Chapter 43

Gibbs gritted his teeth when his shoulder was iced. Ducky had managed to relocate it with little difficulty. Gibbs wasn't sure what was worse, the relocation or the lecture that came with it. The pain was so bad he nearly passed out. Ducky was adamant that he seek immediate medical care to obtain some anti-inflammatories. Gibbs just wanted him to shut up and back off; he just needed a few minutes to gain his equilibrium and he knew he'd be alright. A dislocated shoulder was the least of his worries.

Gibbs grimaced again as he repositioned himself, trying to get more comfortable. He was too damned old to be hanging off ledges. He wasn't a thrill seeker even on his best day. Gibbs just did what he had to when he had to do it. And now he wished that he could have a stiff drink and a shower, maybe even some shut-eye, but he knew none of those things were even remotely possible just yet. Injured or not, he had things he needed to attend to.

"Painkillers helping at all, Boss?"

Gibbs didn't want to look up. He wasn't in a good frame of mind yet. The extra strength painkillers were taking their sweet time to kick in. The room felt too crowded and he wished everyone would get the hell out.

"I'm fine, DiNozzo,' he groused. He felt defeated at the sound of his own voice. He definitely wasn't in a good frame of mind yet, and that didn't bode well for anyone.

"You should be seen at the hospital, Jethro," repeated Ducky, still stuck on his tirade. "Shoulder dislocations are serious." Ducky secured Gibb's arm in a sling to immobilize it. The older man's touch was gentle as always but his words were not; Ducky's way of showing his dissonance.

Gibbs shook his head. "I'll survive, Duck." His tone said back off, and the silence reverberating in the room afterward told him he better get a grip on himself before he did or said anything he'd regret later.

"ICE it. 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off," said Ducky, his own tone matching Gibbs'.

Gibbs knew Ducky was not impressed by what he saw as Gibbs' pointless stubbornness. Ducky gave him a sharp look of disapproval, gathered his things and left the room without another word. Gibbs had a feeling he would be hearing from Ducky again sooner rather than later if he didn't listen to the man's advice. His old friend had no patience for senseless bravado.

Gibbs lifted his head to see Riley sitting at the table beside Belinda. The kid's face was pale as the social worker spoke in hushed tones to him. He didn't appear injured much to Gibbs relief. It could have been bad. Very bad. Riley kept stealing glances in Gibbs direction, giving him pleading looks. Riley wanted to talk to him as much as Gibbs wanted to talk to Riley.

"How's Mak?" asked Gibbs, looking away and finally clearing his head enough to make companionable conversation. He grimaced as he forced himself to sit a little straighter in the conference room chair.

"She's with the director. She's okay," reassured Tony.

"You sure?" Gibbs had seen the girl's face on briefly before Riley slipped, pure and raw panic flooding her features. Makayla saw Riley's foot slip before either one of them knew it.

Tony nodded. "McGee said she's pretty shaken up…"

"I saw her run towards us. I couldn't make out what she said, but I saw her expression." Gibbs adjusted the ice pack on his shoulder. The pain was beginning to dissipate a little. The painkillers were starting to work and Gibbs was grateful for the reprieve. He could handle the pain but it helped when it didn't make him feel so raw. Gibbs just hoped Jenny was being proactive with Makayla. He couldn't figure out why she was being such a hard-ass with her niece. What was it about Jenn's sister that made Jenn act so oddly? Just a little bit of sympathy and understanding on Jenn's part would go a long way.

Gibbs pulled himself to his feet and turned to face Stevens, who was still present in the room, looking somewhat perplexed and shell-shocked about the events that occurred. The man opened his mouth to explain, but Gibbs raised his hand and waved his words away.

"Not now,' he said simply.

Stevens nodded and took another look in Riley's direction before excusing himself.

"DiNozzo, can you take Belinda and get her a real coffee?"

Belinda looked up upon hearing her name. She exchanged a look with Gibbs for a moment, then rose to her feet with a smile. "I think I'd like that." She looked at Riley. "I'll be back later, and we can talk more if you'd like."

