A/N: here's another chapter folks! To my recent followers/favourites, welcome! Can't believe how many people are now following this, just amazing! Thank you everyone for sticking with this! To my reviewers, you are each amazing, i love reading your comments, they keep inspired to write more! So thank you thank you thank you!
Guest reviews: Ladyaloysius: thank you so much! I've missed your comments ;)
Guest: thanks for the review: with regards to Gibbs emotions & the family acknowledging it, it will come, i've got something in mind that will show his pain & how the family cope with it.
Let's get into this, I started it writing for one direction... and ended up in another..
"No I don't" Mike retorted "I knew that if I told you about it you'd be a nervous wreck all weekend long! I wanted to enjoy the weekend we had together! I wanted you to enjoy the symposium Kell! I wanted you to enjoy the weekend as much as possible and I'd rather have had those arguments than put you in danger Kell! I'd never do that!" he finished with a slight bite, as he too took a step closer to her.
Kelly huffed, she didn't want to admit that he kind of had a point "you still should have told me! I had a right to know! Those men could have come back & then what?!"
"Then Myles & I would have dealt with them Kell, like we always did!" Mike retorted.
"And I would have been completely caught off guard! What if they came by and I didn't realise who they were? I could have been all friendly with them!" Kelly bit back.
"As if!" Mike snorted "you smell those kinds of rats from a mile away! 10 miles away!"
Kelly eyed him "and what if these rats were wearing aftershave or deodorant?! You should have told me! I could have run into them in the laundry! Or the stairwell! Or the ice cream parlour!"
Mike threw up his hands in the air "I'm done with this debate, you're making absolutely no sense!"
"I'm making perfect sense!" Kelly retorted
"No you are not! Which means you know I'm right!" Mike replied, trying to calm back down.
Gibbs couldn't help but go wide eyed, the rant his girl did was so typical of his wife it wasn't funny, he shot her a look & realised what she was trying to get at suddenly, he saw her come up behind him & wrap her arms around him.
"Remind you of certain people?" Shannon whispered into her husband's ear.
Gibbs turned his head "you think they're us?" ok, maybe his girl was her mum, but was she really comparing the boy to himself?
Shannon just raised her eyebrow & smiled. She knew they had to get back to it "I think we can deal with this issue later please" she said to the pair having let go of her husband.
Michael watched as the pair took a few breaths & took a pace back from each other, he had to admit the fight & spunk he saw in Kelly was promising to the career she was wanting to have. He was starting to look forward to getting his hands on the girl & seeing what she could do, she definitely had strength within.
"Ok then, did you see the men at any other time Myles?" Shannon asked, it was obvious that Mike hadn't seen them at all.
Myles took a breath, it was always battle of the titans on the rare occasions when his brother & Kelly went at it. He looked towards Shannon "once, on the Saturday afternoon at Kelly's symposium. I was waiting for her to come out & I noticed the pair of them just outside the exit. They were in a discussion with a third man, an older gentleman. It went on for a while, it started to get pretty heated but then the students started to leave the venue. The older guy shoved the man that threatened me against a wall, it looked like he took it fairly hard. Those 2 men then took off, I tried following the older guy but I couldn't keep up, I lost him in the crowd & decided it was better to get back to the front so I could meet Kelly, just in case those guys were hanging around"
Gibbs got intrigued, he wondered who else those men were arguing with. He wasn't surprised at that, the guys were deadbeats "can you describe him?"
"Fair hair, tall say 6"1, 6"2, slim but fit build, maybe in his 60's" Myles answered.
"You think you could work up a sketch?" Fornell asked, he too was curious about who those men were in a heated argument with.
"Can definitely try sir" Myles nodded.
"Could that wait until tomorrow?" Shannon asked, it was getting late & she knew they all needed some rest.
Fornell looked to Gibbs, he could see the man was tired, the sun was starting to go down "of course, we can pick this up in the morning"
"Thank you" Shannon nodded "let's go get Phoenix & get out of here" she was more than ready for a rest. It had been a tense day & the lack of sleep from the previous night not to mention all of her lack of sleep over the past week, no months without her kids wasn't exactly easy to continuously cope with, she could really use a break, some downtime.
