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

Chapter 19

When Patricia returned after dealing with Taylor she found Vicky curled up at the end of the couch, still visibly upset.

"She hates me, doesn't she?" Vicky whispered.

Patricia sat down beside her and took her hand. "She doesn't hate you Vicky. Taylor tends to see things in black or white. It's just that sometimes she gets confused. She'll figure it out eventually."

"You mean if she doesn't kill me first."

She squeezed the girl's hand. "Come on, she's not that bad, besides she'll settle down when your uncle Jethro gets here."

Vicky groaned. "Something else to look forward to."

"What do you mean? I thought you liked your uncle."

"I do, but Taylor told me what he's gonna do to me for getting into trouble." Vicky freed her hand and picked up a cushion, hugging it tightly.

"Oh she did, did she?" It was a pretty safe bet that whatever she'd said it wasn't out of concern for her cousin.

Vicky nodded.

It sounded as if she was going to have to keep a closer eye on little miss Taylor. "And just what did she tell you he was going to do?"

Blushing, Vicky shrugged. "Strap me hard enough to leave welts, the way he did to her for taking drugs."

Patricia was shocked. "And you believed that?"

"Well, yeah. She wanted to show me the welts, she said they were still there even after all that time."

"Vicky, Jethro might of used the strap, but he would never hit her that hard and he certainly wouldn't have left her with bruises. She was just trying to scare you. Besides, he's not angry with you. He might have been when he found out what you were up to, but that was only because you could have ended up getting hurt. Your uncle knows you did what you did for the right reasons, and it's not exactly something you'll do again.

"So I'm not in trouble?" Vicky looked as if she was about to cry.

Moving closer Patricia put her arm around the girl's shoulders. "No you're not in trouble, so stop worrying."

Vicky managed a small grin. "Should have called her bluff on the welts. How'd she know I wouldn't check?"

"She didn't. Taylor doesn't think that far ahead." She stood up. "I'll go and have a word with her now."

"NO!'" Vicky sat upright. "Aunt Patricia, that'll only make it worse if I get her into trouble. Please, just leave it."

She thought for a few moments. Even though she'd like to do nothing more than to set Taylor straight on a few things, Vicky was probably right. Hopefully after a good night's sleep Taylor's attitude towards her cousin would have improved, and if not she could always let Jethro step in. He should be able to convince her to get her act together pretty quickly.

Finally Patricia nodded. "Okay, I'll leave it for now." Time for a change of subject, Vicky needed cheered up. "So how was Patrick?"

o

Going to bed early for Taylor was torture. There wasn't much of a chance that she was actually going to fall asleep, and it wouldn't help knowing that her dad would be showing up soon. She tried lying on her back, but that was no good, so she switched to her side. Then the other one, before flipping over onto her stomach and then onto her back again. Nothing was going to work. Taylor kicked the quilt off in a small fit of temper. It wasn't fair expectin' someone to sleep this early. Climbing out of bed she made her way over to the window and peeked through the curtains. It was still bright out there, and although there weren't many people around Taylor was certain she could have found something to occupy herself. Letting the curtain fall back into place she padded to the door and opened it, just enough to listen. Taylor could hear canned laughter coming from the TV. They were probably all down there watching something good while she was going out of her mind with boredom. Opening the door further she slipped out and tiptoed over to the stairs. Taylor stood there for a couple of seconds, trying to listen before sitting down on the top step. This position didn't keep her happy for long, and before she knew it Taylor was hovering just outside the open living room door, where she could just about see the TV. Her grandpa was in his chair, hidden by a newspaper, while Vicky and her mom were snuggled up together on the couch, watching the small screen. A sharp pang of jealously caught Taylor off guard. Vicky was sitting where she should be, and she glared at the back of her cousin's head. Unfortunately her mom must have had some sort of built in 'glare radar' because she immediately sat up straight and looked behind her.

"You're supposed to be in bed." Her mom told her as if she'd forgotten where she should be.

Her grandpa lowered his paper and peered over his glasses at her.

"It's too early, I can't sleep." Encouraged by the fact that she hadn't been escorted straight up the stairs, swatted, and put back into bed, which is exactly what her dad would of done, Taylor edged right up to the back of the couch.

"Go back to bed Taylor, now."

"But I'm not tired." She whined, eyes drifting away from her mom, towards the TV screen. The distraction proved to be a costly mistake. Taylor yelped in surprise as a hand made contact with her butt. She stared at her mom, not quite sure how she'd managed to move so quickly from where she'd been sitting. Taylor took a precautionary step back. "You don't need to get violent!" She protested, more at the indignity of being smacked in front of Vicky than the fact that it hurt.

