A/N I'm back! I've been having some problems with this chapter, but I think it came out alright. It's supposed to be kinda an introduction to the McGee family. This takes place two years before the first chapter, so Ally is older in that one. For a more detailed list of the kids, see the ending authors note. I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers and Deia for her help. I've never written anything quite like this chapter before, so reviews are really appreciated!

Sorry about accidentally posting the same chapter twice. Thanks to donnag76 for pointing it out.

"We got a body," Gibbs entered the bullpen long enough to grab his stuff before heading to the elevator, his team following.

"Uh, Boss?" McGee asked, bringing up the rear, "I don't know if you re—"

"No, I didn't forget, Tim," Gibbs said as he entered the elevator, "I just got off the phone with Abby. She's bringing them with her."

"Annabelle and Rhiannon are coming here?" McGee asked, his eyes wide.

"No, she's bringing DiNozzo's kids," Gibbs said sarcastically, smacking McGee on the back of the head as the elevator doors closed. "They'll be with their mother, won't they?"

"Yeah, McDaddy, are you implying that Abby can't handle her own kids?" Tony asked from the back of the elevator.

"Well, Tony, with an uncle like you . . ." McGee countered, but his heart wasn't in it. He'd been hoping that his daughters would never have to come to NCIS, for the sake of everyone involved.

~o0o~

"The victim, Jacob Roberts, was a Marine, served two tours, but transferred to reserve just last month to live with his wife and daughter," Ziva said to Gibbs while McGee snapped photos of Jacob Robert's body. "Tony is with the family."

"Witnesses?"

"The wife saw it all, but the killer ran."

"I want full protective custody on that wife and girl," Gibbs said immediately, "Where is Ducky?" he demanded after a minute.

"Sorry we're late!" Palmer called from the distance.

~o0o~

Gibbs walked quietly into the conference room where a woman and her fourteen year old were seated. Both were tearstained, but the girl was the only one who looked scared. Her mother just looked worn, almost washed out.

"My name is Special Agent Gibbs," Gibbs introduced himself, taking seat across from them.

"Jenna Roberts," the woman said, brushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face, "This is my daughter Alianna."

"Mrs. Roberts, Alianna, we need to—"

Alianna cut him off, "Ally," she said, but it came out as a croak, so she cleared her throat and repeated herself. "Everyone calls me Ally."

Gibbs nodded once, "We're going to need fingerprint and DNA samples from each of you as a control." Mrs. Roberts nodded. Gibbs glanced at Ally. "McGee!" he called and McGee stuck his head in the door. "Take Ally down to Abby to get DNA and fingerprints. I'll bring Mrs. Roberts down once I take her statement."

"Okay, if you'll follow me," McGee said, holding the door for Ally. They walked in silence until they reached the elevator. "Did Gibbs say your name is Ally?" McGee asked as he pushed the button for Abby's lab.

"Ally's a nickname. Technically, my name is Alianna, but that's a mouthful."

McGee nodded, "That's what Abby's sometimes says about her full name." He paused, "We're going to—"

"Collect DNA and fingerprints, I heard. Twice," Ally said and then blushed, "I'm sorry, that wasn't supposed to come out that way."

"Hey, it's fine," McGee reassured her. "I wouldn't blame you if you did mean it like that." McGee felt so out of place. What do you say to a fourteen year old who'd just lost her father?

"Who's Abby?" Ally asked after a second.

"What?" McGee broke out of his thoughts.

"You and Mr. Gibbs have both mentioned an 'Abby'."

"She's our forensic scientist," McGee suddenly remembered that if Abby was here, then Annabella and Rhiannon probably were too. "She's also my wife. She takes a little getting used to, but she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet." The elevator door opened and the sounds of little girls' shouts wafted out of the lab. "And those are probably my daughters." McGee added.

"They let you bring your kids to work?" Ally asked, stepping out of the elevator.

"Not usually." Another round of noises came from the lab, "It helps that Agent Gibbs can't say no to Abby."

