A/N: Here we go folks! To my newest followers/favourites, welcome aboard! To my reviewers, you all rock!

To my guest reviewers:

Reader: I can understand your concern for Ziva, we will definitely be checking in with her!

CookieSprinkles: Mike's instincts to shoot? Well, he's not alone out there, so maybe more than 1 person will react? Glad everything makes sense for you now about the directions they all went!

Let's not waste anytime & get into it, this may not unfold as you're expecting it to, but I hope you like it!

Fornell just stared down, he like the others had all fired their weapon's as soon as Quinn had moved, everyone except for Gibbs & that just shocked him! Instead of firing his weapon Gibbs had grabbed Buster & pulled him back out of the way, he just couldn't believe that he'd not fired at Quinn himself.

He turned his attention to the body, moving forward making sure the guy was dead. It would be hard to believe him surviving all those shots at the proximity they were fired from, but he had to check so he rolled him over & sure enough, the guy was toast. He honestly couldn't believe Quinn had thought he'd get the better of them with just a knife, the guy had seriously lost his marbles! He was still curious about why Quinn had wanted Gibbs dead himself, but that would be a conversation for another time, they had more important things to worry about.

Gibbs had seen Quinn twitch & knew what was coming, he'd gone to bring his weapon into firing range, but then he saw that Buster was about to attack Quinn himself. If he did that, there was a very big possibility that he'd get caught in the cross fire of the agents around him. He realised that his greater responsibility was making sure that his family's dog was safe & well, far beyond pulling the trigger himself. After all there was no chance that Quinn would be walking away & that was good enough because he'd never be able to look his kids in the eyes again if something had happened to Buster & he'd not done anything to try to prevent it. He'd simply grabbed him by the collar & pulled him backwards, before bending over & shielding them both by way of his bullet proof vest.

Realising the firing had stopped Gibbs pulled himself up & gently stroked Buster "easy boy, all over. Good boy" he praised.

"Woof!" Buster barked.

Gibbs smiled as he ruffled his hair, he still had no clue where he'd come from, but Buster had basically saved his life.

"Gibbs? You ok?" Fornell asked cautiously.

Gibbs rose & looked down towards Quinn's body "I am now" he replied before turning to Harry, he wasn't sure what he was doing here, but he saw that he was clearly a little pale.

Gibbs stepped closer to Harry & cupped his hand around Harry's shoulder/neck area "you ok?"

"Yea, it's..." Harry replied, he really didn't know what it felt like, he was glad that Quinn was dead, the guy had caused so much pain to Kelly & he was comforted that it would never happen again, but he'd help kill a man & he didn't know where to go with that.

"I know" Gibbs replied, giving him a sad smile, he knew this was the first time Harry had fired his weapon in the line of duty & actually shot someone, it was a massive deal for anyone to undergo. He wanted to help the boy get through it so he moved his hand & put it around his shoulder "Let's get back" he said as he started to walk them back "Buster!" he called.

Franks & Fornell just watched as Gibbs walked away with that kid, that police officer under his arm & the dog obediently walking at his other side, they were both dumbfounded at Gibbs's reaction to what had just transpired.

"Any ideas?" Fornell asked.

"Beats me, I was expecting him to empty the chamber into the man" Franks replied, he was lost for words.

"If I may" Banks interrupted "Gibbs did what he did to protect the dog, his family's dog, his kid's dog. He was about to launch himself at Quinn & would have been caught in the crossfire, Gibbs obviously wanted to keep him from getting hurt, it would have crushed his kids" he knew that because his family had a dog too & if anything would happen to her, his kids would be crushed.

Fornell looked at his agent, he guessed that made sense, but still with the venom Gibbs had been feeling towards him he couldn't believe anything had kept him from finally dealing with him himself. But that wasn't the only thing, the way he'd just acted with Harry, I mean sure they were family friends, but still.. "ok, what about that!" he said motioning to the bodies that were retreated back towards the highway.

