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The Second Side of a Silver Dollar	By : Siberian Category: M through R > NCIS Views: 3570 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I wrote this story soley for entertainment. No profit is being made and all rights belong to whoever is associated with the show NCIS and the characters. I don’t know their names, but I’m sure they know who they are.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 7
- 8
- 9
Notes: I’m sorry I’m late with this update. For some reason my Internet connection has decided to give me connectivity issues and I haven’t able to get online. Hopefully it won’t become a habit.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Cowgirl65 for another wonderful review. Yea, I’m so happy to hear it was worth the wait! It’s very cool to hear that. Oh and about Warren, you might just be right. XD
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McGee leaned back into Gibbs’ body feeling content. The rest of the group had been informed of their discovery when they’d returned to the camp. The next morning they’d headed out back toward Ducky’s. The excitement among the group was almost palpable. Finally they would have a way to get their revenge on Warren McGee. The senior McGee’s indiscretion was still unknown to McGee but he knew that it was something serious. Over the years his father had made many enemies with questionable business deals. His father losing his money wasn’t as important to him as keeping Gibbs safe. In reality he knew the outlaw could take care of himself but he didn’t want to risk his father’s wrath.
The worst McGee had ever gotten was a beating but his father had the law on his side which was a mighty force to be sure with the right connections. This was the only way McGee believed they could even the score without coming into direct contact. The horse suddenly halted just as Tony spoke up. “Boss do you see that?” McGee looked around briefly his eyes seeing smoke in only a few moments. He was suddenly glad that Miss Kate had stayed in town with Ducky and Jimmy. He remembered their encounter with the Indians all too well. “Ziva scout ahead and report back what you find.” With a brisk nod the cowgirl followed Gibbs’ orders heading toward the billowing smoke; the other three members of the group standing silent in her absence.
It wasn’t long before Ziva returned looking grim. “It appears as if a family stagecoach was attacked. I’ve found a man and a woman both dead but no one else.” Gibbs sighed; the movement traveling into McGee’s body. “Indians?” Ziva looked even grimmer. McGee hadn’t thought it possible. “Not unless they are one of the rare tribes with guns. Both people died from gunshot wounds.” Gibbs turned his horse toward the smoke. “We’re going to finish checking over the wreckage and bury the bodies.” No one spoke just followed after Gibbs. When they cleared the slight incline hiding the scene McGee felt his eyes widen. The stagecoach was on fire in several places and pieces of it were scattered everywhere.
The horses were gone probably taken or scared off. McGee vaguely saw the two bodies but quickly looked away already feeling queasy. The rest of the ground was littered with what looked like the couple’s personal items. McGee let himself wander looking at the couples belonging’s sadly. He knelt down when he saw an intricately carved wooden box. It was open upside down in the dirt. He picked it up and closed it before lifting the lid. A pleasant melody filled the air. It was soft with a touch of sadness. It seemed a fitting tribute to what had occurred. He was just getting ready to close the music box when he saw a brown bear a few feet away. McGee moved over to the stuffed animal and picked it up.
He looked around to see if anything else similar was close by. The bear seemed out of place. He didn’t see any children with the adults. He was of course thankful for that but it was still odd. He was just getting ready to call for Gibbs when he heard a voice. “Bernard.” McGee turned swiftly hearing the name but saw no one. Looking to his left he saw a small outcropping of rocks and brush. He walked over slowly looking around the rock’s edges. Moving aside a bush he stopped suddenly at seeing a pair of big eyes set into a small face staring at him cautiously. It was a little boy who couldn’t be more than four years old. There was an older boy lying behind him that was passed out. A smear of blood was on the older boy’s forehead and McGee could tell even from his distance the gash was deep.
