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Sid double checked his results again with a sigh. Something large had hit Peyton at some point before she died and based on the bruise he’d found with the ultra-violet light it had been powerful enough to kill her and yet hadn’t. The thing bothering him was that it wasn’t a metal pipe, it wasn’t a baseball bat, hell; it wasn’t anything that he could think of and it was driving him nuts. He sighed again because he really couldn’t even put a time on when the wound had occurred because of all the damage from the fall. The sound of the doors opening made him look up. “Stella,” he said with a smile. “I hope you have some good news for me because this is just a puzzle that effuses to be solved.”
 
“Actually it’s all pretty bleak at this point, Sid,” Stella replied. “Everything I’ve found on scene points to a suicide. But it just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
 
“Stella, you know that suicide rarely makes sense to those that are left behind to pick up the pieces and move on,” Sid said. “All I can tell you is that Peyton received a blow to the chest from something prior to her death. I cannot tell you how recent the injury is but it hadn’t started to show on the skin. The blow did not contribute to her death in any way although if she hadn’t jumped off the roof she would have had to go to the hospital.”
 
“We’re missing something,” Stella said. “I just can’t figure out what it is. Thanks, Sid; I’m going to go talk with Mac and see what he wants me to do next.”
 
“Will you let me know if anything else turns up?” Sid asked. “Peyton was a friend.”
 
“Sure will,” Stella said.
********************
 
“Hey Mac, got a minute?” Stella asked.
 
“Sure, come in and close the door,” Mac replied. “What can I do for you Stella?”
 
“This case with Peyton is driving me crazy,” Stella said as she sank into one of the chairs in Mac’s office. “I just came from the morgue and Sid says that the autopsy points to suicide and so does every piece of evidence I turned up at the scene. This is a cut and dried case.”
 
“Then what’s the problem?”
 
Stella sighed and pinned Mac with a glare. “I knew Peyton and I know how she felt about suicide,” she said. “And she was totally against it. I just can’t wrap my mind around the idea of her consciously choosing to take her own life by leaping off a building like this.”
 
“How much time had you spent with Peyton since her return?” Mac asked leaning back in his chair.
 
“Not much,” Stella replied. “Why does that matter?”
 
“She was chasing me again, Stel,” Mac said. “I went out to dinner with her and I was stunned at the changes she’d gone through. Peyton wasn’t the same woman that left us a few years ago.”
 
“What happened to her?”
 
“I don’t know,” Mac sighed. “I really don’t but she was different and it scared me. Danny and Abby showed up at the same restaurant and Peyton tore into Abby without knowing anything about her other than how she was dressed seeing her across the room. The woman I knew would never have done that. Did you get a chance to go to her apartment yet?”
 
“No I haven’t,” Stella said. “That was my plan for today.”
 
“I got a call from the feds,” Mac started.
 
“Don’t tell me they’ve already been through Peyton’s apartment!” Stella exclaimed. “What the hell were they looking for?”
 
“Considering it was Gibbs who let me know they were investigating Peyton but he didn’t give me any details,” Mac said. “I don’t know what’s left of her apartment but you might be able to find some answers there.”
 
Stella shook her head. “I’ll go and look around but after they’ve been through there kinda kills any chance of finding a clean crime scene,” she said. “But I do have another question for you.”
 
“What you saw the other day,” Mac said. “Stella, I can’t explain it to you. I wish I could but it would just place your life in danger and I refuse to do that. I will not knowingly put a member of my family into harm’s way if I can still protect them. I ask that you trust me that I’m fine and I won’t allow my control to slip like that again.”
 
“Mac, your eyes were glowing,” Stella said. “I don’t know how you expect me to just forget something like that.”
 
“I don’t,” Mac said seriously. “I just ask that, as a friend, you don’t go looking for answers. And keep this locked deep inside because your quest could be dangerous. Just pretend it didn’t happen, Stel. It’s the best thing for all of us.”
 
“Are you in danger?” Stella asked just as seriously.
 
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Mac replied. “Stella, go work your case. I’ll talk with my friends and see if there’s anything else I can tell you but right now please just trust me.”
 
“I wouldn’t work with you if I didn’t,” Stella said.
********************
 
“Lindsay,” Ryan called. “I found something that might help lead us to our missing teenager.”
 
“What?” Lindsay asked. “That case has been eating at me. I keep hoping my phone will ring and Abby will have some news for us on the computer she took back to DC to work on.”
 
Ryan grinned. “It turns out there’s an internet porn site that pays big bucks for videos of young girls,” he said. “And it looks like someone was posting the videos of our victim on the page. So I think our next step should be to check the parents’ financial statements and see if they’ve been getting money from strange sources.”
 
“I need one of you to come help me at Peyton’s apartment,” Stella said as she joined the pair.
 
“I’ll go,” Lindsay said. “This is your lead, Ryan; you should run it down and see where it takes you.”
 
“Okay, I’ll give you a call though,” Ryan smiled. “It’s our case.”
********************
 
Sheldon Hawkes wasn’t surprised when he got a call from Mandy asking for his help but when he saw the books stacked around her place he had to admit he was a little taken aback. “Where did all these come from?”
 
“This is going to be complicated,” Mandy replied. “Can you just take it on faith that it’s a community problem at the moment and we need to make sense of what’s in these as soon as we possible can?”
 
“I trust you, Mandy,” Sheldon said. “And I trust Mac. I assume he knows I’m here.”
 
“Yeah, although he’d like to know how you know so much about dragons.”
 
Hawkes grinned. “My roommate at college and through my first year of med. school,” he said. “He was an unchanged dragon who was actually killed in a car accident and left all his books to me. I never knew why until I found out that he had no family left and he wanted to make sure they were in the right hands. I still feel honored with the trust he put in me to guard those books.”
 
“I’d like to see them,” Mandy said. “Because I’m fast becoming the historian and researcher for two communities. But after we get through all of this because it’s a major project and there’s a meeting next month that I’m going to have to have some answers for Gibbs and the other dragons.”
 
“Gibbs strikes me as a man who doesn’t like to wait,” Sheldon commented as he opened the nearest box. “Have you started sorting these out yet?”
 
“He is and I haven’t,” Mandy said. “I was thinking about piles for books, binders, notebooks, and the computer stuff. And then we could try to get it into a basic order before we start reading through it.”
 
“I’d recommend reading the notes and binders first, followed by the computer and then the books last,” Hawkes said. “Because anything important is going to be noted down somewhere and we can use the books for later reference.”
 
“Sounds like a plan,” Mandy said. “Are you okay to be working on this? Mac told me you got hit on the head.”
 
“I’m fine,” Sheldon grinned. “Mac’s just a worried mother hen.”
 
Mandy laughed. “Oh I’m so telling him you said that.”

Mac leaned into the lab where Ryan was working. “Ryan,” he said. “I hate to do this to you but there are a couple of detectives who want to talk with you about the missing teen you’re working on.”
 
“What’s going on, Mac?” Ryan asked.
 
“This is John Munch from the Special Victims Unit,” Mac said. “He heard what you were working on and wants to talk to you about her. It seems this isn’t the first young lady to vanish like this.”
 
“How you doing, kid?” Munch asked as he looked around the lab.
 
“Fine, what can I do for you?”
 
“Just walk me through what you have so far,” Munch said. “I’d like to get the parents who are using their kids like this and get ‘em good. Think you can help me out with that?”
 
Ryan grinned. “I think so,” he said. “But we need to make one phone call.”
 
“I’ll do it, Ryan,” Mac said. “I was going to check in with Abby today anyway. I’ll let you know what she says.”
 
“Okay, thanks Mac,” Ryan said.
********************
 
Stella looked around the barren apartment and sighed. “There are days I really hate the feds,” she said. “Can you make heads or tails out of what they took, Lindsay?”
 
“Nope,” Lindsay replied. “But there are a lot of book shelves in here so I would guess that Peyton had a lot of books. That doesn’t make any sense though, why would the feds want her books.”
 
“Who knows why the feds do anything,” Stella said. “You haven’t had the dubious pleasure of meeting NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs yet have you?”
 
“I don’t think so,” Lindsay said.
 
“He’s actually become a close friend with Mac; they’re both Marines,” Stella said. “But I just don’t like him. We were working on a crime scene with them and he told one of his agents to do something and then barked at him a minute later when Tony didn’t have it done. The crazy thing is that Tony defended Gibbs.”
 
Lindsay shook her head. “The world takes all types, Stella,” she said. “But what does this Gibbs have to do with all of this.”
 
“That’s the odd thing; Mac told me that Gibbs told him they were searching the apartment,” Stella said. “So that means that anything they took related to the military because the “N” in NCIS stands for Naval. It doesn’t make any sense.”
 
“Well actually it does,” Lindsay reasoned. “Peyton could have chosen to end her own life rather than let the feds catch up to her. With everything missing we’ll never know.”
 
“But everything isn’t missing,” Stella said. She looked up from the kitchen drawer she was looking through. “I’ve got bills and other paperwork here. Why would they leave something like that behind?”
 
“It gives us something to work with but I think we’re going to find that Peyton just couldn’t live with herself and chose her own death,” Lindsay said. “And as much as it hurts her friends that were left behind you might just have to accept that.”
 
“You’re right,” Stella said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
 
“I’m around if you want to talk, Stel.”
 
Stella smiled. “Thanks Lindsay.”
********************
 
Gibbs rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow. There were days he still couldn’t believe that he was lucky enough to have Tony in his life. And days he was scared that, despite their bond, he was going to be enough of a bastard to scare the younger human away. Gibbs knew that he was bad at relationships but being with Tony was so easy that it seemed almost magical. They just worked well together; balanced each other out and he thought again how lucky he was.
 
He blinked and realized that Tony was staring up at him. “You got a problem, DiNozzo?” he asked mildly.
 
“No but I think you do, Jethro,” he replied just as mildly. “You’ve got a director ordered day off and nothing to do. This is why you should take more vacations, boss; then you wouldn’t be ordered out of the building and threatened if Morrow sees you before Monday.”
 
“Who says I have nothing to do?” Gibbs asked. He rolled over and pinned Tony to the bed.
 
“I think the director is expecting me today, Gibbs,” Tony said. He shifted around and wrapped his legs around his dragon’s hips. “But I could play hooky.”
 
“My agents do not play hooky, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said firmly. “My agents call in sick or take a personal day if they don’t want to go in to work.”
 
Tony grinned and handed the lube to his dragon. “Is that a hint, boss?”
 
“Consider it an order.” Gibbs leaned down and kissed Tony, his tongue snaking out to lap at Tony’s lips. “Effective immediately, if not sooner.”
 
“Yes boss.”
********************
 
Hawkes looked up from the book he was reading and grinned. Mandy was half-hidden behind two stacks of books and muttering to herself about idiots who didn’t have the sense to put copyright dates in books.
 
“Is everything okay over there, Mandy?” he finally asked.
 
“It’s just that I’ve been trying to figure out when and where these books were published and I can’t,” she replied. “There’s no publishing information in any of them so I can’t say how old they are or where Driscoll might have come by them.”
 
“Just one more mystery to solve,” Hawkes said. “But it’s probably a good thing Tony and Don got these out of her apartment before Stella showed up. She’s already suspicious about Mac and this would only add fuel to the fire.”
 
“But did they ultimately do the right thing?” Mandy asked. “I can’t say I liked her but I didn’t wish her dead. I’m happy for all the information, as faulty as most of it is, but how we came by it doesn’t sit well with me.”
 
“That’s because you have a good heart,” Hawkes said. “And, as I doctor, I can say that without reservations. But you also need to look at it from the view of your community. If she had managed to kill Danny we’d have lost Mac as well and none of us want that to happen. I’m not saying its right to take a life but there are times when the decision has to be weighed. Cops do that all the time and I know it never sits easy with them. Talk this over with Mac when you have a chance and see what he has to say.”
 
“He always has the answers doesn’t he?”
 
“It seems like it,” Hawkes grinned. “Now come and take a look at this. It’s a diagram of the dragon’s anatomy and it’s fascinating.”
********************
 
Mac looked up when Stella tapped on the door to his office. “What can I do for you?” he asked.
 
“I can come back if you’re busy,” Stella said looking between Mac and Danny.
 
“I’m just waiting for Mac to finish up his paperwork for the night,” Danny said. “I’ll go see what’s going on in trace, Mac.”
 
“No, Danny, please stay,” Stella said. “This concerns you too, in a way.”
 
Danny sank back on the sofa and glanced at his dragon. *Think she’s finished her investigation*
 
*Probably* Mac replied. *I wonder what Tony and Don left at the apartment for her to work with*
 
“Lindsay and I figured out that the feds took books, electronics and other items that had been stored on the bookshelves. What they left behind were financial records and other travel information,” Stella said. “I think Peyton got into something bad and was in trouble, Mac. What exactly did Gibbs tell you?”
 
“Nothing,” Mac said. “He just wanted to let me know they’d be involved in one of our crime scenes.”
 
“Lindsay said, and I agree with her, that Peyton chose how she died,” Stella said. “I can’t imagine what she must have gone through to make her want to leap off a building like she did but I think the only thing we can do, at this point, is respect her choices and close the case. What do you think, Mac?”
 
“Something about her had changed, Stella,” Mac said. “And if she was in some kind of trouble its possible she didn’t think she could talk to any of us about it because we wouldn’t understand what she was going through.”
 
“I think you’re right,” Stella sighed. “Does she have any family?”
 
“In England,” Mac said. “I put in the call yesterday and they’re making arrangements to have the body shipped home. I know it’s hard, Stella, and if you want to talk about this let me know.”
 
“That’s what Lindsay said,” Stella said. “I’ll keep it in mind. Danny, I am glad she didn’t do anything crazy when she hit you on the head in the original crime scene. And if you see Hawkes before I do, will you let him know I’m glad that you’re both okay?”
 
Danny grinned. “Sure will, Stella,” he said. “I guess it’s a good thing I have such a hard head.”
 
“That’s still under debate,” Mac said with a fond glance at his human. “Stella, there’s a detective from SVU in the A/V lab with Ryan. Could you check in on them please? It looks like the case we pulled on that possible kidnap has turned into a case of child porn and they’re interested in it.”
 
“Sure will, Mac,” Stella said. “Does this mean you’re actually leaving on time tonight?”
 
“I have a dinner date,” Mac said.
 
“That’s good, Mac,” Stella winked at him. “You need a chance to live a little.”

*Why do empty warehouses give me the creeps* Danny asked his dragon as they followed Ryan and Lindsay into the dimly lit building.
 
*We’re all on edge right now* Mac replied. *I don’t smell anything strange or wrong in here, Danny. They’ve cleared the building for us.* He looked around at his small team. “Okay, Ryan and Lindsay check the storage area,” Mac said aloud. “Danny, you’re with me.”
 
