Ok, so quick updates just aren't my thing right now apparently. It doesn't help that I have no motivation to write. I think it's because I'm not working right now, I've gotten lazy. Seriously, I don't even get up until 11 most days, it's a problem. So I wrote most of this chapter late last night so I hope it makes some sort of sense and flows a little bit at least.
SOOO leave me a review and let me know what you think about the chapter and anything you might want to see happen! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
By the way, this chapter has a little bit of swearing, just to warn you. Sorry if you don't like it, but it's not that much.
The next day was a lot better than the day Amelia had yesterday and she actually managed to enjoy herself at school, even English wasn't that bad. Once she got to NCIS her mood increased, her father was out on a case and likely wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Gibbs had left Abby in charge, with strict instructions to not let Amelia watch TV, use the phone, or get on the computer. Amelia couldn't care less however because she was a huge fan of Abby's lab, which was where she would be staying for the next few hours. Seeing as the team was still out at the crime scene, Abby did not have any evidence to process and could hang out with Amelia instead. She knew the young girl had an interest in science and was currently showing her how to run fingerprints on her computer.
"Won't Gibbs be mad if I'm using the computer?" Amelia asked Abby skeptically as she entered the information Abby had given her.
"You're using it for your education, he can't get mad that you're trying to learn," Abby told her.
"Well, fingerprinting isn't exactly a life skill," Amelia mumbled, not really wanting to continue the conversation. If Abby was letting her use the computer then she wasn't going to complain about it and she continued inputting information.
"Ok, so now you just hit the enter button and soon enough a result will pop up," Abby told her. Amelia followed her directions and pressed enter. They had taken a few finger prints from around the building, Abby figuring the teenager would enjoy it more if she could identify people she was seeing throughout the weekend, and as a result they got hits fairly quickly.
Amelia was enjoying her time with Abby, she didn't have to sit there and write lines or read a boring book and she found she actually enjoyed conversation with the Goth scientist. While she found that she could talk to Ziva about her brother, Abby was good for gossiping. Something about the eccentric woman made Amelia feel as though she could tell her almost any personal detail from her life and she wouldn't judge. When Abby finally got evidence from the crime scene Amelia pulled out a magazine she had brought with her so that Abby could get to work. Abby continued to work for a few more hours, running samples and fingerprints; trying to find anything she could to help the team solve the case. When she looked over at Amelia she had to suppress a laugh, the teenager had fallen asleep while reading her magazine, but when Abby hadn't been paying attention she had stretched across the table that wasn't being used with an extra lab coat balled up under her head as a pillow. Not wanting to miss the opportunity Abby pulled out her cell phone and snapped a few quick pictures before getting back to work.
The team arrived back from the crime scene sooner than they thought they would, but it was still quite late. Gibbs had seen Abby's car in the garage and assumed that she was still in her lab with Amelia. Deciding to go check on them he took the elevator down and was surprised when he was greeted with silence, rather than the loud music he was accustomed to. He was almost a little worried and quickly walked through the door into the lab, preparing himself for something bad. He was a little shocked when he walked in to find most of the lights off, aside from a few right over Abby's computers.
"Abs, what are you doing?" he asked, causing the forensic scientist to turn around quickly and shush him. He was about to tell her off for shushing him when she pointed behind him, on the other side of the room. Turning around he saw his daughter, sprawled out as much as she could across one of the tables.
"You don't want to wake her up," Abby explained.
"How long has she been asleep?"
"About two hours now," she told him. He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly midnight and it suddenly did not surprise him that the fifteen year old had fallen asleep and even felt a little bad that she was not at home in her own bed. Deciding it would be best to take her home for the night he walked over and shook her gently,
"Amelia, wake up," he said quietly. The fifteen year old didn't move a muscle so he shook her a little more, "Amelia," he said a little louder now. Amelia groaned in response and started to roll over and before Gibbs could react she rolled right off the table and onto the floor.
"Owwww!" she yelled loudly, fully awake now. Gibbs and Abby ran around the table and helped Amelia sit up.
"Are you ok?" Abby asked worriedly. Amelia held a hand to the back of her head,
"I think so," she said, wincing. Gibbs pulled her hand away from her head to check for any damage and he felt his breath catch when he saw blood covering her hand and the back of her head.
"What's wrong?" Abby asked, noticing Gibbs' behavior.
"She's bleeding," he mumbled, parting her hair to get a better look at the source of the blood. Amelia winced at his actions,
"Stop," she whined, pulling away from him. He firmly held her head in place,
"Stop moving, I need to check if you need to go to the hospital," he told her.
"Why?"
"Because you hit your head when you fell. You're bleeding and you could have a concussion or need stitches," he explained while he was examining her head. After deciding that she wasn't going to need stitches he moved in front of her and started looking at her eyes. She was able to follow the finger he held up and answer simple questions. Satisfied that she was not going to slip into a coma and die anytime soon from the fall he and Abby helped her stand up.
