A/N: Sorry for the delay folks, busy week! To all my newest followers/favourites welcome aboard! So glad to have you with us! To my reviewers, you rock! I'm so glad you're enjoying this & I love hearing your thoughts!

Now, let's see what Mac's security system reveals...

Kelly approached the computer Abby was at "may I?"

"of course" Abby replied stepping back, she saw everyone had come out to see as well "ah, isn't that previous screen the log in?"

"I'm not going through the normal login" Kelly replied, she saw her brother come up next to her "you wanna help, wash those grubby hands"

Nix grinned as he quickly cleaned his hands & sat himself on a chair next to his sister "back door?"

"Side" Kelly replied, she began typing away.

Tim was watching what she was doing "are you writing a program?" he wasn't 100% sure, it wasn't a full on program, and she was working & typing really fast, her fingers were fast!

"Kinda, I'm peeling" Kelly replied, using a term her college professor always used.

Abby wasn't sure about that term "peeling?"

"Peeling back the layers so I can get in, he doesn't have many" Kelly replied, she always thought the guy was an idiot, everything he had was top of the line, but this system, she could get in so easily & he never cottoned on, it brought a smirk to her face. She brought up the link on the computer right beside her & looked at her brother "go on smarty pants."

Nix grinned & started typing away.

"Ahh, should he be helping?" Tim asked hesitantly, surely this kid didn't really know what he was doing?

Kelly looked at Tim "he's done this before, he can manage"

Gibbs had to admit, he was wondering the same thing as McGee & his daughter reply didn't really fill him with comfort, he wondered if she meant this as hacking Mac's security system or just hacking, he made a mental note to ask about that later, he just watched as both his kids were typing away. He had no clue as to what he was watching & to see them both doing this, especially his son he wondered what other tricks were up their sleeves. He also saw McGee & Abby were both trying to follow.

Abby was really impressed at both of them "you know computers" she remarked.

"That's cause she's got a Computer Science degree from Rice University, she graduated with top honours" Nix replied, as he typed away.

This piece of insight into his girl made Gibbs proud as punch, if not sad that he didn't get to attend her graduation, pushing the anger that came up to boil, back down, he wouldn't take this out on anyone but Mac! He was the one responsible for him missing all those moments, for making his kids have to go through everything without him! He came up behind her "my miss smarty pants" he whispered drawing a smile from his girl, he turned to his son "looks like I've got a pair of smarty pants" it drew further smiles.

Kelly shared a smile with her brother "almost there"

"we're there!" Nix replied.

"Nice one squirt, you may even finish high school computing quicker than me" Kelly smiled.

That made Nix smile again, but it wasn't a big deal "maybe, this is an easy one, we've done it before"

"How old are you?" Tony asked him, he was surprised at what this kid was doing.

"How old are you?" Nix retorted.

Ziva pressed her lips together, the kid was so pointed, just like Gibbs & the look on Tony's face was priceless "yes Tony?"

"36" Tony said, he actually liked this kid's attitude, it reminded him of himself.

"13" Nix replied.

Tony was extremely surprised, this kid was 13? He looked no more than 11, although some of his expressions & general demeanour now made more sense. Abby had to admit that surprised her too, he was so small, wait that SWAT guy said he was like Gibbs, but he wasn't small? This small at least, strange.

"Are you in Kells?" Gibbs asked, as much as he loved the shock on their faces at his son's age, he wanted to get on with it.

"Yeap" Kelly replied "just getting into the camera's"

"How far can you go back?" Gibbs asked.

"Ahh, 48 hours from here, any further it's in his archive sub-system" Kelly answered.

Gibbs was about to ask something but he got the answer.

"It would take about about an hour to get out & over to the entry to the country club, so that makes it... right here" Kelly surmised as she scanned the camera's.

"Mum!" Nix yelled, to see her while strange it was so comforting, she was really alive! He just wanted to give her a hug.

Ducky couldn't help but smile to himself, the boy looked ecstatic at seeing her.

Gibbs had to smile at how happy he looked seeing her "Let's track her Kells" he said rubbing his son's back.

Nix smiled at his dad.

Kelly had found her coming down the hall from her bedroom, she was expecting her to go down the main stairs but she didn't, she continued on & headed further down the hall, what the? "She's going to the kitchen"

Gibbs watched as she headed down some stairs into a large kitchen, she pottered around for a few minutes & spoke with the cook for a minute before taking a plate of food through a door into a room he now saw as the dining room, this place was big!

