Hi faithful readers! Posting a chapter tonight.
Enjoy!
Love you all,
Jenny Wrens
Gibbs found himself humming as he drove towards home. When he realized what he was doing, he chuckled and shook his head. It was obvious he'd spent too much time at the mall that afternoon. The song 'I'll be home for Christmas' was burned into his head. What was happening to him? If he wasn't careful, he'd be singing Rudolph or something ridiculous like that. He shuddered at the thought. It was bad enough that Janessa kept singing, 'Jingle Bells' and 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer'. If the little pixie wasn't so adorable, she'd drive him crazy.
Somewhere along the line, he'd been bitten by the Christmas spirit. It had been a long time since he'd felt excited about the holidays. He'd found some amazing gifts for his little girls in his adventures. Gibbs knew that he'd spoiled them, but he didn't care. It was their first Christmas together, and he wanted it to be memorable. He'd found a darling little tea set for Janessa, and he couldn't resist it. It was so perfectly tiny for her little hands and resembled real china. He envisioned the two of them having all kinds of tea parties. He always grumbled, pretending he didn't like it but deep down, he loved every single minute of it, right down to the terrible tasting cakes she baked in her Easy-Bake oven. For Aimee, he'd found a mini-trampoline. He knew she'd love it. She'd been begging him for a large trampoline for a while but he didn't have the fortitude to buy the real deal yet. He'd cross that bridge in the spring when he could buy the whole kit and caboodle, complete with safety netting. Aimee was a daredevil, for sure and for certain. She craved things that involved risk-taking. He understood that about her. He just wanted to find ways that wouldn't kill her before her 18th birthday.
A smile came to his lips as he thought of the gift he'd bought for Makayla. He'd happened by a charming art store downtown. The place was loaded with just about anything an inspiring artist could want but his eyes had landed on the most impressive set of pencils. Makayla excelled at pencil sketches. He didn't know how she did it but when she picked up graphite, her drawings jumped to life. The kit Gibbs purchased had every kind of sketching pencil that existed. He also bought her a sketch pad with premium paper and a set of superior pencil crayons. Gibbs couldn't wait until she opened them. He could already see her smile in his mind's eye.
As he turned the corner towards his house, his mind turned to Riley. The biggest surprise of all would be Riley's gift. The boy would probably not even want to accept it, but Gibbs had his heart set on giving him his first vehicle. He'd scoped out a couple of used car lots over the past few weeks searching for the perfect car for the teenager. Riley never complained about using his run-down old beater of a truck, but Gibbs decided he wanted Riley to have a decent, more dependable set of wheels. He had his eye on a 2001 Ford Mustang V6 but was waiting for the opportune moment to snag it. The dealer was messing with him, thinking he didn't know muscle cars, and Gibbs was content to let the guy stew a little. He knew the guy wanted his commission.
Pulling into his laneway, Gibbs noticed Abby's car was gone and smiled. He was glad that his Goth girl decided to take him up on his suggestion to have some time away. As he grabbed his packages out of the trunk, he wondered if poor Riley had ended up babysitting Aimee. If that was the case, Gibbs didn't expect much work got done but he was okay about that. He knew that Riley was still hurting from past events and seeing Riley play around like a kid did his heart good. The two of them had all day tomorrow to finish the job to make room for the contractors. Tonight, he just looked forward to cooking some steaks over the fire, watching a movie and relaxing. That was what Friday evenings were made for, and he wanted more fun in their lives.
As Gibbs headed towards the front entrance, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he hit the talk button, "Yeah, Gibbs."
He froze mid-step when he heard the headmaster's voice on the line, laced with concern. His adrenaline spiked as he listened to the man share about the altercation at the school involving Makayla and another student. One hand went to the back of his head as he took it all in, his mind spinning as he tried to piece things together. At the same time, he heard his phone alert him to another incoming call. He took a glance at the caller ID and quickly ended the call with the headmaster, thanking him for the information and promising to be in touch.
"DiNozzo, have you heard from Makayla?" As he spoke, he spun on his heel to head to his garage. Once he entered the space, his heart sunk. His truck was gone.
