Taking advantage of the fact that she had stopped anyway, she dropped a call to the motel to check whether Tony and Abby had left already. Sure enough, that was the case. At least that problem seemed to be solved. For now if nothing else. The next call was to our favorite murderous psychopath.

"Who is this?" Klaus grumpily answered. He had never given his number to her, but she had ways of finding out. Perks of being a federal agent. She had searched the info while she was finishing her report on the case. Her caller ID was blocked though, so no wonder he was so crabby. Telemarketers used such methods usually.

"Good morning to you too," Bella answered in an overplayed sickly sweet tone.

"Bella, love," he murmured immediately, obviously pleased by the turn of events. "Dare I ask how you found out my number?"

"Try for a burner phone if you truly don't want to be found instead of having a contract with your service provider," she chuckled. Why the hell am I giving him advice on evading the law?

"Duly noted," the original replied amusedly. "What do I owe this pleasure to?"

"NCIS has left. Hopefully, I have squashed any suspicions our forensic scientist might have had. So congratulations, you are off the hook." Her stomach twisted uncomfortably, now that the full weight of the outcome her compulsion actually meant dawned on her.

Yes, it was tampering with evidence. Yes, she had just helped a mass murderer evade the law. Not that he would have ever faced those charges, he could just flee, or compel his way out. Or worse, murder his way out. But her main agenda was keeping the supernatural hidden. Cognitive dissonance be damned, she had accomplished just that.

"Thank you, darling. That was fast work. I'm impressed," the werewolf hybrid praised in a fond tone.

"I didn't do it for you," Bella sighed. "Look, about what we discussed last night. I might be able to transfer to New Orleans, but I have some conditions. I won't be living with you, nor will I be seen in public with you. I will continue to do my job as an NCIS agent. I am not to be used in your schemes. You are to be fully honest with me regarding anything that you might be planning that involves me, and I have the right to refuse to participate. My friends and family are not bargaining chips. Keep NCIS and authorities in general away from finding any evidence of your activities. I'll not be covering your ass next time. Any failure to play by my rules, I'll disappear, and you won't be able to find me. Ever. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," he replied, not so elatedly anymore. He probably wasn't used to other people making the demands.

"Good. I'll let you know when I'm ready to move. Have a good day, Klaus." And with that, she hung up.

"Was that Isabella?" Elijah entered the room Niklaus was standing in, looking at his phone in disbelief.

"She prefers Bella," the younger Mikaelson corrected him as he flipped his phone around in his hand, deep in thought about something.

"Will she be joining us?" the original inquired, dressed impeccably as ever, even at this early hour.

"So it seems. Although not exactly how I imagined," Klaus furrowed his brows.

"The 'date' didn't go well I take it," his brother guessed with a knowing smile.

"Could have been worse," Nik shrugged, slinging his leather jacket over his shoulder in preparation for leaving. She could have fully refused him. But now at least she would be close to him, in the same city. In proximity to find out more about her. "You were right though."

"I usually am. Regarding what this time?" Elijah mused aloud mirthfully. Rarely did Klaus acknowledge his insights.

"The vervain. She is not on it," the werewolf hybrid affirmed contemplatively.

"And how did you manage to ascertain that piece of information? I wouldn't imagine Miss Swan divulging something like that easily," the older Mikaelson pointed out the obvious trust issues they were having.

"She hides her emotions well, but there was a hint of relief and elation in her eyes when she thought that I assumed this was the reason behind her resistance to my compulsion. Not to mention that I couldn't get into her mind even when touching her," Klaus elaborated on how he came to deduce the nature of Bella's secret.

"Interesting. A stronger mind than ours? Maybe a unique gift. A mental shield of some sorts?" Elijah theorized, suddenly becoming even more interested in the new hybrid.

"I still don't understand what's so special about her," Rebekah interrupted from the doorway, her arms crossed and a defiant pout on her lips.

"All in due time my dear sister, all in due time," he smirked at her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he passed by her. "Get everything ready for heading back to New Orleans."

He raised his cellphone to his ear to make a call of his own. The French Quarter Coven might be able to tell him something about this ability of hers.

That was some gutsy move, Bella thought as she stared at her phone. Did she really just boss the original werewolf hybrid around? Anyway, it was time to put on another show to follow through with that plan. Time to call Gibbs. For this, she switched her work phone back on.

