Title: The Dragon Chronicles: The NYDC Community
By: Tiffany F
Pairings: Gil/Nick, Jim/Warrick, Greg/Horatio, Danny/Mac, Speed/Eric
Rating: AO
Series: part of The Dragon Chronicles
Warnings: *very* AU, insest (Supernatural part of crossover)
Summary: This continues The Dragon Chronicles series focusing on the community in New York City and Washington, D.C. Shows featured in this series include CSI, CSI:Miami, CSI:NY, NCIS, Supernatural, Numb3rs, Stargate SG-1, Criminal Minds, and House, M.D.

Mac had never wanted to see the warehouse where he and his fellow dragons and community members had almost been killed. He wanted to put the experience as far out of his mind as possible and yet his was the team called in to process the scene. And something wasn’t right about the whole thing. Mac just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, that he’d been being watched since the night of the explosion. And, as the hunters who set up the trap had been killed, or so they figured, he wasn’t sure if they’d missed someone or if he was just being overly sensitive to the whole thing. He’d called Gibbs and they’d spent a couple of hours on the phone, not really able to come up with anything before falling back on the old habit of just waiting to see what happened as the dragon instincts came to the fore and warned of approaching danger.
 
*Hey, Mac, I got blood*
 
Mac jumped a little. He’d been so focused on his own thoughts that he’d lost track of everything around him; never a good thing for a dragon to do and maybe even less for a CSI. *None of us were injured that night, Danny* he commented.
 
*Yeah, I know, so who’s this belong to*
 
*Maybe there was someone else here*
 
*You guys didn’t smell anyone though*
 
*Well, let’s get it back to the lab. Maybe we can work it out there*
 
At least things were settling down a little in New York. It still seemed a little unreal to think that Adam Ross had Changed and was now such a firm part of their community, but at the same time, Mac had also seen some changes in the young dragon’s demeanor and attitude at work. He was more confident about things and Mac figured that could only be good for him.
 
While they were loading up the evidence Stella joined him at the back of one of the rigs. “Hey, Mac, could I maybe buy you lunch?” she asked. “I need to talk to you.”
 
“Sure,” Mac replied. “Hey, Danny, Stella and I are going to take an early lunch. Start things through when you get back to the lab.”
 
“Yeah, will do, Mac,” Danny replied with a wave. He and Ryan started up the Avalanche with all the evidence in it and drove off. Mac couldn’t help but smile. He knew his human was in good hands.
 
“So what’s going on, Stella?” he asked once they were sitting in the park. They’d decided that they wanted to be in a spot where they could talk where they wouldn’t be overheard. Mac hadn’t seen Stella so upset in a long time and really hoped that he hadn’t done anything to put her in such a mood.
 
“You know what happened at that warehouse, don’t you?” she asked.
 
“What makes you say that?” Mac asked in reply.
 
“You were zoned out the whole time we were there and you kept looking at Danny and Ryan,” Stella replied. “C’mon, Mac, I know you. I know when you’re keeping secrets.”
 
He sighed. “That’s where some members of our community almost died, Stella,” he said. “Danny and I were there when the bomb exploded. If it wasn’t for my scales we’d both be dead.”
 
“So why not tell someone about it?”
 
“Because, as far as we know, everyone involved is dead,” Mac said. “One of the other alphas took exception to the fact that one of his family was almost blown up and killed all our suspects.”
 
“That can’t be easy to explain,” Stella commented.
 
“He’s in the military working on a top secret project, somehow I think they’ll manage,” Mac grinned. “But that’s not what you wanted to talk to me about, is it? There’s something else bothering you.”
 
Stella sighed and looked off towards the lake. “I think I have a stalker, Mac.”
 
“What?” all his protective instincts flared to life – both human and dragon.
 
“I dunno, it’s like I feel like I’m being followed all the time, but when I look around I can’t find anyone who seems really interested in me. Maybe I’m just being silly, but after the whole mess with Frankie I just don’t like feeling like this.”
 
“I don’t blame you,” Mac said. “And I think I’m being tailed as well, Stella. I thought maybe it was hunters looking for a way to avenge their fallen comrades, but now maybe its case related. You and I work together a lot; someone could be trying to find an opening to get to us.”
 
“But it doesn’t seem like they want to hurt me,” she protested. “I mean, the presence is just there. It doesn’t feel evil or scary.”
 
“But it’s bothering you,” Mac said. “Stella, why don’t you come stay with Danny and me for a couple of days, until we can get this all sorted out.”
 
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine, Mac. Seriously, I don’t want to intrude on you and Danny. You two get so little time alone these days, I don’t want to ruin that.”
 
“You wouldn’t be. You’re our family, Stella, and I know Danny would want the same thing.”
 
“Shouldn’t you ask him?”
 
“Fine.” Mac turned a little and looked towards the trees.
*Hey, Danny*
 
*Yeah, what’s up, Mac? We don’t have anything yet*
 
*I know. Stella’s in trouble and I asked her to come stay with us for a couple of days, but she doesn’t want to be a bother*
 
*The hell she would be. You drag her ass over to our place and tie her down if you gotta*
 
Mac snickered. *I figured that’s what your reaction would be. I love you so much, Danny. I’ll tell her*
 
*That you love me? I think she already knows that*
 
*Brat; that she’s welcome in our home. I’ll see you in a bit*
 
“The phone would’ve been easier,” Stella commented when Mac looked back at her.
 
“Actually its not,” Mac said. “Because you have to take it out of your pocket and dial when all I have to do here is think. And Danny said that I’m to drag you to our apartment and tie you down to get you to stay.”
 
“He really said that?”
 
“You can ask him yourself when we get back to the lab,” Mac replied. “Stella, we take care of our family, you know that. And the guest room is there to be used. Please, to make me feel better about things. Come stay with us until this is over.”
 
She smiled. “Okay, Mac.”
 
“Thank you.”
********************
 
When Danny and Ryan got back to the lab with the evidence from the warehouse they hauled it all into the lab, logged it and started it around for processing. Neither of them really cared overly much about any results other than the DNA from the blood Danny had found. They knew who had set the bombs and knew that their suspects were, more or less, dead. But they still had to make it look like they cared about the case so they set to work. Bombs in New York were still a big deal and they didn’t want to make anyone wonder about them.
 
“Hey, I’m going to go grab a bite,” Ryan said after an hour or so of working on some trace evidence. “Do you want anything?”
 
“Yeah, bring me back whatever you have,” Danny said almost absently. “I ain’t feeling overly picky today.”
 
Ryan laughed and left the lab. He could see his human in working with Adam and Mandy on some of the bomb fragments and decided to just leave her to it. He grabbed his coat from his locker and left the lab.
********************
 
When Danny finished working on his fiber analysis he stretched his back and wandered in to see how the others were coming with their work. Adam had started the DNA through the system and then settled in to help with the bomb fragments.
 
“I hate puzzles,” Mandy commented when she saw Danny standing in the doorway.
 
“Then you’re in the wrong career,” he replied grinning.
 
“I mean jigsaw puzzles,” she said. “I think when I enroll at university I’ll study chemistry and biology rather than arson as I was planning. Somehow trace and DNA seem more interesting now that I’m actually in a lab.”
 
“Arson is the hardest crime to solve,” Adam commented. “Here, I think this piece goes with yours, Mandy.”
 
“Thanks.” She tried the pieces together, found the fit and picked up the glue they were using. “What about you, Linds? What do you find the hardest?”
 
“Physics,” Lindsay grinned. “I can work through almost anything but physics. My mind just doesn’t want to work that way. I don’t know why. Oh, hey, I think this is part of the timing mechanism.”
 
Danny laughed. “I’m with you, Montana,” he said. “I can’t stand physics. Give me chemistry any day.”
 
“Adam, do you see any more pipe frag….Lindsay!”
 
Everything happened at once after that. From the windows they could vaguely hear the sound of gunfire followed by the scanner Adam kept in the lab screeching officer down. Lindsay started to collapse forward onto the table, stopped only by Adam’s quick grab. He lowered her to the floor just as Danny grabbed the side of his head and fell to his knees. Mandy ran over to him and helped him down as well.
 
“What’s going on?” Adam asked as Hawkes ran into the room.
 
“I don’t know,” Mandy replied. “But something has happened to Mac and Ryan. And it’s not good.”

Mac and Stella had just reached the lab doors when he felt a pair of eyes watching them. It wasn’t that uncommon as there were a lot of people around and cops attracted attention. But this gaze felt different. This was someone with a purpose, and Mac didn’t like the feel of it one bit. He stopped and turned, eyes scanning the crowd until they picked out his target – and he lunged. The teen didn’t stand a chance; he was up against the wall with an irate Marine dragon in his face.
 
“Why are you following us?” Mac demanded.
 
The teen ignored Mac and stared over his shoulder. “Are you Claire Conrad?”
 
Mac bit back a curse. He’d known it was possible that the day was coming, but he always prayed it wouldn’t. How was he supposed to tell someone so young such terrible news? “Claire Conrad Taylor?” he asked. “She was my wife, Reed.”
 
“Where is she? I’ve waited so long to meet her,” Reed said looking around.
 
Stella put a hand on Mac’s shoulder and felt him take a deep breath. “Reed, your mother was in the Towers on September 11th,” Mac said softly. “I’m sorry. She wanted to find you when you were old enough, she always talked about you. I know that giving you up was one of the hardest things she ever did. But I also know that she loved you enough to let you go to a family who would be able to care for you the way you needed and she couldn’t provide at that point in her life.”
 
Reed was shaking his head. “It’s not true,” he said. He pushed Mac away and pulled out a gun. “You killed her, you freaking monster.”
 
“Stella, get down!” Mac leapt forward and grabbed the gun, tilting his head out of the way as it fired. The pain in his left ear almost knocked him to his knees, but he held on when he heard Stella yelling Ryan’s name. “You messed with the wrong family, hunter,” he snarled.
 
Mac handed Reed off to the uniforms that had swarmed to help him. “Haul this punk’s ass to holding,” Mac ordered, “and keep him there until I come to talk to him. Anyone asks about charges, he just assaulted to NYPD officers.”
 
*Mac*
 
*Danny, where are you*
 
*On my way down to you. What the hell happened, Mac? Montana’s out cold and my head feels like I gotta construction crew in there*
 
The beta dragon knelt down next to Stella, shrugging out of his jacket. “Use this as a compress,” he said. *Ryan’s been shot, Danny. You need to get Lindsay somewhere safe*
 
*Adam and Mandy got that covered. What about you*
 
*The gun discharged in my ear, Dan. I probably don’t have an ear drum left. The only thing keeping me on my feet is concern for the community. If I pass out, so do you and I need you to call Gibbs. Let him know we just had a hunter attack us at our lab. He’ll need to call Jack*
 
*Yeah, yeah, as soon as I see you* Danny barreled out the door and pushed through the crowd to Mac.
 
“Danny,” Mac whispered when his human pulled him into a hug.
 
“I don’t care no more,” Danny said. He tore a piece off his shirt and pressed it to Mac’s ear. “Besides, you’re swaying and bleeding; anyone asks, I’m just taking’ care of my boss.”
 
“Who was that, Mac?” Stella asked. She had Mac’s jacket pressed up against Ryan’s stomach to try and stem the blood flow.
 
*Mac, Stella wants to know who attacked us*
 
*The ringing and pain are getting worse, Danny. You should get somewhere safe*
 
*I’ll just tell ‘em blood bugs me* Danny looked over at Stella. “He can’t hear you, Stella. I think he’s going into shock. Where the hell’s the ambulance?”
 
“They’re coming,” Stella said. “They’ll make it in time, Danny.
 
“They have to,” Danny muttered.
********************
 
Danny wasn’t surprised when he and Stella were asked to stay in the waiting room. “I gotta make a phone call, Stel, then I’ll come fill in the blanks for you. Mac and me were talking the whole ride over.”
 
