A/N: Hi folks, I'm sorry for the delay, but it's been super busy! I wanted to get this chapter up before I pass out from exhaustion, so I'm afraid I wont have time to reply to the reviews, sorry! But I loved reading them all & thank you all so much! I really appreciate them! To my newest followers/favourites, welcome to this wonderful journey we're on, so glad to have you with us!
Let's get straight into it!
"Didn't know you were coming" Nix remarked as the pair came out of their embrace.
"I only found out 2 days ago, then I thought it might be a nice surprise" Mike replied.
Nix grinned "Kells will go ballistic! Come on in" he chucked leading Mike back into their place.
"Thanks" Mike replied as he looked around the living area.
That's when Mike saw all the family photos around the place & he suddenly realised the reason for the nerves, he was damn nervous about seeing Shannon! He'd really been hit hard when he heard about her death. He was stationed in Germany at the time & couldn't get back to help Kelly & Nix through it. For him, Shannon had always been like a mum to him & he'd really felt the loss, he remembered feeling so many conflicting emotions when Kelly had told him she was really alive, but how would he go seeing her again? Then the thought of seeing their dad hit him, he'd always wondered what he would have been like & from what Kelly had told him about him, he was very much in line with what he thought, marine to the core & damn intimidating, yeap those were the reasons for his nerves!
"Mum, Kell! There's someone here to see you!" Nix yelled up the stairs.
"I'm going to bed!" Kelly yelled back.
"Trust me! Come down!" Nix yelled back.
"Enough yelling!" Shannon called from the top of the stairs, she saw her daughter appear out of her room "let's go see who it is & then you can go to bed"
Kelly huffed "fine"
Kelly came down the stairs & stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was standing in the middle of their living area, he was now grinning back at her "Mikey!" she grinned as she launched herself at him.
Jack had heard the yelling & came out just in time to see his son come through the front door, both men headed into the family area just in time to see Kelly launch herself into the arms of some marine officer.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at seeing his girl getting twirled around by this marine named Mikey, wait, Mike? Mike… as in Ex-boyfriend Mike? Hmmmmm…. He just kept watch.
"Hey KG" Mike smiled as he swept her up, seeing her had relaxed him again. He spun her around like he used to.
Kelly couldn't believe he was here! This was great!
Shannon had followed her daughter down the stairs & couldn't help but be extremely surprised to see Mike. She had to smile though at the utter joy that her daughter had shown at seeing him, as well as the smile that was planted on not only Mike's face, but her son's too.
Mike had stopped the twirling & just squeezed her tight "missed ya babe" he whispered.
"Missed you too monkey marine" Kelly replied in a whisper.
Shannon saw that while her son's grin was still showing, her husband was looking... well, yes, that will need dealing with. She then saw Kelly & Mike finally pull apart & she got her first look at him "well look at you mister, all grown up & dashing as every" she smiled coming closer.
Mike swallowed looking at her, he could barely believe his eyes.
Shannon saw he was lost, she definitely understood why, but she didn't want them to go down that path right now, so she stepped up to him & placed a finger over his lips "none of that, what's done is done. We live in the here & now. And what I can see now is a very squared away marine, who'd do his mother so proud & I know that because I am"
Mike just smiled as he went into a hug with her, gosh this was so surreal!
Shannon smiled as she gave him a hug "it's good to see you Mikey"
"Great to see you too Mrs G" Mike replied coming out of the hug, now that the initial awkward introduction was over, it was really great to see her!
Gibbs raised his eyebrow at the nickname Mike had used, Mrs G? Really?
"You haven't changed one bit" Shannon replied "but I think there's a few introductions we need to make"
Kelly suddenly got nervous, Mike meeting her dad? This'll be interesting! At some point she'll have to introduce him to Tim too, again fun times!
"Jethro, this Mike Bond" Shannon said motioning to her husband to step forward "Mike, this is Kelly's & Phoenix's father Jethro" she was intrigued at how it would go, especially given his mood at the moment.