"She's fine." Tony's voice sounded reassuring. "Riley took her to Emerge."
"Emerge?" His heart skipped a beat.
"Riley thinks Makayla's arm is dislocated. She's with the doctor now."
Gibbs let out an audible gasp. The headmaster hadn't told him that; he'd just said that Riley showed up, allegedly punched out another student and took Makayla off-campus without letting anyone in authority know where they were going. Gibbs' protective instincts clicked in, and he felt perspiration forming on the nape of his neck.
"How the hell…?"
Tony cut him off. "Some punk twisted her arm."
Gibbs felt the colour drain from his face. "What hospital?"
"University close to Xavier."
"Riley should have called me…" Gibbs blurted out in sudden exasperation. "Hell, Makayla should have called me…"
"I know but they both thought you deserved a break."
Gibbs scoffed. "A break," he echoed in disbelief. Commendable thought but not realistic. It seemed like there was never going to be a dull moment with these kids.
"Riley's intentions were noble," Tony said.
Gibbs sighed. Riley's intentions were usually always noble. It was just the kid didn't think, and that worried Gibbs most of all. "I'm on my way."
XxXxNCISxXxX
Tears still tumbled down Makayla's cheeks as the doctor fastened the sling around her neck as gently as possible. He smiled at her in sympathy. "I'm sorry, honey. I know it hurts. We're nearly finished here."
Makayla sniffled, trembling. Once the doctor had inspected her injury, he'd made quick work of popping her shoulder back into place. The pain had been excruciating. Thankfully, the worst of it was over; it throbbed, but it was bearable now. The doctor had done it so fast that she'd hardly realized what he was doing until it was over.
"I thought it was broken."
"Probably felt like it. Dislocations are pretty painful. You're gonna need to ice it and take it easy for the next couple of weeks or so. Are your parents here yet?"
Makayla looked down at her phone, shrugging. The movement sent a sudden jolt of pain down her arm making her grimace.
The doctor smiled with compassion. "I'd avoid that kind of movement for a while."
Makayla took a deep breath as the pain began to level out. There was no way she was ever going to shrug again if she was going to be met with that level of pain.
"Mind telling me what happened?" The blonde-haired man moved towards the sink and sat down on the nearby stool. If Makayla hadn't been in so much pain, she might have swooned a little over how good looking the man was for a doctor. Any time she'd ever seen an emergency care physician or doctor in the past, they were usually old and grouchy. This man was a pleasant change.
Makayla cleared her throat. "This boy at school twisted my arm. I guess it was kinda an accident…" her voice trailed off. She didn't know how else to explain it.
"An accident?" he echoed, pulling a pad of paper out of the drawer in front of him, and jotting down a few notes with the pencil he pulled out of his front pocket. "Why would he twist your arm?"
A knock at the door interrupted them and the doctor rolled over to open the door. Makayla's eyes landed on Gibbs and she couldn't help but dissolve into tears once more. Instantly, she was on her feet gingerly flinging herself into his arms and burying her face in his jacket. She'd been frightened and just the sight of Gibbs made her feel safe, knowing he would make everything okay. Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss on top of her auburn head.
The doctor chuckled. "I take it you're her father?"
Makayla stepped away, sniffling. "He's…he's Gibbs," she said, not knowing how else to introduce him.
Gibbs shook the doctor's hand. "I'm her guardian, Jethro Gibbs"
"My name is Dr. Sam Coble. Please, have a seat, Mr. Gibbs."
Gibbs obliged and Makayla sat as close to him as she could. Gibbs rested a hand on her knee and that simple act helped Makayla remain calm, helping the tears to dry up.
Dr. Coble looked at Gibbs. "Makayla dislocated her shoulder. I gave her a muscle relaxant and was able to manoeuver it back into place quite easily. Much of her pain dissipated once it was back in position, but I'll prescribe some pain meds to help take the edge off over the next few days. She should see her primary care provider next week as a follow-up."
"Of course," agreed Gibbs, "I will see to it."
"I need to get some information for my report." Dr. Coble turned and looked at Makayla once again. "Now, Makayla, can you tell me what happened."
