1July 28, 2008
Annandale Virginia, Baltimore Maryland
It was two a.m. and Jethro Gibbs' cell phone rang.
"Mmmph!" Shannon said as she rolled over in bed.
Gibbs stirred and reached for his cell phone. He didn't recognize the number on the caller id.
"Hello?" Jethro said groggily.
"Is this Mr. Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" A male voice asked.
"Yes, who is this?" Jethro asked.
"My name is Anthony DiNozzo, I am a detective with the Baltimore Police Department. Your daughter asked that I contact you." The man replied.
"Kelly?" Jethro said puzzled.
Without warning Shannon sat bolt upright in bed. Something bad had happened, she was sure of it.
"Kelly and her friends were at a nightclub this evening. One of the men in the establishment wouldn't take no for an answer, and as the four girls headed back to their car at the end of the evening the man jumped Kelly. She hit her head pretty hard, and her nose is most likely broken, but she went down fighting. Her three friends are good at self-defense. The attacker is obviously too stupid to realize that four against one is not good odds. We have him in custody, but if you could come down to Maryland General, I'm here with your daughter in the Emergency Room." The young detective was out of breath when he finished explaining the situation.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Gibbs said as he hung up the phone.
Jethro hopped out of bed and turned on the light. He frantically pulled on a pair of blue jeans, and rummaged through his dresser for a t-shirt.
"Gibbs, what's wrong?" Shannon asked yawning.
"Kelly got attacked outside of a nightclub. That was Baltimore P.D. she's in the Emergency Room right now. Kate, Abby, and Maddie must have done a good job of busting up the attacker." Gibbs added.
Shannon got out of bed and threw on the first decent thing she found. Jethro sped the entire way to the hospital in Baltimore. Shannon and Jethro made their way through the automatic doors to the waiting area of the Emergency Room. Shannon spotted Abby's dark black hair first. Standing next to Abby was a handsome man in a suit.
Gasping for breath Shannon and Jethro made their way to the group.
"You must be Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs." The man in the suit said.
He stuck his hand out "Anthony DiNozzo, Baltimore P.D." He added.
"Jethro, and Shannon." Gibbs said as he shook the detective's hand.
"I'll take you back to see Kelly now." Detective DiNozzo said kindly.
Shannon moved towards the younger man, and Gibbs extended an arm to stop her.
"You stay here with the girls." Gibbs directed.
As Gibbs and the Detective walked away Shannon looked at the two girls before her. Abby was standing next to her, and Maddie was sitting in a chair.
"Where's Kate?" Shannon asked.
"Where do you think?" Abby said with a half-smile.
"Chapel, of course, I should have known better." Shannon Gibbs said absentmindedly.
"Are you girls all right?" Shannon asked.
"We're fine, Mrs. Gibbs, it seems like Kelly got the worst of it. It was awful, this creepy guy wouldn't leave her alone all night, and as we're leaving the club he just jumps her from behind. The three of us just started beating on him, just so he'd stop hurting Kelly." Maddie said.
"Maddie, have you called your parents?" Shannon asked.
"Mrs. Gibbs, I'm twenty-four, and plus, they're three time zones away." Maddie said dryly.
Maddie was a sweet girl, and Shannon adored her, but sometimes she could be a bit cold. Shannon was going to have to convince Maddie to talk to her parents
"I know you're an adult, and I know they're sleeping, and you're not hurt, but they should know. You can call them in the morning, but please don't forget." Shannon was pleading with her daughter's best friend.
"Abby did you let anybody know what's going on?" Shannon said as she turned to the young goth standing next to her.
"Yep, I texted Gloria, it took like seven separate messages, and she got the condensed version. Only so much can be said with a hundred and sixty five characters. She's glad we're all right, but she's concerned, it must be a mom thing." Abby said it as she wrapped Shannon in a tight hug.
"Okay...Abby that's enough." Shannon said as she gasped for air.
Abby released her grip on Shannon.
"Hi Kate." Shannon said sweetly as Kate Todd entered the waiting area.
A rosary still dangled from Kate's left hand as she plopped into a chair next to Maddie.
"Are you all right?" Shannon asked.
"I am now." Kate said as she held up her rosary.
