Chapter Text
Jet and Mac met as young Marines and became lovers after they were wounded in Beruit, falling deeply in love with each other. But Jet had Shannon in his life and soon Kelly was born and he and Mac stayed brothers in arms, but never betrayed his vows to Shannon. Shannon Gibbs died in '91 as per NCIS cannon but Kelly survived and was badly hurt.
Mac and Jethro have been on again, off again for quite a few years in between Jethro's marriages and Mac’s marriage. Since Mac’s wife was lost in 2001, the boys have been more volatile than ever. They probably should break up permanently but they can’t seem to let each other go.
In our universe, McGee, rather than Kate, was killed by Ari, and his death three months ago has brought the boys much closer together.
We’ve played a little bit with the real-world timeline of Hurricane Katrina.
August 2005
Chapter One
It had been a long hard day. Mac had driven to DC after working ten days solid. Jet still needed to settle down after losing McGee to that psychopath Ar and Mac had been spending a lot of time down in DC, trying to cheer him up. Now that Kelly was back living at the dorms at Georgetown, he wanted to keep a close eye on his best friend. And lover.
They’d taken each other hard, had showered and now Jet was downstairs working on the boat, sipping bourbon, his form of afterglow. Mac had ordered some Chinese food and was leafing through a forensic journal, waiting for the food to arrive.
The sound of the door opening yanked him out of the article, and he reached for a gun he wasn’t carrying before launching himself toward the door. “Be right there!” He didn’t even have time to tuck his shirt in.
“Hey, thanks. We’re starved.” He reached out for the bags, but the dark-haired woman just watched him, tears pouring down her face. She was looking around and beyond him, gripping the doorjamb.
“It’s okay, ma’am. I’m a police officer. Come inside. You’re safe here.” He reached for her arm, but she pulled away and whimpered. She was babbling incoherently but he thought he heard “Gibbs”.
“Jet! Situation up here!” he called.
There was something in Mac’s voice that worried GIbbs. He wasn’t going to lose someone else, especially not Mac. “Mac! What is it?”
When he got upstairs, he saw Mac at the door with…Abby?
“Abbs? Hey…hey. What’s going on?” He nudged Mac aside with a hip, pulling Abby into the living room. “Having a tough night, Abbs?”
“Gibbs.” Abby was so happy to see her boss, she didn’t know who the other guy was, but she didn’t care who he was. “More than a tough night.”
Mac gave a confused look and Jet shrugged. He had no idea what was going on with her, or what she’d think of him having a stranger bare footed, shirt wide-open, jeans unbuttoned, answering his door.
“Couldn’t ya button up, Mac?” he didn’t know why he said it, but his lover flushed, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.
“You might want to put some clothes on yourself, Jet. I’m not sure how your friend feels about you and your boxers.”
Mac flicked his eyes over him and Gibbs realized he probably looked just as well fucked, even if he didn’t look rumpled. “Yeah, I know, Mac. I know. Abbs? Ya need something to drink? Come in and settle down. We have Chinese on the way.”
“Jack, no glass.” Abby ordered, cautiously watching both men. Both were good looking still, even though they had to be over forty. “You don’t need to feed me. I shouldn’t stay. You know someone who can get me into New Orleans? I need to get down there, Gibbs. I can’t get a hold of my parents, and the neighbor who normally helps them says that she couldn’t find them when she went to get them to evacuate. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t have a good feeling. I need to get down there, in case the levees give out.”
“Both her parents are deaf,” Jet told Mac. He met Mac’s eyes and his lover tossed him his cargo shorts and a T-shirt. Ever the Boy Scout, Mac had brought down some clothes. He dressed quickly as Mac grabbed the bottle.
“What’s going on, Abbs? The hurricane? It passed, didn’t it? Everything is okay?”
She bit her lip and shook her head and he led her to the den, where he flipped the TV on, and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. What had seemed to be a moderate hurricane was more, he could feel it.
“Here,” Mac said softly, handing Jet the bottle. He dropped into a chair, buttoning his shirt up, giving Jet a wince. Looked like they were out, though she was so upset she might not comment for now. Jethro knew Abby would comment at some point. It was her nature.
Jet motioned to the TV. It looked like the hurricane had passed New Orleans, but that didn’t mean a real lot. There could be problems. There would be problems, despite the fact that all the reporters were crowing about how New Orleans had dodged a bullet. “You have any connections down there, Mac? Abby’s folks are deaf and we need to locate them.”
