A/N: Here's another folks, to my recent followers/favourites, welcome! So glad to have you with us! To my reviewers thank you so much I love reading your thoughts, they really keep inspired! I can't believe how much this story has taken off, it was only supposed a short alternate story to main timeline epic, but it's taken a life of its own!

To Guest Reviewers: Momcat: Abby could be a little jealous, and Kelly & Nix are a little off put & maybe possessive - some of this will be explained in this chapter, and in time it will work itself out. As for Gibbs's lateness, he may have to give himself a little licence to be late occasionally, hehe.

Now, let's see how Shannon goes with Abby & Kelly goes with her bosses!

Shannon took a deep breath & looked at her husband, she had grown cautious & intrigued, but was now a little nervous "ok"

Gibbs wasn't sure about the reception they'd get as they entered the lab slowly & cautiously he noticed that there was no music playing "Abs?"

Abby had been at her desk, trying to do some paperwork when she'd heard Gibbs, she jumped up in relief & excitement "Gibbs!" she had started to run to him, but stopped in her tracks, he wasn't alone! "Hi" she whispered

Shannon's eyes widened, she hadn't known what to expect, but this definitely wasn't it! This young lady was dressed in 3 inch black platform knee high boots, with red laces, black stockings that had white skulls all over, a short red pleat skirt, a black t-shirt with white cross-bones and a red comic looking skull, it was topped with a silver studded collar & a white lab coat. Not exactly normal attire for this kind of work, she got her first glimpse of the 'weird' her son had spoken about.

"Hey Abs" Gibbs greeted, he knew his wife would need a moment to take her in so he went to give her a quick hug.

Abby had to admit surprise at seeing Gibbs with his arm in a sling, Ducky had said he'd been injured, but she'd never seen him this bad, she was a little surprised that he'd gone to hug her, but as soon as he did she wrapped herself into him, she'd been utterly petrified about how they all were. She'd called him a few times & instead of speaking to him, she'd spoken to Tony or Fornell.

"We're ok Abs, you're ok" Gibbs whispered into her ear, he knew she'd been scared about everything & wanted to reassure her.

Shannon watched as her husband gave her a hug, she saw the relief in Abby as he took hold of her, she clearly felt close to her husband. She could understand why her daughter was a little off-put by her, especially given how she saw her at the hospital.

Gibbs came out of the hug & threated his fingers back through with his wife's "Abby, this is my wife Shannon. Shan, this is Abigail Scuito, the forensic whiz I told you about"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Abby, thank you for all your help" Shannon smiled

"It's sooooo great to meet you!" Abby greeted, she wasn't sure whether she should go for a hug or not, Gibbs hugged her, but their kids didn't, did they get that from her?

Shannon could tell Abby wanted desperately to give her a hug, it seemed her husband was right, she was most certainly a hugger! And while part of her wanted to give the girl the hug she wanted, she knew she had to hold back, she took a quick look around the lab "looks like you've got a marvellous lab" she commented with a small smile.

"Thanks" Abby replied, guess she wasn't a hugger like her kids, what was it with them & the no hugging?

Gibbs saw Abby had been itching for a hug, and his wife used to love hugs, but now she held back, he was now really curious about this no hugging business. For now though he wanted to move them on "she has a lot of toys & her art is unique" he knew that was something he could draw his wife's attention to as he motioned to the nearest wall.

Shannon looked at the closest art piece "it's interesting, what's the title?"

"Shotgun Shattered backbone" Abby answered with a smile "I make them all from the various evidence images I work with"

Shannon tilted her head to try to see the title in the picture, it wasn't a very appealing subject matter for herself but the girl seemed happy to be explaining it "I can see it, you're very talented"

Gibbs gave Abby a few minutes to show Shannon a few of the other photo's, she seemed to be easing into her usual self as the seconds ticked by, but he now had to move them along "Abs, we'll come back down later, but we've got to back upstairs, we'll see you later today"

Abby was feeling much better & to have Shannon like her art was great! "ok, see you then"

"Bye" Shannon smiled, she allowed her husband to lead them back out to the lift, but as soon as they we're inside, he'd stopped it again "Jethro?" he could see a question forming on his lips

"I thought you'd give her hug" Gibbs said quietly as he looked at her, he saw some hesitation in her eyes "when I introduced her to Kelly & Nix, she went to hug them both and they pulled back, Kells said they weren't huggers" he added

"It's a little complicated Jethro" Shannon said as she let out a breath "they do hug, but they'll only hug someone they feel close with. To them hugging is special & not something they do with a person off the street, or someone they just met….. it's complicated"

"And you?" Gibbs prodded

"I knew Abby wanted a hug, but I made a decision a number of years ago to honour the way the kids felt, so I do the same" Shannon added "but I have no doubt that soon enough, Abby along with your team will fall into that bracket" she added quickly.

