AN: This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so let me know if you think I should continue or not. This story is AU, set in season 2. Jenny is returning to DC, but she hasn't been promoted to NCIS director yet.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter 1:
Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a pretty predictable man when it came to routines. It really didn't matter what time of year it was, who invited him to what social engagement, or what do-it yourself project needed to be completed around the house. Even if he got called into work over the weekend, somehow he almost always ended up here, in his basement, sipping bourbon, working on his boat, and reliving memories of a past very few people in his life knew anything about. Most days his memories were filled with a beautiful redheaded woman and the adorable little girl that had his hair and her eyes. Sometimes he would re-live the happy moments, like the day Shannon agreed to marry him or reading bedtime stories to Kelly before kissing her goodnight. Other times, especially after a case involving a Marine's family, he would re-live the pain and sorrow of losing the love of his life and his only child in an instant. Those were the nights the bottle of bourbon emptied faster than he intended and he'd wake up the next morning under his boat with a pounding headache.
As often as those memories came, and they did come very often, those were not the memories plaguing him today. In fact, the memories that had been plaguing him almost daily for several weeks now were slightly more recent. Memories of a different redhead and a time when he thought he might actually get a second chance to experience real life and real love. But he was wrong. Jenny had walked away, and the little bit of his heart that was left, she took with her. Sure, he'd married twice between Shannon and Jenny and once again after Jenny, but his heart wasn't really in it. He'd been surprised when he realized he actually loved Jenny, not just liked her but actually loved her. He'd thought it was impossible after losing Shannon, but Jenny made him feel alive again. After she left he came to the conclusion that he'd had his chances, but real love wasn't in the cards for him. He'd convinced himself he could deal with it, and that's just what he'd been doing for the past 5 years.
Today though, on this typical Sunday afternoon, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was doing his best to sand his way through the memories of loving and losing Jennifer Shepard. Instead of fighting it, he decided to let the memories flow, just this once. Maybe thinking through it would finally free his mind, for a while at least. As he re-lived the first time he met Jenny, the changes in their relationship as it turned from professional to personal, all those romantic nights in Paris, and that horrible moment when he opened up the letter that said she was gone, Jethro Gibbs realized that no matter how angry he was at her, he'd give almost anything for her to walk into his basement and tell him she was coming back.
He was so caught up in his fantasy of what it would be like to see her again he didn't even notice the sound of heels clicking across the floor and down his basement stairs. It wasn't until he smelled a fancy French perfume wafting through the air that he realized it was more than just a figment of his imagination. As he turned his head toward the stairs his heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat. For a moment he stood frozen in place, a million things running through his head at once. Finally he managed to choke out one single word.
"Jen?" It was barely whisper, but she heard it, and in response he heard the voice he'd been missing for five long years. "Hello, Jethro."
TBC
Please review and let me know if you'd like to read more!
