Tim McGee looked at the address of the email. It was unlike Gillian to send an email directly to his work address, but he was always glad to hear from the young woman who'd been his best friend during his undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins studying in bio medical engineering. She was a Navy Researcher working on ways of helping divers adapt better and faster to changes in pressure, and he was her research assistant. And Tim was honest enough with himself that although they'd been very close friends, he had always wished there could have been more. But she'd eventually met and married an older man, an Air Force officer who's father had been the commander of both Apollos 17 and 19.

Tim had stayed in contact with Gillian Austin over the years, neither one willing to let the friendship die. They'd exchanged emails, updates on their family life, and stayed in close contact. He was hoping to eventually introduce her and her husband to Delilah, something he was sure that both women would enjoy.

Gillian had even come to see him in the hospital after the bombing incident at the Yard. She'd gone a long way in helping him get his head back on straight about the mission. In a lot of ways, even though she was married and he was engaged, they were sounding boards for each other when it came to the non-classified details of their jobs. She'd told him of the frustrations she was going through with adjusting to the adoption of the twins, Harper and Haven, and he'd regaled her with stories of Gibbs' redheads and rules. He'd even agreed to o be Harper and Haven's godfather, a request that surprised him since Major Austin's family was rather prominent in DC circles, but he'd accepted gladly.

Haven and Harper Austin were two highly intelligent, precocious and charming children that had wormed their way into McGee's heart over the last five years. Guiltily, he realized that the last time he saw them was almost a year ago at their eleventh birthday. He knew that they had to be driving their parents to distraction by now.

And it was this last part that sent his stomach in his shoes when he saw the subject line of the email: Rule 44! He sat back in his chair and looked at the body of the text. It was simply a series of statements, "You once lost your heart on a world where leaves sing and dreams find life. Your age when we met. Michael's age when he crashed. Your grade in Niosynthetics."

"What's wrong McGee?" Ellie asked from her desk.

Tim shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"Figure it out later, McGee. We got two dead officers and a wrecked house in Chevy Chase. Grab your gear."

Tim's blood ran cold. "Boss."

"Get a move on McGee," Gibbs replied as he headed toward the elevator.

"Gibbs," Tim said again, his blood running cold."

Something in Tim's voice must have caught his boss' attention. He stopped and asked with his usual annoyed tone, "What is it McGee?"

"Please tell me the address isn't 2324 Ojai Lane."

Gibbs stopped and looked at him, his own blue-gray eyes narrowing to slits. "What do you know McGee?"

Gibbs didn't have to confirm his worst fears, all he did was grab his bag, his gun, an extra magazine of rounds, and raced toward the door. As he brushed past the stunned figures of Tony and Ellie, Gibbs grabbed his arm and pulled him around face to face. "What's wrong McGee?"

McGee fought back the panic in his soul and said, "Rule 44, Boss. Rule 44."

"Damn!" Tony said as he picked up his pace toward the elevator." Tim knew that Tony had no idea what he was talking about, but he knew the importance of that particular rule. It was part of Gibbs' emergency rules."

As the elevator closed around them, Ellie asked, "What's Rule 44?"

"First things first. Hide the women and children." Tim just nodded and showed Tony the email subject line on his phone. "Why is the first four crossed out?"

Gibbs looked over at the email and said, "Just hide the children."

"Who is this Lieutenant Commander Gillian Austin?" Tony asked. "And how does she know about Gibbs' rules?"

"An old friend from my days in college. We've stayed friends over the years. A"

"You've got a friend?" Tony asked.

"I have a life outside of this office, Tony." McGee said. "I've known the Austin's for years. Never got to meet Michael's father, something that I would love to do."

"Why's that?" Ellie asked.

"Because he holds the record for the longest moon walk in history."

Gibbs looked over at him and asked, "That Austin?"

"Yeah Boss," Tim said as the elevator to the automobile pool opened. He tried not to think about what they'd find when they got to the restored Queen Anne in Chevy Chase.

