Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not Gibbs, not Ari, no one do I own. This is all for amusement. There I said it, now can someone have Ari put the gun down slowly…

STORY INFORMATION

Summary: Evelyn Matthews came to NCIS with one goal in mind, to get close to Agent Gibbs. But how exactly do you go about telling a man that you're his dead daughter?

Pairings: EVENTUAL Ari/Evelyn(Kelly)-ARLYN SHALL RULE THE WORLD-

Tate

Tony/Evie friendship

Ducky/Audrey (Other pairings will appear when I decide)

Warnings: Greyish! Eli, Neutral! Ziva

NOTE: Things I lack knowledge of I have researched from the internet, and while I do try to make sure information is accurate as can be determined some things may not be, so I apology before hand for any mistakes or ignorance on my part.

I also want to thank, UnknownFlux, HannahbananaJane, JainaSyal, skeeter88, stargatesg1973, Notheronebitesdadust21, smilin steph, bulletproofdeath, Leonarange, torontogirl12, wisergirl71301, LovelyxLittlexLauren, Rayne90, janno, Kendra29, Hope'sFace, lexilia, Annie016, KrisShannon, StarlightShivers, MismatchedSocksandKnickers, 1956johndeere50, Amelia Jessica Pond Williams, BrianB1126, calliegirl63, leoniebroeder94, Sirius7, byLunaA, SecretsAreHiddenByMe, Too Hard to Be Called Love, BurnedSpy, NikkiAlex, adrienmaciel, Annie016, bakaprincess85, spikewil, thelauers918, Animanga-smile14, Nicole1314, Trance20666, Viivs0612, sophiemom01, Rika92, Callipygian, EisForElephant, EzziBA, Curiouser-and-Curiouser101, Annika Sparks, CryDevil, Monochrome13, PayShaFan, Cosmos89, doggy bye, goldengloss, GibbsTonyZivaTim, CSIflea, FictionWriter09, ange1993, RedRiver21, winterhail, Tenshi of Heaven, MusicLover500, TwilightLover162, Romantic Journalist, JrSnape, xLyraCharlottex, JamesBond2007, Lizzy2586, SkullKey4758, Shades-Soul, lightningx94, ihateyoubaby, GryffindorWolfSlytherinHybrid, I am One with the Wind and Sky and andrewjeeves for the favs!

I want to thank, Dricsj, Gibbs Girl Kelly, HannahbananaJane, JainaSyal, Lady Knight Aria of Haven, Notheronebitesdadust21, Probie girl1717, UnknownFlux, cheether, chrissypotter, Leonarange, lexilia, pavinet, torontogirl12, skeeter88, stargatesg1973, wisegirl71301, OzNCISLover, Kendra29, andrewjeeves, Fantasyfictionwriter, XxstarburstmonterxX, alterangirl, cookie62, kc5mzr, LovelyxLittlexLauren, Rayne90, faith1430709, jbn42, jrfan2383, yadoonkeenjaani, BONES-LOVER-94, FourHorses, IwouldrockJoshuaJacksonsWorld, lauram314, Angel-Lilly16, Captain Kathryn Janeway98, Jeremy Kelly, TivaBelieva.x.x.x, KrisShannon, Tris Holmes, Jenna Craig, MismatchedSocksandKnickers, jtr1812, Amelia Jessica Pond Williams, BrianB1126, calliegirl63, leoniebroeder94, CSIflea, MDDC26, Sirius7, amurdock42, byLunaA, buffy1242, Too Hard To Be Called Love, starchild295, swimgeek2007, Lady Isabelle Black, vampireacademyrulz797, Arkansas Sweetheart, Sweetest-Time, janno, Russian Flower, SimplyReBECca, GraceSong, Marauders Twilight, NikkiAlex, horsegirlrule, adrienmaciel, Alpha Centarus, Angelus320, Dreamspirit47, MrsScott323, bakaprincess85, mitchievw, potiongirl1992, Nicole1314, Trance20666, Viivs0612, cwatker222, Mal4Inara, sophiemom01, Pandora'sBox11, Callipygian, EzziBA, Curiouser-and-Curiouser101, leFlame, LadyMary33, swanqueen4, PayShaFan, Angelhaggis, starwarsfan1000, goldengloss, GibbsTonyZivaTim, Irjuni92, pinkrangerforever, persephone829, Forest Angel, RedRiver21, Nightwing's Gal, Emerald Pixie Dust, peacesista123, RogueShadow94, TwilightLover162, x-xLittle-Miss-Brown-Eyesx-x, x-X-x-Donna-x-X-x, xLyraCharlottex, Danielle89, Dark Alana, JamesBond2007, Lizzy2586, SocietyMember, SkullKey4758, Shades-Soul, tomboy4997, ihateyoubaby, lachicarebelde22, D3ANwasH3R3, othlvr16, GryffindorWolfSlytherinHybrid, Firecrane930, Dreamsb223, I am One With the Wind and Sky, Paddy and Moony's Angel and zebraclrgard for all the follows!

