Chapter 8

Matt was wondering when the storm was going to start as he sat quietly on the ride home from the hospital. Chancing a sidelong glance at his father, he found an almost expressionless face. This has to be part of the punishment, he thought, this is torture. He knew it was coming- had even tried to get it over with while he was still in the hospital. The ever opportunistic Gibbs simply told his anxious son that it would keep till he felt better. That must be code for "when there's no witnesses around."

That's why it surprised him now, having driven most of the way home, that the proverbial shit still hadn't hit the fan. His dad had said a grand total of two words since he was released, and those were no more than, "You okay?" Truth be told, it was making the youth more than a little nervous.

His nervousness only grew once they arrived home. Matt had showered, and Gibbs had made dinner, which they ate in silence. As soon as he finished, his father made a silent retreat to his basement sanctuary. Matt didn't have to ask where he was going, it happened often enough to know, but this time it annoyed him. In the young marine's eyes, his dad was running away from necessary business. Matt already knew he was up the creek, what was the point in dragging it out?

He thought on this for a few minutes before he found himself pacing the kitchen. This is ridiculous! With his resolve set, he marched himself to the basement.

"Took you long enough," Gibbs said, not bothering to looking up as Matt made his way down the stairs.

"Huh?"

Gibbs glanced at his son briefly before proceeding to drill a perfect hole with an ancient hand drill. "I was expecting you ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, well. Sorry to disappoint you . . . again."

Gibbs gave his son a pointed glare, but said nothing.

"So?" Matt asked, just barely concealing his growing agitation. "You gonna let me off the hook, or what?"

"Nope."

"Then let's do this thing, already! Say what you have obviously been wanting to say since yesterday!"

Without warning, Gibbs threw the drill to the bottom of the boat, taking two long strides to stand just inches from his son's face. "You want me to say what I've been wanting to say? Alright. What the HELL is the matter with you, Matt! When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it, understood? I say "go", you go! I say "stay," I had better find you right where I left you!"

Matt crossed his arms across his chest, squaring off to the older man. "That's not fair, dad! I tried to tell you! You hung up on me!"

"Tried to tell me when, Matt? When you had already decided that I couldn't catch those two on my own? When you were standing in the Lobby? Where the people who had already tried to kill you were in the process of putting one more notch on their belt?"

Gibbs could tell by the boy's sudden inability to meet his gaze that he had gotten through to him.

"I didn't think you would make the connection," Matt confessed, remorse evident in his voice. "When I saw those tattoos in the pictures that came up in Abby's lab . . . I didn't think you would connect the park murders with the Admirals' murders."

Gibbs, too, let his voice drop to a conversational tone. He moved to one side and took a seat on a saw horse. "Don't you think I've done this long enough to know what I'm doing?" He half-way joked.

Matt cracked a lopsided smile. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"Yeah. You did. Five times last time I counted."

"What?" Matt almost choked. "You kept track?"

Gibbs shot him a pointed look. "Of course I kept track. How else would I know how many punishments to dish out?"

"What? You gonna ground me?"

"Thought about it. But you're nineteen- past the age I can legally keep you confined in the house."

"Then what?"

"You'll come to work with me every day for a month."

Matt threw his shoulders back, feeling like he had just dodged a bullet. "That's not so bad."

"You have daily check-ups with Ducky till he gives you a clean bill of health."

"Daily? Seriously?"

"Yeah," Gibbs was deadpan, "Seriously. I have some special chores for you at the office."

"Ookkaay. That all?"

"Nope. Dishes. Every night."

"Till when?" Matt was liking this less and less.

Gibbs glared at his boy, daring him to defy him. "Till I say so!"

The young man shut his eyes tight, exhaling a disgusted sigh. So many biting remarks came to mind that it took a concerted effort to keep his mouth shut. "Done?" He forced with a calmness he didn't really feel.

The older man visibly thought for a moment. "And you enroll in school again next semester."

"Fine. Now are we done?"

Gibbs hefted himself from the sawhorse, tossing a sanding block to the younger man while he did so. He picked his drill up from the bottom of the boat and continued where he left off. "Yup. Now get to work. That third rib needs a lot of attention."

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed it. I was planning on making it longer, putting in more action, and more of the team, but taking care of my mother in law after surgery has taken up more time than I thought it would. I already have another story in mind, but I need some serious feedback. I don't know if I should keep Matt, or just focus on the team for while. Please, please, please let me know! Thanks for reading!