Trouble with Family by Draconia Danny sighed as she walked through the airport after collecting her bags and began scanning the crowd looking for her cousin who she was told would pick her up on the other end. She sighed as she rubbed tiredly at her eyes, if her Uncle had been home she would have been sent to them instead but apparently they were out of state for a vacation and wouldn’t be back for weeks. She didn’t know why she was sent away just that something was wrong at home and her parent’s didn’t want her to get caught up in it. So with very little warning she had been packed up and shipped out. She really didn’t understand why she couldn’t just go to Miami or DC like she usually did for the summer instead of coming to a place she’d never been too. Glancing around again, she let out a heartfelt sigh of annoyance when she didn’t spot her cousin anywhere and frowned. Had her parents even waited for confirmation that he could pick her up or that she could even come? Shaking her head she headed for the pay phone and dialled the number she had been given. She sighed again when she got ‘This number has been disconnected, please check the number and try again’ Message. Well that answered that question if her parents had even called, that was the only number they had for their cousin and since it was disconnected she didn’t think that they had called. In defeat she let her shoulders slump and had to fight not to burst into tears. She was too tired to deal with her own feelings of disappointment and abandonment but she fought not to let it show, this was just another thing in a long line of things that her parents had thrown at her over the last two years. She took a deep shaky breath to try and calm herself down and tried to get her tired brain to think of where she could find her cousin. She knew that he had been a cop in Dallas, but when he had transferred to Las Vegas he’d gone to a different department. Her frown was deep as she grabbed her back pack and duffle bag, all that she had been able to pack before rushed to the airport and headed for the car claim area. She shook her head, at least her parents had coughed up the money to send her transport with her, on the same flight so she could get around. It took Danny half an hour of going through the paperwork to claim her motorbike and helmet, while waiting for her bike to be brought out of storage she ask for directions to get to the local police station. While talking it hit her. “How far from the police station is the CSI labs?” She asked suddenly. “Why?” The man frowned as he handed her, her keys. “My cousin works there, he was supposed to pick me up.” She sighed. “My parents forgot to call him and tell him that I was coming.” She grumbled. “I can call the office for you and see if he is there, you don’t sound too sure that’s where he is.” He offered seeing the defeat, annoyance and disappointment in her eyes. “If he’s not there then they might know where to find him.” “Yeah better than me running all over Las Vegas trying to find him.” She nodded slowly and lent tiredly on his desk. “His name?” He asked picking up the phone after looking through the phone book and dialled. “Nick Stokes.” Danny replied pinching the bridge of her nose to help fight off the ache behind her eyes. She listened as he spoke to whoever was on the other end, explaining what was going on. “Yes, I’ll hold.” He said with a sigh. “I’m being transferred to his supervisor.” He informed her with a small sympathetic smile before turning his attention back to the phone. “Yes sir, I have a Danielle Henderson here looking for her cousin Nick Stokes, the number she had for him is disconnected, her parents were supposed to call a head and warn him that she was coming.” He listened for a moment. “Yes Dr Grissom I understand that...just a moment...” He looked at her. “Do you have a cell phone?” “No, it broke, I was told to get another one while I was here.” She shook her head. “No she doesn’t.” He sighed and then rattled off his desk phone number and listened for another few minutes. “Thank you Dr Grissom.” He hung up. “He’s going to call Mr Stokes and get him to call back, they have just gotten off shift so he’s not there at the moment. Mr Stokes has had a few problems over the last year and had to change his number and they aren’t willing to give his number out to someone they don’t know.” “Fair enough.” She nodded in agreement and lent back in her seat and rested her eyes. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before his phone pulsed and he picked it up. “Car Claim, Rick Richardson speaking.” He answered and listened. “Yes, alright not a problem, thank you.” He hung up. “Dr Grissom said to catch a cab to CSI and Mr Stokes will pick you up from there.” He jotted down the directions and the address and handed it to her. “You alright to drive?” He asked in concern. “Yeah, I got a few more hours in me before I crash.” She nodded taking the directions, standing and hoisting her back pack over her shoulders. “Thanks for the help.” “You’re welcome, enjoy your stay in Las Vegas.” He smiled. “Thanks.” She picked up her duffle bag and headed out to where her bike had been parked, she secured the duffle bag to the back of her bike, kicked her leg over the seat and made sure her back pack was settled properly, pulled on her helmet and kicked the bike into life. Danny looked over the directions carefully before she left the airport. She grimaced as she weaved through the morning rush hour traffic carefully, pausing to look over the directions at nearly every set of traffic lights until she pulled into a parking lot and a official looking building in front of her. A group of people were waiting near the entrance of the building talking and she parked, turning off the bike and heard them speaking as she pulled off her helmet. “How can parents just put a child on a plane and not warn the person on the other end that they are coming?” A red haired woman growled, sounding affronted. “Or even check to see if they were here or could take them in?” A chocolate skinned man sighed. “Some people don’t think, Cath. Nicky hasn’t seen his cousin Danielle in years, though he does get emails from every few months.” “How old was she the last time he saw her?” A younger slightly bouncing young man asked frowning. “Do we even know how old she is now?” “She was eight I think and He said she’s around sixteen now, but he admitted she might be older.” The chocolate skinned man shrugged. “Where is Nicky, Warrick?” Cath frowned looking around. “He’s formally requesting a few days off so he can get her settled and find out what is going on.” Warrick shrugged again. Danny sighed, shaking out her hair and set her helmet on the seat. These people obviously worked with Nick and were probably good friends. She took a deep breath to steady herself and headed towards them. “Um excuse me?” She caught their attention fidgeting slightly. “Do you know where I can find Nick Stokes?” “Danny.” She turned at the tired yet smiling face that was approaching and returned the tired smile. “Nicky.” She willingly fell into the offered hug. “Sorry to