I apologize if I missed anyone, if I did just give me a shout out like 'Mirror, how could you?' Seriously all PMs are welcomed. :D And I know I lost some favs, and follows, but I'm keeping y'all on here anyways.

Wanna give a special thanks to, cwatker, Dark Alana, JrSnape, anna, TwilightLover162, Tris Holmes, Buckeye am I, RidingAngelxspy, Guest, smilin steph, 1, CSIflea, Selena, byLunaA for the reviews! THANK Y'ALL! If I have missed you and your review, or follow, or fav, just PM and I'll fix that.

Guest Reviews:

Victoria: Abby's heart is in the right place, but she is going about it the wrong way. No, Evelyn's trust is hard earned and she won't easily forgive Abby no matter how good intentioned the goth was.

RidingAngelxspy: Ah, thank you. Christmas was great, the aftermath no so much. Been a hard few months, but hopefully it all be good from now on. I'm glad you like it so much, and Ziva may surprise you afterall. Just read and see.

Selena: Here's your update. :D

Guest: Thank ya!

Author's Note: THIS STORY IS NOT ABANDONED! No, I indeed on finishing this story. I just have had a helluva last few months. My computer finally died, it had a long life and with the way it had been fritzing I was honestly surprised it hadn't kick the bucket already. Then I get my new computer, and the Microsoft Works is a different version and not compatible with my other version. So I've been converting everything over.

BUT that isn't entirely why I haven't updated everything. I am working on my own Original Works, that my cousin is helping me get publish! That's right I'm official a writer…or will be. I just have so many stories I want to write and I've been so focused on them that I lost sight of my fan fictions, but fanfics have helped me become a better writer so I can't just give them up, so here I have updated. I can't promise when the next update will be but I will try to make it sooner than this latest one. Thanks for all your support.

Chapter Nineteen

The Truth is Out There

Eli David sat in the dark office, the moonlight spilling in through the blinds as he smoked a cigar leaning back in his seat. He had to make a tough decision, and normally he detested having to kill an innocent but sometimes it was necessary. If Ari hadn't ran off, then he wouldn't have to go to such great lengths to lure him out. The phone rang, a loud and abrupt sound that drew him out of his musing. He calmly picked up the phone, and placed it to his ear. "Is it done? Is the girl dead?" He asked. Whatever was said on the other end, had Eli on his feet and he screamed, "WHAT?"

There was a ringing.

Her cell phone slipped out of her hands, crashing to the floor. She threw herself out of the way as the bullets crashed over her…she kicked the gunman's hand, the gun fell from his grasp, but he lunged forward…he was choking her! He slammed her skull into the store floor. She was going to die!…the smell of perfume filled the air, and the gunman screamed…

It wasn't painful. It wasn't pleasant.

