Unearthed Secrets
AN: Thankyou for all your reviews!
Also a humangous thankyou to Kate for her fantastic help and support
Ducky led an unresponsive Gibbs out of the bullpen, ignoring the looks of sympathy they were getting from some of the other agents that were now in the office.
After realizing what the bag contained, Gibbs had not reacted all that well. He'd only just made it to the bathroom in time to throw up the small amount of food that Ducky had managed to get him to eat last night. As Gibbs had made his way back to the bullpen, he started hyperventilating and had almost passed out. Ducky and Fornell had helped him to a nearby chair, giving him plenty of water. Fornell had told him everything they had found and updated him on their progress, which was minimal.
After Fornell had brought him up to date, Gibbs continued to sit in the chair, staring at the ground. Ducky had briefly left, picking up some coffee, making sure to put plenty of sugar in it. But when he returned, Gibbs didn't drink any of the coffee, letting it go cold on the desk. After around an hour, Ducky decided it was time to get them home, saying goodbye to Fornell and wishing him luck, which he gratefully took, saying he needed it.
The ride home was silent, apart from the humming of the engine, and the light pitter-patter of the rain on the windscreen.
When Ducky pulled up at Gibbs' house and pulled the handbrake into park, Gibbs remained in his seat. Ducky sighed, getting out of the car and around to the passenger door and opening it.
Gibbs looked up as the surface he was resting his head on was removed. He still made no attempt to move, vaguely wondering where they were and what they were doing here.
Ducky reached across and undid the seatbelt, helping Gibbs out of the car and moving him towards the house. Once Ducky had let them into the house, Gibbs moved to the couch and sat down, clutching the bag to his chest.
Ducky sighed and went to the kitchen to make them breakfast, god only knew they would need their food today. Looking through the cupboards and the fridge, he found eggs, tomato and some bacon. Smiling, he set about making a fry-up, knowing that Gibbs would need a hearty breakfast. As he finished frying the eggs and put them on their plates next to the bacon, tomato and toast, he heard noise from the lounge room. He putting the fry pan in the sink and rinsed it under some water, before heading back to the room with the plates. He stopped just outside the room, taking a deep breath at what he saw.
Gibbs was sitting on the couch, knees at his chest, hugging the blood-stained jumper. He'd managed to get it out of the bag. On the TV was an old recording of when Jake was seven, Jake and Gibbs were at the park, at the swings.
"Oh, come on daddy, I want to go higher" Jake told Gibbs
"And what if you fall off?" Gibbs asked as he gave Jake another push
"I won't" Jake told him
"Why not?" Gibbs asked with a grin
"Because you won't let me" Jake answered
Gibbs chuckled, "You got that right"
"Please?" Jake asked nicely
"I don't want you to hurt yourself, kiddo" Gibbs told him
"I won't, and if I did fall off, you'd catch me" Jake explained
Gibbs put his face into the jumper and began crying, his whole body shaking with grief.
Ducky walked into the room, quickly setting the plates onto the coffee table. He sat down and drew Gibbs into a hug, trying to stop the pain. Gibbs put his face into Ducky's shoulder, the intensity of his sobs increased and his tears came faster, running down his face into Ducky's shirt. Ducky made soothing noises, trying to calm the younger man down, to share his grief.
Gibbs pressed his face harder into Ducky's shoulder, making him think the crying would never stop. After what seemed like hours, the intensity of his sobs decreased until Ducky couldn't hear them at all. He kept holding the younger man, wishing he could take away his grief and make things right again. Finally Ducky looked down at him and found that Gibbs had cried himself to sleep.
Kate woke up as her alarm clock buzzed. Groaning, she rolled over, confused when she realised Tony wasn't in beside her. She frowned and slowly got out of bed, wandering into the kitchen.
"Boom!" she heard someone shoot and laugh
"You just wait till the next bit" now that voice definitely came from Tony
Walking into the room where the noise came from, she saw Tony and Trent sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons.
"Is he gonna get him?" Trent asked, shuffling closer to the screen as Wlie E. Coyote set up a trap for Road Runner
Tony chuckled, "Just wait and see, kiddo"
Kate sat in the armchair behind Tony and rubbed his back.
"Hey honey" Tony said, leaning back and giving her a soft kiss
"Hi, sleep well?" Kate asked, watching as Road Runner ran around the trap and Wlie E. Coyote got flattened
"Yay! Did you see that!" Trent shouted, "Can we see it again?"
"Sure" Tony said, crawling forward to rewind the tape, then returned to his seat, "Yeah, had a strange dream though"
Kate smiled, "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Tony replied, leaning back into her embrace again, "I dreamt I was naked at work"
Kate laughed, "That could be interesting"
"You'd think so. But you weren't there and I was looking for you, then I was in a park and tripped, then woke up" Tony explained
Trent laughed aloud again, shuffling closer to the screen again as the same scene played on the TV.
"Want some breakfast?" Kate asked
"Yeah, I'll help" Tony offered, "Hey, kiddo, we're gonna make brekkie. You okay here by yourself?"
Trent grunted, watching the characters closely.
Kate smiled and left the room, Tony following close behind. They quickly prepared breakfast and ate in the lounge room in front of the television. After having showers and getting ready for work, they eventually left the house. When they arrived in the bullpen, they found McGee already working at his desk.
Kate booted up her computer and looked at Tony, "I'm gonna take Trent to the kids care area, be back in around twenty"
Tony stood up and walked towards Kate and Trent, "Okay, buddy, I might see you later" he said as he gave Trent a big hug
"But I don't want you to go" Trent said, tears forming in his eyes
"Hey, kiddo, don't cry, I'll come and see you at lunch, okay?" Tony asked, "Kate and I need to do some work now"
"You're gonna arrest her and lock her up?" Trent asked
Tony frowned, "Who?"
Trent looked down and away, his shoulders shaking.
"Hey, it's okay" Tony whispered, giving him a firm hug
Trent nodded and wipped his nose on his sleeve, "Okay, see ya later, Tony"
Kate led Trent away, leaving Tony squatting in the middle of the bullpen.
"How was he last night?" McGee asked
"Not bad, didn't cry or anything" Tony said, standing up, "I'm gonna see Ducky"
McGee stood up, "I'll come with you, I need to ask him something"
They made their way to the elevator and rode down in silence. When they reached autopsy, however, they were surprised to find the lights still off and nobody inside.
That's it for chapter 16!...Hope you liked it! Please review!