“If you’re not back in five minutes, I’m coming after you,” Stella said. “I do not want to find you unconscious on a bench outside.”
 
“Okay.” Danny went just outside the doors and sat in a corner with his back against the building. He wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t taking any chances when his dragon was down. He pulled out his cell phone and pushed the autodial for Gibbs’ cell.
 
“Yeah, Gibbs.”
 
“It’s Danny; we’ve been attacked. Mac and Ryan are both down and Lindsay is unconscious.”
 
“What?”
 
“Gibbs, could you please not shout? I’m still picking up on Mac’s pain and my head is killing me right now.”
 
“Tell me what happened,” Gibbs growled. “And then I’ll decide if I need to be on the next plane up.”
 
“Okay, so you know Mac lost his wife in the Towers, yeah?”
 
“He told me.”
 
“Turns out she had a kid when she was in high school,” Danny continued. “She gave him up for adoption and a better life. Only now it looks like he ended up with a hunter family. He’s been in the city looking for his mother and flipped when Mac told him the truth.”
 
“What’s the damage?”
 
“Mac’s lost an ear drum, or at least has a tear in it, the doctors are still working on him. Ryan took a bullet to the abdomen and is in surgery. Lindsay’s out cold at Mandy’s place. We could lose both Ryan and Lindsay, Gibbs.”
 
“We won’t, they’re both young and strong,” Gibbs said. “Danny, I’m gonna send Flack up to help you guys out for the next few days. Now tell me we have the dirt bag in custody.”
 
“He’s in holding until we find out how bad Mac and Ryan are hurt,” Danny sighed. “Mac said something about you needing to give Jack a call.”
 
Gibbs sighed as well. “Yep, I’ll take care of it as soon as we’re off the phone,” he said. “That hunter isn’t going to jail, Danny. He’s our ticket to wipe these creeps out for good. Flack will make it happen. You just take care of your dragon and keep me updated.”
 
“I will,” Danny said. He tucked his phone away and just sat for a moment. With Mac down like he was, Danny was in charge of the community and it wasn’t something he felt ready for.
 
*What did Gibbs say*
 
*He’s sending Flackie up* Danny said. *What’d the doc say* 
*Not a lot because I still can’t hear anything with the ringing in my head* Mac sighed. *I keep telling them I want you in here, but so far it doesn’t seem to be working*
 
*I ain’t you, Mac, but I bet I can get in to ya. Let me try something*
 
*Danny*
 
*I said I don’t care no more, Mac. I love you and if people don’t like it that’s there problem*
 
He could hear Mac laugh as he walked back into the ER. He felt bad for leaving Stella hanging with questions, but knew she’d understand. He unclipped his badge and put it on the counter. “Hey, my partner was brung in with severe ear trauma,” he said. “And I was wondering how he’s doing. His name’s Mac Taylor.”
 
“Are you family?” the nurse asked.
 
“I’m his emergency contact, Danny Messer.”
 
She was clicking on the keyboard while he was talking. “I’m sorry, Detective Messer; it looks like this was a mistake on our part. Go through those doors and Detective Taylor should be in the third room on the left.”
 
“Thanks,” Danny grinned. *There ya go, Mac, nice and neat and no one the wiser*
 
*Very smooth, Danny*
 
Danny paused in the door and just stared. Mac was in bed with the blankets tucked around him, three IVs in his arm and a bandage around his head totally covering his left ear.
 
“It looks worse than it is,” a voice said from behind him. “Are you Detective Messer? He’s been asking for you.”
 
“Yeah, hey Doc,” Danny said. “How bad is it?”
 
“We won’t know for sure until we run some more tests and we can’t do that until the ringing in his head subsides a little,” the doctor replied. “He said a gun discharged directly next to his ear.”
 
“Yeah, he was subduing a suspect,” Danny said. “What would happen if some of those hot gasses forced their way into his ear?”
 
“Detective Taylor received second and third degree burns to his ear, upper cheek and neck; all of which we’ve treated. I suspect he’s got at least a hole in his ear drum, if not worse. The worst case scenario is that he will completely lose his hearing in the left ear.”
 
Danny went cold. “When will we know?” he asked. “His work is his life.”
 
*Its second to you, Danny* Mac said. Danny had opened the bond so Mac could hear what the doctor was saying.
 
“We should know within the week,” the doctor said. “You’re more than welcome to sit with him. He’s refusing all but basic pain killers, against my advice.”
 
Danny managed a weak smile. “He’s a Marine, Doc, he don’t like nothing that’d mess him up. But he’ll tell you if it gets too bad. Oh, hey, we had another officer come in at the same time Mac did.”
 
“He’s still in surgery,” the doctor said. “I’ll make sure you’re kept updated on his condition as well.”
 
“Thanks, Doc,” Danny grinned. “I’m just gonna run out and talk to another friend and then I’ll come sit with Mac.”
 
*Stella’s here*
 
*Did you think she wouldn’t be, Mac? I’m more or less running the community here, and I don’t feel like I’m doing good*
 
*You’ll be fine, Danny; just take it one step at a time* Mac said. *And I’m not going anywhere*

Tony sat at his desk, Faith in his arms, watching Gibbs become more and more agitated with each phone call. The whole team winced and ducked when Gibbs stormed off with a growl. “Something happened to put your dad in a bad mood,” Tony commented to Faith. “How ‘bout it, princess; should we go track him down and see if we can cheer him up a little?”
 
“DiNozzo.”
 
“Yes, Madame Director?”
 
“Where’s Gibbs? I told him I didn’t want that baby here again.”
 
“Gibbs is on the phone,” Tony replied. He pulled a bottle out of the baby bag and stood. “If you’ll excuse me, Faith needs to eat.”
 
“Flack, conference, now,” Gibbs snapped as he stormed past on his way to the elevator.
 
“Gibbs.”
 
“Not now, Jen.”
 
Tony had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from laughing at the look on the director’s face. “Hey Kate, let Gibbs know I’m in the break room, will you?”
 
“Am I your keeper?” Kate smiled.
 
“Oh, come on Katie, please.”
 
“Let me feed her,” Kate said. “I haven’t seen her for a couple of days and then you can do whatever Gibbs is going to need.”
 
“Yeah, all right,” Tony sighed. “Thanks, Katie.”
 
Kate took Faith, the baby bag and left. Tony smiled and sat back down to finish his most recent report.
 
“Why are you still with NCIS, DiNozzo,” Jen asked.
 
“Because I haven’t given him permission to leave yet,” Gibbs said as he appeared out of nowhere. “Where’s Faith, Tony?”
 
“With Katie, and probably Abby by now,” Tony replied.
 
“What had you so worked up, Jethro?” Jen asked, her tone changing. Tony bristled and frowned.
 
“Family emergency,” Gibbs replied. “Shouldn’t you be doing your own work instead of bothering my team?”
 
“You don’t have any family.”
 
Cold ice blue eyes studied her for a long minute. “A lot of things have changed since I saw you last, Jen,” Gibbs said softly. “And being my boss does not give you the right to pry into my personal affairs. Now, unlike you, I have work to do. DiNozzo, conference room. Now.”
 
“On it, boss.”
 
“Don’t mess with my family, Jen,” Gibbs hissed. “Especially not right now.” He turned and followed Tony to the elevator.
 
“Jethro?”
 
“In a minute, Tony,” Gibbs said softly. He stopped the elevator between floors, pushed Tony up against the wall and claimed his mouth. Tony opened immediately and pulled his dragon in closer. Gibbs rumbled his approval and angled the kiss enough that he could rub his tongue along the top of Tony’s mouth. He pushed in with his hips, trying to get Tony to start moving with him. “Turn, Tony.”
 
Tony could never think clearly when Gibbs attacked the roof of his mouth, but could feel knowing hands guiding him and he let the wall take his weight. “Jethro,” he whispered as hands undid his slacks and pushed everything out of the way.
 
“Mine,” Gibbs rumbled. He stepped back just long enough to get rid of his own slacks and then was back on his human, pressing forward and into Tony’s body. Both human and dragon moaned at the contact and Tony pushed back a little trying to get Gibbs to move. Gibbs grinned, braced his hands on Tony’s hips and started the hard rocking motion that would push them both over the edge as quickly as possible.
 
“Mess,” Tony panted as he moved against Gibbs.
 
“Better control yourself then.”
 
“Can’t when you do that.”
 
Gibbs nuzzled Tony’s neck and wrapped a hand tightly around the base of Tony’s erection. Tony moaned when his climax was denied and Gibbs kept moving, stilling only when he came.
 
“Jethro,” Tony moaned, squirming.
 
“I know,” Gibbs said. He pulled back gently and sank to his knees as Tony turned around. He grinned up at his human and took Tony into his mouth.
 
Tony’s head hit the wall as he was worked fast, Gibbs somehow managing to hit every one of the hot and sensitive spots.
 
“What brought that on?” Tony gasped trying to keep from sliding to the floor.
 
Gibbs licked his lips and stood, taking Tony’s mouth in a gentle kiss. “Do I need a reason?” he asked.
 
“Not if it’ll help keep you from killing someone,” Tony replied. He nuzzled Gibbs’ neck. “Our new director needs to learn her place, Jethro.”
 
“And where is that?”
 
“As far away from you as possible. I don’t like her, Gibbs, and I don’t like how she keeps looking at you.”
 
“Hey, don’t even think stuff like that. Get dressed, Tony, and lets go find our little girl. I don’t you or her unattended any time soon.”
 
“What’s going on?”
 
“Danny called; some dirt bag decided to attack Mac and Ryan,” Gibbs said grimly.
 
“Mac’s obviously okay if Danny called with the alert, but what about Ryan?” Tony did up his belt and looked Gibbs over carefully for any evidence of their activities. “And the rest of the community?”
 
Gibbs grabbed Tony and pulled him into a fierce kiss. “You are mine, Tony, the only one I want and I will kill anyone who tries to come between us,” he whispered as they started their descent into the basement.
 
“Jethro, how is Ryan?” Tony asked.
 
“Flack is on his way to find out,” Gibbs said. He stepped out into the hall and moved towards the lab. “That’s all I know right now.”
 
“Tell me they at least got the guy?” Tony insisted,
 
“Got who?” Abby asked. She was at her desk holding both Faith and Burt the Hippo.
 
Gibbs quickly filled Kate and Abby in on the situation in New York and the fact that Abby’s dragon was gone overnight. “So I want you to come stay with us, Abs,” he said. “We’re not taking any chances. When Flack gets home with this creep I’m taking a day off and I got the go-ahead to question him.”
 
“You’re not going anywhere with a known hunter alone,” Tony protested.
 
“He’s totally right, Gibbs,” Abby said. “Donnie and I can keep Faith safe. Take Tony along with you.”
 
“Let me come too, Gibbs,” Kate interjected.
 
“I can’t take the whole team,” Gibbs snapped. “We need to keep our heads down with Jen around like she is.”
 
“Then just take Kate,” Tony said.
 
“Tony,” Kate gasped.
 
“Katie, I trust you to keep Gibbs safe and he’ll probably be able to focus better if I’m safe,” Tony said. “I’ll just tell the director that you’re out doing an interview or something.”
 
Gibbs kissed Tony softly. “We’ll decide when the time comes,” he said. “I’m still waiting to hear from Danny about Mac’s overall condition. I don’t like the description of either of the injuries up there.”
 
“Is Mandy okay?” Abby asked.
 
“I can only assume so, no one mentioned her or Adam,” Gibbs said. He didn’t even turn around. “What is it, McGee?”
 
“A call just came in, Gibbs,” McGee said. “I’ve already let Ducky know.”
 
