Ties That Bind by Margaret and LJ

[LJ]

Ch. 10 - Problems Begin

“You’re late.”<br>
“I know. I’m sorry,” Kate apologized, setting her things down quickly.

Gibbs waited a moment before pressing. “Care to explain?”<br>
Not really, Kate thought. She couldn’t say that, though. Instead, she sighed slightly before coming out with, “We were out of cereal.”<br>
Again, Gibbs paused as if waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, he pressed again. “And?”<br>
“I had to go get some from the store.” Kate saw the look of disbelief creeping over her boss’ face and launched into a nervous explanation. “We didn’t have anything else to eat except oatmeal and some leftover pizza. Grace is allergic to oatmeal, I had to go out and buy some more cereal.”<br>
“What’s wrong with cold pizza?” Gibbs asked, the smallest of twinkles in his eye suggesting that he was done grilling her and was now just kidding around. As much as Gibbs ever kidded, that is.

Kate either missed the twinkle or chose to ignore it. “Gibbs, she’s a growing girl. She needs a bit more nutrition in the morning than cold pizza.”<br>
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at this maternal vehemence from his subordinate. She sounded like a mother. Shaking his head slightly in wonderment, he moved on.

“Tony’s talking to Abby about the semen. McGee’s working on the computer. You’re with me; we’re going to talk to the victim.” Gibbs watched Kate carefully, scrutinizing her every move.

Kate could feel his eyes on her and determined not to react. She knew, objectively, that he wasn’t going to fire her for being late, but it still always felt like he was judging her, constantly weighing whether or not she was fit to continue working with him.

The victim lived in a modest brownstone just outside the base. The drive there was silent, though Kate could swear she saw Gibbs watching her out of the corner of his eye. She just focused on the road. When they arrived at the house, Gibbs did his usual visual sweep of the area before turning to Kate.

“Let me do the talking, okay?”<br>
Kate was surprised but wasn’t about to argue with Gibbs. “Yeah, sure. You’re the boss.”<br>
Gibbs squinted at her as if to make sure she really agreed, then knocked briskly. After a couple of moments, they heard hurried footsteps and an exasperated, “Just a minute!”<br>
“Mrs. Schroeder,” Gibbs greeted when the door finally opened. “We just have a few more questions for you.”<br>
The harried woman looked from Kate to Gibbs in confusion. Reddened eyes suggested she’d been crying recently. “Agent Gibbs? What more could you ask?”<br>
“Just a few more questions, Mrs. Schroeder,” Gibbs repeated. “It won’t take long.”<br>
“Okay,” Mrs. Schroeder replied, still looking unsure of the situation. “Come in, I guess.”<br>
As they settled on the couch, Kate found herself instinctively observing the area. The walls were covered in photos of Lieutenant and Mrs. Schroeder, the living room comfortably disheveled, the kitchen invitingly bright. Mrs. Schroeder herself looked less than her best; she had obviously been crying and appeared not to have slept for several days. The woman reminded Kate disconcertingly of herself in appearance and attitude.

“Mrs. Schroeder, do you know Kevin Underhill?” Gibbs began, his tone gentle but unyielding.

“No,” she shook her head, frowning, “why?”<br>
Gibbs ignored her question. “Could you tell us again what happened that night?”<br>
A fleeting, pained look crossed her face and she took a deep, shuddering breath before nodding. “I went to a bar. I was lonely; I wanted to be around people. A man approached me and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He seemed harmless, though, so I let him dance with me. Then he started toward the door, dragging me along. I was starting to get a little worried, but his grip was so tight…”

“Why didn’t you leave as soon as you realized he was drunk?” Kate burst out vehemently, surprising herself as much as Mrs. Schroeder and Gibbs.

“I…I thought he was harmless, like I said. He seemed like a friendly drunk.” Mrs. Schroeder looked frightened, Kate’s outburst having shocked her into uncertainty.

“It’s all right, Mrs. Schroeder,” Gibbs assured her. “Please continue.”<br>
“He had me by the wrist and he pulled me out the door and started into a back alley. I tried to twist away but his grip was like iron. He got me into the alley and I begged him not to hurt me but he was getting angry. He slapped me and –”

“Why didn’t you scream for help?” Kate blurted angrily. “Why didn’t you fight harder? Why did you let him take you out of the bar?”<br>
“Kate!” Gibbs barked, eyes blazing. Kate slowly realized that she was standing over Mrs. Schroeder, yelling at the woman, tears streaming from her eyes. Gibbs, too, was standing, apparently ready to restrain her. Poor Mrs. Schroeder looked more frightened than ever, eyes wide and mouth quivering.

“Go wait in the truck, Agent Todd,” Gibbs ordered quietly, watching her carefully. Kate silently obeyed, unable to apologize to Mrs. Schroeder or acknowledge her unprofessional behavior.

[LJ]

She hoisted herself into the passenger side of the truck and shut the door numbly, still not quite understanding what had happened. Suddenly, the emotions caught up to her and she started crying. Unable to stop the great heaving sobs, she buried her head in her hands and let the tears come. She hadn’t cried like this since she was little.

Before long she had exhausted both her lungs and her tear ducts and leaned against the window, squeezing her eyes shut and breathing deeply. She tried to contain the emotions that had broken out after their fourteen-year captivity, unsuccessfully. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel this deeply for a long time.

By the time Gibbs came out to the car Kate was dozing fitfully in her seat, completely worn out by her emotional outburst. She woke up when he slammed his door but kept her eyes closed and her breathing deep; she didn’t want to talk to Gibbs right now. She was a terrible actress and she knew it, but if Gibbs noticed anything amiss he didn’t mention it. Maybe he didn’t want to talk, either. More likely he was too angry at her unprofessional behavior to speak.

The drive back was almost unbelievably quiet. Even when Kate dared to sit up, Gibbs maintained the stony silence and refused to look at her. Kate certainly wasn’t about to start the conversation, so they both continued to pretend the other wasn’t in the car. The three-hour trip seemed like an eternity.

When they finally arrived back at headquarters, there were only three cars in the parking lot. Kate recognized hers, Gibbs’, and (she was fairly certain) Director Morrow’s.

“I didn’t realize it was so late,” Kate commented. She hadn’t really meant to say anything but the stillness begged to be filled.

Gibbs still wouldn’t look at her and acknowledged her comment only with a small grunt. Kate tried to discern his expression – futilely, as always. She really didn’t want to ask, but she had to know…<br>
“Should I come in tomorrow?” she whispered, staring at the ground.

Gibbs glared at her; there was no other word for it. She could feel his penetrating gaze burning through the top of her head. Finally, after what felt like hours, he responded.