Patricia didn't seem to be open to any suggestions right now. "Last chance Taylor." She warned.

Taylor nervously glanced at her cousin as she tried to figure out just what her mom was threatening her with. It only clicked when Patricia shrugged and turned towards the kitchen. Taylor wasted no time hightailing it up the stairs and throwing herself into bed. She didn't care what Vicky thought of her backing down, she was not going to risk being anywhere near that wooden spoon.

o

It was early and Patricia and Vicky were both still sound asleep as Taylor raided the kitchen. She wanted to avoid everyone, including her dad when he showed up so she had no intention of coming back for lunch. Reaching for the door handle Taylor almost made a clean getaway. Almost!

"Just where do you think you're sneaking off to?" Her grandfather demanded.

"Not sneakin' anywhere grandpa, just goin' out."

"Does your mom know?"

Taylor tried hard to keep her temper under control. She suspected that her grandpa had been itchin' to get his hands on her since the fight with Vicky. "She's still in bed, and I'm not grounded anymore."

Knocking from the store distracted both of them.

"That'll be the papers." He seemed reluctant to leave her, but didn't have a choice. "You can't go anywhere without letting your mom know."

Taylor didn't speak, but she did move away from the door. He must have been confident enough that she wasn't going anywhere, because he went through to the store to check the delivery.

As soon as her grandfather was out of the room Taylor grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from one of the drawers and scrawled a note. 'MOM, GONE OUT – BACK AT DINNER. TAYLOR'. Folding it in half she set it right in the middle of the table where her mom couldn't miss it. There! Now she would know. Pleased that the problem was so easily solved, Taylor slipped quietly out the back door with her bag of supplies and twelve hours of freedom stretching out in front of her.

o

When Taylor returned at dinnertime she was disappointed that her dad hadn't arrived yet. Not that she wanted to see him, she was still pissed with him about what he'd done to DJ, but she had been hoping that the whole confrontation thing with Vicky about the phone call would be over and done with by now. Her grandpa wasn't very happy either, about her taking off earlier and seemed to have quite a lot to say about the matter. Taylor 'tuned him out' as she picked at the food on her plate and studied her cousin carefully. Vicky didn't look worried anymore, and according to her 'freak Vicky out' plan she should be. Maybe she'd missed something, being away all day, or Vicky had forgotten she was in trouble.

"Dad still comin' today?" She directed the question at her mom, momentarily forgetting that her grandpa was still lecturing her.

"Taylor! Are you listening to me?" Her grandfather barked at her.

Now she remembered. "What else did you want me to do? I left a note didn't I?" She mumbled back, more interested in her mom's answer and Vicky's subsequent reaction to it.

"He should be here soon Taylor, and don't speak to your grandpa like that!"

Vicky's expression didn't change, she wasn't stressed out or worried anymore. Not good. She needed her to look guilty, or at least worried. Now her dad would take one look at Vicky and know she had do idea what was going on. Then he would turn his attention to suspect number two, her, and the guilt would be written all over her face. There was nothing else for it. She was going to have to risk winding her up again.

Taylor kicked her under the table to get her attention. Perhaps a little too hard, but she didn't cry out. "What are you lookin' so happy about?" She backed up the question with one of her best threatening glares. "Send someone else to jail today, did ya?"

"TAYLOR!" Both her mom and grandpa warned at the same time.

Satisfied Vicky was upset again, Taylor's appetite returned, and ignoring the angry looks being aimed in her direction, speared a piece of chicken with her fork.

o

Figuring she'd pushed her luck enough for one day Taylor started the washing up without having to be reminded that it was her turn. Vicky didn't hang around for long once she'd finished eating, not that she'd ended up eating much after Taylor's outburst.

Facing the sink Taylor didn't see her grandpa leave, but she heard him follow Vicky, and hoped he wasn't going to try and make her feel better. She waited for her mom to leave too, but that didn't happen and Taylor could feel her eyes boring into her back. Her mom was pissed again. Jeez, it didn't take much these days to make her mad.

"It stops now Taylor. Do I make myself clear?"

Taylor rinsed the bubbles off a plate and stacked it in the drainer, before fishing through the water for another one. "What stops?"

When Patricia answered it was from right behind her. "The way you're treating your cousin for a start."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me Taylor. I know you've been trying to scare her and make her think she's in trouble."

Taylor tensed, but didn't deny anything. At least that explained why Vicky hadn't looked worried tonight. That girl couldn't keep her big mouth shut.

