DISCLAIMER: NCIS is property of DPB and CBS. I make no claim on it and write this purely for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
TITLE: Questions, Answers, and Apologies
AUTHOR: bbfan
SUMMARY: After the attack in Stillwater, Jackson has many questions for his son.
CATEGORY: Angst
PAIRING: minor hints of Abby/Gibbs
RATING: K+
SPOILERS: Mainly up through Rule Fifty-One, but also small ones for Spider and the Fly.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Many, many thanks to AngelQueen for helping to develop the story and for the beta. Hope everyone enjoys. The story is three chapters long, and there will be one chapter posted a day. Feedback much appreciated!

Questions, Answers, and Apologies
Chapter 1 - Questions

Standing at the front window of his house, Leroy Jethro Gibbs peered out to witness something he hoped he'd never see, but knew it could very well happen. Because of his past actions, agents now had to surround his house to protect him and his father from the evil that grew from those events. Paloma Reynosa, the daughter of Pedro Hernandez, the man that he killed for murdering his wife and daughter, had already tried to seek revenge by attacking his father up in Stillwater. There was no way in hell Gibbs was going to give her the chance to do it again.

Flashbacks of that day when he'd laid in the sands of Mexico, aiming his sniper rifle at Hernandez as he drove down that dusty road, flooded his mind. The feeling of intense, consuming hatred had filled his heart and soul. Not even knowing the fact that he would leave two children fatherless could have stopped him from what he had been about to do. He hadn't hesitated when he'd made that crucial decision to pull the trigger, to end the life of a murderer. He hadn't cared that it had made him a murderer as well. He'd just known that it had to be done, and he was the one to do it.

The only guilt he felt was the way his actions affected the people he deeply loved and cared about now, primarily his father and Abby. The look of disappointment on Abby's face when she found out the truth had been gut-wrenching to witness, but when he heard his father's shaky voice on the other end of the phone, telling him that Paloma had just paid him a rather explosive visit, the sinking feeling in his chest had been almost too much to bear. He didn't think he could live with himself if anything happened to either them.

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs brought Gibbs out of those sobering thoughts. Turning, he saw Abby and Palmer carrying the last of the boxes from the guest room towards the basement. Stepping forward quickly, he intercepted Abby and took the box from her hands.

"Thanks, Gibbs," she said breathlessly.

He knew she was tired. She'd been there practically all day, cleaning. "S'okay, Abby," Gibbs responded, following Palmer down the stairs.

After placing the boxes with the others they had brought down earlier, Gibbs noticed the younger man scanning the area, clearly trying to take in everything as fast as he could. Palmer probably thought this would be the last time he'd ever be here. He was wrong. His team was always welcome and Gibbs had admitted to himself a long time ago that Palmer was part of his team.

"Agent Gibbs?"

"What Palmer?" Gibbs answered, maybe a bit too gruffly, if the look on Palmer's face was anything to go by.

"Um, how did you get the boat out of the basement?" he asked nervously.

Gibbs just rolled his eyes, smirking. He brushed past the retreating Autopsy Gremlin.

They made their way back up the stairs and into the kitchen. Abby was standing there, Palmer's jacket in hand. It was time for the young man to vacate the area, taking his own bodyguard with him.

"Thanks, Jimmy, I really appreciated the help," Abby said, wrapping him up in one of her signature hugs.

Gibbs stared at Palmer intently, letting the young man know that under no circumstances was he to return the hug. The nervous, fearful expression on Palmer's face showed that he'd gotten the message. He just stood there, stiff as a board, and looked quite terrified. Pulling away from Abby's clutches, he grabbed his jacket and practically ran to the door.

"No problem, Abby! Let me know if you need any more help," he called over his shoulder. He followed his bodyguard out the door.

Abby turned to find Gibbs standing close to her. With hands on her hips, she looked into his eyes and glared. "You gave him that stare of yours, didn't you?" she demanded.

