Disclaimer on chapter one.
AN: WOW two chapters in one day. Arent you guys lucky. :-). Ok this one wrote it self and I figured might as well post it today as well as the other one. More coming soon the story is rolling along and has a full head of steam. Anyway on to Chapter Seven...enjoy and remember to review-- dark rolling sea
Chapter Seven
California
The rest of the morning was spent at Jeb and Kylie's house. No one really said anything they were all lost in the news that they had received that morning. Jeb was struggling to come to terms with the emotions that were building inside of him. Gibbs was trying to throw out the feelings of despair and helplessness. Ann was trying not to think about her son dying. Kylie was holding the tears back while she thought about losing Jeb.
Gibbs had lost all notion of calling DC. He didn't even give it a thought. He was trapped in a world he didn't understand, one of death and loss and depression. They waited. For what they didn't know, but they were waiting. There was nothing else that could happen. A week, a long time to wait for bad news.
Jeb stared at the floor not sure how to tackle the issue at hand. How can he fight something he didn't even know? It was going to be harder than he thought. He had hoped to find out what was wrong this morning but he knew that was stupid. There was no way to diagnosis someone without tests but he didn't figure on it taking so long.
Hunter came home from school and wondered why everyone was at the house, but not happy. He knew something was wrong by the way everyone was pretending to be happy. He put his bag down and took his school shoes off then went and sat down next to his uncle Jeb. He looked up at him and his eyebrows came together as a determined look came on his face.
"Uncle Jeb?" he asked quietly. Jeb looked at him with sad eyes. "I know you're sick," he said in a kid's whisper. Jeb felt the tears fall from his eyes and he nodded. "It's ok; I know you'll be ok."
He had said the last part with such confidence that Jeb couldn't help but let the tears fall. Here he thought he would have to be strong for Hunter and it turned around on him. Hunter was going to be strong for him. It amazed Jeb that the boy could be so tough so young. He was still having a few nightmares from a year ago, but here he was being strong for his uncle. Hunter then climbed down and went over to his grandmother. He crawled into her lap as she sat in the chair silently.
"Gamma, Uncle Jeb is gonna pull through, just like he did when he got shot," Hunter said in a quiet voice and then leaned in and wrapped his arms around her neck. Ann bit her lower lip and held Hunter to her tightly. She squeezed him until he complained he couldn't breathe and then she let him go with a smile. Gibbs was standing off to the side watching. He felt depressed and didn't know how to deal with it.
Hunter looked up at his grandfather and frowned. He had never seen the man with such fear and weakness exposed. To Hunter his grandfather had been a façade of power and strength, always in control, always right. He was on a pedestal no one else could reach. His grandfather was a tower of righteousness and strength. Hunter slid slowly from his grandmother's lap and thought about going to his grandfather, but then he looked at Kylie.
She looked lost. She looked pale. She looked so small to Hunter. She was huddled on the recliner holding herself tightly. She was staring at Jeb but Hunter could see she wasn't really there. Her eyes were hazed and she was inside some thought or memory. Hunter could feel the despair from the family. He diverted his path and came up next to Kylie. He climbed into the recliner and gave her a hug. She seemed to come out of the daze and returned the hug.
"Don't worry, Aunt Kylie. My uncle, he's strong. He'll be just fine, you wait and see," Hunter said matter-of-factly. Kylie just nodded but nothing about her demeanor changed. He frowned and sat still for a moment. Everyone was so down. Everyone was so depressed. He felt he needed to hold it all together but he was only six years old. How could he.
And if he really did admit it, he was scared. He pretended to be brave on the outside because he had to be. No one else was. It was up to him to be the glue. But being so small made that so hard. And the fear of losing his uncle made it ever worse. He didn't want to lose someone else. He barely knew his own father, and never remembered his mother. He was too young. Jeb had been the replacement he had needed at the time, but now he was being taken away too.
But he would be outwardly strong, for his uncle, for his grandmother, for Kylie, and most of all for his grandfather. He would be the one to tell them it was going to be ok. It was going to be all right. He would be the one to bring them though. He hoped.
Ann finally sat up. She looked at the clock. She looked over at Jeb. "Jeb, I have to go back to the house. Your brother and sister need to be told," Ann said quietly. Jeb nodded then he stood before Ann could leave.
"Wait," Jeb said softly. Ann looked at him. "Let me tell them."
"You sure?"
"Yes, they need to hear t his from me. I…yes," Jeb said staring at the floor. Gibbs said he would watch Hunter and Kylie decided to go with Jeb to give him support. Once they were gone Gibbs sat down and rubbed his face. Hunter watched him intently. Gibbs tried to run the pain, the fear, the anger, and the depression away. He did not succeed. Hunter finally came slowly up next to Gibbs.
Gibbs looked at his grandson and felt his heart grow heavy. He bit back the pain and forced a smile on his face. Hunter watched the gesture and nodded. He saw his grandfather attempt to be strong for him. Well it was ok Hunter decided he would be the strong one.
"Papa?" Hunter asked quietly. Gibbs reached out for Hunter and the boy gently climbed into his lap. Gibbs held him tight and kissed his head softly. Hunter wrapped his arms around his grandfather then he looked up. "It's ok to be sad, Papa."
