Disclaimer: Nope I don't own any of the characters... but I am willing to put a down payment on them

A/N: Okay so this is a follow up to One In A Million. You don't have to read that one to know what's going on here, but it would help if you read it, in terms of getting to know new characters and such But like I said it's not a must. Also, I haven't written FanFic in a while, and I haven't watched Seasons 1 or 2 in a long while, so if I get the characterisation wrong I apologise. This was posted as a new fic, but I decided it might do better as a chaptered follow-up directly after One In A Million so here we go.

This takes place about three years after One In A Million and yes it is an AU since Judgement Day never happened. It fits in just after they find the P2P Killer, but before Tony gets his new mission. Everything else remains as is on the series.

Hope you guys enjoy...

Second Chance

The bullpen was mostly silent, save for a few agents who were typing away at their keyboards, trying to finish the last of the reports that needed to be filed away at the end of the day. It had been a busy day for one team in specific, simply because their boss had accepted case after case for the past few weeks, and that had kept them busier than usual. Thankfully, they had got their last suspect to admit to killing his marine brother for his share of the family fortune. McGee had completed his report and was waiting for it as it spewed out from the printer, Tony was playing games to relax himself while Ziva sat composing an email to her father – or so she had said. She had handed her report in at least an hour ago, and was waiting for Gibbs to give them permission to leave.

Gibbs watched his team in silence, taking in as much as he could with just one sweep of his gaze. It was not that he didn't know the members of his team or how they worked and thought, but the week had been gruelling as much on them as it been on him. They had been through more than their fair share and certainly more than any other team in the NCIS agency. They had finally found the Port to Port killer but it had come with a great loss – one of Mike Franks. He knew DiNozzo had been put on a special assignment by the new SecNav, and that he couldn't talk about it. Ziva was worried about her boyfriend from the CIA, and well McGee was a puzzle to everyone. The sound of DiNozzo's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Boss, will you be joining us for dinner tonight?" the senior agent asked.

McGee and Ziva both looked up to see his reaction, but Gibbs merely shook his head. He knew he should have accepted the invitation but he found that he simply could not go, no matter how much his team wanted him to attend. Tony and Abby had started the tradition years ago, and the first dinner was the only one Gibbs had gone to. The 'dinner' meant that summer was approaching and while they had already weathered the storm for now, Gibbs was sure that the P2P killer was not the peak of it, the peak was yet to make its appearance. He could feel it with everything he had.

He remembered that first one as though it had happened yesterday. It was a week after Kate had been shot by Ari. They had all suffered a major loss, a first for DiNozzo and McGee, and he knew they needed to be reassured that everything was going to be okay. Ziva had not been present for that one, having had to accompany her brother's body back to Israel. Gibbs was not sure the team, fragmented as they were would have invited her as well, but the next year, when he had gotten blown up by yet another terrorist, she had been a part of the team, and had been invited. After that it had become an annual ritual, one they never failed to attend.

"Aw, come on boss, you haven't been to one in ages," DiNozzo whined, but Gibbs merely glared in the senior agent's direction. McGee knew better than to say anything, everyone dealt with stuff in different ways, and for Gibbs, working alone in his basement drinking bourbon seemed to be working for him. Ziva was about to ask when had Gibbs ever joined them for 'the dinner', but a subtle shake of his head from McGee stopped her from voicing the question.

As soon as McGee placed his report in the case folder Gibbs informed them they were free to leave, seeing as there was nothing else for them to do. DiNozzo had wasted no time in gathering his belongings and making his way down to the lab where Abby was no doubt waiting for the rest of the team. McGee and Ziva were a bit slower and by the time the two of them had collected their stuff Abby and DiNozzo had come back up to the bullpen. Palmer had also arrived and the small group were almost ready to leave and enjoy a night out... or so they hoped.

Fate however, had different plans and before the quintet reached the elevator, Director Vance stopped them to inform them that there was a robbery in progress at a convenience store four blocks away, the assailant a petty officer. They didn't need to be told to 'gear-up' and immediately the team went into work mode.

"DiNozzo you have a briefing now," Director Vance said when the senior agent was the first one ready. McGee and Ziva waited for Gibbs to protest or argue with Vance as was their usual way, but a silent conversation passed and a few minutes later the team was on their way to the scene of the crime.