“Yeah,” he nodded, squinting unhappily. “And bring Grace.”<br>
Kate knew the surprise was apparent on her face but Gibbs apparently didn’t feel she needed to know more. She wasn’t about to argue.

Gibbs walked briskly to his car and squealed out of the parking lot, leaving Kate alone by her vehicle. She cursed her inability to control herself and wondered, seriously, if she would have a job by this time tomorrow.

[tonylover]

loved it like allwayz great job

[LJ]

Ch. 11 - Grace's Discovery

“Why does he want me to come?” Grace asked, slightly worried. She hadn’t seen much of Gibbs but what she had seen suggested he wasn’t they type to call for a social chat. She had agreed readily last night, mostly for the opportunity to see Abby and Ducky again, but she was growing steadily more nervous as they drove.

“I don’t know. Maybe –” Kate stopped herself.

“Maybe what?” Grace had inherited her mother’s curiosity.

Kate sighed. Why not? “I was late to work yesterday because of the whole cereal fiasco. Gibbs wasn’t exactly mad, but then I made a really big mistake interviewing someone. He’s already not happy about our situation, and yesterday…well, I think maybe he wants to talk to both of us. Set some parameters.”<br>
Grace nodded, though more in acknowledgement than understanding. Great, she thought. Aunt Kate’s hard-as-nails boss wants to talk about rules. This’ll be fun.


Gibbs was not at his desk when they arrived, so Kate sent Grace to Abby’s lab to hang out. Grace was all too happy to postpone the moment where she would have to face the frustrated former Marine. Approaching the lab, she was surprised to hear no loud music blaring. According to Kate, Abby always played her music at almost unbelievable decibels. If there was no noise, there was no Abby.

Disappointed, Grace changed direction and headed downstairs. She hadn’t been to see Ducky in his lair before but following the hall signs wasn’t too difficult. The elevator opened right in front of Autopsy and Grace walked in, pleased with herself for finding the way.

Voices were floating in the air, slightly distorted by the strange acoustics of the room. Grace was fairly certain she could identify Ducky’s voice, though, coming from what appeared to be a small office of sorts. Not wanting to interrupt, she crept back toward the elevator. Until, that is, she heard her own name.

“It’s certainly not fair to Grace,” Ducky was saying. Grace couldn’t help herself; she listened.

“I know that, Ducky,” an exasperated voice groused. It sounded like it might be Agent Gibbs. “But if this keeps happening…”

“Jethro, they just need a little time,” Ducky replied, confirming Grace’s suspicion about the identity of the second speaker. “Settling in to new routines isn’t easy, for anyone. I’m sure the tardiness will stop before too long.”<br>
There was an odd sound of moving air that Grace realized must be Gibbs sighing. “You know what’s really weird? The late thing doesn’t bother me so much.”<br>
“You, Jethro?” Ducky wondered aloud, his tone a cross between surprise and amused sarcasm.

“Yeah, I know,” Gibbs laughed slightly before sobering again. “But after yesterday, I’m more worried about her psych status. You should have seen her, Duck, screaming at that woman. If she hadn’t been crying so hard, I would’ve thought she was going to hit her. It was unnerving. I mean, Kate of all people!”<br>
“Yes, it is disturbing, isn’t it? Poor Caitlin has never allowed herself to face what happened to her, to feel emotion regarding it, and thus she has never truly healed. Grace’s arrival has caused all the memories and emotions that she had not dealt with adequately fourteen years ago to resurface.”<br>
“I understand that; I just don’t know if I can let her keep working after this. Her judgment is seriously impaired.”<br>
“Once she truly allows herself to feel the emotions, she will be able to deal with them and move on.”<br>
“And you say you’re not a shrink,” Gibbs commented wryly. Ducky chuckled lightly before Gibbs continued in a troubled voice. “I can’t just take her off every rape case we get. What if she hauls off and socks a suspect during an interrogation? We can’t risk the legal consequences.”<br>
“Your concerns are certainly valid, Jethro. However, you must understand that her anger is not at the rapist. She is angry at herself for, in her mind, allowing it to happen. In fact, very little of her emotion has to do with the rapist at all. It’s a very internal crime, as far as emotional fallout.”<br>
Grace stepped backwards, shocked at the revelation. Aside from feeling terrible for Kate’s violation, it didn’t take a giant leap of imagination to connect the dots. Fourteen years ago? No wonder Kate was so reticent about Dominic Fleming.

Unaware of her surroundings, Grace backed right into a surgical table. The contents clattered noisily and she cringed, anticipating her inevitable discovery. The voices ceased abruptly and the two men scurried out of the office, looking around for the source of the racket.

Grace was standing sheepishly among an assortment of stainless steel surgical implements, her face trying to decide between an expression of shame and one of defiance. It settled, somewhat in the middle, on shock.

“Oh, dear,” sighed Ducky, eyes deeply sympathetic.

“Grace,” Gibbs addressed her more straightforwardly, “let’s go upstairs. We need to talk to Kate.”<br>
Grace didn’t respond but when Gibbs put his hand on her shoulder and guided her gently toward the door, she followed docilely. The elevator ride upstairs was silent, as was the interminable walk to Kate’s desk. Grace was coming out of her shocked state and beginning to get a little miffed. Why had Kate not told her? She knew, rationally, that it had been for her own protection but it still hurt that her…mother…didn’t think she could handle the information.

She also realized why Aunt Kate had taken her back. Of course she hadn’t wanted Grace as a baby; it wasn’t as if she’d planned to have a child. But now, fourteen years later, she felt guilty about abandoning her child and was absolving her guilt by reclaiming Grace.

They finally came to a halt in front of Kate’s desk, Gibbs’ hand still on Grace’s shoulder. Kate looked up, startled, as Gibbs cleared his throat meaningfully.

“Gibbs!” she exclaimed. Grace’s presence and their serious expressions told her that this was not a pleasure call. “What’s the matter?”<br>
Gibbs’ tone gave away nothing as he said seriously, “We need to talk. All of us.”<br>

[LJ]

Ch. 12 - Problems Discussed

“First of all,” Gibbs continued, “why don’t you tell Kate what you heard.”<br>
Grace realized it was not a request. She cleared her throat, more to give herself time to string together a coherent though than anything else, and said simply, “I know where I came from.”<br>
Kate’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock and horror. She had intended to tell Grace eventually, of course, just not nearly so soon. To be confronted with it not only so soon but so unexpectedly was…disconcerting.

“Grace, I…” she started, completely at a loss for words. “How?” It was probably the least important question right now, but it was all she could come up with.

