This is set between Hiatus and Shalom. There are spoilers for episodes in seasons 1-3.
Time to write The Rules
Gibbs leaned back against the cabin of his boat, the sun warming his face. He breathed in deeply through his nose and smiled at the mix of smells that now made up his life. The smell of his wooden boat was by far his favourite - it hadn't taken him long to finish it after he had left NCIS and had had the time to work on it full time. The thought of how he'd had to leave NCIS made the smile fade from his face and not even the smell of salt water seas laden with fish just waiting to be caught could bring it back.
He looked down at the pen held loosely in his right hand and the notepad resting gently in his left palm. His left hand was lying on his left thigh as sat on the rocking deck of the Shannon Kelly. This was something that he had to do. Frank had left before he had had time to teach Jethro all of the rules and Jethro had been forced to figure them out on his own. Now he had his own list of rules, The Golden Rules that every NCIS special agent needed to know. He had told Ziva once that they weren't written and that there were 50 of them; she had asked, quite reasonably, how she was supposed to learn them. He had just told her that it was his job to teach her - a job he was yet to finish. It had seemed like an obvious answer to him at the time; he hadn't known that events out of his control were going to change his life forever. Only now he wasn't there and Tony was left in charge but Tony doesn't know all of the rules. Gibbs stopped his thoughts. They were starting to ramble. When had his thoughts started rambling? That never would have happened if he was still at NCIS but the truth of the matter is - he isn't still at NCIS. That is why he has to do this - the one thing he has left to do. Jethro looked down at the notepad in his hand again and began to write.
The NCIS Special Agent's 50 Golden Rules
1. Never let suspects stay together.
2. Always wear gloves at a crime scene.
3. Don't believe what you're told. Double check.
4. Never be unreachable
Jethro stopped writing. He knew that he had once said that "never be unreachable" was rule number 3 but rule number 3 was definitely "don't believe what you are told. Double check." Jethro realised he was chewing the end of his pen and abruptly stopped, frowning. When had he started chewing his pen? Rule number 5 was the first in the list that none of his team knew yet. Jethro was disheartened to realise that he had taught them so few. He closed the notepad and put it back in his pocket. He would go back to writing them later - when he could hold his pen steady.
He stood and went down into the cabin and turned the boat back to shore. The seas were starting to get rough and Jethro didn't want to be caught out in a storm - his boat represented too much that was precious to him, for him to be willing to risk it getting damaged in a storm that he could avoid. After tying the boat off he walked slowly back to his cabin, rubbing his thumb over the notepad in his pocket as he thought about all the rules he had left to write in there and sighed.
Jethro sat down at the oak table in his kitchen a looked out of the window. The sky was dark and the rain was dancing across the glass. Jethro smiled at being right and at the rain. Kelly used to love watching the rain when she was a very young child.
He remembered once when he had been sitting on her bed reading her a bed time story and she had looked towards the window. A huge grin had bloomed on her face as she turned to look him, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"What is it sweetie?" He had asked her, curiosity filling his voice. He looked from her to the window but all he could see was that it was a miserable night outside and that he wasn't going to be able to cut the grass the next day, like he had planned.
She had given him a look that said quite simply -silly daddy-, he had smiled at that and raised an eyebrow at her. She had giggled. "It's raining daddy." He had smiled and lifted her out of bed, sitting her on his knee. He wrapped his arms around her and sat so that he was leaning against the headboard and both of them could see the window.
"I see that, sweetie. Why'd it make you smile?" She had leaned against him and smiled.
"The water's free, daddy. It's happy - that's why it's dancing." Jethro had looked down at his 6 year old daughter in amazement; he loved the way she looked at the world. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her eyes were closed. He moved carefully and gently laid her back on her bed. After tucking her, he kissed her on the forehead.
"Goodnight Kelly. I love you." As he had been walking out the door, Kelly rolled over on her side so that she was facing him.
"Night daddy, love you too." Jethro had given her a huge smile before switching off the light and closing the door until it was ajar.
A lone tear travelling down Jethro's cheek brought him back to the present. He looked at the notepad and picked up the pen to begin writing again.
5. Never let a bad guy get away.
6. Never lie to your boss.
7. Always be specific when you lie.
8. Never take anything for granted.
9. Never go anywhere without a knife.
10. Always listen to your gut.
The number ten had always been Kelly's favourite number - that made it Gibbs' most important rule. He sighed and put down his pen once more. He hadn't realised beforehand how closely tied his rules were to memories of his daughter and wife. Writing these rules was going to be more of an emotional rollercoaster than he had bargained for. He left the notepad open on the table and got up. Grabbing the bottle of bourbon off the side, Jethro went to bed.
The next morning Jethro walked into the kitchen and dumped the empty bourbon bottle in the bin. He looked out of the window; the only evidence of last night's storm was a solitary line of water running down the outside of the glass. It looked so sad, so alone, and Jethro couldn't tear his eyes away from it. He ran his finger down the glass, following the water.
"How does rain make you feel?" He had asked Shannon as he walked into the living room after putting Kelly to bed that night. She had looked at him quizzically and laughed softly.
"Where's this coming from Jethro?" She had asked softly as he had sat down beside her on the couch. He had just given her a look and she had smiled and shook her head. "Okay. I'll humour you." That had made him smile; he had loved how they were both on the same wavelength. "It makes me feel sad. It's like the world is crying." He had nodded and pulled her close, so she was leaning back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her. She had leaned her head her head back and repeated her question. "Where's this coming from Jethro?" He had shifted slightly so that his head was resting on her shoulder.
"It makes Kelly happy. She told me that the rain is happy and that's why it dances on the windows." Shannon had laughed softly and smiled. Jethro had closed his eyes; he loved the sound of Shannon's laugh.
When he opened his eyes he was back in his kitchen, alone once more. Even the line of water that had been trickling down his window was gone. He took a deep breath and poured a cup of coffee from the coffee maker. It was set on a timer so that when he came down in the morning there would always be a pot waiting for him. If he came down late then it was cold but that didn't matter - it was still coffee. He turned, carrying the cup and sat sown at the table. It was then that he noticed the notepad and remembered the task he had set himself.
Pulling the notepad closer, he took a huge swig of coffee. He shook his head in dismay when he saw that he had only written 10 rules. -You're going to have to do better than that if this list is going to be of any use to DiNozzo- he told himself sharply. He took another huge gulp of his coffee before putting the mug down and picking up the pen.
11. Always look out for your team.
12. Never date a co-worker.
13. Trust should be earned not given.
14. Always get to a meeting 5 minutes early.
15. Failure is not an option.
16. Other agencies are full of idiots.
17. Never trust an undercover agent unless it's one of your own.
18. It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.
19. Preparation is the key to success.
20. Excuses are for school children, the CIA and the FBI.
Jethro closed the notebook - ten rules was enough for breakfast; he had a bus to catch in half an hour. He drained the rest of his coffee and filled a travel mug with the rest of the coffee from the pot (it was a big travel mug). As he passed the table, on his way to the door, he grabbed the notepad and slid it in his pocket. Maybe he'd have time to do more later. He shook his head, reminding himself of Rule number 32 and told himself that he will have time to do it because it is important.