McGee knelt down to the boy’s level and gave him a soft smile. “Is this Bernard?” He held up the bear for emphasis. The little boy nodded slowly. McGee held the bear out slowly for the boy to take. A little hand shot out to grab the bear; the stuffed animal being squashed to the little frame a second later. “My name is Tim. What’s your name?” The little boy seemed uncertain. “I’m not suppose to tell. Not without mommy or daddy.” McGee nodded in agreement. “That’s very good. It’s good to not talk to strangers but something has happened. Do you know what?” The little boy started to tear up. The little trails of moisture running down his face as he spoke. “There were mean men. Mommy told us to hide but she hasn’t come to get us.”
McGee nodded trying to be soothing. “That’s right there were bad men. Your mommy and daddy had to protect you. That’s why they had you hide. I have some friends who are trying to help. Will you come out and meet them?” The little boy shook his head still too frightened to leave his hiding spot. McGee tried another tactic. “Who is that? Is he your brother?” The little boy turned to look at the unconscious boy. He nodded starting to sniffle. “He looks hurt. Will you come out so my friends can make sure he’s okay?” McGee watched him hug the bear closer and was just getting ready to try again when the boy left the bushes. He approached McGee to stop in front of him.
“I’m going to pick you up okay? That way my friends can get to your brother.” The little boy moved forward extending his arm. McGee scooped up the child slowly so as not to startle him. He stood up and turned so that the boy was facing the desert. “Jethro!” Gibbs looked up from digging a grave. He dropped the shovel and moved over to McGee quickly. Not letting the other man get a word out McGee spoke. “There is an older boy in the bushes with a nasty gash on his forehead.” Gibbs didn’t hesitate. “Ziva bring me the medical bag.” The little boy McGee was holding turned so that he could watch Gibbs. The upper half of Gibbs’ body disappeared for a moment as he reached into the bush to retrieve the other boy.
Once they were cleared of the plant Gibbs laid him down gently before looking at the gash. Ziva handed Gibbs the bag before going back to clean up duty, Tony already busy with the task of digging the second grave. McGee held his breath while Gibbs worked hoping fervently that this little boy wouldn’t lose the last of his family. After a few minutes Gibbs looked up a little more relaxed. “He’s going to make it.” McGee let out a breath and sat down next to the boy. The younger boy stayed in his lap and eventually fell asleep watching Gibbs bandage up the gash. Gibbs looked to him when he was finished. “Will you keep an eye on them while we finish up?” McGee nodded silently watching both boys sleep and wondering what they were going to do.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
McGee sat next to Gibbs during his watch thinking about the events earlier in the afternoon that had lead to two boys sharing a bedroll in the gang’s hideout. The boys had both slept through the rest of the clean up and subsequent burials. McGee had managed to snag two items from their parent’s belongings knowing that the boys would want something to remember them. The music box was one item their father’s hat the other. McGee kept them with his things for the moment wanting to keep them safe from accidental damage. The older boy hadn’t woken yet but the younger had woken on the trip back and had panicked at finding Ziva holding him on a horse.
The group had stopped to try to calm the boy. In the end the only one who seemed to calm him was McGee. He refused to let anyone else touch him. So McGee had to sacrifice his comfortable spot with Gibbs to ride with the boy on Ziva’s horse. Ziva opted to share a horse with Abby. The two managing as best they could. They were friends just not extremely close. So the ride to the hideout ended up being a fun experience. Once they’d arrived the little boy practically attached himself to McGee. He sat on his lap through dinner then allowed McGee to wash his face before putting him to bed. His medium-sized bear never leaving his grasp. It was only when McGee had told him a bedtime story and he was drifting to sleep that he had gotten a name for the brothers.
The eldest was named Tobias he was eight the younger boy’s name was Benjamin. His age was revealed by holding up three tiny fingers the little boy proud to show his new friend that he could count his age. McGee had smiled warmly showing the young boy how impressed he was with his knowledge. He’d sat close until the little boy was asleep before moving over to join Gibbs, his lover having the first watch that night. The comforting arm around him suddenly pulled him closer. “What are you thinking?” McGee leaned a little further into his hold. “I’m just wondering who could do something like this. What are we going to do about these children?” Gibbs didn’t respond right away and for some reason the silence felt uncomfortable.
