a/n: i can't stop writing acd. it seems the possibilities are endless. i hope y'all still like it.
Alexandria, Virginia / Georgetown University, D.C.
August 2020
Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not one of those hands-off fathers who thought it was masculine or amusing to boast that he did all of the play and none of the work when it came to the kids. He'd never had any intention of leaving it all to his wife – but that said, it was well into the twenty-first century; he wouldn't have gotten away with even a split-second thought about pulling such a fifties-esque stunt.
He was good at making dinner, good at coaxing the girls to eat vegetables, he was admittedly more of the fun parent than the disciplinarian parent, but he was reliable and he knew what he was doing.
Which was precisely why he couldn't understand what had gone wrong on this particularly important August afternoon.
If he was late, Jenny was going to kill him – but not before he beat himself up for missing it.
"If Katty not wear shoes, I not!" Anna insisted, trying to slither away from her father as he patiently tried to fit neat little dress shoes onto her small feet.
"Anna – "
"Not fair, not fair!"
"Anna—"
"I not like the shoes, no no – "
"Anna!"
Anna stopped sulkily, and crossed her arms, staring at Gibbs with a woebegone look.
"Whaaaaaat, Dadddddyyyyy?" she whined, long-suffering – he honestly had no idea where she'd learned to sound so spectacularly tortured.
Probably from her grandfather.
"Kate is wearing shoes," Gibbs said firmly. "I haven't put them on her yet."
"Katty first!"
"Why does it matter who goes first?" Gibbs asked, exasperated.
"KATTY SHOES FIRST!" Anna insisted loudly, glaring at him almost – suspiciously.
Gibbs blinked at her, taken aback – it may be that Anna had picked up on the fact that Katharyn wore shoes only a handful of places, but that was because until recently, Katharyn had barely been walking without help, and Jenny was one of those women who saw no point in baby shoes if the kid wasn't even touching the ground.
Gibbs looked around at Katharyn, who was sitting in a small, dressy heap by the unlit fire, playing with some blocks. He looked at her sock-covered feet, and back at Anna's feet, one of which had a shoe hanging off of it.
Anna unceremoniously kicked off the show, and it flew into the coffee table. She giggled, maniacally, Gibbs though.
He frowned at her.
"Anna, I don't think you want to make us late to Mommy's big event."
"No," Anna answered seriously. "You late."
Gibbs frowned more. Technically, she was right – if he couldn't get her shoes on and they were late, it was his fault – and he couldn't let them both go without shoes; Jen would throw a fit.
He rubbed his forehead.
"What if you put Kate's shoes on?" Gibbs asked, still using a calm tone. "Daddy will go get them."
Anna looked at him from her slouched position, and he reached over and sat her up easily, brushing out her dress.
"You'll wrinkle," he admonished lightly.
He was used to saying things like that now, things that would have had Marines giving him a hard time ten years ago.
Anna finally gave a small nod, and Gibbs got up, glancing at Katharyn protectively before he swiftly retrieved the youngest's shoes and moved back into the living room. He checked his watch as he supervised Anna fixing her sister's shoes – they were running slightly behind schedule, but they'd be there on time, he was sure.
It wasn't that he'd lost track of time; he'd started baths exactly when he was supposed to – but then Katharyn had stood up in the soapy water while he was washing Anna's hair, and she fell and the hysterical crying that resulted for the next ten minutes stopped his progress. Anna had revolted when he'd tried to do her hair how Jenny wanted it – apparently, he wasn't tying the bow right – so he'd given up, and done it to Katharyn instead. Anna's hair was just doing whatever it wanted to, like her mother's tended to. The most unexpected event was Katharyn tearfully refusing the dress Jenny had picked out for her – she kept whimpering 'itchy, no, itchy!' so Gibbs had to find something else – and that panicked him most, because when it came to fancy occasions, Jenny absolutely never let him dress the girls.
It wasn't that he wasn't good at it – technically, his skills had never been tested – it was that Jenny loved dressing them up. She trusted Gibbs in dressing them for daily activities, but she particularly enjoyed getting them all trussed up. Gibbs couldn't wait until they were old enough for Jenny to fawn over prom or something, so he could loudly remind her how she'd claimed she was too good for such a thing when she was seventeen.
