A/N: Here we are everyone, another chapter! To my recent followers/favourites, welcome to this wonderful ride, so glad to have you with us! To my reviewers, thank you so much, reading your comments always keeps me inspired!

Now, let's see how everyone is doing… and what is bugging Kelly? This chapter will also start to show Phoenix in a slightly different light, so far we've seen him as the goofy kid, if up on technology, but we see him hold his own & step up when he has to, just like any Gibbs would do.

"Director" Lt Robertson said as he & Lt Peters approached her.

"Yes Lieutenant?" Jenn asked

"We've spoken with our Captains, and Sgt Samuels has spoken with his, all three have given us the ok to remain in DC to sort out any paperwork & affidavits that need to be done" Robertson remarked.

"It'd be easier for all of us to do it here together instead of back in our individual SWAT houses" Peters added "my captain also said that if the hearings will be soon, we should stay for them too. They can cover & it would save on travel costs & such"

"That's very thoughtful & appreciated, and I will take you up on the offer to remain for the paperwork, but let's see how things progress & take whatever happens as it comes" Jenn said, this would definitely make this easier & able to done faster, something she knew Jethro would be grateful for "as for travel costs, and accommodation, NCIS will be footing the bill for all of you. My assistant is already looking at sourcing accommodation, I will call her & say that we'll need it for about a bit longer than day or two" while it was going to cost a lot, she knew that at the end of the day it was her agencies responsibility, after all it was NIS that made the error in not picking up the body switch that occurred.

"If possible we'd like somewhere near the Gibbs residence" Robertson requested

"The threat is over" Jenn remarked "or is there something I am unaware of?" she couldn't quite work out why these men, all of these men were still so protective now that the threat had clearly passed.

"We're sure the threat has passed ma'am, but we'd feel better knowing we would be close, just in case" Peters remarked, he realised the threat was over, but he'd feel more comfortable if they were based close by anyway.

"Very well, I will see what I can do" Jenn answered the pair.

"Agent Balboa" Ziva greeted

"Ziva" Balboa greeted "glad everyone's back safely, how are…." He didn't even know who to ask about first.

"Everyone will be well in due course" Ziva answered "what brings you here?"

"Security on the punk that is still being treated, apparently he's due to be released sometime today, we'll take him straight to NCIS lockup" Balboa replied.

"He's down the end of the hall, there's a marine guard on him currently Agent Balboa" Tim remarked coming closer "The doctor says they are just waiting to see how he handles his lunch before they're comfortable releasing him"

Balboa nodded "thanks McGee, so the family doing ok? How's Gibbs?"

Ziva & Tim flashed each other a look, how was Gibbs? That was a double-barrelled question if Tim had ever heard one.

"Something wrong?" Balboa pressed

"Nothing is wrong, Gibbs is just…" Ziva "not himself" she was struggling to make sense of Gibbs new demeanour, from how he'd acted yesterday with that children's game, to the comments he made during the movie, and the amount of laughing he did throughout it all, she really did not know how to respond.

"What do you mean?" Balboa pressed, what did that mean? He knew the guy had looked extremely tense, but had the occasional tension breakers with his kids.

Tim considered what he thought of his boss currently, strange, weird, not himself, were words that came to mind, entirely un-Gibbs like was another phrase, or how about 'Gibbs the kid'? Yea, he was going with that one, though he thought that Ziva wouldn't really appreciate that, nor would Balboa understand it "He's… " he took another moment when a thought came to him "he's been keeping things light & fun, with jokes & laughter to try to keep Kelly & Phoenix, as well as his wife calm & relaxed, so they won't get anxious or scared"

To Balboa that just sounded weird, Gibbs laugh & joke around? "I see.. I should go, be seeing you both soon"

Tim watched him go and had to admit "it is rather strange to see Gibbs the way he is, I think Tony is completely & utterly confused by how Gibbs & Shannon were acting yesterday" he knew Tony was at a total loss with regards to their actions from the garden, as well as during dinner & the movie.

Ziva nodded, glad she wasn't alone in her confusion "do you believe this is how he was before?"

"You mean when he first had his family?" Tim asked, he saw her nod "maybe, no probably, think it'll take some time getting used to it"

"Getting used to what?" Tony asked coming closer.

"Gibbs new demeanour" Ziva answered, she noted though that he was back in the wheelchair.

Tony didn't even reply, he was still trying to work out what happened yesterday! He was so confused! Gibbs had seated him, along with the team, right next to his family while they ate & watched the movie. Shannon had then made them all their sundae's, individually, asking what they'd all like. He just couldn't work it out, it had kept him up half the night! "Director said there's a car outside for us, Agent Lane will take us home when we're ready & collect us tomorrow to head into the office to start working on the reports, and she wants us all to rest for the rest of the day"

"Can you manage at home by yourself?" Ziva asked him.

