AUTHOR'S NOTES: If it seems like Kelly's kind of fitting in awkwardly, that's good. I didn't want her to fit in too well but at the same time I am pairing Kelly with McGee.

If anyone's wondering about updates on my other stories, they'll come when I think of something. It's been getting harder and harder to get though this damn writer's block.

Chapter 7


"I thought I might find you here," Ducky said as he walked up to Kelly who was crouched in front of a grave marker.

"When I woke up in the hospital…" Kelly said, running her fingers across her name engraved in stone. "Mom told me that… That we were dead. And we…" Looking at the grave markers, she said, "We moved to Montana. My name was Claire Montgomery…" Looking at Ducky as she stood, she asked, "Does Dad… ever talk about me?"

Ducky hesitated for a moment, but finally, he shook his head. "Very rarely does he ever bring up the past," Ducky replied. After a few moments, however, he went on. "He may not talk about you and your mother often, but he thinks of both of you often."

"Really?" Kelly asked, as she and Ducky walked to the entrance to the cemetery. "Did Dad ever remarry?"

"Three times, actually," Ducky said, looking at Kelly.

"Any other kids?" Kelly asked, not sure she really wanted to know.

Ducky stopped and when Kelly stopped as well he asked, "What is it that you really want to know?"

Kelly sighed and rubbed the back of her neck as she paced slightly. "I don't know. I mean…" Pausing for a few moments she finally said, "When I was a kid… When Dad was home we were inseparable. Whether it was working on the boat in the basement or… or the treehouse in the backyard… or just a drive to the playground." Looking back at the grave markers and then at Ducky, she went on. "It's like part of me really did die that day. And now I don't even know my own father. Dad's a stranger to me and… and it hurts."

Ducky considered that for a moment and replied, "Gibbs may not discuss you and your mother much but he's never stopped thinking about you."

"Yeah, you said that," Kelly said, wearily.

But Ducky went on. "Every time a case has revolved around a child, Jethro steps into the role of 'father figure' as easily as he would step into a pair of shoes." Waiting until Kelly was looking at him, he said, "And it's because he's thinking of you. What you were like as a child… and how things might have been if you'd been in his life all this time." Putting a comforting hand on Kelly's arm, he smiled. "Every day Jethro wonders what you'd be like. Who you'd grow up to be. As uncertain as you are about how to act around Jethro, I assure you… He's feeling the same way."

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Back in the NCIS squad room, McGee couldn't get Kelly out of his mind. He remembered using MorphPro to blend Director Sheppard and Gibbs… The possible offspring wasn't bad but Kelly… She looked like Gibbs and her eyes were the same vivid shade of blue.

"Probie!"

"Yes, boss?" McGee said, snapping to attention and looking around for Gibbs but when he saw Tony standing by the desk, he relaxed a bit. "What do you want, Tony?"

"You okay?" Tony asked, looking at how flustered McGee seemed to be.

"Fine," McGee lied, unconvincingly. Seeing Tony about to employ the 'Gibbs stare', McGee sighed and glanced over to Kelly's desk. Tony looked confused and McGee nodded in the direction of the desk. After a moment Tony caught on and his eyes widened before he started to laugh. Afraid of the answer, McGee asked, "What's so funny?"

It took Tony a few moments to stop laughing and respond. "Probie, if Gibbs found out you had a crush on his little girl, he'd smack the back of your head so hard your grandkids would feel it."

"Tony, Kelly's a grown woman," McGee argued. "If she and I were to go on a date, I doubt Gibbs would mind."

"Yeah," Tony said, grinning. "You just keep thinking that, Probie."

"Keep thinking what?" Abby asked as she came out of the elevator. "Where's Gibbs?"

"I don't know where Gibbs is," Tony replied, grinning devilishly. "But I know McGee's thinking of asking Kelly out on a date."

"Tony!" McGee said, shocked that Tony would spill that information to Abby.

"Awww!" Abby said, smiling. "The two of you of you would be cute together, McGee."

"Who would be cute together?" Gibbs asked as he came into the squad room giving Abby a questioning look.

"McGee and Kelly," Abby replied, smiling. "McGee's thinking of asking her out on a date."

Tony went back to his desk, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head as he watched his boss's expression go from amused to stony in no time flat.

"That true, McGee?" Gibbs asked, fixing the younger agent with a stare usually reserved for the toughest of criminals.

