Chapter 12

Tony tried to stifle a big yawn and slumped down in the car seat. Gibbs had forced him out of before dawn so that they could be at the orphanage early and he still wasn't fully awake yet. He yawned again and tried to keep his heavy eyelids open, but felt soon that it was useless and closed his eyes.

"Did we have to get up this early?" he asked.

"Yeah. I don't want us to be home as late as the last time."

"We could just have slept in tomorrow, you know."

"Abby will be over tomorrow, remember? Said she'd come early."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that."

"Go figure.."

Gibbs glanced at the younger man and smiled when he saw that Tony was about to fall asleep again and carefully touched his hand.

"You tired, Tone?"

"Mhm..."

"You should have gone to bed earlier, then."

"Not my choice."

Gibbs smile got wider when he thought about the implication of those words.

"Maybe not", he said. "If you want to get some sleep you can. I'll wake you when we get near, okay?"

"Mm..."

Tony shifted a little in his seat until he found a more comfortable position and was sound asleep within seconds. Gibbs gave his hand a light caress and then focused on the road again as he listened to his lover's deep, calm breaths, letting his thoughts drift as he watched the sun rise higher and higher in the sky.

Tony woke up by himself about an hour later and sat up with a satisfied groan. The nap had been exactly what he'd needed. He yawned again and looked out the window, just to discover that the car wasn't moving. It was parked outside a gas station and he also noticed that Gibbs wasn't there. Tony shrugged and stepped out of the car, taking the opportunity to stretch his somewhat stiff limbs before Gibbs came back. It didn't take long before Gibbs came out from the gas station, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the younger man leaning against the car but then he returned the smile Tony fired at him.

"I thought you'd sleep the entire trip?" he said and handled the water bottle to Tony.

"Apparently not." Tony took a swig of the water and then nodded to the paper cup. "Is that coffee or tar?"

"Tar", Gibbs replied with a shrug.

"So why did you buy it?"

"Needed the caffeine."

Gibbs finished the coffee and threw away the cup before beckoning to Tony to get back into the car.

"How far is it to the orphanage from here?" Tony asked as Gibbs started the engine and drove off.

"Fifty miles, maybe. Give or take."

"Do you think she'll be happy to see us?"

"Don't know, Tony. I guess we'll find out when we get there."

XxX

Sarah pulled her knees up to her chest and put her arms around her legs as she stared bluntly at the middle-aged man sitting opposite of her. Dr. Herman, the orphanage psychologist, was looking patiently at her, waiting for her to start talking. They had been sitting here for almost an hour now and Sarah had still not said a single word. She pressed her lips together and looked away, waiting for Dr. Herman to say that she was free to go. He always did eventually. He couldn't hold her in his office forever and she knew it. She just had to wait and be quiet.

After another fifteen minutes or so, the doctor sighed heavily and put his notepad away, causing Sarah to look up and meet the grave look he gave her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Sarah", he said. "Why won't you let me help you?"

The only answer he got was another blunt look.

"Please, Sarah. Tell me why you don't want to talk to me."

"Because I don't want to, okay?" the girl yelled, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"I don't believe you", Dr. Herman said and leaned forward in his chair. "I also believe that it's not good for you to keep everything inside. You can trust me, Sarah."

"I don't care. If I don't want to talk you can't make me."

"You are right. I can't. But I still think that..."

"I don't care what you think! I have told you that I don't want to talk, so why do you make me come back all the time?"

Before the psychologist had a chance to answer, Sarah had got out of the chair and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She ran through the house, dodging everyone she met and ignoring those who shouted after her to slow down. She didn't stop until she was out in the park by one of her favorite hide outs, a hole in one of the thick walls surrounding the gardens. She crawled inside and hugged her legs to her chest, panting heavily from the run. She felt tears burning behind her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She clenched her eyes shut and pushed away all the memories of her past that were about to well up and consume her. She didn't want to remember. She just wanted to forget.

Sarah didn't know for how long she had sat there when she heard the crunching sound of slow footsteps. They stopped right outside the hole, partly blocking the light that shone in. Whoever it was out there sat down on the ground with a deep sigh, leaning his back against the wall without saying a word for a long time. Sarah crawled further into the hole, hoping that the guy outside didn't know that she was there, but she had no such luck.

"Care to come out, lass?"

Sarah immediately recognized the gardener's calm, friendly voice and felt herself relax a little, knowing that she was perfectly safe around Archie. He was one of the few who had managed to earn her trust and he was also the only one who took her seriously and never tried to push her into talking. He had gradually become her friend over the past few weeks and mostly she enjoyed his company, but right now she just wanted to be alone.

"Go away, Archie", she said and crawled even further into her hole.

"You know I won't do that, lass", Archie replied. "I will stay right here as long as you need me."

"I don't need you, so go!"

"Oh, yes, you do. I don't care what you say, lass, but you do need someone with you right now. I can feel it. You can maybe lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me."

Sarah opened her mouth to object, but closed it again with a sigh. It was useless to argue with Archie once he had made up his mind about something.

She crawled out slowly and stood up in front of the old gardener, silently looking him straight into his only eye. The other eye was covered with an eye patch, and that together with his scarred face and shaved head, now covered with a handkerchief to protect it from the sun, made the gardener look somewhat like a pirate. Sarah had been a little scared of Archie at first, but had soon discovered that he wasn't at all as scary as he looked, and because of him she didn't feel so alone anymore.

Archie gave her a lopsided smile and and lightly tapped the girl's chin, making her smile back.

"Wanna help me with the weeds, lass?"

Sarah nodded and Archie got up from the ground with a low grunt. Together they walked back to the house where Archie had left all his tools by the flowerbeds surrounding it. Archie showed the girl which plants to pull up and soon she was lost in her task. Archie watched her for a while before starting to trim the bushes. He hoped for her sake that she would come to a family, to someone who would let her heal in her own pace. He hoped it would happen soon.

Archie snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of an approaching car reached his ears. He stretched his back and turned around to see who it was. He didn't recognize the car and he hoped that this day meant that another of the children would get a new home. Sarah had also stopped working and walked over to stand next to the gardener. Archie put a hand on her shoulder and smiled dryly when the car came to a stop at the small parking lot.

"Seems like we have visitors today, lass", he mumbled, but Sarah didn't answer him. Her eyes were glued on the two men who just stepped out of the car, especially the one who walked around it from the passenger side. She recognized him. She recognized them both. Her heart took a leap of hope in her chest and she stared at them in disbelief, not knowing what to think.

"For Heaven's sake, lass", Archie said then. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Do you know who those two are?"

Sarah just nodded in response.

"Then who are they?"

"Tony. And Jethro."

TBC