"Let's get you home," Gibbs said. Amelia nodded,
"Sounds good, can I have some Tylenol when we get there? My head hurts."
"Of course." He wrapped an arm around her waist and let her lean into him as they walked. He was surprised that she allowed him this much contact, as she normally avoided it, but he figured that hitting her head that hard had left her a little out of it. It didn't help that she was still pretty much half asleep. He guided her carefully through the building and to the car where she fell asleep again. Once they arrived at the house Gibbs gently woke her up again, wanting to make sure that she was ok. Thankfully she woke up without a problem, just feeling annoyed at being woken up twice now, and stumbled inside and up the stairs, mumbling goodnight to Gibbs as he walked her to her bed. She was asleep again as soon as she hit the pillow, not even remembering to ask for Tylenol. Going downstairs Gibbs grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water before taking the Tylenol bottle out of another cabinet and heading back upstairs. He placed the glass and the bottle on the table next to Amelia's bed then walked out of the room quietly, turning off the light, then going to bed himself.
The next morning Gibbs was woken up around six hearing movement downstairs. Sitting up quickly he climbed out of bed and quietly made his way downstairs, not wanting to alert whoever was down there to his presence. He snuck to the door of the kitchen and was surprised to see his daughter standing at the stove. His mind suddenly registered the music playing and he realized that explained the random dancing she seemed to be doing, there was ingredients everywhere and she seemed to have made quite the mess. He watched her amusedly for a moment before the smell of something burning reached him.
"Shit, shit, shit," she said frantically. Amelia's dancing stopped and she started looking around frantically as the smoke alarm started beeping loudly. When she moved Gibbs saw that whatever she had been trying to cook had burst into flames, large ones at that. Sprinting into the kitchen Gibbs pulled his daughter away from the growing flames and grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the sink. A few seconds later and the flames were gone, leaving only charred remains and the smell of burning food as the only evidence of the fire. Once he was sure the fire was out Gibbs turned around to face Amelia, who was standing behind him looking shocked.
"I'm sorry!" she said quickly as Gibbs starred at her.
"Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.
"What?"
"Are you ok? Did you get burned?" Amelia shook her head,
"No, no I'm fine. I'm really sorry though! I don't know what happened! I've made myself breakfast a million times before and this has never happened. Well, it happened once, but I was seven, so that doesn't really count. But seriously, I'm sooooo sorry!" Sure she had been pretty rude to Gibbs ever since he came into her life, but she didn't actually hate him and really did feel bad for setting the kitchen on fire.
"Hey, it's ok. As long as you're alright, then it's fine. I may have to replace the stove, but it's no big deal. I'm just glad you weren't hurt," he assured her. He looked at the stove and around the kitchen, "What were you trying to cook anyway?"
"Pancakes. I don't understand how I managed to set the stove on fire while making pancakes." She was honestly confused, he realized. He held back his laugh,
"That's a good question. Why don't you go get a shower and I will clean up down here. Then we can go get pancakes somewhere else," he suggested. Amelia nodded and turned to leave the kitchen,
"I really am sorry," she said again. Had she been one of his agents he would have reminded her of Rule number four, never say you're sorry, but he decided he probably keep that one to himself for now if he didn't want her to use it against him eventually.
"I know," he said, "It's ok. Now go get ready." She nodded and left the room this time and Gibbs turned around to face the mess she had made. Having seen how clean and neat his daughter kept her room he was shocked to see what a mess she had made in the kitchen. Pancake batter was all over the counter and various measuring cups were piled in the sink. There was an egg broken on the counter that was currently dripping onto the floor and the milk was sitting next to it. He rolled his eyes in disbelief and began to clean everything. By the time Amelia came back downstairs an hour later the kitchen was spotless.
"Ready?" he asked when she appeared in the kitchen.
"Yepp, let's go." The two walked out to the car and Gibbs began driving to a café nearby that had coffee the coffee he liked and was pretty sure served pancakes. After they ordered the two sat in silence until Amelia spoke up first, which surprised Gibbs a little.
"So, how long until you solve this case?" she asked, not knowing any details.
"It depends. We've got a few leads to chase down today, and hopefully that goes well, and if it does we should be able to close the case in the next few days. But if people are uncooperative and unhelpful it could take a lot longer to get the information we need."
"Oh. Why are people so difficult? Why can't they just tell you what you want to know?" Gibbs resisted the urge to point out that she hadn't exactly been flat out honest with him like she suggested these people should be and gave her a different answer instead.
"Because some people are afraid of getting caught doing bad things and will do whatever it takes to avoid punishment," he said.
"That's stupid. People should just own up," she said simply. Once again he resisted the urge to voice his opinion out loud and simply nodded in agreement,
"It would make my job a hell of a lot easier." They finished their breakfast quickly and continued on to NCIS, "How is your head feeling?" he asked as they reached the elevators. The bleeding had stopped by the time they got home or he never would have let her go to sleep.
