Title: Past Meets Present
Author: JnnLuvsU
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Never will be.
Summary: Tag to Heartland. Tony finds Jack's pictures.
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Tony stood in Jackson Gibbs' home. The older man had volunteered to put the entire team up for the night, and much to Gibbs' dismay, they'd jumped at the chance. McGee, Ziva, and Abby were on the front porch with Jack, with Gibbs running interference to make sure his father didn't reveal too much. Tony was on his way outside when his attention was drawn to the pictures that hung on one wall of the dining room.
Jackson Gibbs was obviously a man who loved photographs. Tony was riveted. They were all over the wall. The frames weren't in any set order, and Tony had a feeling they'd merely been added as the years had gone on. Most were small: 4x6s and 2x3s, so that the larger 8x10s stood out. In the middle was a family picture: a much younger Jackson Gibbs, a beautiful young woman and, Tony smiled, a young Gibbs. He looked about six or seven.
Some of the other larger pictures caught Tony's gaze. One of Jackson and another man standing in front of the store. A couple more family pictures, with Gibbs being about 12 in the newest. There was a picture of Gibbs' high school graduation, with him in full regalia. Then one of Gibbs in his marine uniform. Tony guessed that one had merely been blown up from a much smaller picture. Which made sense. Tony seriously doubted Gibbs had ever posed for a picture, much less sent it to his father. No, judging by Gibbs' stance in the picture, Jack had merely snapped it as Gibbs was leaving town.
But the one that captured Tony's attention the most was Gibbs' wedding picture. He smiled softly at the radiant look on Shannon Gibbs' face. She really was stunning. The two other wives he'd met of Gibbs' paled in comparison. He smiled as he heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to look, unsurprised to see Gibbs standing there. "She's beautiful, boss," he whispered, turning back to the picture. He looked at the smaller pictures that surrounded the wedding photo and gasped as he saw his first picture of Kelly Gibbs.
She was just a baby, fresh from the hospital, and Tony drank in the other pictures he saw. Apparently someone had kept Jackson affluent in pictures of the young girl. Tony suspected Shannon had something to do with that. Ziva had told him that Gibbs hadn't been back here since he joined the marines, so Tony knew it wasn't him. His eyes darted around, watching in pictures, as the baby turned into a laughing toddler, then into a smiling young girl. Tony found himself wondering why the pictures suddenly stopped before he cursed himself for not remembering. He looked at what he guessed was the newest picture of Gibbs' daughter. They were at the beach. Kelly was building a sandcastle, grinning at the camera with no cares in the world.
Tony looked at the picture for a long time, frowning at how the little girl's life had been cut abruptly short. He wondered how different the man standing behind him would have been had Kelly lived. Would they have ever met?
"Yes," Gibbs voice answered and Tony started slightly, "They were."
Tony didn't turn around, but nodded, "Is this where you met her?"
Gibbs nodded, leaning in the doorway, "The day I left." He chuckled, "She asked me if I was a lumberjack," he remembered.
Tony was confused, "A lumberjack?" he echoed.
Gibbs smiled, "It was one of her things," he answered vaguely.
Tony nodded, wisely not pushing the subject. He turned and looked Gibbs in the eye, "Why didn't you want me to come?"
Gibbs glared at him, "I needed someone to conduct the interviews," he returned.
Tony nodded, resigning himself to not getting an honest answer, "Of course." He turned his attention back to the pictures.
Gibbs sighed, "Ziva and McGee haven't known me as long as you have, DiNozzo," he muttered. "They're too scared to ask questions. But you're not. And I didn't want to answer them."
Tony nodded, now looking at the pictures of a younger Gibbs. "I guess I can understand that," he returned. "I wouldn't want people to ask about my father either." He neglected to mention that the only pictures you'd find in his own father's house were the ones that came with the frames. He could tell from the pictures that Gibbs' childhood was nothing like his own. Gibbs looked like a happy child. Tony wondered why he'd shut his father out for so many years.
He put his mask back on and turned to Gibbs, a big grin on his face, "So, if I can't ask you, can I ask him?"
Gibbs groaned, "DiNozzo," he growled.
Tony laughed, "I can't help myself. I want to know. You keep everything a secret. It's naturally going to make people curious. This is like..." he trailed off, not knowing how to explain it.
Gibbs crossed his arms over his chest, "Is that why you make sure to give us tidbits about your past and tell us everything about your present, Tony? So we won't think to ask questions?"
The answering grin he got was huge...and didn't reach Tony's eyes. "Exactly," the younger man quipped, turning back to the wall of pictures.
Gibbs regarded him carefully before walking to Tony's side. He wanted to push Tony about his father, but had a feeling this wasn't the time or the place for that conversation. He pointed to a picture, "I was six here," he began, amazed at the grin Tony rewarded him with. The smallest things made his senior field agent happy. He'd rarely seen Tony's smile since the younger man had returned from the carrier. If this was what it took, then Gibbs was willing to oblige.
Gibbs took a deep breath, "Dad liked to go fishing. He'd been taking me for almost two years. This was the first time I actually caught..."
Tony let Gibbs' story flow over him, unable to keep the grin off his face. That Gibbs trusted him with these stories; that meant a lot. For the first time in a very long time, Tony felt like he was finally where he belonged.
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