Gibbs cleared his throat in what, from someone else, could have been construed as embarrassment. “Ducky and I were talking.”<br>
Kate wasn’t sure what to make of that. She was far too confused, upset, scared, and generally emotionally screwed up right now. She settled for getting angry; it seemed to work for Gibbs. “You were talking about my personal life?”<br>
Grace, even in her shocked state, cringed at the tone in Kate’s voice. Fortunately, Gibbs seemed to realize the source of Kate’s outburst and merely raised an eyebrow.

“No, Kate,” he replied coolly, “we were discussing your work habits.”<br>
The subtle admonishment subdued Kate enough for her to think more coherently. Grace, meanwhile, was growing impatient in her uncertainty.

“Look,” she said, “if you want to take me back, I understand.”<br>
“What?” Kate asked, startled.

“I understand,” Grace repeated. “I mean, you never wanted me in the first place. That’s why you gave me up. You just took me in now because you feel guilty.”<br>
“Guilty?” Kate parroted, not following.

“For giving me up in the first place,” Grace reasoned. She was beyond hurt and angry; now she was coldly composed. “And probably because my parents died, too.”<br>
Kate sat in shocked silence, not believing what she had just heard. “Is that what you think?” she managed.

“It’s pretty obvious,” Grace shrugged, clearly trying to distance herself emotionally. Kate felt like crying.

“Grace,” she struggled, squeezing the words around the lump in her throat. “I put you up for adoption because I was sixteen years old. I couldn’t take care of a child. I couldn’t even let anyone know I was pregnant.”<br>
“Whatever,” Grace sighed.

“No, Grace, not ‘whatever’,” Kate burst out, suddenly animated. “Listen to me. I took you in because you are my daughter. I want you. I love you, Grace!”<br>
Kate slowly realized she was gripping Grace by the shoulders, so eager was she to get her point across. Grace’s eyes shone with unshed tears, her expression indicating they were tears of emotion and not of pain. Kate, taking advantage of her hold on Grace, pulled her daughter into a hug, blinking back her own tears. The hug seemed to give Grace permission to relinquish control of her emotions and she clutched Kate fiercely, weeping quietly into her shoulder. Kate felt for her and wished she could take away the pain Grace must be feeling but at the same time she rejoiced at this breakthrough. Grace had never shown so much emotional abandon around Kate; Kate couldn’t help the bittersweet thrill at this new trust.

Gibbs, forgotten by both, cleared his throat lightly. They pulled apart and looked at him. Had it not been such a serious moment, Gibbs might have smiled at their twin expressions of expectant puzzlement. It might not be immediately apparent that the two were mother and daughter, but there was no mistaking that they were related.

“I hate to break up this moment of familial bonding,” he commented, strangely not sarcastic. “But we do have to discuss how this new…situation affects Kate’s work.”<br>
“I thought we already had,” Kate replied, eyes drying in the conversation’s change of pace.

“Yeah,” Gibbs conceded, “but some things have happened since then that make me think we need to reevaluate.”<br>
Kate frowned slightly. When Gibbs used jargon like ‘reevaluate’ it meant he was out of his element, slightly uncomfortable with the situation. And when Gibbs was uncertain, he was one step away from explosion. In short, tread lightly.

“First,” Gibbs continued, “you’ve been late.”<br>
“Not very often,” Kate protested.

“I know,” Gibbs stopped her with a hand. “But it makes you unreliable.” He paused, taking in her half-ashamed half-affronted expression. “I don’t blame you,” he reassured her, looking awkward at the tone of caring support in his own voice.

“Sure you don’t,” Kate snorted.

“I don’t,” Gibbs repeated. “But something does need to be done.”<br>
“Like what? I leave Grace asleep, without breakfast and without a baby– sorry, supervisor,” she tossed a wry look Grace’s way, “and come to work?”<br>
Gibbs and Grace exchanged glances. “Well…why not?” Gibbs asked, eyebrows knitting together.

“Yeah, Aunt Kate,” Grace chimed in, seeing an opportunity. “I am fourteen.”<br>
“She is fourteen, Kate,” Gibbs echoed, somehow managing to convey both amused sarcasm and serious advice.

“But –” Kate started, realizing she would probably lose this argument anyway.

“I can get my own breakfast,” Grace hurriedly rationalized. “And call Mrs. Klein myself.”<br>
“Well…” Kate knew she was beaten. Gibbs was watching amusedly from his desk, waiting for her answer, and Grace had latched on to Gibbs’ apparent support of her position. Besides, they did kind of have a point. “All right,” she sighed.

“Yes!” Grace cheered. “Don’t worry,” she added, more calmly.

Gibbs wore the little half-grin he usually reserved for occasions when Tony got egg on his face. Beckoning Grace over to his desk, he clapped her shoulder and leaned toward her conspiratorially.

“Hey, Grace,” he whispered, “can you go see Abby for a while? I gotta talk to Kate.”<br>
Grace squinted at him briefly before nodding. He smiled almost nostalgically as she left, then turned to Kate with a concerned but grave expression.

“Kate,” he began, his voice not allowing for interruption, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you have got to face what happened to you. If you don’t deal with it, you’ll never move on.”<br>
Kate’s face hardened slightly. “Respectfully, Gibbs, that is none of your business.”<br>
Gibbs, though well-intentioned, found himself caught up in the urgency of his concern. Desperate to get her to help herself, he resorted to an old fallback. “It became my business when it began affecting your work. I can’t have you flipping out on every rape case.”<br>
“That’s all you care about, isn’t it?” Kate smirked slightly, as if confirming a suspicion.

Gibbs gave her a look and she backed down. Speaking as if it were extremely difficult, he continued deliberately. “I want you to see a therapist.”<br>
She reacted much as he had expected her to. “What? I don’t need a shrink,” she protested, eyes flaring. “Look, I’ve dealt with my demons, okay? The last thing I need is to dig them all up again.”<br>
“Kate, they’ve already been dug up!” he hissed. “You haven’t dealt with them; that’s the problem!”<br>
“You’re one to talk!” she spat. And instantly regretted it.

Gibbs didn’t get mad, surprisingly. He looked like he was going to, rising from his chair with eyes blazing, but halfway up he seemed to…deflate. He sank back into his seat and sighed.

“That’s exactly my point, Kate,” he said, softly but firmly.

[nikkinor]

Very good, as it always is, loved getting deeper into Grace's thoughts, can't wait for more.

[LJ]

Ch. 13 - Dr. Ducky

“Welcome to my, er, office, ladies,” Ducky greeted smoothly, smiling slightly. “Please, take a seat.”<br>
Kate guided Grace in front of her as they made their way to a vacant steel table. Hoisting themselves up, they tried not to look at the other, less lively, occupants of the room. Both were visibly nervous.

