-Gibbs' Point of View-

It had been eight years, eight years since the death of my wife and daughter, Shannon and Kelly had been my life for ten years, well there was also the fact that I was a Marine through and through but they had been my true loves, where my heart truly lied and their death had caused me so much heart ache, so much pain that whilst away fighting in the war I had been injured and sent home. It had been hard returning to the one place where I had such fond memories of my girls but it was harder leaving. It was Independence day in less than a week and my father had invited me down to my home town of Stillwater, which I had gladly accepted, it was hard being alone in my big house on the holidays, that's why I had worked through them but this time I didn't have a choice, the office had shut down for the three day weekend for renovations due to a burst water pipe which had fried everything and caused a lot of damage. It had been weird entering town, but I was helping my father in his shop, which he seemed to be grateful for.

NIS had become my new commitment when I was cleared for duty and had a perfect bill of health, my boss Special Agent Mike Franks, had been the investigating officer of the murder of my girls, and once that was cleared up he'd offered me a job on his team which I gladly accepted. He'd taught me a lot about people and the many different reasons people killed or did bad things, but I understood some of the reasons for wanting someone dead, especially after the death of my girls, I had gone for vengeance and got more than that, I got a sense of pride knowing that the sick bastard that had killed my girls was now dead. However with the repairs being done on the building he was down in Mexico right now sipping margaritas and conversing with the ladies of the night, whilst I was retreating to my past yet again.

"Leroy, are you listening to me?" my father asked

"Sorry Jack, didn't mean to ignore ya" I answered and he nodded

"Its alright son, now tell me you found a new girl yet or you still trying to escape Diane?" he asked and I smirked a little, my ex-wife Diane had been gone for three years now and I was glad she had, there were some pretty bad things that I had put her through and honestly she deserved better.

"Na not at the moment Jack, been too busy focusing on the job to be worrying bout things like finding a new girl" I explained and he nodded

"Understandable really, but don't you think its time you started looking again I mean there could be the right women out there, and yes I know she won't be Shannon but son it could be just as good" he said trying to reason with me. I sighed, this was coming from the man who was too distraught after the death of my mother that he didn't move on at all and somehow lost his best friend along the way.

"This coming from you Jack?" I questioned raising an eyebrow at my father

"Yeah this coming from me. I don't want you to be like me Leroy, there is so much out there in the world that you may never get if you don't at least try" he said and I nodded. I knew where he was coming from honestly I did but I just wasn't sure I needed a relationship at the moment. Sure it might be nice to have someone to come home to at the end of the day, someone who I could share my worries with and wrap up in my arms late at night, someone I could make love to and fight with and then make up with a bunch of flowers and kisses, its something I could see myself wanting in the future but not too sure I wanted it just now.

"I just I'm not sure its something I should be focusing on right now. If she happens into my life then I might consider it but for now I'm that interested in it" I said and my father nodded, resting his hand on my shoulder

"Just don't make the same mistakes I did Leroy" dad said and made his way out the back.

Why was it that every time I was to spend time with my father he always left me with more questions than answers, maybe if I found the right women then I would consider settling down but so far no one wanted a still grieving man or a workaholic for a partner or husband it just wasn't fear on them. Which was why I distanced myself from everyone at work, I had three friends at work Mike Franks, Tom Morrow and Donald "Ducky" Mallard, there was also Special Agent Pacci who was new but he was alright and a great person, and Leon Vance who was quickly making his way up the chain and had just left for Italy on an undercover operation. These five were the only ones who knew me in some way, some more than others but they knew things that would make anyone else shudder, they all knew the struggle I faced having no success with women themselves. Ducky's mother was living at home with him since she's broken several ribs in a fall down the stairs, but she's gotten so used to being with her son that she hadn't moved out again when she had recovered, Tom was in the middle of his second divorce, Mike was going from one lady to the next and didn't have a care in the world and Agent Pacci was too new to even know the real dangers that would await him, the only one who had a reasonable relationship was headed cross country and I wasn't about to discuss my love life with him even if I the situation was desperate enough to do so, so there wasn't much choice or option on who to turn to for the advice I was looking for, which just made things all the more pathetic.

It was getting quite late when my pager went off, it said that we had a priority one murder and that we were needed back in DC. I got dressed and found my father in the shop cleaning up after the days business.