"Why?" Gibbs asked, he had a gut feeling it was Mac related.

Shannon took a moment to figure out how to say it "Mac never gave Phoenix any attention, and one day Kelly asked him why, she was 11, and it was Nix's 3rd birthday. She wanted to know why he wasn't partaking in the little celebration we had for him. So she went into his study & asked him why he never gave positive attention to her brother, why he never hugged him or anything"

Gibbs tensed, he fury was boiling again towards the man, but his heart was breaking too, his wished he could have been there, he would have lavished love, attention & hugs upon his son.

Shannon could see her husband was affected, but she had to continue "Mac answered her by saying that to show someone positive attention & hug them was a very special thing, that it meant they felt truly close to them, and he didn't consider himself close to Phoenix" she finished holding her breath unsure what his reaction would be.

Gibbs just stared at his wife, he wanted to go down to autopsy & let out a further barrage of bullets into the man's body! How dare the man say that about his son, to his 11-year-old daughter no less! "He said that to Kelly?"

"Yes" Shannon nodded "you'd have been proud of her though; I had just come down the hall when I heard her reply, she replied saying that maybe he if actually spent time with him, he could form that bond & become close to him. She went on to say that seeing as he didn't think he was close to her brother, she no longer felt closer to him & said she would never hug him ever again, before she stomped on his foot & marched out of the room. She then didn't speak to him at all for over a month."

Gibbs eyes widened at her, he had to smile at his girl's reply, good for her! He wondered though what she had done "you?" he asked quietly

"Once I calmed Kelly down & got out of her what had happened, I marched myself straight to him, he tried to talk his way out of it. Tried to get me to talk to Kelly, to try to make her understand he 'didn't mean it', but I knew better, I always had the feeling he tried to play the pair of them against each other, but Kelly never let him." Shannon explained, she then gave a small smirk "he then had to go the E.R. It was a shame, he missed the afternoon celebrations"

"ER?" Gibbs asked "what did you do?"

"I broke his nose, and Kelly's stomp had broken a toe" Shannon answered simply

"You broke his nose?" Gibbs asked shocked, it wasn't that he was glad for it, but she never condoned that sort of thing

"After what he said to Kelly about Phoenix, he's lucky that's all I did" Shannon answered

"You're right" Gibbs agreed, he would have continued on that path, but he wanted to get them back to the main thread "so after that day Kelly didn't hug freely I take it?"

"No" Shannon shook her head "she actually took what he said on board, and only hugged people she truly felt close to, cared about, and people she knew cared about not just her but her brother too. Nix learnt the behaviour from her and did likewise. I decided that I didn't want them to feel like we weren't in it together, a family, so I joined them in their behaviour." She took a breath "it was tricky though, because I had to balance that with Mac & his ego, but I only ever returned the affection he showed, never gave it"

"That's the reason the kids are so off-put by Abby, because she hugs freely and they may have seen her hug me once or twice" Gibbs said quietly, he know understood their feelings, if only he'd known!

"Wouldn't surprise me" Shannon agreed "seeing you hug someone they don't know, give that kind of affection, it would affect them"

"I'll stop then" Gibbs surmised

"No Jethro, don't" Shannon disagreed

"I wont have the kids affected like that, if me stopping to hug Abby will relieve some of their fears, some tension then that's what I'll do" Gibbs replied, he did not want to have his kids off-side in their emotions.

Shannon took a deep breath "one of my hopes for when they came here was that this feeling would ease out of that man's reach. I want them to learn they can relax more around people in general"

Gibbs could understand that, but "Not going to do anything that will upset them, we can ease through it, help them, but I wont make them feel uncomfortable. And they're already hugging the Taylor's"

Shannon smiled "of course they are, Kelly feels comfortable around them, and I know she spoke to Phoenix about them, so that's not really out of the box for them"

Gibbs nodded "we'll get them there babe, we're in this together now, forever & always" he finished as he brought her into his side

"Sounds wonderful" Shannon smiled as she rested her head into the crook of his neck.

Kelly sat nervously in the chair, she really had no idea what on earth she was going to say to the owners of the law firm she hadn't even started working for! maybe 'you know how I said my parents died, well, they got better'? Yea right! That wouldn't work! How on earth did she say it?

"Kelly sweetheart" Martha said gently as she reached for her hand, she waited until they made eye contact "we're right here with you, you don't have to talk about this alone, ok?"

Ted was sitting on Kelly's other side, they'd decided it would be the best way to give her total support "not alone for any of it Kelly" he smiled, gently patting her knee.