McGee looked up wondering what was wrong. “Tim I don’t know how to tell you this, but I know why this happened.” McGee released a shocked puff of breath. “What do you mean?” Gibbs pulled him closer as though he were afraid he would pull away. “I found some items with the man and women’s name on them. I thought the name rang a bell. I didn’t know where from until we got here; their in the ledger. They were heavily in debt to your father. He’s the one that did this.” McGee did try to pull away. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His father had a temper but to accuse him of murder? Gibbs’ hold remained tight so that he couldn’t move away.
“I know you don’t want to believe it Tim, but it‘s the truth. They were running away. The debt shows them in another city a month’s journey from here.” McGee stilled when his struggling to pull away proved fruitless. “My father may be cruel but he’s not a murderer. How can you even say that? You know nothing about him, nothing at all. I don’t think he’s even capable of such a thing.” Gibbs tried stroking his back but he stayed stiff as a board. At the moment he wanted nothing more than to go to his bedroll to get some rest. “I know more than you think.” McGee didn’t comment looking down to avoid having to meet his eyes. Gibbs sighed. “I should have told you this a long time ago but I didn’t want to hurt you. I know he’s capable of something like this because it’s similar to what happened to my family.”
At that McGee did look up. Gibbs never spoke about his past. Ever. Gibbs looked away then his eyes going distant as he lost himself in the memories. “I used to be a farmer. My father was a farmer and I decided to follow in his footsteps. I loved seeing the product of all my hard work. I fell in love and got married. Things were wonderful for awhile. We bought a small farm had just managed to get settled when my wife told me we were having a baby. We were so happy. A few years passed and then things started to go downhill. The land, it betrayed us. I slaved away to bring in something but it wasn’t enough. We were going to lose our home. Then a lender came to town.” McGee cringed at the bitterness he could hear in Gibbs’ tone.
“A businessman named Warren McGee who was willing to loan us enough money to keep our house in exchange for the deed. The deal was that we were to pay him the rest of the mortgage plus a small additional sum. It didn’t take long before I realized he was cheating us. The sum we’d agreed on kept increasing until I could barely scrape together enough money to pay the bill. One afternoon I left the house to go get some supplies in town. It was only a few items. I was gone an hour at the most but it didn’t matter. I was too late. When I was on the way home I saw smoke in the distance. I ran ahead thinking maybe a fire had broken out near the house. It wasn’t in the woods like I thought. The house was on fire.”
McGee felt his eyes widen. “It was completely engulfed. I called out to my family thinking that maybe they ran outside. That’s when I heard it. They were screaming. I tried to get inside but I couldn’t. No matter where I tried I couldn’t get in the house. All I could do was listen. It was after nightfall when Warren McGee paid me a visit. I don’t know how long I’d been sitting in front of the house but the fire was almost out by then. He told me that I was lucky to be alive. That it was just coincidence that I wasn’t home when his men had set the fire. I asked him why he would do such a thing and he said it was because I missed my payment. I asked what he meant; told him that I had paid his man in town two weeks ago when it was due.
He didn’t believe me so he sent one of his men into town. When he found out I was telling the truth he shrugged it off and told me that my debt still wasn’t cleared.” Gibbs’ laughter had a slightly crazed edge to it. “He expected my next payment promptly. I found out later that the telegram that was supposed to be sent to Warren McGee never made it. That’s why he thought I hadn’t paid him. I lost my family because someone forgot to deliver a telegram.” McGee felt tears threatening to fall. He felt sick to his stomach. Gibbs was telling the truth. He’d never lied to McGee and there was no possibility that he would lie about something so horrible. McGee didn’t like how the distant look stayed in Gibbs’ eyes so he leaned down to curl himself against his body.
“I’m sorry Jethro. I’m so sorry.” McGee didn’t know if it was the movement or the words but Gibbs seemed to come back to himself. His lover’s arm tightened around his waist as a gentle kiss was placed on the top of his head. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t want to hurt you Tim but I need you to know how dangerous he can be. What we’re about to do could make you a target. That’s why when we get back to Ducky’s I want you to start learning how to fight. Tony, Ziva, and myself can teach you. I also want you to try to learn how to shoot.”