"Daddy," Anna piped up primly. "Shoes all done."
He crouched down to check – he adjusted Katharyn's a little, and checked that Anna's were buckled right – both were good, and then he looked at them both seriously.
"Are we ready to go now?" he asked seriously. "Can we stop giving Daddy a hard time?"
By way of answer, Anna asked:
"Grandpa coming?"
Gibbs glared a little – was Anna just trying to annoy him? He bent forward, though, and kissed her on the forehead and nodded.
"Yes, he's probably already there."
Anna scrambled up, dragging her sister with her so Katharyn stumbled to her feet unsteadily. To speed things along, Gibbs picked them both up, impressively maneuvering them outside and managing to lock the door and unlock the car with them in his grasp.
Katharyn giggled wildly.
"Fly, Da Da!" she said earnestly. "Fly!"
"Fly later, Kate," he promised. "Fly after we see Mama."
Katharyn nodded solemnly, and as he let Anna down, and let her hover around while he bucked Katharyn in, his oldest daughter asked:
"How long Mommy's git-ay-shon?"
Gibbs did some quick math – Jen's law class didn't have too many students, but it was still a big ordeal – and hours meant nothing to a three-year-old.
"Five episodes of Full-House," he decided gruffly.
Anna climbed into the car, letting him make sure she was buckled, and she touched his face, looking at him with wise little eyes.
"I might sleep," she whispered dramatically.
He grinned at her, and kissed her hand gallantly.
He silently thought it would be a blessing if Anna and Katharyn slept through the ceremony.
The first thing out of Jasper Shepard's mouth was a snide but good-natured remark.
"Look who decided to show up," he drawled, turning in his auditorium seat to take Katharyn from Gibbs.
Katharyn beamed at him, and she waved at Noemi.
"Mi-Mi," she purred happily.
Anna waited for Gibbs to sit down, and then she crawled onto his lap and sat primly, leaning over to place a kiss on her grandfather's cheek.
"I put Katty's shoes on," she gloated proudly.
General Shepard gave her a look of pure wonder, and glanced down in amazement at Katharyn's shoes.
"You did a good job!" he complimented, in the slightly elevated, amazed voice he reserved for conversations with the girls - a voice that Gibbs had long since gotten used to, but was still amused by.
He quit snickering when his father-in-law looked at him, and composed his face.
"She'd have killed you if you missed it."
"I wouldn't," Gibbs defended pointedly. He tickled Anna a little, bouncing her on his knee and giving her a wry look. "Someone didn't want to wear her shoes," he growled playfully.
"Wanted Katty to wear shoes!" piped up Anna happily. "So no toesy get stepped on!"
"You very thoughtful little girl, chula."
Anna flushed a proud pink, and Gibbs smiled at her, glancing up at the stage.
"'M not even cuttin' it that close."
"Woulda thought you'd be the first here."
"Ah, I wanted to slip back and see 'er, before," Gibbs said. He shrugged. "Figured she's busy. Sent her a text."
"Better not have been a smart ass text."
"Nope," Gibbs said, deadpan. "Picture of what she's gettin' as a reward tonight."
The General glared at him ruthlessly, and flexed his knuckles a little.
"Son, if these kids weren't here – "
"You'd punch me?" Gibbs drawled, smirking. He gestured between the girls. "I thought you liked 'em – that's how they got here, you know – "
"Jasper," Noemi sighed, shaking her head. She caught his arm, and pointed - -the ceremony was about to start.
Gibbs grinned, gloating, and then as his father- and mother – in law straightened up, he bent closer to Katharyn, and looked between her and her sister.
"You remember what I said?" he asked.
Anna gasped, and nodded, eyes wide. Katharyn stared, nodding – probably just because her sister was.
"It's long, and boring," he said, "but you can be quiet and patient, and we're all going to go to a fancy restaurant, and there will be ice cream," he said.
Jenny, buoyed by the accomplishment, was allowing the girls to come with them to a restaurant, and miraculously enough, it would be the first time for either of them – even three-year-old Anna. Jenny had never budged on that.