"Thanks" Kelly whispered, but she heard the door open.

Ted looked towards the door & saw who he could only presume were Viviane & Michael Barnes, he was 6" or so, she looked 5"6, they both had firm but slim builds and looked to be late forties or early fifties. He could tell they were both cautious. "Mr & Mrs Barnes?"

"Yes" Michael answered, he wasn't quite sure why his wife had offered to come here for a new staff member, it was unusual to say the least but upon arriving at the Navy Yard, they'd been escorted through extremely quickly, faster than he had ever been. Their visitor I.D.'s had been ready & waiting for them, and now they were in a small meeting room with a Police Lieutenant, a woman about his age, and a young girl he could only presume was his new Legal Secretary, because he hadn't actually met the girl yet.

Kelly knew she had to greet them "Hi Viviane"

"Kelly" Viviane greeted, the girl looked a lot paler that she was when she saw her 2 weeks ago "I know I mentioned my husband & joint partner when you came into the office before, this is Michael"

"Kelly" Michael nodded, from what his wife had said she was supposed to be fairly tough, witted & dedicated to her brother, but right now she looked quite unsure of herself.

"Sir" Kelly greeted, but she knew she had to introduce Ted & Martha "this is Lt Ted Taylor & his wife Martha"

After doing the obligatory introductions & taking a seat at the table Viviane couldn't want any longer "What's going on Kelly? Your brother said something serious had happened, I'm glad to see you are ok, is he?" she had been taken by the girl's situation, and was quite impressed by how much the girl had managed to deal with & undertake in just a few short months.

"Phoenix is ok thank you" Kelly answered, but she just had no idea how to start this.

Martha could see Kelly was stuck "I know that Kelly mentioned she was born & spent her first years here in DC"

"Yes" Viviane nodded "until she was 8, she then moved to Houston with her mother after her father passed in Desert Storm, she then moved back with her brother after her mother passed"

"My husband & I lived behind Kelly & her family when they were in DC" Martha explained "I was at the hospital the day Kelly was born" she wasn't really sure what their reactions would be to Shannon & Jethro's resurrections.

Kelly gave Martha a small smile, the reconfirmation that she really had such great support right now was a great relief.

"I see" Viviane's eyes widened in surprise, she took a breath "I'm glad you were able to reconnect" and she was, she knew that for Kelly have some people that knew her & could help her would be wonderful.

"As are we" Ted replied, he saw that Michael was still fairly tense though, but he wanted to get a gauge about one thing before they went into it "I know that Kelly also mentioned her step-grandfather to you"

"Yes, from what my wife mentioned he was a fairly controlling & over powering man, not that pleasant to live with" Michael answered, he wanted to know what was going on, it seemed this police officer was tip-toeing around the issue.

"That would be putting it mildly" Ted answered before he realised he even spoke.

Michael saw the disgust in the man's eyes "Does what ever this matter is have to do with him?"

"The situation is entirely the man's doing" Ted answered

Viviane looked to Kelly, she wasn't really looking at anyone, and seemed very nervous "did he turn up here & cause you problems Kelly?"

"Kind of" Kelly answered, she took a deep breath there was one thing she wanted to try to say herself "my parents are alive" she whispered

"I'm sorry Kelly, did you say your parents are alive?" Viviane asked, she wasn't sure she heard right.

Kelly just nodded

"Both of them?" Michael asked, he was more than surprised, he was shocked! He saw another nod, and had no idea where to go with it.

Ted had to admit, that took guts by Kelly, he was proud of her, and gently patted her knee to show it.

"I don't understand, your father died in combat, didn't he?" Viviane admitted, she was really confused.

"That's what Kelly & her mother Shannon were led to believe, yes" Martha nodded "I'm afraid though, it was all a charade that Shannon's step-father, MacDonald Fielding, concocted."

Michael & Viviane listened as Martha & Ted explained it all, their shock, horror & disgust rose by the sentence. He could see his wife was utterly stuck with what to say "I don't even know what to say, how did you figure it all out?"

Kelly had let the Taylor's explain it all, she couldn't do it, but this she could answer "I went down to Portsmouth on Thursday to see a friend who got taken to hospital, and I actually found dad there, in the hospital"

Viviane felt sick to her stomach, this poor girl, this poor family having been through it all, it was beyond comprehension. "Is your father ok?" she asked a little worried, not wanting this poor girl to get him back & then to have something happen to him.

"Jethro was caught up in an explosion at the local marina down there, he was banged up, but the man's pretty tough, he'll be fine" Ted answered

"So you were able to reconnect at the hospital" Michael remarked

"Sort of" Kelly said quietly

"Sort of?" Viviane asked, after what they'd just heard she really didn't know if she wanted to hear this.