“Ducky,” Kate began before he could say anything, “I really appreciate your doing this for me. I mean, I don’t think I could talk about this with a total stranger.”<br>
“It’s not a problem, Caitlin,” Ducky soothed. “I’m simply relieved you’re finally talking about it with someone.”<br>
“Not like I had much of a choice,” Kate muttered.

“Gibbs has your best interests at heart,” Ducky assured her.

“I’m sure,” Kate replied sarcastically, “but ordering me to see a shrink doesn’t exactly say, ‘I care.’ At least he let me come see you instead.”<br>
“Indeed.” Ducky paused. “Well, shall we begin?”<br>
Kate drew a deep breath before exhaling a “Yeah”.

“Grace?” Ducky queried, waiting for the girl’s nod before continuing. “Very well. Caitlin, if you would please recount the events of that night.”<br>
Kate closed her eyes and inhaled shakily. She wasn’t sure she could do this.

“At your own pace,” Ducky reassured her.

“I had just turned sixteen,” Kate began hesitantly, “when Dominic Fleming asked me out…”

As Kate told her story, both Grace and Ducky were listening raptly. Ducky didn’t know the details and wanted to help her; Grace needed desperately to learn about her father, however much a cad he had been.

“…and a month later, I found out I was pregnant,” Kate finished, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. It was unimaginably difficult to talk about – to relive – the Incident, but with the telling came the tiniest relief. It wasn’t huge or profound but some small part of her, deep inside, sighed and relaxed. One brick had worked itself loose from the walls she had built for herself.

“Do you,” Ducky interrupted her reverie softly, “blame yourself?”<br>
Kate’s face contorted with the effort of not crying as she slowly nodded. “I should have known better,” she choked out. “I should have realized…”

“You couldn’t have,” Grace spoke up, surprising both Kate and Ducky. “You couldn’t have known.”<br>
“But I did. I knew when he ordered the wine,” Kate stated, eyes squeezed shut with the pain of recalling her error in judgment. “I knew then that he was bad news. But I ignored the alarm bells. I thought it was rebellious. I thought it was cool.”<br>
“It was a mistake,” Grace argued, becoming steadily more passionate, “one anyone could have made. That doesn’t make it your fault.”<br>
Kate laughed – a hollow, humorless laugh that made Grace shiver. “I know all the arguments. You think I didn’t replay that night, over and over, in my head? I know exactly what I did and didn’t do. I know whose fault it was.”<br>
The bitterness in her voice surprised even Ducky. He had known she had issues; he just didn’t realize how ingrained they actually were. It would be difficult to show her the truth in the lies she had been telling herself for fourteen years.

“Would you quit?” Grace burst out angrily. “It wasn’t your fault! Some drunk, power-tripping, libidinous,” she struggled for the word, “cretin decides he wants to rape you and you blame yourself? There is nothing you could have done.”<br>
Grace’s words seemed to cut through the guilt and self-loathing that surrounded Kate like a cloud, making her blink several times in surprise. No one had ever put it so bluntly, or perhaps she had just never heard. She still blamed herself but she was beginning to realize, ever so slowly, that maybe there was more to it.

Ducky saw her eyes lighten slightly and smiled tightly. Progress, however small, was still progress.

[LJ]

Note: Obviously, it's not Friday. Margaret and I decided to up our posting schedule for a number of reasons, not least being that we've actually finished the thing and don't need a safety buffer. Anyway, after today chapters will be posted on Fridays and Tuesdays. Through an odd twist of fate, I believe the final chapter will be up on the same day as the season finale! Don't worry, I know where your priorities lie...
ETA: Well, I was wrong. Why did I think the season finale was two weeks away? Go figure. Anyhoo, the story will actually be finished Tuesday the 31st. I'm pretty sure.

And now, on with the story.

Ch. 14 - In Memoriam

“Grace, it’s time to go!” Kate called, tapping her foot absently.

“Coming!” the girl replied, her voice slightly muffled by the walls. She dashed out of her room, grasping a spiral notebook in one hand.

“What’s that?” Kate asked as they made their way to the car.

“Ducky said I should keep a journal,” Grace explained. “I’m supposed to write down my feelings and what I think caused them.” Kate didn’t miss the slight sarcasm in Grace’s voice; she obviously didn’t hold much truck with touchy-feely stuff but was at least willing to give Ducky a shot.

Their semiweekly-barring-an-important-case meetings with Ducky had become somewhat central to both their lives, giving them a common frame of reference of sorts. Kate had noticed a significant decrease in the number of arguments they had at home; Grace simply stored the information away and they hashed it out in front of their third party. Ducky took it all in stride, helping them to see where they could improve. Kate didn’t always feel better after a session, but over the weeks she felt her general mood improving.

“So,” Ducky started, as per usual, “anything particularly pressing on our minds today?”<br>
Kate, who usually opened by expressing a newly discovered (or, rather, uncovered) emotion concerning Dominic and the Incident, was silent. She had nothing new to say; she was still processing from last week. Ducky had managed to get her past her self-blame and she had begun channeling her anger toward Dominic.

Grace, on the other hand, fidgeted slightly as she waited for someone else to speak. Ducky noticed and called on her.

“Grace?” he prompted gently. She glanced nervously at Kate before beginning, as if to make sure she really was the only one with something to say.

“I miss my parents,” she whispered, almost inaudibly. She was clearly struggling not to cry.

“Oh, my dear,” Ducky breathed, eyes full of sympathy.

Kate pulled Grace into a hug where the girl, after initially tensing slightly, broke down and sobbed into Kate’s shoulder. Kate stroked her, rocking slightly, maternal instinct overriding any possible awkwardness. This was her child and she was in pain.

They remained in that position for several minutes, Grace releasing all the tears she hadn’t been able to shed for months. Kate felt a pang of guilt as she realized Grace must have been trying to be strong for her, Kate, as she dealt with her own repressed emotions. Now it was Grace’s turn.

“Grace,” Ducky encouraged when she had finally cried herself dry, “what do you miss most about your parents?”<br>
Grace drew a shuddering breath as she closed her eyes and remembered. Smiling shakily, eyes squeezing tears down the well-established tracks on her cheeks, she breathed, “The way my dad smiled when he teased me. My mom’s laugh. How safe I felt when they hugged me…” At this, Grace nearly broke down again, wiping her face furiously and swallowing hard around the lump in her throat.

Kate blinked back tears of her own. She longed to gather Grace into her arms and rock her like a baby. While that had been appropriate two minutes ago, though, in light of Grace’s latest articulation she felt it would be cheating the girl to attempt to replace what she had lost.