Mac nodded. “Let me get some calls made.” He mussed Jet’s hair and gave Abby a gentle smile before disappearing.
Jet watched him go, a small smile playing over his mouth. “Abbs, he has a lot of connections and between us, we’ll get your folks to safety. I’m not letting you go down there, not if the levees breach. Too dangerous, Abbs. Not gonna lose you. Where is your brother?”
"Steve is in New York. Went up to school early to take some sort of seminar on ASL in mainstream schools. He's been gone about a week now I guess. He's calling me like crazy to see if I've talked to Mom and Dad." Abby tried to relax, but she was still tense. Not even the liquor was helping calm her down.
"If I have to go down there I will, Gibbs. I need to know my parents are fine. I've always lived with the fact that they are different, but I never felt like I had to be a parent to them. This is scary. Gloria doesn't like watching TV, and my dad tends to hole himself up in his shop and ignore the outside world. They might not have even known a storm was coming despite the evacuation orders.
Abby had promised her brother that she'd find their parents and bring them to live with her. Her house was small, but it was dry and relatively safe. "Your friend, he's more than a friend, isn't he? You trust him to find my parents? I need to know, because if I have to, I'm driving down there, to hell with the levees and the danger that being there entails. I need to know my parents are safe, and I'm not stopping until I know that."
“I’m not letting you go there, Abby. Way too dangerous. If anyone has to go, I’ll go. Or Mac’ll go. We’re Marines, Abby. We can handle a situation that might get out of control.”
New Orleans was a rough city at the best of times, and this could easily spiral in to chaos. A cute Goth girl would be in trouble. She didn’t like to shoot, sure didn’t keep up on the range, no…he wasn’t losing someone else.
He tried to skirt her first question. “Abbs, I trust Mac with my life. I’d trust him with Kel’s life. If anyone has the connections to find your parents, he’s our man. Ya trust me to know he’s gonna make this happen?”
"I trust you, and I trust your boyfriend, Gibbs." Abby saw the fleeting moment of panic in her boss’s eyes, before acceptance settled in. "You were in your boxers, in a closed up house with another man. Of course he's more than just a friend. And I won't say a word. I love you like a really old brother, so if you want to play with boys, you can. And if your partner can find my parents, I'll stay home. I need to get to them one way or another. And I'm not letting you go down into a hurricane. It's my hometown; I've seen it good and bad. I can handle myself down there. Not even a trained Marine can mange in New Orleans the way a native could."
Oh yeah, they were outed. “He’s not…Abbs, it’s much more than that. Not what you’re thinking. We were in the Corps together. Damn near died. Became…close back then. Both lost our wives, his on 9/11. And you know about Shan. Mac is…it’s complicated.”
Maybe over Chinese and JD they could explain it to someone who wasn’t their parents.
"I don't care. Mac could be a chick with chest hair and if you're happy, I'm happy, Gibbs. Who you sleep with isn't my business, but I hope you don't mind if I get to know Mac some. I want to know him, and if he really manages to find my parents, then yeah, we're cool. You don't ask me who I'm sleeping with, do you?" Abby didn't want her boss to think that she would care if he were bi or even gay. "We find my parents and then we can drink and eat and I can get to know your boyfriend or whatever you want to call him. I'm good."
Jethro chuckled. “He’s all man, Abbs.” He sighed, nodding. “Not the way I wanted this to happen but yeah. You stay here with us; get to know him. Stay in the guestroom.” She gave him a brave smirk and he rolled his eyes. “Yes, Abbs. The spare room is free. And Mac will make it happen.”
“If it were up to you, none of us would ever show up at your house. Probably how you kept this secret.” Abby was glad to see that her boss was happy and loose. He never smiled at work, at least not willingly. Mac was good for him.
“You don’t want me to stay here. I’ll just be a bother, you’ll be more about entertaining me than entertaining Mac.” But Abby really didn’t want to go home and wait by herself. “You’ve got a weekend off and I ruined it, Gibbs. You should be able to enjoy the rest of it.”
He shrugged, a little uncomfortable. “There’s work life and then there’s not. You’re the only one I can see in both. As long as Mac stays here and never comes in to the office.”