"W-well, I-I've thought about it, yes," McGee stammered. "B-but if you d-don't want me to, then—then I won't."

When Gibbs turned to Tony, Tony just said, "I'm not stupid, boss."

At that comment, McGee started to look scared, especially when Gibbs' gaze turned back to him. "Boss, I…"

"McGee…" Gibbs said, slowly, making sure he had his agent's full and undivided attention before continuing in a quiet yet ominous tone. "Kelly may be grown up now, but she is still my only little girl. If you hurt her, you will regret it. If you break her heart, you'll pay for it for the rest of your life. Am I clear?"

"Yes, boss," McGee said, quietly. When Gibbs gave him a nod, McGee slowly sat down in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief and at the same time he was also afraid of what might come next. What if he and Kelly did go on a date and it didn't work out?

Maybe Vance could transfer him to Los Angeles….

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Walking into her father's house, Kelly was surprised to see an older woman in the kitchen preparing steaks. "Uh, hi," Kelly said, setting her bag down and leaning against the counter. "Can I help you with something? Or did Dad find someone to cook for him, finally?"

After washing her hands, the woman looked at Kelly and smiled. "You look just like Agent Gibbs." Holding out a hand which Kelly shook, hesitantly, she added, "I'm Hannah."

"Are you Dad's… wife or… girlfriend?" Kelly asked, eyeing the woman with a sense of curiosity.

"Oh, no, my dear," Hannah replied, laughing. "My daughter is one of Gibbs' agents."

"Really?" Kelly asked, pulling a bar stool over to the counter and sitting down. "I thought it was just McGee and DiNozzo."

Hannah's expression darkened slightly as she set the steaks aside to marinate. "My daughter was tortured by Somalian pirates because of her father."

"So… why are you here?" Kelly asked, confused.

"Because my husband—Ziva's father—is after me," Hannah replied. "He believed me to be dead and now I am afraid that he would kill me if given the opportunity."

"Um… What's your daughter's name?" Kelly asked.

"Ziva," Hannah replied. "I miss her so much and now I can't even go see her while she's in the hospital."

"I know what that's like," Kelly said, nodding sadly. "My mom and I went into witness protection when I was 8. I wanted to write Dad and let him know I was okay, but…"

"Someone so young shouldn't have so much hurt and pain," Hannah said, looking at Kelly. "Just like my Ziva." As she started to chop vegetables for a side dish, she asked, "Does your mother know you came to find your father?"

Looking down at the counter, Kelly replied, "Mom died last year. Heart attack."

"You think it was more than that?" Hannah asked, watching Kelly as she finished dinner.

"My favorite bedtime story as a child was how Mom and Dad met," Kelly said with a shrug. "Mom never remarried. She always loved Dad. Maybe it was being away from him for so long." Standing and walking around the kitchen, Kelly couldn't stop thinking about how many mornings she'd come into this room. Going through to the living room with her bowl of cereal to watch cartoons on Saturdays. Meals eaten in haste so she could go play with Maddie, go down to the basement to be with her father. She's been away from this house and these memories so long and yet being here again, everything seemed to come rushing back. "Um… I'll be back in a minute," Kelly said as a thought came to her. "Tell Dad I'll be in the backyard."

Out in the backyard, Kelly looked around and spotted the area of the garden where she and Maddie had buried the time capsule. Walking over and kneeling down on the grass, she could see that the flowers looked like they had been replanted at some point. Had her father dug up the time capsule and then reburied it? Sitting in the backyard, Kelly felt wrapped up in her memories and jumped when her father came over and sat down next to her.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked, looking at Kelly as she leaned back against the stone surrounding the garden.

"I guess," Kelly replied, sighing.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked, not convinced.

"All the things I missed out on," Kelly replied.

"You mean all the things in your life I missed out on," Gibbs said, feeling a stab of heartache.

"Dad, there's nothing you could have done," Kelly said standing up as her father did likewise.

"Kelly, do you—" Gibbs waited until Kelly looked at him before asking, "Why don't you stay here for a while? Give us a chance to catch up."

"Well, I'm staying with Maddie right now. Until I can get my own place," Kelly said, not sure about her father's offer.

"Kelly. Please," Gibbs said, his eyes pleading.

Kelly hesitated but finally nodded. "Okay."