"What is it, Swan?" her boss picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Boss, were you aware that Abby and DiNozzo drove down to Mystic Falls last night?" the female agent tentatively began.

"No, but that explains why they aren't in yet," Jethro huffed in his usual gruff manner.

Bella checked the time on her phone, it was 9:01. Being a few minutes late wasn't that much of a deal usually, they should have been arriving any minute now if the lady at the inn's reception was to be believed that they left at 7 AM.

"Yeah, it seems Abby just couldn't bear not having a toast with me on my birthday," Bella nervously laughed, all part of the act. "But that's not why I'm calling. It's about DiNozzo."

"I'm listening," he said impatiently after a few moments of silence that she deliberately allowed for tension building and to establish her hesitancy at saying what she was about to say.

"I think it wouldn't be prudent for us to work on the same team anymore," the brunette stated with regret in her voice. "I'd like to request a transfer for myself. Preferably to New Orleans if that can be arranged."

"What did DiNozzo do?" Gibbs asked immediately. That made her raise her brow. So he had noticed that Tony had feelings for her. Even better. This should be easy then.

"Look, I don't want to cause trouble for him. It's just my personal code and one of your rules too to not date co-workers. After last night, I think it would be a bit awkward in the off," she deliberately backpedaled.

"Don't make me ask again, what did he do?" the team leader pushed on in a non-negotiable manner.

"He kissed me, I slapped him on the face for it. But in his defense, he did have a few drinks with my ex before that, so I'm not sure he was totally in control," Bella came out with it after a sigh. She felt as if she was talking to her father. Now she feared a bit for what might be coming for DiNozzo. Fathers rarely left matters alone if they believed their daughters were violated in some way.

Heavy exhale on the other end of the line. "I'll see what I can do about your transfer."

"Thank you, and seriously I don't want to cause any problems for Tony," the female agent reasserted. Right then, in the background on the other end of the line, the elevator chime could be heard indicating that it arrived on the floor where Gibbs was, probably the bullpen based on the general chatter and noise.

"I'll get back to you. Keep your damned phone on this time," the pepper-haired man warned her, clearly wanting to hang up, probably to deal with Tony who must have entered.

"Sure, Boss, sorry. The battery died on me yesterday," she reiterated that lame excuse apologetically before he hung up on her.

"DiNozzo! With me," Jethro roared in that tone of his that was intimidating even though he wasn't shouting.

McGee just watched in wide-eyed surprise, having no idea what the boss's problem might be. But it must have been bad. And the still somewhat red patch on Tony's cheek didn't evade his attention either.

Gibbs led the senior field agent back to the elevator and pushed for the basement where Abby's lab was located, then stopped the elevator between floors. He stared intently at Tony. Classic Gibbs move.

"I take it Bella had called already," the usually easygoing agent flinched guiltily. There was no point in trying to hide the events of last night, however embarrassing they were.

"Damn sure she did. What were you thinking?" the team leader slapped him across the back of his head.

"Clearly, I wasn't," Tony rubbed the spot. It was a harder hit than usual.

"I warned you," Gibbs reminded him.

"Yes, you did Boss. I have no excuses," he sighed, taking full responsibility for his actions.

"Excuses for what? Tell me in your own words what happened," Jethro requested. Important to have both sides of the story.

"I drank a bit too much, kissed her on the mouth, got slapped really hard for making a move on her," the senior field agent admitted.

"Consider yourself lucky that she doesn't want to file an official complaint for sexual harassment in the workplace," his boss huffed angrily. HR would have had a field day with that. This was so not like the DiNozzo he knew. Or maybe yes. The undercover business with Jeanne Benoit was clearly blurring the lines. And he was a massive flirt with most female agents, Ziva especially. And look where that ended up.

"She doesn't?" DiNozzo snapped his head up in surprise. He thought his career was honestly done for.

"No, but because of you, I'm still one good agent down in the team," Gibbs pushed the emergency stop again and let the elevator descend. Once on the lab's floor, he spoke again.

"Go back upstairs and do your work quietly until I sort this out," he ordered. There was no use further discussing the matter.

Tony complied without any other words. The team leader entered Abby's lab. Time to ask the one possible witness.

"Gibbs, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked Tony to take me to Mystic Falls," the forensic scientist started off, clearly distraught that her actions had such consequences.

"Not your fault, Abbs. What happened?" Jethro inquired in a softer tone.

