Gibbs and the other leaders of the DC based teams stalked across the mezzanine and down back into the bullpen in a rage. They'd just had a meeting with the director and the news was not good.

"God dammit!" he yelled, seizing a paperweight off his desk and throwing it against the wall.

He vaguely registered the other, equally pissed off team leaders taking similar actions across the floor. They all felt like failures. For the past two weeks all four MCRT teams had been working on the same case, involving an utter bastard who was targeting NCIS agents and their families. At a rate of about one every three nights and NCIS agent and their family were being attacked while they slept in their beds. So far all the agents and most of their families were dead. A few of the agents' loved ones were clinging to life in Bethesda but their outlooks were not good and unfortunately NCIS was no closer to solving the case than they had been after the first agent was attacked two weeks ago.

Tony, Ziva and McGee looked down at their desks. They knew without asking what the reasoning was behind Gibbs' temper. Another agent had been attacked. "Who, boss?" Tony asked softly.

"Parker, from ballistics," Gibbs said angrily. "He and his 15 year old daughter are dead. His wife, 12 year old son and nine year old daughter all admitted to Bethesda in critical condition. The wife isn't expected to last the day."

"Dammit," Tony swore. He knew Parker. He was a good man who had helped the MCRT out on cases many times.

"Now what, boss?" McGee asked.

"Vance has issued an order that all agents with families bring them here to the Yard to go into protective custody," Gibbs said. "Seeing as none of us have families we get back to work. We find this bastard so I can rip him apart."

Tony cringed. He knew that he had no choice now. He'd been walking a tightrope with NCIS ever since he'd joined the agency. More than once over the years he'd wondered if the time had come where he would be forced to reveal his secret. He'd been having similar thoughts for the past two weeks and now he knew there was no other option. This so was not going to be good. Tony had told himself for years that if Gibbs ever found out his secret the marine would understand why his SFA had had to lie but in this situation Tony knew it was wishful thinking.

Gibbs always took cases involving dead children extra hard so his temper had been on a hair trigger since this entire mess began and he wasn't going to take the news that he barely knew his SFA well. Tony couldn't care less what Ziva or McGee thought but over the years he's grown to consider Gibbs family and he just hoped that his relationship with his boss survived.

He quickly stood up from his desk and grabbed his jacket. Gibbs glared at him. "Going somewhere, DiNozzo?" he asked angrily.

"Yes," Tony said firmly. "I'm going to get my family."

Without waiting for a reaction or reply Tony raced downstairs to his car and drove like a madman towards his home in Georgetown. He knew time was of the essence now. If Vance was bringing all the families in then the threat level was obviously being raised. As he drove he tried desperately to call his home on his hands-free set. Finally his wife answered. "Hello?"

"Hey beautiful," Tony answered, relief colouring his tone. "I don't have time to answer questions now but I need you, your mom and Katie to each pack a bag for a couple of days. If you can pack something for me as well that would be great. I'm on my way to get you now."

"Why?" his wife asked, sounding frightened. "Have you heard from….."

"No," Tony said brusquely. "This is because of NCIS. Every agent's families are being brought in. Listen, beautiful. I'll see you in a few, okay?"

"Okay," his wife replied. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Tony said, ending the call.

He hadn't told his wife or his mother-in-law anything about the case, figuring that they both had enough to worry about. He'd been part of their lives long enough for them to recognise that he was working a tougher case than usual but they knew not to ask questions and he hadn't offered them any details. Now, though Tony wondered if that had been a mistake. If their lives were going to be uprooted because of his job and their very lives put in danger they deserved to know the truth. Still, it was too late to go back now, though.

A few minutes later he pulled into his driveway and hurried into the house. Katie met him in the hallway. "Daddy!" she squealed, leaping into his arms. "Mommy says we're going on a trip and I don't have to go to preschool."

"That's right, princess," Tony said, dropping a kiss onto the three year old's head.

"Yeah!" Katie cheered. "This is going to be the coolest fun ever!"

Tony didn't bother correcting his daughter's assumption that this was a vacation. Seeing as she was going to get to see where he worked for the first time she probably would consider it a treat. He just wished he could view the world with the same childlike innocence and that his wife and mother-in-law could do the same. Unfortunately he could not be so lucky.

His mother-in-law met him at the bottom of the stairs. She had packed for herself and Katie. "Tony, what the hell's going on?"

"Princess, why don't you quickly run and get Lulu so we can take her on our trip with us?" Tony suggested to Katie, wanting her out of earshot.

As Katie ran off his wife also came downstairs with their bags. Conscious of her expanding mid-section Tony quickly took them from her. "I'm sorry about this," he said. "But you know we can't take any chances at the best of times and the fourth NCIS agent and his family in two weeks have just been killed. I don't think there's any option but to let NCIS find out now."

"Yes, yes of course you're right," his mother-in-law said. "It will be alright."

"What are we going to do?" his wife asked.

"Well considering my boss doesn't exactly know I've got a family he didn't give out any specifics when he told us the director's given the order for all agents to have their families brought in for safety reasons but I imagine that once we get to the yard various options for protective custody will be discussed. Whether that'll be just you three or whether I'll be going with you I don't know." Tony felt horribly guilty when he saw his wife's face. He was all too conscious of the fact that her first pregnancy had been a nightmare thanks to him getting the plague not long after they found out they were expecting Katie. Now it could all be happening again. He kissed her softly. "It'll be okay. I promise."

"I know," she said, obviously trying to convince herself as much as him. "Let's just go."

Katie came racing back, clutching the rag doll that she never went anywhere without, and Tony returned to the Navy Yard with his family. As they went upstairs in the lift Tony scooped his daughter, who was looking around curiously, into his arms. She had his green eyes but otherwise was all red hair and dimples like her mother and grandmother. He loved her more than life itself and needed her close right now. He also figured that if he emerged from the lift holding an innocent child Gibbs wouldn't try and kill him right away.

"So this is where you work, daddy?" Katie asked loudly as the lift doors opened.

"Sure is, princess," Tony said.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his team watching his interaction with his family in slack-jawed amazement. Gibbs hurried over to them. "Something you forgot to mention, DiNozzo?" he asked gruffly, obviously reigning in his temper because of Katie's presence.

Before he could formulate an answer that might not get his head snapped off Tony heard his mother-in-law gasp. He turned around, Katie still in his arms, to see his wife's mother staring at Gibbs in stunned disbelief. Tears filled her eyes.

"Jethro?" she cried. "Is that really you?"