"Beats me" Banks replied "you both should know the man way better than me!" he retorted, but quickly added "sir."

"Don't look at me, I haven't seen the man in years" Franks added, he knew how heart broken Gibbs had been when he arrived back home to the news about his family & he'd had a very hard shell in place every minute. He'd often wondered just how different he'd have been with his family, was this a sign of it? He wasn't sure.

Gibbs was grateful that Harry & Buster had come across him, but he needed to know how that happened "care to share what you were doing back there? Your dad & I both agreed & made it quite clear that you undertook no heroics Harry"

Harry's eyes widened "he took off!" pointing instantly to Buster "I had to go after him, we had no idea what set him off & I wasn't going to let him get lost. Banks then came after us too, it was like Buster knew what was going on"

Gibbs raised his eyebrow, Buster had sensed something enough to take off?

"He's a smart dog" Harry offered.

Gibbs nodded "he is & he just might be your saving grace Harry Jeffrey"

Harry grinned "works for me" he was still feeling weird about what had just happened, but he was a lot calmer now and Gibbs was acting... well, more like he used to when he was a kid than how he's been in recent years, is this what it would be like going forward?

Gibbs chuckled "I bet it does, but does that work for you Buster?" he asked looking down at the dog obediently walking on his side.

"Woof!" Buster barked.

Ziva had landed pretty heavily from the blast, but she was determined to not let it stop her getting back to Gibbs, she saw Maurice approach with those exact instructions & waved the EMT's away, she propelled herself towards the forestry area. She saw though she wasn't alone, Lt Peter's & his team had also waved away the EMT's & were heading in the same direction she was.

Ziva had only gotten a short distance in when she saw bodies moving towards her, her eyes locked onto the movement as she and the others spread out. Not knowing who was coming, they had to provide a defensive perimeter, just in case.

Ziva watched as the people got closer & eyes her widened, it was Gibbs! And he was walking with Harry under his shoulder? She motioned to the others to stand down, she was relieved to say the least, he was ok! But seeing him walking like he was, was a little strange.

"Gibbs" Ziva greeted as he came closer "is everything ok?"

"It is now" Gibbs replied not even slowing his stride, now that Quinn had been dealt with, he needed to get back to his kids!

"Quinn?" Ziva asked.

"Dead" Gibbs replied, he then saw a trio of men & had a thought "SWAT?"

"Lt Peters, LA SWAT" Peters greeted "Taylor re-directed us here, they'd just arrived into Stillwater when we pulled up"

Gibbs let out a sigh of relief, he'd been concerned that Mac might get there before them, leaving Shannon an easy target "good to know, thank you"

"We're here until the end" Peters replied, it drew nods of agreement from his men.

Gibbs nodded his thanks as they stepped out into the open, his eyes immediately scanning for his kids. What he saw though was the remains of the SUV now blown to smithereens, he then saw a group of vehicles a good mile down the road, clearly someone had made a decision to move them all to a safe distance, he was thankful for that! It looked like the SUV had created a heap of a mess!

"Director had everyone move down the highway so they'd be safe from the blast" Ziva commented.

Gibbs just nodded, he let go of Harry as they picked their pace up wanting to cross the distance as quickly as possible.

Peters saw a few more bodies come out of the forestry area & flashed a look towards Ziva.

"They're fine, they're FBI & NCIS" Ziva replied to Peters, she looked to Fornell though "where's Banks?"

"Minding the body, going to send the troopers back there to babysit so we can keep going" Fornell replied.

Franks still thought things were damn strange as he followed Gibbs & Harry back to everyone, while he no longer had his arm around the boy, they were still walking fairly closely & the dog was sticking to him like glue. They'd gotten about half way when he saw a pair of bodies flying through the air towards them. He realised these must be Gibbs's kids, wanting to not get close, as he was still supposed to keep his distance, he headed off to give them all a wide berth.