Gibbs nodded, he was pretty tired he wanted to go see his son not to mention the fact that he wanted to take his family back to his house "let's go"
Gibbs led his girls out of the room & noticed immediately that both Bond boys were following, of course they were! He took hold of his girl around her waist. Whilst she looked ok, she did seem fairly tired as well "tired angel?"
"Yea I am" Kelly admitted, though she was super glad to have Mike here with her, it had been a pretty emotional day & the lack of sleep from the previous night was catching up with her, what she wouldn't give for a day off dealing with everything!
Gibbs gave her a kiss to her forehead, he was certainly tired himself, a good nights sleep was definitely welcomed! "we'll watch another movie tonight & have a rest" a rest sounded just great.
Jack couldn't help but stare, his grandson was sitting next to him with his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. He was playing some racing car game, from what he could see he was pretty good at it. He honestly couldn't believe he was sitting next to his grandson, his grandson! He couldn't believe he had a grandson! He couldn't believe his granddaughter & Shannon were alive! He couldn't believe he'd spoken to his son after such a long time! He couldn't believe a man, who he never actually liked, a man who was supposedly a father & grandfather, would do such a thing.
There were so many things he just didn't understand, but he'd deal with all of that another time, he was getting a little.. well, a little concerned about his grandson's mood & overall demeanour. He'd gotten quieter & quieter ever since his sister had departed, it had been gradual but he was now basically silent. He'd tried talking to him, but was getting one word responses. He'd watched as Abby had tried to speak to the boy & engage him, she'd even tried asking if he wanted to play the game as a 2 player game, but he had shot down each & every offer. He knew that he was dealing with a lot, so maybe he was processing, but he wasn't sure. He was going to try again when he heard a ding & looked towards the door, that's when he saw his family enter the room, he nodded and smiled in greeting "good evening"
"Jackson" Shannon greeted, she eyed her son though, he was fairly stiff & she wondered why.
Nix's head shot up at his mum's voice, they were here! He jumped up & rushed straight into her & considering she was right next to his dad, he was able to throw himself into their combined presence.
Shannon & Gibbs felt him barrel into them, they placed their arms around him & stared at each other, what on earth? They kept a hold of him as they crouched down to get a better grip of him, they were both really worried at what had caused this.
Shannon had no idea what had happened to her boy, she rubbed a soothing hand up & down his back "shh, darling, we're right here, its ok"
"Shh bud, you're ok, we're right here" Gibbs soothed, he was really concerned as to what had happened, he looked to his dad, who was looking quite surprised at the reaction.
Kelly had walked into the lab just after her parents with Mike & Myles both in tow, she didn't really like it down here when she wasn't with her dad, Abby was just way too.. much! She was too hyperactive, in her face, trying to be all friendly, it was just too much for her to cope with. She stopped in her tracks though at the sight of her brother running full steam into their parents, what the?
Shannon could feel her son almost shake, she squeezed him tightly "shhh darling, shh" she soothed, she shared a worried look with her husband when they heard a sob emanate from him.
Gibbs heart broke when he heard his son let out the sob "shh bud, shh" he soothed.
Shannon needed to find out what had upset him so much, she gently tried to pull him back from her chest but he didn't budge, she tried again with a bit more strength "come on darling, you're ok, look at me darling, please"
Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief when he finally pulled back, he didn't let go of either of them, but he pulled back enough to enable them to look at him.
"Darling what's wrong?" Shannon asked concerned.
Nix just looked downwards & shrugged.
"Come on son, what's wrong?" Gibbs asked gently as he wiped a tear away from his son's cheek. When the response was merely another shrug he'd had enough. He was still having to wear the sling (which he was annoyed at!) but he wrapped his good arm around his boy's waist & hoisted him up into his hold. He headed deeper into the lab, going right down to the ballistics lab. He knew he didn't have to say anything to wife, he knew she would just follow & he had a feeling so would his girl.
Shannon followed her husband, she was about to do the same thing realising her boy wouldn't be comfortable talking in front of so many people, especially as he didn't really know these people. She saw that while Mike had ventured closer Myles had stayed in the outer lab, and Mike hadn't ventured the entire way with them either. She waited as her husband sat him down in a chair. She crouched down & rested her hand on his knee "ok darling, it's just us, now would you please tell me what the matter is?"
Nix played with the hem of his jean's pocket for a moment "it's…. silly" he finally whispered.
