After making a stop at his office, Leon Vance led the boys into the squad room.

"Guess what?" An excited Danny asked.

"We're Gibbs' kids." Joey said, earning him a glare from his twin.

"I wanted to tell them." Danny said.

"That's great, boys." McGee smiled.

"We're gonna be a family." Joey said. "Gibbs, and me, and Danny, and Mac."

"We've never had a Daddy before." Danny said.

"But we do now." Joey said.

Later that evening, Gibbs and his three kids went to his house. Vance had arranged for them to be placed under the protective custody of NCIS, and had spoke with the legal department about Gibbs gaining custody of them. Gibbs had an appointment with Social Services the following morning.

Gibbs motioned for the kids to sit on the sofa, then he sat on the coffee table in front of them. He was still shocked about being a Father again, but he was also enjoying it. Especially when his sons called him Daddy, which they started doing as soon as they found out that Gibbs was indeed their Dad.

He really wanted Mac to call him Dad also, but didn't want to push her. He wanted her to be comfortable with it, and was willing to wait.

"Okay." Gibbs said. "We need to go over a few rules." He tried to think of the best way to say the rest, without scaring the boys. He knew that Mac already knew that their lives could be in danger, but wasn't sure if the boys were.

"Bradshaw is still out there somewhere." Gibbs said, then saw both boys flinch and shrink back some. "But I will not let him hurt you, I promise." He quickly added. "You have several people looking out for you, and looking for him. In order to keep you safe, you have to follow these rules.

No wondering off. I need to know where you are at all times. You are to stay with the adult who is watching you. No answering the door or the phone. No going outside on your own, for any reason. Understand?"

"Yes Sir." Three voices said.

"Good." Gibbs smiled. "No it's getting late, I want you three to take baths and get ready for bed. I'll find you some long shirts to sleep in tonight, and I'll buy you some clothes tomorrow."

Gibbs stood up and the kids followed him into a bedroom. "Mac, this is your room. You can decorate it any way you like."

They followed him into another bedroom. "Danny, Joey, this is your room."

"Can we decorate it too?" Danny asked.

"Sure can."

"Can we get bunk beds?" Joey asked."

"If you want too."

"I get top bunk." Danny called out.

"Okay." Joey replied, "I get bottom bunk"

"There's a bathroom there." Gibbs pointed towards a door. "Boy, go in there and wait, I'll be in there in a minute."

"Okay, Daddy." Joey said, bringing a larger smile to the man's face.

"Don't mess with the water yet." Gibbs told them.

Gibbs led Mac into his bedroom. "There's a bathroom there." Gibbs pointed to another door. "I will lay a shirt out on the bed."

"Thank you." She said, walking into the bathroom.

Gibbs started to leave the bedroom, when he heard a loud click coming from the bathroom door. Mac had locked the door.

That worried Gibbs. He knew that Bradshaw was physically abusive, but did he also sexually about the young girl? He knew that sexually abused children often locked their bedroom and bathroom doors if they could.

Half an hour later, the three kids where standing in the basement looking at Gibbs' boat. All three were dressed in Gibbs' tee shirts and socks.

"Can we help build it?" Danny asked.

"Can we go sailing?" Joey wanted to know.

"Yes and yes." Gibbs answered both questions. "But the basement if off limits without an adult down here." He said. "Understand?"

"Yes Sir."

For the next hour, Gibbs and the kids worked on the boat. Gibbs had to keep re-showing the boys how to sand with the grain, and had to brake up a couple small arguments between them.

But Mac seemed to catch on quickly, and really seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Alright." Gibbs said, noticing both boy yawning. "Bed time."

"Just a few more minutes, Daddy." Joey whined, around another yawn.

"Nope, bedtime."

"Please, Daddy." Danny said, giving him his best puppy eyes.

"Bed." Gibbs said, more sterner. "Upstairs now."

Joey and Danny pouted, but headed up the stairs with Mac right behind them.

"Go on to bed, boys." Gibbs said, "I'll be there in a few minutes to tuck you in."

"Will you tell us a story?" Joey asked.

"Yes."

"Cool." Danny said. "Come on Joey."

The boys rushed to their room.

Gibbs smiled, then looked at Mac. The young girl was heading towards her room.

"Mac, come here a minute please." He dreaded this conversation, dreaded the answer he may get. But he had to know if anything happened so he could help her.

The twelve-year-old girl turned around and Gibbs motioned her to sat on the sofa, then he once again sat on the table in front of her.

"Something wrong?" She asked, noticing the troubled look in his eyes.

"Mac." He said softly as he took her hands into his larger ones. "I need you to answer a question for me. It may be difficult to answer, but I need the truth. And I want you to know that no matter what the answer is, it will not change how I feel about you."

"Okay." Mac said, not knowing where this was leading.

"When you went to take your shower, you locked the bathroom door." Gibbs said, trying to think of the best way to ask the question.

"F…force of habit." She said, looking to the floor. "If it's against the rules…."

"Look at me, Mac." He said gently.

The young girl looked at him and he could see her eyes start to water slightly. "If you feel more comfortable locking the door, then you can lock them. You are not in trouble. But I need to know why you lock them."

