. He could let it ring and have it answered by the Energizer bunny downstairs or he could answer it himself, risking Aimee escaping from his arms. He didn't relish chasing her and he didn't trust that she wouldn't run off; not in her current state of mind. And he didn't want to have to revisit a punishment for running away with her, not this soon after the last, but he knew he needed to be completely consistent with his discipline concerning running away. It was far too dangerous of a habit to let fester into a full-blown pattern.

"Don't answer it, Gibbs!" Aimee screamed suddenly, jolting Gibbs back to the present.

The phone kept ringing and Gibbs wondered if Jackson was preventing Janessa from grabbing it. He hoped so.

"Why not? Who is Davy, Aimee?"

"I don't know!" she screamed again.

Still, the phone rang.

Gibbs decided to take the risk and reached out to grab the receiver.

Aimee used that moment to jerk herself free from his grip. Gibbs' hands were sweaty from trying to hold her. As he reached forward to grab her again, she smacked the receiver from his hand and it went flying across the floor. Aimee scrambled to grab the phone before Gibbs could regain his footing.

"Aimee." Gibbs' voice was stern.

Aimee reached the phone first and fired it at the wall as hard as she could. The receiver sprang apart, the plastic pieces flying across the room and the battery hanging by the wire. Despite the abuse, the phone still rang loudly. Gibbs was able to retrieve the phone and put what was left of it to his ear. Static and a garbled voice greeted him.

"Who is this?" he demanded only to hear a loud click in his ear.

Aimee glared at him, breathing hard and dropping to her knees by the wall closest to the door. Gibbs gave a silent gasp of relief. He expected her to bolt from the room but instead, she just knelt there silently glaring at him. Gibbs walked towards her and scooped her up in his arms, expecting a fight and not disappointed. Aimee immediately began to pitch a fit. Gibbs ignored her and set her on her bed, squatting to her level and looking sternly into her eyes.

"Enough." He gave her a firm shake.

Aimee's eyes widened but she didn't stop trying to peel his hands from her forearms.

Gibbs shook her again, his patience dangerously thin. He narrowed an eye at her and checked himself in order to see how much temper he had left to deal with her.

"Continue pitching this fit and I'm going to put you across my knee." He stated simply.

He felt Aimee freeze in his arms. The look that came across her face told him that she remembered what that felt like and was giving it a great deal of thought. Tears clouded her vision and she sat still breathing heavily. Gibbs continued his intense stare. Her being able to stop in the middle of her meltdown told him a great deal about her. Aimee was in control of herself and he tucked that away for future thought. Her ability to control herself told him that some, certainly not all, but some of her tantrums were in her control.

"Now that you're listening to my voice, tell me who is Davy and what did he say that upset you so much?"

Aimee began to struggle again, albeit less intensely all the while keeping a sharp eye on Gibbs reactions. Gibbs was able to tell that she was being cautious with him now. And her guardedness had nothing to do with being afraid of him. Aimee was not afraid of him at all. She was gauging how much she could get away with before he made good on his promise. Gibbs wasn't going to disappoint her.

"Sit still and answer me." It felt to Gibbs like they were engaged in some kind of game he never signed up to play.

Aimee continued to struggle but almost half-heartedly now.

"Who…?"

"I told you I don't know!" she screamed in his face.

Gibbs glared at her. "Lower your voice and speak politely, Aimee."

Aimee glowered back at him but stopped struggling. "Lemme go, Gibbs."

Gibbs released her but remained in her personal bubble. "If you don't know Davy then why did you react like you did?"

"I don't know!"

"Aimee, what aren't you telling me?"

The blond haired girl in front of him closed her eyes momentarily, licking her lips and Gibbs wondered what was going to happen next. Would she open her eyes and completely lose it on him or would she remain calm and answer him? Gibbs knelt back on his haunches preparing himself for the worst. Aimee was unpredictable at the best of times, and he simply did not know what she would do at any given moment. Her bottom lip trembled slightly as tears tumbled down her cheeks. She opened her eyes as her chin quivered.

"Please, Gibbs, leave me alone." Aimee's voice came out as an earnest, almost whispered plea.

Gibbs heaved a weary sigh. "Okay." He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You know where I am if you want to talk."

Aimee nodded and turned from him, walking to her bed and lying down on it. She turned her body away from him and curled up in a ball. Her small frame shuddered, letting him see that she was crying still. The uncanny way she had forced herself to calm down and speak quietly blew him away. If Aimee had learned anything the past couple months, it was self-control. Gibbs had to say he was impressed. The only trouble was that he didn't know if that control had been brought on because of his love and support or because of fear. Aimee was hard to read.

Gibbs picked up the remains on the phone and left the room softly shutting the door behind him. His whole being was screaming at him to go back in and comfort her but he knew there would be no point. Aimee was hiding something from him and until she decided to share her secrets with him, he wouldn't be able to help her.