"Honour to meet you sir" Mike said formally extending his hand, he was shitting himself.
Gibbs eyed him, as he took the offered hand "Nice to meet you too Michael" he replied just as formally, giving the hand a firm shake & held it.
Nix watched as the pair shook, his dad was obviously trying to see how much Mike could take, but to his credit Mike just held firm.
Kelly saw neither were going to stop this 'shake', she looked to her mum to help.
Shannon had to smile, yes when she told her husband he'd reminded her of him, she was right! So much alike! "ok, I think we've got one more introduction to do" she said finally being able to draw the 'shake' to a close.
"Jackson, this is Mike. Mike this is Jackson, Kelly's & Phoenix's grandfather" Shannon said.
"Great pleasure to meet you sir" Mike greeted putting his hand out.
Jack had been trying to take in as much in about the boy as possible, he was fairly tall, probably just shorter than his son, light brown & very short hair, brown eyes & solid build, just like any marine would have. He had watched as Shannon had introduced Mike to his son, the boy had pulled himself to full height & basically stood at attention, he could tell he was nervous. His son though wasn't letting him relax, holding that firm grip & stare until Shannon had interrupted them. He was though impressed with Mike, he'd kept his stance & grip never breaking, he wanted to be a little softer on the boy, he gave a small smile "Great pleasure to meet you as well Mike" he replied, giving a short, but firm handshake.
"Well, now that that's all done, why don't we sit down & you can tell us why you came without warning young man?" Shannon asked with a hint a smile.
Mike caught the smile "only found out 2 days ago I was due to come to Naples, wanted to make it a surprise"
"and what a awesome surprise it is!" Nix grinned.
Jack could clearly see that Nix was just as excited to have Mike here as Kelly was, he just smiled as they all sat down at the dining table upon Shannon motioning them towards it.
Gibbs detoured into the kitchen, while he'd eaten at the office, he was still hungry & he wanted something else to think about right now, apart from what happened during the day, apart from Mike too.
Shannon saw where her husband was heading "still hungry?"
Gibbs just nodded as he opened the fridge, he was but he didn't know what he was hungry for.
"What about some comfort food?" Shannon asked "Mac & Cheese?" she suggested.
"Sounds good" Gibbs said, he surely needed it.
"Let me" Shannon offered, she turned "Mike, can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
"No thanks Mrs G" Mike replied.
Shannon just eyed him "Young man, when was the last time you ate?" She knew him well enough to know that when it came to eating he'd never be one to say yes, but would skip meals when he got engrossed into something or too nervous about something.
Mike swallowed as he considered it "lunch time"
"That's what I thought, I thought you knew better than to skip meals mister" Shannon replied.
Mike could have replied with 'I'm a busy boy these days' or 'I was too nervous', but he just smiled, this was really weird, to see her alive & well after all this time was weird, but great & it instantly felt like it had all those years ago.
"How long you in town for?" Nix asked, taking a seat next to Mike.
"About a week, 10 days maybe" Mike replied "why?"
"Well, if my appeal goes through then I'm a shot at playing on the weekend, would be awesome if you could be there" Nix said, this would be awesome! As long as the appeal went their way.
"Appeal?" Mike asked curiously "wait! You mean you're actually already in the match day squad?" he asked shocked. he couldn't believe that Nix was really on the books of Napoli, it was just... nuts!
Nix grinned back.
Mike shoved Nix "Squirt!" he wanted an answer to both his questions.
Nix laughed "ok ok"
Shannon got the food together as the family went through the reason behind the appeal.
Mike couldn't believe what he was hearing, while it was hard to contemplate the fact that he'd made it onto the park in the first place, it sounded incredibly harsh "what does the club think your chances are?"
"Not sure, they're going to fight it tooth & nail, me too. But the Italian FA aren't really known for ruling against the ref, even when it's totally obvious that they're wrong" Kelly sighed.
