A/N: This is part three of my Gibbs/Hollis series. The first two stories are Right Choice and Right Time. This one is more of a casefile and thus more of a team fic, but it is still centered on Gibbs and Hollis who have now been married for nearly a year. That's about all you need to know. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or the characters. I am not making any money off this story, but I wouldn't mind doing so if it were somehow possible.

Right Words
by Enthusiastic Fish

Chapter 1

It was a pleasant way to wake up, Hollis decided. It didn't happen every morning, but it was nice when it did. A hand trailed gently around her waist and then up her back. She wriggled around so that she was closer to the touch. A soft chuckle greeted her movement.

"What if I hadn't been awake?" she murmured.

"You were."

"Yes, I was."

Hollis rolled over. Jethro was lying next to her, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Good morning, Mr. Gibbs," Hollis said.

"Good morning, Mrs. Gibbs. How did you sleep?"

"Perfectly."

"Really? Is that why I felt your knees in my back at three a.m.?"

Hollis grinned. "You were probably in my space."

"Your space? I thought it was our space."

Hollis' grin turned into laughter as she extended the ridiculous conversation.

"It's only our space when I don't need it all."

"Need it? Since when?"

"Isn't it supposed to be the woman's perogative to get whatever she wants whenever she wants or else?"

"Not in my house."

"Oh, it's not our house?"

"Not when your knees are in my back at three in the morning."

Hollis couldn't keep it up any longer and just laughed. Jethro was still as taciturn as ever in public, but these private moments had revealed a whole new side to him, one that was more playful than she would have expected.

"Do you know what important date is coming up?" she asked.

"A visit to my chiropractor?"

"Ha. No. Try again."

"Hmmm...shopping day?"

"Three strikes and you're out."

"If your knees get any sharper, it might be a good thing."

"Don't make me hurt you, Jethro."

"It's almost been a year," he said and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. "You regret it?"

"Never. You?"

Jethro's eyes twinkled with humor. "Only when your knees are in my back...at three in the morning."

"Just for that, you can make breakfast."

"I always make breakfast."

"No. You make coffee. That's not breakfast."

Jethro sat up, pulling the blankets off her just a bit and Hollis sighed and sat up with him.

"So...a year," she said. "Do you want to do anything to celebrate?"

"Do you?"

She smiled. "I asked you first."

"I could think of something."

"In your basement?"

"The boat's going pretty well."

"It should be. We've been working on it for nearly a year."

"Exactly. Maybe we could finish it."

Hollis softened. She teased him about it, but she loved that he had taken her in and let her be a part of this hobby, this thing that meant so much to him. She leaned over and kissed him.

"Good morning," she said again.

"I love you, too," Jethro said and got out of bed. As he headed for the bathroom, he called back. "If you're going to run before I get breakfast made, you should probably get started now."

Hollis laughed, but since he was right, she got out of bed and changed into her running clothes. In less than two minutes, she was out the door. Running continued to be something she did generally by herself. Jethro only joined her on occasion, but that was okay. Married or not, both of them still needed time by themselves, times when they could be alone. While they were working together on the boat, Jethro had other projects that he still did by himself.

A year. Hollis wasn't really surprised that they'd made it this far. Neither of them had gone into it with stars in their eyes, but she was surprised at how quickly the time had passed...and how easy it had been for her to take being "retired". She got called on as a consultant every so often, but it wasn't what she did all the time...and it was okay. She didn't feel idle or like she was trying to fill her time.

She didn't run far, just enough to get her heart rate up and then back...home.

She could smell the coffee as soon as she got inside. ...but beneath the stronger coffee, she could smell a surprising scent. She walked into the kitchen.

"Pancakes?" she asked.

"Something different."

"I didn't know you could manage something like that."

"Gotta keep a few things to myself. Might get boring otherwise."

Hollis walked over and put her arms around Jethro's waist.

"You? Boring? Never. You're too aggravating to be boring."

Jethro chuckled.

"Anything exciting for you today?"

"CID has asked me to come by, give a little presentation to some new guys. It's the same as I've done before. You?"

"Nothing...unless we get a case."

"You've had a quiet week already. You're due something crazy," Hollis said. "Maybe you'll need some outside help."

Jethro grinned at her and flipped over his pancakes. Satisfied with their appearance, he flipped them off the griddle onto a plate. He handed it to her and she carried it to the table. It was small. Neither of them were big on entertaining, but it was a genuine table. Hollis didn't insist on it all the time, but she had decided that there was no reason to eat on the couch all the time. Jethro hadn't disagreed. Since he didn't care and she did, they got a little table.

Jethro brought over the syrup and butter.

"Maybe we will. I'll keep it in mind."

They ate breakfast together and then Jethro headed off to NCIS. Hollis went upstairs and showered. She still took the time to dress well when she got asked to do these things. Army CID liked having her around because she showed that it wasn't a guys-only group...at least not to the same extent as it had been in the past.

She didn't mind these little presentations, but she could admit that the best moments were the ones that got her back at NCIS.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Okay," Tony said in a low voice. "Smiling or not smiling?"

"Come on, Tony," Tim said. "You've been doing this nearly every day for the last year. If Gibbs was going to change that much, wouldn't he have done it already?"

"What are you expecting?" Ziva asked. "A big sloppy grin on his face because he had a good night?"

"I don't know if I want to think about it that much," Tony said. "Come on, guys! Smiling or not?"

"Not," Tim said. "He's never smiling when he comes in. The only time he smiles like you want him to is when..." He stumbled a bit because he still felt awkward addressing Hollis. He didn't know her well enough to use her first name, but Mrs. Gibbs sounded weird, and she was a lieutenant colonel, but she'd retired. She had been an agent, but she'd retired. What was the correct form of address? "...when she calls him during the day and he thinks no one is paying attention."

"How do you know that?" Ziva asked.

"Because...I...was...paying attention," Tim mumbled.

Jethro strode into the bullpen with his usual expression. No smile. All business.

"Good morning, Boss!" Tony said brightly.

"Not for everyone," Jethro said. "We've got a dead Marine just fished out of the Potomac. Let's roll."