AUTHOR'S NOTES: So I very lightly touched on how Kelly feels about her physical disability at the very end of the previous chapter, but I really wanted to go into further detail as well as explain how Kelly came to feel that she had to be the emotional strength of the family.

Also, a shout out to two reviewers of this story and a reviewer of two of my other stories. First, for Teresa W and SeaBreeze2Ga, this chapter not only gets into what Mike Franks told Kelly at the end of the previous chapter but does bring in Jackson Gibbs.

Now, to a reviewer of my stories, 'The Bonds of Family' and its rewrite—SiriuslyPink—Since it has been pointed out to me that the idea of Team Harry using Harry's cancer to defeat Voldemort is not medically sound, I will be leaving that idea OUT of this story.

Chapter 7

10 Years Ago

From the time she was 4 years old, Kelly Anne Gibbs had wanted to be only one thing when she grew up—a United States Marine.

To her, the Marines were the ultimate heroes and in her eyes, her father was the best of all of them.

Kelly could imagine wearing the uniform and fighting alongside her dad as they eliminated any threat to their country and their family.

But that was the future.

When she was 8 years old, what she really wanted at that age was a brother or sister—someone she could play with and help take care of. Maybe a little sister who would come to her for advice on clothes or make-up when they got older. Or a little brother who would ask her for the best way to ask out a girl in school.

When Kelly's cousin, Harry Potter, came to live with her and her family, Kelly was as happy as could be and immediately considered the little dark-haired boy to be a good as a brother. And as Harry got older, the two were the closest of friends in addition to being family.

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Sitting in the doctor's office, Kelly felt worried as she sat with her dad and Harry. She knew her dad had been concerned that she'd had some trouble walking the past year but she'd tried to hide it by wrapping both ankles in ace bandages and wearing high-top sneakers. That had all helped at first, but the past few weeks, Kelly had started experiencing increased weakness in her legs and suddenly at 12 years old, she had a feeling in her gut that all of her future plans and dreams were about to come crashing down.

"I apologize for being late," Dr. Nola Bryce said as she entered the office. She knew the Gibbs family well and had treated Kelly and Harry since they were toddlers. Sitting down at her desk, she felt her heart ache as she looked at the three family members. Deciding to be straightforward, Nola looked from Gibbs and Harry to Kelly. "Kelly, I spoke with Dr. Fritz Vander, an orthopedist, about your case and he's reviewed the test results. And unfortunately, we do have a diagnosis."

"What's wrong with me?" Kelly asked, trying not to show how scared she really felt, especially seeing the worried looks on her dad's face and Harry's. She tried not to think of the worst case. What if it was something possibly fatal? She tried not to think the word 'cancer'.

"It's called Tibialis Posterior Atrophy," Nola explained as she held out a small stack of paper—about 10 pages. Looking at Gibbs, she went into further detail. "It's a muscle disorder that causes progressive weakness in the legs. It's a disease of stages. Stage 1 would be a change in gait. Stage 2 is further difficulty walking which requires leg braces for support. That's where Kelly is right now." After a moment or two to let everything sink in, Nola went on, looking at Kelly. "Eventually, its going to get harder for you to walk, even with the braces. At that point you'll need to start using crutches."

"Stage 3," Kelly said, looking at the information the doctor had given her. It was getting harder and harder for her to stay strong and not break down and start crying, but looking at her family, she couldn't let herself fall apart. Her dad was holding everything in himself and Harry looked like he wasn't sure what to say.

Gibbs had been sitting between his children and he put a hand on Harry's shoulder while gently squeezing Kelly's arm. Looking at the doctor, he knew he wouldn't like the answer to his question, but he asked anyway. "Stage 4?"

Nola watched as Kelly wordlessly handed the information packet to her father and replied, "Kelly's legs won't be able to support her and she won't be able to move them. It's a complete loss of mobility. She won't be able to walk and she'll have to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life."

Kelly forced back the tears brewing and nodded her understanding. But all she could think about was how much she wished her mother was there.