Gibbs saw that Jenn had opened the door of the SUV his kids were apparently in & then 2 seconds later they burst forth & started sprinting, he was glad he'd dealt with Quinn & was back with them, he picked up his pace even more to reach them sooner & saw that Buster had taken off towards them, gosh he was one good dog!

"Dad!" Kelly & Nix both yelled as they ran straight for him.

Gibbs brought them both into him as soon as they reached him, taking a strong hold of them both "I'm here, dad's here kiddos, I love you guys"

Harry smiled at the family embrace, he saw Buster was still racing around & called him over as he crouched down "you're a good boy aren't you" he cooed "such a good boy"

"Ziva, Fornell, is everything ok?" Jenn asked as soon as they'd reached them, they were all allowing Gibbs & family a moment of privacy.

"Banks is minding Quinn's body, we need a trooper to take over so we can get on the road. Apart that all's just…. peachy" Fornell answered.

Jenn signalled for a state trooper to go instantly "So Gibbs took care of Quinn?" she asked.

This drew a look between Fornell & Franks, how do they say what happened?

"What happened? Tony asked, seeing their hesitation.

"Well, Gibbs & Quinn certainly went a few rounds, then the SUV exploded, then that dog came out of nowhere & stopped Quinn from shooting Gibbs….. then" Fornell said but stopped.

"Then what?" Ziva asked.

"We had the guy cornered, he still thought he could take Gibbs out, he reached for a knife…" Franks replied.

"And?" Jenn, Tony & Ziva all asked

"We shot him, Gibbs didn't" Fornell said plainly "he…. secured the dog from harm instead" he'd taken what Banks said on board, but still… this was Gibbs!

"Gibbs didn't shoot him? Did Gibbs have a weapon on him?" Tony asked, he was stunned.

Fornell nodded "Yes he did, but he didn't use it. The dog…"

"Buster" Tim interjected, he was listening to the conversation, but couldn't help but watch the family. Kelly had fallen out an embrace with her dad & was now hugging Harry & it wasn't a small hug, it was full on embrace, he kinda felt a little jealous.

Fornell raised an eyebrow at getting interrupted but kept going "Buster, he was going to attack Quinn again just when we were about to shoot him, so instead of firing Gibbs kept him back, safe from getting shot in the cross fire"

Jenn had to admit she was shocked, but looking onto Gibbs now, as the family & Harry all surrounded the dog & were patting him "He didn't want him to get hurt, Buster's important to Kelly & Phoenix, he's part of their family, so he was protecting him from harm like any parent would"

Ted pulled up his vehicle on the main street in Stillwater & surveyed the area, he'd only been here once, no twice, so he really didn't know the place at all, but he knew which store was the Gibbs store, it was halfway down the street.

"I'm going to the Gibbs store, it's half way down, tell Dayle & Robertson to park on the other end when they get here. Let's make some casual sweeps of this street & the surrounding ones, no big movements, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Anyone see anything, notify me. Lyons with me, Evan's take Woods, rifles stay in your packs" Taylor ordered, they were still in civvies & had their sidearms under their shirts, they had to stay under the radar.

"Yes sir" Evan's replied

Taylor hopped out & stretched, he'd lost count of how many hours they'd spent in the car, he could use a massage & definitely some sleep, but all would have to wait until they'd finished this. They'd maybe managed a few minutes shut eye each as they took turns in driving & on the comms, he'd gotten many 30 minutes a few hours ago, that would have last him for this last push. He'd have to rely on adrenaline to get him through & maybe Jackson would have some coffee?

Jack had been at the store a while, he'd made a few sweeps of the main street & thus far nothing. He just kept vigil on the street front, with his trusty Winchester loaded & under the counter just in case. He then noticed a pair of men heading down the street, both men were fairly tall with solid frames, he then saw 2 other men on the opposite side of the road, both of similar build, he got worried, could these men work for Mac?