Gibbs sighed. He’d never wanted a case less than at that moment, but also knew they had a job to do. “Abby, you’ll keep Faith?”
 
“I’ll lock the door behind you too,” Abby said. “You guys stay safe out there. There’s enough going on already.”
********************
 
Gibbs was on edge the entire drive out to the field where two Naval officers had been discovered dead by a local patrol. Knowing that there was a hunter in New York made needles run all along his nerves. It wasn’t that he had a bad feeling about the new case or his community; he just had a knot in his stomach that wouldn’t go away.
 
“You need to relax if you want me to be able to work, Jethro,” Tony murmured. He reached over and squeezed his dragon’s leg. “Because you’re so tense right now that I feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin.”
 
“Do you blame me, Tony?”
 
“Of course not, Jethro, but I also know how good you are at controlling what flows along our bond.”
 
“Yeah,” Gibbs sighed. “Why didn’t Flack or I pick up on what was going to happen in New York?”
 
“Because that’s not your talents and Flack’s matches up with Speed down in Miami,” Tony said soothingly. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. Right now we’ve got a sick beta and a panicky beta human, so you’re the one holding the community together.”
 
“Don’t lecture me, Tony,” Gibbs snarled.
 
“Is it a lecture if it’s the truth and I’m worried about you?”
 
“No. I’m sorry, Tony; I’m just on edge and tense.”
 
“I know you are and I’m here,” Tony said softly. “Just tell me when you need something.”
 
“You think I’m still bad at that?”
 
“Of course not, Jethro; I know you are.” Tony grinned at the head slap. “I love you too, boss.”

After Danny filled Stella in, he sent her back to sit with Mac for a couple of minutes and went back outside to make a couple of phone calls. He checked in with Mandy to make sure that she, Adam and Lindsay were indeed safely locked in one of their apartments. He told them to stay put until Flack arrived in New York with further orders from Gibbs and that someone would call when they knew something. Mandy asked if there was anything she could do, look up or research that would make things easier to get the hunter back down to DC and Gibbs. Danny thought for a moment and then shook his head. He didn’t think so, but if she wanted to go digging randomly then he didn’t see anything wrong with it. Deep down he knew that she just wanted something to keep herself busy until Ryan was out of danger and she could come to the hospital with the others. In a way, he didn’t blame her.
 
*How’s everyone holding up* Mac asked.
 
*Shaky, but we’re all hanging in there* Danny replied as he started back into the hospital. *When I’m back with you, Stella is heading back to the department and she and Hawkes will start processing the evidence left at the crime scene. It’ll give everyone something to do until Flack gets here and takes that creep back to DC*
 
*How in the world does Gibbs intend to get him out of here in the first place* Mac didn’t seem the least concerned about Claire’s son being called bad names. It really showed how deeply he felt about the community. *The kid attacked two NYPD officers in broad daylight, but I don’t think I can see a federal connection*
 
*This is Gibbs* Danny said. *I’ve been surprised at the links he’s been able to come up with in the past. I’m sure he has something up his sleeve this time too*
 
Stella looked up when Danny walked into the room. “When do they think he’ll be able to hear again?”
 
“No one’s sure; they need the ringing to stop first and then they can run some more tests,” Danny sighed. He ran his hand through his hair and pushed up his glasses. “Right now things are just going a little crazy.”
 
“Tell me about it,” Stella said. “What’s going to happen to the kid?”
 
“Gibbs wants to talk with him,” Danny said. “Flackie’s on his way up right now and will be doing some magic trick to take Reed back to DC with him.”
 
“This should be interesting,” Stella said. She patted Mac’s hand. “Take care of yourself, Mac.”
 
*Tell her thanks* Mac said.
 
“He says he will,” Danny said. “Don’t look so surprised; Mac an’ me got a few tricks up our sleeves. He can only hear when I’m in the room right now.”
 
*And that’s not what I said* Mac grumbled.
 
*Do you want her to worry more than she is* Danny asked.
 
*Of course not*
 
*Then leave it to me* Danny grinned at Stella. “I promise I’ll call just as soon as the doctor tells me anything ‘bout either of ‘em.”
 
“Then I’ll get going and find Hawkes,” Stella said. “Danny, let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you out.”
 
“I will. I’m kinda flying blind right now.”
 
“You’ll do fine.”
 
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me. I guess we’ll see how this all turns out.”
 
*You need to have more faith in yourself* Mac said once they were alone. *I know what your past is like, but you have to trust me when I say that I know you can do this. You can lead our community*
 
*I just don’t feel right, y’know* Danny asked.
 
*Maybe I need to suggest to the others that we need to have days when the alpha and beta humans run the communities so they have experience, just in case something like this happens again* Mac said.
 
*Speaking of the others, Horatio’s already called to see how you’re doing* Danny said. *Seems that beta bond thingy you guys have extends pretty far*
 
*Or it’s just Horatio* Mac grinned. *What did he have to say*
 
*Just general stuff, wanting to be sure you’re okay and offering his help. I know that Gil and Gibbs have to be talking by this point and are probably planning something that we really don’t want to know about*
 
*I imagine Gibbs was livid when you called him* Mac said.
 
*That’s mild. He sounded ready to Change and fly up here himself* Danny grinned. *Still, it’ll be good to see Flack again. He’s gonna have a field day with this kid*
 
*Gibbs or Flack*
 
*Gibbs; I have a feeling that once the kid leaves New York, he ain’t ever gonna be seen alive again. Does that bug you any*
 
*I feel like it should. He’s a piece of Claire, one that I’d hoped to have back, but I can’t excuse what he’s done, Danny. He’s become something that would put you and my family in danger and, no matter what his connection to my past, I cannot and will not stand by and let him hurt any of you again*
 
Danny took Mac’s hand and squeezed. *That still don’t mean it can’t bug you*
 
*I know what you’re saying, and maybe it will later. But you knew Claire, Danny. You know that she always wanted her family and friends to be safe and I know that she wouldn’t accept anyone, not even her own child, hurting them* Mac said. *And she would kill me if I did anything different*
 
*Well, maybe Gibbs won’t kill him*
 
*And maybe pigs will fly, Danny* Mac snorted. *Can you get the doctor for me, please? The pain is getting bad again*
 
*You want something stronger*
 
*Only if it won’t knock me out. I will not have you unconscious at the same time. We need to keep our family safe. I can stand some pain*
 
*Dragons* Danny muttered. He pushed the call button and leaned back in his chair so things wouldn’t look strange to whatever nurse happened to respond. “Hey, he says he’s starting to hurt, but don’t want nothing that’ll knock him out.”
 
“Are all Marines this stubborn?” the nurse asked with a grin as she checked Mac’s chart.
 
“Dunno, I only know two of ‘em and this one here could probably go head to head with a mule and win.”
 
*Don’t make me smack you*
 
*Its true*
 
“What about the other?” she asked.
 
“The mule would give up in tears and leave town,” Danny said.
 
“Let me check with the doctor, but we should be able to give him something here fairly soon,” she said. “It would be easier if we could knock him out for a few hours.”
 
“Maybe when our friend is outta surgery,” Danny grinned. “We’re kinda worried ‘bout him too.”
 
She looked up, a little surprised. “The other officer who was in surgery?”
 
“Yeah, Ryan Wolfe; he was shot the same time Mac here was injured.”
 
“I’ll see what I can find out for you,” she said. “I thought I heard that he was already out of surgery and into ICU. Are there any next of kin waiting?”
 
“They’re outta town,” Danny said, lying easily. “I called and they’re on their way back in. Don’t know when they’ll be here though.”
 
“Just let us know. I’ll be back.”
 
*Nice cover there, Danny*
 
*Well, it ain’t like I could tell her that Ryan’s wife is lying unconscious at home because he’s out cold* Danny said. *I’m finding that being in this world makes you think on your feet*
 
*And get really creative about things too* Mac said. *I’m going to try and sleep for a while, Danny. Will you let me know when Flack arrives*
 
*Of course I will* Danny looked around before leaning in and kissing Mac softly. *I love you, you stubborn mule*
 
*I’ll get you for that when I’m feeling better* Mac muttered.
********************
 
Hawkes was in the layout room when Stella arrived back at the lab. “This is the first case where I’ve had more witness statements match up than evidence to run,” he said with a wry smile.
 
“Cops make good witnesses, if nothing else,” Stella replied. “Flack is on his way up to take our suspect, so we just need to work as if we’re processing the case. It won’t ever go to trial here.”
 
“Can they do that?” Hawkes asked. “As far as I can tell, there’s no federal connection here whatsoever and it seems like it would be impossible for Flack and NCIS to just come in and take a suspect.”
 
“You don’t know Gibbs,” Stella sighed. “Truthfully, I don’t know that anyone knows Gibbs. He hides behind that bastard routine of his all the time and it scares people off.”
 
“I got news for ya, Stel, it ain’t a routine,” Flack said as he walked into the room. “That’s just how Gibbs is. Bastard to the bone, but he’s a good boss. How’s Mac and Ryan?”
 
“Mac still can’t hear anything unless Danny is in the room and I couldn’t get anything on Ryan’s condition while I was there,” Stella said. “Lindsay and the others are somewhere safe, but I don’t know where.”
 
“I’m sure Danny does, and that’s what matters.” Flack handed over a folder. “There’s our little creeps ticket to DC. Seems that his fingerprints showed up at an unsolved naval homicide a couple weeks ago and we need to talk with him.”
 
“That’s a little convenient,” Hawkes frowned.
 
Flack lowered his voice. “Abby made up the forms for us,” he said. “Gibbs really wants this kid and will do anything to get him. We didn’t falsify evidence or nothing, but this will make sure the kid don’t come near any of us again.”
 
“I imagine I don’t want to know the details,” Stella said. “I still don’t approve of your methods at times, Flack.”
 
“That’s why you don’t get to know no more of the plan,” Flack grinned. “You just gotta trust us, Stel.”
 
“And I do. I wouldn’t be letting this go on if I didn’t.”
 
“That’s good to know,” Flack said. “I’m off to get a prisoner. Talk to you guys later.”
********************
 
Danny had just settled on the spare bed in Mac’s room for a nap when the doctor came in. “Detective Messer, how is Detective Taylor?”
 
“He’s still hurtin’ pretty bad and can’t hear nothing,” Danny replied. “But he’s acting like himself, so that’s gotta be good, right?”
 
“It is and I’m sure his symptoms will decrease as the day continues, although I still say that heavier medicine would help with both the pain and ringing in his ears.”
 
“As long as it won’t knock him out, he might agree,” Danny said. “Do you got something we can write with and ask him?”
 
The doctor took out his pen and dug some paper out of a drawer. “I also have news on Detective Wolfe. He came through surgery well and is in the ICU. I understand he has family flying back in?”
 
“His wife was outta town at a conference,” Danny said. “I gave her a call as soon as I could. She wasn’t too sure about when she’d be able to get a flight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s here tomorrow. Do you know when Ryan is gonna wake up?”
 
“A few hours to a day,” the doctor said. He put the pad down on the table in front of Mac and handed him the pen. “If he’s not awake by this time tomorrow, I’ll have to reevaluate his condition based on new issues and run some more tests. I promise to keep you updated as well.”
 
“Thanks again, Doc, for everything,” Danny said. “Is Mac still saying no?”
 
“I offered some Tylenol with codeine, which shouldn’t knock him out if we kept to the lowest dose with food and he accepted,” the doctor said. “I’ll send someone in with dinner and the pills.”
 