“I hope this ends the case,” Ryan commented as he followed Lindsay towards the far wall. “I hope these kids are safe.”
 
For the past few weeks Ryan and Lindsay had been working with a couple of detectives from the Special Victim’s Unit to figure out who was behind the sudden ring of porn that was flooding the internet from supposedly middle class homes. The parents were putting cameras in their teen’s bedrooms and then selling the footage to an unknown. Most of the kids had run away from home and were still missing but there was a lead on the trash putting the crap on the net and it linked them to the warehouse they were checking.
 
Mac and Danny made their way to the office still talking silently. They had just returned from a meeting in Miami and there was a lot of information they still had to go through when they had the time. And that was the big issue; time.
 
“Hey Mac, I got a computer,” Danny said. He set his kit down and started snapping pictures.
 
“Great, Danny, lets get it back to the lab and see what’s on it.”
 
Before Danny could reply there was a loud crack from the outer room followed by a scream that could only have come from Lindsay. Danny put his camera down on the floor and followed Mac out, gun drawn, only to run into his dragon in true form. He tucked both guns away and peeked around Mac’s flank.
 
There was an orange/yellow – marigold – dragon at the other end of the room and Lindsay was against the wall freaking out. *Mac, did you know*
 
*Not a clue* Mac replied. *Get under my right wing*
 
*What are we gonna do* Danny asked as he climbed up under the lifted wing. Mac tucked it down, cradling his human against his tri-color scaled body.
 
*I’m going to keep Ryan from attacking while you talk Lindsay down and get her to touch him* Mac said. *Then we’re going to finish the scene as fast as we can and get them home*
 
Danny groaned. *Mac, Ryan’s gay; he’s never had a girlfriend* he said. *What the hell is going on here*
 
*I don’t know, Danny, but we’ll make the calls when we get these two settled* He raised his head up and growled down at the smaller dragon. *Go, Dan*
 
Danny slid down and made his way towards his friend. “Hey Montana, you gotta calm down,” he said. “Look, I promise I can explain all of this but you gotta breathe. You gotta listen to me.”
 
“It…it killed a man,” Lindsay stammered. “He came at me with a knife and was going to kill me and this thing saved me.”
 
“First of all it ain’t a thing or an it; that’s Ryan,” Danny said. “Yeah, I know; it sounds crazy but trust me. The guy with the shimmer to him, that’s Mac. Now listen to me; I need you to calm down and then go over and touch Ryan. He needs to know you’re okay, that you’re calm and then he’ll Change back to how he normally looks.” Danny grinned suddenly. “How do you feel about Ryan?”
 
“I like him,” Lindsay said. “Why?”
 
“Just do what I’m telling you to, kid; we got a lot to talk about.”
********************
 
“Gibbs! Talk!”
 
Mac sighed and rubbed his eyes. There were days when his alpha’s attitude really got on his nerves. “Gibbs, it’s Mac,” he said. “I know you’re probably out hunting the bastard, sorry, the dirt bag that shot you and one of your people but I need to talk to you about something that’s come up. Give me a call on my cell when you get this. And just to let you know I’m calling Miami as well.” He put the phone down and looked at his human. “How are they doing?”
 
“I think they’re both in shock,” Danny replied. “Lindsay because she’s not sure what she saw and Ryan because he’s never considered having a girl friend let alone getting married. We need to get ‘em outta here and to a place we can all talk.”
 
“Finish up in the office,” Mac said. “I’m going to call Mandy and see if she can meet us at Ryan’s apartment in two hours. We have a window here, right? They don’t have to leave now?”
 
“Twenty-four hours is what Donnie told me,” Danny said. “They’ll be fine, Mac. We’ll get ‘em squared away and taken care of.”
 
“Yeah, now I think I know how Horatio must feel,” Mac muttered. He flipped open his phone and called the Miami beta. “H, its Mac. We’ve got a problem.”
********************
 
Mandy loved the library. She loved the books, the old manuscripts and she loved doing research. Honestly if she didn’t feel such a drive to become a CSI and help solve crimes she’d see if there was any way she could be a researcher for the communities full time. She turned off her cell phone and tucked it away in her black backpack before pulling out a notebook with a stylized picture of Death on the cover and making her way to the computer index. Mandy was alert to her surroundings and knew that she was being watched.
 
Across the room buried behind a stack of books was a pair of intense hazel eyes and Mandy was old enough to admit that the face was handsome in a rugged, come pay attention to me way. She grinned to herself and typed in the name of the book she was hoping to find and tried to ignore the eyes boring into her back.
********************
 
When the door opened it caught his attention but what held it was the girl who walked in carrying, of all things, a death notebook. She was wearing all black in a not-exactly Goth look but he had a feeling she was still trying to find her style.
 
“Dude, are you going to help me with this or are you going to sit there and drool over a girl who isn’t even legal yet?”
 
Dean glared at his brother. “What are you talking about?”
 
“That girl you’re staring at. There’s no way in hell she’s eighteen and the last thing we need is you getting pegged for rape,” Sam replied. “Now will you try to focus on this? We need to figure out what’s going on and soon.”
 
“Are you sure she’s not eighteen?” Dean asked.
 
“Go over and ask her if you want to know but I’m telling you she’s not,” Sam said. “What was the year again?”
 
“1866.”
 
“It could have been worse,” Sam muttered as he started flipping through the book in front of him. “I’m going to need some time with this, Dean.”
 
“Then I’ll go for coffee,” Dean replied. “Get out and stretch my legs a little.”
 
Sam watched his brother leave and shook his head. “More like you’re going to go stalk some innocent girl who just happens to like being different,” he said once he was alone.
********************
 
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Ryan said. “I’m not crazy and I really did see a dragon down in Miami?”
 
“Yep,” Danny said. “And now we find out that you’re one as well. That means I gotta say welcome to the family and you can’t tell nobody ‘bout this. Not even Stella.”
 
Lindsay smiled. “You mean you’ve managed to keep a secret from Stella? Wow, I’m impressed.”
 
“She knows something is up,” Mac said. “But I asked her to drop it and not try and find out what’s going on. Look, I’m going to be very honest; it’s dangerous. There are people out there who want to kill us, Ryan. They live to slaughter dragons and their bonded humans. We have to keep what we are a secret. That’s why we have the communities and as soon as we can we’ll have a meeting either here or in DC with the other members. But right now there are things you need to know and have to do.”
 
“Starting with finishing the bond,” Danny picked up the story. “You guys gotta vanish to the bedroom and…”
 
“Danny,” Mac said sternly.
 
“What, that’s how I was told,” Danny grinned. “But Flack always does like to push my buttons.”
 
Mac growled. “The only one who will push any of your buttons, Messer, is me,” he said. “But Danny is telling you the truth, Ryan. The only way to complete the bond is to have sex with your human. This isn’t the first time this has come up.” He ignored Danny’s snickering and debated smacking his human for good measure. “But the bonds aren’t wrong. It can take some hard work but, in the end, it’s worth it.”
 
“Who?” Ryan asked.
 
“Speedle and Delko,” Mac said. “Down in Miami. Eric had never considered looking at another man and they almost died before they got things worked out. Danny tells me that you’ve never had a girlfriend.”
 
“I tried but it never worked out so I just assumed I was gay,” Ryan said. “No offense, Lindsay.”
 
“None taken,” she replied. “Ryan, it’s possible you just hadn’t met the right woman yet. I told Danny the truth, I do like you and honestly I can see spending the rest of my life with you. Is it a shock, yes it is, but it’s not a bad one.”
 
Mac pulled Danny in against him with a sigh as they watched the new couple vanish down the hall. “We’ll have kids here soon,” Mac said. “Just think about it, a niece or a nephew to help raise.”
 
“Do you regret we can’t have kids?”
 
“Of course not, Danny,” Mac replied. He kissed his human softly. “And we will have kids, just none of our own.”
 
“We could adopt,” Danny said.
 
“My condition might be a little hard to explain,” Mac snorted. “I wouldn’t want to scare anyone.”
 
“Yeah, but just think about teen boyfriends coming to date our daughter,” Danny said trying to keep a straight face. “They don’t know from scary 'til they meet you.”
 
Mac laughed. “Maybe someday, Danny,” he said. “But right now I’m going to be selfish. I want you all to myself.”
********************
 
Mandy was in the stacks paging through an old book that was dusty and the words had faded to the point where she could barely read it when she heard voices. “Are you sure it’s down here?”
 
“For the last time, Dean, yes,” Sam said. “Look, I know you probably don’t want to hear this but we might have to call some other hunters in for this one. Its looking like a really hard case.”
 
“No way, man,” Dean said firmly. “Not after what they tried to do to you last time we were at the roadhouse. We don’t need that kind of help.”
 
Mandy set her book down silently and took out her cell phone. She turned it back on and sent a text message to Mac. *Possible hunters at library. Please advise. Hurry*

Mac and Danny were making their way towards the subway when Mac’s cell beeped, signaling a text message. Figuring it was from the lab he flipped it open and stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk. Danny made it a few paces further before he realized his dragon wasn’t with him and he stopped as well. “What’s wrong, Mac?” he asked. “What’s going on?”
 
“Amanda’s at the library and she thinks there are hunters there,” Mac replied. “She wants advice.”
 
“Don’t call her,” Danny said. “If I know our girl she’s hidden and the ring would only give her away. Text her back and let her know we’re on our way.”
 
“What if they find her?”
 
“There’s nothing about Mandy to link her to us or the communities,” Danny said. “Tell her to stay put and we’ll be there in ten minutes. We ain’t that far away if we cut through a few alleys.”
 
“Let’s go.”
********************
 
Mandy read the text message from Mac and tucked the phone back in her bag. Logically she knew she was worrying about nothing as she was the one who just finished a half day lecture on how to recognize hunters but it just seemed like too much of a coincidence to hear those words from two men so soon after Peyton had been killed. With a small sigh she pulled out her notebook and went back to copying out part of the text.
 
“Excuse me,” a soft male voice said a moment later. Mandy looked up and then up further as the guy was well over six feet (and hot her mind added). “I need to get in here to see if the book I’m looking for is on the shelf.”
 
“Oh, I’m dreadfully sorry,” Mandy replied with a small smile. “Here, let me get out of your way.” The voice was the one who had mentioned calling in other hunters and Mandy’s eyes studied his hands as she shifted to one side. There were no marks or scars that she could see, although the wrist looked like it had been broken a time or two. “Oh, this isn’t the book, is it?”
 
“Nope, this is. I’m Sam, by the way.” The man smiled and Mandy could see that women probably melted when they saw that expression in his eyes.
 
“Amanda.”
 
“Sammy, did you find it?” a deeper voice asked from further back in the stacks.
 
Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Dean, I did,” he replied quietly.
 
“Oh, come on, Sam, there’s no one else down here but…hello.”
 
It was all Mandy could do not to laugh as the man she’d noticed watching her up by the computers rounded the corner and turned on the charm. “Hi,” she said and turned back to her book.
 
“You read Latin?” Sam asked as he glanced over at the large book she was copying text out of.
 
“No, it’s for a friend out of state,” Mandy replied. “He’s writing a book and asked me to find this reference for him. I have no clue what it says.” She felt bad for lying but if the two men were hunters she wasn’t about to let them know there were dragons in the area.
 
“Dragons, huh?” Sam said. “I took Latin in college. What sort of book is he writing? Fantasy?”
 
“Most likely,” Mandy said. “I didn’t ask when he requested the information.”
 
Dean squatted down and took the book from Sam. “If you’re going to sit there and flirt tell me what the hell we need so I can look it up and we can get out of here,” he said.
 
“I’m not flirting,” Sam said flushing.
 
“Yeah, then tell me what the hell it is you are doing, Sam.”
 
“Amanda?” a dry, stern voice called.
 
“My dad,” Mandy said. “I’m over here.”
 
Mac and Danny came around the corner and paused when they saw the three sitting on the floor, books spread out around them along with notebooks. Mandy smiled up at them. “Hey Dad,” she said. “I’m sorry, I must have lost track of time getting this information for Tim. Is it time to go already?”
 
“Yeah, we’re late for dinner,” Mac replied. He was puzzled by Mandy’s words but decided it was easier to play along.
 
“Can I have five minutes to finish out this sentence?”
 
“Let me have your email address and I’ll copy it out and send it to you,” Sam said. “We’re going to be here until close and it’s not a problem.”
 
“Would you?” Mandy asked. “That would be wonderful but you’ll have to let me pay you for your time.”
 
Sam grinned. “No, you don’t have to,” he said. “It’ll give me something to do while Dean is looking through that book. Honestly.”
 
“Okay,” Mandy said. She tore a page out of her notebook and wrote down her personal email address. “Thank you so much, Sam. I really appreciate it.”
 
“I’ll have it to you by tonight.”
 
Mandy grinned and followed Mac and Danny out of the area. Dean smacked Sam on the arm and picked up the book. “You should’ve just asked for her phone number,” he said. “It would be easier and then we wouldn’t have to be here so long.”
 
“Look, what is your problem?” Sam asked. “This will take five minutes and I’m kinda curious what she was reading anyway. You saw her notebook.”
 
“It was kind of hard to miss, Sammy. You think she’s a witch?”
 
“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t hurt to translate this stuff,” Sam said.
********************
 
“Okay, you want to tell me what the hell you were thinking giving him your personal email address?” Mac asked.
 
“I don’t think they’re hunters in the sense we’re thinking, Mac,” Mandy replied. “I didn’t see any scars or signs of make-up on their hands. Neither of them smelled funny and there were no weapons anywhere. Besides, I’ve never heard or read of hunters going into libraries to find out where the local community is located.”
 
“And I had to play your father, why?”
 
She grinned and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Who says you were playing, dad?” Mandy laughed. She ducked and hid behind Danny when Mac growled. He knew it was a lost cause when two sets of blue eyes looked at him.
 
“Come on, kid, we need to fill you in on a few things and call Gibbs,” Mac sighed. He only hoped there was some sense to be had in the rest of the evening because, so far, it had been crazy.
********************
 
While Mandy sat out on the fire escape outside Mac and Danny’s apartment, mainly to avoid the yelling coming over the speaker phone from Gibbs, she checked her own voice mail and found that Gil had called. She pulled the window shut and quickly dialed his number.
 
“Hey Gil, its Mandy,” she said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t answer but we’ve got issues here. What’s up?”
 
“I’ve got a talent question for you,” Gil said in reply. “Is that Gibbs I hear in the background?”
 
“You’re good,” Mandy smirked. “And he’s pissed about something. I’m outside on the fire escape. So it has to be Speed’s talent; what did he start doing?”
 
