A/N: Sorry for the delay folks! But here's a new chapter! To all my recent followers/favourites, thank you & welcome aboard this journey! To my reviewers, thank you so much! I light up whenever I read a review & get to see how much people enjoy my writing, so keep them coming!

To Guest reviewer Guest: thank you so much for leaving your comment, here's another chapter.. we're slowly working through it all!

To Guest reviewer momcat: thank you! I hope this chapter answers a few of our questions, and there'll be more to come

Now, let's get right back into it!

Tony leaned against the door frame as he watch his sister, his sister, holy cow! He still needed to wrap his head around it, and couldn't help but smile at that. Anyway, he watched as she lay on the bed holding her son, against her body, the boy had finally fallen asleep & he realised he only did when he'd believe he was safe & back with his mum.

Tony knew it was strange, but he felt a sense of protection over his sister & nephew already, he wanted to keep them safe, just as safe as he wanted to keep Phoenix & Kelly, not to mention the rest of his family. His gaze swept to Ziva & Sgt Fisher, Gibbs had clearly been on the same page as he was, keeping enough of them with civies just in case, at least until they get back to Naples.

Tony saw the doctor approach "Doc"

"Agent DiNozzo" Dr Lawrence greeted, he looked into the room & saw that the boy was asleep, but that Patricia was awake, so he headed into the room.

Patricia had been trying to put everything straight into her head, but there was just too much to think about, too many conflicting emotions, so she put them all out of her mind. The only thing that mattered to her at this moment was her son, she would focus solely on him & making sure he got better. She'd finally gotten him to sleep & she was glad for it, as she knew it always helped the medicine work if he was relaxed & asleep.

Patricia just kept running her hands over son's back when she saw the doctor walk in, she also saw that her brother, and that was something she was still trying to wrap her head around, standing at the door. "Dr Lawrence, do you have any results yet?"

"Call me Jonathan, and yes, we've done the blood tests & I've spoken to your specialist back home" Dr Lawrence responded.

"And?" Patricia asked, hastily.

"Compared to the most recent results from back in America, his blood cells levels has decreased by 5%, whilst his platelets have gone down by 4%, but the stress that Jacob's been through, the drop wasn't as low as I would have thought they'd have been. His blood pressure was a little high, but I can see that it's already started to come back down, which is a good thing. I'm hoping the 150% dose of cyclosporine he got a short time ago has already had an effect." Dr Lawrence explained.

"If his blood cells & platelets levels have dropped 4 - 5%, shouldn't we do a transfusion? Dr Evans always made sure the drop was no more than 3% & if it went over he'd a transfusion" Patricia commented.

"I spoke with Dr Evans, and we think that we should keep the transfusion schedule unchanged, but instead, keep giving him 150% dosages for the next week & see what effect that has on his levels. He'd only had a transfusion last week & we don't want to risk another one so soon." Dr Lawrence explained.

Patricia considered it "but his body's been under stress, and he's been gone for…" she took a breath, she tried to count how many days it had been since…

Tony could see was trying to work out how long it had been since her son had been taken "coming on 5 days now since Jake had been taken from the hospital"

Patricia gave a teary nod, it hard for her to fathom that it had been 5 days "right, 5 days without his medicine, 5 days of stress, what if…"

"Let me stop you Patricia" Dr Lawrence interrupted "Jacob's ok, as hard as it is, the timing was actually the best you could have wished for. He'd had his transfusion right before he'd been taken, so it was still giving him some help whilst he was down on his medication. I know you don't know me, but I'm the head of this unit & have actually consulted with Dr Evans on other cases that came to the medical board for discussions. Giving him another transfusion now, is more concerning that not. And there's no harm to up his dosage of medicine for the next few days."

Patricia just stroked her son's back, "ok, I just want him well again" it had been hard enough to deal with, her son being sick, added to that the travel she had to do, but right now, she was beside herself.

"He will, we'll get him there" Dr Lawrence assured her, but he saw a colleague approach "Mabel?" and there was someone else with her too, he looked like part of their party.

"Myles" Tony greeted.