Gibbs just gave her a quirky smile, leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before shrugging his response. He then made his way into the living room and back towards the front window. He arrived just in time to see the car that was carrying his father pull up into the driveway. He was glad that Fornell had agreed to go and retrieve Jack. NCIS was stretched thin with all that was happening and he couldn't trust just anyone with bringing his father from Stillwater. Fornell had said yes without hesitation, which spoke volumes to Gibbs about how far their friendship had come over the years.

The front door opened and his father stepped through, looking as if he'd aged ten years since Gibbs had seen him last. Gibbs forced himself to hold his anger against Reynosa and the disappointment in himself in check as he put his hand on his father's shoulder. "Hey, Dad," he said, giving him a light squeeze of assurance.

"Son…" was all Jack could or would say. He spotted Abby in the doorway of the kitchen with tears in her eyes, staring at him.

"Hey, young lady. I hope those tears are the joyful kind. Aren't you glad to see me?" Jack asked, trying to make light of the difficult and uncomfortable situation.

Abby slowly walked over, not taking her eyes off of him, and hugged the older man. She didn't break the contact until she giggled over what came out of Jack's mouth next. "You're going to have to let go, Abby, or there's going to be a puddle on the floor."

"What, your bladder not what it used to be, Jack?" Gibbs said, smiling faintly.

As Jackson walked away, he jokingly called over his shoulder, "Watch it, Leroy." The tension in the room left as quickly as it had arrived.

Gibbs turned to see Fornell standing in the doorway with a small smile on his face, shaking his head in disbelief. "All I can say is, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree."

"And here I thought I was one-of-a-kind," Gibbs joked.

Fornell chuckled and turned to go back to his car, mumbling something about having to catch up on a case. Gibbs watched him go and then yelled out to him, "Tobias."

Fornell stopped and turned.

"I owe you one," Gibbs said.

"You can bet I'll hold you to it," Fornell answered, getting into his car.

Gibbs watched as his friend backed down the driveway. He then looked at the agents standing there as they watched the scene unfold. "Hey! Eyes and ears open," he snapped at them. Everyone immediately moved at the same time, returning to their respective positions.

Shutting the door, Gibbs walked over to stand next to Abby. He gently put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her gently to his side. He gave her a quick kiss on the side of her head. "Thank you, Abbs," he whispered into her ear before letting her go. 'Thank you for caring about my father. Thank you for your help. Thank you for being here with me.'

She looked up at him with a strange, almost scolding smile, as if to say, did you really expect me to do anything else?

Jackson returned at that point, walking past them and straight into the kitchen. Abby followed, close on his heals.

"You must be hungry, Jack," Abby stated,. She walked over to the stove and turned on the oven. "It won't take me long to whip something up."

Gibbs went to the fridge and took out a couple of beers. Handing one to Jack, they both moved into the dining room, sat down and watched Abby move around preparing the meal in silence. Gibbs knew that his father had a lot of questions about what had transpired that day, but was glad to see that the man was satisfied to just sit and nurse his beer for the moment. There would be plenty of time to answer his questions later.

During the meal that followed, Jack asked about Tony, Ziva, and McGee. Gibbs told him they were gathering leads on the case. He didn't let on about Tony being in Mexico. He didn't want to put any more stress on his father's already-shaken nerves. Gibbs knew he would just sit and worry.

Gibbs caught himself staring at the older man. It was his fault this was happening to him. He didn't regret ending Hernandez's miserable life, but was sorry that the backlash of his actions was spilling over and effecting his father.

Now and again Gibbs would catch Jack staring off, knowing full well that he was trying to figure out just what questions to ask. Jack knew there would only be so much Gibbs could tell him, so he would choose his questions carefully.

Of course, 'later' came too soon for Gibbs. Once they had finished their dinner, Jack decided to confront him. Gibbs' heart skipped a beat when he heard his careful, but frank, words. There was no beating around the bush. Still, Gibbs hadn't really expected anything different.

"So, Leroy, what did you do to piss someone off so badly that they wanted me dead?"