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Chapter 14

"So what is it you want to tell me?" Sarah asked once the three of them sat on the bench, Sarah placed in the middle of the two men.

Tony was just about to ask "What do you think it is?" when he saw the look in the girls eyes. She was all on edge, so instead he just smile reassuringly instead and said:

"What would you say if we told you that we'd like to adopt you?"

Sarah's eyes grew very big. Could it be true? She wanted it to be true, and she could see in Tony's eyes that it was true, but still she couldn't make herself believe it. Not completely.

"Don't lie to me", she said with a dark voice. "I hate it when grown-ups lie to me."

"We're not lying, Sarah", Gibbs said. "We want you to be our daughter. We would never lie to you about something like that. I promise."

"Do grown-ups lie to you often, Sarah?" Tony asked carefully and cocked his head to better be able to look her in the eyes. Sarah hesitated. No one at the orphanage had ever lied to her, but...

"Mommy and Daddy always did", she said. "They used to make me promises and then they said that they had never promised me anything, or said that they had promised me something else. They never kept their words!"

"Not everyone are like that, Sarah", Gibbs said and got a dark look from the girl.

"How would you know?" she asked.

"I just know. Sometimes you just need to have a little faith. I know it must be hard for you to believe right now, but..."

Sarah suddenly got off the bench and backed away while she yelled at the agents: "Stop try to understand how I feel! You grown-ups always do that! You are all the same!"

She spun around and ran towards the park. Her emotions raged inside her and she just wanted to get away from them for a while. She heard them shout after her, but she kept running. Truth be told, she was afraid. She was afraid to be abandoned again. She wanted a family so bad, and ever since she had met Tony she'd wanted him to be her father, him and Jethro both, but the fear of being neglected and abandoned again was too strong.

Suddenly she felt too strong hands grab her from behind and heave her up in the air. She screamed and wriggled fiercely to try to free herself but the grip was strong and wouldn't let go. Then she was hugged close to a warm, flat chest as strong arms encircled her and held her firmly but gently in place.

"Let me go!" she screamed and started to squirm, but the hold on her just tightened.

"Sarah, stop it!" Tony's voice said close to her ear. "I won't let you go! It's okay. Everything will be okay."

Tony continued mumbling comforting nonsense words in Sarah's ear and after a time that felt like forever he felt her relax against him. She wrapped her little arms tightly around his neck and started to cry, her tears soaking through his shirt. Tony was momentarily brought back to the moment when he first held Sarah in his arms and once again he hummed the tune his grandmother used to sing for him when he was a boy. He kept humming until her crying stopped and she hung limp in his arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"Everything will be alright", Tony mumbled and planted a kiss on Sarah's temple. "I promise, and I will keep that promise. I would never lie to you. None of us would. Never."

"I don't believe you", Sarah shot back. "Everybody lies."

"I know. But neither Jethro nor me would ever lie about things that are important, and believe it or not, but you have become very important to us. We want to help you, Sarah. We want you to be a part of our family."

Gibbs watched Tony from afar and was amazed by how natural his lover seemed in his role as a parent, because Tony was truly acting like a father right now. His baby girl was hurting and all Tony could think of was to find some way to make her happy again. Gibbs knew how it was like; he had gone through the same with Kelly, after all. Many times.

Gibbs was just about to walk over to Tony when the younger man turned around and came walking back to him, Sarah still held securely in his arms. He met Gibbs eyes and smiled reassuringly, letting the older man know that everything was fine.

"We happened to scare her a little, Jet", Tony said softly as soon as he reached his lover. "But I think she's okay now."

"Are you okay, Sarah?" Gibbs asked sincerely and carefully put a hand on Sarah's back.

"Yeah", Sarah mumbled and looked up at him. "Do you really want me in your family?"

"We do, Sarah", Gibbs said and caressed her hair. "We really do."

TBC