She didn’t understand. How could she? “Mac’s a fixture here, Abby, for a lot of years. You didn’t ruin anything. You stay, eat, drink, and wait for info. With us. Don’t need to be alone tonight, Abbs.”
His arm tightened around her shoulders. “Mac will move mountains for you, Abbs.”
"Why? He doesn't even know me? I really appreciate what he's doing, but he didn't have to." Abby was so grateful, and planned on coming up with something super special to do for both men for helping out this way. "You said he's been a fixture here, but that doesn't mean he needs to do nice things for me."
“It’s the type of guy he is, Abby. I care about you and he cares about me. Therefore, he’ll move mountains for you. Get to know him and you’ll understand.”
“I’d like that. Most people when they meet me will cross the street to avoid me. He just opened the door and let me in. That’s not normal, Gibbs.” Abby knew that the way she looked was a put off for some. The people who knew and loved her had no problems with it but strangers were wary of the goth look.
“He’s a Marine, Abbs. He could kill you twenty different ways before you drew a second breath. And he knows enough about you to know who you are.”
“I just didn’t expect that, not that I expected to knock and find him here. He’s a good guy, and Gibbs, he’s kind of yummy.”
Jethro smirked, nodding. “The best, Abbs. The best.” He wasn’t about to get into a discussion about if Mac was “yummy” or not.
"And hot. Is that easier for you to say instead of yummy?" Seeing Gibbs at home and relaxed was odd. "I think he's good for you. You don't relax like this at work, or anytime I've seen you out after hours. For that, he deserves a big thank you."
He was starting to get very red, his face heating. “Hot, okay. I’m not used to talking about this. And yeah…” He knew his voice was getting soft. “He’s been good for me for a long time.” He relaxed but he just didn’t show everyone that side of him.
“You just don’t let on. Never would have guessed. I mean, really. How many wives have you had and you still have managed to keep hotness too?” Abby really was enjoying this new version of the boss, the one that could blush. She was going to have to try and make him do it at work some day. “Some day, you’re going to have to tell me the story. Once you realize I’m not going to tell everyone at work. Or, I can get Kelly to tell me? I bet she’s got great stories to tell.”
He sighed heavily. “Three ex wives, Abbs, and Shan. And Mac was married once, but she died.” He hadn’t really kept Mac; it was just that Mac chose to come back again and again when he never should have by all rights. He shook his head. “You won’t worm it out of Kel. Some day you, me, Mac and a couple of bottles of whatever we’re drinking at the time. Nobody down here but Kelly knows him. Ducky’s mom met him a few times but that’s all.”
“I look forward to that night. I’ll bring the bottles of whatever, we’ll break out something really good. I have a friend who makes some sort of berry liquor that even you two manly men will enjoy. I bring the booze, you provide the carryout and we’ll talk relationships.” Abby was curious, and she bet she could get something out of Kelly, but it would involve leather and free drinks which was something Kelly’s father didn’t need to know. “We’ll make a weekend out of it.”
Jethro gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t know how easy it’ll be to get that out of either of us, but do your best, Abbs. He…it’s complex and complicated and thorny as we are. But when it works…” How could he explain it?
“You stop asking why and go with it. I get that part of it.” She was actually pretty jealous of the fact that Gibbs had someone like that in his life. “I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me. I’ll try not to be too nosey, but once we’ve all been drinking, no guarantees.”
He leaned in close to her, needing to share something. “He’s my equal. Nobody else ever was my equal. And I…” He swallowed, the admission huge because it had been shared with so few people. “I love him more than anyone outside of Kelly. There aren’t words, Abbs.”
How could he tell her that her big, strong boss would fall to his knees and beg Mac for it, how Mac was the only person ever he could completely let go with? How it was just as enjoyable to top as to bottom with Mac? How could he be honest without telling her that and how could he tell her that without losing her respect?
“Mac and me, Abbs. Never seen anything like it before. Power shifts and trust and respect.” And so much more. Maybe they could work up to that in time.
Abby was shocked. In all the time she’d known Gibbs, she had never heard him speak so frankly about anything, and never once about a relationship he was in. “I want you to know just how happy I am for you. I worry about you, boss, and your emotional health. I can see that I don’t really need to do that. You have someone who takes care of you, and who seems to know your moods. I know how much you carry on your shoulders and you take home after a case. I’m glad to know that you have someone here who understands and keeps you sane.”
