A little nervous about this one… I know a lot of people have their own thoughts on what Shannon is like, so I apologize if she isn't written how you see her. Writing Shannon/Kelly alive was something I said I would never do, but this bunny just wouldn't let go. This takes place once all the drama in Mexico has settled down.

Chapter One

Everything hurt. From her nose down to the tips of her toes, her entire body hurt. There was a dull ache in the base of her skull, and as her eyelids fluttered against the harsh light, her first words were, "My daughter!"

"Relax ma'am, the doctors have been taking good care of her. They expect her to wake up soon."

"We… we were in the car and then… then… I don't remember." As her vision cleared she saw a man she didn't recognize leaning over her.

"Shh, it's okay. You were in a car wreck, you and your daughter. The doctors expect you'll both make a full recovery."

"Who are you?"

"Thomas King, FBI. I'm here to keep you safe."

She nodded. "What happened?" Closing her eyes she remembered being in a car with her daughter, her husband nowhere in sight. She had been telling her daughter something, something important and then… nothing. "My husband?"

"We need to talk about some things -" Thomas was interrupted by a plump nurse who entered, bustling around the room.

"Wonderful to see you're awake finally. Once the doctor looks you over, we'll see about taking you to visit your daughter. She's not awake yet, but the poor girl needs her mother." The nurse noted her blood pressure and fiddled with the IV bag hanging by the bed. She hung the chart back in its place and then headed for the door. "Alright, Ms. Darby Stanchfield, the doctor will be in shortly."

"That's not my name."

Thomas hurried the nurse out and shut the door before turning to face her. "It is now."

Gibbs sank down into the chair behind his desk with a sigh. He had spent two weeks in Mexico and was glad to be back – glad everything was over. Several people had died over the course of the past three weeks, starting with Merton Bell. Franks had lost a finger, though he didn't seem overly concerned about it; he still had his girls. Gibbs had taken every precaution when it came to the people he cared about, setting Abby up with a security guard, putting his mother-in-law under surveillance (without her knowledge, he didn't need to drag her into his mess unless absolutely necessary), and sending Fornell up to Stillwater. The Reynosa drug cartel had suffered far worse casualties; both Alejandro and his sister Paloma met a similar fate as their father, the rest of the members of the cartel that hadn't met the business end of NCIS guns were rounded up by the FBI.

Although they made it back relatively unscathed, it wasn't over. Not quite. They had all been through hell over the past few weeks, but it was Abby had gone through the worst of it. It made his heart swell as well as his stomach churn when it came to how loyal she was to him. On one hand, he was flattered, but at the same time he worried. But there was nothing he could do; she would do anything for her. Whether he wanted her to or not.

Anyone else, she had told him on the flight home. Anyone else and I would have stepped back and watched from the sidelines. Anyone but you.

"We need to talk," he told her.

Her eyes darkened, concern washing over her features.

"About us." He linked his fingers with hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

They held hands the rest of the bumpy flight home. He had waited until the rest of the team scattered, agreeing to meet up at the office later in the afternoon to wrap up the paperwork, before pulling Abby into his arms. He'd pressed his lips to her cheek before nuzzling against her ear. "I owe you, Abby."

He felt the shiver as it ran down her spine.

"You owe me nothing, Gibbs." Her arms had tightened around him, nearly crushing the air from his lungs.

Gibbs smiled at the thought and leaned back in his chair. He did owe Abby, not just for taking a risk with both her career and her life over the past few weeks, but also for being there for him at the worst of times. She always knew the perfect time to show up, sitting quietly on his basement steps, letting him approach rather than pushing him to talk too soon.

He needed to do something special for her, make sure she knew exactly just how thankful he was to have her and how much he… he couldn't say the rest of that statement out loud, not yet, not even to himself. He was tired of keeping her at arm's length to keep her safe. Life was too short and if the past few weeks had taught him anything, it was that distancing himself was no guarantee for anyone's safety, including hers.