“You’re never going to believe this one; he can see the physical shadows of actions at a crime scene as if he were watching a movie,” Gil said. “Or at least that’s how it’s been explained to me. Have you ever heard of anything like that?”
 
“No, but I’ll hit my books when I get home; if I get home, tonight and see what I can find,” Mandy said. “So I guess he really did blend then. That leaves Donnie and then Ryan in roughly six months.”
 
“Ryan Wolfe?” Gil asked. “No one is home yet so I’m not up on their news. What happened?”
 
“As best I understand Ryan Changed to save Lindsay at a crime scene and tossed the body in the river,” Mandy replied. “That brings us to eight dragons and still no firm idea why there are so many of you running around and so close together.”
 
Gil snorted. “It’s just one more thing we have to figure out,” he said. “It’s probably just as well dragons live as long as they do and we’ll, hopefully, be alive if Ray Changes. So I suppose you guys will have all the kids up in your communities.”
 
“Unless I find my dragon and move to Miami,” Mandy smirked. The phone was pulled from her hand. “Mac, I was speaking with Gil.”
 
“Gibbs wants to talk with you,” Mac said. “Hey Gil.”
 
Mandy rolled her eyes and climbed back into the apartment. Danny handed her the phone and mouthed the word ‘livid’. She bit back a grin. “Hello Jethro.”
 
“Don’t you hello Jethro, me,” Gibbs said. “What the hell were you thinking giving out your email to some stranger you met in the library who mentioned the word hunters?”
 
“They were cute?” Mandy asked. She flopped down in the nearest chair and held the phone away from her ear. “I am almost seventeen, Jethro.”
 
“And they could take you and slaughter your friends,” Gibbs snapped.
 
“I’m not stupid. I did check them out before I gave them my email,” Mandy said.
 
“Just what part of them were you checking out?”
 
Danny, who had been listening over Mandy’s shoulder fell off the arm of the chair to the floor and started laughing. Mandy grinned. “Now Jethro, I don’t think I want to answer that question,” she said. “Call it women’s intuition if you want but I don’t think we have a thing to worry about from those two extremely cute young men. But I’ll have to do some research and let you know.” She flipped the cell phone closed and tossed it onto the table before glancing down at Danny.
 
“Just what is so funny?” Mac asked from the doorway. Danny and Mandy looked over at him and started laughing again. He sighed. “I’m surrounded by kids, Gil.”
********************
 
“She really is researching dragons, Dean,” Sam said once they were back in their hotel room. “But this is odd.”
 
“Odd that some seemingly nice, hot chick thinks those big-assed fiery lizards are real or odd in the sense that we should take a closer look at it?”
 
“I don’t know,” Sam said. “There’s just something about the way this is written that makes me want to believe it.”
 
“Dude, come on,” Dean said. “Just email her the page and forget about it. Yeah, she was hot, but did you see the way her dad looked at us? He was ready to kill us for just sitting next to her.”
 
Sam nodded and opened up his email program and started typing. But he also saved a copy of the work for himself. He was going to do more research once the current job was finished.

 

When Ryan finally stumbled out of the bedroom the next morning he found Mandy sitting at the table with her laptop reading an email and coffee in the pot on the counter. He poured himself a cup and sank into the chair. “Was it a dream?” he asked.
 
“Nope,” Mandy snorted. “And that’s not the first time I’ve been asked that question by a dragon the morning after they Change for the first time. Mac and Danny had something to take care of at the lab so they asked me to handle the morning after questions that you and Lindsay are both going to have.” She shut down her laptop and closed it. “So, go ahead.”
 
“Dragons are real,” Ryan said.
 
“Of course,” Mandy grinned. “And you actually know more dragons than you think you do. Horatio Caine, Jim Brass, Tim Speedle, Gil Grissom, Mac Taylor; I don’t think you’ve met Jethro or Donnie yet so I won’t go into too much detail about them. Oh, and someone has to say it so please do forgive me but at least you’re not pink.”
 
“What?”
 
“All dragons are a different color and shade,” Mandy said with her grin widening. “H is red, Gil is black, Jim is silver – not gray – which is an important distinction, Speed is bronze, Gibbs is ice blue, Donnie is green and now you’re pale orangeish yellow.”
 
“What about Mac?”
 
“He’s stubborn,” Mandy said. “His scales are a constant shift of slate gray, moss green and ocean blue. And he can stay one color to blend in with his surroundings which we’re finding comes in handy here in a city. I assume Mac mentioned community meetings and all that?”
 
“Yeah, he did,” Ryan said.
 
“We’ll have to take you down to Miami again so you can see how their community works,” Mandy said. “I suppose it’ll be a little strange as you know them but didn’t know the secret.”
 
Ryan rubbed his eyes. “I did see Brass but told myself I was seeing things,” he said.
 
“Yes, I recall,” Mandy said. She smiled softly. “You’ll find that I’m the one in the most constant and consistant contact with Miami and DC. It’s because I’m researcher for both communities.”
 
“How does that work; we’re in a group with people from Washington DC?” Ryan asked.
 
“Special Agents Jethro Gibbs, his human Tony DiNozzo, Don Flack and his human Abby,” Mandy said. “And I know that a lot of the dragons, and humans, think I’m a junior version of Abby.”
 
“I’ve met her, I think,” Ryan said. “Goth girl, hyper and talks with her hands? She came up and helped us on the kidnapping case we’ve been working on.”
 
“That’s her,” Mandy agreed. “I must have missed her the last time around. Oh well, I need to call them anyway. What other questions do you have?”
 
“So many that I can’t make them line up,” Ryan smiled. “I think I’m going to head back to bed for a while. Will you be willing to hang out and talk with Lindsay when she wakes up?”
 
“Sure, I’ve got plenty to do on my laptop,” Mandy said. “I’ll see you later.”
********************
 
Don pulled Tony off to the side as Gibbs stalked into the bullpen. “So who is this guy?” he asked softly.
 
“Ari Haswari broke into the morgue, took Ducky hostage and shot Gerald and Gibbs,” Tony replied just as softly. “We’ve been searching for him but the FBI is stalling us; they say he works for them.”
 
“Is it possible he’s a hunter?” Don asked.
 
“We never thought of that,” Tony said. He looked towards the bullpen, focused on his dragon and worked to send panic through their bond. “Gibbs, can I talk to you in your conference room?”
 
Gibbs was working to calm his racing heart and resisting the urge to pull his gun when he felt Tony’s emotions slam into him. He knew his human did that to get his attention and real panic was sharper but damn he hated it. Something about Tony’s request got his attention and he stalked back across the room. No one was surprised when Flack followed the more senior agents into the elevator. “What’s going on, Tony?” Gibbs asked once they were stopped between floors.
 
“I was wondering if its possible this creep we’re looking for is a hunter, boss,” Don said. “He could’ve known that there’s a dragon here but not who the human is. You and Tony are really careful about your relationship and they could’ve thought Ducky was your bonded.”
 
“The dirt bag had on gloves so I didn’t see his skin,” Gibbs said. “I think we should be prepared for it and watch to make sure they don’t try to force a Change, Don, especially for you because you haven’t blended yet and your control is going to be shaky.”
 
“What about getting Mac and Danny down to help?” Tony asked.
 
“How would we attach them to the case, Tony?” Gibbs ran his hand through his human’s soft brown hair. “They don’t have the security clearance and they’re NYPD officers.”
 
“What about putting them in the lab with Abby?” Don asked.
 
Gibbs shook his head. “I got a call from Mac about an hour ago,” he said. “One of his CSIs Changed at a crime scene and he’s dealing with that. And he said Mandy’s made contact with a couple of young men who called themselves hunters but don’t have any of the physical signs we just learned about.”
 
“Is everyone okay?” Don asked.
 
“Well I gave Mac and Mandy a piece of my mind but she’s getting feisty,” Gibbs grinned. “I think we’re just going to have to deal with the problems in our cities and then meet up to talk.”
 
Tony pushed Gibbs up against the wall. “No stupid stunts, Jethro,” he snarled. “Promise me that right now; no stupid stunts.”
 
Gibbs met Tony’s eyes. “I swear, Tony,” he said and pulled his human in for a kiss.
********************
 
Mandy was working on her computer translating the Latin text she’d found at the library the day before when her IM program kicked into life with the annoying little ding she hadn’t figured out how to replace yet.

-Amanda?

-Yes?

-Hey, it’s Sam. Look, I hope you don’t think I’m being
forward or anything, but my brother and I are leaving later today and I’d like to buy you coffee before we take off.

-And if I say yes?

-I’d meet you in a really public place so your dad doesn’t kill me.

-Then I have to agree. There’s a Starbucks near the east end of Central Park. I’m going to have to finish up a small project; would an hour work?

-That’s great. See you soon.

Mandy smiled, turned off her laptop and picked up her cell phone. She knew Mac wouldn’t be happy with her but this was the perfect chance for her to find out exactly what was going on with Sam and his brother Dean. And she also knew that the Starbucks was a place Mac could get to quickly if he wanted. Mandy figured he’d feel better if he could have her followed at a discrete distance and Sam would put it down to fatherly paranoia.

 

 

Dean looked up when Sam turned off his laptop and stood to grab his jacket. “What, you couldn’t go out to breakfast with me but now you’re taking off?” he asked. “We need to hit the road, Sammy.”
 
“I’m just going to get some coffee,” Sam replied. “I’ll be back in an hour, tops. And don’t follow me, Dean.”
 
“Whatever.”
 
He watched the door shut and waited for a couple of minutes. Of the two of them, Dean was the more dedicated hunter, although Sam was deadly when push came to shove, but his baby brother’s real talent was research and talking with people. Dean knew that Sam had been bothered by something at the library and, while Dean would have liked to believe it was the girl he’d been talking to, he also knew it was more likely to be the Latin translation he’d copied out. Dragons, as if the world didn’t have enough creepy things to go bump in the night, Sam had to go looking and try to find more of them. It just didn’t make any sense to Dean, but he grabbed his coat and went out the door. He wasn’t going to let his brother wander around the city without some kind of back-up, even if Sammy didn’t know it was there.
********************
 
Mac grumbled as he left the lab. He didn’t know what Amanda was thinking and if he’d even survive her turning into a young adult in front of his eyes. Maybe he should just Change and scare the young man away. But, then again, if they were hunters that would just lead them back to the community. Deep down he knew that Amanda had picked one of the most public places she could for the meeting with Sam but it didn’t mean that Mac had to like it.
 
When he got to the park it wasn’t hard to pick out Amanda in her all-black outfit sitting on a bench with Sam looking at a book. Mac read her body language and saw that she was relaxed and happy so he settled in to wait.
********************
 
Sam was already at Starbucks when Mandy arrived. “I didn’t know what you’d want so I waited,” he said with a shy smile.
 
“Thank you,” Mandy replied. “I’m still learning to drink coffee but I think a strawberry smoothie sounds good for this time of the morning.”
 
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
 
Once they had their drinks the pair wandered into the park and settled on a bench in the sun. “Amanda, I wanted to ask you a crazy question,” Sam said. “And I’m not sure how best to do it because I’ve had some really bad reactions to this in the past but I think you’ll understand it.”
 
“I find the best way for difficult questions is to get them out in the open,” Mandy said with a smile.
 
“Do you believe in ghosts?”
 
“Of course,” Mandy said. “There has to be some explanation for what happens to us when we die. And I don’t mean that everyone stays around making noise and scaring the living daylights out of their relatives. You just get the feeling that there’s something there, sometimes, something you can’t see.”
 
Sam’s smile was both relieved and bright. “Now how would you react if I told you my brother and I hunt these things?” he asked.
 
She tilted her head and studied them for a moment. “That might be a little harder to believe as I believe the meaning of hunter can be applied in two different ways,” Mandy said.
 
“Rock salt,” Sam said. “But yes, we do shoot ghosts and other things that most people think don’t exist.”
 
“So why tell me?” Mandy asked. “I would imagine that you and your brother aren’t supposed to talk about this in every day conversation.”
 
“You’re right, we’re not, but after reading what you were copying out at the library yesterday I couldn’t help but think you would believe me,” Sam said. “And that you weren’t entirely truthful about what you were reading. You flinch every time I mention the word hunter.”
 
“Busted,” Mandy grinned. “I grew up around stories of some very evil hunters and, to this day, I dislike talking about them. I do read Latin and speak a little of it but that’s not something I advertise.”
 
“I thought so,” Sam said. “What do you make of this?” He pulled out a book not unlike some of Mandy’s dragon journals and opened it to a page near the back. “I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks now and haven’t been able to make much head way with it.”
 
“That’s because it’s not Latin,” Mandy said cursing silently. She wondered how the hell Sam ended up with a blessing in the draconic language.
 
Sam glanced over. “Do you know what it says?”
 
“I don’t but I know someone who might,” she said. “Might I have a copy of it and I’ll email it to you?”
 
“Sure,” he grinned. “Dean and I are hitting the road in an hour or so; we’re going to see about some reports of a werewolf down in Virginia, but I travel with my laptop.”
 
“Werewolf?” Mandy asked.
 
“Once you figure out who it is, they’re easy,” Sam said. “One silver bullet straight to the heart and that’s it.”
 
“I think I might like to travel on one of these hunts with you, Sam,” she said. “I think it would be most enlightening.”
 
“Being around Dean would be at any rate,” Sam muttered. “They’re dangerous, Amanda. Really, really dangerous and it’s not like we don’t break the law on occasion.”
 
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Mandy grinned. “But I won’t tell anyone.” She folded up the paper and put it in her computer bag. “Your brother has been standing under that tree just behind us for an hour now. Do you think he would like to join us?”
 
“Aw, damn it, I told him not to follow me.”
 
She laughed. “He’s your brother and not likely to miss a chance to poke fun at you,” Mandy said. “And I really must be going as well, Sam. I have to work in an hour and it’s across town. It was a pleasure to meet you and do keep in touch. I’d like to make sure you both are okay. And if you need a place to stay, I have a sofa bed.”
 
“Thanks,” Sam said. “You just have to convince your dad we’re not the bad guys.”
 
“I think I can do that.”
********************
 
Mandy waited until she was sure she was alone and then made her way towards one of the trees by the entrance to the park. “Hello, dad,” she grinned.
 
“You’re going to keep calling me that, aren’t you?” Mac asked.
 
“Only if you don’t mind,” Mandy replied. “Seriously, Mac, it’s not just about the cover I needed when talking with Sam and Dean.”
 
He pulled her into a hug. “I know, kiddo, I know,” Mac said. “So, what did you learn?”
 
“Well, they are hunters but not the evil kind who would come after you,” Mandy said. “They hunt the supernatural.”
 