Ducky cleared his throat lightly when it appeared that Grace had collected herself. It wasn’t a polite, get-their-attention-so-I-can-talk-uninterrupted ahem, either; it was a genuine, emotional throat clear. Grace, wiping her eyes, looked up. Ducky saw a brief flash of raw grief in her eyes before she clammed up again.

“Grace,” he said softly, “it’s all right to feel.” He couldn’t help but feel slightly pleased as emotion crept back into her eyes and she gave him a watery smile.

Kate sighed as she pushed open her apartment door. It had been a tough day, beginning with the emotional session with Ducky and continuing through a strenuous case to end with the drive home in the worst traffic jam ever. Grace looked about how Kate felt: tired, worn, emotionally strained. Impulsively, Kate reached down and tousled Grace’s hair affectionately. Grace looked up and gave her what Kate had come to recognize as her trademark “Grace look”. It was sarcastic and poignant, inquisitive and enlightened. Kate smiled; that look meant Grace was all right even if she was grieving.

“Aunt Kate,” Grace asked, sighing heavily, “can I please call Uncle Jack?”<br>
“Of course,” Kate replied, slightly over-cheery in her desire to maintain normalcy. “Use the calling card.”<br>
Grace grabbed the phone from the kitchen and shut herself in her room. Kate busied herself with nothing, resisting the urge to pick up the other phone and listen in. She walked past Grace’s door several times, leaning in slightly to overhear the goings-on inside. She heard sniffles a few times, strangled sobs at one point, and quiet weeping throughout. She stopped on her seventh pass, startled to hear laughter. She leaned closer, pressing her ear to the door against her better judgment, wondering what could be funny right now.

“Remember the time Mom was sick, so Dad had to make Thanksgiving dinner?” Grace giggled.

Kate was startled to hear a voice answer back before she realized Grace must have the phone on speaker. She recognized the distorted voice vaguely from her brief meeting with Uncle Jack two months ago.

“Yeah, well,” Uncle Jack laughed with his niece, “don’t be too hard on him. All men have to learn that lesson the hard way.”<br>
“Uncle Jack,” Grace admonished teasingly, “six hours at 300 degrees is not the same as three hours at 600 degrees.”<br>
“It’s a reasonable assumption!” he defended himself, jokingly indignant. “Besides, you’re not exactly off the hook yourself. What about the dog food incident?”<br>
“No fair! That was entirely different,” Grace protested.

“Huh,” he snorted, and Kate could hear the raised eyebrow. “…How, exactly?”<br>
“Well…” Grace faltered, before suddenly changing tack. “The look on Dad’s face was priceless. I thought he was going to spew!”<br>
“Naw, it tasted like chicken!” Uncle Jack kidded. “Your mom took it awfully well, I thought.”<br>
“Yeah, banning me from the kitchen for the rest of my natural life is ‘taking it awfully well’,” Grace commented wryly. “You know, I actually cooked something the other day? Wasn’t half bad either, or so Aunt Kate tells me.”<br>
“Got yourself a new guinea pig, eh?”<br>
“You could say that.”<br>
“I just did. Hey, kiddo,” he got slightly more serious, surprising Kate who had figured him for a perpetual joker, “how’s it goin’?”<br>
“Good,” she answered after a moment’s pause. “Mostly.”<br>
“Mostly,” he repeated, dragging the word out in what was clearly a question.

“There are rough spots,” Grace explained. “It’s getting better, though. Really, Uncle Jack, you don’t have to worry about me.”<br>
“Gracie, if I didn’t worry about you I’d have nothin’ to do.”<br>
“I know that’s not true.”<br>
“You callin’ me a liar?”<br>
“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am.”<br>
The serious note left their conversation just as quickly as it had entered and they resumed their banter without a hitch. Kate smiled at the comfortable relationship between uncle and niece and went back into the kitchen to fix dinner, more certain than ever that maybe she – maybe they – would actually make it through this.

[LJ]

Ch. 15 - The Million-Dollar Question

“You ready for next week?” Kate asked, glancing at her passenger out of the corner of her eye as they drove home from the store.

“Yeah,” Grace answered, confidently but unable to disguise the faint note of worry in her voice.

“High school’s tough,” Kate acknowledged, “but you’ll do great. It won’t take you long to settle in.” And she meant it. Kate’s observations of Grace over the past ten weeks had found the girl remarkably adaptable.

“What were you like in high school?” Grace asked, cleverly steering the conversation away from herself while at the same time sincerely curious.

“Pretty average, actually,” Kate said. Suddenly she struck on what seemed an inspired idea. “Hey, why don’t we look through some of my old yearbooks? You can laugh at my hair and everything.”<br>
Grace chuckled at that but agreed. Kate inwardly congratulated herself for thinking of such a great bonding experience. When they got home, Kate had Grace put the groceries away as she pulled out a box from where it had been buried in her closet.

“Come on, come on,” she muttered, rifling through the box and tossing various memorabilia aside. She paused occasionally, smiling vaguely at the memories certain objects recalled.

“Find ’em?” a voice asked from behind her.

Kate jumped, upsetting the box and spilling its contents all over the floor of the closet – including four large books.

“I guess so,” Grace commented wryly.

“You startled me,” Kate explained, slightly embarrassed at her reaction.

“I can see that.” Grace maintained her sarcastically-tinged tone, eyebrow raised in ironic superiority.

“Oh, be quiet,” Kate groused, collecting the yearbooks and heading for the living room with Grace in tow.

They settled onto the couch, the first of the four books opened across Kate’s lap. She quickly flipped past the first few title pages, stopping when she got to something interesting.

“That’s my friend Ruthie,” Kate laughed, pointing to a picture of a dark-complexioned girl making faces at the camera. “She was probably the most photographed kid at school. Always a cut-up, too.” Kate was about to turn the page when Grace stopped her.

“Hey, is that…” She squinted closer at the brunette almost hiding behind Ruthie.

Kate groaned good-naturedly. “Yeah. I never did like having my picture taken.”<br>
They paged through the activity/student life pages, laughing at some of the photos as Kate indicated the people she knew. They giggled through the class pictures, Grace laughing hysterically at the hairstyles and Kate cringing at what had been the height of fashion. Kate’s picture held particular fascination for Grace.

“Wow, you look…younger,” she commented.

“Um, Grace, I hate to break it to you but I was younger,” Kate replied with a smile and an attempt at imitating Grace’s eyebrow action.

