Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.

Chapter 8

Patricia watched Taylor suspiciously at breakfast. After yesterday's events she had expected their daughter to at least be a little upset about going to school today. Granted it was obvious from the way she was squirming on her seat that her backside was still sore, but other than that, absolutely nothing! It was making her nervous.

Jethro was thinking along the same lines. "What are you up to?"

Taylor set down the crust of her toast, and smiled innocently at her dad. "Who me?"

"Yes, you."

"Nothin'" Taylor gave her best innocent look.

He wasn't buying it, and set his coffee down. "You sure about that?"

"Uh huh."

"You're not planning on going AWOL?"

Taylor giggled and moved round the table to stand behind her father. "No." Throwing her arms around him she quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Come on mom, we don't want to be late."

"Okay, that's it!" Gibbs stood up and put a finger under Taylor's chin, tipping her head up so he could check her eyes. "Are you high?"

Taylor tutted. "It's a bit early for that..." Her father raised a questioning eyebrow. "I mean no, of course not! I thought you wanted me to be good!"

"I do."

Sometimes it could be a lot of fun just messing with his head. "So what's wrong with not wanting to be late? We have history today, and I like history."

Jethro was stunned. "Nothing." He gave up and kissed the top of her head.

Patricia, just as confused, lifted her car keys. "Come on then, seeing you're so keen."

"Bye dad." Taylor called out as she followed her mom to the car.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It wasn't that Taylor actually wanted to go to school, although she did sorta like history. This morning when she'd woken up, ass still throbbing painfully, Taylor had decided that she wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of thinking she was whipped, even though technically she had been. It had also struck her as she stood in the shower, that she no longer had to worry about getting into trouble at school, for the little things anyway. It was impossible for Millar to give her any more detentions, she was already booked into all of them. Taylor still wanted revenge though, and the best and safest way to do that was to bide her time. Behave herself perfectly, both at home and at school, lulling everyone into a false sense of security, and use her time in detention to come up with the perfect plan. Then just when school was almost over for the summer, she'd strike. Millar wouldn't know what had hit him.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Jared was already in the classroom when Taylor appeared, but instead of going over to him she headed straight to Mr Millar.

She looked right at him before speaking. "I'm sorry for the prank I played on you, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry I said I was going to put the video onto the internet, I didn't mean it. Sometimes I say things without thinking about it."

Mr Millar had not been expecting that. "Did your father tell you to apologise to me?"

Taylor shook her head. "No sir. I know I was wrong, and I really am sorry."

She didn't wait for him to say anything else, and went to take her seat. That would be the hardest part. Removing her books and pencil from her bag she set them on the desk. Lowering herself down gingerly, gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the pain from the welts on her backside, and sat perfectly still, waiting for the lesson to begin.

Jared had been quiet and well behaved throughout the morning as well, but Taylor figured his reasons were not the quite the same as hers. At least he didn't seem to be ignoring her. Taylor's biggest fear now was that Director Vance had forbidden Jared to hang out with her any more. She would have to wait until recess to find that out.

During class Taylor did everything she could think of to convince Millar she was a reformed character. She was quiet, attentive, and was the first to raise her hand when a question was asked. Taylor was actually enjoying herself. Mr Millar seemed surprised, especially when she was giving the correct answers. Before he'd targeted her because he knew she hadn't been listening, but now he was going to have to find someone else to pick on. It definitely made the day more interesting, and pass a lot faster than normal.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

At recess Jared followed Taylor out to their favourite spot under one of the large trees in the grounds, and sat down.

"Your dad didn't tell you to stay away from me then?" Taylor took a bite of her apple.

Jared shook his head. "Just said we had to stay out of trouble."

"Huh! I thought he'd be a bigger pain in the ass!" Then realised she'd just insulted his dad. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Jared grinned. "It's okay, I know what you meant. He was mad though."

"Bet he wasn't as mad as mine." Taylor shifted uncomfortably on the ground.

