"You sleep well?" Gibbs asked his daughter as he walked into the kitchen the next day.

"Meh," she replied disinterestedly as she tipped some cold Chinese noodles into a bowl.

Reaching across the counter, Gibbs grabbed the bowl. "That isn't a proper breakfast," he reminded her.

"Dad!" she wailed in protest.

Gibbs raised his eyebrow, well at least he'd managed to gain her attention. "I'm not changing my mind about this, go and get some cereal or toast." Then he added as an afterthought, "And have some fruit as well."

"Are you having fruit?" she asked pointedly.

"You can stand and argue about this all you want but you'll be eating a proper breakfast before you leave the house in the morning."

Letting out a loud noise of disgust, Kelly stamped her feet as she moved towards the cereal cupboard, grabbing a box and snatching an apple out of the fruit bowl, glaring at it as though it was about to burst into flames. She took a large bit and after swallowing it, barked, "Happy?"

"Once you eat all of it, yes."

He watched as Kelly's mouth twitched and she tried to stop herself from smiling. Now that Diane was gone they seemed to have finally fallen into a truce and the house was infinitely more peaceful. Her blue eyes glanced up from under her heavy fringe, and she took another bit from her apple, this time a lot more gently as she walked through to the table. Grabbing his own coffee, Gibbs followed her and told her, "I spoke to your Gran."

Kelly frowned, her Dad and Gran very rarely spoke and when they did it revolved around her. "About Diane?" she asked curiously.

"That did come up," Gibbs admitted somewhat awkwardly, really not wanting to remember that part of the conversation he'd been forced to have with his mother-in-law. "But we mainly spoke about you."

"There's a surprise," she mumbled.

Raising a warning eyebrow at his daughter, Gibbs continued, "I've arranged all the details for you going back there after school."

Kelly's spoon hit the plate and she gaped at her Dad. "What do you mean?"

"Well now that there isn't going to be anyone in the house when you get back from school, you're going to need to start spending a couple of hours a night there like you used to." He gave her an encouraging smile. "Your Gran spoils you rotten, you'll love it."

"I'm not five!" she protested. "I'm thirteen! I should be allowed to come here after school."

"No," he replied shortly.

"That's not fair!"

Gibbs sighed, well that truce hadn't lasted long. He stared across at her. "My main concern isn't fairness. You are too young to stay here by yourself."

"I was here last night by myself and I didn't burst into flames," she snapped back.

His lips tightened, he was not at all impressed with Diane walking out and leaving Kelly all by herself, although in retrospect it didn't really surprise him that she'd done it. "That shouldn't have happened and it won't happen again."

"I think I should get to stay here," Kelly repeated stubbornly. "I don't want to go to Gran's all the time."

"The answer is no, it's too long for you to sit in here alone."

"If you'd let me go out I wouldn't be in here for more than an hour."

"You are not hanging about the streets."

"They go to the park," Kelly scoffed in a mixture of annoyance and disgust.

"I don't care. I've made my decision."

"I cant believe you didn't even bother to ask me what I think about this."

"You're my responsibility, it's my job to keep you safe, I love you." Gibbs told her.

The chair scrapped against the floor as Kelly shoved it backwards and jumped to her feet. "Well you didn't care that much about me when you married that last bitch! You don't care about me at all!"

"That's enough!" Gibbs roared back. "You need to watch your language! And you will not talk to me like that."

"You can't stop me," Kelly snarled. She scowled and snatched her rucksack. "I'm going to school." Her lip curled. "And no," she added. "I don't want a lift from you."

As the front door slammed shut, Gibbs squeezed his eyes shut, he was really struggling to deal with her mood swings now and he had no idea how to deal with her, everything he did was wrong and he just seemed to make her miserable.

"I hate my life!" Kelly declared as she dropped into her seat on the bus.

"Diane still there then?" Sophie asked.

"No, she's gone, took the TV thought."

"Bitch."

"Yeah, I know."

