i've forgotten the first few times, so for the record i don't own ncis… also, and it seems like i have to do this in quite a few of my stories nowadays, i am not here to promote religion, i hope eli and lily's comments don't offend anyone, though i don't think they will… anywho, on with the story!

"It's been four days, Jethro."

"I am aware of that director."

"You know that finding Tony is at the top of my priority list, but I need to run the rest of the agency as well." Gibbs turned to leave Jenny's office. "It's a kidnapping case. A marine's daughter went missing; he just reported it yesterday." She held out the case file to him. "Please Jethro."

He took the file and walked out without a word. He went to the bullpen and dropped the file on Ziva's desk. "Adenydd Beatte; went missing 5 days ago. Ziva, McGee, go talk to the parents. Find out why they waited 3 days to report it." The agents stared at their boss. "Go!" Gibbs barked.

Ziva quickly wrote down the address and they jumped up and headed to her car.

The front lawn of the Beatte household was littered with toys. There were quite a few kids running around, but they were too fast to count. A little boy ran up and shot McGee with a water gun.

"Milo!" A man ran over and picked the kid up. "That is not how we treat people. Remember the rule: you can only squirt people who have a water gun too."

"But he does have one." Milo pointed at McGee's gun. He hadn't realized that his coat wasn't pulled forward to cover it.

"Why don't you go get Jessalyn? I think she's hiding behind the shed." Milo ran off. "I'm sorry about him, he's 5. Still learning manners."

"That's quite alright sir," McGee said. "I'm Special Agent McGee and this is Officer David. We're from NCIS."

"Are you looking for Adenydd?"

"Yes, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Of course, of course, please come inside." The three of them made their way into the house, which was the exact opposite of the lawn. It was in pristine clean condition, and someone was playing piano somewhere. "My wife prides herself on keeping the house clean. She's away right now, but I don't mind taking over the upkeep."

They went to the kitchen. "Would you like some coffee or water or… we got a lot of juice."

"No thank you, Mr. Beatte." They all sat at the table and he said to call him Ron. "So what happened on Monday, Ron?"

"Well, I went to the grocery store and I left Adenydd and her brother Kato in charge. When I came back Kato said she'd run out the backyard. We haven't seen her since." He shook his head.

"And why didn't you report this until yesterday?"

"She does this a lot. She isn't very happy here, so she likes to run away sometimes. She usually goes to a friend's house, and she's usually back within a day. Two days at most."

"What do you mean, not happy here?"

"My wife and I have 8 kids. They're all adopted. We adopted Adenydd 2 years ago. She was 10. She just doesn't like it here; never has. The agency warned us she was a very troubled child."

"Is she close to any of her siblings?" Ziva took over. "Any of them might know where she went?"

"Her and Kioko and Maren share a room, but Kioko's only 3, so Maren is probably a better bet." He got up and headed down the hall. "She's in their room."

Ziva and McGee followed him to a small room that amazingly fit 3 beds, a dresser and a closet. A young blonde girl sat in front of a Disney-character-sheeted bed.

"Please Koko, just come out. I'll give you chocolate." She stood, agitated. "Dad, Kioko won't get out from under her bed."

"I want Addie. Where's Addie?" A little voice came from under the bed.

"She's just away for a while. She'll be back. And she told you not to call her Addie."

"I don't care!" The voice yelled. "Bring her back!"

McGee and Ziva stood in the doorway as Mr. Beatte went to the blonde girl. A minute later she walked over to them.

"Hello, dad said you want to talk to me." They went back to the kitchen and talked to Maren for a while, and then they left.

"None of the kids have a clue where she could be," Ziva reported to Gibbs. "She runs away frequently, but has never been gone for more than 2 days. Her father thinks she's a 'troubled child'; her siblings think she's the best sister ever. She was adopted by Ron and Emily Beatte 2 years ago, and they don't know much about her life before that."

"The point here, Officer David?"

"We have no suspects. Both parents are Marines, but neither has any enemies. Not even old high school bullies or anything. Emily was sent to sea after finishing training last month. Ron agreed to stay home and take care of the kids. He was honorably discharged last year."

"Then we have to assume this is about Adenydd." Gibbs stated. His agents looked confused. "That past no one knows about; find what's in it."

NCISNCISNCISNCIS

"You ever think that might be a trap, genius." Lily said. She was the only one still tied to her chair, and she was pretty bitter about it. Tony was trying to pick the door lock with a hairpin he found on the floor. He wasn't having much success.

"You know what they say: when life gives you lemons," the lock clicked open, but the doorknob instantly burned his hand. He stumbled back a bit.

"Yeah, you know the problem with that phrase," Lily smirked, "is that life has forgotten to give you sugar and water, so your lemonade pretty much sucks."