*I gotta get out of here, Danny* Mac said. *You know Gibbs is going to want us all available to get to DC if we need to*
 
*Gibbs ain’t gonna be asking you to fly any time soon* Danny said. *You know how bad ear problems can be, Mac. He ain’t gonna risk you for one lousy kid. I’m positive he can handle this on his own*
 
*I just feel like I should be there in the end*
 
*Maybe, but the kid took that choice away from you, didn’t he? You need to rest and recover so we can keep this place going and help Ryan*
 
*Danny, you know I’m not going to leave the lab, even if I have lost my left ear. I can do paperwork and supervise. I just won’t be allowed out in the field*
 
*We got Ryan and Adam*
 
*Adam’s not a CSI*
 
*Not yet, but he’s been talking about taking the tests* Danny said. *I think he wants to get outta the lab and see what the field is like*
 
*Why hasn’t he mentioned it to me*
 
*Because he’s still scared of you, you know that*
 
*I’ve been trying* Mac said.
 
*I know you have, and Adam knows you have. You just gotta give him time*
 
*I’ll talk with him when I’m home* Mac sighed. *Maybe talking away from the lab would help out a little. Will you go call Gibbs and see what going on down there? I’m sure he wants an update on Ryan too*
 
*You promise to eat and take your pill and I’ll go make all the calls* Danny said. *We need to set up some kind of conference call thing because there’s enough of us now that keeping everyone updated is getting complicated*

One thing he had learned early on was that if you talked nonsense and made a lot of sarcastic comments, after a while people tended to forget how smart you were, or, sometimes, ignored you all together. It meant he heard a lot of what went on in his unit, stuff he probably wasn’t supposed to hear, but he stored it all away for future reference. He had notebooks that, if they fell into the wrong hands, would be able to end careers - not that anyone else knew about them.

When the rumors about monsters started up, he took extra note of not only who was talking, but what was being said. And, as much as it pained him to betray his friends, he couldn’t just sit by and let people get killed. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
**********************************

“Lindsay,” was the first thing Ryan said as he woke up. He could tell he’d been drugged, but didn’t remember what else had happened.

“Nope, but close,” Danny replied with a grin. “Although I have no doubt that Lindsay and the others will be here as soon as it’s safe.”

“What happened?”

“Mac was attacked and you caught a bullet,” Danny said. “You’ll make a full recovery and Linds is fine. She was in the lab with me when it happened.”

“What about Mac?” Ryan asked.

“We still don’t know; the gun fired right next to his ear and they’re running tests now,” Danny sighed. “The ringing finally reduced enough that he can hear without me in the room.”

Ryan dug around for the bed control and inclined the bed so he was sitting up. “The guy who did it?”

“We got him. But he was Mac’s wife’s son,” Danny said. “I’ll fill you in when you’re better, but that punk ain’t gonna get us again. Flack’s gonna take him to DC and Gibbs.”

“How’s everyone else?”

“Shaken, but okay. This hit a little too close to home. Mac’s talking ‘bout setting up training classes for the ranking humans in case something like this happens again.”

“Danny, I’m sure you’re doing fine,” Ryan said. “You’ll keep us all safe.”

“Sure don’t feel like it.”

“Actions speak louder than feelings. Where is Lindsay, anyway?”

“Adam and Mandy took her home. We weren’t sure what was gonna happen and wanted to be sure of, at least, her safety.”

“I’m surprised Mac’s letting you wander free,” Ryan grinned and then winced. “I think it’s past time for my pain meds.”

“And that’s why Linds ain’t here yet,” Danny replied. “And why Mac’s refused all pain killers.”

“Forgot about that part.”

“I’ll give Manders a call and let her know what’s going on,” Danny said. “Then she won’t panic when Linds keeps passing out.”

“Yeah, thanks, Danny.”
*********************************
COLORADO

General Hammond looked up as the door to his office banged open. There was only one man on the entire base who would just walk in without knocking, and there were days it drove him crazy. “Jack.”

“Daniel and I are going to New York,” Jack replied. “There’s an emergency there we have to help with.”

“There’s a mission here you need to be on.”

“General, with all due respect, this is more important,” Jack said. “I told you when you got back that I’m not just a dragon, I’m a king dragon, which means I’m responsible for every single dragon on this planet, their humans and anyone else under community protection. You agreed to limit the number of missions I went on until things settled down, but that still hasn’t happened yet. I’m putting my foot down.”

“If you’d been able to control yourself then we wouldn’t be short manpower and then maybe I could actually keep you home.”

Jack leaned forward over the desk. “I’d rather be short on headcount than working with traitor at my back,” he hissed. “Danny and I can both retire, General. I did it once and there’s enough history in the dragon world to keep Danny happy for years.”

“The only thing keeping me from bringing you up on charges for all of this is the fact that you saved my family,” Hammond snapped. “And not even that will save you forever.”

Jack stood up and shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to you, George, but I don’t like it,” he said softly. “I’ll call you when I’m back from New York. If I come back. There’s still a good chance these guys could kill us.”
*****************************

“What now?” Daniel asked without looking up.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say Hammond has been replaced using one of those hologram doo-dads,” Jack replied. “There is something seriously wrong with his reactions towards me lately.”

“He won’t let us go to New York?”

“Oh, we’re going; I just don’t know what we’ll be coming back to.”

“Jack, you didn’t.”

“I threatened to retire again, Danny,” Jack sighed. “I need to keep this planet safe from all the bad guys out there, but I really need to keep our still-growing dragon family safe. Would I rather do both, oh hell yeah; but if I have to choose then it’ll be the dragons.”

“What about me?” Daniel asked. “I’m one of the top alien experts in the program. They’re not likely to let me go without a fight.”

“I don’t want to stop working here, Danny-boy, I want to stop having to fight to stay on-world when there’s an emergency back east. Right now I know Gibbs and the others can handle the hunter that hit New York, but with Mac and Ryan in the hospital the humans there only have one dragon to take care of all of them.”

Daniel nodded. “Adam; and he’s newly Changed and untried,” he said. “You want to be there to keep them all safe.”

“I’m a mean bastard when riled. I doubt anyone would mess with me.”

“Just the insane or alien,” Daniel pointed out. “Or insane aliens. You do have a way of trying people’s patience, Jack.” He looked around his office and sighed. “I wonder if Mandy would let me work with her on dragon lore.”

“I doubt Hammond will fire us, Danny. Probably just court-martial and arrest,” Jack said. “But I already told him we’re going to New York and he didn’t say not to, not in so many words anyway.”

“So you think he’s going to let us go?” Daniel frowned. “I’ll check with him before we leave.” He paused for a moment. “Jack, is it possible Hammond is scared of you now?”

Jack paused too. “What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it like this; we’ve known you’re a dragon for the better part of the time the Stargate program has been running,” Daniel said. “But for him it’s always been theoretical knowledge because you never Changed on base. Also, we thought you were the last of your kind. Suddenly all these new dragons show up and we find out not only were we wrong, you’re basically the king. That means you’re even more powerful than we first thought.”

“Danny; yadda.”

“Okay, the point is, before all this you never would have killed those men. I think Hammond is just scared and doesn’t know how to deal with it.”

“I’m not toning it down, Danny.”

“And I’m not asking you to. I’m merely trying to point out exactly what could have happened to change General Hammond’s attitude towards you.”

“Damn.”

“You’ve always been willing to kill, Jack; it’s part of who you are. But that was just with human instincts and Hammond knew he could reason with you,” Daniel continued. “Now he’s seen the result of your dragon instincts, how you’ll react if someone you love is hurt or killed. I think he knows there’s no reasoning with a dragon.”

“I’m still me, Daniel,” Jack snapped. “None of this shit that’s happened has changed anything.”

“Not for us, but I think Hammond is still probably freaking out.” Daniel put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Not to mention you’ve got more demands on your time now than you ever did before.”

“Maybe I should just retire, Danny-boy.”

“Could you handle me going through the gate without you there?”

“You know the answer to that one.”

“We shouldn’t make this a rash decision is all I’m saying,” Daniel said. “I’m fascinated by the dragon world and want to know more, but I also want to be able to stay with the program because I know we can save lives here too. Besides, you’d go crazy just sitting around the house all day.”

Jack smiled. “I’d miss fewer hockey games and Simpsons’ episodes.”

“Fine, you’d drive me crazy just sitting around the house all day.”

“No I wouldn’t.”

“I know you, Jack; yes you would. Let me go and talk with Hammond. I’ll do what I do best.”

“My diplomat,” Jack smirked.

“I wouldn’t have to be a diplomat if you knew when to keep your mouth shut,” Daniel said. “I just hope I can salvage this situation before we both lose our jobs and you end up in jail.”

“I wouldn’t stay, Danny; it’d kill us both.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m hoping to prevent. I’ll meet you at the truck.”

He wasn’t sure when he first learned the truth about dragons, but he thought it was when he was a kid, because it always seemed he knew about them. While he wasn’t great at picking out dragons the years had given him practice and he’d noticed the two working in the crime lab. He figured it was their business and just stored the information away. Besides, he kinda liked that Ryan kid, and everyone in the NYPD knew, or knew of, Mac Taylor. He knew that the slightest hint of a problem in the lab would have Taylor all over it to solve everything himself, because the man had a sense of personal honor that could shame a saint.

Which was one reason some of the rumors he was hearing, not that people knew he heard them of course, worried him. He knew that dragons were only monsters in the sense of their general appearance and nothing else. Things they wouldn’t do far outnumbered things they would do when it came to police work and crime lab and victims. But he also knew they would do anything they had to in order to protect their families, and that included murder. He knew Peyton Driscoll’s death for exactly what it was, and didn’t blame Mac Taylor for what he had done.

But he didn’t want to see any of his own co-workers die. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but he finally decided he’d have to go and talk with the dragons and let them know what he’d been hearing. While not exactly the lesser of two evils, he figured it was probably the best place to start.
********************

Gibbs had Kate gag the kid to shut him up and took off once they had him strapped down in the back seat of the car. Gibbs knew of a nice wooded area not too far away that would not only work well for the interrogation, but give him space if he needed to Change.

The phone call from Miami worried him and Gibbs started to wonder why all these damn hunters were turning up now. One thing it meant was that they’d been spotted and recognized for what they were, and their locations were known. Quantico was probably the only safe community, and that was only because of how new they were.

“Kate, I want you to stay by the car,” Gibbs said as he pulled into a clearing. “I know you’re here to back me up, but I’m not planning on turning him loose before I kill him.”

“I just can’t get used to being so casual about murder,” Kate commented. “We’re supposed to be the good guys.”

Icy blue eyes gazed at her. “You got a problem with keeping our family safe, Agent Todd?”

“Of course not, Gibbs, and don’t give me that look. I’m just saying that this is a really strange feeling.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to keep you as safe and away from all of this as I can,” Gibbs said. “But we’re in a unique position here, and I’m going to need help from both you and McGee, even though you’re unbonded humans.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Kate protested.

“In a way it is; the community is supposed to handle things like this in secret, away from all of the unbonded humans attached to them,” Gibbs replied. “But with our community split between two major cities, we can’t always be there to help each other like we should. So that means a lot of crap falling on your head.”

“It’s the same for New York though.”

“Mostly; Mac has more problems with trying to do crap like this ‘cause he’s surrounded by cops.” Gibbs opened his door and climbed out. “Of course that doesn’t mean he can’t do this,” he continued grabbing Reed and pulling him out of the car. “He just doesn’t like to.”

Kate nodded. “I’ll stay here unless you look like you’re in trouble, Gibbs,” she said. She was shaken by the idea that the kid, who looked no more than nineteen was about to be murdered in front of her. Kate didn’t really know any of the New York community members well and, while she understood why it all had to be done, she didn’t know if she could do it. Now if it was her own team in danger there would be no problem at all.

Gibbs was happy to see that the clearing was dry, which meant no shoe prints left behind. Not that it would’ve mattered, he had crime scene booties over his shoes. He dropped Reed and bent down to remove the gag. “No biting,” he snapped smacking the kid on the cheek. “So I guess you know you’re in a lot of trouble, huh?”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“We know that, it was just the fastest way to get you down here,” Gibbs grinned. “See, the dragons you got up in New York are in my community. You know what that means.”