"So if it's not her, then what?"

"Since she isn't the house to watch me, or ignore me which is what she actually did, I have to go to my Gran's house from now on."

"That sucks."

"Yup."

Chloe leaned backwards, her eyes trailing over Kelly. "You want to come shopping this weekend? Or are you not allowed?" She mocked.

Kelly eagerly replied, "I'd love to, it should be fine, I don't see why it wouldn't be."

"Good, we can get you some make-up, you look really tired. Concealer will hide the big shadows under your eyes."

Kelly brushed a finger over the thin skin surrounding her eye and frowned, were they really that obvious? Her smile slightly smaller now, she nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Awesome. Did anyone do the biology homework?"

Kelly and Sophie replied simultaneously, "Yes." and "Some of it."

"You did your homework again!"

"I was bored," Kelly shrugged. "I'm not allowed out and Diane took most of our stuff."

"So sad," Chloe snorted. "You are such a suck up! No wonder you passed that class test, I bet you even studied for it."

"A little bit, I suppose." Kelly shifted awkwardly in her seat under Chloe's glare.

"It's like you're trying to make me look bad!" Chloe held out her hand. "Gimme it, I need to copy some."

"There's quite a lot-"

"I'm not going to copy all of it, just enough to say I tried and couldn't do it."

Handing over the book, Kelly slumped back in her seat and stared resignedly out the window as her friends spoke about what they'd done the night before.

"Gibbs!" He snapped into his cell phone as a greeting.

Diane's cold tone floated over the other end of the line. "I'm just phoning to let you know that I now have a lawyer and all further contact will be through him."

"Fine," Gibbs shrugged.

"That's all you have to say!" Diane's tone grew more harsh, and she was very obviously annoyed by his lack of reaction. "I've walked out on you and all you can manage is fine!"

"What is it you want me to say," he replied coolly. "You've emptied the house of half my stuff, emptied our joint account and left my daughter alone in the house at night. You've taken your pound of flesh now, Diane."

"I haven't even started," she warned him. "I'm entitled to what I took! And as for Kelly," she spat the name out like it would choke her. "She is your daughter and the main plus side in this divorce is that I don't have to have anything more to do with her," she concluded triumphantly, confident that that statement would get her the reaction she wanted. He had always jumped to Kelly's defence.

Instead he replied, "Well I need to go, have a case. I'll talk to your lawyer from now on just like you want. Goodbye."

He didn't wait to hear the screams of irritation, he didn't have to. Looking up he saw Burley grinning at him almost nervously. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked teasingly.

"You found that car yet?" Gibbs asked in return, throwing in a glare for good measure.

"No, it's disappeared Boss, I just can't find it."

"Try harder, our murderer used that car to get the Hell out of dodge. If he knows there was CCTV at the opening to the ally, he's going to ditch it. We need to find it before that happens."

"I'm on it, sent out a BOLO, I'm asking around Petty Officer Dobson's colleagues to see if they know anyone with that make and I checked the permits for cars that are allowed to park on base. Nothing."

"Just find it, Steve," Gibbs sighed tiredly.

"It's Stan."

Gibbs ignored his protest, saying, "I need to go and see the Director."

He ran up the stairs and moved swiftly through the outer office, ignoring the calls of Morrow's assistant Helen, asking him to wait and instead walked straight into the man's office. "You wanted to see me, Sir."

Morrow looked up from his paperwork. "I did, yes. How's the case?"

"We're having trouble tracing the car, but we'll get there."

The older man raised an eyebrow. "Of that I have no doubt." His eyes narrowed. Gibbs was definitely in a mood over something and he wanted to know what it was. "How's that wife of yours?"

"Soon to be ex wife," Gibbs mumbled lowly.

"Ah. My sympathies."

"For the best." He shuffled on his foot and glanced down at his watch. "I'm sure you didn't call me up here to discuss my marriage."

"No I didn't. I called you up here to inform you that from Monday you'll have a new Probationary Agent."