"Agent DiNozzo" Myles greeted, "I've been asked to come see what we need to do to make Jake's flight back to Naples as comfortable as possible, my brother's plane is able to transport injured parties in beds, so if Jake needs that, we can certainly accommodate, we're doing it for Phoenix" he finished sombrely.

"Phoenix is that bad that he needs to be transported in a bed?" Tony asked shocked, he'd seen Ziva had also heard & was shocked.

"Afraid so" Myles admitted, he was struggling with his emotions, first his brother, now squirt, who was like a brother, it was becoming hard to cope with.

"Naples?" Patricia queried "I want to get my son home" she finished.

Tony took a couple of steps towards her "I know you do, but we've got to finish sorting everything out. I'm sure you want to hold those people accountable & bring justice for Jake for what they did. And we can do that back in Naples, and while you're there, we've got a base hospital that's first rate, and you can stay at my place for as long as needed. We'll make whatever changes necessary for Jake"

"I wouldn't recommend a long flight at the moment, it wouldn't do Jacob any good" Dr Lawrence commented.

"The flight is approximately 3 hours, is that too long?" Tony asked.

"No, 3 hours should be fine, as long as there's someone on hand to monitor him" Dr Lawrence responded.

"There is" Tony answered "we have a doctor with us, you met him downstairs." He could see though that his sister still wasn't convinced "come to Naples, just as long as it takes to get Jacob well enough to travel back home. I promise you, he will be safe, we won't let anything happen to him. I won't let anything happen to him. Not to him, or to you. I know there's a lot to deal with, believe me, I'm still processing it all, and I know you'll need space, you can have it." He took a breath before whispering "Just come to Naples, please sis" he finished as he couched in front of her.

"ok" Patricia quietly agreed looking into her brother's eyes, they were so much like her son's.

"Jonathan, I'll be on the flight as well with him." Mabel remarked quietly, as she studied the pair, if her father & brother were to be believed, these were her cousins!

That really surprised him "ahh ok, well, it would probably be a good thing if he could be in a bed, let him continue to sleep, and I'd like to keep his vitals monitored & an IV attached. But he needs a few hours still to get through this bag before we have to move him about" Dr Lawrence remarked.

"That's fine, we're still getting Phoenix ready & that will take at least another 3 hours" Mabel responded "I'll get everything arranged."

"I'm sorry, but why are you coming on the plane?" Tony questioned.

Mabel gave him her full attention "you & Patricia are the daughter of Patricia Paddington,, sister of Jeffrey are you not?"

"Yes" Tony responded, though he stiffened his back in defence, who was this? Surely Myles wouldn't have let someone in that wasn't ok?

"Well then, it's nice to meet you my cousins, I'm Mabel Paddington, Jeffrey Paddington is my father" Mabel smiled.

Tony's eyes widened & he shared a brief look with his sister, guess there was family all around "ahh, hi, nice to meet you" he finally said to his cousin, hang on a second, this woman was his first cousin! Wow! "so you're coming on the flight because…" if even they were family, why was she coming, they had Ducky & were being met by the base staff as soon as they landed.

"I heard briefly what happened, firstly I'm sickened, but secondly, and more importantly, we don't let family down & we ensure everyone's safe & healthy. And right now for me, that means seeing Jacob & Phoenix safely to Naples and on the road to recovery. Also, as much as Dr Mallard is a skilled doctor the condition of Jacob here, and the state of Phoenix it is probably a good idea to have more than one attending doctors on board."

Tony took what she said in, that told him everything, Nix was in really bad condition! He was now really concerned about the kid! But he felt his sister's gaze on him, he looked her way & realised she wondering what he thought of the doctor's statement. She was looking to him for some reassurance already? That made his heart swell! "As long as it checks out, ok. We've had issues in the past with people claiming to be family."

"I can speak for her" Charles commented as he drew closer from the hallway "My sister speaks the truth Anthony, we will ensure the boys both return to Naples safely, herself & our cousin Gail, Angela's daughter, will both accompany you on the plane. Gail is an ER specialist doctor."

Myles had stayed back during most of the conversation, he'd been sharing his concern with Ziva, this was getting tense. "Ahh, I will speak to my brother & ensure the plane is configured to enable a bed setup with medical equipment for Jacob, let me know if there's anything else that's required." He didn't even wait for a response before heading off.