Makayla glanced at Gibbs, feeling unsettled. She didn't want to tell Gibbs that she'd disobeyed him by going after Trevor and Harry. She squirmed as she thought about how she could explain without incriminating herself. On the other hand, she didn't want to get Jensen into trouble either. It hadn't been completely his fault, and she didn't hate him or anything. The situation had just quickly spun out of control.
"Umm…I…well, you see…"
Dr. Coble seemed to sense Makayla's discomfort and came to her rescue. "Honey, I don't need to know every detail, just the basics, okay? You said another student twisted your arm. Can you show me what he did?"
Makayla used her uninjured arm to demonstrate how her arm was twisted behind her back. "It was an accident. We were just horsing around."
He smiled at her. "It happens. You sure he didn't do it on purpose?"
Makayla shook her head. "I'm positive."
Dr. Coble nodded and stood up once again, quickly jotting down a prescription before ripping off the page and handing it to Gibbs. "She can take these as needed and ice her shoulder. Twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off. Should start to feel better in a couple of days but she needs to take it easy until her doctor says otherwise."
Gibbs stood to his feet and shook the man's hand again. "Thank-you."
Dr. Coble nodded, smiled at Makayla once more and left the room.
Makayla looked up at Gibbs sheepishly, hoping her face wouldn't reveal how guilty she was feeling. Her face felt hot. Everything was a mess. Jensen would tell the rest of the Prefects and the headmaster about her snooping around the lounge. They would demand an explanation but there was no way she'd ever reveal anything to them. She didn't owe them anything.
"How's the pain?" he asked her, reaching out to stroke her cheek gently with his hand. "You feel warm to me. Besides your shoulder, you feeling okay?"
Makayla swallowed and seeing the look of concern on his face, she broke into tears once more. Gibbs stepped forward and embraced her again. "Hey, now, you're okay." He massaged her back and just held her close to him. "It's okay, sweetheart."
"I'm sorry, Gibbs. I should have listened to you. It's my fault," she blurted out trying to stop crying. The muscle relaxant, together with the pain medication the doctor had given her was making her feel sleepy on top of how wobbly and upset she already felt from the altercation with Jensen.
Gibbs continued to rub her back in comfort, hushing her softly and assuring her she was okay. In time, Makayla was able to stop the tears from falling and she sat back into the closest chair. Gibbs pulled up the stool and sat in front of her, thumbing away a few stray tears from her cheek.
He smiled at her reassuringly. "Why'd you call Riley and not me?"
Makayla shook her head. "I'm sorry…"
"Hush, now. I'm not asking for an apology, sweetheart. I just want to know. You know you can call me anytime, even if you think I'm busy, right? Today, I was just doing some shopping and visiting with a friend. Nothing so important that you couldn't call me. "
"I know."
"Well then, why?"
Makayla fidgeted in the chair, uncertain of how much she wanted to say. Looking into Gibbs' cobalt eyes, it was hard to know if he was going to be mad at her or sympathetic. She felt too tired to discern if her choices were rational. "I guess I don't know, Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs nodded his head and sighed. "Fair enough. I'm just glad you called someone, I suppose; although, Riley shouldn't have taken you off school property without letting a teacher know. The headmaster called me very concerned about what happened. The school is responsible for you while you are in their care, Mak. No one knew where you were until Tony called them."
"Didn't Jensen say what happened?"
Gibbs' face darkened a little at her mention of Jensen's name. "About that. I'm not impressed he hurt you…"
"It wasn't completely his fault…"
"You keep saying that, Mak, but I can't picture any scenario in my mind that would end in your shoulder being dislocated." Tears cascaded down Makayla's cheeks once again and Gibbs relented, drawing her into another hug. "Okay. Calm down. We don't need to talk about it anymore right now. Let's go find the others."
Gibbs carefully wrapped an arm around her and led her from the room.
XxXxNCISxXxX
Gibbs handed Makayla a mug of chamomile tea with honey and sat down. Riley sat across from him in the big oversized easy chair, looking on edge and distracted. Tony sat beside Makayla with Janessa bouncing on his knee caught in a fit of giggles.