Gibbs didn't say much as he drove McGee toward the address. The others were following up in Bishop's truck in case they had to split up, which was not an unusual event. He knew that Tim had maintained some of his friendships outside of NCIS, something for which he actually admired the man. It was a difficult thing to do, to keep friends who understood missed parties, and sudden phone calls that required a quick departure. Of course he suspected an Air Force Major and a Navy Lieutenant Commander would be such a family of friends.

Arriving at the scene well before Ducky's van, Gibbs noted that there were more than just police cars present. There was at least one BMW with government plates. Looking over at the house, he noted that one of the support columns for the front porch was smashed outward and the roof was tilted. The large bay window just off the porch was completely shattered, and there were several bodies lying on the ground as the police were taking pictures.

A raven haired woman wearing a business suit was talking to the police. She looked over at Gibbs and sighed as if she were expecting him. Gibbs instructed his team to spread out as he went to talk to the spook. Holding out his ID he said, "Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS Major Crimes Response Team."

The woman nodded, looked at the team and said to the police investigator, "Let NCIS handle this, all except for Major Austin's body. My team will be taking him." Turning to Gibbs, she held out her own ID and said, "Katherine Goldman, Office of Scientific Intelligence."

"What's the OSI's involvement in this case, Agent Goldman?"

She smiled and said, "I'd say classified, but then you'd have either agent McGee or Agent Bishop try and hack the OSI's computers, so I'll tell you this much. Major Austin was part of an ongoing OSI research program, and your ME doesn't have the clearance to handle the body. We'll gladly share information with you, but his body is classified. I don't even have access to it. I'm just here to secure the body on the personal orders of the head of the OSI, who happens to be the major's father."

"I can't complete my investigation without all the evidence, Agent Goldman."

"Be that as it may, Agent Gibbs, that's the way this stands, and you're only getting that courtesy because of Agent McGee's friendship with Major Austin and his family."

"Hello Kate," McGee said stepping up to her. "How are you?"

"Hello, Tim," she replied. "I'm sorry you're getting caught up in this," she said.

"You know this woman, McGee?" Gibbs demanded.

"Yeah, Boss," Tim said. "I met her before I became part of NCIS. OSI offered me a research job with Doctor Wells, but I turned it down."

"Still don't know why," Kate said. "You could have easily become Rudy's successor."

Tim sighed and pointed toward the house and said, "Look at that Kate, and tell me you don't know why. I've already had one person I care about nearly killed because of my job with NCIS, I don't want my family to have to deal with the kinds of threats the OSI goes after." He stopped and asked, "Any sign of the children?"

"Bethany is with Jaime. She's safe," she said.

"And Harper and Haven?" he demanded.

She shook her head and said, "No idea. We know they were here when the attack occurred, but there's no sign of them." Then sighing she said, "Come walk with me, Tim." Then looking over at Gibbs she added, "With your permission, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded wondering what was going on. He didn't like the idea of one of his team members going off like this, but if she could give him a clue as to what was going on, then he'd take it. Turning back to his team, he stepped up to Bishop and said, "When we get back to the Yard I want you to find out exactly what security clearances Tim holds."

"Gibbs?" she asked.

"OSI is willing to talk to him, and not me. I want to know why," he told her.

"That's strange," Bishop said.

"Why?" Gibbs asked her.

"Because the OSI wouldn't even consider my application. They sent it back unopened. If they're willing to consider him a possible successor for Doctor Wells, then what are we missing?"

"Who is Doctor Wells?" Gibbs asked.

"Doctor Rudy Wells is the world's foremost expert in bio-medical replacement and augmentation, human computer interface, and nuclear cell development. If Tim's that good, then why is he here?"

Gibbs thought about it and then thought about what he'd told Goldman. "I think he's already answered that, Bishop. But you've got a point. There would seem to be more to McGee than we knew. Find out about it."

"I'll get on it when we get back," she said.

Gibbs nodded and said, "Let's get to work."

As they went to the front door, DiNozzo met them and said, "Looks like a major brawl went on in here, Boss. He pointed around where a very high end sofa was sticking out of one of the walls. The bar separating the living room from the dining room was smashed through. Several bodies were lying around with crushed skulls, gunshot wounds with what looked like burn marks on them. Neat holes with scorching around them were in several places along with bullet holes stitching up the walls. A sure sign of automatic weapons fire.