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Two years later, Kelly again found herself sitting in Dr. Bryce's office with her father and Harry. 6 weeks ago, Harry had been playing on the playground at school during recess when he'd fallen off the jungle gym. When the bruise on his leg hadn't gone away even after a month, Gibbs had taken Harry to the doctor who had proceeded to test for everything possible.

This time, however, Nola Bryce didn't enter the office alone which worried Kelly even more. "Jethro, Kelly, Harry…this is Dr. Grace Willis," Nola said, regret in her voice. "She's the chief pediatric oncologist at University Hospital. The x-rays showed a solid mass in Harry's right knee. We need to admit him right away and get a bone marrow biopsy to see how far the tumor is ingrained."

Kelly didn't know what to say. Harry had cancer? It didn't feel real. Sure, his knee was puffy and painful, but… Hugging her cousin, she tried to reassure him. "It's gonna be okay, Harry. I promise it's going to be okay."

"University Hospital is expecting Harry today," Grace said, quietly. "We'll get him admitted and once we have the biopsy results we'll know the best was to treat the cancer."

"Uh, I-I'll meet you there after school," Kelly said, standing and grabbing the corner of the desk as her legs felt weak. Chalking it up as a reaction to hearing about Harry's illness and her worries about what would be coming next, she gave her father a heartening smile when she saw the flash of worry on his face. "I'm okay," she said, more to reassure herself than her father.

But when she couldn't even make it to the door without her legs shaking, Kelly knew that she wasn't okay, no matter how much she wanted to be. Looking at Dr. Bryce as the doctor led her back to the empty chair, she felt another piece of her life breaking away. "Stage three, right?"

Those three words felt like someone had taken the knife in Gibbs' heart and twisted it sharply and he could see in his daughter's face that she felt exactly the same.

14 Months Ago

Finding jobs with good health insurance benefits and plenty of sitting was usually tricky but given that Kelly was pursuing a career as a librarian, the local library near NCIS headquarters was happy to hire her as a favor to Gibbs.

The job had been going well, although there were a few issues when Kelly was the only one available to reshelve the returned items since it was sometimes hard for her walk and push the library cart at the same time.

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On a beautiful morning in late May, Kelly was just finishing the reshelving when her left leg gave a sudden spasm. Letting out a sigh, she headed back towards the desk. The spasms were common, lately, and usually meant she'd been on her feet too long.

But before she could get to the counter where she'd rested her crutches, Kelly's legs buckled and she fell to the floor with a crash that brought the other librarians and several of the patrons running.

Bonnie Wright, the supervising librarian knelt down next to Kelly who had moved a bit so she was on her back. "Take it easy, sweetie," Bonnie advised, taking off the jacket she wore and folding it before gently sliding it under Kelly's head. Looking up, she was about to tell someone to call an ambulance when she noticed a high school student was already doing so. Turning back to Kelly, Bonnie asked, "Anything hurting or…?" She paused when she noticed the look of stunned horror on the younger woman's face. "What's wrong, honey?"

Kelly swallowed hard and felt the rest of her world crashing as she said in a choked voice, "I can't move my legs." She'd known it would be coming but saying the words out loud made it a cold reality.

About 6 minutes later, the paramedics arrived and took a quick history on Kelly before getting her on a stretcher before taking her to the waiting ambulance. Inside, she said nothing as she listened to the paramedics brief the hospital on her case. "22-year-old female, collapsed at work due to leg weakness caused by a muscle disorder. Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing normal. Please advise that Dr. Fritz Vander needs to be paged per patient's request."

x

Once at the hospital, the doctors ordered x-rays and an MRI just in case Kelly had hit her head as she fell. When that had all come back clear, she was admitted and just as the nurses got her settled, Dr. Vander arrived. "Hey, Kelly," he said, simply. "So… How are you feeling?"

Kelly let out a long sigh and when she felt the tears in her eyes, she just let them fall. "I can't move my legs," she said, quietly. "I-I keep trying, but…" She cried for a moment or two but as she started thinking she remembered that Harry had been called and would probably be there soon. Sniffling, she sat up and tried to shift back to her usual strong, determined self. "So, what now?"

