Sorry it took so long to update this, but I've been working a new job and moving, so life has been busy. I've already started on the next chapter, so I hope to post chapter 19 faster then this one.

Enjoy!

Chapter 18:

"Mom?" Caitie's voice made Jenny start forward. The teenager moved to let Jenny in and Jenny heard the door close behind her as she wrapped her daughter in her arms. Both of them sighed, relaxing; the stress of being without each other finally lifted.

"Momma, I thought you died." Caitie whispered.

"I had to fake my death Caitie." Jenny whispered. "I didn't have a choice."

"What happened?" Caitie asked, pulling back, Jenny brushed the tears from her daughter's cheeks and she guided Caitie to Jethro's couch, she could see bits and pieces of Caitie's stuff around the house, a coat hanging on a door handle, a girly magazine on the coffee table. There were even a couple of pillows on an empty spot on the floor, along with a book; a self-made reading nook for her book loving daughter.

"Let me tell you what happened and if you have any questions afterwards, you can ask them." Jenny said quietly, feeling, more than seeing Jethro lean up against a wall, listening in on their conversation. She could also sense someone in the kitchen, but Jethro's guard was down so she trusted his judgment.

"When you were a couple of years old and we were living in Egypt, I had a case, I can't tell you much about it but there were men who were bombing schools and my team and I went undercover and took him down and made sure he couldn't hurt anyone else again. I thought that everything had been taken care of, and closed the case. Years later, when I was director, I found out that not everything had been taken care of like I'd thought and that my cover had been blown and that the man I'd killed in Egypt, his son had found out who I was and where I was living. He was going to finish his father's work and make sure no one stood in his way to do so. I stood in his way."

"What happened?"

"I started to prepare to go undercover and SecNav, the Secretary of the Navy," she quickly explained, "My boss and I talked and we decided that since my cover had been blown, I needed to go back undercover, but since my previous cover had been blown I was ordered to fake my death. If the bad guy thought I was still alive, then anyone close to me would be in danger."

"So you pretended to die so that Dad and I could stay safe." Caitie realized.

"Yes." Jenny said, she caressed Caitie's hair and the girl yawned, Jenny pulled the girl into her arms and kept talking. "I was originally going to get sick with ALS, but before I could 'die' from that, the opportunity came to be shot and SecNav took that chance and had me declared dead and after I healed I went to my undercover position."

"Why'd it take so long Mom?" Caitie asked.

"Why did what take so long?" Jenny asked, needing clarification before she answered Caitie's question.

"Coming back."

"Because it took this long to get the bad guy." Jenny whispered, pain coursing through her tone. "I'm sorry it took so long, I've missed you baby."

"I missed you too Momma."

"Well, when I was in LA, for a funeral I was involved in a shooting and I was..." there was a pause. "Injured." Jenny cleared her throat and kept talking, "I was knocked unconscious during my injury and I by the time I woke up, SecNav had already had me declared dead and my funeral was going to take place later that day." Jenny said. "I wanted to get word to you Caitie but that bad guy..."

"He would have hurt Daddy." Caitie said quietly, "you couldn't have suddenly come back until the bad guy was taken care of."

Jenny nodded and pressed a kiss to Caitie's hair. "Do you have any questions?"

Caitie shook her head, "not right now." she said.

Jethro cleared his throat and Jenny knew without even looking that her former lover did have questions. She nodded wordlessly telling him she'd be happy to answer them.

"Jethro," Jenny turned to the man who was still listening in on the conversation, "Where were my personal effects put?"

"The only personal effects that were found were your wallet and whatever was in your purse. They should be in evidence."

"I'm talking about my locket Jethro," Caitie suddenly sat up properly and turned to her mother, "and the other jewellery I was wearing that day, I had some earrings on too, they aren't in evidence." Jenny kept talking. "I was given everything this morning, they weren't in there."

"I never saw any of your jewellery Jen." Jethro said, taking a big sip of his coffee.

"Mom." Caitie said, "Were you with a man the day you died? A man with a mustache?"

Jenny looked at her daughter in amazement, "Yes, how did you know?"

"He gave me your jewellery Mom, and some stuff from the house before it burned." Caitie jumped up from the couch and then raced upstairs.

"Why do I get the feeling that there's more to your death then what you told Caitie?" Jethro asked, he wasn't trying to sound judgmental but he could feel in his gut that there was more to the story then what Jenny had told their daughter.

"Because there is, but I don't want Caitie to know everything just yet, she's too young to know everything."

Jethro nodded "I would like to know the entire story Jenny." He said quietly as he set a coffee cup down in front of her, she picked it up and took a sip, smiling faintly at the strength of the flavor.

"I'll be happy to tell you when we're in a safe room. I can't tell you more otherwise." Jenny said before sipping her coffee quietly as they heard Caitie running around upstairs, the 13 year old thundered down the stairs and burst into the living room a necklace dangling from her fingers.

"Here you go Mom." The joy in her daughter's voice made Jenny smile and she took the locket and opened it.

A paper she was unfamiliar with fell out and she set it aside to look at the pictures inside, she and Caitie smiled up from the left side of the locket and then to the picture of Jethro on the other side.

"What's that?" Caitie asked, pointing to the paper, Jenny shrugged, she had no idea, she hadn't put it there, but then Caitie's earlier statement registered.

"How did you know I was with Mike Franks, Caitie?"

Caitie shrugged, "I never knew his name, but he gave me your jewellery." she replied simply.

"What?" Both Jenny and Jethro spoke as Caitie's words registered.

"Okay, so after you died like, right around your funeral, this guy came to the house, he had your locket and some of your other jewellery." Caitie shrugged again, "He gave it to me and made me promise not to open the locket until I was twenty-one."

Jenny turned when Jethro moved and picked up the paper, he read it and then slipped it into his pocket. "It's for me," he said quietly. "It's a reminder of one of my rules."

Caitie's eyes lit up. "A new rule?" Her tone was eager. Jenny laughed as she realized that Caitie might be the only person in the world excited about Jethro's rules.

"Rule 52; always love the mother of your child."

"I've never heard a Rule in the 50's before!" Caitie sounded surprised.

"That's because those rules are used only in an emergency." Jethro said, quietly. He looked to Caitie then, she could hear the tightness in his voice as he spoke to her. "I need to speak with your mother alone, could you go help Grandpa with getting stuff ready for dinner?"

"Sure." Caitie jumped up and went into the kitchen. "Grandpa?" Her excited voice carried both into the kitchen and the living room "What are we having for dinner?"

"What is it?" Jenny knew Jethro wouldn't re-bring up the fact that he hadn't known about Caitie with her in the house. He was mad at her for that, but he wouldn't use it to poison Caitie against Jenny.

"Caitie's got to go to the doctor in a couple of days," he began; he quickly caught Jenny up on how much Caitie had been sleeping and then finished with, "Ducky's coming over tonight with some Pediatrician recommendations."

"She's getting old enough, it might be better for her to see on OBGYN instead." Jenny commented.

Jethro started at that information and she wondered if she'd gone too far by suggesting it. He had legal custody of Caitie, so it was really up to him what kind of doctor she saw. "I thought that OBGYN's were only for pregnancy and when you were sexually active." She could tell that Jethro didn't like the idea of his teenager being sexually active.

"She's almost old enough that she could get an abortion in Virginia without either of our permission, I think she should have both a general doctor for non-female stuff and an OBGYN for female stuff."

There was a pause. "That's a good idea."

"Is there anything else I need to know about Caitie?" Jenny asked, "Any trouble in school?"

"No trouble in school, but there's something I've noticed as I got to know her."

"What's that?"

"She's pretty damn near perfect."

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