A/N: Here's another chapter folks! To my recent followers/favourites, welcome! To my reviewers, thank you so much, love hearing your thoughts!
To guest reviewers:
CookiesSprinkles: Thanks for the review! Glad you're on thing journey! Tim/Kelly, they're at different ages/stages, so interactions are different.
Momcat: thanks for the review: Nix's project i based on some online research & creative licence on my part, and while i did forget that Tim was left handed, it wouldn't have come into the equation for Nix, as they didn't know each other. But it is something that i will play with. As for Tim's age, like Kelly & Nix are younger, so is he, all of the characters are, this is set at the end of season 3, not season 10, so everyone is younger, so please bare that in mind, he's younger a lot more unsure of himself. He'll be happy though, in the end. Joanne will become a key part of this, but she has to get better first. Abby is definitely going through a jealous streak, yes! And Samuel will be present for a good few chapters.
Now, lets get into it..
Shannon took another breath trying to work out a way forward, she could see the worry on Samuel's face "I think you're right Keeps"
Samuel let out a breath, he was glad to have gotten the point across but he knew now that there'd be other issues to deal with.
Shannon was trying to work out just what to do when the door opened.
Tony opened the door & went to pull back instantly "sorry Mrs Gibbs, I was looking for Lt Robertson"
A thought came to Shannon "actually Tony, could I trouble you to join us?"
"Sure" Tony replied, though he had no idea why.
Shannon waited until Tony had sat down "Tony, I'd like to ask you a favour, and I would prefer if you didn't mention this to my husband, or anyone for that matter just yet"
Tony's eyes widened, keep something from Gibbs? He'd never been able to keep anything from Gibbs, ever! "ah, its not exactly easy keeping anything from him ma'am, he has a tendency to figure it out"
Shannon had to smile "I'm well aware of that talent, and if he does, tell him to come & ask me, it wont be for long, just until tomorrow is all" she'd have to speak to her family tonight.
Tony nodded "ok, what do you need?"
"I'd like you to look into Samuel's deployment to the DC Navy-yard out of the ROTC program at Rice University, as well the deployment of one Lt Michael Bond, who was sent to Frankfurt from the same program. Their tentative orders had them both going to the other location, but were later swapped. I want you to see if the person responsible for their switched deployments was connected with MacDonald please" Shannon requested.
Tony had been writing it all down when his head shot up at the last sentence "you think MacDonald is responsible for you being deployed here?" he asked the marine.
"It wasn't about me being assigned here sir, it was about making sure Mike wasn't" Samuel answered.
Shannon nodded "Samuel's correct, it was about getting Michael out of the U.S."
Tony wasn't sure what to make of that "do you know the name of the person that signed your orders off?"
"Was signed off by a Major J Rooney sir" Samuel answered Tony.
Tony noted it down "I'll go look into him now for you ma'am"
Shannon smiled "I appreciate it Tony, thank you & again, this very delicate, so please keep this to yourself, I don't want this getting back to my family, and not just my husband"
"I wont mention it to a soul ma'am" Tony confirmed, he was now wondering who this Michael Bond was in relation to the family, if Mac had wanted him gone? What did that mean?
Shannon waited until Tony had left before turning her gaze back to Samuel, she could see he wanted to say something else.
"I ahh…, I never told Mike about my new project, figured it would piss him off even more & give him a thought that I've had for the last few weeks" Samuel remarked.
Shannon could understand that "Asking you to not say anything about our suspicions is a waste of time isn't it?"
Samuel smirked "even if I didn't say anything about the suspicions, as soon as I tell him everything else, he'll jump straight to the same conclusion & have the same suspicion, so yea, that's pretty much a waste of time"
Shannon knew that "ok, well then could I ask that you not call Mike until I've spoken to Kelly? I know he'll be calling her straight away & would prefer to break this to her before he calls"
"Of course" Samuel agreed, she was right, as soon as he'd speak to Mike, he'd be back on the phone.
"Let's get back out there" Shannon suggested as she opened the door, she was greeted with Tony "you've found something already?" she was surprised, surely not!
"Not yet ma'am, but I wanted to show the head shots of the two J Rooney's that are in the system to see if you recognise either of them" Tony remarked.
Shannon thought that was a good idea & looked at the pair of headshots "I can't say I recognise either of them I'm afraid"
Tony nodded & turned to Samuel, he was going to ask but the look on his face answered him "which one?"
