Aliyah, Juliet & Zoey, Age 21

            September 15^th, 2038; the Shepard girls were in their junior year of college and to say that it was hard for Jaylyn to not have her girls around was an understatement. Aliyah, Juliet and Zoey had decided long before their senior year of high school had come to an end that they were attending Yale University. They also knew back then when they told their family that they were attending college in New Haven, Connecticut in the fall that their mother would likely end up in tears. Eventually Jaylyn had come to terms with her daughters being miles away. Jaylyn knew perfectly well that the girls would keep in touch and when they could; they would come home from school.

            This particular year the girls’ birthday fell in the middle of the week. So they celebrated their birthday together and with their friends at school. That weekend they were celebrating with their parents and brothers before their Aunt, Uncle and cousins along with everyone else from the NCIS extended family showered them with birthday wishes and gifts. But this birthday out of all twenty-one birthdays so far was the first of many that they weren’t celebrating with their family right away. That kind of bummed them out as much as it bothered Jaylyn.

            That morning the girls were in their dorm listening to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe before they went to breakfast and their 1100 class. They knew that at some point their mother would be calling to wish them a happy birthday and to make sure they weren’t drinking and driving tonight when they went out with their friends.

I threw a wish in the well,
Don't ask me, I'll never tell
I looked to you as it fell,
And now you're in my way

I'd trade my soul for a wish,
Pennies and dimes for a kiss
I wasn't looking for this,
But now you're in my way

Your stare was holdin',
Ripped jeans, skin was showin'
Hot night, wind was blowin'
Where you think you're going, baby?

Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

            The landline in the girls’ dorm rang as predicted. Before they answered the phone Juliet turned the music down some.

It's hard to look right,
At you baby,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

And all the other boys,
Try to chase me,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

You took your time with the call,
I took no time with the fall
You gave me nothing at all,
But still, you're in my way

I beg, and borrow and steal
Have foresight and it's real
I didn't know I would feel it,
But it's in my way

            “Happy 21^st Birthday, my loves.” Jaylyn said from her desk in the squad room.

            “Thanks Mom.” the girls said in unison.

Your stare was holdin',
Ripped jeans, skin was showin'
Hot night, wind was blowin'
Where you think you're going, baby?

Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

It's hard to look right,
At you baby,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

And all the other boys,
Try to chase me,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
I missed you so bad
I missed you so, so bad

            “I don’t have much time before your uncle tears through here again wanting answers from us, but I had to call you girls before we got too wrapped up in the case.”

            “What happened?” Aliyah asked clearly interested from the moment her mother said that the team had a case.

            “Petty Officer overdosed on crack cocaine that he smuggled on to the ship he was stationed on and one his lackeys, another Petty Officer was gunned down in the process.”

            Aliyah was a criminal justice major at Yale while Juliet was an English/Literature major at Yale. Zoey was an Art History major at the Ivy League University. So Juliet and Zoey were as fascinated about the case as their sister was.

Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
And you should know that
I missed you so, so bad

It's hard to look right,
At you baby,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

And all the other boys,
Try to chase me,
But here's my number,
So call me, maybe?

Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
I missed you so bad
I missed you so, so bad

Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
And you should know that

So call me, maybe?

            “You girls are going out tonight with your friends, right?”

            “Yes Mom, we are.” Juliet said wanting to speed the phone call up some so they were able to get something to eat before class.

            “Well be safe and enjoy yourselves, just don’t drink and drive.”

            “We’ll be careful; Mom, don’t worry.” Zoey said.

            “I’m a mom, Zoey Jolie. I have to worry about three of you and your brothers.”

            “Incoming.” Tony said as he spotted Jethro stepping off of the elevator with a cup of coffee in hand.

            “I think that means you should go, Mom; before Uncle Jethro blows up.” Aliyah said.

            “Time to say good-bye, J.”

            “Your Uncle says Happy Birthday. See you this weekend.” Jaylyn said as she hung up.

            Sometime later after the girls were done with their classes for the day and long before they went out with their friends, the girls got a call from Jenny. Jenny wished her nieces a happy birthday. Aliyah asked how the case their mother had mentioned earlier was going, to which Jenny said it had hit a brick wall which only made their Uncle that much more annoying as he pulled all the agency’s resources to close the case. Once the girls were done talking to their Aunt; they worked on some homework, got ready and went out with their friends until the wee hours of the following morning. Thankfully the girls each had one mid-afternoon class the next day so they were able to sleep away the hangovers they each had.