"As for your attitude, if there's not a drastic improvement you're going to end up spending an awful lot of time indoors, and the way you're pushing him, your grandpa will make sure you have sore backside to remind you why you're there."

The last of the soapy water gurgled down the plughole, and Taylor reached for the towel to dry her hands before turning.

Patricia was blocking her line of retreat, and cupped Taylor's chin in her hand gently tipping her head up to make eye contact. "I think it's about time you apologized."

"To who?" Taylor freed her chin with a shake of her head.

"Vicky and your grandpa." She stated, as if it was a perfectly reasonable request.

It was not. Vicky deserved everything she got, and as for her grandfather, if he'd just leave her the hell alone everything would be fine. Folding her arms she stared defiantly at her mom. "No way."

Patricia didn't lose her temper, or try to argue with her. "That's your decision. If you don't want to apologize you can just go on up to bed."

Taylor did not want to go to bed early again, but she wanted to apologize even less. Without saying another word she left her mom standing in the kitchen and stalked up to her room. Not bothering to brush her teeth, they could fall out for all she cared, Taylor pulled on her pyjamas and slipped under her quilt. At least after her early start she was actually tired this time. She closed her eyes. Hopefully when she woke up in the morning Vicky would be the one in trouble, and she would be out of here early enough this time to avoid everyone.

o

Gibbs arrived about an hour after Taylor had taken herself off to bed. He received a warm welcome from everyone, but it was Vicky's reception combined with his daughter's absence that interested him.

The smile she gave him was genuine and Vicky didn't seem to be the least bit worried by his appearance. Sighing he went to fetch himself some coffee. As usual this wasn't as simple as he'd thought it was..

He took a few hasty gulps, burning his mouth in the process, before settling on the arm of the couch beside his wife.

"Where's Taylor?" He asked, still clinging to the hope there was a perfectly innocent explanation behind the fact she was missing.

"Bed." Patricia replied before whispering something about hot chocolate into Vicky's ear. There went that small hope. No one spoke until they heard the kitchen door closing behind Vicky.

"I take it she didn't just fancy an early night. What'd she do this time?"

Jack couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "That girl is out of control Leroy. She's wilful, disobedient, she's ….. she's …" He shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. He was trying not to lose his temper completely. "I'll go and give Vicky a hand."

"Has she been that bad?" He hadn't seen his father that worked up in quite a while.

"She's really managed to get under his skin today, but it's her attitude towards Vicky I'm more worried about."

By the time Patricia had finished relating Taylor's exploits, and he in turn explained about the phone call, Jethro's coffee was cold. He needed a refill, and a chat with his niece.

o

He found Vicky in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate with Jack. "Can you give us a few minutes dad?"

Jethro poured more coffee before sitting down opposite her.

He cut straight to the chase. "Did you use you mobile yesterday to warn DJ about the investigation?"

Both her expression and her body language told him immediately that she hadn't, but she didn't answer. He could almost see the cogs turning in Vicky's head as she realised what Taylor had done.

"Yes."

He didn't believe her.

"You did, did you?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Vicky nodded, secretly hoping that if she took the rap Taylor would finally forgive her.

"Okay. I just need to ask you a few more questions then."

Now she looked worried. "Am I under arrest?"

"You interfered with a criminal investigation didn't you? That's illegal."

"Oh." Vicky chewed nervously on her lip, but didn't retract her confession.

"Who answered the phone?"

"Huh?"

"Who answered the phone Vicky?"

"DJ."

Vicky lowered her eyes to the table, as he stared her out.

"I don't think Taylor deserves your loyalty right now, do you?"

She looked up, surprised.

"I know it was Taylor. DJ didn't answer the phone, I did."

"Sorry."

"I don't think taking the blame for something you didn't do is going to fix anything."

"I just don't want her to hate me anymore." She stared at the last marshmallow floating in her hot chocolate.

"Just give it a bit more time Vicky, that's all you can do. Taylor's the one in the wrong, not you. Just try not to worry about it." He nodded towards the living room. "The movie's about to start, you I'm sure you want to miss the start."

With yet another sigh he made his way upstairs to check on his daughter. Jethro found her fast asleep, on her stomach, one leg hanging off the edge of the bed. It couldn't be comfortable, but she was definitely out for the count and was proving the popular theory that the guilty sleep. It was hard to understand how she could look so innocent while sleeping and yet be such a brat when she was awake. Gently he lifted her leg back onto the mattress before taking a seat on Vicky's bed and watching her for a few moments. He'd missed her, even though she could be a right royal pain in the ass at times. Tomorrow was not going to be an easy day for either of them.