This time Evelyn has the gun, and she shoots! She shoots until the clip is empty and keeps shooting. There so much blood…the blood was all over her, pouring over her. It was just like mom all over again. A sea of blood. Fear…panic…dread…Audrey, where was Audrey? Audrey's face pale white and her hand grasping at her chest…a police man, 'hands in the air' and the next moment, Evelyn's hands were in cuffs.

It was there deep inside her ear, that annoying insisting ringing. Her blue wasn't focused on anything and a tiny drop of blood dripped from a cut just above her eyebrow. Her body was slumped sitting in the uncomfortable metal chair, the interrogation room light buzzing too loudly and the light of it hurt her eyes. She knew she shouldn't sit here with her limbs like a puppet whose strings had just been snipped but she couldn't seem to muster up the will to move. She couldn't muster up the energy to be sad or scared or panicked. Instead all she could feel was this hollow, numbness in the pit of her stomach.

The door to the interrogation room slid open, and Tony and Kate walked in, but Evelyn's didn't even glance up at them. She was too lost inside her own head at the moment to acknowledge the anger comment shot the police officer before he shut the door behind him. He walked over and he knelt down in front of her. "Evelyn…Evie, Ducky's on his way. Everything is going to be okay," Tony said, gently. He had seen people in shock before and they way the police had handled all of this made Tony ashamed he ever was one.

"So is Gibbs," Kate added, her brown eyes running up and down Evelyn. She was obviously in shock, any trained investigator should have caught it. She couldn't wait for Gibbs to arrive and lay into the arresting officer. It would be a sight to be relished.

"Get her head out of my lap…" Evelyn mumbled.

Tony looked up at her worriedly then shared a look with Kate. Kate's eyes went back to Evie, and she asked slowly, "Whose head is…in your lap, Evie?"

"Kelly," Evelyn said, corrected.

"Kelly's head is in your lap?" Tony asked.

Evie gave a small shake of her head, but it was impossible to tell if it had been a no or a yes. She made a noise in the back of her throat. "There's too much blood…it's all from her head…half of her head…oh, god," Evelyn said, her face turning a shade of green. A gag worked itself up her throat, and Tony lurched towards the nearest trash can and had it to Evelyn just in time. Evelyn vomited noisily, her entire body shaking.

"Nice hussle," Kate said, rubbing comforting circles on Evelyn's shoulder blade.

"Ah, thanks, Kate," Tony said, but his smile fell flat. He looked back over at Evelyn, with a frown. "Who is Kelly?" He wondered out loud, disturbed by the words that had flooded out of Elizabeth's mouth.

"What?" Evelyn croaked out.

"Ah…who is Kelly?" Tony repeated, awkwardly because he hadn't expected Evelyn to reply at all.

"What?" Evelyn repeated, a tone of aggravation to her voice. "Why do you keep…" She cut off, her blue eyes narrowing and she muttered, "No…Evelyn. Got to remember…"

"What do you have to remember, Evelyn?" Kate asked, frowning deeply.

"…Kate?" Her brows furrowed, and slowly as if it took great effort she looked at the other woman then her gaze swept over to Tony. Her eyes however seemed to look through him, not at him. Her cheek was bruised, and there was blood all over her shirt. "Tony," a glimmer of light began to pierce through the fog in her eyes, "what…what happened? Where…where am I? Am I…" she twisted her head around to take in the room around her. "Am I in an interrogation room?"

"Yeah, you are," Tony nodded ever so slightly. There was no teasing on his face, no glimmer of mocking, but his face was drawn seriously. "Evie…do you remember what happened?"

