So, this is a sequel to Always Faithful. In that one I described shortly about why Jenny and Gibbs did not have kids, here is the longer version. It is set in the past, when they had been married for three years. Here is the story about what made them put her pregnancy on hold, how they felt and how they managed to keep their love alive through lonely nights and dangerous days.
The night sky was dark, but free from clouds. The moon was large, but not full, spreading its pale light over the city of Washington DC. The stars blinked lazily against the black background.
In one house, however, sleep was certainly not on the married couple's mind.
"Jethro…" Jenny Gibbs panted where she lay on top of her husband in their moon-lit bedroom. Gibbs rolled her over, pinning her to the bed underneath him. He covered her mouth with his and gave her a deep kiss as his hand wandered over her body. She closed her eyes and moaned loudly as he moved his lips, leaving a trail of light kisses down her throat and across her collarbone. It took all her mental strength to force her hands to his face, lifting it from her body. Before he had a chance to say anything, she rolled them over again, leaving her on top again.
"Jen…" he breathing heavily, but she placed her index finger across his lips, preventing him from speaking further.
"We have to work tomorrow" she said, a hint of regret in her voice, though.
"So?" he replied underneath her finger. His eyes were glistening mischievously in the half-dark room.
"So," she was heavy on the word "we have to get up early. And I'm rather exhausted already"
Her index finger was still pressing against his lips; he quickly opened his mouth and gently closed his teeth around her fingertip, causing her to smile sweetly.
"Jethro!" she laughed a jerked her finger from his mouth. "I wanna go to sleep now" she added more seriously and slid off him, landing softly on the mattress next to him. She curled up against him, sliding her arms across his firm stomach and placed her head on his chest, directly above his heart. Gibbs kissed her head softly before he put his head back onto his pillow with a sigh. He had one arm wrapped around her body, his hand played with a few strings of her hair.
"Now, if I were to get pregnant…" Jenny started, but trailed off as she felt Gibbs' hand slip down her body and gently resting on her stomach.
"You will, sooner or later" he assured her and she smiled into his chest.
"I know, and my child couldn't have a better father than you" she said in a low voice. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was smiling. Without further words, they both quickly fell asleep.
Early one morning three weeks later, Jenny and Gibbs entered the NCIS building together, as they always did. They were still working on the same team, along with agent Brody. When they entered the bullpen, Brody was already sitting at his desk, checking his e-mail. He was slightly over thirty and was a good-looking man with short brown hair and a firm body.
"Morning agent Gibbs and agent Gibbs" he greeted in his usual manner. Jenny smiled slightly as she put her bag down on the floor behind her desk and sat down.
"Morning Brody" she greeted back and he glanced up at her with a smile. He, as well as many other agents, thought it was rather funny to have two agents Gibbs on the same team. But Jenny and Gibbs worked best together.
Gibbs had also taken his seat behind his desk. He was the team-leader and after their wedding and having finished their missions in Europe they returned to Washington. He had been worried she would find it difficult to take orders from her husband, in Europe they had worked together and they hadn't outranked each other. He knew she was not one who liked to be bossed around by anyone, not even her husband. She was independent, and that was one of the qualities he loved about her. But he had been pleased to find she was adjusting fine to these new circumstances.
He looked over at his wife and found her busy going through her e-mail. The phone on her desk suddenly started to ring, and without taking her eyes off the screen, she answered it.
"Special agent Jenny Gibbs" she said quickly and went silent as she listened to the person on the other line. "Yeah, sure. I'll be right there" she said and hung up. She rose from her chair and at the same time tying up her hair in a ponytail.
"The Director wants to see me" she explained to Gibbs and Brody and hurried off toward the stairs leading to Director Morrow's office.
Brody raised his eyebrows at Gibbs as she ran off. "Wonder what he wants with her"
About an hour later, Gibbs glanced up toward the Director's office, and his eyes finally found Jenny. She was walking fast and practically ran down the stairs. Even before he could rise from his chair to go meet her, she was standing in front of his desk.
"I have to talk to you" she exclaimed. Gibbs tried to read her face, but she kept her expression neutral, showing neither joy nor frustration. He looked up at her and nodded, waiting for her to speak. Jenny glanced at Brody, and even though his eyes were glued to his computer screen, his fingers were hovering over the keys, giving away the fact that he was eavesdropping.
"Let's go for coffee" she suggested and close to dragged him out of his chair. In her hurry she managed to pick up her baby-blue cardigan from her desk. Still holding him in a firm grip, she dragged him with her; she was walking so fast he had a hard time keeping up with her. She shoved him into an elevator and once the doors shut, she released her grip on his wrist and calmly put on her cardigan.
"Jen!" he burst out "What the hell is going on?"
"I'll tell you once we get out" she answered just as calmly as she had put on the cardigan. Now when he looked at her, he noticed her face was just as expressionless as it had been out in the bullpen, but her eyes were glittering excitedly. He knew there was no point arguing with her, she'd tell him when she found the right moment and obviously the elevator in NCIS was not good enough, nor in front of Brody had been appropriate.
