Woohoo! It didn't take me three weeks to update! How awesome is that! I even took a break in the middle of writing this to go for a run and still came back to it! OH, so I was running tonight through a park near my house that has a main road and then a lot of back trails through the woods, and while I was running I saw a guy that looked just like Gibbs! It was sooo weird! The only difference was that this guy was a little heavier, so obviously not a random celebrity sighting, but still, freaked me out for a minute.

Oh yeah, thanks to the person who signed as a guest a corrected the rule number for the last chapter! The website I checked said it was rule four but when I went back to look after your review I found a different site that had the right one and I went back and fixed it. So thanks for pointing that out!

Anyway, enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!

Amelia and Gibbs were on their second mile before they even started slowing down. Once they left the house Amelia had sprinted down the street, not waiting for Gibbs to catch up to her. Eventually he managed to meet her stride and continued to run next to her. Her speed and stamina surprised him a little and he was glad to see that she was currently slowing down. After a few minutes they had slowed to a comfortable jog, leaving him with enough energy to try and talk to his daughter.

"You run really well," he complimented a little breathlessly.

"Thanks," she said simply, focusing ahead of her.

"Did you run a lot in New York?" he asked, hoping for more of an answer this time. She was quiet for a few minutes before she finally answered,

"Every day pretty much," she told him, "Even when I was a kid I ran a few races. I was always running everywhere, I never walked, and it would drive my mom crazy. She couldn't stand me running through the house, so she signed me up for one of those community programs."

"You must really like running."

"I do, it clears my head. Helps me think."

"What are you thinking about now?" he asked hesitantly, wanting to know what was going on with his daughter, but not wanting her to think he was prying. Once again she didn't answer right away and Gibbs thought that she was going to just ignore him.

"I got my English paper back today," she said, slowing down even more so that they were walking now. Gibbs nodded,

"Ok, is there a lot to think about with that?" he didn't really understand why it was bothering her and was hoping she was going to explain. She stopped under a streetlight,

"I got a C," she said quietly, looking away from him. He thought for a moment,

"A 'C' isn't really all that bad Amelia," he told her, "Sure, it could be better, but a 'C' is ok. Especially since it was your first paper at a new school."

"But it's not. I worked my ass off on that paper and I read that damn book as fast as I could just so that I could get it done in time! I wrote the stupid paper in one night for God's sake and it was a damn good paper! I deserved a better grade than a 'C'!" Gibbs was a little shocked at her outburst,

"Ok, first of all, watch your language, I don't appreciate it. Second of all, it's ok. I'm not mad at you for getting a 'C' and while I would like you to try harder it's ok once in a while for you to not do as well."

"But I did try hard! My English teacher hates me!"

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you Amelia," he tried reasoning.

"No, I'm pretty sure he does! Ever since the first day he's been rude and standoffish and never listens to my opinions."

"Maybe it will just take some adjusting to get used to his class. But if he continues to act like that then tell me and I can schedule a meeting with him. Ok?"

"Sure," she agreed quickly, "But you're really not mad about my paper?"

"No, I'm not mad. I would like to look at it though, if you don't mind."

"Um, that's going to be kind of impossible," she said quietly. He looked at her oddly.

"Why?"

"It's in the trash can at school," she told him, smiling slightly before taking off running again. Gibbs chuckled a little and ran after her, vaguely hearing her shout that she would race him home.

It seemed as if the small walk they had slowed to had managed to energize the teenager while he just felt even more tired while chasing after Amelia. By the time he made it back to the house she was sitting on the front porch steps, holding a bottle of water in her hands, another sitting next to her. When she saw him she handed him the extra water.

"Good run," she stated. Gibbs nodded as he chugged half the bottle,

"It was a good run," he agreed, "I'm glad we went."

"Me too. We should go again soon," she said, finishing the water and then heading inside before he could answer. He was surprised that she was suggesting they should spend more time together, but he was so happy that she seemed to be growing used to him and wanting to spend time with him that he wasn't going to question it or ruin it.