"I will be fine Ziva" Tony replied, he was looking forward to some down time "as soon as Gibbs is ready to go, we will go too"

Ted was outside watching over the kids, it wasn't the best atmosphere currently & he had planned to go & speak with Kelly who was sitting by herself a short way away with Buster, but he saw Gibbs & Shannon approach, so he detoured "so, what's the prognosis?" he knew they'd been speaking with the doctor about Joanne.

"Not the best" Gibbs admitted "They're going to have to operate, give her a pacemaker, her heart hasn't quite settled down as much as they'd like"

Ted could see Shannon wasn't all that positive "take it there are risks? More than the standard ones"

"Yea, it's a risk to operate while her heart is still not 100% stable, but they believe it's a greater risk to do nothing as her heart may just keep going the way it is & that could eventually…." Gibbs said but he didn't finish the sentence

Ted realised what Gibbs was going to say "then it's for the best, I'm sure she'll pull through Shan, I always remember your mum being stubborn, she rivalled the pair of you"

"Thank you Ted" Shannon remarked with a small smile, acutely aware of what he was trying to do "I'm sure she'll fight"

"That she'll do" Ted agreed

Gibbs flashed a look between his kids "what's going on out here?" they were sitting in separate areas, while Kelly was alone, Nix was with Harry & some of the SWAT guys.

Ted sighed "they got into a bit of screaming match over Buster, Nix wanted to play with him, Kelly refused to let him up"

"What on earth is going on with her?" Gibbs wondered

"Well she hasn't told Harry" Ted said, he was about to say something else when he heard a voice, a very familiar voice.

"Dad!" Stacey yelled running up.

Ted got a fright but smiled at seeing his girl approach, he crouched down & enveloped her in a hug as he lifted her off the ground "hello my pumpkin!" he squeezed her tightly "oh I've missed you so much my girl, I love you pumpkin!" he finished planting a kiss to her forehead.

Stacey smiled as she wrapped her arms & legs around her dad, she'd missed him so much & she had to admit, hearing what her mum had told had been pretty scary, it made her miss her dad even more "missed you too!"

Ted kissed the side her head "missed you more"

Gibbs couldn't help but smile at this reunion, but he saw Martha approach & wondered just how it would go.

Martha approached cautiously "Jethro? Shannon?" my gosh, her friend in the flesh, very strange!

Shannon looked towards the voice & took a cautious assessment, was it? "Martha?"

Gibbs watched as the pair took each other in, he saw hesitation on both of their faces.

"It's wonderful to see you" Martha smiled

Shannon swallowed the lump in her throat, she'd often thought about her friend & getting in contact, but yet again she'd let that man dictate things. She remembered at the time agreeing that a clean break from everyone would help them all heal & move forward, but she shouldn't have cut everyone out of their lives. The lies would have been unearthed! She didn't want to spoil the moment "it's lovely to see you too"

Ted watched the pair give each other a tense hug, but the tension drained quickly and they were smiling even more as they fell apart "Shannon, this our little girl Stacey, Stac, this is Shannon, Jethro's wife"

"Hi" Stacey greeted softly, but she looked at her dad "I'm not little!"

"Says the girl sitting her father's arms" Ted grinned at her "you'll always be my little girl pumpkin, get used to it"

"Hello" Shannon smiled, she flashed Martha a look "looks like you've got a mini me" Stacey looked just like Martha, green eyes, light brown & slightly curly hair, she also noted that while she was her son's age, she was half a head taller than he was.

Martha smiled "certainly do, though she has Ted's stubborn streak"

"Hey!" Ted & Stacey both exclaimed.

Martha chuckled "I'm right, now missy, why don't you go see your brother, I think he has some people for you to meet" she had no idea why, but her son had wanted to do these introductions himself & by himself.

"Ok" Stacey replied hopping down from her dad's hold & heading off towards her brother.

"Hi" Ted smiled at his wife, he drew her into his embrace & gave her a quick kiss, gosh he'd missed her!

"Hello to you too" Martha smile coming out of the kiss, she was so glad he was home!

Martha turned her attention to her friends "glad you all got back safely, looks like you were in the wars though." Jethro certainly didn't look good.

"We're through it, that's all that matters" Gibbs remarked

Martha nodded "It certainly is all that matters, how's your mum doing?"

"They're going to operate later today & give her a pacemaker, they believe that will help stabilise her heart enough to bring her out of the induced coma" Shannon remarked.

Martha was going to reply but they were interrupted by shouting.

"He's staying with me!" Kelly yelled back.

