Thanks for all the great reviews and comments. There are quite a lot of storylines happening all at once so hopefully, you'll bear with me as they all play out...don't worry, I won't forget about Riley...his storyline is going to be interesting. Special thanks to 90TheGeneral09 for help with the military side of things. Check out his story "The Cadet." I will be utilizing a character of his (with his permission and he has written a scene for me as well) when Gibbs calls in a favour.

And Poor Aimee...she's in for a bumpy ride as well.

Enjoy :)

Makayla poked her head around the corner cautiously, doing what she could to not be seen. She heard voices in the distance, and she didn't want to be caught again. The night nurse had been out-and-out rude to her earlier. In the distance, she could just make out her aunt and Agent Gibbs speaking with a doctor. Kids under the age of 16 weren't permitted in ICU unless they were family or something, or so one of the nurses had told her. Mak had finally managed to sneak her way past the scary, grouchy night nurse. She'd waited for almost a half hour to gain entrance. It hadn't taken long for her to figure out the system, however, even though she was tossed out once. Ring the ICU front desk; they buzz you in; one of the security officers greets you at the door and escorts you to the front desk so you can see your family member. The man who rang in was buzzed in but for some reason didn't receive an escort. Makayla walked in with him, telling him she'd gone out to use the washrooms. The guy was distracted and didn't appear interested in her at all, quickly leaving her behind without a second thought.

Makayla felt her heart skip a few beats in her chest as she continued to watch her aunt and Gibbs from a distance. She knew she should have just gone home instead of coming to the hospital. Her aunt had taken her phone from her earlier so she had no way to contact anyone to let them know where she was. A part of her had been tempted to head to New York as she'd planned before, but in all honesty; her zeal to do that had diminished. Some of the things Gibbs said resonated with her, and she really wanted to speak with him.

Being a permanent fixture at NCIS had its advantages, namely, no one questioned her when she asked about stuff. She'd politely asked an agent if he knew which hospital Gibb's daughter was at and the guy had cheerfully given her the Intel. Slipping out of NCIS had been as easy as telling the security guard that her aunt told her to go home. Mak had been surprised it'd been so easy. She'd figured her aunt would have sent out the SWAT team to find her by now. Apparently, all it took was a change of shift to muddle up messages, at least in regards to her anyway.

Makayla gulped in trepidation when Gibbs began to walk in her direction. She'd been so careful and she didn't want to be found out until she was good and ready. She shrunk back into the crevice between the window and the wall. She held her breath as Gibbs grew closer and then walked right past her, heading towards the exit. She peered in the other direction watching her aunt sit down. Mak strained her eyes to see if she could make out her aunt's expression. Her aunt looked exhausted. Mak hung her head in shame; she felt sure a big part of that weariness pertained to her aunt thinking she'd run away again.

"Glad to know you didn't go far, Makayla."

Makayla's eyes widened as she slowly turned to see Gibbs staring down at her sternly.

"Uh, hi, Agent Gibbs."

"Hi, yourself." Gibbs took her by the crook of the elbow and pulled her out of her hiding spot. "Nice of you to stop by."

Mak managed a crooked smile. "How's Aimee?"

Gibbs stern countenance softened. "The doctors' say it's going to be another few hours but so far so good; she's hanging in there. She's a strong kid."

Mak pulled her arm away and gently placed her hand on Gibbs' forearm. "She really is strong, Agent Gibbs. You've got to believe that. Aimee's gonna beat this; I just know it."

Gibbs smiled. "I'm trying." He winked at her and messed up her hair playfully. "We'll all just need to keep the faith, won't we?"

Makayla smiled and nodded, brushing her hair from her eyes. Gibbs wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close and Makayla let out a breath of relief. She hadn't been sure how her presence would go over, and Gibbs' warm embrace had calmed her jitters.

"C'mon. I'm going to get some coffee. You and I should have a little chat."

Mak swallowed hard but didn't say anything. It was late but not so late that there wouldn't still be other people mingling in the hospital restaurant. Hospitals tended to keep their own hours with people coming and going all hours of the night. Sickness, death and emergencies weren't limited to the daytime hours.

As they walked, Makayla took a sideways glance at Gibbs. He looked disheartened, worried and worn out. Makayla knew he was troubled but he was masking it behind his tough facade. Business, as usual, was the normal Gibbs' mantra. Makayla didn't know how he managed it. While he looked calm and collected, she felt like she was crumbling to pieces.

"I didn't take off, Agent Gibbs," she muttered quietly as they walked.

Gibbs stopped and looked at her. "Did I say you did?"