“You’re an alpha.”

“Bright boy, and you know what happens when an alpha gets upset because his community is hurt?”

“You show what a monster you are and kill people,” Reed spat. “I heard what you were saying in the car.”

Gibbs grinned. “Kid, I’m a Marine. I’ve done stuff in the service of this country that would make your hair curl,” he said. “This is a piece of cake compared to that, and I really don’t see the problem in killing someone who’s trying his damndest to kill me and my family. So, why’d you try and kill Mac?”

“He killed my mom.”

“And she would be….?”

“Claire Conrad.”

“Nope, never met her; we weren’t a community then,” Gibbs said. “But Mac told me what happened and he had absolutely nothing to do with her death. Those dirt bags that flew those planes into the Towers killed your mom. All she was doing was living her life, just like hundreds of others who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn’t fair, but hell, life ain’t fair. So you went to the city to find your mom and found dragons instead. Where were you raised?”

“Montana.”

Gibbs slapped Reed again. “Don’t lie to me, kid, I’ll know every time you do.” He shifted his weight a little. “So let’s try this again, where were you raised?”

“Chicago.”

“See how easy that was? How many hunters in your group?”

“I didn’t know. I don’t! My parents would go to meetings, but they always left me home,” Reed said. “They only taught me about dragons to keep me safe.”

“They really failed there, huh?” Gibbs snorted. “Especially because hunters have the wrong idea about us, and kill for no good reason.”

“Like you don’t.”

“I’m keeping my family safe,” Gibbs said. “They want to kill me to make money. You’re too young to understand the difference though. So you don’t know anything about any major attacks coming up?”

“Of course not, I just wanted to find my mom.”

“Then you sure went about it the wrong way. You’d better keep talking, Reed, unless you’re ready to die.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Let’s try something different then,” Gibbs said. “Did you just go to New York to find your mom?”

“No, I’m enrolled in school too.”

“Let me have your dorm information. We’ll clean it out for you. I’m sure there’s a poor family somewhere in the city with a kid your size.”

Reed struggled against his bindings. “How can you be so calm about this?” he demanded.

“I’m a bastard,” Gibbs grinned. “And I told you, I’ve done worse than this in my life.” He stood back and took out a gun. “Give me your room information and anything else you think might be important for us to know. Then I’ll make this quick.”

Kate shifted her gaze to the trees as Gibbs moved back further and pulled the trigger. She didn’t want to know where he’d got the gun or why he wasn’t worried about ballistics tracing it back to him. And she really didn’t want to see the kid die.

“He really didn’t know anything,” Gibbs commented as they drove off. “Which means we’re flying blind with a large group of hunters heading to Miami and maybe New York and DC too.”

“So what do we do now, Gibbs?”

“We start preparing for a fight,” Gibbs replied. “Just because we don’t know what’s coming doesn’t mean we’re going to be stupid about his. Jack should be in New York by now, and he’ll be able to help us start to plan.”

“This isn’t war, Gibbs,” Kate pointed out. “I know there’s a lot of Marines in these communities we’ve got, but you have to remember this isn’t a war.”

The icy blue eyes looked at her again. “Not yet, Kate,” he said. “But it could be at any minute, so that’s how we’re treating it. You got a problem, you just get out.”

She snorted. “Not thanks, Gibbs, I like breathing.”

--Unknown location--
Two large black dragons perched on a rocky ledge overlooking a lush green forest that tapered off into a river valley. Hidden in and amongst the trees was their home, inaccessible to almost everyone and removed from modern society completely. When they spoke, it was in Japanese.

“We’ll be traveling to America soon,” the slightly larger dragon said, his head sweeping back and forth; he was blind in one eye.

“I thought I saw Bane-san this morning,” the other said. “What news did he bring?”

“Our cousins won their tournaments and are going to the international tournament in America. The elders feel they’ll need guards.”

“What of the Inui brothers and Kai-san?”

“They’ll be going as well.”

“They’re fighters too; our cousins will be guarded well indeed.” The smaller dragon paused to resettle his wings. “What of Bane-san?”

“His team was defeated, so Bane-san will be joining us alone as one of the translators.”

“How many of us speak English, Ryoma?” the smaller dragon asked.

“Bane-san, cousin Inui, Tezuka, Fuji and Sanada,” Ryoma replied. “It will be enough.”

“When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning, Kou. Come, we need to tell our mates and prepare to leave. We’ll be gone a long time.”

“Is it just the four of us?” Kou asked.

“Yes, as you say, our cousins will be well guarded,” Ryoma replied. He spread his wings and took to the sky, circling down into the valley. Kou glanced around one last time and followed.
********************
--DC--

Gibbs was quiet when he got back to the yard and his team left him alone, all seeming to sense that he needed some time to think about something. But only Tony seemed to know exactly what that something was.

Once they had Faith settled for the night, Tony dragged Gibbs into their bedroom and pushed him onto the bed. “Talk to me, Jethro.”

“I kill him, Tony,” Gibbs said. “He was only a kid and I killed him for what he did to our family, what he represented.”

“You did what you had to do, Jethro; none of us expected you to feel good about it.” Tony stretched out next to his dragon and curled down a little so he could use his lover’s chest as a pillow. “We know that the hunters want us dead so they can butcher your corpse to make money and don’t seem to care who else they might hurt in the process. You’ve been in wars before, Tony.”

“Kate asked if this was really a war. I told her it’s building into one. But I will not have a war on American soil if I can prevent it,” Gibbs growled. “And I don’t care how many people I have to kill to keep this nation pure and secure.”

“Are dragons supposed to have mood swings?”

“Tony, the kid wasn’t lying to me about anything. He believed we were monsters, but he didn’t know anything about hunter plans. Maybe we could’ve changed his mind, but I acted like a monster and executed him.”

“He’d already put two members of our family in the hospital, and Mac’s never going to hear on his left side again,” Tony pointed out. “If Ryan wasn’t a dragon he’d be dead right now. As it is, that one bullet seriously crippled New York, and what was there to stop the kid from calling his parents and informing on us?”

“You’re right, Tony, and I know you’re right. I did what I had to do to protect my family, and I acted like a bastard to Kate, but that doesn’t mean I won’t feel guilty about it, or stop seeing his face any time soon. Now, fill me in on what happened while I was in the field with Kate.”

“Danny called; Jack and Daniel are in New York and have stepped in to help guard the others for another day or so,” Tony replied. “Ryan is out of the hospital, although I don’t know what story they used there to explain how quickly he recovered. Danny is with Adam and Mandy for the night so the doctors can operate on Mac’s ear to clean it out so he doesn’t get an infection.”

Gibbs glanced down. “Why’d they wait so long?”

“I don’t know, but I suspect that Mac refused until he knew everyone else would be safe, and that meant another dragon in town.” Tony sighed when his dragon’s fingers ran through his hair.

“You should grow this out and highlight it again,” Gibbs commented.

“But not neon blue?”

“NCIS agents do not have neon blue highlights in their hair.”

“Spoilsport. I’ll talk to Abs and get her advice,” Tony said. “Jethro, what’s up with the new director sniffing around you and trying to fire me?”

“She’ll fire you over my dead body,” Gibbs growled.

“Tell her that.”

“She keeps it up, I will.” Gibbs shifted a little. “Jen was once my senior field agent, Tony. We were on assignment overseas and ended up in bed together. Then she broke protocol and betrayed me.”

It was Tony’s turn to growl. “And this is the woman we’re supposed to trust with our lives?”

“Hell no, we regard any assignment from her as suspect,” Gibbs said. “We’ll need to have a team meeting here in the next day or two to let everyone else know what’s going on.”

“Abs and McGeek will be right there with us, which means Flack too,” Tony said. “But Kate and Ducky seem to like her.”

“Ducky likes everyone, Tony.”

“What about that guy you told me he pushed off that cliff?”

Gibbs grinned. “That guy got in his way.”

“I know I make it a point never to piss Ducky off,” Tony said.

“Duck knows what happened between me and Jen.”

Tony pushed up and stared down directly into Gibbs’ ice blue eyes. “And he still likes her?”

“Hell, I don’t know, Tony, but it sure seems like it.” Gibbs reached up and cradled Tony’s face in his hands. “But I do know if it comes down to picking sides when things get rough, Ducky’ll be with us no matter what.”

“How bad do you think things are going to get?”

“I wish I knew, Tony, especially now that we have Faith to worry about too. Miami is about to be overrun by hunters and Gil is doing everything he can not to ask for help because he knows we’ve all got our own problems right now.”

“And we can’t go down and help them. There’s no way short of a miracle that we’d be able to get down there.”

“We’ll go if we have to, Tony, and damn our jobs,” Gibbs said. “I know Mac and the others feel the same way.”

“The others, that’s it, Jethro,” Tony exclaimed. “What about Jack and Daniel? They have military training, he’s not an alpha in the traditional sense and they could get to Miami and help out there.”

A smile spread over Gibbs’ face. “Mac will be out of the hospital in a day or so, which still leaves us more than enough time to get out people in town before those dirt bags do.” He pulled Tony down and kissed him deeply, tongue moving easily over familiar territory. “You call Jack and I’ll call Gil. We’ll show those creeps we mean business.”

“We could offer to take Ray too.”

“It’s not just Ray, there’s another kid down there now and I don’t know if she’s allowed out of Miami, but I’ll offer,” Gibbs said. “Go, Tony, make the call.”

Tony kissed his dragon again, pressing in against him. Gibbs grabbed Tony and rolled them so he was on top and thrust down, pulling a groan from his human. “I want you too, Tony,” he whispered. “I need to feel you naked and writhing under me, hot and warm around me, but we need to make these calls first.”

“Hate it when you talk dirty,” Tony grumbled.

“No you don’t, Tony, you love it,” Gibbs grinned. “The faster you move, the faster I’ll slide inside you.”

Gibbs started laughing as Tony rolled and hopped off the bed as soon as he was free, sprinting out of the room. He knew that Tony was as serious about protecting their friends as he was, and just needed the proper incentive to get moving. He grabbed his own phone from the bedside table and called the Miami alpha. “Gil, it’s Gibbs. Tony had an idea.”

TWO WEEKS LATER

Mac was not a happy dragon. Because he was now completely deaf in his left ear he wasn’t allowed out into the field for any reason. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Stella to keep Danny safe; it was that he needed to be with Danny to know he was safe; to be able to see him and not worry.

*My offer stands to stay in the lab with you, Mac* Danny commented while they were working on some evidence in a suspected drug ring. *Adam passed the CSI exam and can go out in the field now*

*I know, Dan, and I know how much you enjoy lab work* Mac replied. He loaded a sample into the GCMS and leaned against the counter with a sigh. *It’s just that you’re one of the best CSIs in the lab and I hate to lose you in the field*

*Course I am, you trained me* Danny grinned. *Why don’t we try it for a couple of weeks? Hawkes can take Adam out on some simpler cases and I’ll stay in the lab and run tests*

*Why not* Mac said. *It’ll make things interesting at any rate* He glanced over at the door. “Yes, Stella?”

“Hey, Mac, there’s a couple here to see you named Garrett. They’re looking for their son, Reed.”

*Danny, call Gibbs and let him know* Mac said. *And stay as far away from my office as possible. I don’t want them to see anyone else in the community*

*I’ll spread the word. Good luck*

Mac made his way towards his office, Stella following along behind him, cursing his luck. He’d hoped he’d be able to keep his existence in New York a secret from the hunters for a while longer. Now it looked like the best thing he could do was pretend he was the only one in the city.

“Mr. and Mrs. Garrett; I’m Mac Taylor. What can I do for you?”

