**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't own NCIS, or any of th characters. No copyright infringement intended, I just like to write!**
Each Chapter will be a short story, highlighting the adventures of the Gibbs Twins, and of course Jenny and Jethro!
Reviews are always welcome!
Jenny rolled over in bed, and almost slid off the white satin sheets. She wasn't at home. She had to remind herself of that. She was at the Winston Churchill Hotel with Jethro. It was the day after their wedding. She hadn't wanted, or needed a honeymoon but Ducky had insisted. Her children were fourteen months old, and she hadn't had a night to herself since they had been born. Ducky had offered to fly them anywhere, even Paris, but Jenny had flatly refused.
Instead, she had booked a suite at the Churchill, and that's where she and Jethro would stay for one more night. She and Jethro had decided that a weekend away was a nice compromise. Getting a grip on the slippery sheets Jenny turned to rub Jethro's back, and she found the bed empty. There was a note on the pillow. Jenny reached for her reading glasses and found them on the nightstand. Even before the events of last night Jethro had insisted that they read from the Bible, as they did every night before bed. Having twins had brought out a side of Gibbs that Jenny had never seen before. Gibbs was home by seven most nights, and he doted on his children, and wife.
Jenny picked up the note and read it, "Gone to get coffee, love your husband." Jenny laughed as she set the note back down on the pillow. Jenny took advantage of her situation and removed her glasses. She settled back into bed and buried herself under the covers. Sleep was at a premium lately, and any chance to nap, or just relax was a welcome treat. Jenny drifted off into a light sleep, and only stirred when she heard the sound of a key in the hotel door.
Jenny could smell coffee and cologne. Her husband had returned. Jenny sat up in bed as Jethro rounded the corner from the sitting room into the bedroom. He had two large white cups in his hand.
"One coffee for my wife, and one coffee for me." Gibbs said as he handed Jenny her coffee, and she happily accepted the cup.
"Thank-you husband." Jenny said with a giggle. She liked saying the word "husband" and she loved that when she said it she was referring to Jethro.
"You look good." Jethro said smiling.
"Why thank you Jethro." Jenny said it honestly. It was a welcome compliment.
"For the first time in fourteen months you look well-rested. " Jethro said simply.
"You're probably right about that…what time did we finally go to sleep last night?" Jenny asked, as her mind flashed back to the wonderful memories of the night before.
"I'll never tell." Jethro said with a smile.
"Oh so it's top secret?" Jenny asked
"I'm afraid that if I tell you there won't be a repeat performance." Jethro said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Jenny said it as she leaned in and kissed Jethro passionately.
Their kiss was long and sweet, and Jenny was hoping it would lead to other things when they were interrupted by her phone ringing. Jenny broke form the embrace and turned to stand up.
"Leave it." Jethro said with a heavy sigh.
"I can't it's Ducky." Jenny said, recognizing the bagpipe ring tone she had customized especially for Ducky's phone number.
Jenny got up and headed over to the desk. She picked up her phone. Much to Jenny's surprise she had a picture message from Ducky, not a phone call. Jenny clicked the touch screen and selected "open photo." As the image popped up on the screen Jenny giggled. It was a picture of Jackie and Luke sitting on the couch in Ducky's parlor. Jackie was holding a sign that said "Good" and Luke was holding a sign that said "Morning." Jenny laughed and handed her phone to Jethro.
"I can only assume Ducky is having fun with the children." Jenny said as Jethro smiled at the photo of his children.
"Ducky and half of NCIS." Jethro added, handing the phone back to Jenny.
When Ducky had insisted Jenny and Jethro take some sort of honeymoon Jenny had objected on the basis that there was nobody to watch her children. Ducky had said that he would happily take the children for a weekend. Jenny still objected because Ducky had to look out for Mrs. Mallard and two young children, it just seemed like a recipe for disaster. Ducky wasn't willing to back down, so he had recruited Team Gibbs to camp out at his place for the weekend, and help with Mrs. Mallard and the children. Ducky's house was plenty large enough and everybody got their own room, it was the perfect arrangement. Ducky had finally cornered Jenny and Jethro one evening, and he did make a good point, five adults and two children, it seemed like it would work out well. Ducky had even invited Jack Gibbs to stay and visit, but he had insisted on getting back to Stillwater so he could manage his store.
Jenny set her phone back on the desk and laughed.
"What's so funny?" Jethro said, still sitting on the bed, eagerly anticipating Jenny's return.
"Oh I was just thinking to myself that Ducky's house must look like some sort of resort right now." Jenny said it with a smile.
