Title: Commitments, Not Applications
Author: rekkidbraka
Rating: T
Pairings: L.J. Gibbs and Shannon G.
Category: Romance
Disclaimer: No infringement intended.
Spoilers: None
Summary: A "Young Gibbs" one-shot. What happened in the truck when Young Gibbs, Shannon and Kelly roared off after the argument with Joann? Find out.
"I made a COMMITMENT!"
Hauling his baby daughter into his strong arms, Gibbs had to work to remain stoic and stonefaced as Shannon, tears streaming down her face, pleaded with her mother to stop screaming at her husband. Now little Kelly was getting upset, too; she always knew when her mama was worried or sad. Also, she loved her Grandma Joann and didn't understand why Daddy had to take her away from the woman she loved just a little bit less than Mommy.
Joann now felt betrayed by Gibbs. When he, Shannon and Kelly had come by to spend the day with her, she'd rushed to the store to buy steaks. Jethro made such delicious "Cowboy Steaks," as he called them. She loved her son-in-law; he was good to her — no, their — girls. Shannon would always be her girl first and foremost (it was a mother's right) but she was now Jethro's wife, which made her his girl as well. Kelly was 100% Daddy's Girl but Joann held claim to her beloved granddaughter, too. Kelly was her baby girl's baby girl. Shannon had found a wonderful man in Jethro, Joann knew, and he was a cut above any man she herself had ever met. Even her husband, Mac, didn't have that certain quality Jethro had. Joann couldn't quite put her finger on what it was about Jethro that made him such a special man, but whatever it was she liked it. Shannon knew — of that much Joann was certain — but even Shannon could never really explain it to anyone.
He's just ... Gibbs, Shannon would say. Then a wistful look would always cross her pretty face and she'd smile, thinking of her husband.
And once the truck roared off, leaving Joann with nothing more than what she knew would be a growing distance between her girls and herself, Joann felt lost. Shannon had her anchor, her safety net, in Jethro and Kelly. Joann had nothing but the cold, hollow realization that her plans for the family, her dreams, had been wishful thinking. Whatever sort of family they'd all been just an hour earlier, when Gibbs had taken Kelly to her grandparents' bedroom for a diaper change so that Shannon and her mom could enjoy some private time — that family was now a memory.
Kelly had stopped bawling by the time Shannon finished crooning "Mockingbird" for the second time. Now, as she usually did after such crying fits, Kelly was nodding off in her mother's arms. The truck hummed down the country road, Gibbs at the wheel. He'd slowed down immediately once Shannon began her song; driving like a maniac wouldn't solve anything. Neither would scaring his wife and daughter.
As the first hints of the late afternoon sun shone through the trees by the roadside, Gibbs brought the truck to a stop near an abandoned picnic area. Shutting off the motor, he sat silently, just staring blankly at the steering wheel.
"I can take you and Kelly back to your parents' house," Gibbs said in a near-whisper to Shannon. Ashamed of the scene at Joann's, he wanted to make things right for Shannon and Kelly. Also, as best he could, for Joann. "Might be best anyway if you stayed with her while I'm..."
"Leroy Jethro..." Shannon began softly.
"I'm sorry about yelling at your mom," Gibbs said. "I'm sorry."
"Rule Six," Shannon replied, kissing Kelly on the forehead as she smoothed down her daughter's wispy hair.
"I know," Gibbs sighed.
"But it's okay," Shannon said, offering him a tender look.
Gibbs was again silent for a short while before telling Shannon, "If you wanna stay with your mom, I'm okay with that, Shannon. I'll make do on the assignment and when I get back things will be better. For all of us. I know how much you love your mother. I do, too."
"Where you go, Gibbs, I go," Shannon said quietly but firmly. "Where we go, Kelly goes. That's what families do."
"Your mom's your family. So's your dad," Gibbs said, his eyes still staring out the windshield. The wind blowing through the trees picked up, pressing some of the leaves together as it swayed the slim trees back and forth as if rocking them to sleep.
"They are my family," Shannon replied, "but you and Kelly — you're MY family."
Gibbs understood the distinction. Nothing more needed to be said just then, not about the scene with Joann. Not really about anything else, either.
It was about an hour later when the old, battered truck slowly pulled back onto the highway, its red tail lights now just barely visible in the gloaming. They'd watched the sunset, the three of them, and it was time to once again start moving on.