A/N: Well I am so sorry for the very long delay but I had a major case of writers block and I have been busy with a little thing they call life...but I have a new found inspiration so I will begin again..hopefully won't leave you hanging for too long...

Chapter 3

As Gibbs rode the elevator up to the bullpen to meet with his team, they were in the middle of one of their usual childish banter sessions. "Tony, why do you want me to touch your butt with my lips?"

"I said 'kiss my ass' Ziva. I don't actually want you to do it, it's just an expression."

"Ziva, he might actually like it if you did kiss his ass. He loves to have his ego stroked." McGee chimed in while looking at his computer screen.

"Okay McSuckup, nobody asked you."

"If you three don't get back to work, I'll be kicking all your asses." Gibbs quipped as he walked into the bullpen, startling the three unsuspecting agents.

"Right, Boss, back to work."

"Gibbs, Abby wants you in her lab."

"DiNozzo, how is the sailor?"

"Still in surgery, Boss. Hospital will call when he is out of surgery, but they said it didn't look good."

"I'll be in Abby's lab."

Gibbs went down to his favorite forensic scientist's lab to get an update from her. Meanwhile his team, now very much focused back on the case at hand, was busy collecting leads and hashing out what information they had gathered so far.

"Abs...ABS...ABBY!"

Using her remote, Abby clicked the volume of her famous rock/techno music down to a more appropriate volume.

"What ya got Abs?" Gibbs asked the bouncy forensic scientist.

"Gibbs, first how is little Gibbs?"

"Abby, she is fine. She just needs you to stay on topic so we can end this."

"Right. Staying on topic. Bullet was a 9mm hollow point. Striations match that of a MP-5 sub machine gun. Tire tread pattern matches those tires that are standard on a Cadillac Escalade. Gibbs, I took the liberty of getting the video from the street cams. I'm worried. You can see the Escalade pull away from the victim. Then you can see Austin come out of the shadow. What this camera shows though is what scares me. Here is the Escalade and the driver stops here. You can see him looking in the mirror behind the vehicle. I believe he saw Austin. Gibbs, we gotta keep her safe."

"Thank you, Abs. Good job and I will." Gibbs then turned after kissing Abby on the cheek and walked to the elevator. He could now feel the churning in his gut. Agent Gibbs knew he had to close this case and fast to keep his little girl safe. He would not lose another daughter to a murderer. Gibbs headed to the squad room to get an update from his agents.

"Dinozzo, what ya got?"

"Boss, hospital just called. Our boy is in recovery. Doctors say it will be touch and go the next 48 hours. They will be moving him to ICU. Isn't that where Austin works?"

"Yes, she works in ICU, what has that to do with anything? Abby thinks our shooter saw Austin before leaving the area. We need to protect her and our embezzler. We got agents at the hospital. I want protection for my daughter. We work in shifts. Ziva you take the first shift. Don't let her out of your sight."

"On it, Gibbs."

"McGee, you and Stuart keep working the embezzlement case. Dinozzo, with me."

Ziva arrived at the home of Leroy Jethro Gibbs to find Austin asleep on the couch. She quietly set her bag down and sat on the chair next to the couch and waited while her charge slept peacefully. She would want to know why she had a protection detail when she woke up but Ziva was hoping that it would not be her to have to tell her. She did not look forward to the reaction of one Austin Gibbs. She felt her father would be best suited to tell her why. Hopefully he would arrive before Austin woke up. Ziva sat there quietly reading a book while the younger Gibbs slept.

Soon, the former Mossad officer turned NCIS agent heard the door begin to open and drew her weapon. When she saw it was her boss, she immediately holstered her gun and began to get up. "She has been asleep since I got here, Gibbs."

"Thank you Ziva. Go on and go home. I got this watch. I'll be bringing her with me in the morning. And Ziver, thank you."

"Good night, Gibbs." With that, Ziva left the house and headed for her own bed. Even though Ziva and Gibbs were practically whispering, it seemed that Austin was still awakened by their discussion.

"Daddy, why was Ziva here? What's going on?"

"Austin, babe, we gotta talk."

"Daddy, why was Ziva here? I don't need a babysitter."

"Abby pulled some video and it appears the driver of the Escalade saw you when you went to help the victim. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. You will have protection till we bring in the shooters."

"Oh great! My life just keeps on getting better. First..you decide to bang my boss..lucky me..then you keep Stuart so busy he and I can't spend anytime together...and now you tell me I have to have a babysitter until you arrest this guy. Ugh..why me?" Austin threw her arm over head and flopped back on the couch like an obstinate teenager.

"No one is 'babysitting' you Austin, just providing protection. You can either have an agent come here when I go to the office or you can come with me. Your choice. Second, I am not keeping Stuart from seeing you. He uncovered a case of embezzlement and I chose to let him assist the team with the case to give him some valuable experience. Third, who I date is really none of your business is it. When you want to be reasonable and have a grown up conversation with me, I'll be glad to talk to you. Just know acting like a two year old will get you treated as such." With that Agent Gibbs walked out of the room to fix a cup of coffee. He knew how his daughter could be and he knew that in time she would come around. He watched as Austin made her way upstairs to her room. He could hear the door slam. Yep, he thought to himself, that's my girl.