"How many dead?"

"Six heavily armed assailants, and Major and Lieutenant Commander Austin. It looks like the Lieutenant Commander was tortured. Ducky can tell us more.

"Process it all," Gibbs said. "I want every piece of information you can get from this place. OSI says they'll keep us in the loop, but I don't trust them. Major Austin was the son of the OSI Director, that's likely to create all kinds of problems for us."

"Understood, Boss," Tony said. Then stopping he asked, "Is Rule 44 still a factor?"

Gibbs frowned slightly and said, "Two children are missing. All I know is their names are Harper and Haven, so yeah, it's still in play."

Half an hour later, Tim returned looking extremely worried. "What is it McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Boss, I don't like this. I can't tell you much more than what we already know. I can tell you that they were attacked by a large force of men who seemed to be after something, that they didn't get. Their youngest child, their biological one was staying with her grandparents when the attack occurred. Harper and Haven were here. They're not here now. Kate, uh... Agent Goldman said that she couldn't find any sign of them."

"And you're willing to take her on her word?" Tony demanded. "Rule 3 and your own Rule 70."

Tim looked shocked for a moment and then his mouth formed a determined hard line. "Right. Don't believe what you're told. Double check, and keep digging until you hit bottom."

Gibbs raised and eyebrow and watched as Tim started to work, studying the walls carefully. At one point he put a finger in one of the scorched holes in the living room and seemed to think. Gibbs started to ask what he was doing, but decided to give the man his head to work out what he was thinking himself.

It was at this point that Palmer and Ducky appeared. Ducky looked up at him and said, "I'm told we'll not be getting Major Austin's body, Jethro."

"For now, Ducky," he replied. "For now. Work with what you've got."

Ducky gave him a disbelieving look and went to work while Gibbs went out to talk to the neighbors. They turned out to quite be helpful. The Austins were the perfect neighbors, minding their own business, keeping their place up, and there seldom being anything out of the ordinary other than frequent trips by the Major on various deployments. The brawl in the house had been quite noisy and several of the attackers had been hurled through windows, and even one wall. The crashing sounds were heard all the way to the end of the street, but when the gunfire started, everyone went inside, many of them retreating to safe-rooms.

"Gibbs!" Bishop yelled from the door. "Please come in here." Her tone was clear that she wanted him close and didn't want to alert anyone who might be within hearing distance that she may have found something.

Thanking the witnesses for their time and information, he gave each of them his card, excused himself and went inside. Stepping through the door, he closed it and said, "Let me guess, McGee found a safe-room."

"How'd you know?" Tony asked.

"Several of the neighbors have them and went to them when the shooting started," he replied.

Then looking over at Tim he asked, "What do you have?"

McGee looked at the staircase and said, "This area seems to be completely closed off. It's wasted space."

"Or it's a safe room," Gibbs said.

"Exactly," McGee told him as he searched the wall for some kind of entrance. "I wonder why Goldman wasn't able to find the entrance?"

"Can you find it?" Dinozzo asked.

Tim shook his head and said, "No. But I don't have Goldman's... uh advantages."

"What about the clues your friend sent you?" Bishop asked.

"Hmmm..." McGee said taking out his cell phone. "I know the answers, they're easy, but I have to find a way to input them to get inside."

"Let me see," Bishop said looking at the phone.

Tim handed it to her and she looked at them. "All of these could be answered with a number, except the first one and maybe the last one."

"Okay, what are they?" Dinozzo asked.

Tim took the phone back and said, "I'm surprised you don't get the first one, Tony. You're the film buff. Of course it's not a film, but a television series."

"Just spit it out McGeek," Dinozzo said.

"You once lost your heart on a world where leaves sing and dreams find life. Talos Four" McGee told him. It's classic Star Trek, a program that both Gillian and I loved.

"Figures," DiNozza said as a door sized panel at the side of the stairs slid down to reveal a heavy metal door with a thumb print and a key pad.