just show up, Ma said she called and everything was arranged.” She pulled a face. “Makes me wonder who she really ended up talking to.” “Me too, but you got here safe and you found me so it’s all good.” He kissed her forehead before she pulled back. “The cab get you here alright?” “Drove.” She nodded to her bike. “Parents paid to have it shipped with me, so I could get around without having to depend on cabs.” “Sweet, how did you talk them into buying you that?” He looked over the bike. “Ducati? Those are expensive.” “It a few models down from the one I really wanted but it’s a good starter bike, next year I can got up a level if I want but it gets me to where I need to go.” She shrugged. “It was an apology present and birthday present all in one.” “Apology for what?” Nick frowned. “Ignoring me.” She shrugged. “We’ll talk when we get back home.” He gave her a stern look. “Let me introduce you to my friends and then you can follow me home.” He smiled. “This is Catherine Willows. Greg Sanders and Warrick Brown, guys this is Danny.” He glanced towards the building. “The only one missing is Grissom, he’s buried under paper work right now.” “Nice to meet you.” Danny smiled tiredly. “Let’s get you home.” Nick nudged her shoulder. “No doubt you’ll meet them all again later.” He grinned at them. Danny nodded and waved at them before heading back to her bike and kicked it back into life, settled her helmet and waited for Nick to show up in his car and followed him through Las Vegas to a quiet neighbourhood forty five minutes away from the lab. She pulled in next to him in the garage, grabbed her duffle bag and followed him into the house. “I’ll give you a quick tour, then you can get cleaned up and fall into bed.” He said locking the door. “Lounge, kitchen and Dining room is through there.” He pointed as he lead her through the house and into a hallway. “My room, bathroom, empty room, linen closet, guest room one and two, bathroom, guest room three.” He opened the last door and gestured for her to enter. It was simple in it’s set up. Double bed against the far wall, bed side table, on the other wall was a walk in closet, with chested draws inside with a mirror, against the hallway wall was a desk and chair. “Figured down here you’d have some privacy when you want it.” He lent against the door frame. “Appreciated.” She nodded setting her duffle bag and back pack on the bed. “They give you any details?” He asked as she began unpacking. “Nope, just that I was going to be picked up by you at the airport and they’d call when I could come home. If Uncle Sisko was home I’d have been sent to him but I was told he was out of state for a few weeks.” She shook her head and put everything away quickly and neatly, it wasn’t as if she had a lot stuff with her. “All they said was they didn’t want me to get pulled into whatever was going on.” She handed him an envelope out of her duffle bag. “Said to give that to you or Uncle Sisko which ever I ended up with.” Nick frowned and opened it and blinked a few times. Inside were two checks, one made out to him and the other to his father. The note with it just said it was to cover anything that she needed while she was away, including schooling if she was with them that long. “What the hell have they gotten themselves into.” He muttered shaking his head. He checked the envelope to make sure that was all and found another note, turning custody over to Nick and Sisko Stokes. “Don’t know but Dad has been jumpy for months and Ma is always looking over her shoulder.” Danny sat down on the edge of her bed with a change of clothes sitting in her lap. “Whatever it was it was bad, it felt like they were saying goodbye when they rushed me to the airport.” She looked up at him as he knelt down in front of her, her eyes watering. “Life at home hasn’t been good Nico.” She whispered as a tear slid down her cheek. “When I wasn’t being ignored I got yelled at, it got to the point where it was better to be ignored then noticed.” “Is that why you sent me a copy of your permission slips so you could go on school outings?” He asked quietly, his hand clasping hers. “Yeah, when I couldn’t get a hold of you I called Uncle Sisko.” “Did he know how things were going at home?” “Yeah, I told him. He said he’d look into it and that if things got worse he’d come and get me.” She nodded shakily, wiping at the tears that she couldn’t hold back any more. “I know he’s a busy man but it hurt when Ma told me that he couldn’t take me in cause he was away...I know that it wasn’t his fault just bad timing but...” “It still hurt.” Nicky gave her a small sad smile and pulled her into a hug. “I know, but I’m glad that you are here” He held her as she cried and let her go with a kiss to the fore head when she pulled back. “Now the only thing you need to know right this minute is that Grissom lives next door in the other half of the duplex and he drops by to check up on me, he has a key so don’t be surprised to see him walking around the house.” He squeezed her hand. “Now feel free to take over the second bathroom, get cleaned up and I’ll make us some breakfast.” “Omlets?” She asked in small voice. “Omelets it is, tea or coffee?” “Tea, black three sugars.” She replied pulling herself together, grabbed her toiletries bag and clothes and headed to the bathroom. “Towels in there are clean.” Nick added as he passed her, heading for the kitchen. Danny focused on getting clean and changed into sweat pants and a sloppy top. As she brushed her long brown hair after towelling it dry and braided it she thought about cutting it short so it wasn’t always in the way or such a hassle to deal with. She put her dirty clothes in her room and padded to the kitchen and found an older man talking to Nick. “Danny this is Grissom, Gris this is Danny.” Nick introduced them with a smile as he set an omlet on a plate and handed it to her. “Hello, sir.” She gave him a shy smile and sat down at the bench. “It’s nice to meet you Danny.” He gave her a smile before digging into his own omlet. “And one black tea.” Nick set it down in front of her before sitting on the other side of the bench with his own food. “I left a message on Sisko’s cell, asking him to call me and that you were here. I’ll see what he knows and what would be the best course of action to take.” He sipped at his coffee. “What do you mean if you don’t mind me asking?” Grissom asked looking a little surprised. “With her they sent custody papers for me and Sisko, along with two checks to cover expenses.” Nick shrugged. “Considering we don’t know what is going down I don’t know if it is wise to take the money, personally with what I’ve heard so far I’m all for taking permanent custody and not letting them take her back when and if they come asking.” He looked at Danny who was focused on her food and didn’t seem to be listening. “You’ve got what a year until your eighteen?” “Ten months.” She nodded eyes still locked on her plate. “After that she’s of legal age and they can’t do anything.” Nick nodded. “If she doesn’t want to go after she turns eighteen then she doesn’t have to.” “What about when you’re working Nicky? You’re