"He spanked you again?" Jared seemed surprised.

"Oh yeah, he likes to get his message across."

"And did he?"

"F**k no!" Taylor lied, and gave Jared a friendly shove. "Gonna have to watch what I do for a while, but I'm gonna get even with Millar, eventually. You know the b****rd gave me Saturday detentions on top of everything else."

"That why you've been sucking up to him all day?" He teased.

"All part of my master plan." She bragged.

"You have a plan?" Jared was impressed.

"Not yet, but there's plenty of time."

"Yeah, well just make sure it doesn't involve getting us caught this time."

Taylor liked the 'us'. "You can be in charge of that part then. That's where I always seem to screw up. Deal?" She held out her hand for Jared to shake.

He only hesitated for a second before taking her hand. "Deal."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

As soon as Taylor arrived home, she had her homework out without having to be told and set up at the kitchen table, where her mom could witness her new studious attitude. Then as soon as she was done, instead of crashing in front of the TV, Taylor offered to help with dinner. Her mom looked at her in disbelief, but accepted her offer.

Jethro arrived just as they had finished. He watched the pair of them setting the table. Taylor spotted him before he had the chance to speak and threw herself at him for a hug.

"Catch any bad guys today?" She asked.

"Nope, not today."

"Losing your touch, huh?" Taylor wriggled away from him as her dad started to tickle her.

Jethro shot a questioning look at his wife, but she just shrugged.

"So how was school?"

Taylor grinned. "It was good. We learned all about the Civil War. That's the one you were in, right?"

He gave her a mock glare. "No I was not! Now go get washed up before dinner.

As soon as his daughter left the kitchen he sat down at the table. "Am I stuck in some sort of parallel universe?"

Patricia shrugged for the second time that day. "I have no idea what's going on. Her teacher came to see me when school was out, and did nothing but sing her praises. Apparently she even apologised to him again this morning. Do you think the strapping you gave her was a wake up call?"

"I really hope so, because I don't want to have to do it again, but... I don't know. She's acting so completely out of character. "

"Well you can't exactly complain about the way she's behaving."

"I know, but it'll be interesting to see just how long she can keep it up for." Jethro was positive the old Taylor would be back soon.

x

Taylor had a hard time trying not to break out into a fit of giggles during dinner. She was acutely aware both of her parents were trying to watch her, without her noticing. It was pretty clear they were trying to figure out what was going on, and were confused by her behaviour. It had been a successful day and she had one more thing to do, to round everything off.

The three of them had been chilling out in the living room, watching some cop show. Taylor had been keeping a close eye on the clock, and as soon as the hands showed nine fifteen, she stood up, kissed her mom and dad, before telling them she was going to bed. As Taylor climbed the stairs she wished she could hear what they were saying. Going to bed early was definitely going to throw them. This was sooooo much fun.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It wasn't hard to keep up her act, although when Saturday morning came around, Taylor found it difficult to find any enthusiasm, but that was only because she was going to miss her weekly visit with Dorothy.

As her mom drove her to school, Taylor admitted what she was worrying about.

"Mom, I'm gonna miss Dorothy today, and for the next few weeks."

Patricia glanced at her. She knew the pair had grown close. " How about we invite her for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah?" Taylor relaxed. "That would be good."

As Taylor climbed out of the car with her backpack, she leant back into the car. "You're not gonna forget to pick me up are you?"

"I'll try not to." She teased. "Make sure you behave yourself."