XxX—NCIS—XxX

Tony sat at his desk going over evidence about the case they were currently working on. He massaged his temples trying to fight back the tension headache building in the back of his head.

"Probie, you got any Advil?"

Tim looked up from his desk and frowned. "That's the third time today that you've asked, Tony. You okay?"

Tony chewed on his bottom lip. "I didn't ask for a tally, McNosy, I just wanted some Advil. Geesh."

Tim sighed and tossed him the bottle from his desk drawer. "Keep it."

"Thanks, Tim."

Tony chased the medication down with his cold latte and stood up with an annoyed sigh, tossing the bottle in his desk drawer. "Seen Gibbs?"

Tim stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "I think he went to get Janessa from daycare." Tim looked at his watch. "Its past 6, Tony, you should call it a day and go home."

"I thought Gibbs' old man was watching the kids for him," said Tony, grabbing his jacket as well.

"He's watching Aimee during the day I guess. Janessa still comes to daycare to give the old guy a break. Gibbs' dad isn't getting any younger."

Loud music greeted them settling Tony's teeth on edge. His head wasn't in the mood for anything loud. Tony straightened his jacket collar as Abby entered the bullpen in her normal happy-go-Abby manner. Tony wasn't sure how the Goth could be so perma-happy all the time. Sometimes it was downright aggravating. And as if that wasn't bad enough to Tony's pounding head, Jenny's niece, Makayla came barreling into him from behind, screaming at the top of her lungs. Tony grimaced and exchanged a painful look with Tim as Jenny joined the scene as well. Music blaring, screaming teen and Jenny shouting words that couldn't be heard over the music.

"HOLD IT!" shouted Tony, his anger getting the best of him. He reached out and snatched the phone from Abby's hand. "How do you turn this thing off, Abbs?"

Abby scowled at him and snatched the phone back, turning the music off. "Well, aren't you a Mr. Crabby Apple."

"I'm not going home with you, Aunt Jenny! You can forget it. I am old enough to stay at my own house without you!" shouted Makayla.

"You're 14 years old," stated Jenny, buttoning up her jacket indignantly. "Your parents put me in charge of your sassy self so stop with the attitude and let's go home."

Makayla rolled her eyes.

Abby fiddled with her phone and more music blasted.

"Abby, shut that thing off and go home!" snapped Jenny, glaring at her.

Abby switched off the music. "Oops, sorry." Abby looked genuinely repentant, recognising that Jenny looked irked. "I'm waiting for Gibbs, Director Shepard."

Jenny ignored Abby's explanation and reached for Makayla's arm. "Let's go, young lady."

Makayla yanked her arm away hard, swinging it backward hitting Tony square in the stomach.

Tony groaned and as he glanced over, he saw the amused look on McGee's face. Tony hit him with an annoyed grimace.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" screamed Makayla, storming out of the bullpen and bumping into Gibbs with Janessa in his arms.

All at once, everyone began speaking at once. Tony stood dumbfounded watching the train wreck takes it course. Tim high-tailed it to the elevator and escaped the aftermath which Tony very much envied. If Tony had had his wits about him, he would have followed suit. Instead, he stood watching the chaos unfold. Abby was attempting to calm Makayla down and Jenny was shouting like only a vexed, short-tempered redhead could.

"STOP!" said Gibbs rather loudly, setting Janessa to her feet.

Janessa scrambled towards Tony and hid behind him. Tony looked around wishing he could find someone to hide behind as well. No one liked to mess with Jenny Shepard when she was pissed.

"Jethro, stay out of this!" demanded Jenny, once more reaching for her niece. "We are leaving right now, Makayla Wallace. I've had just about enough of your impudence for one day. We will discuss this at home."

Makayla's face reddened further. She adjusted the backpack on her shoulder and glared at her aunt.

"There is nothing to discuss, Aunt Jenny. What would be the point? You don't listen to me anyway. I'm leaving!" With those words, Makayla again made to leave the bullpen only to be stopped by Gibbs.

Tony took a few steps backward and leaned on his desk. His head was pounding and he wanted to go home more than anything in that moment, but one look at the blond headed monster clinging to his leg told him he needed to stay put until Gibbs was finished.

"Hey, running away is going to solve this, Makayla," Gibbs said gently.

Makayla yanked her arm away. "Stay out of this Agent Gibbs. This doesn't concern you."

Tony blinked both in amazement and in awe of the young teen's tenacity. Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not intimidate her in the least.

Jenny took a few steps forward. "I couldn't have said it better myself. Back off, Jethro."

Tony smirked. Jenny Shepard wasn't intimidated by Gibbs either, much to Tony's amusement.

Abby stepped forward, her pale face full of concern. "Can I suggest…"

"NO!" snapped Jenny. Her patience had reached its end. "Makayla is going to take her skinny butt out to my car right now or she will find herself grounded for another week." Jenny glared at the young teen. "Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

A wounded expression swept over Abby's face as she took a few steps back. Abby was ever the peacemaker.