Gibbs was watching the interactions, he really wasn't counting on having to not only entertain, but entertain Mike tonight, he just wanted to eat & then hit the rack with his wife & release all the tension from the day. He knew his daughter would be comfortable around him, but couldn't help but notice how easily Nix was interacting with him. He knew they'd spent time together, but even so early on in the encounter they were really getting on so easily & seemed so close.
"You're gonna help?" Mike asked "of course you are KG" he finished with a smirk "you know, I could always have a chat with the ref, just like with Miller" he offered with another smirk.
Kelly, who was sitting on his other side to her brother elbowed him in his chest & gave him a 'shut up' look, she couldn't believe he said that! Especially in front of her mum.
Nix did his best to hide the smirk.
Shannon sat down across from Mike & next to her husband eyed Mike "excuse me Mike? just like what chat you had with Coach Miller?"
Gibbs knew who Coach Miller was, he was Nix's under 12's soccer coach back in Houston, a man that had been a touch harsh with his comment to his son & the other boys during their games.
"I commended him on the great job he did as coach" Mike answered sheepishly, whoops!
Shannon raised an eyebrow "and what exactly did you include in your commendation?"
"What does that matter now?" Kelly asked as she stood up & headed to get some drinks "it's ancient history"
Mike decided his best defence would be to fill his mouth with food, so he just kept eating "you still make the best Mac & Cheese around Mrs G" he commented.
"Thank you, but could this 'chat' have anything to do with why the man was suddenly reassigned to help coach the u17's in the middle of the season?" Shannon asked, she remembered thinking a change in the middle of the season was strange, even with the man ruffling feathers as he had.
Mike swallowed "KG, could I get a drink?"
"Juice or soda?" Kelly asked, maybe a change in topic would help?
"Juice please" Mike replied.
Shannon waited for the pair to be seated again "either of you going to answer the question?"
Nix couldn't help but smirk, he knew exactly what had happened, but it had been a secret between the trio.
Kelly sighed, she placed a hand on Mike arm's that was resting on the table "so he spoke to the guy after training one day, big deal" she patted his arm "and he did it in full military uniform... on his way home from the shooting range... with his weapon... with half his ROTC squadron, it's not really a big deal, is it?" she finished with a smirk.
Jack had been just sitting there watching it all unfold, he was intrigued about Mike & his interactions with not only Kelly, but the others too. Hearing what he did though, he did his best to cover his chuckle with a cough, now that sounded familiar.
Shannon did all she could to not roll her eyes, she could see her husband though was doing his best to not smile & just kept a blank look plastered on his face, she turned to him "let me guess, you approve?"
Gibbs flashed a look at her & then at Mike, he could see the boy was now worried about his reaction "No, I don't" he said bluntly.
Mike swallowed, crap! Shit! What does he do now?
Kelly & Nix both flashed each other a look of concern, they were sure their dad would have approved of how Mike handled it.
"You don't?" Shannon asked totally surprised.
"No, I would have taken the whole squadron" Gibbs answered, but only showing a small smile. He thought though, that was the perfect way to handle it.
"Of course you would have" Shannon replied, she looked at Mike & then back to her husband, she really didn't know what to say "is that the only way marine's know how to handle things?"
"I didn't touch the guy!" Mike protested.
"Michael Bond!... since when do you need to touch a person to intimidate them?" Shannon asked.
"Can I help it if the guy found me intimidating?" Mike smirked.
"I give up" Shannon said standing up, she could now see her husband was fully showing his smile now.
Kelly smiled "I'm sorry, you're the one that wanted Nix to spent time with Mike"
"Yea! And we did have fun" Nix chimed in.
Mike just nodded, he didn't mind spending time with Nix, he was a funny kid.
"I know" Shannon smiled "Mike my boy, it's wonderful to see you & while I'd love to stay & chat, I'm pretty tired, so you'll have to excuse me. I trust we will see you again? Where are you staying?"
"Navy lodge, I'll have some more spare time here & there, so I'll definitely be around" Mike replied.
