Title: The Truth in the Lie
Author: Shannon - shannyfish
Disclaimer: I do not own "NCIS" or its characters, CBS does. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The case of a missing marine leads Gibbs down into the past and questions if the truth he knows is true. Takes place during Season Six.

Warnings: Spoilers for Season Five Episode "Judgment Day".

Chapter 3 – "Caught in a Lie"

Author's Note:

................................

Washington Dulles International Airport

"Where are we going?"

The question normally would be innocent on its own, but from who it was coming from it meant that they were outright in trouble. Gibbs! They were so dead. Abby's head fell towards the floor before turning around. Looking up, she sighed when she saw him. She was hoping it was just imagining his voice because of guilt. If only it could have been that simple. "What are you doing here, Gibbs?" Abby asked looking him over. The fact that he was carrying a bag irritated her. He was going to ruin everything. Tony and Ziva were supposed to be covering their backs.

"Nowhere," McGee said quickly. He turned away from the ticket counter as the woman looked over their information.

Gibbs approached the counter and flashed his NCIS badge, "Make it three on the flight."

"I'll see if there's another seat available," the flight checker said politely.

"Make one if there's no seats available," Gibbs said. He turned back to Abby and McGee. "I know you two are hiding something. Tony and Ziva are apparently sworn to secrecy and even my methods of extraction couldn't get anything more than the fact that you two were on a flight out of Dulles. So, what's going on?"

"You'll be upset with us," Abby admitted.

McGee frowned. "Actually, you'll kill us."

"McGee's right, so why don't you just trust us and let us do what we're doing," Abby suggested. "You trust us, don't you Gibbs?"

"Sometimes," Gibbs responded.

"Three tickets to Heathrow," the flight checker told them and handed McGee the tickets. "Are you sure you don't want to check any bags?"

"We're sure," Gibbs responded before yanking Abby and then McGee out of the way. "Good thing I brought my passport," he muttered. He didn't know where they were going with anything, the only thing he knew was that his whole team was going behind his back and nothing was making sense at the moment. "You have until we get to Heathrow to explain whatever you two are up to and it better be good, too."

"Wow, you're giving us that long, Boss?" McGee found himself saying, but then shut up quickly when he realized that it was stupid.

Gibbs shot McGee a look, but didn't say anything. He sighed when he saw the line through airport security for international flights. "You're buying me coffee as soon as we get through this line."

"Gibbs, I will buy you coffee to Heathrow and back," Abby said. "But I promise you, I'm right. What McGee and I were going to do...without you initially...it's important. Not only for you, but for them."

"Who exactly is them?" Gibbs questioned. "Please tell me that Captain Macklyn is somehow involved in our trip across the pond."

"Oh he is!" Abby spoke up quickly.

"He is," McGee agreed. It was true anyways. Gibbs couldn't kill them for the truth, right?

...................................

En Route to Heathrow Airport

"Are you sure you're not going to sleep?" Abby asked curiously. They'd already been in the air for three hours and Gibbs was wide awake. "I'm sure I can get them to get you a pillow...a blanket...maybe some vodka."

"Sick of me already, Abby?"

Abby shrugged, "I just feel...claustrophobic... I was supposed to be sitting with Timmy."

"You and Tim plot against me," Gibbs explained.

"I wouldn't exactly call it plotting," Abby told him honestly.

"I really don't plot, Boss," McGee spoke up.

"No," Gibbs spoke up. "Abby gets you whirled into her schemes..."

"I don't scheme..." Abby tried to defend herself.

"Oh you scheme," McGee said quietly, but apparently wasn't quiet enough as he found himself being smacked by Abby. "Ouch!"

Gibbs turned to Abby, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I was hoping you'd just...you know...stay in a hotel until we do...what we have to do...and then it's like a surprise," Abby told him innocently.

"I don't like surprises."

"Please Gibbs?"

"Abs—"

"Look, Gibbs, you can be made at me and Timmy, but I promise it's better this way," Abby tried to explain.

"We should just tell him," McGee argued across Gibbs. He didn't want to get fired, let alone killed by Gibbs. He liked his job; he even could tolerate being mocked by Tony. He didn't want to lose NCIS.

"Yes, Abby...tell me," Gibbs said turning from McGee to Abby.

"Traitor," Abby shot at McGee. She sighed. "Just promise me that you won't make us go home right away...that you'll at least let us look it into it first."

"Okay..."

"Promise, Gibbs."

"Alright, I promise." He had a feeling that he'd regret it, but if it was the only way that he could convince her to tell him what was going on he was willing to be stuck in the U.K. for twenty-four hours or so until they could get a flight back home.

"Captain Macklyn...he kept a secret message log," Abby started. "He was helping a J. Shepard."

"Okay, and how exactly does that lead us to Heathrow?"

"He had a flight out," McGee spoke up. "We checked the tapes, he arrived and left the airport."

"Was anyone with him?"

"No," McGee responded.

"Does he plan on returning?" Gibbs questioned.

"He has no return trip planned."

Abby nodded, "But J. Shepard. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Should it?" Gibbs asked.

Abby rolled her eyes and looked upwards towards the ceiling of the plane. How could he not see a connection? It was beyond her. "J. Shepard. Director Jenny Shepard."

"Abby, Jenny's dead," Gibbs said sadly.

"How do you know?"

"Abby, why are you doing this?" Memories of Jenny flooded his head. She had been hiding something from him, an illness... Their dinners in her office. Working together as cooperatively as possible. Paris. He wished he could have frozen those moments...those happy carefree moments in Paris...just the two of them.