"No…" Her lips twisted downward. "I don't rem-"

The store…Audrey…calling Gibbs, the truth on her lips…gunfire…hands clawing around her throat, and her head slamming into the ground…Audrey screaming…more gunfire…blood so much blood…"FREEZE! Put your hands up!"…Audrey shaken and pale and-Evelyn squeezed her eyes tightly shut and a shudder rake up her spine. "Where…" she grimaced at the taste of puke on her tongue. "Where is Audrey? She was with me when…when that man shot at me?" Evelyn raised her gaze, looking between her two teammates who both shared a glance. A jolt of panic burrowed deep inside of her heart, and her blue eyes were hard. "Kate…Tony," she said, with a growl that would make her father proud, "where is Audrey? Where is my grandmother?"

There was a knock at the door.

Ari approached it, gun in hand and his footfalls were silent against the wooden floor. His pulse was a steady constant thump at the base of his neck. He had been expecting it. He had caught glimpse of Ziva all morning, and tension was thick in the air. He had been perplexed when his father's men hadn't laid siege to the place yet, or that Ziva hadn't tried to take him out. It would be Eli's style to have his own sister deal his death. His hand grasped the cool handle, a stark contrast to his feverish flesh and twisted. Cool air flooded in through the doorway, and he pointed the gun straight his sister's heart.

Ziva didn't flinch, not even bat an eye. Instead, she stood there with her hands dangling at her sides and she made no sudden movements. Instead, her brown eyes looked at him with an indecipherable look. "Ari," she greeted, softly.

Ari eyed her up and down. "Ziva," he inclined his head ever so slightly.

"We need to talk," Ziva said, simply. Her lips turned downward ever so slight, her brows furrowing ever so slightly. If it were not for the way her fingers were tapping against her leg, he would not have noticed her nervousness at all. It was one of his greatest regret was that he wasn't able to stop Ziva from becoming like him. She, like Tali, should have never been born into this life, it wasn't fair.

"We have nothing to talk about," Ari replied, shortly. Regrets or not, he could not let his guard down. Ziva was still capable of a great number of things, and she had an unwavering loyalty to their father.

Ziva's eyes sharpened, and she gave her brother a cold glare. "We have everything to talk about, brother," she hissed, and pushed past him. Ari stood there for a moment, before shutting the door, but he did not lower the gun. "Or has escaped your attention that our father is after you?"

His teeth gritted together, his eyes narrowing up on her and it made Ziva release a sigh. Some of her frustration leaked through her eyes, and she let out a deep sigh. "You don't trust me," Ziva commented, lightly.

"You know that I don't," Ari replied. It was not said to be mean, or cruel. It was just a simple fact that he stated with out an ounce of emotion in his voice.

"Good." Ziva turned around to face him. "Because I'm not sure I trust you either," she crossed her arms over her chest. Her brown eyes were dark and full with scrutiny. "What do you think you are doing, Ari? What are you playing at?"

"I am playing at nothing," Ari told her, sharply. He wasn't. There had been only one game that Ari had played at, a game against his father and he had won. He had no game to play here, what he was doing here with Evelyn wasn't a game. It might have started out like that. Her spirit, her force so amusing and admirable. Somewhere it had changed from being a battle of wills to something more. She…had become so much than that.

"You always play at something, Ari. It's how we work. We play our part, and we keep playing until another part comes along, or we die," Ziva said, tonelessly.

"The game is done, Ziva," Ari said, after a moment. He lowered his weapon, but did not put it away. Instead, he chose to pace the room, but not take his eyes off his sister. Part of him was glad to see that Ziva was alive and okay, the other part wondered how long he had until their father would follow after. "Does father know you're here?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"No."

"Not yet you mean."

"Perhaps not ever," Ziva said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ari's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" He asked, seeking clarification.

"It means exactly what you think it means," Ziva shrugged, nonchalantly though there was nervousness to her gaze that gave away her true feelings. "I want to help you, Ari. I do not believe you a traitor or a lost cause like father does. A traitor or lost cause does not save a woman's life like you."