"Talk about safe-rooms," Palmer said.

"Well, McGee what are you waiting for? You're the one with the answers to the questions."

McGee nodded and touched his thumb to the panel and then hit a series of numbers. The thumbprint turned green and there was the sounds of gears turning. Gibbs noted that the door that slid down was a good six inches thick of solid metal. Inside was an elevator size box made of black glass and steel with what looked like a camera and an intercom on it. Tim stepped in and touched a stud and part of the wall flared to life as a monitor. "Harper, Haven, are you in there?"

"Uncle Tim?" a young voice came over the intercom as a picture formed of two raven-haired children with the same shoulder length hair cut. Tim reached up an touched the pad and said, "It's me, Harper."

The children looked at each other and then nodded toward Gibbs and the rest of the team behind Tim. One asked, "Who are they?"

"They're my co-workers. We're here to help."

"They killed mom and dad," one of the children said sadly, nearly in tears again. Harper wanted to help, but Mom made us get in here. They were nio..." the other child punched him or her in the arm and he or she blushed quickly and shut up. "They were like dad."

"Can you come up or do I need to come down and get you?" Tim asked.

"Step back and we'll come up," the one who punched the other said.

McGee stepped back out of the box and the door closed. "Why do I get the feeling I just stepped into the Twilight Zone?" DiNozzo asked.

"Ya think?" Gibbs asked him. "What's all this about, McGee?"

The other agent sighed and said, "How do you feel about fighting the head of OSI for me?"

"I don't quite follow?" Gibbs answered shifting his weight.

"Harper and Haven are my godchildren. They're adopted, and I was named their guardian should anything happen to their parents. Bethany is... was their natural born daughter, and unless Michael and Gillian changed their wills, their custody goes to me, not to Director Austin. That's likely to cause us problems with the OSI. Harper and Haven know things that the OSI rather not NCIS, the FBI, Homeland Security or just about anybody else know."

"Such as this nio- something?" Tony asked.

"Niosynthetics," Ellie said. "It's a very advanced theory of cybernetics."

"You mean like Arnold in Terminator?" DiNozzo asked.

"Something like that," McGee said.

Before anyone else could say anything the whirring of the elevator cut them off. A few seconds later, two teary-eyed children flung themselves crying into Tim's arms.

The man looked embarrassed as he stroked the backs of their raven heads. Gibbs could not for the life of him determine if either one was male or female. He could almost sense that the two were communicating with Tim on the level of a close relative. It was an intimate family moment that for some reason left Gibbs both remembering Kelly and feeling embarrassed at witnessing his friend being this vulnerable. He could tell that Tim was holding back the hurt he felt over losing his friends.

Finally, they let go of him, and turned to look at the rest of them with deep blue eyes. Tim cleared his throat and Gibbs could hear the pain in his team member's voice. He touched each of the children and said, "This is Harper and Haven Austin, my godchildren. Harper, Haven, this is Special Agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Elanor Bishop, and Anthony DiNozzo, also Doctors Donald Mallard and James Palmer."

"Hello," Gibbs said quietly.

"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances," Ducky told them.

Gibbs looked at McGee and said, "Take my car and take them to Bethesda to get checked out, and then to the Yard. I'll ride back with Ellie."

"Got it, Boss," McGee said. Gibbs watched both him, and the children. There was something about all three of their reactions that were off to Gibbs. McGee, he could understand, he was being professional, putting his emotions aside. But the children, they were acting strangely, more as if they were out for revenge than as helpless children. When he looked into their eyes, he saw a cold anger that haunted him to this day. He'd seen it in his own eyes when he was hunting down Hernandez. Those children believed they could handle the people responsible for killing their parents. They were hurting, yes, but more importantly, they were angry. That was a dangerous combination in kids who couldn't be more than twelve or thirteen."

As they were leaving, Dinozzo called out, "McGee, you might want to call Delilah. Let her know."

McGee stopped but didn't turn around. He just nodded and took the children by the shoulder and guided them toward Gibbs' car.