not going to be around a lot.” Grissom pointed out. “Remember there are days where we don’t leave the lab.” “She’s pretty independent, she can look after herself and she knows when to ask for help.” Nick shrugged. “Most of the time she’ll be at school...” He paused. “I apologise for talking as if you aren’t here Danny.” “I don’t mind.” She smiled. “Personally I think my brain prefers it right now.” She sighed finishing her meal and cradled her mug in her hands. “What I don’t think you are realising right now is that it is summer holidays. I have three months before I have to go back to school, two months before I have to start even thinking about enrolling here.” She sipped at her cooling tea. “I could take summer courses or see if I can get a job locally.” “I know that most summers you spend with other family lately...which side?” Nick asked frowning. “Are they going to be upset when you don’t show?” “I usually get sent to Miami for the summer and stay with dad’s second cousin there.” She glanced at the clock. “I’ll have to call in a few hours and let him know what is going on.” “Why not send you to him?” Grissom frowned. “If that’s where you always stay?” “Closer family ties with me and Sisko.” Nick answered for her. “The courts won’t fight it.” He sighed. “They’ve gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that she is safe and that we’ll be able to help keep her safe.” He shook his head. “You said you sometimes stay in DC some summers?” “When things were too busy in Miami I got sent to stay with one of Dad’s frat brothers, he’s pretty much an Uncle without the blood ties.” She nodded. “The last two summers I’ve stayed half with him and half in Miami.” She sighed. “Either way I get left on my own a lot, they gotta work. I’ll call them both and let them know where I am.” She shook her head. “What I wouldn’t give for my computer, it’s got all the phone numbers in it.” “What happened to your cell?” “Dad broke it.” She shrugged. “On the way to the airport he gave me some money to buy a new one as an apology.” “I’ll show you where the local shops are so you know where to go tomorrow, then you can get a new one.” Nick nodded and smiled slightly as she smothered a yawn. “Go and get some sleep, I’m about to hit the bed myself.” “Alright.” She nodded and gulped down the last of her tea. “Oh and Danny?” He called as she headed for the hall. “Don’t sneak around the house, just move normally, or if you move quietly make some noise so I don’t think you are an intruder.” “Right.” She nodded and headed straight for her bed. She closed the curtains on the windows and fell into bed. It took her a little while to drop off considering the newness of the place but in the end her exhaustion caught up with her. *** Danny woke feeling disorientated and still a little tired but got up anyway when her watch informed her that it was just after one in the afternoon. If she slept any later she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight and she would be fine after seven hours sleep, after a few cups of tea. She dress in jeans and singlet already feeling the heat coming in through the curtains and made her way to the kitchen barely remembering to walk normally instead of her usual cat pad of silence. She made herself up a cup of tea after searching the cupboards for a few moments to find the tea and sugar. Having the hot mug of tea in her hands she stared out the back door into the back yard letting her mind slowly wake a little more, before wondering the area and found the laundry. She headed back to the kitchen for her second cup of tea, she blinked as she finally noticed the note on the fridge for her. ‘Danny, Call your friends in Miami and DC and let them know that you are safe and where you are. Feel free to give them the house number so they can contact you when they need to. Nick’ Under the note was the house phone number, his cell number and address. “Right. Gotta call and let them know.” She nodded to herself and looked around the lounge room until she spotted the portable phone and picked it up. She sat down on the couch, mug on the coffee table and dialled DC first. “NCIS how may I direct you call?” A clipped voice answered after a few rings. “Special Agent DiNozzo please.” She replied picking up her mug and sipped from it while she waited for the call to go through. “You’ve reached Tony DiNozzo, I’m not available right now please leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you.” Tony’s voice came over the line and she sighed. “Tony, it’s Danny. I don’t think I’ll be coming this year, I would have called you at home but I lost my phone and all the numbers. I’m currently in Las Vegas with cousin Nick. I don’t even have my computer at the moment so I can’t email either, they didn’t give me much time to pack this time.” She rattled off the house phone number. “I can be contacted there for now, I’ll let you know as soon as I get a new cell number so you can contact me easier. Hope you’re have a better day then me. Later Uncle Tony.” She hung up before thinking hard to retrieve the next number, hoping that it was her cousin’s number she was remembering as she punched it in. When she had first stayed with him, he’d made her memorize four numbers. His cell, his friends cell, the house number and the office. She also knew that she would have better luck catching him on his cell. “Speed.” A deep voice answered. “Sorry Speed I was trying to reach Horatio.” She apologised cursing under her breath. “I must have gotten the numbers mixed.” “Danny? Where are you?” His voice was worried. “You’re parents called last week and said you were coming here this summer, all your gear is here but you were nowhere to be found and your phone has been disconnected.” “Great. Just great. We knew they called someone just not the one I was being sent to.” She sighed. “They sent you to DC?” He asked slowly. “But sent your gear here?” “No, they sent me to cousin Nick in Vegas. I got here but he wasn’t here to pick me up and his phone number had been changed. Took a little bit of searching but I found him and he took me home happily, we just couldn’t figure out who they had called to make arrangements with as they didn’t call him.” She sighed shaking her head. “I got in around five this morning.” “Thank god you’re safe, that’s all that matters. Trust them to screw it up again.” He sighed. “Do you have a contact number?” She rattled off the number on the paper. “Do you want us to send you your gear? Most of what they sent you’ve already got here as back up.” “Please.” She gave him the address as well. “I only have time to pack a few changes of clothes and my bathroom gear before they rushed me out of the house and onto the plane. No one is impressed with them this time.” “Do you know what is going on?” He asked, it sounded as if he was walking through hall ways. “Nope, they wanted me out so I wouldn’t get caught up in whatever was going on and they did it fast. They even sent me with custody papers for cousin Nick and his father.” “What the hell is going on? That doesn’t sound good Danny.” “I know, all I know is that deep down in my gut