With that, Taylor was left to enter the almost empty school.

x

There were only two students in detention, Taylor and an older boy, who completely ignored her. The work they were given was both boring and pointless. It involved copying out the extremely long list of school rules, and once they'd finished they had to start all over again. But it gave her the opportunity to think. Unfortunately she hadn't been able to come up with a new prank yet, although Taylor had figured out that she needed to find her phone. Not to use, that would be crazy, but if she could remove the SIM she could put it into her old phone. Another aim Taylor had come up with was to get rid of that strap. It was way too dangerous having that around, particularly when revenge on Millar was imminent. It had taken days for its effects to fade completely, and she had no intention of suffering through a repeat performance.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It took Taylor almost a week to track down her iPhone. Eventually she had resorted to using a chair to reach the top shelf in her dad's closet, and there it was, sitting right next to the strap. In a matter of seconds the SIM card was in her pocket, and the strap tucked down the back of her pants. Taylor was feeling pretty pleased with herself. At least now she could contact DJ. She had decided what she was going to do, and she needed his help, he knew all the right people. It was big though, and for Jared's sake she was going to keep him out of it.

It turned out to be easy to get rid of the strap, in fact her dad unwittingly did it for her. It wasn't gone for good, but it would be gone for a while, giving her a 'get out of free card' just in case he completely freaked when he realised it was gone. Hell, he might even think it was funny. Well he might, she tried to convince herself.

x

Shutting herself away in her bathroom she made the all important call.

"Hey DJ!"

"Taylor, I'm not supposed to have anything to do with you. Your dad made some fu***n' nasty threats!"

"Forget him. I thought you had bigger balls than that!" She goaded him.

He sighed. "What do you want?"

"You still into cars?"

"I'm not stealin' one for you it that's what you want."

"No. It's just a prank."

"Go on, I'm listening."

"I want someone to take the wheels off a car and leave it up on blocks. Nothin' illegal, if you leave the wheels." Taylor gave him the rest of the details and eventually he agreed to do it, but because he couldn't do it on his own he wanted fifty dollars. There went the birthday money her grandpa had given her and most of her allowance. But it would be worth it.

x

Later that night he called her back. When Taylor saw who it was on caller id she thought he'd changed his mind. She hit the answer button.

DJ still had a bit of a soft spot for her, and had been talking the prank over with some of his mates. "For an extra twenty, we'll take the doors off too."

"You will?"

"Yeah. Now yes or no?"

"Yes." Taylor answered immediately. Hanging up, she lay back on her bed. This was gonna be awesome. There was no way this could be traced back to her, and she hadn't mentioned anything to Jared, he would be completely innocent.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Tomorrow was the big day, and even though Taylor was excited and nervous she forced herself to watch a movie on TV with her parents. She was lying up against her mom when the house phone rang. Jethro lazily reached over to answer it, the movie was sending him to sleep, he'd have been better off working in the basement, but he liked spending time with his wife and daughter.

Taylor could only hear one side of the conversation.

"Hi dad, you okay?" Gibbs asked.

She tensed up a little.

"What parcel?" he asked his father.

"I didn't send any …." It finally clicked, and he looked accusingly at his daughter.

Taylor shrugged innocently. "You posted it, not me."

"Uh huh?" He didn't look impressed.

"Well you did." She tried to disarm him with a smile.

Jethro turned his attention back to his dad. "No, don't bother."

Taylor grinned smugly until her father finished what he'd been saying.

"We'll be coming to you in a couple of weeks anyway."

Her smile changed quickly to a pout, but he just ignored her and changed the topic of conversation.

x

Patricia whispered into her ear. "What did you do?"

"Technically I didn't do it, dad did."

"Did what?"

"Posted grandpa's strap back to him. All I did was put it in a box."

"Nice try Taylor, but you must have known our dad would get it back eventually."

"I was hopin' it would get lost in the mail." Taylor admitted.

When her dad hung up he stood in front of her, arms folded. Are you allowed to hunt through our room?"

"I didn't need a warrant, I had probable cause." Tony was a good teacher. "Besides I knew you'd get it back. I just thought it might be feelin' a bit homesick. You gotta admit it was funny!" She gave him a small grin.

"When I go and check now, is your phone still going to be there?"

"Of course it is. I didn't take it. That would be really bad."

"Are you mad at me?" She asked in a small voice.