The couple stared at him for a long moment and Mac could almost see the dollar signs flashing in their eyes. “We’re looking for our son, Reed,” Mr. Garrett finally said. “We understood he’d found his biological mother and was planning to talk with her, and then that was the last we heard of him until we came to the city. His school contacted us and said some federal agents had cleaned out his dorm room.”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, sir,” Mac replied. “My wife Claire, Reed’s mother, was in the Towers when they fell. I don’t know who he believed was his mother, but he was wrong.”

“I’m so sorry for you loss,” Mrs. Garrett said. “Claire was always so full of life. It must be hard to have her gone.”

“It is,” Mac said. “Thank you.”

“And the federal agents?” Mr. Garrett asked.

“Reed shot one of my detectives and almost killed him,” Mac said. “We arrested him for that, but before we could question him his fingerprints linked him to a federal homicide investigation and we turned him over to them. That’s the last time I saw him.”

“That’s crazy, Reed wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Mr. Garrett exclaimed. “I want the name of the agent who took him.”

Mac sighed. “I’m afraid I was in the hospital myself at the time, so I don’t know,” he said. “Stella, would you be willing to call booking and find out?”

“Sure, Mac,” Stella replied. Mac could tell she was puzzled and dying to ask questions, but was also willing to follow his lead without hesitation �“ something he really appreciated.

“It’ll just be a minute,” Mac said. “Is there anything else I can do for you? I’m sorry Reed is missing, he seemed like a good kid right up until he pulled the gun.”

“Reed doesn’t know how to shoot a gun,” Mrs. Garrett said, “let alone own one.”

“Ma’am, as I said, I was in the hospital as well as a result of the shooting and don’t know a lot of the details,” Mac replied. “But he did have a gun and he did wound one of my detectives severely. Stella?”

“Flack.”

Mac nodded. “NCIS Special Agent Don Flack in Washington DC is the one who signed Reed out of our holding cells,” he said.

“There’s something fishy going on here,” Mr. Garrett said.

“Not at all,” Mac said. “Don Flack was an NYPD detective for several years before he was hired by NCIS. I’m afraid I’ve lost touch with him, but the desk at holding will have his contact information. And now, if that’s all, we’re in the middle of a fairly involved investigation.”

“This isn’t over, Detective Taylor.”

Mac smiled. “I appreciate the warning, Mr. Garrett,” he said. “Good luck finding your son.”

Stella waited until they were alone before she turned to Mac. “Okay, what the hell was that all about, Mac?” she demanded.

“They’re both dragon hunters, Stella,” Mac said. “So was Reed, although it turns out he was just brain-washed enough to be a danger without really knowing anything.”

“Past tense.”

“Yeah, Gibbs talked with him,” Mac said. “We’ve been expecting this, but were hoping that we could use you or Hawkes to talk with them. But now they know I’m here, and I’m about four million walking.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was; that’s the only reason they hunt us, Stella. Pure greed and lust for money.” Mac sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m going to be doing some schedule changes. Adam is going into the field and Danny is staying in the lab for the next few weeks.”

She smiled. “That’ll make Adam happy, and you too. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how cranky you are when Danny’s gone, or how quickly the two of you vanish when he comes back.”

“It’s hard, Stel,” Mac said. “I wish I could explain it to you in way that you would be able to understand, but I can’t. The need to protect Danny is so strong at times that it’s almost overwhelming.”

“No one is blaming you, Mac, and Adam really does want to go out into the field,” Stella smiled. “Are you going to partner him with me or Sheldon?”

“I want him with Hawkes for easy cases, but if you want him for anything over the next couple of days, then grab him,” Mac said. “I’ll put up the change officially on Monday.”

“Great,” Stella grinned. “I’ve got a scene that is probably linked to the drug case we’re all working on. And, as it looks like you’re about to have more company, I’ll go find Adam and get to work. See you in a bit.”

Mac looked his visitor over. The other detective looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in a few days, but considering his posting that wasn’t too surprising. “Detective Munch,” he said, “can I get you some coffee?”

“No, thanks,” Munch replied. “I’ve been debating this with myself for weeks, Taylor, and as much as I hate to do it, I’m going to sell out some of my friends.”

“That sounds serious,” Mac said. “Did you come to confess early?”

“Not like that; Taylor, I know the truth about what you are, what Wolfe is,” Munch said. “I like Wolfe and respect you for what you do with the crime lab. You’ve got some real enemies within the uniforms and detectives too. I’ve been listening to them talk for the last month, and things are about to come to a head. They’re planning your death.”

Mac bit back a sigh. He knew John Munch loved conspiracies, but he also knew he couldn’t take a chance on it. “Spell it out for me, please.”

Munch leaned forward and lowered his voice. “There are dragon hunters within the ranks of the NYPD,” he said. “They’ve noticed you, even if you haven’t noticed them, and they all want you and Wolfe dead. I doubt they even really care how many people from the lab they take out with you.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

“You don’t, and I don’t blame you for being suspicious after what happened with that kid.” Munch took out a piece of paper and handed it to Mac. “These are the names you want to watch out for. I’ll keep my ears open for you.”

“Why are you doing this?” Mac asked.

“Like I said, I like that Wolfe kid,” Munch replied. “And I don’t want to see any blood on an NYPD badge if I can prevent it.”

Mac caught and held Munch’s eyes. “How do you know I won’t just go out and kill every man named on here?”

“You’ve got too much personal honor for that. Catch you later, Taylor. Watch your back and keep an eye on your people. There’s something in the air, something bad, and it’s coming our way.”

Munch left and Mac was left with a piece of paper and the thought that Detective John Munch was stranger, and smarter, than anyone gave him credit for.

Stella and Adam paused in the door to their crime scene and looked around. The apartment was sparsely furnished, but full of odds and ends. “Well,” Stella finally said, “this is going to take a while. Where do you want to start, Adam?”

“I’ll take the bedroom,” he replied.

“Are you sure?” Stella asked.

“Yeah; if we split up we’ll be able to get done that much quicker and back to the lab. Then we can process all of the evidence and be a step closer to catching these guys.”

“Well said.” Stella turned and looked at the officer standing behind them. “The place is clear?”

“Yep,” he replied.

“All right then, let’s get to work,” Stella said.

“Call me if you need me,” Adam grinned and picked his way carefully into the bedroom. He put his kit down and looked around while pulling on gloves. There was something about the room that bugged him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He shrugged it off and went to work.
********************

Mandy looked up from the test she was running when Mac walked into the lab. “You look serious, Mac, is everything all right?”

“I had two known hunters in my office this morning,” Mac replied. “Reed Garrett’s parents are looking for him. And then I had a visit from one of the SVU detectives telling me there are hunters in the department plotting to kill us all.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me, but then again, I haven’t spent enough time around any of the officers to know for sure.”

“You can go out in the field in a year when you’re eighteen,” Mac said.

She smiled. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be unhappy about it. I’ve been studying for the CSI test.”

“That really doesn’t surprise me,” Mac sighed. “So what do you think we should do about these names Detective Munch gave me?”

“Send them along to Abby and ask her to check them through whatever system she’s using these days,” Mandy said. “Then it’ll be easy enough for Hawkes and Stella to look them over at crime scenes or cop hangouts. We just have to teach them what to look for.”

“I just hate to think anyone of the force would want to kill us.”

“Hey Danny,” Mandy said. “You know what they think of you, Mac. And it seems no cop is paid enough for the risks he takes these days.”

“That’s certainly true,” Danny agreed. “But there are legal ways to make more money.”

“Well said, Danny.”

“Danny, did you need something?” Mac asked.

“Other’n you, I just wanted to see if Manda-panda needed any help,” Danny grinned.

Mac choked trying not to laugh and started coughing. His human had only just created the new nickname for their young friend, and she hated it. He was still waiting for Mandy to come up with a nickname for Danny.

“I think I have everything under con…” Mandy broke off as her eyes fluttered closed and she fell forward.

Danny was closer than Mac and managed to catch Mandy before she hit the floor. “Mac, she ain’t breathing,” he exclaimed. “And there’s no heartbeat!”

“What the hell?” Mac pulled out his cell phone and called dispatch. “This is Detective Mac Taylor. I have a man down in the crime lab. I need EMS now.”

“Mac, where’s Adam?” Danny panted as he did CPR.

“Out in the field with Stella,” Mac replied.

“Call her.” Danny broke off for two breaths. “We can’t lose ‘em, Mac, we just can’t!”
********************

Stella had photographed everything in the living room, amazed at the sheer amount of crap that was lying around. She had no clue why anyone would need a record player with no arm and a glass coffee pot when there was no stand or heating device �“ hell not even any coffee �“ around. If she didn’t know better she would swear they’d stumbled onto a tweeker’s hangout. But it was really too clean for that.

She could hear Adam humming in the other room and figured that he had his iPod on. Adam always did work better with music than without it. And as long as he didn’t have both ears blocked while he was in the field, Mac didn’t care.

The glass coffee pot had just gone into an evidence bag �“ they were hoping for fingerprints �“ when a gunshot from the bedroom startled her. Stella dropped the bag, the pot shattering on impact, and pulled her gun. “Adam!” she called moving towards the room thinking hard. They were on the tenth floor and she didn’t remember if there was a fire escape on this side of the building or not. “Adam, answer me!”

“Back-up is on its way,” the officer said.

“You said the apartment was clear,” Stella snapped. “You’d better have one hell of a good excuse for this.”

They were interrupted by a wild looking man bursting into the room, gun in hand. Both Stella and the officer fired, dropping the suspect instantly.

“He could’ve come up the fire escape,” the officer said. He kicked the gun away from the suspect’s hand and knelt down. “He’s dead.”

Stella went carefully into the bedroom and quickly took in the scene. “There’s no escape in this window,” she said. “The bastard was in the closet the whole time.”

“What about your partner?” the officer asked. “Shouldn’t you be calling the medics?”

“No,” Stella sighed looking down at Adam. “He’s dead. You’re not only going to have to face IAB, you’ll have to talk with Mac Taylor as well.” She wiped tears out of her eyes with her sleeve. “I hope you can live with yourself, bastard.”
********************

The New York half of the community gathered at Mac and Danny’s apartment when their shift was over. “That officer is a dead man walking,” Mac growled his eyes glowing deep amber. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to him, but he’s going to have an accident here very soon.”

“How are we going to tell everyone else?” Ryan asked holding Lindsay closer. His human was crying steadily and had been since she heard the news. “Horatio and everyone.”

“I’ll tell them,” Mac said. “It’s my job and it’s my fault Adam was in the field in the first place.”

“Don’t start thinking like that, Mac,” Hawkes said. “You’ll tear yourself apart.” He passed a new box of tissues each to Lindsay and Stella.

“I’m the boss and the beta, Sheldon,” Mac said. “I know the fault ultimately lies with the creep who was too lazy to do his job, but I’m responsible for all of you.”

“We’ll take their books and stuff,” Ryan said. “Linds and I have the biggest apartment and we can store everything until the alphas and Jack work out what they want to do with it.”

“I’ll take some of it,” Hawkes said. “I think it’s likely they’ll have me, Abby, Nick, Greg and Daniel each pick an area to become an expert on and we’ll all end up with some of the books.”

“Her clothes should go to a shelter,” Stella said. “Adam’s too. You know they’d want to help others out if they could.”

“Except her leather jacket,” Lindsay managed. “I want that.”

Ryan handed Lindsay more tissues. “What do we know about the guy who shot Adam?” he asked. “And why was he packing that much fire power?”

“He was a known drug runner and dealer,” Danny replied. “I found a huge sheet when I ran his prints, and he shouldn’t have been able to get his hands on that gun. It’s illegal here in the states.”

“It must have come in on one of the drug shipments,” Stella said. “I thought it was just the bullet and close range that did the damage to Adam’s head.”