it is bad and they didn’t want me caught in the cross fire.” She admitted sadly. “Though I might be able to talk Nick into letting me visit for a week or two if you guys don’t get bogged down with cases.” “Well at the moment I can tell you the answer is no.” Speed sighed. “I know what the first three weeks of summer is like for you guys.” “Here talk to H.” He said suddenly and heard the faint added. “It’s Danny.” “Danny? Everything alright?” Horatio’s calm voice came over the line. “Everything is fine, H. They sent me to Vegas and got everything else mixed up. I’m guessing they thought they called Nick, arranged everything and sent me off.” She assured him. “Alright I expect a better detailed explanation later, you want your things?” “Please, I gave Speed my current address and house number. I gotta go and get a new cell tomorrow.” “Will do, send us the number when you get it.” She heard his sigh. “Gotta go, Danny.” “I’ll email later. Bye.” She promised before hanging up and wrote down Speeds cell and the NCIS office number and returned to her room and dug out the new address book that she’d never used and wrote them all down so she could have them on hand next time. With empty mug in hand she returned to the kitchen to make a bite to eat and another cup of tea and took them ou t to the back patio, closing the door behind her to enjoy the sun. She looked around and was a little surprised to see that three houses shared the back yard and had no fences. It gave them plenty of space and raised an eyebrow wondering who owed the third house. She knew Grissom was to the right, but she didn’t know who lived at the back of them, it must have been someone they knew to share the flowing garden. On the far left of Nick’s side was a large shed, with a slightly smaller one next to it, closer to the house was a large washing line, a large swimming pool took up most of the back end of the unknown house, with a fence around it. Grissom’s back yard was neat, like the others, the back end was lined with tanks filled with what looked like sand and foliage, close to the house was a spa. She took it all in munching on her toast. She spent some time soaking in the sun before the heat drove her indoors. Feeling a little restless she tidied the kitchen up, washing the dishes and put them away. It was close to four pm when coffee machine clicked on and began making a pot of strong coffee, startling her from browsing through the weekend paper. Shaking her head she turned her attention back to the paper, she guessed that Nick would be up soon. She browsed through the employment section before she found the section for the summer courses that took high schoolers and college students. She browsed through the offered courses to see if anything grabbed her attention, circling the ones that sounded interesting. So far she had a wood working course, auto mechanics, computer programming with beginning course of coding, Accounting for beginners, two art courses and general chemistry. They started in two weeks, enrolment closed in a week so she could still enrol if she wanted to go, if only for something to do over the summer break. Five week courses with a week break followed by two weeks of tests, if you passed you got a certificate and an opportunity to sign up for the next level up for the next summer. “Morn’in Danny.” Nick said sleepily as he wondered into kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Morning.” She chuckled as he nearly sculled the first cup and took his time with the second. “Sleep well?” He asked joining her at the bench stealing the front part of the paper. “Like a log, woke up at one.” She nodded, circling another course that peaked her interest. “Called the others, I found out who they called with the arrangements. They sent all my gear to Miami and told them that I was coming.” She pulled a face. “They were in a near panic when I didn’t turn up, but everything is settled and they are sending the rest of my gear here.” “Good.” “Had to leave a message for Tony, he wasn’t in the office when I called and it’s the only number I had memorized so I’ll have to wait for him to call back.” They both looked towards the back patio door when they heard a whoop followed by a large splash. “Greg is crazy.” Nick shook his head with a chuckle. “The bouncing one from this morning?” She asked curious. “Yeah, he lives at the back, Grissom to the right.” He nodded. “Greg bought the house three years ago, last year Grissom bought his and I bought this one, pooled our money to get them. We wanted the space, so we ripped out the fences, sometimes the labs get a little claustrophobic and it’s great for team BBQ’s.” He grinned. “I admit the houses were a lot larger then what I was looking for and have no idea what to do with the space but I’ve gotten used to it.” He tilted his head a little. “Thinking about turning one of the spare rooms in to a photo lab so I can do my photos again.” He shook his head. “I still haven’t gotten around to emptying the basement yet, I have no idea what to do with all those tools down there, they came with the house.” “What sort of tools?” She asked looking interested. “Last owner had it done up as a wood shop.” “Cool, might take a look later. If there are the right tools I’ll have something to do until I decide what I want to do.” “I forgot you loved wood shop.” Nick chuckled. “Help yourself, I know I won’t be using it.” “Thanks.” She nodded. “What time are the shops open until?” “Most nights until about seven, you need something that won’t wait until tomorrow?” He asked raising an eyebrow. “Not really just bored and restless, back home I used to drive around for awhile, can’t do that here until I learn my way around and have a cell so I can call when I get lost.” She shook her head, her eyes still scanning the pages. “With my stuff coming in the next few days, do you mind if I steal one of the spare rooms to do up as a study?” “Sure, won’t take long to move the single bed out.” Nick nodded finishing off his second coffee and getting up to find something to eat. “You’re going to need furniture for it though, I think Greg and Grissom have a few spare pieces that they would let you borrow until I can get you some.” He made himself a sandwich and sat back down. “How big a desk are you going to need? I remember you saying something about a large computer.” “Not so much as a large computer just have a few monitors.” She shrugged. “I had it all set up on a large corner desk at home, all up I think it was about two normal desk lengths, three book shelves and my TV in my room.” “Well I know Greg has a spare large desk and I have two long book shelves in the shed so that’s easily done.” Nick nodded. “Do you know what exactly is being sent?” “Boxes of clothes, books and my computer would be my guess.” She shook her head. “Depends on how much of my room they sent.” “Then we have an afternoon planned then.” Nick grinned before digging to his breakfast. *** Three days later her study was set up, her things had arrived and been unpacked, Sisko had finally gotten back to Nick to discuss the custody papers and signed. They had spoken for