"That one!" Samuel snarled
Shannon looked at the left hand picture "where did you see him?" she'd never laid eyes on the man.
Samuel took a breath "Kelly's 21st, I was helping Mike grab a few things from his truck & saw that guy down near the gate speaking with Acron & Quinn. He gave us a good look before walking out the gate"
"This guy?" Tony asked confirming, he got the nod "this J, Rooney is not a Major, but a 2nd Lieutenant in Logistics. That (pointing at the other picture) is Major J Rooney, responsible for the ROTC deployments out of Texas, Louisiana & New Mexico" he'd done a very quick system search, and found only one Major J Rooney, and going with his gut he expanded it to any J Rooney & got a second hit.
Shannon's eyes widened, but she could see Tony still had an unspoken thought "what are you thinking Tony?"
"Well ma'am, if its this 2nd Lt Rooney that's been identified as liaising with Quinn & Acron, and not the Major Rooney, then there may be a chance that he somehow intercepted the Major's orders & substituted them, but that's a very big accusation. So I'll have to do a fair amount of research into him and if he had the chance to do it"
Shannon nodded in understanding "I understand Tony, any details you can find would be appreciated"
"Anything you need to know please just ask sir" Samuel replied
"Might be helpful to speak with Lt Bond too" Tony remarked, he was starting to get a feeling about who this guy could be, and he wasn't sure where to go with that.
Shannon saw Samuel give her a look "could you give him a few hours please Tony, Samuel is going to call him to tell him everything, but he wont do that until after I've had a chance to speak with Kelly, and I can't do that until we get home"
"Of course ma'am" Tony nodded "perhaps you can give me a call once you've spoken?" he asked the young marine
"Yes sir" Samuel nodded.
Gibbs checked his watch, it had been around an hour since his wife had disappeared with that Samuel kid, he wondered what was going on, but he suddenly heard a voice, he realised his girl was calling his name "sorry Kells, what's up?"
"Asked if we could leave the laptop & stuff here so we don't have to keep carting it back & forth?" Kelly asked
"Sure, you can leave anything you want, you both can. This room is perfectly secure" Gibbs confirmed.
"Dad?" Nix asked quietly
Gibbs had just taken a seat & saw his son looked a little unsure of himself "what's up bud?" he asked stretching his hand towards him to welcome him closer.
Nix approached his dad "when's… when's gramps coming?"
Gibbs could see the nerves but smiled to reassure him "sometime tomorrow bud, he's just making sure things are all cleaned up at the store before he heads here, they have to wrap up everything there & then he'll come down with Agent Banks" the local FBI guys & Banks were all processing the scene, Banks would then escort his dad to DC. He saw his son nod "I spoke to him a little while ago in fact & he asked me to see if there was anything you two wanted him to bring from the store?" he asked with a small grin.
Nix gave his dad a sheepish grin "those ring things Kelly showed me"
Gibbs looked at his girl "ring things?"
Kelly smiled as she sat down next to her dad "the lollipop rings, raspberry & blueberry"
Gibbs smiled "I'll ask gramps to bring some of those, anything else angel, bud?"
"Those giant snakes!" Nix answered, this was getting to be like dessert heaven!
"Some sherbets maybe, but its ok if he can't I'm sure he has enough to carry" Kelly added quietly.
Gibbs saw the body language he really needed to get her believing that it was ok to ask for things especially from family "I'm sure he can manage it angel, he's more than happy to bring whatever you want & he's got Agent Banks with him to help. He'll bring you your sherbets, lollipop rings, snakes, and what about….. what about some nerds?" he finished with a knowing grin.
Kelly smiled "yea"
"Those are delicious!" Nix grinned
Gibbs was glad to see the smile return to his girl's face but right then the door opened & in walked his wife & Samuel.
Shannon had to smile at the sight that greeted her, her husband was sat with their son on his lap & their girl right next to him, all three were smiling, but her son's grin was ever telling "what's that grin for Nix darling?"
"Gramps is bringing us stuff from the store" Nix grinned
"I see" Shannon commented "and what stuff is he bringing?"
Nix smiled "Lollipop rings, giant snakes, sherbets and nerds"
"And who suggested the nerds?" Shannon asked her son, but her gaze was on her husband.
"They delicious candies Shan, and easy to ration" Gibbs answered, even though he was keenly aware of Samuel's presence & wanted to show his marine persona, he wouldn't change the way he acted with his family.
