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You're to Blame
You are to blame for anything that is good in my heart. You are to blame for this change that has taken me by storm. - Mercy Me
Chapter Nine – March 1989 – May 1989
Monday March 6, 1989
Spring was already on everyone's minds. Shannon was making plans for the backyard. She wanted to plant a few bushes around the fence. It would help her keep her mind off the fact that Jethro was gone on another training mission and wouldn't be back for two months. It was the first time he left since that concussion that nearly killed him. She didn't even know where Jethro was and mail wasn't likely going to be permitted very often.
There was once again a calender taped up in Kelly's room that counted down to the day that Jethro would be coming home. She missed her daddy terribly and wanted him back home. The fact that she knew exactly when he was coming home only alleviated the longing for him just a little.
Tony did his best to keep them distracted. As the man of the house it was his job to make sure that the girls were happy. He felt like he was failing miserable. He wasn't Jethro no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't him that Shannon and Kelly needed. He was still wanted; no one could deny that. He was wanted when Kelly couldn't fall asleep or when Shannon needed someone to talk to about what she should do with the yard.
Six days have passed since Jethro left. Everyday went by the same as it had the pass nine months, school, homework, spending time with friends and Kathryn, learning about life from Shannon.
But there was no working on the boat.
Tony spent an hour a day in the basement trying to figure out how Jethro was going to get it out. It looked like it should be impossible but Jethro assured him that it was. He'll only believe it when he sees it.
Kelly would join him on some nights. She stayed on the bottom step, just watching Tony as he wandered around looking for clues. There was always an amused smile on her face that was remarkably similar to Shannon's.
"You're not going to figure out how daddy's going to get it out."
"What makes you say that Squirt?" He picked her up and threw her on his shoulder as he went back upstairs.
"Because you're not."
"Do you how?"
"I'm five, Tony." She said it as though it explained everything and in a way it did.
Friday March 17, 1989
Kelly wasn't singing. As annoying as it was, Tony was beginning to miss it. Tony knew there had to be new songs. Easter was only nine days away. He came up with a plan to get her to sing again. It was only slightly less embarrassing than the Christmas sweater. If he planned it right Kelly would be his only witness. He sat at the piano and started to play. She could never resist the piano, except for when he played Piano Man. She had never liked that song for some reason. Tony smiled when she sat down next to him. The words to Here Comes Peter Cottontail were soon flowing from her mouth. Little did know Shannon was watching them... and had a camcorder.
"Sing a long, Sweetie. You have such an amazing voice."
"Mom! Turn off the camera!" He was begging and didn't care.
"Please Tony," pouted Kelly.
"Fine. One verse from the top." Once more the lyrics to Peter Cottontail filled the house.
Sunday March 19, 1989
For many college students Spring Break meant Florida, hot parties, and a lot of alcohol. For Tony it meant Washington DC, spending as much time as he could with friends and family, and lemonade. He didn't mind. Shannon made really good lemonade. It was only one more thing that made him different from his classmates.
It was also the first time he had seen Jeremy since June. He brought his daughter, Kristina, along with him. The baby was only two months old and Jeremy looked as though he hadn't slept for just as long. Shannon took pity on him and allowed him a few hours sleep even though she didn't like him much before making him explain why he was in Washington.
The story was pretty tragic. Kristina's mother died giving birth. Her body couldn't handle the strain it was forced into. Her family blamed Jeremy and turned on him and the baby. His own family quickly disowned him when they found out that he accepted Kristina was his and was going to raise her on his own.
He arrived in Washington the week before and managed to get a job and a really small apartment.
"Kristina doesn't have anyone but me. So I was hoping that you would be her godfather, Tony."
"You're not planning on dumping that little girl on Tony the moment he turns eighteen, are you?" asked Shannon suspiciously.
"No! I love Kristina. I wouldn't give her up for the world. I just want know that she'll be taken care of should something happen to me."
"Why me?"
"You're the only one who saw our society for what it is."
"I'll do it."
"Tony, are your sure about this?" asked Shannon softly.
"You what will happen to Kristina if something happens to Jeremy. She'll be put into the system. You didn't let that happen to me and I won't let that happen to her. I have to do it Mom. Please trust me on this one."
Saturday March 25, 1989
Easter had never been a big deal for Tony. Sure the candy was great but that was all it had going for it. The only thing that was different at the mansion were the lilies that filled every vase instead of the usual roses and baby's breath.