"Can we let my son rest until we have to leave" Patricia told the room, and she wasn't asking.

"Of course" Dr Lawrence allowed, as he ushered the group out of the room.

Patricia just held her son, it looked like her son would have to deal with taking that medicine even more for the next few days. She knew he hated it, it made him tired, and he felt weak, so taking a dose & a half would make him even more tired & weak. Not to mention all the stress from the last 5 days having on him, he'd be a wreak! She drew him into her even tighter as she just stroked his back & head "I'm here my boy, my darling boy, mum's here" she whispered over & over again.

"Mum" Jake groaned.

"I'm right here Jake" Patricia responded quietly as she stroked his face, she smiled when their eyes met "hey there darling"

"Mummy" Jake cried as he buried herself into her embrace "it was soo scary"

"I know darling, but I've got you safe & sound now, you're going to be ok now" Patricia soothed. She gave him a few minutes before speaking again "how are you feeling Jakey?"

"I'm ok" Jake finally answered, he took a breath "Pop kept me safe, and that other boy too" he raised his head & looked around the room "where's Pop? Is he ok?"

Patricia didn't actually know where he was, but she assumed he was in the hospital getting checked "he's in another part of the hospital getting checked out, we'll wait for your medicine to take a bit more effect before going to check on him" she assured her son. What she wouldn't say, was she had no idea what to even say to the man now. Was she his daughter? His cousin? What exactly happened all those years ago? She really had no idea what she'd say to the man at this moment in time. So for now, she'd just focus on being right here with her son, he was her main priority, and maybe, just maybe, getting to know her brother..

"Myles!" Tony called out as loudly as he could.

Myles had been steps from the elevator when he heard the call & turned, and not only was Tony right there, but so was Ziva "what's up?"

"Phoenix" Tony simply stated.

Myles let out a breath "he's not good, like really not good"

"Do you know what is wrong?" Ziva asked, she wanted to know what was wrong with him.

"I didn't hear it all, but I heard that he's done major damage to one of his knees, and one of his arms. His other leg & arm have issues, but not as bad. He's also got issues with his ribs, but thankfully there's no internal bleeding." Myles remarked quietly.

Tony shared a look with Ziva, that really sounded bad! "did you hear anything else?"

"All I heard was Gibbs' insistence that they get back home to Naples as soon as possible & that either Gail or Mabel will always be at Nix's side for the entire journey, just to make sure he's ok until settled into the base hospital" Myles explained "the kids' in so much pain that he's passed out a few times, it's not good."

Tony leaned against the nearest wall, this was bad! Like really bad! Dealing with injuries to agents, military personnel was one thing, but dealing with a injury to a child of an agent was very different & this wasn't just any child, this was Nix! A kid he'd grown to care for like a younger brother, plus he was Gibbs' son! "how's Gibbs handling it?"

Myles tilted his head as he considered "well, I wouldn't be trying to get the man away from his son anytime soon, or any of his family for that matter." He knew the man would rip anyone apart that tried to even suggest he leave them at all!

"Where do we even start?" Angela asked her brother.

"You've got me Ang" Niall responded, the pair were sitting in the ER cubicle that their brother had been assigned, their brother however was currently getting some scans done, they'd yet to see actually see him though.

"Do we start with what happened recently, or what happened back… well back then" Angela mused "how do we even…"

Niall just shook his head, he had no idea where to even start, he'd left Patrik, Keegan & his Liam to deal with things back at the warehouse district, he had to be here. He needed to make sure his brother, his little brother whom he thought dead, was ok & he wanted to be here to speak to him.

"Uncle Niall, Aunt Angela?" Mabel queried come into the cubicle where she knew they were.

"Mabel dear" Angela greeted "how are the two boys? Any word on Alex?"

"Phoenix isn't well, but Jake's condition is stable, that's all I can really say about their conditions, without the ok from their parents" Mabel admitted "I can say that both families are leaving for Naples, Italy in approximately 3 hours. They want to get them all home. Myself & Gail will be accompanying them to ensure they're ok on the flight."

"They're leaving so soon?" Niall asked shocked, surely not? They needed more time to speak to them, they were family! "excuse me" he said quietly as he rose from his chair to leave the area.