"I'll tell you in a minute whether I'm mad or not." He headed for the stairs, and Taylor could hear his footsteps overhead. He was checking his closet.

"It's still there isn't it?" Her mom asked.

"I didn't take it mom, honest."

When Jethro reappeared he didn't look angry. "Just as well." He announced as he dropped back into his chair.

Taylor let him settle for a few minutes before speaking him to him again.

"Dad?"

He looked over at her. What now, he thought.

"Yeah?"

"You know tomorrow's the last day of school?"

"Uh huh."

"Well that means I'm not grounded any more, and I did stay out of trouble, so…."

"You mean except for mailing the strap?"

"Come on dad, that was just for fun…."

"Spit it out Taylor, what do you want?"

"Can I have my phone back now? I won't see a lot of my friends over the summer, and I want to put their numbers into it, and maybe take a few pictures."

"You can have it back in the morning."

"But after all that time it'll need charged, the battery will be dead." She whined.

Sighing, he nodded towards the stairs. "Okay, go get it."

Yes! Taylor thought as she pulled the chair in front of the closet, now she was going to be able to take photos. Roll on tomorrow. DJ better not let her down.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Just after lunch, Taylor's phone vibrated in her pencil case. It was a message from DJ. All it said was 'mission accomplished'. She let out a sigh of relief and tried to imagine what it would look like.

"You never got your revenge did you?" Jared asked as they filed out of the classroom, report cards in hand.

Taylor couldn't hold it in any longer, and winked at him. "I wouldn't bet on that just yet."

"What have you done?" His curiosity tinged with disappointment that he hadn't been involved.

"I can't tell you, I don't want you to get into trouble, it's pretty big."

"I would have helped."

"I know, but you'll find out soon enough why you're safer not knowing. Now I need to go find my mom to tell her I want to wait outside at the car."

Jared watched her auburn head disappear down the hallway pushing against the flow of students. He stood up against the wall and waited for her to come back. Taylor reappeared her phone was already in her hand, camera app already chosen.

"Come on, this is something you're really going to want to see."

There was already a large crowd around Millar's car, but Taylor and Jared pushed their way through easily. Jared let out a gasp at the state of the car. The wheels were sitting on the ground, the car propped up on bricks, and the two doors were positioned upright between the wheels, just like butterfly wings. Millar wasn't there yet, but no doubt someone had already gone to find him. Taylor snapped a few pictures, before he showed up. It didn't take long for him to show up and the crowd of spectators opened to allow him through. The expression on his face was better than Taylor could have hoped for, and made sure she recorded it. Then more teaching staff showed up and herded the students away from the scene. Taylor and Jared moved along a few parking spaces and waited beside Patricia's car.

x

"Now do you see why you were better not knowing?"

Jared nodded. "But how?"

Taylor grinned at him. "Good contacts."

"What do you think?"

Jared grinned back. "Awesome, awesome and awesome! Oh, oh! Here comes your mom."

Taylor quickly grabbed her report card. It was sealed in an envelope, and gave the impression she was trying to open it.

"No you don't." Patricia reached over and took it from her. "That's not addressed to you."

It was only then she noticed the commotion around Millar's car. "What's going on over there? You haven't been up to your old tricks have you?"

Taylor looked offended. "No. Someone took his car apart. I don't think I could manage that!"

Patricia unlocked the car, and held the passenger door open for Taylor. "In you get. You'll see Jared tomorrow." She didn't get in just yet though, instead she went over to check the vandalised car. Curiosity satisfied, she returned to Taylor. "Must of been some of the students who are leaving this year." She informed her daughter before starting the car. "You'd be surprised by some of the things they can get up to."

"It was impressive." Taylor stated.

"Never mind that. Is your report card going to be good, or are you going to have to go into hiding?"

Taylor shrugged. Her report was the last thing on her mind right now, Millar's expression was something she'd never forget. "No idea, but you know I did try. If it sucks though I'm sure Abby would let me go live with her."