After the night they went running together Gibbs found that Amelia began opening up to him a lot more. Amelia continued to run almost every evening and if Gibbs were home he would make sure to run with her. She began to look forward to going to NCIS after school where she would do her homework and then spend time with various members of the team. She had not told Gibbs of any more issues with her English teacher so he assumed that everything was ok on that front. He was a little concerned that her behavior was possibly a bad sign, thinking that maybe she was suppressing anger or another emotion, but Ducky assured him that it was simply Amelia finally adjusting to all of the changes that had occurred recently. Once she began to actually talk to him in normal everyday conversations he found that his daughter was actually very entertaining to talk to and spend time with. She was very confident and witty, and always had a comeback for whatever Gibbs threw at her and Gibbs actually enjoyed talking to her. Gibbs quickly realized that Amelia was actually quite talkative and often had to remind her to let others talk. Each night at dinner she filled his ears with various stories of what had happened at school today and he suddenly knew quite a bit about her. She had been there for three weeks now and Gibbs was thrilled that she was actually adjusting well and seemingly enjoying herself.

Today though, Gibbs was not able to pick her up from school as he was stuck in MTAC on a video conference with SecNav. Tony quickly volunteered as he enjoyed spending time with Amelia and wouldn't mind a break from work. Gibbs agreed quickly, glad that he wouldn't have to worry about his daughter and went back to his meeting while Tony left to pick up Amelia.

As the bell rang Amelia left the school quickly, not bothering to stop by her locker as she already had everything she would need for the night. When she walked out of the school it only took her a few seconds to realize that no one was there to pick her up yet. Figuring Gibbs was just running a few minutes late she sat on the front steps, playing with her cellphone. She had been sitting there for a few minutes when she got a text from her brother,

'I see you,'

it said. Amelia's head snapped up and she looked around, spotting her brother off to her right, leaning against a tree.

"Oh my God! Matt!" she called excitedly, leaping off the steps and quickly closing the distance between them. When she reached him she threw her arms around him and he held her tight.

"Hey Mia," he said, using his nickname for her. She could tell right away that he had been drinking and even possibly smoking before he showed up, but she was so happy to see him that she let it go for now.

"I've missed you!" she told him, not letting go of him fully.

"I missed you too beautiful! New York just isn't the same without you," he slurred. She rolled her eyes,

"Have you been drinking?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope, no drinking." She could tell he was lying and rolled her eyes but her interrupted her next words, "So, tell me how much this place sucks," he said.

"It's not that bad actually. At first I didn't like it, but I've kinda gotten used to it and actually kind of like it. I've made a lot of friends, this kid Luke started talking to me my first day here and refused to leave me alone. He's awesome," she told him excitedly. A strange look crossed his face but he smile,

"That's great Mia," he said enthusiastically, glad that his sister was making friends.

"Oh, and you should meet the team that Gibbs works with! They're so awesome! Abby lets me use her computers when she's not busy and shows me all sorts of science stuff. And Tony and Tim are always arguing and they're so funny, Tony loves to play pranks and lets me help on some of them. And Ziva is amazing, she takes me to lunch sometimes and we just talk about everything, she even knows how to kill people with a paperclip, like a million different ways. And Gibbs is a bit of a hard ass, definitely not the same as mom and dad, but he's cool. Took some getting used to though, but he's cool," Amelia had begun rambling, not giving Matt time to speak, but when she stopped she noticed that he looked rather angry, "What's your problem?" she asked.

"I can't believe you would do that," he said accusingly. Amelia was confused,

"Do what?" she asked.

"Forget about mom and dad, replace them like that. You're talking about these people like they are the best thing ever and you're completely forgetting about mom and dad! I can't believe you would disgrace their memories like that!" he was yelling now and Amelia could feel tears welling up in her eyes as his words hit her,

"You're such an ass!" she screamed at him, "I would never just forget about them Matt! They were my parents! They may not have been around all that much, but they're the people who raised me! They taught me everything I know! I'm not just forgetting about them!"

"Well obviously you are, the way you talk about these people! How can you be so selfish! Do you even miss them?"