Riley leaned back in his chair and nodded. Belinda looked at him for several seconds before resting her hand on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay, Riley."

Tony and Belinda left the room, leaving Gibbs and Riley alone. Gibbs walked over to the mini kitchenette and grabbed a cookie. He didn't know why, but suddenly he felt famished. He held one up towards Riley but the kid shook his head. Gibbs took a large bite and walked across the room, sitting on the edge of the table furthest away from Riley.

"You ok?"

Riley worried his lip and nodded. "I'm sorry about your shoulder."

Gibbs waved it away. "I'm just glad you're okay. Riley, what happened?"

The teenager dropped his head into his hands and shook his head. "Everything just went dark, Agent Gibbs. That guy just kept droning on and on and I just kept thinking about Ryan…" Riley's voice sounded strangled.

Gibbs walked to Riley's side and stooped down. "Hey, it's okay. Riley," Gibbs patted the young man's knee to comfort him. "It's okay not to be okay."

It was the words Gibbs wished someone had said to him when his mom died. It was okay to not be okay because sometimes you weren't okay and pretending you were just made things worse. Riley seemed to take his words to heart because he dissolved into tears. Gibbs went fully to his knees and embraced the teen boy with his good arm.

XxXxNCISxXxX

Gibbs listened to Riley talk for several minutes before he risked asking questions. He had much to ask. The boy had taken a while to regain control of his emotions, and Gibbs had been okay with that. His gut just churned with anger over what the kid had gone through in his young life. Riley shared about his brother drowning and his father blaming the whole event on him, about how Roy Janssen ruled with an iron fist and how the family just crumbled to pieces.

"How did the birth dates get mixed up?" Gibbs dared to ask.

Riley bit his lip. Hard. This wasn't something Riley was comfortable discussing. Gibbs could see that.

"I can wager a guess, Rye but I'd feel better if you'd just come clean about it."

"It wasn't like that, Agent Gibbs," Riley finally blurted out. "I didn't set out to trick anyone, not even the marine recruiters. It just got easier to believe it was true, know what I mean?"

Gibbs refilled Riley's cup with water. He wasn't going to cast judgement on the kid. Gibbs knew well enough that he had his own skeletons in the closet. Talking about this was not to judge. His thoughts must have shown in his demeanor because after a minute or two, Riley seemed to relax.

"Okay, so what happened?"

"We moved around so much that I guess our records got mixed up. My mom was so busy being sad…"

Gibbs puffed out his cheeks at this point. "I'm pretty sure your father's behavior wasn't helping much either."

"No, sir," agreed Riley. "Anyway, I don't remember which school it was, but they skipped me a couple grades. I thought it was kinda weird at first, but the workload was suddenly interesting and challenging." Riley shrugged. "It was a welcome change from my schoolwork before. I didn't know if it was just the way the school did things or what so I didn't say anything. I guess my grades were good enough that no one noticed."

Gibbs chuckled. "From what McGee tells me, Riley, your grades in school were more than good enough."

Riley shrugged again. "Whatever; doesn't matter. The point is, no one noticed, so I just stayed two years older. It was fine by me because it meant I could graduate and leave two years sooner."

Gibbs nodded and took a long drink of his otherwise lukewarm coffee. He set the mug down and maneuvered his shoulder around a little.

"Hurt?" asked Riley.

"I'll live. It's been dislocated before, probably why Dr. Mallard didn't have too much trouble popping it back in place. I've been shot, blown up and run over… comes with the job. Falling off buildings is a piece of cake." He smirked as he said the words. A smile played on Riley's lips as well.

"Being a Marine is no walk in the park."

"Nope, but it made me who I am today."

"Why'd you quit?"

Gibbs was silent a moment pondering how he could answer that question. "A lot of reasons, but I guess I knew that I wanted to be able to help my fellow Marines. It was getting that I wasn't deployable anymore - one too many explosions I'd guess you'd say, - and I wasn't content to sit on the sidelines. NCIS was the next best thing."

