A/N: Hello everyone! I know it's been a while, but here's a new chapter! Thank you everyone for sticking with me, to my new followers/favourites welcome aboard this ride! To my reviewers, thank you so much! Your comments inspire me & I love hearing your thoughts about what you think of each chapter, so keep them coming! My current load with work/university is pretty crazy at the moment, but writing brings me relief & peace, so I wont go on a proper hiatus rather I will write & post when I can though there will be delays between posts, so please bare with me. I'm in my last 4 months of university for the entire course! YAY! Then I will a lot more time to write!

Guest Reviewers: Sue Dooley: Thank you! There are more questions indeed! And more to come!

Guest: Shannon may appear a little 'hard' but lets not forget that she's trying to cope with so much, yet trying to behave like she had while her kids were growing but with the pressure that her husband wasn't around, so she is trying to work out how to handle his presence and what he would likely want/not want to experience, its a very tricky balance she is trying to handle.

Momcat: Thanks for coming back to the story! Yes, there are lots of characters, I don't think i cant write a story without the bucket loads of characters, haha. Tim is younger & less confident in this story that's for sure & yes, that's because he younger & less experienced as an NCIS Agent.

Just want to clarify something, we have 3 Mikes/Michaels, so please note I will name as follows: Michael Franks = Franks; Michael Bond = Mike; Michael Barnes = Michael.

Now, let's get into this...

"I am not fighting this battle for you Myles!" Mike huffed

"Not asking you to" Myles retorted

Shannon had come out of the conference room only a moment ago but saw the brothers standing toe to toe with each other, they were clearly unhappy with each other. She saw her husband about call them towards them but held him back "give them a moment" they'd all taken a short break & wanted to give them a chance to finish this, whatever it was!

"You seriously don't see anything wrong with what you did, do you?" Mike asked, he was upset! He saw the look in his brother's eyes to tell him he was right "You are the Cadet Major! The Cadet Major for the entire school! How could you just take off before the year finished! You had responsibilities!" he remarked quietly but angrily.

"I didn't just leave, I spoke with the Commandant, explained it & the new Cadet Major will oversee the last few days. There are no major events anyway, they've all been done. The Commandant was fine with me leaving" Myles replied, whilst he hated leaving the school & his duties early, he wasn't not going to leave, he had to come!

"The Commandant was fine with it?" Mike asked sceptically "that's bullcrap & you know it! You spun something! And just wait, he will speak to dad & then, then Myles, you are screwed! And you are on your own!" how could his brother not see that? "oh, and the fact that you used his name to hitch a ride here, will just top it off!" he couldn't believe that either!

"I wasn't not going to come & I told you that!" Myles huffed

"And I told you that I would get over here & to stay put! You finishing off your schooling life was supposed to have taken priority!" Mike huffed, but he tried to keep his voice down.

"Priority? Are you kidding?! There was no way that me staying at school for the last week takes presentence over being here for them after everything that happened! Especially when I didn't know how long it would take you to get here!" Myles huffed his own reply.

Mike kept his focus on his brother "Being here for them is my responsibility! It's n…"

Myles had to interrupt him "if you even consider saying that it isn't mine I will whack you! Since when do we not work together in caring for the people around us? I consider them family just as much as you do Mike! So don't you dare say anything to contradict that! I was always going to come! And dad will respect that!"

"Will he respect the fact that you used his name to get onto that transport? Because whilst you may be right with regards to your motives, he will not be impressed with your methods!" Mike remarked, but he saw Shannon down the hall, he took a breath "we're coming now Mrs G" this conversation was on hold, hold but not forgotten.

Shannon knew no one else would have seen, let alone heard the pair's 'discussion', they were in a quiet part of the corridor "go freshen up first please boys" she asked. She'd sent her husband back inside the conference room as he was seeming to be quite surprised about the topic of their conversation. Even though she didn't like that Myles had left his school year early, she wasn't going to comment on the topic right now. She was very touched by the strength of these boys & the level of care they felt towards not just her daughter, but all of them.

Entering the room she saw her husband gazing out of the window "Jethro darling, are you ok?" she asked quietly as she put her arms around his chest & rested her chin on his shoulder "what's going on in that head of yours" this was one her most favourite positions to stand in, resting against his solid back, drawing heat from him, and his scent was so peaceful.

