Dear Jethro,

I can't even tell you how much Kelly and I miss you. It feels like you've been gone for so much longer than you have. But I have news. When you left, I was 2 months pregnant. You have another child Jethro. A baby girl. Her name is Robyn. She was born on February 17th 1991. I can't wait for you to meet her. She has your eyes. Kelly loves being the big sister. All we need is you and we have the perfect family. Be safe and don't forget the rules.

Love,

Shannon, Kelly and Robyn

. . .

"What do we do?" McGee asked as he looked over at Abby. She was in the same condition he was. Both hardly realizing where they were.

"I mean, what are the odds? This is insane!" He finished.

"I don't know! It's great news, isn't it?" Abby said, so excited that she was practically vibrating.

"Of course it is! But, how are we supposed to tell them? If I were either one of them, I would think you were crazy."

"There are tests to confirm it McGee." Abby said with a bright smile. "And I don't think Gibbs would doubt the writing of…of Shannon." She could hardly believe what she was saying.

They seemed to make the silent decision to talk about it from a brighter point of view. It wasn't until that moment when they realized how alike the two of them were.

"The eyes!" Abby yelled. "Of course! It's like they both just look right through you, but not in the bad way. More in the, your eyes are so amazing I'm not sure I should look directly at them, kind of way."

"Tempers." McGee said with a slight laugh.

"Not sure what you're talking about McGee." Abby said truthfully.

"Well, Gibbs never snaps at you. He does the rest of us." He explained. "And they can really butt heads. You've never noticed? They went a whole day not saying a word to each other, and when they did, it was like reliving World War I."

"No way. I don't believe you." She replied with a grin.

"Fine. You'll see." McGee let it rest. "Have you noticed the smile?"

"The famous Gibbs crooked smile! Yes!"

"Looks like Shannon, acts like Gi-" McGee cut himself off as the lab doors slid open. Both Robyn and Gibbs walked in. Robyn had a patch over her cheek and a bandage on her injured hand.

Abby had completely forgotten about the whole Frost thing when the letter was discovered. When she saw her, reality almost knocked her off her feet. Without missing a beat, she ran over to Robyn, hugging her as tight as she could.

"You said it was just a scratch, you liar!" She said, letting go of her, looking from her hand to her face.

"It's really not that bad, Abby." She said with a grin. "It just stings a little. That's all." It actually stung a lot.

Suddenly remembering the letter, she looked back at McGee, who to her relief was already snapping the back of the compass back on.

"Are you alright Abbs?" Gibbs asked, noticing her acting a little jumpy.

Abby was too busy looking back and forth from Robyn to Gibbs to hear him. The exact same eyes.

"Abbs!"

"Yes, Gibbs?"

"I asked if you were okay."

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"That's what I'm wondering."

Robyn had wandered over to McGee, the two of them having a normal conversation, which was becoming increasingly more difficult for him and Abby.

"We got a little bit of a breakthrough on Robyn's parents." Abby whispered.

"Really? What did you find?" Gibbs asked.

"I…I can't tell you yet." She answered, having to almost physically restrain herself from talking.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Well, I have to take care of a few things. If you're sure everything's okay."

"Yes, yes Gibbs! Everything is fine. Go ahead!" She nearly pushed him out the door. If he stayed in any longer, she would have caved and told him everything. She walked back to McGee and Robyn where Robyn got one more lecture on why what she did was stupid.

She was barely listening, more preoccupied with looking at all the technology that was in the room. It was interesting, but she would never want to learn how to work any of it. Finally, Robyn decided that she didn't want to wait anymore.

"Did you find anything?"

Abby went totally quiet.

"No." McGee said much too quickly.

Robyn looked at the both of them. "You guys really are acting weird." She said, giving them what almost looked like the Gibbs stare.

McGee let out what seemed to be a mix between a laugh and a shout. He tried to cover it up with a loud coughing fit, but Robyn didn't believe it for a second.