"Well then, I look forward to seeing you soon, because we've got a lot of catching up to do" Shannon replied, as she took him into another hug "It's wonderful to see you"
Mike smiled "it's wonderful to see you too, I'm looking forward catching up"
Shannon nodded, she turned to her son "don't stay up too late Phoenix, big day tomorrow"
"I'm coming" Nix nodded "be seeing you soon Mikey" he smiled as he approached Mike & held his hand out.
"Definitely squirt, good luck tomorrow" Mike replied as took the offered hand & began their secret handshake.
"Impressed you two remember that" Shannon smirked.
Gibbs stood up, this small glimpse into Mike & the way he interacted with his family had given him quite the insight into how it would have been back then, and he had to admit, he really liked the way Mike had handled that coach! "Look forward to seeing you again Captain"
Mike's eyes shot wide open in surprise "likewise sir" did that mean he liked him? Accepted him? He hoped so!
Gibbs nodded, he looked at his daughter "same comment your mother made to your brother"
"I know dad" Kelly nodded "we're just going to talk for a few more minutes"
"Great pleasure to meet you Michael, but like my son, I think I shall retire & leave you kids to it. I'll see you again, I'm sure" Jack said.
"Pleasure's mine sir, I look forward to seeing you again" Mike replied.
"Ice Cream Mikey?" Kelly asked heading into the kitchen as her family all retired & left them to it.
"Do you have to even ask?" Mike asked with a grin.
Kelly smiled "Nice to know you haven't changed"
Kelly dished the ice cream & they headed to the lounge "take your jacket off, would hate for you to get it crumpled"
Mike smiled as he did so "that wasn't so terrifying"
Kelly chuckled "mum or dad?"
"Both, you know I was standing outside for a good half hour before Nix saw me?" Mike asked "I was beyond nervous"
"You don't get nervous Mike, isn't that what you always said?" Kelly asked.
"I know, but I did" Mike replied as he took a seat next to her.
"You ok now?" Kelly asked.
"Yea, I'm fine now" Mike answered "think you're dad might even be ok with me now"
"He was always going to be ok with you... monkey marine" Kelly smiled, though she had to admit, she had been a little nervous about it herself.
Mike grinned "gosh I've missed you Kells, we can't leave it so long between meets" he finished putting an arm around her.
"I know, 4 years, waaayy too long" Kelly answered, he'd become a really good friend.
"You ok?" Mike asked.
"I'm good, crazy couple of days but life's pretty great at the moment" Kelly replied, "So tell me, what brings you here? I thought you were stationed back in the US for once"
"Part of a task force that's assessing some of our bases for future strategic change" Mike answered "travelling the world & still loving it!"
Kelly had been slouching on the couch, resting again him but promptly sat up & looked at him "where'd you just come from?"
"Abu Dhabi, why?" Mike replied.
"Before that?" Kelly prodded, was he really apart of that task force?
"The UK, what's wrong Kell, you look... off" Mike replied, she was staring right at him & looking off.
"Do you know a Commander Kaplan?" Kelly asked.
"Commander Patricia Kaplan?" Mike enquired, he drew a nod "sure I do, she's second in command of the task force. Why? You know her?"
"You know where she is?" Kelly asked instantly.
"She's on Emergency Leave, she left a few days into our stay in Abu Dhabi & is scheduled to meet back up with us here in a few days, what's this about?" Mike finished, he really wasn't liking the look on her face.
Kelly just stared at him for a minute, she took a deep breath "Dad!" she yelled.
A/N: Mike's definitely pretty close with Kelly still, and pretty close to Nix too, just how will Tim take this? But at least he was able to impress Gibbs? Would that be the word to use for how he handled that coach? lol
The fact that he works with Kaplan, that'll definitely lead to some interesting moments ahead! Just what can Mike tell them about her?
I'm about to start back at university so while I can't promise an update in the very near future, I will update this as soon as I can.
You know I love hearing your thoughts/comments, so review away!