“What?”
 
“I’ve heard of the group, Mac,” Mandy said. “You can’t do research on a supposed mythical creature and not run across a few ghost stories. Sam was telling me the truth but, if it would make you feel better, I can always invite him to meet Jethro.”
 
“I trust your judgment,” Mac said. “What were you guys so intent over?”
 
“He, somehow, has run across a dragon blessing,” Mandy said. “I’ve seen it before in one of my books but I don’t know exactly what it says. I was hoping you or Jethro would take it along to Chrysalis and get it translated.”
 
“And you’ll email it on to Sam?”
 
“Only if it’s not something that could harm him,” Mandy replied. “He’s in a dangerous job, Mac, and if this could help him out then I think it would be our duty to help in any way we can.”
 
“Did you tell him anything about us?” Mac asked.
 
“No, he still believes dragons are a myth,” Mandy said. “I thought it was safer for all concerned that he doesn’t find out about the communities just yet.”
 
Mac stopped and pulled Mandy around to look at him. “Just what do you mean by that?” he asked.
 
“You didn’t see it, did you?”
 
“See what?”
 
“Sam’s a dragon, Mac,” Mandy said. “And he doesn’t have any clue to his ancestry.”
 
“What about that brother of his, Dean?”
 
“He’s not or at least if he is, I can’t tell,” Mandy said. She froze for a moment as if a thought had just crossed her mind.
 
“Amanda?”
 
“It’s nothing, Mac,” Mandy said. “I was just recalling a conversation I had with Abby about the possibility of my finding my dragon.”
 
“You think it’s Sam?”
 
“I don’t know, Mac, I really don’t,” Mandy said. “Still, what will come will come and the future cannot be changed by fretting over it. What’s going on at the lab?”
 
“Danny asked to have you come and help him with a weapons analysis,” Mac said. “We’re trying to determine what left a tool mark on a bone.”
 
“That sound interesting,” Mandy said. “Shall we?”
********************
 
That night Mac and Danny made their fourth trip to pax Draconis. They both found it tiring and were the pair that made the fewest trips. Chrysalis had assured them that it wasn’t a comment on Mac’s power or ability as a dragon but more a compliment to his scientific mind. And then had whispered that Gil had the same problem at times.
 
“Hello, Mac, Daniel,” Chrysalis said by way of greeting. “What brings you to me tonight?”
 
“Amanda asked me if I could ask you a favor,” Mac said. “Some friends of hers came across what she called a draconic blessing and wondered if you’d translate it for her to give back to them. They’re in a dangerous business.”
 
“Let me see it,” Chrysalis said. He dipped his large white head and glanced over the paper Mac held out. “This is one of our older and more potent blessings but it should do no harm to anyone not associated with dragons.”
 
“She also said that at least one of the brothers is unchanged,” Danny added.
 
“Then it will do him good,” Chrysalis said. “I will be happy to translate for Amanda. Did you bring a pen and paper?”
 
“We did, and thank you,” Mac replied.
 
“Mac, that is my job,” Chrysalis said with a fangy smile. “I am here to help you and your communities out. I’m just happy you all are able to come visit us. Now, let us set to work.”

A dragon’s prayer
May the wind stay true beneath your wings
May the sun shine bright and light your path
May the water sustain your life and that which you love
May the grass grow long and tickle your stomach
May the ones you love remain at your side for all time

 

The missile slammed into the water. Gibbs looked at his team and tried not to grin. They had all done a hell of a job figuring out what Ari was planning and thwarting his efforts to kill so many innocent people. Tony and Kate’s bantering drifted over him as he looked around. Something just wasn’t right.
 
Panic spiked along the bond, real sharp panic, and Gibbs reacted, Changing to true form. He spread his ice blue wings and bit back a roar as a bullet pierced the membrane. Gibbs knew that Ari was behind the shot and was still trying to kill his team. He crouched down and covered his team with his uninjured wing and waited.
********************
 
“You’re good,” Tony said as he helped Kate up off the roof top.
 
“For once DiNozzo’s right,” Gibbs said.
 
“Wow,” Kate grinned. “I thought I’d die before…”
 
She broke off as she was surrounded by something leathery and ice blue. “Tony!” Kate screamed.
 
“Hey, calm down Katie, it’s okay,” Tony said. “Well, not okay because Gibbs wouldn’t have done this otherwise but you’re safe. Come on, breathe for me.”
 
“What the hell is going on?” Kate asked.
 
“I don’t know but Gibbs will tell us,” Tony replied. “Jethro, what is it?”
 
“Ari,” Gibbs growled. “The dirt bag shot me again.”
 
“Jethro, you need to Change back,” Tony said. “Look, spread your wing out and give us cover to the stairwell. Then come join us and we’ll get back to Don and McGee.”
 
Gibbs sighed and almost knocked Kate over. “I guess we don’t have a choice.”
 
“It’ll be okay,” Tony grinned. “Come on, Katie, we’re leaving.”
 
“Not until I have some answers, Tony.”
 
“Look, you heard Gibbs. Ari is still out there with a gun and wants to kill us. We need to get out of here as soon as we can and Gibbs needs to get to Ducky,” Tony said. “I don’t know what a bullet through the wing will do when he’s back to human form but I’m willing to bet it’s going to hurt. I promise I’ll tell you everything as soon as I can but I need to take care of Gibbs right now, okay?”
 
She glared at him. “Okay, Tony,” Kate said.
********************
 
On the ground McGee picked himself up and looked over at Flack. “Do you think its over?” he asked.
 
“I have no idea,” Flack replied. “But at least no one seems to be shooting at us anymore. Oh shit.”
 
“What?” McGee’s eyes followed Don’s up to the roof where a large ice blue dragon was perched. “What is that?”
 
“God damn son of a bitch,” Don growled pushing McGee back to the ground. “It’s not over,” he said. “There’s something still wrong and we have to stay under cover until Gibbs and the others get down here.”
 
“Flack, was that a dragon?”
 
He knew it was futile to deny it. “Yes.”
 
“Dragons are real.”
 
“Yes, McGee, dragons are real,” Don said. “And you’re talking to one right now.”
 
“What?”
 
“It’s a long story,” Flack said with a smirk. “But I guess we have some time. Yes, dragons exist and look like humans until a critical moment in their life when they Change to their true form. We, dragons, are hidden and only those who absolutely have to know about us do. That’s Gibbs up there and Tony must have been in danger because I know Gibbs has more control over his Changes than most dragons do.”
 
McGee’s mind was spinning. “I think it’s going to take me a while to get all this sorted out in my mind,” he finally said.
 
“That’s fine,” Don smiled. “But you can’t tell anyone about Gibbs and me. There are people out there who would love to kill us.”
 
“That’s not unheard of,” McGee said.
 
“I’m not talking about people from the job,” Don said. “I’m talking about evil bastards who spend their lives hunting down dragons and slaughtering them and their humans. If word gets out that Gibbs and I are here in DC our lives are worthless.”
 
“They won’t hear it from me,” McGee said.
********************
 
Ducky looked up as Tony stormed into the morgue pushing Gibbs ahead of him. “What on earth is going on here?” he asked.
 
“This stubborn bastard of a dragon won’t admit that he was shot,” Tony snarled. “And he doesn’t want anyone to look at him.”
 
“Oh dear,” Ducky said. “Come on, Jethro; hop up on the table and let me see what damage was done this time. You know this rather reminds me of the time when…well, actually, no it doesn’t. I don’t think I’ve ever treated a dragon before.”
 
“The bullet went through my wing, Ducky,” Gibbs snapped.
 
“Which manifested as your shoulder when you Changed back,” Tony said. “You need to let someone stitch you up and you know it, Gibbs. Then we have to explain everything to Kate and McGee and hunt down the sick bastard who wants us all dead.”
 
Gibbs turned on his human and pinned him to the wall. Tony leaned in and captured Gibbs’ mouth with his own. Ducky just sighed and moved to lock the door to the morgue so they wouldn’t be disturbed. “I don’t mind, Jethro, but could you please move to my office?” he asked. “This is a rather public place after all and you never know who might walk in here.”
 
“Thanks, Ducky,” Tony said. He grabbed Gibbs’ hand and pulled him towards the ME’s office. Ducky just shook his head, sighed and started to pull out the supplies he’d need to patch up Gibbs once he and Tony had reconnected.
********************
 
Danny looked up when Mandy started swearing in a language he’d never heard before. “What’s wrong, kid?”
 
“Nothing a few years wouldn’t solve,” Mandy replied with a sigh. “I have to go to Miami.”
 
“Why?”
 
“They need my help with Ray,” she said. “Have you seen Mac about?”
 
“I think he’s out on a case,” Danny said. “And he don’t like phone calls when he’s working.”
 
“Then I won’t push my luck,” Mandy grinned. “He’s still a little upset about me giving Sam my email address. I haven’t had the heart to tell him I also gave him my cell number.”
 
“What?”
 
Mandy turned around and saw Mac in the doorway, his face turning slowly red. She looked back at Danny. “You told me he was on a case.”
 
“My mistake,” Danny said trying for casual.
 
“Right,” Mandy snorted.
 
“My office,” Mac said. He turned and stalked down the hall and shut the door behind them. “Amanda, have you lost your mind?”
 
“Not the last time I checked,” Mandy said. “In case you didn’t hear the entire conversation with Danny, I have to go to Miami. Gil emailed me and they need my help with some community problems. I may be gone some time.”
 
“Are you running away from your problems?”
 
She glared at him. “No, Mac, I’m running away from yours,” Mandy said. “I’ll call Danny when I get to Gil’s house.”
********************
 
Tony winced when he took off Gibbs’ shirt and saw the bullet hole. He knew that his dragon would heal faster than a human would but it still had to hurt like a bitch. “Lie down, Jethro,” he said. “Let me do the work. I don’t want you to hurt your shoulder any worse than it already is.”
 
“I need you Tony,” Gibbs said. “When I realized the dirt bag was still in the area and heard the gun cock I just knew he was aiming for you. I can’t lose you, Tony. I love you.”
 
“I love you too, boss,” Tony smiled. He straddled Gibbs’ hips and slid slowly back, moaning at the stretch. “God that feels good.”
 
“Yeah, yeah it does DiNozzo,” Gibbs grinned. He was never so glad that he had an inventive human to take care of him as he was at that moment as his shoulder was throbbing and he wanted to sleep for a couple of days to heal. But he also needed to reconnect with Tony.
 
They pair moved together as much as Gibbs’ shoulder would allow. Tony ran his hands along Gibbs’ chest and up to his lips, moaning as his dragon started sucking on two of his fingers. He moved faster, working himself on Gibbs’ cock until the pleasure spiked and he came, body clamping down and holding Gibbs, milking him into his own climax. They lay on the floor exchanging kisses until there was a soft knock at the door.
 
“It’s me,” Flack said. “Kate and McGee are getting a little impatient and I think Ducky wants to check you out, boss.”
 
“We’ll be out in a minute,” Gibbs said. “Tony, I want you to take the lead on finding Ari and then we’re going to finish this.”
 
“What are you going to do, boss?”
 
“Let Ducky patch me up and sleep so I’ll be healed in time to teach the dirt bag a lesson,” Gibbs replied. “I trust you to do your job, Tony. Just make sure you’re not overheard when you’re answering questions.”
 
“We’ll go to the lab with Abby,” Tony said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Jethro.”
 
“I know,” Gibbs said softly.

 

Mac stormed out of his office and down the hall to the lab where he could see his human joking around with Adam. “Danny, I need to talk with you, now,” Mac snarled leaning in the door.
 
Adam jumped a foot in the air at Mac’s tone and quickly turned away to find something to work on. He didn’t care what it was at that point as long as he didn’t have to face Mac in a bad mood. Danny just rolled his eyes and followed Mac out into the hall and down to the storage room. Mac held the door open so Danny had to go in first, then shut and locked them in before turning and looking at his human. “What’s wrong with me?” he asked.
 
“Mac?” Danny asked.
 
“Amanda told me she was running away from my problems,” Mac sighed. He sat down on one of the boxes marked forms and buried his face in his hands. “I think I chased her away, Danny. I don’t think she’s going to come back to New York.”
 
“No you didn’t,” Danny said. He moved around behind Mac and started to massage his neck and shoulders gently. “No you didn’t, Mac. She called and let me know that Horatio picked her up at the airport and they were on their way to the lab for the day. I think she’s looking forward to helping them out with whatever problems they have down there and then she’ll be home before we know it.”
 
“But there’s still going to be a distance between us,” Mac said. He leaned back against Danny. “Why can’t I just accept her friends and leave her alone about it?”
 
Danny snorted. “Because its pretty obvious those guys are in their twenties and the older of the pair is definitely a ladies man,” he said. “I think you’re just going to have to trust Mandy on this one, Mac. We can only protect her so far and she’s going to have to make her own mistakes where guys are concerned.”
 
“What about Sam?” Mac asked. “Amanda is convinced he’s a dragon. I don’t see him or his brother settling down any time soon with a community and I don’t even want to think about Amanda living in a car traveling all the time.”
 
“Why are you so sure they’re going to bond?”
 
“Because she picked him out as a dragon,” Mac replied. “Think about how often that’s happened and the pair has ended up bonded.”
 
“But not all the time, boss,” Danny said. He tilted Mac’s head back and leaned in, kissing him gently. “Look, if it bothers you that much get Abby to run them and make sure they’re okay for Mandy to be hanging around.”
 
Mac stood carefully and pulled Danny in for a fierce kiss. He backed them up until Danny’s back hit the wall and reached between them to undo his human’s pants. “I need you, Danny,” he said between kisses.
 
“Need you too, Mac,” Danny said. He pushed his dragon back a little, slid his own pants down and turned so he was braced on the wall. “Need you now.”
 
“I love you, Dan,” Mac whispered as he slid home. “I think I’d go crazy without you around.”
********************
 
Abby came flying out of the back of her lab and into Don’s arms. He caught her and held her tight. “I’m okay, Abs,” Don whispered. “We’re all okay.”
 
“What happened?” Abby asked.
 
“It was an ambush for us,” Tony replied. He kissed Abby on the top of her head and looked around. “Look, lets go back into the ballistics lab to do this, huh? I really don’t want us to be overheard.”
 
“Why are Kate and Tim here?” Abby asked.
 
“Gibbs Changed, Abby,” Don said softly. “He saved Kate and Tony’s life but these guys saw everything and they have some questions for us. We know you’re the best one to answer them.”
 
Abby looked at her friends for a moment then went over to her lab fridge and pulled out two six packs of what looked like beer. She looked up. “What, it’s root beer,” Abby said. “I’m not going through this without something to drink and I seriously doubt anyone’s going to be able to run out and get me a Caff-pow any time soon.”
 
