A/N thank you for all your reviews I love reading them.

Disclaimer: I had it Honestly I did, then some little guy in a green hat with bells nicked it. Said something about Santa needing it...

Chapter 4

Jimmy walked in behind Gibbs and placed his bags on the floor near the door.

"You wanna coffee?" Gibbs asked and walked into the kitchen.

"Thanks." Jimmy replied. "Black please."

Gibbs smiled, "Is there any other way," He quipped and handed Jimmy the mug.

Jimmy sat at the table staring at the mug, not sure what to say or how to act.

"OK James." Gibbs said, "Sorry Jimmy." He changed quickly as Jimmy flinched. "Tell me about yourself."

"I….er…Gibbs?" Jimmy was stumped, he had never had to tell anyone about himself before and the last thing he wanted was to say the wrong thing and upset Gibbs or alienate his father further by saying something that he knew his father would hold against him.

Gibbs could see his little brother was uncomfortable, but then again was there any easy way to do this?

"Tony said you were planning on staying in a shelter again tonight, so you didn't stay with Ducky last night?" He asked.

"I don't take charity." Jimmy snapped.

Gibbs suppressed a small smile; in that one sentence, he could see their father's stubbornness and pride.

"How often have you done that then?" He asked.

Jimmy stared at his mug, "Apart from when Mac rented his basement? Pretty much non stop since I was seventeen and I ran away." He admitted.

"Why did you run away?" Gibbs asked, He knew his father could be gruff, and yes, he himself had left home as soon as he could to join the marines, but he never would have run away and lived on the streets.

"I wanted to be a doctor." Jimmy said still staring at his mug and not meeting Gibbs' eyes.

Gibbs did not get it, "OK, so why run away? Dad must have been pleased if you got into medical school, I mean it ain't cheap so he must have paid for that?"

Jimmy looked up and Gibbs was nearly blown away by the amount of pain and sorrow he saw in his brother's face.

"He wouldn't pay for it, he wanted me to run the store, fulfill my worth, and I was never as good as you. Wanting to go to medical school and be a doctor was silly 'coz I was never going to be as good as you Leroy. He didn't want to waste his money."

He sniffed and wiped his eyes and his face went hard.

"Do you know how hard it is growing up all your life to hear about the wonderful big brother you had who was always better at you at everything he did and how it was my fault that you and he didn't talk if I hadn't been born you two would have made up. He said….he said you hated me, I wasn't good enough to be your brother and the only reason I lived with him was that my mom was too stupid to raise me herself." He was openly sobbing and Gibbs moved next to him and placed a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"I don't hate you Jimmy, until today I never knew you existed." He explained. He guided him from the table to the sofa, "Tell me about your mother?" he asked trying to get to the bottom of his fathers strange behavior"

Jimmy smiled, "Her name is Eunice Palmer. Dad would not marry her after she got pregnant with me, he said she was crazy and had trapped him. She is beautiful," Jimmy looked up his face full of love for his mother, "She lives in Orangeville. She's a waitress in the diner, she worked 12 hour shifts and sent me money to help with medical school and she never told dad where I was." He told his brother proudly, "Even when he threatened her that he was going to find me and drag me back she never told."

Gibbs took a deep breath, he knew his father was a grouchy man, but he had always been fair. To think of him threatening anyone was against everything he knew about his father, but he did not want to call Jimmy a liar and risk alienating his brother, just after having found him.

Gibbs showed Jimmy to his spare room, "You sleep, we'll talk more in the morning." He said and closed the door on his brother. He walked down the hall and opened his cell phone, "Abby, can you find out all the information you can on Eunice Palmer from Orangeville. Yes Abs, its Jimmy's mother…..No, Abs. He's fine…Abs, I will explain everything later, just get me that information please?" he asked and hung up with a smile on his face.

An hour later, earlier than Gibbs had expected he heard a car door slam and Abby's heavy boots stomp up to his porch.

"In here Abs," Gibbs called from the kitchen.

Abby walked in and hugged Gibbs, "This is totally messed up; I looked up Palmers' school records, and any other information as well as his mother's information."

"Wotcha got?" Gibbs asked.

Abby lay the file on the kitchen table and looked at it like it might bite her.

"She is Jimmy's mother; he was born nine months after Shannon and Kelly's funeral.