"Don't yell at me! I just wanted to introduce him to Stacey!" Nix exclaimed

"And I said he's staying with me! Introduce them later!" Kelly retorted loudly.

"Fine" Nix yelled before stomping away.

Gibbs & Shannon shared a concerned look, this was getting bad. "Excuse us" Gibbs remarked as they headed for their girl.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked her husband.

Ted sighed "not sure, she's been off all day, has barely spoken a word to her family, only to Harry & one of Gibbs agents, but hasn't said what her issue is" he was getting concerned, he saw that Stacey was really caught with her first introduction to Kelly, he led his wife towards the kids.

Sitting down near his daughter Ted pulled her close "Sweetheart, are you ok?"

Stacey had been really nervous to meet Kelly & Phoenix, he seemed cool enough, but her first reaction from Kelly wasn't good "she doesn't like me" she whispered to her dad.

"That's not true, I'm sure she'll love you once she gets to know, but she's struggling at the moment. It's a lot to deal with, so let's give her some space & when she calms down, we'll try again" Ted soothed as he ran his hands up & down her arms "for now, let's just enjoy the sun annnd… are those danishes I see?" he finished spotting a box of goodies from his wife's bakery.

"Mum thought we should bring something to eat for you, I decided on the chocolate ones over the fruit ones" Stacey replied, there was no point ruining a good pastry with healthy stuff, yuk!

"Sounds perfect" Ted smiled, he looked over to Nix who was sitting across from him & had his head down playing with either his fingers or a handheld game "Nix bud, want some chocolate danishes? They're the best you'll get in town"

"No thanks" Nix replied, he was too caught in what his sister's reactions had been, he had no idea what was wrong with her. Ever since he'd woken up, she'd basically ignored him or yelled at him. He tried asking what was wrong, but her reply was 'nothing you'd care about or be interested in', he really didn't understand that, she was the one person he shared everything with, he thought she felt the same way, but clearly not.

Ted watched Nix, even though he hadn't been around the boy long enough, he knew saying no to chocolate danishes meant he wasn't himself. He knew Kelly's reaction & mood during the day was clearly affecting him, and while he knew siblings fought, his pair certainly did, there was something clearly bugging Kelly more than the normal issues they were all dealing with, or maybe it was to do with this situation that was probably likely, but what was the root of it?

Gibbs approached his daughter, really unsure of the reaction they would receive, he sat down next to her, leaving a small gap so as to not crowd her, he'd noted that his wife had done similar on her other side "Kell" he said softly

"What?" Kelly huffed, as she cuddled Buster close.

"What wrong darling? It's obvious that something's bothering you" Shannon said softly.

"I can handle it myself, I thought you were checking on grandma" Kelly said

Gibbs shared a worried look with his wife, he really didn't like the way she was talking "we've just come from seeing her, she's resting. We're now here with you, and we'd like to know what's going on, we want to help you work through whatever it angel"

"I'm old enough to work through it myself, I don't need help" Kelly retorted.

"Darling" Shannon sighed "you don't have to do it yourself, let us…"

"What so all of a sudden I'm not old & mature enough to handle things?" Kelly asked angrily standing up "All of a sudden I don't have to make the decisions myself? All of a sudden I don't have to be the one deciding what school Phoenix should go to? Or how about not having to be the one soothing him because he's upset!" she yelled

Gibbs had stood but he was just staring at his daughter shocked at her outburst, he thought they'd already talked about her realising she didn't have to handle that burden?

"Kelly…' Shannon tried, she wondered if her daughter seeing her brother in her arms during the night had affected her.

"NO!" Kelly yelled "I told you I didn't want to leave! I told you that I couldn't handle it! But you said I had to! You said I could! You can't have it both ways now!"

Shannon let a few tears fall down her cheek "sweetheart I just wanted to get you away from there, get you both away….. where are you going?" she called as she saw her daughter walk away.

"I'm going home! I've got things I need to sort out, I've got work tomorrow! I'll pack Nix's school things up for you, he's due there at 8:15 & has soccer practice after school too" Kelly huffed, she just needed to get out of there & to a place that she could de-stress in a place that was hers, without anyone else.

Gibbs & Shannon shared a look of utter confusion, what?

Nix had heard the heated discussion, and was getting really worried, what was his sister saying "where you going?"

"I'm going home, to my home, you do what you want" Kelly answered, she was fairly certain she knew what her would choose.

"Why you going there?" Nix asked, he just assumed they'd all be going back to their dad's place, their true home.