Kate Todd was one of Kelly's three roommates and it never ceased to amaze Shannon how at every crisis, or time of turmoil Kate Todd was always prepared with a rosary. She never went anywhere without one. Shannon knew that for sure, as she observed the young dark-haired girl place her rosary in a white satin pouch, and put it back into her purse.
"Kate did you call your parents?" Shannon asked.
"Nope, had to pray first, but I'll let them know what's going on. They have every right to know." Kate said it as she shot a dirty look at Maddie.
The two girls loved each other dearly, but it always bothered Kate that the idea of "honor thy mother and father" was lost on her friend Maddie. It's not that Maddie tried to be bad on purpose, or lie, it was just that she had strong opinions that she didn't have to share every little detail of her life with her parents. Abby, Kate, and Kelly all had strong bonds with their parents, and any news good or bad was immediately passed on.
"Girls, I am so glad you're all safe. I am also very glad that you were there to help Kelly tonight." Shannon said with a sigh.
"I agree." Jethro said quietly as he stood right behind his wife.
Shannon let out a loud sigh.
"Jethro, You know I hate it when you do that!" Shannon said angrily.
Normally, Shannon Gibbs wasn't so short tempered with her husband, but he had this awful habit of sneaking up behind people and finishing their sentences. It usually made Shannon laugh, but right now she was too worried about Kelly to have a sense of humor. She had also called him Jethro, something she rarely did. It was either "Gibbs" or "Darling." That's how it had always been. Shannon's mind flashed back to the day she had met her husband. They were both waiting for a train in Stillwater, and when she had heard Jethro's full name it had been difficult to hold back laughter. She had always called him "Gibbs" it was the only normal sounding part of his entire name.
"You can go back and see her now, she's in room number. Just a fair warning she looks worse than she feels." Jethro said as his wife walked past him.
He gently brushed her hand with his as she walked by.
Shannon walked back to the emergency room and with the help of a nurse's aide she found room number five.
Kelly was sitting up on the hospital bed, and the young girl didn't even look up as her mother entered the room. Kelly's face looked awful. "No wonder why Gibbs warned me." Shannon thought to herself. Detective DiNozzo was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
Kelly had two black eyes, and even through the layers of bandages Shannon could see that Kelly's nose was incredibly swollen. Shannon glanced down and also noticed a brace on Kelly's left wrist. Kelly was wearing a pair of green scrubs. "Her clothes must be evidence" Shannon thought to herself. Shannon immediately wrapped Kelly in a big hug, trying to avoid any injuries.
"Oh mom! I'm so glad you're here!" Kelly said as she sighed, and reciprocated the hug.
The two women broke their embrace and Shannon stood back to survey her daughter's conditon. Kelly really did look awful. Shannon fought the urge to cry and spoke softly.
"Dad says you look worse than you feel, is that true?" Shannon asked with a heavy sigh.
"Yeah...I guess, I'm full of what Detective DiNozzo referred to as "happy drugs." Whatever that's supposed to mean." Kelly said simply.
As Kelly talked Shannon noticed that one of her daughter's front teeth was missing, and her lower lip was split.
"It just means that you are so full of drugs you don't know what's going on." Shannon said quickly.
"Must be, because they doctor wouldn't give me anything for the pain until Detective DiNozzo got my statement." Kelly said as she brushed her long auburn hair out of her face.
"A formality that I am indeed sorry for." A male voice with a thick Scottish accent said from the doorway.
Shannon turned to see an older man wearing a white coat standing in the doorway. He had on a bowtie, dress shirt and khakis underneath his coat.
"I am Doctor Mallard." The man said as he entered the room and extended his hand to Shannon.
"I am Shannon Gibbs, Kelly's mother." Shannon said as she shook Doctor Mallard's hand.
"Your husband was right, Kelly does look exactly like you." Doctor Mallard commented.
"So you've met Jethro." Shannon said cautiously as she released her grip on the doctor's hand.
"Yes, he was quite valuable in giving me Kelly's medical history, he's also a bit protective. That's quite all right though. I understand Kelly had a head injury from an accident as a child?" Doctor Mallard asked.
"That's correct, she had a concussion, and then she got cut by some flying glass, hence the scar." Shannon added.