Gibbs turned his head & gave her a kiss to the cheek, as he held her hands close to his chest, gosh he loved her! "Just thinking babe"

"About what exactly?" Shannon prodded, she knew the boys would still be a few minutes, and with Kelly, Phoenix & Jackson all down in Abby's lab, she knew they had a few more minutes of privacy.

"So many things" Gibbs admitted, he had so many different thoughts rolling around his head he didn't know which one to consider first.

"Pick one" Shannon remarked

Gibbs considered it "those boys"

Shannon knew this was the one that was on the forefront his mind "what about them?" she was intrigued as to what he would say.

"They're…" Gibbs wasn't sure what to say, that conversation he heard further confused him, he was torn they were seeming to be really caring towards his family he just…he didn't know what, but being that protective, it was his job, being there for them, that was his job, caring for them, his job! All of this was his job, not those boys!

Shannon sighed "Jethro darling" she turned his face to her's "you will never have competition when it comes to protecting & caring for this family darling, no one can come close"

Gibbs eyes widened "Did I?" did he just say that all out loud?

"No darling" Shannon shook her head "I just know what you are thinking" she finished with a smile.

Gibbs couldn't help but smile, she was the only person whom could ever read his thoughts "I love you"

"And I love you" Shannon smiled as they went into a kiss, she ran her hand down his cheek "those boys will be totally respectful towards you, and everyone because that's all they were raised to be" she could tell this would be a tricky one for him to deal with. She knew there was also the issue of Mike being with Kelly, but that was a conversation for a later moment, a long stretched moment, because that was sure to take a while! "oh, and I may, may… go so far as saying that Mike may just remain petrified of you for a while to come"

Gibbs couldn't help but grin at that, but he heard the door open & turned to see Michael & Fornell enter, he moved himself and his wife back towards the table as he nodded at the pair in greeting. He knew this next conversation may be hard to hear, so he tried to steel himself for it.

"Jethro, Shannon" Michael greeted the pair as he approached the table.

"Michael" Shannon greeted "Tobias"

"Ma'am" Fornell nodded as he took a seat, he saw that Gibbs seemed preoccupied, and honestly why wouldn't he be, the man would certainly have a lot on his plate! He then heard the door open.

Shannon saw the boys enter "boys please come in"

Mike was glad he'd had a chance to take a few deep breaths before coming in here "Mrs G" he greeted, he then saw some people he needed to introduce his brother to "Mr Barnes, Special Agent Fornell, I'd like to introduce you to my brother Myles Bond. Myles, this is Mr Michael Barnes, Kelly's boss & the Gibbs family lawyer, and Senior FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell"

"Mr Barnes sir" Myles greeted, this was Kelly's boss AND the family's lawyer? When did that happen?

"Myles" Michael greeted, this boy certainly looked like his brother, clean cut yet still quite young.

"Agent Fornell sir" Myles greeted

"Myles" Fornell nodded, he couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here? I mean he understood Mike being there, but why the brother too?

"I understand you've already documented seeing Lt Rooney at the residence the day of Kelly's 21st Lt Bond" Michael remarked.

"Yes sir" Mike confirmed "it was myself & Lt Atkins that saw him"

"You both were around a fair amount I take it?" Fornell asked

"Yes they were" Shannon answered with a small smile to the pair, which she got in return.

"You recognise any of these men?" Fornell asked as he laid out some headshots.

Mike scanned all of the photos "all of them"

"All of them" Myles echoed his brothers remark.

Fornell nodded, he presumed as much, he'd laid out all of the photos of Mac's staff "ok, what about these men?" he asked as he laid down a few more images.

Gibbs looked at the new images, these were the men that they had come across who were with Quinn & in Stillwater, but not on Mac's staff register, they were still trying to get names on these men!

Mike didn't even wait for all of the images to be put down "him!" he growled, pointing at one of them.

"Oh yea, him I recognise" Myles remarked harshly.

Gibbs took a good look at the image, and his eyes widened, it was the man that had shot him! It was the man that half of them had emptied their weapons into! He had black hair, he was of solid build & he saw some form of tattoo on the right side of his neck.