“Sid kept us all out of the morgue for Adam’s autopsy,” Ryan said. “It must have been really bad.”

“It was,” Stella said pulling more tissues out of the box. “I never want to see anything like this happen to a friend again. What can we do, Mac?”

“Let me talk with Gibbs first,” Mac said. “But it’s starting to look like Miami isn’t the only community about to go to war with the hunters.”

“We’ll win,” Danny said. He rested his head against Mac’s. “Because we’re smarter than they are.”

Hawkes looked over. “I hope you’re right, Danny,” he said seriously. “Because none of us is immortal.”

“Then we just have to out think our opponents,” Mac said. He cupped Danny’s head and repressed a shudder. He knew it was supposed to have been Danny in the field with Stella. “And I know we’ll all manage that.”

DC

Knowing exactly how bad his dragon was with technology, Tony had borrowed Gibbs’ cell phone one afternoon and programmed in a different ring tone for all the community members in all three communities. It worked out well because Gibbs never avoided a call when he heard that specific tone, no matter where he was or what he was doing. He left his phone with Tony when he had to do an interrogation. But that was the only time he was ever away from his phone.

Much to Jen’s mounting annoyance.

“Jethro, I am not going to tell you again, you are to enroll your daughter in a day care center,” Jen was saying. “This is not an appropriate place for her.”

“Is she causing a disturbance?” Gibbs asked, his ice blue eyes fixed on Jen’s face.

“Well, no, she’s actually well-behaved, but the point is that the NCIS bullpen is not the place for an infant,” Jen replied. “It’s unprofessional.”

Gibbs just looked at her for a long moment. The silence was broken by his cell phone. He pulled it out and flipped it open. “Yeah, Gibbs.”

“Jethro, I’m still talking to you!” Jen exclaimed.

“Annoying the boss again, huh Gibbs?” Danny chuckled. “Mac asked me to call. We got Reed Garrett’s parents in the lab looking for him.”

“Is that right?” Gibbs asked. “Who’s talking to them?”

“Mac, unfortunately,” Danny replied. “He’s ordered everyone else to stay away from his office until they’re gone. But I’m betting they’re going to be coming your way.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Gibbs said. “I’ll be ready for them. Thanks for the call.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Gibbs closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. “Family problem,” he said.

“Jethro, you don’t have any family,” Jen said. “So quit using that lie. I’m not going to fall for it.”

“You don’t know anything about me, Jen; you proved that a long time ago,” Gibbs said. “You also showed exactly where your loyalties lay. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ice blue eyes studied her face for a minute. “Yeah, yeah you do. And I’m not leaving Faith alone with strangers. It’s too dangerous.”

“Oh Jethro, you can’t blame yourself for Shannon and Kelly forever. You’ll have to let it go some…” She broke off when what looked like a flash of amber glow shot through his eyes. “What the hell was that?”

“What?” Gibbs asked softly.

“Your eyes started glowing,” Jen replied, voice shaking.

“That’s impossible. It was a trick of the light.” He forced himself to remain calm even though he was cursing himself for letting his control slip as badly as he had. If he was alone he would’ve smacked himself. “Now, if that’s all, I need to go check on something with Abby.”

“Jethro.”

Gibbs stood and walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the knob. “Oh yeah, don’t ever say their names again.”
********************

“Hey, bossman!” Abby exclaimed when Gibbs walked into the lab. “Reid just called from Quantico asking for advice. It turns out their computer expert has an uncle who was one of us, and Reid wanted to make sure it was okay to give out our contact info.”

Gibbs handed her a Caff-pow. “They trust him?”

“Her, and yeah.” Abby stared at the drink for a minute and then set it down with a sigh.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Abby said. “You’re gonna be a grandpa, Gibbs.”

It took Gibbs a minute to figure out what she was talking about and then swooped her up into a hug. “How long have you known?”

“About a week,” Abby said. “I went to the doctor to make sure. Don’s already getting daddy nerves, so we’ll be babysitting Faith a lot for a while.”

“You need anything, you tell me immediately,” Gibbs said. “I don’t care what it is.”

“Jethro, don’t you think you’re being a tad overly protective?” Ducky asked walking into the room.

“Nope,” Gibbs grinned. “Not when there’s a little Abby on the way.”

“Oh, Abby my dear, such wonderful news,” Ducky said. “Congratulations to you and young Don. You must be so excited.”

“You bet we are, Duck-man,” Abby said. “It also means Don and I want to get married in the next few months.”

“You should ask Gil if you could do it in Miami,” Gibbs said. “Combine business and pleasure.”

“Business?” Abby asked picking up on Gibbs’ tone of voice. “What’s going on, Gibbs?”

He nodded towards the back of the lab and led the way into Abby’s inner sanctum where it would be nearly impossible to sneak up on them. “I just got a call from New York. That little punk’s parents showed up earlier than we expected and have already seen Mac. It’s only a matter of time until they’re down here.”

“You know, Jethro, I’m still rather shocked at your actions there,” Ducky said. “It’s possible we might have been able to change his mind.”

“The kid was brainwashed, Duck,” Gibbs sighed. “I knew it as soon as I started talking to him. And there’s no way to reverse something like that without more time and effort than we have to spare right now. I feel bad about it, but I had to think of my family first. Because I knew the second that kid had the chance he’d be on the phone reporting what he’d found.”

“So what are we going to do?” Abby asked. “This is bad, especially with what’s happening in Miami right now. It seems like the hunters are ready to make a move, and if they find us they’ll totally find Quantico too.”

“Not if I can help it,” Gibbs growled. “Abs, you’ve already entered into all the records that the kid was cleared and released, right?”

“Done and done, bossman,” Abby said. “I’ve even managed to make some footage of an interview and him leaving the building, thanks to Mandy sending down some video footage of Reed from the holding cell in New York. His folks won’t believe any of it, but I thought it was something we needed to have.”

“The local cops won’t question us, but Jen will,” Gibbs said. “And she’s already pissed off with me.”

“Oh dear, Jethro, whatever did you do now?” Ducky asked with a sigh.

Gibbs glanced over at his oldest friend. “She wants Faith in a day care center surrounded by strangers, and potential threats.”

“She does have a point though, Jethro,” Ducky said. “What do you intend to do once Faith reaches school age?”

“It depends on the level of hunter activity,” Gibbs said. “Tony and I need to talk about it, but Faith is not going to be out of our sight when there’s such a threat hanging over our heads.”

Everyone paused when the outer door of the lab opened. Don and Tony, with Faith, came in. “Hey, Jethro,” Tony said. “She needs her dad, and the Madame upstairs is starting to look a little pissy.”

Gibbs took Faith and smiled down at her. “I’m actually glad you guys came down here,” he said. “Reed Garrett’s parents are in New York at the crime lab and there’s no doubt they’ll be coming here next. So that means we’ve got a choice to make; they’ve already seen Mac. Do we let them see Flack and me, or do we let Tony and McGee deal with them?”

“I ain’t got no military training or nothing,” Flack said, “but isn’t a surprise attack better than showing how many men you got in your army?”

“Danny did say that Mac had the rest of the community in hiding so the dirt bags wouldn’t know how many there actually are in New York,” Gibbs said. “Tony, you think you can handle this?”

“Yeah, but could I have Kate instead of probie?” Tony asked. “His face still flinches whenever I lie about something.”

“I know it does,” Gibbs grinned.

“Oh, Jethro,” Tony sighed.

“I’m kidding, Tony; I don’t need something so obvious to tell when you’re lying,” Gibbs said. “I’ll talk with Kate and see if she’s up to it. And call New York and fill Mac in on our plans.”

“You think he’ll go for it?” Flack asked.

“If he doesn’t, we’ll come up with something new,” Gibbs said. “But we’ve only got 24 hours to do this. I have a feeling we’ll have two known hunters in DC by this time tomorrow.”

“Then we should get to work,” Tony smiled.

A new case prevented Gibbs’ call to Mac until the evening. The days were starting to become more frequent when Gibbs really envied Grissom down in Miami; he didn’t have a job to interfere with running his community. While he didn’t know if he could stand for Tony to go off to work every day without him, even with Flack there to keep the humans safe, he could stand to retire and focus on the community. And he would be able to home school Faith as well. Gibbs knew that he would have to let her out of his sight some day, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

His phone rang just as he reached for it to call Mac, the ring tone indicating a community member. “Yeah, Gibbs.”

“It’s Mac.”

“What the hell happened? You sound like you’ve aged ten years,” Gibbs said.

“Adam and Amanda are dead,” Mac said.

“What?” Gibbs’ legs gave out and he more or less fell into his favorite chair. “How?”

“Adam passed the CSI exam and has been asking me to go out in the field,” Mac started. “It’s been so hard for me to let Danny out without me, so he offered to stay in the lab and process evidence so Adam could get some field time. I finally agreed today and let Adam go out with Stella.”

“And this was after the hunters paid you a visit?” Gibbs asked.

“Yeah, but they didn’t have anything to do with it,” Mac replied. “We’re trying to break open and drug ring and the latest crime scene wasn’t cleared correctly by the uniform on duty. I don’t know all the details, but Adam was in the bedroom processing evidence when one of the drug runners shot him in the head. It meloned, Gibbs. Adam died instantly.”

“And Mandy?”

“She was processing evidence in the lab,” Mac said. “Danny and I were with her and tried everything we could. But with Adam gone it was no good. They’re gone, Gibbs.”

“The uniform?”

“He’s going to have a nasty accident very soon,” Mac growled. “Possibly before IAB can do much more with him. The others finally convinced me to let them help with phone calls, so Ryan is talking to Miami and Danny is calling Quantico to let them know.”

“I trust you to take care of this,” Gibbs said. “Let me know how it turns out. No one hurts one of ours and gets away with it.”

Mac sighed. “That’s the other thing I need to tell you about,” he said. “I’m sending a list of names to Abby. According to one of our detectives these are all hunters who have it in for me and Ryan.”

“We’ll check it out. How did things go with the hunter couple?”

“They’re heading your way and they’re pissed. Apparently young Reed never owned a gun, let alone learned how to shoot one.”

“Yeah, and pigs fly,” Gibbs snorted. “We were talking about this today and I want Tony and one of the other humans to talk with these dirt bags.”

“Hide our strength; how very sneaky of you, Gibbs,” Mac said. “But you know they’ll demand to see Flack.”

Gibbs grinned. “I got that taken care of,” he said. “Thanks to a little Abby magic. I’ll let you know how things turn out. How’s everyone holding up?”

“Lindsay’s a mess,” Mac said. “And Stella isn’t much better. Ryan’s being strong for Lindsay, but I can tell he’s really shaken up too. Hawkes is about as emotional as he ever gets; he’s offered to take over a lot of Amanda’s studies to help us out.”

“You and Danny?”

Mac was quiet for a moment. “It was supposed to be Danny in the field with Stella,” he finally said softly. “I don’t know if anyone else has realized this though. And I feel responsible because I’m the one who sent Adam out in the first place.”

“And you hate yourself because you feel relieved it wasn’t Danny who was killed,” Gibbs finished. “I’ve been right where you are, Mac. It sounds like you’re dealing as best you can. What can we do to help out?”

“I honestly don’t know. We’re going to clean out their apartments over the next few days. Ryan and Lindsay are going to take everything community related for now. We’ll have to have a meeting to distribute the books and things Amanda collected among the new historians. Their clothes, furniture and anything else still useable is going to a couple of shelters �“ Lindsay is going to take care of that.”

“What about their funeral or memorial service?”

“I don’t know,” Mac said. He sounded so weary that Gibbs started to get worried. “We’ll have to do something for them within the communities. I don’t even know if we should try and contact her family.”

“I think we have to, even if they don’t care,” Gibbs said. “But it might be a good idea to have one of the humans make that phone call, so we don’t end up saying something we shouldn’t.”

