Broken Man
Leroy Jethro Gibbs was tired. It had been a long day, a long case, and a child had lost her life. There were some days when the job just wasn't worth it. Looking into the fire burning in the fireplace, he allowed his mind to carry him back in time, to another evening when the burning fire had been witness to a happy family.
A much younger Leroy Gibbs sat on the exact same couch, but this time, he was not alone. A woman by the name of Shannon Gibbs was snuggled up on the couch next to him. A movie was playing, but the two of them weren't really paying attention to the television.
A tugging sensation at his sleeve captured Gibbs' attention. He turned his head to see his eight year old daughter, Kelly, standing at his elbow dressed in her nightgown and a teddy bear in tow.
"Can I stay up and watch the movie, too, Daddy? Please?" Kelly's huge eyes joined with her plea to make her case.
Gibbs relented, patting his knee in a gesture for Kelly to go ahead and climb up into his lap. Kelly did so gladly, snuggling against her father's chest. "I am the luckiest man in the world," Gibbs thought.
Another memory hit him. This memory was not as pleasant as the last one.
A Leroy Gibbs that wasn't much older than the last one was sitting on the exact same couch, in front of the exact same fire, but this time, he was holding a gun in his hands. Bullet by bullet, he loaded the clip and slammed it into the semi-automatic. He had killed the killer; he had avenged his wife and daughter. Now, he wanted to be with them. He held the gun to his head. He wanted to die. Looking in the fire for what he thought would be the last time when he saw the face of his wife. A voice spoke to him. "I am with you," his wife's voice said inside his head. "Honor me." It was in that moment that he realized that he could continue to live and honor his wife who would never bless the world with her smile again. He could fight to save those little girls who would never grow up like Kelly who he would never be able to walk down the aisle. He picked a business card up from his wallet. It was time to give Mike Franks a call. The fire burned a little bit brighter.
The day had come when Tony had asked a question that had completely taken him off guard.
Tony and his father had gotten into another one of their bouts and Tony had come to Gibbs looking for advice as to how to handle it. Just before he left, Tony had asked the question. "Gibbs, we all come to you when we need help or someone to talk to. Where do you go?" Gibbs had an answer to that question, but it was information that he didn't feel like sharing with Tony.
Gibbs got out of his car and walked along a familiar path to a familiar place. arriving at the precise spot, Gibbs sat down and made himself comfortable in the well manicured grass. The colors and natural beauty of spring reminded him that this place, his wife's grave, wasn't the resting place of his wife's body, it was a monument to her life. "Hello, Shannon," Gibbs said, a small wistful smile on his face. "I have a lot to tell you."
After speaking with his wife for a long time, Gibbs stood to leave. Before he left, however he picked a cherry branch full of blossoms and placed it on the headstone. With a smile goodbye to Shannon, he walked away.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a once broken man, had healed.
The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. -Earnest Hemmingway