McGee nodded against Gibbs’ chest trying to hold back his tears. “Whatever you want Jethro. I’m just so sorry.” His voice cracked as a few tears escaped. And he was sorry. Sorry for Gibbs’ loss, for the boy’s losing their parents, for not believing Gibbs when he knew his father’s temper, and sorry for himself for losing the illusion that some good may exist in his father. Gibbs didn’t say anything just tightened his hold. Seeming to know just what McGee left unspoken.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the journey back to Ducky’s house was strained. Gibbs tested his theory about his horse’s strength the second day the boy’s rode with them and found himself with two passengers. The older boy finally woke up around mid afternoon and at first had put up a fight. It took some DiNozzo charm and his little brother’s promoting of McGee for the youth to be anywhere near cooperative. He wasn’t easily trusting and although it made things rough Gibbs couldn’t help admiring the quality. The older boy rode with Tony but insisted on staying close to his little brother, which meant that DiNozzo’s chatter was always close to him. It was almost enough for him to threaten violence.
The only thing that restrained him from threatening to shoot DiNozzo was the possibility of scaring the children. The younger man seemed to know this and delighted in finding ways to torture Gibbs. What DiNozzo was forgetting was it was a two way street. Eventually Gibbs would be able to retaliate and boy was he looking forward to it. On top of the different traveling arrangements his alone time with McGee was almost nonexistent. The youngest boy, Benjamin, wanted all of McGee’s attention. It was only after the children had fallen asleep that Gibbs got to speak with McGee at all, and then normally the conversations were brief due to exhaustion.
More often than not Gibbs would look down shortly after McGee had joined him to see that he’d fallen asleep. Then if that weren’t enough Gibbs then felt guilty about wanting more time with his lover. The two brothers had just lost their parents. If Benjamin found comfort in being around McGee then was it right for him to feel deprived. The small possessive part of him screamed ‘Yes!’ but for the most part he tried to take it in stride. This arrangement was temporary and soon he’d have McGee all to himself again. When Ducky’s house eventually came into view the group as a whole seemed to breathe easier. After a warm reception everyone was led inside to be fed.
So now here they were crowded around the table as Jimmy and Kate set out dinner. Benjamin was sitting on McGee’s left and Tobias was next to his brother. Gibbs noticed the last few days of the journey that Tobias seemed to be taking a liking to his lover as well. He tried not to sigh as McGee dished out food for both of the boys. It would seem he was correct. He drank his coffee trying to remember patience. After dinner Benjamin was given a bath then sat with McGee while his brother bathed. The little boy was already half asleep by the time Tobias came out of the bathroom ready for bed. Gibbs watched McGee maneuver Benjamin onto his shoulder before placing a hand onto Tobias’ shoulder to lead them into the bedroom. The bedroom he shared with McGee.
If he didn’t get a chance to touch his lover soon he was going to explode. “It looks as though Tim as taken to parenting.” Gibbs choked on his coffee at Jimmy’s observation. The noise garnered him some looks. When he could he spoke. “What do you mean by that?” Jimmy looked genuinely surprised as though that was the last thing he expected to hear. Kate raised an eyebrow before answering for the other man. “Gibbs, don’t tell me you don’t see it?” Gibbs didn’t answer just looked at everyone looking at him. “Jethro it’s become quite obvious to most of us that our dear Timothy is losing his heart to those boys.” Gibbs released a disbelieving sound. “Sure okay.”
Ducky continued ignoring Gibbs’ dismissal. “The next time they are together really pay attention. You’ll see what we do.” Gibbs wanted to say something to cement that he was right. Not liking the idea that things could go down a road he wasn’t sure he could take. “Jethro.” Gibbs looked toward the doorway to their bedroom to see McGee standing there blinking sleepily. “Are you ready to turn in?” Gibbs could probably stay awake a few more hours but he could see McGee was ready to drop. A small voice that he refused to acknowledge pointed out that it was exhausting raising two children alone. Gibbs decided that extra rest plus holding McGee was worth going to bed early.
