AN: Told you it wouldn't be too long! Here is the next chapter...enjoy. dark rolling sea.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Hunter stood bolt upright in the middle of his drawing and stared intently at the door. It got everyone in the room's attention. They all stared at the little boy as he clenched his fists and turned his head sideways. He took a ragged breath and then turned slowly and looked at Gibbs.
"Papa?" Hunter asked in a whisper. Gibbs was in front of his grandson in an instant. He kneeled down, ignoring the pain the motion brought.
"What? What is it, Buddy?"
"Uncle Jeb," Hunter said softly.
"What about him?" Gibbs asked a little panicked.
"I don't know," Hunter said in a strained voice, tears coming down his face.
Gibbs wrapped his grandson up in his arms and cradled him trying to shush him. The boy continued to cry and strained to see the door. Gibbs didn't know what to do, but he took a seat in the plastic chairs and held his grandson. Donovan started to pace by the door drawing Kate's attention away from Hunter. Ann had moved next to Gibbs and was rubbing the small boy's back trying to calm him down.
Kylie sucked in a breath and put a hand over her mouth. This reaction from Hunter completely unnerved her. She started to tremble as the thoughts of what could be happening flashed through her mind. What if he did die? What would she do?
Donovan stopped pacing and stared at the door leading back to the surgery rooms. He watched intently for any sign of movement. He was worried sick and his color had drained from his face. He didn't know what Hunter had felt but after Hunter's actions he began to have a bad feeling. He felt someone come up beside him and looked over to see Kate.
"You ok?" Kate asked quietly.
"Yeah, nerves," Donovan replied.
"You are really pale. Maybe you should sit down," she replied looking over at the chairs. He shook his head.
"I can't sit now," he said. "Fuck," he whispered under his breath as he looked at the floor.
"Now's the time to be strong, R. J.," Kate said with a gentle hand on his elbow. He looked at her and she saw the tears brimming in his eyes. He nodded and took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. His fingers found the cross and he walked away from Kate. He went over to Kylie and sat down putting an arm around her. She leaned into him and cried. He did his best to console her. She had a feeling too. She watched as the two grandparents calmed Hunter down. He still wouldn't tell them what he felt, saw, heard, or whatever it was that set him off.
Gibbs looked up at her with concern in his eyes. She could tell this was devastating him now, because he was terrified something had happened. Hunter finally wiggled enough that Gibbs had to let him down and the boy dropped to his feet on the ground. He immediately turned away from them and sat down at his little chair and picked up a crayon. He stared at the drawing he had been working on and pushed the paper away. He took a clean sheet and began drawing again. Gibbs got up and went over to the corner window. It looked out at the other part of the hospital and gave mostly a view of a roof from a lower part but it was something to look at if there wasn't anything else around.
He leaned heavily into the window sill and fought back his emotions. He didn't know what was wrong but Hunter had felt something. He felt Kate come up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist. He dropped a hand down to hers.
"You ok?" she whispered.
"I don't know, Kate," he said in a ragged voice. Kate leaned into him more. He had one arm up supporting his head against the window. "Something got to Hunter."
"I know."
"What if he dies, Kate?" Gibbs said and Kate wasn't sure but she thought he was crying. She closed her eyes.
"It was a chance from the beginning."
"I'm not ready to lose another child."
"No parent is ever ready to lose a child I think, Jethro. It's not something you can plan for and you pray it never happens."
"I already had it happen. It's not fair," Gibbs said, his voice a barely audible whisper now.
"Nothing is ever fair, Jethro. Look at what we see everyday."
"It's not supposed to happen to twice."
"It's not something we can control."
"It's not something that happens twice."
"I know."
They were both silent after that, Kate just continued to hold onto him and he continued to stare out the window. This was the worst moment of Gibbs life. He rated this over hearing the news of Jake's accident. The not knowing, the waiting was enough to cause one's heart to stop. The fear of losing his only remaining son was tearing him up.
He wished that the doctor would come out soon. He wished there was news of how the operation was going. He didn't like being in the dark. This entire process had them in the dark and it was tearing him up inside. The operation should be over soon. So long as everything went ok. The doctor should be coming out soon. His stomach was in a knot and his heart was hammering away. His head was starting to ache. He didn't know how much longer he could last.
In The Operating Room
"Got a normal rhythm, doctor," the tech said as Dr. Youngblood nodded and replaced the paddles. They continued to close the head wound and when they were finished Dr. Youngblood left the operating room. He took a deep breath and pealed his gloves off. He then pulled the apron off that he wore and the cap on his head. The surgical mask hung loosely around his neck.
In The Waiting Room
Ann saw Dr. Youngblood coming down the hallway first. She stood, drawing the attention of Kylie and Donovan. They both looked up to see the doctor come in and at the sound of the door, Gibbs and Kate turned around, breaking the bond between them.
Kate slipped her hand into Gibbs and intertwined their fingers while they walked over to join the group. Gibbs was bursting inside while they waited for the doctor to begin. The doctor looked each one in the eye before he began.
"There was some difficulty during the surgery," Doctor Youngblood said gravely. Gibbs felt his heart sink and his stomach turn. Kate felt his weight come down a little more heavily on her and glanced up at him. Donovan closed his eyes and Kylie scooted closer to him. Ann glanced at Hunter. "Jeb's heart did stop during the closing procedure but we were able to restart it and he is in recovery now."
When the words hit Gibbs it was a roller coaster of emotion. When he heard heart stop he felt like he was about to collapse. He thought it was the end and his son was gone. When he heard restarted it and in recovery his heart came back up and but he still felt his stomach turn. Kate felt elated when she heard that they had managed to restart Jeb's heart.
She looked over at Kylie and saw the tears streaming down her face but there was a smile that Jeb had come back. Donovan had his eyes closed and Kate thought that he might have been praying at that moment. Ann was crying and hugging Hunter. They all knew it wasn't over yet, but Jeb had come through the surgery alive and was in the recovery room.
"He hasn't regained consciousness yet and won't for probably a while. We have him monitored. We successfully removed the entire tumor and time will tell but hopefully it will not come back. All in all I think it went well," the doctor continued. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and nodded.
The doctor left and Ann was still holding tightly onto Hunter. She explained to the boy what had happened and Hunter only nodded slightly. He then asked if he could see his uncle. They told him he'd have to wait. The boy slid down his grandmother's leg and went back to drawing. Donovan still had an arm around Kylie but she was smiling now. She broke Donovan's grip and went over to Ann. The two embraced and then she went up to both Gibbs then Kate.
Time would tell but so far it was going their way. The worst part, they all hoped, was now in the past and they would be able to start the road to recovery on a high note. It was far from over, and they all had that idea in mind, but they knew that Jeb was strong and he would fight until the end.
TBC…
AN: All right there is going to be one more chapter on this story. Yes, it must come to an end! I will try to get it written as quickly as possible. Hope you are enjoying. dark rolling sea.