"Are you talking about me again, Tim?" Abby walked into view, stopping in the doorway. Ally had time to register platforms, pigtails, tattoos, and a dog collar before Abby spotted her and rushed forward to give her a hug. "I'm so sorry about your dad," she said, not letting go, "We're going to do everything we can to make it right. No, scratch that, if everything was right, you'd have your dad." Abby pulled back and raised her right hand, "I promise that we'll do everything in our power to make the situation as good as possible," she said.

Ally was strangely touched, "Thank you."

"Who are you?" came a small voice to Ally's left. Turning, she saw that a small child had appeared in McGee's arms. She had pigtails like her mom, and a small black and white tutu. Her black shirt had a pink skull printed on the front.

"Anna, this is Ally," McGee said, "Ally, this is our oldest, Annabelle Leigh." He poked his daughter's stomach, "Have you been behaving for Momma?" he asked. Annabelle nodded solemnly.

Abby laughed, "They've both been fine Timmy, stop worrying," she said, and Ally noticed a smaller girl clutching her mother's leg. Abby scooped her up into her arms. The younger daughter had Abby's black hair (also pigtailed) and Abby's bright green eyes. Turning to Ally, Abby said, "If you'll follow me we'll get your samples." As she walked past it, she put her daughter in the playpen taking up space in the middle of the lab. Ally paused by it to watch its occupant.

"What's her name?" Ally asked, smiling down at the girl.

"Oh, sorry," Abby said, "That's Rhiannon." She clicked on her computer for a minute, "Tim, will you get the DNA while I get this set up?" she asked.

"Sure," McGee put Annabelle down, giving her strict instructions to sit quietly for a few minutes.

"Can you come this way?" McGee asked, leading Ally to the back part of the lab, rummaging around for a minute before pulling out the DNA mouth swabs. "If you'll mind opening your mouth?" he asked, feeling awkward.

Ally obliged and a few seconds later they were rejoining Abby. "Okay, I just need you to put your thumb on this scanner," Abby said, helping Ally get it in just the right spot. They continued that way until they'd done all of Ally's fingers.

"Is there anywhere else I should go?" Ally asked when they were done.

"You're supposed to be in my protective custody, but I really need to be here helping Abby," McGee said, "Do you mind hanging out around here?"

"Not at all," Ally crouched down beside Annabelle, "Just please find whoever killed my dad."

McGee and Abby soon forgot that Ally was even there. They were so caught up in what they were doing that when Abby told McGee that she was going upstairs to get samples form Mrs. Roberts, he didn't hear her. He looked up from the computer a few minutes later, breaking out of his focus. He assumed that Abby took the girls to the back of the lab, because he alone, and Abby would have told him if she'd left completely.

McGee had nothing to do until the program he started finished running, so, noticing that Abby was out of Caf-Pow, he hollered, "I'm gonna go get you a refill," and went upstairs. Abby and McGee ran into each other in the upstairs hallway.

"Tim!"

"Abby!"

"What are you doing?" the said together.

"Getting you a Caf-Pow," McGee said at the same time Abby said, "Collecting samples."

"Why didn't you tell me?" they both asked.

"I did!" they yelled.

McGee took deep breath, "Here's your Caf-Pow," he handed it to her.

Abby slapped it out of his hand and it bounced once before splashing red liquid along the wall and floor. "We have bigger problems!" she took off toward the stairs.

"What?" McGee asked, following after her.

"Who's with the kids?!" Abby shouted back. McGee mumbled a curse and hurried after her faster.

~o0o~

Abby and McGee skidded to a halt outside the door to the lab. They both had pretty horrible scenarios running through their heads. A forensic science lab is not the best place for a three year old and a one and a half year old. When Abby and McGee nervously peeked inside the lab, a miraculous sight met their eyes.

"And so Rapunzel and her prince lived happily ever after," Ally was saying.

"Did she ever cut her hair?" Annabelle asked. She was sitting on Ally's lap in the rolling chair next to Rhiannon in her playpen.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Ally asked.

"I don't think she did," Annabelle looked up at Ally, "I wanna be just like Rapunzel."

"You want to be locked up in a tower?" Ally asked, tickling Annabelle's stomach.

