TITLE: The First Words Out Of Her Mouth
AUTHOR: Special Agent Meg
GENRE: General/Humor/Angst/Missed Scene

RATING: G
SUMMARY: Gibbs remembers something from one of his marriages. For the LJ Flashfiction "In Memorium" challenge. Set during Hiatus.
SPOILERS: Hiatus
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I just love them to bits.

Gibbs shifted position against the pillows, his eyes riveted on the television screen in front of him. They were talking about the war in Iraq again. It was enough to make him nuts. On the one hand, people were telling him fifteen years had passed, but they were apparently back to fighting in Iraq, which added to the feeling that no time had passed at all. Even the President was the same, unless you counted the extra "W" in the name and actually looked at the picture.

The date on the bottom of the screen caught his eye and for a second he felt like his heart had stopped beating. May 10. The day of the barbeque.

0

Gibbs stood next to his wife, Shannon, with 13-month-old Kelly on his hip. With them were two other men from his unit, along with one of the men's girlfriends.

Beside him, Shannon doubled over in laughter. "You have got to be kidding."

"No, ma'am." The Marine's eyes were completely sincere. Shannon just shook her head.

"You're crazy." She turned and fixed her husband with a look. "You're both crazy."

Gibbs just grinned at her. "OOH-RAH." Shannon shook her head again, still laughing.

"Ooh-ra."

The sound of the tiny little voice caused all five adults to give a start. Both Gibbs and Shannon turned to their child. Kelly grinned back at them, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Shannon took a step forward. "What did you just say?" she asked, chuckling.

Gibbs bounced the little girl lightly in his arms. "I think we've got a budding Marine." His voice went up, in the soft tone he always used with his daughter. "Hey, is that it? Are you a Marine?"

"Ooh-ra," Kelly repeated. All five adults started laughing again and Gibbs planted a soft kiss on the side of Kelly's head.

Shannon ran a hand through Kelly's soft hair before gently squeezing her shoulder. "Just as long as she doesn't think she has to get the Marine haircut."

0

Haircut. Gibbs ran his hand reflectively through his hair, noting with some dissatisfaction how long it seemed. He glanced quickly over at where his doctor stood out in the hall. Dr. Gelfand had been watching him, but seemed absorbed in a phone call at the moment. Carefully, Gibbs swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Inside the small bathroom he flipped on the light and examined his face reflectively. He looked older than he remembered, too, and his hair was silver, not the dark gray he was used to seeing. And definitely not the cut he was used to. Gibbs reached for the razor on the sink, knowing that at least, he could fix.

Ten minutes later, he looked at his reflection again. He still looked different than he remembered, but he felt more like himself, more like a Marine. A sad smile crossed his features.

"Ooh-rah, Kelly," he whispered. "Ooh-rah."

THE END