Unearthed Secrets
AN: Sorry about the delay, I was busy with exams and such. And now I'm back, and better than ever - or at least I hope so... anyway, on with the story
Thankyou for all the reviews, I really appreciate them
Also, a huge thankyou to Kate for her fantastic work and inspiration!
Ducky led the rest of the team through the ER, eventually finding Gibbs pacing in a waiting room just outside surgery. Kate and Tony sat on the waiting chairs, cuddling each other, Abby and McGee mirroring their position a few seats apart from them.
"Jethro," Ducky said, approaching the younger man
Gibbs turned around and watched Ducky approach, "He's in surgery. Ducky, they wouldn't let me in there, I don't know what's going on, they just…When we got here they rushed him through here, shoved me outta the way and told me to wait. I told him I wouldn't leave him…"
"Jethro, calm down," Ducky said, putting his hand on Gibbs' shoulder
"Is he gonna be okay, Ducky?" Gibbs asked, looking anxiously into Ducky's eyes
Ducky sighed, "I'll go check on his condition for you,"
Gibbs watched Ducky go through the double doors, wishing he could go with him.
"Gibbs, come sit down," Kate told him, patting the seat next to her
Gibbs studied Kate for a while, before walking over to the window without saying anything.
They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, but was probably only around half an hour. Gibbs alternated between looking out the window, pacing, and sitting down staring at the double doors. Eventually Ducky strode through the doors with a doctor in tow. Gibbs stood up, clearing his face of any expression as he prepared himself for the worst.
"Mr. Gibbs?" the doctor asked him. Gibbs nodded at him to continue. The doctor cleared his throat, "Your son's injuries are bad. Thankfully not as bad as we feared. We rushed him in here fearing the worst; his head injury was a major concern as was his broken ribs."
Gibbs closed his eyes and swallowed around the lump in his throat, nodding at the doctor to continue when he opened his eyes.
The doctor sighed, "Your son has a mild concussion, a broken arm, his leg was fractured in two places and a few broken ribs. We were concerned that his broken ribs may have pierced his lungs, but thankfully that was not the case. He has minor cuts and abrasions over his arms and legs, but nothing that's too serious or won't repair itself with time."
"His eye?" Gibbs asked quietly, remembering the big black bruise covering Jake's eye.
"Just a bruise. We checked it out, his eye is still intact, and there doesn't appear to be any scratches or any other damage" the doctor replied
"Can we see him?" Tony asked, beating Gibbs to it by half a milli-second
"Of course. Follow me" the doctor replied, walking off down another corridor
The doctor eventually stopped outside a room, before bidding them farewell, telling them he'd be by later to check on the young boy. The team stood back, allowing Gibbs to enter the room. Gibbs walked in and frowned at the equipment surrounding the figure on the bed. There were tubes and wires everywhere, thankfully not as many as he'd predicted, sometimes, he mussed, he liked it when he was wrong.
"Dad," a small voice croaked from the bed
Gibbs raised his eyebrows and went to the side of the bed, picking up Jake's hand and smiling at him, "I thought you were asleep,"
"I was," Jake croaked, "I heard you come in"
"I woke you?" Gibbs asked
Jake coughed and nodded, "I was dreaming about you and the boat"
Gibbs raised his eyebrows, "You were, were you?"
Jake nodded again and began blinking to stop the impending tears, "I thought I'd never see you again"
Gibbs leant over and hugged him tightly, whispering soothing words, both for Jake's benefit as much as for his own. Eventually Gibbs pulled back and watched his son for a while, "Do you mind if the rest of the team comes in? They really want to see how you're doing"
Jake nodded with a small smile as Gibbs went to the doorway and told them all to come in. Gibbs walked back to the bedside, holding Jake's hand as he sat down.
Abby came in first, giving Jake a big hug and kiss, telling him that she was going to implant a GPS chip under his skin so they always knew where he'd be. McGee walked in next and introduced himself to Jake.
"I know who you are," Jake told him, then pointed at Tony, "He calls you 'Probie'. You're Abby's computer geek"
"Geek?" McGee repeated
Jake smiled, "Yeah, you're good with computers, part of the reason dad hired you"
McGee frowned, stepping back so he stood next to Abby, "Ah hah"
"And you're DiNozzo" Jake said, looking at Tony as Kate walked in
Tony smiled, "Yeah, and you're Jake"
Jake quirked an eyebrow at him, "You're powers of observation amaze me, Tony"
"Hey, only I get to belittle him like that" Gibbs told him, giving his hand a squeeze
"I'm Kate" Kate introduced herself, "But I'm sure you already know that"
"Hubba hubba," Jake said quietly, "Yeah, I know you. You know, dad used to like you…"
"Jake," Gibbs growled
Kate laughed, "Is that right?"
"Yeah, but then he met somebody else, another redhead" Jake said, rolling his eyes, "He'll never learn"
Kate put her arm around Tony, "Well, that's ok, I have Tony"
Jake sat up, widening his eyes, "Really?" Kate nodded. Jake smiled, "Finally! We've only been waiting, like, forever" Kate's eyes widened in response.
"Good to see you again, son" Ducky said, stepping forward and hugging Jake
"Uncle Ducky," Jake said with a smile
"How are you?" Ducky asked
"Sore" Jake replied with a scowl, "And I want to get outta here"
"In time, my boy, in time" Ducky replied
"How long?" Jake asked
"That's up to the doctors" Ducky said
"Can't you just discharge me?" Jake asked hopefully
Ducky laughed and stepped back, "My specialty is with dead patients, Jake, not live ones"
"I know," Jake said, disappointedly as he started to cough again
The team stayed with him for a while, talking about small, unimportant and irrelevant things. Eventually they took their leave, leaving Gibbs alone with his son.
Jake yawned and squinted at Gibbs, "What's gonna happen to him now?"
"To Leroy?" Gibbs asked. Jake nodded. "He's going to be interrogated; we'll have to make statements. There will be a court case – hopefully you won't have to testify, they'll have enough evidence without that…"
"Will you have to testify?" Jake asked
Gibbs nodded, "Yes. He did some very bad things a long time ago, and he needs to be put away for that, for everything he's done,"
"What did he do?" Jake asked
Gibbs bit his lip and cleared his throat, "Bad things, he's a very bad man, Jake, what he did was… wrong," he leveled his eyes at his son, silently saying things he could never say in words
"Okay," Jake said, holding his arms out to hug Gibbs
Gibbs patted Jake's back, "You should go to sleep, get some rest,"
"Mmm, so should you," Jake replied with a yawn
Gibbs pulled out of the embrace with a grin, stroking Jake's hair, "Yeah, well, I'm older than you, I get to stay up later,"
Jake smiled, putting his head back against the pillow, "I love you, dad,"
"I love you too," Gibbs responded, leaning across to kiss the top of Jake's head
That's it for chapter 27!...Hope you liked it! PLEASE review! Tell me what you think...