"No, but it's probably what you're thinking."

Gibbs shook his head. "You're here, aren't you?" Gibbs started walking again, and Makayla followed his lead trailing behind a little.

"I know you're mad at me," she mumbled irritably.

"I'm not mad." He kept walking.

Makayla sighed loudly. They walked a little farther until they reached another corridor. Gibbs hung a left and then a right until the smell of coffee smacked them in the face. Makayla wrinkled her nose in protest. She couldn't stand the smell of the stuff.

"Aunt Jenny took my phone, ya know. That's why I couldn't call or text her."

"They don't have phones anywhere else?"

Mak shrugged knowing her excuse was lame. "You sure you're not mad?"

They reached the end of the hallway and turned one more corner to see the cafeteria door. Gibbs reached the door and stopped. "Do I look angry?"

"I can't tell. Your face always looks kinda mad."

Gibbs smirked, pulled the door open and gestured her to enter before him. Makayla sighed again and wandered into the room. It was devoid of people other than someone who looked like a doctor half asleep in the far corner. The staff had long left for the evening and the coffee and food was left to people on the honour system.

Gibbs reached out for some mugs. He poured himself a cup of coffee and he turned to Mak briefly. "Coffee?"

Makayla wrinkled her nose.

"Not the coffee type?"

She shook her head.

"How about some hot chocolate?"

She nodded and accepted the hot treat that he offered her. She brought it to her nose and inhaled its chocolatey goodness. It smelled so delicious that it made her stomach growl. Makayla blushed and pushed her fist into her stomach to quiet it down.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "You eat today?"

"Not since lunch."

Gibbs grabbed a couple of sandwiches, paid for their choices and led the way to a table in a secluded spot of the café. He set his stuff down and pulled out a chair for her. Makayla sat down and sipped at her hot drink.

"Thanks, Agent Gibbs."

"Not a problem."

They sat quietly for several minutes eating and drinking. Makayla fidgeted becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the silence

"What did you want to talk about?"

Gibbs stretched out his legs and wrapped his hands around his coffee cup. "How'd your chat go with your aunt?"

"I feel like that's a loaded question."

"It's not."

Mak narrowed her eyes. "What'd she tell you?"

"She told me you ran off."

"I didn't!" Her voice was indignant.

"I can see that; now, answer the question."

Makayla sighed remembering their earlier conversation. She knew Gibbs wanted to know if she'd given her aunt a hard time. Makayla didn't think she had and by taking off for a while, she felt it had improved things. Had she stayed, she would have been sure to freak out and say something offensive to her aunt. She didn't relish having to own up to that with Gibbs. The man scared her when he got all parental. "I wasn't disrespectful, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded. "Good. Glad to hear it." He took a long drink of his coffee and closed his eyes.

"That's it?"

"Anything else you want to tell me?"

Makayla set her cup down and stood to her feet. "I didn't do anything wrong, Agent Gibbs. Aunt Jenny started to hassle me about helping Riley escape, telling me that it was none of my business. I disagree! Someone had to do something because the rest of you had your hands tied. Riley was in the position to do something. He saved Aimee! Aunt Jenny is so damned uptight about following rules and protocol even if it's wrong!"

"Jenny has a difficult job, Mak."

"I know she does. I never said she didn't but, Agent Gibbs, there has to be a time that you say screw it and do what's right. If being an adult means that I have to compromise what I believe in, then I'm not sure I want to grow up."

Gibbs smiled. "I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, kiddo."

Mak scowled at him. "Ahhhh!" she screamed loudly in frustration.

The slumbering doctor across the room startled awake and glared at them in annoyance. Gibbs shrugged and nodded in his direction. Makayla stomped her feet a few times and walked towards the exit.

"I hate my life!" she shouted as she stomped her feet. "Why can't everyone just leave me the hell alone?"

Gibbs listened quietly watching to see if she would bolt from the room. Mak stopped in the doorway and put her hands on her hips. Gibbs rose to his feet and came up behind her, pulling her into an embrace. He was relieved when she didn't pull away but instead melted into his arms. Gibbs' heart ached a little. Makayla seemed so starved for affection. The more rebellious she was, the more she craved to be loved. Makayla wasn't intentionally being a pain in the ass.

"Honey, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?" Gibbs didn't often use terms of endearment, but kids always seemed to bring out the softie in him. Makayla was struggling to express herself and complaining about her aunt was just scratching the surface.

Makayla shrugged as she leaned into him.

Gibbs turned her around and tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "C'mon, Mak, spill it. Your aunt Jenny lecturing you about Riley is yesterday's news. I have a hard time believing that you're stewing this long over that."