"Nothing that's worrying you could sound silly to us son" Gibbs assured him.
"Nothing darling" Shannon added soothingly.
"Well…." Nix started, he took a breath "I've hardly seen you today….. I've kinda felt like a parcel today,….. yesterday too…. and then you all… kinda left me down here… alone, you were…. all gone, I didn't know when you….. were coming back…." he finished with a hiccup. While he hadn't minded & even enjoyed the various trips outside to play soccer with Harry & Henry, and being with Martha and even his grandfather, he hadn't been with his parents or sister very much today or yesterday for that matter & he sort of felt like they were passing him around so they could deal with other stuff & not have to be with him.
Shannon's eyes widened & her heart sank, she didn't realise the effect all three of them being away from him could, no did have on her son "you are not a parcel darling!"
Gibbs could have slapped himself! He's just done it again! He's just left his child alone again! How on earth could he make the same mistake in such a short amount of time!? His son felt like a parcel? That just really unsettled him, he was so chocked up he could barely speak, but he had to "you are no parcel son!" he said firmly as he squeezed his son's knee in comfort.
Kelly's eyes widened at her brother's comment, he felt like parcel? She didn't realise going upstairs for what, an hour, she looked at her watch, no 2 & a half hours (when did time fly by?)… had left her brother feeling alone.
"Darling we are soo sorry! We love you so ever much! You are not a parcel!" Shannon repeated gently as she brought him into her embrace. She knew they'd had a lot to get through & lot of it was not for her son's ears but how could that take precedence over her son?
Gibbs made an instant decision "we're taking tomorrow off all this stuff, we'll just hang out" even though he knew there was still a mountain to get through that did NOT come before his family. They had dealt with a fair amount over the course of the past few days, heck it had barely been a week since it all started in the first place! They were all tired, no exhausted, so maybe they did need a timeout.
Gibbs waited to allow his wife to offer some comfort, he could hear some soft murmurs of her voice into his ear. He saw his moment as they slightly pulled apart, he used a finger to raise his son's chin so he could look straight into his son's eyes "we love you more than anything son, anything. You are not a parcel Phoenix, no one in this family is a parcel. If you ever feel even close to this again you need to tell us straight away, ok?" he couldn't believe his son had felt this yesterday & not said anything.
Shannon barely saw a nod "I think a day off sounds like a wonderful idea" taking a break sounded like absolute heaven to her. She took a breath "darling, remember F4? There's no such things as too much information, we talk things through no matter what. And we talk about how we're feeling with each other no matter how hard it may be, yes?"
"Yea" Nix said quietly.
Shannon was glad she got a reply, she looked up to her girl "that goes for you too Kelly darling, you need to tell us how you're feeling"
Kelly was really affected by what her brother had said, she felt so bad that he'd felt alone & like a parcel "ok" she replied quietly. She was however glad that they'd get a day off dealing with everything.
Gibbs got another idea "any of the top ten still free?" he asked his wife as he pulled out a chair for himself & pulled his girl into his lap.
Shannon looked his way, she was now sitting in the chair with her boy in her lap. It barely took her a moment to work out what he was saying & wondered what his idea is "yes, F8 is still vacant, why?" she hadn't wanted to create something for this one without him, she'd felt it wasn't quite right to do it alone.
"Ok then new rule, F8, no one goes to bed without checking in on how they're feeling & no one can go to sleep upset or worried" Gibbs stated, while he could have made it a temporary rule for the moment, he thought it might be a good thing to set in place for the long haul. Plus it would compliment F4 quite well.
"I think that's an excellent idea" Shannon nodded, that was a very good idea "now, what's say we go get some dinner, what do you feel like darling?"
Nix just shrugged "don't mind"
Kelly shook her head, her brother really wasn't himself if he didn't have an opinion on food. She thought about it "what about mac 'n cheese? We've got everything we need at home already"
"Mac 'n cheese does sound good, how's that sound son?" Gibbs asked as he stroked his son's cheek.
"Good, can we put some chicken in it too?" Nix asked looking up at his mum
"Of course we can darling, chicken mac 'n cheese sounds just perfect for tonight" Shannon smiled at her boy.
