I think I must be insane to start another story right now, but this story has been tormenting me for months now.

I really never had any intention of writing a Kelly survives story, but here we are lol.

As usual I own zip, nil, nada.

This chapter is really just to get the character's into the place I want them to be. Hope you enjoy :)


February 1991

He thought that the flight home would be the longest hours of his life but they didn't even compare to the minutes it took him to walk to the paediatric ward in Bethesda Naval Hospital.

The footsteps that had echoed so heavily in his own ears stopped, and for a few moments he remained unaware of the fact that he was no longer moving forward.

For once in his life Leroy Jethro Gibbs felt lost and out of control, he stared down the impossibly long corridor and swallowed heavily, the sound reverberating in his ears along with the words that his commanding officer had uttered to him just thirty six hours previously, the words that would change his life forever.

He shut his eyes, the scene replaying beneath his eyelids in a horrific scene that he couldn't escape.

The air was warm and heavy as he walked to the tent, having been summoned unexpectedly. As he ducked under the flap that signified the entrance, he noticed the grave expression on the older man's face the moment he straightened and his gut flip flopped. "You wanted to see me, Sir," he got out uneasily.

Eyes filled with pity turned on him as he waved a hand towards a worn canvas chair. "Take a seat, Gunny."

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same."

The other man let out a low sigh. "I have some bad news." He paused for what felt like eternity, as though he was trying to choose his words carefully and yet couldn't quite do it and so just blurted out what he could manage. "It's about your wife, there was a car accident…and-" He shook his head. "She didn't make it. Gunny, I'm so sorry."

"No!" The word escaped him unbidden. His blue eyes searched the other's face, seeing nothing but pity. His ears buzzed and his stomach dropped into his boots as his eyes burned with unshed tears. The message still hadn't quite sank in as another thought hit him like a ton of bricks. "Kelly!" he gasped breathlessly. "What about Kelly?"

"She was in the car, she's being treated at Bethesda, I don't know much about her condition, I just know that she's stable."

"I need to go."

"We're arranging it. Sit down, Gunny, before you fall."

"Sir?"

The questioning tone of the word pulled Gibbs out of his own personal hell. His eyes blinked slowly open and he glanced down at the young nurse who was smiling concernedly at him. "Sir," she repeated. "Are you Ok?"

He blinked, absorbing the question. The young woman bit nervously into her lower lip. "Are you lost?" she asked tentatively.

Finally his brain seemed to re-engage with his mouth. "No," he croaked out. "I'm not lost, just thinking."

Her forehead remained creased in concern. "Do you need help with anything?"

He shook his head. The help he really needed was the kind that she couldn't offer him, he needed to go back, needed to fix what had happened to his family, to his wife and he couldn't, no-one could. "I'm fine. Thank you," he finally replied.

She nodded although she looked unconvinced. Throwing him one last look, she let the hand that he didn't even realise was on his shoulder fall away and she walked away slowly, almost hesitantly, throwing him one last look over her shoulder.

For a moment he continued to just rock on his heels, his hands pushing into his pockets. Finally the lead weights that were his feet began to move again and he continued his slow trudge, he had no idea what awaited him and he was dreading yet more bad news. He already knew that he was at his limit and had no idea what he would do if his little girl wasn't ok.

Finally he reached the ward, and he pulled the heavy door open, stepping inside the bright ward the sound of children's chatter hitting his ears. His eyes alighted on the nurses desk, and he stepped slowly forward. The woman at it looked up, offering him a welcoming smile. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Gibbs nodded, replying, "I'm looking for my daughter, Kelly, Kelly Gibbs."

The smile on the older woman's face didn't falter, but it did take on a softer edge. "She's in a side room at the other end of the ward, it's quieter down there."

"How is she?"

The woman stood. "She's doing very well. How much have you been told about her condition?" She already knew that he'd been serving when the accident had happened, it had been mentioned in the numerous handovers that had passed since the little girl's admission.

"Nothing," he mumbled, he'd never felt more inadequate as a parent as he did right now.

The nurse led him over to a quieter section of the unit, and quietly filled him in. "When Kelly came in she had some internal injuries and so she required surgery to repair a tear in her spleen. The surgery went extremely well and we don't expect there to be any further complications from that. However before we could get her into surgery, Kelly lost quite a bit of blood and so she did require an additional blood transfusion when she returned to the ward. In addition to this she has some bruising from the seatbelt, whiplash, a mild concussion and a broken ankle. Now I know it sounds a lot, but she is stable and we expect her to make a full recovery."

