Fic Title: Appearances
Author: I Love NASCAR
Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Jibbs, Tony/Shelby
Feedback: please
Disclaimer: The only profit I receive from this story is the feedback you provide. All creative rights to the characters belong to DB, not me. (Except Shelby & Bella which I'll take full credit for. ;) )
Summary: When a certain redhead reappears, the team learns appearances are not always as they seem.
Jethro Gibbs entered his house, smiling as he smelled the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee, a welcoming scent on any night, but especially one as dark and rainy as this. He'd spotted her car outside and, although he hadn't known she was coming over, he wasn't exactly surprised either. He followed the smell of the freshly baked rolls, the promise of the home cooked meal, his first in a week, and was smiled again as he saw the redhead in his kitchen.
"Jethro." She turned around slowly, her eyes connecting with his, smiling as well. "Hope you didn't mind me letting myself in, but…"
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't, Sabrina. Key's been the same place for all these years. You know where to find it." He took the coffee she poured him, taking a sip gratefully.
Sabrina Collins studied him. "You look tired. Pot roast will take a few minutes if you want to work on the boat first."
He shook his head. "I'll stay up here." The 'mystery redhead', as his team called her, had long since been a fixture in his life, one that had helped him survive some of the worst moments of his life. He loved talking to her, loved spending time with her, and had often during the past week. He took another sip of his coffee. "You still have the best coffee in town."
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment." She grinned. "How's Shelby?"
He nodded. "She's good. Busy. She works in the same building and I hardly ever see her unless she's picking DiNozzo up, but she's got the weekend off…threatened to have a barbecue, if it's nice enough." He paused. "I'm sure she'd like it if you came."
"We'll see," she said softly, changing the subject. "DiNozzo…That's the one that chases all the girls, the one that took over for you when you retired."
He nodded. "Good kid. Changed a lot lately…I don't know if it's dating Shelby, his little girl getting older, or both. He's grown up a lot. Jen's proud of him…so am I."
She smiled, moving to get the roast out of the oven where she'd been warming it up. "Jenny. How is she?"
He took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. "Jenny's Jenny. I haven't seen a lot of her lately either, between cases, meetings…" He trailed off.
"The anniversary?" He nodded. "Jethro…"
"I never told her, when we were dating, about Shannon and Kelly." He paused. "I don't see how she could be okay with it."
Sabrina bit her lower lip, knowing what he meant. "From what you told me, she's had secrets of her own. If she loves you, she'll understand."
He sighed, setting the table. "She doesn't talk about it."
"And you never wanted to talk about it." Not that she blamed him.
"I talk to you, to Shelby, to Maddie…" He paused. "Did I tell you I met one of Kelly's friends from when she was a little girl a couple months back?" Sabrina shook her head and, as they sat down to eat, he told her the story, not noticing that someone was watching their every move.