Author's Note: As promised, I'm updating again! I just wanted to take a minute to thank you guys though. Seriously, your support and positive feedback means the world to me and I have no clue how best to put into words how excited I get when I see I've got new reviews or favorites or alerts etc. I get super excited when Monday rolls around because I know I get to give you guys another chapter and hopefully you'll like it! So I appreciate everyone who reads and likes my stories and I hope you'll continue to read them and like them =) Now on with the story! Enjoy! =)


Taylor slept on the futon in Abby's lab that night while everyone else worked to crack the case. Abby got the evidence from the car and the car itself early in the morning and started working straight away. Meanwhile, Gibbs was trying to compile a list of enemies that would want him dead. It was a horribly long. He was sitting in Abby's lab going over the list again when Taylor woke up. He heard her moan, try to sit up and crack her head against the desk loudly, then curse under her breath.

"I don't know how Abby does that. I haven't slept that poorly in a long time." she said as she struggled upright. She went over to where Gibbs was sitting and snatched his coffee cup. She took a sip, made a face and spit it back into the cup. "God that's awful. This day is starting out terribly."

"C'mon upstairs, I'll get you a real breakfast." Gibbs promised. He tucked the list into his pocket and walked with Taylor under his arm over to the elevator and upstairs.

"I have to work today, Gibbs. How does that factor into your protection detail?" she asked as they waited in the elevator. "And before you ask, no I cannot call in and cancel. My boss hates me as it is and if I cancel last minute the job is gone for sure."

Gibbs sighed. "Take this with you." he said, handing her his butterfly knife. "And keep an eye on what's around you."

"Of course," Taylor replied easily. With a slight of hand, she flicked the knife open impressively. She flipped it back and forth, performing tricks with it just to show Gibbs she knew how to protect herself. "I was a weird kid, Gibbs. Of course I know how to use a butterfly knife." she teased and he smiled at her.

They went outside to the coffee cart Gibbs sometimes got his coffee from and he ordered her a cup- and a new one for himself- and got a few bagels. Seeing as it was ridiculously early, the bread was fresh and warm. It made Taylor smile.

"I work till twelve; you can come stalk my neighborhood anytime after that. But I can't keep sleeping at NCIS and bugging your team. Let them do their work and I'll go home." Taylor said as she happily sipped her coffee and ate a bagel. Gibbs gave her a look but she didn't reply.

"You could be in danger." he told her but she just kept eating. "You're safest here at NCIS." Still, she just kept eating. Finally Gibbs sighed. "Fine, you can go home." he allowed and she started smiling. "But promise me you'll keep your doors and windows locked at all times as well as your curtains closed. And keep that-"

"I'll watch my back. Quit worrying, you don't wear fear very well." she said then got serious. "One of the reasons I was so mad you missed our dinner, Gibbs, was because I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" he asked quizzically.

"About what we both know but never talked about." she said, looking directly up at him. "The fact that we have the same eyes and stubbornness and why you're hanging out with a girl you just met four months ago. Or how you know my mother."

Gibbs paused, looking back at her evenly. "This isn't exactly the place to talk about this." he said.

"It seems like the only chance we're gonna get, Gibbs. Every time I think we'll talk about it, you skip a dinner or get a call or say it's just not the right place. C'mon, we both know the truth here we just have to talk about it." she told him convincingly.

"I'm not avoiding talking about it if that's what you're assuming." he mumbled but she wasn't believing it. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you really my father?" she asked. It took him a minute but Gibbs finally nodded. Taylor didn't understand why it was so hard for Gibbs to admit these things; she already knew in her heart. "Okay so how did you know my mother?"

"Your mom was working as a nurse and she saved the life of a guy I'd fought a month to protect. I spent a lot of time at the hospital." he told her.

"You hooked up?" Taylor guessed. "That's why you don't like talking about it. Cause it was a short little fling and never meant anything."

"But it got me you, so it means something." he said, touching her cheek with the back of his hand. She smiled a little and leaned into his touch but for the most part she was sad. It was stupid to hope there was some romantic story, but she hopped nonetheless. "You okay?" he whispered, lowering his head to make eye contact with her.

She nodded saying, "Yeah, just a bit much to take in." They only had a minute more to talk about it before she had to leave for work so they made the most of it. There wasn't much more to talk about though so they finished their breakfast and he drove her back to her house. He gave her a kiss on the head before he watched her ascend the front stairs and unlock her door.

She changed out of yesterdays clothes and showered quickly before dressing for work. She made sure Gibbs's butterfly knife was with her when she locked up and left an hour later. Somehow (and she wasn't going to question it) Gibbs got her Land Rover back in front of her house by the time she left for work. She sighed as she inspected it and found a bullet hole in the back bumper. How had last night been so surreal? Either way she had to put it out of her mind- as well as the info she got from Gibbs- and work. So that's what she did. And that's what Gibbs did as well. From the moment he got back to NCIS.

Gibbs went straight to Abby's lab with a Caf-Pow. "What do you got, Abbs?" he asked, entering amidst the loud music. Abby was furiously typing away on her computer and so she turned towards him, smiling.

