Postmortem
- Chapter 4 -
Gibbs squinted at the bright sunlight but nonetheless managed to notice someone moving around inside Mike's house. He walked slowly towards the familiar patio, curious as to what he would find, when the door slammed open and a little girl jumped out and came running towards them.
"Daddy daddy!" she yelled and Gibbs grinned knowingly at Mike. He was utterly surprised when she flung herself at him instead of his old boss.
"Finally daddy! What took you so long? It feels like I've been waiting forever." She hugged him tightly.
Gibbs mind was a whirl of thoughts and he tried hard to get a grip on this new reality that was being thrust upon him all of a sudden. He looked at the girl, taking in her age and appearance. Auburn hair, blue eyes and a feature so similar to someone close to his heart he almost started crying at the spot. The girl looked curiously at him, still with her arms wrapped around him.
"Er, how old are you now honey?" She grinned at the question and held up eight fingers, looking proudly at him.
"Eight years old already? Practically a lady!" the girl giggled at his silly response before wriggling out of his arms, running towards Mike.
"Uncle Mike!"
"Hi there Sarah! How's my favorite girl today?"
"Fiiiine."
"You happy about meeting daddy?"
"Oh yeah! He looks just like in the pictures mom showed me." She suddenly turned to Gibbs with a frown etched upon her forehead.
"Are you as nice as mom says you are as well?" Gibbs felt his heart break upon hearing those words but steadied himself before he answered, not wanting to upset her.
"I hope so. Sarah."
They went to the patio together in silence, Gibbs constantly contemplating the twist his life was taking.
"Sarah, why don't you go and play for a bit and let daddy have a word with uncle Mike?" Gibbs asked and stared at Mike to make him stay put.
"Ok daddy!" Sarah bounced off towards her favorite place under a palm tree nearby, leaving the two adults alone.
"Everything," Gibbs ordered Mike sternly, feeling his anger building with every passing moment. Mike sighed.
"Jenny came to me over a year ago asking me to take care of Sarah, both because of the potential of her being kidnapped but also to still keep her a secret. Sarah's been here ever since and Jenny's been visiting as often as possible."
"And how exactly did you plan to tell Sarah about her mother being dead?"
Gibbs was angry at Mike but even angrier at Jenny, to no avail, for keeping him from his daughter for this long. Just as he was about to retort Mike was save from Gibbs' whipping tongue by Sarah coming over, wanting to spend more time with her dad.
"Daddy, come and play with me!"
Gibbs week spot had always been children and he couldn't say no to his little girl, not when he had so much catching up to do. He glared at Mike.
"We'll talk later."
He went over to Sarah and lifted her towards the sky before hugging her tight, trying to keep thoughts of Jen from invading his mind. He even imagined he could smell her perfume in the air, boy was he in denial.
Suddenly Sarah lifted her head high and started yelling loudly.
"Mommy mommy! Look, daddy's finally here! He came for me, just like you promised."
‘Mommy? Who is mommy?' Gibbs wondered before he heard the loveliest sound in the whole wide world.
"Mommy always keeps her promises Sarah," a familiar female voice said happily.
Gibbs couldn't believe it. He put Sarah down and slowly turned around to see where the little girl was running. His eyes met a familiar pair of bare legs, a slim body and the most startling green eyes he'd ever seen. He stared in wonder at the woman before him, whom was currently hugging their daughter.
"Jen?" he asked tentatively, not quite believing what he saw. She smiled at him and whispered something to Sarah before the girl took off, sprinting towards the house.
Jenny moved to stand in front of Gibbs but his mind still had a hard time comprehending what he was seeing. He lifted his hand slowly to gently touch her cheek and when he felt the warm, smooth and very real skin under his hand the walls inside him crumbled to dust. His eyes swam over with tears and for the first time in over a decade he didn't mind letting all the pent up emotions out.
Gibbs couldn't take it anymore. He reached out and pulled Jenny into a bone crushing hug, sobbing like never before. Soon he could feel Jenny's tears stain his t-shirt and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of them both standing on a deserted beach, crying, in each others arms.
He looked into her eyes, still not trusting her to really be there. There was only one way to find out. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. The moment their mouths made contact he knew it was for real, that Jenny was very much alive and standing in front of him crying with pure bliss.
Gibbs felt like a million bucks and he almost burst with happiness. Everything he had ever wished to have was being handed to him on a silver tray and he would be a fool not to accept the offer given to him. He burst out into laughter all of a sudden, his eyes sparkling like two diamonds, and startled Jenny by lifting her up and spin them around until she shrieked delightfully with an ear to ear grin plastered across her face.
"Jethro!" He stopped when he heard her playful yet demanding tone and was rewarded with a peck on the lips.
"Jenny..."
"I know you're not good with words and it's ok Jethro."
"No. When you died, I had regrets."
"Me too."
He smiled at her confession but still felt like he had to get all the words out before he fell back to his ordinary, and silent, routine.
"I never forgot Paris Jen and I meant what I said your first day as Director, I really missed you."
"I missed you too Jethro."
They embraced and Jenny kissed Gibbs tenderly before pulling away. Once they'd started they couldn't get enough though and Gibbs eagerly pressed his lips to hers with renewed vigor. A small giggle made them jump apart like a couple of teenagers caught in the act.
"Sarah, what have I told you about sneaking up on people?"
"But mommy!"
"No buts young lady. Let's go back to uncle Mikes house and make dinner, it's way past time for it anyway."
Sarah jumped in between her parents and took hold of their hands, demanding to get as much of their attention as possible. Gibbs glanced down at her and then looked pointedly at Jenny when the girl couldn't see.
"Later Jethro."