“You’re right enough about that, Abs,” Tony said seriously. “Donnie thought that Ari might be a hunter and based on this latest stunt I think he’s right. I think that sniper shot was for me to force Gibbs to Change. No one is going anywhere any time soon and I don’t care what the director says. Until we know his location we’re going to turn the tables on Ari and hunt his ass down.”
 
“Um, Tony, you said you’d try and answer some of our questions,” McGee said. “I’m all for finding the guy that shot Gibbs and tried to blow up all those innocent people but my mind is still swimming with what I saw out there. Can we take a few minutes and just talk?”
 
“We might as well, Tony,” Don said. “It’s going to be a while before Gibbs is awake and able to give us orders again. And distracted agents aren’t going to be good in the field.”
 
“Yeah, you’re right,” Tony sighed. “Tim, Kate, what we’re about to tell you can go no further. I’m serious about that and, if you do tell anyone there’s an extremely good chance that Jethro, Donnie, Abby and I will be hunted down and killed. Do you understand?”
 
“Are you serious?” Kate asked.
 
“Totally,” Abby replied. “There are people and things out there that you could only dream about, well, okay have nightmares about but you get the idea. The hunters are nasty people who want only to cause pain and suffering to the dragon communities.”
 
“Wait a minute, you mean there are more dragons out there than Gibbs and Flack?” McGee asked. “Why haven’t I run across this before?”
 
Don, Tony and Abby all snorted. “Because, probie, it’s a need to know basis only,” Tony said. “And if you hadn’t seen Jethro today then you wouldn’t be hearing about this. Look, I know it’s hard to come to terms with, believe me we’ve all been there and done that but we’re not lying.”
 
“So what’s with the sudden first name basis with Gibbs, Tony?” Kate asked.
 
“They’re together,” Abby replied with a grin. “And have been for years. In fact I’m a little surprised Tony’s down here answering questions with Gibbs hurt up in the morgue.”
 
“He gave me an order,” Tony sighed. He ran his hand through his hair. “Believe me, I’d rather be up there with him but this needs to be done and he trusts me to take care of everyone until he’s back on his feet.”
 
Kate walked towards the front of the lab. Abby shooed the men back into their chairs and went after her friend. “What’s wrong, Katie?”
 
“Why didn’t I know Gibbs and DiNozzo were sleeping together?” Kate asked. “I’m a profiler, Abby. I’m supposed to notice the things people try to keep hidden.”
 
“Are you sure its not the fact that they’re sleeping together?” Abby grinned and moved to where she could see Kate’s eyes. “Come on, be totally honest, Kate. It’s not like we haven’t dealt with Catholic beliefs before. In fact a couple of my friends almost died because the human believed it was wrong to sleep with another man. They’ve worked through it now but we were all worried there for a while.”
 
“Okay, fine, I’ll admit it doesn’t exactly make me comfortable but if they’ve been together for years and it wasn’t a problem before then I seriously doubt making it a problem now will solve anything,” Kate said. “Besides, I can’t see Gibbs as the type of man to be all lovey-dovey no matter what’s going on.”
 
“That’s good to know, Kate,” Gibbs said as he strode through the lab. “Where’s Tony?”
 
Tony came through the door. “Jethro, you’re supposed to be resting. What was Ducky thinking letting you out so soon?” he asked.
 
“He stitched me up and told me I could come join you if I promised to sit and rest,” Gibbs replied. “I needed to be with you, Tony.”
 
Abby started snickering. “So much for no affection,” she said. “There’s root beer in the back, boss-man. I figured we’d need something to help us plan out what we’re going to do next.”
 
“Thanks, Abs,” Gibbs said. “Look, call Mac and see if he and the others can come down. I don’t want us isolated right now. Ari might know about New York as well and they don’t have a clue what could be coming there way. And get in touch with Mandy. I have some questions for her.”
 
“She’s in Miami,” Don said. “Danny called me while we were waiting for Tony and said that Mandy and Mac had a slight falling out over this Sam guy and she went to Miami to help them on a couple things.”
 
“Then call down there,” Gibbs ordered. “I want answers and I want them now.

Mac was back at his desk working on some papers when his desk phone rang. “Taylor.”
 
“Hey, it’s Flack.”
 
“Donnie, what’s wrong? Is Gibbs okay?” Mac asked.
 
“He got shot through the shoulder again,” Don replied with a sigh. “He’s on the phone with Mandy asking some questions about hunters. We think we’ve got one here in DC. Can you see Danny, Ryan and Lindsay from where you are?”
 
“Just Lindsay,” Mac said. “But I know they’re all in the lab. What’s Gibbs want us to do?”
 
“Truthfully he wants us all together here in DC but I told him that probably ain’t gonna happen,” Don said. “So he wants you guys to stick together, stay at the lab and don’t leave until you hear from one of us. We’re going after this guy as soon as the FBI idiots give up his location and we’re ending this once and for all.”
 
“Tell Jethro to call me when he has a second,” Mac said. “And be careful. I’ll talk with my guys right now and let them know what’s going on.”
 
“You guys be careful too, Mac,” Don said. “Abby’s on the phone with Nick so Miami knows what’s going on up here. I’m sure we’ll all be talking about it over the next week or two.”
 
“No kidding,” Mac snorted. “Watch your back, Donnie. I’ll talk to you soon.”
 
Mac put the phone down with a soft groan. *Dan*
 
*Mac, what’s up*
 
*Is Ryan with you*
 
*Yeah, right here. Why, what’s going on*
 
*Can the two of you find Hawkes and bring him to my office, please* Mac asked with a small sigh. *I’m going to get Stella and Lindsay. I think its time we came clean to Stel and the rest of us need to talk*
 
*Yeah, you got it* Danny said.
 
“Hey Mac, you got a minute?” Stella asked leaning in the door.
 
“What’s up?”
 
“I don’t know,” Stella said. “That’s what I was going to ask you. You had this weird look on your face and I was a little concerned about you.”
 
He sighed. “Go grab Lindsay, please,” Mac said. “Danny and I have some things to tell you and then we need to have a meeting.”
 
“Okay, now I’m worried. Is everything okay?”
 
“In the long run, yes,” Mac said. “Right now it’s kinda up in the air.”
********************
 
“What the hell do you mean you can’t leave Miami?” Gibbs barked into the cell phone.
 
“Jethro, there are issues down here that only I can deal with,” Mandy replied. “You know as much as I do about the hunters at this point. Look, if you really want to be sure they’re dead then all you have to do is…”
 
“I think I know how to kill someone,” Gibbs snapped. “But we are talking about this when you get home.”
 
“No, actually we’re not, because it has nothing to do with my new friends,” Mandy said. “Horatio’s brother is here and making trouble for the community. Young Ray is asking dragon questions that only I can answer and there’s a new bitch at the lab who might be trouble. So, all in all, I think I have enough to deal with besides your attitude.”
 
Gibbs looked down at the phone in shock. “She hung up on me.”
 
“Are you sure the two of you aren’t related, boss?” Tony asked. “Ow.”
 
“Flack, what did Mac say?”
 
“They’ll stay put until they hear from us,” Don reported. “There’s no way they can all come down right now.”
 
“As long as they’re in a safe place,” Gibbs said. “McGee, how are you coming with those FBI files?”
 
McGee didn’t look up from the computer where he and Abby were team-hacking. “We’re almost there, boss,” he said. “Although, if I were Ari, I think I’d have left town after I failed.”
 
“If he’s a hunter then he won’t leave until Flack and I are dead and chopped up,” Gibbs said. “And there’s no way that’s going to happen. If we have to go out and play bait then it’ll be Tony and me and I don’t want any arguments on that one.”
 
“Jethro, you’re the best shot out of all of us,” Tony said. “I know Donnie doesn’t have your control so it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to play bait but what if Abs and I went out to get coffee and Caff-pows? You could shadow us at a safe distance, still be able to react in case of danger, and take out any threat we had to deal with.”
 
“Only if we can’t come up with anything better and more strategically sound,” Gibbs said.
********************
 
“Okay, let me see if I understand all this,” Stella said. “Dragons are not only real but both Mac and Ryan are them?”
 
“I know it sounds crazy, Stel,” Hawkes said. “But we can’t prove it to you here in the lab. Just trust us for now, okay? Mac, what’s really going on?”
 
Mac quickly went through his conversation with Don and also what Gibbs wanted them to do. “Stella, I doubt that you or Hawkes would be in any real danger but I don’t want to take a chance. Do you remember when you asked me what was going on and I told you that it’d be too dangerous to fill you in?”
 
“Of course,” Stella said.
 
“Well now it’s too dangerous for you not to know,” Mac sighed. “Dan, do you want to order pizza for us? We’re going to be here most of the night. Gibbs wants us somewhere secure where these guys can’t get to us and I promised him via Flack that we’d stay here until one of them calls.”
 
“Gibbs as in that creep from NCIS?”
 
“Bastard,” Mac and Danny said automatically. “Stel, he’s just focused on his work,” Danny continued. “But he cares more about his people than anything else. And we’re his people now because he’s our alpha dragon, our leader and we gotta listen to him or he’ll get really, really upset.”
 
“These people we’re hiding from are evil, Stella,” Hawkes said. “I’ve only read the basics about them but they scare me.”
 
“Ryan and Lindsay don’t know much about them either,” Mac said. “So I thought Danny and I could fill in the blanks for all of you and then you’d all have a fair idea of not only what we’re up against but what to look for as well. I wish Amanda was here.”
 
“Mandy?” Stella asked.
 
Mac snorted. “Stella, Amanda knows more about this world than Danny and me and Gibbs and Flack put together,” he said. “She’s the one who has been teaching us everything but we had a fight and she’s in Miami right now.”
 
“You cannot keep blaming yourself for that, Mac,” Danny said. “I known Mandy don’t.”
 
“Did she tell you that?”
 
“Not in so many words, but her tone was soft,” Danny said. He put his hand over Mac’s. “Trust me, Mac, when she gets home it’s gonna be like nothing ever happened.”

Gibbs was sitting at his desk when he smelled a familiar person. “What can I do for you, Tobias?” he asked not looking up from the case file in front of him.
 
“You hacked our computers,” Fornell snarled.  “What the hell gave you the right to do that, Jethro?”
 
“When you wouldn’t tell me what I needed to catch the son of a bitch who wanted to not only kill me and my team but a group of innocent military families,” Gibbs said. He looked up slowly. “Where’s Ari now, Tobias?”
 
“I have no idea,” Fornell said. “He’s vanished.”
 
“Is he still under federal protection?”
 
“What happened to your arm?”
 
“The dirt bag shot me again, Tobias,” Gibbs said softly. “And he is mine now. Wrap that up as fancy as you want and shove it up your director’s…”
 
“Hey Gibbs, I think we’ve got something,” Tony said. “Hey Fornell, I’m surprised you’re brave enough to show your face around here right now.”
 
“Let’s go, Tony,” Gibbs said ignoring the FBI agent in front of his desk. “I want to find Ari and explain a few things to him.”
********************
 
Everyone sitting in Mac’s office glanced down when a cell phone rang. “It’s mine,” Mac said with a smile. They really needed to get different ring tones because this happened far too often. “Taylor.”
 
“So I hear there may be a hunter in DC.”
 
“Hey Horatio,” Mac said. “Yeah, Gibbs and the others are looking into it. Danny and I would be down there with them but that’d leave Ryan and Lindsay exposed here so we’re just hanging out at the lab until we can hear something.”
 
“Gil’s calling Gibbs,” Horatio said. “We’ll send some help up if Gibbs asks for it. But everyone is okay in New York?”
 
“We were all in the lab,” Mac replied. “And we took a page out of your book and told Stella the truth. She’s a little shocked but seems to be doing okay otherwise. How are things in Miami?”
 
“Crazy,” Horatio said. “I’ll have to fill you in later but I would like your professional opinion of Sam and Dean if you don’t mind.”
 
Mac sighed. “I don’t know how professional an opinion I have because my personal feelings keep getting in the way,” he said. “And I haven’t spent more than a few minutes around them. Why?”
 
“Because they were arrested for grave robbing tonight,” Horatio said. “And Mandy asked for my help to get them out.”
 
“Did you do it?”
 
“They’re telling the truth about hunting down ghosts and stuff,” Horatio replied. “I talked with them, Mac. Now I don’t know if that means they have another agenda with us or not but they’ll be staying in the community for the next few days so I’ll have a chance to study them closer.”
 
“You make them sound like an experiment,” Mac snorted.
 
“It’s a chance to make sure Mandy’s going to be safe.”
 
“Did she tell you about Sam?” Mac asked.
 
“Tell me what?”
 
“I’ll take that as a no,” Mac said. “She says he’s an unchanged dragon but she’s not sure about Dean. And Sam, somehow, managed to run across a blessing in the old draconic language.”
 
Horatio was silent for a moment. “It could be he’s connected to one of our communities,” he said. “I’ll have to talk with Mandy about telling him the truth. She said she’s waiting for a phone call from Abby.”
 
“With everything that’s going on down there it could take a while,” Mac said. “As much as I hate to say it we may just have to go off her feelings on this one and trust to luck. It’s not like we can’t kill them.”
 
“But if he is a dragon,” Horatio pointed out.
 
“Then its homicide,” Mac sighed. “Hang on a minute, H.” He moved the phone to the side. “What, Stella?”
 
“We need to talk,” she said firmly.
 
“H, I’ve got to go; Stella’s got that look on her face.”
 
“You can always hide under your desk,” Horatio laughed. “Good luck, Mac, and I’ll call in a few days once everything settles down a little more.”
********************
 
Gibbs was looking at the map Abby had found when his phone rang. “Gibbs.”
 
“It’s Gil; I hear that you’re having problems with a possible hunter.”
 
“Yeah, the guy took another shot at me,” Gibbs snarled. He ignored the fact that several of his team members took a step back. “I don’t know if it was to force a Change or not but he’s dead just as soon as we work out where he’s hiding.”
 
“Do you need help?” Gil asked.
 
“Probably but I don’t know how we’d attach any of you guys to the case,” Gibbs replied.
 
Gil sighed. “I don’t suppose we could just call it unofficial help and they stay out of your building?” he asked. “I know I’d feel better if there were more than just you and Flack for this, Gibbs.”
 
Gibbs stalked back into the middle lab where he wouldn’t be overheard. “Honestly, Gil, I would too,” he said softly. “I really would but do you think its right to place your community members in danger to help us out?”
 
“There are times I feel like we’re one big community,” Gil snorted. “Look, Jim and Warrick are sharp and, while Jim’s a little territorial at times, I think they’d be the best to help you guys out.”
 