"I didn't actually see it, I went to the bathroom then came rushing out when Bella called, clearly shaken up, but Tony was already gone," the Goth girl shook her head.

He said, she said situation then, but since they were saying the same thing there was nothing he could do about it.

"Any progress on our mystery samples?" he asked instead.

"Yes… no… there's nothing Danny could tell me about verbena that I couldn't find out on my own. The DNA evidence is contaminated too, there's nothing I can do with that. If I had to guess at what happened, a wolf wandered into town and slobbered around the corpse, but was chased off before it could munch on the remains," she admitted, ashamed again at her failure to deliver answers.

"It's alright, Abby. You tried. Good work," the case was officially closed anyway, but he wasn't the kind to let loose ends untied.

Now he had a trip to the director's office to try and sell Swan's transfer without implicating DiNozzo. But first, a call to Dwayne to see if he had any objections to a new addition to his team.

"Jethro!" Agent Pride picked up almost immediately. "What's up?"

"King, I have a favor to ask," Gibbs began in a serious tone as he got back into the elevator.

"Uh-huh. I don't like the sound of that," Dwayne picked up on the mood immediately, despite the fact that Jethro was always brusque in manner, no matter his mood.

"Wondering if you are ready for a new addition to your team?" his friend got the main topic immediately. He wasn't known for small talk, that's for sure.

"Who are we talking about exactly?" the New Orleans team leader inquired before agreeing to anything.

"Bella Swan," Jethro told him the name.

"Isn't she on your team?" Pride confusedly wondered. She was relatively new to NCIS, so they hadn't had the chance to personally meet yet, only through the MTAC video feed.

"She is," he confirmed.

"Then why are you transferring her?" Dwayne's bafflement was growing by the minute.

"Conflict of interest," Gibbs replied cryptically. He trusted his buddy – that wasn't the problem – but he wanted to give Swan a clean slate if she was going to start fresh, and since there wouldn't be anything official on either her or DiNozzo's file why potentially play into the rumor mill by revealing their encounter. Even the walls had ears around here.

"Is she going to be a problem case?" the Supervisory Special Agent was hard to fool though, so he guessed that there was something more going on in the background. Except he thought it was work related.

"Not at all. One of the best agents I had worked with. Focused. Efficient. A miracle worker really," he never said such praises to her face, but they were all true. She had one of the best solved case ratio in the agency.

"Why are you getting rid of her then?" Fair question, and if it were up to him he wouldn't have let go of the girl that's for sure.

"Her choice, not mine," Jethro curtly replied.

"You are not going to tell me more, are you?" Agent Pride sighed on the other end of the line.

"No," Jethro shook his head even though he knew his friend couldn't see it.

"Director knows already?" Dwayne asked after another sigh, giving up on getting more information.

"On my way there, just wanted to clear it with you first," the Major Case Response Team leader revealed. This was more of a courtesy call. If Vance issued the order, New Orleans would have to take her anyway.

"Alright. Fine with me. Brody could use a bit more of female company anyway," Pride conceded after a few moments.

"I owe you one," Gibbs told him a friendlier tone as he got off on the bullpen floor. Both McGee and DiNozzo looked up at him curiously as he headed for the stairs leading up to the director's office.

"Yeah, yeah. Consider us even. I'm sure you had a couple of favors to call in with me anyway," he laughed before hanging up.

The pepper-haired man strutted into the outer office, where Vance's assistant was sitting, gesturing to the door to inquire if the director was free at the moment. She motioned for him to go right in.

Leon was on the phone and held up a finger for him to wait a second.

"No, I told you to clear it with SecNav first. Get back to me afterward. Bye," the director told whoever was on the other end sternly before hanging up. "Gibbs. What can I do for you?"

"I need a transfer order for Agent Swan to New Orleans," he broached the subject right away.

"What going on here?" Vance furrowed his brows. In the last few years she had been an exemplary agent, but in the span of one week, she had asked for an extended leave and now a transfer too?

"Personal reasons," was all the team leader said.

"The same ones that had her taking a week off?" the director inquired with a raised brow.

"Yes," Gibbs lied. Great excuse, handed to him on a silver platter.

If he remembered correctly, there was something about a friend of hers having died in recent years. But it also made him wonder whether they were really somehow connected. She did go back to the town of their crime scene and even though she had lived there previously his sixth sense was telling him that something fishy was going on here. More importantly, why did DiNozzo and Abby make the drive down there? Birthday wishes so urgent? Her being unreachable? Something wasn't adding up.