"Well the good news is that I just reviewed the CAT scan images, Kelly, you're very fortunate that this concussion is minimal compared to the one you suffered as a child, the unfortunate part is that adults don't heal as fast as children. I'm afraid you're going to be on the mend for awhile." Doctor Mallard explained as he stood between Kelly and Shannon.
"So what all happened?" Shannon said curious. She knew the list of injuries had to be extensive.
"Well, the concussion, the broken nose, the missing tooth, and her wrist is sprained, but not broken, which I think, must be music to this piano player's ears." Doctor Mallard rattled of the list like he was shopping for groceries.
"So is she able to come home tonight?" Shannon asked.
"Yes, she'll need to be looked after, especially with a concussion, but she's able to go home with you. I'm just waiting for the pharmacy to fill her prescription she is going to appreciate the pain medication. The nurse is putting together a packet of care instructions, and the numbers at which I can be reached, should you need me. Your family dentist should be able to fix that beautiful smile back to brand new, and if you call my office Monday we'll make an appointment for a check-up on that nose!" Doctor Mallard explained.
Forty-five minutes later Shannon was helping Kelly into the back of Jethro's SUV. Kate, Abby, and Maddie had already piled into the last row of seats. Jethro had insisted that the girls all stay with them, at least for the night. Detective DiNozzo had given the girls a ride to the hospital, and Kelly had been taken by ambulance. It was almost four a.m. and Gibbs wasn't about to go searching the club district in downtown Baltimore to retrieve Kate's car. Jethro was talking to Detective DiNozzo, and Shannon gently buckled Kelly's seatbelt for her. Shannon got in the front passenger's seat and saw her husband shake the Detective's hand and walk towards the car.
Gibbs got in the car and started the engine. He handed Shannon a business card.
"Please put that in your wallet, it's Detective DiNozzo's information, he'll be in touch with us later in the week." Gibbs explained as they sped towards Annandale.
Dutifully, Shannon placed the card in her wallet. Kelly was sleeping when they arrived home, and Jethro gently unbuckled his daughter from her seatbelt and carried her up to her old bedroom with little effort. For an older man Jethro Gibbs was still incredibly strong. He liked to say that building boats was what kept him young. Kelly stirred slightly as Jethro turned to leave the room.
"I'll take first shift." Gibbs offered as he almost ran into his wife in the hallway outside Kelly's door.
"Thanks. I'll get the girls settled and catch some sleep." Shannon said softly as she reached out and embraced Jethro.
"She's going to be just fine." Gibbs whispered quietly as he stroked his wife's hair.
"I know that, it's just that I never thought we'd have to go through this twice." Shannon said with a sigh.
"At least I'm here for round two." Jethro said as he hugged his wife even tighter.
"You still feel guilty don't you?" Shannon said honestly.
She had told her husband many times not to feel guilty. He had been serving his country with honor when the accident happened. He had no way of controlling what happened a half a world away. It still seemed to Shannon though, that none of that mattered to her husband.
Gibbs didn't answer Shannon, instead he broke their embrace and kissed her on the cheek before he turned to enter Kelly's room.
Shannon made her way downstairs. Maddie, Kate, and Abby had already made themselves comfortable in the kitchen. Kate was eating an apple, Abby was pouring lemonade, and Maddie was rummaging through the pantry. Maddie finally surfaced holding a box of crackers.
"Oh my, the post-clubbing munchies. I don't forget those days." Shannon said as she made her way over to the kitchen table.
"Get a snack, and then get to bed girls, it's been a long night." Shannon instructed. She had to stifle a yawn as she said it.
"How's Kelly?" Abby asked as she sipped her lemonade.
"She didn't even wake up when Gibbs put her to bed." Shannon said simply.
"He's going to watch her while I sleep, and then we'll trade off. At some point tomorrow, we'll go get Kate's car." Shannon said simply.
Fifteen minutes later three slightly tipsy girls made their way to their appointed sleeping spots. Everybody knew the routine in the house of Gibbs, there had been enough sleepovers in the past. Kate and Maddie took the bunk beds in the guest room, and Abby always crashed on the couch in the family room, insisting that it was comfortable, and the tight space reminded her of her coffin.
Exhausted, Shannon Gibbs followed Kate and Maddie upstairs, and headed to her own room. She said a quick prayer, and collapsed on her bed, welcoming some much needed rest.