Tony sat across from Charity at the dining table in her house. They had pictures from the crime scene spread all over the table, as well as looking over reports and service records. Tony couldn't help but to look up around the dining room every so often and notice pictures hung on the walls, all of them seemed older. Charity appeared to be no older than fourteen in the pictures.

"You know something that bugs me about this?" Charity asked.

"What's that?" Tony asked, drawing his eyes from the pictures and moving them to Charity.

"If Laura Wilks was meeting him for a romantic rendezvous, why would she have been wearing her combat boots?"

"If she was planning on murdering him." Tony countered.

Charity shook her head. "Even if she did want to murder him, she would have still wanted him to think it was a romantic rendezvous. Do you have the report with what size that boot was?"

"Yeah, it's right here." Tony answered, picking up the piece of paper and handing it to her.

"Size six." Charity read. Then she picked up Laura Wilk's service record. It still amazed Charity that the military kept records of everything. "Laura Wilks couldn't be the murderer."

"What proof?" Tony asked.

"Her shoe size is am eight." Charity answered.

"She could have squeezed her foot into a smaller boot."

Charity shook her head. "No, it's impossible."

Tony picked up another file. It was the younger sister's service record. "Julia Wilks wears a size six." Tony read.

"That doesn't mean she killed him." Charity countered.

"I know, but there's a good chance that she did." Tony replied. "What is it that is keeping you from being objective about this?" He asked her. "What happened to make you empathize with the Wilks?" He leaned across the table and stared her down.

Charity leaned in and met Tony's gaze. "That is none of your business detective." She answered. "You want to bring Julia in for questioning you do it, but I'm telling you they just lost their sister because she was terrified of this man. You are going to be pouring salt into their wounds."

"Really?" Tony asked. "The way you're acting, I think I'm pouring salt into yours."

Charity glared at him. Then she got up and walked away. "Bring her in for questioning, but at NCIS and we'll use the conference room. And we'll do it tomorrow."

Tony sat back in the chair. He looked at the pictures on the walls again. He noticed one of Charity, she appeared to be about five. She was sitting on the very couch that still sat in the living room, holding a baby wrapped in pink and she was smiling.

He looked at more pictures and found another picture of a little girl that appeared to be twelve. She was pushing another little girl on a swing at the park. They both appeared to be laughing. "Well, Miss Gibbs if you won't tell me about yourself, I'll find out about you on my own." Tony muttered as he looked at the pictures.

The next day...

Burley and Dan had confirmed that the John Doe was indeed Jason Mathews. He had worked at the funeral home. Burley had made the call to Julia to come in. Julia stepped off the elevator with her sister. Charity had expected it. She knew that even though Laura was upset, that she was a big sister.

Both women walked over to Charity's desk. "You need to speak with my little sister?" Laura asked.

"Yes." Charity answered. She stood up. "This way, Julia." She led Julia to the conference room. Tony, wanting to make sure that she did what she should, came with them.

Laura was of course, coming with her sister. "We need to speak with your sister alone." Tony told Laura.

Laura reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. "I passed the bar exam. No one is questioning my sister without representation."

They all then walked into the conference room. Julia and Laura sat down on one side of the table, while Tony and Charity sat on the other side. Dan and Burley were listening on the other side of the door.

Tony pulled out a picture and laid it in front of Julia. It was of Jason Wilks. "Do you recognize this man?" Tony asked, Julia.

"No." Julia answered.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked.

"I'm sure." Julia answered.

"Where were you the night that he was murdered?" Charity asked.

"Home." Julia answered.

"Really?" Tony asked. "Because, we know your sister went to meet Mathews that night." Tony stood up and started to walk around. "We also know that he was killed, using a technique taught in the Marines. You are both Marines. He was the man that hurt your other sister. We also found fragments from corrective lenses on the ground. We know from your records that you wear glasses. Your prescription matches that of the lenses we found."

"Don't say anything." Laura advised her sister.

"We also know that yesterday you ordered a new pair of glasses." Tony went on.

"How was Julia have known who he was?" Laura asked.