"Easy to ration?" Shannon asked with a raised eyebrow "your idea of rationing nerds Jethro…" she just shook her head "why do I even bother"
Gibbs grinned at his wife, but he saw that Samuel was feeling either nervous or unsure of himself, he looked back to his wife "ready to go?"
"Yes, let's go" Shannon agreed, while she knew she wanted & needed to speak to them all about the situation with Michael, she also wanted to go to the hospital to check on her mum.
"Are we going straight to the hospital?" Nix asked quietly after a few moments when his parents finished packing up.
"That's the plan darling, is something wrong?" Shannon asked
"Well… ahh…." Nix started to say "its just that…"
Shannon sat down & brought him to stand between her legs "what is it darling?"
Nix took a breath "Its just that…. Buster's been home all day alone, and he'll be hungry, he needs a walk.. and he'll be lonely" they'd very rarely left him alone all day long and into the night. He did want to go to the hospital, but he was worried about his dog.
Shannon's eyes widened & shared a look with her husband, this was not something either of them had ever had to deal with before. They were going to have to give the four-legged member of their family more consideration when planning their days. She was going to say something when she got beat to the punch by Samuel.
"I can do that for you shrimp" Samuel offered "I'd be happy to go grab him, take him for run & feed him afterwards"
"Are you sure Keeps?" Shannon checked
"Of course Mrs G, I could use run myself, so happy to have the company" Samuel nodded, he really needed to blow off some steam! And anger!
"How's that sound darling?" Shannon asked her son
"Yea" Nix nodded but looked to Samuel about to say something
"I don't need another lecture on what to feed him shrimp, you've given it to me 4 times already" Samuel chuckled holding his hands up.
Kelly laughed too "think it's 5 times"
Nix looked between the pair "its important!"
Samuel shared another smirk with Kelly, he couldn't help but laugh again, Nix's reaction wasn't what he was expecting "ow! Shrimp!" Nix had wacked him
"Important!" Nix said again looking at him.
Samuel kept eye contact "I get that, but after 4 lectures and demonstrations I think I understand what to feed him. I know how to follow orders, I am a marine you know" he finished looking him in the eye.
Shannon smiled at the interaction, besides Michael, Samuel was one of the closet male friends of Kelly's that Phoenix had.
Gibbs had yet again come to watch the interaction with much interest, he really needed to find out more about how 'close' this boy was to his family. And if this kid, even as an officer couldn't follow a simple order, then he wouldn't make it as marine.
"Yea, ok" Nix conceded
"We've started to wean her off the medication & we're hoping she'll come out of the coma herself in the next 24 hours" Denson explained, after a few bumps they'd managed to stabilise her enough.
"So she's stable? Her heart has accepted the pacemaker?" Shannon asked
"Yes, all signs are pointing to the pacemaker having done resettled her heart into a steady rhythm" Denson confirmed.
Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief as he squeezed his wife's hand into his own, thank the stars! "is she ok otherwise?"
"Thankfully yes, and considering everything we're hopeful she'll make a full recovery eventually" Denson answered "your mother is an extremely strong woman, a lessor person would have given up"
"Thank you" Shannon remarked quietly, she was so glad that her mum would be ok!
"I better get back to my rounds but if you need anything else you can have the nurse page me" Denson
"Of course, thanks Doc, much appreciated" Gibbs replied. He was standing next to his wife looking into the room where Joanne was lying, she was just staring into the room, he flashed a look down the hall to where his kids were sitting & decided to give his wife a moment.
Gibbs sat down next his son, neither were saying too much "you two ok?"
"How's grandma?" Nix asked quietly.
"She's going to be fine bud, doc's are hoping she'll come out of the coma on her own in the next day or so" Gibbs answered
Gibbs cast his eyes to his girl, she'd been pretty quiet since they left the navy-yard & the last time she'd seen her grandma she'd cried, yelled & the ran off. He didn't want her to get overwhelmed again, reaching behind his son he caressed his girl's hair "angel, how you doing?"
Kelly looked at her dad chewing her bottom lip "do I have to see her?"
Gibbs swallowed and gave his girl a sad smile "not if you don't want to Kell" he wouldn't push her into it, not after last time.
"Can I?" Nix asked
Gibbs looked down "sure bud, why don't go to mum & you can both go into the room together" he remarked stroking the back of his head.
Watching his son head off he shifted to sit next to his girl "you can take everything as slow or fast as you want angel, ok?"
Kelly nodded "I just don't know if I can…" she said quietly looking down into her hands.