Much to Jethro's relief Jenny headed back to the bed kissed him. They spent the rest of the day doing what all newlyweds do. At six Jenny began getting ready. They had dinner reservations in the main dining room at seven thirty. She wanted to look especially nice, and she spent an hour doing her hair and make-up. She smiled as Jethro lay in bed sleeping. He looked so cute when he slept. Jenny was only slightly jealous that he could be ready in five minutes. His neatly pressed suit hung in the closet, and all he had to do was run a comb through his hair when he woke up.
Once her hair and make-up were done Jenny slipped on her black cocktail dress. The finishing touch was of course, the pearl necklace Jethro had given her. She checked herself once more in the bathroom mirror and decided that she looked good enough. Jenny gently ran a hand through Jethro's hair as he slept. She hated to disturb him, but it was almost time for dinner.
"Wake up darling!" Jenny said in an excited whisper.
Jethro stirred from his sleep and mumbled something incoherent.
"Your suit is in the closet." Jenny said simply as Jethro stood up and stumbled to the closet.
Ten minutes later the happy couple was seated at a quiet corner table in the main dining room.
"You look amazing Jen." Jethro said with a smile.
"You look so handsome; I love your hair like that." Jenny said smiling back at her husband. Jethro was wearing his hair slicked back. He reserved it only for formal occasions, and Jenny loved how distinguished it made him look.
"Thank-you Jen." Jethro replied.
Suddenly their waitress appeared; she was a young girl with blond hair and green eyes, most likely working her way through college Jenny thought to herself.
"Hi my name is Alli and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Would you like to start with some wine tonight?" The waitress asked happily.
"We'd like to look at your wine list please." Jenny said with a smile.
"Here you go." The waitress replied as she handed a small leather bound book to Jenny. Immediately she flipped to the section with the red wines. She and Jethro both loved red wine, and she scanned the offerings quickly. She already had a few ideas in mind. Much to Jenny's surprise she found exactly what she was looking for.
"We'll have the Chateau Moton 2002 please." Jenny said as she handed the wine list back to the waitress.
"Lovely choice. The sommelier will be right out with that Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs. In the meantime I'll put in the appetizer order, what would you like?" The waitress asked as she pulled out her notepad.
"I'll have the Caprese salad please." Jenny said. Caprese salad from the Winston Churchill was one of her favorite treats and she was thrilled to be able to order it.
"I'll have the crab cake please" Jethro said. After enough security details Jethro Gibbs practically had the menu at every upscale hotel in Washington D.C. memorized.
"Good choices, I love the Caprese salad too. I'll get the orders put in for you." Alli explained as she walked away.
Jenny and Jethro chatted as they waited for their wine. They talked about everything, but mostly how much they loved each other, and they both agreed that their wedding and reception had been beautiful. They were both surprised that the twins had behaved so well, especially late into the evening.
"I can't wait to get the pictures back from the photographer." Jenny commented as a man in a dark suit approached their table, and he was carrying a rather large bottle.
"That must be the wine." Jethro said happily.
"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs, I am Josiah Michaels, your sommelier for the evening." The man in the suit explained.
Jenny immediately took note of his British accent.
"Mrs. Gibbs, I must say you have excellent taste in red wines, but tonight your beverage has already been selected for you." Josiah explained as he placed the bottle he was carrying on the table.
Jenny raised an eyebrow at Jethro, sure that he had a trick up his sleeve. He must have snuck something in, Jenny thought to herself. But much to Jenny's surprise Jethro looked as confused as she did. Jenny squinted in the dim candlelight to read the label on the bottle. It was champagne. "Somebody wants to surprise us", she thought to herself
"This accompanied your champagne, Madame." Josiah said as he handed Jenny a white envelope.
Jenny glanced at Jethro, and then down at the envelope. It was simply addressed to "The Newlyweds" but Jenny instantly recognized the writing. It was Ducky's.
"It's from Ducky." Jenny said looking at Jethro.
"Well, then hurry up and open it." Jethro said with a smile.
Jenny opened the envelope and inside was a simple card that read "Congratulations" on the front in silver calligraphy. Jenny showed Jethro the front of the card and then opened it to read it. As she opened it something inside fell to the floor, and Jethro immediately dove underneath the table to find it. Jenny was without her reading glasses, and she had to hold the card at arm's length to read the note inside. Underneath the table Jenny could hear Jethro rummaging around. Not one to deny an opportunity Jethro placed a gentle kiss on the inside of Jenny's left ankle before he returned to his seat. A smile swept across Jenny's face as she felt Jethro kiss her ankle, and she bit her tongue to conceal a giggle.
Finally Jethro was seated again, and he looked at what had fallen out of the card. It was a picture of the entire team and the twins standing in front of the "Spirit of Saint Louis" at the Smithsonian museum. He turned the picture over, and on the back the current date and the words "Team Gibbs" were written in Abby's handwriting. Jethro smiled and handed the picture to Jenny. She glanced at it, and read the card aloud.