He looked toward the outer room. “I don’t have him here. New York has him, Abbs. I just borrow him when they let him go.” He needed Mac here, it was well beyond time and just before 9/11, Mac and Claire had been planning the move. He wanted to ask Mac to come down again but was worried about the impact if Mac said no. He and Kelly couldn’t move; her life was down here.
He swallowed hard, needing to bring things back to the subject at hand. She wasn’t going to what could quickly become a warzone. “I was up there in New York just after 9/11, helping him look for his wife. Remember when I went off grid? You aren’t ready. You haven’t seen New Orleans in chaos, Abby, and if those levees go, it’ll be chaos. Looting, armed gangs taking over. No place for you.”
"I'm not a little girl, I can handle my hometown. I'm not going for Mardi Gras; I'm doing a rescue mission. I'm in and out before anyone knows I'm there."
“Yeah, sure. Famous last words. Let Mac work his magic.”
“Yeah, fine.” Abby pouted, but was really glad that they weren’t going to let her go down to New Orleans. It didn’t look so bad, but Abby had a gut feeling that this was the calm before the storm.
“I won’t lose anyone else, Abby. I can’t let you go down there and risk yourself. We just lost McGee…”
"Tim wasn't your fault and you can't blame yourself. He wouldn't want that, Boss. None of you were to blame, it was that bastard Ari. He's the one behind us losing McGee, not any of you."
“Tim’s gone,” he said softly. It didn’t matter who was to blame, Ari had been trying to take out his people. In the end, that was what counted.
“Yes, he is. But Gibbs, he knew that you had his six. He also knew that what happened was always possible. We had talked about it, when he first started.” Abby’s fascination with the young agent hadn’t just been sexual, she wanted to know what made him tick. They were friends before they were lovers. “He knew that leaving Norfolk meant that his job got considerably more dangerous and he welcomed it. You gave him a chance, which meant more to him then anything.”
“If I had his six, he’d be here today,” Jet replied quietly. “He was my probie. He shouldn’t have gone down like this.”
"No, and Ari never should have made it out of the country the first time, when we knew what he was and he attacked Ducky, Gerald, and Kate." Abby would always have issues with the FBI or CIA or whoever it was that had protected the rat bastard that had hurt so many of her friends. "But you still gave him a chance to do what he really wanted in life. He would have rotted away unnoticed if he hadn't of come to work for you. Tim wouldn't have wanted that. Not that he wanted to end up dead. But he would have been miserable left at Norfolk his whole career."
He couldn’t talk about Tim. It just hurt way too much. His failure, the kid was dead. He was so damn green, too. Kate and Tony, they’d had experience, but McGee was just a kid. “Enough, Abbs,” he ground out in a low voice. His pain was too raw.
Abby knew not to push, and stopped before she could say something else that might upset Gibbs. Leaning up to kiss her boss, she left a little smudge of red lipstick on his cheek. “You’ve got us, and we love you, Boss. Let’s just leave it at that.”
He nodded, looking toward the door and Mac. He’d almost rather talk about his lover. Tim was just too hard a subject to face.
“I won’t push you to talk about anything if you’re not ready. Just know you’ve got a set of open ears when you do want to talk.”
“Two sets. He comes down all the time hoping I’ll talk about it.” And Jet hadn’t been able to yet. Yell, argue, yeah, but talking was another story.
“You should take him up on it, Gibbs. You can’t carry this with you and expect to get better. The longer you hold it in, the worse it’s going to be for you. Already it’s eating away at you.”
He shrugged. “Think about it, Abbs.”
Abby kissed his cheek. “Too damn stubborn for you own good, Gibbs. Let some people in, let them help you even. Mac must love you or he wouldn’t have stuck around as long as he has. Trust him with your feelings, you’ll see a whole new part of your relationship.”
He did trust his feelings with Mac, but he’d been so busy having Mac watch out for Kel that they hadn’t had a lot of time together. “I trust him,” he allowed.
“Then let him know it. Open up. You’ll feel better when it’s off your chest. Trust me, it’s better than a colon cleansing. Probably more pleasant too.”
“Abbs…” he began but didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t explain it, how he and Mac worked. “Enough, Abbs,” he finally said gently.
"Fine. I'm backing off." Abby raised her hands in defeat. "You won't hear me say that I care enough about you to be worried about your emotional state. Not ever again."
“This one hit way too close to home, Abbs. It’s different.”