"Because, Jan told me." Julia said, tears in her eyes. "I killed that bastard. When Jan started to get better, we were out for a walk and she saw him and pointed him out to me. I knew who he was. I knew what he'd done. I knew you were meeting him in the park, so I followed you. I'd watched and waited and when you were gone I killed him. Jan killed herself because she knew he was still walking the streets. I couldn't let what happened to her happen to anyone else."

Tony offically took Julia into custody and walked her out of the room, having taped her confession. Laura looked up at Charity, her eyes filled with tears. "I failed." She said. "I failed as a big sister. I couldn't protect either of them."

Charity's heart leapt in her chest. She remembered, waking up in the hospital after the crash. I failed. I failed as a big sister. I was couldn't protect her. The words she had uttered, filled her heart and made it ache in sympathy with Laura. She reached a hand across the table and patted her comfortingly.

Laura looked up and she and Charity shared a look that said it all. I know exactly how you feel.

Later that day, Charity was under the car again. She had tears in her eyes as she thought about poor Laura Wilks. She then looked at the colorful bracelet made of thread, and a few beads on her wrist.

"Here we meet again." came that familiar voice that made her question her own thoughts.

She cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes. "What are you doing here, DiNozzo?" She asked. "The case is over."

"I know, but you and I aren't finished." He answered.

Charity slid herself out form under the car and stood up. She looked up at him and at that moment cursed her small height. "What the hell do you mean by that?" She asked.

"You let yourself get close to the Wilks and it clouded your judgement. I want to know why." Tony answered.

"The thing about life, we don't always get what we want." Charity said, storming passed him and into the house. She walked over to the kitchen sink and began to wash off her hands.

"Well, in this case I did." Tony replied, as he stood behind her.

"What are you talking about?" Charity asked.

"You wouldn't tell me anything about yourself, so I had to do some digging and find it out myself." Tony answered.

Charity shut the water off and dried her hands. She turned to Tony and glared up at him. "Well, then enlighten me. Tell me what you found."

"I know about your family. About how your mom and younger sister were killed." Tony answered.

"You bastard." She spat at him. Then she walked over and slapped him. "How dare you look into my past."

Tony rubbed his cheek. "I had to find out. All you had to do was tell me."

"There's a reason that I don't tell people about my past." Charity countered.

"Because you don't want to let anyone in." Tony replied. "I also know about your father. Gunnery Sergean Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He was on a plane home, when it crashed and he's been missing ever since. The only thing they found were his dog tags and his wedding ring. Which you keep."

"Then you know that he is presumed dead." Charity said, flatly.

"Yes, there was a funeral and everything." Tony added. "That's why you won't let anyone in. You're used to being alone."

"When you let people in, you set yourself up to be hurt." Charity replied. "I lost everyone I loved in the course of three days. I'm not going through that again."

"So, as long as you don't care about anyone, then you'll be fine? Is that it?" Tony asked.

"The better question is why do you care?" Charity asked. "Why does it matter to you?"

Tony didn't know what to say. For the first time in a long time, he was speechless.

"That's what I thought." Charity replied. "Now get out of my house."

"Everyone needs someone to talk to." Tony replied.

"Well, I don't. Now get out."

"No."

"You insufferable, egotistical bastard. I hate you." She told him.

"Hate is a very passionate emotion." Tony told her. "When you hate someone, it means you care."

Charity just glared up at him, as if she could burn him with her blue eyes. as she glared at him, she noticed for the first time, that he was a rather handsome man, but she didn't dare let that show. She just made sure that her eyes showed nothing but loathing and contempt.

His eyes burned back into hers. The thought that he could get lost in her stormy blue gaze, raced through his mind, but he quickly banished the thought. As he looked back into her eyes, he thought he saw a flicker of the same wavering he felt. Then it occurred to him that they were moving towards each other, getting closer. He couldn't stop himself, as if they were magnets, drawn to each other.

Charity, on the other hand, noticed and with some effort backed away from him. "I think you should leave." She said, before running from the room and bolting up the steps.

Tony stood there for a moment, going over in his mind what had just happened. Then he walked out the front door and left, feeling utterly confused.