Kelly & Nix exchanged looks they knew who that plate was for.

Gibbs tensed instantly upon seeing Mac, he wanted to throw a punch through the screen. He then saw Shannon go right up to him & place the plate in front of him, but when she leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek he almost let rip, he clenched his fists trying to stay calm.

Tony & Ziva both noticed how furious Gibbs was looking, both tried to study the man as best as possible. Even though he was sitting down he looked to be fairly tall, with jet black hair & eyes, slim build & looked well, arrogant & full of himself.

Kelly noticed that her mum never actually sat down herself, she just stood at his side as they spoke, she noticed something "she's wearing her 'proper' riding gear"

"You guys often go riding?" Gibbs asked, his mind momentarily drifting back to that beach ride he'd done with his girls on their holiday before he left, but it was the use of the word proper that gave him a shiver.

"We went almost every fortnight, before school or on the weekends" Kelly answered.

Gibbs wondered if she was using that as the diversion. He then saw Mac look at her surprised, the surprise turned to a smile, he knew that kind of smile, it was the type of smile that oozed an arrogant satisfaction of achieving something, it unsettled him.

After a few minutes Kelly followed her mum as she left the dining area, she followed as her mum made her way through the lounge area out to the garden, she made her way towards the pool area.

"She's going to the pool?" Tony asked.

"The pool house is where we kept our riding boots & gear, Mac didn't want them in the main house, too dirty or something" Nix remarked.

They watched as Shannon went into the pool house, coming out 5 minutes later, with as Kelly suspected her boots & helmet, but wait "that's not her gear, it's his!"

Nix tried to see it "you sure?"

Kelly froze the frame & enhanced it "see, those gold buckles"

"Oh yea, they are his" Nix agreed, his mum's boots had no gold.

"Did he go riding with you?" Gibbs asked, he wondered why she'd get his boots & not her's, he wasn't sure what she was playing at.

"Sometimes" Nix grumbled.

"once a month maybe" Kelly added, she hated those rides.

Ziva could see neither liked it when that happened.

A memory suddenly clicked for Gibbs, 'proper attire'! He remembered Shannon telling him that she took Kelly riding once with him & he insisted on Kelly wearing the 'proper attire' for riding, and that they rode the 'proper way' or more like show riding, it was not the kind of riding any of them enjoyed. They preferred the bush trails, the beaches, fun rides, not stiff upper class pretty trotting.

Tony watched as Shannon made her way back around towards the house, but it wasn't the way she went out, was she going in the back door maybe? She dropped the boots & helmet by the door where he also saw some chairs, this place wasn't exactly for the riffraff, it was definitely for the upper echelon.

Ducky watched as she made her way back into the dining room, Mac was still seated there, but he had company, it looked like one of the security men, Dan Acron. He watched as Shannon disappeared into the kitchen & then reappeared with another plate of food & placed it down in front of the man. He saw how tense Gibbs was as he watched on, he clearly didn't like that she was close & waiting on the man.

Gibbs wasn't sure what she was doing, but seeing her being all smiles & friendly with them was ripping him apart. After a few more minutes he watched as she gave the man another kiss to the cheek & headed out.

"She didn't have breakfast" Kelly noted.

Tim wasn't sure what so peculiar about that.

"What does that matter Kell?" Gibbs asked.

Kelly thought about something, she froze the camera's "oh my g-d, she's going to walk out the front gate"

"Kells..." Gibbs wasn't sure about that.

"I'm serious! Watch..." Kelly replied, re-cueing the camera's.

Gibbs watched & sure enough, she walked out the front door, but not before grabbing her purse. He watched as she walked down the path, she briefly stopped to speak with the gardener before heading right down to the gate, where she spoke for a minute with the man at the gate, it was Drew Johnson. Then, just as his girl predicted, she walked out of the gate.

"She's got guts" Tony commented.

"She's the strongest person I know" Gibbs remarked.

Abby's eyes widened at that, while she knew this lady would be strong, to hear Gibbs, Gibbs say that... wow!

"She played him" Kelly remarked, go mum!

"Kells?" Gibbs asked.

Kelly smiled, but looked at her brother first "rewind, maybe 2-3 hours, the hallway outside the bedrooms"

"ok" Nix agreed.

Turning to her dad Kelly spoke "She played him" she said again "it was that smug look on his face, like he'd won or something. Mum getting him breakfast, his gear, breakfast for Dan. She buttered him up"

"For what?" Gibbs asked again, he knew what his girl meant though, that look on his face was a smug look of achievement.