Ari considered her words with a tilt of his head, his gait like a wolf stalking its prey. But Ziva was also a predator in her own right, and held her ground. "There is no redeeming me, Ziva," Ari shook his head, a wry sort of resign upon his face. "If you are here to try to do so, you need to walk back out that door. I don't need, nor want your help." He turned his back on her in a way of dismissal, but Ziva did not budge from the wall she had chosen to lean on. Instead, she watched Ari take a bottle of water from the table, and take a drink then she shook her head side to side with a sigh on her lips.

"No. Not redemption, Ari. People like us can't clean the blood off of our hands, can't undo what we have done. All we can do is move on, and do better. No, Ari, I do not believe you seek absolution for your deeds, I think you seek respite," Ziva said, softly. She saw a visible tension coil beneath her brother's limb, could see him prepare himself for the fight.

"Is there a difference?" Ari chuckled, mirthlessly.

"You know there is," Ziva said, taking a step forward. "You know it because you feel it here, you feel it with her. I've seen you…with her," she said, softly. "Evelyn? That is her name?"

Ari's lips pressed tightly together.

"She changes you…no," Ziva shook her head. "She doesn't change you. She brings out the best in you, the things that always have been there. Things you've denied since Tali had died."

"Do not speak her name," Ari hissed, whirling around. His expression was thunderous. The familiar burn of anger, white-hot was boiling in his veins just from that word being spoken. The sorrow, and never ending agony and the unfairness of it all never truly healing. It was an everlasting wound in his heart that could never, ever go away.

"Tali," Ziva said, daringly. "You cannot deny her memory like this Ari. It does her no justice, and she would want to see you happy."

"Tali can't want anything," Ari said, bitingly. "She is dead, Ziva. Dead!" His fist struck out, knocking a vase to the floor and it shattered into pieces. "She is dead, and she…" Ari shook his head, angrily.

Silence fell over the house, and for a moment neither sibling dared break the silence at all. "You have to let go of this anger you hold for father, Ari…if you don't it will consume you," Ziva whispered out, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

"I did nothing. I was never given the chance. Our father took that from me," Ari spat out. "He took everything from us, Ziva. He takes, and he takes. He took our lives, he took our mothers, and he took Tali…he took my daughter. And you expect me to let it go? You expect me to forgive him?"

"I never said that!" Ziva shot him an angry look.

"You implied it!"

"No, I didn't! Damnit, Ari!" Ziva's hands clenched like she wanted nothing more than to punch him. "I know all he did! I was there, too! I was with you through it all! All the training, all the torture, everything we endured for his greater good! I am not asking you to forgive him for him! I am asking you to forgive him for you! To forgive yourself while you're are at it! You can't hold onto this anger, and pain because it will eat away at you like an infection inside of a wound! It will only fester and get worse until there is nothing…nothing left," Ziva sighed, running a hand through your hair. "Ari…when Tali died…you changed. You weren't…" Her brown eyes shined with tears. "You weren't my brother anymore. You were cold, and hollow! Then…then I see you with here, and I see you! I see my brother again and how can I not what to help you?"

Ari took deep breath, his entire body shaking and trembling. His brown eyes filled with hurt, so much hurt and his cold mask was cracking with each passing second. "Ziva…" Ari's voice was barely more than whisper.

"You lost your daughter…I lost my niece and my brother," Ziva's composure finally falters and tears leaked down her cheeks. "I can never get Tali back…but can I get you back? Can I have my brother back? Please?" Ziva pleaded.

Ari's jaw trembled, he tried desperately not to let fall as his heart felt tight in his chest as if some great hand was squeezing it painfully. For several heartbeats, neither one of the moved. The pain too heavy, too much for either of them to move. The years were they held it all weighing down upon both of them, and seeing Ziva here and now, it hit him harder than anything else in his entire life. He had no words that would make it right, no words of comfort. There was no way to make it right for her like she needed. Ari had accepted his life, Ziva wanted a way to atone for it as much as she would deny it. It's what made her infinitely a better person than him.

A cellphone rang, making Ziva jolt slightly and Ari to let out an annoyed noise. He reached into his pocket, and flipped it open. "What?" He barked.