Fritz had been hoping for a longer emotional response but he also knew that given the troubles with her family, Kelly always tried to be the rock of stability for her father and cousin. Keeping that in mind, he sat on the edge of the bed and outlined what the young woman's life would be from that point on. "Tomorrow, you'll be starting with physical and occupational therapists on getting around in a wheelchair as well as getting in and out of bed and the bathroom."

Nodding her understanding, Kelly just said, "Okay. Um… so what else do I need to know? I mean, it's just my legs, right? It's not like being paralyzed or something, right?"

Shaking his head in response, Fritz explained, "Not exactly. With paraplegics, they have no sensation or motor function below the level of injury. That means they can't walk, feel anything below the waist, or control bladder and bowel systems. In your case, Kelly, Tibialis Posterior Atrophy just means that you have no motor function in your legs. There may be the occasional muscle cramps or spasms since your legs will still be receiving signals from your brain, but the majority of the muscle control will be gone."

It didn't sound quite as bad as being fully paralyzed, but the more Kelly heard, the more she hated her current situation. Okay, so she'd still be able to control when she had to go to the bathroom, thank God, but there were still a few similarities to being a paraplegic. She'd have to be careful about pressure sores with sitting all the time—something she'd already had a nasty experience with once as a kid when she'd first had to start wearing the leg braces.

"Kelly?"

Looking at the doorway, Kelly saw Harry with Ziva David, Tony DiNozzo, and Dr. Donald Mallard. "Hey, guys," she said, trying to sound as positive as she could. Looking at her cousin, Kelly could see that the teenager was worried and she tried to sound confident as she looked at Dr. Vander. "So how soon can I go home?"

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," Fritz replied, his tone solemn. "You're looking at 6-8 weeks of in-patient physical therapy at least. And then long term PT and OT as an out-patient."

Kelly said nothing as she let that soak in. And suddenly, she felt her emotional walls start to crumble. Looking away, she didn't want Harry to see her lose it.

Catching Ducky's eye, Tony gestured that he, Ziva, and Harry should give the ME some time alone with Kelly. Dr. Vander followed the group outside, closing the door behind him.

When she was sure that the others were out of earshot, Kelly turned to Ducky and before she knew it, she was crying openly. When Ducky sat down next to her, pulling her into a comforting embrace, she clung to him, sobbing hard. "How long have you been holding all this inside, my dear?" Ducky asked, quietly.

Kelly continued to cry, but as she did, she told the older man everything. "Since Mom died. You know, it was so hard for Dad and Harry was so little, he barely remembers… One night, Dad… I found him in the basement and he had his service weapon in his hands and I thought he was going to…"

"Oh, my…" Ducky whispered, quietly, as he held Kelly.

She pulled away and shifted positions in the hospital bed. Sniffling as she came to the end of her crying jag, she went on. "After that, I was so afraid that Dad would try and kill himself that I tried to be something he could hold on to. I told him how much I loved him and how much Harry and I needed him. Ever since, I tried to be his anchor."

Kelly gave a light tug on the silver chain she wore around her neck, showing Ducky the Marine Corps emblem pendant on it. "When I was 12 and I first found out about my leg disorder and that I'd never get to be a Marine, Dad gave me this and s-said that it was our family symbol."

Ducky took the pendant gently as Kelly leaned forward and he smiled, warmly. "A fitting emblem of the Gibbs family," he agreed.

"The globe for my family and friends since you guys are my whole world," Kelly explained. "The eagle for Dad, since he's always been there for me and Harry, watching over us…" She felt a choke in her voice as she studied the anchor on the pendant. There were times—like the past few weeks, for instance—that she wished she wasn't her family's anchor. Sometimes, she wished she had someone she could go to when she needed a rock.

xxxxx

A week later, Kelly had just returned to her hospital room after a long day of physical therapy when she had an unexpected visitor. "Grandpa," she said surprised when Jackson Gibbs entered the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Harry called me," Jackson replied as he pulled up a chair and sat down with a weary sigh. "He's worried about you. And he said that you didn't want to tell Leroy about what's going on." He gave his granddaughter a look and when she didn't say anything in response, he said, "You're too young to have the world on your shoulders, Kelly. You need to let others carry the load sometimes."