Riley seemed to accept Gibbs words at face value and Gibbs was content to leave it at that. Gibbs scratched his head thoughtfully deciding it was time to cut to the chase. Riley was going to have to face General Marshall eventually and Gibbs needed to feel the kid out to see how he'd do with that.

"Riley, the Brigadier General at Parris Island wants to talk to you about Adams."

Riley's face visibly paled and he licked his lips. "I-I've heard some stories about him, sir."

Gibbs nodded. He remembered how it was among the recruits. The scuttlebutt was always worse than reality.

"I'm not going to lie to you. He's a tough son of a bitch, but Riley, he's a good guy and he's got kids your age. He's more than he presents at first glance. He's no stranger to falling on hard times either. As much as he might intimidate you, underneath that gruff exterior, he really does want to help you."

"I guess I really messed stuff up for him."

Gibbs chuckled. Riley had no idea the trouble he'd caused for Marshall and Parris Island. Frankly, Gibbs felt it was best Riley didn't know the real truth, but somehow he knew that Marshall was just waiting to blast the kid to kingdom come.

"You're a tough kid, Rye. I see strength in you that I rarely see in kids your age. Embrace that when you need to. The Brigadier might blow his top, but the dust will settle. He'll respect you a lot more if you just look him in the eye and show him no regret. You did what you felt you had to do. There is no shame in that. Let him blow off some steam and then we can move on to nailing Adams."

Riley swallowed a few times. "I- I don't feel strong, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded. "You've been through hell, Riley. I get it. I'm not here to lay a guilt trip on you. Adams is going to hang on his own. Your fellow recruits are gonna nail him to a wall with or without you, but I thought, just maybe, you'd want a chance to hammer your own nail."

Riley stood up and walked towards the window again. Gibbs felt his heart rate increase. He sure as hell didn't want a repeat of earlier. The lock was fastened securely to the window, but he wasn't putting anything past Riley.

"Guys from my platoon?"

Gibbs rose to his feet and walked up behind Riley, placing his hand on his shoulder. His memory wasn't always pristine, but he remembered a few names. "Tanner, Smith, Nichols, to name a few. They reported that Adams took a dislike to you the day you arrived on base."

Riley stiffened when Gibbs placed a hand on his shoulder. "I thought I'd escaped it all when I joined. The recruit officers were awesome. They made it sound like a dream, like my dad did when I was a kid… before Ryan…" Riley's voice cracked and trailed off. Riley turned around and faced Gibbs. "I didn't mind the discipline. I guess a part of me even knew I needed it, but Adams cornered me the first day and…" Riley swallowed.

Gibbs steel blue eyes looked at Riley with compassion. "What'd he do?"

Riley's lip quivered. "I don't know what I did or what it was about me that he hated me so much."

"It had nothing to do with you, Riley."

Riley's eyes flashed in anger. "Yes, it did!" He shoved past Gibbs and stormed toward the door, pounding his fist against it. "It had everything to do with me!"

Gibbs watched Riley wrestle with his emotions.

"He pegged me an easy target, Agent Gibbs. Do you know what that feels like? He said… he said," stammered Riley. Riley pounded the door again. "He wrapped his hands around my throat after he…." He choked back more tears that threatened to fall. "H-he made me swear I would never tell another soul…" A look of agony flooded Riley's face. "I'm not even sure how long I sat there afterward… I felt so numb… like I was trapped in some kind of nightmare." Riley turned to face Gibbs, and at that moment, Gibbs knew exactly what Riley was trying to tell him. Adams had more than just physically abused Riley. It was way more insidious than that.

Gibbs felt sucker-punched. Out of all the things he expected Riley to tell him, that hadn't been one of them. He released a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding and cleared his throat softly, carefully schooling his features. Riley had confided something so intimate and so hideous that Gibbs feared he'd say the wrong thing. "It had nothing to do with you, Riley."