They escaped the building and walked in silence toward the place where they bought their coffee. Gibbs glanced at her; she was staring in the direction straight ahead of them and did not notice him watching her. The hair in the ponytail rippled when she walked and her heels clinked against the ground. He slid his arm around her back, resting his hand on her hip. This caused her to turn her head toward him, but quickly looked away again as she knew he was only trying to get her to talk.
"Come on Jen!" he complained as he understood she had figured him out. "Just tell me, it can't be that bad, can it?" he took a chance, at least he would find out whether Director Morrow had brought her good or bad news.
"Who says it something bad?" she answered, her voice not revealing anything.
"Well, not you! You're not telling me anything!" he started to get frustrated, and the worst part was that she knew it and enjoyed playing him like this.
"Why don't you wait out here, and I'll go in and buy us some coffee?" she suggested, but did not wait for an answer before she disappeared into the shop.
"Jen…" he called after her, but the door had already shut before him. "Damn it" he cursed and sank down on a bench on the sidewalk while waiting for her too come back.
Inside the coffee shop, Jenny stood in line, waiting for her turn. She knew Gibbs was about to become pissed off at her, but the reason why she hadn't told him yet was that she was not sure how he would handle the news she had gotten from Director Morrow. She had been very excited when he'd given her the offer, but she strongly doubted Gibbs would be happy about it. She had until tomorrow at noon to make her decision, otherwise the opportunity would be lost.
She finally reached the counter and ordered two black coffees to go. She paid and made her way out from the shop with one cup in either hand. As soon as she came out through the door, Gibbs sprang to his feet and rushed over to her. He accepted the cup of coffee she was holding out for him, but he was staring directly into her eyes.
"Are you gonna tell me now? Or have you decided to take this at home instead?" he added coolly.
"That would actually be preferable" she replied, but after noticing his stern expression, she quickly added "But, as I don't want to piss you off further, I will tell you now"
"That sounds good to me" he said but didn't take his eyes off her, just waited for her to explain. Jenny felt slightly disturbed by the way he was looking at her.
"Why don't we sit down?" she suggested and gestured for them to go sit down on the bench Gibbs had just been sitting on. Once they were seated next to each other on the wooden bench, Jenny stared down at her cup for a few seconds before she started explaining.
"So, I went to talk with the Director today" she began as she desperately tried to find the right words to tell him this.
"Yeah, I know that" Gibbs voice had softened down "But what did he want?"
"He wants to assign me on a mission. In Europe" her voice was slightly hoarse as she spoke. She did not look at him.
"What kind of mission?" he asked and she couldn't help it but to turn to look at him. She was relieved to see he didn't appear to be upset.
"He didn't give me any details. He just said he thought I would be the best agent for the job" she couldn't help but to sound a bit proud. Gibbs nodded slightly, but then frowned.
"That wasn't so hard to say, now was it?"
"I suppose not, but..." she began but Gibbs cut her off.
"I mean, you're not thinking about going, are you?" he said, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Actually…" she said tentatively, but did not look away from him "I'm really excited about going" she continued softly. Gibbs looked partly like she had just struck him in the face, and partly he didn't look surprised at all.
"But Jen…!" he burst out, and she was devastated at his tone of voice. She knew he would not approve of this.
"But what?" she shot back before he had a chance to continue. "It is perfect, it what I have always dreamed of doing ever since…" her voice trailed off and Gibbs was quick to interrupt.
"For how long?" he asked furiously. He needed to know how much time this would steal. He knew what he did was selfish, but he wanted to have a family so badly.
"I don't know, I asked but he couldn't give me a specific answer. He just said it would take a couple of months"
"Months?" he stared at her "But what about the plans of slowing down and having a baby that we talked about?"
"But I'm not pregnant. We've failed twice. What does it matter if we put those plans on hold for six months?" she pleaded. Of course she too was eager to have a family with him, but work was important to her too. And now when it actually was something her Director had claimed she was the best at…
"It matters to me, Jen!"
"But I really want to do this" she said softly and reached out her hand to place it on his cheek and turned his face back toward her because he had looked away. "This would mean so much to me, Jethro. I will not choose between a family, and my work. I will have both someday, soon. But this…" she said with a small laugh "This is such a huge opportunity for me."
"When do you have to decide?" he said in a low voice, feeling her hand gently caress his cheek.
"Tomorrow, at noon" she replied "So, what do you say?"
Gibbs met her gaze for a moment, and then looked away as he decided it would be too painful "I don't want you to go"
Jenny stared at him in disbelief. She quickly withdrew her hand from his cheek and closed it around her coffee cup instead. "I can't believe you're saying that!" she cried out angrily and jumped to her feet, almost spilling out her coffee.
"Jen…" he was shocked by her reaction, but at the same time he had expected nothing less from her.
"I'm going. I have to go, Jethro. The Director's counting on me. And I can't fail my agency" she stated and walked off, leaving him sitting alone on the bench. Gibbs sipped his coffee and knew he had screwed everything up. He glanced after her as she went, her ponytail swayed furiously after her and her unbuttoned baby-blue cardigan rippled along her sides. He put the coffee down on the bench and bent forward, resting his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hand.
To be continued…
So, that was the first chapter in my first sequel to Always Faithful. As you noticed, it is set in the past, and the other sequel I'll write will be set in the future, actually during the Hiatus episodes.
Please review!
xxx
Emma
