As questions and thoughts were spilling into all of the agents' heads, the elevator doors opened and would answer one inquiry. Katie emerged with Dr. Donald Mallard on her arm. Gibbs smiled at his oldest. She nodded her head, listening to one of Ducky's fascinating stories. He used to send cassette tapes of his stories to the girls. It was how they fell asleep at night for years.

"Duck, I've heard this one before," Katie told him. "Ten times before."

The doctor feigned a hurt expression but knew she most likely had heard the story before. He was unsure if she had heard it ten times however. "Katie, my dear…you are too much like your father."

She laughed softly and patted him on the shoulder. "That's what they tell me, but you'll get over it, Duck," she finished, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

Jen shook her head softly and silently agreed with Ducky. If Lizzie had been on his arm, she would have listened to the story without ever letting on she had heard it before. The girls were similar but could be like night and day. To both her parents, Lizzie was like an egg...tough shell on the outside but soft on the inside once the shell was broken. Katie was the same way except she had always been tougher to break and kept things to herself at times. Both were guilty of keeping secrets just like their parents. In appearance, Katie's hair was longer almost to the middle of her back with blonde highlights throughout. Her eyes seemed to be more solidly green than Lizzie's mix of green and blue. She also spied DiNozzo at his desk and gave him a flirtatious smile until her father cleared his throat. The action was a strong warning to her, and she stared at him as he sat on the front of his desk.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Autopsy. Ducky gave me a tour over a cup of Earl Gray."

"You know how to show a girl a good time, dontcha Duck?" Gibbs asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Ducky chuckled and gave a short nod. "Yes, Jethro. You should learn from me."

Katie smirked and walked around her father's desk, making Lizzie scoot over who was sitting in the desk chair. Lizzie made room for her, and the two began talking quietly. The fact Ziva, McGee, and DiNozzo were watching them didn't bother the sisters.

"Who's who?" Katie whispered.

"That's Ziva," Lizzie said, pointing inconspicuously with the arm in the sling to her.

"She saved mom's life in…"

"Yes," Lizzie cut her off. Lizzie didn't care to think about the times her mother's life had been in danger or anyone having to save her from death. She felt the same way about her father which is why Jen hadn't told her girls about their father being in an explosion until he was out of the hospital and recovering. "Over there is McGee, and that's DiNozzo."

Katie nodded her head and sized up her father's team. She watched Ziva play with a pocketknife and knew she had been a trained killer because of her body language and handling of the weapon. She also thought of her father's rules. She heard Lizzie whisper, "Number 9…never go anywhere without a knife." She shared a look of amusement with her sister. One look at McGee told her he was a computer genius and definitely was not a trained killer. She almost laughed watching DiNozzo lean back in his chair and stretch. At first appearance, he seemed lazy and appeared as if he had nothing to offer the team. Katie watched him intently until she figured out he had the most experience of the team and street smarts. She didn't notice when Lizzie left the chair and walked over to their mother.

"What?" Jen asked, looking at her.

Lizzie said nothing and rested her head against her mother's shoulder. In response, Jen slipped her arm around her daughter's waist and kissed her forehead. She felt grateful that no matter how old they got they still wanted her comfort when hurt or sick especially Lizzie. "Want to go home?"

"You have work."

"Your father has more work than I do. I'll call it a day and go home to take care of you."

McGee watched the scene and smiled to himself. He had never imagined the Director being motherly or had thought of her as a mother. His view of her was changing rapidly. He wasn't taken aback by Ducky's interaction with the girls. Ducky was a dear old friend to both Gibbs and Director Shepard. Of course, Ducky would know about them. Little did McGee know, Ducky had been the one to inform Jenny she was expecting all those years ago. Ziva was having a conversation with Katie about knives. Jen hoped Ziva wouldn't tell her daughter anything she didn't already know. She switched her attention to DiNozzo who had been surprisingly quiet since Katie had come into the squad room. She knew his mind was racing with questions. After all, he was the senior field agent and had assumed he knew Gibbs the best.

"Tony?"

