A/N: Thanks again for the kind reviews. So here is the second Chapter of Adrift. Enjoy reading and please keep reviewing! =)
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Are you wasting away in your skin
Are you missing the love of your kin
Drifting and floating and fading away…
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Porcelain
Chapter II – The Boat
"This is the boat I told you about earlier." Gibbs said and watched the five-year-old admire the unfinished deck of his sailboat. The boy still didn´t talk much but was able to protest against being taken away from the silver haired man by the youth welfare without speaking a single word at all.
He didn´t start crying either but he held as tightly as possible onto Jethro´s hand and outright ignored the friendly young woman, looking right through her. After two wasted hours of failed persuasion they decided to let go of the issue and let him stay with the investigator. On one hand it was safer for the child to stay with Jethro because they didn´t know if someone was still after him and who it was in that case, but on the other hand Gibbs only had limited knowledge how to deal with Brady´s situation.
"It´s nice…" The fair haired kid stated in a high-pitched voice and for the first time at least the ghost of a smile flickered over his small face. This ghost didn´t even seem to reach his eyes, but the field agent thought it was a good sign nevertheless.
"Do you want to help me go on with it, Brady?" The gray haired agent asked and the child nodded slowly, grabbing the sanding block with both of his hands the older man handed him. Together the two sanded the still rough parts of the deck in silence. To Gibbs it looked like the child didn´t see talking as an option and he didn´t want to push him, at least not yet. They probably had to ask him some questions but he knew that they had still some time left to do so.
"Why is it in here?" The five-year-old spoke up after about an hour and Jethro let out a low chuckle. "You can´t get it out through the door. It is too large."
"Definitely not, you are right the door is way too small." The NCIS agent replied and a small smile was playing around his lips but he didn´t offer a proper explanation either. "Hang in there buddy I´m getting some coffee."
Brady just nodded and watched Gibbs climbing up the stairs, closing the door behind him, before he went under the unfinished deck, exploring the wooden shell from the other side.
Upstairs the investigator turned the coffee machine on and waited for his strong brew to get ready when he heard the soft thud of an opening door. His senses were sharpening by the second and he quickly thought over his possibilities and decided to go into offense, drawing his gun he stepped out of the kitchen. Before he could do something else a shot rang out, missing him by mere inches. A split second later he was knocked down by a blow to his already damaged knee and another one to his head. While the sharp pain rocketed through his body, starting from two points he lost grip of his gun and couldn´t reach it again. His head connected hard with the carpeted floor and he could feel the warm blood trickling down his cheek.
"That was way easier than I thought…" A male voice mumbled and Gibbs sight was slowly becoming blurred. In his drowsy haze the investigator fetched his cell phone out of the pocket of his faded jeans with trembling fingers, pressing a random speed dial.
"Kate speaking…" Caitlin answered the call and patiently waited for Jethro to say something. She knew it had to be work-related since he stopped calling her about private matters weeks ago but calling and be silent just wasn´t his style. He was more the `I-just-stop-speaking-to-you-so-I-can-forget-you´ type of man which was more appealing to her than the latter. "Gibbs? What is wrong with you?"
Before everything went pitch black and the younger woman could hang up, the older man grunted but his mind was too clouded to comprehend that his attacker was searching the house for Brady. On the other side of the line the brunette heard her boss grunt and decided to drive over to his house to make sure that he and the boy were okay and only because of that.
With a muffled squeak Brady inched further into the dark and protective cabin of Jethro´s unfinished deck. He never heard such a sound before, not even in the night when his parents were murdered. The fair-haired boy covered his ears with his hands and flinched even more into the sheltering semi-darkness.
"God damned!" He heard the guy swear and his mind suppressed the fact that they where only separated by a few inches of wood. After a moment the man went upstairs again, leaving the house without the boy, but leaving a bleeding special agent behind.
"Gibbs?" A new, this time a female voice asked into the dark house barely a few minutes later. When she got no answer at all the brunette just opened the unlocked front door, walking into the still so familiar house and was shocked by the sight that greeted her. Her boss the tough ex-Marine laid on the floor a pool of dark crimson blood around his head and his knee was twisted in an unnatural angle. "Oh my god, Gibbs!"
Almost stunned by the shock she called 911 and went over to the silver haired man, trying to wake him up. His eye lids fluttered and for a moment he looked at her, not able to focus his gaze.
"Katie…" He murmured softly and she could see that his blue eyes were clouded because of the amount of blood he lost which now soaked his carpet rather than running through his system. "You´re here…"
The female agent raised an eyebrow in question but decided that the wound on his brow and probably other injuries were more concerning right now than his ramblings. They could talk about that later, since there were a few other things left to talk about. "Yes, I´m here."
A moment later the EMTs stormed through the still open front door and took care of the pale agent on the floor, pushing her aside. She watched them until they were ready to leave and then she called DiNozzo. For her it felt like she was working on autopilot until a more crucial thought crossed her mind.
"Brady?" she called and wondered where to start looking for the five-year-old, praying that he was fine. "Where are you? It´s me Kate."
Finally she went into the basement and when she saw a sanding block lying on the floor, she decided to take a closer look. She had never seen something on the floor next to the silver haired man´s boat before, the basement had been always tidy. Deep down she had wished to see it again on a different occasion, probably one where she and Jethro could talk to each other about private matters again.
"Hey Brady…" She greeted the child in a soft voice and smiled warmly at him. "Would you come out?"
The blond boy eyed her skeptically but after a moment he seemed to recognize her and quickly crawled over to the brunette, taking the hand she offered him. "Are you hurt?"
He just shook his head and when they could hear noises from upstairs he leaned close into Caitlin´s side, still scared by the latest events. "It´s okay Brady, Tony and Tim are here. Do you remember them?"
"Yes…" The five-year-old whispered and the brunette scooped him up, carrying him upstairs. In the hall she blocked his view on Gibbs´ blood contrasting in a sharp way with the beige carpet. For a five-year-old he had seen more than enough blood in the past nights.
"I called Ducky he is on his way to hospital to stay with Gibbs and inform us." Anthony said and the brunette nodded. Brady fell asleep in her arms with his head lolling on her shoulder from sheer exhaustion, at least that was what she guessed. He didn´t sleep since they found him and that was almost sixteen hours ago without the time added he had been at the Private´s house. "I guess we should secure the house and stay here until tomorrow. Tim can take the evidence to Abby and bring the files we need here."
"Probably that is the best we can do at the moment." Caitlin agreed though she felt a little uneasy because they were staying in her former lover´s house for the night, but went upstairs to tuck the boy into Gibbs´ bed. It wasn´t necessary for Brady to sleep on the couch in the living room and she was sure her boss wouldn´t mind. Especially because she was pretty sure that he didn´t use his bed too often in the past weeks.
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