Gibbs straightened up, and Katharyn leaned back against her grandfather comfortably, while Anna sat up on his lap like a little duchess. He put a hand on her back protectively and patted her in a light, soothing motion, facing ahead.
In a dignified, long, single-file line, Georgetown University law graduates filed onto the stage, and he searched the crowd of men and women for the only one he cared about – spotting her towards the end, alphabetical, even though she was near the top of her class; she had more stolls and cords than most draped around her, and she was the only redhead.
He smirked, unsure if she could see him, and pointed her out quietly to Anna and Katharyn. Katharyn beamed, and Anna bounced a little, pointing alongside Gibbs.
"Mommy!" she whispered, very quiet.
"Mm-hmm," Gibbs murmured gruffly. "She has to sit still the whole time, just like you!"
Anna put her hands together ecstatically, glad to be compared to a grown up.
Jenny had debated about whether or not it was appropriate to bring the girls to the ceremony – they were young, and she worried about them getting bored, or being disruptive to other people. She'd wanted them there, but she'd wanted to be practical – Gibbs and Jasper had been able to convince her it wouldn't be too much of a problem, and if one of them acted up, either Noemi, Jasper, or Gibbs would leave the auditorium immediately until the child in question was quiet again.
She hadn't really taken much convincing though; graduating law school after all of her hard work – hard work she'd done in the midst of the harder work of starting a family, and having two very young little girls – was an important event, and it was something she very much wanted her daughters to have an early memory of.
She hoped it would be empowering for them; Gibbs agreed with her. Hell, Gibbs felt pretty damn powerful himself, with a wife graduating in the top five percent of her law class, with a White House job offer on the table permitting she passed the bar in September.
He kept his eyes on her the whole ceremony, hardly hearing what the commencement speaker said, hardly hearing the chosen class speaker's speech – he'd asked Jenny why she wasn't speaking, but she'd shrugged and said she'd have had to submit to a competition, and she'd rather spend her free time with the girls than editing a stellar speech.
He could feel the pride rolling off Jasper as he sat, straight and tall, in his military uniform next to Gibbs, and even the girls seemed captivated by the big words and the wildly professional atmosphere.
Katharyn sat forward, peering intently at the stage. She sucked on her thumb a little, until Gibbs reached over to gently pull it out of her mouth, and then she pointed.
"Mama," she whispered loudly, drawing a few looks.
"Shhh," the Colonel murmured gruffly, stroking her hair. "Not much longer."
"Mama!" Katharyn said again, giggling. She lifted her little hand, and waved.
Gibbs watched her, and looked up at the stage. Smiling good-naturedly, Jen inclined her head and gave a tiny, hardly noticeable wave back, and Katharyn beamed, flopping back against Jasper's chest.
Anna struggled to see over people's heads, her eyes, too, on Jenny's – and while they were calling names, Jasper helped Katharyn to stand on his knees, and Anna got up on hers – her small kneecaps dug heavily into Gibbs thighs, but he ignored it, holding her steady.
"Summa Cum Laude: Jennifer Morgan Gibbs, Juris Doctorate."
They were supposed to hold applause until the end, and it took all of Gibbs' self control not to let out a Marine-style whoop of praise. Anna seemed to have the same problem, because she heard her mother's name and she gasped happily.
"MOMMY!" she cried, in a small, happy voice –as Jenny was taking her diploma, and shaking hands with her dean.
Gibbs winced slightly, pulling Anna back and shushing her quietly, but Jenny just looked over, beamed, and threw a small salute in her daughter's direction. She blew a small kiss at Katharyn, for effect, and then winked at Gibbs.
He looked down at Anna smugly, as other names went on in a blur.
"What do you think?" he asked, looking at her intently, and then glancing over at Katharyn. "Mommy's a lawyer."
"You know what lawyers do?" the General asked Katharyn sternly, giving her a gently, paternal look.
Katharyn shook her head, innocently curious, and Anna stared at him too, with rapt attention.
"They're queens of the world," he said dramatically.
Katharyn squealed softly, but Anna just arched an astute eyebrow at him.
"Mommy already queen of Daddy."