"Then why'd he pick me, huh? Why the hell did he pick me?"

Gibbs wished he had an answer. He wasn't naïve enough to say he didn't know it happened, but stuff like this was so disturbing that most didn't want to admit that it happened at all.

"Adams is a power hungry bastard. If it hadn't been you, it would have been some else."

Tears traced a path down Riley's flushed cheeks. "I wish it had been someone else."

Gibbs nodded and squeezed Riley's shoulder, trying to offer comfort. The more Gibbs found out about the teenager, the more his guts felt like they were being ripped apart from the inside. Riley couldn't seem to catch a break. The kid had spent so much time burying his emotions under the rug that he was now being pulled under with them. It broke Gibbs' heart.

XxXxNCISxXxX

Gibbs returned to the bullpen after Belinda returned. Riley's mother had arrived at NCIS, and he didn't feel like he needed to be around to handle the reunion. Belinda was better trained in that kind of thing. Besides, he needed some time to digest all that Riley had shared with him. He knew he would have to write a formal report and submit it to Children's Services. The case had just gone from worse straight to the pits of hell. Physical assault of a minor was one thing, but this? This was a whole other can of worms. Gibbs scrubbed a hand over his face in dismay. He didn't even have words to express how he was feeling, besides sick to his stomach. There was a special place in hell for creeps like Adams, and Gibbs felt like even those places were too good for the likes of him.

"How's Riley?" asked Tony when Gibbs entered the bullpen.

How could Gibbs even answer that given what he knew? "He's one hell of a tough kid."

Tony nodded his agreement. "You okay, Boss?"

Gibbs considered that. Was he okay? He felt like he was on the edge of complete detachment and was dangerous teetering over it. He decided to deflect the question.

"I'm going to see how Mak is doing. Anything new I should know about?"

Tony shook his head. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of Mackie or the director since everything went down."

Gibbs headed towards the stairway. "You coming to Aimee's welcome home party?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Gibbs smiled to himself as he walked up the stairs slowly. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was Aimee. He kept reminding himself of that. Aimee was safe from David Brody. The microchip was in the right hands and decades of human trafficking were brought to halt. Brody might have been a son of a bitch, but a minuscule part of Gibbs appreciated everything the guy did to contribute to the right people getting nailed. The man was mentally ill and would likely never see the outside world again, but Gibbs couldn't wish him out of existence when he'd help create such a special gift as Aimee. Aimee and Janessa were his now, except for some formal paperwork. Thanksgiving was coming fast and he had a lot to be thankful for.

As Gibbs walked into Cynthia's office, he noticed the woman looking a little bewildered.

"The Boss in?" he asked with a smile. He felt like she deserved that from him for all the times he stormed passed her without even acknowledging her presence.

"Yes, but I don't think now is a good time, Agent Gibbs. There has been a lot more hollering than talking going on in there."

Gibbs winced. "Any idea who's winning?"

"Well, I'd say the director has met her match when it comes to her young niece."

"I definitely agree with that."

A shrill voice belonging to Makayla could be heard in the outer office. Gibbs lifted a brow in Cynthia's direction.

"Think she'd appreciate backup, or am I walking into an ambush?"

Cynthia shrugged, standing to her feet. "I'll leave that to your discretion, Agent Gibbs. I'm going to take a late lunch. Let the director know, will you?"

Gibbs nodded and turned to stare at the outer door. He closed his eyes and seriously debated turning on his heel and going back to the bullpen. He didn't know if he had it in him to go a round or two with Jenny or Makayla. His shoulder was throbbing in time with his pulse. It was bearable, but he certainly wouldn't mind taking the rest of the day off. Ducky was going to take a strip out of him if he didn't get his shoulder looked at before he saw the M.E. again. Pinching his nose in preparation, he decided to take his changes and open the door.

"What the hell happened to you, Aunt Jenny? You used to be different. Why'd you have to change? Now, you're no different than my mother and I hate her."