"Can I see her?" Gibbs choked out, his mind in a confused whir as he struggled to take in all the details he'd just been told.

"Of course, she's in room twelve, at the bottom on your left. Would you like me to show you?"

"No, no I'd rather go on my own."

"Ok, well just so you know both her grandparent's are with her."

He turned unblinking eyes on her and nodded. Of course they were, both would have rushed from their respective towns to sit by their only grandchild's bedside.

As he walked away from her, a hushed shout of, "Son!" stopping him in his tracks once more. He turned slowly to face hid father, who was striding down the corridor after him, two Styrofoam cups in hand. He stared at him mutely, waiting for his father to continue. Jack drew level with his son, his eyes raking over his dishevelled form. He let out a low sigh, his fingers tapping nervously against the cups. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't!" Gibbs cut in, struggling to keep control of the anger that was bubbling underneath his surface. "I don't want to hear that word. I hate that word! It doesn't mean anything!"

"It's an expression of regret-"

"That doesn't change anything, it's meaningless."

"No it's not," Jack whispered. "But that's not really the issue here."

"I just want to see Kelly, everything else can wait. Joanne in there with her?"

"Yeah, she's not moved since Kelly came back from theatre. Brought this for her," he nodded towards one of the steaming cups. "You look like you could use the other one." He held it out, a small peace offering in light of the troubled times they were in. They had barely spoken in years, it had been Shannon who kept in touch with him, who had sent cards and presents, building the relationship between Kelly and her grandfather.

Gibbs took the cup, taking a slow sip and grimacing at the taste. "Thanks," he muttered. He downed the rest of the vile liquid, figuring it was better than going thirsty. He stared towards the door. "Need to see her," he muttered, willing his feet to move. He couldn't admit it, but he was terrified beyond belief at what lay beyond that door.

His father's heavy hand rested on his shoulder, and he pressed the spare cup into Gibbs hand. "Here," he prompted. "Take this into Joanne."

He nodded, stepping forward slowly he pushed open the door and moved inside. His chest constricted as he took in the sight of his daughter lying on her side, curled up into herself, the drip in her hand trailing across the starched white hospital bed sheet. He glanced over to Joanne who's jaw tightened in annoyance at him - not that that was a new thing, she always did that. She sniffed disapprovingly. "I see you're finally here."

He knew that she was trying to irritate him, but she really had struck a nerve with this one. His eyes narrowed. "Got here as quickly as I could," he growled.

She turned her head away from him, a noise of disgust escaping her throat. The sound caused Kelly to stir, her blue eyes blinking open. "Daddy?" she whimpered.

"I'm here, Kel." He moved forward and sat on the edge of her bed, leaning to press a kiss to the top of her head. His heart constricted at the sight of her wide, tear filled eyes. She hadn't called him Daddy for years, as she'd grown older she'd switched to Dad.

"Daddy I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Mommy's not coming back," she informed him sadly.

"I know."

"But you'll stay? You won't go away again?"

"I'm never going to leave you," he promised her.

She shuffled closer into his arms, yawning widely. "Tired," she muttered.

"Then go to sleep," he told her, stroking her light brown hair soothingly.

He watched as her eyes slowly drifted shut again and her breathing evened out. He sat in silence, watching his daughter sleep and studiously ignoring Joanne's death glare.

As the hours passed, and Kelly woke up, she began to open up more, talking to him almost normally as she picked at her food. "Are you going to stay with me tonight?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Good," she replied, turning her attention back to her soup and sipped at it slowly.

Joanne cleared her throat noisily. "I'd like a word outside please, Jethro."

Gibbs flashed a reassuring smile at his daughter. "I won't be long," he promised.

He stepped outside and wasn't surprised when the moment the door shut over Joanne turned on him, her face held in a snarl. "I've been staying with her."

"I know," he breathed out, trying to keep a lid on his temper. He was really struggling now, he'd pushed his grief over Shannon to one side for Kelly's sake, and although he understood that Joanne was most likely doing the same thing, he was getting tired of her snapping at him. He ran a hand through his shorn brown hair. "I appreciate everything you've done for Kelly but I'm here now, it's my job."

"Because you've done such a wonderful job so far."

Gibbs felt his fists clench. "That's enough!"