Noemi smiled affectionately, and the General shot Gibbs a smug look, patting Anna's head approvingly. Gibbs took it as a compliment, and returned the smug look with a gloating smirk.
The rest of the ceremony passed in no time, and then he and the General and Noemi had retreated to a smaller area with the girls, seeking Jenny in the crowd. She appeared quickly, a little breathless; her cap was askew, and her gown was already unzipped, revealing the flattering dress beneath it.
The first thing she did was crouch down and fawn over Anna, kissing her and touching her hair.
"You were so good, you sat so still," she praised, rising up to kiss Katharyn as well. "You too, little Kitty, I saw you wave at me," she added, touching her nose to Katharyn's. She eyed her dress. "What happened to the other one?"
"She, uh, - it was itchy," Gibbs said wearily.
Jenny looked a little disappointed, but shrugged. She smiled at Katharyn again.
"Daddy picked a pretty one, didn't he? He made sure you were comfy so you could be quiet and grown up," she said gently.
She reached down and hugged Anna against her, ruffling her hair again.
"The bow just didn't suit you, huh?" she asked conversationally.
"Katty pretty in bow!" Anna said.
Jenny beamed at her – the General leaned forward to give her a hug, a kiss on the cheek; and Noemi did the same, both of them congratulating her. She flushed, thanking them earnestly – she felt a little winded, a little flustered, standing here with a second advanced degree, surrounded by her family – not just her father, but her husband, her kids.
"Mommy," Anna tugged at her gown. "Mommy, I wanna wear hat!" she said happily.
Jenny laughed, and swooped down, placing her large graduation cap on Anna's petite head. The three-year-old giggled proudly and struck a pose, putting her hands on her hips.
"Smart!" she declared.
Gibbs looked down at her, adjusting Katharyn on his hip.
"Take after your mother," he said seriously, and the General loudly agreed, pushing his knuckles against Gibbs' shoulder good-naturedly.
Gibbs turned to his wife, looking her over gallantly, proudly. She had stressed over this for years, she had balanced it precariously with everything else she was doing – Anna, Katharyn, her NCIS job, his final deployment, her father's remarriage—and she'd never wavered; she'd accomplished exactly what she wanted – just like she always had.
It was why he'd married her – well; it was part of an infinite amount of reasons why he'd married her.
He stepped forward, letting her reach out and place her hands on Katharyn, Anna looking up at him primly, drowning in that smart graduation cap. He smiled at Jenny, lifting his chin just slightly.
"'M proud of you, Jen," he said in a quiet voice.
She bit her lip, looking at him intently.
"And what are you going to tell McAlister?" she asked in a teasing, shaky voice. "Doesn't he have a rule against lawyers and personal involvement?"
Gibbs shook his head, smirking.
"You're mixin' rules," he said – she'd never been able to get them right, because she had a different code she lived by.
She smiled, trying not to get choked up – she'd always planned on law school, always planned on fancy degrees and fast-paced jobs, and sometimes it sill amazed her that she'd achieved all that, and everything Gibbs had given her, as well – him, their daughters, their life.
She wrinkled her nose slyly at him.
"Forward, I pray, since we have come so far," she drawled, swallowing hard.
He tilted is head at her. He hesitated.
"That's not Macbeth," he said, positive.
He knew Macbeth. They knew Macbeth.
Jenny shook her head.
"No," she agreed. "I think our Macbeth chapter is over," she said, with soft nostalgia, but certainty.
It did feel eerily like they were very far removed from their eerily days, with him years out of the Marines, with two kids, with her availed of a law degree.
He smirked, silently asking what she'd chosen for the next chapter. She smiled.
"The Taming of the Shrew," she whispered primly.
Gibbs laughed outright.
Katharyn squealed as Gibbs leaned in and kissed Jenny, pressing the little girl between them gently. Anna tipped her graduation cap, looking up and grinning – and grudgingly, even though that kiss-ass was kissing his daughter in public, Jasper Shepard took a picture – it was worth it to have a snapshot of the daughter he'd raised succeeding in doing it all.
August 2020
i had to take a really deep, heavy breath to say goobye to macbeth.
-alexandra
story #240