"You don't know what you're talking about! I miss them more than anything and every day it hurts! It hurts to know that they're not coming back and I'm not going to see mom again or hear her reminding me that I need to act appropriately in case anyone sees. Or dad yelling at me because he thinks my clothes are too short or too tight. I miss all those stupid events they dragged me too! But they're gone Matt, and there's nothing I can do about it! They would want me to move on and be happy! Not sit around and drink and get high like you are obviously doing!" she finished yelling and took a deep breath, expecting him to yell right back. She was surprised when he simply turned around and started walking away, "Where are you going?" she asked, sounding annoyed. He ignored her and climbed in his car, turning on the engine and peeling out of the parking lot, neither one of them seeing the NCIS agent standing by his car only a few feet away.

As she stood there watching his car disappear around the corner she realized that her face was wet. Wiping her hands down her cheeks she realized that she was crying. Hearing someone call her name she quickly wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes and forced herself to stop crying as she turned around.

"Tony," she said, sounding shocked to see him, "What are you doing here?"

"Gibbs is in a meeting, asked me to pick you up. Is everything ok?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Sure," she snapped, moving past him and towards the car, trying to avoid the conversation Tony obviously wanted to have.

"Who were you talking to just now?" he asked.

"My brother." Tony considered asking her more questions, trying to get her to tell him what happened, but decided to just cut straight to the point,

"I heard you guys yelling at each other," he told her. Amelia was quiet as Tony started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. He thought she was ignoring him until he looked over and saw she had tears streaming down her face. "Oh Amelia, I'm sorry," he said, feeling he was the one responsible for her tears.

"It's not your fault," she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well he shouldn't have said those things to you, it wasn't fair."

"He's not even going to remember he saw me," she said quietly, not meaning for Tony to hear.

"Why isn't he going to remember?" Tony asked worriedly. Amelia looked at him, clearly surprised he had heard her,

"No reason," she said vaguely.

"Amelia," he said doubtfully, knowing she was lying, "Why won't he remember he saw you?"

"Don't worry about it!" she snapped. Tony watched the teenager as he drove, Gibbs had told him that she had a brother and Amelia had mentioned him before, but he suddenly remembered something Gibbs had told him. That Amelia's brother had a problem with drug and alcohol abuse and was frequently getting high or drunk. Suddenly Amelia's statement made sense.

"He was drunk wasn't he?" Tony asked. Amelia turned her head quickly to look at him,

"How do you know that?" she asked before realizing that she simply confirmed Tony's question without actually answering.

"I know what it looks like when someone is drunk Amelia. I've been there before."

"Whatever, he's fine."

"He's not fine if he's getting drunk in the middle of the day."

"Why don't you just mind your own business?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, taken aback by her attitude towards him.

"You heard me! Stop asking about him! And don't you dare tell Gibbs what happened today! He doesn't need to know!" Rather than argue with the teenager he simply agreed,

"Ok, fine I won't tell Gibbs, calm down," he said, figuring as soon as he saw Gibbs, and Amelia wasn't around he would share what happened today.

"Good."

He didn't necessarily mean to be ratting Amelia out, but if her brother was showing up drunk or possibly high then he could be putting Amelia in danger. Even if she didn't physically get hurt the words he said to her today had to have been heartbreaking, it was tough to even listen to so he was sure it must have hurt Amelia even more. He had been impressed by how she had stood up to him and held her ground though, it was obvious she had done it before and he didn't want her to have to do it again. He had developed a likeness of the teenager and didn't want to see anyone hurting her.

When he parked the car at NCIS Amelia jumped out and ran into the building ahead of him, managing to catch the elevator and close the doors before he could get inside. Realizing that the numbers on that elevator were going down he figured she was probably on her way to see Abby or Ducky. And right now, he definitely did not mind letting her go spend time with the others when she seemed to be in such a bad mood. Taking the next elevator he made his way up to the squad room where Ziva and Tim were sitting, Gibbs was still gone.

"Gibbs still in his meeting?" Tony asked as he put his stuff down at his desk. Ziva answered,

"Yes, but he should be done soon," she said, checking the time on her computer.