hours about what to do about the checks before they had finally been put into an account that they would use to get the things she needed, but otherwise wouldn’t be touched. She finally had a new phone and gotten shown around the local area by Nick and Greg, so she knew where everything was. Cell numbers were exchanged and after searching through her computer restored her lost numbers Nick had encouraged her to go to summer school just so she would have something to do and signed up for Wood Shop, Auto mechanics and Computer programming with beginners Coding. It made her schedule a little full but it would keep her occupied for the rest of the summer, leaving her four days until classes started. She logged on to the net and nudged Abby who was online, letting her know that she wanted a web cam conversation when she wasn’t busy. She was worried that Tony hadn’t gotten back to her yet and that really wasn’t like him even when he was run off his feet with work. It wasn’t long before Abby in her full goth glory appeared on her screen with a grin. “Hey Dan, been awhile since you were on line.” “Parents.” She rolled her eyes as she adjusted the headset mike on her head. “They shipped me off to Vegas this year but sent my stuff to Miami.” “Oh my.” Abby snickered. “They are getting worse honey.” “I know not much I can do about it.” She shrugged. “How are things there?” “Busy, but not as bad as last summer when you were here.” She looked over her shoulder as some of her equipment beeped, she turned and pushed some buttons before turning back to the screen. “Why the concern about how busy it is here?” She asked frowning. “I left a message for Tony to call me three days ago, he hasn’t gotten back to me.” She frowned biting her lip. “That’s not like him, Abby, he gets worried when I got two days without letting him know how I am either by phoning or emailing and I hadn’t done either. I only got my computer back last night.” “I really couldn’t tell you Danny, he’s been forgetful lately, really focused on something else.” Abby shared the concerned look. “Even Gibbs has noticed and he can’t get him to refocus, if this keeps up he’s going to end up on leave...by force.” Abby turned to look at something behind her. “Hey Gibbs, got your results right here.” Danny watched as Abby moved around the room. “Danny.” Gibbs greeted her shortly. “Call Tony.” “I did three days ago, he never returned my call, I left a message on his voice mail. I tried calling earlier by I got voice mail on all three lines.” Her frown deepened. “I’ll send him down then.” Gibbs growled and stormed off with the reports Abby had given him. “How long has this been going on?” Danny asked uncertain in what to think. “About two weeks, all we know is that he got a phone call from an old friend and he went into hyper I’m not here mode.” Abby shrugged giving her a helpless look. “I even tried hacking his computer to find out if he’s been working on stuff on the side but there is nothing.” “Gibbs bellowed that you wanted to see me Abby?” Tony walked into the room, his posture stiff, her face blank and his eyes hard. “Not me.” She pointed to the monitor. “Danny.” He inclined his head. “You didn’t return my calls and I was worried.” Danny chewed on her bottom lip at his body language. “I’ve been busy, Danny. I do apologise for not returning your call a few days ago, I haven’t had time.” She notice his eyes flick to Abby and back in an almost unnoticed move. “I did get your new home number and address along with your cell...what happened to the old one?” “Dad threw it against a wall in a fit of temper.” Danny winced at the memory, before locking her attention on Tony taking in all the details his body was giving her at what might be wrong. “So you are in Vegas huh? Good so far?” “Yeah not bad, something is always open. The only time it is close to quiet is near dawn when shift change happens. But we are far enough out of the main city that the noise isn’t a problem.” Her eye caught Abby’s hands moving in the back ground. Gibbs wants to talk before you sign off. “I gotta go Danny, I’ll call tonight alright?” He glanced at the clock. “Usual time.” “Alright but if you don’t I’m going to bitch slap you.” She warned her seriously and glared at his back when he just flashed her a charming smile and hurried off. “He thinks I’m joking.” “You’d really fly all the way from Nevada to Dc just to bitch slap him?” Abby blinked. “Then I’d kick his arse.” Danny nodded scowling. “Anything?” Gibbs asked as he walked into the room with a concerned look in his eyes. “Officially there is nothing wrong.” Danny sighed. “But I’ve seen that side of Tony before, when I was younger and it confused the hell out of me until he explain it a few years ago.” “Let me guess you can’t tell me.” Gibbs glared at her. “No but I can help you guess.” Danny gave him a grim smile. “Is he late? Always Tired? Always disappearing one moment and reappearing the next with no explanation?” “Yes to all.” Gibbs growled then paused and snarled as Danny slowly nodded. “What?” Abby frowned. “He’s working undercover.” Gibbs snarled before storming out of the room. “That is not a happy Gibbs.” Abby grimaced. “His best agent is being used undercover and he didn’t know about it, would you be?” Danny replied shaking her head. “I’ll let you know if I am heading your way tomorrow.” “Alright, let me know if you need anything.” Abby nodded. “Will do.” Danny nodded and signed out. “You got enough money for a ticket?” Nick asked leaning against the door frame. “I got some saved up.” She nodded. “If he’s being an idiot then he deserves to be slapped.” “I agree, you don’t go into those sorts of situations without back up that you trust.” He pushed off the door frame and stood beside her, resting his hand on her shoulder. “You okay?” “Annoyed, he swore that he would never go undercover again. He hates it, it always takes him months to recover afterwards mentally.” She nodded slowly. “At least now that Gibbs knows he’ll keep an eye on him.” “He seemed angry.” “He’s angry at himself for not seeing it sooner.” Danny sighed. “Do you mind me going?” “No, I was actually going to offer you the money for the ticket and a lift to the airport.” He grinned. “I’ll take my bike, that way I can get home without have to disturb you at work.” She shook her head. “Remember you go back tomorrow night.” “Let me know when you get home, that way I’ll stop fretting.” He bent a little and kissed her forehead. “Mother hen.” She teased him. “Only for you.” He teased back. “I’m heading to Warrick’s for a few hours, order yourself something when you get hungry, money is in the lounge doorway table. Leave a note if you leave before I get back.” He told her handing her a key ring. “Front door keys.” “Thanks.” She nodded and watched him leave. Still feeling annoyed and worried she pulled up one of her programs that she was experimenting with and poured her emotions out on the keyboards. When the time passed of the expected call even with the time differences she made her call to the airport to book a flight to DC. She packed a bag with a few things she thought she would need and went to bed for a few hours before her flight. *** When she stepped off the flight she was cranky and had a headache from a few kids on the flight that just wouldn’t shut up for the entire flight. She wasn’t surprised that there was no one to pick her up, after all she had only told Abby that she was coming. She flagged a cab down and gave him the address and rested her eyes for the drive to NCIS headquarters. As soon as she had signed in she headed for Abby’s lab. She returned the hug that the bouncing woman gave her and set her duffle bag down under the desk out of the way and sat down to chat for awhile. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before Tony came down to speak with Abby. She was getting off the phone to Speed when Tony finally came in handing Abby a caf-pow. She lent against the desk just out of his view watching him. “What’s wrong Tony?” Abby asked at his frown. “Ever get that nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something and you can’t put your finger on it, but you know that it was damn important?” He asked sounding frustrated. “Oh Tony.” Abby gave him a disappointed look. He turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder and then staggered back when something punched him in the jaw. Hard. “Asshole.” “Is this a bad time?” Gibbs stood in the door way with Kate and McGee right behind him. “Wow, Tony I think she knows you, a little young for you don’t you think?” Kate snarked looking a little surprised. “Nice to know I’m so fucking forgettable.” Danny seethed at him her fists clenched restraining from hitting him again. “Danny.” Tony exclaimed, rubbing his jaw, his eyes watering from the blow. “I warned you what would happen if you forgot again. You promised.” Tears beyond her control welling up. “You promised that you wouldn’t do what dad did.” She spun and slammed her way through the group around the door, using the stair well to get out of the building ignoring Tony calling after her. Instead of leaving she was caught by a startled Ducky coming out of the morgue. “My dear girl, what has that lout done this time?” He asked in his soothing voice and held on to her when she struggled to get away until she collapsed in his arms, sobbing on his shoulder. She was barely aware that she was lead into morgue and into Ducky’s office and settled down on the spare cot. He held her until she slid into an exhausted sleep. *** “Ducky have you seen Danny?” Gibbs faint voice asked. Danny slowly opened her eyes, rubbing at them when they stuck together to get them to open properly and to focus. “She’s sleeping in my office, she was quite distraught when she ran into me. I thought she was going to Miami this year?” “She was sent to Vegas this year to stay with a cousin. She tried to get a hold of him for four days before I sent him down to Abby’s lab to talk to her. He promised to call her last night, he had no excuses not to, we cleared our desks before we quit last night.” He sighed. “I take it her being here that he forgot and she finally followed through with her promise to slap him if he ever treated her like her father did.” Ducky sounded sad. “She didn’t slap him, she decked him hard in the jaw.” Gibbs snorted. “She got hell of a right hook on her, his jaw is bruised and it shows.” “Let me guess you and the others walked in at that moment.” Ducky sighed. “Yep. Tony’s spent the last few hours trying to track her down to apologise, well between our newest case anyway.” Danny stood up slowly and made her way out of the office. “I’m sorry Uncle Gibbs.” She murmured looking down at the floor. “It was childish behaviour all round.” “I understand why, after all when you made that deal he agreed and said he would deserve it, remember.” He tapped her chin to make her look up. “As for running off, that I can understand too. You’ve had a very emotional week, that you probably haven’t even realised that you needed to deal with, after all you usually speak with Tony or H about these sorts of things and you haven’t been able to do so.” He pulled her gently into a hug, kissing the top of her head. He held her silently while she clung to him. “I feel like a five year old.” She sniffled before pulling a hankie out and cleaned up her face. “For a good reason.” He released her. “You ready to talk to him?” “I guess I better, I did come all this way to see him.” She nodded slowly. “And it would be childish and selfish to avoid him now.” “Good, let’s go. He’s in Abby’s lab.” He led her out, arm over her shoulders. Danny leaned into the one arm hug and reluctantly let him go as they entered the lab. Though she could help the smirk that covered her lips when she saw him leaning against the bench with an ice pack pressed against his jaw. “If I can’t find her how am I supposed to apologise?” Tony grumbled. “You deserved it.” Danny informed him moving out from behind Gibbs. Tony leapt off the stool and pulled her into a hug. “I did, and I’m sorry that I forgot.” He murmured into her ear holding her tight. “I must admit that your punches have improved.” He added releasing her giving her a proud look. “I took a few classes after school.” She shrugged. “You did suggest that I learned better to protect myself so I did.” She covered her mouth as she tried to smother a cough and took a few slow breaths as her chest twinged. “You okay?” Tony gave her a concerned look. “Yeah I’m just over due for my hospital appointment this year.” She nodded quickly as she found her duffle bag and dug through and pulled out a ventiline as another cough tore through her lungs. She sprayed twice between spasms until it settled down. “When were you supposed to go?” “The afternoon they shipped me out, I made an appointment in Vegas, the only one I could get is for tomorrow afternoon, so I gotta head back tonight.” She sank down on the stool. “Have you told Nick?” Tony frowned. “He won’t be able to help if he doesn’t know what to do if you have a bad attack.” “I explained it to him, but I don’t think he realises just how bad they can get” She sighed. “I couldn’t show him how to work the air filter because I’m out and don’t have a script for any of it anymore hence the rush for the hospital appointment and trying to stay in control so I won’t trigger an attack.” “He is at least going with you?” “He’s back at work tomorrow, he’ll be sleeping.” She shook her head. “Not the first time I have to do this alone. He couldn’t get any more time off, he said he’d try and make it but you know how the crime goes.” “Yeah it prevented any of us going with you a few times.” Tony sighed. “Four years later and I’m still trying to figure out how you pneumonia in the middle of summer in California.” “Pure talent.” She grinned at him. “At least I only have to go in for the checkups once a year now. Doc said if the damage hadn’t healed by now it won’t, so I have to haul my ass in once a year for the check up and get a years supply of everything and haul it home again. Not so bad.” “Yeah you just can’t play sports anymore, run around like you used to like a maniac. Just gentle swimming, brisk walking and ...” He paused thinking about it. “You really shouldn’t