"From where?" Shannon asked confused, she'd never laid eyes on the man.

"This guy? We haven't gotten an ID on him yet" Fornell remarked. This was asshole that he'd been in the standoff with, the idiot that had thought he'd be able to take them all on himself, we'll he'd found out that he couldn't get the better of the team that had turned up to Stillwater!

Mike swallowed as he looked towards Shannon "ah.. our father's retirement party"

"Was he a guest?" Fornell asked, what kind of retirement party was it?

"Definitely not sir" Mike denied, no way!

Shannon narrowed her eyes on the brothers, there was clearly something that they hadn't told her. Before she got to that though, she had to fill in a blank or two "the boy's father is Rear Admiral Marvin Bond, he had a retirement party the weekend before Kelly's 21st party, it was over in Austin at the boy's grandparents farm" she then turned to Mike "what didn't you tell me?"

"That we got followed from Houston" Mike admitted, he'd never intended to tell her about it, nor Kelly about this.

Shannon sighed, she didn't like it, nor did she like that he hadn't told her "Trent?" she guessed

Mike shook his head "No, that guy, with Acron & Barnet" he took a breath "he said he was there because Quinn was away & he got asked to fill in"

Shannon was rather confused "fill in?" since when did Mac have someone fill in for Trent when he went off, the man still had Phil, Greg, Drew, Michael.. all of them!

"Yea Mrs G, he said he was asked to fill for Quinn" Mike confirmed

"You said this man followed you from Houston?" Fornell prompted

"Yes sir" Mike nodded "I collected Kelly just after lunch time & noticed almost immediately that we had a tail, I tried to shake them but couldn't. I got us to my grandparents' farm & noticed that the car remained down near the front gate"

"Anything strange at the residence when you picked her up?" Fornell wondered

"Not at all" Shannon shook her head "Phoenix & I were supposed to go as well, but his tonsils flared up & had to get them out the day prior, so we stayed home."

Gibbs eyes momentarily widened, his son had had his tonsils out within the last year? He swallowed his rage, he should have been there for him for it! He swore Mac got off too lightly!

"Mike came to collect Kelly, bringing about 6 pints of ice cream with him mind you" Shannon remarked with a smile to the boy

Mike smiled "I was merely delivery man for my dad"

Gibbs eyes widened again, this boy's father had sent 6 pints of ice cream to Phoenix? He couldn't help but be surprised at that.

"What happened when you got to your grandparents property?" Fornell asked, he could see his friend was maybe struggling to listen to this & in a very different way than the previous conversation in the Director's office.

"I drove right up to the house & took Kelly inside to some of our cousins, asked them to keep an eye on her & to not let her outside" Mike explained, he wanted to make sure Gibbs knew he put the safety of his daughter first in his thoughts "once she was settled I collected Myles & our older brother Marcus & we went back down to where they were"

"What happened then?" Gibbs said, his first question of the conversation, he wondered what these boys did?

"We went down to ask them to leave, they were on private property" Mike remarked

Shannon had been trying to remember things from that day as much as she could, it was less than a year ago. She remembered him picking Kelly up, the ice cream delivery & then she realised something & she wasn't happy "you ended up in a scuffle with them"

"It was barely a scuffle Mrs G" Mike tried

"Barely? You collected her in your dress blues & returned her in your service uniform, and you didn't return her alone, you had Marcus with you, who was also in his service uniform" Shannon retorted, she saw Myles trying to avert her gaze "and I can only imagine that you didn't finish the evening in your dress uniform either mister"

Gibbs wondered if this was true, to need to change uniforms meant they really got into it! And the boy brought her back with his brother too? A brother who was apparently also military..

"They had it coming Mrs G" Myles tried

Shannon narrowed her gaze on the boy "Myles" she warned

"We traded a few punches when they wouldn't leave our property Mrs G, we didn't start it I assure you" Mike remarked trying to fix his brothers remark, he could see the looks he was getting from men in the room, especially Gibbs.

Shannon considered Mike, she saw that he meant it & nodded, glad for that small act, she did hate it when they started it, and she was glad to know they hadn't done that this time.

"Could you talk us through what happened?" Michael requested.