"Where's Aimee?" asked Gibbs noticing she was missing.
"Said she was going to her room to read," answered Tony with a chuckle as Janessa jumped towards him. He caught her before her head slammed into his forehead. The child was wired for sound and the excitement was erupting from her. It was all she could do to contain herself while waiting to go on her long-promised weekend.
"Ness," Gibbs said. "Please go play upstairs for a little bit."
Janessa froze and turned to look at Gibbs, her face falling into a pout. "But daddy, me and Tony are 'posed to go now."
"It's okay, Monster," said Tony, giving her a tight bear hug. "We're still going. I just need a few minutes to chat with your dad, okay?"
"But, Tooonnny," she whined.
"Janessa." Gibbs made his voice sound firm. He had been working on teaching Janessa and Aimee to obey him without delay. He'd been reading that teaching children first time obedience was important, and in his line of work, it could mean the difference between life and death. It was okay to question him, but they had to be willing to obey first. The parenting books were giving him all kinds of good suggestions.
The little girl slipped off Tony's knee and began walking from the room, the pout growing larger on her face.
"Janessa," Gibbs said again, his voice softer. He waited until she turned to look back at him. "Thank you for obeying."
A little smile crept across her face then and she disappeared from the room.
Gibbs turned his attention back to Makayla. Her cheeks had colour again, but her eyes had dark circles under them. He wondered if he should just tuck her into bed for a nap. She looked a little worse for wear. He wished she would just spill the beans and tell him what went down. It would be so much simpler for both of them but he wasn't going to force her to talk right now.
"Do you still want to go to Tony's tonight, Mak? We need to decide before Janessa turns mutinous."
Riley frowned. "Wait. What? No. She should stay here and get some rest, and I want to know what the hell happened."
"It's up to Makayla, Riley…" began Gibbs.
"It shouldn't be," snapped Riley standing to his feet. "We don't even know why that guy hurt her. Aren't you pissed?"
Gibbs rose to his feet raising his hand to placate Riley. "Calm down, Riley. Of course, I'm upset but Makayla insists it was an accident."
"Bullshit. If it was an accident, she wouldn't have looked so terrified when I found her. The bastard was reefing on the door when I walked in and he was pissed."
"Stop it! Stop talking about me like I'm not even in the room." Makayla cried, tears falling down her cheeks again. She sat forward awkwardly and set her cup of tea on the coffee table. "It wasn't all Jensen's fault."
Riley crossed his arms across his chest and huffed, leaning against the wall closest to the kitchen. "He dislocated your arm, Mak. That's on him."
"When he walked up behind me, he scared me by grabbing my arm and I kicked him...in… uh…delicate spot."
Tony choked back a laugh. "Good. That'll teach him not to put his hands on you."
"Well, next time, make it count Mak because if the guy can pick himself off the floor before you can get away, you're going to get hurt," said Riley, his face showing he was not the least bit impressed. "When your arm is better, I'll show you some self-defence moves." He turned to glare at Tony who immediately sobered.
Gibbs held up his hand again. "Okay, I've heard enough. The headmaster wants us to meet in his office Monday morning with Jensen's parents and we'll hash things out then..."
Makayla shook her head. "Forget it. I'm never going back there again."
"Mackie," Gibbs said, looking chagrined. "That's not an option and you know it."
"I'm not and you can't make me," she insisted and glared at him with her lower lip trembling. "Am I in trouble or can I still go to Tony's for the weekend?"
Gibbs considered the auburn-haired girl for several long moments realizing he was going to have his hands full come Monday. Makayla could be stubborn when she wanted to be, and it was obvious she had her mind made up. He wasn't getting anywhere and the topic was making Riley angry. Perhaps, some time to reflect would do them all some good. When she returned home on Sunday, they could sit down and discuss a solution.
Gibbs relented. "I don't know how much trouble you're in because you haven't told me what happened."
"I just did," she insisted, more tears threatening to fall.
"No, Makayla, all you've told me is how your arm was injured. You haven't told me what led up to it or why you were in a place you're not allowed."
"It shouldn't matter." She shot back at him.
"I think your headmaster will think it matters and you need to provide him with an explanation."