Once again Shannon proved to be different. One of her traditions was dying hard-boiled eggs. Tony had never done anything like that before and the idea intrigued him. According to Shannon, a lot of people colored their own eggs. He had to admit that the task was pretty interesting. However, he couldn't picture Kelly eating a hard-boiled egg.
Sunday March 26, 1989
Kelly woke at a more reasonable time than she did at Christmas Tony was just coming back from his morning run when she entered the living room. There were three baskets; one for Kelly that had a large pink bunny, Tony had a blue bunny, and Shannon had a yellow duck. Tony was unsure about getting a cuddle toy. He was too old for something like that.
Much of the candy was different from what he remembered. There was the chocolate bunny and jellybeans but there was also pink animal shaped candies that he didn't recognize. So he poked it.
"What is that?"
Shannon gave him a strange look. "It's a Peep." Tony gave her a blank stare in return. He needed a better explanation than that. "A sugar coated marshmallow with sugar eyes." She thought that everyone knew what Peeps were. She couldn't imagine Easter without them. Then Tony poked the Peep again. "It's good. Very unhealthy, but good."
Kelly was waiting anxiously for the Master Sargent to blow his whistle. She was finally old enough to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt. No one under the age of five could join in. Bouncing around in excitement was a natural reaction. Besides, even the seven-year-olds were bouncing a little.
Her Gibbs trained eyes had already spotted three eggs. As soon as the whistle sounded she ran toward the one that was closest to her. She put the bright green egg in her basket and ran off toward the next one. After snatching the third she scanned the area again finding some more eggs. Soon her basket was overflowing with large plastic brightly colored eggs.
The rules stated that the type of prize a child won depended on how many eggs they found. There were 200 eggs hidden throughout the park and the children had an hour to find them all. The kid with the most eggs would win a brand new bike. Kelly really wanted the bike. She was far too big for the one that was currently sitting in the garage.
The Master Sargent in charge took a look at Kelly with wide eyes when he saw her coming back. She was struggling to keep the eggs from falling out of her skirt. He already knew that she would be the winner. The eggs still had to be counted and he was surprised to find that she had found forty-seven. In the three years that he ran the Easter Egg Hunt he had never had a kid find that many.
Kathryn hated the disdainful glares she had been getting from all the Marines' wives. She was holding Kristina so Jeremy could have a break. Keeping her in the carrier for hours on end seemed to be a bit cruel.
She heard some of the older women talking about her, saying horrible things about teen mothers. She wanted to tell them that she wasn't Kristina's mother and even if she was they had no right to judge her. But she held her tongue... for now.
It was lucky that Tony hadn't noticed anything was wrong. He probably would have caused a scene and yelled at those awful women. Kathryn didn't want that. She had to take of this in her way.
As they were leaving the park, Kelly's new bike balancing on his shoulder, Kathryn saw the women who were insulting her. She approached them without a second thought. It was a good thing that she had been taught to always speak her mind.
"You know, before you go off insulting and belittling people you don't know, I think you should get all of your facts straight first. First, that is not my baby. She belongs to him." She pointed sharply and Jeremy. "Second, it is quite impossible for me to be anyone's mother much less to her since I only meet her this morning. And third, everyone makes mistakes. Even though he can't fix his mistake, he is doing everything that he can to make sure that she doesn't become the biggest one he ever made. I think that by loving her, which isn't something every parent does, is the best thing he can do right now. The best thing you 'ladies' can do is remove those sticks before they get lodged. I hear that can get to be slightly uncomfortable."
Saturday April 1, 1989
It's been a month since Shannon had heard from her husband. She had suffered from a communication blackout before but not for this long. She missed Jethro dearly and she knew that the kids missed him just as much. Sometimes she got the feeling that Tony might be missing Jethro even more than she was.
Tony was great with Kelly. He constantly was keeping her distracted. Sometimes it didn't work. As much as Kelly loved her older brother, he wasn't her daddy. From the day that she was born it was obvious that she was a daddy's girl through and through. She wouldn't let any man hold her except for Jethro. She would always fuss if it was someone else. He used to joke how she must like the scent of sawdust. But as time went by that proved to be true.
It seem that he took the long absence the hardest. He put up a good front, always having a huge grin on his face, but it was obvious that he wanted his dad, Shannon saw Tony head slapping himself enough times to prove that. And even though he didn't have to, he went on that run every morning. It was something that only he shared with Jethro. Shannon suspected it made him feel connected to his dad on some level that she would never understand.