"Why do you care? You've got them back, you've got what you want, what do you need me for now?" Kelly bit back. It was clear to her how her brother felt. He'd been seeking comfort, guidance & everything from them & not her. And they'd already taken on everything with him, from comfort to preparing his food, she'd even seen them talking with his teachers. He clearly didn't need her anymore, and she needed to get away, he had them, they had him and she wanted out, she needed out.

Nix had no idea what his sister was on about "what the hell are you talking about?"

"I just said… I'm going home, you can do what you want, but it's obvious what you'll do͟" Kelly bit

Gibbs shared a look of utter bewilderment with his wife, she was mad because she thought her brother no longer needed her & wanted her around, then thought what? to leave them? She was mad because she thought none of them wanted her around because she was no longer needed? He went to step forward & would have said something, but his wife stopped him.

"Let them discuss this͟" Shannon whispered, while she couldn't believe her daughter thought that her brother & them as well didn't need or more to the point want her around, and as such thought she thought leave. She considered that they deserved a shot at talking through this themselves.

Nix was utterly perplexed, he had no clue what his sister was going on about, none! zero! and he was sick of it "what the fuck is going through that dense head of yours, because it's not logical!"

"Let's head inside for a while, give them some space" Ted suggested to the group at large. He thought it best to give them space & privacy.

"Excellent idea" Martha agreed, she & Ted followed the entire group inside "this is going to take a lot of time & tears for them to get through it all" she whispered into her husband.

Ted just nodded in agreement.

Kelly just stared at her brother.

"I always considered you the smart one, but you beyond stupid if you seriously think I don't need or want you around, in fact you're nuts if you think that!" Nix exclaimed

"Let's give them some privacy" Shannon suggested, the pair of them clearly had something to discuss.

Gibbs wasn't sure that was a good idea, neither looked like they'd back down, maybe they'd need refereeing? he gave his wife a questioning look.

"They deserve the chance to talk this through themselves, without us" Shannon remarked, as she pulled him away.

Gibbs realised she was right, whatever this was, the pair of them clearly had an issue to deal with, and as they'd been a team for the last few months alone, they did deserve this chance. He headed off "Buster!" he called, thinking it best to bring the dog with them, as he was racing around the pair of them feeding off their nervous energy.

Nix watched as his sister slumped down to the ground, and buried her head into herself, he went down to her. He always considered his sister the strong one, she'd held everything together for the pair of them over the last 5 months, she'd done everything required & not broken down, and it was hard for him to see her like this.

After a moment Nix placed a hand on his sister's knee "Kell" he whispered, he only continued once she'd raised her head to look at him "I don't understand how you could think I don't need or more to point want you around. You're the only one who gets me. You're the one who knows me, you're the one that helped me through everything, not only of the last few days or even last few months, but always. Who else knows how to wake me up effectively? Who else knows what I now like as afternoon tea after school? Or what I need to eat before or after soccer practice? Who would be the one to help me navigate the route inside & out of that place, just so we could avoid him? Who's the one that teaches me kick ass moves on the mat & on the computer? Who's the one that shared all the stories with me, the ones mum doesn't know about? Who else knows before even I do when I'm feeling like I'm going to burst from emotion? You're the only one that's been with me all my life, I need you more than anything, or anyone, please don't leave me."

Kelly let the tears run down her face, he was right, she certainly knew him best, she just bit her lower lip as she just looked at him.

"I'm super glad that we've got mum & dad with us, but why do you even think I wouldn't want you around?" Nix asked.

Kelly chewed on her bottom lip, she couldn't really voice what she was thinking.

"Is it because I went over to mum & dad during the night?" Nix asked "I know you were awake, you barely slept all night. I thought you might fall asleep if you had the bed to yourself" he knew his sister was awake when he moved over to his parents, not that she showed it. But he'd untangled himself gently from her hold & moved beds because he really thought she may fall asleep if she had the bed to herself.

"You knew I was awake?" Kelly whispered, she was surprised at that.

"Yes, you're breathing wasn't as shallow as it is when you sleep" Nix answered "so was that the reason?"

"Partly" Kelly whispered.

"What's the other reason then?" Nix asked, he saw her hesitation "this is why we have F4" he finished with a smirk

Kelly rolled her eyes but gave in "not sure you'd understand" she said honestly.

"Try me" Nix offered

Kelly took a deep breath before speaking "I don't want to go to dad's place" she admitted

"Why?" Nix asked

Kelly tried to work out how to explain it "because…. "

A/N: hmm.. wonder why Kelly doesn't want to go back to her dad's place? But at least Nix got through to his sister about her thinking he didn't need or want him. She's pretty overtired & overwhelmed, so her emotions are all over the joint, it'll take some time for her to really sort herself out. At least the intro between Martha & Shannon went ok, but Stacey seemed a little put off by Kelly.

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