Gibbs glanced around the squad room at his team. They were working diligently, no doubt wanting to get home as early as possible. It was Monday, and although Vance had given them the week off of active duty, the paperwork for several cases had piled up and they had been instructed to come in at ten the following morning to get started on it. Just as he was about to open his mouth to send his team home, his desk phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs…" He listened a brief moment and then hung up.

"Boss?" Tony started to reach for his bag with one hand.

"Just the Director. Why don't you all head home? You could use the rest." He watched as they grabbed their stuff and rushed for the elevator before they could be called back. Once they were out of ear shot, he said a quiet thank you; although they had all volunteered to get involved with his problem, he owed them as well.

Gibbs headed toward the Director's office, taking the steps two at a time. He saw Vance waiting just outside the door to MTAC . "I've got FBI Agent Thomas King wanting to do a video call with you alone. Do I have something to worry about?" He slipped a toothpick between his lips.

"I don't know a Thomas King. He say what he wanted?"

"No, just said he wanted to talk to you alone. I have a conference call with the LA office in 30 minutes, so you'd better be done by then. Hetty complains if I'm late. You know how she is."

"I'm sure this won't take long." He didn't bother waiting for a response.

Gibbs passed Sean, the communications technician, on his way in. "The call is already connected, sir. I'll be waiting just outside. Let me know when you are finished."

Gibbs nodded and continued down the walkway to the center of the room, eyeing the large screen as he approached.

"Agent Gibbs, I presume?"

"And you are?" Gibbs couldn't recall having met the man, though he appeared to be about his own age, maybe a year or two older. His hair was similarly peppered with grey and Gibbs noticed the lines on the others man's face, the years had obviously taken its toll. It looked as though King was making his call from a house, his own perhaps, and Gibbs wondered why an agent would have such a connection from his own home.

"Thomas King, FBI."

"Thomas King, what can I do for you?"

"I work with people relocated to the Pacific Northwest in the Witness Protection Program. I've got to say in my 25 years with the FBI, I've never had the pleasure to make a phone call like this before."

Gibbs shifted, visibly annoyed that Agent King was dancing around the point he was trying to make. Gibbs was tired and all he wanted to do was go to the lab, get Abby and get out of there. "And this involves me?" He'd never sent anyone into Witness Protection for more than a week or two, always going from safe-house to safe-house, never being completely relocated.

"You might want to take a seat."

Gibbs crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm good where I am." Agent King was beginning to remind him of the reasons behind his policy of general dislike for the Bureau. They never got the point, they always had to put on a damn show.

King shifted in his seat. "In 1992 I was assigned two witnesses who saw a shooting involving several key members of a drug cartel out of Mexico. Both were severely injured in a car – are you okay?"

The last comment came just as Gibbs backed up until his legs hit a chair and then sat down hard. His gut twisting painfully, but he was unwilling to let himself jump to any conclusions. He motioned with a shaky hand. "Fine. Continue."

"Where was I? Oh, right. They were critically injured in a car wreck when the driver was hit and killed. I've been keeping up with the events in Mexico the past few weeks and after consulting with the rest of the team, we decided it would be safe to pull the witnesses out of the program. Agent Gibbs, your wife and daughter are coming home."

Gibbs was ready to laugh, convinced it was someone's sick idea of a joke. But suddenly he was bombarded by memories of the explosion back in the Gulf. Waking up to find out about the loss of his wife and daughter. Their funeral. Mexico. Pulling the trigger in the name of justice.

"Agent Gibbs?"

"I don't follow. My wife and d-daughter are dead."

"No, your wife and daughter have been living in a suburb of Portland, Oregon the past 18 years. I have been their contact the past 18 years." Thomas pulled off his glasses and leaned forward, concern clearly written on his face. "After your wife stepped forward as a witness to the shooting, a threat was made against both her and your daughter. They were being driven to a safe house when their driver was shot from a distance. It was a miracle that they survived. You were in a coma over in the Gulf when we tried to contact you. We didn't have the time to wait, so we got going on their new identities and airlifted them to Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center in Portland."