be doing martial arts either.” “Just the Kata mainly and long walks.” She agreed. “Couldn’t do the full training because you need good breath control.” She glanced at the clock and sighed, it was heading for late afternoon, most of the day had been wasted because she’d fallen asleep. “What time is your flight?” Tony asked quietly look at the clock himself. “Three hours.” She looked around the lab and realised they were on their own. “You going to tell me why you’re doing UC work again? You said you’d never do it again after the last time screwed with you.” She asked softly. “And don’t say you had to, there is an entire agency of people how could do it, not just you.” “I know, if it’s one thing I am good at is putting up masks.” He sighed. “As for why, well lets just say that it was do the job or let the door hit my ass on the way out.” He shook his head. “It’s not going well, when it all blows up I’m taking a vacation.” He added tiredly. “You could come and visit me.” She gave him an impish smile. “Just remember to at least let Abby and Gibbs know before you take off and let me know.” “I will.” He kissed her forehead. *** Danny concentrated on driving through the evening traffic, the afternoons class still running through her head. She had signed up for three classes and in the end had only ended up with one. The others had been cancelled due to not enough people signing up for them to make it worth while of running a class. She was a little upset at not having all her classes as it still left her with a lot of spare time, but at least it was something that she had wanted to learn anyway. The Auto Mechanics class so far was interesting, considering that it had only been running for two weeks, another week of theory in the morning and hands on experience on old run down cars before they had a small test to make sure they knew what they were doing before they moved on to actually repairing running cars. Things were good with Tony, once every three days he called and they caught up, even if it was a short email letting her know that he was run off his feet but it was the thought that he was actually thinking of her and remembered that she was waiting to hear from him was nice. She also got updates from Abby letting her know that Tony had finally pulled himself together, she wasn’t sure the cause but he seemed a lot more relaxed over the last week and she was curious as to the cause. Not that anyone was saying anything about it. H and Speed were still dealing with the summer heat rush of murders down in Miami, but things were slowly starting to settle down. H was hinting that there was some down time coming their way and that he was thinking about taking a few days and coming down to visit. That piece of news had brightened up her day when she had heard it, telling him in no uncertain terms that she was looking forward to it, and that if they couldn’t come down she’d find a way to come and visit instead. Nick and his friends had gotten used to her being around and had relaxed somewhat around her, she knew that something was going on in the background, but didn’t have enough clues yet to put it all together yet. After her trip to the hospital, or rather during it she’d had a small attack that had scared the hell out of Nick. He got to learn firsthand what to do when she suddenly had trouble breathing and how to set up the air tanks so she could get air and how to get her calmed down again. She knew that it had scared him, making him hesitant to leave her alone all hours of the night while he was working. It had taken her new doctor and herself over an hour to get him calmed and explain that it didn’t happen all that often and while it happened it was scary but it was nothing to panic about as long as she got her ventiline and air within ten minutes of an attack starting. If she didn’t or she was still dazed and unfocused after half an hour then he was to bring her in. A few days afterwards, after a slow night at work he’d asked her permission to teach Greg, Grissom and Warrick how to help her as they were the main people that came around the most. That way if she had an attack and he wasn’t there they would know what to do. She had to smile and agreed with him, it was the same thing that H and Tony had done once they had all been through it on their own and Speed had, had to deal with an attack on his own without knowing what to do. Gibbs also had been through it and had demanded afterwards to be told what to do so next time he was prepared for her to go pale and suddenly start choking for air. She hit the garage button on her bike as she pulled into the drive and waited for the door to rise, she parked, closed the door and headed in. For once she had no homework with left her with little to focus on for the night. She set her bag by the door so when Nick came home would know that she was in, along with her helmet. He left his keys and badge on the doorway table to let her know that he was home, the others had picked up the little signals that they used to let the other know that they were around and began doing the same, especially after she’d come home and Warrick had scared the crap out of her just popping up out of the kitchen after Nick had gone to work. She glanced at the table as she passed it to see if anyone was in and raised an eyebrow as she spotted a bug book sitting there. Each person had a small item in the small draws that they left out to let her know who was there. Grissom was the bug book, Warrick was a pack of cards, Greg was a coffee mug, she had her helmet and Nick left his keys and badge. She rarely saw Catherine around unless they were having a team breakfast or lunch. “Grissom?” She called out after putting everything down and headed for the kitchen to see if Nick had left anything out for her to eat or if she had to cook. She wasn’t surprised to find him in the kitchen but raised an eyebrow at him just putting food onto two plates, not to mention he looked a little rumpled as if he had just rolled out of bed. “Not working tonight?” She asked making a cup of tea for herself and a mug of coffee for him. “No, I have to take one night a month off, mandatory.” He pulled a face. “Nothing I say will talk them into relenting so I take it and try not to complain too loudly.” He chuckled lightly. “I use to the time to catch up on the latest techniques in our fields.” “While I am not complaining about the company, or not having to cook, you don’t usually spend a lot of time around here when Nicky isn’t here.” She commented without actually asking why he was there. “Just wanted to company.” He shrugged. “Sometimes it just nice knowing that there is someone else around, even if they aren’t in the same room.” She agreed with a smile as she set the mugs on the table at the same time he set the plates in their places and they sat down to eat. “Which courses are you doing? Nicky said you signed up for a few of them but he wasn’t sure which ones you actually got.” He inquired. “I signed up for Wood shop, Computer programming and Auto Mechanics, ending up with only Auto Mechanics, there wasn’t enough people for them to run the