Shannon was worried that Tony would start to feel abandoned if Jethro was gone for too long. But so far he was OK that he wasn't around. It may have had something to do with the fact that Jethro had never lied to Tony. He just didn't have it in him to lie to the boy.
Thursday April 6, 1989
Tony figured out that he needed to take several more classes before he could graduate. Math and science were never his strongest subjects in school, but now he was trying to figure out which of the forensic classes he wanted to take. Homicide Investigation would be a class that he would probably need if he ever decided that he wanted to follow through with using his degree. Photography of Crime Scenes was an obvious choice and probably the easiest of the forensic classes. He was certain that he could get into the Firearms class. Hopefully his GPA would make up for his youth.
Biology and chemistry weren't even being considered as options. It wasn't that he would do bad in those courses he just going to leave it for those that were studying to be actual forensic scientists. Shannon taught him that he didn't need to learn everything.
He wished that he could take a few physical education classes. Team sports were one of the things that he missed the most. Playing with Alex and his friends wasn't the same as being as on a team. There was a certain thrill that only playing on an organized team could give him.
Saturday April 8, 1989
It was now Shannon's birthday. Shopping for her was always going to be difficult for Tony. He thought about going to Gwen for help but she was always busy. Kathryn only saw her at breakfast if she were lucky.
He didn't know Alex's mom well enough to ask for her help. Also he doubted that Mrs. Hayes would have been any help... she was more than a little eccentric.
Shannon had already told him that she didn't want or expect him to make dinner... though one of his chocolate cakes would be more than welcomed. It was amazing that Tony could make a better cake than she could. He didn't make them lopsided anymore either, which was a plus in Kelly's eyes since she very particular about her cake.
Sneaking out of the house was the easy part. Getting back in without Shannon noticing her gift was a lot harder. How he got by without a little sister for so long was beyond him. She was the perfect distraction as long as he wanted Shannon to be distracted for about five minutes.
"Where have you been, young man?" He was busted.
"Nowhere."
"Tony..." The tone she used was nearly as intimidating as Jethro's.
"Fine. Follow me and I'll show you."
She followed him out to the garage. It was almost impossible not to laugh when she saw the car but Shannon didn't want to hurt Tony's feelings. It really was a nice thin for him to do. Tires weren't that cheep and Jethro hadn't let him take that much out of his account before he left.
"You got me new tires?"
Monday April 10, 1989
"You got your mom tires for her birthday?" asked Kathryn as she stole a fry from his plate.
"Why does everyone keep asking me that question that way?"
"What way?"
"Like they are ready to start laughing."
"You got your mom tires for her birthday."
"So? The old ones were going bald. She was going to need some eventually. I was being practical."
"OK Tony, I'm sure you thought it was a sweet gesture. Just never buy me tires for my birthday."
"Yes, Kitten."
Friday April 28, 1989
He dropped his heavy duffel bags outside the perpetually unlocked door. It was still early and only one who was likely to be awake at this hour was Tony. Looking at the clock in the hall told him that the teen wasn't going to be leaving for another ten minutes. He arrived just in time.
"Dad!" yelled Tony. Jethro pulled him into a hug. "You're finally home."
Jethro chuckled. "I'm three days early."
"Early? You're not hurt again are you? The last time you came home early you had a concussion. No ones trying to kill us again? Are they?" Tony rambled.
"Everything is fine. The mission ended sooner than we thought it would. Now, go wake your sister while I get Shannon."
Jethro entered his and Shannon's room as quietly as he possibly could. Two months was far too long to be away from her. He smiled when he saw that her face was buried in his pillow. He bent over her and kissed her awake. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. She squealed in a Kelly-like fashion and her arms found themselves wrapped around Jethro.
"What are you doing home so early?" She was beyond thrilled that he was back.
"Can't you just be happy that I'm here?" he teased. He knew that she was counting down the days before he returned just like the kids were. Having a husband that left for months on end never got easier no matter how many times he left.
Just then Tony came in, interrupting them with a fake cough. Kelly was still sleeping in his arms. "I tried to wake her but I don't think that she cares all that much that you are home." He honestly didn't try to hard to wake her. Kelly would much rather wake to the scent of sawdust that seemed to follow Jethro wherever he went. Jethro knew what Tony had in mind and took the little girl form him. She began to stir once the scent reached her nose.