"Is Abby gonna get in trouble on account of what we did?"

"Nope. Is that what you're worried about? Abby being in trouble?"

Makayla shook her head. "Not exactly."

"Then what?"

Mak tried to pull her chin away but Gibbs held it firmly looking deeply into her green eyes. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks and Gibbs wiped a few away with his thumb tenderly.

"Mackie, c'mon, what's wrong?"

"Aunt Jenny is going to make me board at school if I don't play nice." Makayla blurted out finally.

Gibbs let go of her chin. "I see."

"I hate that school, Agent Gibbs. I hate science; I suck at math. I can't take it anymore. I-I'm gonna quit, and I don't care what anyone says. I HATE IT!" Makayla wrapped her arms around her waist and allowed the tears to cascade down her cheeks. "I had a h-huge fight with my mom and dad before they left. They s-said that they weren't going to let me take any more art or music courses unless I brought my grades up by the time they got back."

Gibbs took a deep breath and released it slowly, debating carefully on what to say.

"How are your grades?"

Makayla's green eyes shimmered in the light. "I got my report card last week."

"And?"

"I'm failing math and science." Makayla's bottom lip trembled.

Gibbs wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her back to where they had been sitting. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. Makayla didn't fight his gesture of support and cuddled into his chest. Gibbs rested his head on hers. He figured there wasn't much difference between Janessa, Aimee, Makayla or Abby, for that matter. All of them were little girls craving love and acceptance.

"Have you told your Aunt Jenn about all this, Mak?"

She shook her head and sniffled.

Gibbs hugged her tightly. "Mackie, you need to start being honest with her. She's not a mind reader…"

Makayla stiffened in his arms. "She won't listen. She said she gonna make me board at school!"

Gibbs stroked her arm softly. "Okay, I'm going to make you a deal here. You tell her what's going on, and I'll ask McGee to help you with your homework. Tim is a wiz at everything science and math plus he's a really nice guy. What do you say?"

Makayla hiccupped. "Still doesn't change anything. I'm still stuck at a school I hate…I wanna go to an art school, Agent Gibbs. I wanna draw."

"You leave that to me. I've got an idea. Do you trust me?"

"I guess so…"

"Oh, no; you either trust me or you don't. Which is it?"

Mak sighed. "I trust you."

"Good. So, do we have a deal or not?"

"Will you come with me, Agent Gibbs? She's gonna be mad about my report card."

Gibbs thought a moment trying to read between the lines. "You afraid you'll lose it?"

Makayla nodded. "We had a deal, Agent Gibbs, and I wanna keep it. My butt's on the line."

Gibbs chuckled as he gently prodded her forward and stood to his feet. "Alright, let's go."

Makayla was quiet as she walked just a few steps behind Gibbs towards ICU. She noticed a heavy step to Gibb's gait as they got closer. He was quiet again, not that he was a man who spoke a lot anyway, but Mak could sense a change wash over him. His shoulders drooped and his footsteps grew sluggish. Mak's own heart began to thud harder in her chest as well. Once they reached the corridor where she remembered seeing her aunt earlier, a part of her started to panic. She just knew that her Aunt Jenny was not going to understand. Mak clenched her jaw trying to keep herself from running in the opposite direction.

"Anything, Jenn?" Gibbs asked as he entered the family sitting area and sat down.

Jenn looked up from her phone. "Nothing yet."

Makayla came in behind Gibbs and sheepishly looked at her aunt.

Jenny's face paled as she looked from Gibbs to Makayla and then back to Gibbs once more. The silent conversation that occurred between Gibbs and Jenn ensued quickly and without fuss. Gibbs merely nodded but remained silent.

"Just where have you been, young lady?" demanded Jenny, her voice strained.

Makayla tightened her hands together into fists and sat down beside Gibbs, deliberately placing herself as far away from her aunt as she could. Gibbs gave her a stern look and stood up, moving himself to a chair opposite to Makayla and Jenn. The message was clear. Makayla was not going to be hiding behind him. He would support her but he would not enable her.

"I…ummm…you took my phone so I couldn't call you," spluttered Makayla, inwardly kicking herself for using the same lame excuse she'd used with Gibbs.

Jenny reached into her purse, took out Makayla's cell phone and handed it to her crossly. Then she held up her own. "You couldn't manage to find a phone elsewhere?"

Makayla shrugged. "M'sorry."

Jenn glanced at Gibbs who was sitting flipping through a magazine he'd picked up off the table. It was a gossip rag that Jenn knew did not interest Gibbs in the least.