“Don’t even try, Aunt Kate.” Grace shook her head at Kate’s effort, which had only resulted in her eyes bugging comically. “It’s an O’Neill thing. And I know you were younger, thank you. I meant, you look…different. I don’t know. Something about your eyes.”<br>
Kate looked into her own face – her open, smiling, honest face – and knew what Grace meant. There was an innocence there, a trust not yet broken. Wordlessly, Kate reached for the book dated two years later. Opening to the correct page, she showed Grace a very different picture. This Kate was hardened, scowling behind the smile she gave the camera. There was anger in her eyes, and fear. Clearly something had happened between her freshman and junior years and there were no prizes for guessing what.

“Aunt Kate,” Grace spoke softly, “could I see a picture…” She trailed off, uncertain of how her request might be received.

Kate realized what she was asking, though, and nodded. “You deserve that much,” she muttered bitterly.

Flipping a few pages in yet another book (her sophomore year, the year of the Incident), she located what Grace was looking for.

Grace leaned closer. She gazed into the smiling, dimpled face of a young blond boy. Brown eyes twinkled at her from under his curls, betraying no indication of the evil that lay beneath his friendly veneer. He looked every bit the proverbial boy-next-door, charming and attractive. She shuddered to think what he had done to Kate. She felt slightly nauseated as she realized that this cute, charismatic scum was the reason she existed.

“He’s,” Grace started, clearing the lump in her throat. “He’s my…father.”<br>
It wasn’t really a question and it wasn’t really a statement. She seemed to be trying to come to terms with the fact in her own mind, as if maybe saying it out loud would make it easier to accept.

“No,” Kate spat vehemently. “He’s not. All he did was contribute a little DNA, and sperm doesn’t entitle him to much. Ed O’Neill was your father, Grace.”<br>
Grace seemed to wrestle with herself for a moment before asking the question that had so far, though unuttered, defined their relationship.

“But who’s my mother?”

[nikkinor]

I love the bonding between Kate and Grace, it's very mother/daughter like but yet almost like friends, it works very well through out the story like that.

LJ said:

“But who’s my mother?”

Just a wonderful ending for a chapter, it's powerful and leaves an impression on the reader. I can't wait for the next update.

[LJ]

Teenagers!

“Oh, no,” Kate declared, “you are not wearing that to school.”<br>
“Aunt Kate,” Grace rolled her eyes, “it is not that bad.”<br>
“Grace, it’s the first day of high school. Do you really this to be people’s first impression of you?”<br>
“So what if it is? What’s wrong with it?” Grace protested.

“For starters, it’s too high in the bottom, too low in the front, too tight around the midriff, and too loose at the shoulders,” Kate recited.

“Oh, please. You sound like –” Grace hesitated.

“Your mother?” Kate interjected smugly.

“Frankly, yeah,” Grace shot back.

“Well, guess what, Grace – I am your mother.” Kate was only a few notches short of yelling by now.

“Barely,” Grace replied nastily, matching Kate’s volume.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kate demanded, masking her hurt behind anger.

“You know what I mean,” Grace answered cryptically.

“No, I don’t,” Kate pressed, frustrated. “Why don’t you tell me?”<br>
“Just that I didn’t even know you until three months ago,” Grace retorted.

“We’ve been over this before,” Kate said, the warning clear in her suddenly lowered voice.

Grace took the hint and changed tack. “Come on, Aunt Kate, everybody’s wearing this.”<br>
Kate snorted, putting aside her shock and pain to concentrate on the argument at hand. “First, I highly doubt that. Second, and I know this is cliché,” Kate closed her eyes, not believing she was about to say this, “but if everyone were jumping off a bridge, would you?”<br>
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Grace responded, trademark eyebrow on the rise.

“Yeah, neither can I,” Kate cringed before sighing, “Please, Grace, just humor me. We can work something out later, but right now we’re going to be late.”<br>
Grace considered her carefully before rolling her eyes again and huffing, “Fine, I’ll change. But just this once. And only because I don’t want to be late.”<br>
“I don’t get it, Ducky,” Kate confessed helplessly. “Last week, we got along great. I thought we were finally getting it together. This morning, I’m her worst enemy.”<br>
“Believe it or not, Caitlin,” Ducky smiled sympathetically, “this is actually a very positive sign. Grace’s behavior this morning, as you described it, is definitely normal teenage conduct. And, in fact, she is beginning to treat you as a mother, whether or not she realizes it.”<br>
“It sure doesn’t feel like it,” Kate sighed glumly.

“Trite as this may sound – welcome to parenthood.”<br>
“There’s something else,” Kate began hesitantly. “Grace said something this morning…”

“Go on, Caitlin,” Ducky encouraged her.

She sighed. “She said I was ‘barely’ her mother. I know that’s normal, but I really thought we’d moved past that.”<br>
Ducky frowned slightly. “It hasn’t been an issue lately?”<br>
“No, it hasn’t come up for several weeks. Actually, it was never that big a problem to begin with; I think because I’m her biological mother, she can’t use the ‘You’re not my real mom’ line. There were a couple of times she seemed like she wanted to, though.” Kate, as always when she was unsure of herself, babbled.

“Perhaps…” Ducky mused. Kate waited for him to continue but the pause grew longer and more awkward.

“Um, perhaps what, Ducky?”<br>
“Oh, I was just considering…” Ducky shook himself from his pondering and addressed Kate more clearly. “Perhaps Grace didn’t really mean it. It sounds almost as if she’s simply recycling an old argument that has proven effective in the past. Did she press the point?”<br>
“No,” Kate acknowledged, recalling the morning’s events. “I warned her that we’d been over it before and she backed off right away.”<br>
“Yes,” Ducky nodded. “That does seem to correspond with my theory. I can’t be sure, of course, but I wouldn’t worry overmuch, Caitlin. Grace is, after all, fourteen years old. As I said before, this is typical teenage behavior.”<br>
“Thanks, Ducky,” Kate smiled appreciatively.

“You’re quite welcome. My door is always open.”<br>
Kate typed her report, glad Tony was out on an interview and not peppering her with inane questions and comments. She was definitely not in the mood for his antics. It was amazing, though, how quiet the office became without him around. The only sound was the clicking of keys from her and Gibbs’ computers, punctuated by the occasional slurp of coffee from Gibbs’ desk. McGee was working with Abby on some technical problem but even his presence wouldn’t have made much difference.

“How’s Grace doing?” Gibbs asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Kate started at the unexpected noise and the even more unexpected question. Gibbs had hardly said a word about Grace before, and then it was usually to remind Kate that she ought to have no effect on her work. Why was he suddenly interested?

“Um, pretty good,” Kate answered generally, still confused.

“She started school today.”<br>
How does he do that? Kate wondered. “Yeah,” she replied, even though it had not been a question.