"Ducky didn't do the autopsy," Abby pointed out. "For all we know, it could have been some elaborate plan. I don't know why she'd do something so painful to us, but she has to have a reason. I think she's protecting someone and Captain Macklyn is helping her."

"Why would he risk his career like that?"

"Captain Macklyn was assigned overseas for some time," McGee said. "He was posted in France, Germany, and the U.K. He's been posted in Europe more than he's been on assignment in country or on the sea."

"Odd, isn't it?" Abby asked.

"But why?" Gibbs pushed. He still didn't see a reason for a distinguished captain to risk his career by having the status of AWOL going on his record when something like helping a director of NCIS could have been cleared through regular channels. Even if Jenny was alive, he knew that she had friends who could have cleared it."

Abby was afraid he'd ask this question. She had taken some time trying to figure out the right wording, but nothing seemed right. It all sounded awkward when she'd practiced it in her head. She pulled her purse from under the seat in front of her and removed a picture from inside and held the picture of the child 'Sophia' up for Gibbs to see. "Captain Macklyn is protecting this girl," Abby told him. "Her name is Sophia."

"Abby thinks that she's Director Shepard's daughter," McGee added.

"You think that Jenny had a daughter? I think I'd know if she had a daughter, Abby," Gibbs said. "We were partners."

"She's about six, we think," Abby told him.

Gibbs decided to stay quiet. It didn't make sense. Jenny was dead. She didn't have a daughter. She would have told him if she had a daughter. Someone would know. Jenny was very sick; wouldn't she have at the very least told him then? Left him a message just in case? He'd know if she had a daughter. Abby was wrong. It would be one of the few times, but Abby was wrong.

"Gibbs?"

"You're wrong, Abs," Gibbs argued calmly.

"I'm not," she countered. "Believe me; I checked the features of Director Shepard's with Sophia's... It's completely possible that Sophia is her daughter. You can't tell me that one of our cases having the name J. Shepard doesn't link us back to her... It can't just be a random coincidence, Gibbs."

"That's exactly what it is."

"Does that mean that we're turning around?" McGee asked a bit disappointed. At the very least, Gibbs had taken Abby's crazy findings and conclusions well. He had been afraid that if there was a flight Marshall on the plane, that Gibbs would get him called to their seat. McGee wasn't sure if he felt safe, though. Gibbs could still blow at any time... For all he knew, Gibbs was waiting until they were on the ground...or back at NCIS headquarters. Neither would surprise McGee.

"Not yet," Gibbs said. "I promised we'd investigate and we will. We will look for Captain Macklyn."

"What about Sophia?" Abby asked.

McGee sat forward in order to look past Gibbs to Abby. "How exactly do you expect to find her?"

Abby beamed, "I found her boarding school. It took a bit longer, but I had to convince them that I was trying to give her a scholarship and that the application had some information missing."

"So, did you get the information?"

"McGee! Of course I got the information! I was very convincing."

"So, where is she?" Gibbs asking wanting to get straight to the point. Abby's ideas were still running through his head and he was still questioning things.

"Taunton School," Abby reported. "It's quite impressive."

"Where is it?"

"Somerset."

"Which is?" Gibbs asked getting tired of Abby not getting right to the point. He was really suddenly tired. He wanted so badly to beg her to just tell him what he wanted to know. Just to tell him everything.

"It's about two and a half hours away," McGee summed up. "But Captain Macklyn could be anywhere. Taunton is a boarding school and Sophia would most likely be there seven days a week."

"Timmy's right," Abby chimed in. "She's a full time student and resident. It was one of my scholarship questions."

"I doubt they're going to give us any information if we just show up," Gibbs told them. "Did you happen to check to see if her last name is Shepard? Or if her mother's first name was Jennifer?" If Abby had gotten them to give her some information, he wondered how much information she was able to get out of them.

"No, they wouldn't give me that information," Abby said. "I was apparently not convincing enough."

"Our first priority will still be Captain Macklyn," Gibbs told them. He wanted them to all be on the same page, though he could tell that Abby would most likely tell him yes, but still want to see the girl. He couldn't fault her, now he was curious. He knew that Sophia wasn't Jenny's daughter, it was impossible. A secret like that wouldn't be able to be kept from him and why would she keep it from him? There was no reason. He would have only supported her. It made him miss Kelly...and Shannon. A child was something precious, he knew that best of all. If Jenny had a child, he'd help protect her until his last breath.

"I understand," McGee responded.

"Abby?" Gibbs prompted. She was pouting and obviously didn't want to agree to his terms.

Abby sighed, "I told you I'm not wrong about this, Gibbs. I know what I'm talking about. Sophia is important. We should look for both of them. Maybe I can go to the school and talk to them and see if I can at least talk to her."

"No offense, Abs," Gibbs said gently. "But a private boarding school isn't going to think you're there for a scholarship."

"Why not?"

"Because you didn't bring your trial clothes."

"What?"

McGee shook his head, "You won't blend in. You don't look preppy..."

"McGee would pass," Gibbs pointed out.

"But Captain Macklyn is our priority," McGee argued.

"That's right," Gibbs told him with a smile. "Captain Macklyn is our priority, but we will also check on this Sophia if we are able to get the chance."

"Thanks Gibbs," Abby said quickly and hugged him as best as she could in the airline seats.

.................................

TBC...