Gibbs realised that going to his house tonight wasn't going to happen, tomorrow while they had time he'd take them instead, he had another thought "I can ask my dad to go to the hospital from here, we can pop in tomorrow?" he suggested to his wife, knowing that she'd want someone at least visit her mum & his dad did know her.
Shannon knew why he'd suggested it & as much as she'd wanted to go see her mum, they needed some family time, besides the hospital was calling them with regular updates "I think that's a good idea"
"Ok, give me 15 minutes & we'll be out of here" Gibbs said as he rose from his chair.
"We might go up to the conference room & pack up" Shannon suggested.
"See you up there" Gibbs remarked to his wife, but he didn't move away, he stroked his son's cheek "I'll be win you within 15 minutes son, then we'll get out of here, reckon Buster could use some dinner too" he finished trying to get a smile out of his boy.
"Can we take him for a walk while dinner is cooking?" Nix asked, looking up to his dad.
"Sure we can" Gibbs answered with a smile, glad he could get a small one out of him.
Shannon smiled glad her son gave a smile, she followed the boys out of the area back to where everyone else was. She had a feeling some of the conversation had probably been heard. To help move things along she looked at her first target "Jackson, could we trouble you to drop by the hospital & check on my mother? We're going to head straight back to the kid's place. Ted had offered you their spare room to stay in"
"That's most appreciated, and not a problem, I would be happy to do that for you" Jack nodded, while he hadn't heard every sentence the family had spoken, he'd heard enough & truly felt for the young boy & how he was feeling, they clearly needed a break, which he couldn't fault the family for.
Shannon turned to her next target "Mikey, could I trouble you & Myles to drive Jackson? Ted told me earlier he's left a car here for Jackson to utilise"
"Not a problem Mrs G, we'd be happy to drive you sir" Mike finished looking at Jack.
"Will you come over after?" Kelly asked him
Mike saw the look he was getting from her father "not tonight Kells, Myles & I promised Keeps that we wouldn't be too late getting to his place so he can give us keys & stuff. We're going to bunk with him while we're here." He took a breath "I'll call you though, and we'll see you tomorrow" whilst he'd love to able to stay with Kelly, he knew that wasn't really welcomed by her dad at the present moment.
"Let's go upstairs & pack up" Shannon said as she herded her pair towards the exit, she didn't want Kelly to push this issue as it would get awkward.
"See you in a few" Gibbs said to his wife as he gave her a kiss, he followed with a peck to his girl's head & boy's head "15 minutes son" he whispered, he'd make sure to give him timeframes for how long it would be before he saw him again for the moment.
"We'll meet you out the front sir" Mike said to Jack, before he followed the family out of the lab with his brother.
Gibbs waited until they'd gone, he saw his dad looking at him & knew what was coming & closed the distance to ensure it wouldn't be a loud conversation.
"Juggling is never easy son" was all Jack remarked, he didn't really feel it was his right to give his son advice or anything, they didn't really have the best relationship.
Gibbs nodded sadly, he really needed to make sure they juggled it all correctly "no, but we've got to get better at it fast" he admitted sadly.
"You'll work it out, tomorrow's break will probably do you a world of good" Jack commented, he was surprised but glad to have his son open up to him, even just this bit.
"Yea hopefully" Gibbs agreed, at least he hoped so! "I'll call you later at Ted's place & we'll let you know about what we are going to do tomorrow"
"Ok, but make sure you take enough of the day just with your family, you need some bonding time" Jack remarked, hoping this comment wouldn't seem like he was trying to tell him what to do.
"Yea, will do" Gibbs nodded, he needed to get moving so he could get upstairs. He saw the Director enter the lab just then, he was glad, it would save him time.
"Jethro, I wanted a word, we need to discuss some things about Lt Rooney. Fornell suggested we pencil it in for first thing tomorrow" Jenn remarked.
"Will have to do it without me Director, I'm not coming into the yard tomorrow" Gibbs remarked, he saw her eyes go as wide as he'd ever seen her go, he couldn't help but give an internal laugh, it was almost comical "you can give the highlights to DiNozzo & he can catch me up when I call him to check in throughout the day"
"Ah, may I ask as to why?" Jenn stuttered, she was flabbergasted! The man was taking what, a day off?
"Because my family needs a day to decompress" Gibbs replied, it was a Wednesday "I'll be back at the yard on Friday, with them" he added, though he would make sure he did a better job at juggling his time.