"Better, it hurt when I washed my hair this morning, but it's alright," she told him, "Thanks for leaving the Tylenol."
"No problem. Are you good hanging out in the squad room today?" She nodded as they got off the elevator. Gibbs headed for his desk and Amelia went to the one she had occupied the other day. The rest of the team was not there yet so it was pretty quiet and Amelia had no one to entertain her. Growing bored she grabbed some paper from the drawer in her desk and a pencil and began sketching various lines. By the time Tony and Ziva arrived thirty minutes later she was on her third picture and hardly even acknowledged their presence. No one bothered her as they had a lot going on that morning but by the time lunch rolled around things had slowed down and her hand was beginning to cramp up. When her stomach started rumbling she finally put her pencil down and looked around. She and Ziva were the only ones in the immediate area.
"Ziva, where's Gibbs?" she asked. Ziva looked up from her desk to the young girl across the room.
"He's in interrogation," she told her, "Do you need something?"
"Food," she said simply. Ziva nodded in understanding.
"I'm not doing anything right now, how about I take you for lunch again," she suggested. Amelia smiled and stood up,
"Sure, let's go," she said happily, pulling on her coat and walking over to Ziva. She had enjoyed lunch with the older woman the other day and was looking forward to spending more time with her. Ziva quickly wrote a note to Gibbs, telling him that she had taken Amelia to lunch and then the pair was off. They decided on the same place as last time and ordered their food as soon as they sat at the table.
"So how did your paper turn out?" Ziva asked conversationally.
"Pretty good I think. I should get it back tomorrow or Tuesday, so we will see."
"That is good. Especially for only having just been assigned the book."
"Yeah, that part sucked, but whatever, it's over now and I never have to read that damn book again." Ziva winced a little at her language, knowing that Gibbs would not approve, but did not say anything. The two chatted a while longer while they ate their lunch and returned to NCIS when Gibbs called needing Ziva's help. The rest of the day Amelia spent in Ducky's lab. Drawing and listening to him tell her whatever story popped into his mind. She found that she really enjoyed his stories and he was more than happy to share them with her. By the end of the day she was more than ready to go home and went to bed soon after dinner.
School was the same as always, though they did not get their papers back until Thursday, due to their teacher being out sick with the flu. When she finally did get her paper back Amelia disappointed to see that she had gotten a C for a grade. After reading through the comments left by the teacher she decided to stay after class and talk to him about it.
"What is it Amelia?" he asked as she approached his desk after everyone had left the classroom.
"I wanted to ask you about my paper," she replied.
"What about it?"
"Well, I wanted to know why I got a C. I thought I did a better job than that."
"Honestly Amelia, your paper was just not well written. It lacked facts and details that are essential in getting a higher grade."
"I had a ton of facts and details, how can you say my paper was lacking them?" she asked defensively.
"It is what it is Amelia," he answered vaguely, "Now please be on your way, I have things I need to do." She sent him a harsh glare and stormed out of the classroom, making sure to slam the door behind her. She had worked hard on that paper and thought she deserved much more than a C, and she couldn't understand why her English teacher was being so unclear and dismissive to her concerns. As she was walking down the hallway she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and suddenly ran straight into someone.
"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, not looking at the person. She moved to the side and started to walk around them when the person grabbed her arm. Jerking away she snapped again, "Let go of me!" The person simply grabbed her arm again and she finally looked up, seeing Gibbs standing in front of her.
"Oh, sorry, my bad. I didn't realize it was you," she said. He let go of her arm,
"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Amelia rolled her eyes at the thought of the paper sitting crumpled in a trashcan down the hall.
"Nothing," she answered, "Just a long day. Can we go?" without waiting for an answer she began to walk down the hall again. Gibbs followed, looking at his daughter strangely,
"What took you so long?" he asked as they left the school building.
"I was just talking to someone," she answered. Gibbs could tell something was bothering the fifteen year old but didn't want to push her about it, afraid she would just shut him out.
"Ok. So, we closed our case earlier. I sent the team home early, so I don't have to go back to work today."
"That's nice," she said moodily.
When they arrived home Amelia went straight to her room and began doing her homework. Gibbs was confused on why his daughter could be acting this way and went down to the basement to work on the boat. A few hours later Gibbs heard Amelia emerge from her bedroom and make her way downstairs and eventually into the basement. He looked up when she walked down the stairs and noticed she was dressed in workout clothes,
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"I was gonna see if I could go for a run," she told him. He checked the time and realized that the sun would be going down soon.
"It's going to be dark soon."
"Well then come with me. But please, can I go?" the fact that she was asking shocked him a little. Maybe he had gotten through to her after she went to that party. He thought about it for a moment,
"Ok. Let me just go change," he said. She smiled and turned back up the stairs, calling thanks over her shoulder before she left the room. Gibbs put his tools down and made his way upstairs to change.
So what did you think? Let me know!