"He always said that breakfast had to be eaten together, properly..." Kelly started.

Nix suddenly realised what his sister was getting at "unless..." he grinned, he shared a smile with his sister.

"unless he went to the stupid country club" Kelly finished, she took a breath "he liked going there for breakfast, with his friends & he always wanted to take mum with him, he wanted her to..." Kelly said, but didn't finish sentence, the look on her dad's face said he knew what she going to say.

Gibbs clenched his fists, he knew exactly what his girl was saying. The man always thought Shannon should have married someone in the upper echelon so that she could live the 'life' he was. He wanted her to be a 'proper lady of leisure', either that or follow him into law. "what would she have told him to get out?"

"Probably that she was meeting the other ladies at the club for breakfast & then maybe going for a leisurely ride around the grounds, he was always trying to get her to do it, she only did it occasionally to keep him happy." Kelly said.

"Would she not have been driven there?" Ziva asked quietly, surely the man wouldn't have let her go on her own especially right now.

Kelly shook her head "No, mum enjoys the walk, it's only 15-20 minutes away, he will however be driven there himself later on, given mum got his boots"

Gibbs knew what Ziva was getting at "He wouldn't want to her to think that anything different was going on. Keeping things the same would keep her none the wiser"

"What about her boots?" Tim asked.

"Maybe they're at the club, we'd leave them there on occasion" Kelly answered.

"Kell, look!" Nix exclaimed.

Kelly turned her attention to the screen, she looked at the time, 04:30, that was just after she left Portsmouth with her dad, her mum was standing in the hallway.

"Who's room is she standing in front of?" Gibbs asked, she was standing right in front of a door, listening he presumed.

"Mac's" Kelly & Nix both replied.

Gibbs watched as his wife listened in, the look on her face said it all, this was the moment she found out he was alive & everything. Seeing her react to it was heartbreaking, he could see the tears forming, she fell into crouched position dropping her head into her hands. He had tear's forming himself, seeing her torn up ripped him up, but then he saw her suddenly lift her head & rush back to her own room.

Ducky could see how affected his friend was by this image, it broke his own heart.

Nix fast forwarded 10 minutes & then they saw her leave her room, she was in sweats & carrying her sneakers.

Ziva noticed how she moved trying to be as quiet as possible down the hall, going down the main steps quickly she veered off screen.

Kelly changed camera angle & caught her mum coming towards the cellar "this is when she sneaks out to leave the note, that's the cellar door" she finished as her mum went through it.

Gibbs hated that there were no more camera's to watch her progress, he just waited while Kelly fast forwarded, he breathed out a sigh of relief when 40 minutes later she reappeared, he held it again though as she made her way back to her room. "Now we know how mum got the note out & how she left" he continued in a whisper "think I know who you two get the smarty pants gene's from" it drew smiles from his kids.

Abby watched as Kelly fast forwarded the camera's again "what are you looking for?"

"For when Mac leaves, to see how much time mum has on them" Kelly answered.

Tony watched as the images by-passed Shannon leaving, the time was ticking over each minute was worth it's weight in gold. Noticing that Kelly had resumed normal play, it was 2 hours after Shannon left, that's some lead time!

Kelly saw Mac answer his phone, his facial features changed instantly, he wasn't on the phone for long, he slammed it down & after a moment dialled his phone, fury was rising with every moment. She swallowed it only took a moment, he slammed the phone down again & yelled, it was an action that brought Dan into the room, with both rushing out.

Gibbs watched as Mac lead all of his staff out of his property, while he hated it, he drew some comfort from her lead, he took hold of both his kids "Mum's got a 2 hour lead, that's substantial. It mean's that she'd be at least a good hour on the road past Spring before Mac even left home. That's something, we need to keep hold of that, ok?"

Nix was leaning into his dad & just nodded.

"yea" Kelly swallowed.

"Sure is a good lead boss, I'll call Taylor & advise him of what we've found, they'll probably have to all fan out outside of Houston already" Tony remarked, trying to help bring comfort as well.

Gibbs nodded in agreement "I'd say so... now, let's finish breakfast huh?"

A/N: Go Shannon! She's got a great lead & totally played Mac! She's definitely a Gibbs! How is she progressing though? and what is the current climate like between Gibbs & Jenn?

Ohh... did someone say coffee? I think so, and I think it's time a few more Family Rules too!

I always love hearing your thoughts, so review away! More up soon!