"Jenn, calm down," began Gibbs, turning to face Jenn and keep his hand poised to grab Makayla should she decide to bolt again. "What's going on?"

"Makayla thought it would be a great idea to skip school again…"

Makayla groaned. "For Pete's sake, I didn't…ugh…why can't you just listen and take my side for a change instead of listening to that idiot principal? You're just like my mom. She doesn't listen to me either!" Makayla struggled to free herself from Gibbs' tight grip when he instinctively grabbed her arm before she could bolt from the bullpen. "Let me go, Agent Gibbs. Please."

"Mak, I think you and your aunt need to go someplace and talk…" suggested Gibbs.

Jenny glared at Makayla. "There is nothing to talk about, Jethro," she snapped. "Makayla, I'm finished discussing this with you. You do the crime, you pay the fine."

Gibbs looked at Jenny feeling about as exasperated as Makayla looked. He'd had his own run-ins with Jenny and when she chose to be pig-headed and obstinate, there was no talking to her. Gibbs looked at Makayla who had tears in her eyes. He could see many emotions in the young teen's eyes and a part of him wished that Aimee was that transparent. He exchanged a look of sympathy with Makayla hoping his silent compassion might help console her. So far he'd been impressed with the youngster's ability to stay polite despite being so upset.

Gibbs nodded his head at the young teen girl, motioning to her to head to the elevator. For some reason, ever since Gibbs had met Makayla, they seemed to have formed a bond with one another. Gibbs couldn't quite place his finger on why but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. They might have been kindred spirits or something crazy like that. Gibbs had to bite back a smirk at the thought. If that was true, it was going to drive Jenny batty. He almost liked that thought.

"DiNozzo, would you mind dropping Abby and Ness at home for me? Jack is there with Aimee. Hopefully, he is still alive."

Tony grimaced at Gibbs. His pounding headache was still plaguing him and, truthfully, he just wanted to go home and sleep it off. Gibbs didn't seem to notice his protégé's painful grimace and when he didn't respond, Gibbs turned to see his pained look.

"DiNozzo?"

Tony rubbed a hand over his face and stooped to pick up Janessa who had been uncharacteristically quiet while watching the proceedings with large eyes.

"Aren't you coming, Mr. Gibbs?" asked the small girl softly.

Gibbs shook his head. "I will soon, Nessie." Gibbs looked at Tony again. "You okay, Tony?"

Tony blinked his eyes with a grimace. "Uh, yah, just got a nasty headache, Boss."

Gibbs walked towards Tony, his face filled with concern. Something didn't feel right to him in the moment. Tony's face paled suddenly and his right eye began to twitch. As Gibbs reached out just in time to grab Janessa as Tony stumbled to keep his balance. Jenny rushed over and grabbed Janessa so Gibbs could help keep Tony from falling to the floor. Abby stood staring in alarm.

"How long has this been going on, Tony?" asked Gibbs as he helped Tony sit down in the closest chair.

"Tony!" gasped Abby, rushing to his side.

Tony lifted his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes and temples. His face was flushed and perspiration sprinkled his forehead. Jenny came closer holding out a glass of water, Janessa still riding her hip. Tony gratefully took the water and drank some, feeling lightheaded and unsteady. His temples were pounding as he felt his pulse beat loudly in his head.

"It's nothing," he managed to say as he looked up to see four sets of eyes staring at him in alarm. "I've been nursing this migraine all day. Probie gave me some Advil. I'm sure it will go away in time. I just need some sleep." Tony went to stand only to have Gibbs force him back down in his chair.

"Abbs, get Ducky."

Tony groaned as Abby nodded and all but ran from the bullpen. "Seriously, Boss, I don't need Ducky…"

Gibbs glared at him. "Can it, DiNozzo."

Tony sighed. "Canning it, Boss," he muttered and slumped in his chair.

Gibbs sat on the edge of Tony's desk looking intently parental which only served to make Tony more uncomfortable, not to mention increasingly irritated.

"You gots a sore head, Tony?" asked Janessa, slipping down from Jenny's hold and forcing her way in between Tony's legs. She put her tiny hands on his face and patted it kindly.

Tony managed a small smile in response. He couldn't resist Janessa's sweet concern for him but his head was pounding too much to answer her.

"Well, I think Makayla and I will head out…" began Jenny looking at Gibbs.

"Makayla left already, Director Jenny," said Janessa quietly, alerting the rest of the adults to the fact that Makayla had taken the opportunity to run off while their attention had been elsewhere.

Gibbs looked up and scanned the bullpen, his heart beating a little faster in his chest. The color drained from Jenny's face as she also noticed the teen was missing. Gibbs rubbed the back of his head with a groan. What was it about the little girls in his life and their constant need to take off? It was enough to make Gibbs crazy.