"No." Gibbs shook his head. "Who put you up to this? Fornell? This is low, even for him." Gibbs stood, his body trembling with anger.

"I assure you, no one is playing a trick on you. I put them on a flight to D.C. this morning. They landed just over an hour ago. Your wife is waiting on a phone call from me. She would like to see you."

Gibbs nodded, still unwilling to believe Agent King. "And Kelly?"

"She would like to see you as well, but your wife would like to see you alone first. If you haven't got any plans, she would like to see you tonight."

"No plans."

"You address?"

"Hasn't changed."

"I will let her know. She will drop by this evening. Oh, I should let you know, she's gone by the name Darby Stanchfield. We changed your daughter's name to Cathy, but she continued to go by the name Kelly." King gave a sad smile. "Strong-willed girl." With a curt nod, Agent King stood and suddenly the screen went to static.

Gibbs stared at the screen a moment longer, his feet unwilling to move. Still unable to believe that Shannon and Kelly were alive, he wondered who was out to toy with him this time around.

He steeled his face as he left MTAC, ignoring Sean on his way out.

"Agent Gibbs," Vance rounded the corner. "Anything I should know about?"

"No." He continued down the stairs and around to the back elevator. As soon as the metal doors slit shut, he flicked the emergency switch, causing the elevator to come to a grinding halt. The breaks on the elevator reminded him of the train back in Stillwater as it came to a halt at the station the last time he had ridden it – in 1976, the first time he'd spoken to Shannon.

Gibbs snapped out of the memory and could hear his own heart about to pound through his chest. He knew he had to relax. Abby would notice in 30 seconds if he didn't, he was certain. Once he felt he could pull a mask of calm over his face he flipped the emergency stop switch again. That agonizing hope still threatened to worm it's way in his gut but he refused to believe Shannon and Kelly were still alive after all these years. Shannon would have tried to contact him, he was sure of it.

He paused for a moment to watch Abby in the lab. She wasn't dancing to the usual noise she called music, instead swaying to something much calmer. Given the most recent drama, he wasn't surprised. But as long as she was moving, he wasn't concerned.

"Gibbs?" Her voice snapped him from his thoughts.

His smile genuine, he moved forward. Her voice always put him at ease, even if only for a moment. He stepped up to her, pulling her into a hug. "You almost done down here?"

"Yeah, just finishing up."

He pressed his nose to her hair, inhaling the sharp scent of gun powder mixed with rose.

"Guns N' Roses, Abbs?"

"Wow, Gibbs, pop culture. I'm impressed."

"I want you to go home and get a good night's sleep. You've hardly slept the past few –ah – " he silenced her, sliding his thumb across her lower lip. "You've hardly slept. I need you to get some rest. We'll have our talk, Abbs. Don't worry."

Abby gave a weak smile, pushing away the thoughts of the last time he had silenced her with a finger to her lips. She had her argument ready, but against him it was no use. "Is everything okay?" She looked up at him, her eyes wide with concern - he was so different compared to the last time she had seen him, just hours before. The tension was once again visible in his shoulders.

Damn. Leave it to Abby to see right through him. "I've just got a few things to take care of."

"And you're exhausted." She brushed the back of her hand against his cheek. "I'm not the only one who hasn't been sleeping."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, a guilty smirk on his lips. "Go home, Abbs."

"Okay, but if I can't sleep?"

"Sleep." He cupped her face in his hands and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, savoring the sensation before pulling away.

"Okay." It came out in a soft whisper and Gibbs' heart broke a little with the disappointment in her voice.

"Good." He kissed her one last time before tearing himself away. Any longer with Abby and he wasn't sure he could walk away – even if he'd gotten a crazy call about his late wife and daughter.

After everything they'd been through the past few weeks, he hated to lie to her – and he wasn't going to pretend she would see his omission as anything else but a lie, but he had to assess the possibility of a threat before he let her get involved.

TBC