“High school. How’s she taking it?”<br>
Again, Kate wondered at his abrupt curiosity. His determined stare at his computer didn’t give any hint as to his intentions, so she answered his question at face value. “She was a little nervous, but I think she’ll settle in pretty quick.”<br>
“She will. She’s a trouper.”<br>
Kate marveled at his ability to judge people. He had only met Grace for five minutes two months ago and again at the benefit but had apparently garnered a good bit of her personality from the two brief encounters. Of course, he did that every day with suspects but it was somewhat more impressive when Kate knew the person and knew he was entirely correct.

As suddenly and mysteriously as the conversation had started, it ended. Gibbs simply stopped talking and Kate was too befuddled (and, admittedly, intimidated) to continue it herself. It was just one more mystery about Gibbs that Kate figured she would never know the answer to.

[LJ]

Ch. 17 - Name Game

“Why don’t we all tell everyone something about ourselves?” asked the – there was no other word for it – fluffy woman at the front of the room. She wore the nervous smile of a person in a new situation, compensating for anxiety with overfriendliness. Grace disliked her instantly; she smacked of kittens, dollhouses, and pink.

“Would you like to go first, Miss…” the teacher trailed, scrambling for her roll sheet while nodding at Grace.

Shoot, Grace thought. Here we go. She had expected to have to tell someone her name sometime, of course, but that didn’t make the actual event any easier. A new dilemma had cropped up when she separated herself socially from Kate. When Kate introduced her to others, it was enough to simply say she was Kate’s daughter. Separate, however, she was now required to provide a surname. And she didn’t know what to say.

She had become used to calling Kate “Aunt Kate” and she still thought of Mary O’Neill as “Mom,” although…but that was a thought for another time. The point was, like the issue with what she should call Kate, she didn’t know whether to introduce herself as Grace O’Neill or Grace Todd. She was stuck between two names, two worlds, wanted by both but belonging to neither.

“…Todd?” the teacher finished, finally scrounging up her attendance card.

So. Decided for her by the forms, the legality of her relationship to Kate. Grace was mildly surprised to find she didn’t really mind. After fourteen years of being an O’Neill, she had thought her transition to a Todd, if she made it at all, would be more difficult. It was strange, of course, but she supposed she had been working herself up to it – consciously or not.

“Miss Todd?” the teacher prompted, glancing again at the roll card she was clutching like a lifeline. “Grace?”<br>
“Oh, sorry,” Grace replied, cringing. Great first impression, she thought. “Um…what do you want me to say?”<br>
“Are you trying to be smart, Miss Todd?” The teacher, discouraged by the class’ lack of enthusiasm and frustrated by Grace’s previous spacey-ness, was quickly becoming agitated.

“No, ma’am,” Grace answered icily, adding the title with obvious sarcasm. She didn’t exactly mean to be rude but her mood was not being improved by this incompetent woman. “Okay, my name is Grace…Todd. I just moved here from Maryland. I…really don’t know what else to say.” The class tittered, amused by the exchange.

“Thank you, Miss Todd,” the teacher said quickly, apparently eager to shut Grace up. “Next, Mr.…Anderson?”<br>
The boy stood and introduced himself as Ricky but Grace was no longer paying attention. Her thoughts returned to her name dilemma, now solved, and extended to pondering her unusual situation. She was truly unique; she knew people who were adopted and she knew people who still lived with their natural parents, but she suspected there were very few who did both.

Her discomfort with the situation was growing steadily less the longer she lived with Aunt Kate. Her calls to Uncle Jack, while still reasonably frequent, were growing fewer and farther between. Her arguments with Aunt Kate, at least the ones regarding her ‘abandonment’, had dramatically decreased and she was, almost unconsciously, beginning to think of Kate like her mother.

That was an interesting thought, she reflected. If anyone had asked her three months ago who her mother was, she would have replied, “Mary O’Neill” with no hesitation. Three weeks ago and she would have hemmed and hawed until the inquirer gave up. Now…now she would probably hesitate before thoughtfully replying, “Kate Todd” – thoughtful because she herself had only recently realized the fact.

Grace still distinguished between her mother and her mom. Mary O’Neill had been her mom; Kate was becoming her mother. It wasn’t so much a matter of rank as it was familiarity. After all, no matter how great or nice Aunt Kate was, Grace had still only lived with her for three months to Mary O’Neill’s 14 years. It would simply take a little more time. Well, maybe not simply; there was nothing simple about the situation.

Grace was still dealing with her parents’ death, for all her outer appearance of peace. She often woke up crying from a recurring nightmare in which she relived the pronouncement from her school principal about the car crash. She was far from ‘over it,’ whatever that meant, and doubted she ever would be. Her conversations with Uncle Jack helped considerably, though. They would remember the good times and occasionally he would talk her through her grief. He was certainly no stranger to it.

“Miss Todd, are you still with us?” the teacher asked in a sing-song that seemed designed to embarrass Grace. The class chuckled again.

“Yes, ma’am,” Grace sighed, just barely hanging on to the respectful title.

“Well, then, if you would please begin reading from page 4 in the book,” the teacher directed as the class opened their books obediently, though with excessive rustling and shifting.

Grace sighed again and began reading. She would have to deal with this for the next eighteen weeks; she might as well get used to it. Shelving her thoughts on life, the universe, and everything – or at least her current experience – she tried to concentrate on the words she was speaking. It wasn’t easy, but then nothing about the last three months had been.

[nikkinor]

I really love getting deep down into Grace's mind, it shows just a little bit of Kate but even more of herself, can't wait for more.

[LJ]

Ch. 18 – Journey Ended, Journey Begun
or How's School?


“Grace! What’s going on, girl?” Abby greeted cheerfully.

“Hey, Abby,” Grace responded. “Not much.”<br>
“How’s school?”<br>
“Not too bad. You know how it is.”<br>
“Yeah,” Abby nodded, frowning sympathetically. “So, what brings you in this morning?”<br>
“Teacher work day or something,” Grace explained with a dismissive hand-wave. “Mrs. Klein’s granddaughter had a “Grandparents’ Day” at her school, so Aunt Kate said I could hang out here if I promised to stay out of the way.”<br>
“Cool! Wanna come with me to take these results to Ducky?”<br>
“Sure. It’s been a while,” Grace mused.

“Too long, Grace-ster! Come on, let’s go.”<br>

“Grace, my dear! How are you?” Ducky welcomed her warmly. Impulsively, Grace reached out and hugged him. After his initial surprise, his warm arms encircled her and she inhaled his dog-laced cologne scent. She had rarely felt so safe.

“Pretty good, thanks,” she replied, breaking away and grinning.

