A second chance

Sometimes the life can give some people a second chance..

"Today it have been four years, four long years of agony..." Leroy Jethro Gibbs muttered loud enough only for himself to hear. His mood has changed and everybody knew why, no one bothered him in this date, they knew better than to mess with a hurt man.

Jethro was walking down the streets from the base towards the coffee shop, lost in thoughts, he didn't feel like driving and the fresh air would help him, at least that's what he thought.

All he could think about it was her, the woman he loved and lost. He remembered how good and right it felt every time he woke up with her curled up in his arms, how she could set his body on fire with a single touch, how amazing it was when she moaned his name every time he pleased her. He could sit with her and talk of everything and nothing without getting bored or just stay in silence, holding her closer to him, loving her like if there were no tomorrow.

When Shannon died he closed himself to everyone, he never was the same man again. He married three other women, yes, but he never loved them the way he loved his first wife until he met Kate. The moment he saw her he knew she was the one, a smile from her could bright up his day and make his heart skip a beat, she understood him, dealed with him, loved him and he loved her.

After the first year working together, they started a relationship which they kept secret to make it work and it did. It was difficult because with their job they barely had time for each other but they made it and enjoyed every single moment they spent together. He would do anything for her, he would give his life for her but it was her who gave her life for him and he blamed himself for it.

He sighed as he kept walking and walking, letting the memories play around his mind. He smiled when he remembered the afternoon when she came to him smiling brightly and gave him a small photo and just said "The first photo of baby Gibbs, congrats daddy!" He couldn't hide the happiness and it was then when they told the team and everyone about their relationship, everything was great between them, she wasn't showing yet and they were already making plans and choosing names for the little one. Gibbs knew when everything is happiness that means maybe something's gonna happen and a few weeks later she was killed by Ari Haswari.

Jethro changed once again, from the happy man he was with Kate he turned to be the grumpy, heartbroken old Gibbs, nothing mattered or made sense for him anymore, once again he has reached the happiness and it slipped between his fingers along with her blood until it disappeared. He was never going to be the same again, he would wake up in the middle of the night and reach over to don't find her in the bed beside him and then cried himself to sleep again, the long nights at the basement came back, the tears, the pain, all he had from her and their baby it was the memories, the memories of the amazing moments they shared together.

"Mommy? Mommy!?" The voice of a little boy calling his mother made Jethro come back to the reality when he entered the coffee shop. He looked at the little boy a moment, he was around three or four years old, dark brown hair and icy blue eyes. It made him think about her, his brunette. He looked around and saw he was alone so he walked over to the little boy and knelt over to look at him.

"Hey, champ. What's your name?" Jethro asked with a soft smile while looking around to see if his mother approached them.

The little boy looked into Jethro's eyes and somehow knew he could trust him, his mother always told him that the eyes could never lie so he smiled shyly and answered. "David Anthony"

Jethro kept his eyes on the little boy a moment, for some odd reason it felt like if he knew the little one, he made him feel a warmth in his heart that he hasn't felt in a long time. "Alright David, I'm Jethro. Do you know where your mommy is?"

David looked down at him and then shook his little head softly. "I don't know, she was here and then..." He turned to look up when he saw his mother desperately approaching them. "Mommy!" he cried out happily and went over to her.

"God, David! Don't to that again, it's not time to play, you scared me." The mother said worried and then sighed as she picked up the little boy and held him to her. "and I've told you to don't talk with strangers." She said when she noticed a man were kneeling in front of him when she came.

"Sorry mommy, not again." Little David replied softly while he snuggled into his mother's arms.

When the little baby cried out and walked away, Jethro lowered his head a moment as he took a deep breath then froze when he heard the mother talking. No, that's impossible, you're not fine Jethro, stop hallucinating. He thought to himself then stood up again and slowly turned around to see he wasn't wrong. There was standing the woman he saw die four years ago, the beautiful brunette he felt in love with and then lost. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out, he just stood there a moment and then finally said. "Katie..."

Kate closed her eyes when she held the little boy and snuggled him back, after she left Virginia four years ago to save her life and the baby's, he was everything she had, she had to leave behind the only man she has ever loved and cried every night for. She sighed as she saw her baby was okay then felt a shiver run through her spine when she heard his voice, Jethro was the only man allowed to call her by that name. She slowly opened her eyes to look right into his, brown eyes met icy blue ones. "Jethro..." It took her a moment to process what she was saying, after four years he was standing right in front of her. She looked at her son and then back up at him. "I... I can explain it."

Jethro looked at her in shock, practically paralyzed. "You .. died..." He suddenly felt his mouth dry, he couldn't find the words to talk, nothing came out, he just looked at her like if trying to find out if this was a dream or the reality.

"I didn't... We have to talk, Jethro." She replied, keeping the eye contact while she stepped closer to him, keeping her arms wrapped around her son. She reached over and gently took one of his hands to lead him to a table, knowing he was still in shock. She sat down, placing David down beside her and he curled up against her side like she always did with Jethro.

Jethro didn't said a word when he felt her hand and walked over to sit down with her, not breaking the eyes contact then took a deep breath. "How is this possible?"

"Witness protection." She replied softly then reached to take his hand again. "You changed when Ari first started bothering us, you worried too much, somehow you pushed me away but I understood why, you were afraid of losing me and our baby. The FBI offered me to go away with the witness protection until the case was solved, at first I didn't wanted to accept but seeing you tearing apart, trying to catch him made me think of our baby. I would have stayed if it was just me but I had to think about him, his life, I couldn't let anything happen to him and that's why I accepted the offer and left then they put another agent in my place so nobody would notice it, not even you did... I'm surprised."

Jethro looked down at their joined hands and then up at her again while he listened attentive in total silence. Now he understood, the last few days before her death Kate was distant, they didn't talked, she stayed at her apartment and he was too busy and worried to even notice the change but it felt like if someone took his heart out of his chest when she felt on the ground with a bullet hole in her forehead. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding back and looked at her then down at the little boy. "Why didn't you came before? He died in my basement three years ago." He said softly, turning his gaze to her again. "David is our baby?" Now he knew why he felt that way when he first saw the little one.

Kate kept her eyes on him and gently rubbed the top of his hand with her thumb while the other arm held their baby against her side. "It wasn't safe to come back besides for you I was dead, I didn't know how to tell you.." She said sadly then looked at the baby and nodded. "He is, all I did it was for him and us, I knew how happy and excited you were when I told you I was expecting our baby, I couldn't let anything happen to him but now we are back, back to stay with you forever."

"I've missed you so badly, you have no idea how much it hurt to don't be with you, to don't find you besides me every morning, to come back to an empty house." He sighed and then smiled softly. "He's beautiful just like you." He then looked at her a moment. "Forever?"

"I perfectly know, Jethro, I missed you so much too. It hurt me even more to leave you the way I did but it was for our own good." She gently let go of his hand and reached over to caress his cheek. "Forever and a day." She promised him and smiled.

He closed his eyes a moment while he leaned into her touch then smiled as he opened them again and reached to caress the now sleeping baby's head then leaned over and kissed her tenderly. "I love you so much, Katie." He whispered against her lips.

She smiled happily, watching him and then kissed him back with equal tenderness. "I love you too, my Jethro." She whispered back and smiled before kissing him again.

The End