Jackson petitioned for custody of Jimmy when he was eleven, child services contacted him as Eunice was suffering from postpartum depression and Jimmy was running wild." She told him. "After living with your father Jimmy settled down in school but became withdrawn, he didn't have any friends Gibbs, he only talked to his teachers and only about his school work. He was not in any after school clubs. Apart from his grade their really isn't much on him." She said, "He graduated 4th in his class and won a scholarship to med school in the name of Palmer. Jackson reported him missing three days later."

Gibbs read the file, there were small notations from Ed the Sheriff that a few times Jimmy had been picked up for minor misdemeanors usually fighting and a few for criminal damage at the store. Also at the back were small notes that before the Criminal damage pick ups neighbors had heard shouting from the store and Jimmy had a black eye or bloodied nose.

Gibbs suppressed a shudder, this was his father, and he had never been like this to him, why on earth would he behave like this to his brother. Sure, his father was strict, but he had always been fair and never abusive.

Gibbs thanked Abby and she left. He settled down the read the rest of the file and fell into an uneasy sleep.

He woke four hours later to a crash upstairs, "No! Dad! I'm sorry, I'll leave…." Jimmy called out in his sleep.

Jimmy woke fast and shot up out of bed.

"Where's the fire?" Gibbs asked

"I….I'm sorry Le…Gibbs…Sir?" Jimmy stuttered.

Gibbs patted the bed as Jimmy sat down, "I think you'd better call me Jethro," He smiled, "its ok to have a nightmare….do you wanna talk about it?" He asked.

Jimmy shook his head, "it was nothing important….don't even remember it." He lied.

"I read your file; you and Dad don't get on so well?" Gibbs asked

Jimmy let out a slight sad chuckle, "That's the understatement of the century," he replied. "He hates me, I'm not you." He said simply.

"You getting a few more hours sleep?" Gibbs asked.

Jimmy nodded "Nah, I'm already awake and I have a midterm due soon." He sat up and pulled out his books."

"Jimmy, can I ask, how did you manage to keep your scholarship while you have been homeless?"

"I have a friend, Steve Jackson, he's been letting me crash at his when his roommate isn't there and let's me use his address for mailing."

"That's nice of him," Gibbs said.

Jimmy face broke into a smile, "yeah he had a abusive father too….I mean…." He broke off, "I'm sorry Gibbs…I didn't mean to say that about your dad, look, maybe it's best if I leave."

"Jimmy Palmer, you are my little brother and you are not going anywhere. Got it."

"Yes Boss….Jethro?" Jimmy raised his eyebrows hopefully not wanting to antagonize his new brother. "Jethro, I do want this to work. But what if Dad forbids it."

"Why in the hell would he?" Gibbs asked

"Because when I was 15 and wanted to find you he forbade me then," Jimmy explained.

An out of breath 15 year old James Gibbs came running up the fronting outside the store, he screeched to a halt and slowed himself down as he entered.

"Dad?" he called as he walked in,

"I'm with a customer James," His father replied, Jimmy winced he knew his father hated to be interrupted but he could barely contain his excitement. Jackson Gibbs glared at his youngest son who sat at the table in the store waiting for the customer to leave.

"Alright James, what's wrong?" Jackson asked.

"We had a man at the school today, He was a marine recruiter, and he says he can help me find Leroy…" James said so fast the words seemed to blur into one.

"NO." Jackson said.

"But…I wanna meet him, he's my brother." Jimmy begged.

"You. Will. NOT. Look for Leroy. If he wants to contact me, he will. He does not need to know about you. I forbid you to look for him."

Jimmy looked stricken, "But…If he knew about me….." He started.

"Yes, that's right thinking about yourself again, you're just like your mother. Selfish. Find my son, change his mind about me tell him about the mistake I made." Jackson raged.

"Mistake?" Jimmy said confused.

"You!" Jackson said and stormed off into the back room leaving his youngest son sitting at the table shattered.

Jackson sat in the back room berating himself, He knew the boy did not deserve it and the look on his face had hurt him too. But he was a stubborn man, It was bad enough he had had a child out of wedlock with a woman over half his age, but to tell his son, his Leroy that his father had done all of this and conceived this child on the very day his son had buried his wife and child… Leroy would never forgive him. He had done the decent thing and taken the boy in when child services wanted to put him into care, but every time he looked at his face he could see the evidence of his mistake and he felt like he was being physically slapped.

No better to stand his ground and keep his pride intact.