As soon as they arrived Gibbs did an assessment of the store, and where exactly the petty officer was in relation to their entry point. Officers from Washington PD were already present, and Gibbs had to wonder why the director had assigned them this case anyway. It was not like there was a murder victim just yet. After consulting with the other officers and agreeing on a plan of action, the trio loaded their weapons and for some reason at the last minute, Gibbs donning his flack-vest they entered the store.

She had felt the change it atmosphere before she had even seen what had happened. It was not that she had been looking out for something different, but it was a part of who she was, who she would always be. Leigh had decided to do her last minute grocery shopping before she headed home with her two year old daughter. Granted, doing shopping at nine 'o clock at night was not the best choice, but her fridge was almost empty and she had no intention of standing in long queues the next day for a few simple things like bread, milk and fresh fruits.

It took all of two seconds for Leigh to realise that Zoey was not running circles around her mother's legs and she looked around where her daughter was playing a few minutes before and when she did not see the little girl anyway a panic began to rise in her chest. If there was one thing that scared her the most in the world, it was that her child was missing. This was a mother's worst nightmare. It was while she was looking for her daughter, Leigh saw the gunman aiming his firearm at the cashier at the front of the store.

Leigh knew she had to keep herself calm because one wrong move or shout would have meant that someone would have been seriously injured or even worse, killed. She closed her eyes and tried to regulate both her heartbeat as well as her breathing, but it useless, because the only thing she was thinking about was her missing daughter. The flicker of movement at the end of the isle caught her attention, and it was then she noticed that there were actually police officers in the store.

What happened next was a blur. It took about three minutes in total, but Leigh, for the life of her could not recall what had triggered it. She had seen Zoey at the opposite end of the isle, looking at mother and finally when Leigh looked her way Zoey called her, the laughter evident in her voice. The two year old thought it was a game. This however, caught the attention of the gunman and Leigh found that his gaze was now focused on her daughter instead of the cashier. The next thing she remembered was being pressed up against a pillar, trapped between the wall and a warm body that was leaning flush against her.

Without thinking about it, Gibbs hurtled forward, his thoughts focused solely on saving the woman standing less than five feet away from him. Before he even realised it, she was backed up against the pillar, his body was pressed flush against hers, his palms pressed flat against the wall fencing her in with no way to escape. It was only when he was absolutely sure that she was adequately covered did he allow himself to breathe easily, and as he inhaled he found that he recognised the scent. Granted it was vague, but there was no way he could mistake it, having had it memorised all this while. He shook his head at the thought, because it simply was not possible. He had seen her three years ago, for a total of ten minutes the most, and then once again disappeared from his life, without a trace.

"Zoey!" she said, but Gibbs placed his hand on her mouth to stop her from yelling and drawing attention to themselves.

Gibbs felt as the woman tried to free herself from his grasp, but he pressed into her, forcing her to remain against the wall. He needed to calm her down but he had no idea how to do that without getting her stop yelling.

"Hey, look at me," he told her as he loosened his grip on her slightly and stepped back an inch to give her a bit of room.

Leigh looked up at the sound of the man's voice, and she found that she could not speak, her voice box had clamped up and nothing was coming out. The air around them became heavier until it was just the two of them cocooned in the torrid emotion. She could not think of anything, her heart was hammering beneath her ribcage and the blood was pounding in her ears.

"Gibbs," she whispered before even thinking about it. There was no way she would be able to fool him into believing she was someone else, not after she had left him for the second time almost three years ago.

If he was shocked at the sight of the woman that was trapped in his grasp, Gibbs gave no indication of it. Instead he focused on her eyes, because he had once told her that eyes never lied, and he knew for a fact that hers would never lie to him.

"Kate?" he wanted to make sure it was her before he allowed his heart to react.

"Mommy?" the sound of the little girl's voice broke the bubble they had been enclosed in. Ice blue met warm chocolate and Gibbs knew this was what he had been waiting for. The peak of the summer storm that would arrive and leave him more damaged than ever before. This was the official start to his summer.

A/N 2: I hope you guys liked this instalment.

I haven't started on the next chapter, but it should be up in the next three weeks or so. (give or take)

I think this will be a 5 chapter fic at the most, though I am open to ideas if you guys have any throw them my way

Now please review and make my day...

A short note, if there aren't many people interested I might just leave it at this, simply because while I do love writing, if no one is enjoying it, there's no reason for me to be wasting precious time doing it.

Thanks

Psych