"Weren't you supposed to go pick up Amelia?" Tim asked, confused as to why Tony walked into the room alone. Before Tony could answer he felt a presence behind him,

"You didn't forget my daughter did you DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he walked to his own desk.

"No boss," he said quickly, "As soon as we got here she went downstairs. Not sure if she's with Abby or Ducky, but she's safe down there, so I let her be. Can I talk to you for a minute?" he motioned towards the alcove under the stairs. Gibbs stood up and walked over with Tony following him,

"What's up Tony?" Gibbs asked impatiently. He was tired after his long meeting with SecNav and did not want to deal with his senior agents antics right now.

"When I got to the school today to pick Amelia up she was standing there arguing with some guy. They were full on yelling, I could hear everything they were saying from the parking lot. Turns out the guy was her brother. But boss, you should have heard the things he said to her, she was in tears by the time he left." Gibbs was suddenly very concerned,

"What was he saying to her?" he asked worriedly.

"He told her that she was forgetting about their parents and disrespecting their memories. And she shouldn't like it here so much because it wasn't New York. All kinds of stuff like that. But Gibbs, she told me he was drunk. She basically demanded that I not tell you that he was even here, I told her I wouldn't just to calm her down, but obviously I couldn't keep this from you."

"You're right, thanks for telling me Tony. This isn't good at all. Matt can't be showing up here while he is drunk and start yelling at Amelia. It's not good for her, especially if he is saying stuff like that. I'm going to talk to Amelia; you said she went downstairs right?" Tony nodded and watched as Gibbs headed for the elevator.

Once she had entered the building Amelia pressed the down button, not wanting to be around the people who were going to question her about why she was in a bad mood. She knew that she would not be able to tolerate Abby's perkiness right now so she made her way onto autopsy. She also knew that Duck would be able to tell that she was in a bad mood but was hoping that he would just leave it alone.

When she walked into autopsy she was happy to see the Jimmy Palmer was currently not there. She honestly liked the ME's assistant but the less people she saw right now the better. Ducky looked at her when she walked in,

"My dear, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"You can tell something's wrong already? I just walked in. I hadn't even said anything yet," she said, shocked that he could read her so easily.

"You look worried," he told her simply, leading her to one of the chairs.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," she said.

"That's ok, you don't have to. How about a cup of tea," he offered. Amelia had never really liked tea until she began spending time with Ducky and it was all he really offered. Now, after a few weeks, she found that it helped calm her down when she was stressed,

"Yes please." Ducky set about making the tea and as she had hoped he began telling one of his many stories. Amelia loved listening to the different stories Ducky had and Ducky loved telling them. Normally he didn't mind if someone cut one of his stories short but Amelia never interrupted him and always enjoyed hearing what he had to say. Sometimes she did her homework while he talked and he didn't mind at all. Today though she sat with her legs curled into her chest, cuddling her cup of tea on her knees while she listened. He purposely picked a story that he knew would make her laugh and soon enough he saw a smile spread across her face. He had just finished his story when Gibbs walked through the sliding doors.

"What's so funny?" he asked, smiling inside when he saw the smile on his daughters face. He was afraid he was going to find her moping around and was happy to see that she seemed ok, on the surface at least.

"Ducky was telling me a story," she said simply. Gibbs nodded, thankful that his friend seemed to care about his daughter enough to try and make her feel better.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" he asked Amelia, making it more of an order than a suggestion. Amelia starred at him, trying to figure out what he was up to, but when she couldn't figure it out she stood up from her chair and placed her cup on the desk.

"OK. Thanks for the tea Ducky. I enjoyed the story," she said as she slipped her coat on and put her backpack over her shoulder, figuring she wouldn't be back down here today and didn't want to have to make the extra trip to get it back.

"Anytime my dear, you are more than welcome." Amelia smiled at him and followed Gibbs out of the lab.

What did you think? I was so tired while I was writing this that I was having trouble typing. So let me know if it doesn't make sense or there are any serious grammatical errors that I've missed. Thanks for reading!