"Daddy, it's too early to be awake. Can you come back later?" She cuddled up closer to him. Then she realized what she said. "Daddy! You're home. I missed you so much."
"Well, at least someone did."
"Aw Dad, you know that I missed you. It's so boring to go running without you." A sparkle of humor could be seen in Tony's bright green eyes. Jethro dropped Kelly on the bed next to Shannon.
"Is that all I'm good for? A running buddy?" He tackled Tony to the bed so that they were all lying in it. The two girls laughed at Tony and Jethro as they wrestled. They quickly climbed out of the bed to give them more room. Tony couldn't help but laugh.
Wednesday May 3, 1989
For Tony, school was ending in just a few short weeks. He was confident that he was going to get top grades. He gradually went over everything that he had learned just to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. As far as he was concerned there was no need to worry about his exams.
Kelly was happy that school was almost over. She enjoyed her kindergarten and seeing her friends everyday but she liked spending time with her family more. The entire class was getting ready for 'graduation'. That meant more annoying songs. Tony hid in his room when she was practicing. Though he didn't make it obvious that he was hiding. He really did have a mountain of homework that he had to get through.
Shannon was planning another trip to Virginia Beach for that summer. They hadn't gone horseback riding since the previous fall and she knew that both of her kids would enjoy it. Also with Tony turning eighteen in a few months she was sure how much time she would have with him. She was well aware of the fact that he could move out and buy his own house as soon as his birthday passed. She wasn't ready to give him up yet. He belonged to her and Jethro.
Sunday May 14, 1989 (Mother's Day)
Shannon woke to the scent of carnations that morning. There was a small bouquet next to her head. It was so much better than the dandelions that she got last year... bless Tony and his ability to talk Kelly into anything. Her bed smelled like dandelions for weeks after Kelly practically buried her in them the year before. While carnations weren't her favorite they were better than the alternative.
She heard noises coming from downstairs and knew that the kids were making breakfast. She could smell bacon and eggs. She knew that Tony could handle that as long as Kelly stayed out of the way. She did tend to get in the way.
When Shannon came down she noticed that there were more carnations set on the table. Three white carnations and a red one. She knew the symbolism behind the flowers but she had no idea how Tony how Tony knew. Though it might be likely that a former nanny had him bring white carnations to his mother's grave. His father didn't seem like the type to mourn his late wife.
"Morning, mom." Tony placed a kiss on her cheek as he placed a plate of food in front of her. The gesture surprised her. Tony rarely showed his affectionate side with her. Maybe she didn't have to worry about losing him anytime soon. He still needed her.
"Mommy, look what I made you!" Kelly showed her a card that she made at school. The painting on the front looked a lot like a carnation.
"It's wonderful, Kelly. Did you do this all by yourself?"
"No, Tony told me that I should paint a car'ation. He showed me how."
"Did he now? Well, you did a very good job on this." Shannon gave Tony a look that said that he had to explain all the carnations later.
She opened the card and wasn't surprised to see the words 'Happy Mother's Day' painted sloppily in nearly too big lettering.
"Thank you, Baby."
Tony then handed her a small box. She refrained from making a jokes about tires. Her eyes lit up when she saw the vases. One was pink, one was blue, and the other was yellow. On the side each one had a letter that spelled out 'MOM'. She loved them. They were much better than the tires she got for her birthday.
"I know they aren't much but the lady at the gift shop said that she was getting her mom those so I thought that maybe―"
"Sweetie, it's perfect." She pulled him into a one armed hug.
Friday May 26, 1989
Tony was free. Free from studying. Free from books. Free from exams (of which were surprisingly easy). And most importantly, he was free from school... at least he was until August.
Shannon had planned a huge dinner to celebrate. All of Tony's friends were invited. Though everyone except for Jeremy still had school for another two weeks.
"So Gibbs,"said Coral, "now that you only have a semester left in college, what are you going to do for the rest of your life?"
"I don't know. But I think I might join the Marines for a few years."
That answer surprised everyone Tony had never given any indications that he wanted to enter the military.
A/N Congratulations to those whose answered the question from the last chapter. Alexander Hayes is from 'Moonlighting'.
I also have been getting a lot of people asking about Kelly and Shannon's fates. Other than Tony's history this story will be canon. I don't usually give away my plot but I figured that it would be easier to just tell you guys out right than to have to repeat myself for each reviewer or PM.
And speaking of reviews... they equal love and possibly more imaginary brownies.