"We thought you might enjoy this, hope you're having fun, we're keeping the kids entertained. Love, Team Gibbs." Jenny said with a smile on her face.
"Your friend, Ducky, he and I had quite the conversation today, reminiscing about our British adventures as children." Josiah said with a smile.
"This champagne is an excellent choice for any meal. It is a 1998 Dom Perignon Rose. Your friend Ducky was lucky to have found it. Shall I open it for you?" Josiah asked.
"Please." Jenny and Jethro said in one voice.
As Josiah opened the bottle for the happy couple Jenny examined the picture closely. The entire team must have ventured out with the children for a day of fun. Both Jacqueline and Lucas were fascinated by airplanes, and the museum must have been so exciting for both of them. Jenny was so happy that the team had volunteered to help Ducky. In the beginning she had been very hesitant about leaving them behind for an entire weekend, but as she sat with Jethro she was happy to be sharing one meal that didn't end with her and Jethro both covered in food and drool.
Josiah filled two champagne flutes with the bubbly pink concoction and handed one to Jenny, then, Jethro.
"Here is the cork Madame. If you require anything else, don't be afraid to ask." Josiah said as he placed the cork on the table next to the open bottle on the table.
"To us, we finally made it happen." Jethro said as he raised his glass.
"To us." Jenny chorused. Their glasses clinked and they both sipped their champagne slowly, savoring the flavor.
"Ducky is always full of surprises." Jenny said as she Jethro re-filled her glass.
"He certainly is." Jethro said smiling.
"It's nice to see you smile Jethro." Jenny said truthfully.
"I have a reason to smile now, and it's nice." Jethro said as he finished off another glass of champagne.
The rest of their meal was delightful, and they finished the entire bottle of champagne after dessert. As they exited the restaurant Jenny grabbed the cork and the photo off the table and held them both tightly in her hand. She was going to save the cork and the photo for eternity.
"What are you taking that for?" Jethro asked in a low voice as he embraced Jenny's free hand with his own.
"It's from a three hundred and fifty dollar bottle of champagne, I'm saving it." Jenny said simply.
"Wow…they spent that much on us?" Jethro said impressed.
He was happy his team had done something so nice for him, but he thought it was a bit extravagant. He also rationalized that the entire team must have chipped in, thus making the financial impact slightly more tolerable, but still extravagant.
As they entered the elevator and headed up to the fourth floor Jenny squeezed Jethro's hand.
"Jethro, what's wrong with this picture?" Jenny said absentmindedly as the elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
They exited and made their way towards their hotel room. Jethro was silent for a moment, and as he stuck the key in the door he finally spoke up.
"You don't have pureed green beans down the front of you, and I don't have cereal in my hair." Jethro said as they entered their hotel room.
"And you're not scraping dried spaghetti sauce off of two highchair trays." Jenny added for good measure.
The first time she had fed the twins spaghetti had been an epic disaster. The kitchen had been re-painted with marinara sauce, and for weeks Jethro joked to everyone at the office that all he did after work was scrape sauce off of every surface in his kitchen. Much to Jethro's chagrin he walked into the office one morning to find four jars of Ragu pasta sauce on his desk. It was DiNozzo's idea of a prank, and Jethro got a good laugh out of the whole situation. After all, Jethro was happy that the sauce was in the jar, and not actually on his desk.
Jenny looked at the photo of the team in her hand. She was so happy to be back home. She was so happy to have healthy children, but above all she was happy that she was with Jethro. They spent the rest of their honeymoon relaxing, among other things, and promptly at five on Sunday Jenny and Jethro knocked on Ducky's front door. The time had come to return the Morgan, and gather their children. They had traded cars with Ducky after the wedding reception. Ducky needed the SUV because it had car seats, and he wanted Jethro and Jenny to drive away in style, and the epitome of style and class was his beautiful vintage Morgan.
Abby opened the front door and immediately hugged the newlyweds.
"We had so much fun with the babies!" She said excitedly as Jenny gasped for air under Abby's tight grip.
Thankfully, Mrs. Mallard rescued Jenny and Jethro from Abby's firm grasp.
"Jethro dear! Lovely to see you!" Mrs. Mallard exclaimed as she stood in the front door. For some reason Mrs. Mallard always remembered Jethro. Jethro kissed Mrs. Mallard on the cheek as he made his way into Ducky's front hall.
The rest of the team was in the parlor, sitting on the floor helping Jackie and Luke play with their building blocks. It took almost an hour to gather everything, load up the car, and say good-bye and thank-you.
That night as she rested her head on her pillow Jenny was happy to be home. Her husband was snoring softly right next to her, and her children were down the hall and sleeping peacefully. Indeed, life was full of blessings