Disclaimer on chapter one.
AN: Finally chapter seven. This one kinda hid from me, hope you like. Just want to say man is it COLD outside right now! single digits burr...feels like -6. nice. Anyway! On to chapter seven, enjoy. dark rolling sea.
Chapter Seven: Breakfast

Gibbs woke with a small grunt. Something heavy had just landed on his chest. He opened his eyes enough to look and nearly jumped up. He was staring into another pair of eyes. It was the biggest cat he had ever seen and it was sitting on his chest staring at him. He glanced over that the door and saw it was pushed open just enough for the cat to come through. Must not have been latched he thought.

The cat stared at him intently searching him, almost shocked that someone was in the bed. Gibbs wet his lips then reached up and gently pushed the cat to the middle of the bed. The cat slid awkwardly in his grasp, before flopping sideways off his chest. He stared at it and it glared back at him. He glanced at the clock and saw it was five in the morning.

He got up quietly, so not to wake Kate, and left the cat in his place. The animal watched him leave the room, and Gibbs then slid the door shut. He found a bathroom and then went downstairs into the kitchen to find something to drink, preferably coffee. He was startled to find Kathy already in the kitchen.

"Coffee's in the machine. Should be ready soon. You're an early riser too huh?" She said when she heard him come in.

"Yes, but I also had a morning wake up call I didn't schedule," Gibbs said with a smile.

"Oh no, who came in?"

"A very large cat."

"That would be Blukie. He is fat. We have him on a diet but he doesn't seem to lose anything."

Gibbs nodded and looked around. He suddenly felt hungry. The smell of coffee was filling the air and his body started to anticipate it. He didn't know what to do with himself.

"If you can wait, I'll have breakfast ready in half an hour," Kathy said seeming to read his mind. Gibbs smiled.

"Anything I can help with?"

"You can cook?" she asked. It wasn't a shocked question, it was more astonishment. Gibbs laughed at the implication but then nodded. She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, but Kate doesn't usually catch men that…"

"Maybe that's why I was a keeper," Gibbs said with a smile. Kathy laughed.

"Maybe," she replied turning back to the stove. "I can handle it though. You're a guest, just sit down and enjoy the time. Coffee is ready."

Gibbs poured himself some coffee and sat at the table as Kathy went about making breakfast. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kathy broke the silence. She was still facing the stove when she spoke.

"You don't talk much about yourself do you?"

"No, I guess I don't," Gibbs replied after pondering her question for a short time. She nodded, still facing the stove, working eggs up in a bowl.

"Why not?" She asked. Gibbs thought about the question. He didn't have a good answer to that, not one that people would understand. Kathy noticed his apprehension to answer. She changed the subject. "Been married before?"

"Yes," Gibbs said quietly, taking a sip of his coffee. Kathy glanced at him over her shoulder then back at her chore.

"Thought so," she replied. Gibbs was curious to what the comment carried with it. "You're way to calm about this whole thing."

"How do you mean?"

"Planning the wedding, meeting the family, that sort of thing," she replied as she chopped up some ham into cubes. Gibbs thought about it and shook his head.

"I don't think anything prepares you for a wedding, even having been through one," Gibbs replied. "It's almost like battle. You can do all the prep you want, but your first line of attack isn't going to work."

"Interesting way to look at it," she said looking over her shoulder at him again. Gibbs shrugged and took another drink of coffee.

"Life is a battle. Plan all you want, but you can never prepare for curveballs."

"Is my daughter a curveball?" Kathy asked turning to face him. He smiled wide and took a drink of coffee.

"Yes, ma'am," he said soundly. "She sure was."

Kathy nodded and stared at him a moment. Gibbs felt a little uneasy in the change of her manner. But she then turned back to her chore at hand and began making an omelet. He knew there was something else on her mind. He waited her out.

"Must have been hard losing your son," she said softly. Gibbs looked down at his coffee. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking up at the wall. He was quiet as he sorted out what he wanted to say to that.

"When I got the phone call about Jake, I didn't know what to do. It was hard on all of us. Jeb took it the worst. They were twins. Jeb was already discharged from the marines and he was living in Washington at the time. My grandson Hunter is my son Jake's boy. When my son died, my grandson became an orphan. His mother died when he was just a baby. When your child goes into the military you know that there are risks.

"Anything can happen. I was a marine I know. I lost men in battle, its something you just accept about being in the military. But to actually get that call, to have to see the funeral and get the flag is something I wish I never had to go through. My other son was shattered. He was coming off a few years after the accident and it set him back a little. It was Hunter that finally got him back on track."

Gibbs didn't know why he was saying all this, but it felt good to talk about it. He was staring at his coffee while he spoke, and Kathy was making a second omelet. The kitchen smelled wonderful. He paused to take another drink from his coffee and finished the cup. He got up and poured himself a second cup.

"No parent wants to bury a child," Kathy said softly. Gibbs nodded.

"I almost buried both of mine. Jeb's tried to leave me twice now. That boy's got a guardian angel working triple time," Gibbs replied.

"His accident was bad," she said. It was a statement, not a question. Gibbs took a deep breath and let the memories come back.

"He was nineteen. He was driving back to base after liberty and a drunk driver ran a red light doing eighty five. He hit the passenger side of Jeb's car. Good thing. If it had been the driver's side he would have died on impact. The car was thrown into on coming traffic and hit a second time sending the car end of end. They said it was a miracle he survived. They said it was a miracle he when he walked again. They said it was a miracle when he ran. I think it was just Jeb. He's tough.