Angela watched him go, she just sighed "and Alex?"

"Getting scans still, he won't be down for a short while yet" Mabel admitted "Angela, what on earth happened? I've barely gotten more than a few sentences, and they're not making sense. And I thought Uncle Alexander, your brother, had died" she really wanted some answers.

"Oh child, if I could answer that simply it would be a wonderful thing" Angela sighed "unfortunately it's so complicated, that my brain is hurting from trying to understand it all myself" she took a breath "but yes, the Alexander getting scans is your uncle Alexander, and he's alive & well" and she really didn't know how to cope with that!

Niall headed out, he wanted to speak to the family, he saw their doctor "excuse me, Dr Mallard I believe"

Ducky rose from his seat "ah yes, Mr McLowry, how many I be of assistance?"

"Could you point me in the direction of Shannon & her family please?" Niall requested.

"Ahh, well, they're in one of the ER cubicles seeing to Phoenix, what is it you need?" Ducky enquired, he'd shared a look with Timothy though, both were curious as to why he was wanting to speak to the family right now?

"I hear they wish to leave in only a matter of hours, I was hoping to speak with Shannon & her husband before they go. We still have much to sort out, I want to.. I would just like to speak with them is all" Niall got out, he really just wanted to speak with them. He then saw his cousin "Jeffrey" he nodded in greeting.

"Niall, Dr Mallard" Jeffrey greeted, "I received a message to say Mabel & Gail are flying with Shannon & Patricia and their families back to Naples in a matter of hours, what's going on?" why were they leaving so soon.

"Neither boy is very well, I'm afraid, I would say they want to get them somewhere they can easily rest & get well" Ducky commented.

"I was just about to speak with Shannon & Jethro" Niall remarked, he saw his cousin nod in agreement.

"I don't think now's the time to disturb them" Tim interjected as he rose to his feet "Phoenix recently came back down, they're by his side & won't be taken away from him." He knew that none of the family would leave Nix's side right now, not for anything!

"I understand that, believe me I do. I would just like 5 minutes to speak to my niece is all" Niall responded.

"I won't disturb them" Tim commented "but next time they come out, I'll tell them you'd like to speak before they depart"

"Thank you" Jeffrey nodded in understanding.

"Thank you" Niall remarked, nodding his head, he understood that the family probably didn't want to be pulled away from their son. He turned to head back towards to where Alex would be returned to when after one step, he saw them.

Niall took a deep breath "Shannon, Jethro" he greeted quietly, looking sideways he saw that Jeffrey had also pulled up short.

"What can we do for you?" Gibbs asked briskly, their boy had fallen back asleep due to the pain meds & they'd heard the conversation. They were standing right outside their son's cubicle, and they wouldn't go further, and he wouldn't take more than 3 minutes away from the bedside either!

"How is Phoenix?" Niall enquired.

"Not well, he's been severely injured" Shannon spoke quietly, she was glad her husband was holding onto her.

"And we'll be taking the men responsible back to Naples to stand trial for their actions" Gibbs added, he wouldn't let them get away with anything!

"We wouldn't suggest anything else" Niall responded "I believe my Liam & Keegan are coordinating the transport of the party under arrest. We will even provide aircraft if required to transport them there under guard." He would certainly make certain they would all face the consequences!

"2 flights are being arranged as we speak, one for the uninjured personnel, and another will be as soon as the injured personnel are ready for flight. Your director has assigned personnel to both flights already to ensure adequate security and that the men remain under NCIS purview as that is the best jurisdiction to hold them in" Jeffrey added.

"Good" Gibbs remarked shortly, he was glad that Vance had made sure that NCIS Agents would oversee the transport of all of the people they were going to charge.

Niall could tell they were anxious to get back to their son "I understand you are wanting to leave for Naples as soon as possible, but please know you can get your son help here. We will do whatever is needed to get him well again. We're family, and I, well… we'd like a chance to…. to talk" he finished quietly.