Gibbs knew what she meant "Its ok, like I said you take it as slow or fast as you want, not going to pressure you into anything angel" he placed his finger under her chin "look at me Kell" he asked gently "its ok, we're all going through a lot, I understand not being able to go in there"
Kelly nodded & just leaned into her dad, it had been a long day, and between speaking to her boses & seeing Keeps, it'd been quite an emotional one, so having a few moments of quiet time just sitting her in her dad's embrace was welcomed.
Gibbs brought his girl into his side, he pressed a kiss to her head, before resting his own on her head, he just enjoyed the silent moment with his girl.
Shannon sat down on the chair in her mum's room & brought her boy onto her lap, she knew just how envious he'd been of his friends that had grandparents, grandparents that actually showed affection towards their grandchildren that is. "you know she's going to love spending time with you darling" she said quietly rubbing her hand up & down his back.
"Would she come to my games?" Nix asked quietly, he had a few friends who's grandparents would always come to the games.
"Absolutely" Shannon nodded "I'm sure she'll be eager to come & watch you play, she wont mind what it is, she'll come along & support you, and so will your grandfather darling, they'll want to spend as much time with you as they can"
"Us" Nix remarked "they'll want to spend time with us" he corrected his mum.
"You're right, they'll want to spend with us" Shannon smiled & gave him a kiss to his forehead, she reached forward & took hold of her hand "hi mum, we're back, and we're all back in DC. The doctor said you're going to be fine & wake up soon, please do. We can't wait to see you"
"You gotta get better grandma, we need to make those yummy cookies! And those cheese toasties, mum's are nice, but I bet yours are better" Nix remarked
"Grandma's are definitely better" Shannon smiled, even she would love to have one of her mum's toasties. She looked at the condition her mum was in and she had less cords running from her than before, she was looking a little more restful, but until she woke up, she wouldn't be convinced she was going to be ok.
Gibbs saw his wife & son approach, both seemed ok "home time?" he asked
"Yes, lets go home" Shannon agreed, she saw that her girl obviously wasn't ready to see her grandma, it wasn't that she didn't voice her concern for her condition, because she did, but she understood though her daughter's hesitation.
As Gibbs led his family towards the exit he saw an older man approach & had to do a double take, he knew him! "Henry?"
Henry smiled "Jethro" he shifted his gaze "Shannon" he wondered if she'd recognise him.
Shannon looked at him & it took her a moment or two "Henry?" was it Henry Taylor?
Henry had to smile "it is a pleasure to see you my dear"
"Likewise" Shannon replied, a little surprised to see him here, she turned to her girl "Kell angel, remember Henry? Harry's grandfather?"
"Yea, kind of, Hi" Kelly replied
"It's been a little while, its ok" Henry soothed "I remember you though, and I must say you've grown into very beautiful young lady Kelly"
"Thanks" Kelly blushed
Henry then shifted his gaze to the youngest who was standing right between his parents "you young man have to be Phoenix, it's a great pleasure to meet you"
"Hi" Phoenix replied, this guy seemed nice & friendly.
"I hear you're a fan of the round ball game?" Henry asked with a smile
"Oh Yea! Love it!" Nix nodded
"He certainly does" Shannon agreed.
"Do you follow the EPL?" Henry asked
"Manchester United all the way!" Nix smiled
Gibbs had no idea what the pair were talking about, but he saw Henry had now crouched down.
"I think we're going to be great friends Phoenix" Henry remarked as he took off his light-weighted jacket.
Nix's eyes widened "that's!"
"Last season's home jersey, yes" Henry nodded with a smile "I got it when I visited Old Trafford last year"
"What game did you see?" Nix asked eagerly.
"I was a very lucky man, I got to see the derby" Henry answered
"We watched that game!" Nix replied "we were at Mike's grandparents farm, but I was outnumbered though, they were City fans"
Gibbs ear's peaked again, there was that boy again, and his son had been at Mike grandparents place? Hmm.. he was starting to wonder about who this boy was exactly "What brings you here?" he asked
Henry rose "Spoke to Ted earlier & he mentioned that you'd be getting a taxi back to Kelly's, and as I was around the corner I thought I'd come & save you the trouble"
"You didn't have to do that" Shannon remarked
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to" Henry replied "now, are you ready to go or do you more time? I'm fine either way"
"We're ready & thanks Henry" Gibbs remarked
"My pleasure" Henry nodded before he started to lead the family out to his car.