Once again, her eyes dropped to the floor.

"Mac."

"She looked up and saw concern in his eyes. She knew she could trust this man, knew he would not think any less of her. Taking a deep breath, she said. "Bradshaw came into my room one night." She said, still looking into his eyes. "He was drunk, I thought he was going to beat me. But instead, he sat on the bed and said that I was beautiful."

She stopped talking for a moment, but kept eye contact. "He grabbed my arms and pinned me down, then he tried to kiss me. I fought back, but he was too strong. I turned my head and he kissed my cheek. Then he let go of my arms and tried to pull my shorts off, but I kicked him hard between the legs and then I jumped out of bed and ran.

I slept on the roof that night. The next morning, he didn't saw anything about what happened. I'm not sure if he even remembered, but I did. So I started locking the doors."

"Did he try anything again?" Gibbs asked. "And I need the truth."

"No Sir, just that one time."

Gibbs leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, relived when she didn't flinch at the touch. "You are safe here." He said. "No one will hurt you. But like I said, if you feel more comfortable locking your door, then you can."

"There's no need to lock them here." She said, really believing what she was saying. "I trust you. You remind me so much of Uncle Matt, except the computer thing." She grinned and said, "Tony told me that you could barely work your E-mail."

"Computers are not my thing." Gibbs said, smiling. "I think people send me E-mails just to mess with my head."

"The two of you are alike in the important ways. He wasn't in the Marines, but he was Marine orientated. He was all about honor and respect and he taught me to be that way too."

"I know your Uncle Matt is very proud of you."

"How do you know that?"

"Like you said, we are alike in the important ways. I am very proud of you, so it stands to reason that your Uncle Matt is also."

Gibbs once again leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, "Bed time."

"Yes Sir. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey."

Mac went into her new room and shut the door. She was about to lock it, but stopped with a smile. There was no need to lock it, she was safe. Mac climbed into bed and for the first time in six months, since the death of her Uncle, she drifted off to sleep without fear."

Gibbs knocked softly on his sons' bedroom door, but didn't get an answer. He opened it and smiled at the sight before him. Both boys were sound asleep, laying crossways on the bed. They were laying on top of the covers and their legs were hanging off the bed.

With a soft chuckle, Gibbs picked up Joey and pulled the covers back. He laid him back on the bed, then did the same to Danny. Neither boy woke up. Gibbs kissed both their foreheads, then turned the light out and left the room. He left the door open a crack so the hallway light shone into the bedroom.

Gibbs gathered the kids clothes and threw them into the washer, so they could wear them the next morning.

The next morning, Gibbs woke, showered, dressed, then went into the kitchen to start breakfast. He didn't have many kid friendly foods. He decided on pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs.

He was mixing the batter when Mac walked into the kitchen, she was already dressed.

"Thank you for washing our clothes." She said.

"Not a problem." He smiled. "You're up pretty early."

"I always get up early, another trait Uncle Matt and me picked up from the Marines. Can I help?"

"Sure, you can fix the scrambled eggs."

They worked in silence for a few moments.

"Gibbs." Mac said.

"Yeah, honey."

"Is it okay if I called you Dad?"

Gibbs turned and looked at the young girl with a large smile, "It is more then okay." He leaned down and hugged her tightly. "I would love that."

"I would to." She said, returning the hug. "Dad."

They returned to working on breakfast, both in good moods.

"I'm going to go wake up your brothers." Gibbs said, once they were done. "Set the table."

"Okay."

Gibbs went into the boys' room and saw that they were not in the same position he put them in the night before. Danny was laying at the head of the bed, curled up. Joey was in the middle of the bed laying crossways, his legs once again hanging of the side of the bed.

"Time to get up, boys." He called out, laying their clothes on the bed. The boys did not stir. "Danny, Joey." He said, louder. Still they did not move. "Danny." He said, shaking the boy's arm. He didn't move.

Gibbs heard a laugh from the doorway and turned to see Mac standing there, looking amused.

"Ideas?" He asked.

Mac stepped over to the bed and let out a high pitched whistle, both boys opened their eyes.

"I'll remember that." Gibbs said. "Your Uncle Matt get that from the Marines also?"

"Yes Sir. It works on them pretty good."

"Time to get up boys." Gibbs said.

A few minutes later, everyone was seated at the table eating breakfast.

"Danny, Joey." Gibbs said. "I'm guessing you two are in kindergarten?"

"Yes Sir." They both answered.

"Are we going to school today?" Danny asked.

"Not today." Gibbs said. "But soon. Thanksgiving is in a few days, so after that."

"Seventh?" Gibbs asked Mac.

"Ninth." She replied.

"Ninth?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes Sir. Like I said, I was home schooled. So I wasn't really in any grade level. But when I was put in custody of the state, I was given a test. I was then placed in ninth grade. But I was told that I could take some collage classes in computer related classes and in science."

"Another Abby and McGee." Gibbs said, with a smile. "That is great, honey."

After they had eaten and the dishes were washed and dried, the new family left the house and headed to NCIS.

I want to thank all of you for the great reviews. I will have more posted soon, probably in the morning.