He got up from the table, practically inhaling the rest of his coffee, as he nodded his goodnight to everyone. Gibbs followed McGee into the darkened room to see each boy in a bed against the far wall. McGee practically collapsed into the bed they had taken to sharing before their last excursion. Gibbs followed more sedately letting his body mold to his lover’s before wrapping him in a tight embrace. McGee was asleep almost immediately. Gibbs stayed awake for some time just listening to the quiet breathing in the dark room. Trying not to think about what he may see now that the others have made him open his eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gibbs wanted to shoot something. Go out somewhere and put a million holes into anything. Everyone had been right. McGee was growing too attached to the children. They couldn’t keep them here any longer or else it would be harder on everyone. The whole day had been proof after staggering proof. During meals McGee always served the children. He played games with them in the afternoon, he bathed Benjamin after dinner before reading them both a bedtime story, and then he tucked them in. The dead giveaway had been this afternoon though. Even if Gibbs had missed everything else this one action would have made him worry.
Benjamin had just finished eating his lunch and had been getting ready to leave the table when McGee stopped him to wipe off his face. There was a sticky spot on his cheek from when the children had been given marmalade on bread as a treat. After a few attempts to get the stain clean with no success McGee had licked his napkin using the now damp cloth to clean Benjamin’s face. Gibbs’ eyes had widened. The rest of the table gave him looks. Kate’s eyebrow going up in a silent ‘I told you so’ but what was more strange then anything was that McGee didn’t even seem aware of what he’d done. His lover had looked at him and given him a sweet smile before going back to his lunch.
That very evening before dinner he went into town to speak with the man who ran the local orphanage. He would stop by tomorrow to speak with them about the procedure to take the children into custody. Gibbs opted to stay up that night so that they could contact Warren McGee’s victims. The majority of the group sat at the dining room table writing letters to the renters to let them know that they could reclaim their deeds as Warren McGee no longer had them in his possession. Between all of them they were able to finish composing all of the letters in one sitting. Once they were ready to be delivered Ziva dropped them off at the post office in town. Everyone else sat a little longer, rubbing their aching hands, and letting themselves unwind. It was done. Warren McGee was on the road to ruin and he didn’t even know it yet.
Gibbs finally had his revenge. It would never bring back what he’d lost but maybe he could stop someone else from having to endure the same thing. Maybe now he could start over. He looked toward the bedroom where his lover was sleeping and suddenly wanted nothing more than to hold him. Turning back to everyone he said goodnight before heading to bed. Gibbs slipped in behind McGee silently falling asleep within moments. Gibbs blinked opened grainy feeling eyes at a tug on his shirt. He looked at McGee wondering if he was who had awoken him but his lover was sound asleep. Another tug pulled his attention behind him. Benjamin was standing next to their bed with his ever present bear with tears streaming down his face.
Gibbs was immediately on alert. “What’s wrong? Is Tobias okay?” The little boy sniffled. “I had a bad dream.” Gibbs closed his eyes briefly lifting a hand to rub at them. He couldn’t have been asleep more than twenty minutes. “Can I sleep with you?” Gibbs knew he should reassure him and put him back to bed. Knowing you should and being too tired to do so are two different things. He lifted the covers shaking McGee slightly as he did so. “Yeah come on.” Benjamin climbed over Gibbs quickly to wedge himself into the small space between the two men.
McGee rolled over mumbling a sleepy “What?” Gibbs repositioned the blankets making sure they were all covered and no one would fall of the bed. “Benjamin had a nightmare. He’s going to sleep with us.” McGee woke up a little more at that and made sure Benjamin was snug against his chest before falling back asleep. Gibbs wrapped his arms around both of them and tried not to think about how right it felt.
TBC...
- 7
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- 9
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The Second Side of a Silver Dollar