"Very well, I'll speak to you throughout the day then" Jenn remarked, she couldn't fault the family for needing time to decompress.
"No, I'm speaking to DiNozzo only during the day, and when I call him, unless there is a major emergency" Gibbs retorted, he wouldn't not be at the yard and yet be interrupted all day long with calls from everyone at the yard & beyond "I'm taking the day to help my family settle and adjust, I won't be bombarded throughout the day with phone calls"
Tony had been watching & listening to everything with wide eyes, there was a lot that he couldn't believe, but this most recent exchange had him absolutely speechless. Gibbs had basically told the Director that she wasn't allowed to call him & that the only person he'd be in contact with was him? He felt quite chuffed at that & it made him smile, so much so that he almost missed Gibbs calling him as he hightailed it out of the room "coming boss!" he quickly replied & jumping to rush after him.
Gibbs had his father wait for them in the bullpen as he headed towards the conference room with Tony in tow, he stopped just outside & turned to his man "you keep doing what you're doing DiNozzo & lead the team in everything that you're already doing. I'll call you every couple of hours for sit-rep but I have faith that you can handle it all. This isn't me leaving the team, don't even think that! And I'll be checking the reports, so don't even think of slacking off!"
"Right boss! Yes boss!" Tony grinned, that was as close praise as he'd ever get from Gibbs & damn it felt good!
"Back to work DiNozzo!" Gibbs ordered, he stowed the smirk at the grin on his 2nd's face.
Gibbs opened the door to the conference room & went in quietly, he saw his girls packing up, he shifted his gaze and saw that his boy was being quietly spoken to by Mike, with Myles right next to his brother, both had crouched down and were level with his son. He stood there quietly as he listened to what these boys were saying to his son.
Mike was crouched down with his hand on Nix's shoulder "squirt I've never considered you troublesome, or a pest or anything, and certainly not a parcel. You're a smart, charismatic, thoughtful and caring young man, whom I love spending time with"
"We love spending with" Myles corrected his brother with a smile.
"Right, we" Mike nodded "and while we're here, we're at your disposal. One of us will always be here for you, with you, if that's what you'd like" he finished sincerely. Yes, he was here for Kelly, he'd spend as much time with her as he could, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be here for Phoenix too.
"You can call me your bodyguard from now on" Myles said with a smirk "always enjoy playing bodyguard"
Shannon smiled at the conversation the boys were having & it stayed on her face when she saw a smile on her son's face appear. These boys truly cared for her family, it warmed her heart right up. She noticed then that her husband had entered the room & was watching the scene as well. "We're ready to go if you are Jethro"
Gibbs had been silently watching the exchange and he again realised that these Bond boys cared about his family, and Myles was offering to play bodyguard? Wasn't that his job? He'd make sure to be the one that was there for his son, his family before any other. He looked up at his wife's remark "yea, let's get out of here, come on bud, let's go see Buster" he said motioning his son his way.
Kelly followed her parents & brother out of the room, she locked her fingers with Mikes, glad for the connection. Her mum had quietly asked her not to make a big deal about Mike staying with Keeps for the moment, so she wouldn't for now. Resting her head on his shoulder as she walked she had to admit, it was a pretty nice feeling, she had her parents, her brother, Mike all here with her, just a week ago it was her & her alone, she had felt lonely, alone and worried about handling everything. Now though, she had everyone back & that just felt amazing, and bonus they weren't having to come into her dad's work tomorrow! She could sleep in! That just sounded like heaven, she did wonder though what else they'd do tomorrow..
A/N: Originally I hadn't planned on the family taking a day off yet this early on, but i think they/me needs a break from the serious stuff. Nix is obviously feeling the most isolated, and maybe Gibbs, Shannon & Kelly are still running on adrenaline so to speak, they'll each have moments & periods of uncertainty, doubt, etc. And yes i am aware Gibbs hasn't really shown much of this or broken down at all, but he is probably the one most running on adrenaline. He will have issues to deal with, i've got something i'm already planning for this, but not yet.
First up is their day off, i haven't started to write it yet, so if anyone has thoughts/requests please send them via review/PM/Facebook/etc & will take all comments under consideration for their Thursday, or another time of relaxation.
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