"Ma'am?" came his automatic response. He saved his case report and looked at her.

"I need a favor."

"Okay."

"An agent took Lizzie to the hospital in her car. It's here now, and she wants to go home. I'm going to call it a day and take her there. Could you make sure her car gets home safely?" she asked nicely, hoping he would agree. Lizzie would rather drive her car off a cliff than have Katie drive it home.

DiNozzo nodded his head. "No problem. How am I going to get home?"

"Tony, I'm sure McGee could follow you to our house and bring you back here to get your car."

"Right…didn't think about that. Hey McProbius!" He turned in his desk chair to face McGee and asked him. McGee agreed, and he turned back around to the Director and Lizzie. "Keys?"

Jen looked at her daughter and squeezed her hand before walking over to update Jethro. Lizzie fished her keys out of her pocket and dropped them into his outstretched hand. DiNozzo examined the key chain. The key fob was fuchsia and in black were Lizzie's initials, A. E. G., which struck his curiosity. He knew what the E and G stood for but not the A.

"What's the A for?" he asked.

"Avril."

"That's pretty."

"Thanks. Mom chose my name, and Daddy chose Katie's," she told him, not realizing that he loved hearing bits of information pertaining to his boss and personal life.

DiNozzo nodded his head. His eyes widened when he saw a key chain on the fob. "Wait…you drive a Mustang?" Jenny listened to bits of the conversation as she passed by them on the way to her office to get her things and take the girls home. She tried not to seem too amused by DiNozzo discovering what vehicle her daughter drove.

Lizzie nodded her head. "I do. It was given to me as an early graduation present."

"Color?"

"Black. I know what your next question will be. It is a GT," she told him with a signature smug smirk.

Tony looked at her, surprised. "That was my next question. I drive a Mustang. It's a 66 though and green. I restored it. Just put carpet in from a 2004."

"Oh god…really? I'd love to restore an old Mustang with Daddy, but he always is working on that damn boat."

Tony laughed as did Lizzie. She smiled at him and tucked her hair behind her ear. "It was nice to meet you today, Tony." She must have suffered head trauma because she was beginning to actually find him cute.

"It was nice to meet you too, Lizzie," he returned with a smile. What was he doing? He knew he was flirting and shouldn't be flirting with her…but Lizzie had started it.

Tony cleared his throat and went back to working when Gibbs walked over to his desk. "I'll be home as soon as I can. I have to stay here and supervise the team."

"I understand," she said to her father.

Gibbs kissed her cheek. "If you need anything, call me."

Elizabeth nodded her head. "Okay."

Jen came to stand next to them. She put her red trench coat around Lizzie's shoulders. "I'll see you at home, Jethro. Cynthia is staying until 1200. Turn the case reports into her and dismiss the team at that time."

He nodded his head and looked at his team. "Get to work. Case reports to Cynthia at 1200."

McGee looked up. "Then can we go?"

"Yeah, McGee."

McGee nodded his head and went back to typing. Jen looked over at Katie. She was using her father's computer. "Katie, c'mon…or are you staying?"

"When there's so much action happening at NCIS," she said sarcastically as she signed out of her email. "Daddy, you have 88 unread emails by the way," she told him as she got up and walked to her sister and mother. He merely rolled his eyes while Jen smirked. She knew he never checked his email. He walked his girls to the elevator.

"I'll bring lunch home." He leaned into the elevator, giving his wife a kiss. As he pulled away, he shouted, "DiNozzo!" The agent quickly sat back down in his chair but missed, landing on the floor. He had been craning his neck to see the kiss between Gibbs and Shepard.

Jenny laughed, shaking her head. "Bye Jethro." The elevator doors closed, and Gibbs walked back to the squad room, giving the senior field agent a sharp smack to the back of the head. DiNozzo grimaced, swearing to himself that he would have cranial damage. Gibbs sent another head smack to DiNozzo.

"Boss, I think my brain detached on that last one," he reported as he rubbed the back of his throbbing skull.

Gibbs turned and narrowed his blue eyes at the agent. "Good," he replied, sitting down in his chair. "Back to work!"