Makayla growled. "I'm not going back there!"
Gibbs forced himself to count to ten in his head. He needed to be the adult and make a choice. He could force the issue and risk things blowing out of proportion or he could let things drop, for the time being, allowing Makayla some time to cool off. The latter seemed like the wisest option. "You sure you feel up to going to Tony's place? This wasn't supposed to be just a social call. You owe him some chores."
"I'm fine," she insisted, a look of relief flooding across her face. "I'll go get Janessa and Aimee."
When Makayla disappeared from the room, Riley rounded on Gibbs. "That's it? You're just letting her leave without finding out what happened?"
Tony stood up and placed a soothing hand on Riley's shoulder. "Relax…"
Riley shrugged off his hand. "Don't tell me to relax. That prick grabbed her hard enough to dislocate her shoulder, and you're both okay with that?"
"Of course, I'm not okay with what happened but Mackie's not willing to discuss it right now. Giving her some space to work it out is the right thing to do. When she's ready, she'll tell us what happened but until then, we're dropping it. Understood?" Gibbs' voice was firm.
"This is unbelievable," Riley seethed, walking towards the fireplace hearth and leaning his arms on it.
Just then, Janessa came running into the room with Aimee on her heels, backpacks slung over both their shoulders. "Yay! Tony, let's go," she shouted, jumping into Tony's arms.
Gibbs looked at Aimee, a smile forming on his lips. The little girl had been quiet and distant since coming back from the hospital. A big change from that morning, and he wasn't sure what was bothering her. "You decided to go after all?"
Aimee nodded looking distant which again struck Gibbs as odd. His red flags went up. It was unlike her to be so reserved. He hadn't seen that behaviour in a while, and he wasn't sure if he should be concerned or not.
Riley turned around suddenly. "She's not going anywhere until she tells you about her trip up the tree."
"Riley," snapped Aimee, her eyes widening in dismay. "You weren't supposed to tell."
"You tell him or I will." Riley sounded annoyed.
Gibbs frowned as he looked at down at Aimee. He couldn't believe she would climb the tree so soon after their discussion the night before, but one quick look at her guilty face told him it was true. "You climbed the tree again?" He couldn't keep the sound of discouragement from his voice.
"I didn't go in the treehouse," she said quickly, tears welling in her eyes.
Gibbs looked at Riley for an explanation. "How?"
"She dragged your ladder to the tree and climbed it. Surprised the crap outta me too."
Gibbs looked down at Aimee with a grim expression on his face. If she'd climbed the side of the tree where a ladder could lean, there would have been no safety net anywhere close to her should she have fallen. He felt his pulse sped up at the thought. He'd purposely kept all the branches trimmed so the tree couldn't be climbed from the ground. He shook his head in disbelief. Aimee wasn't going to quit until she got seriously hurt. That much was apparent.
Cupping her chin, he said, "I told you to stay out of that tree, didn't I?"
The tears escaped down her cheeks. "You said I couldn't go to the treehouse, and I didn't."
Gibbs dropped her chin and stepped away from her. "You knew exactly what I meant. The treehouse wasn't the issue, and you're too smart a girl to play this game with me." He pointed towards the steps. "Up to your room right now."
"But daddy," she cried.
Gibbs turned her around by the shoulders and gave her a gentle push. "Go. Now."
Aimee looked at back at Gibbs one last time before fleeing from the room with loud sobs.
Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and turned to face Riley. The two of them exchanged a look. Gibbs' was one of frustration and Riley's was one of regret. Aimee needed a consequence and none of the parenting books he'd read were going to change his gut instinct this time, but he needed to know that Riley wasn't going to go off the deep end. He noticed that Riley's initial anger had left him and his face looked ashen.
"Shit. You're gonna hit her again, aren't you? I shouldn't have said anything."
Gibbs raised his hand to stop Riley. "I'm glad you told me."
Riley glared at him with tears swimming in his eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to go work on the shed some more." He stalked from the room, slamming the front door hard enough to make the windows shake.
Janessa's eyes were large as she stared at Gibbs from Tony's arms. "Is Aimee in trouble?"