Gibbs looked down at his little grandson and felt the tears escape. He pulled the boy close again and cried a silent cry as the boy returned his hug. They sat like this for a while. Finally Gibbs was done and he released his hold slightly on Hunter. The boy looked up and smiled. Things just might work out. But he still saw the emotion in his grandfather's eyes that must still be battled.
No one had actually told Hunter what was wrong. He didn't mind. Sometimes it was easier to battle the monster if you couldn't see it. But his curiosity was getting to him. He waited a while before he asked his grandfather.
"Papa, what's wrong with Uncle Jeb? I mean I know he is sick. I…I've seen his…problems, but what did the doctor say?"
"How did you know he saw a doctor?"
"Because you all KNOW something is wrong."
"Yes, something is very wrong, Buddy. But we don't know what for sure. You uncle could have cancer. You know what that is?"
"Yeah, people die from it. Billy at school, his grandma died from cancer."
"Uncle Jeb could have cancer. But it could be other things as well. The doctor said one more week before we will know."
"How come?"
"They need to run tests on your uncle's blood to see what is wrong with him."
"The tests tell you if he has cancer?"
"Yes."
"One week?"
"Yes, Buddy, one week."
"That's a long time," Hunter whispered quietly. Gibbs only nodded. He didn't know how his grandson could be so strong right now.
They sat in silence for a while until everyone else was back. Ann and Kylie came in first followed by a very drained looking Jeb. Gibbs watched his son come across the room and drop heavily into the recliner.
"Kayden was so quiet about it. I'd be…distraught if this happened to him," Jeb said softly. "I think I would have reacted like Jasmine." Gibbs didn't have anything to say to his son. He didn't know how to comfort him right now. He didn't know what to do.
Washington
Kate left NCIS Headquarters around six in the evening. They weren't on an open case so she enjoyed the rare evening off. She went to the house and let herself in. She immediately started to miss Gibbs even more. She was extremely worried that he hadn't called at all during the day.
She went down to the basement and sat on the couch. She watched his boat. It wasn't very entertaining she had to admit but it made her miss Gibbs just a little bit less. She couldn't stand it more than an hour though and she made her way up to the kitchen to fix something to eat. She still wondered how he planned on getting that thing out of the basement.
She fixed a simple meal and ate it in silence. She was watching the clock and looking at the phone a lot. She finally broke down around eight o'clock and called Gibbs at the hotel. The phone rang and rang and finally the front desk answered and asked her if she would like to leave a message. She told the man to tell Gibbs she had called and left her name with him. She hung up. She wasn't discouraged yet; he could still be out with the family. It was only five o'clock in California.
She dialed his cell phone and let it ring and ring. No one answered it and his voice mail picked up. She thought about leaving a voice message but then hung up before the beep. She dialed him again and waited. Again no one answered and the voice message picked up. She hung up.
The knot in her stomach was growing. That feeling from the morning came back and hit her like a Mack truck. She knew something was wrong now. Gibbs always had his cell phone. She took a few deep breaths. He's just busy her brain said quietly. Yeah. It was half an hour later and she redialed again. This time someone did picked up his phone.
California
As Jeb sat in the chair dejected and contemplating his future, Gibbs got up and walked outside. He needed fresh air. He needed a break. He rubbed his neck and blinked at the sunshine. He didn't know what to do anymore. He knew he would need to take more leave time from work. He looked at his watch; it was eight o'clock in DC, too late to call the director tonight. He would have to call first thing in the morning.
Gibbs didn't hear his cell phone ringing from inside as he stood out on the porch thinking. He wouldn't have known what to say had he heard it anyway. He took a deep breath and stared off into nothingness as his mind ran off thinking about how he would get through this ordeal. He was on the porch for half an hour before Hunter came looking for him. He looked at his grandson and saw his cell phone in his hand.
"It's for you, Papa, its Kate," Hunter said holding the phone out for him. Gibbs smiled and took the phone from the boy.
"Thank you, Buddy," he said to Hunter then he put the phone to his ear. "Kate, sorry I didn't call you today."
"I was wondering," Kate said. "How are things going out there?"
"Fine, Kate, listen, it was a busy day and time just got away from me. Sorry I didn't call but I'm really exhausted right now. Can I call you tomorrow?"
"Ok," she said cautiously. Her gut was churning. This didn't sound like the Gibbs she knew. She didn't want to force the issue and have him shut down completely on her, but she was desperately wondering what had happened in California. "You're sure everything is ok?"
"Yeah, it's all ok, Kate. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Ok. I love you, Jethro," she said quietly. Gibbs ended the call.
Washington
When Gibbs ended the call Kate felt a pang in her heart. He was shutting her out. He was removing her from his life. Something was terribly wrong in California and he wouldn't share it with her. He had tried to warn her a year ago. He had told her this might happen. She said she would face that fire when it was lit. The fire was here. He had shut her out. She frantically thought of what she could do. First she would need to take leave time. She would go to California. In the morning she would talk to the director, and then she would call Ann.
Ann would tell her what the problem was. Ann would fill her in. She had spoken with Ann several times on the phone over the past year but had never met the woman. Kate knew she wouldn't sleep tonight, she was too anxious.
TBC...