Gibbs' jaw dropped a little when he walked in and saw the 14-year-old girl standing over top Jenny and shouting at her. Jenn was sitting on the sofa at the back of the room with her own mouth dropped open in bewilderment. Makayla was screaming at the top of her lungs, obviously completely out of control. Gibbs marched into the room and shut the door loudly behind him. Jenn looked up and Makayla spun on her heel, her face growing white in surprise.

Jenny stood to her feet and straightened her clothing quickly. "You could have knocked, Agent Gibbs."

"Yep, I could have." He pinned a hard look in Makayla's direction.

Makayla licked her lips, most of her previous anger melting away. "I… uh…"

Gibbs lifted a brow in interest, wondering what the girl might say to him.

Jenn walked up to him. "Is your shoulder okay?"

"I'll live."

"H-how's Riley?" Makayla managed to almost whisper.

Gibbs walked up to her, invading her personal space a moment before drawing her in for a hug. Makayla seemed to stiffen a moment and then melt into the embrace. Gibbs knew she was worried about the Riley, feeling responsible for setting him free and adding to his problems. The poor kid had gotten mixed up with so much while being a part of the NCIS family, just by default.

"I think he's going to be okay. He's with his mom."

Makayla pulled away, her eyes wide in surprise. "His mom?"

"Yep, we called his mom because we thought he could use some support right now."

"He's in a lot of trouble, huh?"

"Actually, no; turns out, most of what happened wasn't his fault." Gibbs didn't continue explaining. He didn't feel like he needed to go into much detail about Riley's personal business, and he was thankful when Makayla seemed satisfied with his answer. "What about you? You okay?"

Makayla took a few steps back and shrugged. Her face flushed as she dropped her chin and looked down at the floor.

"Makayla and I were having a conversation," began Jenn, who walked behind her desk and sat down.

"Sounded more like a war to me. Cynthia and I could hear you."

Makayla scowled and walked to the sofa at the back of the room. She threw herself down and hid her face in a cushion. Gibbs felt his pulse jump a notch. Did he really want to deal with Makayla right now? It felt like it took too much work to knock her off her high horse long enough so she would listen to him. Jenn was definitely not getting anywhere and seemed to have only incensed the girl.

"Jethro, could we have a word? Alone," said Jenny, quietly. She didn't move from behind her desk and Makayla sat up.

"You mean you want me to leave, so you can rat on me, right?"

Jenny stood up. "Actually, no, I want you to stay put and not move a muscle from my office. Agent Gibbs and I can talk someplace else."

Makayla lay back, covering her face with the cushion again. "Whatever."

Gibbs and Jenn exchanged a look. Jenny looked more than a little worse for wear. Gibbs tried hard not to find humor in the situation. The woman could intimidate wanton criminals, but she couldn't break through Makayla's walls.

"Cynthia said she was taking a late lunch," said Gibbs as Jenn reached in front of him to open the door.

Jenn grimaced. "What time is it?"

"Way past lunch, Jenn." Gibbs kept his voice low so only Jenn could hear him.

"This day keeps getting better and better."

"Jenn, go get something to eat first, then we can talk."

Jenn's face reddened and it looked like she would argue with him. Gibbs reached out and took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Go." He put a little special Agent in his command, hoping she would just listen and not get her back up. At first, her green eyes flashed anger, but he gave her a firm glance in return and she relented. He softened and leaned closer to her. "Let me talk to her, Jenn."

"Good luck. She's impossible right now." Jenn's voice was just above a whisper.

"I know you're talking about me!" shouted Makayla, her voice dripping with irritation.

Jenn spun on her heel to say something, but Gibbs' gripped her arm gently. She turned and looked into his steely blue-gray eyes and sighed.

"I'll be back in an hour."

"Don't hurry on my account," snapped Makayla from under her cushion.

Gibbs held the door open for Jenn and all but pushed her out, shutting the door quietly. He didn't know what it was about women not being able to just walk away. Jenn always seemed to want the last word and he couldn't understand why she couldn't just learn to bite her tongue and stay quiet. Fires went out when you didn't add fuel to them.

