He came back into the room and handed me the food. He sat down, leaning back in his seat.
"I've been bi-sexual since I was about sixteen. Well I was bi-curious initially. Then I met a bi man in the Marines. He showed me what it was all about, I liked it so I stayed that way. You would have liked Shannon and Kelly." I looked over at him and nodded encouragingly.
"Your dad came to visit me once, in Baltimore. He wanted to see me, it had been about two years after Shannon died and he told me about your daughter and your wife's death. Like you, when my mother died, I had no damn clue what to say to you."
Gibbs nodded to me.
"I was the same in knowing what to say to dad. I couldn't get leave to come to Mom's funeral and I wrote a letter but it sounded, I don't know, wrong 'cause I should have been there to say it to him." I just nodded.
"Yeah, sometimes talking on the phone and writing letters isn't as good as saying it to them in person." He looked at me.
"If I'd know what your father was doing to you, I would have gone and beaten the shit out of him, you know that, right? Mom and Dad would have moved you in with us, made sure you were in a safe place to live." I shrugged and looked at him. It was all water under the bridge now. It no longer mattered!
I looked down at my sandwich. "I thought, a lot of the time, that I deserved it. My mind was fucked up. I thought I was gay and I didn't like girls, so what was wrong with me? I wish you had been the first person I ever told about that. A case came up with me and Tony once, a kid had been killed by the drunk father. Tony was the first to say something, that his old man was a drunk. When we were off work we sat at his place, drinking beer and eating pizza. I told him my story and he told me his." I looked at Jet. "When he told me that his boss at NCIS was like a father to him, I was glad that he finally had that figure. Someone that cared about him and treated him like he always wanted to be treated. Jet, that kid went through a whole load of shit. I mean who wants their father telling them that they are the reason their mother died of cancer."
Jet looked shocked. He knew Tony had not had it easy but he didn't know all the details. Tony was too close for that. Jet sat in silence for a few minutes and then spoke.
"Tony is a good kid, and he works hard. He has my back at all times, and I have his. He would die for any of us and he would do anything to protect us." I nodded back at Jet, ageing with his assessment.
"Tony was like that with me. We were more like brothers than partners, sometimes. His moral code of protecting people is higher then most people's!" Jet nodded again before he stood up, stretched and then ran his hand over my hair for a second
"You really need a hair cut! Your hair's more wild than anything." I smirked right back at him.
"Been this way since we were kids, you know that! I like it this way."
He knelt down next to my chair and he touched my hand.
"I missed you. Hell, I even had a crush on you. But more then anything, I missed the one person I could tell anything. The one who always held my secrets and, when I needed comfort, was there for me. There was also the fact that I could let my mask fall in front of you and you were the only person I could do that with! It's so good to have that person back in my life." I looked at him. Did he really just say he used to have a crush on me well? I'm sure as hell not going to tell him I had one on him too.
"I agree, I have not been so close to anyone since you. It seems things really haven't changed between us and that's a relief to me. I'm so glad." He smirked at me and then stood up and headed back into the kitchen to wash the dishes from lunch.
I stood up and grabbed my crutches and headed after him. I moved over to help him. I picked up the towel and started drying. He looked at me.
"What the hell? You need to stay off your feet!" I flicked him in the head with the towel and took the next dish and started drying it.
"Shut up and let's get this chore done, huh?" He growled at me but we finished the dishes together. "I can't sit down the whole time, I'll lose my mind." He looked at me
"Well, then, we'll have to find a way to keep your mind off the fact you need to take it easy."
We had ended up not being able to go and see Jackson. It seemed the doctor wanted me to do some physical therapy after the first two months. It looked like my knee was more screwed up then they thought but I could go to work and they did have hope that I would be able to walk and run again eventually. When we got home after my first physical therapy session, Jet grunted as he helped me to my bedroom. He started to undress me, after he had started some bath water running.
"We need to get you in the bath and let those muscles relax."
He was knelt on the floor next to the bed, helping me get my clothes off. I laid my head on his shoulder and took a deep breath.
"Jet, that was hard! I feel like I let the lady down. I know I didn't but, God, I couldn't even do one freaking step on my leg."
He ran his hand through my hair and smiled at me.
"Its going to get easier and better, Shawn." He helped me to stand up and, when I reached the bathroom, he helped me get into the bath. I was getting used to this. At first, he helped by washing my body with a wash cloth since I couldn't get take a bath with the stitches. Now he helped me in and out of the bath and hovered close in case I needed anything else.
I took a deep breath after I got back to my bed. I was sore and in pain. He got me in bed and pulled the covers up over me. I was just in my boxers. He sat down next to me on the bed, leaning back against the headboard.
"Jet, if you were not such a hard ass to most people, you'd make a damn fine nurse." He laughed quietly and shook his head, looking at me.
"Hey, this is something I would only do for you or my team." I smirked back at him. I knew it was. He was a gentle person if you let him show it and he let himself. But in truth, he was right, I am the only person he lets that mask down in front of. I slid my hands down his cheek for a second. I reached over and kissed his cheek softly. Then I slide down under the covers, already falling asleep. Before I was fully asleep, I felt a gentle kiss on my cheek.
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