other courses.” She answered easily, digging into the spaghetti bog he had made. “Still leaves me at loose ends most of the week, four days of classes that covers three to five hours.” She sighed. “You don’t like being idle?” He raised an eyebrow. “I get restless when I’ve got nothing to do, back home I used to drive around until I could settle down but Nicky doesn’t like me driving around after nine, which I don’t really blame him. It’s too easy to get lost or come across problem areas around here.” She replied between bites. “But you miss it.” He gave her a understanding look. “Yeah, some times when Nicky isn’t working he’ll go with me, let me take him for a spin around the city, so I still get to go.” She nodded. “I had the same rules in Miami and DC, I had to take someone with me if I got restless after a certain time.” A small smile played on her lips. “In Miami Speed would drive beside me, take me to a safe area where we could just forget about the road rules and let the throttle go and speed around before heading home again. Couldn’t really do that in DC unless I wanted to drive for hours first.” “What about your friends back home? Do you miss them?” He asked after a quiet moment. “Not really, I don’t make friends easily.” She shook her head. “I tend to spend most of my time around adults, for some reason I am just more comfortable around them then people around my own age. Most kids my age want to party, ignore the adults and forget anything they learn. Me, I like learning things that catch my interest, I learn a lot from the adults around me, mainly by learning from their mistakes.” She flashed him a mischievous grin. “Yes that is true.” He chuckled. “Like not getting caught.” She winked at him. “Always good advice if you want to have a little fun.” He chuckled. “I take it you are responsible for Greg having a plastic spider in the bottom of his coffee mug?” He asked in amusement. “Maybe.” She smiled slyly. “Or Warrick finding a stuffed toy parrot in his car?” He raised an eyebrow. “Now that wasn’t me.” She chuckled but shook her head. “Well I didn’t place it at any rate, I did buy it, I was going to give it to him as joke after that bad pirate imitation he pulled the other week, but it disappeared before I could.” She shrugged. “I guess Nicky liked it and put it in there, I don’t have access to their cars unless one of them is taking me shopping for food.” “Hmm, seems Nicky is having some fun.” He looked pleased. “It’s been awhile since any of us have seen Nicky so playful.” “It’s been a rough year or so for all the groups I stay with.” She nodded in understanding. “It amazes me at how strong they are, if I had gone through any of it, like they have I would have crumbled long ago.” She shook her head. “I asked them why once.” She added softly as she finished her meal and pulled her mug of tea closer. “And?” “They said with the work they do you have to take the bad with the good otherwise it wouldn’t be worth doing. It isn’t just a job to any of them but their life and they enjoy it. But none of them have denied that they have thought about walking away at one time or another, but there is too much to hold them where they are, too many good things that keep them going and good friends that help them pick up the pieces when they can’t.” She spoke staring into her mug. “I concentrate on the good and the joy they have with their jobs or I wouldn’t stop fretting that they are going to get killed on the job.” She closed her eyes in pain as a few memories hit her. “Two years ago Speed was nearly killed, two inches lower and he wouldn’t be here with us today, Tony got infected by the plague...” She shook her head to shake the images away. “There are so many times I could have lost any of them and there is always a chance that I still could every time they walk out that door to do their job, but then again they could easily be crossing the street on their day off and get hit by a car or something else.” She shrugged. “Like I said I try not to think about the bad just the good and how much fun we do have when we get together.” “Good advice.” Grissom nodded in agreement, eyeing her over the top of his coffee. “I notice that you watch people, read their body language with ease.” He said slowly as if weighing his words. “A good skill to have but I’m wondering what you have seen about us that we’ve never said.” “You worried I’ve seen something I shouldn’t?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “No I’m curious to see if you’ve seen what others have missed.” He shook his head. “A lot of people see things but don’t accept them, denial at it’s greatest. I’m not going to repeat anything you say, I know that me being their supervisor puts you a little on the spot but as I said I curious to see if you’ve picked up what I have.” “Well let’s start easy.” She looked at him steadily for a moment. “You, Nick, Greg and Warrick are really close, Catherine isn’t as close as you four. You and Greg have a father\son\sibling relationship that sometimes sparks in to sexual tension. Greg, Warrick and Nick have the friend\sibling thing down pat, teasing each other with ease of sibling rivalry. All three have the greatest respect for you but sometimes get very frustrated with you being so scientifically bound.” She slowly shook her head. “I’ve seen many things over the last three weeks, Grissom, some things that easily contradict with what I will see the next moment. Human emotions are a complex thing to the point that even a person doesn’t know what they are feeling until someone hits them over the head with it. They all look up to you as, father, mentor, enforcer, friend, confidant and boss on high that disciplines them when they’ve messed up. But they also see you as someone they can go to when they are troubled and get good advice, what they need not necessarily what they want.” She gulped down the last of her tea. “They all trust you, probably with more than just their lives on the job but with secrets they’ve never told anyone before...that is what makes you a strong team, the trust you all have in each other, if one wavers it’s usually for a damn good reason even if they can’t explain it.” She tilted her head thinking. “But when it all breaks down it will explode spectacularly and without a lot of hard work would never be able to get it back to what it was, it could end a lot worse or better than ever.” She leant back in her chair. “How’d I do?” “Surprisingly good, right down to the last piece.” He gave her an amused, proud look. “It did blow up in our faces, hard and messy. For awhile I feared that they would never recover, but we all pulled through...bar Catherine which is why she is only on the fringes of things when it comes to down time.” He sighed looking a little disappointed. “She didn’t see that things needed to be repaired, and the other member of our team walked, she burnt out.” He grimaced. “Though things were a little easier to put back together after she was gone.” “There is always one on the team that doesn’t fit all that well.” She nodded. “Just like there is always one that is the glue that holds you all together.”