"Okay. You guys are being extremely insane. I'm gonna let you get back to whatever you were doing."

Abby opened her mouth to speak.

"No!" Robyn said quickly. "I really don't want to know what you all are up to. It looks pretty personal. I'll talk to you guys later." She said with her crooked smile which made McGee almost have another outburst before Abby elbowed him hard in the stomach.

Robyn left the room quickly. She always thought that McGee and Abby would be great together, so she just thought that they had figured that out too and she didn't want to disrupt it.

. . .

Robyn had spent the rest of the day with Ducky and Palmer. To her great relief, neither of them told her how reckless she had been, but Ducky's eyes said everything. She wasn't sure which was worse. When the day was finally over, Gibbs came down to Autopsy to get her.

It was her last night that she would be spending in that house. She walked inside and they spent most of the night working on the boat. This time they didn't stop talking to each other. A lot of it was just casual and just for laughs, but the rest of it were conversations that neither of them would forget.

It was almost 2 in the morning before Robyn decided to go to sleep. Gibbs nodded as she climbed the stairs and heard her footsteps all the way to her room. It wasn't until an hour later that he followed. As he walked passed her door, he heard the sound that had become familiar. She was crying again. That was the only way Gibbs ever knew she was really asleep.

Gibbs walked into the room, seeing her dark figure curled up on the bed. He had to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he could step and farther into the room. He was finally standing beside her. Trying to wake her up gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Before he knew it, she had practically leaped away from him, sitting bolt upright on the foot of the bed. Even in the total darkness, he could tell that her eyes were locked on him.

"Just go away, Richard!" She pleaded. "Go away!"

Gibbs immediately turned on the lamp that sat on the bedside table.

"Robyn? Do you know where you are?" His voice was soothing and warm, trying to get her to realize that he wasn't Richard.

For a moment, confusion plagued her face. He watched as recognition slowly started to dawn on her, but the fear remained.

"Gibbs?" She asked, not even noticing the tears that were drying on her cheeks. Her patch was even slightly damp from them.

"Yeah."He said simply. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, yet the question seemed to be forced. Her throat was so tight that everything she said was difficult to get out.

"Well, I don't know. But you called me Richard. Does that have anything to do with it?"

Her jaw was set. "Why are you in here?" She ignored his question completely.

"Because, it's not normal to cry in your sleep every night."

"You said it kept me sane. It's not like I can help it anyway." She was frustrated, doing her best not to look at him.

"You know he's gone right?" Gibbs asked.

"So? That doesn't mean that I get everything back that he took. It just means that I don't have to look at him again."

"But the damage is done…" Gibbs said evenly.

"Exactly. And you can't help me, so there isn't a point in talking about it." She lay down with her back facing him, expecting him to leave. She felt a warm hand on her arm but still refused to look at him. Gibbs was surprised to feel that she was trembling. She was scared to death of Richard even though there was no way he could ever get to her again.

She shrugged his hand away, in hopes that he didn't notice. Gibbs wished he could just be in a room alone with that man for just a few minutes. Richard would never be able to hurt another living soul for the rest of his life it Gibbs had his way.

Gibbs kneeled down, his arms resting on the side of the bed.

"Look at me." He said quietly.

After a few seconds, Robyn rolled over to face him, a fresh tear falling from her left eye, across the bridge of her nose before dripping onto the pillow.

"You listen to me." Gibbs ordered as he put a gentle, fatherly hand on her face, careful to avoid the patch. "As long as I'm living, nobody will ever hurt you. I don't care where you are. I'm going to protect you. Got it?"

"But-"

"Got it?" He asked again, more forcefully this time.

For some reason, Robyn believed every word he said. "Got it…" She said finally.

He gave her a crooked smile which she then returned.

"Good night." He said as he took his hand away. He turned off the lamp, letting his eyes adjust for a moment before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

A few hours later, he returned to her door. He didn't hear crying. He assumed that meant that she was awake so he just sighed and walked away from the door, starting up the coffee maker.