"Pride's aware?" Vance asked after a few seconds of deliberation.

"Just called him. He has no problems with it," Jethro smirked knowingly, snapping out of his thoughts. It's all about the connections.

"Fine. Consider it done. Starting next Monday after her leave is fine with her?" Leon queried for the details so that he could prepare said orders.

"I'm sure that's fine," the team leader shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He hadn't asked her previously but a week should be enough to arrange the move.

"Sorry to see her go," Vance gruffly commented.

"Well, at least she isn't leaving the agency," Gibbs reposed as he made his way towards the door.

"Lucky us," the director laughed out, already typing the instructions to his assistant for the paperwork to be prepared for him to sign.

The team leader jogged down to his team with haste, going up to McGee's desk.

"Get me everything. Absolutely everything you can get on Swan. Also track her phone now. Do it quietly, and only report to me," he instructed in a whisper, making sure that Tony couldn't hear them. He was already too involved in whatever was going on.

"Sure, Boss," Tim replied, having learned long ago not to ask questions. Many things were strictly on a need to know basis at NCIS, and if Gibbs deemed it necessary, he would have given further explanations.

Jethro wasn't sure what Bella got herself into but sure as hell he wasn't going to leave her behind, even if she didn't ask for help. For now, it was reconnaissance time. And to call her about her orders.

Meanwhile, Bella decided to give a call to her dad too, to make sure he was okay, and maybe get some further details on his visitor. He was surely pissed as hell in her stead, even after all these years. And it was about time for some family talk anyway, it's been a good three months since she last called.

"Chief Swan," he picked the phone up brusquely.

The vampire hated that she couldn't give her private number to him, but knowing Renée, she would bully it out of him the first chance she got if she learned that he knew and the agent really couldn't afford to have her constantly calling her. Her mother had a strange idea about the meaning of "emergencies."

"Hey, Dad…" she began, suddenly feeling like a teenager again.

"Bells! I assume Jake has gotten hold of you already..." the police chief of Forks went from elated at hearing his daughter's voice to humorless in a fraction of a second.

"Yeah, he told me. You are not getting yourself too worked up, are you? You know you gotta watch your blood pressure," Bella teased in an attempt to lighten her own mood too.

"That bastard has some balls asking about you after six years of radio silence," Charlie remarked with a grunt.

"Yeah about that. What did he want?" she inquired. Details were crucial. Not that Charlie would be able to tell her anything about why he was asking about her now. Too perfectly timed to be a coincidence.

"He came to the station early this morning. Wanted to know if you were still living in town. Apparently, he had tried the house, but since neither you nor your truck was there, he wasn't sure. I told him you moved away long ago."

Surely Edward could tell even from the outside that her scent had been gone from the place for years.

"He asked to where. Said it was none of his business and to get lost," Chief Swan told her with a laugh. He must have been pleased with himself at the way he handled it. Bella could just imagine the intense urge he must have felt to pull his gun on him.

"Thanks, Dad," the vampire smiled too, despite the fact that no doubt her dad must have been thinking about D.C. when he told Edward off.

But her place of employment might have been hidden still so it would take him a long time to figure out that she had moved on from there to New Orleans. She was on a tight schedule though. A flight from Seattle could take him to D.C. in about five hours. Maybe another to catch her scent in town. Would he even recognize her new scent? How much did vampirism mask of that? Was he aware? Probably not. But fortunately, that would have to wait till nightfall on his side, since it was currently sunny in this part of the States, while she wasn't restricted in such ways. Who knew, he might not be able to risk the airport at Seattle either. She didn't know what kind of weather they were having up there.

"No problem, kiddo. He also asked if you visited often. I told him the truth," he revealed with a bit of sadness etched in his voice.

"I'm sorry. I know you would love to see and hear from me more, but the job is…" the agent began to apologize and explain, but she was cut off.

"Believe me, I understand. Don't stress about it," her dad waved off her concerns. He was a workaholic too, but that was more due to the fact that he never got over Renée.

"Did he say if they were moving back?" Bella inquired further.

"Why?" Charlie warily asked.