“Are they willing to come up and help us out?”
 
“They’re right here and both nodding,” Gil said. “I think they can be there in a few hours if you can have someone pick them up at the airport.”
 
“I’ll send a car,” Gibbs said. “I’m not letting anyone leave the Yard until I’m positive I know where this creep is and we can deal with him. The only way I picked up on the gunshot was I heard the sniper riffle cock.”
 
“How positive are you it was aimed at Tony?”
 
“He and Kate were standing right next to each other,” Gibbs said. “I suppose he could have been aiming at either of them but we’re saying it was Tony for the sake of appearances right now. Both Kate and McGee are in shock at the moment.”
 
“I can imagine,” Gil said. “We’ll have to get more chairs for the community meetings.”
 
“You guys told your team?”
 
“Just Alexx and Calleigh,” Gil replied. “Jim and Warrick are heading out the door, Gibbs. They’ll give you a call when they get to DC.”
 
“Thank, Gil.”
 
“You’re welcome, Gibbs,” Gil said. “And call to keep my updated, please.”
********************
 
Mac put down his cell phone and looked at Stella. “Yes?” he asked calmly.
 
“I want to know how you can sit there so calmly and talk about killing someone,” she demanded. “And then think that it’s not murder until later.”
 
Danny snorted into his pop and started choking. “I’m fine,” he croaked as Hawkes hit him on the back a few times. “I just swallowed wrong.”
 
“Are you sure?” Mac asked. He moved over to the sofa where Danny was sitting and sank down next to him. “Look at me, Danny.”
 
“I’m fine, Mac,” Danny said softly with a smile. “I promise. And you’d probably answer Stella’s question before she bursts.”
 
Hawkes looked over. “Stella, one thing you have to understand is that the dragon world has its own set of rules and laws that don’t always fit in with modern society,” he said. “I promise you that Mac hasn’t broken any laws no matter what it might sound like.”
 
“We’re still trying to work out a way to make people forget about us if they find out when we don’t want them to,” Mac said. “And our lore masters are as lost as we are in that regard so we’re just kind of playing it by ear right now.”
 
“You’ve met the lore masters?” Hawkes asked.
 
“Yeah,” Danny replied. “Alphas and betas have the power to make the jump. They’re nice.”
 
“Mac, would you really kill someone without another thought?” Stella asked.
 
“If they were threatening Danny or another member of my community,” Mac replied calmly. “Stella, you have to remember I’m not a human anymore. I’m still learning how to control my emotions and, at times, they can get away from me. Deep down I suppose you could say that I’m a logical wild animal.”
 
This time both Ryan and Danny snorted. Mac looked at his human and took away his pop. “Go get some water before you kill yourself,” Mac sighed with a fond smile. “Stel, that man means the world to me.”
 
“And Lindsay and Ryan?” Stella asked.
 
“They just bonded but I’m sure the base feelings are there,” Mac said.
 
Lindsay nodded. “It’s not something we can explain, Stella,” she said. “It’s something you have to experience for yourself. But I know that if anyone tries to hurt me, Ryan will be right there to protect me. It makes me feel safe.”

Gibbs was in the lab studying a map Abby had somehow created on her computer when he heard a couple of familiar voices in the outer part of the lab where his team was working. With a small sigh he grabbed his coffee cup and went out to join them. “Jim, Warrick,” Gibbs said, “welcome to NCIS.”
 
“Thanks Gibbs,” Jim replied. “Is there any more coffee around?”
 
“Abby?”
 
“I’m sure there is somewhere,” Abby said not looking up from her computer. “Guys this is Kate Todd and Tim McGee.”
 
“They know?” Warrick asked.
 
“Wait, you two are dragons?” McGee asked. Everyone could tell he was trying not to take a step back. Everyone could also tell that it wasn’t fear that was making McGee so unsure; it was the fact that he was trying to fit everything he’d learned into his view of the world and didn’t want to offend anyone while doing it.
 
“He is,” Warrick said with a grin. “I’m his human.”
 
“Yes, Kate, most of us are,” Gibbs said. “Jim, come take a look at what we’ve put together so far.”
 
Jim snorted. “You looked up my record, didn’t you?”
 
“Sure did,” Gibbs grinned. “Why didn’t you mention you’re a Marine?”
 
“That makes three,” Warrick commented to Tony and Abby. “Where’s Don?”
 
“He’s in the back working on something,” Abby said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do short of killing this guy but with the mood Gibbs has been in since he was shot I think that’s enough of a plan to work with.”
 
Gibbs snorted and led Jim back into the room where Don was waiting. “We need to be able to keep the humans safe,” he said once the door shut behind them. “Ari already tried to take out Tony today and I do not want to give him another chance at them.”
 
“Good luck keeping them away,” Jim said. “When Gil and I first Changed and Greg was kidnapped Nicky and Rick decided that they would go with the SWAT team to find him. They told Gil and me to stay at the lab or at Gil’s house and they’d be back.”
 
“It’s different for a dragon than a human though, ain’t it?” Don asked. “I mean we have the almost genetic need to protect the humans.”
 
“But at the same time it’s supposed to be a partnership,” Jim replied. “And I don’t think I want to try and explain to Rick that he has to stay here while I’m off hunting down some creep that wants us all dead.”
 
“Put like that we might have to come up with something else,” Gibbs said. “Abby and McGee think that Ari is hold up in this warehouse and we can get to him with no problem. Jim, you’re a little harder to explain but I think if you vanish before anyone else shows up we shouldn’t have a problem.”
 
“What about Don?” Jim asked. “How’s your control doing?”
 
“We think as long as Abby is out of danger I should be okay,” Don replied. “Although I could Change just as a result of the danger around us.”
 
Jim sighed. “That in and of itself is a reason to keep the humans here,” he said.
 
“I see what you mean,” Gibbs said. “Right now I’m the only one they know is a dragon. If we can keep Don from Changing then we have the upper hand.”
 
“And I have my Changed under fairly firm control,” Jim said. “I seriously doubt that any dragon can totally control them. Not if his human is threatened in any way.”
 
“Well then, let’s get the plans for this warehouse and get to work,” Gibbs said.
********************
 
Mac was relieved when his phone rang. He couldn’t believe that Stella was taking things to heart the way she was. And it didn’t help matters that Hawkes and Ryan didn’t know enough about the dragon world to head her off. “Taylor.”
 
“It’s Gil,” the Miami Alpha said. “I just had a call from my old ME from Vegas and he told me that a friend of his knows of a young man who has been studying not only dragons but hunters as well.”
 
“That’s great, Gil, but why call me?” Mac asked.
 
“Because I think he’s in your lab,” Gil replied. “I recognize the name and I’m fairly sure it was from your lab.”
 
“Okay, I guess this day can’t get any stranger,” Mac said. “And I am so handing the phone off so you can talk to Stella for me. She’s got a few issues with how we deal with people.”
 
“A few issues?” Stella demanded. “Mac, you’re talking about killing people!”
 
“So I hear,” Gil laughed. “When the NYDC crisis is over send her down and we’ll have a nice long talk about how vital it is that dragons stay hidden and, as of this moment, that’s the only option we have of dealing with people we don’t want spreading the word about our communities.”
 
“How true,” Mac said. “So who has been hiding in my lab not telling me something so important?”
 
Danny looked over at his dragon’s words. *Mac*
 
*Later*
 
“Okay, Gil, lay it on me,” Mac said.
********************
 
It took some arguing but, when Gibbs pointed out that someone needed to stay and guard Abby in the lab, the humans agreed to stay at the yard as long as Gibbs promised to take Kate and McGee along as back-up. He tried to debate the point but, as Tony pointed out, it was either that or the community humans were going along.
 
Jim was surprised that Warrick agreed to stay put like he did and pulled him off to one side. “What are you guys planning?” he asked softly.
 
“What makes you think we’re planning anything?”
 
“Because you’ve agreed to stay here while I go and face an armed gunman,” Jim said. “It’s not like you, Rick.”
 
“If my being there is going to put you in more danger, no matter how much I hate it, I’m going to stay here and wait for a phone call,” Warrick said. He reached out and cupped Jim’s face gently. “I love you and I’m not going to do anything to put you in danger.”
 
Jim put his hand over Warrick’s and pulled his human down for a kiss. “I love you too,” he whispered. “And we’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”
********************
 
The warehouse was smaller in real life than it had looked on the plans and there were only three doors. The main one was the shipping door, large and most likely locked. The other two were smaller and Gibbs knew those were the ones that were most likely being watched. He and Jim worked their way slowly around the building, keeping to the shadows, and found another way in. It was a window at the very back of the warehouse that opened into an office that was not only completely empty, the door was shut. Gibbs knew he could get his team in and into position even if Ari and his back-up were in place around the main room. Now the element of surprise was in his favor.
 
“Tell me what you smell,” Gibbs whispered once the other two dragons were in the room with him. They’d left Kate and McGee outside to watch the other doors.
 
“Two people, one female,” Jim said just as softly.
 
“One of them is Ari,” Gibbs said. “I don’t smell any poisons or other herbs or chemicals; do you?”
 
“No,” Don said. “But does that mean there’s not something just as deadly out there?”
 
Gibbs snorted. “There’s something even more deadly in here; us. When you hear the gun shots we move,” he said. “Change if you have to but I want both of them dead.”
 
Jim and Don nodded. Don knew he had to stay back because his control was far shakier than the older dragons and his Change could cause more problems than help. Gibbs and Jim both knew that they would most likely end up Changing to true form so they put their guns back in the holsters and secured them.
 
When two shots echoed through the empty warehouse Gibbs kicked the door open and the dragons made their way into the larger room. There were two people, Ari and a younger woman, one covering each of the side doors. Gibbs Changed and lunged towards Ari, picking the man up in his mouth. The woman turned at his scream and was promptly crushed by Jim. 
 
“Ziva,” Ari yelled.
 
“You’re dead,” Gibbs said in a low growl, his voice muffled only slightly holding the terrorist in his fangs. He moved his head to the left and threw Ari into the air. The man twisted a couple of times before crashing to the cement floor. One look was all it took to know he was dead as well.
 
The dragons Changed back and the first thing they did was call their humans. Then Gibbs called Ducky and the director to let him know what had happened.
********************
 
Mac sighed in relief at the call from Tony letting him know the threat had been eliminated for the moment. Now he just had one other small matter to deal with; other than Stella anyway. He made his way to the trace lab, the name Gil had given him still echoing in his head.
 
“Adam, we need to talk.”

Ducky looked around the warehouse and found Gibbs standing off to one side watching the activity around him. “What happened, Jethro?” he asked.
 
“Officially or unofficially?”
 
“Jethro.”
 
“Fine Duck, off the record the bastard got what was coming to him,” Gibbs replied. “As far as the reports and the feds know they were dead when we got here and have no idea what happened to them. I was actually waiting on you so I could grab Tony and we can go check out the dirt bag’s apartment. I found an address in his wallet and I really want to get there before Fornell does.”
 
“I don’t blame you a bit, Jethro,” Ducky said. “And I’m sure my findings will tell us what happened to them; officially, of course.”
 
“Thanks,” Gibbs smiled. “DiNozzo, you’re with me.”
 
“On your six, boss.”
********************
 
The apartment was small but Gibbs and Tony both paused in the door and looked around in what could only be called shock. There were books and binders stacked up against every wall; the book shelves were overflowing and that was only the front room. “I think we’re going to need the rest of the team, Jethro,” Tony said. “And if this is what I think it is, most of it will have to go to Mandy for her research.”
 
“Make the calls, Tony,” Gibbs said. “I’ll start looking. But we move quick; for all we know Fornell and the fibbies know about this place and will be here any minute. I do not want him to find out the truth.”
 
“You got it, boss,” Tony said pulling out his cell phone.
********************
 
Adam looked at Mac like a deer caught in the headlights, an analogy that didn’t really work for New York but Mac decided to let it pass and maybe schedule an appointment with the department shrink if he was starting to critique his inner voice.
 
“Did I do something wrong?” Adam asked looking around as if trying to figure out what test had gone wrong or what case he had screwed up on.
 
“No,” Mac said holding up a hand. “I just got a phone call from a friend of mine in Miami who got a phone call from a friend of his in Vegas who got a call from a friend of his saying that you might be able to help us out.”
 
“Um, are you okay Mac?” Adam blinked. He’d never heard his boss talk like that before.
 
“Just come with me, please,” Mac sighed. He rubbed his head. *Danny*
 
*Yeah Mac*
 
*Do you know if insanity is common in dragons*
 
*No but I can ask Mandy. I think it is common in CSI supervisors who put in too many hours on the job thought* Danny replied with a smile. *Where are you*
 
*On my way back to the office. Can you chase everyone out? You and I need to handle this ourselves and we can fill the others in later* Mac said. *It turns out that one of our lab techs knows about hunters and dragons and has been holding out on us*
 
*Cool* Danny said. *The room will be empty by the time you arrive*
 
Mac shook his head and wondered what he’d done in a past life to earn him such a smart ass for a human. “Adam, I have a few questions for you,” he said. “And they’re questions I think only you can answer, at least right now.”
 
The office was indeed empty when Mac approached it. He opened the door and motioned Adam inside. He also noticed the tension lessen a little when the lab tech saw Danny sitting on the sofa. “Hey Danny,” Adam said. “Do you know what’s going on?”
 
“Yep,” Danny grinned. “You’ve been hiding something from us, Adam.”
 
“Hiding what?”
 
“You know the truth about Mac and didn’t say nothing,” Danny said.
 
“What was I supposed to say?” Adam asked. “It’s not like I could just walk up to you guys and say that I know Mac’s a dragon and I know a bunch of history and lore. What if I was wrong? You guys would think I’m crazy and then I’d be out of a job and I really like it here and don’t want to mess up.”
 
Mac and Danny traded a look. “Not quite up to Greg but faster than Abby,” Danny grinned. “Adam, we don’t blame you for not saying anything but we got a call from a dragon friend in Miami who had your name. We’re in a mini-war with the hunters right now and our expert is outta town. Gil said that you know ‘bout the hunters and we was hoping you’d be able to help us out here.”
 
“The hunters?” Adam asked. “I didn’t realize they were actually back.”
 
“We’re not entirely sure they are,” Mac replied with a sigh. He sat down behind his desk. “But Peyton had information on them in her apartment and my alpha believes he was forced into a Change by a hunter. The man in question is dead and they’re looking into it but it would really help us out if you could head down there and answer any questions he has.”
 
“Okay, wait a minute, I’m a little confused,” Adam said holding up his hand. “You’re not an alpha, Mac?”
 