Joanne's eyes blazed, it was as though something inside her had snapped. "You should have been here!" she hissed her eyes full of vehemence. "You should have been here to protect them!"

Jackson - who had slipped outside to try and stop the confrontation - laid a firm hand on Joanne's shoulder, trying to calm her. "That's enough," he told her lowly. "You're not helping anyone."

Her eyes filled with angry tears. "He should have been here, he took my girls away from me, brought them here and then didn't even hang around to protect them."

Gibbs ran a hand over his unshaven jaw. "How the Hell could I have prevented this! It was a car accident, I-"

"If you'd been here then she'd never have seen that murder, she wouldn't have decided to testify and she wouldn't have been in that car!"

For a moment Gibbs merely stared at his mother in law as though she'd gone mad. His mouth moved but no sound came out, he shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but it didn't work. Over the buzzing noise that seemed to echo around his head, he saw his father prod a shaking Joanne towards the door, heard him telling her softly, "Go sit with Kelly." His knees buckled and he sank into the one of the hard plastic chairs that were dotted along the corridor. He felt his father sit down next to him, heard his harsh sigh. "I thought you knew, thought they would've told you."

"They just said there had been a car accident." He turned his confused gaze onto Jackson. "What the Hell happened to Shannon?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"She witnessed a murder about six weeks back, she was the sole witness and this guy was considered to be dangerous so she and Kelly were placed under a protective detail. Because of this detail they were given a driver, they were on the way to Kelly's piano lesson when the driver was shot and killed. The car spun out of control, and-" He lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug.

"Why wasn't I told this?" Gibbs growled, his blood boiling. "Why wouldn't Shannon tell me?"

"She didn't tell anyone Son, most likely she didn't want to worry you when you were out there, didn't want your mind elsewhere."

Gibbs stood up abruptly. He felt like he couldn't breathe, she'd hid this from him, she'd done it to protect him from harm, but in the end it had cost her her life. His mind whirred. "Who has the case?"

"An agency called NIS. A Mike Franks was here not long before you arrived, filling us in."

"I need to go talk to him," Gibbs told him unsteadily. "Tell Kelly I won't be long."

Jackson stood up. "Don't do anything rash," he tried to tell him.

Numb and unhearing, Gibbs walked away.


"Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs, I'm Agent Mike Franks, I'm the one assigned to your wife's case," the craggy, bedraggled looking man in front of Gibbs informed him.

"Murder, you mean?" Gibbs snapped. He was tired, angry and devastated, and he had no reason to hold that in in front of this man.

To his credit, Mike Franks didn't shrink back from the sharp, accusing tone. "You wanted to speak to me," he replied.

"I want to know if you've locked away the bastard who killed my wife!"

Mike let out something that sounded close to a repressed groan. "I'm afraid the man responsible has fled across the Mexican border, we're unable to extradite him."

"But you know where he is?"

"I can't answer that."

"Bullshit! He killed my wife," Gibbs snarled. "I want justice, she was trying to do the right thing."

"I know," Mike replied sadly. He had met the woman, Shannon, before and she hadn't deserved what had happened to her. Knowing the man's military training, he looked down meaningfully at the manila folder on the desk in front of him, his fingers briefly tracing over it's front. He looked back up and met the younger man's angry gaze. "I need to step outside for a moment, if you'll excuse me."

Gibbs followed his eyes down to the folder, and realising what the man was offering nodded. "Take your time," he replied. He waited until the door was firmly shut before snatching the folder and scanning and memorising all the details inside.


"Can you plait my hair?" Kelly asked her Dad quietly.

He stared at her almost helplessly. "I don't know how," he finally admitted. "Maybe your Gran can do it for you when she gets back."

"Yeah," Kelly mumbled. "Maybe." She turned her attention back to the puzzle book she'd been given, absentmindedly fingering her tangled locks.

Sighing Gibbs picked up the hairbrush almost hesitantly. "I suppose I could tie it back though, I think I could manage that."

Kelly smiled and nodded eagerly. "I'd like that."

He moved so he was behind her, and drew the brush carefully through her hair, wincing at every tangle. As he did so, he let his mind drift elsewhere. He wanted to go to Mexico, he wanted justice for Shannon, but he couldn't just leave Kelly to get it. He looked down at his daughter again. He wasn't prepared for this and he knew it. He'd been an absent father, not because of a lack of caring but because his job had demanded it, and now he wasn't sure if he had what it took to bring Kelly up on his own. He'd missed so much, it had been Shannon who had dealt with the daily routines, he didn't have a clue how to deal with it. Not only that but as Kelly grew older she wouldn't have her mother to lean on, she'd just have him, and he knew for a fact that he'd be useless when it came to 'girl stuff'.