"We have a problem," Fornell's voice came over the phone.

He spared Ziva a glance, before turning away satisfied that she wasn't going to attack him. "Like what?" He asked, briskly.

"Evelyn is in trouble."

Ari froze. His entire body went rigid, and for a moment, he couldn't breath at all. When he finally found his voice, it was artic cold and was utterly deadly. "What…did you just say?"

Gibbs's jaw was taunt as he stared down Fornell with a grim and harsh glare. "What the hell are you doing here, Fornell?" He snapped, his hand tight around his cellphone. Not only was Evelyn arrested, but the video footage that would have proven her self defense went missing along with the second gun. If it hadn't been finding two different types of bullets, they wouldn't have any evidence at all proving Evelyn innocent. The witnesses statements were ambiguous at the most.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that," Fornell said shortly. "Go see your girl, Gibbs. She was in a bad way when they brought her in. Your ME calmed her down, but I don't think she's all good as of yet."

Gibbs's eyes narrowed. "Why so concerned, Fornell?" He asked, darkly. "I hadn't realized that Evelyn meant so much to you."

"You don't realize much, Gibbs," Fornell said, airily before sauntering away.

Gibbs shot him and glare before marching into the interrogation room. He didn't have time to deal with Fornell's game whatever it may be. He had a mess he had to clean up, and he had an agent to protect. As soon as the door open, Evelyn's head snapped up. She had a cut on her eyebrow, a bruise blossoming across her right cheek and bruises the shape of hands peeking out of her collar. It was enough to ignite a white-hot anger in his belly, but the relief in her blue eyes at seeing him quelled it. Her shoulders slumped and she looked at him with such faith like she knew that everything was going to be okay now he was here. He wanted to protect Evelyn, just like he protected Abby. Like he couldn't protect Kelly. "Gibbs," she breathed out.

The second she saw him, it all overwhelmed her. Everything came crashing down on her, and she felt her entire body shake with a violent silent sob. Never more had she felt like a child than in this moment, and never more had she wanted her father to hold and tell her everything was going to be okay.

She looked so small, in that chain and she looked incredible fragile. He had only seen Evelyn look this way once, and his stomach twisted unpleasantly at seeing it again. He had this urge to reached out, and hug her telling her that everything was going to be alright, but he knew he couldn't. Evelyn was his coworker, not someone like Abby…or Kelly. He settled into the chair across from her and he said, softly, "Rough night, Matthews?"

"Heh," Evelyn's lips twisted into a bitter smile, her eyes filled with a wet sheen of tears that she was so desperately trying to hold back. It made Gibbs want to make whoever did this pay for every tear that she let out. "Yeah, you could say that. The roughest," she agreed, wiping her nose clumsily on her sleeve. Gibbs reached into her pocket, offering her a napkin he got from the coffee shop. She took it gently and wiped her red nose before sniffling. "Audrey?" Evelyn looked up at him imploringly. "Kate…Kate said you would check and see if you could…find out what happened to her," Evelyn nervously twisted her finger, the hand cuffs jingling as an uncomfortable reminder of the situations she was in.

"In the hospital," Gibbs said, after a moment. "She had minor heart attack thanks to all the excitement, but she is doing fine and should be able to go home in a few days. She wants you to call her as soon as you can, and she had called several lawyer and had prepared several lawsuits against the police department."

"While she was having a heart attack?" Evelyn didn't know whether to cry or laugh, the image of Audrey gasping desperately on the floor as the police officer told her to freeze was haunting. The memory of it all was still blurry, but that part…that part she remembered with complete clarity. "That sounds like Audrey. Not even near death could keep that woman down," she said, with a fond smile on her lips and tiny tear streaking down her cheek. Her lips quivered, and she looked down at her hands then up at him. "Gibbs, what's going on? I…everything's all fuzzy," she said, clenching her hands into fists then unclenching them. "And Tony and Kate wouldn't tell me anything, and Ducky was even less helpful."