"A lot," she said, reaching for the Caf-Pow but Gibbs held it away with a familiar expression. "Right; info first, caffeine second." Gibbs smiled at her. "Unfortunately I can't tell you who these guys were shooting at- you or Taylor- but I can say they weren't kidding around. There were dozens of 45 casings in the car and at your house, Gibbs. These's guys used a fully automatic machine pistol." As she told Gibbs, Abby held up the gun as it was sitting on her steel table. "If you didn't have Marine reflexes, Gibbs, you and Taylor…" Abby couldn't finish her sentence.

"What did you get from the car?" Gibbs asked, changing the subject for both of their benefit.

"They thought to wipe down the door handles and the steering wheel. However they didn't clean the back of the review mirror and I got a print. I also got one lucky print from one of the shell casings in the backseat." Abby said proudly. She was running both of the prints for an ID but it would take some time.

She smiled at Gibbs and he handed her the drink, kissing her on the cheek and saying, "Good job, Abbs." before walking back out the door.

Abby took a grateful sip then remembered something. "Wait, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" she called, scurrying out to the hallway where Gibbs was just about to get into the elevator. He stopped and asked her what was wrong. "Where's Taylor?"

"She went to work, Abbs. What's wrong?" Gibbs replied, holding the elevator doors open.

"Gibbs! You two are in trouble. Someone tried to kill you both; you need to protect her. And yourself!" Abby complained; giving him her best puppy dog eyes. Gibbs sighed, kissing her temple.

"We'll be fine, Abbs. I promise." he told her then got into the elevator and hit the up button. Abby stayed where she was standing, just watching the elevator. She might be too much of a worry-wart but she was freaking out. Nothing could ever take Gibbs from her but that didn't mean she wasn't worried someone would try.

~!~!~!~

Taylor worked her ass of to work her way up the ladder at Lee's Little Store in town. She got the job when she was just 14 years old and by now she worked all the way up to a manager position. That was as high as she could get but it was a good position. She worked hard and was never late and the Lee family really liked her. The job meant so much to her; so much more than any other job she or anyone else could possibly have. She needed the job to keep her house and car. And the hours were perfect so she could still take night classes as she worked to get a business degree. Sure, her dream went far beyond owning a restaurant. She wanted to own a café and book store combined some day. Working at Lee's wasn't a step in that direction but it was giving her money for her hard work so she loved it.

Taylor got to work that morning and plastered on a smile for her co-workers sakes. She didn't tell anyone what happened or what had her very preoccupied. But nonetheless, she was very distracted. She went about the work day like a zombie trying not to think about everything she'd been through already. But she kept thinking about how weird her life had gotten. Just a few months ago she was living a semi normal life with not a lot of worries. Then Michael died and she met Gibbs and now she was being shot at. They weren't sure who the target was but Taylor couldn't help but not care. Either way, someone had tried to kill her and that didn't sit well with her. Whether they were shooting at Gibbs and nearly hit her or they were shooting at her while she was with Gibbs didn't matter. What mattered was she had nearly died just the night before and it made her think about a lot of things.

"Are you okay, Taylor?" one of Taylor's coworkers asked. Taylor turned and smiled at Cho Lee and nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine; just a little distracted." she said and Cho shrugged, not pushing her luck. They were working to restock some of the shelves when Taylor's phone began to ring. She pulled it out and answered, "I'm working, Gibbs." with a chuckle.

"I'm outside," Gibbs replied on the other end of the line. There would be no changing his mind so Taylor just agreed. "I'll drive you home." Gibbs said before they hung up. Just as Taylor was slipping the phone back into her pocket, a customer walked into the shop. Taylor asked Cho to handle it so she could keep up with what she was doing. But the man by the counter was acting weird so Taylor went with Cho anyway. It wasn't long before she caught on to what was really happening.

Two more men walked into the store and stood by the door. Taylor wrapped a hand around Cho's arm while she also grabbed the butterfly knife Gibbs had given her. The man by the counter reached into his jacket pocket and Taylor knew how this was going to happen. Everything went down in a minute but to Taylor it felt like hours. The first shot hit the bookcase by Taylor's head. She grabbed Cho and pushed her towards the back entrance while she dropped to the floor herself. The butterfly knife wouldn't do her much good when these men had guns.

Taylor took cover under the front counter and tried to crawl out the back door. She absently wondered why Cho wasn't trying to get the hell out of there while the front door opened. Taylor knew it was Gibbs as soon as he started yelling "NCIS!" and firing. She just covered her head and hid behind the counter, praying silently that it would all just end. She stayed there practically in the fetal position even after the last shot was fired. She was torn between the need to check if Gibbs was okay and staying low so she didn't die. But her body was completely frozen still so she couldn't have moved even if she wanted to. She had her eyes closed so she jumped when a hand touched her shoulder lightly. Gibbs's voice was there in her ear telling her it was okay. Her reaction was to immediately worm her way into his arms and smother her face in the crook of his neck; the hysterics working their way up her throat. He held her close, standing up with her in his arms. He shielded her face from the bodies on the floor and just guided her to the street. The police were just responding, as were the EMT's but Gibbs sat on the hood of a nearby car with Taylor under his arm until his team got there. He wouldn't let her go.