Annabelle managed to get out between giggles, "No, I never wanna cut my hair." She pouted slightly, "But Momma makes me."

"Mama," Rhiannon said, standing up and looking toward the door.

"Hey girls," Abby said, hesitantly, "We didn't mean to interrupt."

"Oh, no, I'm sorry," Ally said, "I just looked up and you both were gone, so I figured someone should watch them. They've kinda been helping me keep my mind off of everything."

"Thank you," Abby said. Then, picking up a begging Rhiannon, she rounded on McGee, "Why did you leave them alone?"

"To get you a Caf-Pow," McGee said, sounding exasperated.

"Didn't you know I left?" Abby asked, turning away from her husband and typing one handedly on her computer.

"No."

"Well, I told you," Abby said. after a moment, she asked, "Will you go get me a new Caf-Pow?"

~o0o~

A few minutes later McGee returned, a Caf-Pow clenched in his hand. "Tim, what's wrong? Your knuckles are white," Abby said quietly.

"Can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?" McGee glanced at Ally, who looked up curiously.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked after they'd relocated to the hallway.

McGee glanced at Ally through the door again. He swallowed. "Gibbs and Mrs. Roberts were on the way to the crime scene, but when they got out of the car, Mrs. Roberts was shot."

"Is she okay?"

"She's in critical condition."

"Poor Ally," Abby looked back inside the lab. "Did Gibbs . . ?"

"Yeah, he got the guy."

"Uh, guys?" Ally said from the door, "What's going on?" she asked nervously, "You keep looking at me."

Abby didn't say a word, just pulled Ally into a bone-crushing hug. "I hate to tell you this," McGee said, "When Agent Gibbs and your mom got to your house, uh, there was a shoot-out."

"My mom?" Ally asked, "What happened to my mom?"

"She's at the hospital."

Ally nodded, "Can I see her?"

"We can go right now," McGee said, "But, I have to warn you, it's not looking good."

Ally smiled bravely, "Let's go."

~o0o~

Mrs. Roberts died in the hospital a few minutes after Ally visited her. Ally and McGee were sitting in the waiting room when the doctors brought them the news.

Ally hugged McGee, stunning him. "I'm sorry," she said, pulling back, "I forgot, Abby's the hugger," she sniffed.

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize," McGee said.

"Can you—" Ally paused, her tears inhibiting her speech, "I don't know how to—" she let out a shaky breath, "The funerals?"

"Of course," McGee said quickly. "We'll take care of everything." Ally hugged him again, crying into his shoulder.

~o0o~

A few weeks later, after the double funeral, Gibbs approached Abby and McGee in the lab. Ally had been staying with them because Abby refused to let Child Services take over.

"Gibbs, what are you doing down here?" McGee asked when Gibbs strolled in, Caf-Pow in hand, "We don't have a case."

"Really, McGee? I hadn't noticed," Gibbs said sarcastically, but with no bite. He handed Abby the drink.

Abby sipped her Caf-Pow, savoring her first mouthful, "What's up, Boss-man? Is it about Ally? I told you, I am not letting Child Services—"

"Abby, you can't keep—"

"No, Gibbs," Abby said flatly, slamming down her Caf-Pow.

Gibbs looked to McGee for help. "Abby, we're not related to her, we have no right to—"

"Tim!" Abby interrupted.

"I've come to love her just as much as you have, but we have to think of what's best for her," McGee said, trying to take Abby's hand, but she snatched it away.

"Abbs, you can't keep ignoring the calls," Gibbs said, "Ally needs—"

"She needs a family!" Abby shouted.

"Unless you adopt her, she still doesn't have one."

"Then we'll adopt her!" Abby said without thinking.

"Good, glad that's settled. I'll get someone from legal to come by next week. Talk it over with Ally, I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Gibbs said over his shoulder as he walked out, leaving McGee and Abby staring dumbfounded at each other.

~o0o~

"You like Ally, don't you?" McGee asked his daughters a few days later. Ally had an afterschool meeting that day, so Abby and McGee gathered the girls to ask them what they thought about the adoption.