Tony adjusted her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Let's go wait for Makayla in the car, Monster."
Gibbs smiled at Janessa, taking her from Tony to hug her. "Aimee's gonna be just fine. We just need to have a little chat about her being safe. That's all. Don't you worry, Nessie-bear. You have fun tonight with Tony and Mackie, and make sure Tony remembers to get Aimee tomorrow. Sound good?"
Janessa nodded but her troubled expression lingered. Just then Makayla came back into the room carrying her backpack with a painful grimace on her face. Tony rescued her by taking the bag and slinging it onto his shoulder. Gibbs wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss on her head. "Don't work her too hard, DiNozzo."
"Don't worry, Boss. The grout in my bathroom can wait if she's not up to it."
"Gross," mumbled Makayla but managed a small smile. "Where'd Riley go?"
"He needs some time, Mackie," Gibbs said gently.
Fresh tears welled in Makayla's eyes but she nodded silently. Gibbs' heart went out to her. He knew the girl had the biggest crush on Riley and he knew the feeling was mutual. Communication in relationships was hard enough for adults to navigate. Both kids had a lot to learn.
"Okay," Tony said. "The DiNozzo taxi is leaving. Anyone who wants a ride, go pile in."
Gibbs hugged Janessa again, setting her feet to the floor and Makayla and she left the room.
Tony's eyes met Gibbs'. "You okay, Boss?"
Gibbs ran a hand through his hair. The evening wasn't turning out the way he'd envisioned. Now he was facing the need to discipline Aimee, and Riley was pissed off at him. Again. He couldn't seem to catch a break. "I'm tired, Tony."
Tony gave him a sympathetic smile. "No one said it was gonna be easy."
Gibbs chuckled. "You can sure as hell say that again."
"You're doing a good job, Gibbs. These kids have been through so much in their short lives, but they know they're safe with you. That's probably why they're pushing the limits. Things might be tough now, but on the other side of it, they're going to better people because of you."
Gibbs heaved a sigh. His SFA had no idea how much those words of encouragement meant to him. Facing an evening of unknown events was wearing him down more than he could say. His past parenting experience was exactly eight years in length and much of that he'd been absent. Shannon had been there in the trenches more than he had. Most of what he was doing now was done off the cuff and by the seat of his pants. He had no idea what he was doing. Most of the time, he felt like he was screwing up, and it felt good to hear someone say he wasn't. It probably wasn't true but it felt good all the same.
"Thanks, Tony."
Tony nodded and then his eyes narrowed in thought. "Do you trust me, Boss?"
Gibbs eyebrows knitted together at the question. "Course I do." He trusted Tony with his life.
"Let me handle Makayla."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Not sure yet, to be honest. I just think you need a break. I mean I'm not making any promises because Ness is with me too, but I figure Mak and I can have some late-night chats after Ness crashes."
"Janessa is a powerhouse when she's at your house."
Tony laughed. "Don't remind me. That kid is an energizer bunny on steroids, but she will wear out eventually. I hope. And with any luck, it'll before she wears me out."
Gibbs chuckled a moment then sobered. "I've got no issues with giving Makayla space to work things out in her own head but come Sunday, she needs to tell me everything."
Tony nodded. "I'll see what I can do to make that happen. When should I fetch the tree monkey?"
"Tomorrow morning is fine. She should be able to sit by then."
"Go easy on her, Boss. She's still learning all your umpteen rules." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice that Gibbs appreciated. Tony was doing what he could to lighten the mood.
Gibbs reached out, playfully smacking Tony on the back of the head and making the younger man laugh out loud. "Get out of here, DiNozzo, before I practice my technique on you."
Tony rubbed the back of his head, feigning a wounded look.
"Git," Gibbs growled as Tony broke into a cheesy grin.
Gibbs could still hear Tony's laughter as he closed his front door. He ran a hand through his greying hair and walked towards his front entrance stopping to stare at himself in the mirror. The man that stared back at him looked as confused as he felt. Why couldn't things be easy for once? He deserved a break, didn't he? He looked towards the stairs with a sigh and then towards the kitchen. He wasn't even sure which way to go first.