“Nope, I’m a beta dragon,” Mac said with a smile. “My alpha, his human, Don Flack and his human are all down in DC. And that’s where we really need the help right now. Our historian is dealing with some problems in another community and can’t come home yet.”
 
“Who?”
 
“Amanda,” Mac said. “You don’t have to go to DC, Adam, but it would really help us all out if you could. I don’t know what Gibbs is dealing with there right now. He’s ordered us to stay in the lab until we’re sure what’s going on. Fortunately there’s enough paperwork here to make it seem reasonable for now.”
 
“How did Mandy find out about all this?” Adam asked.
 
“She grew up near a community,” Danny said. “Mandy’s been teaching all of us ‘bout our history and helped Mac and me when he Changed for the first time. He had draconic amnesia and it didn’t help none that neither of us knew what the hell was going on.”
 
Adam looked over at Mac. “That’s extremely rare,” he said. “Did your memories of the time prior to the Change ever come back or are they still gone?”
 
“They came back in flashes,” Mac said. “Which worked out well in the end because Danny and I were able to work through everything as it came up. And it didn’t have any affect on my blending either although there was some concern about that.”
 
“I’ll have to talk with Mandy when she gets home,” Adam said. “I’ve been trying to learn more about draconic amnesia but because it’s so rare no one really has any records on it. This is fascinating. Who else is in the community?”
 
“Down in Washington DC there’s Gibbs and his human Tony, Don and Abby; then I think they just told the rest of their team so Ducky, Kate and McGee,” Mac said. “Up here there’s Danny and me, Ryan and Lindsay, you, Hawkes, Mandy and Stella. And if you could talk to Stella about the rules and laws of the dragon world for me I’d really appreciate it. She overheard a comment to Gil about killing someone who might be a danger to the community and is a little upset that I’m so casual about killing someone.”
 
Danny snorted. “That’s the understatement of the year,” he said. “I thought Stella was gonna kill Mac.”
 
“She still might,” Mac said. “Unless we can get her calmed down a little. Right now I don’t think Stella knows exactly what’s going on so she’s just watching and waiting for something to make some kind of sense.”
 
“In other words she’s treating this like a crime scene,” Danny said.
 
“So how about it, Adam, are you willing to go down and help Gibbs and the others?” Mac asked.
 
“As long as someone can finish all the tests I have to run,” Adam said.
 
“I’ll do it,” Danny said. “Tell Flack I said hi, yeah?”
********************
 
Gibbs tucked his cell phone away and looked over at his human. Tony was packing boxes with books as fast as he could. “That was Mac,” Gibbs said softly. “It turns out there’s another historian in New York and he’s flying down to help us make sense of all this.”
 
“How’d Mac find him?” Tony asked.
 
“Gil,” Gibbs replied. “Finish up here and take everything back to our place. I’m going to head out to the airport to pick up this Adam Ross and I’ll meet you there. The director already knows we’re not coming back to the yard tonight.”
 
“Right boss,” Tony said.
 
“Hey Gibbs,” Don called. “Where’d Jim and Warrick get to?”
 
“They’re at my house,” Gibbs said. “I don’t want anyone questioning why they’re in DC at the moment and they’re safe.”
 
“Right,” Don said. “Hey Tony, check this out.”
 
“What’d you find?”
 
Don tossed him a notebook. Tony opened it and whistled. “Hey Gibbs, you might want to look at this before you head out,” Tony called.
 
“What is it?”
 
“A notebook with enough blackmail information on half the FBI to last a lifetime,” Tony said. He tossed the book to Gibbs. “You might want to call Fornell.”
 
“Yeah, I think maybe its time he and I had another chat,” Gibbs said. “Don, call Abby and ask her to pick up Adam at the airport.”

Gibbs was in the basement sanding part of his still unfinished boat when his head snapped up suddenly. He sniffed the air a couple of times, grinned and nodded towards the shadows under his stairs. Then the creak of floorboards could be heard and footsteps on the creaky wooden stairs.
 
“Jethro, when are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours not to interfere in bureau affairs?” Fornell asked as he stomped down into the basement.
 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gibbs said as he ran the sanding block over the plank he was working on.
 
“The whole Ari situation,” Fornell replied. “We had everything under control until you and your team bumbled in and ruined it.”
 
The ice blue alpha didn’t look up. “So what you’re telling me is that you knew Ari and his sister were going to steal the missile, the targeting system and a man’s hands, killing him in the process; set it up on a roof overlooking the docks, give an innocent child the target hidden inside a teddy bear, attempt to blow up one of our returning boats.” He finally looked up and made eye contact with the FBI agent. “Not to mention attempting to kill one of my team after everything was over with.”
 
“Of course not,” Fornell said sounding a little flustered.
 
“Then you must mean that you knew where Ari and his sister were hiding all this time and sent your people to take care of them,” Gibbs continued not breaking the icy stare he’d leveled at the other man. “Because when DiNozzo and I got there they were both dead and there were no signs of a battle so that tells me professionals took them out.”
 
“The bureau wouldn’t do something like that,” Fornell said. He blinked a few times out of reflex when it seemed like Gibbs hadn’t blinked since he looked up from the boat. “And who is this sister you keep referring to?”
 
“There was a girl in the warehouse with him,” Gibbs said. He put down the sanding block and walked over to the bench where his coffee mug was sitting. “We ran the DNA and it came back as a family match but we don’t know who she is. And since they’re both dead they can’t tell us anything. That’s handy for you guys.”
 
“Jethro, I told you that we didn’t have anything to do with any of this,” Fornell said. “Ari was acting on his own and played us all for fools but you still should have let us take care of it.”
 
Gibbs blinked once, slowly and stared at Fornell for a long moment until the agent looked away towards the frame of the boat. “He tried to kill Tony, Tobias,” Gibbs said softly. “Ari made it personal the day he shot me in the morgue and continued it when he came back. I don’t give a damn if he was using your bureau for a shield or protection. I don’t care if your director thinks I stepped into your business; that man tried to kill one of my people and that makes it my business. Wrap that up however you want and give it to your director.”
 
“One of these days, Jethro, you’re going to go too far and I won’t be able to help you,” Fornell said. “Where are the bodies now?”
 
“Duck’s got ‘em,” Gibbs said. “And we found Ari’s apartment. There wasn’t much there, just a notebook but I thought it was something you should know about, Tobias.”
 
“What?”
 
Gibbs leaned over and picked up some photocopies. “The original is under lock and key in a safe place but these are the pages I thought you’d like to know about.”
 
Fornell took the pages and leafed through them quickly, frowned and went back to the beginning to study them more closely. Overhead the front door opened and shut. “Gibbs?”
 
“Down here, DiNozzo,” Gibbs called in reply.
 
“Hey boss, I made those calls you wanted me to and, oh, hey Fornell.” Tony sat down on the stairs and leaned back. “I take it Gibbs has been filling you in on everything.”
 
“I think he’s in shock, DiNozzo,” Gibbs smirked. “Did you get a chance to talk with Ducky before you left the yard?”
 
“No, he was still in the middle of the first autopsy and Palmer said he’d call when he’s done,” Tony replied. “Abby is still working on the evidence we found at the warehouse and it doesn’t look like she’s going to be leaving the lab any time soon.” He broke off as Fornell stalked past him without a word and the door slammed over their heads. “Well, that was rude.”
 
Gibbs snorted. “I think he knows something else is going on but those pages are going to keep not only him but half the bureau busy for at least a week,” he said. “You guys can come out.”
 
Jim and Warrick stepped out into the light and sat down on stools Gibbs had dug out for them to use. “So that was Fornell,” Jim said shaking his head. “Somehow I was expecting a little more in the fireworks frame when he read those pages, especially the one that says he’s been taking bribes from the mafia so they can keep working.”
 
“That’s going to come back to bite him in the ass,” Tony said. “Jethro, Abby called from the airport, she’s got Adam and is on her way here with him.”
 
“That was a nice touch saying she was still in the lab, Tony,” Warrick said. “There’s no way for anyone to check that out, is there?”
 
“There is but we can always say she was in the rest room or one of the back rooms,” Gibbs said. “Besides, no one questions me for long.”
 
“I believe that,” Jim said. “How many boxes of crap did you find in this guy’s apartment?”
 
Tony rolled his shoulders. “Enough that Donnie and I are thinking about going into the professional moving business,” he said. “And we still have to get them to New York and Mandy’s apartment which is in a building with no elevator by the way.”
 
“We won’t know what’s useful and what’s not until Mandy and Adam have a chance to look through everything,” Gibbs said. “But I think that Ari and Ziva were, if not hunters, at least in the loop. His actions were too personal for it to be anything else.”
 
They heard the door open again. “Yo?”
 
“Down in the basement, Donnie,” Tony grinned.
 
“Hey, the last box is finally stored away in the spare room,” Don said as he sank down on the stairs next to Tony. “Has Abs called?”
 
“Yeah, she’s on her way…ouch!”
 
Jim and Warrick snickered. Gibbs hopped back down to the floor and went back to his boat. “Has anyone called Miami to let them know we’re all okay and have more information?” he asked.
 
The rest of the community blinked and looked around. “I don’t think so, boss,” Tony said still rubbing the back of his head.
 
“I’ll do it,” Jim said. “I’m sure Gil’s on the edge of his seat waiting for news.”
 
“Call Mandy too,” Gibbs said. “She needs to know that we’re going to be putting things in her apartment.”
********************
 
Adam was the first to admit that he was more than a little nervous about flying to DC to help Special Agent Gibbs with anything. The man scared him. He scared him more than Mac and that was saying something. But Adam also knew that he couldn’t really turn down the request for help from a community member as he did know quite a bit about hunters and their history and, if what Mac had said was true, then he’d be in demand quite a lot in the coming months. And Adam couldn’t wait to get together with Mandy and talk community and dragon history, find out what she knew and teach her what he knew. It was going to be fun. And Mac had mentioned something about friends in Miami. All in all it seemed like Adam was part of a community he hadn’t even known existed.
 
Suddenly his arms were full of Abby. He stumbled back a little before he caught his balance and hugged her back. “Hey Abs,” Adam said. “I take it things have been a little tense down here?”
 
“You have no idea,” Abby said. “Come on, everyone is waiting for you at the house now that it’s safe for us to be out and about again. Someone did call and let the New York half know that didn’t they?”
 
“I think so,” Adam said. “I’m still trying to feel my way along in all this. I knew about Mac but didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure of what I was seeing. Now I’ve just been kinda thrown to the wolves.”
 
Abby shut the car door and started it. “So how’d they find out about you?” she asked as she pulled slowly out into traffic.
 
“Mac said something about friends in Miami,” Adam replied.
 
“That’ll be Gil and the others,” Abby said. “There’s a community down there as well; Gil Grissom is the alpha and Horatio Caine is the beta.”
 
“Is that where they’re talking about sending Stella?”
 
“I haven’t talked with anyone recently so I don’t know,” Abby said. “All I know for sure is we have a ton of boxes full of stuff from this suspected hunter’s apartment that we need someone to look at and Mandy’s refusing to leave Miami right now. Plus the dead guy had a notebook with enough information to destroy the FBI and Gibbs is upset about that although he won’t admit it. There’s going to be trouble soon, I can just feel it.”

“Hey Lindsay, can I talk to you for a minute?” Stella asked catching the younger woman in the locker room.
 
“Sure,” Lindsay replied with a smile. “Let me guess, you want to know more about the whole community thing.” She sat down and patted the bench next to her. “I’ll be honest, Stel, until Ryan Changed to save me in an abandoned warehouse I didn’t have any clue about this world. So I don’t know that I’m really the one you should be talking to about it. Why not talk to Mac and Danny?”
 
“Because I’m not sure Mac’s entirely sane at the moment,” Stella said. “Look, this really isn’t the best place for us to be talking. Do you want to go out and get some breakfast?”
 
Lindsay checked her watch. “I need to check with Mac and make sure we’ve been cleared to leave the lab,” she said. “And we’re not supposed to talk about this in public but you’re more than welcome to come over. Ryan is an awesome cook and I know he won’t mind having you over as well and we can try to answer your questions. How does that sound?”
 
“That sounds great, Lindsay,” Stella said trying to smile. “Thanks.”
********************
 
“Gibbs.”
 
“Jethro, you need to ease up,” Mandy said calmly. “Because you’re going to cause our only expert on hunters to have a heart attack and then where will we be?”
 
“He called you didn’t he?”
 
“Of course and Adam is working with the others to get the boxes in question shipped to my place for review,” Mandy replied. “Gibbs, sometimes I think you forget exactly how much of a bastard you can be when you’re tense and it isn’t fair to take it out on others. Especially those who have only known you for a short period of time and are in awe of you. Now go apologize to Adam, make breakfast for everyone and I will meet you in New York.”
 
Tony glanced over at his dragon and was a little concerned to see Gibbs just staring at his phone. “Uh, Jethro?”
 
“I just got told off by a sixteen-year-old,” Gibbs said sounding more than a little dazed.
 
Tony told himself he wasn’t going to laugh and risk a head smack. He bit down hard on his lower lip but he could feel himself losing the battle. Damn it, he was going to laugh. Don, Abby and Adam looked up from the kitchen table where they were reviewing one of the newer looking books when they heard hysterical laughter from the living room. “That’s Tony,” Abby said. “And I haven’t heard him laugh like that in a long time.”
 
“What happened?” Don asked.
 
“No idea,” Abby grinned. “But it’s good to hear. Tony’s wicked serious these days and I’ve been worried about him.”
 
“But what if Gibbs is in there?” Adam asked.
 
“Oh,” Abby’s smile faded. “I didn’t think about that. Gibbs!”
 
The ice blue dragon looked around the corner. “What, Abs?”
 
“What’s going on?” she asked.
 
“Tony’s just being Tony,” Gibbs replied. “I think we’re going to have to leave him alone for a while to calm down.”
 
“Boss, it’s like these are in another language,” Don said. “I don’t know how much we’ll be able to figure out.”
 
“Aw hell, just pack ‘em up and get the stuff ready to head up to New York. You guys are going to have to rent a truck and drive because there’s no way in hell we’re shipping this,” Gibbs said. “But make arrangements to return the truck up there and fly home. I don’t think I can keep the director off our case for more than three days.”
 
Don nodded. “We can leave as soon as Tony calms down,” he said. “We’ll manage; boss, especially if we drive in shifts. Hell, it’s only about five hours allowing for traffic.”
 
“Go get the truck,” Gibbs said. “And get ready to start loading it up. I’ll get Tony calmed down somehow and make sure we’re covered from this end. Hell, I think the paperwork we gave Tobias will be on the director’s desk and I’ll be in meetings all day anyway. Who knows what trouble Kate and Tim will get up to.”
 