"Yes," Annabelle said, not fully paying attention to her father.

"Yes what?" Abby asked sternly.

"Yes, sir," Annabelle looked up at her parents now.

"Do you remember when we told you you'd be getting Rhiannon as a sister?" McGee asked, bouncing Rhiannon on his knee. She was still a little too young to fully understand the concept of adoption, but she seemed to really like Ally.

"Kinda," Annabelle wrinkled her nose, "I didn't like her at first."

Abby and McGee laughed. "We know," Abby said. "What do you think about Ally becoming your new sister?"

Annabelle thought a minute, "Will she be stinky like Rhee was?"

"No," Abby laughed again, "But she'll live here with us, and she might babysit you sometimes."

"She already does that. What's the difference?"

"You won't get to be the oldest anymore," McGee said, "Is that okay?"

"I don't know. Will I still get to tell Rhee what to do?"

"Yes, but Ally will get to tell you what to do, too," McGee explained.

"Okay," Annabelle decided.

"So you're okay with Ally being your sister?" Abby clarified.

"Yes."

"Anna."

"Yes, ma'am."

~o0o~

"What's going on?" Ally asked apprehensively, looking around the dinner table. She was afraid that they were kicking her out. She'd grown to love the McGee family; she felt at home here. Abby's quirkiness didn't faze her (it actually fascinated her), McGee's geekiness was nothing short of awesome (Ally considered herself a nerd anyway), and the girls were adorable (and Ally treated them like siblings).

"We have a very important question to ask you," McGee said, setting Annabelle's plate in front of her.

"Okay . . ." Ally bit her lip.

"We've thought it over, and in the interest of everyone we've decided—"

"Cut to the chase, Tim, you're scaring her," Abby cut in.

"I am not."

"Look, just because you won the chance to tell her doesn't mean that—"

"I'm just trying to go about this the right way."

"Guys?" Ally broke in, "If you don't want me living here, it's fine."

There was a pause while Abby and McGee processed Ally's words. But Annabelle didn't need time to process anything.

"How can you be my sister if you don't live here?" Annabelle asked, not taking her eyes off of her attempts to feed herself.

"What?" Ally asked, shocked.

"We don't want you to leave," Abby said quickly, "We were going to offer to adopt you."

"If you want," McGee added.

"What?" Ally blinked. This was not what she expected.

"We just figured that you might want to stay with us permanently," Abby said.

"We talked it over, the girls are okay with it, there aren't any legal issues . . ." McGee trailed off, but Ally still didn't say anything.

"You don't have to call us 'Mom' and 'Dad' or anything," Abby added, trying to fill the silence, "But we've come to think of you as—"

"Yes," Ally interrupted.

Abby didn't appear to hear her, "family, even though it's only been a few weeks, but the girls love you, Tim and I love you, and we thought you liked us too . . ."

"Abby, she said yes," McGee said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"You said yes?" Abby squealed, jumped up, and came around the table to hug Ally.

"Yes," Ally repeated.

"Yes, ma'am," Annabelle corrected, still only half paying attention to the rest of the room. Ally laughed along with the McGee's—no, wait—with her new family. A few days later, Ally Roberts became Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee and the NCIS family officially welcomed a new member.

A/N Here's a list of the McGee kids.

Alianna 'Ally' Nicole Roberts-McGee—14 years old in this chapter. Abby and McGee adopted her when her parents died during a case. Everyone calls her 'Ally' and Tony calls her 'Socks' because of her choice of footwear.

Annabelle Leigh McGee—3 years old in this chapter. Her parents call her 'Anna' and her Uncle Tony calls her 'Bells'. She is named after the Edgar Allen Poe poem.

Rhiannon McGee—18 months in this chapter. Annabelle calls her 'Rhee' because when she was little she couldn't say her name. Her dad will call her 'Rhia' occasionally, and her Uncle Tony calls her 'Rhiannie'. She is named after the figure in Celtic myth, which fits with Abby's personality and McGee's heritage. She also had no middle name, like her father.

I would like to remind anyone reading that I will take requests. If you have something you want to see these families do, just let me know! Please drop a review!