Okay, new story time. This is a oneshot songfic. This was inspired by a conversation that I had with my mom this morning while at work. I hope you enjoy. I cried while writing this story.
As always, the characters you recognize do not belong to me, they belong to CBS and the great Donald Bellasario. The song, of course, not mine either. Now sit back and enjoy the story!
Kiss the Girl
Tony DiNozzo nearly groaned out loud as he plopped into his chair behind his desk in the bullpen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tim McGee equally exhausted fall into his chair to type up reports. Ziva David, Mossad Officer, followed suit in front of him a little more gracefully, rubbing her temples.
This was one of the worst cases the team had ever worked. It had involved the unnecessary death of an infant. A little boy only two months old smothered needlessly, heartlessly, by his Marine mother. Gibbs, of course, demanded higher standards than ever when it came to child victims.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs was known for dealing roughly with his agents, but today he had been especially sour. He allowed no room for error, even snapping at Abby for being slow at finding DNA matches. The ever cheerful and bubbly Abby Sciuto, often Gibbs' favored member of the team and resident Forensics expert, was reduced to tears.
When the case had finally wrapped, Gibbs sent them all back to the office with a simple "Finish your reports or you're fired" and had not been seen since.
"Any idea what Gibbs' problem is today?" Tony asked the bullpen residents; currently Ziva, McGee, and himself.
A ding of the elevator signaled the entrance of a tearful Abby and a concerned Dr. Ducky Mallard. Tony repeated the question for Ducky and Abby.
"Gee, Tony, could it have been because the case was about a child?" Probie, McGee, retorted sarcastically as he looked up from his computer.
"Timothy, this case affected us all awfully hard. But what Anthony means is that this case hit Jethro rather harder than most child victim cases," Ducky elaborated.
Ziva was in thought for a moment. Tony could see her forehead crinkling as she searched through her photographic memory. "Today is the anniversary of his first wife and his daughter's death."
Abby was shocked. "No wonder he was so horrible! This day will probably tear him apart for the rest of his life. Poor Gibbs!"
"Yikes!" Tony exclaimed. "Reminder," he said as an earlier event crossed his mind, "Never sing Johnny Cash songs in front of Gibbs."
Tony was in the bullpen, tracking down the whereabouts of one Lance Corporal Maria Moerder. He started humming "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. Ziva inquired what he was humming and Tony started spouting movie references to Walk the Line and started singing the song.
Gibbs walked by and slapped him hard on the head. "Quit singing on the job DiNozzo!" he barked harshly before demanding what he had found out.
"Right Boss," Tony muttered rubbing his head in pain. He reported his findings, suddenly very afraid to give a negative observance of his task.
Tony rubbed his head once more as phantom pangs of pain surged to the surface. "I really feel sorry for the Boss man now."
"Jethro is really going to be in a foul mood tomorrow and hungover. I will suggest to the Director that he be given Monday off." Ducky started for Jenny Shepard's office but paused. "Although I doubt he will abide by her orders." He continued on his quest.
"Okay. We need to finish our reports now," Ziva said after an awkward silence.
"I'll be in the lab cataloguing the evidence and locking it up," Abby said and promptly left. McGee, Ziva, and Tony returned to their tasks.
Gibbs sat dejectedly in the basement of his home, staring at the half constructed boat christened The Kelly after his late daughter, an empty bottle of bourbon in his hand. It had been a rather hard, taxing day for him—the sixteenth anniversary of the death of Shannon and Kelly.
Gibbs knew that he had taken his anger out on his team. He knew they would understand when they found out—most likely from Ziva—the reason. He regretted immediately his sour attitude with Abby, his surrogate daughter, and the whole day with the team. The team he often associated with as his family.
They would understand, Gibbs thought finally as he slumped into a drunken slumber against his workplace. The bourbon bottle fell from his hand.
Gibbs was sitting on the banks of the Rappahannock River, watching his daughter Kelly drifting on her namesake boat.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed. "Come sail with me!"
Gibbs smiled unable to answer, unable to move.
"It's okay, Daddy," Kelly said suddenly beside him.
"Jethro!" Shannon appeared on the opposite side of him. "What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into? I know you miss us, but it's okay to move on. You can still keep us close to you in your heart. We are with you everyday, but you can't dwell on the past." She sat down next to him.
"I can't Shannon," Jethro muttered. "I don't want to let you down."
"You won't! You need to move on, Jethro." She took his hand in hers. "You won't soil our memory by loving another."
"Daddy, we know how much you love her. Go ahead, we won't be angry. Look in the boat," Kelly pointed him to a female shadow sitting in his boat. She started singing one of her favorite songs from The Little Mermaid.
"There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
But you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl"
Shannon was suddenly on the opposite side of the bank as Kelly. She had a smile on her face as Jethro moved to see the figure on the boat more clearly. She sung the next verse.
"Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
It's possible she wants you, too
There is one way to ask her
It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl"
Kelly took residence on the edge of a small cliff overlooking the river. The two Gibbs women sung together.
"Sha-la-la-la-la-la
My, oh, my
Look at the boy too shy
He ain't gonna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la
Ain't that sad
Ain't it shame, too bad
You gonna miss the girl"
Gibbs knew they were right. He was scared to take the chance. He didn't want anything to happen to the next woman he loved as much as his first wife, the lady who had given him his only child.
He sighed and mustered up all of his Marine resolve and training and took a step forward, step by step and reached the bow of the boat. The figure, still shadowed, sat at the stern.
Kelly, with a happy smile, encouraged him further to hop into the boat with a gesture. She sang.
"Now's your moment
Floating in a blue lagoon
Boy, you better do it soon
No time will be better
She don't say a word
And she won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl"
Gibbs swung himself into the boat in one fluid motion. The figure started to become clearer, a shadowy tint of red hair shining in the moonlight.
"Sha-la-la-la-la-la
Don't be scared
You got the mood prepared
Go on and kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la
Don't stop now
Don't try to hide it how
You wanna kiss the girl"
Gibbs moved closer and closer. The figure was still shadowed but steadily becoming clearer…
"Sha-la-la-la-la-la
Float along
Listen to the song
The song say kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la
Music play
Do what the music say
You wanna kiss the girl"
He was inches from her face. Who was this mystery woman sitting on the stern of his boat? How'd his boat get so damned long anyway?
"You've got to kiss the girl
Why don't you kiss the girl"
The face suddenly became starkly clear. It was the face of a red haired someone he had loved once before in Paris. It was the face of Jenny Shepard.
"I knew you could do it, Daddy!" Kelly exclaimed. Shannon had joined her at the cliff.
"It's time to go now, Kelly." She took Kelly's hand as they ran from the river's edge and faded from view.
Gibbs smiled and looked at Jenny. She seemed to ask "What are you waiting for?" He leaned in--
Gibbs was jolted back to consciousness abruptly. "Jethro! Get a hold of yourself."
"Jen," he replied hoarsely. "What're you doing here?"
"Ducky told me the whole story. I'm trying to keep you from destroying yourself."
The dream permeated his senses. He heard Kelly singing in the background of his mind. This time he listened to her.
Jen would be confused, but the explanation could wait until he was sober and ready to tell her. Right now, he wanted to follow his heart.
"You gotta kiss the girl
Go on and kiss the girl"
Gibbs could feel Kelly smiling down on him.
Wow, still tearing up here. Let me know what you think. And for you readers of The Music of NCIS, I am still working on it. Don't fret! Auf wiedersehen! Maylee