The first Mrs. Gibbs
Leroy Gibbs ran his fingers along the smooth edge of the wood. Perfect, he thought. He moved around to the other side of the wooden frame and began to sand it down. "Kelly's gonna love you," he whispered to the skeleton that would soon be a swing.
"Leroy!" A sing-songy voice called from outside. Leroy stuck his head out of his workshop and smiled freely at the sight before him. His wife stood hands on hips, lips pursed in mock anger, her slender body framed perfectly by the door frame. The sunlight reflected off of her hair making it shine a bright red. Leroy thought that this only aided her in her attempt to look angry.
"Yes dear?" He asked, trying to sound as innocent as he possibly could. She shook her head and pointed her finger at him, jabbing the air to emphasise her words.
"Don't you ‘yes dear' me Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Have you forgotten that my parents will be arriving for dinner in half an hour?" Leroy kicked himself mentally and put on his best ‘I'm sorry. Please forgive me' puppy dog eyes. He had forgotten and he knew that Shannon knew that he had forgotten.
"I was just coming in to get ready now." He looked at the dirt that covered his hands and arms. "I think I'm gonna need a need to take shower." Shannon shook her head at and gave him the amused kind of look that adults give to children who've done something silly. She turned to back in the house before calling back over her shoulder to Leroy.
"I think a shower would be a very good idea Leroy. When you've done that you can get Kelly up and dressed." Leroy nodded and put his work belt back on the shelf. He made his way to the bathroom, leaving his boots at the backdoor.
The warm shower and the water hitting his muscles which had begun to ache felt good but Leroy knew that he didn't have time to stand there, enjoying it. He washed and dried himself quickly; his towel-dried hair was pushed into place by his fingers.
A sappy grin covered the marine's face as he walked into his young daughter's room. She looked so peaceful and happy he thought that it was a shame he had to wake her up. Stroking a stray hair off her cheek, he shook her gently. Kelly blinked several times before focussing her bright blue eyes on her dad.
- Hello sleepyhead - He signed to her.
- Hello dad. - She smiled and stretched all of her muscles at once. Leroy stood and lifted Kelly from her bed. Holding her in his left arm, he pointed with his right hand at the clothes that Shannon had laid on the chair next to the bed.
- Your mom wants you to wants you to wear these when Grandma and Grandpa get here. - Kelly nodded and Leroy put her on the ground. - I'll be back in 5 minutes to help you with the zips and buttons, ok? - Kelly smiled and nodded.
Leroy leaned against his daughter's bedroom door. She wasn't very good at dressing herself yet but he knew how much she loved to feel independent. He loved the way she would tell him, ‘I'm a big girl, daddy. I can do it myself.' Suddenly there was an almighty crashing sound downstairs.
"Shannon," he whispered to himself, instantly worried. He knew that Kelly wouldn't have heard the crash and so she would be obliviously carrying on with getting dressed. Leroy ran down the stairs and almost threw up in reaction to the scene before him. A small, almost invisible, hole in the window; a tray of freshly baked muffins dropped on the floor and his wife, his beautiful wife, lay on the floor; a small drop of dark red on her forehead and an ever-increasing pool of deep red liquid under her head. Blood, it was blood that gathered beneath the head and matted her once glowing red hair together.
As Leroy's eyes took in the sight of brain matter splattered on the kitchen cabinets his ears picked up the sound of Kelly's bedroom window opening. He knew it was Kelly's from the way it creaked. It was the only window he didn't oil. She couldn't hear it, so it didn't bother her, and he used it to make sure he knew when her window was open, so he could stop her from falling, or climbing, out. Leroy's heart pounded as he realised that Kelly had no reason to open her window as she thought she was getting ready to have dinner with her grandparents.
"Shit! What if the same people who shot Shannon are after Kelly?" Leroy ran up the stairs faster than his legs could carry him. He tripped on the top step and stumbled in into his daughter's room, at which point he did throw up. A man dressed all in black was running from the tree, which grew just under Kelly's bedroom window, to a black van, with no plates, parked on the driveway. Leroy could see his baby slumped over the man's shoulders, she looked unconscious. There was blood on Kelly's bed but Leroy didn't know if it was hers or her kidnapper's.
Leroy picked up the phone in his bedroom and called the base MPs. They told him not to touch the body or his daughter's room. Leroy just hung up, he knew the drill. The next call he had to make was a little harder. He called Shannon's parents and told them that something had come up and that they would have to cancel dinner. When they questioned him he told them that it would be better if they spoke face o face; he promised them that he would call round as soon as he was able, to explain what was going on.
When he hung he punched the wall several times before turning around and leaning against it. He slid down the wall and hugged his knees to his chest, rocking backwards and forwards. If he closed his eyes tight enough maybe he could erase the sights he had seen downstairs, if he tried hard enough maybe he could make it so that it was all a bad dream and he would wake up, his wife would be alive, telling him to hurry up because her parents would be here soon; his daughter would be in her room waiting for him to come and help her fasten her zips and buttons, and he wouldn't be waiting for MPs and NCIS agents to arrive, he wouldn't be waiting for his baby's kidnappers to contact him with their demands.
It is just a bad dream. It is just a bad dream. Leroy banged his head against the wall as he repeated his mantra.
Story Notes:
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This was written before Under Covers and Hiatus aired and so could now be classed as an AU although it wasn't at the time of writing. It is my take on what happened to Gibbs' wife and daughter.
WARNING: This is not a happy story.
WARNING: This is not a happy story.
Chapter End Notes:
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.