Postmortem
- Chapter 6 & Epilogue -
Jenny had had enough. The non-existing relationship between her and Jethro was breaking her apart and this night she was determined to amend things.
Silently she was sneaking through the house towards his bedroom, hoping she didn't disturb Sarah or Mike. The last thing she wanted was for them to overhear the inevitable banter that was going to take place. When she peeked through the opening into his room the only thing she could see was his unused bed.
‘Where the hell is he?' she thought angrily, not admitting to herself that she was terribly worried about him.
The first place she could think of was the beach and so she made her way over there, constantly avoiding creaking floor boards and making other unnecessary noises. Her efforts were well rewarded when she laid eyes on a certain blue eyes male, sitting a few hundred meters from the house. Silently, she made her way over but was aware of the fact that he already knew she was there. He'd always known when she was around.
He felt a presence behind him and recognized the breathing as Jenny's. Soon she sat down beside him and he sighed audibly.
"What do you want Jen?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"You mean aside from the obvious?"
"I'm not a mind reader."
"I'm sorry." He heard the pain in her voice and unconsciously raised his head to let his eyes meet hers.
"You know what? I'm sorry too. Sorry that I missed Sarah's baby years, sorry that she never knew her father and most of all I'm sorry you felt too proud to let me in on your secret!"
"Do you think it was an easy choice? Leaving you and then finding out about Sarah, on my own, wasn't exactly what I had planned you know."
"But you could have told me!"
"No, I couldn't have," Jenny whispered, on the verge of tears.
"You don't trust me Jen?"
"I do, and I did, but that's not the point. The best way to keep a secret is to tell no one. I loved you too much to put you in the line of fire like that. If anyone would've found out we could have lost our jobs, and that would mean no money and a starving baby. No! As much as I regret everything I still think it was the best way."
"That is not for you to decide."
"What?! Like hell it isn't! I gave birth to her and I was the one who needed to protect her. Maybe if I hadn't had the guts to leave you before I found out things would've been different but..."
"Why did you leave Jen?"
"I..." The question had surprised her and she felt at a loss for words. After a long while she sighed and realized keeping things from Gibbs was not the right approach this time.
"I loved you too much not to."
"Will I get an explanation to that cryptic statement?" His voice was cold yet pleasant and Jenny thought she could hear a tinge of some unrecognizable emotion in it.
"I was threatened. From outside NCIS. If I didn't leave you instantly they would kill you so I had no choice but to go through with it. I couldn't go to NCIS for help either without addressing our relationship issue and that was not even on the map at that time."
"Who threatened you? Did you find them?"
"I did eventually and it's finally all been taken care of."
"La Grenouille?" Jenny nodded slowly, suspecting that Gibbs already knew who was responsible for Renée's early demise.
"First my father and then you, I had to do it. The chance finally presented itself when we leaked out that I was dying."
"Are you? Jen please, I need to know." They looked into each others eyes and Jenny let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"No. It was all fabricated." Her eye didn't twitch.
Gibbs said nothing but he felt his eyes water at the thought of Jenny not only being alive but healthy too. And as gorgeous as ever. And the mother of his child. He suddenly realized that he was a stubborn fool for not accepting the facts about what had happened and continuing to live his life from this point instead of dwelling in the past.
After a long silence Gibbs finally spoke again, his voice thick with emotion.
"Jenny?" She looked at him with pleading eyes, silently begging him to forgive her.
"I'm ready."
"For what?" she asked, feeling every bit as puzzled as she looked.
"To let go. I'm... sorry... I've been such an obstinate and grumpy old man lately. I realize now what I need to do." Jenny could barely believe what she heard. All this coming from Jethro Gibbs, the man who let's his actions speak rather than his mouth?
"And what is that exactly?"
"This." He leaned towards Jenny and delicately kissed her on the mouth, giving her the time and space to pull away if she wanted to.
Jenny's head was spinning and her heart pounding hard in her chest. It took a while for her to respond but when she got her acts together she pulled Gibbs against her for a bone crushing hug. She kissed him back and let her lips display just how badly she wanted him. As he laid her down in the sand she couldn't help but whisper softly in his ear.
"I love you."
EPILOGUE
The sun was rising over
Sarah came over to her parents and started to demand their attention by pulling at their clothes before Gibbs silenced her with a stern glare. He turned to Jenny.
"What I was going to say before our lovely daughter interrupted was that I love you Jen. I always have."
"Oh Jethro..." They kissed passionately while tears trickled down Jenny's cheeks.
"Mommy, does this mean we are going to be a real family now?" Jenny's eyes shot to Gibbs's and he smiled faintly before looking at his daughter.
"Yeah Sarah, I think it does."
THE END