Henry pulled his car up into Kelly's driveway, but he couldn't manage to go up all the way "whose motorcycle?"
"That's Keeps bike" Kelly answered
Henry looked to Kelly who was right next to her, but Shannon's changed expression caught his attention, she wasn't impressed.
"I still can't believe he rode it all the way here from Houston" Shannon remarked disapprovingly.
Nix led the way into the house "Buster!" he called
Henry watched as the german sheppard his son mentioned came bounding down the hall & right into the boy.
"Good timing, he's just finished eating" Samuel remarked as the family entered the family area.
"Thank you Keeps, its much appreciated" Shannon remarked.
"No problem Mrs G" Samuel smiled "we went for a nice long run, had a bit of catch in the local park & I picked up some dinner for you on the way back" he finished motioning to the dining table.
"Again thank you" Shannon remarked "Henry, this is one of Kelly's closest friends, Samuel Atkins. Samuel, this is Henry Taylor, Ted's father"
"Sir" Samuel greeted extending his hand.
"Samuel" Henry greeted, taking hold of the hand. He noted this boy was wearing a USMC t-shirt, and his haircut matched, was this kid a marine?
"What did you get us?" Nix asked heading towards the food
"Don't touch the bags Phoenix, go wash first please" Shannon remarked
Samuel watched as Nix detoured to the sink and Buster was now with Kelly "chinese as requested shrimp, I got you some spring rolls, fried rice, wontons, honey chicken, sweet & sour pork, singapore noodles & peaking duck pancakes"
"Awesome!" Nix grinned
"I should go, and before I hear the word no, I'd like to offer my services in driving you lot to the navy-yard tomorrow, I have to go see a friend anyway in the area in the morning & would love the company" Henry remarked.
"I can drive us" Kelly remarked quietly
Before anyone could say either way Shannon spoke "I think we'll let Henry drive us tomorrow angel, I don't think tomorrow is the right time to have you drive us" she knew her girl wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight & probably wouldn't be in a condition to deal with her father as a passenger for the first time either "thank you Henry, it very much appreciative"
"No problem at all" Henry answered, he was unsure why Shannon had not taken Kelly up on her offer, but that wasn't for him to comment on "see you in the morning"
Kelly watched as her dad showed Henry to the door, she wasn't sure why her mum said no to her driving but she didn't like it. She though moved towards a cupboard & grabbed the plastic plates to eat on.
"Think I'll head off too" Samuel remarked "see you tomorrow KG" he knew between now & then, things would change for her, a lot!
"See ya Keeps" Kelly smiled "thanks"
"No worries" Samuel replied, he looked to Nix "I'll see you tomorrow shrimp, and I recorded something for you on the TV" he grinned
"What?" Nix asked
"You'll have to find out yourself, but after dinner shrimp" Samuel smirked
"Ok, thanks Keeps!" Nix replied, he knew whatever it was he'd like!
"I'll see you out Keeps" Shannon remarked
Samuel nodded, but he saw Gibbs return "have a good evening sir"
Gibbs nodded "thank you Samuel, your help is appreciated" while he was still a little unsure about this boy, he couldn't deny the help he'd given his family.
"Not a problem sir, happy to help" Samuel replied
Shannon couldn't help but smile, she was glad for the gradual ease between the pair, but she came to the front door & looked behind her to make sure they were alone, they were "thank you Samuel, this really was a great help"
"No problem" Samuel nodded "how long do you need?"
"Give me say 90 minutes please" Shannon remarked "I want us to eat before I speak to them"
"Of course" Samuel agreed, he knew though as soon as he made that call he'd have one pissed off friend!
A/N: So was that 2nd Lt Rooney messing with deployments for Mac? Samuel certainly wasn't happy recognising him! And Gibbs is starting to wondering about how close not only Samuel was but this Mike is, how will things go? And just what will Gibbs learn about the boy?
As for Henry, what an awesome guy to come & give them lifts! Nix seems to have found a friend, and maybe starting to realise that older males can be caring?
Now, with this verse gaining such popularity i have decided to create a Facebook page, its a place where i will post updates, some images, even thinking about polls to get your feedback on various situations in the story. Its also a place i want people to ask questions if they have any or if i use any Australian language you don't understand.
Go to Facebook & then /A-Chance-Encounter-verse-1107748372628862/ or search 'A Chance Encounter verse' in the pages area
You know i love to hear your thoughts, so review away! More up soon, promise!