"They were sitting in their SUV just outside the gate to our grandparent's property but still on the property. We went down to ask them to leave. When we got to them the 3 men got out of the SUV & I looked at both Acron & Barnet and asked them to leave the property" Mike started to explain.

"They were physically on your family's property?" Michael asked

"Yes sir, completely on it" Myles answered

"Neither Acron nor Barnet answered, it was that man that spoke" Mike said pointing to the headshot "he tried coming into my personal space before saying he didn't care about private property & that he wasn't moving a single inch" the man had pissed him off within seconds off meeting him!

"Did he lay a hand on you?" Fornell asked

"Not at that moment" Mike shook his head before continuing "I asked who he was & why he was sticking his nose into our business, our lives" he had to concentrate on keeping his cool, he was seething from retelling it.

Gibbs could only imagine what the man's response would be!

"He said it was his business because he got asked to be in town whilst Quinn was out of town" Mike continued "he said he was doing it as a favour" he added

"I don't understand it" Shannon remarked "MacDonald never had someone come in whilst Trent was away, it wasn't like he needed the extra body"

Gibbs' gut was churning, if his wife was unsettled about it he knew there was something amiss "did he say anything else?"

"I did press him on why he was there as I agree with you Mrs G about him being there because Quinn wasn't, it was strange. I asked why he was working for Mac & he said wasn't" Mike finished looking at Shannon.

"What do you mean?" Shannon asked, she was confused yet again.

"He said he wasn't working for MacDonald Fielding, he was really specific about it, he was there as a favour but not for MacDonald Fielding" Mike finally remarked, it really confused him

"You saying he was there under somebody else's orders?" Gibbs asked "Quinn?"

"Could the man have been lying?" Fornell wondered

"He wouldn't have lied about that sir, there'd be no point to that, he could just use the standard line Quinn & the others used 'we're here under orders'" Mike answered Fornell first before turning towards Gibbs "I'm not sure about working for Quinn, but the way he said it was almost like he didn't work for anyone at all, but that he was merely doing a favour but not for MacDonald"

Gibbs really didn't like this development, not at all "did you get a name or anything?"

"Acron did use the word Loch when he was trying to pull him backwards at one point" Myles interjected

Mike nodded in agreement "he had a very thick Scottish accent, there wasn't a good bone in his body"

"Scottish accent?" Fornell queried

"Heavy Scottish accent sir" Myles nodded

Fornell had to admit that sounded a bit strange "it'll help us narrow down the search for his identity"

Gibbs agreed that would help but he curious about something "how'd you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, he knew the boy would understand the question

Mike knew what he meant "After he made his whole story about being there & that he wouldn't leave, I emphasised to him that they were on private property & if they didn't leave we'd help them. He didn't even retort the statement, he just took a swing. We were not going to not defend ourselves"

Shannon really didn't like it "tell me there were no injuries to you boys"

"We were fine Mrs G" Mike assured her "it didn't last long, just a few moments later one of our grandfather's friends came, with his sons, they were the last to arrive for the party. They are Texas Rangers & broke it up, they moved them on after a few more heated exchanges"

"They didn't arrest them?" Fornell asked surprised, why on earth wouldn't they?

Mike took a deep breath "Ah no sir, they wanted to but I didn't let them" he finished with a glance between Gibbs & Shannon.

Gibbs had to admit surprise at this, why the hell not?!

"I understand Mikey" Shannon said calmly, she understood it, she turned towards her husband "If Mike would have let the men get arrested MacDonald would have made things very difficult, he did the right thing" there something else she could say, but that would wait for when the boys were out of the room.

Gibbs was sure Mac would have made things difficult, but the way she said it made him think they'd done something similar & she'd been speaking from experience & knew the kind of thing he could and would do. He would need to get a private word with her about that as she clearly wasn't wanting to speak about it here & now. He took stock of the recent conversations and stories he'd heard & they'd all given him more cause to hate MacDonald Fielding! It seemed that feeling was increasing by the minute! The only solace he had was that he had his wife in his hold, his daughter & son were in the building & he would never let them go again! He'd never let them out of his reach again! He didn't think he could cope with that anyway.

A/N: Gibbs is certainly struggling to listen to not just what Mac put his family through but the interactions with the Bond boys. But just who is this Loch man? And could there be another player in play?

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