Mac sighed again. “I thought we should have them cremated and scatter some of the ashes in each city.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gibbs agreed. “In fact, why don’t we talk with the others and make it a rule for all the communities?”

“Yeah,” Mac said.

“You gonna hold together for me, Mac?”

“Actually, Danny and I were talking,” Mac said. “We’re going down to Miami for the weekend. There’s a tennis tournament going on and we can help the group down there. Stella’s going to handle the lab, and Ryan can take care of Lindsay if they go out into the field.”

“What about that list?” Gibbs asked.

“Stel has a copy of it and she won’t let Ryan or Lindsay near one of the officers or detectives until we hear back from Abby and get a chance to check them all out. We’re going to war, Gibbs, whether we like it or not. The question is, how many lives can we save?”

“The first war on American soil in over a hundred years,” Gibbs sighed. “And we’re fighting an enemy who is far better supplied than we are. Did you ever think you’d live to see this day, Mac?”

“I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with some way to stop this, to stop what could quite possibly lead to innocent deaths in all three cities,” Mac said. “And I got nothing. I can’t think of a single thing that we can do short of outright murder.”

“And we don’t want to do that because it’s too risky for the communities,” Gibbs said. “I’m not worried that the Garrett crime scene will link back to me because I was careful and left nothing behind. But if we have to kill the number I’m thinking we have against us, one of us will eventually make a mistake. Not to mention the problem of all the dead bodies and psychological damage to our families.”

“Even with all the military experience we have among us. What have you heard from Grissom?”

“They’ve been arresting the spook hunters for whatever they can,” Gibbs replied. “And shipping them back to states with outstanding warrants. But if we’ve got hunters working as cops or other legitimate and legal jobs then that won’t work either.”

Mac groaned. “Honestly, Gibbs, my biggest concern isn’t exposure, but innocents being killed to get to us,” he said. “Not our humans or children, but innocents.”

“There will be no collateral damage,” Gibbs vowed. “We cannot allow anyone other than those dirt bags hunting us to die.”

“How are we going to stop it? From what our new friend was saying these hunters in the NYPD don’t give a damn if they kill others as long as they get Ryan and me.”

“It’s probably the same all over,” Gibbs said. “And that’s just one more reason these monsters need to die.”

“Which just brings us full circle back to how,” Mac said. “Maybe we need and alpha and beta meeting.”

“Except that none of us can leave our cities right now, and adding more dragons to Miami will only make things difficult,” Gibbs said. “We’re not handing ourselves over on a plate, Mac.”

“I suppose there’s always Pax Draconis,” Mac said. “We could all hop up there in the next few nights and talk things over. Didn’t Horatio teach our newest alpha and Jack how to make the trip?”

“Why don’t we plan on tomorrow night unless something comes up?” Gibbs asked. “I’ll make the calls to Eppes and Gil. Jack’s still in Miami, isn’t he?”

“Last I heard,” Mac replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow night unless I get a call.”

“Take care of yourself, Mac.”

“You too.”

Gibbs sat and stared at his phone for a long moment and then, wiping tears from his eyes, started calling his community to let them know Adam and Mandy were gone forever.

“Where’s Flack?”

Gibbs looked up from his computer. “He’s in the field, Jen.”

“When is he going to be back?”

“Don’t know.”

Jen sighed. She was really getting tired of mostly single syllable answers from Gibbs. “What do you know about a young man named Reed Garrett? Apparently we had him transferred out of New York City.”

“He was a suspect in a case,” Gibbs said. “Flack brought him down, Tony questioned him and we cut him loose. It turned out he wasn’t our guy.”

“But you had fingerprint evidence linking him to your case?”

“He had a reason for the prints to be there; we checked his alibi and let him walk. The wife was the guilty party all along.”

“Then what happened?”

“We let him walk,” Gibbs repeated.

“He’s missing,” Jen said. “His parents called looking for him. And since it sounds like you were the last one to see him, you’re going to talk with them.”

“Tony and Kate conducted the interrogation,” Gibbs said. “I was in the field with McGee interviewing suspects and possible witnesses.”

“Then send them.”

Gibbs looked back at her slowly. “We’re in the middle of an investigation. Tell them if they want to talk with Tony then they can come here.”

“That was an order, Jethro.”

“I’ve got two dead Marines and three dead children,” Gibbs said fighting to stay in control of his emotions. “I’m sorry the kid is missing, but this case is more important.”

“You’re inhumane.”

“I learned from the best.”
********************

“How’s it going, Abby?” Gibbs asked as he walked into the lab. He handed her a cup of mint tea.

“Aw, Gibbs, you shouldn’t have,” Abby smiled. “It’s going like wicked slow, but I think I found something. Did you know that dirt isn’t just dirt?”

“Abby.”

“No, hear me out, Gibbs. The dirt you see in any given place is unique to that spot. Dirt in a nearby area will be similar, sometimes so much that it looks exactly the same, but if you’re good then you can tell dirt apart from other dirt.”

“So you’re telling me that you found some strange dirt in our crime scene evidence.”

“Bing, bing, bing; you win, Gibbs,” Abby grinned. “And not just any strange dirt. This mystery dirt has traces of explosives in it.”

“Are we talking military grade or fertilizer?” Gibbs asked. “Because our victims worked in the motor pool and rode a desk.”

Abby picked up a printout and handed it to him with a smile. “Here’s where you find the joy that is science, Gibbs,” she said. “It’s fertilizer and a very rich soil; from a veggie garden.”

“Brown’s mother has a garden,” Gibbs said. “If I got you a soil sample would you be able to match it up?”

“Of course, but you think the wife’s mother killed everyone?” Abby asked.

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Gibbs replied. He kissed the top of her head. “The hunters are on their way, Abs. Faith and I will be with Ducky in case they want to see those evidence tapes.”

She nodded. “We’ll make it work.”

“Yep, we will,” Gibbs grinned.
********************

Tony was typing up part of his report when he heard Jen talking with someone near the elevator. He sighed and saved his work before logging off of his computer. It was time to see how good of an actor he actually was.

“DiNozzo?” Jen called.

“Yes?”

“This is Mr. and Mrs. Garrett; I believe you were the one who interviewed their son, Reed. They have some questions for you. Why don’t you go into the break room?”

“Sure,” Tony agreed. He picked up his coffee mug and stood. “Follow me.”

He could feel their eyes on him as he led the way back under the stairs and into the break room. Tony knew there was no way to mark him as a bonded human, but that didn’t mean he had to like being in the same room with a pair of people who would kill his family for money. But he slipped easily into one of his masks and gave the Garrett’s a warm smile. “Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thank you,” Mr. Garrett said. “You’re the one who questioned Reed?”

“Yes sir, I was,” Tony said. He filled his mug and sat down opposite the couple. “We were investigating the murder of a midshipman home on leave and when Reed was arrested in New York his fingerprints were loaded into the system and we were notified of a match to our case.”

“So why didn’t you fly up to get him?” Mr. Garrett asked.

“Because I’m the senior agent on my team and was needed here,” Tony replied easily. He sipped his coffee. “My boss sent Flack because he’s the newest team member, but also because he used to work for the NYPD and would be more than just a federal agent to them.”

“But why would you suspect Reed in the first place?” Mrs. Garrett asked.

“We found his fingerprints in several key locations at the crime scene,” Tony said. “But when I talked to him he told me he’d been to a part there over the weekend. When it turned out he’d been at a newspaper club orientation at his school when the actual crime was committed, we released him.”

“Do you know how he was going to get back to school?” Mrs. Garrett asked.

Tony thought for a minute. “I think he mentioned meeting up with a friend of his and driving back,” he finally said. “I offered him bus fare, but he said he was okay.”

“I didn’t know he had any friends in DC.”

“Sir, he was here for that party,” Tony said. “Maybe he met someone there.”

“So what about his school calling to tell us that some federal agents cleaned out Reed’s dorm?” Mr. Garrett asked.

“I’m sorry?” Tony said.

“When Reed’s school called to inform us he’s missing, they also told us that a group of federal agents cleaned out his dorm room.”

“I really am sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony said. “Was the school able to tell you names or an agency?”

“No.”

Tony sighed. “Mr. Garrett, they weren’t real federal agents,” he said. “We’re required by law to introduce ourselves and give our agency name any time we interact with the public in a professional capacity. I think your best move now would be to consult with the local police and let them know what’s happened.”

“Reed’s a good boy,” Mrs. Garrett said.

“I’m sure he is, ma’am,” Tony agreed. “And I’m really sorry I can’t help you more than this. I wish I could. But the last I saw of Reed was when I left him at the checkout point at the front door.”

“Will the local police help us?” Mr. Garrett asked. “I’ve heard lots of stories about how they treat missing person cases.”

“They’ll do the best they can,” Tony replied. “Reed’s been missing for more than a day and he’s not a run away, which is where most of the delays and stories come from. But if he really did get into a car with someone and it wasn’t someone he knew well, then there will be some problems tracking him down. The best thing you could do to help out is make a list of everyone he knows on the east coast for the police.”

“And you’ll tell them what you know?” Mrs. Garrett asked. “More than you’ve told us?”

“Yes ma’am, I can give them the list of names from the party,” Tony replied. “That’s information I can’t disclose to the general public.”

Mr. Garrett nodded. “We understand; thanks for all your help, Agent DiNozzo.”

“I wish I could’ve told you more,” Tony smiled. “I’ll show you out.”
********************

“How’d it go?” Abby asked when Gibbs and Tony joined her and Flack in the lab.

“I sent them to the locals,” Tony replied. “But if I hadn’t known what they are and what to look for, I would’ve seen them as really concerned parents trying to find their kid.”

“Which is why I’m really super glad Mandy found that information for us.” Abby paused for a minute to compose herself, blinking hard. “What did they have, Tony?”

“The guy had a necklace with a fang in it,” Tony replied. “If I didn’t know better I’d have said it was a fossil, and that’s probably how he explains it to people. His wife had a matching bracelet and necklace of scales. I couldn’t tell the age, but I’d guess it’s been in her family a while. I’m glad I had a tie on, otherwise they might have noticed my necklace with the scale in it and then we would’ve been in trouble.”

“So right now they only know about Mac,” Gibbs said. “Which means we should be able to take care of this problem ourselves.”

Flack glanced over. “That’s assuming they don’t talk to these guys Mac was warned about. And we still don’t know if I’m on that hit list too. If they’re in the NYPD there’s no way one of ‘em didn’t see me at some point.”

“Do we need to assume you’re the only one they don’t know about, Jethro?” Tony asked.

“Based off of Miami we should expect a swarm if they do know about Donnie,” Abby added. “Even with these guys in uniform, they’ll still have to send in a group of warriors.”

“I do not want to underestimate these guys, but we’re in a lot of trouble if the four of us have to take on seventy hunters,” Gibbs said.

“Not to mention we’re spread out over two cities,” Flack pointed out. “So is it seventy total or per city?”

“This is giving me a headache,” Gibbs grumbled. “Abby, keep running those names Mac sent you and let me know immediately if anything comes up that we can use against them. I’ve got that meeting tonight and will see what we can work out. Can you guys keep Faith?”

“Sure,” Flack said. “It’s kinda creepy when you go all out of body.”

Tony grinned. “It just shows how important it is if Jethro and I are both going.”

“I haven’t heard anything from Miami recently,” Abby said. “Do we know how they’re doing?”

“Gil says they’re hanging in there,” Gibbs replied. “But I’m sure I’ll find out more tonight. The only thing I know for sure is that no one else has died.”

“Will we be able to keep it that way, Gibbs?” Abby asked. “Can we really keep everyone else alive?”

“I’ll find a way,” Gibbs promised mentally smacking himself. None of his DC community had experienced war first hand to know how unpredictable it actually was.

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