"Hey dad I've been called back to work, we've got a priority one case. Hopefully I'll make it back before the end of the weekend, but if not I'll see you at Christmas" I said and he nodded

"Sure Leroy, have a safe journey. Make sure to call when you know your safe" he said and I nodded smiling

"Of course dad. See you later" I said leaving the building and jumping in my truck to head back to DC. The four hour drive taking me an hour less since it was late at night and there wasn't any traffic on the road until I got back to DC itself. I entered the building and made my way up to the bullpen where I was greeted with the sight of Pacci, Morrow and Franks. I had expected the first two but Mike, he was supposed to be sipping margaritas with the chica's in Mexico.

"Did you suddenly sprout wings or something boss?" I said walking over to my desk, before being head slapped by him

"Enough with the snarky comments, we have a missing crew and we need our full attention on this case. And for your information probie I had been in Mexico but when SecNav ordered me back and offered his private jet to get me back here I came" he said and I nodded, smiling at how easy it was to distract my boss.

We worked the case for three days straight only going home for a couple of hours sleep, on the third day we had found the crew abandoned in the middle of the ocean on a life raft and had returned them home safely to their families. After that Mike had sent us home for some rest before we had to come in the following day and write up our paper work. Entering my house I smiled and headed straight for the basement to work on the boat I was making. It always made me feel calm and relaxed when I got the chance to work on it and most of the time I would fall asleep down here instead of upstairs in my bed or on the couch.

I woke the following morning on my boat, my gun next to be as well as the bottle of bourbon, I sat upright rubbing the sleep from my eyes and looked over to the clock that hung on the wall, 0600. I sighed and got up making my way upstairs and into the kitchen, boiling the kettle before I headed upstairs to my bedroom to change and have a quick shower. When that was done I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee before rinsing the cup and putting it in the sink. I arrived at the office just after 0630 and sat at my desk, going through my notes and double checking the evidence and arrest warrant before starting on my case report. By the time the rest of the team was in the office I had finished and had it printed and waiting for Mike to read, now I was working on a cold case and going through the report to see if there was anything I could do differently. When Mike gave me the all clear that my report was fine I nodded and headed down to the evidence locker where we kept the previous ten years of evidence. I had the file in my hand so I could quickly see the ID number on the case. I wanted to check and make sure that this case was right something about the report was making my gut churn.

"Gibbs?" I heard someone call my name

"Yeah?" I answered leaning into the alleyway between the shelves of evidence

"Thought I might find you in here" Tom said and I smiled

"Yeah what gave you that idea?" I asked and he smirked

"I know you probie, your consistent and know that when we don't have a case we do cold cases. Which one are you taking a look at?" he asked and I showed him the file before he took it and read the first couple of sentences of the report

"I remember this case, girl was rapped and then killed. Nobody was caught for it because the investigating officer couldn't find a DNA match between the sperm and anyone in any of our databases" Tom explained and I frowned

"So they just let it go?" I asked and he nodded

"It was before I joined Mike's team as his partner, I was still at Norfolk at the time but the case was talked about throughout the crowds" he said.

"What do you think the odds of finding the perpetrator now are?" I asked and he shrugged

"Better than they were ten years ago" he said and I nodded, grabbing the evidence box and going toward the front desk and signing it out.

I was just about to head up to the bullpen when Tom grabbed my arm stopping me.

"Is there something wrong Tom?" I asked and he shook his head

"Well then what is it?" I asked and he looked at me intently

"I have a question for you but please hear me out before you shoot the idea down" he said and I looked at him waiting for him to ask me the question.

"What would you say if I was to set you up on a blind date with an incredible women?" he asked and I looked at him like he'd grown an extra head or something

"I don't know, depends on what she was like. Would I find her attractive?" I asked and he nodded

"I'm pretty sure you would Gibbs, she's your type" he said and I rolled my eyes

"Oh yes because now that we've worked together for over four years now, you now know my taste in women" I joked and he shrugged

"Please Jethro, I promise you won't be disappointed" he said and I thought it through, I really wanted to get out there again, maybe this was my chance

"Ok sure I will go this once but if it fails then no more match making ok" I said and he nodded

"Of course not Gibbs. I promise this is going to be amazing ok. I'll get back to you with the details" he said and I nodded as he left me alone. God what was I getting myself into.

A/N: Hey guys I hope you enjoyed the last chapter and that you enjoyed this chapter as well, love you all for your support, encouragement and reviews so thank you. Please review and fave, to tell me what you think