Jack watched as the 2 men on his side of the street got closer & as they did, he was able to see them better, and one looked familiar, he just held his breath as they came into the store "can I help you?" he asked, gripping the rifle, just in case.

"Mr Gibbs?" Ted asked, he knew it was him though, he remembered him "Ted Taylor, Jethro's neighbour, I believe he called you?"

Jack breathed a sigh of relief "of course, Ted, gave me a fright, thought you were some of Mac's people. But yes now I remember you, I haven't seen anything yet I'm afraid"

"Sorry about that, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves & wearing our SWAT gear would do that" Ted offered "this is Officer Lyons, the rest of my team are checking the street & we've got 2 more teams that are due in within 30 minutes"

Jack nodded to Lyons "have you heard from Leroy?"

"Yes, I'm afraid they ran into some trouble about an hour out, I dispatched a unit there to back them up, hoping to hearing from them soon. They did manage to get information that Mac was heading here, so we're going to have to keep our eyes open" Ted replied.

"What kind of trouble?" Jack asked concerned "are they ok?"

"Afraid we don't know details, ambush is all we know, but I assure you, they had plenty of protection, I'm sure they'll be ok" Ted replied.

"Message from Dayle boss, he & Robertson have just pulled up, they're splitting up to check the surrounding streets & main street too" Lyons reported.

"good" Ted nodded, they must have pushed well over the speed limit to catch up like they did.

Ted paced in the store, his eyes not leaving the windows, he scanned the street front & every few minutes would see one of their teams walking along, they had 5 two man teams patrolling the streets, with him, Lyons & Jackson all watching from the store. He was about to head out himself when his phone rang.

"Taylor" Ted answered, he just listened.

"Thank heavens, you're all ok?" Ted asked.

Jack watched, he could see relief on Ted's face, and then he got a nod, his family was ok! Well most of them at least.

Ted checked his watch "ok, so we'll see you in like 45?... yea, I'm here, he's fine, no sign of anything yet, I'll keep you posted"

Ted hung up "That was Jethro, they're ok. They're on their way again, should be here in 45 given his driving"

"Who was it?" Lyons asked.

"Quinn" Ted replied, he saw the look on his man's face "he's been taken care of, he wont bother the family again"

"Good to know boss" Lyons replied, like all the others he was disgusted by what had transpired.

"Who is Quinn?" Jack asked.

"Let's just say a man that probably deserved a slower death than he got" Ted offered "I'm heading out, Lyons remain here with Mr Gibbs" he ordered & turned then to Jack "and before you try to come with me, your son has given me clear instructions, you are to remain here. He doesn't want you out there risking your neck, he says your more valuable if you can watch the people & pick out anyone that doesn't belong"

Jack wanted to argue, he wanted to be out there, he wanted to be the one to get Shannon, but his son was right, out of all of them, he knew who belonged & more importantly who didn't, so while he didn't like it, he agreed.

Ted headed out & started down the street, he sipped on the coffee that Jackson had made for them, he was doing his best to saviour it, thinking if he kept it he could look like he was just wandering around town using it as pit stop on his journey. He just wished he'd come upon Shannon, where was she? He was behind her, she should have reached Stillwater before him, he just prayed he'd find her before Mac turned up, or worse before he found her!

Ted checked all the small side streets as he walked along the main thoroughfare, he'd done 2 loops of the main street & some of the nearby streets as well, he checked his watch, Gibbs was due here in like 10 minutes, he really wished he'd have something when he got here & that's when he froze. He was down the end of the street & had looked across the road, he saw a woman getting out of a car, she had red hair... he held his breath as he took a few steps closer, trying to get a better look & that's when he saw her face... Shannon!

A/N: Quinn's dead, Ted's got eyes on Shannon! This are going well right? Yea...

Just how will Ted go with Shannon? What about Gibbs, how will he go back in Stillwater? Could Mac spoil the party?

More up soon! Remember, I love hearing your comments, so review away!