DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.
Just love writing about them!
A/N: This is a continuation of What Made Gibbs, Gibbs form Jack's POV. You may want to read that first if you haven't already.
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter One
It was the hardest day of my life since I buried his mother, to watch my son make his way to the train station. He never looked back, but I think he knew I was watching. Heck, maybe that was the reason he kept looking forward.
We'd had a rough road since Marie died. He blamed me for her dying though he knew better than most it was a tragic accident. He was the one that discovered the car in a ditch on the side of the road.
He was too young to have to witness such a sight, especially of his own mother. He closed himself off for the longest time, barely acknowledging anyone around him, mostly me. It broke my heart which was already shattered by the loss of my wife.
Granted we were having our share of problems. I think Marie may have been suffering some depression. Looking back and trying to analyze things it's the only explanation to explain some of her erratic behavior, but we never got the chance for the doctor to diagnosis her. Not sure what we could've done to help. I tried being patient with her and let her lash out at me to get out her frustrations.
Sometimes I couldn't help but yell back. I guess to Leroy it must've seemed like we were fighting a lot. He really only got to see her side of things. She after all was home with him more often than I, having to work in that blasted mine for all hours of the day and sometimes night. Still I don't think she showed him all her feelings. Maybe it was playing a dual role of attentive mother and 'perfect' wife that caused her instabilities. All I know for certain was that no two people had ever loved her more than our son and I.
As he neared the train station dressed in his Marine dress uniform, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, I knew he never planned to return. He had found a place to escape his sorrow and all the reminders of a past he just as soon forget. Before I went back into my store, I saw him sit down and Shannon Reilly engaged him in a conversation.
I smiled and shook my head. Shannon, Arlene Brandt's niece, would be sure to grab Leroy's interest. He always seemed to like the red-headed girls; sort of like his old man in that respect. She seemed like a really nice girl, too. I'd only come across her a couple of times, but she was always polite and respectful. She came to town to help her aunt out in the dress sop after her parents went to Europe for her dad's business.
There was a rumor she had gotten a scholarship to Georgetown University. If it was true, I wondered if she was heading off early to get settled in. At least it appeared she was waiting for the same train as Leroy; the only one due this afternoon.
Looking around my store, I saw small reminders everywhere of my son. He may be taking off to never return, but I'd always have him here with me. I first opened this store after Marie passed, though she would've liked it much sooner. I knew Leroy would need me at home not in the mines. My last accident there nearly cost me my leg and just the idea of a more serious accident making my boy an orphan was all the motivation I needed to finally get the deal closed on this store.
Never having been much of a businessman, it took some time to get the hang of it all. Fortunately it was an established business in town, so it already had a steady clientele. One good thing about small towns, not a whole lot of competition exists.
I stood behind my counter absent mindedly arranging items for display. Life was going to be a lot different now. I could only pray that one day I would see my son again. Or at the very least know that he found some peace and happiness in his life.