Gibbs looked at the teenager lying on the sofa, still hiding her face. Her body was stiff, letting him know loud and clear to tread lightly. He walked across the room and sat in the chair kiddy-corner to her, leaning back with an audible groan. The painkillers were wearing off. He hurt. His shoulder, his arm, his back… hell, who was he kidding? Every part of him ached. Some days, he thought he was still in his thirties, today he felt his age.

"Does it hurt?"

"Like hell," he said.

Makayla sat up, looking at him more intently. "Did you break it?"

"Nope, yanked it out of its socket."

She scrunched up her face.

"You tried to warn me."

Her eyes widened, tears filling them. She blinked them away quickly. "I saw his foot slip…"

Gibbs nodded. "I'm glad you didn't take off…"

She lifted her chin defiantly. "I almost did."

"I know."

Makayla chewed her lip and stared at him for a few seconds and then threw herself back on the sofa dramatically. "You might as well kill me now and get it over with."

Gibbs closed his eyes, enjoying the solitude, probably a little too much. Taking Jenn out of the equation had put Mak's fire out. He had a sickening feeling in his gut that he was going to need to be the bad guy with both of them.

"I'm not going to kill you, Mak. But I am going to get in your face if you keep speaking so disrespectfully to your Aunt…"

Makayla shot up. "What about her, huh? All she does is rag on me about that stupid school…"

Gibbs opened his eyes and pinned her with a stern look. "This stopped being about school when you told me you were running away. So, you were expelled, so what?" He pointed a finger at her. "We can fix that and you may need to eat crow, but it's not the end of the world. But, you telling me that you're running away and then hanging up on me? Well, that's a whole other story."

Makayla swallowed and turned her back on him.

Gibbs relaxed back in the chair. He was content to let her stew a little. She could solve things or continue hammering nails in her coffin. He was good either way.

"I'm not apologizing to her."

Gibbs remained quiet.

"She's going to contact my parents anyway. I hate her."

Gibbs felt his temper ignite at her words. He had to force himself to stay calm.

"You made your bed, kiddo."

Makayla jumped to her feet. "How," she screamed at him. "I told her how I felt about school. She doesn't care!"

Gibbs looked at her. "Sit."

"No," she snapped.

He raised a brow. "Sit down, now."

She sat.

He looked her in the eye, pointing a finger for effect. "Your Aunt is following your parents' wishes. That is all she can do. She agreed to take care of you while your parents are overseas. Taking care of you means making sure you eat, you stay healthy, you feel loved and you keep up with your responsibilities. It doesn't mean coddle you and give in to your every whim."

Mak rolled her eyes.

"Your obligations are to obey your aunt, be respectful and go to school. You haven't done that, instead, you've decided to wage war against your aunt about something she had no control over."

"I'm not going back to that school."

"Yah, and you made sure you didn't have to, so now what?"

Makayla shrugged.

"No answers?"

She shrugged again.

"Still going to take off the next chance you get?"

"So what if I do?"

Gibbs clenched his jaw at Mak's flippancy. He was feeling like he was going to need to provide a lesson in respecting authority sooner rather than later, and he didn't relish doing that considering how much he was hurting. Besides, Mak wasn't his daughter and he really didn't have that right. He'd had all these thoughts before. For Pete's sake, why didn't her parents come home and do their job?

"I think you already know what I will do should you make that choice. To be honest, I'm thinking of doing it anyway."

Makayla was on her feet again, backing away from him. He lifted a brow as he pinned her with a hard look, then he softened when he saw the look of fear swim across her face. He sighed. The last thing he wanted was to see fear in any child's face, especially fear of him. That was never his intention.

"Relax, Mackie, I said I was thinking about it, and that doesn't mean doing it." He motioned for her to sit down, but she shook her head, tears tracing a path down her cheeks. "Oh, kiddo, what are we going to do with you?"