"Crushed him though when he was discharged from the marines. Jake took a leave for two weeks and talked him through a lot. I don't know what we would have done if Jake wasn't there…" Gibbs trailed off.

"Seems like your family has had more than its share of tragedy."

"Seems that way," Gibbs mumbled. "The second time he almost bailed was with the brain tumor. I couldn't believe it when they told me he had a mass in his brain. His heart stopped while in surgery, they had to shock him back."

"My," Kathy said as she worked on a third omelet. The other two were sitting on a hot plate keeping them warm.

Gibbs stopped then. He didn't want to talk anymore about his boys' tragedies. He drank coffee and sat quietly at the table while Kathy finished making breakfast. She turned to Gibbs after a while and smiled.

"Might want to go wake up Kate, its almost time to eat," she said. Gibbs smiled and then downed the rest of his coffee. He nodded, got up and made his way back up to the third floor. He pushed the door opened and found the cat curled up against Kate as she slept. When he stepped into the room the cat's ears flicked then it stood up quickly and looked around. It saw Gibbs then ran as fast as it could off the other side of the bed, darted underneath, went to bolt out the door, but saw Gibbs standing there, turned and flashed back under the bed. Gibbs stood perplexed for a moment before he went to Kate.

"Kate, wake up," he said as he sat on the bed. She rolled over and mumbled in her sleep. Gibbs tried again, and saw the cat out the corner of his eye skid out the door. The cat was so heavy he could hear its paws smacking on the floor. "Kate, food's on the table."

She opened her eyes this time and looked at him. She smelled the air and looked around, registering where she was. He smiled down at her. She looked at the clock and groaned. It was too early to wake up after such a late night. How did Gibbs do it?

"I've already had two cups of coffee," Gibbs said seeming to read her mind. She glared at him but then sat up. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Get up, get dressed, food's on."

"What's for breakfast?"

"Your mom made omelets," Gibbs said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I was down there while she made them, now get up," he said pulling the covers off and getting up. He went out of the room and she glared at his back. Gibbs came across the same cat in the hallway and it tried to run, but it was on a hardwood floor and its paws couldn't get any traction. Gibbs stood grinning as the cat's feet wildly moved in place and then suddenly it had traction and the cat was a lightning bolt down the hallway. He shook his head. Gibbs made his way down the stairs and back into the kitchen. Kathy had four omelets on the table with hash browns and toast ready and he took the same seat he had been sitting in earlier.

"Kate up?"

"She was when I left her," he said with a smile. "That's some cat you have up there."

"What'd he do?" she asked glancing at Gibbs. He smiled.

"Likes to run."

"He's a chicken. You'll learn that pretty quick. Cat's afraid of his own shadow," she said shaking her head. She turned and placed the last of the toast on the plate and then called for her husband and Kate. Douglas came down bright eyed and awake, dressed as if he had already been working outside, and Kate came down mumbling about how early it was.

Breakfast was eaten in a calming silence. Gibbs didn't mind, he had done enough talking with Kathy earlier to satisfy him. Kate seemed to pick at her food more than eat it. Douglas finished his and sat back with a grin.

"Good food, Kathy, thank you," he said. Gibbs said the same thing and Kathy just smiled and waved them off.

"Not a problem, boys," she replied as she put some dishes in the sink. Gibbs gathered some up and helped her, a little to the astonishment of Kathy. He just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Josh should be in soon, Kate. Rest of the boys are coming over for the afternoon. Going to church?" Doug asked. Kate glanced at Gibbs who looked a bit worried.

"I'll go with you, but I don't think Jethro would want to," Kate said with a smile. Doug looked up at Gibbs and watched him a moment. Gibbs took a drink of coffee.

"Not a church goer?" he asked Gibbs. Gibbs looked at him and shook his head. Doug pondered this a moment. "Don't believe?"

Kate cringed. She knew this was one area that could be a sore spot between Gibbs and her family. They were all Christians and went to church regularly. She looked at Gibbs then her dad.

"No, Daddy, he doesn't," Kate said. "It's his choice." Her father looked at her a moment, then back at Gibbs. Gibbs held the stone interrogator's face meeting Doug's stare. Kate's dad nodded.

"Guess it's his right," he said then got up and left the table. Kate let out a breath of air, and Kathy finished getting the dishes picked up. Gibbs finished his third cup of coffee and smiled.

"I'll get ready, Mom, then I'll go with you to church," Kate replied.

"Don't feel like you have to go on our account, honey."

"No, mom, I want to go. Jethro doesn't mind," she said looking at Gibbs. Gibbs smiled.

"It's fine. I'll stay here. It'll give me a break," he said with a smile. Kathy smiled and nodded.

Kate left Gibbs sitting at the table and went upstairs to change. Gibbs got up and offered to help with the dishes and Kathy smiled and told him again that he was a guest. Gibbs shrugged again, smiling as he left the kitchen. He made his way up the stairs and watched for the cat. He spotted him sitting at the end of the hall in a doorway that was just barely open. It was peering out watching him. Gibbs shook his head.

TBC…


AN: Yes Blukie is a real life kitty...yes he is scared of his own shadow and he is fat (twenty pounder at 2 years old). Just thought I'd let you know where the inspiration came from...dark rolling sea.