“How is school going for you?”<br>
“Oh, you know. Little up, little down.”<br>
“Mmm. And how are you getting on with Kate?” His eyes twinkled kindly and Grace remembered their last session fondly. If it weren’t for school, she would have continued the appointments gladly – if only to spend more time with Ducky.

“Better. We still have our moments, but things are mostly good.” Thanks to you, Grace added silently.

“I’m delighted to hear it,” Ducky smiled before turning to Abby. “Ah, are those the results?”<br>
“Yep. I think you’ll like what you see,” Abby replied cheerfully.

“Indeed, just as I suspected. Thank you, Abby.”<br>
“Hey, Ducky!” a new voice joined the trio. “Gibbs wants your conclusions ASAP – oh, hey, Grace.”<br>
“Hi, Tony,” Grace waved a little shyly. Kate’s coworker or not, he was pretty hot.

“How are you? How’s school going?” he asked conversantly as he strode toward Ducky.

“Pretty good,” she answered, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as yet another person asked her about school.

“Great,” he replied, sincerely if a bit distractedly. “So, Ducky, Gibbs is wondering what your thoughts are…”

“Tell him I’ll be right along, won’t you? I just have to finish up a few things.”<br>
“Will do. Hey, Grace,” he directed his attention at the teen, “you wanna come with? Gibbs has been asking about you.”<br>
“Asking about me? Why?” Grace asked warily, not a little disturbed by the thought of stern, crabby Gibbs asking about her. Their last encounter had not exactly been in the best of circumstances. Nevertheless, she found herself moving toward the door with Tony, waving goodbye to Abby and Ducky as they stepped onto the elevator.

“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see,” Tony muttered ominously, wiggling his eyebrows in what was apparently supposed to be a mysterious manner.

Grace smiled despite herself, realizing what Aunt Kate meant by Tony’s juvenile behavior. He really was a goofball.

“Boss, Ducky says he’ll be right up to talk about the case,” Tony called as they approached his desk.

“Hello, Grace,” Gibbs intoned without even looking up. “DiNozzo, don’t you have somewhere to be?”<br>
“Yeah, boss,” Tony agreed immediately, spinning on his heels and heading back to the elevator.

“So, Miss Todd,” Gibbs began, typing something quickly before turning to face her. “School’s going well.”<br>
“Um, yes,” she replied, slightly confused by the use of statement rather than question.

“How’s it going with your mother?” he asked casually. Grace raised her eyebrow at that; he was the first one to refer to Kate as her mother. Again she was surprised by how little it bothered her.

“Oh, pretty good,” she answered offhandedly. He squinted at her and she shrank under his gaze. “We have our ups and downs,” she admitted, “but it’s feeling more…normal.” She startled herself with that one; she hadn’t told anyone else how comfortable she was growing with Kate.

“That’s great,” Gibbs nodded. It would’ve sounded insincere from anyone else but Gibbs managed to make it genuine. Of course, the small-but-dazzling smile he treated her to didn’t hurt either. “So,” he scowled, turning back to his computer, “the boys bothering you yet?”<br>
Grace cocked her head confusedly at the odd question. “No…?”<br>
Gibbs nodded, a glare firmly on his face. “Good. You’re too young to date. When they do come knocking, though – and they will – have ’em come see me.”<br>
His tone made it unclear whether or not he was joking but Grace smiled anyway, stifling a snort of laughter at Gibbs’ obvious paternalism. How could she ever have been afraid of this man?

“DiNozzo!” he barked suddenly as Tony reentered the room. “What are you doing back so soon?” Grace rapidly remembered the basis for her fear.

“The…the guy broke, boss,” Tony explained nervously. “He confessed.”<br>
“I’ll be right down,” Gibbs groused, typing a quick command into his computer before rising. “Take care of yourself, Grace.”<br>

“Grace!” Kate called, scrambling for her purse. “Grace, let’s go!”<br>
“Coming!” the girl replied, dragging a medium-sized suitcase from her room. Kate grabbed one side and together they maneuvered it down the stairs and into Kate’s car. Kate started the car and sped out of the parking lot, narrowly missing a lamppost.

“Are you trying to kill us?” Grace asked sarcastically, clutching her door handle.

“I don’t want you to miss your flight, okay?” Kate replied tightly, checking her mirrors and changing lanes with a jerk.

“Well, I really think Uncle Jack would rather not meet a large pine box at the baggage carousel,” Grace fired back.

“Oh, be quiet,” Kate rolled her eyes.

“Silent as the grave,” Grace quipped. Kate just shook her head.

When they arrived at the airport, Kate heaved Grace’s suitcase from the trunk and all but ran into the terminal. Grace followed at a slower pace, shaking her head at Kate’s nervousness. She arrived just in time to see Kate grab the boarding pass from the counter, thanking the agent cursorily, and dash toward Grace with a frantic look on her face.

“Come on, Grace, your flight boards in fifteen minutes!”<br>
“Plenty of time,” Grace reassured her, digging for her ID and gently taking her boarding pass from Kate.

“The ticket agent said I could take you to the gate, since you’re a minor,” Kate explained as they approached security.

“Great,” Grace replied neutrally.

They made it through security easily enough. Kate began walking briskly for the gate, Grace trailing behind with a raised eyebrow. Her mother looked like she was at the track instead of at the airport. If she weren’t otherwise occupied, she would have been mortified.

“Oh, Grace, there’s your gate,” Kate called, pointing it out. “Phew, we made it!”<br>
“Told you,” Grace said, smoothly settling into a free seat.

“You’re sure you’ve got everything you need?”<br>
“Yes,” Grace sighed. “Besides, it’d be a little too late if I didn’t.”<br>
“And you’re okay flying by yourself?”<br>
“I’m fine.”<br>
“Got enough snacks? They probably won’t have a meal on this flight.”<br>
“Yes! Enough already,” Grace cried exasperatedly. “Everything’s set.”<br>
Kate opened her mouth to say something more but before she could, (to Grace’s great relief) the boarding call began. Grace stood, eager to escape Kate’s annoyingly maternal questions.

“Grace,” Kate called, her voice breaking slightly. “Have a good time, all right? Call me if you need anything.”<br>
“Thanks, I will.”<br>
Kate reached out her arms and Grace obliged with a hug. “I love you, Grace.”<br>
“I love you, too,” Grace replied, “Mom.”

[LJ]

Well, folks, this is it! Thanks for reading and reviewing; I do hope you've enjoyed this little journey as much as we have.

P.S. Keep an eye out for Margaret's and my next story, in which Uncle Jack returns (with a considerably larger part) and brings some friends. ;D The first chapter ought to be up in the next month or two.


This chapter should be up at FF.net within the day (I hope); for some reason the login feature is not working right now.