When Leon Vance got the call from Agent McGee, he knew his day was about to take a very bad turn. He didn't get calls from agents at Headquarters. He got calls from Director Shepard or her assistant on her orders, not agents. There was no reason for agents from Headquarters to call him. If they had an issue, they had the director of the entire agency in the building. If Special Agent McGee was calling him, it was because for some reason, he couldn't get to Director Shepard. So, he knew it was going to be bad. When McGee informed him that Director Shepard and Agent Gibbs were missing, and that Shepard's home had been turned into a violent, bloody crime scene, Vance realized that 'bad' was not the right adjective. Horrendous sounded more accurate.

Vance was silent for a few moments, trying to think of what the next move should be. Nothing like this had happened to a director in NCIS history to his knowledge. There were contingency plans for a director dying on the job, but this was a little different. They had no idea what happened to Jenny Shepard, and a situation like this had to be handled exactly right.

"Deputy Director Vance?" the voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Yes, I'm here, Agent McGee. Have you been able to ascertain that Director Shepard and Agent Gibbs are injured?" Vance asked.

"Not yet, Sir. We're waiting on blood test results, but it seems almost certain they were hurt. They would've fought if someone tried to grab them, and there's no evidence that they left on their own accord. Both their cars were at the scene," he said.

Vance could hear the worry in Agent McGee's voice that he was trying to cover up. The agent was obviously very effected by this, which made sense. His team leader was missing and probably at least injured. That was enough to shake someone, even a federal agent. "Yes, I think your assessment is probably correct. Who else knows about this?"

"Just my team, our medical examiner, his assistant, and our lab tech. Director Shepard's assistant knows she's missing, but nothing else."

"I want it kept that way for now. I will speak to SecNav as soon as possible and ask how he'd like this handled. Until then, we should keep it under wraps. We do not need to start a panic within NCIS," Vance said.

"Understood, Sir. How should my team proceed? In order to figure out who is responsible for this, we need to get into Gibbs' and the director's files, but…"

"A number of those cases will be Classified," Vance finished for him. "I'm going to temporarily higher your clearance level, Agent McGee. You will have the same clearance level as the director and myself. However, only you will have this clearance level. Some of these cases are very sensitive. If you think one of them has anything to do with what has just happened, you'll bring it to my attention, and I'll decide if anyone else should be privy to it."

"Me. Deputy Director, shouldn't it be my Senior Field Agent that receives such clearance?" he asked in surprise.

"He's not the one that took the initiative to talk to me. You will be the one to look into these cases. Use Director Shepard's office. I will call her assistant and have her give you any passwords you might need. I'll call back after I've spoken with SecNav," Vance said.

"Yes Sir."

Vance hung up the phone and sighed before picking up the phone again. It was about to become a much longer day than he'd anticipated.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim entered Abby's lab. Not long after talking to Deputy Director Vance, Abby called and pretty much demanded he get to her lab. When he got there, he found Abby pacing back and forth. She looked very upset, which wasn't surprising under the circumstances. "Abby?"

Abby stopped and looked at him. "Did you know?"

"Did I know what? Are the blood results in? Anything else, I don't have time for," Tim said. He didn't want to be short with her, but he didn't have time to waste. He was waiting on the deputy director to call back while trying to go through Jenny's files. He was going to focus on the ones that Gibbs was involved in.

"I checked the results against the NCIS database. All agents have DNA in the system. I thought it would be easier that way. One of the samples hit twice, once for a familial match," Abby said.

Tim felt his limbs start to shake and his stomach drop, as he realized Abby was talking about him. It wasn't the fact that she found out the secret he'd been hiding since Jenny became director though. He was more concerned with the fact that he had confirmation that Jenny's blood had been in that house. He had suspected it would turn out that way, but it was still a blow to hear it. "What blood sample did you match? Where was it found in the house?"

"What? Timmy, I just told you…"

"I heard what you said, Abby! I need to know what sample you matched. Where was Jenny's blood!" Tim asked forcefully.

"In one of the bedrooms," she told him.

Tim was only able to relax slightly. It was better than her blood being found in the hall, where the majority of it was found. It was possible she was still alive.

"You knew," Abby said. She hadn't told him that it was Jenny's blood that was a match to his, so he had to have known. Plus, he didn't seem surprised that his blood would match hers.

"Yes," Tim admitted.

"Is the director your mother?" Abby asked in disbelief.

"No. She's my aunt. My father's sister," Tim told her. There was no point in denying it when Abby had DNA evidence. Honestly, he was no longer that concerned about it. He didn't want anyone else finding out just yet, but it was no longer his greatest fear. No, his greatest fear now was that he would never see his aunt alive again.

"Oh my God. You guys just kept this a secret from everyone for years. Why didn't you tell us? Does Gibbs know?" Abby asked rambling.

"First of all, this is on me. Jenny doesn't know, and, no, neither does Gibbs. No one else can find out either until I can tell Jenny. If I get that chance," Tim said with a shudder.

"How can she not know?" Abby asked confused. It seemed impossible for someone not to know they had a nephew unless McGee was adopted or something.

"It's a long story, and I don't have the time or desire to talk about it," Tim said. He wouldn't be telling that story even if he did have the time. People didn't need to know the hell he endured. He would talk to Jenny about some of it, but no one else.

"Why didn't you tell us? How could you keep something like this from all of us?" Abby asked, getting slightly angry.

"Abby, I don't owe you an explanation. The only person I owe that to is Jenny, and I know she'll understand. None of this is your business," Tim said.

"Of course, it is. We're a team. We're supposed to know everything about each other. You know everything about me," Abby said.

"That's your choice, Abby. It's not mine. There are aspects of my life that I want to keep private. Believe me, most of those aspects, you wouldn't want to know about anyway. Look, I have to get back to work. Did you match any of the other samples yet?" Tim asked.

"No. That was the first one I checked. Tim…"

"Then you should get back to it. Abby, please do not tell anyone about this. I would like to at least try to keep it under wraps until we find Jenny and Gibbs. She deserves to find out before anyone else," Tim said.

"You want me to keep things from the rest of the team now?" Abby asked.

"It's not their business. It's not case related, so they don't need to know. All you have to say is that you matched the sample to Jenny. Please," Tim said.

"Fine, but I don't think it's right. They deserve to know," Abby said.

"Thank you," Tim said before heading out of the lab.