#18

AU stories for NCIS episodes. Each is independent from all the others since this is based on the possibility of parallel universes and multiple timelines…. many, many of them. Later on some may seem to follow something that happened in an earlier AU episode story but it's probably coincidence unless I say otherwise in the beginning. Again, these are AU scenes/stories which means a character may die in one story and be alive in the next one.

This is #18 - a short alternate universe story/scene for season 1, episode 18 - UnSEALed. This one is an epilogue.

The original episode aired on April 6, 2004.
Rating: K+
Category: general
Warnings: Can't think of any
Disclaimer: Borrowing characters. Just borrowing. No profit.
And finally, all mistakes are mine.

"Has your grandson received any calls or letters from his father recently?" Gibbs asked.

The grandfather replied, "No, and if he did I wouldn't let him hear or read them."

Kate asked, "Has he had any contact with his father since you were awarded custody?"

"We were granted custody because his father murdered two people. One of them was his mother, our daughter, so why would we give him visitation?"

The grandmother looked concerned. "You think Jack might try to contact Kevin."

"It's a possibility," Gibbs told them.

"Oh my god…"

"You caught him, Agent Gibbs?" Mr. Donaldson asked.

Gibbs replied, "Yes, we did, sir. Is your wife at home?"

"I'm here," she replied as she came into the room.

"And Kevin, where is he?"

"After school program. Please tell us what's happened?"

"Let's sit down."

The Donaldson's looked very worried but sat down again in the dining room.

Gibbs knew the news would be hard. They'd cut their son-in-law out of their lives and the life of their grandson, Kevin, who lost both his mother and his father. They hated the man and it wouldn't do for Gibbs to thrust them together too soon. Best to let it sink in.

"Jack Curtain did not murder your daughter." They stared at him, mouths slightly open. Of course it was a shock.

"We've arrested the person responsible. Jack will be going back to prison but you need to know that he'll be getting out, maybe pretty quickly."

"Oh my god. Are you sure?"
"How can this be?"

Gibbs explained what he could about the case without going into any details about the lesbian love affair.

"He's facing quite a few additional charges related to his escape. Some of them are pretty serious and the time he's spent in prison may not be enough to offset the time he'll get for what he's done."

"How are we going to tell Kevin?"
"What are we going to tell Kevin?"

Gibbs hoped the family could put the pieces back together. They had all loved Margaret.

"I suggest the truth. And the next time Kevin gets a letter from his father…."

"Of course," Mr. Donaldson agreed. "I don't suppose you could help us with that?"

Gibbs smiled a little. "Sure. Let's talk about how we're going to do that."

Gibbs knew he needed to be careful but the kid loved his dad and now his dad was not guilty in the murders. He was facing a lot of charges though. Prison escape, grand theft auto, breaking and entering and more. Assault on a federal agent warranted a prison sentence.

Mrs. Donaldson looked stricken for a moment. "Jack's going to want custody."

"It's okay to take things slow," Gibbs reassured her.

"How much time do we have?"

"I don't know. I hate to guess but I'm thinking at least six months, maybe two years or more. He'll have time to remember that you lost your daughter and love your grandson and did what you thought best based on the facts at the time."

They looked relieved.

"It's up to you of course but he's going to want to see his son."

A year later Gibbs got a letter from former Petty Officer Jack Curtain. Though still a little bit tense, ties with Margaret's parents had been reestablished and he was on solid ground with Kevin. Due to be released from prison in 45 days, he wanted to know if Gibbs would have coffee with him.

Gibbs was torn. Seeing the man would bring up reminders of the case. Oh it was good that they caught the true killer and it was good Curtain hadn't committed any more serious crimes but Kate never got over it. She couldn't get past feeling guilty with the way he got in the house, restrained her, got away and then came so close to probably killing Mrs. Foley. She left NCIS and not even Abby had heard from her.

End

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