But it wasn't that simple, Kelly thought, remorsefully. Over the years, she'd built up her walls so much that the idea of letting others help her was a very foreign concept. "How do I do that?" she asked, hoping her grandfather had the answer.

Jackson shrugged, not sure of the best thing to say. But thinking for a moment, he said, "Start by thinking of yourself first. Focus on the physical therapy and let everyone else worry about the rest."

Nodding, Kelly tried to put herself in that state of mind, but inside, she couldn't stop thinking about Harry and how her father was going to feel when he finally came back from Mexico.

Present Day

While Gibbs talked with Harry about the teenager's second surgery to remove his eye, Mike Franks went looking for Kelly. He'd always had a soft spot for the young lady and he had a feeling that she could use someone to talk to about everything. After checking the cafeteria, a nurse told him that Kelly had bought a drink a short while ago before heading outside. Sure enough, Mike found her at a table outside, an orange strawberry smoothie in front of her. "Hey, there, little darlin'," Mike said, jovially as he approached the young redhead.

"Mike!" Kelly exclaimed in delighted surprise. When she'd talked to the retired NCIS agent on the phone a few days ago, she hadn't even considered the possibility of Mike Franks coming up to DC. But now that he was here, Kelly was incredibly happy to see him. When the older man bent down to hug her, she returned the embrace warmly and when Mike sat down, she said, "I'm so glad you're here."

"I just wish it was under better circumstances, honey," Mike said, regretfully. He wasn't sure of what else to say given the circumstances but he wanted to be as supportive as possible. Thinking of something he'd had in the back of his mind for a while, Mike asked, "How are you doing? With what you're going through, I mean. I know you're having a hard time 'cause of Harry, but… How are you doing with everything else?"

Kelly was quiet for a moment before she started crying. It was the first time since Harry had relapsed that she'd been flat-out asked how she felt—not about Harry but her own disability. The weight of everything coupled with her memories of the past 10 years hit her like a flood and instead of pushing everything back down like she usually did, Kelly let everything wash over her.

She remembered when she was 12 and the doctors had first diagnosed her with Tibialis Posterior Atrophy, informing her that the muscles in her legs would get weaker and weaker and eventually, she'd lose all muscle control, rendering her legs completely useless.

At first, Kelly had the focus of her father's attentions but as she started to see that her dad couldn't focus on her and his duties as an NCIS agent, she'd put her issues aside, burying her feelings and resolving to put the rest of her family first. When Harry had been diagnosed with cancer, Kelly knew that Harry not only needed her as a big sister but also as a surrogate mother and she'd tried to do everything her mother would have.

But now with Molly Weasley here, Kelly had begun to feel like maybe Harry didn't need her as much anymore and while that did partly feel like a good thing, without anything else to focus on, Kelly had found herself dwelling more and more on her own physical issues.

How was she doing? The more Kelly thought about it, the more she found herself giving the same response. "Not so great, Mike," she said, aloud, as she sniffled a bit. "Not so great." After a while, she let out a long sigh and added, "I've been trying to be tough for so long… and I just don't know how long I can do it."

In all the years he'd known her, Mike Franks had never known Kelly Gibbs to really break down. She'd always demonstrated the strength, drive, and determination of a Marine and when Gibbs had first told him that his only daughter's lifelong ambition was to join the Corps when she was old enough, Mike was certain the young girl would do the Marines and her father proud.

But looking at Kelly as an adult, Mike could see that she seemed older than 22 years old. "I know you've been through the wringer, darlin' and I wish I knew how to help you, Harry, and your old man through this. All I can say is that you are one of the toughest people I've ever known but part of being strong is knowing when to step back and let others take over."