"MacDonald had some men watching the hospital when Kelly turned up" Ted remarked, there was no need to tell them about her first visit, running and returning "they attempted to stop her going in, but quite remarkably, Jethro was leaving the hospital that moment & heard the commotion"

Michael listened as Lt Taylor & Martha continued the story, from what this Quinn did to Kelly, to the situation at Phoenix's campsite and the entire cat & mouse chase following Shannon. But then came what happened as they left to get her, and his disgust rose to a new level. It was entirely unbelievable, and he'd heard many cringe worthy stories.

Viviane just there for a few moments trying to process it all, she had no idea what to say, but something then came to her "Kelly, you don't even think about work, you take as long as you need. Your job will be waiting for you, whenever you're ready"

Michael had been surprised by his wife's comment, but he didn't disagree "don't even think about work right now, you've got so much else to deal with, your position wont go anywhere" he added, he'd pull in a contractor to fill the void, there was no chance he'd take the job from this girl.

"Thank you" Kelly remarked quietly

Martha smiled, that was very considerate of them, it was heart warming to hear, she knew Jethro & Shannon would be grateful too.

Ted knew the pair would need some to process "I'm sure you'd both like a few moments to process, we'll give you a little while & if you wouldn't mind staying Kelly's parents would like a few moments"

"I was about to ask if we could meet them" Michael remarked "we're more than happy to stay" he knew he didn't have to ask his wife if she wanted to stay or not.

Viviane waited until the trio left before looking at her husband "we're helping"

"We are" Michael agreed with his wife as he dialled his phone, as soon as it answered he spoke to his PA "Mary, clear my afternoon as well as Viviane's, see which of our current cases can be passed to the other partners & Senior Lawyers. Speak to Lucy & tell her to run her eyes over contractors that can fill the position Kelly Gibbs was supposed to take up today, she wont be starting right now. Call Jim for me & tell him that I may require assistance, so if he's got a lot on his plate to bring in someone to help…. And I want a full management meeting set for 08:00 tomorrow morning, no one is to be absent, and make sure Jim is there too" he looked to his wife to see if she wanted anything else done, she shook her head "that's all for now, but I have no doubt we'll be speaking again….. can't say what's going on right now Mary, but you'll find out tomorrow"

Viviane saw him hang up & then bury his head into his hands that were resting on the table "I don't even have words for this"

Michael wasn't a violent man, but right now he wanted to rip into something! "There are no words, none. That man deserves to be resurrected & keelhauled!" he spat, he'd dealt with many situations where people treated family badly, but none of it came even close to this situation!

"Wouldn't be the first time we take the other side" Viviane remarked, they mainly dealt with family court matters, one parent against the other, one side of the family against the other. This kind of case though was completely different, and in this kind of case, they very rarely prosecuted, but she wanted this one!

"No, and the men that are still alive I want to…" Michael huffed as he stood up and started pacing. They rarely took the prosecution side of things in cases like this, actually he didn't think he'd had a case like this! Whatever the case, this one he was doing!

Viviane was sitting there wondering how a man could do something this when her phone rang, looking at the display she saw it was her daughter "Jo sweetheart?"

Michael's ear's peaked, why would their daughter be calling now? She should be in class "what's wrong?"

Viviane put a finger up to ask her husband to wait & she smiled "that sounds wonderful sweetheart, I think that will be just the tonic for dad & I tonight, can you call your brother & make sure he's home too…. You already spoke to him? That's marvellous… I'm fine darling, just a new case is all, I'll see you tonight, love you my girl"

"Why's she coming home today?" Michael asked

"Her teacher got sick & the college decided they will set them all take home exams, so she's leaving the campus in about an hour, will be home in time for dinner, and she's already checked with Dan & he'll be home tonight too" Viviane answered, she knew that by the end of the day the pair of them would be in need of relaxation, but more so a family night.

Michael smiled "sounds perfect" having his whole family together tonight would be just his tonic, because right now he wanted to round them up & keep them under lock & key!

A/N: Well, Shannon was certainly taken by Abby, not only in appearance but art & everything. Gibbs though was hit pretty hard about why the kids don't hug, its something that will take a little time for him to fully understand, but he will work on it & get his kids, which will then get his wife, to be more open.

Kelly managed to handle the meeting quite well, but it was definitely a good thing that Martha & Ted were there with her! And the Barnes's seem like good sort, and they're going to help, which can only be good! But how will the Barnes's go meeting Shannon & Gibbs?

I will do my best to get another chapter up soon, but i've still got a university exam to prepare for, so I can't promise a quick update. You know I love to hear your thoughts, so review away!