"And you're not helping much."

"I'm sorry I can't do more confined to my chair. Maybe if someone had let me out before I could actually do something." She shot a glare at Eli, who was sleeping against the wall. He'd stayed up for two days making sure Tony was alive, and since then he'd slept for hours on end.

He still refused to free Lily because he was afraid of Dorman, even though Dorman hadn't come in since he gave them the food.

"Just use the rest of your jacket to block the heat."

Tony looked at his shredded jacket lying on the floor. His sleeping friend had used it to patch up all his wounds while he was unconscious. Tony didn't mind; it was better than bleeding to death.

He was going to take Lily's suggestion when he heard footsteps beyond the door. He quickly dropped in his chair.

"Hello, worthless scum. How have you been?" Dorman dropped a bag on the floor. Actually, it was a blanket held like a bag, but it still had a lot of stuff in it. "I'm sorry I've been gone so long; I had a few loose ends to tie up. But now we can really spend some quality time together." He smiled and looked at Lily. "I feel bad, I've left you out."

He grabbed a shiny object from the pile and started going towards her. Tony jumped up and got an arm around Dorman's throat, but not before the object jabbed into him. He fell to the floor clutching his side; it was a taser.

Dorman went at Lily next, who screamed in pain. Eli woke with a start. He was very jumpy after lack of sleep.

"Ooh, let's play a game. I'll stop if Mr. Knepp stops me." He shocked Lily again. More screaming. Tony went for their captor again, getting the same response as before. "I said if Mr. Knepp stops me."

Tony looked at Eli, who was pressed to the wall. "Stop him then."

"I can't."

For his life (or technically Lily's), Tony couldn't figure why Eli wouldn't stop Dorman. But wait- Amish. They were pacifists. It was against Eli's religion to fight. If there was one thing he didn't stop talking about during their 4 days trapped, it was his faith in God.

Screams cut Tony's thought short. "Come on Eli, you can stop me." The boy was hyperventilating again. He glanced rapidly between Dorman and Lily. He winced when Lily shrieked.

Tony knew Eli wasn't going to move, so he inched toward the pile on the floor. The first thing he could get his hands on was a scalpel. It sliced through Dorman's back quick and easy. Quicker was the taser whipping around and slamming him in the head.

He fell and stabbed Dorman's foot as an oversized blade went through his own leg. The blade was pulled down, then out, then thrown at the wall. He grabbed his leg with his burned hands as searing pain spread. A foot connected with his ribcage and his head.

Dorman bent and whispered in Tony's ear, "this is only the beginning. I'm not killing you yet, but by the time I'm done, you're gonna wish you were dead." He left.

It was as cliché a threat as could be, but it was sincere.

Eli ran over and tried helping Tony sit up. That wasn't working too well for the injured agent, so they settled for laying him flat on the floor. The first thing he went to tending was the leg wound, which was bleeding fast and showed no signs of slowing down.

Lily's eyes were burning fire again, this time at Eli. "What the hell is your problem? Why didn't you stop him? Do you hate me that much?" She was yelling, though her voice was hoarse from screaming.

"I do not hate you Lily," focused on Tony. "I cannot fight."
"Yeah I know, it's against your laws. But honestly, I think it would be fine to fight to keep me from being KILLED!"

"You are not dead."

"If it hadn't been for Tony jumping in I just might be."

"Tony stopped him."

"But what if he didn't?"

"But he did."

"And what if next time Tony's unconscious-"

"I'm right here," Tony was ignored.

"- are you gonna just stand there?" It was very apparent that her hands would be around Eli's throat if they could be.

"Do not create problems that have not occurred." He moved to Tony's head.

"You're right, we'll deal with my death once he kills me!"

"You are not dead!" He raised his voice for the first time, though he immediately lowered it. "God makes everything happen for a reason. I trust he-"

"So when I die, I'll die knowing that god thinks it's right. That's great reassurance, Eli!"

Tony lifted his head and hit it on the floor. Eli's brow furrowed. "Why are you causing yourself pain?

"Because it's less painful than listening to you two."

"Will you quit it with the lame jokes?" Lily slouched into her seat. Her arms and neck stung.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

"Yes, jokes and laughter go perfectly with tasers and knives."

"No they don't."

"Sarcasm, Eli. It's called sarcasm." Awkward silence hung in the air yet again. That happened a lot between them. They heard a stomach grumble. "Tony, how long can a person survive without food?" She was nervous now.

"A few weeks."

"Ok.

"But we can only go about 8 days without water," he hesitated, "at most." Lily leaned her head back as Eli continued tending Tony's wounds. With 8 days at most, they had 4 days left.

so whatcha guys think? too much, too little, just right? like the kids, hate them, they annoy you? i like hearing your opinions, so please please review! =)