They stopped at a gas station for fuel when Jethro got a call from Shannon. She didn't have very long to chat, but he was able to fill his wife in a little more on just what was going on and when he expected to be home.

"Okay," she replied. "Well, let me know when you're on your way back. Do ya want me to reschedule dinner with my parents?"

Dammit! I forgot about that. "No. Go. Enjoy yourself."

"Alright," his wife said. "Drive safe."

His lips turned upwards slightly. "I will."

Ending the call, he then decided to phone his team to let them know that he was going to return later than he had originally thought as well as see if they'd managed to make any progress on the case. "Hey, Boss. How's your pops?"

He considered just how much to tell his Senior Field Agent. It wasn't as though it was Jethro's story to tell. "Like I said, a minor accident. He's fine."

"No, you didn't say that, but that's what we figured." There was some chatter on the other end that he couldn't make out and then DiNozzo was back on the phone. "One sec, Boss. It's McGee. He's been working on some algorithm thing while Ziva's upstairs talking to Dawson's mom, answering some insurance questions."

Jethro gave a little hum and then spoke. "Patch Tim through."

A second later he heard McGee's voice. "Yeah, Tony?"

His second in command jumped in without missing a beat. "I've got el jefe on the line, Tim. You're on with both of us."

"Oh, hey, Boss!" McGee said by way of greeting. "So, I looked through Metro's files on the other robberies. Major elements line up with ours. Looks like the same guy."

"We already suspected it," DiNozzo pointed out, "but we just need to confirm it."

"I also created an algorithm that'll find links between the cases," McGee informed him. "Anything we input on our end that'll match something on theirs will flag."

"Hey, McGee, that's great work." He paused. "DiNozzo, you've got point."

"I thought you were only going to be gone for a few hours?" DiNozzo inquired.

"Change of plans," he replied. "I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, Tony, you got point."

"Alright," DiNozzo said. "We'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"See you tomorrow," he agreed.

Shoving his cell phone back into his pocket, Jethro hopped back into the car. His father immediately gave him a teasing look. "Is the world still turning without you?"

Rolling his eyes in mild amusement, he turned the radio on and turned it to a country station, something both he and his father liked.

After about ten minutes though, his father showed him again just how out of character the man had been acting. They were driving, his old man looking down intently at the map he was holding, when his father snapped and turned the radio off in a huff. "Can't concentrate with all that noise."

Not wanting to take the bait, Jethro decided to change the topic. "When's the last time you went to the eye doctor?"

The Gibbs patriarch ignored him. "Looks like we can just go through D.C, I guess."

He sighed as he registered the redirection. "Aw, Dad."

"Can we go over my patient history after we talk to Walter?" his father pressed.

"Yeah," he agreed as he didn't want to fight. "Sure we can."

His father gave a small sigh and, surprisingly, actually began opening up a little bit. "It keeps running through my head. How alone I was up there."

"The sky's a lonely place," he stated, choosing his words carefully as he didn't want to say the wrong thing and hurt his father or cause the man to shut down.

"It's not only lonely," his father replied with a tone that Jethro knew all too well. It was best described as haunted. "I was a sitting duck... No ammo, compass all busted up."

Concerned, he took his eyes off the road and stole a glance at his father who had a faraway expression on his face. Something else that Jethro was all too familiar with. His old man was clearly lost in a memory.

His concern grew when his father exhaled.

"Dad," he said in an attempt to break his father out of his reverie. "Dad."

Unsurprisingly, his father instantly tried to wave Jethro's concern off. "No, no, I'm fine. I'm just no good at explaining it."

"You don't have to," he said, "you already told me." He didn't want to push his father if it was too hard for the man. Jethro had more than a few memories from both his time in the Corps and at NCIS that were better left unremembered himself. Hell, Shannon and Kelly had fallen firmly into the category of too painful to talk about for years.

"Yeah," his father replied. "When you were seven."

"It's not something you forget," he stated honestly before deciding to give his father a bit of a break. "I'm guessing you haven't eaten since yesterday?"

His father shot him a look. "Now, don't start with me, huh?"

Deciding to back down, Jethro continued driving into D.C before managing to convince his father - begrudgingly - to stop for a bite to eat. He realized that this was important for his father but starving himself wasn't about to help his friend.

Pulling into the parking lot at Elaine's Diner, he got out and walked his father over to a booth in the back where Jethro often sat so that they could have some privacy. The pair then ordered some lunch.

The older man eyed him. "Are you sure this is on the way?"

"You said yourself it was best to go through D.C," he pointed out.

His father didn't look at all appeased by that little tidbit of information. "Well, how long does it take to get some toast around here?"

How long does it take at your house, Dad?

I'm done waiting. Let's get the coffee to go.

Dad, sit down. Sit down. You got to eat. You order food here and you don't eat it, this waitress, she takes it personal. I've seen her cry.

His father leaned in slightly. "Listen, I tracked down Walter after the war and wrote to him to thank him for what he did." Jethro couldn't say he was surprised that his father had reached out to the man. "Never heard back until I got this in the mail yesterday." His old man started reading the letter. "`It seems I'm sick. I don't have much longer. Soon I'll be headed up to the blue sky.' Now, Son... when I say the way it has to be, you gotta listen." The older man pointed at him. "Leroy, you need to work on that."

As his father took off his glasses, Jethro dipped his head slightly. "Okay, Dad."

"No, that doesn't fly with me, Leroy." What did I say to set Dad off now? "You say two words, and you expect me to fill in the rest?"

"No," he replied, "I don't expect you to do anything."

"W-will you listen? I've told you ten times." The Gibbs patriarch shook the letter that he was holding as he spoke. "Now Walter's telling you." Jethro wracked his brain for how to best handle this. "We need to get moving. I've got things I got to say to him."

Jethro was saved from replying as Elaine finally walked up with their food. "Okay, club sandwich times two." She evidently picked up on the tension at the table and the look that the Gibbs patriarch was giving her. "Something wrong?"

"Looks good," his father said after a brief pause. "Thanks."

"Well," Elaine said, "you need anything else, you know where to find me."

He smiled appreciatively at Elaine as he started digging into his food.

Both men shared a look and then his father conceded. "Eat fast."

Well, that was one battle won. He had a feeling this was going to be a really long trip. Knowing that he had to just deal with his father's mood swings as they came, Jethro ate quickly so that they could hit the road again.