"Whatever we can do, will be done, rest assured of that" Jeffrey added "all that matters right now for us is getting Phoenix, and Jacob well again"

"Our planes are being prepared to take us back to Naples, and we're going as soon as they've gotten Phoenix ready for the flight. The past week has had a major impact on our family, and the best place for us is at home, where we can get our son back to the safety of our home, and we can work through it." Gibbs responded, he knew his wife needed to get back home to decompress all of the information they'd learnt, he also knew they had to get their boy back home, so he could properly rest in his own space. For him though, he had to get his family back to the safety of his home, and the base, he wasn't going more than 6 feet from any of them! He'd learnt that lesson the hard way, nothing would happen to any of them again!

"I can assure you that your family will be safe here, and we can arrange for you to have as much as space as you want" Jeffrey tried, he really didn't want them leaving so soon! There was so much to talk about and he knew his cousin felt the same way.

"I won't have my family, my son moved from here to there & back and forth, we are going home & that's all there is to it" Gibbs responded, he was adamant that he'd get his family back home.

"We do have some accommodations close by in Naples though" Shannon remarked quietly, yes she wanted to go home, but she couldn't help but want to put out an olive branch to these people, they were her family after all. And what about her father? Where did she go with everything with him?

Niall drew back a little in surprise, he shared a look with his cousin, they weren't going to change their minds, so they'd have to work with it "of course, we'll be coming over anyway to ensure the people are transported securely, and to assist with mopping up the whole situation." He realised it would be best to allow them the family to go back to the comforts of their own home, especially after the trauma they were put through.

"Fine" Gibbs remarked, he went to pull them back towards his son when he felt his wife hold them there.

"Could I ask for an update on Alexander when you get it please" Shannon requested.

"Of course" Niall smiled "As soon as we hear anything, I'll let you know" he assured her, that's when he realised that perhaps Alex would need to be moved to Naples as well, if both boys were heading there, which meant his daughter and well.. adoptive daughter too, he might want to be there too.. he'd deal with that himself. "Go on back to your son, I'll keep you updated"

"Thank you" Shannon smiled sadly.

Niall watched as the pair turned & went back into the cubical where they son was. He took a breath before turning towards his cousin "I think we'll need to get Alex down there too"

Jeffrey looked at him confused, before he realised why "considering both Shannon & Patricia will be heading there, I'd say you're right. Have you spoken to Alex yet?" he finished cautiously.

"No, he hasn't really spoken to anyone yet, and he's getting scans, Ang & I will wait in his cubical for his return" Niall answered "but I have no idea what I am going to say to him."

Jeffrey let out a breath "I wish I could think of something myself to say, but I'm still getting my head around all of this"

"Aren't we both" Niall admitted.

"I'm going to go & check on Patricia & Jacob, I want to speak to the doctor too" Jeffrey remarked "keep me posted about Alex"

"Will do" Niall nodded, he watched his cousin head off, before he headed back to where Angela was waiting, as he entered he saw the inquisitive look "Shannon and Jethro are taking their family back to Naples within hours, Jeffrey & I couldn't convince them to stay."

Angela sighed "well… they have been through a lot, and Phoenix has been injured quite badly. I'm sure they just want to get him home to his own surroundings. Could we really expect them to stay here, or even come back to Belfast with us? I'm still trying to process it all, so would they be." If she actually thought about it, she hadn't started to try to process any of it.

"They mentioned that there was some accommodations close to their base in Naples" Niall commented.

Angela looked at her brother surprised "they did?"

"Yes, and Shannon asked me to give her an update on Alex's condition as soon as we hear anything. And I'm assuming that with Shannon & her family, Patricia & hers' all going to Naples, I'd say Alex would want to be there too." Niall answered

"Maybe this is their way of saying we can continue to connect" Angela surmised "a few of us we'll be going there anyway to help tie things up on the legal side, so why not?"

"Yea, you're right" Niall agreed "I think…." but he stopped mid-sentence when he saw the curtain being pulled back, he also saw the wheels of a bed… his brother! Oww boy! What would he say to him? How would his brother react to him? To his sister? How did they even start talking?

A/N: Looks like they're heading back to Naples, but will a whole lot of company! And Jacob looks to be isn't in too dire straights! But what will Niall & Angela say to Alex? And will Shannon speak to her dad before heading back to Naples?

You know I love to hear your thoughts, so review away! More to come soon!