"I was hoping you could tell me," Gibbs said. His voice wasn't hard, or unkind, but it still made Evelyn bristle like a wet cat.

"I don't know. I…it's all in bits in pieces, it's like waking up in that stupid hospital again, but worse!" Evelyn hissed, her jaw clenching tightly. "I remember going shopping for me and Ar…" her voice trailed off, and she shot Gibbs a quick startled glance. "My…boyfriend, and Audrey came with me. She went to go get her medicine, I called you and the next thing I remember is gunfire…screaming…hands around my neck, and pain…and the blood! There was so much blood!" Evelyn's face crumbled, and her hands began to shake again. "It was like watching mom die all over again, with her head in my lap and the blood…" she choked back the hysterical sob that threatened to rip through her while Gibbs stared at her in surprise.

Evelyn's words did not paint a pretty picture about the shooting, nor her past. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest, and he reached out placing his hand over hers. "We are going to figure this out, Evelyn," he promised her. "You've got to trust us on that."

Evelyn went still, her blue eyes widening as if something had just occurred to her. Her face lost all of its color, and she stared at Gibbs with such a heartbreaking expression. She could have died tonight, she realized with a sinking heart. She could have died, and Gibbs would have never known the truth. No, she amended with her stomach rolled, that wasn't true. Abby would have told him, and fresh wave of guilt hit her. "Gibbs," his name came out so soft that he almost did not hear it. There was this weight that suddenly seemed to sit heavily on her shoulders and she curled in on herself slightly. Her eyes darted to the table to the walls then back at him, an almost wild look in them. "Gibbs…there is something I have to tell you," she breathed out, shakily.

"You can tell me anything, Evelyn," Gibbs encouraged. There was something about the frantic way she moved, something that set him on edge. She was acting like she was holding a secret that could bring the world down around them.

"It's…" she gave him a pained glance. "This isn't how I wanted to tell you. Not here, not like this. I…I wanted to tell you some other way, but I just didn't know how. It never seemed the right time and it always felt so hard. The words…they would be there and the second I would go to say them, my voice would just disappear…" Her voice cracking ever so slightly. Her heart was pounding inside her chest a million miles an hour, but she knew that she couldn't keep it in any longer. She wanted her father back, and she needed him back. "I have been so afraid, Gibbs. I like being on your team. I like working here with all of you. NCIS has given me a place to belong, and I never thought I would find a place like that. But…once I tell you this that every will change. I know it will change. And I'm scared of that. Always have been."

"Sometimes we have do things, Matthews," Gibbs spoke, his voice low and even. The look in his blue eyes was steady, calm and that was strangely comforting to Evelyn. "Things that make us afraid, and you're not always going to like what it gets you. But sometimes…you'll be amazed by what you'll find, and that makes facing your fear head on. Now tell me…what is going on?"

There was so much pain, so much heartbreak as she looked at him. There was hope too, mixed in with it all and it was so bright that it made his heart hurt. He could see the painful indecision cross across her face, like some many times before and it made him wonder how long she had been holding it all in. Evelyn wanted to swallow the words back, to keep them and never saw them because it hurt to much. It was just too damn hard to string them together and let them out.

But she couldn't. She had come to far now, and she drew in a deep breath feeling her heart already breaking in two. "I'm your daughter, Gibbs," she said, her blue eyes looked up at him, sorrow and resigned.

"I'm Kelly."

End of Chapter

NEXT CHAPTER: Gibbs's reaction, Evelyn is haunted by the shooting and Evelyn and Ari grow closer while bad things on the rise.

I apologize for the lateness of this update, as you can tell it has been a crazy few months. Hope y'all will forgive me. I promise my next update will at most take a month, at most! I promise. If not, you guys can flood me with angry PMs, I would deserve it.

THANK YOU ALL!

RRs are appreciated.