When Chris returned to collect Daniel he found him deep in discussion with Natalie. He cleared his throat.
"Any one you want to introduce me to?" He asked sarcastically.
"Chris, this is Natalie. Natalie, Chris." Natalie shook Chris's hand and smiled.
"Time to go. My mom called. She's outside waiting."
Daniel sighed and turned to Natalie. "Do you have a cell phone?" Natalie nodded and pulled the object out of her pocket. Daniel took it, pushed some buttons and handed it back to her.
"What'd you do it?" She asked.
"Programmed my number in it. Call me?" He asked hopefully.
She smiled. "Of course."
He grinned and turned around walking with Chris out of the door.
"Dude!" Chris exclaimed. "That was awesome! Maybe we should double date!" Daniel rolled his eyes and slapped his friend across the back of the head.
--
Sam lived on the other side of town and at the moment Lia was walking home from his house. Things had been going well between the two. They'd seen each other everyday since the party and were bonding fast. Today at lunch they had run into Nick and Rachel and the look on Nick's face when he saw them together was something Lia doubted she'd ever forget. She was listening to 'Gives You Hell' by The All-American Rejects on her iPod while estimating the amount of time it'd take Sam to ask her out on an official date when she was hit over the head and pulled into an alley. She was able to get a look at her assailant before surrendering to the darkness.
--
Jacob and Holly were at Tosca Ristorante, an Italian restaurant. The same restaurant that Tony proposed to Ziva in and tonight, Jacob planned to do the same thing.
After dessert he cleared his throat. Holly looked up and Jake smiled nervously.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, everything's great, why would you ask that?" He rushed.
Holly looked at him. "Okay. Something's definitely up. Spill."
He sighed. "Holly, I'm absolutely crazy about you. You're all I can think about, all the time. It's driving me crazy…"
"Oh my god! You're breaking up with me?" She stood up.
"What? No! No, no, no, NO, no, no, no!" He sighed. "Holly, I swear I'm not breaking up with you. Can you please sit down?"
Holly studied him for a moment before complying.
"Thank you." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Now as I was saying. I think about you everyday and all day. I love you more than life." He stood up and went to stand in front of her. "Holly I love you." He got down on his knee and pulled a box out of his pocket.
"Holly Claire Ritter, will you marry me?"
--
Time seemed to stop for Holly Ritter as she processed what her boyfriend, maybe soon to be fiancé and then husband, had asked her. She opened her mouth once, twice, thrice, then again, and again, and again before any sound came out. "Yes." She whispered.
--
Jacob DiNozzo beamed as he put the ring on her finger. He couldn't recall ever being this happy. Ever.
--
Nora McGee sighed as she packed up a box of clothes she would be taking with her to MIT. She wiped a piece of hair out of her eyes and they fell on a picture of four people. She stood and walked over to it and picked it up. The picture was of the four of them; her, Lia, Daniel and Chris. It was taken at the marina a few years ago when Gibbs had set sail his boat. She sighed and ran a thumb across the picture. She was going to miss them. She sadly looked around her room. The posters were down and packed away. Her closet was already half empty. Her bed taken apart and the mattress on the floor. She knew it was early to pack, but she couldn't wait. The closer the room got to being empty the sadder she felt.
"Suck it up Nora." She said to herself as she went to tackle the rest of the closet.
--
"Yellow citrus fruit. Five letters." Chris and Daniel were sitting in the DiNozzo house doing crossword puzzles and word searches, respectively.
"Lemon." Daniel answered without looking up. He was currently trying to find the ward 'Arboreal' in his 'These Trees' word search.
"Thanks."
"Yup." They sat in silence before the door to the house slammed open.
"It's about time you got home." Chris said without looking up.
"I don't have a curfew." Jake answered, holding hands with a beaming Holly.
"What's going on?" Daniel asked observing the scene.
"Yeah?" Chris added.
"We have news." Jake said, he looked at Holly and then back at the boys before both exclaimed. "We're getting married!"
Daniel grinned and ran over to congratulate the couple. Chris followed quickly behind.
"Congratulations!"
"Congrats man!"
"You're getting married?!" Abby squealed, running into the room and pulling Jacob and Holly into a bone crushing hug.
"Yeah Aunt Abby, but if we're dead we won't be able too." Abby released the two smiling. "Sorry. I just can't believe that little Jake DiNozzo is getting hitched!"
"I'm not so little anymore." He grinned.
"You'll always be little to me and Uncle Tim and your mom and dad, and grandpa Gibbs. Oh my god! You're getting married!" She pulled Holly over to the couch and started discussing details.
"So where's Lee? I want to tell her the news."
"I haven't seen her since she left for Sam's this morning."
Jacob looked at his watch. "Try her cell. She should be heading home." Daniel pulled out his cell phone and dialed his sisters number. "There's no answer." He hung up and tried again. "Still no answer." He hung up and looked at Jacob. "What do we do?"
"Her phone probably died. She'll be home soon to charge it up."
They waited for until Chris and Abby went home. They waited until their parents came home, but they didn't tell them because they didn't want to worry them. They waited until the next morning. They waited until a time that Sam would surely be up before calling and asking what time Lia left last night.
"Around 8. Why? What's going on?" A concerned Sam asked.
"We don't know yet. We'll call you if we find anything out." Daniel told him.
"Where the hell is she?" Jacob asked his younger brother.
"I don't know."
--
A/N: So that's my first big cliffhanger. What'd you think? Did I do a good job? Hehe. That was a hard chapter to write. Lia seems to be the main character. NO! Really? I didn't know that. … Sarcasm is the sign of a shallow mind! You shallow minders. … Just kidding. Please review and tell me who has Lia and what they're doing to her. And has anyone heard the new AAR hit? Isn't it an awesome after breakup song? I mean, wow. ;-)