At home, Jenny unlocked the door and stepped inside with the girls following behind her. She placed her bags in the study and walked back out. Katie handed her mother a plastic bag and bottle of water. "Lizzie's pain medication that she hasn't taken. She went upstairs."

Jen took the bag and nodded her head, walking up the stairs. She pushed the door to Lizzie's room open and smiled, thankful her daughter would be making use of the room for more than a weekend visit. "Need help?" she asked, seeing the difficulty Lizzie was having removing her riding boots.

"No, I can…ow," Lizzie responded as she tried to use her left arm.

Her mother walked to her, shaking her head and kneeling down to remove the boots after placing the bag and water bottle on the nightstand. "Lizzie, apologizing is a sign of weakness…asking for help is not."

"Basically, you're telling me to shut up and let you mother me?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I am." Jen placed the boots in the walk in closet. Lizzie read the instructions for the medication and popped a pill, swallowing it with a drink of water.

"Mom?"

Jen turned around and looked at her, waiting for the question. She assumed what it would be by the way Lizzie was fiddling with the sling.

"Can I take this off?"

"Go ahead. Be careful of how you sleep, and the medication is going to knock you out. You might want to change your clothes. If you're anything like me, you don't want to sleep in jeans."

Lizzie sighed with relief and removed the sling from her injured arm. She shimmied out of her jeans while her mother took a pair of shorts out of the dresser. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra then changed into the shorts that had been thrown on the bed. She settled under the covers and noticed her eyelids beginning to feel heavy.

"I told you," Jen said gently, tucking her daughter in and kissing her forehead. "Sleep. I'll come in and check on you in a little while."

Lizzie nodded her head and closed her eyes, drifting off into medicated sleep. Jen turned off the lights and closed the door. She walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Katie was making coffee. "You are a mind reader."

"Not really," Katie replied. "The pot of coffee daddy made this morning was old and tasted awful." She made a face and poured out the cup.

Jen laughed at her oldest daughter. "It was made at 0500."

"Did you wake up that early?" she asked, sitting down next to her mother and waiting for the coffee to finish making.

"No…0530."

"Mom…in case you didn't realize…today is Saturday which means a person is supposed to not wake up at an ungodly hour especially if she wakes up at that time or earlier during the week."

"Katie, one day you will realize that work comes home with you especially if you are the first female Director of a federal agency. Also, you'll learn that not everyone can schedule their schedule to where they don't have to wake up until after noon."

"You know, work comes home with you anyway," she said in reference to her father. "There's nothing wrong with sleeping until noon or later." Katie was not a morning person and had never taken a college course before 1PM.

"It will not. Your father and I made a deal."

"Oh," she spoke, raising her eyebrows with interest. "What's the deal?" She removed two cups from the cabinet and poured coffee into them, giving one to her mother. Katie needed at least cream and two sugars in her coffee.

"We will not discuss cases or bring any work related problems home. It will remain in the office from now on." The two of them were going to need counseling or a divorce if they kept bringing the frustrations and fights from work home with them. Jethro wouldn't ever learn to not ruffle another agency's feathers. It had been much easier being his partner than his boss.

"Did you write this down and make him sign in blood?"

"Katie," Jen said her name in the tone informing her daughter she thought she sounded absurd for asking that question.

Katie turned, leaning against the countertop and taking a sip of her coffee. She shrugged her shoulders. "What? It's a simple question."

"I did not."

Katie rolled her eyes, knowing the deal wouldn't withstand. "I give it three days."

"You should have more faith in your father and me."

"If I didn't have faith, I wouldn't be giving it three days," she said, voice straight to the point.

"Katharine Ann," Jen said her name, walking over and refilling her cup. "I don't know what to do with you at times."

"But you love me."

"I know. You don't have to remind me," Jen answered with a wink, leaving the kitchen to go into the study to finish work. She had to read the case reports turned into her before Lizzie had arrived at NCIS. When Jethro returned home with lunch, neither one of them planned on working until Monday morning. They were going to spend much needed time with their girls.