"Did you talk some sense into her, Jethro?"

Gibbs looked up. "This is between you and Mak, Jenn. I told her I would stay for moral support, but other than that, I'm not going to get involved. All I ask is that you listen to her."

Jenny glowered at him and then turned her glare on Makayla. "This isn't the place to discuss things. We will talk about this at home."

Tears burned in Makayla's eyes. Her heart was still thumping wildly in her chest. She knew that if she didn't spill the beans now, she wouldn't have the courage later.

"I got my report card last week, Aunt Jenny."

Jenny furrowed her brows. "You did? Why didn't you show it to me? Don't I need to sign it or something?"

"We're on the honour system at school. Parents don't need to sign reports once you're in junior high."

"I see." Jenn looked further annoyed by the news. "Well, you can show it to me when we get home. Do your parents know?"

Makayala shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't talked with them in a couple weeks. Mom texts me sometimes but not very often; mostly just to say that she hopes I'm minding you and studying hard."

Jenny crossed her legs and shoved her purse beside her on the chair but remained silent.

Makayla stood up and looked at Gibbs. Gibbs winked at her in encouragement.

"I…uh, I'm flunking math and science this semester," began Makayla slowly, rubbing her sweaty hands on her jeans.

"What? How come?" said Jenn loudly in disbelief. "Haven't you been studying? You always excuse yourself to your room every night and tell me you're studying. What are you doing in your room if you're not studying?"

Mak walked away from Jenny, keeping her back to her aunt. "I dunno…sometimes I fiddle around on my keyboard or guitar or I draw stuff…"

Jenn stood to her feet, walked over to Mak and spun her around. "That needs to stop, Makayla. You need to be more disciplined. If you can't handle those things in your room, then I'm going to take them out so you won't be distracted. School comes first, young lady, before leisure activities." Makayla took a quick glance at Gibbs as she pulled away from her aunt. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down but Jenny continued. "What will your father think when he comes home from Europe only to discover you're failing, huh? Your parents spend a lot of money to send you to that school. It's one of the top-rated schools in the United States for science and technology. Students are handpicked from your school for places like Stanford and MIT." Jenny's voice grew louder as she spoke.

Tears scalded Mak's eyes as she blinked fiercely to keep them from escaping.

"Until those grades come back up, you can consider yourself grounded, Makayla. No more hanging out at NCIS or with Abby. It's just to school and home. Maria is usually there cleaning in the afternoon so you won't be alone."

Makayla felt a volcano of emotions erupting inside of her. Being grounded and stuck at her aunt's house alone, day after day would be a prison sentence. At least when she came to NCIS after school, she had something to look forward to; Tony always joked around with her, Ziva taught her self-defence moves and Tim showed her cool new games online. Abby let her help with forensics which was the only thing interesting about science at all; Ducky told her interesting stories about all kinds of stuff, and Jimmy would often sneak outside with her and play catch. Everyone spent time with her despite their busy schedules, except her aunt. Even Gibbs would take her out for an after-school snack sometimes if he was around and not busy. After school at NCIS was her only sanity.

"YOU can't do THAT!" Makayla screamed as loudly as she could, taking leave of her emotions. She just could not bottle them up anymore. "I hate that school, and I don't care if I ever go back! NCIS is the only fun I ever have and you can't take that away from me!"

Jenny looked taken aback from Makayla's outburst. She took a threatening step forward and captured Makayla by the forearm. "That is enough, young lady. This is the closest you have ever come to the unfriendly side of a hairbrush with me. Don't push it." Jenny's voice was dangerously quiet. "I'm calling Cynthia to come pick you up and take you home. We will discuss this later."

Tears streamed from Makayla's cheeks, and she shook her aunt's hand from her arm. "NO! I'm sick of everyone telling me what to do with MY life! I'm not listening anymore. I'm not going back to school and you can't make me."

"Makayla Wallace, you keep your voice down right now. This is a hospital and people are sick…"

"I don't care!" Makayla shouted. She shoved past her aunt trying to escape the room but Gibbs' stepped in front of her and she landed in his arms. Gibbs held her tightly to prevent her from leaving but didn't say anything. She sobbed into his chest as he caressed the back of her head gently.

At that moment, blue lights began to flash above their heads and an intercom came to life.

"Code blue. All emergency personnel please report to your stations. I repeat Code blue," stated an automated voice.

The lights kept flashing and the message kept repeating.

Gibbs held a sobbing Makayla in his arms as he looked at Jenny in alarm. Gibbs felt his heart clench in his chest. Just what was happening, and did it have anything to do with Aimee?