In truth, Robyn had never been more asleep in her life. It was the first night in years where she didn't have to cry because she knew that she was safe.

Robyn had gotten up not too long after that. She was at the table, drinking a cup of coffee with Gibbs. Neither of them said much, since today was the day she was supposed to be leaving. She didn't have the heart to pack her stuff yet. That would just make everything final.

Then, there was a knock on the door. They both looked confused. She wasn't supposed to be picked up until later in the evening. It was only 7 o'clock in the morning right now.

"It's unlocked!" Gibbs called from the table. The door burst open and Abby came running through. She closed it quickly behind her before trying to keep her composure while walking towards the two of them.

"Gibbs! I need to talk to you." She said quickly.

"How many Caf-Pows have you had today Abby?"

"That's not important right now." She answered loudly. "What is important, is this little bit of news that I have for you." She was grinning now.

"Well, what is it?" He asked, becoming impatient.

Abby just motioned towards Robyn. Gibbs understood, but before he could say anything, Robyn beat him to it.

"I'll be in the car." She said as she walked outside, knowing for some reason, Abby didn't want her to know the news.

. . .

"Now Gibbs," Abby started, becoming very serious. "Yesterday, me and McGee were trying to figure things out about Robyn's parents."

"Right. You know who they are?"

"It's really important that you don't jump ahead of me on this one, Gibbs." She said as she took a deep breath. "Okay, so we were doing that, and the compass fell. The back broke off. We thought we broke it but it turned out to be a secret compartment."

She paused. Gibbs let her gather herself, able to see that the point of the story was coming up. Finally, she continued.

"Inside, we found a small slip of paper and…well…" She dug into her pocket, retrieving the paper and handing it to him. "You should just read it. See for yourself."

Gibbs just stared at Abby for a moment. "This is why you were so worked up yesterday?"

"Yes! Read it!" Abby said quickly, unable to contain herself.

Gibbs unfolded the paper, knowing he was under crucial watch by Abby. He immediately recognized the writing and his stomach lurched in response to the sudden ache he felt in his heart.

"Why would she have a letter from Shannon?" Gibbs asked, still not even reading the first line.

"It's not too her Gibbs. Just keep reading. We'll talk when you're done." He voice was calmer now.

He looked back down at the paper and continued to read. When he was finished, it took him a while to remember how to breathe.

Just then, Robyn walked through the front door.

"Sorry to interrupt guys, but I'm going to be late for sch-" She stopped herself, noticing the look on Gibbs' face. They were both staring at her. "Nevermind." She said quickly. "The whole team is out here, so I can just get one of them to take me. Take all the time you need." She hadn't even closed the door, Gibbs grabbed the handle, stopping her. She turned around and before she even knew what happened, he had her locked in the tightest hug she had ever experienced.

"I didn't know." Gibbs said quickly which only made Robyn even more worried.

"It's okay Gibbs, really." She said, struggling to breathe. "I was only in the car for 10 minutes. I can get someone else to take me if you're busy."

"You aren't going today!" Gibbs said, finally releasing her.

Now she was just scared. "Are you on drugs?"

Gibbs just laughed a little. "No. Not drugs."

"Cocaine is a drug Gibbs. Drugs kill."

"Are you saying you want to go to school?"

"As of right now? You are scaring me into it."

Abby was almost in tears, but Robyn couldn't tell that it was because she was so happy.

"Is somebody dead?" Robyn asked, getting scared.

"No, no. Nobody is dead." Gibbs said with a smile. He just kept looking at her. He knew she had looked familiar, he just blocked out how familiar she was. Just like Kelly. Just a bit older and with a completely different personality.

"Then why are you acting weird? Both of you!"

"Because!" Abby ran through the story, just like she had with Gibbs, who didn't realize the letter was still being held in a death grip in his hand. At the end of the story, he had to pry it out of his fist as he handed it to her.

She read through it quickly before asking,

"Who's Jethro?"