"Daddy?" Her small voice broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really staying this time?"

Gibbs stared at her wordlessly for a few minutes. He might want Shannon's murderer dead but what would Shannon have wanted. In all honesty he didn't really even need to ask, she'd want him to stay here, she'd have killed him on the spot if she knew what he was considering. He sighed, she would have been right, retribution over Shannon's death had to take a second place to Kelly's well being. As much as he wanted revenge he knew he couldn't take it and be there for his daughter in the way she needed. He looked back down at her and smiled. "I'm really staying this time," he told her.


"Didn't expect to see you here," Agent Franks told him gruffly as he approached the seats outside Kelly's room.

"Decided I was needed more here," Gibbs told him.

The man nodded. "Wise choice," he replied. "Between us revenge never solves anything, helps for about a second."

"But you were gonna let me do it anyway?"

"Do what?" Mike asked casually. "No idea what you're on about Gunny."

"Of course not," Gibbs scoffed.

Mike stifled a smile. He'd offered the younger man the choice because he hated to see scum like that walk away, because he sensed his need for some form of closure, but he was still thankful that he'd decided his daughter needed him more. His face straightened as he remembered why he was here. "Got some news," he mumbled.

"And it's not good," Gibbs guessed.

"No, it's not. The case is no longer active, Hernandez will remain on our wanted list but it looks unlikely he'll ever return to the States." He let out an annoyed growl. "We can't do anything."

Gibbs felt the expected rush of anger, but he forced it down, he'd made his decision and he knew that the consequences meant that Hernandez would still be out there instead of in Hell where he belonged. He stared down at the swill they called coffee in here. "Thanks for letting me know," he finally forced out.

Mike nodded and the two men sat in silence for a few minutes before Mike asked, "So what now?"

"I'm gonna leave the Corp, concentrate on being a parent."

"Right. Mike pushed his hand into his pocket and extracted a white card with a scrawl of black writing across it. "Take sometime and think about what you want, 'bout what's best for you and the little one, then if you want give me a call. We're always needing new Agents."

Gibbs looked up at him in bewilderment. "Why me?"

Mike shrugged, tugging at his wrinkled suit jacked as he replied. "Gut feeling. Until then, Gunny."

He stared after the departing man, and shaking his head he shoved the card into his own pocket, it was far too soon to think about a new career. Franks was right, he needed time, time to grieve, time to help Kelly heal. His head snapped up as Joanne stepped out the room and prepared himself for another battle, the woman had become more hostile towards him over the past forty eight hours. She stared down at him. "I'm going to need a key to your house," she informed him.

"Why?"

"To get Kelly's things together, start sending them to my house."

Gibbs felt his stomach plummet into his boots. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Oh come on!" she scoffed. "I think we both know that Kelly will be better off with me."

"No we don't both know that," he replied sharply. "I appreciate your concern but Kelly is staying with me."

"And what about your precious Marines?"

"I'm leaving, I'll get a job in D.C. once Kelly is settled and back at school. You can't uproot her from her home, from her friends, not after everything she's just went through, and I won't even let you try," he told her coldly.

Joanne bristled in indignation. "She needs a female influence in her life, and a stable figure to lean on-"

"I'm going to be that."

"Oh please!" she scoffed. "Spare me the platitudes."

Gibbs stared at his mother in law, he didn't like her a fact that he wasn't even going to try and deny, but she did love her granddaughter and he did believe that she wanted the best for her, and Shannon would want her in Kelly's life. Shannon had always told him that her mother's hostility came from the fear that she was being pushed out of her only family's life. With that thought driving him, he pushed ahead. "I have a compromise for you. What's best for Kelly is to have both of us there for her, and I will need to work, so I was thinking that you move to D.C. to your own house of course, and that you see Kelly whenever you want, you could even look after her after school."

Joanne stared at him for a brief moment, brushing a strand of fading auburn hair off her cheek, her eyes widening as she took in the offer he'd just made. Finally she nodded. "I'd like that she replied carefully.

"Good, we can talk about it more later, but for now I want to go back into see Kelly." He turned and walked away. In the past few days his life had turned upside down, and he had no idea what his future held anymore.