"Don't worry I'm not going to come looking for him and running back into his arms. I just need to know so that I could avoid him," the girl chuckled amusedly at his fatherly protectiveness, despite the tightness in her chest. His worries weren't that farfetched. No, she told herself firmly. She had decided this already. The knowledge of his whereabouts shouldn't matter. And besides, there was practically no chance of this happening. They looked too young and too little time had passed.

"I asked whether Dr. Cullen would be gracing our hospital again and it was a definite no," the chief revealed after a second as he relaxed that his daughter wouldn't be making the mistake of taking someone back who had mistreated her so badly.

"Okay, thanks. Sorry, but I really need to get going," the agent cut the conversation short. She had another Cullen to attend to at the moment.

"Alright. Try to call your old man a bit more often, will ya?" he requested with a laugh, but Bella could tell that he really missed her.

"I'll try. Love you," she replied without promising anything.

"Love you too," her dad repeated then hung up the phone.

She pondered briefly on calling Renée but decided she didn't have time for that, especially since her mom would insist on an hour-long phone call once they started.

Just out of precaution she continued on running at a pace that could be mistaken for a crossover car on the terrain. Call it paranoia, but she knew Gibbs was hard to fool and things had been going too smoothly.

And speaking of the devil, her work phone started to ring. Jethro Gibbs.

"Hey, Boss!" she picked up after stopping again because there wasn't an engine noise to match the swishing of the wind caused by her speed.

"Next Monday report to Agent Pride in New Orleans," he relayed her orders to her.

"Great, thank you again," Bella sighed in relief.

"Where are you by the way?" Gibbs asked nonchalantly, but that put the vampire on high alert instantly. Unbeknownst to her McGee was triangulating the call.

"Just west of Charlottesville. A few friends of mine wanted to hike around the reservoir. Why?" the vampire replied with the truth – sort of – just to play it safe.

She was almost at the site where she had agreed to meet Jasper anyway. She couldn't hear him yet, but he might as well have since talking was a lot louder than just standing in one place.

"Just didn't sound like a city," the team leader told her.

The ambient sounds of birds and the wind might have been a giveaway, Bella agreed inwardly. Still, it was weird that the older agent would inquire about things like this. He usually respected her privacy.

"No, it's not," she affirmed. Her paranoia didn't seem so unjustified anymore. She tried to listen for indications that he might have suspected something about her, but he was very calm. In the background, the only thing she could hear was nondescript chatter and keyboard typing. Nothing out of place.

"Anyway try to get some rest on your time off before reporting for duty," Jethro said finally when on the screen his agent's location popped up, and it was right where she said she would be.

"Sure thing, Boss," Bella complied with his wishes in words, but she knew that there were a lot more things to take care of. Rest was not in the cards for her for a while.

"Not your boss anymore." And with that, he hung up.

McGee regarded his boss tentatively after the phone call. He still didn't know why he had to stalk his own teammate, not to mention that New Orleans was mentioned and Gibbs clearly told her that he wasn't her boss anymore.

"Is Bella transferring?" Tim asked, risking the question even if it meant a head slap or scolding.

"Yes, it should be official in a few days," the team leader affirmed as he made his way back to his desk. "Keep doing your task."

The computer whiz agent instinctively glanced towards Tony who had his eyes trained intently on his screen, as if sensing that somehow this sudden team rearrangement was due to him, but no one said anything to confirm or deny his suspicions. McGee returned to the job at hand with a sigh and continued to dig every possible thing about his co-worker up.

Bella's face was still in a scowl two minutes after the end of that call with Gibbs. Something didn't feel right. And she couldn't risk having her phone off anymore, especially not removing the battery as she did earlier so that she couldn't be spied on.

The agent decided to stash her phone in a hollow tree a hundred yards from the shore of the reservoir. If it rang she would still be able to hear it, but it was far away enough that no conversation should be picked up by the microphone if it was turned on remotely. Who knew what topics would be touched on with Jasper? On second thought she turned the ringtone to music on her other phone too and left it at the same site. Just in case. Tony and Abby were aware that she had a second phone even if they didn't know the number. Should have erased that knowledge too, but too late for that now.

The agent walked the rest of the distance at normal speed, keeping a lookout for the Texan cold one. She heard rapid footsteps from her right, and suddenly something crashed into her at full speed, hugging her tightly around the neck.

"Finally you are here, Bella!" a delighted high-pitched female voice exclaimed, chiming like a hundred little bells.

Of all the things, what was Alice Cullen doing here?