"I don't need one."

"You're getting one. You need a new team member."

"Steve and I manage."

If Morrow noticed that Gibbs called his fellow Agent by the wrong name he didn't comment on it, instead telling him, "You are a Major Response team and like it or not our cases have been on the increase, you'll work quicker with another team member."

"Not with a Probie."

"They came top in all aspects of their training. And you don't get an option on this, part of your job is to train new Agents. You never know you might find you enjoy it."

Gibbs let out a low growl, and finally conceded grumpily. "Of course, Sir."

Morrow held out the manila coloured file. "All the details you'll need including their marks in training."

Looking at the file, Gibbs eyes scanned the name and felt his stomach sink. "This Probie's a woman."

"Yes," Morrow replied in amusement. "I'm well aware of that. Is there a problem?"

"Not if she's capable of doing her job, but she's not getting any special treatment."

"I'm sure she doesn't expect it. You'll meet her on Monday, since you saw yourself in I trust you can see yourself out."

Grumbling, Gibbs returned to the bull-pit to find Burley smiling triumphantly. "Found the car, it belongs to his colleague, a Petty Officer Hanlon."

"Is he on base?"

"Meant to be."

"Then grab your jacket, we'll go and get him."

Stan lunged towards his jacket and running beside Gibbs he attempted to pull it on quickly. "You get on Ok with the Director?"

"Fine, we're getting a new Agent next week."

"A Probie?" Stan asked delightedly, thinking of all the tricks and jokes he could play on them.

"Yup." Gibbs ignored Stan's smile, he actually found it amusing to picture the man's face when he realised the Probie he was planning to torment was a woman.

"Darling!" Joanne cried out in delight as Kelly let herself into the small bungalow, pulling her into a tight hug. Drawing back slightly she stroked a stray strand of hair off the young girl's cheek. "I heard about Diane leaving, you poor thing, having to go through that."

Kelly frowned. "Actually I'm quite glad she's gone. I hated her."

"I know, she wasn't your mother."

She didn't reply to that, in all honesty she thought that was an incredibly stupid thing to say, of course she wasn't her mother, but that had nothing to do with why she hated her. That was purely down to her personality. Joanne cupped her hand under her cheek and sighed. "Well never mind I'll take care of you. I've made your dinner, it will be ready in five minutes so go and wash up."

Kelly sighed, but did as she was asked. Brilliant she thought as she stomped through to the bathroom, she could now spend her evenings watching old people TV and listening to reasons why Diane could never have compared to her Mom and how it was no wonder it didn't work out, and when would her father learn.

She scrubbed her hands viciously, she'd most likely have to talk about how school was as well. God this sucked!

Her bad mood grew as she realised that her Dad was obviously working later tonight. He finally arrived to pick her up just before eight, by which point she had resigned herself to staring mutinously at the book she was reading for English and trying to ignore her Gran.

She glared up at him as he stepped into the living room. He offered her a smile. "You ready to go?"

"Yes." She grabbed her stuff, knowing that her Dad was desperate to get out of there before her Gran could lecture him on the breakdown of his marriage. Suddenly she stopped, an idea coming to her. "Dad can I go shopping with my friends at the weekend?"

He frowned. "We can talk about it when we get home, come on."

"It's just a yes or no answer. And I'd really like to go, I have money saved up."

As Kelly expected her Gran jumped to her defence. "I think that sounds like fun, and you need some fun to distract you from all the changes going on in your life." She shot Gibbs a pointed glare.

"Who's driving you in and taking you home?"

"We'd be taking the bus."

"No."

"Dad! That's not fair, Gran tell him that I'm capable of taking the bus into town. After all I take the bus to school."

"That is true." Joanne nodded. "And she's very responsible."

"You can go but I'll be driving you in."

Kelly hid a triumphant smile, all she wanted was to be able to go, she didn't care how she got there. "Thank you, Dad."

His eyes narrowed. He had the most horrible feeling she'd just played him.