“On it, boss,” Don said.
 
Gibbs smirked as the younger dragon left with Abby and Adam. He didn’t know it but Don was slowly turning into a double to Tony when it came to work and it made things so much easier to not have to glare as hard at his community members to get them to do something. Gibbs sighed, now he just had to get Tony to calm down before he ruptured something.
********************
 
Stella looked around the apartment as Lindsay hung up their coats in the hall closet. It was a cheerful place, lightly painted walls, open with nice furniture and pictures spread around tastefully. “This is Ryan’s place,” Lindsay said as she led the way into the kitchen and grabbed some juice from the fridge. “We’re looking for a larger place for the two of us but you know how impossible it can be to find decent apartments around here.”
 
“So you still have your place?”
 
“For now,” Lindsay said. “We end up there some mornings because it’s closer to the lab and not so long of a commute but this is really home at the moment.”
 
“I’ve told her to just move in but there’s not enough room,” Ryan said walking into the kitchen. He kissed Lindsay gently. “So Stella, what’s going on with you?”
 
“I have some questions,” Stella said. “And Lindsay says you’re not supposed to talk about it in public. What kind of rules do you guys have to follow, anyway? Is this like a cult or something?”
 
Ryan snorted. “You’d be amazed at how many people actually ask that question,” he said. “H told me that both Cal and Alexx were concerned about what he’d gotten himself into before he was able to fill them in. No, Stella, it’s not a cult.”
 
“Well then why can’t you go out to breakfast like a normal couple?”
 
“We could but if you wanted to ask questions about dragons or a community then it has to be in private,” Ryan said. He closed the refrigerator door and set some things down on the counter. “You know, Mac is really the one you need to be talking to about all this.”
 
“She’s not too sure about how sane Mac is,” Lindsay sighed. “I wish it wasn’t so dangerous right now because you guys could Change and prove it too her once and for all. Stel, if I hadn’t seen Ryan with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it either. But think about the people in our community; Mac, Danny, Hawkes, Don Flack, and us. Do you really think all of us are crazy?”
 
“I heard Mac quite clearly on the phone talking about killing someone,” Stella said. “And he didn’t sound the least bit sorry about it either.”
 
“And I told you that we could explain that,” Mac’s voice said from behind her. “Ryan, I just got a phone call from DC; they’re sending a truckload of stuff up to Amanda’s apartment. Would you be willing to meet them there to help unload it? I’m afraid Dan and I have to go down and meet with Gibbs for a couple of hours.”
 
“How did, how did he get in here?” Stella asked.
 
“We have keys to all the community apartment,” Mac replied. “I’m sorry to interrupt your breakfast like this and I’ll head out so I don’t make you uncomfortable, Stella. But I wish you had come to me with these questions. We can’t work together if you can’t trust me.”
 
“You’re not going to convince me you came by just for that,” Stella said.
 
“I didn’t,” Mac said calmly. “I also had journals for Ryan and Lindsay to read. Guys, the blue set is history and lore on loan from Amanda. The green set is mine and Danny’s so there’s not much there but they might help you. And the silver set is Gibbs’. Amanda and Adam will be home but working on translations and organization for the better part of the next month so questions can go to them but we have to allow for a slower turn around time.”
 
Ryan grinned. “Mac, we have two historians with Hawkes well on his way to becoming one,” he said. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
 
“You’re probably right, Ryan, but if Gil’s hunch is right and we are getting ready for a war with the hunters then I’d like answers as quickly as possible,” Mac grinned. “If you guys could stay at home today I’d really appreciate it because you’re going to be on your own until tonight. Call Sheldon if anything comes up and Danny or I will call when we get back.”
 
“We’ll be fine, Mac; both of us are on the swing shift tomorrow anyway,” Lindsay said from the table where she was already flipping through one of the books. “You and Danny be safe traveling. If there are hunters out there then an airplane or airport is as good a place to get you as any.”
 
Mac took the grilled ham and cheese sandwich Ryan had wrapped up for him. “True, but I think Gibbs said something about special transport,” he said. “Which in Marine speak is a cargo plane but I’ll take what I can get. I’ll talk with you tonight.”
 
“Does he really have a key?” Stella asked, the only question she could form.
 
“Yep, here and my place,” Lindsay replied cheerfully. “Stella, the community is a family. It’s the job of the alpha and beta to watch over everyone and keep them safe. We’re a little unique because we’re spread out kinda crazy with Gibbs down in DC and Mac here but it doesn’t do much more than change the dynamic of our interactions a little.”
 
“Lindsay, have you actually met Gibbs?” Stella asked. “The guy is a total jerk. I saw him tell one of his guys to do something and then snapped at him not a minute later for not having it done. And he hits them all the time.”
 
“Ah, the famous Gibbs’ smack,” Lindsay grinned. “Stel, that was his human, Tony. Gibbs never touches anyone else on his team; Tony’s the one that smacks McGee all the time. He and Tony have been together how long, Ryan?”
 
“Two or three years at least,” Ryan said. “Gibbs has been Changed the longest, Gil the second and H is third. Stella, honestly if you want answers you either have to suck it up and talk with Mac or you need to take a trip south and visit with Gil down in Miami. He’s an alpha and can answer almost anything.”
 
“I just don’t know what to think,” Stella sighed. She took the plate of food with a smile. “It’s like my best friend has suddenly changed into someone I don’t know.”
 
“Well, he has Changed but not in the way you’re thinking,” Ryan said. “The dragon is a little more violent but we learn to rein it in, unless our human is in danger. Then there’s no question that we’re going to act on it.”
 
“I thought you guys said you didn’t know much about all this.”
 
“We don’t; you’re asking the same questions we did when we were first learning about things,” Lindsay grinned. “Stella, I’ll tell you the truth. There isn’t a feeling in the world like when you see your dragon in true form for the first time. I was scared to death because I didn’t know what was going on. But Danny was there and he understood what I was going through. He’s as much a beta for this community as Mac is.”
 
“Sometimes it’s easier for a human to talk with another human and a dragon to another dragon,” Ryan added.
 
“Let me give you a phone number for Miami,” Lindsay said. “We all have them and I know Nicky won’t mind if you call him. He’s the alpha human down there and seems to know quite a lot about our world.”
 
Stella rubbed her eyes. “You keep calling it your world,” she said.
 
“When you bond you find out there’s a whole ‘nother world out there that you didn’t know about,” Ryan said. “With a history and lore as rich, if not richer than the one we all learned in school. But there are also enemies and dangers out there that we all have to learn about. I think it might be a good idea if you stayed here for a while today and read through some of the beginner books so you know what to be on guard for.”
 
“I don’t want to intrude,” Stella said.
 
Ryan glanced at his watch and did some mental math. “Well, Linds and I are newly bonded so we can’t go more than four hours or so,” he said. “But that still leaves us with three and I think you can figure out some stuff in that amount of time.”
 
“Go without what?” Stella asked.
 
Lindsay and Ryan both turned red. “Sex,” Lindsay finally said.
********************
 
As Stella flipped through a soft red journal her mind kept returning to the fact that the man she’d considered a friend and mentor wasn’t a man any more. Or so he told her; she still had her doubts about that because she hadn’t seen any hard evidence to prove that dragons truly existed. And to hear him be so casual about committing a crime that could easily land him in prison like the people they caught every day chilled her.
 
And she couldn’t forget the look in his eye as he gazed at Danny any time Mac thought someone wasn’t looking. It was so soft, so full of warmth and affection that Stella had no doubt that Mac would kill anyone who tried to hurt Danny. Or take him away from Mac in any way.
 
Slowly she let the book fall closed on her finger as her green eyes lost focus for a moment and Stella was carried back to a crime scene she’d processed a little over half a year ago. God, had it been that long since Peyton had jumped off the building, killing herself? Knowing what she did know Stella wondered if she would have come to the same conclusions she had back then. A small voice whispered in her mind that it was just possible that Mac had somehow killed Peyton by flinging her from the roof top.

Mac and Danny took a taxi to Gibbs’ house once they arrived in DC. Neither of them knew exactly what was going on in their community or the larger dragon world but were on guard until they were safely inside.
 
“Hey Donnie,” Danny said hugging his friend. “You guys are all all right?”
 
“We’re fine, Danno,” Don replied. “In fact we’re heading out to take stuff to New York so we’ll probably see you there before we come back home again.”
 
“Drive safely and keep your eyes open,” Gibbs said as he walked into the room. “Mac, Danny, good to see you guys safe and in one piece.”
 
“Shouldn’t we be saying that to you?” Mac asked. “Hey Don, do me a favor when you’re in New York?”
 
“If I can.”
 
“Can you and Tony talk with Stella for a bit? She’s getting some strange ideas in her head and won’t listen to me any more. I’m worried that she’s going to talk with someone she shouldn’t and we’ll have to do something about it.”
 
Gibbs frowned. “We’ll talk about it,” he said. “Get moving, Don. And call me when you guys get there.”
 
“On it, boss,” Don said.
 
Tony slid into the room and into his dragon’s arms. “You be careful too, Jethro,” he said kissing Gibbs. “I think Fornell is going to be out for your blood here soon.”
 
“I can handle Tobias,” Gibbs smirked. He kissed Tony a second time. “Get going. Mandy’s going to meet you at her place. Make sure she’s safe and secure and then check in and see what’s going on with Stella. I don’t want any more problems if we can avoid them.”
 
“You got it, boss.”
 
Mac glanced at his alpha once they were alone. “All right, Gibbs, what’s going on?”
 
“The hunter was most likely after me and Tony but I want to go over some ideas and new rules that I’ve been thinking we need to put in place for the community,” Gibbs said. “And we need to talk with Gil and see what he thinks about putting them in place down in Miami as well. If the hunters are indeed on the move then we need to prepare for the battle.”
********************
 
Sheldon Hawkes picked Mandy up at the airport and took her to her apartment. He offered to help her get ready for the new boxes that were coming and she accepted with a smile. “Did you hear about Stella?” Hawkes asked as he was moving a stack of books into the spare bedroom.
 
“Is she okay?” Mandy asked.
 
“Physically, yes,” Hawkes replied. “But she’s starting to ask some bad questions that might lead to some problems for the community. I don’t know what to do and Mac’s down in DC with Gibbs right now.”
 
“And I can’t do anything because I’ve got to wait here for the books.”
 
“Well, why don’t we invite her over here?” Mandy asked.
 
“That could work,” Hawkes said. “Does she know where you live?”
 
“I don’t know,” Mandy said. “But we can always give her directions. And we might as well order in for supper. I feel like sandwiches from the deli.”
 
Hawkes grinned. “And it might not be a bad idea to have food ready for the others when they get here,” he said. “Tony, Don and Adam are coming with the books.”
 
“And Donnie has a black hole for a stomach,” Mandy laughed. “Why don’t you call Stella and give her directions for dinner. Hell, call Ryan and Lindsay and see if they want to join us as well. And I’ll call for the food.”
 
“Okay.”
********************
 
“How the hell are you going to get this outta here?” Danny asked when he saw the boat in the basement.
 
“I have my ways,” Gibbs replied with a grin. “Mac, the only reason I’m still here with you is because I heard the sniper riffle. I think we’re going to have to make it a rule that our dragon senses are on full alert any time we’re at a crime scene, especially if we’re going to keep our humans safe.”
 
“It’ll take some practice,” Mac said. “To be able to work a crime scene where there’s blood will overwhelm us for a while. Is there a way to use one sense without turning up the others?”
 
“You mean like hearing and vision but not touch or smell?” Danny asked.
 
“Yeah,” Mac replied. “I mean, think about it, Gibbs; if we’re working around a dead body and there’s blood around then that’s going to be the only thing we’re able to pick up on and it might fry our senses and we wouldn’t be any good for the rest of the day.”
 
Gibbs snorted. “And the hunters could use that as a way to incapacitate us and get the humans,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s a way to use one sense and not the others. But Mandy will. Give her a call and I’ll go order us some food.”
 
“She doesn’t want to talk to me,” Mac sighed.
 
“You’re going to have to do it some time,” Danny said. “I promise that she’s not mad at you. A little pissed off, maybe, but not mad.”
 
“Mandy’s going to have to get used to the over protectiveness involved here,” Gibbs said. “And she’s also going to have to get used to a bunch of nosy and old fashioned dragons hanging around making sure that she’s okay.”
 
“Fine, I’ll call her,” Mac sighed. “But I’m telling you that it’s not a good idea.” He went out into the back yard and pulled out his cell phone. Mac stared at it for a while thinking about the words that Mandy had said as she left his office.
 
“Just staring at it won’t do any good,” Gibbs said. “You actually have to use it. Even I know that.”
 
“I haven’t been this nervous in years,” Mac said. “I think I really hurt her, Jethro.”
 
“Danny told me what happened and you were just trying to keep her safe. You didn’t know what was going on with those young men and they said they were hunters. For all you knew they were legitimate hunters who were there to kill your human and your community. And you were just worried about Mandy.”
 
Mac rolled his eyes. “This fight happened after I found out what the truth was,” he said. “And she was really mad when she left the lab to head down to Miami.”
 
“And she’s mad at me right now for being a bastard with Adam,” Gibbs snorted with a grin. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to talk with her.”
 
“I just think the next time I talk with her should be in person not over the phone,” Mac said. “So she can see my eyes when I tell her how sorry I am for what I said.”
 
“All right, I’ll call her,” Gibbs said. “But only because I understand where you’re coming from. Just don’t tell my team.”
 
“That you’re not being a bastard? Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
********************
 
“You weren’t kidding,” Mandy said as she looked around at the boxes stacked in her living room and down half of the hallway. “There were a lot of books and binders in the hunter’s apartment.”
 
“We wouldn’t lie to you about something like this, kid,” Don said. “I got a feeling that you’re going to be working on this for months.”
 
“No shit,” Tony called from the kitchen. “Mandy, do you or Hawkes know where Stella is right now? Gibbs and Mac want us to talk with her.”
 
Mandy looked at Hawkes. “It seems like the whole community is worried about her right now,” Mandy said. “Because Sheldon and I were talking about her and invited her over for dinner.”
 
“Food?” Don asked, his head popping up over a stack of boxes.
 
“Yes Donnie, food,” Mandy laughed. “Did you really think we wouldn’t feed you after you did all this work?”
 
Adam came back into the living room. “I think that’s the last of them,” he said. “If you don’t mind, Mandy, I’ll swing by after work and help you sort through the boxes and things.”
 
“That’ll be great,” Mandy grinned. “And we can exchange information about hunters and communities.”
 
“And maybe how to deal with the other problems that keep popping up around here too,” Don said. “Because I could use a couple of quiet days to relax.”

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